volume 37 number 5

8/6/2019 Volume 37 Number 5

1/8

N

ORSE

MA

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Brya

nHighSchool

APRIL2008

Volume37,Number5

The

Features pg. 2

In-Depth pg. 3

Opinions pg. 4-5

Sports pg. 6

Entertainment pg. 7

Games pg. 8

Whats inside...

Principal Hernandez

Viking Myths Viking Athletes

Game Page

Tiffany Torres

Editor

The Viking computer science team

and seniors Charles Hermann and Tay-

lor Colwell placed in the Regional Aca-demic UIL meet at Baylor University in

Waco, TX.

Colwellplacedfrstin readywriting

and will advance to State competition.

He really impressed me because

getting frst place in ready writing is

an awesome accomplishment, said

Stephanie Connor, advanced place-

ment English III teacher and Colwells

coach.

Colwell also placed frst in readywriting and third in literary criticism at

District held last month at A&M Con-

solidated High School.

Colwell had English III with Connor

during his junior year.

Its enjoyable to interact with kids in

a different setting and to get to know

them in a different way rather than in a

classroom, Connor said.

This is Colwells second year com-

peting in Academic UIL. Next year heplans to attend Reed College in Port-

land, OR.

I simply love literature and I love to

write, Colwell said.

Now Colwell and Connor are prepar-

ing for State competition at Baylor on

May 2-3.

ForreadywritingIcantreallyfnd

a way to prepare. I just write all thetime, he said.

Senior Steven Brelsford also ad-

vanced at District and competed in Re-

gionals.

Brelsford competed in computer sci-

ence and science events and is attend-

ing Texas A&M next year.

Java is a practical language, he said.

He sees the knowledge he has learned

in UIL computer science as a resource-

ful skill to use after high school.Biology teacher and Academic UIL

coordinator Colleen Holmes enjoys

creating a bond with the students and

teachers that participate in the pro-

gram.

Like learning, its a chance to know

kids outside the class and work with

teachers that are very dedicated so I

enjoy their enthusiasm, Holmes said.

Just having the kids comitted and

come participate on Saturdays is thehardest.

But she said she is looking foward to

next year and sees the improvement the

program is capable of succeeding.

I hope next year well get up to sec-

ond place overall because we were 26

points away, Holmes said. Im proud

of all the events. They all did very well,

she said. I think we have a lot of im-provement to do, but for the most part

we ought to do very well [next year].All District Award Winners

Darius Alexander - 2nd place Poetry

Interpretation; Vanessa Bracken - One

Act Play Honorable Mention; Steven

Brelsford - 2nd place Computer Sci-

ence; Taylor Colwell - 1st place Ready

Writing and 3rd place Literary Criti-

cism; Jonathan Cullen - 4th place Cur-

rent Issues and Events and Spelling and

Vocabulary and 5th place Social Studies;

Kathy Davila - 4th place Computer Ap-

plications; Chelsea Downey - 6th place

Editorial Writing; Grace Gage - One Act

Play All-Star Cast; Charles Herrmann

- 2nd Place Computer Science and Sci-

ence, alternate in Chemistry and Phys-

ics; Logan Kickham - 5th place Edito-

rial Writing and Headline Writing; Scott

Lovett - 1st place Accounting; Matt

Luedke - 5th place Computer Science;

Brandon Nichols - 4th place LincolnDouglas Debate; Rafael Pena - 6th place

Poetry Interpretation; Elizabeth Ramirez

- 3rd place; Reed Williams - One Act

Play Honorable Mention.

Vikings place, advance to State competition

VikingVoices

What do you

enjoy the most

about this

spring?Allergies.

- Mrs. Nowak

teacher

Graduation.

- Jazmine Alcantara

senior

The physical ftness

test ... just kidding.

- Caitlin Quinn

junior

The weather.

