‘Tis the holiday season and for most people, this is their favorite time of year for a multitude of reasons. Whether it be the lights, the baked goods, a fire in the fireplace and hot cocoa to drink or the sheer presence of Christmas-the caroling, putting up the tree, setting up the nativity scene, decking the halls with boughs of holly, everyone knows the drill. It’s such a simple answer as to what really is the reason for the season. Christmas wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the religious as-pect. Even without religion though, many people still recognize it as an important holiday and cel-ebrate accordingly. The controversy arises in public schools; referring to the break as “Christmas Break” rather than “Winter Break” and having “Christmas” parties in classes becomes a question of combining church and state and some people have issues with that, especially this time of year. Many call it “The War on Christmas”. Granted, there are other religious holidays this time of year, including Chanukah and Kwan-za, but Christmas is the most widely accepted and yet it is the most touchy subject among public schools. Somehow, even though many people request the presence of ALL religion in public schools to be stripped out, many things still slip by without a fight. “It’s a contradiction. If there should be no religious aspect to Christmas, why do we still play Christmas music and the like?” expressed a substitute teacher in WPUSD, Miguel Olivo. Even some people who don’t necessarily believe in the religious part of the holidays still see how important it is to keep the religion around.

Brett Dargan (Senior), who claims no religion, still believes the religious aspect is proper. “I think that religion has always played a part in Christmas holidays and I don’t think people should take it away because it’s always been religious, it’s not ever going to not be religious.”

ZT Garlic.................................. Page 2/3

Christmas Lights...................... Page 6 Reflection on 2012................... Page 10 Bachelor/Bachelorette............. Page 12

By: Stephanie Wilcox, Editor in Chief

Rules Against Religious Christmas Celebration in Public SchoolsThe “War on Christmas”

Word has it that the next school year is going to look different than it does now. Yes, it is true, but not entirely different. The school district has to cut money, as usual, but not many know how this will affect schools just yet. ZebraTales got in on the chase to flush out the story and interviewed Lincoln High School’s Principal, Jay Berns, about the future budget cuts and possible schedule changes. Berns stated, “The district looked at our schedule and said, ‘Hey, right now you have year-long classes in the trimester- some A.P. classes, right?’ We have Honors Anato-my and Algebra classes- some that are year-long. Right now, that is not financially sustainable. We can’t afford to keep doing it.” Staff and Administration then looked at what

schedule would be best for kids to be successful as well as college and career ready. The choices were trimesters; what the school currently has, or semesters. “There are positives and negatives in both schedules. However, good teaching is good teaching and there is no perfect schedule,” com-mented Principal Jay Berns. Trimesters, however, allow a larger availability of classes, therefore providing more opportunities for students to take more diverse classes. In a trimester, students aren’t restricted to only fulfilling A-G requirements. On the other side, teachers feel rushed because of the short 12-week trimesters compared to a semester schedule. Tara McCroskey, an English teacher at LHS, commented on semesters, “You can look down (as a teacher) and see a student’s weak-

nesses, and then make sure that during the course of the year I target those things.” Joe LaRussa, a student at Whitney High School, talked about the semes-ter schedule, “I like that I have more consistent classes, and a lot of class time; I have four classes that switch every other day.” Sara Rosales, also a Whitney student, further explained how the semester schedule helps her,

“I focus more instead of rushing things. I don’t have to get a new schedule all the time, which is very convenient for the office and the counselors.” The switch to a semester schedule seems to be inevitable. The question becomes, what schedule? The LHS teachers and administration have been meeting to determine the best bell schedule for ev-eryone. The list has been narrowed to a seven peri-od day or an eight period day; both would include rotating blocks. The teachers voted Monday, De-cember 17 on the details of the new schedule and the majority favored the eight period day schedule. Students would attend all eight classes one day a week, four classes two days a week, respectively. The details still need to be ironed out. Some students at LHS are quite happy with the move to the semester schedule; “It would be better now that my teachers can help me,” commented Brandon Bagwell (Sophomore). Freshman Class Secretary Niccole Barnett sees pros and cons with a possible modified seven or eight period block

Change Is Tough The Transition to a Semester Schedule By: Cleo Sanchez, Reporter

Continued on Page 11...

Original Artwork By: Josue Ayala, Art Department

Continued on Page 11...

December 21st, 2012. According to popular belief, The Mayans have foretold this to be the end of the world as mankind knows it, as seen by the aptly titled documentary, 2012, directed by modern day prophet Roland Emmerich. There are many dissenters of this claim, most vocally, the Mayans. The Mayans, who have been living in Portugal for the past few centuries (for reasons currently unknown), have multiple higher-ups in their organization who are displeased with the “apocalyptic slander” that they’ve been receiving. Current Mayan High-Priest Zuul was unable to give a coherent interview due to a language barrier, but he was kind enough to summon feathered serpent god-creator Q’uq’umatz in his stead. “You mortals have it all wrong, with your pathetic accusations and puny fleshy bodies!” says Q’uq’umatz, his plumage shaking with rage. “You see, men of the limited knowledge, I am a serpent. An immortal God-serpent, yes, but a serpent nonetheless. I don’t have hands.” After a thor-ough examination by the Zebra Tales Garlic staff, Q’uq’umatz’s dubious claim has been confirmed; he, in fact, has no hands. “Even you can see how holding objects can be difficult when you’re handicapped as I am”, continued Q’uq’umatz, seeming-ly unaware of the pun he had just made, “and my followers are merely men, I can’t expect them to just up and know how to hold a calendar!” An unfortunately snide Garlic reporter was able to quip, “From the top first, feathe-” before being smitten into ash. After a short intervention period of staring at the ash, then at Q’uq’umatz, then at the ash again, the Mayan deity continued. “It’s as the pile of cinders has spoken, calendars are supposed to held from the top while being read, and my followers seemed to have been unaware about that bit of information.” After a series of even more conde-scending and passive-aggressive insults, it has come to light that the calendar was held upside down, and that the true end of the world will be held during the year 5105. “I’m not really surprised about the mistake”, continued Q’uq’umatz, “you mortals tend not to be the sharpest lot.” When asked about the rumors that the Mayans had made contact with alien life, Q’uq’umatz replied with “That is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard” before dissipating back into the aether.

Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Santa Claus; no matter what he may be called, nearly everybody on Earth knows the jolly poster-boy of the Christmas season. However, the bewhiskered home-invader received some discouraging news this week. Santa Claus was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus type 2, otherwise known as adult-on-set diabetes. Claus announced the diagnosis at a recent press conference held at the Claus Manor stating, “I’ve been doing this for hundreds of years. The cookies and milk is sort of a vocational requirement for me. I guess it just finally caught up to me.” Rough estimates place the total amount of cookies consumed by Claus every Christ-mas at around 340 million. This, added to the nearly 95 million glasses of milk downed by Claus, places his yule tide calorie intake at around 38 billion calories, or, about 104 million years’ worth. Claus’ doctor Phil Gausewitz was also interviewed and said con-cerning Santa’s health, “The fact that he’s still alive is, in itself, a Christmas miracle.” Gausewitz went on to say, “There isn’t enough insulin in the world for what this man tries to accomplish every year. He’s going to have to make some dietary changes if he hopes to keep this up.” A very worried and disheveled Mrs. Claus blamed herself for Santa’s health woes claiming, “I feel terrible. Every winter I make him meal after meal because the kids expect a plump Santa. He looked like skin and bones! I had no idea what was actually going on.” A representative from Claus’ group of Christmas advisors implored households all over the world to offer more healthy snacks to Santa saying in a press conference, “It would be much appreciated by those who care for Santa’s health if parents and chil-dren can set out healthier options such as rice cakes or ants-on-a-log. Also, water or a zero calorie sport drink of some kind would also be great for keeping Santa hydrated throughout the night; although, skim milk would also be acceptable.”

Santa Claus Diagnosed with Type-2 Diabetes

Mayans Reassure PopulaceEnd of the World MisreadBy: Zane Dean, Ordained Minister

Many archaeologists missed the “This Side Up” symbol on the Mayan Calender, mistaking it for a prediction of the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1908.

That time of year has arrived, and Frosty the Snowman has come alive again! However, the merry holiday mascot was interviewed this week, and a surprising rev-elation about Frosty’s family life has come forth. Frosty and Crystal the Snowmen’s 14 year old son Chazz is desperately lacking in Christmas cheer. Frosty stated in a very candid interview, “Chazz lives with his mother, so I don’t get to see him often. But I’m getting worried that he isn’t interested in taking up the family business of spreading Christmas cheer! He told his mother he wants to be a rapper!” The differences between Chazz the Snowman and his parents are fairly apparent. After being brought to life with a magical OBEY cap, Chazz does not utter his parent’s legendary catchphrase “Happy Birthday,” but instead offers the much more lackluster slogan, “YOLO.” The irony of a magical snowman that is brought back to life every year living by this motto seems to be lost on him. Frosty’s ex-wife Crystal was also interviewed, and in response to Frosty’s state-ment said, “I know where Frosty is coming from, but he can’t live through Chazz. As parents we have to support him in all his decisions… even if the decision is to try to be a gangster rapper.” This is not, however, the first scandal involving the Snow-man family. Just last Christmas, Chazz was spotted with what appeared to be a tattoo of a cross with barbed-wire around it on his arm. This was believed to be given to him by his step-father, Steve, who is a tattoo artist. However, gossip subsided after the tattoo promptly melted off a few days later.

Frosty Dissapointed in Son’s Lack of Christmas CheerBy: Levi Thomas, Assistant Editor

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS SATIRE! DO NOT TAKE ARTICLES SERIOUSLY, SERIOUSLY.

By: Levi Thomas, Assistant Editor

2

In the North Pole, the National Labor Relations Board, also known as the NLRB, is filing a lawsuit against Santa Claus. The reason is that his elves face horrid working conditions, in addition to wages that are far below the minimum. “It’s like walking into a sweatshop that’s made of gumdrops and tastes like joy… in a bad way,” claims Francis Grinchly, an undercover Who and self-pro-claimed hater of the whole Christmas Season (but don’t ask the reason), who is responsible for publicizing the Elves’ plight. “I hope he gets what’s coming to him.” Santa, however, denies these charges. In an official Tweet, Santa wrote that “The working conditions are in compliance with North Poleian code, and what the elves don’t get in actual money, they get in Holiday Cheer.” In addition to Holiday Cheer, the current biannual wages include “a candy cane, a soft yeti hair, and two Prussian Francs.” Santa is confident that the public will see things his way, but will have a panel of lawyers defending him. The prime argument seems to be “C’mon, I made you guys toys!” During this time, the Elves (who refused to comment on the matter) are on leave, and the factory is being run by soda-addicted Polar bears who are report-ed to have owed Santa a favor. Christmas Day remains on schedule.

