NORTHSTAR

America! Drea"?Is it broken, or can people still reach the

F H N T O D A Y . C O M -‐ F R A N C I S H O W E L L N O R T H H I G H S C H O O L -‐ S T . C H A R L E S , M O .

november 16, 2011 volume 026 issue 3

contents

features news

OPINIONS

In-depth

SPORTS8-9 world food day World Food Day is an event for packaging food for those less fortunate in other countries and spreading awareness.

10-11 Fashion page Want to see what’s hot and what’s not this season? Check out how fall colors are the current thing in North’s hallways.

3 Marching Band After a winning season, Marching Band looks back on their accomplishments.

20-29 American Dream In these tough economic times, FHN students strug-gle with the pressure of trying to reach the American dream.

43 occupy wall street Saville explains her view on Americans involved in poli-tics, including the Occupy Wall Street protests.

4-5 DISTRICT TAXES After passing a tax rate increase, the District contradicted themselves by overruling their first vote.

34 state competitors Read about how Alexis Happe and Patrick Fountain made it to State for their sports.

32-33 Bus rides Check out how different North sports teams prepare for their games during bus ride.

44 North Star editorial See how the North Star editors feel about the newly proposed District tax rate.

14 ride of the month For November's Ride of the Month, North’s “computer guy” Larry Tate shares his shiny, red Mustang.

16 alter egos Contrary to popular belief, teachers actually have lives outside of school. Check out what interesting things teachers at North spend their time doing.

14In the Soulard Market in down-town St. Louis, there’s some-thing for everyone, whether it’s custom-made jewelry, fresh food or relaxation.

NORTH STAR / NOVEMBER 16, 2011

on the coverThe North Star takes an in-depth look into the American dream and whether or not it is attainable for the average person, includ-ing FHN students. (photo by kaitlyn williams)

DISTRIBUTED FOR FREE TO FHN BY THE NORTH STAR STAFF / PROVIDING AN OPEN FORUM FOR FHN SINCE 1986

36 motocross Since she was about 10-years-old, junior Tori Hanke has been a moto-cross rider.

Compete to cook

North seniors compete against other FHSD schools for the title of Iron Chef

news

On Nov. 15, the fourth annual Iron Chef compe-tition was held at FHH. This year’s theme was the 2012 Olympics. FHN, FHC and FHH participated in the competition.

“Iron Chef gives students a way to showcase what they are capable of producing, and it shows what an incredible job the teachers are doing in training them,” District Chef Karin Mann said.

For the competition, each team made a three course meal made up of five dishes. This year North’s menu included fish, potato fries and salad.

“The foods we [made], based on the theme, have a creative twist with them,” Culinary Arts teacher Rebecca Just said. “It’s not the usual way you would make a common dish.”

This year, North’s Iron Chef team is composed of only seniors. The North chefs are Ellice Estrada, Devin Mundy, Nicole Grider, Jasmine Crawford and Chris Gegg. These seniors have taken the school’s Cu-linary Arts class.

“When you are working by yourself it’s more of your creativity,” Gegg said. “But when you’re working with a team it is more unique because you have every one’s strength and personalities put into the meal.” Senior Chris Gegg practices his cooking skills during the Iron Chef practice on Oct. 27. Gegg and the

other Iron Chef teammates were preparing for the competition that was held on Nov. 15. (sarah teson)

PAGE BY BRITTANY STECK FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 01

SCAN HEREScan here to watch a video of the Iron Chef participants preparing for the competititon.

FHNTODAY.COM

OR use this link: goo.gl/PzAhJ

“I’m excited because it’ll be beneficial because I’ll attend ses-sions taught by professionals and will hopefully learn a lot,” -Kaitlyn Williams, 12

“It’ll be educational because you get to see how our court system really works and what goes on behind the scenes,” -Sam Renda, 12

“We are working on producing an exceptionally cohesive sound from both an individual and sectional standpoint,” -Sydney Santsch, 11

“It’s important because we forget about teachers and only reward students, but without teachers we wouldn’t be where we are today,” -Kelli-ann Corrao, 12

the briefs

journalism nationals Ap GovErnment trip Jazz Band Concert teacher week

1006briannamorgan@gmail.com | @BriMarie1006

BY BRIANNA MORGAN

The Board of Education (BOE) recently approved a new communication system called SchoolMes-

to deliver a large mass of messages to a variety of medium (voicemail, e-mail, text messages, home phones, etc.). The SchoolMessenger will notify par-ents, students and faculty about upcoming events or when school closings occur. It also can be used for

late this November. “The District needed some sort of mass

communication system,” FHSD Chairman of Technology Ray Eernisse said. “This will have more usage with a better budget.”

The system the BOE approved will le-verage the investment the District has made with the current phone system by allowing for non-priority messages (attendance or events) to be delivered through the current phone lines. All priority messages (school closures or other emergencies) will be routed through the Internet portion of the system.

“It’s a way to improve communication,” FHN mother Michelle Curran said. “It’s direct contact.”

Although SchoolMessenger costs $14,000 per year, it will end up saving the District thousands of dollars. The old electronic news system was less ef-fective because it only sent to those who subscribed to the Enews system. The people with phone numbers in the FHSD system will automatically be signed up for SchoolMessenger, and the District web page will also have information for people to sign up and make preference changes. When this new system takes place, the District hopes to have a more organized and accurate communication system.

“I think since the District is going directly to the phones on record and not relying on watching for school closings on television,” teacher Jon Travis

-formation.”

SchoolMessenger, the new rapid notification system the Board approved, will enable texts, emails and phone calls to go out to parents about school closings and events.  The new system will be enabled in late November.  (photo  illustration  by  murphy  riley)

To  inform  everyone  effectively,  the  District  purchased  a  better    communication  program

news

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1102 PAGE BY TANNYR SEDDON

NEW SYSTEMIN ACTION

Kaylyn.shinault@gmail.com | @kayshinaultBY KAYLYN SHINAULT

SCAN HEREScan this QR code to be taken to the SchoolMessenger app to sign up for an account.

FHNTODAY.COM

OR use this link: http://goo.gl/mrADF

Compton said.In previous years, due to the

steady decrease in the number of students participating in Marching Band, the many hours of practice didn’t pay off as the band members would have liked. This year, how-ever, things were different. Accord-ing to band direc-tor Jeff Moorman and band member Andy Poulsen, Marching Band was able to achieve astonishing results due to the simpler formation design and the fact that everyone played bet-ter and stronger as a whole.

This year, Marching Band cel-ebrated many victories from their most successful season in more

in several competitions, including the Belleville East and St. Charles West Competitions. They tied for

-ship Competition and were top ranked at the Blue Springs Com-petition, where some of the bands who attended also compete at a na-tional level. Although they didn’t

top-ranked throughout the season.“These achievements give me

pride in what I do,” junior Nathan

“I feel great because it’s my senior year, and we’re winning like crazy,” Poulsen said.

Even though the Marching Band season ended in October,

Drumline starts after Thanksgiving, Winter Guard starts at the end of November and Jazz Band continues year round. Marching Band will start up again next August. Ac-cording to Moorman, if they stick to the plan they used for this past season,

Marching Band will see many vic-tories in the future.

“Our process might take a bit longer,” Moorman said, “But it’s worth it.”

The wood winds and brass section of the Knightsound Marching Band play the second song of their three song show entitled “Concrete Jungle” at the senior night football game on Oct. 21. The band placed in every competition this season, including one first place finish and tie for first.  (brandon  neer)

fhn student passesAWAY in car accident

Earlier this month, sophomore Clayton Newell passed away after being involved in a car accident on Greens Bot-tom Road on Oct. 17. Newell was 16-years-old.

Newell attended Hollenbeck Middle School before he came to North last year. He was a member of the FHN Hockey team and had played hockey since he was in the sixth grade. He was interested in art and drawing, and he was enrolled in Intro to Art as well. Newell wanted to be a Airforce pilot after high school.

A memorial service was held for Newell on Oct. 22. Many FHN students attended the service. A small group of students is selling memorial t-shirts to remember Newell and raise money for his family.

great season comes to a close Marching  Band  looks  back  at  their  achievements  as  things  wrap  up

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 03PAGE BY ISABELLA LANZARA

Want to see your tweet here?Tag tweets about school with

#FHNnews

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isabellalanzara@gmail.comBY ISABELLA LANZARA

SCAN HEREScan this QR code to be taken

out why kids like to be in March-ing Band.

FHNTODAY.COM

OR use this link: http://goo.gl/6mUQu

@Katie_Step

the best way to spread christ-mas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear #WatchingElf #inchoir

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That awkward moment when you bolt into your 3rd hour b/c your late then realize it’s Wednsday and your suppose to be in homeroom #fhnnewsKatie  Dozier

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I didn’t know my car was supposed to have a puddle in it..

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Just listened to the Graduation speech. #lifejustgotreal

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Well I was ready for bed but I can’t sleep #WideAwake

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Showered and dressed in 9 minutes. Thats what happens when I have to ride the school bus. #lifeofaloser

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day of the rest of your life. #quotesfromroungun

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TOP TWEETS

Approves

Though  a  tax  rate  increase  of  18  percent  

was  originally  proposed  and  passed,  the  

Board  of  Education  amended  that  rate  two  

weeks  after  passing  it.  

fhsd

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1104 PAGE BY JORDAN BRYSON

The Board of Education (BOE) held a special meeting to correct an error they felt they made that would have given the Dis-trict an extra $1 million. Instead of keep-ing with the originally proposed tax rate of $5.18 that they approved, they re-voted and agreed on the tax rate of $5.1352.

The $5.18 would have given FHSD about $1.2 million in surplus. In con-trast, the tax rate of $5.13 will give only $200,000 in surplus funds. Students at North shouldn’t expect any change in how their school normally functions for the rest of the school year, but due to the $5.13 tax rate only collecting about a $200,000 sur-plus, cuts may have to be made in the com-ing years.

“At North, the question comes in ‘Is it necessary we spend that money now?’” BOE Director and supporter of the $5.18 tax rate, Marty Hodits said. “‘Can we put that off until a later date?’ That’s what will happen throughout the District.”

