Lobo LegendJanuary 2015

Lobo LegendFebruary 2015

Editor in Chief Ashley Hopko

Reporters

The staff of the Lobo Legend has selected an open forum under which to write. Articles will be printed according to this policy.The purpose of the Lobo Legend is to inform, entertain, and educate school readers as well as readers in the community and give an opinion of students’ interests on local, state, and national issues. The staff will take full responsibility to thoroughly investigate and report all sides of all issues with an unbiased and objective viewpoint. The material, ideas, and opinions expressed in the Lobo Legend do not necessarily reflect those of the adviser, administration, or staff. They are the sole product of the paper’s staff. The Lobo Legend staff will refuse to print any article with material containing libel, obscenity, writings that promote self-destructive behavior or that which promotes the material disruption of the school process. Letters to the editor are encouraged and may be dropped off in the high school office or sent to:

Lobo Legend Staffc/o Conifer High School10441 Hwy 73Conifer, CO 80433

Editorial Policy

Editors

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On the Cover: Conifer senior Liam Ireland and the rest of the Boys Basketball team show the student body their fashion sense during a pep assembly for Winter sports. (Forrest Czarnecki/Lobo Legend)

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Audrey DilgardeAnnabelle CohenNicholas Farco- HadlockAnna PalfreymanKarsten RyghHope TomasiSkylar MatthewsGarret AdelgrenMarlena CescoValerie KingLucia Lewis

Forrest CzarneckiEmily JonesBryce PattonJohnathan Hurst

Staff

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8/9

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18/19

16/17

10/11

8/9

4/510/11

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In this issue...

4-9 Sports10 Budget Meeting11 Gas Prices12-15 Profiles16-17 Exhange from Austria 18-19 Art 20-21 Opinion22 Double Cover

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Conifer vs Evergreen: Basketball

The storied Conifer vs Evergreen high school rivalry continued in both boys and girls basketball recently. The Lobos hosted the Cougars in back to back matches on Wednesday the 14th. The Lady Lobos lost 52-47 and the boys team followed suit, losing to Evergreen 60-52.

By: Forrest Czarnecki, Photo Editor

Clockwise from top right. Conifer students hold up signs supporting the home team. CHS students cheer during the boys game against the Cougars. CHS Senior Liam Ireland (11) looks for an open lane during the game against the Cougars on the 14th. Conifer High School Senior Dustin Morrison (10) tips off against Evergreen on the 14th. Forrest Czarnecki and Audrey Dilgarde/The Lobo Legend

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Below from left to right. Dustin Morrison (10) keeps his eye on the ball during the game against Evergreen on the 14th. CHS Junior Robert Burnett, with ball, drives to the basket in the fourth quarter against the Cougars. Nate Ferguson (13) waits for a pick on the three-point line in the Lobos 60-52 loss to Evergreen. Forrest Czarnecki/The Lobo Legend

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Clockwise from top left. Greta Gohring puts face paint on Lauren Freytag during a pep assembly for the Evergreen games. The Lobos set up around the line during the fourth quarter of the girls game. Lauren Freytag makes a pass around Cougar defenders. Kirstin Hafeman, with ball, looks for a passing opportunity during the game. Larry the Lobo tosses a stolen pom back to Evergreen High School cheerleaders during the first quarter of the girls game. Jake Evens leads the “Lobocoaster” in a cheer during half time. Ducks cover the gym floor during the duck throw contest. Maddie Elrod goes for a lay-up in the final minutes of the Lady Lobos loss to EHS. Forrest Czarnecki and Audrey Dilgarde/The Lobo Legend

Conifer vs Evergreen: Basketball

5

C-what? C-portsmanshipwish, goes the mesh as the

baskettball hits into the hoop and sinks in, the crowd starts to cheer. Conifer has advanced in these skills ever scinc the start of our sportsmanshp committee.

Spirit has been getting an upgrade with the Sportsmanship Committee at Conifer High School. Ms. Angie Sanders, advisor of this Sportsmanship Committee is excited about promoting positive cheering skills towards Conifer and their rivals.

