On Sept. 27 the Pattonville Board of Education approved increasing its tax rate to the voter-approved maximum

in all classes of property. Residents will now pay $4.42 per $100 of assessed value, an increase of 35 cents.

!e Board of Education approved this because it is the third straight year of declining revenues and budget cuts for Pattonville.

Reduced property values, decreased state fund-ing and continued tax appeals by large commer-cial taxpayers have all a"ected the spending of the district.

In May, Harrah’s Casino in Maryland Heights, and residing in the Pattonville School District, was valued at $502 million. But the Board of Equalization valued it at only $215 million.

“St. Louis County changed the way they were valuing the casino, Ron Orr, Pattonville’s chief #nancial o$cer, said. “!ey needed to base it o" of so much revenue per year.”

Ultimately, the casino is not worth as much as people thought.

“!e Board of Equalization had decreased the value of the casino because the property owner said it was too high and needed to be lowered.”

!e sudden decrease of value has a"ected school districts, including Pattonville.

“We haven’t been able to #gure out how much money Pattonville has lost,” Orr said. “It just dropped signi#cantly.”

Pattonville has at least lost several million dol-lars. In order to make sure that Pattonville has enough money to sustain costs, Pattonville has

raised its taxes and made budget cuts.“!e budget is where it is suppose to be,” Orr

said. “It is exactly where we thought it would be because we weren’t depending on the casino.”

Hancock Place however relies heavily on the tax revenue given each year by River City Casino.

“!e casino is around 4 percent of Pattonville’s entire revenue,” Orr said, compared to Hancock Place which uses almost 60 percent of the casino.

Although raising taxes may cause complaints, the tax rate increase doesn’t a"ect everyone the same way.

“Property values go down, taxes go up. It is con-sistent,” Orr said. “Every year there are people concerned when they see a decrease [in value]. It depends on where you live and the value of the property.”

Cardinals pg. 6Red Ribbon Week pg. 3

By Lexi Kendall

Each student in grades 9-11 received some type of academic test while seniors

attended a college-prep meeting and #eld trip on Oct. 11.

!e three tests given by grade level included the EXPLORE, PLAN, and Practice ACT. Each one is viewed with similar perspectives and is meant to help the student prepare for the real ACT.

Regular classes did not take place on what was called Testing Day, and students were released at 11:15 a.m.

Students took the tests in their Pirate Connection groups with their teacher administrating the test.

Rules similar to those of the ACT test were applied during this time.

!e EXPLORE test was designed for freshmen. It is the 9th grade ver-sion of the ACT. !e results of this test do not a"ect the individual’s GPA and are meant to only give an idea for career interest. !is speci#c test is meant to provide an example range of what their future ACT may look like.

“!e test helps you plan for your future and understand how the ACT works,” freshman Vixen Rectin said.

All sophomores received the PLAN test. !is test is similar to the EX-PLORE with the fact that it shows possible career inventory. !e PLAN is composed of material that will help the student learn where their weak areas are academically.

College counselor Julie Kamp-schroeder considers this test as a “practice tool that will help one prepare for the ACT.”

Juniors took a practice ACT test as a form of college preparation. !e exam was a retired ACT test that does not count as an o$cial score and can not be used when applying for colleges in the future.

According to Kampschroeder, the juniors should take this test like it’s the real deal and sign up for the ACT in February immediately if they plan on attending a four-year college.

While freshmen, sophomores, and juniors took these assessments, this day was planned di"erently for seniors.

!eir day started by #rst tak-ing their class photo. From there, seniors were assigned with one of multiple options based on choices previously given for their bene#t.

Seniors either stayed on campus to listen to speakers about college life, took a bus to visit colleges and universities around the area, took the ASVAB (military) test or visited

Arsenic and Old Lace pg. 8

By Joey Schneider

D ue to a pipe bursting in the upstairs faculty bathroom in the H-wing on Monday Sept. 26, teachers and students

were displaced throughout the high school for almost a week.

Water leaked from the second %oor of the H-wing through the ceiling tiles %ooding both %oors in some places as high as above the baseboards.

Administration was worried that the water would cause mold and asbestos to develop, which is known to possibly result in severe illnesses. E"orts to dry out the H-wing began immediately. Fans were constantly blowing throughout the halls to dry out the rooms along with janitors working all day and night, including weekends.

Ceiling tiles, baseboards, walls, and even com-puters sustained damage from the water.

French teacher Judith Chabot’s Promethean

Board received damaged from the dripping water coming from the second %oor.

Math teacher Barb Stavely said when she saw her room, “Everything was stacked up. You couldn’t #nd anything. My computer was discon-nected. !e place was dirty and things were blow-ing o" the walls. It gave you a headache just being in there with all the fans going.”

While rooms were drying and being repaired, classes in the H-wing, primarily consisting of math and foreign language, were not able to be held in their usual rooms.

On Sept. 26, #rst period classes reported to the cafeteria and the library. Second through seventh periods reported to di"erent classrooms for the rest of the day.

A schedule was created for the rest of the week by assistant principals Luke Lammers and Ti"any Besse.

“We knew what rooms were not used every hour of the day and were able to move teachers into those rooms,” Besse said.

Each teacher was in a di"erent classroom almost every period. Teachers were not able to be in their rooms during planning periods and H-wing teachers had to carry all of their materials with them from classroom to classroom.

When classes were able to resume in the H-wing on Sept. 30, ceiling tiles and baseboards were still missing. “When we are quiet up here, we can hear the teacher downstairs or the movie or whatever they are doing,” Stavely said.

A reconfguration of the H-wing is planned for Summer 2012 as part of the New Facilities Plan in conjunction of the Prop K bond issue.

Construction to replace destroyed items began immediately and will continue to make the hall-way safe for all students and sta".