Though missing out on the extra mil-lion won’t affect FHSD this school year much either, in the coming years, the Dis-trict and its schools will have to prepare for a steady decrease in the amount of surplus they will have at their disposal. At the beginning of the 2011-12 school year, FHSD started out with a $39.4 million sur-plus, but by the beginning of the 2015-16 school year, it is projected that they will start the school year out with a mere $2.8 million surplus due to the approval of the $5.13 tax rate. This loss of reserve money means that more programs or staff mem-bers could be subjected to the chopping block in the coming years, especially if the assessed valuation of the District con-tinues to decrease as it has in the past four years.

“For this year, it will not have much ef-fect if the state government gives us all the money they say they’ll give us,” Hodits said. “If they don’t give us all the money

spending. We’ll be spending more than we’ll collect.”

The Money TrailAt a BOE special session on Sept. 28,

the FHSD board passed a revised tax rate of $5.1352. At the regular meeting on Sept. 15, the Sloan administration origi-nally proposed a tax rate of $5.18. This motion was passed 4-3, but President Mike Sommer and Director Mark Lafata requested the special session to re-discuss the amendment. By the end of the Sept. 28

JORDAN BRYSON | JORDAN.BRYSON90@GMAIL.COM | @jordan_bryson

District

a new tax

rate

On Sept. 15, the Board of Education decided to raise the tax rate from $5.0008 to $5.1352. The increase will give the District a $200,000 surplus. The motion to amend the rate was passed 4-3. (photo illustration by ashley brophy)

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 05PAGE BY JORDAN BRYSON

meeting, the BOE overruled their original vote by passing the new rate of $5.1352. This motion also passed 4-3.

“I believe the intent was we should be considerate of tax payers,”

Kevin Supple said. “Reduce

to tax payers.”FHSD receives their rev-

enue by taxing the personal property of FHSD bound-ary residents (houses, cars, boats, etc.) and the personal property of FHSD boundary businesses (items they have for sale). Due to a 3 percent decline in assessed valua-tion, the tax rate had to be increased to make the District revenue neutral. Because of this circumstance, the aver-age tax payer will have little to no increase on their bills starting with the next one they will receive in late No-

vember and until the tax rate changes.“For the average tax payer, [they] would

not have increased taxes,” Supple said. “I don’t think tax payers will even notice.”

One reason for such a decrease in the surplus over the years is that the money FHSD receives from tax payers isn’t permanent. In 2004, tax

cent sunset provision. This meant

cents to come off of the tax rate. In 2009 when the levy expired, FHSD

year extension to the sunset provi-sion. This means that unless the BOE doesn’t vote to change the tax rate again, in 2014 the tax rate will go down to $4.93 from the current tax rate of $5.13.

“I would absolutely not be com-fortable with them keeping it,” FHN parent Mary Kranzberg said. “Only if they could invest it. If they re-

turned the money back to the people, then we could make money on it.”

SCAN HEREFor an in-depth look at the re-sults from tax surveys given to students, scan this QR code.

OR use this link: http://goo.gl/CBRsk

FHNTODAY.COM

THE BREAKDOWNPiecing it together

To  calculate  what  you  will  pay  to  the  

District  in  a  personal  property  bill,  use  

the  following  formula.  

Average Home Value: $225,000

1. Multiply the home value by .19 (19 percent)  $225,000(.19)  =  $42,750

2. Divide that number by 100$42,750/100  =  $427.50

3. Multiply that number by the tax rate, now $5.1352 $427.50($5.1352)  =  $2195.30

That’s  the  amount  an  FHSD  resident  

would  pay  to  the  District  in  their  an-­

nual  tax  bill.

11-12: $39.4

13-14: $39.9

14-15: $33.5

15-16: $22.5

TIME

OUTProjected surplus

amount (in millions)

16-17: $2.8

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Features

It is a sunny October day as an elementary school bus deposits a large class of eager 8-year-olds at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center registration table. A mix

of this class, other children, teenagers, se-nior citizens and families of all sizes gather around the volunteers stand to collect their wristbands, assigning them to a table inside. At this table, an assembly line of 10 to 15 people stand with soy covered hands and dust covered clothing. These people are pre-paring for World Food Day.

“We’re decorating the food boxes for the

kids in Africa,” 7-year-old volunteer Jayla said. “It’s really far away, but we’re showing them that we love them.”

World Food Day is a worldwide event during which volunteers devote an entire weekend to packaging food and spreading the word about world hunger.

This year’s World Food Day packing event took place on Oct. 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Three thousand volunteers gathered together to package bags of rice, dried vegetables and soy protein, feeding more than 523,000 starving people in Tan-zania.

The first World Food Day took place in 1981, making this year its 31 anniversary; however, this is only its second year here in

katsianisemily@gmail.com | @EmilyKatsianisBY EMILY KATSIANIS

Volunteers of all ages lend a helping hand, packaging and shipping food off to malnourished children on the other side of the world.

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1108 PAGE BY EMILY FORST

St. Louis at the Danforth Center. The Dan-forth Center, located in Olivette, works to assist humanity through the use of plants.

“The Danforth Center’s research is designed to make enough food so we don’t have to have days like this,” Dan-forth’s associate director, Mis-sy Miller said.

TED MEDLINGreeting volunteers at the

door is 75-year-old Ted Med-lin, a man truly passionate about the mission to feed starv-ing mouths around the world. Ted’s interest with World Food Day began after the funeral of the famous Dr. Norman Borlaug, a 93-year-old wheat breeder who remained an ac-tive farmer his entire life.

Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as the World Food Prize, the Presi-dential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal for his outstanding dedication to advancements in feeding malnourished people across the globe. Borlaug fed over two billion people in his life-time.

“I was just so inspired,” Ted said. “I wanted to learn ev-erything I could about this man and his cause.”

This inspiration led Ted to a World Food Day convention in Des Moines, Iowa where he joined 16,000 people for a three day packing event. They sent off over three million meals to the St. Louis Food Bank that weekend.

Upon leaving the event, Ted made a donation to the developing World Food Day Foundation, wanting to con-tribute as much as possible to their cause.

“I told them I wanted a demonstration [of the packaging assembly line] for my Sunday school class,” Ted said. “I wanted to bring this experience home to my kids.”

It only took about six weeks for Ted’s church to jump on board, sending off 150,000 meals for their first mission, the earthquake in

Haiti, then another 350 meals to their Zambia mis-sion site.

AT THE DANFORTH CENTER

The meals assembled by Ted’s church are the same as the bags volun-teers are preparing at the Danforth Center. Every bag assembled contains one part rice, one part dried vegeta-bles and two parts soy pro-tein. Each 25 cent meal bag feeds up to six children, and one box fits 36 of these meal bags, making a total of 216 meals in just one package.

To prepare these bags, volunteers pour beans and rice into insulated plastic bags through a funnel, then pass them down the line as more contents are added to the meal. The plastic is sealed and packaged neatly in the boxes to be shipped. As the five minute mark is called, the air thickens with tension. Hands moved fast-er, and voices rose higher. The volunteers sift and pour and pass with the ambition to pack as many meal bags possible. They succeeded; 23,000 boxes were shipped off from this one hour ses-sion alone.

“We were all working to-gether for a good cause,” volunteer and FHN junior Sarah Creeley said. “It really shows that the people here in America are willing to help out. It helps so many people, and it makes you feel good, which is a plus.”

WORLD FOOD DAY

JUST THE FACTS

• One in 12 people worldwide are malnourished.

• 160 million children under five are malnourished.

• Hunger kills more people than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

• A child dies every six seconds from malnutrition and related illnesses.

MEAL PACKAGES

• Each meal package contains rice, soy protein, dehydrated veggies and vitamin and mineral packs.

• Each package provides a nutrition-ally complete meal for four adults or six children.

• The cost of each life-sustaining meal is approximately 25 cents which includes the ingredients, packaging, administration and international shipping of the food.

• The sealed packages have a shelf life of three years.

COMPARE

• In 2010, World Food Day had 2,000 volunteers who put together 355,000 meal packages.

• At the 2011 World Food Day, 3,000 volunteers put together 523,000 meal packages.

information from: www.danforthcenter.org

FACTS

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Nick Keller,Outreach Program Coordinator

SCAN HERETo watch an interview with Lisa Saville about World Food Day and how she helped out.

OR use this link: http://goo.gl/xw3Fc

FHNTODAY.COM

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 09PAGE BY EMILY FORSTPAGE BY EMILY FORST

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FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1110 PAGE BY AMANDA CORNETT, EMILY FORST & MADDIE HIATT

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FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 11

behind the scenes

the PHOTO SHOOT

Watch behind the scenes footage from the photo shoot. See Kendra Barnard and the models as they pose for their chance to be in the spotlight and hear some of the models thoughts about fall trends.

scan here

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HurryBefore it’s too late....

Yearbooks are $50 until January 1st then they will be raised to

$65

Yearbooks can be purchased in room 026 or

online at FHNToday.com

Follow us on facebook for sneak peeks of the 2011-2012 yearbook.

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maddiehiatt@gmail.com | @maddiehiattBY MADDIE HIATT

FHN buisness teacher Melissa Trochim never thought she would have a passion for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Her fa-

ther watched it nonstop when she was a child, but she had zero interest of watching cars drive in a circle for three hours; she would rather watch football. Since then, a lot has changed.

When Trochim met her hus-band Brian Trochim, she had zero interest of watching or paying attention to NASCAR. Brain told her he would take her to her first race and she would be hooked. He was right.

“When I took her to her first race she liked the atmosphere, and she asked a lot of questions, and she liked learn-ing about it,” Brian said. “Then we got garage passes, and she got to take pictures with the drivers, which she really liked.”

Over fall break, Trochim and her husband Brian Trochim attended the NASCAR Kan-sas Speedway with garage passes for a week-end. They had access to the NASCAR driv-ers, their teams and to both the Nationwide

and the Sprint Cup garage area.“We got to sit behind the crew chief,” Tro-

chim said. “There were two chairs where we can see the pit crew go out and change the tires and fill up the gas and see a whole differ-ent aspect of the racing side of things.”

This was not the first racing event that Trochim and her husband have attended. Trochim’s first race was the Inaugural Race at Homestead Miami Speedway during the

2000/01 school year. They went to the Inaugural Race in Chicago during the 2002/03 school year, and they have been to NASCAR Kansas Speedway a total of three times.

While Trochim now loves NASCAR, many women remain uninterested. Some people think that NASCAR is only a man’s

sport, but according to Trochim and her first hour student and NASCAR fan Brittany Belt, that is not the case.

