1The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 2011The Eagle’s EyeVolume 7 Issue 6 March 30, 2011St. Benedict at Auburndale High School, Cordova, TN

High school classes basi-cally stay the same. How-ever, new curriculum will be rushing in soon at St. Bene-dict. The most influential al-teration is in core curricu-lum. Starting with the class of 2013, a one half credit of Personal Finance and an ad-ditional one half credit of physical education will be required. Dr. Elizabeth Brock, St. Benedict Director of Aca-demic Affairs, reports that the administration and guid-ance department will be en-couraging students to earn these credits their senior year, when students have the most elective opportunities. Junior year is also suggested. These new mandatory courses are implemented by the Tennessee Department of

Education as part of its Ten-nessee Diplomacy Project. The Tennessee Diplomacy Project is a broad overhaul of standards and curriculum de-signed to challenge students and better prepare them for college and the workforce. Dr. Brock says, however, that these requirements do not make much of a change as “most of our students take the classes anyway.” Many students are already aware that a major change is coming that will shift the actual grading scale to six points for Advanced Place-ment classes. As of right now, Advanced Placement classes are worth the same amount of credit as Honors courses. Students should know that this modification to cur-riculum is not retroactive. The new and supplementary points will affect the fresh-men class of the current

school year. It will not im-pact the classes of 2012 or 2013. Another curriculum change will feature the dual enroll-ment program. Dual enroll-ment offers juniors and se-niors the opportunity to be enrolled not only at SBA, but also Christian Brothers Uni-versity. The first departments offer-ing the dual enrollment op-tion are Theater and English. Students taking the dual en-rollment courses get to start their college transcript while finishing their high school requirements. For qualified students, the program is paid for by the HOPE Scholar-ship, with exception of the $75 processing fee. Mr. Valadie said that an ex-citing feature of the classes is that it may relieve students and their families of paying for some expensive credit hours in college.

However, Mr. Valadie also said, “It [dual enrollment] is not AP. It does not take the place of AP, and I hope students won’t opt to take it in place of AP.” Students should be warned that hours cannot necessarily be trans-ferred to any school they wish to attend. New classes and curriculum are suggested by students and

faculty alike. The movement to transform these ideas into courses is a time consuming process. The concepts are first proposed, and then re-viewed. If a proposal is ap-proved, a class is born. The curriculum being ap-plied to the next school year is coming in quickly. It will certainly be a year of changes for the SBA community.

Curriculum changes coming to SBAMarissa Boulanger

Reporter

What’s inside the Eye

Page6NeighborhoodBeat

Page9Mumford

Page10Soccer

Boys

High school students from all over the United States square-off annually in the Na-tional History Day competi-tion. The event begins with the regional competition, fol-lowed by state, then moving on to the national champion-ship. On March 5, St. Benedict students participated in the West Tennessee regionals for National History Day. “I have to brag on how great our kids did… We represented St. Benedict well and placed in every category we entered,” said Mrs. Kristen Browning, one of the advisors for His-tory Day. Students of Mrs. Browning’s

Marissa BoulangerReporter

See HISTORY on page 6 National History Day, which took place on March 5, resulted in numerous awards for SBA students. Winners will compete in Nashville.photo by Sharon Masterson

Eagles dominate National History Day

Sonsand

The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 20112

Principal takes the plunge

Kelsey Climer

Editor-in-Chief

Walking the Halls

George Valadie

Principal

Reflections

We did it. We had sworn we never would, but Nancy and I went over to the darkside. We joined Facebook. Our daugh-ters joined this thing long ago. And it’s not like I’m opposed, but I have been leery. Don’t be offended but I don’t really want to be ‘friends’ with y’all and the Diocese won’t al-low it anyway. But part of my hesitancy was caused as I tried to grapple with what it means to be a Facebook ‘friend’ and how that’s different from the ones I already had. I wasn’t sure if I could con-trol who would and wouldn’t, could and couldn’t see the thoughts I might choose to share. But who wants to be left behind a good chunk of the rest of the world? Supposedly there are 500 million Face-book users with half logging on every single day. I think I’ve seen most of

them. They seem to eat in the same places we do. Couples sitting across from one anoth-er in cozy booths, both with a phone and an app and a life-and-death need to know what is happening in others’ lives. Maybe missing a chance to live their own. I asked my daughters first if they’d accept my friend request, and they dutifully obliged. In a matter of mo-ments, my friend count leaped to three. This seemed easy. But after that, I began to feel that same uneasy trepidation I’d had in high school when I had wanted to ask a girl for a date but couldn’t pull the trig-ger, deathly afraid of rejection. But age has given me con-fidence, so I sent out some “friend requests,” hopeful to be accepted. Recently, I was up to 126 but seeking four more since the average Facebook user sup-posedly has 130 friends. Con-fident or not, I still want to be at least average.

It’s funny, but before this, I’d never felt the need to count my friends. I just liked them. Isn’t it ironic that one of the four main Facebook options is a ‘news feed.’ The stuff I see there is definitely new, but not generally thought of as the site we might choose to learn about Egypt’s revolt and Mubarak’s exit. And yet we forget. The Face-book on which we Ameri-cans share gossip and music and how many bites we just chewed at dinner is ironically the same tool that had an in-spiring if not organizing role in the efforts of those Egyp-tian youths. Historically and forever, it will be remembered as the world’s first Social Me-dia Revolution. Consider it. Users combine for 700 billion minutes per month. Do the math. That’s 300 lifetimes of logged on Facebook time - every month. True, some of it’s a pretty stupid waste of God’s gift of time. But with some of it - we get to reach out to family and friends and long-lost acquain-tances. God’s greatest gifts. It might be the end of pens and postage stamps but it works, I’m hoping we’ll use it well.

Change is everywhere I look lately. It seems to start out as a tiny spark that burns until it comes in contact with something that ignites it into a much bigger flame engulf-ing everything around it until things are much different than before. Our school is using change to help better our curriculum and standards academically. Presi-dent Obama based his 2008 presidential campaign on the same message of “change we can believe in.” Recently, in a worldwide sense, protesters in Libya are using this same glimmer of hope to shift pow-er in the government to some-thing much more democratic. We are all fairly familiar with the protests and rallies that took place in Egypt in or-der to remove Hosni Mubarak

Libyan rebels fight for change

from power in January 2011. After the success of the Egyp-tian coup, many other coun-tries followed suit, one being Libya. Libya has become one of the more forgotten revolutions in my opinion. People know that there is political unrest, but we don’t exactly know what it en-tails or the story behind it, my-self included. In 1969, Colonel Gadhafi took control over Libya in a coup and has ruled over the country with an iron fist ever since. Over the years of his regime, Gadhafi has been a rather confusing person to read on whether his intentions are overall good or bad. Late-ly, however, they seem to lean more towards the latter. On February 17, many un-restful protesters took to the streets of Benghazi, Libya in order to demand the release of a human rights activist from

jail. After only a few days, thousands took to the streets of major cities demanding Gad-hafi step down, but the gov-ernment had taken control of most media and showed only images of those in support of the ruler. After only four days of pro-testing, the Human Rights Watch group reported that as many as 173 anti-Gadhafi reb-els had been killed and 800 wounded. Gadhafi continued for many days to try and reit-erate to the public that every-thing was fine and his people still love him, despite the mass murdering going on all around. Currently, Gadhafi is trying

to control his country by lash-ing out even more violently as the days drag on and as the death toll rises. Sometimes I feel that we take the freedoms that we have as United States citizens for granted. Instead of focus-ing on the trivial, annoying things in life like having to do homework or waking up early for school, we should all just take a step back and look at the bigger picture. We live in a country that al-lows us to take part in decid-ing who we want in office. If we aren’t happy with the state of the union, we can complain and not be killed for it…we can cast a new vote instead.

