ISSUE 3
Polar opposite winter predicted
December, 2012
Get’cha head in the game: basketball season begins By: Chloe Singleton
By: Kayla Bennett It’s a bird, it’s a plane! No…. it’s snow! After the disappointment over the lack of snow last winter, snow lovers will be happy to welcome a “polar opposite” for 2012-13. Meteorologists predict moderate snowfalls, windy conditions and colder temperatures this winter. The predictions reverse a trend of declining snowfall over the past few years; the average snowfall from 2009-2010 was almost 30 percent higher than in 2011-2012. Cold temperatures are expected to be more intense starting in December and January. In addition to temperature changes, weather experts predict drastic precipitation changes. All of the United States is forecasted to have above average moisture, especially over southern California and the southeastern United States. Some areas of the United States will be hammered with snowfall this winter. In recent times, Cincinnati has received most of its snow in January, though snowfall as late as April is not out of the question. One thing all students look forward to each winter is snow days. Two years ago, Ohio residents fretted over Gov. Ted Strickland’s proposal to reduce the number of snow days from five per school year to three in order to ensure more classroom time for Ohio’s students. In 2011, however, State Representative Peter Beck announced the passage of House Bill 36 restoring the number of snow days to five. School districts are required to make up snow days beyond the fifth during spring or summer break. According to principal Brad Winterod, Norwood City Schools Superintendent Rob Amodio decides if school will be closed or delayed on those snowy mornings in question. In order to make this decision, he watches the weather and communicates with the head of maintenance, John Peter. According to Winterod, “safety is the deciding factor.” Due to the unseasonably warm winter last year, the district did not use any of its five calamity days. Snow lovers, students, and teachers—do your snow dances and hope the predictions are correct so as not to have a repeat of last year!
After such a successful season of fall sports, winter sports are underway– meaning basketball season is back. After the Norwood Indian’s football team plowed their way through the SBAAC, Norwood fans are eager to see what will come of the basketball teams.
In years past, the boy’s basketball team has faced quite a struggle in the FAVC. The boys fought their way through the FAVC with past records of 11-11 in 2009, 6-13 in 2010, 6-15 in 2011 and 912 in 2012. Not only have the boys struggled in the league, but they have also lost three of their leading scorers since last year. Athletic Director J.D. Foust explains, “After
losing the three leading scorers, the team is going to need some senior leadership to step it up.” The boys are now entering a new league, sporting new uniforms on a new gym floor with a brand new attitude and ready to step it up. The girl’s basketball team has also faced a struggle of their own. With a final record of 5-16 in
The community comes together on Premiere night to kick-off the winter sports season.
2009 and 2010, 8-13 in 2011 and 7-14 in 2012, something needed to change. In addition to being moved to the SBAAC, the girls received another significant switchKeith Gwynn. Coach Gwynn takes much pride in what he does and has high expectations for the upcoming season. Foust is also pleased with the progress the girls basketball team has made already. “From what I’ve seen, Coach Gwynn is getting the best out of the girls. They practice hard and I think they should be able to compete for the league championship this year,” says Foust. Both teams are expected to succeed in the new league and maybe even bring home league titles. Foust is excited about the season saying, “It’s always hard to tell at the beginning of the season, but with hard work and playing together, these teams can accomplish anything.”
Pizza pie chart Norwood students give their opinion of their favorite pizza By: David Torres Italian food is the most popular ethnic food in America, and according to a study done by the U.S. Department or Agriculture, approximately 94 percent of Americans eat pizza. Americans consume an average of 46 slices of pizza a year. This is one of Americas largest and most important food industries, raking in 32 billion dollars a year. There are many popular pizza places in Norwood, including: La Rosa’s, Angilo’s, Dominos, Little Caesar’s and Donato’s. But which pizza place is the most popular in the United States? In a poll by the Huffington Post, results show Americans prefer the taste of Papa Johns and Hot ‘n Ready Little Caesar’s pizzas the least. Although Little
Caesars ranked low in taste, it was among the top when it came to the overall value. Value seekers are familiar with the company’s $5 pizza deal. A poll conducted by Rankopedia found similar results, signaling out Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s as America’s favorites. Norwood students fall in line with national averages. In a recent poll of Norwood students, Papa John’s came in first with the Cincinnati local La Rosa’s in a close second. Dominos came in third place, while Little Caesars was rankled last. Most Americans buy pizza depending on the price and the quality, according to a poll by PQM, which is a magazine all about pizza. It states that location is one of the lowest factors to people when buying a pizza; most pizza corporations now offer delivery, and it
takes the time away from having to wait in the store to get their food. At Norwood High, students have taste as their number one factor when buying a pizza. This might be because students usually have their parents buy the pizza and don’t worry about the price. A study by Serious Eats of approximately 900 people, 42 percent of them say that they eat pizza at least once a week. 24 percent of people state that they eat pizza less than once a week. How did Norwood High stack up? Approximately 33 percent of people say that they eat pizza about once a week and 17 percent of students say that they eat pizza less than once a week, and 50% said they have it about once a month. Though some people eat more pizza than others, studies show
everyone enjoys a good pizza pie every now and then.
