Battleship Texas fundraiser pg. 6
The Mystery of Edwin Drood Pg. 12
Varsity Winter Guard Pg. 15
2018 CCISD Livestock Show ends with bidding success By Sierra Dickey Editor-in-Chief
The FFA livestock show and auction had another successful year. Creek, with over 10 different champion titles and upper level placer, has shown that its students are dedicated and responsible. Inside this student- run organization, with the aid of Mr. Ralph Stokley and Mrs. Natalie Terry, the students have raised all sorts of animals such as turkeys, rabbits, heifers, chickens and goats. The students of the FFA receive their chosen animal sometime in the first semester. Pigs, lambs and goats are usually chosen for raising in September, due to the months they take to raise. Turkeys are given to the students in November and chickens are given in December. However, the steers are given to the students in the early months of summer because they require months of preparation to grow. Raising the animals requires some responsibilities including feeding them, grooming them, cleaning them and making sure they are kept in a safe and clean environment. Most students have to go to the barn every day. With the over 50 hours dedicated to their animals, the students raise and perfect them to show them off at the Livestock Show and Auction. The Livestock Show and Auction was separated into a three-day event with the
show being on the 30 and 31 of January received first as well and Grand Champion, and the actual auction being on the first Morgan Randecker in second place, of February. The winners of the showings Madison Bear in third place, Sara Burris consisted of Brandon Law, tenth place, in fourth place, Bianca Ramirez coming in Sara Warren, twelfth place, Peyton fifth place, Andy Castillo in sixth place and Anderson and Morgan Penrod, thirteenth Kayleigh Pettigrew in seventh place. place, Shaina K y l i e Westfall and Starks and Lily Saenz, Jordan Adams fourteenth made first, place and Morgan Irwin L a u r e n followed Lueking and them in Jordan Adams s e c o n d , in fifteenth Julianne Oh place for in fifth, Hanna rabbits. Wingard Students coming in who showed seventh place chickens and Parker Photo By Danielle Dunavant placed well also, with Withers behind her in Anthony Borrego getting Grand Champion, eighth for lamb showing. Grace Garcia getting third place, Emma For heifers, Maddi Lawerence was Pistone coming in seventh place, Andrew titled the American Champion and Grand Kapfer placing in eighth, Craig Sickmen Champion overall, Jordan Adams titling coming in ninth place and Sarah Taylor as Exotic and Reserve Champion overall receiving eleventh place. and Heifer Showmanship Champion and The placers for pigs consisted of Nicole Speed receiving the Reserve British Jordan Adams as Grand Champion, Heifer title. Samantha Pistone in third place and Emma For the students showing turkeys Pistone in fourth place. Jacob Sawyer was the Grand Champion For goats, Emily Jones received first and Morgan Irwin came in eighth place. and Reserve Champion, Yancey Grice The only student placing for raising a
steer was Hannah Nix, coming third and receiving Steer Showmanship Champion award. The Livestock Show also consists of other competitions besides those involving animals. They have competitions involving the arts, cooking, Agricultural Mechanics and structural projects. The following awards were given to the following students. Emily Jones receiving Best Horticulture and Visual Arts, Morgan Penrod receiving Best of Show in Food Science, Morgan Irwin and Kylie Starks for Best of Show in AG Mechanics, Craig Sickmen and Madi Lawerence for first place in AG Mechanics, Logan Sammons as first in a wood project and Anthony Borrego in first for cookies. Along with this year’s FFA Livestock Show ending this year, many of the seniors are leaving with it. One in particular was Craig, Senior, who is also the current President of the FFA program at Creek and also the Vice President of Area three. Although many of the seniors that lead FFA are leaving there will always be more students to lead the way to another great year of FFA. “The one good thing though, is that I know we are leaving the chapter in good hands, we have some amazing students running for officer next year and I couldn’t be happier for them!” Sickmen, said.
Creek boys’ soccer triumphs in annual tournament By Morgan Severson Around Creek Editor
by a landslide with a score of six to the best part of the tournament was how zero. Then Creek tied one to one with many goals we scored as a team,” Lucian Terry High School on January 5. Creek Jurnalov, sophomore goalie, said. The championship game was won At the 13 annual Pearland/Pasadena beat Baytown Sterling High School with Cup, the Clear Creek’s boys Varsity a tally of six to zero points on January by Creek with a score of two to one. soccer team was victorious. The three- 6. Creek won their pool and played in During the first half of the game, Creek day tournament lasted from January 4 through January 6 at five different stadiums. Creek could see that their hard work and dedication paid off. “We practice every day during seventh period and then after school for two to three hours every day. It was a great team effort. We played very hard on defense. We were organized and patient. We also scored a lot of goals. No coach could ask for a better performance than what these guys did,” Coach Chris Cobb, Creek’s boys soccer coach, said. The tournament had a total of 28 teams in seven pools. Each team played one game each day with the exception of Pasadena High School that played two games in one day. According to the Houston Chronicle, “pool winners were Photo by Sebastian Sandoval was behind with a score determined by a points system for each the championships against match. Teams picked up six points for Sam Rayburn High School on January 6. of zero to one. Senior, Kaden Lovett “We played well as a unit against all barely made Creek’s first score, with a win and three for a tie. In addition, teams nabbed one additional point for of the opposing teams. I’ve been playing the ball sliding inches past the goal post every goal up to five and one more point for two years but I know other players in the last 26 minutes of the game. Two on the team who have played their whole minutes later, senior, Josh Rodriguez was awarded for shutouts.” The first game was against Dulles life. We brought home the trophy for the made Creek’s winning goal. “I think we played some great High School on January 4. Creek won school and it was a job well done. I think
soccer teams. We had solid defense for the entire tournament from our back line and over four games, we only got scored on four times. Our midfield held it down as well, controlling the ball, winning crucial plays and creating offensive play towards. The other forwards and I were in the right places and were able to capitalize on the chances all the other players gave us. The whole team played really tough, physical soccer and I’m excited for district play to begin,” Jason Keyzer, senior, said. “It was a great ball that was played across to him. Dillyn Castillo got free on the right side at outside mid and hit a nice firm ball behind the defense. It was right on track…excellent goalkeeping by Lucian Jurnalov and Trystan Dobson and Jason Keyzer scoring seven goals in the tournament,” Coach Cobb, said. According to the Houston Chronicle, Trystan Dobson, junior, was Creek’s “unsung hero” that played “lightsout defense” as a goalie. During the tournament, Dobson only let one ball pass him. “The whole team played and worked hard to win the tournament where we played some very skilled teams.,” Dobson said. Creek left with a record of three wins, zero losses, one tie and the tournament’s top trophy.
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Opinion
What is your ideal Valentine’s Day and why?
