Symphonic Band Peforms Christmas/Pops

By Rachel Kenderdine

This year, the PCHS Symphonic Band is carrying on a great tradition in the Paris community.

They will be performing a Christmas concert, titled “Christmas/Pops,” on Saturday, December 11th. They will be performing a variety of music ranging from the favorite classics of Christmas to the music of “Harry Potter” to “Beauty and the Beast.”

“We’re doing a lot of your basic Christmas music, but it’s in a lot of different arrangements,” said band director Mr. Tripp.

The band has been preparing for weeks, and plan to play songs such as an adaption of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” and several others. “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” will also be guest directed by Abbey Houser, director of bands at Mayo Middle School.

The band has worked hard to prepare, says Mr. Tripp. “It’s a lot of balance to see what the important parts are, to make sure that the important parts are brought out. The melody is what you want to hear.”

Jacob Garver, a senior trumpet player, shared his opinion on the concert and its music. “I like ‘Beauty and the Beast,’” he said. He also added, “I just like playing my instrument in general.”

Mr. Tripp is also glad to be able to keep music alive at PCHS. “I think it’s important that we carry on the tradition of fine arts here, and the band. There’s a lot of people here who support the fine arts, and the band is the most seen. It’s a lot to be able to find music that is challenging to the kids and entertaining to the community.”

“Christmas/Pops” will be held in Ernie Eveland Gym on Saturday, December 11th. Admission is free to everyone and the public is welcome.

Night of One Act Plays

by Andreanna Smith

This year, for the PCHS students in Theatre Arts class, finals are different than the ones in other classes because for the Theatre Arts students, it is a performance based final. On December 17, Theatre Arts students will be performing some one-act plays for an audience. Based on how well the students perform, Mr. Lynch will determine their grade. Mr. Lynch chose the plays, and each student is in charge of getting their own props.

”I chose the plays by reading some one-act scripts and deciding which performances would be a challenge to the students, and which performance would bring the students out of their comfort zone. There are a couple of emotional performances in the line up. Julia, Watermelon Boats, and Twisted Sister are just some of those. ” Mr. Lynch stated. There are twenty-six students in the class and each of them have a part in a play, they were assigned either an individual monologue or a two – three person dialogue.

If you are interested in attending the performances, they will be held in the PCHS auditorium on the evening of December 17th. The night of one-act plays will start at approximately seven o’clock. Tickets are three dollars each and will be sold at the door.

Dual Credit Classes: Providing Students with Opportunities

by Serena Wells

Paris Cooperative High School offers students a chance to get college credits during high school by taking Dual Credit classes through Lake Land Community College. Lake Land and Paris Cooperative team up and offers this to students with above a 4.0 GPA on a 5.0 scale. While taking these classes you are a Lake Land student as well as a PCHS student. Most of the classes are worth 3 college credits a semester as well as a half of a high school credit. The college credits can be transferred to different colleges depending on that college’s requirements. We have over 13 classes offered to us through Lake Land and there will be even more offered next year.

I talked to a few of this year’s seniors about what they think of their Dual Credit classes that they are currently taking or have taken as juniors. Sarah Sablotny says “They are what every class should be like. We learn a lot more and it’s more interesting.” A lot of the Dual Credit classes are more detailed then high school classes but still able to be passed by a high school student. “These classes are very helpful because I know I can get certain college courses that I have to take out of the way before even graduating high school at a cheaper price.” says Sarah Gross. Most of the classes cost $100 a semester when in college they can cost twice as much if not more.

Knowing we have these classes offered to us is very helpful and hopefully many students will take advantage of the great opportunity.

FFA Dairy Foods Competition

by Meredith Penczek

Recently, the Paris FFA Chapter sent six freshmen students to the Dairy Foods Competition. The participating students were Bailey Lawson, Cole Shonk, Shaylyn Phillips, Dustin Eslinger, Deveny Gill, and Dalton Hall. The Dairy Foods Competition judges the participants ability to taste different cheeses, grade quality, and tell between actual dairy products and imitation.

