On December 20, 2012, the Hopkins School Board voted to keep Parkwood, Knolls, and Walnut Drive properties of the city of Edina within the Hop-kins School District.

Property owners were rep-resented by Unite Edina 273, an independent nonpartisan neighborhood group repre-senting over 400 families in the greater Parkwood Knolls neighborhood of northwest Edina. The group asked to leave the Hopkins District because they believed that the Hopkins schools are not in locations that serve their families’ educational

page theROYAL

Thursday, Jan. 31 2013 Volume 31 Issue 5

www.royalpage.org

sports 15

Advocacy group, Unite Edina 273, loses to School Board and remains in Hopkins

-Naomi Borowsky

Climate change doesn’t just endanger polar bears. It

directly affects people every single day.

opinion 4

C-spread 8-9

Nina Rodgers, junior, played for U.S. World U18 team

By Brit SteinStaff Reporter

Edina neighborhood attempts to leave District

School shooting tragedies affect schools across nation

C-spread 8-9

Top: Alexandra Hanson,senior, removes fake eyelashes to reveal her naked eye. Bottom: Hanson’s eye is without eyelashes, filled with tears and makeup. “Every piece has a great deal of symbolism in it, and my eyes in every piece retain their color to show that even though I felt consumed by my trichotillomania, I never really lost who I was because of it,” Hanson said.

Artwork by Alexandra Hanson

Hanson defeats disorder and reflects through art

At 12 years old, Alexandra Hanson, senior, stood in front of the mirror and did some-thing that would haunt her. “I remember that moment so clearly,” Hanson said, “The instant I pulled that last eye-lash out and saw that my eyes were completely naked, I was flooded with horror and then instantly burst into tears from panic.”

Hanson began struggling with trichotillomania in sixth grade. It was a habit that, for Hanson, seemed to develop out of nowhere.

Trichotillomania is a disor-der that affects up to 4 percent of the population, according to the Huffington Post. People

needs.Despite Unite Edina 273’s

efforts, the School Board direc-tors voted unanimously against the detachment, stating that it was within the District’s best interest for the neighborhoods to remain in the Hopkins School District.

“The request would have in-volved a loss of over $500,000 of resource the District receives from the property taxes of resi-dents requesting to leave,” said Mr. John Schultz, superinten-dent, “I believe this carried a lot of weight in the School Board denying the request.”

There were other reasons for rejecting the bid. “Honor-ing the request would have set a

precedent across the metro area for citizens to change bound-aries and property tax col-lection outside of the current boundaries. Open enrollment laws already allow parents and students to attend the school district of their choice in the state,” Schultz said.

Some Edina residents were angered by the School Board’s decision. “Hopkins schools are afraid of losing money and so their Board is protecting the status quo for the sake of their bottom line,” said one com-mentator, “[Hopkins School Board has] said nothing about there being so few Edina pu-pils actually attending their schools.”

Currently, 133 of 212 school-aged students in the af-fected area open enroll in Edina schools, nine attend Hopkins schools and the remaining 70 students attend private schools.

Harrison Robinow, senior, lives in Edina but his ad-dress falls within the Hopkins School District.

“It was my parents’ deci-sion for me to go to Hopkins,” Robinow said, “The main rea-son they decided Hopkins was because we only live two blocks away from the Hopkins pre-school [Harley Hopkins]. As I moved up in grade levels, changing schools was less of an option because of things like friends and familiarity. The dis-

tance doesn’t really make a dif-ference. Most of my friends live within a ten minute drive from my house.”

In an interview with the Hopkins Patch, Matthew McNeil, Hopkins resident and Edina High School grad, compared the situation to that of Vikings owner Zygi Wilf threatening to move the team out of Minnesota if he didn’t get a new stadium.

“It’s a dangerous precedent to set to allow one neighbor-hood to rip itself out of a school district and put itself in a different school district,” McNeil said. “This comes down to personal accountability. It’s that plain and simple. People

make choices. Every member of Unite Edina 273 knew what school district they were buy-ing into when they purchased their house. Every single one of them.”

Hopkins School District boundaries envelop seven dif-ferent communities, including Plymouth, Eden Prairie, Hop-kins, Minnetonka, St. Louis Park, Golden Valley,and Edina. The boundaries have been de-veloped through School Board and legislative action over the School District’s history.

“The district boundaries were established over 100 years ago,”

with trichotillomania suffer from compulsive urges to pull or twist their hair until it comes out or breaks off. It can result in hair becoming thinner or com-plete hair loss.

For Hanson, however, it was simply something she couldn’t control. “It was this uncontrol-lable urge to pull out my hair and eyelashes and I couldn’t resist it, no matter how much I wanted to stop doing it,” Han-son said.

As Hanson continued to pull, the stress of her disorder overwhelmed her, which only made her want to pull more. “Over time I developed a ten-nis ball sized bald spot on the top of my head and pulled out all of my eyelashes,” Hanson said.

Another student, Smith*, has felt the same overwhelm-ing urge as Hanson did to pull. For Smith, it started as a way to

cope. “I had gotten into fights with a lot of my friends, and my great-grandpa died. It was a hard year. That’s how I dealt with my anxiety and stress,” Smith said.

According to Ms. Bobbi Pointer, school nurse, find-ing help for disorders such as trichotillomania usually comes from multiple sources. “Like any other mental health disor-der, we know that meds work, and we know that counseling works, and putting those two together probably works the best,” Pointer said.

For both Smith and Han-son, getting trichotillomania under control came from the help and support of others.

Hanson found support in her boyfriend Will Phelps, se-nior. “I was always there for her and helped her through this

By Lydia WilsonEditor in Chief

-HANSON continued on page 10

-EDINA continued on page 2

*A fake name, Smith,was used for a student to remain anonymous.

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013RPThursday, Jan. 31, 2013 thenews2

Student Wellness Committee provides stress relieving activitiesBy Stefanie GedanStaff Reporter

Instead of rushing home as the bell rang, some students chose to stay after school and participate in a Zumba class in the mall on Wednesday, Jan. 9.

The event was organized by the Student Wellness Com-mittee. “[The Student Wellness Committee tries] to promote health and wellness. We try to talk about personal issues like bullying, drug use, substance abuse, and make students aware of what is happening at our school,” said Malia Elmeer, se-nior, and member of the club.

The group put up the infor-mation in the bathroom stalls regarding drug and alcohol use at HHS. Last year, Student Wellness spent each day during finals week devoted to a dif-ferent focus such as a sleeping focus and a “Pie a teacher” to relieve stress.

“January was going to be our initiative month, tying it in with New Year’s resolutions and with finals,” said Ms. Jane Kleinman, Health.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, around 25 percent of teenag-ers (13-18 years old) have had a case of anxiety during their lifetime. 5.9 percent of the same age group has had a severe case of anxiety.

During the winter months of Minnesota, it becomes harder

to workout due to the snow and ice which often eliminates many popular forms of exercising such as running or playing outside. In order to promote exercise, Student Wellness organized Zumba and yoga classes in the mall as well as providing free nutritious food on the last day of the semester.

“In December and January, people start getting into these holes. They don’t go [outside] because it’s cold, and they don’t want to exercise outside as much. We’re showing people alternative ways to exercise that are still fun,” Elmeer said.

The class was led by an in-structor who taught from the steps near the Media Center. Music blasted from stereos, while the mall was filled with laughter as students tried to keep up with choreography.

Some students joined in the middle of the event while oth-ers simply danced down the hall while walking to their next des-tination.

According to Kleinman, 40 to 50 students and staff mem-bers attended the Zumba class. Ryley Billiet, senior, was con-vinced by friends to do zumba that day and said she would do it again given the opportunity.

“Some kids don’t do sports, or they don’t workout on their own. So when the school mo-tivates people to do it the more people actually do it, and once their friends start doing it more,

people will start doing it,” Bil-liet said.

On Tuesday, Jan. 15, the yoga event took place in the mall. Unlike Zumba, yoga is more relaxing exercise. The morning of the last day of the semester, there was free food provided by the Student Well-ness Committee. There were different forms of fruit and fruit water to help students through their finals.

Even though finals were

completed, Student Wellness also organized a Dance Fusion in the mall on Jan. 22, which is a combination of Latin Dance and Modern Hip Hop as well as Tabata/Circuit which was a workout devoted to toning mus-cles, burning fat and increasing strength on Jan. 30.

Kleinman emphasizes the importance of constantly mov-ing and forming healthy habits.

“I do feel like it now that it is a habit. Getting started, I

never felt like getting up early to exercise, but so much of it is a routine. I exercise every morn-ing at 5:30 a.m. I never feel like it, but once I get there it feels really good, and then eventually it becomes a routine,” Kleinman said.

Kleinman also encourages people to workout with friends. “If you wait until you’re moti-vated to [exercise], you’re never going to do it,” Kleinman said.

The Mayo Clinic states that

people with generalized anxiety disorder will need additional help, but there are few simple ways that can help combat anxi-ety and reduce stress. Lifestyle changes such as exercising on a daily basis, eating a balanced diet, avoiding consuming alco-hol and sedatives and getting the necessary sleep requirement, can help someone control their anxiety.

Students and staff are participating in Zumba led by Bobbie Conradt, nutrition and wellness specialist. Zumba was held by the Student Wellness Committee after school on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013.

Edina neighborhood attempts to leave District

said Jolene Goldade, District Communications and PR Co-ordinator, “It’s not uncommon for the name of the school dis-trict to reach beyond that city’s boundaries. In our research, we could only find two metro school districts that matched the city boundaries: Minneapo-lis and St. Paul.”

Chaska and Chanhassen schools went through a similar request a decade ago. As a result, the Chaska School District no longer exists. They made a name change in order to better reflect the communities which the schools applied to and the area is being called Eastern Carver

County Schools.“I live on the border of

Plymouth and Golden Valley,” said Margarita Lyadova, sopho-more, “I go to Hopkins because it’s close to my house. The sub-urb doesn’t mean anything, it should be the distance between schools.”

“If this was reversed the Edi-na School district would be do-ing the very same thing,” said a commentator on the Patch news website, “Unite Edina should seek a resolution that doesn’t harm the rest of the remain-ing kids in the Hopkins School District, if that’s possible.”

The only way this appears to be possible, however, is legisla-tively. Unite Edina 273 can sub-

mit to a consolidation plat pro-cess, which requires consent of both boards and a vote by voters, or get the open enrollment law changed.

“Open enrollment is a two-way street, and we are currently attracting more families through open enrollment than are leav-ing. However, whenever a family leave Hopkins, we ask ourselves what we could be doing better to serve that family,” said Gol-dade.

“The idea of neighborhood schools has somewhat changed. Families are looking at many schools and trying to find the best fit for their child,” Goldade said.

EDINA continued from page 1

This is an outline of the Hopkins School District. The part filled in black is the part that is actually the city of Hopkins. The majority of the District is made up of neighboring communities.

Photo illustration by Brit Stein and Josh Gallop

Photo by Cydney Froehlich

RP Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013the news3

*A fake name, Smith, is being used to protect a student’s identity who was involved in the cheating.

Ms. Anne Sateren, social studies, wasn't too sure about the grades she was seeing from her AP European History class.

