Editor in Chief Hillary Marquez

Co-Editor in Chief Cheri Ruiz

Copy Editors Alaina Garza Alyssa Grino Katrina Szewka

Business Manager Bekah Kamp

News Editor Katrina Szewka

Opinions EditorNicole Bergen

Features Editor Alaina Garza

Entertainment EditorMandy Egenlauf

Sports EditorJake Hall

Photo-Journalism Editor Bekah Kamp

Reporters Drew Blankenberger Kena Bocek Briana Bowler Cecelia Carr Nick Giroux Alyssa Grino Kaitlin Harvey Colin Leahy Jacob Schwartz Brieanna Steele Jordan Triemstra Mary Tucker

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Beecher High School538 Miller StreetBeecher, IL 60401

beecher.will.k12.il.usFebruary 2011

Photo Journalism

New change in store for BeecherCecelia Carr: Reporter

Drew Blakenberger: Reporter

Kena Bocek: Reporter

“Beecher is poised for future growth as more people seek the respite of a small community living to offset the fast place [sic] of the modern day work-world.” This quote, from the job vacancy pamphlet, is what caught Dr. Tami Ros-kamp’s eye when she was looking for a superintendent position. Dr. Roskamp has always worked in small towns so Beecher would be no change for her. “I really enjoy the rural area, I like to know everyone here, it’s more like a family,” said Dr. Roskamp. Dr. Roskamp always wanted to be a teacher. Then in college she started studying business, so others told her to go into administration, and that’s what she did. She became a principal and then superintendent. Dr. Roskamp has some new ideas for Beecher High School, one of them is to prepare the students of Beecher High School for 21st century technology. She feels technology skills are very impor-tant. “I’ve only talked to her briefl y I feel like in the short amount of time we talk-ed she’s very excited, upbeat, and full of energy,” said Dr. Wright.

Dr. Roskamp is fi lling the position left vacant by Mr. Obradovich. He has been the superintendent since 2003, and will retire at the end of this school year. One of Beecher School Districts’ ma-jor accomplishment during Mr. Obra-dovich’s tenure was the building of the new junior high school. Schedules also changed dramatically during his term. The high school went to a traditional schedule from block.The junior high now uses a middle school

Change in school- From left to right, Mr. Obradivich the current superintendent that will be retiring this year, then Dr. Roskamp, the new superintendent who will be taking Mr. Obradovich’s place.

Bully Busters keep going strong

schedule to accommodate grades six through eight. The district also saw an increase of the student body from 750 to 1130. However, because of the reces-sion, Beecher School District’s enroll-ment is now decreasing. As of right now Mr. Obradovich has no elaborate retirement plans. “I have no plans at this present time I’m devoting a lot of time to take care of elderly family members,” said Mr. Obradovich.

According to Merriam-webster.com, the act of bullying is to treat someone abusively. It is horrifying and can cause permanent damage to the vic-tim. English teacher, Mrs. Livesay and students of the Beecher High School student body founded Bully Busters, a club dedicated to ending bullying. For the past school year, they have been spreading the truth about bullying and bringing peace to BHS. “I have only been a part of the Bully Busters for a month or so,” said Ryan Fernandez (Sr.), “but I think we’ve pro-gressed very well since Alyssa and I have been working together.” Alyssa Griño (Sr.) is the president of the Bully Busters Club. She and the other club members are working hard on their new project: going to the junior high to spread the word about the ef-fects of bullying. There are going to be thirty-four Bully Blusters Club mem-

bers participating in this event. Each member that is going will talk to eight students about the bullying, how to pre-vent it, and even share their own expe-riences with bullying. Ms. Kozlowski, the social worker at BJHS, is the person who introduced the idea of high school students going to talk to junior high students. She hopes that the bullying at the junior high will decrease as a result of this event. “I think that it’ll help to decrease the bullying in school because it helps more if the high school kids come to the school. I also think that they will be more comfortable when talking to high schoolers,” said Ms. Kozlowski. Ms. Kozlowski is looking to the stu-dents for future ideas on how to end the bullying problems at the junior high. “Some extent in bullying is a prob-lem in the junior high as well as other schools. We’re looking for ideas to do

another project besides this. The stu-dents have the best ideas,” said Ms. Kozlowski. Mrs. Livesay, the sponsor of the Bully Busters Club, also has hopes for the talks at the junior high. “I think the only way kids are going to learn and care about the issue,” said Mrs. Livesay, “is if they hear about it through the older students that they look up to.” The Bully Busters hope that their words and actions will help loosen the grip that bullying has on the lives of the junior high students. Besides going to the junior high to talk, the Bully Bust-ers are thinking of other activities to help spread the word against bullying. “We’re all working on the impact we have on the school,” said Mrs. Livesay. There is one thing certain; the Bully Busters will not stop spreading the truth about bullying.

