…and LHS said, “Let there be light!”

April 30th, 2012

LHS First To Get Their Lip Dub!By: Keri Day, Beat Writer, keri.day@lhsirish.net

Lafayette High School decided to switch things up this year for the new incoming freshman. The entire school, except for a small handful, participated in this all school Lip Dub Video. This outstanding event took place on Wednesday, April 4th. The Irish ran the school schedule as a three hour early out, although they only had a two hour early out, they then used the extra hour or so to do this video. The video contained 11 songs, not full songs, but the video without the intro or exit was 7 mins long. The total time of the video is 11 minutes and 4 seconds.” In order for this event to be possible, it was all up to the students and staff of Lafayette High School, and of course a big factor of this video was done by Mr. John Morris (Videog-rapher/Editor for the SJSD District). It took Lafayette one unrecorded run through, and three recorded runs to make this video semi-perfect. Mrs. Theresa Paoillio had to say, “This was a lot of fun. I was very pleased with the turnout, it could not have gone better. I’m proud to be at Lafayette. Thank you to everyone for your participation and support! The Lip Dub could not have been possi-ble without you! It was a huge success.” Zoey Haynes, Senior, said, “This show-cases Lafayette in an awesome way! This was a great thing to be apart of. I love Lafayette and this Lip Dub was amazing!” Keiffer Huff, Freshman, New Student, stated, “It was very awesome and cool to have everyone cheering for me.”

Lip Dub songs/ Lip Dubbers 1. 0-19 -sec - Black eyed peas – Let’s get it started in here – Front steps at main doors up to the top of the main stairs - Ben Lotito and Tyler Hurt2. 20- 53 sec –Kelly Clarkson – Stronger – Main hall to top of Annex Stairs – Morgan Brand and Talon Johnson3. 53-1:45 sec – What I like about you -Top Annex stairs through freshmen hall to auditorium doors –Kaitlin Losson, Justus Lind and Brooke Ward4. 1:46 – 2:49 sec – Now I’m a believer - of Auditorium to library doors – Hannah Ryan, Rebeca Perez, Brandon Landers5. 2:50 – 3:24 sec – We are Family -Library doors to library doors – Riley Calloway and Chase Calloway6. 3:24 – 4:11 sec- We got the beat -Library doors to Cafete-ria doors Onna Farris and Denise Thompson7. 4:11 – 4:43 sec – Larger than Life – outside Cafeteria doors all the way through to the weight room Marisa Greyson and Kylie Pettijohn8. 4:43 – 5:16 sec – Glee Light up the world – Weight room doors enter go through all the way to stairs – Tayler Goddard

and Emma Duncan9. 5:16 – 5:46 sec – Walking on sunshine – bottom of stairs by weight room up to commons hall turn toward Irish mart –Mariana Figueroa and Kaydrie Bergner10. 5:47 – 6:27 sec –We are young - from commons hall to Irish mart to inside doors of practice gym – Jeron Rogers and Melo Clark and Lauren Grundberg11. 6:28 – 7:19 sec – We are the champions – practice gym to doors of varsity gym –Zoey Haynes and Katie Thomas

Clubs and OrganizaitionsAdministration and New Student – Football Field to front doors (Golf cart) (1 to 3)Academic Team – Freshmen Hall (9)Aclab – outside Aclab (11)Alumni – Fill in where everFCCLA – Freshmen Hall (9)Anime Club –Freshmen Hall (9)Art Club – Art Hall (14)

Baseball – Practice gym (22)Bass Club – Outside on Highland (2)Be Strong sopho-mores wear blue - Main hall on east side (7 to 8)Biomedical Club – Outside the Irish Mart in Hall (21)Boys Basketball – Practice Gym (maybe a group doing here we go circle and Dunking b-ball) (22)Boys Cross Country – Coming down stairs from main hall to Art hall way (14 to 15)Boys Soccer – up stairs outside cafete-

ria going up to gym (18)Boys Tennis – outside cafeteria (16)Boys Track & Field – outside cafeteria (16)Cheerleading – Practice gym (stunts and flips?) (22)Choir group 1- Main Hall stairs by Annex going down to fresh-men hall(8)Choir group 2 –skinny, middle (east) stairs going up from freshmen hall to auditorium (9 to 10)Choir group 3 – Fill in Auditorium where needed (10)Choir group 4 – west down main hall stairs to Art/special ed hall (13)Counseling center – main hall outside counseling center (7 to 8)Custodial Staff – Library (12 and 13)Cafeteria Staff – in Cafeteria by check out registers (15)Dead Patriots Society – Freshmen Hall (9)DECA – In Irish Mart (20)

Page 02 The Light

April 30th, 2012NEWS

On Saturday March, 24th, 18 students arrived at Lafayette High School at 4:30 a.m! From there the University of Missouri campus and competed against nearly 3,000 oth-er students from across

the state in the National History Day in Missouri competition. Lafayette has faired very well at History Day al-most every year and that Saturday was no excep-tion. 13 entries made the trip to the state competi-tion and two entries made finals. Morgan Brand and her sister, Sylvia Brand, both made it to the fi-nals, but the twist is they were competing against each other. Both Brands brought beautiful indi-vidual documentaries and once they made it to finals they were compet-ing against themselves and four other entries to be the top two students and go to nationals. Mor-gan’s “Dirty Thirties” (story of the dust bowl) earned her a fourth place finish and Sylvia’s “Cuban Revolution” earned her a

tie for fifth. When asked how she felt about mak-ing the finals Sylvia said “I was pretty excited. I didn’t think I would make it because there was a lot of good competition this year”. Morgan was asked

if there was any sibling rivalry and she stated “We never said anything, but I think secretly on the inside we both wanted to beat our sister”. Unfortunately, no one from Lafayette made Nationals this year, but there is always next year and some students have already started working on next year’s project. It is not only for Mr. Friel-ing’s class, if you are not in his class and wish to participate just contact Mr. Frieling and he will give you all the informa-tion you need. Congratu-lations to all History Day participants.