“We started to get suspicious when kids who consistently hadn’t been doing so well on their reading tests were all of the sudden getting perfect scores,” Sateren said.

Sateren brought her suspi-cions up to her class, and stu-dents immediately admitted

Students caught cheating on AP Euro quizzes

By Josh GallopNews Editor

their guilt.A student was given last

year’s tests from a current senior and then shared those tests with students from the class over a Facebook group.

“Some blame but very little [falls to the teachers.] Every teacher in every subject reuses tests, I believe,” Smith* said.

Teachers and administra-tors weigh the ramifications of reusing and rewriting tests. “Tests have been changed and tweaked every year but clearly not enough,” Sateren said.

Administrators are not going to mandate teachers to change their tests. “It would take teach-ers hours and hours every year to

change the tests,” said Ms. Patty Johnson, principal. “I don’t want teachers spending their entire careers ensuring students aren’t cheating. I want them ensuring that students are learning; it’s the students responsibility to understand the importance of what they are learning,” Johnson said.

Johnson compares this sort of cheating to stealing. “Just be-cause something is within reach doesn’t mean you should take it,” Johnson said.

According to a Royal Page survey, many HHS students be-lieve that once tests have been posted on Facebook, it is human nature to look and they are not

doing anything wrong. “It might be human nature

to be interested, but students have a moral responsibility. And I think a lot of students chose not to look,” Johnson said.

Sateren said it’s hard to know how many students used the tests posted on facebook. “I had a fair amount of kids that came forward, but I’m guessing the number of students involved is higher,” Sateren said.

The school’s Academic Dis-honesty Policy classifies this sort of behavior as cheating and states: “The instructor has the right to reduce the grade, schedule a conference with the parent/guard (sic) and/or refer

to administration. Information regarding violations of academic honesty will become part of the student's discipline file.”

Specific to this incident, the students who came forward re-ceived zeros on the test, had an email sent home to the parents, and in some cases, the teacher scheduled a meeting with the parents of the student. The is-sue was handled within the de-partment, and no administrators were involved.

“No matter how it’s done, cheating is cheating and it’s a big deal, but we would like this to serve as a teaching opportu-nity to the students. Cheating in college and other situations

can call for much worse punish-ment,” Sateren said.

A cheating scandal at Har-vard took place in May of 2012 and the investigation has been ongoing into this school year. Nearly half of the Government 1310 class (125 students) are suspected of working together on the take home final, which is specifically against the rules.

According to The Crimson, Harvard’s school newspaper, potential punishments include failing the class and one year of forced withdrawal from the school.

As far as the Hopkins scan-dal, “I think the punishment was fair,” Smith said.

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Last year’s AP European History quizzes were shared among this year’s students using Facebook and resulted in the punishment of those involved

Thursday, Jan 31, 2013RP Thursday, Jan 31, 2013theopinion4

For many people in our generation, Twitter has become a top source of news. #KONY2012, #stopKONY, and #makekonyfa-mous became top global trends on Twitter after the organization Invisible Children published a 30 minute long video to YouTube on March 6th, 2012 about Joseph Kony, the LRA (Lord’s Resis-tance Army), and the atrocities taking place in Africa.

Almost overnight, it seemed like everyone was updating their Facebook statuses, tweeting, and pledging money to stand behind this cause and “make Kony famous.”

Unfortunately, while the organization succeeded in mak-ing Kony famous, they also succeeded in making themselves infamous. Invisible Children’s integrity crashed as it was criticized for its irrelevance, fraud, and inaccuracy, and the cause quickly lost taste.

The infamy that surrounds Kony and Invisible Children masks the truly remarkable feat of 2012: the impact social media had on our generation.

Kony 2012 was the fastest growing viral video of all time. Our generation quickly and strongly united behind the cause by means of social media. The passion and understanding felt by those who supported the cause was incredible. Imagine the difference that could have been made had Invisible Children and Kony’s story been legitimate.

Rather than looking at this incident purely as a scandal, it should be looked at as an exciting possibility. It proved that our generation holds the power through social media to influence and change the world.

The potential impact social media could have on the future of this world is both scary and exhilarating. The power our genera-tion holds in deciding what our world is going to be like was shown in the quick and passionate support for an organization that touched the hearts of so many people.

This impact is seen on a smaller scale at HHS. Part of our community exists online. Over winter break, tweets were sent out with threatening messages concerning our entire student body. Although school was not in session, it seemed every student had heard rumors of the alleged threats.

The issue was quickly known schoolwide, thanks to Twitter and Facebook, and channelled student discussions and fears about returning to school following winter break.

Students warned each other not to come to school the Monday following break. Some said they would run from class to class. Some simply stayed clear of the mall. No matter what stance students took on the issue, it was definitely on everyone’s radar when school resumed.

While the threats and rumors that reached the screens of a majority of HHS students were tackled by the administration, the remarkable thing about it, again, was the impact social media had on our school and its students and faculty.

No matter your views on Kony 2012 or the negative excite-ment concerning HHS over winter break, it is obvious that social media presents itself as having great potential in the hands of our generation.

A new coat for the cold walls

Push for climate change education

Older than almost all of the students at HHS, the art at our school is out of date and out of shape.

The art at HHS is way too old for us to be able to relate to it. According to Terry Chamberlin, Art, the murals were painted between 1996-2004. What is the point of having art at our school if it wasn’t created by us?

For art to be seen as meaningful it is important that what’s being drawn is relevant to the students that go to HHS. I have no idea what is going on with the murals that are on the walls of this school.

Being that none of the students at HHS were here when they painted the art, how are we supposed to have any idea what the artist was trying to say when they painted the picture?

“It is important for students to leave their own legacy on the school,” Chamberlin said.

It’s time that we get some of our inspiring young artists to replace the art that’s been on our walls. Instead of only featuring several small pieces of their art by the lunchroom, they should work together to replace the old art of our school.

Not only would this give the art students a great project to complete, but it would also do something to help the community.

“I do support some of the murals being re-painted with in-put and approval through the art department. We do want quality, original artwork to be displayed,” Chamberlin said.

The art doesn’t have to necessarily be drawn by hand either. We have many different outlets through which students can have artistic output.

We could have one giant collaboration where artistic students can work together with photographers or web designers to give the old dreary art of HHS a new coat and turn our slowly decay-ing walls into a cultural utopia.

This art will have many positive externalities. Not only will it provide a brighter look and give students something to be proud of, but it will also provide a service to the school.

Quite often when walking down the hallways, I hear people complain about issues they have that could easily be fixed. One of the most common complaints that I hear is, “this school is a prison.”

HHS is nothing like a prison. At prison they let you go out-side for a few hours a day. However, I can see why some students think that.

Sitting in the same building for 9 months a year for 3 years, I’ve started noticing that the white cement walls do have a slight resemblance to that of a penitentiary.

This could very easily be solved. Why not let the students choose what they see every day?

Another thing that catches my attention is that the students that were allowed to paint the murals were allowed to leave their own mark on HHS. Why were those students chosen over anyone else?

This school was made for us. We need to take ownership and leave our own marks on its history.

The social media impact of our time

Roy Grossmann is a staff reporter for the Royal Page

Phoebe Cohen is a staff reporter for the Royal PageNaomi Borowsky is the feature editor for the Royal Page

In Eshowe, South Africa, a mother and her 11-month-old baby were killed when lightning struck their home on Christmas Day. The area they lived in had become prone to lightning strikes.

In Pennsylvania, USA, an 8-year-old boy was crushed to death by a tree when he ran outside to check on his family’s calves and Hurricane Sandy hit. At least 133 people were killed in the storm.

In Kunduchi, Tanzania, a middle aged fisherman has seen the beach near his home being gradually washed away. Increasingly unpredictable tides and weather patterns have caused the sea to destroy many homes in his community.

These tragedies may seem unrelated, but they are symptoms of the same disease - climate change. And it’s time we start seeing the connections.

As we warm the planet, all sorts of disasters ensue. According to climate scientist, Amanda Staudt, every degree warmer the planet becomes brings six percent more lightning strikes - hence the tragedy in South Africa. A warmer planet means warmer oceans, causing more extreme weather related disasters like Hurricane San-dy. Climate change has also created millions of climate refugees, forcing people to leave their homes because of sudden changes in the environment, as seen by the community in Tanzania.

Climate change doesn’t just endanger polar bears. It directly affects people every single day.

How in the world did I not know any of this was happen-ing? We have literally altered the chemistry of our planet, with disastrous results and more yet to come. This is THE issue of our generation, and one that we must solve. Yet, most students graduate high school without grasping the magnitude of the problem.

What could we possibly be learning in school that’s more im-portant than the tools to fight what threatens to cause catastrophic changes to our environment within the next two decades? Learning about the causes, impacts, and solutions to climate change must be a central part of our high school education.

We are lucky to go to a school that offers both Environmental

Studies and AP Environmental Studies (APES). “After people take this course, they usually think it should be required. The majority of people who walk out of this school aren’t going to be scientists, but environmental education applies to regular everyday life,” said John Sammler, APES teacher.

Sammler explained the long lasting impact of the class. “Every-one uses natural resources. Most don’t have negative intentions and want to do the right thing, but are not aware of how to. This course helps people recognize what’s right, and then I think they go and do it,” Sammler said.

Learning about the environment is also extremely relevant to current national and global events. “This issue is linked to so much in politics. It’s almost impossible not to find someone talking about what we discuss in the class on the front page of the newspaper. Students who take this class will know more about how the earth works than politicians in Washington,” Sammler said.

About 200 students out of the 1,870 students at HHS take an environmental studies course. The reality is that most students don’t have room in their schedules to take the course, and if they do, it’s not until senior year.

Emphasizing environmental education at HHS doesn’t just mean more science classes. The causes and impacts of climate change can and should be studied through many different lenses be it science, math, history, politics, ethics, or communications. Environmental education can be incorporated into the curriculum of many classes.

And once we are informed, we all can be part of the solutions. HHS is filled with talented teachers, writers, painters, scientists, musicians, athletes, journalists, activists, and comedians. We all have something valuable to contribute.

This is bigger than school or party politics. Our education must prepare us, students of HHS, to be leaders in solving climate change.

Media keeps becoming a bigger part of society

Old art throughout the halls needs to be refreshed

RP Thursday, Jan 31, 2013 5the opinion

Do you feel safe at HHS?

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Reasons to leave

Fire crackers at school

K-9 unit is on the way

Chipotle!!!

