Hernando High School News700 Bell Avenue(352) 797-7015 December 2011

Volume 11 Issue 2

By Rachael JacksonEditor-In-Chief

Take a peek at what’s inside this edition:

Is Facebook Affecting Grades?Invisibility Cloak, is it Real?Big Cat Rescue Accusations

Harry Potter

The stand for the solar panels, eighteen in all, right behind the cafeteria almost finished being constructed.

Fluoridation in Water in FloridaWhat Are We Really Eating?Creativity of HHSSwim Team Recap

The Purple and Gold PressHHS Going

Green

Most people who do not live in Florida, or have nev-er visited during the fall, call our state the “Sunshine State.” But even Florida needs an efficient way to store sunlight when it is hit with bad storms. Hurricane Betsy, for ex-ample, killed seventy five people and destroyed 6.5 billion dollars worth of property and homes when it landed in 1965. It was the third most costly hurricane in the United States. Twenty years later in 1985, Hur-ricane Elena caused nearly one million people to evac-uate their homes, the largest peace-time evacuation in U.S. history. It is sometimes hard to think of Florida as anything but a dreary wetland when rain is constantly pouring during storm season. In 2009, the University of Central Florida came out with a grant for ninety

thousand dollars for a few schools to spend on so-lar panels. The grant also comes through SunSmart, a corporation that builds and distributes panels. “I’ve waited two long years for these panels, and we were one of the lucky few who were chosen for the grant,” Assistant Princi-pal Mr. Brent Gaustad said. Situated behind the caf-eteria, local businesses con-tracted through SunSmart

are building the frames to hold the panels up so they can start collecting the sun-light and turn it into energy. The energy the panels will be collecting will be mainly used as a backup for the caf-eteria, a registered shelter in Hernando County, in case it is being used when a hur-ricane or violent storm hits and knocks out all power and the backup generator runs out of fuel. But that is not the extent

of what the solar panels will do for the school. Tentatively, the solar pan-els will be up and running by November. When they are constructed, however, they will be plugged direct-ly into the main electricity supply. Although only a tiny fraction of the power stored will be used, it will some-what reduce the tremendous cost of running all the lights and appliances in the over-sized kitchen, saving the

district money they would be spending. Reducing bills is one bonus of having the solar panels, because what really mat-ters to the staff of Hernando High is the educational val-ue the panels contain. “I think the most important aspect [for the addition] is for science and math experi-ments and for the hands on lessons that can be taught,” Gaustad said. Taking heat measurements during different seasons and energy gauges only scrapes the surface of the interac-tive experiments students will be able to perform with the panels when they start to operate. “I think the solar panels are a great thing for the school to have. They should be fun to work with when they are running,” Senior Amanda Faunce said. The solar panels have been branded across the campus as a great opportunity and an open doorway to new and improved advancements Hernando High School is able to attain and use in the future, and has also become a source of pride.

NewsDecember 2011 Pg. 2

Magnets Can Cause Invisibility?By Tyler McBeeAssociate/Comics and Games Editor Invisibility is naturally a sneaky science, and it is still impossible to cloak a person from sight (as that would require either a large source of energy that can bend light around an object, or by making the person have the same refrac-tive index of air so that the body would not absorb or reflect light, causing the light to pass straight through said per-son). Both of these ideas are flawed in that if light is bent around a person then none would reach their eyes, so they would not see anything, and if the light passes through the person then the light would not be caught inside the person’s eyes and a sig-nal would not be sent to the brain, also inhibiting them from seeing anything. Scientists may not have been able to unlock the secret of invisibility, but they have gotten closer to making a sort of invisibil-ity cloak for magnets. The cloak is made by using a “superconductor,” a mate-

rial that can create an elec-trical flow to counteract the magnetic field when cooled close to absolute zero de-grees Kelvin (or -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit). If this temperature were higher

this innovation would allow people to keep the magnetic field of an object from exit-ing the superconductor and could be used on military submarines to allow them to navigate minefields without causing them to explode. While the superconductor would keep the magnetic field from being detected from the outside, it would also push any other mag-netic field on the outside away, thus giving away the

