KERRONICLEThe

Alief Kerr High School | 8150 Howell-Sugar Land Rd. | kerronicle.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2013 VOL. XIX NO. IV

His breathing weak, ball in hand, eyes on the goal, he shoots for the end— get the

ball through. But he loses his grip and another ball knocks him down— he is down for the count. And as he walks away, head hung in defeat, a figure blurs right past him. It’s his teammate with the ball who immediately follows it up with a shot right into the goal. Magic.

Quidditch is a sport from the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling that has swept real colleges and high schools around the world off their feet. In the series, the sport requires the players to fly on brooms chasing flying balls. The objective is simple: catch the snitch, a small flying ball with wings. But the sport became reality in the fall of 2005, when Middlebury College, a small private school located in Vermont, started a real-life Quidditch team.

According to the International Quidditch Association, there are currently 810 official Quidditch teams in the U.S., with New York having the most: 86 teams. Colleges such as Harvard, Yale, and Rice are home to Quidditch teams. Worldwide, Muggle

Quidditch teams are ranked and the top 100 make it to the World Cup.

Although colleges dominate Quidditch, high schools like Keller High School in Northern Texas also field teams.

Quidditch at Kerr: Not a bad idea. Picture us, eyes filled with passion, sweating joy, running around with broomsticks, without a care in the world.

According to International Quidditch Association rules, players run holding a broomstick between their legs. There are seven players using a volleyball and dodge balls, and one player acts as the snitch by running around the field with a tennis ball in a sock attached to his/her waist; other players must grab the tennis ball to catch the snitch. “Brooms up!” the referee calls, starting the game.

When I think of Kerr I think of smart and unique people, so what better way to embrace our smart quirkiness than have a Quidditch team? It would be a way for Harry Potter fans to come together and live in a fictional sport. A Quidditch team can bring us together in the spirit of Harry Potter. Quidditch is not only

for Harry Potter fans; I mean, who wouldn’t enjoy acting without a care in the world and just have fun playing a sport just for the heck of it.

Having a Quidditch team would be something unique. The sport has a little bit of everything: soccer, lacrosse, dodge ball, basketball, and even rugby, so players wouldn’t necessarily have to be a Potterhead to play.

It would be nice to just set the PAKS aside, relax and not have to take

it too seriously.Just because the chapter ended

doesn’t mean we shouldn’t turn the page onto a new chapter. Just because you set your books aside on your bookshelves doesn’t mean we have to put away the magic in our hearts.

Even though the series ended, the magic still lives on.

Real Life Quidditch: Embracing our inner Potterheads

In the spirit of African American Appreciation Month, I decided to Instagram a picture of myself

sitting in the back of the bus to honor Rosa Parks’ nonviolent protest against transportation inequality. I also decided to replicate Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” by tweeting about my dream. #respect.

The Library of Congress dedicates February to honor the historical African American figures (Black History month), May for Asian/Pacific Americans, September for Hispanic and Latino Americans, and November for Native Americans. However, setting aside a month to honor the heritage of a certain race defeats the purpose of appreciating said heritage. The appreciation of the many heritages throughout America should be year-round. It should not be a national commemoration but an event that takes place within every individual.

Many Americans feel a moral obligation to educate themselves on the heritages of certain races in the months set aside by Congress.

Congress places a subliminal pressure that mandates the appreciation of African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American cultures. However, once the months end, only a small portion continue to further their education about the heritages. This, in itself, is not the problem. There is an evident degree of stereotypical bias in the American public that could be replaced by a more accurate outlook if the American public further educate themselves of other ethnicities.

Since we’re on the topic of different ethnicities, Congress did not dedicate a month to celebrate the cultures of Middle Easterners and Southern Asians. Does this mean that we should not educate ourselves about these heritages? David Kozy, a retired university professor, published an article on the Center of Research on Globalization suggesting that America has a fundamentally flawed education system that could only be improved if we change our cultural values. However, this change does not need to take place on the national level in order to be effective. The

decision to educate ourselves about the various cultures and ethnicities within America should be an individual effort, not national.

