Gra

phic

by G

hulam

Sallman & Caroline Pledger

Six seniors reflect on memorable teachers who have made a difference, p. F4-F5

Volume 13 Number 6 James Hubert Blake HS Silver Spring MD http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/blakehs May 13, 2011

IN THIS ISSUE:

Elated, exhausted seniors await bittersweet finale as graduation nears “Fire and Ice”-themed prom to spark spirits, cool end-of-year anxieties

by Somala Diby & Blaire Hoffmanx

Students prepare as the end-of-the-year season kick starts with Prom 2011 tonight at 7pm and graduation June 14.

Prom will be held at the Samuel Riggs Field House on the University of Maryland campus. The event, themed “Fire and Ice,” has been hosted at the venue before; however, the experience will be new to most students attending prom this year. Says sophomore Jean Suazo, “I’ve put a lot of work into preparing for [tonight]. I’m hoping it’ll be everything prom’s made out to be.”

Prom preparation was made easier for some, as a prom dress sale was hosted in the office on April 2 and April 3. The “New-To-You” prom dress sale is a program where students and members of the Blake community alike could donate their gently worn prom dresses or evening gowns, to be sold at reduced prices to Blake students.

Senior Shekara Smith was inspired to start the program at Blake from an article she saw in Seventeen Magazine. After

contacting counselor Christina Gelb, Smith was referred to PTSA president Robina Barlow who helped to organize the drive. Students from Blair, Damascus, Sherwood, and Walter Johnson high schools, as well as Blake students, attended the “New-To-You” dress event. “Senior year has been very expensive,” Smith adds. “This program was a way to help girls find a dress for a cheaper price so they don’t have to sell their arms and legs to look nice for their big day.”

The night to remember will end at Dave and Buster’s at White Flint Mall, where the Blake Booster Club will host After-Prom, an event where students are given free x-play cards as well as chances to win prizes.

Once the rush of prom is over, seniors will be settling down in preparation for their last month in high school, leading up to graduation at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington D.C.

The senior class council has been working diligently to organize the event, specifically by creating the program, dis-tributing caps and gowns, giving out tickets and selecting news an- c h o r Bruce Johnson of WUSA News 9 (CBS) as the commencement speaker. Says

Public Relations Chair senior Breonna Greenlee, “It’s a lot to deal with in a little bit of time, but it’s been fun.”

Seniors are strongly encouraged not only to order cap and gowns as soon as possible, but also to fulfill obligations. The financial office has made a rule that seniors may not be given their cap and gowns if they have not yet addressed their obligations, which will prohibit them from walking across the stage during the graduation ceremony.

For most seniors, the graduation ceremony is highly anticipated. “I’ve been waiting 12 years of schooling for this,” says senior Cynthia Cheng. “When I walk across that stage, a stage of my life is complete.” Each senior is given four tickets for family members during the mandatory gradu-ation rehearsal June 13. If seniors require more than their allotted four tickets, they must contact senior class sponsor Kelly McLaughlin via email at Kelly_A_McLaughlin@mcpsmd.org.

Says senior class secretary Stella Song, “I’m happy to be so involved in such a big event that every student [ex-periences]. All the planning will pay off when I walk across

that stage.”

Dance performances dazzle, art speaks at annual festivalby Lily Hua & Gillian Spolarichx

May 6 marked Blake’s annual Arts and Humanities Festival from 5:30pm to 9pm, which did not disappoint from any years previous, with events including orchestra,

dance and musical performances, as well as visual art galleries. “Art and Soul,” the theme of this year’s show, was based on the quote

“The artist must train not only his eyes but also his soul” by Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. Says senior art student Queenies Nguyen, “I think

the arts are really important. [They] define Blake...[they] show how talented our kids are.”

This year’s art show encompassed various art forms such as photography, dance and ceramics. Senior Katie Lingan, involved

in all three departments, participated in a Dance Company piece and performed her own dance solo. Says Lingan, “I think when people come to the art show, they are amazed at the excellence that our high school kids have to offer.” Lingan is also a stu-dent nominee for awards in dance and photography.

Lingan took AP Ceramics and AP Digital Photography

this year which helped her prepare for the art show. She has been inspired by the talent she has fostered and has decided to attend George Mason University in the fall with plans to major in Photography and minor in Dance. Says Lingan,

“The arts program at Blake has opened so many doors for my future.”

As well as visual arts and dance performances, Blake’s instrumental department also had a few selections to show off. The

last musical group to go on was the jazz combo which played a few selections of old jazz as well as some funk and jazz fusion. Senior Alex

Raul plays piano in the jazz combo and is a student nominee for an award in the instrumental department this year. He believes that the instrumental

department plays an important role in Blake’s signature arts program. Says Raul, “We are…a big part of what other people see the school as.”

Continued on A4

The arts are really important.[They] define Blake...[they] show

how talented our kids are. Queenies Nguyen

Seniors win Alicia Betancourt Prize, p. E1

Gymnastics defeats Walter Johnson, p. D4

Senior Banquet superlatives awarded, p. F1

Highlights from last week’s festival include (clockwise from top): senior Janee Stanley smiling confidently, while junior Alexis Wallace tediously shapes her own clay creation. Onlooking senior Brittany Hamson admires student art, while sophomore Lydia Curdts shares a

likeness with a picture on display. Andrew Latona keeps audiences engaged with his hypnotizing harmonies. --photos by Aron Crews

Former student, current faculty member Ms. Mohler to spend next year in Israel, p. A6

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatA2Senior organizes fundraiser to help Alzheimer’s AssociationLarkin raises over $10,000 for Capstone project with dance, concert

For her Capstone project in music performance, senior Ashley Larkin organized a dance and concert May 1 at the Ten Oaks Ballroom in Clarksville to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

Larkin has been working on the event, entitled “A Dance and Concert to End Alzheimer’s,” since January. Along with a small team from the Brooke Grove Retire-ment Village, she worked to find a location, put out adver-tisements, booked bands and raised funds through sponsor-ships and fundraisers. “It was really time-consuming, but it was really worth it,” says Larkin.

Larkin was inspired by her grandfather’s battle with Alzheimer’s to host this event. “He’s always been a huge figure in my life…he’s always really supported me,” says Larkin. Whenever her grandfather, who currently lives at the Brooke Grove Retirement Village, begins to forget or “lose himself,” Larkin sings to him to help bring him back, which inspired the musical aspect of the event.

Larkin herself gave a vocal performance during the concert. Because Larkin is following the Arts and Humani-ties pathway of music performance, she used her talents

to make the event more personal and memorable. Adds Larkin, “Because it was my event, [singing for it] felt like the right thing to do.”

The event also featured musical performances from various bands and dancing for the attendants. The Blake Jazz Ensemble, the Olney Big Band and the M Street Brass Quintet all performed musical numbers to help the cause.

Attracting the attention of local media outlets such as Channel 9 and The Gazette, tickets sales doubled and Larkin was able to raise over $10,000. “It was a really great way to bring people in,” adds Larkin. Ultimately, Larkin was able to achieve her goal of bringing awareness to Alzheimer’s disease.

She succeeded in combining a good cause with the completion of her academy certification. A Capstone project is a career-focused activity designed to align with a student’s career academy pathway. Students have the opportunity to apply their classroom education to real-world projects that allow them to network with leaders of the community. With the completion of a sequence of academy pathway courses as well, a student can obtain an academy certification.

by Leah Patterson & Karen Vanegas x

New schedule changes to be implemented in coming school year Staff attempts to increase student focus, participation after lunch

Starting next school year, a new

block schedule will be instituted with fifth period everyday instead of seventh, as decided unanimously by the Instruc-tional Counsel.

The change was proposed by Guid-ance Resource teacher Jean Smith, who brought the issue to the Instructional Counsel, the faculty governance body, that decided that the change was a good idea. Says principal Christopher Berry, “We thought that there would be some value in having the short period right af-ter lunch. There are pros and cons to that, but we really want to give it a shot.”

According to Mr. Berry, one of the main reasons fifth period will be made into the constant period is so students can have five classes and still be able to intern and work. Another reason for the change is to help students focus better after lunch instead of jumping right into a block period.

Says junior Joshua Chang, “I feel like it doesn’t matter which period you have every day. If the class is fun, it’s great, if it isn’t, then it sucks.”

Chang’s solution to helping stu-dents focus better after lunch is to make fifth period the most enjoyable class.

Freshman Kimiesha Dean believes that the change will only be bad if she

does not like her fifth period next year. Says Dean, “Students won’t care about the schedule change and will be [more preoccupied with] the flow of high school altogether.”

The change has left some students confused, especially since students are already acclimated to the schedule insti-tuted now. “Students will probably think that changing the schedule is pointless because they’re used to the schedule we have now,” says junior Claudia Gomes, who believes the change will be inef-fective.

“I anticipate that the change is go-ing to work,” adds Mr. Berry. “I think it will be fine.”

by Leisha Winleyx I feel like it doesn’t matter which

period you have every day. If the class is fun, it’s great, if it isn’t, then it sucks.

Joshua Chang

Ashley Larkin

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat A3

After the announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death, people took to the streets waving flags and chanting about the demise of a world terrorist.

Senior Ariel Schwartz and sophomore Becca Schwartz were in the stirring Washington, DC crowd to capture the mo-ment through photography. “I

believe that the celebration of freedom and relief was a good thing for our country,” says Becca Schwartz, “but those who were celebrating the death of bin Laden were a bit gross.”

Although the sisters were young during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, they still have a clear understanding of what this meant to our country and the people who suffered from the attacks. “I was only

seven when 9/11 occurred, so it didn’t really register as a national crisis,” says Ariel Schwartz. “I think that this is more closure for people who were [immediately] affected…but it still affected me.”

Says social studies teacher Dustin Jeter, “I don’t think the celebrations are really necessary, but I understand why [people] would be excited.” Mr. Jeter feels reassured that the United

States has done its duty, but believes that this could lead to future attacks.

Given bin Laden’s status among radicals, the American government is bracing itself for a possible retaliation. The killing has aroused speculation as to whether Americans are safe after the former leader of a terrorist organization has been killed by American men.

English teacher Allison

Finn believes that the excitement will die down, after all, she says, “that’s the nature of Americans.” Ms. Finn believes that an attack is unlikely, and would be in the far future, if it ever happens.

Reactions differ drastically within the United States. While many feel relief and choose to celebrate, others remain cautious and unsupportive of the efforts taken towards Al-Qaeda and terrorist organizations.

by Dorian Purse & Ellen Woodx

Many feel differently about death of mastermind behind 9/11 attacksKilling of Osama bin Laden leaves Americans filled with mixed emotions

School system could be cutting Mrs. Moore’s summer hoursRising seniors may lose the opportunity to meet

with college and career coordinator Kathy Moore over the summer if the Board of Education decides to cut the career coordinators’ summer positions.

Due to budget cuts throughout the county, the Board of Education is looking for ways to save by removing po-sitions. Final decisions will be released later this month. Mrs. Moore says, “Many of the folks that make the deci-sions aren’t aware of what goes on over the summer...it was probably an easy thing for them to say, ‘let’s just take these two months out.’”

Students and parents schedule appointments with Mrs. Moore to have an individualized discussion on what

colleges will be right for each student. “Being able to have a summer appointment and go over the procedures involved…is essential,” says Mrs. Moore. “These students have to be prepared to complete their application and have their recommendation letters all done.”

Senior Niraj Raju made an appointment to see Mrs. Moore in the career center last summer. “Mrs. Moore was one of the most helpful people at Blake for me,” he says. “[Cutting summer hours] would be a devastating loss, especially to students who rely on people like Mrs. Moore as their only guideline to college.”

Like many others, junior Rhea Wyse worries that many students and families will suffer if Mrs. Moore’s hours are cut. “This really concerns me as there are many families who schedule career center visits during the sum-

mer to get information about college,” says Wyse. “Her job is an essential position.”

Rising seniors are not the only students who may be affected by Mrs. Moore’s unavailability. Sophomore Kielan Wilcomb plans on graduating early, so she has to start applying next year. She says, “Without Mrs. Moore’s summer hours, I’ll have no guidance like [previous] juniors [had].”

Besides being unable to meet with students, Mrs. Moore will not be able to update the career center website or set up appointments with college representatives for the school year if she does not work through summer. If she is unable to work during summer, she encourages juniors to speak with their counselors and use Naviance to build their resume and search for colleges.

by Joal Chen & Janine Tairax

College and career coordinator Kathy Moore meets with junior Meredith Mathis to discuss future oppportunities after high school. Mrs. Moore’s possible

unavailability during summer poses problems to rising seniors looking for advice in their college searches. -- photo by Aron Crews

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat

Sister Cities creates link between United States, El SalvadorSpanish classes fundraise, spread awareness for Mesoamerican children

AP Spanish classes are working to raise money for Sister Cities International (SCI), a nonprofit organization that helps stimulate economies of cities around the world, in an effort to help the city of Mora-zán, El Salvador.

SCI is an international organization that was founded as a United States-based organization in the 1960s. It creates partner-ships between US cities with other cities around the globe to stimulate economic, community and educational development. SCI is currently working with over 2,000 communities worldwide. Spanish teacher Melissa Young says, “[Bringing SCI will help] Blake students make a connection between themselves and the rest of the

world.”Sister Cities is sponsored in Maryland

by the Association for Educational Develop-ment in El Salvador (ADEES), which has been working since March 2010 to target

cities with poor communities and low aca-demic performance. Their goal is to develop an educational experience for children, to increase the graduation rate and to provide students with scholarships.

An informational meeting was held

Sunday, April 30 to create awareness for the nonprofit organization ADEES in order to educate Maryland residents about the living conditions in El Salvador. ADEES president Evelyn Gonzalez explained that Morazán,

with an estimated population of 174,406, has the lowest literacy rate at 61.6%. Says junior Robert Koricinski, “Seeing pictures of the students and their smiling faces makes you want to help out and give them a better life.” With the help of ADEES, students at

the San Jose School have been provided textbooks, basic school and art supplies, four computers and sports equipment.

ADEES has created a partnership with the San Jose School in Morazán and the Holy Spirit School in San Jose. One of ADEES’s accomplishments has been send-ing art and school supplies for 300 children. Scholarships have also been provided for certain students of Holy Spirit School.

Mrs. Gonzalez came to speak to Ms. Young’s AP Spanish classes a few weeks ago to promote Sister Cities. The classes decided to make a contribution. Adds Ms. Young, “Lots of students are excited to be part of something international in our com-munity.” Possible fundraisers include a US soccer clinic and a soccer equipment drive. All money and supplies will be donated to the nonprofit organization.

by Molly Cohen & Leah Patterson x

A4

Lots of students are excited to be part of something international in our community.

Melissa Young

Continued from A1Spectators enjoyed the annual FasXion show for $2 at

7:30pm in the gym. Blake students modeled outfits designed by world renowned designers such as Lous Designs, Estella Couture and the Charles Roland Collection. Despite facing set-backs from lack of student designers and scheduling issues, the FasXion members have created their theme “Resurrection,” to show their perseverance as a club at Blake. Says FasXion spon-sor Latoya Livingston, “We fought hard and were determined to make sure the show still went on, despite many attempts to bring us down.”

The festival also featured staff artwork in the gallery in D-hallway. The staff who participated in the gallery included security team leader Charles Harper, TV production and digital arts teacher Sara Hartenstine, English teacher Elizabeth Jones, child develop-ment teacher Beth Kauffman, ceramics teacher Nancy McIntosh, digital arts teacher John Overman, English teacher Christopher Schenk and media assistant Janet Smith. The artwork included photography by Mr. Harper, Ms. Hartenstine, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Kauffman, jewelry by Mrs. Jones, sculptures by Mr. Overman, ce-ramics pieces from Mrs. McIntosh and a poem by Mr. Schenk. “I think it’s [beneficial] for students to be able to see that teachers out-

side of the arts have an interest in them,” says Ms. Hartenstine. A silent auction sponsored by the PTSA and the Booster Club

was held in the cafeteria throughout the night. Various donations for the auction included gift baskets, restaurant gift cards, posters, graduation tickets and gallery artwork. The night was catered by Baja Fresh who grilled on the patio by the cafeteria for $7.

The cast of Blake’s spring musical Hairspray performed pieces from their show including, “I Know Where I’ve Been,” “Run and Tell That,” “The Nicest Kids In Town” and “Timeless To Me” in the amphitheatre.

Bengals show artistic side at annual festival

Top left: senior Paris Saunders poses on the runway during the FasXion show. Middle: junior Brianna Lopez performs her Dance Company solo. Top right: senior Mariah Barnes struts down the catwalk at the FasXion show. Bottom (from left to right:) sophomore Ryan Reynolds, freshman Danny Gerson, freshman Katherine Wingate and senior Evan Peiperl perform an improv piece in the amphitheatre.

Arts and Humanities Festival

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat A5

Hairspray cast lights up the stage

Freshman Becca Glatt as Amber and senior Brittany Hamson as Velma (top left) play an antagonistic mother-daughter duo and dance to Velma’s solo in “Miss Baltimore Crabs.” The Corny Collins gang gathers to hear Harriman F. Spritzer, played by sophomore Matthew Nee (center of top right photo), announce the Ultra-Clutch Hairspray beauty pageant. Sophomore Charles Harper as Seaweed courts freshman

Michelle Carter (bottom left), who discovers the beauty in integration as timid Penny Pingleton. Tracy Turnblad, played by sophomore Jourdan Lewanda (bottom center), enjoys the limelight for the first time on the Corny Collins show. Senior Somala Diby (bottom right) preaches the benefits of integration on TV as Motormouth Maybelle during her solo in “Big, Blonde, and Beautiful.” --photos by Aron Crews

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatA6Ms. Mohler to work in Even Yehuda, Israel

History teacher Kara Mohler will be moving for a year to Even Yehuda, Israel to teach History at Walworth Barbour American International School (WBAIS).

Ms. Mohler’s opportunity arose when the professor of her online graduate class gave her the suggestion. “At first I didn’t give it too much thought,” says Ms. Mohler, “but the idea began to seem too good to pass up and a once in a lifetime experience.” She will be leaving at the end of July and will be returning the following year, in July 2012.

Ms. Mohler will teach AP European History, Global History and US History at WBAIS. “I think her trip seems really interesting and exciting,” says junior Lauren Paniati, a current student of Ms. Mohler’s. “It seems like an awesome opportunity to be able to go abroad and teach others.”

The social studies department is currently in the process of look-ing for a replacement teacher and will be conducting interviews in the next month. Ms. Mohler will still have a job with MCPS when she returns since she is only taking one year of leave. Says social studies resource teacher Jeff Newby, “Hopefully she will keep in touch and return to teach here at Blake so future students can benefit from her experiences.”

“[Although] I am extremely excited, [I am] also really sad to be leaving Blake,” adds Ms. Mohler. “This place has been my home forever.”

After submitting her application, which included a let-ter of recommendation written by Mr. Newby, Ms. Mohler was interviewed over Skype and was told she was hired in February. She says the fact that she will be working in Israel wasn’t initially planned, but she does have friends in Tel Aviv and visited there in 2009.

Everyone seems to be thrilled for Ms. Mohler’s opportunity. “I’m so excited that she’s going to teach in Israel,” says senior Renatta Rickford, who takes Ms. Mohler’s AP US History class. “She’s one of the best teachers I’ve had in all my high school years; I have no doubt that she’ll do [amazingly].”

Although she is excited, Ms. Mohler will have adjusting to do. She has never lived in another country before and has very little experience with the Hebrew language. But this does not dim her enthusiasm. Adds Ms. Mohler, “What better place to teach history than Israel? [I’ll get to grade] papers on the beach by the Mediterranean.”

Senior raises money for autism in unique way

Minecraft marathon benefits great cause

Senior Evan Peiperl participated in a Mine-craft marathon gaming event last weekend, raising

a total of $2,000 for the Autism Speaks Organization and earning student service learning hours.

Approximately 1.5 million people in the United States have autism, but the cause or cure for the disorder

is not known. “I think the cause is great,” says English teacher Michael Kelley. “It’s an unusual way to raise money

but it uses Evan’s talent and love so I think it’s great.” “It was important to me to support a good thing,” says

Peiperl. Peiperl was not alone, he had a lot of help from his friends

including senior Jim Halpin who played in the marathon, helped on the server and donated $30 to the cause. Says Halpin, “At

first I thought it was an unrealistic goal [but] we made more than I expected and that’s awesome.” Mr. Kelley was also one of many to watch the event live and donate.

Minecraft is an indie building game where your imagination comes into play. It’s all about placing blocks to build and to destroy anything you can imagine. “It was really appropriate to use the game Minecraft because it’s really creative, it’s defined by creativity,” says Peiperl who’s been playing for almost a year.

“I [was] a little bit stressed…[but now] I’m pretty impressed with myself,” says Peiperl. The fact

that he and his friends have managed to raise so much money, enough to be the second biggest fundraiser on

Autism Speaks website, is a huge accomplishment. One aspect he personally feels could have gone better was get-

ting the word out about the fundraiser. You can still donate on Peiperl’s website, www.soild-

plasma.net, or on the Austism Speaks’ website, www.autism-speaks.org.

by David Hylton & Lucas Irvinx

by Yasmin Wamala & Melissa Whitakerx

At first I didn’t give it too much thought, but the

idea began to seem too good

to pass up and a once in a lifetime

experience.Kara Mohler

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat A7

May 13

OCT

10

SADD assembly, 10amProm, 8pm-12am

English HSA, 7:25-10:35am

Instrumental Music Finale Concert, 7:30pm

Rockville Memorial Day Parade, 10:30am-12pm

Final Exams 3 & 4

June 2Instrumental Music Awards Night, 7:30pm-9:30pm

Graduation, 10am

BLAKECALENDAR

May

13

Newsbeats

n n n Sophomore Emily Eaglin has received a Cer-tificate of Accomplishment for the 2011 Princeton Prize in Race Relations, and will attend the award ceremony in May. Only she and four other students in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area were cho-sen for this award, which is given to students who work to improve race relations.

n n n The class and SGA election results for the 2011-2012 school year have been announced. The representatives are as follows: for the Class of 2014, the president is Remington Brooks and vice presi-dent is Allana Dawkins. The Class of 2013 elected Maddy Bruffy and Lydia Curdts as co-presidents, Aryn Frazier as vice president and Min Jee Shim as secretary. Terah Minor-Jones has been elected the Class of 2012’s president, Karen Vanegas was elected vice president and Erica Wang was elected secretary. Students elected Michael Joiner and Rhea Wyse as SGA co-presidents, Malcolm Jen-

kins as vice president, Joal Chen as secretary and Michael Kister as treasurer. Congratulations to all new representatives.

n n nSenior basketball star Brandon Hedley was one

of two Montgomery County players selected for the District vs. Suburban Capital Classic game and scored 15 points in eight minutes, helping the Suburban team to their first-ever win in the event, 104-97. The Capital Classic featured talent from across the mid-Atlantic region including the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Hedley’s 15 points were on 6-for-9 shooting from the floor including 3-6 shoot-ing from behind the three-point arc, the second-best percentage in the game. He was also named to The Gazette’s Second-Team All-County squad as well as the All-MCPS 3A/2A East Division team.

n n n Leisure World Kiwanis Club has awarded the fol-

lowing seniors with scholarships: Serge Tzeuton (a full tuition scholarship for one year), Jayson Carter (a full tuition scholarship for one year) and Mark Fearson (a $5,000 scholarship for one year). Recipients will attend an awards luncheon May 20 along with principal Christopher Berry, Blake Key Club sponsor Sharon Ricks and career information coordinator Kathy Moore.

n n nThe Montgomery County Council of Parent Teacher

Associations has anounced the results of its 2011 Prom Safe-ty Video Contest, which was created this year to promote the message of responsibility on Prom night. The team from Blake High School, which included seniors Rohan Raju, Ryan Kerner, Spenser Balog and Brandon Krixer, won first place in the contest along with students from Gaithers-burg High School. Included in the first-place prize was free DJ services. Congratulations to all the participants.

