page theROYAL Thursday, March 1, 2012 Volume 30 Issue 6www.royalpage.org

Healthy living at HHS (P. 8) - C-Spread

Minn. legislature ends seniority (P. 2) - News

Pat calls for the end of PDA (P. 4) - Opinion

A look inside the Varsity Theater (P. 6) - Variety

Embretson faces pregnancy head on (P. 10) - Feature

Star diver chooses to stay home (P. 13) - Sports

inside the RP

Zach Stahl, senior, has played in more than 80 varsity basketball games including three state championship victories, but none have meant more to him than the six games he could not play in.

In mid-October, Stahl was suspended for six games due to a chemical violation. A few days later, he lost his divi-sion one basketball scholarship offer to Lehigh College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

“It was basically the worst week of my life,” Stahl said.Stahl, who had committed to play for Lehigh a few weeks

earlier, received a call from their head coach telling him they had decided to pull the scholarship. The coach told him that

because of his knee surgery earlier in the year, Lehigh did not want to take the injury risk he presented.

His suspension had a big impact on the team, according to Demitrius Martin, senior and captain. “It was a little upsetting; it

puts the team in a bind any time you lose a player like that,” Martin said.

Stahl admitted that his suspension was a low point in his life. He felt that he let himself down, and even worse, his team as well.

"Being out there practicing every day but knowing when game day comes that there is nothing I can do to help

but watch; that was the hardest part," Stahl said.While serving his suspension, Stahl worked

hard on his game in practice despite not being able to play. "I was just trying to get better so that I didn't miss a beat and I could contribute right away when I came back," he said.

His teammates noticed Stahl’s extra effort while he served his sus-pension. "He seemed more hungry, more determined," Martin said.

The team went 5-1 without Stahl, with the loss coming against Benilde St. Margaret's High School in a close game.

Since Stahl’s return, the team is undefeated and is winning games by an average of more than 25 points.

The team's improved play with Stahl back does not come as a surprise to his head coach. "Zach is a great player, well rounded, very unselfish, and he compliments other players very well," said Mr. Ken Novak, Social Studies, and head basketball coach.

By this point in the season, almost all senior athletes know where they are headed. Stahl is still waiting to find out.

"The whole Lehigh deal broke very late. It was a very bizarre situ-ation,” Novak said.

While Stahl quickly found his groove on the court after his return, getting another scholarship offer has proven more difficult.

"It’s stressful for everyone involved,” Stahl said, referring to his re-cruiting process. “The hardest part is waiting.”

While Stahl waits, there is not much he can do. "It’s pretty much just having the coaches send out tapes of my games and letting schools know I'm available again,” he said.

So far he has received interest from University of San Diego, Uni-versity of Hawaii, and Northeastern College.

Stahl said that his chemical violation has not proved to be a road-block in his renewed recruiting developments. "Most coaches tell me, 'Kids make mistakes; don't let it happen again.’”

Despite his whirlwind senior season, Stahl refuses to let personal troubles interfere with his play.

"I have to step up on the court, stay out of trouble off of the court, and prove everybody who doubted me wrong,” he said.

Back in blueZach MeklerStaff Reporter

Back in blueBack in blueBack in blueZach Stahl is back from his suspension and ready to play.

Bottom: Photo courtesy of Mr. Jarrin Williams

Top: Photo by Mike Newcomer

Thursday, March 1, 2012RPThursday, March 1, 2012thenews2

Noticeable gender imbalance in some HHS courses

Isaac Fisher Staff Reporter

Changes in store for teacher tenure

The number of women elected in the general election for state legislature in Minne-sota rose to the historic high of 70 in 2006, making Minnesota one of the most female-heavy legislatures.

Female interest in politics is not only evident statewide and nationwide at that, but the trend has also established itself at HHS, as well.

Mr. John Unruh-Friesen, Social Studies, teaches a third block AP Comparative Gov-ernment class which consists of 23 females and 4 males. In addition, he teaches that same course fourth block where there are 17 females and 7 males.

“Some days we won’t even get a boy’s opinion because there are so many girls,” said Katie Ha, senior.

Some students, however, do not feel that the gender imbal-ance plays a large role in the course’s aspects.

“I feel like the gender imbal-ance doesn’t really lead to issues,

In tough economic times, companies and schools alike are often forced to make the dif-ficult decision of laying people off. In public schools there is a dilemma in choosing which teachers are let go first.

Minnesota is currently one of 14 states that require senior-ity to be considered when laying a teacher off.

The Minnesota House passed a bill on Feb. 18 which could change all of that by over-turning the mandate and put-ting an official evaluation sys-tem in its place.

Many in the public school system, including some teachers and administrators at HHS, op-pose this legislation.

Ms. Marty Snyder, has taught Language Arts at HHS for nearly 40 years, and she of-fers her own reasons in favor of

the seniority rule. “Our culture is somewhat

biased against age,” Snyder said.

She and many others be-lieve that the seniority rule provides effective job security for older teachers who have devoted their entire teaching career to a school.

Although seniority is used in determining how teach-ers are laid off, other factors are taken into consideration as well. Teachers at HHS are involved in various programs that constantly measure their success and quality in the classroom.

Students in all Hopkins schools may recall classes in which an adult was present in the corner of the room, silently observing and taking notes. These are master teachers tak-ing part in the Q-Comp pro-gram, which evaluates teach-

ers based upon things like their classroom performance.

While HHS students are given the chance to sleep in on late start Tuesdays, teachers are busy sharing notes and ideas in department-wide meetings. These mornings are yet another chance for teachers to be held accountable to a high standard of excellence.

“Hopkins teachers care very much about their profession and the students they teach,” said Patty Johnson, principal. She says that HHS teachers in the same department often meet to discuss the latest strategies and compare test scores.

For example, they may find that many of their students are struggling with a certain con-cept or test question. They then change their curriculum and teaching styles to help their stu-dents succeed.

Opponents of the seniority

rule argue that it allows poor teachers to be retained while excellent, younger ones are fired because of their lack of seniority. They also say that teachers’ union contracts with the school should make qual-ity a priority, not experience.

Mr. Nik Lightfoot is the director of administrative ser-vices for the Hopkins school district and holds doctoral and law degrees in education-al policy, as well as experience in employment discrimina-tion cases.

“Seniority is an agreed-upon structure. Some criteria (for laying off a teacher) is necessary. The current policy provides just that,” Lightfoot said.

The current policy places seniority at the forefront when a teacher is laid off.

Despite opposition from teachers and administrators in

public schools, the seniority law passed the Minnestoa Senate on Feb. 27, making Minnesota the 37th state to do so. The vote was split mainly among party lines, with most Republicans support-ing the measure and the major-ity of Democrats opposed.

“Instead of tackling the se-

Teacher Seniority Laws by State

*Shaded states have seniority laws of any form.

Data from National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ).

rious issues facing our schools, these bills will make it easier for school administrators to shed experienced teachers for their less-expensive colleagues,” said Doug Dooher, president of Education Minnesota, in a press release. Education Minnesota is the Minnesota teachers union.

so much as just a general domi-nance over conversations,” said Mia Bronstein, senior.

This trend has been seen in Unruh-Friesen’s past classes.

Going back as far as three years, there has been a greater amount of female students tak-ing the comparative govern-ment courses.

“This raises a question for me... why are girls more driven to world and global issues?” Un-ruh-Friesen said.

Unruh-Friesen also teaches U.S. Government, and trends show that they tend to be more balanced than Comparative Government classes.

“There is a lot less sports talk [in the AP Compartative Government classes],” he said. “The boys make more reference to the imbalance.”

“If the class was equal in ratio I feel that there would be a wider range of perspectives which would open up discussion more,” said Edwin Galarza, se-nior and AP Comparative Gov-ernment student. “[With more boys] there could be more dis-

tractions, but it would be more comfortable and social.”

Ms. Felicia Homberger, Language Arts, sees this trend in other advanced courses, too. She teaches an AP Language and Composition course which has 6 males and 14 females.

“I’ve been teaching this course [AP Language and Composition] since the 2000-2001 school year, and over those years, I’ve seen a noticeable dif-ference [in the amount of male students],” Homberger said.

Last year, Homberger’s AP Language and Composi-tion class had 17 females and 4 males.

“I am concerned that not enough males are taking hu-manities and reading classes because it seems ‘un-manly’ or ‘un-cool,’” Homberger said. “Boys may be missing out on skills that are needed for them to pursue what they want...Some of these skills are reading, writing, and communication.”

Students have contacted Homberger to tell her how use-ful AP Language and Composi-

tion was in preparing them for college.

“When less males take this class, it makes me wonder if they are being prepared for the college workforce,” Homberger said. “This is becoming a na-tional trend, and if it becomes more common, it may be seen that writing is not a male thing.”

This imblance trend is not only evident in advanced courses or government courses.

Photo by Mike Newcomer

Top: Bottom: Three male students participate during third block

It is also not only female-heavy classes, either.

Currently, Mr. Dale Stahl, Social Studies, has an AP Mac-roeconomics class, a more busi-ness-like course, with a ratio of 21 males to 4 females.

“If I could change it [the gender imbalance] I probably would. Equal genders would, if nothing else, make the class more interesting,” said Isaac Svebakken, senior and AP Mac-

roeconomics student.AP Calculus takes on the

male-heavy trend with 20 males and 15 females in one block, and 19 males and 16 females in another block. These courses, however, are a bit more balanced perhaps because of the increas-ing push to establish a female presence in the fields of math-ematics and science.

Jackson Dunitz, senior, sits in a sea of females during an AP Comparative Government class discussion. Dunitz is one of just 7 males in a class of 24 students.

Multiple AP teachers have found their classes skewed in favor of one genderMadeline RaumaStaff Reporter

RPThursday, March 1, 2012the news

Community Involvement emphasizes student responsibility

2.

3Experimenting with growth in AP Enviro Joe Greene Staff Reporter

Staff ReporterIan Vaughan

Whether a student takes AP Environmental Science first or second semester, every student will face the same AP exam.

For the first time ever, this newer, four-year-old AP class is adding another section sec-ond semester. Having this class second semester means that AP Environmental instructor, Mr. John Sammler, must readjust the sequence of the class to en-sure his students are prepared for the upcoming AP exam on May 7. Many students prepar-ing for the AP exam may won-der whether there are any ad-vantages to taking the class first or second semester.

Sammler reserved his judg-ment on the question of which semester has more of an advan-tage for the exam. However, he did see one benefit to being in second semester.

“I think it could be help-ful to be in second semester

because in the spring semester everybody is running out of steam,” Sammler said. Sam-mler thought that with seniors practically checking out the last days of school, hard work in the beginning of the term instead of the end could be better.