Libyan students demostrate their frustration at Gadhafi’s rule.

Attention Class of

2011!The senior edition of

The Eagle’s Eye is coming soon!

In this edition, we will feature senior wills of

the Class of 2011.

The deadline to turn in your senior will is

April 15th

All senior wills must be submitted by email,

and guidelines must be observed exactly.

Look for more infor-mation regarding your

senior wills in your religion class.

The Eye on Editorials

Editor-in-ChiefKelsey Climer

Features EditorJerel Smith

News EditorLeah Kiernozek

Culture EditorVictoria Darling

Sports EditorJulie Eckel

Copy EditorsJohn Hofer

Jordi Soto-Phipps

Graphics EditorJohn Hofer

ArtistMarissa Boulanger

ReportersZach Wiley

Allie HeirigsMarissa BoulangerAshley Magnifico

Marisa Loeffel Katie Akin

AdviserDianna Cervetti

The Eagle’s Eye is published monthly during the school year, by the newspaper staff at St. Benedict at Auburndale, 8250 Varnavas, Cordova, TN 38016. Telephone:901-260-2840. The Eagle’s Eye is distributed free to all members of the student body. Commentaries and opin-ion columns are the expressed opinion of the author and not of The Eagle’s Eye and its Edito-rial Board, or its adviser. These opinions do not reflect the views of the Catholic Diocese of Memphis. Letter to the Edi-tor Policy: Letters must include the writer’s name, signature and class or position. Typed, dou-ble-spaced letters are preferred, but legible, hand-written sub-missions are acceptable. Letters can be mailed, hand-delivered or e-mailed to the adviser. The Eagle’s Eye will not print any-thing deemed libelous, obscene or in poor taste, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s justi-fied standards. The meaning of any submission will not be al-tered, but we reserve the right to correct spelling, grammar and punctuation when necessary. Additionally, The Eagle’s Eye refuses to print criticism which is not constructive and support-ed by facts.

Awards2010 THSPA Awards (THSPA-TN H.S. Press Assoc.)

All-Tennessee Award(THSPA’s highest rating to rec-ognize excellence in high school

publications)

Honorable Mention AwardsBest Overall Newspaper

Best CartoonBest Column

Best Sports Story

2010 ASPA Awards (ASPA-American Scholastic

Press Assoc.)

First Place: Overall Newspaper

Editorial Board

3The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 2011

Around the World News from off campus

Frank Buckles passed away at his home in Charles Town, West Virginia on Sunday, Feb-ruary 27. At 110 years old, he was the last remaining Ameri-can veteran of World War I, the first war in which troops expe-rienced mechanized warfare. All major countries who participated have now seen the last of their veterans go. Britain’s last survivor of the trenches, Harry Patch, passed away in 2009. Lazare Ponticel-li, France’s last surviving vet-eran, died in 2008. Germany’s Erich Kastner passed in 2008.

A Missouri native, Buckles lied about his age to enter the armed forces at 16, and then pleaded with his superiors that they allowed him to serve on the European front. Finally, they allowed Buckles to go to France to serve with an ambu-lance unit. He was one of 4.7 million Americans to answer the call to arms and fight. Known as “the humble pa-triot,” Buckles didn’t seek the spotlight. He spent the last years of his life campaigning for greater recognition of his fallen comrades, asking politi-cians to support a national me-morial in Washington.

cartoon by Marissa Boulanger

Teenagers’ self esteem affects marital future

Researchers at Cambridge University have found a link between positive adolescence and well-being later in life, and that one has a direct con-nection with and effect on the other. Teenagers who have a happy upbringing and adolesence are 60 percent more likely to perform better socially and in work enviroments, and also less likely to develop mental problems later in life. How-

ever, they are also more likely to end up divorced. The findings of the study in-dicate that the happier young-sters are, the more likely they are to have higher levels of general well-being later in life, but that they are more likely to get divorced. The conclusion that adoles-cent happiness can increase chances of divorce is hypoth-esized to be caused by a higher self-esteem, and therefore a greater ability to leave an un-happy marriage.

Stuck between a car and a hard place

Just a few weeks ago, The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) decertified from the union. By decertifying, they forfeit all their rights to meet as a workers union; which al-lows them to let the players file for an injunction in court. This injunction would prevent the owners from proceeding with their plans of a “lockout” on players. However, the NFL owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell were able to meet and vote for a lockout be-fore the NFLPA could file for an injunction. This whole debacle was caused by four major disputes: (1) how much money each side receives for salaries and construction, like new stadi-ums, out of a $9 billion pot, (2) a salary cap on how much money a rookie could receive, and how much they can re-ceive from a signing bonus, (3) to expand the regular season from 16 games to 18 games, and finally, (4) benefits for re-tired players. All of these is-sues have yet to be solved. Even though the lockout is in effect, players can still sue the owners in anti-trust suits and receive an injunction to stop the current lockout. So far, NFL athletes such as Drew Brees (Saints), Tom Brady (Patriots), Peyton Manning

(Colts), and Osi Umenyiora (Giants) have decided to act as plaintiffs in the current court cases against the own-ers. Also, current top-15 draft prospect Von Miller of Texas A&M has expressed interest in acting as a plaintiff on the side of future players. Since the lockout is now in effect, players cannot meet with their teams, practice at team facilities, or play a down of football until these disputes are resolved. Also, the 2011 Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers will not be able to receive their rings because they cannot communicate and decide which ring will be or-dered. Even though a work-stoppage is in the works, the 2011 NFL Draft will still take place April 28 – April 30 in Radio City Music Hall, New York City. However, after the players are drafted and signed to their re-spective teams, they will not be allowed to contact their new coaches and/or organiza-tions, or receive playbooks in order to be prepared for when the work stoppage is over. Also, rumors have surfaced that the NFLPA executive di-rector, Demaurice Smith, has sent letters to top draft pros-pects concerning boycotting the draft. This would include a private party for all who at-tend, hosted by Smith, so they can celebrate when their name

NFL players “locked out”is called but they will not go up and shake Commissioner Roger Goodell’s hand. It is rumored that the boycott party will be held somewhere in New York City close to Ra-dio City Music Hall. In addi-tion, undrafted free-agents are not able to contact interested teams about signing a free-agent contract and vice-versa. Even current players are not allowed to contact their coach-es. The players are completely shut out of the equation and the future is looming in their minds. Now the ball is in the owners’ court, and talks about signing a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) will ensue in the next couple of months. Even though the owners are in complete control, they will not be able to withstand a “lock-out” lasting more than one year. Most owners do have enough money to withstand longer amounts of time, but the smaller market teams do not. In turn, if one team cannot af-ford it any longer, they all have to give up and cut their losses. In hopes of getting this whole issue resolved, Goodell has recently said that during the lockout, he would work for $1 a year. All the players can do now is stay in shape and hope that a new CBA is in the works and that it will get signed as soon as possible.

