Common Sense Volume 5 Issue 5 February 7, 2005

Millard South High

Millard South High School

14905 O St, Cake

Volume: a a

NE, 68137

=

Battle at Alamo: Band beats more than instruments

_Febru7a, r20y05

Danielle Savig Features Editor

an

Antonio, Texas, is fined

with marching bands every year. When the Millard South Patriot Pride Marching Band was invited, there was no way they could have known that they would sweep the contest and AS home the first place title.

The band has traveled to many different places. In the last few years, they have traveled to the Red River Exhibition in Winnipeg, Canada, MusicFest and Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the Winter Park Ski-

Music Fest, and the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California and Disneyland.

“The early morning cold rehearsals paid off,” Band Instructor Rex

Barker said. The students toughed out the cold weather August all the way until the trip preparing them for the trip.

and work hard Their won home accompishments around them many awards that students can be very proud of. They were sweepstakes winners placing, 1*in Field Competition, 2"4 place in Parade Competition, Best Parade Drum Majors, Best Marching, Best General Effect, and

mances.

“T think the students preformed very, very well both on the field and off,” Barker said.

By winning this competition, the band was invited to perform as the featured band at the pre-game ceremonies in front of around 65,000 spectators. They were also joined by the other 12 high school bands at the halftime performance.

“Sitting in the Alamo Dome was neat. You could see the students were excited and you watched the rehearsals come to life,” Barker said.

The band didn’t just have to play the whole time. They were able to enjoy free times doing many different things like, going to the Alamo, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the Plaza

Bond issue asks Millard

Wax Museum, the Riverwalk, and the

Okdahoma City National Memorial.

Students talked about how good the

residents for $78 million to

food:was and no one went home hun-

“The music performance was good but so was the trip because people enjoyed themselves and did what they were supposed to do.” Barker said.

———

Jillian Strominger Managing Editor

two Excellent Concert Band perfor-

The Millard School Board voted to place a $78 million bond issue before district residents to vote on February 15%.

Over the past three years, the Millard school district has grown by approximately 1,200 students that need to be aca :

commodated.

The increased enrollment has caused need

for more elementary schools and additional classrooms within | the current schools.

“Our school district has, in two years, added enough

< i

.

a

| students that if they were separate from us, would be a class Bschool district. This area is the fastest growing in the city; the growth of the school district will continue to increase unforeseeably,” Millard South principal Jon Lopez said.

To deal with the growing numbers of students, the School. Board has proposed to purchase land for a fourth high school, build two elementary schools, and build class| rooms in over-populated schools. Millard would not build a fourth high school right away, but wants to secure 50 acres of land to build one in the future while it is still available.

Because several elementary schools on the western side of

—

|

| | | | |

the district are over-enrolled, the district feels it is necessary

to erect the district’s 24 and 25% elementary schools.

Wheeler elementary, for example, is currently exceeding its capacity by almost 150 students and has had to convert hallways into classrooms in attempt to deal with this need. Additional classrooms will be added to Millard West, Millard

| South, and Beadle Middle School.

In addition to facilitating extra students, the bond issue | will help Millard serve students with non-traditional learn| ing needs by building an alternative high school specifically | designed to cater to students who cannot flourish within the traditional high school setting. © “Right now the alternative school only includes 11° | and 12* grades. If the bond issue passed they [the students

.

and teacher in the alternative school] would move out of

BH | =

the building they are currently in and could add 9" and 10% gtade,” Lopez said.

The bond issue also includes money for renovations within older areas of the high schools. With money from the proposed bond, Millard South would: place artificial turf in Buell Stadium, (a change that would save nearly

district growth

$40,000.00/year), repave the East Parking Lot, renovate the

Family Consumer Science rooms, renovate Millard South science labs, widen the stairwell in the 100-200 wing, reno-

vate restrooms in the 100-200 wing, create office space for special education teachers, renovate a restroom so that it meets the needs of special education students, and add fitness locker rooms and an art room. Many of the areas including the stairwell and chemistry labs do not meet current fire codes or safety codes.

The current bond issue will be the 13% issue the Millard . district has asked voters to approve; all previous bond issues were successful. Several groups, however, oppose the bond issue and are fighting to ensure the bond does not pass.

Perhaps the most active resistance group is the Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom (NTF). The group shares it belief in its mission statement that “District school boards throughout the state have raised our taxes enormously and outrageously to fund unnecessary, frivolous expenses, inflated teacher, administrator, and staff salaries, new, luxurious

administration buildings, and to fund let wing and immoral classroom curriculum materials.” Among NIF's objectives are ending elementary school guidance counseling, eliminating career counselors, having two schools share one principal, capping school district contributions to employee health benefits, ending talented and gifted programs, ending all-day kindergarten, and ending summer music program and sports activities. Individuals who wish to join this group are encouraged to attend board meetings and engage in protest or contact Doug Kagan (551-0921).

All Millard residents aged 18 and over are eligible to vote on whether or not the bond issue should pass during polling hours on February 15%. It is necessary to have registered before voting. Voting takes place at the individual’s regular polling site. The bond would increase a resident's property taxes an average of $35.00.

“If the bond fails the district will consider all options to deal with the growth and the Board will make a decision about how to proceed. Options include busing students to existing schools, (40-45 students costs $36,000.00 per year), increasing class sizes, changing the school year to something similar to year-round schooling, or running split-schedules,” Lopez said.

February 7, 2005

Drama department presents ‘Crease’ at state convention Amy Brammer Photo Chief

5

Every year drama students from all over Nebraska join together for the Nebraska State Thespian Convention, named for the first actor Thespis. This year the festival was held‘on Jan. 14 and 15 at Bellevue East. The theme of this year’s convention was “Thespis rocks the 20’s” in honor of the 75® anniversary of the organization.

Twenty-four schools participated this year. The only main stage production and the opening act of the festival was Millard South’s musical “Grease.” Besides performing, other activities the students participated in on Friday included watching three one act plays, participating in a workshop put on by Marcie Sturiale from Camp Broadway in New York and an auction to raise money for the scholarships awarded at the end of the festival.

This year both Heather Abraham and Robby Gordy from Millard South received $400 each in scholarship money. During the auction, schools donate items they wish to auction off and this year Millard South students came home with a few of those items. Sophomore David Frolio came home with an Elvis costume, senior Bailey Carlson brought back a vest and a decorative mask, a fruit hat was won by senior Kendra Way, and a stuffed red dog found a home with junior Josh Boie. Millard South also helped in raising money during the auction when a female thespian from another school paid $25 to see junior Ryan Dinning

do a back flip which participants had previously seen done during Millard South’s “Grease” performance. To close the evening the participants enjoyed the annual dance.

On Saturday students participated in improv olympics, which was won last year by the Millard South team, and in the first annual technical olympics, in which Millard South placed second. The tech olympics team this year consisted

of seniors Brett Lawton, Tyler Coffey, Heather Abraham,

Lisa McCollum, Casey Mitchell, and junior Wade Sullivan.

As the vice presidential school Millard South students helped drama director, Robyn Baker set up and run both competitions. Next year Baker will become the president of the Nebraska Chapter of the International Thespian Society which will make Millard South the presidential school. Saturday

also included showcase of the stars, a rion competitive tal-

ent show, seven one act plays, two workshop sessions which included workshops in acting, directing and stage managememt, stage combat, and technical theater. The awards banquet concluded the festival.