Out of the six participants, four placed in the top ten individually. Paris got second overall. They got second by eight points to Georgetown. Dalton Hall (pictured above) placed second individually. Deveny Gill placed third. Cole Shonk tied for sixth. Dustin Eslinger got eighth. Dustin was able to get all the types of cheeses right. The team was supervised by Miss Lindsay Hewitt.

The team met after school to practice. Practice consisted of tasting the cheeses and other dairy products. The team would then guess the cheeses. There were fourteen cheeses ranging from Colby to Mozzarella. The team also had to tell the difference between soy milk, almond milk, whole milk, and skim milk.

The team celebrated with pizza in Ms. Hewitt’s room a few days later at school. All in all, the dairy judging team had a good run this year and is hoping to place first next year.

A Day in the Life of a Computer

by Olivia Underwood

“Come on, Della,” mutters Mr. Aydt to his Smartboard, in the hopes that “Della” will respond by working correctly.

Mr. Aydt is giving his computer a personality just like most of us who have ever been frustrated or amused by our own computer. But what if the computers really DID have feelings? What would it be like to be that computer for a day?

Determined to find out, I came up with a list of questions and taped them to one of the desk in the library’s computer lab. Coming back the next day I expected to find answered questions, but I found out something shocking. Only one person used that computer all day! T.J. Waltz, a 10th grade student at PCHS, was the only person all day to use this slightly outdated computer.

T.J. enjoys his history class and plays baseball for fun and when asked who would win if Winnie the Pooh and Tinkerbell fought, he chose Tinkerbell, “Cause Tinkerbell has powers.”

Let's imagine for just a second how this computer must feel. The computer is a little older with a big moniter and a slow hard drive, it isn’t as new as it once was. It sits through homeroom, first, and second period with no one using it or paying attention to it.

Finally in third hour T.J. comes along and uses it for a single period, the highlight of the computer’s day. For the next five periods it sits alone, waiting patiently for someone to move its mouse and wake it up, but no one comes. At the end of the day it is left awake and alone in a room full of other computers.
Aren’t you glad you aren’t a computer?

Paris Cooperative Has Talent!

by Kayla Foushee

Imagine your first step on the stage. Imagine the lights and the heat on your face. Imagine all of your friends and peers waiting for you to show your talent. PCHS is having a talent show for you to show case your amazing talent, singing, dancing, juggling, or telling jokes. Whatever your talents are come and show it off. “I’ve never been able to share my poems and have them recognized out loud.” Erica Sheeran said.

The PCHS talent show is a chance for all of us students to show off our talents. Mr. Lynch is in charge of the talent show which used to be a tradition at PCHS, but this is the first in a while. This talent show is giving students chances to do and show off things they’ve never felt or been able to do.

Talent shows have actually become a big part of American lives. Everyone knows that Americans like watching other people show case their crazy and amazing talents. Some examples of the “talent” shows we watch today are American Idol; America’s got talent, The X Factor, and many more. We as Americans participate in more “talent shows” than we realize. We participate in karaoke, and we show off to our friends and so much more.

Mr. Lynch has brought this American tradition to our own PCHS. Mr. Lynch is giving everyone in the high school a chance to show off without being called a show off. “I am trying to provide opportunities for kids to do something fun outside the normal class schedule.” Said Mr. Lynch. Hopefully this talent show will spark something in us students so Mr. Lynch can keep this talent show a tradition at PCHS.
Come on everyone. Now is your time to shine, every one grab your talent get on that stage and show us what you have got.

Theater Arts Presents The Twilight Zone

by Madison Gates

Paris Cooperative High School’s new class at this year is the Theatre Arts class. This class is taught by Mr. Dan Lynch, the drama coordinator. This Theatre Arts class is for juniors and seniors only, and helps them improve their acting skills. They’ve recently been working on making a recreation of the Twilight Zone.

All of the students were assigned parts from the original Twilight Zone script. Millie Arp, a senior, was one of the main characters, Jessebelle. Gretta Patrick, a senior, played Elewyn. Drew Harper was Billy Ben. Rachel Givins played Ossie. Thomas Welsh, also a senior, played Luther. Hannah King, a junior, played Maddie. Olivia Underwood played Granny Harts. Eric Piper, also a junior, was the sound guy.

