knightsnewsonline.com ClearFallsHighSchool November2012•Vol.2Num.24380VillageWay•LeagueCity,TX77573

Opinion: Parents on FacebookThe embarassing things parents do on Facebook and why they shouldn’t be allowed to have one.

Clear Falls Gallery

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By MEGHAN MISTRY

It’severykid’sworstnightmare:no,notthemonstersunderthebedorfail-ingtograduate.It’sworsemuch,muchworse. That horrible, terrifying, jaw-dropping,gnaw-your-skin-rawmomentwhen your parents your 50-year-oldmom or dad, friend requests you onFacebook.Facebook,whichofficiallyovertook

Myspace in2008fornumberofusers,hasbeena socialnetworking sight forteenagersandcollegestudents.CreatedbyMarkZuckerburgforcol-

lege students in 2004, Facebook hasalwaysbeengearedtowardayoungau-dience. Sowhy are parents interferingnow?I’m not saying they’re logging on

to relive their glory days and pretendthey’re young and arthritis-less again,buttheirpresenceonFacebookdefinite-lyhas anegative impact. I understandthattheymayhavejoinedtoreconnectwitholdhighschoolandcollegefriendsthatliveacrossthenationnowadays.Orevenjusttocreepandcheckoutthelivesof the once pretty and popular formerhead cheerleader who’s now divorcedandsingle.That’sallfine.Parents,likeresponsibleteenagers,haveeveryrighttohaveaFacebookaccount.

But when they friend request theirkid,ortheypostembarrassingthings,orevenposttoomuch?Nowthat’scross-ing the line.Some parentsmay join just to keep

aneyeontheirchild,wholikeasmartkid, has his or her profile on private.Thiswouldmeanthattheparenthastofriendrequesttheirkid.Inthisscenario,it’sOK.Theparentisjustkeepingtabsonhisorherchild,makingsurethere’snothing inappropriate or no cyber-bul-lyinggoingdown.But when this hypothetical parent

starts posting on a child’s wall: No.That’s just a flat out no. There’s onlyonescenariowherethatcouldbealright,andthat’swhenaparentwhoistravel-ling,outof thecountry,orhaslittle tonorelationshippoststokeepincontact.However, even this communicationshouldbedoneonaprivate,directmes-sage,suchasanemail,not inapublicforumsuchasFacebook.

No teenager wants to log onto Face-book,seethattheyhave59notificationsandrealizethey’reallwallpostsbytheirparents. It’s extremely discouraging tosee that you’re only popular on Face-book because your mom shared/likedall44oftheprompicturesthatyouup-loaded.I’m not speaking as an ungrateful

teenager.I’mveryblessedtohavepar-entswhoaresoinvolvedinmylifeandsofullofencouragement.I’mjustgiv-ing others some quick advice on howNOT to strain their relationship withtheir children. Frankly, parent’s pres-ence,(andallthe10year-olds)onFace-book, iswhat’s causing teens tomovetheirsocialnetworkingfromFacebooktoTwitter.Soifyou’reaparentwhoisplanning

onjoiningFacebook,besuretofollowthe ten commandments of parents onsocial networking sites (according tome,ofcourse):1)Don’tembarrassus.2)Don’tshareourphotos.3)Don’tpostonourwall.4) Don’t creep on our profile every

day.5)Don’ttellusyoumissus.6)Don’tpostaboutourpersonallives

onyourprofile.7)Don’tlikeallthosegoofy“likethis

photoifyouwantchocolatecake”pho-tos.8)Don’tpostabunchof‘inspiration-

al’quotes.9)Don’tfriendrequestourfriends.10) Make sure you’re friends with

more than just your three kids, yournieces and nephews, and your sistersandbrothers.

Sandy Devastates East CoastBy MIRANDA CHANG

OnTuesdayOct.30,2012,HurricaneSandytookitsfirstdevastatingshotatAtlanticCity,N.J.Thenjustdayslater,this “Frankenstorm,” the nicknameSandy has acquired by themedia, hitNewYork,mostlyaffecting the lowerhalf of Manhattan, as well as Con-neticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, andvariousotherstatesaroundtheAtlanticCoast. Although this storm has dis-sipated, it most definitely left behindsome memorable tracks.“HurricaneSandywasnotlikemost

storms,” said Clear Falls governmentteacherSeanPalmer.“Thisstormisnotsmallandquick.Itishugeandslow.”This storm indeed isquite remark-

able;thiskindofstormcomesaroundevery200years.Bothgovernors,ChrisChristie of New Jersey and AndrewCuomoofNewYork,havebeenwork-ing hard and alongside governors ofsurroundingstatestohelpsearch,res-cue,saveandrebuildallthecitiesthatwhere heavily affected by HurricaneSandy.AccordingtoavideoclipfromABC

News,GovernorCuomosaid,“Wearenow having storms that we are sup-posed tohave every200years, every2years.”ThepeopleoftheNortheasthavelet

outasmall,shortbreathofreliefnowthat theHurricanehasclearedup.Al-though gone, Sandy has left quite anincrediblereminder.PeopleallaroundtheEastCoasthavehadnopowerfordays.Nottomentionextremedestruc-tion due to the enormous floods, notonly tohomesbutalso to thesubwaysystem.Manypeopleare relyingon theun-

expectedheroismofgasstationownersnot only to fuel their cars but to fueltheir generators, the biggest factor inkeepingmanyofthesefamiliesalive.Another extreme tragedy that has

been an effect of Sandy is thelossoflife.AccordingtotheLosAngeles Times, as of Nov. 3,HurricaneSandyhastakenmorethan110livessofar.Thesearchandrescue teamsarestillwork-ing hard and have not finishedsearching.This certainly qualifies as a

horrific time for all of the EastCoast.With thedeath toll risingandtheaftermathbecomingmoreof a problem, the governors,mayorsandmostimportantly,thepeople,havetoworktogethertorestore stability to thesehistoricstates.Surely many people here in

Texashavemuch empathy to those

upnorthafterexperiencingIkeandKa-trina.“I understand how they feel. I lost

my house andmy family was home-lessforawhileafterHurricaneIke,somyheartgoesouttothem,”saidClearFalls senior Caroline Ash.Thebestthingtodointhesehorrific,

grim times is tocry for thedeceased,hopeandprayforthelost,andforthosewhohavesurvived,keepsurviving.If you are interested in helping the

victimsofHurricaneSandy,visitweb-sites of nonprofit agencies and localcommunityorganizationsinyourarea.