A (History) Day to RememberBy: James Henderson III, Beat Writer, james.henderson@

lhsirish.net

April 26, 2012, was a big day for Lafayette High School students in choir. They went to Columbia, Mis-souri to compet in State, at Mis-souri University! They have worked very hard, and did not waste any time doing their very best to get great scores! Miss Evans stated, “ We practice everyday, before school, after school, and during class.” The list of those star students that went to State were: Onna Far-ris, Andrew Wolf (clarinet), Wesley Sisk (tuba), Women’s 7, Men’s 7, Tavean McRelly, Mixed 8, Kaitlin Bunse (flute), Benjamin Lotito, Matthew Kanke, Riley Calloway, Tyler Hurt, Kori Trautloff, Dar-ren Clark, Aubrey Monical, Malik Hughes, Megan Render, and Ta-neia Bundy. Lafayette had thir-teen events go to state and 16 very talented young adults go. Riley Calloway was the only freshman performing at Missouri University for State, she says, “I am the only freshman taking a solo to State! I am so excited, I worked really hard almost everyday after school. All of us in choir are a big family, and always will support each other.” Tavean McRelly, a junior at (LHS), states, “This is the second year I am go-ing to state, I definitely think we will have better scores than last year, our choir class has practiced harder than ever before.” Another event that is coming up for Miss Ev-ans and her Choir kids is S.R.O, short for Standing Room Only. It is an event that happens every school year. It will be held May 10th-11th, at 7 pm, in the Auditorium. The song theme this year is the

50’s, and you will be surprised by all of the entergetic dancing and handjiveing! While interviewing Miss Ev-ans, she invited the me to stay and watch her group songs for S.R.O, I was happily kicking and tapping along with all the great rhythm! She sets up her practices like a real performance; she says, “here’s the stage, now I will be timing you to get your heads down and to be quite, ready go!” When she got really serious, she said, “Ok, now, repeat after me, standing still is not an option!” Overall the perfor-mance was great and everyone de-serves to go see such a great show with so many talented people. Freshman, Allie Monical from S.R.O claimes, “ I really hope ev-erything goes great for Miss Evans’ last year, and I really love the song choices this year, they’re all fun and active.” Dalton Ellis, a freshman as well, says, “ There are a bunch of great soloist this year that are going to sound amazing. I am really happy about my two solos, and I hope we make people want to come back next year.”

Standing Still is Not an OptionBy: Lindsey Richardson, Beat Writer, lindsey.richardson@lhsirish.net

Front Row-Delaney Wilson, Brooke Ward, Kelly Proctor, Madison Herrington

Middle Row-Sylvia Brand, Annie Harris, Morgan Brand, An-drew Wolf, Dakoda Bennington

Back Row-Matt Taylor, Nate Langston, Addisen Hadley, James Henderson

Not Pictured-Linda Anderson, Branden Landers, Mariah Ernst, Hannah Collings, Zach Neu

Page 03 The Light

April 30th, 2012 NEWS

Drug Free Superstars Shine BrightlyBy: Katie Bourne, Beat Writer, katie.bourne@lhsirish.net

The 2011-2012 Drug Free Superstars have been chosen. The students that have been chosen are great choices for this year. Every year coaches choose six students to become Drug Free Superstars. This year the Scholar Athlete presentation was on Wednesday, March 21st. Also, you get a poster put up of you for the entire year. To become a Drug Free Superstar you have to apply and list all your sports that you are involved in, on your written application. The sports that the students are involved in are from football, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, band, and golf. After the applicants apply, they get interviewed by our counselors and other various administration. Tyler Hurt has been involved in the following: Varsity soccer 4 years (3 years as varsity captain), 2 years baseball, 4 years choir (state choir district choir competition 3 years), Student Council 1 year, and Loud Crowd 4 years. His awards are: 1st Team All City Junior and Senior year for Soccer, Eagle Scout Award, 1st Place in District History Day, State History Day and went to Nationals for History Day, All District Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year, and Fall Homecoming King. After asking him how he feels about being a Drug Free Superstar he stated, “It feels good. I’m proud to say that in today’s teenage world, that I don’t participate in those kinds of things. I’m proud to stand out and be different.” Taylor Bryant has been involved in the following: Football 4 years, Wres tling 1 year, and Golf 1 year. He volunteered with the Back-Pack Buddies 4 years, Flood Prevention 2 years, and Car Wash 4 years. His awards include 1st Team All Conference O-Line junior year. His senior year, he got 1st Team All News Press O-Line, 1st Team All City D-Line, 1st Team All Conference O-Line and D-Line, 1st Team All District D-Line, 2nd Team All State D-Line, and Cameron Top 50 Region Players. After asking him how he feels about being a Drug Free Superstars he replied, “It means a lot to me and my family to be selected as a Drug Free Superstar and I’m proud to be a role model to many of the younger kids.” Kyle Kendall has been involved in the following: Golf 3 years, Wrestling 2 years, Student Council 2 years, Freshman Mentor Program 2 years, and Football 2 years. He was awarded the pres-tigious honor of Lampion Honor Society. After asking him how he feels about being a Drug Free Superstar he answered, “It’s an

honor. I like being a role model for people to look up to.” Kaitlin Bunse has been involved in the following: Band, Choir, and Varsity Tennis 4 years, in Theatre 3 years, and she was the Drum Major this year. Her awards received are, plac-ing doubles in tennis with Morgan Brand for every tournament except for MEC this year, the duo got 4th in MEC, she has been in All-District Choir for 4 years and she was a 2 year All-Stater. After asking her how she feels about being a Drug Free Superstar she said, “I was super excited to be chosen for Drug Free Super-star!! I had so much fun talking to all the kids and hanging out with the other Superstars.” Morgan Brand has been involved in the following: JV Track 1 year, Varsity Tennis 4 years, Student Council 4 years, Prom Committee 1 year, Choir 4 years, Youth Group 4 years, School Musical 3 years, Biomedical Club 2 years, SOAR 2 years, Academics A+ Program 4 years, and Freshman Mentor 1 year. Her awards include Academic Pin 4 years, Academic Letter 4 years, Lampion 1 year, and History Day. She has volunteered by doing, Show-Me Tractor Cruise, Vacation Bible School, Cinderel-la’s Closet, Fall Harvest Party, Home Communion, Camp Quality NW, MO, Buckle Up Challenge, Senior Citizen’s Prom, Special Olympics, and Community Center Blood Drive. After asking Morgan about how she feels about being a Drug Free Superstar she replied, “I absolutely loved being a role model for the kids, like the Drug Free Superstars when I was in Elementary School were for me.” Marisa Grayson has been involved in the following: Var-sity Volleyball 4 years, Traveling Volleyball 2 years, Varsity Track 4 years, Pom Pons 3 years, Basketball 1 year, Student Council 3 years, Yearbook 2 years, DECA and Marketing 2 years, Talent Show 1 year, Freshman Mentor 1 year, and Mr. LHS 1 year. Her awards include, Academic Pin Winner 4 years, Academic Let-ter Winner 4 years, and SOAR 4 years. She also volunteered at the Special Olympics 1 year, Light The Night Walk 1 year, Parker Joslin Tailgate 1 year, and Peer Tutoring at Middle School 1 year. After asking how she feels about being a Drug Free Superstar she stated, “It’s an honor to be a Drug Free Superstar! It’s cool to know all my smart decisions paid off and that people look up to me for it!”