Min Jee Shim

Malcolm Jenkins

Brandon Hedley

Emily EaglinSpenser Balog

May 16

Biology HSA, 7:25-10:35am

May 17PTSA meeting, 7pm

Algebra HSA, 7:25-10:35am

May 18

May 19Spring Dance Recital 7:30pm

Spring Sports Awards, 6pm

May 23

May 26

June 9Final Exams 1 & 2

June 10

June 13Final Exams 5 & 6

June 14

Senior Exam 6 & 7

May 24Academic Awards Night, 7:30pm

Senior Exam 5 & 4

May 25

Senior Exam 1 & 3

Senior Exam 2

May 27Final Exam 7 & Meake Up Exams

June 15

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatA8

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Section B Blake Beat Opinion December 17, 2010

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Section B James Hubert Blake High School May 13, 2011

Spoiled teenagers regress to tantrums originating from toddler years, p. B4-5

E v e r s ince we started going to school, grades have been in the pic-ture. They used to be in the background, looming behind us as a shadow as we colored or learned how to tell time. As we got older, that shadow emerged. Now, in high school, the mania that we call grades has set on at full force as we juggle tests, papers, homework and oh, that’s right – life.

The shadow is looming over us as we think about college and the future. And, whether we like it or not, we have to accept the fact that everything is determined by letter grades. When applying for colleges, everyone must include their transcript. It is within these documents that these letters, or so-called grades, are used by colleges to determine whether or not we will be admitted. But what is it that those grades reflect, anyway?

Many students have trouble balancing their social and academic life, so their grades often don’t prove their smarts. Other students are simply bad test takers and don’t have time to do the amount of studying necessary for them to succeed. And let’s not factor out the slackers; the ones who know they could do the work, but just don’t feel like it. We all know senioritis kicks in early. I mean, it must be important if the paper feels that it’s necessary to publish an article about it in each issue. Wait, I almost forgot the other category of students, the cheaters. Let’s not fool ourselves, we all know it happens.

As for the students who do care? Well, they might be caring too much. Let’s say a student volunteers all the time in their community, and spends so much time helping out others that they don’t have time for themselves. Say goodbye to Harvard. There is little chance that they will accept you when they read your transcript and notice your

2.0 GPA. There’s another kind of do-gooders; the people who have such high morals that even when they aren’t prepared,

that can’t cheat. Their grades will look worse than those of cheaters, people who may not be as knowledgable or as

moral. But who cares if you can actually pass a test on your own? As long as it looks good, right?

So if grades don’t accurately prove our intelligence or our time management

skills, should they really be used to define our learning achievements?

What do you think- should our future really depend

on a few measly little letters?

Call of D u t y, G r a n d

Theft Auto and Resident Evil, among

other violent video games, despite bearing the M rating,

are accessible to and played by children of all ages. According to

the Entertainment Software Rating Board, games that are rated M for ‘Ma-

ture’, have content that may be suitable for persons 17 years and older. So why are parents

allowing their children to play these games that contain “intense violence, blood and gore, sexual

content and/or strong language?” For me, I don’t understand why it’s fun to kill people virtually, or why

teenagers enjoy games like Mortal Kombat so much. By partaking in this form of brutal entertainment, teenagers and children alike are being taught that violence is just a game and is not a serious issue. Kids forget that guns aren’t just virtual weapons that help you earn points, but in the real world, are used to commit heinous crimes that can end someone’s life.

The violent behavior and aggression that is portrayed in these games should not be exposed to kids of any age, whether they are 16 years old or nine. Many leading studies, as reported by the American Psychological Association, state that violent video games are directly related to kids being hostile and destructive. Parents should pay attention to the ratings on video games in order to protect their children from the possible negative effects.

It’s been stated that many real life examples of violent behavior in kids are linked to brutal video games, like the teenage shooters in the Columbine shooting, for example. These games are rated M for mature for a reason – they’re purely meant for mature minds who won’t get caught up in the realm of brutality. Kids’ brains are not yet developed, which is why they’re so deeply affected by these games.

For most kids who are playing these games, the only way they’re getting access is through their parents, who purchase them for their children. So parents, remember to pay attention to the labels on video games. Though it may seem like an innocent form of entertainment, it could be influencing your child more than you think.

Mature games not for teens

Round, round, get around, I get around -- except when I don’t have someone to give me a ride there.

A necessary rite of passage among all upperclassmen is getting your license. After that, you don’t need to rely on your

parents or anyone else to take you where you need to go; you can take yourself there, giving you a newfound sense of freedom, and

allowing you to finally avoid the embarrassment from everyone else hearing your Mom remind you to be safe

I have yet to get my permit. I am a junior. It’s sad that I still have to completely rely on Mom and Dad to get me everywhere. I don’t even have

a reason as to why I don’t have it yet. Whenever I hear that a sophomore got his or her permit, I cannot stop myself from thinking that this is not right. I feel

like I should walk around with a bag of shame on my head because my vehicular deprivation is that pathetic.

An inevitably disappointing aspect involves basing plans around when or if some-one can give me a ride. What’s worse is when you have plans and you have to cancel them

because there’s no way to get there. Then everyone has fun without you and laughs at you for being deprived and sheltered. (Yes, it is a conspiracy.)

At least I can take comfort in the fact that I am not the only one that needs to mooch for rides. After exams, I went to IHOP with six other people in one car that safely (and legally) fits

five people. But without another way for us to get there, because there was only one car and driver among us, we had to pile up five people in the back seat.

Hopefully, between when I finish this article and when it is published, I will finally get my permit. If not, Mom, Dad: read this article, observe the suffering I must endure, and end my misery by driving me (once again) to finally take the permit test. I cannot bear the burden of this shame anymore.

by S

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Getting straight A’s not only thing that

matters in life Junior wants to

end obsession over good

grades

By Molly Cohen

x

The mania that we call grades has set on full

force.

Got a car?

Could I get a lift?

I feel like I should walk around with a bag of shame on my head because my vehicular

deprivation is that pathetic.

‘License-less Lucas’ discusses

ride freeloaders by Lucas Irvinx

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatB2Attack on a transgender disturbs teenDiscrimination fuels violence in today’s youth

Imagine driving home and you have to pee really badly. You don’t think you can make it home so you drop by the closest restaurant to use its bathroom.

Now imagine that as you leave the restroom, two teenagers come up to you, yell at you, curse at you, spit at you and full-on attack you, leading you eventually into a seizure just because you used the bathroom. Seems outra-geous right? Well, sadly, on April 18, a woman was attacked for just that; using the bathroom.

Chrissy Lee Polis is a transgen-dered woman (born a male, but identi-fies as a female) who was brutally at-tacked for using the women’s restroom at a local McDonald’s in Rosedale. As she was being beaten, a McDonald’s worker videotaped the whole attack and later posted it on the world-wide web.

He did not help her, but in fact encour-aged the two girls who were tearing her earrings out and punching and kicking her face.

This whole occurrence just flat-out disgusted me. Sorry, put your beliefs

aside; no one should ever be treated like that. Like, seriously? You’re going to beat someone up for using the restroom? How low can you get? Oh, and for every-one who says “Oh, she just got punched a few times,” no, watch the video (warn-ing: I really suggest that you don’t) and see how vicious that attack was. It was inhumane and monstrous. No one helped Polis; in fact, everyone watched, laughed or egged the fight on (except for one old lady who was able to protect the young transgendered woman towards the end of the video until the cops arrived).

Thankfully, it wasn’t just me who was disgusted with this behavior. After the video spread on the internet, people around the country began signing peti-tions and planning rallies. This video also helped begin talk among Maryland politicians about anti-discrimination laws regarding transgendered individu-als. In fact, one transgendered rights activist in London, England says that this event is pivotal in transgendered rights history. It is being compared to a gay rights riot outside of a gay bar in Baltimore in 1969, which apparently was one of the main events that started the quest for gay rights.

When it comes down to it, what those two teenagers did to that woman was morally wrong. No one should ever be treated that way. I don’t care about your beliefs or whether or not you think the way transgendered men and women live their lives is correct; it gives you no right to inflict pain (emotional or physi-cal) upon them. They use the bathroom just like us, so let them use the freakin’ bathroom.

Breathing fresh oxygen is something I’ve been taking for granted for years, now that I’ve re-alized that there is something in the air that is cloud-ing my lungs and making me run for cover. It’s not pollu-tion; it’s not smoke; it’s the boys at this school.

Don’t get me wrong, there are plen-ty of lovely-smelling people here at Blake. Then there are the stinky-never-taken-a-shower-in-their-lives boys; and under that smelly population are the I-wear-way-too-much-cologne-boys, the worst of all.

Just recently I found out that Axe actually smells really nice, but I never knew this before because the guys I know that wear it are drenched in it. Cologne is not deodorant or a shower sub-stitute, it is a compliment to your natural scent – and you kill that when you invade my lovely nostrils with your not-so-lovely man perfume. A little spritz is enough; you don’t have to keep layering it on until there is a cloud around you. It’s bad for the ozone and it’s bad for our little noses.

Not only is the amount of cologne

wrong, so are the brands. Sure, Axe is overused, but it’s meant for teenagers and young men, as opposed to Old Spice, which is meant for older men. No matter how young the shirtless man in the Old Spice

com-m e r -cials is, you are too young to be wearing it. Quite frankly, you smell like my dad, which is not attrac-tive. And recently, I’ve smelled something that I thought was dog poop, but then I realized it was just the new brand of Aber-

crombie and Fitch men’s cologne. Smell-ing like a dark, crowded store is more than just a little repulsive – trust me.

This leads me to the worst boys of all: the brand-whores. Okay, so your families

have a lot of

dough , bu t that doesn’t mean dous-

ing yourself in a gallon of Ralph Lauren or Dolce & Gabbana cologne will make girls think you’re a hunk with cash. It just makes us think you’ve lost your sense of smell.

While looking up the weird brands of cologne that boys wear, I had a sudden realization: you guys pay a lot of moolah for your cologne. One tiny bottle costs $65 – that’s not okay. If you really have to pay that much money to smell good, maybe you need to invest in a working shower.

Don’t get me wrong, smelling nice is a great way to attract the opposite sex, but it’s not attractive to burn the inside of my nose.

World engrossed in fairytale-like Royal WeddingJunior loves presentation, symbolism of ceremony

The Rolls Royce, the red carpet, the union jacks, the bouquet...The DRESS! An estimated two billion people were watching the wedding of the century, April 29. And of course, I was one of them, but unlike many, I did not wake up in the wee hours of the morning to witness the event.

The way I see it, it is very rare to witness a royal wedding, but what made this particular matrimony so special was the sym-bolism that both change and love played in this ceremony. With the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will come modern ways to the Royal Family. But e v e n m o r e , this couple has been through ups and downs, and have man-aged to remain in love.

Perhaps I was so excited about this wedding because I am a hopeless romantic, but I think that beyond my sentiments, this union showed me that there is still hope left in society. With inter-national conflicts making headlining news every day, it was reassuring to know that for a single day, love and peace filled the air for a lovely couple.

With the weeks and days building up to the nuptials, every main media outlet was focusing a major part of their broadcast to the important details of the wedding. From speculations of the bride’s dress to famous guests, the excitement of the affair was in everyone’s faces and impossible to avoid.

This event brought together celebrities, leaders and socialites. And it was perhaps the biggest fashion event of the year. The pomp centered on this celebration is enough to make someone yearn for that very special invitation. But rest assured, if you missed the wedding, there will be many more opportuni-ties to catch an encore.

Now on to the talk of the wedding…Catherine. With a simple air of elegance, the Duchess made jaws drop and necks break. The same woman that caught the Duke’s attention back at St. Andrew’s University was able to impress the world in a form-fitting dress with a lace top and nine-foot train. The simplicity of

her dress shows that less is more, which is certain-ly a lesson that we all can learn here. The beauti-ful veil and the simple jewelry were the cherry on top.

And if you did see the wedding, you witnessed his-tory that you will one day be able to pass on. You will never forget the reaction of the world as the bride stepped out of the car, the Maid of Honor’s stunning dress, Mr. Middleton’s face as he walked with his daughter down the aisle of Westminster Abbey and the emergence of the William’s shy grin as he saw his fiancée for the first time.

At the end of the day, I can say that I witnessed history...and that in my memory will forever live the kiss of a lifetime. And if we get lucky, maybe we’ll witness the royal wedding of younger siblings Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton.

With international conflicts making headlining news every day, it was reassuring to know that for a single day, love and peace

filled the air for a lovely couple.

When it comes down to it,

what those two teenagers did

that woman was morally wrong.

Axe takes burying BO to whole new level

by Kristen Fresex

by Karen Vanegasx

by David Hylton x

A little spritz is enough; you don’t have to layer it on until there’s a cloud around you.

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat B3

Emotions, rumors reach boiling point as teenage name calling breaks out

When a girl hooks up with multiple guys, she earns the reputation as a slut. But when a guy hooks up with “the slut” he becomes “the man,” at least by teenage standards.

This double standard has taken high school life by storm -- when a girl gets cheated on, nothing hap-pens. It sucks for her and people move on -- that’s it. If the dev-astated girl decides she wants a taste of revenge and finds some lucky lad and rocks his world, she becomes the evil vil-lain while her ex-prince charming is now the unlucky sap that must deal with the heartless, promiscuous girl.

When did all of this become acceptable? Apparently girls like guys who get with a lot of girls; it adds to “the man’s” outward appearance. Maybe it’s because girls want what other girls want, and it becomes a competition of who can get the cheat-ing jerk first.

Glee taught me the valuable and precious knowledge that girls are just as sexually stimulated as guys, if not more. We are all humans with the same natural desires. The whole point of a high school

relationship is not to find “the one,” it’s so both can hook up as much as they want to without the negative labels arising.

With that said, I’m inclined to believe the success and key to a girl’s heart is simply breaking it and moving on to the next one. Girls fight all the time because

a boyfriend of one hooked up with her friend. Where is the knight in shining armor in all of this, you ask? Well, as the cat fight ensues he’s most likely getting it on with another mutual friend of the two.

Guys get a free pass to fool around and never get into trouble -- all pleasure and no pain. I’m not criticizing; if you are getting some, keep getting it. The problem is, if it’s OK for a guy to mess around, then girls should

be able to as well without the double standard.

Next time you judge a girl because she isn’t a prude, remember to judge guys for not acting so saintly either.

Sometimes parents do not think about

their children’s true interests before

making choices that drastically affect

their lives.

Notorious double standard boosts guys’ self-esteem, ruins girls’ reputations

by Isaac Appelx

xWe’ve all encountered parents that seem overly invested in their children’s lives. These

parents push their children to such a great extent that they end up going past the brink of being helpful, and become harmful.

On an episode of Dr. Phil titled “Pushy Parents,” a couple decided that they wanted their new baby boy to be great at sports. In order to do this, they constantly dressed him in sportswear, only

bought him toys that had to do with the sports they wanted him to play and even picked out his name based on whether or not it sounded sporty.

They are basically brainwashing their kid into becoming a jock without truly having his best interests in mind. Sometimes parents do not think about their children’s true interests before making choices that drastically affect their lives.

As a child, I was always above average when it came to my height, so my family kept pushing me to play basketball even though I wasn’t really interested. However, I finally agreed to play. At first I was fine with it, but then it seemed like basketball was taking over my life, as a result of a decision by my parents, not by me.

I played year round with my team and practiced everyday during the school season. It became so overwhelming that I would actually wish for an injury so I would have a reason to stop playing. It took my parents five years to finally see that I wasn’t happy and even then, it took a lot of convincing.

Not all children react well to parental pressure. Though some do get inspired to go along with their parents’ wishes, others feel the need to rebel or they develop conditions that make

them feel in control of some parts of their lives. Some may argue that most pushy parents are

trying to make sure their children live better lives than they did; however, they don’t seem to understand that it’s not their lives to live. That is why children of pushy parents must stand up for themselves and explain the effect that their parents are having on them.

Sometimes children and their parents may also be able to compromise which benefits both sides. When it comes to pushy parents, only com-munication and more communication can help

the situation.

Involved parents try to live

through their childrenStudents break under pressure as seemingly beneficial advice

transforms into harmful demands by Tatiana Hetherington

The whole point of a

high school relationship is not to find “the one,”

it’s so both can hook up as

much as they want to without

the negative labels arising.

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatB6

YouTube proves successful for upcoming artists to gain fansYouTube has become the stomping

ground for people to get recognized by the public. People try to be funny (emphasis on try), they cover hit songs and sometimes they just “vlog” (video blogging). Lately some new musical artists have been capturing the attention of the public.

The Cataracs have been in the public eye for some time now, but they have only recently been noticed by a larger popula-tion after appearing on Dev’s new hit single entitled “Bass Down Low.” In most cases, The Cataracs provide Dev with the beats for her music, but they have been known to do their own solo music. They have a variety of mixtapes available for free download (you

just have to know where to look), as well as albums and singles available on iTunes. Their most recent single titled “Top of the World” is a great song, and is absolutely something you would hear at the club.

Another upcoming artist, Sky Ferreira, has also been making music for quite some time, but hasn’t truly gotten noticed until just now. She has three singles “17”, “One” and “Obsession”, the latter appearing on the CW’s hit TV show The Vampire Diaries. She just recently released a new EP entitled As If!. You wouldn’t believe it, but Sky is only 18 and has more talent than most teenage pop artists today. Not only can she actually perform live, but her songs “Haters Anonymous” and “99 Tears” are definitely relatable for most teens. You might not believe that she can actually

sing since she uses auto-tune for most of her songs, but just take my advice and look her up on the cover of Miike Snow’s song “Animal” on YouTube and you’ll see just what I mean.

One final artist that deserves recogni-tion is Natalia Kills. When her single “Mir-rors” was released back in August, the You-Tube video became the talk of Facebook and Twitter, and she gained popularity quickly. She released two more singles onto iTunes titled “Activate My Heart” and “Zombie” and has her album The Perfectionist coming out later this year. Natalia Kills has great music that absolutely needs to be shared. Many of her demos have leaked onto YouTube, so you should definitely check them out as soon as you can.

by Sam Glattx

Preaching the political beliefs of your parents without establishing your own makes you seem ignorant.

As teenagers we like to think that we know everything whether it’s about love or school or people, but one thing we shouldn’t say we know is politics.

If the topic of the government and politics comes up in a classroom or lunch conversation, there are always one or two people who get extremely fired up. They start to go off about how infuriated they are by the latest House decision, or

Presidential Address or passed bill.

They act as if they are experts on everything

and anything about politics -- but what do we spend our

nights doing? It couldn’t pos-sibly be watching the news; we

are too busy gathering information from Jersey Shore and The Bachelor.

We’re teenagers, and for most of us, that “political” stuff is not on our top list of interest. So how do some kids have all these different types of views that they would die to defend? The answer: their very opinionated parents.

Our parents are the ones that care-fully pay attention to what is actually happening in the government. Students abide by some unspoken rule that they are born into same party that their parents align with. Just because your family has certain beliefs does not mean that you have to get rid of your own opinion if you disagree.

There’ve been too many instances where we’ve asked kids why they are a Democrat or a Repub-lican. Their answer usually is, “because my parents are.” What you should do instead is get all the information and then make your decision on what you do or don’t believe in, like your parents did.

Some will probably argue that their parents influenced their viewpoints and that they have their own reasons to back it up; but I mean really, think about it. Where do you get your information? YouTube? Congressional debates and presidential decisions are more com-plicated then we know. Preaching the political beliefs of your parents without establishing your own makes you seem ignorant.

What may appear to be a strong opinion to you is actually weak and pointless. So please, know that you are

not as well informed as you think you are; and as you haven’t taken the time to understand the inner-workings of today’s politics, then you shouldn’t be getting heated about anything.

If you truly know about politics and have formed your own educated beliefs, that’s great. You have every right to defend your opinions. But if you don’t and you’re aware that you don’t, save us the contrived political rant, and admit that you’re just defending an opinion that’s not your own and that you know nothing about.

by Isaac Appel & Abby Ramlaganx

Juniors agitated by arrogant teens’ obscure, naive political ideas

YouTube has become the

stomping ground for people to

get recognized. Lately...artists have been capturing the

attention of the public.

Throughout high school, we all make and lose friends: people change and grow apart and sometimes we have to make the decision whether or not to end the friendship.

Just because you call someone your best friend, it does not make them a good friend. If you have a friend who isn’t genuine at all, let them go. Someone who has lied to you before will lie to you again, so save yourself the drama and “break up” with them - you will be happier later. Why would you want a friend who isn’t sincere?

Nobody wants to be around someone who is con-stantly negative; it can drain anyone’s positive spirit.

Being around positive people will make you a more positive person. Everyone has goals and aspirations for themselves, but when you have a friend that discourages you or crushes your dreams, then give them the boot as soon as possible.

The friend who is self-absorbed may cause you to stop and think if they really care about you or is it all about them? A friend should be someone you can go to with your problems; they should be able to listen. If you find that whenever you go to this self-absorbed friend to talk about your own problems the conversation ends up being about them, then rethinking the friendship would be a good idea. The last thing anyone needs is to have a friend who is a bad influence; it usually gets you into

trouble as well. In some cases, a bad friendship can be saved. Talk to

your friend about your concerns with their behavior, and if they really care about being friends they will change how they’re acting then they are worth it. However, if they continue to cause drama with you, then it’s time to end it. That “friend” wasn’t worth your time in the first place.

Avoid lopsided friendships in which you are giving more time and effort than the other person. It’s a waste of time and you deserve better. So find someone else to hang out with and talk to. Whether you are a graduating senior, or you will be returning next year, now is a good time to decide who your true friends are. At the end of the day, a real friend will stick around no matter what.

Come junior year, you’ve taken a lot of classes with a lot of people throughout your high school career. Many of these come with strange, disgusting habits. And these disgusting habits have caused me to have many mental disturbances.

I can’t stand it when I’m sitting in class and when I look over at the person sit-ting next to me, digging up their noses for

trea-s u r e .

Things that are supposed to be in the body should remain in the body. And no one wants to see you eat your findings either, so don’t try that; we’re in high school now, not kindergarten.

That leads me to the next disgusting habit I can’t stand: farting. It seems to be on the reg’ that my friends and I will be minding our own business in Ceramics when all of a sudden this horrid stench just creeps up on us and chokes us, overtaking out nostrils. Tell me why that

is neces-sary. If you need to

pass gas, ask to go to the bath-room or at least warn us that your stink bomb is headed our way.

It wasn’t until this year that I wit-nessed this habit in my classes: hair pick-ing. What is it you might ask? Hair pick-ing is when someone constantly digs at their scalp, sending flakes in all directions and shedding strands of their hair one by one. Reasons why are unknown; but then again, why do people dig for bacteria that builds up in their nose? Beats me. Believe it or not, I have seen people eat these scalp flakes as well. Barf bag, please?

Another habit I can’t stand is pop-ping zits. I understand the whole concept

of trying to get rid of those nasty craters, but I’m confused as to why would you do it in public. It only embarrasses you. Your face will just get red and blotchy and you’ll draw attention to something that no one was looking at in the first place. So not only do you look gross when white junk comes flying out of your face, but everyone in the halls knows you’re picking at your face when you walk from class to class with bright red patches all over your face.

Bottom line, all you nasties that like to “take care” of your bodies during class: just stop. It’s gross, it creeps people out and you’ll just become the “butt” of all our latest jokes.

