Millard North 2014High School

1010 S. 144th Street Omaha, NE 68154 Phone: (402)715-1365Fax: (402)715-1336http://mps.mnhs.schoolfusion.usEnrollment 2413Stampede

Pieces

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Of Light

Pieces

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Of Light

Through the luminous rays that filter through our windows,

waking us too early on those weekday mornings, and those faint

glimpses of sunrays as they fade over that evening football game, we

stand under the same light. These mere flashes, radiate throughout our

day, and brighten those pieces of a new school year.

Pieces of Reality

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<<Fellowship: Students from every grade gather around the flag pole to start their day off with prayer and worship. See You at the Pole occured on every fourth Wednes-day of September at different schools around the world. photo by Lyndsay Schroeder

Fernanda Reutzel, 11 Andrew Bartholet, 11Adam DeGroodt, 9Myah Morrissey , 9 Ashlyn Therkelsen, 10 Christian Donohue, 12 Lizzette Jimenez, 12

Basking in the bright rays of those last few summer days quickly

became taking glances through the window while under florescent

lights in class as the school year begins. While this annual shift back

to school seems dull, those pieces of each day such as grabbing a

snack out of the hole in the wall or watching the opening night of the

fall musical seem vivid.

Letting Loose

Cos-Play Comeback Elaborate clothing, fancy makeup, and realistic wigs. The transforma-tion into a different person takes ef-fort and skill. A new person is pres-ent and their appearance changes to emulate a fictional character. Groups of friends gather and wel-come each others’ company, play-ing the role of someone different. Junior Mackenzie Summers takes part in an interesting activity on the weekend. She participates in cos-play. Cos-play is where groups of people dress up as one of the char-acters from anime, comics, movies, or TV shows and act out scenes. “Basically, if you’re a fan and

Robin Howe, 11blows out her candles to celebrate her seventeenth birthday. “It’s so nice to be surrounded by friends and family that care about me on my birthday,” Howe said. photo by Kristen Edelman

help counsel middle school students with lead-ership skills and other fun activities. Outdoor Ed took place at Camp Kitaki. con-tributed by Kailyn Tauber

practices basketball in his free time on the weekend. “I put a lot of time and effort into this sport be-cause to me, ball is life, ” Clay said. photo by Leigha Little

have a photoshoot for their Instagram page at the Harvey Oaks park trail. “We take pictures every other two weeks to have enough photos for Insta-gram,” Cortez said. photo by Kristen Edelman

MN students David Clay, 09 Britney Cortez and Gabby Krause, 09

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want to take it to another level, then you join cos-play,” Summers said. Fans go to conventions to reen-act their favorite comic or anime scenes, and have a good time.Summers likes to act out characters from Homestuck, or from one of her favorite anime TV shows. Summers even visited the Anime Iowa conven-tion and has become quite knowl-edgeable on certain characters. “I learn most of what I know from listening to my friends talk about it all the time,” Summers said. Her friends are also interested in cos-play and were partly why she joined.With the help of her friend, Summers

was persuaded to try out cos-play. “I never thought I’d have the guts to do it, so my friend got me to start,” Summers said. After try-ing it, Summers has met many new people and found a passion. By being in cos-play, Summers’ weekends are full of excitement. Summers’ friend, junior Emily Theis also does cos-play. Theis is just one of the many people Summers has met through cos-play. They occa-sionally get together on the week-ends and get into costume. It’s always more fun with friends. Sum-mers’ newfound passion brings memories that can be shared forever.

By Leigha Little

<<Material Madness: Senior Hailey Clark and Katie Gaul rummage through the racks at the Flying Worm in the Old Market. “Their clothes are unique and adorable, it fits perfectly into my wardrobe,” Clark said. Photo by Justin Deffenbacher

A. B. C. D.

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<<Goofy Glasses: Seniors Olivia Makos and Rachel Rogers spend the day at Oakview Mall. “I love hanging out at the mall because it is a place where I can hang loose,” Makos said. <<High Score: Junior Kaori Terada prepares to play an arcade game at CoCoKeys. Other arcade games helped her with getting more spending tickets. <<Cupcake Kings: Seniors Sean Doyle and Ben Janecek decorate cupcakes. “Decorating cupcakes with Doyle was the best experience of my life,” Janacek said. <<Apples: Sophomores Emily Gilson and Faith Engle play a few rounds of ‘Apples to Apples’ at an event with friends. “I will never be too old for that game,” Gilson said.

