Livewire Vol 3 Issue 4 April 2013

2013-14 School Schedule

Four Blocks, AB, and Now Seven Periods

East Team Gets Title

Cheer Wins Nationals While Boys Basketball Misses Goal

Relationships It’s the Wild, Wild West

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From the desk of the editor-in-chief Kevin Ware is inspirational, DWill will never play, and North Korea wants to blow us to smithereens.

Pretty run of the mill April so far.

As I sat back over spring break to write this column, I got some much needed pause in my life. Things get pretty hectic at the Steinmetz house during a normal week. With no real plans for the break, I got my fill of Sportscenter, CNN, and the DIY Network.

What I really got though was a snapshot of our reality. A microcosm, if you will, of what is good and bad about the world in 2013.

When Kevin Ware went down with what is easily the most gruesome non-contact injury I have ever seen, reaction came pouring in from everyone from my cousin Jeffrey in LJ, to the president of the United States. People who had never heard of Ware, hoisted him on their shoulders as the feel good story of the tournament. A tournament that lacked the star power of a Carmelo Anthony, or a Gordon Hayward, or Anthony Davis’ brow needed a face and Ware, who was just trying to get back home to Atlanta, his hometown, became just that.

Not only did he become it, but with his well-spoken, emotional interviews, he solidified himself not only as an endearing hero to U of L fans, but a point of accord that united UK fans as well.

Most of them that is. The blowhards immediately took to social media posting pictures of an injury which should never have been viewed again. Still worse, they began making light of the situation and arguing that U of L fans lacked compassion at the Nerlens Noel injury.

I started to explore the pages of these disciples of Keightley. What I found was to be expected. They were filled with “wait til next year” and “we’re even going to be good in football now”. A few pointed to the coronation of the 2014 Wildcats as the greatest team ever to play the game, though they’ve never played a game.

One such future Wildcat’s future is hotly debated. Some say Derek Willis will never play. Others say that he made a terrible decision. Comparisons were made to Jon Hood and Kyle Wiltjer. People know where I teach and I am asked about Derek often. What I tell them is simple: Derek does things that 6’9 kids aren’t supposed to be able to do. They then usually ask me if he made the right decision. I tell them that if the best comes calling, you can’t possibly say no. Some say they will watch optimistically, others smirk and mumble and tell me I am biased because he’s from my school. I tell them that I am the only person on Earth who likes U of L and UK. It’s not in me to be biased. Remember these are UK fans I’m talking to. They don’t take that well and tell me I have to pick. I refuse and they get mad and shift the conversation back to Derek.

I kindly put it another way. If your are joining the army and you have to pick between the United States and North Korea, who are you with? They look at me stupidly and say the United States. I say exactly and remind them that Coach Cal has a better recruiting record than any president in my lifetime.

I’ve used this analogy several times and nearly every time I’ve been asked, “Why did you pick North Korea?” It’s then I’m reminded that people are more worried about if an 18 year old will get minutes on a college basketball team than a 29 (or 30 depending on who you ask) year old with a country all his own and a penchant for nuclear weapons will strike the United States as he has announced he has intentions to do.

There is some common ground here, however. Kin Jong Un likes basketball as well. As one person I talked to noted, “Isn’t that the country that Dennis Rodman visited?”

Well played sir. Back to basketball. I will continue to blindly hope that a dictator who failed several math classes can’t get the coordinates right on those misslies. In the meantime, let’s hope our troops are flying hot armed with rockets emblazoned, “Win For Ware.”

Larry Steinmetz

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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly advisor Larry Steinmetz editor-in-chief Keenan Cischke writing coordinator Kendall Mayfield copy editor copy editor copy editor copy editor copy editor copy editor

Emily Priddy Jennifer Cischke Austin Jewell Leah Byars Jessica Despain Cassidy Grom

creative editor Katie Warner

HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS PAM AND TROY CISCHKE

business manager Bree Beichler staff writers Blake Allen Zachary Allen Collin Britt Ashley Browning Nicholas Crawhorn Jacob Davis Breanna Devine Allison Drake Samantha Ewing Kim Flaherty Cameron Frank Samantha Gentry Jessica Hanna Bri Hare

Jasmine Hester Elsa Holmgren Zach Mattingly Kelley McCann Whitney Messer Taylor Miller Elynn Mullaney Hannah Perdew Mackenzie Perdue Alex Richardson Haley Simpson Logan Stone Lauryn Waldridge Jared Woodruff

Livewire was re-founded in 2001 by journalism teacher, Larry Steinmetz. In the past, the Livewire has been a weekly newspaper, but moved to a newsmagazine published five times a year in 2011. The staff remains comitted to bringing the Bullitt East community the most up to date news in a quality format and timely manner. To get breaking news, sports updates, and more go online to ww2.bullittschools.org/ behslivewire.

The staff appreciates your patronage and, as a public forum, encourages any feedback you care to offer. Letters to the editor must be typed and submitted via e-mail, to Mr. Steinmetz’s mailbox, or directly to room 324 within one week of the publication to which you are responding.

Letters will not be censored, but must be deemed appropriate by the editor and advisor in order to be published. In order to be eligible to appear in the paper, all letters must be signed and verifiable. Names can be witheld upon request, but must be submitted with the original letter.

Livewire is published by the students and for the students of Bullitt East High School, Emailing Mr. Steinmetz directly is the best way to reach the staff. His address is larry.steinmetz@ bullitt.kyschools.us. The Livewire is printed by Publishers Printing Company.

Bullitt East High School 11450 Highway 44 East, Mount Washington, Kentucky, 40047.

(502) 869-6400.

Livewire NewsmagazineBEHSspring2013issue4.indd 3

Shifting Schedules After several years of interchanging schedules, Site Based has finally settled on a 2013 - ’14 seven period day. Bree Beichler reports the news and Jennifer Cischke gathers the general opinion.

Cheer Nationals

Nate Fulghum led the co ed team to a national title over eleven other teams this February. Kim Flaherty has followed the season’s success and covers the big win and what this means for the future of East cheer.

Diversity in the Mount

The classic college essay question: “How will you contribute to the diversity at our school?” Leah Byars, Penny Schmitz, and Sammy Ewing answer by discovering unique characters in our small town.

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Senior Pranks 23

It’s traditional for the graduating class to pull a fast one on faculty, staff, and students. To help decide which prank to pull, Cassidy Grom researched options and compiled potential shenanigans.

Teacher Standards

There are many limitations on what should and shouldn’t be discussed by teachers at school. However, Haley Simpson argues that openness between professional and pupil can facilitate learning.

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HUMAN Volume INTEREST 3, Issue 4 4/4/2013 1:01:56 PM

Hopes Lie With Third Schedule Third time’s a charm, right?

Bullitt East struggles to find their rhythm with the current AB scheduling and after one short year, they find an outlet that has been deemed best fit for the school, which means three different schedules in three years.

East has decided to cross over to the seven period day for the 2013-2014 school year, due to the decision made by the site base council (SBDM). Site base council is made up of three teachers, two parents, and the school’s principal. SBDM members have deliberated on schedules based on the direct impact of students and the overall effect of the school.

Site base members have also addressed the potential success of the AB day and why they have made their decision without results from this year.

The new schedule coming to Bullitt East is the popular seven period day. Various schedules of schools around the state have been examined and the Oldham County set up stuck out to the principal. Oldham County has reflected much academic success through test scores over the years, and that is ideal for any school. The seven period day is successful there, so East decided to give it a shot.

Students will attend each class for fortyeight minutes the entire school year and they will not change classes at the turn of the semester. This new format is one that features the same seven classes throughout the year and gives sophomores through seniors an optional study hall. “Study hall is a period for students to focus on their core content classes,” said art teacher, Jason Kelty, member if SBDM.

“Students can utilize this period to seek help from teachers, but freshman don’t have this option.” Not all students will need that optional study hall. Ones looking to cram in extra credits or AP courses should opt out, while those who need a little extra attention with content classes should take it though.

In addition to study hall, students still get the leg room for some electives. Freshman have one, sophomores and juniors have two, and seniors have three (elective periods).

Along with SBDM, Principal Willie Foster researched various schedules such as the four, five, six, and seven period days. “It was a long process. When I looked at things I needed to work on, I saw that students and teachers were struggling with the AB schedule.” Not only was Foster concerned with the teacher and student success, he was concerned with parental input as well.

“I’m glad parents care. There are many places where parents don’t which is why we surveyed them online. Only 383 participated, but that’s still enough to know they care.”

Although Foster is glad to see participation, the survey was ultimately inconclusive, which led this committee to relying on the schedule they could get everyone behind. When asked which of the following schedules would be most conducive to student achievement at BEHS, with the choices of the four period block, seven period, five period, or a modified traditional schedule, seven period day got the least amount of votes. Survey participants, including students, staff, parents, and community members voted that the five period day would be most conducive. With those results, SBDM was forced to stray away from the survey results because there was not an outlier that could accurately determine the

article and layout by Bree Beichler opinion of participants.

Next year, each class will only meet for forty eight minutes a day, but classes will have more time overall. With the current schedule, students have 87.5 instructional days, which adds up to 131.25 classroom hours. With seven periods a day, students have 175 instructional days, which adds up to 145.8 classroom hours. This class time allows for consistency throughout the year, which allows students to meet their benchmarks.

Another factor with the new schedule for East was the “what if?” factor. Many students and teachers question how we can judge the success of the current schedule based on less than one school year. Next year, test scores from this school year will reflect the success of the structure of the school. Foster is confident in his decision and this aspect of concern doesn’t worry him. He responded with, “I hope test scores are great. A schedule is not end-all-be-all and doesn’t decide the fate of the school.”

The last major issue that seemed to be questions was concerned with was the success of the seven period day. How would the school revert back to a previous schedule if this one didn’t work? Absolutely not. Foster agrees and said, “Hindsight is 20/20. If the school is not as effective as last year, we’re doing something else wrong.”

