Volleyball Ranked #1Volleyball Ranked #1see page 6see page 6

Falling for Falling for Fall TrendsFall TrendsAs fall arises, new fall fashions As fall arises, new fall fashions

are coming into style.are coming into style.See page 4.See page 4.

Saylah performs at a concert at Saylah performs at a concert at Falcon fi eld on October 3. The Falcon fi eld on October 3. The concert wrapped up 8 days of concert wrapped up 8 days of

prayer at the fl ag pole, prayer at the fl ag pole, beginning on beginning on

Wednesday, Sept. 23.Wednesday, Sept. 23.See page 8See page 8

Vol. 10 Issue 1Vol 10 Issue 1Vol 10 Issue 1

The Talon, the student newspaper of Vacaville Christian High School,

is a public forum for student expression and is published regularly

by the Newspaper Production Class and Journalism Class. Opinions

expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the

position of the administration, student body or advertisers. The Talon

staff welcomes and encourages submitted letters, stories, cartoons,

and/or any other student feedback. See guidelines listed below.

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

Vacaville Christian High School821 Marshall Road • Vacaville, CA 95687

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

Volume 10 Issue 1 October 9, 2009

Member of Awarded Int’l First Place, 2002-2003

Editorial Board:

Editor-in-Chief: Gene Fogh

News Editor: Mary-Elizabeth Paldi

Opinion/Entertainment Editor: Marshall Mistler

Reporters:

James Aguilar, Emre Basaran, Lauren Castile,

Daniel Ewing, Alec Gregorich, Ali Howard,

Katarina Kretz, Ashley Montagna, Araceli Oriol,

Tanner Person, Raynah Torento, Raquel Tucker

Adviser: Mrs. Jeri McFadden

Principal: Mr. Steven Peters

Ranked First Class2005-20062006-20072008-2009

What’sinside?News: See You at the Pole 3

T-Shirt Contest 3

New Teachers part 1 8

“Explosion” concert 8

Pastor Appreciation Day 8

Features: Fall Fashion 4

Student Bands 4

Inspiring Movies 4

Jesus-ize your iPod 5

Is God Working at VCHS? 5

Sports: Volleyball #1 in State 6

Cheer Not Going to Compete 6

Soccer Eyes Championship 7

Football 3-1 So Far 7

Visit us at www.vchstalon.com

Having the ability to walk only ten to twenty feet is much nicer than having to walk about a quarter of a mile or spending an extra five to ten minutes on the bus riding to and from the multi-purpose room.

There is also the factor that one has to ei-ther suffer and eat lunch without their friends or try to convince them to come eat lunch with them.

The problem about all these is that with all of the factors that one has to consider, one also has to consider the time it takes to enjoy a simple activity like lunch. All of the students already have constrictions on what they do during school, whether it is how one can’t eat or drink something in the halls. Now one has to make a journey over to the MP.

There are some plusses that having lunch at the MP brings to students. Since the school isn’t having students line up by the student lounge and having students walk through the lounge to get their lunch there is more room for students to eat, both inside and outside the lounge because there isn’t as much chaos as there use to be.

Remember the editorial column the Talon had last year on how the halls were becoming

the school’s trashcan? Although the hallways were a comfortable spot to hang-out at, now that students are not eating in the hallways, they have become much cleaner and one doesn’t have to step over bits of trash that any of slacker students “forgot” to pick-up. Also the teachers don’t have to hopscotch over the students’ legs and backpacks when they are walking through the halls.

Even when I am waiting in line to get my lunch down at the MP I immediately realize how much harder this makes lunch for the students. While in line all I heard were com-plaints about how there isn’t enough time and shouts at people to just cut in line to get out of there faster. The student body is crying out, who’s going to answer?

Although the distance from the high school campus to the MP seems to be an obnoxious factor to deal with, the school administra-tors are doing their best to figure out what they can to do to better the situation for the students.

If one feels that something needs to be done about the lunch situation, there is nothing stopping any student from talking to the administrators about it. I’m sure that Mr. Peters or Ms. Davis would love to hear your stance on how this is affecting the student body.