DID YOU KNOW?
Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day Approximately 3 billion pizzas are sold in the U.S. each year An average person eats an average of 46 slices of pizza per year! Italian food ranks as the most popular ethnic food in America
94% of Americans eat pizza.
INDIAN
Talented young artist: Joanne Feist By: Ashley Couch At Norwood High School many students take some sort of art class, but not all of them stand out the way senior AP art student Joanne Feist does. This month, art teacher Terri Viltrakis nominated Feist to acknowledge her exceptional artwork. Feist enjoys taking art because it isn’t as structured as a core class and there’s more one on one attention. She is not new to AP art as she went through the process last year under the direction of a different teacher. Viltrakis wanted to honor Feist because “she is self-directed, self-motivated, and a hard worker” who is identified as the most focused of the group. Despite these accolades, Feist is modest and doesn’t like to talk too much about her artwork. “I don’t think I could really say I’m a great artist yet, because I’m still so young. I’m sure that after five years or even just
after one, I’ll look back at what I’m working on now and think it’s terrible,” said Feist. Viltrakis, however, seems to disagree and believes Feist is already a wonderful artist. “She’s amazingly talented and her art work can apply to more than one type,” says Viltrakis. Her teacher also points out her strengths, noting her strong color blending skills, illustrative style, and outstanding work ethic. Viltraki reports that Feist only needs help with her creative spark and small decisions on technique. After high school Feist definitely has a plan. “The art industry is really hit or miss, so I’ve decided to minor in art and work part time as a book illustrator after college. But I haven’t exactly decided what to major in.” If Feist’s friends were to describe her, they might say she was a show off or overachiever, but she says that’s not really true. She simply takes pride in making beautiful things. In Feist’s free time she likes to write stories even
Should we really have homework? By: John Bennett
riam-Webster, learning is defined as knowledge or skill acEach day students go quired by instruction or study. home from school and do There are several diftheir homework right when ferent types of learning. Short they get home or later on. But term learning is memorization the question is: Does doing and is retained for about thirty homework really help you seconds and then goes into the learn? There have been multi- short memory. Short term ple studies on the subject by memories are accessed very comparing test scores and us- quickly. Finally, there is the ing advanced long term machines to m e m o r y map brain acwhich is reEuropean and Asian t i vi t y, but membered when comcountries who give little for a propared to every- homework score higher than longed peone else how riod of time the United States in math does the and someand science United States times harder stack up? to access. There Studare no definitive answers, as ies show tasks such as hometo whether students learn from work are stored in the short homework. It depends solely term memory therefore they on the style of learning that are usually forgotten quickly. allows a person to retain in- European and Asian countries formation the best. This is who give little homework why some students who don’t score higher than the United do homework still understand States in math and science. the material, while students Even with facts like these, the who do every assignment still homework issue is not definistruggle. tive because people learn in Before deciding if various ways. So if students homework is effective, one should really have homework should know what learning is up to the beholder. actually is. According to Mer-
though she hardly gets the chance to finish them. She also enjoys playing with her dog. For many young artists, art doesn’t come naturally. There is usually some form of inspiration behind it. As for Feist, this is not the case. “Nothing really inspired me. It sort of just happened,” she explains, “My dad’s side of the family has always been really artistic and there have been many artists.” There will always be that one art project you’ve done in a prior art class that you will admire the most. Feist agrees with this statement. “I did a picture back in freshman year of a moth and firefly dancing. That, I think, will always be one of my favorites. It was one of the last ones I’ve done in crayola.” Check out Feist’s work hanging in the art display cases and at the art show this spring.
Right: Joanne plans to go to Xavier to study art. Below: An example of her artwork from AP Art class.
