Chess team has high hopes for competition

By Kesley Moorefield and Emily Gatrost

Chess is more than just moving pieces around on a chessboard. FC’s chess team has been moving more than just pieces.

Chess team coach Noel McRae explained his story. McRae stated, “I played chess in high school and took place for the retired coach at FC.” His love for chess in high school caused him to create the chess team here.

The chess team has been setting high goals as time becomes short towards competition. According to McRae, chess practice is held twice a week.

“We won second best team in the Louisville area in 2010,” said McRae, “and tournaments can last up to two hours.” The chess team consists of eight FC students. One chess member, Brain Young, said, “ I get terrible nerves and my hands start shaking. I’m known as the guy who shakes.”

When it comes down to competition, “we have to rank our players from best to worst,” said McRae. He continued, “If we win three of the five boards, then we win the game.”

“I saw I was going to lose by my fourth move during one of my matches. I knew I couldn’t have won; yet I kept continuing anyways,” said Young.

“I try to teach them that losing is not as hard as it seems, students take losing hard,” said McRae.

Another chess team member, freshman Garland Noel said, “I lose all the time being a mediocre chess player, plus it sucks to be a sore loser all the time.” Noel said that being a chess player is a mixture of luck and skill. “You have to be lucky enough to play an opponent that isn’t as good as you”

McRae and the teams have high goals to continue to pursue a place to play and learn.

“Our ultimate goal is to win the area tournament. I want to teach as many kids to play as possible,” said McRae.

Sophomore discovers his taste for ‘screamo’

By Bessmah Elashawah

Breathe in, scream out.

That’s all it takes for sophomore Austin Griffith to show off what he does best. His loud, smooth, and differently pitched voice helps him soon to master the art of death core. Years of practice is all it takes for anyone to achieve a talent such as this. Death core is a type of music that involves different types of screaming, including different pitches of the person’s voice. Otherwise known as ‘screamo’ this is the wrong terminology because screamo is a slang word that has no proven definition.

The day Austin Griffith found out he could use his voice so vividly was when he was raging with anger.

“One day I was yelling and ‘boom’,” said Griffith. “I thought it sounded cool so I have been doing it ever since,” said Griffith.

If you do want to try it, you must drink lots of fluid and make sure you don’t hurt your vocal cords. Doing it incorrectly could damage them permanently.

“I think it takes a lot of effort to do death core,” said freshman Taylor Vaughn.

“It takes a special person to be able to do screamo because, not many people can do it,” said freshman Sam Jarboe.

“I guess it’s because of my dark humor,” said Griffith. It’s appealing because of some of the things my bands insinuate plus, the adrenaline rush feels like nothing you have ever felt before.

“If you like the music, you like the music. It shouldn’t matter on how you dress or act,” said Griffith.

Just because someone likes a certain type of music doesn’t mean you should automatically judge them, think that they are a bad person, and that they have no morals and values because you don’t even know the person enough to say that.

When asked what his definition of fame was Griffith said, “I think it’s  about getting my music out there. . . I love my music and I will never change that.”

No matter what others say, he will always and forever make more of it.

Girls’ basketball team breaks gender barrier

By Allison McMaster and Connor Lopp

Many people feel that girls don’t get enough credit for the sports they put their hard work and determination towards. The question is, can this be changed?

The girls that are a part of the FC basketball team feel they work just as hard or harder than the boys. When asked if she feels as if the team works as hard as the boys, freshman Brianna Roth said, “Oh yes we do. We may not be as strong as the guys but we definitely work as hard as them.”

The girls on the team usually practice around two hours everyday depending on the season. There are also times when they have two practices a day as well as conditioning that starts in August and try-outs out until mid to late October. If they practice five days that week, that’s 10 hours of their lives devoted to basketball.

Getting on the team isn’t as easy as it may seem. Girls’ basketball coach Kirk Hamsley said, “Good attitude, works hard, and want to be a part of what we’re doing.”

Freshman Kristen Burger agreed.

“We had to work hard but, he didn’t cut us if we tried our best.”

