December issue

NORTH HARFORD HIGH SCHOOL

211 PYLESVILLE ROAD, PYLESVILLE, MD 21132

410-638-3650

VOLUME 43 ISSUE 1

December 21, 2018

North Harford represented at Longwood Gardens; Christmas tree decorated with all natural materials ANNA FITZHUGH Business Manager Decorating a Christmas tree is a common tradition for many families. However, the National Art Honor Society students didn’t just decorate a tree at home; these talented artists also decorated a tree to be on display at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Near the fruit tree area inside the conservatory at Longwood, small Christmas trees are decorated by students from various schools, ranging from kindergarten to twelfth grade. For three years now, North Harford has had a tree in the gardens at Longwood.

Art teacher Kathryn Humphrey explains, “We applied in the spring, sent in a proposal with our ornaments and we were selected!”

This year, the students decided to do a bird and egg theme. Keeping in mind the tree must be decorated with all-natural materials,

the ornaments were created with duck eggs, glass, wood, wire, and tree biscuits.

Humphrey states, “We used to wood to make all different kinds of birds.” Junior Sadie Niles, a contributor to the tree, comments she enjoyed, “painting feathers, which was unique to me, because not many other people have done that before. It was such a cool idea.” Junior Ellie Wood explains “My favorite ornament was the birdhouse I painted with a winter color scheme.”

Niles added, “We all contributed a lot, and it was more like not of a one person thing, but more of a whole team of National Art Honor Society.” The junior commented that the students all brought in different things. “I brought in a bunch of little pine cones to use as garland on the tree,” she said.

Many people in Art Honor Society and Advanced Painting have been hard at work decorating the tree at least once a week from the

beginning of the school year to the beginning of November. The fully decorated tree was delivered the week before thanksgiving and will come back to North Harford in the beginning of January after the holiday season.

Humphrey expresses, “It’s really a big honor to be selected for our tree to be displayed where so many hundreds of thousands of people that go through Longwood during the holiday season can see it.”

Wood, who assisted in decorating the ornaments on the tree, remarked, “We go on a lot of field trips to Longwood Gardens, so I like that our artwork is going somewhere relevant to us.”

Students from National Art Society will be taking a field trip on January 20 to see the tree as a group. If you’re interested in viewing the artwork of talented North Harford students, the ‘Children’s tree’ is located inside the conservatory near the nectarines and grapes.

Photo Credit: Kathryn Humphrey

Photo of the month Misentity magazine preview: Creative writing preparations ELLIE EVANS Op/Ed editor

COMPILED BY: Madison Zdon This year a glowforge laser printer was introduced to the foundations of technology class for 3D printing. The Glowforge 3D printer allows students to print anything in 3D. Students start with a design that they can download or create on a computer. The user can choose from a wide variety of materials to print on, like cardboard, wood, paper, cloth and more. The printer can also engrave marks just from a marker so the design can made from a hand drawn design.

FOT teacher Mr. Brian Dougherty and his students are using the Glowforge laser printer to make wooden Hawk ornaments with designs that include their graduating year or are Christmas related.

Dougherty said, “the machine can etch into phone cases and even a laptop.”

Creative writing students creates a literary magazine every year in which all students can submit their original pieces of writing and artwork. This year, three seniors in Creative Writing 3, Abigail Vaughan, Caitlin Kesler, and Kailey Jourdan, will spend many hours designing the publication that will feature original student pieces.

Misentity has collaborated with art students in the past years to bring each piece of writing to life. A decorated folder is placed in various classrooms for students all across the school to submit their work.

Vaughn explains, “This year we are looking forward to include more diverse writing and anonymous work.” She added that submitting writing anonymously can allow peers to display their work without the extra pressure of being branded by it.” Kesler empha-

sized that “for a lot of people, writing is the perfect way to vent out ideas.”

Every year it is up to the Creative writing 3 students have to find both the time and financial resources to make the publication a reality. Jourdan explains that she and the other two seniors “are most concerned about using our time correctly, and finding the money.”

The senior added that fundraisers to support the magazine are crucial for high-quality copies to be produced.

Advanced creative writing teacher Mrs. Joanna Dallam encourages students to participate in live poetry events that she and the other advanced students set up. This is an opportunity not only for creative writing students to perform the pieces they work on in class to the public but to raise money for the publication.

The three girls explained how excited they are to see the submissions. Jourdan says

she sees it as an opportunity for many to “turn their writing into art.” The three say the creative writing course focuses on ways to develop into a better writer. All three senior writers agree that writing has always “been a way to find a voice.”

Senior Nate James is also looking forward for the literary magazine because “it’s fun to read and group all the pieces submitted[...] Many people who have pieces in, want to be writers when they are older, so this is a good way to help them start.”

One of the difficulties of producing Misentity is the funding. “We like to have the whole thing in color so that costs a lot of money,” shared James, but the group puts on their own funding to raise money.

Morgan Demski added, “I think it is really nice because people can enter without having their name in it...”, expressed Demski. Submissions can be left in folders in English classrooms.

Cry of the Hawk

Opinion/Editorial - Page 2

December 21, 2018

SEASON OF GIVING

Take drive, see holiday lights; Kindness changes lives Community displays festivities EDITORIAL

VIEWPOINT While driving to see the Rave ns play in Baltimore, you’ve probably noticed the billboards announcing the ‘true meaning of Christmas’. Most of us may roll our eyes and do not think twice about the bold letters reaching out of the billboard to grasp our attention. However, it’s important to remember that giving to others isn’t about what lies in a cardboard box underneath wrapping paper featuring red nosed reindeer.

Many families have traditions; cutting down a Christmas tree together, drinking hot chocolate while laughing at ‘Elf’. For many the holiday season is full of literal sugar plums and candy canes. For other people, the lights twinkling on every house are a reminder of a light that went out in their life this time of year.

This doesn’t mean those who love the season need to dial down their cheer. But those who have lost a loved one, or who are struggling in their life, could use some extra kindness.

Giving is actually pretty simple and it goes far beyond the stereotypical things people do like buy-

ing someone a coffee. Lend a hand to someone who needs it. Be kind to people who are struggling.

Take time to check on someone just because. Hug someone because you know they need it.

And if you’re looking for something to do besides binge watching cheesy Christmas movies by a fire, many families and organizations in Harford County put on light shows and train gardens to support those going through hard times.

Located in Amyclae, near the Starbucks in Bel Air, the Kurtz family home is decorated with over 16,000 lights synchronized to music. Jim and Helen Kurtz’ daughter, Caroline is currently in rehab after a four-year heroin addiction that began with prescription pills. According to The Bel Air News, the lights are synchronized with Christmas classics, as well as songs from ‘The Greatest Showman’.

The light display not only celebrates the obvious season, it is an opportunity to raise awareness about addiction and the fight for survival.

Also located in Bel Air, is Broom’s Bloom Dairy. The much loved ice cream spot boasts the

Act of giving important;

Opportunities everywhere

annual Christopher’s train garden. Broom’s Bloom’s website states “the train garden is in loving memory of Christopher Cooper, a little boy who loved Christmas and trains.” While the admission is free, donations are gratefully accepted, and are used to aide in researching Pituitary disease.

On your trip around Bel Air to enjoy lights and spread the kindness, Saint Matthew’s Lutheran Church hosts an annual Festival of Lights show every season. Outside of the large church in Bel Air, over 100,000 lights twinkle synchronized to music for 20 minutes attracting members of the Harford County community. All the church asks is for guests to bring a non-perishable food item, or cash donation to assist the St. Matthew’s food pantry, which assists needy families in Harford County all year round.

All these families and organizations ask for is a small donation to assist other people in need. Spent a little time on on an adventure outside of your warm house and contribute to all the wonderful causes Harco residents are supporting.

Keeping in contact with loved ones

VIEWPOINT When you are younger, Christmas involves writing a letter to Santa with the gifts you want, including a new toy or a new pair of shoes because the ones you have now are dirty.

People all over America (and elsewhere) think Christmas is about receiving the newest iphone, trendy clothes, and terrific toys. And while we are celebrating the possibility of the latest and greatest things, others can are simply hoping for the simple necessities to survive just one more day.

Many children, specifically in Africa, not only cannot afford presents for Christmas, but basic necessities like food are out of reach.

Companies like World Vision rely on donations of generous people to give these necessities to adults and children in Africa. The organization receives money from everyday people that help fund the cost of things like ducks, chickens, goats, and wells.

These donations give children and families new opportunities that would otherwise not exist. Animals can be companions, produce food, and provide more animals. While they aren’t wrapped in traditional paper or decorated with ribbons, these gifts are ones that have a long lasting impact.

Donations also help fund the cost of things like mosquito nets. In areas like Africa, these nets are a necessity. They protect people from life threatening diseases spread through mosquitoes, like malaria.

While practical and necessary things are supplied through donations, other items like soccer balls and bicycles are also available to give. Even though these are very similar to gifts children in America and other developed countries, these items have the capacity to change lives for children in areas like poor areas in Kenya.

According to World Vision, “Children everywhere love playing soccer.” Soccer and other activities are universally shared joys that help many children. A bike can help kids get through a bad area to get to and from school everyday or neighboring villages.

World Vision also offers the opportunity to sponsor children. These kids come from many different areas, including Burundi, Cambodia, Ghana, United Republic of Tanzania, and the Congo DemocraticRepublic. When sponsoring children, you help to provide them with “clean water, nutrition, healthcare, education, jobs for parents, protection, and sharing God’s love,” according to World Vision.

When opening your presents this year, remember the meaning behind the season and consider giving to those who are in need.

I don’t have time.”

“I have homework to do.”

“I have so many things on my plate.”

These are just some of the many excuses we conjure up when we want to avoid something as simple as being kind to others. Most people think that being kind requires hours of work and that it will ultimately be an inconvenience.

They are wrong.

Being kind to others can be as simple as holding the door for someone behind you, smiling at a stranger in the hallway, or connecting with someone in need of a friend.

These small tasks do not take hours, some do not even take up a minute.

But the impact can last a lifetime.

One story always comes to my mind when thinking about small tasks.

Kyle’s story.

One day there was a freshman boy named Kyle walking home from his high school with a pile of books in his hand. During his walk some boys thought it would be funny to hit his books out of

his hand and push him on the ground. After being knocked on the ground, a boy came up to Kyle and helped him with his books and walked with him to his house.

After the boy helped Kyle, they ended up becoming best friends and when it came time for graduation Kyle had a speech prepared. In this speech Kyle spoke about how great friends impact your life.

He said that four years ago he was on his way home from school and planning to taking his own life.

He brought all of his school books with him so his parents would not have to clean out his locker, but on his way home he had the help of a stranger.

The stranger picked him off the ground and helped him get home.

He said this stranger saved his life.

Kyle’s story is just one of the many examples that a random act of kindness can change lives.

It takes one second to help others.

Imagine the ways our world would change if every person took just one minute each day to be kind.

ALEAH BIKLE Production Manager “I’ll get to it later,” “Maybe another time,” and “Not right now, I’m busy” are only some of the things that we may have said to push off talking on the phone or sending cards to family members.

I certainly don’t think we do this because we are avoiding interacting with our family.

Frankly, I think most of us make excused because of our busy schedules.

I know I don’t always get around to following up on my promises.

I have a great uncle Harry who is a World War 1 veteran and a hero to me and my family.

Uncle Harry is 93 years old and for as long as I can remember, he has always lived in Florida.