“Danica Patrick influenced women to race with guys,” Belt said. “I look up to her be-cause she shows that women can race too.”

In the future, Trochim plans to continue to go to as many NASCAR races as she can.

“NASCAR is a great sport,” Trochim said. “I will always have a passion for it.”

A Need for speedUnexpectedly, Trochim finds a new passion in the world of NASCAR. Now, she’s hooked.

Buisness Teacher Melissa Trochim stands with her favorite NASCAR driver, AJ Allmendinger, the driver of the #43 Ford Richard Petty Motor-sports Best Buy car. Trochim had a Hot Garage Passes, which allowed her to tour around behind the scenes as well as participate work on the Pit Box with the crew chief of the #43 car. (submitted photo)

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 13PAGE BY EMILY KATSIANIS

amandacornett93@gmail.comBY AMANDA CORNETT

Senior Kayla Busby works at Donut Delight, a donut shop in Florissant. Kayla bakes, decorates and sells the donuts. To make it to work for her 2 a.m. shift, Kayla has to wake up at 12:50 a.m.

“It’s not that bad,” Kayla said. “It’s only on the weekends, and I usually just go home and take a nap, and it usually doesn’t inter-fere with the rest of my plans for the day.”

Even though she has to wake up early, Kayla say there are many advantages to her job. She believes that it has made her more sociable because she talks to many of the customers, including the regulars that come in. She describes this as being one of her favorite parts of her job.

Kayla is not the only member of the Busby family that works at the donut shop. Her sister Tori and their father work at the shop along side of Kayla. Their father has been working at Donut Delight since he was 16.

“I like working with them,” sister Tori Busby said. “It makes it easier because its my first job.”

JOB OF THE MONTH:

DONUT DELIGHT

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Kayla and sister, Tori Busby, follow in their father’s footsteps at

Donut Delight.

Features

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1114

tannyrseddon@gmail.com BY TANNYR SEDDON

Every weekday, a bright red 2012 Ford Mustang sits in the parking lot in front of the school. This two-door sports car belongs to “the computer guy” Larry Tate. Tate bought the Mustang four months ago after his ‘97 Trans Am was flooded. After some online searching, he found a car that, with it’s black interior, rear seats that fold down and al-most blindingly shiny, silver Mustang symbol, stands out among the other staff mem-ber’s cars.

“It stands out on the park-ing lot there,” teacher Bridgett Myers said. “Always nice looking at a shiny, new Mus-tang. It beats looking at the SUVs in the parking lot.”

Tate agrees that the car’s bright red color and Mustang build cause it to stand out, especially amongst the staff parking.

“Not many staff have sports cars,” Tate said. “Prob-ably because they’ve grown out of it.”

Technician, Larry Tate, stands out with his “sharp looking” ride.

Ride ofthe month

Features

SCAN HERETo watch a video about Larry Tate and his ride.OR use this link: http://goo.gl/1YOc0

ellice.estrada@gmail.comBY ELLICE ESTRADA

Jazz music flows through the ears of hun-dreds of people at the Soulard Farmers Market. Money in hands, they wait to grab the fresh food brought in from local

farmers. Past the farmers, an indoor section holds various stores and restaurants. Scat-tered through out the Market, stands are oc-cupied by independent vendors that sell mer-chandise such as hats, perfume, bamboo and more. Near the end of the first indoor build-ing, one such vendor, Temock Meosqueda, stands with a table full of handmade Native American jewelry, art, dream catchers and leather purses. Everything Temock makes, like most items for sale at Soulard, is one of a kind.

“I never mass produce my jewelry,” Te-mock said. “You have to work your brain. Creativity is a tool. It pulls you on another level mentally.”

The market is located off the seventh

street exit past downtown St. Louis. The gen-eral market is open year round on Fridays and Saturdays from 7 a.m. until about 5 p.m. On Saturdays, which is the busiest day, every store and vendor is open.

“Saturday is the best day to come,” cus-tomer Alicia Grover said. “I like seeing the crowds and getting the whole feel of it, plus a lot of the farmers will have special deals that day.”

Many locals come to the market, as well as people from out of town. The crowd is mixed with people of all ages and reasons to be there. Some people come just for something to do on a Saturday morning. Others come to buy gifts, purchase their week’s worth of groceries, get a bite to eat or buy fresh pro-duce. Some come to sit and play music for tips. With all the various types of stands and shops, there is something for everyone.

“The atmosphere keeps me coming back,” customer Ellie Ordway said, “And they’re cheap. I like it here, especially in the fall. It’s my favorite time to come.”

SOULARD MARKETA great place to buy cheap, organic food from farmers and have fun on Saturday morning.

The Soulard Farmers Market offers a wide variety of products such as fresh produce, clothing, and jewelry. Temock Meosqueda works at a stand in the Soulard Market called “Native American Collections.” Temock sells numerous items including dream catchers, jewelry, clothing, and knives. The market is open all year round on Fridays and Saturdays. (michelle spencer)

PAGE BY AMANDA CORNETT

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Features

Teacher alter Egos

Joe Brocksmith teaches science and is the sponsor for Ecol-ogy Club. Outside of school, Brocksmith is the lead guitarist and back-up vocalist in a ‘90s rock cover band, “That’s What She Said.”

“I always enjoyed playing music, and I’ve been play-ing music since I was like 10 years old,” Brocksmith said.

Although Brocksmith says he likes being in the band, there are disadvantages to it as well. Every Monday the band practices at the drummer’s house in South City and almost every other week-end the band plays late at several local establishments and taverns.

“I really don’t like getting home at three o’clock in the mornings after we play our shows,” Brocksmith said.

Some students would be surprised to know that Brocksmith is in a band, but many students who know think it’s a cool thing to do.

“I’ve been frequently asked questions by my students about the band; they always harass me to perform for them,” Brocksmith said.

Brian Santos, Spanish teacher at FHN, leader of the Spanish Club, and a flute player of 12 years.

“I enjoy the challenge of it, the fact that I can practice for de-cades and never master it,” San-tos said. “In order to sound good you have to be a perfectionist.”

Every Christmas Santos plays “Feliz Navidad” to his students. He also plays when they do work stations to indicate when it’s time for the students to change stations.

“At first I was shocked, but then I was thrilled,” Se-nior, Knight Pride mem-ber, Kelli-Ann Corrao said.

Brocksmith Guitar Guru

Over the summer, FHN li-brarian Angie Gunnell biked the entire 225 miles of the Katy Trail, which stretches most of the state of Missouri.

“I bike almost exclusive-ly on the Katy Trail because I love being in the outdoors, like in the woods. I’m kind of a nature girl,” Gunnell said.

Most students don’t know that Gunnell biked the entire Katy Trail but are pleasantly surprised when they find out.

“I think it’s cool that she rides bikes,” sopho-more Natasha Kozak said.

Ami Barlow is a third-year history teacher at Fran-cis Howell North and a hair stylist at Great Clips.

“It’s kind of like coaching a sport,” Barlow said. “If you do something you really love then you make time for it.”

Barlow is repeatedly asked to cut her students hair but con-tinually turns them down, not wanting to mix the two worlds.

“I think [having two jobs] shows students they can have a serious side and a creative side, and you can do what-ever you want,” Barlow said.

For FHN teachers it’s not all grading tests and creating new ways to torture students; it’s a balancing act. “We have lives too.”

KATIE DOZIER | DOZIER.KATHLEEN@GMAIL.COM | @kdoz5

Santos Fluent Flutist

Gunnell Books n' Bikes

BarlowSavvy Stylist

Other CoolAlter EGOS

Zac Smithey Art teacherHe has been a scenic artist at the

Muny for the last five years. At the

Muny, he paints all of the sets for

the shows and they use about 50

gallons of paint per show.

Tracy Heaton Spanish teacher

Ms. Heaton has been studying

abroad almost every year since

1999. The past two summers she

has studied in France and Costa

Rica. This summer she is headed

to Africa for three weeks.

Anne McPartland German teacher

Ms. Mcpartland has played the

guitar since she was in college

where her roommate taught her

to play. She still plays at Fraufest

and loves to share her “Zoo Song”

sing-along.

Laura MontgomeryBiology teacher

Ms. Montgomery has been riding

horses on and off since she was five

years old. She currently has two

horses named Nova and Nugget.

She loves seeing the United States

and her life goal is to experience all

50 states. The only states that she

hasn’t visited yet are North Dakota,

Alaska and New Mexico.

Darlene JonesPrincipal

Jones loves to ride her bike on the

Katy Trail; her goal is to ride from

St. Charles to Jefferson City when

she retires and stay in bed and

breakfasts along the way.

THERESA MAHEREnglish Teacher

PHOTOS BY MAGGIE CURRAN

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 17PAGE BY EMILY FORST

Knights captian and forward David Hitch-cock hoists the Gold Cup after their victory against the Vikings. (brandon neer)

Knights forward Daniel Rosse pushes past the Viking defense in the Gold Cup game on Nov. 5 (brandon neer)

David Hitch-cock and his parents walk Clayton Newells’ jersey and some flow-ers to his mother and his brother. Varsity and JV won both of their games in remem-brance of him. Newell passed away in a car accident on Monday Oct. 10, 2011. (kendrick gaussoin)

Daniel Rosse tries to avoid getting checked from behind by a Howell player. Rosse scored several goals during the Varsity game. Varsity won 5-3. (kend-rick gaussoin)

Varsity lines up for the pre-game introductory ceremony. All players had a number two sticker on their helmet to show support for Clayton Newell. (kendrick gaussoin)

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A comfortable lifestyle is what young people in America strive for, but

what does it take to achieve that? This month the North Star takes an -

America! Drea"

Since the 2008 real estate meltdown, and the ensuing re-cession, one of the most asked questions has been whether or not the American dream is dead. Teenagers have grown up with the recession, living with the austere conditions that accompany it for nearly four years now. Instead of dreaming of the future that they want, many teens are forced to focus on

-selves and their families in now. This domestic stress and pressure starts to affect teenagers ability to focus on their education and future.

According to a study published in Child Development, researchers found that the kids who had higher levels of stress at home at the start of high school had poorer academic perfor-mance by senior year. In a 2009 survey conducted by OurStressfullives.com, 30 percent of children reported be-

-ations were causing their child’s stress.

