Februry 2012

2011-2012

Panther’s Tale

Seniors Sierra Davis, Angela Pahl

Brittany Quigley, and

Stephanie Stumma

Juniors Melissa Bass and

Tabbi Rettig

SophomoreHannah Harms,

and

Branden Kleppe

The Yearbook Staff invites students and parents to submit photos for the yearbook. If you’ve got great photos of school and community events or you and your friends just having fun, we’d like to see them. Our photographers can’t be everywhere. Help us get as many photos as possible to create a terrific book everyone will want to have. Here is how you can submit photos online

Log on to: ReplayIt.comPassword: Panthers12•Browse to select the photo(s) you wish to upload, click on “Image Share”.•Enter information about the photo and provide contact information in case the staff needs additional information.•Click “Save Details”. It’s that easy! Submit your photos today!

Get your pictures the yearbook!

Panther’sTale

Valentine’s DayHannah Harms

Valentine’s Day is the special day of the year for love. Though it started out as a day to honor the martyr named Saint Valentine, it is now the day that people spend with the loves of their lives, or their current love. Many guys can get confused on this day due to the saying that, “If you treat your girlfriend as special on Valentine’s Day, you’re doing something wrong every other day of the year”, or “Every day should be Valentine’s Day.” I advise you to NOT listen to this, just because it may make you look as though you did something wrong; the man with the present always wins. If you aren’t at the gift giving stage in your relationship yet, try taking your girlfriend out to a nice dinner and a cute movie. When I say this, I mean Olive Garden and the hot new chick flick, The Vow, not McDonald’s and Transformers. Also be extra loving towards your partner on this day, to show them that you don’t have any other person you would want to spend the day of love with than them, and don’t ever let your girlfriend pay for a Valentine’s Day meal or movie - you’re asking for a break up by doing that. If you chose to spend the day with your friends or family some activities that you can always do is make Valentine’s Day cards for your friends. You can buy some at your local store with characters on them, or you can go the extra mile and make your own. Also, if your sending out Valentines, you should probably put candy in them; no one wants a Valentine with no candy inside it. For more information on how to create a lasting relationship with your partner, check out Brittany’s article below.

Go Panthers!Celebrity BreakupsBrittany Quigley

In today’s society, breakups or divorce of celebrities are in the media everyday; does anyone stay together? With Valentine’s Day being in February, will there be any couples out there celebrating for more than their first time? The media doesn’t talk about long lasting relationships, it talks about the breakups. Despite what is always in the media, many celebrity couples have been together for longer than people realize.

There are many celebrity couples out there that have been together longer than most of us realize. One of these couples includes Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. These two have been together for twenty- three years. Hanks and Wilson meet on the set for a T.V. comedy called “Bosom

Buddies”, but became a serious couple during Wilson’s movie Volunteer. The couple now has two children.

Another couple that has been together for quite some time is Will Smith and Jada Pinkett. This couple has been

married fifteen years. The couple met in 1990 when Pinkett tried out for a role in Smith’s T.V. show “Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”

The couple is raising three children, two of their own and one of Will’s from a previous relationship.

A third couple that has been together for a long time is Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman. This couple recently celebrated their twenty- fifth wedding anniversary. Their relationship is rather private, but they do have three children.

Additionally, the couple Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex in the City) and Matthew Bonderick (Ferris Bueller, Inspector Gadget) have been married for eleven years. This couple is also rather private, but has one child who was born in 2002, and have

recently had twins via a surrogate.

While there are many couples in the news because of their rocky relationships or breakups, many couples out there are in it for the long run.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Super Bowl XLVI Branden Kleppe

The presentation of the Super Bowl is one of the greatest days in the NFL for both players and fans. This year’s Super Bowl was number 46 and took place in Indianapolis, Indiana. The teams facing off were the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. In the end, the Giants won the Super Bowl and the score was 21-17. Another great part about the Super Bowl is all the commercials they air during the game. Some favorites were the Doritos: Sling Baby, Budlight: Weego, KIA: A Dream Car, Chrysler: It’s Halftime in America, M&M’s: Just My Shell, Doritos: Man’s Best Friend, Volkswagen: Dog Strikes Back, Audi: Vampire Party, and Chevy: Silverado. There were also some controversial ones like the GoDaddy commercials. The price of making these commercials costs about 3.5 million dollars per commercial.