James Connelly, 70, surveys the damage of Hurricane Sandy in Bayville, N.J. Photo Courtesy MCT Campus

2•knightsnewsonline.com SCHOOL SCOOP ClearFallsPost•November2012

CCISD Silent Dinner Clear Falls Knight Finally An American

Clear Falls Debate Starts Year Strong

By ZOE GAETJEN

OnthenightofTuesday,Oct.9,2012a silentdinnerwasheld atFuddruck-ers. A “Silent Dinner” isn’t a mealwhereyoueatinsilence.Itisasocialevent in the deaf community wherepeople get together and communicatewith the use of sign language. Thesedinners are held primarily for peoplewithinthedeafcommunity.Theobjec-tiveisforthemtointeractandsocializesincetheirhearinglossprevents themfrompickingupthephoneandcallingeach other. Cynthia Hazzard, an ASL teacher

hereatFalls,wasoneoftheadultswhoattendedtheevent.Hazzardexplained thata silentdin-

ner isn’t only for people who havea hearing loss but anyonewho is in-volved within the community itself.The use of ASL is the only criterianeededtoparticipate in thedinner,sostudentsatClearFallsaswellasotherCCISD high schoolswere able to at-tend.Hazzardaddedthatstudentswhoattendthedinnerhaveanobjectiveofusingtheappliedlanguagetomeetnewpeopleandmakenewfriends. Some of theASL I students took

time to explain their first experiencedealingwith sign languageoutsideofclass.AstudentofHazzard,KaymenCo-

lon, said she, like some of the otherASLIstudentsthere, shewasalittleoverwhelmed.“Itwassortofawkward,”Colonsaid

asshedescribedherfirstimpressionofthedinner.Sheusedcontextcluesandwasable

todecipherthegistofwhattheotherswere signing.Studentseventuallygotthehangof

things and became more comfortableas the night went on. If they didn’tknowexactlywhattheyweresigning,they would use indexing and contextclues.TheASLteachers,HazzardandAmandaMason,keptthestudentswhoattendedentertainedwithintricatesto-

ries, which in turn taught them newsignswithinthelanguage.Thisdinnerinparticularwasmainly

for students and chaperoned byASLteachersandotheradultswhoweren’thearingimpaired.Therewere,howev-er,twodeafpeoplepresent,alittlegirlinelementaryschoolandagraduateofClearCreekHighSchool.Thestudents,however,couldn’ttellwhocouldhearandwho couldn’t.This goes to showthatitdoesn’tmatterwhetheryoucanhearornotaslongasyou’vegotgoodpeopleandgoodconversation.

By ERICA BERNAL

OnOct.7,ClearFall’sdebate teamcompetedatDobeHighSchool.Theybattled 18 other schools at their thirdcompetitionoftheyear. There are many misconceptions

that people have about debate. Theythink it’s just sessionswith bickeringarguments.Debateismorethanpeoplebashing each other with insults. De-bate competitions consist of multipleevents,dealingwithdifferentsubjectsandcategories.Witheacheventpartic-ipantsmustcomprehendasetofrules,thatmust be followed accordingly ordisqualificationfromthecompetition.The debate team is required to do

extensiveresearchovervarioustopics,such as politics and court cases. Thestudentsthoroughlystudyatacollegelevel. The debate division undergoesa preparation process that consists ofgetting evidence together andwriting

papers. The debater doesn’t alwaysknow what the debate will be over.TheCFHSdebate classroom is locat-ed in Coach Michael Leyva’s room.His room is available every day afterschool for students to rehearse andstudyfortheirevent.“No coach in Houston is going to

outworkme.”saidLeyva.Intheatreacts,studentscanperform

either a dramatic or comedic scene.The acting division requires learningand memorizing a script, and some-timesincludesblockingalongwiththescene.Studentscaneitherperformin-dependently or in a partnership. Fallsstudents, ElizabethGuillot andAliciaBeard were awarded fourth Place inDuetActing. “Days before the competition are

very hectic with getting everythingtogether” said,DebateVice PresidentElizabethGuillot.

Anothereventthatstudentscanpar-ticipate in is poetry. In this categoryyouhavetolearnapoemandreciteitagainststudentsfromtheotherschoolandthepoemmustbememorized.Thestudentswho advancedwere BraxtonFeemsterandValeriaChavez.Thefirstplace winner in Novice Poetry wasBraxton.Valeriaplaced fourthalso inNovicePoetry.Novice Lincoln Debate is a very

complex division.When the studentswalk in the room, they bring theirstatementoftheirconcerns.Theypicka position to represent on the saidtopic.The issues can be on a school,stateorcommunityscale.Thestudentmustcomposetheirarguments,defendandprovethem.MarcusAbatewastheSemiFinalistfromourschoolinNov-ice Lincoln Douglas. Chane Sladekwastheotherstudentwhoexcelledinthisevent,becomingQuarterFinalist.

