December 19, 2014

Volume 9, Issue 2

Cougar Paw Print

On Tuesday, November 11, we took a

day to honor those who have served in

the United States Military. As a quick

refresher, Veteran’s Day is to honor all

who have served, not to be confused

with Memorial Day, which is put in

place to memorialize those who have

paid the ultimate sacrifice in serving

our nation.

North Star is one of the few schools in

the district that doesn’t cancel for the

event. In lieu of adjournment, Student

Council hosts a Veteran’s Day Breakfast

and an assembly, both to esteem these

reputable people and to provide an

opportunity for us students to express

our gratitude.

When asked why it is important to hon-

or veterans, Paul Tretter, who helped

with organizing the breakfast, re-

sponds, “Our veterans deserve our

appreciation because of how selflessly

they serve their country and the citi-

zens that live in the United States. We

as civilians will never understand the

sacrifice and commitment that the

brave men and women of our armed

forces have for America. It is important,

also, to remember that it is not just No-

vember 11 that we can honor those who

have served our country, but every day

of the year.”

Veteran’s Day Breakfast By Cooper Tretter

North Star’s November Blood Drive By Ashley Jones

On November 18, 2014, the American

Red Cross came to our school to save

lives. According to the records, this

year was a larger success than the past

years. There were a total of forty-nine

donors; nineteen of them were donors

for the first time. Congratulations! Many

are frightened by the thought of being

jabbed by a needle, even though no

worries need to be shed; you are deal-

ing with trained professionals with a lot

of experience on their hands.

Fifty-two pints of blood were collected

in total, versus a goal of only forty-nine.

Good job North Star! We saved one

hundred fifty-six lives with that blood.

One day you will be thankful for do-

nors, whenever you or your loved one

will need a transfusion to possibly sur-

vive. Our school will have one or two

blood drives a year, so if this time was-

n’t your time to shine, you still have

next year. Be the leader who inspires

your classmates!

November Blood Drive.

Photo captured by Ashely Jones.

Veterans’ Day Breakfast

Photo courtesy of Ms. Conrad.

Page 2

“I can be the true old woman I am; but

seriously, it is fun, and I really enjoy

that I can bond with other people over

books,” Aubrie Koontz said about the

new book club! At the beginning of the

year, I wanted to start some sort of

club. I ran some ideas by my friends,

and we decided on a book club. Then

we had to think of a teacher to be our

advisor. The light bulb clicked on

above our heads when we thought of

Ms. Griffith. We asked her if she would

like to be our advisor, and she agreed

to our request. Over the first few

months of the school year, we began

and completed the process of starting

the very first book club.

In book club, we plan a lot of different

activities. One of these activities is a

Series War. Every member picked a

series and started reading the first

book in it. We plan on having lit circles

to discuss our books as well as debat-

ing different aspects of those books

with the other series. Some of the se-

ries we chose from are: Game of

Thrones, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or

whatever series you wanted to begin.

That’s only one of the activities. We are

throwing around other ideas for what

else we can do.

We did throw a party on November 26,

the day we got out early for Thanksgiv-

ing break. The party was Harry Potter

themed. To enter the party, you had to

walk through a “brick” wall (Platform 9

¾) and have your ticket with you. The

party included Butter Beer, cauldron

cupcakes, pumpkin pasties and many

other snacks. Some students even

drew the crests for each house. If

you’d like to check them out, you can

stop in Ms. Griffith’s room to see them

hanging above the windows. We also

watched the first and third Harry Potter

movies. We plan on having a party for

Christmas as well.

For Christmas, Abby Mishler and I con-

structed a book tree. Students brought

in books to create the tree, and the two

of us built it. Lights are even strung

around the tree. It’s still in Ms. Grif-

fith’s room; so check it out also.

We did vote for officers, but decided to

put our own twist on the titles. The

President, or who we call Lord, is me.

The Vice President, or for us Duchess,

is Italia Hanik. The Secretary, or who

we call Jester, is Sydney Trout. Finally,

the Treasurer, or who we call Knight, is

Lindsay Long.

For the rest of the year, many activities

will be planned and parties will be

held. Shirts may be in the future as

well. If you have any interest in joining

book club, see Ms. Griffith or myself.

Book Club By Emily Lambert

Featured Teacher By Josie Lehman

North Star’s book club members at the

Harry Potter themed party.

Photo courtesy of Ms. Griffith.

cause she had good friends and loved

to learn. In high school, her teachers

never knew what was going to happen

because of the harmless trouble that

everyone loves to cause. She graduat-

ed in 2007 and went to college at Sea-

ton Hill University in Greensburg. She

studied history, English and secondary

education.

After graduating high school, she sub-

stitute taught for a year, got a long term

sub position at Berlin, and worked at

The featured teacher for this edition is

Ms. Griffith. She was born in Somerset

and grew up in Berlin, where she went

to high school. She was involved in

clubs, played volleyball, and was in the

honors society. High school for Ms.

Griffith was a good experience, be-Continued on p. 4.