Compiled by Gabby Pirrie

PattonvilleBriefs

On Saturday Oct. 15, the girl’s cross country team won the Suburban North Conference championship. Senior Elise Amo was the top runner #nishing #rst, freshman Sarah Mohrmann earned 5th place, sophomore Kirby McClain completed the race in 6th place, sophomore Laura Fulton #nished in 8th place, sophomore Katie Break#eld was No. 11 and senior Gabby Pirrie #nished in 15th place.

Senior Emily Lindsay’s poem, “!e War of War,” was selected by !e American Library of Poetry to be published in a book of student work called “Acclaimed.”

Rob Lamb’s science class created detailed infographic posters to repre-sent what they have learned. Four of these posters were chosen to be published in the August issue of SciJourner. !e studentsselected were by Lauren Trembley, Ciara Glenn, Margaret Njenga and Mary Mbugua, and Kevin Murillo.

Sophomore Nicole Callahan #nished 43rd in the Missouri Class 2 Girl’s Golf Championship. She shot a 93 at Sedalia Golf Course.

Junior Roger Neth-erton took 3rd place in the 2011 Old Time Fiddle Championship, a national #ddling contest. He won a $2,000 Heinrich Gill Fiddle as well as a trophy.

Have you started to prepare for college? Preparation can begin as early as fresh-

man year. Once students enter high school it is vital that they get involved in extra-

curricular activities and understand what “cumulative GPA” means.

“One bad semester can kill you,” college counselor Julie Kampschroeder said. “It can take the rest of your [high school] career to bring that up.”

Freshmen and sophomores also need to be taking the hardest classes possible.

“You want to challenge yourself as much as you can, but don’t over do it,” Kampschroeder said. “!e big-gest thing colleges are going to look at are the classes [students] chose to take, how competitive they were and how well they did in those classes.”

During junior year, students should be searching for and visiting colleges.

“By getting on campus you can really get a di"erent feel of the school,” Kampschroeder said. “Visiting the colleges they are interested in allows students to deter-mine what they want and do not want in their college experience.”

By their junior year, students should have an idea about what their interests are and what they want to major in.

“It’s at that time you want to start doing some soul searching...but if you don’t spend time looking inward

on this process, it’s going to be really hard to make any steps forward,” Kampschroeder said.

Taking the ACT is another step taken during junior year. Students who want to go to a four-year school should take the February ACT.

!e #nal step occurs senior year when students start applying for colleges and scholarships. Scholarships are extremely important and the applications must be turned in on time.

!e average debt in the United States is $23,000. !at is about $240 a month for 10 years.

Fortunately, Kampschroeder is available to help stu-dents along their way to college.

“I help them pick schools based on their interests, and try to make it #nancially feasible without huge amounts of debt when they graduate.”

It is also Kampschroeder’s job to help train students on the strategy of how to line themselves up for the college of their choice, especially if they are highly com-petitive. For example, Harvard University only has a 6 percent acceptance rate. Students have to be able to put themselves in a good light and the college counselor is there to assist them.

!e Class of 2011, consisting of 392 graduates, proved that college preparation can lead to a successful accep-tance into college. Forty-seven percent of students went to a four-year college, 34 percent to a two-year college and 1 percent went to a technological school.

Students can be successful by starting to prepare for college early and doing the three most important things: get involved, do well in di$cult classes and pick a major that matches one’s interests.

Pattonville has recently brought up the possibility of removing Child Development/Parenting and Oral Communications/Debate courses as graduation

requirements. Since these classes were removed from summer school for budget reasons, this creates con%ict for students who use summer school to get ahead in these speci#c credits.

!is possibility was proposed mainly in an e"ort to open up schedules for students who want to take elec-tives bene#cial for their future since the course require-ments are not mandatory by the state.

!e school, however, is also under the impression that removing these classes as graduation requirements could deprive students of knowledge they could apply in the future.

!e decision needed input from a majority of the school population, so a survey was given to Pattonville stu-dents, sta", alumni and parents on Oct. 10.

Students completed the survey during 3rd hour, while oth-ers in the Pattonville community took it later that day.

A total of 1,352 students took part of this survey and 51.41 percent of the student participants voted to keep Parenting/ Child Development as a required credit, while 46.06 percent chose to just make it a course o"ering.

Oral Communications/Debate was voted with 44.63 per-cent of the respondees selecting it to remain as a graduation requirement, while 52.85 percent preferred it as just a course o"ering.

Over 67 percent of the student voters believed these classes should be o"ered in summer school along with credit recovery

classes within budget constraints. !e other options would be to add a 0 or 8th period class so

that these electives can be completed. Over 30 percent of the student voters would be #ne with this change, if transporta-tion was provided.

“Honestly I think summer school should be for making up classes, not getting ahead,” sophomore DJ Hess said. “Also I think Child Development should not be a required class.”

Student input alone wouldn’t provide the most accurate feedback, so opinions were also collected from Pattonville alumni, sta" and parents.

Some percentages show that their opinions are similar to those of students, while others are slightly di"erent.

“I think they [electives] are an important piece of sum-mer school, and I hope to see them continue,” said history teacher and last year’s assistant summer school principal Jon Fitzgerald. “Ideally we should provide elective credit and credit recovery going forward.”

Sta" voted on a few more decisions applying to electives and summer school.

Some of these included o"ering high school credit in

modern language classes to the middle schools, how much ad-ditional high school credit these students can earn and which type of students should be allowed to enroll into summer school classes.

“Over the years, I know there have been many music students who have counted on taking these kinds of classes during summer school,” said band teacher Dennis McFarland. “Each student in Pattonville’s music program is encouraged

to make a four-year commitment. Having the %exibility to take required classes in summer school has made it possible for more students to stay in our performing arts classes throughout their high school careers.”