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat B7

Friends are not always what they seem, sometimes better to let goSenior plays Dr. Phil, gives her insight on self-absorbed ‘best’ pals

by Regina Cameronx

by David Hylton x

Junior beyond grossed out by outrageously offensive habitsNasty acts need to be stopped: people ought to learn some manners

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat B8The James Hubert Blake administration, faculty & staff

congratulate these students on making 3rd Quarter Honor Roll

Names in all caps indicate Straight A’s

9th GRADERuth AddisuMichelle AdompoCLAUDIA ALARCOMARY ARONNEHUNTER BALOGNicole BarrigaZachary BartlettSean BartleyGregory BellJULIA BELLAdam BeuttlerDylan BondGRAYSON BOONESARAH BRIDEGUMTORIE BROERRemington BrooksSILVIA BUGLIOKEVIN BUIKimberly CallahanSherry-Mae CanoyMICHELLE CARTERJasmine CesareoJustin ChanRyan ChangBrandy ChauShoshanna ChitoIN JI CHUNANN CIRINCIONEBryan CitrenbaumMatthew ClantonCasey ClarkRene CordonAlison CoyneRILEY CRUICKSHANKGabrielle CudjoeMark DavisYancy Del CidYodit DenuNatalie DomaasAshley EscobarStephanie FilhoJason FleischerXAVIER FOXEmma FriedmanMaia GadsdenKimia GainesJason GlantzREBECCA GLATTLeah GoldbergBetsy GomezOscar GomezAndy GonzalesWilliam GravesSandra GuevaraALEXANDRA HADYKALILLIAN HALLMARKBethany HamsonEric Hawkes JrAsha HenleyRebecca HillKristen HinesCATHLEEN HOThao HoangAshley HolmesGeorge HydeJacqueline HymanHyla JacobsonJanelle JeanAshley JohnsonMadeline KalenDONG KANGAbdul KanuElyssa KilAmanda KingJOCELYN KOAlana KominskiMegan KongGrant KonozaJohn KosAlexandra KrakaurCLAUTON KUMZachary KushnerMeyer LahatCassie LeGracia LeJamie LeeTHEODORA LEMBEROSNicole LertoraChristina LimBrendan LindsayLaura LopezDUNCHADHN LYONSCarlos Niccolo MacAlinoMadhi MalikTHEODORA MARTINKristina McKennaAngela MixMARY MOLLOYDiego MunozMytaquia NelsonBrigit NgaleuVAN NHAN NGUYENDAPHNE O’GRADYThomas OlowuEmmanuel Oppong

Maryam OutlawMelanie OuttaracBryan ParkNicholas ParkMatthew ParsonsESTEFANIA PEREZVictor PhimphachanhSamuel PrezaJeremy RadovDiarra RadwayJulian RaulMaiah RichardsMicah RichardsEzra RoschuTiara RoyalMatthew RussellPierre-Michel Saint AmandKARA SAVERCOOLConnor ShawAshley SheibaniagdamLarson ShillingDavid ShiplerBrett SilvermanMargaret SimpsonTayseer SkeikySundeep SoniJoel SortoSophia StanleyThomas StantonDAVID STEELEKenneth StoneNoah SturdivantNina TanCassidy TarnerCAROLINE TATNALLMelinda TchokogoueDianne TechweiEmily TempleAboubakar ToureKelsy TurnerMorgan UngKarley ValdesHeather VeliJames VernonTan VoRobert WalkerPascal Wallace-PageTANNER WILLIAMS Victoria WolshDashawn WoodyCarolyn WordenKevin WrightSAMANTHA WRIGHTFELICIA YAUMichelle YeungTimaj Yusuf

10th GRADE Aiman AbdelmoutiChristian AbellWhitney AlexisAbigia ArageKwame AsanteNana AsareAngela BairIndia BanksStephany BarajasErik BarriosJenna BeersJohn BeersKATHERINE BLACKFORDGraylyn BroadnaxLilet BroomesEdgar BrownMadison BruffyToure’ BurgessTHAIS CALDERONCory CampSamantha CarpenterDevora CastilloOlivia CastroGREGORY CHAIMSONMaurya ChaurasiaMichael ChheangRYAN CHOEHOYOUNG CHOIReyna ClaytorLindsey ComerAndrew ConchasLYDIA CURDTSNICHOLAS DAVISAliya DeanAssoumou DibyALSION DIONNEAlbert Djoum Jr.Julia DohMcKenzie DreherEmily EaglinDarien EllisMonica EngMichael ErrigoAlexus FordAryn FrazierKamil GabbaniConnor GaffneyAnna Galeano

Tanner Giles-TuckerRachel GistCorey GlockerDerek GlockerGina GomesXiomara GonzalesEric GottliebCandace GrantPaul GreggEmily GreitzerAnna HaleyAntony HarrisKellen HealyVivian HendersonAzalia HernandezRACHEL HEWITTTiyana HodgesOlivia HubbardJODEH HULEISFrancesca InmanSamuel JaffeKonner JohnsonZachary JohnsonIRENE JONESMelania KarmazynTharana KarzaiHAMZA KHAN-TAREENBarzillai KimSandra KindeteRute KirosMICHAEL KISTERCrystal KuffourCecilia KwakyeAndrew LatonaAshlin LeeDae Kyu LeeWestin LeeJourdan LewandaKristen LewisBLAINE LOWRYCindy LuuKrystal MartindaleMarina McCaneyZemaye MeseretuMarissa MetzgerRichard MillerKEVIN NANJIYonata NegatuMICHELLE NGUYENAdefolarin OrimoladeAndrea OrtizRemi OyekanOlivia ParkCalvin PerryHeidi PetersenNaomi PiardFenguese PierrePRADIP RAMAMURTIRosa ReyesRyan ReynoldsCHRISTINE RICCIARDIChristopher RichardPatrick RichardLara RichliAndrew RiedelIsabel RodriguezCHELSEA RYANEstefan SantosRebecca SchwartzKatia SeguraSusan Shelton-DerMIN SHIMStefan SigwaltSandra SimmonsLaura SmethurstANNA STEINFELDNicole SterlingJulia StewartKelly StockJean SuazoJANINE TAIRALucas TaxEmily TchaiEmily TempchinLena TraoreEstefania VelezDENISE VENERONATASHA VIRJEEWanjiru WaithakaMichele WallaceKadedra WaltersRUSSELL WANKECAROLINE WANNENLillian WatkinsMatthew WeissChris-Ann WhiteheadKielan WilcombKionna WileyBRYAN WILKERSONCassandra WolshKarissa WongRACHEL WOOHannah WynneRebecca YimKarim Zarhloul

11th GRADEMohammed AbbasCody AckerKimberly AdamNicole AlexanderDERICK ANSAHIsaac AppelErika ArancibiaMohammad AshrafiAbdoul BahQuinndolyn BarnesBrian BattagliaSARON BIREDADanielle BlockerStephen BonhagBrittany BradleyANTHONY BUIKatya BureshBlake BuressElizabeth ButlerNicole ByrdJavian CaceresAlexa CalderonMAN CHANJoshua ChangCHARLES CHENGHiu ChiuMark CirincioneEmmanuel ClarkeMolly CohenCharles ContehMIYA COOKCourtney CristaldiPHUC VU DANGBrandon DavisRyan DeaneSavannah Doane-MalotteChristian DomaasAlexis EarleySara ElalamiKathryn EvansMARY FERNANDESHayley FixlerJocelyn FloresLANE FLYNNManyi FonchamStella FotsoLinus FrancisAmanda FreemanKristen FreseKathryn FuchsMatthew GagernNEVA GAKAVIANValentina GarciaJACOB GILLCecilia GirolamiHayley GlantzShawn GlissonJacob GordonRamanda GrahamBridget GrattonCharles GrossWOSSEN HADEROLucy HarrelsonBradley HarrisonMarvin Hart IVJack HawvermaleHeather HeimTyasia HutchinsonDavid HyltonAmina IrvingJanet JacksonRACHEL JAFFEMalcolm JenkinsChristian JeongAlyssa JohnsonDevon JohnsonMichael JoinerASHLEY JUDAHDaniel KimROBERT KORYCINSKIKEVIN LAMMelina LatonaAdele LeishmanIRENE LEMBEROSPeyton LeonardEmily LindsaySARAH LIPKOWITZMatthew LipshultzEugene LitmanCOLLEEN LIVINGSTONEJenny LonMONIKA LOONEYJULIE LOPATKABrianna LopezDaniel LouloudesStephanie LukMichael MansarayMeredith MathisKyle McArthurCourtney McKennaConner McMurrayMELISSA MCNABBCharis McNamaraMacKenzie MeyerTerah Minor-Jones

Julie MitchellKristina MitchellTara MitchellAlexander MoralesJuan MoscosoMihir NakraniChristian NavaVictor NicholsonTayler NineNnamdi OdoazuOladoyin OlagundoyeAlexandra PaintsilLauren PaniatiSeong Hwan ParkLEAH PATTERSONSusana PenaGrace PlihalSarah PratherMatthew PresentZachary RadovErica RaglandAndrea RamirezTai RamseyLenasia RansomBrooke RehmanElizabeth Ann ReyesJahmila RobertsGhulam SallmanKimberly SantiniKyle ShawMatthew SiegelAndrew SimmonsEmily SimmonsNicholas TatnallMegan TaylorTheophilus ThomasKimberly ToxieSamara TuNicole TuttleJean-Claude TzeutonKaren VanegasLynne VirgilPhabiene VolcimusJonathan WahlerCadijah WalcottCheyenne WalkerDenise WalkerErica WangZhichen WangBRANDON WEBERJeffrey WelderREBECCA WELLMANJenna WilliamsLarisha WinleyLEISHA WINLEYEllen WoodRHEA WYSEGrace Yoo

12th GRADEJessica AnaneChelsea AndersonDarlene AniebonamDANIEL ARIASNicholas Arnold-MedabalimiSarah AylorRachel BabcockJulia BakerSpenser BalogSadia BanguraLauren BarlowIsabela BarrigaAshley BarteckJoyce BartlettReanna BeattyShannon BellMelissa BlueJulia BolandDeAndra BrownMia BrowneDestini BryantSydnee BullardCatherine BurkhardtPeter Calhoun IVJordan CallahanShaina CallahanMaya CampbellRafael Centeno-ArmentaChristie ChambersCynthia ChengMaia ChicherioGit-Yee ChuRachel CooperJoseph CrewsDelaney CruickshankAlexander CurtinSurasree DasKirstyn DesrochesSomala DibyLEANNA DIGGSChristiane DjoumEmmanuel EndishawAntonio EscotoKathleen FaiscaChristyna FaldenJoseph Franks

Kelley FreseDELILAH GATESSylvester GatesGwendolyn GilesZachary GoldbergAMY GOTTLIEBKelly HanlonMadison HawkesBridget HawvermaleBlaire HoffmanLily HuaNicholas HungAvery Hunter-HackneyDYLAN HYSENJeremy IocozziaChristopher JaegerLucas JefferysDonzell Johnson Jr.Alexander KahsayMusu Kawusu-KebbayZachary KayeJoshua KenesRyan KernerSimone KirklandAimee KohorstCorinne KonozaBrandon KrixerGarrett KrixerSara KushnerMeagan LagerlefAshley LarkinMichael LeonardJennifer LienKatherine LinganBRIANNA LIVESAYJULIA MAASAustin MalnerNicholas MauprivezMatthew McGuganJoshua MedinaBrooke MellishNikhil ModhaWinifred MorrisJayonte MorrisonJoseph MorsteinNicholas MuggeQuynh-Nhu NguyenGreggory NicholsonGretchen NicholsonGeorgiette Oduro BoatengFidelia Okai-AryeeteyKemi OlowoofayokuJessica OrtizMorgan OstrowLeena OwenJeongyeon ParkIngrid PassmoreJoshua PaunilEric PolowaySonia PolyzosSusana PosadaLINDA POWERSCarley PressleyJasmine PullenALEXANDER RAULMaya ReidNaomi RichardsonRenatta RickfordOlivia Rintoul-ThomasAndrea RizkallahSteven RodriguezH RorieParis SaundersEmma SemanykMichael SeoIsak ShahMax ShannonAndrew Shelton DerMariel ShillingDaniel SimpsonCassandra SmithJESSICA SMITHGillian SpolarichChristine Garcia St AmandSpencer SterlingNy’Asia StewartAlexis ThweattJordyn TillmanKelly UmanaAkaninyene UmoRyan ValdesKristina ValerioSophia VeneroSHANNON WADEJoshua WaldmanStacey WaldoJasmine WalkerConor WallaceAlex Wells IVEric WileyKira WilliamsPATRICK XIAOErin YatesSamoy Young

Section C James Hubert Blake High School May 13, 2011

Adopted senior discovers biological family, connects with siblings in Russia, p.C3

All the little tweaks you make to program and to...

design all play a role.Nicholas Arnold-Medabalimi

Some of us act like robots.Some of us try to dance the robot. But very few high school students actually build and program robots. Senior Nicholas Arnold-Medabalimi is one of these few individuals.

Arnold-Medabalimi is part of the Explorer Post 1010 engineering post’s robotic group that builds and programs robots capable of per-forming specific tasks like releasing balls from a tube and dumping the balls into a net. “I enjoy finding and creating solutions for problem and making something that can move for itself,” says Arnold-Medabalimi. “All the little tweaks you make to the program and to mechanically design all play a role.”

Since ninth grade, Arnold-Medabalimi has been in the Explorer Post 1010 engineering post spon-sored by the Lockheed Martin Cor-poration. The Explorer Post is made up of two groups: robotics (which Arnold-Medabalimi is a part of) and rocketry. “When I first joined…I was very bored until I realized how much fun it was to hang out with all the people,” says Arnold-Medabalimi.

“Once competition started, I actually began to look forward to the meet-ings with the intent of getting work done.” Over the years the members of the Explorer Post have become good friends and often hangout out-side of meetings.

Not only do these robots func-tion autonomously, they also win awards. The Explorer Post’s robots compete in the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics (KIPR) Open Autonomous Robotics Game twice a year, for regional and the global competitions. “It isn’t the same as a sports competition,” Arnold-Medabalimi says. “It is a bit nerve-wracking but as we watch it I always note anything that can be improved for the next run.”

The KIPR Open Game, known informally as botball, has three parts: seeding, in which an unopposed robot attempts to get the highest score; double elimination, in which two teams run simultaneously trying to outscore each other in a bracket tournament; and documentation, in which a team is scored based on the online documentation of the plans that led up to competition and a ten minute onsite presentation.

At this year’s regional compe-

tition April 9, the Explorer Post’s en-tered four robotics teams and raked in the trophies. “It was probably the most impressive regional perfor-mance we had in all my four years,” says Arnold-Medabalimi. Together their teams won first and third Over-all Awards, first and second place Seeding Awards, first place Docu-mentation Awards, first place Double Elimination and multiple Judges’ Choice Awards. The Explorer Post now has to prepare for the global competition this summer. Adds Arnold-Medabalimi, “I would like to say we will clean house again…but botball is so unpredictable.”

Arnold-Medabalimi is looking forward to studying mechanical, bio-medical or aerospace engineering in college. “[The Explorer Post] gave me a lot of leadership experience as well as taught me a wide variety of skills,” he says. The program is only open to high school students, so Arnold-Medabalimi is getting ready to say goodbye. He adds, “I will miss all my friends but…I had a great four years as a member.” Similar to others who have graduated from the program, Arnold-Medabalimi plans to visit and keep in touch with those still in the Explorer Post.

by Delilah Gates & Josh Paunilx

With many new responsibilities and exponentially more pressure, principal Christopher Berry has found his first year on the job anything but easy.

However, a decade of experience as an administrator at Blake has more than prepared Mr. Berry for the task.

In the year since he has taken over as principal, Mr. Berry has noted the new responsibilities of his job. However, despite his demanding schedule, he still finds the extra commitment well worth it. “It’s a very rewarding job,” says Mr. Berry. “There isn’t a day I don’t go home and feel like I’ve had something positive happen.”

One of his main new duties is con-

flict resolution between staff, students and even parents. As principal, when an issue escalates to a certain point, Mr. Berry has the final say. “You really see all sides of it,” says Mr. Berry. “You see validity in both or all the sides involved in a conflict and you’re called upon it, in a sense, to mediate.” Mr. Berry cites this as one of the challenging aspects of his job.

Mr. Berry has persevered and ac-complished much in spite of the chal-lenges. He is especially proud of the new staff the school has taken on. Says Mr. Berry, “It’s not a guarantee that you’re al-ways going to hire great, top-notch people. I feel we were able to bring on some really strong new teachers this year.”

However, these feats were not the work of Mr. Berry alone. He names teachers, department leaders, guidance

counselors and administrators as important contributors. “Any accomplishments the school makes, I really believe, [are] to the credit of lots of folks that work in this building,” adds Mr. Berry.

The process of working together began in the summer during a meeting with Blake’s Instructional Council. The council, which includes parents and students, was influential in the tightening of the cell phone policy that was put into place in the beginning of the school year. The staff was surveyed last spring and cited cell phones as one of the things most disruptive during their teaching.

Mr. Berry agrees that cell phones hinder instruction, but is not totally against them. In response to the county’s consid-eration of allowing cell phones at lunch, Mr. Berry says, “This is probably going

to shock students when I say this: but per-sonally, I would not have a problem with that at all…as long as students understand when lunch is over, phones go away and [students must] turn them off.”

As Mr. Berry continues his augment-ed duties, he must face the ever increasing challenge of budget cuts, which have led to the cessation of the High School 101 program. “I can’t make something from nothing. I have to pay people. I have to have people to lead. I have to put programs together. And it doesn’t just appear out of the vapor,” says Mr. Berry.

Mr. Berry still finds the positives in his job regardless of these hardships. He says, “For me, a highlight simply has been knowing students in a different role and getting to know so many more students that I didn’t know before.”

by Dylan Hysen & Conor Wallacex

Competition allows senior to show off robotStudent boots up dream career in engineering

There isn’t a day I don’t go home and feel like I’ve had something positive happen.

Christopher Berry

Alumna joins Peace Corps, aids small Dominican village with limited resources, p.C6

Principal Berry’s first year filled with challenges, rewards

Principal Christopher Berry, seen here in his office, reflects on his first year as James Hubert Blake High School principal. He believes that a highlight of the year

has been “simply knowing students in a different role and getting to know so many more students.” -- photos by Aron Crews

Transitioning from middle school to high school is usually a difficult change for incoming freshmen; which is why the PTSA is offering a beneficial student-tutor mentoring program everyday at lunch. It all started last year when ninth grade English teacher Omari Daniel noticed a majority of freshmen struggling to keep their grades up. As a result, he pitched the idea of student study groups. The PTSA approved and offered financial support, while PTSA representative John Arias, PTSA president Robina Barlow, ninth grade History teacher Mr. Loftus, and Principal Christopher Berry agreed to supervise/sponsor.

Along with the teachers and parents are the student mentors who sacrifice their lunch daily to help freshmen with home-work. Shortly after the student-tutor men-toring program was created, forty juniors were recommended to be mentors for this school year. After applying, three junior boys and three junior girls were selected. Junior mentor Erika Arancibia says, “We are making a change in the students who want to improve their educational skills on their own, with just a little bit of help of us.”

According to Dr. Daniel, the pro-gram consists of four rounds. “Round one is make up work, round two is becoming a good student, round three we figure out what exactly went wrong, and round four we teach students to love themselves”, he says. Students are allowed to stay the entire lunch, or a minimum of 20 minutes; making some students hesitant to give up their only free time at school. However the ones who did give the program a try were astonished when in no less than a week, their grades shot up.

Not only are the students proud, but also the parents, mentors, and supervi-sors. “I love when a kid comes in to say, ‘I don’t have any work’”, Dr. Daniel says, because that’s when the fun part comes in. Mentors write personal letters to students, where they are more than free to speak on their problems, how they’re feeling, etc.; it builds a relationship between the two.

Sophomore Celeste Gregory, a for-mer member of the student-mentor program strongly suggests students to give it a try. “It’s more than just work; it’s a place where people care about you.” She adds, “Those who don’t try it are missing out. Not only is it helpful for school, it’s constructive on a personal level.”

Every day students are assigned homework; some do it, some don’t. But those who are devoted to completing this seemingly simple task find finishing all the work that their teachers assign requires drastic measures.

As upperclassmen juggle schoolwork, jobs and trying to maintain a social life, they find that the only way to keep up with their homework assignments is to trade sleep time for working hours. “I [have] to choose be tw een do ing homework or get-ting a good night’s sleep,” says junior Vanessa Hackle-berry*.

These dedi-cated students gen-erally agree that a normal night means five to six hours of sleep, but find that when their home-work load is heavy, they get a mere two to three hours, if any at all. “I was okay with getting four to five hours of sleep a night, but it was soon cut down to two to three hour naps,” says Hackleberry.

“I have horrible sleeping patterns to begin with, but homework does make things even worse,” adds senior Lauren Barlow.

Not only do students have to face the challenge of staying up, but they also have to deal with consequences as well. “The next morning sometimes I’ll feel on edge

from lack of sleep or be really jittery,” says junior Carrie Calloway*. “It messes with my circadian rhythm and throws me out of wack sometimes.”

“My friends in AP Chem (one of my morning classes) can tell the next day after I have had a late night,” adds Barlow.

Students find that in order to survive throughout the day, they have to constantly drink caffeinated drinks such as Five Hour Energy drinks. For Hackleberry and Cal-loway, they have even resulted in borrow-

ing Adderall from friends, which is ac-tually illegal without being prescribed by your doctor, in order to remain focused on their tasks.

Despite these s tudents ’ hec t ic schedules due to their homework, in no way do they blame their teachers for their problem. “Sometimes it seems that everything is due at the same time which becomes hard to handle, but just

looking teacher-by-teacher, I can’t say that they are unfair,” says Barlow.

In fact, these students feel that their lack of sleep and energy is in fact troubles that they have created for themselves. “It’s [really] all about time management,” adds Hackleberry. “And let’s face it, teenagers aren’t really good at managing their time.”

*Names have been changed for article.

The next morning I’ll feel on edge

from lack of sleep or be really jittery. It messes with my circadian rhythm

and throws me out of wack sometimes.

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatC2

Juniors help freshmen to keep on trackTutoring program eases transition to high school

Homework overload causes early morning blues for sleepy teenagersSchoolwork creates tired students

Carrie Calloway

by Tara McIntyrex

by David Hyltonx

Omari Daniel

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat C3

Similar to Hollywood’s release of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Blake will soon have to let go of six pairs of twins. Having been together their whole lives, some twins are looking forward to being separated by college while others are hesitant.

Seniors Niraj and Rohan Raju are pretty excited about going off to different schools. Says Niraj Raju, “I definitely will not miss him. Even though most twins are best friends and ‘connected at the hip,’ Rohan and I will leave and never turn our fraternal heads back.”

Niraj Raju is going to DePaul University in Chicago and Rohan Raju is going to Salisbury University. The two have always had different interests despite the fact that they are twins. They will be majoring in different fields as well, Music Performance and Environmental Science, respectively.

Other twins, such as seniors Sylvester and Delilah Gates, plan to attend the same college: University of Maryland, College Park. Since they

will major in different areas, says Sylvester Gates, “I think as the years go on we might not actually see each other that much because we’ll each get into our own things.” The two have never been separated for over a week, so entering different majors will be a chance to branch out.

Although there are obvious differences in twins’ feelings towards one another, most agree that it won’t be a big deal to separate after having been together all their lives. Adds Niraj Raju, “I think that finally being away from the person I shared a womb with will be a breath of fresh and well-deserved air.” The two agree that it can be fairly stressful be-ing referred to as “Niraj’s twin” or “Rohan’s twin,” despite their differences.

However, just because one twin may prefer winter to summer and the other hot to cold doesn’t mean that they are all itching to leave each other. The existence of an ever-present teammate can sometimes be very encouraging. “Having a twin is honestly the best thing in the world,” adds Sylvester Gates. “Having a twin makes me feel secure, like there is one person to turn to even if everything else in the world went wrong.”

by Brianna Livesay & Shannon Wadex

College allows twins to branch out, establish separate identities

Everyday countless adoptive children sit and wonder what their biological parents are like, who they are or if they have an-other family somewhere--but few ever get the chance to discover the answers. Senior Julia Boland is one of those few.

Boland was adopted from St. Peters-burg, Russia when she was ten months old. Although she has wondered who her biologi-cal parents were since she was eight years old, Boland didn’t start the process of seeking them out until a few years ago. “I didn’t know who I was,” says Boland. “I felt lost when it came to my identity. I felt like I was living a

mystery.”Parents Cindy and Tim Boland were

very supportive in helping Boland through the process of contacting her Russian fam-ily. “I [always] knew Julia would want to [contact her biological family],” says Mrs. Boland, “I just never knew when.” After going to a camp for kids adopted from Russia, the Boland family was able to use a well-known biological researcher that helped Boland find out who her family was and how to get in touch with them.

