Student Voice of Rock Canyon High School5810 McArthur Ranch Road • Highlands Ranch, CO 80124 • 303.387.3000

Volume 6, Number 7 • March 18, 2010

Business as usualLast weekend the performing arts department presented “How to

Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” Audiences laughed at Sean Kovacs doing the splits, and left the theatre humming the ‘Grand Old Ivy

Fight Song.’ There is a profile on director Julia Dale on page 13, a photo essay of the actors on stage on pages 14 and 15, a story on the pit and

the tech on page 16, and a look behind the scenes on page 28.

Ben Hilzer ‘10, and Guillermo Arribas ‘10, panic as Hedy LaRue reveals the location of the treasure on the World Wide Wicket Treasure Hunt TV program. Photo by Alex Rowe

02 soundtrack: “� ierry Henry is a cheat” Dublin’s 9803•18•10

community

� ylishProm Flowers

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• “Gira� es must get great cable.”

• “Why did she scream? Because she saw me, of course.”

•”Dude, are you wearing your man panties today?”

• “Hey, look! I can see my dead face!”

• “Oh my God, cheese is SO good. Just give me a big block of cheddar!”

• “The needle on my sewing machine broke and now it’s all ruined!”

• “Dude, your thong’s hanging out.”

“Do I know you?”

• “I remind you of an evil death clown? I’m going to try not to take o� ense to that.”

Odd thingsheard around

RCHS

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• “Put your melons away!”

• “I love wearing di� erent socks. It makes me feel rebellious.”

•”So, when do you plan to go into labor? I think the Commons would be a good place to do it.”

• “She ran around screaming, ‘What now, what now, what now?’”

• “Yum... skin.“

• “Guys, it’s time to celebrate something very important: me.”

• “I just want to bite the heads o� of those Easter rabbits!”

• “Guys, it’s time to celebrate something very important: me.”

• “I love rolling balls and going to the movies.”

How to get a prom date...

the creative way1. Leave a rose on his/her desk in every class, with the word “Will” written on a slip of paper tied to the � rst rose.

2. On the consecutive roses, use the words “you,” “go,” “to,” “Prom,” “with,” and “me.”

3. When your special lady reads the slip of paper on the last rose, jump out from a predetermined hiding place and stand in front of her.

4. Wait for her to say yes. With a technique like this, how could she say no?

Or...

1. Get a friend to dress up like Moses. Make sure this friend is a VERY good friend.

2. Ask the friend to go to your lady with a pre-prepared list of a di� erent kind of Ten Command-ments.

3. They should say: “Thou shalt have no other dates before me, thou shalt attend Prom with *your name,* thou shall be ready at *time,* etc.

5. Enjoy your date! Just remem-ber to ditch all B.C. clothing and adopt more modern-day, A.D., formalwear.

Rock Canyon, For this issue, I decided to take an in-depth look at the process of creating the musical, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” I have been a part of nine productions at Rock Canyon, but never have I seen such a large cast with so many inexperienced performers step up and put on an incredible show. I would also like to congratulate everyone who worked on the musical for having a great run, and put-ting on a truly spectacular show. While covering their work, I was welcomed into the family of the cast, and I would like to thank them for that. Though I wasn’t in the musical, it was truly a special experience for me, regardless. Now, to address what is truly on everyone’s mind: spring break starts tomorrow afternoon, and after that it is a race to the finish. It is hard to stay engaged, especially for my fellow seniors, but I would like to encourage you to try and make the most of the end of this year. There are going to be millions of dollars worth of changes to the school next year, so we may as well enjoy what we have, while we still have it. Have a great break, come back refreshed, and enjoy this issue of The Rock.

Alex Rowe

A look inside: the maestrosThese are the pages with coverage that don’t fit into one of our four sections

“How to Suceed in Business Without Really Trying” coverage

Behind the scenes of the spring musical, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”pgs. 13-16, 28

The Caffeine AddictionA look into high school students’ addictions to caf-feine, and what is being done about itpg. 8

Prepping for prom All across the nation, schools are preparing for the biggest events of the year: prom and graduation. Rock Canyon is no exception. After a two-part audition where hopeful graduation speakers presented their speeches to five administration members, seniors Connor Dozois and Sara Kleinkopf were selected to speak at this year’s graduation ceremo-ny. “I am extremely excited to be speaking at gradua-tion because it will be something I will remember for a long time,” said Kleinkopf. “And I get the opportunity to thank all my teachers and classmates for all they have done for me and the school.” Meanwhile, in preparation for After Prom, Student Council has organized a fundraiser at Toolips Boutique and Gift Store on March 13. Toolips is a trendy and affordable boutique that carries both women’s and chil-dren’s accessories and clothing. 10 percent of the day’s sales will go towards After Prom. Prom will be held at the Phil Long Expo Center in Denver and After Prom will be held at Rock Canyon. Both are scheduled for April 17/18.

Skyler Draper

Eating for charity

Above: Remington Caley ‘11, stuffs his face at the boys lacrosse-sponsored pizza-eating contest, benefit-ing the Second Wind Fund of the Douglas County Teen Suicide Prevention. Top left: Caley gets pumped up before the contest. Bottom left: Teacher Mandi Zimmerman inhales her pizza. Photos by Megan Long

rumormillsetting the

record straight

Rumor: CSAPs are going on transcripts this year. Fiction “I do not think they will go on this year’s transcripts,” said Registrar Susan Judge. “However, I anticipate that all test scores (PSAT, ACT, and others) will go on transcripts for the ’10-’11 school year.” Sophomores can rejoice. Still, prepare to study and ace the SAT or ACT, and impress the schools of your dreams. (See page 4)

Rumor: The new 4000 wing will be open for classes next year.

Fact ... sort of At this point in time, there will be four rooms open next year in the new 4000 wing. However, the room assignments have yet to be decided. Currently the wing has been planned to host a few chemistry classes. “Tech Lab, all multi-media, classes, RCTV, and business classes will possibly be moving to the new wing,” said Ed Watterson, Rock Canyon’s IT director. Therefore, prepare to see some of the wing next year, just not all of it.

Rumor: Five to eight full-time teachers will be cut due to budget cuts. Fact “The District is consider-ing furlough days, which would equal 1.68 percent of teachers’ salary cuts.” said Assistant Principal Gregg Sheehan. The District is also considering a pay freeze, where salaries would stay the same. Even though a full-on pay cut has not yet been decided, teachers will see some salary reduction. Bottom line: no one is entirely sure today about how many teachers will be cut.

Compiled by Evan Ann Boose

Fun in the sun: ER-style Students from the med-prep class are packing up and heading to Orlando, Florida, this June after competing well at state. Sean Typher ‘10, who is taking med-prep to prepare for a career in emergency medicine, placed in the top ten in both debate and extemporaneous speaking. Although he excels at these events, he is really looking forward to Nation-als, where he will compete in practice scenarios. “You have to be able to react to what they tell you,” said Typher. “You must be able to respond immediately.”

This will help him prepare for his po-tential career, as these skills are necessary in the chaos of the emergency room. While this is an important competi-tion, Typher also plans on having some fun in the Florida sun. “It’s going to be a good time to bond with the people in my class,” said Typher. “We’re just going there to have a good time.” Also making Nationals was Dustin David ‘10, who was unavailable at press time.

Emma Kate Fittes

New NHS OfficersThe members of National Honor Society voted for the following three juniors to be their officers on Friday. Congratulations and good luck to:President: Priya Sudendra ‘11

Vice President: Lauren Barbera ’11

Secretary: Jessica Swenson ‘11

Diversity Club to ensure horror of Holocaust is never forgotten The Diversity Club, led by Spanish teacher Courtney Leudtke-Bacon, is planning on attending the Governor’s Holocaust Remembrance Program on April 7 to learn more about the Holocaust. “As a club, our members attend different confer-ences in Colorado to have discussions on how to improve diversity-related issues,” said Leudtke-Bacon. Earlier this year, Club President Lizzy Rooney ‘10, helped Leudtke-Bacon plan a trip to the Cherry Creek Diversity Conference. One of the workshop presenters told them the story of his family and what happened to them during the Holocaust. “The two most important things to take from that were the complete recognition and acceptance that it happened and to make sure it’s never forgotten,” said Lizzy Rooney ‘10. “His entire story was captivat-ing and I want to go to show my respect for all of the victims and survivors.” The Club had plans to go to the Mayan Landmark Theater to see the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus in Feb., but it fell through. They decided not to resched-ule the trip, and instead go to the Denver Art Museum on April 3 simply to have a good time and get to know each other. “Other than just to hang out and get out of the bubble, I feel like going downtown is a cultural excur-sion in itself,” said Rooney. “A lot of people haven’t been to the art museum since it was rebuilt. It just seemed like the best fit for what we wanted to do.” Leudtke-Bacon feels that getting to know each other is a key part of Diversity Club for its members, because everyone has something to offer everyone else. “When we feel that Rock Canyon has no diversity, we discount the uniqueness that each and everyone of us represent,” she said. “My hope, as the club sponsor, is that when students leave Rock Canyon, they know that they are equipped to embrace the differences between us all.” The Diversity Club meets every other Wednesday during Access.

Sean McGavin

Facing: Sci-ence teacher Geoffrey Brinker dis-plays his heav-ily made-up face after the blindfolded make-up competition at the Wish Week wrap-up assembly.

“ I had complete trust in Ms. Boll to blindly

pick colors that would perfectly match my

outfit.”Geoffrey Brinker, science teacher

04 soundtrack: “Losing my religion” R.E.M.03•18•10

news

Facebook for a grade Who wouldn’t want to be able to use Facebook in class? Or rather, create a profile that relates to social studies. World Geography teacher Katherine Hartline’s students are creating Facebook pages as a class assignment. The students have the opportunity to create a Facebook profile from a template on a chosen country in Asia. “The goal of the project is to see similarities in different countries and to gain an understanding of the country they are studying,” Hartline said. After the project is complete, students will have the chance to become “friends” with one another and leave comments on each other’s country profiles with Facebook labels.

“The bigger picture is an understanding of the continent of Asia,” said Hartline, “the current situa-tions happening there and what the countries have or don’t have.” The project was chosen because it was the same information students are supposed to study in World Geography but in a different format that is relevant to the students. Facebook provides an innovative structure and makes the information presentations more interest-ing to students. “I like it,” said Savannah Silfer ‘13. “It’s really cool because it relates to us.”

Evan Anne Boose

Sophomore Honors English students are writing for more than just a grade – they are writing for $2,500, a trip to Washington D.C, a chance to meet with the Secretary of the State Hillary Clinton, and a $500 reward for the school. English teachers Kristi Rathbun, Melissa Rosati, and Anne Fender will choose the best piece from each class, and will submit it in the American Foreign Service Association’s Nation High School Essay Contest. The essay has to be 750-1,000 words on what they view our role as a nation is, and what the big-gest challenges of the 21st century are. Students can select one or several specific international issues that they believe will be major challenges to Americans. “Students can write about things like national

security, humanity, and environmental issues,” said Rosati. “It’s a research based argument,” said Rathbun, “teaching them how to argue and be persuasive in a paper.” “I’m overwhelmed by it because it’s not only a contest but it’s a huge part of our grade,” said Rachel Branson ‘12, “It’s exciting because it’s a huge prize.” Rathbun has noticed that excitement. “I think there are some students who are excited to write a paper that can make a change. I also think it is a bigger deal because they know that it won’t be just me reading it, it will be public.” The deadline for the contest is April 15. Any high school student can enter at www.afsa.org.

Lauren Scheirman

Sophomores write for winnings

A plus B equals success at state This past weekend, the Mock Trial team went to state and placed in the highest bracket, right behind Lakewood High School. “We knew it was going to be intense,” said Lauren Johnson ‘10, mock trial member, “all of the teams were really evenly matched.” Because there are so many people in Mock Trial, the club had to split into two teams for competition. The teams are chosen based on who is most equipped for the cases, and who has the best chemistry with each other. Both teams took a different approach to the case that was assigned for state; The A team took a

logistical view of the case, while the B team mostly used improvisation. In the first round, the B team went up against the national champions, William Palmer High School and in the third round the A and B teams competed against each other. Though neither team won the state title, they finished in the next highest bracket. “We had gone into state expecting to do well, and we left state achieving those expectations,” said Johnson, “it was a lot of fun getting to compete with such good teams.”