position. The solution to this is simple: the outside layer of the superconduc-tor needs to be coated with magnetic particles so that the outside field would flow around the object and not just repel from it, creating a magnetic “black hole”. This would allow a person with a pace maker to get an MRI without the pace maker be-

ing negatively affected by the MRI’s magnet or the image from the MRI from being affected by the metal in the pacemaker. The uses for this discovery are endless, the only thing inhib-iting the use of the magnetic in-visibility cloak is the fact that the superconducting

material needs to be so close to abso-

lute zero, which is extremely cold; too cold for the human body to handle. Advances are being made in this field, though, so the temperature that a superconductor can exist is getting higher and higher, so in a few years people with pace makers will be able to have an MRI or even cook with a micro-wave and people with metal in their bodies will not be in pain when walking close to anything magnetic.

A magnetic field pulls metals, but the superconductor nullifies that pull. Courtesy of Google Images

Steps To CollegeBy Hope StoutAssociate/News/Co-Entertainment Editor

It’s that time of year; time to start stressing about college. Being a senior, I have been going through the entire college application process. Really, the process started in the beginning of my junior year. I had to take either the SAT or the ACT (it’s good to sign up in the spring of your j u n i o r year so if you don’t do well, you can a l w a y s retake it in the be-g i n n i n g of your s e n i o r year). Af-ter taking the SAT or ACT, you can get an idea of where you’d like to be in regards to the Bright Futures Schol-arship, if you are choosing to stay within the state of Florida. Then comes the time to choose the colleges you’d like to apply for. Pick a few; just in case you don’t get in to your first choice. Over the summer, start ap-plying for any scholarships you can, and schedule visits

to your choice colleges so you can get a better idea of which one you really want to go to. In the fall, more scholarships become avail-able if you are a senior. You can apply to any that you qualify for, as early as pos-sible, so that you have a bet-ter chance of being selected.

The schol-a r s h i p p r o c e s s continues until the end of the year, be-cause new ones are a l w a y s p o p p i n g up around every cor-ner. Volun-

teering is another essen-tial part of this process for Bright Futures. Most peo-ple need a minimum of 50 hours to get the 50% bright futures. You need 75 for 75% and 100 for 100%. A good thing to do would be to start volunteering in your freshman/sophomore years, because by the time you hit your junior year; your ....Continued on p. 3

As students enter high school, they begin the long journey to gradua-tion.

NewsDecember 2011 Pg. 3

College Steps (cont. from p. 2)schedule becomes increas-ingly full, leaving no room for volunteering hours. Usually, people get jobs, have increased amounts of homework, and start taking DE classes, so getting the volunteering out of the way as soon as possible is really the best way to go. FAFSA and Bright Futures are the state federal aid pro-grams for Florida, which you will want to apply for coming December/January of your senior year. Before you can do that, though, col-lege admission applications are essential to have turned in. Usually the application fee is around $30 per appli-cation, and they are pretty extensive, so allow plenty of time to complete them. You might want to see your guidance counselor here at HHS to get your class rank and class percentile, as well as your weighted and un-weighted GPA. Before you send in your applica-tions (usually electronically through the college’s web-site) you need to pick up a transcript form in the front office, fill it out, and turn it in at least 2-3 days before you send your application in. This allows time for the transcript to be sent out and received by your college, es-pecially if it is out of state.

If you are a Duel Enroll-ment student, you’ll have to send over a PHCC tran-script as well. These are available in the main of-fices on any campus, and whoever is at the front desk will take them for you. If you are looking to graduate from PHCC by the time you graduate, or are 1 semester away from graduation from college when you gradu-ate high school, you might want to do a credit check with the guidance counselor at PHCC. For me person-ally, Vikki Devito was very helpful. Have whoever the counselor is print out your classes and tell you exactly which ones you still need to complete. Then, depending on your case, you need to pick up a graduation form (also in office lobby or avail-able from your guidance counselor at PHCC) and fill it out by the date posted on www.phcc.edu under the academic schedule tab. Once you send out your applications and apply for scholarships, the worst part is over; now you just have to monitor your scholar-ships and applications and make minor decisions like whether or not to live on campus at your school of choice. Best of luck!

