The
TIGERcub
TIGERcub EDITORIAL It’s that time of year again, the giving season. A lot of people see the holidays as receiving season, but the Tiger Cub staff thinks that it should be the giving back season. The holiday season can often be a difficult time for families, especially with the current economy. The Tiger Cub staff has assembled a list of places and organizations that you can help. Even if you can’t give in a traditional monetary fashion, you can still help by volunteering your time. Volunteering isn’t the only way that you can give something. Giving a gift or volunteer-
ing is a nice gesture, but what ever happened to the polite everyday gestures that should be happening everyday? Hold a door for someone, pick up their pencil when they drop it in the hall, even saying please or thank you can make someone’s day. By helping someone else, you can give a better holiday to yourself and others. Don’t give until it hurts, give until it feels good.
Walmart, Imperial Mall- These trees located around town have cards on them for ornaments. You simply take off a card, which has items that someone needs. You buy the items and take them to a designated location.
KHAS TV has a toy drive for new toys, still in their original packaging. There are several drop off locations around town where you could take your donation.
You’ve seen and heard them every year. These people stand outside of stores with a bell and a red bucket for hours. When you walk by one, put in a couple of dollars, even your loose change will help.
It takes place every year, DECA students do a toy drive for Good Fellows. To donate, all one has to do is take a new, wrapped, toy down to Mrs. Davidson’s class room. There is a box outside of her door that you can place donations in.
Not good enough. That’s the outcome of state reading and math results at Hastings High. According to a November survey of 160 seniors, only 62 percent said they gave their best effort on the state reading test; meaning, 38 percent did not give their best effort. Sixty-four percent said they gave their best effort for the state math tests last year, leaving 36 percent who did not. What these students didn’t realize, while taking these tests, is that their scores are submitted to not only the district, but the state. “We would just like the kids to take the test seriously,” Carla Hedstrom, English Department Chair said. These scores affect how much funding the district receives from the state and district and also affects how our teachers are portrayed regarding their effectiveness in the classroom. “We just want to focus on kids’ learning, but when jobs are on the line it takes the focus away from that,” Kirk Ortegren, Math Department Chair said. “It comes down to the question ‘how can I get these students to get the right answer?’ rather than ‘how can I help these students learn?’.” According to the State Department of Education, if a school doesn’t meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) they have a set number of years to get scores up before consequences begin to come in to play. These consequences would include firing of teachers/departments, loss of funds, change of principal, or in a more extreme case, a new group in total would take over the school. On October 22, the “Omaha World Herald” reported that 60% of Hastings Public School students met state
Fresh Meats
Scratch Bakery Smokehouse
Delicatessen
standards in reading, and 86% of HPS students met state standards in math. Based on these scores, HPS falls in the bottom 12 high schools in the state. These totals reflect all grades, K-11. This can be looked at in one of two ways. These ratings do not account for low-income student percentages. The HPS student body is made up of 52% low-income students, yet it is still being compared to schools like Bennington and Elkhorn who have a low-income percentage of nine. What a lot of people don’t know is that in order to meet state standards as a school, state standards must
be met in each sub group. An example of these would be the different cultural groups in HPS, free and reduced lunch students, and special education. “If standards are not met in each sub group the school as a whole does not meet the state standards,” Principal Jay Opperman said. In years past, during state assessments, there would be two different tests for sophomores and two different tests for juniors. They would all be split up into their specific subjects. Now they are all thrown into one big test.
As a result, scores went down and since they are given on computers, teachers are without the option to retest the students who failed. Another factor in the struggle to meet state standards is the state’s ongoing changes to the standards themselves. The latest change was made in October, 2009, but plans are continually being made to change them again. Teachers in both math and reading find themselves with the common problem of not knowing what’s on the test, which results in them not knowing how to best prepare and help the students. “We know the style of the test, and we know its format,” Opperman said on the contrary. “We need to work on strategies to solve problems. This includes all subjects.” The math department is currently working on improving their scores with a program called “L to J”. “‘L to J’ is to help students prepare for these tests by recalling what they’ve learned in past years. It is a way to constantly review material,” Ortegren said. In the English department, teachers were told that students don’t have enough background knowledge to understand what they are reading. “We are giving students current event articles to read and having them write a reflection over the article in order to incorporate non-fiction reading into the curriculum,” Hedstrom said. Overall, it is time for the student body of HHS to take matters into their own hands and put forth the effort needed to show Hastings High’s true strengths and weaknesses, rather than not putting forth the full effort and having the scores show it.