Many would argue that having a month dedicated to celebrate and appreciate these cultures would only highlight the need for further awareness, not take away from it. However, further awareness of cultural diversity is currently lacking because individuals are not taking the initiative* to inform themselves about the various legacies.

Avenue Q’s song, “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist,” rings true in today’s society. However, there is a distinction between laughs and giggles from light-hearted jokes and prejudiced comments. This distinction is education and cultural tolerance that could be achieved outside of a single month, in a year-round effort to.

* Initiatives exclude “liking” a picture with a famous quote from an historical civil rights activists, sharing that picture, #hashtaggingitontwitter, etc.

Phil Pham

Alyssa Andaverde

A month to not remember: APPRECIATING CULTURE OUTSIDE THE TIMEFRAME

Kerr High School8150 Howell-Sugar Land Rd.

Houston, TX 77083(281) 983-8484 ext. 267

KERRONICLE

Editor-in-ChiEfJason Nguyen

AssistAnt EditorTuong-Phi Le

story EditorNadia Zulfa

dEsign EditorHadiqa Memon

BusinEss MAnAgErPhat Pham

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013VOL. XIX NO. IV

stAff rEportErs:Alyssa Andaverde

Jeff ChienKelli Chow

Amy HaokipTracey LeAnh Lu

Alyssa MartinezRebecca Negri

Durand NguyenJulia NguyenJulie Nguyen

Kevin NguyenPhil Pham

The Kerronicle is published six times a year by the student newspaper staff of Kerr High School and serves as a medium of communication for its readers. It exists to inform its readers about school and com-munity, school policies and their changes, entertainment, and to serve as a forum for student expression.

Advertisers interested in placing an ad in the Kerronicle should contact the staff at (281) 983-8484 ext. 267 or 8150 Howell Sugar Land, Houston, TX 77083.

Letters to the editor are welcomed and encouraged. Letters should be delivered to room 302 or e-mailed to laura.negri@aliefisd.net. All letters must be signed.

KErroniClE stAff:

2 | Kerronicle.com | Opinion

Items funded through Donors

Choose so far:

Nook e-readers are now available in the science center for students to use. These devices are the result of a grant

proposed by technology specialist Cynthia Payne. Loaded with science information, they will make it easier for students to access information such as science videos, tutorials, and eventually, PAKs. The Nooks will also be an offline resource for outdoor projects such as the birding project.

Last year, the science center proposed the idea of using tablet technology, including Nooks, for learning. After several unsuccessful grant proposals to the local foundation, teacher Deborah Valdez turned to Payne to discuss other options.

As the instructional technology specialist, Payne looked into other options and thought of Donors Choose, an online charity that connects donors and educators to help fund projects for students. She wrote and uploaded a proposal to the website in hopes of finding donors to fund this project.

“My job is to help teachers implement projects and activities that use technology to help students learn more,” she said. “[This] is why I was involved in this to begin with.”

Her job also includes getting the technology students need to succeed.

“A lot of what I do is really related more towards trying to get the things that you guys need to really have you guys be prepared for when you’re in college—when you’re adults; to use technology in educational ways,” she said.

Payne has used Donors Choose before. She noted the charity was available to “any educator—teachers, librarians, people who work with students in classroom at times.”

Donors Choose requires the applicant to have a specific goal.

“You can’t do it like a school grant. It has to be for a particular group [of students] and anyone in the public [can] make donations,” she said.

Usually, there would be several donors for a project because donors may choose to donate any amount. For this project, however, Chevron’s “Fuel Your School” program funded the project entirely.

“Chevron[‘s] project was aimed at Harris County. They had a bunch of money that they donated to Harris County and they said, ‘We’re going to fund until we run out of money,’” Payne added, noticing that the company seemed very interested in projects involving math, science

and technology.Payne also had to turn in a lengthy

application to the district to get the device approved.

“Any time that you try to do a project that involves a device that is not already approved in the district, you have to go through a bunch of other approval processes before you can do it,” she said.

As a start, the Nook Color tablets, available for checkout at the science counter, will have science materials preloaded on them for students to use.

“The teachers have created some things and then we’re also using things we’re getting from Barnes and Nobles and some of the apps out there for Android devices,” Payne said, citing the Audubon Society app that identifies birds and other things.