Big Cat Rescue

By Tyler McBeeAssociate/Comics and

Games Editor

Big Cat Rescue has been around for quite a while and is a very trusted organiza-tion for saving abused and neglected large felines. The organization is so trusted in fact that they receive mil-lions of dollars every year in donations and grants so that they may care for the animals, maintain their fa-cilities, and continue their operations. What if, though, this organization was not as trust-worthy as the peo-ple thought? How could such a chari-table organization be considered devi-ous? Well, for starters, BCR has been ac-cused of breeding and bartering these large animals and giving them stories to “tug on peoples’ heart strings” in or-der to boost their standing. However, breeding animals you claimed you saved is noth-ing more than a lie, and, ac-cording to Channel 10 News the manager of BCR, Carol Baskin, bred and traded the majority of the cats in her “sanctuary” but she claims that the only way to end the neglect and abuse of these cats is to stop the trading and breeding; sounds a bit hypocritical. A volunteer at the BCR named Deborah Sandlin said that Baskin

was a “…Private collector who found a way to get the public to pay for her collec-tion…” Baskin is not only lying

about the way she acquires the cats, but also about the way they are raised. What’s worse is that she cannot even keep a consistent story and is caught in her own lies. A primary example of Baskin being caught up in her own lies is when she tells about how a young tiger by the well known name of Shere Kan is raised in the facil-ity. On the BCR webpage Baskin states that the tiger

was malnourished and its teeth were rotting and had to be pulled, but in a video Baskin tells the public how Shere Kan was raised in a loving and nurturing home where he was bottle fed and was cared for very well. One of these stories must be a lie, and given that Baskin hasn’t put off the honest vibe, the second story seems more likely. If one thought that BCR

couldn’t look any worse, they would be wrong. The USDA (United States Department of A g r i c u l t u r e ) cited the orga-nization in Sep-tember of last year and March this year for the quality of their holding pens. The containment areas had limbs and other debris

that the cats could easily climb on

and use to jump the fences, and this also would have allowed unauthorized per-sonnel to enter the pens. These issues could cause in-juries or deaths to both the people in the park as well as the animals. Things like that should not be allowed to continue, but they do be-cause of the soft spot people have for what they think are injured and abused animals.

Exotic cats like this tiger are being bred and traded by Big Cat “Rescue”.

Sweet PoisonBy Alaina AvirettReporter

Soda, pop, refresco, what-ever people call it, it’s downright good. The way it fizzes in the mouth, the

sweet taste; heck, even the commercials endorse coolness while drinking it. Some of us pretty much in-hale it, as Americans spend $12 billion dollars on it a year, downing an average of 2 cans per day. Two a day? Calculate that and it rounds out to about 730 a year. That’s a hefty dose of aspar-tame, phosphoric acid, ester gum, and sodium benzoate. Unless you’re a scien-tist, those words probably aren’t in your vocabulary. I mean, come on, aspartame? A chemical mixture that’s more easily called, FAKE SUGAR! Things such as this, Splenda, Sweet n’ low and high fructose corn syrup is all artificial and detrimen-

tal to the body and can be found in just about every-thing. Things as common as bread include high fructose corn syrup in the ingredient list. Although more harmful than HFCS, aspartame has made its way into (where the bulk of it goes) diet soda.