Yet, the other side of the argument sees first semester students having an advan-tage. A survey of Sammler’s fourth block class asked stu-dents which semester they would prefer if given a choice. The results revealed that more students chose first semester, with a slight majority having no opinion.

A first semester student, Jenny Banyard, senior, believed that first semester moved at a controllable pace and left more time for studying. If Ban-yard was given the chance, she would’ve preferred first semes-ter, where the material is taught in more detail and there is more

time to study. Sachin Rao, ju-nior, said that Sammler’s first semester AP Environmental class did not move at an over-whelming pace.

The AP Environmental Sci-ence exam demands much prep-aration. Dean Goodwin, the Di-rector of Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH suggests teachers should finish their teaching one or two weeks early in order to get the proper review time in for the class.

Two second semester stu-dents who participated in the survey, Ashlee Bednar, senior, and Alex Hunter, senior, be-lieved that while the class is moving at a rapid pace, they will be prepared for the exam. “We are definitely plowing through the needed material every day. I feel a little overwhelmed and stressed after each class, but once I go over my notes that

night I feel better,” Hunter said.Bednar agrees that the class

is moving at a quick pace, but doesn’t feel rushed. “I feel like I have an advantage because I am learning the material closer to the exam date so it will be fresher in my mind.”

The class has grown in popularity since it was first in-troduced four years ago. Sam-mler reported that the number of students taking the class has grown from 70 students in past three years to nearly 100 students this year. A second semester class was added to ac-commodate the growing inter-est in the class.

One thing is clear from the majority of student interviews: Sammler is an effective and in-spiring teacher, who is passion-ate about his subject. “Sammler is the best at what he does and I trust that he will prepare me with the adequate amount of knowledge to do well on the

test,” Hunter said. “Sammler makes the class

interesting and fun. Even though it is a little rushed to get everything in before the exam date, it is still an amazing class,” Bednar said.

Sammler expects his stu-dents to make themselves suc-cessful in his class. He thinks that if they have the passion to do well, and put the needed time into preparing, they will

do well on the exam. According to test results from the College Board, the percentage of stu-dents who received 5s on the AP exam nationally went down from 10.4 percent in 2010 to 8.9 percent in 2011.

As far as the results on the AP exam for HHS students, Sammler said, “It will be in-teresting to see the results, but I don’t think the results will be impacted by the change.”

Survey Reults: Mr. Sammler’s 4th Block AP Environmental Class

Planning on taking the AP exam this Spring:

Feels like they have an advantage, disadvantage, or neutral position for the the AP Exam this May:

Given the choice, would rather be in First or Second Semester:

A total of 26 students were surveyed on Feb. 9

For the past 41 years, HHS students have involved them-selves in their community, thanks to a course offered at HHS. The course, Community Involvement, teaches students to be responsible members of society.

“It’s not a hard class when it comes to academics, but it may be the hardest class when it comes to responsibility,” said

Mr. Thomas Klein, Social Stud-ies. “The reason is [because] people are counting on you to show up on time.” If students skip the class or their Commu-nity Involvement project, they can fail the course. Klein said that six students failed Com-munity Involvement.

The full semester class is worth two social studies elec-tive credits. A total of about 130 students sign up for Com-munity Involvement every year,

in two semesters. Some students believe it is an “easy A.”

However, due to its empha-sis on responsibility, students can be mistaken.

“There are two kinds of kids who join: people who want to serve, which is the majority, and the other is the slacker [kind] who thinks this is an easy class,” Klein said. “Slackers like it or leave.” Students who leave the class are put into a study hall, and they do not receive the

credit. Community Involvement

is just like other classes offered at HHS; there are assignments and projects, and the attendance policy is the same as it is for any class, but the students travel and volunteer at an offsite location. “I could easily ditch class if I wanted to, but I don’t,” said Jor-dan Walker, senior.

HHS students help others in a field of their choice in such places as a nursing home, day

care center, food shelf, or other locations of their choosing.

In class, students discuss their experiences of volunteer-ing in the community. Students also write an online blog during the semester. They journal their own experiences in their Com-munity Involvement project and have weekly discussions with their classmates about their ex-periences, as well.

Community Involvement teachers complete orienta-tion and bookkeeping of the students’ actions, check on the students at school, and are the main source of communication for the student’s community site (the site supervisors will contact the teacher if the student skips, etc.).

The teacher will find out if a student skipped within two days.

Ms. Barb Westmoreland, the

District Volunteer Coordinator for Hopkins Public Schools, be-lieves volunteering provides real value and encourages people to volunteer.

“I encourage everyone to find a volunteer job doing something you are passionate about, teach-ing people how to ski, writing an older person’s memoir, doing yard work for a neighbor who needs help,” Westmoreland said. She added that many volunteers say they get more out of their activities than the people that they serve.

Klein said Community In-volvement will continue to “emphasize responsibility” and “teach students that volunteer-ing can be very meaningful and rewarding not only to the people that they help, but also to themselves,”

“Volunteering is addictive,” Westmoreland said.

Check out royalpage.org! Stories and videos updated

weekly.

Advantage: 31%

Disadvantage: 31%

Neutral: 39%

Yes: 100%

No: 0%

First Semester: 35%

Second Semester: 27%

No Opinions: 38%

RPthe

RPThursday, March 1, 2012 opinion 4

Jason Cleveland Sbowers is a Sports Editor for the Royal Page

Patrick Gallagher

JasonShowers

Patrick John Gallagher is a Staff Reporter for the Royal Page

Intolerance of other opinions leads to ignorance

No matter how many interesting movies are watched, experiments are done, or projects are made, the most memorable and pleasantly reminisced about school experiences will always come from field trips.

Watching a war scene in a movie may be enter-taining, but seeing a battleground or graveyard first-hand carries a much more lasting impact. Calculat-ing the critical speed of a simulated roller-coaster is nothing like using data from an actual, life-size roller-coaster, and seeing a play performed live is far more exciting than watching a movie version of the play or reading aloud in class. Not only are field trips a fun experience, but also they are an effective learning tool that carries a lasting impact.

We fondly remember many of the field trips we took while in elementary school: Cahill School (ex-periencing life around 1900), the mystery bus ride to the capital and around the Twin Cities, seeing plays at the Children’s Theatre, visiting the Minnesota Insti-tute of Arts, Camp St. Croix, and more. While these trips may not have had serious educational impacts, they did provide needed breaks from work while be-ing more hands-on, visual reinforcements of what we were learning about in school.

Furthermore, field trips provide students with ex-periences and allow them to go places they may not have been otherwise. For example, the AP Environ-mental Science classes recently went on a field trip to Blue Lake waste water treatment plant in Shakopee, Minnesota. Witnessing the waste water treatment process first hand is an experience almost all of the attending students would not have had if not for the field trip.

Even seeing a play may help to broaden the cul-tural experiences that students have had. The field trip to see Much Ado About Nothing with Shake-

speare classes first quarter allowed for many students to go to the Guthrie theater for the first time.

Also, the world religion class second quarter went to a synagogue, permitting students to see something they may not have seen otherwise.

Choir, band, and orchestra all have taken perfor-mance oriented field trips, either out of the state or to another school nearby, which allow another op-portunity for students to perform. Several art classes recently went to Minneapolis College of Art and De-sign and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to view pieces by students and professionals. For newspa-per, yearbook, and journalism, we attend a conven-tion every year that allows us to meet students from other publications around the country and learn more about journalism.

Practically every student that went on these field trips will tell you they were well worth the time and would go again if given the option.

Although field trips might alter a daily schedule, take extra time to plan, or cost more money, the ben-efits of field trips far outweigh the negative aspects. We think it is far more important for students to positively look back on their school experience than to have one more day of serious note-taking.

While it would be highly unnecessary and over the top to have field trips every week or even every month, we do think it would be beneficial if every class went on one field trip that related to its cur-riculum. Although it may take a little extra effort and planning, students would take away much more from the experience than if they were to watch an outdated movie that has been used for years.

Editorials are the collective opinion of the Royal Page editorial board

Staff Editorial: Importance of field trips

As I sat in my first block philosophy class on an average school day enjoying the intellec-tual discourse going on around

me, yellow pieces of pa-per containing hard-to-answer and abstract ques-

tions were passed out.One of these questions really caught my inter-

est: “If you could eliminate any one thing from the world, what would you choose?”

Cancer, which killed both my grandfathers, came readily to mind. Yet medicine has already made great strides in curing this disease. Maybe I needed to think deeper.

What is something I wish nobody had to ex-perience?

I don’t like to see people left out or picked on. Throughout elementary school and junior high, I experienced some degree of bullying and exclu-sion, and witnessed far worse cases than my own. Hasn’t everyone, at some point, felt ostracized?

My train of thought started chugging along. Aren’t racism and prejudice, at the heart of the is-sue, extensions of childhood bullying - those with power picking on those without? Couldn’t it be argued that every genocide - the Holocaust, the Rwandan massacres, Bosnian ethnic cleansing - is

an example of blind hatred, or worse, persecution simply for the sake of making those in power feel stronger?

My mind came to rest on the idea of close-mindedness - the inability to receive new ideas or see things through the eyes of others. This lack of tolerance, flexibility, and breadth of perspective is what I would eliminate.

Close-mindedness runs rampant in American culture and politics, though we don’t like to ad-mit it. In an idealistic sense, America is a “melting pot” in which all types of people are accepted, have equal rights, and have a voice in our democratic nation. This is far from the truth.

The political spectrum has become highly po-larized, and the current school of thought requires people to be either far left or far right. Republi-cans won’t give Democrats the time of day, dis-missing them as irresponsible spendthrifts while Democrats discredit Republicans as uneducated, gun-toting, religious fanatics. It comes down to basic prejudice.

This is why our Congress has a hard time responding to national challenges effectively. In 2011, partisan politics led the federal government to the brink of shutting down multiple times.

In Minnesota right now, this political divide is focused on the issue of gay marriage. I have

looked at arguments from both sides before tak-ing a stand, and after careful consideration, feel certain that the legality of gay marriage shouldn’t even be up for debate. It should be legal for anyone to marry the person of his/her choice, regardless of gender.

Michelle Bachmann, a representative of our beloved Minnesota, has repeatedly called a legal ban on gay marriage her “number one issue.” She has described gay marriage as “personal enslave-ment and despair” and called on citizens to protect their innocent children from the public school sex curriculum which, in her words, is “taught by the local gay community.”

Bachmann called one of her anti-gay rallies an “awesome day” in which she “beseeched the Lord” to criminalize gay marriage. She believes legally banning two partners from changing their status from “In a Relationship” to “Married” is the duty of true believers in God and is “within the hands of the Christian community.”