“I would eat candy and play video games because it’s fun.” Elijah Patterson (Sophomore)
“My id eal va tine’s lenday w o uld be chang ing my becau se I lo oil v truck e my .” Asif Ka bir (Senio r)
“My ideal Vale ntine’s Day is to spo il my wife because it’s a holiday set aside to c elebrate love.” Mr. Drake
“I’m going to go home by myself and watch netflix because then i don’t have to deal with boys.” Haley Schrader (Sophomore)
“My ideal valentine’s day is spending it with zac efron.” Catherine Corley (Freshman)
“My Ideal valentine’s day would be chilling in a hot tub while eating chocolate.” Mason Moran (Junior)
“[My id tralia eal date is] in wi blue e th a blond Ausyed su haired rfer t ‘narle , hat sa y dud y e s ’a choco late c nd feeds m e overe d stra berrie w s.” Mariy ah Th omas (Junio r)
cute “I would go on a es and date to the movi maybe dinner.” Grace Meyer (Freshman)
“I don’t want to have to teach anything on Valentine’s day, and I want flowers and candy.” Ms. Waligora
“I’m going to spend Valentine’s day with my dog.” Olivia Lueking (Freshman)
“I’m going to cook with my boyfriend.” Sami Poirrier (Senior)
“My ideal Valentine’s day is spending the day with a significant other or someone I care about.” Ronnie Tran (Junior)
girl take a o t g in ive “I’m go rden, g e a g e v i som to ol ers and w o l f her lates.” choco ilds Ch David ) (Senior
going to “I’m probably nd eat with stay home a my friends.” Lily Saenz ) (Sophomore
2017-2018
HiLife Staff
Principal: Jamey Majewski Advisor: Wynette Jameson Editors-in-Chief: Catherine Irvine Sierra Dickey Photo Editor: Katie Rodriguez Managing Editor: Brittney Melanson Design Editor: Brittney Melanson News Editor: Maddie Moore Online Editor: Lilo Shelley Features Editor: Arrington Linder Entertainment Editor: Joana Mancia Sports Editor: Jacob Madden Around Creek Editor: Morgan Severson Advertising Manager: Brittney Melanson Reporters:
Briana Harris Leah Burnam DeAundrea Edwards Kadyn Chatman Nicole Alvarenga Ashleigh Lewis Cece Huff Olivia Foster
Photographers: Sebastian Sandoval Danielle Dunavant Clarissa Valcoviak Erik Kouth Christifer Castillo
Published at Mirror Publishers in Texas City Visit us at: www.creekhilife.com or http://clearcreekhs.ccisd.net For ad rates call: (281)-284-1889
Editorial
3
Cat’s Chats: Dangers of hate speech
By Catherine Irvine Editor-in-Chief The First Amendment protects citizens’ right to practice any religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceful protest and petition the government for a redress of grievances. Freedom of speech is defined as “the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint.” This is what allows journalists to criticize corrupt government officials, voice their opinions on controversial topics or bring to light public situations. It allows the public to peacefully assemble for something they believe in, callout corrupt government officials and voice their opinion to others. An example of this would be the annual Women’s March, where women, men, and
children gather in cities across America to advocate for human rights, women’s rights and several other political issues. It allows for the exchanging of ideas in a free society. Hate speech is defined as “speech which attacks a person or group on the basis of attributes such as race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability or gender.” It can be found on websites, in tweets or shouted out at someone in public. Groups such as white supremacists and neo-Nazis form to terrorize others based on the belief that white people are superior to other races. This ideology has led to attacks on different ethnic groups and the normalization of hate speech. This summer, a group of about 100 white supremacists spent their Friday night on the campus of the University of Virginia carrying tiki torches, raising the Nazi salute and chanting messages like “You will not replace us,” and “White lives matter.” This Charlottesville protest led to
brawls taking place. The next morning was the scheduled protest against the General Robert E. Lee statue being removed. Other people were being attacked in the streets. This hate speech led to violence and destruction. While these protests were taking place,
wielding supremacists. Our President’s response to this was to tweet out that “there are fine people on both sides.” His lack of condemnation has led to the normalization of hate speech, and allowed for groups like this to continue spreading violence and hate. It is now common to see videos on social media emerge of white supremacists and neo-Nazis shouting at or circling around strangers, shouting hateful things like “Get out of my country” or other degrading things. Since then, Trump has also boldly retweeted a British hate group’s anti- Muslim propaganda, as well as sided with men who have been accused of sexual assault and abuse. For a country that was built by immigrants, the hateful treatment minorities, African Americans and immigrants receive today is shocking and gives a dangerous outlook for America’s future. This kind of speech is dangerous and will take America down a dark path. Although we have freedom of speech, hate should not be protected and excused by our nation’s leaders. It is vital not to abuse the right to freedom of speech by spouting prejudice hatred and things that will harm an entire group of people.
“There is a fine line between free speech and hate speech. Free speech encourages debate whereas hate speech incites violence.” - Newton Lee there was also a group counter protesting the racism. One of the examples was a group of students gathering in a circle around the base of a Thomas Jefferson statue and allowing themselves to be surrounded by the tiki torch
Sierra Shares: Intellectual stress
By Sierra Dickey Editor-in-Chief The stress of junior year is starting to settle into me. I did not realize how crushing, mentally and physically, the stress of just one measly year of high school could be. You do not really realize how taxing a single day of learning can be until you lay in your bed, stare at your dark ceiling and recount all the things you did that day, as well as all the things you still were not able to do. Every day we are asked to focus for six and half hours, to stare at screens, read books and grab at knowledge we most likely will never use again. We are also expected to perform in extracurricular activities which probably take up at least another three hours of our day. Then after all of that, we must go home to homework that, if done correctly, will take up to
another four hours to complete, sometimes longer. That is about thirteen hours of our twenty-four-hour day dedicated to our intellectual progression alone. When you account for the eight hours of sleep we are all supposed to be getting, that only leaves us with three hours to do with as we please. That also does not include our preparations for SAT/ACT or prepping for college applications and interviews, plus the daily anxieties our family and friends may have waiting for us. So, how much time does that really leave for us, how much time does that give us for self-care? Practically none, unless showering and eating is the only amount of selfcare seventeen-year old’s need. What does “self-care” entail? The base level definition of self-care is care individuals can give to themselves without the need of medical or professional consultation, but that does not really explain what “self-care” is, so I did some research. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website states the effects of stress on your body mentally and physically for instance; headaches, low energy, gastrointestinal issues (such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea), muscle
pains and insomnia. If any one is suffering from these symptoms, don’t worry, you are not alone. Our schedules are so energetic and time-consuming we have really no time for the self-care habits the NAMI website outlines such as; exercising daily, getting an adequate amount of sleep, eating well, and practicing relaxation techniques (deep breathing, meditation, and hobbies).
in teens in the United States, and with the way we are pushed on a daily basis, I am not surprised by those statistics. Why is it that schools put such on emphasis on learning what the kingdom phylum is, but put close to no energy in building the self-esteem of their students? I understand the importance of having a base level of knowledge before you go gallivanting out into the world on your own, but I wonder if it is doing more harm than good in a long-term sense. Why not have an hour in the middle of the day strictly used to blow off steam, to de-stress, to put into place coping mechanisms and relaxation techniques that will help us steel our minds and be prepared for the rest of the day. My sister is studying to be a Nurse and one of the techniques she uses to help her patients reach their recovery goals is DISTRACTION techniques and yes, I capitalized the word “distraction” because that word is taboo when you associate it with any kind of learning environment. Distractions can be a wonderful thing for the brain, it is a time to decompress and re-organize your thoughts. When an engine is constantly running it burns out and I can tell you right now I am running all the way on “H” right now. Self-care is very important. Do not let it fall by the wayside. Do not let the daily struggles of school, family, and the everlooming future make you forget about yourself. You are an intelligent, unique, and stunning individual and your body and mind deserve to be treated accordingly.