Those were just some of the students who participated. They took the old scripts from the original Twilight Zone, and they practiced their parts, then they recorded themselves doing it.

“It was harder to do the Twilight Zone, rather than act in a play, or musical because they have to stay focused more,” said Millie Arp a senior in the class. The Twilight Zone is mainly about Jessebelle, the main character. She goes to Granny Hart for her to put a spell on her so that a boy, who she likes, will fall in love with her.

“It was fun to recreate,” said Issac Staub, a junior in the class.

The videos the recorded will also be on the school website soon, on Mr. Dan Lynch’s blog.

PCHS Student Speak Out In Any Way They Can--I Sing the Body Electric

Each year the students of high schools all over the state of Illinois are asked to contribute to I Sing the Body Electric. I Sing the Body Electric is an arts project that celebrates and encourages the students in making good decisions as well as offers support and help to those suffering the aftermath of poor decisions. This year Paris Cooperative High School students are having the opportunity to add to the program led by teacher Mrs. McFatridge. Some of the PCHS students who will be involved this year in I Sing the Body Electric are Shane Hawkins, Katrisha Sexton, Brooke Hunter, Millie Arp, Stewart Arp, and Rebecca Sexton.

Mrs. McFatridge says that the students in I Sing the Body Electric “When we go through and view the final presentation the kids really get the message of all the projects. I think teens have a very difficult time with decision making. They get a lot of mixed messages.”

This program works hard to have a clear message to help teenagers make the right decisions. This program helps students express themselves on the topics of drinking, drugs, self image, and sex. The students can help to make others aware of the effects that often result from these actions and they have the opportunity to break stereotypes about the kinds of kids who engage in these illegal activities. Many of the most moving pieces of art come from students who have had the misfortune to have lived through the tragic events that drugs and drinking and driving can cause.

Tweeting In Class

by Rachel Kenderdine

The traditional classroom does not include social networking. But at Paris Cooperative High School, several classrooms have integrated social networks, such as Twitter, into their curriculum.

Among those classrooms is Mr. Doughan’s, an English teacher at PCHS. During his Advanced Placement Literature class, students use Twitter as an open classroom discussion.

“I’ve tried to use it as a classroom discussion within a classroom, where Twitter is open during class and we get to see what people are Tweeting,” Mr. Doughan said. “I’ve seen it become another way for students to participate,” he added. “The quieter student now has a way to participate.”

Junior Cayla Higgins, a member of the class, agrees. “It is a way for the more shy students to get their opinion out there during class and might lead them to join in,” she said.

Students, Mr. Doughan said, seem to adapt to the use of Twitter in a good way. “It doesn’t seem to me like anyone feels left out,” he said. “It seems like the people who do want to be a part of it are and the people who can’t or don’t want to be a part of it aren’t bothered by it. They don’t feel like outcasts or like they aren’t a part of the class.”

Some students, on the other hand, enjoy Twitter, but with certain reservations.

“It’s not necessarily the best tool for inside class,” Erica Sheeran, a junior AP Literature student. She added, “It’s great for outside class though.”

Hannah King, a junior who is also an AP Literature student, felt the same way. “I think Twitter is helpful in appropriate situations. It shouldn’t rule the classroom because it gets distracting and it overpowers the teacher. However, out of the classroom it is a wonderful tool.”

For Cayla, though, Twitter is the perfect tool to work with. “I think it is useful when there is so much to say so that you don’t forget your point,” she said. “I think it is a good way for students to communicate and get their thoughts out there.”