Novice Policy Debate is a form ofteam debate. It’s known as the mostprestigioustypeandalsothemostdif-ficult. The student must be preparedwithanextensiveamountofevidence.Thereisanaffirmativesideandanega-tive side. Affirmative side states itsplanandwhatshouldbedonetomakethe topic work. The negative lists allthe disadvantages of the affirmativeactions and stateswhy theywouldn’twork.TylerRuckstuhlandEmilyXiawerefinalistsinNovicePolicyDebate.AlsoAnnMarie Carver and DouglasFletcherweresemifinalists inVarsityPolicyDebate.The debate competition was a suc-

cessandtheteamcamehomewithvic-tory.BringinghomeawardsinmultipleeventsandrepresentingCFHS.“Mygoalsforthiscompetitionwas

foreveryonetohavefunandwantingtoreturn,”saidLevya.

By SANDA CAVALLARO

On Friday, Sept. 21 Clear Fallsexperienced a shake up in the mid-morning routine. Clear Falls seniorC h i n o n y e r e a y iAkuechiama an-nouncedthePledgeof Allegiance in-steadofseniorMaxVeras,theusualan-nouncer ever sincethe school openedin 2010.Akuechia-ma introduced her-self over the loudspeakerandhadtheprivilege of sayingthe Pledge ofAlle-giance to honor her for receiving herAmerican citizen-ship.The Akuechiama

family moved toAmerica from Lon-don, England forbusinesspurposes in1995.Theentirefamily applied for American citizen-ship in February 2011.Akuechiama’sfather and sister were awarded citi-zenshipbeforeher, andhermother isstill waiting for her paperwork to beprocessed. The family is hoping andexpecting everything to be finalizedwithin the next couple of months.AkuechiamawassworninonSept.21

andnowhasdualcitizenshipwiththeUnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStates.Earning American citizenship is a

monumental feat. A perspective citi-zen must pay fees, speak, read and

write in English and study exten-sivelytopassthecitizenship testfor rights andfreedoms mostAmericans take forgranted. For a natural-

ized citizen, theprivilege of say-ing,“Iamproudto be an Ameri-can,” comesat ahigh cost. Manynaturalized citi-zens are willingto leave behindeverything theyknew as well as sacrifice theirmoney and time

towork, live in and be a part of thiscountry. Anyonewhoaseverfeltjaded

aboutwhat itmeans to be anAmeri-canshould takeagood lookatAkue-chiama.Despitealltheeffortrequiredofherinthecitizenshipposses,asshesaid,“It’sgreat tobeanAmericanfi-nally.”Hersmilecouldhavelituparoom.

2012-2013Clear Falls Post

StaffMeghanMistry-Editor-in-Chief

MaxVeras-Online News Producer

PhotographerSarahHoldenStaff Writers MarissaAdams

Erica BernalMirandaChangSandaCavallaroZoeGaetjenSierra Ham

Hannah SimsDesign Team

Ann Marie CarverBriOllre

AllisonGriest-AdviserKarenEngle-PrincipalJoeyThomas-Associate

Principal TerrieRowe-Assistant Prinsipal

PublishedbyMirrorPublishinginTexasCity

FindmorestoriesandphotosatKnightsnewsonline.com

Forinformationandadvertisingrates,email

knightsnewsonline@gmail.com

Clear Falls senior Chinonyereayi Akuechia-ma became an American citizen on Sept. 21. Photo by Sarah Holden

Clear Falls Achievements Add UpCompiled by SIERRA HAM

ClearFallsstudentshavebeenbusythisschoolyearwithallthewins(andlosses), activities and new traditionssofarintheyear.For orchestra’s region competition,

seven students qualified to advance,whilechoirhad26advanceattheirRe-gionwith13ofthoseadvancingtopre-

areaonDecember1.Both boys and girls cross country

teams havemetwith success in theircompetitionsaswell.Thegirlscameinfirst place at district and the boys insecond.The golf teams have also done re-

markably well in their season as theboys golf team tied for first place intheirMoodyGardenstournament.

November2012•ClearFallsPost SPORTS knightsnewsonline.com•3

Falls Varsity Football Ends First Season

Volleyball Spikes into Fourth Playoff Round

XC Ends Lake’s 17-year Winning Streak

By MEGHAN MISTRY

Clear Falls VarsityVolleyball teamfinished off their season and movedintoplayoffs,endingtheir2012districtplaywitharecordof33-9.TheLadyKnightshadastrongsea-

sondespitethefactthatthiswastheirfirstyeartoplay5A.Intheirfirstdis-trict round, the team crushed oppo-nentsClear Springs,Brazoswood, LaMarqueandTexasCity.Theirfirstroundofdistrict,however,

camewithtwotoughlosses.TheLadyKnightshadadevastatinglosstoClearCreek in afive setmatch.More than100Clear Falls students came out tosupport the team, especially as theywontheirfirstset21-25.Unfortunately, as the game contin-

uedon,theKnightsfellslightlyshort.After giving up the second set, andkillingCreekinthethird,theKnightsbarelylostinthefifthset.Following the game against Creek,

thegirlstravelledtoClearLakewheretheyenduredanothergruelingfivesetmatch,butultimatelylosttotheunde-featedteam.InthesecondroundtheLadyKnights

playedwithincredibleresilience.Theywonagainstalltheteamsthey’dbeatinthefirstroundandtookCreekbystormathome,winninginthethreesets.TheteamonlygaveuponelossthesecondtimearounddistricttoClearLake,whoremainedundefeatedtheentireseason.Aftera longseasonfromAugust to

October, the varsity volleyball teamcontinuedontoplay-offs.TheteamfacedFortBendTravisin

thefirstroundofplay-offsatDawsonHighSchool.SupportedbyaplethoraofClearFallsstudentswhotravelledinthefanbus,theteamwoninfoursets,onlybarelylosingthefirst.AfterbeatingeliminatingFortBend

