212: Now We're Boiling!

by Meredith Penczek

What difference can one degree make? How can one degree be the deference between just hot water and the ability to power a steam engine? That’s all the deference between 211° and 212°. So it’s only natural that FFA names a leadership conference about taking things to the next degree. Freshmen & sophomores of the Paris FFA went to the 212 conference in Chicago , IL over the 28th and 29th of January. Only nine of the members were able to attend due to the illness going through the school. The attending members were Bailey Lawson, Sami Lawson, Holden Gates, Dalton Hall, Blake Webster, Jared Ryes, Alyssa Kispert, and myself. Ms. Hewitt and Mr. Steve Cox were the accompanying chaperones

The conference was created to help members work on their leadership skills. We worked in four main sessions, Passions, Virtues, Decisions, and Character. We learned about doing thing that made us happy by turning our passions into our virtues that will effect our decisions and then our character. We also were given skills to help make good decisions. We were involved in many activities that got us active with other attending members by everything from making a miniature Eiffel Tower to making little towers out of note cards and masking tape to just hanging out and enjoying ourselves.

At one point, three of the members (including me) were asked to volunteer for something without any details. We were taken out into the hall and told that our job was simply to tell a story to the group. We each chose our stories. The boy that went first Alex’s story was about getting lost in Chicago , mine was about getting my stitches, and the last girl Monica’s story was about her getting her dog. The people inside the room were instructed to have certain reactions to each story no matter the story. Poor Alex wasn’t even aloud to tell his they were so rowdy, I entered and left a completely silent room, and Monica had her room exploding with applause and cheers. This was a learning experience for all of about not only ignoring people’s negative reactions, but respecting other people.

We also learned about A-Pars. A-Pars are people who you can trust and are much like your partners in everyday life. They are there to help you make decisions and talk to you when you need it. We were given the idea to write a letter to someone we could keep as an A-Par at home.

The conference created a great opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. We met people who we can never forget and will always stay in touch with (Evan “Lion Boy”, Derek “Sasquach”, Sadie, Monica, Jasmine, etc.) Bailey Lawson said, “My favorite thing about it was meeting new people.” Some of the attending members are also keeping in touch with the conference speakers.

“This is one of the few conferences or events that our chapter tries to pay most of the expense on. It really helps the kids that pay attention and who are active within our chapter.” Said Mr. Steve Cox when explaining the conference to his ag classes.

Theater Arts class puts new spin on classic rock

by Rachel Kenderdine

This spring, Mr. Lynch’s Theater Arts II class is adding a new spin to the traditional musical by writing one based on the music of Queen.

“I was asked by Human Resource Center to do a performance for their annual fundraiser, and they asked what we could come up with,” said Mr. Lynch, Theater Arts II teacher. “Originally, I thought we would write a musical using old songs, and I presented to the class, and they liked it.”

The class took the idea a step further, and, says Lynch, “The next day, Olivia Underwood [a junior in the class,] came in and asked if we could do a musical based around the music of Queen.” The class ran with the idea from there.

Lynch liked the idea and thought the music of Queen would be perfect for their musical because, as he said, “It’s dramatic: the way it’s written, the over-harmony.”

“It’s going to be about high school and high school kids, about parents, and body issues, and sexuality, things that teens deal with,” he said.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Isaac Staub, a junior who is involved in the production. “Queen music is very related to high school life. Plus, who doesn’t like Queen?”

The musical, whose running title is “Under Pressure” (the title of a Queen song,) will be performed May 14th at the Human Resource Center’s annual fundraiser.

A look at PCHS Scholastic Bowl

by Andreanna Smith

If you walk by Mr. Happ’s room at lunch during the months of December through February, you may notice that the classroom is full of students answering the trivia questions that are being read by Mr. Happ. If you look closer you’ll learn those students are a part of an academic team: the PCHS Scholastic Bowl team, that is. Depending on what day you look in, you could be seeing either a majority of juniors and seniors or freshman and sophomores, but most likely a mixture of all. The students in Scholastic Bowl will tell you that they enjoy those practices at lunch.

Mr. Happ is the junior varsity Scholastic Bowl coach, and Mr. Aydt is the varsity coach. The varsity team is made up of seniors Drew Harper, Aaron Alexander, Cara Brooks, Allie Caldwell, and juniors Steven Middleton, Hannah King, Rachel Kenderdine, and Olivia Underwood. The junior varsity is made up of sophomores Tyler Bouslog, Terry Payton, Andreanna Smith, Jasmine Bennett, and freshmen Mike Wells, Sean Thomas, Devyn Chapman, Ryan Coffman, and Sarah Powers. Many students were in Scholastic Bowl in the years prior to high school. Both Ryan Coffman and Sarah Powers stated that they were in Scholastic Bowl at Crestwood.

For those students who are interested in Scholastic Bowl, freshman Sarah Powers states that she would recommend Scholastic Bowl to students who enjoy trivia questions. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Scholastic Bowl team, stop by Mr. Happ's room dring lunch Monday through Thursday with your questions.

PCHS Marching Band makes trip to Florida

by Valerie Lau

While most of us were relaxing and enjoying spending time with our families during Christmas break, our PCHS band traveled to Orlando, Florida to compete and perform at the Champs Sports Bowl.

The idea for this trip was brought up last year, and the band has been working very hard to make this trip possible by doing fundraisers and collecting money throughout the year, not to mention the long and grueling hours it took to perfect the music and learn all the moves and positions. The band practiced long hours during the summer and after school at the auxiliary.

“The trip was a lot of fun we got to do a lot of stuff,” says Katie Korte, freshman.

The band departed Christmas night at 11 p.m. from the high school and made the 14 hour trip to Orlando. The next day when they arrived, they ate dinner and went to their hotel rooms.

The next day they performed in front of 45,000 fans at the Champs Sports Bowl for the North Carolina State vs. West Virginia game. The band had won a previous competition which let them perform during the pregame show by themselves where they performed their Billy Joel songs. The rest of the week as a reward for their excellent performance the band got to go to SeaWorld and Universal Studios to relax and have fun!

“It was a great experience that not many people get to experience in a lifetime, and I’m glad I got to be a part of it,” says Aaron Garver.

The band returned home New Year’s Day exhausted but full of great memories!

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.