I have only had one interaction with him in 2015 in Washington, D.C. where veterans were taken

to see the various memorials of U.S. wars.

It felt as if I had known him my whole life, like we became friends just like that. Spending the entire day with him and my family made me realize how special our bond is, and more importantly, how rare it is that we are all together.

Uncle Harry now lives in an assisted living home due to his memory loss and and his inability to get around easily.

Every holiday, no matter how small, my family always calls Uncle Harry to check in on him and see what’s new where he stays.

Each call we have, it seems that he has a harder time recognizing our voices, names, and relations, and sometimes, I wonder if he knows where he is.

It makes me upset that I cannot do something to help him maintain the memories he has made with all of the ones he loves the most.

But the truth is, I can.

When I talk to my great uncle, he always says how he wants us to come down to Florida and visit him at his nursing home, he wants to see us so that he can remember the good times.

This holiday season, I’m planning to send Uncle Harry a card full of pictures from various

points in my life, so that it feels as if he grew up alongside me.

I’m hoping that those pictures will help him to remember things that might otherwise slip away but I am also hopeful that they will remind him that though he is far away, he is still very much a part of who I am.

I want my uncle to see all of the passages he had missed throughout the 16 years that I have been on this earth. I want him to see the picture after I had taken my first steps. My first day of school.

The first time I picked up a clarinet. My first ever honor roll certificate. My first concert. All of the holidays where he couldn’t be there with me physically. My best friend. And the woman that I have now become.

I now fully understand that time, for him, is limited. But I also know that his death will only bring our relationship closer together, maybe even create a brand new one. I don’t know what I will do when he passes, but i hope he knows that a space in my heart will always be open. I want to be able to leave something he will cherish forever.

So during this holiday season, amid the hustle and bustle, take a minute out of your typically busy schedule and write a few words to a relative of yours who may live near or far; who knows, your words might be the most meaningful thing they’ve ever received.

Cry of the Hawk

December , 2018

Opinion/Editorial - Page 3

Honored or criticized?

President deserves respect Leader should not be hailed American hero Two sides to story heard EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL Veteran, Yale Graduate, and leader of the free world, George H. W. Bush was truly an American hero. From serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve to promoting civil rights, Bush devoted his life to the American dream.

Since his death, many Americans have reflected on the contributions Bush made on his country, but also the more normal parts of his life- as a father, a grandfather, a friend, a husband and more. This is a man that will be remembered for far more than just his time in the White House.

Regardless of political stance, there is no denying that Bush’s choice to enlisted into the U.S. Navy Reserve on on his 18th birthday following the deadly bombing of Pearl Harbor was noble. Even more impressive is that he became the youngest pilot in the Navy and the second youngest pilot in World War II (Black Press USA).

After serving, Bush earned his Yale degree in just three years, another impressive accolade.

His career included time as a businessman who eventually co-founded the Bush-Overbey Company and co-founded and became the president of Zapata Offshore Company (Achievement). His character, determination and leadership were all characteristics that would lead him to become a stellar politician later in his career.

His resume boasts some unbelievable accomplishments; he became the first Republican to ever represent Houston in Congress. He was appointed as the ambassador to the United Nations in 1971, “Chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973, envoy to China in 1974 and Director of Central Intelligence in 1976” (Achievement). He became Vice President to Ronald Reagan in 1984 and President in 1988.

Clearly, people saw in George Bush a man of ability but also one of character and decency.

As though these accomplishments were not impressive enough, during his presidency, Bush

passed the groundbreaking Americans with Disabilities Act, improving the lives of 55 million people (LA Times). He helped to diversify America, working to help promote the first Black

41st President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush (R), passed away of November 30, 2018. In the days after his passing, Bush 41 has been constantly praised by mainstream media networks for his legacy, from being president when the Cold War came to a close with

Administration, partly to target African Americans. Furthermore, Bush had committed racist actions long before he was president, or even Ronald Reagan’s vice president. When Bush was running for the Senate in Texas in 1964, he denounced the Civil Rights Act. Bush senior wasn’t just a war criminal, but he also lied to the

PHOTO CREDIT: Florida Memory Bush’s death is causing both the release of positive and negative feedback. Bush has accomplished much during his life. astronaut, Guion Bluford, to Colonel, stating “it is like Jackie Robinson in baseball, you have led the way for Black aviation in our great nation” (Black Press USA).

As Americans reflect on the legacy of Bush’s presidency, we should be marveling at his bipartisanship. A moderate Republican, Bush was likely to work with Democrats to push policy through and keep the government up and running, a rarity in present times where political parties have become polarized with Democrats and Republicans stick to their side and disassociate with the other.

As Bush once said in his address to the United Nations, “we stand together, prepared to swim upstream, to march uphill, to tackle the tough challenges as they come.” Maybe the biggest lesson of all is one that George H.W. Bush is still trying to teach all of us and will continue to do so long after his death.

the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 to his commitment to family.

Current president, Donald Trump, has also stated Bush 41 to be “…a fine man.” However, what the mainstream media networks aren’t telling their audiences is that Bush senior’s presidency was filled with racism, war crimes, obstruction of justice, and more.

When George H. W. Bush ran for president in 1988, his campaign ran an attack against Democrat Michael Dukakis that is now infamous for its racism against African Americans. The ad discussed how featured felon, Willie Horton, who was let out on a weekend furlough in Massachusetts (the state Dukakis then governed), then assaulted and raped a woman. The ad was clearly meant to say: “If you elect Dukakis as president, you’re going to have black criminals roaming free across America!”

In an effort to be “tough on crime,” Bush senior also escalated the War on Drugs, which was originally launched by the Nixon

American people into Operation Desert Storm and the Gulf War. They had a paid actress, a 15year-old Kuwaiti girl, testify in front of Congress, saying Iraqi troops came into a Kuwaiti hospital, took babies out of their incubators, and left them on the cold floor to die. Prior to this “news,” the public didn’t support the idea of fighting a ground war in Iraq. After this testimony, public support for such a conflict skyrocketed.

One of the more horrifying war crimes committed during his conflict was when a U.S. airstrike on an air raid shelter in Baghdad killed over 400 Iraqi civilians.

The First Gulf War sparked the mass violence and instability within Iraq that continues to this day. “U.S. bombs also destroyed essential Iraqi civilian infrastructure — from electricitygenerating and water-treatment facilities to food-processing plants and flour mills. This was no accident.” says Mehdi Hasan of the Intercept. Furthermore, the Bush Administration

invaded Panama a year before in 1989 in order to take out Panama’s dictator, and ended up killing countless civilians in the process. “The U.S. brutally bombed Panama, burning down thousands of homes, leading to the nickname, Little Hiroshima.” said Ben Norton of TheRealNews.

George Bush was involved in the Iran Contra Affair, where the Reagan administration sold arms to Iran and used the illegal money to arm the Contras, a Nicaraguan guerrilla force that opposed the left-wing government of Sandinista Junta, which was an act of treason hands-down.

Being Reagan’s vice president, Bush later used his pardon power as president to let numerous defendants from the scandal off the hook.”When you pardon people who were involved in a criminal conspiracy when you were in the administration who was also involved in the criminal conspiracy, perhaps that shouldn’t be allowed...because that really gets close to the point of saying, ‘We have an emperor.

We have a dictator. We don’t have rule of law and you can get away with your own crimnes if so you want’.” said Kyle Kulinski of Secular Talk. When Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall retired in 1991, Bush nominated the extremely conservative Clarence Thomas to replace him.

Thomas was narrowly confirmed by the Senate, despite being accused of sexually harassing Anita Hill.

Bush senior was president during part of the AIDS crisis.

However, the epidemic mainly affected the gay and black communities. Being the racist homophobe he was, Bush did almost nothing while tens of thousands died every year. “They [gay Americans] were protesting at the White House. They were literally spreading ashes of gay American that had passed away on the the White House in order to get him [George HW Bush] to speak out. In order to get him to take action.” said Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report.

George Herbert Walker Bush was no American hero. Bush was a racist, homophobic, warmonger who used abused his presidential pardon power to pardon criminals, lie to Americans into supporting an unnecessary war, groped multiple women, and continued the reign of corporate oligarchy that began with his predecessor, Ronald Reagan.

Turning, tuning up heat during winter driving experience ASHLEY HALEY Reporter

There’s nothing worse than being outside on a freezing day. Thankfully, we have cars that can heat us up in a jiffy during these frigid days of December and January, and don’t forget February and March, right?

There’s one glaring issue: whoever designed the heating system of cars failed at the whole temperature thing. The ‘heat’ fan blows out air colder than a glacier

wind in Antarctica and leaves your whole body to feel like your trapped under a roaring avalanche.

How hard can it be to make heat blow hot. Really. New cars have heated seats and while that helps our bums, we are still frostbitten from gripping our steering wheel and Jack Frost is nipping at our nose for real with that glacier wind blowing from the vents.

The most important thing when operating a car safely is your hands. How can we have a safe

grip on the steering wheel when we can’t even feel our digits?

In a car we never really know what the heat situation will be.

Some days it takes two minutes and sometime it’s an hour. And by time that hour goes by, you are already at your destination and your car is shut off and despite wearing a coat, you have somehow managed to lose all feeling in your extremities.

And if that’s not enough, if I am still seeing my own breath by

the time I get to my destination, something is seriously wrong.

Starting the car at midnight so it is warmed up and ready for me by 6am is not an option.

For now, I will dress like I am heading out to the slopes for a day of skiing and shed layers once I get to where I’m going.

And when I get where I am going I will hope that they have a spot that will allow for me to defrost just in time to get back in my car and do it all over again.

Cry of the Hawk

December 21, 2018

Page 4/ Op/Ed

Stressed students enjoying break from school

EMMIE CATRAMBONE Entertainment Editor We, as students, are obviously excited for the holidays. No matter what you celebrate, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the holidays provide relaxed time with family and friends.

But, even more so, we are excited for a break from school.

This wonderful break gives students an 11-day pause in the otherwise stressful and nonstop school year.

It is currently the middle of the quarter, and right before a long break, which means that teachers are going to start hammering their students with tests and quizzes. I know, right - yuck.

Even worse, none of the assessments are going to be in sync with each other.

You may have four tests one day and zero the next day; homework due at 11:59 one night and then a big presentation the following morning.

I know that none of these things are teachers’ faults. With the numerous amounts of AP, honors, and regular courses

offered at North Harford, it would be impossible for teachers to line up their schedules with other teachers and try to give tests on different days.

Teachers now face unprecedented amounts of stress, too, and are forced to follow curriculum or guidelines that they do not believe are the best for their students. They have to re-learn the entire grading system and face questions from angry parents about why their sons or daughters are failing a course in which they would usually have an A. School should be an environment w here students feel encouraged and excited to learn. When I come to school, I feel stressed over my grades, my tests, and my projects which makes my drive to learn way lower than it should be. Nowadays, we are groomed to do well on standardized tests, like the PARCC assessment, instead of learning what we

need to know to be successful in the world that we live in.

I don’t know how to pay bills; I don’t know how to pay taxes; I don’t know how to write a check. I know nothing about the important aspects of getting a job and supporting myself on my own, something that I will have to do in a very short amount of time. Although the subjects that we learn in school are extremely important, in terms of being prepared for college or for the workforce, we are missing out on vital information that we need to be successful later in life.

Therefore, students are stressing out over tests and quizzes, projects and assignments, and are still not learning about the things we need to learn about to survive in our current world. We stay up way too late studying for a test, get behind on sleep, and then come to school and are loaded with a million other

tasks that need to be completed, as well as the test we studied for the night before. The cycle continues on and on for what feels like an eternity before summer.

