Smoke SignalsVolume 3 Issue 1

Peters Township High School 264 East McMurray Road

McMurray, PA 15317Phone: 724-941-6250

www.ptmedia.net

Photo by Jennifer Coffey

Meet the Staff

Carly Beck,Features Editor

Amanda MooreNews Editor

Denée RenzLayout Editor

McKenzie FritzOnline Editor-in-Chief

Katie FinnLife & Style Editor

Madison MinconeSports Editor

Molly DoehringPrint Editor-in-Chief

Christine ManganasOnline Editor-in-Chief

Katie DenningManaging Editor-in-Chief

Valerie KotarSpecial Features Editor

Allie SchlafmanLayout Editor

John GalaticPrint Editor-in-Chief

Liz WeimerOnline Editor-in- Chief

Julia GauthierEntertainment Editor

Stephanie HammellMarketing Editor

Val GobaoLayout Editor-in -Chief

Smoke Signals StaffJosh GlicksmanAlexa Kennedy

Bobby LewisLaura PurkeyJenna Taimuty

Benjamin Zalewski

Camille BarnesMadison Creehan

Elise JozwiakLydia McCall

Lindsey McCayAndrea Salizzoni

Grant TaylorMichelle Thomas

Taylor CoxShane Dazen

Jesse EbyJillian Eby

Smoke Signals is produced six times a school year by the students of the Media II, III, and IV Journalism staff at Peters Township High School. Staff Advisor is Mrs. N. Sitler. Commentar-ies, reviews, and opinion columns are the express opinion of the author and not of Smoke Signals, its advisor, or the Peters Township School District.

Mission Statement:

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4-5 PT FocusPeters Township P-Rade

6-7 SportsCross Country vs. Football

8-9 Senior Servants

10-11 Life and StyleCharming Charlie’s

12-13 Homecoming

14-15 People FeaturesNew Principal- Mrs. Pavlik

16-17 HalloweenCostumes under 5 Dollars

18-19 EntertainmentSocial Networking Sites

20-21 News FeaturesPay to Play

22-23 Student WorkPhotography Students Work

4 PT Focus

Waking up for school in the morning can be a daily hassle: Tak-ing a shower, picking out an outfit, or just trying to get into the building be-fore first period. For some, breakfast is the last thing on their minds. Fortunately, the high school is serving a tasty list of options every morning in the cafeteria for those busy students. “I think the high school serves breakfast to help the students be health-ier and get the nutrients we need.” said sophomore Alli-son Hurley. She, like numer-ous other students, picks up a snack in the morning. “We wanted to provide the service for the benefit of our students,” explained Lesnett, PTHS’s new assistant principal. The menu is stocked with great tasting, nourishing foods

Join the PthS BreakfaSt CluBAlexaKennedy.StaffWriter

Sophomore Elsie Growall grabs an apple. “I sometimes don’t have time for it, so it’s great that the school sells breakfast every morning,” said Growall.

that any student could find at home or at a restaurant. The vast variety consists of assorted muffins, cereals, ba-gels and cream cheeses, fresh fruits and many more. The best part is that prices range from 75 cents to $1.50. “I really like the ham, egg and cheese crois-sant, it’s my personal favor-ite.” Stated valued lunch lady, Margie Urbans, who also no-tice favorites of the student body, “The kids like the fresh fruit and croissants the most, they sell fast.” Some students and Mr. Cervenak who like to keep breakfast simple to start their day. “I like Pop-tarts the best. If I’m going to get breakfast,” said the picky math teacher. So make sure to stop by the cafeteria from 7:05 to 7:25 to grab a meal, snack, or something to hold you until lunch.

There are 2.7 billion packages of cereal sold every year – that’s enough boxes to wrap around the Earth thir-

teen times. Cited from Lloyd Moritz

The fourth annual P-Rade delivered, yet again, an array of diverse floats descending down the hill from Pleasant Valley Elementary School. With the extravagantly decorated trucks, detailed costumes, and trailers, it is hard not to be blown away by this spectacle. In an assembly the day before Homecoming,

AmandaMoore.NewsEditorfourth annual PeterS townShiP P-rade

various awards for the P-Rade were distributed. The best costume award went to the Girls’ Volleyball team for their country cowgirl outfits. For the fourth year in a row, the Cross Country team won best float. Their trailer held a contraption that made cardboard cutouts of all their seniors appear to be running. The event was sponsored

by the Dance Team to raise money for uniforms and their trip to Nationals in Disney World. After the P-Rade, underclassmen bid on the senior captains of sports and activities. For the Senior Servant Auction, seniors Jake Brown and Ryan Wyatt were sold for a record high of $500. It is a great way to raise money because the whole school

loves to get involved and show school spirit.

Photo by Alexa Kennedy

Photos by John Galatic and Sarah Yoest

4 PT Focus ocTober 2011 5

Each football game is full of exciting plays and the extremely rowdy fans that stay for the entire game, whether we win or lose. Re-cently, the school district has instituted a new policy that changed the environment at the football games. The biggest change is that the students standing around

the fence are restricted to a specific area, in which they only have a certain amount of room to stand. This rule has negatively impacted the way students root for their team. Peters fans now view going to the games as a chore. “I disagree with the rule because the most fun of being at the games is the at-

mosphere and this rule was probably made so things wouldn’t get out of hand,” said sophomore football player Greg Watts. Watts is not the only student that has a problem with the new rule. “The rules restrict the fan’s ability to enjoy games,” said sophomore Johna Con-roy. This may all be true, but it is important to consider the parents and others trying to enjoy watching games. Local parent Janet Dougherty said, “students can interrupt the parent’s ability to enjoy the game. Yes, students should be able to have fun too, but they need to tone it down a little bit.”

The students are not the only ones at the games, so they should have some mutual respect toward other people watching the games. This rule should not affect anyone’s ability to cheer on the team, so do not over-re-act and just have fun.

new rule dimS friday night lightSJesseEby.StaffWriter

As the first quarter winds to a close, many stu-dents such as myself are re-flecting -- read complaining-- on the high school’s policies and procedures. However, there is one policy that I firm-ly stand behind, the enforce-ment of the dress code. After spending the last three years of my life in the high school, I can easily attest to the numerous fashion tragedies that occur in this building. From the seasonally confused freshmen who enjoy “rocking” the Uggs and short-shorts look to the oh-so pop-ular muscle shirt trend (an upper-middle class, suburb is a treasure trove of ripped men

Pretty in Pink PantSMckenzieFritz.OnlineEditor-in-Chief

– didn’t you know?), my reti-nas have been assaulted since day one. Following the hor-rifying leggings and subse-quent jeggings trend of 2010 (honestly people, unless you are going to a renaissance fair or ballet practice, tights are not an adequate substitute for pants), I decided enough was enough. However, as one mea-sly student in a sea of Richard Simmons’-like bedazzlement, what was I to do? For the past year I have attempted to put the pants back on this school’s occupants. Alas, my mission was unsuccessful. Nevertheless I came back into this year with a posi-

tive, pro-clothing attitude and lucky for me, our new prin-cipal, Mrs. Pavlik, seems to agree with my opinion. While nothing can make up for the loss of the outstanding Mr. Frank Brettschneider -- God Bless his soul-- I applaud Mrs. Pavlik for her strong enforce-ment of the dress code. In the words of the great Mark Twain, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Did you hear that freshmen? Go put on a sweat-er and be successful.