In tryouts, not only did they have to work at their best, they had to compete against some of their closest friends. Roth said, “Getting on the team was a rough battle. It wasn’t just basketball, it was running over a mile everyday and weights.”

There is always talk about why the girls don’t get enough credit. When most people think basketball, its automatically directed towards the boys. Is this really something that can be changed? Hamsley doesn’t think so. “They’re girls. Its a part of the culture of sports and thats not going to change.”

All basketball players start playing the same way. Either they started out when they were young, or they slowly got into it as they grew up. Gender doesn’t matter. FC alum and former basketball player Kelsey Smith said, “I started playing in the second grade and stuck with it through high school.”

So the question is, can the gender barrier be broken? Some people believe so. “Activities like raffles and giveaways encourage fans to come,” said parent and alum Kate Burger,”and once they see the girls play, they’re hooked.”

Freshmen participate in dodgeball

By Emily Stock and Delaney Smith

The freshmen walk out onto the dodgeball court and are immediately intimidated by the look on the seniors’ faces. The underdogs are ready to take on the seniors in the dodgeball tournament here at FC.

Junior Jet Truduau manages to dodge a ball in just enough time to stay in to win for his team. Photo by Delaney Smith

“I thought we would die, but we actually did pretty good,” said freshmen Landon Receveur after winning two games, one of which was against seniors. Receveur’s team, Above Average Joes, was psyched to win.

Freshmen Jack Parker and Landon Receveur run away to dodge the dodge balls flying at them. Photo by Emily Stock

It can be lots of fun, but being a freshman in these kinds of activities can be difficult at times.

“I thought we would get knocked out first round since we were freshmen playing against seniors and they are older and bigger and stronger,” said freshman Jack Parker. The freshmen are being given a challenge being put up against the seniors and other upperclassmen.

“At first I was intimidated, but in the end it felt good to get them out,” said freshmen Zach Yagle.  Having a challenge is what keeps it interesting for the freshmen and makes it more exciting. Most of the freshmen agree to enjoying the challenge.

“For the most part they don’t pick on you and are good competitors. It also posed a challenge and made it more exciting,” said Receveur.

This tournament was mainly put on to raise money for Riley Hospital. All of the competitors agree that this is a good way to raise money for a good cause and have fun with it too.

“More people need to go/participate in these things,” said Yagle.

It is a good and fun way to raise money.  Everyone who went donated one dollar or more and everyone had a good time.

“It’s just good ol’ fun,” said Receveur.

Freshmen adjust to high school life

By Kelsey Stefanick and Siaya Murphy

Getting to know your classes a big school as a freshman is hard. Coming in on the first day, finding your classes and trying to remember your locker combination.

Freshman Jakob Summers said, “It was weird coming in on the first day because, there’s new people and I came from Holy Family, so I didn’t know any one yet.” It was a big change for Summers.

Freshman Sara Wardrip was prepared because she went to Highland Hills. “I was scared on the first day because switching from middle school to high school was a big step for everyone.” said Wardrip.

She gets all A’s, so to Wardrip it’s not impossible to get the same grades in high School. Wardip was prepared and ready for what was to come in high school.

Sophomore Hannah Starrett said, “Being a sophomore is way better than my freshman year because I’m used to Floyd Central; it’s not as scary on the first day of school on your sophomore year.”

Starrett has been through the stress of her freshman year. Knowing where some of your classes were located, how to open your locker, and being used to the students and teachers around you.

FC is different for all age groups and the freshman are the newcomers, the seniors are the big dogs. FC has a lot of extra things to be apart of. You have the choices of sports, extra classes, and other after school activities. But FC is a good school over all.

Reflecting on the influence of American culture

By David Frank

Having a culture and accepting it is not difficult because you grew up in it, but it is dangerous to stay isolated in your country and not show any interest or acceptance to other cultures. It is the reflection of the citizens’ everyday life and behavior, which includes language, movies, music, entertainment, religion, food, and education.

The United States has diversified landscape from Alaska to Florida, cold to warm, mountains to flatland, that’s why Americans like it here. Usually there is everything you can go to vacations, and there is no need to travel thousands of miles to Europe or to Asia.