Taylor Pettaway

Producing the pie “HALF A PIE!” shouts yearbook ad-viser Kristi Rathbun to let the staff know half the yearbook is complete, pointing to a computer-generated pie graph. Staff members have committed more and more time each week to meet the final deadline on March 31 for the year-book, starting with coming in to work last Friday. “Getting to where we are now has been a lot of work, but the staff has a lot of dedicated members who are willing to sacrifice their time to make it happen,” said co-editor Lauren Packer ’11. “I’ve been coming in on Saturdays and quit newspaper to dedicate my 7th [period] to finishing spreads.” The yearbook had a slow start, considering few on staff had ever worked with InDesign before. This put additional

pressure on members to put in their best effort to make the book fulfill its poten-tial. However, since January the staff has progressively come together as a team to work through the challenges. “The staff last year had fewer mem-bers, but we all knew what we were doing. This year, even though we have more people, there isn’t a lot of experi-ence on the staff,” said photo editor Leah Johnson ’10. “The editors have been busy helping teach the new students how to work everything, and haven’t been able to dedicate their time to spreads of their own.” Although the final deadline is fast ap-proaching, Rathbun has faith in her staff. “If we all buckle down, it’s going to get done,” she said, “and it’s going to be great.”

Karly Hanson

Yearbook FAQs

Dispelling religious prejudices A new school, a new start, and new prejudices. Within the first two weeks of moving to Colo-rado from New York, Rachel Edelman ‘10, found herself being judged for being Jewish. So when David Sapienza assigned his World Religions class to experience a religion that is completely different from what they are used to, she chose Mormonism. “The reason why I chose Mormonism is because there are misconceptions about them,” said Edel-man, “I just wanted to be more knowledgeable about it. I know how it feels to have misconceptions about your religion.” Moving from New York this August, Edelman had never even heard of Mormonism, so she began to believe the rumors about their practices “I wanted to understand it more. I have Mor-mon friends, and I want to be able to respect their religion.” Edelman had a meeting with a bishop, in which she learned about how Mormonism started in New York, how they don’t believe in polygamy, and that they have two holy books. According to Sapienza, “[this project] has been the most rewarding part of this class for most stu-dents.” He has taught this class for six years, and has assigned students to have two of these projects each

Juniors Brianna Vail and Jackie Marthouse edit the final layouts of the yearbook. Photo by Ade Eichie

semester. Sapienza finds that this project is beneficial because otherwise students would not take the time to meet with people in different religions, like how Edelman met a Mormon bishop. Campbell Hart ‘12, who is also Jewish, decided to visit a Buddhist temple for his project. He and a friend went to a service and observed their medita-tion and chanting of different prayers. “At first it was awkward for us, but then we real-ized they didn’t care and we joined in,” Hart said. For him, the largest difference between Judaism and Buddhism is that Buddhism “is not focused just on one person, like Jesus or whoever, it’s more just about the individual people there.” After learning more about Buddhism, Hart was motivated to learn more about less common religions. He has already decided that for his next project he will visit a Native American sweat lodge. The motivation is a result of the different format for teaching. “Instead of learning about the religion,” Hart said, “it was a hands-on experience,” experiences that most students would not normally have on their own, and that will hopefully help derail religious prejudices.”

Emma Kate Fittes

Can I still order a yearbook?Yes, yearbooks can be purchased for $55 at the book keeping office. Orders must be in by 3/19.

What if I forgot to submit an order?Any extra yearbooks will be available at distribution for $65, however there are no guarentees there will be extras so get your order in!

Can I still purchase a senior dedication ad?Even though the deadline for submitting your senior’s yearbook dedication has passed, there is still a limited amount of ad space available. If you’re interested, go to the Rock Canyon Website and click on the ‘Parents of Rock Canyon Seniors’ to email your ad.

news at a glance

AFTER LUNCH FRIVOLITY Sophomores Ashleyn Yeagle, Brittney Evanson, and Katie Lillard like to laugh and joke with the class before their fifth period English class begins each day. “Bloom’s class is always fun after lunch because we get to just chill out, joke around, and drink our slurpees,” says Lillard. Photo by Lauren Scheirman

Gold Team Front row: Abby Thuman ‘13, Brooke Skinner ‘10, Megan Spradling ‘10, Emily Gray ‘11, Mandy Grimes ‘10, Amanda Davanzo ‘10. Back row: Evan Almon ‘10, and Logan Thompson. Left: Connor Dozois ‘10, delivers the closing argument in the third round of state.

Here is a sneak peak of the Homecoming Week spread of the 09-10 Yearbook!

05soundtrack: “She blinded me with science” Thomas Dolby03•18•10news

You may not have guessed it from her mild-mannered appearance and soft-spoken ways, butDiana Yang ’10, is a force to be reckoned with. True, Yang keeps frequently to herself. But underneath that modestly lies a serious scholar with a 4.33 GPA, a track record of 11 AP tests with scores of 4 and 5 and a busy social life. “I don’t tend to spread [my school work] out. On average I have two hours of homework a night,” Yang said. “On a bad night, I can have five to six hours. Yester-day was pretty bad!” Yang’s principal passion is science and math, especially chemistry. “I tend to be less interested in humani-ties. It’s not as logical.” Yand said. “You can’t blow up words in English.” Growing up Yang felt some pressure to succeed in school. Yet, that pressure has dwindled as years have passed. An only child (aside from a much older half-sister), she was encouraged by her parents her to study intensely. “I know plenty of people who do well because of parental pressure.” As for Yang, recent success has been of her own motivation. When not studying, Yang finds some time to hang out with friends, and enjoy her other passions, such as being treasurer for the American Go Honor Society.” “I spend a lot of my weekend online, when not doing homework,” Yang said. People who don’t do well academically don’t bother Yang though. “I understand if it’s hard for them. But I don’t under-stand if they don’t try. It’s like ‘Why don’t you try harder?

It’s perfectly possible,” Yang said. Currently Yang is set to be Valedictorian for the RCHS class of 2010, something that came as a surprise to her. “I wasn’t planning it. It just happened. If I was in second place I would have been okay with that too,” Yang said. Yang’s final words of advice for students who choose to take a similar path? “Things can get stressful,” Yang said. “So keep your-self sane.”

Daniel Wheeler

Staying sane

“I’m beating Matt Morgan at something? Wow, this is great!” Katie Pokrant ‘11, had no idea she was the top of the junior class, over second-ranking junior Matt Morgan ‘11, until Monday. For Pokrant, success is everything: in school and in sports. A player on the varsity girls basketball team, she also balances club basketball and multiple AP classes. Despite a GPA of 4.257, she currently has a dreaded B in AP Spanish. But, she says, she’ll “definitely pull it up soon.” With all this juggling, sleep is hard to come by for Pokrant. “After two hours of basketball practice, I go home and do homework for seven or eight hours,” she said. “I’ll go to bed at one or two in the morning, then get up the next day to start all over.” Why deliberately cause all this stress? Scholarships. After finding out her dream school, Duke, was too ex-pensive, Pokrant lowered her sights, but only by a little. “I’m considering Notre Dame, Purdue, and Emory, among others,” she said. “Duke isn’t completely out of the picture, but I don’t want my hopes to get up too high, because I need scholarships.”

In December, Pokrant suffered a nervous breakdown. With the worries of finals and basketball, she simply couldn’t take it anymore. “Because I wasn’t getting enough sleep to keep myself up for all the stuff I had to do, I started yelling at my par-ents, crying at weird times, the usual stuff that happens when your hormones go crazy.” It was Winter Break that saved her. Saved her, at least, until the new semester started. Then it was back to the Calculus books, writing essays for AP Lang, and remem-bering vocabulary for AP Spanish. “I feel like people don’t really understand what I do,” said Pokrant. “At school, I’m really bubbly and stuff, but I get so little sleep that in my free time, when I actually get it, I usually sleep.” However, just because she’s incredibly busy doesn’t mean she doesn’t like to have fun. Aside from sleeping, Pokrant enjoys spending her spare hours with friends and going to the movies. “I’m not a complete loser,” she said. “I do go to Homecoming and stuff. I’m just like everyone else. I just do a lot more!”

Laura Romer

Trembling walls, tumbling world When the earth violently shakes, when the hanging pictures crash to the floor, when the screams of those in anguish reverberate through the streets, what runs through a person’s mind; Thoughts of death, unsolvable regrets, or reminis-cences of peace? “My initial reaction was: holy crap, the walls are trembling,” Rachel Eberstein ‘11, said about a 4.0 earthquake that rocked her California home several years ago. “My little cousin was preoccupied with his ice-cream that splattered to the floor so I just picked him up and booked it to the outside door.” “Every earthquake that I’ve been in has taken me completely by surprise,” Eberstein said. “They occur in the most normal situations when nothing is expected to go wrong, which makes it that much worse since we can’t brace for impact.” As the recent earthquake in Haiti, which had a magnitude of 7.0, and in Chile, which registered 8.8 on the Richter scale, demonstrate, earthquakes can be devastating. In Chile, the recent earthquake caused a death toll of over 700, while the Haiti earthquake resulted in nearly 300,000 deaths, one of the worst death tolls caused from a natural disaster. Peru, not too far from Chile, is also known for its tectonic plate movement. “Seven years ago when I lived in Lima, Peru, I was at my grandmother’s apartment and suddenly

the floor began shaking,” Valeria Gavidia ‘11, said. “The two maids were running around frantically and my grandma just stood there praying for the trembling to stop. I, on the other hand, took on the adventure of running around the room avoiding the falling pictures and decorations. I didn’t understand the effect it could have on the poorer areas.” And the effect was major in the areas devas-tated in Haiti and Chile. “All of the damage reminds me of the North-ridge, California, earthquake of ‘94 that measured 6.7,” Eberstein said. “Our house almost crumbled. The walls swayed back and forth and all of our pictures and dishes were broken. The furniture was destroyed. Basically everything in our house was ruined. This makes it that much more relatable to the victims of the recent earthquakes.” Even so, impoverished countries like Chile and Haiti feel the far-reaching effects of natural disasters much more strongly than Eberstein, Gavidia, and others who live in financially stable environments, that have the resources to recuperate from such problems quicker. Years of reconstruction await these less resourceful countries where the earth violently shook, pictures crashed to the floor, and screams rang through the streets.

Rebecca Ruh

Nick Dechard ‘10, is the Rock Canyon nominee for the Columbine High School Never Forgotten Fund Scholarship. Counselor Marlaine McMechen organized a faculty vote to nominate a notable student and faculty member. Established by media giant Clear Channel and its local radio station affiliate Newsradio 850 KOA, the Never Forgotten Fund Scholarship was established after the tragedy at Columbine High School in Jefferson County. The scholarships are awarded anually in the name of an individual killed at Columbine. Accord-ing to ClearChanel’s Web site, twelve students and one teacher “who exemplify volunteerism and leadership within their school and surrounding community” are each presented with a $5,000

scholarship. Dechard was nominated partly due to his extracurricular activities in Key Club; he is the head of the entire Rocky Mountain Chapter. Art teacher Daniel Gonzalez was also nomi-nated for the teacher’s position for the award. “I plan on getting some throwing wheels and other needed equipment and supplies for the art department,” Gonzalez said. Winners of the scholarship will be announced April 2010. If Dechard wins a scholarship, he plans to put the money towards school . “I’m pretty set on CU Boulder” said Dechard, though he has still not ruled out Regis university .

Gabriel Martinez

An average day, three brothers in the car, older sister driving to school. One ice patch, one flipped car, one brother dead. Emily Reeder ‘12, heard about this girl’s story and knew she had to meet her. Reeder went to Craig hospital and saw *Lindsey lying in the bed in a coma, with brain damage and a severed short term memory and knew she had to help her. “They definitely needed financial help as well as spiritual help,” said Reeder. With help from fellow Fellowship of the Chris-tian students members Bayligh Arey ‘13, Stephanie Locke ‘13, Julia Adams ‘12, Desi Bakker ‘13, and Maddie Suter ‘12, raised money for Lindsey and her family by speaking during the Choir concert on Feb.