Beth Bell, a licensed professional counselor for chil-dren, says that the new independence that comes with be-

into adulthood. As they hurdle toward adulthood and the real world, they start to make crucial steps to their fu-ture career paths, and ultimately, their American dream. However, when many students think about their future, the path they have in mind for themselves can often be impacted by unforeseen stresses.

--

dens - aren’t obvious. One would never guess that the guy sitting in the next row over has to work more than 26

hours a week to support himself. There’s no sign that the girl who is involved in many extra

curricular activities is stressed out about how her family is going to pay their rent

problems at home, some students get caught in the middle and end up losing

focus on their education.

problems I’m having at home,” senior Brittany Kabacinski said. “It keeps me from focusing and

then it becomes a distraction with what I’m doing in school.”

that if they try to hide their monetary stress, their chil-dren will never notice. They don’t think that their teen-ager could be able to pick up on their worries.

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amandastallings13@gmail.com | @AStall13BY AMANDA STALLINGS

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1122 PAGE BY KELSEY BELL

“Parents think that if they hide things from kids, they’ll never notice that they’re stressed,” Bell said. “[The kids] usually see right through their parents, though. They usually see if something is wrong. Parents need to bring teenagers into the loop more. They need to give them more knowledge because the teenager might think that they’re doing something wrong. It makes them feel like their whole world is falling apart.”

Typically, money woes don’t appear to be something that contribute to a teenager’s stress level. At least, they don’t seem to be something that would bother many teens. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

factor of adolescent stress. “Money stress is a symptom of bigger stresses,”

Bell said. “If there are money stresses and other things haven’t been taken care of then money becomes the big stress. A lot of these kids already have other stresses, and then you throw money into that and things really fall apart.”

Bell believes that money issues stress kids out so much because they view money as security, and they feel things more strongly.

“Most people in America look to money as security,” Bell said. “It buys you a house, a car to drive, and it’s your link to family time. When everything starts break-ing down and the money isn’t there to bring the security back, it’s extremely stressful. Because teens feel things so much more strongly than adults do, the stress really sets in and they feel like there’s no point in trying to focus on school work.”

If a student is unable to balance their stress and their schoolwork, the pressure makes what were once mun-dane activities to become too much for them to handle. Bell believes that coping with the stress is the key to preventing this.

“Any bad habit can affect you for the rest of your life,” Bell said. “If someone has a bad habit of not deal-ing with stress, they need to learn how to. If [the stress] is something that they regularly deal with and they don’t do anything about it, then I could see them potentially

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SCAN HEREFor a video of FHN stu-dents talking about what their idea of the American Dream is.

FHNTODAY.COM

65%

28%

said they view the American Dream as

say poor education is a main barrier in achieving

the American Dream

America! Drea"

The Dream Defined

*& Stat& of th&

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 23PAGE BY KELSEY BELL

In a survey conducted by Metlife in 2010, it was found that people still faith in The American Dream despite economic challenges, interna-tional uncertainty, and institutional distrust.

34%have an adequate

personal safety net

77%are taking action

to build one.

becoming dropouts or turning to things that do make them feel good, like drugs. Family relationships can also totally break down, but if they can learn the skills to cope then they can turn everything around.”

Mary Kerr-Grant is the crisis guidance counselor at Francis Howell North. When there are students at FHN with eco-nomic issues, students who work or who are upset about the prob-lems their family is having with

support, ways to cope and re-sources that help them in Kerr-Grant. Kerr-Grant tries to guide students in any way possible to break them out of the cycle of economic situations.

Typically, students who go to talk to Kerr-Grant will not al-ways directly say what they’re stressed about, or if they’re hav-ing economic problems that they’re worried about. She says that after they open up and start talking to her about things, she’s able to discov-er what’s really bothering the student.

“Sometimes they’ll come to me because they feel upset, anxious, or de-pressed, and then as we talk, I realize that some

causes,” Kerr-Grant said. “Usually a kid won’t come in and say ‘I don’t have any money’.”

When a student is having economic is-sues and problems, Kerr-Grant thinks that if the student has a trusted adult to talk to, some of their worries can be relieved, which is why she believes it’s good for a student to come in and just talk to her about their is-sues. Junior Brandon Clynes, works a part-time job and feels that when he talk to some-

helps him pull through.“Talking to someone when I’m upset

about money helps

me get through the rough times,” Clynes said. “When I’m starting to fall behind, I just think about what we talked about, and it gives me a push to keep succeeding in school while still having to work.”

Kerr-Grant believes that a student should know of the resources available to them, so

she tries inform all of the students who come to her of the programs that can

help them. Some of these resources include counseling, which can even be given at school, agencies that can help the student’s fam-

ily pay their bills, the free lunch program and the A+ program.

“The A-Plus program is an unbelievable opportunity to get two free years of college,” Kerr-Grant said. “It gives the student a chance to work and save up money to pay for the rest and then they’ll have small

student loans, so I think A-Plus is awesome.”

While students are coming to deal with the

added pressure of pre-paring for college and dealing with the in-

burden on their families, the Ameri-

can dream becomes more elusive, tempting

some to stray off the path. They then run the risk of remain-

ing stuck in this rut for longer than they had anticipated. Kerr-Grant thinks that a stu-dent’s chance of doing better and pulling out of rough economic situations can be better if

“You want to do the best you can in school to be able to have more opportuni-

more choices you have and the better you do in school, the more opportunities you’ll have.”

Your Workloa+Manag&

SCAN HEREFor a list of FHN students available for tutoring.

FHNTODAY.COM

Use these tips to keep yourself organized so you can focus on what you’re learning.

- Have enough school supplies. You want to focus on your test next hour, not the #2 pencil you need.

- Find a calendar that works for you, whether that’s an app, a notebook, or a desk calendar. When you’re stressed, it will keep things straight for you.

- Find a tutor. Some-times it’s easier to learn from a peer. FHN has tutors and some classes even have face-book groups formed for studying.

3 2

1

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1124 PAGE BY KELSEY BELL

One year ago, the American dream was out of sight for Steve Wilkins. He was unemployed, had no education be-yond high school and lived with his aunt on the Illinois side of St. Louis. Steve signed up for Illinois’ food stamp program. One condition of this program is that those who

himself at Employment Connection.Every year, over 1,500 of St. Louis’ unem-

-

job. While Employment Connection cli-ents range from ex-offenders to women on welfare, most have one thing in common: the vast majority of the clients have no high school or college diploma.

Steve says the reason he didn’t further his education after a high school was be-cause of his involvement in a gang. At that time, his own indifference to education, re-inforced by other gang members, stopped him from continuing on to college. Now, Steve understands the value of an education and strongly encourages teenagers to continue their education after high school.

“A little education can go a long way,” Steve said. “Without the proper education, you’ll be working at a hamburger stand.”

Since the economic crash in 2008, Employment Con-nection has had more people come to them for help; how-

ever, due to a focus on quality instead of quantity, fewer clients are accepted. The clients that are accepted are one step closer

dream.“The American dream is just the opportunity to have choice

and freedom and being able to go after the pursuit of happi-ness,” Employment Connection representative Jonathan Walz said. “With the economy being the way it is, you almost have

-tion.”

Walz believes that in these economic times, the American dream is becoming harder to obtain. He cites the number of foreclosures, which are topping 8,000 a month nationwide, as proof that people are drifting further from achieving the Amer-ican dream.

“The American dream is based on the idea of having things and being able to go after things. There are a lot of people now that are not even able to try to get the American dream,” Walz said. “The American dream is crumbling.”

At Employment Connection, they attempt to re-vive this crumbling dream. Here, clients get one step

-ment.

“We assist people with the American dream by helping them get on their feet and pointing them in

a job,” Walz said.

achieving the dream is World of Work (WOW) training. This four day program instructs job seek-ers on topics such as interviewing, creating resumes

-gram, clients are assigned a Career Specialist, who

links clients with potential employers. In addition, clients are provided with other services as needed. One such service re-quired by many clients is counseling.

“Many need counseling to avoid being depressed and to stay optimistic,” social worker Steve Zegel said. “They might have a job

A Secon+ Chanc&In a rough economy it’s hard to get

For  those  who  didn’t  do  well  in  school,  getting  back  on  track  with  their  American  dream  can  be  difficult.  And  economic  conditions  don’t  help.

BY PAIGE YUNGERMANN

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 25PAGE BY KELSEY BELL

plyungermann@gmail.com

interview, they’re excited, but they think ‘Well, they’re not going to call me back.’ “

According the Zegel, the counseling services provided by Employment Connec-tion are extremely successful. In addition to helping clients stay optimistic during the job search, counseling helps clients recover from past experiences such as homelessness, mili-tary service and time in prison. With these is-sues taken care of, clients can fully focus on

certain circumstances,” Zegel said. “We pro-vide the psychosocial support to help them keep the job. The clients that participate in our program are usually very successful.”

In addition to counseling, Employment Connection provides a multitude of other ser-vices, such as housing, food and transporta-tion, all designed to get clients back on track to obtaining their American Dream. Steve was provided with donated suits to wear on job interviews and computer access to email potential employers.

“There are other issues that come with unemployment,” Walz said. “If we can take care of those other issues, then our clients are

Even with the help of agencies such as

still a challenge. Out of the 1,030 clients that completed the WOW program in 2010, 440 found a job.

“Certain individuals aren’t ready to do what it takes,” Walz said. “It’s a struggle. If you aren’t ready to meet that challenge, you won’t succeed, but we don’t give up on any-body. We work as hard as we can.”

For Steve, Employment Connection changed his life. His hard work during his training caused Employment Connection to

-tenance worker. He is now close to com-pleting a degree in Computer Information Systems, and he realizes that getting a higher education is something he should have done a long time ago.

“I kick myself every morning,” Steve said. “When my back aches and my knees ache, I regret not furthering my education. I now have to do hard, strenuous labor I might not have to do if I’d furthered my education.”

Once he completes his degree, Steve hopes to be promoted. Even without a pro-motion, he says he will always be grateful to Employment Connection for helping him achieve the American dream.

“How can you describe a 180 degree turn?” Steve said. “I was really struggling, trying to make ends meet. Now, I’m able to maintain my own lifestyle without govern-ment assistance. It’s been a blessed experi-ence for me.”

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FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1126 PAGE BY KELSEY BELL

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- Sign up for the A+ program, even if you don’t plan on going to community college, many other colleges across the state are beginning to offer scholar-ships for A+.