For teacher Margaret Bancroft, it’s exciting to have new technology.

“I’d like to put some videos of seminars and little mini-tutorials on how to work out different problems,” she said.

Teacher Kathleen Kilmer feels that the devices will serve to make the learning process much easier, considering all the possibilities having a Nook offers.

“It’s pretty cool, [It’s amazing] all the stuff you could store on a device like this-and the sound quality and the picture quality are excellent,” she said. “It doesn’t replace any curriculum- it’s just another tool.”

Teacher Clarissa Caro plans to have different apps on the Nooks for portable use.

“There [are] different apps that we’re looking at right now for like bird watching. It’s a portable resource that they can take with them outside.”

Caro also hopes to revolutionize science materials and PAKs.

“Our big plan is to eventually have all of the PAKs on there. It would be a resource for if the internet would go out or it would be a portable device that you would always be able to access to do your work.”

Valdez is looking forward to the new tablet technology and hopes to fund through Donors Choose again.

“I’m so happy about Donors Choose because it’s funding quite a bit of stuff and in fact, several of us are trying to do new grants,” she said. “So [it] is an exciting new idea.”

Payne awarded funds for e-readers Lisa Canorro: $800-$1000SD card (1)

Camera Bag (1)Tripod (1)

Infrared Camera (1)

Clarissa Caro: $500-$600

Asian Skeleton Map (1)

African Skeleton Map (1)

Cynthia Payne: $2000

Nook Color (8)

Doris Curry: $1000

Accounting Textbooks (5)

Financial Calculators (5)

Laura Negri: $400

23” LCD Monitors (2)

George Gendron:$693

Chrome Books (7)

Monika Woods:$908

AP Statistics Review Books (50)

Margaret Bancroft:$700

White Boards (80)Dry Erase

Markers (120)Erasers (120)

Jean Wu:$770

Nook Simple Touch (5)Case (5)

Nook Extended Warranty (5)

Deborah Valdez:$800

Binoculars (2)Camera (1)

Jeff Chien

News | Kerronicle.com | 3

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News | Kerronicle.com | 5

Andrew Nguyen, 11th“They would know how to

interact with the students and make the class a bit more

entertaining than just PAK work.”

Edward Chiang, 10th“I think...

you need to be interactive and

not mundane, so you can engage your students.

Constructive criticism as

opposed to negative reinforcements. You teach about

how [your subject] applies to life.“

Ashli winters, 12th“A teacher who

goes out of their way to help students

who aren’t capable of coming up to

them and asking questions.”

“A teacher that can strike a

conversation with you and make you

laugh.”

Bond-samuelson

Isaac-Obiefuna, 9th

What makes an extraordinary teacher?

General Question:

Curry named Teacher of the Year

Taking Care of Business

Above.below. 2012 Teacher of the Year Jan Kolk counts votes from this year’s Teacher of the Year election. As last year’s honoree, Kolk joined librarian Jean Wu and principal’s secretary Valerie Erwin on the committee tasked with running the election. “I will miss having my parking space in the front,” Kolk joked, “but I am glad to pass it on to the next Teacher of the Year.” In truth, “I feel excited,” she said. “There are so many exceptional teachers at Kerr that I know any of the teachers selected will represent the best of the teaching profession.”

2013 Teacher of the Year work Dorris Curry sits down with

sophomores Shreeti Sigdel, Aroge Imran, and Sara Khan to discuss

dress codes for the upcoming FBLA competition.

“I’ve worked in the real world for a long time,” she said. “To bring

the real world to [my kids] so they can be a little more prepared is rewarding...The one thing that they all come back and tell me is

that they knew that I cared. That’s what keeps me going, because

some days, this is very hard.”

Previous Teachers of the

Year include:

Jan Kolk (2012)Roger Martin (2011)Patti Drachenberg (2010)Mary Pat Bailey (2009)Laura Negri (2008)Steve Levine (2001, 2007)Margaret Bancroft (2006)Lisa Canorro (2005)

Rebecca Negri

Tuong-Phi Le

Nadia Zulfa & Tuong-Phi LeRebecca Negri

News | Kerronicle.com | 5

W

Insert Page Layout References Mailings Review View Add-Ins Acrobat

Writing Competition - Microsoft Word

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Times New Roman 12

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Scholastic

The Scholastic Writing Competition is the most prestigious writing competition for students in the U.S. according to English Teacher Ayn Nys.