23 and holding a bake sale after. “They raised $700, which is phenomenal,” said FCS faculty adviser Kandi Hofmeister. The money will help the family financially, but emotionally they are still broken. After losing one of their children, and having a daughter who is unable to function by herself the family has to try to hold themselves together. “They’re very strong in their faith,” says Reeder. “They feel God has a plan for her.” As for Reeder and FCS, they will continue to help out the family the best way they know to, by praying for them.

*Name was changedEmma Kate Fittes

Meet our Academic All-stars

School selected scholarship

Praying to save a girl’s life

Number one? Really? Blowing Bubbles Devon Block ‘12, sits in the back of Melissa Rosati’s seventh period Honors English and blows bubbles with his two friends to pass the time. “We decided during lunch one day that we wanted to annoy Rosati, but it didn’t really work because she didn’t notice,” Block said. Reported/Photo by Lauren Scheirman

Photos by Lauren Scheirman

06 soundtrack: “Penny wishes” Memphis Exchange03•18•10

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Make a wish? Done.

As part of the concluding Wish Week assembly, the teachers raced through an obstacle course. The first leg of the race had four teachers racing on tricycles. Above, Darren Withey tries to stop Matt Sassali from beating him off the tricycles and onto the next leg of the race. As another part of the assembly the staff did “blind makeovers.” To the left, a blindfolded Lissa Staal tries to put make-up on Suzanne McKay.Far left: Assistant Principal Greg Doan unveils his freshly shaved head at the assembly. Each of the administrators agreed to do something to entertain the school as an incentive to raise more money. Rock Canyon ended up raising $15,289.Photos by Alex Rowe

07soundtrack: “Stairway to heaven” Led Zeppelin

Dark British comedy ends year While the recent production “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” closed this past Satur-day, the theater department has already held auditions for the spring comedy, “Beyond a Joke.” “ ‘Beyond a Joke’ is light-hearted and will be a great closing to the drama productions this year,” Cindy Baker, the play’s director, said. “The last spring play is always an energetic comedy and chosen to provide variety and exposure to different styles for the actors and audiences.” The plot is centered around a family with incredibly bad luck. Their various visitors wind up dead. Searching to hide the latest victims from their future son-in-law and his parents, results in even more chaos when the son-in-law suspects the family of murder. “The relentless pandemonium through the fiancee’s discovery of dead bodies in closets, in the trunks of cars, and even a fish pond just add to the hilarity,” Baker said. When Baker first directed this play in 1998, the audience loved it and she figured it would be a positive choice for the Rock Canyon community as well. The production will be an exhilarating closing for the drama department. “I’m looking so forward to how funny the play is,” Ellen Hefner ‘12 said. “It’s definitely going to be a great production. We joke around constantly and become one tight-knit family. For Kayla Bush ‘10, “Beyond a Joke” will mark her final show at RCHS. Bush has teched or acted in every mainstage production since her freshman year. “I’m excited to do tech for this show. It will be epic to the fifth power,” said Bush. Auditions were held March 16-17, with callbacks after school today in the auditorium. The production will run from May 13-15. “Since the musical just ended, I expect fewer people to audition since a break will be wanted – probably about 25,” said Baker. “However, I love to be pleasantly surprised.” Rebecca Ruh Clockwise from bottom left: Morgan Hayes ‘12, Jordan Fickling ‘11, and Jack Lambert ‘11, all read scenes

from the upcoming play “Beyond a Joke.” About ten people auditioned the first day for the eight-role play. Photos by Paige Newman

Rock :What was your favor-ite part of the show?Wyatts: The best part of the show was at the end when everyone got all dressed up in the prom clothing.

Rock : What was your least favorite part?Wyatts: My least favorite part was when I had to wake up early in the morning that day.

Rock : How was the turnout?Wyatts: The whole ballroom was filled with people. We had a great turnout. It was really a good time and all the proceeds go to our after-prom. There weren’t any mess ups this year, and the whole ballroom looked really nice. Rock : Any words of advice?Wyatts: I would tell as many people to do it as possible. Its fun and you can get 15 hours of community service too. compiled by Dani Burrage

Q&AWith fashion show par-ticipant EJ Wyatts ‘11

Get out your pens and keep these dates in mind for the upcoming semester!

Harvey - April 14 and 15 at 7pm. Two seperate casts will be performing on each night, and best of all its free!

Spring Band Concert- April 28Beyond a Joke- May 13, 14, and 15

AlsoGlee Club auditions have been postponed until after spring break.

Check the Fine Arts Bulletin for info.

Fine Arts Events

Theatre finally gets stairs

For the last five years, the theatre department has been storing their braces in the box office, their doors behind the cyc, and their furniture on top of the piano case, until now. A new staircase was recently built that leads to a large storage. “All of the other [Douglas County] schools already have [this room],” said theatre teacher Cindy Baker. “It was a matter of them getting around to putting ours in. Now, furniture, props, braces, carpet, and much more have found a new home, opening up space in the shop and backstage. Baker said, “It’s heaven.”

Alex Rowe

Students help out with strike on Saturday night. The stairs allow access to the upstairs room, allowing for more storage space for props and set pieces.

The stairs are a striking and practical new addition to the shop. They came at a welcome time as well with the growing expansion of the theatre department. Previous storage space has become congested.

Photos by Alex Rowe

• The fashion show had a total of 110 participants

• It took place on Sunday, Feb. 21.

• This was the 5th time doing the fashion show

• Numerous sponsors contributed to the event. They ranged from alumni to local businesses to corporations.

• Al’s Formal donated $4000 worth of tuxedos

• David’s Bridal loaned out prom dresses

• Other businesses included Falcon Park Dental, Agape Health Place, Five Guys Burger and Fries, and Nuss and Seymour

• The overall outcome was $20,000 available for After-Prom

compiled by Dani Burrage

Annual fashion show raises spirits and $20K

Filming frustrationsfaced for film festRCTV puts the finishing touches on the anticipated “Lunch Wars III” From March 12 through 14, RCTV students were on a mis-sion to slam down a two day shoot of the new film “Lunch Wars III” that is premiering at the RCTV film festival on April 1st in the auditorium. Today, the team will finish up filming and the project will officially advance into the post-production stage.Post-production involves creating a rough cut of the video. After this, the video and sound are edited separately to add the “Star Wars-esque” sound effects and the lightsaber special effects. With the help of a new editing program, the tedious frame-by-frame saber effects should be much more efficient than that of it’s predecessors. However, this was only one of multiple groups shooting videos over the weekend. The Rock Canyon Film

Club (comprised of groups from RCTV classes, Rocky Heights, Multimedia classes, and groups from Lewis Palmer High School) split into teams to film different productions for the annual film fest. “We have to shoot some scenes 10 times in a row just to get a good, clean shot. A lot of fun but lots of stressful work too,” said T.J. Jones ’11. Tickets for the film fest will be on sale soon and go rapidly, so make sure to keep your eyes open for the sale dates. The festival will feature a Red Carpet entrance event at 6pm, followed by the Oscar-like screening and awards ceremony at 6:30. “I’m so excited to work with the group on ‘Lunch Wars III,” said Brad Farnsworth ‘10. It will be the ‘Big Deal’ for the film fest.”

Austin Frankel

Fungi lives!Jerod Anderson ‘12, works on Tif-fany Harriger’s fungus lab in a biol-ogy class. “Seeing the structure on a power point is one thing, getting to actually watch the fungus dissolve the tissue is totally another,” says Harriger. Photo by Logan Thompson

Seen around school

On April 8, concert and symphonic band will be competing in the CHSAA band festival here at Rock Canyon along with 18 other bands around the metro area. “We’re hosting the large group festival. The bands warm up and play in front of three judges, and are then given a rating of one through five,” band director Joel Naegele, said. “One meaning superior, five mean-ing the band wasn’t prepared.” After they perform for the judges, the bands go to a back room and are given a piece they have to sight read in front of a different judge after getting five to seven minutes with their director. In preparation for playing the piece they are not al-lowed to make any noise. They can tap the stands and finger the notes, just as long as no noise comes from their instruments. They can blow in the rhythm of the music it they really need to, but it’s advised against because they might accidentally make noise, and then be disqualified. Two days before the bands perform, Julia Dale’s women’s select choir will be competing against other schools as well. “I’m extremely proud of the choir, but I worry because they rehearse with other groups, and get 10 to 12 minutes per class,” Dale said. “I can’t wait for the competition,” Abby Szlachta ’12, said. “We get to miss class for it.” They go through the same motions, performing in front of judges and then ‘sight-singing’ after looking over their music for a few minutes. The bands and choir have been practicing every day in class for these competitions and are looking forward to performing. “We have practiced really hard lately,” Megan Spalding ’12, a member of the band, said. “I think that we’re ready for the competition.”

Maddie Jones

Finessing the finer pointsMusic prepares for competition

08 03•18•10news

The E� ect � e morning routine: roll out of bed, trudge down-stairs, eat in a still groggy haze, shower, hair, teeth, home-work, keys, and it’s out the door. Sti� ing a yawn, you pull into the Starbucks; it’s time for that morning cup of joe. Later, in third hour, when the Grande mocha has worn o� , it’s time to pop open your Rockstar. Total ca� eine intake for the morning: 500 mg, � ve times more than the daily recommendation, according to KidsHealth.org. With countless products on the market, � nding the right energy boost isn’t hard. All boosts have one thing in common: ca� eine and energy it simulates. Ca� eine is a stimulant that picks us up by increasing the amount of neurotransmi� ers that travel across the synapse (the gap in between two neurons). “� e brain on ca� eine is just busy,” said Anatomy teacher Kristi Piccone. A� er a while, the hold ca� eine has on the brain is released and the normal production of neurotransmit-ters returns. But when we drink ca� eine regularly, especially in large amounts, the brain becomes used to the high amount of neurotransmi� ers zooming across the synapse and craves the high amount of activity, ergo, an addiction. “Ca� eine is physically addictive,” said Sergeant Claude Cole of the Nevada Department of Parole and Probation. A physical addiction occurs when the body feels the need to be on a given substance. While “under the in� uence” of ca� eine, the body encounters similar symptoms to that of a cocaine ad-diction. According to AP Psychology teacher Suzanne McKay, respiratory rate increases as does heart rate, which causes a “ji� ery” feeling. Although ca� eine is a stimulant, it’s a mild stimulant and doesn’t have the drastic hook that other stimulants, like methamphetamine or cocaine have. “I drink co� ee every once in a while, but I’ve never had a ca� eine crash,” said Sirah Sharme ‘13. But as with every addiction, an absence of the addictive substance will trigger withdrawals. � ey are subtle, so it’s hard to recognize the side e� ects of ca� eine as symptoms of withdrawals. Irritability, fatigue, and headaches are all due to the body’s need for the rush of energy.

Amber ColeTeens and Sleep Everyone needs nine hours of sleep to keep them alert, focused, and healthy. Nine hours of sleep is hard to come by while in high school. � is is because teen hormone levels trigger the Circadian Rhythm (internal clock) to reset and makes teens fall asleep later and wake-up later. Studies conducted by KidsHealth.org show that adolescents fall asleep around 10 or 11 p.m. In order to get the full nine hours needed to function properly, teens should be waking up at 7-8 a.m. Since the average start-ing time for a school is 7:30-8, teens stop short of sleep at around six hours. In order to make up for loss time, more and more teens are turning to ca� eine products to help them stay alert in school. “I drink soda,” said Jah-Juan Lewis ‘10. “It gets me hyped up before basketball games.”

The legal drug Ca� eine is bad for any excessive user, but especially dangerous for teens to be drinking on a regular basis. Ca� eine causes the body to stop producing the hormones that ca� eine replaces. When the ca� eine rush disappears, the body needs to start producing those missing hormones again. As reported by KidsHealth.org, the long-term memory in the brain also takes a blow when a teen drinks ca� eine regularly. It takes calcium from the body and may increase the drinker’s chance for developing osteoporosis. Being a diuretic, ca� eine makes the body have to use the bathroom, dehydrating it. It is recom-mended that teens consume 100 milligrams of ca� eine a day. When it comes to cu� ing back, Web MD strongly encourages cu� ing back slowly, like any addiction. � is minimizes symptoms of withdrawal like headaches, depression, and muscle aches.