If Bachmann, or one of her children, were gay, do you think she would feel the same way? In an America where church and state are supposed to be separate, how has close-minded religion so thoroughly infiltrated political ideology?

I do not intend to silence Bachmann or others who wish to speak out against gay rights. I support

freedom of speech and the right to voice opinions. But for those who wish to promote Bachmann’s version of the Lord and her exclusionary, preju-diced “Christian community,” I suggest you do so in your own church.

The fact is, Bachmann and others like her of-ten fail to even attempt to look at things from the perspective of those they persecute.

I see close-mindedness rear its ugly head in the halls of HHS too often. Students disrespect teachers without considering the hours of lesson planning and syllabus development they invest in our classes. Upperclassmen scoff at younger students without recalling the intimidation and anxiety they experienced when assimilating to the high school.

I urge you to consider different perceptions and ideas before you pass judgment. If you look at an issue from all sides and give credit where it’s due, but still find your idea the best, then go with it. Often, though, I think you will be surprised by the opinions that other people can offer.

Socrates said, “An unexamined life is a life not worth living.” Examine your life and that of those around you, be open to all possibilities, and avoid close-mindedness.

HHS’ hallways becoming crowded with excessive PDA

For those of you who bang your bodies in the cor-ners between our lockers, hug for too long in the mall

during passing time, and stroke each oth-

er’s denim pants in class: this one is for you.I want to begin by saying that intimacy,

affection, or fondness between two people is all well and good. I like to know that I’m in the company of other people’s happiness and I believe displaying affection towards another person through physical contact supports that condition. Having a physical relationship with another person, or persons, is healthy and something that I strongly encourage.

What I am saying, though, is that while kissing, groping, and those other animalistic activities are, with good fortune, enjoyable practices to part take in, they are not in any way or form enjoyable to come across in a hallway or bathroom.

It has become an all too frequent encoun-ter here at HHS to be walking to your locker when you see a guy trying to steal third base on his girlfriend or when you can’t focus dur-ing a chemistry lecture on hydrogen bonds because you can hear and see the couple next to you fondling, frothing, and finger-fiddling underneath the desk.

I understand that movies, plays, books, and TV shows have all told you that be-ing intimate in public is romantic and even cute: when the rain falls just right underneath that lonely street-lamp-spotlight in the city

at midnight, or when the warm summer sun hums and glows a reddish-orange over the greening hills in that park, music is played by an invisible orchestra and cues you to kiss your significant other in a long awaited embrace.

I am here here to tell you that there is no sunset or streetlamp and your life is not titled “The Notebook,” and I guaranfackan-tee your boyfriend is not Ryan Gosling and your girlfriend is most certainly not Ra-chel McAdams(however if your girlfriend even looks remotely like Rachel Mcadams, I strongly suggest you take advantage of that.) This is a high school, and the only thing that your slovenly, sloppy, and saliva-slathering embrace cues is an awkward bubble during passing time.

I don’t understand why you have to make-out before third block when you already have made-out before both first and second block and will make-out before fourth block. Why is it so necessary to grope that particular body part every other block when that body part does not feel, look, or smell any different than it did 88 minutes ago? Come on.

I want to leave you by saying, however, that I don’t want you to stop being intimate with your partner or partners. I encourage you, em-phatically, to practice in any and all physical acts of intimacy you enjoy and to experience them thoroughly- safely of course . Just don’t make me watch.

the

RPThursday, March 1, 2012 5the opinion

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8

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4

2

0Ways to Lose Weight

Don’t Have a Jewish Mother

Don’t live your life like a game of hun-gry hungry hippos.

Just Do It

Stop following “An apple pie, apple strudel, and apple cake a day keeps the doctor away”

Switch to low fat twinkies

Start cutting off limbs

I don’t know, ask the wrestling squad

I’m not fat, I’m just “Big Boned”

10 : opT9

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5

3

1

Tapeworms

Stock up on laxatives

With the beginning of the end approaching, not only is it important to reflect on your high school

experience, but to also prepare for the future.For some this means kissing away

friends and family and attending college elsewhere. For others, this means moving only a few miles away. But for all of us, it means leaving HHS and stepping out into the big world.

We run on an agenda that rotates week after week. Many of us always have an instant support system consisting of friends and family to help make our decisions, and we live by rules that our par-ents and teachers give us, only to make us better people.

It seems pretty simple when thinking about having to do it all alone...but it’s not. This is why I advise every single underclassmen to take full advantage of these three years.

When I reflect, I know that any success I have in college, will be due to learning from a mistake, the skills I learned, and that talent I was taught to share during my time in high school.

But it does scare me to know that next year I won’t have this pattern, and it will be up to me to maintain my morals and values when I will have no one to tell me what’s wrong and what’s right. Instantly, I will have to guide myself.

I know that it’s human nature to be nervous, but there are certain things I know will help me transition into the next chapter in my life. In preparation, I have started to try and break bad habits, stay

motivated, and cope with the fact that life is changing and I have to be excited.

I have the habit of procrastinating. I’m sure a good amount of you can relate to the Facebook problem. One minute you sit down and one hour later, you’ve done basically nothing. This is something I can’t take to college, because there I won’t have anyone to tell me to log off.

In order to stay on top of my work and actually learn from it, I find it extremely important to stay motivated. Being in the second semester of my senior year, I can understand first hand what it’s like to just want it all to be done.

But it’s important to know that the way you end high school is a good representation of the way you will start in college or wherever life may take you after high school. Don’t stumble before the finish line, you have come too far.

We all have so much to look forward to with the whole world at our feet. This is going to be the best times of our lives, a time to spread our wings and focus on what we all dream of.

But underclassmen it’s important to start preparing to leave, even in the beginning of high school. Having a relationship with your family and friends, balancing your time, and working hard in school are things that will help you in the long run.

Soak in every moment with them as if it were your last, because whether you leave home or not, you’re still going to have to break free and make it in this world on your own.

Balance your time. Don’t become too overwhelmed with your ac-tivities and school work. Keep a good balance and maintain stability. Being balanced is important in high school, but it is the key essential to being successful in college.

Work hard. The harder you work, the more options you will have when you graduate. It’s hard to want to work hard consistently be-cause it’s tiring, but I promise it all pays off the minute you graduate.

I could continue giving advice about how to succeed and prepare, but I realize that it’s all about what you make of it. For me, I had a very rewarding high school experience, only because I found myself preparing early on.

It doesn’t mean I didn’t have any low points, but I always kept my head up knowing that all the hard work and stress would pay off in the end. Everyone has their ups and downs, but it’s important to never give up.

We all have the opportunity to forge a life of greatness. Whether it be professional athletes, CEOs, lawyers, etc. we are all headed to-wards a life of success. I am proud of you HHS students for making this a learning environment that has prepared me for the next steps.

I can’t believe our time has come. The past three years went by quicker than I could have imagined. I am so thankful for my high school experience here, and I couldn’t feel more ready and excited to start the next chapter in my life. Thank you HHS.

UngermanSarah

Senior Column: Taking advantage of high school years

Elijah Moses Fhima is a Sta� Reporter for the Royal Page

Sarah Abigail Ungerman is a Sports Editor for the Royal Page

I am falling victim to a revolu-tion that has been manipulated by my narrow perspective on the world.

It’s like every time I turn on the T.V. I feel a little less in-telligent, and a little more per-

suaded by some incoherent politician, preaching an aporetic solution to end all this madness. I am confounded, but I do have faith in mankind.

I was born in the 90’s just like all of you. The decade notorious for an unfaithful presi-dent, soft-spoken boy bands, and the delicious bottle pop candy. Not to mention the dawn of the information age, which in my eyes, is the scapegoat to our worlds lack of communication (ironic right?).

I grew up in the 2000’s just like all of you. The decade responsible for embedding fear in Americans, the growth of globalization, and the death of the most overrated T.V. show, “Friends”.

I live in the 2010’s just like all of you. Most are surrounded by hopelessness by now, due to the global financial crisis we are surviving through, but I dwell among the few that remain to pursue optimism. We all abide to the same cliché motto, “the pursuit of happiness”, but how we deal with the adversity and scrutiny on the pursuit, is the key to happiness.

I find myself really disgusted in the adversity and scrutiny I have to face in society. Disgusted that we have police that use their power incor-rectly, disgusted by the dependency on technol-ogy, disgusted that there are governments casu-ally making their civilians casualties. But that’s just the way the cookie will always crumble.

If you look around at the world we live in

you can easily surrender yourself to apathy, or you can acknowledge the fact that there are de-praved leaders and governments, and with that aside, endure on your own individual journey to-wards happiness. Happiness to me differs from your definition of happiness because, we all have our own truth in our reality, so it’s up to you to fulfill your emptiness.

I have a confession that most of you would probably be able to relate to. I often daydream about my childhood, but not the lollipops, in-nocence, and summer nights playing with my neighbors, but the mind state I obtained. We were so oblivious to the nature of the world, which allowed serene dreams, and monotonous curiosity.

I can clearly recall the happiest day of my life. When I was six years old, my dad gave me his credit card, and told me I could buy any-thing and everything with that card. I remember making a list of all the action figures, game boy games, and remote control cars I would buy.

Unfortunately, that was also the saddest day of my life as well. When I reached into my pocket to look at my nifty new credit card, it was gone. My dad had taken it back, and told me that nothing in life is free.

I was too young to grasp that concept, so luckily my ignorance stayed intact. They say ig-norance is bliss, but so is innocence. Now obvi-ously you grow up, and you see the world for what it actually is, but don’t be so harsh on the world, it ‘aint’ that bad.

Capturing the happiness once cherished during childhood

Elijah Fhima

Thursday, March 1, 2012 RPthevariety6

Dinkytown venue standing above the restHannah VaughnStaff Reporter

Located in Dinkytown, just off the University of Minnesota’s campus, sits the Varsity Theater. The Varsity sign effortlessly towers above the surrounding buildings, welcoming you inside. Once there, an ab-stract and multidimensional world unfolds.

The relatively small, yet intricately de-signed entrance extends past the bar, to-wards the main sitting area, ending at the foot of the raised stage.

“The Varsity exists as a facility, two veins of business,” said Jason McLean, owner and general manager of the Loring Pasta Bar and Varsity Theater.

McLean separates the Varsity’s purpose into two categories; events and weddings in one, concerts in the other.

He believes that The Varsity’s unique and carefully thought through design al-lows creative minds to wander, allowing the 10,000 square feet of carefully designed ar-chitecture to be transformed for any event.

“When they’re given a facility like the Varsity, they stimulate creative ideas,” McLean said.

