EagleSeptember 23, 2011 Arlington High School

Volume #25 Issue # 1

Arlington High School • 18821 Crown Ridge Blvd. Arlington WA 98223

by Michael SamsMany around Arlington feel that

AHS’s music program is far better than any school around thanks to Mr. Lyle Forde who taught at AHS for 35 years, but now it’s time for a new face. Mr. Brent McGee is the new AHS mu-sic teacher and Jazzmine director.

Mr. McGee started choir in the sixth grade in South Dakota after worshiping his two older sisters who both were in the choir. “I was just good at it,” said Mr. McGee.

He knows there are some big shoes to fill after Mr. Forde left, but Mr. McGee likes a challenge. He is his own individ-ual. “ I know what I know and I do what I know best, and it hasn’t failed me yet.”

Senior Avery Scott, who is Jazzmine’s bass player said, “he is fun and pas-sionate about music.” Seniors Nate Braaten and Austin McFadden said, “He is awesome” and wow… amazing.”

Mr. McGee said there is going to be a dif-ferent feel to the concerts this year. Rather than just standing and singing, dance and staging will be incorporated into the shows giving “a little more entertainment.”

He has some tricks up his sleeves and will surprise everyone who attends the Jazzmine shows.

Singing into a new year

by Chelsea WiersmaMuscle, power, and endurance are what

the boys are bringing to the cheer team this year. According to the many students, the cheerleaders have always been a very successful team, but now with the help of two boys they are just outstanding.

Senior Austin Fitzugh and Sopho-more Jared Alskog are trying some-thing new this year and excelling in it. “It’s a great experience to be in front of the school and show school spirit,” said Jared, “I wanted to stand out and show our school that it’s ok to be different.”

Being on the team has helped Austin build confidence. The best part about be-

ing on the team for Jared is standing in front of the student section and being with all the girls. “Everyone on the team is really nice and it’s great to know them in a different way,” Jared shared. While Austin said,” I get to spend time with the girls 24-7.” Both boys agreed that the worst part of being a cheerleader is all the homosexual jokes from other kids.

Every girl on the team loves having the boys and is very proud of all their hard work. “I love having the boys on the team because they bring a whole new energy to the team and they are a lot of fun” Se-nior Mackenzie Swinger stated. “I think they proved that cheer does take talent and that guys can do it too,” states Sarah Kaye, a sophomore on the cheer team.

Coach Brooke Dalgaard is very grateful to have the boys because it al-lows them to perform more difficult stunts because of all the strength that they bring. “They give a different per-spective and attitude that prevents all the girl drama we’ve had in the past.”

She said that they changed the view-point of cheer for everyone. “I was worried at first because I wasn’t sure if the crowd would be accepting, but I don’t think we’ve had problems and they don’t let it get to them,” stated Coach Dalgaard. Both are phenomenal cheerleaders that bring a whole new meaning to the word team.

Besides cheer, these fine young men do other sports as well. Jared runs in cross-country and rides horses while Austin plays soccer. Jared hopes to continue cheering through his senior year and see where it takes him after that. Austin unfortunately cannot con-tinue after this year because he will be graduating and going off to college and doesn’t intend on cheering there.

The best way that Jared could sum-marize the experience of being on the team is, “I found a new family.”

2 boys for the 18 girls

Sophomore Jared Alskog and Senior Austin Fitzugh at cheer camp. Photo by Brooke Dalgaard.

New music teacher Mr. Brent McGee

2 September 23, 2011

The Eagle Staff

Staff Reporters:Lynsey Amundson

Jayme ArvidsonJustine Bailey

Andrew BosketColby Cavanaugh

Sierra DeCotaJosh Kenworthy

Sonny Lian

Advisor:Alice Smithson

Editor:Shea Drabb

Publishing Dates:

Volume #25Issue #1

News

Sep. 29Oct. 6Oct. 13Oct. 20

Ashley MartinAngelo Mirante

Josiah MillerJollee Pullig

Michael SamsDerek Sweeney

Chelsea Wiersma

THE EAGLE is created, designed, published and printed by the Journalism students of Arlington High School. Opinions in THE EAGLE do not reflect the views of the student body, community, or the high school/district staff. They are exclusively the opinion of the writer or the editorial board of the class. THE EAGLE welcomes letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit them for journalistic purposes or due to layout ease and space. Ev-ery effort will be made to retain the essence of the letter. You can reach the editors by send-ing an e-mail to ahsnews@asd.wednet.edu, placing the letter in Mrs. Smithson’s mailbox or mailing it to The Eagle c/o AHS, 18821 Crown Ridge Blvd., Arlington, WA 98223. Arlington High School and the Arlington School District are equal opportunity employ-ers. This journalistic endeavor makes every effort to rightly represent the people and events described herein.