Laura Romer

Ca� eine and the Nutritional World Ca� eine is also in chocolate (more in dark than milk), cold medicine, painkillers, even gum. According to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), if ca� eine is in a product chemically (chocolate and tea contains ca� eine naturally), the ingredients list must include caf-feine. But because ca� eine isn’t a nutrient, the amount of ca� eine in a certain product doesn’t have to be listed.

Amber Cole and Laura Romer

Crowfoot Coff ee and Rock Canyon Over the summer, Douglas County School District approved a cafeteria make-over. � ey installed a Subway station, a Dreyer’s frozen yogurt machine, sold smooth-ies, and installed a Crowfoot Valley Co� ee stand in most high schools in the district. “[Crowfoot Co� ee] is in the school and easy to get instead of going all the way to Starbucks,” Kaylyn Mondschein-Snook ‘12, said. Assistant Director of Support of DCSD’s Nutritional Services Kim Butler says Crowfoot Valley was added to Douglas County high schools as a part of the “food bar” concept Nutritional Services wanted to create. Crowfoot Co� ee opened its window to the popula-tion of Rock Canyon in October. Since then, the daily number of people the stand sees a day is around 50-60. “It mostly depends on the weather,” Heidi Nieman, of nutrition services at Rock Canyon, said. “If it’s really cold outside we get many more kids.” On the menu, three items are ca� eine-free; the other 15 items have either a single or double shot of espresso. A single shot of espresso holds 75mg of ca� eine. A double shot has 150mg, well over the daily recommen-dation. Nieman reports that most of the sales are hot choco-late, an unca� einated drink. Butler � nds that the co� ee shop idea wasn’t as successful as she expected it to be. Not because of the ca� eine, but because they aren’t receiving the business they thought they would have. “� is is strictly me,” she said, “but I’d like to see it eliminated next year.”

Ade Eichie

Being a teenager and high school student, I know the di� culty of ge� ing up early in the morning and scrambling to get to school. I know the feeling of chronic sleep deprivation and struggling to keep my eyes open during � rst period. As such, it does not surprise me at all that many Rock Canyon students � nd the energy they need in ca� eine, usually in the form of soda, co� ee, or energy drinks. Despite being told over and over that my general lack of energy in the mornings is a result of my own poor choices and that the solution is simply that I should go to bed earlier every night, say at 9 p.m., the fact of the ma� er is that going to bed early is not how the teenage body works.

Furthermore, going to bed early does not work at all for a high school student’s schedule if you take homework and part-time jobs into consideration. For example, there are nights when I’ll get home from work at 10 p.m. and then have to do homework until at least Mid-night. � ank God I work at Starbucks! In this sense I can empathize with stu-dents who drink a Monster a day or get a Grande White Mocha every morning, but on the other hand, I do not think it is a good idea at all to drink two or three of these a day. What these beverages all have in com-mon are loads upon loads of sugar in ad-dition to their ca� eine content. So much, in fact, that they are even unhealthier than missing sleep. Moderation is the key. Granted, I un-derstand that if I were to tell you to never drink co� ee or energy drinks ever again, my advice would probably be ine� ective and make me a complete hypocrite, as I work at a co� ee shop. � is is why I do not want to condemn anyone, but rather merely advise students to moderate their intake. If you only drink four or � ve sodas or

Starbucks drinks a week, there will prob-ably be no harm. � e problem comes in when you develop a habit of drinking highly ca� einated beverages daily, or even two or three a day. Not only will this overload your body with sugar and ca� eine, harming both your liver and your pancreas, but it will also cause you to become dependent on ca� eine, thus inducing you to lose all your energy if you forget your Red Bull one day. � e recommended ca� eine intake for teenagers is 100 mg daily, but most co� ee and energy drinks have almost twice this amount. So if you must have your energy drinks and simply cannot live without them, try not to have more than one every other day.

Through the eyes of experienceHow the average co� eehouse worker views the consumption of ca� eine

THE GENIUSMatt RabonTHE GENIUS

Your favorites...The favorite energy boosters at RCHS: A can of Monster and a white chocolate mocha from Starbucks, complete with nutrition facts.

0

10

20

30

40

50

26%

7%4%

9%

42%

4%3%5%

Starbucks

Monster

Rocksta

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om Amp

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The Rock surveyed 321 students about their ca� eine intake• 57% of Rock Canyon students drink energy drinks and co� ee.• Of those that answered “yes,” 53% were male and 47% were female.• Of those that answered “yes,” 21% admitted to having two to three ca� einated

beverages per day.

Preferred brands of ca� einated beverages at RCHS

Surveyed

soundtrack: “Falling in love in a co� ee shop” Landon Pigg

Student dependence on ca� einated drinks can lead to harmful side e� ects

Game Date Score Outcome

Montbello 3/5 8-2 Win

Elizabeth 3/10 17-1 Win

Pueblo central

3/12 11-0 Win

Game Date Score Outcome

Prairie View 3/5 6-0 Win

Cherokee Trail

3/9 2-2 Tie

Castle View 3/11 6-1 Win

Denver South 3/12 7-0 Win

Boys baseball 3-0 as of Tuesday 3/16

Girls soccer

09soundtrack: “ESPN theme song” ESPN

Come out to support the varsity baseball team who plays Arvada West at home tonight at 4 p.m. The boys look to improve their

record to 4-0.

A look At tonight’s events

The sun is barely shining through the clouds and the wind is blowing intensely. The first bag of sunflower seeds is ripped open. The clicking of cleats in the dugout is the only sound that fills the air. The bleachers are filled with a mix of students, parents and a golden retriever running around with a pair of sunglasses on. “It’s a beautiful day gentlemen,” said coach Darren Withey. “Let’s play some baseball.” The boys run to the outfield and Ty Wiest ’13, steps up on the mound to pitch his first game at Rock Canyon. They have been anticipating this day all year. It’s March 5 and baseball season has officially begun. “Everyone’s excited,” said coach PJ Stahley. “After a tough playoff loss last year, all the boys, especially the nine senior starters who have been playing together for so long, are trying to get back to that spot.” After three games and three wins, the varsity team is ranked seventh in the state, living up to the name they created for themselves last year. “We made the playoffs last season and we played well,” said Erik Wetzel ’10, “but now its time to win it all.” The team finished the season opener with a victory defeating Montbello 8-2, and even improved in the next two games. They defeated Elizabeth 17-1, and Pueblo Central 11-0. Although the team is three games into the season, spots are still trying to be filled. Because of the bad weather, tryouts were never held, leaving the starting positions for first baseman and catcher open. “The boys are always competing for their spots,” said coach Tyler Munro. “They constantly have to prove to us that they deserve it.” During the games however, the boys are still trying to prove to themselves that they can win games and win them big. “Look at the board, this is extremely rare,” said Charlie Newton ‘10, hesitant to say exactly what he was talking about. “Its practically unheard of actually.” The board read, hits: Guest 11, Home 0. Runs: Guest 7, Home 0. Being able to jump out on teams will be a direct result of how well the starting pitching is this year. Tanner Krietemeier ‘10, pitching his first game of the

season, threw a complete game shutout, striking out 15 batters. Krietemeier was an out away from pitching a no hitter when he gave up the only hit with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out to go, the pitching coach Brian Givens was confronted by a man who was a supporter of Pueblo Central. “Has this kid pitched a perfect game or a no hitter?” asked the man. “Did you really just ask me that?” said Givens. “You’ve been here the whole time! Look at the damn board, I can’t believe you just asked me that.” A pitch later, a ground ball escaped the infield and gave Pueblo its only hit. The game so close to ending as a no hitter, finished as a one hitter. The team was outraged. “I am so pissed you don’t talk about that,” said Gary Davis ‘10. “Everyone knows you dont talk about it.” Pueblo Central weren’t the only ones having trouble hitting in the clutch. On three occasions Rock Canyon had the bases loaded and got no one home. “Don’t swing at crap, get your pitch and hit it,” yelled Davis as Rock Canyon had two outs and the bases loaded. “Bats only work if you swing them, boys,” said coach Steve Tschetter. “This game should have been over a long time ago.” After the game against Pueblo Central, Munro sat the boys down for an awakening. “After tonight’s game we’re seventh in the state. Were making a name for ourselves, people are watching us. They know were good,” Monroe told his team. “But you guys did not play like that tonight. I know we are trying to live up to where we went last year, and that’s a tough position to be in. Our confidence is down, way down. You’re standing out there and you’re afraid to give 100%.” However, the boys are well on their way to regaining their spot in the playoffs. The team moved up 400 spots in the national ranking after the Pueblo Central game. A few more quality wins and the Jags could move closer and closer to the number one ranking in the state.

Caley Pavillard

Gary Davis ‘10, during hitting practice. Photo by Caley Pavillard

Game Date Score Outcome

George Washington

3/9 17-2 Win

Columbine 3/11 9-7 Win

Boys lacrosse

Game Date Outcome

Ponderosa 3/5 Win

Arapahoe Re. 3/6 3rd

Boys swimming

Game Date Outcome

Jaguar Invitational

3/13 Girls: 3rdBoys: 4th

Track

Meet Date Score Outcome

4A state swimming

12/12-12/13 2nd 226

Girls lacrosse

The #’s3 Wins

Games

Home games played

Seniors

Juniors

Sophomores

Freshman

Catchers

Pitchers

210

321

59

3

compiled by Kate Ready

Near no-no starts off seasonTanner Krietemeier came within an out from throwing a no-hitter to start off the season, finishing the game with 15 strikeouts

Pg. 10The girls lacrosse team cheers for each of their teammates as they are introduced.

Lauren Wetzel ‘12, attempts to return the ball during a practice. The season opens today with a match against Littleton. Photo by Ade Eichie

10 soundtrack: “Santeria” Sublime03•18•10

sports

Driving hope

The girls tennis team believes that building chemistry will help bring wins to the courts. “We have been really trying to bond as a team to get our chemistry stronger, as well as a lot of [pre-season] conditioning, like running and doing stairs,” said player Valeria Gavidia ‘11. Due to the loss of multiple state-playing seniors and getting the new freshmen players adjusted, Gavidia believes this is a transition season. “This season is going to be a learning season for our team,” said Gavidia. “It is just hard for the new fresh-men because they are not used the high school level of competition.” Despite the changes the girls have hopes to put forth a competitive team for their 11-match season. “We have a lot of good, strong players on our team, there are good freshmen coming in and excellent juniors and seniors returning, and we all work well as a team.” said Brandi Vlasman ‘11. Leading the way is senior Arianna Zabriskie. “[Zabriskie] really helps the team out, she always keeps us pumped, excited, and focused,” said Vlasman. The girls play their first match, and home opener of the season today against Littleton at 3:30.

Taylor Pettaway

“I’m pretty excited for our first practice, I haven’t skated in awhile,” said ice hockey player Colin Abitz ‘11. Right off the bat, the team will not only be tested of their playing ability, but physical and mental endur-ance as well as they start off the season with a double header. Their first game, against Cherry Creek High School, was yesterday. They have their second game against Grandview at Denver University tonight. “I’m actually nervous for our first two games,” said Colin. “We’ve only had three practices to prepare.” In previous seasons, the team placed in the top five of its division and moved up to a harder division this season. “We have a tough year ahead of us,” said Abitz, “this is our first time playing in tier one and we just don’t know what to expect, but I’m hoping for the best.” A few of the players from the team last year gradu-ated, but they have picked up some fresh talent to fill in the gaps. “It’s hard to establish strong team chemistry with such a short season,” said Abitz, “but from what I cant tell so far we will get along just fine.”