During the festival, students are given the oppurtunity to meet drama students from all over Nebraska and for some people that is their favorite part.

“You get the oppurtunity to meet tons of people who have the same passion for theater as you and you get to celebrate that passion,” senior Megan Fangmeyer said.

Lopez named outstanding high school principal

Student Council tunes up for all-school karaoke night Nick Olson.

Entertainment Editor

Karaoke night is an excellent opportunity arranged by Student Council for MS students to put together their craziest acts for the student mob to see.

Before Karaoke Night, it was hard to gather so many students in the cafeteria unless it was lunch. This year’s Karaoke Night will be March 29th at 7p.m. and is open to anyone who wants to come including friends from other schools, and family. Students should bring their school IDs just to be safe. The admission is $3.00 with an activities or athletic card and $4.00 without.

Karaoke Night is one of the more popular MS events.

“There is always a huge turnout at Karaoke Night so we had to try to doa few things differently this year,” senior Kelly Beernink said.

Anyone who is interested and would like to put him or herself on the chopping block may sign up. Applications are available in the Patriot Post or Room 320. The due date

is the March 10th, so make sure they are turned in on time.

Out of all of the applicants around eight will be selected depending on how many people apply. If more groups apply, more will be selected allowing for a wider range of acts and music. Normally there are kids of all different types who want to show their stuff ranging from freshmen to seniors so no one is limited by their age.

“Karaoke is our most popular event besides Homecoming,” senior Amanda Meyer said.

This year Karaoke Night has been plagued by five reschedules that were out of Student Council’s control. Hopefully it will not be changed again. Beernink and Meyer are the Student Council members in charge of organizing the

Nebraska

Lincoln

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2005 QWEST CENTER OMAHA ee e FREE ADMISSION! qT

wreea

Rv eltiyemcy cit leyasi eee ROS

Crt} ay is

~ Meet experts in-your area of interest and learn more about careers

* Seniors - Next steps to college eH cee a (Nake ty 2) ay 1925

he

: oubsts

ODS eae HiT Ee

SS”

: Autographs from:

Player of the Year Peaches James - Live performances by the pep band,

=e

An equal opportunity educator and employer with’ @ comprehensive plan for diversity.

Jordan Kenik Editor-in-Chief

Due to his devotion to improving

his school for teachers and students,

Principal Jon Lopez has been named the . Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals Region II Outstanding High School Principal.

Lopez won the honor for a 13county region, which includes the Omaha metro area. He was nominated for the award by a fellow principal and then selected as the premier principal by the Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals Region II. Lopez believes in the importance of sharing good ideas about administrating. For this reason, the principals of Region II meet often to discuss school issues and learn from one another about how best to handle them.

These issues include curriculum, instruction, assessment, student safety,

sports, and lunch programs among others. Lopez describes his relationship with his colleagues as “very colloquial.”

“One of the things we believe in in Region His that any good idea about running a school is worth sharing.

Many of the things that I do here at Millard South are things that are good practices that other principals are doing around Omaha, around Nebraska, and across the country. I really do what I see other people doing that works in

flattered and also humbled because I

ENTERTAINMENT Ries Cache gee acai iia tH Roger Craig Former Husker pitcher and 2004 Big 12 Softball

PRESENTATIONS * Scholarships and Financial Aid

+k

schools that are similar to ours, so lam

TRS

Boi) (i a

:

Scarlet and Cream Singers and UNL Jazz ensemble

‘ Appearance by Lil’ Red

have learned what I do from other

people,” Lopez said.

The 2004-2005 school year is Lopez’s fourth as principal at Millard South. He began his career in education in 1986 at Millard North as a civics and American history teacher.

Additionally, he was a football and wrestling coach. He has also served as an. assistant principal in the Omaha

Public School District for three years and as a principal at Plattsmouth High School for four years. Lopez did his undergraduate work at Midland Lutheran College and received his masters degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

“Tam currently in the doctoral pro-

gram at [UNO], and the focus of our

study is to look at what research says about the practice of education,” Lopez said.

“Tam not just pulling ideas out of some magic closet. I am doing what research says works and then ] am talk ing to real life practitioners, here, and in other parts of the country.”

“If anything, I hope that what I do here is a confluence of a whole lot of other people's ideas that fall together and work at our school.”

Lopez said he finds the people part of his job to be the most rewarding. He notes that this social part can take him away from his paperwork, which he dislikes being tied down in his office doing.

Lopez believes that only with the great support he receives from Millard South’s teachers does he accomplish what needs to be accomplished. He believes the high standards of student achievement that Millard South has for itself are kept up more by the teachers than by him.

“I hope to present [the teachers] with ideas and information and support, but they are the ones who get it done,” Lopez said. “The data we use to measure whether we are getting it

done, student achievement, student behavior, graduation rates, and schol-

arship dollars, that is not done by me.

The teachers get to do that.”

f February 7, 2005

All- Millard Concert: Madness, fun, and music band together Amy Heyer Managing Editor

Scheduling classes to become more difficult next year * Jake Maxson Staff Reporter

The recent announcement of

tightening the rules regulating sched-

ule changes for next year has led many students into hysteria. Some people think that there will be no schedule changing at all next year. This is not

true, but there definitely will be a smaller number of alterations allowed.

After registration in February, students will be given a print out of the courses they have registered for. This is not a schedule, just a listing of the classes to confirm that the courses were correctly put in the computer. If there are errors, they can be corrected.

When students receive a copy of

their actual schedule in the summer, if

they have a schedule conflict with particular courses that will require the student to choose which course to enroll in, they will be given an opportunity to do so. They will be able to add or drop courses to accommodate the needed change.

Students simply wanting to add or drop a course in the summer will be allowed to do so if space is available in another class meeting that same period.

These rules are being enforced

because of the high number of students making schedule changes that require multiple adjustments, thereby causing many classes to be quite full when others could accommodate more.

“Staff are hired on-the basis of student enrollment in certain classes,” said Guidance Counselor Mrs. Harrach. “If too many students change their schedules, it leads to the overstaffing of some

teachers, as well as the understaffing of others.”

Any changes to the total number

of students who have signed up for a class affects how many sections are really needed. The decision of how many sections are needed is made after advisement

in February

and

is not

changed over the summer or in the middle of the school year.

Students who want a full schedule should be quite certain when they register that those are the courses they truly want to take next year. Students who want a study hall should also register for eight classes and they can choose to drop a class based on their interests and abilities and still have a study hall.

Millard West’s main gym bleachers were packed to the brim on Jan. 24 with parents awaiting the start of the AllMillard Music Festival concert. Chairs lined every inch of available wall space, the huge choir was robed and ready, and the 240-person orchestra was in position for the downbeat.

Each year, the orchestras and choirs from the three Millard high schools come together to celebrate music. Parents, teachers, and directors expressed their thoughts on the importance of music programs in schools. A different school hosts the festival each year.

All three of the Millard high schools’ varsity choirs and orchestras had been preparing for the clinic and for the evening’s concert as much as possible. However, many of the schools were not as familiar with the music as they would like to have been. For example, Millard South’s choir was on the rebound from a performance with Opera Omaha and the Omaha Symphony that had taken place less than a week before, and many of the groups had recently prepared : holiday concerts.