Dani Segelbaum, senior, held her Bat

Mitzvah at the Varsity Theater. “It was re-ally cool how they transformed the place,” Segelbaum said. “They took a night club kind of theme and turned it into a 13 year old’s dream.”

The Varsity is not only known for its creativity, but also its concerts. The theater has hosted popular artists such as Augusta-na, Amy Winehouse, Colbie Caillat, Cobra Starship, Flyleaf, The Fray and The Plain White T’s.

The theater is popular venue among HHS students. “I just really liked the at-mosphere,” said Morgan Nybo, senior, who recently attended an Andy Grammer con-cert at the Varsity. “It was a great show,” Nybo said.

Lizzie Fontaine, senior, went to the Varsity for the Justin Nozuka concert. “Jus-tin even did an acoustic song off the mi-crophone and I could hear it quite well,” Fontaine said. “The venue is charming and I feel like the Varsity has a humble vintage-ness about it.”

McLean thinks that the cohesiveness between the “two veins of business” mesh well together, enhancing the Varsity’s pop-ularity.

“It’s the coordinated use of those two

Gold, silver keys shining light onto students’ successKatie CeraVariety Editor

Recently, 16 HHS students were recognized for their creativity on a state level. They  were awarded gold or silver keys and honorable men-tion in the Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards.

From Jan. 30 to Feb. 26, the nine gold and sil-ver key pieces will be on display at the Minneapo-lis College of Art and Design Gallery (MCAD).

Each teacher is allowed to enter 10 individual pieces and didn’t have a limit on the number of senior portfolios. The spaces normally go to the Advanced Placement (AP) art students taught by Ms. Randi Rood and Ms.Terry Chamberlin, Art Department.  AP Drawing and Painting, Ceram-ics, and Jewelry are the AP courses the depart-ment offers.

However, students from the art department wasnot the only one recognized. Mr. Rob Fuhr, Technology Education, entered in photography students.

This year there were 1,376 individual artwork entries and 170 portfolio entries. 133 gold keys and 167 silver keys were awarded to the individual artwork entries and 228 honorable mentions.  11 gold and 16 silver keys were awarded for the port-folios along with 40 honorable mentions.

“I was really happy, obviously, and a little sur-prised. Ms. Chamberlin entered me on a whim,” said Alex Johnson, senior and gold key winner.

“I was honored that she choose me,” Johnson said. “I just starting taking jewelry this year; it was

the first time I had room in my schedule.”The teachers did have an impact within the

curriculum they teach to help students win a key. “I develop the assignments they do and the cur-riculum. I monitor their progress and teach them the skills,” Chamberlin said.

“It was my choice to choose this piece,” said Marlee Krietzman, senior and silver key winner. “The teapot I won with, I made last year during Ceramics Four and it was my best piece.”

Another art student, Paris Ebersviller, senior, won a gold  key for her painting. “It is a two by three painting; it is an old photo of me and my grandpa when I was four,” Ebersviller said.

“My grandpa died last summer, and I found myself forgetting what it felt like to be around him. I did the painting to remind me of him and our relationship we had,” Ebersviller said.

“Pictures are very deceiving and I thought that the minute the judges saw it at MCAD they were going to take my award away,” Krietzman said.

According to the MCAD website, the judges consisted of arts educators from around the world. “[The judges] look for craftsmanship, originality of ideas, and original voice,” Chamberlin said.

Gold key award winners’ pieces will move on to the national competition in New York.  According to the scholastic website, 300 seniors who win na-tional awards in either their art or writing compe-tition receive $500 to full tuition to some colleges, universities, and art institutes in the country.

“Each key winner is one of the best 300 in the entire state,” Chamberlin said.

business types that make the Varsity func-tion collectively,” McLean said.  

The Varsity Theater has a uniqueness that “people are magnetically drawn to,” McLean said, “It’s a cacophony of elements.”

Adding to the “magnetic” appeal is the location of the Varsity. The Varsity’s place-ment was carefully planned out in order to bring life and character to Dinky Town as well as create a more diverse setting for U of M students.

“It’s a little more interesting to me to go to a place like Dinky Town,” McLean said, “Dinky Town was kind of a ghost town in the 1990’s.”

McLean also believes that the Varsity is beneficial to campus students and will “make their university experience more uni-versal,” McLean said.

Performing at the Varsity this upcoming April are popular bands such as Gotye and Hot Chelle Rae.

And as for McLean, “I think it’s interest-ing that as time goes along, the opportunity for new thoughts for what I’m already doing don’t dry up,” McLean said.

“I’m definitely willing to go back,” Nybo said. “My friends and I have been looking up future concerts.”

The Varsity Theater’s trademark sign towers over nearby shops.Photo provided by Generation Photography

RPThursday, March 1, 2012 the variety7

Bringing country to the ‘West End’Sonja MuusWeb Czar

Winters in Minnesota tend to be long and cold, but there is a restaurant in St. Louis Park’s West End that is bringing some heat to the Mid-west with its country theme and southern flair.

Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill is one of the area’s newest and trendiest restaurants. It is a full service restaurant with a large, guitar-shaped bar, and from its decor to its menu, Toby Keith’s provides a complete southern dining ex-perience from the minute the customer walks in the door.

The walls are lined with light colored wood and the ceiling is covered with a red, white, and blue guitar.The waiters wear plaid shirts and cow-boy boots, and there is country music playing in the background while the customers enjoy their southern food.

This theme doesn’t stop there, for the menu is full of southern classics such as chicken fried steak, Mississippi Catfish, and fried bologna. The price of the food varies with meals ranging from $4.99 to $21.99, sides for $3.99 and desserts for $5 each.

Danielle Burton, senior, eats at Toby Keith’s on a regular basis.“I love Toby Keith’s because the food is so flavorful,” Burton said. “Even the fries have their own seasoning.”

This restaurant was named after Toby Keith for a reason: according to tobykeithsbar.com, the

country star himself created it, naming the res-taurant after his 2003 hit single, “I Love This Bar.”  Although he started the restaurant in 2005 his influence is still evident, the original location in Oklahoma City has over 100 pieces of Toby Keith’s memorabilia including his guitars, records, pictures, and clothing.

Apart from having his items on the wall, Toby Keith still has a presence due to the surprise visits he makes to his restaurant locations to perform and socialize with his fans. He has been to the St. Louis Park location.

The parents of Mimi Mechache, senior, were eating at Toby Keith’s restaurant when he made

Radcliffe reveals another side to his acting careerMaddie ShawStaff Reporter

After ten years of the Harry Potter franchise, Daniel Radcliffe has traded in his glasses for a more serious role.

Once known as Harry James Potter, Radcliffe is embracing the role of Arthur Kipps in the new movie, The Woman in Black. The movie centers around his character’s voyage to a remote village where a vengeful ghost is terrorizing the locals.

Many HHS students that have grown up with the Harry Potter franchise find it difficult to invi-sion Radcliffe in any other role. “I’m not a big fan of Harry Potter myself, but it’s clear that everyone knows him [Radcliffe] from it and will compare his future roles to it,” said Maia Haggerty, junior.

Not only is Radcliffe switching roles, he is jumping into a whole new film genre. From the very beginning of the film, The Woman in Black de-livers chilling scenes of dolls and young children. These clips ultimately lead up to scenes involving Radcliffe and the “woman in black” herself.

“It’s kind of hard for me to take him [Rad-cliffe] seriously in any other film, especially a scary movie. I’m going to see it because I love scary movies, but he might ruin it for me,” said Cesar Perez, junior neutral Harry Potter fan and horror movie film fanatic.

One thing most HHS students do not realize is that The Woman in Black began as a book. It was a horror fiction novel, written in 1983 by Susan Hill and was later adapted into a play. Because of its previous success, Hill along with director James Watkins had certain expectations.

Because of these expectations, it was important for Watkins to choose the cast carefully. When Radcliffe auditioned, Watkins was slightly skepti-cal, but soon realized what true talent Radcliffe possessed.   “Dan is an absolute delight to work with. He deals with the world in which he lives incredibly well,” Watkins said in a behind the scenes interview.

Ciaran Hinds who plays the role of Samuel Daily in The Woman in Black, worked with Rad-cliffe previously playing Aberforth Dumbledore in the last Harry Potter film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  He said in a recent Fea-turette of The Woman in Black, “I was asked to do a small role in Harry Potter. It was a lovely experi-ence and Daniel is such an open hearted person by nature and very committed and I could tell by then that he’s very good at what he does.”

Not only was Radcliffe recognized for his role in Harry Potter, but his role as J. Pierrepont Finch in the Broadway play, How To Succeed in Business Without Even Trying.

“The play was such a difference to his previous role in Harry Potter. The char-acter was very enthusiastic and optimistic, and he played that very well,” said Julia Ha-thaway, junior, who saw the play last March. “All three characters are very different, but it all goes back to how good he is as an actor,” said Josie Ries, sophomore, and long time Daniel Radcliffe fan.

Hungry for ‘The Hunger Games’Lily GoldfarbStaff Reporter

After achieving a number one spot on the New York Times bestseller list, The Hunger Games, a novel by Suzanne Collins, is about to hit the big screen.

Scholastic reports that the novel has sold more than 11 million copies. The Hunger Games movie comes out on March 23, 2012.

“I am obsessed with The Hunger Games be-cause it has such a fantastic plot and every chapter is amazing. Also, you instantly fall in love with the characters and it makes the whole thing so much more intense,” said Ellen Livscheets, sophomore.

The novel takes place in future America, and portrays a world where every year, 24 kids must kill each other to survive. Readers of the novel are anxious and excited to see how various elements will be depicted on screen.

“For the movie, I think they’ll do a great job because there’s a ton of intense action scenes and suspenseful moments so they should be able to transfer a lot of that onto the screen,” Livscheets said.

Some fans, however, are not as optimistic. “Movies are rarely as good as books because there is so much more rich detail in books, especially The Hunger Games,” said Gabe Daitzchman, soph-omore.

The Hunger Games is classified as a young adult novel. Lionsgate Entertainment released a statement that they wanted to keep the film at or

below a PG-13 rating to not alienate the teenage audience built in from the book series. Within the story, there are many brutal and graphic scenes.

“I really want the movie to have the scene with the Avox,” said Hattie Holm, junior. In The Hun-ger Games, an Avox is a someone who has trans-gressed and as a punishment has had their tongue cut out.

“There’s the challenge of how to present the violence while still maintaining a PG-13 rating so that your core audience can view it. A lot of things are acceptable on a page that wouldn’t be on a screen,” Collins said in a 2010 interview with Scholastic.

Similar to other popular science fiction novels like Harry Potter and Twilight, theatres are ex-pecting a big turn out for the midnight premiere.