This is not a good environment for anyone in this situation. This is not a smart environment for anyone in this situation. And this environment certainly does not prepare me nor anyone else for living on our own in the future.

This is not the fault of teachers working to help us learn, or the fault of students working to learn, or the fault of the school system.

Over the years, school has simply become more competitive and stressful at the expense of both students and teachers.

Even knowing this, however, I still think it is sad that the thing I’m looking most forward to over this break is not the holiday, or seeing my relatives it is the break from school itself.

Genetic greatness or terrific training: Climate in mind of Trump

Athletes at work to become better

CASSIDY CHANDLER Features Editor Are individuals born as champions? Do they come from the womb with their natural ability and talent? Can hard work and determination surpass a seemingly unfair natural ability that some just have?

The answer is no.

There are some people who are born with speed and strength or the body type and genetics that allows them to be fast.

And there are some people who just aren’t meant for speed.

Those who are born with the genes that are advantageous for competing in sports don’t necessarily need the same emphasis on training as those who don’t.

This is true in many arenas, including running.

Take for example two of the world’s fastest, most well known runners, Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. They are both extremely talented, running at unimaginable speeds, and on completely different paths to reach their goals.

Bolt is naturally gifted, and has publicly agreed that he has “Godgiven talent.” Blake, known as ‘the beast’ because of his work ethic, is willing to train his hardest to get where he wants to be, even if this means working triple as hard.

Scientifically speaking, Jamaicans like Bolt and Blake have genes that make them faster than the average white American. This is a stereotype, but it is also a fact.

Dr. Ian Bezodis, Sports Biomechanics Laboratory Director at Cardiff Metropolitan University says, “The first foot contact after the blocks might last about 0.2 seconds, then it gradually reduces to about 0.1 seconds at maximum velocity; it’s all about being powerful in each ground contact.”

Clearly, to be a sprinter, a runner must have strong fast twitch muscles in order to get faster throughout a race and be explosive when leaving the blocks. These muscles are boosted by possession of the “sprinting gene” - ACTN3.

According to Dr. Bezodis, studies have proven that 75% of Jamaicans carry this gene, compared to 70 percent of US athletes. Jamaicains do have the ability to be faster, with hard work and extreme training, that is.

The aluminum-rich soil of Jamaica increases the activity of this gene which may suggest that Bolt’s speed could partially be accounted for where and how he was raised.

The advantage of having the “sprinting gene” is something that sets apart runners.

Science suggests that if a white American and a Jamaican both complete the same training and are following the same diet and lifestyle, the Jamaican will more than likely win in a race, and that is due to genetics.

Bolt’s childhood isn’t the only thing that can be considered an athletic advantage. His 6’5” stature gives him longer strides which are helpful in short distance sprinting races. He is noticeably taller than most of his competition, including Blake, Weir, Galtin, and Gay. Being taller isn’t always beneficial in running, but Bolt’s stride length surely is. In a 100m run, Bolt takes an average of 41 steps. Bezodis said that the majority of his competition have an average stride out of 43-50. Their strides are around

20cm shorter than his 2.5m step.

20cm doesn’t sound like very much, but when your race is only 10,000cm long, it matters.

Height shouldn’t be an advantage or disadvantage because body proportions change with height.

Dr. Bazodis says, “The amount of fatigue generated during anaerobic activities might be related to the number of muscle contractions and hence strides, which might benefit a taller athlete like Bolt towards the end of the race.”

Running sub 10 seconds in the 100m is not normal, it’s insane.

Even blacks who are not Jamaican can have advantages over white Americans with the same training and lifestyle in sprinting races. Adrian Bejan, an engineering professor at Duke University, says, “Blacks tend to have longer limbs with smaller circumferences, meaning that their centers of gravity are higher compared to whites of the same height.”

Having a long torso gives a person a lower center of gravity, which is common is whites and Asians, which slows down the rate at which someone can move their feet.

The legs are what win a race.

They are what do the work and win the race. Having a longer torso gives a person extra weight that the legs have to support.

Blacks do not always have the advantages of having a longer torso. Take for example swimming, where a longer torso makes a stronger, faster athlete.

But either way, the argument stays the same. An athlete can work as hard as they can and never be as good as another who is born with the stature or genetics as someone else.

Even at the high school level, most varsity runners on the cross country and track team perform the same training. And it is clear, not everyone is equal in ability.

Most of the time, the athlete with determination, ambition, and hard work cant beat out one with natural talent. But, talent combined with effort and hard work will make an athlete one that a coach wants to have on a team, and makes for unbeatable competition.

EDITORIAL

Devastating wildfires struck the state of California causing more than 14,000 homes and buildings being destroyed according to UPI News. By many officials and researchers, this horrific event has been linked to climate change.

However, President Donald Trump exasperated the public through his blame on Twitter about the deadly wildfires being the result of “poor forest management.” He has received massive backlash for ignoring the growing environmental issues. According to calmatters. org, wildfires once happened in a specific season, and the

interview that he “doesn’t believe it[global warming]” is real.

The president’s skepticism about this issue has stretched all the way back to 2012 in his tweet that read “Global warming has been proven to be canard repeatedly over and over again.” However, not only do statistics by climate.nasa.gov show that carbon monoxide level has risen from 300 to 400 since the 1950’s but they also explain that our global temperature has risen almost 2 degrees since the late 1900’s. These numbers are truly disturbing because reversing the effects is almost impossible yet taking precautions can prevent the 100’s of lives lost in the wildfires every year.

PHOTO CREDIT: Master Sgt. Christopher DeWitt Global warming is a devestating issue. Trump comments on the subject have disappointed many. issue has grown out of control with statistics suggesting that these natural disasters have been on the rise year-round.

This year California has had the most destruction ever at about 1.65 million acres being burnt, according to calmatters. org. As many environmentalists analyze the statistics they hav come to the alarming conclusion that climate change is affecting the world, especially California more than ever before.

Trump’s disbelief of environmental issues has resulted in the pulling out of the Paris climate agreement. The president explained once again in an

Steps are being taken by organizations such as Greenpeace.org and The Environmental Defense Fund to fend off skepticism. They are also working on lowering climate pollution from natural gas, hastening the clean air economy, and promoting sustainable food.

Trump’s plan to improve forest management will in turn help yet we cannot settle with one solution without considering the rest.

While these steps can be costly and difficult, they are far from impossible and woult help the 8.7 million forms of life other than humans on this planet according to theguardian.com.

Cry of the Hawk

December 4, 2018

Page 5 - News

HCEA Union President insight; School budget has major gap Perspective provided on budget proposal GRANT SCARBORO Reporter Former NH teacher Chrystie Crawford-Smick left the Nest at the conclusion of last school year to take on the role of the president of the Harford County Education Association.

According to its website, the HCEA is the union that represents “the professional association and bargaining union for all Harford County Public School teachers, guidance counselors and psychologists, media specialists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech and hearing clinicians.” Below find CrawfordSmick’s responses to questions about things related to Harford County Public Schools and the budget.

What are your thoughts on the funding gap Harford County is facing as a whole?

I feel like HCPS has been in a budget crisis for over a decade.

Dr. Bulson inherited a difficult situation, and I appreciate that he is being transparent and working collaboratively with all of the bargaining units in the district and system wide committees in an attempt to fill the funding gap. The gap continues to grow, so it is very concerning. I’m not only the President of HCEA, I am the mom to 3 HCPS students. I have serious concerns about how this budget shortfall will impact them and all of the other students How do you think these cuts will affect the working conditions of HCPS teachers?

I believe the cuts will be felt by teachers and students for years to come. I foresee class sizes to increase for teachers in all grade levels . New teachers are already receiving less support, because the teacher mentors were cut last year. This puts the development and training of those new to the profession on their colleagues. Teachers are naturally “givers” it’s a large part of why we enter this profession, but that does impact the personal planning time our teachers have during the school day. HCPS teachers have become very good at doing more with less, as we have been weathering this storm for many years. The spending freeze is going to be problematic because the purchase of classroom materials will be sparse.

Teachers already spend a great deal of money out of their own

pockets; I don’t want teachers to self-fund their lessons.

What are your thoughts on the hiring freeze made at the start of this school year?

There are some positions we can do without, but others are essential. Although HCPS does currently have a hiring freeze, each vacancy is being evaluated and those deemed essential can be filled. Thus far HCPS has filled 6 vacancies since the hiring freeze has started. I do have concerns about teacher vacancies being filled with a long term sub instead of hiring a certified person and how vacant support personnel positions will impact the day to day operations of our schools. My hope is as issues continue to arise, vacancies in those areas will be filled as deemed necessary.

What do you think should be done to solve the problem of this funding gap?

The first thing I think HCPS needs to do is to advocate to local and state officials for more funding. We can’t expect the county or state to write us a 35 million dollar check, but any increase in funding will lessen the impact. Harford County continues to see an increase in revenue, so it’s only fair that all county agencies receive their share of that. Over the last 7 years HCPS went from receiving 46.5 percent of the county’s budget to 43 percent. I appreciate the county’s efforts to fund the school system above the state minimum, but the decrease in percentage clearly correlates with the school system’s struggle over the years.

In order to solve this problem HCPS needs to continue to find ways to run efficiently and be responsible with the funding they receive. It is essential that the school system take a hard look at all of their budget categories, which I believe is happening now. Provide all of our bargaining units a seat at the table and letting everyone have their voices heard, is a step in the right direction.

What processes do you contribute to and how with regard to communicating what teachers need or want with relationship to funding?

HCEA is the bargaining unit for all teachers, counselors, media specialists, psychologists and therapists in Harford

County. We negotiate contract language, salary and health care with the school system.

This year HCEA has been represented in numerous workgroups dedicated to solving this budget crisis and overall improvement of the school system. In an effort to keep our members informed we rely on a strong network of building representatives in each school.

Those people rely all information shared at our monthly meetings to the members in their school. In addition, I send out a monthly newsletter and other email communications.

Collaboration is essential in solving this issue, on December 20, Dr. Bulson is attending our monthly membership meeting to discuss the budget concerns and address questions from the members in attendance.

Is there anything else that is important for parents, kids and community members need to know with regard to the budget? How do you suggest people get involved with making their voices heard about their concerns?

This budget shortfall impacts everyone. Even if someone doesn’t have students attending HCPS, they can be part of the solution. An educated society impacts us all every single day.

In addition, an underfunded school system, may turn into an underperforming school system.

School ratings impact property values, which directly impact every single home owner in this county. On March 11th we will be joining all of the other counties in the state of Maryland in Annapolis as we advocate for the Kirwan Commission to finalize its funding recommendations and urge our state to act on these recommendations with necessary funding. Our hope is to send 300 people from Harford County. We are asking that everyone who is part of the HCEA bargaining unit to join our association. There is strength in numbers and as our membership continues to grow.

Together we can do so much more than anyone can ever do alone.

I ask that everyone stay informed, and don’t be afraid to share your concerns at a Board of Ed. meeting. Also, contact your local County Council representative and ask how they plan to help HCPS. We need to rise up and be part of the solution.

GRANT SCARBORO Reporter

In a recent article by the Baltimore Sun, it was reported that the 2019-20 budget for Harford County Public Schools is estimated to be $35 million more than last year’s budget. According to reports, there are numerous factors for the increase in costs. One of them is the rising expenses of healthcare.