Lunch Becomes Time Factor

The VCHS Talon is now not only a

newsmagazine, but also an online

paper. Please check out the site at

www.vchstalon.com. Thanks!

Christian rap artist Transparent challenged VCHS students: for eight days, meet in the morning to pray at the flagpole.

The number of people at the pole dwindled as the days wore on, but there were people present on all eight days.

The challenge had to do with See You at the Pole, a nationwide event in which students across the country gather around their schools’ flagpoles and pray for the country and other such things.

The event is also international, with Can-ada and Australia also participating, though Australia’s day is on May 20th.

The event also emphasizes the importance of prayer. Jazmine Walls said “I think that it is important because it unites the student body under one cause and makes time for us to pray for our nation.”

Chris Sanders, who attended all eight days, said See You at the Pole is important “because it is a time for us Christians to get together and worship God.”

The spiritual theme for this year’s See You at the Pole was introduced by Mrs. Terra Golden as “to engage.”

On the first day — the day of See You at the Pole, September 23 this year — more than forty students showed up. There were so many students that several people stood in the street.

Prayer was opened by the student

School Meets Challenge At Pole

body’s vice-president Falynn Martinez. Other members of student council — senior class representative Cody Schaake and president Robbie Basha — were also in attendance.

The opening prayer included those by both students and teachers, for such things as thanks that the students have a “desire to start out the morning with prayer” and a prayer that Jesus would be “more present in classes” so that “students would catch them-selves in their behavior.”

After the opening prayer, Mrs. Kathy Chun, who played the guitar, led the worship with two songs, “You Said” and “Turn Your Eyes

Upon Jesus” by Keith Green. Mrs. Chun led worship for the subsequent seven days.

The closing prayer on the first day was led by Robbie. For the next six days, the opening and closing prayers were led by others.

On the eighth and final day, October 2, the first prayer was open, led by no one. More students were in attendance than on the previous day. Mr. Justin Gunter led worship on the guitar.

The challenge continued when Transpar-ent performed and spoke in a special chapel on Friday, October 2, and then headlined at a free concert on Saturday, October 3.

With a new school year comes another student contest. It is the school t-shirt design-ing contest run by the creator of the contest and resident art teacher, Mrs. Barr.

The contest was mainly geared for students taking art, though it was open to all students who wanted to give it a try. The goal of the contest was to create a t-shirt design appropriate for school with either VCHS or VCS written on it. Another requirement was that the falcon had to be incorporated into the design.

The contest began on September 14th and ended on September 25th. The contest originally began in the fall of 2006, with alumni Piper Hughes being the first winner. The following year, there was no contest. The second contest ran in the fall of 2008, and Tim Lipinski was the winner of that year’s contest.

Mrs. Barr said that she liked Piper’s design because it had an abstract look to it, and she liked Tim’s design because it had more of a

graffiti style to it.Mrs. Barr said that she hoped the partici-

pants this year would be proud of their work and that they would end up creating a design that was “beyond the norm.”

“I want them to experience the fun of the competition,” Mrs. Barr said. Mrs. Barr also commented on how there were many more promising designs this year than last year. “There are about 8 or 9 students with promis-

Students Design T-Shirts for Contest

ing designs compared to last year’s contest,” Mrs. Barr said.

The Talon also had the chance to interview some of the participants themselves. Steven Panis said he was going for an urban theme in his t-shirt. Gianna Song went for a theme with verses from 1st Corinthians on the back and Falcons on the front, while Taylor Hood said she was going for an abstract look. Once the winner of the contest is an-nounced, the process of acquiring the t-shirt will begin. The t-shirts will be offered in small to large in men and women’s sizes in either black or white, unless the winning t-shirt design has a different color for a background. There may be a chance that hoodies will be offered also.

Students will prepay for the t-shirt, and it will be charged to their account. The price will be around ten to eleven dollars. The ordering will only be open for two weeks, and during that time, students can place their order for their t-shirt.

The winning design will be printed onto the preordered t-shirts, and once they are complete, they will be shipped to the school where they will be separated by grade level and handed out to the students.

photo by Mrs. McFadden.

photo by Emre Basaran.