John HoferGraphics Editor

John HoferGraphics Editor

Zach WileyReporter

Last WWI vet dies

The Eye on Editorials

The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 20114What’s happening at SBA?

photo by Victoria DarlingMrs. Karen Timmins (second from left), sponsor of Model UN at SBA, joins two committee presidents and the secretary-general (far right) at the 2011 MSU Conference.

St. Benedict junior and senior girls were presented the oppor-tunity to have an evening out with their fathers at the annual Father-Daughter Dance. The dance was held at Colonial Country Club on February 20. The Father-Daughter duos enjoyed an Italian themed dinner, which included every-thing from lasagna to chicken parmesan. After feasting on the Italian cuisine followed by dessert, the ladies and their dates hit the dance floor. The DJ played an assortment of songs, ranging from the 70s to the present. The tables cleared out and the dance floor was filled when “Cha Cha Slide” was played. Soul trains were formed, jigs were danced,

Fathers dance with daughters

The Eagle’s Eye staff earned awards at the annual THSPA award ceremony for student media. Ju-nior Marissa Boulanger placed second for her cartoon and senior Kelsey Climer received honorable mention for a music review. The staff earned an excellent rating for the overall newspaper.

Eagle’s Eye staff wins awards

Julie EckelSports Editor

Model UN had a conference on February 24, 25, and 26 at Mississippi State Univer-sity in Starkville. Participants from SBA represented several different countries, including the US, China, and Brazil, in a mock United Nations. SBA students debated current in-ternational social, economic, and political issues with ap-proximately 10 other schools. A guest speaker, Allyson Nelson, spoke to the atten-dants about women’s rights, improper perceptions of foreign countries, and the danger of placing Western values on other societies. This conference was the

Model UN shines in StarkvilleKatie Akin

Reporter

photo by Julie Eckel

Rachel Nevle enjoys dancing at the Father-Daughter Dance.

and toes were stepped on. Prizes were awarded to the dads who were the best danc-ers, or even just the most en-tertaining. The girls and their fa-thers also enjoyed a scaven-

ger hunt, planned by the DJ, which consisted of attendees digging through their pock-ets looking for odds and ends. The night concluded with a few slower songs to end the evening on a sentimental note.

first time that SBA Model UN attended a conference at Mis-sissippi State. It was also the first time a Tennessee school ever participated in the Mis-sissippi State conference. Senior Daven Aldrich re-ceived “Most Improved Del-egation” for his representa-tion of the United States. Senior Victoria Darling was

awarded “Most Outstand-ing Delegation” for her representation of China. This was Victoria’s third time to receive this award. “This conference was a different style than what we are used to, and our team looks forward to competing in it next year,” said Victo-ria, Model UN president.

Retreat unifies juniors

SBA continued its spirit of giving last month with anoth-er food drive, Kids Kan. Kids Kan proceeds benefitted the Mid-South Food Bank. Stu-dents brought in canned food from February 14 to 26. SBA is widely known for its philanthropy during food drives. It is so well known, in fact, that local radio station KIX 106 broadcasted live from campus to support the Kids Kan effort. In order to help the col-lection effort along, teach-ers including Dr. Bradley

and Coach Daleke offered extra credit to students who brought in certain amounts of canned items. Along with the canned good collection itself, students raised money for the Food Bank by donating a dollar to participate in a “Crazy Sock and Shoe Day.” Mu Alpha Theta accepted donations in order for three adminis-trators, Mrs. Morris, Coach Lear, and Mr. Valadie, to re-ceive a pie in the face on their annual “Pi Day.” By the end of the week, a large amount of cans were raised for the Mid-South Food Bank.

Kids Kan is a success Katie Akin

Reporter

Cartoonist visits SBA

photo by Sharon MastersonFamous cartoonist John Rose spoke to SBA students about his profession. He showcased some of his popular characters, such as Snuffy Smith.

-News Briefs-

The Eye on News

The juniors at St. Bene-dict had a class retreat at St. Ann Bartlett on Wednesday, March 23. The overall theme for the retreat was based on unity. Many juniors attended the event that was organized by the senior retreat leaders, along with Mrs. Giles, Mrs. Browning, and Mr. Smith. The students had an event-ful day playing games, listen-ing to the band, and spending

time reflecting on inspiration-al stories told by Jake Tucci and Melanie Yerger. They also watched a meaningful skit about Christ’s love per-formed by some of the senior retreat leaders. Mass ended the retreat on a positive note, tying in the theme of unity. Many of the people that at-tended the retreat had an en-joyable time, including junior Daniel LaForce who said, “The retreat was a blast! It fo-cused on us coming together and the theme of unity.”

Leah KiernozekNews Editor

photo by Dianna Cervetti

5The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 2011

Ryan Cooper and Madeline Marconi star in SBA’s production of The Sound of Music.

The Saint Benedict language clubs organized and partici-pated in an international food festival on March 1 in the din-ing hall. The event was organized by faculty club sponsors. The goal of the festival was to ex-pose students to the cultures that the other language classes study every day, as well as give a positive representa-tion of their own. The event’s planning has been in progress

ditional sports at SBA. Sponsored by religion teacher Mr. Smith, the Ulti-mate Frisbee Club is simple in its mission: get a group of kids together to have fun and throw a plastic disc around. However, anything with “ul-timate” in its name is prob-ably not that simple. The members of the club don’t just throw the Frisbee in the fashion that one might envi-sion. They throw it in all pos-sible ways imaginable and

lubornerCC.. ...

At Saint Benedict there are many options for students to play a sport and stay fit. Ev-erything from tennis to bas-ketball is available to students to try out for and participate in, but one sport stands out from the proverbial crowd. With the laid-back and mel-low atmosphere of a club sport, Ultimate Frisbee offers an alternative to the more tra-

then more. They duck and dive and jump for that round piece of plastic. The club even com-petes with other local teams, bringing out their own com-petitive spirit. All of this makes the sport of Ultimate Frisbee a lot more demanding than one may originally think. The Ultimate Frisbee Club meets every Friday after school usually on the practice field. Anyone (both boys and girls) is welcome to come out to partic-ipate and just have a good time.

since the beginning of the school year. The French, German, and Spanish clubs contributed to the festival. Students attending were encouraged to prepare or purchase a dish commonly eaten in the culture whose language they study. The clubs organized the food based on which country it represented. “Nobody likes German food,” said Frau Sanders, “so we brought cookies and games.” Students and teachers were

able to walk around and sam-ple dishes, as well as mingle with people outside of their club. French music was played and German puzzles were solved. The club mem-bers soon noticed curious onlookers straggling near the cafeteria. Having more than enough to go around, they were invited to join in. “I have been looking for-ward to (the festival) since it started being talked about,” stated Megan Singer, presi-dent of the French club, “It was pretty fun.”