- Sign up to talk to your coun-selor. They are one of the best resources at FHN for all things college related. They can help you figure out what classes to take, and find scholarships.

Planning for college now can be extremely stressful. Follow these tips to help ease your mind about your education.

- Maintain a good GPA. Col-leges offer bigger scholarships to students with higher grade point averages, so whatever you can do to keep yours up will benefit you.

- Apply for scholarships, even if some of them are a long shot. It never hurts to apply, and you don’t know how much money you can get unless you apply.

that the American dream becomes less and less attainable for the 300,000 who call St. Louis home. It’s hemorrhaging its once huge popula-tion from a wound in its underbelly. The jobs are leaving. The houses are less valuable. The schools are falling apart. The American dream is crumbling.

Numbers tell no lies. Numbers tell a story. Numbers give depth. Numbers tell that 41 percent of children in the City of Saint Louis live below the poverty level. Only 62 percent of children in the City Public School System graduated last year-- and that’s the highest in more than a decade. The other 38 percent will

at some point in their life. Numbers are everlast-ing. The dream is not.

A Plac& *a% Ca! HelpMR. MATHEWSIn the middle of the 1950s, an African-

American league baseball coach, A.C. Ander-son, was on his way out. He had just suffered a stroke, and he wasn’t getting any younger. He had done many great things with his life, includ-ing coaching an African American baseball league in a racially tense mid-century St. Louis. But, he wanted to do something good for the children of the St. Louis community.

He approached one of his play-ers, a young man from Poplar Bluff by the name of Martin Mathews. He invited Mathews to his house to meet with him and discuss what service they would provide. Because of An-derson’s recent stroke, he had cleared the table out of his dining room and replaced it with a hospital bed. When Mathews arrived at Anderson’s house, this is where he found him waiting--with 30 inner city boys surrounding him. Anderson asked if Mathews would take half of these boys and teach them how to play baseball.

“I reluctantly told him, ‘yes,’” Mathews said. “I was hoping to drop them within a year. But I found that these kids needed so much assistance and were so excited that I decided to keep ‘em.”

The next year that Mathews spent with this group served as a prelude for the organization

-cades. He took them from a group of boys

who couldn’t catch and throw a ball to a three championship team. To this day,

Mathews still calls this, “one of the proudest moments” of his life.

“Those were 17 kids who couldn’t win a game,” Mathews said. “But you work with them, you inspire them, and they become the best. It plant-ed the seed.”

There isn’t a surface in Mathews’s -

paper article, proclamation or photo. Trophies sit sporadically throughout the space. Under the glass-top on his desk, photos create a col-lage of news makers--from former mayors to former Presidents--all of whom are posing with Mathews. A signed picture of Jackie Robinson,

When times get tough, students need

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 27PAGE BY KELSEY BELL

Mathews-­Dickey  has  worked  with  a  million  disadvantaged  students  across  St.  Louis  to  help  them  achieve  their  American  dream.    

kevinbeerman2@gmail.com | @k_beermanBY KEVIN BEERMAN

full time. Shortly after joining the staff, Washington worked to integrate more programs into the tutoring service. Eventually, she became the catalyst for the ad-dition of girls athletic and tutoring programs. These now account for more than half of the students at Mathews-Dickey.

-to. Mathews-Dickey was good, but she made it better.”

A Presidential Proclamation and a plan. North St. Louis gets a bad rap. It stands as one of

the poorest areas in the region. It’s crime rate is higher than almost any other part of the city--and the coun-try for that matter. It’s local high school, Beaumont, graduates a meager one out of two students every year. It’s a problem that Mathews-Dickey has been working to curb since it was founded. To Mathews’s every kid is a product of their home life, school and community.

“We take the kid and talk through their issues. We work through their problems,” Mathews said. “The kid is a victim of his environment. Everybody has self-worth. There is good in every kid.”

They have many programs, all designed to get kids off the street, in the schools, then into college. Their Tri-A Program works with troubled students, students who had disciplinary issues and weren’t succeeding in

years of work with 100 kids, the program had a 99

one of Mathews’ heroes, hangs next to a plaque from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But, Mathews’ prized pos-session, is a three-line note from former president, Ronald Reagan.

Mathews-Dickey didn’t start as an organization that tutored underprivileged children who were work-ing to achieve the American dream. In fact, if you weren’t a boy, it didn’t service you at all. Mathews-Dickey started with that 30 boy baseball team. When word spread about their success, more and more young men wanted to play ball with Mr. Mathews, and his partner at the time, the late Dickey Valentine. By

Mathews, they had more than 1000 kids wanting to join their program. So they went to work and founded Mathews-Dickey Boys’ Club, as everyone who works there so lovingly says, “under a shade tree.”

“There were so many kids striving to get on the team, but we didn’t have the space to let them on,” Mathews said. “We wanted to show these men that if they stayed the course and worked hard, they would do great things with their lives.”

STAY THE COURSE, WORK HARD.

staffer. She sings gospel; she has an album. She serves

PR & Special Events, makes her the go-to person for pretty much everything at Mathews-Dickey Boys’ and Girls’ Club.

That’s how things work at Mathews-Dickey. They’re a family. A large family--they have more than 5000 volunteers--but a family nonetheless. They may service more than 40,000 kids in the St. Louis region every year, and have serviced millions in their 50 year history, but to Barbara and Mathews, there is nobody too small for their attention.

“We always work with the child, for the child,” Washington said. “I don’t want to see anyone live without having.”

Washington hasn’t always had things herself. She grew up in an impoverished family in one of the poor-est regions of Mississippi. It was by fate that she met

long, only long enough to give her two children. But, it took her out of her poverty stricken life. It eventu-ally took her to Mathews-Dickey. It took her to her American dream.

She had been volunteering with the Boys’ club when she wasn’t serving as the spokesperson for Gen-eral American Insurance Company. Mathews started to take note of her work at the club: how she would work tirelessly, sometimes until midnight. Mathews watched her. He saw her on Channel 4 news every once in a while. His Vice President of Public Relations was leaving. He saw an opportunity.

He asked.She said no. “I didn’t want to get paid for this,” Washington

said. “I didn’t know I could get paid for this.”After a bit of persuasion, Mathews had convinced

Barbara to leave General American and work for him

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1128 PAGE BY KELSEY BELL

City Academy is a school founded in 1999 based on the success of the Mathews-Dickey boys club. All families pay tuition at City Academy, but tuition income only gener-ates 20% of the school’s annual budget. Because of this, the school has to rely on community support from indi-viduals, corporations & fondations to fund 80% of its operating costs - over $2 mil-lion annually.

72%

65%

Of academy stu-dents live in under performing school

districts.

City academy’s full annual tuition is

$20,100. The aver-age tuition paid by families is $3,500

Of academy students live in a

household with an annual income of $35,000 or less.

Cit- Academ-

percent return rate. It was so successful that the public school system adopted it and uses it to this day. They started an internship program that spread across the nation. It provided 50 kids with internship opportuni-ties across the city. It eventually became so large that the city took it over. In other words, if the kids can’t get themselves to their American dream, Mathews-Dickey has the means to aid them in the process.

“If kids don’t have the resources they need to pick themselves up by their boot strings,” Washington said. “They won’t succeed.”

In 1982, this behavior caught the attention of then president, Ronald Reagan. That year, on a trip to St. Louis, he stopped by Mathews-Dickey to present Mathews and Valentine with a proclamation. And to declare Mathews-Dickey a Model for the Country.

“It inspired us to keep doing good,” Mathews said. “That inspired me more than anything in my life to have the President of the United States say that.”

The philosophies of Mathews-Dickey are living on. Just across the street from the club, the former Education Director for Mathews-Dickey, Don Dan-forth, founded City Academy. For more than a decade, City Academy has provided tuition to its elementary students, half of whom qualify for free and reduced lunch. Now, it’s one of the most successful private el-ementary schools in the country.

“There is a need for more opportunities all over the community,” Danforth said. “These are smart kids

who needed a push and someone to take an interest.”Mathews is working to ensure that his organization

lives to provide access to the American dream long after he is gone. After being hospitalized earlier this year for several weeks, Mathews is spending his time on what he feels will be his last great contribution to the com-munity: a program working to keep kids in school and out of jail.

“There is good in every kid,” Mathews said. “They just need someone to bring that out of them. I want to instill that dream in them.”

As Mathews looks upon what he has created, all the good works he has done over the course of the orga-nization’s 50 years, it all comes back to baseball. He recalls standing in the middle of Forrest Park with his young team. They had won their third state champion-ship, despite the battles they had working against them. This moment planted the seed for him. He saw boys who had accomplished their dream because he had put the effort forth for them. They lived their dream; he’s lived his.

“Those boys were champs and they realized, ‘I’ve done this. I can do other things,” Mathews said. “I’ve accom-plished goals--impossible goals--in life. The American dream: if you work hard, you can reach the Ameri-can dream. I have lived the American dream.”

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 29PAGE BY KELSEY BELL

so, this is johnScan here for a video about John Hallemeier and his trip to visit his sister in Guam.OR use this link: http://goo.gl/VPhri

HE LOVES GUaM

WHAT’S NEW ON ONLINE AT

@FHNtoday, @FHNtodaysports & @FHNtodaynews facebook.com/fhntodayfan

fhntoday.com

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For a video that gives step-by-step instructions on how to make these recipes.OR use this link: http://bit.ly/qcSN34

SCAN HERE

the rideto victory

abbywest19@gmail.com | BY ABBY WEST

Two  FHN  sports  teams  share  their  

experiences  on  bus  rides  to  away  

games  and  how  it  affects  them.

Of the multiple sports team here at FHN,

no matter how different they all share

something in common: bus rides to

away games. This is a time for teams

to come together and prepare for the game

ahead. Every team has their own unique

way of how to prepare for games, whether it

means focusing or bonding, it brings the team

together.

FOOTBALL

throughout the air. Blasts of music from the

earphones of an iPod can be heard thoughout

the bus. The mood: serious and focused.

“Usually we play better when we are fo-

cused on the game. When we are not focused

on the game, we don’t play as well,” sopho-

more Alex Heigl said.

The players must be focused on the mental

make-up of the game. They are expected to

know what to do in any given situation when

it presents itself. According to coach Jeff Sar-

"BUS RIDES ARE JUST A GOOD WAY OF GETTING EVERYONE FOCUSED AND ON THE SAME PAGE." -‐ ANDRI KRUGER, 12gent if the players are joking in the pre-game,

they will be joking during the game.

