Volume 6 Issue 7

IN THIS ISSUE: A MOST DANGEROUS PROFESSION SERVING IN THE USA

Bringing You the Ursuline

Academy News

Volume 6 Issue 7

IN THIS ISSUE:

A MOST DANGEROUS PROFESSION

SERVING IN THE USA

ARE GOOD GRADES WORTH THE PRICE?

Bringing You the Ursuline Academy

News

TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS PG. 3 Gas Prices New Law Restricting Tanning under 18 PG. 4 Widespread Catastrophes Beyond Japan’s Coast What to do if a Tsunami Hit PG. 5 Is Leaking Radiation a Concern for the United States? PG. 6 A most dangerous Profession! Touchdown for the Good PG. 7 Clinton Back in Action

FEATURES PG. 8 St. Baldricks Foundation PG. 9 Are good grades worth the Price?

STUDENT LIFE PG. 10 Serving in the USA Seniors Take Chicago

SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT PG. 11 Chocolate Covered Eggs Faces: What Makes YOU Excited About Spring?

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“The gas prices are hurting everyone, and there is no reason for them to be so high and keep getting higher,” said jun-ior Colleen Lutman. They just keep going up. Gas prices are so high because speculators feel that the price for crude oil is going up due to the distress in Libya and other countries in the Middle East. At the pump, what we pay for is the cost of crude oil, accounting for 71%. The other 29% is 5% refining, 10% distribution and market-ing and 14% taxes, according to www.financialnut.com. An-other part of the rise in gas prices is that the U.S. dollar is so weak.

According to ABC News, last year alone over 20 million Americans tanned in tan-ning beds. The majority of people tan-ning are girls between the ages of 16 and 30. Those are also the ages where

The crisis in the Middle East also affects the rise in gas prices. On Rush Limbaugh’s show on March 4, 2011, he discussed the

rise in gas prices and how Obama feels about the rise. Lim-

baugh said, “It's interest-ing, folks. For the re-cord YouTube-Google s eems t o have scrubbed that clip of Obama saying he doesn't mind gas prices going up to four

bucks; he just doesn't want them to go up too quickly. You can't find that,”

according to www.rushlimbaugh.com. Here in St. Louis, as of April 19,

gas prices are about $3.75 at the lowest and as high as $4.09 at BP in East Saint Louis. The Lake of the Ozarks gas is as low as $3.48. That is not exactly cheap, but it is cheaper than what people pay in St. Louis. T here is not as much money in the Ozarks, unlike St. Louis and densely populated areas, such as Cali-fornia and New York. In California, some prices go as high as $4.75, according to www.californiagasprices.com. While the national average is $3.82, the Missouri average is $3.67. The St. Louis average gas price is $3.72, according to www.stlouisgasprices.com.

Amber Grisham Bear Facts Staff Writer

skin is most vulnerable to UV light rays and has a higher chance of developing skin cancer. One person every hour dies of melanoma, and two thirds of all mela-noma cases result from indoor tanning.

The FDA recently tried to pass a law in Mis-souri restricting anyone under the age of 16 from tanning and requiring any-one between the ages 16 and 18 to have parental consent. The law, however, did not pass, and there are currently no tanning regu-lations regarding age in the state of Missouri. Katie Donnar was 18 and living in Indiana when she was diagnosed with an early stage of melanoma. Since she has regularly used tanning beds, it was no medical surprise that she devel-oped the disease. How-

ever, Katie told ABC News at just 18 was confused and scared. This does happen, and is actually likely to happen to any-one tanning in high school. So why do teens tan? "Everyone else was tan, and I didn't want to be the odd one," Donnar said. "So I tanned so I could fit in." Ursuline sophomore Brooke Chelew stated, “I like the way I look when I’m tan.” The best way to prevent skin cancer is obviously not to indoor tan, considering it increases the risks of devel-oping a form of skin cancer by 75%, as reported by ABC News. Therefore, when tanning, it’s important to take cautions such as not going an excessive number of times, applying safe tanning lotions and watching for signs of early melanoma which include brown spots on the skin. So, tanning before a dance has to be weighed with the dangers of tanning in mind.

