EntertainmentPage 9

Center SpreadPages 6-7

FeaturesPages 4-5

NewsPages 2-3

SportsPages 10-11

spotlightTHE

Volume LVIssue 1

Inthisissue

News

Features

Editorial

Entertainment

Sports

- Head Trauma in Athleti cs

- SLHS: The Forefront of Technology

- New Clubs Students Should Join

- Peter Pan Preview

- Solehi Alumni Turned Hero

- Gay Straight Alliance

- A New Year, a New Paper

- Facebook’s New Changes

- Gym Class Running Down our GPA’s

- Julia Nemeth Interview

- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Movie Reviews

- TV Guide

- Fall Sports Recaps

- Homecoming & Tailgate

-Powderpuff Review

October ‘11Editorial

Page 8

Southern Lehigh Homecoming: The Event of the Seasonby Corinne Renner and Sara Zook Homecoming is one of the major events at Southern Le-high High School. The homecoming festivities seem to be all the student body discusses during the fi rst month of school. Mr. Ruch, the student council advisor at the high school, remarked, “it is one of the major social events of the school year.” The student body exhibited a huge amount of spirit as a majority of the students participated in spirit days and helped in the preparation for this big event. On Thursday, October 6, the Southern Lehigh Key Club decorated the high school hall-ways after school in order to motivate the football team for their big game on Friday. Prior to the football game, a grouping of clubs from the high school collaborated for the annual pre-game tailgate. There was a pig roast as well as games, prizes, and lots of free food. Friday night the football team played Notre Dame and pulled away with a narrow win of 34-28. However exciting the homecoming festivities were, the major event was the crowning of the homecoming king and queen. Amongst the entire senior class, the ten seniors selected to the homecoming court were: Dalton Biery, PJ Burris,

Mary Coleman, Bridgette Dougherty, Tyler Edmond, Kelly Hynes, Zoe Lycett, CJ Moyer, Ben Stohl and Brianna Yates. The 2011 homecoming king was Dalton Biery and the queen was Bri-anna Yates. Because of the nature of the homecoming dance and re-lated festivities, there was a lot of work that went into prepara-tion for the long awaited week. The homecoming activities were primarily organized by Southern Lehigh’s student council. “If you include the DJ, food, decorations and chaperones, the dance costs around $3,000, and the tailgate and activities at the game run about another $1,000,” stated Mr. Ruch to the newspaper staff. The income from the homecoming dance pro-vides the majority of the student council budget for the rest of the year. This year homecoming was such a huge success that student council sold more tickets to the dance than they ever have in pre-vious years. Although the homecoming game and dance have passed, that week has created an endless amount of memories that the student body, especially the senior class, will look back on fond-ly.

Back Row (Left to Right): Tyler Edmond, Dalton Biery, Ben Stohl, CJ Moyer, and PJ Burris. Front Row (Left to Right): Kelly Hynes, Mary Coleman, Brianna Yates, Zoe Lycett, and Bridgette Dougherty. Photo courtesy of Alan Sunners.

A New Year, a New Paperby Corinne Renner, Editor-in-Chief

This year The Spotlight staff celebrates over fi fty years of operation. Even after all this time, the staff and journalism classes are still working dili-gently to revamp the paper and produce articles relevant and interesting to the student body. English teacher, Mrs. Spritzer, is advising the jour-nalism classes and The Spot-light team this school year. She has been working with the editors since midsum-mer to restructure the pro-

gram and is eager to watch the paper’s growth throughout the 2011-2012 school year. The journalism stu-dents, who take the class as an elective, are constantly searching for fresh ideas for articles. Through the use of the program Google Docs, the students are able to post, edit, review, and forward articles to the page editors as well as Mrs. Spritzer. Every article that goes to print is fi rst edited by peers, the page editors, the

editor-in-chief, and lastly, Mrs. Spritzer herself. It is a success-ful system that has produced a series of high quality articles. There are many chang-es that Southern Lehigh stu-dents should look for in the upcoming issues of The Spot-light. Managing editor Bruce Backa and layout editor Rylee Maron have collaborated over the past month and designed a completely new template for the newspaper. The staff hopes to highlight a greater

portion of the student body and intends to feature The Spotlight online this year. While many changes have been made to the pro-gram, the overall integrity of the paper is still intact. Both The Spotlight staff and editors are enthusiastic about the new format and structure and are always open to suggestions. Students should keep an eye out for upcoming issues dur-ing the 2011-2012 school year.

Spirit Clubby McKenzie Browne School spirit is a large part of every stu-dent’s high school experience. From the student sections at football games to the big pep rally, everyone seems to express some form of school spirit. Southern Lehigh now o� ers a spirit club. Adviser Mr. Dougherty started the spirit club last year to promote school enthusiasm and create an atmosphere of unity. � e club is currently composed of thirteen members and led by sophomores Ashley Donnely and Haley Disbrow. � e club meets every � urs-day. However, while preparing for the pep rally, the club met daily. � e pep rally was run by the spirit club from start to � nish and hosted by two students who volunteered for the position. Spirit means something di� erent to ev-eryone. Mr. Dougherty believes that “spirit is the drive to make something better, even when the challenge is di� cult.” With that being said, keep your spirits up even when you’re feeling down. Keep an eye out for the Spirit Club to organize possible food drives and other events throughout the school year. Go Spartans!

Southern Lehigh High School5800 Main Street

Center Valley, PA 18034(610) 282-1421 x7122

slsdspotlight@gmail.com

The Spotlight is published six ti mes annually by the student members

of its staff . Its purpose is to present news concerning Southern Lehigh

High School and the Southern Lehigh School District, as well as to

provide a forum for student opinion. Editorial content of The Spotlight

expresses the view of the paper and not necessarily that of the Board of Educati on, Administrati on, or fac-ulty of the Southern Lehigh School District. Bylined editorial content and lett ers to the editor represent the opinion of the writer only. All contents are copyrighted by The Spotlight. Adverti sing and sub-

scripti on rates are furnished upon

request.

Faculty AdviserMrs. Marlo Spritzer

Editor-in-Chief Corinne Renner

Managing EditorBruce Backa

News EditorsLauren Gross

Heather Smillie

Features EditorsCasey Anthony

Rachel Style

Entertainment Editor

Mariah Janowski

Editorial EditorsMaria McDonald

Ally Quilty

Sports EditorsTim Filler

Brad Zamoiski

Layout EditorRylee Maron

Photo EditorIsabella Hoeke

Photographer Katelyn Scheetz

NewsPage2

On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 13th, while most students were walking to their cars and buses, a group of students gathered in the cafete-ria, marking the � rst meeting of the new cake decorating club. Mrs. Dapsis runs the new club every other Tuesday after school from 2:30-3:00. Many of her stu-dents know that aside from teaching sci-ence, she also teaches a cake decorating class. � e main reason Mrs. Dapsis started this club was so her students did not have to pay for her class outside of school. � e club does not cost anything to join, and students are able to show up to the meetings they are able to at-tend. When asked if students needed to bring their own supplies Mrs. Dapsis

Southern Lehigh

Fun Fact

Will the Post Offi ce Be No More?by Lizzi Levis

Everyone, at one time or another, has anxiously checked the mail to look for that card from Grandma or a college acceptance letter. What if you had to wait all weekend to check for that let-ter? That just might happen. The gov-ernment has recently discussed closing post offi ces on Saturdays and laying off a large number of employees. The United States postal service is experiencing major fi nancial issues. Email and other competing delivery services have diminished the role of the postal service. In order to make neces-sary budget cuts, an estimated one fi fth of the postal labor source will lose their jobs, and the period of time between mail deliveries will lengthen signifi cant-ly. Newspapers and television report job loss and benefi t cuts daily. How could something so seem-ingly insignifi cant affect the Southern Lehigh Community? Combined, Center Valley and Coopersburg have two post offi ces within a two-mile distance from

Ping Pong Clubby Michael Deutsch Twice a week after school, members of the ping pong club gather in the gym for some competitive table tennis. Mr. Haupt, a math teacher at Southern Lehigh, is the club’s adviser. What is so great about ping pong club? Mr. Haupt says, “It’s fun just having fun and get-ting to know each other and getting competitive at times.” � e club makes sure it’s an accept-ing environment for everyone. What would Mr Haupt like to change? “I would like to see more kids sign up and to show people how laid back and fun it is.” � e club plans to hold tourna-ments in the future. Anyone who wants to join the ping pong club can sign up with Mr. Haupt at any time. Meetings are every Tuesday and � ursday from 3:00-5:00 pm.