We’ve all heard the tale of Rudolph the “Red-nosed” Reindeer; he had a very shiny nose. The song tells of how Rudolph was ridiculed by all the reindeer until Santa found a use for him. It seems that as with elephants, a reindeer never forgets. Rudolph was recently contacted by the ACLU with an offer of help to build a case against the sleigh team after the story spread of the harassment from the rest of Santa’s sleigh team named “Santa’s Sleighers” (who are also a professional hockey team in the Canadian League). The team is being charged with hazing, such as not allowing Rudolph to join in reindeer games, dressing him in one of Mrs. Claus’ dresses and having him run through the elf sweatshop, and stealing soda from the homeless polar bears living just south of the Sleighers’ practice yard. The ringleaders of this most heinous crime and team captains, Donner and Blitzen, had this to say, “We wish to apologize about the whole incident, with-out Rudolph we would’ve been lost on that foggy Christmas Eve and we have a special team jacket ready for him.” But the ACLU isn’t ready to forgive (as always), when contact was attempted to be made with Rudolph about the incident our reporters were promptly turned away but were able to get an explanation from Rudolph’s lawyer, “My client is unable to report due to the emotional damage suffered at the hoof of these abominable creatures.” The case remains open so far and the outcome will likely rule in favor of Rudolph and the ACLU causing detrimental losses to the Sleighers (as there are rumors of criminal charges being filed against Donner and Blitzen) and team owner Santa Claus. Santa declined to comment on the matter due to recent investi-gations by the NLRB.

Dear Zaggy...*I thInk my boyfrIenD has a crush on my sIster. What Do I Do?*

If he’s the Alpha Male, he’s allowed to.

*I have trouble publIc speakIng. help!*

I can’t speak at all, I’m a zebra.

*hoW Do I knoW If he lIkes me?*

If he’s matured to mating age, he will put on an ornate display with his mane to attract you.

*I’m havIng trouble WIth bullIes pIckIng on me!*

Use your striped pattern to blend in with the herd so that the lion can’t single you out. It’s Zebra 101.

*are you anD ZIggy relateD?*

No, racist.

*Who maDe earth?*

Dylan Carson.

DIsclaImer: thIs Is satIre! Do not take artIcles serIously, serIously.nlrb busts santa for labor DisputeBy: Josue Ayala, Art Director

rudolph files Discrimination lawsuitBy: Kenny Marlow, News Editor

Zaggy the Zebra on his regal perch. Zaggy was born in southern Ethiopia and moved to America in 2009. He has an M.D. in Psychology and studied at Cambridge University. Photo By: Corinne Lewis, Reporter

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer meets with his attorney Herbert F. Bender (former elf) to discuss the terms of his lawsuit against the other reindeer. Photo By: Josue Ayala, Art Director

3

What Grinds My Gears

What really grinds my gears is the whole drama-bomb that happened on the popular site “Twitter”. For those who didn’t know, over Thanksgiving break, some anonymous person decided to create a Twitter account that posted inappropriate and rude tweets about other peo-ple. This single account sparked other people to create anonymous accounts, still bullying other individuals. Twitter was created for people to share what is on their minds or what they’re doing. I am very sure it wasn’t produced to give bad-man-nered people the right bully other people. I do believe that if two people have a problem, they should get together and work it out until the problem is resolved. I’m not saying to fight the problem out, but to act mature and figure out a solution. Also, if the problem is just between two people, other friends should leave it alone rather than adding extra fuel to the fire. More than numerous accounts were creat-ed over the break and of course, they were all offensive. I am sure that they don’t tweet as much as they did back during the break, but it makes me think that they formed their imma-

ture accounts because they had nothing else to do. People don’t have to bully other people just because they are bored. Cyber bullying is completely ridiculous. It just shows that the person has absolutely no courage to express their hate to the face of the one they’re bullying and also, if they’re doing it anonymously, it also shows they’re too afraid to actually reveal who they are so they don’t get themselves into some trouble. However, there were some decent things that occurred because of the rude accounts. A few people also believed that the bully accounts were ridiculous and de-cided to form accounts that displayed kindheart-ed tweets about individuals. I hope that the owner or owners of the offen-sive accounts learn their lesson which should be to “treat people the way you want to be treated” or “what comes around goes around”. To have a motivation to hurt someone verbally just to make yourself feel better both physically and mentally is completely absurd. Think about oth-er’s feelings before you post something that can possibly offend someone. That’s what grinds my gears.