During half-time, the show was Madonna singing a montage of her old songs, as well as a new release (Y-O-U-MADONNA) and was accompanied by LMFAO, M.I.A., Nicki Minaj, and CeeLo Green. Some people enjoyed the half-time show and some did not, but that’s typical year to year. Another great thing that happens during the Super Bowl is all the huge parties people have while watching the game. A party favorite is there are so many recipes for dips and other snacks for Super Bowl Sunday, because when someone is having a Super Bowl party, they need to have a great dip and other snacks. A certain dip recipe would be: “Mom’s Cheese Dip.” The ingredients to this dip is 1 pound of Jimmy Dean Regular Sausage

1 pound of Velveeta Cheese12 ounce jar of salsa (mild, medium, or hot)green chiles (optional). Fully cook the sausage according to package directions. Drain the fat from the pan, then add the cheese and salsa. Cover and simmer all ingredients together, stirring occasionally, until cheese melts. Stir in the green chiles, if using. This recipe can be found at http://www.ivillage.com/moms-cheese-dip/3-r-105879.

Usually after the Super Bowl is over, they announce that you can go online and buy memorabilia. Some of the memorabilia would be shirts, caps, DVDs, etc. Now since this Super Bowl has passed, we have to wait another year until more new commercials, new recipes, and new teams who will be playing at the Super Bowl next year. Picture link: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EMDi8dRh_Fc/TyPlYTroboI/AAAAAAAABZk/UrmoY7zMC8E/s1600/INdianapolis_super_bowl_2012_Logo_Wallpaper_PNG.jpg

Chinese New Year Stephanie Stumma

The Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is known as “Spring Festival” in China. The festival marks the end of the winter season. It begins on the first day of the first month and ends with a Lantern Festival on the 15th of the month in January.Chinese New Year is also the longest festivity of the Chinese calendar. The origin of the holiday is centuries old and is celebrated in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and in Chinatowns all around the world. People will spend money for presents, decorations, materials, food, and clothing for the holiday. It is traditional for a family to cleanse their house in order to keep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck.

On the Eve of Chinese New Year, many families will hold feasts together. Many of the feasts include duck, pig, chicken, and sweet delicacies. The families usually end the night by using firecrackers. The next morning, kids will greet their parents and wish them a healthy and happy new year. They then receive money in red paper envelopes.

The Chinese New Year is about reconciling, forgetting all grudges, and to sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone. Clothing mainly featuring the color red or bright colors is commonly worn throughout the Chinese New Year because it was once believed that red could scare away evil spirits and bad fortune. Red is the predominant color used in New Year celebrations. Red is the emblem of joy, and this colour also symbolizes virtue, truth and sincerity. The Chinese New Year is a holiday that is celebrated by millions and is a national tradition in China.

Groundhog DayAngela Pahl The Groundhog saw his shadow this year and everyone knows what that means: six more weeks of winter. Not that there was a winter to begin with. Most people would argue that Groundhog Day is an inaccurate event for predicting if the end of winter is coming early or not. According to Groundhog Day, organizers the Groundhog’s shadow predicts accurately about 39% of the time. So that would mean that those people are correct. Although this is true, Groundhog Day is very important for the famous Groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, who is the official groundhog for Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Groundhog Day is a special occasion that everyone looks forward too, especially the groundhog. Last year the Groundhog did not see his shadow, and 2008 to 2010, the groundhog did see his shadow, which meant no early spring. Mother Nature seems to not want us to have an early spring at all this year, or the year before that, which goes back to the Dry Winter that Iowa is having. The dry winter days are done, and the Groundhog and Mother Nature seem to be in agreement about keeping the current weather conditions. Late spring and more snow just for Iowa! Mother Nature and the Groundhog should work together more often to figure out what the outcome should be each year, it might make the Groundhog more predictable, which would make it more accurate and people would trust the poor little Groundhog with the yearly prediction more. Update: Wow-maybe the groundhog was wrong! With temps in the 70s and 80s for a week, some may believe that Spring is here early! March 21 brings the first official day of spring, and I think most of us are ready!

Happy 1st Day of Spring!

Chinese New Year parade.

Spring is

near!

2012 Academy

AwardsThe 84th Annual Academy Awards Nominees Stephanie Stumma

This year the 84th annual Academy Awards will be held on February 26th, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Best Picture: The Artist, The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, War Horse. The Help has won many Screen Actors Guild Awards and is a top contender for the Oscars.

Best Actor in a leading role: Demian Bichir for A Better Life, George Clooney for The Descendants, Jean Dujardin for The Artist, Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Brad Pitt for Moneyball. There has been a lot of talk that The Descendants has been some of George Clooney’s best work yet and has received critical acclaim for his role in the film.

Best Actress in a leading role: Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs, Viola Davis for The Help, Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady, Michelle Williams for My Week With Marilyn. Michelle Williams has won a SAG award for My Week With Marilyn .