Yoga pants sale at Ridgedale

Go to Minnetonka’s lunch

No more chicken tenders

Beans were served for lunch

Avoiding fl ying milk

Missing the cut off for yogurt cones

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a closed campus

Craving for a mid-morning white chocolate mint condition mocha

Tragedy changes safety attitude Are schools even safe anymore? Will more shootings happen? Everyday life at schools across the nation has been changed because of the shootings at Sandy Hook. Recently at HHS, � recrackers were thrown in the mall. Students were in panic. Many ran quickly into classrooms, and some even ran outside the building into their cars. � e � recrackers were not taken lightly. � e incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School made students see this not as a joke or a senior prank, but as a reality. Just last year, students threw � recrackers in the mall. Instead, their reaction to the � recrackers was almost opposite. Most students took the � recrackers as a joke and thought nothing of it. � e students last year felt like no one would really come into the school and shoot a gun. � e last year HHS stu-dents showed that the thought of a shooter at their school was unimaginable. � e � recrackers at HHS brought more than � ve police cars to the school. � e seriousness and the attitudes of the teachers and students have now changed. Shootings are not a common occurance, but according to CNN news, they could be prevented at a younger age. Teachers of Adam Lanza believed that he had autism and had trouble in social settings. I am not saying that whenever a student has a social anxieties that they are going to be a shooter, but there are certain warning signs that the public can not a� ord to ignore. Lanza shot twenty children and six adult

sta� members. � is marked the second bloodiest killing in United States history. Schools across the nation have put full ef-fort to prevent a shooting like this to never hap-pen again. Lockdown drills have been a standard school procedure for years. We have them for means of practicing preparedness for an intruder or criminal act. At that point, all students and teachers present at the time of the drill go to a room and lock all doors and windows tight. In Sandy Hook, all the right procedures

were taken. � e students and teachers were pre-pared and in a lockdown. Unfortunately, Lanza shot through the lock of the door and was able to murder the children and teachers. I feel that it would not be hard for someone to come into HHS. Anyone can walk in

the school in the beginning of the day no matter who you are before the doors are locked. Some students may believe that there should be metal detectors and others might sug-gest all teachers should have a gun with them. It is important to note that the school does several things to keep us safe. � ere is always at least one policeman in the school, and last year the new IDs became more important to get into the school. No matter what, it would be almost impos-sible to fully stop a shooting at school. � e only way to stop a shooting is to help prevent it at an early age.

Disregard for school resources Every school has its fiascos, but our school has

the capacity to prevent the possible chaos. The resources here are unlimited, and despite

this, students continue to immaturely complain about the administration. Rather than appreciat-ing the endless emails and announcements that were sent out regarding the recent threats, I over-heard many students state that they wanted to hear more.

“Why don’t they [the administration] just get straight to the point and tell us who got arrested,” was amongst the complaints I overheard. Well, this information cannot be disclosed due to law. The majority of our students are minors, and the law is that the principal can’t share their names.

If you want the whole background, checks the police reports, and if you want to complain about the administration, think about our community first.

According to Ms. Patty Johnson, Principal, Monday advisory was initially created/brought back to start a connection between students and teachers. In addition to being a means of sharing information, advisory is ten minutes out of the day to connect with a teacher.

Instead of complaining about getting ten min-utes away from class, think about your advisor and if you have a relationship with him/her. If you don’t, I’m sure you appreciate a ten-minute break from classes to turn on the iPod or read through

Twitter. Not to mention TASC time, which pro-vides all this on top of extra time to work.

The administration is firstly concerned with our safety. According to Johnson, that is the num-ber one thought that crosses her and the staff ’s minds day in and day out. That is precisely why they do everything they do, but students fail to as-sess this.

Check out the staff list under Special Services Department on the HHS website. There you’ll find all kinds of specialists, social workers and even a psychologist. All of these staff members ex-ist for the well-being of students.

If you can’t connect with a teacher in your classes, advisory or TASC, there are a number of adults that were hired to help us. This is one of many services our school provides for its stu-dents that we choose to ignore. We should be truly thankful we’re a part of such an opportune com-munity.

Maybe complaining about the administration is your way of making petty conversation, but nonetheless, this is the easiest time of your life. There most likely won’t ever be these many free resources for your health again, so choose to ap-preciate it.

Take a step back and relax. We’re all safe here.

Joel Ratner is the opinion editor for the Royal Page

Joel Ratner is the opinion editor and Hillary Donovan is a sta� reporter for the Royal Page

No“I am really scared to come everyday. I am afraid to get shot and the fi re cracker was scary.”

- Diamond Houston, sophomore

No“No, because of the threats of shooting.”

- Megan Slattery, sophomoreYes

“Yes, because when a threat is made the school investigates and makes me feel safe.”

- Andrew Levinsohn, senior

Yes“Anything can happen, but I expect the very best from HHS students.”

- Mr. Terrall Lewis, Equity and Integration Specialist

Ursula Arhart is the editor in chief for the Royal Page

Yes 91% No 9%

� ere are certain warning signs that the public cannot a� ord to ignore.

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 RPthevariety6

Chizek and Hinck strive to illustrate literary talents at HHSBy Maddie ShawVariety Editor

Instead of the usual portfo-lio project students choose to pursue for independent study, seniors Will Chizek and Mad-dy Hinck chose to compose an end of the year Reflections Art Magazine.

“I really wanted to focus on something different that I was genuinely interested in,” Chizek said.

Many different schools, including St. Paul Academy and Edina, publish literary arts magazines annually. Edina’s, Images, features a variety of pho-tos, while St. Paul Academy’s, Art and Literature, is a journal magazine. These publications have the option to submit their works for judgement in compe-titions such as the MHSPA (the State High School Journalism Convention that takes place at

the University of Minnesota) each year.

The magazine began in the 1990’s and was composed through an after school, teacher run club. The magazine was successful up until its final issue in 2006 when it ceased due to funding issues.

Years later, Ali Stieglbauer, a 2011 graduate, brought back the magazine by requesting a grant from the HEF. The year follow-ing, students were unorganized and never completed the 2012 issue. Both Chizek and Hinck thought it would be a great proj-ect to pursue for this school year.

“I knew I was going to be in independent study by the end of my junior year. I talked to Mr. Fuhr (Media Arts) and told him I was interested in bring-ing back the school lit maga-zine after speaking to Ali about it. She encouraged me to work on the magazine because she

had a good experience with it,” Chizek said.

In the meantime, Maddy Hinck also approached Mr. Fuhr and wanted to help com-pose the magazine.

“I was inspired while tour-ing ‘Brown’ in the spring and seeing one of their layouts. It really interested me and got me thinking about starting up the magazine again for my in-dependent study. Mr. Fuhr told me that Will had been interest-ed in working on the magazine so we collaborated and decided to work together,” Hinck said.

The two began working in September and recently re-leased fliers throughout the hallway bulletin boards encour-aging students to submit any form of art they wish.

“We’ve received some sub-missions from AP Photo and some poems. Really anything to do with fine arts will be ac-cepted,” Chizek said.

As of now they have re-ceived about ten submissions. Many of the submissions have been by AP Photo students and more are always welcome. AP Drawing and Painting, AP Ce-ramics, and any other work that students wish to provide are greatly appreciated.

“Everyone deserves a chance to be published and to have their talents noticed. It’s

rewarding to see your work in print,” Hinck said.

When the process began, the two were given an $800 budget. They have been working with printing companies and pub-lishers in order to ensure distri-bution.

“We’ve figured out the print-ing company we’re going to use , so that has been really exciting. The whole process overall has been a really great experience. I’ve learned so much in In De-sign, and I enjoy spending my

time with Fuhr,” said Chizek.Mr. Fuhr teaches Media

Arts and has a very close rela-tionship with both students. He supports Chizek and Hinck in bringing back the magazine and is excited to see the end result.

“[The magazine] is a show-case on students’ work so it’s very important. It’s layed out really well, so Will and Maddy are well on their way. I expect people to be impressed once they see the final product”.

Both Chizek and Hinck are

planning on making a Facebook page for the magazine in order for students to view more infor-mation and send submissions. Submissions can also be sent by email to HHSreflections.com.

“Overall, I’m really excited for the finished product. We’re shooting for May and trying to figure out how much to print. There is so much talent in our school as far as the literary arts are concerned, and the maga-zine is a perfect way to display that,” Chizek said.

Music is rapidly changing, with each year bringing new curves and shifts. One can only guess where the next step in music may go, for music’s future is as unknown as our own. As proud listeners, we have a great privilege to watch it grow be-fore our eyes. I am focusing on two artists that I have been in-terested in lately, both of which having releases later this year.

Atoms For Peace: A super-group side project of Thom Yorke (singer of Radiohead), Nigel Godrich (producer of Radiohead, Beck and other art-ists), and Flea (bassist for Red Hot Chili Peppers). They have

Will Chizek and Maddy Hinck, seniors, spend every other day working on the Reflections Art Magazine. The two are close friends and are excited for the magazines release in May.

2013 brings fresh new hits in musicreleased two songs from their upcoming album, “Amok,” that comes out Feb. 25. These songs, “Default” and “Judge Jury and Executioner” feature electronic, complex drum beats and heavy, looping bass lines that drive the song forward. Keyboards play a huge part in the melody, as well as Thom Yorke’s wailing voice carrying the song forward like a ghost. Atoms for Peace may take a few listens to get into them, but they soon after be-come addictive.

Earl Sweatshirt: Youngest rapper in the obscene rap group, Odd Future, is also arguably the best lyricist of the group. Absent from the group for over a year, Earl returned from Samoa and has made few guest appearances

since coming back. One high-light from his features include his laid-back flowing verse criti-cizing wealthy kids in the Frank Ocean song “ Super Rich Kids”. He has released one single,

By Will BurntonStaff Reporter

“Chum,” a dark reflection on his absentee father and hiatus in Samoa. Earl is working on two new albums that are expected to release sometime in 2013, first of which called “Doris.”

Atoms For Peace, the side project for Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, plans to release their newest album “Amok”, Feb. 25.

Earl Sweatshirt proves that age is not a factor in the quality of his new music. He has recently released the single “Chum” and is scheduled to release his new album sometime this year.

Photo provided by Will Chizek

Will Chizek and Maddy Hinck, seniors, are working to create and complete a literary arts magazine by the end of the year

By Thomas HeegaardWeb Czar

RPThursday, Jan. 31, 2013 the variety7

The first installment of Pe-ter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, An Unexpected Journey, contains flaws and thrills alike; regard-less of critical opinion or public expectation, the film is a jour-ney in every sense of the word.

A critical piece of any fan-tasy film is the first half hour and its ability to draw viewers into the universe of the story. However, to new viewers or those who haven’t read Tolkien, the Hobbit’s first act simply doesn’t deliver. Bilbo’s narra-tion and backstory surrounding the company of dwarves sparks interest before the movie slows down considerably for a forty five minute meeting among the company.

An Unexpected Journey is captivating in its latter two thirds, but to many viewers its slow start is unforgivable.

Jackson returns to a Middle Earth set 60 years before the events of Lord of the Rings, following the journey of 13 dwarves set on reclaiming their lost fortress city of Erebor from the abominable dragon Smaug. Set to accompany the dwarves on their journey is none other than the wizard Gandalf who has recommended the dwarves adopt Bilbo, a hobbit with a

disdain for adventure, to be the company’s “Burglar”. Whether or not Bilbo, a petty halfling in contrast to the hardy dwarves, can endure such a perilous ad-venture remains a key question within the movie.

An Unexpected Journey could be compared in many ways to the first installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy The Phantom Menace. Dedi-cated fans of the original Star Wars trilogy were up in arms over the film, criticising the new direction director, George Lucas, took with the backstory behind the Star Wars universe. The first installment of the Hobbit trilogy is no different; An Unexpected Journey is a good movie in its own right, but by no means lives up to stan-dards of its father triology.