Aspartame was actually an accidental creation. A scien-tist was testing an anti-ulcer drug when he realized he had created a breakthrough solution; a crystal substance about 200 times sweeter than table sugar, according to www.sciencebasedmedi-cine.org. It was then lightly tested, certified and deemed as a sugar substitute. Cheaper than real sugar, the substitute was added in over 5000 food items. Mostly, those that state they are “sugar free” or contain “zero calories” is because it is both sugarless and with-out calories. Sounds like the perfect discovery, right? What the FDA didn’t want

consumers to know is what it actually does to the body. Aspartame, like other fals-ies, is not natural, is created in a lab, and does terrible things to the human body. It converts to formalde-hyde once inside, ruining one’s metabolism,increasing weight gain, and, in some cases, causing anxiety at-tacks, according to snopes.com. It has even been known to cause more serious issues such as birth defects, brain tumors, and, from more re-cent studies, has been linked to death. Yes, death. But why haven’t we heard any-thing about this? Well, there are two main reasons. The first being lack of aware-ness. Aspartame-caused dis-eases are not reported like plane crashes, and the FDA tries to keep the limelight off of related stories as much as possible. Secondly, in a nutshell, money; millions of dollars are saved by adding cheap sugars to items, no matter the sacrifice, according to shakefit.com. Feeling duped yet? Not saying a soda once in a while isn’t okay, but just think about the amount of false sugars in those 730 so-das; that amount will really add up! Most may not believe this, but it is indeed true. As-partame is nothing to joke about.

PotassiumBy David DudleyDouble-Truck Editor

Often times the typical teenager can neglect or even flat out forget about essential vitamins and minerals. The only nutrition that seems to be taught to teenagers is di-rectly connected to market-ing: calories and fat. This can be fine for the normal teenager who doesn’t need as much fuel and vitamins. Unlike the typical teenag-er an athlete, in order to in-crease, or rather maximize, recovery rates after a work-out, potassium is needed. Potassium will help regulate heart function, reduce blood pressure, help maximize the absorption of protein, and even create muscle fuel out of glucose. Potassium is an intracel-lular, positively charged ion which, when entering a cell or muscle fiber, acts like a battery. Suddenly, with the potassium compound inside, a cell can communicate and function with an electrical impulse, which is respon-sible for muscle contraction and heart and brain health. Some foods that are high in potassium are actually grown right here in Florida, such as bananas and orange juice. Orange juice has al-most double the amount of potassium which would be

in one banana. Potassium is an intracel-lular, positively charged ion which when combined with sodium acts like a battery. Suddenly with the potassi-um compound inside, a cell can communicate and func-tion with electric impulses which are responsible for muscle contraction and heart and brain health. If someone lacks potassi-um symptoms such as nerve and muscle dysfunction, confusion, vomiting, and heart rhythm disturbances can occur. A banana a day can keep the doctor away. Remember this and stay healthy my friends.

December 2011 Pg. 4OpiNiON

A banana, a key source of potassium: Google Images

Diet soda, a main item containing aspartame : Google Images

December 2011 Pg. 5

Slip a DiskBy David DudleyDouble Truck EditorOne of the worst and most frequent injuries in high resistance sports such as weight lifting is a slipped disc. Slipped discs are basi-cally a condition where the disc that helps absorbs re-sistance in the spine ends up breaking away. The disc’s gel like substance that is a major reason for the disc’s efficiency in absorbing re-sistance, escapes through the rupture or break. This causes immediate pressure on the surrounding area. The reason this is so bad is there is nothing but nerve tissue there. The spine is right along with the main roots of the body’s nervous system. So

any pressure being forced along that system will cause immense pain around the area and even anywhere be-low. This is followed by a weakening numbness of lig-aments and organs around or below the slipped disc. In order to treat a sliped disc injury, depending on the severity of the pain and numbness a person may either end up right in the emergency room or in mi-nor cases, prescribed low activity for several weeks. In order to prevent slipped discs it is important that in any sport, the athlete stretch-es and warms up. While performing always, always, always practice good form. There’s no way you’ll get better with a bad back. Try as hard as possible to avoid this. A ruined back could possibly cease any activity.

MilkBy David DudleyDouble Truck Editor If I were to go right to the point of this article, I would simply say that if you want to drink milk for strong bones, drink RAW milk or nothing at all.