Expressing Opinions Over Social NetworkingBy: Stephanie Wilcox, Editor in Chief

Cyber Bullying Heightened on TwitterBy: Alyssa Benzon, Reporter

Ask Ziggy

This is the United States of America and yes, you have the freedom to announce your own opinions. In fact, you’re encouraged to because that’s what this country is based on; the ability to practice your rights is a natural right in itself. In today’s world, social networking is astonishingly popular for stating one’s personal opinions. I get it, trust me, I really do. It’s easily accessed and a quick way to tell others how you feel, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s okay to express certain views. When I say “okay”, I don’t mean “legal”. It’s about what is acceptable and most importantly, respectful and respect-able. When people are outrageous with what they publicly say (or type for that matter) and bring down others for their beliefs, but don’t expect reproaching, it really just grinds my gears. Again, let me state that it is perfectly acceptable to express your own ways of thinking, but when it is degrading to others (meaning absolutely anyone in the world), it becomes disrespectful and therefore, unacceptable by all means. Bashing people for something they believe in, calling them stupid for their faith, beating up on someone for the way they were raised, just because it’s different than the way you believe or were raised does not make it alright. Facebook, Twitter or any public entity is not the place to “grace” everyone with your personal thoughts if they can be taken personally and could potentially hurt someone or start a pointless argument. On the other hand, if you go about your life not thinking before you act and post things that are controversial, then you have to be prepared for the uproar that comes along with it. Rude actions always come with consequences and certain opinions stated in a tactless and derogatory fashion will spark an enormous argument if not dealt with in the right manner. Of course world peace is something that is so highly unachievable because when we think that we can say whatever we want, we proceed to say whatever we want, and we end up at the pit of a fire that we weren’t prepared to put out.

Twitter “Facts” Not So Factual

Dear Ziggy, I have trouble with public speaking.. How do I overcome that? Signed, Laura

Dear Laura, I don’t speak, due to the fact that I am a zebra, but I think this is a problem that many people struggle with. The best thing you could do would be take some speech classes. You could learn how to overcome your fears and discover more confidence in your speaking. Best wishes and Happy Holidays! Signed, Ziggy

Dear Ziggy, How do you feel about the change to semesters for the next school year? Signed, Concerned Student

Dear Concerned Student, Change is tough, I know. It will be a difficult transition, but overall, I think it will be a good change. Many students have a hard time believing that, but it is all intended to help you guys in the future and the semester schedule does a good job at setting you up for success. I hope you will all see the benefits of the new schedule and learn to love it because it is truly meant to enhance the student’s education. Signed, Ziggy

@WTFCrazyFacts“That feeling of falling that suddenly wakes you up out of your sleep is medically classified as a mild seizure.”

Many people believe these Twitter facts immediately, because when would the internet ever steer you wrong...? We’re hoping to clear up some of the shocking misconceptions that

some Twitter accounts give out as facts..

While reading this, you might relate to your own experience and freak out, thinking you’ve had a mild seizure before, but don’t go calling your doctor just yet. If you decided to question this “fact” and do some research, you would find out that this is not true at all. According to scienceblogs.com, it’s actually medically known as a “hypnic jerk” and it is incredibly common. It is more likely to occur with those who have Restless Leg Syndrome, but is in no way something to worry about.

@FactHive“Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the Bible, and lions 150 times, but domestic cats are not mentioned at all.”

This fact may have also been believable. However, dogs have been counted 40-44 times in the bible, but it is true that the lion has been counted about 150 times and also that cats aren’t mentioned at all. Just remember, you can’t just believe a fact simply because it’s on the inter-net.

Look for more in the next issue of Zebra Tales!

4

Zane Dean & Brett Dargan Photo By: ZebraTales Staff

The Lincoln High Drama Department put on a rendition of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” and it’s a superb show! This year’s winter perfor-mance has topped both of last year’s productions in my mind. Led by two heart-wrenching performanc-es from Isaac Kelly (Junior) as Ebenezer Scrooge and Brett Dargan (Senior) as Bob Cratchit, this play really tugs at heartstrings and, upon glancing around at the rest of the audience, I noticed quite a few of the audience members wiping tears from their eyes. If you haven’t ever heard of “A Christmas Car-ol,” which I would assume everybody in the English speaking world has, it’s a story about the miser Ebenezer Scrooge who is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve. The spirits show Scrooge visions of the past, present and future, eventually resulting in (spoiler) his transformation into a kinder, more generous man.

Dargan who’s acting in his first play said, “I originally tried out because all my friends were doing it, but then I got a lead role.” Dargan went on to talk about the quality of the performances saying, “I think that opening night was far better than the second night.” Dargan also said, “We did a little something special for the last performance. The play ends with the cast singing ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas,’ but on closing night we did a soul version of it. It was a lot of fun.” Lincoln High’s Drama teach-er Danielle Duarte also played a huge part in making the pro-duction a success. Duarte was quoted saying, “I could not be a prouder ‘Drama Mama’. These kids have been working really hard and they’ve done a great

job.” It’s safe to say that anybody that went to see the play felt the same sense of pride. The emotional-ly powerful production has been put on beautifully. The Drama Department has one more production left this year, and word has been getting around that it will more than likely be a rendition of “Alice in Wonderland”. The play will be shown on April 19, 20, 26, and 27. If anybody is interested in trying their hand at thespianism, be sure to talk to Ms. Duarte before it’s too late!

Don’t Scrooge-Out on This ShowBy: Levi Thomas, Assistant EditorA Review on the Lincoln High School Play: The Christmas Carol

A Look Into the Technological FutureThe Cast of the Christmas Carol

Photo By:Lee Basham, LHS Drama Technical Director

A Preview of the LHS Tech Expo

5

Technology is a topic that is involved in every person’s life. Why not learn more about how technological advancements affect everyday life? While Bob Lyons, Director of Technology, was in Poland, he had experienced a Technology Expo which gave him a brilliant idea that he brought back to Western Placer Unified School District (WPUSD). The Technology Learning Expo in