What many fans found most disconcerting was the surface difference in feel and theme between the Lord of the Rings series and An Unexpected Jour-ney. The Hobbit varies slightly from its predecessors, however, in that J.R.R Tolkien (the au-thor of the lord of the rings se-ries) wrote the Hobbit for young adults, and included much of the jokey, childish humor found in Jackson’s interpretation.

Where Lord of the Rings touches on the need for unity among mankind to defeat evil

as well as human weakness, The Hobbit instead focuses on the individual and the idea that the qualities needed to be a “hero” may be found in anyone.

The “prequel” itself is a rela-tively new creation in the his-tory of cinema, having appeared for the most part in the last twenty years. For many direc-tors, the prequel is a chance to tell a different story in the same universe as its successful parent film, frequently with a different theme or feel, clearly as in the case of the Hobbit.

Despite the menagerie of talented actors aboard the cast of An Unexpected Journey, the 13 dwarves (minus Richard Ar-mitage as Thorin) lacked unity in their performances . It’s not that each dwarf isn’t likeable individually, it’s the solemn au-thority of the characters in the Lord of the Rings series that is missed the most. Again, the change in tone and theme of An Unexpected Journey in com-parison to the Lord of the Rings has come back to bite itself.

A particular scene comes to mind involving Radagast the Brown, a wizard of Gandalf ’s order (who literally has plants growing on his head, and is stained with what appears to be bird poop) that spends the ma-jority of his time taking care of various woodland creatures. Just

when the company of dwarves is seemingly about to engage a pack of rhino-sized man eat-ing wolves being ridden by orcs, Jackson instead begins the scene with Radagast riding a chariot pulled by rabbits in an effort to distract the raiding orcs. Talk about an anti-climax. The worst of the tone change in An Unex-pected Journey may be summed up here, bird poop and all.

Viewers who have read The Hobbit will find that Peter Jackson left the younger Bilbo character in good hands with the choice of Martin Freeman as the lead, while audiences new to the Tolkien universe will dis-cover Bilbo as he is meant to be portrayed.

Against the backdrop of the 13 bumbling, slapstick dwarves accompanying Thorin and Gandalf, Freeman provides a genuine likeability and spark on screen as he learns to embrace the hero within himself. Need-less to say, Freeman, McKellan, and Armitage’s characters tie the film together from title to credits.

An Unexpected Journey is a struggle, but is for the most part a captivating start to Peter Jack-son’s Hobbit trilogy. Prequels have a tendency to improve with time as the story progresses, as in the case with Star Wars series reboot of 1999, and consider-

ing Jackson’s track record, critics and audiences may rest easy on

an improved second and third act.

While some see Minnesota winters as harsh, the city of St. Paul has found a way to cel-ebrate winter.

From Jan. 24 to Feb. 3, St. Paul hosts the Saint Paul Win-ter Carnival.

“I’m not really a winter person, but the Saint Paul Winter Carnival actually really intrigues me,” said Mr. Jarrin Williams, Language Arts.

The carnival started in 1886 by business leaders to celebrate St. Paul’s success as a growing city. It was also started to dis-prove a New York reporter who described St. Paul as “another Siberia, unfit for human habi-tation.”

“I think the winter carnival is proving to the world that we embrace our weather, making it into something beautiful,” said Samantha Tigner, senior. “We are known for being a very cold state, but we [do] more than survive, we thrive and make the best of our historically frozen state.”

Tigner is one of the few stu-dents that have experienced the carnival. Many students have not attended, let alone heard of the carnival.

“[I’ve] never heard of it,” said Nikita Gayday, senior. “But it does sound like something worth visiting.”

While the carnival only lasts 11 days, the carnival takes all year to plan and prepare. Beth

Pinkney is President and CEO of the Saint Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation, which is the organization that puts on the carnival.

“We have 70 events [and have to] work with the city of Saint Paul to pull all of the correct permits, [and] we have to raise sponsorship money,” Pinkney said. “We have to re-cruit 1,500 volunteers, we work on different designs of the park, [and] we network and inform the city, neighborhoods, and business owners.”

Another thing that needs to be done in preparation for the carnival is to pick people to represent characters such as King Boreas, the Fire King and his Vulcan Krewe, the Order of

By Elise ChristiansonStaff Reporter

Minnesota winters bring more than just cold

The Hobbit hits theatres with mixed reviews

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”, was the first film of a trilogy to be directed by Peter Jackson. The movie is the first of three that serve as the prequel to the Lord Of the Rings Trilogy.

Heegaard gives “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”, 4 out of 5 stars.

Chizek and Hinck strive to illustrate literary talents at HHS

the Royal Guard, and Klondike Kate.

According to legend, King Boreas was king of the winds and decided to make St. Paul, Minnesota his home. He de-clared that there would be a car-nival. He wanted singing at his carnival which was provided by Klondike Kate.

Vulcanus Rex, the Fire King, did not like King Boreas and his festivities. He and his crew stormed King Boreas’ ice castle on the last day of the carnival and confronted King Boreas. King Boreas, wanting to keep peace and goodwill, left Minne-sota to stay amongst the gods of Olympus.

“You can run [to be chosen] for the Queen of the Snows and

Princesses, [and other charac-ters] are recruited by individu-als,” Pinkney said. “[These char-acters] represent our legend.”

Events such as skiing, snow-shoeing, parades, games, a scav-enger hunt, and other festivities are included in the carnival. Al-most all of these events are free.

“I’ve seen on TV, but never in person, the amazing ice sculptures and things that are created in conjunction with the carnival,” Williams said.

The carnival has an annual scavenger hunt where people try to find a medallion based on 12 clues that the Saint Paul Pioneer Press newspaper puts in 12 of its consecutive newspa-pers. Whoever finds the medal-lion and brings it into the Saint

Paul Pioneer Press can win up to $10,000.

“I think it’d be cool if I won the scavenger hunt, but I think it’d be cool if I was [just] a part of it [as well],” Williams said.

The full list of events and dates can be seen on the Saint Paul Winter Carnival’s website.

Even though most of the events are free, the city of St. Paul receives an economic im-pact of about $3.5 to $5 mil-lion because of the estimated 350,000 visitors per year to the carnival.

“[The Carnival] is some-thing super Minnesotan, and it is something we should all experience before we head off to college across the country,” Tigner said.

The Highly anticipated movie, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” was released into theaters on Dec. 14

gunman of the Columbine tragedy wrote in his journal, “I swear -- it’s like I’m an outcast, and everyone is conspiring against me,” according to CNN.

While not universal, a popular opinion at the time was that school shooters had often been bullied or ostra-cized, causing them to lash out. Many, such as Elizabeth Landau for CNN, attributed the Columbine massacre to bul-lying, saying “Almost all the killers...appeared to lack social support, having no one to turn to when in trouble.” Whatever the case and whatever the motive, after the Columbine massacre, HHS student government wanted to bring the school together. This started the tradition of stu-dent government annually writing the names of each student on colorful mittens and snowflakes which are taped to the walls. Ms. Shannon Bailey, AVID and former student gov-ernment staff, feels that the mittens and snowflakes provide an important sense of communication and connection. “Kids like to see their names, that doesn’t change from elementary school. We all like to be acknowledged in some way, and having your name up does that,” Bailey said.

Just after Sandy Hook, and just when the mittens and snowflakes were being put up on the walls, an HHS student lit firecrackers off in the mall. Administration acted quickly, sending out emails and phone calls to inform the community of the incident. “It felt very personal and disre-spectful. I couldn’t believe we were dealing with it here after what happened [in CT],” said Ms. Patty Johnson, principal. Liaison Officer Jason Tait was also responsible for handling the fireworks incident. “The person responsible for lighting the firework was dealt with appropriately. Students should know that any threat against a school or any act that causes fear in the school is a felony and is a serious crime. There is no tolerance for violence or creating fear in the school.” HHS was not the only school experiencing difficul-ties in the days following the tragedy of Sandy Hook. So called “copycat” crimes and threats seemed to be every-where. Four Minnesota High Schools: Apollo High School, Tech High school, North Junior High School, and Rocori High School, instituted lockdowns after threats had been float-ing around facebook and twitter, according to the St. Cloud Times.

Additionally, a student threatened Chaska High School, putting the school in a lockdown and eventually canceling classes. “This type of problem is becoming more common in Minnesota and across the nation,” said Esme Murphy, CBS. Johnson has noticed this trend of increased school inci-

dents after shootings in previous years. “After 20 years in education with 10 years in administration, unfortunately I’ve seen the same pattern.” So, in the wake of Sandy Hook, and in the midst of an unfortunate trend, HHS administration is working to assure a safe community. Students may be most familiar with newer policies, such

A sense of safetyA

HHS resources work to make a safer school after nation wide incidents arise in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy

student thoughts...

This type of prob-lem is becoming more common in Minnesota and across the nation-Esme Murphy, CBS

after Columbine...April 20th, 1999

Columbine High School Massacre“I think most Americans have looked at you

and thought, among other things, that—God forbid—if something like this should ever hap-pen to us, I hope we would behave as well.”

-Bill Clinton on the Columbine massacre

1.Does a heightened

police presence at HHS make you feel safer?

“I’m not sure if I should feel safe with all of the police around, or scared because of all the police around.”

-Lily Strehlow, junior

Do you feel safe at HHS?“I feel we have enough paras, and the teachers know how to

keep us safe. We do have an ad-equate amount of guards here.”

- Leslea Strauss, junior

Did the tweets regarding rumors at HHS make you feel threatened?

“In the way [the tweets] were presented, not so much. But the underlying fact of the matter, and the circumstances surrounding it, and the fact that it was so close to CT, was unnerving.”

-Josie Karr, senior

Additionally, a student threatened Chaska High School, putting the school in a lockdown and eventually canceling classes. “This type of problem is becoming more common in Minnesota and across the nation,” said Esme Murphy, CBS. Johnson has noticed this trend of increased school inci-

dents after shootings in previous years. “After 20 years in education with 10 years in administration, unfortunately I’ve seen the same pattern.” So, in the wake of Sandy Hook, and in the midst of an unfortunate trend, HHS administration is working to assure a safe community. Students may be most familiar with newer policies, such

A sense of safety

Lydia Wilson is the Editor in Chief for the Royal Page

HHS resources work to make a safer school after nation wide incidents arise in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy

Background:Mr. Trenton Lawson, assistant principal, and a Minnetonka police offi cer watch over students in the mall.Photo by Thomas Heegaard, web czar

as needing to have an ID to enter HHS. Though some stu-dents have expressed complaints about the inconveniences, Johnson believes it to be a necessity. “There are extra safety measures because safety for you is my number one priority...Even if they’re inconveniences, they’re necessary in order to create a safer environment,” Johnson said. Additionally, the school has several programs which are in place in order to handle situations or students that have the possibility of becoming threatening. One of these is the Crisis Team, made up of school nurse Bobbi Pointer, counselors, Dean, Police Liaison, and social worker Lisa Ashley. “When there is an incident that we believe impacts students during the school day, the Crisis Team makes a plan which helps students know where they can go for support - nurse, admin, guidance, etc...We may also be in touch with parents to partner with them in making sure the student has the needed support,” Ashley said. Bobbi Pointer, school nurse, works along with com-munity resources in order to get appropriate treatment for struggling students. “We do our best to address students with unmet mental needs. We’re doing a lot of preventative work, and that makes for a safer school and a safer commu-

nity,” Pointer said. HHS also has a Start Team, a group of staff and teachers who are in charge of identifying struggling students. Things such as attendance, grades, dropping weight, cutting, and chemical use are red flags for the Start Team. The team then contacts counselors who get in touch with the student’s family. Though these programs can do a great deal to insure safety at HHS, Johnson believes students themselves can make a huge impact. “The best thing students can do is to not put up with it, ” Johnson said, “It just takes one little tip. This can make a much safer community.” Tait also believes that students have the power to make HHS safer. “The prevention of future incidents relies heavily on the student population. This school is what you want to make it. Report anything suspicious and be careful about what information is spread in the ‘rumor mill.’”