Ultimate Frisbee Club throws for fun

Language clubs unite for food festival

Everyone around the world is probably familiar with the movie The Sound of Music to a certain extent. But, does everyone know how the story came about? The well-known musical which has been presented as a play, movie, and book, is based off of a true story that took place during the 1940s. As the story goes, Maria von Kutschera was living at a Benedictine Convent and was sent by her Mother Su-perior to watch over George von Trapp’s children after the death of his wife. Maria introduced music into the children’s lives by teaching them how to sing, creating a wonderful relationship full of

love and laughter. Over the course of time, Captain von Trapp and Maria fell in love with each other, and happily raised the children as one big family. Because the story has been portrayed in different forms, some variations have been made in regards to specific details about the Trapp fam-ily. For instance, in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s theatri-cal production of The Sound of Music in 1959, Maria came to the Trapp family as a governess to watch over the Captain’s seven children. However, in reality, it is said that Maria came as a tutor for the children and there were ten of them, not seven. This tiny alteration in the story-line carried out through other productions of the musical,

such as the Hollywood- pro-duced movie in 1965, starring Julie Andrews and Christo-pher Plummer. Although the age and names of characters were changed, along with a few other miniscule details in the plot, each version originat-ed from the same story. The famous Trapp family story evolved after Maria von Trapp published her book The Story of the Trapp Family Sing-ers, in 1949. Her book became a best-seller and was then made into two dif-ferent Ger-man films: The Trapp Family in 1956 and The Trapp Family in

America in 1958. From there, the book ex-tended its popularity into America, where it was made

into a Broadway play and a mov-ie. The musi-cal has grasped the attention of

many viewers around the w o r l d

and is still watched and per-formed today. St. Benedict’s theatrical department is per-forming The Sound of Mu-sic from March 31 to April

3, with Madeline Marconi starring

as Maria and Ryan Cooper playing the role of Captain von

Trapp.

Writer visits SBA

Jerel SmithFeatures Editor

Leah KiernozekNews Editor

Allie HeirigsReporter

Jerel SmithReporter

The Sound of Music evolves from its pastphoto by Sharon Masterson

John Miller talks with SBA students about his writing style.

John Jackson Miller, a 1985 alumnus of Auburndale, recently returned to the campus (now St. Benedict at Auburndale) to share his life story with the SBA stu-dents. It’s been 26 years since he graduated from Auburndale in 1985, and since then he has be-come a sci-fi and comic book writ-er. He has written several books for the Star Wars trilogy, created char-acters and storylines for the famed comic book series Iron Man, and even began the Star Wars series known as Knights of the Old Re-public (KOTOR). Since its incep-tion, KOTOR has been made into several video games and is the basis for many storylines in Star Wars lore. Since his days as a child, Miller has been a collector of comics and also publisher of his own mini-comics and magazines, or ‘zines’. He has been obsessed with things considered ‘geeky’ for a good chunk of his life. Even during his days at Auburndale, he developed an interest for geek culture. While in class one day, Miller decided that instead of writing an essay on Edgar Allen Poe, he would write and draw a comic book instead. The final result was a very knowl-edgeable and well-thought out in-terpretation of the subject.

While visiting St. Benedict, one of the many topics Miller spoke about was his experience with the school’s paper, The Eagle’s Eye. He explained that his time as edi-tor, not only for The Eagle’s Eye, but also for the University of Ten-nessee during his college years, taught him how to write about anything. “You have to write about things that you’re not interested in,” Mill-er stated in reference to his time in journalism. Early on, Miller realized that he could turn his passion into a career. He came to this realization as he was writing a college essay on a subject in which he wasn’t famil-iar and then twisted it in a way to make it seem like he knew what he was talking about. It was his own personal aha moment; Miller knew what he was good at…writ-ing. “What I thought of as a hobby was actually useful,” said Miller recalling the moment when he finally grasped the idea of doing what he adored. Miller has found much success in his life through his hobby-turned-career. He’s a New York Times bestselling author, he has met his idols, and he has worked on projects that many only dream of working on. John Jackson Miller is “mining his childhood” for a living.

The Eye on News

photo by Sharon Masterson

The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 20116 Every day during fourth, fifth, and sixth periods, the cafete-ria becomes jam-packed with hungry students trying to beat the extensive lines to satisfy their rising appetites. Aside from the ever-changing menu of the hot lunch; the salad bar, dessert, and deli stations re-main basically the same. The faces of the servers usually remain the same as well. One server in particular has found a soft spot in the heart of St. Benedict students. Known to most of the stu-dent body as “The Chicken Man,” James Parker seems like an average man doing his job. Raised in Memphis, he attended Mitchell High School. When he wasn’t in the

classroom or at home, he was practicing basketball which he loved and still enjoys playing today. While growing up, he dreamed of acquiring a job as a truck driver in order to see more of the country than just barbeque and blues on Beale. When it came time for him to look for an occupation, he, along with countless Ameri-cans, realized that it was easier said than done. But, fate found a way to lead Parker to So-dexho Food Services where he was offered a job as a server in St. Benedict’s cafeteria. Upon taking the job, he was placed at his own station by the grill where the chicken nuggets, tenders, hot sandwiches, and French fries are served. Be-cause he works at the chicken station, which has the longest line almost every day, he soon

became known as “The Chick-en Man.” Parker enjoys working at St. Benedict because, “I like making the children laugh.” And that he does. Numerous students make an effort to get to know “The Chicken Man” every day in the hopes that he will put aside an order of the popular chicken tenders for them before they run out. “I love The Chicken Man because his tender touch of love makes the chicken ten-ders the best that they can be,” said senior Larkin Turner, who claims to know and love Park-er the most out of her class. Even though his prior road to becoming a truck driver wasn’t taken, it’s safe to say that he and the students of SBA are more than delighted with the one that was.

Cafeteria worker is part of SBA family

James Parker, known fondly by many as the “Chicken Man,” has found a soft spot in the hearts of Saint Benedict’s students.

photo by Marisa Loeffel

With its unique purple and green decorative theme, Yo-gurt Mountain offers a very futuristic look. “It’s really a great environ-ment,” said manager Chris Whitten. There were 20 stores opened nationwide last year and 15 more this year. Yogurt Moun-tain’s first store was opened in Tuscaloosa, Alabama about one year ago. Currently, there are two Yogurt Mountains located in Memphis, but owners are hop-ing to have at least six stores opened by the end of the year. The yogurt is self-served with

the customer’s choice of sev-eral different flavors and top-pings. Once the customer has completed their masterpiece, the bowl is then weighed for a price check. The finished product is offered at 45 cents an ounce. “Vanilla and chocolate are the most popular types of yo-gurt. Cookie dough, strawber-ries, and marshmallow cream are the most popular top-pings,” said Whitten. It is a hot spot for teenagers, as they are credited for most of the business; especially high school students. “The majority of our busi-ness is teenagers,” Whitten said, “Come after a game and present your ticket or your

student I.D. and you get 20 percent off your yogurt cup.” He also went on to say that if extra-curricular clubs want to have meetings there, he’d be willing to offer a discount for the club as well. “This is by far the most fun place I’ve ever worked at. I came here back in November, and fell in love with it. It really is a great environment. It’s the busiest place I’ve ever worked in, we have $10,000 week-ends,” Whitten said regarding Yogurt Mountain. With its futuristic appear-ance, delicious yogurt and toppings, and fun environ-ment, Yogurt Mountain is con-sidered by many to be a great place to visit and relax.