“With all of positives assorted with the new schedule I think we will all right into rhythm, said Debbie Williams, parent of an underclassmen and employee of BCPS. With that said, Foster and other site base members are confident in the school and believe the schedule will be effective.

Survey Says

Results from SBDM Student Schedule Stakeholder Survey

100

108

100 91

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In Three YEARS article by Jennifer Cischke I layout by Bree Beichler

New year, new classes, new opportunities, new schedule.

AB Day? No way!

Bullitt East adopts the seven period day for the 2013-2014 school year.

Anonymous Survey Comments on AB Scheduling “Extremely hard to keep up with so many classes.” 1/3/2013 5:51 PM “I have nothing positive to say about the current schedule. If it stays around for next year, I will move my kid to a private school.” 12/28/2012 6:02 PM “I hate it.” 12/18/2012 10:42 AM “Moving to the block scheduling better prepares a student for college courses and managing and prioritizing their workload.” 12/17/2012 8:07 AM “Nothing is positive about this schedule!” 12/16/2012 9:13 PM “I dislike it very much. Very stressful!!!”

12/16/2012 7:23 PM

For the past couple of years, the Charger Nation has had the same block scheduling: four classes for eighteen weeks and after Christmas break, four new classes. However, all that changed when the Site Based Decision Making Council (SBDM) was asked to choose a new schedule for the 2012-2013 school year.

Switching to alternating block (AB) is what the SBDM thought would be best for the students, teachers, and most importantly, the ACT and SAT scores. However, this schedule seemed to be more destructive to school than the SBDM intended.

AB scheduling did allow for essential classes to meet all year long but they did not meet every day. Students and teachers had two “first days” of school, and four days for midterms, finals or end of course assessments, and over weekends students and teachers could potentially not see a set of classes for three or more days.

“Teachers and students were struggling with the AB day,” stated Principal, Willie Foster.

With further complications making themselves present in the new schedule, another change was on its way. Recently, the SBDM chose a brand new schedule - the seven period day.

Seven classes at one time is sure to bring a serious work load and some students may feel overwhelmed with the amount of work they have to keep up with. However, finding time to complete assignments may not be an issue with some Chargers. According to Richardson “students who are at benchmark will have the opportunity to take study hall”.

While this idea may seem unfair to some, Brooke Collins, sophomore, thinks otherwise.

“Advanced placement (AP) kids get a privilege. They should be treated differently or put first.”

If a student is working hard in school and is concerned about his or her grades, then they should get ample time to put forth the effort they feel is necessary for their classes. Honors and AP classes are difficult to take and the students who decide to take them should get special privileges.

“Transition is always a challenge,” claimed Richardson, “[but] in my opinion, the seven period day will benefit students AND teachers.” While the switch from block to AB proved to be quite a challenge this last year, there should be no excuses for the 2013-2014 school year.

According to Collins “If you’re dedicated it will help. . You get shorter classes and the opportunity to learn more.” No matter how many classes you have or how frequently they meet, class schedule should not provide an excuse for students who have poor grades. Students make their grades, the schedule doesn’t.

Proof in the Survey Results from SBDM Student Schedule Stakeholder Survey

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NEWS 4 4/4/2013 1:01:58 PM

Who says that bigger is better? article l picture l layout by Mackenzie Perdue

Nobody, the Kentucky Board of Education has decided that the End-of-Course Assessment this year will be shorter and the local boards will be distributing it.

There will be some big changes this year for students taking the EOC, which students take to show what they have learned this year in their classes. The teachers will benefit a lot from the new EOC because they will be able to see how students did on their open responses. Many teachers that give the test think that students will have advantages from the changes.

Last year, the state asked that schools in Kentucky to count the EOC as 20 percent of students’ final grades and now they have more changes this year for schools. The big test is meant to test students about what they were supposed to learn in the certain course. Last year students took an EOC tests for Biology, Algebra 2, American History, and English 2. Although it was brought up, no new EOC tests will be added this year. “It holds students accountable for what they should have learned during the class,” said American History teacher, Ms. McCroskey.

“Students can take responsibility of the knowledge that we provide them,” said Biology teacher Ms. Payne, who is new to giving the EOC this year.

QualityCore is a program from ACT which is a flexible five part program to help schools make high school curriculums. The five parts include: Instructional Resources, Test Builder/Formative Item Pools, End-of-Course Assessments, Score Reports and Progress Reporting, and Professional Development.

The Kentucky Board of Education has recently contacted the local school board telling them that the constructed response portion of the EOC will be distributed by the local level instead of the state level. “The reason given to the change was that the constructed response items in the QualityCore assessment program were unable to add instructional value to the teaching and learning process and that shifting constructed response to a local administration would render much more instructional value, student motivation, and test security than can be provided at the state level,” said BCPS Director of Assessment, Data and Research, Jan Stone. Since the local school board will be administering the test, teacher will be able to prepare students better for the tests, so basically the students will perform better on the test.

The biggest change that students will be in favor of is that the tests will be 45 minutes shorter. This year it will only be multiple choice. The main reason for that change was that ACT never provided the school with students’ feedback from their score for the open response. “Tests do not hold much meaning if one doesn’t know how one performed!” expressed Stone.

The KDE is allowing local school boards to incorporate the constructed response into students’ final grades however they want. BCPS has some ideas how they want to do but no final decisions have been made yet.

Since the EOC will still be enforced this year, East teachers are going to have to continue teaching some classes differently than others. “For my Biology classes we have to be more rigid and stay more cused,” said Payne.

fo-

“My classes that take the EOC have to stay more focused and give the students questions that are like the ones on the EOC because the wording is difficult,” said McCroskey.

The teachers will benefit from the constructed response administered from the local board because it will allow them more instructional value. Educators will have a chance to determine students’ strengths and weaknesses in writing and the results can help them with preparing future students for the tests. Teachers can also use QualityCore resources to make test questions for their classes.

“I like the changes for the EOC, because we will be able to know the students’ score quicker,” Payne concluded.

BEHS Student

February April APRIL 2013 2013 October 2011 2011 NewsmagazineBEHSspring2013issue4.indd 6

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HUMANFEATURES INTEREST NEWS 6 FEATURES 4/4/2013 1:03:29 PM

“They mean everything to article by Zach Mattingly l layout by Kim Flaherty and Emily Priddy Bullitt East forced to bid farewell to senior class.

After a loss to PRP, Bullitt East’s dream season came to a close during regionals, sending the most successful group of athlete’s in the history of the school away.

The senior class consists of Trey Rakes, Rusty Troutman, Derek Willis, Elliott Young, Chris Embry, and Derek Jones. As a whole, the team has been the most successful group of athletes in the history of Bullitt East. They have won 108 games over there four year careers at East. Individually, each player has contributed in their own ways to the success of the team.

Trey Rakes has played an extremely large role over his career as a Charger. It started his freshman year as he stepped in and started varsity. He made big plays which lead to chants of “he’s a freshman” by the Red Zone Rowdies.

Sophomore year he played alongside guard Hayden Sweat. The dynamic duo led the team to state for the second time in school history. The team fell short in the final four, falling to Rowan County.

Junior year was the highlight for Rakes. A strong season was capped off by a thrilling victory over PRP in the regional finals. With 3.5 seconds remaining the game was tied at 44.

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Rakes received the pass around free throw line, dribbled it past the half court line and pulled up from 35 feet, sinking the shot. His late game heroics landed him the number one play on ESPN’s Sportscenter. When senior year came along, Rakes was ready to make another run for the state championship. Rakes came out strong, leading the team to a 9-0 start. Over the course of his career, he amassed enough assists to become the all-time leader in assists in Bullitt East history. When asked about his career as a Charger, Rakes stated, “It’s been an honor and something I will never forget.”

Rakes is still undecided about what college he will attend to continue his career but he is leaning towards the University of Pikeville.

Rusty Troutman has been yet another Troutman to make his mark on the school. He came in and started his freshman season on the varsity team. He has been a sharpshooter and has knocked down enough three pointers to become the all-time leader in three point field goals made in Bullitt East history. He has arguably been the glue holding the team together. He has been extremely strong defensively over his entire career.

Troutman has frequently been matched up against opponents’ strongest offensive the

players and, more often than not, has shut them down. This has been a major reason for the team’s success. Troutman started his senior off especially hot. He came out scoring around 30 points each and every night for the Chargers. This led to teams keying on him offensively, which opened up other players on the team such as Derek Willis. “It’s been fun and they (his teammates) mean everything to me. It sucks it had to end so soon,” added Troutman after looking back at his career. His spectacular career is not over though, he has signed with Bellarmine University and plans to make an impact as a Knight in the near future.

Derek Willis began his career at Male High School. After some disagreements with coaches, Willis transferred to Bullitt East and became a Charger. His career was outstanding and he made an immediate impact on the team. He dominated in his sophomore year alongside senior Corey Washburn.

Defenses didn’t know who to guard which frequently gave Willis an opening for a flashy dunk. His play landed him a spot as a commit to Purdue University. He came out strong ww2.bullittschools.org/BEHSLivewire/ ww2.bullittschools.org/BEHSLivewire/ 4/4/2013 1:04:04 PM

to me.”

Although there have been two new additions to the team, Derek Willis and Elliott Young, four of the boys have been playing since their freshman years. These photos show the transition from inexperienced youth to seasoned veterans.

once again in his junior year. His play was so strong in fact; he de-committed from Purdue and committed to the number one team in the nation, the University of Kentucky. He helped lead the team to yet another state tournament. He faced some hardships when they went up against Trinity High School. People said that Willis was “bullied” down low and he wouldn’t be able to make it as a Wildcat.