Annual National FFA Convention

by Meredith Penczek

A few weeks ago the Paris FFA Chapter took eleven members to Indianapolis for the 82nd Annual National FFA Convention. Among the attending students were seniors: Mitch Stone, Logan Hale, Kacey Hamilton, and Alexis Barnes, sophomores: Kelsey Fuqua, Will Ormiston, Jeffery Robinson, Kayla Hoffman, and Sarah Kenderdine, and freshmen: Elliott Kauffman and Meredith Penczek. Over 40,000 FFA members were present at the Convention. Members came from all the fifty states as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The theme of this year’s convention was Infinite Potential. During the first session, members listened to motivational speaker, Josh Shipp, who gave them a unique insight about how to take on the challenges that the world presents you … and a goat. When asked what he thought about the speaker, senior Logan Hale answered, “I hadn’t heard about him before so I wasn’t expecting anything too exciting, but he was actually pretty funny and was definitely different.”

On the first night at the convention, all the members gathered at the Lucas Oil Stadium to listen to Easton Corbin and Lady Antebellum play. The concert was closed to only FFA members and their chaperones. On the second day of sessions, members were able to walk around the convention center and look at the different stands that were set up. There were stands from organizations and companies like Ford, U.S. Army, GAC, Cornfed, and AKC (American Kennel Club). The Paris members were able to listen to Brett Eldridge play at the GAC stand and get pictures and autographs from Brett. The Foundation paid for one meal of the Chapter’s, and they chose Buca De Beppo.

“There was a meatball bigger than a baseball… and Logan ate a whole one after two plates of Alfredo,” joked Elliott Kauffman.

The second night was spent at the rodeo. Members were able to watch bareback and saddle horse rodeo as well as bareback cattle. The third day was spent walking around the hall listening to the Creed recital finals and Parliamentary Procedure finals (both are contests through FFA).

At the end, all the members were sad to leave, but ready to go home. They all met new people and made memories that will last forever.

Biology I Students Solve a "Murder"

by Allison Pardi

What really happened to I’m A Goner? The Biology I students can tell you exactly what happened to her. Each student in the class learned what it is like to be a crime investigator as well as how to look at objects under a microscope. There were six pieces of evidence. For example, hair, which was light brown, fabric, which was multiple colors, and blood. Also, there was a writing sample, fingerprint sample, and an unknown substance, which turned out to be snake skin.

There were four suspects: Mr. Tripp, Mr. Goodwin, Ms. Hill, and Mrs. Stallings. As you probably already know Ms. Hill is the head coach for varsity volleyball. She is also the librarian for Paris High School; Mrs. Stallings is the junior varsity coach for volleyball, who also teaches science exploration. Mr. Goodwin is the athletic director for the sports at Paris High School. Last but not least, Mr. Tripp is the band director for Paris High School band students.

After spending class time researching the data, the Biology I students concluded what evidence matched which suspect. All evidence and the crime were located in Room 25 at Paris High School. The hair was located on the table and on a mouth piece to a saxophone. The hair evidence belonged to either Mr. Tripp or Ms. Hill. This was conclusive because the hair evidence couldn’t have matched Mrs. Stallings because her hair is black or Mr. Goodwin because he has buzz cut. The unknown substance was snakeskin and belonged to Mrs. Stallings’s snake. Also, the writing sample matched Mrs. Stallings’s handwriting. The blood evidence couldn’t be matched with a person because more tests needed to be ran. The fingerprint had an ulnar loop, same as Ms. Hill's fingerprints.

After all lab reports were turned in, the students in Biology I learned that Mr. Tripp would not let the pep band play at the volleyball game. Out of anger, Mrs. Stallings’s threw a volleyball, aiming at Mr. Tripp, and accidently hit I’m A Goner. I’m a Goner was feeding Mrs. Stallings snake. I'm a Goner death's was a result of the volleyball that Mrs. Stalling's had thrown. Knowing she would get blamed for it, Mrs. Stallings tried to cover up the scene by planting evidence to incriminate the other suspects.

When asked what was liked best about the lab report and what was learnt, freshman Andrea LeLoup answered, “I liked looking at the evidence, and it taught me that all cells are different.” When asked the same question freshman Mikela Washburn replied, “I liked the sketching part and using microscopes. I learned about cells and how to make a wet mount slide.”

This was the 10th year that the crime lab assignment has been completed by Biology I students. It is an excellent, hands-on learning experience and is sure to continue on for many more years!