Page 3

everyone being so kind and liking you,

while it is just to be respectful to a per-

son. I’m not saying it’s wrong, it’s just

not the type of connections between

people that I want and I’d like to have.

I’d prefer being wholehearted with the

person I communicate with. The issue is

to find the right balance between the

ways of expressing yourself and be

satisfied with it.

I learned how to be multi-national, at

the same time being proud to be Rus-

sian. I have no borders between the two

countries now, everywhere here is my

home, despite they are quite different

and diverse and there’s a wrong idea of

the countries being in a war. I like to

think that it’s the governments who are

in the war, not the people. Sometimes I

think that we do the same job our am-

bassadors and governments does - es-

tablishing positive relationships and

maintaining mutual understanding in-

ternationally.

Not Better, Not Worse, Just Difference By Kamilla Chuvashayeva

I’m happy that I have such an opportuni-

ty to improve myself and to travel. I wish

more people could have had the oppor-

tunity to be an exchange student some-

day, it’s a whole world packed in one

suitcase and a rich collection of reminis-

cences full of experience of self-

determination and strengthening your-

self.

Every single day I wake up and un-

derstand that I have learned some-

thing yesterday. An exchange year is

a really like a whole new life: you

learn how to do eve-ry-thing from

scratch. Opening the windows, clos-

ing the doors, using a pencil sharpen-

er, laying the basis for your reputation

brick by brick. Even communicating

with people often is a big problem for

exchange students. I wanted to share

some observations with you and tell

about the differences and problems I

have to face.

For me the most hard and difficult

thing to come over was the different

attitude to relationships. In Russia I

was used to sincerity, honesty and

straightforwardness. Here, in Ameri-

ca, it is common to smile to people to

be polite and not to hurt each others’

feelings, while a Russian smile is a

sign of the true devotion and tender-

ness. It is hard not to be electrified for

Kamilla’s Presentation

Christmas Cookie Survey By Ashley Kelly

With Christmas coming up, many people will be

baking cookies. I surveyed students to see what

type of cookie was their favorite.

Chocolate chip was the clear favorite with seven-

teen votes. Sugar cookies had eight votes.

Snickerdoodles had seven votes. Peanut butter

blossoms had four votes. Gingerbread men had

two votes and two people were not sure what

their favorite was.

Page 4

On December 10, there was a concert

in the high school auditorium. This

concert included four groups: chorus,

jazz band, concert band, and the Som-

erset Community Band. Each group

worked very hard to make this concert

great.

The chorus is directed by Mr. McAllis-

ter. The group has a total of twenty-two

students. Their seniors are: Jordan

Stanko, Cody Stewart, Paul Tretter,

Brady Vinisky, and Alexis Whipkey.

They sang: He Is Born; Glad Tidings on

This Christmas Morn; Fum, Fum, Fum;

The Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth;

and Sing We Now of Christmas.

The jazz band is directed by Ms. Dia-

mond. The band has a total of twelve

students. Their only senior is Alex

Spory, who plays trumpet. They

played: You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch;

Santa Baby; and Funky Ol’ St. Nick.

The concert band is directed by Ms.

Cannistraci. The band has a total of

twenty-six students. Their only senior

is Alisha Moore, who is a percussionist.

They played A Celtic Christmas; Auld

Lang Syne; and Ancient Carol Variants.

The community band came on and

played Star of Wonder and The Polar

Express before both bands came to-

gether to play Sleigh Ride and An Amer-

ican Christmas.

The bands and the chorus worked very

hard to make the concert great. The

songs sounded great and definitely got

people into the spirit of Christmas.

The Winter Band and Chorus Concert By Ashley Kelly

Turkeyfoot teaching Language Arts, all

of this leading up to teaching at North

Star. She likes to teach here because

the students are behaved and the staff

is so kind. She has started book club

meetings and is thinking about using

Scholastic Quiz if available. Her goals

are to make a fun experience where

people who like to read can make

friends with each other. She wants to

help her students learn what they need

for the Keystones for this year and have

fun while doing it. She also wants her

students to take a better look into criti-

cal thinking.

Outside of school, she loves to stay

active, go outside, enjoy nature, go to

the movies, and do things around the

house. She looks up to her college pro-

fessor, Bill Black, who was wise and

taught her about living life and philoso-

phy. Being taught about life through the

eyes of her professor, learning a lot

wasn’t hard. She would love to see

some of her students succeed and go

far with what they do. Her family is full

of supportive, close people. Her favor-

ite person in her family is her nephew,

Trevor, who will be six-years-old on

Christmas, the only young child in her

family who is also a shining star. She

Featured Teacher Continued from p. 2.

Concert Band

Photo courtesy of Barry Kelly.

Chorus

Photo courtesy of Barry Kelly.

wants her students to know that her

door is always open and the students

can always talk to her. It’s always good

to know you have a teacher that you can

count on, and Ms. Griffith is definitely

one you can count on.