Instead of cheering negative cheers

at Conifer’s rivals the Sportsmanship Committee works to help students encourage their peers to cheer positively and help others to start cheering for Conifer in an appropriate way.

Basketball is a challenging sport, to have crowd control over as well as to play. The rivals as well as Conifer fans are often a dissiplinary challenge for Conifer and the sportsmanship commitee.

“We were finding that during basketball season, especially the

indoor sports, that it was a really hard to have crowd control, over things that were happening, cheers that were inappropriate, things that were going back and forth between the opponents... so we formed a committee and I’m on that committee, with the Jeffco Athletic board,” said the Athletic Director, Angie Sanders the committee was formed five years ago and has maintained sportsmanship ever since that date.

In place of Conifers’ adult authority coming out to the court to control

by: Nicholas Faraco-Hadlock, Lucia Lewis, Vonie Grubb and Valerie King

Conifer senior Jake Evens pumps up the crowd and shouts to the student body during halftime at a recent basketball game. Evens is usually the lead pump up man for the crowd at home games, which also comes with the responsibility of being positive and respectful towards the visiting team. Forrest Czarnecki/The Lobo Legend

8

S

C-what? C-portsmanship We’re Bringing Spirit Back, Yeah!other students’ negative cheers, the Sportsmanship Committee is introducing a different kind of promotion to encourage Conifer’s student leaders to stand up for positive cheers.

“We don’t want to be the ones always saying to you guys, Don’t do to that, don’t do that, don’t do this. You know it gets old after a while; we feel that if we have student leaders who are promoting positive sportsmanship...it comes across a little bit different than it does an adult.”

Conifer wants to prevent negative cheers on both teams and not let Conifer’s cheers become inappropriate and even violent. During the basketball game on Wednesday, January 15th, the Spirit Committee encouraged the crowd supporting Conifer to say positive cheers.

Sanders said, “We want more kids to come, we want them to have fun, and we want the event to be a fun experience.”

Liam Ireland (11) goes through the handshake line after the upsetting 52-60 loss to Evergreen at home. The handshake line is a key part to any game to keep clean, appropriate and fun. Forrest Czarnecki/The Lobo Legend

Annie Trimarco (24) of Evergreen girls basketball low fives Conifer players after the CHS home game to promote good relations between the teams. Forrest Czarnecki/The Lobo Legend

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Sports Boys Basketball: Evergreen game only a bump in the road

“We’re not going to have fun at practice tomorrow, I’ll put it that way.” Those were the comments of Boys Varsity Basketball head coach Eric Valerio following the loss to Evergreen at home on Wednesday the 14th. The Lobos put up a 52-60 loss to the visiting Cougars, and need to regroup for the rest of the season, which is close to half way over. Despite a close score and an intense game, the Lobos couldn’t come up with a “W” against their conference rivals. “We got them in the bonus early,” said Coach Valerio, “but we didn’t take advantage of that.” But that was only a piece of the problematic puzzle that the Lobos tried to put together in four quarters. Shooting too many three pointers, departure from hard work down low, and poor execution under the basket troubled Conifer throughout the game. Valerio said, “Evergreen is a tough team, they played well, shot well” in response to the competition’s level of play, but said the Lobos need to play “better, smarter, harder, (our) best.” One key play right before half helped turn the tide for Evergreen. Going into half tied, Valerio called for his team to hold the ball, but the X’s and O’s didn’t line up right for the Lobos game plan. “We had a turnover (at the end),

by: Forrest Czarnecki

Conifer’s Jack Studer (2) goes for a lay-up during the Evergreen game on Wednesday the 14th. The Lobos lost 62-50 to the Cougars. Forrest Czarnecki/The Lobo Legend

then fouled,” said Coach Valerio about the momentum change in the game “and those mistakes killed us.” Those mistakes would roll into the third quarter, which ended with the Lobos trailing the Cougars by 9 points. Confidence, smartness, and both mental and physical toughness were stressed during practice for the Lobos prior to the matchup, but poor execution and mental submissiveness hampered the Lobos for most of the game. “Dustin (Morrison) played well, he brought intensity tonight,” commented Valerio, but the team could never establish a tempo that favored them.