“Usually with popular books, we see a huge turn out of fans at the midnight showing. Many people have already ordered their tickets,” said Carly Allen, junior, who works at Showplace ICON at The West End in St. Louis Park.

“I want to see it the second it comes out,” Daitzchman said.

one of his surprise visits. The owner himself is not the only artist that

performs at his restaurant. Big stars like Uncle Kracker have performed here on top of frequently featuring live music from local country artists in-cluding Cutter Elliot, Cody Robbins Band, and Derek Harris.

Beside the public performances, Toby Kieth’s also offers space for private parties. Two “barns” located across the dance floor from the bar are available upon reservation.

There are 10 locations, and having opened in 2010, St. Louis Park is one of its newest. It’s open for lunch and dinner every day.

photo by Lily Goldfarb

Do you think The Hunger Games movie will live up to the books?

30% of HHS students say YES

38% of HHS students say NO

22% of HHS students say they are NEUTRAL

This survey was conducted on February 16, 2012. 100 HHS students were polled.

Sign outside of Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill located in the Shops at West End in St. Louis Park.

ROYAL CUISINE OATMEAL BARSThe yummy treats that are

sweeping HHS.

Recipe for a 9 x 13 pan. Preheat oven to 350. 2 cups flour2 cups oats 1 ½ cup packed brown sugar½ lb (2 sticks) softened butter1 can sweetened condensed milk1 cup chocolate chips Combine flour, oats, brown sugar and butter in a large bowl. Mix well. Press 2/3 of the mix into the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 pan or a quarter sheet pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crust, use spatula to spread evenly. Sprinkle choco-late chips over that, then top with remaining oat mixture. Gently press everything down.

Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Eating Right

Minneapolis was chosen as America’s number one healthiest city by Forbes in 2011. With quali-ties such as clean air, accessible bike trails, and a

ban on smoking in public places, Forbes said, “If you live in Minneapolis-St. Paul, you and your neighbors are less likely to have cardiovascular disease.... and are more likely to be in excellent or very good health.”

For some, being in “very good health” proves more dif-ficult a task than for others. At HHS, many students and faculty have worked to get in shape and eat right in an effort to be healthy.

Ms. Bobbi Pointer, school nurse, stresses the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices. “Ask yourself, ‘What can I sustain for the rest of my life?’” Pointer said. “Don’t quit eating or exercise excessively. How can you stay in shape for the rest of your life?”

Different people have found their individual ways of be-ing healthy, including losing weight, exercising, and eating right. At HHS, many students are aware of the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle, as The Royal Page examines the health choices of several individuals.

While good food choices are important, they shouldn’t be the sole route to a healthy

lifestyle. Exercising, too, can be very useful, and a person should aim for 30 minutes a day.

One exercise trend growing in popularity is yoga, which many students at HHS have

embraced.Annie Share, sophomore, be-

gan doing yoga for an hour a day a few months ago, when her brother suggested they try it. “I

do Moksha, or hot yoga, which is in a room of over 104 degrees,” Share

said.“It is a really good stress reliever if you want

to go a night before a test and relax,” Share said.Vanessa Sonsteng, junior, is among the stu-

dents that have joined the yoga trend. Whether

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 17 percent of children and adolescents (ages 2 to 19) in the U.S. are obese. By losing weight, HHS students keep themselves out of this number.

Colin Wieberdink, senior, lost 50 pounds the summer before starting high school.

“I realized it was harder to do things. I was lazy and felt uncomfortable,” Wieberdink said. “I started working out on my own and after a few weeks I started feeling better and wanted to see more results.”

Wieberdink is very aware of the foods he is putting into his body. “I bring my lunch to school everyday because I’d rather know where my food is coming from,” Wieberdink said.

“Processed food is gross and has a lot of chemicals.”Wieberdink does a cardio workout three times a week and weight

trains for one hour two times a week. He tries to do a five to six mile run on the weekends to keep his long distance

abilities up.Wieberdink learned from the guidance of a trainer and his mom that it is better to

eat small amounts of food every two to three hours than to eat meals three times a day. “I’ll grab a handful of nuts to have as a snack between breakfast and lunch,” Wieberdink said.

Since his weight loss, Wieberdink has seen several changes in himself. He finds it easier to go up stairs and doesn’t look for coffee to keep him awake and aware.

“It takes a lot of commitment and determination. You have to stick with it even if you slip up,” Wieberdink says. “It’s not easy by any means which is why most people give up.”

Percy Chism, senior, is not one who gave up the quest to get in shape. Simi-larly to Wieberdink, Chism has lost 50 pounds since he began trying to lose weight in Nov. of 2010.

“After football season, I was a little disappointed with myself and wanted to get in shape for the next season,” Chism said.

Chism lifted weights, worked out more, and changed his diet. Additionally, he stopped eating as many sugary drinks and started eating more fruits and veg-etables.

With the help of his offensive line coach, Chism stuck to a work out plan. “I feel a lot better. I’m able to run longer without a break, I’m more flexible, and I feel stronger,” Chism said.

Chism thinks of his future as a way to stay motivated. “Doing this now, I know that I’ll be in better shape later in life and have less health problems,” Chism said.

Todd Dubish, senior, is another student that has lost drastic amounts of weight in recent years. Although he isn’t sure of an exact number, Dubish esti-mates that he has lot 30 to 40 pounds since he began working out last summer.

“I played a lot of baseball and basketball and ate a lot of vegetables and fruit,” Dubish said. “I feel good, a lot healthier.”

Students are not the only ones at HHS making an effort to get in shape. Mr. Greg Bartz, mathematics, is also making the effort to be healthier, but for slightly different reasons than the students.

“I do it for my daughter and family. Living the lifestyle I was living, I knew that in order to be around for a long time I needed to change,” Bartz said.

In April, Bartz and his wife decided it was time to start managing their weight and living a better lifestyle. “We looked at what weight loss programs were out there and found weight watchers,” Bartz said. “I had done it through school be-fore, but it was unsuccessful because swim season would start and I would stop going to meetings and stop doing well.”

Bartz and his wife would regularly take walks outside before swim season began (Bartz is the head coach of the varsity swim team at HHS), but Bartz finds it difficult to always find the time to exercise.

“Between trying to balance teaching, coaching, and having a family, some-thing has got to give. A lot of the time that is exercising,” Bartz said. “Some days, I get home at 7:15 and my daughter goes to bed at 8:30, so I want to be spending all of the time possible that I can with her.”

WeightlossStories of

Stories of

YogaStories of While many people know the importance of

eating right, some take this idea to another level as they restrict what foods they can and can’t eat, or diet.

Ellie Swanson, senior, follows phase one of the Dukan diet. “It’s essentially a high protein, low carb, and no sugar diet designed to make the body burn fat rather than muscle,” Swanson said.

Both of Swanson’s parents did the diet to lose weight, but Swanson is doing it to be healthier.

Although Swanson would say she is on the “Dukan Diet”, Pointer prefers not to use the word “dieting”.

“Take the word dieting out of your vocabulary,” Pointer said. “It is about healthy choices and life-style choices that allow you to be healthy.”

As opposed to focusing on what you can and can’t eat, Pointer believes that balance and portion control are huge. “Everybody slips sometimes, and you shouldn’t kill yourself for slipping, but you have to pay attention to what you eat,” Pointer said.

A study from the University of North Caro-lina at Chapel Hill found that serving sizes have grown over the past 20 years in both restaurants and homes. The study saw a 23 percent expansion in hamburger size, an increase in soft drink size

of 52 percent, and snacks (potato chips, pretzels, crackers, or anything else) that are 60 percent big-ger.

Allie Rosen, senior, has gone through a “detox” that taught her about portion size.

“You eat only raw, non-cooked foods in order to get all of the toxins out of your body,” Rosen said. “Even if it doesn’t look like you’re eating a lot you can still be getting the right amount of food and you can still be full. It teaches you not to over eat.”

Rosen’s meal plan consisted of three smoothies a day which all had different ingredients in them, mainly fruits and vegetables. Additionally, Rosen had an all natural raw energy bar between lunch and dinner.

“It was really filling because it was high in pro-tein,” Rosen said. “You are supposed to be con-stantly drinking water because it flushes the toxins out of your body.”

Rosen did the “detox”, which lasted for three days, on two separate occasions. Once the three day period was over, Rosen had a four to five day period where she transitioned back into eating regular foods.

Mban on smoking in public places, Forbes said, “If you live in Minneapolis-St. Paul, you and your neighbors are less likely to have cardiovascular disease.... and are more likely to be in excellent or very good health.”

For some, being in “very good health” proves more dif-ficult a task than for others. At HHS, many students and faculty have worked to get in shape and eat right in an effort to be healthy.

Ms. Bobbi Pointer, school nurse, stresses the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices. “Ask yourself, ‘What can I sustain for the rest of my life?’” Pointer said. “Don’t quit eating or exercise excessively. How can you stay in shape for the rest of your life?”

Different people have found their individual ways of be-ing healthy, including losing weight, exercising, and eating right. At HHS, many students are aware of the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle, as The Royal Page examines the health choices of several individuals.

What diet are you on?Ellie

Swanson

Mainly protein diet

Allie Rosen

Went on a three day

detox

After ge

tting in shape

she is at her house or at a class, Sonsteng does yoga everyday.

“I started meditating before I did yoga to work on my spiritual well-being, and now I’m working on my physical well-being,” Sonsteng said.

Some types of yoga are not as rigorous as other forms of exercise. “Pairing yoga with something else makes sense, but some yoga classes can be very aerobic,” Pointer said.

Yoga can “improve flexibility, strength, balance, and stamina,” according to kidshealth.org. In ad-dition to benefiting ones physical well-being, yoga can reduce, “anxiety and stress, improve mental clarity, and even help [someone] sleep better.”

Corepower yoga is one business that offers many yoga classes locally. Corepower’s website ex-plains the benefits of yoga, saying, “postures com-bine flexibility, strength, and balance to work the entire body... you can lose weight, develop muscle tone and strength, and become more flexible than with other forms of exercise.”

Priscille Biehlmann, senior, began doing yoga this past fall and now attends a class on a regular basis.

“I’m more flexible, I sleep better, and I have

While good food choices are important, they shouldn’t be the sole route to a healthy

lifestyle. Exercising, too, can be very useful, and a person should aim for 30 minutes a day.