“The best way to find out if you can

trust somebody is to trust

them.” ―Ernest Hemingway

Page 5

I was the only survivor of King Perci-

val’s Premier Parade through Parse-

land. Parseland is the overly-poetic

name for werewolf territory. I have the

less-poetic scars to prove it.

Thinking back, pulling the carriages

with elk was probably not the best

idea, seeing as how raw elk is the na-

tional dish of Parseland. But I was

young then—not a day over twenty—

and a salary of three gold pieces for a

two-hour jaunt through the woods de-

fending a royal parade sounded like a

good deal.

King Percival spared no expense, hir-

ing twenty of us mercenaries along

with his fifteen war-hardened Royal

Guards. Unfortunately, King Grimm of

Parseland brought close to fifty of his

best soldiers to tear out our throats and

eat our kidneys.

The battle was short, yet hard-fought.

We drew our silvered daggers and

tried not to lose our throat and/or kid-

neys. I left with one throat and—thank

Deity humans have two—one kidney.

My fellow countrymen were not so

lucky.

King Grimm perished beneath my dag-

ger in the waning moments of the fight.

I would have been knighted for my ser-

vice, but King Percival was too busy

dying from the lack of a throat. What a

pity.

Parade Route Through Werewolf Territory (Fiction) By Patrick Stahl

Jingle bells are ringing, people are

bargain shopping, and kids are making

their mile-long Christmas lists for San-

ta. ‘Tis the season, right?

The commercials on television around

the Christmas season are often heart-

warming, with touching family mo-

ments or surprising acts of kindness.

Try and make those commercials a re-

ality for someone else. Whether it’s

shoveling snow from a neighbor’s side-

walk, or simply putting a dollar in a

Salvation Army collection kettle, you

can really make a difference. Think

about this: eighty cents is given from

every dollar donated to the Salvation

Army. What a difference our school

could make if everyone donated one

dollar! With approximately four hun-

dred students in our school, if every-

one donated a dollar we could raise

$320.00. This money could go to mak-

ing the Christmas season of those in

our community a little brighter. Finan-

cial donations are not the only option,

however; simply volunteering your

time at a local animal shelter or with a

neighbor is just as valuable as a finan-

cial donation.

With Christmas right around the corner,

take a moment to reflect on what you

have been given, or what you yourself

have given. Bells are ringing every-

where for the Salvation Army, Toys for

Tots is in full swing, and the Somerset

County Humane Society has a wish list

to help them find homes for animals. In

the season that is so focused on

“getting,” take a moment to give a little.

Ho-Ho-Holiday Giving By Lindsay Walker

Hiro Hamada, child prodigy, is a robot-

ic mastermind who participates in back

street robot fights. His brother Tadashi

gets worried about his little brother

and introduces him to his friends at his

university's robotics lab. Hiro is in-

spired by each of the friends and his

brother’s invention Baymax, a personal

healthcare robot, and builds his own

invention to get into the school.

Big Hero Six By Megan Friedline

Continued on p. 11.

Page 6

The article “Teens Are Feeling More

Anxious Than Ever” from Elements and

Behavioral Health has proven that anxi-

ety will affect twenty-five percent of all

teens and thirty percent of all teen

girls.

This staggering statistic has many won-

dering how the rising numbers has

been affecting youth without any hype.

Not only has there been very little light

shown upon the issue, but some cannot

even identify how anxiety feels, or what

it even is.

Anxiety can be described in multiple

ways, such as; an overwhelming fear,

anxiousness, nervousness, impending

doom, losing sleep over insignificant

issues or fictional scenarios, obsessing

over the idea of ‘what if”, etc. These

feelings can significantly rise to the

point of physical dilapidation. Some

major side effects of anxiety are nau-

sea, heart palpitations, trembling and

frequently using the restroom. Alt-

hough anxiety may be viewed as a

‘petty’ mental illness, its side effects

and mind games can become crip-

pling.

The stress that our current generation

is going through is overwhelmingly

high. “The average high school kid

today has the same level of anxiety as

the average psychiatric patient in the

early 1950’s,” states Robert L. Leahy

from Psychology Today. Without

knowing how to cope with anxiety,

teens have become more likely to in-

ternalize emotions. Not only can this

cause extreme stress, but also depres-

sion or suicidal thoughts.

There are various ways to cope with

anxiety on a daily basis. Some strate-

gies range from simple actions such as

avoiding caffeine, to even eating a mint

when feeling stressed. Other actions

that can to aid in helping cope with anx-

iety are seeking help through a medical

doctor, talking to close friends and fam-

ily members for support and even just

learning what triggers nervous or anx-

ious behaviors.

By taking the steps needed to help cope

with anxiety, one can learn and benefit

from everyday scenarios. One can cre-

ate their own flaw to be their most

prominent strength. Even though anxie-

ty may be viewed as a mental illness, it

is also a gift. Anxiety can be very moti-

vational and provide the extra push to

get a project done. Even though anxiety

is rising in our youth every day, there

are multiple ways to accommodate the

everyday stress and use it to one’s ad-

vantage.

