What’s Inside:

Green HornThe Award-Winning Student Publication of Springfield High School and the Tech Center

February 22, 2010 Volume 30, Edition 5

During World War II, Springfield, Vermont, was a thriving and successful town. Many engineers lived in town at the time and Springfield’s pro-

duction of machine tools and weaponry made the town an influential center for manufacturing. Unfortunately, Springfield has declined since the mid-20th century. Springfield is now a no-name small town that travelers on Route 91 pass without a second thought. To return notoriety to Springfield, Springfield High School Literacy Coach Kevin Coen, Special Edu-cation Teacher Elizabeth Goddard, and the Springfield High School Student Council introduced Project VISTA this autumn. Project VISTA is a chance for teenagers to team with members of the Springfield community and act to improve Springfield, Vermont. “It’s a combination of a contest and com-munity improvement,” Coen said of Project VISTA.

Three Teams Involved in

Project VISTA

By Sarah Gray

See VISTA page 23

Springfield High School acquired a truancy officer this past winter. The officer, Kevin J. Anderson, has been a citizen of Springfield for about 30

years. "The position was posted by the Springfield School District for people interested to apply,” Anderson said. “I was required to submit a resume and three letters of reference. I was then interviewed for the position." A truancy officer is someone who makes sure that students are going to school. Vermont state law requires that school-age children from 6-16 must go to school for the full number of days that school is held. New Hampshire lawmakers raised the drop-out age in the state to 18, and some schools, like Stevens High School in Claremont, New Hampshire, have hired

Kevin Anderson Named Truancy Officer By Erika Anderson

As a truancy officer, Kevin Anderson will make sure students get to school. See Anderson page 20

Bernie Sanders

visits SHS,p. 5

Tiny Dancers in The Little

Prince,p. 6

Girls sports offer valid

competition,p. 19

The Cosmos boys varsity soccer team, Division II State Champions this autumn, visited the Vermont State House in early February. The boys,

flanked by their coaches Paul Kendall and Corey Cenate above, talked with Governor Jim Douglas and viewed a session of the Vermont Legislature. The

team was honored with a proclamation noting their achievement.

pg nroeG Hner�

Green Horn Interview

Erika Anderson, Ryan Brady, John Forbes, Sarah Gray, Sam Hensel-Hunter, Angelo Jardina, Maria Stern,

and Olivia Thayer

GREEN HORN STAFFCo-EditorCo-EditorCo-EditorLayout EditorLayout EditorPhotography EditorSports EditorTech News Editor

A shley Richardson.....................O livia Johnson........................... J enny Bradley.......................... S amuel L. Benton....................K elsey Christensen....................L aurel Porter.............................C ourtney Downing...................Melissa Tarbell............................

----------------REPORTERS---------------

By Laurel Porter

.Rebecca Skrypeck Is Five Years and Counting with

Theatre

Rehearsals have begun for Rebecca Skrypeck’s tenth show as Springfield High School Drama Club Advisor. You Can’t Take It with You marks

Skrypeck's fifth year in the position. In addition to directing the spring and fall shows, Skrypeck has also directed shows for the Springfield Community Play-ers, and directs SHS student participation in the Page to Stage program at the Weston Playhouse. A native of Holyoke, Massachusetts, Skypeck came to SHS after receiving her Masters Degree from Ohio University. She became a full-time teacher in 2005.

Green Horn: Please introduce yourself.Rebecca Skrypeck: I’m Rebecca Skrypeck, a drama and English teacher. One of my favorite ways to describe myself is to say that I am a drama teacher who teaches English, not an English teacher who teaches drama. This is my fifth year at SHS.

You’re the Drama Club advisor and director. How many plays have you directed since you came here?The show this spring will be about my tenth show. The first fall one-act I directed never went up. We had a number of kids drop out, and they couldn’t do it, so

we never really had a full fall show my first year here. So, I guess you could say that I directed ten shows, and nine of them went to show. Out of those, two of them were musicals, and they were the first musicals I ever directed.

What were those two musicals?The first one was Anything Goes, and the second one was How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. I worked with Tom Heintzelman [the former SHS Band Director] on the first one, and Jim Chlebak [current band director] on the second one for music directors. When we do the third musical next year, I’ll work with Mr. Chlebak.

Are there any ideas about what that musical might be?I’m afraid to put this in print, but I am thinking about Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I’ve also always been toying with The Wizard of Oz, and every Christmas my mom has been getting me weird Wizard of Oz stuff, so I think she’s pushing me towards doing that. Either way, it’s going to be a huge show. I’ve also always played with the idea of doing Alice in Wonderland, but that’s more of a play. The musical is kind of weird and

that to a women’s violence charity. I also didn’t direct, but acted in, Crimes of the Heart. I played Babe. I mostly help out backstage with the Players, and I’m on the Board. I’m the secretary. They let [the Drama Club] borrow so much stuff prop and set-wise. It’s really nice to have a collaborative with them.

What is your role in relation to the Hartness House?I directed a dinner theatre. Some students from SHS participated in it, as did teachers from Riverside. We had some students from Keene State College participate in it. It was my first dinner theatre, so the space was weird to work with, but I was proud. We had a sold-out show, and people really seemed to enjoy it.

What work have you done with the Weston Play-house?I work with the Weston Playhouse not in a profes-sional capacity but in an educational capacity. When I first came to SHS, I kind of ended up doing the Page to Stage program by default. [David] Stern, who was here before me, had set it up, and I ended up doing it. Ever since then, every year I’ve been going to either the Page to Stage teacher conferences and taking the students to the matinee in the fall. We’ve done the Page to Stage program for three years, where the student actors work with staff at Weston and get to perform for the actors, who put on the show professionally, and get their feedback. Hopefully next year we’ll be doing Death of a Salesman.

How have your five years at SHS been so far?I can’t complain, after thinking about my past jobs. I don’t think I’ve ever had a job for longer than three years before, not because I’ve been fired, but because situations have come up in my life and it’s time to move on. I may not have wanted to leave those jobs, but it was time to leave those jobs, for graduate school or anything else. So, I was kind of freaked out when the three-year mark hit and I was still working here my fourth year. And now it’s my fifth year. In some ways, I know it’s not time to move on. I don’t have that gut feeling that says “Get out now and start running for the hills!” I’m happy. I’m content. [My husband and I] have a house. We have a dog. I don’t miss living in the city.

sketchy. I don’t think it works as a musical.

You’ve direct-ed a show for the Springfield C o m m u n i t y Players, cor-rect?Yes, I directed T h e Va g i n a Monologues by Eve Ensler. We did two week-ends over the summer, and raised over a thousand dol-lars. We gave about half of

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News

By Maria Stern

Budget Is Ready

See Budget page 22

sociated with the bond principal payment.” The proposed school budget was finalized in late January at $25,440,521. The obligation to the River Valley Technical Center is an additional $630,000. “In order that the 2011 budget does not ex-ceed the costs contained in the 2010 budget, and honors contracts with teachers and other staff, cuts had to be made,” said school board member Marilyn Thompson in an e-mail. “The board, administrators, and the budget committee tried to find a way to do the least harm while maintaining the program,” said Perotti. Proposed cuts include a guidance counselor in the elementary schools, the elementary Bridge Pro-gram, Title I teachers in the elementary schools, a health clerk, and an athletic trainer at the high school. “There are cuts in almost every area, from supplies to staffing,” said SHS Co-Principal Bob Thibault in an e-mail. Springfield High School officials made

Tight and Adequate

The school budget in Springfield is a regular topic of heated debate and disagreements. It is respon-sible for late-running board meetings and long

deliberations. The 2010-2011 budget is no exception. One of the challenges in creating this budget involved balancing payments on the school bond during tough economic times. In order to make this possible, the budget was level funded. Level funding means the 2010-2011 budget will not be larger than the 2009-2010 budget. “Although not a formal mandate, the board made it clear it wanted to level fund operating expenses so that the only addition to our overall budget was the payment on our construction bond,” said school board chairman Larry Kraft in an e-mail. “The goal is to adequately fund the budget, to maintain the integrity of the Springfield School District's educational program, and not overburden the local taxpayers,” added Superintendent Frank Perotti in an e-mail. “That budget was essentially a level funded operating budget and only added the new expenses as-

Nick Chlebek practices with Lucas Sheldon on sax. On February 5th and 6th, SHS musicians joined other area band students for the Winter

Music Festival at Windsor High School. Chlebak represented SHS in the jazz band playing guitar. Erika Anderson, Jen Stein, Emily Mobus, and Brittany

Adnams performed in the District Chorus. These students auditioned earlier this fall and winter and played with musicians from such schools as Leland and Gray

High School, Woodstock High School, and Bellows Falls High School.

Social studies teacher Angelo Jardina stands alongside Abraham Lincoln at

the conclusion of Lincoln's talk. During Lincoln's speech, Jardina

measured himself against the famous historical figure. Jardina was a

half-inch taller than the 16th President.

To a smattering of appreciative applause and the delightful admiration of students and staff, Abraham Lincoln delivered a few well-chosen

remarks to social studies classes and teachers in the Springfield High School Cafeteria the week before February break. Lincoln, who turned 191 this February, was impersonated by Steve Wood, a Claremont, New Hampshire, native. As Wood recounted in a question-and-answer session after his speechifying, he has played Lincoln for about 16 years. His initial performance as Lincoln occurred as part of a dramatization of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and inspired his career as impersonator of the famous 16th President of the United States. Lincoln discussed such topics as his read-ing habits, his son Robert Todd Lincoln (who attended Phillips-Exeter Academy in New Hampshire), campaign stops in Manchester and Dover, New Hampshire, his family, and the Civil War, the "terrible war" as he de-cribed it. The talk--spiced with frontier anecdotes and homespun aphorisms--concluded famously as Abraham Lincoln read The Gettysburg Address, a speech three minutes in length, which followed a 2-hour oration at the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield in November of 1863. After his formal presentation concluded, Wood explained that it had taken him about two months to grow his Lincolnesque beard. Additionally, his cus-tom-made outfit was historically accurate, though since it was wool, it tended to be "toasty" in warm weather. Wood also encouraged audience members to read about Lincoln in such detailed biographies as Lincoln, pub-lished in 1995, and the more recent Team of Rivals.

Lincoln in Springfield

By Peter Mike

pg nroeG Hner�

News

Drama is involved in the lives of some high school students on a daily basis. However, a group of Springfield High School students are taking

the notion of drama to a new level and staging a spring production of You Can’t Take It With You. The play was chosen by Springfield High School English teacher, drama coach, and director Rebecca Skrypeck because of its witty script. “I really liked the script. I was also in the play my senior year of high school,” Skrypeck said. “I have a lot of seniors this year. I remember having so much fun with it my senior year that I wanted to do if for this group's senior year.” You Can’t Take It With You, by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, is a comic play with three acts. The play revolves around the Sycamores, a dys-functional, yet loving, family living in New York City in 1936. Alice Sycamore, played by senior Eliza Pennell, is the daughter of Penelope and Paul Sycamore and the fiancé of Tony Kirby, played by senior John Esden. Tony’s family is wealthy and distant, so when it comes time for the two families to meet, Alice is embarrassed by her family and fears that this could cause trouble for her relationship with Tony. The play suggests to the audience that in the end, the materialistic view of

life doesn’t matter as much as the people you choose to spend your life with. Auditions for the spring production of You Can’t Take It With You were held on Tuesday, January 5th, and Thursday, January 7th, in the SHS Auditorium. Skrypeck said there was a large turnout for the play. “I thought I was going to have too many students for parts but that was not the case," she said. "I had enough but I had too many girls. Some of the male parts will be turned into female parts.” Assistant director junior Alanna Parker feels the auditions were successful this year. “We all know each other from previous plays, so we get along well,” Parker said. Senior Emily Mobus auditioned for You Can’t Take It With You because she knew it was her last chance to perform in a drama production at SHS. “I really enjoy being in productions like this,” Mobus said. Mobus will be playing the role of Essie Sycamore, the sister of Alice and a ballet dancer, who dances through-out the entire show. Sophomore Erika Anderson was unable to audition for the play because she was performing in the opera The Little Prince, which was produced at the Weston Playhouse and the Dorset Playhouse this winter.