An unknown student violates the dress code. A few of the dress code rules in-clude no short shorts, spaghetti straps, and cross dressing.

Photo by Mrs Boni

Photo by Elise Jozwiak

Photo by Carly Wickstrom

Sophomore Cody Ruffing lives and breathes the driving sport of golf. He dedi-cates much of his free time sharpening his skills on and off the course. When people see the skill that Ruffing possesses, they think that he is naturally talented, but they don’t see is how hard he works when off the course. Ruffing came into the world with a golf club in his hand. He has been playing golf as long as he can remember. His father is a professional golfer, greatly influencing the way his son plays the game. “He helps me and teaches me new tips every time we play,” stated Ruffing.

6 sPorTs

Ruffing makes sure to practice his skills frequently in order to stay a step ahead of the compe-tition. Having a golf course in his backyard certainly allows him to practice anytime that he wishes. He spends countless hours on the course, making practice perfect. Although his dad loves golf more than anything, Ruffing never feels the pressure to try to follow in his father’s footsteps. “Golf has always been my passion, and my dad has always made it a point that playing golf is completely my choice,” said Ruffing. He has played other sports, such as basketball and

JoshGlicksman.StaffWriterfootball in the past, but golf has always grasped Ruffing’s heart. Ruffing does not know how far he wants to go in the game, but he hopes that his talent can take him as far as possible. “I just know I love the game and want to play it for as long as I can,” stated Ruffing. Along with the help of his father, Ruffing has been in-volved with the stellar PT golf program. In fact, the JV Boys golf team has not lost a match in over nine years. “Their legacy is unbeliev-able. I hope it never ends,” he said.

JG: Football may be the most widely publicized sports in America. However, this does not mean football is the most difficult and grueling sport high school athletics has to offer. A more challenging sport takes place not on a field, but on a running trail. The cross country squad can be found at the local park every weekday, running five to ten miles each practice. Running five miles is considered a “work day,” when the team collectively goes as hard as possible to improve its speed. The longer distance practices are consid-ered “recovery” days. Most people have trouble jogging two or three miles every few days, let alone 35-50 miles a week. It requires more hard work to succeed in a cross country meet than it does in a foot-ball game.

GT: While cross country may require excellent endurance, it cannot compare to the physical brutality of football. Day in and day out, football players must deal with nagging bruises and numerous other injuries. Not only are these injuries bothersome in themselves, but players must continue to hit and aggravate their pain. I hardly think that cross country runners have to deal with these bumps

and bruises. “Shin splints” cannot com-pare to a sprained ankle or a fractured hand. By the third week of the season, some players on the football team were already dealing with contused biceps, broken arms, and broken ankles. People who have never experienced football do not have the first clue about the amount of physical and mental strength it takes to play the sport.

JG: Give me a break. Speaking of breaks, football teams take a lot of them. Sure, injuries can be painful, but players are given ample time to recover from them. Furthermore, those who are healthy are given a quick but sufficient breather in between downs to recuperate and pre-pare for the next play. Halftime, time outs, and standing around in practices are all luxuries cross country runners do not enjoy. Because of the lack of in-jury in the sport, runners are expected to compete as hard as they can every single race and practice. Do you think cross country runners are able to stop and catch their breath during a varsity invite that features 450 runners from dozens of schools? Those who walk are quite weak. In football terms, these in-

under review: CroSS Country or footBall?

dividuals would be known as “bench-warmers,” which is exactly what most football players would be on a cross country squad.

GT: Although football does see a large amount of stoppage in play, fatigue sets in very quickly. Blocking a 300 pound de-fensive tackle all night can wear a player out in no time. The only physical contact found in cross country is when runners accidentally bump arms as they jostle for position. Clearly cross country requires extraneous conditioning, but it takes just as much if not more to play football. Players have to be in top shape, so that they can fight through fourth quarter exhaustion when the game is on the line. Football is quite possibly the most chal-lenging sport because of the concentra-tion it takes to play. It is imperative that football players shake off game time in-juries and continue their effort on every down. While cross country runners use perseverance to make it through a race, it simply does not compare to the type of mental and physical toughness that foot-ball players possess.

ruffing ironS out hiS legaCy

Photo by Audra BastyrSophomore Cody Ruffing dedicates

much of his free time to golf. “Golf has always been my passion,” said Ruffing.

JohnGalatic.PrintEditor and GrantTaylor.StaffWriter

6 sPorTs ocTober 2011 7

The Peters Town-ship Lady Indians Volley-ball Team started the first half of their season strong. A 5-1 section record is not easily achieved without the strong teamwork and com-mitment from this squad of seventeen girls. It’s the team chemistry that keeps the Lady Indians going strong. “I love my team-mates, which makes the sport even more fun to play, and nothing feels bet-ter than a bump, set, and spike,” said senior Sarah Grippi. Leading the Lady Indians this year are cap-

tains, Gabriella Santa Lucia, Madison Mincone, Kelly John-son and Shiloh Simonson. Santa Lucia runs the defense, while setter Kelly Johnson commands the offense. Si-monson and Mincone lead the stats for the most points scored. Assisting Johnson with the offense are the outside hitters Shiloh Simonson, Mad-die Auld, Christine Renz, and Sarah Grippi. Grippi played an incredibly strong game ver-sus section rivals USC, earning multiple kills to keep the Indi-an’s spirit alive. Juniors Lauren Tassone and Lauren Belack, and sophomores Jordan Ha-

As Friday night nears, Pfeuffer’s adrenaline starts flow-ing and he knows what he needs to do. “First off, I focus on the game plan and my assignments. After that, I just prepare to go out and play the game I love,” said Pfeuffer. Keeping a normal routine has helped Pfeuffer stay true to himself and his game. It has also convinced teammates that he is playing with the team in mind and not just for his own perfor-mance. At the end of the day, football is just a game. Pfeuffer knows that it is hard to be a professional athlete, but it is too early to decide his fate just yet. “I just want to be a great quarterback for my last three years of high school and then I will go from there,” stated Pfeuffer. “I want to use all the peo-ple who told me I was too small to be a quarterback as motivation to work my hardest every time I step on the field.”