Jordi Soto-PhippsFeatures Editor

Marissa LoeffelReporter

U. S. history classes, along with those of Mr. Mark Mc-Donald’s world history class-es, competed at the History Day contest held on the Uni-versity of Memphis campus. Competitors had the option of creating an exhibit, docu-mentary, paper, website, or performance, focusing their projects on the theme Debate and Diplomacy: Successes, Failures and Consequences. They also had the choice of working in a group or as an individual. At the end of the competi-

tion, St. Benedict entrants brought home 10 awards. Exhibit winners were Hannah Scarborough with first place in individual, Laura Morissett and Will Doster with second place in group, and Allie Hei-rigs, Alexis Bingham, Jeremy Mothersell, Megan Singer, and John Hofer with fourth place in group. SBA swept the group docu-mentary division, taking first, second, and third place. Win-ners were Craig Thillen, Josh Stoddard, and Hunter Dono-hue with first, Renee Adamec, Paige Scrivener, Alanna Mur-phy, Wendy Alyea, and Mary Katherine Langley with sec-

ond, and Marissa Boulanger, Marc Cabe, Matt Groendyke, Ben Schneider, and Rachel Sowell with third. Winners of the writing di-vision were Katelyn Frierott with first and Denise Sweeney with second. Website winners were Jessie Peel, Alex Boston, Matt Brint, Allie Cummings, and Michael Steele with second in group and Alex Bolds, Dillon Allen, and Crain Hubbard with fourth in group. Students who placed move on to the Tennessee State Competition. The contest will be held in Nashville at Legis-lative Plaza on April 2.

HISTORYcontinued from page 1

The neighborhood beat--Yogurt Mountain is teen hangout spot

The Eye on Features

Meagan WynneMake/Model: 2006 Honda FitPowertrain: Inline 4, AutomaticInteresting fact about car: It’s a LOT bigger than it looksFavorite thing about car: It gets great mileage

Kyle JenningsMake/Model: 2006 Pontiac SolsticePowertrain: Inline 4, AutomaticInteresting fact about car: It’s a convertibleFavorite thing about car: Underglow neon

7The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 2011

-Poll-What is something you want

to do before you die?

Christine Lake, 12thBuy a Prada purse

Chris Anderson, 11thRide a dinosaur

Mary Jane Hedden, 9thBungie Jump

Andrew Nevle, 10thRelease a rap album

Luckie Krog, 9thHave a mud fight

Keifer Douglas, 11thMeet the entire cast of

Malcolm in the Middle

Julie EckelSports Editor

the juniors of the current com-mittee to pick the location they would like for their se-nior year prom. This early decision is imper-ative because time constraints must be considered. The ven-ue usually has to be booked months in advance, in order to reserve the space before another party grabs it. Case in point, the Memphis Zoo was originally meant to be the lo-cation for last year’s prom; but because of scheduling issues, Minglewood Hall was chosen instead. However, this year the SBA Eagles will definitely be flying into the Memphis Zoo. After the desired location is acquired, the actual planning for prom doesn’t begin until the following school year, and with an entirely new commit-

Jerel SmithFeatures Editor

Every year millions of stu-dents from all across the na-tion attend a prom of some sort. From New York to Cali-fornia, kids everywhere get to enjoy that one magical night. It is a night that many high schoolers have dreamed of since middle school, but many have no idea about the work that goes into organizing that single enchanting moment. A lot of planning, time, and ef-fort goes into making that spe-cial night actually happen. At St. Benedict, the first thing that must be done to prepare for prom is to decide the loca-tion. This decision is made at least a year in advance by the previous committee, enabling

tee. St. Benedict’s committee is entirely made up of juniors, and is sponsored by the trio of Mrs. Stafford, Mrs. Bran-non, and Mrs. Ford. The junior class as a whole decides who to elect as prom chair; this year the committee is led by junior Valarie Holmes. After the committee is formed, the real work begins.The committee decides every-thing from the theme to who’ll be spinning the music at the event. The students come to-gether to put the majority of prom together; prom at St. Benedict is for the seniors as well as the juniors. “We’re a well-oiled ma-chine,” Mrs. Ford exclaimed jokingly. Even though a lot of things go smoothly every year, old

and new problems always seem to arise. One problem they seem to run into every year is scheduling issues with the chosen DJ. It seems that every year, the selected DJ seems to get double-booked or just can’t make the gig. Another issue that arises con-stantly is the rules that the ven-ue places on the committee. Every location comes with its own set of constraints to work around, such as no straws or plastic ware at the Memphis Zoo. Even still, despite the prob-lems that may arise, the com-mittee strives to put on an un-forgettable prom every year. From the decorations to the lights, from the music to the theme everything is meant to emit a sense of excitement.

However, with the state of the economy along with a higher quality, everything just costs more. Therefore the senior class must pay a nominal fee of $10 for their tickets, where in previous years they weren’t required to shell out anything at all.“The reason we want to charge the seniors…because we want more quality,” said Mrs. Bran-non. Year after year a new stu-dent committee, plus the sea-soned staff put on a new and different prom. They try to top themselves every year, making a spectacular night for both ju-niors and seniors. “It’s going to be the best prom yet, it makes me love life,” junior Rebekah Little said.

Prom takes much preparation

Mrs. Rose loves SBA Native to New York, Mrs. Providence Rose, better known as Provie, made her way to Memphis 27 years ago. Mrs. Rose was born and raised in The Bronx, a burrow of New York City. Growing up with four younger brothers, Mrs. Rose had aspirations of being a neonatal nurse, work-ing with little babies. Mrs. Rose attended Theo-dore Roosevelt High School in The Bronx, and then went to college at Kingsborough Community College in Brook-lyn. While in high school, she was the Chair of Senior Prom, was on the committee for the senior play, and was active in the Merchandizing Club. After getting married in New York, Mrs. Rose and her hus-band, Werner, moved south, first to Miami, then to Hous-ton, and finally ended up in Memphis. When first coming to Memphis, she began work-ing at Holy Spirit Church as assistant director for Mother’s Day Out. She then joined the staff at St. Agnes. Several years later, a job at St. Benedict opened up when Mrs. Morris was pregnant with her first child. Dr. Mary McDonald, who was principal at the time, hired Mrs. Rose to take her place. Nowadays Mrs. Rose still works in the office, but she runs the spirit shop, handles

accounts, works in the busi-ness office, handles invoices, and takes care of all the print-ers and copiers. After working in a rough middle school in the Bronx earlier in her life, Mrs. Rose says she loves life at St. Bene-dict. “I love the atmosphere, I love the people, I love the hours, and most importantly, I love the environment,” said Mrs. Rose. In her spare time, Mrs. Rose enjoys redecorating her home and working in the yard. She also likes to go shopping, es-pecially if she can snag a bar-gain. Mrs. Rose also enjoys go-ing for walks. Nearly every year, she walks the St. Jude

half-marathon. She does it to commemorate her son’s stay at St. Jude. Several years ago, in 1994, her son John devel-oped leukemia. After a long, four year battle, he came out victorious. He was told, how-ever, that he would never have children. John is now a healthy 35 year-old cancer survivor, living happily with a wife and 21 month-old baby boy. To celebrate this gift of life, they named their child Matthew which means “Gift of God.” Mrs. Rose is now contently living in Memphis and en-joys spending time with her husband, who is a deacon at Church of the Holy Spirit, and spending time with her two sons and their families.

photo by Julie EckelMrs. Provie Rose helps SBA by being one of the most versatile employees, helping out in many different ways around campus.