Allan Vought of The Baltimore Sun reported that according to new HCPS Superintendent Dr. Sean Bolson, one the drivers of increased costs facing HCPS is health insurance costs, which “for almost 5,000 employees, as well as some retirees and their spouses – is likely to be higher than previously projected.”

Bulson has admitted that Harford County is the best in Maryland in terms of healthcare benefits, and making changes that would negatively impact benefits and would, “…diminish our ability to become competitive as a workforce marketplace.”

He added that salaries and other expenses combined are estimated to cost the system $391.5 million.

Combined with $93.8 million needed to pay for healthcare, the total budget for the 2019-20 school year is estimated to be $485.3 million.

Various news outlets report Bulson believes cuts must be made to certain parts of the HCPS budget to reduce the funding gap. Cur-

rently the superintendent has five different internal teams handling the budget.

In addition to budget cuts, Superintendent Bulson is also looking into the possibility of outsourcing some of HCPS’ services to reduce costs, mainly those of healthcare. Ironically enough, North Harford High School teacher Mrs. Melissa Winter said, “If they can come up with alternative means of getting something done, I don’t think that’s a bad idea, if it could save some teachers’ jobs.”

Fellow teacher Mr. Brian McCormack seems to agree with Winter. “If you can reduce the employee count and shift healthcare costs to somebody else, that would be a great benefit.”

Timothy Pistel believes such an outcome occurring would affect “school climate.”

In the realm of how to resolve the issue of the budget gap, some of North Harford High School’s teachers believe that the best solution is to simply raise taxes.

“You’ve got to raise taxes. I know nobody wants to hear it, but the way the state formula works is we’re a wealthier county, and if we want to compete with- I think you have to do both. You have to raise property taxes to get a little bit more from the county, and there probably will need to be cuts. Though, I am against cuts at the classroom level,” says tech teacher Mr. Timothy Pistel.

Restoring local historical town CHARLOTTE MCELWAIN Reporter

In Northern Harford County, there are three small towns all back to back: Whiteford, MD, Cardiff MD, and Delta, PA. Due to their close proximity, they are often referred to as one area. However, Delta is the historic hotspot out of the three.

According to some residents of the area, through the years, this little town has gone through some rough patches; but with some help from a few inspired locals, the community is turning a new leaf.

Delta is the Whiteford’s “other half”, “the two are just so close”, shared Marcy Laferte. This takes a large impact on the township’s economy; in order to improve this, a resident of Delta, Laferte teamed up with business owner Julie Fitzpatrick from the Downtown PA Center to bring value back into property of Delta. The Downtown PA Center “is the only statewide nonprofit dedicated solely to the revitalization of the commonwealth’s core communities,” and has been doing this project for the past four years.

“We are working to revitalize the community as a whole and economically and try to alleviate light and just promote community spirit,” shared Laferte. The small township of Delta was so overlooked for so long, she feels that it is her duty to bring back the respect that the historic slate town once had.

Many of the homes and community buildings can be dated back to the late 1800s or early 1900s, and she said the age of these houses makes preserving them so important in this day and age.

“Going into this we all knew it was going to be a costly project so we had to team up with Downtown PA Center and we work alongside of them[...] but now we are completely grant funded.

Downtown PA gives us a grant every year...” explained Laferte.

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Cry of the Hawk

Speech therapist joins Hawks CARLY KURGAN Reporter

“watching my students grow and build confidence in themselves.”

With all jobs there are chalThough students are familiar with most of the teaching staff lenges, and Blevins says one of at NH, there are a few adults in those downfalls is “all of the logthe building who might not rec- ging. It is hard to have my full ognizable. One of those people attention on my students when is speech therapist Mrs. Sherri I have to log every aspect of the Blevins. Speech therapists work session.” She added the amount to help people with speech and of paperwork and logging IEPs language problems to speak more can be challenging.

The therapist encourages stuclearly.

This year, Blevins joined the Nest dents interested who are interand she said she is at North Harf- ested in the field of speech paord on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. thology to look into programs at Loyola When she Univer is here she sity and is generalTowson ly workU n i ing with versity. students Blevins to build a d d s -Sherri Blevins, fluency, their proarticulaSpeech therapist grams tion, lisare very tening good skills, and Blevins attended Loyola Uniexpression. At NH she assists 10 to 15 students on a regular basis versity and she commented that and spends the other part of her going into the field of speech paweek working with kids at Dub- thology is a lot of work and an “intense program” requiring 6 lin Elementary.

At Dublin Elementary she years of schooling with graduate works with students from the school included.

She added that many people age of 3 to 10 and many of the students she works with are ones in are unaware of the amount of the very early primary grades. flexibility available with this In some cases, she said she even kind of position. Blevins said provides services for children in there are many places individuals can work from schools to nursthe pre-school program there.

One of her favorite aspects ing homes.

Blevins enjoys being able to of her job is building a relationship with the students she works have the same schedule as her with and their families as well. children yet she says she also She said another rewarding part might change it up after her chilof being a speech therapist is dren are done their schooling.

...watching my students grow and build confidence in themselves.

December 21, 2018

Marching Hawks spread Christmas cheer;

Band steps into Bel Air, White Marsh ALEAH BIKLE Reporter On the first weekend of December, the Marching Hawks sprang into action at the Christmas parades held in Bel Air and White Marsh, where hundreds of excited patrons attended to share the holiday happiness with everyone.

Each year, the Bel Air Christmas parade is held on Main Street and wrap-around neighborhoods, where bands, costume characters, Scouts, floats, and special guests participate in the celebration.

The band prepared their performance of fan-favorite Christmas tunes such as Hark the Herald Angel Sing and Joy to the World.

Several other marching bands from Harford County performed in the holiday parade at The Avenue at White Marsh on December 2.

Including bands from Aberdeen, The John Carroll School, Edgewood, C. Milton Wright, and Joppatowne joined the Hawks in a second performance for entertained guests.

Under the direction of Mr. John Wojciechowski, the band marched and performed in front of chanting crowds filled with people of all ages.

“The holiday parades are something that the band always participates in,” Wojciechowski explains. “It’s [like] a routine, so we don’t really need to practice that often

Band poses to show the Christmas spirit they set out to spread. They have performed at the parade in Bel Air for many years in the past, each year pleasing the crowd.

Photo credit: North Harford Band because I know the band can do it.”

“Whether we know it or not, their are people all over the crowd who are supporters of our band, in the sense that they have a connection to the band... either they played or they have a sibling that plays currently.”

Wojciechowski added, “coming back and visiting to see their school be represented in a parade gives them a sense of pride and appreciation for everyone involved.”

Wojciechowski believed the band did a great job and was proud of the performance from his group. “There are always things we can try to pol-

ish up and perfect, but errors are something that happen in every performance,” the director says. “How the band learns is by the mistakes that were created, recognizing them, and practicing it for the next time.”

These parades were the last for seniors, including Nate James.

“I made sure to take lots of pictures with my friends and family to remember every single moment,” James explains, “Since it was my last holiday parade, I made sure to make the most of it. It was and still is definitely one of my favorite things the band does in the community.”

Forensics class focuses on simulated case HAILEY DEARES SSC Editor

Cue the Law and Order theme song, because the Forensics classes at North Harford are investigating a real life case. Under the instruction of Mrs. Kristian Jones-Knoll, these students are solving the mystery of Mrs. Rea‘s missing tea.

There is a real crime scene blocked off in the science room, filled with footprints, fingerprints and hair samples for the investigators to compare to ones they collecting from the seven suspects. These suspects are teachers were recruited to play a part in the scene which had them each “caught on camera” and “identified by the students” on their suspect list. Each detective had to write up a lab report featuring a suspect list, data tables analyzing evidence, and other

setting up “real life scenarios” for students to apply their learning. She said she enjoyed the class “very much and felt it would be awesome to do those kind of activities in [her] classroom.”

The students began by taking photos and analyzing Students engaged in investigating the crime scene in the classroom. the crime scene, In the past, forensics class hadn’t seen a simulation like this one. and later were allowed to go under Photo credit: Hailey Deares the tape to collect samples and get a closer look at details about the crime that will past, the teacher says she has only be turned in for a grade. done “simple” kinds of “who done small details of the scene. Junior Jones-Knoll has been teaching it” activities. However, Jones- Justin Graves said the students at the Hawk’s Nest for 16 years, Knoll says she was inspired by were putting the hair samples and this is her first time doing an in-service class she took over they collected from suspects unthis activity with students. In the the summer that focused around der the microscope to “look at the

medulla and match it to the crime scene.” He described the investigation as being “cool because you get to figure out something that no one else at the school can because you’re in forensics.” The junior decided to take this elective because “it’s an interesting subject and everything we learn is applicable to real life.”

Senior Christine Kavina has described this investigation as being “fun” because of the ability to be able to talk to the real life suspects of the crime and take hair and fingerprint samples.

She also adds how communication skills are important so the “groups can gather and piece together as much information as possible.” Jones-Knoll describes it as “a huge success” and says she will “definitely incorporate this activity in [her] Forensic Science classes in the future.”

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Cry of the Hawk

December 21, 2018

Small animal program to be added to Music at recent holiday concert existing magnet opportunities at NH LAUREN SECO OP/ED Editor

ALEAH BIKLE Reporter

own Ag facility beginning in the fall of 2019.

Murrell explains how the small animal program will work and the benefits he sees for teachers and students.

“It is still unknown how long this program will last, but we will continue to add 25 students each year, starting with the freshman class, creating a whole Ag program within 4 years,” Murrell says. According to Murrell, this new program will give access to those Photo credit: Charlotte Mcelwain who wish to study animals and farming techniques, who may not have all of According to Mr. Gregory Murrell, beginning next school the necessary tools to complete a year, NH will become 25 stu- successful study. dents fuller, as a new small ani- “Being able to utilize the facilmal program, branching from the ity we already have, including Ag department, will be imple- the grooming stalls, pens, and cages, will benefit students from mented.

This program will bring stu- Harford Tech, whose facility is dents from Harford Technical not quite like ours,” Murrell conHigh School, a school who has a tinues. “Students coming to our slightly smaller animal program magnet program gives Harford available, and to study in our Tech free space to add some oth-

Foreign language student take

trips to experience culture ALISON GRAFTON Health and science Editor NH’s foreign language classes have multiple opportunities to experience a different country’s culture. Just this December, both German classes and French Club have opportunities this month.

On November 30, the German department took a field trip to the German Christmas market located in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Junior Matt Weir attended the trip and thought it was “interesting and unique.”

German teacher Mr. Russell Blake said the Christmas village was exciting. The village has many different booths displaying “Christmas presents and food.”

The event had other events like a one man band. Blake mentioned this was really good. The man invited students and other members of the audience on stage according to Weir.

The classes were taken around the event with a tour guide. The guide helped to mention german culture, which related to the class.

NH’s French Club visited the French culture restaurant la Madeleine French Bakery & Café in Columbia, Maryland on December 14.

La Madeleine has many french themed foods including Quiche Lorraine, Chicken la Madeleine, and Chicken Crêpe Riviera. French teacher Mrs. Larissa Arist claims, “it is a great restaurant with great food.”

Arist’s favorite part is having lunch “French-style.” In France, often times they spend their time eating lunch. Instead of quickly eating to get back to work, they take their time enjoying their food and getting a break from their day.

“It means taking your time to eat and not rushing to eat it in 25 minutes.”

La Madeleine has a great ambiance according to the French teacher. The restaurant is a cafeteria style with a bakery too, similar to Panera Bread.