Emily Badock Bear Facts Staff Writer

Image from www.narcosphere.narconews.com

Art by Alicen Moser

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Widespread Catastrophes Reach Beyond Japan’s Coast tipping them off to approaching disaster long before humans realize what’s going on.” Eyewitness accounts from national-geographicnews.com stated that ele-phants screamed and ran for higher ground, dogs refused to go outdoors, flamingos abandoned their low-lying breeding areas, and zoo animals rushed into their shelters and wouldn’t come back out. Immediate help is focused on finding human survivors at this point. What is known is that hundreds of ani-mals have been killed as a result from the tsunami. The fall of the stock market and Ja-pan’s economy has been one of the ma-jor effects of the tsunami. Japan has the third-largest economy in the world, and disruption to manufacturing there could have a domino effect on countries. For instance, the United States relies on the

auto industry in Japan, and there is the possibility of chains of companies shutting down. Japan is a major supplier of parts for cars that are made in the U.S. The tsunami also had a physical effect on other countries. Just hours after the tsunami hit Japan, waves as high as 11 feet struck Hawaii. The waves then started hitting the southern shores and Oregon. “The harbor has been de-stroyed,” city councilman Rich Enea stated in reference to California’s dam-age to docks and boats from the Associ-ated Press. The effects of the tsunami will take time to recover from, but nations are pulling together in support of Japan and other countries that were affected.

Maggie Eggleston Bear Facts Staff Writer

Spawned by a 8.9 magnitude earth-quake, Japan’s eastern coast was de-stroyed by a huge tsunami. National-geographicnews.com states that a tsunami is a series of great sea waves caused by an underwater earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption. The tsunami in Japan served as a wake up call for millions of people around the world. The damage from the tsunami that hit at 2:46 p.m. on Friday, March 11, 2011, were both deadly and long lasting. While it will take time to recover, the after affects will take time to recover; however, there may have been some prior warning. The animals knew the tsunami was coming before anyone else. According to nationalgeographicnews.com, “Wildlife experts believe animals’ more acute hearing and other senses might enable them to hear or feel the earth’s vibration,

This picture shows the damage from the tsunami.

What To Do if a Tsunami Hit When asked how students thought the people of Japan reacted to the tsunami, sophomore Maddie Stadler stated, “I think the people should have left the country.” While this seems logical, it is hard to predict when a tsunami will reach shore. This is because a tsunami is pro-duced by undersea volcanic eruption. The best place for security if a tsunami is coming is the highest ground you can reach as far away from the coastline as possible. The first tip-off that a tsunami is coming is an earthquake. Once this hits,

an emergency signal is sent. The next sign comes when the waves on shore get sucked into the ocean before being spit back at shore again. Tsunamis come in multiple waves, and usually the first wave isn’t the largest. Although the Mid-west will not see a tsunami, the west coast states such as California can and did receive delayed effects.

Maggie Eggleston Bear Facts Staff Writer

The tsunami was the fifth largest ever recorded.

All pictures taken from nationalgeographicnews.com

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I n March, Japan suffered a massive earthquake with devastating effects, one of those being a radiation leak from at least one of their nuclear reac-tors. Japan was one of the most pre-pared countries to deal with the results of an earthquake or tsunami, but just like everything else there is always a chance that every back up may fail. "’The Japanese are considered the best in the world,’ said Schneider [a nuclear consult-ant]. ‘They had several generators in place in case one of them doesn't work. This is the first time I've heard of where none of them worked. To me, that is a very deep concern,’" according to ABC.go.com on March 11. It is difficult to believe that, even with precautions being taken, an already devastating incident became even more deadly so quickly.