Jonathan’s Story

Teens and cops

Are some students not given a chance?

PDA- How much is too much?

2011 Aspiring Artists, Movies, Music

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Dragoncats Breakoutpg.7

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Beecher Elementary School (BES) hosted its third annual Family Reading Night, feauring a performance by the BHS Drama Club. Since 2008, members have been entertaining families, at BES. Costumes are manufactured to create a skit which comes to life. The audience becomes captivated by the entire production. Characters set the stage, with high-ly prepared acting skills as well. The drama club has a short period of time to prepare these skills, yet manages to carry out a successful performance. “My favorite part is always to see the young children’s reactions,” Ms. Bicker, (Drama Club Sponsor) said. How-ever, all spectators should benefi t from watching a well-composed show. This year, the script was produced with help from the book The Snowbelly Family of Chillyville Inn, written by Cheryl Hawkinson. The plot was funny, yet expressed the impor-tance of relationships. Blair Fernandez (Fr) was the narrator, guiding the entire skit. The audience enjoyed cast performances, including

Twiggles the Dog, played by Lindsey Pape (Fr) and Jingles the Cat, played by Katrina Szewka (Sr). The duo performed as mischevious characters, causing trouble throughout the story.

Drama at its best: (From left to right) Olivia Jones (Sr), Bekah Kamp (Jr), Kelly Wiegele (So), and Allyson Fendrick (Sr) perform a play for Family Reading Night.

Drama club entertains and enlightens

NewsFebruary 2011 The Spectrum Editor: Katrina Szewka

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Courage is being afraid, but facing it anywayKatrina Szewka: News Editor

Undergoing Treatments - Jonathan Larson waiting to go in for his Proton Radiation Therapy treatment.

Life is never easy and can be quite unfair sometimes, but to one boy, life could not be anymore unfair to him than it is right now. Most teenagers’ worries may range from school to relationships to jobs. These items are the least of the worries for Jonathan Larson. Jonathan Larson is fighting for his life and showing that he is not afraid of what has happened to him. Jonathan was diagnosed with Multifocal Myxo-papillary Ependymoma on October 22, 2010. He is the first person in the world with both a blood disease and this type of cancer. Luckily, this cancer is treat-able. “Initially, I was devastated and then we realized that we can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” said Mrs. Larson. “We know what it is, we have to figure out how to fix it, and we take every day one step at a time.” Jonathan had terrible back pain in September, so he was taken to the emer-gency room. There, scans and blood work were done and they concluded that he needed his appendix removed. After the removal, they found nothing wrong with the appendix, but the pain had ceased.

However, three weeks later the pain came back but worse. This is when the doctors performed an MRI from his brain all the way down his spine to his lower back. The results shocked every-one when they found numerous tumors wrapped around his spine and two large ones in his lower back. One is inopera-ble. Part of the other tumor in his lower back was removed, but the remaining is still wrapped around nerves. After these operations, the pain de-creased. Even though he has no back pain, the radiation treatments cause him headaches, nausea, tiredness and loss of hair. The treatments cost $5,000 each and add up to $170,000, which in-surance covers. He needs 33 treatments total. The treatments are radiation that target tumors mostly along his spine. The radiation is not regular though, it is called Proton Radiation Therapy. This type of radiation is so rare that there are only eight places in the entire country that use it. This radiation tar-gets the tumors more specifically and with less damage to healthy tissue. The tumors are spreading, and because of this, they are do-ing radiation on

his brain as well to make sure the tu-mors do not spread there since the brain is connected to the spine. Jona-than needed this particular radiation because regular ra-diation could have caused the sur-rounding areas to swell, thus harm-ing him more as a result of his blood disorder. Jonathan said, “The blood disease is hereditary angio-edema, which is triggered by stress and trauma to the body because it causes swelling of extremities or the intestines which causes severe sick-ness.”

Three months after his radiation, he will

need another MRI as a check up to see how he has progressed. Unfortunately, it will take three years to know if the proton radiation therapy was success-ful. Jonathan will have to monitor his back for the rest of his life to make sure that the tumors do not return. To ensure that Jonathan is not fight-ing cancer alone, many have a part in fundraisers to help him and his family. One of the fundraisers is the bracelet fundraiser. The bracelets are only two dollars, but any donations are allowed. All funds go to the Larson’s to help Jonathan. At first, 1000 bracelets were ordered, which have been completely sold, so 2000 more have been ordered. Almost $2000 has been raised so far, and all donations are extremely appre-ciated. Another fundraiser is the party in Joe Volek’s party barn. This is a Team Lar-son Benefit that will be held on February 19 from five in the afternoon until mid-night. There will be food, live bands, auctions, raffles, and more. Tickets are $15 for high school students with an ID. For others, tickets are $20 before Feb-