The All-District for football were Seniors: Taylor Bryant, D’Andre Talton, and MicKin-ley Edmondson, with Junior: D’Treal Stone. D’Treal Stone played as a first-time quar-terback this year, and for the team’s first time with a new quarterback, they adjusted well. They had consecutive wins and losses, and won their last game of the season against Benton.Senior, Marisa Grayson was the volleyball All-District for this school year. Grayson was the captain of the LHS Varsity Volleyball Team. Grayson has played on varsity all four years and has made a huge impact on the team. She’ll be missed greatly on the team next year. This year the All-District Softball Team included: Se-niors: McKenzie Jones, Lauren Grundberg, and Morgan Stan-

ton, and Junior: Randi Mollett. The LHS Softball Team this year, placed first in their divi-sion. They went to districts, but they did not win. Even with that, they had a positive out-look and an amazing sea-son. All-District Boys’ Soc-cer included Seniors: Geovanny Parra, Tyler Hurt, John Lucas, and Nick Lane. Lafayette’s Boys’ Soccer Team won the 2011 District Champi-onship, making it the second time that the soccer boys have won Districts.They played very good this year.

Girls’ Golf included Juniors: Kaydrie Bergner and Kaylee Kneale. The team played excep-tionally well, especially since

the team was made up of most-ly first time players, rookies. Kaydrie Bergner went to the MEC, and won first place. Boys’ Basketball included Senior, Caleb Bates and Sopho-more, Billy Cook. As a team, they all played well, and had a

chance at going to state. Girls’ Basketball All-District Champ was Oceonna Weston. This school year, the girls have had a phenomenal season; they have not played this well since 2005-2006, which is a great way to end the basketball sea-son for the senior girls. This year, the LHS Wrestling Team scored third in the MEC. In the confer-ence, there were three champs. Out of those three champs, two made All-Districts for this school year: Senior, Cameron Bohnsack and Junior, Spencer Riddle. These individuals took second place in their weight class and went on to state. At State, Spencer Riddle took fifth in his weight division.

All-Districts Selection AnnouncedBy: Eternity Felder, Beat Writer, eternity.felder@lhsirish.net

Page 04 The Light

April 30th, 2012NEWS

New Freshmen MentorsBy: Katie Bourne, Beat Writer, katie.bourne@lhsirish.net

The list for the new Freshmen Mentors is out. After many inter-views and applications, they have chosen the 2012-2013 Freshmen Mentors. Now that the mentors are chosen, it’s time for them to start getting ready for next year. During the summer they have a few training days, where they get to learn what to do before the next year. They learn games to make the Freshmen feel more welcomed. At the very end of the summer, the mentors get to meet their Freshmen. They get to have a bonding time with the Freshmen to make them feel more comfort-able. It’s a great way to make friends with the newcomers. The counselors and other faculty are very excited about the upcom-ing mentors. Mrs. Fite says, “I’m excited that we have this program for freshman to feel at home when they come to Lafayette High School.”Returners:Branden Landers*Olivia Conant* Emily Fauver* Kyle McLaughlin*Kelly Proctor*Centenary Hadsall* Deacon Sears*

Desirae Hall* Ryan Sherer*Katie Thomas*New Mentors:Sylvia Brand Xavier KurthStone Cole Mark LawrenceBilly Cook Aubrie MartinMorgan Dittemore Clay McDanielMorgan Early Dakoda McDoneldElora Gates Jordan MillerTayler Goddard Kyrsten NeverduskyBradley Grippando Hannah RehmMakenzie Hager Megan Harrison Ashlann ShroyerJames Henderson Samantha SimmonsInessa Hood Amanda Kephart Shay WardKylan Kuritz Shelby WilliamsIf you see any of these students in the hall, please stop and congratu-late them on a job well done.

Teacher SpotlightBy: DezStaney Felder, Beat Writer, dezstaney.felder@lhsirish.net

Meet Mrs. McCoullough. She is married and has one child. Her favorite food would have to be pierogi and she prefers mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. A movie that she has seen re-cently was Hunger Games and it is her favorite movie. Her favorite color is pink, and her favorite holiday is Christmas, but she says “It’s not for the gifts.” When asking her what was the most trouble she has gotten into she replied by saying “I’m unable to answer that.” Mrs. McCoullough grew up in Saint Joseph and says that she was a southend girl. She went to Saint Fran-cis, Benton, and then Missouri Western State University. Mrs. McCoullough went to Baker University to get her masters degree. Her first job was at

Chaun Catering and there she worked as a dishwasher, and her other job was a babysitter. Four things Mrs.

McCoullough can’t live with-out is her cell phone, her “Hu-mongous”, her car, and makeup which she said “I have to have it.” Mrs. McCoullough has a weimaraner named Wrigley and her favorite animal is a turtle. Her best memory would have to be giving birth to her son. Her birthday is April 29th ,which she shares with Mrs. Lynette, and she calls this her golden girl year because she turns 29 on the 29th. Mrs. McCoullough likes listening to rock music and one of her favorite artists is Lincoln Park, and her favorite songs would have to be by Lady Ante-bellum.