Radiation from Japan is a threat to America. According to reports by the CBS Early Show, the response by Ameri-cans may prove a big-ger threat than the radiation itself. The show has an article on their website which gave both the views of doctors and their pa-tients. Dr. Glenn Braunstein, who is in Los Angeles, said the precaut ions some Americans are taking are unneces-sary. According to the article, “He says the 5,500 miles between the U.S. and the nuclear plant in Japan is more than a safe distance.” Some Americans on the other hand do not wish to take the doc-tor’s advice and are still buying potas-sium iodide tablets, which help to protect people who have been exposed to ra-diation, just as a precaution. Ms. Herbst, the moderator of the Environmental Club here at UA, said people in the United States should not be so concerned.

There will only be trace amounts of radiation in the United States from Japan, and people should be more worried about radiation from the sun than from Japan. In late March into early April there were news reports on many of the St. Louis public news stations of milk being contaminated with radia-tion. It is believed that the radiation traveled through the air to the United States and contaminated either grass or rain water, which made its way into a cow’s system in Washington state. The amount of radiation in the milk was not a threat to public safety. People are exposed to more radiation from a five-hour plane ride than from a pint of this contaminated milk, added the St. Louis public news stations. The radiation in Japan is

slowly becoming news of the past except for small updates such as the milk inci-

dent men-t i o n e d a b o v e . A f t e r s p e a k i n g with some students at UA, many are begin-ning not to follow the rad ia t i o n issues any-

more. Radiation is around us every day whether it be from the sun, plane rides or if an accident like the Japan earthquake happens, and this leak of radiation is not something we should be too concerned about in the United States at this time.

Mary Elizabeth Herries

Bear Facts Staff Writer

Is Leaking Radiation in Japan a concern for the United States?

There will only be trace amounts of radiation in the United States from Japan, and people should be more wor-ried about radiation from the sun than from Japan.

Art by Meghan Schmitt

When many people think of a nu-clear power plant , including the art-ist Meghan Schmitt, they imagine the cone shaped smoke stacks illustrated above.

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Journalists Go Missing in Libya Just Trying to Uncover the Real Story. Simply bringing news to the citizens of the world has never been considered a dangerous job. After all, what can be so difficult about writing articles on news events? Several journalists covering the revolt in Libya learned the hard way just how risky their chosen profession can be. Four journalists were sent sev-eral weeks ago to report on Libyan events. Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony Shadid, photographers Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario, and reporter and videographer Stephen Far-rell travelled to Libya as a part of a routine assignment to uncover the truth. However, they quickly went miss-ing in the turmoil of the country. They were simply missing for a week, from March 15 to March 19, until it was dis-covered that they actually were prison-ers of war in Libya. The U.N. recently

negotiated with their captors, said the newspaper San Francisco Gate, forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gad-dafi, to bring them all home since they actually had no part in the conflict it-self. This military force freed them March 19 after the journalists were cap-tured when they entered rebel-controlled eastern Libya without visas, a “common practice among Western journalists cov-ering the ongoing insurrection,” accord-ing to the San Francisco Gate. In any sort of national or inter-national conflict, journalists will be sent to report: these are hot stories, guaranteed to sell. However, these journalists are taking their lives into their hands by ven-turing into these countries of political and economic turmoil. At least two French reporters also went missing in the Egyp-tian conflict several weeks ago, only to

return home after international interven-tion, according to the organization Rebel News. Several French journalists also went missing a few years ago in Af-ghanistan, but were rescued a week or so later, according to the British news source BBC News. This pattern of detain-ing journalists is not a recent prac-tice. During the World Wars, reporters were forced to disguise themselves in war-riddled Europe in order to get the scoop, or they would face a painful death. This dedication to the cause of bringing news to the people is admira-ble. Next time the news is being read, think about how the stories got into the newspapers and what the journalists have given up to get them there.