You Can’t Take it With YouA Good Shindig

By Sarah Gray

Instead of participating in the cast on stage, Anderson will be a first-year member of the drama tech crew. “Since I was unable to audition, I decided, instead of doing nothing, I would learn to be on tech crew,” Anderson said. “If I want to get into theater as a career, then I want to be familiar with every part of the theater. I want to be well-rounded.” Sophomore Sam Hensel-Hunter chose to audition for the spring production because the play appealed to him as a chance to act out a range of per-sonalities presented through the characters. “It’s a lot of fun acting, and it looked like a fun play,” Hensel-Hunter said. Hensel-Hunter will be playing the roles of Ed Carmicheal and Donald. Ed is married to Essie, and Donald is the maid Rheba’s boyfriend. Junior Laurel Porter auditioned for the play because she enjoys acting and wanted to have something to do in her free time. “I like having something to do. If I don’t have something to do then I feel like I’m go-ing to die,” Porter said. “I need to have something that helps me avoid doing something else.” Porter will be playing the part of Mr. De-Pinna, an iceman who once stepped into the Sycamore’s house to speak to Paul Sycamore and then never got around to leaving. He now resides in the basement and helps Mr. Sycamore assemble fireworks. “I came one day to deliver ice and never left,” Porter said, describing her character. Barrett Skrypeck will handle set design for You Can’t Take It With You and Velcea Kae will be in charge of lighting. SHS Photography teacher Catherine Moore will be in charge of costumes. “Mr. [Barrett] Skrypeck is doing the set design. It is going to look like the inside of a really cluttered house,” Mrs. Skrypeck said. “A house where the inhabitants collect a lot of things and people. Very lived-in. Velcea Kae is our lighting designer and I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet about her plans. But we hope to have a lot of great lights. Costumes, done by Mrs. Moore, are in the progress of being created and pulled from the costume closet. They are going to be more representative of character versus time [the 1930s]. It will all come together nicely.” The play will hit the stage of the SHS Audi-torium on Friday, March 19th, at 7:00 pm. There will also be a performance on Saturday, March 20th, at 7:00 pm, and Sunday, March 21st, at 2:00 pm. Students and faculty involved with the play believe the play will be a success. “Of course it will be a success,” Skrypeck insisted. “The Drama Club here is amazing and hard-working.” “We have a lot of good actors, a good direc-tor, and a good stage crew,” Anderson concluded. “It’s going to be a good shindig.”

Drama Club members study the script of You Can't Take It With You, a

comedy about the relationship between two families in 1936. Emily Mobus

(Essie Sycamore) shows character in body language while Eliza Pennell

(Alice Sycamore) and Jon Esden (Tony Kirby) stand behind other performers at rehearsal. Jess Watkins (Penelope Sycamore) prepares for funny stuff.

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News

John BrickelsAs part of the SHS Arts Academy

Program, visiting artist John Brickels helped students sculpt

architeture and machinery models from January 11-January 14. Though

his strength involves constructing detailed creative models of machinery

and surreal industrial buildings, he excels at architectural sculptures.

(Left) Freshman Samir Mann examines one of Brickel's sculpted robots.

Elissa CampbellVermont crafter Elissa Campbell worked with Rebecca Skrypeck's

freshmen English class making books. Campbell, from Montpelier, visited Springfield High School on January

21st and 22nd. The seven classes she worked with will then incorporate their

classwork into the books. Skrypeck's class made books of poetry. (Right)

Juniors Felicia Blish and Deanna Beam make their poetry books.

Visiting Artists Enrich SHS

Bernie Sanders Wants Students InvolvedBy Liza Fontaine

Age, eye color, social class, hair color, race. None of it matters: a United States citizen is a United States citizen. U.S. Vermont Senator Bernie

Sanders spoke with students and staff at Springfield High School on January 12th about these citizenship issues in Vermont and the country. “Everyone who wants to be in higher educa-tion should be able to [attend college] regardless of their family’s financial standing,” said Sanders, speaking in the SHS Auditorium. In his speech Sanders said that money should not be an issue when it comes to education for students. For example, Sanders said the United States is losing people who could be good doctors because they cannot afford to go to college. Sanders said that today, the United States is facing a crisis: a debt crisis. Paying for college is dif-ficult when the government’s debt problem is affecting citizens' back accounts. Sanders wants to help students who are interested in attending medical school, who

would otherwise go into debt paying for college. He wants to set up a system by which their debt will be forgiven. “Bernie Sanders was right to say everyone should be able to go to college,” said sophomore Felicia Graham afterwards. “But college is something to earn and we would be allowing people, who don’t care, to get in free.” Sanders also discussed health care. He said that all citizens have human rights and that health care is a human right. He stated that 46 million Americans do not have health care. To help more Americans get health care, Sanders is trying to establish more health centers in Vermont. He feels that this should not be an economic concern because health care is a human right and such care is lacking in the U.S. At the assembly, Sanders emphasized the

See Sanders page 20

College, Health Care, Economy

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FeaturesThe Little Prince

Dancing Beyond GenerationsBy Erika Anderson

Going back to school after the holidays is always a drag. About 400 students rolled out of bed to get ready for school on Monday, January

4th. However, over holiday break and for a few weeks afterwards, three Springfield High School students were sporadically absent from their classes. While they were racking up absences, these students were at the Opera Theatre of Weston’s rehearsals for the production of The Little Prince. "We started on the 29th learning our dance," said SHS sophomore Lauren Fountain, who played the part of a rose. "We continued rehearsal almost every day after that." The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, is a powerful novel which appeals to different age groups and generations. A pilot crash-lands in the Sahara Desert and meets the Little Prince, who asks the pilot, “Please draw me a sheep.” Gradually, in install-ments throughout the book, the Pilot narrates his story. With music composed by Rachel Portman, the story is presented in the form of an opera of the same title. The Weston theatre performance was direct-ed by Diana Stugger with musical direction by Angela Gooch and choreography by Ashley Hensel-Browning. The performance featured a children’s chorus sung by local youth and boy soprano Taylor Ampatiellos as the Little Prince. SHS senior Eliza Pennell played the part of a dancing rose. "We dance in the second act after the Little Prince arrives on Earth and meets the snake," she said in January. "The Prince then wanders into a rose garden." The Prince is disappointed to find six silly roses, as vain and proud as those on his planet. Three singing roses and three dancing roses make up this conceited contingent. Lauren Fountain also played a dancing rose. This was Fountain’s third performance with the Opera Theatre of Weston. "I was asked [to participate] by Ashley Hensel-Browning and gladly accepted," Foun-tain said. "I have played the role of a number, a frog, an angel, and now a rose." The dancing was on pointe, a form of ballet. The dancers were fortunate enough to be able to dye their pointe shoes green. "We dyed them with Sharpies, which was fun," said Pennell. A large challenge for students participating in the opera involved the amount of school they missed. Students would miss a few hours each day during the two-week interlude. "Missing school isn't hard if you stay on top of things," said Fountain afterward. "If you procrastinate it is more stressful." Fountain felt it was hard to miss lecture-based classes, however. Pennell agreed. "Honestly, it's harder on days when I only missed a few classes and I was at rehearsal until six," Pennell said. "That's because most of my school work is done at home anyway."

See Prince page 23

A new disciplinary policy took effect on Monday, January 11th, at Springfield High School. This new system included a revised disciplinary

section of the SHS Handbook and a new program en-couraging staff members to take the lead in disciplining students. “I felt from the first day that the handbook wasn’t very clear,” said SHS Co-Principal Robert Thibault. Thibault felt that the previous version of the handbook left too much room for interpretation. “Some of the consequences are different. Some are more reasonable,” said Thibault, about the handbook changes. “Mainly it’s just a clearer set of consequences.” Unlike the old system, the handbook is now organized by the consequence, not the action.

For example, the lowest disciplinary action is a fine payable to the town of Springfield for possession or use of tobacco on school ground. The punishments continue through detentions, in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, and expulsion. Under each heading is the action or actions that will result in that consequence. “[The handbook] is clearer, which is good,” said Thibault. “Some may see it as cracking down, but in my opinion it’s not. It’s just clearer.” Another part of the new discipline system is SHS staff involvement. SHS teachers Ruth Haskell, Sean Sullivan, Belinda Hathorn, Cynthia Knight, Su-

Teachers Help with New Discipline System

By Olivia Thayer

See Discipline page 21

Lauren Fountain, Erika Anderson, and Eliza Pennell frame a small vignette of their dance performance in the opera The Little Prince. These three Springfield

High School dancers performed in the musical in early January at the Dorset Playhouse and the Weston Playhouse.

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Features

Politics is not a spectator sport” is a line from Ralph Nader that was quoted by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Doug Racine when he

visited Springfield High School in early January to talk with SHS students and staff members about his goals as possible governor of Vermont. Racine is no stranger to Vermont politics. In the mid-1970s, he worked with U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy. In 1983 he was elected to the first of five terms in the state legislature as Chittenden County representative. He has also been a member of the Natural Resources Committee, Appropriations Committee, and served as the Senate President Pro Tempore from 1983 to 1992. In 1996 Racine was elected Lieutenant Gov-ernor and served three two-year terms in that position. At the end of his terms in 2002, Racine ran for Vermont Governor and lost by a few percentage points to the incumbent James Douglas. U.S. History teacher Angelo Jardina at-tended Racine’s January presentation. “He [Racine] talked about issues that are really important to the students,” Jardina said. "The texting bill is definitely a big one for teens everywhere. I also enjoyed how he kept taking little surveys, such as to see who was 18 and registered to vote.”

Doug Racine

By Courtney Downing

U.S. History student Max Messier said, “I liked how Racine talked about real student issues that we think about every day, such as the drinking age and the texting bill.” During his talk at SHS, Racine said, “ I think you guys have been getting a raw deal from the federal government.” He claimed that young Americans are be-ing left to pay for just about everything, such as soldiers going to Afghanistan and health care for the elderly. Racine plans on solving these problems and making sure that young people aren't the only ones paying for societal needs. “Vermont needs to pay for this stuff now,” said Racine. “Instead of putting it off and leaving it for future generations to pay." If elected governor, Racine plans to keep three things in mind. First, he wants to maintain the quality of life in the state. The quality of life describes the ways Vermonters see themselves and feel about their day-to-day existence. The second goal for Racine is to strengthen the quality of the state infrastructure, creating better and safer roads and bridges. He also wants to increase the use and services of broadband around Vermont. In his presentation, Racine suggested that tourists visiting

The Process Is UnderwayA New Assistant Principal

By Olivia Thayer

The 2010-2011 school year at Springfield High School will see another change in administration. Co-Principal Larry Wight will be retiring after

40 years in education. After Wight’s retirement, current Co-Principal Robert Thibault will become the principal and Springfield will hire a new assistant principal. “The job was posted on schoolspring.com,a job clearinghouse for educators,” said Thibault. Over 50 people applied for the job. Not all of the applicants were licensed in Vermont to be a principal. Those fifty included three applicants from the Springfield School District. After selecting the ap-plicants that were eligible to be principal, a committee was formed to interview the applicants and narrow the field more. This assistant principal selection committee includes SHS science teacher Amanda Frank, music teacher Jim Chlebak, English teacher Jen Dodge, math teacher Cynthia Knight, two SHS students, juniors Kelsey Christensen and Chelsea Howland, SHS spe-

cial education teacher Karen Blodgett, SHS librarian Juliet Loutrel, SHS guidance counselor Kelly Ryan, River Valley Tech Center Assistant Director Scott Farr, Springfield School District Superintendent Dr. Frank Perotti, SHS Positive Parents member Joan Hooke, and Thibault. “The teachers and support staff on the com-mittee were all volunteers,” said Thibault. “Everyone who volunteered was accepted.” Thibault invited Farr, Ryan, and Perotti because "each of them would work closely with the candidate." Christensen was invited to be on the committee because of her role as student representative to the school board and Howland because of her role in the SHS Student Council. “I wanted to be on the search committee because serving the needs of student learning in music and the visual arts is, in many ways, quite different from supporting learning in other subject areas,” said SHS

See AP page 22

Vermont should be able to use their cell phones while they are on the chair lifts at ski resorts. If they are un-able to get such service on the lifts in Vermont, they may choose a ski resort in Colorado that does have cell phone service. In this way, if the quality of Vermont's infrastructure improves, Vermonters may become more attractive to out-of staters. Doug Racine wants to improve public schools in Vermont, promote a better system of higher education, and encourage more job training. Racine insists that without his three-fold plan for improving the state, Vermonters won’t be able to get a good educa-tion or have a good job. Racine hopes to bring greater progress to the state by making school more of a priority for all Vermonters and insisting that job training become more common than it is today.

A 3-Part Plan for Vermont

Angelo Jardina felt that Vermont gubernatorial candidate Doug Racine

spoke about issues important to students, such as a texting bill.

Music teacher Jim Chlebak and junior Chelsea Howland will help choose an

assistant principal for the high school.

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Feature

On January 28th, Springfield High School hosted an American Red Cross Blood Drive, conducted in

conjunction with the Tech Center's Human Services class. “We are expecting 50 people to donate,” said stu-

dent Jenna Swan during the activity. In order to donate, a student had to be 17 years old, 110 lbs or more, and over 5 ft and 6 in. “There is always a blood shortage,” said RVTC Human Services instructor Courtney Lihatsh. “It’s really good to give back to the community, because you never

know when you will need it.” The class hopes to conduct a blood drive later this year, in April or May, and perhaps in the autumn. Junior Max Blake (left) was happy to donate.