The Eye on Features

The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 20118

Stocking the shelves are be-

dazzled clutches and glam shoes.

a seven-year contract with Fox. After signing with the broad-casting company, Monroe re-ceived over 2,000 pieces of fan mail weekly. The notoriety she gained gave way to her first role with Fox, Don’t Both-er to Knock. From 1946-1961, Mon-roe starred in 18 movies, had three marriages, and countless more relationships. On August 4, 1962, four days before she planned to remarry, Monroe was found in bed, dead from a presumed overdose. Many still wonder today if someone else played a role in her death. Mark Roesler, an agent who represents more famous people than any other person in the world, currently repre-sents Monroe. His clients have a unique quality unlike others;

Prom – a four letter word that could represent the most memorable night of the aver-age high school career. What is a major part of this memo-ry? The fashion, of course. One of the biggest trends for the 2011 prom season is cut-outs. Cut-outs are sections of a dress that are what they’re named for—cut out. They give an edge to a stan-dard dress, especially when they are filled in with other textiles such as lace. How-ever, shoppers should beware that this trend can go too far with overly excessive missing fabric. Another huge trend for prom dresses is an interesting poste-rior style. The intricate bead-ing and necklines usually re- served for the front of a dress are now being constructed for the back. From dips down the back to criss-crossing laces to designs in the shape of a big butterfly, decorative backs are making a statement. Perhaps the most trending item on the hot list is shine. Fully beaded, fully sequined, or fully metallic dresses—they are all great ways to add spar-kle to prom. The glittery add-ons that many dresses this season are embel-lished with are being stocked

on the shelves as quickly as they are being bought off of them. Whether it is to give a glamorous twist or just a break from the generic look, twinkle and glitter provide the fash-ionable oomph that every girl wants. Another style striking the prom scene is oversized prints. Blown up florals, animal prints, and watercolors come together to provide a variety of looks to choose from. One of the newest looks this season is the high-low dress. The hemline of high-low dresses usually start off short in the front and cascade down the back, typi-cally hitting the floor. This high fashion-inspired look gives the wearer a unique dress that seems to extend the leg. It is a great choice for those who want the dramatic length of a long dress, but still want to show off the shoes that go with it. Asymmetry is also a huge look for prom. Uneven hem-lines, single shoulder dress-es, and unbalanced embel-lishments are a few ways to achieve the asymmetrical look. Some of the keys to perfect

prom wear are accessories. Stocking the shelves this year are bedazzled clutches, bold jewelry, and glam shoes that add a pop. Bib necklaces, layers of pearls, and sweet strands of gold or silver are touches that can really add some interest to a dress. Shoes that have crazy trimmings or are metallic and glitter-covered are also great for adding interest. Dresses and accessories are an exciting part of prom that thrills girls everywhere. But prom fashion is not simply

limited to those without the Y chromosome. Menswear this season is pay-ing homage to the unexpected. Whether it is slight changes like navy suits

instead of black or kooky outfits with plaid shirts and striped bowties, menswear is making a splash. Men’s cloth-ing at prom is all about taking the simple and adding your own style. From edgy mini-dresses to fanciful gowns, from sparkle clad accessories to menswear with a twist, fashion finds a home in prom. No matter what kind of person you are or what kind of clothes you wear, prom looks make a statement.

Fashion Forecast: Watch for all the latest styles and trends at Prom

If you could choose a prom theme, what would it be?

Carley Vandeven, 11th “Amusement Park”

Forrest Welsh, 10th “Disco”

David Caron, 12th “Minecraft”

Cameron Russell, 12th “Underwater”

Will Smith, 9th“Zombies”

Samantha Rebholz, 10th “New York Hipster”

Norma Mortenson, other-wise known as Marilyn Mon-roe, is remembered for her blonde hair, flirty white dress, and bright red lipstick. By 1946, her unique image ap-peared on the covers of over 33 magazines. Monroe, who began her career as a model, eventually evolved into a Hol-lywood starlet for the famous broadcasting company, Fox. Though she was denied sev-eral times before receiving her contract with Fox, Monroe finally got a break when she met Johnny Hyde. Her “less than professional” relationship with Hyde opened the door to Monroe’s first on-screen role in Love Happy. In 1950, after Hyde’s death, Monroe signed

most of Mr. Roesler’s clients are dead. Representing over 250 entertainment, sports, mu-sic, and historical clients, he represents anyone from Babe Ruth to Bette Davis. Roesler’s company is called CMG, and is located far from Hollywood in Indianapolis. About his clients, Roesler says, “It’s not really that much different than if they were alive. You just can’t book them for personal appearances.” The main job of CMG is to create merchandising deals to pitch to businesses that sell their clients’ memorabilia. One of Monroe’s biggest sellers is “Marilyn Merlot.” Roesler claims that this is rated as one of California’s best merlots. Monroe is reported to be one of the richest dead celebrities along with Audrey Hepburn.

Where is this celebrity now?Marilyn Monroe is making millions even after her deathVictoria Darling

Culture Editor

Marissa BoulangerReporter

In her prime, she gained on average of $202,000,000, and currently she has grossed $154,000,000 since her death. Monroe will even-t u a l l y g r o s s m o r e mon-e y dead t h a n alive. Despite her con-t rovers ia l r epu t a t i on , Monroe argued that she just wanted to make the most out of her life. She said, "Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world."

h

hStudent Poll

One of her most

classic looks, Mari-

lyn Monroe’s tradmark white

dress, red lipstick, and curly blonde hair, is still featured in magazines and movies today.

The Eye on Culture

Branton Wiederholt, 11th“Anything but Jersey Shore”

Gabriella Locastro, 9th“Masquerade”

9The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 2011

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is a basic statement of the Voodoo belief system. Voodoo originated from African ancestors who were brought to the Caribbean in bondage around the 1830’s. It is also known as Vodun, Vo-doun, or Vodou. The word voodoo means "spirit of God." Voodoo be-lievers accept the existence of one god, along with other lower-ranked spirits often re-ferred to as Loa. These power-ful spirits are responsible for the daily matters in life such as family, love, money, happi-ness, wealth, and revenge.

Rituals of voodoo include prayers, drumming, dancing, singing, and animal sacrifice. During Voodoo ceremonies, it is believed that the Loa can possess the bodies of the cere-mony participants. Loa appear by "possessing" the faithful, who in turn become the Loa, relaying advice, warnings, and desires. Voodoo is an animist faith. That is, objects and natu-ral phenomena are believed to possess holy significance and a soul. Voodoo is seen as one of the oldest religions still practiced today. It isn’t human sacrifices, blood dripping, or even devil worship. People that partici-pate in the religion do not stick good and evil pins into dolls to heal or harm others. Voodoo is

a life-affirming practice that encourages its participants to better understand the natural processes of life and their own spiritual natures. Religions related to Vodun are: Candomble, Lucumi, Ma-cumba, and Yoruba. Voodoo is a way of looking at and dealing with life. It heals and destroys, is both good and bad, and is simple in concept and complex in practice. Voodoo, as present-ly practiced, endures little similarity to its ancestral practice. Pres-ently there are about fifty million worship-pers worldwide. The central belief of the re-ligion is in spirit possession,

ports individual experience, empowerment, and responsi-bility. Voodoo isn’t the same everywhere. People may prac-tice Voodoo in their own way. Over time, American culture became fascinated by this mys-terious tradition and began to depict it in movies and books as sensationalized horror. Hol-lywood created a mythology that we have taken as truth. "Voodoo" has become part of modern folklore as something evil that can hurt us. In the United States, many Voodooists are afraid of how they will be treated so they hide their religion. While this is logical, it also highlights suspicion that they practice in secret to hide something bad or violent.