ruary 12, $25 dollars after February 12, and children five years and younger get in for free. All proceeds go to the Jona-than Larson Foundation for his cancer treatment. NHS will be sponsoring Strides Save Lives: Walking the Length for Larson. This walk is dedicated to raising money to help Jonathan and his treatments. All money raised will be given to the Jona-than Larson Foundation. The concept is the same as last year: $25 to participate and every extra ten dollars earned will enter that person’s name into a raffle. The route is also the same 10K route as last year. Jonathan is such a strong-willed per-son and he has hundreds of people on his side. Those who know him are thinking of him and praying for him. Jonathan, his family, and friends’ strength is over-whelmingly amazing. “I didn’t ask to be strong, I have to be strong,” said Mrs. Larson. “I get my strength from Jonathan.” Despite the hardships that Jonathan and his family have to face, they have amazing support behind them from people who love and care about them. “Thanks to everybody,” said Jona-than. “Their support is what keeps me going and I appreciate everything that everyone is doing for me.”

Shaving for support - Jonathan shav-ing Drew Beck’s hair. This shows he is not alone in his fight.

Supportive Friends - Jonathan Larson and Mike Polzin show off their newly shaved heads.

“The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.”-Frank Loyd Wright

opinionsFebruary 2011 The Spectrum Editor: Nicole Bergen

3

Mary Tucker: Reporter

Nicole Bergen: Opinions Editor

Fame, wealthy, pro-athlete. Coura-geous, self-less, service men and wom-en. The two careers are total opposites, but they all live in The United States of America. How can these states be called united when the self-less men and women are being paid less than pro-athletes who just provide entertainment and not protection for citizens. Lebron James, Tiger Woods, and Derek Jeter all have one thing in common. They are all pro-athletes with big dreams and even bigger wallets. According to ehow.com, the average NBA player is paid around $5 million per year, the average NFL player is paid around $770, 000 per year, and the average MLB player is paid over $3 million per year. Tiger

Woods, golf legend, is the highest paid pro-athlete racking in $110 million a year. Their career consists of working out daily, attending meetings, practices, studying over different sports films, and competing. They do not have to be ap-proved to see their family and in most sports, their equipment does not come out of their paychecks. Pro-athletes are idolized by many, paid top dollar, and live in the safe perimeter of what they call home. Mr. Pete Gladstone, a student teacher at BHS with science teacher, Mr. Ken Akerman, served as a Marine for four years and three months. His position in the Marines was Military Police Correc-tions Police Guard and he loved it. His salary started off at $800 per month, not including equipment and amenities such as deodorant and socks, and increased when he was promoted to a higher posi-tion. He saw his family two times in the span of one year. So not only were his paychecks small, but his time to see his family was limited as well. Even though Gladstone served four years and three months, he only came out with $1000. Keep in mind that he was able to spend his money on what he wanted to, but he had to buy almost all of his equipment because it was not provided for him. Service men and women do hold pride in their service, and are well respected, so why do they go unnoticed and why are they paid very little? So, it is safe to ask who should be

paid more? “Service men and women should be paid more. Athletes don’t do anything for our country; they just circulate money for the economy. Service men sacrifice their lives,” said Robi How-ard, (So). Sacrificing their lives is definitely not an understatement. Tim Tucker, current Marine and former student of BHS, said he joined because he really loves his country and felt the responsibility to defend it. “You don’t join because it’s fun or cool, but because it’s a job that has to be done and not everyone can do it,” said Marine Tucker. “I would rather not be a pro-athlete because I have the best job in the world.” On the other hand, Americans have to face a scary truth; sports fanatics and U.S. citizens are the ones who deter-mine the pro-athletes’ status. “Their job is still important because it helps the economy and we pay them tons of money to see them play. I am not angry about it, and I’ll get over it,” said Marine Tucker. So it is understandable for teenagers to prefer a job as a pro-athlete more than a service man or woman. “I would rather be a pro-athlete because I’m

Service men and women deserve more credit than pro-atletes

“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”-Langston Hughes

By: Katrina Szewka

Beecher Marine: Tim Tucker shows his pride for his country.