Spanish Clubby Rachel Style Have you ever wanted to join a club where you can experience a di� erent culture without leaving the country? Well, Spanish Club is the place to go! � e main purpose of Spanish club is to develop a greater cultural understand-ing of Spanish speaking countries in an enter-taining way. Spanish Club meets in Sra. Imm’s room every Monday at 7:20 am. Sra. Imms is the advisor of the club and has been involved since the activity started during the 2010-2011 school year. � e club is a student generated organiza-tion that was designed by Lilly Shields during her sophomore year at Southern Lehigh and has been popular ever since. Spanish Club includes over 40 students and continues to grow every year. � ere are about the same amount of underclassmen as upper-classmen, but is dominated by junior class. � is year Spanish club hopes to host a special event every month. � ey have already had a Mexican Independence day celebration in the month of September. Spanish club hopes to plan a cooking class for Latin foods as well as organize a Zumba session twice this school year. � e biggest event planned is a Quinceanera where students can ex-perience a traditional Mexican � fteenth birthday. � e co-presidents of the club are Lily Shields and Julia Buonanno. If you have any questions about Spanish club you can contact them or Sra. Imms.

Cake Decorati ng Clubby Kylie Schmitt

For those of you who don’t already know (yes, all four

of you), chicken Turnovers are sold on one Thursday of

every month.

one another. To some, this may seem unnecessary, but many members of the community fi ll these jobs or re-ceive their mail from one of these two post offi ces. The government blames tech-nology for the recent changes. They claim that the ability to pay bills, con-tact clients and co-workers, and send homework to teachers online has di-minished the need for postal services. Government offi cials feel it is in the country’s best interest to cut spending in the postal department. To young, tech-friendly teens, working with computers and s m a r t phones to communicate is second na-ture, but older generations who have relied on the good old “pony express” for so many years may feel the effects more strongly. In other words, losing that extra day of postage may seem minuscule to some, but it will have a massive impact on others, especially those whose livelihood is at stake.

con� rmed, “Yes, a list of supplies can be found on my website.” � e club decorated their � rst cakes during their second meet-ing, making stars and shell borders out of buttercream icing. In the up-coming meetings, Mrs. Daps i s will teach the students whatever they would like to learn. Anyone interested in the cake decorating club does not need expe-rience in cake decorating; Mrs. Dap-sis will teach students everything they need to know. Any student who missed a meeting and would like to come to the next one can check out Mrs. Dapsis’s website for instructions about what to bring and if anything should be made ahead of time.

Key Clubby Chris McCarthy

Key Club International is an or-ganization that is devoted to the improve-ment of the community. Key Club Inter-national is an organization comprised of high school students that o� ers schol-arships and leadership opportunities to its members. Individuals who belong to Key Club assist the community through fundraisers, organizing food drives, and various other humanitarian actions. Not only does Key Club participate in na-tional fundraisers, such as UNICEF, but it also allows club members to organize and create their own community activi-ties. Southern Lehigh High School has an extremely active and devoted Key Club. � e club adviser, Mr. Beaupre, co-ordinates activities with outside organi-zations and collaborates with the club o� cers to devise unique and creative community service activities. � e South-ern Lehigh Key Club participates in

countless activities, including baby-sitting, senior citizen dinners, miracle league, and trick or treat. Key Club o� ers dozens of opportunities for leadership. You can be a club o� cer, take charge of community organiza-tions, and sponsor your own activi-ties. � e Southern Lehigh Key Club meets regularly every Tuesday morning in the auditorium at 7:20 A.M. Students who are interested in joining Key Club should � ll out a membership form and dues. � ey must be willing to devote at least two hours every month to community service. If anyone has questions about Key Club, they may contact Mr. Beaupre in room 144. If you’re inter-ested in giving back to your commu-nity and having fun at the same time, Key Club is the perfect organization for you.

News Page3

A football player takes a blow to the head in a game. Great hit, the op-posing team thinks. � e player shakes it o� as if it was nothing; he’s hit his head before. � is time, however, it feels di� erent: his vision is blurred, and he sees spots on the � eld. He would sit down, but the coach shouts at him to get back in the game. � ere’s no time to deliberate, so he sprints back onto the � eld and resumes his play. Does this scenario sound familiar? If it doesn’t, then it might be a more prevalent issue than you think. Accord-ing to a recent article by Lindsay Barton, a writer for mom-sTEAM.com, in nearly every American football game, at least one player sustains a minor concussion. For the most part, these go unnoticed, heightening the risk of second im-pact syndrome and ultimately death. Once an athlete has suf-fered an initial concussion, his or her chances of sustaining a second one are three to six times greater than an athlete who has never sustained a concussion. Not only high school football players that are at risk. � e Sports Con-cussion Institute estimates that 10-19 percent of high school athletes in contact

sports su� er a concussion each season, and for young people ages 15 to 24 years, sports are the second leading cause of traumatic brain injury behind only motor vehicle crashes. In a Time magazine study, many athletes who sustain concus-sions disregard them, and approximately 41% return to play too soon. How can our coaches, parents, and athletes, prevent concussions from

causing serious damage throughout high school athletics? � e answer is simple: awareness. Athletes with possible head trauma should stay out of contact sports until they have been cleared, period. Some suggest that student ath-letes look out for their friends and know the symptoms of a concussion: headaches, temporary loss of consciousness, confusion, pupil dilation, nausea, amnesia, and ringing in the ears are all telltale signs. New guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology will be launched in 2012 in regards to concus-sions. With the combined factors of awareness and new

technology for computerized concussion testing, athletes at the high school level can be kept safe while they play.

“We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yes-terday, and prepare our schools for what no one knows yet,” stated Margaret Mead, pioneering anthropologist and Pennsylvanian, during the middle of the last century, but nowadays her claim seems to be even more relevant. Penn-sylvania’s Classroom for the Future grant has taken a step toward promoting 21st century skills in Pennsylvania schools. It is a three-year initiative that provided $200 million toward improving teaching in the classrooms of math, science, English and social studies. � anks in part to the CFF grant, Southern Lehigh High School has collected over 250 new instruments of technology. How is this technology helping students? Southern Lehigh High school recently obtained new iPad 2 carts. Teachers were of-fered the opportunity to sign out an iPad over over the summer vacation to experiment with them. � e iPads, along with the Mac laptops, will be available for teachers to use with stu-dents in the classroom. In the last several years, teachers’ classrooms have been updated with new SmartBoards, PolyVision boards, and Pro-methean boards. With these new interactive white boards, teachers can have students come up to the board and “write” directly on a screen with a projected image from a computer. It al-lows students to make corrections or answer questions in an easy and quick way. � e teachers also have access to Mobis. A Mobi, the sister to a touchpad mouse, is a tablet that a teacher can walk around and interact with. “� e Mobi will help with student-to-teacher interaction,” says Mr. Joe Breisch, Technology Coach of South-ern Lehigh High School. “Something that is similar to the Mobi is the CPS clickers. � ey come in handy with answering multiple choice

“

“ Unfortunately, many athletes who sustain con-cussions disregard them, and approximately 41% return to play too soon.

The New Face of Bullyingby Cody Heffl efi nger and Robyn Somers

Head Trauma in Athleti cs: the Unintended Consequences

Will the Post Offi ce Be No More?