<<S’morin: Seniors Jacob Humber and Bryant Holt sit and warm up at a bonfire over the weekend at a friend’s birthday party.“Bryant was telling me about how his friend stuck marshmal-lows all over his face one time so he dared me to do it, and I won’t turn down a challenge, so I had to try it,” Humber said. Photo by Lyndsay Schroeder

photos by Laura Ney and Kristen Edelman

Around the World in a School DayStudents Come From All Across the Globe at MN

Senior Minoru Fernando lived in Kan-dana, Sri Lanka for five years. “I remem-ber going to the mountains with my fam-ily and looking over the fields,” Fernando said. In the U.S., Fernando takes part in a Sri Lankan new year with other Sri Lank-ans in February to carry on his heritage.

Minoru Fernando & Sri Lanka

Junior Sidney Zhao was born in Fu-zhou, China and lived there for five years when she was in preschool. “I lived in the countryside, and I was the only kid there,” Zhao said. She lived with a much smaller community of peo-ple, so there weren’t many kids her age.

Sidney Zhao & China

All the way from Cameroon, is senior Claire Ngamelue. Ngamelue has lived in Camer-oon all her life up until three years ago. “I re-ally liked how everybody was like family in Cameroon,” Ngamelue said. On special oc-casions, her family would cook and exchange food with each other. Ngamelue still carries on the traditions from Cameroon in America.

Claire Ngamelue & Cameroon-

Sophomore Tanmayee Chengalasetty was born in Hyderabad, India. “It’s very crowd-ed compared to America,” Chengalaset-ty said. She’s gone back to visit a couple times to see family. While visiting, she goes to see some of her 100 second cousins.

Tanmayee Chengalasetty & India

Junior Elie-Benjamin Elkahwaji was born in Paris, France and lived there for five years. “Everything is so much big-ger and more industrialized in France,” Elkawaji said. Elkawaji also said the food and restaurants are better in France.

Elie Elkahwaji & France

In America’s neighboring country, ju-nior Itan Vazquez lived in Queretaro, Mex-ico. For three years he was immersed in the country’s customs and culture. “The thing I remember most is the ta-cos, they were so good,” Vazquez said.

Itan Vazquez & Mexico

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Continuing cultures in the US

Taras Kostan: “In the Ukraine and here, my family would gather for holidays and make food to celebrate together. We still continue this tradition.”““Priyanka Godbole: “My family

celebrates an Indian holiday, DiWali, which is like a Festival of Lights, where we light fireworks and get to-gether. It’s similar to the 4th of July.” ““ Maureen Ahounou: “I still

enjoy French food such as baguettes and cheese, but the food in France was really good.”““Huma Haq: “I celebrate Muslim

holidays, like Eid, with my family. We also fast during Ramadan and we make traditional Afghan food at home.”““Jacques Lerouge: “On Sundays,

in France, my family would get together to eat a big meal. We con-tinue doing this on Sundays here, too. The food tastes great.”““Tyra DeRozairo: “In Australia

we would have a Christmas bar-beque on the beach because it would be summer there.”““

Unbreakable bonds Imagine having to see members of your family every day, and not just at home. Maggie, Graham, and Dawson Williams all attend school at MN. Juniors Maggie and Graham have an interesting brother-sister relationship. Mag-gie and Graham often have class-es together throughout the year. “I hate having classes with Gra-ham because he always embar-rasses me,” Maggie said. “He tells everyone in class embarrass-ing stories that happen at home.” On the other hand, Mag-gie and Graham hardly see Dawson, freshman, at school. “I just hate seeing either of my brothers at school because they

are mean to me 90 percent of the time,” Maggie said. Because Maggie and Graham have classes together, the row-dy brother-sister attitude to-wards each other often shows. “Teachers are always having to separate Graham and I,” Maggie said. “He comes up to me and hugs me and doesn’t let me go because he knows he’s a lot bigger than me.” But, the Williams also don’t al-ways get along at home either. “Graham and Dawson try to get me in trouble at home,” Maggie said. “They always tell my par-ents if I do anything wrong, or even if they don’t do anything wrong. They love to get me in trouble.”