Santa Claus is coming to Cincy! By: Hannah Hale With the holidays around the corner, there are many ways to brighten up the season in the Cincinnati area. There are plenty of attractions and events taking place during this time of year that are close by and won’t break the bank. Grab the family or your significant other and experience all that Cincinnati has to offer during the holidays. “Macy’s Light up the Square” is a Cincinnati tradition where every year a massive tree is lit in the middle of the downtown area. The lighting event took place on Nov. 23, but holiday spirit seekers don’t have to attend the ceremony to experience the beauty of the square during Christmas time. Going to the square is always free, but those looking to spend a little money should try ice skating on the U.S Bank ice rink on Fountain Square. The ice rink is open through Feb. 17. The cost for admission is $3 and skate rental is $3. This is an inexpensive way to see downtown decorated during the holidays. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is making
spirits bright this holiday season with the tri-state’s longest running holiday tradition – the 30th Annual PNC Festival of Lights! In addition to over two-million LED lights strung throughout the Zoo, guests can also enjoy Madcap puppets in black-light, a light show, train rides, rappin’ elves and so much more. The Festival of Lights is open at the Cincinnati Zoo through Jan. 1 every night from 5:009:00 p.m. Admission is free if you have a zoo membership, but general admission is $15 for adults and $10 for children. Holiday in Lights presented by the Alleen Company, an established Cincinnati Holiday tradition now in its 22nd year, is an outdoor light display at Sharon Woods viewed by patrons from the comfort of their own vehicles. Built over a mile of wooded roadway, the display of fantastic seasonal color adorns hundreds of trees as well as more than 120 moving and standing holiday themed figures depicting everything from Santa Claus and his elves to Godzilla. There's no need to bundle up to enjoy Holiday in Lights; simply
warm up the car, grab some festive music for your CD player, round up your friends, family, or a special date, and head to Sharon Woods. It's that easy. Holiday in Lights is open every day (including all holidays) until Dec. 31. The admission fee is $12 per car. With all the opportunities to enjoy the holiday spirit in Cincinnati this year, there is no reason to sit at home and be a scrooge. Experience all that this city has to offer before the holiday season is over!
Fountain Square is decked out for the holidays with this 70’ tall tree !
Dangerous energy By: Elizabeth Isaac It’s 3 a.m. and your big essay about Hamlet is due just a few hours from now in first bell. Too bad you haven’t even started the play. Without thinking, you grab a Monster energy drink out of the fridge to fuel up for the task at hand. Reading the label would have shown that there is 320mg of caffeine in a 24 oz can; that’s 20mg over the daily recommended intake of caffeine! High amounts of caffeine are linked to high blood pressure. The high sugar content of the drinks can cause insomnia, increased or irregular heartbeat, agitation, irritability, seizures, and possibly even death. Before reaching for this sugary concoction of chemical death one should ask themselves: Is quick energy really worth the price my body will pay? There have been five reported deaths linked to the consumption of Monster energy drinks, three reported deaths from Red Bull, and an increased amount of emergency room visits due to the consumption of the dangerous drinks. Energy drinks have been around for almost 50 years; the first one was made in Japan in the 1960’s. The fast energy fad spread quickly throughout Asia and then Europe. The fad reached America in 1985 with Jolt Cola but energy drinks did not become popular in our nation until 2007. Drinking caffeine is our society’s preferred way to get quick energy, but it is also dangerous. Being aware of other ways to get energized will save the body from unnecessary damage. A few easy energy alternatives are to laugh out loud, exercise or smell something strong. Laughing releases endorphins that help a person feel awake and refreshed. Laughing can also boost the immune system, ward off heart disease and reduce the risk of depression. Exercise works in the same manner, releasing endorphins to give an alert feeling. Scents that are known to invigorate the senses and have energizing qualities are citrus fruits, peppermint and rosemary. Believe it or not, water also boost energy without the use of chemical additives or extreme amounts of sugar. Water increases the flow of oxygen in the blood and helps the body feel energized. Instead of chugging down caffeinated heart failure in a can, drink a glass of water, tell a knock-knock joke, or run around in circles. In the long run energy drinks will make you feel even worse than before you drank it, so why not avoid problem all together?
Spring Play Underway By: Matt Brown
On March 8 in the Middle School Auditorium, the High School Theatre Department is presenting the comedy You Can’t Take it with You. Auditions took place on Dec. 3 and 4 to cast the 19 eccentric characters. Audiences love this play because they can relate to the plot, and it is a fun to see with their family. “Everyone has a crazy family member. Imagine that heighted, multiplied by 18 and only then do you understand the quirkiness of the Vanderhof family,” says Producer Ashley Martin. Martin expects a lot out of her cast and crew to make the play as good as it can be. “I expect everyone to be on time and ready to work. Students can’t bring baggage to rehearsal because their characters have enough of their own baggage,” explains Martin. “It’s a lot of work but we have a ton of fun.” Any student who missed auditions but still wants to be part of the play can participate by signing up for stage or tech crew. See Ms. Martin to sign up.