Anxiety in Teens By Aubrie Koontz

The acronym FCA stands for the

“Fellowship of Christian Athletes.”

North Star’s FCA group meets on some

Wednesday mornings at 7:11 a.m. for

breakfast, Bible study, and fellowship.

Senior Tevin Mostoller responded to an

inquiry about FCA with, “FCA is a

place to get in touch with God through

a school function, and for that I am

thankful. I encourage anyone who is

interested in attending, to give it a

shot.”

The last FCA breakfast for the year was

held on December 15 but be sure to

listen to the school announcements for

information on when the next one will

be held, if you are interested in com-

ing.

FCA By Patrick Stahl

Page 7

When I wake up and I see your face,

You remind me of that one elusive

Christmas cookie.

You know the one I’m talking about:

The little sugar-dough tree,

Green sprinkles for pine needles,

Red sprinkles for the small, twinkling

lights,

The bright yellow star at the top, tying

it together…

And seeing you reminds me,

“She’s just like that Christmas cook-

ie…

“The one I always attempted to make

for myself,

“But never quite got the hang of

decorating…”

Thinking about it makes you

know:

That cookie from your childhood,

It had a face, and that face is

beautiful.

Her hair lightly sprinkled on her

face like pine needles…

Her cheeks, flush from the cold, spar-

kling red…

Her bright, shining eyes like the

stars…

Christmas Cookies

“I joined Pep Club because it’s my

senior year and I wanted to get in-

volved with things in school. I really

wish I had gotten involved with Pep

Club earlier, because I really enjoyed

everything that we did so far this

year.” - Lindsay Long

Recently we just purchased a Cricut

Cutter, we are very excited about

that! With that being said, our winter

sports (Wrestling, Basketball, Rifle,

and Speech) have new and improved

locker signs! This year, we are going

to make locker signs for all senior

Musical members, and hopefully that

continues for upcoming years.

It’s that time of the year again!

CHRISTMAS! This year, we are mix-

ing it up and instead of selling candy

canes (because they don't meet

smart snack requirements) we are

selling ornaments that you get to

decorate yourself! We also host the

annual door decorating contest! The

first period class who has the best

decorated door (judged by the office

employees and Mr. Lepley) gets a

party of their choice!

So, get in the Christmas spirit and

buy an ornament for $1.00! You can

take them home to your family mem-

bers and loved ones, or we can de-

liver them to your special someone

in school!

Pep Club News!! By Cali Yeager

Pep Club

Ornaments

Photos by Cali Yeager.

“It’s a Christmas in the heart that puts

Christmas in the air.”

- Anonymous

Page 8

Stop in the art room to admire the mu-

seum beginning to form. This time I

interviewed Natalie Folton. She is

working on the Mickey Mouse paint-

ing you can find there; she made this

to represent the evolution of Mickey,

of how he has changed over the years.

He went from the black-and-white

plain version (on the right), to the hu-

man-like one we know today. Mickey

is everywhere in Disney, being one of

Walt Disney’s original characters. He

is even in children’s television shows,

still to be loved and adored. Natalie

had been working on this masterpiece

since September and just recently

finished. Her favorite medium is acryl-

ic and she loves art.

Classroom Art By Ashley Jones

Hitting the num-

ber one spot on

the Billboard Hot

100, is Taylor

Swift with her

new hot and

fresh beat, Blank

Space. Even though the song is filled

with a moody and chill vibe, the song

is causing more and more controversy

every replay. Top journalists are

claiming to love “the new Taylor” say-

ing that ditching her country roots was

the best thing she could do. However,

others such as Buzzfeed are claiming,

“Blank Space sounds like a cross be-

tween Lorde and Wilson Phillips,

which is another way of saying it could

only have been dreamed up by Swift

and her Swedish production team.”

Although the song has hit a soft spot

with just about all of us, the idea of

the possible “copy and paste” meth-

od of accomplishing one of Taylor’s

sweetest tunes upsets not only the

journalists, but the other artists.

Climbing its way up the charts, Up-

town Funk by Mark Ronson featuring

Bruno Mars will have you grooving

and putting on your funky shoes. The

retro, yet crisp and clean hit will

have you dancing around telling eve-

ryone, “Don’t believe me just

watch!” The new funky beat has Mu-

sic Times review screaming, “It's a

dance track, and this song succeeds

on pulling you to the dance floor,

even if it's just mentally!” This fresh

tune definitely strikes the charts as a

new and fun idea for artists to bring

back some good ole’ bass-heavy

funk. I can definitely say these two

sweet and sas-

sy tunes will

have you mov-

ing and groov-

ing before you

know it!

Music Review By Aubrie Koontz

Natalie Folton’s artwork.

Photo by Ashley Jones

Page 9

Graduating may seem like an awe-

some thing, and you can’t wait to

do it. But let’s see what this 2014 North Star Graduate has to say

about what her life looks like after

high school. I chose to interview

Heather Walker.