After her adoptive parents hired the researcher, it took only six months for Boland to contact her biological family. Boland found out that she has six birth siblings, five of which she has contacted. Says Boland, “My siblings

had no idea I existed but my [biological] mom told them and they were excited they had a little sister in America.” Boland has remained in close contact with her siblings by creating a Russian Facebook account.

Mr. and Mrs. Boland encourage adop-tive parents to be supportive if their children ever request to contact their birth families. “I feel that [our relationship with Julia] has gotten closer now that we have experienced such an emotional and personal [time],” says Mrs. Boland.

As for Boland, she continues to show her avid excitement of her discovery by get-ting tattoos celebrating her Russian family. “I feel so much more confident now that I know everything,” she says. “I’m finally at peace.”

Boland at peace after discovering Russian biological family

This year’s loss of the Loss of Credit (LC) policy has many students leaving their desk seats cold as they go skipping right out the gym doors.

Bengals are now able to skip as much as they want thanks to the fact that they can-not fail a class on the basis of attendance. Although many students take advantage of the loss of the LC policy, its impact varies differently for each person. Senior Rachel Black* skips two to three times a week in-cluding her third period block every week. “I’m a senior, so there’s barely anything to do in my classes. I’d rather be somewhere with my friends than in a boring class,” says Black.

Many students, like senior Carolyn

Thomas* skip to recuperate from the stresses of high school. Thomas only skips once every two weeks and uses her time off from school for a mental health day. “Honestly, I’m just tired or I feel like I can get more done at my

house than in my classes,” adds Thomas.Senior Greg Jones* usually skips once

a week and a full day once every two weeks. Says Jones, “[The LC policy is] definitely a

good thing [because] you can skip whenever and you’re good.” Jones skips for various reasons which sometimes include drinking or smoking. “[I skip] to take a break from school since it just feels pointless after a

while. There’s no point in being in school if you don’t want to be there.”

Most students generally agree that skipping has minimal administrative reper-

cussions. Among those are emails and phone calls sent at the end of the day to parents, informing them that their child was absent from one or more classes. Says senior Dylan Lee*, “[There’s] some chastising here and there, some talks, but no lasting punishments. Some teachers make comments, but no real damage is done.”

Many would think that skipping would lead to students easily falling behind in classes. With the loss of the LC policy, teachers are able to choose to give zeros for assignments their students missed because of an unexcused absence. However, most students agree that skipping has little effect on their academics. “I’m a good student and I don’t let my grades drop,” adds Thomas. “I skip only when I know I won’t be missing anything.”

*Names have been changed.

Loss of Credit policy absence leads to lack of student presenceSkipping school becomes commonplace, especially among seniors

by Delilah Gates& Gillian Spolarichx

[I skip] to take a break from school since it just feels pointless after a while.

There’s no point in being in school if you don’t want to be there.

*Greg Jones

by David Hylton & Shannon Wadex

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatC6

Students join military in hopes of improving themselves, helping country

For senior Matthew Schnapp and juniors Matthew Mehallick and William Sewell, plan-ning to join the armed forces was a decision that required contemplating the benefits and sacrifices of what their future could hold.

Enlisting in the military has been a dream of each of these students since childhood. Me-hallick says, “I have always wanted to join the Marines because I have a lot of family that have been in the military and I like the type of person it turns you into.” Mehallick has many goals he wishes to achieve while in the Marines, and aims to become a Scout Sniper.

While Mehallick is waiting until gradu-ation to join the military, Schnapp has already

taken initiative by becoming a member of the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary program, in hopes of becoming a helicopter pilot in the Army and eventually a professional airline pilot outside of the military. Says Schnapp, “I hope to travel, see new places, and help people through humanitar-ian crisis situations [while serving as an Army helicopter pilot].” He plans on attending Utah State University starting in spring 2012, where he will be undeployable until after college.

Becoming a part of the military is not only a journey of physical endurance, but also a life-changing experience that can modify the values and characteristics of an individual. “I hope to become a little more well-rounded,” says Schnapp. “[I want to] gain effective job skills, and [have] a nice independent lifestyle once I become an adult.”

Along with the exciting lifestyle and individualistic change, becoming a part of the military has been based around patriotism for Sewell. “I picked to join the military because I want to help our country [during] war,” says Sewell. “I’m making sacrifices. I’m leaving home to go fight a war.”

Like Schnapp, Sewell expects to pick up life skills from serving in the military. “I hope to gain self-defense and discipline [skills],” says Sewell. As of now, he plans to serve 15 years in the Army, where he hopes to work his way up to becoming as highly ranked as possible.

Joining the military is a life changing decision that most do not make overnight; it is a serious choice that can not only affect the individual going into the military but also his or her family and friends. Matthew Schnapp

by Sarah Mansaray & Adele Leishmanx

Alumna uses Spanish skills to help underdeveloped Dominican villagePeace Corps fulfills D’Albora’s desire to travel and learn new cultures

Living in a small Dominican village with limited cell phone reception and no running water does not sound like most students’ dreams. But for alumna Caitlin D’Albora, who graduated Blake in 2005, joining the Peace Corps was the best deci-sion she ever made.

Before joining the Peace Corps, D’Albora had a lot of experience with travel and the culture of foreign countries. She has travelled to Peru three times with her family and at one point studied abroad in Spain. Says father Jim D’Albora, “[Cait-lin’s] decision to join the Peace Corps was a combination of desire to continue to learn about other countries and cultures and a desire to have a career in which she could

help others.” D’Albora has been able to speak

Spanish fluently since she was young. She attended Rock Creek Forest Elementary School, a Spanish immersion school, where all classes were taught in Spanish except one hour of English. She also studied up to Spanish 5 at Blake, and majored in Spanish, International Relations and Latin American Studies at Miami University of Ohio.

“There were so many things to consider as I came close to swearing in and moving to my community,” Caitlin D’Albora says. The graduate chose to work with the youth in the town of El Guineo, Dominican Republic because of her specialty in Spanish. In her village, she organizes soccer and baseball games for girls and boys, in addition to giving classes on how to be responsible and work toward

a better future. Working with the Peace Corps also

has its challenges. “The campo is pretty lonely. It’s hard to speak in Spanish all day, and I haven’t met anyone my age,” says Caitlin D’Albora. But, she admits that there are also lots of fun learning experiences. She has stayed with different host families who help her learn the culture of each town and treat her to special outings, such as exploring the Sumbi River with her host brothers.

To keep in contact with her loved ones in the United States, D’Albora uses an international cell phone and occasionally, email. D’Albora also keeps her family and friends updated on her projects through her blog, which you can visit at http://www.caitlininthedr.blogspot.com/.

*All quotes from Caitlin D’Albora have been taken from her blog

There were so many things to

consider as I came close to swearing

in and moving to my

community.Caitlin D’Albora

by Kristen Frese & Savannah Doane-Malottex

Schnapp, Mehallick, Sewall to enlist, serve their nation

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat C7Juniors scoop in fruits of laborStudents team up in local Baskin Robbins at Plaza del Mercado

Barack Obama, Bobby Flay, Rosie O’Donnell and Julia

Roberts all have something in common with a group of three Blake students: they all worked at Baskin Robbins.

Juniors Elizabeth Butler, Julian Carr and Edwin Cal-lender all work at the same Baskin Robbins scoop shop in Plaza del Mercado. “It’s a pretty easy job,” says Butler. “[Though] at times it gets difficult, I manage to balance everything out.” Her responsibilities largely consist of serving customers and keeping everything clean.

Though a job as simple as serving ice cream may seem boring, the employees genuinely do enjoy their job. Butler adds, “I love my job mainly because I get to interact with all types of people and see my friends who stop by occasion-ally.”

Both Butler and Callender have worked at the Baskin Robbins for only one month, but they both seem to be pretty settled in. “It did not take long at all to learn how to make all of the shakes and sundaes,” Callender says. “In general, it is an extremely chill and fun job.”

However, Carr believes the job to be a little more dif-ficult. “Lines can get pretty long…and many workers become overwhelmed and start messing up the orders.” All three juniors agree that even though it can definitely be difficult at times, it is still a pretty relaxed job compared to many others.

All three plan on continuing the job over the summer, mainly because they just began. “It is nice having other Blake students working with you…it is definitely a motivating factor to keep this job up,” Butler says.

Even though Carr, Callender and Butler plan on working over the summer, they are unsure about next year. “I think I just have to give it more time and see how it goes,” Callender adds. One definite thing is that working at Baskin Robbins is never boring. “I look forward to going to work,” Butler adds. “I know it is something exciting and I definitely recommend it to other people looking for jobs.”

by Lucas Irvin & Britney Stuartx

Bengals inform about Seventh Day Adventist religion, lifestyleBelievers practice healthy diet, goodwill, spreading the word of Jesus

Christianity is the most popular religion in the world with over 30,000 dif-ferent branches; one of the most common branches is The Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church is the twelfth largest religious body in the world. Says English teacher Katina Chap-pel, “It is a gift to be able to put aside a lot of our everyday worries and concerns and focus on remembering and worshipping the God who created us.” The community gets all doctrines and beliefs from the Bible and is distinguished from other Christian branches by its observance of Saturday as the Sabbath, or “day of rest,” instead of Sunday.

“We always give back to our com-munity, and focus on how the Bible relates to present day events,” says senior Dem-etrius Young. The Seventh Day Adventist Church is known for being highly active in humanitarian activities such as visiting homeless shelters, providing groceries for low income families, and other various forms of volunteer work.

The community also puts a large em-phasis on health and diet. Many members of the Seventh Day Adventist community are vegetarians or abstain from eating ruminant animals. Says sophomore Lara Richli, “I think what separates us from other branches of Christianity is that we’re based off of healthy life style choices.” Frequent exer-cise is also highly recommended.

Silver Spring is highly populated

with Seventh Day Adventists, due to the fact that The World Head Quarters for the Seventh Day Adventist Church is located in Silver Spring, off of Route 29 and Randolph Road. Says senior Aron Crews, “If you are involved with the church community, it becomes extremely easy to meet other Adventists in the area via church events and such.”

One of the most important beliefs of Christianity is the importance of spreading the word of Jesus Christ. Christians await the second coming, or the return of Jesus, and value informing people of Jesus and his teachings in the Bible. Adds Crews, “I value trying to be as ‘Jesus like’ as possible in order to be a good example, so others will be interested in finding the true joy and comfort have in our savior Jesus Christ.”

We always give back to our

community, and focus on how

the Bible relates to present day

events.Demetrius Young

by Simone Taylorx

Junior Edwin Callender mans the reigster at Baskin Robbins in Plaza Del Mercado. Callender is one of three

Blake students who now work for the ice cream shop. -- photo by Cecilia Girolami

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatC8

UnClassifiedsSee any BEAT staffer to buy your

Unclassified in our next issue.70¢ for the first ten words, 5¢ for each additional word

STOP COMPLAINING!-thanks_________________________________

AP EXAMS ARE OVER!!!_________________________________

Brianna Lopez, will you go to prom with me?_________________________________

PROM WOO-HOO!!!_________________________________

When you’ve seen beyond yourself you will find peace of mind is waiting there._________________________________

Five To One, baby. One to five. No one here gets out alive._________________________________

Disregard wenches, acquire currency_________________________________

I want Hannah Kenney’s and Allison Di-onne’s bodies. -Aron Crews_________________________________

UGH is awesome_________________________________

Robert Krakaur, will you marry me?_________________________________

AM+ BR= Caps lovers and cute future couple_________________________________

When I’m with KMF I’m with my three best friends_________________________________

UGH!_________________________________

The snack that smiles back- Goldfish! RK & ML

1 < 3.14159 Lucas Irvin _________________________________

I wanna sing a song of love for Daphne’s ups_________________________________

You’re never too old to play Hungry Hun-gry Hippos_________________________________

I love you my asexual wife! Love Grace_________________________________

I love you Bui, Love, your Turkish prin-cess_________________________________

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Nick Tatnall <3

Stop talking about the royal wedding –it’s old news_________________________________

Matt Present loves the ambulance_________________________________

Spring Break should be longer_________________________________

Take Jounalism next year!_________________________________

Class of 2011._________________________________

YA’LL SOME NERDS_________________________________

Cweesh _________________________________

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I love Rachel Cooper. -Aron Crews

Locking up the third seed and a first round bye for the playoffs, the Lady Bengals’ softball team defeated the Paint Branch Lady Panthers, 8-2, on Senior Night, Monday.

After sophomore outfielder Colleen Burkhardt doubled to lead off the third, junior first basemen Bridget Gratton homered to tie the game at 2-2. The Lady Bengals added two more in the fourth and three more in the fifth and their pitching and defense shut the Lady Panthers down as they allowed only one runner to reach base after the fourth. The win over the Lady Panthers extends the Lady Bengal’s win streak to four in a row to close out the year as they previously defeated the Poolesville Lady Falcons, the Springbrook Lady Blue Devils and the Quince Orchard Lady Cougars.

The girls defeated the Lady Falcons, 5-3, Saturday. Hagan hit a two run single in the first, giving the Lady Bengals a 2-0 lead. The girls got some insurance runs in the sixth when senior left fielder Catherine Burkhardt singled to lead off the inning, and after there were two outs, Blake hit three consecutive singles, putting three more runs on the board.

The Lady Ben-

gals defeated the Lady Blue Devils,

14-2, May 6, behind a stellar pitching perfor-

mance by Colleen Burkhardt who struck out 13 Springbrook

batters. The Lady Bengals exploded for five runs in the first as they batted

around, highlighted by a bases clearing double by Hagan and a two RBI triple by

McCray.The win over the Lady Cougars was one of

the biggest wins of the season as they won, 13-7. Blake’s first three batters, Mathis, senior third basemen Bridget

Hawvermale and Colleen Burkhardt all had multi-hit games. Freshman outfielder Lillian Hallmark also had four hits.

It was a much needed win for the team who was coming off a 7-3 defeat at the hands of the Sherwood Lady Warriors as well as a 4-3

defeat to the Clarksburg Lady Coyotes in extra innings the week before. “Beating QO really brought the team together,” says Mathis. “It brought back

the confidence that we lost and [the confidence] we need for the playoffs.”Despite not winning the division title the girls are still confident heading

into the post season. “We didn’t win the division last year and we went on to win the region,” says coach Jessica Garlick. “We’d rather win the regional title or state title over

the divisional title any day.”

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Section D Blake Beat Sports Section D James Hubert Blake High School May 13, 2011

Redskins have shockingly good draft, trade back for picks and get value, p. D6

Beat names seniors Spencer Sterling, Rachel Porzel, as 2011 athletes of year, p. D7

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Baseball team goes undefeated in division for second straight yearSquad scores 68 runs in three games, including 21 against Springbrook

For the second straight season, the varsity baseball team has gone undefeated in their division, finishing with a 5-0 record and has finished in the top five in 3A.

However, the Bengals have struggled as of late and have lost four straight games by one run, including Senior Night when they lost to the Paint Branch Panthers, Monday, 6-5, in eight innings. “It’s definitely a tough way to end the regular season,” says senior co-captain center fielder Austin Malner, “especially as a senior, if we want to go

far in the playoffs we need to start winning close games.”

In the Bengal’s last away game of the season, they fell to the Poolesville Falcons, 7-6. However, both captains stepped up as Malner led off the game with his first career homerun and senior co-captain pitcher Max Shannon later added his sixth homerun to the season as well as three more RBIs.

However, the Bengals were unable to keep the momentum going and gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth in-ning, handing them their sixth loss of the sea-son. “It was really tough,” says Shannon.“We

had a few opportunities to win the game but we were unable to take advantage and lost because of it.”

Earlier that week, Blake faced off against the Quince Orchard Cougars who gave them their fifth loss of the season by a score of 3-2. The Bengals got off to an early lead when they scored their only two runs in the game in the fifth inning but ended up giving away that lead when the Cougars scored all three of their runs in the seventh and final inning.

April 3, the squad lost to the Sherwood Warriors, 2-1, in a game where Blake set a

school record for strikeouts in a game (16). The Bengals also got off to an early lead due to a first inning home run from Shannon, but they then only managed to come up with two more hits in the rest of the game.

Before their four game skid, the team managed 68 runs in just three games as they defeated Northeast Consortium rival Spring-brook Blue Devils, 21-6, the Watkins Mill Wolverines, 27-1, and the Wheaton Knights 20-3. “Beating Springbrook is always awe-some,” says senior outfielder Chris Jaeger, “but crushing them as badly as we did was one of the best moments of the season.”

Crushing [Springbrook] as badly as we did was one of the best moments of the season.Chris Jaeger

by Josh Paunil

Second baseman, junior Sarah Hagan steps up to

the plate against Watkins Mill. The Lady Bengals came out on top in that game, 15-4. Blake finished

an impressive 12-4 overall. --photo by Aron Crews

by Matt Present

We didn’t win the

division last year

and we went on to win

the region... we’d rather win

the regional title or state title over

the divisional title any day.

Now that their year has come to an end, the coed volleyball team looks back on a somewhat disappointing season, as they failed to win as much as they hoped. How-

ever, the players gained valuable experience in what was their first season for most.

Blake traveled to face the challenging Wheaton Knights May 2, where they lost 14-15, 12-25, 18-25. “We were pumped to end our season with a bang,” says junior Victor Chau. “Though we lost, the team managed to stay positive throughout the game.” Chau thinks the Knights improved since Blake last played them in pre-season scrimmages.

The Damascus Swarmin’ Hornets came to Blake April 29, as the Bengals lost 13-25, 9-25, 10-25. Chau, however, felt the Bengals could have won the game. “Even though we lost, I know each and every one of my teammates tried our best,” says Chau. The absence of senior Rohan Raju and freshman Zack Kushner also seemed to hinder the Bengals’ chemistry on the floor.

Blake traveled to the Magruder Colonels for a matchup April 13, and lost 8-25, 3-25, 5-25. Says Chau, “I think our brains were a bit off during the Magruder

match.” This was junior Daniel Kim’s first

game, and he gained valuable experience. “Even though we lost, I feel like I learned a lot, and my teammates were great about helping and correcting me,” says Kim. Chau says this experience helped Kim improve his skills for future games.

Against the Quince Orchard Cougars April 8, Chau felt the team was very well prepared. However, the team lost, 17-25, 12-25, 15-25. “During the game we had some amazing plays. However, our team lacked some communication, which I think ultimately affected the outcome,” says Chau. This game provided valuable experi-ence for some of the newer members of the team as well.

“During the game [junior] Kim [Tox-ie] and I played really well,” says Kim. “Our teammates helped us have a good game.”

Tensions were high for the Bengals’ match against rival the Paint Branch Pan-thers. Blake came up short, losing 6-25, 5-25, 5-25. “I wanted to win this one so

much,” adds Chau. “This game wasn’t our best, and I know we could’ve done better.”

Despite a largely disappointing sea-son, the Bengals look to next year when they hope to return almost all of their team.

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatD2Coed volleyball squad takes consortium rival to four setsPlayers gain experience, look forward to many returning competitors

by Robert Krakaurx

Boys’ team makes playoffs for first time in Blake history, finish 5-7Perez-Ferrero, Isimbabi make county All-Star team in record-breaking year

Despite losing to the Blair Blazers in the first round of the playoffs, the boys’ volleyball team still accomplished much in a his-toric season.

Blake finished the season strong with a two game win streak to qualify for the playoffs, which is the first time in Blake’s history. “We all came together as a team

and worked hard to win our last two and make the playoffs,” says senior Evan Lipshultz. The Bengals received the 13th seed in the play-offs out of 16 teams.

Head coach Dustin Jeter was satisfied with the 5-7 record the team compiled, along with the play-off appearance. “It was a good year, we ended up doing pretty well and making the playoffs,” Jeter says. “We played a lot of close games that

went to five sets, and we competed with every team.”

The Blazers are the favorites to win the county championship and they swept the Bengals in three sets. “We played well and gave it our all, [but] we just couldn’t compete with them,” says junior Jack Hawver-male. Although the loss was tough, the Bengals stayed in the game and in two sets scored 16 and 18 points respectively.

May 2, the team had a domi-nating performance against the Wheaton Knights, playing well to a four set victory. “We came in confident and our team played well together,” says senior Brandon Krixer. “We never let up and we crushed them.”

The Bengals also handed the Damascus Hornets a loss, April 29, in three straight sets on senior night. “The sets were pretty close, but we

had a good crowd and we knew it was going to be our last time ever playing at Blake, so we stepped up and won all three,” Lipshultz says.

Despite the losing record, the Bengals made themselves and their coach proud and qualified for the playoffs for the first time. They also had two members; seniors Matias Perez Ferrero and Michael Isimbabi qualify for the county All-Star team.

by Eddie Maddenx

Kimberly Toxie

Daniel Kim

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat D3

Holding a division title and strong re-cord, the girls’ varsity lacrosse team completed their season with their heads held high.

After having their last division game rescheduled from April 27 to May 7, the Lady Bengals entered the game against the Watkins Mill Lady Wolverines in hopes of clinching an undefeated division record, and won, 18-6. “The season went well,” says sophomore midfielder Anna Galeano. “All the girls on the team really tried hard every game which helped us get better.”

The Lady Bengals found a tough op-ponent in the Damascus Lady Hornets, losing, 13-10, May 4. Although the team did not win their game, most of the girls believed that this was the best game they played all season. Says sophomore attack Megan Gagern, “We lost that game... but we learned so much in that game about ourselves and as a team.” The Bengals lost their earlier match against the Wootton Lady Patriots as well April 30, 18-7, which had fueled their match against the Lady Hornets.

The girls triumphed against their division rivals this season defeating the

Einstein Lady Titans, 17-4, the Clarksburg Lady Coyotes, 18-1, and the Kennedy Lady Cavaliers, 14-3. “Our goal was for the team to learn to play as a unit, and I think we have accomplished this,” says head coach Janice Maloney.

Breaking their early season win streak, the Lady Bengals lost to the Sherwood Lady Warriors, 9-5, April 1. “We lost a few times, but the connections we made with each other made this season successful,” says junior defender Valentina Garcia.

“I have learned that your team is what holds you up,” says junior midfielder Julie

Lopatka. The team fought hard against their most competitive division rival, the Quince Orchard Lady Cougars, but lost, 15-10. “You need to trust every single player on the team and know that the only way to win a game is by working together,” adds Lopatka.

The team started off the season strong with three straight wins, proving that although many of their players are young, they could play well against their county rivals. They won, 21-9, against the Gaithersburg Lady Trojans March 24, and, 14-9, against consor-tium rivals, the Paint Branch Lady Panthers March 22.

by Lily Hua & Michael Joinerx

Girls earn number four seed in 4A/3A West Region state playoffsSquad finishes the year undefeated in division, just three losses overall

Boys’ lacrosse deals with difficult seasonBengals keep heads high despite just a couple wins

Although equipped with many able and skillful players, the varsity boys’ lacrosse team was unable to produce a victorious season, finishing with only two wins under their belt.

The Bengals started off strong in the first quarter against 3A rival, the Damascus Hornets, but as the game transpired they were unable to keep up with the quickness and scoring ability of their opponent. “Damascus was our third game that week,” says senior captain Jake Mondonedo, “to say we were tired would be an understatement, but we were also unprepared for their athleticism.”

The Bengals fell to the Hornets, 14-7, as senior attack Joey Cane scored twice, junior midfielder Matt Mehallick scored once and Mondonedo led the team with four goals in the second half. Despite the rally late in the second half, the team was not able to execute a win.

One of the closest games of the season was against the Watkins Mill Wolverines that resulted in a 5-3 loss. The Bengals were unsuccessful against the team who they beat, 17-1, the pre-vious year. Says junior midfielder Nick Tatnall, “I think we all went into the game expecting to beat Watkins Mill by a ridiculous amount of points, I also think that’s why we lost.”

Along with the Hornets and Wolverines, the Bengals also played the Clarksburg Coyotes, who they lost to, 7-5, in their third game in three days. “Three games in a row is pretty much the worst schedule a team could ask for,” says senior midfielder Eric Wiley, “it’s really no surprise we lost each one.”