GPAs are a hot topic,” said Springfield High School guidance counselor Kelly Ryan. Some students obsess over this number configuration

while other students could care less. At Springfield High School, grade point average is calculated on both a 4.0 and 5.0 scale. All classes count toward a student's total GPA. This is one of the most common ways to calculate GPA among public high schools students. Though this is a common way to determine GPA, there are errors in this process. Imagine two stu-dents who both take seven Advanced Placement (AP) classes. One student has a study hall for his eighth period while the other takes band. The student who takes band excels. This student receives an A+ for the class, maybe even reaches All-States. But the class is on a 4.0 scale rather than a 5.0 AP scale. This means that their overall GPA is less than the student who takes 7 AP classes and then a study hall. Why is this? Study Hall Student: 7 periods x 5.0 GPA = 35/7 periods=5.0GPA Band Student: 7 periods x 5.0 GPA + 1 period band 4.0GPA = 39/8 periods = 4.8 GPA This is just one example of how this grading system is flawed. The band student who is taking a full period day, including band, is penalized in the GPA compared to the student who is taking 7 periods and a study hall, which doesn’t count toward their GPA. Because band is on a different GPA scale the student’s GPA goes down. Another imperfection in Springfield High School’s grading system involves weighted and un-weighted classes. “I think that a lot of students are misled into thinking they can get a B in an AP class and think it’s an A," said senior and salutatorian Eliza Pennell. "It's not an A." This means that a B in an AP class is a 4.0

Grade Point Average

when calculated into one's GPA. But when it comes to the transcript, it still shows up as a B. According to Great College Advice, colleges will look at both one's weighted and un-weighted GPA. Admissions officers uses the weighted GPA to compare class rank and determine what academic challenges a student has faced when it comes to weighted classes. However, when it comes to comparing performances among applicants, they use an un-weighted GPA. “I’ve spoken to different colleges this year. Some colleges recalculate GPAs to level the playing field,” said Ryan. “If they didn’t, it would be like com-paring apples to oranges because some students don’t have the opportunity to take weighted classes.” Although students may encounter these problems, they can easily be overcome. The chances of one of these errors affecting an acceptance to col-lege is minuscule. Some students even turn to college courses to boost their GPA. But this isn’t exactly an equal opportunity for everyone. Due to financial issues, academic level, and time restrictions, taking college classes outside of school can be impossible. But why do students obsess so much about all this? “We don’t just want kids to take classes to boost their GPAs, but to get a well-rounded education,” said SHS Co-Principal Bob Thibault. Math teacher Sean Sullivan agrees. “We want to encourage kids to make decisions that are in their long-term best interest,” Sul-livan added. GPAs are controversial, made more con-troversial by the manner in which these figures are evaluated and used to determine student achievement. “It’s never black and white. GPAs not only show col-leges how hard you have worked, but they show a lot

Seeking a Level Playing FieldBy Jenny Bradley & Olivia Johnson

See GPA page 23

SHS Guidance Counselor Kelly Ryan suggests that some colleges re-calcu-late GPA to level the playing field for

applicants. The guidance department displays brochures and catalogues that

represent college expectations.

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HealthSnacks.

Healthy Bursts of Energy or Thoughtless Ingestion?

By Ashley Richardson

10 o’clock in the morning, after school, 8 o’clock at night, and midnight--all prime times for snacking. Twinkies, fruit snacks, carrot sticks, and apples--

all prime snacking items. While most Springfield High School students and staff don’t have a set time to begin their daily snacking, they pack munchies along in their bag to eat throughout the day. “I don’t have a set schedule that I follow every day for snacking, but I do try to eat something healthy every three hours,” senior Eliza Pennell said. "Usually I just snack on fruit or granola bars throughout school hours to keep me energized." Freshman Angelina Mei agrees with Pennell. She doesn't have a schedule for her snacking, but tends to eat a snack once a day. "I don't have a set time for my snack, but I eat Goldfish about once a day, whenever I feel like it," Mei said. "They're not that great for me, so I only eat them once a day." Snacking throughout the day, whether you’re munching on an apple or a granola bar, is proven to be healthier for you than just limiting yourself to three large meals a day. “I always eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I snack once or twice between those meals,” senior Emily Mobus said. “I usually snack on apples and crackers, because if I don’t eat, I’ll faint from low blood sugar.” Bringing a snack to school, and eating it between classes, or during a class, wakes up some students and

never had a cavity." For many teenagers, a packed schedule keeps them from eating entire meals at the dinner table. Instead, these athletes, dancers, and actors tend to grab a quick snack before practice, and then something small after, without getting the full effect of a nighttime meal. “It’s kind of awkward to eat a big meal, like dinner, at night because of my dance schedule, but I always eat breakfast and lunch, and then snack throughout the rest of the day," Pennell said. "I bring my own snacks to school, because they're healthy and fresh." Although most students and staff members at Springfield High School snack throughout the day, and it is proven to be healthier for you to eat smaller meals about six times a day, new studies are showing that as children are growing up, their eating habits are getting worse. “I don’t agree with that,” senior Matt Mitch-ell said. “When I was growing up, I would constantly eat fruit roll-ups or candy. But now that I’m older, I make healthier choices. Now, instead of junk food, I snack on trail mix or fruit. I can’t say I never eat junk food, however, because I still eat a lot of candy. But I think that teenagers in high school do so much, and have so many extracurricular activities, that whatever junk food we do eat is burned off quicker than we consume it.”

helps them pay attention and learn better. "I always snack about two to three times a day, because the food wakes me up when I'm feeling drowsy," se-nior Angelo Jardina said. "My snacks range from really healthy, like a Cliff Bar, to junk food, like a soda and a Snickers bar. I eat whatever, whenever, because I need the energy. Plus, I eat the three large meals a day, so I'm always eating something." Many students don't actually think about the food they eat through-out the day as snacks, just as boosts of energy to make it through the rest of the school day, and then through sports practices. "I don't really care what I eat throughout the day,

because I just burn it off during basketball practice," senior Amanda Aberle said. "I try to be healthy. But if I'm tired, and lacking energy, I'll drink a soda to wake me up." According to the New York Times, 42 percent of Americans snack three or more times a day. And, in a recent survey, the number of children who ate three meals a day declined, while children who snacked went up more than 40 percent. "I don't really snack through-out the day, because I leave 4th period to go home and make lunch," senior Autumn White said. "I eat lunch and usually breakfast. And then after school I sometimes eat a healthy snack. I either have peanutbutter crackers, cereal, or peanutbutter on toast with bananas on it." Other students, however, choose not to snack throughout the day, and just eat three regular meals in the morning, afternoon, and nighttime. "I always eat breakfast and lunch, and almost always dinner, but I never snack," sophomore Kristin Cook said. "Instead of snacking, I drink water all day. It's healthy, and it keeps me full." "I don't snack," senior Silas Farrar said. "I don't eat breakfast until 10 or 11, and usually by then I eat more of a lunch. If I eat too early, I get sick. Most days I eat lunch, and I always eat dinner, but I don't snack throughout the school day. When I get home, I drink soda, and that fills me up. Mountain Dew is like liquid food. I drink at least three cans of soda a day, and I have

Silas Farrar doesn't snack. He eats breakfast around 10 or 11, and always lunch and supper. Soda, particularly

Mountain Dew, is his substitute.

Favorite Snacks? Goldfish, granola bars, Cheez-Its, peanutbutter

in all forms, and Mountain Dew.

Vending machines serve as a dispenser for snacking needs. They can provide one with food ranging from gum to

Cheez-Its and drinks ranging from soda to water.

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Columns Accepting Ambiguity

By Jess Watkins

By Kelsey Christensen

Examining Existence

Iam a vessel. I carry all of the normal internal organs, 140 pounds of weight, five feet and four inches of

height. I carry plain brown hair on my head, and faded freckles on my face. I carry a song stuck in my head, the same lyrics playing on repeat for hours, days. I carry incoherent phrases in my mind, longing to be put down on paper. I carry a history of experiences, some struggling to be remembered, some casually slipping into the corners of my mind, begging to be forgotten. I carry a pair of plastic, blue-rimmed glasses,

and when I place their lenses over my eyes, the world's edges no longer blur, but come together to form a vivid picture of clarity. These glasses are a fairly new addition to the plethora of things I carry, but they have quickly become my crutch; the object I most rely on to give me accurate perceptions of the world. But are the percep-tions my glasses give me really accurate, when they consist of manufactured lenses to aid in proper vision? How can a pair of glasses be more accurate than what I am designed to see? They are synthetic vision, yet objects at a distance would be unidentifiable to me, if not for them. I carry a cell phone, because what am I supposed to do without one in this day and age? Cell phones have become one of our biggest and easiest ways of communication. They have also become a necessity for safety in this world of violence. Residing in my pocket, my cell phone provides me with easy access for help in an emergency. Cell phones have become tools that we believe will protect us. Yet I feel like my cell phone traps me. Anyone can call me at any time. They have the power to interrupt whatever I'm doing. Is it ridiculous of me to think that my cell phone exerts power over me? Maybe. I carry a pen, to write down all of the insig-nificant things I have to do. I carry chapstick, because I can't stand when my lips are dry and cracked. I carry an

iPod, so I can retreat from reality temporarily. I carry a water bottle, and because of this I probably drink more water than most people. These are just the physical things I carry, material objects that don't hold much importance in the scope of the world. They don't define me, they don't contribute to who I am. Sometimes, the things that we carry that no one can see are the most important. We carry invisible things in our minds, hearts, souls, and these things are definitive of the truth. These things are the most revealing. They show great depths about a person. I carry a propensity for procrastination. Maybe I was born with it, or maybe somewhere along the lines it got written into the mechanics of how I function. Regardless of how my procrastination began, there's nothing I can do to stop it. It incessantly compels me to do everything other than what must be done. I dread doing the most minute things, which leads me to put them off as long as possible. In doing this, I put an exorbitant amount of stress upon myself that is unneces-sary. But I continue to do it. This results in a constant weight of worry, a heavy burden I bear which never goes away. I am stuck in a perpetual state of procrastination, and it's so embedded in my habits of life, I don't know

The Things I Carry

See Ambiguity page 21

Ioften find myself mentioning stories that I heard on National Public Radio to people of intellectual superiority. In fact, I’m more often trying to impress

people when I say anything to the tune of “Did you hear that story about [insert something vaguely interesting] on NPR the other day?” than I am honestly informing someone about something relevant to them because Na-tional Public Radio has such street credit with scholarly, interesting intellects. Listening to NPR is an activity more geared at providing myself with intellectual ammunition than it’s geared towards educating myself about news and art. When I’m tuned in to the station, a story will keep my attention and engage me. However, I’m also thinking, “I can’t wait to tell [insert person I respect] about this. Or drop it in a class discussion when it’s relevant. They will think I’m so smart.” I was recently guilty of this habit when I proudly reported to my chemistry teacher that the guys on Car Talk, a call-in show in which people are advised on car troubles by exuberant hosts Tom and Ray

Magliozzi, had cracked a chemistry joke. When they announced the show’s 800 number before an ad break, Tom and Ray said “And if you want to call Avogadro, his number is 6.02 x 1023.” For those chemically-dis-inclined, 6.02 x 1023 is the number of items in a mole, and a mole of any given element will weigh its atomic mass in grams. Maybe this joke would have been less appealing to me if I couldn’t impress an intelligent person with it. Actually, when I select a radio station, I con-sider NPR with a dose of subconscious dread. I typically end up choosing mixed CDs of catchy drivel (one of my CDs includes the recent pop singles “Rock that Body” by the Black Eyed Peas, “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga, and “She Wolf” by Shakira) over programs of NPR. This causes me a little bit of guilt, though. I imagine my brain will rot into oatmeal as a result of making the wrong listening choice. Listening to NPR is like eating vegetables: I do it because I know it’s good for me, and sometimes it can be tolerable bordering on enjoyable. There are NPR programs, however, which I

honestly enjoy. For example, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Meis a hilarious, fast-paced, verbal weekend NPR program about current events. With host Peter Sagal and score-keeper Karl Kassel, the news and trivia is delivered with clever spontaneity on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Despite its silliness, this show serves the purpose of teaching one quick anecdotes while offering entertainment. For ex-ample, in late January, during the Not My Job challenge, a quiz during which contestants are offered three absurd

See Manifesto page 22

An Ode to Public Radio

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Welcome To...

By Melissa Tarbell

Column

In the past, people who claimed to have extraordinary powers were thrown into psyche wards and were considered unworthy of living with normal folks.

But what is it that makes them the unworthy ones? According to some theories, these people—psychics, clairvoyants, etc.—actually have the special ability to access unique parts of their brain. The brain is the organ in our bodies that scientists know the least about, despite much progress in brain research. What scientists do know about the brain is that humans use very little of it. So why shouldn’t this be a legitimate explanation for these extraordinary abilities some people have? For example, I often have what I like to call blank moments. Sometimes I get thinking about my name or voice or I look really intently in the mirror at myself and it triggers a state of mind that is frightening. It is like an out-of-body experience: I get thinking about my existence without actually thinking about it. It is just a feeling. In one sense it is kind of neat, having a differ-ent perspective on life, viewing myself from the outside. However, I feel as if I can get stuck in this state of mind because it is really hard to come back to reality. I mention this personal situation because I

had one of these moments the other day and I realized that I could feel it happening in a different part of my brain. Maybe it sounds absurd, but I felt like this was oc-curring in a part of my brain that I don’t usually access. That’s probably where the whole out-of-body experience part comes from. I’m not used to using that part of my brain so it feels foreign to me. It’s just a theory of mine, but it makes sense. Anyway, this realization made me wonder if maybe all humans are capable of doing amazing things. But we just don’t know how to unlock the rest of our brain. It is all stored in our brains somewhere. For any-one who believes in reincarnation, I bet the memories of our past lives are locked away in our brains. This would explain déjà vu. When you experience déjà vu, you are just getting glimpses of something from another part of your brain, from your past life. Since our consciousness can’t engage these areas at will, there is no explaining them. Again, the brain is mysterious. We can never know all its capabilities. So why rule out the ability to see the future, read someone’s mind, or move objects just by using our mind? Intuition is another amazing capability of the

mind. In some way, individuals can link their minds to the minds of others. I know someone who had a brother who died. At the moment he died, she felt it. It was the middle of the night and she didn’t know anything about his death at all, but somehow she just knew what had happened. Sure enough, her brother had died that night. I bet the brain is capable of so much, and

Mind Over Matter

See Welcome page 20

Finding Serendipity

By Eliza Pennell

Staying Alive

In a way, it’s incredibly strange to me that we describe a human feeling as “alive.” We’re always alive, until we die. So what is it about first kisses, speeding,

sneaking out, meeting new people, watching a sunrise, taking a run in the rain just because … what is it about those circumstances that makes us feel more alive than those circumstances of going to work, doing the dishes, and watching reruns of Friends? Technically, we’re just as alive when we

load up a dishwasher as when we catch raindrops on our tongue. But at the same time, we’re just … not. The things that make us feel alive often make the heart beat faster. They often make us think more. They make us uncomfortable, sometimes. We might burn more calories and feel deeper emotions. It’s almost as though those alive moments require extra power. You live more in a shorter period of time. There’s something untouchable about alive moments; I don’t think we can really explain them. The most concise way I can describe the feeling personally is by calling it a full feeling. I feel like I’m full of ev-erything: light, rain, stardust. Life. It almost feels like the universe, or God, or whoever, decides that I’m just not filled up enough with stuff. So they shoot it into me. I feel this way most often when I perform. Sometimes I feel like I could just about explode. It’s an otherwordly experience for me; sometimes I can’t even remember what happened on-stage: “Did I even do the right dance?” “Did I say that line right?”

