Facebook: MHS The Student Newspaper March 2011 Volume 73, Issue Four

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

MARION HIGH SCHOOL

Senior Spotlight

Page 4

Justo Lamas

Page 5

Senioritis

Page 3

MHS Musical a Huge Success All of the acting in the play was top notch; however, a few noted actors

really connected with the audience. Everyone laughed out loud at Chris

Simmon‟s Erkle-like delivery. During the last song, “Brotherhood of Men”,

Kelsey Clark made the crowd laugh as her serious character of Mrs. Jones sud-

denly turned flirty and whimsical. Kate-lyn Salzman also had a spectacular final

performance of her high school career.

Without the help of choir director Mrs. Adams, and

band director Mr. Graham, there would be no show. The amount of time and energy that the teachers, the

choir, stage, and pit orchestra members put in is im-measurable. The play was extremely successful and

entertaining. Bravo!

-Sarah Anderson

On March 4th and 5th, MHS put on the pro-duction “How to Succeed in Business Without

Really Trying” at the Marion Cultural Civic Center. Senior Katelyn Salzman and sopho-

more Vinny Segretario played the leading roles of Rosemary and Finch respectively. Along

with supporting roles filled by Chris Simmons and the MHS choir, the classic show came to

life.

The story line consists of Finch climbing the business

ladder from a window washer to eventually the Chairman of the Board all from following the directions of a “How

To” book. Along the way, he creates the enemy of the President‟s son, Bud Frump (Chris Simmons), and falls in

love with Rosemary. After a business plan gone wrong, Finch finally succeeds when he tells the truth of his mea-

ger past and his ignorance of business management.

Pom

Page 6

The Student

Marion High School

1501 S. Carbon St.

Marion, IL 62959

(618) 993-8196

thestudentnewspaper@hotmail.com

Page 2 THE STUDENT- ISSUE FOUR, VOLUME 7 3

Head Editor: Jordan McBride

Editors: Sarah Anderson, Dakota Evans, Aaron McGee

Sponsor: Mrs. Presley

Contributing Staff: Kristen Fowler, Essence Kimble, Michael McAnelly, Taylor Pankey, Nicholas Rakers

Special Thanks: Google Images, The Daily Republican

The Student is a newspaper that is produced by Marion High School students on a periodic basis.

Food For Thought

Spring Break Offers Glimpses of Summer

MHS The Student newspaper

Typical student response to

school lunches: Nasty, Eww, What

is that? Is it the students fault for

their response, or is it the school‟s

fault for serving unidentifiable

food?

First Lady

Michelle

Obama is on a

campaign to

decrease teen

obesity and

increase aware-

ness of nutri-

tion. Ideas such

as removing the

vending ma-

chines from school and changing

school lunches have been pushed

in all school districts, even ours.

While the majority of the specta-

tors view the student as the picky

eater, one should look at the food

being served.

The schools can not control what

is supplied them, so the blame does

not go to MHS and the cooks. On

the contrary, our cooks do an

amazing job. By relying on nothing but

common sense, it seems apparent that it is

futile to serve peas and carrots and foods

that the average student has never tasted

and expect the majority of the student

body to eat it. Even adults would refuse

such items.

Also, the appearance of

the foods adds to the stu-

dent‟s acceptance. If

something looks scary, one

can only determine that it

tastes scary. Once this is

decided, that‟s when the

vending machines and even

not eating comes in. The

students aren‟t choosing

junk food over school food. They are

simply doing what anyone at any age

would do and follow their taste buds to

food that they know will taste good.

Instead of the health departments giving

speeches on junk food and McDonalds,

they should make healthy food more ap-

pealing. And this starts in the cafeteria.

-Sarah Anderson

Whether you intend to work

diligently for the remainder of

the school year, or „quit‟ at some

point in the near future, it is im-

perative at this time of year that

all of us hammer out at least a

few more weeks of work. After

all, we still have an entire quarter

left, and there is plenty of time

for almost-summer laziness after

Easter.

-Jordan McBride

For once, spring break actually

felt like spring this year. Fantas-

tic weather, long, school-less

days, rigorous courses) made last

week an excellent time to rest,

recuperate, and realize that we

only have one quarter remaining

until summer.