Students Audition for IMEA

by Kayla Foushee

Alex Fenza paced nervously up and down the hall at Effingham junior high. With an hour left till his audtition Alex knows he has some time to practice his songs.

Alex Fenza, along with five other Paris Cooperative High School choral students tried out for All District Choir.

All of the choir students were required to preform three triads, three scales, prepared pieces, and sight reading.

“I was somewhat nervous, yet I was confident in myself,” said Alex Fenza to describe how he felts about audtitiong.

The students wre given scales and songs to practice for auditions. They had to score a certain amount of points in order to go to All District.

All of the students that went to IMEA had a lot of fun. “It was a very fun experience. We made new friends who had the same interest as us,” Olivia Underwood said about IMEA. IMEA is a great way for vocalists to learn more aobut their voices, and it’s also a great way to meet new friends.

At IMEA All District the students were auditioning for a mass choir with hundreds of other high school students around the state. Once they audition and make it to All District the juniors and seniors have the option to audition for all state. Only the top singers make it to All State.

IMEA is an amazing thing for singers to take place in. You learn so much aobut music and about your voice and also make a ton of new friend!

Mrs. Block's Chemistry Club

by Madison Gates

Mrs. Block’s Chemistry Club had their first monthly meeting on Saturday. They experimented with different labs and demonstrations to showcase during a December visit from Crestwood’s 2nd – 5th graders with the Gifted and Talented program. Also on the agenda was the design of their t-shirts and plans for the year.

“We will be working with the 7th graders again this fall performing labs with them and will be judging the Science Fair at Crestwood in the spring. We also want to start a recycling program for plastic bottles at the High School,” says Mrs. Block.

Chemistry Club is open to those that have taken or are currently enrolled in Chemistry II and meets on the second Saturday of each month. “It’s hard to get all club members together with their busy schedules,” Block stated, “but we do our best to interact with the community as much as possible to encourage our youth to take more science when they get to the high school.” Social outings are also scheduled such as roller skating, laser tag, and fun with “liquid nitrogen” day.

New Class Has Students Performing

by Madison Gates

Theater Arts is a new class this year offered at Paris High School for juniors and seniors. Mr. Lynch is the Drama Coordinator as well as the teacher for the class. Mr. Lynch develops the students’ core acting skills and builds public speaking confidence. Generally, public speaking is the largest hurdle for most students.

Lately to build confidence, they have been video recording monologues during the 3rd hour class. This monologue allows students to practice "a hands on approach" to public speaking. Aubrie Lamb, a junior said, "It helps boost our confidence." The video allows visual opportunities of seeing themselves on screen and a method for students to review and improve upon their skills.

Mr. Lynch said, "They’re breaking legs and taking names." Next week, they plan to be doing radio dramas. At the end of the semester, they will be presenting one act plays in the evening. If you're a junior or senior next year, keep this class in mind when planning your schedule!

Drama, Drama, Drama

by Rachel Kenderdine

Hours and weeks of practice, new friends, costume fittings, and endless studying of lines, all leading up to the perfect moment on stage. These are the experiences that PCHS Drama participants will encounter during their production of “Up the Down Staircase” this fall.

Two casts will perform the play, each starring in two performances. Ellie Vaughn, a senior who plays new teacher Sylvia Barrett in one cast, says that the play is good. “I like it a lot,” she said. “It’s a pretty good fall play.”

The play, by Bel Kauffman, is one that Mr. Lynch, drama director at PCHS, says relates well to high school. “It’s about the struggles of high school students and how their lives outside of school influence their lives in school, and the struggles of a new teacher dealing with all the rules and regulations,” he said. Mr. Lynch also chose the play for a special reason--it was the one that was performed during his senior year of high school.

Ellie also added that while having a big part in the play is exciting, it also comes with some difficulties. “I’m really nervous,” she said. “I have a lot of lines so I’m pretty worried.”

“Up the Down Staircase,” is still in the works, with practices twice a week and on Saturdays. In the week before the play, dress rehearsal will take place nightly, according to the PCHS Drama Blog. Performances of the play will take place November 12th, 13th, and 14th in the PCHS Auditorium.