Many styles of French food are not served anywhere else, so taking this field trip exposes many students to French culture that they have not seen before.

er programs to support Career Technology Education or CTE as well.”

Murrell is still unsure how the program will blend, concerning the changes in staffing, “We currently have Mrs. Aimee Densmore who teaches small animal science and has a developed background in that area with her Animal Science degree from the University of Georgia,” Murrell explains, “She is very well-versed in teaching that subject and takes care of all of our animals. The logical thing to happen would be to have another Ag teacher join her.”

A few students have begun to voice their interest in how the program will change experience in the magnet program.

“I think it will be a great addition to our school,” junior and Ag program student Keirsten Reynolds explains. “It makes me excited that so many more people want to get involved with Ag.” Junior Anna Faulhaber reveals that the change will be “different in a good way.”

On December 17 at 7:00 P.M., the holiday concert with the band, the Jazz band, and percussion ensemble filled the air with Christmas music for all to hear. Just one day later, the orchestra, men’s choir, women’s choir, Bel Canto, Harmonics, chamber choir, guitar ensemble, and Majestics performed as well.

Senior and member of the band Lynne Thomas described the band concert as a “mix of different holiday songs including classics like Sleigh Ride.”

Two other songs included were Bells Shall Ring and Greensleeves.

The band has been preparing for this big event by both practicing at home and rehearsing at school. “We recorded one of the pieces for the percussion to listen to in their class since we are separated,” states Thomas.

While describing the process as “difficult” and “stressful,” the musician confidently stated that the end result was

amazing.

Junior and member of the band Ryan Blosser added that progress has been “steady but difficult.” He was also confident that the crowd enjoyed the show stating that he hoped people, would “enjoy the music as we continue to grow.”

Junior and member of the Majestics, Harmonics, and Chamber Choir leads the acapella group, the Majestics, and even designed an arrangement himself of O Holy Night.

Henkel said the Chamber Choir performed parts of “George Handel’s The Messiah, and the Harmonics performed the World for Christmas and the Pentatonix rendition of the White Winter Hymnal.”

Senior and member of the Chamber Choir and Harmonics, Kayleigh Gallagher said this concert was special because “every four years” the chorus works with the orchestra to sing and play together.

She added that the songs of the Messiah are much more difficult than songs in the past.

Hawks welcome long term sub to staff CHARLOTTE MCELWAIN Social Media Coordionator When educator Mrs. Judy Knisely knew she was going to be out the building for quite some time, she knew she had her work cut out for her in finding a long term sub. According to Knisely, finding is hard normally, but trying to find someone who could work with the high schoolers and run a preschool is another story.

“When I knew that Mrs. Terra Beugel was firmly in the substitute pool, I asked if she would substitute for me,” said Knisely.

She added that Beugel seemed like a good fit because “she was aware of the program, a certified teacher, a positive person and super flexible.”

Beugel is no stranger to how the Little Hawks Preschool runs it’s classroom because her daughter, Ella Beugel, attended the preschool this past year.

Not all the responsibility in on the new sub. Knisely said she is also relying on her students to lend a helping hand and step up through this change.

“My students are so very helpful and understanding that if there is ever an issue with an assignment I know they will talk

Photo credit: Charlotte Mcelwain with Mrs. Beugel about it. ” Not having Knisley has given the students in the early childhood program much more hands on experience and they have gained many more duties as a result.

The students who take the early childhood education program range from grades 9th to 12th and they are working with preschool students who are 3 and 4 years

old several times a week.

Knisely is also relying on her student aides and master tutors assigned for her classes including Caroline King and Madeline Ortt; who both help Beugel and the students by actively participating in lessons, giving a helping hand through printing off classwork papers, and communicating a lot with their teacher while she is on her medical leave.

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Cry of the Hawk

December 21, 2018

December 21, 2018

Cry of the Hawk

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December 21, 2018

In 2013-14 yahoo suffered the security breach in history. The hack in 2013 compromised names, birthdates, email addresses, passwords and security questions and answers of all 3 billion users. In 2014, the same elements affected in 2013 also affected another 500 million users.

This hack caused yahoo to drop from being worth $100 billion to worth $4.48 billion.

In December of 2013, Target suffered a hack that caused the credit/ debit card numbers, full names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers to be accessed of 110 million customers. The estimated cost of the breach was $162 million.

Compiled by Lizzie Catrambone

Cry of t

On July 29, 2017, Equifax suffered a security breach that ended with social security numbers, addresses, dates of birth and some drivers license numbers to be stolen from 143 million customers. It as also reported that of those 143 million, 209,000 also had credit card information stolen from them.

On April 20, 2011 Sony’s PlayStation Network suffered the worst gaming hack of all time, and was down for an entire month. The full names, email addresses, passwords, home addresses, purchase history, credit card numbers and PSN logins and passwords were accessed by hackers. This breach affected 77 million users, and the company lost $171 million in the duration of the hack.

In 2016, Uber suffered a hack that compromised the names, email addresses and phone numbers of 57 users of the Uber app and got the driver license numbers of 600,000 Uber drivers.

TH

C E S

In 2014 Ebay suffered a cyber attack that compromised the names, addresses, dates of birth, and encrypted passwords of all of its users (145 million people). It was reported that the hackers did not gain access to any financial information, but they did have complete access to the cite for 229 days.

security breeches anything and around and not do sit to ol ho sc m fro suspension” “I stayed home t and I got in school ou nd fou s er ch tea my parents and man Luke Reinecke, fresh

“When I was really little I knew my mom was having a surprise birthday party. I told her because I was really excited and it was supposed to be a secret and it was really sad that I kinda ruined it.”

Alexis Bultman, junior

“I was asked on a form for my to p secret security if I had ever been clearance arrested and I sa id no. In my final view they said th interey were about to grant me the clea but they had on rance e more question : tell us what ha Kenya, Africa. I ppened in had been arrest ed for a minor ch I didn’t think th arge and ey’d find out sinc e the situation w rupt but they fo as corund out.”

Brian Dougherty , FOT teacher

“I told my mom I did all my homework and I didn’t and I ended up getting a really bad grade in that class. I tried hiding my report card and she ended up finding out and grounding me.”

Luke Phillips, freshman

“I went through m y mom’s Macbook and read her text messages and figured out she got me a horse and was trying to surprise me with her. I tried ac ting like I had no idea. Then one day she realized I had her compu ter and that I knew and confront ed me at dinner. She got kinda m ad because I was snooping and sh e threatened me by saying she would return her. My trainer w as really angry at me and she actuall y told me to do like 25 pushups which never happens.”

Emma Mathios, fresh man

se it smelled “I used to tell everyone I was allergic to metal becau because I out found one Every it. touch bad and I didn’t want to a reaction” touched it and everyone said “aren’t you gonna have and I didn’t.”

Kylie Bombhart, sophomore

“When I was in France sometimes people wou ld ask me how to pronounce something and for fun I would tell them it wrong.

One time someone wanted to ask for ketchup and I told them it was pronounced “cat soup”. They were prett y mad at me when the waitress had no clue what they were talki ng about. No harm done!!”

Maddie Kramer, junior

S

10-11 - Features

the Hawk

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Source: www.telegraph.co.uk Compiled by: Cassidy Chandler

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“Alexa?” Are you listening?

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iPhone users: Watch out!

In a study completed in July 2016 and presented by the Pew Research Center,

70%

of Americans said they were very worried about the possibility of technology that would allow an implanted computer chip in the brain to give healthy people an improved ability to concentrate.

66%

of Americans said they would not want to use this technology themselves.

61%

U.S. adults said they have heard nothing at all about the idea of an implanted computer chip in the brain.

37%

of adults felt brain chip implants were morally unacceptable.

48%

of Americans said the use of implanted computer chips to improve thinking would change society either “a great deal” SOURCE: Pew Research Center

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Cry of the Hawk

Collide services shape student community OLIVIA BECKER Sports Editor

Students from all over the county go out to the Bel Air, Abingdon, Edgewood and the Mountain Road campuses to serve God and have fun while doing it every Sunday night. At all of the church campuses, there are services for middle and high school age students. The middle school service is called Echo (5pm) and high school service is Collide (7pm).

Freshman Jess Fannin says that “both Collide and Echo are full of people who want to bring you close to God.” She adds that she loves “church in general but Collide is a great way to connect the Bible to the life of teens and have a good time with it.”

While Collide is a great place to connect to God, those who participate say it is also a great place to connect with friends.

Fannon says that she loves the time before sermon where she gets to hang out with her friends in a place where she is comfortable.

Senior Elizabeth Ulmer says her favorite part about Collide is seeing her friends, especially since it is not a pressure-filled

environment. She adds that it makes her ”feel like part of a community because everyone there is so accepting and welcoming of new people.” She thinks that if someone is in need of a community like that, they should definitely come to Collide. She added “I didn’t know just how much I needed that community until I was there.”

Students attend the services along with volunteering at the services. There are many different avenues to volunteer. Some students host, some are on the tech team and some lead worship team.

Ulmer says that she has hosted for both Echo and Collide and that she will probably do it again in the future.

Emily Roush, former student at North Harford, now serves at Echo and Collide. She says that her favorite part about Echo and Collide is getting the opportunity to serve and lead “a bunch of awesome students.”

She adds that the church’s teams “are growing” and that the “quality of program is improving”; she says this “feels great” and finishes by saying that her relation-

ships with students are her first priority. She also serves in Sunday services and special events (weddings, conferences,etc.), her jobs include doing anything from clicking through sermon graphics, to mixing sound at the front of house.

Roush says that above all Collide is really about community.

“It’s a place to find meaningful friendships and a safe place outside of all the noise of society.

But it’s also a place to have fun and learn about God without the pressures of one-on-one ‘religious’ conversations. The people there really care about you and want you to come to your own conclusions.”

Fannin agrees and says, “Since coming to Collide, I’ve made so many friends and the community formed makes me want to come to Collide every week.” If she could talk to other students about going to Collide she would tell them to “just do it!” she says, “I don’t think about all the what if’s, don’t let church intimidate you.” She wants all students to know that no one is going to force God on them and that Collide is an amazing place to be.

December 21, 2018

Drama students rehearse play; Black box show debuts January 18 CASSIDY CHANDLER Features Editor Following a successful performance of The Wizard of Oz, the drama department are full speed ahead to put on another play. Junior Natalie Campbell describes the new play as “a smaller scale of what we do in the musical.”

“The drama department puts on two black box shows a year,” junior Mareike Debye reports.

“The students find shows they are interested in doing, and then we all vote on the one we will practice and perform.” This year, the drama students to perform The Grimm Brothers Spectaculathon.

Junior Matthew Weir describes the Spectaculathon as “a bunch of fairy tales that are put together in a more modernized play.” He adds “the play includes Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella, and Hansel and Gretel.” Dylan Kapustensky exclaims “the hour and a half play is full of comedy!”

For the Wizard of Oz, actors and tech crew members would

stay after school every day until 5. The black box show, however, requires the students practice every day they have class.

Drama students have been hard at work learning their lines and perfecting the blocking, with the help of their student directors.

Kapustensky mentions “every day we have class we block, run through the scenes, and our directors, Sam and Alyssa, give us notes and blocking.”

“Besides being a smaller scale than the larger productions of the drama department, there is not as many theatrical elements, the play is based more on acting,” comments Campbell.

Debye elaborates “we come up with our own props and costumes.”