According to McFarland, students planning to major in music in college have also been able to create room in their schedules to take important music classes like Jazz Ensemble, Piano Lab and Music !eory in addition to their primary performance classes.

“!rough the upcoming restructuring of summer school, I am hopeful that realistic options will be available for our students to continue with the quality of musical experi-ence we’ve provided them to date while also supporting the needs of other departments at PHS.”

Approximately 23 percent of the adult voters graduated from Pattonville High School. Over 60 percent of the alumni voters responded that they would not have taken Parenting/Child Development or Oral Communications/Debate if it was just an elective, rather than a requirement.

!e results won’t fully determine the decision with these electives and summer school, but the #nal decision could be in%uenced by these survey results.

“It’s my understanding that they won’t get rid of the class, just the required part, for the incoming freshmen next year,” guidance counselor Stacey Leonard said.

!e high school will be noti#ed of the decision by the Board by Nov. 22.

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By Joey Schneider

!e Pattonville Marching Band decided to call its 2011 theme “Hope.”

“Hope” to the band members means never giving up; uniting.

“It’s what keeps people going. It’s the things that help people never give up,” senior Dillon Ciampoli said.

!e theme came from the idea of the Pattonville com-munity hurting from the tornado that hit April 22. Not only was the community su"ering but members of the band as well.

Senior Brittni Cambron said, “We thought that we wanted to do a show that would be meaningful, so we got the idea for “Hope” from the fact that people got hurt from the tornado that had a"ected a lot of families in the community and the bad economy. Also, we wanted something that would have a big impact on the people at Pattonville.”

Not only can Pattonville students relate to this theme, but the community as well.

While ‘hope’ has a very vague de#nition in the

dictionary, fans watching the halftime show get to de-termine the meaning of the word for themselves.

“When you hear it, you get these images in your mind of things that are important to you,” Cambron said. “Maybe like, family and your friends and people who are close to you.”

Over the course of the year, the band has competed in four competitions at local schools such as Francis Howell and St. Charles West, and also got the chance to play at the Edward Jones Dome in Greater St. Louis on Oct. 22 where they placed 7th in the Silver Division.

Ciampoli said, “We haven’t necessarily placed highly, but we’ve always felt con#dent in our show and we felt that we performed to the best of our ability.”

!is year, the music that the marching band is performing to is by John Meehan, who is from the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps; a multiple-world champi-onship winner.

Although some outcomes were not as great as expected to be, band members stayed positive and remembered to never give up hope.

“We have de#nitely improved throughout this sea-son,” Cambron said.

By Elizabeth Ferguson

By Sierra Peerman

News

DUE: FEB. 1, 2012

the Missouri Career Center to help them seek job options after school.

“I was in the auditorium for a four-year college meeting,” senior Christian Johnson said. “It was very helpful because it helped me learn a lot about room and board, activities, and #nancial aid. I think it is a good thing for seniors to do and we should keep it going in the future.”

!e Practice ACT and PLAN test results will come back Nov. 17, while the EXPLORE test will be given back on Dec. 9.

!e student’s Pirate Connections teacher will notify students of their scores.

If students are not satis#ed with their scores from these tests, the school o"ers various options for studying.

!ese include the Math Help Cen-

ter, Writing Center, after-school tutoring in the library and ACT Prep Classes.

“!ere are free evening ACT Classes for juniors and seniors,” Kampschroeder said.

“Students recently saw a video on ACT review, and have the option of taking an ACT semester course during the day. A small percentage may also hire tutors.”

Overall, the purpose of testing day was to help make aware to students which academic areas they need to focus on and how to prepare for the real ACT when they take it.

“I thought Testing Day went really well,” guidance counselor Stacey Leonard said. “!e better testing environment for students will hopefully provide better results.”

Parenting/Child Dev. remain requirement

Oral Comm/Debate remain requirement

Summer school only for credit recovery

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Pattonville High School will be par-ticipating in the annual Red Ribbon Week Oct. 24-28. Instead of just talk-

ing about it, Student Council is attempting to create awareness by hosting a spirit week.

“We chose to do spirit days for this year’s Red Ribbon Week because Homecoming’s spirit week went so well, and we thought that it would be a fun way to support a good cause,” Jessica Muckermann-Presson, STUCO adviser, said.

!is campaign was #rst administered by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse in 1985.

!e program encourages the wearing of red ribbons or other red articles of clothing to raise consciousness about the dangers of illegal druges.

“Red Ribbon Week is the largest and oldest drug campaign in the country,” Muckermann-Presson said.

!e NCADA adopted the theme “It’s Up To

Me To Be Drug Free” for the 2011 Red Ribbon Week.

An anonymous survey on smoking was conducted between 57 students at Pattonville. Students were randomly chosen to take the survey from a list of Pirate Connection classes and one randomly selected POS class.

Based on the results, 11 students, or 19.3 percent, responded that they actively smoke.

Many students responded that smoking for them is a stress reliever.

Although students understand this addic-tion is not bene#cial to their health, quitting is di$cult.

One respondent said, “I’m trying to stop because I know it’s not good for me.”

Forty-six out of the 57 high school students answered that they did not smoke.

Non-smoking students who took the survey said they do not smoke because “It is gross” and “It causes lung cancer” or simply that “My parents would kill me.”

“We want to raise awareness of drug abuse among teens since many teens undergo peer pressure during high school,” Maysa Daoud, STUCO spirit chairperson, said.

By Gabby Pirrie

When high school stu-dents are being scouted for collegiate sports,

aside from their athletic abilities, colleges consider core-course grade point averages of the athletes.

In November, when winter sports begin, Pattonville High School will be piloting CoreCourseGPA.