Ann Slesinski Bear Facts Staff Writer

Touchdown for Good! Space Shuttle Discovery returns home for a final time after a nearly 40-year career, but it’s not made its final curtain call.

We are nearing the end of the final era of space shuttles and missions. Only one more launch is scheduled for the Space Shuttle En-deavour. However, the Space Shuttle Discovery has already landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canav-eral, Florida. After a 13-day mission, on March 9 the shuttle made its final journey home. What will they do with it now? NASA is donating the legendary shuttle to the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian. The STS-133 (Discovery) was the longest-serving shuttle in NASA’s space shuttle fleet. However, Discovery is not quite ready for the Smithsonian. Robert Pearlman from collectSPACE.com wrote, “Before Discovery can be turned over to the Washington institution, the shuttle will undergo an autopsy of sorts, providing NASA engineers one last chance to learn what they can by cutting into the world’s most flown spacecraft in history.” Concluding the very last mission

on March 9, Discovery completed an entire year in orbit. STS-133 is now in the Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida where the shuttle will endure a post-flight proc-essing flow. The shuttle is going to be processed in the hanger similar to how it was inspected and prepared for each of its 38 trips to space. “With no next launch, however, the shuttle technicians who previously worked to build up Discovery for its next flight will instead tear into the shuttle to excise many of its key components for study, to save for future programs and to make the vehicle safe for public dis-play,” Pearlman reported to collect-SPACE.com. NASA’s engineers have to make sure that the vehicle is sound and secure, but this time, so it can go on dis-play. From a forensic perspective, all of the propellants have to be taken out of the fuel cell system along with other types of fuels. Besides the dangerous

fuels, they have to remove other toxic and hazardous products. Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s asso-ciate administrator for space operations, explained to collectSPACE.com, “We can still learn a lot from these vehicles. There are some hydraulics systems and some other things that we haven’t really had a chance to have a look at because it was really too invasive to get in there and take a look at it. So we’re going to re-quest that the teams help us pull a couple of those components out to do some real detailed forensics on, so we can then learn about them for the next generation of vehicles.” The last space shuttle flight is scheduled to take place with the shuttle Endeavour. This will be Endeavour’s last flight as well, which will lead to the con-struction of new space vehicles for ad-vanced space travel.

Ann Wolf Bear Facts Staff Writer

A Most Dangerous Profession!

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S ince 2009, Hillary Clinton has served the United States as the secretary of state. Her

journey in life and service for this country has had an unusual twist. It has been interesting. Recently, USTo-day.com reported that Clinton said that if President Barack Obama is re-elected in 2012 for another four-year term, she would not continue to serve as the secretary of state. While the media questioned her motivation, it has histori-cally been common for cabinet-level officials to turn over during the second term of a presidency. Thus, realistically, there is not a lot of controversy with her statement. However, Hillary Clinton, probably still wants to become president of the United States because she is so ambi-tious. Even though she is advancing in age and would be al-most 70 years old in 2016, don’t discount her desire to run for president. Even if she is out there stating she does not want to run, this may be a ploy to have individuals to seek her out to run for the presidency. What else could be in Hillary’s future? With the declining poll numbers for President Barack Obama, he may seek to shake up his campaign ticket by dumping Vice President Joe Biden and adding Hillary Clinton to the ticket. This would bol-ster his argument in 2012 that he is the inclusive candidate and help him win the soccer moms who are beginning to turn out for

the Republicans, according to USToday.com. While the future may be a little unclear at this point for Hillary Clinton, the one thing that is certain is her career is far from over. Just think of the irony if she became president of the United States; the country would have its first gentleman of the United States, former President Bill Clin-ton; in this country, everything is possible, and Hillary Clinton has a lot to offer, and her accom-plishments tend to show it. Clearly, Hillary has learned much from her husband’s presidency; therefore, this helps her with her own political jour-ney. While the future may be a little unclear at this point for Hillary Clinton, the one thing that is clear is that her career is far from over. Just think of the irony if she became president of the United States. In this country, everything is possi-ble.