LHS Scholar AthleteBy: Brooke Ward, Beat Writer, brooke.ward@lhsirish.nete

The MSHAA Scholar Athlete has been changing students’ lives for 20 years now. The process to earn the $1,000 scholarship is no easy job. There are many re-quirements that the students have to meet before they can even be eligible for the award. The first requirement is the student has to play a MHSAA sport. They also have to be a senior and have had a varsity letter before they be-came a senior. In other words, if they received their varsity letter their senior year, they could not apply for the scholarship. The list of sponsored sports include: baseball, boys’ and girls’ bas-ketball, boys’ and girls’ bowl-ing, boys’ and girls’ competitive cheer, boys’ and girls’ cross country, football, boys’ and girls’ golf, boys and girls’ gymnas-tics, ice hockey, boys’ and girls’ lacrosse, boys’ and girls’ soccer, girls’ softball, boys’ and girls’ skiing, boys’ and girls’ swim-ming and diving, boys’ and girls’ tennis, boys’ and girls’ track and field, girls’ volleyball, and wres-tling. The last requirement is the student must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. You

may not round up a 3.4x grade point average for the purposes of qualifying. Each year, the schools in St. Joe pick one boy and one girl for the scholarship; Leblond and St. Joe Christan are included in this list giving a total of 10 students from St. Joe. The two student athletes that were chosen from Lafayette were Marisa Grayson and Tay-lor Bryant. They were selected based off their GPA and their sport participation. There were a total 750 stu-dents in Missouri who sent their applications in, but only 250 were nominated for the award. The students have to send in a video of their best moments in sports, send in a letter of recom-mendation, and send in an essay. Only 32 students receive the $1,000 scholarship so the compe-tition was intense. The ceremony was held on March 21, 2012, and sadly Marisa and Taylor did not receive the scholarship, but they worked hard to give themselves a great chance.

Page 05 The Light

April 30th, 2012SPORTS

Irish Track Runs Through The YearBy: Georgia Gunter, Beat Writer, georgia.gunter@lhsirish.net

Lafayette Irish Track team is heading through the season with high expectations from the head coaches, Coach Cody Denton and Coach Tom Simpson, and Assistant Coach Daryl Williams. The Irish came in second place at Highland Re-lays. The most successful event this year is the girls’ sprints. They have been working hard and showing off their talent, and not having any injured players also helps. Luckily, the weather has not affected any of the meets this year. “Usually the weather is terrible in the spring, but this year it has been great,” Coach Denton said. After ask-ing Coach Denton how has the team done so far, compared to what you expected from the beginning he answered, “We have a lot of promising athletes and the great thing is we are young. We only have a few seniors. Individually we have performed well at every meet. A few out of many star ath-letes are senior, Marisa Grayson, junior, Jurell (Jellybean) Green, and junior, Travaris Turner.There are no records so far, but we have still done well. Jurell Green is the anchor of our 4x100 and 4x200 teams.

He also runs the 100 meter and the 200 meter. “He is a solid runner and has a chance to go far this year,” Coach Denton said. “My goal for this year is to be a city champion and MEC. I always tell myself to just believe in yourself and you will go far,” Jurell Green states. On the girls side, Marisa Grayson is the same. She runs the same events most meets. “She also has a chance to go past districts,” Coach Denton said. “Track is going good, everyone is working hard and getting comfortable with their events. I expect to see our re-lay team do good in districts, especially our 4x100,” Marisa Grayson replied. The next track meet for the freshman and sophomores was on Monday, April 23, in Savannah. The Varsity’s next meet is at Falls City. Come out and support your Irish track team.

PHAT STATSDate Opponent Level Location Varsity Start Time LHS Them Record

Baseball3/27/2012 Savannah Varsity Home 4:30 0 4 0-1 3/29/2012 Maryville Varsity Away 4:30 7 0 1-14/2/2012 Cameron Varsity Home 4:30 8 3 2-14/4/2012 Chilicothe Varsity Away 4:30 4 2 3-14/11/2012 Plattsburg Varsity Away 4:30 16 1 4-14/12/2012 Smithville Varsity Home 4:30 Rescheduled TBA4/14/2012 Mid-Buchanan Tour. Varsity Away 9:00 AM Cancelled 4/16-21/2012 Pony Express Tour. Varsity Away TBA 5-34/24/2012 Chilicothe Varsity Home 4:30 8 7 6-34/25/2012 Mid-Buchanan Varsity Home 4:30 Cancelled

Girls’ Soccer3/19/2012 Chilicothe Varsity Away 4:30 Cancelled 3/22/2012 Maryville Varsity Away 4:00 0 10 0-1 3/26/2012 Saint Pius X Varsity Home 5:00 0 5 0-23/29/2012 Benton Varsity Away 4:30 4 2 1-23/30/2012 Bishop LeBlond Varsty Home 5:00 0 4 1-34/2/2012 Lutheran Varsity Home 5:00 0 1 1-4 4/3/2012 Central Varsity Home 5:00 0 6 1-54/5/2012 Maryville Varsity Home 5:00 0 9 1-64/10/2012 Smithville Varsity Home 5:00 0 11 1-7 4/11-14/2012 Excelsior Springs Tour. Varsity Away 3:00 3-7 4/17/2012 Savannah Varsity Home 5:00 3 1 4-7 4/20-21/2012 NKC Tournament Varsity Away 3:00 5-9 4/23/2012 Cameron Varsity Home 5:00 4 1 6-9 4/24/2012 Chilicothe Varsity Away TBA 3 3 7-9

Boys’ Tennis The Lafayette Boys’ Tennis Team is 8-2 for the season so far. The only losses have come in 4-5 tie-breakers to Savannah High School. They took 1st place in the Benton Invitational Tournament on 4/25/2012; where they beat LeBlond, Savannah, and Chilicothe. There are 2 regular season matches left and then the Conference and District Tournaments. Austin Day and Caleb Bates are undefeated in the regular season matches and took first in their flight at the Benon Tournament. Billy Cook also took 1st in his flight.

Boys’ Golf The Clinton County Tournament was an individual Golfer, a pair playing Best Ball, and a pair playing Scramble. Senior, Ethan McCrary had an individual score with an 88. Mick Edmondson and Kyle Kendall had a Best Ball score of 82. Parker Joslin and Dylan Cogdill shot a 76 for a scramble score and that put them in first place. The entire team came in 3rd place out of the 12 schools in the tournament, though they were only 3 strokes behind 2nd place.