But then I’m off-stage again for a while, and I conserve life. I put on the sweatpants. I go to work and school. I clean my room. It’s funny, these things are real life—but they can’t make me feel as alive as when I am on-stage. It's strange. It almost seems that those full, alive moments are worth more than all the other mo-ments. Performing. Checking your e-mail. Or travel-ing. For example, I spent three weeks at dance camp over the summer. I can't explain it, but since then, I feel like I haven't done half as much living. I just don't do as much. Or I just do tedious things, rarely experiencing anything new or exciting. So I like to think those three weeks at dance camp--and other huge, exciting times in my life--have made me who I am more than, say, my typical breakfast and weekend activities. I want it to be that way, anyway. But maybe the most basic, most boring, aspects of life have more to do with who a person becomes. Who knows, really? Either way, I'll take those monumental, inspirational, scary, overwhelming experiences as often as I can.

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HumorSurviving Apocalyptia

By John Forbes

Reviews AvatarSpectacular Visuals

Disguise Average MovieBy Sam Hensel-Hunter

The latest box office buster from James Cameron was unleashed to the popcorn public on Decem-ber 18th. Two months later, Avatar holds the

record for highest grossing movie of all time and picked up the Golden Globe award for best drama as the movie immersed audiences deep in the forest moon of Pandora. Pandora’s air knocks out humans after half a minute and kills them in four. The inhabitants are no less hostile. Mammoth beasts that are reminiscent of animals from the jungles and plains of Africa are a threat to human

settlers. Pandora’s humanoid inhabitants seem straight from Africa. The big blue people are called Na’vi. They stand a whopping 10 feet tall and speak in their own language combined with a broken English that seems stereotyped to accents of less-than-educated Africans, an aspect of Avatar that, coupled with the loincloth look of the Na’vi, seems like a negative comment on Third World tribes. The protagonist of Avatar is Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex-marine who is brought to Pandora to replace his dead brother. Sully is introduced to the scien-tists who are working to improve human Na’vi relations with the Avatar program. The movie’s namesake comes from the genetically-engineered Na’vi-human hybrids that are controlled by highly-trained scientists in special pods who tune into their brainwaves. The scientists on Pandora are working with a sinister corporation that is making a killing on a pre-cious stone, creatively-named unobtanium. The major-ity of Pandora’s unobtanium lies under the homes and spiritual grounds of the Na’vi who have a tendency to fill bothersome settlers with yard-long arrows. To keep unobtanium extraction on track, the corporation employs scores of private military contractors who operate with indiscreet violence against the native culure.

Avatar’s budget remains unknown. Estimates range between $200-$300 million, possibly making it the most expensive film ever made. There’s no question that Avatar looks spectacular. The creative film utilizes manufactured imagery that doesn’t look out of place when mixed with live actors. Avatar’s step forward in technology and photorealistic imagery could be the first in a wave of similarly-generated films. But really, can we call some-thing that is created almost solely on a computer a film? Reels,celluloid,andprints are words that are in danger of being replaced by Mo-Cap,render,andgreen screenin the film industry. Is this departure from the roots of film because of what we’ve done to our world? Do we see it as something tattered and spent to the point that we have to create new worlds that we can blissfully watch while we forget the state of our own environment? Even with all its purported liberal and green messages, Avatar manages to keep far enough away from relevance to keep its profits high and controversy low.

See Avatar page 23

Fear Itself

Last edition I informed readers that fire was inef-fective against zombies because they don't feel fear. Those of us who are alive, however, do

feel fear, and that is precisely why zombies present such a threat. The more you fear something the more dangerous it is. In fact, most deaths involving zombies typically occur due to the victim's frightened hesitation. Why hesitate, though? Zombies can't be that scary, can they? Then again, stagnant animate corpses do tend to be frightening, mainly because they're grotesque and rotten. Allow me to elaborate. Our fear of zombies stems primarily from our fear of death. Death, after all, is the most frighten-ing thing about the human condition, and zombies are a living manifestation of death. They require no form of sustenance. They cannot be reasoned with. And they are absolutely inescapable. How is knowing this going to help you? It should harden your perspective and stem

any hesitations you may have had in destroying the undead menace. Another factor is the viral threat that zombies represent. Imagine any terminal illness. Now imagine that this illness is highly contagious, and now imagine that everyone who has this illness is trying to give it to you. There's no hope for the development of a vaccine because the illness immediately shuts down all of the host’s bodily functions, preserving only the parts it re-quires to live. It's a chilling thought, but maybe knowing this particular fear will help you overcome it when the zombies start gnawing on your door. There can also be a sort of emotional attach-ment, not to the zombies per se, but to the people they once were. This isn't so frightening, but it is emotionally trying. Shooting a friend or family member can be dif-ficult, even if they're a decaying pile of flesh. If you're ever challenged with this circumstance it's important

to remember some things: there is no cure and zombies are not capable of remembering or even thinking. So go ahead and end their mockery of life, because if you don’t they’ll end your genuine life. Zombies also have a more active method of striking fear into our hearts. Zombies have a tendency to let out a sort of low moan when they spot a victim. This can catch the inexperienced human off-guard because it’s just pretty creepy, and it frightens the seasoned

See Apocalyptia page 23

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ReviewMy Aim is True

(Elvis Costello; 1977)By Samuel L. Benton

Modern Warfare 2A Gamer's Call to Duty

By Angelo Jardina

Since the turn of the century new video games have been produced as fast as rain falls from the sky. Some games are designed to be futuristic

and mythical, while others focus on the reality of life or, in most cases, war. One game line in particular that has focused on the reality of war is Call of Duty, also known as CoD. This year Activision, the producers of the CoD

games, released the sixth game of the series Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Each of the CoD games have been based on the soldiers and battles of World War II. But in 2007, Activision creators decided to base their games on something more modern, hence the creation of CoD Modern WarfareandModern Warfare 2. Critics and gamers alike all across the world waited for the release of Modern Warfare 2 this past November. They had the same question in mind: “Will this game live up to the hype behind the first Modern Warfare?” Their question was answered with a definite yes when the sales went through the roof. In November alone, six million copies of CoD Modern Warfare 2 were sold. During December, this was the largest-selling game across the world. If you are looking for the best-selling game, then CoD Modern Warfare 2 is the game to get. How-ever, if you are not someone who wants to invest many hours into online game play, this isn’t the game for you. Yes, the campaign which continues the plot and story board of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Spec Ops

missions, which vary from killing mindlessly as waves of enemies pour on you to crawling through the grass incognito, are entertaining. But Modern Warfare 2 is widely known for its online multiplayer interaction. It will give you a plethora of weapons and perks to suit any game player and offers different game modes to allow experimentation. Different weapons can be paired with certain perks to make the ideal weapon class. For example the Famas, which fires short bursts if equipped with scavenger, stopping power, and ninja, allows you to empty strong bursts into your opponents without having to worry about running out of ammuni-tion or being heard. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is one of those games that will either suck you in or spit you out. You will either be good at it or you will not. However, it provides plenty of entertainment either way. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a must-try game. Even if you are not that great, it’s a game like no other that cannot be passed up.

In 1977 Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacMa-nus, a name almost as full as his lyrics) exploded into the rock scene with his debut album My Aim Is

True. Did I say exploded? I meant to say “talked his way into.” Armed with his guitar, Buddy Holly glasses, enough words to put the dictionary to shame, and a name borrowed from the King of Rock N’Roll, Costello let his presence be known like that kid in the back of class who just won't stop talking. The lyrics of My Aim Is True can be a lot of fun. Costello packs his verses tight, so that words spill out like a really-cheesy grilled cheese. The wordy lyrics, combined with Costello’s unconventional voice (not great, but hey was Dylan's? Morrison’s?) produce a geeky sound (or maybe that’s just his glasses). Dig these lines from “Miracle Man”: "Yet everybody loves you so much, girl/ I just don't know how you stand the strain/ Oh, I, I'm the one who's here tonight/ and I don't wanna do it all in vain.” I like that. A lot. In fact, I like a lot of the lines this guy writes, some simple and nice like “Alison,” his second single which contrary to popular belief is about “disappointing somebody” (Elvis’ Words), not a murder. Of course some lines are more complex, though not to the extreme, like the lyrics to “Less Than

Zero,” the album’s first single which is apparently about former British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosley. Example: “Calling Mr. Oswald with the swastika tattoo / There is a vacancy waiting in the English voodoo / Carving "V" for "vandal" on the guilty boy's head/ When he's had enough of that, maybe you'll take him to bed / To teach him he's alive before he wishes he was dead.” That’s a mouthful, and being some of my least favorite lyrics on the album, they leave a bittersweet taste. Bittersweet taste aside (and a paragraph as wordy as Costello), his lyrics get a passing grade, but his music will bring down his GPA. It’s not bad, but it’s not so good either. Frankly, it’s kind of a bore. There isn’t much to hold your attention and Costello really threw it on the backburner focusing on his lyrics instead. Maybe it’s because he didn’t have his own backup band yet (his backup band for this album was made up of members of Clover), or maybe it’s because he just didn’t know any better, but musically there is little to hold your at-tention. With Costello’s next album, This Year's Model,he formed his backup band, the Attractions. I haven’t heard it yet, but I’m hoping that the backup band was the majority of his problem. The music has a rock n’ roll feel (which I dig), and maybe a slight bit of punk in it (very slight:

others see it more than I do). What really stuck with me were the bass parts of “Welcome to the Working Week” and “Miracle Man,” and the guitar part to “Alison.” They’re my three favorites on the album. Who would of thought? The ones with a closer balance of words and music are the more enjoyable songs, a lesson Costello needs to learn. If you’re not a big fan of Costello, you may have trouble getting through a single song, let alone My Aim Is True in its entirety. In the end My Aim Is True gets a passing grade of B+. It's not a great grade, but My Aim Is Trueisn't a great album. It's good, no doubt, but I strongly disagree with anyone who calls it one of the best albms of all time (Rolling Stone ranked it 168 on their top 500 albums list.) At first it may seem to be impossible to make it through, but give it a couple more listens. It may grow on you.

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Sports

Mike Hatt, the coach who led his Springfield

High School Varsity foot-ball team to a state cham-pionship title in 2008, for the first time in over 60 years, and to the state championship game in 2009, has resigned from his head football coaching position. “I never in-tended to be the football coach at SHS,” Hatt said. “I have only coached be-

Mike Hatt Leaves FootballCites Achievements, Athletic Director Duties

By Ashley Richardson

cause we needed a coach at various times over the last 15 years. I coached football from 1995-1997, 2001, and 2006-2009. Obviously I will miss coaching Friday nights at Brown Field. The thing you will always miss the most as a coach is the relationships you develop through athletics between players, parents, coaches, and officials.” Hatt, although he didn't intend to be the football coach, is the only football coach in SHS history to defeat rival Bellows Falls in four consecutive years. In 2006, the Cosmos defeated Bellows Falls 13-6; in 2007, 32-24; in 2008, 39-14; and in 2009, they faced Bellows Falls twice, defeating them in regular season, 19-18 and in the semi-final game, 34-21. “The key to the last two football seasons, and going to States both years, is simple. We had great kids,” Hatt said. “Our players’ work ethic and attitudes were terrific. One of the most gratifying things for me as their coach is how much our players really know about the game. Our coaches and players have done a tremendous job in teaching and learning the game.” Because of the coaching staff, including assistant coach Richard Saypack, who is also stepping down this year, many Cosmos athletes have been rec-ognized around the state for their achievements on the gridiron. “Seeing so many athletes receive league, state, and in some cases, national recognition for their achievements, is a highlight of my coaching career,” Hatt said. “It’s also a pleasure seeing so many of SHS’s past students college education enhanced by their in-volvement in our athletic programs.” Throughout Hatt’s coaching career, which has spanned 27 years, many of his highlights as a coach remain at Springfield High School, and most of them involve football, even though basketball remains his first love. “I had many highlights during my coaching career,” Hatt said. “Being a part of the 2008 state foot-

Mike Hatt

See Hatt page 22

Football coach Mike Hatt reached great heights with his teams over the last two years. In top photo, he honors the 2008 state champion football team during a basketball game in Dressel Gymnasium. Bottom, he works as the SHS Athletic

Director. Hatt resigned his football coaching position this autumn.