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As for a coaching and strategic change, Valerio said, “We will up the practice intensity.” Playing in the toughest conference in the state, the Lobos will find out where their season will go in the remainder of the season. Going forward, “(we need to) get better, tougher, smarter,” said Valerio, “we’re looking to make the state tournament; for now we need to reel off a couple of wins.” Conifer Boys Varsity Basketball is now 11-5 overall, with their losses coming at the hands of Golden, Evergreen, Valor Christian, D’Evelyn, and Green Mountain. “We have a little fire under us now. Our opponents, even the people (of the ranking polls) don’t

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6

Sports respect us,” said Valerio when asked about his team’s ranking in the pre-season and current polls, “I don’t put a lot of stock into the polls, but it shows what people think about us.” The Lobos are keeping their heads up as they look down the road to the state tournament. Now the Lobos own a 3-4 record in league play, and have split the four games they have played since

the Evergreen matchup. Conifer boys basketball handed both Arvada High School and Standley Lake losses, beating them 70-52 and 46-41, respectively. Although they had two wins recently, the Lobos were dealt dual road losses by Valor Christian, falling 70-36 after four quarters, and D’Evelyn 58-55. The state competition is still a possibility for Conifer, currently fourth in their conference, entering the last quarter of the season.

. . .

At left, head coach Eric Valerio is seen drawing up plays prior to the game through a window adorned with motivational posters in his office. Below left, Valerio can only watch as the final seconds expire on the clock during the Lobos loss to school rival Evergreen. Forrest Czarnecki/The Lobo Legend

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Above left, players meet in coach’s office following the loss to Evergreen as Valerio prepares to give his post game speech. Above right, junior Robert Burnett reflects in solitude in the locker room after the game. Forrest Czarnecki/The Lobo Legend

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Basketball page 6>>

7

C-what? C-portsmanshipwish, goes the mesh as the

baskettball hits into the hoop and sinks in, the crowd starts to cheer. Conifer has advanced in these skills ever scinc the start of our sportsmanshp committee.

Spirit has been getting an upgrade with the Sportsmanship Committee at Conifer High School. Ms. Angie Sanders, advisor of this Sportsmanship Committee is excited about promoting positive cheering skills towards Conifer and their rivals.

Instead of cheering negative cheers

at Conifer’s rivals the Sportsmanship Committee works to help students encourage their peers to cheer positively and help others to start cheering for Conifer in an appropriate way.

Basketball is a challenging sport, to have crowd control over as well as to play. The rivals as well as Conifer fans are often a dissiplinary challenge for Conifer and the sportsmanship commitee.

“We were finding that during basketball season, especially the

indoor sports, that it was a really hard to have crowd control, over things that were happening, cheers that were inappropriate, things that were going back and forth between the opponents... so we formed a committee and I’m on that committee, with the Jeffco Athletic board,” said the Athletic Director, Angie Sanders the committee was formed five years ago and has maintained sportsmanship ever since that date.

In place of Conifers’ adult authority coming out to the court to control

by: Nicholas Faraco-Hadlock, Lucia Lewis, Vonie Grubb and Valerie King

Conifer senior Jake Evens pumps up the crowd and shouts to the student body during halftime at a recent basketball game. Evens is usually the lead pump up man for the crowd at home games, which also comes with the responsibility of being positive and respectful towards the visiting team. Forrest Czarnecki/The Lobo Legend

8

S

C-what? C-portsmanship We’re Bringing Spirit Back, Yeah!other students’ negative cheers, the Sportsmanship Committee is introducing a different kind of promotion to encourage Conifer’s student leaders to stand up for positive cheers.

“We don’t want to be the ones always saying to you guys, Don’t do to that, don’t do that, don’t do this. You know it gets old after a while; we feel that if we have student leaders who are promoting positive sportsmanship...it comes across a little bit different than it does an adult.”

Conifer wants to prevent negative cheers on both teams and not let Conifer’s cheers become inappropriate and even violent. During the basketball game on Wednesday, January 15th, the Spirit Committee encouraged the crowd supporting Conifer to say positive cheers.