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April 30th, 2012SPORTS

So Far, So GoodBy: Legend Milbourn, Beat Writer, legend.milbourn@lhsirish.net

At the beginning of this year’s 2012 LHS Girls’ Soccer Season, their schedule was really front heavy and got stuck with lots of tough teams too early. They started off with a record of 1-8. More into the season, the schedule lightened up and the Lady Irish won three games in a row. Their last game was Tuesday, April 17, against Savannah High School at home. They won 3 to 1 with sopho-more, Ashley Hinkle, scoring two goals back to back within a min-ute, with the help of Kylee Pettijohn master-ing her flip throw-in. The one goal Savannah had scored was because the defense had fellen asleep, but for the next game, they are chal-lenging themselves to be more consistent and aggressive. Next game was Fri-day, April 20, against North Kansas City in the North Kansas City Tour-nament. At practices they have been working on playing quicker with fewer touches and com-municating to prepare them for this game. The team was hoping for per-fect weather and to come home with a big win. Each game they played this season helped them to play better as a team. Their end goal for this year is to win the District Championship. There are three teams, not includ-ing Lafayette, who will be going to Districts as well. They are: Benton High School, Chillicothe High School, and Savan-nah High School. All four teams are really close in

talent. They have been preparing all year for this and making sure they peek at the right times. When ask, what about the team make him proud, Coach Spinner answered

with, “One of those things that is hard for a player to understand, is knowing just how tough competi-tion makes you better. And now all the girls are starting to understand it and it is helping them improve. I am proud they are realizing this now and of how hard they have been working.” Districts are May 12. Come support your Lady Irish Soccer!

Sudden Impact By: Andrew Murphy, Beat Writer, andrew.murphy@lhsirish.net

Lafayette High School Boys’ Tennis had gotten off to a fast start this season. The Fighting Irish have a record of four wins and two losses as they near the mid-point of this season. The mix of returning varsity and

new players to the program has worked out quite well. The competitiveness is high

among the team. They push each other to do better each day. Thus far this season the

tennis team has compiled a list of firsts. They beat both Maryville High School and St. Pius High School for the first time. Along the way they completed a success-ful win with their drubbing of Benton High School. Two one match losses to Savannah High School are the only blemishes on the Fighting Irish record. More success should come in the latter half of the season. “This year’s team has a interesting dynamic,” said Coach Nathan Arnold, “Much of varsity returned from last year and the new players this year have raised the competition lev-el.” The players push each other in practice which in turn prepares them for their upcoming matches. Everyone is different so the team is still adjusting to each others personalities. With time this process will be completed and they will come together as a team. “Matches are played in-dividually but tennis is still a team sport,” spoke Coach Arnold. Furthering their success as a team will come from adjusting to each other, which should not be a problem. With hard work the early success of this sea-son will carry into the sec-ond half as well. The best is

yet to come for this latest installment of LHS Boys’ Tennis.

LHS Boys’ Tennis preparing for a match.

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April 30th, 2012SPORTS

Irish Golf Keeps SwingingBy: Georgia Gunter, Beat Writer, georgia.gunter@lhsirish.net

As the Irish keeps up the hard work for the 2012 season, they face tough com-petition. The last tournament was Clinton County Tour-nament which was an Indi-vidual Golfer, a pair playing Best Ball, and a pair playing Scramble. “Ethan McCrary did well as an individual score with an 88. Mick Ed-mondson and Kyle Kendall did well at Best Ball with an 82, and Parker Joslin and

Dylan Cogdill shot a 76 for a scramble score which put them in first place!”, Coach Richard Shaginaw stated. The entire team came in 3rd place out of the 12 schools in the tourney and only three strokes behind second place, who was Bishop LeBlond. The next tournament was April 16 at Maryville. “It is usually a tough course for us. Wind is one of the greatest factors on bad shots and it

is always windy at Mozingo Lake Course. It was even windier than usual and most scores were up, including ours,” Coach Shaginaw said. There are formulas to determine which top golfers from District goes to Sec-tionals and then on to State. “Honestly, I am not sure we will have a state qualifier this year. One factor that is in our favor is that the MEC and the Districts are both at the

same course, Paradise Point Course, in Smithville. This gives a practice round for the Districts when they play the course for MEC,” Coach Shaginaw responded. While still working hard at practice the boys are continuing to improve as the sea-son wears on through

practicing their short game, through experience, and through the realization that each player must play within their own game. “Don’t wor-ry about the other guy just play to improve your game,” Coach Shaginaw quoted. Coach Shaginaw men-tioned, “While we are not one of the powerful golf groups, our main rival is Benton High School. Their troubles take the fun out of our besting them this year, as they do not often field a full team.” Also leading on to say, “I’m impressed with the improvements of our play-ers over the past few seasons and I hope they will continue to enjoy the game of golf throughout their lives.” This year has been unique since all the golfers from last sea-son with 8 out of 10 being seniors. It has made a tight-knit group, one of great com-radery. “It has been real fun and it is sad that it is going to be my last year, but after getting a win this year it is going to end on a good note,” senior, Dylan Cogdill said. Please come out and support your Irish Golf Team.

Time for sunflower seeds, hotdogs, and home-runs! Like every year stu-dents anticipate for the start of their favorite sports and Lafayette High School (LHS) boys have been wait-ing for baseball season. LHS’s Varsity team is coached by Mr. Jason Hale, the Junior Varsity Team is coached by Mr. Kenny Norris, and the Fresh-man Team is coached by Mr. Jason Guthery. The weather has been causing dif-ficulties for the baseball team this season, but they are still trying to get those wins. This is Coach Hale’s sec-ond season at LHS and baseball has started to step up to make it a good season. The Varsity and Junior Varsity use the “Win Every Pitch” and “Two-Strike-Approach” (TSA) as their motto. When asked if they had any pre-game

traditions or encouraging words, Coach Hale said, “I always begin a game with the same general word,” “Let’s play fundamentally sound base-

ball, let’s stay sharp, focused and crisp. Pick everyone up and most important-ly, HAVE FUN!’” After those words, it is game time baby!”

The Freshman Team is improving after the setback from the weather and are coming together strong. Many of the teams they are playing consist of

9th and 10th graders, not just 9th graders like their team at LHS. When asked what the team tra-dition before a game is, Coach Guthery commented, “We break out as a team when we come in from the field and when we take the field.” A good tip for people looking for the LHS Freshman Baseball Team, would be for them to look either on the field or in the library doing Zumba! The LHS Baseball season is not

over yet, so go out and support the Irish!

