“You also get to make friends with people that you normally wouldn’t hang out with”

After working together for weeks, the cast is eagerly anticipating the out-come of their performance.

“The audience can look forward to a good sense of humor to go along with real life situations,” junior Emma Penrose (Ruth) said “You know, except for the ghosts.”

Performances are November 15-17, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in the R.L. Heminger Auditorium.

Tickets will be available at the door, and they are $5.00 for students and adults and are free for senior citizens.

quick looktake a

Congratulations to the Quiz Bowl team for winning the WTLW Channel 44 Whiz Quiz tournament. The group defeated Continental, Wapakoneta, Crestview and Bluffton to claim the title.

hats off

blast from the past

Windows anniversary

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

sources: facts.randomhistory.com, neatora-ma.com, teendriving.aaa.com, ten-facts.com, todayifoundout.com

news around the country

5things that make you look

smart today

Teen vies for Nobel Prize

After being shot by a Tal-iban official, 16-year-old activist Malala Yousafzai was considered as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize for speaking in favor of allowing girls to pursue an education in Pakistan. She tells her story in her biography I Am Malala.

Windows XP first be-came available 12 years ago today.

Quiz bowl wins

The first jack o’lantern was made from a turnip.

The average Ameri-can will spend $66.28 on Halloween. The total in 2010 was $5.8 billion.

Every day, car crashes end more teen lives than cancer, breast cancer, homicide and suicide combined.

More American presidents were born in October than any other month.

Starbucks has sold 200 million pumpkin spice latte drinks in the past decade.

Problems in House cause issues with PARCC examsn By Kaitlin Coward

Fall play combines effects, comedy

Findlay High School’s Drama department will be performing Blithe Spirit, a comedic play written by Noel Coward and first performed in 1941.

The play incorporates wide variety of things including effects and a saracastic sense of humor.

“I am looking forward to seeing how the special effects add to the show,” director Debbie Benson said. “The play is really perplexing.”

The plot of Blithe Spirit incorporates a lot of fun charac-ters as well.

“My character is wild, crazy, weird and I’m kind of weird so it works,” senior Sybil Anast (Madame Arcati) said. “There are lots of cool accents, too.”

One of the benefits of being involved in a show is the comradery between the cast.

“You get to develop a closer connection with everyone involved in the group,” junior Devan Kline (Charles) said.

Senior Makenna Fox (Elvira) threat-ens junior Emma Penrose (Ruth) with a chair in a rehearsal of Blithe Spirit. The fall play runs Nov. 15-17.

ACT OUTphoto by Jayden Egler

n By Jordan Amann

&blueandgoldtoday.org

Volume 91, Issue 2Friday, October 25, 2013

1200 Broad Ave., Findlay, OH 45840

Editorial...............2 Entertainment....3News/Feature.....4

Feature................5Feature................6Sports..................7Big Picture.........8

INDEX

goldNEWS

Dress a Girl programStudents and staff members helped sew dresses for little girls in need. The goal for the number of dresses completed was 1,500.

page 4

SPORTSTop five sports traditions

page 7

blue goldblueBIG PICTURE

Homecomingfestivities

Although it rained through the majority of Homecoming night, students came out and showed their spirit during the football game and the coronation.

page 8

TOMORROWChance of rainHigh: 53 Low: 34

Science teacher shares life-changing story

FEATURE

page 5

TODAYPartly cloudyHigh: 48 Low: 29

WEATHERSUNDAYPartly cloudyHigh: 52 Low: 35

Starr on teen search

Freshman Kelly Coleman works on a practice Ohio Graduation Test (OGT). Coleman and the rest of the 2017 class will have to take both the OGT and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers (PARCC) Assessments.FOCUS

photo by Catalina Petrescu

Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr is searching for the teens he took a picture of on The Beatles first American tour nearly 50 years ago.

seniors Bailey Duvall and Sybil Anast

Since House Bill 193 has not yet passed in the state, the class of 2017 will have to take both the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) and the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers (PARCC) Assessments.

The switch to PARCC Assessments was supposed to be made in order to replace the OGT with college and career preparatory tests.

“The OGT is still going to be given next year, but it was not supposed to be the following year,” Director of Secondary Education Rich Steiner said. “A bill has to be passed so the graduation requirements can be changed.”

“Hearings are beginning to take place in order to avoid the issue of students having to take both the OGT and the new PARCC Assessments, which consists of up to ten end-of-course exams.”

Since new graduation requirements have not been set in stone, this year’s freshman class will have to take both sets of examinations next year.

“As the rules stand today, schools must begin giving students in grades 3-8 and in high school the Next Generation Assessments during the next school year (2014-2015),” Dr. Richard Ross, Ohio State Superintendent of Public Instruction. said. “In addition to the Next Generation Assessments, next year’s 10th-graders (the Class of 2017) now must also take the OGT’s.

“Students will need the graduation tests to meet legislative graduation requirements.”

Reasons for the delay are mainly governmental.“Necessary changes in legislation and related timing is-

sues have prevented the Ohio Department of Education from establishing how the Next Generation Assessments will affect future graduation requirements,” Ross said. “A Graduation Requirements Committee of the State Board of Education is working to develop the new graduation rules.

“However, legislation is needed to make the rules effective for the Class of 2018. Until we know if or how legislation will change, the department will not be able to tell schools which assessments will be used for graduation requirements for the Class of 2018 and beyond.”

Taking both tests concerns administrators because it takes away days of teaching time.

“The OGT would still determine whether a student gradu-ates or not,” Steiner said. “Our concern is that there are going to be so many days spent in testing rather than instruction time for students.”