- Jamarius Davis

senior


2/8

Page 2 April 2008

Cole Roberts

Jessica Cooke

Staff writers Growingupwithnormalparentscanbeboring,

butimaginehavingaGrammyaward-winningart-

istasafather.

ThatsallIknew,growingupmusic,Assis-

tantPrincipalIkeHernandezsaid.

HernandezsfatheristheGrammy

award-winingTejanoartistand

leadsingerofhisbandLittle

Joe y La Familia.

Thegrouphas

beennomi-nated ten

t i m e s

and has

w o n

t h r e e

awards.

Hernan-

dez has

m o v e d

a r o u n d

Texas andw o r k e d

his way through different avenues of the educa-

tional eld until he found himself working at Bryan

High. Iworkedasanat-riskcounselorinGeorgetown,

Igota degreeinpsychologyandthisjobfellinto

placeforme,hesaid.

Hernandezdidntalwayswanttobea principal.

Hestartedplayinginstrumentsatayoungageand

carriedhismusicaltalentalongwithhim.

WhenIwasten,Istartedtryingtogetmyown

bandtogetherandby12Ihadaband,hesaid.

His dreams of being a musician slowly faded

awayashebecameolder.

I had a band based out ofWacoandtheytraveledalot,but

IcouldnttravelsoIgaveitup,

Hernandezadded.

AlloftheseeventsledMr.Her-

nandez to his position at Bryan.

IloveworkinghereandIdidnt

planonithappening,butImglad

itdid,hesaid.

Hernandez described his fa-

therssoundasdifferent.

Youmaythink[Tejanomusic]all sounds the same, but theyre

totallydifferent,Hernandezsaid.

Little Joe hasbeenperformingsince1956andhas

kept his title as King of the Brass over the years. Ithinkwhathasmademydadsosuccessfulis

thathehaschangedhissoundthroughthegenera-

tions, andalso hisstage presence, saidHernan-

dez.

Despite his fathersstrugglesgrowing up, he

managedtobecomeoneofthetop sellingTejano

artistsofalltime.

Heonlyhadaseventhgradeeducation,hewas

acottonpickerandcamefromadirtpoorfamily,

Hernandezsaid.

Hernandezsfatherspasttrou-blesledhimtothecreationofchar-

itygroupsaroundtheUnitedStates.

(He)hasagroupcalledTeachthe

Childrenthatgivesschoolsupplies

tostudentswhocantaffordit,he

said.

EventhoughHernandeziscurrent-

ly employed at Bryan High School,

musicisstillaverybigpartofhis

life.

Istillplaypianoandwritesomestuff.Ilovemusic.Ilistentoitcon-

stantly; itsmy hobby, Hernandez

said.

Principal Ike Hernandez.

Need Money For College?

Scholarships

Grants

Loans

Were here to help you

Phone: 979-845-3236Website: fnancialaid.tamu.eduMySpace: www.myspace.com/tamufnancialaid

2nd Floor PavilionPO Box 30016College Station, Texas 77842-3016

Grammy award-winning, Joe Hernandez Principal Ike Hernandez

Viking men in tuxedos

REMINDERThe2008PromwillbeattheCollegeStationHilton,

801UniversityDr.E.,at9p.m.to1a.m.onMay17.

AssistantprincipalsrootssinkdeepintoTejanomusic


3/8

Page 3 April 2008Unsolved mysteries of Bryan HighChelsea Downey

Cole Roberts

Staff writersTheyve been called tarot cards, those lady-

poster-thingies, and what are you talking about?.

But what are they really?

Individually the murals hanging in silver cafete-

ria symbolize Academics, Leadership, and Service.

The Senior Class

of 2002 decided

that they wanted

their class gift to

be unique.

They commis-sioned local artist

Russell Reid to

design and create

a set of murals.

A c a d e m i c :

Shows the Olym-

pian goddess

Psyche surround-

ed by thirteen

birds and three

branches. Seven birds on her right hand and six onthe left.