2013 is a great way to learn about how electronics are involved in every aspect of society. The event will be held on January 31, 2013 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. and is free admission to attend. Lincoln High School will be hosting the event in the new gym on campus and all the schools in the district are attending with teachers and students presenting the technology they use in the classroom each day. The Expo is put on by WPUSD, but, according to Lyons, Lincoln High’s “ROP is a key piece. They do a lot of the organization. They design the programs, set up and take down; ROP is heavily involved.” The Technology Learning Expo usual-ly costs between $500-$600, but this year, Debbie Tofft, LHS Computer Lit and Journalism Teacher, wrote a grant to the Lincoln Community Founda-tion and received $500 to use for the expo. Troxell Communications is buying and donating pizza purchased from Old Town Pizza to any students and teachers who participate in the expo, while the Ray Morgan Company is printing posters and programs for free. The purpose of this Technology Learning Expo is to “showcase what’s happening in the classroom and get the information out in the community”, Lyons tells Zebra Tales. This year, the students are putting on the expo, and one student, Hope Yelm (Junior) shows her interest in the subject. She claims, “It’s way more fun to see kids present things. Adults…just don’t relate to us as well as someone our age.” The students demonstrating to all of the WPUSD attendants will elaborate on

what technology is being used in the classroom setting. “Parents will learn about all of the great technology present in our school system and how it is used to teach this generation....It’s a great pro-gram to get parents involved in their kids’ lives,” said Lyons. It takes a lot of volunteers to run the program, so Lyons is in the process of getting teachers from all the schools in the district to sign up to participate in the event. This year’s 2013 Tech Expo is a “must go” with free pizza to anyone who participates, more inter-actions from students and much more. One of the goals Lyons is hoping to achieve with this expo is to have more interactive displays. Even Jay Berns, Principal of LHS, is enthusiastic about the event, “I like playing with everything there; it’s fun to see the look in the eyes of the children and even the adult’s eyes.” Zebra Tales, LHS Live, and Good Morning Glen Edwards will all be at the expo this year to document the activities going on as well as demonstrating how they create their broadcasts and newspapers. Lyons went to a Tech meeting Tuesday, Decem-ber 11th, 2012 where he announced to different school districts his idea of expanding the Technol-ogy Learning Expo. Lyons has advertised his idea to Chapman University, William Jessup Universi-ty, and Sacramento State. With this in mind, Lyons hopes to expand the Technology Learning Expo so the new generation will be able to connect with the tech world on a whole new level.

By: Alicia Ilaga and Kathryn Mercier, Reporters

Festive Houses Located around the Lincoln/Rocklin area that showcase their Holiday Cheer!

Photos By: Kory Kessinger, Jasmine Smith, Photo Editor, and Debbie Tofft, ZT Advisor

Most Charming

Young In Love Silliest Geese

James Pallas (‘13) & Courtney Jones (‘13) Alyssa Benzon (‘14) & Robert Ramos (‘15)Caitlyn Jacobs (‘16) & Michael Edwards (‘16)

Holiday Date Ideas

1. Bundle up and take a trip to the local ice skating rink.

2. Do your part and volunteer at a local soup kitchen or old folks

3. Crank the holiday tunes and spend an evening baking festive treats! (for ideas, see recipes on pg. 9 )

4. Take a stroll through the winter wonderland light display located at the corner of Fowler and Fruitvale Road.

5. Slip on your coziest christmas pajamas and have a Christmas movie marathon.

These festive date ideas are sure to fill you with holiday spirit!

Anniversary: April 1, 20123 words to describe your relationship:

Comfortable, Happy, Fun. Favorite thing about each other: Smile.

Favorite thing to do together: Watch movies. What are your plans after graduation?

“We both plan on attending college and staying together.”

Anniversary: July 27, 20113 words to describe your relationship:

Loving, Long Lasting, Silly. Do people take you guys seriously as a couple? “They tell us we won’t last, but we just brush it

off.” (Edwards)

Anniversary: April 11, 20123 words to describe your relationship:

Warm, Easy, Priceless.Most embarassing moment together:

“When I started crying because I pulled out Robert’s Pokemon game while he was in the

middle of playing it. Everyone laughed at me.”

Created more than ten years after the start of the original trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is an amazing addition to the film rep-ertoire of Peter Jackson. The film is stocked full of spectacular CGI, a phenomenal cast, and, of course, a wonderful story from the world that cap-tivated audiences for years. The story unfolds with Bilbo reminiscing about his adventures with the dwarves and beginning his book detailing the journey he took beginning with his first meeting of the dwarves and Gandalf the Grey, and eventually continuing into, though not in this first film, the inevitable confrontation

of Smaug the Dragon. Early on in the story we are introduced to the party Bilbo will travel with consisting of dwarves such as, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, and many others until Thorin Oakenshield finally arrives and the company of fourteen is finally complete. The phenomenal CGI created much scenery for the story and charac-ters as well, and was met with mixed receptions of the portrayal of many iconic figures such as orcs being nearly 100% CGI manufactured (I on the other hand thought it was a sensational addition to the movie). The effect of it was nonetheless stunning in the depth it created within the movie. One of the things audiences will notice is the many familiar faces. Such roles reprised are those of Gandalf the Grey, Elrond, Galadriel, and also Saruman the White. Some new faces are those of Martin Freeman portraying Bilbo Baggins, Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, and Benedict Cummer-batch as both Smaug the Dragon and the Necromancer (though he does not appear in this installment as a main role until the next movie). In my book, for visual effects the film receives a solid 10/10, the story 9/10 if only because it skipped over some details (yet they were such minor details that it in no way takes away from the overall effect of the movie), the acting as well receives a 10/10 for the performances from Bilbo, the Dwarves, Gandalf, and even Sméagol/Gollum gave an outstanding show. All in all the film definitely lives up to the fans’ expectations.