Scholastic entries require mentorship by an English teacher, specifically Nys. Entrants must also adhere to submission deadlines and guidelines.

Contests done individually require students to read the directions for submission and follow them.

Participants can win scholarships, recognition, and publication.

Music Competitions: Nails trimmed, hands warm,

strings tuned, violinist Sarah Vuong stands outside the

room nervously, waiting to be called in by the judge to perform her piece. Vuong, a senior, has done this several times before, yet can’t help feeling anxious all over again.

“It’s not really exciting as it is nerve-wracking because the judges are really serious, but it’s fun when I walk around with friends [around the campus],” Vuong said.

The music department is composed of band, orchestra, choir and handbells. The department participates in two important music competitions every year: UIL, which includes a concert and sight reading contest, and solo and ensemble contest. Ensemble is when the whole band, orchestra, or choir performs

in large or small groups such as duets and quartets. Solo is when an individual performs a piece in front of the judges. University Interscholastic League hosts these competitions usually in the beginning of the school year.

Because of the time crunch, students need more practice time than is available in a school day. Preparation usually means staying after school once to three times a week, with either the director or with an accompanist. For example, choir students are required to stay after school at least once a week to practice for their upcoming UIL and Solo and Ensemble competitions. More often, the students have to individually dedicate their time to practice their pieces on their own.

“For solo, we practice with an

accompanist and by ourselves [after school and at home]. For ensemble, we practice as a class or group,” junior Brittany Trinh said.

Although these students commit to practicing, in between practices they also relax.

“Before competitions, we practice, then eat and sit around,” Vuong said.

Behind the grand masterpiece of a musical performance lie multiple practices and rehearsals. They practice with a goal of going to district, state, or even getting sweepstakes to earn recognition as well as trophies.

“In the end, if we do well, our school gets more known and it’s better for the program because the students are becoming more advanced,” Trinh said.

We feel the pulse; it has always been in our blood. You start, creating

tense sudden hand movements that drag me towards you. You know

exactly what to do in order to get the spotlight on you. But I too can

make myself be seen. I focus on the legs, your weak spot. Stomp, stomp,

jump, and a controlled firm glide to the left, adding to the already

growing tension. Your eyes radiate fierceness through each of your

jerks. You go back to throwing your hands all around you, reaching

for me, inviting me to join you but almost instantly withdrawing that

invitation. Now you use your beauty—you try to lure me in with your

stiff movements as a siren does with her voice. But you are not a siren;

you would much rather be a phoenix, a beautiful elegant creature that

can never be missed. But this is what this dance is all about, showing

who really dominates, who really is in charge. And I most certainly am

not willing to lose to you. Surprisingly, you break the barrier, stomping

your way towards me. But I can see it in your smile that you have

something planned.

Tracey Le

Page: 1 of 1

Gold Key WinnersDiane Chau - “Beautiful Scar”Andres Valencia - “Dancing Shadows” (Excerpt on the right)

Silver Key WinnersMaithy Tran - “Feed”Nadia Zulfa - “The Possession”Tuong-Phi Le - “Mending”Syeida “Ashti” Zaidi - “The Archer”Uyen Tran - “Mia, Lucy’s Folly.”

Freshman Jacob Mosley, practices “Hungarian Dance” on his string bass for his upcoming UIL meet.

Freshman Misti Fulmer and sopho-mores Rochelle Pham and Bianca Schreckenbach experience a mix of excitement and suspense while pre-paring for their UIL competition.

Writing Competition

Excerpt: “Dancing Shadows” by Andres Valencia

Senior Andres Valencia shares his tips to success “By incorporating the melodies of the tango, waltz, and pasadoble, I was able to make my story come alive.”

Practice makes pitch perfectRebecca Negri, Durand Nguyen, Kevin Nguyen

6 | Kerronicle.com | Cover Story

A two-hour ride to the school, a series of performances, waiting for the judges to make a selection, then an award ceremony, and arriving home at 1:30 A.M. A day spent at UIL One-Act Play competition, in which four hours were devoted to traveling to and from the site of the competition. Not to mention the days beforehand when theatre students went to the location for rehearsals.

