issue 3 2009 the galleon

18
5100 Jog RD, Boca Raton, FL 33496 Issue 3 Volume 26 December 2009 THE GALLEON Spanish River High School By MAX MORGENSTERN NEWS EDITOR By BRITTANY SPRINGSTED STAFF REPORTER Healthcare system looks for a cure By MARLA MUNRO STAFF REPORTER Economic turmoil limits options for students accomplishments. “Mr. Burkey and I have been work- ing together for 25 years as friends and colleagues,” American History teacher Steve Staggs said. “I am very happy for his success.” When Burkey is not teaching at Spanish River, he leads workshops for South Florida Economics teachers through Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Economic Education. The Center’s director, Dr. Bill Bosshardt, nominated Burkey for the award. Burkey’s recognition comes as no surprise to his students. “Mr. Burkey always keeps class interesting with his new and different powerpoints and lessons,” senior Lind- say Melcher said. “I think he definitely deserves the award.” Students listen intently as Economics teacher Brett Burkey lectures using his award-winning, innovative teaching methods. Burkey has been named the 2009 GATE High School Teacher of the Year. PHOTO BY LEE GINTON *article continued on page 3 INSIDE THIS ISSUE News 1, 3 Opinion 4, 5, 7 Features 8, 9 Feature Focus 10, 11 Entertainment 12, 13, 15 Student Life 16, 17 Galleonnewsonline.com News Briefs Recent college cost increases, in addition to a harsh economic situation, have caused some to reconsider their college education plans. This year, most families are expecting to pay an additional $172 to $1,096 for tuition and fees than in the 2008- 2009 school year, the College Board reported. Affordability is an important factor to consider when deciding on a college, especially in an economic recession. To save money, some are choosing public schools over private ones. The average cost of a four-year private college is $26,273, up 4.4 percent from last year’s average, compared to $7,020, up 6.5 percent, for a four-year public institution, according to the College Board. Another way to reduce college tuition fees is to decide on a public, in-state college. Florida’s residential tuition is set at about 25 percent of the original cost, and many state scholarships and programs can be applied to create a further discounted price. “Most of my students have decided to stay in-state for college,” college advisor Majorie Murstein said. Financial aid opportunities that can Economics teacher Brett Burkey has been named the 2009 Global Associa- tion for Teaching Economics (GATE) High School Teacher of the Year. GATE is a support organization for Economics and Business teachers all over the United States; it grants resources for teachers and holds work- shops and conferences. The GATE High School Teacher of the Year honor is bestowed upon one teacher each year from around the nation. Each teacher must be nominated to be considered. The winner is selected from a pool of nominees based on out- standing teaching ability and innova- tive teaching methods. In addition to winning the award, Burkey also received a trophy and a fully-funded trip to Washington, D.C. “The experience was wonderful,” Burkey said. “I am very humbled and honored to win the award because I know that there are a lot of hardwork- ing teachers out there that are equally deserving.” Burkey’s fellow teachers at Spanish River could not be more proud of his ART BY BRITTANY SPRINGSTED As a senate vote on healthcare nears, partisan turmoil is heating up. The differences between Republicans and Democrats are being made more apparent. Nearly 50 million U.S. citizens lack health insurance, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A survey conducted by The Galleon revealed that almost 20 percent of Spanish River students live without any form of health insurance, and 90 percent believe that healthcare reform is needed. “I don’t even know what I would do [if I needed medical attention],” an anonymous, uninsured Spanish River student said. “I guess I would go to the hospital and beg them to take me in and let me stay.” At Spanish River, the conflict has been transformed into a blazing bat- tle between those who favor a liberal approach and those who support a conserva- tive one. “Many Ameri- cans are not get- ting the care they need,” Young Demo- crats c o - pres- ident Kate H e f - fer- nan said. “We [The Spanish River Young Democrats] are for the public option.” The public option is a major component of the pending health insurance plan that would create a system comparable to Medicare. How- ever, while Medicare mainly cov- ers senior citizens, the public insurance option would provide cover- age for those with- out em- p l o y - e r - provided or other existing forms of health insurance. Those who oppose the public option proposal believe that its chance of suc- cess is implausible. Furthermore, they fear that public health insurance will be detrimental to the country’s com- mercial healthcare industry, the largest sector of the U.S. economy according to a recent U.S. Department of Labor report. “Personally, I am against the pub- lic option because of the harm that it will do to the economy,” Palm Beach Teenage Republican Chairman John Clark said. “I would rather see the gov- ernment implement tax incentives and ‘common sense’ policies that promote healthy lifestyles.” In the ensuing months, the power struggle between the two heavyweight political parties will determine the fate of healthcare in the U.S. Mr. Burkey always keeps class interesting with his new and different power- points and lessons. -Lindsay Melcher, 12 Burkey wins high honor Sports 18, 19, 20 Spanish River student Isabele Oliviera wins the title of Miss Brazil. Obama to send 30,000 more troops to Af- ghanistan. Pathfinder Nomina- tions announced. Congratulations to all. “New Moon” to be top grossing film of 2009. Read about the 5 River students that rock with a bang. ENTERTAINMENT 13 “YOU GOT ME DEAD BANG” FEATURES 9 A look inside of what it takes to be an ice cream taste tester: the “sweetest job in America”. HOW SWEET IT IS Take a look at the strange events of the 2000s and read about what is in store for the future. FEATURE FOCUS 10- 11 TIME’S TICKING INTO THE FUTURE

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Page 1: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

5100 Jog RD, Boca Raton, FL 33496 Issue 3 Volume 26 December 2009

THE GALLEONSpanish River High School

By MAX MORGENSTERNNEWS EDITOR

By BRITTANY SPRINGSTEDSTAFF REPORTER

Healthcare system looks for a cure

By MARLA MUNROSTAFF REPORTER

Economic turmoil limits options for students

accomplishments. “Mr. Burkey and I have been work-ing together for 25 years as friends and colleagues,” American History teacher Steve Staggs said. “I am very happy for his success.” When Burkey is not teaching at Spanish River, he leads workshops for South Florida Economics teachers through Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Economic Education. The Center’s director, Dr. Bill Bosshardt, nominated Burkey for the award. Burkey’s recognition comes as no surprise to his students. “Mr. Burkey always keeps class interesting with his new and different powerpoints and lessons,” senior Lind-say Melcher said. “I think he definitely deserves the award.”

Students listen intently as Economics teacher Brett Burkey lectures using his award-winning, innovative teaching methods. Burkey has been named the 2009 GATE High School Teacher of the Year.

PHOTO BY LEE GINTON

*article continued on page 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE News 1, 3 Opinion 4, 5, 7 Features 8, 9 Feature Focus 10, 11 Entertainment 12, 13, 15 Student Life 16, 17

Galleonnewsonline.com

News Briefs

Recent college cost increases, in addition to a harsh economic situation, have caused some to reconsider their college education plans. This year, most families are expecting to pay an additional $172 to $1,096 for tuition and fees than in the 2008-2009 school year, the College Board reported. Affordability is an important factor to consider when deciding on a college, especially in an economic recession. To save money, some are choosing public schools over private ones. The average cost of a four-year private college is $26,273, up 4.4 percent from last year’s average, compared to $7,020, up 6.5 percent, for a four-year public institution, according to the College Board. Another way to reduce college tuition fees is to decide on a public, in-state college. Florida’s residential tuition is set at about 25 percent of the original cost, and many state scholarships and programs can be applied to create a further discounted price. “Most of my students have decided to stay in-state for college,” college advisor Majorie Murstein said. Financial aid opportunities that can

Economics teacher Brett Burkey has been named the 2009 Global Associa-tion for Teaching Economics (GATE) High School Teacher of the Year. GATE is a support organization for Economics and Business teachers all over the United States; it grants resources for teachers and holds work-shops and conferences. The GATE High School Teacher of the Year honor is bestowed upon one teacher each year from around the nation. Each teacher must be nominated to be considered. The winner is selected from a pool of nominees based on out-standing teaching ability and innova-

tive teaching methods. In addition to winning the award, Burkey also received a trophy and a fully-funded trip to Washington, D.C. “The experience was wonderful,” Burkey said. “I am very humbled and honored to win the award because I know that there are a lot of hardwork-

ing teachers out there that are equally deserving.” Burkey’s fellow teachers at Spanish River could not be more proud of his

ART BY BRITTANY SPRINGSTED

As a senate vote on healthcare nears, partisan turmoil is heating up. The differences between Republicans and Democrats are being made more apparent. Nearly 50 million U.S. citizens lack health insurance, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A survey conducted by The Galleon revealed that almost 20 percent of Spanish River students live without any form of health insurance, and 90 percent believe that healthcare reform is needed. “I don’t even know what I would do [if I needed medical attention],” an anonymous, uninsured Spanish River student said. “I guess I would go to the hospital and beg them to take me in

and let me stay.” At Spanish River, the conflict has been transformed into a blazing bat-tle between those who favor a liberal approach and those who support a conserva- tive one. “Many A m e r i -cans are not get-ting the care they n e e d , ” Y o u n g D e m o -c r a t s c o -pres-ident K a t e H e f - f e r - nan said. “We [The Spanish River Young Democrats] are

for the public option.” The public option is a major component of the pending health insurance plan that would create a system comparable to Medicare. How-ever, while M e d i c a r e

mainly cov-ers senior c i t i z e n s , the public insurance o p t i o n w o u l d p r o v i d e

cover-age for t h o s e

w i t h -out em-

p l o y -e r - provided or other existing forms of health

insurance. Those who oppose the public option proposal believe that its chance of suc-cess is implausible. Furthermore, they fear that public health insurance will be detrimental to the country’s com-mercial healthcare industry, the largest sector of the U.S. economy according to a recent U.S. Department of Labor report. “Personally, I am against the pub-lic option because of the harm that it will do to the economy,” Palm Beach Teenage Republican Chairman John Clark said. “I would rather see the gov-ernment implement tax incentives and ‘common sense’ policies that promote healthy lifestyles.” In the ensuing months, the power struggle between the two heavyweight political parties will determine the fate of healthcare in the U.S.

Mr. Burkey always keeps class interesting with his new and different power-points and lessons. -Lindsay Melcher, 12

“ ”

Burkey wins high honor

Sports 18, 19, 20

Spanish River student Isabele Oliviera wins the title of Miss Brazil.