These birds stand for the liberal and technical

arts; namely arithmetic, astronomy and the vari-

ous ne arts, and architecture is separated as both a

technical and ne art and is the bird in ight.

Leadership: (Veritas - Latin for Truth) Holding a

watch, she upholds the idea that truth is linked with

time, hence the theme of time revealing truth.

Truth is shown as the gure of Fortitude (the lady

in the tapestry), her left hand resting on a globe sig-

nies that she is above the common world.

Her crown reminds people that victory is alwayshers. Beside her is a plum, a symbol of the mea-

surement of truth.

Her right hand rests on a sword, a symbol of

power, signifying the wielder dispenses justice.

Service: (Caritas - Latin for charity) Displays the

Christian ideal of

love in the gure

of Charity.

The ame is a

metaphor of the

love of God andof earthly charity.

She is depicted

with a candle in

her hand, offering

faith and service.

S t a n d -

ing beside her is

a young girl, as

an allegory of the

child of charity

and a secular aspect of faith and the state of trust.Behind is a moonlit scene of the ocean, repre-

senting the third element of water and night. The

ocean is also an allegory of touching all parts of the

earth with charity.

These murals depit the qualities teachers desire

in students, yet they have mainly confused students

over the years by their presence in the silver cafe-

tiera.

Hopefully, some of the mystery is now solved.

Other Viking myths and rumorsDo you believe there is a

basement in Blue campus?

87% Yes

13% No

Do you believe that i teachers

dont arrive to class in ten

minutes you have the

right to leave?

86% Yes14% No

The uneasy eyesof our Vikingancestors.

juniorVantrice Skillern

Three of the greekmuses that have to

do with education... ask somebody

else.

juniorAli Porter

Traits that Vikingstudents shouldpossess.

sophomoreChris Ehresman

FALSE - Nowhere inthe student handbook

does it say this is a rule.

RUE - Te base-ment was previouslythe band hall beorethe current fne arts

building was built.

Academic Leadership Service

What do you think the murals in the

silver cafeteria represent?

Yes

No

Yes

No


4/8

Page 4 Opinions April 2008

ByChelsea Downey

ByLogan Kickham

JustDoIt.

Thatsaysitall. Nikesfamousadcampaignthatbeganmanyyears

agospeaksformorethanjustathletics.

Itseemslikeeverywhere you turnlatelypeople

havea problemwithsomething.Schoolisjusttoo

hard.Whatnext?

Today,peoplecomplainaboutthethingsourcoun-

trywasfoundedon.

I just dontunderstand it. Kids dropping out of

schoolforexample,whatssohard?

Educationisaprivelageandyoutakeitforgrant-

ed.Peopledonteventry. Ifyoucanthandleyourworkloadinhighschool,

thereisabsolutelynowayyouwillmakeitlaterin

life.

Use thistimewhen the stakes arentso highto

learnsomegoodworkhabits.

Ithinkthisfeelingofentitlement toamore self

centeredlifebe-

gins much ear-

lier than most

peoplerealize.

Whenwebe-gintocomplainaboutsomethingassimpleasclean-

ing our rooms, wewastemore time complaining

than actually xing the problem, which is clearly

whatmostadultsaredoingtoday.

Theworldneedspeoplethatarewillingtoactually

makea change,insteadofjusttalkingaboutdoing

it.

Inmyopinion,wearesurroundedwithpeopletell-

ingusthatitsokaytoquitsomethingifwedont

likeit,orifitstoohard.Ifparentswouldmakekids

stickthingsoutthatwouldbetheattitudeofthema-jorityin thiscountry. Insteadof complaining,and

quittingwhenthingsstopbeingfunkeepgoing,it

willteachyoulessonsthatmayonedaybeuseful.

Theworldwillneverbeperfect.Itwillneverbe

fair,nomatterhowmuchwewantittobe.

But what it can be is lled with people trying to

bethechangethey

wishtoseeintheir

world.Ifyoudont

likethewaysome-

thingis,thereisal-ways a way to x it.

