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YE Makes Bank! Students participated in YE Market Day Nov. 10. Pictured are (Top) Chase Wolff (11) and Kelcee Sullivan (12); Alyson Blackwell (12); (Bottom) Kori Visor (12); Adam Tabor (12), Tyler Roberts (11) and Ashley Reishick (11). More information about the YE Market Day can be found on page 3. (Photos by Rachel Pangrac)

Augusta High School2020 Ohio StreetAugusta KS 67010

November 2011 Volume 79, Issue 3

Inside3 Market Day5 Career Photography Field Trip

6 Artwork of the Month

8 What’s Next9 Creative Writing10 All-league14 Great Debate: Which do you prefer: the Twilight or Harry Potter saga?

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Oriole Augusta High School 2020 Ohio Augusta, KS 67010

Policy Statement The Oriole is published monthly from Sep-

tember- May and distributed free to the mem-bers of the high school community. It is repro-

duced at the USD 402 Copy Center, and is posted on the USD 402 website and on Facebook.

The Oriole is a student-produced newsmaga-zine published to entertain the community and educate members of the Newspaper Publications

class. Opinions expressed are those of individual

authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the administration or staff.

Signed guest articles are encouraged but are subject to editing for grammar, length, legiblil-

ity and taste.(Member of KSPA)

StaffEditor in Chief................................Natalie SykesLayout Editor......................................Ally SpeasePhotograper.................................Rachel PangracReporters: Hailey Base, Mackenzie Cool, Kath-ryn Hooglugt, Laura Ewertz, Nick Reimer Adviser.......................................Kathey Gibbs

Coming Next Month...

By Hailey Base Do you remember watching episodes of Charlie Brown when you were younger? If you enjoyed it then, then you were sure to enjoy the Fall Musical, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” performed Nov.12-13 in the auditorium. Going into the play opening night, my expectations were high, and I was not let down! I was a little concerned with how the characters would be represented as they are pretty iconic, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the actors and actresses played their characters perfectly and the singing was awesome! “A lot of our set has a really strong musical background,” said play director Tim Laner. Another concern of mine was that the play was going to be childish, but it ended up being really good for all ages, with jokes that children and adults could all enjoy. My favorite “joke”

was when Linus, played by Valen Pray (10), walked across stage, sucking his thumb and said, “I think I’m losing my flavor!” The people who made this possible are always greatly appreciated. Linus was played by Pray (10); Lucy, Angie Thompson (11); Charlie Brown, Keegan Hallmark (10); Sally, Ari Chandler (10); Peppermint Patty, Lacey Schwartz (11); Snoopy, Tanner Martindale (11); and Schroder , Michael Cox (10). Many people “behind the scenes” were just as important. The director of the play was Tim Laner. Rachel Simmons was the music director, accompanied by Kay McCollom, and Danny Park was the set director. Katie Garr (11) was the technical director. This was probably my favorite high school play I have ever seen. The acting was superb, as was the singing, and the story line was adorable. Good job, Drama Department!

Musical meets perfection

Making Music “Charlie Brown” cast members sing during scene one. (Photo By Rachel Pangrac)

Dec. 6-Winter Concert 7 p.m. in AuditoriumDec. 12-Art Show 6:30 p.m. at Augusta Arts Center Dec. 14-Senior Citizen Concert 9:30 p.m. Dec. 21-End of First SemesterDec. 22- Beginning of Winter Break

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By Laura Ewertz Did you notice the gigantic poster in the commons saying Market Day? Of course, that means that the boring lunch that you eat every day becomes a little more fantastic for one day. November 10 was Market Day, produced by the YE class. There were 12 stands that had many different items to choose from. China Star, run by Lydia Brookins (10) and Kori Visor (12), sold fried rice and crab rangoon. Nelson Bahruth (12) sold caramel apples at his Caramelizer stand. Cortlan Jackson (10) ran the chocolate fountain that included chocolate-covered strawberries and Rice Crispy treats. Flamin’ Fajitas, run by Adam Tabor (12), Tyler Roberts (11) and Ashley Rieschick (11), served

treats and homemade tea. Hunter Hoge (11) grilled up hamburgers at his stand, Krabby Patty Palace. “It’s really fun to work,”

Megan Burkett (10) said about the stand, Texas Roses. Shalynne Kerby (12) was the creator of that stand, which had fried pickles and Oreo balls. Wolff Pack Snack Attack

offered healthy onion rings and French fries. Chase Wolff and Kelcee Sullivan (both 12) had that stand. Amanda Montgomery

(11) also made Oreo balls at her stand, Decadent Dollops. B-3 Burrito Bombers sold breakfast burritos. B-3 stands for three boys, and they were seniors Carter Smith, Brandt

Patterson and Joey Hasting. Kettle Kutie/ Sweet Stuff sold puppy chow and caramel corn and was run by Bailey Ritchey (10) and Rebekah Schaffer (11). Floaty Floozies, whipped up by Sadia Coonrod (10), served root beer floats. Last but not least, Chance Hufman (11), Preston Johnson (10) and Chasity Pinckney (12) sold homemade ice cream and pop. “This is awesome,” Trevor Stewart (10) said looking at all his choices. Many things happened during set-up and while Market Day was going on. At the Wolff Pack table, a fire started but was easily contained, and at the Texas Roses station, grease was accidentally spilled all over the floor. Market Day is a fun day for all the high school, but it was chaotic.