Obama to send 30,000 more troops to Af-ghanistan.

Pathfinder Nomina-tions announced. Congratulations to all.

“New Moon” to be top grossing film of 2009.

Read about the 5 River students that rock with a bang.

ENTERTAINMENT 13

“YOU GOT ME DEAD BANG”

FEATURES 9

A look inside of what it takes to be an ice cream taste tester: the “sweetest job in America”.

HOW SWEET IT IS

Take a look at the strange events of the 2000s and read about what is in store for the future.

FEATURE FOCUS 10- 11

TIME’S TICKING INTO THE FUTURE

Page 2: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

SHARK ATTACK 2 December 2009The Galleon

From the Editors’ Desk...

Midterm Exams

Scary Subs

Parking Lot Fiasco

Dear Editor, I was reading your article on healhier foods and I agreee the school needs to promote a healthier diet to the students. The problem with having a healthy vend-ing machine, with fresh fruits and salads is that these products have short expira-tion dates and air conditioning would be needed every second to keep the fruit and vegetables fresh. However, putting dried fuits in vending machines would be more successful because dried fruits have long expiration dates and provide a healthy alternative for the students. Another way to promote a healthy diet to the students would be to use olive oil and broil the food rather than fry it. By using these alterna-tives, I believe our school can display a positive healthy image to its students and faculty.-Adam Grossman, 11

Dear Editor, In response to the weed article,I believe that movies don’t influence teens to smoke. Movies like Pineapple Express and Grandma’s Boy which have a lot of green stuff in it, don’t really promote it, they just happen to have it. I am not going to start smoking pot because a fat actor with a horrible fro is looking for Pineapple Express. If you start something because you saw it then you aren’t the smartest cookie in the cookie jar. -David Berntson, 11

Last exams for seniors

Winter Vacation

Holiday foods

Letters from the crowd

The senior powderpuff team silly strings the juniors

at the homecoming pep rally.

Photo courtesy of David Keefer for On Time Photography

Harris Markowitz, 12, and Brooke Woolard, 11, at lunch after the pep rally.

Photo courtesy of David Keefer for On Time Photography

Dear Editor, I agree with Charlie Vilmar who wrote about his opinion on if the school day should start later. Of course I would love to not have to wake up at 6 in the morning, but I would hate getting home so late. He made many great points about how students have school activities that would possibly be canceled or moved to a later time. I think that many students don’t real-ize that a later start means a later end and once they did realize that they would probably stop complaining. One point that Charlie did not make was that all schools need to start at different times in order for the bus schedule to flow. So if we started at the same time as Boca High then we would probably have to get more buses.- Morgan Edwards, 9

Dear Editor, I was reading the article “What does hard work really mean?” I loved this article because it really got down to the truth of the matter that we, as students, aren’t given enough credit when we get an upper letter grade. I mean last quarter I had an A in Eng-lish the whole time and then at the end it fell to a high B. Instead of get-ting some extra pat on the back that a B+ gives, I just got a B. People really beat themselves up when they just see a flat grade of a B or a C instead of a B+ or a C+ when they worked for something so much better. Thank you for putting your viewpoint out there for students like me to see. - Michael Kiken, 11

TV Production teacher Randy Weddle

shows the audience there is more to him

than just broadcasting.

Photo by Alban Harrison

Montana Tucker rocks the stage with a crowd pleasing performance during Rock the River.

Photo by Alban Harrison

Happy Holidays from the Galleon!

We hope you enjoy this issue of The Galleon. We have articles ranging from international entertain-ment to DNA art. We feature several students such as Aaron Simon Gross and Allie North. Also, as Winter Break nears we have a calendar of a few fun events that might spark your interest on page 13. Or there is a helpful holi-day gift guide on page 5 if you are hav-ing trouble selecting the perfect gift for someone special. During this holiday season spend time with friends and family. But remember to be safe as well. If you have any comments about The Galleon please send letters to the edi-tors and they might make their way in the paper. Also, don’t forget to check out our new website at galleonnewson-line.com.

THUMBS UP

THUMBS DOWN

Page 3: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

NEWS 3Voices in the

Crowd

By ALBAN HARRISONEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Galleon 2009-2010EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Alban HarrisonSamantha Shavell

ASSOCIATE EDITORNatalie Deutsch

ART EDITORSMarla Munro

Brittany Springsted

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS

Sophie LevinSamantha Schaum

FEATURES EDITORSNatalie DeutschNicole Granet

FEATURE FOCUS EDITORSid Bajracharya

NEWS EDITORMax Morgenstern

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORLee Ginton

SPORTS EDITORSMatthew ChanRenee Siegel

STUDENT LIFE EDITORSPhoebe DinnerLindsey Gold

STAFF REPORTERSRichard BorgeNicole Elinoff

Lee GintonJoey Goldman

Emma GrubmanJosh Lieberman

Kathy LongMarla Munro

Brittany Springsted

ADVISERSuzanne Sanders

The Galleon is a member of Quill and Scroll Honorary Society for High School Journalists, Florida Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association, Southern Interscholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association

The Galleon is a public forum.

PRINCIPALDr. Susan Atherley

Mission implausible: high standards push students, teachers to the limit

PHOTOS BY LEE GINTON

Students face limited college options*Article continued from page 1

WEB EDITORSJoey Goldman

Josh Lieberman

Some hate it, some think it is necessary for equality. No Child Left Behind (NCLB), signed into law by President George W. Bush, is in its seventh year. The law’s “adequate yearly progress” goals require 100 percent of students in a school to be deemed academically proficient by passing the FCAT by 2014, lest the school be designated as failing. Intensive Reading teacher Honora Monesterio teaches her students, who have failed the FCAT, “search and

destroy” techniques in order to improve their reading skills. She is hopeful that students will be able to meet the 2014 goal of a 100 percent passing rate. “That’s what we want and strive for,” Monesterio said. “The teachers can want it, but the students have to want it too.” Monesterio thinks the main reason students fail the FCAT is due to lack of motivation or faulty techniques, such as skimming the test or misreading the questions. However, AP Psychology teacher Tom DiFiglio has a different view. He wrote a letter to the Washington Post expressing his view that, if the mandates of NCLB are maintained,

almost every school in the nation will be determined failing within the next five years. “The concept of I.Q. is real,” DiFiglio wrote. “It has not been obviated, yet NCLB ignores the inevitable and natural variation amongst individuals. Therefore the main NCLB goal, proficiency for all, becomes an oxymoron when the standards set for students are said to be both challenging and achievable. No goal or standard can, simultaneously, be both challenging and achievable by all students across the entire spectrum.” In fact, this is the basis for the NCLB’s popular nickname, “No Child Left in Front.”

Senior Jacqueline Chait, who must pass FCAT Reading to graduate, thinks the design of the FCAT makes it difficult to pass. She says she goes in to take the test motivated and ready, but the passages are long and boring and she cannot concentrate. “I don’t think I do well on long tests,” she said. “In class I do well; I get A’s mostly.” As NCLB has not been revised to provide more leeway for schools, Spanish River is still trying to meet its goals. “Kids get frustrated, but they can’t let the test beat them,” Monesterio said.

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”Everyone needs help with tuition costs in one way or another.-Jessica Brown, 12“ How have college cost increases

and the economy affected your college application process?

“It’s not going to stop me from apply-ing. If I get into UM [University of Mi-ami], I am going to be looking into a lot of financial aid.”Sarah Kaplan,12“Looking into the future, I have decided to stay in-state for under-grad so that I can go out-of-state for graduate school.”Teddy Egers,12

“It makes Flori-da schools more attractive. I prefer smaller schools, but because UF [Uni-versity of Florida] is free, I am consid-ering it.”

Samantha Klasfeld, 12Undergraduate Tuition Fees for a Florida Resident

Source: Princeton Review

of Spanish River students passed the FCAT in March 2009

70%of Spanish River students

needed to pass the FCAT by 2014

100%Mission:“To ensure that all children have a fair, equal and significant oppor-tunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum,

proficiency on challenging State academic standards and state academic assessments.”

- U.S. Department of Education

help students pay for both in-state and out-of-state colleges and universities include scholarships, grants, pre-paid plans and loans. Also, more families will be able to qualify for a tax credit to help pay for college expenses due

to part of the 2009 Stimulus Plan known as the American

Opportunity Credit. The Bright Futures Scholarship Program is one of the most popular state programs that provides aid to students. Since 1997, Bright

Futures has been offering monetary awards to those who achieve academic success and plan on attending a college or university in Florida. In order to be considered, a student must apply for the scholarship in their last year of high school and earn a Florida standard high school diploma, or its equivalent. However, because of a rising number of applicants, scholarships such as Bright Futures are becoming increasingly harder to win. “I think it is ridiculous that there are such high standards for obtaining scholarships,” senior Jessica Brown said. “Everyone needs help with tuition costs in one way or another.” Murstein says that obtaining high grades can increase one’s chance of receiving a merit scholarship, and more scholarship money will be available if a student decides to stay in state. “If I go to a college in Florida, I would rely on Bright Futures to cover the cost,” senior Ellie Faust said. “But, if I attend an out-of-state college, then I don’t have any scholarships to help with the tuition.” As the college application season comes to an end, families’ savings are about to face the brunt of the storm. Students who choose in-state colleges over out-of-state ones will avoid falling into as deep of a financial abyss.