Best Supporting Actor: Kenneth Branagh for My Week With Marilyn, Jonah Hill for Moneyball, Nick Nolte for Warrior, Christopher Plummer for Beginners, Max von Sydow for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Max von Sydow has won a SAG award for his work in Extremely Loud &Incredibly Close.

Best Supporting Actress: Berenice Bejo for The Artist, Jessica Chastain for The Help, Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids, Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs, Octavia Spencer for The Help. Octavia Spencer has won a SAG award for Best Supporting Actress for The Help. Melissa McCarthy has also been a top contender for the Oscar, but it has raised questions whether her role was even worthy of an Oscar.

Leap Year Melissa Bass

Leap Year is a year containing one extra day in order to keep the calender year synchronized with astronomical year; therefore, the year lasts 366 days instead of the usual 365, with the extra day being the 29th of February. Additionally, years that are divisible by 100 do not contain a Lear Year UNLESS that year is divisible by 400, like the year 2000. The Earth takes 365 days and 6 hours to make one revolution around the sun. So, every four years, another 24 hours is added, making the extra day. Now that we are done with the heavy dictionary version and math lesson, we’re going to see some fun facts.

*Were you born on leap year? A person born on February 29 is often called a "leapling" or a "leap year baby". In non-leap years, leaplings typically celebrate their birthdays on either February 28 or March 1.

*Do you also have the sign of Pisces under February 29? If so you’re in luck because according to some as astrologers, those that are will have unusual talents and personalities. In the Guinness Book of Records, the Keogh Family has had three consecutive generations born on February 29. They also have a special Leap Year cocktail, so go look that up...only if you’re over 21 of course.

Also astrologers predict that, in 100 years, the solar calendar and the calendar year will be 25 days apart, so eventually our seasons won’t match up with the months we currently associate them with. Your chances of being born on Leap Year are about 1 in 1500, and there are about four million people in the world who were born on this day. If you were born on this day then count on your birthday being pretty confusing.Some additional facts:Some famous people born on February 29 include:

●1468 – Pope Paul III (d. 1549)●1792 – Gioacchino Rossini, Italian composer (William Tell, The Barber of Seville) (d.

1868)●1896 – Morarji Desai, former Indian prime minister (d. 1995)●1916 – Dinah Shore, American singer (d. 1994)●1924 – Al Rosen, American baseball player●1924 – Carlos Humberto Romero, former president of El Salvador●1960 – Anthony (Tony) Robbins, American motivational speaker●1964 – Lyndon Byers, Canadian hockey player●1972 – Antonio Sabàto Jr, Italian-born actor●1976 – Ja Rule, American rapper and actor●1980 – Chris Conley, American musician and songwriter/composer (wikipedia.com)

A Day of Honor for the American PresidentsSierra Davis President’s Day was originally established on the birthday of the first president of America, George Washington, but now is celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all the presidents of the United States. This day has become an important dedication to the leadership and determination that each president has showed during their presidency. The United States has gone through some tough times and continues to face struggles. This day is dedicated solely to the presidents that have worked hard to keep America a great nation. Some schools around the country take the day off for President’s day, and others spend the day making crafts to show patriotism. There are many fun activities that can be done to show respect for President’s Day. Patriotic pinwheels, craft stick flags, star strings, and log cabins made out of twigs are just a few of the crafts made in schools and homes on President’s day. Whether or not people have to go to school or work, President’s Day is a very important for American citizens. It is just as important as Independence Day. Our country would not have survived all the issues and wars America has endured if it was not for our presidents who led our country courageously. The presidents of the United States deserve to have a day that honors their work and remembers everything that they did for their country. This year, President’s Day is being celebrated on Monday, February 20. Students and faculty will have the day off of school. How will you celebrate?

Hugo: A Review The movie, Hugo, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture is the screen adaption of the graphic novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The novel presents itself at nearly three inches thick, which may scare some people away from reading it, However, the book is composed of a unique graphic picture story told in graphite drawings, alternating with a reasonable amount of text. At first intimidating, the drawings lead the reader into the story and keep them reading throughout the storyline. It quickly became a best seller. The recently released film adaptation is one of the best that this reviewer has seen. True to the storyline, the film’s creative production creates a story surrounding a character that the viewer truly relates to and empathizes with. Hugo, an orphan as the story is told, learns to fend for himself and survive his days by winding the clock tower and assembling a robot that his dad had begun building and was the only momento he had left of his father. When he is caught stealing parts to add to the robot, he is caught and his invention book is confiscated. Hugo is a determined and intelligent young man who never gives up on his hopes and dreams, despite the obstacles he faces. As a reader and viewer, I highly recommend that you check out this book and the movie. You will not be disappointed!