Sanders said, “We want more kids to come, we want them to have fun, and we want the event to be a fun experience.”

Liam Ireland (11) goes through the handshake line after the upsetting 52-60 loss to Evergreen at home. The handshake line is a key part to any game to keep clean, appropriate and fun. Forrest Czarnecki/The Lobo Legend

Annie Trimarco (24) of Evergreen girls basketball low fives Conifer players after the CHS home game to promote good relations between the teams. Forrest Czarnecki/The Lobo Legend

9

10

To determine the fate of a possible 18.2 million dollar one time increase and 15.8 million dollar ongoing funding in next year’s Jeffco Education budget, 40 plus members of the Conifer community gathered in Conifer High School’s Cafeteria to give their input on how the money should be spent. This meeting was held on January 28th and is one of six which was held to get input from outside sources like teachers and parents. To give people time to speak their minds and debate with one another, the community members broke off into small groups of six to ten people at a table. John Newkirk, the school board member who represents the Conifer area, was present at the meeting. When asked about what he would spend the money on, he implied that a school needs to be built on Highway 93 for a growing population. Newkirk referred to the possible extra 18 million as a “negative factor pay down.” A few teachers from CHS also decided to come and attend the meeting including Chris Ferguson , Leslie Thompson, Torrey Carlton, and Eric Hallingstad (although he choose not to take part in the group discussions) After about a ten minute discussion, a representative from each table was chosen to speak to the entire room. The representatives read off a list of the top priorities their table group would like to see the money be spent on. They had a choice of seven different items ranging from student achievement to teacher compensation. Possible the top three most controversial topics of the evening included money for charter schools, teacher compensation, and autonomous use of funding to schools. Each group had a nearly unanimous decision about all the other options except for these three. The 18 million dollar addition to the budget is a one time boost from state funding. Although the district is very likely to receive the funding, Newkirk referred to it as “potential funding.”

18,000,000 Dollar D

ecision

Top six spending options: - Technology Fund

- Student Achievement

-Addition to the Reserve

-Teacher Compensation

-Capital Infrastructure

- Autonomous use for schools

Above, a representative speaks about the funding decisions of her table.Karsten Rygh/The Lobo Legend

Gas prices couldn’t be low at a better time, but will it last? Will gas prices continue to drop? Maybe. Will gas prices go back up? Per-haps. The real answer is that no one can say for certain. Some econo-mists predict low gas prices will bring about a recession. Others say it is necessary for a healthy econo-my. These are the lowest gas prices we have seen since 2008. Looking at the past fifteen years, gas prices tend to go in four year cycles. At the beginning of the four year cycle gas prices are low, and then grad-ually increase for the remaining years. Then they drop rapidly for a short period of time until they begin to increase. However, we could be re-entering the 1980s and 1990s. During this time, oil prices decreased steadily over these 20 years. As a result, there was no reason for the car industry to create more efficient vehicles. The governmental regulations regarding fuel economy have re-mained stagnant since 1990. Over the past twenty-five years, auto-makers have been required to meet an overall average of 27.5 miles per gallon across their entire model lineup. The requirements will be raised to 36 miles per gallon next year. If automakers do not meet the requirements, they are fined on each vehicle sold. So why don’t automakers just make smaller cars? Profit. Large cars cost more because consumers expect something larger to cost more. Small cars cost less because consumers expect something small-

er to cost less. Basically, automakers make more off of large cars. High gas prices over the past eight years have driven automakers to create more fuel efficient cars. Hybrids, all-electric, and more die-sel powered passenger cars have all aimed to get consumers’ attention. So who wins here? Consumers, at least, initially. Lucky for the US,

Gas Prices are Tankingby: Karsten Rygh

however, our main portion of the economy is not dependent on oil. Other nations such as Saudi Arabia and Russia may be in more trouble being that oil is a major portion of their economy. But in our global society, a worldwide recession is possible. As for right now, enjoy the

photo by: Forrest Czarnecki/The Lobo Legend

graphic by: Bryce Patton/The Lobo Legend

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A M

an With N

o Enemies

A kangaroo tattoo isn’t the most interesting thing about Mark Ellerbreok, ‘15.