Teachers, too, seem to have

caught on to this almost-summer

vibe (though not enough to pos-

ses them to stop from piling on

the homework the moment we

returned from break) and they

have already begun the inevita-

ble, “don‟t quit yet!” speeches.

Page 3 THE STUDENT- ISSUE FOUR, VOLUME 7 3

Senioritis

All Wound Up

riculars. How any student gets

through the week with all of

these stressors and outside ac-

tivities is beyond me.

I truly hate to wish my life

away, but I am completely ready

to graduate. A few more weeks

are all that separate us seniors

from the rest of our lives-it‟s no

wonder we are so impatient and

eager! Teachers, please take it easy on us.

We cannot help that our minds are some-

where else. And to all my fellow seniors . . .

hang in there guys!

-Michael McAnelly

After attending Marion

High School for the last

three years of my life, I must

say I am quite ready to move

on. Every morning I find that

various shades of exhaustion

have lined my eyes, my back

has decided to start hurting

again, and I almost never

have time for breakfast. Af-

ter spending all day receiving my education, I

go to work and stay there until 10:00 at night.

How am I supposed to make time for my-

self? I have a lot on my platter. Like many

high school students I go to school, hold a job,

and attend classes at John A. I barely have

time for anything, and I am without extracur-

Ready, set, pull! That‟s right, it‟s

time for Mr. Wallace‟s annual Mouse-

trap Car labs, where physics students design and create their own mousetrap

cars.

There are only 2

rules, your car

must be powered

by the mousetrap

and all mouse-traps must be the

typical mouse-

traps created by

the “Victor”

mousetrap car

company.

The lab has been described as one of the best labs ever done in Physics.

Cody Wilson, a physics student, says “I

found this lab to be a very rewarding edu-

cational experience”.

The Worldwide Record for longest dis-

tance traveled by Mousetrap

Car is said to be 111 meters.

The longest distance traveled

in all Mr. Wallace‟s classes is

55 meters. Mr. Wallace says

“It is a good project for relat-ing acceleration, speed,

torque, momentum, potential

energy, power, and basic en-

gineering principals”.

The winners this year are

Blake Stigal and Emilee Bowles; their car

traveled over 44 meters.

-Nicholas Rakers

Page 4 THE STUDENT- ISSUE FOUR, VOLUME 7 3

How to Succeed in Business… : A Pit Perspective Marion High School certainly has some talented perform-

ers, musicians, and directors. The performance of How to

Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was beyond ex-

cellent, not only from my personal pit orchestra perspective,

but also from the wildly enter-tained crowd in the packed audi-

torium on both nights the musi-

cal was performed. Though be-

ing down in the pit does not al-

low for a particularly enjoyable

viewing location, it does present

the opportunity to notice the

flow of the music and how well

our actors blend with the orches-

tra. I may not have been able to

truly see the musical, but being

involved in the majority of the practices from the beginning, I

have been able to realize how

much it really came together.

Because I know the script, I

could truly tell that the perform-

ers really did know their lines, and could take liberties with

them, judging the direction the scene was taking.

I was also quite proud of my fellow Pit Orchestra mem-

bers. Thanks to Mr. Graham, our devoted band director, and

long practice hours, I believe our performance was just as

impressive. On the piano was Ms. Armetta Beltz, who was a

great help to us, and we were all very glad to have her. The

Percussion I part was Nick Meneese, who never ceased to

amaze me, for he would have long scene change solos. We

would also have been lost without our outside string players: Sylvia Graham and

Andrea Murphy on the Violin; and Phil

Carstens and Jessie Croster on the Cello.

Other important members of the pit: Mike

Lynch on the Guitar; Chesney Crain on

the Bass Piano; Kristina Vick on the Alto

part of Reed I; Ben Woodard, who played

the entire Reed IV part (which entails the

Clarinet/Bass and Tenor Sax); and also

Aaron McGee, our only Horn player.