Baseball is Up and Running Toward Wins!By: Paula Valenzuela, Beat Writer, paula.valenzuela@lhsirish.net

Page 08 The Light

April 30th, 2012ACTIVITIES

Lafayette High School’s Spring Break started on Wednesday, April 3rd and lasted until Tuesday, April 10th. Lafayette ran on a three hour early out, so they could per-form the Lip Dub, but school was released at 12:38. When asking fresh-man Alia Irvin how she spent her time over spring break, she replied by saying, “I went to play basketball at my aunt’s house with my cousins and their neighbors all weekend. And I spent Easter at my grandma’s house surrounded by all my family.” When fresh-man Stephanie Harris was asked the same question she said, “I played baseball, went fishing, hung with friends, and had a nice Easter dinner.” When interviewing freshman Gary Felder what he did over the break he said “I played basket-ball with my cousins, played some video games like UFC Unde-feated, Midnight Club, and 2K12.” When asking a few sophomores what they did over their spring break, Mercedes Ir-vin replied by saying “I spent time with my

cousins and played basketball.” Kendall Grant said “I partied and went to the gym.” LaRon Williams said “I watched tv and played my guitar.” When interviewing juniors about what they did over their

spring break, Kristy Vacchiano replied by saying “I went to a different state to get a new car, but the car was old.” Ariel Dydell said “I watched my nephews, went out to eat, and went shop-ping.” When ask-ing a few seniors how they spent their spring break, Emily Carter replied by saying “I watched tele-vision, ate, and watched my neighbor’s dog.” Derrille Peterson said “I played with my god-daughter.” DaeOnte Stone said “I moved over the break.”

LHS! Spring Break!By DezStaney Felder, Beat Writer, dezstaney.felder@lh-

sirish.net

Students who are tak-ing the ACT need to have some ACT Prep. Even if you aren’t taking the ACT, its still good to have some prep in. Like in some classes, mostly English classes, you have your ACT Prep books, where you do a section or two a week.

The History department does the same thing, usu-ally on the same day of the week. Maybe you’re taking the ACT this month. You’re going to participate in the ACT prep week. The whole week, up till the test, you

either spend your time in the library taking practice test in the morning or af-ternoon session. Students are excused from classes to do this, just in case you were wondering. There’s also the Wednes-day’s Read Strong activi-ties that help you with the

ACT. You know, how you read the article and an-swer the questions? That helps with the ACT prac-tice. Studies show that if you read, your scores will go up in tests in school.You can do things to help yourself. Read in your

spare time. Write a story or two. Make sure you use cor-rect grammar. Ask a teacher to quiz you on grammar in their spare time. So do stuff that will better yourself, better your ACT score, and better the chance that you get more money for college.

LHS Prepares for the ACTBy: Daniel Wooten, Beat Writer, daniel.wooten@lhsirish.net

Page 09 The Light

April 30th, 2012EXTRA

Spring is Here!By: Paula Valenzuela, Beat Writer, paula.valenzuela@lhsirish.

net

Spring has come early to St. Joseph and has brought beau-tiful weather with more to come. As students prepared for spring activities, Easter and spring break, they will enjoy a five day weekend. Spring is set to come every March 21st except for on leap-year like this year. Springtime is the time for rebirth, renewal, and/or regrowth of nature. It adds more sunshine to the days and April showers that bring May flowers. Flooding, tornados, thunderstorms, fresh mowed grass, beautiful plants/gardens, and kids enjoying the days are some of the things you will see throughout the season. Easter has come and gone for another year. It is considered a moveable feast because it does not fall on a specific date every year. Easter represents the resurrection of Jesus Christ and is one of the most important holidays for Christians. People from all over the country celebrate Easter with church tradi-tions, egg hunts, candy, and the Easter Bunny. Lafayette High School students and staff were asked, “What their favorite thing about spring was?” Staff Member, Librarian Michelle Newby exclaimed, “Sunshine!” Senior, Megan Riley responded, “All the rain and the newly blooming flow-ers.” Junior, Kaitlyn Kendall answered, “My favorite part is May because we get out of school!” Sophomore, Nic Winsor commented, “the weather.” Freshman, Dakota Johnson said,

“the smell of fresh,cut grass.”claimed, “Sunshine!” Senior, Megan Riley respond-ed, “All the rain and the newly bloom-ing flowers.” Junior, Kaitlyn Kendall an-swered, “My favorite part is May because we get out of school!” Sophomore, Nic Winsor commented, “the weather.” Freshman, Dakota John-son said, “the smell of fresh cut grass.”

ACT in Cool April

By: Daniel Wooten, Beat Writer, daniel.wooten@lh-

sirish.net

Everyone that wants to go to college is required to take an ACT test. The ACT is a test that supports colleges choices in giving scholarships to students who excel in school. Universities use the scores from your ACT as a place-ment source. This month’s ACT test was on Saturday, April 14th. Students who were wanting to take the ACT talked with a school counselor. An ACT Prep class is available to those students who want to take the ACT next year. The ACT Prep class is a semester long class, taught by Mr. Chris Early. Some teachers have said that last February’s ACT test-ing went well. Lafayette High School had a record breaking number of people taking the ACT this April. So, to con-clude, if you want to go to college and you haven’t taken the ACT test yet, then you’ll want to. Talk to your coun-selor today.

YOU FOOL!

By: Keri Day, Beat Writer, keri.day@lhsirish.net

April Fools’ is celebrated in different countries on April 1st every year. April Fools’ Day is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and cel-ebrated as a day when people play practical jokes on each other. April Fools’ Day includes the Roman festival of Hilaria,

held March 25th, and the Medieval Feast of Foods, held December 28, still a day on which pranks are played in Spanish speak-ing countries. This day is celebrated as far back as 536 BC. April Fools’ Day is also called All Fools’ Day, it is one of the most light-hearted days of the year.April Fools’ Day is ob-served throughout the Western world. The practices include sending someones on a “Fools Er-rand,” looking for things that do not exist; playing

pranks, and trying to get people to believe ridiculous things. It is simply a fun little holiday. Here are a few pranks and prankers from Lafayette High School. Freshman, Aaron Embrey, said,” I told my brother there was a snake in his room, before he walked in, knowing he is afraid of snakes.” Sophomore, Megan Har-rison added,” I did not do any pranks, neither did I get pranked.” Junior, Mallory Steidel, stated,” My mom told me we did not have school Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. She said we got an extra long spring break, and I believed her.” Senior, Patrick Nachtrab, answered,” I told my girlfriend the new baby set she bought for $100 on ebay was a fraud, she flipped out.”