“The main thing I expect is for them to

prepare mentally for the game, whether it

is listening to music, or talking about the

game,” coach Jeff Sargent said.

These bus rides create a sense of unity

within the team, that the players feel, is key

creating a winning team. In the minds of all

SPORTS

the players and coaches concentration is key.

“Bus rides are just a good way of getting

everyone focused and on the same page,” se-

nior Andri Kruger said.

TENNIS

Scattered though out the bus, sitting one

to a seat, is the Varsity girls Tennis team.

Whether it is sleeping, lying across the seats,

listening to music, or just talking across the

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1132 PAGE BY ABBY WEST

The FHN Tennis team

takes bus rides to away

games as a time to have

fun, talk, play music, and

bond. While the football

team insists on sitting

quietly, straight forward,

and with their headphones

in. Both teams stress

how important bus rides

are to their pre-game.

For both teams bus rides

create unity, focus, and

concentration.

(photos submitted)

“It’s not a sport; it’s a lifestyle.”

but serious.

“We are really goofy and never serious,

unless we are playing,” junior Jasmine Wahl-

brink said.

Each game, a player is assigned to bring

snacks or drinks for the game and for the bus

ride, whether it is home or away. This is just

one more thing that brings the team together.

they always support one another and cheer

each other on.

“We all work really well together and we

bond easily,” junior Jackie Jorel said. “We

know when to work hard and when to have

fun.”

Bus rides are a key part of the team’s pre-

game strategy. Even if the atmosphere is not

completely serious, each player is thinking

about the game in the back of their mind.

Creating a positive atmosphere puts the play-

ers in a good mood before they play.

“We play better when we are in a good

mood because we don’t get as frustrated as

much when we play,” Wahlbrink said.

When compared, the Tennis players feel

that they have a strong advantage over the

football players when it comes to bus rides.

“Tennis bus rides affect the team better

because we become calm before we go to

play, we bond better as well because we get

to know each other with each of our conver-

sations,” senior Alyssa Miller said. “We can

help one another before the match starts with

advice on how to play better.”

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 33PAGE BY ABBY WEST

YOU DOON BUS RIDES?

WHAT DO

A few athletes from FHN were

asked what they enjoy most about

bus rides to away games. Here’s

what they said.

CLAIRE FORD

MATT WEDEWER

MEGAN BURLEIGH

“To get focused and energized for the game, I listen to music.”

“On bus rides, I talk to my teammates.”

“I take a nap to refresh my mind before the game.”

11

10

12

In what she considers her most challenging race yet, sophomore Alexis Happe ran in the State Cross Country competition in Jefferson City on Nov. 5. With coaches and teammates cheering her on, Happe

placed in the top 90 for girls Cross Country. Along with Happe, senior Patrick Fountain attended State for the boys Swim team. Fountain and Happe are the only two North athletes to make it to state com-petitions.

“I was super excited, but I was not ready for another week of practice,” Happe said.

It wasn’t easy for Happe and Fountain. Both worked hard before and during the season. Happe ran every day this past summer with teammate Brianna Schroer, running at least 5 miles every day. Fountain practiced to increase his endurance, perfect his stroke and make his stroke more pow-erful.

“She [Alexis] always showed up at practice and always pushed herself at practice, especially at hill workouts,” coach Beth Phillips said.

On Nov. 11 and 12, Fountain swam in the state competition at the Saint Peters Rec Plex. As of press time, his results are unavailable. To see how Fountain placed, check out FHNtoday.com.

“I’m excited, but I’m also nervous because it’s my last chance to accomplish the goals I’ve had during high school,” Fountain said.

Swim team. This means that this year was his last chance to compete in State. Happe, however, is a soph-omore and has two more years ahead to run at state if eligible.

“I would like to make it into the top 50 and in my dreams the top 25,” Happe said.

Senior Patrick Fountain Garner and sophomore Alexis Happe are the only two athletes from the fall sports season to make it to State competition. (kendrick gaussion)

one goalbartram.taylor@gmail.comBY TAYLOR BARTRAM

Both  senior  Patrick  Fountain  and  

sophomore  Alexis  Happe  made  it  to  

State  championships  this  year.  

sports

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1134 PAGE BY ANDREW CURRAN

AS OF 11/9/11

two athletes

100 meter Breast Stroke- 1:04.24Individual Medley- 2:06.15

STATE Stats

Patrick fountain SWIMMING

Best 5K time-19:36

Alexis Happe CROSS COUNTRYWhile Cross Country didn’t make it to State, they came closer than other teams by placing fourth in Districts and qualifying for Sectionals.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

are now put into a more competi-tive situation and talent might have been out shown by the dedication to swimming.

“As long as they are commit-ted to coming to all the practices and working hard,” sophomore Megan Hampson said. “I’m sure they’ll have no problem making it.”

Swimmers think tryouts this year will improve the team by

In the upcoming winter sports season, a change was made for the girls Swim team. Unlike previous years, tryouts for this year were held for positions on the team. Tryouts took place on Monday, Nov. 14 and around 25 girls were chosen for the team. Because try-outs were held this year the girls

bringing the girls closer together and by creating a more dedicated team; however, tryouts also increase com-petition amongst the team members and it’s possible it might cause ten-sion between the girls.

“I think there will be more girls wanting to swim the same events,” junior Alexis Christo said. “I think it will make choosing who swims

the events they want.”

Senior Danielle Meyer swims in the breast stroke event in a meet from the 2010-2011 season. The swim team starts practicing for the 2011-2012 season on Nov. 14. “I’m looking forward to senior night, because there is going to be like 16 of us,” Swim team Captain Susanna Mcfarland said. (file  photo)

Freshman Emily Chowning stunts during the fall pep assembly on Sept. 23. The Varsity Cheer squad performed part of the routine they competed with at the 2011 State competition. (kaitlyn  williams)

andrewcurran4@gmail.com | @AnCurr13

BY ANDREW CURRAN

early state brings cheer a new break

swim tryouts create tough competition

With Football season at an end and Basketball sea-son yet to begin, the Varsity Cheerleading squad, for

down time. This break, caused by State competitions being moved back to July this year, is a welcome change.

“It’s nice because we get more time to relax and take a break, and we don’t have to stress out about the competition,” cheerleader Taylor Schumacher said.

However, the squad’s work is far from done. Prac-tices will continue as they learn their routines for Bas-ketball season and upcoming pep assemblies. The extra time gives opportunity to prepare and improve.

“This year is a lot better,” cheerleader Allie Medlin said. “We’ve squeezed in a lot more [during practices] and gotten a lot done.”

ngponche@gmail.comBY NICK PONCHE

Swimmers  spots  on  the  team  are  contested  for  the  first  time

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 35PAGE BY ABBY WEST & MATT HILLIS

andrewcurran4@gmail.com | @AnCurr13BY ANDREW CURRAN

You hear coaches tell ath-letes this all the time, and there are even Nike shirts that say it. There is no off season. If you want to be better at your sport, you should continue trying to improve during your off season. Putting in the extra work will

Over training during your off season may cause you to burn yourself out of the sport by playing it too much. However, you shouldn’t stop practicing and limit yourself to only play-ing it when the season comes around. For example, many baseball players go to facili-ties to work on things including

The months you have from the end of one season until the beginning of the next is a cru-cial time. It’s the best time to improve at things that you are below average at and to get bet-ter at the things you’re already good at. Keeping up with your workouts will help you improve and stay on track for the upcom-ing season.

Athletes  should  not    slack  off  during  the  off  season,  rather  put  effort  forth  year  round.  

SCAN HERETo get stats from stltoday.com

on FHN sports.

FHNTODAY.COM

OR use this link: http://goo.gl/ck8LQ

100 meter Back Stroke- 1:06200 meter Individual Medley- 2:23

ALEXIS christo SWIMMING

Stunt completed- Toe Touch Back TuckWorking on- Round Off Back Hand-spring Full

Taylor schumacher CHEER

SPORTS TALK:

SEASONno off

Tori Hanke performs a jump on her dirt bike. Hanke has been racing motocross for six years after a friend introduced her to it. (photo submitted)

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1136 PAGE BY MATT HILLIS

dirt roadTori Hanke has been riding dirt bikes since she was 10-years-old and racing for over a year

At Paradise Motocross Park on Oct. 16, junior Tori Hanke is ready to race. After she puts on her hel-met, she revs her dirt bike to a roaring start. Her eyes are focused on the dirt trail in front of her, and

she is ready to win. “I’m very anxious,” Tori said. “I’m excited, tense, and

my blood is pumping, but I try to stay as focused as I can.”Tori has been riding dirt bikes ever since she was

about 10-years-old. It started when her best friend, Alyssa Purdom, got her involved.

“Motocross is a great way for us to bond,” Alyssa said.The motocross season is from March through October,

and Tori usually particiates in 12 races. Annually, she at-tends the Paradise Motocross Park competition, where the last time she raced, she placed fifth. Tori’s average is third and her best was second place.

“She progresses very well,” Tori’s mom Mary Hanke said. “Every race she gets better.”

Before a race, Tori and the rest of the motocross racers arrive at the track a day early to practice and prepare for the race the next day.

“I hang out with all my friends that ride,” Tori said. “I also jump around and dance to get the nerves out.”

At Paradise Motor Park, Tori crosses the finish line in the middle of the pack, finishing in fifth place. She takes her helmet off and celebrates a long day of racing with fel-low riders as they say their goodbyes until next year. She then packs up and heads home, already looking forward to next season. Tori can’t wait.

mhillis57@gmail.com BY MATT HILLIS

Life on the

Susanna McFarland, 12“We have 14 seniors this year, that’s the most we’ve had in a long time. We’re gonna run it.”

Dominique Meyer, 9“It’s my first year, and I’m re-ally excited to do another high school sport.”

Lauren Kopf, 12“I’m looking foward to winning lots of games, working hard as a team and funny moments.”

Ryan Jeppeson, 12“We’re working on getting in shape by running. I’m excited to start playing games and winning.”

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FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1138 PAGE BY NICK BUSSELL

sports

ndbrox@gmail.com I @nbussellBY NICK BUSSELL

MEGAN FRKOVIC

BRAXTON MARTINEZ

Three seniors were asked what college they’re plan-ning on going to for sports.