December 2009The Galleon

Page 4: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

The GalleonDecember 2009

The GalleonDecember4 5OPINION OPINION

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!” It’s a new year- and here come the resolutions. The things you want to do, to not do, to try harder at and for the most part people do keep them even if it only is until January 2. What can we do to make our reso-lutions succeed for a longer time? My advice: isolate your goal, be specific, make it attainable and be flexible. Isolate: When setting your resolutions, pick something you really want to do. For example, if you enjoy pets then volunteer at a shelter. If you care about it, you will be better able to accom-plish it. Do not pick a resolution just because your friends are picking it or because you saw it was one of the most popular on a website or because you think it is something you should say. Be specific: Instead of saying you that want to reduce stress, pick a specific way and do that for a week. Get another hour of sleep, take a yoga class, exercise after school, or spend five minutes thinking of your favorite place to be be-fore you walk into school, take a test, or sit down to do your homework. Make i t attainable: It is n o t realistic to say “I am go-ing to lose twenty p o u n d s

By NATALIE DEUTSCHASSOCIATE EDITOR

in one week”, all that’s going to do it make you weak, tired and more likely to over eat. Instead, say “I am going to lose five pounds” and do not set a time limit. That way, when you lose the five pounds, you will be more likely to keep going and lose five more. Be flexible: If you start your resolution and it is too much, revise. Resolutions are meant to be kept, contrary to popular belief. If it seems too hard to get one grade higher in the class overall, try taking one test or quiz at a time. Once you see an improvement in your grade, you will be more motivated to continue t o work harder to get to the next level. The resolutions w e set may seem small in the scheme of things but change

is something that does not come easy

to most. You have got to set small goals in order to

get to your larger goals. If you fail along the way, do not abandon, perse-

vere. Think of it as a set back and contin-ue. Moreover, the sense of accomplishment

you will have in the fact that you did not let an obstacle stop you will empower you. You might be asking yourself “What resolu-tions is this girl going to set who seems to know so much?” The truth is I am like most people; I

How Sammi stole ChanukkahBy SAMANTHA SHAVELL

EDITOR IN CHIEF

set my resolutions but often do not follow through with them. That is why this year I am going to set resolutions that I know I can keep. As of now, I have thought of two. First, I want to take some of the stress out of my life. I feel like I have been work-ing for eighteen years straight, always studying, al- ways doing some kind of school work (even before its d u e ) . So, in the new year, I a m not going to kill my-

self to get work done because the fact of the matter is I am only go-ing to be young for so long. And as my mom says, “Enjoy these years,

because you can’t go b a c k as much as you wish you

could”. My second resolution is

to stop my infamous habit of second guessing myself. I know studies show that your first instinct is always right, but I have this habit of talking myself into the other answer choices. I know many of you fall prey to the same distract-er. Let’s just say usually I end up changing the correct answer. One final piece of advice: set your goals before 11:59 on December 31. A resolution is like anything else, it needs planning. If you put some thought into it, it might last longer than a day.

As the holiday season approaches, we are remembered of traditions from the past. Whether it is placing ornaments on a Christ-mas tree as a family or having Chanukkah din-ner with your loved ones. For me, traditions start with Thanksgiv-ing. We eat our customary store bought turkey on paper plates and then watch a movie as a family. It usually takes lon-ger to pick a mov-ie than it does to actually watch the movie, and this year, we could not agree on a movie so we watched a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory (my family is a bunch of nerds). Sadly, for Chanukkah as my brothers and I have grown older, our traditions have dissipated. The only one that truly remains is that my grand-parents still come over the first night and we open presents. Every Christmas (even though I don’t celebrate it), my family and I watch It’s a Wonderful Life at 8 on ABC. But that’s it. However, this year I

want to return to our old traditions of a family dinner on the first night and lighting the candles each night, followed by the opening of one present per person. I also want to r ekindle my childhood love of playing dreidel with my brothers for gelt. As I think to the future, I realize that nothing will stay the same next year. I will be in college visiting my family for the holidays. I hate change, I’m a creature of habit and just the thought of everything changing brings a shiver down my

spine. Even though I will still come home for the holidays, it will never be the same. I want to cherish this year,

my last year as a child. So for this holiday, family traditions will be back. But what about that one person that you used to be friends with, the one you exchanged gifts with

each year but as times change, you change and

realize that you weren’t as close as you were

before? Do you still exchange presents? Do you buy them a pres-ent even if they don’t get you one? Should you buy one just in case? All these questions come flooding into your brain. You don’t want to

be rude but you don’t want to buy a gift for someone that you aren’t that close with either. I decided that I will buy a few

extra trinkets to give to people if they buy me a gift. Nothing big, just something to

have in case they have something for me. And if they don’t end up giving me a gift, then I will donate those trinkets to children less fortunate than me. Because that is truly what this season is all about. As my family evolves and I grow, I have to remember that nothing

stays the same for long. As my old traditions fade,

new ones will flourish. Maybe i n - stead of opening a present a night, the new tradition is opening them all at once. But the most important thing I have to remember during this holiday is what the season is all about. I cannot get carried away with buying a gift for a particular person who I am not that close with anymore. This season is about giving and family, not about the materialistic items that are waiting to be opened.

Drive across the country and you will see that most of it is just empty space: a road, grass, maybe some trees and a few gas stations. It’s the kind of environment forces you to wait in traffic for hours because no detours exist. You travel along a skinny line; fall off it and you fall off the world. I had the privilege/ill-fortune to experience this for myself. On a three-day road trip from Chicago, Illinois to Baltimore, Maryland to the one and only Boca Raton, Florida, I experienced America’s open roads at their best and worse. Zipping along Instersate 65 from Chicago, the speed limit rises to 70 mph, which means that you travel at 80 mph past... nothing. Turnpike style rest-stops, conglomerations of brand name fast-food places along the highway with no way out, are like a breath of fresh air, a reminder that yes, civilization does still live on. But after my day of driving past nothing and stopping for nothing but Quarter-Pounders, -Asian Sensation Salad and Pumpkin Spice Lattes a dozen times, I was served a welcome reminder of the emptiness of most of America. The Days Inn looked like it should be in a

horror movie. I swerved off the highway and ended up on a small road that curved around hilly terrain. My trusty TomTom navigation system informed me that, “You have reached your destination,” and I glanced up. To my left was a low hill. Halfway up lay a deserted gas station with no lights on, completely dark. Further up was the vague outline of a building, obscured by the faint haze of snow and a windshield with a broken defog function. I drove toward it. As my dad checked into the inn, I waited in the parking lot. Suddenly, I realized that it was empty. One red truck lay parked behind me. Dozens of parking spaces were deserted. I watched through the glass entryway as my dad got a room. He was talking to the inn keeper, a bearded ethnic man who looked like he should star in a movie titled “The Yeti.” When I woke up at 7:30 in the morning, it was that same Yeti who informed me that the restaurant with free breakfast was closed (no surprise there seeing as we were the sole guests of the inn) and led me to a another hotel room, complete with a bed and toiletry supplies, where breakfast was being served. I stumbled in, grabbed a meal-sized box of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and some really terrible coffee and left, assaulted by the 30 degree weather as I walked to my car. I zipped away from the inn and the sad life that man led, watching a deserted, probably bankrupt

By ALBAN HARRISONEDITOR IN CHIEF

inn and not shaving. My next day would bring me into what I consider to be The South. There is something unsettling about walking into an Arby’s where everyone has a country accent and then walking out and seeing an old man sitting on your car, his dowdy family clustered around him, fanning him. I walked out, and because I wanted to show some Southern hospitality, I just beeped the horn a few times with my keys instead of actually asking them to, “Get the !@%$# off my car.” In Boca, we rest on benches, not on other people’s cars. What I realized is that in Boca Raton we actually have it pretty easy. We have multiple highways, so if I-95 has too much traffic, we can just take the Turnpike. Our tourism industry is thriving (relative to the empty Days Inn). And here, old people have power chairs; and even if they don’t, the cars have alarms that go off when you bump into (or sit on) them. Boca Raton is a sunny paradise. Just look around at all the condos; we never have to fear empty space.

Art By Brittany Springsted

Art By Marla Munro

1,200 miles to understanding

Photos courtesy of google images

Galleon's

Christmukahkwanza gift guideFor Dad

For Mom

For Brother

For Sister

For Boyfriend

For Girlfriend

Get him a mid-priced watch, like this one from Fossil for $75.

A less expensive choice: frame a picture of you and him.

Get your brother a cool t-shirt from a store like Pac-sun or Hollister.

A less expensive choice: buy him candy.

Buy him cologne. At least when you are near him, he will smell good.

A less expensive choice: treat him to popcorn and have a nice night in watching a movie.

Get her a gift certificate to favorite spa. Try the Bali-nesian spa off Swinton in Delray Beach.

A less expensive choice: give her a homemade gift card, promising to do chores.

Buy her a a bracelet. When it glimmers, she will think of her generous sibling.

A less expensive choice: get her boutique soap with a nice scent.

Get her jewelry. She will wear it every day and it will remind her of your love.

A less expensive choice: give her a teddy bear, roses and chocolate.

Page 5: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

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Page 6: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

OPINION 7

FACE OFF Should students be able to earn community service hours through donations?

Every student at Spanish River High School is required to obtain 20 community service hours to graduate. 20 hours is not a lot and the school does not specify how students earn them. For Florida Bright Futures, however, they require 75. Some students work at shelters, volunteer at camps, donate cans for the food drive, or even donate blood. Some of these tasks require personal funds to provide what is needed, (cans for the food drive), and some students consider this “buying your hours”. Yes, in a way they are but the initial goal of the project is being fulfilled. We are able to help people either way. Some projects require money and it needs to be completed, even if it is as simple as buying a couple cans of food. In these hard economic times, the soup kitchens need our help. This Thanksgiving, some of the soup kitchens will have to turn people away because they do not have enough food for the increased number of people who need it for their families. We have been fortunate enough to not be in their situation so why shouldn’t we help? I believe that whatever type of community service a student performs, they should be rewarded for it. THEY ARE STILL HELPING THE COMMUNITY. I prefer it to someone who does nothing. Now, I’m not asking everyone to go out and spend money but just help. Do what you can. It is not hard to help your community. There are so many community service opportunities out there, even r i g h t at Spanish River. F o r example, we have several blood drives a year. One student can save three lives just from donating a pint of blood. If that’s not for you, student council has many events throughout the year to help the community. A lot of clubs have different drives throughout the year as well. Another great idea to get involved and help the school is asking any of your teachers if they need help either grading papers or tutoring other students. Those are just ones happening at our school. Students can help out at local animal shelters, attend one of the many annual charity walks, or even Habitat for Humanity is a widely known organization. It’s not about quantity it’s about quality and helping people who are less fortunate than yourself. All of us can help and make a difference we just have to try.