On the Forefront of Technologyby Cassie Clarence

Bullying is an unfortunate part of everyday life, whether you are being bullied, you are witnessing someone else being bullied, or you are in fact the bully. Sadly, bullying is a big problem that has been overlooked until recent years. Many people picture a bully as a bigger, older boy picking on a younger, “nerdier” kid in the lunch line and trying to take his food. However, with changes in technology and society, new forms of bullying have been created, including cyber-bullying, haing, verbal bullying, social alienation, and threats, to name a few. According to the website stomputbullying.com, one out of every four teens is bullied, and as many as 160,000 students stay home from school on a given day out of fear of being bullied. Each month, 282,000 students in secondary schools are attacked physically, and one out of every � ve teens admits to being a bully or bullying at least once. On average, every seven minutes someone is bullied. � e New York Times reports that in New Jersey’s East Ha-nover Schools, there has been a recent problem with lunch line bul-lies. � e East Hanover School District has now teamed up with the Morris County sherri� ’s o� ce program called Crimestoppers. � e program hosts a website that accepts anonymous text messages or phone calls from children and teens who have problems with bullies. � ey respond with help and various tips. Hanover is spending $3,000 to expand their anti-bullying program to provide training for all of their sta� and faculty, including sports coaches, teachers, custodians, and even cafeteria sta� . New Jersey school districts are now each re-quired to have a safety team made up of parents, teachers, and other sta� members. � e team will look at every complaint; the principal has one school day from the time of the of the bullying to report. � e will report all of the complaints to Trenton twice a year. While the aforementioned facts do not pertain to Southern Lehigh, bullying does happen at our school. When asked if she witne-ses a lot of bullying at Southern Lehigh, freshman Dana DiGiovanni said, “No, I do not think bullying is a critical problem, particularly in our school.” However, in several anonymous interviews at the high school, the students revealed the truth: � ve students reveal that they have been bullied before, at times to the extent of going home in tears. None of the bullied victims reported to anyone or sought help because they were afraid, worried the bullying would get worse. � e reason for bullying? Honest students who have bullied others say that they saw others bullying � rst, so they did not think it was a big deal, mainly peer pressure. Our district has hosted guest speakers to talk to students about bullying, and some may wonder if it is really helping. Re-gardless, consequences are in place. Each school in the district now has a stronger punishment for bullies, and administrators are crack-ing down on bullying before it gets out of hand. At Southern Le-high if a student is caught bullying, it can result in counseling within the school; a parent conference; loss of school privileges; transfer to another school building, classroom, or bus; exclusion from school activities; detention, suspension, or expulsion; counseling or therapy outside of school; or a referral to law enforcement o� cials. Southern Lehigh School District takes bullying very seriously, and the admin-istration plans to do everything they can to prevent it.

by Madeleine Cole

questions.” Even the morning an-nouncements use an abundance of tech-nology! With sound, video cameras, and a green screen, the media team brings our school together in the morning to say the Pledge of Allegiance and share what is happening that day at school. In the near future, the library plans to stock Kindles. Flip cameras are also available to teachers whose lessons involve mov-ing students around the environment of our building to make observations. Technology integration be-gins as early as the elementary grades and continues through middle school, where students are also required to take a mandatory typing class. Now in the high school it is mandatory for students to take classes such as Career Technol-ogy Applications (CTA) to graduate; students use these skills to successfully complete projects in a variety of classes. � e integration of technology has changed the way teachers provide instruction, since they no longer simply lecture but guide students in their learn-ing. In an informal class vote of 19 stu-dents, 14 said the integration of technol-ogy is helping our students. For example, technology is helping our students to collaborate and communicate with each other as they learn. � e use of technol-ogy in the classroom also makes it easier for students to research information. � e use of Blackboard and GoogleDocs al-lows teachers and students to engage in conversation about their work in a con-structive way. With technology at the tip of our � ngers, teaching and learning has become more individualized.

Photo courtesy of: http://www.fl ickr.com/photos/lillisaurus/3791514093/

SADD: The Real Faces of “Above the Infl uence” by Natalie Baca

FeaturesPage4

Don’t Hide Your School Prideby Lizzi Levis

Are you interested in showing your passion for blue and white? Do you love coming up with creative ways to spread school pride? Join in on all the fun, and come to a Varsity Club meet-ing! In the past, the Varsity Club has been open exclusively to students who participate in a sport and have received a varsity letter. After a lot of thought, Var-sity Club adviser Mr. Zeisloft decided to open participation to all interested students. � e reasoning behind this is to allow all students at Southern Lehigh, not just the athletes, to have their voic-es heard. � e club also promotes great school spirit! Varsity Club meets every Wednesday morning at 7:20 to gather ideas and come up with ways to spread Spartan spirit! � e club provides a great avenue for school involvement and is al-ways eager for new members.

Book Club Spoiler Alertby Rachel Style

information that teen counselors pres-ent is information students learn in health class, but the middle-school-ers take it more to heart because it is from another student, not an adult. “[Teen counseling is] anoth-er outlet for younger students tee-tering on bad decisions to look at a teen counselor and say, ‘Well, if he or she can [make a good decision], I can do it,’” explains Mrs. Bausher. The students who become teen counselors take pride in what they do. Many of them were inspired by their own teen counselors when they were in middle school and have waited to join the program ever since. When asked why she ap-plied to join the program, teen counselor Courtney Long shared, “I knew I could help kids, who might not want to reach out, and encour-age them to do the right thing. It has made me more understanding.” Although the primary focus of teen counseling is to lead sev-enth graders in a positive direction, Courtney Long attests to the fact that teen counseling impacts the teen counselors, too. They gain leader-ship skills and confi dence but they also learn that having fun doesn’t need to include drugs and alcohol.

Teen Counselors Tackle Teen Troubles

begins at 6:00 p.m. and ends at 9:30 p.m. Once the school year [begins], band rehearses three times per week during period one and also may prac-tice at 7:00 a.m. if there is a need to � nish working on the details of the � eld show.” � e constant demand for perfection and the amount of time that is put into the show yields to a greater product that has already es-tablished Southern Lehigh as one of the leading bands in the district. While Southern Lehigh’s marching band has never been the largest, they have always received good ratings. Bolasky explains that with a smaller group, it is easier to clean up the details such as intonation, pitches, marching, and maneuvers: “We have a good reputation that has taken the Southern Lehigh band many, many years to establish. You don’t get that by being a sloppy group.”

Living Up to Legacy Drives Southern Lehigh Band

by Casey Anthony

by Stan Tabor

They are an elite group, fi fty strong. They teach middle school stu-dents to say no to drugs. They help anxious ninth graders survive their fi rst year of high school. They chap-erone middle school dances (and try to get the middle school kids to actually dance). They pledge to stay drug and alcohol free. They are teen counselors. Since its origin seven years ago, the teen counseling program has grown and changed. The most recent addition is freshman mentoring, which began in the 2010-2011 school year. Each teen counselor is assigned to a freshman homeroom and periodically checks in to answer questions about everything from opening lockers to proper dress for homecoming. Feedback from fresh-man homeroom teachers reveals that the students fi nd the program very helpful. The infl uence of the teen coun-seling program is active both in the high school and across the street in the sev-enth-grade classrooms. Once a month, the teen counselors go to the middle school to talk to the seventh graders. They teach them strategies for saying no to drugs, as well as how drugs affect a person physically and mentally. Af-ter the lesson, the teen counselors often lead a game or activity to reinforce the points in a fun way. On the surface, the

Five things you didn’t know about Varsity Club:

1. It has become one of the most popular clubs this year, with 50 people attending its � rst meeting!

2. Your ideas and opinions will be heard, valued, and potentially put into action if you join.

3. You can now � nd information about Southern Lehigh’s Varsity Club on Facebook and Twitter.

4. If you love making new friends and meeting new people, Varsity Club is for you!

5. You can join at any time!

One of the newest addi-tions to the array of activities of-fered at Southern Lehigh is book club. � e club was established in the beginning of the school year by junior, Jillian Loomis, who was in-spired by her passion for reading. “I enjoyed discussing books in English class with my friends and we thought it would be a good idea to expand on that,” Loomis stated.Loomis approached English teacher, Mrs. Ciotti, about the idea of the club because she like-wise shared a passion for books. � e � rst meeting, which took place in room 150 (Mrs. Ci-otti’s room), was held on Sep-tember 27. At the meeting the members decided which books would be read over the course of the year. � e meetings will con-

Each Friday you go to the foot-ball game to see the football team, the cheerleaders, and friends. Well, how about the marching band? Yes, at home games during that “break” called half-time, our school’s marching band takes the � eld to perform their � eld show; during away games they usually take to the � eld before the game begins. However, football games are not the only events where the march-ing band plays; other events include parades, memorial services, community days, and band festivals. � e marching band is much like any sports team. According to band director, Mr. Bolasky, “� e marching band convenes for the � rst time in late July to begin working on basics of marching/maneuvering and also instrumental fundamentals. � e band rehearses two weeks prior to our � rst performance (usually Labor Day weekend). Each of those rehearsals

