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.