Travis from the play-offs, the teamplayedDeerParkatDeerPark in thesecond round. Falls shut down Deer

Park, blowing them away in a shortthree sets. For the third round of play-offs,

Falls matched up against the DullesHighSchoolteam.Thegame,heldinPearland,commencedinfoursets.TheLadyKnightstookDullesdowninthefirst two sets before barely letting upandlosingthethird.Theydidhowever,comeback towin the fourthandendthe game. WithonlytworoundsleftuntilState,

the volleyball girls hope to beat Cy-WoodsonFriday,Nov.9at anunde-cided, neutral location, for the fourthroundofplay-offs.Ifthegirlswinthisandthefifthround,they’llheadtothestatecompetition.BeingClearFalls’firstyear toplay

varsity volleyball in district 24-5A,the team has done remarkably well.Theteamhasbattledhardandplayedwellandwillcontinuetoworktoreachtheirgoalofheadingtostate.

By ZOE GAETJEN

OnFriday,Oct.26theClearFallsgirlscross country team conquered ClearLake High School and ended Lake’s17-year-winningstreak. The girls

cross countrycoach, LaurenMartens, hasbeen coaching at Falls since the schoolsopening.This year is herfirstyearasheadcoachofgirlscrosscountry.Martenssaidthat

at thebeginningofthe season, she would have been ap-prehensivetopredictthisshinningmo-

ment. In fact, the girls even lost theirfirstfewmeetstoClearLake.Shortly after though, they began to

improve and advance, pushing themcloser to their goal ofbeatingLake.Theywerelater able to pull aheadbefore district wherethey acquired their winandendedLake’sreign. Martens shared her

own excitement for hergirls.Shewasexpectingthemtowinevenbeforedistrictbecauseshewasconfident in their skills.

She explained that eventherunners’parentswereapartoftheaction

“They would try and calculate thescore beforewe even got it,”Martenssaidabouttheparents.

Martenssaidthegirlsweredeterminedandtheyalwaysstrivedtobebetter.Inthe

endtheirhardworkpaidoffandthevic-torybelongedtoClearFalls.

By MARISSA ADAMS

On Friday, Nov. 2, the Clear Fallsvarsityfootballplayers tookonClearLakeHighSchoolatVeteransMemo-rialStadium.Althoughthegameendedinaloss,

theentireteamplayedtheirheartsout.It was the final game in the seniors’high school football careers and theyare all proudmembers of theKnightKnation.TheKnightsbeganthegamewitha

touchdownbysophomoreJohnHum-phrey,1,inthefirstfiveminutesofthefirstquarter,making thescore6 to0.In response, Clear Lake scored theirowntouchdownandanextrapointtotaketheleadat6to7.Inthesecondquarter,seniorJPLow-

ery,32,rantheballinforatouchdownthattheKnightsmonopolizedonforatwo-pointconversion.Lakeanswered

withatouchdowntotiethescoreat14to14. TheFalconsscored twomoretouchdowns to totaltheir score at 28 forthehalf.Justbeforehalftime, Humphreyscored his secondtouchdown for thegame. The Knightsweredown21 to28athalftime.At the start of the

third quarter, ju-nior Nik Kelly, 22,caughtuptoaClearLake receiver andimpededhisprogressdownfield.In thefourthquar-

ter,Humphreyscoredthefinaltouch-downofthegameforClearFalls.TheFalcons scored two additional touch-downs,makingtheclosingscore28to

42. “Wewerewellpreparedandplayed

as a family,” said sophomoreHunterKinzie,48.This year’s team has had to over-

come multiple injuries through the

courseofthisseason,andtheplayershavetrulysteppeditupandplayedto

the best of their abilities. JuniorChaseLowman,14,cameupfromjuniorvarsitytobethequarterbackforthevarsityteam. “Atfirst,wewerenervousbutafterafewpracticeshegotintotheswingofthings,”saidHumphrey.“ThefirstgameIwassoscared

butastheseasonprogressedIgotused to the speed of the game,”saidSamDraper,8,theonlyfresh-manonvarsitysaysthatheisin-credibly proud of his team andcannotwaitforhisnextthreesea-sons.Althoughthisseasondidnotgo

aswellastheplayerswouldhaveliked, they overcame amazing obsta-clesandcametogetherandplayedasa team.

The varsity cross country girls hold their first place plaque after dethron-ing Clear Lake. Photo by Will Blalock.

Coach Zierlein talks to the varsity football team after they end their first season on Nov. 2. Even with a tough loss to Clear Lake, the team, Falls’ first with seniors and its first as varsity, made great strides this season. Photo by Kendra Dix

Katie Bludau, a junior, practices serving before a volleyball game. Bludau has been an important part of the varsity volleyball team’s success this season. Photo by Jenna Khakoo

4•knightsnewsonline.com CLEAR FALLS POST ClearFallsPost•November2012

ClearFallsPost•November2012 CLEAR FALLS POST knightsnewsonline.com•5

Vaccine ControversyBy SANDA CAVALLARO

If you go to a Texas public highschool you probably had to get yourtetanusshotsandafewotherimmuni-zationsrenewedbeforestartingsopho-moreyear.Havingup-to-datevaccinationsfora

numberofcontagiousviruses,includ-ingpolio,measlesandhepatitisAandB, is one of the requirements of theStateofTexasmakesforcitizenswhowanttoenrollinpubliceducation.Thereareanumberofothervaccines

recommended for parents to help im-munizetheirchildren.Theprogressionofmodernmedicineallowsbabiesandyoung children to be protected frommanypotentiallylifethreatingoralter-ing diseases. More and more viruseshave effective, relatively cheap vac-cinations that, along with potentiallysavingachild’slife,cancontributetotheeradicationofsaidvirus.Ifthevi-ruscannotfindahost,eventuallyitwilldie.Thishappenedwiththeneareradi-cationofpoliointheUnitedStatesandtheglobaleradicationofsmallpox.Despite vaccines’ effectiveness in

preventing fatal illnesses before theyhaveachancetotakeholdandspread,a loud anti-vaccine movement hasstarted.People participating in the Anti-