“One of the things that characterizes good intellectual work is a certain self-importance.” - Whitfield Diffie Now that we know what self-care is, how important is practicing self-care to our health? Prolonged stress can lower our immune systems putting us at risk for infections, if we wonder why we are getting sick all the time, mystery solved! Not giving your mind the care it needs can also be detrimental to your mental health. Childrentrends.org says that suicide is the second leading cause of death
4
News
Golden Globes highlights sexual assault in film By Arrington Linder Features Editor
The Golden Globes is the third most watched awards show with the number of viewers being 19 million this year, although that is five percent less than last year. The Golden Globes is an award show for film and television. Last year’s Golden Globes, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, had 20 million viewers tune in for the awards. This year, views in the 18-49 age group are down 22. The Golden Globes aired on January 7. Seth Meyers hosted the awards show at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Some of the presenters included Kelly Clarkson, Zac Efron, Gal Gadot and Viola Davis. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri won Best Motion Picture Drama and Best Screenplay in a Motion Picture. Lady Bird won Best Motion Picture musical or comedy. Frances McDormand won the Best performance by an Actress in a drama Motion Picture and Best performance by an Actor was Gary Oldman. Saoirse Ronan and James Franco took home the prize for Best performance by Actress and Actor in a musical or comedy motion picture. Best supporting Actor and Actress went to Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney. Best original score in a Motion Picture went to The Shape of Water. This is Me from The Greatest Showman won best original song in a Motion Picture. In the Fade won Best Motion Picture Foreign Language. Coco won Best Animated Film. Best Director goes to Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of
Water. The Handmaid’s Tale won Best Drama TV series. Elisabeth Moss took home the trophy for Best performance by Actress in a Drama TV series and Sterling K. Brown won Best performance by an Actor in a Drama TV series. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel won Best Musical or Comedy TV series. Aziz Ansari won Best performance by an Actor in a Musical or Comedy TV series along with Rachel Brosnahan who won Best performance by an Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV series. Big Little Lies took home four awards, one of them being Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Nicole Kidman, who stars in the show, won Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Alexander Skarsgard, who plays Perry Wright, won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Laura Dern who is also in Big Little Lies won Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Ewan McGregor won Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture made for Television. The winner of the Best Director award was presented by Natalie Portman and Ron Howard. While presenting the nominees, Portman decided to “throw shade” at the nominees. Many celebrities cheered for the line she spoke, but the nominees immediately became uncomfortable. Actress Mindy Kaling tweeted “YAS
NATALIE GET EM GIRL” in response. This however isn’t the first-time people have spoken out about the all-male nominees. When the nominees were announced in December, many people were unhappy seeing as there were no female nominees. Many fans were upset at the fact that Greta Gerwig, director of Lady Bird, was not a nominee for Best Director. In the history of the Golden Globes, only five women have been nominated for Best Director and Barbara Streisand is the only female to have won Best Director 34 years ago. “And here are the all-male nominees.” Natalie Portman, actress, best known for Black Swan, said. The Cecil B. DeMille award was awarded to Oprah Winfrey at this year’s Golden Globes. The Cecil B. De Mille award is an award for showing “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.” Oprah is the first AfricanAmerican woman to receive the award. “I want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association because we know the press is under siege these days. We also know it’s the insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and to injustice. To -- to tyrants and victims, and secrets and lies. I want to say that I value the press more than ever before as we try to navigate these complicated times, which brings me to this. What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. And I’m especially proud and inspired by all
the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories. Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories that we tell, and this year we became the story.” Oprah Winfrey, winner of the Cecil B. DeMille award, said. This year, stars wore black on the red carpet. Wearing black to the Golden Globes was a part of the Time’s Up movement. America Ferrera, Eva Longoria, Reese Witherspoon, Emma Watson and Shonda Rhimes played a key part in making the movement heard. The Time’s Up movement was created to speak out against sexual harassment in the film industry. The majority of celebrities wore black to the Golden Globes but a select few did not. Barbara Meier wore a beige dress, Meher Tatna and Blanca Blanco both wore red dresses. However, Tatna wore a Time’s Up pin on her dress. “The issue is bigger than my dress. I love red. Wearing red does not mean I am against the movement. I applaud and stand by the courageous actresses that continue to break the cycle of abuse through their actions and fashion style choices. It is one of many factors leading women to a safer place because of their status. I am excited about the #TimesUp movement; true change is long overdue. Shaming is part of the problem.” Blanca Blanco, actress in Star Trek Equinox: The Night of Time, said. Award show watcher won’t find out the new set of Golden Globes nominees until this December, but there are hopes that female directors will be nominated.
Creek’s Cheer team wins first national competition
By Kaydn Chatman Reporter
On January 28, Creek’s Junior Varsity and Varsity cheer team traveled to Dallas, TX to attend the NCA, National Cheer Competition at the convention center in Downtown Dallas. Out of the whole competition, Junior Varsity won first place in the small novice Junior Varsity division out of more than 200 teams. Their biggest rival at the competition was Clear Springs, who placed second in the Novice Junior Varsity competition. They also won “the best use of tumbling award” and took six laces in the medium Varsity ban dance division. This competition Creek Cheer there first national win ever. The girls that traveled to the competition were Alexa Akers, Kaitlyn Norris, Hanna Rivera, Zoe Smith, Montana Norris, Scheerstyn
Lyde, Taylor Allen, Aubrey Wooley, Abigail Mitchell, Ashleigh Hodges, Anna Lucas, Amber Menefee, Emillie Null, Samantha Sorensen, Saryn Allen, Carlee Jackson and Taylor Trobaugh. This competition was an amazing bonding moment for all of the girls that attended and helped them get to know each other a little better. “They all came together to help each other and they did everything together,” Anna Lucas, Junior Varsity cheerleader, said. The NCA was established in 1948 and was created for cheerleaders to attend camps and come together to learn new skills from cheer instructors. Since the founding of NCA, it has expanded to doing competitions for schools and All-Star teams across the country. The highest level of the competitions is the College National Championships, which is televised in Florida every April.
Photo by Danielle Dunvant
“It’s the largest one in the country and is very difficult to prepare for all year” Mrs. Mosley, head coach of Clear Creek cheer team, said. The cheerleaders have been preparing for this competition all year by cheering at Creek football games, volleyball games, both girls and boys’ basketball games and seasonal pep rallies. Because of this, on the second day of the
competition, they knew that the girls had done very well and were on their way to claim their first National championship title. The girls spent long hours hours of hard work to accomplish this goal. “[The best part of winning Nationals was] just knowing that all the hard work paid off, and proving we [are] one of the best [team] in District,” Abby Mitchell, Varsity cheerleader, said.
News
5
Women participate in marches across the world Cities outside the states included Ottawa, reflect our values, and collaborate with Canada; Paris, France; Berlin, Germany our partners to elect more women and and even freezing Paradise Bay, Antarctica. progressive candidates to office.” Another motive for the march is to Millions of women around the globe One of the Women’s Marches’ main gathered for a worthy cause: The 2018 mottoes is “Power to the Polls.” Thousands support women’s rights. As reported by the Women’s March. Celebrating its second of activists for women’s rights help to Women’s March website, women’s rights anniversary on January 21, this year’s march was louder and prouder than ever. The marching even continued for a second day. The Women’s March is a source of strength and empowerment for women from all walks of life. “The mission of Women’s March is to harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change. Women’s March is a women-led movement providing intersectional education on a diverse range of issues and creating entry points for new grassroots activists and organizers to engage in their local communities through trainings, outreach programs and events. Women’s March is committed to dismantling systems of oppression through nonviolent resistance and building inclusive structures guided by self-determination, dignity and include reproductive rights, respect,” The Women’s March website, politically educate Photo courtesy of Pixabay LGBTQIA rights, worker’s about its mission, said. women, register them The main location of the Women’s to vote and encourage them to vote each rights, civil rights, disability rights and March is Washington D.C., but many sister year. In the last election, only 42 percent immigrant rights. All of this and more were marches happened across the nation. An of women voted. The Women’s March is the rights women were marching for. Reproductive rights include access estimated 673 Marches and 4.9 million working to educate women and get them marchers were in attendance. 26 of those to elect a candidate who will work in their to birth control, feminine health care, HIV/AIDS care and prevention as well as Marches occurred in Texas alone. New favor. York, New York; Phoenix, Arizona; The goal is to “target swing states accurate sex education. Women should be Honolulu, Hawaii; San Diego, California to register new voters, engage impacted able to have these things without restriction and Austin, Texas, were just a handful of communities, harness our collective energy from the state or federal government. major cities that participated in the March. to advocate for policies and candidates that LGBTQIA or gay, lesbian, bi, queer, trans
By Morgan Severson Around Creek Editor
and gender non-conforming rights consist of protection against discrimination and to “be free from gender norms, expectations and stereotypes.” Another fundamental cause in this year’s march is the pervasive sexual harassment going on in Hollywood with celebrities. Worker’s rights promotes a safe environment and equal opportunity for women in the work place. Worker’s rights also promotes that employers provide women with equal pay, sick days, healthcare and paid family leave. The last Women’s March was on January 21, 2017, the day after President Trump’s inauguration. All 50 states held a march in protest and resistance to his election. Some of the President’s remarks about women are seen as offensive and degrading. Marching chants like “Donald Trump has got to go, hey, hey, ho, ho,” make the Women’s March view about the new administration clear. “The rhetoric of the past election cycle has insulted, demonized, and threatened many of us. In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us,” The Women’s March Facebook page, in response to the election results, said.
6
News
Historical Battleship Texas battles to stay afloat By Kadyn Chatman Reporter
The battleship museum in La Porte, which is the last remaining Dreadnought ship in the world, is slowly starting to sink due to the most recent flooding. In 1914 the ship was first commissioned and began its first mission in Mexico. The ship was taken into battle during World War I and II. The ship then decommissioned in 1948 after earning five battle stars for the service that it completed during World War II. On April 17, 1947, the battleship was established by the Texas Legislature to be taken care of and towed from Baltimore to San Jacinto. The ship arrived on April 20, which was the day before the War for Texas’s Independence was celebrated. When the ship arrived, it was turned over to the state of Texas and the ship became the first permanent ship museum. For over a decade, the ship has been experiencing erosion and deterioration which lead to the decision of moving it out of the water to save it, however, the cost of moving the ship is more than $40 million. If the Dreadnought (battleship which is larger and faster than earlier ships with larger caliber guns) is left there it will cost $30 million to scrap it. A Battleship Texas Foundation was created by the museum to raise money to move the ship out of the water, but the money that was being used to move the ship had to be redirected to the flooding that the ship encountered. The ship is so old that it is starting to decay and as this
occurs more damage is being inflicted on the Dreadnought. The last time the ship had a big flooding incident on was June 10, which lead to the closing of the ship for a week. Flooding in the tanks located outside the ship caused it to start sinking. To stop the ship from
Even though the museum has invested millions of dollars to protect the ship from sinking, the Dreadnought is still continuing to sink and if the ship is not moved soon it will cause contamination in the Houston ship channel, which is one of the US’s important seaports because it is the conduit
for ships traveling between sinking, contractors tilted Photo by Christifer Castillo Houston- area terminals it and patched 25 leaks. The total patching project cost more than and the Gulf of Mexico. But if the ship does a million dollars. Everyday more than continue to sink and does not contaminate 25 pumps remove water from the ship the water, it will cause environmental to prevent corrosive damage that can be issues when it is being disposed. The battleship is currently on an 18 caused by leaks that have not be checked. Overall the average amount of daily leaks month rebuild that first started in 2015, but will now be officially repaired in late is a total of 300 tons water.