He didn’t crumble under pressure. He used it as inspiration to improve. Senior season seemed completely different. He came out and played extremely well. He took the ball strong to the basket and instead of fading away from pressure; he went right up over it. He triumphed in the face of criticism and became the all-time leader in rebounds at Bullitt East. Willis looked back at his career saying, “It’s a great feeling knowing that we have done so much since we have been here.” You can watch Willis next season as he will be playing with the number one recruiting class in the nation at Kentucky.

Elliott Young has played a big role over the course of the past season.

He had a good start to his junior season, impressing fans and critics alike. A player who played little time at the junior varsity level his sophomore year was now playing good minutes at Livewire NewsmagazineBEHSspring2013issue4.indd 9

the varsity level. His dream season came to the close as he suffered a back injury which sidelined him for the remainder of the year. After therapy and time away from the court, Young returned for his senior season.

He started and provided solid play throughout the entire season. He exploded on the offensive side of the ball multiple times, scoring 20+ points. Young had mixed feelings over his career. He said, “It feels great knowing what we accomplished but people are going to look at it like this, if you were so great why didn’t you go further? I just wish we could have gone further to really set us apart.” His career as an athlete is not over.

Next year he will go on to play at Campbellsville University.

Chris Embry is another member of this talented senior class. Embry played quality minutes his junior year but became a starter in his senior season. His moment of fame came his junior season when he was playing in the regional championship against PRP. He took a charge with 3.5 seconds remaining to give the Chargers the ball. This set Rakes up for his miracle shot. Embry has been put in several hard places over his time at East.

When Hunter Noffsinger left in the middle of the previous season, Embry was named a starter. A forward had to step in and help

replace a guard. He triumphed and helped the Chargers to a 29-5 record. “It’s been great,” said Embry, “no other team has been able to accomplish what we have.” Unfortunately, Embry will not play basketball on the next level but his time as a Charger will be treasured.

Derek Jones is the final senior of the class.

He has been a multisport athlete, playing both Baseball and Basketball. His playtime has been limited over the course of his career but he has come off the bench and provided quality minutes. “In our careers we’ve done something a lot of high schoolers never get to experience, such as playing in Rupp Arena,” stated Jones, “it’s been a great experience.”

He was a fan favorite and he will still be supported in his baseball career.

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article by Kim Flaherty l layout by Katie Warner

Dreams really do come true in Disney.

Cheerleaders finally came out on top making their dreams come true by winning the title of National Champions and placing eleventh in the nation.

February nineth and tenth, East’s very own coed and all-girl cheerleading squads took a well-deserved trip to the Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida for the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship. The accumulation of hard-work and dedication executed over the past couple of years finally paid off; not only for one team, but for both. Both accomplishments were a huge victory for East and they plan to keep up the good work next season as well.

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This year, the coed team have won every competition they’ve competed in. After yet another perfect performance, for the first time in Bullitt East High School’s history, the coed team took home the title of National 2013 Champions. When presented with their white jackets, the team was ecstatic.

“It’s hard to put it into words when your team is a national champion, you are the best in the entire country,” stated headcoach, Nate Fulghum, “and I’m really proud of that team especially because we had to come through a lot of adversity.”

Having three of the best members of the coed team injured, they still pulled through when most teams would have completely fallen apart.

There are two rounds in nationals; the first round narrows down the competition and determines whether or not you advance to the second round. The last round of the competition is finals, which is the last shot to show the judges what your team is made of. During the first round of Nationals, the coed team placed second in their division.

Although this wasn’t their best performance, it still qualified them for finals. “The first time [first round of nationals] was probably one the worst competitions we’ve ever done, but the second time [finals] was one of the best we’ve ever done,” said sophomore, coed member, Christina Daugherty, “So, I’m really proud about what we did.”

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UCA Nationals the nation. “When we were announced to finals, it really felt like we won,” said junior, all-girl member, Sydney Bright, “It was so crazy! We jumped up and down and hugged each other. And when we got placed, it was still pretty awesome.”

“Both teams performed very well,” said assistant coach, Kristen DeWilde, “They really improved their performance level and their energy. Their stunts were hitting. They did great.”

Nothing can stop these girls, that’s for sure.

Even though Bright had recently injured her ankle before Regionals, she still decided to go forth with the performance at Nationals, not wanting to let her team down. “I didn’t want to put them [the team] in that position,” explained Bright.

This accomplishment has set the standard high for East. “I think this win shows everybody what our school can do and where we are,” stated Bright. “No one knew us but now we’re like National Champions so everyone knows us.”

Coed Team: Peyton Maki Alexis Walsh Abby Tucker Bailey Adkins Meghan Kaiser A.J. Romine Holly Coomes DeShaun Harrison Tiffany Heller Ashley Anderson Morgan Saylor Matt Cooke Meghan Roby Kristen Dadisman Christina Daugherty Katie Lucas Carly LaGrange Jessica Bright Kiley Johnson Jesse Porter Brooke-Anne Armstrong Chris Etheridge Samantha Cheser Anthony Doran

“I definitely think this sets the bar higher.

It pushes us to try new skills and to get harder stunts, to improve some of the things that we have slight little mistakes on and keep up the stuff that we were doing really well on,” stated DeWilde.

best effort all year to get up to this point. All of their hard work and dedication really did pay off. “It’s a special group and they have worked their tails off this year to get to the point where they’re at,” said Fulghum, “But I really do feel like this is an accumulation of consistently working hard for three or four years now.”

In the entire country, only a total of thirty eight all-girl medium division teams advanced to nationals. One of those thirty eight teams was East’s very own all-girl squad. In the first round of the competition, the all-girl team met their goal of advancing to finals for the first time. The team beat twenty seven teams in the all-girl medium division, one of the most competitive divisions and were able to place eleventh in Livewire Livewire NewsmagazineBEHSspring2013issue4.indd 11

The team has high expectations for next year. Both teams expect to continue on to Nationals and both plan to win 2014 National Champions in their divisions.

“To be a National Champion is a big deal. It shows that they were better than all of the other teams down there,” said DeWilde, “I think that this gives cheerleading a bit more respect because people see that we have some really talented athletes and that they can perform at a high level.”

“I’m so proud of both teams for completely different reasons,” said Fulghum. “Both teams are living my goal.”

All Girl Team: Maddie Klumb Morgan Terry Alex Fultz Hannah Perdew Lauren Turner Alexis Dixon Samantha Gentry Amanda Edelen Abigail Feldkamp Brooke Rafferty Emily Harris Sydney Bright Jaime Perkins Mackenzie Terry Tori Bauer Lauren Vincent

HUMAN CHEERLEADING INTEREST 10 4/4/2013 1:04:51 PM

Baseball Steps Up To The Plate article by Austin Jewell | layout by Mackenzie Perdue

“Take me out to the ballgame” winter, having practice five days a week, and the ninja workouts have been doing a The 2013 season is starting lot of good,” said sophomore up and the team is doing everything they can to prepare baseball player Jacob Bowles. for what’s ahead.

season at all,” assured Wood. The fans can rest easy and be ready to show their support.

Fans will be seeing a prepared team showing up this season. They have been readying themselves for five months. As always, for the seniors on the team, this will be their last high school baseball season. “We need to be productive at plate, reduce runs, and improve defense this season,” states Wood.

They are getting ready for the season and setting their goals high.

Seniors such as Hunter Wood and Jacob Woodruff have been signed to play baseball in college prior to this season. They will be expected to perform well this season along with many others who could step up for the team. “I have no idea who the key players will be, it depends on who performs.

It could be anybody,” stated coach Bowles. Wood has been signed to the division one college of Western “We are hoping for a Kentucky University and good record, a run at a Woodruff has been signed to state title, and a chance One of the ways that the team has been preparing for the division three college of to get the monkeys off this season is that they have Spalding University. Some our backs,” said Jacob been using a workout program players have been known to Bowles. The monkeys decrease in effort once they on their backs is saying at a training center called have been signed because often used by coaches Ninja Sports Performance. they lose interest in high in the program which is This place is a baseball and school once they commit to a the equivalent of getting softball training facility with through the regular season experienced instruction. They college. and winning regionals, have been using the Ninja Supporters of the team may then making their way to a program, lifting, swinging, and be wondering whether or not state title. sharpening their defensive the signings will affect this skills since fall ball ended.

“We have been working out all season. “My signing to WKU The team has already will not affect my playing this played some games including a victory over Anderson County. They came out on top despite being down 1-0 in the first inning. Nine runs were scored by East in the third inning. Austin Money and 4/16/2013 Whitefield Academy Michael Faul were two 4/18/2013 Christian Academy Louisville of many leading hitters for the game along with 4/19/2013 South Warren Woodruff stealing two 4/20/2013 Warren East bases and hitting a double.

Greenwood The final score came out 4/23/2013 Jeffersontown in favor of the chargers 4/26/2013 Bishop Brossart (LIT) winning 14-2.

The team has been preparing since October for this season and has used a variety of training methods. Some of the seniors on the team have already been signed to play college baseball so they will likely play a major role in this season along with some underclassman assistance.

Expectations are high this year and the team hopes to go as far as state. After recent years, the fans will most likely have high expectations for the team.

Chargers Baseball

4/27/2013 5/1/2013 5/3/2013 5/6/2013 5/7/2013 5/10/2013 5/11/2013 5/13/2013 5/14/2013 5/16/2013 5/17/2013

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Henry Clay (LIT) Pleasant Ridge Park Manual Male North Bullitt Charger Challenge Charger Challenge Fairdale North Hardin Ballard Thomas Nelson

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Softball Team Defends 6th Region Crown article by Jessica Hanna | layout by Mackenzie Perdue

our team in 2013,” says “Never let the fear of striking upcoming season.