Part of the current problem comes from issues with Com-mon Core itself.

“There is a bill pending about trying to stop funding for implementation of the new Common Core standards in Ohio,”

Steiner said. “It really puts a wrench in the plan.”With the new standards, the school has changed many

things so students will be prepared for the new test.“We’ve spent a lot of time and resources preparing for

the switch to Common Core,” Steiner said. “We have even changed our courses of study and the curriculum especially in History courses.

“We bought a lot of new books and materials so we can be geared towards these tests to give students their best chance for success.”

While the wait could have negative effects, state educators believe that it should not impact any curriculum changes as much as originally expected.

“This year’s OGTs will align to both the current standards and Ohio’s New Learning Standards,” Ross said. “Next year, both the Ohio Graduation Tests and Next Generation Assess-ments will align to Ohio’s New Learning Standards.

“Without changes to current law, we will be left with a cumbersome and inefficient assessment system for graduation.”

One of these changes includes changing the freshmen

course of study to a Western Civilization course instead of a United States History class.

“We’re trying to align everything to the new standards with the new curriculum including the world studies course,” His-tory teacher Mark Dickman said. “Now we don’t know which courses will be offered because we may have to put the new changes on hold.

“It will effect how students sign up for courses in the De-cember because they will likely have to sign up for two differ-ent History classes until we find out if the bill passes or not.”

Some students believe that not passing a bill could have negative effects.

“The end of course exams in addition to the OGT would be redundant,” senior Eliana Neufeld-Basinger said. “If I had to take both I would be annoyed because that much standardized testing for students is not helpful.

“Plus, it would be harder or unfair to those who are strug-gling, and some people already are really stressed about the OGT, so having to take an even harder test on top of that would make them feel really bad.”

CASTEdith-Emily Nesbitt

Ruth-Emma Penrose

Charles-Devan Kline

Dr. Bradman-Chase Wagner

Mrs. Bradman-Michaela Long

Madame Arcati-Sybil Anast

Elvira-Makenna Fox

About us

The staff

OUR VIEW

2 EDITORIAL

Holdup in House causes huge testing issues

Staff policy

Blue & Gold is a monthly student publica-tion for the students of Findlay High School. Blue & Gold is a public forum which is funded by advertising.

Letters to the editor

As an open forum for students, letters to the editor are welcomed by the staff, but we request that they be 300 words or less due to lack of space. All letters must be signed. Blue & Gold staff reserves the right to edit letters without changing the meaning. Letters may be dropped in room 286.

Staff editorials

All editorials without a byline reflect at least two/thirds opinion of the Blue & Gold staff but are not necessarily the opinion of the administration.

Contact us

Blue & Gold1200 Broad AvenueFindlay, Ohio 45840(419)-427-5474

Blue & Gold is a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association, Quill & Scroll and the Ohio Scholastic Media Association.

LETTERS EDITORto t

he

blue & gold friday, october 25, 2013

sophomoreAvrey Roberts

The staff

What is your favorite thing aboutfall and why?

“The trees are al-ways beautiful at this time of year, and it smells nice. Plus, when Hal-loween rolls around, we get a lot of candy.”

juniorChase Hoerig

“I love wearing cozy sweatshirts. Fall also brings a beautiful change

in the colors of the leaves. Plus, we also have a long break for Thanksgiv-ing, especially since we get a week off this

year.”

“I always look for-ward to senior dress up day and what cos-

tumes everyone wears along with all of the Hal-loween celebra-

tions.”

“I love it when the leaves change col-

ors because the trees always get so pretty.”

“It’s the perfect temperature out-side, and I love it when the leaves change colors.”

“I love the leaves because of the colors, and I can play in them with my puppy.”

study hall aideKim Blake

sophomoreKylie Smithsenior Heather Bolmer

sophomoreJesika Henley

LETTERS EDITORto t

he

Changes are excessive

YOUR VIEW

senior Mitch Milum

Kaitlin CowardEditor-in-chief

Adam BeatySports editor

Tess MarshallEmily Schaefer

Feature co-editors

Colton HutchisonPhoto editor

Catalina PetrescuEntertainment Editor

Jayden EglerLogan Harris

Tess MarshallPhotographers

TJ StennettBusiness Editor

Jordan AmannMeghan Betscher

Jayden EglerCheyenne Garnes

Colton HamiltonNoah Keppers

Meghan KirtonAbbi Leathem

Aaron LongEmma Penrose

Tim PolleleClarissa RaderSanto Rossilli

Kate WilsonReporters

Maddie Nuhfer Artist

Andy CantrellAdviser

Dear editor,It is normal for school districts to make slight

changes from year to year, but what Findlay High School has done is just going overboard.

As if the class periods don’t drag on as it is, let’s make them longer. Or even better, let’s not allow our students to enjoy their lunch at the restaurants on Trenton.

Sure, we have the “privilege” to walk there, but who can make it to get food, eat and back in a half an hour?

Maybe if you’re a gold medalist sprinter.Open lunch last year was the one opportunity

students had to relax and enjoy time with their friends outside of school.

Now it’s like a prison you cannot escape.The changes Findlay High School has made

exhausts the students. We go to school from 7:25 to almost 2:30, and we go to practice for our sports right after, not allowing us to get home until like 6:30 or 7 at night.

Why not let us have a 45 minute break to enjoy time with our friends and actually relax during the day? Maybe students won’t have such a negative attitude during school if they can have personal time to get a sense of peace, instead of being bombarded with work for seven hours.

The past years classes have had no problem with handling an open lunch, it is something that has taken place at Findlay High School since my mom went to school here. Why now? Why us?