Vaccine Movement believe that theirchildren should not be subjected tovaccinations because the ‘excessive’amountsofvaccinesrecommendedbydoctorsandrequiredbypubliceduca-tion institutions are not effective inpreventing diseases, expose childrento the unnecessary risk of dangeroussideeffectsandareresponsiblefortheincreaseinautismcases.All of these beliefs have been de-

bunkedbycredibleinstitutions.

The Center for Disease Control(CDC)hasdonenumerousstudiesthatprovevaccinesareeffectiveinprevent-ing the diseases they are engineeredtostop.IfyoudonottrusttheCDC’sstudies, just look at the numbers: asvaccinationratesgoup,theratesofthevirusestheyworkagainstgodown.Veryfewchildrenwhoreceivevac-

cination suffer severe and dangerousside effects (such as an allergic reac-tion or accidental infection from thedead virus in the vaccine) or autism.The Anti-Vaccine Movement ignoresthefactthatlessthanonechildinonemillion will have a severe reaction to receivedvaccines.AccordingtotheCDC,achildis100

timesmorelikelytobestruckbylight-ningthansufferadangeroussideeffectduetoavaccination.The belief that the increase in vac-

cinationsgiventochildrenhasleadtotheincreaseinautismrateshasturnedout to be a false correlation. Twentydifferentstudiesfromreputablesourc-eshaveproventhattheincreaseinvac-cinesgivenandrecommendedhasnotleadtothespikeinautismcases.The increase in children diagnosed

withautismcanbeexplainedbecauseoftheimprovementincareformentalillnesses: doctors now are diagnos-ingmoresymptomsasautisticsoonersimplybecausetheyhavemoreknowl-edgeavailable to themon thesubjectfromalloftherecentresearch.Notgettingachildordependentvac-

cinatedcancausewide-spreadmedicalemergencies.Without the vaccine thechildordependentisvulnerabletoanyvirusesinhisorherenvironment.Fur-thermore,unvaccinatedpeopleprovideperfectbreedinggroundsforvirusestolive, mutate and become resistant tocurrentvaccines.

Herdimmunity(thecommunity-wideimmunity and eventual eradication ofavirusthatcomesfrom80percentormoreof thepeople in the communitybeingimmunetosaidvirus)isonlyef-fectivewhenalmosteverybody in thecommunity has had vaccinations. Bynotgettingachildvaccinated,acare-taker puts every person in his or hercommunityatriskofcontractingharm-fulviruses.Flu season 2012 is already off to a

badstart.Thedeathtollfromahighlypresentable meningitis outbreak hasrisento30peopleintheUSasofNov.

7.And, just likeeveryfallfluseason,thenewsispepperedwithheartbreak-ingstoriesaboutthedeathsofchildren,senior citizens and pregnant womenwith immune systems that were notstrongenoughtofightofftheflu.Thesepeople died from a virus the flu shotcouldhavehelpedprevent.If you are in the public education

system,youalmostcertainlymeettheminimumvaccinationrequirements.Ifyouwanttogetaflushot,oranyothergenericvaccination,mostarecoveredbymedicalinsuranceandareavailableatmostwalkinpharmacies.

DoyouhaveastoryideaoraphotothatyouwouldliketoseeintheClear Falls Post?

Sendyourphotosandstoryideastoknightsnewsonline@gmail.com.

CheckouttheonlinenewspaperatKnightsNewsOnline.com

forcurrentstoriesandslideshows.

It’sagreatdaytobeaKnight!

HOSA Blood Drive is Highly SuccesfulBy ERICA BERNAL/MIRANDA CHANG

There is one thing inlife that should appearoneveryone’sbucketlistfor thosewho are capa-ble:donatingblood.OnOct.30,ClearFalls

High School’s HOSAprogram hosted its bi-mestrialblooddrive.The MD Anderson

Foundation broughttrailers to the school parking lot in order forstudentstobeginthedo-natingprocess.To donate blood there

arevariousrequirementsthatyoumustmeet:-Mustbe17yearsorolder-Mustweigh110poundsormore-Ironlevelsmustmeetstandards-EataheartybreakfastThe donors helped make the MD

Andersonblooddriveasuccess.Therewere 312 donors registered and they

collected enough blood to help 794cancerpatients. The turnout at Falls’ blood drive

broketherecordpreviouslyheldsinceCCISDbeganhostingblooddrives.Clear Falls is now the new blood

drive leader in CCISD and also theleadingblooddrivehighschoolforallofHoustonsouthofTheWoodlands.

