Chicago, and blended with the

music splendidly. It told the

story about how six murder-

esses killed their victims. It was quite sassy. The dancers per-

formed solos during the voice-

overs between refrains. In each

solo, a pirouette, kick, or allonge

served as the final blow to pan-

tomime a murder. The dancers,

who were playing the roles of

prison inmates, wore tight black

leotards with glittery red busts

peeking through faux rips in the

fabric. These performances

definitely showed the talent of

the dancers at our school.

(Continued on pg. 3)

If you have never

been to Performing Arts Night

here at Cen-tral, it’s

something to

behold. It’s a

night when

all the artists

at the school

wait behind

the stage cur-

tain, while

friends and

family pack

into the audi-

torium to see

what new and exciting

things the

students have

been doing

here at school

over the past few months. This

year, Performing Arts Night was

October 9, 2013 and it was out-

standing. We had performances

that involved all the departments

of the school, such as the dance,

theatre, visual arts, instrumental

music, and choir departments.

Performing Arts Night gives all the students a chance to showcase

their talent in front of a live audi-

ence. Not everything was perfect

but everyone enjoyed the perform-

ances and had a great time. Over-

all, this year’s performance was a

success and highlighted all the

talents of each department here at

CVPA.

As usual, the dance de-

partment played a prominent role

on the stage. Dancers leaped and

twirled, and moved to the rhythm

of the music. Dance is usually one of the most popular perform-

ances at school events, and this

year was no exception. One exotic

dance included a neon screen in

the background that flashed a

variety of colors behind the danc-

ers. It was like a strobe light and

it flashed in rhythm to a style of

music that can best be described

as “vogue.” Another popular

dance was the “Cell Block Tango.”

This dance was from the musical

There’s a lot of gossip

about why the southwest stair-

well is still closed, yet there are a lot of conflicting stories as to the

true nature of the closure.

Maybe it’s true that it is really a

doorway to a secret dimension,

as one rumor states. After all,

there were stories of students

who came out of it last year talk-

ing about a magical land called

Narnia. There has also been

some recent chit chat that be-

hind the door on the third floor is

a hole through which stu-

dents could plummet to a

secret floor beneath the base-

ment.

It’s much more likely,

though, that no one is al-lowed into the southwest

stairwell because the Central

ghost still lingers in this

desolate place! Nobody

knows exactly how the ghost

died but most people believe

it drowned in the pool that

used to be in the floor below

the gym; however, according

to Mrs. Jean Kuczka, Cen-

tral’s best resource for

ghostly information, “There’s

no pool and there never was.”

This knocks out the pool theory but begs the question “how did

the ghost die?” There are few

clues to be found, unfortunately.

Personally, I believe it highly

probable the ghost got trapped at

the school over the weekend, back in the age when they didn’t

have cell phones, and died from

boredom. Regardless of the

cause, the ghost’s current goal is

to inflict unbearable world weari-

ness on students by sucking up

their school spirit, much like a

dementor from Harry Potter.

How does one know this? Well,

have you ever woken up, gotten

to school and suddenly lost your

drive to work or arrived and be-

came incredibly bored? If the

answer is or ever was yes, now

you know why, because what

other force could dim Cen-

tral’s amazing school spirit?

Due to that terrible danger the ghost represents

and the fact that one can not

remove a ghost with any

means we currently have

available, the staff probably

concluded that it’s safest for

students to be prohibited from

entering its territory. While

our ghost may be quite power-

ful and dangerous when en-

countered by a lone individ-

ual, there are times that

students have to enter its

domain, like during fire drills. During these times,

though, it is reluctant to

attack an entire classroom

of energized adolescents.

It prefers individuals in-

stead. Hence, this is why

the ghost is not seen when

groups enter this area.

The ghost is still in the

stairwell, for enigmatic

reasons, and this is the

reason it is probably

closed during the rest of

the day.

By now, you are

probably wondering the ori-

gins of the ghost stories, and

for some further answers, we

(Continued on pg. 4)

P e r f o r m i n g A r t s N i g h t

b y A l i y a h A z i z , A s h l e y M e r i d e t h , a n d X a n i e l l e

R o d g e r s

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Art News 2

Student Profile 2

Advice Column 3

Fashion 5

Love 5

Puzzles 6

Horoscopes and Comics 7

T h e d a n g e r l u r k i n g i n t h e

s t a i r w e l l

b y A s h l e y M e r i d e t h

Rumor Has It Volume 1, Issue 2

The Newspaper of

Central Visual and Performing Arts

High School est. 2013

Parker Volland performing “Maple Leaf Rag” on the piano

Is this the ghost that haunts the stairways of Central?