That is where the problems begin. It is comprehensible that few people want to spend that money for a long trip, even though this trip could open up a mind. “Americans have a lack of understanding of other cultures,” said German teacher Noel McRae, who has been to Germany several times.

“The start of understanding and accepting other cultures begin with learning a second language and participating in student exchanges.” As a matter of fact Germany and northern Europe, especially Finland, are really big in those two things. And those programs doesn’t only provide a better understanding of another culture it also helps in their education, as it is shown in Finland’s score in the 2009 “Programme for International Student Assessment” (PISA) survey.

However America’s reputation seems to be good and bad, and there are many reasons for that.

“America is cool and exciting to other people around the world,” said senior Christy Choe, who has visited Korea many times.

A big part of this reputation comes from the American culture which gets literally exported to other countries. American movies, music, TV shows and even food is often popular things in European countries and in some parts of Asia, too.

“American music is played on the Korean radio stations as well as movies in theaters,” said Choe.

There are probably many reasons why a lot of people prefer American artists and movies.

“I think that they are so popular because a lot of countries have English as their second language,” said freshman Connor Lopp. That’s true, in many countries it’s mandatory to learn English from fifth grade until they graduate.

Another part is the American Dream. It is the belief to move to America and “get from a dishwasher to a celebrity” or just to get rich with a simple idea. Even though big companies created so many monopolies here, that it gets harder and harder to come up with something new, but many people still believe they can make it.

There is also something that gets people outside the states excited. The American flag is in almost every front yard and school class, the pledge of allegiance, the support for the Army and the National anthem which gets played whenever it might be appropriate. In short: patriotism.

“Americans have pride and are really patriotic,” said McRae.

All those things listed above are mostly not present in other countries or are very rare. It is difficult to answer the question why Americans exhibit their patriotism as it is today. It is definitely exciting to experience other cultures and unfortunately this is not possible by watching movies and listing to music from other countries, this will only provide an introduction. There is a lot to see outside the United States and whenever someone gets the opportunity to do so, they should take it.

Winter Fantasia ushers in the Christmas spirit

By Taylor Uhl and Melanie Parrish

The lights dim, every eye in the auditorium fixed on the stage as the curtain is drawn. Finally, after months of preparation, Winter Fantasia begins. Winter Fantasia is a concert conducted by every music teacher at FC. All students in band, orchestra, choir, and hand bells participate. Everyone is very excited about Winter Fantasia every year.

“It always sounds incredible,” said freshman Abby Bigler.

“About 10 years ago, Mr. Yankey, Mr. Elmore, and I decided that we should do a combined concert for the community. That is how it began, and it has grown into what it is today,” said choir director Angela Hampton.

The concert takes place every December, giving it the perfect name: Winter Fantasia. Winter Fantasia is an annual concert that brings together all branches of FC’s music department: choir, band, orchestra, and hand bells.

Winter Fantasia not only brings music to the community, but also helps that same community by donating one dollar from every ticket sold to a different charity every year. The rest of the money goes towards helping the music department.

The stress of Winter Fantasia begins in October immediately following fall concerts.

“Sometimes, we practice all of [the songs], fixing any big problem that stands out, or sometimes we spend the whole class working on one song, fixing details, assigning parts. It’s a lot harder than it looks,” said junior Devin Armbruster.

Each group works on their pieces every day. They are constantly fixing their mistakes or just trying to make everything run smoother. “[Mr. Elmore] prepares us very well. He gets us focused and tries to fix the little things. He puts more pressure on us, but it’s beneficial,” said freshman Tristan Barnes.

All musical teachers are under a strenuous amount of pressure. All three of the directors strive to make each and every student shine the brightest. Students work hard, attempting to achieve a higher level of success.

“I normally hum the tune in my head over and over again not even noticing,” said Bigler.

Stress. It comes with any big performance. The directors of Winter Fantasia manage to minimize stress by keeping certain parts of the show the same every year. This allows the teachers to have experience and give students who are new to the program good advice.

“We try to stick to a plan and make sure everyone involved understands what he or she is supposed to do,” said Hampton.