I’m no natural health fanat-ic, but what information I’ve stumbled across contradicts everything milk commer-cials try to get across. North America and Europe have the highest rate of osteopo-rosis in the world. Yet at the same time the United States and Europe pride them-selves in being some of the most modern as well. With modernization comes cows and it turns out we drink the most dairy of any country in the world. If “Got Milk” is suppose to make bones stronger then why does the US and Europe

account for 51% of all os-teoporosis cases, according to the international osteopo-rosis foundation, despite all this milk consumption?The reasoning behind it all is pasteurized milk which is basically everything in the super market’s supply, is actually acidic. Raw milk is

a base and when you drink pasteurized milk your body goes through acidation.Acidation basically means the body is not in its proper PH level and must use al-kaline from the skeleton in order to restore proper PH levels, thus negating the calcium effects. I guess for this instance, the all natural way is the cor-rect way. And for the young women and men hoping to fortify their bones, ignore the “Got Milk” ads. A great idea is to try to buy milk from the farm. This is the key to a clean cup of milk.

Master of Words

By Rachael JacksonEditor-In-Chief

An x-ray showing a slipped diskGoogle Images

A carton of milk, not all as it seems: Google Images

OpiNiON

Almost all have heard of him one way or another by now; whether by his You-Tube videos, their friends, or even television on Comedy Central or Netflix. Bo Burn-ham has climbed his way to fame using his humor and flippant tongue to ensnare people with laughter and cunning, and at age 18 he became the youngest person to record a Comedy Central

special. Burnham started out playing the piano and the guitar in his room, singing along with lyrics he invent-ed and posting the recorded videos online in 2006. Now, little more than four years later, he is becoming one of the most recognized people in America. Though most songs do not appeal to the older generation, particular-ly the one with children, his vulgar songs are laced with sarcasm and subtle enten-dres that makes you won-der what he’s really talking about. His most popular songs include “I’m Bo Yo,”

“Oh Bo,” “New Math,” and “Words, Words, Words.” Burnham has his own web-site, depicting him eating the stuffing of a teddy bear sitting on the floor, with an “About Me,” photos, tour schedules, merchandise, and a blog he writes in when he gets some down time. Bo Burnham has played in four movies and was recently cast in the movie “Hall Pass” as the bartender. He will surely be featured in more as they arrive. Burnham is a fast ris-ing star that is getting more recognized with time.

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FeaturesDecember 2011 Pg. 8

Facebook Obsession?By Katherine AdamsEntertainment Editor Perhaps the most over mentioned topic is that of Facebook – it even makes its appearance in high school newspapers. It is like a ninja, stealthily sneaking into people’s conversations, lives, and even in the films. It’s printed on bags of po-tato chips and has posters. Facebook is everywhere, inescapable even, a perma-nent part of our daily lives, and it shows no sign of fall-ing from people’s radars. Created in 2004, by 2007 Facebook was reported to have more than 21 million registered members gener-ating 1.6 billion page views each day. According to mashable.com, studies show that a normal teenager spends an estimate of thirty-one hours a week online. That equates to about four and a half hours every day. Teenag-ers generally frequent sites such as Youtube and social networking sites. 96% of students are owners of Fa-cebook accounts. Social media can create an optimistic impact on stu-dents’ sense of self within a community. It gives teens a boost of confidence to feel well-liked by their peers. However, negative effects abound. Students who hit the books while simultane-

ously using Facebook dis-cover multitasking leads to their twenty percent lower grades than their more fo-cused peers. Facebook has proven harmful to one’s GPA. Students who are Fa-cebookers generally have GPAs at least .5 points lower than people who have yet to be ensnared by the addictive drug that is Facebook. Anyone who has an ac-tive account on Facebook is willing to admit that while visiting the popular website, one is inclined to lose track of time until hours have gone by and gone down the drain. That is valuable time that could have been spent in studies completely wast-ed. According to mash-able.com, Facebook users only study about one to five hours per week. If you use Facebook regularly, you know exactly how this site

can be addictive, always up-dating your status, checking on others, bragging about yourself, or just mingling with strangers. Facebook puts a variety of powerful options on your fingertips and you are hooked. Not only do grades suf-fer, but students might ac-tually end up feeling more depressed or lonely. Almost half of students believe they are sadder than their friends on Facebook, and twenty-five percent of students have shown signs of severe depression in their status updates at one time or an-other.