What do you miss most about

high school? What I miss most about high school

is how everyone was so close, even

if you were not best friends with everyone it was really nice to just

see everyone together. I wouldn't

have taken it for granted, because

it went by so fast, and you really

don’t see anyone now. Also, how

easy high school is, because the

real world is tough.

Is there anything you wish you

would have done differently dur-

ing school? If I could pick one thing to do dif-

ferently it would have been to be

more respectful and to care about

my grades more. I kind of blew off

high school, but being out I real-

ized I could have did a lot more if I

would have given it my all. And the

fact that I was always in trouble, I

would take that back in a heartbeat.

What are you doing now? I just graduated from a business

college and got a degree in travel

and tourism; I landed a job in Santa

Barbara California, and left Decem-

ber 2nd to live there for good! It

has always been my dream, so I

made it happen, it just takes dedi-

cation and hard work.

What do you hope your life will

look like 10 years from now? In ten years, I hope I am in Fiji liv-

ing and I just want to be able to say

that I am happy and know it’s the

truth.

What was the most exciting thing

you have done since you left

North Star? The most exciting thing I have done

since high school was move 1,500

miles away across the country for

college. It was an experience I will

never forget, and it was so amaz-

ing! To get out and see anything

but Somerset County is amazing. I

was in a big city, Minneapolis, and

it’s so much different than little old

Boswell, or even Johnstown or Pitts-

burgh. The people are completely

different! They talk different, and

they eat different things (there is no Sheetz or Gallikers!). They say we

have a really heavy accent as well,

so it is definitely a change in envi-

ronment but it is great!

Do you have any advice for the

underclassmen and the seniors

who are going to be starting their

life soon? The advice I have is, please just do not blow off high school and get

into college as soon as you can! It

might be scary to think about grad-

uating and starting your life, or

maybe you can’t wait to get out, just

like me. Just slow down and look at

everything and know what you want

to do. But make sure, above any-

thing that you are at peace and you

are happy with where you are! If

you are happy then nothing else

matters. You control your happi-

ness, no one else. Don't let anything

bring you down. Always keep smil-

ing, no matter what! And, DON’T

EVER GIVE UP. If you know my sto-

ry, you’ll know that miracles do

happen.

Graduate Corner By Cali Yeager

Before you get too far into this arti-

cle, no, the forensics team has noth-

ing to do with science. We don’t

work with dead bodies or anything

of the sort. I honestly can’t tell you

how many times I’ve been asked

that question.

Now onto the main point of the arti-

cle: Forensics season is coming up.

Probably one of the most underap-

preciated activities that go on at

North Star, I have decided to use the space of this article to educate

you on what forensics is.

Forensics is the art of public speak-

ing. Competitors must be well-

versed in a category of their

choice. Memorization is a key fac-

tor in being a successful forensics

team member. A piece or topic

must most often be memorized, and

then performed in front of judges

and against other competitors for a

score.

Forensics is considered a sport and

is run through PHSSL, or the Penn-

sylvania High School Speech

League. It is a world of harsh judg-

ment and often times fierce compe-

tition. Competitors can advance as

far as the National competition,

which is being held this year in Fort

Lauderdale, Florida.

Hopefully this article has given you

the information you need to appre-

ciate, or at least recognize the com-

petitive and often unseen world of forensics.

Forensics By Lindsay Walker

Page 10

For this book review, I read The

Book of Lost Things by John Con-

nolly. I have to say that this book

has to be my second favorite book

of all time. It was very well written

and had a few, if not any, things that

I disliked. The story was interest-

ing, and I could relate to the main

character so much throughout the

book.

It starts off with the reader being

introduced to David, the main char-

acter. At the beginning of the

book, his mother is very ill, and we

see how David is affected by taking

care of her and seeing her at the

worst stages. His mother eventual-

ly passes away, and his mind is

very chaotic yet empty due to her

passing. A few short months later,

his father announces that he is da-

ting his mother’s care taker, Rose,

from the hospital she eventually

ended up at towards the end of her

life. That’s when he starts having

these attacks. He would blackout,

but images would flash through his

mind during these blackouts. As

Rose becomes more ingrained in

his life, the blackouts become more

frequent. A little later on, his dad

says that Rose is pregnant, and they

have a little boy, Georgie. Now,

David is a huge bookworm, and

that is what makes up the whole

book. His mom would read him

fairytales before she became sick,

and then he read them to her when

she couldn’t do it anymore. Any-

way, he starts to see this man

around his house, The Crooked

Man. Events occur and some

odd…situations happen. I’m not

going to spoil what happens; so if

you want to know, you’ll have to

read the book.

I would recommend this book to

everyone. It was so well written.