One exercise trend growing in popularity is yoga, which many students at HHS have

embraced.Annie Share, sophomore, be-

gan doing yoga for an hour a day a few months ago, when her brother suggested they try it. “I

do Moksha, or hot yoga, which is in a room of over 104 degrees,” Share

said.“It is a really good stress reliever if you want

to go a night before a test and relax,” Share said.Vanessa Sonsteng, junior, is among the stu-

dents that have joined the yoga trend. Whether

eat small amounts of food every two to three hours than to eat meals three times a day. “I’ll grab a handful of nuts to have as a snack between breakfast and lunch,” Wieberdink said.

Since his weight loss, Wieberdink has seen several changes in himself. He finds it easier to go up stairs and doesn’t look for coffee to keep him awake and aware.

“It takes a lot of commitment and determination. You have to stick with it even if you slip up,” Wieberdink says. “It’s not easy by any means which is why most people give up.”

Percy Chism, senior, is not one who gave up the quest to get in shape. Simi-larly to Wieberdink, Chism has lost 50 pounds since he began trying to lose weight in Nov. of 2010.

“After football season, I was a little disappointed with myself and wanted to get in shape for the next season,” Chism said.

Chism lifted weights, worked out more, and changed his diet. Additionally, he stopped eating as many sugary drinks and started eating more fruits and veg-etables.

With the help of his offensive line coach, Chism stuck to a work out plan. “I feel a lot better. I’m able to run longer without a break, I’m more flexible, and I feel stronger,” Chism said.

Chism thinks of his future as a way to stay motivated. “Doing this now, I know that I’ll be in better shape later in life and have less health problems,” Chism said.

Todd Dubish, senior, is another student that has lost drastic amounts of weight in recent years. Although he isn’t sure of an exact number, Dubish esti-mates that he has lot 30 to 40 pounds since he began working out last summer.

“I played a lot of baseball and basketball and ate a lot of vegetables and fruit,” Dubish said. “I feel good, a lot healthier.”

Students are not the only ones at HHS making an effort to get in shape. Mr. Greg Bartz, mathematics, is also making the effort to be healthier, but for slightly different reasons than the students.

“I do it for my daughter and family. Living the lifestyle I was living, I knew that in order to be around for a long time I needed to change,” Bartz said.

In April, Bartz and his wife decided it was time to start managing their weight and living a better lifestyle. “We looked at what weight loss programs were out there and found weight watchers,” Bartz said. “I had done it through school be-fore, but it was unsuccessful because swim season would start and I would stop going to meetings and stop doing well.”

Bartz and his wife would regularly take walks outside before swim season began (Bartz is the head coach of the varsity swim team at HHS), but Bartz finds it difficult to always find the time to exercise.

“Between trying to balance teaching, coaching, and having a family, some-thing has got to give. A lot of the time that is exercising,” Bartz said. “Some days, I get home at 7:15 and my daughter goes to bed at 8:30, so I want to be spending all of the time possible that I can with her.”

As most of the weight watchers meetings have been during Bartz’s swim team practices, his goal is to maintain his weight during swim season and get back to losing weight when the season is done.

“I hope it becomes a permanent lifestyle change,” Bartz said. “I notice that at times when we’re in a rush and I eat something unhealthy how terrible I’ll feel an hour later. Last week, I was in charge of picking up my daughter, so I got McDonald’s burgers as a treat that she might like; it was like eating a salt pellet.”

In addition to being able to taste a difference in unhealthy foods, Bartz no-ticed other changes when school started this past fall. “Walking up the stairs became a whole lot easier. I was zipping up the stairs without feeling out of breath,” Bartz said.

Bartz credits his support system as a major way that he is able to stay on track. “Having someone [losing weight] with you makes it easier because they under-stand. In summer time, it became fun because we would make nice, healthy meals and look up fun recipes from weight watchers.”

Bartz has already lost between 60 and 65 pounds, but his goal is to lose 100 pounds. “I still have a long ways to go,” Bartz said. “At weight watchers, there are other couples there who like to celebrate every time they lose five pounds. I look at them with my wife and think, ‘Hopefully that can be us someday.’”

After ge

tting in shape

Af

ter getting in shape

Before

getting in shape

50 pounds lost

50 pounds lost

between ninth and tenth grade

Befor

e getting in shape

60 to 65 pounds lost

so far

Mr. Greg Bartz

Ms. Alyson Purdy How much weight

have you lost?Af

ter getting in shape

50 pounds lost

since Nov. of 2010

Befor

e getting in shape

Before

getting in shape

Colin WieberdinkPercy Chism

Yogamore energy in general,” Biehlmann said. “I would recommend yoga to everyone. It is not only good for your body, but it is good for your soul. It just chills you out; Namaste.” What is your favorite yoga pose?

Easy Yoga Pose

Annie Share Vanessa Sonsteng

RPthefeature10 Thursday, March 1, 2012

pagetheROYAL

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Staff ReportersRachel AlterCharlie BankSam Bloomfi eldNick DaleRyland DorshowEli FhimaIsaac FisherPat GallagherLily GoldfarbJoe GreeneAshley HamerAndrew HallThomas HeegaardTaylor LeeJeff LifsonZach MeklerHarry OrensteinCaroline Ravits Lauren ReutelerMadeline ShawIan VaughanHannah Vaughn

AdviserMr. Kocur

The Royal Page 2011-2012 High schooler faces pregnancy

On occasion, Paige Embretson, senior, has found her-self vomiting between cars in the parking lot on her way into school.

Embretson is approaching the third trimester of her pregnancy. “Because I am in this situation, I’m going to make the best of it and be excited,” Embretson said. Her due date is May 18th.

Embretson’s pregnancy also affected the father of her baby, Jeff Moen, senior. “I didn’t really react much to the news, but the first question that came to mind was are we going to keep it?” Moen said.

Adoption was brought up but quickly shot down by Embretson and Moen. “I don’t want her to not know who we are. I wouldn’t be able to handle having my child call someone else mom,” Embretson said.

Embretson wanted to know the sex of the baby right away. Twenty weeks into her pregnancy Embretson was told she would be having a girl. “Jeff and I wanted to be able to buy clothes that were gender specific and pick out names,” Embretson said.

“Paige always lists off so many names everyday and most of them I hate, but Alexis was the one name I liked,” Moen said.

Shortly after the news, Moen moved into Embretson’s parents’ house. “My parents were mad at first when I told them, but then they calmed down. They told me that right now they are trying to find a way to accept the fact that we’re having a baby,” Moen said.

Embretson and Moen have been dating for two years and plan to stay together as they go off to college, Em-bretson attending St. Kate’s and Moen heading to Nor-mandale. “We’re getting an apartment in St. Paul for next year because it’s close to both of our schools,” Embretson said.

“We haven’t decided yet if we are going to put the baby

in a daycare program all day or [whether] I will sign up for morning classes and Jeff will take night classes. This way one of us will always be with the baby,” Embretson said.

HHS does offer Child Psychology level one and level two classes, taught by Ms. Patty Ormson. This class helps to prepare students for the many challenges of being par-ents.

“There is so much to being a parent that kids just don’t realize,” said Ms. Bobbi Pointer, school nurse. “Getting pregnant just happens.”

Embretson and Moen are aware of the huge chang-es that parenthood will bring. “Even if I was not ready, I will have to be and I’m going to be,” Moen said. “I’m very excited to watch my daughter grow up and teach her the ropes of life and most importantly how to be a good person.”

For now, Embretson is getting used to the new sensa-tion of being pregnant. “It’s so weird that I actually have something growing inside of me. It honestly feels like a bowling ball rolling around in my stomach,” Embretson said.

Embretson has become used to all of the eyes glued to her baby bump as she walks from class to class. “At this point, I’ve stopped hiding it. Four months ago I would wear baggy sweatshirts everyday, but after winter break, when I found out the sex, I started telling people,” Em-bretson said.

Embretson has support from her friends. “I’m really happy for her, and I think she’ll be a good mom,” said Sidney Brown, senior and friend of Embretson.

“I’m sure people will have a lot to say but I don’t care,” Embretson said. Embretson is still finishing high school and will be graduating after third quarter.

Embretson told some of her teachers as soon as she found out she was pregnant, but only if it affected her performance in the class. “I don’t want any special atten-tion, but participating in Club Fitness for Women wasn’t an option,” Embretson said.

Lucy OrensteinFeature Editor

The road that a teen mother faces is filled with obstacles.   

According to mar-chofdimes.com, more than 75 percent of all unmarried teen mothers go on wel-fare within five years of the birth of their first child. The National Cam-paign to Prevent Teen Preg-nancy found that fewer than two percent of all women who have a baby before the age of 18 will graduate from college before the age of 30.

Pointer does what she can to provide support for teen moms. “The first thing I tell kids after they tell me that they are pregnant is my goal is to help get you through high school because without a high school diploma you have a chance of facing poverty with a baby,” said Pointer. Em-bretson and Moen have fi-nancial support from their families. “Both our par-ents are helping pay for college and our apart-ment for next year,” Embretson said.

Even so, Embretson realizes that it won’t be easy.

“I’m nervous to give birth. I’m nervous for how ev-erything will play out. I’m nervous to see how Jeff and I will be able to handle all the responsibilities, but I can’t wait to meet her,” Embretson said.

HHS graduate fi nds success at Fox 9 Sam Bloomfi eld

Staff Reporter

Failing tornado sirens in Fargo in sev-eral Midwest counties brought anxiety to many residents, but they also brought an-other shining moment for reporter Kelsey Soby, whose investigation lead to the pur-chase of a new system.

Soby, 2002 HHS graduate, had a long and winding road towards her journalis-tic success. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University with a marketing degree, then interned for the Tennessee governor. Finally, she landed herself a reporting job at KEYC-TV in Mankato.

Soby credits her success to persistence, as she worked endless hours in pursuit of moving to a larger market. Market size is based off of population, so large metropol-itan areas tend to be the largest television markets.

She worked her way up from Mankato

to WDAY-TV in Fargo, and after a lot of perseverance, she found herself as the youngest reporter on the Fox 9 KMSP-TV news team.

Soby and her team operate seamlessly together, which can be seen every morning on the set, as well as their off the set rela-tionship, according to Soby. Soby is known for her famous “high five Fridays,” her wacky personality, and her style gels very well with the rest of her team. “The rea-son we are number one is because of our camaraderie with one another,” Soby said.

Soby is the jack of all trades”, being able to fill in anywhere on the set. She said that she is proudest of the fact that she can help whenever she is needed.

“Life is a tool belt,” Soby said. “Every experience is just another tool.”

According to Soby, she picked up that mindset at HHS, when she participated in DECA, German Club, KHOP, and stu-dent government.

“She just had a light about her and was always willing to try new things,” said Ms.

Anne Campbell, assistant principal.“I don’t think her personality is some-

thing you can grow into, it’s something that you are born with,” said Mr. Douglas Dart, Language Arts.