New administration and new rules such as

As an athlete, every year you look forward to the Homecoming festivities, especially the pregame parade to Donnell Stadium.

This moment is even more special for each year’s senior class as it is our last Homecom-ing and for some, the last big team event.

The tradition of the past few years has been rain and more rain, diminishing the turn-out of little kids hungry for candy.

Unfortunately, this year when it rained, it poured, and our last parade was canceled be-

game at half time, before we even began staging our small comeback.

Maybe if more fans were there cheering on the team, we could have pulled off the come-from-behind win.

Overall, the night was far from perfect, but maybe because it was the last one, it was great in its own way.

n By Kaitlin Coward

Seniors miss out on traditional homecoming parade

OUR VIEW

Making the switch from the Ohio Gradua-tion Test (OGT) to the Partnership for Assess-ment of Readiness of College and Careers (PARCC) is getting increasingly difficult with issues arising in the House that show much larger problems.

Currently, the graduation requirements still use the OGT, but they are supposed to make the switch to the PARCC Assessments next school year (2014-2015), allowing everyone to prepare sooner rather than later.

If this change is not made soon, the current freshman class will face the daunting task of successfully taking both the OGT and PARCC Assessments, which would mean a full week for the OGT as usual, and then extra time for the maximum of ten end-of-course assessments.

This poses a problem not only to these poor students, but also to all of the teaching and administrative staff who worked hard to begin preparing us for the new, more challenging Common Core standards.

While it may not be an issue so much for us, because the new curriculum is more challeng-ing, it still cuts out days worth of learning time if students have to be cooped up in a room in order to take a test that may not even have any influence on their graduation.

If we are going to go through with Com-mon Core standards that are supposed to be more difficult in order to improve the quality of education in America, then this is an issue that needs to be worked out as soon as possible.

In fact, these issues should have been figured out before schools were informed of the need to alter curriculum, so this problem would have never occurred in the first place.

Part of the setback lies in the government officials themselves, as some are protesting changing to Common Core, with understand-able concerns.

While there are pros and cons to both the old requirements and the proposed new ones, not coming to a consensus will only hurt every-one in the long run, similar to that of the recent

cause Main Cross and Front Street were soaked with huge puddles of water.

Needless to say, I was disappointed since I was not able to walk in my final parade or to treasure a moment I may have taken for granted one too many times before.

The rain, like it often does in Findlay in the past 10 years, dampened our plans, though much less seriously than the devastating floods.

So, rather than pass out all the candy during the walk, many teams gathered and ate a large portion of it, especially since some people had

just headed out hours before the parade to stock up on sweets.

After overindulging on Reese’s and Twix, everyone headed to the coronation , which was less than ideal, with people crowding into Don-nell’s cafetorium in order to find out who we had selected as our King and Queen.

Not only was the parade canceled, but the game was soaking wet and almost unenjoyable as I sat there with my tennis pullover nearly glued to my skin.

Plus, over half of the student section left the

MY VIEW

kate’s corner

School problems need fixed

these are not only going to push the students away, but the staff as well.

We’re almost all adults, we can handle driv-ing across the street to get a cheeseburger. LET US LIVE. junior Nick Kiffmeyer

Dear editor, There are many great things about this

school, but there are a couple things that need to be changed. Our new schedule is quite stressful.

My Honors Pre-Calculus class is periods 5a and 5c. It is split by my lunch, which is very stressful, especially when it comes to tests and you have to get refocused right after lunch.

government shutdown. These new standards are supposed to better

educate students, but they do not explain what we scpecifically need to know in order to gradu-ate. How can we do that when we aren’t sure what we’re supposed to be learning in order to graduate?

An even bigger issue is the ongoing ques-tion of why our current education system is still so focused on standardized testing when such a large number of people oppose it?

If this issue causes so much chaos, it just

goes to show how geared all of our schools are towards standardized testing.

Our whole curriculum, and most other schools, as well, has been changed purely to prepare us for these assessments.

This basically means not only are we required to take these exams, but now we have to spend all year being taught to the test rather than learning for the pure sake of learning.

We need to focus more on teaching real-life applications and skills important for college and the workplace, which is the goal of Common

Core. How will one group of tests determine how prepared you are for college or even life?

The answer is, it isn’t nor should it. Like everything in education lately, these

standards have good intentions, but teach-ers and even administrators realize that tests implemented by government officials are not the answer.

These debates in the Ohio House just show all of the issues in our national education sys-tem that currently have a bandaid on them but not a long-term solution.

It is also harder for teachers to hold deten-tions because some teachers can only hold deten-tions during eighth period and some kids have an eighth period class which is an obvious problem.

With our nine period schedule, we could also take an additional class. Therefore, you could get more experience in a variety of fields.

Another major problem is our school lunches, which are extremely unhealthy and do not taste good whatsoever.

Our school would really benefit from a catering system from decently healthy fast food restaurants such as Subway and Jimmy Johns.