Hoffman. Since there is out keep you from playing “I think that since we a large group of juniors, the game.” went so far last season it they will also be a part in leading the team back to The softball team starts the is encouraging us to do better and go farther this state. “With 11 juniors on season hoping to proceed the team, they will have further than last year after a year,” says senior, Shelby Hammons. The team knows their hands full,” Hoffman disappointed ending. what it takes to get to state says. The team has been and is putting in the hard working out together and The Lady Chargers hold work and effort to make sure doing different things to the title for 6th Region they get another shot at bring the team closer to Champions and are not being a family rather than planning to give it up. After being a state finalist. just a team. losing seven seniors, many “Our success last year of last year’s returning players are going to have to taught our underclassman This softball season is expected to be the best take the lead. Expectations what it takes to get to the for this season are fairly high state tournament and how yet because of the hard much work it took to reach work and dedication that and the team is planning on taking another trip to the it. Our off season workouts was given throughout were a great success and the off season. The team state tournament. the girls have worked harder conditioned at Ninja Sports than ever before,” stated Performance three days a Last year the softball head coach, Ricky Hoffman. week to keep their eyes on team won the regional the prize and their bodies championship game for the Losing 7 seniors last season, in tip top shape. first time in school history against Butler High School. Shelby Hammons and Nikki Hinkley, are really going to Although the fans may be They loaded the buses up in low hopes because of to take a trip to Owensboro have to step up to cover less experienced players for the state tournament not all the ground left from compared to last year, long after. After losing their last season. “Key players Hoffman thinks this year first two games to Mercy and for us this season will be will turn out great. “The Scott Co. they were headed our seniors. The seniors leadership in guiding us fans expectations may be home but with heads held a little low because of our high with the thoughts of the will lead to the success of youth. It will be the team’s job to prove everyone wrong. I believe we will be able to prove them wrong,” Hoffman stated.

LADY CHARGERS SOFTBALL

4/16/2013 4/17/2013 4/19/2013 4/20/2013 4/23/2013 4/25/2013 4/27/2013 4/27/2013 4/29/2013 4/30/2013 5/2/2013 5/7/2013 5/10/2013 5/11/2013 5/13/2013 5/14/2013 5/17/2013

Bullitt Central Jeffersontown BE/BC Bullitt County In. BE/BC Bullitt County In. Fern Creek Whitefield Academy Assumption Greenwood Mercy Spencer County Christian Academy Louisville Eastern Boyle Co Tournament Boyle Co Tournament North Oldham North Bullitt North Hardin (Senior Night)

Livewire Livewire NewsmagazineBEHSspring2013issue4.indd 13

They will also be visiting Orlando, Florida on Spring Break to compete with teams all over the world to get new exposure and get them prepared for districts, regionals, and state.

Come out and support your Lady Chargers!

BASEBALL HUMAN |INTEREST SOFTBALL 12 4/4/2013 1:05:08 PM

Tiffany Heller

Robert Hartley

thegood,thebad&theugly articles and layout by Keenan Cischke, Hannah Perdew, Lauryn Waldridge, Sam Gentry, and Kendall Mayfield Everyone is in a relationship. There are the parent-child relationships, student-teacher relationships, relationships with friends and best friends, and then there are those dating relationships - when two people feel like they can establish a decent connection with each other and build upon that connection until it’s something beautiful. Hannah Perdew, Lauryn Waldridge, Sam Gentry, Jennifer Cischke, Allison Drake, and Kendall Mayfield examined the latter to find out what it means to be in a relationship in high school.

Despite the normality of personal connections in our everyday lives, Livewire staffers have clumped our student body into three groups.

In every high school relationship, there is a good, a bad, and an ugly. We see the good as high school sweethearts and the couple you look at and think, “I just know they’re going to get married.” The good relationships in high school involve two people hopelessly devoted to one another at a critical point in their lives: adolescence. But is adolescence the right time for two people to “fall in love?”

We take for granted what is really means to be in relationships, dating, to have a boyfriend or girlfriend, to be talking, and what love means. This is because most kindergarteners are now facing heartbreak and pain the likes of which you could find in a typical Nicholas Sparks novel. I mean, when was the first time you had a boyfriend or girlfriend? Was your first kiss on a playground? It’s easy to forget to critically look at the people we are and the people we choose to date because we’re used to it.

AprilAPRIL 2013 2011

This is where, on the opposite side of the spectrum, the bad lies. Those who firmly believe that dating in high school is a distraction, too complicated, pointless, and unnecessary. These people aren’t bad, they just just think getting serious in high school is.

You might find them focused on their sport, their job, or their academic life. They have friends, but make no mistake, they’re just friends. But how do you find out the kind of person you are and the kind of people you’re attracted to without dating?

NewsmagazineBEHSspring2013issue4.indd 14

Then there are those who experience the ugly of a relationship gone sour. The ugly doesn’t feature the less than aesthetically appealing couples at East, but those who know what it feels like to be cheated on, to have others get involved in the relationship, or for their personal lives to blow up on a social media network. The ugly could be wise beyond their years, having so much knowledge and experience from relationships gone south.

Or they could be the ones with a new boo every other day and, when they have time, slashing their ex’s tires in the parking lot. But how do you get experience of a high school relationship without getting into a messy one?

Our hope is that you’ll take a closer look at your relationships because, in the wise words of Mrs. Comstock, “At the end of the day, there are two options: get married or break up.”

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thegood Alright guys, honesty hour. We’ve all seen it; that Corey and Topanga, Boy Meets World, kind of high school relationship. We’ve all watched old reruns and wondered if we’ll find that true love in high school and go on to live happily ever after.

As gushy and corny as it may be, we’ve all sat and dreamed about having that for ourselves. Despite the doubts, a good relationship is possible in high school. Your Corey or Topanga could be roaming the halls at Bullitt East.

One concept students tend to struggle with is how to keep a relationship once they’ve found one. The resounding answer from the student body at East? You guessed it: TRUST. ““We’ve never done anything to lose each other’s trust and we tell each other everything,” says sophomore, Tiffany Heller. “If you don’t have trust, you don’t have anything. Trust determines how strong your relationship is and if you’re going to stay together.” Heller and her boyfriend, Robert Hartley, have made their relationship work for two and a half years now.

Another couple who can identify with trust in a high school relationship are juniors, Meredith Thompkins and Brett Johnson. “Trust each other, don’t lie to each other, and don’t cheat on each other,” says Thompkins, who’s had a steady relationship with her boyfriend, Brett, for two years.

Aside from trust there are many other aspects of a relationship that you have to excel in to make it work. Senior, Austin Story offers a little advice, “Just be happy. Don’t let the little things bother you and don’t fight over stupid things.”

Story and his girlfriend, Chelsea Burton, have been together for almost two years.

Once you’ve found your perfect match, it’s all butterflies and rainbows after that, right? Wrong. As committed significant others, you have to be willing to work through the petty arguments and the drama that comes along with high school.

We’ve definitely had our ups and downs, but we’ve been best friends for so long and get along really well. We’ve learned to work through it all,” says sophomore, Brooke Anne Armstrong. Her and her boyfriend, Connor O’Bryan have been dating for a little over three and a half years now.

As crazy as it may sound, students believe they have found their one and only in high school. “Hopefully in ten years, me and Connor will be in college and still together. Then maybe after that we’ll get married and have a couple dogs, no kids though,” says Armstrong with a laugh.

Now, any skeptic could say that it is crazy for a high school student to believe they have really found their soul mate but success stories prove otherwise. “I met Troy in elementary school. In sixth grade I had a crush on him, but he had a crush on the teacher,” says Bullitt East teacher, Pam Cischke, of her husband Troy. “As long as it’s a healthy, age-appropriate relationship, I am pro- high school relationship. Too often, students allow their relationship to define them. In order to have a healthy relationship with anyone, you first have to be secure with yourself and know who you are.”

“We grew up together. We’re each other’s best friends, but we also don’t out our relationship issues out on social media networks for everyone to see.

We keep our relationship between us and don’t let anyone get in the way of that,” says Bullitt East graduate, Eliza Perkins. Perkins and her fiancé, Jesse Bratcher, just recently got engaged after being friends and dating for years.

Mr. and Mrs. Barr

So, keep your eyes open Bullitt East. Your Corey or Topanga could be just around the next hall.

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thebad All my single Chargers now put your hands up.

Students at East explained why the single life has its perks and why you should not date in high school.

There are various reasons why peers choose the single lifestyle. Although they are not witnessing relationships first hand, they are experiencing the love life in different avenues. While some respect the decision to stay single others worry that peers will not be prepared for dating after high school.

Freshmen, Katelynn Hanna also has a strong opinion about dating high school.

“When you’re sitting in class or have free time you need to focus on your studies or sports or even friends not occupy yourself with other people’s thoughts and feelings and past when we aren’t honestly responsible enough to handle our own”.

Other students are worried about the lack of maturity of the adolescent years. Students like sophomore Jared Guillaume believes that with immaturity comes heartbreak which students at East have become acquainted with. “Everyone is different a lot of people aren’t but some people are you just have to find the right one”

Hunter Norris

Some students have already found the love of their life, Jesus Christ, and they are waiting on that special someone. Junior Taylana Jesse who has devoted her time to her faith believes that she will know when she finds that special somebody. “I would only date someone in my religion.

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The students who have chosen to date during high school understand why students would want to stay single. Although freshmen Tabitha Laslie has been in relationships, she can relate why students would want to remain single. “Honestly there is less drama, less stress, and more freedom. You can have more fun with friends and family and you don’t have to worry about being controlled”. However Laslie believes that previous relationships have raised her awareness of what she looks for in a guy. “Relationships have taught me how a guy should actually treat a girl and be aware that there are bad and dirty guys out there. “ Rather you choose to remain single or maintain a relationship, there are perks and flaws with the decision.

“You shouldn’t make a real commitment until you are sure you love them.”

-Corey Plahuta (9)

“I think they are stupid.