Soby said that HHS really prepared her for her career because of all of the op-portunities it provided her and the chance to branch out.

Soby still floats around and goes where she is needed, but her main position at Fox is traffic in the mornings. However, she was not always a traffic expert.

She said that she had no idea about the major roads in Minnesota, and had to sit down with her dad and a road map until she finally understood the roads.

“A key skill is just figuring out how to do everything on the fly,” Soby said.

Despite her clear talent and hunger for success, she says that she is content staying in Minnesota for now. For Soby, it is not about being in the limelight but about the people who need her help.

“My favorite part of my job is that I

get to help people,” Soby said. “That is my real dream.”

Photo by Mike Newcomer

Kelsey Soby excitedly speaks about her experiences in brodcast journalism.

Photo by Taylor Lee

RPthe feature Thursday, March 1, 2012 11

POPS provides outlet for mourningLydia WilsonBack Page Editor

Jacob Bernstein, junior, had grown accustomed to his morning routine.

“My mom and I did kind of a slap stick comedy routine ev-ery morning. My alarm would go off, and I’d hit the snooze twice. My mom would come in and try to wake me up like three times. We’d leave the house at 7:30, and she’d drive like 80 mph down our street. I remember getting to school and opening the door just as the warning bell rang,” Bernstein said.

But then things changed.“Now when my alarm goes off, it’s never gonna be the same as

it was. There’s no one there, and then my life starts,” Bernstein said.In May 2011, Bernstein’s mother passed away. This tragedy led

to dark and wearisome days, but Bernstein received unwavering support from those around him.

With the passing of time, he found insight and confidence which enabled him to move forward and perform.

The first sign of trouble occurred when Bernstein’s mother re-turned from visiting friends out of state. “Thursday was a pretty normal day. Then I came downstairs at about 12:00 pm, and my mom was slumped on a counter, displaying the usual symptoms of a stroke,” Bernstein said.  

Bernstein called an ambulance and met his dad at the hospital. With that came a series of attempted recovery processes, hospital changes, and brief flashes of hope that lasted about a month.

At one point, “She was sent to a hospital...and we were back to square one. About two days after that, we knew she was never going to come back in full capacity. Then she kept getting worse. It was a month of hell,” Bernstein said.  

During Bernstein’s struggle he found comfort in Mr. William Bell, Band, and the band environment. “I went back to talk to Mr. Bell after I had left early from band. I told him ‘You know Mr. Bell it doesn’t look like my mom is going to make it.’ He gave me a hug, and I said ‘It’s okay, I’m alright.’

“When I looked at him I could see that he had tears pouring from his eyes, and, in his crazy Mr. Bell voice, he said ‘Well I’m not!’” Bernstein said.

Support flooded in from family, friends, and even strangers of-

fered their condolences.Those supporters provided consolation when Bernstein spoke at

his mother’s funeral. “I spoke about how my mom’s life had been the introduction to a much larger book...I was grief stricken, sort of incapacitated, but it felt good to say ‘I can’t really treat this as an ending’,” Bernstein said.  

It was by no means an ending, but it began Bernstein’s trans-forming healing process. “The death of a parent is not something you ever recover from, but I adapted,” Bernstein said.  

One thing that remained unchanged was Bernstein’s passion for music. “Music was kind of a crutch that helped me know about what it was and what it is,” Bernstein said.

His reliance on music led him to write his song “Half Awake.” The song summarizes Bernstein’s dream in which he found himself in a library with his mom. “She basically told me to do my thing. I could feel myself waking up, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to be alone,” Bernstein said.

Bernstein put his dream into words, and put his words to a beat, (previously recorded by Ryan Lewis).

His song emerged naturally, and he auditioned it in front of Mr. Bell, Mr. Kyle Miller, band, and the HHS band council, as a solo act for the POPS concert. “We were all very touched by it and felt for him. I hope that this [performing] may be a cathartic thing that may help him heal,” Bell said.

With help from friends, Bernstein gained the confidence to per-form in front of the POPS audience two nights in a row. Nerves were inevitable, but quickly suppressed. “I got up there and realized no one is gonna make fun of a kid who screwed up a song about his dead mom,” Bernstein said.  

Though he was comfortable on stage, he couldn’t escape the heartfelt matter of his song. “I got a lot more emotional and pas-sionate than I counted on, it was a good release,” Bernstein said.  

Throughout writing and performing ‘Half Awake’, Bernstein discovered what he can learn from one of the worst possible occur-rences in his life. “You can take the ugliest thing that happened to you and turn it in to something beautiful, and that’s what you share with people,” Bernstein said.  

He realized that the people he loves in his life will always save him.   “I had to go to the hospital to say goodbye. I was standing by my mom sobbing, crying, saying ‘sorry’ over and over again, and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to leave. My family who was there

made me realize that people keep you from hitting rock bottom,” Bernstein said.  

Those people, including long time girlfriend Anna Taddei, were in the audience, offering applause and encouragement. “I knew his mom, and I know how much she would have loved it,” Taddei said.

Though the devastation is forever a part of Bernstein, he has found a way to carry on. For those inevitably stuck in an unfortunate circumstance, Bernstein encourages them to change their perspec-tive.

“When you’re at rock bottom, look around and realize it’s not rock bottom, it’s a deep cavern with lots to explore and lots to work with,” Bernstein said.

Photo by Mike Newcomer

Bernstein hugs his older brother after his rap performance at the POPS concert.

Students learn to manage their stress Rachel AlterStaff Reporter

Each day, Ms. Jane Kleinman, Health Science, teaches tension-relieving exercises to her Stress Management class in order to help clear the students’ minds from the everyday high school stressors.

Instead of dealing with stress in a healthy manner, many students avoid or refuse to cope with their stress. As stated in the teenhelp.com 2012 study of stress for high school students, 25 percent of males and 19 percent of females fit into the category of refusal to cope with stress or avoidance of their stress.

On the first day of class, Kleinman’s students reported their top stressors as school related tests and homework, future plans, family issues, financial concerns, and others.

In her Stress Management class, Kleinman helps students learn how to manage their stressors in healthy ways.

“Ms. Kleinman was very helpful. You could tell she wasn’t just teaching the class to teach it, but that she actually wanted to help us become less stressed out and manage our stress in healthier ways so that we could be happier people overall,” said Abby Isaacson, senior.

The stress-relieving techniques Kleinman teaches her class are

not taught through worksheets and projects, but instead by getting the students active. Throughout the class, the students do yoga, tai-chi, meditation, massages, zumba, and drumming.

Each year of high school presents new stresses for students. “Sophomore year my biggest stress was figuring out such a big school. Junior year is making  sure I get good grades and a good ACT score,” said Megan Roessler, junior, and previous student of Kleinman’s.

“My top stresses right now are applying to college and deciding where I want to go to college,” Isaacson said. “The class helped me with these stressors a lot and taught me techniques of how to deal with stress. I learned to relax a lot more, and the more you relax and less stressed out you are the more you can accomplish.”

Kleinman created the class three years ago. The class has grown from a single section its first year to four sections this year.

“The stress [for students] is increasing. First it became the in-creasing academic pressure due to the increasing competition of college selection. Now it is about the time management between school demands, extracurricular activities, and techno distractions and trying to balance those out,” Kleinman said.

The class was created for several different reasons. First was how

school is more stressful today than it used to be. Also, the Health Science teachers saw an increase in students with anxiety issues.

“We had administrators at the time who encouraged and sup-ported the development of the class due to the challenges they were seeing in students. And quite frankly, I was so stressed out with my teaching and coaching life, that I was looking for an opportunity to relax. Of course the joke now is that my stress management class is the most stressful class I teach,” Kleinman said.

According to teenhelp.com, 40 percent of students actively try to reduce stress. What holds the rest of students back from better managing their stress is lack of time or not prioritizing time.

Last year, a psychologist gave a presentation to the stress man-agement class entitled, “Using Skills, Not Pills.” Learning how to use various skills to manage stress and other emotional issues rather than rely on medications or other drugs like marijuana and alcohol is one of the goals of the class.

“We are adapting this philosophy across our entire health cur-riculum as what students [and many adults] lack are effective coping and self soothing skills. It is rewarding to know that students are leaving Hopkins armed with skills that can help them flourish in their college years and beyond,” Kleinman said.

Thursday, March 1, 2012RPthefeature12

RPThursday, March 1, 2012 13the sports

Smith-Sharp staying home

Jasmine Smith-Sharp, senior, had the opportunity to dive for one of the most prestigious universities in the country, West Point Military Academy. However, next fall she will find herself diving else-where.

During her senior season, Smith-Sharp’s diving skills placed her under the spotlight of college recruiting.

She has excelled on the varsity dive team since 9th grade. In her first season, Jasmine made the top six all-time best score list for the six-dive event.

“Jasmine has a strong competitive spirit and thrives when the ‘heat is on’.” said Mr. Scott Smith, HHS girls dive coach. Smith has coached Smith-Sharp since she was in eighth grade and on the junior varsity team. Since then, he has gotten to know how her as a person and an athlete.

“Jasmine has a firm grasp on what her own limitations are and is willing to communicate this. In turn, this helps her as an athlete to be more coachable,” Smith said.

“[She] is one of our most focused divers. She is also a great leader and role model for the younger kids. Jasmine makes sure they do what is needed so their performance can be at its best,” said Abby Whritenour, senior and dive team member.

West Point Military academy rec-ognized her talent and work ethic. The school recruited Smith-Sharp for their dive team and military training camp.

With a 13 percent acceptance rate, West Point Military Academy is among

the country’s most competitive schools. It is even harder to be recruited as an athlete.

Though Smith-Sharp acknowledged the merits of West Point, she declined the offer. “I wasn’t really interested in the four years of military commitment after graduation, or how far away from home it is,” she said. “I loved the school and all the people, and would receive a great education, but it just wasn’t my fit.”

A scholarship offer from the Univer-sity of Minnesota made her decision to turn down West Point much easier.

“It’s my hometown; I have to repre-sent,” Smith-Sharp said. “Plus a lot of my family members have gone there and the U of M has a great coaching staff.”

Diving at the University of Minne-sota was not a new idea to her; it was a lifelong pursuit.

“I had always dreamed that I’d dive at the U, but I never actually saw myself doing it. Once I started club diving, and excelling, I realized I could go farther. I’m always testing to see how far I can go,” Smith-Sharp said.

Coach Smith gave her a start in the right direction but ultimately left the choice to her. “I recommended that she find a place where she felt comfortable living for the next several years so she could achieve the success she expects from herself,” he said.

While her choice was made easier by Minnesota’s offer, she still weighed her options with consideration before decid-ing.

