Pictures taken for fresman varsity spotlight

Freshman Jamie Griffin's father has been her main coach so far, but she is looking forward to improving her game with the help of coach Ron Paolucci and assistant coach Bonnie Zadigan. Griffin played in Varsity's first game at Lone Tree Golf Course, where she scored 91.

"It was intimidating, but it was a good experience," Griffin said. At the last Varsity tournament, held at Spring Hill Golf Course, Griffin scored an 84, where par, the number of shots that you should score, is 64. Griffin is looking forward to playing in more tournaments, as well as improving her game and strategies.

Small winter guard steps up to compete

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"5 and 6, and 5,6,7,8," the flutter of flags sounds in the gym as everyone counts out their twists, twirls and throws. The small team of eight practiced their routine to the music of Lady Gaga that plays from a small radio on the far side of their half of the gym. The mat lies on the floor along with the other flags they may use today. They practice the first eight counts, and then they practice them again. As they continue, one girl attempts a throw of a flag. she barely retrieves it. There is a squeal and a jump, as she celebrates her first catch. This is Winter Guard.
Winter Guard is a dance team that performs with the marching bband in the fall season, but is on their own in the winter. The equipment: flags of all different colors made up of "the pole, silk and crutch-tips." The music: "Imagine" by John Lennon and sung by Avril Lavign. The space: half of the East Gym. The task: perfect the routine.
"[Winter Guard] is a lot of hours and technique work," junior Esther Shufutinsky said. "It is a lot of ballet, dance, unison and staying on count."
Winter Guard is made up of eight members, one of who, Peggy Holm, is in eighth grade at Thunder Ridge Middle School. "I came to watch my sister and fell into the team," Holm, sophomore Ashleigh Holm's younger sister, said.
For some, the attraction is the routines, for others it is the music, but for junior Liz Goranson, it was the combination of both that drew her to Guard. "The moment I picked up a flag, I fell in love," Goranson said. "I was able to combine my love of music and dance, and it gave me a feeling of accomplishment. It's the best feeling in the world."
The team says it is upsetting and frustrating having such a small guard, but with encouragment from Director Devin Stevens and Assistant Director Seth Dean, they are confident that they have the potential to advance in their class. As a team, Winter Guard said, "Even though we have a small guard we can still be awesome."
The Guard's current routine uses three flags and is performed to the song "Imagine." "[With this routine], we are trying to convey a sense of peace around the world," said Shufutinsky.
They performed this routine Saturday, Mach 27 at the Finals competition.
Despite taking seventh out of seven teams at Finals, Winter Guard is determined to make it to the top level of this trying sport, and they are confident that all of their late-night practices, determination, and passion will help them on their way.
And that one completed catch was just the beginning.

Sophomore captain leads young girls' varsity soccer team

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It's not just strapping on those pads and cleats every February, and heading on to the field at game time. It's not just lying around through the winter, and coming out to win every game, without doing a single push up or lap around the thir floor during bad weather. Girls' soccer is a year-round commitment.
"[Soccer] isn't just a one-season sport,"coach Greg Watts said. "Girls are dedicated outside of school as well." Watts is coaching the varsity team and thinks they have the potential to go as far as the play-offs with a current standing of 5-2 and 1.
This is the team's first year with multiple freshmen on varsity; there are six freshmen on the roster, of which two are starting players.
"That is where the talent was," Watts said. "It is a young team, and we're trying to build for the future."
There are, however, some disadvantages to having such a young team. Freshmen do not have as much experience at the high school level of competition as some of the juniors and seniors.
"Experience makes a big difference," Watts said. "However, they have nothing to lose."
The team is also yount in terms of leadership. The captain, sophomore Melissa Westhoff, is already being looked at by division-1 colleges.
"She is very committed," Watts said. "She's not scared to get in people's faces, and she performs in the classroom as well as the field."
Having a young team has not caused any problems so far.
"At the beginning of the season, the expectations of the girls were clearly laid out and they have done well in keeping up," Watts said.