Karly HansonEmily Gray ‘11, said, “I’m loving it! It’s nice to be back out on the courts after being stuck inside for the first week of official tennis practice. It was like cabin fever more than anything; I just wanted to go out and hit.” Photo by Ade Eichie

Court chemistrySkating into season

During a tryout filled with hard decisions, the newly chosen girls varsity soccer team was left without a goalie. The season was off to a rough start. Fortunately, new team member Brittney Evanson ’11, was bold enough to try out for the position of goalie. “I tried out because other people were not stepping up,” said Evanson. “I have a little experience so I decided to give it a try and help the team.” Other team members applaud Evan-son’s efforts and are glad to have such a willing teammate. “Our new goalie is young and athletic and we are really excited to have her,” said Tori Karst ’10. “She has really stepped up and given the seniors hope for a great season.” Being a first year varsity member is tough enough, and adding the stress of training for goalie creates more chal-lenges for Evanson. “Being on varsity is a great experience so far; it’s really building me up and the girls are really great,” said Evanson. “I am working with [Matt] Sassalli to perfect my goalie skills with hand-eye coordina-tion exercises and lots of practice.” Unlike previous seasons, the team has only Evanson as goalie and no backup. This has the ability to create problems,

but so far they seem to be managing just fine. “[Being the only goalie] is kind of stressful but it’s fun because I get the field time I want, and it makes me a big part of the team,” said Evanson. One of the captains, senior Tarrah Tate, agrees with the high expectations for the season and believes that Evanson is a good addition to the team as goalie. “I think we have a lot of potential this year and can go pretty far,” said Tate. “We are all working really hard and have a lot of new talent.” A new team, new challenges and a dream of making the playoffs are driving these dedicated players and despite the rough start, the season is really starting to come together. So far the girls have won three games and tied the other. These first games have proven to be excellent practice and preparation for the tough season that lies ahead. “So far we have played pretty easy teams, so our first true test will be today against Mountain Vista,” said Karst. “It’s going to be a tough game and we are nervous and anxious to see how hard we are willing to work for a win.”

Paige Hesen

New name in net

Girls lacrosse improved to 3-0 this season after they brought everything against Chatfield, winning by a score of 18-6. “We played really well as a whole,” said Tori Eberlein ‘10. “We worked well together communicating and spreading out the offense.” The team is combined with three other schools: Mountain Vista, Thunder-Ridge, and Highlands Ranch. The team plays under ThunderRidge’s name and school. “At first I was afraid of having a team from different schools,” said Meredith Micho ’12, “but I really love it because you get to meet people from different schools.”

Last year the team was 14-1. This year the goal is to be undefeated. “The program has really been built up the past couple years,” said Micho. Their biggest competition is Regis and Chapar-ral. “Regis is tough, in the first round of playoffs last year they beat us,” said Micho. “So we are really excited [to play them] because we want to prove our-selves,” said Micho. The team had a game next Tuesday against Green Mountain High School. “They are not a big competitor but we treat every game as if they were a threat,” said Eberlein.

Lauren Scheirman

Ready for triumph

Former field player steps up to fill the hole in the goal

Last year Laura Gritz ‘10, was diagnosed with Mono, Hypoglycemia, Hypothyroidism, and low levels of Mag-nesium, giving her no choice but to take only two classes at school, and two online courses. “I wasn’t feeling right,” Gritz said. “I knew that some-thing was wrong with me, so I eventually went to the doctor to run some tests, and the outcome was worse then I imagined.” Gritz was going to start her third year on varsity when she was informed that she could not participate. The requirements for students to participate in sports were at least five classes, and Gritz didn’t make this requirement. Even though Gritz could not partake in sports at school, she still picked up the club and kept practicing. “I still played in tournaments in the summer [Colo-rado Junior Golf Association], but nothing could beat the feeling of being on the varsity team.” This year, Gritz is participating in golf again, joining the state championship team, hoping they will once again have a winning streak. “I’m happy that Laura is back!” Carlie McCalister ‘11, said. “She is a great addition to our team and completes us. She is a positive person to be around. While this is Gritz’s third year on Varsity, she has come to realize that it is a new beginning. “This year is already great,” Gritz said. “There are a lot of new girls, so it’s pretty different, but once I get back out there playing tournaments with the new team then I know it will be a fun experience.”

Alex Pedrinan

Tori Karst ‘10, clears the ball out of the 6 yard box in front of goalkeeper Brittany Evanson ‘12, during the game against Cherokee Trail, which the team tied 2-2 in the opening match of the season. Photo by Paige Hesen

Laura Gritz ‘10, lines up her shot. Photo by Alex Pedrinan.

11soundtrack: “Hit the floor” Bullet for my Valentine03•18•10sports

With a minute left in the 4th quarter of the Jags’ first playoff game against Pueblo South, head coach Jim McClurg signaled three juniors to half-court as he finally decided the game was out of reach. “I wanted to give all the fans to have a chance to give them an ovation,” said Jim McClurg. “I pulled them early during our last home game against ThunderRidge too. It was senior night, so same situation.” Play stopped and seniors Jimmy Brannock, Keith Link and Jah-Jaun Lewis walked off the court for the last time in their high school career. Brannock and Lewis started their high school careers in Virginia and New York respectively, while Link played all four years at Rock Canyon. “It was a roller coaster ride more or less,” said Link. “It was filled with ups and downs.” During his sophomore year, Link tore his ACL in a pre-season tournament in Texas. The injury sidelined him for the better part of eight months. “It just snapped when I tried to make a cut,” said Link. “Rehab was the toughest part. It made me realize how lucky I was to be playing sports again once I finally started playing again. I didn’t take anything for granted anymore. I had a different mental approach to the game.” While Link was learning how to deal with less playing time, then sophomore Lewis was learning to cope with the difference of the playing style between Colorado and New York. “When I lived in Yonkers, the game was a lot more up-tempo where as down here it’s more of a half-court style game,” said Lewis. “McClurg had a system and even though sometimes he liked us to play faster, we still ran some half-court. If we didn’t run it right, we looked lost.” In Virginia, it wasn’t that hard to get lost. “There were a lot more people in Virginia which

translated to more talent that the coaches were able to pick from,” said Brannock. “The average high school there had around 3000 kids.” Throughout the years, each was able to move up the ranks to an eventual starting position on varsity. It was at this level that all three experienced moments that they will they will carry through their lives. “My most memorable moment was when we made it to the playoffs this year,” said Lewis. “It was the first play-off game I had actually played in. We went to the playoffs when I lived in New York but I didn’t get to play.” Lewis also began to do something that many other high school basketball players only wish they could do. “I was able to dunk my freshman year; it wasn’t in games though, just during practice,” said Lewis. “I finally started dunking in games when I played at Highlands Ranch. My first dunk was on a kid named Trent Green.” For Brannock, his most memorable moment is similar to Lewis’ as the Jags made a run to the playoffs this year. Despite the unforgettable moment, Brannock was left wanting more. “My only wish was that we could have done more damage in the playoffs this year,” said Brannock. “We had the talent to go far.” Unlike the other two, Link’s cherished moment came while he played one his few games on varsity as a fresh-man. “Whenever I would score during my freshman year, the Canyon Crazies would chant ‘he’s a freshman’ over and over again,” recalled Link. “If it wasn’t that, it would definitely have been beating ThunderRidge this year on senior night.” Despite the trio’s focus on basketball throughout high school, none of them plan to continue on with the sport in college. “I want to look into coaching in the future,” said

Lewis. “I’m considering majoring in communications as well as physical education. If I do end up coaching, I would definitely prefer to coach JV. That’s the level where you can make the players play like you did; it’s the best molding stage.” Lewis is looking into several junior colleges where he would consider playing division 3 basketball. “I want to eventually transfer to ASU but if I do, I wouldn’t play basketball.” Brannock also said he would consider looking into coaching in the future. “I’m not planning on playing college but I want to ex-periment with [coaching] in the future,” said Brannock. “I got into both CU and CSU but I’m still deciding.” The decision is much more set in stone for Link as he not only knows where he’s going to school but what he wants to do as well. “What it looks like right now is that basketball is done for me,” said Link. “I’m trying to concentrate on football and getting ready for the [Air Force] academy. That’s the only thing I want to focus on now.” Exiting the court for the final time meant the end of a period of time for each of their lives. “They all lead by example,” said McClurg. “Even the younger kids looked up to them which typified how their characters were. By the end, they looked like seniors. The maturity level grew each year.” Each took away lessons that they learned after work-ing hard; focusing on making every lay-up silky smooth and every jump-shot picture perfect. “It was an experience,” said Lewis. “The most impor-tant thing I learned was that there is only one stat that I should have been worrying about, and that’s wins and losses.” Zach Tornabene

The #’s

11The number of times the girls scored over 60 points

Football with a twist Two teams push against each other with all their strength, trying to get the other team to break. A ball appears outside the clump. Someone runs by and picks it up, sprinting down-field, only to be tackled seconds later by the opposing team. This is rugby. “It’s not really big in our school, but its getting really big in other schools in the area,” said Mike Sangaline ’10, a player on the Wolverine Rugby team. Colorado has about 20 high school teams in the entire state, and the closest one to Rock Canyon is Wolverine Rugby based near Chaparral. The three teams, two varsity, and fresh/soph, are composed of most of the schools in the area. There are only three RC boys on the team: Sangaline, Kevin Wesselink ’11, and Nate Schnebeck ’10. The goal of rugby is to advance the ball down the field and score ‘tries,’ which are like touchdowns, but you can only pass the ball back-wards and kick the ball forward to achieve it. “Rugby combines the skills of football, but it isn’t restricted like football,” Wesselink said. “In football you play one position and do the same thing throughout the game. In rugby, you work as one unit.” Another difference between football and rugby is the lack of protec-tion. Players wear only uniforms with no additional padding to protect them from the beating they take when tackling is as common as passing. “I’ve only had a black eye so far,” said Wesselink, “but we’ve had a guy shatter his collar bone already.” The members of the team come back together to form the scrum, pushing once more against the other team. The ball appears outside of the huddle, and it starts all over again. This is rugby. Maddie Jones

The number of playoff games that the Jags had hosted before their game against Sierra

The number of points scored to give the Jags their first home playoff victory against Sierra.

The ranking that the Jags finished with in 4A state after their loss in the playoffs.

The number of games the Jags played in February; more than any other month during the season.

The longest winning streak of the season for the Jags starting with a win against Skyline HS and ending when they lost to Heriatge.

1

45

44

9

6

The average number of points scored in a game by the Jags over the span of a 23-game season

48

Compiled by Zach Tornabene

Three RC boys take on rugby – a sport that only fields 20 teams in all of Colorado

The rugby team, based out of Chaparral, ‘rucking’ over the ball, fighting for possession during practice. “We have to do a two mile run before every practice. During practice it’s a lot of hitting and contact. It’s like football, or any other contact sport – if you’re timid you’re more likely to get hurt,” said Michael Sangaline ‘10. Photo by Maddie Jones.

Final buzzer sounds, next period beginsSeniors Jimmy Brannock, Jah-Juan Lewis and Keith Link look to the future as they have played their last basketball game

Varsity Girls Basketball

12 soundtrack: “Country boy can survive” Hank Williams Jr.03•18•10

sports

Meet the boysThe lacrosse boys are back for their fifth varsity season with 12 returning varsity players, 6 seniors, and 3 freshmen. Their last season ended with an 11-7 record, sending them to playoffs for the third straight time. This Friday the boys will take on Mountain Vista, last year’s conference winners and this year’s conference favorite.

Wilkins Dismuke ‘13Attackman

“Wilkins is one of two freshmen starters and has a great deal of

potential,” said Coach Louis Goldin. “His game IQ is constantly going up

and he is a hard worker.”

Court Pietra ‘10Senior CaptainAttackman“There are not many seniors on the team so having a senior captain is extremely important,” said Coach Louis Goldin. “He has an extremely strong work ethic and complete respect from the team.”

Drew Stormo ‘11Junior Captain

From left: Defensive Coach Chris McCrea, Head Coach Louis Goldin, and offensive Coach Bob Diehl Conor Reagan ‘10Defensive Midfield“Conor gets a lot of

playing time. This is only his second year playing, and his first

year ever he made varsity,” said Coach Louis Goldin. “He is

a very impressive athlete and picks up

things really fast.”

Remington Caley ‘11“Remington keeps the spirits of the team up as the team clown, and impresses other teams with his body,” said junior Captain Parker Jackson.