<<Perform: Senior Apurva and fresh-man Sameer Kunte rehearse for forensics. Apurva does entertainment oratory and informative and Sameer does informative. photo by Varshethaa Krishnan

<<Stride: Siblings senior Ben and freshman Hannah Janecek run their two-lap warm-up at cross country practice. Both Janeceks are on the varsity team. photo by Varshethaa Krishnan

<<Sibling Love: Putting his sister Olivia Grasso in a headlock is Jake with his other sisters sophomores Alex and Gabby.“We’re all weird so being at home is really fun,” Alex Grasso said. photo by Varshethaa Krishnan

By Maggie Lutton

Mixed Signals Different ways guys and girls interpret the same situa-tion.

Guys Jackson Clanton, 11: I send one word texts because they’re easy and convenient. But girls sometimes get mad at me when I do.

Rashad Patrick, 12: Just go right to her and ask her straight.

Girls Kirsten Carlson, 12: It’s super irritating when girls send ex-tremely long texts and get back just a ‘kay’. I think girls are more sensitive so we expect more. Mary Kate Luddy, 12: Fly me in a private plane to Tahiti and organize a flash mob with the native people.

Situations Receiving and sending one word texts.

How to be asked on a date.

<<Horsin’ Around: Junior twins Bryce and Ryan Rogokos lift their cousin junior Megan Rogokos. “We all like dogs, Mexican food, being at the pool and hanging with family,” Megan said. photo by Varshethaa Krishnan

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<<Family: Laughing together after school is English teacher Rhonda Betzold and junior Madi Betzold. “We have more of a friend relationship than a mother—daughter relationsip,” Madi Betzold said. photo by Varshethaa Krishnan

<< Besties: Giggling with her boyfriend junior Elie-Benjamin Elkahwaji is sopho-more Monica Powers. “We act more like best friends more than anything else,” Pow-ers said. photo by Varshethaa Krishnan

<<Friendception: Sisters junior Madi and freshman Ashley Meacham pose with their best friends sisters senior Ally and freshman Kara Lemkau. “We all have fun and relate to each other despite our differences,” Ally Lemkau said. photo by Varshethaa Krishnan

Pieces of Success

The brilliant feeling of acing that IB internal assessment, completing

that play for Creative Writing before it’s due, or finishing that group

project in Spanish, combine to brighten our day. Even through days

of sitting under fluorescent lights or cramming before the sun has

risen, these achievements, these accomplishments, these pieces of

success lighten the dullest of school days.

<<Observing: Senior Ryan McDermott watches closely as spinach pieces rise to the top of the beaker. “Doing labs is my favorite part of the class because the processes of life are interesting to me,” McDermott said. photo by Laura Ney

Rita Steffes, 11 Halle Magid, 12 Matthew Renze, 11Sara Champman, 11Isabella Graves, 10 Elizabeth Dressler, 12

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All It Takes Is All You’ve Got

<<Pose: The IB senior class poses for the annual staircase picture after school. The students wore their essays in a design of their choice on the day that they’re due to flaunt their accomplishments. photo by Jessica Leever<<Reflections: Sophomore Alex Jana cuts pieces of paper so that he can glue them onto the drawing of himself. “Nothing is more tantalizing a subject to me than my own face. The chance to depict such a gorgeous object was one that I could not pass up,” Jana said. photo by Jessica Leever

Procrastination is a fine art mastered by many high school students. However, none have it quite as perfect-ed as the International Bac-calaureate senior class of MN. “My process for my Extended Essay was to tell myself that I was going to work on it, while staring at the computer screen for about, oh, a year. I ended up rushing it through a course that lasted 18 hours straight, the weekend before it was due,” senior Justin Sleep said. While a method prac-ticed by many, procrasti-nation became especially prevalent for IB students, be-cause of their large workload.

“It’s hard staying on top of everything. If you let one thing slide, it piles up on top of you and becomes an ava-lanche,” senior Allie Bird said. The students worked hard to keep their grades up, manage their classes, and balance the overload of their challenging schedule. “I worked very hard and tried to do my best in every class. It’s hard because sometimes, despite how hard I worked, it felt like it didn’t matter,” senior Faith Thomas said. Nonetheless, many IB stu-dents have learned the error of their ways, and tried to overcomethe desire to put off their work.