This type of prob-lem is becoming more common in Minnesota and across the nation-Esme Murphy, CBS

after Columbine...April 20th, 1999

Columbine High School Massacre“I think most Americans have looked at you

and thought, among other things, that—God forbid—if something like this should ever hap-pen to us, I hope we would behave as well.”

-Bill Clinton on the Columbine massacre

December 14th, 2012Sandy Hook Shooting

“These tragedies must end, and to end them, we must

change.” -President ObamaA family participates in a candlelight vigil held for

Sandy Hook victims. -photo by Josalee Thrift, used with

Creative Commons

January 2013Lockdowns are enforced

in schools across the state, threats are sent

over HHS student twitter accounts

December 21st, 2012HHS student sets off fireworks in the mall

“This appears to be nothing more than a poor decision made by a stu-

dent.” Patty Johnson, prinicpal

3.

4. 5.

2002

Bowling for Colum-bine- a documentary

released by Michael Moore explores the motives be-

hind the Colum-bine massacre and

opinions on gun control in America

“I never thought I would have to, a

decade later, stand here and say that that film of mine did no good.” -Michael Moore

(after Sandy Hook)

2. 2002

RPthefeature Thursday, Jan. 31, 201310

Within seconds, an impro-visational comedy performer jumps into a scene in front of a captivated audience. No script, only their intuition, raw humor, a willingness to take a risk and in-sync cooperation with their fellow improvers. The goal is to make unforgettable comedy magic.

The HHS Comedy Club is a part of the Comedy Sportz High School League, an out-reach of Comedy Sportz in Minneapolis. Comedy Sportz is an improvisational com-edy franchise with performing groups all over the country.

Comedy games are per-formed like a sport, with two small teams competing against each other. A referee calls fouls and encourages audience par-ticipation.

Twelve HHS students comprise the club and each week they work with a coach from Comedy Sportz, learning the games and polishing their skills.

Students perform six times during the year - three perfor-mances in the HHS small the-ater, and three performances at the Comedy Sportz in Minne-apolis where high school teams from all over the metro area compete.

Former HHS students Jack Wanderman, Hank Greene and Patrick Genellie established the HHS Comedy Club six years ago as juniors. Ms. Sara Garcia,

AP Coordinator, agreed to sup-port their new club.

“I was drawn into this ven-ture by students excited to build something. They wanted to cre-ate an organization for students who loved competitive impro-visation - for students, by stu-dents,” Garcia said.

Each year, the graduating seniors choose new team cap-tains. “What is most rewarding is to see students learn how to be good leaders. Being a peer leader is tough, but it is an in-valuable growing experience,” Garcia said.

The current captains of the HHS Club are Jesse Pedersen and Noah Johnson, seniors, both members of the club since their sophomore year.

“I’ve always enjoyed making people laugh. I feel like I have a knack for comedy,” Pedersen said.

Johnson had his first taste of improvisational comedy at West Junior High when he took an improv class with Mr. Dan Beaubien. Although John-son admits that comedy is not viewed as a “cool” thing, not like being on the football team – still, he found his place.

“I discovered that I was a lot funnier than I thought I was,” Johnson said.

Improvisational comedy performances are unique be-cause nothing is scripted, and all scenes and dialogues are thought up on the spot. The audience has the opportunity to give specific topics and situations for the per-formers to improvise.

“I feel like most of the time in performances the audiences are only spectators. It’s really fun that they get to carry out their ideas,” said Christian Dahl, se-nior.

“I think you need an incred-ibly active imagination, and you can’t be afraid socially. You’ve got to be flexible with other people’s reality while you perform,” said Beth Ocar, Language Arts and Theatre Arts teacher.

“This is not stand-up com-edy,” Garcia said. “Sometimes people get confused about that. Group improvisation is more difficult because it’s not just about one person. A team has to learn to work as one, cover for each other, and play to strengths

and weaknesses.”Johnson sees three impor-

tant qualities a good improv performer needs to be successful. “You need to be quick-thinking, outgoing, and up-to-date on what is going on in the world so that you can incorporate those topics into your performances,” Johnson said.

Dahl sees trust as an impor-tant asset. “You have to trust your teammates not to reject what you say, and to just take your idea and run with it,” Dahl said.

Both Pedersen and Johnson have seen several students join the Comedy Club, come out of their shells, and reveal a com-pletely different and silly side of

their personalities. “There are a lot of class-

clowns, but also quiet kids who show a different side when they perform. I have tried to reach out to different students in my classes who I think are funny and who are a good fit for the club, and I recruit them,” Ped-ersen said.

“There was one particular moment that stuck out in my mind, when I gave a quiet team-mate some advice to be more loud during a performance. Im-mediately after that, they got on stage screamed, and it was per-fect. I could not stop laughing because it was so funny,” John-son said

“I’ve seen some kids reveal

a different side of themselves while performing. I look at some of them and I’m surprised and say, ‘Wow, you are hilari-ous,’” Dahl said.

Ms. Garcia is proud of what this team has accomplished. “Each group has different per-sonalities and challenges to overcome. A strong club can change with its members and still remain true to its founding principles,” Garcia said.

“I think the Comedy Club is a good place for the real class clown who can show off their skills. These are students who have this unsaved talent, and they get the chance to shine and be a real theater thespian and improver,” Ocar said.

Business Manager

Hanson defeats disorder and expresses through art

By Joe Greene

difficult process by telling her she was beautiful and per-fect, with or without eyelashes. To this day, she is still the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on and that will not change,” Phelps said.

Smith found her relief in therapy. “Therapy has helped a lot,” Smith said, “Whether or not they understand it, it’s nice to open up to people who listen, because they have problems of their own.”

Smith and Hanson have both said that they have a goal

of bringing awareness of trich. “I want people to know what it [trich] is. Because when people see it and don’t know what it is, they judge people for it, and that just makes people want to do it more,” Smith said.

Hanson is working to bring awareness through her AP Drawing and Painting Con-centration, which contains 12 pieces centered around her dis-order.

“I was very worried about how people would react...my drawing of my hair and bald spot made me feel very vulnera-ble because I had drawn out my

greatest insecurity for everyone to see,” Hanson said.

There was an overwhelming response of praise and support for Hanson’s work from friends and teachers such as Ms. Randi Rood, art. “Alley has evolved immensely in her creative work. So much of art is autobiograph-ical...It’s about sharing your in-ternal world. Her art is power-ful because it’s so authentically honest,” Rood said.

“However hard it may be for me to focus on my trich for my concentration, I know it will all be worth it when it is complete,” Hanson said.

HANSON from page 1

Students join Comedy Sportz High School League

Photos provided by Alexandra Hanson

Above are the first of 12 pieces of Hanson’s concentration. “I decided to focus my AP Drawing & Painting Concentration on my hair pulling disorder in order to raise awareness,” Hanson said.

Students in Comedy Club participate in an interactive exercise to improve their improv skills. This year, there are three new students in the club.

Photo by Cydney Froehlich

RPthe feature Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 11

Ka Xiong, senior, dreams of being a nurse. “I like to help and work with people to develop great relationships,” Xiong said. Xiong particularly hopes to help patients who speak Hmong since she is bilingual.

The Yes You Can program is helping Xiong fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse by receiv-ing a college education. From the various Saturday meetings that started on November 10, Xiong and her parents have learned about financial aid, what classes to take, and where to look for scholarships.

“I translate for my parents, so this opportunity has given me a chance to know how to fill out the financial aid forms,” Xiong said. Xiong will be the first in her family to go to college.

Alex Fisher and Scott Endo, ELL (English Language Learn-

ers), started the program three years ago after the success of the ELL Family Advisory Com-mittee. The Hopkins Education Foundation gave the school a grant to start another program for college preparation for La-tino families.

In the 2009 to 2010 school year, Sí Se Puede connected with Latino families to help them learn more about college preparation. Now, Yes You Can provides information about the college process for Latino, Hmong, Somali, and African American families.

Seventh through twelfth graders and their parents can attend these meetings to learn about what students should consider when preparing for college.

“Parents explicitly learn about resources in the school for families who haven’t been in the country long and don’t know about opportunities for their

kids,” Fisher said. A liaison supervises each

ethnic group to discuss a new topic each meeting. Ms. Jennifer Heimlich, Social Studies, leads the African American fami-lies while Ms. Shannon Bailey, AVID, and Mr. Xeev Xvm Vang, Counselor, lead the Somali and Hmong groups. A translator at-tends meetings for the Latino, Somali, and Hmong groups.

Heimlich has found work-ing with the African American families to be a success. “It’s been great both years. Making all of this [information] more available is super rewarding,” Heimlich said.

Bailey also shares Heimlich’s sense of reward. “These are families that really want good things for their kids, especially college, but because of language and culture differences, they don’t always feel like they can access the system as easily as other families. They don’t have

places where they can network with other families,” Bailey said.

Adera Preston, sophomore, goes to nearly every Yes You Can meeting. “My mom says she wants me to have the best opportunities I can possibly have and take advantage of ev-ery possibility. Now, I feel like I have a better understanding of the reality and struggle of getting into a college,” Preston said.

Tracking the effects of the program on students has not been possible yet. However, a few students have come back and shared advice and stories about their college experience.

“The parents especially feel a connection that they didn’t feel before. With the Somali group, parents have connections to the school, but they’re not al-ways sure how this place works. This program has empowered them to have a bigger role in choices for their students,” Bai-

ley said. By supporting these parents,

Yes You Can continues to ful-fill its slogan: Making College a Reality. “School is impor-tant to me not only for aca-demic rea-sons, but for my future. Education is a real privi-lege,” Pres-ton said.

After three years, I had be-come an expert at navigating through the first day of Youth in Government (YIG).

I put my luggage towards the front of the trailer so it would be one of the first bags out. I brought my heels to change into and wore boots so I wouldn’t have to trudge through the snow and ice in four-inch

pumps. My roommates and I skillfully guided our luggage onto the escalator ahead of ev-eryone else so we’d be first to get our room keys.

And that was all within the first hour.

This year, 1,600 high school students gathered at the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Minneap-olis for the 59th annual Minne-sota YMCA Youth in Govern-ment Model Assembly.