!e web-based program provides a tool for tracking progress toward meeting NCAA eligibility require-ments. !e software allows users to see where they are academically.

!e software, which will be acces-sible to Pattonville athletes, parents, coaches and counselors, generates a detailed report that provides what core course GPA and required SAT or ACT scores are needed by the stu-dent to be eligible for NCAA sports.

“I think it’s great,” Doug McGhee,

freshman boy’s basketball coach, said.

“Any time a tool is used to keep kids on track is bene#cial because athletes get lost and aren’t fully concentrated on grades so it’s good to make sure they are eligible.”

Pattonville re-quires its athletes to have a mini-mum 1.5 GPA to participate in sports. !is program will work to help increase academic achievement for students.

“Being an athlete is a privilege and you should get that attention [academically] in the classroom,” Ac-tivities Director Bob Hebrank said.

Pattonville coaches are known for their academic success in sports.

“As a coach, I try to keep up with their grades,” McGhee said. “I like to keep tabs on my athletes and see

where they are [academically] and how they’re doing.”

For years, Pattonville has been using another web-based software to track grades and citizenship, Powerschool. Introducing CoreCourseGPA

to athletes allows the focus on qualifying for collegiate sports more accessible.

“It sounds easier to me because it’ll encourage me to focus on those grades and I’ll already know if my grades are good,” freshman Michael Jacobson, who hopes to play a Divi-sion I sport, said.

!e software is customized for the speci#c core course o"erings only at Pattonville.

!e students who bene#t the most are freshmen athletes.

Because freshmen are very new to high school and unaware of how the activities and athletic system operates, they are not focused on the academic a"ect.

“Freshmen don’t really pay at-tention to this stu",” Hebrank said. “We want this to bring interest to them so that they can start consid-ering this option. What happens is by the time they are playing at a varsity level, they #gure out what they want to do in the future and they’re stuck playing catch up to get on the right track.”

CoreCourseGPA can help set freshmen hoping to play collegiate sports down the right path for their future by giving them a wake up call for their grades.

“I didn’t realize until the end of

my season how important grades are,” freshman Nikki Kerns said.

After verbally committing to Missouri State University to play basketball, senior Mikala McGhee said being scouted can be a long process.

“I’ve always known I wanted to play a DI sport so I’ve been training ever since I’ve started playing,” Mi-kala McGhee said. “I realized scouts don‘t just look at you as an athlete, they look at you as a student and as a person.”

!e CoreCourseGPA will help cre-ate an invisible bar for athletes. It will help utilize the academic aspect of playing sports.

“I’m hoping it’ll create more awareness and let our athletes know that they have the option of playing sports in college,” Hebrank said. “Our essential goal is to send as many athletes o" to college without struggle”

By Jacqueline Neil

The Peer Assistant Leadership (PALs) club will be host-ing the annual Wheelchair Basketball Game in the gymnasium on !ursday Nov. 3. !e annual activity

has been a Pattonville event for 16 years.“It’s the only event where I’ve seen everyone in the school

truly come together for a good cause,” senior Jacob Masek said.Multiple clubs at Pattonville, local organizations and indi-

vidual sponsors contribute by o"ering donations for the silent auction and ra&e held during the event.

!e game is a battle between the Pattonville High School sta" and the St. Louis Junior Rolling Rams, a handicapped travel basketball team. !e Rolling Rams travel across America to compete for titles and dozens of fundraisers are created to help provide #nancial assistance to the team.

“It’s an event where 100 percent of the funds raised help pay for the team’s national expenses,” Janet Kuhn, PALs director and event coordinator, said.

Admission is $4 and features many mini-events. !e Pirates’ Best Dance Crew will be showcased during halftime along with routines from the varsity cheerleaders and drill team.

By Jacqueline Neil

Features

Compiled by Hope Benton

Hockey GoalieMilky Way

Zombie SantaSnickers

Baby PumpkinSpree

Power RangerSnickers

BatmanTootsie RollS

A ThugSnickers

Doplar TheorySnickers

SpidermanPretzel M+M’S

HALLOWEEN IN THE HALLS

The annual blood drive, hosted by Pattonville’s National Honor Society (NHS), took place on !ursday Oct. 20 in the Multipurpose room.

!e blood drive began in the morning and had many student and sta" donors and NHS volunteers.

While students donated blood, they left with high self-esteem. “My favorite thing is de#nitley getting a free T-shirt and knowing I saved

three lives,” senior Kimberly Hulse said. But being a part of the event is not for the queasy. “It’s a sickening feeling to stand in the room surrounded by blood,” senior

Kacie Hulse said.Senior Rachel Lindsay is part of NHS and volunteered for the event.“Our role is to make sure the donors are in good care and we assist them in

any way possible,” Lindsay said.!e blood drive lasted throughout the entire school day. NHS members signed up during previous meetings to work the blood drive

for assistance.

By Jacqueline Neil

Compiled by Tim Vleisides, Brady Bell, Phillip Scherer, Hope Benton, Madison Raney, Taylor Holmstrom, Caroline Cain

Taylor’s Top 1

0

Halloween is on a Monday night this year which doesn’t allow much time for a high school student to be out for long. So skip the trick-or-treating and host your own fright fest. Invite a few of your brav-est friends over and enjoy some of these scary movies. To help set the mood, make some popcorn,

bake up one or two pumpkin recipes and grab some of your favorite Halloween treats.

With only six returning players, this season has de#nitely been a “getting to know you” season for the varsity boy’s soccer team.

“We lost 16 players from last year,” senior Tyler Yarnell said. “!e majority of them were our starters.”

Not only did the team lose many key players, but they also lost their coach. Tom I"rig left the team for personal reasons. Ray Stahl joins the team for the 2011 campaign.