It maynotbesomething youarewillingto do

yourself,butifthishappenstobethecasethenyou

havetostopcomplaining.

Wecantjustsitaroundwaitingforsomeoneelse

to x the things we hate, if they do in fact bother

usasmuchaswesaytheydo,thenitsuptousto

modifythem.

Ring!Ring!Ring!

Actuallyitsmostlikely:MiseryBusinessbyPar-

amore.

InrecentyearsthenumberofcellphoneownersintheUShasincreasedfromabout4.3millionin1990

toroughly254milliontoday.

Theseportablecellulardeviceshavebecomees-

sentialtoourlives.

Cellphonescanbeuseful,confusingorjustplain

annoying.Likeanythingelse,italldependsonwho

youareandhowyouusethem.

Cell phones have begun to dene our lives. The

searchforaperfectringerIDorringbacktoneisas

important aspickingthat newMySpace/Facebook

defaultpicture. Somepeopleoptforthesubtleinstrumentaltunes

toalertthemofcalls;otherspickspecialsongsthat

remindthemofacertainsomeone.

Other uses or multi-talented

Ifyourelikeme,thenyoucheckyourcellphone

forthetimebeforeeventhinkingaboutlookingata

clock. Its the rst thing you grab in the morning,

andthestuffedanimalyousleepwithatnight.

ArecentSprintsurveystatedthat2/3ofpeoples

cell phones have started to replace the ashlight in

somesituations;mainlybusandpursesearches.

Shorthand to L33t Sp3@k

Texting isan addicting habitnow, and kidscan

evenparticipateinspeedtextingcompetitions.

IalsoheardthatawomaninJapanhasbeenwrit-

ingstoriesonhercellduringherdailytrainrideto

work.Nowtheyrebeingpublished!

EveryoneknowsoftheshorthandIMtermsweall

usewhentextingtogetthemostacrossina10char-

actermessage. Lol,ttyl,g2g,brbandh/ohavebecome

thisgenerationsshorthand.

Unlessyouhavetheaggravatingpredictivetext,or

T9 and actually gured out how it works.

Theyre not toys

Many parents choose to give their elementary

schoolchildrencellphonestokeeptrackofthem.

Theseparentsmayhavegoodintentions,butgiv-

ing6and7year-oldkidscellphonesisabsurd!

Thesekidscantdrive,theirfriendscantdrive.

Theirparents arewiththem inthemorningandrightafterschool,andwhentheyrenotwiththeir

parents,theyreatschooloratafriendshousewith

mostlikelyalandlinenearby.

Also,thesekidshaveabadhabitofcarelesslylos-

ingordestroyinganyexpensiveitemsputinreach.

Theydontyethavetheknowledgetoseethatthe

cellphoneshouldNOTgetwet,shouldNOTbetak-

entoplayinthemud,andshouldnotbeleftinyour

lunchbox.

Sometimes too mobile

ForthoseofusinthegoodolUSofAwehavea

majorproblem-carsanddrivingwithacellphone.

If youhavea caryou need acell phoneascar

phonesarealmostnonexistent,butdrivingandtalk-

ingonacellhasbecomethemostcommoncauseof

adistraction-drivencrash.

Itsawin-losesituationtohaveacellphoneand

car,becausehavingacarmeansyouareawayfrom

homeandlandlines,butyoualsoincreaseyourrisk

ofacrashbytalkingonacellwhiledriving. The ideal situation: drivers pull over and stop

whenevertheresacall,butweliveinreality,and

thisisrarelyanoptioninourfast-pacedworld.

Drivers need to nd a safe balance between pre-

ventingcrasheswhiledrivingandstillstayingcon-

nectedtotheworldthroughtheircellphone.

Thoseofyouwithcell phones,enjoy them,but

dontendangeryourselfwhendrivingbybeingun-

abletohangupforafewpreciousminutes.