Last month the art department entered a

contest to design the gate for the Shaw Art Fair.

The students began the process by making small

versions of the gates, and later had to draw their

ideas on paper. Finally, they turned in all their designs for the judges to evaluate. After some

very hard debate, a winner was chosen from our

school, Reanna Peterson! Her winning picture

was creative and artistic. It involved an octopus

painting a still life and making a ceramic vase.

To create the gates, the art department

got big boards and painted them almost ten

times bigger than the original drawing. They

eventually took everything to Tower Grove Park

and put the boards on the gates. Everyone who

went to the fair saw these amazing gates as they

entered since they were part of the entrance to

the fair.

In other art news Mr. Perry completed the

decorations for the Oktoberfest featured in last

month’s issue, and he delivered them to the festi-

val in Soulard. The paint-splattered cloth is cur-

rently hanging on the fence and the blue cloth is

hanging from atop the tent-like shelters. The pa-

trons loved the decorations at Oktoberfest and

were happy to see them hanging up. Mr. Perry

was featured on the local news for this Pollack inspired art along with one of his students, Kelly

Sykes, who went with him, to demonstrate how

the pieces were made.

That’s a wrap. This is all the new art news I have

for now. Until next month...

Sashae Long — 11th Grade

Q: Do you feel like an undiscov-

ered artist? Why or why not?

A: I feel like people don't know

what I’m going for and why I love

dance so much.

Q: What is your art and why do you

love it?

A: Advanced Dance, it makes me

feel good about myself.

Q: What is your favorite thing

about CVPA?

A: That’s a funny question.

Q: Why is it funny?

A: Because it’s a performing arts

school, you should expect the

unexpected. Everything is boring

and fake, and cookie cutter. Think

outside of the box.

Q:What is your least favorite thing about CVPA?

A: No creativity.

Q:Why do you think CVPA lacks creativity?

A: The school is plain, [there is] barely any color, and everything is so

uniform. I don't feel a spark. I’m not saying no one is creative; I feel like

people are scared to let their creativity out.

Q: How do you plan on changing that?

A: Things are slowly changing, but, I plan on finding people to talk to

who want to reach out and inspire others.

Sashae Long

A r t s y F a r t s y b y C i e r r a M o r g a n

P a g e 2

U n d i s c o v e r e d A r t i s t s b y D e j a J a c k s o n

The Gates at the Shaw Art Fair designed by our very own Reanna Peterson

R u m o r H a s i t

you’re yourself, that doesn’t

mean you can disregard others

feeling and do whatever you

want. You cannot be ignorant of the consequences. Don’t com-

promise your basic morals and be-

liefs to appease others, but don’t be

rude.

To sum up what you

could do to be yourself:

1. Evaluate who is tell-

ing you to be yourself

and who isn’t. This can

help you decide whether

or not to take that per-son's advice. Figure out

exactly what they want

before you act.

2. Remember that all

humans have quirks and

differences. While these

can sometimes be en-

dearing, everybody

might not appreciate

your personality. Try to

find a balance between

being yourself and being

annoying to others.

3. Lastly, rethink what

you understand acting

like yourself to be. Do

you really know what

that means, or are you

just making excuses for

bad behavior?

I hope this helps you in

your development as a

member of society.

Thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

-La’shey

Ford, and Deon Jones.

Instrumental music

added to the excitement of the

night with outstanding musical

performances. One particularly

good song was a piano solo by

Parker Volland, who performed

“Maple Leaf Rag” by legendary

composer Scott Joplin. Antonio

Foster followed up with his own

piano solo, knocking out a med-

ley which started with “Knocks

Me Off My Feet” by Stevie Won-

der and transitioned into

“Ordinary People” by John Leg-end. The guitarists also show-

cased their talent in a perform-

ance which featured a scene from

The Wiz playing on the screen

behind them. They played “Ease

on Down the Road” in a very ani-

mated performance, especially

from Eric Gonzales who began

the song standing atop an ampli-

fier, and ended with Jason Sosa

and him both power-sliding into

oblivion at the front of the stage.