“For a while, it was a huge frenzy and complete madness, but I think we pulled it off quite well,” said senior choir member Florence Choi.

All the same, there was plenty of time to rehearse the day of the concert. Not only is All-Millard a performance,

but it is a clinic that gives students a different type of performance experience. From the time the orchestra rehearsal began shortly after eight, Conductor and Clinician Vince LaGuardia, a Colorado conductor of the Apapahoe Phil- . harmonic, worked with students to improve and fine tune each piece. He brought new and different techniques to the clinic.

“TThe conductor] had a very unique conducting style and liked to change the tempo without warming,” senior cellist Rosemary Burke said.

Around eleven, the choir arrived and the two groups rehearsed Battle Hymn of the Republic, which would be the finale of the evening. The orchestras headed back to class, and the three choirs were given the opportunity to work with Marjorie Simons-Bester, who works as Choral Director at Bellevue East High School.

The gym at Millard West was used for the clinic all day, and parents from the school assisted students with con-

cessions during break.

Some students who are involved in both Orchestra and Varsity Choir were at Millard West all day. The intense rehearsal day was taxing according to one Millard South student.

“Tt was draining. I think I got really sick, and my body felt like a wet noodle. I never want to go to Millard West again,” junior violinist and choir member Jeneva Newman said.

DECA proves skills at All-Metro in hope for success at state *

Katie Steiner Online Editor

Fifty eight Millard South DECA students attended the All-Metro competition held at UNO on Saturday, January 15. Millard South gave a strong showing with over half of its competitors winning awards.

“We usually do very well,” DECA advisor Lynn Hill

said. “Millard South is usually one of the top three schools at state.”

There are three parts to competition: an economics

exam, a categorical exam, and a role-play.

Weeks before

competition began, students chose an area of business they wanted to compete in. Some examples of categories include Food Marketing, Apparel and Accessories, Marketing Management, and Retail Marketing. After selecting a category, competitors took practice tests to prepare. In a role-play, participants are given a business problem, and are responsible for presenting a resolution to the problem.

At the All-Metro competition, students also had the opportunity to compete in Quiz Bowl, where a team of four students competes against other schools. They are asked

questions that relate to business and marketing. Out of the six Quiz Bowl teams Millard South took to All-Metro, two teams placed in the Quiz Bowl finals, taking 2nd and 3rd places. 1st place went to Papillion Lavista.

From Millard South, four students placed in the top three of their category: junior Nicole Wagner received 2"¢ place in Apparel & Accessories associate, the team of juniors Tyler Schnaidt and Katie Steiner placed 2™* in E-commerce decision making, and senior Sarah Oddo took 3" place in Apparel & Accessories management. 29 other Millard South competitors placed in the top 10 of their categories.

The next competition for DECA will be the state com-

petition held March 17-19 at the Comhusker Hotel in Lincoln. Anyone who competed at the All-Metro competition can compete at state. The top three per category at state will qualify for internationals held in Anaheim, CA. “Before state I plan to study more and be more prepared,” senior Sadie Fielder said. “I really want to place so I can go to internationals.”

february 7, 2005

Journalist has thrilling

adventures in high school cheerleading

camp. where

It was I felt

like I had truly a become cheerleader.

The beof ginning school meant the beginning of cheering at athletic

events.

The

JV squad was

shoppers...and shoplifters In my experience as a mall employee for a female clothing store I've come to realize that there are five very specific types of shoppers. Each type is probably worse than. the next, and all of them have better things to do with their lives than shop. : The first type of customer is just your average Jane Doe. They don’t always know exactly what they’re looking for, but they sure hope they can find it in your store. Sometimes they’re looking for a gift for.a friend, and sometimes they just want something new and interesting to wear. These customers are usually docile and easy to deal with. They

important meeting. They'll gallop around the store collecting items in their size and run to the check out counter without bothering to try anything on. It’s best to just ring these customers up as quickly as possible and not ask any questions. They're likely to explode if you waste any of their valuable time. J think their bad attitudes have a lot to do with the stress they put themselves under by always doing things last minute.

The fourth type of customer will be referred to as the pre-teen. These kids range in age from 10 to 12. They travel in packs and are armed with their parent’s cash.

They’re typically loud and giggly. Most of the time, I find myself selling them low priced items and cleaning up their terrible fitting room messes. They just love to try on nearly everything in the entire store.

University of Nebraska at Kearney. I had two goals going into camp: become a better cheerleader and get to know my teammates. Each day was filled with learning new cheers, performing those cheers in front of judges, and then being awarded for those performances.

Nighttime was for relating and spending time with your fellow cheerleaders.

Even though it was a lot of hard work and very tiring, I had a great time at

and find my friends smiling back at me.

us.

In comparison, at varsity games,

Camp was held July 15-18 at the - - classmates; love to look into the crowd

just need someone to ring them up and to tell them thanks,

Most of the time they’re late for a party, a wedding, or an

made the Junior Varsity squad and began a new journey as a Millard South cheerleader.

Practices started right after auditions. All new members had to go for a week to learn the spirit cheers. All practices after that were with everyone.

During the summer we would practice three days a week at 7 am. At those practices we would condition and then work on the cheer we would be taking to camp.

the stands were filled with students who were always excited and willing to cheer with us: And trust me, there is no - greater thrill than cheering in front of a crowd of enthusiastic football fans.

Another responsibility of all cheerleaders is to cheer at pep rallies. At the first pep rally in fall, all I did was cheer at the beginning and the end. At the winter pep rally, the JV squad also performed the cheer we took to camp. I have loved cheering in front of my

two auditions, and a lot of anxiety, I

Mall employee classifies

and have a nice day.

The second type of shopper that I encounter is the “dawdle all day” shopper. These people come to the mall a lot, probably about three or four days each week. This would be good for business, except for the fact that they never really buy anything. They mostly just clog the fitting rooms and ask lots of pointless questions. I think that if they had a better hobby, like ice fishing or ballet dancing, they would spend considerably less time shopping.

The third kind of shopper is what I would like to call the “grab and go” customer. They are all in a hurry.

In case you forgot who I am let me refresh your memory. Last spring, a fellow staff reporter and I decided to try out for cheerleading. We were cutious to see what cheerleading was about. Well after a week of practices,

responsible for cheering at home JV and reserve football, and JV volleyball games. W/e also cheered during the second half of home varsity football games. At JV and reserve games, not many student fans showed up, which meant no one cheered with

As of nowI have about a month

left of cheering at basketball games. I

The last and final type is the shoplifter. Shoplifters won't make eye contact with you if they can avoid it. They don’t want your help or advice. They don’t even want to pay for anything. You can usually spot a shoplifter by their odd behavior. They spend a lot of time watching you and hiding behind racks. They leave behind empty hangers in their dressing room, and sometimes they'll even run as fast as possible out of the store. Mall security is a big help when it comes to dealing with these people. Even with all the help, though, shoplifters still cause many problems, such as anxiety, bad inventory, and a lot of extra paperwork.

cheer at boys and girls JV and reserve

games. After that I will be done with cheering at games, for my junior year at least. In case you were wondering, I am planning on trying out again this year. Do I have a good shot of making it? I sure hope so. In cheerleading I have found an exciting activity that I have come to love.