Weir plays the role of Prince 2 and Dwarf 2, Kapustensky has the role of Narrator 1, with conarrator Sofia Sturgill as Narrator 2. Debye plays Gretel and witch 2 and Campbell is the Enchantress and Crab person 1. The four juniors have been doing drama since freshman year and are looking forward to a fourth next year.

watched six new Christmas movies, three from Netflix and Hallmark Vs. Netflix: We three from Hallmark. Look below and see how they compare!

The Holiday Calendar Netflix A struggling photographer Abby inherits an advent calendar from her grandmother. Once she notices the calendar is giving her presents that predict the future, she realizes the calendar is pushing her to her true love.

WINNER

A Shoe Addict’s Christmas Hallmark A department store worker whose true passion is photography, meets a woman who claims she is her guardian angel when she is locked in her department store. The guardian angel shows her Christmas pasts and futures which leads her to find what she is meant to do in life, as well as find her true love.

A Christmas Prince Netflix A journalist goes undercover as the princess’s tutor to get the inside scoop on prince.

Along the way she gets to know the real prince, rather than the guy the tabloids portray him as. She ends up finding love and helping the family in more ways than expected.

Crown for Christmas Hallmark When a hotel maid gets fired before Christmas, she finds a job as a governess for a young girl who is part of a royal family. Along the way she becomes close with the prince and helps the princess recover from her mother’s death.

WINNER Compiled by: Cassie Rickey

Page 13/ ENT

Cry of the Hawk

December 21, 2018

Scream for Ice Cream University Nutcracker presented by EMPowered Dance Center;

CASSIDY CHANDLER Features Editor

Ice Cream University is a five week program where students get the opportunity to see what the field of food science is really like. The ‘University’ is run in association with Cornell University and is based on their course, Food Science 101.

The program is held in White Marsh, Maryland, one of the locations of the TIC Gums Incorporation. Juniors in Harford and Baltimore County are invited to apply to Ice Cream University if they are interested in pursuing science, culinary arts, and marketing.

Fourteen students are accepted into the program where they get split into four different teams. Their task is to create a new ice cream flavor that is tasty, visually appealing, and has an satisfying texture.

TIC Gums Business senior technical service manager Tim Andon describes food science as, “everything between the process of food that comes from a farm and how it gets to our tables.”

In an interview with ABC2 News, Andon says, “Ice Cream University is a good idea for students to not only learn about food science, but also to learn about business.”

After the teams present their flavor creation and all of the marketing techniques to the judges, a winning group is chosen and their flavor is produced at Broom’s Bloom Dairy where it is sold for select dates, and will continue to be sold if it is successful.

He adds how being involved in Ice Cream University and working alongside professors from Cornell is more than just an in classroom experience.

“It’s something that teaches them a lot of good life skills but also gives them a really good technical understanding of food science as well.”

Teacher Mrs. Wenke Green would encourage students to participate in this program. “ To relate math, business, and food is awesome. And if you are thinking about going into food science, it seems like a good idea.”

Additionally, foods teacher Mr. Steve Adams says “It’s a good introduction into science and ice cream and it’s all around fun. You can even get some credits from Cornell.”

The university is currently accepting applications for 2019.

The dates of the five week course are March 16, 23, 30, April 6 and 13, 2019. Apply at web2.ticgums. com/ice-cream-university

Junior aspires to continue art of ballet GRANT SCARBORO Reporter

On December 1, a ballet performance for the classic holiday tale, The Nutcracker, was presented by the EMPowered Dance Center at the Peggy and Yale Gordon Center For Performing Arts in Owings Mills, MD. It was the third year such a performance based on the classic George Balanchine ballet show was held. Junior Madison Kramer was one of the ballet dancers who performed.

Kramer has been performing for the EMPowered Dance Center for four years. She and her ballet company perform a show every season. She, along with the rest of the EMPowered ballet team, had only one rehearsal on stage. The show was split into two acts. The first act consisted of the entire Nutcracker play, which was quite similar to the original work by Balanchine, whereas the second act had the EMPowered ballet team do a “winter showcase”, According to Kramer, “This includes all styles other than ballet. This includes jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical, modern, and contemporary.”

Due to the small amount of people in the EMPowered ballet crew, though, the show itself is a

slightly shorter version of the original, mainly with the Christmas party scene at the beginning.

The presents under the Christmas tree also had the letters, EM, which stood for the dance center Kramer atPHOTO CREDIT: Madison Kramer tends. Another area of the show in which there happened to She also loves the social aspect be issues was with the tech crew, of ballet. Kramer has also peralthough they were employed by formed in shows that weren’t the Gordon Center and not the presented by the EMPowered EMPowered Center. “They re- Dance studio, those being Peter ally messed up some of the music Pan with Harford Dance Theater and cues and it was really annoying. Sleeping Beauty at the Baltimore But my director told them that Actors Theater. was not acceptable and hopefully The ballet show to be presentthey will step up their game.” says ed by the EMPowered Dance Kramer.

Center will be of Alice in WonderKramer joined the EMPowered land, in Spring 2019. Kramer is Dance Center out of her love for hoping to minor in dance in colthe arts of ballet and dance she lege and teach at a studio after has had since the age of three. graduating. “Dance is such great However, she didn’t take dance workouts, stress relief, and fun seriously until she was in the that I want to continue for the sixth grade. rest of my life,” said Kramer.

Cocoa and Crafts event prepares students for the holidays; warms spirits CASSIDY CHANDLER Features Editor

The Journalism staff hosted their very first “Cocoa and Crafts” event at the beginning of the month, with journalism members from freshmen to seniors participating in the fun.

The festive party was held after school on Thursday, December 6.

There was a variety of crafts available for all attendees to enjoy. With plently of paint, glitter, markers, and hot glue, all the journalists could get in on the fun.

Freshman Evan Kuzemchak commented on how fun the event was. “There was a bunch of cookies, hot chocolate, and old fence boards that we could paint. We could do anything we wanted with them and just be creative.”

Another freshman in Journalism one, Grace Herron, was also excited to be a part of an event where she was able to meet other students. “It was really well planned and there was a lot to do, so no one was ever bored. I got to connect with a lot of upperclassman which is some-

thing I wanted to do my freshman year.”

Marissa Altenburg, another student in the Journalism one class, expressed how much she enjoyed

pecially fun being with all of the upperclassman.”

Altenburg also mentioned that being involved in an event like this is a good idea because

of Journalism two and advanced journalism students.”

Mrs. Jennifer Chandler, Journalism teacher, agrees that the students involved in the journal-

it, “got us to be with other people we normally wouldn’t see or hang out with during the day.”

Kuzemchak felt similarly, saying, “having a Christmas party with all of the journalism people was a good experience. I met a bunch

ism program work hard and get along well. She was happy to hear one of her students, Herron say, “I think the environment is very welcoming, the yule log was playing and there was music, it was just a lot of fun.”

Photo credit: Staff being able to connect with others who share her interest of journalism and have fun with arts and crafts.

“We all had these fence board posts that we were painting and they looked really nice. It was es-

Herron added after a really bad day, “the cocoa and crafts gave me a way to relax and hang out with some of the people I hadn’t seen in a while.”

She said journalism is a, “really supportive branch in the school.

You can go off and do your own thing and then come back together to make the newspaper or make a final product. It’s pretty neat.”

Kuzemchak also recommends journalism because, “there is not much homework besides writing essays, and they are not even actually essays. They are articles and you get to write about what you want... It’s fun to get to go in the journalism lab and work...”

Altenburg adds that, “it teaches you how to talk to people and how to be more social in general, and definitely how to write better.”

In the upcoming months, the journalism staff plans to coordinate Mr. North Harford and also the week of giving, which includes the wear and share event and the sticky note challenge Both take place annually during Earth “week”, the week leading up to Earth Day.

Page 14/Student, Society, and Culture

Cry of the Hawk

December 21, 2018

From a student’s perspective...

Real vs fake Christmas trees

Is money an acceptable thing to put on your Christmas list?

As the holiday season approaches, Christmas trees are a staple in many homes. However, there is a debate about if going to cut down a live tree is better than having a fake one you get from the store out of a box.

Christmas lists are something most people have in some form. In recent years, putting money on that list is becoming a more frequent occurrence. Some people question think this is not okay, because actual gifts should be given.

“So of course I prefer real trees because I work at a christmas tree farm but also because they smell and feel better than a fake tree would, and most places that sell real christmas trees are local businesses and it’s always nice to support those.”

Jordan Paul, junior

“Yes you can because I feel like it is equal to the money they were going to spend on the original gift if they were to get you an actual present. For example if they were going to a get you a giftcard and you asked for money instead then it would be basically equal to the amount of money to asked for.”

Elaine Huffman, freshman

“While a fake tree may not be of choice for everyone, it does have it benefits. My grandparents have a fake tree because, being older, it would be a pain to have to go out and chop a tree down and bring it home. It’s much easier for them to pull one out of a box and just put it up.”

Evan Allred, junior

“Yes you can ask for money because with money you could buy anything you want. it’s usually hard to figure out what you want because as you get older you don’t want toys anymore.”

Patrick Shrodes, freshman COMPILED BY Hailey Deares

Photo credits:Hailey Deares

Working it out: Students employed by local social venues CARLY KURGAN Reporter There are approximately six breweries and vineyards in Harford County, Md, and with their growing popularity, these venues have attracted a need for employees.

Junior Jess Gerhardt has worked at Falling Branch Brewery since the beginning of summer. Gerhardt enjoys all of the people she works with and “loves the environment of being on a farm.” Gerhardt also adds that she enoys going to work rather than resisting her job. De-

spite entertaining large crowds Gerhardt says there aren’t many challenges to her job, which includes “mainly keeping the customers happy.”

Working along with Gerhardt is junior Matt Keller. Keller has worked at the Brewery for about 4 months.

Keller loves “meeting new people” and he also enjoys working alongside fellow students from North Harford.

Challenges of working at the Brewery is getting a lot of work done in a short amount of time, and making customers happy

“My entire family put on Christmas music and we decorate the tree and the rest of the house, we make a day out of it.”

Zoe Mikels, sophomore

means working hard. Keller is happy to have a clean and safe work environment to be apart of. He added that Falling Branch Brewery is able to host larger events because of the size of their property.

Another location where several students work is Boordy Vineyards located off of Baldwin Mill Road. Juniors Kenny Todd and Jacob Kunze have built a bond while working together.

Kunze has worked at the Vineyard for four years. He commented that directing traffic can be “overwhelming, especially during

COMPILED BY Cassie Rickey

summer concerts.” Other than directing traffic Kunze enjoys working with friends from school adding “it’s kind of like a family.”

Kunze also helps out with restocking wine & trash disposal.

One of his favorite aspects of his job is that it is outside and he is able to enjoy the outside rather than being “inside and stuck at a desk.” Kunze is looking forward to more days working at Boordy Vineyards.

Working with Kunze is junior Kenny Todd, who has worked with Kunze for around a year.

Todd says his favorite part of his

job is “working with other people and everyone on the staff.” He also adds “everyone is like a family,” agreeing with Kunze.

Todd works along with Kunze directing traffic and he said that one of the challenges is “keeping up with all of the tasks that need to be done” and also “managing what every customer needs.”

Todd says one of the main benefits of working in a small business is that everyone “builds a close knit relationship.”

Kunze says the job has “plenty of freedom and is a perfecr first job.”

Talking about...

“For Christmas we buy a real tree because you can’t buy a fake one, and we make cookies for Santa and sometime toffee. We watch The Grinch ever year.”