"Old Magic" bewitches readers

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"Harry Potter," "Bewitched" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch;" witches and witchcraft have become very prominent in today's pop culture as a part of our imagination, Halloween, and our dreams of making things happen exactly the way we want them to.
And the newest addition to this influx in our obsession with magic is Old Magic by Marianne Curley. It is the story of a girl, Kate, with extraordinary powers to feel the emotions and thoughts of anyone around her. Shee meets her match in Jarrod, a new comer, with extremely bad luck and his own hidden talents. When Jarrod's power spirals out of control one day in science class, their relationship soon escalates to jealousy, dangerous adventures, medieval battles and romance.
However, is there any truth to it?
Wicca is an earth or nature based religion that deals with the elements (earth, air, water, fire and spirit), and channeling positive energy into everything you do. Wicca also deals with all of the things we see in these modern interpretations: chanting, spells, being known as witches and the Craft.
"I researched... [the] history of witches, their current lifestyle and religion; spells, including creating and casting," Curley said about the research she conducted for Old Magic.
A normal Wiccan ritual includes: chanting, meditation, praying, candles and, depending on the type of ritual, herbs and other tools for spells.
There are some striking resemblances between Wiccan and the book Old Magic.
Curley writes about cleansing spells, which Kate actually performs on Jarrod to rid him of a curse that is haunting his family. In Wicca, when practicing with tools such as amulets or other materials, you must cleanse them to rid them of any past energy. The two rituals are very different; however, they were both designed to rid the objects of any negative energy, or curses in Jarrod's case.
Also, later in the story, when Kate's grandmother Jillian is performing a spell on them, she casts a circle that is marked by one hundred candles. As Kate and Jarrod enter the circle, they may only enter through a certain part of the circle. This is the case in most Wiccan rituals. A circle is cast to create a confine of healing energy until it is released. According to religioustolerance.org, candles are usually placed around the circumference of the circle and are usually oriented to the four cardinal directions. People who must enter or leave the circle during rigual must enter or exit through a specified passage or break in the circle in order to not disturb the energy in the circle.
However, there is a point in the book where religious rituals end and fantastic imaginings begin. In the beginning, when Jarrod's powers spin out of control, his emotions control the weather around him, which we all know would be cool, is ultimately pure fantasy. Also at the climax of the novel, we see an element of time travel through magic, which also adds that element of fantasy.
"It's important to know the difference between fiction and non-fiction, and I believe most people do," Curley said of Old Magic. "It's a made-up story meant to feed the imaginations of readers, to entertain and give people time out from their everyday lives and everyday problems."
Old Magic has just the right amound of reality and fantasy to balance out the story of Kate and Jarrod. The book has all of the appeal of Harry Potter fantasy, the almost-Twilight-style romance, the medieval, "magical" history, and the ultimate journey through the darkest of times to self awareness and discovery.

Education should not be subject to sexual orientation

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"Glossing over our differences on essential matters, and pretending that crucial issues are irrelevant, is not tolerance," said the parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School on his blog (fatherbillsblog.com).
The Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School recently disallowed a child from readmitting to the school because his/her parents are lesbians.
The Archdiocese was quoted as saying that the parents' sexual preference went against the school's beliefs and teachings.
However, is it right to discriminate against a child due to his or her parents' lifestyle? Religious discrimination against LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) members has been going on for centuries, sometimes escalating to a point of violence and killing. Now, this prejudice has come to a point of hurting people who are close to them.
Sacred Heart needs to realize that the child who is trying to attend the school and follow the Catholic faith, is almost entirely separate from his or her parents and he/she himself is not violating the rules.
And as if open discrimination against LGBTs wasn't enough, depriving a child because of what his/her parents believe, is crossing the line.
I agree that if a religion teaches that something is "wrong," then let people believe that. However, when it comes to the point of deprivation of something as crucial as education, that is when religion needs to take a rest on its preaching.
Granted, as stated on the parish's blog, "If a child of gay parents comes to our school, and we teach that gay marriage is against the will of God, then the child will think that we are saying their parents are bad."
However, why wouldn't the school jump at the chance to teach a child who lives in this kind of environment? It is a chance for the church to "turn him the right way," "teach him the will of God..." help him see the light.
Yes, the parents probably knew the feel Catholic doctrine sends toward gay couples. however, that teaching should not diminish the desire to follow a certain faith. Yes, maybe he/she will be taught that the way his parents live is "wrong," and yes, maybe he/she will grow up in the mindset that homosexuality is "wrong." But, isn't it better that the child is exposed to different views and ideas?
We, as a collective American people, complain about the close-mindedness of the people around us. Yet, when an opportunity such as this arises, an opportunity for a child living in the midst of contradictions to experience both sides of the story, we shun it. This unique situation has provided us with an opportunity to raise an open-minded person- a person who is Catholic, but accepts the things that his faith cannot. And as they continue to grow and learn about the world, they will then see that, it may be against the will of God, but if their parents are happy, and they are not hurting anyone, then maybe, it is okay.
Maybe mommy loving mommy isn't the end of the world.
As the parish said, "Glossing over differences... is not tolerance." However, realizing that there are different people in the world, who lead different lifestyles, and believe different things, is.