The Bengals had their most difficult game against the Woot-ton Patriots, who hadn’t lost a to a fellow Montgomery County team in 74 games. Despite a valiant effort, and another four goal game by Mondonedo, the Bengals lost, 14-7. “It would have been great to beat a powerhouse like Wootton,” says junior defender Cross Klemko, “but at least we gave it a solid attempt.”

Despite a less than successful season, the Bengals were able to win two games including an impressive 17-0 win over their division opponent the Kennedy Cavaliers and a 4-3 victory over the Einstein Titans bringing their division record to 2-3.

However, Blake will be without many of their starters next year as they lose 12 of their 22 players to graduation and will face tougher competition as they will move up, along with every other Blake team to 4A, a league with more challenging opponents including the Sherwood Warriors.

by Sammi Levitt & Savannah Tryensx

Senior midfielder Jesse Boulandi attacks the Kennedy Cavaliers’ defense in a 17-0 shutout

home victory, marking their first division win of the season. --photo by Aron Crews

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatD4

Track teams slow out of blocks, but things looking up down stretchBoth squads hope to capitalize on upcoming regional and state meets

Boys’ and girls’ track and field teams ran through hard times this season, leaving the girls winless and the boys with a 1-4 record. The teams faced the toughest competition and, despite the statistical results, exhibited great talent and potential.

March 22, the teams hosted their first meet of the season against power houses the Wal-ter Johnson Wildcats and the Thomas Wootton Patriots. The

boys were out-hustled, losing, 119-13, to the Patriots and, 109-18, against the Wildcats. The girls also put up a good fight, but eventually fell to the Lady Patriots, 90-46, and to the Lady Wildcats, 84-52.

“In practice we don’t al-ways give 100%, but in meets we give 120%,” says junior sprinter Leroy Radway. As the season continued, the teams pushed themselves and each other harder to improve. April 9, at the much anticipated Woodward Relays at Georgetown Prep, the boys

finished eighth out of 35 com-peting schools in the 1600 sprint medley, just one of a handful of highlights that day.

Senior captain Rachel Por-zel says, “This season started off really rocky but by the end we all came together as a family, broke and set records and ultimately came out on top.” Porzel is one of many seniors who have made an impact this season.

The team earned bragging rights at the Katie Jenkins Invi-tational held at Sherwood High School May 6 and 7. Many ath-

letes won medals, including the boys’ 4 x 400 relay team, who defeated many other schools to win first place. Says senior cap-tain Samoy Young, “The team learned how to work together, and people realized that they would get nowhere without hard work.”

Senior Alistair McLean made the school record books in the 300 hurdles, shattering the old record of 44.96 by four seconds, winning himself a gold medal with his authorita-tive 40.66 finish. Senior captain

Peace Kish also won gold, triple jumping her way to glory. Head coach Charlie Simms says, “The team kept working hard to get better after the losses and it is starting to show coming into our championship part of our season.”

The team hopes to con-tinue their recent success in the upcoming championship meets. Following the regional meet May 18 at Linganore High School, many athletes hope to qualify for states, and put their talents on display for all to see.

by Jake Gordon & Rachel Jaffex

Gymnastics fails to get off matMany returning players provide hope for future success

Working the floor, vault, beam and bars, the Lady Bengals’ gymnastics team struggled this sea-son finishing with a record of 2-4.

The Lady Bengals placed sixth when they competed in the MCPS championship at Blair, May 5. Senior Jordyn Tillman says, “Counties were not as good as they could have been; everyone had nerves.” Tillman thinks that many of the teammates were a bit shaken after her car was badly hit on the way to the meet.

The girls were able to finish in the middle of the pack when they were away at Blair, April 14. The Lady Bengals came in second to the Blair Lady Blazers and beat the Whitman Lady Vikings. However, Tillman recognizes that the team did not meet their full potential. Tillman adds, “As a whole, the team needs to step up.”

When the Lady Bengals traveled to face the B-CC Barons, they left with their second loss in a row. However, junior Johana Martinez was able to stay optimistic. Martinez adds, “With some practice and effort we can do anything.”

Their first loss came at home April 4. The Lady Bengals came in third against the Lady Vikings and the Sherwood Lady Warriors. Martinez adds, “I feel like our weakness would be how close we were to our teammates.”

Winning their first meet of the season against the Walter Johnson Lady Wildcats March 31 was a great way for the Lady Bengals to start the season. “Many of the girls had their own strengths.” Mar-tinez says. “They all had something different that they were good at.”

They are only losing four seniors out of the team of 17 but will still have to work hard in order to reach any goals they might have. “The remain-ing two top scorers can’t carry the team,” says Tillman.

A bit more optimistic, Martinez adds, “This was my first year on the team and I really enjoyed it. I learned a lot and I’m excited for next year.”

by Paige O’Flahavanx

Boys’ tennis looks to recover next year from disappointing season

As an unsuccessful boys’ tennis season comes to an end, the Bengals can look back and notice the good in a season of injuries.

Rain cancelled the match at the Wheaton Knights, May 2. The boys lost to the Magruder Colonels April 28, 7-0. This seemed to be one of the tougher games of the year; none of the Bengals could win their matches. However, frustrations did not cause the team to fall apart. Says junior singles player Anthony Bui, “I could

tell everybody worked hard and tried their best.”

April 27, the Bengals domi-nated the Paint Branch Panthers, winning 7-0. Although they shut out the Panthers, this was not their easiest game. “The easiest game was probably against Kennedy… I

was playing very well,” says Bui. This was a big win for the Bengals because it came against a consortium rival.

Blake next traveled to face the Poolesville Falcons April 26. The Bengals lost, 6-1, to the much more experienced Falcons squad. A big

reason for the loss was a weak roster. “Overall I wish we had a stronger line-up,” says junior Jake Gordon. “The spots were not well defined.”

April 14, the Bengals played the Sherwood Warriors, and lost, 6-1. This was a hard fought match, but at the end the Bengals fell short in a tough effort. While this season may have not been the best, next year the team looks to come back and only get better.

“I hope our team roster and re-cord are better next year,” adds Bui. “I want improvement and results.”

Bengals hope to improve, learn from mistakes in future matches

after multiple difficult losses

by Ricky Manciax

I hope our team roster and record are better...I want improvement and results.Anthony Bui

Senior Julia Boland performs on the uneven bars at home in a dissapointing season for the Bengals. Highlights included

a first place finish against Walter Johnson and second place finish against Blair and Whitman. --photo by Aron Crews

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat D5Softball wins six games despite lack of returning playersCoach Hyman stresses communication, limiting team’s mental errors

Despite losing 22-3 to the Poolesville Lady Falcons Saturday, the JV softball team is pleased with the way they improved over the course of the season.

With just two returning play-ers from last year’s roster, the girls’ came together quickly, finishing the season with a 6-7 record. “It was tough early [on],” says sopho-more shortstop McKenzie Dreher.

“There were a few games early on in the season that we should’ve won but we weren’t ready for that kind of competition.”

The Lady Bengals were beating the Watkins Mill Lady Wolverines, 9-4, May 6, until the game was halted by rain in the bot-tom of the fourth inning, making it an unofficial game.

Despite losing to the Quince Orchard Lady Cougars, 15-5, May 5, freshman pitcher Casey Clark

had one of her best performances of the year, striking out many of the Lady Cougar batters.

The season came together midway through, as the Lady Bengals rattled off five wins in six games. “We figured out we had to communicate,” says Dreher. “When we all talked to each other before the pitch we knew what to do and had more success.”

The Lady Bengals won against the Wheaton Lady Knights

36-9. Sophomore outfielder Kenise Carroll belted the team’s only home run this season, and Dreher added a triple in the victory.

Coach Stan Hyman had stressed communication to the girls all season. “I can take physi-cal errors but I cannot take mental errors,” says coach Hyman.

Another area in which the girls improved upon greatly this season was minimizing the damage when opponents reached base. “We

were able to relay the ball in from the outfield faster,” says junior cen-terfielder Terah Minor-Jones.

The great improvements made by the JV team this season are signs of a bright future, not only for next year’s JV team, who will likely improve from the veteran leadership of some the returning girls. The varsity squad will most likely benefit from the girls who move up to the varsity level next year.

by Matt Presentx

Though they did not earn the record they wanted, the JV boys’ lacrosse team proved to be tough competition, winning about half of their games and taking each win and loss as a learning experience.

The Bengals played a tough game against the Damas-cus Hornets where they were beaten 14-3. Says junior mid-

fielder Jake Hayman, “We put up a strong fight but they were by far one of our toughest competition all season.” Though the loss was disappointing, it helped the boys understand that whether it’s a win or a loss, all that matters is that they leave everything on the field with no regrets.

Playing the evening before, the boys were already exhausted when it came to challenging the Clarksburg Coyotes, May 3. It was a very low scoring game

with the Bengals losing 4-1. “The loss was upsetting after previously winning two games in a row but we were all pretty sore and tired and just weren’t able to pull off the win that time,” says sophomore goalie Dan D’Amico.

The Bengals defeated the Einstein Titans and the Watkins Mill Wolverines. The boys shut out the Titans April 28 with a score of 11-0. May 2, the team beat the Wolverines 6-1, giving

them confidence in their newly developed skills and team chem-istry. “The win felt great,” says freshman midfielder E.J Hawkes, “After being shut out 8-0 in the previous game, coming back and playing hard really paid off.”

April 27, the boys traveled to Wootton where they lost 8-0 to the Patriots. Says Hayman, “I think we went into the game set on losing and therefore not playing to the best of our abil-ity.” April 4, the Bengals played

the Kennedy Cavaliers, winning 2-0. The defense is what won the Bengals the game as they had to contain many talented scorers.

Overall, the boys had a season to be proud of. The team was young and many of the play-ers were just starting lacrosse for the first time. They all really developed as players and learned how to connect and play as a team. The boys will certainly put up a fight next year when com-peting for the varsity spots.

by Sammi Levitt& Savannah Tryensx

Junior varsity boys’ lacrosse finishes with 5-6 record, improves overall

Young squad overcomes inexperience, defeats consortium opponentsConsisting of many new players this

season, the JV girls’ lacrosse team worked hard to earn a 6-5 record despite their inex-perience.

The Lady Bengals showed off their lacrosse skills May 6 ending their season with a well-earned win against the Springbrook Lady Blue Devils, 13-3. Says freshman mid-fielder Kaylie Deshler, “If there’s anything I’ve learned this past season it’s how to be a good lacrosse player.”

The county’s most competitive teams

challenged Blake, yet the Bengals were able to put up a close game against both the Da-mascus Lady Hornets, 12-8, May 4, and the Wootton Lady Patriots, 14-10, April 30. “We weren’t as mentally ready as the [Hornets],” says freshman Emily George. “If we had played the way we did to catch up in the last half, the game would have been ours from the start.”

The Lady Bengals were able to come-back with a win against the Watkins Mill Lady Wolverines with a score of 7-3, April 27.

The girls’ lacrosse team had an un-fortunate loss against the Clarksburg Lady

Coyotes, 6-2, April 11, but felt their teamwork was still strong. “We have learned a lot, but we [mainly] learned to play as a team and trust each other… [which] is important,” says freshman midfielder Torie Broer.

After half a season of learning the basics and getting to know one another, the girls proved to be quite a threat as they faced the Einstein Lady Titans, April 8, winning 11-2 and the Kennedy Lady Cavaliers, April 4, winning 15-2. Says George, “Trust is one of the hardest things to gain, but once you have it; nothing else matters and the game is yours.”

Although Blake was successful in win-ning against their historically easier competi-tions, the girls had a tough time against some of the stronger teams. The Lady Bengals lost to the Sherwood Lady Warriors, 10-5, April 1, and the Quince Orchard Lady Cougars, 9-14, March 29, but were able to grow from their losses. “We were always progressing and … I now feel confident going up against experienced players,” says Deshler.

Says coach David Martin, “They overcame some big losses this year with [an]outstanding display of team work, sportsman-ship and perseverance.”

by Lily Hua & Michael Joinerx

JV baseball finishes strong despite loss against PoolesvilleYear highlights include Springbrook, Blair wins

\JV baseball displayed great effort and fought hard

but came up just short as they lost to the Poolesville Falcons, 4-0, Saturday, finishing the season with a 7-7 record.

The Bengals got a great start from sophomore pitcher Blaine Lowry, as well as great defense, but could not score the runs they needed to win the game. “The game was a lot closer than the score,” says sophomore left fielder Pete Angeh. “We came out ready to play… but we couldn’t make the clutch hits and big plays we needed to get ahead.”

May 6, the Bengals earned their seventh win of the season, defeating Northeast Consortium rival the Spring-brook Blue Devils, 10-8. The Bengals came from behind after allowing the Blue Devils to jump out ahead of them in the early innings. “We underestimated Springbrook… [but] we managed to pull off a clutch win towards the end when we became more focused,” adds Angeh.

A day earlier, the Bengals were the victims of a comeback, as they lost to Quince Orchard, 16-10. The Bengals held the lead as late as the fourth inning, but gave up 12 runs over the final three innings and ultimately lost the game. “We put [up] a great fight, but we didn’t have enough to pull it out in the end,” says sophomore catcher Stefan Sigwalt.

The Bengals opened their season with two losses to the Rockville Rams and the Northwest Jaguars, but quickly rebounded as they won six of their next eight games. Coach Ernie Williams is more than pleased with the season his team put up. “We improved more than any other team I’ve ever coached,” says coach Williams.

With ten freshmen on the roster, the team will look to continue its success next season.

by John Beers & Michael Errigox

Sophomore pitcher/shortstop Derek Glocker gets a solid hit against the Quince Orchard Cougars. Blake was

unable to hold onto its lead, however, as QO came back to win, 16-10, in a slugfest. --photo by Aron Crews

Alex Ovechkin hung his head on the way back to the bench after the final buzzer of Game 4 in Tampa Bay with one thought on his mind: what went wrong?

After making quick work of the New York Rangers in five games of the Stanley Cup quarterfinals, the Washington Capitals were blown away by the Tampa Bay Lightning in a series sweep in the semifinals. Despite the point production of their captain, Ovechkin, the Caps fell apart against their division rivals in their usual playoff fashion.

A major area of concern for the Capitals in last year’s playoffs was failing to score on

the power play. Despite scoring three man-advantage goals against the Rangers, Wash-ington had only one goal on 16 opportunities against Tampa Bay. The hottest power play in the league for the last three years was repeat-edly stifled by goaltender Dwayne Roloson, who possesses a league-leading 94.1% save percentage.

Lack of execution in some aspects of the game dug Washington into a deep hole. Sloppy line changes cost the Caps game 2, when two

defensemen left for a change in overtime, al-lowing a 130 foot pass to make its way up the ice for a two-on-one rush to set up the winner from Tampa sniper Vincent Lecavalier.

Momentum was a key part of the Caps’ series victory over the offensively-challenged Rangers, but hasn’t been any help as of late against a high-powered Tampa Bay roster. A common phrase in hockey is “no lead is safe,” which is especially true about Washington. In games one and three, the Caps grabbed a

one-goal lead and lost their intensity. The lead would disappear in the blink of an eye, and the Lightning would take control and put another tally behind goaltender Michal Neuvirth.

Time is essential in the playoffs, and the Lightning took full advantage of it in game three. After Alex Ovechkin scored his fifth goal of the playoffs on a power play, Tampa forwards Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone scored 24 seconds apart on consecutive shots to cement a 3-0 series lead.

The Capitals have plenty of time to find answers to their lack of playoff success as Washington will trade in their hockey sticks for golf clubs and spend their time watching the playoffs at home.

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatD6Redskins surprise everyone, make smart draft decisions

Considering all of the shocking developments in the 2011 NFL draft, the fact that the Washington Redskins actu-ally made good selections and addressed many of the team needs while not reaching for any players was one of the biggest surprises of them all.

The Redskins made their first smart decision in the draft when they traded down from the 10th overall pick to the 16th overall pick, while receiving a com-pensatory second round pick from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Many people would have preferred that the Redskins pick a quarterback in the number ten spot, but absolutely no quarterback deserved to be drafted that high.

Not only was Washington able to add a pick, but they made a smart selection by taking Purdue defensive end Ryan Kerrigan, who is a perfect fit for the Redskins at outside linebacker in their 3-4 scheme. Kerrigan, who recorded 70 tackles and 13 sacks last season, will be a great compliment to Pro-Bowl outside linebacker Brian Orakpo who often saw a double team last year due to the lack of a pass rush from the opposite side.

The Redskins made another smart pick in round two

when they selected Clemson defensive tackle Jarvis Jenkins who should provide pressure up front for the Redskins who finished 25th in the league in sacks last season. He fits in

nicely since nose tackle is a huge need for the Redskins as the Albert Haynesworth era is hopefully going to be over soon.

Just after looking at Washington’s first two picks in the draft you can tell they wanted to upgrade their defensive line. A lot of people don’t think about it but the front five

was absolutely terrible at times last year, especially in the Giants game at the Meadowlands.

Washington again executed an intelligent draft strategy by trading their second round pick for addi-tional picks later in the draft. By the end of the draft, the Redskins had traded back several times and went from having eight draft picks to 12. As a result, they were able to get good value with their picks.

Third round selection Miami wide receiver Leon-ard Hankerson is a perfect example of a good value pick since the Redskins seriously considered taking him in the second round, but he ended up falling to their third round pick. After the third round, Washington began picking up a lot of depth at various positions that included a trio of Nebraska players in running back Roy Helu Jr., safety Dejon Gomes and wide receiver Niles Paul.

All in all, Redskins fans should be happy since Wash-ington got several players who will fit in nicely and add a lot of depth at many positions.

Goaltender Dwayne Roloson shuts down Washington’s power play unit

Lack of execution in every aspect of the game has dug Washington into a deep hole.

Capitals thunderstruck by Lightning as Tampa Bay sweeps semifinalsby Andrew Markowitzx

s

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat D7

Assistant athletic director Jared Fri-bush was named the new athletic director April 11 and will be just the second person in Blake history to hold the position.

“I’m most looking forward to en-hancing the experience of our student athletes,” says Mr. Fribush. “I want our athletic department to be something our school can be proud of.” Mr. Fribush will officially take over the position July 1 after current athletic director Harold Hilliard III decided to retire earlier this year. Mr. Fribush has served as the assistant athletic

director at Blake for five years and was also the 2011 MCPS swim and dive coach of the year. However, Mr. Fribush can no longer coach after he becomes athletic director.

In addition to his roles in the athletic department, he believes his accounting degree helped him get the job. “The ex-perience as both [assistant athletic direc-tor and swim and dive head coach] were some things they were looking for,” says Mr. Fribush. “But I also think my account-ing background helped since balancing the budget is a big deal for the athletic director.”

The selection process for choosing the new athletic director went through principal Christopher Berry since can-didates were interviewed by him and an interview panel as well as having to submit a formal application to him. However, Mr. Hilliard was not involved in choosing his successor at any point in the process.

Although he already has a lot of experience as assistant athletic director, Mr. Fribush plans on taking the beginning part of his tenure to evaluate how things operate instead of making immediate changes. “There won’t be a lot of change at first,” says Mr. Fribush, “I just plan on

looking at things and evaluating them from the perspective as the athletic director.” However, one change he is considering is having a different assistant athletic director for each season in the year.

In preparation for his new position, Mr. Fribush received some advice from Mr. Hilliard pertaining to both formal and informal responsibilities of the athletic di-rector. “He gave me both professional and personal advice,” says Mr. Fribush. “He talked to me about how to run the depart-ment smoothly, how to find and develop coaches and how to maintain relationships that are important to the position.”

by Josh Paunilx

Mr. Fribush named new athletic director, replacing Mr. Hilliard

Despite there being many great athletes at Blake, seniors Spencer Sterling and Rachel Porzel stood out from the crowd, earning them the male and female athletes of the year award from The Blake Beat.

The four other male final-ists are tough competitors: seniors Brandon Hedley, Eddie Madden, Brandon Simms and Max Shannon. Sterling was an All-American and 1st Team All-Met selection by The Washington Post and broke multiple county and state records.

Says swim and dive head coach Jared Fribush, “It’s part natural ability, but most of it is hard work…total commitment to swim-

ming.” Sterling was also named 1st Team All-County by The Gazette and the MCPS All-County team.

Madden was named to the 1st Team All-Gazette squad for wres-tling as well as Honorable Mention All-Met by The Washington Post. He was the 4A/3A West Region 140 lb. champion and helped lead the wrestling team to their first ever regional and divisional title. Hedley, a basketball standout, made the 2nd Team All-County squad and was named to The Capital Classic, a mid-Atlantic region all-star game.

Simms was also recognized by The Gazette by being named to Honorable Mention and was a key role player for varsity boys’ basketball since he was a versatile forward who could guard multiple

positions and make smart plays on both ends of the court. Shannon was another multi-sport standout for both the golf team, where he made the cut for the state tournament, and the baseball team, where he led the squad to an undefeated divisional record.

The four other great finalists for the female athlete of the year award were seniors Nikki Ostrow, Bridget Hawvermale and Meagan Lagerlef and sophomore Caroline Wannen. Choosing Porzel was tough but she edged out the com-petition in large due to her state championship in shot put.

“It’s cool being the first fe-male to ever win a state champion-ship in Blake history,” says Porzel. “Knowing that all my hard work

and practice paid off is the best part about it.” Porzel won states with a career-high 36 feet, 6 inches and was named to The Gazette’s 1st Team All-County for girls’ indoor track and field.

In addition to track and field, Porzel excelled at soccer on defense where she helped lead the team to a perfect 5-0 division record and was named to the Montgomery County all-star game. “She did a great job of trapping forwards and stealing the ball from them… which allowed fewer shots on goal,” says Ostrow.

Ostrow also excelled at var-sity girls’ soccer as well as varsity girls’ basketball and was the captain of both. Wannen is another multi-sport star who was named to the All-MCPS 3A/2A East Division

team along with Ostrow in addition to being named to The Gazette’s 2nd Team All-County squad for varsity field hockey.

Hawvermale, Porzel’s tough-est competitor for the award, was also named to The Gazette’s 2nd Team All-County squad for varsity field hockey as well as Honorable Mention by The Washington Post and is the third Montgomery County softball player to earn a spot on an Atlantic Coast Conference’s team roster with her commitment to the University of Maryland, College Park. Lagerlef also made a promi-nent commitment as she will play for Howard University and was named to The Gazette’s 2nd Team All-County varsity girls’ volleyball squad.

by Josh Paunilx

Stars separate themselves from the crowd, earn much recognitionSeniors Sterling, Porzel, named Blake Beat Athletes of the YearSeniors Spencer Sterling and Rachel Porzel are named athletes of the year. Sterling has committed to the University of Maryland, College Park as a swimmer for next

fall and Porzel has committed to University of Maryland, Eastern Shore where she will participate in track and field. --photo by Aron Crews

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatD8

Shah praises romantic comedy, Jumping the Broom, for phenomenal cast, p.E3

Section E James Hubert Blake High School May 13, 2011

Co

nnie

Dai: First P

rize

Am

y G

ottlieb

: Second Prize

Artw

ork by Connie D

ai

Betancourt Scholarship rewards seniors for artistic talents

K

ira W

illiam

s: Third Prize

Artists are often shunned or discouraged

from using their talents in their profession; but for female senior Blake artists with a GPA of at least 3.5 and a clean driving record, a scholar-ship exists to make

this goal all the more possible.

The scholarship was created in honor

of Alicia Betancourt, a Blake class of 2006 student who was fatally injured in a car crash during her junior year before she could pursue her hopes of going into art. Says Betancourt’s mother, Lulu Delacre, “One of our first thoughts after her pass-ing was… if Alicia couldn’t

continue on to college to fulfill her dreams, others should.”

Senior Connie Dai, the first place winner, will be

awarded with four install-ments of $1,500; senior Amy Gottlieb, the second place winner, will receive an award of $1,000; and senior Kira Williams, the third place winner, will recieve an award of $500 dollars.

Says Dai, “It’s an awesome schol-arship mostly be-cause, compared to other [scholar-ships], the odds are far better.” There have been 3 to 8 entrants for the scholar-ship since it has been offered in 2006, and it will be fully funded until 2022.