I do give the school credit for catering Domino’s pizza, which is still unhealthy but at least it tastes good.

junior Shane Hessling

3friday, october 25, 2013

ENTERTAINMENT

From music to movies, we tell you the good, the bad and the uglyMUSIC

blue & gold

American Horror Story: Coven lacks previous season bravado

Title: The OriginalsStarring: Daniel Gillies, Joseph Morgan and Claire HoltPlot: In the new spinoff of The Vampire Diaries based on the original Mikaelson family of vampires, Klaus (Morgan) moves down to New Orleans after he is warned of a threat against his power. After a clash with his former apprentice Marcel (Davis), Klaus’s older brother Elijah (Gillies) arrives to try and set things right. In the midst of all the madness, Klaus discovers that his former werewolf lover Hayley is somehow pregnant with his child. Why see it: The Originals shares all the drama and suspense of The Vampire Diaries but without all of the Elena drama. Between the dapper Elijah and the manipulative Klaus, there is never a dry moment. In the first episode alone The Originals includes tension, betrayal and even death. While slowly uncovering details about the Original family’s disjointed past, mysterious new characters are added to keep up suspense. With little sister Rebekah (Holt) making a dramatic entrance, the show is only bound to get more intriguing.Grade: B+

Album: Pure HeroineArtist: LordeSound: Artsy pop/ IndieLast Release: The Love Club EPWhy buy it: Pure Heroine gives you the sound you would expect from Lana Del Rey. The album shares Rey’s doomful lyrics and beauty queen style. Her cool and melodic voice is supported by electronic beats which gives the album an edge. The beat throbs beautifully with her voice. The lyrics are meaningful and have depth beyond Lorde’s young age of 16. The songs tell a bittersweet truth and avoid pop culture’s cliché and repetitive lyrics. Lorde’s music is chilling and critics are expecting more great things from her.Download This: Tennis CourtGrade: A

Carrie keeps original theme

Lorde shines in Pure Heroine

FrozenDisney’s Frozen premieres this Thanksgiving. Princess Anna journeys to find her sister Elsa who has magically trappd the kingdom in an eternal winter.

Thor: the Dark World

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

ARTPOP by Lady Gaga

The worldwide bestselling novel Ender’s Game is coming to theaters early next month. For those who have not read the novel, this sci-fi thriller involves Ender Wiggin, a brilliant young mind recruited to lead a space fleet against an alien force which decides the future of Earth.

Recharged by Linkin Park

Prism is energetic, fresh

5

7 3

5

2

4

12 3

The Book Thief 5 horror films to freak

you out this fallBangerz mirrors Miley’s VMA performance

The Originals is dramatic, promising

imdb.com, www.filmofilia.com, huffingtonpost.com, righteousfilm.com, www.filmequals.com, movieinsider.com, jaciburton.com, wunderground.com, musicboxtheatre.com, imjustsaying.info, comingsoon.net

Title: BangerzArtist: Miley CyrusSound: PopLast Release: Can’t be TamedWhy skip it: Bangerz is the horrible climax of Miley Cyrus’s public downhill spiral. This album is boring and immature. With prerealeased tracks like We Can’t Stop, you would think the album would be energetic and fresh when in reality the tracks are easily forgettable and have no artistic quality. The collection of songs is completely random. Cyrus takes a page out of Taylor Swift’s agenda and tries to vent about her rocky relationship with ex Liam Hemsworth. Some songs she tries to be “tough and rapper” while others she still sounds as young as she did on the first episode of Hannah Montana. Bangerz is poorly sung, poorly written and poorly produced. Don’t add it to your Pandora stations any time soon. She really did come in like a wrecking ball.Grade: D-

MOVIESTV

The Hit List

Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleson, and Natalie Portman return in the second installment of the Asgardian tale. Thor: the Dark World is expected to be as full of action as Hemsworth’s biceps. Because Thor is one of our favorite superheroes, this sequel better be good.

4Lady Gaga’s ART-POP hits American stores November 11. With the early re-lease Applause stir-ring the water and rivals Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry just releasing albums, the pressure is on for Gaga to deliver.

n By Catalina Petrescu

n By Cheyenne Garnes

n By Cheyenne Garnes

n By Kaitlin Coward

n By Meghan Betscher

n By Catalina Petrescu

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is anxiously anticipiated worldwide.The film will debut November 22 allowing plenty of time to watch it again and again over break. Watch out for the large crowds at the theaters; you should go earlier so the odds are in your favor.

Refresh your memory about the Holocaust themed novel The Book Thief as the national bestseller is retold in theaters November 8.

The Exorcist (1973)

Ender’s Game The Omen (1976)

1

Title: PrismArtist: Katy PerrySound: PopLast Release: Teenage DreamWhy buy it: Unlike Perry’s chart rivals Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga, her album is playful and energetic without any hints of self-deprecation or elaborate weirdness. Prism succeeds in keeping a balance of soft and hard tones

throughout each track. Most songs are catchy, and there is a retro Madonna-like feel. Overall Perry’s album exhudes happiness with songs like Double Rainbow and International Smile.Download this: Dark HorseGrade: A-

Title: American Horror Story: CovenStaring: Evan Peters, Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, Angela Basset Plot: The season picks up with another new story line, this one following witchcraft through both modern and historic aspects. Why see it: This season does not have the same feel as previous ones however, it is early enough to still be redeemed. The writers decided to create a more comical feel, but that does not really seem like an all around good idea. When reading the title American Horror Story you look for a horror story, not a comedy. Some of the writing simply displays a corniness that the first two seasons did not have. There are a few intense scenes, but it is really nothing compared to last season’s morbid and disturbing storyline of mental health and religious reform. The only thing that is really great in this season that the others had is the show’s ability to take touchy and controversial subjects, such as racism and sexual assault, and bring a controversial focus to them that forces them into discussion. Grade: D