Chad Hayward ‘13Goalkeeper“Chad worked really hard during the off season and has really stepped up for the team,” saidJunior CaptainParker Jackson

13soundtrack: “How to apply for a job” How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Cast03•18•10musical

Choir teacher Julia Dale laughs about the time in her life when her father wanted her to be a scientist. She went to science camps, took student science courses over the summer, and built rockets.

“I had parentally inflicted geek-ness,” Dale said. Secretly, she didn’t want to be a scientist. What she

really wanted was to be a teacher.Dale did not break the news about her dreams to her

father until junior year of high school. She wanted to put it off as long as she could, but her heart was already set.

“I was a teacher’s assistant for Mr. P [one of her teach-ers],” said Dale. “He really identified that teaching bug in me. I was hooked on teaching, and I really just wanted to teach anything.”

The obvious choice for Dale was to be a music teacher, as music was a constant part of her life. She started playing piano in first grade and was a choir mem-ber throughout high school.

She went to college at the Eastman School of Music in New York City, and she graduated with a degree in music education with a vocal emphasis. While at East-man, Dale participated in operas and often had to travel to South Carolina to perform with her school. After graduating, she taught for three years in upstate New York and then went back to school to achieve her Masters in choral conducting.

“I am now qualified to teach any music,” Dale said, “but I don’t think you’d want me to be your teacher in just anything.”

Dale was the director of the musical, “How to Suc-ceed in Business Without Really Trying.” Before this musical, she was the vocal director for three others and participated in seven musicals during high school. It was easy for Dale to choose this year’s musical.

“[The musical] had so many little parts in it so that everyone gets to feel ownership, which I think is really important,” said Dale. “It is also not well known. I didn’t want to choose something like ‘Grease’ that everyone already knows. Anyone can sing ‘Greased Lightning,’ but no one knows this show.”

Once she chose the musical, Dale struggled casting all of those who auditioned.

“There’s too much talent at Rock Canyon,” Dale said. “There were multiple people to fit each role, and it was hard to decide who would be best.”

She had to convince the people who were disap-pointed with their roles that there was a reason they were cast that way, and that they would fit their role well. She had trouble denying people the role they really wanted, but there was no way around it.

“It breaks your heart as a director,” Dale said, “but the kids eventually realize there is a reason I cast them that

way.”“Finch was the only character I knew of genuinely

because it is the lead and I wasn’t very familiar with the show,” said Sean Kovacs ‘10, who played an executive secretary, Mr. Jones.

“But I wasn’t banking on getting that role,” Kovacs said. “Dale and I talked through the role I got and I started to see that it was a very exciting role. It was one of my favorite roles I’ve ever had.”

While directing, Dale focused on making the kids who are usually only in plays feel comfortable with the music portion, and the choir students comfortable with acting.

“This year, we have really started blending the two departments [drama and choir],” said Dale. “Most of the students who participate in the musical are from choir so they already have the music part down, so the main focus was the acting.”

After putting an endless amount of time and energy into the show, the choir students were able to warm up to acting and feel completely comfortable on stage.

“I had never acted before so it was tough in the beginning because I just wasn’t aware of the basics,” said Madeline Gardner ‘11. “I really didn’t get fully into my character until I put on my costumes two weeks ago.”

The cast of the musical constantly supported each other and the experienced actors helped those who were less experienced.

“Mrs. Dale was great to work with,” said Gardner. “She was just very patient with me and gave me lots of ideas to work with and demonstrated things. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her.”

The experience of directing the musical overall has been an amazing one for Dale, though not every mo-ment of directing hit a perfect note.

“[One of] the hardest parts of directing is probably the hours, and also thinking of every little detail,” she said. “I have to keep track of everyone’s props, when they are needed, where they are, and things like that. But the [real] hard part is actually keeping all of that fun at the same time.”

Since this is the first musical Dale has directed here, the students have gotten to know and respect her as not only a choir teacher but also a director.

“Dale had great visions for the show and she really expected nothing but the best from everyone,” said Gardner. “I’m glad she pushed us as much as she did. It’s cool that she had so much faith in everyone.”

“My favorite part is seeing the kids excel, take risks, and try new things,” said Dale. “And to see them realize that they are good at that.”

Paige Newman

Parentally inflicted geek-ness‘How to succeed’ actors face the music

Always has her tongue out In these two photos, Director Julia Dale leads the cast in warm ups on opening night. Top: Dale had the actors stretch out the muscles in their faces so that they spoke clearly on stage. She stuck her tongue out here to help prepare her actors, but often is making faces at her students to tease them. Above: Dale sits down and leads the cast through musical warm ups (sans tongue) so that they are already perform-ing to the best of their abilities when they take the stage. Photos by Alex Rowe

Sticking to the book Ben Hilzer ‘10, playing J. Pierpont Finch, checks his guide to how to rise in the business world during a dress rehearsal. Photos by Alex Rowe

Director brings life-long love of music and theater to her first Rock Canyon musical

End of The Day Left, Morgan Hayes ‘12, and Louise McDonald ‘12, during the ‘Been a Long Day’ reprise where Hayes threatens Mr. Biggley in order to get a promotion. “I’ve loved working with everybody,” McDonald said. “We have a really tight cast.”

03•18•10musical 14-15soundtrack: “Brotherhood of man” How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Cast

Public Embarassment When asked to recall this moment, Morgan Hayes ‘12, who played Bud Frump, had to go scream in the bathroom to release his frustration. After, he described this as, “the worst moment of my life.” Hayes was having trouble with his solo part in ‘Company Way Reprise’ and Dale had him stand on stage by himself and sing it over and over. “I was feeling extreme embarassment,” he said. “I could hear people gossiping from the wings, and the pit was the worst. I feel the alone time to have me learn it was necessary, but not in front of the entire cast.” “I really felt bad for him,” said cast member Ian Kelsall ‘10.

Funny flamboyance Morgan Hayes ‘12, and Sean Kovacs ‘10, both used this musical as an opportunity to explore how far they could take their characters, Bud Frump and Mr. Jones. “I’ve had the opportunity to play a very zany, flamboyant character,” said Hayes. “I get to be me and let loose with my comic talent. I’m pretty unpredictable on stage and I want to see who is going to crack [and laugh] on opening night.” Kovacs also made the decision to have his character be very flamboyant. He played Mr. Biggely’s secretary, a part originally written as a female role, and decided to make the character as ridiculous as he could. On opening night when he entered for his solo in the finale number, ‘Brotherhood of Man,’ the audience burst into cheers. “I was really surprised and pleased [by the audience reaction],” he said. “I frankly didn’t know that people would like it that much. It’s my favorite part of the show and it’s always the most fun for me. The choreography is so out there and the song is so big, and there you go; you have the perfect ingredients to make a Sean Kovacs song.”

Keep ‘em laughing Morgan Hayes ‘12, center, said that he was going to make somebody crack on opening night. In this scene, before he is dragged away from the company, he caused Joe Toves ‘11, in the back on the left, to laugh when he came up to him, wrapped a leg around him and said, “Remember the fun... the dates.” The next night during pre-show warm ups, Dale led the cast in a game of, ‘Make Joe Toves laugh.’ Several of the actors came up to him and said and did anything they could to make him laugh, until he was ready to keep a straight face on stage. “I cracked up at first,” Toves said, “but when I warmed up I kept a straight face.” The next night AJ Hilzer ‘13, back right, laughed during the same scene.

An older soul Freshman AJ Hilzer’s charac-ter, Alfred Davis, had only a few lines in the show, but he made the most of them. “I just talked in this old voice and had a lot of energy, and Dale told me to take it down and be an old man,” Hilzer said. He ended up having a cane, an old man voice, and some serious back problems. Even when he wasn’t singing, he personified this older character. “ It fit perfectly,” said cast member Guillermo Arribas ‘10, “and it added to the craziness of the show.” During the reception scene, Hilzer danced with Aubrey Eggett ‘12. “He pulled me in with his cane when we dance[d],” said Eggett. “And I helped fix his broken back.” “He [chose] the best interpretation and made the most of his role,” said Morgan Hayes ‘12.

No coffee! During the number ‘Coffee Break,’ many of the chorus members had their chance to show their acting range, and do crazy and goofy things. In the left picture, Matt Hopkins ‘12, and Dylan Webb ‘11, pretended to play games in the background while they wait for their break. “I like to have small parts because you just get to improvise in the back of a scene and do whatever you want,” Webb said. “We’re pretending to play Mario Kart on stage before coffee break,” In the middle, Webb, Joe Toves’ 11, Aimee Schnebeck ‘13, and Quinn Kennedy ‘13, crowd the empty coffee pot. “During this song, I try to think of the coffee as Dr. Pepper,” said Schnebeck, “because I absolutely love Dr. Pepper, and in that song I try to get lost in the moment, and go crazy!” On the right, Hopkins is acting as if he is going through caffeine withdrawals. “I pretty much get to sit on stage and freak out as much as I want,” Hopkins said. “It is never too much because I am a complete coffee addict. It’s good to be able to just go crazy because I’m not allowed to do that in most shows.”

All photos and reporting by Alex Rowe

Opening night Ben Hilzer ‘10, and Madeline Gardner ‘11, both had their first lead roles in “How to Suceed,” so opening night was extra special for them. “I was scared out of my mind in the beginning,” said Hilzer, “but as soon as I said the first line, the rest was the most fun experience I had in high school. “ “[Opening night] was so much fun,” Gardner said. “I’ve never had such a rush in my life. I was on stage doing what I love, which is perform. I love the Act I finale, because I can channel my anger into the song and it makes it more fun to perform. I put way more emotion into my songs than I do into my acting.”

I don’t think I hurt peoples ears Guill-ermo Arribas ‘10, has been in many plays, but has never considered himself a singer, and this was his first musical. “[This was] so much tougher than a regu-lar play,“ he said. “There are way more people to count on and a lot more work. You have to learn the singing, work with the pit, get the timing, and you have to depend on twenty other people to do the chorus work. “It’s a completely different type of theatre. Some of the story isn’t told through words, [but instead] through singing, so it’s different than a regular play. “The solo was sick. I didn’t know I could sing at all. I’m not a singer, but I don’t think I hurt people’s ears.”

Constant energy Louise McDonald ‘12, played Hedy LaRue, and didn’t find too much trouble embodying the character. “I love the character because I feel like I can relate to Hedy in a lot of ways. Everyone is so similiar to their own characters that it’s really fun to interact with everyone on and off stage.” “Louise makes my acting better,” said lead Ben Hilzer ‘10. “She has constant energy and it’s nice when you’re a beginning actor.”

Taking the stage, stealing the show

Tres sexy, n’est pas? The song ‘Paris Original’ is all about the outfit. “There was a big debate on which dress we were going to wear,” said Madeline Gardener ‘11. “The first was really short and poofy, and was actually a Miley Cyrus dress, and the other one looks like a tablecloth when it’s on, or drapes.” They ended up using the drapes. “I love my Paris original outfit,” said Sean Kovacs. “It encompasses Mr. Jones perfectly. It is a very fine line between man and woman.”

End of The Day Left, Morgan Hayes ‘12, and Louise McDonald ‘12, during the ‘Been a Long Day’ reprise where Hayes threatens Mr. Biggley in order to get a promotion. “I’ve loved working with everybody,” McDonald said. “We have a really tight cast.”

03•18•10musical 14-15soundtrack: “Brotherhood of man” How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Cast

Public Embarassment When asked to recall this moment, Morgan Hayes ‘12, who played Bud Frump, had to go scream in the bathroom to release his frustration. After, he described this as, “the worst moment of my life.” Hayes was having trouble with his solo part in ‘Company Way Reprise’ and Dale had him stand on stage by himself and sing it over and over. “I was feeling extreme embarassment,” he said. “I could hear people gossiping from the wings, and the pit was the worst. I feel the alone time to have me learn it was necessary, but not in front of the entire cast.” “I really felt bad for him,” said cast member Ian Kelsall ‘10.