Although the eligible ap-plicant group is

very small and the group that actually applies is even smaller, choosing a winning portfolio is an exciting task for the Selection Commit-tee which is made up of Blake teach-ers and chaired by journalism teacher Kevin Keegan ev-ery year. Adds Ms. Delacre, “It is quite chal-lenging to de-termine the order, since we may be comparing the qual-ity of a d a n c e por t fo-

lio to the q u a l i t y

of a visual arts portfo-

lio.” Dai was chosen as

the winner for her exceptional

dedicat ion to creating artwork

even outside of school, despite the

many pressures to take a different path.

Information about the scholarship is available

on the Blake website, and all eligible students are encouraged to enter.

Three students display creativity, get helping hand with college costs

As seniors prepare for life after high school and stress levels rise due to AP and final exams rounding the corner, the yearbook staff attempts to relieve tension for the student body with a Summer Cookout Party Fest May 26.

For the first time ever, a festival will help promote the yearbook, while giving students a break from end-of-the-year blues. “There are going to be tons of fun activities for Blake students to participate [in],” says junior staff member Courtney Cristaldi. “There is going to be food, games, some face painting - it’ll be like a carnival-like event.”

The festival will act as a fundraiser for the yearbook staff which has felt some financial strain over the past two

years due to the economic crisis. Through lunch and the fifth period block, students can attend this festival for three dollars and pick up and order their yearbooks.

For seniors, the yearbook acts as the last reminder of

their high school life. Senior Shannon Bell, who purchased a yearbook, says, “The yearbook is a way for people to hold on to a piece of their lives…before they begin a new, more independent life.”

Many people who buy the year-book enjoy the memories it provides years after the purchase. Yearbook supervisor Allison Finn still reads through her yearbooks and adds, “People don’t realize the value of their yearbook until twenty years from now, when they

look back and they can show their kids or friends.” A tremendous amount of work goes into producing the

book, including conducting interviews, taking pictures and designing the book’s layout. The staff takes their work

very seriously. “[The yearbook is] something that everyone looks back on one day to show his/her family,” says Cristaldi. “If it looks bad or is inaccu-rate, it’s embarrassing.”

“The yearbook is the one thing people hold on to for years,” adds junior staff member Nicole Byrd. “People look back [on the yearbook] because it holds a lot of memories from that year.”

One of our first thoughts after her passing was...if Alicia couldn’t continue on to college to fulfill her

dream, others should.Lulu Delacre

Yearbook staffers try out brand new idea to promote their product

Juniors Alexandra Paintsil and Vanessa Newman both had the op-portunity to exhibit their talents in the NAACP sponsored Academ-ic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) competition, and were placed as gold medalists in separate categories.

Paintsil and Newman beat the odds while competing against

all other high schools in the county. “I am [the] number one gold medalist

in the Original Essay category, which

feels great,” says Newman. “It makes me proud. I’m glad I won because it made my family proud as well.”

In addition to receiving a certificate on the local level, Paintsil won as a gold medal-ist in the drawing category and as a bronze medalist in the classical instrumental category. Considering that this was her first year in the competition, Paintsil says, “I was surprised, happy and excited.”

As a bronze medalist in the poetry cat-egory her first year, and the first place gold medalist in the original essay and poetry cat-egories this year, Newman is ecstatic. For her essay, she wrote about her opinion on female genital mutilation in African cultures.

“I saw this film, Desert Flower, and

upon leaving the theater I was so riveted and moved - I just had to write about it,” says Newman. “It was more than inspiration; it was this feeling of urgency I had inside me after that film that really propelled me to write it.”

Paintsil and Newman are thrilled to have a six-day all expense paid summer trip to Los Angeles to compete in finals. With perseverance, strategy, confidence and hope, these juniors hope to have a fulfilling future ahead of them. Says Newman, “[I] guess my intuition on entering that piece was dead on - I most definitely got that gold.”

Senior Melissa Blue was also highly acknowledged, becoming a bronze medalist in the Music Vocal Contemporary category.

by Regina Cameron & Nia Chinx

Paintsil, Newman advance

Medals won in music, art, writing

by Joal Chen & Emily Goldmanx

by Brianna Livesayx

It makes me proud. I’m glad I won because

it made my family proud as

well.Vanessa Newman

to national ACT-SO competition

[The yearbook is] something that everyone looks back on one day to show his/her family.

Courtney Cristaldi

May 13, 2011 E2Senior creates high school basketball recruiting sitePaunil attends events, writes weekly column, uses twitter

Students use their binders as canvasses to display personality, style

Today’s fashion forward students have plunged their creativity into the rising trend of binder art. Students, typically in middle school draw pictures, make collages or simply place pictures in their binders as decoration. The trend slowed down but has picked back up in the recent years among high school students.

Binder art is appealing to students not only because is it the original art of a student, but also because some students have taken the hobby and turned it into something of value. “I wanted to make a cool birthday present for my best friend,” says junior Antonella Perez-Ferrero. “I ended up having so much fun that I made it for a lot of my friends.”

Binder art transforms a simple everyday object into something more personal and intimate for the owner. “I

like it because it makes my binder stand out from everyone else’s,” says Perez-Ferrero. “It makes it totally my own--I will always know what binder is mine.”

In some cases, binder art is used to display someone’s full artistic potential. Says art teacher Louise Runion, “I feel that some students need to express them-selves, which is what true art is about, and if you’re doing this all the time you really are an artist.”

But while some students use binder

art simply to display art work, others use it as a stress-relieving activity. Says Mrs. Runion, “It’s very therapeutic for kids to be able to express themselves in that way.” Whether it is merely a relief from the pressures of teenage life, or just sim-ply a showcase of amazing artistic abili-ties, binder art is definitely on the rise.

Says junior Rebecca Kalinich, “I decided to decorate my binder because if we have to go to school every day, why not add some creativity to it?”

by Dylan Hysen & Conor Wallacex

by Andrea Rizkallah& Britney Stuartx

Senior Joshua Paunil’s passion for sports goes beyond watching them on TV. It even goes beyond writing about them in the Blake Beat. This great passion has inspired Paunil to create his own college basketball recruiting website.

Paunil created National Recruiting Spotlight (http://recruitingspotlight.wordpress.com/) in February. It is dedi-cated solely to college basketball recruiting and contains Paunil’s rankings of recruits, recaps of events he attends and interviews with recruits. Says Paunil, “I thought it would be a fun thing to do, so I created the website and everything has just evolved from there.”

Because of his website, Paunil has been able to obtain

media passes for various high school basketball events, where he is able to meet and interview recruits. “It’s awe-some because I get free food [at the events],” says Paunil. “I also get to meet media members of other outlets, which is fun too.”

Social networking is an outlet Paunil has put to use. Says Paunil, “Twitter is a great social media tool because it allows me to instantly update my readers.” Every post Paunil makes on his site is automatically turned into a tweet with a link to the post. He also tweets live from the events he attends.

The success of his new website has led Paunil to a weekly column on a website called ‘Rush the Court.’ “I’m really happy to write my weekly column for them because the creator of the website has helped me improve my writing,” says Paunil. “It’s also helped me develop contacts since he is a member of the College Basketball Writers Association.”

Senior Brianna Livesay created the header and logo for Paunil’s web-site. She creates graphics for many small businesses, websites and also several school groups. “The graphics were a little different than what I usually do…because they involve a sport, which hasn’t been a subject of any of the business I’ve done work for,” says Livesay.

Paunil plans to continue his website in college, where he plans on pursuing sports journalism and government. Says Paunil, “I have had multiple internships in the political world and in the sports journalism world so regardless of the path I choose I have already gotten started in it.”

Senior Josh Paunil interviews one of the country’s top class of 2012 prospects, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (top), at the EYBL

in Hampton, Virginia, for his recruiting website. Paunil interviews junior Justin Anderson (bottom) at the same event.

Twitter is a great social media tool because it allows me to instantly update my readers.

Joshua Paunil

Just when you think they couldn’t get any better, indie rock band, The Kills comes out with another album that is sure to blow everyone away.

Of all four of their albums, I have to say that Blood Pressures is by far the best. It combines sounds from all three of their other albums, Keep On Your Mean Side, No Wow, and Midnight Boom. They have always combined unusual, yet original sound effects, which is evident on this new album.

Within the first minute of the first track, entitled “Future Starts Slow”, they come out blazing with loud guitars, and funky rhythms. The lead single off the album, “Satellite,” is sure to become a fan favorite, as it combines sounds from their two most popular singles from Midnight Boom entitled “Sour Cherry”

and “Cheap and Cheerful”. My personal favorite “Nail In My Cof-

fin” uses all of their best sounds and creates a song that you’ll be sure to catch yourself humming when you least expect it. The song speaks about how the lead vocalist (Alison Mosshart, also seen in the band The Dead Weather) doesn’t need another man that’s just going to bring her down. The beats from the song are gritty and rough and the lyrics are extremely relatable.

Their upcoming single “DNA”, also from this album, is not my favorite track. The song is slow and in my opinion, it’s very easy to hit the next button when this song comes on, even though I tend to like when The Kills do slower songs.

Even though they have a lot of slow-paced songs, The Kills don’t really have any of what I would define as ballads. However,

they choose to break the mold with “The Last Goodbye.” Alison Mosshart’s amazing voice shines on this track, and they still manage to remain true to their original sound. I highly recommend listening to this track, even if you’re not a fan of the album itself.

The album ends with three songs reminiscent of their Keep On Your Mean Side days, and the entire album ends with a bang, literally, with a song called “Pots and Pans.”

I must warn you, The Kills have a very unique sound that not all may like. It’s pretty much just a man, a woman, drums, guitar, a keyboard, and a whammy bar. However, the rock duo, manages to create a unique sound that you must give notice to. Even if you don’t tend to like music slightly off its rocker, you should give this worthwhile album a chance.

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat E3

Jumping the Broom is the perfect African American romantic drama. Com-plete with family drama, secrets that claw their way in to the limelight, and a pinch of raw comedy, it’s the ideal cocktail for a chick flick.

Shot partly in the city of dreams, New York, and partially in the enchanting Martha’s Vineyard, the film centers on the convergence of the lives of two very dif-ferent people. Sabrina Watson, (played by the exquisite Paula Patton), an upper-crust socialite of a wealthy background searches desperately for love in all the wrong places; that is, until through a strange twist of luck she meets Jason Taylor (Laz Alonso), the man of her dreams. Throughout their five-

month relationship, the couple develops a bond that even a disastrous wedding in the Vineyard with hellish in-laws can’t break.

Ms. Taylor (Loretta Divine) and Mrs. Watson (Angela Bassett) are the two clashing matriarchs amongst the world of bidets, yachts, and Moet. Sabrina’s loud and hilarious best friend, Shonda, who sports impossibly long hair extensions and a bar-rage of witty comebacks and her wonky brother-in-law Willy-Earl, a cross between Snoop Dogg and Pootie Tang, compliment Ms. Taylor, a stubborn, bitter single mother with as much sass as RuPaul.

Sabrina’s mother Mrs. Watson, a high-class French-speaking lioness of a woman responds to each and every problem—even that of a wayward sister and a husband she can’t even bear to look

at anymore—with sarcasm and poise. One can only imagine that when the two, Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Watson clash, it’s tremen-dous. As the wedding slowly falls to pieces, nearly at its breaking point, the dueling mothers question not only the choices of their children, but also of themselves and their judgmental attitudes.

Among the abrasive reactions of each respective family towards the other, we wit-ness the trials and tribulations the couple faces as the bounds of their love are tested thoroughly. Although we can only hope for the best, the audience is painfully aware that neither party will escape unscathed and unscarred. However, the storyline remains a beautiful one, a lesson about finding true love in the most unexpected places and the unbreakable ties of family.

Days of moving the joystick up and down to pass a level are gone; video games now require a new level of intelligence to complete each game, and Portal 2 redefines this complex task.

Portal 2 is nothing more than a game that will test your thinking ability and patience. A goal as simple as “open the door” has never been this hard in a video game, even when you are given a gun that creates doorways from one side of a room to another. You may end up spending an hour trying to beat one level of the 50 that the game has to offer, which may then make you want to throw your controller at the TV,

but remember: patience is key. In gamers’ eyes, if a game doesn’t

look good, then that game isn’t good; and Portal 2’s graphics are only on par with other games in the industry today. The room designs in the game are just dull colors that consist of bleak tiles which seem appropriate for the game in the first hour or two, but later make you yearn for some sunlight and color.

By far the most creative aspect is the game’s physics, which allow you to manipulate the laws of gravity and theories of motion to get to the next level. The setup of each level is extremely well-thought-out, forcing players to think about new ways to gain momentum or create paths to pass

the level.Much like its predecessor, Portal

2’s first player is extremely short, tak-ing only 6-8 hours to complete the story mode. However, the game makes up for this disappointment with its new co-op and online mode. The tasks become even more difficult as you try to beat them be-cause along with having to be smart and observant, players must have teamwork and precision.

Although the game is lacking in length, Portal 2’s forte for creativity in its complex level completion comes out strong. Portal 2 deserves a 9.5/10 for its sheer brilliance, and for giving a rewarding feeling after beating a difficult level.

REVIEWS FOR YOUBlood Pressures rising with album’s release

by Sam Glatt

Sam Glatt

Jumping the Broom sweeps senior right off her feetby Isak Shahx

Isak Shah

Portal 2 lacks length but triumphs with creativityBrilliant physics of new video game excites junior

Michael Joiner

x

by Michael Joinerx

ATTENTION JUNIORSTHE BLAKE BEAT STILL HAS THREE POSITIONS

AVAILABLE FOR NEXT YEAR FOR STUDENTS WITH STRONG WRITING AND EDITING SKILLS.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ON OUR AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER,CONTACT MR. KEEGAN BY EMAIL AT

Kevin_N_Keegan@mcpsmd.org

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatE4

Section F Blake Beat Senior Section April 30, 2010

Calling all seniors! The race is on to complete these ten activities before June 1, p. F3

From left to right: First to Die in a Horror Movie Jesse Boulandi and Anna Hinden, Best Platonic Friendship Spenser Balog and Katie Lingan, Most Likely to Become President Linda Powers and Daniel Arias (not pictured). and Most Likely to Become an Olympian Spencer Sterling and Bridget Hawvermale. The following categories

were not pictured on F2: Most Likely to Toilet Paper Someone’s House Steven Penland and Catherine Burkhardt, Most Likely to Appear on Broadway Mark Fearson and Brittany Hamson, and Most Likely to Get Famous from YouTube Clay Rorie and Simone Kirkland. -- all photos on F1 and F2 by Cecilia Girolami

SENIOR SUPERLATIVE WINNERS JOIN MTV REALITY SHOWReal World: Moco First Episode Recap. This is the true story... of 30 seniors...

picked to live in a house...work together and have their lives taped... to find out what hap-pens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real...The Real World: MoCo.

April 14, the housemates moved into 300 Norwood Road, otherwise known as, the Bengal Mansion. Most Likely to Appear on The Bachelor/Bachelorette Brandon Simms and Rachel Choppin, were the first to arrive to the house and instantly hit it off, engaging in an intimate flirtation over virgin strawberry daiquiris. “Did it hurt?” said Brandon. “Did what hurt?” wondered Ra-chel. “When you fell out of heaven,” replied Brandon with a suggestive smirk. They gazed intensely into each other’s eyes, and decided to take a dip in the hot tub.

On their way, they ran into Most Likely to Become a Gold Digger Bevin Walker and Carley Pressley, admiring (or rather appraising) Benny the Bengal’s crystal chandelier. Carley, in a scarlet cocktail dress, and Bevin, in a beige suit, gators and a Rolex, took one last longing glance at the 400-year-old treasure, and joined Rachel and Brandon in the hot tub.

While they were enjoying the jets, Most Likely to Join a Fraternity or Soror-ity Jake Mondonedo and Rachel Babcock arrived with a DJ in fluorescent leggings ready to make the Bengal Mansion into a frat house. “PAINT PARTY TWO-OH-ONE-ONE!!!” they shouted. Most Likely to Wear Flip Flops Year Round Julia Boland and Eric Wiley (incidentally a member of the same fraternity Jake was pledging to be on) forced Jake to break a bottle with his head. Nervous but determined that the powers of Bro would come to his aid, Jake knocked his head with the bottle and fainted instantly. Julia ran for the phone but tripped on the way because the strap of her flip flop broke. “Stupid Rainbows - I paid 500 bucks for these.”

Always Dresses Up For School Aron Crews was raging to the music when Rachel splattered him with fluorescent green paint. “AH! You got paint on my new tux!” cried

Aron. “Why would you wear a suit to a paint party?” asked Rachel Babcock. “It’s Tux Tuesday - duh,” said Aron, running off to put on a new suit.

Spenser Balog and Katie Lingan’s Best Platonic Friendship was put to the test when she spotted him flirting with Rachel Choppin. “Katie is great,” said Spenser in his audition video. “She’s so understanding - I can talk to her about school, girls - any-thing.”

“We’re just friends,” said Katie, turn-ing red and glaring lividly in Rachel Choppin and Spencer’s direction. Luckily, Best Person to be Stuck on a Deserted Island With Jef-frey Hacker was around to distract her and asked her to dance.

First Character to Die in a Horror Movie Jesse Boulandi and Anna Hinden, tired of the party scene, decided to explore the house’s surrounding area and followed a path into the woods. Other Best Person to be Stuck on a Deserted Island With Joyce

Bartlett thought she heard screams in the distance, but figured it was only Most Likely to Appear on Broadway Brittany Hamson and Mark Fearson belting “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray. “Say, I wonder if the two of them have ever done shows for the Blake Stage Company,” wondered Joyce cheerfully.

The gang moved into the living room for a game of Truth or Dare. Cutest non-couple Willy White and Nikki Ostrow

decided to sit out of the game, until Willy was dared to kiss other Always Dresses Up For School Janjay Davis. Nikki gave him the look, but that wasn’t enough to resist Janjay’s nude pumps and lace dress. They shared a quick peck and Nikki stormed out of the room. “You don’t own me!” shouted Willy after her.

Most Likely to Become an Olympian Spencer Sterling and Bridget Hawvermale were dared to bench each other 20 times. Spencer benched Bridget a whopping 18

times before he collapsed, but Bridget proved victorious after benching Spencer a startling 21 times. Spencer, feeling emasculated, pro-ceeded to throw a couch onto Bridget’s bed. “Heh - let’s see her bench that.”

“Hey don’t I know you from some-where?” said Carley to Most Likely to Get Famous from YouTube Simone Kirkland. “Oh yeah, you’ve probably seen me on the Rappers-KIRK YouTube Channel. It’s no big deal,” said Simone. “That channel ain’t nothin’ compared to C-Boogie’s flow,” said other Most Likely to Get Famous from YouTube Clay Rorie.

He began to freestyle when he saw Marine One landing in the front yard. The housemates ran out to greet Most Likely to Become President Daniel Arias and Linda Powers, who were escorted out of the heli-copter by two Secret Service agents. “Vote Powers 2012,” she said, shoving Daniel out of the way, when she saw that the entire house was TP’d with paint-splattered toilet paper. “Oops, I think we got the wrong house,” whispered Most Likely to Toilet Paper Someone’s House Steven Penland to cohort Catherine Burkhardt.

The night ended when Most Likely to Star in a Reality TV Show Kemi Olowoo-fayoku and Nigel Truesdale got into a brawl about who TP’d the house. “Talk s*@#, get hit,” said Kemi. “You’re lucky you’re a girl,” retorted Nigel. “HOLD ME BACK! HOLD ME BACK!” screamed Kemi, as Joyce pulled her into another room to calm her down. Kemi then decided to do a confessional about how she didn’t mean to accuse Nigel of TP’ing the house. Nigel, eavesdropping outside the door, walked in and apologized to Kemi. They made up and returned to the paint party.

Who knows what lies in store for the 30*** housemates?...(montage of clips of the housemates puking, fighting, dancing, punching holes in walls, getting rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, fighting, crying, packing their bags and fighting again). Tune in Wednesdays at 10pm, and June 14 for a special three-hour season finale event you don’t want to miss -- only on MTV.

***28 housemates. Jesse and Anna weren’t seen or heard from again and therefore will not appear on the rest of the season.

by Somala Diby & Blaire Hoffmanx

Find out what members of the Class of 2011 are doing after graduation, p. F6 & F7

Section F James Hubert Blake High School May 13, 2011

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatF2

Most Likely to Join a Sorority/Fraternity

Cutest Non-Couple

Best to be Stuck on a Deserted Island With

Rachel Babcock & Jake Mondenedo

Kemi Olowoofayoku & Nigel TruesdaleWilly White & Nikki Ostrow

Aron Crews & Janjay Davis

Bevin Walker & Carley Pressley (not pictured)

Lucas Frangou & Jordan Hart Jeffrey Hacker & Joyce Bartlett

Brandon Simms & Rachel Choppin

Eric Wiley & Julia Boland (not pictured)

Most Likely to Star in a Reality TV Show

Most Likely to Wear Flip Flops Year Round

Always Dressed up for School

Most Likely to Become a Gold Digger

Most Likely to Appear on the Bachelor/Bachelorette

Most Likely to be the Best Stay-At-Home Parent

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat F3

Senior reflects back with a positive outlook after high school memories

High school is full of choices: it’s dur-ing these four years that one chooses which path to follow. Whether that includes the party route, jock scene or burn-out crowd, the possibilities are endless. But one thing that’s for certain is: your friends will accompany you every step of the way—or at least that’s what you’d like to think.

If you asked me four years ago if my three best friends and I would remain inseparable for the rest of our lives—or at least throughout the course of high school, an immediate affirmative answer would surely be my response. Yet, here I am years later, down to one of my three besties wondering exactly what went wrong.

When we, as a class, first entered Blake, the allure of

high school and its opportunity to experience freedom was sure to be intimidating. Things were a lot more pure in ninth grade; it was only as time progressed and we grew older that the back stabbing, phony acts and drama arose. Boys found their way in between friendships and the people you thought you knew suddenly became strangers right before your eyes. There’s nothing worse than walking past a former friend without any acknowledgement of their presence, as if you hadn’t shared innumerable memories together, tears shed, or secrets passed in soft whispers—none of that matters; now your ex-confidant is simply another face in the crowd.

I guess growing apart and changing is all a part of

life, but that explanation doesn’t make it any easier. Who knows what goes on within these four years, within these walls, that transforms people? But perhaps it’s best not to dwell on the negatives and find a good point in

any downfall. It’s best to get rid of the weeds before they infect you too.

So although I may be down a few friends, I know it’s all for the best because the ones that I’m left with will be with me for years to come. The hardest part will probably be during graduation - amidst all of the tears, hugs and con-gratulations, you’re bound to spot that one lost friend. And whether you two decide to embrace for one last time or share a look acknowledging all of your memories is your choice, but be sure to remember some of the good before you let the bad times erase them completely from your mind.

Seniors encouraged to make most of final days Last moments of high school to come to a memorable close

Here we are. We have finally arrived to a critical halt after a prolonged four years of early-morning-snooze-pressing hours, disheartened plastic cafeteria food and congested, narrow hallways.

For most of us soon-to-be college freshmen, the gloomy years of high school are the last thing we want swirling through our preoccupied minds as we party it up (and of course study it up) in college. But honestly, we all know it guys, as much as we say we’re not going to miss our past few years, there are a couple of things we wish we could grapple onto just once more.

For starters, there’s that close knit group of friends we all have. The population of our high school is the size of a puny little fly compared to the massive spider web of students at our future school. While we’re trapped in this mysterious unknown world of ‘University’ with tens of thousands of spankin’ new faces, the only thing we’ll crave is some familiar company.

The spirit weeks: along with the bundle of football games, homecom-ing dances and class competitions that follow. There’s no better excuse

for throwing on thousands of layers of clothes or splattering blue paint all over our bodies and strutting around the halls all spirited out. And for the football games, no matter if you’re screaming your head off in the stands or snuggled up with some hot chocolate, you’re bound to have a great Friday night.