Title: CarrieStarring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne MoorePlot: The remake of the 1976 movie, and based off of acclaimed horror writer Stephen King’s first novel, Carrie follows the life of Carrie White (Moretz), a girl known as the freak outcast of not only her high school, but her hometown, and of course, everyone makes sure she never forgets it. The only thing possibly more horrifying than the torment her peers concoct is the way her mother, Margret (Moore), belittles and mentally tortures her daughter in the self-proclaimed name of God. However, Carrie is able to get even via the telekinetic skills she learns to regulate for her defense. Why see it: As a person who usually hates remakes, this one was an exception. The movie stayed true to both the novel and the original film. The acting was brilliant; Moretz was the best possible choice for a lead due to her believable and flawless acting. The big difference was the addition of technology in bullying to translate it into modern day. Ultimately, Carrie still has its message about why bullying is bad and how great it is to see the good guy win for once, even if it is pretty twisted. Grade: A

Halloween (1978)

Friday the 13th (1980)

Sinister (2012)

Rock band Linkin Park is releasing a remix album this Tuesday. Recharged will be a dance album with DJs Steve Aoki, M. Shinoda and Dirtyphonics putting a new sound to their rock beat.

blue & gold

4 NEWS/FEATUREblue & gold friday, october 25, 2013

sophomore Kiyomi Tachibana2500 Tiffin Ave, Findlay

Findlay, Ohio

Get all your Halloween needs only at Walmart

COMING SOON

FFE will perform at Adan By Colton Hutchison

Findlay First Edition (FFE) is getting ready to attend the 36th Annual Ada “Music Feast” Show Choir Invitational Competition on Saturday, November 9.

“It’s good to do a competition in the fall,” director Kevin Manley said. “We are limited in the weeks we can go to competitions in Janu-ary through March. This helps give us another competition that is close by.”

FFE will be joined by other top groups such as Twinsburgh, Piqua and Van Buren.

Orchestra presents annual pops concertn By Aaron Long

Orchestra will perform music inspired by exotic locales all over the world in their annual Pops Concert, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the R.L. Heminger Auditorium.

“My favorites are Mexicano and Italian Folk Festival because they are fun to play and have recognizable tunes,” orchestra president Georgia Snelling said. “We have some work to do but things are looking good.

“Great Gate of Kiev is one of our hardest pieces but it will sound really cool when we’re done working on it.”

Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for students. They can be purchased at the door or from any orchestra student.

HELPINGHAND

Senior Anna Schumm helps a volunteer sew a dress. Community members, teachers and students all gathered on Saturday, Oct. 19 to help make dresses for underpriveleged children.

photo by Jayden Egler

Students help with dress a girl programn By Jayden Egler

For the past five years, every fall the school has hosted the Dress a Girl event where the community comes together again to make dresses. The event has grown each year.

Although the event is becoming more widespread, many people still don’t know what it is about.

“Dress a Girl is an organization that gives dresses to girls in poor countries,” head adviser Laurie Collert said. “It was originally the vision of a lady that went on a mission trip to Haiti and saw that there were many children who didn’t even have one dress.”

The year Findlay High School started Dress a Girl, the group made about 200 dresses. Last year they reached 1,256. This time they are hoping for a total of 1,500, which isn’t too lofty of a goal considering the team behind all of it.

Students from the fashion class direct most of the dress-making. Outside of the school itself, many eager people who hear about the

event come and help out.The experience is especially unique because everyone from expert

seamstresses to beginners can come and participate, because the process is simple and fun plus the service impacts 38 different countries including China, Haiti, and Uganda.

“Imagine that every little girl has one dress. Imagine if you made one of them,” Collert said. “The slogan that inspires so many to contribute to this cause really instills the overall message.

“Everyone should make sure the people around them have the bare ne-cessities that tend to be taken for granted because no matter how unbeliev-able it is, some people are forced to live without them. That shouldn’t be our reality, and we can’t let it continue.”

TOTALS

2008 (First year)-200 dresses

2012-1,256 dresses

2013-goal of 1,500 dresses

Dress a Girl has created dresses for five years, with the number made steadily increasing:

Senior violinist selected for all-national orchestra

Senior Alex Harada will perform in the All-National Honor Orchestra.

After years of experience, Harada auditioned for this orchestra.

“I’ve been playing for over 10 years,” Harada said. “When I was younger, my cousin sent me a violin, and my parents encouraged me to try it out since I had it.”

The All-National Honor Orchestra holds auditions every year for high school students in grades 10 through 12.

“My family found the audition and I ended up trying out,” Harada said. “I knew the experi-ence would be similar to All-State Orchestra but at a higher level.

“It’s very stressful, they have you play the

same piece over and over, until they are finished.”Harada is the first student at Findlay High

School to be in the All-National Honor Orchestra.“I’ve been at Findlay for 21 years, and he is

the first orchestra student to achieve a spot on a national honors orchestra,” orchestra director Ken Pressel said. “He has also qualified for state orchestra all four years of his high school career.”

Despite Harada’s achievements, he does not plan on becoming a professional violinist.

“If I did more training and changed my mind set a long time ago, I could have been a violinist,” Harada said. “I plan on going into international law though, I find different cultures interesting since I grew up in America.”

Their performance will be held at the Gaylord Oprylord Resort in Nashville, Tenn. on Oct. 30.

n By Adam Beaty

TUNEUP

Senior Alex Harada practices a piece on his violin. Harada was recently chosen to perform in the All-National Honor Orchestra in Nashville, Tenn. on Oct. 30

photo by Jayden Egler

HEADS UP

Challenge Day supports acceptancen By Kate Wilson

Health students will participate in Challenge Day Nov. 5 -8.

Challenge Day deals with improving self-esteem and awareness of others, as well as trying to support acceptence.

“You talk about things that have affected your life in a negative way,” junior Maddy Hei-man said. “You also talk about how important it is to not keep your emotions bottled up inside.

“Challenge Day is a good thing for everyone to experience.”