2018. This will help with moving the ship out of the water without causing any further damage. After the repairs are finished it will cost even more money to move it out of the water. A gaming company called the World of Warships, which is a naval theme game that features many warships that includes the Texas battle ship donated money to a support group called V.A.L.O.R. This project supports veteran families, home remembrance and giving thanks. World of Warships gave over $280K that they had collected when they sold a special Lone Star Texas bundle game. Hoping to help dry dock the ship. To continue raising money, the gaming company says that they will donate $25 to the fund raiser for every gamer that is referred to the website by an existing player or creates a new account through the Texas war ship website and plays one nonpremium Tier six ship. The one remaining issue that has not been resolved is where the ship will be once it is moved out of the water. The Galveston City Council wants the ship to be moved to Galveston onto to a dry port. Groups involved with the battleship believe that the ship should stay in La Porte where it has been for the last 60 years. Council members were supposed to take a vote on where it should be moved however, the vote was delayed to show that the city was not taking sides in the dispute. As of now, the moving of the ship has not been decided, so until a vote is made the legendary battleship will stay in La Porte.
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Sports
Philidelphia Eagles win Super Bowl championship By Briana Harris Reporter
The NFL team, New England Patriots, went to the Super Bowl this year and went against the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LII. The Philadelphia Eagles won their first victory of the NFL Championship, defeating the reigning champions the Patriots. The Eagles were no doubt the underdogs of the big game. Before the game, their stats were nowhere near the number one team in the league. To make matters worse for the team, Nick Foles, the backup quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, replaced head quarterback and MVP candidate Carson Wentz, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in week 15. They did however prove that they did not need Wentz, because they are the current NFC Champions and completed at the Super Bowl to win their first NFL Championship. The Eagles created an opening drive where Zach Ertz received a flag for a false start, not allowing the Eagles to get to the end zone so they opted for field goal for 3 points. The Patriots produced the same opening drive and kicked a field goal for 3 points. Quarterback Nick Foles, threw Alshon Jeffery the ball, adding more height to his catch compared to Eric Rowe, and ran 34 yards for a touchdown. Eagles leading 9-3, ending the first quarter. Patriots holder Ryan Allen, had a terrible snap/hold leading to Stephen Gostkowski to miss his 26- yard field goal attempt. The Patriots wide receiver Brandin Cooks, was pulled from the game early after suffering a head injury from a brutal hit. Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount, ran 21-yards for a touchdown, pushing his way through the
Patriots defensive side. The Eagles tried to go for two, but a fade to Alshon Jeffrey was incomplete. Eagles leaded with 15 to 3. Gostkowski, made a 45-yards field goal attempt, with Patriot 6 to Eagles 15. Foles threw the ball to Jeffrey, who tipped to ball to Duron Harmon who gained an interception for the Patriots at the 2-yard line, giving the Patriots the ball. The patriots soon scored after the turnover with 12 to 15. The Eagles created a trick play where Trey Burton threw a touchdown pass to Nick Foles, who ran to the end zone. In the fourth quarter, Tom Brady threw a 4-yard pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski, captivating a 10 play, 75-yard drive leading to a touchdown. The Patriots finally took the lead in the game with 33 to 32. Foles passed runner Zach Ertz the ball, running 11-yards then jumped into the end zone with the ball leaving his hands. The play was reviews for many minutes until the officials ruled it a touchdown. The Eagles once again lead the game with the 14th play and 75-yard drive to, 38 to 33. Patriots had the ball as Tom Brady was about to make a pass, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, sacked Brady to cause a fumble. The Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett, picked up the fumble ball, giving the Eagles the ball, and put the Patriots into pressure with 2 minutes left on the clock. Jake Elliott of the Eagles, made a 46yard field goal, leading the Eagles to their first victory. With under a minute left on the clock, Tom Brady attempted to threw Gronkowski a Hail Mary pass in the end zone, but Eagles men were all over him, causing an incomplete. The eagles won their first NFL Championship with a score of 41 to 33. Also naming backup quarterback Nick Foles, the MVP award. “It is the most unique, together group
of men. I told them I have never seen an incredible group of men in all of my years of life that come together with all the adversity and injuries and losing our franchise quarterback, and you are world champs. Incredible group of men. The coaches, beyond great. Doug Pederson, unbelievable job. I’d like to dedicate this to all the Eagle fans around the world. And also for this one especially, for my mom and dad, who mean the world to me”, Jeffrey Lurie, Owner of The Philadelphia Eagle, said. Back on January 21, the Eagles faced off against the Minnesota Vikings defeating them with an 38-7 win. Taking away the Vikings historical moment of becoming the first team to complete at their home stadium during the Super Bowl. The game began with the Vikings kicking off the ball. Case Keenum; the Vikings quarterback, motioned running back Latavius Murray wide out, confusing the eagles defensive side. Keenum threw the ball to tight end Kyle Rudolph, earning the first touchdown of the night with 25 yards. The Eagles kickoff with a messy drive causing tight end Trey Burton, not to reach two feet down in-bounds catch, which led to a third down. The Eagles defensive end Chris Long, tackled Keenum who was trying to ensure the drive. The ball went flying through the air, missing Keenum’s team member. Patrick Robinson; Eagles cornerback; grabbed the wobbling football and scored with a 50-yard return. The Eagles two free agents, tied the game 7-7. The Eagles offensive side added another touchdown soon after ending the quarter with 14-7. In the red zone, Derek Barnett; Eagles defensive end; caused Keenum to fumble the ball, causing Chris Long to grab the
loose ball with a turnover. On third and 10, Nick Foles struck Vikings wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, and score a 53-yard touchdown. The Eagles leaded with 21 to the Vikings 7 points. Ending the second quarter with a fourplay, the Eagles earned a 60-yard drive in 29 seconds earning 3 points before halftime. The third quarter ensured the Eagles would go to the Super Bowl with Foles creating a trick play to wide receiver Torrey Smith. The play gave the Eagles a 41-yard touchdown, and the game became a blowout. The fourth quarter was the Eagles dominating the Vikings. The game ended with Foles throwing downfield and on the run. The game ended with the Philadelphia Eagles with 38 points and the Minnesota Vikings with 7. “It is very special. I cannot underestimate our fan base. It is unbelievable. When you win a conference championship, it is for all of us and it is for them. If we win a Super Bowl, it is for them. It is very special, it means a lot, and it will mean even more if we accomplish our major goal,” Jeffrey Lurie, said. The New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, brought his team to their eighth Super Bowl opportunity, under his lead. He holds impressive stats as a quarterback since he was drafted. The number twelve player has served eighteen seasons in the NFL, after being drafted by the Patriots in 2000 during round six and the 119 pick. He is the greatest quarterback in NFL history, holding records no other quarterback has ever reached. He holds, five Super Bowl wins, four Super Bowl MVP awards, 14 division titles, 25 playoff wins, 63 Playoff touchdown passes, 9,094 Playoff passing yards, seven Super Bowl appearances, and more accomplishments.
ATHLETES OF THE MONTH
Kaden Lovett
Erin McTaggart
Kaden Lovett, Senior, is on the Varsity soccer team. He is currently is one of the leaders on the team that help direct it towards success. He is a hardworker and strives for the team to succeed. He will be attending St. Mary’s College, where he will continue his soccr career. “ I have been playing since I could even kick the ball. Without my family’s support, I wouldnt have gotten to where I am today,” Lovett, said.