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Snowboarding

Snowboard TeamSliding to the Big Match

In mid-January, Springfield High School snow-boarders busted tricks at Okemo Ski Resort to prepare for their first match of the season. Boarders

Dylan Patrie, Michael Whittemore, Josh Olney, Mark Xu, and Jordon Pfenning, a recent addition to the team, and SHS snowboard coach Dallas Brown, practiced to sharpen their skills for their first meet, Wednesday, January 27th, at Okemo in Ludlow, Vermont. The SHS boarders mainly rode trails Sap-phire to Timberline then on to Upper Mountain Rd, ending at the Dew Zone. With this trail run, the Cosmos boarders were able to practice racing speed, jumps and rails, and most important, the Super Pipe. “It’s one thing to just ride a rail,” said Pfen-ning, “and another to ride a rail and gain points.” The team members took each obstacle that they knew they would be facing in their match and worked on each one individually. First the team worked on jumps. The main idea for jumps is to get big air. But to beat the other teams, the boarders need more than that. In addition to a basic jump, the team starts practicing simple board

By Michael Whittemore

As many know, Norwich,Vermont native Kevin Pearce was injured in December while prepar-ing for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Pearce was

injured while attempting a double cork, which is an inverted double back flip. His accident has alerted the public about the dangers of snowboarding and skiing. Pearce’s level of snowboarding is extremely dangerous. But he isn’t the only one who has to be wary of the dangers of winter sports like skiing and snow-boarding. Many students at Springfield High School head to local mountains, such as Okemo and Ascutney, and even as far away as Killington, each weekend to enjoy the slopes. As fun as skiing and snowboarding are, however, they come with a certain level of danger. As suggested by Pearce's accident, the injuries of skiers and snowboarders can range from broken wrist or turned ankles to Pearce’s major concussion. “I’ve never been injured skiing,” said freshman Jordan Crowley “I don’t think I’ve been with anyone who’s been injured either. I’ve heard of people,

Snowboard Twists and

TurnsBy Ryan Brady

grabs. For example, a tail grab occurs when a boarder is in the air and he grabs the back end of his or her board and holds it for a few seconds, then releases and lands. Even though these grabs are small and simple, they add a few points to a boarder’s score. Next, the team worked on rails and boxes. But they did not simply ride across the rail or box. They continuously look for ways to add points to their final score. There are many other tricks a boarder can do on a rail or box such as spins or 180s. Last, the team worked in the half pipe. The main thing that they worked on involved riding the pipe. Then they added the tricks in later. It looks like an easy thing to do, airing out of the pipe and coming back down. After tumbling a few times, the boarders soon find out that this is not true. When the team was comfortable with riding the pipe, they continued to add tricks to their repertoire. By that time in practice, the boarders were sick of just doing simple grabs so most of them worked on 180s and other tricks. The day finally ended with a last run down Timberline and through the pipe.

From left, Snowboarding Team Coach Dallas Brown, Trevor Olney, Mark Xu, Brittany Durham, Josh Olney, Forrest Jade, Marky Hall, and James Short get

crazy before the Killington slope-style competition on February 5th. This fiesty band of winter athletes had eight meets scheduled for their season competition.

See Danger page 20

Kevin Pearce flies high over the half-pipe. Pearce seriously injured himself in Utah as he trained for the Olympic

Trials in snowboarding.

pg nroeG Hner1�

Sports Opinion

Practice makes perfect. These are the words that many dancers hear every time they take to the floor. Dancers memorize steps through repeti-

tion. The art of dance is difficult to master. So, why don’t people place dance in the same sport category as football or basketball?

DancersTip-Toeing Into Sports

By Lauren Fountain

For many people, dance is considered an art form, not a sport. When many people think of sports, one may think of football, basketball, or even baseball, but dance is never a word that crosses one’s mind. “I don’t consider dancing around on your toes to be a sport,” said Springfield High School sopho-more Dan Davis. He, and many other students, share a similar opinion on this topic. However, some people offer different opin-ions. “I believe dance is a sport,” said junior Ryan Gott-schalk. “Dancers exercise and work just as hard as other athletes.” Gottschalk’s opinion is shared by freshman Tim Hildreth and sophomore Mike Whittemore, who agree that dance is a sport, yet not a common one. Many people form their judgments about dance without seeing how dancers actually perform. Dance is very competitive. Many dance team students participate in competitions during the month of January, and participate in the state competition during February. The Springfield Dance Team won States in 2007 and has maintained a high record of success in competitions in the following years.

When people think of dance, one may envi-sion girls gallivanting across the stage in pointe shoes and a tutu. However, this is not always the case. There is much more to dance than simply ballet. The many types of dance include jazz, modern, lyrical, hip-hop, tap, and ballroom dancing. When people think of dance, one may think of slow classical music, which seems to be less popular for many people. Many people don’t understand the strength that is required to be a dancer and the demands the sport can make on one’s body. Although football players are on the field trying to perfect their tackle, dancers are in the studio trying to perfect their double pirouette. “Dancing takes talent, perseverance, and dedication. These are three important factors every person participating in a sport must share,” said SHS graduate Ashley Fountain, who danced in the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy last December. “I feel dance should be placed in the same category as every other sport because dancers are required to be physically fit, attain knowledge of the art, and share their passion with their audience.”

A table with a microphone and four baseball caps spaced strategically across it stands in a high school gymnasium. Chairs are set up like a press

conference. A high school athlete files in with his parents and high school coach. They all sit down facing the crowd, the student in the center. Flash photography il-luminates the beads of sweat on his forehead. The athlete reads a prepared statement, which he labored over. “Before I make my selection I would like to thank my parents for supporting my athletic and academic endeavors and my coaches for pushing me to run that extra sprint. Without them, I would not be sitting here, making this decision today. Thank you to all the schools who have expressed interest in me, especially the four schools I am choosing from today: the University of Texas, the University of Alabama, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Southern California. And last, but not least, I thank God for blessing me with my athletic talents.” The athlete takes a deep breath. “After much consideration, and discussion with my parents, I have decided…gosh is it warm in here or is it just me?” The athlete slowly unbuttons a long pea coat and whips it off with a flourish. Underneath is

National Signing DayWho Will You Sign With?

By Maria Stern

a rust-orange t-shirt with the white Longhorn symbol stretched across the chest. The Texas coach lets out a whoop of glee. The USC coach storms out of the gym. The Alabama coach shakes his head, trying to figure out where he went wrong. The Notre Dame coach shakes hands and congratulates the Texas coach. Beside the athlete the mother is beaming, and the father grins proudly. The high school coach places a contract in front of the athlete, who signs it with emphasis. Then they pose for pictures. While the above scenario is fictitious, it is not far from the actual National Signing Day festivities. On this hallowed sports day, major prospects are given a few moments in the spotlight on national television. However, a head coach could not attend a National Sign-ing press conference unless it was held on their campus, due to NCAA rules. It is more likely that a coach would send a representative in his place depending on the importance of the prospect to the program. National Signing Day is the day when high school seniors officially sign their National Letter of Intent to play their sport at a NCAA Division I or II

See Signing page 21

Haruka Sato, Chelsea Wheeler, Lauren Fountain, and Cody Lynch pose during practice. The Dance Team participated in the State Competition on Feb.13th at

Rice High School in Burlington, competing in the jazz and hip-hop

division. To prepare for this competi-tion, the team danced at basketball

games this winter.

Angelo Jardina and Jon Esden celebrate National Signing Day, though

their lives were not complicated by such college admissions hullabaloo.

Esden will go to Auburn while Jardina is headed to Union College.

nroeG Hner pg 1�

Sports

The Springfield High School field hockey team is anxiously awaiting the opening of Riley Rink. After February vacation, the turf will be covered

with girls who are hoping to improve for next season. Most people agree that the Riley indoor field hockey rink, located in Manchester, Vermont, really gives the team a chance to bond. Organizer of the Cosmos team for Riley Rink, Ruth Haskell, Springfield High School JV field hockey coach, enjoys the whole experience. "It's really fun for me and the kids," she said. "There's no pressure. Just show up and play the game." Under Haskell's lead-ership, everyone is given the chance to play as much as they desire. However, with Riley Rink being so small, the games are limited to seven against seven. The competition has other disadvantages. Cancellations of games can occur with bad road conditions and all athletes must pay on an individual basis to participate. However, Riley Rink competition allows older players to teach and play against the younger players in order to sharpen their skills. SHS 9th grader Jill Rushton, who plays forward on the Cosmos field hockey team, has a definite opinion about indoor field hockey, "It's a good way to get upper and underclassmen together," she said. "To get ready and [gather] together to play something we love." The passion the girls share for field hockey runs deep, making Riley Rink an important part of their

Riley Rink Encourages

PlayersBy Sarah Trombly

Kayla PerhamImpressive Performance in

Girls BasketballBy Ryan Brady

Thus far the girls basketball season hasn’t been going as planned, as they have three wins in a long season. However, Kayla Perham has been a

standout carrying the Cosmos the best she can. Perham averages about 10 points and 8 re-bounds per game, impressive stats for a team that’s only averaging 30 points per game. Despite her fine statistics, she’s been disappointed by her team's losses. Often athletes use losses to motivate them-selves, but Kayla thinks otherwise at this point. “Losing doesn’t motivate me any more,” said Perham. “But I do get motivated by watching videos of Candace Parker on

YouTube. I think about how she makes space for herself and how she just flows on the court. It really pumps me up before my games and makes me push that much harder in each game.” Outside of basketball, Kayla was also a standout on this fall’s semi-finalist field hockey team. Perham was one of two captains of the field hockey team. She also currently captains the basketball team. During field hockey, she had four goals in the Cosmos’ run to the semi-finals. She credits her current success, however, to the athletes she practiced with as a freshman and sophomore. “It was a great learning experience for me,” Perham said about her freshman and sophomore years. “I was practicing with some really good athletes those two years. They really made me the athlete I am today. They transformed me from a skittish freshman to a confident senior.” Perham hopes all of her successes in high school will carry over into college, though she is still unsure about which sport she will play in college. “I’m still on the fence about it,” she said. “I really enjoyed playing field hockey this year especially since our season went well.” She’s also still undecided about which col-lege or university she will attend. Her choices include the University of New England, Colby-Sawyer, Castle-ton, and Keene State. Depending on where she goes

See Perham page 20

Captains are picked. One by one, those with the greatest physical ability are drafted. All those around you have left you standing alone. You’re

all that remains, eventually forced onto a team of vicious warriors ready to engage in a battle of physical activity. This is a Springfield High School gym class. What was intended as an innocent class to involve students in physical activities has evolved into a full-blown battle of survival of the fittest. “It doesn’t matter what I do,” said avid gym participant and 3-sport athlete Amanda Farnsworth. “I

Sports OpinionPhysical Education

Survival of the FittestBy Vicki Kopidakis

See Phys-Ed page 20

just want to win.” And she’s not alone. “Losing [in gym] really isn’t an option for me,” said sports enthusiast Taylor Fontaine, who is a member of the Springfield baseball and football teams. Both Farnsworth and Fontaine agree that a competitive edge helps to make gym class more enjoy-able. “Trying to win makes it fun,” said Fontaine. Gym students like Farnsworth and Fontaine

Kayla Perham.

Jill Rushton attacks the ball during warm-ups for the U-32 playoff game this past autumn. Rushton is one of

the Cosmos field hockey players participating in the Riley Rink

tournament.

See Riley Rink page 20

pg nroeG Hner1�

SportsA New Gym in Town

By Courtney Downing

Where is that one place in town that an indi-vidual can go where he or she doesn’t have to worry about what’s in their shopping cart, or

how bad their hair looks? The gym, of course. The town of Springfield has multiple gyms and workout facilities, such as the Edgar May Recreation Center on Clinton Street, Curves on River Road, and the weight room at Springfield High School. If you’re an employee at Springfield Hospital, you have access to the gym at the hospital. The newest gym in town is called Snap Fitness, located at 363 River Street, right next to the Springfield Royal Diner. Snap is open to members 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When an individual becomes a member, they are given an access or key card, and, when they want to hit the gym, they just swipe the card in front of a proximity sensor to gain access to the building. Lights in the building automatically turn on if a card is swiped after hours. This system is very secure. For example, when a person enters the gym, security necklaces are available for each person to wear. If for some reason an emergency were to take place, an individual would push a button on the necklace to contact emergency services. Although the gym is safe, and individuals would be taken care of in the event of an emergency,

workers at Snap recommend that people have a workout partner--fitness becomes both more safe and more fun with a friend. Springfield community member and former SHS student Lydia Knight first heard about SNAP fit-ness from the owners themselves. “The owners (Nola and Dana Watkins) came into the diner where I work (Springfield Royal Diner and Pancake House) to talk about the new facilities.” After visiting the gym, Knight said, “It’s a pretty laid-back place. It’s easy to access. I just loved meeting new people who enjoy getting their pump on, like me.” Why is it that people work out? Some say they enjoy the cute little outfits they get to wear while slowly dragging their feet along the treadmill. Others say they enjoy the way it makes them look and feel. Sounds reasonable enough. But a more important question may be "Why is it that people don’t work out?" Most say they’re too busy, or they’ll make a New Year’s resolution to get to the gym more next year. In 2006, a BBC online news article produced statistics showing that only 12% of the general public owned a gym membership. This may be one of the main reasons why 63% of the American population is overweight An alarming 3.8 million Americans weigh in

See Fitness page 23

For many Springfield High School students, the first snowfall only means one thing: time to break out the snowmobile from its storage in the garage

and get it ready for riding. “I ride my snowmobile every winter,” senior Jordan Kimball said. “I like to snowmobile because it’s a great activity to keep me busy throughout the winter, and it makes a lot of good memories with my friends.” Many snowmobilers in Vermont take a safety course to learn about the snowmobiles and snowmobile safety. “I got my snowmobiling license this year, and took the course in Ludlow,” senior Melissa Tarbell said. “The course was pretty long, but the test was quick and easy. We learned about safety during the course, and at the end of the test, we got our snowmobiling license.” Vermonters who like to snowmobile are lucky if they live in the woods, because they are able to make their own trails, and snowmobile locally. But many snowmobilers also travel north and go on more trails in that location that are open to the public. “I don’t race at all. But I snowmobile for fun and to spend time with my family,” senior Lindsay Turgeon said. “Instead of just staying on local trails, we travel all around Vermont and sometimes we snowmo-

It’s Snowing.Safely Fire Up Your Engines.