Mark Ellerbroek is a man with a vibrant story. A global-trotter since ‘96, Ellerbroek was born in Perth, Australia and moved to snowy Steamboat at the age of 3. Ellerbroek skied and hiked his way through his childhood, and occasional played basketball. Ellerbroek, much like his fellow Senior, Liam Canty, is a fan of playing rugby; (Ellerbroek and Canty are both on the same undefeated rugby team, PAC). Rugby is a sport Ellerbroek takes pride in playing because it allows for various body types, and no one is more important than then another.

Ellerbroek is the type of person to always keep a secret, it was a surprise when Ellerbroek spread news of his fresh ink to his fellow classmates during his 7th grade year at West Jeff. Ellerbroek acquired the tattoo on a family trip in Belize, where he took a step off the beaten path and explored the country. That trip put many things in perspective for Ellerbroek. He saw the world for what it really was: a miracle, indifferent yet breathtaking. The tattoo he got on his back, a kangaroo with a gun to be exact, represents never giving up and always being a fighter.

A man with no enemies, Ellerbroek credits that accomplish to him being caring and compassionate. He distances himself from negative. On what he’s learned from life so far, Ellerbroek has this to say. “one thing I’ve learned in life, is life has a purpose, and it;s up to you to figure out your purpose in life. Everyone is important and everyone will find their place.”

A Few of the Many.

12

Liam

Can

ty, ‘

15

Some

call him Triple L, others call him

Long Limb Liam

There is a man in Conifer High School that lives his life by one mantra: “Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.” What that mantra infers, you’ll have to ask the man himself, Liam Canty. An avid adventurer, Canty feels blessed and thankful that he lives in Evergreen; where the mountains are close and an adventure is always around the corner. Canty is an entrepreneur of sports. He started playing baseball in the first grade, but later traded in his baseball mitts for a rugby glove and an undefeated champion team; a decision he has feels no remorse over. Forever on the heels of adventure, Canty and his

friends camped and explored Moab, Utah, a city just short of the Grand Canyon, with vast rocky landscapes perfect for any adventurer. The trip to Moab lead to a brotherly bond between Canty and his friends. It’s been four years since Canty was a freshman, but he has a vivid memory and can still remember Steve Duff chasing Wayne Carpenter down the hallway for impersonating a gym teacher. It’s memories like those that Canty cherises because they’re filled with happiness and laughter, which Canty thinks are pivotal to everyday life. Canty is known to be a joker, but there are moments of absolute brilliance where Canty

speaks the word of God. During one of those moments, Canty said, “stay outgoing. If you’re you’re not outgoing become outgoing.” And by that, Canty means that if you put yourself out there, you’ll have more room to grow and become a better version of you. “A constant sense of happiness and exhilaration.” That’s how Canty describes snowboarding. To him, snowboarding is a complete release of all his worries and stress. Imagine flying through the air and then landing on soft plush snow, and maybe you’ll know what it feels like to be Liam Canty.

Profiles on Conifer High School Students.

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Greta G

ohring, ‘17

A midnight trotter, an occasional rockclimber, and a daydreamer.

On an average green day, Greta Gohring can be found in Bar-nett’s seminar where she catch-es up on late homework and procrastinates on twitter. Born in Denver, Colorado; Junior Greta Gohring and her two brothers often biked and skate-boarded as children , which lead her to developed a deep appreciation for the outdoors. As she grew up, she started playing volleyball in the 5th grade, and has been play-ing it ever since. Gohring has many talents, and one of those is playing her beloved ukulele. Gohring is a pursuer of ad-venture, so she often travels to Golden and Morrison to rock climb. And she states that the climb is always worth it, be-cause the feeling of reaching

the top is beyond that of any drug. In the summer of ‘14, Gohring ventured in a canoe to Lost Lake during the hour of midnight; and that moment has gone down in history as one of Gohring’s favorite moments. Gohring is not an inbetweener, so that’s why her least favorite season is Spring; it’s not warm enough, and it isn’t cold enough; it’s just in between. Gohring wants to be a certified bada$$ when she grows up a.k.a Bio Medical En-gineer; she plans to go to CSU in order to accomplished that feat. Gohring is a daydreamer; she daydreams often of visiting Venice and doing anything