INSIDER
Advice Column: Ask “The Ash” Solving the world’s problems one teenage issue at a time... Every month, I’m faced with mind boggling questions given to me from troubled kids who roam these infamous halls. I see myself as a role model to all of you young Americans, and I believe that it’s my duty to guide you on the path to a long, loving, and meaningful life. That’s why I slave behind this computer screen for hours; I do it all of you. Now it’s time to once again visit the age old question, “What can the Ash do for you?” This past month, I considered
dozens of questions; some of them asking about friends, others about boyfriends, and one about a horse. (I don’t see how the horse question was relevant to school, either, but oh well). I picked a certain question that dealt with all of these problems, excluding the horse dilemma. Former BFF is concerned with the fact that her best friend has a new boyfriend, and won’t make any time for her. She wants to know how to cope with the fact that her so called “best friend” is ignoring her so easily. Well, this is a very troubling question. Problems concerning friends have been faced by just about everyone, including Julius Caesar. I’m going to make a quick analogy, and if you don’t get it, you’re probably a freshman, or you’re a sophomore who hasn’t gotten to The Tragedy of Julius Caesar in their English Class yet. Here’s what had happened, Julius was betrayed by his best friend Brutus who was following a man named Cassius who wanted to lead a revolution. Eventually Caesar is stabbed by Brutus and a bunch of other people, and then later on, everybody dies; it’s touching really. What I’m getting at is that things could be worse; she could be trying to stab you. But in all seriousness, just talk to her. If you sit down and tell her how you feel, I’m sure she’ll listen.
Later that same day, I received a note signed by someone named “Troubled Student.” They said their class was slowly but surely becoming too much to handle. They said their teacher assigns too much work to even think about doing, and all of his or her peers agree. In my opinion there’s only one way to handle a situation this magnitude-to talk to your teacher. Don’t just sit there and do absolutely nothing, won’t solve anything. Tell your teacher you and your classmates are having a difficult time doing the assigned work, and that lightening up on the load would hurt anything. Oh, and teachers like apples! Being a suck up is never a bad thing, it gets you far if you’re good at it. Well, that’s it for me, kiddos. I’m just so happy that all of you young adults trust me enough with your burning questions, because most people wouldn’t trust me to anything. Goodnight, Norwood High School, and always remember that I have the answers to all the questions. Stay excellent, my friends.
Music: The more things change, the more they stay the same By: Addy Bryant Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but do you prefer songs with a fast pumping beat or more bass line focused, minimalistic sound? Rock, pop, jazz, rap - they’re all types of music, and each one breaks off into a different branch. Clearly today’s music isn’t exactly what they were jamming out to in the ‘20s, but are there some things about music that will never change? Recent industry trends reveal that more and more listeners access their favorite jams through digital sources. Last year, the recording industry made $15 billion in digital sales, compared to just $2 billion in 2006. But if there’s one thing that hasn’t changed about music, it’s the fact that it’s generational. Grandparents think the same about the tunes played today as they did about what was playing on the radio when their sons and daughters were in school…it’s inappropriate and annoying. Though there are exceptions to everything, people seem to think the stuff the younger generation is listening to is complete trash. Even teenagers can’t escape this tendency. Junior Ali Cole says music has gotten “dirtier”. This may be true, but anyone who knows anything about Mozart, serenading his cousin with vulgar poems and songs, realizes he’s no saint either. There is one big change current generations have over the past: technology. The Beach Boys and the Beatles were some of the earliest bands and most well-known who used technology to alter their sound. Nowadays it’s hard to find pop bands that don’t use some type of auto-tune to change vocals or instruments. This doesn’t mean natural voices are nonexistent though; they’re just harder to find. The songs played on the radio are selected for their fast beat and relatable, broad lyrics. Ironically, while technology connects a person to someone halfway across the world,
it has made the music industry farther apart than ever before. There will always be big record labels who claim ownership over the artist/bands playing on the radio, and they’ll be the celebrities seen in magazines across the globe, but computer software has enabled unknown artists a chance to spread their own music. With more artists, more individual record companies have risen, some only on a local level. Consumers have gotten used to finding exactly what they want, exactly when they want it. Cole says, “If I hear a good song on a movie or TV show, then I just want to listen to it and JAM!” And in today’s world, that jamming can happen fairly quickly. People have a variety of outlets to seek that instant gratification, including YouTube, Spotify, and streaming music services like Pandora. The popular
phone App Shazam even allows listeners to instantly identify a song by simply activating the program while the song is playing. Despite these changes, the spirit of music in our lives hasn’t changed much. It’s a quick way to gain insight on a person and celebrate the human experience. Right now, we’re living in a generation where there’s more and more music to choose from. One song can define a person’s thoughts and feelings and also, incredibly, a whole generation of people. As composer Billy Joel would describe music, “it’s an explosive expression of humanity.”
According the The Digital Music Report, revenues for physical copies of music have been steadily decreasing while revenues for digital copies have been on rise.