By Ashley Richardson

bile in Maine.” Many students begin snowmobiling at a young age because their parents take them out on the trials, and for many students, the love of riding continues through their childhood and teenage years. “I’ve ridden snowmobiles since I was three years old,” Turgeon said. “My parents are big snowmobile fans, so they raised me to love it like they do.” Both Tarbell and Turgeon have their snow-mobiling license, and took a course in safety to under-stand how to practice safety while driving and riding on a snowmobile. Safety is a big role in riding snowmobiles, especially when the snowmobiles are taken out at night. This year, some students have become wary because of recent teenage deaths from riding snowmobiles, although the fatalities from riding snowmobiles has dropped since the 1990s. “You’re only going to die on a snowmobile if you’re not safe, or if you ride on thin ice,” Tarbell said. “Also, many people that are not safe also drive fast, and I don’t like to go fast, so I’m not worried about the safety problem. I always ride safely when I go out.”

See Snowmobile page 20

Senior Jordan Kimball pulls some stunts on his snowmobile. Kimball

normally rides on snowmobile trails or at his friend's house in Springfield. He snowmobiles each winter to keep busy

and make memories with friends.

TJ Wallace works out in the Springfield High School weightroom. Now there

is a new workout option in town, Snap Fitness on River Street.

nroeG Hner pg 1�

Sports Opinion

There are many stereotypes about boys and girls. Girls are known to play with dolls, and boys are known to play with trucks. When a woman

is pregnant with a baby girl, what color clothes do her friends buy for the baby? Pink. In Springfield High School, there are also stereotypes about boys and girls, one of them being the difference between girl and boys sports. “Going to girls basketball games are like paying two dollars to watch a comedy show,” said one Springfield High School boy recently. Comedy and joke seem to be two popular words used around SHS to describe girls basketball. Other sports besides basketball, such as soccer, softball, and field hockey, are also considered to be not up to the level of excitement and intensity as SHS boys sports. “When I was younger I remember coming to girls games,” said senior Bennett Chevalier. “They beat Division One teams, and the games were just more intense.” In the past two years, Springfield High School boys have won three state championship titles. The girls, on the other hand, haven’t had the opportunity to make it that far. A win brings enthusiasm to the players and the fans, as well as victory. The boys teams have had more winning records than girls in the past few years, which could lead to the negative outlook on SHS girls sports. Some teams have a particular leader to control the show, while others squads consist of a group with the same level of talent who must perform equally during games. “Our girls teams have just lacked a super star player,” said Chevalier, who plays football, “unlike us.” Criticism of girls sports often involves the slow pace of their games. “It’s too slow,” said sophomore Derrick Gralich, “and the girls games are so dreadful.” According to www.girlscouts.org, females are 51.7% more likely to not participate in physical education opposed to males where percentage for non-participation is 40%. Emphasizing this point and contributing to this discrepancy is the fact that girls are less confident and feel they don’t have enough skills to participate in school activities. Part of this could be because some girls are ridiculed when they do play. A sexist joke heard throughout SHS: “Wanna hear a joke? “Sure.” “Girls Basketball.” Talk about a drop in confidence. Most fans at SHS sporting event are students themselves. When students are putting down girls sports with jokes such as the one stated above, it’s not easy to feel confident in

Girls SportsNothing to Laugh About

By Liza Fontaine, Alexandra Johnstone, & Holly Hooke

front of a gym full of fans. In fact, girl athletes at SHS feel such statements are demeaning. Sports like field hockey and tennis, domi-nated by girls, are also the subject of jokes. Yet, despite this sarcasm, recent studies show that the ratio for girls playing sports has gone up about 80%. In 1971 the figure was 1 in 27 girls. Now 1 in every 2.5 girls play a sport, according to www.girlscouts.org. “ I think there has been an explosion in woman’s sports,” said SHS Athletic Director Mike Hatt. “Women are great athletes. Obviously, if they’re in the Olympics then they have to be good.” Lindsey Van, a top-ranked competitive ski jumper on the U.S. Ski Team, has defeated many men in ski competition, which is usually known as a men’s sport. Van holds the record for the longest jump among women and men. She proves that girls shouldn’t be put in a different category as boys when it comes to sports. However, there is a persistent stereotype about girls sports being a joke, or less legitimate than boys athletics. “I don’t feel that way,” said Hatt. “People who think that way don’t see the big picture. Women are good athletes.” Another point of criticism: many people believe that girls simply don’t work hard when it comes to sports, whether it is in practice, games, or the off-season. “In order to be successful you have to work hard all of the time,” said SHS sophomore Michael Whittemore, who believes this stereotype is false. “You have to train, especially in the off-season. That’s the only way to take it to the next level.” You know the saying, “practice makes perfect.” Some students at SHS believe that boys take practice more seriously and work harder than the girls. Throughout the season, teams find flaws in how they play. When practice time rolls around, the flaws should be worked on and fixed, but according to some, girls don’t take practice seriously. “They don’t even come to our practices,” said SHS freshman Jill Rushton. “They don’t see that the coaches do make us work hard.” “Guys practices probably look better than girls because they play at a faster pace,” added junior Billy Wheeler. The uniform and overall look in playing a sport may contribute to the confidence needed to win games. However, it shouldn’t be the only thing athletes are concerned about. “I mean you have to look good,” said senior field hockey player Erin Graham. “But that’s not what it's all about.” Comedy show or not, girls sports are impor-tant to SHS. “Usually people that put down womens sports haven’t gone out for a team,” concluded Hatt. “It takes a lot to go out and play for a team.”

Springfield girls compete in a variety of sports. They are not always given credit

for their athletic achievements.

pg nroeG Hner�0

those unworthy people with extra cognition have re-ally got it good. Then again, maybe they don’t… I bet many of them love their abilities, but I also bet many of them find their abilities to be a burden. Imagine if you could read someone’s mind. Maybe at first it is kind of cool, but not knowing what someone is thinking is the best part about life. I would never want to know what someone was thinking. And I wouldn’t want someone reading my mind. Telekinesis would be kind of cool. But then again, what would the world come to if everyone was moving their beloved Cheetos towards themselves with their mind as they sit watching the latest episode of The Office? America’s obesity problem would be sky high. It’s bad enough as it is. I guess maybe people are is better off not knowing what kinds of powers they could reach. How-ever, I think that those few who do have extraordinary abilities should embrace their uniqueness.

Welcome from page 11

will determine which sport or sports she chooses. “If I go to Colby [Sawyer] I’ll play basketball, because they don’t have field hockey. For UNE [University of New England] I’m unsure because they won their conference and division for field hockey so it would be tough to make the team. If I go to Castleton and Keene State, I hope I can play both.” The future aside, Kayla hopes that the girls can turn around their basketball season and possibly win a playoff game. “I’m focused on what’s happening now, college is later," Perham said. "I just hope we can make something of our season, so my last season in high school is memorable.”

Perham from page 17

but never actually seen any injuries.” Crowley is fortunate. Snowboarder Dan Davis hasn't found the slopes quite so forgiving. “I’ve broken my wrist and collarbone,” said Davis, “and I was with someone when they broke their arm. Injuries usually come as you snowboard more and try more challenging parts of the mountain.” Five years ago, a Springfield student, while skiing with his classmates, was killed. Davis recalled, “I wasn’t with the kid. I can’t think of his last name, but I was on the mountain and I heard about it.” “It really showed the dangers of the moun-tain," added Crowley. “You should expect the unex-pected when you’re skiing or snowboarding.” Both sports are dangerous as riders move from lower levels of skiing and snowboarding to more advanced levels. When riders get into tricks and use more than just the mountain's twists and turns, like jumps, boxes and rails, the sport becomes very danger-ous. Pearce’s injury clearly shows that. However, snowboarders and skiers alike have plenty of opportunities to protect themselves while on the mountain. A helmet isn’t just a luxury, but a ne-

Dangers from page 15cessity for both skiers and snowboarders. Wrist guards are suggested for most snowboarders, who often have more wrist or arm injuries than skiers. It’s even possible to purchase gloves, which have rigid plastic pieces in them that allow the rider’s hands to bend forward, but not backward. They’re similar to finger-saves in goalie gloves. Beside gear that riders can buy to protect themselves, they should also practice safe habits. First and foremost, they must learn to ski within their limits. They should ride with a friend. And when they reach the point where exhaustion settles in, they should avoid that last run down the mountain. A big cause for riding injuries is a lack of focus, which often happens on a rider’s last run, because he or she is tired. Staying safe amounts to wearing the proper gear and being smart on the mountain. Obviously, both skiing and snowboarding are meant for fun, but keeping oneself safe allows riders to keep others safe as well. . Unfortunately, Kevin Pearce’s injury proves that at any level, injuries are bound to happen--but alert riders reduce the possibilities of accident and injury.

truant officers and substantially cut dropout rates the process. Springfield hopes to cut its dropout rate, which has caused SHS to be a school on Corrective Action. A truancy officer helps ensure that students are in school for the time required by the state. The officer will make house calls and have meetings with parents and students to troubleshoot the problem. "Truancy officers are responsible for assisting school administration with follow-ups for students who are excessively absent from school," Anderson said. Kevin Anderson was a police officer for 28 years before he retired in 2007. He is currently part of the committee of the Windsor County Special Investiga-tion Unit. "I have worked many investigations during my career involving children of all ages," said Anderson. "Reflectively, I feel the most important qualification for the truancy officer is to have a sincere interest in students and look out for their best interest. Education is one such interest. I love to see students succeed and completing school has to be at the top of the list.” A grant will cover the cost of Anderson’s

Anderson from page 1position. SHS Co-Principal Bob Thibault is positive about the truancy officer. "It is a part-time position that is shared between Riverside and SHS with the objective to eliminate truancies in the Springfield School District,” Thibault explained. Anderson is not a Student Resource Officer, a proposed position cut from the school budget last fall. He works part-time and he is not a police officer. He carries no weapon, wears no uniform, and has only his SHS Identification badge rather than a police badge. Anderson is similar to a Student Resource Officer only in the sense that his role is to help keep kids in school. The position will be funded through the school year. Many hope that funding will remain avail-able to employ a truancy officer for years. “Some other qualifications I have include coaching youth sports, including ice hockey and soft-ball,” Anderson said. “I am also from a large family, 8 children, so I am constantly around children of all ages. I am very excited about getting to know students and helping them complete their high school education.”

Snowmobile from page 18 Kimball agrees. He isn’t worried about the recent teenage fatalities. “No, I’m not nervous at all,” Kimball concluded. “I don’t let things like that bother me. It’s their own fault if they get hurt, because you’re totally in control. It all depends on how far you squeeze the throttle.”

winter. Rushton adds, "Every year I look forward to playing with my teammates." SHS field hockey halfback Jessie Haskell uses the indoor rink to stay in shape. She enjoys learn-ing more skills at the faster pace of Riley Rink."I think everyone who plays field hockey should join because it's good team bonding and you get cool tees," Jessie said. Ruth Haskell has a fond memory from last year's Riley Rink play: being in last place in the standings for the playoffs and going all the way to the chamionship.

Riley Rink from page 17

play activities such as dodge ball, floor hockey, and mat ball with such intensity and emotion that the gym floor tends to resemble a battlefield where only the strong survive. However, some students don’t appreciate this intensity. “It doesn’t need to be taken to the level that some people take it to,” said Lauren Fountain of the highly competitive gym classes. “It takes all the fun out of the class.” A constant stream of pegged balls and whacked sticks doesn’t help to make the environment a friendly one either. “I’ve gotten hit several times,” said Fountain. “It’s not fun.” Since the competition is viewed as intimidat-ing, students find they must use a cutthroat approach in order to be competitive. “Kids won’t pass to anyone they think has less ability or who might jeopardize a win,” said Justin Derosier. Consequently, participants with the best intentions are forced to follow in the steps of their vicious teammates in the hope of receiving a pass. Physical education classes allow students an opportunity to engage in activity with their peers. Yet as competition intensifies, the friendly nature of the com-petition is replaced with the intense passion and fierce rivalry of varsity sports. “It’s not a state championship to win mat ball,” concluded Fountain. “It’s just a game, just a class.”