Working Hard! Hunter Hoge grills his Krabby Patties to perfection in the courtyard. (Photo by Rachel Pangrac)

Delicious treats served at Market Day

By Hailey Base The AHS debate team will hold their annual nov-ice division debate tourna-ment Dec. 3. As many as 11 schools will be attending and com-peting, including Campus, Collegiate, Wichita East, Independence, El Dorado, Circle, Sunrise Christian Academy, Andover Central, Goddard, Derby and Cha-parel. Augusta will not be

competing; however, since they are hosting the tourna-ment themselves. Two teams have medaled this year, both in the novice division. Cassidy Wheatley (10) and Ashlyn Rosenbaum (9) placed third at the Wel-lington Tournament Oct. 3. Christian Moore (9) and Sam Schroer (9) took fourth at the Kapaun Tournament Oct. 29. There have also been

many teams who have had winning records. The advanced team of seniors, Taylor Schneider and Na-than Pearcy, had winning records at the Valley Cen-ter Tournament and at the Kapaun Tournament. Also, the advanced debaters Hai-ley Base (12) and Brittany Thompson (12) had a win-ning record at the Collegiate Tournament Nov. 5. “This year’s topic al-

lowed us to push our debate education, knowledge and skills,” said Brayden Rob-erts (11). There has been a lot of success with this years debate season, reguardless of a class full of mostly freshman and novice debat-ers, there is sure to be more success in the future as the experience grows into greater knowledge of the sport.

Debaters prepare to host annual home tournament Two novice teams medal...

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By Ally Spease The Career Photography students, acompained by teacher Audra Shelite, took a field trip to Wichita Oct. 4. Our class left at 8 a.m. and we went straight to the Keeper of the Plains tourist attraction. This monument is a sculpture of an Indian that was displayed in 1974. The sculpture sits at the meeting of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers in downtown Wichita. At the foot of the statue I found numerous displays that talk about all the local tribes that once resided in the Wichita area. Also I learned that in

the evenings, at the base of the statue, multiple fire pits are lit to illuminate the figure at night. The Keeper of the Plains is considered one of the eight wonders of Kansas, and because it was along side the river, it was really great for photography pictures. After an hour or so, our class got back onto the bus and headed to Botanica, a collection of gardens. In the entryway, the room was lined with stunning photographs that had been taken inside the garden the year before. It gave us all an idea of what to look for

when we went through the double doors that lead to the gardens. Inside Botanica, I found lots of figurines of children and women, as well as oodles of flowers and water fountains. The roses had frost on them from the cool weather that morning, which added great texture to the pictures. There was also a butterfly house, which was really cool to get up close and personal with the bugs and my camera lens. There was a children’s garden; with a tree house, and most of the trees had weird faces carved into them, making

the whole place excellent for picture taking!After we had all finished a good amount of exploring the gigantic gardens through the eye of our cameras, we headed off to River City Brewery for a tasty lunch. After we ate, we all loaded up and headed back to school so we could upload our images to the computers and be finished in time to make it to our fourth block. It was nice to get out as a class and take some pictures of scenery that wasn’t in the front lawn of the school.

Beautiful Pictures These pictures were taken on the Career Photography field

trip to downtown Wichita. The students spent the day at various sites taking pic-tures of still life, architec-

ture and even people, while practicing the techniques

they had been taught during class. The upper left photo

includes class members. Other photos were taken by Tara Bassingthwaighte, Ar-rika Hill and Audra Shelite.

Photography class goes to Wichita for field tripTaking landmark shots

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By Laura Ewertz Seminars raced to raise money for two worthy charities during November. The object of one contest was to collect the most pop tabs out of the whole school. Another project was Cancer Bites, a benefit to earn money for leukemia research. The pop tabs competition was throughout October and November with many people contributing to

By Ally Spease We had our first sight of snow Nov. 8. By the next morning, people were starting their cars a few minutes early and breaking out the old ice scrapers from last winter. Most kids showed up at school in their winter shoes and cozy jackets. These are the signs of the coming holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, signs of a time of giving, thanking and new beginnings. We all know what we want to be given for Christmas this year. (I know I do. I started my list in early October!)… but then I started thinking… What are we going to give? Below is a list of

volunteer opportunities that are available currently and will be available out throughout the holidays. But first, why should you volunteer? Not because it looks good on college applications and not because being a good kid will get you presents from Santa. It’s because giving is the greatest form of receiving.

Salvation Army – Donating your old clothes will not only help the kids who can’t afford them, but also will help make room for the new ones that you’re going to get under the tree this winter. You can also help with Angel Tree applications, sorting toys, or being a bell ringer to collect

money outside of businesses during the holidays. Contact Bethany - (316) 263-2769, ext. 135.