And of course, we’re all going to miss all of the easy-peasy work. Those days of filling in coloring books and skipping class every week are finally over. It’s time to buckle down and get our life in order, one five page paper at a time… and that means not depending on our best friend or a teacher to let us re-take a re-take quiz that we’ve failed three times.

So, hey seniors; enjoy and be productive these four half-days and seven full days of high school you have left to experience in your entire lifetime (yes, I did count because I am that excited).

Make these last days count, because they’re going to be what you remember the most; don’t SparkNote your last novel for English, don’t cheat on your last math test and please don’t fail your last semester of high school. Because as much as we’re all going to miss Blake, I’m not so sure we’re going to want to be here again another year.

Application process, deciding where to go among stressful decisions Juniors: enjoy your last few weeks

of freedom while they last because once senior year hits, everything will revolve around college; where you’re applying, what you’re going to major in and even-tually, where you decide to go.

The monotonous questions from everyone and anyone will become overwhelming. There will be times where you’ll be shopping in the grocery store with your mom and some random person will stop you (probably some-one whose name you can’t remember because you haven’t seen them in years)

and start an obnoxiously long conversa-tion about your college plans, quizzing you about every little detail.

You may at first think it’s because they are genuinely interested, but, in fact, most only ask because they either think it’s what they should be asking since you’re a senior or they have a child around your age and they want to compare you to them.

The inquiries about college will also come from your friends and fam-ily too. And in some instances you will be the one asking the questions, too. But after a while, it becomes ex-tremely stressful day in and day out

from around September to May being asked (from all sides) if you’ve sent your applications out, heard back from your schools and then made the most important decision of all: committing to a school.

With such a momentous decision to make that will set the tone for the next four years of your life, try not to get caught up in all the stress your entire senior year because if you do, your last year will just fly by and you will miss out on the fun of it. After all, you’ll have to wait four more years before you are a senior again so you might as well take advantage while you can.

Make these

last days count,

because they’re going to be

what you remember the most.

by Sonia Polyzosx

by Kemi Olowoofayokux Though old friendships fade, new ones prove to be more valuable

by Blaire HoffmanxTry not to get caught up in all the stress your entire senior

year because if you do, your last year will just fly by and you will miss out on the fun

of it.

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatF6

Name Future Plans Name Future Plans

directoryseniorIkesha Afamefune Montgomery College/Interior DesignSheena Afoakwa University of Maryland Baltimore County/BiologyAdrian Agard Montgomery College/UndecidedMorgan Aguilar Pennsylvania State University/BiologyKazeem Aiyejinmi University of Maryland Eastern Shore /Business & ManagementBryce Akonnor Frostburg State University/UndecidedMisan Akuye Montgomery College/Mechanical EngineeringRalph Alexis Montgomery College/UndecidedJessica Anane Mount Saint Mary’s University/BiologyChelsea Anderson Wesley College/UndecidedDavid Anderson Bowie State University/Computer SciencesJared Anderson Montgomery College/Auto Mechanic Industry Ian Andrews Glenville University/AccountingDarlene Aniebonam George Mason University/Biology & Pre-medAndrea Archila Pfeiffer University/CommunicationsDaniel Arias Yale University/Political ScienceNick Arnold-Medabalimi University of Maryland College Park/EngineeringGifty Awusi Montgomery College/NursingSarah Aylor University of Maryland College Park/Speech PathologyRachel Babcock Towson University/JournalismJulia Baker Northeastern University/Chemical EngineeringSpenser Balog Towson University/Music Business Sadia Bangura University of Ottawa/Biopharmaceutical SciencesDaniel Barker Montgomery College/PsychologyIsabela Barriga University of Maryland College Park/BiochemistryAshley Barteck Coastal Carolina University/Finance & Environmental ScienceJoyce Bartlett Grinnell College/PsychologyAlex Beach University of Mississippi/Elementary EducationReanna Beatty Towson University/Athletic TrainingFasika Belachew Montgomery College/UndecidedDaniel Bell Salisbury University/BusinessShannon Bell Randolph Macon College/FrenchDarryle Bennett Montgomery College/Game Design & DevelopmentPearl Bentum University of Maryland Eastern Shore/PsychologyYanilka Black Montgomery College/X-ray TechnologyClaudeesha Blackman Montgomery College/Social WorkMelissa Blue Howard University/UndecidedJulia Boland Von Lee International School of AestheticsGeorgette Bondon Howard University/EngineeringJesse Boulandi Montgomery College/EconomicsAmanda Breen Montgomery College/EducationBrittany Brincefield Montgomery College/Elementary EducationDeAndra Brown Morgan State University/Hospitality ManagementMichael Brown US NavyMia Browne Montgomery College/Visual ArtsDestini Bryant Howard Community College/Hospitality ManagementSydnee Bullard Montgomery College/NursingAlpha Bundu Morgan State University/UndecidedMary Burke Montgomery College/Social ServicesStefan Byrd University of North Carolina School of the Arts/FilmEdwin Calderon Montgomery College/RadiologyPeter Calhoun University of Maryland College Park/BusinessJordan Callahan Montgomery College/Physical TherapyShaina Callahan Montgomery College/NursingRegina Cameron Montgomery College/DanceMaya Campbell Reed College/Biology & EnglishJoey Cane Salisbury University/BiologyKyAira Carter Pennsylvania State University/BiologyAaron Chambers Montgomery College/Automotive EngineeringChristie Chambers Montgomery College/Elementary EducationJeremy Chen University of Maryland College Park/BusinessCynthia Cheng University of Maryland College Park/BiologyMaia Chicherio Franklin and Marshall College/Animal BehaviorNia Chin American & Muscial Dramatic Academy/Theatre & CommunicationsRachel Choppin McDaniel College/UndecidedGit-Yee Chu University of Maryland Baltimore County/UndecidedRavin Chun Community College of Baltimore County/Veterinary TechCynthia Chung Montgomery College/PsychologyLauren Colburn Stevenson University/Early Childhood EducationMaya Congo Old Dominion University/NursingRachel Cooper Morgan State University/Criminal JusticeDevonte Crawford Virginia University of Lynchburg/Sports Medicine Allison Creekmore West Virginia University/UndecidedDelaney Cruickshank College of Charleston/HistoryAlex Curtin Ohio Technical College/AutomotiveConnie Dai Carnegie Mellon University/ArtTaylor Damskey Montgomery College/BusinessJanjay Davis Laboratory Institute of Merchandising/Fashion MerchandisingJanette Delgado Montgomery College/BusinessSomala Diby Columbia University/UndecidedChayeh Dickerson Art Institute of Washington/Audio ProductionChristiane Djoum University of Maryland College Park/BiochemistryQuiara Dorsey Trinity University/Social Work Bryan Dowdall Stevenson University/Business Management

Kayla Dyer Bowie State University/Social WorkPortia Egwin Stevenson University/PsychologyEmmanuel Endishaw St. Vincent College/Engineering & Pre-MedMarco Escobar University of Wisconsin Milwaukee/UndecidedAntonio Escoto Montgomery College/Criminal JusticeConrad Etchi Virginia State University/Sports Management Kathleen Faisca Hood College/UndecidedChristyna Falden Stevenson Univesity/Bio-ChemistryMark Fearson Towson University/AstrophysicsHeather Fitzgerald Montgomery College/EducationMason Fisher Howard Community College/Business ManagementLaura Fling Montgomery College/UndecidedKadeja Flowers Bennett College for Women/Graphic DesignMichael Ford U.S. Marines Joe Franks Montgomery College/Nursing Victor Gamez Montgomery College/Physical TherapyDelilah Gates University of Maryland College Park/PhysicsSylvester Gates University of Maryland College Park/BiologyAnthony Gilchrist University of Maryland College Park/Computer EngineeringBriyanna Gilgeous Montgomery College/BiologySam Glatt Howard Community College/UndecidedZach Goldberg University of Maryland Baltimore County/UndecidedElyana Goldwater Montgomery College/UndecidedRanier Gomez University of Maryland College Park/Mathematics & Computer ScienceDylan Gomez-Starnes St. John’s University/UndecidedAmy Gottlieb University of Maryland Baltimore County/PhysicsNakea Green Morgan State University/Psychology Jeffrey Hacker University of Maryland Baltimore County/HistoryBilly Hall Montgomery College/Computer Gaming & SimulationJim Halpin Montgomery College/BiologySidra Hamdani Montgomery College/BusinessKelly Hanlon University of Maryland Baltimore County/English & Vocal PerformanceNeressa Hart University of Bridgeport/Business & Management Jordan Hart Jacksonville University/CommunicationsErnie Harvey Montgomery College/Political Science & Law & BusinessMadison Hawkes University of South Carolina/MathematicsBridget Hawvermale University of Maryland College Park/EngineeringJulius Haynes Montgomery College/Video Game & Computer ProgrammingAboud Hemed Montgomery College/UndecidedKenneth Henry Art Institute of Miami/MusicMaria Hernandez Montgomery College/NursingGladys Hetherington Howard Univeristy/UndecidedTiffany Hill Montgomery College/UndecidedAnna Hinden East Carolina University/NursingCaleb Hoey Middle Tennessee State University/RecordingBlaire Hoffman Dickinson College/International RelationsLily Hua University of Maryland College Park/Journalism & EnglishNicholas Hung University of Maryland College Park/BiologyAvery Hunter-Hackney Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University/Sports ManagementMarvin Hutchinson U.S. Air ForceTravis Hutchinson Montgomery College/UndecidedDylan Hysen The College of William & Mary/UndecidedMichael Isimbabi Howard University/EngineeringChristopher Jaeger Montgomery College/Aerospace EngineeringFatou Jaiteh Virginia Union University/LawShawn James Technology-related employmentTerriza Jefferies Long Island University/PsychologyAshley Johnson Montgomery College/NursingNia Johnson Montgomery College/UndecidedYouna Jung University of Maryland Baltimore County/NursingAlexander Kahsey Towson University/LawMariama Kamara Towson University/Political ScienceAli Karzai Montgomery College/BusinessMusu Kawusu-Kebbay Stevenson University/BiologyDamon King St. John’s University/Communications & MediaJohn King Coastal Carolina University/BusinessKhris King Montgomery College/Undecided Simone Kirkland University of Maryland Baltimore County/Biology & PsychologyPeace Kish University of Maryland Eastern Shore/Pre-PharmacyNancy Kobe Montgomery College/Accounting & EducationRussell Kocher Montgomery College/TV ProductionAimee Kohorst Kent State University/Fashion MerchandisingCorinne Konoza Sewanee University/Physics & AstronomyBrandon Krixer Howard Community College/Undecided Zakaria Kronemer University of Mary Washington/Pre-MedSara Kushner Ohio State University/Photography Meagan Lagerlef Howard University/Physical TherapyCameron Lancon Lincoln Technical Institute/HVACAshley Larkin Towson University/MusicJorge Lazo U.S. ArmyDaniel Lee Towson University/Geography & Art HistoryKevin Lee University of Maryland Baltimore County/Pre-medWilliam Lee Montgomery College/Criminal JusticeMichael Leonard Montgomery College/Music

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat F7

Name Future Plans Name Future Plans

directoryseniorPhanith Lim Montgomery College/Business AdministrationKatherine Lingan George Mason University/PhotographyEvan Lipshultz Towson University/MathematicsBrianna Livesay Pratt Institute/Graphic DesignPatrick Looney Barnett Bicycle Institute/Metal Working & MechanicsJasmin Lopez Montgomery College/Nursing Julia Maas St. Mary’s College of Maryland/International StudiesEmerson Marquez Montgomery College/UndecidedJalen Marshall University of Maryland Baltimore County/BiologyEmily Matos Montgomery College/Elementary EducationNick Mauprivez University of Rhode Island/International RelationsMonica Mbuia-Joao Catholic University/BusinessShekara McEachern-Smith Virginia Commonwealth University/Broadcast JournalismThokozani Mchenga Virginia State University/Undecided Tiajuana McKinney Montgomery College/English & LiteratureChris McSwain Montgomery College/UndecidedJoshua Medina Montgomery College/Audio EngineeringJason Mejia University of the District of Columbia Community College/UndecidedBrooke Mellish Fashion Institute of Technology/Fashion DesignTerrell Mercer Montgomery College/UndecidedHelen Merino Montgomery College/UndecidedCarrie Miller Art Institute of Washington/PhotographyBrianna Mitchell Bowie State University/Secondary EducationGrace Mling Montgomery College/Construction Management Nikhil Modha Montgomery College/AccountingJake Mondonedo Coastal Carolina University/Golf Mangement & Business Ramfis Montero Montgomery College/UndecidedGerson Morales Pratt Institute/ArchitectureShelby Morales Montgomery College/UndecidedImani Morris Howard University/BiologyWill Morris Howard Community College/UndecidedWinfred Morris Towson University/Business AdministrationJayonte Morrison St. John’s University/UndecidedNick Mugge University of Maryland College Park/BusinessBryant Musse Montgomery College/UndecidedJade Myers Wesley College/Medical TechnologySidney Nascimiento Montgomery College/ArchitectureMaria Nassanga College of Notre Dame/Pre-LawKansi Navedo Montgomery College/Business & ComputersAshley Nettleford Mount St. Mary’s University/Pre-MedAmber Newman Morgan State University/UndecidedGreggory Nicholson Montgomery College/ Diesel Technology & BusinessGretchen Nicholson Montgomery College/Early Childhood EducationQueenies Nguyen University of Maryland College Park/BiologyToan Nguyen Montgomery College/Theatre PerformanceAmarachi Nnadi St. John’s University/BiologyGeorgiette Oduro-Boateng McDaniel College/Pre-MedPaige O’Flahavan Towson University/UndecidedMaureen Ofosu Montgomery College/PsychologySimi Olamide Bowie State University/Radiology & PediatricsKemi Olowoofayoku Villanova University/Biology & Pre-MedJessica Ortiz St. John’s University/Pre-LawMorgan Ostrow McDaniel College/Business Administration & FinanceLeena Owen University of Maryland College Park/Biology & Pre-MedVanessa Owusu Montgomery College/Business & CommunicationsKim Palmer Morgan State University/NursingJosh Paunil American University/Political ScienceEvan Peiperl Independent Game DeveloperMiguel Peña Howard Community College/UndecidedSteven Penland Wesley College/Media Art & Kinesiology Matias Perez-Fererro University of Maryland College Park/UndecidedJesse Peterson Automotive EngineerTrung Phan Montgomery College/Computer ScienceHeather Phillip Stevenson University/Pre-MedJoanine Pierre Camel Devry University/Criminal JusticeJessica Pinchinat Montgomery College/MedicineEric Pinnick United States Marine CorpsCaroline Pledger City College of New York/International Studies & JournalismEric Poloway Montgomery College/BiologySonia Polyzos Pennsylvania State University/Global StudiesDaniel Ponton Local Plumbing Union 5Rachel Porzel University of Maryland Eastern Shore/UndecidedSusana Posada Montgomery College/PsychologyLinda Powers University of Maryland College Park/BioengineeringCarley Pressley Towson University/Public RelationsJasmine Pullen Hampton University/Pre-LawAntionette Pullman Morgan State University/CommunicationsKyle Pyer Bowie State University/Social WorkNiraj Raju DePaul University/Music PerformanceRohan Raju Salisbury University/Environmental ScienceMatt Rankin Towson University/BusinessAlex Raul University of Maryland College Park/Aerospace Engineering

Maya Reid Howard University/Chemical EngineeringCory Reyes Montgomery College/ Biomedical Science & EngineeringNaomi Richardson Virginia Commonwealth University/UndecidedRenatta Rickford Towson University/Secondary Education & HistoryOlivia Rintoul-Thomas AnimatorEstephanie Rivera Savannah College of Art & Design/Undecided Andrea Rizkallah Towson University/Mass CommunicationsSteven Rodriguez University of Maryland College Park/Pre-VetH. Clay Rorie Towson University/Early Childhood EducationMax Sabelhaus Towson University/Secondary Education & HistoryChristine Saint-Amand University of Maryland Eastern Shore/Business Alejandra Samayoa Montgomery College/UndecidedNatalie Sanchez Montgomery College/NursingParis Saunders Bennett Career Institute/Cosmetology Matthew Schnapp Utah State University/Aviation TechnologyAriel Schwartz Salisbury University/Elementary EducationEmma Semanyk Pennsylvania State University/Nursing Michael Seo Montgomery College/ScienceIsak Shah Howard University/Biology & Pre-MedMax Shannon Salisbury University/UndecidedAndrew Shelton-Der Towson University/UndecidedMariel Shilling Washington College/International Studies & SpanishMichael Shriner CarpentryJordan Silva Montgomery College/Video ProductionMaria Silvino The Art Institute of San Francisco/Fashion Marketing Brandon Simms Shepherd University/Business Management Danny Simpson Howard Community College/TechnologyBreant Smith University of Maryland Eastern Shore/Environmental ScienceCassandra Smith Colby College/Biology & Environmental ScienceJessi Smith Armstrong Atlantic University/Speech PathologyStella Song University of Maryland College Park/BusinessGillian Spolarich College of Charleston/CommunicationSpencer Sterling University of Maryland College Park/Biology & Pre-MedNakim St. Jules Montgomery College/UndecidedBritney Stuart Towson University/Undecided Azeez Sulaimon Neumann University/Computer InformationMiranda Tabe Montgomery College/NursingNicholas Tax University of Maryland Baltimore County/Mechanical EngineeringSimone Taylor Hampton University/Physical TherapyTaylor Taylor Montgomery College/NursingAlexis Thweatt Towson University/English & Mass CommunicationsJordyn Tillman Bowling Green State University/UndecidedJamie Tran University of Maryland Baltimore County/BiologyNigel Truesdale Long Island University/Business ManagementPerdita Tufuoh Montgomery College/NursingConnie Tyler Howard University/PsychologySerge Tzeuton University of Maryland College Park/BiochemistryKelly Umana Indiana State University/NursingAkan Umo Virginia Community Commonwealth University/Pre-LawEdine Usher Richmond University in London/UndecidedRyan Valdes Howard Community College/International BusinessKristina Valerio Salisbury University/Athletic TrainingVictoria VanLear Towson University/MusicChristian Varela Montgomery College/UndecidedDavid Velasquez Montgomery College/Architecture Sophia Venero Montgomery College/ChemistryBailey Veng Ohio State University/Pre-PharmacyShannon Wade University of Maryland Baltimore County/MathematicsJosh Waldman Clemson University/Mechanical Engineering Stacey Waldo Montgomery College/NutritionBevin Walker Fullerton College/Computer EngineeringJames Walker Delaware State University/MusicJasmine Walker Frederick Community College/Sociology Conor Wallace St. Mary’s College of Maryland/UndecidedBrian Walters Montgomery College/Sociology Tzu-Hui Wang Montgomery College/UndecidedEmily Watt College of Wooster/BiologyAlex Wells Virginia State University/Computer ScienceWilliam White Waynesburg University/Athletic TrainingEric Wiley College of Charleston/UndecidedKira Williams New York University/UndecidedJames Wingate Hood College/UndecidedDanielle Witter Montgomery College/BusinessRaven Wood Fashion DesignQuanazia Wright Prince George’s Community College/NursingPatrick Xiao University of Maryland College Park/Computer Science & PhysicsErin Yates St. Francis University/Early Childhood EducationBemnet Yazew Virginia State University/NursingDemetrius Young Hood College/BiologySamoy Young Towson University/EducationShannon Young Montgomery College/NursingAlley Zaika Lock Haven University/Special Education

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatC8

CONGRATULATIONSTO THE JAMES HUBERT BLAKE

CLASS OF 2011*Family of Nicole AlexanderThe Anderson-Edge Family

The Akonnor FamilyThe Family of Isaac Appel

Gift Awusi and FamilyAmir Azizi and Family

Parents of Rachel BabcockSadia Bangura and Family

Celebrating You Spa/Lisa BarnesIsabela Barriga

The Bartlett FamilyThe Beers family

Laura BennettMeryl BloomrosenThe Bond Family

The Bondon FamilyThe Bonhag Family

The Boulandi FamilyElaine Bubes

The Family of Anthony Bui The Burkhardt FamilyThe Calderon FamilyThe Cameron FamilyThe Campbell Family

Abbe CarliverThe Carr Family

Ms. Deborah CarterThe Family of Victor Chau

The Chicherio Family The Cirincione Family

Brandon CluttsThe Comer Family

Family of Rachel CooperMs. Lydia Dean-Reese

Family of Kimiesha DeanMr. Williams DeanThe Deshler Family

The Diby FamilyThe Diggs Family

The Dionne FamilyThe Doane-Malotte Family

The Dollemore FamilyThe Dowdall Family The Drucker Family

Christina EaglinThe Englander Family

The Errigo FamilyThe Family of Mary Fernandes

Mr. John FitzgeraldThe Freeman Family

Renee FrielichThe Frese Family

The Fuentes FamilyThe Gates Family

Family of Gwen GilesThe Girolami FamilyThe Glantz FamilyThe Glatt Family

The Goodall FamilyThe Gottschalk Family

The Family of Daphne O’GradyPaula Hasty

Gladys HetheringtonBurgess and Ivalee Hoffman

The Holsendorff Family

The Hua FamilyThe Hung FamilyThe Hysen FamilyThe Hylton Family

The Family of Lucas IrvinChristian Jeong and Family

Devon JohnsonMiles JohnsonMildred Family

The Joiner FamilyThe Kalinich Family

Musu Kawusu-KebbayThe Kenney FamilyThe Klein Family

The Klemko FamilyThe Klumpp Family

Mark KohorstThe Kos Family

The Krakaur FamilyThe Kronemer Family

Mary Ellen Cain/ Emily GoldmanThe Family of Blaire Hoffman

The Family of Diana LeThe Leishman/Benson Family

The Lemberos FamilySam Lettieri

The Levitt FamilyThe Linsenmeyer Family

The Family of Eugene LitmanThe Livesay Family

Family of Colleen LivingstoneDaniel Louloudes

The LooneysThe Lowry FamilyThe Lyons FamilyThe Maas Family

Mrs. MaduakoValerie ManiganMansaray Family

Beverly MarkowitzBruce Markowitz

The McKnight FamilyThe Mehallick Family

The Family of Tara McIntyre Meredith Mathis

Grace Mlingi and FamilyThe Morstein FamilyThe Murray Family The Murray FamilyThe Musa Family

Family of Vanessa NewmanThe Nguyen FamilyThe Nhabay FamilyPaige O’Flahavan

The O’Flahavan Family The Olowoofayoku Family

The OwensJonathon Q Parks

The Patterson FamilyThe Paunil FamilyPearl of Poise LLC

Beth PereiraFamily of Caroline Pledger

M. S. PledgerMargo Pokras

The Present FamilyThe Purich Family

The Ramlagan FamilyThe Reyes Family

The Rizkallah-Pena FamilyThe Perla FamilyKirsten Petersen Stephanie Pewitt

Family of Grace PlihalBarbara Plunkett

The Polyzos FamilySarah Prather

Rolanda QuigleyThe Ramamurti Family

Dora RamirezThe Raul Family

Kim ReeseThe Rehman Family

Sackson FamilyThe Sallman Family

Hamida Sallman-AhmadKay Secker

The Family of Isak ShahThe Family of Max Shannon

Harriet SigelRachel Soetan

The Song FamilySow Family

The SpencersThe Spolarich Family

Christine St. Amand and FamilyFloyd StarnesDeborah Steel

The Straus FamilyThe Stringfield Family

Stuart FamilyNatasha Swinson

Miranda Tabe and FamilyThe Tatnall Family

C. TaylorThe Family of Simone Taylor

The Family of Samara TuThe Tryens FamilyThe Twain FamilyJoann Valentin

The Valerio FamilyThe Vanegas Family

The Velez FamilyThe Walcott Family

The Waldman FamilyThe Wallace Family

Deborah WadeJoan Wade

Matt and Pam WadeMaura and Scott WadeDon and Helen Waugh

The Family of Brandon WeberThe Weiss Family

David and Janice WilliamsGrandmother of Leisha and Larisha Winley The Family of Leisha and Larisha Winley

The Wood FamilyThe Yates FamilyThe Yee Family

The Zaika Family*These people contributed donations to help support the publication of this issue of the Blake Beat

With emotions high, fans of Harry Potter wait anxiously for the eighth and final movie in the epic series about a boy who no longer sleeps in the cupboard under the Dursley’s stairs, and now has to save an entire race of wizards.