Funny flamboyance Morgan Hayes ‘12, and Sean Kovacs ‘10, both used this musical as an opportunity to explore how far they could take their characters, Bud Frump and Mr. Jones. “I’ve had the opportunity to play a very zany, flamboyant character,” said Hayes. “I get to be me and let loose with my comic talent. I’m pretty unpredictable on stage and I want to see who is going to crack [and laugh] on opening night.” Kovacs also made the decision to have his character be very flamboyant. He played Mr. Biggely’s secretary, a part originally written as a female role, and decided to make the character as ridiculous as he could. On opening night when he entered for his solo in the finale number, ‘Brotherhood of Man,’ the audience burst into cheers. “I was really surprised and pleased [by the audience reaction],” he said. “I frankly didn’t know that people would like it that much. It’s my favorite part of the show and it’s always the most fun for me. The choreography is so out there and the song is so big, and there you go; you have the perfect ingredients to make a Sean Kovacs song.”

Keep ‘em laughing Morgan Hayes ‘12, center, said that he was going to make somebody crack on opening night. In this scene, before he is dragged away from the company, he caused Joe Toves ‘11, in the back on the left, to laugh when he came up to him, wrapped a leg around him and said, “Remember the fun... the dates.” The next night during pre-show warm ups, Dale led the cast in a game of, ‘Make Joe Toves laugh.’ Several of the actors came up to him and said and did anything they could to make him laugh, until he was ready to keep a straight face on stage. “I cracked up at first,” Toves said, “but when I warmed up I kept a straight face.” The next night AJ Hilzer ‘13, back right, laughed during the same scene.

An older soul Freshman AJ Hilzer’s charac-ter, Alfred Davis, had only a few lines in the show, but he made the most of them. “I just talked in this old voice and had a lot of energy, and Dale told me to take it down and be an old man,” Hilzer said. He ended up having a cane, an old man voice, and some serious back problems. Even when he wasn’t singing, he personified this older character. “ It fit perfectly,” said cast member Guillermo Arribas ‘10, “and it added to the craziness of the show.” During the reception scene, Hilzer danced with Aubrey Eggett ‘12. “He pulled me in with his cane when we dance[d],” said Eggett. “And I helped fix his broken back.” “He [chose] the best interpretation and made the most of his role,” said Morgan Hayes ‘12.

No coffee! During the number ‘Coffee Break,’ many of the chorus members had their chance to show their acting range, and do crazy and goofy things. In the left picture, Matt Hopkins ‘12, and Dylan Webb ‘11, pretended to play games in the background while they wait for their break. “I like to have small parts because you just get to improvise in the back of a scene and do whatever you want,” Webb said. “We’re pretending to play Mario Kart on stage before coffee break,” In the middle, Webb, Joe Toves’ 11, Aimee Schnebeck ‘13, and Quinn Kennedy ‘13, crowd the empty coffee pot. “During this song, I try to think of the coffee as Dr. Pepper,” said Schnebeck, “because I absolutely love Dr. Pepper, and in that song I try to get lost in the moment, and go crazy!” On the right, Hopkins is acting as if he is going through caffeine withdrawals. “I pretty much get to sit on stage and freak out as much as I want,” Hopkins said. “It is never too much because I am a complete coffee addict. It’s good to be able to just go crazy because I’m not allowed to do that in most shows.”

All photos and reporting by Alex Rowe

Opening night Ben Hilzer ‘10, and Madeline Gardner ‘11, both had their first lead roles in “How to Suceed,” so opening night was extra special for them. “I was scared out of my mind in the beginning,” said Hilzer, “but as soon as I said the first line, the rest was the most fun experience I had in high school. “ “[Opening night] was so much fun,” Gardner said. “I’ve never had such a rush in my life. I was on stage doing what I love, which is perform. I love the Act I finale, because I can channel my anger into the song and it makes it more fun to perform. I put way more emotion into my songs than I do into my acting.”

I don’t think I hurt peoples ears Guill-ermo Arribas ‘10, has been in many plays, but has never considered himself a singer, and this was his first musical. “[This was] so much tougher than a regu-lar play,“ he said. “There are way more people to count on and a lot more work. You have to learn the singing, work with the pit, get the timing, and you have to depend on twenty other people to do the chorus work. “It’s a completely different type of theatre. Some of the story isn’t told through words, [but instead] through singing, so it’s different than a regular play. “The solo was sick. I didn’t know I could sing at all. I’m not a singer, but I don’t think I hurt people’s ears.”

Constant energy Louise McDonald ‘12, played Hedy LaRue, and didn’t find too much trouble embodying the character. “I love the character because I feel like I can relate to Hedy in a lot of ways. Everyone is so similiar to their own characters that it’s really fun to interact with everyone on and off stage.” “Louise makes my acting better,” said lead Ben Hilzer ‘10. “She has constant energy and it’s nice when you’re a beginning actor.”

Taking the stage, stealing the show

Tres sexy, n’est pas? The song ‘Paris Original’ is all about the outfit. “There was a big debate on which dress we were going to wear,” said Madeline Gardener ‘11. “The first was really short and poofy, and was actually a Miley Cyrus dress, and the other one looks like a tablecloth when it’s on, or drapes.” They ended up using the drapes. “I love my Paris original outfit,” said Sean Kovacs. “It encompasses Mr. Jones perfectly. It is a very fine line between man and woman.”

16 soundtrack: “The company way” How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Cast03•18•10musical

Finding new ways to kill time Several of the members of the musical’s pit lie in the hallway passing the time before the matinee show. They were playing a focus game that involved crossing their arms with the person next to you, then patting their hands in the correct order. During the rehearsal process, the pit found themselves with a lot of time to spare. The final Saturday practice before performance, the musicians found many ways to kill time. Evan Schneider ’10, and Matt Morrison ’10, play percussion on opposite sides of the pit. “We set up Battleship and texted each other our shots,” said Schneider. “I had sunk four ships, and Matt had three by the time we went home.” The two also found that playing Poke-mon on a Gameboy is a good use of time when issues with tech are being ironed out. Guitar players Chris Battin ‘10, and Dylan Rinker ‘12, played chess and Sudoku to pass the time between guitar parts. Brass players Alex Dagner ‘10, and Tan-ner Scurto ‘11, became stir crazy and put on costumes. Dagner wore a fuzzy yellow hat, Scurto wore a Cat in the Hat style hat. They both wore capes.

No one in the pit had particularly high hopes for this musical. “When we started, half of our notes were drawn by hand and were hard to read,” said trumpet player Dani-elle Michaeli ’10. “On top of that, our scores didn’t line up with Nagele’s all over the place.” But with weeks of working themselves to the bone, the pit got every kink worked out and created a dazzling final product. “I think everyone [got] to hear a really strong score,” said bass player Graham Marshall ‘10. “It took us a while, and it only came together in the last two weeks, but now, it’s a thing of beauty.”

The strings Director Julia Dale was often very critical of the two violinists in the pit, Talia Pratte ‘10, and Erica French ‘10. They were the only two violins and struggled to be heard over the larger brass and percussion sections. Dale demanded that they play as loud as they could. “[Playing louder]made it harder to sound good,” Pratte said. During notes, Dale pushed the violins to become better, and sometimes gave them harsh criticisms telling them they sounded like dying cats, and were wrong 98 percent of the time. Playing the violin was harder for French because her primary instrument is the viola. “I felt really bad for Talia,” she said. “If I would play something wrong I kew it, but we both got criticized.”

“[Dale’s criticism] made me try harder to be in tone with the rest of the pit,” Pratte said, “to follow Naegle, and to make the singers sound good.”

The guitars Dylan Rinker ‘12, and Chris Battin ‘10, played guitar for the pit. Guitar is their passion and their obsession, but they were far from being the stars of the pit. “To be honest I don’t think the guitars are all that necessary in this musical. It’s pretty hard to hear us and we rarely contribute a ton of notes,” said Battin, “but I still love it.” For them, just getting to be with their friends and getting more opportunities to play is what caused them to audition.

Joining together With only a few weeks left in the rehearsal process, the actors and the pit finally started rehearsing together. This initially caused problems. “It kind of sucked at first because we had to re-learn the songs,” said actor Guillermo Arribas ‘10. “It was off the pace of what we played [when we rehearsed] with the piano.” The show Come show night, the pit was nearly flawless, and after the Friday night show Dale left a sign out reading, “Pit, you were ON last night!”

Alex Rowe and Logan Thompson

Pit drums up ‘Business’

Stressing my brain out Seniors Forrest Spradling and Max Kiehn worked on the sound crew together for this show. They are going through the script looking at where their cues are. “I’ve had a lot of fun [working sound for this show], and stressing my brain out,” Kiehn said. “The hair [microphones] we use have been driving us completely insane because some actors are really loud, then really quiet, the receivers have not been picking up the microphones because of [problems with] the antennae, and because a lot of the songs have been sung differently each time.” Photos by Alex Rowe

The god paper Brandon Speer ‘12, moves a wall during one of the many scene changes. The scene changes in this show required a large running crew, prop crew, and assistance from the actors. There were walls and elevators on wheels that moved and spun, as well as dozens of props and tables that moved on and off. “In the beginning [the scene changes] were really rough, but since, it has been much easier,” Speer said. “We did scene changes one after the other, and [assistant stage manager] Alliy Green ‘10, helped us. She has a god paper. We call it that because it has every scene change on it.” “Working on this show has been interesting,” said running crew member Jarrod Collins ‘11, “because we have rigged everything to be as functional as possible. I turned a ten-person job, moving the mirrors for ‘Got to stop that man,’ into a two-person job. We turned a 16-person job with the elevators into only needing five people.”

Seniors Drew Goodman, Kayla Bush, and Alliy Green were responsible for all of the hustle and bustle backstage during the recent production, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” Known as the stage managers, they handle everything from making sure ac-tors are in their places to double checking the sets and costumes. “Basically, I make sure everything is in place before and during the show,” said Goodman. “This production, I helped block the scenes and did a little with the technical aspects, like lighting.” This is the second year that Goodman has been managing. “I love managing because I like the theatre, but I don’t want to act,” said Goodman. “It’s a perfect balance.” Although Goodman has worked tech from the start, Bush and Green first began by acting in RC productions. “This is my first year as an assistant stage manager, although I have directed and managed a class play,” said Green. “I decided to manage because it allows me to have a really big part and be involved in the play, but not be on stage.” There is no audition for the stage

Controlling the chaosmanager, but it’s required that one has a large commitment to the program. “You don’t become a stage manager unless you have been involved in the theatre for a while,” said Goodman. “You have to know what you are doing and work well under pressure.” The managers attend each rehearsal and set aside extra time to help block scenes and organize the set. Goodman estimates that they each spent over 200 hours in the theatre this show. “All the actors really appreciate all that the stage managers do; they all have really hard jobs,” said Sean Kovacs ’10, who played Mr. Jones in the musical. “They all did very well and the show would be so lost without them.” Although being a stage manager can be stressful and hectic, all three agree that it is a very rewarding part of the theatre. They may not be on stage, but they feel like they have the leading role backstage. “[Stage managing] is the best because you can watch all the actors and techies succeed and make the show great,” Green said. “It’s amazing.”

Paige Hesen

Rocking in the pit Graham Marshall ‘10, playing the bass for “How to Suc-ceed in Business Without Really Trying.” Marshall said, “The motto of the pit was,‘Don’t piss off Naegele.’”

17soundtrack: “Then” Brad Paisley

Friends with the famous Srta. Laura Francoeur, a Spanish student teacher, has met Bernadette Peters and James Barber, famous Broadway stars, thanks to her family’s prevalence in the arts industry. How-ever, her closest well-renowned friend is Jessica Biel, most notably remem-bered for dating Justin Timberlake and her roles in ‘7th Heaven’ and ‘Valentine’s Day’. “We first met at my church in Boulder ten to fifteen years ago,” Francoeur said. “Even though we’ve moved away from home, we still keep in touch through e-mail and texting. My family and her family remain close friends to this day.” In fact, recently when Biel visited, Srta. Francoeur provided her with voice lessons and assisted in Biel’s recording of her new album.