Keepkidsbelow7thor8thgradeawayfromcell

phones,theycanbarelycleantheirrooms,letalonekeepa$200deviceinonepiece;someofusteenag-

ersSTILLhavetroublewiththatlastone!

Forthesmallgroupofyouattemptingtoremain

abovethecellphonecraze,youllbesuckedinsoon!

TTYL.

Thegood,thebad,andtheannoying

Waitinontheworldtochange...

Wecantjustsitaroundwaitingfor

someone else to x the things we hate...


5/8

April 2008 Opinions Page 5

Bryan High School

3450 Campus Drive, Bryan, TX 77802

Volume 37, No. 5

EditorTiffany Torres

Assistant Editor

Logan Kickham

Staff

Jessica Cooke, Ruth Dearman, Chelsea Downey, Cole Roberts,

Kennesha Wilson, Courtney YBarbo

Adviser

Rebecca Dominy

Theopinionsexpressedarethoseofthewritersandarenotreectiveoftheadministrators, faculty or staff of Bryan Independent School District.

Submissions to the editors are welcomed, but must be signed and should not

exceed 300 words. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions in the inter-

est of clarity and length or to not print a letter at all. Letters containing obscene

or libelous material will not be considered.

Bryan Independent School District does not discrimitnate on the basis of race,

religion, color, national orgin, sex or handicap in providng education services.

N O R S E M A NThe

ByRuthie Dearman

The other day I heard that the never-ending

story ofAir Bud, a successful movie from thelate 90s, has been continued with the 6th se-

quel, Snow Buddies, and that two more sequels

will be released in the next year, Space Buddies

later in 2008 andAir Amigos in 2009.

Now, Im not sure about the rest of the US

population, but I am sick of sequels ruining

movie classics.

I stopped bothering with the Air Budseries

after the third one, Seventh Inning Fetch. Dogs

who play baseball?

You have got to be kidding me.

Dont get me wrong, Im all for sequels that

are good.

Ive seen everyHarry Pottermovie and I still

havent gotten tired of them. And if the writ-

ers and directors ofSawdecidetomakeafth

movie,Illbetherstoneinlinetoseeit.

But when movies like The Santa Clause,

Bring it On!, Scary Movie, High School Musi-

cal, and Shrekare all being continued with third

and fourth sequels, Ive had enough.

All this sequel nonsense became

popular withBack to the Future, which be-

came a trilogy, Honey I Shrunk the Kids,

and the scarily huge number of 14 Land

Before Time movies.

I truly believe that most of the only

good movie sequels have been the ones

that were once book sequels, such as Lord

of the Rings.

I personally think that cheesy sequels

ruin good movies.

What was with Pirates of the Carib-

bean 3? They could have at least made it

make sense. The Cutting Edge was a great movie, but ABC

is making a third sequel, where instead of creat-

ing a new unique story, ABC is taking the same

plot line and just switching around the charac-

ters.

Come on Hollywood; at least be creative.

Whats worst, is when movies are made into

TV shows.

Instead of just leaving a great movie ending

where it is; Hollywood has to mess everything

up by making good movies such as My Big FatGreek Wedding, Clueless, Lilo and Stitch, and

the Emperors New Groove into usually unsuc-

cessful and corny television programs.

Im really sick of Hollywoods lack of cre-

ativity.

Instead of creating monotonous sequel after

sequel and ruining our favorite classic movies,

they should just make up new stories to make

movies.

Hollywood, enough is enough Lets get physicalEvery student, freshman to seniors, will eventually be

forced to put their althetic ability (if they have any) on display

to a variety of coaches and peers.As everyone probably knows by now, the Texas Education

Agency adopted FitnessGram as a collective assesment of in-

dividual Texas schools.