Says sophomore Jourdan Lewanda, “Harry Potter started as entertainment, but once I started understanding the morals… [I realized] it meant that anyone could make a difference in the world.” For years, Harry Potter has been a friend for fans across the world, all of whom will have to say goodbye to him this July.

It began on a delayed London train where a young woman recorded her idea for a story about a boy wizard on old napkins and scraps

of paper. The story of Harry Potter was rejected by 12 publishers before being picked up by Bloomsberry Press. Author J.K. Rowling’s agent said she would never

become successful off of a children’s series, but now she is the world’s first self-made billionaire author.

The books have been published in 69 languages in 200 countries, with 400 million copies sold worldwide, and has also been turned into

the highest grossing movie series of all time—the boy who lived has inspired children everywhere. “[My friends and I] used to play Harry Potter and memorize the spells,” says junior Richard Muhammad.

“It’s the most realistic fantasy series ever,” says junior MacKenzie Reedy. “I am sad that it’s ending, but in a way I want some conclusion to my Harry Potter obsession.”

The stars of the film, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have made themselves household names from this franchise. “It was sad; it’s the end of an era… I gave everything

I could to that role, and I got so much from it,” Watson told Marie Claire magazine in the November 2010 issue.

“It won’t ever end. The literature might stop coming out, and the movies might stop being produced but the impact it has will never end,”

says Lewanda. But as the final credits role after the movie is over, fans of the book and the film will be able to agree on one thing: the Harry Potter legacy

will live forever.

I’m always concerned by attempts to conceal the truth...we need to know all of it, the good,

the bad and the ugly.Victor Loun

Books in schools should be bought, taught--not censored, banned

Sex, drugs and violence. Are you hooked yet? For most students these topics would draw them to a novel, but for parents, teachers and school boards, these concepts would prompt them to ban a book.

In a time where reading amongst youth is decreasing due to blogging and social networking sites, adults are not making it easier to reel kids back in. Fear amongst parents lead to books being banned. “I’m always concerned by attempts to conceal the truth…we need to know all of it, the good, the bad and the ugly,” says English teacher Victor Loun.

This is an ongoing dispute; for years books have been challenged or removed from public schools and libraries. When a school bans a book, students cannot access it in the school library and teachers cannot include it in their curriculum.

The question arises: is book banning appropriate under any cir-cumstances? For senior Maya Camp-bell the answer is a blunt no. “I think once you reach that [appropriate] age you should be able to [read] it all,” says Campbell.

However, throughout the coun-try, numerous books have been re-moved, ranging from the well known Harry Potter series to Clifford the Big Red Dog picture books. In Riverside County, California, The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary was

even banned. Another question sur-faces, what prompts a book to be banned? According to the American Library Association, the main reasons for challenging a book are sexual content, offensive language, and violence.

“I do understand why people of certain religions or moral values are offended,” says senior Shannon Bell. “But that’s no reason to ban a book since everyone has the right to believe and write about different things.”

Several books like Huckleberry Finn are not completely banned, but certain parts of the book have been censored or changed. For many that is just as bad. “I think censoring is worse because you’re pretending,” says English teacher Amy Branson. “I’d rather not talk at all than have you make me what I’m not.”

Some fear that censoring a book will lead to an authoritarian society portrayed ironically by chal-lenged novels 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Junior Danielle Blocker says, “Even-tually one authority will be deciding what everyone gets to read. That’s just not right. Our ideas should not be sanitized.”

Blake, however, has allowed students to access a diverse group of novels in and out of the classroom. “I feel so blessed to be able to teach at a school where freedom of expression and ideas are embraced rather than banned or censored,” says media specialist Mary Treat.

by Joal Chen & Vanessa Newmanx

Fans wave their wands goodbye to Hogwarts

by Hannah Kenney & Melissa Whitakerx

Students choose right answer by avoiding prep stressJuniors taking necessary steps to stay calm, get themselves ready for SAT

Wake up, study. Go to school, study. Come home, study. Go to bed, dream about studying. How can ju-niors possibly handle the preparation for the upcoming SATs?

Prepping for the SATs has been a stressful and

overwhelming part of junior year, even before your parents were in high school. “The biggest stress fac-tors…are balancing adequate preparation with school and extracurricular [activities],” says junior Meredith Mathis. “I don’t think [preparing] would be stress-ful…if other obligations were not present.” With all of the pressures already from school, family, friends, and sports, it is amazing that students still find time to get ready for big tests.

In order to be as prepared as possible, students find various study tactics and stress relievers to get themselves ready. SAT prep classes are just one way that juniors prepare. Junior Julie Lopatka has taken both an in-school prep class and an after-school class. “The Kaplan SAT class out of school helped a lot; I learned a lot of great strategies for solving certain types

of questions,” says Lopatka. “The SAT class in school is good for learning a lot of new vocabulary that shows up on the SAT.”

SAT prep teacher Joseph Caulfield acknowledges that the most important part of preparing for the SAT is commitment. “Whatever course of preparation you decide to take, you need to quantify the amount of time and effort you are willing to commit, and then live up to that commitment,” says Mr. Caulfield.

One of the major stress factors, according to stu-dents in SAT preparation, is “knowing that …the scores can determine whether you get into the school you want or not,” says Junior Brian Battaglia. He has managed to find some peace of mind in remembering that he can take the test again and again. Battaglia adds, “It’s not the end of the world if you don’t do well your first time.”

Rachel Jaffe & Emily Goldmanx

You need to quanitfy the amount of time and effort you are willing to commit.

Joseph Caulfield

Murder, mystery, dominate Pretty Little Liars, leaving audience wanting more, p. G4

Section G James Hubert Blake High School May 13, 2011

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatG2

Break beats live in these Bengals

iPods on and spirits pumped, these break-dancers work on their coin drops, jackham-mers and applejacks - just a few of the many incredible moves that help them express their creativity and individuality as dancers.

Senior breakdancers Edwin Hong and Mike Ford are inspired by friends, family as well as choreography from different genres of dance. Hong’s brother introduced the B-boy dance form to him through a YouTube video. “I was captivated by the movement and decided to learn it thereafter,” says Hong.

Ford started dancing at five years old. “I wanted to have something to do that would define me as a person,” says Ford. Both have become passionate about their craft. Although they do not have set practice schedules, they are often found dancing during lunch, or even be-

tween classes.

“I rarely walk to class anymore,”

adds Ford. Sometimes the students use their skills

in dance battles. “It is a hobby that is com-petitive in nature,” says Hong. Hong dances to meet new people, visit new places, learn more about himself and because it’s “friggin’ awesome fun,” he says.

While Hong reaps the benefits, Ford uses dance as an emotional release. “I continue dancing to forget about all of my problems,” says Ford. “It clears my mind and gives me motivation to carry on with everything else.”

Both break dancers are open to whatever may come of their talents. Hong says, “If something comes out of [my breakdancing] in the future adding to the already existing joy I hold for it, then great.” Ford hopes to share his enthusiasm by opening a dance studio after fulfilling his contract with the marines.

Step team stomps with its own styleUndefined dancers unite through hard work

Stomping their way to the top without ever missing a beat, the Undefined Step Team is rising to the challenge with their hard work, commitment and breakthrough performances.

Most people are only exposed to step dancing through movies like Stomp the Yard or television shows like So You Think You Can Dance. However, the Undefined girls are bringing a new form of entertainment to Blake. The step team performs at step competitions, pep rallies and even at elementary schools. “Performing brings us closer together,” says sophomore and member Andrea Taylor. “We’re still a team no matter what happens.”

“They work a lot better than other teams and get along well to-gether,” says English teacher and coach Monica Saxton. She first started working with English teacher Omari Daniel, who soon handed over the position to her. “I take [practice] seriously and make sure [we are] focused,” Saxton adds.

For junior Amber Newman, stepping means freedom and new friends. Newman says, “I step because of my love for doing it, no one really influenced me.” Although Newman has been stepping for four years, she admits it can still be a challenge.

The step team drew attention performing at this year’s winter pep rally. “I have seen the team at the pep rally [and] the girls are pretty good,” says sophomore Brittany Atkins. “They are really unique and add a lot of energy.” Atkins has been to all of the step team competitions and has a close friend on the team. “The step team is amazing, their spirit and attitude towards stepping is impressive,” adds Atkins.

Even though the season is over for the step team, the girls are eagerly anticipating next year so they can stomp their way to the top once more.

Websites give new outlets for educationSocial sites provide peers with tutoring

You get home, turn on your computer and immediately get on Facebook. This time, though, it is not to chat or up-date your status, but instead to get homework help.

Many adults view social networking sites as distractions. Several teachers, however, believe that online studying through social networking sites can be a great advantage to students. “[These sites make it] very easy for [students] to jump over to the class’ group page and attend a review session from the comfort of their own living room,” says AP Govern-ment teacher Mary Wagner.

Mrs. Wagner created the Blake AP Government Face-

book group to allow students to ask and answer questions they have about upcoming tests and quizzes.“Teachers’ schedules and student’s schedules don’t always match,” says Mrs. Wag-ner. “One of the nice things about using Facebook is that you can leave your question and check back later to see if someone answered it.”

Junior Anthony Bui views such sites as valuable resources. “The sheer number of people with varying amounts of knowl-edge makes [getting] home-work help and helping [others] easier,” says Bui.

Bui was heavily involved in the AP Government group as a sophomore. “Groups such as the AP Government [one] are great for helping and being helped,” adds Bui. “I’ve used it often to study for midterms and previous AP exams.”

Other classes such as AP Biology and AP World History now have Facebook groups as well. Juniors Seong Park and Christian Jeong started the AP Biology group. “[In these groups] you can help your peers out by answering tough ques-tions and just help explaining things,” says Jeong.

Most students agree that the greatest advantage of these groups is the amount of peo-ple students can reach out to through social networking. “Almost everyone in the school uses at least some sort of social network,” says Park. “It’s a lot easier to contact them and ask for help.”

Bathroom conditions going down the drainUnsanitary restrooms cause a stir

Filth fills the sink. The floor is cluttered with toilet paper. The walls are dirty. The smell is repulsive. The atmo-sphere is uncomfortable. But the experience is typical.

Bathrooms are something most people do not want to dis-cuss, but these days, it is hard not to notice the poor condi-tions of our bathrooms. These days, students find it hard not to notice the poor conditions of the bathrooms. “The worst part about using the bathrooms…is the fact that I have to inhale the awful stench,” says sophomore Neal Ohri.

Some students believe that they themselves are re-sponsible for these poor bath-room conditions, as building services work hard to keep the bathrooms clean and sanitary.

“Some of the bathrooms are just trashy,” says freshman Carlos Macalino. “[Building services] try to keep [the bathrooms] clean…but they just keep on getting dirty.”

Some students feel that the main factors that affect the bathroom experience are hand dryer malfunctions, sticky soap dispensers, and the notice-able student graffiti covering bathroom surfaces. They say that some of the problems can come from simple things, like students missing the trash can, or even worse the urinal. “Stu-dents are responsible [for the bathroom conditions],” says sophomore Abraham Nhabay. “We use it the most throughout the day.”

Some find that the worst part of the bathrooms, however, is the odor that is emitted. “The bathrooms smell like some animal died in them,” says Ohri. This problem is the big-gest indicator that it is time for a change, according to many students. The student body be-lieves that students must make a concerted effort to keep them clean.

by Michael Errigo& Lorena Martinez x

by John Beers Nicole Sterlingx

by Danielle Moore& Ellen Woodx

by Michelle Ung & Jamil Gordon x

I haveseen the

team at the pep rally [and] the girls are pretty good. They are re-al ly unique and add a lot

of energy.

Brittany Atkins

Students are responsible

[for the bathroom

conditions]... we use it most throughout the

day.Abraham Nhabay

[In these groups] you can help your peers by answering

tough questions.Christian Jeong

From left to right: Seniors Nick Tax, Mike Ford, and Edwin Hong tear up the dance studio f oor. -- photo by Aron Crew

s

May 13, 2011 The Blake Beat F3Lunchtime chaos proves too much for hungry studentsBengals frustrated with long, uncontrolled lines after fourth period

Throughout the years, lunchtime has been the highlight of the day for many students. It’s time for music, socializing and, of course, eating.

But how enjoyable can this free time possibly be when it’s spent fighting to get your lunch or strug-gling to hear your conversation?

By the end of fourth period, students are eager to get to the cafeteria so they can get their lunch. However, with all the chaos and craziness of the lunchroom - specifically the lunch lines - buying lunch takes much longer than it should. “I feel it’s not a line; it’s a blob of people,” says junior Sarah Mansaray.

It doesn’t help that once students have made it through the lunch lines, they are stuck eating food that isn’t exactly appealing. “Lots of stuff, like the pizza, is too greasy and gross,” says freshman Allana Dawkins. “I think we should have healthier foods.” Having healthier, more appetizing meal choices may make the wait worthwhile for many students.

Many students talk louder than necessary in the lunchroom and put trash everywhere but in the trash. This hectic atmosphere in the cafeteria discourages many from entering. Sophomore Cassandra Wolsh says, “I’d rather spend [a peaceful] lunch with my friends than be pushed around the cafeteria.”

Cafeteria manager Ronald Ferguson is aware of the problem with the lunch lines and has reassured that action is being taken to fix the issue. According to Mr. Ferguson, rails and dividers are being put in during the summer, which will force students to stand single file and hopefully contain the chaos.

Mr. Ferguson has also made a suggestion to-wards controlling the craziness in the cafeteria itself. “I’ve considered having two lunch periods,” adds Mr. Ferguson. With this idea, freshmen and sophomores would eat during one lunch period, juniors and seniors in another. Students would have to stay in the cafete-ria and each lunch period would be 30 minutes.

With improvements made this year, like enter-ing student ID numbers to buy lunch instead of using the four digit pin number, and with more changes soon to come, students can soon look forward to eat-ing lunch in the cafeteria being less of a hassle.

Just cheat it, cheat it, quizzes won’t need to be repeatedPupils stealthily master their copying skills as some find it justified

Some students cheat only as a last frantic resort, but others cheat just to keep their perfect grades. Ev-ery student encounters the age-old question in his or her high school career: to cheat or not to cheat? Self integrity or GPA?

Constant anxiety caused by parents, teachers and coaches can force a student to crack under pres-sure. “I cheat because of the mad pressure MCPS puts on students to succeed,” says senior Rosalina Baxter*. “Unrealistic standards and high expectations force me to

cheat.” A number of people believe

that learning and retaining infor-mation is weakening because of students’ current obsession with grades. “We now just absorb the necessary details to get by. Ev-eryone relies on their grade now; learning is less important,” says junior Samantha Crystal*.

Students feel cheating is justified when faced with teachers who do not enter grades into Edline or lack the enthusiasm to teach on any particular day. Says sopho-more Karen Jacob*, “Cheating can be justified because it shows that classmates are pulling together and

supporting one another.”“I cheat with style,” says

sophomore Lawrence McKinney*, who is not ashamed to admit his crafty tricks. Adds McKinney, “[Cheating is] something that’s passed down through the genera-tions in a family.” Some students have been practicing this fraud and developing the ‘skill’ ever since they can remember, and even consider it an art form.

There are plenty of students that decide to be successful in-dependently. Many are wary of consequences that will bear down upon them. “I believe that if I cheat God will shoot lightning at me,”

says freshman James Vernon. “It’s better to fail with honor than to win by cheating.”

Junior Andrea Ramirez prides herself in the phrase, “trust thy self.” “I don’t trust other peo-ple’s answers; plus you risk get-ting caught if you do cheat,” says Ramirez.

Some students fear that not relying on their own brains might cause them trouble come time for the exam. “I don’t see any genuine benefit from it,” says senior Edwin Hong. “If you cheat now, you’ll fail later, or at least, that is the way that I was raised.”

*Names have been changed

Edline beneficial to many but dissapointing to some Online database for scholastic updates quickly becomes highly visited

Make-up work is piling up, the end of the quarter is coming, and your parents won’t stop pestering you about grades. What web-site should you go on to help you? Twitter? No. Facebook? Definitely not. Tumblr? Too many distractions. Edline? Just right.

Edline is an online grade book that gives you the opportunity to view your cur-rent grades, find assignments and see upcom-ing test notifications. Sophomore Michelle Nguyen says, “When a teacher gives me a

bad grade, I can check Edline and raise it as soon as possible.” Some students and teach-ers take advantage of Edline and apply it to their daily routine, but some feel that Edline is an unreliable stress factor.

Although Edline is available for every student, some students don’t exercise their privilege. “I haven’t been on Edline for about three years,” says senior Alpha Johnson. “It can be inaccurate and it’s not always up to date.” Many students don’t make use of grade reports or assignments on Edline; they rely on interims and grade reports from their teachers.

Edline has been around for about five years. One of the two Edline super-users is social studies teacher Mary Wagner. “Edline can be helpful if students use it like it is in-tended, but you can’t force students to use it,” says Mrs. Wagner. Edline updates every weekday and sometimes randomly on week-ends. Grades on Edline upload automatically when a teacher updates them into Pinnacle, relieving teachers of frequently asked ques-tions about grades.

A lot of teachers go the extra mile and put up copies of assignments and study tools to assist their students. It is a lot of extra

work, however, and some teachers do not have the time. “Math isn’t like other sub-jects,” says math teacher Patricia Gilmore. “Students can’t teach themselves through assignments on Edline.”

Junior Javon Perkins says, “I feel as if Edline is a tool to guide me through the semester, but I choose to talk to my teachers directly because it builds our relationship.” Teachers have always been the main resource for students to find out about their current grades, but Edline is available to students 24/7, whether or not they choose to make use of it.

by Priya Dadlani& Dorian Pursex

by Emily Eaglin & Jake Gordonx

by AJ Butts & Yasmin Wamalax

Edline can be helpful if students use it like it is intended.Mrs.Wagner

[Cheating is] something

passed down through the generations in a family.

LawrenceMcKinney

Crowds and long lines plague the cafeteria as students struggle to purchase their lunch. Cafeteria management

says they are aware of the problem and are taking steps to fix it. --photo by Cecilia Girolami

May 13, 2011 The Blake BeatG4Sophomores change Blake boys’ soccer team for the betterGiles-Tucker, Richard bring their passion for the game to the field

Dew sets on the freshly cut soccer field as players roll out of the locker room to begin warm-ups for the morning game. To sophomores Patrick Richard and Tan-ner Giles-Tucker, this is just another walk in the park.

“What I love most about soccer is the feeling when you totally take someone out; I mean like really, you just smash them to the ground,” says Richard. Along with Richard, Giles-Tucker finds the game extremely exhilarating. Giles-Tucker began playing at the early age of three; from there on he immediately had a feel for the game.

“I love being able to think at a pace, not pausing, just going,” says Giles-Tucker. Richard began playing in kindergarten in Bolivia and from there his talent sprouted. He played varsity as a freshman and now plays for the ‘94 Maryland Olympic Development Program (ODP) team. This program enables children from the ages of 13 to 17 to be trained and improve in soccer and possibly play in the Olympics.

Giles-Tucker played for both junior varsity and varsity, and now he plays for the Olney Royals and the ‘95 Maryland ODP team. Whenever he is not practicing for the two other teams, he practices with the Under-18 soccer team.

Giles-Tucker plans to become a professional soc-cer player, hoping to leave the country for Europe during his senior year in order to gain recognition. Giles-Tucker already traveled to Europe once before to play with professional youth teams. “The experience of playing against people at such high quality was a great experi-ence in its self,” says Giles-Tucker.

Richard, however, plans to pursue a career outside of soccer. Professional or not, they have had experiences that they will never forget, and have contributed talent to not only to Blake, but to their other teams, and for the game of soccer.

Your hands hold steady on the wheel as you take your first turn out of the park-ing lot. Your instructor is watching your every move, critiquing your every mistake. In the blink of an eye your fate is decided with a mere pass or fail. You never imag-ined going through this more than once.

Most students look forward to driv-ing on their own, but must face a rigorous in-car driving test first. “I thought I was

going to be able to pass it the first time,” says junior Bridget Gratton, after admit-ting to failing the test her first time. A decent amount of students face the same outcome as Gratton.

In their Top Ten Reasons for Driv-ing Test Failures, the Driving Standards Agency stated that a majority of test candi-dates fail because of a lack of planning and judgment. Some drivers believe, however, it is partially the instructors who simply do not have the intentions of passing certain people. “[They] might just have a chip on

his or her shoulder,” says Gratton. “Some-times it’s not even your fault.”

Drivers who are only weeks away from experiencing the ordeal feel that driving well is not enough to pass. “All of my friends who have taken it have failed the first time,” says sophomore Lydia Curdts. “Even ones who are good drivers have failed.” This kind of fear seems to be plaguing most young drivers who will soon be taking the test.

Over analyzing the test seems to be an ongoing theme in students who fall

short of a passing grade. “I was really ner-vous and didn’t trust myself,” says senior Jennifer Durden. “Sometimes it’s hard to keep your cool when you know you’ve failed the first couple of times.”

Despite the intense preparation with driver’s education and practice, students continue to doubt their ability as driv-ers and subsequently go amiss. “I think the hardest part will just be staying calm throughout the whole test,” adds Curdts. “Some [drivers] have trouble before even starting the car.”

Young drivers fail test routinely, but who is actually to blame?Students who don’t pass at first wonder why, but fault may not be theirs

by Colleen Burkhardt& Aliya Deanx

Murder, deception, mystery and “pretty little lies” are just a few of the suspenseful characteristics of the new hit series Pretty Little Liars.

Based off the book series, the show first premiered June 8, 2010. The series, written by Sara Shepard, became a teen phenomenon. From Pretty Little Liars to Ruthless, the ten books keep the reader captivated with cliffhangers and unexpected revelations. Sophomore Lucas Tax says, “Pretty Little Liars is an extremely entertaining show. Every mystery they solve opens doors to new mysteries that keep the show going.”

Teen dramas are usually full of twists and turns, but Pretty Little Liars puts a spin on the norm. “It’s pretty good [though] kind of confusing, but that’s the point of it,” says sophomore

Thais Calderon. The show chronicals the lives of four tightly-knit teenage girls dealing with the murder of their best friend, Alison.

The girls, Hanna, Aria, Spencer and Emily, each receive text messages from “A,” an anonymous stalker, who threatens to reveal all their dirty secrets. “My favorite part [of Pretty Little Liars] is the mystery behind A,” says sopho-more Tara Vides. “I keep watching be-cause as soon as I think I’ve unraveled the mystery, it changes.”

As entertaining as the plot is, some viewers do not make connections to their own lives. “I can’t relate to this show at all [because] I have never been put in any type of [similar] situation,” says junior Kim Toxie. “I don’t think any teenagers have [faced those types of problems] at all.”

One of the characters, Emily, identifies herself as a lesbian. “It

portrays what some teens deal with every day--the fear of not being able to tell their parents,” says sophomore Emily Tempchin. “It gives teens a message to be who they want and not be ashamed.”

Pretty Little Liars has not cap-tured the minds of all audiences quite yet. “I would have really liked it if I had started watching from the first episode…it looks really good,” says sophomore Laura Smethurst. Those who have not tuned in to the drama can catch up with Season 2 on June 14.

Students that do follow the series anxiously await the premiere of Season 2 on June 14. SPOILER ALERT! Ac-cording to the ABC Family website, Ezra will be leaving, Toby and Spen-cer’s relationship will heat up and Maya will come back. These are just a few prospective shifts for the upcoming season.

Hit TV series captivates viewers with cliffhangers, cunning craftiness Pretty Little Liars dazzles teens across nation with mystery, suspensex

by Brenna Noone& Janine Taira

Pretty Little Liars is an extremely

entertaining show. Every mystery they solve opens doors to new mysteries

that keep the show going.

Lucas Tax

by Taylor Damskey & Andrew Pricex

Sophomores Tanner Giles-Tucker (left) and Patrick Richard continue to improve their soccer skills as they

participate in the Maryland Olympic Development Program. --photo by Aron Crews