“I resigned from my position as coach at St. Charles West because of the limited number of students who were interested in playing,” Stahl said. “When I heard about this opportunity last May I thought it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

His team seems to think as highly of him as he does of them.

“Coach Stahl is a very good coach,” senior Robert O’Keefe said. “His knowledge of the game and strict rules has helped the team develop a higher work rate as well as respect for

the game.”Stahl still has a couple of goals for the team as the

season comes to an end. One of these goals is that they grow even closer as a team.

It seems to be that getting to know each other has de#nitely di"erentiated them from last year’s team as well as bene#ted them.

“Last year we #nished the season under .500 but this year we will probably #nish over .500,” O’Keefe said.

According to Yarnell, there is not just one or two key players helping the team win more games this year, “it’s a full team e"ort.”

!is full team e"ort was de#nitely needed as they played their two big-gest competitors this year in confer-ence, Ritenour and Hazelwood West.

Both games were a challenge for the team as they dropped both contests, but they are still tied for second place with Ritenour in the Suburban North Conference.

!ese games were de#nitely a good learning experience for the boys. “We need to #nd our o"ense again

and not just kick long balls the whole game,” senior Bryan Lopez said.

l l

Pattonville’s varsity swim and dive team has done exceptionally well in the past and this year is no di"erent.

!e Bridgeton Community Center closes their indoor pool to allow Pattonville swim teams to practice. !e swim team conditions throughout its season for the conference tournament.

Senior Jacob Masek said, “ We are going to give it our all and see what happens.”

!e conference tournament is held the #rst week of November. !e team stays hopeful while competing in conference.

“Hopefully I can medal in all of my events,” senior

Mike Holm said, !e best chance of being successful in conference is

by improving its team relay races. Currently the Pirates are ranked in the top 40 relay times in the St. Louis area in three races.

!e team ranks 28th in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:47.70; only 17 seconds behind the No. 1 team, Lafayette.

In the 400-yard freestyle relay, the boys rank 34th with a time of 4:19.19 which is 1 minute under Lafay-ette in the #rst place spot.

Parkway Central leads the area in the 200-yard med-ley relay with a time of 1:40.27 and Pattonville trails by 20 seconds and ranks 34th.

Freshman Evan Collins said, “I love being on the swim team. Everyone is nice and accepting.”

By Kristen Dehner

The Cardinals were able to clinch the Wild Card playo" spot on the last day of the season. And they haven’t stopped winning since. It took a whole team e"ort to help the Cards make the playo"s for the

third time since Busch Stadium II opened in 2006. !e surging Redbirds were able to clinch the Wild Card spot on the last

day of the season with a September record of 18-8, which marked a historic collapse for the Atlanta Braves, who had a 10' game lead for the #nal spot heading into the month. !e Braves, ironically enough, ended their season being swept by the Phillies. !e Cardinals took on Philadelphia with its 102 wins in the N.L. Divisional Series and the rival Brewers in the NLCS.

!e Cardinals won their 18th NL Pennant with a collective team e"ort and some luck over the Brewers. While the team has played to its fullest potential all season, it can also be concluded that the collapses of the Braves, Phillies, and Brewers helped the Cards advance this far.

But a look back on the sea-son shows that the team had its successes and problems.

Pitchers were demoted, released, and traded from the organization to strengthen the sta" that blew 26 regular season games. !ese transac-tions paved the way for a whole new outlook in the bullpen, which included new additions Octavio Dotel, Marc Rzepzcynski, and Ar-thur Rhodes.

!e season struggles go be-yond just the bullpen though. !e Cardinals showed incon-sistency with their defense, o"ense and starting pitching.

!eir defense was ranked 29th in the MLB as they had a total of 116 errors in the season.

However, Lance Berkman won the National League Comeback Player of the Year with a .301 batting aver-age, 31 home runs, and 94 RBIs. Rookie in#elder Daniel Descalso provided clutch late-inning o"ense along with versatility in the in#eld. Allen Craig and Nick Punto were primarily used as bench players during the season, with both hitting the disabled list multiple times. Like Descalso, however, Punto and Craig were versatile defensively and clutch o"ensively.

!ese weren’t the only players providing the o"ensive load for the Cards. !e team had the best o"ense of the National League as they hit .273 col-lectively during the season. Yadier Molina, who had a career best o"ensive year, lead the team with a .305 batting average. Albert Pujols, despite struggling, lead the team in home runs, RBIs, and runs scored (37, 99, 105). David Freese and Jon Jay received more opportunities to display their o"en-sive skills, as both hit over .290 with at least 10 home runs and 40 RBIs.

By Joey SchneiderBy Gabby Pirrie

After the trade of Eric Brewer last year at the trade deadline, the St. Louis Blues went many games without a captain. While there were

rumblings that David Backes would take over the role, nothing was set in stone.

Following a career year (31 goals, 31 assists) and a mid-season contract extension, Backes was named the 20th captain in Blues history.

“It’s a huge honor and I’m really excited to get the season started,” Backes said. Even though he is in the very early stages of his captaincy, Backes already knows what to expect.

“My scheduled time at the rink has increased by prob-ably an hour a day,” Backes said. “Once the season starts there should be more on ice issues and things to do as far as personnel and dealing with adversity.”

Backes is known throughout the league as a power forward and has the intent of keeping it that way.

“I think a main component of being captain is not changing the way I’ve played,” Backes said. “We’ve had great success as a team to have more of a blue collar-type of game, that’s what I strive to continue to do.”

!e Blues have noticed that success and made an ef-fort in the o"season to sign players that have the same playing style.

Veterans Jaime Langenbrunner (17 NHL seasons) and Jason Arnott (21) are two of those players.

Langenbrunner was captain of the New Jersey Devils from 2007-2011 and also captained the 2010 U.S. Men’s Olympic team to a silver medal. Jason Arnott was named captain of the Nashville Predators in 2007 and lead the team for three years before being traded.