Today it seems everybody is using Facebook.Image courtesy of Google Images.

ATTENTION STUDENTS:Would you like to see something published in the school’s newspaper?Well here is your chance.Ms. Poggi (in room 28209), Rachael Jackson (Editor-in-Chief), Tyler Mcbee (As-sociate Editor), and Hope Stout (Associate Editor) are taking story ideas from you!The school newspaper is mad for you, so get involved and speak your mind about what you want to read.

FeaturesDecember 2011 Pg. 9

Most people, when asked what fluoride is, respond by saying something similar to “it’s that stuff you use to clean your teeth”, or “it’s that mineral in our drinking water to prevent cavities.” These assumptions would be correct. Fluoride is a mineral that will prevent tooth decay and promote a healthy mouth, but the problem is that the fluoride in the water is not the natu-rally occurring fluoride. According to a documenta-ry on naturalnews.tv called The Fluoride Deception by Mike Adams, the executive director of the consumer wellness center (consumer-wellness.org for more infor-mation), what we are drink-ing in our water is actually a mixture of hexafluorosilicic acid and sodium silicofluo-ride, both are byproducts of the phosphate industry. Due to the phosphate ore having a great deal of fluoride con-tamination, the rock has to be mixed with sulfuric acid and the fluoride that comes off of the ore comes off as silicon tetrafluoride, which is a highly toxic gas. This gas used to be released into the air, but then wet scrub-bers were installed in the smokestacks in order to catch the gas and contain it to prevent it from reach-

Kill Me Oh So CleanlyBy Tyler McBeeAssociate Editor

ing the environment. This helped save the surround-ing area, but now what to do with the waste? The EPA declares the chemicals

toxic waste and they cannot be dumped into the oceans and lakes, so the companies slap a fluoride label on the containers and send them to water management plants to be dumped into the water as a sort of mass medication for the population. The chemicals do have fluoride in them, it’s true, but the combination of the other elements is harmful to the human body. To give an

example of how combina-tions of elements can be to-tally different from the dif-ferent elements that create them look at salt, otherwise known as sodium chloride, which is a mixture of so-

dium and chlorine, both of which can kill humans if ingested separately, but to-gether they make up some-thing that humans need to survive. So just because fluoride is in these toxic wastes doesn’t mean that they would be good for humans, or anything, to in-gest. Shocking surveys have been done on how fluoride affects the human body and

these surveys have shown that the fluoride actually negatively affects the brain. According to a wnd.com ar-ticle by Michael Carl, fluo-ride has been statistically linked to a drop in IQ and

a study in China entitled “Fluoride is an IQ Killer for Children”, being just one of many done, proves this by taking a long term experi-ment on 512 children be-tween the ages of eight and twelve from two villages more than 50 miles apart. One village was given a very minimal amount (0.36 milligrams per liter) of the “fluoride” in their water while the other was given

the dosage that would nor-mally be dumped into the water supply of an American city (2.47 milligrams per li-ter). The study showed that the village with the minimal amount of fluoride had 28% of its children score above average on IQ tests, but the high-fluoride village had a staggering 15% of its chil-dren develop mental handi-caps. The main argument that many people will produce to support fluoride would be that doctors and dentists recommend fluoride for a healthy mouth. These peo-ple are not wrong. Fluoride would be helpful to people, but what they may not know is that the “fluoride” that we are getting is not really fluoride. Recently, Pinellas County voted to stop fluo-ridation for the county, thus joining with Pasco and the majority of Hernando coun-ty. There are others as well who have found the truth behind fluoride and decid-ed to act. The only place in Hernando County that has fluoridated water is Brooks-ville; so all of the readers that live in Brooksville and are drinking city water can buy a reverse osmosis fil-ter in order to purify their water, or buy distilled or bottled water (Nestle brand actually uses reverse osmo-sis in order to purify their water) and prevent all of the pseudo-fluoride from enter-ing their bodies.

