Special Homecoming Edition
In the news...
Homecoming week photos pg. 2-3 Homecoming Royalty 2013
September 20, 2013
West and Ebrahimy step up their game With athletes and sports getting the bulk of the publicity, visual and performing arts has become a subject often overlooked in schools. Rarely do you see a story about someone using their talents in something other than athletics, but at Weed HIgh School, two students have changed the “game” and literally taken the spotlight. Aaron West and Elizabeth Ebrahimy are WHS Juniors Weed High School Juniors Aaron West (left) and Elizabeth Ebrahimy who are passionate about attended prestigious acting camps in Los Angeles this summer. drama and acting; so passionate, in fact, that they stepped up their game this summer and participated in prestigious acting camps in Los Angeles. (Story continued on page 4)
Prince and Princess Freshmen: Hope Davis & Alex Pappas Sophomore: Riddhi Tailor & Jose Tapia Junior: Jacque Dodson & James Brunello
King and Queen Bettina Darger & Edgar Casorla Alyssa Merrill & Trevor Shaffer Lauren Gubetta & Spencer Hall Kaitlynne Ekman & Clayton Mills
ROYALTY PHOTOS ON PAGE 2 Upcoming Events Saturday, Sept. 21 Homecoming/Sadie Hawkins Dance Monday, Sept. 23 Senior Day at COS Girls Basketball Meeting 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24 Soccer v. Modoc VB v. Modoc
Emily Mills The Cougar Legacy would like to welcome Rebekah Sluss to Weed High School. Mrs. Sluss takes over the science teacher position vacated by Mr. Van Ert, she brings great enthusiasm and a passion for teaching as well as great scientific knowledge. I sat down with Mrs. Sluss to find out more about our newest teacher. Mrs. Sluss was born and raised San Jose, Calif. She attended Santa Teresa High School where she played softball and soccer. She said her favorite memories growing up were camping trips and when she got her first car, a 1959 Ford. She said one of her biggest regrets from her high school years was never learning how to use home row on a keyboard. Mrs. Sluss said she loves outdoor activities such as skiing, rafting and hiking, and this love for the outdoors is part of what drew her to Weed. She fell in love with the Siskiyou County scenery and in 1999 made the move here. Her initial stay in Weed wasn’t long as she met her husband and after one year, they moved to Hawaii. She and her husband raised their children, ages six and four in Hawaii before they made the move back to Weed. As far as teaching goes, Mrs. Sluss has taught many different age groups, but she prefers to teach at the high school level. She said that she is very excited to be here at Weed High and she hopes that she can bring a lot of hands on, activities and field trips to the science classes. So far, one of her biggest struggles has been dealing with a short preparation time, but she hopes by spring she will be adjusted to things and can become more involved with everything at the school. Overall she said she is very excited for the year ahead. We are excited to have you here as well Mrs. Sluss. Welcome to Weed High School.
Homecoming Royalty 2013 King and Queen Candidates (Pictured at Left– L to R) Bettina Darger, Edgar Casorla, Trevor Shaffer, Alyssa Merrill, Spencer Hall, Lauren Gubetta, Clayton Mills, Kaitlynne Ekman.
Prince and Princess Candidates (Below L-R) Freshman—Alex Pappas and Hope Davis. Juniors—James Brunello and Jacque Dodson. Sophomores—Jose Tapia and Riddhi Tailor.
Homecoming Day on the WHS Campus
(Clockwise from the top) The Junior Class celebrates their yelling contest victory over the Seniors. The senior boys brought the noise but it wasn't enough to beat the juniors. WHS head football coach Byron Mathes gets hugged by Rashaan Broomfield and Justin Toms. Aaron West delivered a rousing performance in the Junior class skit.