Even though they are nearing the end of their careers, they add depth and are still capable of putting up good numbers. After a season #lled with injuries, Backes and the Blues know the value of depth.

“!is year I think we’ve got depth and we’ve got skill and we’ve got enough players around that [making the] playo"s is the #rst goal,” Backes said.

Although the Blues haven’t made the playo"s in two years, Backes is con#dent that they can make it happen.

“We de#nitely think we’re a top-half team in the Western Conference.”

Senior Alex Buerck was named co-captain of this year’s Pattonville hockey team with senio Tyler Kuhn.

“!e team this year is really something special. We have a chance to go all the way this year.”

Buerck has a lot of con#dence and rightly so. !e team hasn’t lost since Feb. 14 of last year. !at includes summer league and this year’s preseason games.

Buerck leads the team, as does Backes, by examples and hopes his vocality and physical play can lead the charge for the Pirates to the Wickenheiser Cup.

By Brendan Everson

Sports

By Brendan Everson

After starting 1-5, the Pat-tonville Pirates varsity football team has secured a

spot in the postseason. Over the past two weeks Patton-

ville has defeated Francis Howell North 52-6, followed by a 21-7 vic-tory over Francis Howell Central.

Both games were Class 6, District 5 match-ups. After these victories, the Pirates overall record improved to 4-5.

Making the playo"s is based solely on District play and not by season win-loss totals.

!e Pirates play at Francis Howell Friday at 7 p.m. for a shot at going 3-0 in Districts.

Should the Pirates complete an un-defeated run, it would cap an amaz-ing end to a season that looked to be over after the #rst three games.

!e Pirates were outscored 123-7 and struggled to #nd any kind of success.

!e team lost most of their start-ers from last year’s team that also reached the playo"s.

Even so, the team pulled together and had many strong performers.

Junior quarterback Darren David-son has completed 45.04 percent of his passing so far, throwing for almost 850 yards.

Davidson is also the team’s lead-ing rusher, averaging 6.7 yards per carry.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior Jeremiah Wilkins is leading the team with 105 tackles and 30 assists. He also has 2 sacks and 1 fumble recovery.

Junior Nick Co"ey currently leads the team in sacks with 6.

For people who go home after school and lie around on their couch, nap, eat,

and do absolutely nothing produc-tive—what are you doing with your life? Do you not see any importance in being involved in something?

I know hearing the Pirate Code’s “Be Involved” can get redundant but being involved is important. Get involved in something.

If you enjoy sports, try out for the team, or get a group of people together to play in a league outside of school. If you like playing chess, join the chess club. I bet you didn’t even know we had one because you are not trying to do anything with your life.

Just so you know, getting in-volved doesn’t mean going home after school just to tweet for hours on end or stalk someone’s Face-book. After high school, more than half of the people around here will be irrelevant in your life anyway.

When going to #ll out a college application, do you want to spend an hour of your time looking at blank lines thinking, “Golly gee, I guess I should have done some-thing.”

All of the hours spent watching Dr. Phil and Oprah aren’t going to help you out. !ey are where they want to be. Where are you? Oh yea, on your couch napping for 3 hours.

Although you may not think it is important, colleges look at involve-ment just as much as they look at your grades. !ey want to #nd out if you contribute to the school and if you plan to improve their college.

I assure you they are not inter-ested in how fast you can text, how many people follow you on Twitter or how many hours you sleep.

So what if you don’t like sports? !e fall play and spring musical are options.

Become well-rounded and start exploring your interests. It is es-sential to life.

So put your potato chips down (I promise they will be there when you return home) and do some-thing to better your school and community.

By Kristen Hanna

Academic dishonesty, otherwise known as cheat-ing, is a struggle among

students. Some might consider it “taking the easy way out” when it’s actually the opposite.

Whether it is copying answers for a homework assignment or getting answers for a test, nothing is really being learned.

Homework is designed for prac-ticing problems to prepare for what will be on an upcoming test. If you cheat on homework, your tests will re%ect that.

Cheating prohibits students from learning and obtaining knowledge or information needed later on.

English teachers have posters in their classroom’s informing stu-dents of consequences they could receive if caught cheating, such as a referral, a call home or a zero on the assignment.

!e school will give students consequences if serious enough, but if kept inside classrooms, the consequences vary by teacher.

Spanish teacher Rachelle Ewig handles cheating by having a con-ference with students.

“Normally what happens is I give them the ‘evil eye’ at #rst, and then I tell them I want to talk to them after class,” Ewig said.

Cheating is not only a problem in high school and Ewig advises students to not get in the habit.

“If this were to happen at a university or college, it could be grounds for getting kicked out and then they’ll lose their credits.”

As easy and convenient as it may seem to be, Ewig feels that students “need to know that it’s a bigger deal than people think it is.”

Ewig buckles down in more seri-ous situations when she #nally hands out the actual consequences.

“I let them know they will receive a zero on the assignment and that they need not to be cheating in my class anymore.”

Some teachers might take cheat-ing more lightly than others, but for those students, they’ll just have to learn from their mistakes the hard way.

By Elizabeth Ferguson

Parenting/Child Development and Oral Com-munication/Debate may get removed from summer school and there is also a possibility of

the classes being removed as graduation requirements. English, math, science and history classes are all

requirements by the state of Missouri but Parenting/Child Development and Oral Communication/Debate classes are not considered graduation requirements by the state of Missouri.

But they should be. If the decision is made to re-

move these classes, they might still be available as electives although it would be likely that fewer people would enroll in them.

All students have to learn how to verbally present themselves if they want to get a decent, well-paying job. People can-not just walk into the real world using inappropriate language and think they will become successful. It just will not happen.