R.J. Pfeuffer has always been one who leads by example. This year is no different. Pfeuffer, a sophomore, came into the 2011 football preseason as the Indians starting quarterback and has not relinquished the job despite pressure from players ahead of him. “I like being in charge. I like setting an ex-

ample for my friends and teammates to follow,” stated Pfeuffer. At the beginning of camp, some people familiar with Peters Football were skeptical of the team showcasing a quar-terback that did not have much experience. Pfeuffer took this criticism head on and has made the best of the situation. “It has been a tough task but a good experience. Not many peo-ple get the chance to do this, so I’m making the best of it,” said Pfeuffer. Teammates have noticed his desire to succeed and have supported him while he works out the kinks in the offense. It has also been helpful that first year Coach Rich Piccinini has imple-mented an offense that displays Pfeuffer’s wide array of talents on the gridiron. “It helps me because it varies. It has drop back passes, screens, and roll outs. It puts me in the best position to succeed,” said Pfeuffer. With the help of running backs Andrew Erenberg and Justin Miller, the Indians go into the season confident that this new look offense will be successful.

rakal and Kelsey Hunter help to run the middle. Hannah Gross and Brooke Lininger run the right side. No team is complete without a strong defense, and the Lady Indians defense is certainly not lacking. Santa Lucia earned MSA Sports’ “Player of the Game” against USC and MaxPreps.com “Player of the Week” for the week of September fourth. “My favorite part of volleyball is spending time with my team, we are more like a family than a team and that is something special,” said sophomore Jill Kovac.

ShaneDazen.StaffWriterPfeuffer’S Star ShineS Bright deSPite CritiCiSm

“BumP, Set, SPike”MadisonMincone.SportsEditor

Sophomore R.J. Pfeuffer warms up for a big game. “I just prepare to go out and play the game I love,” said Pfeuffer.

Photo by Jenn Coffey

Photo by Katie Stiegel

As of October 13th, junior, Kelly John-son had 187 assists and 25 kills. John-son is an essential part of the Lady Indians’ offense.

8 senior servanTs

Friday, October 7th, was a day that every underclassmen looked forward to. For weeks, they had stood in the background as seniors had gotten away with just about everything with the simple phrase “because I’m a senior.” However on Friday, it was payback time. Students from every class bought senior leaders at the Senior Auction to dress them up and make them their personal servants for the day. Lifesavers, Snooki, an American flag, and numerous other embarrass-ing outfits flooded the hallways. Servants could be heard singing songs and seen doing anything they were instructed to do within the guidelines of the student handbook. Students found it hard to focus and teachers found it hard to teach. As the day drew to an end, students, teachers, and servants entered into the gym for the grand finale: the pep rally. It can be summed up with the teachers perform-ing a flash mob, the servants singing the Barney song, and former principal, Mr. Brettschneider, making an impressionable speech to the students.

SeniorS Serve uP traditionChristineManganas.OnlineEditor

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8 senior servanTs ocTober 2011 9

10 LiFe & sTyLe

the forever 21 of aCCeSSorieSBeSt drugStore makeuP

When entering a drug store, the makeup section can be overwhelming. With the countless brands and prod-ucts, choosing the right one can be a challenge. However, after sampling several, we found the following four products will not disappoint.

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation- $9.50 A foundation that covers blem-ishes and shine without leaving a greasy feel.

Maybelline Colossal Volum Express Mascara- $7.50 This mascara’s oversized wand allows for well coated lashes, length, and curl.

Burt’s Bees Lip Balm- $2.99 A lip treatment that heals chapped lips by soothing, nour-ishing, and hydrating. Grab a tinted balm for some extra color.

Physician’s Formula Multi-colored Bronzer- $12.99 This bronzer gives a natural, shimmering tan without turning you orange.

Located in the Gal-leria Mall, Charming Charlie is the perfect place to purchase accessories of all kinds. Its in-ventory includes all things from handbags to hats and shoes to jewelry.

“When you walk in, there is so much stuff to look at and I wanted to buy everything. The different color sections re-ally tie the store together,” stat-ed senior Jess McIntosh.

Charming Charlie is conveniently sectioned off by individual colors. Within each section, there are differ-ent styles of purses, jewelry, scarves, shoes, and much more. Items are located on separate tables for red, blue, purple, pink, green and every other color imaginable, so finding an accessory of a specific color will be easy.

To top it off, the acces-sories sold at Charming Char-lie are very reasonably priced. The average cost for a purse is around twenty-five dollars, and earrings can be purchased for below five. Unlike other low priced accessories, Charming Charlie sells quality items that do not look cheap or fake. The different types of purses at this store include big bags, satchels, handbags, wallets, change purs-es and so much more. The shoes at this store range between cute strappy sandals, wedges, and

high boots. The shoes are also distinctly cheaper than de-partment store or brand name shoes, however the quality is just as good. Also, Charming Charlie sells numerous new trends, like feather earrings.

“I was able to pur-chase a satchel for only twenty dollars and it looks like something I could buy at a designer store! I also got a pair of cute heels for only twenty-five dollars that I wear all the time,” exclaimed senior Meghan Fitzgerald.

These are only a few examples of the excellent styles you can find at Charm-ing Charlie. The next time you need accessories be sure to try out Charming Charlie because you will not be disap-pointed.

“It is a good place to shop if you have a specific outfit in mind. I got all my jewelry there for a party and it looked great,” said senior Jamie Simpson.

With their low pric-es and quality items, you will find everything you would need for every special occa-sion. You will be looking the best, without spending the most.

KatieFinn.Life&StyleEditorKatieFinn.Carly BeckLife&StyleEditors

People who enter their home through a door near the kitchen tend to eat 15% more than those

who use the front door.From homeremediesblog.com

10 LiFe & sTyLe ocTober 2011 11

defeating the Common Cold

The beginning of every school year brings new classes, teachers, friends, and ultimately: the common cold. Although the symptoms are all too familiar, there are countless tips and tricks out there to improve those scratchy-throat Mon-day mornings. Learn which ones are myths and which ones will get the job done. The first of these myths, and perhaps the go-to when a cold hits, is loading up on orange juice, due to its Vitamin C level. Although it is beneficial to receive healthy doses of Vitamin C, it has no effect on the cold virus. Another common attempt is to try to sweat the cold out. This involves covering up with a blanket, cranking up the heat, and hov-ering your head over hot water. This may temporarily make the symptoms lessen if it addresses the correct ones,

such as congestion or chills. Unfortu-nately, it is ineffective in getting rid of the cold.

On the bright side there are long-trusted ways to fight the common-cold. A favorite activity of many teenag-ers, sleep, is the best way to tone down the symptoms. Our bodies are especially hard at work while a virus is present, which adds to that run down feeling. Plenty of rest will provide more energy to fight the cold.

Gargling with warm salt water is an effective way to address scratchy throats. The thirty seconds of unappeal-ing taste pays off for the rest of the day. Humidifiers are another great way to decrease congestion. They add moisture to the air, which eventually thins out the mucus buildup, making it easier to drain. That unmistakable time of year when the tissue boxes empty and the sniffles are constant has arrived. With over 200 different viruses as the cause, it is no wonder the cold is referred to as common. However, with these tricks the common cold doesn’t stand a chance.

high faShion homeComing

Homecoming fashion is always a big deal. While some girls are so anxious in their search for the perfect dress that they buy their dresses in the summer, others often wait until the week of the dance to make their purchase. Whether they find their ensemble early or late, the fashion event of the season is always stylish.