Gossip and stories are usually shared in the hallways of Beecher High School, whether they are true or not. One of the many and most common topics is how strict the Beecher police officers are. For example, students often talk about how people ran from the police when a party got busted or how a group of teens were asked a million questions when they were just walking around. To some, the police are merely doing their job. To others, they are out to find fault in everything. Officer LeRoy be-lieves that the police could be stricter about certain things that they let go, such as being out past curfew, graffiti, or property damage. Officer LeRoy also mentioned that Peotone will write people up for jaywalking. So, Beecher police could come down harder about some things. Matt Paarlberg, a former BHS stu-dent, tells how during his senior year, he woke up one morning to find a ticket for license plates that were expired by one day. He then went to school and when he was leaving after school he found another ticket for the license plates. There is no reason for a police officer to write the same ticket twice especially since they are only required to make one contact per 12 hours of ser-vice. There has to be something more important than one-day expired license plates. Parents have also had problems with receiving tickets for insignificant things. Jordyn Beck mentioned that her dad, who stopped at the stop sign on Woodward, received a ticket for not stopping from an officer who was near Route 1, when he clearly did stop. In-cidents like these do not create a good reputation for police officers, especially

in a small town. Some students have also had incidents where they were stopped and ques-tioned when in their opinion they were doing nothing wrong. Leslie Goers (Sr) says, “I have been stopped three times by the police when I have been just walking around.” Les-lie explains that she was riding bikes with her friends at around 8 o’clock and a police officer pulled up to them and asked a ton of questions like ‘how old are you?’ or ‘are you ding-dong ditching?’ One time, Leslie was ques-tioned for a half-hour when coming out of her car, which was parked in front of her mom’s house. This whole situa-tion seems extremely unfair, especially when a person was not acting suspi-ciously and has caused no problems for the police before. Officer LeRoy says, “I do not pull over teenagers as much as other officers do.” He explains that most teenagers are pulled over so officers can see what is going on inside the vehicle and so they can gather information to help control problems. This, in a general sense, is a good thing because the police are doing their job, but there has to be a limit on how far they take it. Questioning some-one who is driving funny or walking around at night at 2:00 in the morning is one thing, questioning someone riding a bicycle at 8:00 p.m. is another. The Beecher Police Department, how-ever, is not as strict as it used to be. Lieu-tenant Emerson says the department gives out 1,097 tickets a year which averages to about three tickets a day, compared to the 2,000 tickets they used to give out a couple of years ago. This shows that the police department has in fact become less strict over the years.

Emerson estimates that 10% of the tick-ets are given to teens and says that the most common ticket is for speeding. There were 340 speeding tickets given out last year. Officer LeRoy also says that males, ages 20-25, usually act more reckless in a vehicle than teens do and are pulled over more often. It can be concluded that even though sometimes the police give teens a hard time there has been improvement. Teens are also less targeted by the police as opposed to 20-25 year olds, so there really is more focus elsewhere. It is very likely that teenagers (espe-cially in Beecher) have a problem with the police because they do not know how to interact with each other. Officer

LeRoy says, “There is a brick wall be-tween officers and teens. It takes a lot for a police officer to understand teen-agers and vice versa.” A police officer who does not have kids, for example, could take the way a teenager talks as disrespectful. It all de-pends on the attitude given off by both the officer and the teenager. Of course there are always the cases when the teenager has no respect for the officer or the officer just does not like teenag-ers. Situations like this can lead to a problem. Overall, I think that the police are just trying to do their job, but some-times they may be pushing the limit.

more into sports and not war, but I do have respect for those who serve,” said Kailey Rucker, (So). Respect is not something that is given, but earned, and service men and women earn respect no matter how much they are paid.

Letters to the EditorThe Spectrum wants to hear your opinion!If you have

an opinion that you would like to have pub-lishedsuggestions for the newspapercomments on articles drop it off in room 14.

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Strict cops: Beecher police misunderstoond when dealing with teens

CodySiler

Motocross Racer

Features Editor: Alaina GarzaEver wondered what it would be like to have a title such as a two-time national motocross racing champion? Cody Siler, a 17 year-old Senior at BHS, is a walking trophy. Cody has been racing motocross since he was as little as four years old. Racing bikes such as Kawa-saki, Suzuki, and KTM, Cody has ac-complished some major races. In 2009, Cody earned the title of the fastest qual-ifi er in the Grand National Champion-ship at Ponca City, Oklahoma. In 2010, Cody was especially excited for Loretta

Lynn’s, the biggest national amateur race for motocross in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. The legendary Loretta Lynn Ranch has been named the “World’s Greatest Motocross Vacation” and the championship has been held there an-nually since 1982. Approximately 25,000 racers attempt to qualify in 34 classes for the 1,428 available gates at the fi nal championship. In order to ac-tually make it into the race, the racer must have won his or her qualifi ers. That means making it within the top six spots. Cody won his qualifi ers within those top spots but wasn’t able to actu-ally make the race that day because his father had to work. “It would have been great to go last year and get my name out there but at the time the economy was too bad for the trip,” Cody said. The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is the world’s largest sanction-ing body for motorcycle competitions. AMA competitors are classifi ed as class “A,” “B,” or “C,” with “A” being the highest class. Cody’s current rank is A-Class, which means he can compete for cash prizes at standard races. To get to A-Class, Cody worked hard to get out of his current spot in the B-Class. When Cody was in B-Class, he was riding on “80’s”, a smaller type of bike than what he rides now. There are three classes for big bikes, “C,” “B,” and “A,” “C” being the worst and “A” being the best. Cody is now riding on “A’s.” When asked what his inspiration and love for mo-tocross came from Cody said, “Ricky Carmichael is the greatest motocross racer ever.” Cody’s favorite racer and true inspiration to start his motocross career was Ricky Carmichael. One