Money Orders
Postal Service
Accept Visa, Mastercard & Discover
“Hastings Only Full Service Supermarket”
See us at our new location and check out our new dining room.
8
8
888 8
8
888 8
8 88887 8 7
8 88887 8 7
888 8
8 8 8887 8 7
B
O W
L
I
N G
School League begins on October 25, 2010 at 6:30 PM. Cost: $6 per week per bowler. League runs until April 4, 2011. Disco Bowling on Friday and Saturday Nights Pastime Lanes 1400 West 18th Hastings, NE 68901 402-462-BOWL
Childhood is a phase that all go through, and a large part of that phase is called high school. There’s not very much responsibility, not much worry, and a large sense of care-freeness. When one becomes an adult, that all changes, and this is demonstrated perfectly in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry is out of school, Hogwarts, and on his own with only his friends Hermione and Ron. They face the difficult challenge of destroying the dark Lord Voldemort. The tone of the film is dark and lonely. At every, turn one feels that the trio is out of their league. Friends die by their sides, they are the most wanted people in England, and they have nobody to look to for guidance. For anyone who is not caught up on the series, they are out of luck because the plot will be incomprehensible for them. Also for all who have not read the books, they may feel overwhelmed by the sub-plots and sub-sub- plots that the movie adds in to be faithful to the book. The first third of the movie is action packed and fast paced with a chase scene, a wizarding fight in a coffee shop, and breaking into the Ministry of Magic (basically a wizard’s Pentagon). The second act slows down so the audience can catch their breath but not too much happens and it becomes a bit dull until the final portion of the film which picks up the pace again.
Today people can get music in a variety of ways, whether it’s purchased off of iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, or downloaded illegally from LimeWire. Well, now LimeWire is no longer available. The peer-to-peer file-sharing client started in the year 2000 and was shut down during the month of October. Thousands of people will now have to find another way to get their music. Junior Jarrod Nelson was one of the many users that will now have to use an alternative for music downloads. “I used LimeWire to get music for CD’s and my iPod,” Nelson said. “It doesn’t really affect me closing because I mostly use FrostWire.” FrostWire is another peer-to-peer file-sharing client that is similar to LimeWire. It has exploded since LimeWire has shut down. Nelson will continue to get his music from FrostWire, along with many others. FrostWire is considered better
06tc
The scale of the film is large, filled with spectacular cinematography in every scene, and carries the characters all over England. The threat of Voldemort is everywhere and the feeling of a Nazi-like society is everywhere. Wizards of un-pure magical blood are persecuted, propaganda is everywhere, and terror is everywhere. This film is only the first half of the final book by J.K. Rowling and it stays true to the book, which may not always be the best thing. Some things in books are better in a book than they would be in a movie. There are certain parts of The Deathly Hallows that seem forced in there to stay more true to the book even if it didn’t make sense with the film, such as shard of mirror that helps Harry in a desperate situation without ever explaining where it came from. Adulthood affects at Harry in different ways. Physically Harry looks more like an adult, growing a beard throughout the film, and mentally he begins to see the great responsibility that rests on his shoulders. Hogwarts is not in this movie at all, and neither are any child-like tones that the past films have slowly weaned away. The film ends with a feeling of exhaustion and of uncertainty but that I guess is the feeling of reaching maturity and we will just have to wait until July 15th for the conclusion of the Harry Potter film series.
than LimeWire. “I think FrostWire is better because there are fewer viruses,” Nelson said, “LimeWire was too risky to just download anything because it could damage someone’s computer.” There are over ten websites to which a person can download music. Many people are trying to figure out how to stop music piracy. “Eventually the option of downloading music will stop because all the websites will be shut down and people will have to purchase music the legal way,” Nelson said. According to Gizmodo.com, 95% of music downloaded is done illegally. Downloading anything illegally takes money away from the people who make the product. Those people are trying to make a living doing what they do. If people think buying music is too expensive then they should stop downloading it illegally so that the seller will lower the price. Everyone loves music so why not get it the correct way?