A very popular trend this year was the one-sleeve dress. Most would not think of wearing this style to a dance because it is such a high fashion, dramatic look. However if one is stylish enough, they can pull it off. This type of dress looks best with hair down and pulled to one side. Simple statement jewelry, such as a long necklace or chandelier earrings, look great with the one-sleeve dress. To pull the look together, add a pair of platform pumps. Many girls at Homecoming wore headbands across their foreheads instead of actually in their hair. This look is very retro-chic, channeling flappers in the ‘20s or hippies in the late ‘60s. It can be worn with hair down in loose curls or waves, or with hair in a simple ponytail or low bun. Either way, this trend is definitely some-thing that we will continue to see at dances to come. Lastly, the classic, all-over sequined dresses were a big hit again this homecoming season. They seem to always be a popular choice. When wearing this type of dress, keep all accessories to a min-

imum. Small stud earrings and a dainty bracelet will keep all those sparkles in perspective. As for shoes, try to keep their design as minimalistic as possible, so they do not distract from the dress.

MollyDoehring.PrintEditior-in-Chief

Carly Beck.Life&StyleEditor

Seniors Allison Resnik and Kristen Jacobs get ready for the dance together in their sparkle dresses. “I wanted a sparkly dress for senior year because i thought it would be fun,” stated Resnik.

Seniors Bri Wagner and Molly Doehring flaunt their trendy looks as they wait in line to enter Candyland. “My friend from Cali-fornia told me wearing a headband across your forehead is the West Coast style,” stated Wagner

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Photo by Liz Weimer

Homecoming Week 2011

P-Rade

Pep Rally

All photos taken by Christine Gaab, John Galatic, and Sarah Yoest, or submitted.

Homecoming Week 2011 Planned by student council, Home-coming Week was packed with fun ac-tivities and, of course, the dance which took place on October 8, 2011.This year Student Council broke away from the traditional red, white, and black that has dominated the past sev-eral years. “We saw some pictures of a Candy-land Homecoming and thought that it would be a really fun and bright event. The student council voted on the theme this year, Candyland being one of the options, of course, and it won by a landslide,” stated Mrs. Duffy, adviser of Student Council. However, the actual dance was not anything new. Homecoming is based on tradition and school spirit; there-fore, there is something to be said

TaylorCox.StaffWriterCandyland deliverS Sweet homeComing

The Dance

about a cheesy dance in the gym. “We are hoping to see much bet-ter participation in Spirit Week,” said Duffy. Duffy’s prediction was accurate with an exciting pep rally leading us into a very successful Homecoming Dance. “Homecoming was a great night, and it brought the school together,” stated junior Abbie LaVigna. With positive praises comes some criticism, although many stu-dents had the time of their lives, a few had constructive criticism of the event. “I had an awesome time, but I wish that the music they played was better,” stated freshman Morgan Weimer. Despite the different tastes in music, Homecoming was a sweet success.

14 PeoPLe FeaTures

Seniors Reid Elattrache and Antony LoBasso helped out with the Charlie Batch Fundraiser. This charity event, which took place in Homestead during late Sep-tember, gave school supplies to underprivileged children. Both Elattrache and LoBasso enjoyed supporting the fun-draiser and using their tal-ents as photographers. “Helping people in need is a great feeling,” stated Elat-trache. Both LoBasso and Elat-trache attended this event to take photos. Elattrache’s main duty was to organize the children into a large group picture, while Lo-Basso focused on capturing the event as it happened. Al-though this was a tough task Several elementary school students from Steel Valley Elementary School pose with

their new backpacks provided by Charlie Batch and his foundation.

elattraChe & loBaSSo PhotograPh BatCh fundraiSer

mrS. Pavlik ShareS her viSion for PthS

Benny Zalewski.Staff Writer

JuliaGauthier.StaffWriter

for both of them, LoBasso took this as a personal opportunity to build his skills as a photog-rapher. “This gave me the feel of a real-life situation,” stated LoBasso. LoBasso thought this fun-draiser was a good opportunity for him to test his skills in a dif-ferent situation. He took a few quality shots that he kept digital copies of for personal use. In his spare time, LoBasso also takes pictures, and makes videos as a hobby. This allows him to test his creativity and skills as a photographer. LoBas-so wants to pursue a photogra-phy career in college by choos-ing to double major in Media and Psychology.This will allow him to keep his skills fresh and provide multiple career oppor-tunities.

Elattrache also enjoys taking photos outside of school. He tends to take photos of automobiles and operates his own photography business. Elattrache keeps all of his photographs in a journal, which keeps track of what he has done and where he took those photos. Elattrache shares his work via Facebook, Flickr, and by physical prints.

“I am so happy to join the Peters Township School District and hope to make a positive difference,” said Mrs. Pavlik. She has been working hard to provide opportunities for students to take ownership in their school,

Mrs. Lori Pavlik began her first official year as principal by sharing her ideas and plans that will hopefully transform PTHS into a better learning en-vironment where students take pride and ownership in their school. “I believe that students need to take a greater role in the decision making processes of the school,” stated Pavlik. She has already begun to provide practical ways for students to contribute by meet-ing with several of them to elicit their input and to listen to their opinions. Mrs. Pavlik hopes to create more leadership oppor-tunities for students. During the class meetings, she shared her vision with the student body. Additionally, she de-sires to solidify PTHS’s position as one of the best schools in the state by continuing to focus on academics while also excelling in sports and other activities is also very important to her.

Though most students have a difficult time believing that teachers and principals have lives outside of school, Mrs. Pav-lik has numerous interests and hobbies that she enjoys from scrapbooking to spending time with her two daughters, Mrs. Pavlik leads a very fulfilling and busy life. Most importantly, she is a confirmed GLEEK. “I have loved that show since it first aired. I have all the sound tracks in my car. Though it’s over the top, it touches on many relevant issues that impact high school students,” stated Pav-lik. She graduated from Baldwin High School where her favorite subject was European History. Mrs. Pavlik’s interest in history led her to Duquesne Uni-versity where she completed her undergraduate degree in Politi-cal Science. She later returned to Baldwin for ten years as a teacher where she taught American His-tory, Civics, Navigating Contem-porary Society and AP European

History before accepting a po-sition as Unit Principal at Mt. Lebanon High School. She spent four years there prior to accepting the principal posi-tion at PTHS. “I felt a real con-nection to PT’s staff and stu-dents before coming here, so I jumped on the opportunity,” said Pavlik.