WHS Homecoming Flashbacks
(Above) A Queen’s Crown fit for three! (Left to Right) Queen Lora Anzo, Queen Krystal Chilson, and Queen Yvonne Diehm
(Above) King Mike Faria and Queen Becky Groppi
Above—King Trevor Hinchcliff and Queen Kristen Zwanziger Above—King Frankie Yates and Queen Valerie Lassen
At Left—Prince Derek Dewhurst and Princess Jessica Hofer
At Left—Prince Will Hammond and Princess Emily DeRoss
Hard Hitting Cougars undefeated Riddhi Tailor
The Weed Cougar junior varsity and varsity football teams remain undefeated after smashing shutout victories over Los Molinos last Friday. The JV Cougars smashed out a 48-0 victory over the Bulldogs and the varsity followed with a 41-0 win in the night cap. On Friday, Sept. 6, the Cougars smashed Bonanza 46-0. The hard hitting Cougars took dominated both sides of the ball, and forced their opponents to call the game at halftime due to player safety concerns. The JV Cougars hammered out a 28-7 victory over the Bonanza Antlers Friday night in Weed. After a scoreless first quarter, the cougars scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 12-0 lead to half. The Cougars added two touchdowns in the second half en route to a 28-7 victory. The Cougars snagged the win despite losing freshman running back, Kobe Lonnon to broken leg early in the game.
Cougar receiver Edgar Casorla “trucks� a Bonanza defender attempting to make a tackle in the Cougar victory Friday night.
Cougar soccer kicks off 2013 season on a roll Riddhi Tailor
The Cougar varsity soccer team blasted the Trinity Wolves 5-0 in their Shasta Cascade League opener Tuesday, Sept. 10 in Weed. Andrew Matheson and Dylan Vancil each scored two goals and Max Michelon added another goal in the Cougar victory. Earlier this season, the Cougar soccer team tied the Etna Lions 0-0, they followed the tie with a 3-1 win over Redding Christian on Thursday, September 5 in Redding.
Cougar Volleyball getting on track early Riddhi Tailor
The Cougar varsity volleyball team tipped off the 2013 season with a 2-2 start. The Cougars opened the season with a dominating 3-0 win over Tulelake. They followed the victory with a 1-1 tie to Mt. Shasta and 2-0 loss to Trinity at the Miner Mountain Blast in Yreka. The Cougars played their first home game on Sept. 3 against the Dunsmuir Tigers. In a hotly contested battle, the Cougars took a 3-2 victory. The Cougars then battled Redding Christian on Sept. 10, losing 3-0. The varsity squad travels to Arcata this weekend for the Arcata Invitational tournament. The Weed Cougar JV battled to a tough loss against Redding Christian on Tuesday, Sept. 10 in the Cougar Gymnasium in Weed. The Lady Cougars took the first game, but lost games two and three in the match. During pre season, Weed Cougar JV snuck away with a victoriy over the Dunsmuir Tigers Tuesday, Sept. 5 at Cougar Gymnasium in Weed.
Ask Ms. Nancy
Ms. Nancy, “I’m not popular at school. How do I make people like me?”
Ms. Nancy, “My boyfriend broke up with me. What should I do?”
It’s usually about how you present yourself. If you come off as trying too hard, people are naturally repelled. Never give your time to someone who seems annoyed by you. There are many kind hearted people in this school, you just may be looking for friendship in the wrong people. A lot of the more popular people are arrogant and will more than likely be rude to you. You need to show people the interesting side of you without forcing yourself into a specified friend group.
Time heals everything. You might have liked him a lot, or may have even been in love with him. But all good things must come to an end. Don’t take it personally if his feelings changed. It happens. It’s most likely just him needing a break, or maybe he started liking someone else. It’s the cycle. It goes on. My best advice is to try and move on. And who knows, maybe he’ll want you back! Ms. Nancy, “So there are two guys. One guy I can’t get over and one guy I actually like. What should I do?” It’s never good to be stuck in the past. I would say that you should go with the one you actually like, because it could be a new opportunity for you. Obviously there’s a reason why you can’t get over one of them, and it sounds like bad news. Nancy says to go for number 2.
Have questions? In need of some serious advice? Submit your questions to Locker #155 in the hallway and our expert Ms. Nancy will provide you with the answers you seek. Please submit serious questions and give yourself an alias so you know exactly when Ms. Nancy is addressing your questions. Thank you.