and under the sun. She often quotes, “a busy life is never a waste of life if you’re doing what you like,” as a reminder to always live life to the fullest. Gohring, who is often referred to by her friends as “The Gretch” or “T-Gretch,” is a lover of lemonade and Frosted Flakes. Gohring has had her share of high achieve-ments, which includes receiv-ing All-Conference in golf, her freshmen year. Which was quite a feat, due to the fact that Gohring had just started play-ing golf. If she were stranded in Los Angeles, with $20, Gohring says she would save her $20, go sightseeing, visit the beach, and hijack a segway.

As S

tead

y A

s A S

trea

m

Kris

t El

lerbroek ‘18, has a love for pro-

cras

tination and boys dressed in black.

Kristi Ellerbroek 18’, was born in whimsical Steamboat, Col-orado. At the tender age of 3, she took a fall off a car and just recently had surgery to fix a scar tissue in her head. She not only rides horses, but she also trains a horse, specifically a red roan horse named Ginger, whose ironically named after her mane. Ellerbroek, like many, has a dream; her dream is to be an architect. Ellerbroek has a habit of buying a bunch of interior design books, then cutting out her favorite rooms and filling them in a scrap-book. She says she does this for future reference. Old habits die hard, and till this day, Ellerbroek still horseback rides

and scrapbooks aesthetically pleasing rooms. Rugby is the family sport. Ellerbroek, and her brother, Mark Ellerbroek have been playing rugby since they were children. Rugby is so much part of their lives, that their father took on the re-sponsibility of training them. How far the Ellerbroek siblings plan to take their rugby career, you’ll have to ask them. Ellerbroek has a thing for quotes with vague mean-ings. Her quote de jour is, “don’t light yourself on fire to keep some else warm.” Infer that quote however you want, but to Ellerbroek it means, be your own rock, protect your-self.

Everybody has their limits, and Ellerbroek’s is when people fail to say “thank you” after receiving a service or out of politeness. Ellerbroek has many fond memories from her childhood. A particular favor-ite is the river in her backyard where a pet cemetery lay, and Ellerbroek would sprin-kle sand, which she thought possessed magic qualities, onto the pet cemetery because she thought the pets deserved something pretty in their time of rest. The most magical thing she has is the sand, and her steady heart.

High School Musical actually does exist… at least for me

As an exchange student, you not only get the possibility to get to know a new culture but also a new type of educational system. In my case, we are talking about the Austrian and the American school systems which I had never guessed could be so differ-ent. Austria, which is a pretty small country in the heart of Europe, has a more complicat-ed school system than the US.Education in Austria is free and there are nine obligatory years.

Most Austrian kids start their education when they are three years old and attend kindergarten for three voluntary years. Then they continue with four years of “Volkss-chule” which is primary school. Once those four years are completed students get to choose if they want to go to a “Hauptschule” or to a “Gymnasium,” a type of secondary and high school all in one which takes eight years and finishes with the A-levels.

Students who choose to go to a “Haupt-schule,” which is secondary school, have a

choice in their educational way after another four years and can either do a year of pre-ap-prenticeship school and start an apprentice-ship afterwards, enroll at “Gymnasium” for four years, or attend a vocational school for another five years and finish school with the A-Levels and a diploma in either Tourism, Business, or Engineering.

But what are the differences in daily school life between Austria and the US? – Well, I have only been to High School for a few days but I can already tell there are many. For example, Austrian students do not need to switch classrooms after every peri-od (which by the way only take 50 minutes) because the teachers go to the students’ class-room. Furthermore, rules at Austrian schools are very strict in comparison to those here. Students must use the formal term of address when speaking to a teacher and the relation-ship between them and their students is not that laid back. Eating during classes is not al-lowed in Austria so I guess you can probably imagine that I was a little bit shocked when I saw that there are microwaves in classrooms. One thing I really like about school here is that one is able to choose classes because in Austria there is a fixed obligatory sched-ule. Another difference is that Austrians don’t have to do finals at the end of every semester but have to pass a variety of exams and tests during the school year. And guess what? –