SADD is an organization at Southern Lehigh that helps students not make destructive decisions involving anti-destructive behavior. In the past, it has stood for Students Against Drunk Driving, but has re-cently changed its name to Students Against Destructive Decisions. This year, about 45 students are involved and the student leader is Jeffrey Funk. Students who belong to SADD are against alcohol because they be-lieve it alters judgement and actions. They also believe that you can live and enjoyable life without alcohol and drugs, and that they are dangerous, especially while driving. “I believe that a big percentage of students are involved with drugs and alcohol,” says Mr. Roncolato, the

Photo courtesy of Katelyn Scheetz

leader of SADD, “I think students need a network like SADD.” According to Mr. Roncolato, SADD meetings are strictly business to work on upcoming activities. They spread awareness through activities such as red ribbon week, teen driver safety week, healthy living expo, holiday gift exchange, a PSA competition, a poster competition, a fun fair, and meeting county offi cials about drunk driving. Currently they are working on a Valen-tines Day event in the future.

sist of a discussion on the book that had been assigned the previous month. When asked what some of her favorite books were, Loomis raved about Harry Potter, � e City of Bones series and anything by Meg Cabot. Mrs. Ciotti also shared her list of favorite books which included To Kill A Mockingbird, � e His-torian, Atonement, and Wuthering Heights. � e approach of the discussions in book club will be a bit di� erent from what students are accustomed to in Eng-lish classes. � e discussions will have more to do with what they liked about the book itself and less about analyzing ev-ery detail in search of symbolic meaning. Just like other new clubs, ac-tive members make the activity a suc-cess. So if you have a free Tuesday in the near future, go check out book club and have a chat with fellow students who enjoy reading and discussing books.

Features Page5

� e Gay Straight Alliance club, or GSA, is a small but powerful group making strides in opening the minds of Southern Lehigh students. Accord-ing to Mrs. Mack, club adviser, their mission is to “combat discriminant at-titudes towards the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning] community.” � e club is not just for LGBT students, either. Mrs. Mack ex-plains that the club is open to “[LGBT] students and their straight allies.” Since its founding last year, GSA has provided a place for LGBT students and their straight allies to feel protected and supported. � is year, the club has developed an o� cial mission statement, re³ ecting their e� orts to make an even bigger impact in the school community. � e membership has grown since last year, and more of the members are attending the meet-ings consistently. With more members contributing their thoughts, Mrs. Mack says that the club has more speci� c ideas about how to move forward. GSA meets Mondays after school in Mrs. Mack’s room and their most recent focus during that time is to generate ideas about how to raise awarenesss. October is LGBT History Month, and Ally week is October 17-22. � e club is planning activities all week long to promote awareness and respect for LGBT teens. � rough these activities, the club hopes to “expose Southern Lehigh to all lifestyles, and combat discriminatory attitudes,” according to Mrs. Mack.

Peter Pan Flies onto Southern Lehigh Stage � e annual fall play is rapidly approaching; performances will run through � rst weekend in November, hopefully accompanied by a play pre-view for high school students. � is year’s production is Peter Pan. According to Mr. Wehr the play’s director, “Peter Pan is a classic that also involves op-portunities for lots of actors which is not true of most of the great plays. I also wanted an audience show that would attract people out to see the production.” Performers are eager to take on this fantasy-� lled perfor-mance, “What I like best about being in Peter Pan is that I actually get to be a part of one of my favorite stories from when I was a kid. What I love about acting and being in this production is the chance to perform for people and to entertain everyone in the audience,” states Addy Young, who will play Tiger Lily. � e play is based on a timeless tale about a boy who refuses to grow up. � is story appeals to audiences of all ages. Casey McGinty, who will be playing Peter Pan, agrees: “Peter Pan is such a magical masterpiece of a play, and I can already tell that the audi-ence is going to leave the theatre in a better mood. It’s just happy.” Many are familiar with Disney’s � lm version of Pe-ter Pan. � e show slightly deviates from that story line. McGinty explains, “We will be performing the original play, written by James M. Barrie in 1928. � e Disney mov-ie does follow the plot line very well, just in a more light-hearted, ‘kid-ish’ kind of way. � is play actually has so much more deep, underlying symbolism than people realize. Even though kids will probably love it just as much as the movie, adults will � nd themes that [the kids] might not even be able to understand.” � e actors’ enthusiasm is evident on and o� the stage as students anticipate the inevitable ³ ight to Neverland. “We have a ³ ight compa-ny coming in a week before opening night. � ey will spend three days teaching us how to ³ y and choreographing the sword � ghts and di� erent scenes that involve ³ ying. I can’t wait!” Casey exclaims. It goes without saying the show is action-packed, from epic sword battles to mythical mermaids, and the production is bound to entertain all who attend. Judg-ing from the actors’ enthusiasm, the show is certain to be a crowd-pleaser.

At the end of his junior year, 2010 graduate Ryan Mindler decided to join the U.S. Army. During his se-nior year, he started informal training every � ursday at a recruiting center, where he participated in running and strength training. A month after grad-uating high school, Ryan headed to ba-sic training in Fort Benning, Georgia. Basic training is a di� cult commitment for many individuals, sending them far away from home for the � rst time.Mindler recalled, “Being away from my family made me realize how much I love them and how much I miss them while I’m away. � ey support me and help me with everything I do.” Ryan attended the training sessions for � ve months before re-turning home. Shortly after, he was sent to his permanent base in Hawaii. “� ey told me the � rst week I was there that we were deploying to Afghanistan in April. My heart sunk,” re³ ected Mindler. After resid-ing in Hawaii for seven months, he returned home once more before leav-ing on his � rst tour in Afghanistan.At � rst, Ryan was unaware of when he would come home. No exact date was established until just weeks be-fore his return in September 2011

Former Student Ryan Mindler Shares Military Experiences

In Pursuit of Equality

“

“Peter Pan is such a magical masterpeice of

a play...

by Jack Hartenstein and Lauren Ortwein

by Casey Anthony

by Joelle Smith

Cast members of Peter Pan rehearse daily putting in hard work to create a great production. Photos cour-tesy of Katelyn Scheetz.

when Mindler was home for two weeks on what the military calls “R&R” -- rest and recovery. He was most ex-cited to be home with his family and to see all of his friends with whom he had lost contact while he was serving. Mindler explained the di� culty in leaving his platoon as well: “� e time de� nitely goes fast. We are always out and about and up to something -- out on missions, patrols, working on the trucks, or just messing around in the barracks playing jokes on each other.” Re³ ecting upon his overall ex-perience in the army, Mindler recom-mends the military to those who are in-terested. “If you’re not really interested in joining, then it’s a bad idea to go into the military. It changes your life. I was a lot di� erent in high school. Just ask some of the teachers I had. It de� nitely put me in my place. � e military is a good way to start o� your career though, so yes I would recommend it to people.” Although Mindler loves his job defending his country, he would rethink the possibility of participating in another tour in Afghanistan. However, Mindler is eager to continue his work with the military and encourages interested indi-viduals to pursue the same route as well.

Ally Week: October 17-22Each day during Ally Week, GSA will parti cipate

in spirit days to help promote awareness of LGBT youth. Show your support for your LGBT peers and

their allies!

Monday- Lady GagaTuesday- PJ/Stuff y

Wednesday- Ugly sweater Thursday- Superhero

Friday- purple

Page6 Center Spread

HOMEC OMING SPIRIT WEEK

Background photo courtesy of Alan Sunners. Candid photos courtesy of Katelyn Scheetz and Rylee Maron.

COLLEGE APPAREL DAY

What’s better than wearing a comfy college sweatshirt on a Monday? Probably nothing. Ac-tually, defi nitely nothing. Walking through the halls, glimpses of Penn State, Lehigh, and Syra-cuse fl ash to the eyes, whether they be brand new from a recent college visit or a retro-sweatshirt from SalVal. It wasn’t exactly a day to go crazy, so no one student stood out. But it was defi nitely a day to go comfy, and in that, everyone succeed-ed.