“You talk to a bunch of colleges, and see who you like and who

likes you.”

Saint Louis UniversityBaseball“They offered me a scholarship, and over the summer I visited and fell in love with the place.”

Truman State UniversitySoccer“They offered me and I liked their campus.”

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHTDeann Krufal, 11

Andrew Raguini, 11

Abbey grone, 12

Danielle Meyer, 12 Susanna Mcfarland,

Kevin Weggeman, 11

Amanda iborg, 12

Kyle Lemons, 11

Emma Nicolli, 12

Nine athletes express how they are inspired by the pros to get where they are today.

Varsity Basketball

Varsity Basketball

Varsity Swim

Varsity Swim Varsity Swim

Wrestling

Varsity Swim

Varsity Basketball

Varsity Basketball“Yadier Molina, he’s

a great player that puts forward a lot of

effort.”

“Steve Nash because he works hard every

day while knowing he doesn’t have a ring.”

“David Freese, he’s kinda like the all star

right now, and he saved St. Louis’ butts.”

Nastia Liukin: “It’s a whole new lifestyle

when you get up to that level. It gets intense and I think it’s cool

that she can balance all that.”

“Michael Phelps, be-cause of how hard he trains, like 24/7.”

“All of the state cham-pions [wrestlers] inspire me to do better, I don’t have a specific one.”

“Dara Torres, she is the oldest Olympic swimmer, and she drives me to keep swimming.”

“Derrick Rose, be-cause he inspires me to play better. He’s a role model.”

“Rebecca Womach, she’s just a really good athlete, and works really hard at what she does.”

Fhn wrestler inspired by the pros

Nicole Yuede plans on attending Louis University next year. She will be playing for their vol-leyball team.

12

Wherethey're

going

Weggeman has been wrestling for two years, and he plans to con-tinue wrestling through-out high school.

Don't you want to be this happy?

Make sure you’re not missing out on announcements this year. There are lots of new ways to get them -- you can even have them sent to your

phone via text.

FHNtoday.comfacebook.com/FHNtodayFantwitter.com/FHNtodaytwitter.com/FHNtodaySportstwitter.com/FHNtodayNews

You probably no-ticed that the announcements are no longer being read over the intercom every day, but have no fear, there are some new ways to get the information you need!

On FHNtoday.com, there will be videos of the announce-ments being read posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; a text version of the announcements will also be posted.

Want your updates on your smartphone? Scan a QR code with a smartphone that will be posted throughout school that will direct you to the announcements.

You can even get text messages sent to your phone, text Follow FHNTodayNews to 40404.

StuCo is also helping to get the announcements out by putting them on the Toilet Talk and a TV in the commons which will showcase announcements on a constant loop throughout the day!

Huh? Online QR Code Via Text StuCo

In “Tower Heist,” revenge is a dish served with $21 million on the side. Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller team up in this comedy centered around a plan to rob a businessman of part of his fortune.

Going into this movie I wasn’t expecting much. Stiller’s last piece of work, “Little Fockers,” was a huge disappointment, and Murphy hasn’t made me laugh since he played Donkey in the first “Shrek”.

So naturally I wasn’t overjoyed to be seeing this movie. I expected forced jokes and a predictable plot. Stiller plays Josh Kovacs, the ex-manager of The Tower, one of the most expensive, exclusive apartment complexes in the nation. After an exposed scheme leaves the majority of The Tower staff pen-niless, Stiller takes it upon himself to get revenge. He assembles a group of people, all affected by the scheme, and a petty thief named Slide (Murphy) to embark on his vendetta.

I don’t know if going into this movie with low expectations helped, but upon leaving the theater I was surprised that I didn’t hate seeing the movie as much as I thought I would. I was surprised that I was actually laughing at some of the lines and the way they were delivered. I also found myself hop-ing that the characters succeeded in their heist be-cause it was for more than just personal gain.

This movie did have its funny parts that were strategically placed so that they didn’t seem forced. The plot is predictable; however, there are some un-expected scenes between the characters. Despite the predictable plot, this movie is a light hearted com-edy that I enjoyed; it is not a full price film but it is perfect for a movie night at home with friends.

shelton2012@gmail.com |BY SIDNEY SHELTON

entertainment

ToweR heistFor links to view all reviewed content, OR use this link http://bit.ly/ogLown

Get your fix, Scan here

This new burglar comedy, released Nov 4, follows the classic revenge plot but adds its own light-hearted twist.

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1140 PAGE BY SIDNEY SHELTON

The number of times you actually need to bump data to another phone is close to zero.Ranked by Aurora Blanchard

This app tells you the price of an item before you take it up to the checkout counter. But so does a price tag.

With high-pitched, dispropor-tionately small keys, this app only proves to be annoying and useless after a few days.

7 APPS bump BARCODE SCANNER piano

http://www.towerheist.net

You will uninstall after downloading

PG-13

Thirteen-year-old Kyra was born into a family that believes in arranged marriages. Kyra wants to be with her secret lover, Joshua; however, her fa-ther has other plans.

This book showed me how parents can force decisions on their kids, instead of letting them make their own choices. Yes, parents should have some impact, but Kyra proves that teens should have the final say on life-changing choices. Kyra has to decide on being obedient to her father and standing up for what she believes in.

Metallica has teamed up with singer Lou Reed to create the album “Lulu.” On this album, Lou Reed tried to create dark, disturbing and enigmatic poetry, but what he got was unbearable phrases and shouts. Also, instead of singing, he simply re-cites these lyrics. Metallica, however, sounds great in such songs as “Junior Dad” and “Iced Honey”, and they could have made a great album. Unfor-tunately “Lulu” is too constrained to the ideas of Lou Reed’s vision to rise to the top. Regardless of the two good songs this album is a disappointment.

deloreslampkin@gmail.com | BY DELORES LAMPKIN

danstewart130@gmail.com | BY DAN STEWART

the chosen one metallica, lou reed

plyungermann@gmail.com | @plyungermann

BY PAIGE YUNGERMANN

Perhaps the most unusual YouTube channel I’ve ever watched is AmazingPhil. This channel is one of the top 50 most subscribed YouTube chan-nels in the United Kingdom, and I have yet to figure out why.

When I first watched some of Phil’s videos, I couldn’t de-cide whether I was entertained or creeped out. Some of Phil’s videos are unique, funny and have a lot of potential; how-ever, other video segments are just strange. One such segment is titled “Draw Phil Naked.” While these viewer-submitted drawings are not at all explicit, I still find this segment, along with Phil’s sense of humor, ex-tremely awkward.

I think if AmazingPhil fo-cused a little more on making his audience feel comfortable, instead of being as absurdly out-landish as possible, he would become truly amazing.

AMAZINGPHILnot SO

Popular YouTube icon “AmazingPhil”is more frightening than amazing.

brittany14steck@gmail.com | @LittleMsBrittBY BRITTANY STECK

“The Heart, She Holler,” which premiered on Nov. 6 at 11:30 p.m. on Adult Swim, is both comi-cal and disturbing. A southern father leaves his in-heritance to his long-lost son Hurlan (played by Pat-ton Oswalk). Along with this inheritance, Hurlan is given the run of the town, which is full of unusual, dim-witted folks. Hurlan is neither sociable or intel-ligent, maybe because his father hid him from the world in the walls of his home for the last 40 years, and running the town seems like an impossible fa-vor. In order to prepare Hurlan for this impossible task, his father leaves him videos about the world,

hot dogs and how to run the town. The plot unravels further as Hurlan’s two sisters (played by Kristen Schaal and Heather Lawless) attempt just about anything to get their hands on the fortune.

Fast paced scene changes and quick introduc-tions of characters make the show easy to follow. In addition, this show, with it’s immature and sketchy characters, reminds me of old homemade videos of someone getting hit in the face by a baseball bat. This show will also make you question the creator’s sanity, as well as your own if you choose to watch it. If there is nothing else on, and you just want to sit back and enjoy a late night TV show with perverted jokes, then “The Heart She Holler” is just the show for you.

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 41PAGE BY SIDNEY SHELTON

If you want to know that Missouri’s beet season ends in November, it’s a fantastically useful app.

What’s the point of pop-ping bubbles over and over? Not sure.

Handy for all the times you’re lost in an uncharted forest and need to make your way back to civiliza-tion.

Most times you need a thesaurus you’re typing an essay on the computer anyway and can just google synonyms.

bubbles compass thesaurus

http://www.carollynchwilliams.com/

http://video.adultswim.com

http://www.loureedmetallica.com/

sEASONAL HARVEST

PG-13

On Sept. 16, 17-year-old Canadian Akash Wadhwa committed suicide after posting on Tumblr that he was bullied and “life had become too much.” Too often I find myself hearing or reading about tragic teenage sui-cides, such as Akash’s, due to bullying and pressure to fit in.

44,000 lives a year are taken by suicide, making suicide the third leading cause of death among young people according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This needs to stop.

People sitting in the very same room as you may feel that they are unable to stand out because individu-als who do not conform with the status-quo are often treated differently. We all know that one kid in class who dresses, talks and acts differently than our stan-dards. While we might think gossiping about that stu-dent behind their back is not harmful, words can have a lasting effect. What you say can still be hurtful, even if you think the person is not listening.

FHN Counselor Joyce Barker feels that the first step to stop bullying is to stop making assumptions based on your first impressions of people. It’s not fair to pick on others especially when you are judging them based on what’s on the surface instead of getting to know them.

Without acceptance, teenagers will continue to re-sort to the extreme of suicide. We need to look past the differences of others and get the know them for the person that they are instead of the person that they ap-pear to be.

opinions

THE LEADYOU TAKE Don’t fall into the status quo. Live life accepting yourself and others.

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1142 PAGE BY ELLICE ESTRADA

brittany14steck@gmail.com | @LittleMsBrittBY BRITTANY STECK

FHN voices their opinions on events happening around

the school, country and in the world.

“I think a lot of people go to col-lege because it’s

the thing to do but don’t actually have

a direction.”

“[Voters are] prob-ably going to go

for Republican this time because before

they voted for a Democrat.”

Your take on EDUCATION on next President

MATT WATSON

“False judging doesn’t bother

me. It’s just putting people

into classes I guess.”

on judgmentCOLLIN TOEDTMANNKIRSTIN LITZ

It’s hard to walk through school without hearing com-plaints.