Earlier in Clinton’s political career, she worked in Illinois to help elect Republicans, according to USA-Today.com. Clinton even served as the president of the Young Republicans Club at Wellesley College. As with many people in the late 1960s, the Vietnam War fundamentally changed her forever. After finishing her bache-lor’s degree from Wellesley College, she attended Yale law school. While attending, she met and married Bill Clinton. The two married October 11, 1975, and settled in Arkansas, ac-cording to USAToday.com. In January 1979, Bill Clinton was elected governor of Ar-kansas; Hillary became the first lady of Arkansas alongside her husband from 1979-1981 and from 1983-1992. In 1992, Bill Clinton became the president of the United States, and Hillary became the first lady of the land from 1993-2001. After serv-ing as the first lady, Hillary moved to the state of New York and ran for the U.S. senate. She was a senator of New York during the years of 2001-2009. In 2009, she left her position was elected as the U. S. secretary of state. While Hillary settled for the position of secretary of state, her desire was to become the first female president of the United States.

Bear Facts Co-Editor Brooke Messmer

Clinton Back into Action Will Hillary Clinton capture the presidency?

Hillary Clinton is on the rise for office 2012. Will she run against Obama? Picture taken by: Ann Slesinski.

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is a stick, he could drive at the age of 7. Shift gears and all,” Paula said. The Ivanowski family found out about St. Baldrick’s when Dawson was first in the hospital. St. Baldrick’s had just had the fundraising event in March, and Dawson was diagnosed in April. The Ivanowski’s decided to put together a team the fol-lowing year and named themselves Dawson’s Hairless Heroes. “We have had a team now for the past six years, and keep the support going in Dawson’s memory, and in hopes to find a cure for some of these childhood cancer diseases. All the money raised is getting us a step closer to cures, so that no other family has to go through what we had to go through. This was truly one of Dawson’s favorite events, as he loved shaving the heads of his dad and several dear friends,” Paula explained. The Ivanowski family will continue to support the St. Baldrick’s foun-dation. Dawson will be dearly missed every day and will stay in our hearts forever.

St. Baldrick’s is a cancer research foundation for kid’s with cancer. It helps raise money for research for a cure to can-cer. It started on March 17, 2000, and instantly became a huge hit. People from across the country have head shaving events to raise money for kids with cancer. To this day they have raise $57,005,153 to go to research for cancer.

Emily Price Bear Facts Staff Writer

T he Ivanowski family had a son who was diag-nosed with cancer when he was only six years old. Paula Ivanowski, Dawson’s mother, said

she was in total disbelief when she found out the news, “This wasn’t happening to him,” she said. It was a tragic and trying time for the heartbroken family.

Dawson Ivanowski was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma at age six. Neuroblastoma is a cancer that forms in your nerve tissue. Dawson was treated at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hos-pital in St. Louis and Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. “He started loosing his hair as the treatment began, but other than that the treatment didn’t affect him as bad as other kids. He kept going and going,” Paula explained. Dawson wasn’t your typical 6, 7, or 8 year old. He was very active, and did not let anyone or anything hold him back during his treatment. He loved to ride his four-wheeler and motorcycle. He loved fishing and deer hunting. He got his first deer at the age of 6, three days out of stem cell transplant. Dawson loved to use his chain saw and cut down trees with his dad. “And yes he had his very own chain saw, a real one. What every 6 year old should have,” said Paula. He loved setting off fireworks, and driving his mom’s jeep. “Again, yes my jeep that

“It was such an inconvenience for Dawson to go to the hospital. He had things in life he needed to do, and that

wasn’t on his list of things to do,” Paula Ivanowski

Every year Dawson’s dad, pictured above in middle, shaves his head for his son. Paula Ivanowski, Dawson’s mom.