Someone always ends up getting their heart broken.”

-Tori Collins (10) “I am afraid to be in the hall “High school relationships are during class change because distracting. Focus on acait is quite scary to see very demics and extra curriculur.” young people involved in full -Blake Brewer (11) blown embarassing PDA.” -Jana Pruitt ww2.bullittschools.org/BEHSLivewire/ ww2.bullittschools.org/BEHSLivewire/ 4/4/2013 1:06:06 PM

Alexis Dixon

While some are spending extra quality time with their significant other, others are devoting their time to a different cause. Many students don’t have the time to date because they are already “dating” their sport. Students like junior Hunter Norris dedicate themselves to a sport in hopes of making it big after high school. “I spend several hours a week playing tennis. I just don’t have the time for a girlfriend and would have trouble working around my busy schedule”, he stated. With the push to receive scholarships, Norris doesn’t want to lose sight of what’s important. “l have plenty of time for a girlfriend in college, right now I’m focused on my future”.

theugly We’ve all seen it. Two people meet their freshman year where they develop crushes and end up falling in love inevitably. However, that relationship quickly tumbles when friends, family, and social networking get involved. The everlasting love gets dirty fast and before we know it we have an “ugly” relationship.

Relationships get ugly due to the involvement of friends, social networking, and the level of trust. “In my past relationship we didn’t have very good communication or trust, there were things said over twitter about our relationship that could have been avoided. That hurt our relationship the most I think,” said sophomore, Samantha Cheser, who was in a relationship with senior, Michael Faul. Their relationship got pretty serious but the sooner it got to graduation, they started talking about college, and Faul decided that he was going to Florida for school. At first they said that they could make it work but later they weren’t so sure, and this caused the start of their “ugly” relationship. This is just one example, but there have been many times in which cases like these have sprung up around the halls of East.

Alexis Dixon

Senior, Jacob Woodruff identified with the “ugly outbreak” when his relationship got ugly over twitter. Not only was there drama between him, his current girlfriend, and his ex-girlfriend but the basketball team also got involved which even caused the school to intervene. “Relationships are a good thing to have but have been made out much more difficult by social media. It makes your relationship more public which can make things more difficult”, said Woodruff. Love makes you do daunting things as Woodruff sat on the Mercy side of the Bullitt East basketball game with his girlfriend from Mercy.

He received much grief by his peers and ex-girlfriend therefore his love life quickly turned ugly.

Not only do students have comments and advice about relationships but so does some of Bullitt East faculty. “If you always fight and argue in your relationship then it is obviously not a good one. That is a good indication that relationship isn’t for you and you need to get out of it,” said Mr. Hughes while giving advice to a student. But it’s not always that simple, sometimes you can’t just “walk away” even though you should, and by not walking away you end up getting hurt more because you keep thinking of reasons to stay with that person no matter what they do to hurt you.

This is also an aspect of an “ugly relationship” that most students can agree on and relate to.

These relationships can be overcome; to overcome “ugly” relationships sometimes teenagers need to lower their standards. In a perfect relationship guys would bring girl flowers and take them out to eat; and girls would never argue with their boyfriend or get jealous and then they would live happily ever after. But as we all know, it doesn’t always turn out that way. Not every relationship can be like the relationships in movies, and Bullitt East students can agree. But, sometimes you just need to walk away like sophomore Alexis Dixon did with her past relationship “The only way I was able to get out of my “ugly” relationship is to not care anymore and walk away, at first you think you won’t be able to live without that person and you won’t think you will ever find someone else to replace them, but eventually you do, and realize how stupid you really were,” stated Dixon.

Jesse Porter

“I just got out of a relationship of three years and I would be lying if I said it was easy, I know most high school sweethearts don’t last, but you always want to believe that yours will. It isn’t easy staying in a long term relationship and you will have ups and downs.

So Kudos to you if you can make it,” said Junior Kaleigh Sharpe.

#trendingtopic

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theresolution

Will you, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, bestow upon them your heart’s deepest devotion for as long as you both shall attend Bullitt East?

Some students at East are looking for the rest of their lives with another person while others are hoping to have fun with as much of the Charger Nation as possible.

Some students who are dating in high school want the ideal relationship and may not know exactly what that is. In the past, establishing a relationship was necessary in hopes of marriage, but with changing times come changing values.

In this day and age, dating in high school may not be to ascertain a spouse but simply to “have fun.” However, there are some students who still seek out that ideal person they wish to spend the rest of their life with. Freshman, Morgan Grant, believes that the point of a high school relationship is “to figure out who you will marry.”

But before a student seeks out their potential spouse in a boyfriend or girlfriend, they may want to “talk” to a person before they date them. With regards to the term “talking”, it could mean several things. There’s the literal definition: exchanging conversation with another person.

Then there’s the high school version: a semi-awkward time in which sweet texts are shared, bigger smiles are exchanged in the hallway, glances linger into stares, and being considered another person’s #oomf on Twitter is the highlight of the day; basically to test the waters before diving right into a relationship.

Devyn Noe, senior, defined talking as “anything from texting a lot, to hanging out, all the way to kissing and holding hands and going on dates; just not officially having the title of ‘dating’.” In this case, a two-people-reallymight-like-each other, pre-dating status.

F

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Why should students pre-date before dating; isn’t it almost the same thing as having an actual boyfriend or girlfriend? “The purpose [of talking] is to see if you actually care about the person before you date them,” claimed Grant. So, it is important to ‘talk’, but sometimes just testing the waters doesn’t provide a full insight to what the relationship may ensue.

students with some undesirable titles.

Nearly everyone has witnessed or partaken in a nasty relationship that crashed and burned. Others being an audience to the fairy tale, can’t-believethey-aren’t-in-a-romance-novel couples.

What makes a relationship a total failure or a huge success? Noe may have the answer, “[the] people [who are] ready to settle down and start their life in high school - those people usually [have] the relationships that last. The ones who are dating for other reasons such as sexual things, or just to say they have a boy/ girlfriend, are the ones that won’t.”

On the other hand Ryan claimed that, “relationships are not necessary for high school.” Those students who choose to not endure the heartbreak or experience the perfect relationship during high school aren’t alone. “I know a few people who haven’t been in a relationship their whole high school career,” stated Todd.

According to junior Brooke Ryan, “ Honestly, trust and loyalty are what really makes or breaks a relationship.”

Sophomore, Shania Jones, believed that “a quality of the ideal relationship would be that you care for each other,” and according to Noe, “looks shouldn’t matter as much as personality and their heart.”

Deciding on the right person to spend what may be the rest of your life with seems to be quite the undertaking.

Grant, however, has an easy solution.

Choose a boyfriend or girlfriend based on “if they make you happy and [they’re] comfortable to be with.” Being comfotable could mean “sweatpants, hair tied, chillin’ with no makeup on”, or to some people, it could mean something of a completely different variety.

“In a way relationships need to involve sex because it shows you are comfortable with that person,” claimed Jones. While that may be true for some students at Bullitt East, others disagree, “you shouldn’t have sex until you’re married,” stated Grant.

Dating in high school is an adventure in itself, and with every new adventure is a different outcome. While having a relationship during high school is, to some students, a necessity, too many relationship experiences could land

“If you keep dating someone new every week, whoopdeedoo for you, you obviously don’t care,” stated Grant. Junior, Alex Todd also added, “as far as some people go, you would think they couldn’t breathe unless they could say they were in a relationship.”

According to Noe, “a person usually should have about one or two [relationships] per school year unless you’re in very serious one,” and “freshman year is the perfect time to grow up and be in a relationship.” Any person with the intent to choose their future husband or wife will need to date eventually. Freshman year is ideal for a student to find their first relationship if they wish.

Bullitt East has over 1,400 students in its halls. That gives students roughly 1,399 unique fish in the sea to choose from with no regards to age or preference. While middle school is the literal transition time between being a child and becoming a teenager, it’s not right for the dating scene.

Middle school is a time for students to find themselves; high school is a time for students to find someone else. How long that person stays in their life - that’s a completely different chapter in the book of relationships.

To sum it all up, there is so much gray area with dating in high school; your first priority should be figuring out what’s best for you. Love yourself first, and then focus on finding that significant other that you can spend the rest of your life with.

-Editorial Board

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Once Upon A M attress Musical Preview article | picture | layout by Allison Drake

Did she really feel the pea?

The classic tale, The Princess and The Pea, is brought to life in a Bullitt East Barrett/Gary spring musical production.

It is that time of year again; the halls of BE fill with music as the arts department begins rehearsals for the upcoming school musical Once Upon A Mattress. With a cast full of new and familiar faces plus a pair of directors with a history of experience under their belts, students won’t need to be from the lands of Far Far Away to enjoy this classic fairy tale with a new twist.

Once Upon A Mattress is the “untold true story” of what really happened in The Princess and the Pea. The musical is set In a small kingdom ruled over by the talkative Queen Aggravain, played by senior Leah Byars, and the skirt-chasing, mute King Sextimus, played by Daniel Watts, a junior. Twelve Princesses have tried and failed at receiving the privilege to marry Prince Dauntless the Drab, as portrayed by sophomore Trase Millburn. The ladies and knights of the land have all but given up hope on finding Dauntless a wife when, suddenly, one brave soul, Princess Winnifred, played by Shelbi Turner, swims the moat and saves the fate of the kingdom!

Other major roles in Once Upon A Mattress are: Kalie Hahn as The Wizard, Chastity Bowyer as Lady Larken, Mikayla Koevoets as Jester, and Hunter Caudill as Minstrel.

As far as the cast goes, there will be some new and old faces performing on the stage this April.

A couple that may be the most familiar to the stage are the Millburn brothers. Trase and his older brother Reese, a senior, who is playing Sir Harry this year, have been putting on shows since they were young. The eldest brother first entered the performing world at age seven in The Nutcracker.