There were a few hiccups: most notably of Mike Lynch deserting the pit and ap-

pearing on stage during our dress rehearsal

(Mr. Graham was furious), as well as an

extremely long black out before the Satur-

day night performance. But in the end,

Mrs. Adams, who also put in long, dedi-

cated hours for this performance, gave us the cue to begin the

overture. But overall, I was quite proud of the performance on

both nights, and everyone involved should be also.

-Taylor Pankey

Senior Spotlight: Damon Holst Relatively new kid, Damon Holst , is a senior this year. Last

year, he moved to Marion from

St. Louis after living in Chicago

and Minneapolis. He has an older and younger sister along

with a dog named Nanook, who

is “the love of [his] life”. Al-

though he loves his dog, he also

cares for his girlfriend a lot, too.

For the foreseeable future,

Damon will be graduating MHS.

As a member of the top ten, he is looking forward to reading

names at graduation. In the

summer, he is traveling with his

sister to Haiti on a mission trip. Along with the majority of the

senior class, Damon will be at-

tending college. He will spend

the next four years at Elmhurst in

Chicago studying Political Science.

He plans on living his life based off the phrase, “If you earned your seat

at the table, sit down and eat.” (L.

Sanders)

Damon is a jack of all trades. He owns and rides a unicycle on a regu-

lar basis, he is an excellent singer

and he frequently amuses his AP

Literature class with spontaneous bal-lads in imitation of Shakespeare. Last

year, he started “No Worries Wednes-

day,” which entails wearing plaid or

argyle. Also, all of his birthmarks are on the left side of his body. He‟s a

member of the MHS golf and tennis

teams, as well as playing the saxophone

and oboe, although he hates the oboe. He watches the Discovery Channel and

enjoys watching the marine life shows.

His aspirations are to become the first

non-corrupt politician and to become the President of the United States.

Along the way he plans on buying an El

Camino, but until then his “Danger

Ranger” will suffice.

-Sarah Anderson

Page 5 THE STUDENT- ISSUE FOUR, VOLUME 7 3

Review: An Abundance of Katherines

Michael L. Printz award-

winner John Green has written

another stunning novel. An

Abundance of Katherines is a

hilarious and addicting novel.

It tells the story of prodigy,

Colin Singleton, who has only

dated girls with the name

Katherine, and his quirky best

friend, who has never had a

girlfriend. Comparable to The

Catcher in the Rye—which is

mentioned in the novel several

times—An Abundance of Kath-

erines is a memorable coming-

of-age story. As Colin waits

and longs for a “Eureka mo-

ment,” he tries to perfect what

he calls “The Theorem of Un-

derlying Katherine Predictabil-

ity.”

This math is explained in ex-

haustive detail in the appendix.

This passage was actually writ-

ten by a career mathematician

who is a close friend of Green‟s.

Through flashbacks and funny

footnotes, Colin‟s story is told in

the a very unique way. Though

the novel is one of the most

open-minded and amusing books

I have read; it comes highly rec-

ommended. Though, just like

with his past novels, John Green

is still somewhat of an acquired

taste in reading.

-Taylor Pankey

Justo Lamas Rocks Marion One Last Time On March 8, Spanish students from

all over the area came to the Civic Cen-

ter to watch Justo Lamas‟ last perform-

ance. He is an Argentinean singer who

travels the United States and whose songs are famous in Spanish class-

rooms. He has been singing and per-

forming for students for many years,

but this year is his last tour.

Justo‟s concert is very entertaining.

He sings famous songs from artists

such as Selena and some of his own.

Along with singing, Justo gives the

message of striving after your

dreams.

As a child, Justo dealt with his mother‟s schizophrenia and suicidal

tendencies. She died when he was

only 16 years old and then he was

determined to reach his dreams of

becoming a star singer while moti-

vating youths to learn a new lan-

guage and to follow their dreams.

After this year, Justo will manage

new artists with the same goal. His

reason for discontinuing his concerts is because he wants to spend time with his

wife and two little boys.

Katelyn Salzmann and Maggie

O‟Neill sang “Te Necesito” with Justo.

Many students from Marion were able

to go on stage and participate in Justo‟s

games. After the concert, Justo signed

autographs and took pictures with his

fans.