Each and every customer is a special case, but the

one thing that they all have in common is that they all feel that they are the most important shopper in the store. Everyone wants the employees to help them, and to help them immediately, well, with the exception of the shoplifter. Next time you venture out to the mall, remember that there are all types of customers there, and that you are not the only shopper in the building. It may help you to become more kind and courteous to mall employees, and believe me when I say that we'll take all the kindness we can get.

So Common Sense is the official publication of Millard South High School, 14905 Q Street, School district guidelines determine the suitability of advertising content. To place an ad, call 895-8363.

Common Sense is a monthly publication produced in Room 130. Common Sense uses desktop publishing hardware and software: Macintosh computers, Laser Jet 4000N Printer, Nikon and Omaha, Nebraska, 68137.

Umax scanners, and Adobe PageMaker, Photoshop and ClarisWorks and Microsoft Word soft-

ware. All printing is done by Nebraska Printing Center, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Letters to the editor are encouraged. All letters must be signed with the student’s first and last name and grade. Letters may then be submitted to any staff member or dropped off in room 130.

Unsigned letters will not be published. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, length and clarity. Letters of profane nature or other infractions of school or district policy will not be published.

oe

Common Sense Staff:

Se -

oe ‘ll ee Se

Web Design/Computer Support: Tyler Schnaidt Photo Editory: Amy Brammer

, Kristi Palik

_ coe Web Site Editor-in-Chief: Katie Steiner

Repoas Sei Agee

ee Focus Editor: Whitney Keyes Features Editor: Danielle Savig Sports Editor: Chris Bazemore Opinions Editor: Thom Hale Entertainment Editor: Nick Olson Business Manager: Kelsey Thiem

Scott Siemens Colleen Strassenburg Adviser: Christine Kaldahl

Web Site Asst. Editor: Thom Hale

Binily Sd

Jake

Most great

literature fails to excite Finn-

loving student Recently, my good friend Kyle Winter and I found ourselves deep in thought-provoking, intellectual conversation, a place we often visit, when the tough question arose, what constitutes good literature?

Volumes could be and have been filled attempting to answer this question. My advanced placement English teacher, Mrs. Tiller, does a fabulous job teaching her stu-

dents the characteristics of great compositions, but it still remains a mystery to me why certain Pulitzer or Nobel Prizewinning authors are just that, award-winning.

Ican see the greatness in certain works, such as Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” This satire of American culture remains funny, if not as poignant, today.

Also, “1984” by George Orwell, once again less poignant today due to the fall of the Soviet Union, is still a fascinat-

ing study of life under a totalitarian government. Possibly due to the fact that I do not read all that often when it is not required of me, that ends my list of universally great literature which I also consider to be great.

Most “classics,” in my amateur opinion, are trash. They are boring, plotless collections of words interested in presenting nothing more than a bleak theme through symbolism and other literary crock. “A Lost Lady” by Willa Cather perfectly exemplifies my point. Its description on amazon.com teads, “A portrait of a woman who reflects the conventions of her age even as she defies them and whose transformations embody the decline and coarsening of the American frontier.” What that enough to get a few critics to call her writing “superb,” and suddenly “A Lost Lady” is a great American work.

During first semester of AP English, we read several thrilling, absorbing short stories. We read Graham Greene’s “The Destructors,” which followed a gang of hoodlums as they destroy a house; Thomas Wolfe’s “A Child By Tiger,” which ends with a man going on a killing spree; and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” which is about a rural town that sacrifices someone chosen each year ina lottery in the belief that it will bring them a good harvest. Although they sound ultra-violent and dark, they hold the attributes of quality

writing and have an electrifying plot. Apparently, the great

writers choose to fashion their best ideas into short stories,

and they leave their weak plots for their novels.

Probably because I watch a lot more movies than I read books and because the visual stimulation of film can be acquired with much less effort than reading, I can understand what composes great filmmaking much better than classic Comedies such as “The Graduate” and literature.

“Rushmore” are clever in their subtleties, combining film and music artfully to create true masterpieces. In all honesty, they are basically character studies, yet they are somehow infinitely more enjoyable than literary character studies such as “A Lost Lady” and “The Great Gatsby.”

Tn answer to the question what constitutes great works of literature, I suppose the answer must be whatever critics and scholars say they are. For most, these books stand as unpleasant, grating experiences that are a relief when finished.

a]eL] WIOUL

S007 ‘Z divnaga se

f February 7, 2005

Sophomores Chad Beal and Steph

oe

re good

frier

S WIN aWw kward Whitney Keyes Focus Editor

Sophomores Chad Beal and Stephanie Moyer have been best friends

since Homecoming 2004, however, Fri-

day January 21, they were blind dates.

When Newspaper decided to sponsor

a blind date, complete with dinner, free

entrance to the basketball game and their very own paparazzi, both Beal and Moyer decided to apply.

“I lost a bet to my friend in homeroom, so I had to apply,” Beal said.

“He thought he would be going out

with a girl the next week, and I didn’t,

so we had a bet.I lost.”

The application asked questions

such as likes, dislikes, extracurricular

activities and ideas about the perfect date. Beal and Moyer even picked up and filled their applications out together.

“T kept asking Chad what the answers to my questions were,” Moyer

said. “ But all the answers were true.”

The Wednesday before the blind date, Newspaper made a decision and set out to tell the two lucky winners via note as the two were in class and it needed to be secretive. Problems arose

when the two were in the same class.

“When I saw they were in the same class, I gasped and Mrs. Grazziano asked me what was wrong. Tt ended up being sort of an undercover operation

to get one of them the note, but not

the other,” Amy Heyer, managing editor of the newspaper and the deliverer of the note said.

“T suess when I found out,I was

like ‘Please don’t let it be Chad, please,

that’d be so awkward,” Moyer said.

And, thenight of the date, it tums

out it was a little bit awkward for the couple.

blind date

“My friends dad takes longer to get

ready than I do and since he was tak-

ing me and I live in Council Bluffs, I was a little late,” Moyer said.

Whitney Keyes, a member of the newspaper staff was about to fill in as the missing date, when Moyer showed up.

“Having a date with Stephanie was kinda weird, but having to eat with Whitney probably would have been more awkward,” Beal said.

Despite the cold spaghetti,

paparazzi Amy Brammer and general

awkwardness of the night, it still tumed out ok for the couple.

“Tt would have been totally different if we weren’t best friends, we would

actually have questions to talk about, whereas Chad and I already know everything about each other,” Moyer said.

“I would do it again, and recommend it to my friends, it was fun,” Beal said.

February 7, 2005

_

Freshman

Schonher:

—

Forensics star Thom Hale Opinions Editor

Kyle Schonher is a freshman this year, coming out of Andersen Middle School. Schonher is actively involved in Forensics and Student Congress. He has a humorous interpretation piece for forensics called “Bagel Boys.”

In this comedy, Schonher plays the parts of two quarrelling brothers in an argument about bagels.

Schonher has a hard time comparing other classes to his fourth period B day. The only class he says he really enjoys is Mr. Brown’s forensics.

“Tt’s fun,” said Schonher. It’s not easy, though: There is a lot of work and steep competition. . While debating bills during student congress, some students get heated and very opinionated. ~ “Sometimes people make me look like an idiot,” said Schonher, “so I just do my best to make them look like idiOts, too.”

Outside of school, Schonher takes part in Heart Group and the dinner theater group in the Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church. Schonher plays an IRS agent in the church’s production “The New Preacher.”