Facebook.com

Facebook.com

Art by: A

nn Wolf

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Cheating is now becoming widely accepted, but is it happening because of laziness and lack of time, or are expectations to do well in school too high? Cheating has serious consequences whether a person cheats on a homework assignment, test, exam or anything else. When cheating, people do not know that they are doing the wrong thing, and they are not learning anything from it except that it is acceptable and they are more tempted to continue cheating. Here at Ursuline and anywhere else, cheating has been a big problem, and the amount of cheating continues to rise. Stu-dents cheat during quizzes just because teachers are not paying close attention. It is evident that a girl did not study for a test or quiz when you see her turning to her friend in the classroom and they are whispering questions and answers to each other. Also, teachers do not set guidelines when it comes to worksheets or working with partners. Anyone could take advantage of other classmates and copy their answers because she is too lazy or she makes up an excuse saying that she did not have enough time to do her homework. Working with partners just isn’t figuring out the problems together, but checking problems. I have observed students checking problems, and one of them has the wrong an-swer, so she just copies the right answer from the other student. It is sad to know that so many people cheat just because they want a good grade. As Kelsey Rejko stated in the last Bear Facts issue, “I don’t understand why people cheat because the the reason why we go to school is to learn.” There is no point in having teachers here to help students learn when people just want to cheat, not learning anything. Ursuline has policies for students who cheat. There are serious consequences for students who decide to cheat. According to Ursuline’s handbook, academic honesty and integrity need to be honored by everyone in the community. Dr. Gilligan said, “Cheating is not worth it because your integrity is valuable, and to jeopardize your character for a grade is not a fair ex-change.” If a student is caught cheating, it is at the teacher’s dis-cretion to determine the consequence, whether it is a zero on the assignment or to resubmit the work again. If cheating is contin-ued, parents will be notified to come in and speak with Dr. Gilli-gan or Mr. Michalski. If a student does not quit cheating, she will be asked to leave. There are serious consequences for cheating, and removal from school is the last resort. Not only is the student penalized, but her integrity in work is lost. Dr. Gilligan said that Ursuline can prevent cheating by, “educating the students that cheating is a big deal and not acceptable, and it is a serious violation.”

Why do students cheat? According to Dean Guthrie, students cheat because people have made it all about the letter grade and the GPA. She said, “When I was in school, back in the dark ages, a ‘C’ was average and acceptable. Today, if a teacher gives you anything lower than a ‘B’ it is like the world is coming to an end.” Nowadays, cheating is more widely ac-cepted in society. Unfortunately, there is not enough time in a day, and students overcommit themselves, and this leads to temp-tation. Seniors Amanda Wherle, Victoria Sapienza and Rebecca Meyer agreed with each other and said that, “people are lazy and expectations are high.” Juniors Abby and Emily Pawlak and Erica Miller and sophomore Kate Sondermann said that, “people don’t study, or they run out of time. They don’t do their home-work, and they want a good grade.” Plus, technology today is widely available anywhere. Plagiarizing is common with technol-ogy because people can easily access work from other students on the Internet and go to sites such as Sparknotes. Students can easily send answers over e-mail, post it online or make cheat sheets. It is not right to put work on the Internet so that people can use it and plagiarize. Even though cheating seems to be more widely ac-cepted by society, something needs to be done to prevent it and eventually stop it. What can be done? Being honest, not letting people take advantage by copying, paying attention in class, not using the Internet as a source of cheating and not falling into temptations are a few. As Dean Guthrie said, “Cheating is not your own work; it may get you the grade you want, but what have you learned? The person being cheated is YOU!”

Sarah Haenchen Bear Facts Staff Writer

Are Good Grades Worth the Price?

What are the equations?- Cheating is on the rise, and it is not fair to people who work hard. Cheating can come in many forms such as writing on your arm, looking at other people’s paper, or having cheat sheets. Art by Meghan Schmitt.

Cheating: a person violating rules, regulations, morals; acting dishon-estly, deceiving and defrauding (dictionary.com).