Gracias to Sra. Yeck and to all those who helped make the arrangements for

Justo to perform. All of the students

appreciate the experience. Te faltamos

Justo!

-Sarah Anderson

Page 6 THE STUDENT- ISSUE FOUR, VOLUME 7 3

THE STUDENT

The Marion JV and Varsity

Pom Pon Squads have had a

great season. On February 4,

they hosted the annual Chili

Supper before the home bas-

ketball game. The JV team

performed their competitive

kick routine during JV half-

time and varsity performed

their competitive kick routine

at varsity halftime. The fol-

lowing day Marion hosted the

IDTA regional at the high

school. It was a successful

competition

for both

squads.

The teams

have also

attended re-

gionals in

Belleville

East, Belle-

ville Alt-

hoff, and

Benton.

The varsity team attended

the Highland competition

as well. Both

teams received

first place and

qualifying scores

for state finals.

Junior Varsity

won first place in

kick and pom

dance at their

state finals in

Bloomington.

Varsity received

Pom Squad Has Successful Season

second place in kick and

third in jazz at their state

finals at U of I. Color

guard also received a first

and second place finish at

state. Congratulations to

all the pom girls for an

outstanding season!!

-Kristen Fowler

Page 7 THE STUDENT- ISSUE FOUR, VOLUME 7 3

MHS Boys, Girls Basketball Teams Finish Great Seasons

The MHS Lady Wildcats finished

the season after a tough loss against

Mt. Vernon in the regional game;

however,

the season

was

sparked

with

many

great

memo-

ries. At

the begin-

ning of

the season

the girls

were 5-0, winning their opening

tournament. Throughout the season

Senior Lindsay Lenon scored her

1,500th career

point. During re-

gional‟s, freshman,

Cydney Paul was

the only Lady Cat

to make it through

past the first, sec-

ond, and third

round of the re-

gional where she

came one short.

The boy‟s bas-

ketball team has

also wrapped up

their 2010-2011 season. Through-

out the season they also had many

memorable moments. The boys

beat Carbondale on the Terriers

Album Review: “Speaker of the Dead” mated television series or

comic book, the obvious

song‟s being “Demons

With Ryu” and “Children

of Cybertron”, references

to Street Fighter and

Transformers, respec-

tively.

I found this album to

be their best so far.

Those of you who have

lost faith in them, I sug-

gest sitting down and lis-

tening to “Area 64-66” or

“Cries of Credo,” your

faith will be restored.

I easily rate this album

Emmure‟s 5th album “Speaker

of the Dead” was released Feb-

ruary 15th and has been shaking

stores across the nation. I was

starting to believe Emmure was

losing focus with their music,

considering they rapped in the

last installment. But these

thoughts have been put to

ground after listening to the new

record. Emmure has come back

stronger and heavier than ever.

The lyrics are still simple yet

deep, such as on song‟s like

“Drug Dealer‟s Friend” and

“Bohemian Grove.” The band

still has their comic side, with

every song a reference to an ani-

home territory for the

first time in many

years at the Pink Out

game for breast cancer

awareness. "The boys

have had their ups and

downs but always

played as hard as they

could," says an outside

source.

Congratulations to

both teams on their

seasons!

-Megan Lewis

a 4.5 out of 5, I suggest

anyone who likes the hard-

core genre to go out and

buy it.

-Nicholas Rakers

Photos Compliments of

The Daily Republican

Page 8 THE STUDENT- ISSUE FOUR, VOLUME 7 3

Newspaper Staff Competes in SISPA Journalism Conference

Award Placement

First Place

First Place

Third Place

Third Place

Third Place

Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention

Awardees

Michael McAnelly

Sarah Anderson

Dakota Evans

The Student Staff

The Student Staff

Aaron McGee

Megan Lewis

Taylor Pankey

Nicholas Rakers

Kristen Fowler

Division

Review Writing

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Front Page Layout

Editorial Writing

Overall Layout

Sports Writing

Sports Writing (on-site)

Editorial Writing (on-site)

Review Writing (on-site)

News Writing (on-site)