According to theater teacher Julie Ryan, these long trips tired students, leaving them with little energy to compete.

“It is usually a five hour trip with 90 minutes dedicated to rehearsal,” Ryan said. “This is the same on the day of the performance, except the day is even longer.”

But as a 4A school, Kerr had little choice: schools in that division are often 30 miles or more away, while most schools in the immediate area

are classified as 5A. The long trips to district

competition are now a thing of the past: for the next two years, Kerr will be categorized as a 5A school. The University Interscholastic League made the reclassification decision this past may at its biannual. Schools are placed in conferences based on the student population: those with populations below 200 are categorized as 1A; 200-449 as 2A; 450-1040 as 3A; 1005-2089 as 4A; 2090 and higher as 5A.

Based on population, Kerr should be a 3A school, but because of its application and selection process, the campus had always been required to compete at a higher level. But according to the UIL constitution, subchapter 1 in section 351, schools are “assigned to a conference upon the basis of the enrollment of the school in its member school district

having the largest enrollment.” This year, strict enforcement of this clause means that Kerr will compete with Hastings, Elsik and Taylor high schools, each of which have more than 3,000 students, and schools from Aldine ISD. The change to 5A affects each department differently. According to orchestra teacher Cynthia King, competition will be difficult for the music department.

“Choir and Band are required to play at a harder music level,” King said, “whereas Orchestra has played at the 5A level and have experience. The major problem that each group faces is the sight-reading competition.”

While the music department scrambles to create an updated curriculum to fulfill the requirements, UIL coordinator Steve Bolting feels that the change should not hinder academic contests if practices begin early.

“I don’t think we need to be intimidated by the change,” Bolting said. “If we get everyone practicing early, before and during winter break, than it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Other organizations such as Future Business Leaders of America and the Art department will not be affected because they don’t compete based on UIL classifications.

According to Ryan, district support will help Kerr compete with larger schools.

“We have the ability to compete on a level that will allow us to have higher access and much opportunity,” Ryan said. “I think the biggest thing that artistic and academic competitions need is to have district support so we can...compete with our peers and allow Kerr to be seen and critiqued.”

Kerr competes as a 5A school

Art

Com

petit

ions

Artists prepare for competitions

A New Playing Field: Kerr competes as a 5A school

Hadiqa Memon

Cover Story | Kerronicle.com | 7

Main photo: Junior Anh Lu experiments with time exposure for her photography piece, which she hopes to submit into the Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE). The Regional Events will be held throughout February and Area Medal winners will advance to the State Event in April . “It was July 4th; we were waiting for fireworks to come on, and we started messing around with glow sticks,” Lu said. “I want [to use competitions] to receive recognition and a good reputation while I’m in high school. My dream is to work for National Geographic and Photography Today Magazine.”

Top left: Senior Jamie Wells’s acrylic painting is for the Young Arts competition, a program which awards scholarships to students who are talented in the arts. “[This piece] happened while I was watching That’s 70’s Show: I really don’t like Lori—she’s annoying and flirts with every guy on the show, and she’s so skinny!” Wells said. “She needs to eat more and this is how I feed her.” Photo by Jamie Wells.

Top right: Junior Marie Gonzales uses mixed media

to create her piece for Culture Shapers, a Houston-based visual arts competition. The deadline to submit pieces is in the fall, and winners will be announced after November. Competitors are also eligible to win Danny Wood’s “Heart in Art” award, given to entrants who have overcome adversity and shown leadership, character, and social skills. “It is about the afterlife; photographs of myself…inside a skull’s mouth,” Gonzales said. “You’re engulfed by death, basically. There’s always an end. I’ve put in a lot of effort in it and…it shows how I feel because I’m not good with words.” Photo by Anh Lu.