Page 10 The Light

April 30th, 2012SPECIAL

Lafayette High School Goes to CotillionBy: Lindsey Richardson, Beat Writer, lindsey.richardson@lhsirish.net

The Cotillion for Achieve-ment is a great organization that hands out a scholarship to 20 high school students in the Saint Joseph area for their leadership, grades, and com-munity service involvement. At Lafayette High School, five students were selected: Kelsey Gardner, Benjamin Lotito, Matthew Kanke, Mor-gan Brand, and Kaitlin Bunse. To win the $750.00 (the basic scholarship) the students had to participate in “adventures”. In order to get the prestigious Cotillion scholarship they had to excel in the adventures and impress the committee in the interview. The students from Lafayette High School really enjoyed the experience they all had while being in the Cotillion. Morgan Brand commented, “I abso-lutely loved the experience of the Cotillion! Not only did I get to meet new people and grow connections in the St. Joseph area, I also had the chance to catch up with old friends and try new things! On some of the “adventures” we took through Cotillion I learned how to waltz, use proper dining eti-quette, and tour places unique to St. Joseph, opportunities most teenagers do not get the chance to do. Cotillion for Achievement is so much more than a fancy ball for a scholar-ship, for me, it was making memories that I will always carry!” Matthew Kanke stated, “I thought the Cotillion was an

extremely beneficial experi-ence not only because I learned so many important things like proper etiquette and how to act when interviewing, but also because I had the chance to meet so many important people in the community and so many outstanding students from other schools. It was like getting paid to hang out with other high school students!” The Cotillion even included its very own ball, which stu-dents would dress up in formal attire, have some fun danc-ing, and using their new table manners while eating chicken piccata. Benjamin Lotito stated that, “The Cotillion Ball was a lot of fun! We got to practice our “fancy” table manners and get a little waltzing and some

other dancing in as well. Even though no one from Lafayette High School won the final scholarship, which is one of the purposes for the evening, it was still a very exciting and rewarding experience!’ Stu-dents that were male had to waltz with their mothers or a woman figure, and female stu-dents had to dance with their father or a male figure. Kaitlin Bunse commented that, “The Cotillion Ball was so much fun, although the waltz lessons didn’t really pay off because the floor was so small,” she continued with, “the best part was actually dancing with Ms. Evans, Ms. Shiflett, and other LHS Cotillion kids.” Parents really enjoyed this organization, and loved all

the fun “adventures” they got to share with their children before they go off to college, and start their own life. Kelsey Gardner’s mother, Angie Gard-ner, said, “This experience was fun to share with Kelsey, It makes me proud to be the mother of such an accom-plished young lady.” Benjamin Lotito’s mother, Bridget Lo-tito, stated, “I really appreci-ate how they take the time to honor the kids that are actually trying hard to do a good job in society, and I also loved the bonding experience at the Co-tillion ball.” The Cotillion for Achievement was both a good experience for the students and their parents. Will you be one of the lucky students next year?

Drumline Eternity Felder, Beat Writer, eternity.felder@lhsirish.net

Lafayette High School’s Marching Band is known for doing a lot of things. The band members typically wel-come the freshmen at the be-ginning of each school year, play in the Veterans and Northside parade, and other activities.Not only do they do those things, but on top of that, they go to state compe-titions. When interviewing Andrew Wolf,a soloist, he said, “I’ll be doing a clarinet solo this year that I’ve been practicing hard for.” The

band members have all been practicing very hard this year so they could do well in their State Musi-cal Festival. Their hard work payed off because one hundred percent of the stu-dents that performed at State Music Festival got a one- a superior rating.A big round

of applause should go out to Andrew Wolf on his clarinet

solo, Wes-ley Sisk on his tuba solo, and Kai-tlin Bunse

on her flute solo. All the students represented Lafay-ette with their hard work and

dedication, but most of all with their fantastic perfor-mances.This is basically the last thing the band will be do-ing this year. But next year’s options is not the only one available next year, there will also be a drum line. The Drum Line is a new addi-tion to LHS. The Drum Line is available for anyone who wants to try out who was been in band before.

Class NewsBy:James Henderson, Beat Writer, james.henderson@lhsirish.net

Page 11 The Light

April 30th, 2012SPECIAL

Students of Lafayette High School. If you know of someone that has done something exceptional and deserves recognition please see Dr. Shane Heard. They will have a chance to be featured in our upcoming News Pa-per.Senior Class(2012): The Senior Class is in their last quarter and it may be their busiest. Some Seniors are still applying to colleges, but most already have. They are finishing the FAFSA (free application for federal student aid) and some have already heard back. They have also started finding out what scholarships they are awarded and they will be announced at the scholarship awards assembly. The Lampions will be getting their pins and plaque during the Lampion Assembly. The Cup Assembly will be com-ing up for cup award winners. They will be having their Senior Service Day, Senior Luncheon, Senior Slide Show, and they will be signing the shamrocks to close out their last year of High School. Finally, graduation will take place on May, 20th and the last chapter of their High School will conclude. FINISH STRONG SENIORS!Junior Class(2013): Right now the Junior Class is focused only on Prom. They have the food ordered, designs done, sets finished, carriage rides ar-ranged, and DJ’s lined up. The Prom will take place on May 5th at the Mis-souri Western Fulkerson Center from 7-11. BE STRONG JUNIORS!Sophomore Class(2014):The Sophomore Class is wrapping up the year with tests. The big Communication Arts E.O.C is coming up for all Sopho-mores. Also, most students have decided if they want to attend Hillyards Technical Center or not. BE STRONG SOPHOMORES!Freshman Class(2015): The Freshman Class has a pretty much empty plate. They have selected their classes for next year and some are preparing for finals. They are ready to move on to their sophomore year and make room for a new group of freshmen. START STRONG FRESHMEN!

Department NewsBy: Andrew Murphy,Beat Writer

Math Department: Algebra classes are currently learning how to identify polyhe-dra. This also includes finding the number of faces, vertices, and edges.Science Department: Science classes have recently finished benchmark testing.History Department: World history class-es have recently finished studying World War II. Communication Arts Department: Mr. Kibler’s classes are currently writing pa-pers involving both literary terms and liter-ary devices. I.T. Department: Beginning woodwork-ing classes are at work building step stools while advanced woodworking classes are working on their individual projects. These projects vary from tables to roll top desks.J.R.O.T.C: J.R.O.T.C has recently fin-ished fitness testing.Foreign Language Department: Spanish classes are making books which they have to write in spanish.F.A.C.S: World foods classes are cooking south american foods currently.