YIG is a four day long mock government convention that takes place every January. Stu-dents from all over Minnesota attend to participate in various activities.

Delegates have the oppor-tunity to choose what area they participate in. They can choose to be a part of the Legislative branch (House and Senate), Executive branch (Governor and cabinet), Judicial branch (Courts), or Media (Newspaper, Radio, TV, Digital).

Besides the Hilton, delegates meet at the Minnesota State Capitol, or Hamilton University for their program area.

The Legislative branch writes and debates bills. Mem-bers of the House and Senate are required to write an origi-

nal bill before Model Assembly. There are also many elected and appointed positions that can be applied for.

The Judicial branch consists of judges and court members. Court members are responsible for preparing both sides of their case before Model Assembly begins.

In Media, a variety of small sections work together. The Ra-dio and TV committee broad-casts news, music, and inter-views throughout the day and night. Digital, a new section, has Facebook, Twitter, and tex-ting services to update delegates with the latest news. Newspaper delivers news the old fashion way: writing.

The Executive branch in-cludes the Governor and Lieu-tenant Governor, each with their own cabinet. This year, Emma Schroer, senior, served as Lieutenant Governor.

“It was indescribable. I got to hold press conferences, sign bills, talk to delegates, make speeches, and direct my staff and cabinet,” Schroer said.

Schroer started YIG in eighth grade after learning about it at school. She and a couple friends decided to give

it a try. Five years later, she held one of the highest positions possible.

This year is the second year I participated in the YIG news-paper. We covered everything happening in YIG from bills to the latest YIG gossip. As a reporter, I was responsible for writing two stories per day.

Newspaper is different than many of the other program ar-eas at YIG because there is a lot of freedom, whereas other areas have strict schedules.

For meals, delegates are al-lowed in the skyways, where there are restaurants and food courts. Delegates at the Capitol and Hamilton eat in that area. My roommates and I always bring breakfast foods, like ba-gels and peanut butter, for when we don’t have time for breakfast in the skyways.

Some of the best parts of YIG are the evening activities. Delegates are allowed to change out of their formal attire and socialize with other delegations.

The second night includes a talent show, karaoke, movies, and an inflatable bouncy house. Cotton candy and popcorn are included, of course.

The third night is the most

anticipated night: The Gover-nor’s Ball. A DJ comes to the hotel and hosts a huge dance party. This is the highlight of the weekend for most people.

The leaders and staff always say some of the best friendships are made at YIG. This rang true for Schroer.

“I think that what makes YIG so special is the connec-tions you make with people from all over the state and coun-try,” Schroer said.

At the end of Model As-sembly, all of the delegates and volunteers gather in the Con-vention Center in Minneapolis where leaders give speeches and recap that year’s Model Assem-bly. Everyone can tell that the seniors who won’t be returning the next year will really miss the memories they’ve made throughout their years at YIG.

Senior year isn’t always the end for delegates, though. Many come back as Resource Advisors and help new delegates with their YIG experience. This is something Schroer would love to do.

“YIG has had a huge impact on my life and I want to help other students have the experi-ence that I had,” Schroer said.

Students gain � rst-hand experiences at state capitol By Maggie AbelStaff Reporter

By Ellie MaagStaff Reporter

Yes You Can creates options for minority students

Photo by Maggie Abel

Photo by Cydney Froehlich

Percent of students who graduated

from high school in MN in the 2010-11

school year.

A

fric

an A

m.

49%

H

ispa

nic

51%

EL

L st

uden

ts

52%

Whi

te

8

4%

Source: U.S. Department of Education’s graduation rate survey

Students join Comedy Sportz High School League

The Yes You Can Program was developed to make more

resources available to minority families and increase the

number of minority students who attend college.

Abel visited the capitol building with YIG. She spent her weekend along with other aspiring politicians writing bills and reporting the YIG news.

RPThursday, Jan. 31, 2013thefeature12

Bonjour! Seniors studying abroad write to HHS to say hello The third in a series of letters from students studying abroad this term

In some ways my senior year is just like ev-erybody else’s. I am stressing over college appli-cations, suffering from severe senior slack and preparing myself for the end of high school as I know it. But unlike others, I wake myself ev-ery morning sipping café court and reading Le Monde, thousands of miles away from HHS, in humble, Dourdain, France.

I took on two jobs to cover my half of the tuition, brushed up on my French and prepared myself for a year away from home. On August 29th, I said my goodbyes to the United States, which I had never before left, and began my year-long exchange in France.

I am with the exchange program YFU and live with a host family comprising of two par-ents and three siblings in a small, country town near Rennes, France. Not being used to coun-tryside life at all, it was quite a transition. How-ever, I make my way to the city every morning

to go to school, a large, science-concentrated lycée on the northern edge of the city. The differences between the American and French school systems are uncountable. In fact, I find myself surprised when something between the two turns out to be the same. I am in the “S” sector (against my will), and study subjects based primarily on science and mathematics.

I am also in a year known as première, a semi-equivalent to the American junior year. Although I start school at 8:00 in the morning, days can go as late as 5:30 pm, each class being anywhere from one to two hours. It is a true struggle to succeed in an environment where everyone in the class un-derstands, and you find yourself frantically search-ing your pocket dictionary for the French words for things like “sickle-cell disease” and feeling dis-may when it doesn’t appear.

Although challenging and different, I like the French education system and admit certain as-

pects of it to be superior to ours.Then there is the holy grail of French culture,

the food. Yes, it’s true, the French love to eat. Be it foie gras at Christmas or galette des rois at New Year’s, every meal is a new adventure. There are some things that don’t seem to exist in France like tater tots, pumpkin pie and molasses as well as the opposite.

For those of you who may be considering do-ing an exchange program, know that it is no easy feat. Making new friends in a new cultures (and especially in a new language) can be difficult, not to mention the exhausting effort to adjust to a foreign culture and language. However, despite all the difficulties, it is incredibly rewarding.

In addition to advancement in a foreign lan-guage, you gain new friends, maturity and an outlook at life. It is oh-so cliché, but an exchange truly does open your cultural horizons, so that you may look past stereotypes and see a people from

a new angle.Finally, I would like to give a shout-out to

all of HHS’ exchange students who happen to be reading this article. I also encourage every-one to start a conversation with an exchange student they know and learn about their experi-ence and country. It is part of the reason they came here: to both discover a new country and share theirs with others.

Alas, I shall depart this beloved land in a mere five months, but until that day comes, I shall cherish each day like bites of freshly-glazed crème brûlée. Bon appétit!

Joey Grund

Photos provided by Joey Grund

Koza merges Minneapolis music scene with orchestra

At the age of six, Chris Koza, local musician, glanced in awe and curiosity at the piano standing before him and made a promise to himself.

Unlike many other kinder-garten children, this promise had nothing to do with becom-ing a famous movie star or the president of the United States. Instead, Koza promised himself that one day he would learn to play music.

“When I was younger, I was inspired by music. I was so

amazed that people were able to take a piano and make music out of it,” Koza said.

In order to keep his promise and fulfill his desire to become part of the local Minneapolis music scene, Koza joined bands in high school and college.

Currently, Koza is a member of the band, Rogue Valley, where he writes lyrics and music, plays the guitar and sings.

“I will be reading a book, watching a movie, having a con-versation or in a museum and a line strikes me as unusually profound. These are the scenes that I try to convert to music.

We have enough of those sappy love songs. All I need is some-thing as simple as oatmeal and I just go from there,” Koza said.

In college, Koza met a man who opened up a new door to his career. “For probably a year, I went to the same college as Andy Bast. We did a couple shows together,” Koza said.

“I’ve known Chris for quite awhile from playing music through St. Olaf. We’ve been in different groups. When you play music a lot, you get to know other musicians,” said Mr. Andrew Bast, Music.

This year, Koza was invited

to collaborate with the HHS or-chestra for the annual Spotlight Concert in which rock profes-sionals are brought to HHS and back up their original songs with the orchestra.

“In the past, there were really mediocre musicians, but Chris is really at the top of the Minne-apolis music circuit,” said Billy Lewis, senior.

“Playing with the orchestra gives me a chance to experience my songs from a new objective. It is fun to revisit the songs and see them in a different light,” Koza said.

Koza hopes to continue to

play with community and school orchestras a few times a year and will work towards playing with the Minnesota Orchestra.

“There is something so pow-erful about combining efforts of the musicians all for the same goal of making music,” Koza said.

Koza has made many con-nections both locally and na-tionally, but he still finds it dif-ficult to keep focused on his love of making and playing music.

“I see these famous musi-cians that have millions of fol-lowers on Twitter and even more friends on Facebook, and

sometimes I will be lying in bed at night and thinking ‘I should be tweeting or posting on Face-book or trying to connect with fans,’” Koza said.

“This should give me energy not take it away. It is a challenge to be patient and let things happen naturally. I can’t think about this venue has that many people... you can’t force it,” Koza said.

Koza is eager to work with the HHS orchestra. “It is such an honor to work with the or-chestra. I really appreciate the time and energy they take to work with me,” Koza said.

By Rachel AlterFeature Editor

Annual musical guest is working with orchestra to prepare for the Spotlight Concert

Grund stands with his suitcases packed and ready to go for Dourdain, France. Grund is spending one year in Dourdain as an exchange student.

Grund took this photo of a street near his new home in Dourdain, France. He goes to school each day on the northern edge of the city.

Food is an important part of French culture. Grund has experienced new foods such as foie gras on Christmas and galette des rois on New Year’s.

RPThursday, Jan. 31, 2013the sports 13

Mikkelsen had an illustri-ous career for the Lakers, play-ing alongside fellow Hall of Famer George Mikan. More than anything else he accom-plished though, Mikkelsen helped create the game of bas-ketball we see today.

Mikkelsen was the first rec-ognized power forward in bas-ketball history. John Kundla, the legendary Minneapolis Lakers coach, found himself with a crowded frontcourt af-ter the drafting of Mikkelsen. Therefore, he created a posi-tion where, instead of always having your back to the bas-ket, you would face the basket and still have a major presence down low.

Mikkelsen’s impressive ca-reer came to a close in 1959 af-ter four NBA championships, six NBA All-Star game ap-pearances, and four time Sec-ond Team All-NBA. He also recorded over 10,000 points for his career.

Even though Mikkelsen achieved all of these accom-plishments and was seen by many of his peers as a player deserving of the Hall of Fame, when he got the call from Springfield, Massachusetts, he

The legendary UCLA bas-ketball coach John Wooden once said, “What comes first is friends, family, and faith.” Hall of Fame basketball player Arild Verner Agerskov (Vern) Mik-kelsen has lived his entire life around this motto.

Mikkelsen first picked up a basketball in the small town of Askov, Minnesota at the age of 11, and still resides in Min-nesota, in fact Minnetonka, to this day.

From there he went on to enroll at Hamline University as a 16-year-old. Mikkelsen was an All-American during his senior year.

During his senior year, he participated in the College All-Star Game against an East team that was stacked with four All-Americans from Kentucky and was coached by Kentucky coaching legend, Adolph Rupp. Mikkelsen led all scoring with 17 points, but the East ended up winning by one point.