Another beautiful per-

formance on this night was put

on by the choir department. Some of the members of the glee

club performed a melody sung

to the words of Martin Lu-

ther King’s “I Have a

Dream” speech. It was a

thoughtful tribute to the

years of service and dedi-

cation of Mr. Thedford.

Other performances on

the night were sung by the

beginning and advanced

choirs, who combined to

perform “Viva la Vida” by

Coldplay and a spiritual called “Keep Your Lamps

Trimmed and Burning.”

These performances were

wonderful. “Viva la Vida”

was warm and energetic

while “Keep Your Lamps

Trimmed and Burning” was in-

tense and harmonious.

The visual artists were

also represented on this night.

As with previous exhibitions on

stage, there were slide shows

that highlighted several of the

artists in our school. All types

of artwork were represented,

including paintings, drawings,

photographs, and sculptures. Some of the artists featured

were: Danielle Rankins, Reanna

Peterson, Torin Triplett, Lena

Noel, and Meredith Schoenke.

Several photographers also had

contributions, including: Emily

Jenkins, Grace Taber, Tiara

Luna, Cierra Watson, Cianna

Cunningham, Kelly Morales,

Alondra Cornejo, Bianca Clay-

bon, Mariah Stables, Ronica

Last but not least the

theatre department was repre-

sented with a variety of mono-logues. Atiya Ar-Razzaaq, the

third performer, had a spectacu-

lar performance. It was

really powerful. It was

about a woman leaving her

husband Troy because she

discovered he had fathered a

child by another woman.

Atiya’s moving performance

held an underlying message

of faith and heartbreak.

She used only one prop but

her charisma seemed to fill

the entire stage with her presence. Bridney

Wooldridge performed a

monologue from Fences in

which she sang on and off

stage because she was play-

ing a young crazy character who

is telling her older brother that

they got an apartment they were-

n’t supposed to get. Elyssia

Wright did another monologue

about telling her best friend –

her mom – that she was a les-

bian and how she was dealing

with the changes in the way she

was treated.

All these performances

made performing arts night an

overall success on this eventful October night, here at our

school. Everyone appreciated all

the hard work and dedication

that the performers put into this

show. All the performers can be

proud of their contributions to

this night of CVPA talent. We

hope to see another performance

like this next event.

L i s t e n t o L a ’ s h e y

P e r f o r m i n g A r t s N i g h t

( C o n t i n u e d f r o m P a g e 1 )

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 2

Dear La’Shey,

“How can society tell you

to be yourself, when eve-

ryone will hate it if you

do?”

To answer your

question: signals from

others can often be con-

fusing. Society is made

up of so many different people and it often sends

out mixed messages. In

the case of your question,

big corporations, the me-

dia, and your immediate

authority figures are

probably the ones telling

you to be yourself, while

peers and supporters of

current social norms are

hating it.

Another thing is

that people don’t really

think through what

they’re expecting of oth-

ers when they tell them to “be yourself.” They

don’t take into account

people’s irksome “flaws”

and their inability to deal

with them.

Your perception

of how to “be yourself”

may also be part of the

problem. Frankly nowa-

days people use the de-

fense of “I’m just being

myself” whenever they

act a fool. There’s a big

difference between being

yourself and being rude. When

Alondra Cornejo being herself

Mr. Dello Thedford

B e t t e r Y o u , b e t t e r W o r l d C h a l l e n g e b y D e j a J a c k s o n

Are you looking to leave a positive mark on the world? So often we go through life doing and saying what we want and not giving it a second thought. It’s very impor-

tant that we try to be positive in all aspects of life. We must try to improve the world we live in for now and the future. We must also give our maximum effort to help and en-

courage one another. We can start with small steps that are super easy. Here are your October Challenges…..

return to our resident ghost expert, Mrs. Kuc-

zka. She continues on with her story, “I guess

the story of the Central ghost started because

one day in class we heard someone banging

from the other side of the door in the gym

where the pool is supposed to be . . . so a few of us went downstairs and after we turned the

corner at the bottom we found a Cleveland kid

stuck in a hidden room at the back of the home

-ec. room . . . [Also there was another story]

when a boy was in the dressing room and he

came out to tell me the shower mysteriously

turned on all by itself. He came out with a

frightened look and asked if there were ghosts

in the building. I said I don’t know . . . but

these two stories have helped to contribute to

the stories of the ghost, especially the story of

that kid trapped in the hidden room. When we

heard him banging on the door, we were sur-

prised to see him appear when we opened up the door.” Her tales show that, while the ori-

gins of the Central ghost are most likely false,

it’s still possible that there’s a ghost actually

here. Who turned on that shower for example?