I’m a sucker for very descriptive

books, and Connolly does that

throughout the entire book. I was

part of the story as I read it. David

was such a troubled boy, and your

heart just goes out to him. There

are parts where you just want to

yell at him, but I think that’s what

makes the book even better. I

could relate to him in so many ways

since I’m an avid reader too. I did-

n’t care much for his father and

could have done without him. His

father has a slightly big part in the

book. I fell in love with the charac-

ters that show up later on in the

book. It is mixed with fairytales,

and has so many different aspects

to it. It has a different type of Snow

White, a sleeping beauty aspect

and so much more. That’s what I

loved about the book; they created

a book mixed with so many differ-

ent stories with new twists to them.

There were parts that I didn’t want

to imagine in my head. There were

some creepy, messed up parts that

I winced at. If you don’t like

creepy or messed up, then I don’t

suggest this book. Then there were

parts that just made me angry, and I

didn’t want to accept what hap-

pened. A certain character dies,

and I had to close the book for a

second during that part. David also

could get whiney at certain points,

but it didn’t bother me that much.

He had a right to feel the way he

did.

Overall, The Book of Lost Things by

John Connolly is my second favorite

book of all time. It was so well writ-

ten, and it kept you interested

throughout. Some parts people

would have predicted early on, but

I didn’t think they were that obvi-

ous. I read this book in one day,

because it was that amazing. I rec-

ommend this book to everyone un-

less you don’t like fairytales and

creepiness. As a warning, there are

some suggestive topics within the

book also. To end my article, here

is a quote towards the end of the

book, “The whispering of the books

grew louder, the voices of the

tomes rising in a great chorus of

joy, for

one story

was about

to end and a

new story

would soon

be born.”

Review: The Book of Lost Things By Emily Lambert

Page 11

Unfortunately at the convention Hiro

enters, a fire occurs and Tadashi runs

into it to save his professor. When his

brother doesn’t make it out, Hiro is

devastated and retreats to his room for

days. One day he accidently stubs his

toe causing Baymax to come out of his

standby mode to come help the dis-

tressed Hiro.

This spurs on a fight until Baymax de-

cides that Hiro being depressed is not

healthy and does anything Hiro asks to

make him feel better or “satisfied with

his care”. So begins Hiro’s tale of find-

ing out how to accept loss and becom-

ing a hero.

I personally loved this movie and would

watch it again. It was humorous, action

packed, with a little bit of heart tearing

at the sad scenes. Big Hero 6 is a Disney

animated film that everyone can enjoy.

Big Hero Six Continued from p 5.

The word “queue” is the only

word in the English language

that is still pronounced when

only saying the first letter.

Thigh bones on a human are

stronger than concrete.

Right handed people live nine

years longer than left handed

people, on average.

Owls are the only bird that can

see the color blue.

An ostrich’s brain is smaller

than its eyeball.

Honey is the only food that

doesn’t spoil. Archeologist

have found honey in pharaohs’

tombs, tasted it, and found it

edible.

Coca Cola would be green if

dyes weren’t added.

There are fake bus stops out-

side of nursing homes in Ger-

many to prevent senior citizen

form wandering off.

If a set of identical female twins

had kids with a set of identical

male twins, their kids would

genetically be siblings.

Your nose and ears never stop

growing, but your eyes never

grow after birth.

Leonardo Di Vinci invented

scissors.

One person in every two billion

will live to be 116 years old.

Sources:

http://www.world-

english.org/facts.htm

http://www.viralnova.com/useless-

facts/

http://list25.com/25-completely-

random-and-useless-facts-you-

should-know/

http://blablablablabla.com/facts

Useless Information By Josie Lehman

Page 12

With the Girls’ Volleyball team winning

yet another D5 title, North Star sports

fans are waiting eagerly to find what

else North Star sports can attain this

year. I turned to North Star Basketball’s

Alex Daniels to find out more.

Cooper: What are some of your ad-

vantages this year?

Alex: We have a great height advantage,

and we’ve definitely trained a lot more

this year. We’re more physically fit and

our ball handling has really improved.

And we have some great new freshman

players this year.

C: How do you feel going into the sea-

son?

A: I think everyone on the team is ex-

tremely confident. Especially since we

won our first scrimmage against Bishop

Carroll. We have a good outlook.

C: How has the beginning of your sea-

son been going?

A: We beat Conemaugh Valley, which was

our season opener at home, and we lost to

Portage, which was an away game.

Well thanks for answering all the ques-

tions and good luck in the rest of your

season. Go Cougars!

Boys Basketball by Cooper Tretter

Rifle Team By Megan Friedline

The first match of North Star’s rifle team

is hosted at the home range between

Meyersdale and North Star. Some peo-

ple don’t know about our school’s rifle

team.

Riflery is a sport in which the shooters

shoot a set of targets in four different

positions. Prone, lying flat on the stom-

ach, kneeling, kneeling on one knee

while propping your gun on the oppo-

site leg, and finally standing which is

the test of endurance for shooters. A

perfect score when shooting is 300.

I spoke with three of the rifle team’s

members about the upcoming season

and their personal goals for the year.