Cole Wardle, sophomore

“The second Sunday in December, my family gets together and we bake sugar cookies at my grandmother’s house.”

Caitlyn Allen, sophomore

“My mom got one of those Christmas pickles so now she’ll hide it in the tree and well go find it on Christmas, we also have an Elf on the Shelf.”

Jocelyn Conner, sophomore

Page 15 Student, Society, and Culture

Cry of the Hawk

Page 15- Students, Society, and Culture

Fe s t i ve Friday COMPILED BY Carly Kurgan

COMPILED BY Lauren Seco

Tr e n d s to e n d in 2019

ALEAH BIKLE Reporter

From fashions, to dance crazes, to shocking words that were said, 2018 was a year full of things that were enjoyable, somewhat bearable, and outright outrageous.

Students reflect on what captured their attention during 2018, and what should never return as we head into the new year.

Junior Kara Benn was taken aback when she found out that ugly footwear had a big price tag.

“Balenciaga shoes need to end,” Benn explains. “They look like big, ugly, dirty, dad shoes and I don’t understand why celebrities think that it’s cool to buy new, multi-thousand dollar Balenciagas when they could just take my dad’s for free.”

Another “bad trend” done

by this generation is the “overlydone” dances made by kids left and right.

Senior Tyler Martin believes that the dances conjured up from the popular video game, Fortnite, should be done with. “There are kids everywhere doing it and it’s really annoying and not good for this generation,” Martin says.

“The young kids continue to do it non-stop, even to adults. It’s getting old and needs to end in the new year.”

Another social trend getting all the wrong attention is the trendy social media app Tik Tok, more specifically, who and what is going on it.

Tik Tok is a lip-syncing app that allows users to gain fans and likes to help boost their following and overall popularity on the

website.

The more attention you have on your Tik Toks, the more chance you have of getting them monetized.

Many opinions have surfaces stating that users on this app make their money off of doing “absolutely nothing.”

Junior Gonzalo Revilla reveals that this app has “gone way too far,” as he is tired of seeing references pop up on his YouTube of “old people trying to fit in with people his age.”

“Tik toks are the things that make me cringe the hardest,” Revilla added “Influencers literally do nothing but dance and sing to random song bits and cover themselves in dumb filters for literally a pay of several thousand dollars.

I could do that if I wanted to.”

Photo credits:Carly Kurgan

Photo credits:Taylor Mason

traditions

“I make gingerbread house with my family, we have a LEGO display of Christmas sets that build and put up every year.”

Josh Parsons, sophomore

“3 days before Christmas we make gingerbread house and bake Christmas cookies.”

Alexus Beattie, freshman

“Every year we go to the Great Wolf Lodge during Christmas and it snows inside and it is really fun.

We also get Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve.” Hannah Hatfield, junior

“ Since my family is German we open up all of our gifts on Christmas Eve and we also put up our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.” Mareike Debye, junior Photo credits:Cassie Rickey

Cry of the Hawk

Page 16/ IDR

The contents of this page are based on the following definitions of different types of parents:

December 21, 2018

t a k e e Ap g n i t n e r pa

COMPILED BY Cassie Rickey

The Helicopter Parent (Overbearing Parent): This parent hovers over a child’s every move. This behavior often continues into a child’s later life, causing them to become dependent. These parents are always looking for things that could go wrong and try to prevent that from happening.

The Lawnmower Parent (Enabler Parent): This parent creates a path for their child, or “mows down” a path for them so they do not have to face obstacles that might stand in their way. A lot of times these parents will do their child’s work for them. This parent is always making sure what their child is doing is correct.

The Best Friend Parent (Permissive Parent): This parent desires to have a friendship with their child. They let the kid do what they want and even tag along with them sometimes. They set few rules and boundaries.

The Free Range Parent (Do What You Want Parent): This parent allows their child from a young age to be indepent, such as letting them walk to playground the alone.

The parent generally takes a hands off approach and lets their child figure out what is best for them. They often have a ‘learn the hard way’ or ‘learn by doing’ approach to parenting.

The Authoritative Parent (The Reasonable Parent): This parent has high expectations for their children, but temper these expectations with understanding and support as well. This type of parenting creates the healthiest environment for a growing child and helps to foster a productive relationship between parent and child. This type of parenting allows for open communication between parent and child. Kids generally feel they can speak about anything without fear of negative consequence or harsh judgment.

COMPILED BY Julia Foster

Are parents involved in your morning routine?

COMPILED BY Alison Grafton

“I set an alarm and I wake up but if my parents dont hear me getting up then they will come wake me up.”

Lauren Taber, junior

“I wake up from an alarm so my parents aren’t involved in my routine. They don’t really help me with anything in the morning.”

Samantha Allen, Junior

“When my alarm doesn’t go off, my mom wakes me up and without her I wouldn’t get to school on time. Sometimes makes me breakfast too.”

Meridith Price, junior

“My parents are not really involved in my morning that much. They don’t wake me up in the morning and my mom leaves in the morning before I go to school.”

Darian Hauf, sophomore

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Page 17/ IDR

December 21, 2018

What kind of parents do you have?

COMPILED BY Tori Gay

“I have the authoritative parents. I can talk to them about anything, they trust me and are open with me and they just want what’s best for me. I wouldn’t want to have any other parents. I feel like if I did then I wouldn’t be able to talk to them as much. I hope to be the same type of parents as mine. I like the relationship we all have and I would want that with my kid.”

Dillion Battaglia, freshman

Which parent is harder on you?

COMPILED BY Charlotte Mcelwain

64%

Percentage of students who say their mother puts more pressure on them

36%

Percentage of students who say their father puts more pressure on them

“I have the reasonable parent because they always have very high expectations for me but they always want me to do well in whatever it is I’m doing and they never push me too hard. I wish I had them as parents. I wouldn’t want my mom trying to be my best friend. I like that my parents push me to do different things. I could want to be the same as my parents as well because when I do something wrong, there are still punishments but they are reasonable.”

Carsyn Bennett, sophomore

Do your parents pay for your food when you go out to eat out with friends?

150 students polled

Do your parents want you to have a job?

82%

say their parents want them to have a job

18%

“I like to think that I have two types of parents, the Authoritative parent and the helicopter parent. They both expect a lot from me yet they try to maintain a healthy relationship with me but I can’t get away with anything. I sort of wish I had a little bit of everything I believe that would benefit everyone in our family. I hope to be a free range parent but still let them come back if they mess up. Kind of like chickens.”

Garrett Arnett, junior

say their parents do not want them to have a job COMPILED BY Hailey Deares Of 170 students polled

Cry of the Hawk

December 21, 2018

o t n i g n Falli it r i p s y holida “My dad decided to leave it (Christmas tree) because he thought he screwed all of the things in the tree but he didn’t, then him and my brother started playing and he like shoved him to the side and my dad fell into the tree and the tree fell over into my mom, sitting on the couch.”

Jillian Powell, sophomore

“We were at a Christmas party and a candle burnt down into a wreath and someone’s hair got caught on fire.”

Andrew Gerhardt, sophomore

COMPILED BY Rebekah Keaton

Page 18/ H/S

“I was putting the star on the Christmas tree and then all of the little Christmas bulbs started falling down on me and I fell knocked over the Christmas tree and broke my arm.”

Miles La Seta, sophomore

“I was trying to put an ornament on my Christmas tree and, granted, I’m a very small person and I thought I could reach, but it fell and I was trying to pick up the broken ornament and I cut my and really badly.”

Shannon Castillo, junior

Holiday temptations: What not to eat LIZZIE CATRAMBONE IDR Editor The holidays are packed with fattening, sugary, high-calorie foods. Relatives bring over their “best dishes”, which may tend to mean they are relatively unhealthy. The temptations to indulge in a cheesecake or rich beef wellington are strong, but hopefully this list of what not to eat, according to cbs news, will help reduce those urges.

One of the worst foods to eat

over the holidays is candied yams.

This side dish can call for up to six cups of sugar, not including the marshmallows added on top.

Just this side alone adds 400 calories to the dinner plate, already one fifth of a 2,000 calorie diet. If craving something on the sweet side, go for a plain sweet potato, as it is a superfood packed with vitamins and fiber.

Another holiday no-no is cheesecake. This dessert is packed with fat, sugar, and just one slice can

have 707 calories, not including any additional toppings or flavors added on to the cake. However, if one must have a slice with their holiday celebrations, a low fat option with fresh fruit topping is recommended.

Mashed potatoes are another holiday favorite, as junior Genevieve Siegmund can attest to.

When asked if there was a holiday favorite she just could not resist, Siegmund said, “probably my grandmothers mashed pota-

toes, they’re the best.” However, mashed potatoes are another dish to avoid. With added milk, salt and butter, the calories, fat and cholesterol are sky high. Just one serving of this delicious side can have 237 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 666 milligrams of sodium, excluding any additional butter or salt added once served. It is suggested that if one must indulge in this holiday favorite, that low fat milk and limited amounts of salt and butter are added.

The last food to avoid (and probably the hardest) is sugar cookies. These cookies are exactly what they sound like, with 14 grams of sugar per cookie along with 200 calories. Add the icing and sprinkles on top, and these cookies are a sugary nightmare.

For a healthier alternative, one should find a healthier recipe that uses less butter and sugar, and incorporates whole wheat flour for added fiber.

Family tree-dition continues:

Christmas tree shortage hits Delmarva area JULIA FOSTER Reporter As you began your search for the most perfect Christmas tree this year, you may have been disappointed to find that your hunt took longer than usual. You may have been confused as to why the trees you saw were unusually short, and there just weren’t quite as many.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 27.4 million real Christmas trees were purchased in 2017. Even considering the growing popularity of artificial trees, an abundance of families continue to uphold tradition with a real tree. “I love the business, because I get to help spread Christmas cheer,“ said freshman Ellie Salisbury, whose family owns Jarrettsville Nurseries on Holy Cross Road.

According to delmarvanow. com, the number of tree farms in Maryland and Delaware is dwindling, and a rainy summer and tight national market have put pressure on the local offerings of trees this year. Some farms in Maryland and Delaware said they have struggled to produce enough full grown trees to sell this year.

“You have to know how to properly take care of your trees,“ said Salisbury. Christmas trees may grow similarly to the way most other crops grow, but there is a catch; it can take up to eight years for a Christmas tree to mature. Even more time is necessary if you prefer your tree to complement the vaulted ceilings in your house.

In addition, Salisbury listed a few upsides of buying a real tree.

“People think getting a real tree is bad for the environment, because you are cutting down entire fields of trees once a year,” explained Salisbury. “ It’s actually better for the environment than getting a fake tree. They are biodegradable and you can always use them as firewood when your are done with them. Plus, the trees people are cutting down get replanted anyway.”

Jim Landis, president of the Delaware Christmas Tree Growers Association, said that many growers across Sussex County are experiencing issues like not having very full trees. This is caused by heavy rains in the summer that result in slower growth of the trees. Though the rainfall

on the Maryland Eastern Shore was not quite as devastating, you could still expect to find a lower supply of trees.

The trees that should be mature this year would have been planted between 2008 and 2010 during the height of the recession. Farmers had to decide during those years whether they would take care of the trees they had or plant new ones. At the time, it didn’t seem like a very hard choice, help yourself now, or plant something that wouldn’t reap any benefit for at least eight years. Here we sit 8 years later with a high demand for real trees and a limited supply of mature ones. This is not a problem only in Maryland, but all over the US. Don’t be discouraged just yet; in the next few years farms should be able to supply bigger and better trees than you have seen these past couple of years.