HOSA students encourage peers to donate blood at the blood drive on Oct. 30. Photo by Sarah Holden

6•knightsnewsonline.com ARTS ClearFallsPost•November2012

Theatre Gets Smart With Fall Play

Behind the Curtains of Falls Theatre

Band Ends Season With ‘Tranquility’

By ERICA BERNAL

Thursday,Oct. 18, at 7:00P.M. theClear Falls’ theater department hadtheir first showing of their play Get Smart.This show has action, romance, de-

ception and good old-fashioned kid-napping.Theplaywasonceatelevisionseries and has even beenmade into amovie.Noonehasseen itdoneClearFalls’style.Itkickedoffwithhype,be-ingtheirfirstplayoftheseason.The star-studded cast brought per-

fectportrayaltotheircharacters.JacobKnightplayedtheclumsy,cleverlead,MaxwellSmart.Hisleadinglady,Ka-tarina Brown, played Agent 99. Thecommander and chief of CONTROLwasplayedbyFernValdez.JoelKuma-hataplayedProfessorDante.Thebadguyoftheshow,Mr.Big,wasplayedbythewickedlyfunnyCalebGonzales.The actor’s talents were well show-casedandmadethenightanunforget-tableperformance.Who wants to see the new James

Bond movie? When you can see

ChristopherSergel’s adaptionof “GetSmart”.BlunderingMaxSmart,secretagent86, isputonahighlyclassified

case. When Professor Dante’s inven-tion,theinthermoisstolen.Theinther-mo isused as adeath rayby the evilgeniusMr.Big.Max,accompaniedbyhislovelyassistantAgent99,stumble

through mission, bringing laughs totheaudience.ThechiefofCONTROLregretshisappointmentwhenMr.Big

threatenstoblowuptheStatueofLib-ertywiththeinthermo.The play required a lot of prepara-

tion. The thespians began their re-hearsals in September The cast and

crew worked hard with memorizinglinesandpracticingblocking.Theac-torsearnedtheirHollywoodpremiere.Onopeningnighttheauditoriumseatswerefilledwithexcitedviewers.Whenthecurtainswentup,theaudiencewasdazzled.The costumeswereflattering to the

actors and portrayed the characterswell. Mr. Big’s attire resembled theBatmanvillain theJoker.Hehaddra-maticmakeup.Intheateractorshavetoexaggeratethemakeupsotheaudiencecanseeitfromthestage.Alltheactorshadtocakeontheirmakeup.Offstagetheylookedlikeclowns,onstagewiththe lighting theactors lookednormal.ThechiefofCONTROLhad tosprayhis hair white to appear older. Thecostumeswerequitemodern.Thetwomain characters were spies, and theywereblack,businesssuittypeclothing.The theater department’s fall show

wasasuccess.Withgreatacting,fan-tastic costuming and an interestingplot,theplayhasitall.Itwasdefinitelyamustsee.

By MARISSA ADAMS/MIRANDA CHANG

Everyonewhohasever seenaplayis always amazed the first time theygo.Withthecolorfullights,impressivescenery, andi m p e c c a b l etrance the ac-tors cast uponthe audience,who wouldn’tbeimpressed?The reality

of what goeson back-stage is much morehectic. The audi-

ence tends tobe blinded by the spectacular end re-sult.Theydon’t,andsometimesneverwill, understand how much planningand preparation goes into the pro-ductionof theplay:all thesweat thatgoes intobuilding thescenery,all thefingersburntwhileadjustinglightfix-turesandoperatingthehotglueguns,not tomentionbeing inchargeofev-eryone’s position at the specific time.Theamountofformationanddevelop-mentthatgoesintoactuallymakingtheshowismassiveandtimelycomparedto the one or two hours of entertain-mentthatistheendproduct.Technicians an perceive amore re-

alistic setting as the play progresses.They feel like they are a part of theplay.There are extensive rehearsals ev-

erydaythatstartthreeweeksormorebeforetheshowisduetoopen.Tech-nicians, who build the set and scen-ery,organize themovementofall theprops,controllightingandaudio,andmeet after school every day, utill al-most 7:00 P.M. or later to work outscene changes. All of the actors arealways busy learning their lines and

movements on stage and figuring outhowtogoaboutgettingintocharacter.Thetechniciansandactorsseeavery

differentsidetotheperformancesthanthose in the audience. They tend to

work together quite well butof course clashon some issues.Without actorsthere would beno character to relate to andwith out tech-nicians there wouldbenosetfor the actorsto perform on.And without

eachothertherewouldbenoshow.Therearemanycomplicatedaspects

torunningashow.Thescenechanges,alongwith the actors getting into po-sition, have to be executed quickly,quietlyandoncue.Theaudienceseesthecompletedshowasitismeanttobeappreciated.Theirinterpretationoftheshowisrelaxedandfunwhilethetech-niciansandactorsare runningaroundandsettingupforthenextscene.Alloftheactorsandtechniciansfind

theshowscompletelyworthitdespitethelongrehearsalsandbusyschedules.There is somuchput into each showandeveryonecanagreethattheyhaveput their best effort into each perfor-mance.Thethingthatkeepsthetechnicians

comingbackformore,isbeingabletosay that you have created somethingout of nothing. And when they hearthat applause at the end of the show,evenifitisn’talwaysdirectedatthem,theyalsoappreciateit.Itsnicethatintheendoftheshowawaveofaccom-plishmentandsuccesssweeps theen-tirestage,actorsandtechnicians.

By MAX VERAS

Titled, “The Edge of Tranquility,”the 2012-2013 band marching showconsistsofupbeatrhythms,abrassen-sembleandanoboesoloist.ThebandstartedtheiryearoffinAu-

gust,practicingfrom7:30a.m.to3:00pmandreturningbackfora twohourrehearsal from6:00p.m. to 8:00p.m.Duringthattime,thebandpracticedthefundamentals ofmarching, their showmusic,andacombinationofboth.OnAug.24,thefirstperformanceof

“The Edge ofTranquility” took placein thebandparking lot forfamilyandfriends. The whole first movement,“Oppression” was performed and inconclusion to their performance, thebandreceivedapplaudsfromtheaudi-ence. Theperformingdidn’tstopthere.On

Sept.1,theClearFallsKnightshadtheirfirstgameagainstTerryHighSchool.Inhalftime,thebandperformedtheEm-eraldsongoftheweek,“RescueMe,”followingrightafterwiththeirshow.