Mikkelsen went on to be drafted by the hometown Min-neapolis Lakers as a territorial pick in 1949.

was very surprised.“When I was inducted into

the Hall of Fame, I was abso-

The Hall of Famer that lives next doorBy Sam ParkerStaff Reporter

Photo provided by Minnesota Historical Society

lutely floored. I didn’t think that I was ever in that upper echelon of players. I was inducted in the

same class as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and so all of his competi-tors and teammates were there as well. From Larry Bird to Magic Johnson to Julius Erving were walking up to me and con-gratulating me. I was like a farm kid just looking around amazed. I still have trouble believing it,” Mikkelsen said.

This humble attitude was al-ways a large part of Mikkelsen’s playing career. He always thought of the team before any personal statistics.

In retirement, Mikkelsen was offered a chance to buy the soon-to-be Los Angeles Lak-ers, but he declined because he preferred to reside in Minnesota instead of Los Angeles. Vern truly is a Minnesotan through and through. He would go on to have two kids, Tom and John, with his wife, Jean.

John has moved back to Minnesota from his previous home in Los Angeles to be with his father, who is a stroke sur-vivor. John shared some of his memories of growing up with a Hall of Fame basketball player as a dad.

“It was certainly fun having a dad that was a pro and was a ce-lebrity. The challenge I had was

living in the shadow of an NBA Hall of Famer wasn’t easy when I went out to play basketball. Everybody expected something out of me that I may or may not have been capable of, but I truly always enjoyed it. Even into my adult life it has been a blast,” John Mikkelsen said.

Although many children of NBA stars probably feel this way, John went on to say how great a father Vern truly was.

“More than just being raised by a Hall of Fame basketball player, he was just a great dad to me. I never really saw him as a basketball player. I saw trophies up in his den and knew that he played, but he was always just my dad,” John said.

Vern now watches many NBA games and remarks at how different the game has become.

“The size and mobility of the players today is far superior to the size and mobility of the players from when I played,” Vern said.

Vern has learned to appreci-ate every day of life after suffer-ing through the stroke, and now has a new motto that everyone can appreciate.

“One day at a time,” Vern said.

Freshman breaks into the HHS basketball starting fivefreshman at Marist College.

“My sisters are both very good basketball players, but I can beat them both in one-on-one, no doubt,” Amir said.

In addition to that, Amir’s father, Mr. Richard Coffey, played for the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Richard has tried to use his basketball expe-rience to help Amir.

“I know what I did as a kid and the mistakes that I made as a basketball player, and I try to work on those things with Amir. I make sure he is constantly working on his fundamentals,” Richard said.

Amir attended the U.S. Na-tional Development Camp this past summer for the top young players from all across the coun-try. He competed against some of the other top players in his age group.

“There were a lot of talented players there. It made me realize how hard I have to work to keep

Amir Coffey, freshman, has become the first freshman to start on the HHS varsity boys basketball team since 1993, ac-cording to Ken Novak Jr., head coach and Social Studies.

“We’ve played a few fresh-men on varsity, but it’s been awhile since any freshman has started on varsity. Joe Coleman (now playing at the University of Minnesota) played but didn’t start and Kris Humphries (now playing for the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA) didn’t even play,” Novak said.

Coffey has had to make the transition to varsity that few be-fore him have had to make. His teammates have tried to help him make this transition.

“I just tried to teach him some ins-and-outs, some little things that I learned as a young guy. I try to teach him the little things that go unsaid but are

still important,” said Kamali Chambers, junior.

While he is still young, Cof-fey has taken advantage of his strengths at the varsity level.

“He does a little bit of every-thing. I think his best skills are his shooting ability and his abil-ity to pass. He has good length and is also a very good team player. He has work to do, but so does everyone,” Novak said.

Coffey’s strengths are nu-merous, but being only a fresh-man, he still has room for im-provement.

“He just has to get stronger. He also has to get more aggres-sive offensively. He has a ten-dency to stand back and wait for opportunities instead of taking them,” Novak said.

The Coffeys are a basketball family through-and-through. Coffey has two sisters, Nia Cof-fey, senior, and Sydney, that both play basketball. Nia is commit-ted to play at Northwestern University, while Sydney is a

improving my game,” Amir said. Even though Amir was sur-

prised to hear he was going to start for the varsity team, his father was not.

“Amir has worked really hard and grew to 6’5” this sum-mer. I knew with the team they had this year that he would have the opportunity to start,” Rich-ard said.

Amir has had to change his game a little bit to be successful, but it really was not anything new for him to play against older players.

“I have always played up since I was little, so the transi-tion wasn’t that hard, but be-ing a freshman playing against seniors is tough so I’m working on getting stronger,” Amir said.

While Amir is starting, there is still a long road ahead for him in high school. As a freshman, the possibilities are endless.

“Amir can be the best play-er in the state when his time comes,” Chambers said.

By Eli BadowerSports Editor

Photo by Jarrin Williams

Amir Coffey, freshman, drives the lane against Eastview. The last time a freshman strarted for the Royals was in 1993.

Mikkelsen poses for a photo in 1950. Mikkelsen helped create the power

forward position that we see in the game today.

Mikkelsen poses for a photo in 1950. Mikkelsen helped create the power forward position we see in games today.

Thursday, Jan. 31, 201314 sports

Staff Reporter

RPthe

Photos by Jim Arneson

By Alex Felemovicius

Just three years ago, Jakob Ellingson, senior, and Siena Ellingson, sophomore, put on their first pair of booster-club-provided rental skis, and they haven’t looked back.

Jakob and Siena both joined the HHS Nordic team three years ago. Because they are homeschooled, much of their time and dedication is directed towards the sport, as they both hope to one day wear the USA uniform at the olympics.

Jakob and Siena have been homeschooled their entire lives, and their daily schedule differs from many students at HHS.

They generally wake up at around seven, and then start their schoolwork. Usually, they finish their work by around 2:15. Then they quickly grab a snack and head to HHS for Nordic practice.

“The Ellingsons have a little more opportunity to train dur-ing the ski season based on their flexible home school schedule,” said Mr. Rob Fuhr, head coach and Media Arts. “They have chosen to pursue the sport of biathalon, and to be equally devoted to the Hopkins Nordic ski team.”

The sense of community is very different for Jakob and Si-ena as they switch from a school of four to a school sport that contains over 100 kids.

“Community wise, it’s a big jump. When I’m doing my school at home I spend a lot of time with my little brother and sister, but at the school prac-tices and stuff there’s a lot more people all over the place,” Jakob said. “I know most of them, and am friends with a lot, but at first it was a little overwhelming.”

Students on the HHS Nor-dic team, including seniors Harris Dirnberger, Will Jones, and Sarah Benton, have noticed many developments with these athletes throughout the years. Some of these developments have personally affected and influenced the performances of these students.

“I learn from her attitude. Siena teaches me to not always think about the results, but rather the progress I am mak-ing. That is a very important skill to have in life,” Benton

said.“Jakob always helps me with

my technique and demonstrates a good work ethic that has a lasting impact on the team,” Jones said.

Dirnberger and Jakob are very close in their successes and technique of the sport. This causes them both to push eachother harder.

“I know that if I let myself fall back that he will be good competition, so it pushes me to make sure I’m competing well and not slacking,” Dirnberger said.

Aside from just Nordic, both Jakob and Siena train for biath-lons. A biathlon is a race that in-cludes cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

“Twice a week my brother Jake and I get up at 6:00 a.m. and drive to Elk River and the shooting range that is there. We do a shooting/skiing workout there and then go home and do school and ski practice in the af-ternoon,” Siena said.

This year, Jakob received the opportunity to compete at the Junior World Champion-ships in Austria and represent the U.S.A for biathlons. A lot of his focus and training this year has gone towards that, because he says it’s going to be more dif-ficult than any of the other races he has ever done. Siena wishes to one day follow her brother’s path and compete in Europe.

“I expect to run into some really tough competition in Austria, but hopefully when I see that level of athletes, I’m really fueled to come home and train hard enough and smart enough to go places with this skiing and biathlon, maybe the Olympic team someday,” Jakob said.

Jakob and Siena train year-round, skiing in the winter and roller skiing during the spring and summer.

Last spring, the Ellingson family drove out to Montana for the Biathlon nationals, train-ing for a week and competing the next. Following that, they drove out to Utah for a biathlon training camp in October, and then, in November, they went to Montana for an altitude train-ing camp on snow. After this, they finally came back to Min-nesota, where they began their HHS Nordic season.

Both Ellingson children set their hopes high, and have dreamed of one day being in the

Olympics ever since the days they put on their first pair of HHS rental ski’s.

Ellingsons show commitment to HHS athletics“Even if we don’t have prac-

tice, they are probably still out and about training somewhere

else,” Jones said. “I think if every kid was like that, we would have a really strong team.”

Top: Siena Ellingson, sophomore, warming up at a conference meet at Elm Creek. Siena has been on the top girls skiers all year for the nordic team.Bottom: Jakob Ellingson, senior, skiing at a conference meet at Elm Creek. Jakob has been training for a biathlon in Austria, where he will represent the U.S..

RPThursday, Jan. 31, 2012the sports 15

Spotlight Athlete

Name: Jamal Davis

Grade: 12

Athletic Idol: Jamal Crawford

Sport: Basketball

Favorite Memory: “Being a part of the three-peat.”

The month in review

Boys Basketball 01/19/13HHS dominated St. Paul Central 82-66, recording coach Ken Novak Jr.’s 700th career victory. Four Royals scored in double figures, including 19 points from Jake Wright, junior. Novak Jr. joined three other coaches in the presti-gious 700 club.

Girls Hockey 01/31/13HHS goes to Breck tonight for the last game of the regular season. Corbin Boyd, sophomore, leads the team in points and assists with Nina Rodgers, junior, leading the team in goals. Player to watch: Katie Schipper, senior, leads the Mustangs in goals, assists, and points.

Girls Basketball 01/10/13The Royals crushed DeLaSalle 90-64. Nia Coffey, senior, scored 22 points, with 15 in the second half. Erin O’Toole and Taylor Anderson, seniors, also scored in double digits with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

@

@For most student-athletes,

playing their sports competitive-ly outside of the metro area is a pipe dream. But for Nina Rodg-ers, junior, the HHS girls hock-ey team is just the beginning.

Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) rules state that students can receive private training and lessons from someone other than the sport’s coach at the high school. Not many kids get the op-portunity to get coached from the US Worlds U18’s coach.

Rodgers has not only played for the HHS girls hockey team this school year, but for two other teams.

In the fall, Rodgers played in the Girls Upper Midwest High School Elite League. Although they only played for about a month, Rodgers got to play with some of the best hockey players in the midwest region.

Then, HHS hockey started. So far this season, Rodgers is the second leading scorer on the team behind Corbin Boyd. Rodgers is now the number two leading scorer in the metro area,

according to the Sun Sailor.Rodgers also played

for the US Worlds U18 team over winter break.

“It’s indescribable to be able to play for the US Worlds team. Just putting on that USA jer-sey is amazing,” Rodgers said.

Playing on three teams takes up a lot of time as well as commitment.