eNtertaiNmeNtDecember 2011 Pg. 10

Harry Potter Series RecapBy Stephen SkipperOpinion Editor

Die-hard Harry Potter fans are anxiously awaiting the new website, Pottermore, for an interesting, unknown, mag-ical world that can be enjoyed right alongside the seven New York’s Best Seller books, Har-ry Potter. Author J.K Rowling has constructed this new web-site with a small team of de-signers who are making more of her amazing ideas come to life. To date, there are approxi-mately one million people with access to the new world through The Magical Quill challenge, which started July 31st, 2011. With the Beta version out, there has been a phenomenal amount of activity. Originally,

the plan was to let the Beta version run until the end of September, but Pottermore In-sider says that with the soaring amount of activity, it is affect-ing the rate at which new us-ers can be brought in. The new release date for new registries and accesses is not specified. Insider also warns that access may be granted quickly, but it all depends on the demand of the people. Feedback from the Beta has been great, and the creaors are excited to have it out for ev-eryone. So for all people registered, or hoping to register, keep a look out for more updates, improvements, and advance-ments!

Harry Potter is a set of sev-en books about the trials of Harry Potter during his years at Hogwarts and his struggles against the evil Lord Volde-I mean He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who was bested by an infant: Harry Potter. Now, Harry must deal with his edu-cation and enemies. However, Harry is not alone; joined by his best friends Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger. The magic began with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone to us in America). The story tells of how eleven-year-old

By: Rachael JacksonEditor-In-Chief

Harry Potter came to know his mys te r ious history and the shocking r e v e l a t i o n of what he really is: a wizard. The story fol-lows him to his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraf t and Wizard-ry, where a dark force of Harry’s past looms in plain sight.

Harry Potter and the Cham-ber of Secrets tells of Harry’s second year, but this year is

different. Something is attack-ing the s tudents , and if the perpetra-tor is not c a u g h t , Hogwarts will close f o r e v e r . The only hint to f i n d i n g the culprit is hidden w i t h i n the secret

past of the trio’s friend Hagrid, gamekeeper of Hogwarts. Next is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, one of my personal favorites. This tells the story of Harry’s third year, and the escape of sup-posed killer and maniac Sirius Black. As the year goes by, Harry begins to learn the truth of Black and his role in the death of Harry’s parents. The following year brought my all-time favorite install-ment; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Harry’s fourth year is upon him, and there is a dark and sinister plot in action. Mean-while, Harry must deal with a legendary tour-nament with each task more deadly than the last. This novel is my favorite. The plot is riveting, the humor is endless, and the dialogue consuming. If only one book can be read (I don’t know how) it should be this one. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the longest book in the series, is a good one. Harry begins his fifth year on a sour note, already being threatened with expulsion. Fifth year at Hogwarts means examinations, and everybody is stressed. How Harry can deal with these tests and most students calling him crazy is a mystery to all. This book be-gins a new era; only getting better from here. Sadly, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince doesn’t live

up to its predecessors. Now that everyone accepts that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, everyone is wary. This book is probably my least fa-vorite. The plot doesn’t have a good mixture to it, the story itself moves slowly, plus it includes one of the saddest moments in the history of the Harry Potter collection. The book itself is still good, just not as exciting and thrilling as the others. Finally, after 10 years of

enjoying Harry’s story, the finale comes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, a truly amaz-ing end to a truly amazing series. The book tells of the trio’s journey to find and de-stroy the source of You-Know-Who’s power and defeat him once and for

all. This final installment is the definition of “finale”. It culmi-nates everything that has hap-pened over the series and fin-ishes it in one final volume. The Harry Potter novels all add up to a truly enjoyable se-ries, with laughs, love, and ev-erything in between. It doesn’t matter if you are a fantasy-reader; this series is one that will fit everyone’s desire in a book. This collection may have received some critical re-views from certain groups, but honestly, it doesn’t feature any true witchcraft, just magic. I feel sorry for any bibliophile who has not read this set of amazing books. Happy read-ing!