On Tuesday the school seemed backwards. Stu-dents were dressed up in their fi nest garb, and teachers were seen wearing sweatshirts and jeans. Senior Jeff Funk donned a wig and a long black dress claim-ing he was posing as Miss Viola!.Most girls were wearing pencil skirts and nice blouses, while all the boys brought out the suits and blazers, and even a few slicked back hair. Oh, and don’t forget all the sweater vests and nerdy glasses!

DRESS UP DRESSDOWN DAY

This page: Top left: Marie Louise Matsinger and Julia Bu-onanno. Center cut out: Isabella Hoeke, Lilly Shields, and Thomas Cor-so. Bottom Center: Sophia Hoeke and Maria McDon-ald. Bottom: Jeffrey Funk dresses as Mrs. Viola. All showing school spirit!!Opposite Page: Top: Thomas Corso Bot-tom: Center: Mr. Dough-erty. Kyle Brown and Bradley Zamojki.

Page7Center Spread

HOMEC OMING SPIRIT WEEK

CLASS COLOR CRAZY HAT/HAIR

DAY Class Color Day says it all; the hallways fl ooded with a mix of the different colors. Seniors

of course wore black, being the top dogs of the school. Juniors wore white, also a fairly easy yet

fl attering color to pull off. And of course, the un-derclassmen were dubbed with fi tting colors: yellow and

brown. As for the hats and hair, gel sculpted styles and silly caps made their way into the day. Senior Giovanna

Palmer made a statement by wearing a motorcycle helmet all day long while junior Michelle Moreira simply dyed

her hair green.

Thursday’s fl ash to the past most likely took the prize for the craziest spirit day.

Characters ranged from 60s hippies and 80s workout instructors to 50s

greasers and 90s grundgers. “I man-aged to fi nd a gold stretchy jumpsuit

that I couldn’t pass up wearing. I called it disco 70s gogo girl,” says junior Maria McDonald, “I was a big fan of Kyle Brown and Brad

Zamojski’s greaser outfi ts as well as all the 90s plaid shirt, lightwashed

jeans, and grungy edge.”

DECADE DAY

Last but not least, came the big shabang. Blue and White Day; game day. Not only were the hallways decked out in outrageous school spirit, but so was the whole stu-dent body, as well as teacher. It was the rowdiest spirit day of them all, jam-packed with fun, facepaint and balloons. Blue and White Day perfectly wrapped up our spirit week while the pep rally seamlessly closed the day. “Fri-day was insane! So many people supported the school... every inch was covered in blue and white, we were all pumped for the game!”

BLUE & WHITE DAY

How many times have you turned on your com-puter for a specifi c rea-son and, with-out think-ing, logged

into Facebook? We all have done it! Well, if you have been “facebook-ing” lately, you will notice that there have been some major changes. Facebook has completely evolved from what it started as in 2004. Although Facebook’s format and look have changed a plethora of times, reports say in this particular instance, it has gone too far and is becoming “borderline creepy.” This new version lets users know what their closest friends are doing at any given moment through a moving “ticker” that shows updates as they happen. Hold on, how does Face-book know who my closest friends are? (Hence, “borderline creepy.”) Considering a Facebook creator’s point of view, one can see that the programmers attempted to design

EditorialPage8 Entertainment

Facebook Gets a New Faceby Lizzi Levis

He Said She Saidby Bruce Backa and Lauren Gross

What is an acceptable number of ‘chick’ shows for guys to enjoy

Guy: “negative one” -Keifer NagleGirl: “Two” -Ally Quilty

Too Prett y to Do Homework?by Allison Quilty

“I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me.” This statement was displayed on a t-shirt in the girls’ department at JC Penney. There was such an infl ux of complaints about this tee that the store was forced to pull the shirt from its racks. The marketing copy for the shirt read “ who has time for homework when there’s a new Jus-tin Beiber album out? She’ll love this tee that’s just as cute and sassy as she is.” The question is what is behind all the anger of the shoppers. Shoppers were outraged over the gender stereotyping that was promoted by this shirt which promoted to girls aged 8-16 that being smart and pretty are mutually exclusive. The statement does not en-courage young girls to try hard in school. It sends the message that all girls need to do is worry about being pretty, and that they should let the boys do all the brain work. However, the way to create a productive mem-ber of society is not to dumb a child down, but to encourage him or her to work hard and do well in school, whether the child is a girl or a boy. One of the most disappointing aspects of this shirt is that the gender ste-reotyping is so antiquated. Hadn’t we fi nally gotten past the point in our histo-ry where boys were expected to do well in school and go to college, while girls kept house and looked pretty? This shirt brought to mind a 1924 ad for Palmol-ive soap[a]. It pictures a pretty woman sitting at mirror, with a caption reading, “Most men ask ‘is she pretty,’ not ‘is she clever.’” This outdated ad promotes the same ideals as JC Penny’s tee-shirt. No need to be smart, just be pretty. One would hope this idea would no longer exist in 2011, but apparently it does. While just one shirt is not a monumental problem, it may be part of a bigger problem. Yet another ridiculous product is Walmart’s new geoGirl make-up line. This anti-aging makeup kit is marketed to 8-12 year old girls. What 8-12 year old girl needs anti-aging products? This product, along with others like it, encourage young girls to focus only on looks. If a girl is raised to believe all that is important is her appearance, how will she ever know that being well-educated is the most important? Young girls need to be taught that education and smarts are more important than looks. A person dances how she is taught to dance. If parents buy products like these, the lesson young girls will receive may not be the education their parents hope for.

In order to graduate from Southern Lehigh High School, stu-dents are required to take a semes-ter of physical education every year. For athletes who play three sports year round, the same rule applies. Starting with the 2011-12 academic year, the physical education require-ments have changed for juniors and seniors. Upperclassmen now have the option to take personal fi tness or competitive sports. However, some students feel the word “com-petitive” is being taken too seri-ously, with a grading policy so strict even student athletes are suffering. Athletes who play three var-sity sports year-round get the most physical activity possible. It is frus-trating for year-round athletes to ful-fi ll the requirements of a gym class on top of the requirements for their team. Take into consideration a fi eld hock-ey player who arrives late to school, missing fi rst period gym class and

Running Down Our GPAsby Cassie Clarence

What do you think the limit of PDA should be?

Guy: “A good, old slap in the rear.” -anonymous

Girl: “Kissin in the halls”- Morgan Kruczek

Do you think a guy should pay for every meal

Guy: “NOOOOOO!!!!!!” -anony-mous

Girl: “If you’re on a date with some-one who isn’t your boyfriend then yes, de� nitely. But, if you’ve been dating for a while then the girl can surprise the guy by paying every once in a while!” - Maria Mcdonald

Fasticon

a more “user-friendly” website that displays my best buds’ updates, but changing everything around is just confusing, and a nuisance to many. It seems that Facebook is always try-ing to look different from its original form, and come up with new ideas so people don’t tire of the same old thing. While many agree change is good, and mixing things up is al-ways a nice idea, what Facebook staff members don’t seem to real-ize is that they already generate over 800 million users, who are quite content with the original template! Why would they want to change what is excessively used and loved? When I go on a website that I have been using for years, and it is differ-ent from what I am used to, obviously I’m going to be annoyed, especially if parts are diffi cult to fi gure out. I know that technology is rapidly advancing and companies are trying to “keep up with the Joneses,” but alterations this drastic should be an option for the user. This allows people who want the “new” Facebook to use it, and the others to keep it the way they like it!

jcpenny.comthe dreaded beep test. Now she must make it up after school in order to get a good grade. Consequently, she arrives late to fi eld hockey practice, just in time for running exercises. She’s running again! In general, high school athletes get more exercise than a student in a typical gym class, so to run more in gym class seems unfair. The physical education teach-ers wouldn’t agree. They know that bringing your heart rate up during the day will increase a person’s energy level. While this is true, I believe that athletes who are active and play sports year-round should not have to take a gym class. Instead, they should receive credit for their involvement in sports, where they are getting the ex-ercise they need. With the implemen-tation of stricter grading procedures, even a starting varsity athlete may have a B in gym class for failing the sit and reach test. It only lowers a stu-dent’s GPA and seems quite ridiculous.