Art walk showcases new works, artistsn By Cheyenne Garnes

Findlay’s annual Fall Art Walk will be Friday, Nov. 1.

There are many new and exciting things expected from the participating artists.

“We started an art collaboration project. Lo-cal artists brought me unfinished pieces of work that they were not going to complete.” director Erin Poling said. “I then distributed them to local kids to add to and then returned them to the artist to complete. They will be displayed at different galleries.

“The Findlay Art League will also have their annual Juried Show.”

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No matter your passion or interests, you have moments that change your life. Whether it happens in an instant, or over a lifetime, changes tran-spire every day that shape us into the people who we are meant to be.

An example of this is science teacher Rebecca Wolfe, who was in a near fatal car accident at a young age that has helped her become the per-son she is today.

“I had a head on collision with a semi-truck,” Wolfe said. “My car slipped on black ice. It happened in 1999, when I was in high school. It made a pretty huge impact on my life.”

Wolfe was in need of multiple operations after the near fatal car crash.“I had 12 different surgeries,” she said. “Two of which took out a ma-

jority of my abdominal cavity.”Since most of Wolfe’s injuries involved internal bleeding, the severity

of the crash was not initially obvious.“When it first happened I tried to get out of the car,” she said. “There

was no external bleeding, and I didn’t realize how serious my injuries were.“I lost several pints of blood before I even made it to the hospital.”One of the most serious parts of Wolfe’s injuries involved her liver,

which was injured in the crash.“My liver was bleeding and lacerated,” she said. “I always thought the

liver was a really cool organ because it has the capability to regenerate.”After the crash, Wolfe and her family were told that there was a large

chance that she would not survive past the first operation.“I always knew I would make a full recovery,” she said. “However,

n By Tess Marshall

Wolfe experiences near fatal car crash, inspires careerbefore the first surgery the doctors told my parents to kiss me because I may never see them again.”

The crash not only affected Wolfe’s health, but changed her relation-ships with her peers.

“The accident really scared my family and friends,” she said. “Some of them thought that I could potentially die.

“It changed some of my relationships with my friends when I went back to school. Some of my friends treated me very differently, and the ac-cident had made me a lot more mature.”

Wolfe’s series of surgeries involved a great deal of rehabilitation.“After my surgeries I had to completely learn how to walk again,”

Wolfe said.The surgeries and recovery put Wolfe out of school for several months.

One activity that Wolfe did to pass time was read her Biology textbook.“One of the people that really inspired me to get into science was my

high school biology teacher,” she said. “I missed three months of school while I was on bed rest.

“He sent me my Biology book and said that if I wanted to read it I could, but most importantly I should get well.”

Despite the accident’s effects, it helped sparked her interest in science.“The human body is really amazing,” Wolfe said. “It is so intriguing

how it can be taken apart and put back together, and how it can heal from such a large amount of damage.”

Wolfe was fascinated with science and wanted to help people in the way

that they had helped her after her accident.“I wanted to save lives like the woman who saved my life in surgery

after the accident,” she said.Wolfe first went to college with a Pre-med and a Biology major with a

Chemistry minor, but rethought her future career when her circumstances were changed.

“I was originally told after the accident that I couldn’t have children, so I wanted to be a surgeon,” Wolfe said. “It was okay with me to live with the demands of being on call.

“However, I found out that I could have children and I decided to rethink my career.”

Wolfe’s decision to become a science teacher fulfilled her interest in the field, while still sustaining the kind of life she wanted.

“As you grow and change, you have to do what fits your personality, but also something where you can meet your goals and aspirations in life,” Wolfe said. “I want to inspire a younger generation to go be in a science or medical field.

The accident had a huge impact on Wolfe, and still influences the way she perceives her everyday life.

“Some people get really negative when dealing with their lives, but I really try to appreciate every day.” Wolfe said. “Looking back, I try not to take a single day for granted because I can now see just how easily life can be lost.

“The trauma from the whole experience made me who I am today.”

Teacher Rebecca Wolfe got interested in science after she had a head on collision with a semi truck. The repercussions involved multiple surgeries, rehabilitation and several months of bedrest. photo by Catalina Petrescu

Career Change

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Hothead_university_11_2013.pdf 1 10/15/13 3:47 PM

friday, february 22, 2013

FEATUREblue & gold

6friday, october 25, 2013

FEATUREblue & gold

Horrorhound is a festival dedicated to horror in every aspect. From movies to artists to books and so much more.

While attending the convention in Indianapolis this past September, I had the opportunity to do an interview with Barry Bostwick, better known as Brad Majors from the 1975 cult movie musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Where did you get your start in acting?High school. I did a production of Our Town. It was the beginning of a

so far 50 year career, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.What do you think of the influence that The Rocky Horror Picture

Show had on pop culture?Rocky Horror was just one of the things that came out of the mid 70’s,

it was just a reflection of what was going on at the time. I don’t think we really changed culture, I think we just did a pretty good reflection. What it

n By Cheyenne Garnes

has really done is bring a whole community of kids together over the years who have found their own culture. There’s a band of brothers and sisters who are worldwide. I hear stories of people who say it saved their lives because they were exploring their sexuality and had no place to act it out or see other people like that, they were explorers in their own way. A lot of the kids who wanted to act used the shadow cast of Rocky Horror. They could just act and be in front of people. It’s an honor.

What do you think of the now teenage generation that the movie has gone onto?

It’s wonderful. It shows the impact. It explores those ideas of any teenager who has a lot of questions and angst about being teenager, you know? I just get nervous when five-year-olds tell me they’ve seen it.