Who even knew they still worked?

Truly, the mysterious Central ghost is

one perilous creature. No one can fathom its

beginning but we all feel

its presence. Beware its

pull, its bore- dom induc-

ing power! Our great

school has in- deed shown

fantastic nobil- ity in its

efforts to save students

from the ghost’s

frightening influence.

So be grateful to the stair-well closure, because

now you know the real rea-

son why the southwest

stairwell is closed.

T h e d a n g e r

l u r k i n g i n

t h e s t a i r -

w e l l

( C o n t i n u e d

f r o m P a g e 1 )

Tiara Luna and Justin Jones talking

Challenge 1— Giving someone a sincere com-

pliment is enough to brighten their whole day !

It’s easy and it makes a big difference. There, I

challenge you to give a compliment to EVERY-

ONE you make eye contact with whether it’s at

school, home or work.

Challenge 2— Littering is a big deal ! The

earth is very precious and it is already getting

harmed every day with deforestation, trash, and

pollution. Refraining from littering and encour-

aging others to do so is a very easy way to im-

prove the beautification and cleanliness of our

school and planet. Therefore, I challenge you to

pick up and dispose of, or recycle, EVERY piece

of litter that you come across.

Challenge 3— Think about this: how

many people in our school and community

have we never spoken to? Talking to new

people is a great thing to do. Therefore, I

challenge you to start a conversation with

someone new EVERY DAY. It’s a beautiful

thing to build relationships with people. You

never know who you could meet and who

might be a good life-long friend.

Reanna Peterson

The cutest couple of this month is Reanna Peterson and Raymond

Johns. Reanna is an art major and Ray is a guitar major, and they

both combine their talents to make their relationship spark and

glow. They have been dating now for almost two years - two years of

happiness and excitement. Reanna and Ray are a grade apart but

that doesn’t seem to matter to them. Reanna Peterson is a senior and

will be graduating this year and Ray is a junior and will be here for

another year without Reanna. They plan to continue their relation-

ship even after Reanna graduates. This couple shows respect to-

wards each other and everyone else. They don’t show any PDA in

front of the student body or staff. They don’t let their relationship

interfere with their education, either. This is why Reanna Peterson

and Raymond Johns are the couple of the month.

Raymond Johns

T h a t F u n k y T r e n d b y X a n i e l l e r o d g e r s

C u t e s t C o u p l e b y A l o n d r a C o r n e j o

P a g e 5 R u m o r H a s i t

Halloween is just around the corner so here are some spectacular costume ideas:

- Everyone is going to try to wear the most popular costumes but you shouldn’t be like everyone else. You should be you and be original. Pick something that no one else would dare to wear, and

that should be your costume this year! Be creative & wear whatever connects with or is you.

- If you decide to wear the most popular costume — make it “pop” or stand out. Make it your

own one of a kind.

- Add lots of creativity. If you’re really original, you should make up your own costume.

- And if you still want to look trendy but are on a budget, go to your local thrift shop or Good-

will.

Marilyn Monroe

If you want a Marilyn Monroe costume and

still want to have a money saver, go to a thrift shop and get

yourself a cute white cocktail dress and

wear it with bold red lipstick. Don’t forget

that beauty mark!

James Bond

Get yourself a nice sharp tuxedo and

bow tie. Of course you have to have

plenty of gadgets like

a laser pen!

Medusa

If you want to be Me-dusa then buy some

plastic snakes for your hair, put on a goddess dress, and

don’t forget to make your eyes really

scary.

Zombie

The most important thing about being a

zombie is to have lots of stage blood! Also

make your walk slow

and scary.