Movies can be inspirational to people based on the message they portray. For ex-ample, if the message of the movie is about kindness, then the viewers of that movie may take the message to heart. Movies can also send out bad messages by implying the wrong idea. Sometimes inspirational movies can help someone with their character. Movies that teach a really good, positive, uplifting message can encourage the spirits of the people who view them. Some movies can be sad and make people feel depressed. In general, movies are a good way to escape a bad situation.

Being in high school, there is not always a lot of time to just sit down and watch a good movie. Some students at VCHS suggested a few movies that they feel are inspiring.

Brittany Simmers said that A Walk to Remember is a very inspiring movie. She said, “A Walk to Remember is inspiring because although she had cancer, she still lived her life to the fullest!” In A Walk to Remember, it shows the lives of two very different people. A girl with a very close relationship with God and a boy who struggles to do good. The message in this movie implies that being a Christian isn’t a bad thing and that you should live every day like it’s your last.

Another movie that the students found encouraging was Freedom Writers. Eliza Zir-row stated “I like Freedom Writers because it teaches you to never let go of your dreams.”

A couple other movies suggested by the students were Forrest Gump and Simon Birch. Annika Arana said that her favorite movie is Forrest Gump. Arana said, “He teaches you about life and how it’s like a box of chocolates you never know which one you’re gonna pick!”

Sara Erb says that her favorite inspira-tional movie is Simon Birch, “because the little boy knew what the outcome of his life was but he still overcame it”, Sara said.

These movies are all great ideas but the choice is yours, which will you pick?

Can Movies

Inspire?

VCHS has two known rock bands, Amaris and Survive The Collision. Amaris is a hardcore rock band, who plays Christian and alternative music. Braedan Pilcher plays guitar, Zack Serface plays guitar and vocals, and Matt Adams on the drums. Both Zack and Matt used to go to VCHS. Braedan Pilcher said, “We wanted to start because we wanted to play in big shows”. Their biggest gig will be

This fall season new cloth-ing items will be coming

into style. There will be moccasins, cardigans,

vests, flannels and many new types

of shoes. Girls and guys flannels are being sold now at Pac Sun for only $29.50. Right now it’s warm outside but be prepared for the colder weather to come soon.

There are a lot of sales going on

for fall clothes, Tillys is having a sale, up to 70%

off all of their clothes; Ameri-can eagle is having a sale on

T’s, hoodies, and polo’s, buy one get one free; Aeropostale is having a

sale on hoodies as well and all of their jeans are 50% off; Urban outfitters are also

bringing in new clothes for fall. Say goodbye to flip flops because it’s getting

cold. Payless Shoes has recently received a lot of new shoe arrivals; they are currently having a sale on

boots and tennis shoes for women and men ranging from 19.99 to 26.99. One can look stylish while staying warm at the same time. Brendan Polick said his favorite place to shop for fall fash-

ions is Zumies where they are currently having a sale on denim jeans 5 for $85.

Tea Rae Courtemanche said her favorite fall fashion items to buy are headbands which are selling now at places like Target and Tillys.

Danielle Rubik said her favorite place to shop for fall clothing is Tillys, here they are having a sale on everything there. Since it is becoming colder one may want to hang up the tank tops and get a new jacket or sweaters which are selling for low prices in many stores now.

There are also new colors coming into style during the fall. Darker colors are more of trend during the fall season, such as browns and blacks. “I love all the different colors,” said Ashley Lombard. Thanks to these sales one is able to look great for a low cost.

Falling For Fall Trends

VCHS Talent Exposed Through Bands

Photo by Raquel TuckerPhoto by Raquel Tucker

at Club Retro in a few weeks. Survive The Collision, is a hardcore rock

band started by Marshall Mistler and his friends. Survive The Collision features drums played by Miles Mistler, bass played by Chan-ning Madden, guitar played by Brennan Mad-den, and vocals sung by Marshall Mistler.

Their biggest gigs have only been ones around eighty people. However the band wishes to start playing at bigger events soon.

They have started recording in Mistler’s basement. Mistler thinks some of the best

lyrics are the new ones they’ve been working on.“The breakdown lines are so brutal and make me pumped,” Mistler said. One of the lines goes “a sinful life leads to death, but aren’t we all imperfect?”

