on campus Students attend annual St. Joan of Arc fair
Applied medicine hosts DPS elementary students A fourth-grade class from Detroit Public Schools’ Sampson Academy visited North on May 16 for a day of physiology fun. Students in the Applied Medical Research class educated them about skin cancer as part of their Physiology Understanding project, a service project designed to promote physiological awareness. The group was confronted with conflicts days before the event. Because Sampson Academy’s neighborhood was recently ranked one of the worst in the U.S., North students couldn’t visit the elementary school. However, Sampson wouldn’t approve their students to come to North as an alternative. After lengthy discussions among administrators of both districts, DPS approved the visit last minute. During the day, students learned interactively with a lecture, two skits and outdoor experiments. “The experience was really inspiring. The kids really changed our lives more than we changed theirs, probably,” senior Meghan Vancleve said. “They were so excited for learning. It was just really inspiring.” Susan Speirs hopes to continue the visits with classes to come because of the lessons it taught her students. “To me, there is nothing like touching the heart, the soul and the mind of another human being,” Spiers said. “My favorite quote was from a little boy. (Evelynne Smith) asked him, ‘Are you going to tell your mom and dad and brother and sister about today?’ and he just kinda sat back and he said, ‘No, but I’m gonna dream about coming back here.’”
By Anu Subramaniam & Jeffrey Valentic staff reporters
Artwork displayed in PAC The opening ceremony of the 2013 Art Show occurred May 19 in the Performing Arts Center. The show was open Monday through Thursday during the day, as well as at night. Awards were given to students by various groups. “It’s really exciting, we have awards given by the Grosse Pointe Art Center, by a couple of congressmen, by the Grosse Pointe Artists Association, by the Henry Ford House. They’re all going to come by and give awards to the art show,” art teacher Susan Forrest said. Planning for the Art Show is a year-round event for art teachers Susan Forrest, Robert Thies and Michael Lamb. “We are thinking about it all year. I talk to my students about it in September,” Forrest said. Forrest said that it’s estimated that over a thousand pieces of artwork were displayed at the show.
Faces in the crowd Katie Russo & Margo Martinez
Best friends and fellow sophomores Margo Martinez and Katie Russo bond in a particularly musical way: Mumford and Sons. The duo traces their obsession with the band to about a year ago. While en route to a lacrosse game, they surprised each other with their knowledge of the English serenaders. “It was when ‘Little Lion Man’ was, like, first popular, and ‘The Cave’ was popular, as well,” Martinez said. “And then [I was] like, ‘Hey! Have you ever heard of Little Lion Man?’ and she was like, ‘Hey! Have you ever heard of The Cave?’ And it blossomed from there.” Martinez and Russo have become avid listeners. Enticing them the most is the realness of the band. “It’s really heartfelt,” Martinez added. “You can tell because they’re really into the music, and they don’t do it to get popular. They do it for the music.”
Olivia Ritchie
Sophomore Olivia Ritchie has been playing soccer since she could walk and says her love for the sport was sparked by her brother. “My brother played (soccer), so I just wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Ritchie said. The first official soccer team Ritchie played for was a travel team called the Grosse Pointe Breakers, and since then, she has traveled to many other places. “We’ve gone to Petoskey, Traverse City (and) Romeo Peace Fest,” Ritchie said. With her travel teams and regular teams, Ritchie has played throughout her past middle school years and wants to continue throughout high school. She currently plays for the St. Clair Shores Spitfires and is the stopper on the team. Although she doesn’t think she’ll be advancing her career past high school, Ritchie’s love for soccer remains strong. “The bonds you build with your friends, the exercise it gives you and the traveling,” Ritchie said, are the best parts about her treasured sport.
Outdoor orchestra concert A combined North-South band and orchestra performed their annual Outdoor Spring Concert on May 23. The full orchestra played “1812 Overture” and “Capriccio Italien,” both written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Concert band played “The Great Locomotive Chase,” “Colonel Bogey,” and songs from Les Miserables. Symphony band played “Stars and Stripes Forever,” “Marche Americana” and “American Civil War Fantasy.” Band and Orchestra members had been working on these pieces for about a month and a half, since returning from their Disney trip. Junior Andrew Sharon, a percussionist in symphony band, enjoyed playing “American Civil War Fantasy.” “It has a battle scene in it where the percussion get to play as loud as we want and act out a mini-Civil War scene,” Sharon said. Freshman Hannah Atherton, in concert band, was aware of the audience’s reaction. “The song that the audience liked the most (was) ‘The Great Locomotive Chase’ because it sounds exactly how a train sounds,” Atherton said. “The flutes sound like the bells in the train, and it’s just an interesting piece.”
North Pointe – Friday, May 24, 2013 – 3
TOP: The Freakout twists riders in one of its many pendulum-like swings. “The rides are pretty good, especially The Freakout. But the people watching is the most entertaining part,” freshman Lauren Lesha said.
Savannah Ransome
Since sophomore year, senior Savannah Ransome has been ready for college. She has been looking forward to going to her dream college, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, ever since she was a little girl. “My family went there. It’s been basically the place I’ve wanted to go since I could remember. I took a few of my first steps on their Dallas Hall. I just belong there. It’s been my lifetime goal,” Ransome said. Ransome believes that she does not belong here in Michigan. One of the things that attracted her to SMU was the great weather and beautiful campus. After college, Ransome plans on staying down south – preferably South Carolina. “I am a displaced southern belle. There is no doubt about that! I do not belong up here. I love the warm weather. I don’t like Michigan,” Ransome said. Graduating from North will be bittersweet for Ransome. She is proud of all of her accomplishments but is ready to be treated like an adult. Ransome’s proudest accomplishment was making it into the school’s Academic Hall of Fame. She is one of 14 to have this honor. “My biggest achievement is sitting right now in the hallway over B building and getting the 4.0 on the Academic Hall of Fame. It was my goal the first day of freshman year, and I followed through all the way to my senior year,” Ransome said.
RIGHT: A dad and daughter glide through the air on The Cliffhanger, a kid-friendly ride. “It’s a fun event for families, and definitely great in that it gives teenagers something to do other than to go to TCBY or sit around,” senior Courtney Carroll said.
By Brigitte Smith, Emma Puglia & Sydney Thompson
By Melina Glusac, Wendy Ishmaku & Erin Armbruster
Grosse Pointe Athletic Club Get Fit, Stay Fit! General Fitness Training Sport-Specific Performance Programs Individual & Group Training 335 Fisher Road, Grosse Pointe (313) 886-8590 info@thegpac.org Student Rate: $35/mo.
Marchiori Catering Services for Your Special Occasion
Ask for Tony Marchiori 21800 Marter Rd. St. Clair Shores (586) 771-8600