LakePoint Nursing Home- You could play games, paint nails, help with crafts, read to the residents or just have a nice conversation with them. Older people often have lots of interesting stories to tell! Contact Goldie – (316) 775-6333.

Botanica, The Wichita Gardens – In December, you could help take tickets, light chimeneas, or even sell refreshments to the customers. You get to experience the “Christmas feel” beneath the lights of the Botanica gardens, all the while helping a community

facility stay active. Contact the Botanica volunteer coordinator Kathy Brown – (316) 264-0448, ext. 103.

American Red Cross – Each person who donates blood saves three lives! You can always donate blood, or you could help run the blood drives, and/or help in the blood donation centers. To do this, contact Vonna Peerson - (316) 268-0812.

United Way of the Plains – This website has many more listings for volunteering that aren’t in the newspaper, and they update them every month. You can go to unitedwayplains.org then go to “volunteer” and click on volunteer guides. Contact Becky- (316) 267-0202.

Now it’s time for charity work at local agencies

Husselman, Hess, Cox seminars collect most pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House

their seminar’s total. The winning class of the competition was Chris

Husselman’s seminar. The two seminars close behind his were Rick Hess’s and Ann Cox’s. With the total pounds of pop tabs rounding out to

about 25, this contest was for a great cause. All four boxes of the pop

tabs are being taken to the Ronald McDonald House in Wichita. As for the Cancer Bites benefit, these little boxes were for donating money

for leukemia research. Leukemia is a type of cancer that is in the blood that is caused by having an abnormal number of white blood cells. This benefit was sponsored by Stuco. These projects were a great opportunity for students who couldn’t donate otherwise. Both benefits help good causes, and with our school’s help, we made a difference.

Contests raise money for two worthy causesSeminars compete to win

Tired of donating money?

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By Mackenzie Cool Tyler Dowty earned this month’s art award. He created his masterpiece because his “personality is random and strange” and he felt like his art “fits his feelings,” according to Dowty. “ There is no story for this art. I just started drawing and I found out that I am an artist and didn’t know it!” he said. On his drawing there is a quote that says, “I have seen the truth, and it doesn’t make sense.” Dowty often says, “If we all knew the truth, then we wouldn’t be so lost, but we don’t know

the truth, and that makes us human.” Like every young artist, there are mistakes that come along. The best you can do is cover them up. Dowty had put a light bulb and a bird on his drawing. He took a second look at it and decided to remove them. “ I am happy with my piece right now. It’s still not finished, but hopefully I can put it in a art show,” said Dowty. Dowty has worked hard on this artwork for a while, and he deserves this Art of the Month recognition, not just for this art piece, but for many of his drawings.

By Nick Reimer “Back when I was living in North Carolina, in a place called Charlotte, I offered to be a guide for a little extra money. You see, I would go to the Outdoor Sporting Shop up there, and they would match me up with some hikers. “Well, I wanted to go fish up at Kathy Creek, and so did this hiker who had been to the shop. So, I guided him. When we met up, I was kind of in a hurry to get there. It’s pretty much a day’s hike in and a day hike out, and I was somewhat eager to get there.

“We started hiking on the Chestnut Trail, which led into the Sawtooth Trail. The guy that I was hiking with was somewhat heavy-set. We had a tote-line between us to make it a bit easier on everyone. On our way up, we kept hearing some rustling in the bushes around us. The noise wasn’t too out of the ordinary because lizards and squirrels were all over the area, but this sounded like heavy steps, so I assumed it was a wild pig. And wild pigs terrify me. “We came to the ridge of the hill line, and I kept

Teacher finds himself in a ‘fishy’ situationThe Adventures of Sturm...

Artwork of the Month

hearing those sounds. It must have been following us. Over that hill line, we started to cross this meadow, and about halfway through; I turned back and pulled out my binoculars, thinking that I was going to see what was following us. “Looked back and…there it was! A black bear. I couldn’t think why it would be following us. Bears normally don’t just follow hikers, so I turned to the guy with me and asked him if he had any food. He replied, ‘No, not really.’ I asked him what he meant about ‘Not really,’ and he responded

with, ‘Well, I’ve had some sardines.’ “For the people who don’t know, sardines are what are used when the parks decide to count the bears. So this bear was following us, expecting a feast, because he reeked of sardines. “I decided to simply end the problem then and there. I told the guy to strip down and bathe in the ice-cold glacier runoff water to get rid of the sardine smell. And then I sprayed him down with skunk spray, just to be sure.” (As told by Bryon Sturm)

“Looked back and...there it was! A black bear. I couldn’t think why it would be following us.”

Awesome Art Tyler Dowty (12) poses with his cheesy smile and his work of art that earned him this month’s rec-ognition. (Photo by Rachel Pangrac)

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What do you want for

Christmas?