Football games are the closest thing thebandhastoperformingforanaudi-ence.Theyuseeachperformanceasifitwerebeingjudgedinacompetition.Since“success”iswhattheystrivefor,assaidbydrummajor,BriannaOllre.The band practices everyday afterschool from3:30p.m. to5:30p.m. inordertoachievetheirgoal.Five more football games passed,

which meant that they had five moreopportunitiestocleantheirdrillbeforetheir first competition, The Friend-swoodMarchingCompetition.Forthepast twoyears, thebandhasmanagedtoplaceintofinalsorthetoptenbandsandthisyearwasn’ttheexception.Theweatherseemedasifwasgoing

torain,butitjustsprinkledthroughout

theday.Thebandperformedinprelimsandadvancedintofinals.Infinals,theywere the first to perform. Once theyfinishedperforming,theskyopenedupand the rain poured down. The com-petition ended up being canceled, butat least theband reached theirgoalofmakingittofinalsforthethirdconsecu-tiveyear.BandsofAmericaHoustonRegional

MarchingContest(BOA)wasthenextthingontheirmind.Lastyear,thebandwent toBOA inSanAntonio, so theyhadsomeexperiencewiththis typeofcompetition.Thisyear, thebandman-agedtoplacefourthintheirclassifica-tion. ThenextcompetitionfortheKnights

bandwastheLoneStarPreviewintheWoodlands. In this competition, therewere22bandsfromaroundtheareain-cludingPearlandHighSchool, SpringHigh School and Clear Brook HighSchool. Thebandmanagedtopulloffagood

enough performance, breaking thetie between them and Clements HighSchool and managed to make it intofinals.There, thebandplaced tenth inprelims and tenth in finals,which ledthemtoreceivingaplaque.Competitions didn’t end there. The

KnightsbandstillhastheGatorMarch-ingContest,whichtheyplacedsecondinthe5Acategory.TheyalsohadU.I.L.competition. If theband received su-perior at UIL, meaning a score of aone from the judges, then they couldadvancetothestatemarchingcompeti-tion.Theyendedupreceivingstraightones and advanced, but placed thir-teenthoutofthirty-eightbands.The band ended a great marching

seasonwith an abundance of trophiesandaccomplishments.

Castmembers Katarina Brown, Jacob Knight, Fern Velez, and Carly Spangler on stage during the-atres first play of the year, Get Smart. Photo By Kendra Dix

Paintbrushes in the tech theatre workshop are among the countless pieces of equipment used in producing sets. Photo by Will Blalock

November2012•ClearFallsPost POP CULTURE knightsnewsonline.com•7

Swift’s Red shifts from Country to PopMusic Review: Why Swift should stick to her country roots

By SIERRA HAM

After an initial premiere at theCannesFilmFestivalearlyinthesum-merandareleaseinselecttheatresonSept.21,themuch-awaitedfilmPerks of Being a WallflowerhasfinallycomeouteverywhereonOct.12.Formoviesnobs all over the world, Perks has createdaspark.Thefilm,whichreceived86percent

onRottenTomatoes,made over $9.1million on its openingweekend.Thedirector,StephenChboskyalsowroteboth the screenplay and the criticallyacclaimednovel.Thoughthestoryisabeautifulcom-

ingofagedramaset in theearly90sit has really resonated with troubledteens. The raw themes are handledverywellandthecharactersdealwiththeiremotionalandpersonaljourneys

in away thatmakes them believableandrelatable.Thebookandmovieareaboutnew

friendship,outcastkidsandanawak-eningwithoutbeingclichéd.AsEmmaWatson’s character, Sam, says to theantagonist, Charlie, “Welcome to theislandofmisfittoys.”TheleadingactorsinPerks include

Harry Potter’sEmmaWatsonasSam,Percy JacksonsLoganLermanasleadCharlie and Indie sweetheart EzraMillerastheopenlygayPatrick.Theirperformances are truly remarkable astheactorsreallyopenupandbecomethe characters.

Perks of being a Wallflower is an earnest indie movie in the best waypossible.Itisquitedarkbothemotion-allyandliterally.Thelightingthrough-outmuch of the film gave it amuchmorepersonalandrealfeel.

It really isn’t necessary to read thebooktounderstandthemovie;insteadtheymakegreatcompanionpieces toeachother.Chboskydidagreatjobinmakingthefilmnotfeelwellbalancedandoverdone.Among other great things about

Perks of Being a Wallflower is the ter-rificsoundtrack.Someofthefeaturedsongsinclude,“Asleep”byTheSmiths,“DearGod”byXTC,and“Tugboat”byGalaxie500.

Perks of Being a Wallflowerisreallya refreshing indie break from all theaction packed blockbusters 2012 hasseen.Thismoviewillalmostcertainlybecomeacultclassicandthenowfa-mousendingquotewillliveon,“Andinthatmoment,Iswearwewereinfi-nite.” Overall itscoredanA+for itsdaringandoverallemotionaleffect.