But Elmore takes on a different kind of stress — stress from the students.

“Only the kind of stress from the kids wanting to sound their best for a big local audience,” said Elmore.

Hampton, Elmore, and band director Harold Yankey all have to coordinate with each other about group placement. The different groups must work together to put on a spectacular show. Everyone has to cooperate and pay attention, otherwise things will not run smoothly. Planning correctly so that all of the students perform at the same time can be a challenge.

“It is also difficult getting all the students to play or sing together,” said Hampton.

All the hard work is worth it because Winter Fantasia is a big hit every year and expected to sell out. Sitting back and seeing what one can accomplish is rewarding.

“I always like seeing all the kids on stage at the end. It’s very impressive,” said Hampton.

Ugly sweaters capture attention

By Jenny North and Claire Watkins

Christmas time, ah. Filled with cookies, trees, presents, happiness, and well, ugly sweaters. Dig into the back of Grandma’s closet, see what you find. Maybe you have some from past Christmases. Don’t worry about the smell of mothballs it’ll go away, well maybe, probably not, but who cares? It’s Christmas! Prepare for ugly sweater mania, everyone is wearing one. Please enjoy the few we have riled up for you.

“It looks like someone chewed up a bag of skittles and spit them onto my sweater.”
Freshman Jody Jansa

“My mom has had this sweater since 1997.”
Freshman Connor Lopp

“My sweater is embarrassing.”
Junior Julie Ulmer

“I would wear this to a pajama party.”
Freshman Megan Johnson

“I was going for the sad and despairing look.”
Sophomore Spencer Day

“This is a pimp sweater.”
Senior Cylie Miller

 

Freshman CJ Greene enjoys variety of interests, including NJROTC

By Aidan Holt and Danielle Shealy

“To have a great career, be well educated, have a family when I get older be a engineer in the military, and be respectful to others,” are some goals of freshman CJ Greene, who is a part of the JROTC Navy.

“I joined ROTC because I have always liked the military and thought it would help me in my career.”

He wishes to get all the techniques and to use them in his everyday life but before he joined he didn’t think about what it was like. Now he is a seaman in ROTC and is having fun with it.

Besides ROTC Greene has other hobbies like football, track, running, and Boy Scouts that interest him.

“I like to build things, draw, video games, and to draw cars, ” he said.

“I like to draw many things like military stuff, skulls, dragons, and video games.”

He loves to run track and in it he usually is a discus thrower or a 100 mile dasher. After Greene goes through school he wants to be an aerospace engineer for the Air Force.

Greene’s dad works at UPS as a supervisor and has a military background, and his mom is a teacher. Also, he has three brothers — Troy and Josh are out of school and David, who is a ninth grader with his sister Tiffany, who is also out of school.

Orchestra enjoys magic of Winter Fantasia

The orchestra shows hard work doesn’t always mean good housekeeping.”We brought everything on stage for Winter Fantasia and then just kinda’ threw everything back in there,” said freshman viola player Sam Bullet.
Photo by Garland Noel.    

By Garland Noel

The lights roll down, the curtains part, only to show students milling around on stage? If you’re seeing this it might be Winter Fantasia season. Now that it’s that time of year again the orchestra is going all out for Winter Fantasia.
For freshmen this is a totally new experience.

“It’s a great event, definitely the most interesting concert I’ve ever played,” said freshman cello player Silas Schaefer.

However, freshmen aren’t the only ones working hard for this concert. Upperclassmen are also getting new music, some of it challenging.

“The usual Christmas pieces are just review but our new contest piece, Russlon and Ludmilla, is much more difficult,” said senior violinist Gannon Yeaton.

Schaefer’s optimistic view of this performance is shared by the older members as well.

“It’s good we get together and show off what we have,” said sophomore bass player Ben Malone. No matter how much work they have to put in they still like it.

“It takes a lot of time, but it’s worth it,” said junior cello player Jozi Uebelhoer.

Whatever your holiday persuasion Yeaton sums it up saying,”It’s a magical time of year and I can never escape the attraction of the seasonal monotony.”