By Kathryn Hooglugt Every year the band and choirs join to perform a December holiday concert. This event will be Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. On the stage the band members will be in the front, and the choirs will be in the back on risers. All of the choirs and the band will present “Our Winter Wonderland,” an uplifting, jolly song that will hopefully put the audience

in a Christmas mood. The Mixed Choir will be singing “Now Sing We Now, Rejoice” and “Pat-a-Pan.” Bella Canto will sing “Santa Baby,” “Sussex Carol” and “Here Comes Santa Claus.” The Show Choir will perform “Ave Maria.” The Concert Choir will sing “Carol of the Bells,” “Touro-Wuro-Wuro,” “Personent Hodie,” “Little Drummer Boy” and “Peace, Peace.”

The band members’ music will include “Passacaglia,” an old English carol, “Dance of the Slippery Slide Trombones,” “Santa loves Cha-Cha,” and Russian Christmas music. Todd Hollis (Instrumental Music) and Rachel Simmons (Vocal Music) are directors of the musical groups. Kay McCollom is the pianist who will accompany all choirs.

Band, choirs join together to present holiday concert

(Photos by Mackenzie Cool)

“Ohio State skull candy” Cody Thompson (10)

“Paintball items” James Sutton (12)

“New exhaust for my truck” Fufe Johnson (11)

“A new cellphone” Kylie Wesbrooks (9)

Students donate blood for good cause

SADD members and volunteers helped with the Blood Drive. The Blood Drive was located in the Hutter Gym during school on Nov. 11. The goal was of 69 pints, but they col-lected a total of 80 pints of blood. So they exceeded their expectations for this year’s Blood Drive, ac-cording to Officer Strobbe. (Photos by Rachel Pan-grac and Hadleigh Jones)

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WHAT’S N E X T?a preview of upcoming community & school events

DEC. 1

DEC. 3 DEC. 4

DEC. 2

DEC. 5 DEC. 6

DEC. 7 DEC. 8 DEC. 9 DEC. 10

DEC. 11 DEC. 12 DEC. 13 DEC. 14

DID YOU KNOW?

aSkills USA totaled $5,200 in sales on their Blue and Gold sausage sale.aNHS had a bake-sale Nov. 21-22 to raise money for scholarships.aFCCLA has been pen pals with fifth graders at Garfield throughout the whole month of November.a14 art students took a field trip to Pittsburg State Uni-versity Art Day Nov. 17.aDance Team had their first ever bake sale Nov. 14-15 in order to raise money for dance constumes at competition in Jan.aAmerican Educa-tion Week was Nov. 14-18! aFEA handed out candy and treats to teachers all week.aStuCo held a Staff Breakfast to give thanks to the teachers Nov. 18.aShow Choir did solos and revealed their amazing talent Nov. 17 in the Audi-torium.

DEC. 15 DEC. 16 DEC. 17 DEC. 18

DEC. 19 DEC. 20 DEC. 21 DEC. 22

WinterBreak!

Pep Assembly @ 2:40 p.m. Hutter Gym

State Math AssessmentsInternational Ninja Day

State Math AssessmentsAHS Winter Music Concert

@ 7 p.m. Auditorium

State Math Assessments State Math Assessments National ACT Test Date @ WSUAnnual NHS Baby Sitting Day @ 12:45 p.m. Hutter GymDewy Decimal System Day

AHS Art Show Reception @ 6:30 p.m. Augusta Arts Center

AHS Senior Citizen Music Concert @ 9:30 a.m. Audi-toriumRachels Challenge Assem-bly @ 8:30 a.m. AuditoriumF.OR. training @ 11:.30 a.m. Auditorium

Hanukkah begins at sundown!

End of First SemesterWinter SolsticeWorld Peace Day

Nieves’ Enchiladas and Tacos sale ends

National Cookie Day!International Day of Disabled Persons

World Wide Candle Light-ing Day

International Mountain Day

Cat Herders Day

347th day of the year!

National Chocolate-covered Anything Day

Wright Brothers Day International Migrants Day

Official wear-sweat-pants-to-AHS Monday

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By Natalie Sykes Creative writing, a class that was once taught here for many years, has been recreated for those who like to write. This class counts as an English elective, and it also gives kids a chance to express their feelings, thoughts and concerns in their work. There are two classes of Creative Writing, one each semester. In the first semester class there are 25 students ranging from seniors to freshman. Kathey Gibbs (Lan-guage Arts) started teaching Creative Writing her second year of teaching and has taught it every year she has been here that it has been offered at the high school. Gibbs’ favorite class has always been creative writ-ing because (who would have guessed!) this English teacher enjoys writing. She first took a creative writing class in her high school. A big project that the students are working on is a

“Letter to the Author.” The students had to choose an author to write to about a specific literary work and how that work has impacted their lives in some way. The goal is to have these essays sent to the Letters About Literature contest. “Letter to the Author” is not the only thing the Creative Writing class does. They have also done an ABC story, an objective description, a subjective description of an object/person, name poems, a description that creates mood. They have written a descriptive essay called the “Sounds of Silence” using onomatopoeia. Fables, hai-kus, perception poems and characterizations are also among the things that they have done. Currently, they are doing work to prepare to write short stories. If you are an aspiring author or just enjoy writing, then Creative Writing is the class for you.