Christmas time is a time for classic stories and terrible music; stories with movie and stage ad-aptations that you really want to like, but you just can’t listen to some hackneyed attempt at “Silent Night” for 5 more god-forsaken seconds. Thank-fully, not every Christmas fable makes you want to stick a fishhook in your ear and slowly churn it out. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is one of those timeless tales that avoids that fate; and the Sacramento Theatre Company’s recent production of Dickens’ classic yule-tide yarn refuses to deny this tradition. Now one thing I didn’t know beforehand was that this play was a musical. Now don’t get me wrong, I love musicals, probably too much for a healthy young man to admit, but refer to the pre-vious paragraph about my feelings on Christmas songs (hooks, churning, yadda yadda). However, the play made the songs not only enjoyable, but incredibly so. Every cast member was actively in character and while singing, they sounded great, which is an important quality to have in a musical. Most importantly, though, the song choice really enhanced the immersion of the play by setting and

amplifying the tone present. In the first half, the cheery songs allowed the joy of the town to come to the forefront while simultaneously contrasting with the intense, Grinch-esque hatred of Christmas held by Matt K. Miller’s Scrooge. Meanwhile, the songs in the second-half take on a much darker tone to match Scrooge’s realization that he’s kind of an awful person. In short, the songs were awe-some. Another simply peachy aspect of the play was the sheer flow it had. There was no set narrator; ev-ery character had a turn doing narration and would seamlessly shift in and out of character. Now, this sounds like a train-wreck waiting to happen, but surprisingly, it made the play snappy and captivat-ing instead. The set was minimalistic, but that’s what made it so outstanding. The small size forced the design-ers to be creative and it shows, as the stage was one of the most dynamic things I’ve ever seen. Dry ice was used to create dramatic fog, and the area was riddled with trapdoors and secret coves. For example, Jacob Marley, as played by Jim Lane, kicks off his eerie performance

by launching himself out of a colossal clock that was anchored to center-stage for the entire play, forcing the audience to sympathize with Scrooge’s astonishment at his ghastly partner. The pinnacle of stage magnificence came with the entrance of the Ghost of Christmas Future, who abruptly rose from the depths of Hell via trapdoor on the floor of the stage, wreathed in fog as red as blood. This sudden development caused my compatriot, Brett Dargan, and I to turn to each other, make eye con-tact, and utter with blazing passion “That was so metal”, as we are internally 13 year olds. Seriously though, it was like something off of an Iron Maid-en album cover. In short, the Sacramento Theatre Company took a Christmas diamond, and made it even more brilliant. Between their more-than-satisfactory musical abilities and directing, their quick and interesting pace, and astounding visual experience, this gloriously handsome reviewer has more than enough reasons to become a loyal follower of this company.

By Zane Dean, ReporterA Timeless Tale

A Christmas Carol Performance in Sacramento

It’s that time of year again in Cal-ifornia! The air is slightly colder, the sun isn’t out as long, and it rains ev-ery couple weeks; time to bust out the Christmas movies! And whether you’re going to watch a classic Christmas mov-ie with the family because your mom is forcing you to spend time with her and her new boyfriend Mark because he’s not going anywhere anytime soon and she really thinks you two will hit it off, or whether you’re planning on watching a poorly made Christmas sequel because you’re a hipster and wouldn’t it be so funny if you and your friends all wore ugly Christmas sweaters and made hot chocolate and sugar cookies so that you all could enjoy it in the most ironic way possible, you’re going to need some-body to cut through the Yule Tide slack to tell you which movies are going to give you the most bang for your buck. If you’re looking to have a more traditional Christmas, or you just want a movie that you can sit through with the family without wanting to asphyxiate yourself, you can never go wrong with Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” This imaginative holiday movie works double duty as it is con-sidered both a Halloween and Christmas

movie. Jack Skellington “The Pumpkin King” is an iconic character, and the film also makes use of Danny Elfman’s singing voice and playful melodies to make some of the catchiest Christmas songs in history. The film is considered a standby by many, and it adds a bit of spice to the bland doldrums that are the classic Claymation Christmas movies. All you holiday hipsters out there are also in luck. If you’re looking forward to sitting down with your friends and relishing in a crummy holiday motion picture, then “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” might be the film for you! This terrible sci-fi flick revolves around two plot points: Martians are real, and they want Christmas all for themselves. Santa Claus and two Earth children are kidnapped by a couple of royal Martian parents who are worried about their children’s imaginations and what ensues is one of the worst pieces of cinema I have ever laid eyes on. I’ve only named a couple pieces of film from the plethora of holiday movies available. No matter what your Christ-mas style is, there’s bound to be a movie out there that you’ll enjoy this holiday season, so get watching cinephiles!

Merry Cinemas!

By: Levi Thomas, Assistant Editor

The Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneyBy: Kenneth Marlow, News Editor

The Best Christmas Movies to Waste Your Time On

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A Sweet EndingBy Alex Peebles, Reporter

What’s the best part of the holiday season? Love? Family or food? For many, the latter of the three brings all of them together. The holidays are always a time to improve oneself, and it appears to be the most opportune time to try new foods. With many different families gathering together, it’s the best time to learn family tradi-tions, including recipes. A lot of people may agree that the best part of eating is the dessert. This dish has been passed down through my family, and has never ceased to please every taste bud it’s been on. With a decadent icing made from scratch, this Upside Down Pineapple Cake provides dessert enthusiasts with something that will leave them saying “Ho, Ho, Oh, that was amazing!”