Currently, Schonher is ranked number 4 on the congress chart and number 9 on the entire forensics depth chart.

Schonher recently qualified for National Forensics League standing, something he says he’s very proud of. He currently has a total of 55 forensics league points. He is hoping to letter and looking forward to moving to varsity next year.

Enchanted broom swe eps Whitney up in drama

i ae

Trying out for the musical turns out to be a HUGE ordeal. You don’t just get up and do a little dance, sing a song, act and be on your way. People pour their hearts and souls into this; it’s a force to be reckoned with. It’s very intense and...dramatic. I was wrong when I thought I could just tag along and do my own thing. They suck you in, so that all you can. think about is Beauty and the Beast.

When the chance to audition and write about it arose, I was completely excited. I was so thrilled about that week of dancing, singing and acting.

Deep down I thought I would make it,

even if ] was just the third spoon from the left. I really wanted to be a part of the experience and yet, I was panicked by the thought of performing.

Monday we were given schedules, grade and auditions sheets. The audition sheets were a required two sides of hard core questioning. Height, weight, schedule, emergency contacts and the list went on. Even after the informational meeting, questions still rang out in my head, because I was too afraid to ask them. I was terrified of the upcoming week.

I suppose I should confess that the reason I was so afraid is because I don’t dance. I mean yes I dance to M.C Hammer when the house is empty. But no, I can’t dance, so I don’t. I knew that for my dance audition I would have to perform right after I learned it, otherwise I would completely forget it. How-

ever, even more than I don’t dance, I

don’t sing. There are exceptions, such as my car when I’m by myself, but I won't sing in front of anyone else. ’'m paranoid that someone might hear me and think I’m absolutely horrible and tell me to stop. I knew that for an audition I would have to conquer this fear and sing by myself. I wasn’t really wortied about the acting audition, I fig-

ured I would be ok. I don’t mind public noticing who was in my group or that I intend me to be an actress. But like the was dancing in front of a large group other times,I had given it my all and speaking andI act at my church. now, all I could do was wait. by Tuesday, we all learned the songs of people. It was like being numbed I think that with the exception of fear, but at the same time, not noticwe would be singing for auditions. ing. When I stepped off the stage, I singing, waiting for the list to go up is There were two songs for the girls and the worst part. Knowing that this could two different tunes for the guys. I’m was exhilarated from conquering the pretty sure we all know the “Ooh, isn’t first obstacle: One fear down, two to make you a big star, or just a wannabe go. is an awful feeling of indecisiveness and this amazing...” song of Belle’s and Friday afternoon I had a double worry.

The list was posted on the last thatis what we sang. We also had to header.

Twice the chance to shine day of or school before winter break. The sing a song from the Broadway show fail. I first went to the chorus room to music commons were swarmed with by the teapot, Mrs. Potts. That song was teally difficult, mainly because it sing. No one had heard me sing by hopefuls, their conversations all minmyself, and all of a sudden, I was exgling together. For the first time in a had several high notes for several counts. We all practiced the songs to- pected to whip it out and amaze the week, no one wassinging the songs, and gether, on the stage, off the stage, with world. I was a total mess. I seriously al- no one was practicing the dance. We most left the room, that’s how afraid I were all waiting. The tension rose. It and without the tape. We knew those was. I’m not sure why I have such a was like everyone’s hopes and anxiety songs so well, yet we were all nervous and kept practicing. Several people sang fear of singing by myself, but I do and- joined together as one and attacked us. that day, I absolutely had to defeat it. I remember thinking how intense this their auditions that evening, but I had We practiced twice and then auditions was, possibly one of the most intense to wait until Thursday. Besides singstarted.

Two girls auditioned, and experiences I’ve had at Millard South. then ing well, it was a key factor whether When Mrs. Baker came out we all you could sing loudly. The louder the me. I didn’t even get to go last so no better even. Singing loud presented to one heard me. I held Katie’s hand re- jammed into that tiny little hallway, listening to her. Over 230 students had just be another factor of my cold feet. ally tightly as I waited. I kept whispertried out and they had only chosen Even if I mustered up all my courage, I ing that I couldn’t do it and she kept telling me she believed in me. When around 40. The pause after she said that would just barely be heard, so singing my tum came, she offered to go up with made me heart sink and my hope loud would have to be an act of God. me and hold my hand during my audidimmed. I knew how tough it was to Wednesday after school, we started the dancing workshop. I am a tion. So she came up with me until I get in on the first time. My secret hope that I might actually make it vanished genius, I wore flip-flops to school that _made her leave because we were laughing too much.

First I sang the and Belle my heart sank. Nevertheless, I tried day and ended up dancing barefoot. song, which I think went well.In no to be optimistic and confident. While Probably not the best wardrobe to bust she was hanging the list up, time just a move in. Anyways, I was scared for more than 2 minutes, both were over this afternoon because I have a diffi- and I was done with singing by myself. crept by. I’m still amazed at how much the musical can capture you. Then the cult time remembering dance moves. I I headed straight to acting after that and watched a few auditions until Mrs. swarm moved forward and whether you have long legs, and during the workwanted to be or not, you were swept shop, someone commented on and said Baker called my name for a group. One they were too long and she was afraid girl was to be Mrs. Potts, one was the away in it. I was relatively in the front of being hit. The dance went fairly well dresser and I was Belle. We practiced and once I saw it, I scanned the list, I hadn’t made it. The disappointment hit until the bell kicks, those little lepre- in the hallway outside of the black box and tried to perfect our piece. The scene me hard. Although I knew I most likely chaun skip things and then the pony. was the one in which Belle discovers wouldn’t make it, this was really tough.

Alli can say is that it was tremendously the enchanted objects and is shocked This. had meant a lot to me and I had difficult. Then the choreographer said by their personification. We ran the put my all into it. It’s not easy over“Now, do that in a circle!” When we coming so many fears in one week and had practiced and practiced, we all sat scene four or five times and headed back down exhausted. Groups of five back into the black box to await our now, it seemed like all I had gotten out of it was this story. On the outside, I were going to dance on the stage for turn. Our turn finally came and looking back, I can see that God did not shrugged it off and told everyone it was the audition. I don’t even remember

ok, but for that night, it wasn’t.

After break I was given the privilege of seeing my audition sheet, with my scores on it. That turned out to be very surprising, yet at the same time, confusing. Dancing and singing were both graded in a 1-5 scale. In dancing, one was the best and in singing, five was the best. Totally shocking me, I had

gotten a one on dancing and Mrs. Baker said it was outstanding. Knowing my previous abilities, I was astonished.

That score made me feel really-good and restored some confidence. The next grade she told me was singing and with a five being the best I had received a three. Not the best, not the worst,

just, average. Which, at first was dis-

heartening, I realized later that my fear of someone telling me I was an awful singer had not come true and that average wasn’t bad. My acting audition was graded to a “chorus” level. | assume that means, “she’s really not very good, so if she was chosen, make sure she

doesn’t have any lines.” More sighs, but hey, there was nothing I could do about

it now.

I still wish I had made the musical, just to say I'd been involved in at least one of the amazing dramas here at South. I absolutely can’t wait to see it and maybe, when I hear those two songs, I'll sing along. Very softly of course though, someone might hear

me. Thanks you to Mrs. Baker, Mr.