Creative Writing classAn AHS tradition revived

Justis is my name.When people hear the word “Justis,”

They think of law-related things.Well, I’m not a lawyer.

Old teachers called me “Justis for all.”I absolutely hated it.

The pledge has nothing to do withA Mexican who lives in Kansas

My name is often spelled wrong.It’s not spelled Just-ice;

It’s spelled Just-isBecause it just is.

Now you know thatI hate my name.Sincerely, Justis,The freshman.

By Natalie Sykes For Justis Marez, writ-

ing poetry comes naturally. But how many teen-age girls do you know who have had their poetry published? That’s right; Marez found out this fall that one of her poems will be published in a book, “Stars in Our Hearts.” “My favorite thing about writing is that I can speak my mind through a story and say things I wanted to say in that situation but couldn’t or wouldn’t,” said Marez. She is currently working on a book with her best friend and fellow fresh-man, Sam Brown. It is called “Falling Apart.”

“I do my best writing at home,” she said. All people will face or have faced at least one hardship in life, whether it be family issues or medi-cal issues. Marez is in a wheelchair. “I’m in a wheelchair because I can’t walk very far. My endurance isn’t very good, I guess,” she explained. “It’s fun some-times to be in a wheelchair, but it has restrictions to it and that annoys me.” Marez may only be a freshman, but she has already overcome a lot of things that many other freshmen haven’t… and she is soon to be a pub-lished author!

~Justis Marez~a natural poet

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By Natalie Sykes “Buffer Week” is tradi-tionally the first full week of November, a “lull” when no athletic practice, off-season conditioning, informal bas-ketball shooting, working out on wrestling mats, etc., in school owned facilities may take place. Athletic activities may not be held under the supervision of a school staff member in non school facilities. This means a temporary prohibi-tion on all school-sponsored athletic activities. Gymna-siums are not open to the students during Buffer Week for the purpose of shooting baskets, working out with weights, etc., outside of school hours. What do dedicated athletes do during this “vacation”? Do they suf-fer withdrawl, or do they celebrate their time off? Many athletes go to a gym like the YMCA to work out with friends or by them-selves. Colton Robinson (12) played basketball with friends at a gym. “Of course! I’m a three season athlete, I’m always training to win!” said

Robinson (who participates in football, basketball and track) about working out during Buffer Week. On the other hand, some students liked their “time off.” Seniors Christina Downs and Taylor Williams, who play both volleyball and basketball, went home and hung out with each other. There are always kids who enjoy spacing their time off between working out and hanging out. Cory White (11) did just that. “I worked out and hung out with friends. Plus I went to see ‘Immortal’ for my birthday,” said White. To a lot of teenagers, it can be hard to have the motivation to work out by themselves. Lexi Walling-ford (12) and Downs agree with this statement. “I would rather go to the Y with friends,” said Wall-ingford. White and Robinson both agree that it isn’t hard to have the motivation. “Not at all. I want to succeed, for my team and my coaches,” exclaimed Robinson.

Buffer Week Blues?

Winter Sports Preview

BowlingKellee Roberts

StrengthsBoys-We have an experienced team.Girls-All of our varsity members are returning (two Sate returners)

WeaknessesBoys-Scoring consis-tently.Girls-We need to find someone to step up and be a team leader.Last Year’s Record

Boys- 11-2Girls- 6-6Biggest Player LossTyler Newman

ExpectationsI expect us to have a good number of bowlers represented at State this year.

Girls BasketballBrad Kohlman

StrengthsExperience- Four returning starters and other who have played significantly for us.

WeaknessesWe will need to fo-cus on rebounding, physical post play and taking care of the ball.Last Year’s Record6-15Biggest Player LossKyrsten Crawford

ExpectationsI am expecting us to finish near the top of our league.

Boys BasketballDavid Stephenson

StrengthsVery good point guard/ play hard/ good enthusiasm

WeaknessesNot much experi-enceLast Year’s Record13-8Biggest Player LossTravis Erwin and Connor Carman

ExpecationsPlay hard, get better each week and win games

WrestlingBrandon Terry

StrengthsOne returning State Qualifier

WeaknessesLost seven seniorsLast Years’s Record11-2Biggest Player Lossseven seniors

ExpectationsWe have very good depth at each weight so we should have solid replacements. In addition, we have some tough freshmen that will make an impact at some of the lower weights.

11 THE ORIOLE

Congrats,All-league Athletes

FootballColton Robinson (12) (First Team)Michael Gambale (12)(Hon. Men.)Brian Prentice (12)(Hon. Men.)Colby Willis (11)(Hon. Men.)

Cross CountryChase Wells (12)(First Team)

VolleyballShawnee Wallace (12)(First Team)Taylor Williams (12)(Second Team)

SoccerRyan Albright (12)(First Team)Logan Hiser (12)(Second Team)A.J. Willett (12)(Second Team)Ian Hall (12)(Second Team)Josh Riddle (12)(Hon. Men.)Dalton Wheat (12)(Hon. Men.)