Cream Cheese Kolacky (kuh-lahch-kee) By Alyssa Benzon, Reporter

Servings: 30Prep Time: 15 minutesCook Time: 10 minutesReady In: 3 Hours 25 MinutesIngredients:•3 ounces cream cheese•½ cup butter, softened•1 cup all-purpose flour•½ cup any flavor fruit jam•1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for decoration

Directions: 1.Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add flour slowly until well blended. Shape into a ball and chill overnight or for several hours.2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Roll dough out 1/8 inch thick on a floured pastry board. Cut into 2 ½ inch squares and place ½ teaspoon (approximate) of jam or preserves. Overlap opposite corners and pinch together. Place on ungreased cookie sheets.3.Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven then cool. Sprinkle lightly with

confectioner’s sugar.Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cream-cheese-kolacky

Photo by Alyssa Benzon, Reporter

Ingredients needed1 Can Pineapple Slices⅔ cup Brown Sugar2 tsp. Vanilla Extract2 large Eggs7 stemless Cherries¼ cup Vegetable Oil¼ cup Butter¾ tsp. Baking soda1 tsp. Baking Powder1 tsp. Ground cinnamon ½ tsp. Salt½ cup Milk1 cup All Purpose flour1 cup Granulated SugarTo Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees2. Melt butter in a (lightly greased) iron skillet or a round cake pan, then remove from heat and begin to sprinkle brown sugar3. Place about 7 pineapple slices in a layer on top of the brown sugar, saving the remaining pineapples for future use4. Arrange 1 cherry in the center of each previously placed pineapple slice, making sure they’re evenly placed5. Then combine the wet ingredients, mixing them to a smooth consistency6. Combine the dry ingredients, gradually incorporating the dry ingredi-ents into the wet ingredients7. Once everything has been put together, begin laying the batter on top of the pineapples that have been placed8. Bake for about 45 minutes (at 350 degrees) or until a wooden toothpick is stuck in the middle, and comes out clean9. Finally, flipping the cake “upside down” place on a serving dish, let cool, serve and enjoy!

Best of Holidays: MoviesBy ZebraTales, Reporters, & Editors

Best of Holidays: Presents

Upside Down Pineapple Cake, Photo By: Alex Peebles, Reporter

Photos Courtesy of: Google

Charlie Brown Christmas Elf

It’s A Wonderful Life

Kindle Fire HD

IPhone 5

Canon Camera

Laptop

Mustang

The More the Merrier

The Santa Clause

A Christmas Story

By Loreena Sims, Reporter

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The 2012 Olympics were held in London this year, where the United States took home 104 total medals.

Enterainment

Lifestyle

World News

This year, we said goodbye to the Batman trilogy and The Twilight Saga, ending with a twist.

Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast hitting 13 states including Connecticut, North Carolina, and Maryland. Sandy took more than 100

lives, left many people homeless, and destroyed New York communities and the New Jersey boardwalk.

The year 2012 sparked a major trend, “The year of the glitter”.

The “Gangnam Style” became the #1 watched video on youtube.

Highly anticipated movies include Les Miserables, The Hobbit, Django Unchained,

The Hunger Games, and Skyfall.

Scarves became a popular trend for men in 2012..

Nail polish became a huge hit and painting your ring finger a different color than the rest became a trend

among women in 2012.

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If the religious aspect of Christmas and the secular side were separated it would be clear to see that it has veered away from the religious meanings in many ways. Many classrooms even decorate with the with Christmas lights, wreaths, mistletoe, reindeer, Santa Claus figurines, etcetera and rarely anyone makes a fuss, unless a religious symbol, like a manger scene, is thrown into the mix of décor. All of the sudden, people start bickering because they think that isn’t legal, because that doesn’t follow the guidelines of “separation of church and state”, and because it just doesn’t seem fair to those who don’t believe or don’t want to believe. “I real-ize that snowball effect of the separation of church and state thing, people like to interpret it as freedom from religion, but it is still freedom of religion.” expressed Jeff Duer, History Teacher at LHS. The understanding among everyday Americans is that teaching about religion in public schools is forbidden and included in that, Christmas is there-fore a banned celebration during this time of year due to its religious background. Along with that thought, a majority of people believe that it’s also not allowed for public schools to display religious holiday symbols such as a menorah, manger scene, baby Jesus, etc. Many other thoughts follow this way of thinking, but are false according to federal standards. A student from Glen Edwards Middle School stated that he has always thought that “noth-ing religious” was allowed in public schools. A study conducted by Time magazine in 2010 showed