of Ricky’s well known quotes are, “I’m worried about myself, not anybody else. I have my goals and I’m not wor-ried about anyone. I need to take care of myself before I worry about some-one else.” After high school Cody plans on accom-plishing some big dreams. “When I graduate from BHS at the end of the year, I hope to go pro and make a lot of money from my racing,” Cody said. His big future plans are becoming a professional mo-tocross racer and attending a local junior college so he can continue to race. Cody’s rac-ing is currently sponsored by Tubby’s Wine & Spirits in Beecher, IL, where he also works. Cody has overcome so many obstacles to get where he is today, from multiple concussions, breaking his tailbone and breaking his arm, to dislocating his shoulders twice. Giving up has never crossed his mind. “I think my biggest accomplishment so far has been coming back after every time I got hurt,” Cody said, “each time I think I came back faster than the time before.”

Cody has no plans to stop racing or ever giving up on his dreams. There’s nothing but good things to come from this hard working, dedicated racer and I think we all will be hearing his name, and seeing his number, #554, in the fu-ture.

Question and AnswerSpectrum: What age did you start racing?Cody: When I was four.

Spectrum: What was your inspiration to start moto cross?Cody: Ricky Carmichael

Spectrum: What kind of bikes do you ride?Cody: I race Suzuki, KTM, and Kawa-saki.

Spectrum: What is your rank?Cody: I am in A Class.

Spectrum: Have you ever majorly injured yourself?Cody: I’ve had a lot of concus-sions, I dislocated my shoulders twice, broke my arm and my tailbone.

Spectrum: Have you ever wanted to give up?Cody: No, I come back faster every time I get hurt.

Action Shot - Cody, #554 in aciton.

featuresFebruary 2011 The Spectrum Editor: Alaina Garza

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Common Core steps in to take over 2014Brieanna Steele and Alyssa Grino: Reporters

Delinquent or branded: A closer look at student labelsBriana Bowler: Reporter

Imagine this: you’re finally getting out of junior high, where you may have had a not so good reputation. Now you’re heading to high school to have a fresh start with all of your new teach-ers. It all sounded great until you found out that some of your previous teachers have warned your new ones about you. Now, not only are you being labeled by your peers, you’re also permanently branded by some of your teachers. Sadly, this is a reality for many students at BHS. Maybe this is just a down-fall to being a small school district, but is that really an excuse? It’s close to impos-sible to have a fresh start in this town, especially if you have grown up here. In eighth grade you’re at the top of the school, but once you’re in high school you’re back at the bottom. For some students that transition is hard. But for others, the summer in between is a time of grow-ing up and changing. The changes high school can bring can be lot to handle. But the students that understand this and accept this before the fact have it so much easier. Whether it’s that summer

in between or during the school year, teachers are talking about their previ-ous students. Sometimes it gets to the point of labeling students as a problem. A number of students and faculty are very opposed to this. Jeremy Fleck (Jr.) says, “It’s wrong teachers should be able to figure out students by themselves, not by word of mouth.” He then added, “it can make

students feel automatically disliked, and uncomfortable in the classroom.” Maybe it’s that uncomfortableness that makes these certain students act out of place. “I think it’s unfair to the student. It’s hard to make your own impression when you have someone elses’ first judgment in the back of your head,” said Mrs. Compton. “It’s not fair to not

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“No one can defeat us unless we first defeat ourselves.”-Dwight Eisenhower

Statistics show that in 1964 American students were far behind in academic achievement compared to schools out-side the nation. The study deeply con-cerned teachers about the way students performed in class. The nation ad-dressed this problem by presenting les-son plans for teachers to follow. These lesson plans have been based off of course s t anda rds that were set in 1997. Since then, s c h o o l s throughout the nation s t r u g g l e d to keep their stu-dents at the same level of education. Difficulties in coopera-tion between schools forced teachers to come up with lesson plans to meet standards. In 2009, a new set of nation-wide standards, known as the Common Core, for grades K-12, was introduced. The Common Core Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teach-ers and parents know what they need to do to help them. One purpose of the Common Core is to help students catch up in all areas of academics. So, what does this mean for the stu-dents of BHS? The talk around the school is that Common Core will eliminate homework. According to Dr. Wright, principal of Beecher High

School, Common Core does not direct-ly affect the homework load. “The idea of no homework has no link to the Common Core,” said Dr. Wright. Common Core is simply a new set of standards for teachers to follow. The goal is to prepare students to be well-rounded citizens.