Conan O’Brien is back and here to stay! Viewers who saw his first episode of his new show on Turner Broadcasting Systems (TBS) have mixed reviews on O’Brien’s new show. O’Brien got his new show seven months later after leaving The Tonight Show on NBC in January ‘10. Turmoil surrounded his departure. Jay Leno, former Tonight Show host, hosted The Jay Leno Show during NBC’s primetime line up, before the ten o’ clock news. After a few months on the air, The Jay Leno Show started showing horrible ratings for NBC causing them to rethink late night comedy. After hosting The Tonight Show for only seven months replacing Leno, NBC proposed that Conan’s show be moved back, so Leno would be head of late night comedy. On January 12 2010, O’Brien released this statement: “I sincerely believe that delaying The Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t The Tonight Show.” Conan was then replaced on The Tonight Show by Leno, who was the host before O’Brien. O’Brien found a home on another network. O’Brien joined a basic cable network (TBS) hosting his own show called Conan. O’Brien’s new show premiered November 8 at 10:00 p.m. Previously George Lopez had a show in the ten o’ clock slot but got pushed back one hour so O’Brien’s show would be first on TBS’ late night line up. Fans are ecstatic to have O’Brien back on T.V. saying: “Conan’s comedy has always been original and intelligent even at its silliest of times,” says John Baker, one of many O’Brien’s fans. TBS did very well promoting his new show running promos for the show starting one month before the show actually premiered. They ran at least one promo for the show every commercial break in between shows. They also promoted it out side of T.V. by buying a blimp for O’Brien and flying it at the World Series. The first guests included Canadian actor and writer Seth Rogan, Glee star Lea Michele and musical guest Jack White. Fans got to vote on who they wanted the first guests to be for the premier of the show online at teamcoco.com. At the opening of the show O’Brien did a skit poking fun at his new show on TBS basically showing that he left network television for basic cable. Sophomore Zach Lepant saw O’Brien’s new show and thought O’Brien did a pretty good job. “I thought the show was overall pretty good but some parts were pretty stupid.” Lepant said. If you like comedy where you don’t have to think a lot it just might be a great show for you to watch. The show still has a long way to go, but it is still the beginning and will be hard to judge whether or not it will be worth the time watching every night. 1400 West 18th Hastings, Ne. 68901
402-462-BOWL (2695)
Save money. Live better. PARTY WITH US- Bowling, Go-Karts, Mini Golf, Batting Cages, and Game Room, we do it all! NOW FEATURING: Glow Bowling Fri. & Sat. Nights
James Carson - Store Manager
www.pastimelanes.com Butch Hogan Manager
3803 Osborne Drive West Hastings, NE 68901
(402) 462 - 6000 www.walmart.com
07tc
Goodbye. It’s never easy, especially when it is a family member. Freshman Sam Matticks and junior Joe Matticks are saying goodbye to their dad, band director Rick Matticks, for the second time in three years. “It’s kind of routine anymore, but I’m still kind of sad about it,” Joe said. Rick is a Command Sergeant Major in the Kansas National Guard In January, he’ll be leaving for a second tour of duty. During the 2007 school year, Rick served in Baghdad Iraq. This time it’s Djibouti, Africa. “My unit was just called up. We were selected by the State General,” Rick said. He’s going to help residents there with their young Democracy and, in general, “support the people.” Rick couldn’t go into much detail about his mission due to its nature. But he does know a little about what he is going into. “The country has 39% unemployment. The government isn’t very helpful to its people. There is trash all over the roads,” Rick said of Djibouti. His sons are proud of their dad’s service. They have even thought of joining the service.
d.
7 d,
”
t
“I want to join the Army. I’ve seen my dad do it and it seems like something I’d be able to do, too,” Sam said. It is hard at home without their dad around. Rick mentioned the last time he left it wasn’t even a week when they had a water leak flood the basement. “I miss him being home to help us. There is just more to do around the house when it’s just me, Sam and my mom,” Joe said. Rick agrees leaving the family can be difficult. He says the hardest part is not being there to do the jobs he usually does. He misses his students, too. “I really miss that daily contact and relationships with my students,” Rick said. Rick will be gone for about a year, this time. But even though he’ll be out of the country, he’ll be learning. He says visiting a country as a member of the National Guard or another of the armed forces can open one’s eyes to the world. “A certain percent of students from Hastings High School will serve. They will learn the value of life while they are in a poorer country. They need to be proud about living in the United States,” Rick said.