that only 36 percent of the people surveyed knew that comparative religion classes are actually al-lowed to be taught in public schools and 87 percent did not know that the Bible is an approved piece of literature to be taught in public schools as well. The rules have been twisted, altered and thrown around so that many people fear the act of promoting holi-day cheer when it includes a specific religious back-ground with the belief that they will get in trouble for their biased advertising of the holiday season. There may never be an end to this “War on Christmas”, but, fortunately, there can be an end to some of the confusion that Lincoln High students, faculty and parents may have. Multiple courts across the nation have dealt with many cases refer-ring to this controversy and have concluded them all with a firm stance on one side or the other. In a district court case, Clever vs. Cherry Hill, in New Jersey, in 1993, it was stated that adding in religious symbols to Christmas decorations and calendars does not offend the Constitution and are therefore accepted so long as they don’t enforce the religion itself upon the students. The U.S. Supreme Court, in case Stone vs. Graham in 1980, stated that “the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropri-ate study of history, civilization, ethics, compar-ative religion, or the like”, thus concluding that the theory that teachers can’t teach or even speak about the Bible during school hours is a flawed way of thinking. However, along with these freedoms, there are some drawbacks as explained in the Unit-

ed States Department of Education’s guidelines for religious expression. A part of the guidelines are as follows, “teachers and school administrators, when acting in those capacities … are prohibited … from soliciting or encouraging religious activity, and from participating in such activity with students … and also from discouraging activity because of its religious content, and from soliciting or encourag-ing antireligious activity”. Different schools have different opinions on these rules and that of Lincoln High School’s is all tolerance and nothing less. The Principal of LHS, Jay Berns, emphasized the point by saying, “Isn’t our government based on religious freedom? I think we need to be respectful that everybody has their own religious beliefs.” There may never be an answer that solves the real problem here. In fact, there may never be an answer at all because people will always disagree, especially when it comes to religion in schools. Though there may always be a presence of con-troversy in self-expression of religion in public schools, the main goal of the younger generation is to create greatness. Whether the beliefs between a few people differ or not, respect is what’s expected out of any and all in this city and even this country. “I’m not going to tell anyone not to pray”, contin-ued Berns, “Part of greatness is being tolerant.”

Christmas in Public Schools Continued...

block schedule, “I feel like you’re learning more and getting more time with your teachers [on the semester system] but at the same time students will get mixed up on what classes to go to one day or what block they’re on”. Although Maddie Leewright (Senior) is not directly affected by the upcoming change, she had this to say: “This can look better on a college appli-cation, and that’s pretty much what the school tries to set us up for.” Ag Teacher Jessica Armistead said “by having longer class periods, I believe that it will benefit the students who take farm classes”.

The major question everyone worries about is graduation requirements. No, it will not affect it whatsoever. A student still needs 260 credits to grad-uate, and with the trimester schedule, one can earn up to a total of 300 credits. With the semester schedule, one can earn up to 280 credits. Nothing is finalized but the ball is rolling toward the semester system. Principal Jay Berns will have more to say in an upcoming letter that will be sent out to parents and students.

Transition to Semester Continued...

By: Stephanie Wilcox, Editor in Chief

By: Cleo Sanchez, Reporter

Jay Berns, Principal of LHS Photo By: Cleo Sanchez, Reporter

What is the Penny Drive? It is a fundraiser that Zebra Tales is hoping to put on sometime within the first couple weeks after break! The idea of the game is to put pennies in your class jar (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior) and whoever has the most pennies in their jar at the end wins. Each penny counts as one point toward your class. The catch is other classes can put quarters, nickels, dimes or dollar bills in the opposing class jars and those will count as points against that class. All funds will go to benefit the Journalism class at LHS. The winning class will have a prize in the end so start saving your pennies now!

LHS Penny Drive Start Saving Your Pennies!

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Stephanie Wilcox-Editor in Chief Levi Thomas- Assistant-Editor Brooke Jacobsen-Design Editor Maddie Leewright-Co-Photo Editor Jasmine Smith-Co-Photo Editor

Josue Ayala-Art Designer Kenneth Marlow-News Editor Alyssa Benzon-Reporter Zane Dean-Reporter Corinne Lewis-Reporter

Alex Peebles-Reporter Cleo Sanchez-Reporter Loreena Sims-Reporter Kathryn Mercier-Reporter Alicia Ilaga-Reporter

Zebra Tales is a product of the Zebra Tales Journalism class in Room 1. We exist solely to be the written voice of our students. Any views expressed in this paper are not necessarily the views of Lincoln High School, or its staff. Be sure to check out www.zebratales.net for your latest and daily updated campus news and more!

If there are any questions, comments, complaints or story ideas please contact us in Room 1 at Lincoln High School 916-645-6360

Age: 17 Nickname and Origin: “Steph; It’s easier to say than Stephanie.” Best Feature: “I get compliments on my eyes the most.” Ideal Guy: “Taller, confident, but not cocky, can make me smile when I’m at my worst and a man of God” Ideal Date: “If it’s in December, get-ting Starbucks, going ice skating, and then walk around, looking at Christmas lights” Long-term Goals: “Go to college, be-come a book editor and/or teacher, and write a book”

Would you ever find love on a t.v. show? “It’s possible, but not probable.” 3 words to describe you: “Sarcastic, confident, motivated” Do freshman have a chance with you? “Sorry, but no”

Bachelor & BacheloretteAge: 18 Nickname and Origin: “Reverend Dean; my ability to marry people (seriously)” Best Feature: “My whole body and personality” Ideal Girl: “Myself, but female” Ideal Date: “Sit around, watch a movie, and talk about how pretty I am” Long-term Goals: “Fame, fortune, everything that goes with it, and maybe a jetpack” Would you ever find love on a t.v. show? “Yes, depending on if they pay me” 3 words to describe you: “Perfect, charismatic, modest” Do freshman have a chance with you? “I’m 18, not fond of the police, so yes”

Zane Dean Stephanie Wilcox