YES! By ALLIE ENGLANDSENIOR

By ISABELA ADAOJUNIOR

NO! Community service is the practice of altruism within one’s community. It is cleaning a park, planting a tree, tutoring younger children, caring for elders, helping the less fortunate, seeking to do good. Programs such as Key Club International, Environmental Club, Boys Scouts or Girl Scouts were created to engage the members of a community in a common purpose, to weld its members together while catering to the needs of marginalized members of their society. Allowing students to, essen-tially, pay for community service hours just so they will have enough hours to graduate or to make their college resumes more attractive than of the rest virtually expels the humanitarian purpose of community service. Sure, buying a can of dog chow feeds a hungry, desolate dog. Sure, donating a Care Bear may give a wounded child something to smile about in the morning. Sure, spend-i n g your money takes care of many peo-

ple’s needs. But you will only be able to imagine the litter of starved skinny sick puppies leaping with ecstasy at the slightest scent of a meal, their yelps of pain being overcome by little playful barks. It’s their seventh heaven. You

will only be able to imag-ine how it feels to be the one who brought the color back to a wom-an’s aged face - in the nursing home, she hasn’t seen her family in years and you might be her only friend. You will only be able to imagine the smile blooming on a little girl’s face at the sight of the fluffy fun-loving Care

Bear. When she receives your gift, she knows there is

someone outside of her tiny paucity-filled world who cares enough to make an effort when everyone else seems to

l o o k right through her. But she will never know that you are that someone. You will never know that you are that someone who brightened up her day. You are just a faceless entity, almost a number. And that is exactly what the litter of hungry puppies and the girl who only needs a little attention mean to you: numbers, hours on a pink sheet, credentials on a resume. Where is the humanity in that? Is it okay as long as you get into the college of your dreams? It is not. Communities are not made up of dead numbers. They are made up of people of flesh and blood, people with faces and a heart. If these people aren’t present then who will be? Anonymous Care Bears? I think not.

Art by Marla Munro

December 2009The Galleon

Page 7: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

GYMNASIUM

8000

COURTYARD

MEDIA

CENTER1000

MAIN OFFICE

CAFE

TER

IA

Photos by Lee Ginton

FEATURES 8The Faces of Spanish River

By NATALIE DEUTSCHFEATURES EDITOR

From guiding class officers, to cheering on their class, to showing their creative side, our class spon-sors cover it all. They are those familiar faces; the adults with the answers; the teachers whose support and creativity help get the job done. Their main goal is to make their class the best one yet - and they have four years to do it. “The sponsors are great, they have been such a big help. They are very nice, and they care about the senior class a lot,” senior class secretary Anna Worch said. This year’s sponsors are Deb Carter and Kay Owen for the senior class, Barbara Boerstler and Rocco D’Attolico for the junior class, Amanda Rosenfried and Matthew Quercia for the sophomore class and Kevin Turner and Wendy Woodmore for the fresh-man class. AP Art History teacher Barbara Boerstler, the current sponsor for the junior class, has been a sponsor since 1989 with the exception of two years. She believes that in order for a class sponsor to be successful they must have “patience, a sense of humor, a love and commitment for what you are doing and a genuine caring for the kids and their high school experience.” While they are a long way from graduation, the freshman class advisors believe their class is going to be different.

Every morning, students walk past Officer Paul De Carolis sitting in his golf cart. Throughout the school, he is known for his friendly demeanor, however, there is a lifetime of experiences behind those vigilant eyes. His great list of accomplishments start-ed in high school, where he was an avid swim-mer, track runner and the star halfback and captain of his football team. The success of his number-one rated football team in Rome, New York can be attrib-uted to him. The team was one of the best in the state and traveled all over New York to seek more challenging competition. De Caro-lis’ talent was noticed by coaches, as he played for the high school fresh-man team when he was in eighth grade. Rather than going to college, De Carolis decided to receive his secondary education through the Coast Guard, where he learned law enforcement, search and rescue skills and first aid. He quickly excelled in the Coast Guard thanks to his childhood love of boats and fishing. It was not long before he became patrol boat captain of his own vessel. Challenging situations, such as simu-lations of plane crashes and life on boats capable

of capsizing in 15-20 seconds, further intensified his passion for the Coast Guard. “It was exciting, it was adventurous and now I look back at what I did and I was crazy,” De Caro-lis said. “When you’re young, you don’t think, you just react. Now, I think.” De Carolis developed many hobbies once he finished serving his four years in the Coast Guard.

He was a consultant and raised horses on a ranch in North Bay, New York. In addition, he further developed other hobbies such as hunting, all kinds of fishing and traveling. De Carolis has traveled all over the United States, but his most exciting trip was to Vietnam. He traveled to all the major cities throughout the country and was even able to rent a fully staffed boat and dine in the mid-dle of the ocean. Presently, it is De Caro-lis’ sixth year at Span-ish River working as an officer for the Palm Beach

County Police Department and serving as a hall monitor. He is retired from his former career, but comes to work every day out of his pure love for the students; it keeps him active and off the couch. Outside of school, he regularly conditions and works out in his home gym. “I am 69 years old and am still bumping heads [fitness-wise] with my sons,” De Carolis said. A golf cart does not do justice to his lifetime of exciting adventures and accomplishments.

By LINDSEY GOLD AND RENEE SIEGEL

Officer Paul to the rescueQ&A with

Custodial staff

The Galleon: What are the custodi-ans in charge of?

[Custodial Staff] Joyce Jones: We work very hard as a team to keep the school clean. We are in charge of the entire school.

The Galleon: What would you like students to know?

[CS] Luther Milton: It would be a huge help to take posters down when they are not being used anymore.

[CS] Sam Ivy: To clean up more after lunch and to try and keep the bathrooms clean.

The Galleon: What can students do to make your job easier?

[CS] Joyce Jones: Please help keep the school clean and beautiful, so we can all be proud of our school, Spanish River.

We sat down with Spanish River’s custodial staff to find out exactly what their job entails. They are a dedicat-ed team of 15 people, some of whom have worked at River since the school opened. Each staff member works an

8 hour shift.

Information compiled by Natalie Deutsch and Nicole Granet

Words of WisdomFrom football games to final exams, here are some tips to help make the most of

your Spanish River experience.

“Treasure your friendships and try to limit the drama in your life- It’s not worth your time.” - Amanda Rosenfried, Class of 2012

“Be involved in everything you can.” -Rocco D’Attolico, Class of 2011

“Experiment with your electives to help you find what you are passionate about.”-Deb Carter, Class of 2010

“Have fun, but don’t do anything stupid.” -Kevin Turner, Class of 2013

“We are extremely organized and we have two class officers who are siblings of former officers which gives us a great deal of experience,” Wood-more said. Each class has its own responsibilities to fulfill, however all classes participate in Powderpuff and Carnival Lunch. In addition, during junior year, the sponsors and the class officers plan prom for the seniors. However, senior year notoriously brings the most responsibility for the sponsors and officers: beginning with the senior panoramic picture, Pow-derpuff and Carnival Lunch and ending with Grad Bash, the senior breakfast and Mr. and Ms. Shark. With so much to plan in addition to teaching, one might think that the senior advisors would become frustrated with the job at times, but that is not the case. “It’s not a burden at all because the officers have been reliable throughout the years and creative,” Owen said. “It’s been a good experience.” As a former advisor for the classes of 04’ and 07’, Dave Yunker said he would tell the new advisors to “enjoy the experience, learn from experienced advi-sors and plan ahead.” “As far as advice for current advisors.... watch and learn from Mrs. Boerstler. She is the best,” Yunker said. Spanish River is extremely fortunate to have such dedicated advisors. While they may not be known by all, they are an integral part of our school and are essential to the success of their classes.

Class sponsors work behind the scenes

Galleon staff members, Lindsey Gold and Renee Siegel pose with Officer De Carolis after his interview.

Photo By Lee ginton

December 2009The Galleon

Page 8: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

FEATURES 9

By JOEY GOLDMANSTAFF REPORTER

December 2009The Galleon

Entrepreneurs Adrian Salamunovic and Nazim Ahmed are bringing personalized art to a whole new level. In 2005, the two founded DNA 11: a company that converts DNA into custom artwork. Considering themselves pioneers, DNA 11 is the first company to apply genetic science into the creation of artwork. Here is how the process works: after c u s t o m i z i n g and purchas-ing an art piece on its online store, DNA 11 will send a DNA collec-tion kit that i n s t r u c t s the custom-er to swab his cheek in order to obtain cheek cells. After sending the sample back, DNA 11 will extract DNA from the cells, and using gel electrophoresis technology (a technique used for the separation of DNA using an electric field applied to a gel matrix), will run it on a ‘gel’, creating a per-fect, raw digital image of the DNA. This picture is then printed on a high-quality canvas shaped to your specifications and shipped back for the customer to

enjoy. Personalized artwork is easy since DNA 11 of-fers over 25 color combinations and varying sizes. GenePak, a new feature released by the company, isolates and identifies specific genes on the portrait to reveal unique genetic characteristics. “I think it’s a wonderful, creative idea that would make a great holiday gift,” sophomore Daniel Braff said. Although this creative new form of art is aestheti-cally appealing and contemporary, not everyone

would purchase the artwork. “I wouldn’t waste my money on this,” sophomore Daniel Buchalter said. “It’s just not necessary.” Some people are questioning the authenticity of the art, too. “This might be one of those online scams,” Bio-

DNA 11: Giving art a new identitytechnology teacher Mary Fish said. “It’s probably another gimmick trying to steal peoples’ money.” Nevertheless, DNA 11 has steadily inched its way towards fame, making appearances throughout the globe on The Today Show, HGTV, BBC, MSN-BC, Fashion TV, GQ, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes. Their artwork was even featured as a central part of an episode on CSI: NY. DNA 11’s work is also on exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in both New York and Tokyo.

Although DNA Por-traits are the t r a d e m a r k product of DNA 11, they also offer other pieces of art such as Finger-print Por-traits, Kiss Portraits and Gel Elec-trophoresis Mini Por-traits that serves as an edgy alterna-tive to their

traditional art form. Whichever piece of art is

purchased from DNA 11, it will certainly add a nice touch of personality to any room, both on a decora-tive and molecular level.