by Jollee Pullig Lights! Camera! Action! School pro-

ductions are nothing new. However, The Fantasticks will go down in school history as the first student produced production. Senior Director Nathan Haskew and Senior Musical Director Nathan Braaten decided to use the play as their senior project as they have a feel for acting and enjoy the challenge.

Drama teacher, Mr. Scott Moberly, who usually directs the school productions, was excited that the boys wanted to do a student produced musical, yet impressed upon them that it has to be a quality production and that he wouldn’t settle for anything less. Haskew and Braaten received tips and hints from Mr. Moberly, but in general they were all on their own and in charge of the whole process.

The Fantasticks making school history

Haskew feels that there is something ev-eryone would enjoy and it is very relatable to high school students. The Fantasticks com-bines a variety of genres including comedy, drama, action, and even some romance.

Haskew’s goal for the first student run production is for it to be a successful, quality show. If it is as successful as hoped and planned, then a student run production could become an annual thing.

The story line is your average, boy next door falls in love with the girl next door, but the parents don’t approve, The girl ends up being kidnapped, and her boy-friend attempts to find her. Next comes the biggest twist of all, but students will have to see The Fantasticks to find out.

The Fantasticks plays in the Byrnes PAC on September 23 and 24 at 7pm. Prices are $6 for students and $7 for adults.

by Lynsey AmundsonParty rock is in the house tonight; ev-

erybody just have a good time, is what you would have heard if you were at the school last Friday night. The Arlington cheerlead-ers put on a dance to raise some more money for their cheer squad, and in the end it seemed like a celebration for the football team in their win over Ferndale that night.

“This was such a great experience for everyone because tons of people went, there was no theme, and of course I didn’t want it to end,” said Brandi Carmack a cheerleader here at AHS.

The DJ, by the name of Hayden, spent his birthday putting on a great show and great music for everyone to dance to and have a good time. There was tons of fist-pumping, crazy dance moves, and people belting out the lyrics to songs, which meant it was a night well spent for the people who went. “It was the best dance I have ever been too, better than homecoming because

Dance the Night Away

you don’t have to dress up!” said Chris-tine Harrison, a junior here at AHS.

Although the cheerleaders don’t know how much money they have raised yet, Chelsey Kucera said, “It was re-ally packed, lots of fun, and it was a great success for our program.”

Save the Date:Oct.1 for the

Band Car Wash and bake sale

9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

3September 23, 2010Volume #25Issue #1

sports

by Chelsea WiersmaSome say that the freshmen volley-

ball team has no hope after loosing 3 games, but with the high spirited and fantastic personalities of these fine young women, there is reason to still have hope.

Although their winning streak is 0-3, they were all very close games with a loss of only 2 points in the first two games. Because the girls have such a great work ethic, they are improving everyday and drastic improvements since the first day are evident, according to Coach Palmiter.Palmiter says that they all have a great attitude and it will be a fantastic team by the end of the year. “I love coaching freshmen because I can see so much im-provement from game to game.” The girls practice every day after school form 3-6.

Palmiter states that all the girls have had a great success and he is very proud

Freshmen Volleyball

of them all. One of the best thing about the team is, “that they are very vocal and get everyone excited about games and practices.” At their most recent game, which was a home game Tuesday night at 5:15 against Kamiak, the girls brought nothing but focus and talent. Although they lost each game by a very close call, the girls never gave up. They worked hard no matter what the score was. Hitters had very good placement on their spikes and almost every serve was great, according to Palimter. “My fellow teammates are doing a dandy job and if they keep their heads in the game, we could beat them.” Stated player number two, Emily Gaston. After the game Coach Palmiter said that their skills were solid and they had many good hitters. For the next game they are going to work on consistency and communication..

by Lynsey AmundsonGOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL

LL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s that time of the year again where high school girls put on their shin guards and cleats and they play a game called soccer. Although their re-cord doesn’t show it, they are improving drastically and working extremely hard.