Juniors opt for early graduation

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You stand, holding your breath, along with all of the others. Clad in cap and gown, they announce the graduating class of 2010, and you walk out into the cavernous auditorium. Some juniors will be joining senionr for the big day: graduation.
A few juniors have considered classes, requirements and futures to get to this moment, and will be walking out into that auditorium to graduate early.
Nathan Wright is one such junior.
"I have decided to graduate early because I want to pursue my dream of becoming an English teacher in Holland, and graduating early will allow me to adapt to the culture and language of Holland," Wright said.
Students may decide to graduate for a variety of reasons, whether it's due to programs, such as cosmetology, schools such as the Center of Technical Education, or family reasons.
However, it may be harder to get into college if you choose the early-grad path.
"Ultimately colleges want to see that you've finished your four years of high school, and unless you have some extenuating circumstances, you have to consider what will be beneficial to you in the end," said counselor Jennifer Johnson, who also works in the College and Careers Center.
For some the decision to graduate early comes easy and those students go on to college and jobs as usual; the only difference is that they are younger, and they are achieving what they set out to do.
This was the case for Wright. "I was a freshman at the time so it seemed so cliche to graduate in four years, when it can really be done in three," Wright said.
For those who graduate early, there is no doubt that they will miss out on all of the fun of senior year.
"[Those who graduate early] miss out on the social aspect of senior year, because everything fun happens second sememster," Johnson said.
According to Johnson, students may also struggle later when they enter college; they may struggle with a college-level math course, because they missed that year of math in high school. Students, depending on how early they plan, may also miss out on a college due to requirements that they didn't get before they left high school.
Students have to consider the social, academic and personal aspects, as well as if they are prepared to live on their own and ready to accept all of the responsibilities of the real world. If you are considering early graduation, first ask yourself this: are you ready for college and all of the responsibility that comes with being on your own, a whole year earlier?
You should also talk to parents, counselors, teachers and the College and Careers Center for advice. Before you made any decisions about early graduation, get advice and make a plan for the future you want to see yourself in; whether you want to work, go into the military, or go to college, options are out there.
"After graduation, I plan to get my teaching degree in English as well as my masters... and move to Zwijnrecht, South Holland," Wright said.
Basically, when you think about that cap, gown and auditorium in your distant, or near, future, it all comes down to one question: are you ready for life after high school?

Diversity in Eaglecrest

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A brave little African American girl marched her way through crowds of angry and distraught white parents who shouted despicable things at her on November 14, 1960. Guarded by U.S. Marshalls, her head held high, this six year old walked through it all on her way to her first day of school. Ruby Bridges was one of the first African American students to be integrated in to a “white” school. Diversity in schools was put into motion that November 14th.
Today, there is no longer just black and white. There is African American, Caucasian, Hispanic, Indian, Iraqi, Asian, and so much more. High school has become its own melting pot, and Eaglecrest is certainly no exception.
“There’s so much diversity at Eaglecrest, it gets rid of racial issues for me and I can just hang out with people,” junior Rebecca Richardson said.
In the 2008-2009 school year, there was 0.6 percent Native American students, 7.9 percent Asian American students, 19 percent African American students, 13.4 percent Hispanic American students, and 59.2 percent Caucasian students that made up Eaglecrest, with the exception of many other different cultures and races that contribute to its student body.
However, today, diversity is all about the way you define yourself.
Senior Gurpreet Kaur, who defines herself as Indian, said, “We have a lot of different cultures and races at Eaglecrest and I think it helps the students because it teaches us about many cultures and gives us a preview of the real world.”
The majority of students feel that Eaglecrest does not have any racial problems or apparent division between races. Prejudice is not the problem; however, stereotyping may be. Everyone has been subject to stereotyping whether it was dependent on race or not. Despite her complete acceptance, Kaur said, “People should realize that not all Indians speak with thick accents. I don’t think I do.”
Junior Heidi Kim, who defines herself as Asian, said, “All Asian languages do not sound the same, and just because we’re Asian doesn’t mean we’re good at school.” Kim also stated, “The Koreans here are from SOUTH Korea and not North, so we’re not going to bomb you.”
Kim, who came to the United States from Korea, didn’t have as hard of a time as Ruby did, but it was frightening at the same; “I saw white people everywhere,” Kim said. “I had a lot of trouble understanding and my eyes kept wandering. I remember keeping my head down as low as possible. It’s scary to think of transferring schools, especially when you’re new to the language itself.”
Despite division and stereotyping, only good things can come from having a school as diverse as Eaglecrest. “Without the amount of diversity [at EHS], our students wouldn’t feel as comfortable,” junior Taylor Brown said. And, let’s face it, if students aren’t comfortable, they’re not going to excel as well as they could.
Things have definitely improved since the time of Ruby Bridges, we’ve mixed more cultures into our melting pot, and with this, Eaglecrest has nowhere to go but up.