Photo by Christine Gaab

Photo by Reid Ellatrache

14 PeoPLe FeaTures ocTober 2011 15

Smith Serving uP SuCCeSSRebeccaPerryman.StaffWriter

Sophomore Stephanie Smith is an incredible tennis player that is taking her tennis game to the next level. Her per-severance and intensity has led her to earning a national rank-ing of 134 and a state ranking of fourth place. For the past eleven years, Smith has been training to reach the extraordi-nary level she is at now. “I started tennis be-cause my uncle played, and he told my mother it was a good sport. When I started, my

ing ability, Smith is shooting to achieve some pretty big goals. “My goals are a full scholarship to a Division I college and after, at least a year on tour, and possibly trying to make a living play-ing tennis,” stated Smith. If Smith keeps up with her training and con-tinues to keep her goals in mind, we might be seeing her on television, in the future, playing professional tennis.

latSko kiCkS toward the futureJennaTaimuty.StaffWriter

Latsko celebrates a goal with teammate Taylor Daerr during last year’s season.

mother kept forcing me repeat-edly to play just one more year. After about two years, I really developed my love for the sport; my mom didn’t have to force me anymore,” said Smith. After a few years, Smith put more and more effort into her game. Her first tourna-ment experience was not suc-cessful, however. “When I was eight, I played in my first tournament. I lost every match my first fourteen tournaments,” said Smith. A lot has changed since then. Now, Smith’s victo-ries in local tournaments have taken her to nationals. This past summer, Smith attended three national tournaments, and she was most successful in clay and hard court nationals because she plays best on those surfaces. She dedicates hours and hours of her life to tennis. “My success has come from camps, off-court training,

constant match play in mul-tiple tournaments, and twenty hours of practice per week,” said Smith. It’s not always an easy ride for Smith, however. Her fractured shoulder and recent knee injury have occa-sionally been a burden. How-ever, Smith strives to over-come these hardships. “Since I play so much, I am prone to injuries, but that doesn’t stop me from playing tennis,” said Smith. Because of her incredible play-

Sophomore, Veron-ica Latsko has made a name for herself on the soccer field. Leading by example, Latsko practices diligently to perfect her skills and to be at the top of her game. Latsko is not just your average student. Although she appears just a normal girl when you meet her in the hallways, on the soccer field, she is a phe-nom. Latsko plays not only for the Varsity high school team, but also for three other teams: Century United Soccer Club, PAWest ODP (Pennsyl-vania West Olympic Develop-ment Program), and a Region 1 Regional Team. Latsko not only was an all-section player her freshman year, but also won the title Rookie of the Year last year. As for her high school

team, they won the State Cham-pionship title and WPIAL Championship titles last year. In 2010, her Century United Cup Team won the State Champion-ship for PAWest. Soccer is not only a hobby for Latsko, it is her life. “The thing I like best about soccer is being able to have fun and play with all of my friends,” said Latsko. Not only has she built a sisterhood with the girls on each of her teams, but she has created many remarkable mem-ories with them. One of her favorite memories was seeing Dani Hume score the winning goal in the State Championship final. “That moment was incredible and filled with such collective happiness as a team

that I am certain I will never forget it,” said Latsko. In the future, she hopes to play soccer in college. However, her first priority will be to attend a college that has a great academic program. “If soccer can get me into a high quality academic university then that would be amazing,” stated Latsko. Latsko will continue to succeed in her soccer career here at PTHS. “I want just to have fun with soccer for how-ever long I’m going to be play-ing it, and if our team happens to win another State or WPIAL championship or two, that would make it even better,” said Latsko.

Smith warms up with her teammates to prepare for a match against Sewickley Academy.

Photo by: Val Mikec

Photo by: Rebecca Perryman

It is that time of year again. The time of year when scary movies show in theaters, seasonal deco-rations overtake store shelves, haunted houses attract fear-goers of all ages, and the news magazine has its fall seasonal spread. This year the spread, which is usually full of local Halloween attractions, has gone in a different direction to provide you with your Halloween fix; we have collected scary sto-ries from Mrs. Duffy and one of her creative writing students. These stories, which will send a chill through your bones, are based on real life experiences. Can you guess what is fact and what is fiction?

Answers are listed after each story.

KatieDenning.ManagingEditor-in-Chief

When my husband and I married, we bought a farm house in the middle of nowhere. We decided it was a good home to raise any chil-dren we would have, even though it was built during the Civil War. The house was light and beautiful, although it was filled with creaks and moans and things that go bump in the night. Our house’s history was a dark one, riddled with tales of betrayal and cruelty. The house was the last stop on the Underground Railroad before the slaves reached their safe destination: Canada. As a little girl, my daughter Lily had an imagi-nary friend. She described him as having dark hair, wear-ing a ‘really funny looking uniform,’ and speaking with a ‘weird’ accent. Her friend was a soldier for the Confeder-ate Army, but he was against slavery. While he fought for his ‘country,’ he freed slaves and kept them in our house’s basement. Lily’s friend always wore a hat; Lily said it was be-cause he had a big scar on his forehead. I thought nothing of it, a little girl uses her imagi-nation- and the town was built around the Civil War. Lily loved to read, I assumed she had read about the war in one of her stories. I did find it strange that she used to sit in the basement for hours and talk to this friend. When she came upstairs, she would be smiling- and always smelled of tobacco smoke. When I asked why she was like this- she would always respond

Civil war aPParition - Student’S Story

the same way, “My friend and I were talking.” About a month after Lily in-vented this friend, she was in the basement for four or five hours. I got scared and crept downstairs, hoping that she wouldn’t hear me. What I saw alarmed me. Lily was sitting in a corner, looking up at the wall above a barrel; as if someone was sitting on the barrel and speaking to her. The closer I got to Lily, the more I was aware of smoke. Tobacco smoke. When Lily laughed and reached up to touch the wall, I panicked. I ran over and snatched her into my arms as I ran for the door. When we were safely upstairs, Lily crying and screaming be-cause she wanted to go see her friend, I asked why she sat in the basement for that long time. My little girl responded, “General McCreary tells me stories. I like his stories.” “Why does he talk to you, Lily? What does he tell you?” “He says he has a job to do. And that he needs my help. But I don’t know what the job is.” Lily shrugged, “I just like his stories.” Then she ran away to swing with her older brother. As Lily ran away, calling for my son, whom she called Bug (be-cause she couldn’t say his proper name), something dawned on me. Why would Lily name an imaginary friend something she couldn’t pronounce? I felt chills race up my arms. It all made sense: all the lit-tle details she knew about her friend, all the Civil War facts, why she smelled like smoke.

Answer: Everything in this story is true, except the names.

16 seasonaL

This was too strange to leave up to guesswork, so I called for my husband to watch the kids, and went to the history center. When I pulled out the book about my street, I was overcome with fear at what I read. On page 74 was a story about a General Luke Mc-Creary, born in Virginia, who was a Confederate soldier and a Yankee sympathizer. He used to transport slaves from the South and move them up to Canada. He hid most of them in the old farmhouse at 79 Seminary Road (our old address). When the South found out about Mc-Creary’s actions, they captured and killed him for treason. He was executed; shot once in the forehead. General McCreary was credited with freeing over a hundred slaves. Beside the story was an old picture of McCreary; he had dark hair, wore a c o n f e d - e r a t e uniform, a n d was hold- ing a pipe.

halloween StorieS: faCt or fiCtion?