Jessica Moyer stated that, “the team is

better than ever,” and has high hopes

for the season. Her personal goal is to

shoot a 285 and have an undefeated

season for the team. Robert Yourich

also agreed that the team was very

good as well this year and hopes to

shoot a 280. Haven Brehm wishes to

shoot a 250 and says the team this year

is “fantastic.”

All three agreed that their most chal-

lenging opponent would be

Conemaugh Township or Somerset,

since they had never beat these two

teams in matches before.

Good luck members on your season!

Rifle Team

Photo courtesy of Jessica Moyer.

Page 13

The “Three Colors of Christmas” are

green, red, and gold. Green stands for

life and rebirth. Red stands for the

blood of Christ. Gold stands for light, as

well as wealth and royalty.

Oklahoma was the last state to make

Christmas a legal holiday.

President Teddy Roosevelt, an environ-

mentalist, banned Christmas trees from

the White House in 1912.

According to the Guinness world rec-

ords, the tallest Christmas tree ever cut

down was a 221-foot Douglas fir

that was displayed in 1950 at the

Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle,

Washington.

The world’s largest Christmas stocking

measured 106 feet and 9 inches (32.56

m) long and 49 feet

and 1 inch (14.97 m)

wide. It weighed as

much as five rein-

deer and held al-

most 1,000 presents.

It was made by the

Children’s Society in

London on Decem-

ber 14, 2007.

Christmas wasn’t

declared an official

holiday in the United

States until June 26,

1870.

.

Christmas Trivia by Tyler Kalp

Cougars Wrestling Team by Tevin Mostoller

The Cougars pull out two big victories

to start the young season off well. With

a few veterans back to pick up the mo-

rale, the new varsity wrestlers are plan-

ning to make some noise as well. The

wrestling team put up a great showing

by winning their first team title at their

opening tournament on Dec. 6 at

Conemaugh Township, concluding a

big weekend the Cougars came back

home next Thursday to take out the Red

Raiders with a 53-18 victory.

The Cougars have all but 4 returning

starters back in the line-up for the 2014-

2015 season. The team has a strong

core with a lot of hard workers. The

line-up includes: one freshman, four

sophomores, four juniors and eight sen-

iors. The seniors include: Michael

Baker, Adrian Cortes, Hunter Connor,

Shawn Costas, Tevin Mostoller, Jon

Thomas, Paul Tretter, and Brady Vini-

sky. Captain Jon Thomas made a few

remarks

following the team’s great start, “I’m

very happy with the team’s success so

far but we can definitely improve. Our

ultimate goal is to make a big splash in

the District V.”

Seniors after their big tournament win on Dec. 6 at Conemaugh Township.

Photo courtesy of Tammy Mostoller.

Page 14

The Lady Cougar Basketball team kick

started their 2014-2015 season on No-

vember 17 after last year’s outstanding

season. The Lady Cougars’ are working

hard and challenging each other every

day in order to have a winning season.

The team consists of senior: Tiffany

Forney; juniors: Kayla Berkebile, Kylee

Joseph, Kayla Rice, Courtney Schrock,

and Olivia Zuchelli; sophomores:

Madyson Miller, Aubrey Moss, Jackie

Stanko, and Aleecia Zufall; and fresh-

man: Kylie Hoffman, Maggie Friedline,

Kassidy Mostoller, and Alana Stanko.

The Lady Cougars’ won their first game

of the season on December 5 at the

Forest Hills Tip- off Tournament against

Huntington. The girls’ proceeded to

take second place in the Championship

game against the Lady Rangers’ team.

On December

8, the Lady

Cougars’ won

their first game

of the season

against

Conemaugh

Valley. We

wish the Lady

Cougar’ Basket-

ball team the

best of luck

throughout

their season.

Good luck ladies!

Lady Cougar Basketball By Tiffany Forney

The North Star Lady Cougars’ have

clawed their way into the state playoffs

once again. The volleyball team won

the title of WestPAC Champions on

October 23 at Shanksville versus Berlin

with a three set to zero set match. As a

result from the Lady Cougars’ win on

October 23, head coach Tony Crisafulli

gained his eighth WestPAC Champion-

ship and four hundredth win. Mr. Cris-

afulli stated that his four hundredth win

was “a milestone that took a lot of time

and dedication from the athletes.”

On October 27, the Ladies won their

match three sets to zero sets in the first

round of District Five Playoffs versus

the Hope for Hyndman Charter School.

The following night, October 28, the

Lady Cougars’ defeated Windber three

sets to zero sets in a match that would

reserve their spot in the District Five

Championship match.

The District Five Championship match

took place on October 29 at Shanksville

versus Berlin. During this match both

teams fought hard, but the ladies con-

quered all at the end of the night. The

Lady Cougars’ defeated Berlin three

sets to zero in order to be named the

champions of District Five once again.

This win allowed the Lady Cougars’ to

play in the State Playoffs in November.

On November 4, the Lady Cougars’ and

Volleyball Claws Its Way to Playoffs By Tiffany Forney

Continued on next page.

Lady Cougar Basketball Team

Lady Cougar’s Victory

Photo courtesy of Tiffany Forney.