716 W 16th Street (402) 462-5080 or (402) 463-1665 for Tanning
HAILEY HEMENWAY story “Rhythm and melody enter into the soul of the well-instructed youth and produce there a certain mental harmony hardly attainable in any other way.” These words by Plato reside on the wall in the choir room. The key word in that quote is well-instructed. Recently, Hastings High had the largest number of students attend All--State in at least four years and it is the belief of choir teacher Tim Canady that individual voice instruction had much to do with the results. “The biggest change we’re seeing is in the number of girls that made it,” Canady said. “Normally we average about one or two girls and this year five attended.” There has been a definite improvement in the results of girls auditioning. Two of the girls who made All--State this year, seniors Laura Sunderman and Julie McCarthy, auditioned last year and were alternates and two others auditioned without making it at all. This year, all four of these girls were fortunate enough to make it. It is Canady’s belief that voice lessons had a direct correlation to their success. “Ten out of the 14 who either made All--State or are alternates this year take voice lessons. This is no coincidence,” Canady said. In Hastings, there are a couple voice teachers available for students to take lessons from, such as, Dr. Hilary Watter, and Jesse LaBrie. These teachers can be found at Hastings College and charge a standard rate of $20 per lesson. Canady
10tc
strongly suggests studying voice outside of class. “There is no better or faster way to improve your vocal ability than to take voice lessons.” Canady said. Students agree that voice lessons have a positive effect on one’s voice. “It definitely helped me a lot,” senior Jaime DeTour said. “Dr. Watter teaches a lot of proper techniques for singing which helped me to produce a better sound.” It is rare to have sophomores attend All--State, though Hastings High has had sophomore boys attend every year for the past two years. This year is no exception. However, this year, there will also be a sophomore girl attending. Sophomores Caitlin Kalvelage and Nathan Jensen will be accompanying the seven seniors and two juniors attending All--State. “We worked on All--State music constantly during lessons,” Kalvelage said. “It really helped to prepare me for the audition.” Kalvelage has taken voice lessons for three years from Christine Cottam, who recently stopped giving lessons due to time constraints. Now, she will be taking from Jesse LaBrie. Kalvelage strongly believes that taking voice has greatly improved her singing. “My voice has matured a lot,” Kalvelage said. “You just get so much better when you work with your voice all the time in lessons. It helps more than most people realize.”
MO BOYD photo
It is one of those school phenomenon that is hard to believe; this phenomenon is that teachers actually have lives outside of school and that they really do have kids that come to Hastings High. Yes, as hard as it may seem to believe, it is true. They are human! Wouldn’t it be weird for your mom or dad to be a teacher at school,or even the principal? Freshman Joe Prickett’s mom is an art teacher at HHS and he agrees that it is weird for his mom to work here. Even though he doesn’t have her as a teacher, they still have a different relationship than they would have at home. “It’s weird, because it’s weird seeing her working and it’s probably weird for her seeing me at school. Other than when I see her, it’s not any different than when I was younger and kids would come up to me and tell me that my mom was their art teacher, like I had no idea of what she did for eight hours a day,” Prickett said. It is a strange concept having parents that teach at the high school, but what if your dad was the principal? “I enjoy seeing my dad everyday but it’s not that dif- English Teacher, Ms. Janelle Masters and ferent. He usually stays out of what I do during the day, her freshman son Tommy Masters work on and a lot of times though we don’t even see each other. homework in Ms. Masters room.
What could be done with $10.5 million? The residents of Hastings took a vote Tuesday November 2 on a half -cent sales tax. The sales tax passed by nearly 70 percent. Sixty percent of the funds will go to street improvements, 25 percent will go to the Duncan Field capital improvement project and other parks. The remaining 15 percent goes to renovation, repairs and improvements at the Hastings Public Library. “We are very excited that part of the half-cent sales tax is going towards our needs and we are happy that the community voted to have these things done,” Director of the Hastings Public Library Amy Greenland said. The Hastings Public Library opened in 1963 and has not been changed since. Improvements to the library will include relocating the main entrance, increasing space for teens, creating a new separate space for children and increasing the number of available computers for public use. “I believe that more people will come to the library after the renovations are done,” Greenland said. Currently the library is not a very comfortable place and is not able to provide
Being able to get money from him during the day is a plus. I really don’t think its weird having him here, because he just leaves me alone,” junior Patrick Opperman said. It’s definitely an unusual thing for students to experience but what about the teaching parents? It is probably just as weird for them as it is for their kids. “It’s not strange for me having my son here because I have had my other kids so I am really used to it now. I try to treat him like I would treat any of my students. But I try to treat all of my students from the perspective of them being like my kids, and if they have some kind of problem in class I want them to be treated the way I would want my own kid to be treated,” English teacher Dave Witt said. There are 19 students at this school that have parents that work and teach here. It would definitely be a crazy experience for many to have their parents here all the time, but it’s a fact of life; teachers really do have lives, and they really do have children.