Bottom left: Thomas Tran uses charcoal to create his piece, Bam Ram Jam for VASE. “It’s a ram blowing into another ram’s horn; think of like a war horn. I usually don’t know what to do, so I do animal stuff and try to do what no one else does—not a lot of people do rams.” Photo by Jeff Chien. Nadia Zulfa

8 | Kerronicle.com |Feature

I wasn’t mad at him, I was mad I wasn’t him.”Before the summer of his freshman year,

when a day at the pool with a friend changed his life, junior Abhishek Mukund weighed 183 pounds, but he didn’t let it bother him.

“To me, being fat was something I didn’t care about,” Mukund said.

It wasn’t until that day that he found himself conflicted with his weight.

“He was super fit: abs, defined muscles, good looking. I was fat as [heck], no muscles, and my face was extremely chubby,” he said. “There were these girls and they giggled about something and disappeared into the nearby gym, so my friend wanted to follow them. He showed off by working out, something I couldn’t do at all—all I did was sit and watch as both girls talked to him and he eventually ditched me and left with them. I decided then that I would need to change pretty soon.”

When he got to Kerr, he saw the opportunity for what he wanted. “Every day after school, I worked out a little. It was nothing major, just a few pushups and sit-ups,” he said. “Then I got P.E. as a class, so now I had a place to work out at. I ran full speed for an hour every day and I did that by playing tag almost every day. By the end of the term, I had dropped 50 pounds and weighed 134, but now I looked weak, so I needed muscle.”

After freshman year, he did research on how to live a healthy lifestyle.

“I looked up about what to eat, how to eat, and how to work out,” Mukund said.

Once he got back to school, he put his knowledge to use and started working out again, lifting more weights this time. Unfortunately, he noticed it was more difficult to gain muscle than lose weight.

“At first there weren’t many results,” he said. “It took nearly three months before any actual muscle became evident and even then I wasn’t happy with it so I kept lifting.”

But with help of a men’s clothing ad and P.E. coach Jorge Diaz, Mukund could motivate himself.

“I found a picture online of Mark Wahlberg in a Calvin Klein ad and immediately made it my goal,” he said. “Around the same time, I began talking to Coach Diaz who helped me put workouts together and gave me advice on how to work out certain

muscles. I was proud of myself that school year.”

Outside of school, Mukund exercised at 24-Hour Fitness.

“I still wasn’t very big and the huge people at the gym intimidated me. I would do a quarter of their weight almost every time and it hurt my pride,” Mukund said. “It affected me so much that I almost didn’t want to go anymore.”

After a difficult experience he had at the gym, his confidence in himself started to deteriorate.

“One day, I was about to do the bench press but I didn’t realize the weight I put on was more than I could handle,” he said. “The minute I picked it up, it landed on my chest and I couldn’t make it budge and I found myself stuck underneath it. I didn’t want to call for help because I thought I would look like a coward.”

Another regular gym member, though, helped change his mind.

“After a few minutes, a guy came running over and got the weight off my chest. He asked me if I was okay and I said yeah but with disappointment. I felt I had failed,” Mukund said. “That random guy at the gym talked to me for awhile and he told how he started off scrawny and was bullied for it. Then he said how everyone starts off with a little weight and eventually can lift anything they can dream of.”

After that talk, Mukund’s perspective of working out in a gym changed direction completely.

“I started understanding how important it is to be who you are in the gym, so I started to work out every day there for about five hours,” he said. “It was a really good summer.”

It is his junior year and after all the improvements he has made, he continues with his exercise routine.

“When I got back to school, all my lifts had nearly doubled,” Mukund said. “I’m able to do so much more this year than ever before.”

Although he is keeping fit, maintaining a healthy diet can be a struggle sometimes.

“Eating properly can get really hard since you really want McDonald’s that night, or you think pizza would do, but more and more, I’m realizing it’s pretty easy to live without that stuff,” he said. “Other times it’s hard to get the will to work out because you don’t want to be sore, but then I think about how I used to look and I change my mind.”

In the end, Mukund finds the real reason he took the challenging journey to a healthy and fit lifestyle.

“Sometimes I question who am I really doing this for, if it’s girls or to show off. Then I realize I’m doing it for me and no one else.”