Page 15

their dedicated fans traveled to North-

ern Allegany for the first round of State

Playoff matches. The Lady Cougars’ put

up a fight with Greensburg Central

Catholic but came up short losing the

match three sets to one set. Head

Coach Tony Crisafulli stated that, “It

takes a lot of hard work dedication, and

desire to achieve what the Lady Cou-

gars have.” When asked what was spe-

cial about this year’s team he replied,

“This year’s group was actually a team.

They played as a team not individuals.”

We congratulate the Lady Cougars’ on

a fantastic year and especially the sen-

iors for their last season.

Volleyball Claws Its Way to Playoffs By Tiffany Forney (continued)

If you don’t know yet what RAKs is, then

you’re about to find out. RAKs stands

for Random Acts of Kindness. In Mr.

Szczur’s classroom, he gives bonus

points to those who help someone

when they really don’t have to (picking

up dropped items, lending a pencil to

someone, anything that is a kind act

that a person does because they know

its right). RAKs can make you feel real-

ly good about yourself and make you

realize that there is nothing better in

helping someone than the felling you

get.

Many people do RAKs just thinking that

it’s the right thing to do in that moment.

A random act of kindness should make

you feel good about what you did; it is

appreciated by the person it is meant

for. If you think about it, how many

times has a RAK made you appreciate

someone? Now think, wouldn’t some-

one else want to feel that way? Also,

don’t you want to feel appreciated by

someone that you did something for?

Remember that a random act of kind-

ness isn’t planned, it’s just something in

that moment that you know you should

do, and you shouldn’t expect any form

of payment for it either. If someone

would offer to pay you,

then it should be

turned down because

it’s not planned, it’s

like volunteering unex-

pectedly.

Over the summer, be-

fore starting the 2014-

2015 school year, I

walked outside and

saw a woman offer an

elderly woman assis-

tance into the pharma-

cy. The woman help-

ing the elderly lady

didn’t have to do anything for her, but

she knew the woman needed the help;

so she did it. That is what kindness is.

With a little bit more of that, it could

cause greater things, and our world

could be a better place.

Just remember, when you see someone

that needs help, just offer to help. Even

if they don’t want it, you still know that

it’s a great thing you just did. Be glad

when you show RAKs of kindness. You

never know how it’s going to later af-

fect someone.

“Kindness is the language which the

deaf can hear and the blind can see.”-

Mark Twain

RAKs by Josie Lehman

Page 16

Candid Photos

Newspaper Staff

Editor: Emily Lambert

Co-editors: Patrick Stahl and Lindsay Walker

Andrew Revello Tyler Kalp Megan Friedline

Ashley Jones Cooper Tretter Austin Lyons

Ashley Kelly Tiffany Forney Tevin Mostoller

Aubrie Koontz Casey Ray Josie Lehman

Cali Yeager

Stephan Mort, Tevin Mostoller, Paul

Tretter, Brady Vinisky, Brady Gardner,

Zach Matse, Josh Nemchick, Gus Stra-

siser, Brady Walker, Dakota Weigle,

Von Yoder, Casey Albright, Chris

Baker, Draven Beener, Alex Coslow,

Cody Koontz, Austin Mishler, Austin

Ray, Kyle Supanick, Brandon Stepp,

Nathan Thropp, Dylan Bender, Coltan

Buchanan, Jeff Kozuch, Daniel Leiford,

Michael Novak, Ian Pollock, Eric Price,

Levi Sheeler, Brandon St. Clair, Shel-

don Taylor, and Case Tretter. If you

didn’t know, we had two exchange stu-

dents play on our team, and they were

Adrian Cortez and Christian Rybansky.

The team wishes the seniors good luck

in their futures and also that Adrian and

Christian don't forget them.

Football Wrap Up by Casey Ray

The boys soccer team has had its ups

and downs, but they overall had a good

season. Even though they lost a couple

of players, they continued their season

strong. Their final wins and loses were

11 loses 5 wins and 1 tie. The season

would not have happened without our

players Noah Ansell, Jacob Zehner,

Jake Petronick, Jeremy Pluta, Gavin

Berzonski, Schyler Hartless, Connor

Lisbon, Morgan Lehman, Brice Baerga,

Eric Colangelo, Dillion Charlton, Mat-

thew Romesberg, Lucas Petro-

nick,Keaton Furry, and Nathan Rininger.

The players said that they will dearly

miss the seniors, and wish them all

good luck in their futures.

Boys Soccer by Casey Ray

In the cold and hot days, the North Star

Football team marched through the

season head held high. Even though it

wasn’t the best season they tried hard

making a total of 3 wins and 7 losses.

Even though they didn’t make it to the

playoffs, they had a great time, and the

team couldn’t be here without the

players. Those thirty-nine players are

Adrian Cortez, Shawn Costas, Trevor

Evans, Dan Karashowsky, Brian Loud-

er, Elijah Knupp, Zac Maluchnick,