Electives enrich education

Typically, the term “graduation requirement” does not elicit thoughts of exciting, hands-on, artistic expression. But it should. These classes that teach and encourage artistic expression are part of Spanish River students’ graduation require-ments. Chorus, Band and Art 2-D are some of the most popular classes that satisfy this requirement, according to guidance counselor Melissa Loyacona. This year, Journal-ism, TV production, Early Childhood 2, Digital Design, Web Design, Market-ing Application and Business Ownership have been added to the list of perform-ing or fine art cours-es that qualify for credit. “Students are required to take a fine arts course be-cause it helps make individuals well-rounded,” Loyacona said. “Also, these classes often open doors for students who might not even know how talented they are.” When taking a performing or fine arts class, passion, experience and self-expression are impera-tive. These classes can also help students discover talents they did not know they had. “Chorus helped me become more confident and discover that I want to go to college for music,” senior Candy Zecchino said. For a fine arts class such as jewelry, a typical day may consist of anything from project design to using sheet metal and tools or a jewelry saw frame. The aim of this class is to learn the art elements

and principles such as the quality of unity, color, contrast and space. Jewelry students learn many lessons from the class, such as developing an aware-ness to things that they are in touch with daily, according to jewelry teacher Michael Lillie. Fine arts classes also create a sense of accomplish-ment, according to sophomore Taryn Grunes. “When I complete an assignment for Art 2-D, I feel proud that I’ve created something that is all my own,” Grunes said. For students, the immediate effect of a perform-ing or fine art class is a break from the grind of pure

academics. “It’s nice to have a class where I do not have to constantly worry about home-work and tests,” freshman Michael Dobbin. Students’ minds are liberated to exercise creative expression while honing artistic talents and dis-cipline. The long-term ben-efits of these courses are great,

and recognized by teachers and s t u d e n t s

alike. To illustrate, sophomore Nick French believes that TV production made him more comfortable speaking in front of others, a skill valued in virtually every career path. “Art classes teach students how to plan and fulfill their plans, solve abstract problems, think outside of the box, and discover lessons not taught in books,” Lillie said. For clarification about whether certain courses count as performing or fine arts credit, see your guid-ance counselor.

photo by lee gintonJunior Ashley Peskind and seniors Kayla Boyd and Victoria Martinez consult Michael Lil-lie for advice on their jewelry designs. In class, students carry out the complex process of jewelry making, which starts with the artist’s vision.

By NICOLE GRANETFEATURES EDITOR

Art by Marla Munro

Imagine walking into your office and finding 60 packages of ice cream on your desk. You are get-ting paid for sampling and analyzing ice cream with your precious golden spoon. This heavenly vision is the everyday life of a professional ice cream taste tester, claiming the title “sweetest job in America.” Although this description seems ideal for any ice cream lover, ice cream taste testers, or sensory ana-lysts, have to commit to extreme diets. For example, spicy foods and drinks with caffeine can easily clog taste buds. Also, ice cream taste testers must wake up early every morning so that their taste buds are fresh, and they drink decaffeinated tea to cleanse their palate. These high standards, however, need to be taken in order to analyze premium ice cream. “It’s a great job, from Vanilla all the way through to Spumoni, but it’s not all fun and games,” Drey-er’s official taster John Harrison said. “When you are in the business of making premium ice cream, the quality of the product has to be exceptional and it’s a weighty responsibility.” Ice cream taster plays a huge role in the overall success of a flavor, and at work their responsibil-ity is to make sure there are no changes in the ice cream from day to day. “I cut the carton in half lengthwise to look for the distribution of the added ingredients,” Harri-son said. “For example, when I cut open a carton of Marble Fudge, the fudge should be evenly swirled throughout the container, if not, it is rejected.” Becoming an ice cream taste tester requires many qualifications. First, educate yourself by earning a degree in Food Science, Dairy, Business, Chem-istry or Marketing. Then, immerse yourself in the ice cream making environment by working a scoop shop or an apprenticeship. And remember, always stay healthy, fit and keep a cleansed palate!

The Sweetest Jobin America

By EMMA GRUBMANSTAFF REPORTER

Photos courtesy of dna11.comFrom left to right: a vibrant gel electrophoresis print, a unique fingerprint, and an artistic rendition of a kiss print. These scientific works of art are an eye catching and modern way to decorate any room. One can enjoy these masterpieces of art for 199-290 dollars.

source: www.ehow.com

Page 9: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

The Galleon The GalleonDecember 2009December 200910 FEATURE FOCUS 11

The 2000’s; what a long, strange trip it’s been

Businesses, car companies and every-day citizens are joining the quest to go green and make greener technology. Now people are gravitating towards smart cars and buying more fuel-effi-cient hybrids. General Motors launched their new electric car in India called the GM Spark in October. The Spark is small and has an interior design modeled after a motorcycle. Buying fuel efficient cars not only cuts back on the amount of carbon emissions, but also on gas bills. “I just got my [Toyota] Prius this August and it [gets] 51 miles per gallon,” senior Alexandra Sperling said. “I only need to fill it up every two weeks.” The Toyota Prius has a starting price of $22,400 which is less expensive than other green cars such as the Lexus hybrid. But, there is a concern towards the practicality of such green technology in the present culture. “It will take many years for environ-mentally friendly cars to integrate fully into society,” Environmental Club presi-dent Stefania Volpe said. Most people are already familiar with replacing regular light bulbs with fluo-rescent light bulbs and changing tradi-tional shower heads with water-efficient

ones. Now newly released cell phones, such as the Samsung Blue Earth, are run on solar power. New technology is introduced to reduce the amount of destruction to the atmosphere. But going green is not always easy. “Sometimes these new technologies just fade away because people are hesi-tant to buy them,” Marine Science teach-er Rick Rothman said. According to experts, the future of green technology is to make sure that there are near-zero emissions of green-house gases and air pollutants, includ-ing during construction, operation and decommissioning projects. The produc-tions of these new green technologies are leaving a greater carbon footprint than the product will reduce. “These new technologies need to be green from start to finish and not just the end product,” Evironmental Club sponsor Stuart Klager said. Going green can be an expensive choice for the consumers. For exam-ple, solar panels cost approximately between 30,000-40,000 dollars, depending on the size of the house. Because of this, only about 0.10 percent of the total energy produced in the United States is generated from solar panels. Looking to the future, green technol-ogy is a booming industry with innova-tive ideas and scientific breakthroughs in alternative energy.

By KATHY LONGSTAFF REPORTER

World goes green

2000

2001 2006

2007

20022003

2004

200520082009

Only 17-20 percent of the energy in gasoline is used to move a vehicle

In electric cars, 75 to 86 percent of the energy is

used for motion

A Brave New Decade

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

Over time, the technology of warfare has massively changed in order to increase destruction and decrease civil-ian casualties. Modern warfare tech-nologies such as smart bombs and unmanned aircraft have evolved war intensely. The future of technology can be seen through new radarscopes, robots at a soldier’s side and innovations in body armor. In the coming years, the safety of soldiers will increase significantly due to new advancements in radar scopes. New radar scopes will allow soldiers to detect a person in a house through 12 inches of concrete and then 50 feet inside the room. Using this, soldiers will be more prepared for what may be inside a house before they ambush. “We have the ability to use remote devices to trigger weapons and can use unmanned aircrafts for surveillance and attacking,” World Wars teacher Paulette Riedel said.

In addition the safety of soldiers will improve with the help of armed robots. These robots are equipped with an M-16 rifle and a camera on top of a mobile base. A robot can protect itself while examining the inside a house, car or bomb without the soldier risking his life. “[I] feel better now than in past years because it is safer due to the fact they are ‘unmanning the front lines,” senior Sam Levine said. The future of bulletproof body armor will save lives and make it less painful when a soldier is shot. New body armor will use a technology in which 20 to 30 layers of synthetic fibers are placed in the vest with liquid polymers floating between them. This vest will provide better protection from high-speed bullets and fragments from grenades or bombs. Also this body armor will put less physical stress on a soldier if he does get injured. The future of warfare technology will revolutionize the safety of our troops while accomplishing what needs to be done.

By JOSH LIEBERMANSTAFF REPORTER

This decade so far has been ridicu-lous; I think we can all agree on that. Some amazing things have happened in the past ten years, and there have been some honest “what in the world” moments as well. I guess we should start at the begin-ning. The year 2000 started with a bang. And by bang I mean mass hysteria and panic. Y2K was coming to destroy us all. Remember Y2K? The supposed computer glitch that would cause massive worldwide computer failures, unauthorized missile launches, plane crashes, nuclear winters – all the mak-ings of a good apocalypse. Well it never

happened. Honestly, it was kind of anti-climactic. Then came 2001. January 15, 2001, Wikipedia was launched on the in-ternet. My life suddenly became a lot easier. Then came national turmoil on September 11; the United States came under the attack of terrorists, the World Trade Center was lost, and almost 3000 people were killed. The year was marred by the grim devastation that hit Ameri-can shores. But, 2002 tried to be more positive for us. President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act. Awesome. Then out of nowhere came 2003. Well, not out of nowhere, I mean, it came as scheduled. The Human Genome Project was completed. The project had sequenced 99% of the human genome

with unprecedented accuracy. The human body was infinitely closer to being understood clearly in this feat. People were feeling good, having fun on a biology-achievement high. Then Libya admitted to be building a nuclear bomb. Way to go Libya, way to ruin it for the rest of us. It was a bold move for Libya, considering the Terminator had just taken control over California. He’s an android, Libya, he doesn’t sleep. But alas, 2004 started and everyone was excited. NASA announced that there was once water on Mars. Great, now we had almost water to go with our almost successful ballot system. There was a huge controversy over the ballots used in Palm Beach County to count votes because Pat Buchannan won Boca, which makes complete political sense.