Erin McTaggart, Senior, is on the Varsity softball team. This month, in a scrimmage against Dobie, she hit her first career home run. She works hard for her team and towards her education. “ She’s the ultimate team player. It’s the kind of kid you want on your team. She will be a very successful person when she does graduate,” Coach Andrea Cash, said.
Boys Soccer
Softball
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Features
CCISD students selected for PBS’s SciGirls show By Catherine Irvine Editor-In-Chief
Over the 2016 Holiday break, four girls from Seabrook Intermediate School were given the opportunity to act out experiments for the filming of the PBS Kids television series, SciGirls. The season which includes their episode aired on February 1. The episode in which the girls participated is set to air on February 15. “SciGirls showcases real, middle school girls investigating STEM topics or engaging in engineering projects. Our goal is to encourage more girls to harness the power of science and engineering in their own lives and to inspire them to pursue STEM education and career pathways,” Marie Domingo, Producer and Project Manager of SciGirls, said. The girls that were chosen to take part in the filming were interviewed over a Skype call at the Seabrook Intermediate library after NASA recommended multiple schools in the Houston area, including Seabrook Intermediate. PBS contacted twenty schools about filming and had further communication with twelve. Out of all the girls interviewed, those chosen were all from Seabrook Intermediate. The group of girls included, who at the time of filming were, seventh graders Mariana Rodriguez and Eloyda Lopez Perez, and eighth graders Angela Juarez and Katya Licona are all a part of Seabrook’s Science Magnet program. SciGirls is a public television series that was created to get girls of younger
ages interested in STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math. The first ever episode of the show aired in February of 2010. Each thirty-minute episode follows around a small group of middle school girls. In the episodes, they pick a topic relating to STEM and then complete a project based on what best fits the location the girls live in. In previous episodes, girls have swum with dolphins, worked with bees, created robots and worked to improve their environments by building up habitats. The show covers a wide range of STEM fields so that young girls are able to be exposed to all of their career possibilities. For the upcoming season, parts of the episodes are filmed in English as well as Spanish to encourage young Hispanic girls to take part in the STEM field. “We try to find girls who have a natural passion for STEM, especially for materials engineering and testing for this episode. We also look for girls who are excited to share what they’ve learned and encourage others to try STEM projects. We ultimately Skyped with 70 plus girls and really enjoyed meeting them all. It’s very different difficult to choose just three to four to invite to participate in filming each show. The tremendous support the Seabrook staff and community offered the project was also a big factor in our selection process,” Domingo, said. For the episode, the girls designed, built and tested a water bottle holder that would keep the water inside cooler for a longer time. They choose materials they
Grammy award winners By: Lilo Shelley Online Editor
Music’s most famous night has come again, and the famous faces all rallied together in New York City for the 60 Annual Grammy Awards in Madison Square Garden. Kendrick Lamar opened the 60 Grammy Awards with an army of hooded soldiers marching in front of the American flag with ski masks on and Lamar slouched in the center, squatting to the ground. It was a verbal storm and organized massacre by Lamar, who has a major influence in the hiphop categories but lost album of the year. Lamar won the first prize of the night, for LOYALTY, featuring Rihanna. “Congrats you deserve this man,” Rihanna, singer, said. “From the jump, I thought it was about the accolades, and the cars and the clothes, but it’s really about expressing yourself, putting that paint on the canvas for the world to evolve for the next listener, the next generation after that,” Lamar, singer, said. Bruno Mars swept the main categories with his pop-friendly brand of R&B, winning all six of the awards he was nominated for, including the top prizes of album, record, and song of the year. The second most awarded artist was Lamar, sweeping out the rap categories winning five awards. Jay-Z went home empty handed, but arrived as the most nominated artist of the night. The show also featured a response to the #MeToo movement. The views over harassment and gender inequality has been a common issue in Hollywood, the media and politics. The music industry was effected at a minimum, making viewers wonder on how the show would confront the issue. But a call- to- arms by Janelle Monae, and a
moving performance by Kesha, addressed it spot on. “You see, it’s not just going on in Hollywood, it’s not just going on in Washington.” It’s right here in our industry as well, and just as we have the power to shape culture, we also have the power to undo a culture that does not serve us well.” Monae, singer, said The Late Late Late Show host, James Corden was chosen to host the ceremony for the second year in a row as a full-time employee of CBS. Most people were not impressed, as he didn’t show his face until six minutes into the broadcast, momentarily welcomes the audience to the show and blurted out a list of upcoming performers. Then Corden appointed the spotlight to Lady Gaga and Mark Ronson. The only time he attempted to say a joke was when claimed himself as “the least diverse host in Grammy’s history.” He slipped into the show from time to time to tell cheesy jokes and did a Carpool Karaoke segment on the NYC subway. P!nk performed Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken in just a T-shirt and jeans, leaving it to her voice to raise the stakes. “There’s not enough rope to tie me down, there’s not enough tape to shut this mouth.” P!nk, in lyrics, said. Lady Gaga performed to sing her ballads Joanne and Million Reasons on a white piano covered with the wings of a bird or an angel. Alessia Cara took home one of the ceremony’s big four awards. “Holy cow, I’m shaking. I’ve been pretend-winning Grammys since I was a kid, like in my shower,” Cara, singer, said.
believed would be best to use in the water bottle cover then ran multiple trials to see what they would use in the final product. Once they decided on the best material to use, they sewed together the fabric for their project (another skill in which they learned), and took it on a test run. To test it, the girls used the covers on their water bottles while playing sports such as soccer. They filmed in several locations such as Space Center Houston, Johnson Space Center, two of the girl’s homes in League City, Space City Rock Climbing, Horizon Indoor Sports and Challenger Seven Memorial Park. During the filming they had a mentor, Alma Stephanie Tapia, whose job at NASA is to design and make improvements on the astronaut’s space suits. Tapia helped to guide the girls through their experiments and teach them
more about their topic. While filming, the four girls were able to meet and talk with Ellen Ochoa, a former astronaut and the current Director of the Johnson Space Center. “I definitely see working at NASA as a possibility now. I thought it was just astronauts but there’s many more things to do,” Katya Lincona, SciGirl, said. The girls were introduced to new career paths and exposed to STEM topics they other wise would never have considered without SciGirls. “Go ahead, there’s really no limit to what you can do. Do what you feel like is right,” Eloyta Lopez Perez, when asked what she would tell young girls who wanted to go into the STEM field, said.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
12 Around Creek Behind the scenes
By Leah Burnam Reporter Most people have seen a theatre production; actors, conflict and a “happily ever after.” However, most do not get to see what happens behind the scenes of a theatre production. Without the technical crew of a play, actors wouldn’t have music, props, sets and even lighting. The technical crew is relied on so heavily due to the fact that it is their job to make sure the production runs smoothly. There are many parts of technical theatre that are essential for the preparation of the show. Scenic construction for example involves the building of a set that the set designer creates. Scenic painting occurs after the set is built in which the paint crew designs illusionistic images. The costume crew helps design all pieces of clothing used in the show and assists actors in the dressing room. Sound crew locates, creates and plays background sounds that will fit the overall mood of the performance. Fly crew helps move props on and off stage from above the stage, whereas the stage crew moves props from the side of the stage. Lighting crew places lighting on the actors from cue to cue. The technical crew can also include stage managers and technical directors. The stage manager takes over the run of the show when a performance is live and in action. The technical director oversees all technical crews during the preparation period and ensures that everything is finished on time and within the budget allotted. Creek’s technical theatre teacher and director for all creek performances, Mr. Samson, has created an open working space for his technical crews and classes in order to give them more room to work on sets freely and safely. “It is important to have enough room to work in so we [the technical crew] can create quality props for our shows. I hope that more people get the chance to learn about all the things that happen behind the scenes and all the activities that happen in order for the performance to run smoothly,” Mr. Samson, Creek’s technical theatre teacher, said. Although actors can create a story out of a character, the technical crew of a theatre performance creates the mood of the story. The lighting, stage design and sound all set the tone and the audiences overall emotions. When one thinks about what goes into a theatre production, the technical crew should be recognized for the hard work they do behind the scenes.