Marsden and Melanie for being such

marvelous people willing to donate their time.

Though I didn’t make it, audition- ing for Beauty and the Beast was definitely a good experience; I learned a lot and had fun. I made new friends and I conquered some fears. Everyone was really supportive and encouraging. I know it will be one of the memories I'll treasure. It'll be a “tale as old as time.

»”»

February 7, 2005

Faculty musicians

join pep band fun Nick Olson Entertainment Editor

There was a special performance by the Pep Band last the at Friday Papillion LaVista South basketball game.

There were staff from all over the building involved. The joint performance normally only takes place every few years, but some would like to see it more often.

“We would like to have a performance with the staff every year,” said Band teacher Rex ° Barker.

Any member of the staff who wanted to participate and play was welcome to come.

There were no requirements of skill or past experience to

Spanish teacher Paul Grant plays trombone with the pep band. Photo by Amy Brammer.

perform. Usually the Pep Band gets about eight or nine staff members who are interested.

“Faculty tend to be a little bit shy,” ~ said Barker. “Some of them ask for the music in advance so they can practice and some walk the day of the performance and ask to be part of the performance.”

Paul Grant (trombone), Larry

Ribble (drums), Kristy McGuire (bari-

tone), Trevor Longe (trombone),

Michelle Gauthier (flute), Christine Kaldahl (alto saxophone), and Barb Wagner. (drums) .were all present to play

Friday. The interaction between the

teachers and the students is really a special pep at the games. When the teachers put themselves at risk with the pos-

sibility of a little embarrassment, it re-

ally makes things exciting.

“T think the teachers were great, senior Nate Pace said. “The best part was trying to get them to laugh.”

”

Native Sp anish speaker enjoys new assignment Krisit Palik Staff Reporter

Juan Villaseca has left his own

country, Spain, to teach at Millard

South. In his place Leigh McKeehan, is teaching at his school, Sangonera La Verde.

Villaseca has been teaching for 15 years, this year is his 16". In Spain, he teaches English. Sangonera La Verde has a mandatory English class for all sec-

“(Millard South] has more activi-

Colleen Strassenburg Staff Reporter

Every year, hundreds of students become involved in activities such as

helped someone else” Boeman said. ” Savas agrees that these students

DECA, or any of the many athletics provided by Millard South. Yet each

who they become.

‘I was going to become an English teacher, and while I was in school I began working in a daycare, where I met a little boy with many disabilities.

Which is a major factor in why | changed my mind, and chose to become a special needs teacher,” Savas said.

the Future Educators of America,

year, special needs instructors, such as

ties and they are more evolved than ours.” Villaseca said. * Sangonera la Verde also does not have the same sort of pep-rallies and spirit weeks as Millard Schools. They

ondary school students, whereas,

Millard South students have a choice of what language to take or whether or not to take a language at all. Sangonera la Verde offers six years for students to take classes. The first four years are mandatory and coincide with Millard School’s seventh through tenth grade.

The last two years resemble Millard Public’s eleventh and twelfth grade.

These last two years are focused on college and most of the students are college-bound.

Sangonera la Verde does not have much emphasis on clubs, sports, and extra-curricular activities.

Special needs students benefit from volunteers

Spanish teacher Juan Villaseca do, however, have days that resemble our spirit days.

“We have certain activity days when there is no teaching. Instead, students are involved in sports, games, and performances.” Villaseca said.

A difference in scheduling was also noticed by Villaseca. Although his school in Spain had close to the same spring, Christmas, and summer break, they are scheduled for slightly different times than Millard Schools. The summer break at Sangonera la Verde is spanned across July and August while Millard’s break is through June and July.

Students in Spain also have a shorter school day than Millard Public Schools. The day at Sangonera la Verde begins at 8:30 and ends at 2:30. Teachets there are only at the building while ‘ students are.

“In Spain, teachers do most of their work at home.” Villaseca said.

As for comparing the students in Spain compared to the students at Millard South. Villaseca said he believes they behave more or less the same with

‘some minor differences.

‘Here, behavior is a bit better and more controlled.” Villaseca said.

Kate Savas, struggle to recruit volunteers to assist in their program.

“We approach study halls, and basically let them know ‘hey this is available” We've received many good volunteers that way; we let them know this option is available. The student will act as an assistant for the students in my classes. I think it’s good for my students, but I also think it’s good for the

general population as well. Hopefully they'll think ‘this is pretty cool, I might like to do this,” Savas said.

To some students, like junior Anthony Boeman, working with the students has proven to be an enlightening experience.

“At one point in my life, when I was getting into trouble, I decided to go to work with my mom. It turned out that she assisted with down syndrome children, and from there I found out that we had a program at Millard South with special needs students that I could become involved in. I've been assisting here for about a year now and helping with the students makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, and

affect students’ lives, and often times

For some students, such as senior

Josh Blaisdell, just meeting the students has altered their future,

“When I was a sophomore I went in to talk to Mrs. Savas, and began volunteering. Working with the special needs students has helped me in my decision to become a special education teacher,” Blaisdell said.

Blaisdell, who has been involved with the special needs program for two years now, was chosen-by Millard to host Millard’s annual special needs prom, with one other student from Millard North.

“T chose to become involved with their prom because I like seeing the kids and how they act when they're happy.

We set up a prom, design the dance, and hire a dj. The dance is supported

by the donations from local businesses, and is free for the kids,” Blaisdell said.

February

7, 2005

Denson leads way to State *

Kelsey Thiem Business Manager

The world of wrestling is a competitive one and one of challenging proportion. Only the best of the best can survive. The Millard South wrestling

team knows this, but no one more so

than junior Aaron Denson.

Aaron Denson is a member of the varsity wrestling team, and has been since his freshman year. He is a valuable member of the team with an impressive record. During his high school wrestling career, he has lost only seven matches.

Junior wrestler Aaron Denson

“I don’t lose very often,” Denson said, “but when I do, it motivates me

to work twice as hard to redeem my-

self.”

- He practices with the team Monday through Friday for two hours each day in order to stay in shape and refine his moves. During all of the lengthy practices, he has formed a bond with all of the other wrestlers.

“We are all friends and have a lot of fun together everyday,” Denson said.

competes a

nvite, 1, so far this year

Denson is undefeated and ranked 1st in the state in Class A. Photo courtesy of

Doug Denson.

Despite the fun he has during the - practices with his teammates, he remains focused on the upcoming state tournament.

“The team and I are very motivated right now because there is a lot of pressure on the team now that we are ranked number one in the state,”

Denson said. “P'm working especially hard so I can make the team proud.”

As his senior year looms ahead, he will continue to work adamantly at his wrestling.

“Next year I'll have the same big goals: to win State, do my best, and

work as hard as I can,” he said.

“It

would be nice to leave high school knowing that I accomplished great

things, so I will do all that it takes to

Physical therapy finds its way to MS Aimee Freeman.

Staff Reporter

Many athletes and students at Millard South have endured the pain of a knee injury that has put them out of competition for months. Now, with the help of the Nebraska Orthopedic Hospital Physical Therapy Center, there is a program that has spread out to MS by physical education teacher Phyllis Schroeder so the program can start to prevent serious knee and hip injuries from happening.

Schroeder learned about the pro-

gram when she was at Physical Therapy last summer and decided to check it out to make it available to students here.