Mistler said “My Tussle with My Russell” and “My Ogre Friend Tanner” are some of the most exciting songs, in their opinion, that they have ever written.

The reason they named the band Survive The Collision was, while they were at round Ta-

Continued on next page. See “Bands”

VCHS is a Christian school, but what does that really mean? If VCHS is a Christian school then the students should act differently compared to other schools. So when VCHS students are asked how Jesus is moving in their life it should be easy to answer, right?

Well, most students we asked had no idea what to say, as if it was some foreign, exotic question they had never heard before. But some had very interesting answers like Roop-kamal Pandher, who said that God was calling her to do more community service.

When Kristen Fantozzi was asked ,she had a completely different answer. She said, “I think God is working in everybody’s life all the time, it does not have to be ant specific thing.”

For some in VCHS God was doing a lot. Mr. Justin Gunter, freshman bible teacher, is interested in going into the mission field, but

How is God Moving at VCHS?

“Christian music is a way of showing God how much you love him,” Victoria Kidd said. Kristen Fantozzi said, “I listen to it because it gives a message of glory to God.” Kyra Matranga said, “I listen to it, to learn more about Jesus, the Lord, and the Holy Spirit.”

5 out of 7 VCHS students have Christian music on their iPods. Listening to Christian music is important, according to Mr. Justin Gunter, the freshman and

junior Bible teacher. “It is like listening to musical sermons. What goes into your body must come out.” So if listening to Christian music goes into your body, what comes out must be being a good Christian.

Cassandra Powell said, “It’s important because when you listen to that music, you listen to the Word, and you worship the Lord”

Matranga said, “The importance is to remind us about Jesus Christ.” Even though many people have Christian music on their iPod, they still admit to download-

ing and listening to the “explicit” version of American mainstream songs. 3 out of 7 VCHS students download the “explicit” version of non-Christian songs.

When asked, “Do you listen to Christian music more than regular mainstream music?” Many students responded with “no.”

Powell said, “No, I don’t because mainstream songs have a better beat.” Powell’s re-sponse was the response that everyone gave. So then if Christian music had a better beat, would more students listen to it?

When surveying students, many asked, “What are good Christian alternatives?” Powell said, “Rush of Fools and The Father’s House band.” Another song that was popular was “From the Inside Out” by Hillsong.

You can buy Christian like music where ever mainstream music is sold, you can buy it on iTunes, or even in the office.

Jesus-ize Your iPod

Photo by Katarina Kretz

God called him to teach at VCHS first. When asked about chapel and how it is helping him grow in Jesus he replied,” I think about why it was preached, not just what the topic is.”

But chapel is not so helpful to others. Kyra Matranga said,” Chapel is helping partially but not completely.”

Chapel should not be the only way for Je-sus to move in your life, and for many it is not. But for the students who do not go to church on a regular basis it is a good way to relax, forget about the pressures of high school life, and enjoy good, quiet time with the Lord.

Roopkamal said,” I like the way chapel is interactive and I enjoy the different speakers because it is nice to see the different points of view.”

Students had different answers as to who is helping them grow spiritually. For some it was their pastor or Bible teacher and for some it was not any specific person, but God himself working through different individuals.

ble their former member Anthony Davis asked why not Survive The Collision. He thought of it because of the Christian hardcore band Un-deroath who created an album called Survive The Kaleidoscope. The band basically thought that it was good and that became their name.

Both of these bands, even though they are different, are very good friends and have played two shows together.

“Expect many more shows to come, even though the majority of my band is graduat-ing within the next year we are planning a lot more surprises to come. We are also planning on more shows with our buddies, Amaris,” said Marshall Mistler.

Bands... (continued from p. 4)

#1The varsity girls’ volleyball team is currently

ranked number one in the Division IV state rankings.

As of October 3, they have an undefeated record of 11-0.Lauren Grabowski talked about their achieve-ment, “I’m really excited that we’re number one in D4, that’s a big accomplishment.”