Halfway done, we hit 2005. The Live 8 concert rocked the world. Legend-ary band Pink Floyd came together for the first time in years to play the charity concert, raising millions. Sadly though, hurricane Katrina devestated New Orleans, killing 1600 people later in August. Oh, and the Catholic world got a new Pope. Suddenly, 2006 was already upon us and the decade was passing. This year was as eventful as 2002. In 2007, we had an amazing tale of love, perseverance, and a twinge of insanity. Lisa Nowak, a former astronaut, drove from Houston, Texas to Orlando, Florida to confront a fellow astronaut about to embark on a mission. She had packed latex gloves, a black wig, a BB pistol with ammunition, pepper

spray, an 8 inch knife and several other items before driving the 900 miles to Florida. Needless to say, she was stopped and arrested. The year 2008 came in a blaze of glory. Michael Phelps won eight gold medals and was found to be half bar-racuda and half man with a persistent case of the munchies. Being a musically inclined leap year, Rick Astley decid-ed to “rick roll” all of America with his surprise appearance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Well played, Astley, well played. And at long last, we have this year, 2009. Honestly, this entire year is one big Nicholas Cage movie. Only he can find out why Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays and a million other stars died this summer. Maybe it will

lead to a new national treasure, maybe a mountain of Aztec gold, maybe a ware-house full of Oxyclean. Too soon? Sorry. This decade really was ridiculous, more often in a bad way than good. But on a bright note, because of this decade I can watch 6 Saw movies, see a boy pretend to ride in a helium balloon and buy an iPod the size of a Starburst. As absurd as this last decade was, I cannot help feeling that the next decade is going to be even stranger. By then we might be playing Rock Band: Acapella, Cana-da might win a war and Pluto may just come back to being a planet. But that’s dreaming big.

By SID BAJRACHARYA COMMENTARY

Advancements lead to new weaponry

MILITARY ADVANCEMENTS1281

The Chinese use Gunpower

1885The Gatling Gun

is developed

1916Britain uses the first

tank

1952The first Hydrogen Bomb

is tested

SOURCES: SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, CC.GATECH.EDU

Page 10: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

ENTERTAINMENT12 December 2009The Galleon

Art. It has been studied for hun-dreds of years and the theories and interpreta- tions have marveled many. How- ever, the arts are slowly diminish- ing due to budget cuts and fewer do- nations being provided. The Miami City Ballet is one orga-nization of many experiencing this deficit in fund- ing.

“There was a re-duced amount of donations

because of the stock market prob-

lems in 2008,” Gen-eral Man- ager of The Miami City Ballet Mark Cole said. “Instead of do-nating $100,000 donors are only do-nating $50,000.” Recently the Florida Philhar-monic, Sacramento Ballet and many other small dance compa-nies have shut down because of fi-nancial difficulties. This year the Miami City Ballet had a “reduced year” where their budget was reduced from $15 mil-lion to $11 million. The ballet is starting its fundraisers and

getting ready for the 2010-2011 season, ac-cording to Cole. They are hoping to bring back the live orchestra and make more tours. “We just got back from Chicago and we did fantastic there,” Cole said. “The New York Times has given us great reviews as well.” Not only are professional programs across the country suffering, art programs in schools are also having difficulties with funding. In the Visual Arts Program at Spanish River, students are recommended to donate 40 dollars towards the art department. “I was so surprised we had to pay money to be in an art class in a public school,” junior Tucker Lipinski said. “It is shocking that the district does not support the visual art pro-

grams, like ceramics.” Due to the lack of funding, the art teachers are more stressed be-cause they have to balance their

classrooms both efficiently and cost effectively. The PTSA and the Spanish River Founda-

tion have helped out the art department in providing more art supplies and ma-

chinery for the classrooms. “Art supplies most-

ly come from students,” head of the Visual Arts department

Michael Lillie said. “If we didn’t have students donate money we

wouldn’t be able to do as many of

By NICOLE ELINOFF STAFF REPORTER

Art programs suffer budget cutsthe things we do.” The district does n o t set a budget for the a r t classes or sup-port the arts very much at all, ac-cording to Lil-lie. Ken Robinson, a British author and profes- s o r , stated that most k i d s lose their creative abi l i ty because art is not stressed as importantly as m a t h and language. All c h i l -dren are born creative but as they grow up, the creativity dwin-dles away. “Art is important because it lets me express my- self,” senior Ellyn Mcdonald said. “Art lets me do things that I could nor-mally get in trouble for doing.” For people like M c d o n a l d , art is a class which fuels the mind for the rest of the day, and many find it unfortunate that they are not prop-erly funded.

In 2007, an all teenage cast was hired for 13, a musical commissioned and produced by the Mark Taper Forum. The following October, that same play opened on Broad-way. One of its newest cast members was Aaron Simon Gross, a current sophomore at Spanish River. “There are not many roles for people my age so when there is it is really important,” Gross said Gross flew out to New York to read for the part in Janu-ary of 2008. Out of the 8,000 teens who tried out for a part in the Broadway show, he was one of two Boca Raton residents to win a part. In the show Gross played Archie, a sweet but immature pre-adolescent with a physical handicap. “In my entire career I have never seen so much talent in a single company as I have

By SOPHIE LEVINENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

All eyes onAaron Simon Gross

in 13,” lead producer Bob Boyett said. Gross was a lead singer in four of the play’s 15 musical numbers. He was a nominee for the 59th annual Outer Critics Circle Awards, for the best in Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre, in the category of Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. Gross’s grandparents have always been interested in theatre. As a child, it was his grandfather who showed him the video musicals that dictated the direction of the

rest of his life. So when six year old Gross’s

friend asked if he wanted to join a JCC performance,

Gross jumped at the chance. Since then, he has performed in various Off Broadway musicals, including Brundibar, A Stoop on Orchard Street, Sorority Queen in a Mobile Home, and Loman Family Picnic.

Recently, Gross co-stared on the new CBS drama “The Good Wife”. The episode premiered on Tuesday, November 10th. He played Ben, a friend of regular cast nember Graham Phillips. Coince-dentally, Gross became quite close with Phillips during the run of 13. “Having Graham there really put me at ease,” Gross said. Becoming friends with fellow actors is one of the benefits of acting but Gross’s career choice means he will not

always have a constant stream of jobs. He feels realistic preparing for other theatre-related positions when he is in between parts. He has already begun a career as a columnist. His articles can be found at BroadwaySpace.com.

Art by Brittany Springsted

Gross records musical numbers in a professional studio.

photos courtesy of broadway.comart by marla muro

Page 11: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

ENTERTAINMENT 13

Take your shot, Funboy. The crow swoops through an open win-dow and into the midst of a disheveled bedroom, its lustrous black feathers glinting in the moonlight. He spies the enemy, a man with the sclerosed veins of a heroin addict, lying in bed with a woman not rightfully his. The prospect of vengeance leaves a bitter, metallic taste in The Crow’s palate. Slowed by lust, the man looks up from his part-ner briefly, and is startled by his rapidly advancing nemesis. The man grasps the revolver resting on the nearby night-stand, whirling its slender, fatal barrel to face the vulnerable crow. The Crow faces the revolver and says, “Take your shot, Funboy, you got me dead bang.” This scene is from the 1994 action-thriller The Crow, a film that acquired a remarkable fol- l o w i n g its release and into the next decade. Among those cap- tured by the m o v i e were seniors D a - vid Fuen-

tes and Katie Vanderkooy. The

pair decided to name their band

after the infamous quote by the main char-acter Eric Draven, an

undead man guided by a crow. Fans of

the movie have

determined the term “dead bang” to mean “a dead-on example of something; or to be point-blank”, a good title to define a group of ambi-tious musicians. Fuentes started Dead Bang! after he real-ized he wanted to take his passion for music to

a higher level. He wanted a band without the casual, non-committed mentality of those he was previously in. “Music is an expression of what can’t be said, but rather is felt,” Fuentes said. This passed summer, Fuentes pulled his friends together and gave it a shot. After some trial and error the positions were decided: Fuentes on lead guitar, Vanderkooy on vocals, senior James Kobyashi on keyboard/trumpet, junior Alec Eddinger on drums and freshman Ellert Toohey on bass guitar. Fuentes set out to work on writing music for

A New Sound to RiverBY RICHARD BORGE

STAFF REPORTER

new songs for Dead Bang!, recording the guitar portions at home and playing them at the next practice. Some songs stick, and accompanying parts are based off of his line and tested out. Everyone’s part is their own, but the effort to make each song work is collaborative; sugges-

tions made by other members are appreciated and considered. Lyrics, however, are in Vanderkooy’s sole urisdiction. “I think of the music while I’m writ-ing lyrics,” Vanderkooy said. “It just comes to me.” Vanderkooy analyzes the feelings in a song and extracts their mean-ing, transcribing it into a poetic flow tapped by her amplified voice. Even-tually, a song emerges from this process. Weeks of practicing with each other brought about an increased awareness of each other’s musical style, and how one could fit in and compliment the other. “I try to compliment the band’s sound, blending in and making the music flow,” Eddinger said.

Dead Bang! had booked four shows for the month of November alone (including WSRH’s Rock The River), which was ambitious consider-ing they had never even been on-stage before. “We needed to get a lot of our new [songs] down for shows,” Eddinger said. “But we didn’t really have experience playing live.” Dead Bang!’s music is comparatively mellow to similar local bands, and practice-time demeanor generally reflects this. The band hosts pages on most popular social networking sites, search keyword “Dead Bang!” to check them out.

December 2009

19 20-21 24

31/131

30

Winter Break activities

Saturday Thursday

What: WWE Smackdown/ ECW LiveWhere: Americraft Expo Center Palm Beach CountyWhen: 7:30 PM

What: BowfireWhere: Raymond F. Kravis Center for Perform ing Arts West Palm Beach When: 8:00 PM

Art courtesy of Katie Vanderkooy

Battle of the bands: DEAD BANG!

Tuesday

What: Comedian Dave AttellWhere: Palm Beach Pulse West Palm BeachWhen: 10:30 PM 8:00 PM, 10:30 PM

What: The NutcrackerWhere: Kravis Center West Palm BeachWhen: 5:00 PM

January 2010

What: New Years Eve PartyWhere: South Florida Fair Grounds West Palm Beach

What: Lady Gaga ConcertWhere: Knight Center Miami, FLWhen: 7:30 PM

What: Art Miami 2002When: Miami Beach Convention CenterWhen: 7:00 PM

Monday - Friday

Wednesday

What: Phish ConcertWhere: America Airlines Arena MiamiWhen: 7:30 PM

Thursday

Dead Bang! members, (From left to right) Eddinger, Kobyashi, Vanderkooy, Toohey, and Fuentes pose for a band photo.

Photo courtesy of Dead Bang!