We’re in the middle of Fall now, and trends for the season have offi cially been set. Because students are comfortably back into the swing of things, it’s defi nitely time to get involved in the school community, and make a statement as an individual within your friend groups. To do so, you defi nitely need to know the ins and outs of this Fall, regarding fashion, things to do, school events, and everything in between. These essential pieces of information are going to shape how you live your life (at least until the next issue comes out, and everything changes) so pay attention!

WHAT’S IN AND OUT

INSchool Events:- Homecoming Spirit Week- Attending fall sports’ playoff games, complete with body paint, posters, and noisemakers!

Things to do:-Keeping your weekends insanely busy, with friends, and somewhere outdoors- Going on creative/ adventurous dates: pumpkin patches, fall festivals, hiking-Going on college visits: consider your options early and do research now, to avoid stress later!

Fashion:- Cozy sweaters, leggings, boots

OUTSchool Events:- Not participating in Spirit Week- Making excuses to skip school events. C’mon, everyone can pull a late night in the name of school spirit!

Things to do:- Staying inside, playing video games, and being anti-social- Going on boring, typical dates: dinner and a movie, walking in pointless circles around the Promenade- Procrastinating on college plans: this will only stress you out and lesson your chances of success

Fashion:- Flip fl ops, tank tops, shorts

Q. What got you so interested in going to concerts? What’s your favorite part about them?A. Live music is just exciting to me, and I get to see my fa-vorite bands in person. My favorite part is just like getting to sing along with the band and having fun.

Q. Which celebrities have you actually met before? Any multiple times?A. I’ve met Paramore twice, 30 Seconds to Mars twice, Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Mark Hoppus (Blink-182), Andrew Mc-Mahon (Jack’s Mannequin), Young the Gi-ant, Passion Pit, and Wiz Khalifa.

Q. How many contests have you won since the beginning of your junior year? Also, how many concerts have you actu-ally had to pay for in this time? A. I’ve won four twitter contests for radio 104.5--30 Seconds to Mars, Young the Gi-ant, Switchfoot, and Jack’s Mannequin. And since the beginning of my junior year I paid for three out of twelve concerts I went to!

Q. How do you think you get so “lucky”? Is it actually luck or do you have some connections/some tricks up your sleeve?A. The majority of the concerts I get to go to for free are through Reverb, an organization where I sign up to volun-teer at concerts to give out info about going green, so I guess that’s a connection.

EntertainmentPage9

Julia Nemeth: No One is as Lucky as Us...or Her

The Good the Bad and the Uglyby Jacob Boyer

by Mariah Janowski

Twitter contests are defi nitely all skill though. And I guess most people would call the rest “luck” but I think that be-cause I have a positive way of living, positive/good things happen to me.

Q. Name your top 3 best celebrity experiences/moments. A. First is defi nitely getting up on stage with Paramore recently. Also, Jared Leto once took a picture of me (because of a 30 Seconds to Mars shirt I made) and put it on his website! Last, getting up on stage with 30 Seconds to Mars...twice!

Q. How exactly did you get chosen to go up on stage with Paramore? Has any-thing changed in your life since that hap-pened? A. I had a meet and greet with the band before the show and showed Hayley [Wil-liams] the sign and told her if she saw it to bring me up on stage. Once “Misery Business” started playing, she saw my sign and brought me up. Nothing has really changed in my life, but it was defi nitely the

greatest experience of my life. Oh and I got 35,000 views on MTV.com!

Q. Finally, you’ve met a lot of celebrities and have had a lot of amazing experiences. Is there anyone that you’re still dying to meet or have you fulfi lled your dreams? A. Ellen DeGeneres! Duh! Oh and Matt Damon, Alec Bald-win, and John Hamm would be nice too!

THE GOOD: What was your Favorite Movie you Saw in Theaters?

“I’m going to have to go with Thor, because I have some Norwegian heritage in my family, and they are huge on the whole culture portrayed in the movie. I also thought they did a very good job of putting the story into a movie. It wasn’t your typi-cal cliché action movie.”--Thomas Denton-Borhaug “I would say Glee 3D, because I love the shows, and I actually felt like I was at the concert with the screaming fans in the theater.”--Megan Luybli

THE BAD: What was your Least Favorite Movie you Saw in Theaters?

“My least favorite was Crazy, Stupid, Love, because I felt Steve Carrell wasn’t at his fi nest in the movie. Also because there was too much go-ing on at one time. I did enjoy it, but it wasn’t all I hoped it would have been.”--Alycia Fluck “For the love of Crom and Odin, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE stop ruining my childhood! Hollywood cashed in this summer by putting a high budget facade on the outside of a lack luster script in the hopes we will just stare at the pretty pictures. Look for Thor or Conan the Barbarian (2011) to be great examples. I grew up with great and simple mov-ies. They had heart; they had soul; they had a pe-nurious budget. Rent the 1982 version of Conan the Barbarian...a shining example of a fantasy fi lm elevat-ed to greatness by an excellent script.”-- Mr. Dougherty

COMING SOONNOW PLAYING

Changing ChannelsTrue Blood (HBO) Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family) The Nine Lives of Chloe King (ABC Family) The Bachelorette (ABC) So You Think You Can Dance (FOX) Jersey Shore (MTV) Royal Pains (USA) Project Runway (Lifetime) Burn Notice (USA)

Best Shows of Summer

The X Factor (Wednesdays, 8/7c, FOX)

New Girl (Tuesdays, 9/8c, FOX) Hart of Dixie (Mondays, 9/8c, CW) Ringer (Tuesdays, 9/8c, CW) Charlie’s Angels (Thurs-days, 8/7c, ABC) Person of Interest (Thurs-days, 9/8c, CBS) Prime Suspect (Thursdays, 10/9c, NBC) Revenge (Wednesdays, 10/9c, ABC)

New Fall Premieres

By the end of June alone, we knew we had many movies to look forward to this past summer. As with any release of a genuinely good movie, though, you are bound to fi nd at least several bad fi lms that follow in the wake of a true masterpiece: Shark Night 3D, Spy Kids 4D: All the Time in the World, etc. Then there were the movies we just didn’t know what to think of like Judy Moody and The Not-Bummer Summer, Glee 3D, and the list goes on. It’s hopeless to try and choose a legitimate ‘Best, Worst, and Weirdest’ out of these titles, so that’s why I turned to the population of the school. Surely your peers can advise you on what you should spend your ten dollar ticket on, or at least have you wait for the DVD...

THE UGLY: Were there any Movies you saw that were Under Rated or Over Rated?

“Cowboys and Aliens was underrated, be-cause people don’t appreciate a good western, clas-sic or not, and they thought it was a typical, comic book style movie with a present day twist, but they didn’t see the movie like I did.”--Weston Brown “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is one of the most ingenious documentaries that I have ever had the pleasure to watch. It is a meta-documen-tary which is something better experienced than explained. It is a refreshing change of pace dur-ing this summer of remakes.”--Mr. Dougherty

Photo courtesy of Brianna Yates

50/50Abducti onContagion

CourageousDream House

DriveFootloose

GhostbustersThe Help

The Ideas of MarchKiller EliteMoneyballReal Steel

What’s Your Number?

Paranormal Acti vity 3The Three Musketeers

Margin CallMartha Marcy May Marlene

Red StateJohnny English Reborn

AnonymousPuss in Boots

In TimeThe Rum Diary

Like CrazySleeping Beauty

SportsPage10

Mud fl owing through the streets of our campus can only mean one thing; construction. Due to a large number of cracks and uneven surfaces, the tennis courts are being completely re-constructed. The girls’ tennis team, which competes during the fall season, now practices and hosts matches on the De-Sales University courts. “DeSales has a really nice court and it’s great to be able to play there, but it defi -nitely doesn’t compare to our home court where we’ve had so many memories,” refl ects senior Zoe Lycett. With the recent injury of Janissa Nair, the other half of the leading doubles team, se-nior Tessa Peoples is now look-ing for a new teammate: “Losing my doubles part-ner was diffi cult because we played so well together. Unfor-tunately, Janissa can’t play ten-nis anymore due to a shoulder injury. But she will continue to be an active part of the team as

co-captain.” With this being said please come out and cheer on our ladies’ tennis team in hope that they are back on the win-ning tract this year. By the end of September, they had a record of 8-4. The girls can use all the support they can get. With sev-eral matches just around the corner at DeSales it is simple to take an hour and cheer them on.