Phys-Ed from page 17

number of Americans dying due to the lack of good health coverage. Besides serving as mayor of Burlington for eight years, a member of the House of Representatives for 16 years, and U.S. Senator for three years, Bernie Sanders considers himself a Progressive. According to Sanders’ definition given during his speech, a Progressive believes that people shouldn’t be forced to do without things that are needed to live because of lack of money. According to Sanders, a Conservative is the opposite: they believe that govern-ment shouldn’t be involved too much and seek to limit government assistance to the needy. Sanders feels that Progressives offer more financial assistance to citizens, while Conservatives feel that if people are starving, they may need to starve. Sanders spoke at Springfield High School with the goal of engaging more young people in public service. But some students resented Sanders' strong tone.“I feel like he started out well,” said Graham. “But when he heard our [more conservative] beliefs, he slammed them and was very close-minded.”

Sanders from page 5

nroeG Hner pg �1

school during the next year. Due to strict rules enforced by the NCAA student-athletes can only commit to a school verbally until the first Wednesday in February. Although the day varies with the sport, the majority of sports recognized National Signing Day this year on February 3rd. ESPN broadcast athletes signing on to college field hockey, soccer, track and field, cross country and men’s water polo teams, although football receives, by far, the most attention. “I am not signing, but I do celebrate it [Na-tional Signing Day],” said SHS senior football player Jon Esden. “I just check up with who Auburn got the next day.” SHS Social Studies teacher David Slivka is similar to Esden. He doesn’t watch the National Sign-ing Day proceedings. Instead, he reads about it the next day. Being heavily recruited by Division I pro-grams, never mind a big to-do broadcast on national television, may be every high school athlete’s dream. However, Springfield High School students don’t seem to dream as big. Senior soccer player James Karkowski will be signing, “but I don’t know where yet,” he said. Senior Angelo Jardina has decided on at-tending Union College next year, although he is on the fence about playing soccer. “I was [going to play] until I realized it may be a bit much with school and a sport,” he said. So National Signing Day has come and gone. Who signed with your favorite team?

Signing from page 16

how to escape it. Constant self-sabotage, and I am lost. I don't know how to combat it. I carry the fatal tendency to hope. I try to mask my optimism with pessimism, an almost always failed attempt to lessen the blow of disappointment. De-spite all of the energy I expend on convincing myself that my endeavors will result in defeat, I somehow always manage to dupe my efforts and continue to hope. Hope is considered a good thing. Without it the world would fall into craters of despair. Hope gives us reasons to live through grim times. It fills us with a belief that things can be better. So maybe it's not so fatal after all. Sure, it's made some of my disappointments worse than they would have been if I hadn't had so many expectations, but it makes the darkness bearable. Hope wraps us in comfort. Hope gives us the belief that we can make a difference. Hope lets us evoke change. I carry the struggle between motivation and lack of it. There's a battle in my mind between the desire to be productive and successful, and laziness, which seems to be more of a dominant quality in me. It's so strange to live with an innate tendency of laziness, alongside an insatiable determination. It seems like the odds are against me, but I've proved that with enough willpower, I can succeed. I carry a heavy load of compassion. You would think I would feel lighter, caring so much for others, but sometimes I feel so strongly that it weighs me down more. Sometimes I feel everything that others feel so acutely. When a member of my family or one of my friends is hurting, I'm in pain with them. But if this is considered a burden, it's one I would never want to give up. I cherish my ability to feel compassion, to be empathetic, because it makes the world a better place. If people were incapable of compassion, putting themselves in other's shoes, and empathizing, then the

world would be a zone of destruction. People would tear though life without any thought for others. People would be entirely self-focused, which would result in chaos and disaster. There are already enough people who move through life with no regard for others, and that causes plenty of problems as it is. We need the people who are capable of compassion. I carry a fear of time. I am constantly work-ing to deadlines. The days, hours, minutes, seconds slip away. Every ounce of time I have is precious, yet much of it is wasted. It escapes down the drain, and I'm repeat-edly left scrambling. Where does the time go? I'll look at the clock, and I will think, "Oh, I've got all the time in the world." But then I look at the clock again, and hours have passed. Where did all of that time go? Are my eyes playing tricks on me? I'm constantly losing time, and it's impossible to ever get it back. You think I would learn to be more efficient, use my time more effectively, but I think it's a lesson that will never penetrate my mind. I want to spend my time being happy, so if I have to scramble at the last minute to get something done, at least all the time I wasted I was enjoying myself. But I don't want all of the time to disappear. I want to do a lot in my life, and I only have the time that the world is willing to give me. I carry my dreams with me. My aspirations, hopes, goals are always knocking around in my head. They are persistent. They won't let go of me, and I won't let go of them. We cling to each other. My dreams push me forward, they give me a reason to be excited for the future. They remind me to work hard, they whisper me when I'm ready to acknowledge defeat, they gently prod me to persevere. They tease me, purposely tantalizing my desires. They let me see glimpses of them when I begin to forget why I work so hard. They say, "Jess, remember why. All of this will make a future possible

that will give you the opportunities to make us become reality." And then I remember. I remember that I want to write and publish a novel, continue to perform on stage, travel the world, make a difference in people's lives, raise a family, earn a Ph.D., go on an archeological dig, live in a range of places, and travel to outer space. My dreams encourage me to be persistent, they tell me that it will all be worth it someday. I carry large amounts of love. Love squeezes into every crevice of my heart, always on the verge of explosion. I love so many people so much, it hurts sometimes. I love my beautiful brother, Layne, my best friend and sister, Anna, my kind older brother, Nate, my amazing mother, Erin, my goofy father, Trevor, my sweet stepmother, Mindy, my unique and equally amazing friends, my grandparents. I love music, songs, artists, to the point of obsession some of the time. I love reading for hours. I love acting on stage. I love writing, but sometimes I hate it because it frustrates me when I'm unable to convey what I want to. I love dancing, despite not being good at it. I love putting incoherent splotches of paint on a canvas. I love laughing. I love biking, hiking, swimming, running, canoeing, just being in the outdoors. I love sunshine and warmth. I love the ocean. I love extensively, and I love hard, but I love loving. I carry passion, a desire to learn, the ability to write copiously, a lack of singing talent, a hidden smile, a quiet demeanor, a dry sense of humor, hesitation, an enjoyment of watching movies with other people, a lack of coordination, a slew of incohesive thoughts, a high energy, an idealist attitude, a facade of pessimism, a fondness for words, among other things. You'd think with all of the things I carry, my load would be pretty heavy. But it's not. If it is, I don't mind it.

Ambiguity from page 10

san Fog, Angelo Jardina, and SHS Student Assistance Program counselor Danielle Dulaney volunteered to give up one of their study halls or lunch duties or other free”time. During this time these adults deal with stu-dent disciplinary issues such as cutting class and student insubordination. With the new system, there will be a teacher from SHS occupying what was formerly Athletic Director Mike Hatt’s office each period of the day. “The system was modeled after the idea ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’” said Thibault. “We are all in this together and it shouldn’t be just the principal or co-principal disciplining.” SHS math teacher Cynthia Knight is one of the teachers participating in the new system. “I wanted to help change the climate of the school,” said Knight. “I hear a lot of comments from students like ‘I can do that, nothing will happen’ and I wanted to help in that area.” This volunteer staff observed Larry Wight and Thibault while they were discipling various stu-dents, so that they could understand more of what they would be doing themselves. They also began talking to students and disciplining them if needed. Even though only eight adults will be actu-ally disciplining the students, Thibault says the entire school community will be affected. For some, the change might be as small as an increased study hall size. “I try to be respectful and I don’t deal with any of my own students,” said Knight. “If I feel the

situation will be uncomfortable I hand it over to Mr. Wight or Mr. Thibault. So far the reaction is good.” Knight also said that in the few days that she has been participating in the program she has been given the chance to meet and introduce herself to many students at SHS. “It might help the students see their teachers in a different light, and the teachers see their students in ways they haven’t before,” said Thibault. There might also be teacher-to-teacher changes with the new system. If one teacher sent a student out of class, it would be the serving teachers' duty to discipline them. In turn, Thibault says that teachers may “see their colleagues in a different light” because they are learning about how that teacher handles their class and students. Even though other members of the staff are contributing their time, Wight and Thibault will still oversee all the disciplinary issues and will have to deal with the larger discipline issues such as actions resulting in expulsion and out-of-school suspensions. As with all changes made in the school community, this new system is not completely set in stone. “We’ll test this system out and see how it works,” said Thibault. “If there are a lot of concerns we will re-do it.” “I hope it can continue,” said Knight. “[The new policy] stops the feeling of us and them, administra-tion and teachers.” “In the end, it’s an overall good,” concluded Thibault.

Discipline from page 6

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events and must guess the event that actually occurred, Mark Halperin, a political analyst, was quizzed about world leader Giorgio Carbone, the Prince of Seborga. The fictional antics of Carbone included making the official sandwich of Seborga a ham sandwich and declar-ing war on Antarctica while the truth, and the correct answer, about Carbone involved encouraging people of Seborga to smoke. Prairie Home Companion is another high-light of NPR. Prairie Home Companion is broadcast in Minnesota, though it travels around, and features the qualities of radio from the forties. There are many different story-telling segments, with old-fashioned sound effects and many people lending voices. One of the most beloved segments for me, and many other listeners is Guy Noir, a parody of hard-boiled detective fiction, in which a world-weary gum-shoe investigates convoluted mysteries, encountering characters typical of the genre along the way. One of my favorite moments from Prairie Home Companion, from a few years ago, perhaps before

Manifesto from page 10numerous sacrifices in order to complete the budget. Reductions include half-time English teacher, half-time social studies teacher, and eighth-time science teacher. The Precision Valley Program (PVP) was restructured to have two full-time teachers rather than multiple part-time teachers. The title of Information Technology Director was reclassified to Systems Administrator for a savings. Travel and conference budgets have been reduced in the athletic department and at PVP. Over $9,000 was saved because the 2010-2011 school year will see a principal and assistant principal, rather than co-principals, after the retirement of current SHS Co-Principal Larry Wight. A tactic employed to create savings invovled funding positions using grants. The Literacy Coach posi-tion, filled by Kevin Coen this year, received enough funds to pay 100% of Coen’s salary for 27 months. A nurse position is 25% funded, and 37.5% of the Student Assistant Program counselor will be funded through grants. Overall, $77,106 in grants will be utilized in the budget. “I firmly believe that the high school has put forth a very, very tight budget,” said Thibault, referring to savings. One of the cuts that involved much debate was the athletic trainer position. “There are various debates on either side,” said School Board Student Representative SHS junior Kelsey Christensen. “Coaches don’t have the same experience as a trainer,” said SHS student-athlete Liza Fontaine. Fontaine commended athletic trainer Matt Howland for putting extra effort into helping her by going to clinics. As part of the tight budget, PVP will be streamlined from one full-time teacher, four part-time teachers, and a paraprofessional, to two full-time teach-ers and a paraprofessional. PVP’s budget has suffered cuts as well. But PVP teacher Rebecca Larkin is opti-mistic. “We’re good at getting grants,” she said. “I’m not worried about that.” SHS Science department team leader Belinda Hathorn said the course offerings from the science department would most likely suffer due to the loss of .125 of a position. “We’re going to have to teach the bare essen-tials,” she said. This means that 12th grade scienceand elective science classes probably will not be offered. Because of seniority, the teacher who has joined the SHS staff most recently will probably suffer a reduction in their teaching duties. However, this teacher is also the only teacher in the department certified to teach AP Biology. “More of us [with the staff cuts] will have to carry a bigger load or bigger classes,” said social studies team leader Angelo Jardina. “It can spell out a few different scenarios.” The reduction will leave the social studies department with five teachers rather than the 5.5 it maintained this year. “We’re prepared to do what we have to do,” Jardina concluded. The budget will be put before the Springfield voters on March 2nd. “It is imperative that we find a way to pass this budget on the first try,” said Thibault. “If we do not, more dramatic cuts will mean significantly larger classes, less offerings, potential extra-curricular cuts and other impacts that will greatly subvert our attempts for school improvements.”

I was pretentious and superficial, took place during Guy Noir. In this episode, Private Investigator Guy Noir encounters a customer service representative with whom, in the course of the phone call, he falls in love. However, because the call is being monitored for quality, he is separated from the girl forever. For me, and many others, Prairie Home Companion is a nostalgic program. Another reoc-curring facet of the program is a commercial break, with an advertisement for rhubarb pie. The jingle for the rhubarb pie advertisement is something I’ve had memorized since early childhood: needless to say, it’s very near to my inner-child and satisfies my penchant for nostalgia. This nostalgia was once the core of NPR’s appeal to me. This was clearly a more genuine time. Now, the appeal of this informative and intelligent radio station is entirely for street credit. But, if nothing else, you may enjoy the smooth, well-enunciated radio voices

Budget from page 3

band and chorus director Jim Chlebak. Chlebak hopes that by being on the com-mittee he’ll be able help find an administrator that can help raise awareness of the importance of music in the school community. “Administrators are often much less familiar with the arts than other subject areas,” said Chlebak. “I want to be sure our students' interests are well-repre-sented.” “I've worked here for a while and seen many VPs [vice-principals] come and go,” said SHS Librar-ian Juliet Loutrel. “Hopefully remembering our past VP experiences can help choose a good fit for this job opening. By the end of January, the hiring process was still in its beginning stages. “The committee has met twice, and we have narrowed the field considerably,” said Thibault. “We will continue to do so until we have the applicants we wish to interview.” After the committee has selected their choice, they will recommend that applicant to the school board. Unlike in previous years at SHS where the hiring process was left until the spring or summer before the new school year, this year the process has already begun. “My hope is that interviews will be done by the end of February,” said Thibault, “with an applicant offered the position sometime in March.”