“As a teacher and coach I have seen many students and athletes suffer ACL and other serious knee injuries.

We would much rather construct workOuts to prevent injury rather than ones to recover from them,” Schroeder said.

The training is called Sportsmetrics and it works on overall strengthening muscles and muscle balance in the knee joint and surrounding

get to that point.”

structures. It was developed by Cincin-

nati Sports Medicine and is being used _ nationwide.

“Sportsmetrics was originally attended for females for a variety of reasons but the program is very effective

for males as well,” Schroeder said.

The main reasons why the program was developed for females originally is because females have wider pel-

vises, which causes them to have a

“knocked- kneed” appearance. Females have a narrower notch for the ACL to

rest in than males do. Also, there is a

ratio.

After leaming the program was being offered at the Nebraska Orthopedic Center, Schroeder decided to bring it to MS to provide free sessions

to athletes and non-athletes who want

to prevent injuries. She has also started to include some of the exercises in PE class warm-ups so every student benefits from it.

“We are not yet set up to provide complex video tape analysis and functional testing that is offered by the Ne-

braska Orthopedic Hospital but we hope to expand our contributions to the health and fitness of our students and community,” Schroeder said.

Using the materials that our

school offers, Schroeder is holding

Sportsmetric sessions for anyone who

wants to participate in it every Tues-

day and Thursday morning usually starting at 7:00 and getting over around 730.

“Millard South athletes and nonathletes are welcome to take the class and it can be done in less than 25 minutes,” Schroeder said.

Patriots end one streak and start another Scott Siemens Staff Reporter

«

It was an end and a beginning. On January 14, 2005 the Millard South boys basketball team lost to top ranked Bellevue West, and broke Class A record for losing the most games in a row. They also lost the record for the longest winning streak in Class A history, which now belongs to Bellevue West. Since the loss to Bellevue West the Patriots have won their last two games against Papillion LaVista South and Omaha Westside.

“Its tough being in the hole, but once we get one, we'll get five or six in a row,” Head Coach Steve Throne said last week before the two wins over the weekend.

Before the win against Papillion La-Vista

South, the last game Millard South won was

against Fremont in the 2003 district tournament where the Patriots finished second to Omaha Benson. At the end of the 2002-2003 season long time head coach Larry Ribble resigned with 514 career victories and a place in the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Steve Throne was brought in from Nebraska City Lourdes, a D-1 school with three state appearances.

The 2003-2004 Patriots looked prime for another run at state. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits as the season started. Most people don’t realize how long it takes for a

new offense and defense to be installed. The

Patriots struggled through the first half of the season, but played many games very close, in-

cluding a heartbreaking half court buzzer beater against Omaha Benson late in the season.

This season the Patriots looked ready to break out of their funk returning two starters from last year’s team.

Motivation is not an a problem for the Patriots ae “These are great kids and they really motivate themselves because they want to get better and win,” Throne said. Game by game the Patriots are steadily improving by making huge strides on the defensive side of the ball and demonstrating a hard work ethic in practice that is showing up in the Patriots recent games. The Patriots are playing good team basketball and playing unselfishly and working hard on how to play smarter in the fourth quarter.

;

“If we could finish games stronger, we would probably be a state qualifying team, that’s the one area where we need to improve tremendously,” an optimistic Throne said.

“We're working hard and you can

see the improvement of this team,”

ophomore Colin Schroeder plays in defense in Millard South’s first win since the

2002-2003 basketball season. The Patriots followed up this win, with a win the next night against Omaha Westside. Photo by Laura Rock

Junior Andrew Page, who leads the Patriots in scoring and rebounding, said.

The Patriots will continue to improve on a daily basis and the future looks bright with a strong JV and Reserve team and has potential to be a

Top 10 team next season.

These are

great kids and

they really

motivate themselves

to get

better

- and

win.

Coach

Steve

Throne

F february 7, 2005 _

Competition at Metros no match for

.. the team | works

to get

better every

day in order

to put

a banner in our gym.

record-setting Patriot wrestling team Chris Bazemore Sports Editor

The year of 2005 may be the year for the Millard South wrestling team. So far this year the Patriot wrestlers are ranked first in the state and have an untamished record.

After finishing second last year, South is once again in the hunt for a state championship. Since coach Doug Denson has been at Millard South the team has finished second three times but hasn’t yet finished the deal, but Denson and the team is planning to make this year different.

On Jan. 14 and 15% the MS wrestling team competed in the metro wrestling tournament at Papillion Lavista South and dominated the competition. The team score for MS was over 100 points more than second-place finisher Omaha Burke. The Patriots also set a record for points at metros with 274, an amazing and almost shocking amount of points.

The scary thing is that only two metro champs were from Coach Denson’s squad. All 14 of the Patriots wrestling in the tournament place in the top five with seven of them appearing in the finals and two going on to win their weight class.

Coach

Doug

Denson

They included senior Jake Muirheid.at 119 Ibs. and junior Aaron Denson at 152 Ibs. Although they won only

two of the seven finals matches, it didn’t mean much as the

team proved a point.

“Every year the kids are more motivated than the previous year and this year it isn’t any different as the team works to get better every day in order to Be a banner in our gym,” Denson said.

The wrestling also had a dual against eighth ranked Gretna High School at Millard South on January 20". The Patriots once again dominated as they beat Gretna 53-19 to

Senior Jake Muirheid wrestles at Metros at Pa

on LaVista South. Muirheid won the 119 Ib. weight class at Metro S

and is currently ranked first in the State in Class A. Photo by Chris Bazemore. improve their dual’s record to 11-0. Pins by Millard South included Curtis Miller, Greg Garcia, Mike Ramsey, Aaron

Denson, and Pat Doyle. Gretna was also open at the 160 lb.

weight class, so Mitch Brown received the forfeit victory.

Millard South continues their “mission” with trips to

the Burke Invite, the Skutt Invite, and hopes to accomplish

the mission during the third week of February. You can follow up on the team by going to MSW Club. Org to get all of the latest stats and rankings.

Students seek to be ‘Believers and Achievers’ Danielle Savig Staff Reporter

Two people in this school have been nominated for the NSAA (Nebraska State Athletic Association) Believer and Achiever award. Rae Rohlfsen and Will Pflug were nominated and Rohlfsen actually got the award.

Rohlfsen is a really good student with big plans for the future. She is

going to go to college in St. Louis. All through high school Rohlfson. has been involved in many different activities including, Junior Class Board, Senior Class Board, Band, National Honor Society, and Soccer. “These activities

are a lot of fun and I love the people.

They also challenge me, giving me a sense of accomplishment when they’re done,” Rohlfsen said.

Pflug has also been involved in

many different activities in the last four years. He has been involved in foot-

ball, swimming, debate, drama, National Honor Society, Senior Class.

Board, Peer Mediation, Boy Scouts,

Youth Group, and choir. “The activi-

ties are a lot of fun and it makes me a

better person,” Pflug said.

Rohlfsen lives a busy life trying to juggle around school, the activities she

is in, and work. “I kind of stopped. watching so much T.V., and I have a great job that is understanding if I have to skip some days.”

Pflug stays busy with all as activities and. manages to juggle everything around. “I manage to get most of my homework done during the school day, so I usually don’t have much to take home. I usually only have problems if

there is multiple things at once. I also do have a job at Zzzap Lazer Adven-

tures, butI don’t work many hours.”