State Golf Qualifiers

Heather Spyers (12)Baylee Johnston (9)

By Natalie Sykes “When they say the game is merely a game of inches, they sure ain’t lyin’. High school career is over with me givin’ every thing I had but came up short by just a yard…just a couple of inches. Seniors, I’m proud of every one of you, you didn’t quit, you didn’t give in, you fought. And for that I love you,” commented Alex Clausing (12) on Facebook on Oct. 28 following the last game of the season against Circle. Game nights are the highlight of some teenagers’ weeks. There was one game that was highly anticipated by many Orioles. October 27 was the last football game of the season. The Orioles marched in to Towanda to play the Circle Thunderbirds looking for a win. As the game came to an end, Augusta was down 19-15 and one yard

away from taking the lead. Clausing had the ball and was pushed out of bounds, with no time left in the game. The boys suffered a four-point loss. “I was very proud of their heart and effort in the last game against Circle. The guys showed a lot of character, desire, toughness and competiveness,” said Head Coach Roger Robben. “I was extremely proud of them,” Clausing said about his teammates. Clausing was one of 13 seniors on the team. Cody Smith, Jake Payton, Joey Hasting, Colton Robinson, Brian Prentice, Zach Perez, Michael Gambale, Gage Clasen, James Sutton, Daniel Armstrong and Juan Figueroa were the other twelve seniors. Hadleigh Jones (manager) and Carter Smith (student trainer) were also seniors. “All of us seniors gave

it our all until the very last down,” said Hasting. “I’m glad I got to play for the Augusta Orioles.” His most memorable moment was when he scored his first touchdown of his senior year in the El Dorado game. “In the beginning we were just friends and there wasn’t a bond. By the end, we were willing to cry together and fight together. We weren’t afraid to show emotions,” said Classen. “It was an honor to play for the Augusta Orioles! I hope that you guys who will be playing next year kick some major *** and win some games! As for Alex, Joey, Juan, James, Daniel, Colton, Brian, Michael, Gage and Cody…I am very proud to have played on the football field with you guys. You guys are family to me, including all the rest from our time. ORIOLE PRIDE!” said Perez on Facebook.

Emotional final game ends season

Tough Loss Alex Clausing (12) says a tearful good-bye to Head Coach Roger Rob-ben after the final football game Oct. 27. (Photo by Hadleigh Jones)

12 THE ORIOLE

Reimer’s ReviewBy Nick Reimer SKYRIIIIIM. To those familiar with the Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim is the fifth installment and the first game in which the mythical dragons will be an open force against you. Skyrim follows the typical character creation that every other Elder Scrolls game has used; you’re a prisoner of some sort and for some reason being set free. In the case of Skyrim? It’s because the God of Dragons, Alduin, showed up to ruin the show. Too bad, player-character. You don’t get brutally execut-ed today. Pity. The entire game fol-lows a Norweigien-esque Nordic feel, which is a stark (if not beautiful!) contrast to the forested

landscapes of Elder Scrolls 4, Oblivion. Let’s face it. You’re reading this review to know of the gameplay rather than the story-line. And as Skyrim is a Bethesda game, nobody really pays attention to the storyline anyway! The adventure: the ex-ploration is why you play a game like The Elder Scrolls! With a new leveling and character progression system, Skyrim really brings a new flavor to the Elder Scrolls plate. If you’re a fan of Oblivion, or any first person adven-ture fantasy game (or, if you’re a fan of smacking things with two flaming axes!) then pick up Sky-rim today. It’s a great game. No joke. Take my word for it.

By Laura Ewertz “If I Die Young,” written and performed by the Band Perry, is the country song of this year, earning the Song of the Year and Single of the Year awards at the CMA Awards Presentation this month. It is a simple love song with a beautiful melody and amazing vocals. They were also named group of the year.

The Band Perry is an up-and-coming group of siblings. Kimberly, Reid and Neil Perry are from Ridgeland, MS. Kimberly was in her own band as a teenager, and her brothers performed as her opening act when they were just 8 and 10 years old. In 2008 they were signed to a recording group and put out their first single, “Hip

to My Heart.” The song did well, but not enough to hit the top 10 on the charts. A year later the band put out their second single “If I Die Young.” This song shot them to instant fame. Almost everyone knows that song. The other songs that they have debuted are “You Lie” and “All Your Life.” They have put out more

than 800,000 copies of their second album which, like the song, is titled “If I Die Young.” They have won seven music awards, all for new artist or breakthrough artist of the year. They remind me some-what of the famous Rascal Flatts, but the main singer is a girl instead. I love their music and hope they go very far.