The Voodoo myth and legend debunked

Still riding high on the edg-es of a nationally recognized Grammy performance, it has become fact that British Folk quartet Mumford and Sons have what it takes to become well known and still retain the qualities and sound that define them so uniquely from popular music today. The band’s first release, en-titled Sigh No More, derives its namesake from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Many of the other tracks are

influenced by strong literary inspirations, as well. Sigh No More is the type of album that takes many of the greats and combines them with newer names to form a fresh twist on an old folk sound. It is something akin to a sweet jam session of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Kings of Leon, and Fleet Foxes all gathered on a backyard porch in Nashville. The album’s first single Little Lion Man gives way to a pounding rhythm of banjos and guitars with a thunderous chorus filled with harmonies.

It is easily one of the best songs, but the lyrics come off as a little self-aggrandizing. But do not let that fool you. This song is still hard hitting enough to leave you walking away with a sore jaw, unlike the rest of the album’s songs that come off as mere swats to the face. The Cave is a song full of hope and change which en-courages you to better your-self. It shows off lead singer and guitarist, Marcus Mum-ford’s growling vocals with enough fervor, charm, and

emotion to put the King’s of Leon to shame. “Thistles and Weeds” is a haunting tune that conjures up images of dark skies along with that eerie calm before the storm, making it clearly one of the more powerful songs on Sigh No More. “Timshel” derives its basis of lyrical content from John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. The lyrical flourishes contained within the song bring the story to life through music. Drawbacks to this album are very few and far between. Al-

though, I must admit some of the themes become a bit repet-itive, and Mumford and Sons’ folk rock sound is not neces-sarily for everyone. The band may be young, but whatever the Sons are do-ing right now in the early days of their fame and recognition, they are doing it right. If you are looking for a new-er band filled with perfect har-monies, an eclectic assortment of instruments, coupled with beautiful, thought provoking lyrics, Sigh No More is clearly your best bet.

Sixteen-year-old Pablo de la Portilla set out on a trip to the United States with his Rotary group to travel and learn about the country. Pablo is from Pamplona, Spain, a city that is known for hosting the “run-ning of the bulls.” Pablo has learned a lot about the American life since arriv-ing in August. He especially

enjoys the welcoming attitude of Americans. As for differences in the two cultures, Pablo believes that people in Spain are generally more active than Americans. He said, “In Spain we have cars, but we try walking most places.” Spanish citizens must wait until age 18 to get their license; this is another reason that Pab-lo believes the Spanish are a little less sluggish than people

in the United States. Though teenagers and chil-dren go to fast food restaurants in Spain, it is uncommon to see adults there. Pablo said, “I sometimes go to fast food res-taurants, but as I grow older I am more hesitant to eat there.” Pablo also finds differences in the European and American school system. “There are no multiple choice questions on our tests, instead we have a lot of questions with long an-

swers,” he said. Another significant differ-ence is that they are not given study guides; they are in-structed to review cumulative notes. For these reasons, Pablo prefers attending St. Benedict since teachers seem to be more accommodating to students’ needs. Though Pablo enjoys school in the states, he misses the food from Spain. One of his favorite dishes is Jamon Serra-

no, which is similar to a lunch meat. It is made of uncooked ham that is cut into thin slices. Typically it is served plain, but some people put it on crackers. To replace this traditional Spanish meal, Pablo has found delight in American hamburg-ers and apple pie. Unfortunately, Pablo will be leaving St. Benedict in a few months, but he plans to return to the United States to visit.

Exchange student sees world through American eyes

Ashley MagnificoReporter

Victoria DarlingCulture Editor

Folk gets new twist with Mumford and SonsKelsey Climer

Editor-in-Chief

through which the gods speak to the devotees only for a short time during the ceremonies. However, the faithful believe that the work of the gods is present in all aspects of daily life, and that pleasing the gods will gain them health, wealth, and spiritual commitment.

Voodoo is universally practiced in Haiti, but practiced in many cities of t h e United States such

as New York, New Orleans, Houston,

Charleston, South Car-olina, and Los Angeles. In the United States it

is recognized as a le-gitimate religion.

Voodoo has no scrip-ture or world authority. It is

community-centered and sup-

The Eye on Culture

The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 201110

With the winter sports seasons coming to a close, some Saint Benedict ath-letes look at success and some look at heartbreak. The boys basketball sea-son came to a close at MBA as they lost the substate play-in game. The game was out of the Eagles’ hands early as MBA out-scored the Eagles in every quarter except the fourth. Both Ryan Van Hoeck and Jordan Wilkins fin-ished the night with 10 points. In the regular season, the boys finished second in region play, beating both CBHS and MUS. Howev-er, the Eagles did not do as well in the Region Tourna-ment, finishing fourth. The Eagles ended their season at 14-14. Ryan Van Hoeck and Jor-dan Wilkins were named First Team All-Region, Trey Wilkins was named Second Team All-Region, and Van Hoeck was also named to the All Region Tournament Team.

The SBA wrestling team finished the regu-lar season with a record of 14-7. In the Region Tournament, they lost to CBHS in the finals, giving SBA the title of DII-AA Runner-Up. At the State Tourna-ment, the Eagles fin-ished seventh out of 18 teams with eight medalists: Jeff Lamer, third at 189; Peter Za-leski, fourth at 103; Greg Stratman, fourth at 152; Ben Kurtz, fifth at 145; Trevor Jenkins, sixth at 130 Tom Lack-ie sixth at 160; Saeed Zarshenas sixth at 135 and Shahram Zarsh-enas sixth at 140. The Eagles swim team had a few members advance to the State Swim Meet in Knoxville. Senior Marshall Quarles was the lone male swimmer repre-senting SBA, swimming both the 50 and 100 freestyle. Junior Megan Wynne set a school record in the 200 free-style. Megan, senior Storm Jones, junior Molly Wagner, and senior Marley Mitchell swam in two relays, setting a school record in the 400 free-

Winter sports make their mark at SBA

Julie Eckel, Jordi Soto-PhippsReporters

The SBA boys soccer team looks to improve on last year’s disappointing season. New faces cover the soccer field, most notably the head coach. Due to health issues last year, former head coach Jack Schenkel was unable to fin-ish the season, allowing Tony

Turner to jump in as interim head coach. Andy Brannigan has taken over the head coach-ing position this year. Coach Brannigan comes in with high expectations and a focus on conditioning. He strives to produce the most conditioned team by season’s start. Since Coach Brannigan has been an assistant coach of the

team before, he is familiar with several of the players and what to expect out of them. He is also enthusiastic about the freshmen that have joined the team. Jake Tucci, a senior mid-fielder, shares his enthusiasm. He said, “We have a good freshman class that should help.” The team consists of eight

Soccer gears up for new season with new coachJordi Soto-Phipps

Reporter

If you could participate in any extreme sport,

what would it be?