Although you may not have gotten your first pick for trees this year, in the future the possibilities are endless.

As we close in on the holidays, may you all find your perfect tree, may your cocoa be hot, and may your Christmas be merry.

December 21, 2018

Page 19 /Sports

Cry of the Hawk

Athlete flip into action; Club sports grow locally Level 10 gymnast competes TORI GAY Reporter Sophomore Caitlyn Allen is a level ten gymnast at Harford Gymnastics. She has been involved with the sport since she was a little girl and has gone from mommy and me classes at 18 months old to a level 10 gymnast at 16. “It’s very intense but I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Allen says.

The tenth grader says she has met tons of amazing friends along the way that she mostly considers family. Allen says she can’t thank her parents and close friends enough for all the support they have given her. She hopes to attend her dream school and compete at a Division 1 level.

Just like any other athlete, Allen has also faced some personal challenges competing at this level, including the “struggle of juggling school, practice, and trying to keep up with my upper level classes.” She adds “gymnastics is rewarding to me. It teaches you so many amazing life lessons that you just can’t get in school.

It teaches you management and discipline along with just pushing yourself in general.”

Pushing herself has come with

its limits according to the athlete.

“I’ve had many injuries. I’ve had tendonitis in both of my knees, I pulled my butt muscle in both sides twice, I pulled my groin.

I had a muscle sprain in my back, and I tore both of my achilles tendons,” says Allen. “There are tons of challenges we have to face but overall it’s beyond rewarding.”

Allen says her favorite part of gymnastics is “when I get a new skill or I do Photo supplied by: Caitlyn Allen really well in a everyday. meet. I can’t even describe the feeling I get when I “Gymnastics has taught me so have accomplished something much and it’s a sport in grateful I’ve been working on for so long.” to be a part of it, without gymnasShe said she has mastered many tic, I’m not sure where I would be skills, some of which she fails at in life.” Allen hopes to see more first and sometimes “falls on her kids show interest in gymnastics face” but it makes her strong her in the future.

Race for the community benefits athletes ASHLEY HALEY Reporter

only did Scott run marathons, 10K, 5K, and 3K races, he trained runners, such as Team in Training (who raises funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) and a female running team, The Red Devils.” Also from the site, sources say Smith, “About three months after recovering from a heart attack, Scott returned to runThe run is a four mile race along the Ma ning again, comand Pa.Chandler timed 31:45 for the run. pleting more than a dozen marathons Photo supplied by: Hailey Deares and more than 19 half-marathons.”

Also, according to Facebook.

The Scott Smith Memorial race is a four mile run on the Ma and com, Smith “Was recognized as Pa trail in Bel Air. Smith taught one of Harford County’s Most in the Harford County and Balti- Beautiful People because of his more City school systems and ran volunteering service. He was quick-witted, fun loving and genmany marathons in his lifetime.

According to Scottsmithme- erous with his time and talent morialfoundation.com, “Not and helpful in every way.”

Junior Hailey Deares participated in the race and said, “It benefited Harford County athletes.” Cassidy Chandler, senior also was a participant and says, “The race was on a bitter cold Saturday morning and I was really dreading going to the race… but I knew it would feel good knowing I was exercising and helping out a good cause.”

At the end of the race, Senior, Chris Robinson and Chandler, placed in the race as age group winners. Chandler says, “I wasn’t trying to run race pace or get any fast time, but I was more focused on getting in an endurance/tempo run for that day... I ended up finishing at 31:45 and had no idea I would be the third finisher for my age group. I actually was walking to my car to leave when I heard Chris’s mom yell my name and say that I had won something.”

This race in particular remembers Smith and his accomplishments in the community and is held to benefit athletes across the county.

TORI GAY Reporter Playing a high school sport and playing for a club are two different experiences according to some NH athletes. While one major difference is money, traveling, and time commitment are also things to consider.

“Club teams can be more helpful to those who would like to play at a collegiate level” says Junior, Meridith Price competes for Looney’s lacrosse and the Hawks, and seniors Madison Schwarz and Marley Copes both play for Pipeline Soccer club along with North Harford.

“Traveling is one of the main differences between high school and club,” says Price. In high school most athletic teams don’t generally leave the state to compete.

Price has been to Florida, Richmond, and Hershey. Schwarz and Copes say they have been “all over the east coast.” The two soccer players are also planning on attending a soccer tournament in Las Vegas next year.

“Traveling is one of my favorite

parts. Staying in a hotel with my whole entire team watching all of our parents bond can get pretty funny at times, too,” says Price.

“The nice thing about club is that all of the college recruiters are at the tournament we are traveling to,” Schwarz says. “ If I wouldn’t have traveled and participated in these tournaments I would not be where I am today,” added Copes.

While being on the road seems fun, there are always some challenges. “ One time when we were in North Carolina for a tournament I forgot one of my uniforms at home. That did not go over well with coach,” says Copes. Traveling also comes with expenses.

“Sometimes I feel bad about how much my parents have to pay,” Schwarz says. Price agreed the financial part of being on club teams can be pretty steep.

All three athletes mentioned how much they enjoyed that club season is longer than a high school sport season so “the team really feels like family,” according to Schwarz.

Sophomores finds her rhythm in dance;

Hallock on competition team ALISON GRAFTON Health and Science Editor Many high schoolers participate in extracurricular activities and this may include clubs, drama, and sports. For sophomore Julia Hallock, this includes dance.

Hallock dances at Upper Falls Dance Academy in Upper Falls, Maryland. Hallock attends their program 3 times a week with up to 3 classes each night. Dancing for Hallock is a commitment that requires a lot of work, but is worth it in the end with their competitions.

The sophomore started dancing when she was only 3 ½. This has left her with years of experience in multiple styles. The styles of dancing Julia performs are “pretty much all of them.” They include pointe, ballet, jazz, and lyrical.

The student is on the competition team at her dance academy, and has been for awhile. Their last show of their previous season was in June. For this season, they have not held tryouts yet. The team is now “preparing for upcoming shows,” according to the dancer.

Preparing includes a lot of hard work for dancers. They start months in advance. First, she said that the dancers focus on technique and new moves. She added that the teachers/choreographers will do “anything to help us [them] improve” and the sophomore added dancers use that help to learn choreography, choose music and add tempos. All of this planning eventually leads to the final product of a polished dance routine.

Hallock looks up to the famous dancer Misty Copeland. Copeland started dancing at an older age, and proved that she is “kind of a prodigy”, according to Hallock.

Recently, Hallock was injured which impacted her flexibility, an important aspect in dance. The tenth grader said she had to gain it all back. Since Copeland came in late to her experiences as a dancer and was able to start picking up the skills needed for dancing very easily, Hallock admiresher. She hopes that her road to recovery will allow her to adjust back to dance fairly easily.

Cry of the Hawk

December 21, 2018

Page 20/Sports

Protocol for selecting captains changes OLIVIA BECKER Sports Editor

that this method is a very fair and good process, though she agrees that it is a lot of work but it helps the girls on the team understand how each applicant will benefit the team.

As for swimming, one of the senior captains Nathan Roeby says he had to “make a presentation and speech to give to the

With winter sports preseason ending and the regular season starting, it is time for new captains. But the application for these captain roles is not the same as it used to be, at least not for the swim team or women’s basketball.

The the coaches of these teams have chosen new ways for the team to decide captains, as well as the coaches to decide.

For the women’s basketball team senior Savannah Dieter says athletes “had to type an essay based on 8 questions that tested our [applicants’] leadership skills and asked what we would do in certain situations.” Dieter adds that “before it was just based on the teams’ vote so it was like a popularity contest but now we get points based on our essay, the teams’ votes, and the coaches’ votes and how well they think our leadership qualities are.”

Dieter thinks that Photo credit:Sam Allen this process is more fair but that it takes a lot more time than the prior team and then they voted for who method. She says, “when we use they thought would make the to vote we would know right af- meet captain, given the presenter but with this we have had to tation.” He said that in previous wait three weeks to found out years they would just have to give the captains.” Another senior ap- a speech and that “this way was plicant Cameron Sawyer agrees new because it added the visual

“Get your head in the game;”

Focus on pre-game rituals

blast rap music so everyone gets hyped.”

The varsity wrestling team also After a long day at school, many hypes up one another to get ready students don’t leave the building for a meet; junior Josh Mitchell when the 2 o’clock bell rings. is one of the co-captains for the Many athletes have been up since Hawks varsity wrestling team, 6am, attend 6 hours of academic alongside Tristan Pomeroy. There classes and then leave for games are no seniors on the team. “I give and practices that sometimes get a motivational speech when we them home late at night. are all in the huddle to get them But, the athletes have a rem- all together,” said Mitchell. edy to cure fatigue: pumping each Zach Jackson is a member of other up the team and for compeJackson extition.

Before we start [the meet] pressed that Swim we all do the warm up laps quick speeches team membefore that hit and then we do a drum the mat isn’t bers and roll on the mat and scream the only thing juniors E m m a they do to get ‘1, 2, 3, HAWKS!’ Cooper pumped up.

Zach Jackson, and Kayla “Before we start Anderson [the meet] we Junior think that all do the warm everything up laps and then they do before their meets really we do a drum roll on the mat and does help them when it comes scream ‘1, 2, 3, HAWKS!’” time to race. “All the songs and The basketball teams are also cheers we do helps us wake up trying to boost up energy through because we are all really tired pregame rituals. Senior, Allison after being at school all day.” Ju- Bufano has played on the Hawks nior James Zangrilli is one of the basketball team for the past four captains for the swim team, and years. “We all will get in a circle shared, “on the bus Tanner [Rus- and scream and cheer before we sell] and I bring a speaker and we go out onto the court”

CHARLOTTE MCELWAIN Reporter

component to better convey to the team.” He thinks that this addition was a great way to choose captains because “It shows how well you can do and if you have what it takes to be a good captain.” Nathan says he wanted to be a captain for his team because of his love for the sport. He states “I want to help everyone on the

team and be someone that they can look up to.” He says he plans on leading the team by supporting them through the entire season.

“It’s important that they know when and where to be and I want them to have a great season.”

Winter cheer kicks into full gear ELLIE EVANS News Editor

As the temperature begins to drop, sports move inside for the winter season. One sport that continues on from the fall time is cheer, although the squad says there are many aspects that can make the winter season different and exciting for the team.

One major difference is the team they’re rooting for and the kind of cheers they are doing. In the fall, the team is on the sidelines of every football game, and in the winter, they are in the stands at the boys basketball games.

Senior Cassie Scarborough explains her love for winter cheer because it is “primarily focused on competition.” Some still miss aspects of the fall season, like junior Paige Clark who emphasized that “the football crowd is more hype to cheer for.”

Competition is a big deal for the team in the winter, since they primarily have a longer time span to focus on the routine. The pressure to get an organized and clean routine is still very evident for both the coaches and team members, and senior captain Eden Ryan explains, “the winter is still stressful but I really like getting to spend more time on the routine.” The tension that preparing

for the pep rally can cause is alleviated in the winter season which many team members explain they enjoy.

As the stunting and tumbling increases for the team, the girls say they find the aspect of collaboration crucial, especially senior Taylor Diem, who emphasized,

“teamwork is really important to make a solid routine.” Like most sports teams, coaches commented on the significance a positive attitude has for success. The cheerleaders and their coaches all agree that maintaining focus and positivity will aid in an exceptional routine.

The cheer team, with competition in reach, works to perfect their routine. Photo credit: Taylor Diem