Two years later, his younger brother made his debut, also at the age of seven. “My first performance was as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol,” stated Trase. Since then, both have been

in countless musicals and plays in and out of school. In fact, this will be the boys’ second time acting side-by-side at BE; last year’s musical “All Shook Up” also included these two experienced performers.

Turner and Watts are also returning to the stage this year. While this will be his first musical, Watts has performed in plays such as Juliet and A Moment’s Pause as well as participated in The Tour of Mount Washington a few years back.

As for Turner, she was also in All Shook Up last year with the Millburn brothers and played in The Fourth Wall, a production that drama club and FBLA collaborated on. Outside of school performances, Turner has also been in Seussical, a musical dedication to Dr. Seuss.

Though Byars is excited to be performing in her second musical here at BE, she has been involved with the drama program for all four years of high school. Students may remember seeing her in plays such as : Back To School, Tracks, All Shook Up, The Fourth Wall, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-moon Marigolds, Kiss Of Death, Romeo and Juliet, and The Great American Cheese Sandwich. Byars also happens to be the co-president of the Drama Club.

Her inspiration for her love of acting is all thanks to past drama teacher, Mrs. Judy Chandler.

As the wizard, tricks aren’t the only thing Kalie Hahn has up her sleeve. Being skilled in not only acting, but in music and dancing as well makes Hahn a triple threat when it comes to the realm of performing. So far in her high school career, Hahn has been in the plays The Fourth Wall and Romeo and Juliet. She has also performed in musicals for Hollywood Studio at Disney World.

Koevoets has been involved in the Arts since the age of 10 when she began at St. Mary’s choir and orchestra school in Canada. Since she has attended Bullitt East, she has been a member of Chamber Choral and Charger Chicks. This year’s musical will be Koevoets’ first major on stage production and has really enjoyed working with all the staff and students involved with the musical.

Another cast member new to BE’s limelight is Chastity Bowyer. Though this may be her first appearance on the Charger stage, Bowyer has appeared in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever as Gladys, as well as A Charlie Brown Christmas as Lucy. Both of these productions were performed by her church group.

While all the other actors have had past experience in the theatrical world, junior Hunter Caudill is in the process of taking his first big step towards being a thespian. What Caudill lacks in acting history, he makes up with his musical abilities. He is currently in the Bullitt East Jazz and Concert Bands and is involved with Kaifest, a concert that celebrates art, music, and dance.

Choral director Carrie Gary shed some light on how this year’s musical differs from the previous BE productions, “It’s totally not realistic at all. The past few times, our musicals have been set in the 20th century. Now, it’s a medieval fairy tale, which gives it an element of fun.”

Fellow director, Daniel Barrett, couldn’t agree more. “This is giving us a chance to get away from ‘modern’ times,” stated Barrett. He later added, “It’s not a sing-songy musical. It allows for our acting talents to shine more than they have in the past.” Besides allowing creative juices to flow, having a fairy tale musical shows the diversity of the cast and supports the strong female leads, as both Gary and Barrett explained.

This musical will surely entertain the masses, young and old. “Students who appreciate the arts will definitely enjoy themselves. They’ll understand how much hard work we put into it,” stated R. Millburn. “The hard work the cast has put in shows a sense of ownership,” explained Barrett, “that is what will stand out to the audience the most.” Gary also commented, “We have a really exciting cast and the student body has always been really supportive of the performing arts. Plus, it’s funny!”

Once Upon A Mattress will be performed on the gym stage April 18th, 19th, and 20th. There will be one in school performance on the 19th during 3rd and 4th block. Tickets will be $5 for students and $10 for adults. Times for the out of school perfomances will be annonced on a later date.

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DaltonSego From Stick Figures To Speed Painting

article by Emily Priddy l pictures submitted by Emily Priddy l layout by Elynn Mulaney

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Senior, Dalton Sego, has made an impact by creating digital painting and using artistic expression throughout his high school career.

Sego was introduced to speed painting on YouTube and has been practicing it for less than a year. Art is not the only thing that keeps Sego busy, he also participates in many clubs and sports. In the future, he does not plan to pursue art, but still hopes for it to be a part of his life.

Sego has been inspired to share his art talents via social media. On Facebook, Sego posted a status requesting for volunteers to digitally paint. The inspiration behind these Facebook paintings was the need to get enough pieces for AP Studio Art. To finish the required portfolio for the class, students must submit 24 pieces. Currently, Sego has five. “When I heard he was doing paintings I volunteered myself because he’s a famous artist around these parts,” said Carson Stewart.

To complete these pieces, Sego uses a computer program called GIMP. GIMP is a versatile graphics manipulation package

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that allows users to edit images. To Sego, the program was a price friendly alternative to PhotoShop. “It’s better than paying $500 for PhotoShop,” stated Sego.

He has been speed painting for less than a year and taught himself how to use the program by watching YouTube videos. Artists begin recreating a piece by starting out with a skeleton and adding more and more layers of color to the piece. This process is repeated to make the artwork improve over time. Even though Sego claims he is still trying to improve at the program, his peers enjoy his artwork. “He brings a contemporary style and subject matter to the forefront,” said art teacher, Mr. Kelty.

Since the program is done on a computer, artists use a recording software to have the entire process of the painting recorded.

They then compile the footage to create a single video, usually only a few minutes long. Although it is called “speed painting” it takes Sego between 2 and 6 hours to complete a piece. Sego prefers using the digital program over real paints because if a mistake is made while painting, it can be reversed with the simple click of the mouse.

Although Sego has only just begun digitally painting, art is not new for him. The senior has been working with art since he was three years old and , in the past, has painted and used pencil to comeplete his work. Because of his years of practice he is not limited to one media.

At school, Sego participates in many activities. He is involved in NHS, Beta Club, and is also a member of the tennis team. Sego has been involved with tennis since his seventh grade year. “He’s very committed to tennis,” said teammate, Reese Milburn.

Outside of school, when he is not painting, Sego enjoys listening to music and watching YouTube videos.

Currently, Sego has no plans to pursue art in his future as a career. Despite this decision, his peers are well aware of his gift as an artist, “He’s very talented and it’s something he enjoys because he’s constantly putting it online,” said Reese Milburn.

After being an artist for over 14 years, Sego has learned many things. Even though he isn’t planning to pursue art professionally, he has still gained perspective.

“Art gives you a new way to look at the world,” said Sego.

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SavannahWarner She’s Got An Angel Looking Out For Her

article by Leah Byars l pictures submitted by Leah Byars l layout by Elynn Mullaney

While their eyes were watching her, her eyes were watching God.

faith Savannah has in God is what first made Stump consider Warner for the award.

Savannah Warner, winner of a $1,000 YMCA character award scholarship, points to God as the reason for her success.

As part of the nomination requirements, Warner has many hours of volunteer experience. The majority of these hours came from the YMCA in Shepherdsville, White Mills Christian Camp, and Shepherdsville Elementary, where her mother is a teacher. “I like to give back to my community,” said Warner, “because I feel like it gives a lot to me.”

Although she was one of the youngest nominees, Warner’s years of service and unwavering faith in God contributed to her eventual possession of the YMCA character award.

This past October, Warner was nominated for the YMCA character award to honor her volunteer work and potential as a leader. Warner was nominated by Anita Stump, the YMCA Membership Director and family friend. Stump, who has worked with Warner for several years on different projects, expressed admiration for Warner’s work ethic and leadership skills amongst other children when she nominated her. “She’s so much more mature than a lot of kids that age, in the respect that she wants to help people and have other people treated fairly,” recalled Stump.

Amongst all the 50 students nominated, only three were freshmen, Savannah included. The nomination came as a surprise to the whole family, especially Savannah’s mother, Stephanie Warner. “I didn’t expect it at all. I didn’t even really realize that there was an award like that.”

The YMCA character award commemorates the nominee’s leadership abilities, volunteer experience, and strong faith in God. As the YMCA is a Christian based facility, the strong

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The dedication she showed to the work she was given is what really made Stump take notice of her over the other students that also volunteer through the program. Stump recalled that Warner genuinely wanted to help and didn’t waste time. “That’s [volunteer work] not something that she just did for one summer, that’s something that is her passion and something she wants to do long term,” said Stump.

In addition to her volunteer hours, Warner is heavily involved in the Bullitt East Girls Soccer Team, FCA, and UFES. Another aspect of her life that set her above the rest of her competitors, said Warner, was her faith in God. Warner grew up in a Christian home with strong Christian parents, so there was never any question for her about her faith. “God helps me through a lot, he’s helped my family through a lot in the past year because my sister’s been sick,” said Warner.

Last spring Warner’s younger sister was diagnosed with PANDAS, a regressive brain

disorder that tends to present itself as OCD. This put stress on the family, especially since Mrs. Warner was absent for several weeks of it.

According to Mrs. Warner, even though she was suffering as well, Savannah took responsibility for her other sister that wasn’t coping so well with what was happening. “She was very nurturing and passionate,” said Mrs. Warner.

“She even has to remind me sometimes that through God all things are possible.” Since then, Warner’s sister has recovered.

Her strong faith is noticed outside of her family as well. Steve Gentry, girls soccer coach, said, “She keeps her composure on. She doesn’t use bad language, and she leads the post and pregame prayer.”

An additional prize that came with the monetary scholarship was $500 to go toward becoming a better leader in one’s community. Right now, Warner is planning on using that money to attend a youth leadership camp or a health and science camp held on the UK campus. Further in the future, she hopes to go school and become an athletic trainer.

The scholarship that Warner won this past year will also open the doors for further leadership opportunities, an impressive feat for one so young. Because of her win, she’ll be eligible for a teen leaders program, which in turn could lead to another scholarship and even a chance to attend a teen leaders school. As Stump said, “Somebody like that, at her age, she’s got so much ahead of her, so much to look forward to; she’s going to make such an exceptional young adult.”