By MEGHAN MISTRY Taylor Swift’s newest album, Red,

wasreleasedthispastweekonOct.22.LikeSwift’sthreepreviousalbums,herfansareinacraze.ButRedhasmanyspeechless and Swift seems to have,well, swiftly abandoned her countrypersonaandjumpedintothenowover-donepopindustry.While the album guarantees Swift

aspoton theBillboardTop100forafewsongs,theoverallalbumlackstheuniqueness that brought her into themusic world. Swift’s country roots,heart-wrenchinglyricsandteenagein-nocenceare lost. Infact, thealbumisaboutasflatashernewhairstyle.Swift opens the album with “State

ofGrace,”asongmoregearedtowardtherockgenre.“StateofGrace”isdefi-nitely limited to being aCD stunner:nota radiohit.Swift iscatchyas shefadesoffattheendofeverywordandpicksuptofastlyrics.Whiletheacous-tic version (an addition to the deluxeversionofthealbum)takesthecakeas

thebetterone,Swiftshowsherlyricalabilities,appealingtogirlswith“AndIneversawyoucoming/andI’llneverbethesame.”The album then follows

withitscoversong,“Red.”The song, which easilygetsstuckinalistener’shead, is catchy, quirkyand pretty unique, butitdoesseemasifSwiftisjustnowlearninghercolors at 22. Her next song,

“Treacherous,” re-treats more to the style of the songson her Speak Nowalbum. Swift iscalm and sooth-ing, returning toher sweet façade.Howeverthelyricsshow that evenSwift, a(six timeGrammywin-ner), is a bit rebellious,“This slope is treacher-

ous/I,I,Ilikeit.”Swifts next few songs are prob-ably thebiggesthitsof thealbum.

“I knew you were trouble,” isSwift’s only soul-ful pop track. Theheavy bass back-

ground is catchy andrelatable. She continues

with“Alltoowell,”whichfo-cusesmore on her famous lovestory lyrics. However, just asSwift gets on a roll, she losesherselfwithalameAvrilLavigneimitationin“22.”Thesong,whichmatchesherage,isatrainwreck.

Luckily, she follows with “Ialmost do,” a refreshing, old-styledsongwiththeclichésadandsweetTaylorSwift.Her two duets, “The last

time,” with Snow Patrol leadsinger Gary Lightbody and“Everythinghaschanged,withEd Sheeran, complete the al-bum.In fact,Swiftwouldhavebeen

better leaving off “22,” “Stay StayStay,”“HolyGround”(aterribleKatyPerrysoundalike),and“SadBeautifulTragic,” justbecause these twoduets,paired with her slow songs and fewupbeatones,wouldhavebeenamuchbetter combination. Her duet withGaryLightbodyissoulfulandthemostchemistry-filled song we’ve heardfromSwiftyet.She ends the album with the sassy

“The Lucky One” and the realistic“BeginAgain.”WhileSwifthadquiteafewmishaps

on the album and definitely made amistakesteppingawayfromhercoun-try style, the album overall is not asbadasitcouldhavebeen. She was right to experiment with

music genres at a young age, but sheshoulddefinitelyreturntohercountrystyleandquirky,curlyhair.Red is sim-plyaB+album.

Perks of Being a Wallflower Sure to Become a Classic

By MAX VERAS

Receiving $5 million on openingnight, Sinister left some of the audi-ence terrified of the dark and otherslaughing at the recapped scenes inwhich“Mr.Boogie”appears.Directed by Scott Dericksen, who

alsoproducedtheParanormal Activity filmsandThe Exorcism of Emily Rose, this goosebumpgivinghorrormoviehasmanagedtomakenearly$4millionsince its debut. Does that mean this

thrillerisnotjustanyotherHalloweenmoviedesignedtoscareus?In this chilling film actor Ethan

Hawke,whoplaysatruecrimeauthor,EllisonOswald, is insearchofabestselling novel and to do this he goesas far as to live in the samehome inwhichthemurderhappened.Nottellinghiswifeorfamilyofthe

situation he has put them in,Oswaldbegins his investigation during thenight. He finds a mysterious box intheatticfilledwithvideosandamovie

projector.Hewatcheseachofthevid-eos,beginningwith“HangingoutwiththeFamily,”whichhappens tobe themurderthathappenedathisnewhome.What Oswald did not planwas for

his family to get involved with “Mr.Boogie.”“Mr.Boogie”isademonicmonster

whomakessmallchildrenmurdertheirfamily members and then takes theirsouls.IneverymoviefilmthatOswaldwatched,therewasahappyfamilyandayoungchild,thatquicklyturnedinto

Movie Sinister Proves to be Suspenseful

Ethan Hawke, who played Ellison Os-wald, at the premiere of his movie Sinister. Photo Courtesy of MTC CAMPUS

Photo Courtesy of MTC CAMPUS

a panicking family yelling for theirliveswhiletheyoungchilddidas“Mr.Boogie”toldthemtodoso.Thestorycontinuesonwithcreaking

in thefloor and footsteps in the attic.Everyonceinawhile,thereisasceneinthemoviethatmakesyoujumpoutof your seat and even scream if youcan’thandlesuspensefulfilms.Ifyouenjoybeing frightenedevery

once in a while, then Sinister is the movieforyou.

November2012•ClearFallsPost knightsnewsonline.com•8FUN @ FALLSSeniorZachFattig,50,sacks Clear Creek’s quarterbackJarrettHil-drethattheClearFallsvs. Clear Creek game onOctober6.Photo by Sarah Holden

Thevarsityvol-leyballteamgetspumpedrightbe-foretheydefeatClear Creek on October5,threematchestozero.Photo by Sarah Holden

JuniorCalebGonzalesdelivershislineswhileacting in Get Smart. Photo by Kendra Dix

OnHalloween,ClearFallsteacherDebbieBaconandherclasstakethepreschool-ersofCamelotKidstrick-or-treating aroundtheschooltocollectcandyfromteachersandstudents.Photo by Sarah Holden

TroyMorin,JakePowersandJackBlythesupporttheschool’sswimmersbyrepresentingthemwithaposterthatreads“WeLoveOurSwimmers.” Photo by Ann Carver

HoldingherHOBYcertificate,winner,ElenaKramarzacceptsherawardfromPrincipalKarenEngle.Photo by Sarah Holden

JessicaHembree,SarahAllen,SydneyReaganandLaurenO’DonelstandattheirFrightNightMeethostedbytheClearFallsswim team. Photo by Ann Carver