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At Ursuline, it is not hard to find a service opportunity in which to get involved. This year, campus ministry introduced a new senior service trip to Chicago. We stayed at the Brother David Darst Center, located in the Bridgeport area of Chicago, and went to seven sites in four days. We didn’t waste any time getting to work and were soon on our way to a men’s shelter. We were all a little nerv-ous about it. Though it was judgemental to assume that the men would be dan-gerous, seven high school girls around 50-70 homeless men sounded scary. As soon as our group walked in, any misconceptions we had were gone. Alexa Dickerhoff, another senior on the trip, was no exception.

There is a certain period of time in every school year set aside for students to relax and not worry about homework or school. This is known as spring break, where students hang out and enjoy not having to work for awhile. But for a group of jun-iors that was no t the case. Instead, they volunteered their time to travel down to New Orleans and help those still re-covering from the horrific hurri-cane Katrina.

Each year about 30 juniors decide to use their spring break as a time of service. They fly to New Orleans without any idea of what kind of work they will be doing, but understanding that they will somehow be helping oth-ers. Claire Roper, one of the students who attended the trip this year, said she expected the trip to be fun and knew that they would be helping to make a difference. Once the girls arrive they are broken off into groups to go work on different sites. “My group did the finishing touches to a house,” said Claire. “We cut and put in the base boards, and we cleaned and painted the house.” Other work included

Serving in the USA

“I went into the men’s shelter nervous I was going to meet some creepy old dudes, basically. But in real-

ity, they were re-spectful, friendly and, in my eyes, deserved better.” All the men wanted was some-one to listen to their stories. I got attached to a man named Wallace

who shared a lot of wisdom with me. He told me about his life and how he had come to be homeless. He was a truck driver with a wife and two sons, but his wife died in a drunk-driving accident, and he got into drugs and al-cohol. Soon, he was out of money and on the street, and he wasn’t allowed to see his three grandchildren. With any luck, he will finally be able to get an apartment in a couple of

painting the exterior of houses and tiling the floors. While it may seem like all work and no fun, the girls did get a chance to see New Orleans. The second day there, all the students took a trip to the French Quarter to go shopping, watch street perform-ers and eat some famous New Orleans food. With everything that the girls experienced, Claire said that her favorite part was meeting the owner of the house they were working on and hearing her story. The owner of the house had been living with her two brothers, and when the storm hit she decided to leave with her sisters to Atlanta. However, her brothers decided to stay. When she returned, she was told that one of her brothers passed away at the Superdome of a heart attack, and the other brother drowned and was never found. On returning to her house, the woman saw water up to the roof and her house destroyed with the furniture all drifted away. The area that had the most damage would be the ninth ward; Claire described seeing the dam-age as “really eye-opening, seeing houses not rebuilt yet or ones swept off the foundation.” It is sad to think that after six years there is still much to be done to help those victims of hurricane Katrina.

months. After he told me his story, he gave me some advice. He said family is most important because they support you no matter what. “You will have a million friends,” he said, “but only one group of people that will always think you are number one.” An eye-opening fact that I came to dis-cover at this shelter is that homelessness can strike anyone at anytime. It is not just something that happens to drug addicts or poor people. For example, we met some young African students stuck in the U.S. because they were unable to renew their visa to attend the university. “My experience in Chicago was eye-opening, life changing and heart-breaking,” said Alexa. “It inspired me to get off my butt and do something about the problems in the world.”

Amy Coyle Bear Facts Staff Writer

Seniors Take Chicago

Above, Olivia Waterbury working hard at her site.

Photo by Erin Cicotte

Above Erinc Cicotte walks towards a house pushed to

it,s side by the Hurricane.

Photo taken by Mrs. Weston

Josie Ruggeri Bear Facts Staff Writer

Faces: What Makes YOU Excited About Spring?