16

Teachers don’t show us the tests in the lesson before or give us multiple choice tests! An experience that has been entirely new for me was seeing a basketball game. I was just overwhelmed and really im-pressed! In Austria, we do not have school sports and if we would have nobody would show up to encourage and cheer for the sports team. How much spirit people show here for their school is just amazing and I already know that I will miss that once I am back home. Hopefully, I have been able to give you a little insight in the Austrian way of education. I really cannot tell which way of education I like better, however, I am really thankful that I got the chance to experience attending an American High School which still makes me feel like be-ing in High School Musical… just with-out the dancing.

1 Clubbing and drinking age: Austrians are allowed to drink and buy alcoholicbevarages and go out clubbing at the age of 16 years.

2 Every skier’s drem:Altough Austria is three times smaller than Colorado, they have the same number of ski resorts. Austrian ski resorts are pretty modern: heated chairlifts and handrasts that open and close automatically are stan-dart almost everywhere.

3 The land of tolerance:After more than 45 years the singer Conchita Wurst, a drag queen, whose aim is to open peoples’ eyes to tolerate every human being the way they are, led Austria to victory in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014. Want to listen to one of her songs? - Give “Rise Like a Phoenix” a try!

4 Have you ever had Kaiserschmarrn after a day on the slopes? No? - You have missed something! Austrian food is just amazing.

4 facts about Austria

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Creative Creatures

Arts of All Kinds

Torrey Carlton, Conifer High School art teacher, has multiple plans and events scheduled for this upcoming semester. While his students continue working on assignments, Carlton plans to create an event open to not only all students, but also open to the whole community. For this phenomenon, Carlton has decided to combine all the “arts”, poetry, dance, music, writing, ceramics, painting, and straight creating, into one mid-semester bash nearing the end of April. Though he has not announced times or costs, Carlton will be setting up donation boxes across the community to raise money for the event. Students, teachers, children, and adults from all over the community “will be welcomed” to Conifer High School’s auditorium where the art bash will be held and are welcome to participate with the students. Throughout the auditorium, art pieces of all kind will be displayed along with an array of consisting of locally made desserts, appetizers, and common

Arts of All Kinds

Creative Creatures

Photo by Annabelle C

ohen

Photo by Annabelle C

ohen

by: Annabelle Cohen

18

Amy Marble carves and edits a ceramic piece.

Photo by Annabelle C

ohen

Photo by Annabelle C

ohen

Photo by Annabelle C

ohen

AnnAlyse Garvey works on completing a ceramic mug.

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Drum it UpWith his students already working on mugs, bowls, and candles, Torrey Carlton has assigned a new “side-project” to both his class students, and his art club members: drums. Carlton believes that “as a form of art, music is so important to so many people.” Hand built of everything from thin layers of metal to thick, hand-thrown clay, these drums will be put to use at a full drum circle at the mid-semester bash. Students and local community members are welcome to join the “circle of music and jams” to create a rhythm of their own using the student-made drums. Carlton plans to hire a professional DJ to put to use as a source for background music to give the drummers a beat to follow.

Drum it Up

Je Suis

Words are inexplicably powerful. The right combination of words can instigate catastrophes or define the meaning of human existence. They form ideas which can revolutionize perspectives. There are a myriad of things literature and words capture that are undefinable in any other manner. Modern society has grown bold, and has rightfully learned to embrace the beauty of free speech. Recently in Paris, France, a few words and evocatively drawn cartoons caused an uproar and the murder of 17 people.The publication Charlie Hebdo often published anti-Muslim statements which instigated the attack. Instead of reacting with fear, the citizens of France rallied to support freedom of speech. The irony in their reaction is brilliant. The terrorists not only failed in their goal to spread panic among the people, but their sickening actions managed to inspire free people everywhere to begin a new dawn in freedom of expression. The cartoon which originally would have reached a few thousand people, has been broadcast to millions internationally thanks to the actions of the terrorists. The founder of the satirical publication, Stephen Charbonnier, was killed in the recent attack. His death has become an international symbol and therefore he has become a type of martyr. In the city of Paris, nearly a million protestors gathered for a “unity rally.” People held up signs that read “Je suis Charlie” or in English, “I am Charlie.” The hash tag #JeSuisCharlie has even managed to take over twitter and other popular social media sites. Even the popular American TV show the Simpsons proclaimed it support with a cartoon with the words Je suis Charlie written on a flag. A public gathering of this large size has not ever been seen in the history of the modern city. J.K. Rowling once said, “Anything is possible if you’ve got enough nerve.” Although she may just be a popular fiction author, her