Clubs, Clubs, and More ClubsBrooke Ward, Beat Writer, brooke.ward@lhsirish.net

There are many exciting things going on at Lafayette High School. The different clubs here are an opportunity for the students to meet new people and also find something to do that interests them. That is one of the best things to do at Lafayette; finding that group of people that are interested in the same things as you is an amazing feeling. If you have a favorite subject and your friends are sick of hearing you talk about it all the time, there is probably a club that is full of people that will not get sick of hearing you spill out everything you know; they will actually enjoy it and chime in with their own ideas. One of the clubs here at Lafayette is the Art Club. Students get the chance to express themselves in a way that is special to them. Being able to take a blank piece of paper and transform-ing it into something beautiful is an amazing talent to have. Right now the 22 club members are very busy with several activities. When you stand in Mrs. Diana Wood’s classroom and look out the big windows you will see a plain old stone wall. This wall has no life or color, but the Art Club is planning on changing that very soon. They are planning to paint a mu-ral on the wall because anything that can be transformed will be transformed in this club.This also includes the ugly gray matt that is outside the art cases in the hallway to the cafeteria. Since the cases display the students’ beautiful artwork, why not make the floor beautiful too? They are planning on covering the matt with a mosaic design. Also, right now they are creat-ing chalk paintings for the Apple Blossom parade in Down-town St. Joseph, Missouri. On Thursday, May 10th through Friday the 11th they are hosting a school wide Art Show in

the Lafayette High School library. It is open for all teachers to bring down their classes to view all the artwork. It is a great way for the club members to show off their talents to the rest of the school. May 11 will be a very busy day for the club because they are also inducting officers for the National Art Society. Students await to see if they will be elected. Art Club is not the only club at Lafayette that has exciting things going on; Dead Patriot’s Society (DPS) also is filled with excitement. A group of students were chosen to go to Jef-ferson City to visit our state capitol. Alex Rich and Kelly Proc-tor said that they had a blast. “We learned a lot and had a crazy adventure with Mr. Derek Frieling being our personal guide,” they explained. They had the opportunity to meet State Repre-sentative Pat Conway, the State Senator Schaaf, and the audi-tor. They also got to visit the governor’s mansion, the Highway Patrol museum, the Central Dairy, and the old prison. Mr. Frieling said, “It was awesome seeing the students’reactions. My favorite part is knowing that they en-joyed themselves.” No matter what club you are in at school, you know that you will enjoy yourself. Each club has special things going on all the time. These tasks take a lot of time and work for every member, but they know that it is worth it. Clubs have shaped this school into a more enjoyable environment where the stu-dents can be who they really are and find people who are the same way. All of this was displayed in Lafayette High School’s Lib Dub.

Page 12 The Light

April 30th, 2012Back Page

Student SpotlightBy: Legend Milbourn; Beat Writer; legend.milbourn@lhsirish.net

Once again we have chosen four more students of each class to be in our spot-light. They have been randomly picked and will be in our April edition.

FRESHMAN- Alia IrvinHow’s fourth quarter going?: “It’s going good.”Plans for sum-mer: I am going on vacation and to basketball camp.Any trip/ vaca-tions?: Minne-sotaFavorite restaurant: Cheddars.

SOPHOMORE- Anna RichardsonHow’s fourth quarter going?: “It’s really, really tough!”Plans for sum-mer: Meet new people, hang out, and swim.Any trips/ vaca-tions?: Not this year.Favorite restaurant: Texas Roadhouse.

JUNIOR- Katie WeatherdHow’s fourth quarter going?: “Stressful, I am ready for school to be over!”Plans for summer: Have fun before my senior year.Any trips/ vaca-tions?: Going to the lake.Favorite restaurant: Boudreaux’s Loui-siana Seafood .

SENIOR- Marisa GraysonHow’s fourth quarter going?: “It’s going good, just kind of pointless for us seniors.”Plans for sum-mer: Working and enjoying not having to wake up early.Any trips/vacations?: Might go to Flor-ida with my family or Chicago with my sister.Favorite restaurant: Mr. Goodcents.

We will have one more time of choosing four students to be in our spotlight. If you have any suggestions please see Dr. M. Shane Heard.

LHS Lip Dub Continued from Page 1

DECA – In Irish Mart (20)East office – main hall outside east office (7)ESOL - Main Hall West (13)FBLA – Main hall west after library (13)Finish strong – seniors in main hall east before head down to freshman hall (dressed in cap and gown) (7 to 8)Flags – Practice Gym (22)FMP – Cafeteria (15)Football - Weight room (17)Forensics – Freshmen hall (9)French Club – Main Hall West (13)Girls Basketball – practice gym (22)Girls Cross Country – commons hall by gyms (21)Girls Golf – commons hall by gym (21)Girls Soccer - up stairs outside cafeteria go-ing up to gym (18)Girls Softball – Coming down stairs from main hall to Art hall way (14 to 15)Girls Tennis – commons hall by Irish mart (21)Girls Track & Field - commons hall by Irish mart (21)Golf – Commons by Irish mart (21)High School of Business – Main hall west after library (13)Jazz Band –main hall, west, after ROTC and Varsity gym (if you can do both?) (8 to 24)JROTC -Main stairs entrance and top of stairs (6 to 7)Leadership – Library (12)LHS Staff – library (12 and 13)Library staff – Library (12)Marching/Concert Band - main gym (24)Musical (Grease) – Auditorium (10)POMS – Practice gym (kick line, Dance?) (22)Special Olympics – By Special education and Art Hall (14)Start strong Freshman wearing class color

yellow – Main hall on east side after JROTC (7 to 8)Stay strong Juniors wearing class color pink- Main hall on east side (7 to 8)Student Council officers – front doors (5)The Light – The Auditorium (10)The Oak – Freshmen Hall (9)Theater – Auditorium (10)TSA – Freshmen Hall (9)Unity Club – freshman hall (9)Volleyball - Hall by restrooms go-ing in to cafeteria (14)West office – main hall outside of west office (13)Wrestling – Hall by restrooms go-ing in to cafeteria (14)Young Life- Main Hall West (13)

To view the LHS Lip Dub, please go to: http://lhsirish.org/events/2012/lipdub2012/