AP from page 7

What does any of this have to do with on? Nothing. It has nothing to do with on. On is a word. And sure, words are important but how interesting is on? Not very. So we decided not to bore you with a forced piece of writing about on. And guess what? That on at the end of our last column? Yeah, it didn’t mean a thing. We have no idea how it got there. Well, here we are. We have not got out of our swirly chairs, we have not packed our bags and set off to save the world. We have continued writing. We have done what is expected. We’re not surprised, and I bet you aren’t either. But maybe, just maybe, somewhere down the line we’ll break course.

Bubble from page 24

ball championship and the 2008-2009 state basketball championship is definitely one of them, and ending my basketball coaching career by going to Barre in con-secutive years, 2004 and 2005, by winning 39 out of 45 games. Ending my football coaching career by winning 19 out of our last 22 games, with back-to-back state championship game appearances are also big highlights for me.” With both football coaches leaving at the same time, the football program will be fresh and new beginning in the fall. Coach Jack Cohun has taken on the head football coaching position, and will take over the Cos-mos team, after helping out the Cosmos last year as one of the assistant coaches. “With Coach Jack Cohun on staff, I feel it’s a great time to make a transition,” Hatt said. “Coach Cohun has a tremendous amount of experience, and the kids really enjoyed working with him last year. He’s a smart choice as the next Cosmos head football coach, and as of right now, I plan on staying on as athletic director at SHS. We have a lot of work to continue to make our programs something our students want to be a part of, and we are confident that we will be able to secure a solid staff for next year’s players.” During his coaching career, Hatt emphasized teamwork and hard work to achieve victories and cham-pionships. “One of the best things that gets played out in athletics is that you can achieve great things, without great talent or resources, when everybody involved agrees to go in the same direction,” Hatt said. “There are no secrets or short cuts to success, you are either trained or untrained. “My advice for next year's team is the same as always, work hard, talk to each other, and have a plan every time you go to the line of scrimmage,” Hatt con-cluded. “Next year’s team will do fine. There is a solid nucleus of players returning who know the importance of being coachable, no matter who the next head coach is.”

Hatt from page 14

Visit past editions of The Green Horn online at shs.ssdvt.org

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“I want the students to have a say.” Three teams have entered the Project VISTA contest and have developed unique ideas for their pro-posals. “Each team has really creative ideas,” Coen said. “They came up with things that hadn’t even entered my consciousness.” SHS chemistry and Precision Valley Pro-gram teacher Gretel Schuck is a member of the Project VISTA team, with SHS juniors Adam Lawlor and Kaleb Noble and senior Owen Ledvina, all members of the technology course in the River Valley Technical Center. Community members Bob Morris, webmaster for the Lovejoy Tool Company, and Larry Traineanu, a web designer, are also on their team. Their idea for the contest is to create an iPod application that can tell a passing traveler all about Springfield. The application will list attractions and events happening in Springfield. The purpose is to convince travelers driving on I-91 to get off at Exit 7 and visit the town. “I like the project,” Schuck said. “I thought of the need for people to go through Springfield before Project VISTA, so when Project VISTA came up, I thought it would be a great way to convince people to visit.” Schuck is enthusiastic about her team's chance of winning the Project VISTA contest. “[We are a] very talented and good team,” Schuck said. “I am really enthusiastic about it [Project VISTA]." If Shuck’s team wins, they are hoping to get Okemo Mountain Re-sort to sponsor them and advertise their iPod application in the resort’s catalog to attract tourists. Another team in Project VISTA includes SHS/PVP teachers Rebecca Larkin and John Davis, SHS math teacher Gigi Guy, and all the students in PVP.

Community members Joe Cernaglia, who owns and runs Joe’s Discount Liquor, and Nancy Schaefer, health and nutrition educator and yoga teacher, are also members of this team. This Project VISTA team is hoping to cre-ate a community-wide adventure race, which would be similar to a scavenger hunt. This adventure race would take participants to different locations around the town of Springfield. A task featuring a combination of fitness and food would be found at each location. PVP English teacher John Davis introduced the idea for an adventure race. Davis participates in adventure races all over the country. He and Larkin agree that it is a way to combine what their students are learning in school with a plan to help the Springfield community. “It’s a way to connect what we are teaching and what the students are learning to something bigger than SHS,” Larkin said. Larkin believes that her team has a fair chance of winning the Project VISTA contest. “I think we can win,” Larkin said. “If one of the other proposals wins, then that’s good too, and it would be great if we could combine [our efforts].” The third team that will participate in Project VISTA is a group created by SHS senior Sara Paton with help from fellow senior Dan Christman. Paton and Christman’s are still finalizing the details of their proposal. They hope to develop a plan that will benefit 802, the local music venue in downtown Springfield. Coen introduced Project VISTA to Spring-field High School because he wanted to give students a chance to share their ideas to improve the Springfield community. “It’s easier to pick out what’s wrong with the community," Coen said. "It’s harder to do something good to improve it. I think it’s good to get kids involved

because they have more energy than we adults and they [students] are usually forgotten.” Goddard agrees with Coen. She thinks that getting high school students involved in Project VISTA could lead to getting other members of the community involved. “I feel that the high school students have a bad reputation [in the community] and by pairing them up with community members it will show them that they [the students] are good kids and spark others' interest,” Goddard said. “I think as we look at Project VISTA, it helps to see all the problems in Springfield. They are problems that we as students can deal with too,” senior and Student Council President Amanda Aberle said. “I think that it [Project VISTA] will have a successful outcome.” Each team was required to include at least three students, one teacher, para-educator, or administra-tor, and one community member who is involved with a local business and over 18. Each group then came up with their own idea to improve the Springfield com-munity and create a proposal, which will be evaluated, by a group of judges.The winning proposal will then be selected. The winning team will receive an award of $300 and also be given $500 to cover the cost of putting their Project VISTA idea into motion. Teams’ proposals for Project VISTA were due by January 31st. The winning proposal will be chosen on February 22 and the winning team will have until May 31st to complete their project. “I want our town to take pride in itself,” Coen concluded. “I want Springfield to be a nice town that’s cleaned up and a place where people can have a say, including students.”

VISTA from page 1

With that said, what’s the point of this mes-saging? Cameron throws in phrases from headlines like shockandawe andpre-emptive strike that do nothing but induce viewer-cringing. Speaking of cringing, Avatar’s acting pro-vides plenty for everybody. Between the simplistic characters, poor dialogue, and overacting, Avatar makes clear that visuals, not performances, are the highlights of this film. Something can be said for the difficulty in capturing good performances when the actors aren’t actually on screen. But we’ve seen convincing com-puter-generated characters in other films such as the Lord of The Rings. Actor Andy Serkis's performance as the unnerving computer-generated character Gollum is proof that Cameron could have done better with Avatar's use of computer techology. In fact, Avatar feels more like a video game than a movie, with its concept of humans controlling another body in an alternate reality. But video games lately have emulated reality and humanity in its dark-est facets, in a way embracing a deterioration of earth and society. This is something that Avatar ignores in its adventures in the outer space jungle. Avatar’s box office proceeds are in excess of a billion and a half dollars. Therefore, it’s no surprise that sequels are already planned. Avatar is more justified in having a sequel than many films simply because the cost to develop character, environmental, and animal models for the world of Pandora and the accompanying animations that comprised so much of the film’s budget, represent an investment that could be re-used to decrease the time and money needed for sequels.

Avatar from page 12about your personality. The GPA is not the only factor in applying to college, there’s much more to it.” As far as getting into college, how important one's GPA is depends on the college. But, when it comes to school systems and figuring out, it is difficult to judge the correct way to figure GPA. “Until we can gather more information concerning a better way to calculate GPA, or whether we should continue weighted classes, it has to be used,” said Ryan. “It’s a hard subject.” “My dream for SHS is to make it cool to be smart,” said Thibault, who understands how important GPAs can be to students. “High level academics is something students should strive for.”

GPA from page 8

at over 300 pounds. If you thought that was frightening, 400,000 of Americans weigh in at 400+ pounds. Fitness experts suggest there are a few things that can be done to stop the growing obesity rate in America. One, people can start eating healthily and stop relying on the Angus Third Pounders offered at fast food restauraunts. Second, people can be physically active. They can join sports teams or a fitness clubs, go running, do something productive and active.

Fitness from page 18

expert because it means one thing: more zombies. The zombie’s moan usually alerts all other zombies in the area to your presence, which signifies your death. Beyond this, a zombie’s otherworldly moan has a profound psychological effect on human beings. If you happen to be holed up in your fortress of solitude with about a hundred zombies outside, all of which moan consistently and without rest, you tend to get annoyed, then a little bit more annoyed, and sooner or later you start thinking that you would do anything to stop the noise. You would even open the door and let them in so it will stop. But then you’ll be dead along with everyone else in your team. So in order to avoid massacring your team, invest in earplugs and fight the fear. Basically just remember that you need to survive, if not for your sake, for the sake of the human race. One less zombie means one less bullet wasted after all. In closing: all you have to fear is fear itself.

Apocalyptia from page 12 Some students--and adults--wonder what opera actually is. Many think it is boring and stupid. Even this reporter’s siblings questioned the sustainabil-ity and value of her operatic pursuits. So, in an effort to spread some song throughout the Upper Valley, here is an operatic definition. Opera occurs when a musician, usually a singer, performs a theatrical performance with limited or no spoken dialogue. Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and many other classical composers created and performed operas. Opera involves intense musical interludes, per-haps the equivalent to a singing Olympics, and is usually sung in a different language. Opera is so important, especially for babies, because it develops brain cells, and helps one to experience a totally different style. The Opera Theatre of Weston endeavors to enrich the lives of people young and old by bringing opera to this small town. A kindergarten class from a neighboring town became so excited about the opera in fact, that they became "Princes and Princesses" for the day, arriving with crowns and opera viewing glasses.

Prince from page 6

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SHS Speaks Out

Bursting the Bubble

By Jenny Bradley and Olivia Johnson

By Laurel Porter

How many of you noticed that our last column ended with the word on? Want to know why? Maybe if you keep reading we’ll tell you…

The first definition of on according to Dic-tionary.com is “so as to be or remain supported by or suspended from.” Well, that’s exciting. How many of you actually noticed that on at the end of our column? What did you think? Did you think it was a typo? Did you even notice it? If not, go back and look. It’s there. Let’s be honest. On really isn’t all that in-teresting. It’s a word. Sure words can be fun, at least in our opinion, but on? Not one we’d choose as Word of the Day.

Flamboyant. Zealous. Conspicuous. These are adjectives that would be right at home under the category of Word of the Day. Are we really talking about words right now? Words? Don’t worry. We know that none of you care and have probably already given up on this column. We mean, it’s about words. That’s like the absolute worst column topic ever. Words. Haiti. We want to go to Haiti. We want to help. We get so tired of sitting in school and doing things that will amount to so little. Our $320,000 future college experiences could feed a country. Sometimes we want to take all that money and feed a country. But will we? No. We’ll go to college. Probably have the time of our lives, graduate, get a job, have a family, spend all our money on them, die old. Is that what we want?

Yes and no. We want to do something. Help someone. Change something. But doesn’t everyone? And out of all the people dying to change the way things are, how many actually make a difference? Little to none. We have these moments when all we want to do is help. Leave everything and help. But then, we walk away. We walk away from the TV or put down the newspaper. Moments later, it’s gone, we’ll be laughing with our friends, doing homework, or lounging on the couch. Sure this feeling will reappear from time to time but will it ever push us enough to break away from our routines? Will we ever have the power to do the unex-pected? We hope so. With every fiber of our beings we hope.

On. Word of the Day?

See Bubble page 22

Math Teacher John DeanI really enjoy anything by Bill Bryson, because he has a very lively outlook. He also lives in Hanover [New

Hampshire].

Senior Matt Domina“My favorite book is To Kill A Mockingbird. I thought it

was a great book. It had a good storyline to it.”

Sophomore Coral-Mae LaMontagne

“The Deathnote series. It’s romance with some action, and severe psycho-ness. It’s like psycho-killer romance.

It’s awesome.”

Senior Melissa Tarbell“My favorite book is Pride and Prejudice, because I enjoy the classics, and I especially like Jane Austen.”

Sophomore Carrie Mobus“I like Harold and the Purple Crayon. When I was younger, my parents would always read it to me, and I

remember enjoying reading it.”

Senior Chris Rosengrant“Wizard’s First Rule. It’s a fantasy series; it’s

ridiculously long. There’s really good character depth. It’s an awesome fantasy series.”

When J.D. Salinger died in late January, readers and book enthusiasts mourned the passing of this author who created one of the great American stories, The Catcher in the Rye, featuring one of the great American anti-heroes, Holden Caulfield. With this in mind, this edition of SHS Speaks Out challenged students and staff with this statement: "Describe your favorite book."