By Caroline Tsai

<<Hard at work: Seniors Adam Cloonan and Taylor Brewer study IB Biology at a local Starbucks. They met at least once a week to review the previ-ously learned material from that week. photo by Jessica Leever

<<Define: Freshman Christa Yong copies down her weekly vocab list for her Honors English class. “Vocab lists are easy, I just make flash cards and I’m good to go,” Yong said. photo by Jessica Leever

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Easy As 1, 2, 3Students give their insight on how to write the perfect Extended Essay

Compile a list of fads and general information about the subject over summer.

Step 1You might want

to pick a topic, but it’s completely optional.

Step 1Ignore planning

the essay.

Step 1

Be told that none of your infor-mation is relevant and start over.

Step 2Don’t be Justin

Sleep.

Step 2Ignore creating

drafts of the essay.

Step 2

Panic and refor-mat the essay in the library the day that it is due.

Step 3Revel in your

work, and praise your new god.

Step 3Write the essay

while trying not to cry the Sunday before it’s due.

Step 3

<<Curtis Stokes, 12 <<Alese Sanders, 12 <<James Clifford, 12

“There are always going to be struggles, but as a whole, we’re overcoming the demoti-vation. This was something that wasn’t going away. We might as well learn now,” Thomas said. Despite the hardships, the students knew that work-ing to the best of their abil-ity was what truly matters. “I’ve learned that all it takes is all you’ve got. That’s how you succeed,” Bird said. Some students, however, disagreed with procrastination. “I have no moral opposition to procrastination. It works for me. Although ask me again after we get our Extended Es-say grades back,” Sleep said.

Pieces of champions

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<<Stiff-arm: Senior Clay Fisher stiff-arm’s a Millard South opponent while running along to score the first touchdown of the football season. Fisher had a total of 1,709 rushing yards this season. photo by Lyndsay Schroeder

Jeeva Venkatesh, 10Niran Balu , 10 Holly Hild, 12 Taylor Caniglia, 10 Kennady Thompson, 10

Through the daily practices over the summer under the intense sun,

prepping for that first game beneath those incandescent stadium

lights, we play on. During the season, the overly bright lights of the

pool during those 5a.m. practices, or the gym, glare on our season.

Yet the dazzling and brilliant feeling of hoisting that trophy top

those lost hours of sleep and free time.

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Pitching for the victory Girls softball team works towards the wins and comes back from the losses By Leigha Little

<<Home run: Junior Ashlee Murray gets ready to swing and hit the softball at the home match against Benson. Photo by Morgan Thompson

<< Pitch: Sophomore Jamie Fisher pitches her fastball to Freshman Abbey Schwahn during the game against Benson. The game was a nail biter with a final score of 4-5, Benson pulling ahead at the end. Photo by Morgan Thompson

<<Hey Batter: Freshman Jillian Potrzeba bunts during the Millard North vs. Benson game. “Being on the MN softball has been by far the best softball team I’ve played on,” Potrzeba said. Photo by Bekah Push

<<Fastball: Sophomore Keri Campbell winds up to start off the game against Millard West. “I love being pitcher because the whole team always supports you throughout the whole entire game,” Campbell said. Photo by Megan Donahue

<<Swing Batter: Junior Brenna Kirchhoff gets ready to hit the ball during the game against Ralston at the MN softball field. The Ralston game ended in a win for the Mustangs, 6-4. Photo by Morgan Thompson

Running, pitching, hitting. Dedica-tion, coordination, determination. All are words that define softball. It is not a sport that one can play alone. This year, MN’s girls softball team followed the lead of senior Christy Warnock. War-nock set an example of dedication and resilience, pushing through the problems that occured throughout the seasons. One of those problems was an injury. Warnock dislocated her shoulder at the start of the season and had to wait it out until it was healed. After Warnock came back, the team was complete once again. “The best moment in this season was when Christy Warnock started to come back after dislocating her shoulder. See-ing her hit her first home run since being in-jured was an amazing thing for our team to see,” sophomore Brenna Kirchhoff said. Another home run was made during

the successful game against Blair. Freshman Emma Hoffart hit her first home run of the season, resulting in the win of the game by six points. “Emma’s home run was a time for the whole team to celebrate. It brought everyone together,” fresh-man Ashley Meacham said. The home runs helped bring up the score of the game and helped add yet another win to the list of victo-ries that the Mustangs had acquired. After numerous practices, condition-ing, and preparation months ahead of time, the girls finished the season strong. With the JV team rallying up a total of 17 wins and varsity with 12, the sea-son had come to an end, and all of the players fully healed. The team worked through the injury of a player and still stayed positive throughout the season.