Creek’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood By Leah Burnam Reporter
The Mystery of Edwin Drood is based upon the novel by Charles Dickens. However, the novel was left unfinished due to the untimely death of Dickens on June 9, 1870. Due to the incomplete story, many directors and cast members who are performing the book as a play are choosing to allow their audiences to pick the ending. This means that the actors performing learn several different versions of the story. On January 20, Creek put on The Mystery of Edwin Drood a musical by Rupert Holmes. The musical is set in Cloisterham, 1892, and opens with a prologue of There You Are from the entire cast, which is intended to welcome the audience to the show. In scene one of the first act, John Jasper, the uncle of Edwin Drood, can be seen in his home singing A Man Could Go Quite Mad and Two Kinsmen. In Two Kinsmen, Drood joins Jasper in singing about the relationship between uncle and nephew. Shortly after, Drood confides in Jasper that his betrothal to Rosa Bud has raised a feeling of doubt. In scene two, Jasper pays a visit to Rosa, in which he confesses his love for her and presents a song he wrote in order for her to sing. Moonfall, in which Rosa is told to sing, is about the love Jasper desires to have with the innocent Rosa, even though her heart already belongs to the young, unbeknownst Drood. In scene three, a new character is
introduced, Princess Puffer, who opens with The Wages of Sin, which tries to explain that there are consequences to one’s actions. In scene four, twin siblings Helena and Neville Landless are introduced when singing A British Subject. In scene five, Rosa and Drood are seen singing Perfect Strangers while calling off their betrothal to one another. In scene six, all characters can be seen singing No Good Can Come
Photo Courtesy of Clay Anderson
from Bad in the home of Jasper. Based off of the novel by Dickens, this was the last scene Drood can be seen in. In the last scene of act one, the Chairman, Durdles and the Deputy, all sing Off to The Races to remind the audience that the performance will be coming to an end shortly, and will need to consider the clues when deciding the murder. In scene one of the second act, Princess Puffer can be seen singing Private Investigation alongside Dick Datchery, a detective, in order to determine where Drood may have went missing or possibly
been murdered. By the last scene, all characters perform Don’t Stop While You’re Ahead, which is directed towards audience members to remind them that by this point in the performance Dickens has died and has left the story uncompleted. This leaves the audience to choose whether or not Drood has lived or died and if so, who his killer might have been. The cast list included Sutton Anderson who played the chairman, Mr. William Cartwright. Zach Hoover who played John Jasper and Mr. Clive Paget. Mia Carter who played Edwin Drood and Miss Alice Nutting. Skyla Sonnenburg who played Rosa Bud and Miss Deirdre Peregrine. Hannah Russek who played Helena Landless and Miss Janet Conover. Justin Pollio who played Neville Landless and Mr. Victor Grinstead. Jason Keyzer, who played Reverend Crisparkle and Mr. Cedric Moncrieffe. Lillie Meade who played Princess Puffer and Miss Angela Prysock. Travis Falknor who played Durdles and Mr. Nick Cricker. Brady Raboin who played the deputy and master Nick Cricker. Brandon Falknor who played Bazzard and Mr. Phillip Max. Lastly, Aislyn Gonzalez who played Mrs. James Throttle. The citizens of Cloisterham were played by Nohelle Lewis, Kat Velasco, Te’ja Lane, Layla Elodat, Hallie Thompson, Joseph Lucena, Mark Kostjuhin and James Haas. Brad Hewlett, James Park, Sean Stultz and Matthew Samson, who are all performing arts teachers here at Creek, directed The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Creek girls golf has successful season By Arrington Linder Features Editor
The HiLife Staff apologizes for any confusion which may have been caused by a story in our November/December issue. A story was printed about the Creek girls’ golf team winning nationals. The information printed was incorrect and was from a tournament that took place in April of 2017. The November 17 and 18 tournament took place at Galveston Country Club. Creek girls won the tournament with a score of 661, making this year their second year to win this tournament. On the first day of the tournament, Creek was behind eight strokes. Their season best was shot November 18 with a total of 325 points. Allowing them to win the tournament by
13 strokes. Bianca Zamora won second medalist and Ana Vallejo won fourth medalist. The second Varsity team won eighth place and beat many Varsity one teams. “I enjoy that it’s such a personal sport and you can push yourself and I really love the team this year. I’ve been playing since seventh grade and just continued on in high school,” Bianca Zamora, junior, said. There are more tournaments leading up to Districts. On February 20, Varsity two and Junior Varsity one are playing at South Shore Harbour. On the 26, Varsity one and Junior Varsity one and two are having a tournament at Bay Oaks Country Club. March 2 and 3, a tournament is happening at College Station for Varsity one. March 21 is District Preview and the District Tournament is on March 27 and
28.
The team placed third overall in a tournament that occurred December 11 at Bay Oaks. They shot a score of 377 and Bianca Zamora was fifth medalist. Varsity one and two played the 12 Annual Debbie Fuchs Invitational at Galveston Country Club on January 26 and 27. Day one, Varsity one was in the lead, shooting 357 and Varsity two was tied for sixth. Unfortunately, day two was cancelled due to rain flooding the course. The scores for day one were used to determine the winners. Creek Varsity one won the overall tournament and Varsity two won sixth place. Ana Vallejo won second medalist Honors and Trinity Le won fourth medalist Honors.
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Around Creek
Choir students acheive All-State choir member title By Morgan Severson Around Creek Editor
Clear Creek High School is honored to have eight members and one alternative make the 2017- 2018 All-State Choir. These students endured four rounds of intense auditions: District, Region, PreArea and Area auditions. Being a part of the All-State Choir is making the most advanced high school choir in the state of Texas. “Making the Texas All-State Choir is the highest achievement a high school singer can achieve, and we are incredibly proud of our Texas All-Staters. Most schools hope to have one or two All-Staters each year, so to have eight students make it plus one alternate is just incredible results. Only one other high school in Houston was able to equal that number of All-Staters. We are thrilled that Clear Creek High School will be so well represented at AllState this year,” Mr. James Park, CCHS Choir Director, said. The students in the All-State Choir will travel to San Antonio, Texas to perform at the 2018 Texas Music Educators Association Clinic on February 17. The All-State Choir is divided into three choirs which includes the Tenor-Bass Choir, the Treble Choir, and the Mixed Choir. The student who made the Tenor-Bass Choir was sophomore, Brady Raboin. Raboin made ninth chair as a bass two. The three students who made the Treble Choir are Sophia Sereni, sophomore, Miranda Hixson, junior and Mia Carter, senior. Sereni made eighth chair in the alto one section, Hixson made eleventh chair as soprano two and Carter made sixth chair as and alto two. “I am so honored! I’m also super
excited to go to San Antonio and learn something new at TMEA. I practiced every day I could and went to a summer camp at UH to learn some of the music. But I had to learn the majority of the music on my own. It was a lot of after school rehearsals and one on ones with either Mr. Park or Mr. Stultz before school, after school and during Christmas break. It isn’t as simple as learning notes and rhythms either. The majority of our one on ones entailed lots of phrasing, perfect tone and delving into the meaning of the piece,” Carter said. The four students who made the Mixed Choir are Katriel Velasco, junior and seniors Jason Keyzer, Justin Pollio and Zach Hoover. Velasco made third chair as a soprano two. This is also her second year in an AllState choir. Also, Skyla Sonnenburg made thirteenth place in the soprano one section, making her first alternate. “I went to an All-State camp over the summer to learn the repertoire and I practiced every day even if it was only ten minutes. And so much more but I’d be here all day if I went into everything that went into preparing for auditions. I could say you learn more from the journey of preparing for these auditions than actually making it because the level that we rehearsed at and my voice teacher pushed me to personally just really stretch my limits and help me grow as a musician,” Velasco said. In addition, Pollio made first chair in the tenor two section. Keyzer made first chair in the tenor one section as a two time AllStater. His first time was freshman year as a trombonist. Finally, Hoover made first chair as a bass one as a three time All-Stater. All three of these seniors are first chair in their section making them section leaders. 49 CCHS choir students made it into a Region Choir and 20 of the students have
Guard team collects first
By Nicole Alvarenga Reporter
For the first Winter Guard competition of the season, the Varsity and Junior Varsity performers placed first and third in the competition at Turner High School on January 27. The Varsity team had worked a full year on focusing on keeping their performance faces on and focusing on techniques to get ready for their Winter Guard season and so far, it has paid off. When the Varsity team performed, everyone that was watching was focused on their dresses and roses and different colored flags. There were times when Varsity performed that some tosses and dance techniques looked like ripples and some others were all together, which was perfect to the judges who gave them their score for that morning. “When we were watching one of the performances, there was a guy who had two rifles, he threw a really high toss into the air and was doing drop spins with the other rifle in his hand, and from watching that performance.,” Marissa Johnson, sophomore, said. In the Texas Color Guard Circuit, teams of performers from different high schools go to compete against other performers around the area and win trophies. Creek’s Winter Guard performers took home first and third place trophies that night. The Varsity’s show is called A Midsummer’s Night. Their director is Heather Hyde Wargo, and assistant director is Hailee Reeder. Members of the
Varsity team are captains, Madelyn Evans and Tatiana Portillo, Noelle Krueger, Katelin Ammerman, Baleigh Cavalier, Pir’Chaih Dickerson, Ella Gard and Marissa Johnson. When the scores came back for their performance, Varsity had won first place with a score of 91.550, which was the highest score that morning, beating all the other high schools in Scholastic Regional A. The Junior Varsity’s show is called Paint Your World consisting of cool colors like blue, purple and green. When the Junior Varsity performed their show for the audience and judges, everyone watched and focused on their costumes and their different colored flags. Members on the Junior Varsity team is captain Megan Bader, and Bryan CruzPrimera, Selina Baglini, Amber Bohanon, Haley Fontaine, Lia Hommel, Kimberley Ramber, Lacy Mixon and manager Karla Granado “Color Guard is something special to me and the rest of the team. It’s really important to do our best when performing and we do our best to make the judges impressed with our show. Color Guard has brought all of us closer together and it does give a lot of us something important to look forward to everyday,” Bryan Cruz-Primera, sophomore, said. Performer’s in the Texas Color Guard Circuit can come from anywhere in the Houston-League city area, different teams are selected to be in different classes.The classes are ranked from the lowest class to the highest class, and teams can move up a class depending on what score they get when they perform.