Saturday

314-8

Thursday/ Friday

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

December 2009The Galleon

Page 12: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

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December 2009The Galleon

Page 13: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

ENTERTAINMENT 15

In this globalizing world, it is no surprise that other countries have influenced Amer-ican culture on many dimensions, most notably our entertainment. British comedy has become increasingly popular in the United States. Ricky Gervais, producer of Britain’s popular comedy series The Office has become a common house-hold name. Due to its booming success, an American remake of the hit 2001 BBC series was created, starring Steve Carrel. The fictional show is shot as a documentary and records the lives of quirky characters working at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. “I started watching the British version of The Office a couple of years ago and loved it,” senior Marisa Strom said. “I was really excited when they made a U.S. version.” British influence is everywhere in today’s television stations. Shows like America’s Got talent, Celebrity Fit Club, Hell’s kitch-en, Wife Swap, and Dancing with the Stars are all American remakes of original British programs La Femme Nikita is an American drama based on the original French film directed by Luc Besson. During its first two seasons, the show was the highest-rated drama on

American cable. Nikita, the main character, is a juve-nile delinquent accused of murdering a police officer while attempting to rob a con-venience store. After being detained and sentenced to death, she is recruited by a secret government organization and is trained to be a brilliant assassin. She is impossible to trace, since the world believes she has died in prison and no longer exists, and is hence the perfect spy. White Collar, a brand new drama series on USA, was debuted in October of this year and its plot is relatively similar to that of La Femme Nikita. Criminal mastermind, Neal Caffrey escapes from maximum security prison, and FBI Agent Peter Burke finally catches him. In order to stay out of prison, Caffrey helps the FBI capture other crimi-nals using his expertise as a thief, counter-feiter and swindler. Cultural fusion goes both ways. Ameri-canization, the spread of American culture throughout the world, continues to spread at exponential rates. People across the globe are becoming as hooked on popular Ameri-can TV shows as Americans are on foreign TV shows. “My cousins in India love American TV,” sophomore Vasanti Jhaveri said. “They just watch what we watch: Friends, Lost, Prison Break…”

Over 200 million Chinese download American TV online, according to NPR.com. Downloading these shows has become such an overwhelmingly popular trend that it is taking away profits from pirated DVD deal-ers because online shows are free and are available almost immediately after they air in the U.S. Programs such as American Idol, Prison Break, Gossip Girl, Survivor and Battlestar Galactica can be found with full Mandarin translations all over the web. Other countries around the world have caught onto the rage, as well. “My family in Sicily love the movie, Rocky. They quote it all the time,” senior Deanna Salah said. “I also met this girl whose par-ents loved the American film Greese so much, they named her Sandy.” Some see this proliferation of west-ern consumerist values as a threat to the indigenous cultures of other nations. Others see the surge of cultural influences flowing in numerous directions as a facilitation of diversity and knowledge. Globalization has expanded the quantity and quality of media throughout the world and will continue to alter lifestyles and skew countries’ percep-tions of one another.

Students explore international entertainment

By SAMANTHA SCHAUMENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Photo courtesy of Google Images

December 2009The Galleon

Page 14: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

STUDENT LIFE 16 December 2009The Galleon

What your dreams mean...

Watch North go!

ART BY BRITTANY SPRINGSTED

TEETH FALLING OUT If you are dreaming about losing teeth, you are concerned about your appearance and are worried about how others see you. This may also show that you are feeling powerless and inferior.

FALLING If you are having a dream about falling then you are feeling insecure and unstable. You also may be giving into others and feeling a lack of control.

FLYING In your dream, if you are flying with ease then you have risen above a prob-lem. You have gained insight and power. If you are having difficulties flying or you feel afraid, then you are anxious about a challenge ahead and are lacking confidence.

DRESSING INAPPROPRI-ATELY OR BEING NAKED

In your dreams, if you are naked or inappropriately dressed, you are feeling vulnerable and shameful. This might also mean that you are trying to be someone that you are not and should just show your true self.

By SAMANTHA SHAVELLEDITOR IN CHIEF

www.dreammoods.comArt by Britatny Springsted

By PHOEBE DINNERSTUDENT LIFE EDITOR

Step into dreamland

There is a place where flying is possible, where there is such a thing as the wind blowing through one’s hair right next to a cumulo nimbus cloud. This world is filled with opportunity and chance. All one has to do is close their eyes and dream. Unfortunate-ly, not all students are able to dream as soon as they would like to due to rigorous schedules. “I participate in a sport that has practice until five and am also on the yearbook,” junior Caroline Cuo-mo said “This leaves me at a disadvantage for those students who are home the entire afternoon and get to have a head start on homework. I sometimes find myself struggling to meet deadlines.” Every night students fall sound asleep after a long day filled with activities that range from sports to clubs. On average, students do 12 hours of work per week at home for school (based off of a study at eric.ed.gov.com). They get home everyday and strive to maintain their GPA’s; even those students who are at school until 5:00 in the afternoon are still required to complete the same work as students who have more time after school. Those students who are up late each night are the ones taking honors and AP courses. They deprive themselves of sleep in order to do well. The school nurse, Carolyn Fietze says it is best for students to receive at least six to seven hours of sleep each night. “Studies show that growth hormones are only active when asleep, which is why it is so important for growing teens to get sleep,” Fietze said. “Students need to get their energy level up, and sleep replen-ishes energy.” These students are striving to do well, but do not realize that staying up late will have negative effects

on their performance for the next day’s test. If one is lacking the proper amount of rest, the brain’s ability to function lessens and in the same way, the brain is not able to problem solve. AP Psychology teach-er Tom DiFiglio agrees that a lack of sleep affects mood and memory; not sleeping well will lead to not being as alert and not as able to learn and remem-ber. Therefore, the extra hour spent cramming for a test at 11:30 at night may not do any good. “I try to avoid all distractions, like facebook, in order to complete my work as soon as possible to have more time to rest,” sophomore Max Egers said. When students like Egers finally do get the time to close their eyes, their stress from school and home life may transfer over into their dream life. “Dreams represent wish fulfillment. What you are upset about and how you want it be resolved, what you like and wish in life, are all represented in your dreams,” DiFiglio said. “But, it is not usually patently or manifestly obvious. Most dreams are in a latent, hidden form. Therefore, the stress of your day may result in a weird nightmare or frustrating dream theme.” To sleep easier, try to complete homework earlier and get a good night’s rest. This serenity will trans-late into your dreams, where everything is possible.

3-2-1 Walk! That was the slogan on October 3rd that juniors Allie North, Lisa

G a - brielle and sophomore Taylor Eu- bank stuck to while

walking in a fund- raiser to support Food for the Poor. The slogan means walking 3 miles 2 feed 1 family. North, a member of the Spanish River cross country team also led stretches and warm-ups for all the walkers prior to the event. The walk was held at Lynn University and all donations went to feed one family in the Carib-bean or South American countries for a month. Each walker had to register for 20 dollars. With the registered 20 dollars and other donations, the fundraiser raised enough money to feed more than 1,245 families. “The walk itself was hot but fun,” North said. “I am really glad my friends and I could be involved and help feed a family.” North’s father is the CFO at Food for the Poor which is the largest international relief organiza-tion in the United States. They feed millions of hungry families in 17 Caribbean and Latin American countries. Besides feeding the hungry, the organi-zation provides clean water, medicine, educational materials and homes to the inhabitants of those countries. North’s father set up a team that consisted of North, her family and her two friends, Eubank and Gabrielle. At the start of the walk, there was a sample of what a house in Haiti would look like. “Going into the house really made me so grateful for being so blessed to be born in America to two

healthy wonderful parents,” North said. The walk is an annual event for the Coconut Creek based company. It is only local, but anyone can regis-ter online to be virtual walkers and make donations. Virtual walkers set up a group and walk three miles the same day as the actual walk in their local area. North not only walks in the fundraiser, but also runs for the Spanish River Cross Country team. She is ranked 5th in the district and 6th in the region. “I ran track in middle school and my teacher actu-ally convinced me to try out for Spanish River’s cross country team,” North said. “I actually enjoy running especially when it’s nice out.” North is already ahead of the game as the season for giving comes into full swing.

Art by Marla Munro

BY MARLA MUNROSTAFF REPORTER

Page 15: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

STUDENT LIFE 17December 2009The Galleon

Source: http://www.cellphonenews.com/?p=741

Welcome to the twenty-first century

Nowadays, the only thing necessary for entertainment is a phone (with texting ca-pability, of course)...and a friend. Goodbye “Twilight Craze.” Hello Texting Craze. Texting is becoming more popular among teens. The ser-vice makes it easier to com-municate with one’s friends without the in-convenience of speaking. “[Texting] is so compelling because when I need to ask someone a quick question, I can text them and not have to stay on the phone talking to them,” junior Cali Lipo-race said. Teens’ infatu-ation with tex-ting has created new rules, which have never been significant in the past, such as no texting during dinner, no texting while driving, no texting in class and no texting during religious ceremonies. It is no longer abnormal to have one’s phone taken away due to exces-sive texting. Nor is it abnormal to receive a text message from one’s grandma. “Texting makes it easier to communi-cate with my mom throughout the day,” an

By LINDSEY GOLDSTUDENT LIFE EDITOR

anonymous junior said. “One day at lunch, I was texting my mom and telling her how hard my math test was. My math teacher walked past and caught me texting. I showed him the text messages and he laughed.” In 2006, 40 percent of the world’s 220 mil-lion mobile phone users regularly sent text messages. The obsession with text messaging

is raising anxiety among health care officials. “’[Texting] is a com-mon compulsive-impul-sive disorder that should be added to psychiatry’s official guidebook of mental disorders,” said in an editorial in American Journal of Psychiatry. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is expecting to release its newest edition in 2012. That means the “illness” of texting could be classified in the same book that clas-sifies severe psychiatric disorders, such as clinical depression and multiple personalities. “I would consider tex-ting a disorder because it disrupts me from doing important functions like my homework or studying for tests,” senior Stephen Cohen said. The popularity of SMS texting has become so

great that even spas offer hand massages that massage the joints that are effected by exces-sive text messaging. Texting has gained much significance throughout the past three years and one could only assume it will attract a greater following within the years to come to raise the 2006 sta-tistic to 100 percent.