What was your favorite role you ever played?Brad Majors. He was such a goofy guy, and because the movie has had

Rocky Horror Picture Show actor shares memoriessuch a history, it’s 40th anniversary being this year. And I keep meeting people like yourself who are still influenced by it. It’s something that keeps giving back to me.

What was your favorite number in Rocky Horror?The Floor Show. There was so much involved, I got

to dance in five inch heels... on a slippery stage! I also got to dress up in a bustier.

References that are big with the movie, in things like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and other significant coming of age movies or books, what do you think of that influence?

It makes me happy to see it. It’s just, great. Or even things like the episode of Glee where they did a lot of the music, and I got to do a cameo. It’s great.

Seniors pick Halloween attireThere is only one day of the year where se-

niors can dress as bananas without being judged.Every year, seniors dress up in crazy cos-

tumes on Halloween. History teacher David Barkey believes it is a

good tradition for students.“Dressing up started before my time, and

I have been teaching since the fall of 1998,” Barkey said. “The seniors have a lot of fun with dressing up.

“It’s something special for students to look forward to for their senior year especially when many of the senior activities like driving at lunch aren’t options.”

With this tradition, there are always a variety of group outfits.

In the past, students have dressed up in costumes such as Angry Birds, the Scooby Doo

n By Emily Schaefer

gang, bananas and loofas. “I remember that the first group costume I

saw was Pacman,” Barkey said. “From that point costumes became much more group oriented like they are now.”

Senior Natasha Snelling’s favorite group cos-tume is the football team dressing up as bananas in 2011.

“I loved the banana stampede,” Snelling said. “It was really funny and I laughed every time they ran through the halls with the gorilla chas-ing them.”

Snelling is enthusiastic about the different options available.

“I haven’t figured out exactly what I’m going to dress up as yet,” Snelling said. “I’m really excited to see what everyone else is wearing and what the group costumes will be this year.”

Scenic walkTake time to appreciate the changing colors and falling leaves on a walk in the park.

Apple orchardsStop by one of the many apple orchards in Ohio to handpick a batch of your own apples.

Corn mazesManeuver your way through Suter’s famous corn maze.

Bake a pieFill your house with the warm scents of autumn by baking a homemade pie.

Pumpkin carvingRound up the family and decorate a pumpkin or carve a jack-o-lantern.

Read a classic bookCurl up by the fire with a warm drink and a good book.

HalloweekendsGet a group of friends together for a fun night of tricks and treats at Cedar Point.

Pumkin Spice LattePick up Starbuck’s famous “Pumkin Spice Latte”.

Football gamesAttend a high school or college football game with your family and friends.

Sweater weatherAs the the temperature drops, bundle up with layers and sweaters.

Fall FavoritesIt’s that time of year again! Here are some ideas of how to make the most out of the autumn season.

Seniors dress up as Legos in 2011/ photo by Emily Wolfes Seniors dress up as Elmo and Big Bird in 2011/ photo by Abby Arnets

7friday, october 25, 2013

SPORTSblue & gold

CUSTOMPrinted T-Shirts as low as

$5.50

n By Adam Beaty

n By Catalina Petrescu

n By Adam Beaty

n By Adam Beaty

n By Adam Beaty

Post season winds down for the fall season

Senior Olivia Bair prevents the opposing team from scoring assisted by junior Elizabeth Alexander. The Trojans lost 0-2.

CLOSECALL

Girls Soccer

Boys SoccerBoys Golf

Football

Girls Tennis

Girls GolfBoys Cross Country

Girls Cross Country

n By Cheyenne Garnesn By Adam Beaty

n By Adam Beaty

photo by Catalina Petrescu

Junior Brandon Muehl looks for an open reciever to pass to. Sylvania Southview came back with a score of 20-17.

UNDERPRESSURE

Volleyballn By Meghan Betscher

photo by Tess Marshall

photo by Tess Marshall

Senior Matt Armand tries to win a 50-50 ball in the air against the opposing Northview player. The Trojans ultimately lost with a score of 1-2 which was their onl lose in the TRAC.

UP INTHE AIR

“For football, we have a team prayer right

before every game, also the seniors have a team dinner

every Thursday after practice.”

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Post Season Standing: “It’s gone really well, we have been trying new strategies and plays as we go,” senior Stephanie Koch said. “The way we are playing helps us compete on the same level as other teams.”Final TRAC Record: 6-1Conference Update: “The TRAC possesses a number of private girls’ schools which are a challenge to play,” coach David LaRocco said. “Those schools are not tied to a particular geographic area when enrolling students so it’s conceivable that Notre Dame or St. Ursula would get the most talented athletes.Best Game: “We have had a number of nice wins this season,” LaRocco said. “We came from behind twice at Anthony Wayne to tie the game and then took the lead with under six minutes to play.”Outlook for Next Season: “I am not thinking about next season yet, we have worked really hard this fall to put ourselves into a quality position to compete for a district championship and that is the only goal right now,” LaRocco said.

Season Standing: “We aren’t pleased with our record, but we have been in it to the very end for all of our losses,” senior Nick Kairys said. “Turnovers and not being able to get stops at the end of games has hurt us.”Final TRAC Record: 2-6Conference Update: “This year especially, the playing field seems to be very level between all the teams,” Kairys “It has not changed that much though because this league is very tough and competitive with gifted athletes on each team.”Best Game: “Our best game has been against Oregon Clay,” senior Eric Beard said. “We got off a slow start, but we rebounded and worked our way back into the game to win it.”Outlook for Next Season: “There have been a lot of guys this year getting varsity experience, so that will work in their favor,” Kairys said. “They understand the offensive and defensive formations that we run and have a feel of varsity game speed. Basically, experience.”