the technology that people want. Improvements to these areas will increase the visitors to Hastings Public Library giving them more space to work and hangout. “Some of the renovations will include additional computers in the teen area and on the lower level for children,” Greenland said The renovations will give people better access and more space in the library. “I like how they are doing improvements on the library,” junior Zacc Hadley said. Hadley doesn’t go to the public library often but is happy that people care enough to have it improved. HHS librarian Faye Friesen is on the Public Library Board and says board members are thrilled that the library is going to undergo renovations. “The biggest goal for the library is to offer more services and right now the space is very limited and it is hard to offer those services,” Friesen said. The half-cent sales tax will raise 10.5 million dollars over seven years and the Hastings Public Library is happy to know that 15 percent of that will be going to improve the library and widen their possibilities.
11tc
The world of technology can change in a blink of an eye. Staying up to date in technology can be hard and horribly expensive. A primary goal of Hastings Public Schools is to keep education a number one priority. Technology is a part of achieving this. Recently, Hastings High has been ranked as one of the lowest performing schools in the state. HPS, administration is hoping to use technology as a means to boost learning and reverse those test scores. “The biggest factor right now is of course availability of funding,” Director of Technology Trent Kelly said. Kelly’s goal is to help keep technology in the classroom up to date so when students go into the real world where there is new technology they will know how to operate it. With smart phone capabilities mobile, access is becoming what is expected of technology. The newest technology that HPS has recently acquired is iPads. These are being used in the special education department. Kelly says that they are really being tested right now to see what the iPads can do and how well they can do it. “They are new technology and are not perfect yet,” Kelly said. Kelly is hesitant to use the iPads too widely right now due to the fact that Adobe Flash player is not available on them. Adobe Flash is a program built into a web browser that allows it to show the viewer a video or even simply listen to music and even play video games. Maker of the iPad, Apple inc. and CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs issued a statement in April of 2010 stating “Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.” The iPad is more than just a huge iPod touch. The iPad can browse the web fully instead of accessing them with a mobile view. You can also check E-mail, watch videos, listen to music and download tons of apps from the Apple app store. One other great feature of the iPad is that AT&T offers 3G internet wherever you have cell phone coverage. The newest feature with the 3G is that Verizon wireless now offers the same plan as AT&T.
The debate team has gone public. They are doing some unique things with their tournaments. They have asked the community for support and donations. Members of the community have given some input as what they would like to be debated in their Congress portion of the tournament. Companies like Energy Pioneer Solutions, Keith’s Pharmacy, and Russ’ contributed to our debate team. Also, Lifestyle’s Kitchen gave the debate team some scrap marble to make their big tournament awards. Some members of our community have been asked to either help judge the event, or be a part of the ceremonies, which doesn’t usually happen at tournaments. Also, the local public access channel will be videotaping the final round in Public Forum. For the final round, the October National Forensics League released the November topic for Public Forum as: ‘Resolved-An Islamic cultural center should be built near Ground Zero.’ Due to huge protest over the sensitive religious issue, the National Forensics League changed the topic within 24 hours. “For our tournament we will be debating ‘Resolved-Public Forum debate resolutions should not confront sensitive religious issues.’ We can debate religious things, as long as
they are neutral, no resolution has ever attacked the very fabric of how we debate in our high school programs,” Debate coach Delta Farjardo said. It is unusual to change a topic after it’s been posted. Hopefully, this will allow educators and competitors to explore core issues that face high school academic debate. “I don’t like how it got changed because I was looking forward to debating whether the cultural center should be built near Ground Zero and but now we get to debate that we should be able to debate religious points,” Fajardo said. “It was mostly hard for our novice debaters, the ones that stuck with it were excited at first but then they realized that it was going to be hard,” Fajardo said. They already had some rough drafts and research on the original topic, and were angry that they had to start over. They did really well in the tournament, better than expected. “I have learned a lot more about the 1st amendment. It’s not about piercings or tattoos or what you wear, it’s about having a voice that’s heard in a public setting.” Fajardo said in closing. Overall, they have learned more about what the public forum is, and have grown as debaters.