But for now, Ellie is just happy to have a lead. “I screamed when I saw the cast list,” she said, “but there wasn’t anyone there so it wasn’t too embarrassing.”

Pictured: Alex Fenza, one of the leads of the play, practices his lines as Joe Ferone. (picture taken by Blade Hall)

Hats and Superheroes and Togas, Oh My!

by Serena Wells

PCHS Homecoming week for the 2010-2011 school year was great for the students. Monday was Hat Day at the school. We had students wearing baseball caps, stocking caps, and even chicken hats. There was a large variety of hats around the school that students wore.

Tuesday was Toga Day. Students wore a sheet over their clothes for the toga look. Many deviated from the typical white sheet by wearing bedsheets fashioned in cartoons, super heroes, and other designs.

Wednesday was Class Colors Day and the day of the powder puff game. Freshman wore green; Sophomores wore blue; Juniors wore pink; and the Seniors wore orange, each to support their classes. Seniors also went as far as decorating the hallways of the school in order to get more into the spirit of the game day. The atmosphere was wonderful.

Thursday was Superhero Day. Students dressed up as their favorite superhero all day long. Among those seen were the Hulk, Power Puff Girls, Ninja Turtles, Spiderman, Batman, Catwoman, and some students even invented their own alter ego.

Friday was Orange-and-Black Day and also class games day.

I interviewed both Austin Huxford and Cayla Higgins about what they thought of the week. Both Huxford and Higgins answered "class colors day" when I asked them which day they enjoyed the most.

I also asked them both if there was anything they didn't like about the week.

"I wish dressing for the theme days would have been worth points towards class games like usual," says Huxford.

"The theme days should have been themes more people would have participated in, Superhero Day was really hard to come up with something for," says Higgins.

All in all, the week was a success. Going around school that week, I did hear a few teachers complaining about it because nothing ever gets done in class time during the homecoming week, but I think it's good that the students have a week for them to just be able to have fun at school and show their school spirit and tiger pride!

New Student in Town!

by Christine Porter (picture taken by Alexis Peterson)

Teenagers from Paris aren’t too different from students in Moscow, Russia. Grigory Leskov, the new Russian student at Paris Cooperative High School, is just a regular teenager who likes to hang out and have fun. He said, “I like Happy Meals and ice cream.” He also likes to listen to rap music and tiesto, which is a Russian type of music. He likes to Jet Ski and play golf. His school in Russia is a lot bigger than our school. Grigory would like to go to Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and own his own business one day. Grigory has a 3 month old baby sister and he said, “She is very cute” and that he misses her a lot. Grigory expressed that he likes our town and school very much, and he thinks there are very nice people here. He is here for the entire school year and hopes to get to know us a lot better in his time spent here.

New Year, New Freshmen

by Serena Wells

Think about it ... the first day of something new. It's always an exciting experience, and a frightening experience. It's impossible to know how it's going to play out.

What you will like about it, and what you will hate about it is totally impossible to know, until after it happens. All the students at our high school stand in front of the school waiting for the first bell to ring. Do you remember walking up to that big group of people that you didn't know on your first day? Scary, huh? Maybe you were so excited to start school or maybe you were dreading every second of it.

We've all had that "first day of high school" that every kid wonders about. I talked to some of our freshman this year about how their first day went, and what they are expecting of this year. I talked to three different freshmen, Blade Hall (Mayo), Kayla Foushee (Mayo) and Abe Norman (Crestwood).

"It's hard to explain," said Norman when I asked how he felt about going to the school, "I wasn't nervous but I didn't know what to expect." Kayla told me she was expecting "crazy schedules, and different people." When asked if they like the new school, all three replied yes. Norman said "it's really not much different then what I'm used to, just a lot of different people." When I asked about the lunch and how he felt about what was on the menu, Hall said "I like the pizza on Fridays!"

None of them seemed to have too much to say but that will probably change after our first actual full week of full days. All three seemed excited to see where this year is going to go, and I want to wish all 9f the freshmen the best of luck for their first year.