Cited from todayfoubdour.com

In the U.S., more than $3 billion is

spent on Halloween costumes each year

Haunted Houses bring in about half a billion

dollars annually.

In 2009, 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins were sold during the weeks approaching

Halloween.

Candy sales average $2 billion a year.

Approximately 35 million children will go trick-or-treating.

Most Popular Costumes:1. Witch

2. Vampire3. Pirate

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dark. “There is my new bath-tub.” There wasn’t anything else to see in the bathroom, so I shut off the light and moved on. I opened up the guest bedroom door and turned on its light. “And this is the guest room. I just painted it.” Like the bathroom, that light was turned off before moving along with the tour. The sec-ond guest bedroom was much of the same. Light on, check it out, light off, move on. Fi-nally, I approached the end of the hall. The master bedroom. “And, this, is going to be our room. We just— ” I stopped dead in my tracks as I cracked the door to this room. Some-thing was not right. The room was pitch black. “Ohmygosh, we have to go, hurry up, let’s go, we have to go, we have to go, let’s go,” I rambled and fum-bled through the dark hall and down the stairs. I clum-sily tried to turn the key in the front door to lock and nearly couldn’t do it as my hands were shaking so badly. “You’re scaring me,” my sister cried. “What’s wrong?!?” “The light was OUT in the bedroom! Don’t you remember,” I screamed, “IT WAS ON WHEN WE PULLED UP TO THE HOUSE!!!” “Oh my gosh, you’re right. Let’s get out of here!!!” The two of us flew off of the porch and sprinted through the rain into my car. Safely inside, I hit the locks on my doors, started the ignition and peeled out. I quickly turned my car around to go back down the street the way I arrived. Before I turned off of my street, I couldn’t help but get distracted by some-thing in my rear view mirror. It was the image of my house as I drove by. There was one single light on in the master bed-room.

Answer: 100% true.

I didn’t really think anything of the light on in the master bedroom of my newly purchased home as I pulled up to the front one dark, stormy evening in order to show my sister around. It was odd enough to notice it though, since my husband, who was basically the only person there working every day trying to get our newly purchased 1924 home in move-in condition from its current gutted state, is usually really careful about turning off lights. I have to admit, I was a little spooked before anything even hap-pened. My friend Dan, who was taking a CCAC class in ghost hunting for fun, kept teasing me about the old woman who used to live in the house and died (presum-ably at home, since it was so long ago and that’s where most people died). He kept telling me that in his class, he learned that ghosts reside in the place where they die and generally come out when their home is disturbed. Dan loves to scare me, since it’s such an easy thing to do. He got a lot of pleasure telling me that my renovations would stir up the ghost of the woman who died because I was causing so much commotion in her once quiet home. So admittedly a little jumpy, I began to give my sister a tour of the first floor. My voice echoed throughout the hollowed out home as I walked from room to room. “This is the living room. We are going to re-do this fireplace and these floors. This will be the dining room. Here is the plan for the kitch-en. We have to knock out this wall first, and then we will be able to put our appliances there.” I continued about my spiel and pointed out things as I walked her around. Next, we made our way upstairs. “This is going to be a bath-room eventually,” I said as I flicked on the light so we could see through the pitch

the light in the window- mrS duffy’S Story

16 seasonaL ocTober 2011 17

Running low on cash but crave that candy? Halloween can be a drag when you aren’t w i l l i n g to give up that dime. Costumes can be a l i t t l e expensive but here are a few different outfits that you can either find around your h o u s e or that you can buy for just five dollars or less. A classic toy costume is a Lego. You will need a rect-angle box, paint and round boxes that you can find at the nearest department store or a Michaels Craft store. First, trace a dinner plate on the top of the box and on the sides. Then cut out the cir-cles that you just traced for your head, legs and arms. Next, glue the round boxes on to the box in a design of a Lego. Let the glue dry a n d then spray paint the whole box with a c o l o r of your choice. Choose clothing to wear under the cos-tume that is the same color as the paint. Now you’re

ready to transform into a Lego for the night. A second cheap Halloween costume is a

bag of Jelly Beans. What you will need for this costume is a clear plastic garbage bag,

which can be found at local convenience stores, and different colored balloons.

First you will need to carefully cut out holes for you head, arms and legs. Then you’ll need to blow up

the balloons, as many as needed. Put the garbage bag on carefully and then stuff the bag with the different col-ored balloons, then you can create a Jelly Bean sign similar to the original on the computer. Another inexpensive costume is a Tissue Box. For this you will need, a cardboard b o x ,

spray paint, tissue paper and a white marker. First, trace a dinner plate for the head, arms and legs on the cardboard box. Next, spray paint the entire box, preferably a light blue color. Once it is completely dry, write tis-sues in white ink on the center of the box. Next, arrange the tissue papers on the top of the box andglue it so it’s standing up.

dreSS uP for dollarS LydiaMcCall.StaffWriter

18 enTerTainenT

Google Plus is a great new social networking option. It makes connecting with friends more enjoyable and realistic. Communicat-ing with people is neces-sary in our day-to-day lives. Whether it be reconnecting with long lost friends or meeting new ones, the in-ternet has become the best way to maintain your rela-tionships by using new fea-tures such as friend circles, video chat, Hangouts and Huddle. Google Plus paral-lels features to that of Face-book. On Facebook, one

can have a list of “friends” with whom they share un-filtered information with. Similarly, Google Plus has lists of “friends” that one can connect with. How-ever, it is up to the user to decide what “circle of friends” certain people are in. Such groups may include co-workers, bosses, fam-ily, high school friends, and college friends. This aspect allows users to filter what each “circle of friends” is able to see of their personal posts. Facebook is trying to keep up with new and

google PluS: leading the wayCamilleBarnes.StaffWriter

Mark Zuckerberg: the king of procrastination. However, most people would be more familiar with him if he was re-ferred to as “the creator of Facebook.” A “jazzy” small social network site generated in Febru-ary of 2004, originally referred to as “The Facebook” is now in a strong second place for the most visited site on the web (right be-hind Google). “Facebook is better because it’s easier to connect with friends and to “creep,”said sopho-more Maddie Auld. This constantly growing site has now reached more than 500 million active users, making it worth 7.9 to 11 billion dollars. There has now been a legal mental diagnosis of an addiction to Face-book called “Facebook Addiction Disorder” ( HubSpot Blog). “I like Facebook more because it’s more user friendly and there are more things to do,” stated freshman Margaret Halo. Users usually log onto Facebook for about 55 minutes a day or longer. The average “Facebooker” has about 130 friends and on average more women are online than men. The Unit-

faCeBook vS. twitter: whiCh iS Better?EliseJozwiak.AndreaSalizzoni.StaffWriters

ed States is ranked number one on Facebook, with more than 111,212,840 users currently. Twitter is an upcoming social network that is increasing

in popularity and really topping the charts as competition with Facebook. “Twitter is definitely better because the new Facebook is stupid and the new setup is confusing,” said senior Tommy Folino. Created in August of 2006, and cur-rently at 105,779,710 users, Twitter has definitely made its mark against other major social networking sites. Although not as popular as its com-petitor, Facebook, it is gaining nu-merous new members every single day and is moving up to the level of Facebook. Twitter welcomes 450,000 new users every day. Mainly 30-49 year olds use Twitter and teens are the next highest age group. Women consist of 54% of the users, compared

to only 48% that are male; but it doesn’t stop there. You could say current Twitter users get “addicted” after only a few times of go-ing online. There are about 1 billion tweets posted per week, 55 million a day, 138,888 per minute, and 456 per second.