“a truly enjoyable

series, with laughs, love, and every-

thing in between.”

Harry Potter is one of the most popular books series of all time.

spOrtsDecember 2011 Pg. 11

Swim Team of Hernando for 2011By Hope StoutAssociate EditorThe HHS swim team has made a giant splash this year, with a nearly unbeatable record, long lasting friend-ships, and tons of hard work that has really paid off. The team has swam greatly. All members have agreed that the swim team is almost like a family; though there are times of drama, at the end of the day, everyone has each others back to support and encourage them forward. All of the swim meets are progressive, meaning that they build upon each other as everyone races towards districts, which is fast ap-proaching. Although the meets don’t determine if each individual person is

going to be moving on to district levels, they serve as an illustration of what is to come, and how prepared each particular swimmer is. Each swimmer’s dedi-cation only grows stronger with each practice and swim meet, as they push them-selves further and further each time. Improving speed and time are essential, as well as working on personal drive and motivation. “The hardest part of this season for me was not only finding unknown strengths, but also working my hard-est to make them stronger,” senior Eli Ebbecke said.For Mika Rotunda, also a senior, the cold weather and water temperatures were her biggest challenge.“My personal challenge was my ability to swim when it’s

cold.” My body just can’t handle those cold tempera-tures!” Rotunda said. Her toughest meet was against Bishop, for this very rea-son.“The temperature in the pool had dropped a significant amount, and suddenly my arms and legs felt as though I had submerged myself into an arctic tub.” Despite a few obstacles to overcome, the swim team is a perfect place to build per-sonal strength that helps all aspects of life. With each mile that a swimmer accom-plishes, they build mental perseverance and physical drive, leaving a very strong sense of accomplishment for all participating in the intense workouts. Each swimmer enjoys a certain aspect of being on the swim team. For Rotunda, faith was the driving force behind this unstoppable team.

“I really appreciated the huge presence of God and faith on the team. Before every meet we all gather in prayer and are sure to give all glory to God.”Whether it is faith, team-work, personal responsibil-ity, or improving strength, the swim team is an in-spiring experience to hear about. Rotunda has a word of advice for those looking to join:“I would advise you to come prepared to work hard, have fun, prove a lot to yourself, and to expect some serious tan lines.” Ebbecke also recom-mends the swim team to anyone. “Swimming not only works every muscle in your body and makes you feel refreshed, but it is something you will want to do for the rest of your life. It is a great way to get in shape, challenge yourself, and when gaining the ex-perience I now have, it is easy to make great friends, Ebbecke said. “One of the greatest things about being on the swim team is that it doesn’t matter how strong you are, or how skinny, be-cause everyone is welcome as long as you can be dedi-cated to the sport, and the team.” With memories, as-pirations, dreams and hopes like these, the swimmers of the 2011 Season are bound to lead great lives and be great wondrous people.Mika Rotunda, senior swimmer for Hernando High School. Source unknown.

HHS’ Baskbetball ScheduleBy Taylor SpearsSports Editor12/06 7:30 PM-9:30 PM Tavares (Tavares, FL)

12/09 7:30 PM-9:30 PM Dunnellon (Dunnellon, FL)

12/13 7:00 PM-9:00 PM Crystal River (Crystal River, FL)

12/15 7:30 PM-9:30 PM Central (Brooksville, FL) JV Game at 6:00 PM

01/17 7:30 PM-9:30 PM Dunnellon (Dunnellon, FL)

01/19 7:30 PM-9:30 PM Central (Brooksville, FL)JV at 6:00 PM

01/20 7:00 PM-9:00 PM Crystal River (Crystal River, FL)

01/24 7:30 PM-9:30 PM Eustis (Eustis, FL)Eustis H.S.

01/26 7:00 PM-9:00 PM Wesley Chapel (Wesley Chapel, FL)Wesley Chapel High School

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HoroscopesLibra (9/23-10/22):

Be confident about the fact you’re making progress - even if you’re not sure.

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What’s your hurry? Events on the horizon aren’t going anywhere. Live in the moment.

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