Callie Mulvihill said, “It’s really exciting...our school has never been in that position be-fore.” She added, “Playoffs are coming up, so if we keep our rankings up, it should be good.”

Mulvihill commented that she believes the team’s toughest competition was during a tournament they had in Carmichael when they played against Inderkum High School who,

Varsity Volleyball Earns State’s Top D4 Rank

Varsity cheerleaders decided not to partici-pate in any competitions this school year.

Every year the cheer team has competed in competitions until now. Coach Mulvihill wanted a large squad to compete with, but when the team cast the vote whether or not to go to competitions only four members voted yes.

Now the ‘09-’10 cheerleaders’ practices prepare them to cheer at the sidelines during football games and for tumbling.

“It’s fun being up close and personal and yelling the players on the sidelines,” said Natalie Perez.

Cheer earned second place in the FCC West Coast competition last year. They also competed for nationals in Florida and won fifth place in the whole nation for their division.

When asked about past competitions,

Competitions Have Been Decided Against for Season

volleyball Us ThemBradshaw 3 0Jesse Bethel 3 0Buckingham 3 0Foresthill 3 0Delta 3 0Forrest Lake 3 0Woodland 3 0Victory 3 0Sac Waldorf ForesthillDeltaForrest LakeWoodlandVictory

vars

ity

jun

ior

vars

ity

Opponent ResultBradshaw WJesse Bethel WBuckingham WForesthill WDelta WForrest Lake LWoodland LVictory WForesthillDeltaForrest LakeWoodlandVictoryLainey Brown, Eliza Zirzow, Emily Borges and Lauren Grabowski are

in place to return the volley from their Buckingham opponents on September 15.

photo by Heather Clark

before that game, had been on a five-game win-ning streak.

The Falcons ended up winning that game with a score of 2-0 and went on take first place in the tournament.

The junior-heavy team is coached by Melissa Lewis.

Micaela Sylvester, the only senior on the team, commented about her coach, “I love our coach; she’s very encouraging and she really pushes us.”

Sylvester said that her team “communi-cates really well and we never give up.” She also mentioned that the team needs to work on “the small things, mental errors.”

As for the future, Lainey Brown said her goal is “to hopefully keep our record the way it

is and hopefully get to the semis.”The JV team, as of October 1, had a record

of 5-1 under the direction of Coach Katie Fri-esen. Jenna Gardner said that Coach Friesen “always gives us support” and teammate Victoria Kidd added that “she gives us good advice.”

Gardner also said that the team is “really close this year” but still needs to work “our communicational skills.”

Natalie said, “I miss them so much! I miss the rush I got when I hit the blue mat.”

photo by Daniel Ewing

photo by Tanner Person

Cheerleaders lead the crowd (above) during the football game on September 11 and performed a patriotic routine (right) during halftime at that game. The cheer squad had also participated in the earlier ceremony to honor the firefighters and police officers who lost their lives in the 9/11 rescue attempts.

The 2009 - 2010 soccer team started out the season confident about the year.

“Our team is very confident, I believe we will do very well this year,” goalie Tanner Person said. After winning the Modesto tourna-ment the Falcons’ confidence grew in comfort with each other and the team.

“This year’s team has as much potential if not more than last year’s. Many of last year’s young talents have experience and their play shows it,” Person said.

“I have very high expectations for the Falcons this year. We expect to win our league,” Coach Mark Jessup said. Falcon soccer has had magnificent seasons in the past, including a league three - peat in 2003, 2004, and 2005.

“Those seasons have obvi-ously made us proud and they also gave the Vacaville Christian soccer program a name,” Mr. Jessup said.

The Falcons have a confident outlook on the season and they

soccer Us ThemVanden 4 0Buckingham 5 0Victory 1 3Sac Waldorf 6 0Forrest Lake 2 0Victory 1 4 Sac Waldorf Forrest Lake Victory Sac Waldorf Forrest Lake

Th 2009 2010

Falcons Set Sights on Another Championship

are preparing diligently to achieve the ultimate goal: win another championship.

“We run a relatively loose practice, but of course some practices are harder than others,” Mr. Jessup said when asked about the team’s preparation.