upcoming technology, such as video-chat, but is still far behind. Google Plus has “hangouts” where friends can video-chat simultane-ously, making it seem like they are there actually all to-gether. Makers of Google Plus have also incorporated group texting in a feature called Huddle. When users Huddle, they are essentially sending a mass text that goes to a group of people in which they select. This makes plan-ning evenings with a group much easier. “My husband loves Google

Plus. He was able to transfer all of his pictures from his phone to the social network-ing site. He says it’s so easy to use,” commented Mrs. Boni. That is just one of the reasons everything is easier with Google Plus.

Senior Madison Creehan is making a new profile on Google Plus. “I am very excited to be a part of the new social network,” said Creehan.

18 enTerTainenT ocTober 2011 19

“Boys of Fall” by Kenny Chesney“Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga

“Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance

“Monster” by Kanye West“Friday” by Rebecca Black

Matt John’s iPod Playlist

PittSBurgh—the new hollywood?

Recently, the beloved ‘Burgh has become a hot spot for many major Hollywood films. During the last couple of years, production crews and A-listers have brought screaming fans to Pittsburgh. Movies such as “She’s Out of My League,” “I Am Number Four,” and “Love and Other Drugs” have all been shot in the Steel City. Scenes in the films have even featured familiar Pittsburgh places, such as the Mellon Arena and the Pittsburgh Airport. Major name actors such as Jake Gyl-lenhaal, Anne Hathaway, and Jay Baruchel have starred in these films. There seems to be no sign of production slowing down either. The year of 2012 will bring much anticipated movies such as “Perks of Be-ing a Wallflower” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” In 2013, the movie, “One Shot,” starring Tom Cruise and directed by the Academy Award winner Chris McQuarrie, will come out in theaters. The main reason why more movies are being pro-

duced in Pittsburgh is due to a new Southwestern Pennsyl-vania film tax credit program that gives movie crews an incentive to film here. This tax benefits local businesses that reap the tax money paid by production crews, but it is also good for the movie crews who pay much less to produce a movie here than in Holly-wood. In addition, Pittsburgh gets press and media atten-tion. It’s a win-win situation. The future of Pitts-burgh as the new movie center is bright. As more prestigious and famous films are sched-uled to shoot, the trend is likely to catch on. Pittsburgh is fresh. While Hollywood is a classic choice of location; it is a cliché, and in a day and age where completely new ideas for media are rare to come across, directors and produc-ers will do anything to make a name for themselves. For movie moguls, Pittsburgh is the solution to their problems. For residents of Pittsburgh, it is just another reason why their city is the best.

LauraPurkey.StaffWriter

PT alum Ka-tie Ellis pos-es with actor Paul Rudd on the set of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower, filmed in june 2011. The movie is set to premiere in 2012. On October 1st, 1968: the now cult

horror movie “Night of the Living Dead” had its world premiere in Pittsburgh, Pa.

People spend over 500 Billion Minutes per month on Facebook.

purpleslinky.com

Dannybrown.me

20 news

tough eConomy leadS to deSigner StealSStephanieHammell.StaffEditor

Fashion designer, Missoni, recently launched products in Target stores around the coun-try. This exclusive Italian de-signer line, which is known for its zigzag patterned knitwear, was to be sold for six weeks at highly discounted prices, but the Target website crashed with-in a few hours after the launch and the products were sold out within a few days. This left the public in a state of turmoil as orders were cancelled long be-fore the promotion ended. The Missoni promotion with Target has made it possible for anyone on a budget to get de-signer pieces at a price they can afford, because Target can sell

these high-end pieces for a steal by having the designers use in cheaper fabrics. Both Missoni and Target will reap the finan-cial rewards from selling the collection in Targets across the country. This is a very popular business trend that clothing re-tailers are using to entice con-sumers to spend in this econo-my. Companies such as Kohl’s and Sears also boast selling de-signer lines at reduced prices. Later this month, Kohl’s will be advertising a clothing line de-signed by Jennifer Lopez, and Sears will be selling the Karda-sian Kollection. Hopefully, this will lead to

promotions with other well known designers pairing up with stores to make their clothes more affordable and budget conscious. Considering the economic recession we are currently in designer discount-ed lines, similar to Missoni may be the solution to stimulating our economy.

“I do not care for Pay to Play. There are better ways of raising money other than taking from the kids,”said senior Shane Johstonbaugh

The best way to get the “high school” experience has always been to get involved. Not only can participating in a school sponsored activity be fun, but numerous colleges expect it. Being involved in a sport, band, club, etc. helps to show that a student is well-rounded. Due to the country’s eco-nomic struggles, Pennsylvania Governor, Tim Corbett, made budget cuts in the education department in an effort to fly the budget. As a result, Peters Township students must pay fees in order to participate in activities for the 2011 to 2012 school year. Each school district has its own fees, but for Peters, club fees are $10, sports are $90, and band/ auxiliary are $40 per member. All of a sudden, be-ing involved has begun to add up. Families like the Meyers get the worst of the new rule. They

had to pay $120 for their three kids to join marching band. This price is without any extra clubs or sports that their three children take part in. Although, there may be a student maximum of $215 per year, this only applies to High School Athletics. Activity fees have no cap on payments. Is this rule really fair to families with more than one child? The clubs might be struggling with this turn of events a little, but according to Ms. Alexander, they find ways to beat the system. “Interact is funded by the Rotary and we have fundrais-ers,” said Ms. Alexander, “so, the budget cuts don’t really af-fect us.” Interact Club students have to pay dues up to $30, but these go toward things such as transportation or projects for the club. As it turns out, these

hard times have actually helped connect different groups within the school. When the Peters Township Mighty Indian Marching Band began to feel the effects of the budget cuts, Interact Club tried to lend a hand the way they could; Ms. Alexan-der gave the Band Boosters access to the smoothie ma-chine during Friday night games in an attempt to raise funds. Any amount helps the band because director, Mr. Barney, has had to make some major changes to this season. Any normal year, the band does at

least six festivals, but this year they performed at only one, not including their own. “We have to take five buses anywhere we go which costs a lot, so sacrifices had to be made,” said Mr. Barney. Not to mention, dras-tic cuts towards things such as sheet music and instrument re-pair. The boosters also try to help out by donating funds to the district to assist with cost. Even though Peters Township may not be thrilled with the pay to play policy, its residents are ral-lying together in order to make it work.