Post Season Standing: “I’m really happy with how the season has gone,” coach Bill Geaman said. “We went in not knowing where we would be, but when you end up with over ten wins you know you have done well.”Final TRAC Record: 5-1-1Conference Update: “It really has not changed, usually Findlay, St. Fran-cis and St John’s are all valid contenders for the TRAC title,” senior Nate Leo said. “It just turns out that way, they have the experience and desire.”Best Game: “Our two best games were Sylvania Southview and Toledo Whitmer because everyone showed up to play,” Geaman said. “Those are our benchmark games and they are always our more competitive games.”Outlook for Next Season: “I see a lot of potential with next year’s team and the returning three year letterman juniors Brandon Gault, Mason Hill, Kyle Burns and Jimmy Stachiak,” Leo said. “Maybe a next year freshman could get a position that hasn’t been held since the legendary Mark Laux.

Post season standing: “We finished 8-11 at the end of the season,” coach Sean Swisher said. “In the postseason almost everyone won a match but only juniors Erin Bosse and Emma Miller moved on to districts where they were defeated in the first round.”Final TRAC record: 2-5Conference update: “We finished sixth in the TRAC,” Swisher said. “We changed from the GBC to the TRAC three years ago. It is much more competitive now.”Best Meet: “The best match we had this year was a 5-0 win against Ce-lina who finished near the top of the WBL,” Swisher said.Outlook for Next Season: “Next season looks solid with all of the lineup returning. We should make a push to the top tier of the TRAC confer-ence,” Swisher said.

seniorEric Beard

“At the start of soccer tourna-ment season, the coaches decide on a theme for the team. The

theme this year is the three Musketeers, because their motto was ‘all for one and one for all’ so we recieved a Mus-keteers bar to eat and think about what it meant to us.”

seniorNate Leo

Topfall sports traditions

Post Season Standing: “All season we were considered the underdogs but we never let that define us. We had higher expectations for ourselves and went out each game wanting to win. We lost a couple of games this season but we ranked fourth in the league,” senior Anna Schumm said. Final TRAC Record: 6-4Best Game: “Our best game was probably our last game. Even though we lost, the girls played very hard and left everything on the court,” coach Bob Moran said.Conference Update: “One of our strongest points was we never gave up. Even when we were down 8 or 9 points we managed to push through and come back,” Schumm said. “Since most of us had never played together our communication was also an area we struggled with. But when we com-municated the game ran smoothly and was a lot more fun to play.”Outlook for Next Season: “We will have a few more kids back then this year with varsity experience,” Moran said.

Post Season Standing: “We have two very good runners while the rest are mostly underclassmen,” coach Mark Gleason. “We are still rebuilding and going through growing pains.”Conference Update: “It was very different this year because it was at a location that we haven’t been to in about nine years,” junior Lindsey Broer-man said. “Fremont had a beautiful course, and everyone enjoyed the new scenery instead of courses that we have run multiple times.”Best Meet: “Definitely the St. Francis meet, it’s early on so everyone runs their best and gets their best times,” Broerman said. “It’s a real confidence booster and encourages us to improve for the season ahead.”Outlook for Next Season: “Next season will be a fantastic year for the team,” Broerman said. “Although we will be losing some seniors, we have a great group of incoming freshmen that will complete our team.”

“When we leave the lock-er room on a home soccer

game, everyone touches the Trojan sign on the way out. Before each

one we get in a circle and scream our chant.”

“Before the start of each race we all run out and do the hokey

pokey together and then kneel down for a special team prayer. Also, we have a special secret run at the end of condition-ing to get new runners excited about cross country.”

juniorLindsey Broerman

seniorStephanie Koch

juniorSpencer Shoemaker

“After golf sectionals we always go to Miles Pizza in Bowling Green and if we break 300 as a team we get steak dinner on coach.”

Post Season Standing: “It was about what we expected, we placed fifth out of eight,” coach Mark Gleason said. “We are still young and rebuilding but our top three runners are all sophomores.”Conference Update: “We lost some runners last year so it’s been better, senior Josh Orr said. “It’s still competitive especially against Fremont.”Best Meet: “Our best meet was at Chet Sullwood because it’s a fast and easy course,” Orr said. “There was nice weather out that day so our times were a lot better than if our feet were wet and weighing us down.”Outlook for Next Season: “We are running with some underclassmen this year so hopefully after a year of experience it’ll be better,” Gleason said. “Our top three runners are all sophomores so that’ll help.”

Post Season Standing: “Suzanne Short went to districts,” junior Becca Zoll said. “She placed third, but they only take the top two. She’s really good though, she could have got them.”Conference Update: “This year was more of a learning year,” Zoll said. It was really more about learning than competition. As for the other schools, some of them were really good and others were worse than us.”Outlook for Next Season: “The outlook for next season is good,” coach Michael Colyer said, “Everyone is returning, and with the experience, we expect to do well.”

Post Season Standing: “I’d say that the season went really well, we weren’t expected to go as far as we did with such a young team,” junior Logan Bern said. “It was disappointing to get as far as we did and not get the results that we hoped for.”Conference Update: “It has gotten more competitive between the teams,” junior Spencer Shoemaker said. “St. John’s is getting very strong with underclassmen and the other teams have been losing seniors, but we have the work ethic that gives us the edge mentally.”Outlook for Next Season: “We are losing a couple of seniors and I be-lieve it’s going to be a rebuilding year,” Shoemaker said. “We might lose our two man Trevor St. Jean which would hurt a little but I think we will be fine if we put in the hard work over the summer.”

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