advanced to round three out of four for the All-State Choir. There are three Region Choirs; Concert, Treble, and Mixed. The Concert Choir is usually for students in their first or second year in choir. Concert Choir students have one round of auditions, and do not audition for All-State Choir. The Treble Choir is for more advanced choir students but they are not at the All-State level yet. The Mixed Choir is the top Region Choir. The students in the Mixed Choir get the opportunity to audition for the All-State Choir and all three Region Choirs have a performance in November. 20 students made it into the Mixed Choir. Three of those students are freshmen; Madigan Ewig, Ella Gard and Tyler Hoover. Making the most advanced Region Choir as a freshman is a very big accomplishment. Upper classmen who made the Mixed Choir include, Mitchell Bonvillian, Carter, Hailey Clough, Layla Elodat, Brandon Folkner, Hixson and Zach Hoover. “To prepare for Region I would practice daily on the music for a little over an hour. I made sure to get one on one with each of my directors each week as well as a voice lesson each week. Region Auditions definitely [make me a better musician] and it’ll make everyone better in a different way depending on what they specifically worked on. I personally really tried to get a good understanding of certain musical choices each composer chooses to make his song what it is. Then I would take that understanding and try to apply it to the way I sing, that way I could be singing as close to what the composer wanted the piece to sound like. I also really tried to contrast the different styles of each piece using different tones,” Zach Hoover, CCHS
Choir President, said. Additional upper classmen that made the Mixed Choir include, Jason Keyzer, Lucy Melcher, Maven Mendoza, Pollio, Raboin, Sereni, Sonnenburg, Hallie Thompson and Velasco. Three students in the Mixed Choir also got first chair in their section. The section leaders are Zach Hoover, Velasco and Hailey Clough. 20 students made it into Concert Choir and 12 of those students are freshmen. Making Region as a freshman is a huge accomplishment because the music is challenging for students in their first year of high school choir. The freshmen who made Concert Choir include Hunter Alison, Kendall Coney, Ellie Erdberg, Shreya Gadagojou, Kennedy Jobe, Katya Licona, Karla Lindo, Kadee Loyd, Stephanie Morrison, Gillian Respondek, Hayden Spurling and Aiden Vermillion. Upper class students that made Concert Choir are Aishu Bajracharya, Ally Decker, Erin Flores, Anya Golovko, Gavin Hernandez, Anne-Marie Kielb, Tej’a Lane and Joseph Lucena. “I went to a Concert Region Choir camp at CCHS over the summer to prepare for region. Region auditions make me a better musician because going through them time and time again won’t make them any easier, but it will make you feel better going in the audition room after time,” Spurling, freshman, said. Nine students made it into the Treble Choir including freshman, Yancey Grice and upper classmen, Carly Allard, Anabell Cooper, Elisabeth Elings, Sammi Leard, Madison Plotner, Aleena Stamness, Riana Vermillion and Rorie Weidman. “These are great results! We have much to be proud of!” Mr. James Park said.
Entertainment 14 Camila album recieves positive feedback on charts By Arrington Linder Features Editor
Camila Cabello is best known for being a part of Fifth Harmony and for one of her first solo songs, Havana. Cabello announced her debut album Camila on social media in early December of last year. The original title for her album was The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving. To hold the fans over until the album’s release, she released Never Be the Same and Real Friends, songs that are featured on the album. The album also features All These Years, She Loves Control, Havana, Inside Out, Consequences, Something’s Gotta Give, In the Dark, Into It, and a radio edit version of Never Be the Same. The Target Exclusive comes with a poster and a bonus track, Havana (Remix) featuring Daddy Yankee. Camila reached number one on iTunes and Billboard Top 200. Havana could be considered her most popular song. It has spent 23 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and became number one the week of January 27. The song is catchy, upbeat and features Young Thug. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Cabello said the song was “an ode to my heritage, my culture.” In a way, the song resembles Latino music. Havana is the capital of Cuba where Cabello is from. She Loves Control is said to be Cabello’s personal favorite off the album.
This song also resembles Latino music like Havana and is a dance-worthy song. Cabello said this is a song she loves too because it is such a fun song to perform. “I mean, I do love control. Basically, I thought of the title and I thought this would be really great for a song. I think
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia that in that point of my Have Questions. In both life I just felt really free songs, Cabello sang and independent and I was having a blast about a “friendship that ended abruptly.” making this album and thinking about Cabello sings about both the positive and all of the stuff I wanted to do for it and the negative sides of loving this person. coming up with all of the world around it. “Loving you was sunshine, safe It was very refreshing for me to have that and sound. A steady place to let down
The Death Cure review By Olivia Foster Reporter
The Death Cure is the third and final movie in The Maze Runner series following The Scorch Trials. Fans of the series that have been following since the book series can see many obvious differences between the book and movie when the first scene started. Thomas, played by Dylan O’Brien, is seen with his co-star Newt, played by Thomas Brodie Sangster, on top of a moving train to help save their friend Minho, played by Ki Hong Lee, from the main antagonist in the movie WCKD. This task isn’t easy as WCKD is aggressively looking for Thomas and his friends throughout the entire movie. The Death Cure first premiered on January 25. Fans of the movies who went to see the movie on one of the first days it came out were rapidly impressed by the actor’s hard work With The Death Cure being the third and final installment in The Maze Runner series, it was an expected end to the series. The predictable end and major clichés caused not only movie viewers but also movie critics to have mixed reviews of how The Death Cure turned out One thing that most movie fans and movie critics did not like was the fact that the movie jumped right into action and gave the audience no introduction to remind them who is who, or as to how the last movie ended. Without having an introduction to remind the audience how The Scorch Trials ended, many viewers
control.” Camila Cabello, singer, said. Consequences is one of the slower songs on Cabello’s album. This song is light and delicate. It doesn’t resemble her culture like most of the other songs on this album do. Genius Lyrics has said this song has the same central theme as I
found themselves confused as to what was going on. “The Death Cure doesn’t work on every level. The movie has, for the most part, jettisoned many of the story’s previous science fiction elements to focus more on action. In so doing, it relies on a lot of repeat devices to earn its thrills – namely the perfectly-timed, life-saving rescues, often from the sky,” Johnny Oleksinski, critic from the New York Post, said. Action scenes can be seen throughout the entire movie, not giving the audience a second to recuperate from what they had already seen in the previous scenes. Although some movie viewers and movie critics liked that not many viewers or critics agreed. Although most viewers of the movie liked how well the movie was acted out, the fact that there was no introduction, and the director Wes Ball, had the main characters, Dylan O’Brien and Thomas Brodie Sangster, trapped in a tunnel full of zombies chasing after them which is one of the most cliché zombie scenes, and that the movie had to be delayed a year due to O’Brien getting a major head injury during a stunt scene. These are some of the reasons that caused The Death Cure to earn a rating on Rotten Tomatoes of 45 percent, three out of five stars on Empire, three out of five stars on Common Sense Media, and a score of 51 on Metascore. With that being said The Death Cure is the third and final movie of The Maze Runner series, but it is not the last in the book series. The Maze Runner series continues on for another two books.