Extracurricular activities; they provide a chance to spend time with friends, to further your interests, and to involve yourself in school. This year, a little known club is on the rise: History Club. History teacher Robert Kerr started the club at Hastings High in 2004. “I was aware that there was an organization called the National History Club, so I thought it would be good for students at HHS to have the opportunity to be involved in History Club. I applied, and Hastings High was the first school in Nebraska to have a chapter,” Kerr said. In past years, History Club has only had around three to five members. This year, at least 15 students participate. “There seems to be this comradery and enthusiasm that’s contagious,” Kerr said of the membership boost. With this new-found enthusiasm, the group has many activities planned for the coming school year. On Halloween, they gave free tours of Parkview Cemetery. The tours were open to the public, and highlighted prominent figures in Hastings’ history. Around 20 people
from the community attended. The club also heard from a MASH surgeon on November 12. Upcoming activities include tours of historic buildings, like the Rivoli Theater, and another guest speaker, who will use his postcard collection to talk about historic buildings in Hastings. The club is even getting t-shirts. The shirts will have a blue and green argyle sweater pattern on the front, and the back will read “KERRent History Club.” “The entire thing is based on Mr. Kerr. He always wears sweater vests so we want to also!” junior Emily Zysset said. This is Zysset’s first year in History Club. “I think history is really interesting and social studies has always been one of my favorite classes,” Zysset said. History Club usually meets on the second Monday of every month. “If you like history of any sort, History Club would be a good fit for you. If you want the chance to explore local places of historic interest, while studying global history, this is the club for you,” Kerr said.
Headed in to my last event of the fall season of sports, I faced my first indoor competition. It was an ominous sight seeing senior Brittany Johnson staring at me from the opposite side of the net as I walked in. She looked ready to play, which was a bit unnerving, but I knew that a big win here would put me at four wins and four losses. As the two of us began to warm-up I was feeling pretty good about this. Volleyball would be my best competition after softball. Johnson and I decided that a competition consisting of three different areas, key to a good volleyball player, would determine the overall winner of November’s competition. The first of the competitions would be who was able to more accurately pass the ball to the other player. Next we each served ten times over the net to see who would serve more consistently. Lastly, there was the spiking competition. As Johnson and I began to play, things were looking great. I came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. All my passes seemed to be right to Johnson. Through the first competition both Johnson’s and my passes seemed to be on target or else in the proximity of the other one. Then we stepped up to the back line and began our ten serves. If the competition had gone like my first serve it would not have been close at all but after that some started to make it to the other side of the court. Johnson seemed like she knew what she was doing when she began with eight serves perfectly
over the net. The ninth serve looked like it was going to be a slip up when it hit the top of the net, but somehow magically trickled over the top of the net. That meant I only had one chance to score a point against this machine of a volleyball player. The spiking competition things seemed to be going pretty smoothly until I moved to the outside left position to spike the ball. Things were not the same as they had been on the right side like Johnson had made it appear. I had no idea how to combat this problem I either would hit it too far out of bounds or my hand would come around hitting the net. Brittany on the other hand placed every one of the balls set her way right down in the middle of the court. The results of the match seemed to weigh in the favor of Brittany Johnson.. sadly. Her skills were far superior to my very limited playtime, which comes around maybe once or twice a year during the summer. Her hitting, passing, and serving were all very consistent and she very rarely faltered on anything. I on the other hand will just have to pick myself up after a rough loss to a very good volleyball player.
Three new coaches in three years. Hastings High Swimming and Diving has gone through an above average number of coaches lately. This year’s new coach is Alissa Hein. Hein is 25 years old and moved to Grand Island from Yankton, South Dakota, with her parents and siblings three years ago. She has been coaching since age 15, and swimming competitively since she was five years old. Since they moved, Hein has been coaching the local club swimming team, Hastings YMCA Aquatic Club, under her parents. Hein will now take on coaching the high school team with the help of assistant coach Jared Denton. Hein hoped for an opportunity to coach. “I’ve always wanted to coach my own team. I felt that athletes that swim year-round should have a consistent coach. I want to build a strong program for the community,” she said. Coach Hein said she plans on staying with the team for at least three years. Junior Byron Cronk says it has been hard for the team to adjust to a brand new coach every season he has been swimming.