Everyone has bad days at school and complains; however, we never stop to realize what we have.

When everything is given to us, it’s hard to see what things are worth. Even in a recession, every child is given a free edu-cation. Around the world, that isn’t the case. In Kenya, few are given the opportunity for a proper education. American students just

assume they deserve an educa-tion. Others don’t get one at all. Jeanine Cinco has seen this first hand. In her two years volun-teering at an elementary school in Nairobi, Kenya, Jeanine only had two students with the money and support to enter high school.

“It’s very different,” Cinco said. “In Kenya, [students] would beg for homework.”

It’s time for FHN students to appreciate what they have. It’s time to finish work on time, study for tests or at least stop complaining in order to appreci-ate the value of an education that some will never receive.

We have the opportunity, now what?

The Occupy Protests are leading Americans in the right direction

utilizing our education

USE the right to start a revolution

amandacornett93@gmail.com

BY AMANDA CORNETT

I stand at 5 feet 2 inches. I’m not exactly the tallest tree in the forest; however I’m not dumb. I’m not a useless, little garden gnome. People tend to treat short people like they’re small and stupid.

I understand that I’m short, and one does have to physically bow their head and talk down to me, but just because you are av-erage height doesn’t mean you should talk down to me.

There are many famous people who are smart and short. Take scientist Marie Curie. Standing at 5 feet, she was well under average height. Napoleon Bonaparte was famous for his strong will and short stature. Tiny Tim is another example. He changed one man’s life with his kindness. Even right here in our own hallways, some of our own teachers fall under the line of average height, but they are far from stupid.

Next time you meet some-one don’t judge them based on size. You never know, you could be talking to the next tiny genius.

SHORT, NOT

STUPIDSenior Amanda Cornett examines how people often judge things by size.

Americans need to be more involved with ful-filling their civic duties. It’s high time people of all ages stop rolling their eyes at the government and do something about the problems. I suggest figur-ing out what it is you don’t like and advocating for change; this is something the Occupy Wall Street protesters are doing now.

Whether you’re a liberal or a conservative, against it or for it, you have to give credit where credit is due; the occupiers have guts.

Thomas Jefferson believed that a nation should have a revolution every 20 years. Evi-dently, his meaning of a revolution is up to inter-pretation. In my opinion, for a nation to be great, its people have to constantly challenge its au-thority and demand nothing short of excellence; it’s of the utmost importance that the budding generation educate itself on issues impacting society and hold the government accountable. The Wall Street protests have sewn seeds of progressive activism into fertile and fervent soil that may mature into something Jefferson could approve.

FHNTODAY.COM11.16.11 43PAGE BY DELORES LAMPKIN & LISA SAVILLE

lksaville12@gmail.com | @savvysavilleBY LISA SAVILLE

aseay4@gmail.com | @seaysthdayBY AUSTIN SEAY

COLLIN TOEDTMANN

“Bus rides are awesome. We joke

around and it’s really funny.”

“We’re going to win this year

because we’ve practiced a lot.”

“Francis Howell North has a small band, but we beat

bigger bands. We’re dedicated.”

on BUS RIDES on IRON CHEF on MARCHING BANDDEVIN MUNDY ALEX SAVALA

on FALL FASHIONWHITNEI PENNY KEVIN RUDBERG

“I enjoy wear-ing layers and

boots.”

Just over a month ago, the Board of Education pulled themselves out of their fall hiatus when board president Mike Sommer called the body together to debate a provision that would amend a tax rate of $5.18, passed two weeks prior, to $5.13. Through all the debate and squabbling over relatively minuscule amounts of petty savings, the question begs, should we be providing our schools with the meager bare minimum? Of course we shouldn’t. Of course we should take as much money as we can for education. Of course we should spend hundreds of millions on schools. Of course we should spend tens of thousands of dollars per student. Education isn’t a Ponzi scheme; it’s a right. Education is the silver bullet. It’s the end all, be all. It’s what has gotten the District to where it is, and it’s what will take us where we want to be.

The tax rate that was first passed would

yourfhn@fhntoday.com | @fhntoday

With the new tax levy, the District faces more fiscal responsibilities.

ON BEHALF OF THE EDITORIAL STAFF

not only have made the District fiscally solvent, but would also have provided the District with a $1 million surplus to be used at the District’s discretion. Most arrows pointed to a “rainy day” fund, which, given the volatile economic condition, wouldn’t have been a poor investment. However, after heated debate and pointed fingers and a special session, the District, for the first time, voted to amend that rate.

In just over a year, the District will lose the 20 cent Sunset Provision that has kept the sinking District budget afloat for the past three years. When the District loses this levy, if they do not choose to put it to a tax payer vote, they will lose $4 million and see a set of austerity measures that it hasn’t had to cope with in over a decade. And, all this at a time when EOC scores are growing at a sub-average rate, graduation rates are stagnate, and the looming No Child Left Behind deadline plagues the minds of administrators.

The tax payers passed the sunset provision not once, but twice. And in two years, they’ll do it again. The Board just has to ask. Now is no time for austerity measures, especially ones which are self-imposed. The idea that the difference between the rates will save a

significant amount of money is laughable compared to the difference between the rates in terms of benefit for the District. The median home value in the District is $225,000. The owners of such a home would pay a mere $21 more with the $5.18 rate compared to the $5.13, and when paying for a $225,000 home already, what’s $21 more?

The sustainability of this plan relies on the hope that the state government will provide as much money as the formulas say they should. The state’s in the midst of its own budget crisis, with a general assembly that can’t pass legislation without gridlock, so dependence on them is wishful thinking at best. Long-term self-sustainability needs to be at the forefront of revenue policy discussions. If the Board holds the rate at $5.13, assuming it doesn’t ask voters to make the Sunset Provision a permanent revenue source, the District has projected that it will lose $37 million over the next seven years.

Our schools should be palaces. Our teachers should be experts. Adequate shouldn’t be enough. Good shouldn’t be the goal. Great educations cost money, and Francis Howell students deserve nothing less than extravagant.

FHNTODAY.COM 11.16.1144 PAGE BY BRIANNA MORGAN & SOPHIE GORDON

DISTRICT FUNDINGnorth star take:

PAGE BY BRIANNA MORGAN & SOPHIE GORDON

auroradblanchard@gmail.com | @auroradbeeBY AURORA BLANCHARD

Headaches, chest pains, anxiety, nausea and thoughts of suicide are often the very rea-sons people take prescription and over-the-counter medicine. Yet these same symptoms usually occur again through side effects. The dangers of Western medicine have not been presented in a fair light and neither have the benefits of holistic healing.

While Western medicine is thought to be nothing but benificial, it actually hospitalizes 142,000 Americans annually from antibiotic side effects. The potential side effects are far-reaching. Modern medicines such as mi-nocycline and accutane are supposed to cure acne; however, they can actually cause birth defects.

Some holistic treatments involve vitamin supplements and chiropractic adjustments to

strengthen the immune and nervous system. If the immune system is strong, it can prevent disease from weakening the body. A strong central nervous system makes the whole body work as one strong unit. The idea is not to keep you on pills, half-miserably muddling through the day but to ensure your body has the balance it needs to operate naturally.

When artificially engineered pills are taken daily, they evoke a negative response from our bodies because our organs are not made to process lab-made chemicals. They are made to digest the types of foods humans ate before food processors and margarine.

We cannot afford to blindly follow West-ern medicine without accepting its negative aspects, and we cannot label the old ways of healing as archaic and useless. In order to move forward as a culture, Western society must be open minded to both old and new methods of healing.

THE WORLD UNPRESCRIBED Society can benefit by relying less on Western medicine and progressing toward holistic healing

Editor-in-Chief:Kelsey Bell

Managing Editor:Emily Forst

General Staff:

Photographers:

Advisers:Aaron ManfullBeth Phillips

FHNTODAY STAFFEditor-in-Chief:Kaitlyn Williams

Editor-in-Chief of Content:Kevin Beerman

Online Editor: Nicole PiatchekDirector of Video: Jaxon Nagel

Podcast Editor: Christina DeSalvoPublicity Editor: Nick Bussell

Editors:

North star

staff

Director of Photography: Jessica Streiler

Sports Photography Editor:Brandon Neer

Online Photography EditorKendrick Gaussoin

Web Staff Dan Wolters

Chandler PentecostJustin Hayden

Erin D’AmicoKendra Barnard

Alexis ChristoAshley Haywood

Azra ZecIesha BollAreli Lara

Taylor BartramAmanda CornettAndrew Curran

Katie DozierEllice Estrada

Sophie GordonMaddie Hiatt

Matt HillisEmily Katsianis

Delores LampkinIsabella Lanzara

Editors:News Editor: Jordan BrysonSports Editor: Nick Bussell

Opinions Editor: Aurora BlanchardCopy Editor: Paige Yungermann

2011-2012

FHNTODAY.COM 4511.16.11PAGE BY BRIANNA MORGAN & SOPHIE GORDON

Brianna MorganNick PoncheLisa SavilleAustin SeayTannyr SeddonKaylyn ShinaultSidney Shelton Brittany SteckAmanda Stallings Abby West

Michelle SpencerSarah TesonErin D’AmicoMaddie NagelMurphy RileyAshley BrophyMaggie Curran

Kyle SchikoreCole Kinnard

• Letters should not exceed 300 words.

• Letters will not be printed if content is obscene, invasive, encourage disruption of school, and/or implies libel.

• Letters may be edited for length, grammar, spelling, and content.

• Authors will be notified if any changes are made to the letter by the editorial staff.

LETTER TO THE EDITORguidelines

• Letters must be signed by the author and verified.

Got an opinion on something in this month’s paper? Submit a letter and tell us about it.

The full version of the Editorial Policy can be found at FHNtoday.com/editorialpolicy

• Letters are submitted to room 026 or Mr. Manfull’s mailbox.• Letters must include the author’s phone number and e-mail for verification.

Video Staff Patrick Fountain

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CHECK IT OUT FOR:

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North Star Podcast #30This episode of the Dec. 15 North Star Podcast features the paper review and 400,00 Faces.

Nathan MillsNathan Mills is a sophomore who has taken it upon himself to take seven honors class-es. In this video, Dan Stewart takes a look at Nathan Mills’ balance between several extracurriculars and his tough schedule.

How To Make A Snow GlobeLauren Smith shows how to make a snow globe from common items.

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