High school students need to be required to take a class that will prepare them for skills they will need throughout the rest of their lives.

While everyone needs to learn how to communicate, not everyone needs to learn how to take care of a child.

A lot of students will eventually have children, but there are people who simply don’t want kids or despise the thought of working with children completely.

Unfortunately, the human world is not perfect and accidents do happen. It is a famous saying that may be

slightly cliché, but it is always true. We have all seen or heard of a girl who gets pregnant

in high school. !e fact is that it happens. Even if a couple has a planned child, they still need to have at least some idea of what to expect and how to handle it.

Learning these necessary life skills in high school can get students more prepared and will allow them to be ready for life. Life happens and there is nothing anyone can do except be ready for anything.

A possibility being discussed to #t all of these courses into a high school schedule is adding a 0 or 8th hour.

!is would be a period for students to build up their credits.

For example, if a student needed a lot of credits to graduate and didn’t have time to build them up in a regu-lar seven period schedule, they would attend a class during 0 or 8th hour to build up their credits.

Should that happen, it would be extremely unpopular with students. !ere are always complaints of how tired students are in the mornings.

Students would despise having to come to school even earlier than they already do.

As far as staying after school, students that play a sport wouldn’t be able to enroll in an 8th hour because it would cut into practice time.

!e problem with this proposal is that some people play a winter sport but not a fall sport, or vice versa. !ey would be able to attend an 8th hour class for part of the semester and would not be able to complete it.

If the 0 and 8th hour plan is implemented, it would have to be %exible.

It should be based on trimesters instead of semesters and model the seasons of sports.

!e Pirate Press is the open forum newspaper of the Pattonville High School. !e opinions

published are of the publication and are open to criticism. As the members of the 2010-2011 sta", we dedicate ourselves to the accurate and objective dissemination of information to all readers. We will protect and exercise our First Amendment rights. !e viewpoints of all sta" members are to be regarded as being separate

from those of our administration, faculty, peers and adviser.

l l

The days of %ip-%ops and sunglasses are over and now it’s time for boots and gloves; winter is here. No more swimsuits because now the wonderful 90

degree weather days have been reduced to 50 and below. !is new change in weather has not just a"ected the

outside environment; the inside of Pattonville High School is just as cold. Standing outside for the bus in freezing weather is an extremely di$cult wait, but the idea of com-ing to a warm school helps students make it through.

But once you walk inside, you don’t want to put your coat away.

Where’s the heat? It’s not in the school.

Students come to school in sweatpants and sweatshirts just to feel some warmth, which sometimes really doesn’t work.

Sitting in the cold air does not help the learning process at all; in fact, it slows it. Being in the cold doesn’t do anything but make you want to sleep. !at’s why many students

have to put up a #ght to stay awake in class. Bears hibernate when it gets cold. Students do too.People move a lot slower when they are cold. Walking in the crowded hallways is a hassle, but

now you must deal with hundreds of cold kids which makes the tra$c even slower.I know when I’m cold, the only thing on my mind is my pillow and cover, but at school, I guess

a desk and shirt will have to substitute for that. You can’t concentrate in class when you spend the whole time shivering from the cold air

blowing down on you. Who’s thinking about World War II when it’s a war going on inside the classroom and the cold is winning?

Winter is the season for many sicknesses. Usually the doctors advise us to stay warm but that task is going to be a little harder when you have to come and sit in a cold school.

I think until the temperature problem is solved at the school all classrooms should have a heated debate to resolve the situation. At least the talking will keep us warm.

By Brianna DeShay

Opinion

It is the opinion of the Pirate Press that cutting Parenting/Child Development and Oral Communication/Debate classes will hinder the ability for students to succeed in the future.

l l Entertainment

Every October, Pattonville High School presents its Fall Play, directed by drama teacher Lara Corvera. !is year, Pattonville brought the community the dark comical classic, “Arsenic and Old Lace,” originally directed by Bretaigne Windust and written by Joseph Kes-selring.

!e plot follows Mortimer Brewster (senior Sam Decker), a hotshot play critic living in Brooklyn, New York. Shortly after professing his love for Elaine Harper (sophomore Anna Pirrie) with a marriage proposal, Brewster discovers that his quirky, lovable old aunts, Martha (senior Meagan Galluzzo) and Abby Brewster (Devin Coch) are actually murderers. When Mortimer’s long-lost disturbed brother, Jonathan Brewster (senior Harry Kolmer), returns home with malicious intentions, it further strains Mortimer and Elaine’s relationship and puts the marriage proposal on ice.

Horrifying as it sounds, “Arsenic and Old Lace” presents itself lightheart-edly. With comic reliefs such as Teddy Brewster (junior Aaron Landgraf), Mortimer’s insane brother who believes he is !eodore Roosevelt, it is di$cult not to let a few good laughs slip.

Jonathon Brewster, in addition, gives the audience an uneasy, yet hilari-ous atmosphere as he enters the stage with an eerie conduct and his drunken accomplice, Dr. Einstein (senior David Robinson).

Behind the scenes and before all the makeup, the “Arsenic” actors had some insight on what they expected for this year’s production.

Decker, who has been a part of the Pattonville theater family since his freshman year, said, “We are de#nitely prepared. We’re innovating the things the we do; we’re coming up with new things everyday.”

Pirrie said her main objective was “to portray my character believably and [to] put on the best show possible.”

Kolmer, who has acted in Patton-ville’s plays since his sophomore year, said his goal was “to entertain the masses.”

Landgraf set out to make the audi-ence laugh a lot.

“I really wanted to make the experi-ence enjoyable and worth it for them.” Landgraf said. “I’m personally nervous, but I know we’ll do great. We’re going to do our best to make it fantastic.”

