NEWS // SEPT. 21, 2012
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Link Crew plans to increase activity By LeAnn Maanum
Panic, fear, desperation--these are just a few of the emotions freshmen go through the first weeks of school. Luckily for them, Link Crew is there to help out. “[Our goal is] to be very helpful to those needing help,” junior Kourtney Noa said about the Link Crew’s role in the student body. Link Crew’s main focus is to help create an environment where freshmen can adapt to high school. “[If ] certain freshmen do not know where certain classes are or who their counselors are, we help them,” she said, “[We want to] make the freshmen feel comfortable and included in high school.” One of Link Crew’s new goals this year is to keep in touch with the freshmen throughout the year. “There was some ongoing connection between the leaders and freshmen last year, but not as much as we would have liked,” sponsor Holly Frame said. Frame wants Link Crew to be a yearlong program. The goal is to keep leaders and freshmen connected through social and academic activities. One of these social activities is “Fun Fridays,” which takes place on the last Friday of every month during lunch on the auditorium lawn. “It just gives us a chance to be able to
Linked In 1. Senior Emil Shallon throws a frisbee during Link Crew’s “Fun Friday.” 2. Link Crew sponsor Jennifer Wimer and seniors Moiz Ansari and Ashley Bergado show how to lead an “interactive tour.” Photos by Jenny Oetzell.
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have fun at lunch and to just be able to get away from stress,” Noa said. In addition to leader-freshmen events, there will also be leader-only events. “These events will build team unity and promote a fun and cohesive spirit among the leaders,” sponsor Sandra Fowles said. Also new to Link Crew are checklists that leaders have to fill out on the first day of school. These checklists help Link Crew leaders help new students more effectively. “We wanted to check in with the freshmen right away and set the tone for the year,” Frame said. Frame also thinks that Link Crew’s
members’ positive attitudes will help freshmen be more comfortable. “This year’s leaders are enthusiastic and always willing to help out on campus,” Frame said. Junior and leader Natalie Sisto agrees and believes leaders this year are more motivated. “It seems like almost everyone in Link Crew this year looks forward to participating in events and helping out,” Sisto said. With the newly implemented activities and events, Frame hopes to keep Link Crew’s presence on campus well known throughout the entire school year.
Drama performs The Complete Works of Willam Shakespeare (Abridged) By Jason Rochlin
The lights dim as the costume crew scrambles to get the last bits of clothing onto the actors while the sound cues are being prepared backstage. Now all Justin Baldridge, head of drama, has to do is sit back and watch as the production unfolds. The fall drama production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) ran four nights starting Sept. 12 and featured junior Paolo Ragusa, senior Austin Stark, and junior Chris Ward. The trio spent an hour and a half reenact-
ing scenes from all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays. “I think the fun of the show is that there are only three people and they’re doing all the roles, and these three definitely stepped up to the plate and did a great job in the play, and I’m so proud of them,” said Baldridge. Both Baldridge and Ward agree that having three actors who are friends made the long rehearsals easier. “They all get along really well. Paolo, Chris, and Austin were already great friends, so casting them was really a ben-
efit in that perspective. They joke around already, so that helped,” said Baldridge. In addition to his friends, Ward also credits Baldridge for making the play enjoyable to rehearse for. “I had an amazing time [working] with [my friends] and a great director, Mr. Baldridge,” Ward said. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) was the beginning of the season of theatre for RUHS Theatre Arts. Look for A Midsummer Night’s Dream coming in November 2012 and Grease coming in March 2013.