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Junior Abhishek Mukund lifts weights as a way to unwind after taking a test. Alyssa Martinez

Mukund pursues a fitter life

Feature| Kerronicle.com | 9

Going the Distance:As sweat trickles down his

forehead, junior Jason Nguyen crosses the finish line at the Race for the Cure marathon in October. Feeling thrilled, he cools off as his friends cheer and congratulate him.

For Nguyen, running is more than a hobby; it is a lifestyle.

“I guess I was just born with the blood,” he said. “I just love to run.”

What started off as a way to prove people wrong turned into Nguyen’s love and passion for running.

“My strongest motivation was when everyone looked down on me as a freshman,” Nguyen said. “I was competing in a marathon against Dunlap and everyone thought I was going to lose.”

Despite the discouraging comments, Nguyen finished the ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run with a better time than science teacher Eric Dunlap.

“Most people crumble under negativity from their peers pushing down on them, but no matter how

hard they bone-crushingly push you down, the most amazing thing you can do is convert that into motivation and prove them wrong.”

Dunlap is known to be an eager runner, often seen walking or biking to and from school.

“It’s good to run because if you stop and you can’t run, you might die,” Dunlap said. “I try to run at least once a week, which is not enough, but that’s what I do.”

English paraprofessional Luci Siminic is also an avid runner who competes in marathons as an easy way to maintain her health. She started running in 1981 as an inexpensive way to exercise and lose weight.

“Well, I was overweight when I first started [to run],” Siminic said. “I was over 132 pounds at 5’1”, and that was a lot for me, so I started running.”

Siminic believes that running is very rewarding because it feels as if she has accomplished something. It makes her feel good to maintain her health for her body, and by the end of the day she feels great because she exercised.

“I’m proud of the fact that I’ve been able to successfully run and exercise for so many years,” Siminic said. “[I’m also] proud to be able to do the 26.2 after all those times. But really, feeling physically fit is a very big accomplishment.”

As for Nguyen, he will participate again in the 26th annual ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run on February 23.

Pro Tips

Luci Siminic runs the 2011 Chevron Houston Marathon. She frequently runs marathon because she feels that exercising is important.

Jason Nguyen jogs outside during lunch break. He feels that running helps realease his stress.

Kelli Chow & Julia Nguyen

Photo courtesy: Luci Siminic Rebecca Negri

Luci SiminicParaprofessional

“It makes me feel really good after I run because

that’s something I do for myself and a lot of people don’t do that.”

1) Get a good night’s sleep

2) Mentally prepare

yourself; keep your eye

on the goal

3) Run everyday

4) Start easy and push

yourself harder as you

get better

Runners chase a healthier path

10 | Kerronicle.com | Lifestyle

The Homeroom Burger:

Fresh ground Black Angus beef with Applewood Bacon, Cheddar Cheese,

“Tipsy” Caramelized Onions, Chipotle Aioli, topped with a Fried

Egg ($9.75; Serves 1-2 people; Pictured

Right)

Hitting all the Truck stops:

Food Truck Craze sweeps Houston

OhMyGogi Fries:

Korean Beef Short Rib/Chicken/Spicy Pork, topped with Monterrey

Jack, Mild Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero cheese,

Onions, Cilantro, Sriracha Sauce and House Special Spicy Sauce

($6.00; Add a Fried Egg for $1.00; Serves 1-2 people; Pictured Below)

OhMyGogi

OhMyGogiWww.OhMyGogi.com

Sarah Bungay

TheWaffleBus

TheWaffleBus

Www.TheWaffleBus.com

Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Waffle:

Served with choice of Spicy Mayo or Ancho Chili Honey sauce($7.00; Serves ~1 person; Pictured Above Right)

Meera Norton

No one can really explain where the sudden flood of food trucks that now

dominate Houston’s food industry came from. Maybe Food Network star Tyler Florence’s “The Great Food Truck Race” or Houston Food Crawl’s “Food Truck Iron Chef Challenge” had something to do with sparking ambition in aspiring restaurateurs. Places outside the 610 loop, such as the Museum of Fine Arts of History and Rice University, are now havens for dozens of the mobile food joints. But while the origins of their sudden popularity are unknown, one thing is for sure: these food trucks’ relatively low-priced, well-sized portioned and tasty dishes aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Jason Nguyen