Accord-ing to com-moncore.org, “only a com-plete liberal arts education will enable to-day’s students to become t o m o r r o w ’s well-prepared citizens.” The current c u r r i c u l u m of American schools is not

up to par with schools in different na-tions. The Common Core will help states unify their teaching methods. The changes being made to the teaching as-sessments are the whole lesson plans and test taking methods. This system will hopefully raise the standards of American students. English and mathematic standards were set in the fall of 2010. The science and history standards will be released to teachers this summer and career ed, tech ed, and home economic require-ments will be worked on next. So far, 47 states have agreed to follow the Common Core, starting in August of 2014. At this point, Texas, Alaska, and Virginia have not agreed to follow these

standards. Dr. Wright believes this new set of standards will be effective for students. He agrees teachers will have more work; however, students will be able to see personal strengths and weaknesses. “Due to this new set of standards, (stu-dents) are going to get feedback they normally do not get,” said Dr. Wright. The Common Core is set up in a four-test format. For Beecher High School math teacher, Ms. Shoven, standards have changed every year for the past ten years. When asked about the Com-mon Core’s effectiveness on students and teachers, she points out that no

start with a clean slate.” Some students won-der what it is that makes teachers want to write up certain students more of-ten than others. “There’s always going to be personality con-flicts. Many times, that is where bigger problems begin,”said Mr. Smith, Dean of BHS. “But last time I checked, teachers are human, too.” Students and teach-ers don’t always see eye to eye. Personality con-flicts make it even harder for specific students and teachers to relate to or un-derstand each other. Teachers do make mis-takes, and that is what some students have a hard time understanding, but that goes both ways. The students’ punishments for

their mistakes are obvious, like verbal reprimands and detentions, while there are no public consequences against teachers branding students. No one likes being judged on past mistakes. Nothing is going to change without more understanding coming from both teachers and students. Sometimes all someone needs is a fresh start.

“We are going to be bet-ter teachers and you are going to be better learn-ers because you are going to be armed with what you do know and what you don’t know,” -Dr. Wright

assessments have been made because teachers were only given framework. “Initially the new set of standards will be difficult to follow because (teach-ers) must do all assessments with these standards,” said Ms. Shoven. “I hope it’s better. Anything that helps.” Dr. Wright further explained his thoughts on this process, “We are go-ing to be better teachers and you are going to be better learners because you are going to be armed with what you do know and what you don’t know.”

entertainmentFebruary 2011 The Spectrum Editor: Mandy Egenlauf

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Kings of Leon take a step back

A new twist on the same old story

Best of entertainment to look forward to in 2011

Mandy Egenlauf: Entertainment Editor

Cheri Ruiz: Co-Editor in Chief

Katie Harvey and Colin Leahy: Reporters

The novel The Vampire Academy is the first book in the series of six novels The Vampire Academy. It is definitely a must read. The Vampire Academy fol-lows a young woman named Rosema-rie Hathaway (Rose) as she deals with high school life. But her high school is a tad bit different than the normal high school. Her high school is for Moroi and Dhampir’s. Moroi are good vam-pires that wield magic by using Mother Nature such as earth, wind, fire and water. They feed off of humans but do not kill them, and they are able to go out in the sun. At first glance Moroi’s resemble humans, but a closer look at them reveals that they have fangs, and are unusually pale. They hide their fangs from humans by learning to speak without showing their teeth. Dhampir’s are the offspring of humans and Mo-roi. Dhampir’s are almost identical to humans aside from the fact that they are faster, stronger, and they rarely get sick. Rose is a Dhampir and is training to become a guardian for her best friend Princess Lissa Dragomir: the last Moroi left in her royal bloodline. Guardians are Dhampirs and protectors of the Mo-rio. They train almost their whole life to be able to protect the Moroi from Stri-gio. Strigio are evil vampires that were once Moroi, Dhampirs, or humans. To become a Strigio a Moroi needs to consume the person they are drink-ing completely. Strigio are unnatural creatures that are abominations to the Moroi society. Moroi are all about the beauty of life and Strigio are the exact opposite of that. Rose is on a mission to save her best friend from the clutches of evil Strigio constantly trying to get to the last Dragomir princess. Lissa has very powerful blood that can sustain Strigio for a long time. But Rose should be worried about something more sin-ister lurking in the safety of their own school, and is trying to get to Lissa. The Vampire Academy novels are a cross between the Harry Potter series and the Twilight Saga series. Teen vam-pire novels are enjoying a good run in wake of all the Twilight hype. It seems like every time I go to the bookstore there is a new vampire novel out. The Vampire Academy is definitely not like all the other vampire novels. Author Richelle Mead draws the reader into the secret society of magical vampires. She does a great job of adding new and unusual twists on the mundane teen vampire novels that are coming out nowadays. If you are a fan of action packed fantasy novels then The Vam-pire Academy would definitely be a re-ally interesting read.