Each student will be tested on aerobic capicity (1mile run),

body composition (calculated by height and weight), abdomi-

nal strength and endurance (curl-ups), trunk extensor strength

andexibility (trunk lift), upper body strength (push-ups,

modiedpull-upsorexedarmhang),exibility(testedby

the back-saver sit n reach or shoulder stretch).

The state has been passing law after law, with no consider-

ation of the students or the schools time.Students are already busy enough, they dont need to worry

abouttakingatnesstestthatwontmatter.

If this test must be administered, their should be time alloted

for it during school hours.

Noteveryonecancomeafterschool totakeatnesstest

required by the State. Students that did not attend at least one

testing day will be pulled out of class May 6th-9th.

Thosewhochosenottocomeduringtherstweekshouldnt

have to be penalized by missing class when they should be

preparingfornals.

They were able to make accomodations for the bus evacu-ations, so it is clearly able to be done when the school feels it

is important enough to miss educational time.

Just because the school doesnt want to lose their time, stu-

dents shouldnt have to compensate by coming after school.

Either way, the State will get what they want. They will

know the athletic ability of each and every one of us and there

is nothing we can do about it.

So if you havent given in yet, grab your sweat bands and

your tube socks and take a few laps.

-- Norseman Staff


6/8

Page 6 April 2008

Jessica Cooke

Staff writer

Thebaseballteamstartedoffthe

season strong and now halfway

throughtheseasontheyarestron-

gerthanever.Witharecordof17-2

the Vikes are in rst place in dis-

trict.

They lost a lot of seniors last

year, but thats not stopping the

team from dominating on the eld.

Starting pitcher, senior Sean

Weatherford,saidthathehas

a lot of condence that they

can advance into post season

play.

We started off pretty strong

and were playing real well

right now. I think we have

a chance to go deep into the

playoffs and go to state this

year,Weatherfordsaid.

Before they can focus on

the post season they must face

Consol at Bryan. They are

hoping that having the home

eld advantage will help them

pull out another win.

I think we will do pretty

well. We faced off against their

number one pitcher, so I dont think

they have any pitching, Weather-

fordsaid.

The last time the Vikes played

Consol,theycameoutwithaclose

victory with a score of 2-1.They

know they are going to have to

work just as hard to pull off anoth-

er win and move one step closer to

the playoffs.

Kennesha Wilson

Staff writer

Following in her parents footsteps, Pash Mooreis sprinting her way into colleges hearts and show-

ing her love and devotion for her sport through her

determinationtowin.

Moore is currently a senior on the varsity track

team,whereshehasbeensinceherfreshmanyear.

Pashs motivation came from one place: My

parents, because they also ran track when they were

inhighschool.

Moore runs in three events: 100 hurdles, 300 hur-

dles, and they 4x100 relay. During the entire trackseason, sofar, shehas only lost oneeventwhich

makes her and the team very proud.

Theteam isonebig family,andattimessome

people can act as individuals, but were all really

close, Moore said.

Track isnt just people racing each other at their

quickest speed and getting timed, its about people

runningtheirheartsoutandshowinghowmuchofa

great competitor they really are.

Thetrackteamslastmeetwillbedistrict.

Im condent, but Im nervous at the same

timebecauseitdetermineswhosgoingtore-gionals, Moore said.

Moore had several colleges look at her, and

after reviewing all the offers, Moore has cho-

sentoattendSamHoustonStateUniversity.

Its going to be difcult because when I

leaveImgoing tohave tobond withnew

people in a new area, its going to be very

different, butIm ready for thechallenge,

Moore said.

As Moore looks to her future in the collegeathletic program she sees the Bryan High

program continuing to grow.

She pinpoints Shelby McGee and Marissa

Perry as being good future leaders on the

track.

Track is something Moore really enjoys

and plans to do throughout her college career.

Looking at the underclassmen, Moore just hopes

they focus on the heart of the sport and has this mes-

sage for them:

Work hard your freshman and sophomore year

anditwillshowhowmuchtrackmeanstoyou.