3. A type of squash used during Halloween

5. What monster is associated with the end of the world?

6. A St. Louis mansion rumored to be truly haunted

8. Chucky’s full name

13. Central is rumored to have one of these that wanders the halls

16. Total number of Michael Myers Halloween movies

17. A Mexican holiday celebrated around Halloween (en Espanol)

19. A costume made of a common bathroom commodity

20. Mr. Mattler’s Halloween costume

21. A household item one uses to carry more candy than everyone else.

22. The name of the haunted house “where no one can hear you scream”

23. The thing in a candy bowl that scares you using its phalanges.

F u n S t u f f !

P a g e 6 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 2

1. Chucky’s bride

2. The original weapon that supposedly killed a vampire

4. Another name for Halloween

7. The monster in the mirror

8. Halloween candy shaped like a cone

9. A candy made of nougat, caramel, chocolate, and peanuts

10. A Halloween villain that attacks you in your dreams

11. Who was Linus (from the Peanuts gang) waiting for at Halloween?

12. The full name of the Halloween villain that wears a hockey mask

14. This student won the costume contest last year

15. A pet that brings bad luck

18. Insect that spins for your attention

Joke of the Month

Why didn’t the skeleton go

to the party? He had no body to dance with.

Newspaper Staff

Ashley Merideth - Editor

Alondra Cornejo - Director of Photography

Xanielle Rodgers - Fashion Editor

Rainbow - Artistic Director

Aliyah Aziz - Reporter

Deja Jackson - Society Reporter

Parker Volland — Music Editor

Mr. Mattler—Editor and Chief

A c r o s s D o w n

Capricorn - Good news! This month the universe will finally give you a break and you will begin to relax. Aquarius - Be careful this month! Someone you’re close to will reveal their true feelings so keep your heart hard against potential hurt and you will pass through safely. Pisces - You may feel insecure, anxious, and unclear of your direction this month. You’ll need to protect yourself emotionally, pay attention to your romantic partner and not take anything for granted. Aries - This month things will change. Your daily routine will be altered in some way. Taurus - This month you’ll be challenged with balancing your mature and imma-ture faces. You must figure out which one is more appropriate in situations. Hint *try maturity* Gemini - Like the two halves of Gemini twins, your luck will fall either on the extreme high side or the extreme low side. Depending on how you look at it, the outcome will change. Cancer - This month you will be experiencing a new beginning in your love life so don’t hesitate to make better decisions. Leo - This month your luck will vary. You could be in for a good or bad surprise. Stay alert. Virgo - You may feel a bit optimistic this month. However, Virgo, don't lose touch with reality. Both easy and challenging things are headed your way. Be prepared! Libra - Aha! Great things are coming to you, but beware of obstacles that will get

in your way of obtaining these great things. Keep a clear head and be ready to re-ceive great things. Scorpio - You’ve been feeling stressed and limited with Saturn in your sign. Many things in your life have been complicated and progress has been slow. Sagittarius - Optimism is your power; use it in time of need.

C o m i c s B y R a i n b o w

Zodiac Attack

In the afternoon of any weekday, sounds of a strummed guitar may be heard coming from the fourth floor.

The timbre from an acoustic or an electric guitar, or an electric bass could be easily discerned with careful listen-

ing. What are the songs that you’re picking up on? A few of them are probably well known to most, but others

might be a little more out there.

Popular songs such as the Experience’s

“Little Wing” or even “Ease on Down the Road”

from the Wiz can be heard echoing throughout

the hall, as well as not so popular ones such

as an advanced guitar staple “Frankenstein” or

“Cissy Strut.” Though these classics may not

be well known by today’s high-schooler, they

should be.

A very powerful instrumental,

“Frankenstein,” is a tsunami of a song, driven

by drums, bass, and a few guitars. Created by

the Edgar Winter Group, the song’s profound

words and effective rhymes detail the struggle

of albinos in the 70’s. If you haven’t heard this

song, when you do you’ll understand why it’s a

staple in Drennen’s class.

“Cissy Strut,” a song known for its

blues and funk feel, was written by the Me-

ters for their 1969 debut album, The Meters.

This is just a little insight into some

of the some of the songs that the guitar

class plays. Just scratch the surface of mu-

sical history, and you will find a wealth of

exciting music being played in our school.

So if you happen to pass by the guitar class

on the fourth floor, listen to some of the cool

jams wafting out into the halls.

M u s i c o f B . D r e n n e n b y p a r k e r V o l l a n d

Samantha Braswell