The activities that Rohlfsen-has been involved in throughout all four

years are band and soccer, and those

are the activities that have been part of the award. She will be recognized for the award at a state basketball game and might receive a $500 scholarship.

Swim team trounces Omaha Central on the road to a State appearance Nick Olson Staff Reporter

Learn to Drive

Driving School

The Millard South and Omaha * Central swim team went head-to-head Jan. 18, with Millard South coming out

With instructor Tom Mosser

Over 25 years of

victorious.

experience.

“Both our girls and boys teams did very well,” Coach Wennstedt said.

State finals are coming up very soon so there is not much more time to prepare. Junior Allison Way, Junior Ryan Dinning, Sophomore Tara

Classes will be held at the Legion Hail 4612 So. 139th St.

Quandt, freshman Morgan Coffey,

Saturday mornings 7:45-10:15 a.m.

and Freshman Carly Pohiman have all met the standard in the three relays.

Those who have yet to achieve a good enough time to be eligible can still do it at the upcoming metro tournaments.

“We are hoping that the rest of our boys will meet their qualifications

For information on classes call:

Tom Mosser 289-4240

for state at metro,” Mr. Wennstedt said.

“That is usually where they get their best times.”

For the next three weeks the only thing that can happen with MS swimmers is that they get better. There is always room for improvement.

“Do good and give it 110%,” Senior Will Pflug said.

Senior swimmer Michael Epperson competes in the butterfly event Millard South. The butterfly is known for being a only difficult stroke, one that only veteran swimm ers can master. Epperson and other swimmers can be seen with not Elwer.

Katie by Photo time. their of off seconds “shave” to anything do They eyebrows. shaved also but shaved heads

February 7, 2005

rying talents

Hidden tech-ies A lot of work goes on behind the scenes of any theater production and the people taking part in that hard work are theater techni-

__cians. Theater technicians are skilled in many

different areas. Sound, lights, props, set construction, management, make up and costumes are among the many skills needed to be a technician. Millard South’s technicians are skilled in lots of different areas of the theater.

Everyone always hears about the people on stage performing, but not many hear about what happens behind the scenes of a show. A lot of work goes into a show way before it hits the stage or even before actors start rehearsing.

Lots of work is especially put into a large scale musical like “Beauty and the Beast” which will perform in March.

Junior Wade Sullivan is a technical director for the musical.

“You have to watch over set construction, painting,

all of the crews, and essentially all the technical aspects of the show,” Sullivan said.

Making sure everything is done on time is a crucial aspect of a technician’s job. Techies usually end up putting in longer hours than the actors. They usually stay way after rehearsal has ended and the actors have left. Some technicians put in 100 hours or more during a musical production. Such was the case for Brett Lawton during “Grease.”

“Tt was a challenge because I held three roles. I was a stage manager, a tech director, and a set designer. I would

not have been able to do it, though, without the help of Mrs. Baker and Jenny Cupak,” Lawton said.

Some technicians also perform on stage as actors, along

with their technical position or positions. In “Grease” Sullivan

Lisa McCollum, Tyler Coffey and Casey-Mitchell participate in “Technical Olympics” at the Nebraska State Thespian Festival at Bellevue

East. They placed second. Photo by Amy Brammer.

played Vince Fontaine and also had a technical role to fulfill.

Lawton and senior Tyler Coffey, who are flymen for “Beauty and the Beast” agreed that the hardest thing about working on a main stage musical is working with the mass amounts of actors and making sure that they are safe.

“Tt’ s hard when you have that many people backstage around the set and fly system and everything, you have to make sure that every one is safe and it is a pretty stressful job,” Lawton said.

Technicians don’t just have to be male. Many of Millard South’s best technicians are women. Heather Abraham, Juanita Allocco, Casey Mitchell and Lisa McCollum are just a few.

“Some people don’t always respect you, but you just have to

deal with it. There is a lot of respect from Millard South stu-

dents. But sometimes when you go to another school, like at Bellevue West for state convention, a guy told us that we had to prove ourselves as good enough because we were girls. Sometimes you just work harder to prove yourself because you are a girl,” Mitchell said.

“Juanita is amazing, she works so hard and does so muc » junior Jessica Thacker said.

Allocco made many of the costumes seen in Millard South’s “Grease” and spent many sleepless nights working on them.

Abraham, Allocco, and Lawton are just a few technicians who plan on taking technical theater on into their futures after high school. Both Abraham and Allocco are currently technical theater apprentices for the Omaha Community Playhouse.

‘Meet the Fockers’ closely follows plot of first film, joke was only mildly funny first time around Aimee Freeman

Staff Reporter

After entering the family, Greg Gaylord Focker (Ben Stiller) puts another dent in the Bymes’ circle of trust when the Byrnes meet his parents in the annoying but hilarious Meet the Fockers.

As the Byres get introduced to the Fockers, the Dad, Bernie Focker

language. The audience feels bad for (Dustin Hoffman) is overdone as he keeps hugging and touches Jack Bymes . the boy when Jack won’t take care of him but laugh instead when Jack puts (Robert DeNiro) which makes the exona fake breast to feed Little Jack while audience the and Byrnes family he is not with his mother. tremely uncomfortable and perturbed.

Greg’s mom, Roz Focker (Barbara Jack, brings a whole new meanStreisand) is an unusual character. Greg ing to the word annoyed. The whole movie he is obsessed with his new tries to hide his mom’s profession, a sex therapist, from the Byrnes’ so that Jack grandson, Little Jack. He tries to teach him lessons by leaving Little Jack alone doesn’t freak out. Trying to keep it a when he cries and teaching him sign

thought because Roz starts to give therapy to Jack’s wife, Dina (Blythe Danner).

Another secret is kept from the family, this time between Greg and his fiancée Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo). This secret brings a serious note to the movie and almost separates them when Jack finds out and leaves only to return back to the Focker’s home later with Bernie and Greg after being bailed out of.

prison. is a hilarious Meet the Fock movie that will have you laughing but will also tend to push your buttons. This movie is recommended for people who have a good sense of humor and don’t mind things getting under their skin a little bit.

Coach Carter motiviates,

scores super slam dunk Chris Bazemore Sports Editor

In the movie Coach Carter, Samuel L. Jackson provides an extremely moving and inspirational performance based on a true story in Richmond, California. Jackson plays a basketball coach who takes over a team of kids with a lack of discipline and an ample amount of heart.

As Carter tries to coach the team about basketball, he also makes sure basketball is not all he teaches them in an unstable community with drugs, gangs, and violence. Through lots of

adversity and conditioning Carter fi-

nally gets the team to where everyone wants and never expected.

With an undefeated record, a

mid-season tournament championship and high hopes for the state tourna-

ment, disaster occurs and grade reports are given to Carter. As most of the team is in violation of a contract written by Carter, the gym is locked.

In a shocking move to everyone Jackson forces the team to study in the library instead of practicing basketball until the agreed GPA is reached.

Through all this Jackson teaches the team that one basketball season when they are 17 should not be the highlight

of their entire lives.

With everything behind them the team has no fear in playing the number one team in the state and being happy with the outcome. Coach Carter was one of the best stories of an unknown coach who made an immense change in the lives of many people in a community.

—