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We're All In Th article by Leah Byars, Penny Schmitz, and Sammy Ewing l layout by Leah Byars

Diverse City- It’s like a freak show in your neighborhood.

Christian artist Toby Mac makes the idea of diversity seem fun, something achievable, but most small-town residents may find the actual ideal to be more complicated and harder to achieve.

Diversity in itself is a hard-to-define topic, especially in a small city where the majority of the residents are white conservatives. Those that have tried to stand out often have found themselves belittled and shoved back into the fold. However, despite these setbacks, some form of diversity may be possible in a small town setting.

different in a small town is still hard. There are still those that are reluctant to give up the ways of the past, and others have to suffer for these lingering prejudices. “I’ve had people throw up “KKK” signs at me, call me names, threaten my family and even been ran off the road before,” revealed Deshawntanae Brown, an AfricanAmerican junior.

The word ‘diverse’ itself encompasses many meanings. It cannot be defined to one thing, for true diversity can only exist in an ideal community (utopia if you will). According to senior, Connor Brown, who at first glance appears to be the stereotypical white, Christian, athletic male, “Diversity is the racial, socio economic, social, etc, difference within a group of people.”

While that’s a nice, dictionary definition, it doesn’t encompass the emotional and psychological significance of the subject. According to senior Corey Chesser, a more in depth look suggests that diversity is “having the courage subscribing to the Human Experience and following your own flow. From scaling the highest mountain to trying that sushi restaurant down the road. Diversity begins with recognizing that humans are ONE entity masterfully composed of varying....stuff for a lack of a better word. And from that we learn from one another and become diverse.”

The problem with finding variation in Mt. Washington is that the families that live here have lived here for several generations. Back in the 1970s and 80s when the struggles of civil rights were being felt heavily in Louisville, many white families “had left the city of Louisville for the blue-collar suburbs of Jefferson County”, according to the historical account in How We Got Here: the 70s by David Frum. Many families also settled in Mt. Washington and surrounding towns. According to the National Census, between 1970 and 1980 the population of Mt. Washington grew from a little over 2,000 to nearly 4,000. Even with the approximately 2,000 person growth, the town remained predominantly white.

However, with the addition of the bypass in 1995, everything began to change. Outsiders recognized Mt. Washington as an ideal place to be close to the two major cities (Louisville and Shepherdsville) yet distant enough to raise a family without having to worry about the effects of city life. Different people with different views on life and experiences moved in and settled down, thus bringing in a variation of culture.

Though Mt. Washington is growing in both population and in acceptance, being AprilAPRIL 2013 2011 NewsmagazineBEHSspring2013issue4.indd 22

According to the Student Enrollment Summary Report as of 3/7/13, in our school right now, we have a total of 37 minority students as compared to the 1338 white students; that’s only 2.69% of the entire student body. Nine are freshmen, twelve are sophomores, eleven are juniors, and five are seniors. That’s 3% of each grade except for the senior class, which is a measly 2%, that is of an ethnicity other than white.

Not only has race played its role in the

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This Together diversity of Mount Washington, but differing sexualities also contributes.

Famous artists such as Lady Gaga encourages sexual diversity in her chart topping song Born This Way. The lyrics are “No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian or transgender life, I’m onthe right track baby I was born to survive.”

take the chance for others to do the same.”

You don’t have to be a minority to be considered diverse, though. Diversity can be found in the small things people do that set them apart and make them different, like talents or interests. Maybe you know someone that can juggle. Maybe you can speak another language.

Each person has something that sets them apart.

One can find diversity in being the majority. Even though Brown seems to be the stereotypical white, Christian, athletic male, he still manages to stand out. His taste in music as well as his interest in other cultures sets him apart. Not only does his thirst for diversity set him apart, so does his intelligence. One of his close friends senior Gavin Morris added, “He is one of the smartest people I know but he doesn’t make you feel inferior, that’s who he is.”

The problem lies in the fact that not everyone is willing to accept the differences that make the population of Bullitt East unique. From her experience, senior Jordan Engle said, “If you try to be different, people talk bad about you, the clothes you wear, your appearance. It [diversity] is encouraged, but people won’t come out of their shell.”

If our small town wants to be truly diverse, we just have to dive in and take it all in at once, meaning if the person is black, white, spray tan orange, gay, straight, fat, skinny, etc; Mount Washington needs to realize that times are changing. Just because you may not look the same as another person, or agree with that person’s morals or codes they live doesn’t mean you don’t treat them with dignity and respect all humans deserve. As Chesser said, “Diversity is very important in progressing as a society...we are one human entity and those who simply judge others remain in their protective culture shell, will never see the light of day and consequently neither will humanity.”

Sophomore Jared Guillaume has felt the heat in identifying himself as openly gay in a town where there are more churches than restaurants. He shared, “I’ve had a lot of hateful things said to me. Once, a 40 year old man, a complete stranger, told me I deserved to be ‘run over by a car’ because I was a ‘f****** f*ggot. What made it worse was that his kids, who were my age, laughed hysterically.”

Race Breakdown by Number at BEHS

However, despite these setbacks, Guillaume did not let the words or actions of unaccepting people dictate how he would live his life. “I didn’t choose to be gay, I chose to accept myself for who I am and Livewire Livewire NewsmagazineBEHSspring2013issue4.indd 23

HUMAN INTEREST DIVERSITY 22 4/4/2013 1:07:37 PM

article by Cassidy Grom | layout by Elynn Mullaney Besides actually walking the line and thrusting that rolled up piece of paper into the air like it is Simba off of the Lion King, pranks are the highlight of any senior’s year. This year Amanda Webb has stepped up to lead the class of 2013 in the annual shenanigans.

As typical, the seniors are not disclosing the details of their plans, putting underclassmen on guard. Webb consoled us lesser mortals: “It is not something you should worry about because it is not geared toward you all. That is all I will say.”

Senior

Pranks

In a strategic move, the seniors have involved an administrator in their plans. As one of the assistant principals, Mrs. Burke’s job is to ensure the pranks don’t break school policy. Burke cited, “No animals, no potential harm, and the timing is very important, end of the year assessment may be going on.”

Webb viewed Burke’s job slightly different: “Mrs. Burkes main job is to make sure we get to walk the line. The next one [job] is to get into the school at late hours of the night or the wee hours of the morning.”

Already, anticipation is high as students and faculty wait in suspense for the annual surprise. “It’s a tradition everywhere. Not just at East. But I don’t think as a senior class you have really finished off your year without a classic prank,” said Webb. There are already many people participating in the Webb conspiracy but there are rumors of other prank plans. See if your ideas are a “maybe”, a “no” or a “go”:

A few years back, senior Casey Brown handed out “free” milk coupons. Here’s the catch, the lunch ladies let it slip not knowing this was a prank. Hundreds of milk cartons were taken from the cafeteria and history was made.

Prank No

History is bound to repeat itself. If you make the same dumb mistakes as seniors of the past have, you are likely to receive the same punishment: not walking the graduation line. Some big no-no’s include anything with animals due to the mishap that occurred several years ago involving endangered live poultry. You also need to be careful who you pull the prank on, if you decide to bombard a teacher who has been teaching longer than you have been alive with water balloons while he or she is administering an EOC, you might as well make other summer plans because you won’t be in Broadbent arena on the 25th.

Prank Yes

There are always the classics. Putting for sale signs on the front lawn, alarms in the rafters, or sticky notes covering a favorite teachers room. Chances are if you are not hurting anyone, using animals, disrupting testing, or committing a felony, you are in the clear. Enjoy your practical joke, but remember as Mrs. Burke says, “It is all in good fun.”

Prank Maybe

There are several great prank ideas floating around, waiting for daring seniors wade into the unknown and claim them as their own. Some ideas include dressing up as Pac-man and a few ghosts and running through the halls while techno music is blaring over the intercom. Other ideas put students in a slippery situation when they would find themselves flying down a slip ‘n’ slide while trying to walk down the ramp in main hall. Yet still, other ideas involve a bit more technology and a bit more danger such as hacking into the One Call system and convincing students that school is canceled due to snow….in May. “Maybe” pranks are tricky because they haven’t been done before; seniors are encouraged by Mrs. Burke to “use your common sense”. If your common sense is disabled as a result of senioritis, you might want to check with an administrator before implementing your practical joke.

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Blog Exerpts Go Online and check out our blogs ww2.bullittschools.org/behslivewire

Wednesday afternoon, I pulled into my Church’s parking lot in a rush to get to my youth group. I hopped out of my car carefully, cringing at my terrible parking job. I was just about to jog into the church building when a man behind me said, “excuse me ma’am.” When I realized he was speaking to me, I assumed he was the owner of the truck parked beside me. Instantly, I began apologizing for parking so close. To my surprise, he did not own the truck and instead asked about the sticker on the back of my car window.

I received the sticker over the summer from a dear friend, it reads “HE > I”. The man began to explain that he was driving from Louisville to his home in Taylorsville, but his GPS took him the wrong way. As he was passing my church, Kings Baptist, he felt a strong urge to pull in. He was just about to start his car and head back home when he saw my sticker.

As he was explaining all of this to me, I was praying silently. This was a total God thing. When he asked about the sticker, I explained to him what it meant. I began by saying, “It says He is greater than I because I am a sinful person, I mess up a ton.” The man was listening earnestly, so I continued, “But God sent His son Jesus into the world. Jesus lived a perfect life and died for my sins. But he did not stay dead, he rose again. It says He is greater than I because I serve a living God.” I felt like I was rambling, but the man seemed to understand. I asked him if he would like to attend one of the small groups inside of the church. The man went back to grab his coat, and he joined me on the short walk into church.