“We had to kind of start all over since switching every year,” Cronk said. But Cronk is optimistic about how Coach Hein will handle coaching the team. “Having Alissa as coach will definitely change the atmosphere because she has been swimming her whole life and she knows what she is talking about,” Cronk said. Coach Hein says that the outlook for the season is good. “I am very optimistic. We’ve got a lot of solid swimmers and untapped talent. My goal this season is to have our returning state qualifiers return, take relays to state, and have more individuals qualify for state,” Coach Hein said. So with a new coach that has high expectations and is committed to the swim team, the team members are optimistic that the program may rise up to a new level.
April showers bring May flowers and Mayflowers bring pilgrims! The pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving was very different from the one known today. For instance, pilgrims did not bring turkey, cranberry sauce, or most importantly pie. In those days, pie was more commonly filled with an assortment of meats instead of being a dessert. Meat pies were not baked in pans. Their crusts served as the pan and were seldom eaten because they were so hard. Due to the fact the pilgrims did not posess ovens, they would not have been able to bake any kind of pie. Pies can be traced as far back as 9500 B.C. to the ancient Egyptians. Over the years, pie has changed from being a meal, to a must needed breakfast item, to a beloved dessert. “I dig a well-made pie with a nice crust, not soggy or too dry with a nice filling that isn’t too squishy,” senior Trey Hamik said. A very common pie for the holidays, especially Thanksgiving, is pumpkin pie. It is a favorite of many here at Hastings High School, including librarian Tammy LeBeau. “I would do a somersault for a whole pumpkin pie,” LeBeau said. There is an even more common pie in the United States. Apple pie is considered an American tradition for a variety of reasons. “[I think it’s] because of all the orchards we have here,” LeBeau said. Others believe apple pie is “American” because of its historical significance. “[I think it’s] because it’s an old time traditional pie. It was obviously very popular to many Americans,” history teacher Dave Johnson said. However some people do not agree that it should be considered such a staple of American culture. “I don’t believe it should be the American pie because there are far better kinds than apple pie,” junior Katie Hoegren said. Apple, pumpkin, and all other pies have come a long way since their beginning. Today there are over 12,000 kinds of pie. “It’s a dessert that goes with any occasion,” Johnson said.
No Shave November is as simple as it sounds. It is not shaving for the entire month. It entails a person picking a part of the body and not shaving there. For men, this usually consists of them not shaving their facial hair. And for women, this usually consists of them not shaving their legs. “Its just an excuse to put the razor away,” Senior Lawrence Walker said. No one knows exactly how it got started but it has spread worldwide. The rules for the contenders in No Shave November are: 1. You do not shave in November. 2. You DO NOT shave in November. 3. If you shave you’re out. 4. No trimming, no waxing. 5. Not shaving can go on past November if desired. There are a lot of benefits when someone participates in No Shave November. For example, he can save money on shaving cream and razors. He can also save time when waking up in the morning. Walker has participated in No Shave November since his sophomore year. “I learned about No Shave November my freshman year and I started my sophomore year,” Walker said. No Shave November has also become a competitive game for students. “It can be like a competition. Just whoever can grow the bigger beard wins,” Walker said. It doesn’t take much for stu-
dents to get into No Shave November. “All it takes is one guy and then others start to join,” said Walker. Some students have wondered why students do this because they think it is really disgusting. “I do it just to be lazy or just to see who can grow a bigger beard,” Walker said. While there are some students at HHS who participate in No Shave November, there are students who are not very fond of No Shave November. “It’s just not sanitary!” sophomore Melissa Martikainen said. Some think if it is nicely trimmed and taken care of, the facial hair looks a lot better. “It’s not right, unless it’s taken care of,” sophomore Cassey Davis said. Others agree it is not a favorite, but can be fine if done right. “For a month, disgusting. But in general it’s alright if taken care of,” sophomore Deidra Deboer said. No Shave November is not a unisex celebration. “If women do it they can expect not to have friends at the end of the month” sophomore Andrea Randall said. No Shave November is a game that is played worldwide. Some find it fun to participate in and others find it very disgusting. No Shave November is a great way to save time, money and very great way to be lazy.