Meera Norton

BerniesBurgersWww.BerniesBurgerBus.com

BerniesBurgers

Anh Lu

Kimchi Koagie:

Barbecue Ribeye, Kimchi, Onions, Kimchi Aioli, with Provolone or Wiz

Cheese ($8.50; Serves 1-2 people; Pictured

Left)

KoagieHots

KoagieHots

Www.KoagieHots.com

►See More Food Truck Pictures and more at Kerronicle.com

Tuong-Phi Le

Puppets that look like they came straight off the set of Sesame Street dance across the Black

Box theatre and a saw whines loudly from behind the dark walls. Actors and actresses prepare with a few vocal warm ups, and junior Alex Vinh takes a break from construction.

“We were all hyped up because we’ve had some successful plays in the past,” Vinh said. “We wanted to end the season with a big production.”

And a big production it was. Cadre Kerr brought yet another work to the stage-but with a twist. Avenue Q School Edition was Cadre Kerr’s first musical production in years.

“We haven’t done [a musical] in a while,” said Vinh, who operated the puppet Princeton in the play. “The last one we had was like three or four years ago.”

As a musical, and one that seems to hold a special place in theatre director Julie Ryan’s heart, Avenue Q School Edition has demanded extra expenses as well as effort, according to sophomore Jun Tan.

“I think this is Mrs. Ryan’s, like, baby play basically,” said Tan, who portrayed the puppet Rod. “We definitely spent a lot of money on getting this play to the stage.”

To sophomore Danyal Syed, who was co-crew head for the production, money wasn’t the only thing that made the play difficult to produce.

“The musical takes a lot more

work because of the choreography,” Syed said. “It’s kind of hard sometimes to nail that type of synchronization.”

The costs of a musical production are higher than those of regular plays that Cadre Kerr has performed in the past. Unlike in past productions, where scripts were bought and kept, many of the materials for this musical were not purchasable.

“We spent a whole week with a puppet teacher that we hired for like thousands of dollars,” Vinh said. “We had to rent the puppets… and rent the music and the scripts.”

The damage costs had to be taken into consideration as well.

“Usually we buy the scripts and we keep them but these we had to rent,” Vinh said, “and if anything happens to them… we have to pay for every single damage.”

Every smudge of dirt or loose bit of thread on a rented puppet would also result in additional charges.

Because of the increase in production costs, admission costs also went up. Tickets to Avenue Q ran from $8 pre-sale to $10 at the door from Cadre Kerr’s regular play prices of $5 pre-sale to $7 at the door. Before opening night of Avenue Q, some students believed the performance wouldn’t be worth the increase in pricing but audience member Andrea Magana, a sophomore, disagreed.

“It might cost a little bit more,” Magana said, “but I’m pretty sure the

quality of it will pay off.”Although expenses were quite

high, to Syed, hopes and expectations for the musical were higher still.

“A regular play would obviously be easier,” Syed said. “But I think the musical really yields, if you do it right, really good results.”

Five performances ran from January 18 through 26 in Kerr’s Black Box Theatre. To Syed, opening night justified all the effort.

“We got such good reviews on the first night and the second night as well,” Syed said. “It turned out much better than expected.”

Through all the hard work, the effort, the expenses, the endless rehearsals, there’s just something about a musical that you just can’t find in any regular play, no matter how funny, or deep or thought-provoking it might be. According to Tan, it was the music.

“I like musicals, I like singing,” Tan said with a laugh. “I’m obviously biased.”

The music is something Syed also feels is what made the biggest difference.

“The musical...has a tune to it,” Syed said. “It’s something you yourself can sing to; you start singing for no apparent reason. I guess that’s the enjoyable part.”

Avenue Q vastly different from previous plays

Amy Haokip

Above Left: Kate Monster, played by sophomore Melissa Ramos, proposes to Princeton.

Top Right: Christmas Eve, played by junior Tam Tran, performs the song “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.”

Above Right: Princeton, played by junior Alex Vinh, sings “What do you do with a B.A. in English.”

Letter of the Day:

Cast

Pic

tur

ed a

bove:

Rebecca Negri & Nour Alia

Entertainment| Kerronicle.com | 11

Hadiqa Memon

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