There is those who we can call oversharers – those who pump out every little detail of what’s going on during their day and fills your feed up with tweets like “that sandwich was so awesome #hamandcheeseforever“, “I kinda feel like I need to use the bathroom but I’m too tired #thestruggle”, or “flipping through my channels and there’s nothing on #sadtweet”. We all need to follow one or two oversharers to always have something new to read, right?

Then we have the creepers, sometimes in the form of a curious parent, who barely tweets anything themselves except for song-lyrics, but sets the retweet-button on fire with wannabe-officials or other tweeters who they agree with. You can recognize a creeper if the follow-number is the double amount of the followers. Creepers usually follow only to read all the juicy gossip.

And we of course we have the spotters, those who tweet only when they feel there is a special moment that deserves to be in the spotlight. Their tweets are unique, usually with a huge amount of thought and preparation behind them to give them a moment in the spotlight.

A spotter sees it is an exciting challenge to compose a tweet with only a limited amount of characters, especially when there is a life event in need of attention.

Music Mashup

Most artists are overlooked because they don’t have the “look” which really means they can’t squeeze into a size zero dress and their style screams hipster. You will hear numerous times throughout the worldwide show American Idol; where they are set out to find the best artist all over the country say “your voice is okay but you have the look that can sell.” Next thing you know they are on their way to Hollywood; which is where we find our Taylor Swifts of the world ,who has the cute innocent look that sells but if you asked her to sing a Whitney Houston song you would be searching for the nearest exit.

Why do we do that though? As long as we see a pretty face why are we more willing to listen to their music? The answer is simple, people are drawn to mainstream, which means music that is well known and played on the radio frequently; and big time recording labels don’t sign just an average looking teenager; they have to grab somebody’s attention. Artist who have mediocre talent and amazing looks have it easier in the music business.

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HUMAN INTEREST BLOGS 24 4/4/2013 1:07:42 PM

Haley Simpson

Higher Standards, Educational Road Blocks

Would you be okay with having a dress code, not being able to discuss your weekends, and not being able to follow certain people on Twitter?

Well teachers and staff, although well past their graduation, are still mandated to behave and act a certain way.

With today’s technology, teachers find themselves using more and more social media to remind students about assignments in their various classes. Along with a new generation of teachers, schools are finding that it’s easier to find students and teacher bonding together and forming more friendship relationships than a professional classroom relationship, but today’s society, teacher and student relationships gets a bad reputation because of the way the media presents it.

Teachers most of the time are held to a higher standard than a lot of employees in other work forces, they are supposed to follow a certain dress code and other laws that would enable students to bond with their students.

If you watch movies from the mid-1900s you realize that teachers were up-tight and strict. The men wore suits, and the women wore dresses, conversation in class didn’t stray from history or English. But over the years teachers have loosened up. They are more than just monotonic people who may or may not be robots, and the dress code has changed drastically. Last year, teachers wore jeans and t-shirts every day, but this year they are required to wear some type of business clothes, but when students have dress down days they do too.

“

In this century technology has been more prevalent than ever in our everyday lives. Teenagers spend 30 hours a week online on Twitter, Facebook, and other sites. With the rise, teachers have created accounts to keep in touch with students about test and assignments for their classes. Students reply to their tweets and teachers respond back, just like two friends. But should students and teachers be friends online? Many teachers have told their students that they will not follow them back until they graduate; even Biology teacher Chris Ryan has Team #IDontFollowBackTilYouGraduate in his bio. “I think it’s important for the students to see that I'm human outside of school, but I also make sure that before I hit send that I understand that everyone has access to what I'm sending. I always ask myself, does my boss want

NewsmagazineBEHSspring2013issue4.indd 26

to see this, does my wife want to see this, would my mom approve of this, etc.,” said Ryan.

It’s inevitable, everyone has had the class, no matter in what grade, where you have that teacher that has that ability to perfectly balance class, they don’t lecture too long, assign too much homework, and the tests make sense. Everyone has had that teacher at one point, but everyone’s also had that teacher who no matter what finds a way to incorporate funny, but educational stories into class. You get to know that teacher more than just someone who stands at the front of the classroom teaching World War 2 and synthetic division, but a person who has had experiences in life that you can relate to.

And with a new generation of teachers coming in, you see more and more teachers like that and you see more and more becoming friends, reaching outside the zone of professionalism in class. Junior Katelyn Alcorn believes that being close to teachers really helps students learn, “for example I’m really close to Mrs. McCroskey, when I’m in her class I pay more attention and get more out of class,” stated Alcorn.

Due to alleged scandals in and out of the classroom in surrounding counties, and the way people see teacher-student relationships on television people sometimes just assume the worst, “there's a difference between having a "personal relationship" with a student and inappropriate relationships with a student,” also said Ryan, “ with all of the crazy things going on regarding student/adult relationships I want to make sure that everyone knows that I have nothing to hide.”

I’m really close to Ms. McCroskey, when I’m in class I pay more attention and get more out of class.

In order to be friends on Facebook with a teacher and for one to have your number a parent has to sign a permission slip allowing that. For Twitter, it’s a complete gray area. You can’t control who follows you, but however you can control who you follow. “I'm the teacher and they are the student. I don't want to know anything about their personal life or have the ability to communicate with them on a personal level. If we are going to communicate I want everyone seeing it so there is proof that as a teacher I have nothing to hide,” stated Ryan.

AprilLivewire APRIL April December 20132012 20112012 2011

contact Haley- haley.simpson@stu.bullitt.kyschools.us

So should teachers have to be held to a higher standard than students? Well, yes. They are the authority in the classroom. But, however they should be allowed to dress how they want and talk about whatever they want in the classroom, within reason. If they follow these rules of having a dress code, like us but stricter, you could argue that they are basically being treated like middle school students.

They show up every day in their uniform, are told what to talk about and then they leave. How is that fair? The students probably get more freedom than them, and they are grown adults.

What do you think about student and teacher expectations? Let us know.

Send all letters to larry.steinmetz@bullitt. kyschools.us OPINION ww2.bullittschools.org/BEHSLivewire/ ww2.bullittschools.org/BEHSLivewire 4/4/2013 1:08:37 PM

Jasmine Hester Just Do It

contact Jasmine - jasmine.hester@stu.bullitt.kyschools.us

You get what you get and don’t throw a fit.

Younger and new to the team players are passing former players up in skill and devotion with better attitudes and a higher skill level.

High school athletes normally don’t think twice about try outs or the new players coming in that could potentially take their spots but after some shocking cuts made by coaches here at East our athletes are starting to think twice before they decided to skip practice.

Seniors Scotty McIntyre and Josh Miller played for Charger basketball their freshman, sophomore, and junior years but they didn’t make the team their senior season. When asked why they thought they were cut this year neither boy knew why but they could both agree that high school sports are major commitments and time obligations. This restricts players from being able to really engage in anything besides their sport so they must be dedicated or it ends up being a waste of time. After putting so much time and work into the sport over the years Miller was upset when he first found out he’d been cut he but bounced back fast “I was pissed off at first but then I didn’t care. Being cut from the basketball team has only affected me in positive ways. I was able to get a job and I have a lot more free time.”

“

When asked why the basketball team didn’t just accept everyone like the football team does head coach Troy Barr’s response was “It comes down to the fact that the football team can have eleven players on the field at all times and they have special teams, offense, and defense.

We can only have five guys on the court.” Coaches can only have so many players so they must pick those who are the most talented, dedicated, and motivated. Those who lack these qualities will not make a team of champions.

A player getting cut affects them as an individual it also affects the other players of the team. When Barr was asked if he agreed with this his response was I’m sure it does to some extent but that’s just the way things are. Without the threat of not making the team people get complacent and don’t want to improve.”

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Although it depends on the person who got cut, their level of experience/skill, and how they work with the team on whether or not it affects the other players it can still have a huge impact. North senior Destinee Barr commented, “It can affect players because it also shows them that coaches don’t always mean what they say or that eventually maybe dedicating their time and hard work won’t be enough.”

Destinee hit the nail on the head when while describing tryouts and cuts at North “A lot of the kids who give it their all and make the cut are the determined ones who practice hard. If you go to every practice, you get better, and you start. If you miss practice, you’ll be lacking some skills compared to the others, and you won’t have as much playing time.”

The players who don’t give their all or who aren’t as talented as some of the other boys don’t get playing time.

New talent, players slacking off, skills not being up to par, the list of reasons why people get cut from sports teams goes on but not all sports team have cuts, some teams accept everyone.

The football team, for example, has mandatory conditioning before the season starts but the coaches allow anyone who comes out to make the team. However, just because you make the team doesn’t mean you will receive playing time. In fact, senior Austin Story said “the players who don’t give their all or who aren’t as talented as some of the other boys don’t get playing time. “

Livewire Livewire

Although Barr has a good point, many students who play sports at East have said that favoritism plays a key role in who makes the team and who gets the most playing time. When asked if he felt like favoritism played a big part over dedication and determination in our sports here at East Barr said “No, not unless you call favoritism playing guys who work the hardest or have the most skill then yeah.

Andrew Okruch, for example, is probably one of the nicest kids in this entire school with the greatest attitude but he wasn’t there skill wise so he didn’t make it.”

Some students won’t make a sports team or even go to one sporting event throughout their whole high school careers while others will only think of the coaches and teammates they had when they look back on their high school years. Whether they never come off the field /court, warmed the bench, sat in the bleachers and envied the star players, or accepted the fact that someone younger or more talented than them took their spot on the team, student athletes got to be a part of and enjoy the experience of tryouts and be a part of something bigger than themselves. So even if you don’t agree with sports teams making cuts take a step back and see how big of a positive impact it can make.

What do you think about getting cut from a sport? Let us know.

Send all letters to larry.steinmetz@bullitt. kyschools.us HUMAN OPINION INTEREST OPINION 26 28 26 4/4/2013 1:09:15 PM

Member

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