Getting Tan. -Emily Nienas, freshman

The weather. -Morgan Powers, sophomore

Baseball. -Sarah Adams, junior

Trees blooming and warm weather. -Amanda Wherle, senior

Easter is just around the corner, and there are great ways to satisfy your sweet tooth. This easy-to-make recipe serves as a good dessert and a sweet treat to munch on. Here is how to make it: Ingredients: 1/4 cup of butter, softened 1 jar of marshmallow creme (7 ounces) 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 3 cups + 1 tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar, divided 2 cups of white baking chips or semisweet chocolate chips 2 tablespoons of shortening Icing of your choice Assorted decorating candies Food coloring Directions: In a large bowl, beat the butter and marshmallow creme and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in 3 cups of confectioners’ sugar. Place ¼ cup of the creamed mixture in a bowl; add yellow food coloring if desired, and mix well. Shape into 24 small balls; cover, and chill for 30 minutes. Wrap plain mixture into plastic wrap; chill for 30 minutes. Dust work surface with remaining confectioners’ sugar. Divide plain dough into 24 pieces. Wrap one piece of plain dough around each yellow ball, and form into an egg shape. Place on a waxed-paper-lined baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for 15 minutes or until firm. In a microwave, melt chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip eggs in mixture; allow excess to drip off. Return eggs to waxed paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. Decorate with icing and decorating candies as desired. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy! Recipe from Tasteofhome.com

Meg Haenchen Bear Facts Staff Writer

Chocolate-Covered Eggs

These are the finished product of the recipe from tasteofhome.com

Photos by Meg Vatterott

What our models think: What will be hot this spring?

“I am feeling sandals are going to be big.” -Meg Brady, sophomore

“I think there will be a lot of fun, bright col-ors and prints.” -Olivia Durbin, sophomore

“Bold colors, floral prints and boho accesso-ries.” -Rachel Garozzo, sophomore

Photos by Meg Vatterott

Photos by bleustyle.com

Spring Fever: Fashion Forward 2011 Spring into this new sea-son with new trends straight from the runways of New York. Vibrant colors and floral patterns come to mind when spring is mentioned. The bright yellows, pinks and or-anges ring true, but there is more to spring fashion than just a floral print. According to Elle Maga-zine, large bold prints are in this season. Stripes, African designs, and even Hawaiian and Asian in-spired clothes are in style. The belief that stripes make the body look wider is a huge misconception. “Stripes can actually slim; even horizontal,” said fashion editor Prabal Gurung from Elle. “What all these new trends have in common is color; lots of it.” The Asian inspired clothes are made with the

mind frame of classic clean lines. On the other hand, Hawaiian is the exact opposite. Hawaiian shirts paired with a big belt and skirt are just one example of this new popular style. Christian Dior is one of the leading designers making these cute, fashionable dresses and shirts. This trend is all about having fun in the sun, literally. The latest Seventeen Magazine shows great tips and ideas for what’s in this season. No outfit is complete without a pair of sunglasses. Their article, “Sunny Steals!” said, “A pair of chic shades instantly steps up your look.” Sunglasses from Lulu’s and Make-mechic are some of the few displayed, not to mention their price of under twenty dollars. In-

die sundresses are a clas-sic spring/summer staple for every closet. Delia’s is a great website to buy sassy, reasonably priced dresses. Boots are a popular choice of shoe this April, more specifi-cally rain and cowgirl boots. Cute boots can be found at Famous Foot-wear, Target and in Marc Jacobs shoe line. Take advantage of these funky new trends. Add your own twist. Any way you decide to dress this spring, make it your own with accesso-ries and adding your own flair.

Megan Schmitt Bear Facts Writer

Summer Playlist

No Sleep

Not your birthday

Good Life

Wiz Khalifa

Allstar Weekend

One Rupublic

Hannah Freelance Whales

Price Tag Jessie J

I Do Colbie Caillat

Photos by bleustyle.com