“I’ve put in more time than people think, I can’t put it in hours. I’ve played for days. It’s a lot to handle and it can get confusing, but I make it work,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers has already beat her scoring record from the 2011-2012 season. Last year, she finished with 38 points.

With another month left, and at the rate she is going, Rodg-ers is expected to get at least 45 goals by the end of the season.

With all the experience Rodgers has gained, she tries to bring some back to the team and help all the players.

“I’m playing with bet-ter people and bringing my expericnce back to Hopkins, and trying to help make every-one else better,” Rodgers said.

Although the commit-ment seems like a lot, Rodg-ers is very dedicated to the game and enjoys playing, no matter what team she is on.

“I just try to make every-thing fun, and I can handle it all pretty well,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers goes internationalBy Hillary DonovanStaff Reporter

Boys hockey skates to an improved seasonAfter finishing the regular

season at 10-15 last year, fol-lowed by a first round exit in the section playoffs, nobody could quite anticipate the way the boys hockey team has kicked off the 2012-2013 season.

“The success we’ve had this year came as a surprise to me, but now I know what our po-tential is, and that we really can do something special this year,” said Josh Laven, sophomore.

After a disappointing 2011-2012 season, the Royals have come out of the gate strong, boasting a 9-9-1 record, in-cluding a marquee 5-3 victory against Cloquet.

“I think our team has finally gelled, and we have three or four lines that want to go every shift of the game, and when our lines are rolling, we can have success in any game,” Laven said. “It’s just a matter of us wanting to come out with the ‘W,’ and our team has enough talent to reach that goal.”

The early success of the Royals seemed to come out of the blue, but it hasn’t come without the players putting in their share of hard work. After a summer full of workouts and practices, the team came pre-pared and ready to skate from day one.

“We just started at a higher point than we did last year,” said Austin Bizal, senior. “We have come out as a team and made a lot more progress than we did last year.”

After the loss of a large group of outgoing seniors last year, the Royals have had to fill a significant gap on the roster, and this young group, includ-ing leading point scorers (which is a combination of assists and goals) Laven and Jimmy Co-pouls, junior, have really stepped up to the challenge.

Copouls leads the team in goals (14) as well as in points (23). Laven, in just his first year on the varsity team, is leading the team in assists (13), as well as second in points (21).

“The younger kids have definitely stepped up and filled the role that we kind of lost last year, but I would say that every-one contributes and plays some role in the game,” Bizal said.

This young core has contrib-uted to the Royals’ success, how-ever, the 10 seniors on the team have really stepped up, not only as athletes, but as leaders.

“Hockey is not that different from other high school sports, where you really need your se-niors to lead the team and the direction the season will take, and ours this year have done a nice job of doing just that,” said Mr. Rolf Ulvin, head coach.

With a mixed group of young talent and veteran lead-ership, the Royals hockey pro-gram seems to be on the rise.

“It would be great to go .500 in conference play, put us in a good place for sections, and see how it goes from there,” Bizal said.

With the beginning of sec-tions coming up on February 19, the Royals have a tough road

ahead in order to give them-selves a shot at advancing to State. However, there appears to be success on the horizon not only for this year, but for many

years to come.“We have some numbers

coming up next year and the fol-lowing year, and it looks like we could have a great team in the

next few years,” Laven said. “I do feel, however, that this year could really be our year to do something special and make a statement.”

Max Ostenso, senior, wrestles for the puck against an Armstrong player. The HHS boys hockey team has played strong during the non-conference schedule this season.

Photos by Cydney Froehlich

By Sam BloomfieldSports Editor

The month to come

@

RPThursday, Jan. 31, 2013the sports 15

Spotlight Athlete

Name: Jamal Davis

Grade: 12

Athletic Idol: Jamal Crawford

Sport: Basketball

Favorite Memory:“Being a part of the three-peat.”

The month in review

Boys Basketball 01/19/13HHS dominated St. Paul Central 82-66, recording coach Ken Novak Jr.’s 700th career victory. Four Royals scored in double figures, including 19 points from Jake Wright, junior. Novak Jr. joined three other coaches in the presti-gious 700 club.

Girls Hockey 01/31/13HHS goes to Breck tonight for the last game of the regular season. Corbin Boyd, sophomore, leads the team in points and assists with Nina Rodgers, junior, leading the team in goals. Player to watch: Katie Schipper, senior, leads the Mustangs in goals, assists, and points.

Girls Basketball 01/10/13The Royals crushed DeLaSalle 90-64. Nia Coffey, senior, scored 22 points, with 15 in the second half. Erin O’Toole and Taylor Anderson, seniors, also scored in double digits with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

@

@For most student-athletes,

playing their sports competitive-ly outside of the metro area is a pipe dream. But for Nina Rodg-ers, junior, the HHS girls hock-ey team is just the beginning.

Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) rules state that students can receive private training and lessons from someone other than the sport’s coach at the high school. Not many kids get the op-portunity to get coached from the US Worlds U18’s coach.

Rodgers has not only played for the HHS girls hockey team this school year, but for two other teams.

In the fall, Rodgers played in the Girls Upper Midwest High School Elite League. Although they only played for about a month, Rodgers got to play with some of the best hockey players in the midwest region.

Then, HHS hockey started. So far this season, Rodgers is the second leading scorer on the team behind Corbin Boyd. Rodgers is now the number two leading scorer in the metro area,

according to the Sun Sailor.Rodgers also played

for the US Worlds U18 team over winter break.

“It’s indescribable to be able to play for the US Worlds team. Just putting on that USA jer-sey is amazing,” Rodgers said.

Playing on three teams takes up a lot of time as well as commitment.

“I’ve put in more time than people think, I can’t put it in hours. I’ve played for days. It’s a lot to handle and it can get confusing, but I make it work,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers has already beat her scoring record from the 2011-2012 season. Last year, she finished with 38 points.

With another month left, and at the rate she is going, Rodg-ers is expected to get at least 45 goals by the end of the season.

With all the experience Rodgers has gained, she tries to bring some back to the team and help all the players.

“I’m playing with bet-ter people and bringing my expericnce back to Hopkins, and trying to help make every-one else better,” Rodgers said.

Although the commit-ment seems like a lot, Rodg-ers is very dedicated to the game and enjoys playing, no matter what team she is on.

“I just try to make every-thing fun, and I can handle it all pretty well,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers goes internationalBy Hillary DonovanStaff Reporter

Boys hockey skates to an improved seasonAfter finishing the regular

season at 10-15 last year, fol-lowed by a first round exit in the section playoffs, nobody could quite anticipate the way the boys hockey team has kicked off the 2012-2013 season.

“The success we’ve had this year came as a surprise to me, but now I know what our po-tential is, and that we really can do something special this year,” said Josh Laven, sophomore.

After a disappointing 2011-2012 season, the Royals have come out of the gate strong, boasting a 9-9-1 record, in-cluding a marquee 5-3 victory against Cloquet.

“I think our team has finally gelled, and we have three or four lines that want to go every shift of the game, and when our lines are rolling, we can have success in any game,” Laven said. “It’s just a matter of us wanting to come out with the ‘W,’ and our team has enough talent to reach that goal.”

The early success of the Royals seemed to come out of the blue, but it hasn’t come without the players putting in their share of hard work. After a summer full of workouts and practices, the team came pre-pared and ready to skate from day one.

“We just started at a higher point than we did last year,” said Austin Bizal, senior. “We have come out as a team and made a lot more progress than we did last year.”

After the loss of a large group of outgoing seniors last year, the Royals have had to fill a significant gap on the roster, and this young group, includ-ing leading point scorers (which is a combination of assists and goals) Laven and Jimmy Co-pouls, junior, have really stepped up to the challenge.

Copouls leads the team in goals (14) as well as in points (23). Laven, in just his first year on the varsity team, is leading the team in assists (13), as well as second in points (21).

“The younger kids have definitely stepped up and filled the role that we kind of lost last year, but I would say that every-one contributes and plays some role in the game,” Bizal said.

This young core has contrib-uted to the Royals’ success, how-ever, the 10 seniors on the team have really stepped up, not only as athletes, but as leaders.

“Hockey is not that different from other high school sports, where you really need your se-niors to lead the team and the direction the season will take, and ours this year have done a nice job of doing just that,” said Mr. Rolf Ulvin, head coach.

With a mixed group of young talent and veteran lead-ership, the Royals hockey pro-gram seems to be on the rise.

“It would be great to go .500 in conference play, put us in a good place for sections, and see how it goes from there,” Bizal said.

With the beginning of sec-tions coming up on February 19, the Royals have a tough road

ahead in order to give them-selves a shot at advancing to State. However, there appears to be success on the horizon not only for this year, but for many

years to come.“We have some numbers

coming up next year and the fol-lowing year, and it looks like we could have a great team in the

next few years,” Laven said. “I do feel, however, that this year could really be our year to do something special and make a statement.”

Photo by Cydney Froehlich

By Sam BloomfieldSports Editor

The month to come

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Max Ostenso, senior, wrestles for the puck against an Armstrong player. The boys hocket team has played strong during the non-conference schedule this season.

RPThursday, Jan. 31, 2013 theback page16

New strength coach lifts spirits in weight room

Tommy Miller, Hopkins High School strength coach, arrives at the Lindbergh Cen-ter weight room every after-noon at 1:30. After check-ing in at the athletic office, Miller unlocks the weight room doors, digs into his carefully portioned meal, and starts handing out workouts.

It is Miller’s first year with HHS, where he works with sports teams to reduce injuries and increase athleticism. His focus is not just on how much one can bench press, but on making them a better athlete.

Miller began weightlift-ing as a fourth grader, when he went along to work with his father. It quickly turned into his passion, and by sixth

grade Miller was able to squat 135 lbs. Today, Miller takes his passion beyond HHS by par-ticipating in local Power Lift-ing contests, as well as interna-tional Strongman competitions.

“I took a tour of the Nebras-ka [Lincoln] football strength and conditioning facilities, and I’ve known ever since that was what I wanted to do,” said Miller.

Miller spent three years at the University of Minnesota where he worked with men’s track, baseball, men and women’s hockey, men’s basketball, and men and women’s golf. He took his passion beyond the weight room and just last year, Miller, a member of the Minnesota Na-tional Guard, was deployed to Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

In addition to working with the many sports teams at HHS, Miller’s knowledge is also avail-

able to individual athletes. Ra-leigh Heath, senior, takes ad-vantage of Miller’s expertise.

“I see Miller to get health-ier, as well as training for track,” said Heath, who par-ticipates in throwing events for the Track & Field team.

Heath began weightlift-ing out of pure curiosity.

“I saw that there were people in the weight room and then heard about it from Jared [Allen], senior, and asked if Tommy would take me on too,” Heath said.

Heath often has fourth block open this semester be-cause his ProPEL class does not meet Tuesday through Friday.

“Tommy makes an individu-alized plan; he knows exactly what I need as a track athlete to be better at my sport,” Heath said.

Casey PaskoBack Page Editor

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1. Raleigh Heath, senior, focuses on form while instructed by Miller.

2. Miller supervises Jared Allen, senior, practice his clean.

3. Miller and Heath look on as Allen lifts the barbell.

4. Miller demonstrates a proper clean.

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