Student Pollg h

Layne Thomas, 9thSumo-Wrestling

Tim Sisneros, 10thExtreme Curling

Jessica Focht, 10thSkydiving

Valeria Torres, 9thElephant Wrestling

Winnie Law, 11thExtreme Ping-Pong

Taylor Seaman, 12thCanyon Gliding

Kara Krajenta, 11thHot Dog Eating Contest

Alec Turner, 12thReal-Life Angry Birds

style relay. Recently, the cheer and dance teams advanced to the Nation-al Competitions. The varsity cheerleaders placed eighth in the semi-finals and fifteenth overall in their National com-petition. The dance teams also had a successful showing at Nation-als, placing seventh overall in the Large Varsity Hip Hop division. The Junior Varsity team placed seventh in the JV Hip Hop Category.

seniors: Ryan Aeschliman, Nickel Ebbing, Eric Etter, Max Smith, Jake Tucci, Alec Turner, Paul Wagner, and An-drew Zazzara. This year’s big games include matchups against Christian Brothers (CBHS), Memphis University School (MUS), and Briarcrest (BCS). CBHS is almost always the team to be reckoned with and

this year SBA feels as though they will give them a run for their money. According to Jake, “We should be pretty decent. We have a lot of potential if we can put it all together. We are going to be a lot better than we were last year. A lot better!” The team kicked off their season with the Jackson Jam-boree on March 5.

photo by Sharon Masterson

Senior Symone Daniels was the Miss Basketball Runner-Up and led her team to the State Tournament Final Four.

SBA wrestlers Ben Kurtz, Peter Zaleski, Saeed Zarshenas, Thomas Lackie, Trevor Jenkins, Greg Stratman, Shahram Zarshenas, and Jeff Lamer earn medals at the TSSAA State Tournament.

The Eye on Sports

11The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 2011

Tennis is ready for competition

SBA Track and Field running strong in 2011 Despite the fact that the team has seen numerous athletes graduate, the Saint Benedict track team has an optimistic outlook on the season. “In addition to our talented seniors, we are excited about this year’s rookie class, and we think they will add a lot to our team,” says head coach Dianna Cervetti. This year’s track and field team is returning several se-niors. The boys team includes seniors Jay Gilman, Matt Mc-Curdy, Jordan Lee, Ryne Wil-son, Michael Caprio, Luke

James, and Andy Brito. The girls team is returning Shan-non Rooker, Rebecca Butcher, Holly Graham, Sarah Patchen, Kaitlyn Favorite, Julie Eckel, Sarah Jones, and Angie Mc-Ghee. A typical practice consists of a leisurely team warm up, followed by specialized workouts. The distance team goes with Coach Cervetti to complete a long workout; the sprinters work with Coach Ted Paduck; the throwers, coached by Don Williams, make their way to the new throwing area, which is by the tennis courts and the high jumpers train with Coach Janet Daleke.

Last season, the track and field team saw plenty of suc-cess. Both the boys and girls traveled to Kenwood, Ten-nessee to compete in the Charles Babcock Invitational Meet. The girls team won the meet and the boys took third place. By the end of the sea-son, every single girl’s relay qualified for the State Meet. In addition, each of these re-lay teams were named to the Commercial Appeal’s Track Honor Roll. School record holder Michael Caprio was able to snag a wild card in pole vault and advance to the State Tournament, as well. “This season, I plan on

working hard, and hopefully breaking the school record…again,” said Michael. Last year, the boys 4 x 800 team missed State by less than half a second and they plan to come back with the same determination this year with hopes of a better outcome. In track, the meets are not separated into large and small school divisions. In the Re-gion Tournament, Saint Bene-dict athletes will compete against all private schools in West Tennessee, regardless of the school’s size. This challenge makes it more difficult for track and field par-ticipants to advance to State.

At the State Tournament, ath-letes will compete against all private schools in Tennessee, in addition to the schools in their region. This season, the team is prepared to work hard to repeat some of the previous success, in both Regions and State. The 2011 season opened with a home meet against Ger-mantown and Briarcrest. Sev-eral first place finishes were achieved by SBA individuals and relays, plus the girls team won the overall competition. “The competition is very tough in DII track, but we are ready to face the challenge,” said Coach Cervetti.

Julie EckelSports Editor

Trey Wilkins signs with Harding

Hannah Kurtz signs with CBU

Trey Wilkins signs a National Letter of Intent to play football at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. Pictured are (front) grandmother Janet Hinrichs, Trey Wilkins, mother Angie Wilkins, father Billy Wilkins, (back) principal George Valadie, Coach Chris Jordan, Coach Mike David, and brother Jordan Wilkins.

photo by Sharon Masterson

Hannah Kurtz signs a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball at Christian Brothers Uni-versity. Pictured are (front) grandfather Casey Kania, mother Malecia Kurtz, Hannah Kurtz, father Jim Kurtz, (back) brother Matt Kurtz, brother Noah Kurtz, brother Ben Kurtz, Head Coach Angie Buchanan, Assistant Coach Janet Daleke, Competitive Coach Jitka Okilicany, and principal George Valadie.

Tennis is an SBA sport that has seen big improvements over the past few years. Head coach Michael Jeffrey and as-sistant coach Angie Buchanan expect the students’ best effort every time they step out onto the tennis court. Both the girls and the boys teams have had consecutive winning seasons. Last year, through effort and determina-tion, the teams advanced to the state quarterfinals. The coach-es are looking for that same kind of dedication to drive them into this year’s postsea-

son. This season, the boys do not have any returning seniors. However, leadership is not a concern; all of the guys are dedicated to the team and are willing to step up when need-ed. The team expects sopho-more twins Alex and Andrew Bolds to play a key role this season. On the other hand, the girls have five returning seniors; Emily Civera, Tori Cullen, Christine Lake, Bernie Smith, and Catherine Stukenborg. Rivalries often drive athletes to push their limits and SBA is looking forward to a competi-tive season. The rivals for the boys are CBHS and MUS. The

girls have big games against St. Agnes and Hutchison, the sister schools of CBHS and MUS. Coach Buchanan is looking forward to the season and said, “I expect a good year with a good com-bination of young tal-ent and ex-perienced u p p e r -classmen.”

Zach WileyReporter

photo by Sharon Masterson

SBA Signings

Bernie Smith practices on a cold February day.photo by Julie Eckel

The Eye on Sports

The Eagle’s EyeSt. Benedict at Auburndale

March 201112

Connect the DotsThis game is for two or more players. Take turns connecting dots that are

right next to each other until you make a box. The person who draws the line that creates a box sould label the box with an initial. The one with the most

boxes at the end wins!

123456789sudokuEnter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain

one of each digit...so must every column and every 3x3 square.

Answers: red in the face; history repeats itself; banana split; tuna (2 na) fish; paradox (pair of docs); try to understand

BrainTeasers

Comedy CornerI wondered why the baseball was getting bigger.

Then it hit me.

Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off?He's all right now.

I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down.

He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends.

Need an ark to save two of every animal?I noah guy.

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

Lightning sometimes shocks people because it just doesn’t know how to conduct itself.

Yesterday I accidentally swallowed some food coloring. The doctor says I’m OK, but I feel like I’ve dyed a little inside.

A hungry traveller stops at a monastery and is taken to the kitchen. A brother is frying chips. ‘Are you the friar?’ he asks.

‘No. I’m the chip monk,’ he replies.

A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference.

The one who invented the door knocker got a No-bell prize.

Reassembling the skeletons of prehistoric mammals can be a mammoth undertaking.

I’ve never tipped a cow. Then again, one has never served me food.

These puns brought to you by punoftheday.com

The Eye on Fun