‘The Office,’ season 8 By Hailey Base “The Office” has been one of the most success-ful television shows to this date, running seven seasons. It has made a huge imprint in today’s pop culture. The ques-tion is, however, now that the “star” of the previous seasons, Steve Carell, has moved onto bigger and better things, will the show continue to grasp viewers as before? “The Office” has been a favorite of mine because of the way every character interacts with each other. After watching enough epi-sodes of the show, you start to feel like these people are real, not just made up char-acters, and that you are just getting a peek into their ev-eryday work life. So when I heard that Steve Car-rel, who played Michael Scott Regional Manager

of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, was leaving…I was really upset. For me, it felt as if Michael Scott was the glue that held all of “The Office” together. He was crazy, so crazy that he made it work. So going into the new-est season, season eight, I was more than a little skeptical. After watch-ing five minutes of the new season, my mind was changed. The characters still interact with one another the same, and the inappropriate company moments are just as good. As the famous Dwight Schrute once said, “Be-fore I do anything, I ask myself , ‘Would an idiot do that?’ And if the answer is ‘yes’, I do not do that thing.” So don’t be an idiot: watch the new season of “The Office!”

T he Band Perry wins ‘Group of the Year ’ at CMA’s Country band wins big

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TAM“TAM” originates from when the AHS Dance Team was overusing the phrase “That Awkward Moment” and needed a short abbreviation for it. You can use the term TAM when something totally awkwad and uncom-

fortable has happened and there is really nothing else to say!

TAM when your whole family starts singing “I’m sexy and I

know it” – Jenna LynchTAM when I do

anything… – Adam Tabor

TAM when you’re reading a story in class and your stu-

dent randomly starts singing Jingle Bells

– Ms. Barker

TAM when your cat likes Dr. Pepper just as much as you do

- Hailey Base

TAM when your dad wears a dress to school and everyone

sees him... – Katie Hollis

TAM when you go to the bank

and the girl keeps saying

“What?” so you start yelling at

her and she says “I’m not deaf. I can hear you…” – Marian George

Help the Thanksgi vi ng t urkey get

through the maze!Students of the Week

Oct. 31-Nov. 4: Morgan Cox(10) nominated by Doug Jefferson

Taylor Childers (11) nominated by Jon MorganNov. 7-Nov. 11: Michael Cox(10) nominated by Tim

LanerBlake Rader (11) nominated by Karen McKee

Nov. 14-Nov. 18: Katie VanDever (11) nominated by Joan Reichardt

Bailey Ritchey (10) nominated by Kathy NewcomNov. 21-Nov. 22: AJ Willet (12) nominated by Cindy

NickelAaron Stewart (10) nominated by Steve Pazzie

Nov. 28-Dec. 2: Brooke Eberhardt (9) nominated by Cynthia Phillips

Elizabeth Haury (11) nominated by Jeff Regier

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T he Great DebatePotter or Twilight: which is the better saga?

By Kathryn Hooglugt First, why would you choose a vegetarian clan over a spell-casting glasses wearer with a scar that re-sembles a lighting bolt. It’s obvious that you wouldn’t. I know that I didn’t. Not only does J.K. Row-ling have more books than Stephenie Meyer but also the Harry Potter books are not love stories. That means even the guys don’t have to gag when they watch Harry Potter. I’m not saying that the Twilight series is stupid but Harry Potter is just far better. Having eight movies total, Harry Potter has been one of my favorite movie series. Not only can I not wait to see the next movie of Harry Potter, but I will also watch the movies more than once. I’m one of those fans that will sit down for the weekend and get noth-ing done because I was watching Harry Potter. Not many books or movies have wizards and witches that aren’t part of something like the Salem Witch Trials. So this book series isn’t about how people want to kill them because they can cast spells. The regular humans in this series don’t know about any wizards or witches. They even have special names. They’re called “Muggles.”

The beginning of the Harry Potter series is awe-some. Having an evil wiz-ard come to your house and try to kill you but fail would be exciting. There’s a lot of action in the books and the movies so it keeps everyone interested. Yes, there is some “love stuff” included in Harry Potter but not an unrealistic amount. Seeing the characters in the Harry Potter series grow up was an experience most series’ don’t have. Getting toward the end of the series was difficult for hard core Harry Potter fans. Many of the coolest characters died in the last movies and books, which was both weird and awesome. Fin-ishing the last Harry Potter book and movie was like killing the seventh horcrux of my childhood.

PotterBy Laura Ewertz Really? Why choose a wizard over a vampire? I mean, seriously, wizards have their little fairy wands while vampires can run fast and live forever (unless killed by werewolves.) As for wizards, one “Avada Kedavra” and you’re done. Besides, Harry Potter is over and, as always, the good guy defeats the bad guy and rides off into the sunset with the “princess.” That princess also happens to be his best friend’s sister, which is a little weird. Unlike Harry Potter, the Twilight series has many different things going on in each book. In “Eclipse,” there is a vampire army forming in Seattle while the vampires and wolves in Forks are still fighting over Bella. If you haven’t read

either of these books or seen the movies, go to a differ-ent article. You basically won’t know anything about this feud if you haven’t paid attention in the theater or simply picked up one of the books. There are similarities with both series though. The werewolves. The cool thing is that Twilight has more wolves. There is only one wolf in Harry Potter, and that is Remus Lupin. Twilight, on the other hand, has a whole wolf pack. There are exactly 10 mem-bers in the pack, compared to just one in Harry’s books. A difference in the two series is also the vampires. Harry Potter is boring because there aren’t any cool action scenes, while Twilight has fights in each movie. If you seen “Break-ing Dawn” then you know that the Twilight series keeps getting better. Harry Potter got boring after the third movie and also got very predictable. To end this debate, I have to say that Twilight is far better than Harry Potter because the action is better, the characters are great and the plot is amazing. I will be very sad to see the Twi-light series end, but I know that there will be many fans who will not let the series die down.