Kings of Leon came out with “Come Around Sundown,” in October 2010. After hearing their hit single “Radioac-tive,” I was pretty excited to hear what the whole album would be like, seeing as how I fell in love with their previous album, “Only by the Night.” I loved how every song was very upbeat and never boring. Unfortunately, once I listened to “Come Around Sundown,” I was a little disappointed. I found myself loving the first few songs, but after that some of their songs fell flat to me. It seemed like they were trying to do too much. It sounded, at times, like they were straying from their original sound, the upbeat indie rock sound, which is what fans fell in love with. They stayed true to that original sound for about half of the album, including

songs like “The End” and “Pyro,” but the rest of it was too country sounding for me. Also, many of the songs on “Come Around Sun-down” were not nearly as upbeat as the songs that were on their album “Only by the Night.” I would still suggest any Kings of Leon fans to get this album, even though it was a bit different than the first. I think this album was about Kings of Leon trying something a bit differ-ent to become more mature artists. Unfortunately, for me this was a step in the wrong direction. I hope Kings of Leon will go back to their upbeat, indie rock sound, and stick to it. Overall this was a decent al-bum, and I think any true Kings of Leon fan will enjoy it too.

One of the most anticipated shows of this year is NBC’s new action series titled, “The Cape.” Telling the story of an ordinary city officer who is framed for killing the mayor, this action packed show has potential to be the best show of 2011. “The Cape” follows officer Vince Faraday’s journey to get back to his family after being framed by a notorious criminal named Chess. Chess kills the mayor with an experimental incendiary labeled K-7. After a hectic chase, Faraday ends up in the hands of a bank-robbing circus group who help him get back to his nor-mal life. The title, “The Cape,” comes from the extraordinary cape that is used by Faraday. The cape contains a special fabric that can stretch and constrict itself upon the wearer’s command. As the story progresses, the circus group continues to teach Faraday valuable skills to help him become a better hero. “The Cape” is on NBC every Monday at 9/8 c.

The performer I am most looking forward to this year is Greyson Michael Chance. He is a 13-year-old boy who is a YouTube sensation. He was discovered by El-len DeGeneres and appeared on her show. While on the show, he got a phone call from his idol, Lady Gaga, telling him to work hard and be focused. Ellen ended up signing Greyson to her record label, Eleveneleven. Greyson is best known for his cover of Lady GaGa’s “Paparazzi,” which on YouTube has more than 36.5 million views. His first debut single, “Waiting Outside the Lines,” was released in October of 2010. Other songs by Chance are “Stars” and “Broken Hearts” which have over nine million views each. A date for his album has not been released yet, but I am looking forward to new music from him later on in the year.

“The Cape” hopes for a good future

Everyone deserves a chance

watchthehangover2.com

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ny-9.com

blink182.com

“If you can imagine it, you can create it. If you dream it, you can become it.”-William Arthur Ward

#1Great movies take two

#2#3#4#5

The Hangover 2

Transformers 3

Paranormal Activity 3Harry Potter

Cars 2

36%22.5%15.4%13.3%12.8%

The tunes students itch for#1#2#3#4#5

Blink 182

Jay Z andKanye

Lady Gaga

Green Day

23.8%

Dr. Dre

21.9%20.4%18.4%15.5%

thelineofbestfit.com

Colin Leahy: Reporter

Katie Harvey: Reporter

SportsFebruary 2011 The Spectrum Editor: Jake Hall

7Ladycats march towards Conference Title

Fight for possesion: Paige Wheling fights for the ball

and Jamie Ackman have also done a great job down low.” said Amari Griffen (Jr). The team did a lot to improve after last year and the record shows their hard work and ded-ication. “We actually played a lot over the summer and a lot of our younger girls played at the KACC Tourna-

ment.” said Paige Wheling ( Jr).

As the season progresses I expect the Ladycats to gain back the RVC con-ference title, and to bring home many new titles.

Showdown in ArlingtonJacob Schwartz: Reporter

Dragoncats breakoutNick Giroux: Reporter

This didn’t phase them though. Brad Wick explains, “I think the se-niors set a good example this year, for being first year wrestlers. We were able to come out with some big wins, and it is sad that it had to end so soon.” Phil Salmen is involved in many extra-curricular activities in the school, in-cluding co-captaining the Dragoncats’ breakout season. Phil said, “I had a lot of fun this year. Wrestling is different than most sports I’m involved in because when I’m in the ring, I only have myself to count on to come out with a win. Although it’s sad the season had to end, I’m happy I was able to make new friends and turn this team into a family.” One thing is for sure, after a promising opening season, the Dragoncats have definitely made their way onto the ra-dars of many of the state’s elite wres-tling teams.