PeterS imPlementS Pay to PlayValerieKotar.FeaturesEditor

Photo by Amanda Moore

Photos by Steph Hammell

20 news ocTober 2011 21

When confronted with the possibility of her hus-band’s infidelity, Maria Simoes of Brazil decided to take the obvious, logical action: hire a hit man to murder the husband-stealing harlot that was responsible. But when the ironically named professional killer, Carlos de Jesus, stalked out his victim, he was shot with Cupid’s arrow and fell in love with her instead. Carlos confessed his mission and his undying love to the woman, and together they formulated a cunning plan to fool Maria into thinking the murder had succeeded. Taking a page from the worst B-Horror Movie in existence, he gagged her, ripped her shirt, stuck a fake ma-chete in her armpit, and then covered her in tomato sauce. He then sent the extremely convincing picture to his em-ployer. However, three days later, Maria saw the pair kiss-ing in public, and called the police to complain about the botched murder job. Now, they’re all in jail. Hollywood has nothing on this; where’s the Lifetime movie?

For toddler Natalie Hayhurst, picky eating has turned to “bricky” eating; as in, she literally eats bricks. Nat-alie has a condition called Pica, which causes her to crave inedible objects instead of food. According to her mother, she can eat a brick “like a chocolate chip cookie” and is also known to “eat rocks and sticks that she finds in the garden.” Now that’s my idea of good eats. Unfortunately, her condi-tion started to become even more dangerous when she ate an entire lightbulb taken from a lamp in her room. It’s sad that such TV worthy addictions can start so young.

Finally, there is a political party system more ri-diculous than our own! The Society for New Bulgaria has taken political symbolism a bit too far by entering Marko the Donkey as a legitimate candidate for the mayoral election in the town of Varna. The party urges the town’s citizens to vote for Marko, because they believe that he would do a better job than the incumbent mayor. Now that’s a burn. Appar-ently, they feel that Marko “has a strong character, doesn’t steal, doesn’t lie, and gets work done,” which is the opposite of all other politicians. Maybe they have a point here; the Tea Party should get on that. Would you vote for a donkey?

Everyone now has heard the shocking verdict of the Casey Anthony trial that surrounded a two year old girl, Caylee Marie Anthony, who went missing July 2008. For 31 days, no one knew where she was or bothered to call 911 to find out. The first person to call the authorities was the grand-mother of Caylee, Cindy An-thony, who accused her own daughter (and Caylee’s mother) Casey. With skilled legal tac-tics not seen since the trial of OJ Simpson, Anthony’s lawyer pulled off what seemed impos-sible- he got her off the hook with minimal charges. Public opinion is overwhelmingly against the mother. “This will reinforce the importance of gathering proper evidence for future tri-als,” said senior Tom Phillips. This is not what is so shocking about the trial. What people didn’t expect were the rever-berations that are still echoing from the outcome. “When I heard the news, I was sad and upset. I almost started crying,” stated

the Saga of CaSey anthony ContinueS

AmandaMoore.NewsEditorseniorTony Wagner. People of all ages are still shell shocked as new information continues to pour in. “I was shocked that she was found innocent because there was so much evidence against her,” said sophomore Rachel Moore. Casey Anthony is cur-rently hiding in an undisclosed location somewhere in Ohio and will not grant interviews. People who were close to her are opening up to the press- including her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony gave an inter-view to Dr. Phil for no money. They were relentlessly ques-tioned and people have to won-der: is this a sincere curiosity from the public, or are we sick of the story continuing just for the publicity that has been fuel-ing tabloids since 2008? Most students say they are sick of it. They are outraged by the outcome, but no amount of media attention is going to change the verdict. Hopefully, the news moves away from this eventually.

what in the world? Valerie Gobao.LayoutEditor-in-Chief

October is breast cancer awareness month. Ac-cording to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, in the United States this year, “there will be 39,520 breast cancer deaths.” Although to most it seems very unusual, this form of cancer can affect males as well. About 450 American men are esti-mated to die from breast can-cer this year. According to breast-cancer.org, “about 1 in 8 wom-en in the United States (12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.” However, this hor-rible disease can be controlled.

early deteCtion and life reSurreCtion

JoshGlicksman.StaffWriterWomen are encouraged to schedule an annual mammo-gram and check-up. Also, wom-en can regularly do self-exams. If breast cancer is detected early, there is a greater chance of conquering the disease. With the knowledge of breast cancer expanding, the survival rate is increasing because it is detected early.Encourage your mother, sister, grandma, aunt, or any other women you love to schedule a mammogram or annual check-up today. For an easy self exam, visit http://projectirreplaceable.com. The more knowledge you have about breast cancer, the easier it is to beat it.

Photography is one of our most popular media elec-tives. Students are taught different techniques for using a camera and Photoshop, while having the freedom to take pic-tures that express themselves and display their style. Below are just a few examples of the talent that can be found in our Photography classes.

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Reid Elattrache, 12

Nikkie Naulty, 11

Liz Gesselberty, 11

Rachel Cellini, 10Hannah Squeglia, 11

Lauren Cisney, 11Emilou Landas, 10

Photography Club Contest Winners:“Leading Lines”

1st 2nd

Denée Renz, 12 Katie Koenig, 11

Gina Vilsack,

Jenna Johnson, 12Lexi Harmon, 11

Christine Gaab, 11 Emily Koch, 11

What’s your favorite song to have played at dances?

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Joe

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Mr. Bastos

Reid Elattrache

Johnny Ivaschenko

Nick Michalski

Kenna Kuehn

Freshmen

Teachers

Seniors

Juniors

Sophmores

“Party Rock Anthem”

by LMFAO

“Baby Got Back”by Sir Mix-A-Lot

“Livin’ On A Prayer”by Bon Jovi

“Poor Some Sugar on Me”

by Def Leppard

“It’s Gonna Be Me”by N Sync

“Da Da Dewz”by Handewzy

“2012”by Jay Sean

“Yonkers”by Tyler the Creator

“Friday”by Rebecca Black

“Donald Trump”by Mac Miller

“California Love”by 2Pac

“Moves Like Jagger”by Maroon 5

“Super Bass”by Niki Manaj

“Get Low”by T-Pain

“Teach Me How To Dougie”

by Cali Swag District

“Made In America”by Toby Keith

“Everytime We Touch”

by Cascada

“Fire Burning”by Sean Kingston

“Cheers” by Rihanna

“No Speak Americano”

by Yolanda Be Cool

“Bubbly” by Colbie Caillit

“Don’t Wanna Go Home”

by Jason DeRulo

“Hey Soul Sister”by Train

“Party Rock Anthem”by LMFAO

“Party Rock An-them”

by LMFAO