Ready, Set, States!by Lizzi Levis Practice makes perfect; that is the motto that the girls volleyball team lives by. Ever since the fi rst week of preseason began, these ladies have been working hard and putting forth all of their effort to ensure a season nothing short of perfection. Many students are familiar with the upperclassmen on the varsity volleyball team. However, a fresh face has stepped onto the court this year. Freshman Jillian Gram-mer emerged as the starting setter for the Spartans this season. “Being on varsity as a freshman is a big deal, and an even bigger ac-complishment, especially after all of the hard work and dedication I put into preseason and every practice,” Grammer stated. Last season, the Spartan volleyball team did the unexpected and made it all the way to states for the fi rst time. Although the Spartans lost a strong player due to injury, they pulled together as a team, and fought to the end. When was asked what his expecta-

The Southern Le-high golf team has al-ways been considered one of the better golf programs in the co-lonial league and had no trouble continuing that reputation this year. Senior James Shaheen played a ma-jor role in the team’s

success this year by placing fi rst in most of the matches.

“It was a humbling feeling but, in the end it is a team effort, it’s not up to just one guy. I always felt pressure playing because my team always expected good numbers,” re-marked Shaheen about playing in the number one spot.

On September 21st, Southern Lehigh competed in the Colonial League Champion-ship at Bethlehem Golf Club and fi nished in second behind the strong Notre Dame Green Pond team. Coach Greenawald thought his team performed well but had the skill to do better. Overall he was pleased with the team’s successful season. Most people do not realize that golf practices are more then hitting the course and playing. At practices Coach Greenawald spends time with each individual player in order to improve their game by working on specifi c skills. Mr. Greenawald loved the team dynamics this season. Seniors Shaheen and Perez both wanted to thank their coach for all his hard work and dedication devoted to making them better golfers over the past four years. Both players are excited to play their last matches for the Southern Lehigh Golf Team.

It is a big deal when our Southern Lehigh athletic teams make it to districts, or even states. But when one individual places in worlds, states no lon-ger seems the coveted accom-plishment. The fi rst few weeks of school you may have heard your teachers call the name, “McKenzie Browne” with no response from the empty seat. That is because Browne was overseas in Yeosu, Korea, repre-senting the United States as she competed in the world champi-onships for in-line speed skat-ing. Placing 17th out of 35 ath-letes, Browne did very well for herself. Now 16 years old, McK-enzie Browne has been speed skating since she was seven, when she bought her fi rst pair of skates at Nestor’s. She fi rst competed a Sports Fest race, and from that day for-ward, she never looked back. In 2009, Browne became the

Freshman Indoor National Champion, winning both the standard and novice divisions, an accomplishment that has never been matched by any other athlete. Obviously, her training has paid off: McK-enzie trains three times a day during the training season and once, sometimes twice, a day in the off season. McKenzie also plays lacrosse and fi eld hockey, but skating is her passion. Her recent overseas ex-perience in Korea was differ-ent for McKenzie: “The streets were really dirty, and the peo-ple did not really acknowledge you, plus it was super hot and humid.” Where skating was concerned, Brown says it was “really cool” to compete against the top skaters from around the world. She refl ects, “Some of the countries we knew were good and were really intimi-dating, but the whole competi-tion was pretty relaxed. I really enjoyed racing against girls from other countries while get-ting to represent mine, hanging out with my team, and making friends from other countries.” The experience has defi nitely changed her life, and McKenzie Browne will always be here to represent our country in speed skating. If you see McKenzie, congratulate her on her ac-complishments, and be there to cheer her on for the next round!

In-Line for Successby Tim Filler

by Lauren OrtweinGoooaaallll!!!!!

tions are for this season, Coach West re-plied, “To win and and focus on one game at a time. I expect to make it to districts, pull through states, and win an overall title.” With high expectations set for the team this year, the Spartan ladies do not plan to disappoint. Their toughest oppo-nents so far have been the Parkland Tro-jans. “Unfortunately, they gave us our fi rst loss,” commented Sarah Wukitch. “They knew exactly where to place the ball, had outstanding hitters, and managed to beat us mentally as well.” Most would think this to be a setback for the team, but it has only brought the girls closer together. This team knows what determina-tion looks like: they know what to expect and how to play in each game. Hopefully, this drive will allow the lady Spartans to not only win districts, but progress into the state competition as well.

McKenzie Browne skates her way to a victory. Photo courtesy of David Browne.

Isabella Uribe competes in a match for the Spartans. Photo credit of Christmas City Studios.

Eric Perez drives the ball down the fairway. Photo courtesy of Christmas City Studios.

Golf Team Driving for Victoryby Bradley Zamojski

What’s All the Raquet?by Tim Filler

The Southern Lehigh boys soccer team has surely been one to compete with throughout the years. In the Colonial league, they have ranked in the top fi ve for the past several years. Back this year with nine se-niors returning from last year, the team is sure to be back in leagues and districts. “This season the soccer team expects to win districts and leagues again and hopefully make it to states,” commented senior mid-fi elder Tim Filler. With Seth Leow being the leading scorer with 13 goals as of 9/26/11, its possible he can carry the team to League Champs. Starting off with a winning record it looks like the team is back with a ven-geance. Senior captain Griffi n Koch, who has overcome two ACL surgeries is always there when the team is at a low to bring them back to the cheerful happy guys that they usually are. From spending fi ve to six days a week together, sometimes the guys can get annoyed with each other but they all know they are there for one purpose and one purpose only, to win. With a tough schedule

ahead of them, the boys know it is not go-ing to be easy to win every game the rest of the season but they are determined to give it their all and fi ght until they can’t fi ght any-more. With senior goalkeeper Connor Vannin at the helm, it is obvious that they will have no problem. Coming out of an outstanding summer league, he knows his skills have stepped up tremendously since last season. Hearing the bench yelling “lets go hope” is all he needs to get going. If you have not supported the boys soccer team yet this year please go to one of their games and cheer them on.

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Sports Page11

When fall rolls around, it presents many changes: the start of school, the changing of the leaves, and the begin-ning of brisk autumn weather. How-ever, to most high school students, Southern Lehigh football is the major highlight of this season. As soon as autumn hits, the football players gear up in sharp, new uniforms, and the student section begins to build, clad from head to toe in blue and white. The boys take the fi eld as fans rise to their feet, and the game begins. Southern Lehigh’s football is not just an ordinary sport. The team generates hundreds of fans and school spirit every Friday night. This year, to meet all of these expectations, the Spartan football players have pre-pared and practiced harder than ever. The notoriously diffi cult foot-ball double practices changed a bit this preseason. The coaches now stress the importance of total fi tness. Not only does the team lift year round, but conditioning now includes exercises geared toward cardiovascular endur-ance and speed. These changes will allow the Spartans to equalize play against teams with greater size and experience.

Although there is a signifi cant core group of seasoned starters, key pieces of the Spartan offense consist of un-derclassmen, who, while overfl owing in talent, may lack the experience nec-essary for varsity football. Therefore, the new conditioning programs are essential, as the young players’ speed will be heavily relied on. The leader-ship of captain and quarterback, Tyler

Edmond, and the quickness of experi-enced receivers and running-backs will also be key in the Spartans’ play. And let’s not forget the strength and reliabil-ity of the strong and talented defensive line that will make the difference in competitive games.

Football stress-es the concept of “team over the individual.” This

motto is evident throughout the sea-son. For example, during “Meet the Players” night, the football players do not introduce themselves individu-ally; this demonstrates the importance of the team. Bruce Backa, football se-nior, comments on the concept, “Be-ing a part of football has really taught me that you need to be appreciative of those around you, not just on the fi eld, but in life, and that as part of a team, or as part of anything, you need to work together if you want anything accomplished.”