Judging by the unhesitant laugh-ter that erupted several times during Kolmer and Landgraf’s performances, it is safe to say the boys delivered exactly what they intended to.

Corvera herself was very pleased with how the production turned out.

“!e kids were fully committed, they were enjoyed by the audience; they were proud of themselves, and I’m proud of them,” Corvera said.

When a student gets involved in the-ater at Pattonville, it becomes a part of their normal routine of high school; it becomes something to look forward to.

“I love everything; from auditions to strike and everything in between,” Robinson said.

As years pass, the cast and crew cre-ate an inevitable bond.

Galluzzo said her favorite part of theater is “being with the rest of the cast.”

Landgraf states in agreeance, “You kind of form a family.”

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed Pat-

tonville’s production of “Arsenic and Old Lace.”

It made me burst with laughter, and I was totally engaged in the charac-ters’ stories. It left me wanting more. Clearly, talent runs in the theater department. It practically gallops.

By Taylor Dumas

Comedians Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen lead 50/50 playing best friends Adam (Levitt) and Kyle (Rogen). Will Reiser based his screenplay of the #lm on his own real-life battle with cancer.

Adam is diagnosed with a rare cancer and battles through che-motherapy after doctors have given him a 50/50 chance of living. Adam #nds himself lying around feeling lonely and hopeless after his girlfriend leaves him. Adam has a hard time accepting these struggles during his therapy sessions. His relationship with his therapist, Katie (Anna Kendrick), later transforms into something more personal.

Although no one likes to joke about cancer, 50/50 highlights the power of friendship with a mixture of laughter and tears.

By Jacqueline Neil

Bellacino’s Pizza and Grinders is a family-friendly restaurant that serves a variety of appetizers,

sandwiches, piz-zas, pastas and salads.

One of its signature dishes is the BBQ chicken pizza. It contains sweet BBQ sauce, grilled chicken and mozzarella cheese. !e crust of each pizza is a thin crust and comes either in 8-inch, 12-inch or 16-inch sizes.

Bellacino’s is widely known for its sandwiches called grinders. !ese sandwiches are made from scratch every day.

!e chicken bacon ranch grinder is a well-known grinder. !is sandwich has a generous amount of chicken and bacon along with the ranch, lettuce and toma-toes. Bellacino’s sells two di"erent sizes of grinder sandwiches which include a half (9-inch) or a whole (18-inch).

Bellacino’s gives its customers fast, friendly service with reasonable prices. For

taste, the cooks nail it.

!e food is %avor-ful and cooked to perfection.

For two people the total price of a meal is about $20 for an appe-tizer, soda and two grinders.

Bellacino’s o"ers every day specials that help save

money.Bellacino’s is open

Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday until 8 p.m.

By Kristen Dehner

Whether you know him as one of the most talented artists in music today or Jimmy Brooks who played on the

popular television show, Degrassi, you know his ability to perform and entertain.

Starting his career o" as an actor in 2001, Aubrey Drake Graham continued to play Brooks until his “graduation” from Degrassi High School in 2009.

Although the show contributed to his fame, he began to step out on his own as a musician.

In February 2006, Drake released his #rst mix-tape, “Room for Improvement.”

After re#ning his style, he produced his next mixtape, “Comeback Season.”

His third o$cial mixtape, entitled “So Far Gone,” was made public on Feb. 13, 2009. After proving his abilities to the hip-hop world, Young Money Entertainment signed him to a record deal.

On June 15, 2010, Drake debuted his #rst true album, “!ank Me Later.” On this album, he collaborated with big name artists in the music industry, such as Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Swizz Beats, TI, !e Dream, Young Jeezy, Timbaland and Lil Wayne.

Anticipation is high for his sophomore album, “Take Care.”

Drake decided to postpone his previously scheduled release date of Oct. 24 to Nov. 15. Ini-tially, the album would have debuted on his 25th birthday. !e delay of “Take Care” will give Drake an opportunity to #nish several songs he would not have otherwise been able to add.

In an MTV interview, Drake said, “My options were to take the songs o" and make the birthday release happen, or to take an extra couple weeks to get the paperwork right and give you the album the way I NEED you to hear it.”

Although there is some disappointment among fans, the 22-day delay will be well worth the wait.

Some of the leaked tracks from “Take Care” include “Dreams Money Can Buy,” “Free Spirit,” “Make Me Proud” and “Club Paradise.”

After listening to these songs, it is easy to see

the improvement from his early rapping days. One aspect of his music that stays consistent

is his theme throughout every song. He brings a relaxed yet sophisticated swagger onto each of his tracks.

In a world full of want-to-be rappers, he has proven himself over and over again as a respected musician that has not only mastered his skills as a hip-hop star, but also presents himself as a well-rounded, versatile entertainer.

Drake seems to understand the importance of di"erent sounds, beats and styles while making music that appeals to a wide variety of people of all ages.

Although there are not any set dates for his next tour, “Club Paradise,” his audiences are sure to be visited shortly after the beginning of 2012.

One of the most appealing aspects about Drake is his outstanding stage presence and his ability to reach out to every single person in a crowd of thousands.

After showing his incredible stage presence at the Fox !eatre in St.

Louis on Oct. 12, 2010 during his #rst tour,

“Light Dreams and

Night-mares,” many fans expect the same style of performance.

He truly feels that every fan counts, but over that, every fan feels like he or she counts as well.

By Kristen Hanna

5 QuestionsBy Brady Bell

What sports are you going to play this year?I’m going to play soccer in the spring.

What is the best thing about high school?

Getting out of school early on !ursdays.

What is the worst thing about high school?!ere is a lot more homework.

What is your favorite class? Why?My favorite class is Biology because all my other classes are boring.

How was the switch between Pattonville Heights Middle School and high school?It was very di"erent, but fun.