Coach Jessup knows that he needs all 11 of his players that are on the field to perform and work together in order to be suc-cessful. Fans can expect to see a

photo by James Aguilar

Alex Kincade (#9) takes the ball downfield against the Vanden Vikings as Tanner Whitt, Brock Gustafson and Keenan Sullivan catch their breath.

couple of standouts. “Our MVP this year will be a

player who doesn’t play for him-self, someone who plays for the team,” Mr. Jessup said. “Playing for the team means passing the ball and giving your teammates a shot opportunity rather than trying to get past the defenders yourself and score.“

Someone who has done a great job with this is sophomore Brock Gustafson, who led the

team in assists last season and is starting of well this year as well.

“Brock really shows he’s play-ing for the team and not himself,” Mr. Jessup said, “and that is very much valued by our team.”

The Falcons had a great kick-off this season. The Falcon’s first game opened with a great victory against Anderson Valley; scoring an impressive 64 points to Ander-son Valley’s hard earned 18. They kept their victory pace with their second win against Kings Chris-tian; scoring 49 points to their opponents 18. The Falcons have lost a few players to changes in school, but have gotten many new freshmen and experienced veterans in return.

Coach Chris Smith made a strong point on what his expec-tations are of his team and its players. “I expect the same from our new freshmen players as I do any senior or junior. I also want to see them playing hard on the field and not on the sidelines,” said Coach Smith.

The football players have high hopes of making state title, which could make the Falcons move up a division.

“Our team is ready to make

football

Us ThemAnderson Valley 64 14Kings Christian 49 18Winters 6 55Woodland 74 8West Campus Ferndale Foresthill High Delta Bradshaw Valley Christian

Falcons Start Year Off with 3-1 Record

Nick Amavisca (#5) gets behind his blockers -- James Aarhus (#23), Ty-ler Randall (#44), and Greg Goodenough (#12),Andrew Schram (#70), Jacob Phan (#52) and Philip Kirk (#83) -- to gain yardage against the Woodland Christian Cardinals on Saturday, October 3.

photo by James Aguilar

the section; we will take anyone who comes in our way, and we will win the section title,” said Alec Gregorich.

The Falcon’s third game did not come out as well as the previous games. They suffered a hard defeat against the Winters Warriors with a total score of 55 points to 6.

“We may have lost our game against Winters,” said Marshall Grundy, “but it also gives us a chance to see where we went wrong, and we will not make that same mistake again.”

This defeat will give the Falcons a great opportunity to improve on what needs improve-ment and add on to what is

already outstanding. Come support the Falcons

when they play the West Campus football team tonight.

Christian rap artist Transparent sings on October 3, at the Explosion concert held on the football field. The concert came at the end of a challenge by Transparent in which students and staff memebers were encouraged to attend morning prayer around the flagpole. At a special chapel on Friday October 2, Transparent encouraged students to attend the Explosion concert. Attendence was open to students from local schools.

Pastor Brown and Pastor Ripley shake hands with students. At the special chapel service, students Kala Simmers, Solomon Hood, Andrea MacLean, and Marshall Mistler gave testimonies about their respective pastors. Pastor Frank led those in attendence in the song “Superman” while students from different grades standing in front of him demon-strated the hand motions to the song. Afterwards, pastors got in a line to greet and talk with students as they left the football field.

photo by James Aguilar photo by Lauren Castile

Mr. Gunter is from Peru but his passion is Ireland. “When I was growing up I would have these dreams about Ireland,” Mr. Gunter said. Origionally, he did not know that it was Ireland, but when he started describing them to his mother, she told him that it was Ireland.

Mr. Justin Gunter

During his class, Mr. Gunter aguments his voice to fit whatever he may be talking about. Where do the voices come from? Mr. Gunter said, “I did a lot of drama in high school.” He also mentioned that he uses a lot of voices when he preaches.

Mr. Gunter said that he origionally didn’t think that he was going to end up teaching here. “I thought I was going to take off to Ireland and maybe spend time in Africa,” he said. However, when the doors opened up, he was hired quickly and was given the job roughly a week before school started.

New To VCHS: First in a series of articles

People in the News: Photos of Events