Ruthie Dearman

Staff writer

The varsity and junior varsity tennis

teamshavebeenverysuccessfulthisyear,

and the players agree that it has been a

goodseason.

Ithasbeengoingwell,wemadeitto

Regionalsinthefall,whichissomething

we havent done in a long time, sopho-

more varsity tennis player Madison Fran-

zesaid.

Thevarsitytennisteamwonsecondin

district during the fall, placing right be-

hind A&M Consolidated.

The star players for the varsity team

thisseasonhavebeenjuniorJackieShro-

der and senior Josh Pownall according to

Franze.

Even though tennis is an individual

sport Franze said that she sees the team

like a big family and junior varsity player

Dakota Hickman agrees.

We practice together and we gure out

eachothersgamestylessoyouhaveto

know each other, especially if we have to

team up to play, Hickman said.

Like all sports, tennis requires commit-

ment and sacrice.

Tennis is very time-consuming and

it takes a lot out of you. It denitely in-

terferes with school sometimes, so its

tough,Hickmansaid.

While tennis can be time-consuming

and sometimes difcult, the sport teaches

youtostrivetobebetterandlearnteam-

work.

Yes, teamwork denitely, and working

together,Hickmansaid. The coach is

alwaysonus,sowehavetolearntolisten

wellandnotgetmad.

Franzeagreedthatoneofthekeycom-

ponents to conditioning was not only

physical training, but psychological train-

ing.

Youbuildmuscles,andyoulearnhow

to control your temper. Because tennis is

allonyourself,youlearnhowtobecalm

insituationsthatmakeyoumad,Franze

added.

During the district spring meet three Vi-

kingsadvancedtoregionals.

Junior Matt Hillestad and senior Brady

Atkins nished second in boys doubles.

Junior Michael Martin also advanced in

boyssingles.

Overall the boys placed second and the

girls placed third at district spring tourna-

ment.

Senior Pashe Moore extends her leg as she

clears the hurdle.

Leaping to new heights: Moore races to the nish

Swingbatter,batter! Vikings tennis stir-up a racket

Senior Sean Weatherford warms

up before the game.


7/8

Page 7 April 2008

Rowling casts spell on new generation of readers

Whos on top at the box ofce

Logan Kickham

Assistant editor

Soon to be a series of timeless classics, the Harry

Potter phenomenon

burst into the

entertainment

world withthe release

of the rst

b o o k ,

H a r r y

P o t t e r

and the

Sorcerers

Stone in the

summer of

1998.

The book gar-

nered instant

attention and

the following of

a loyal audience

from nations across

the globe.

When rst in-

troduced, Potter

is an eleven-

year-old English boy that has been completely out-

cast from his adoptive family.

Harry has been locked in a closet since he arrived

and at his aunt and uncles and they have given his

cousin Dudley everything he ever wanted. This lasts

only until Harry receives notice that he is a wizard

and has been accepted into Hogwarts: School ofWitchcraft and Wizardry.

Dont let the name fool you, though. These are not

tales from an author trying to convert the minds of

young children around the world.

It is merely a story about adventure and adoles-

cence. Truly, this is the only negative attention the

series has ever received. But this was only until

critics actually read the books and understood the

authors intentions.

This is solely the account of a boy with a gift try-

ing to nd his way, just like every other teenager,

with the exception of learning to experiment with

spells and other trivial things of the sort.

Harry must experience troubles with friends, study

for exams, and manage to nd a way to cope with the

horrible murder of his parents by the wicked Lord

Voldemort. He spends much of his time at Hogwarts

trying to avenge their death.

Behind all the magic wands and underneath the

invisibility cloaks, lies the mind that created this en-

chanted place, world renowned authour J.K. Rowl-

ing.

As a child growing up in England, Rowling and

her sister bounced from one imaginary story to the

next. This opened many doors along the way and

challenged her to constantly create new ideas.