CONTAMINATED WATER TO REACH U.S COASTS IN 2014 Brianna Cordova The wrath of the earthquake & tsunami that rocked Japan in 2011 isn’t over. The natural disasters basically destroyed Fukushima, Japan’s nuclear plant. This is obviously terrible for Japan, but extremely dangerous for the US as well. Tons of radioactive waste is being released into the Pacific Ocean every day. This extremely dangerous radiation is expected to reach US coastal waters in 2014, possibly sooner. If this radioactive water gets to our coast, that means the entire Pacific Ocean has been contaminated. The effects of this will be devastating to our country. Radiation at this level puts all of our lives on the line. It is extremely bad for our health and it kills cells at an extremely rapid rate. But this radiation is being allowed into the Pacific because “The environmental impact could have been worse if the contaminated water would have been released in another oceanic environment in which the circulation was less energetic and turbulent,” says Vincent Rossi, oceanographer. What that means is that if the radiation were released anywhere else, the damage would have been even worse. But that should be in question. No one knows exactly how devastating this could or could not be, but everyone needs to be warned since the mainstream media is ignoring this. Avoiding this environmental disaster will be hard and expensive, but let’s hope they do it for the people of this country.
Kendall Knight
Camille Peterson
Riddhi Tailor
Brianna Cordova
Lyndsey Kroeger
Emily Mills
Student Spotlight: Autumn Luna If you could breed any two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create? “A whale and a dog. Because it would be funny and demented.” What would you do if you won the lottery? “Buy a ton of cars.” What is your favorite song? “Mafioso by Mac Dre.” Is your belly button an innie or an outie? “Innie.” If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be? “I would stop any stupid law from being created.” Have you ever been admitted into a hospital? “Nope.” Do you like scary movies? What is your favorite? “Yes. Friday the 13th.” What’s your least favorite word? And why? “Fuzz. Because it’s a word for the police.”
West, Ebrahimy (continued During the week, he and his fellow campmates studied film and acting from pg. 1) and practiced becoming a character With athletes and sports getting the bulk of the publicity, visual and performing arts has become a subject often overlooked in schools. Rarely do you see a story about someone using their talents in something other than athletics, but at Weed HIgh School, two students have changed the “game” and literally taken the spotlight. Aaron West and Elizabeth Ebrahimy are WHS Juniors who are passionate about drama and acting; so passionate, in fact, that they stepped up their game this summer and participated in prestigious acting camps in Los Angeles.
they had to play. At one point he had to master the skill of making himself cry, “You have to put yourself as the person you’re acting and feel what they’re feeling,” West said. The weekends were fun days; He and the other students often took field trips to plays and places like Disneyland or Universal Studios to see what real life acting and film creation look like as careers. His camp opened up his eyes to the world of film and acting and solidified his goal of studying film in college with hopes of one day becoming a TV and film actor. “Acting gives you a different per“Acting has its challenges like any- spective on other people’s worlds,” thing, but for me acting feels natu- West said. ral.” - Aaron West.
Aaron West says he has been interested in acting as long as he can remember. When he was 11 years old his interested in acting really took off as he began to participate in theatre through companies outside of school and community theaters in Medford, Yreka, and Weed. This summer, he spent four weeks, 8-12 hours a day, Monday through Sunday at the California State Summer School for the Arts. He stayed on the Cal Arts Campus, about 15 miles from Los Angeles, from July 15th to August 9th. Getting into the camp was certainly no walk in the park. Aaron was required to send in an application and a video in which he performed a monologue or recited a line from a speech or play. Out of 1,500 individuals who applied, West was one
“It’s one of those things that makes you feel whole. When I am acting, I feel like I am at home.” -Elizabeth Ebrahimy Elizabeth Ebrahimy attended the New York Film Academy, where for 10 days and she was in acting classes from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.. Like Aaron, Elizabeth went through a lengthy application process that included writing a page-long essay on why she should be accepted into the program, why acting is important to her, and why she wants to pursue it. On top of the essay, she had to get two letters of recommendation. The camp was a life changing experience for Ebrahimy. She felt as though she knew nothing when she came in and knew everything about the world of acting when she came
The professionals that taught her really made a difference. She believes that the camp helped her cement her dream and find her calling in acting. “I know that I am going to continue acting for the rest of my life, even if I don’t become a ‘movie star’ acting will always have a special place in my heart,” she said. She wants to thank the New York Film Academy for motivating her and giving her a better chance at pursuing her dream. Active on the stage since she was four, Ebrahimy says she was first drawn to ballet because of her shyness, but once she got into acting there was no turning back. “When I really got into it, I couldn’t stop,” Ebrahimy said. Ebrahimy is inspired by film, movie and play actors and said she hopes to someday “...inspire others as they have inspired me.” Ebrahimy intends on going to college to study drama and film. After school she plans to hire an agent to jumpstart her career with parts in movies and plays, with a longterm goal of someday winning an Oscar.
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