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Allie Bayless

Michelle Benda

Michelle, we are so proud of all you have accomplished so far! The sky is the limit! Never stop believing in yourself! And always smiling! We love you!

Dad, Mom and Patrick

Lauren Birkentall To Lauren, our beautiful daugh-ter—you are a gift from above. We love your laugh and artistic ways. You understand the feel-ings of others and stand up for what is right. You are what God wants you to be. Psalm 139:14

Much love,Dad, Mom, John and Jeff

Naomi Bishop Naomi... “Delightful”—“Pleasant”. The joy of my life. A blessing from God. The best daughter a mother could ask for. You are truly a gifted and talented young lady, I am honored to be your mother. I pray all your dreams and heart’s desires are met completely.

Love, Mom

Allie – What fun it has been to watch you become the free thinking, creative, beautiful young wom-en you are today. You truly are a gift from God. Always—dream big, do your best, play hard and fair, be a sincere and loyal friend.

Love you Always –Daddy, Mama and Keenan

Alexandra Bird

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Alan AlahmadDear Alan, You have brought joy to our life and have always made us so proud of you. You are a great dreamer and a great doer; work hard, never give up and follow your dreams knowing that we will always be there to support you. Love you much.

Mommy and Daddy

Neely AldyEvery day we are reminded of your kind heart, beautiful spirit and soul. Enjoy life as you build on your experiences and memories with family and friends. Blessed are those who have been and will be part of your life’s journey. We are very proud of our “bug”.

Love, Mom and Dad

Anthony Angello Anthony, We could not be more proud of you. You have been and continue to be an excep-tional son. We wish you all the joy and success life has to offer. Life’s a journey. Enjoy the ride!

Love Always,Mom, Dad, Maria, Ava and

Kano AonoKano,Congratulations on completing

your senior year of high school in the USA! You are so beautiful and brave and everyone here has fall-en in love with you! We know you will go on to do many wonderful things. We love you and will miss you when you go back to Japan.

Love, your Omaha Family; the Hodson’s

Christine AltilioTeeny, May you always love to dream, love to learn, love new experiences, love life and have love in your heart. We are your biggest fans and wish you many blessings and much success. Know you bring us endless joy. We love you!!

Dad, Mom, Sarah, Juila

Erin AlbrightErin, “There ain’t a cloud in sight...” May you always have Mr. Blue Skies.

Love and wishesYour Family

Sarah Alexander Sarah, When we grew up, it was common to be cursed with “I hope you have a child just like you”. You have given us such joy, pride, and happiness that we would bless you with the wish that you should have a child just like yourself.

Love,Mom and Dad

Luke AnnisLuke, We love you so much and are so excited to see where God leads you! Keep using your talents for His glory. He has blessed you richly! For you are my hope, O Lord God; you are my trust from my youth. Psalm 71:5

Love,Dad, Mom and Sarah

Blair ArcherBlair—We have been so blessed to have you as our daughter. We wish you all the happiness and success life has to offer. Reach for the stars!!!

Love you so much,Mom and Dad

Rachael Alvarez

Rachael, I’m so proud of you! May all your dreams come true. Work hard and never give up.

Love & Blessings, Mom

Sarah Bryan-BanikSarah, our lives were incom-plete before you came along. You taught us to love and cher-ish every day. You are such a beautiful young woman and we know you will go on to do great things

We love you,Mom Dad, & Deb

Amber, your smile and “giggle” have been infectious since the day you were born. We are SO PROUD of the young lady you have become and what you have achieved! We have no doubt you will be a success in everything you do.

All our love,Mom & Dad

Congratulations Allie Bayless! We know you’re headed for a bright future full of excite-ment. Remember to have as

much enthusiasm for life as this picture shows. And don’t forget style is always important... We are so very proud of you and will always love you bunches.

Love Mom and Dad

Chaylin Barten Chaylin- When I married your mom, I was blessed with a great stepson. We know you will be very successful in everything you do. Me and your mom are very proud of you.

We love you,Zak and Mom

Alex,We are so proud of you. All your dreams can come true when you have the courage to pursue them. If you can dream it you can do it. We are so excited to see what is next for you.

Love you!Mom, Dad, and Kaitie

Amber Bartling

Alexandra Beccard

We love our tuffmudder. Yaaaa family time.

Chaylin Barten