my defenses but loving you had consequences… Loving you was sunshine, but then it poured and I lost so much more than my senses cause loving you had consequences,” lyrics from Consequences. Overall, the album is a mix of upbeat Latin songs and a few slower songs. Cabello appears to be more successful than Fifth Harmony. Cabello has already had a number one song and her first and, and hopefully not last, number one album. “I do like to forget that I’m a singer or somebody that’s famous. In L.A., it was hard to have people just look at me as a 20-year-old kid. It was like I didn’t really have a life outside of the studio.” Cabello, said. About two months before Cabello left, she was featured in the Machine Gun Kelly song, Bad Things. Cabello’s first solo song is titled Crying in the Club. Crying in the Club is not featured on her album. However, it did spend nine weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. She was also featured in a song with Shawn Mendes in 2015. Fifth Harmony was formed in 2012 in the second season of The X Factor. The girl group is made up of Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui and formerly, Camila Cabello. Cabello left the group December 18, 2016 because she wanted to pursue a solo career. However, Fifth Harmony is still making music and hasn’t let Cabello’s absence affect the group. Ever since Cabello’s “hiatus”, fans have been waiting for her album release.
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The Greatest Showman recieves several mixed reviews By Maddie Moore News Editor
Based on the story of American showman P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman represents itself as a fun and inspirational musical that is entertaining to all ages. The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Zendaya attempts to deliver a message of acceptance and tolerance, but falls flat if one already knows the true story of P.T. Barnum. Despite being rated at 90 percent by audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave it a 56 percent because of its loose interpretation on the real Greatest Show on Earth. Jackman’s portrayal of Barnum proved to be controversial, as in the film Barnum was portrayed as a caring and accepting man who genuinely wanted the world to celebrate “freaks” and outcasts. Unfortunately, the real P.T. Barnum was not the man screenwriters, Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon, depicted him to be. The Greatest Show on Earth was supposedly a platform for acceptance and tolerance, however, many viewed Barnum’s circus as an exploitation of people with abnormalities and Barnum, himself, as a racist, despite his anti-slavery convictions. “Screenwriters Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon whitewash history at every turn, making Barnum a warm, paternal figure beloved by his sideshow performers, wife, and children,” Ben Sachs, top critic for Chicago Reader, said. The most controversial act Barnum recruited for his circus was a lady named Joice Heth, an African American nurse who he claimed was 161 years old and was
Photo Courtesy of Digital Spy Referred to as a Barnum’s show. Even “highly fictionalized after Heth’s death, Barnum continued to exploit her by selling musical biopic” by Vanity Fair, The tickets to her autopsy- ultimately launching Greatest Showman left critics unsatisfied. both himself and his show in the spotlight 90 percent of audiences, however, despite the obvious fabrication of the entire disagreed. “I can admittedly understand every show. The Greatest Showman decided to complaint I’ve since read about it; sharing skip over Joice Heth’s story, granted, it is many of them in regards to the boxing in a PG rated movie. Critics, however, argued of Barnum’s story to that of a standard that it was not wise to tell the story of P.T. Hollywood storyline. And yet, there is this undeniable aspect of the film and all the joy
and hope it provides in these moments that says something about the movie, the craft behind it, and the reaction they garner,” Philip Price, a “Super Reviewer” for Rotten Tomatoes, stated. At the Golden Globes on January 7, The Greatest Showman was nominated for Best Motion Picture (Musical/ Comedy), Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy), and Best Original Song in a Motion Picture. Songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul walked away with Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for This is Me. This song is Pasek and Paul’s second big win, as last year they won an Academy Award for La La Land’s City of Stars. Performed by Keala Settle, This is Me is considered an anthem and ‘symbol of independence’ for young girls all over the world. On January 23, This is Me was nominated for an Oscar, in which Pasek and Paul are anticipating a win. “But seriously-by the end of nearly every number and, as a result, the filmwhat has just occurred on screen leaves you feeling so gleeful and allows the characters to be so endearing that it’s impossible to deny the appeal of The Greatest Showman despite its many, many flaws,” Price said. Disregarding the real story of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman was a wonderful holiday film that delivered a compelling soundtrack and heartwarming story about a man striving to provide for his family and spread a message pushing acceptance and equality. Hugh Jackman’s performance as P.T. Barnum was riveting despite historical inaccuracies, and ultimately made The Greatest Showman worth seeing.
Golden claimed, she worked three jobs and put all of her money into supporting Tonya. Screenwriter Steven Rodgers depicted LaVona Golden as an abusive mother because Harding claimed she would hit her in several interviews. Allison Janney was cast as LaVona Golden and received a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture this year. Unlike Robbie and Stan, Allison Janney was unable to set up an
interview with LaVona Golden and had to base her character solely off of interviews she found online. “I made up my own story for her that helped me as an actress and informed my every scene. The stakes are high for LaVona, she feels she’s owed a lot and has been overlooked by life,” Janney, who played LaVona Golden, said. Janney is nominated for an Oscar with the same title and Robbie for Best Actress.
supposedly George Washington’s nurse. He purchased her in 1835, and exhibited her until she died a year later. It was later discovered that Joice Heth was not 161 years old, but approximately 80 when she passed. Heth was kept in cruel conditions and was not payed for her contribution to
Barnum and skip over his faults. “This crude revision of Barnum as a white able-bodied savior-a kind of Oskar Schindler of the sideshow-is particularly in bad taste considering the far more unsavory historical realities,” Ed Halter, 4Columns critic, said.
Behind the making of controversial film I, Tonya
By Maddie Moore News Editor
Starring Margot Robbie and Sebastian Stan, I, Tonya is a biopic depicting one of the biggest scandals in Olympic history, the attack on professional ice skater, Nancy Kerrigan. Robbie portrays Kerrigan’s longtime rival, Tonya Harding, top Olympic competitor with a troubled past and an image that wasn’t fit for the skating world. On January 6, 1994, while practicing for the U.S. Olympic Trials which were the next day, Nancy Kerrigan was hit in the knee with a baton by a masked man. As a result, Kerrigan was unable to compete at the Olympic Trials and Tonya Harding ended up advancing to the Olympics. However, Kerrigan was guaranteed a spot at the Norway Olympics and ended up competing only six weeks after she was attacked by an assailant hired by Jeff Gillooly, Harding’s now ex-husband. Kerrigan’s performance was considered the highlight of her ice skating career and she received a silver metal. Neither Harding nor Kerrigan returned to the skating world after the Olympics, as Harding was banned and Kerrigan decided to retire. Harding was brought to court after Gillooly confessed that he hired the man that attempted to cripple Kerrigan, and that Tonya was aware of his plans. She pleaded guilty to conspiring the attack on rival, Nancy Kerrigan, alongside her bodyguard, Shawn Eckhardt, who originally came up with the idea to strike her right knee, with a metal baton. Harding was fined $160,000,
permanently banned from all competitive skating competitions and was placed on a three-year probation. Gillooly received two years in prison and Eckhart received 18 months. In 1991, three years before Nancy Kerrigan was attacked, Harding made history as the first American woman to land a triple axel in a competition. Despite re-marrying and changing her last name to Price, Tonya Harding will forever be acquainted with the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. 23 years after what was known as the “whack heard round the world,” screenwriter Steven Rodgers and Director Craig Gillespie released I, Tonya, a biopic based on interviews with Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly. Margot Robbie joined the production as both a producer and the lead role. The real Tonya Harding was involved early on, as Robbie kept in touch with her to prepare for the role. Sebastian Stan was able to interview Gillooly, however, he was not as involved with the movie as Harding was. “He was very open to talk about it. Which was interesting because there was never really an account of him talking about it before. The version in the movie that you’re getting is the first time you’re hearing his story,” Stan told Rotten Tomatoes in an interview. I, Tonya was set up more as a story about Harding’s struggle in the ice skating world rather than a story about Nancy Kerrigan’s attack. Harding was set up as the victim in the film. Coming from a poorer family, Harding’s mother, LaVona Golden, would sew her costumes. As
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