Later, Rowling was presented with a much big-ger challenge, raising her daughter on her own. As

a poor single mother, the author came up with the

idea of Harry Potter, which quickly evolved into an

multi-billion dollar franchise.

Today, Rowling is the richest woman in England,

and last summer the she completed the nal chapter

of Harrys adventures.

The fth movie recently came out on DVD, but

fans were in for a shock when Warner Bro. an-

nounced that the seventh book would be made into

two separate movies.

Whether you were a devoted fan from the begin-

ning of it all, or you have just discovered a sudden

interest in potions, spells and ying brooms, this is

an adventure for people of all ages.

So run to Barnes and Noble and pick up a book,

or if thats not your style, rent the movies and have

a night in.

I promise youll fall in love with the boy with the

scar.

Jessica Cooke

Staff writer

Anne Hathaway known for her work in The Devil Wears Prada

is back with her stubborn sense of humor in her newest and what

some say, her best movie,Becoming Jane.

Based on a true story, the movie follows the life of beloved

writer Jane Austen and portrays the real-life romance that inspired

her classic novels. Austen (Hathaway) is unwilling to marry for

money even though her family is nancially struggling.

Her family and friends try to introduce her to many wealthy

men but she wants something more. Later, she meets an Irish

rogue, Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy, The Last King Of Scotland)

and cant stand being in the same room as him.

After realizing they cant live without each other, their love

blossoms therefore creating the inspiration for one of her greatest

novels of all time,Pride and Prejudice.

When I went to rent the movie, the cover made it seem like it

was just another love movie, but looks can be deceiving.

Even though I had heard from others that it was really good, I

disliked the movie. In my opinion the movie was hard to follow

and was boring.

Its probably because I like action and drama movies, so it was

kind of hard to sit through, a two hour movie that I didnt enjoy. I

have to admit the ending wasnt what I thought it would be. That

was the probably the only part of the movie I didnt think wasbad. James McAvoy did a great job in the movie, though I am

sorry to say this is denitley not Anne Hathaways best movie.

Courtney YBarbo

Staff writer

Seth Rogen, Jim Carey, and Steve

Carrell sounds like a cast to a newKnocked Up, 40-Year-Old Virgin or

something of that humor, but its actu-

ally the cast to the new, clean, kid-friendly

animated movie,Horton Hears A Who?.

Carey, who is reconginzed for his work

in Bruce Almighty, or the classic Ace

Ventura pet detective, is the voice of

Horton, the loveable elephant who

nds a world of people living on a speck

of dust.

He comes in contact with the mayor of Who-

ville (Carrell) and realizes he has to nd a safe

place for the tiny speck.

Horton sets off to nd a stable home to save

Whoville.

Hortons neighbors refuse to believe any-

thing can live on a speck, the most notorious

of them all is kangaroo (Carol Burnett) who

talks Vlad (Will Artent), an evil vulture, into

destroying the speck. Horton runs into the

Vlad several times trying to nd the safest

place for the citizens of Whoville.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Whoville is having

trouble explaining to everyone that their worldis nothing but a speck, and that an elephant is

trying to save them from a dangerous life in

the jungle.

I took my little brother to the movie and de-

spite the age difference, I was surprised how

much I enjoyed the movie.

Horton Hears A Who? continues the tradi-

tion of the books and animated movies from

the classic author Dr. Suess.

The movie had familiar voices that kept the

humor light-hearted and provided a great op-portunity for kids and adults to see together.

Hathaway Becoming?


8/8

Page 8 April 2008

FlowersAprilUmbrella

Sunshine

Birds

EasterGarden

BlossomShowers

Planting

MothersDay

RainMay

Outside

Spring Crossword

The Game PageSpring Time

Answers:Aprilshowers,

bringMayfowers

15butterfies

Code Puzzle:

april showers,

bring may flowersKey:

a b c d e f g h i j k l

abcdefghijkl

m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

mnopqrstuvwxyz

How many butteries

can you fnd?

volume 37 number 5

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