words shadow the darkness going on in today’s world. The plotline of the popular Harry Potter series lines up perfectly to the current battle over terrorism in Paris. Somewhere in a dark cave, a gutless coward brainwashes followers with promises of power in exchange for completion of despicable tasks, like terrorist attacks on the free world. The followers hide beneath masks to hide their cowardly identities while they try to terrorize, abuse, and destroy. Rowling’s Death Eaters are nothing more than real-world terrorists. Still, because of one person, hope springs and grows into an unstoppable light. Stephen Charbonnier may not be the “chosen one,” but he is undoubtedly the hero of this story. A common idea of justice becomes unbeatable as people refuse the fear that the darkness threatens. Fear not only inhibits action, but oppresses opportunities for growth. The iconic character Harry Potter, like FDR, admits that the thing he fears is fear itself, in the book Prisoner of Azkaban. In France, people have started to realize that the terrorist group’s main weapon is fear. With this realization, people in France have taken away terrorists’ most deadly weapon. If people internationally hold onto this realization and help it to spread, terrorists will soon be an endangered organization. Perhaps this might not be a complete solution to the fight against terrorism, but it is a very important step. No matter how stereotypical the phrase “the pencil is mightier than the sword,” it is true. The people of France decided to not fight terrorists with violence, but with pens and pencils. At marches and demonstrations, they can be seen holding pens in the air like a salute to the unalienable right of freedom of speech. Never before has there been a better symbol of freedom, a symbol of justice, a symbol of intellectual challenge, and a symbol of peace.

by: Ashley Hopko A symbol of freedom

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Je Suis

Walking through the halls it is not uncommon to see trash littering the floor; walk down into the parking lots and the amount of refuse seems to triple. It is tossed through both the senior and junior lots, thrown haphazardly into any truck bed. Here’s a tip for Conifer High School’s litterbugs: YOUR MOTHER DOESN’T WORK HERE! By the time our little bugs reach high school I think it’s probably pretty evident what a trash can is but it seems that their feeble bug minds still can’t figure out what it’s for. The stare at it in confusion tilting their head, and making small whimpering noises. Even as their eyes glance from the trash can to the trash in their hand the idea just doesn’t go full circuit. If it does, then their tiny little lazy bug bodies can’t be bothered to walk a whole three feet over to a trash can. Last time I checked though Freza’s only got one child going to this school so I’m a little confused as to why he is having to pick up everyone else’s trash strewn on the benches outside his door. That’s absurd. All the little bugs are running headlong at any AP class they see, but they still haven’t mastered the kindergarten skill of putting trash into a trash receptacle. No wonder everyone then complains about their classes because the horror of doing even an iota of work is just

too much to handle. Finding a crushed Bud Light can thrown into the back of my truck not only brings up a problem of under-age drinking...at school….shame on you!...but of the fact that my truck bed is not for your use. You might think I want you crap in the back of my truck but I don’t. The disrespect that I see through just the act of dropping a Wendy’s cup on the ground is so phenomenal that I am amazed that these bugs are about to go out into the world and preach about how we need to “save the planet” because everyone is cutting down the rain forest. There are two trash cans in the senior lot alone, not to mention the one at the bottom of the school stairs that has to be passed in order to get into the school, and the numerous trash cans that sit in our halls just begging to be filled with trash. If throwing trash away isn’t a strong suit, then don’t bother applying for college because you won’t make a productive adult anyway. Have fun working at a gas station.

by: Emily Jones

cartoon: Bryce Patton

Litter Bugs

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