No need to fear, Galleon’s texting guide is here!

LMAO (adj.): laughing my [butt] off

HAHA (adj.): [laughing]

LOL (adj.): laugh out loudLYLAS (adj.): love you like a sis

GG (adj.): got to gosynonym to G2G, also meaning “got to go”

HBU (adj.): how about you?

NMJCU (adj.): nothing much just chilling, you?ROFL (adj.): rolling on the floor laughing

UR (noun): your

ART BY BRITTANY SRPRINGSTED

U (noun): you

F

LM

I just finished the hardest book of my life, I was impressed with myself so I went online and looked up the reading level of the book... It’s a fourth grade reading level and I am in tenth grade. FML

I was on my first date with this boy I really liked. We were at the beach and went for a swim. My two fake teeth came out and then began to float away. FML

Today, I logged on to facebook and went to see my mom’s page. I was looking at her wall and re-alized that my mother had more facebook activity than I did. FML

I went to get a routine cavity filled the other day and they began with two shots of novicane. They began to drill and it hurt too badly so I got two more shots of novicane. At this point my face was numb but I could still feel the drill. I have to go back next Monday to start drilling all over again. FML

ART BY MARLA MUNRO AND BRITTANY SPRINGSTED*These FML’s were submitted anonymously by Spanish River students.

www.fmylife.com is a social website in which frustrated people all over the world share their unfortunate stories and allow others to laugh at their misfor-tunes.

Junior Cali Liporace texts a friend as soon as the bell rings.

Photo by Lee Ginton

Page 16: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

SPORTS 18

Captain’s Corner

December 2009The Galleon

WITH ZOE STEINBERGGIRLS SOCCER CAPTAIN

Pop Culture Grid

EvanKupferberg

basketball

Favorite N i c k e l o d e o n

ShowMoe’s Or Chipotle?

Rocket PowerMoe’s the word “like”

Chipotle My Phone

I USE _____________too OFTEN

Taylor swiftNikki Howard Bloom

Dance

Colin Melcherwrestling

Taylor SwiftDegrassi Moe’s!

my iphoneMonica Weiss

soccer

Kanye West

It is difficult to draw a line between commit-ments to a varsity sport and commitments to the family. Student athletes and coaches have varying opinions on what is right and wrong, and as a result, athletes are getting kicked off of high school varsity teams. The Spanish River football team has recently been forced to deal with this dilemma concerning multiple players. Coach Ray Burger is trying to revitalize the foot-ball program and needs to be strict in enforcing team policies if the program is going to be taken seriously. But, on the other hand, the team may not be able to afford the loss of some of its most valuable players. “Honestly, it didn’t really affect me because I really didn’t do much, but I think that miss-ing one game wasn’t a legitimate reason to kick off a player, especially on our team where we need every player possible,” junior Guillermo Camarena said. Camarena discussed pre-season with

Football players take vacations, get kicked off

the coach that he would need to miss some practices due to his travel soccer team, which the coach understood. But, when he had to miss a game because his family was going to Boston, it sent the coach over the top, forcing him to drop Camarena from the team. A similar situation happened to Mike Tibbetts who was also cut after missing practice due to a family vacation. “If we had won a game or had any chance I would have cared. Since not, I didn’t really

have a reaction or anything to say about it except it is what it is,” Tibbetts said. There is no writ-ten school rule on how to handle these situations, but rath-er, it is up to the individual coach of each sport.

“I wish I had one policy that fits all but it isn’t that simple,” Athletic Director Kevin McEnroe said. “When I think of this issue, I think about how much it would affect the team’s ability to be successful.” When it comes down to talent or reputation, this year the football team chose the latter, even when that means cutting athletes.

By RENEE SIEGELSPORTS EDITOR

“ “Missing one game wasn’t a legitimate rea-son to kick off a player.

- Junior Guillermo Camarena

Congratulations to the Girl's Cross Country Team for winning the Regional Champions and coming in 7th in the States Meet!

Kanye West or Taylor Swift

Images courtesy of Google

chipotle

profanity

Taylor Swift Avatar

The Galleon: What position do you play? Zoe Steinberg: ForwardTG: After four years on the team, what do you think is the most important thing that your team has?ZS: Team chemistry. Our previ-ous team had no chemisty but now we’re all such good friends.TG: So how do you guys bond? Any music? ZS: “Party in the U.S.A”...Turner likes it too...

Photo by Lee Ginton

legend of the hidden temple

Page 17: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

SPORTS 19December 2009The Galleon

The air is cold and snow becomes an ocean. The racer stands at the top of the hill, waiting for the signal to go. As he gets the green light, he lets everything loose, not by foot or by wheels or by car, but by one or two pieces of wood on snow. “Snowboarding is the greatest feeling of free-dom I’ve ever felt,” American history teacher Steve Staggs said. Snowboarding, and its predecessor, skiing, were developed not too long ago in the 1960’s and in a mere 30 years, has become a Winter Olympic Sport. Though many snowboarders and skiers just ski the occasional slope during vaca-tion – especially those from a state like Florida – professional snowboarding has developed styles of the sport, much like the variety of styles of Kung-fu or Tae-kwondo. The four most commonly known are the fre-eride, the dry slope, the freestyle and the freecarve. The freeride style is the one most commonly used for recreational skiers, whereas dry slopes are man-made slopes in places where there is no snow. Freestyle adds features to a natural hill or mountain, provid-ing a massive array of tricks. Finally, the freecarve is found only in places with hard-packed snow, which focuses on the ability to turn without tricks. Skiing, on the other hand, only has Nordic skiing and Alpine skiing, but both are found in

the Olympic Games. Though many people just need snow to snowboard or ski, skiers prefer places with specific terrain and condi-tions. “One thing people always have to remember is to have respect for other skiers and snowboarders; there’s a bit of animosity between skiers and snowboarders. Snow-boarders are more cutting edge, yo,” AP Chemistry and Biotech teacher Eric Dybas said. Among the variety of skills required, a proper stance, steering, edging, pressure control and hand-eye coordi-nation stand paramount. Edging means that a skier rides of the edges of his snowboard or skis and pressure con-

trol stabilizes the rider on more difficult and bumpy terrain.

“Snowboarding and ski-ing also involve a ridiculous amount of pain when you first start,” senior Jordan Reuter said. “It’s not a good idea to ski with your shirt off, I’ve tried.”

Often times, the most popular tourist hotspots

offer courses on ski-ing and snowboarding as well. Common locations include Whistler-Black-comb in British Columbia, Canada; Big Sky,

Montana; Mammoth Mountain, Califor-nia; Vail, Colorado, and the Banff Resort in Alberta, Canada. Even if tourists are newbies or completely stranger to skiing and snowboard-

ing, all popular skiing locations offer lessions by professional teachers. Skiing and snowboarding can be learned at

any age, and like Reuter, many have found a love for these wintertime sports.

Surfing a valley of snowBy MATT CHAN

SPORTS EDITOR

It is only halftime and the Spanish River foot-ball team is already down 21 points. School confi-dence is low until the band strikes up and the per-formance really starts. For about seven minutes, the crowd is serenaded with music that could hype up any crowd, as well as a marching performance that could be a show on its own. But this perfor-mance is not put together over night. For weeks, the marching band has to put in a lot of time, de-votion and sweat to make their shows perfect. Many things have to be taken into consideration when putting together a marching show, and they comprise more than just memorizing a few songs and some steps. The band has to get into healthy physical shape. Before any music is played, band director Craig White who has been leading the marching band at Spanish River for six years, works on the student’s physical strength. A typical march-ing band practice will start off with stretches and con-ditioning, which involves around 60 sit-ups, 40 pushups and them running for about seven minutes. Following the condition-ing, the band members marching back and forth in “drill block” (the positions they march in during the show) for about an hour. “The drills get to be annoying but overall I love

band. It’s the only team that has such a diverse group.” sophomore Emery Winestein said. “It’s all four grade lev-els and so many different people. And it’s co-ed!” Only after they have sweated most of the fluids out of their bodies do they actually start playing music. Every student has to memorize approximately three to four songs within a few weeks. Although the football games do not start until after school is in session, they have to have their songs memorized by the time band camp starts at the end of summer vacation. In order to be prepared for their first performances, the marching band must start their practices during sum-mer vacation. For two weeks in the summer they come to

school everyday for ten hour practices, Monday through Friday. When school starts they practice every Tuesday and Thursday for three hours, and some-times on weekends. Also, they perform at all of Spanish Riv-er’s football home games, in addition to the away games that are in Boca Ra-ton. Of course all of this practice even-tually pays off. This year the marching

band competed in four competitions, all of which they placed in. “I am extremely proud of the improvement our group has earned this past year,” Drum Major Kevin Hershey said. “They definitely deserve it after all the hard work they put into the season.”

Marching to the Silver Sound

By LEE GINTONSTAFF REPORTER

Art by Brittany Springstedimages courtesy of google

Images courtesy of NFL.com and NHL.com

Cincinnati Bengals

Matt and Renee’s

Top 5 throwback jerseys

FOOTBALL AND HOCKEY TEAMS HAVE RECENTLY BEEN BRINGING BACK THEIR OLD UNIFORMS, CREATING OLD-SCHOOL

JERSIES. THESE ARE OUR FAVORITES:

Kevin Hershey leading a practicing with a part of the march-ing band

Images courtesy of the Spanish River Silver Sound

Pittsburgh Penguins

Philadelphia Eagles

Buffalo Sabres

New England Patriots

Page 18: Issue 3 2009 The Galleon

Latisha MurrYFavorite practice: Jam-

ba juice runBest team ritual: Sphagetti Dinner

Best excuse: I had a football game

post-race celebration: jamming to music

Jackie GreenFavorite Warm Up:

Jackie- JumpsFavorite TEam bonding: Annual Team Camp outFavorite Practice: Min-ute-runs (we get pres-

ents)Best Trip: Disney world

after states 08

GallEON sportsSpanish River High School

Sara Dawson: Position: GuardFavorite drill: Teaching the JVFavorite player: Tyler Hansborough

Lindsay Smith : Position: CenterFavorite quote: “The party doesn’t start until I walk in”Favorite team: Duke

Chelsea Green : Position: GuardNickname: AP ButtholeLeast favorite drill: Suicides