The Ladycats are well into their season and well on their way to a conference title. They have already overcome the number of wins they had last season and still have a lot of time to add to that total. They started off the season strong by taking third at the Ladycats Fall Classic, and then won nine of their next twelve games improving their re-cord to 13-5, with a 5-0 standing in the RVC. The team is really improving af-ter last years 13-15 record, and a lot of people have stepped up to fill the roles last years graduating class left vacant. “I definitely think Rachel Lee has stepped up as our point guard and is do-ing a great job. Paige has also become a threat outside on offense. Rachel Basel

The Dragoncats’ debut season sur-passed all expectations set by the team. The team finished this year with a - record, which the squad is more than pleased with. Recording the first ever win for the team, senior Joe Wilhelm paved the way for the rest of the year. After a shaky start, the team was finally able to get back on track after one of their biggest wins. “When we captured our first varsity win at Dwight, our outlook changed and we realized we were a force to be reckoned with,” said Billy Salmen (Jr). In that same meet, Billy was able to de-feat an opponent in just forty short sec-onds, a personal record. Unfortunately, seniors like Joe Wilhelm, Phil Salmen, John Banasiak, and Brad Wick only get this year to enjoy high school wrestling.

“When we cap-tured our first varsity win at Dwight, our out-look changed and we realized we were a force to be reckoned with,” said Billy Salmen (Jr)Breaking a sweat: Phil Salmen works to pin down a Peotone

wrestler.

With the playoffs coming to an end and the Super Bowl a week away, there have been many upsets, with the Se-attle Seahawks beating the defending Super Bowl champions, the New Or-leans Saints, by five points. The New York Jets upsetting the last year’s AFC champions the Indianapolis Colts, by one point. The number six seed, the Green Bay Packers, defeated the number one seed, the Atlanta Falcons, in a blow out. The Pittsburgh Steel-ers knocked off their division rivals, the vicious D-fence of the Baltimore Ravens, lead by Ray Lewis, by seven to advance to the AFC championship game against the New York Jets who defeated the high-flying offense of the New England Patriots by seven in New England. The NFC Conference Cham-pionship promised a rival matchup be-tween the Green Bay packers and the Chicago Bears. The Packers started the game scoring 14 points in the first half, while the Bears were scoreless. The second half started and the Bears had to cope without Jay Cutler, their starting quarterback. They managed to finally start some offense with their 3rd string quarterback Caleb Hanie in the fourth quarter, but it was to no avail, the Pack-ers ended up winning 21-14. The Pitts-burgh Steelers crushed the New York Jets touch down after touchdown. Big Ben delivered a great game which was a key factor in their victory. Super Bowl 45 is being held in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, February 6 at 5:30pm on FOX.

Who’s Going to win the Super Bowl?72%

13%

9%

6%* Survey was taken the week of Jan 17 before the conference games to see who students predicted would make it to the Super Bowl. 172 students participated in the survey.

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”-Confucius

“I definitely think Rachel Lee has stepped up as our point guard and is doing a great job. Paige has also become a threat outside on of-fense,” said Amari Grif-fin (Jr).

Jacob Hall: Sports Editor

708672069 MON--FRI 8-8 SAT 8-7 SUN 10-5

photojournalismFebruary 2011 The Spectrum Editor: Bekah Kamp

8

The infection of public affect ionBy: Bekah Kamp, Colin Leahy, and Alyssa Grino

“I may not share in one’s beliefs,

but students have a right to express their feelings in a way that doesn’t impede on the

educational pro-cess and at-

mosphere,” Dr. Wright said.

“I think it’s really exaggerated.

Teachers freak out about the lit-tlest thigs,” Ryan

Sundeen (So) said.

“If it would make your grandma uncomfortable, you probably shouldn’t do it

in school. I don’t want to be the referee in your tonsil hockey

game,”said Sam Nissen (Sr).

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” -Oscar Wilde

“I don’t think that it should be allowed for students to make out in school, but pecks on the cheeks or lips are okay, and so are hold-ing hands and hugging,” said Phil Salmen (Sr).

“I think PDA is fine as long as it’s not in-tense. Once people start hardcore mak-ing out in front of me, I’m going to say something, and they definitely won’t like it,” said Megan Mull-ner (Jr).

“ I think some forms of PDA are okay, such as hugging or holding hands, but the couples that make out in the hallways, those people gross me out,” said Lar-issa Swanson (Jr).

“I think that holding hands and hugging is fine, but making out in the hallways and stuff is too much for in school. Its gross,” said Jenna Petrelli (Jr).