The JV soccer team is coached by his-tory teacher Brent Copenhaver and has been coaching the girls team for 14 years now. He loves how strong of a relationship the girls build with one another compared to the boys’ team he used to coach. “I enjoy all the players, and how much each and ev-ery one of them has improved throughout the season,” said Copenhaver of his team. This season they have a lot of freshmen and girls that are new to the program, so all in all they have been improving and keeping the games close. Their record so far is 0-4-1, and they plan on getting more victories as the season progresses.

Although their record doesn’t show it they are improving drastically and working extremely hard. Copenhaver is excited about the upcoming games and he had to say this about the girls, “I love their youthful enthusiasm on and off the field”. Even with all their excitement to play they need to improve on the little things like ball skills, their first touch on the ball, and better communication.

The girls have a strong defense, and that’s why they are able to keep the games close. Sophomore Kira Knutson and sophomore Marissa Rathert have been strong leaders on the team and get everyone pumped up for the game, but as a whole all the players are giving it their all and getting the job done. Cope said, “They are a fun group of girls and I am privi-leged to have the job of coaching them!”

She Shoots, She Scores

by Justine BaileyThe boys Varsity Tennis team’s past

seasons at AHS do not come close to the amazing expectations for the 2011 Boys of fall. Coach Sean Cunningham expects this year to be the “building year” for the team and has great hopes for his number one player, Trent Sarver.

According to Coach Cunningham, Trent Sarver brings energy to the team and is expected to improve his team greatly with his influential amount of sports-manship. Trent feels, “it is a little bit intimidating only being a sophomore and playing matches against seniors.” He voiced that at “moments I feel like the underdog but I try my hardest not to put too much pressure on myself.”

Trent and his fellow teammates, such as Freshman Conner Ghirardo, the number three player on the Varsity team, have past experience playing tennis. Conner has been taking tennis lessons ever since he was in the third grade. Therefore it is not shock-ing that those well-practiced skills scored him an impressive position on the Varsity

Varsity Boys Tennis Builds Champs

team his very first year in high school. Coach Cunningham has confidence in his

boys and visualizes the team winning six out of sixteen games this season. He shared that the boys could improve both funda-mentally and grow to be more competitive.

Although tennis might seem like a very serious, manly, and domineering sport, Trent expressed the boys definitely are not serious at practice all of the time. “The guys sometimes try to hit other players standing around or the guy hold-ing the ball machine with the balls at practice.” Do not be fooled, the team is not vicious towards each other they are simply playful teenage guys full of energy. Coach Cunningham said that the team is planning on having team dinners to pro-mote team bonding and sportsmanship.

A large portion of what Coach Cun-ningham wants his players to walk away knowing is about respect, “Earn respect from your opponents by how you carry and conduct yourself both on and off the court, and prove it in forms of victory.”

4 September 23, 2010Volume #25Issue #1

editorial/opiNioN

by Angelo MiranteIt was a sad day on the evening of

September 11, 2001. One decade later AHS JROTC decided to host a memorial of that tragic day. At 7:40 a.m. on Sept. 12, the staff, students and administra-tion started lining up on the sidewalk for the flag to be walked up the procession.

There was a great turnout at this event. Master Sergeant Moore said, “I was expecting 25 but we got about 75.” Right when the ceremony started Senior Colton McCoy gave a speech about the disaster and all of the firemen and military people who helped with the cause. McCoy said that it felt really good and he was proud that he could do

Remembering the Tragic Day

it. Another thing that Colton mentioned was he, “did not like the noise and next year he would like to divert the traffic.”

Near the end of the ceremony, there was a very special moment that took place. During the moment of silence when the emotions were already run-ning high, Master Sergeant Moore sud-denly started singing the song, America the Beautiful. It was a voice that fit the mood perfectly. Moore mentioned that he felt like he was, “singing the truth” and, “in the second verse ‘what heroes do’ is one of the best parts of the song.”

Top photo, Master Sergeant Moore salutes the flag after it was raised by the the JROTC members.Top Right: The flag is brought in.Middle right: Colton McCoy makes a speech with Major Mike Blue looking on.Bottom right: Major Mike BlueBottom: JROTC bring in the flag.