The Southern Lehigh varsity cheerleaders are best known for their attendance on the sidelines every Fri-day night, as well as their high-fl ying stunts, daring tumbling, and crowd-leading cheers. Varsity cheerleaders love nothing more than an excited crowd and a competitive football game. Rain or shine, the cheerleaders will al-ways be there to cheer on the SL boys. The seemingly simple routines during a football game involve much longer preparation than the two min-utes that they are performed. On aver-age, the spartan cheerleaders practice for 8-10 hours per week. Not only do they memorize countless cheers and stunts, but they take time out of their schedules each week to paint signs for senior football players as a means of encouragement and motivation. “I love the time I get to spend with my teammates and the experienc-es I have throughout the season,” states junior co-captain Meghan Sunners. Southern Lehigh has one of the better cheerleading programs in the Lehigh Valley. Over the summer, the cheerleaders attended camp at Pine Forest and placed fi rst for their cheer routine. The team also won the Out-standing Program Award, an accolade which recognizes programs that con-sistently improve and place high in competition. “My future goals for the squad are simple,” says head coach Colleen Ianetta. “ I want our team to get bet-ter each year. I always want to see the girls building on what they learned in the previous years and continuing to get stronger!”Spartan cheerleading has been built from the ground up by Coach Ianetta.

Over the past six years, she has worked to bring the squad to an entirely new level. Many of the cheerleaders at Southern Lehigh now go on to cheer at division 1 schools across the coun-try such as Wake Forest, Penn State, and Ole Miss. They send more athletes to the collegiate level than any other sport at the high school, giving spartan cheerleaders confi dence of their pros-pects of making a collegiate team.“I have gained a lot of tumbling and cheerleading skills over these past years,” says varsity cheerleader Dani-elle Renner. “I know because of the ex-cellent cheerleading program we have at Southern Lehigh I have a higher chance of making a collegiate team.”The competition squad, which is com-prised of 16-20 girls, has won the Colonial League Championship for the past four years and attended the National High School Cheerleading Championship in Orlando, Florida for the past three years as well. The team ranks among the top thirty schools in the nation and hopes to compete in semi-fi nals at nationals this year. While they have had to overcome several in-juries and resignations this season, the cheerleaders plan to come back even stronger than before. “I am very proud of all my girls and have nothing but confi dence that they are strong, talented young ladies. I look forward to another fantastic season!” remarked coach Ianetta on the upcom-ing season. The Spartans will be host-ing their own competition at the high school on November 12th, and will be showcasing their routine. Come out and support the Southern Lehigh cheer-leaders!

Clashing Helmetsby Maria McDonald

Spartan Cheerleadingby Madeliene Cole

Cross-country is a sport that involves running, but is com-pletely different from the track-and-fi eld which takes place during the winter and spring. Track-and-fi eld involves a variety of races to run along with fi eld events such as jumping and throwing. The cross-country team, on the other hand, consistently races a 5K (about three miles) every meet. “Cross country involves distance running only,” remarked Coach Strong about the cross coun-try team in comparison to track-

and-fi eld. “Courses vary in terrain with some courses being very fl at, some with demanding hills, and others having a combination of both. Track-and-fi eld incorporates eighteen different track and fi eld events. All track events are held on very standard playing fi elds, whereas cross country meets differ from location to location.” Coach Strong and Coach Latza conduct cross-country team practices every day after school. Diffi culty fl uctuates from day to day.

Cross Country: Born to Runby Stan Tabor

Cross Country Team Starting the race. Photo taken by Katelyn Scheetz.

Field Hockeyby Dana DiGiovanni

Senior captain Ali Newman chases down a ball during a game. Photo courtesy of Christmas City Studios.

Drive, shoot, score! Southern Lehigh High School Field Hockey is beginning another fi ery season. So far, the team has beaten all of the teams they have played. Since the beginning of preseason, the group of girls started to look in tip-top shape. One may ask: How important is conditioning for the season? “Extremely important,” Coach Natalie Deacon states, “Field hockey is sport that requires the players to be in top shape because of the amount of running. It is an endurance and speed sport, and I think that conditioning is crucial to a quality team, because of the ability to keep up with other teams and to last the full sixty minutes.” The fi eld hockey team has dom-inated all local teams they have played this season. The game against North-western went into overtime and the win-ning goal was scored by Senior, Kelsey King. When asked which game was the best performance yet, Coach Dea-con replied without hesitation, “Hands down, the Northwestern game for both JV and Varsity. The teams came togeth-

er and played the best fi eld hockey they could.” Varsity and JV are both holding a record of all wins to no losses. Even though we are reach-ing only the ides of the season, there are still a lot of challenging games to come. “Spartan fi eld hockey has many teams that want to beat them,” Deacon says, “so it’s important to be ready to play teams of all levels.” Everyone is truly excited for another fantastic season of high school fi eld hockey.

Jason Shapiro and Kyle Durics celebrate. Photo by Alan Sunners.

Odds and Ends

Top 5 Southern LehighHomecoming Proposalsby Lauren Gross

These fi ve girls got asked to homecoming in the cutest ways, and their dates did a great job of thinking out-of-the-box! Lovely work boys. Hope you’re already thinking of ideas for Prom! 1) Asker: Carson Keim Askee: Morgan KruczekCarson wrote “HC” on a pancake in chocolate chips and brought it to the cheerleading pancake breakfast. When Morgan came around to clear his dishes he told her that she forgot one plate, and he handed her a plate with her homecoming pancake on it!

2) Asker: Jason Shapiro Askee: Lise MichelJason wrote “homecoming?” on a baguette in Nutella, and brought it to Lise while she was in Madame Ligon’s third period French class. Jason then proceeded to ask Lise to homecoming in French.

3) Asker: Jake Cummings Askee: Lilly ShieldsWhile Madame Ligon’s third period French class (this seems to be a very romantic class) was do-ing an activity with the white boards Jake wrote “Lilly, will you go to homecoming with me?” on his white board in French. Jake tapped Lilly on the shoulder and asked her if the answer he had written on his board was right. While Lilly read the writing on the white board Jake pulled fl ow-ers out of his backpack.

4) Asker: Tim Flounders Askee: Amber PeifferTim (a red head) tied a note to Amber’s orange-furred cat that read “a ginger wants to ask you to homecoming”.

5) Asker: Matt Durkin Askee: Sophia HoekeMatt put pictures in Sophia’s locker of her fresh-man and sophomore homecomings (which Matt accompanied her to as well), under both pictures were the words “round three?”. Matt also left fl owers in Sophia’s locker.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2011, about 100 girls suited up in athletic gear, carefully ap-plied war paint, and marched out onto the foot-ball fi eld. Thus marked the commencement of the annual powderpuff game. This year, the competi-tion was more intense than ever. Clad in new pin-nies, the senior and freshmen class girls took the fi eld for the fi rst game of the night. Although the freshmen put up a good fi ght, the seniors domi-nated by the end of the fi rst half. The game ended in a complete shut-out, with the seniors winning 24-0. The next game, between the sophomores and juniors, was a bit more competitive. After a rough battle, however, the sophomores came out on top with a score of 6-0. The championship game, held directly after the sophomore and junior game, brought out the most competitive spirit seen in years at a powderpuff game. While tensions were high, the

by Maria McDonaldPowderpuff Players Prove Persistent

light-hearted commentary from Kyle Brown, Ri-ley Geis, and Brad Zamojski kept the spirit of the game comical, allowing it to continue without interruption. With a fi nal score of 14-0, the se-niors took the championship for the third time in their high school career. Even without the pres-ence of strong powderpuff athletes from previ-ous years, the seniors, lead by Corinne Ozanne, Julia Nemeth, and Kelly Hynes, were able to cre-ate a dominating offense and unbeatable defense. Each class had a somewhat sizable stu-dent section, and many parents attended to watch their girls play football. The amount of support for the game provided an ideal atmosphere for raising money for charity, and increased school spirit and anticipation for the homecoming foot-ball game. The 2011 Southern Lehigh High School powderpuff game was a defi nite success.

Sophomore Emily Marshall carries the football in an attempt to score against the relentless senior class.

Senior Sarah Hines demonstrates her aggression on the fi eld.

The senior powderpuff champions for 2011!

Have something you want to share? The Spotlight is now accepti ng suggesti ons, arti s-ti c contributi ons, and lett ers to the editor. Drop it off in Room 122, stop by our website under the Quick Links tab on the high school main page, or email us at slsdspotlight@gmail.com

Photos Courtesy of Alan Sunners