“Everyone basically told me that this decision is completely up to me,” Smith-Sharp said. “It was just a gut instinct to attend the University of Minnesota.”

HHS diver decides on University of MinnesotaNick Dale

Staff Reporter

Photo provided by Jasmine Smith-Sharp

Photo provided by Jasmine Smith-Sharp

Photo provided by Jasmine Smith-Sharp

Top: Smith-Sharp displays perfect form as she comes close to hitting the water.Above: Scott-Smith, HHS girls dive coach, embraces Smith-Sharp. He has helped support her throughout the recruiting process.Left: Smith-Sharp springs off the high board at an outdoor pool to begin her dive.

RPThursday, March 1, 2012 thesports14

Bremer chooses the gridiron, gives up the slopes

Ever since Brett Bremer, senior, was three, alpine skiing has been a major part of his life.

Throughout his high school career, he won numerous awards, including all-sec-tion, all-conference, and all-state honors. Bremer was ranked in the top ten in 2009, qualified for the Junior Olympics, and was an alternate for the 15-16 year old national team.

This past season, Bremer helped his team qualify for the state competition and finished 13th.

Despite his success, he will not con-tinue competitive skiing after high school.

Even the best skiers in Minnesota rare-ly get division one scholarships to compete in college. “There are limited scholarships to begin with and they primarily go to Ca-nadians and Europeans. If they don’t get them, they go to skiers on the east or west coast,” Bremer said.

Bremer also participates in football. He started for the varsity team at defensive end and linebacker during his junior and senior years and will pursue football in college.

“Brett is a guy that has a high motor with incredible speed and strength. Over the years, he’s turned into a great player,” said John DenHartog, head football coach.

Bremer has been playing multiple sports his entire life, and has been encour-aged to do so by his parents and coaches. “Football can only be played a few months in the year so we enjoy and encourage our players to play other sports,” DenHartog

said.“Balance relates directly to alpine.

There is also a lot of core stability incor-porated that he certainly benefits from on the field,” said Matt Sinderson, senior, varsity alpine captain, and football player. The training and skill sets for alpine and football have made Bremer a better overall athlete.

After juggling these sports for years, Bremer decided that one football-specific factor helped him choose to continue his playing days beyond high school.

“Football is a team sport while skiing is individual. On my alpine club team, we’re all really good friends but we don’t really care how each other does. In football we are a unit, which I really like,” Bremer said.

The University of St. Thomas, where Bremer will be playing football, has a club alpine team. However, he will most likely refrain from skiing competitively in any manner.

“I’ll consider joining the team, but probably not,” Bremer said. He went on to explain how skiing has consumed his weekends and winter breaks for the past 12 years and said he has lost his love for the sport.

Bremer’s passion for football blos-somed during high school; the same point when he started to enjoy skiing less and less.

“He puts a lot of time into skiing, but he doesn’t enjoy it one tenth as much as strapping on a helmet on Friday nights and smashing kids. He lives, breaths, and sleeps football,” Sinderson said.

Harry Orenstein

Staff Reporter

Top: Bremer stares down an opposing offense. On the field, he is known for his tenacity and “mean” attitude.Below: Bremer displays his graceful side, cutting across a slope and kicking up powder.

Photo provided by Shari Bremer

Photo provided by Shari Bremer

Dance team kicks their way to state tournamentAndrew HallStaff Reporter

For the first time in the history of the HHS Royelles dance team, they went to the state tournament after placing third in the high kick competition at sections behind Wayzata and Eden Prairie.

The top three teams from each sec-tion qualified for state. “It felt amazing,” said Ketrin Vinokur, senior, and one of the captains of the Royelles. “The best part was that it is with an amazing group of girls thatn worked so hard and did not give up.”

“They believed in themselves and their routine, even more this year than in years past,” said coach Allison Bridges.

This year was indeed special from the start for the Royelles. “We saw potential in ourselves,” Vinokur said.

“As a captain I made sure that the girls were excited, and that they knew that although it was about having fun,

the hard work was also important,” she said. “As a teammate I did my part and encour-aged others to do the same.”

Throughout the season, HHS was unable to beat Maple Grove in any of the compe-titions, until the section meet, where they placed third and knocked Maple Grove out of the state qualifiers for kick. “This team delivered at the section meet, on the day that it mattered the most,” coach Bridges said.

In the several days leading up to state, each dancer had to do their part in order to prepare adequately. “Although it is a team sport, each individual has to be perfect, has to hit all of their transitions, and can’t miss a count.” said Emily Costa, junior captain.

The state preliminaries took place Sat-urday, Feb. 18, at the Target Center. It in-cluded the top 12 teams in the state. The top six teams moved on to the finals, where the top three placed.

“As a team we delivered a great perfor-mance that we were proud of and we en-couraged each other throughout the day,”

Vinokur said. HHS placed 10th at the state finals,

while Eastview captured their second straight state title.

“Going into state, my mindset was that it ultimately didn’t matter what the results were. We were so ecstatic to be a part of this experience and we just wanted to give it our best and show everyone we deserved to be there,” Vinokur said.

According to Vinokur, the seniors on the team took on important leader-ship roles throughout the year and re-ally stepped up in the state tournament. “Sarah Evon, Bri Stein, and Mollie Koz-berg were very encouraging to the younger girls, and provided support for the cap-tains,” she said.

HHS has had past success in the jazz division, so this recent success for the kick team should represent a bright future for the Royelles as a whole. “This is the be-ginning of seeing ourselves as a balanced squad,” Bridges said.

The HHS Royelles kick team made it to the state tournament for the first time in team history. They performed at the Target Center in front of a big audience.

Photo by Mike Newcomer

RPThursday, March 1, 2012 15the sports

Spotlight Athletes

Name: Mollie Kozberg Name: Romar Daniel

Grade: 12 Grade: 12

Athletic Idol:

Miranda Maleski

Athletic Idol:

Darren Sproles

Sport: Dance Sport: Wrestling

Favorite Memory:

“My favorite memory was plac-

ing at sections, and being the

first kick team to go to state.”

Favorite Memory:

“Beating the 8th wrestler in the

state when I had no intentions

of even making it there.”

Novak brothers choose separate pathsFor many at HHS, the name “Novak” is immediately associated with basketball. Andy Novak, junior, and Kenny Novak, sophomore, do not deny that fact. They have

grown up around the sport - their father, Mr. Ken Novak, Social Studies, and boys varsity basketball coach - has instilled in them a love of the game.

That is why it was a big decision for Andy to give up basketball, while Kenny continued to play.

“This is the first year I won’t be playing basketball. I’ve decided to focus more on tennis, due to the big time commitment basketball had,” Andy said.

His brother, Kenny, also plays tennis, but prefers a free-throw line to a base-line.

“I have to say I like basketball more than tennis just because I have more friends who play it. Also, I like how basketball is a team sport, as tennis is more individual,” Kenny said.

Coach Novak has won the ESPN National High School Coach of the Year and three consecutive state championships in the last three years, so his sons face high expectations when it comes to basketball. “Trying to create standards of achievement in the household is key and to try to get a constant pursuit of excellence makes life fun,” Coach Novsks said.

“I know I am expected to be better at basketball than others, but I just try to do my best. I feel like [my dad] gives me a little harder time than other players, but that is just because he wants me to get better,” Kenny said.

With Andy’s decision to focus on tennis, Kenny will be the only Novak playing for his father in the next couple of years. “I would like to play basketball through the end of senior year. I may not be a starter, but I hope to at least get some playing time as a senior,” he said.

While Coach Novak has earned national praise for his basketball coaching abili-

ties, he has also coached the boys varsity tennis program in the past, and can provide extra help for his sons when they are at home. “He corrects me when I might be doing something wrong and will hit tennis balls with me as long

as I am working hard and getting better,” Andy said.Kenny and Andy both made the varsity tennis

team the same year, in seventh and eighth grade respectively.

“I was amazed by the talent they had while watching them in tryouts. I know they are trying to make a name for just themselves, and not have the family name be as important,” said Clay Thompson, senior, and captain of the tennis team.

Though they have chosen different paths, the two brothers have always been positive towards each other’s decisions.

“If he likes doing what he is doing now, which is playing both tennis and basketball,

I would say keep at it. It’s really up to him as far as what he decides to do for sports,” Andy said.

As for Andy, the extra time in his schedule that was formerly devoted to basketball will now be spent

focusing on tennis and being the best player he can possibly be.

Jack DeutschWeb Czar

Photo by Mike Newcomer

RPThursday, March. 1, 2012 the16

It’s a circus, students in anything from neon tights to lumberjack beards decorate the halls of HHS. The meaning behind the crazy costumes is always the same thing: spirit. One of these wacky accessories is the roller ski. In 1992, the roller ski was introduced, gaining instant popular-ity. Today, the nordic ski team uses the roller skis as spirit for sections. “It would be silly if we wore our spandex [for spirit] we wear everyday at races,” said John Narum, senior. “Our spirit showcases how creative the team is.” Nordic has had several “non-tradi-tional” spirits: tie blanket, lumberjack Wednesday, and of course, biohazard/roller ski spirit. With so many sports, it is easy to repeat spirits that other teams have used, but for basketball captain, Brianna Boileau, senior, getting creative

is part of the game. “One time we were just sitting around talking and someone was wear-ing sunglasses and another person was wearing a snapback hat, so we decided on sunglasses and snapback spirit,” Boi-leau said. “We have had our traditional spirits like nerd, animal, and color, but more people pay attention when you do spirit people haven’t seen before.” “Another time we were with the dance team and we thought doing baller ballerinas would be cool. It’s fun to add our own twist to it.” Boileau said. Even classes that HHS offers have spirit. Some students decide to make t-shirts to remember a class they took, mainly AP Social Studies classes. “I think it’s amazing that teachers can create an environment that students would want to remember,” said Abby Nyquist,

senior. “Spirit makes me want to support the school,” said Michael Seffren, se-nior. “It’s an easy way to know who has games going on.” Ultimate Frisbee still does spirit, even though HHS does not recognize it as a sport. “We usually just wear our ultimate shirts, but most of our fan-recruiting comes from word of mouth.” Seffren said. Whether it’s wearing an AP World t-shirt, shaving your head, or putting on a crazy outfit, school spirit can be seen almost anywhere.“Spirit is a true test of your passion for the sport and for your team,” Narum said.

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Photos courtesy of each respective team

Soccer

Soccer Skiing

“Spirit is a true test of your passion for the sport and for your team.”

-John Narum, senior

HHS SPIRIT

Volleyball

Lydia Wilson is the back page editor for the Royal Page

Story by Taylor Lee, sta� reporter for the Royal Page