Twilight

Harry Potter

Twilight

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Social experiment reflects teen cultureBy Nick Reimer As a social butter-fly, I like to state openly that I have friends who don’t exactly belong in my social circle. (By social circle, I mean the people I hang out with.) Obscurely, I suppose you could say that I revel in the fact that I have such a diversity of friends. It’s hard in this day and age to have friends in high school who don’t belong to your person-al clique. High school seems to be divided into four major groups: the Jocks, the Preps, the Nerds, and the Freaks. (Go, Freaks!) I’m not saying that we’re completely isolated from being friends with differ-ent social groupies. It’s just that most people don’t step outside the norm like I do. I mean, I’m friends with

these people who, generally, belong to different social circles but still interact with me. Some people aren’t as tolerant. For example, my best friend Ally Spease (12) and I decided to enter an E-lationship (Internet Relationship) on Facebook, just for fun, even though we weren’t actually dating. We’ve been friends since third grade, despite the different cliques we’re in. I pretty much expected that the general reaction would be light-hearted and humor-ous. I didn’t think anyone would take it seriously. Boy, was I wrong. Not only was the situ-ation mocked on a social networking site, but I had to sit there and watch as all these different people made

rude comments about me. Some of these people were just making an assumption based solely on my Face-book profile picture. These people began instantly judg-ing me for “what” I was, not “who” I was. Now, I’m not the type to point fingers or state names, but really? You don’t even know me! Even though we weren’t actually dating, what if we were? Why is that such a problem? Ally followed up the event by posting an aphorism that fit the situation perfectly. “If you’re quick to judge people, you have no time to love them.” It received 17 Likes. The ironical thing? A few of those 17 people were the people who where bashing me. Spread the love, just not

By Hailey Base A few weekends back I rolled out of my bed at 6 a.m not because I had to catch a plane, hitch a ride, or attend an impor-tant event...but because I wanted to see the sun rise, something I hadn’t seen in awhile. After watching the golden red bands of light begin to peek out across the horizon, I decided to take a walk around the lake. I was feeling very appreciative and humbled that I could even afford to walk outside my house on a weekend morning and enjoy such a

thing without the noise of cars, trains, or even people. As I was going around the small, winding path that was traveled by so many, but enjoyed by so few, I began to think of what this story was going to be about. And without almost any thought, it hit me: the im-probability of place. And it is! It’s very strange that this place exists, though I guess you could say that for all places. The little gravel path that makes its way around the barely-there lake, the trees that are just starting to change color or lose their leaves, the borders between

to the Freaks, right? I decided to do a little bit of research on the subject. On Wikipedia, I found a court case in which a sailor and his brother assaulted four Goths because of their subculture affiliation. I may not be a socialogist, but this looks to me like it was a hate crime. (Even though it wasn’t perceived as such in court). So, what makes this situation with Facebook any different? I’m being persecuted because of what people see of me at first glance. To those of you who do not know, the reason I dress weird is to prove another point. It’s a simple aphorism that’s been shoved down our throats since elemen-tary school: “You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”

each town, state, and coun-try,...the petty squabbles which made THIS land America and THAT land Canada...How did the world conspire to make this place? The answer, of course, is that the world didn’t conspire to make this place. I guess it never really occurred to me until that morning when I got up and enjoyed this place, that I realized...our world is not a miracle. What’s miraculous is how we fit into it, how we mold ourselves, how we become a part of it, how it fits over us like skin. What makes this place a

miracle is the relationship we have with it, and that’s what makes each one of us so special too. The relation-ships we have with our world...with the land, with the animals, with each other, with ourselves! Not because of the infinite improbabil-ity of it all, though it is all infinitely improbable...but because we can’t imagine anything more! I could wish for a new town, a new country, a new world, a new place....but I can’t imagine one that I love more than the one that I have. That’s what love is people. Start enjoying it.

Appreciating your relationship with our world

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What’s in your: Pockets

By Rachel Pangrac Libby Korthals (10) walks around school with a jacket on. The pockets of this jacket could be com-pared to the pouches of a kangaroo because they are deep and can carry a ridicu-

lous number of items. Libby is an avid reader and player of her DSI. “My pockets are a walk-ing library/snack shop.”* 18 books (jk, a Kindle)* Library book* DSI XL

* Wallet* 2 erasers* Bag of half-eaten whale crackers* 1 pencil* 3 pens* 10 candy wrappers* Assorted crumbs

* Water bottle* Bag of Pixy Stix* Bag of Fruit Loops* Broken hair brush* 2 blue colored pencils* Chap Stick* Fake green witch fingers* 2 ponytail holders

Loaded Libby Korthals (10) empties her endless pockets. (Photo by Rachel Pangrac)

Where we roll out the Red Carpet!