“A few years ago when Jessica visited town, she decided to record an album and since I teach voice lessons I helped her through the process,” Francoeur said. After blossoming into a vocal artist and TV and movie star, constantly being snapped by paparazzi and praised by the tabloids, it’s hard to wonder if the fame has gone to Biel’s head. “Don’t get me wrong,” Srta. Fran-coeur said, “when Jessica was young she was the sweetest thing and she still is nice, but now that she’s so busy she doesn’t seem as genuine. She’s always saying, ‘We need to hang out,’ but never follows through. It’s just disappointing to see how she’s changed, but I understand since her schedule’s packed.”

Rebecca Ruh

BRUSH WITH GREATNESS

Match the teacher with senior picture

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

Mad about mad libs

What you should do over spring breakWear a turban to the airport and see if you get screened at security. If you make it through yell, “Praise Allah!” and see if your plane gets ‘randomly’ screened.

Curtis Stuck

Play COD for 10 hours a day... wait, we already do that.Michael Dempsey

Go vampire hunting in Forks, Washington. Evan Ann Boose

Dress up in a robot costume and work the streets of downtown with the 16th Street Mall robot guy. Karly Hanson

Go through the Taco Bell drive thru and ask for a Big Mac.Rebecca Ruh

Attempt to start a sing-a-long with the others on your plane.Amanda Becker

Run with scissors! It’s Spring Break, so go crazy! Curtis Stuck

Accuse the TSA of reverse discrimination. Drew Goodman

While you’re at the airport, have a deep conversation with a TSA employee. Alex Rowe

Answer the questions from the show and find out just how smart you really are1. There are two landlocked countries in South America. One of them is Bolivia. What is the other?a) Paraguayb) Uruguayc) Colombia

2. Which line is the longest?a) lineb) rayc) line segment

3. In America they celebrate flag day on June 1sta) trueb) false

4. True or false the Mexican American war took place in the 1890’sa) trueb) false

5. What does 3 squared equal?a) 6b) 27c) 9

6.Pollen is produced in which part of the flo wer?a) pistilb) stamenc) pedal

7. The Yangtze River is located in what country?a) Czech Republicb) Russiac) China

8. Which Planet has more moons?a) Saturn b) Venus

9. Jefferson City is the capital of what U.S. state?a) North Dakotab) Missouric) South Carolina

10. Ramses II was the king of what ancient civilization?a) Egyptb) Greecec) Macedonia

11. One kilogram equals to how many grams?a) 10b) 1,000c) 100

12. How many astronauts were on board each space capsule launched during NASA’s Gemini Space program?a) 4b) 2c) 1

13. American Lt. Col. George Custer was killed during which battle?a) Battle of Gettysburgb) Battle of Little Big Hornc) Battle of the Bulge

14. What current city was once known as Constantinople? a) Amman, Jordanb) Istanbul, Turkeyc) Athens, Greece

Answers: 1) A2) A3) A4) A5) C6)B7) C8) A9)B10) A11) B12) B13) B14)B

The Morning Drive

(Teen celebrity) was running late to AP (your least favorite class)

again! They woke up by dropping a (adjective)

(heavy object) on their alarm clock, and knew it

would be a (adjective) day.

They quickly washed off with (flavor) soap

and ran out the door. Halfway to school, they were

astonished. “I forgot my (noun) ! I can’t go to

school without my (adjective/same noun) !”

Turning around (adverb ending in -ly) they (verb)

home and back, until they heard sirens and saw a

police car chasing them down. They rolled down the

window to see (attractive female actress) handing them a

ticket. “Have a (adjective) day!” they shouted.

They (verb) through the front doors, went

to the attendance window, and explained what

happened.

“(Exclamation)!” said the office lady. “It’s Saturday!”

Answers: 1. C2. D3. A 4. B

1. 2. 3. 4.

A. B. C. D.

18 soundtrack: “Do you know? (the ping pong song)” Enrique Iglesias03•18•10

community

Castle Pines North7298 Lagae Rd720.733.6699

Lone Tree (Inside The Great Indoors)

8585 Yosemite Street 303.790.7634

Dazbog Coffee celebrates the

best staff in Colorado!

April 1st isTeacher Appreciation Day!

Come in, show your Rock Canyon ID, and get

a free drink of your choice.

*** Offer only good at CPN and Lone Tree Locations***

Intellectual warfare‘Shutter Island’ is a suspense thriller at its � nest If you do not do well with concentration camps, major and multiple plot twists, or Leonardo DiCaprio, do not even consider watching Shu� er Island. However, for those who enjoy suspense thrillers, intellectual warfare, and/or the former hear� hrob of “Titanic”, “Shu� er Island” cannot be beaten.

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels and Mark Ru� alo as Chuck Aule, “Shu� er Island” is the complex yet fabulous story of a US Marshall and World War II veteran. Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) is sent by the federal government to investigate the dis-appearance of a murderer from the Ashecli� e Hospital for the Criminally Insane, located on the eerie Shu� er Island.

� e story begins as Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ru� alo) land on Shu� er Island, home of the Ashecli� e Hospital, and begin to scour the island for

any trace of the missing murderer. However, a mysterious and uncooperative hospital sta� combined with Daniels’ foreboding dreams and � ashbacks soon turn the story into a � ght to discern reality and truth from imagination and lies. � is � ght’s origins range from Daniels’ horri� c experience liberat-ing the concentration camp Dachau during World War II to his personal life as a family man. Ultimately, we are taken to an aban-doned lighthouse where every secret in the movie is � nally unraveled.

In this masterpiece of a suspense thriller, DiCaprio and Ru� alo play their charactersexcellently for the most part, with only oc-casional forced acting on DiCaprio’s part. Directed by Martin Scorsese, this � lm has a terri� c story which keeps the audience guessing even a� er the credits have ended.

Gabriel Martinez

MOVIE REVIEW

19soundtrack: “Strange” Reba McEntire03•18•10profiles

A mother’s worst fear is one where her child is in danger. Parents blockade their backyard pools, refuse to buy toys with lead paint, and attach leashes to their kids in hopes to prevent danger from smacking their precious child in the face. And that’s why, when Srish Sharma ‘13, tumbled from a second-story window as a toddler, his mother was frantic and in shock. “When I heard him fall, I immediately rushed outside,” said Sudna Sharma, Srish’s mother. “I was panicking and feared the worst. I instantly felt an adrenaline rush much stronger than I have ever experienced before.” “Basically, the window was open, but the screen was still up,” Srish said. “My two year old self thought the screen was locked in place so I leaned against it. Needless to say it didn’t hold my weight and I fell face first to the hard ground below.” Luckily, Srish was alive and responsive after the fall. “I examined Srish when I reached him, worrying that there would be severe damage,” said Surit Sharma, Srish’s father. “Work-ing as a doctor in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, I’d seen fatal injuries from head-first collisions and just hoped with all my heart that Srish would be okay and intact.” “Miraculously, there was no major damage,” Srish said. “Just a few bruises and scratches here and there. My parents examined me and decided that a ride to the hospital wasn’t necessary. I know I must have terrified my parents, but it’s pretty awesome that I survived a two-story fall.”

Rebecca Ruh

Nick Bahr ‘11, first noticed the pain in his right arm at the start of the third quarter in the state championship football game. Determined to finish out the game, Bahr’s teammates padded up his arm while the defense played. Little did he know his injury, an infection, had the potential to kill him. “All I wanted was to finish the game. I just assumed it was broken and blocked the pain from my head,” said Bahr. After celebrating his team’s win, Bahr removed his pads to reveal a swollen arm. Bahr slept on it thinking the pain would pass. However, he awoke to a right arm the size of his thigh. “It was irritated and hot, and pretty gnarly, and extremely pain-ful,’” said Bahr. After he arrived at the hospital, Bahr was diagnosed with a MRSA staph infection in the same arm that was bitten by a shark only six weeks earlier. This type of infection is usually harmless un-less the bacteria enters the body through a cut or wound, in which case it is resistant to most antibiotics. But in Bahr’s case, the cause was unknown since the doctors came to the conclusion that the shark bite was completely unrelated. Four surgeries, six days of critical condition, and three tortur-ous weeks later, Bahr was finally released from the hospital to go home and slowly get back into things. However, it would be a month before he would get to see the football field again. “It was definitely one of the scariest things that’s happened to me,” said Bahr. “My body felt poisoned, and at one point I really did think I was going to die.”

Karly Hanson

The front of the Ford F150 compressed into a heap of metal as an elk rolled off the side of the truck. Before they knew it the mangled corpse of a second elk slammed against the hood of the car, its flesh intertwined with the broken metal. It took almost 200 feet for the car to stop and the elk to fall off. On Jan. 15, 2009, Emily Gray ‘11, and her figure skating coach Dy Austin got in a car accident on Santa Fe. They were on their way to an early practice that morning. As they casually made their way to the ice rink, two elk walked out onto the road. “I looked up and saw the whites of the elks’ eyes,” said Gray, “and then heard the metal and glass crunch and was knocked out by the airbag.” Both Gray and Austin were taken to the hospital after the crash, though neither were seriously injured. “We were both fine. Cuts and bruises everywhere, but neither of us were really hurt,” said Gray. “The cop on the scene said he didn’t know how we walked out of it.” Though Emily and Austin weren’t too physically harmed by the accident, the mental devastation has left its scars. “I’ve recovered for the most part [from the mental trauma],” said Gray, “but I still freak out when I see elk or deer by the side of the road.”

Connor Dozois

The nightmares started when she was six. But instead of waking from them, glad it was just a dream, Sarah* is greeted with the news that someone she knows has died. “In the dream, I’m sitting on my bed, and a guy comes over and tells me that someone I know dies,” said Sarah. “When I wake up, whoever was in my dream had just died.” Call it paranormal, or simply a coincidence, Sarah is learning to deal with her horrifying nightmares that carry over into real life. “[The dream] happens every time someone I know dies, but before I actually know they died,” said Sarah. Each time Sarah has the dream, all aspects of it are the same every time besides the name that is presented to her. And the man in her dream is not your ordinary looking guy. Sarah describes him as a creepy grim reaper character. When Sarah first told her parents about the dream they were speechless. “When I told my mom for the first time she didn’t really know what to say about it,” said Sarah. “Eventually as the dreams contin-ued she learned to accept it and not think too much of it.” How does one deal with these frightening, completely out of the ordinary experiences? Sarah doesn’t believe she can do anything. Her nightmares may cause lots of pain and fear, but she is learning to deal with them in her own ways. Her dreaming cannot be prevented or controlled, and she knows the deaths are not her fault, so she continues to live a nor-mal life. “I just kind of have to accept it,” said Sarah, “since there is noth-ing that I can do about it.”*The source for this story wishes to remain anonymous

Paige Hesen

“Kathryn, stay awake. Stay awake,” her parents yelled as they sped to get to the hospital. Kathryn Melkjorsen ‘12, had sore muscles and awful stomach aches for weeks. “It felt like someone was sticking a knife in me,” said Kathryn. On the morning of Oct. 2, 2009, Kathryn’s mom went up to her room to check on her, and Kathryn was in too much pain to respond so her parents quickly drove her to Sky Ridge hospital. Her body was shutting down. When they got to Sky Ridge, the doctors quickly hooked her up to life support and a life line was put in her heart that pumped five electrolytes straight into her heart to keep it beating. Kathryn was immediately air lifted to to St. Luke’s pediatric hospital. “My dad thought I wasn’t going to make it because the doctors wouldn’t look at him in the helicopter,” said Kathryn. Upon arrival at the hospital, Kathryn was put into the ICU. “The first 48 hours was the worst. It was touch and go,” said Anita Melkjorsen, Kathryn’s mom. “It was too hard to be in the room, so I mostly stayed in the waiting room.” Kathryn pulled through after four days in the ICU. “It was exciting when she came off life support, started talking to us, and was able to communicate,” said Anita. The doctors found out that she had an allergic reaction to her thyroid medicine. “I now know that life is fragile,” said Kathryn, “So live life and don’t do anything that you’ll regret.”

Lauren Scheirman

TALESOF THEWEIRDAND WACKYAROUNDRCHS

Bite turns to infectionSurviving a fall

A terrifying crash

Seeing the dead

Deadly reaction

Students’ experiences with illnesses, car crashes, falls, and unexplainable

dreams will leave you amazed at the crazy things that go on in

our own community.

Photo by Rebecca Ruh

20 soundtrack: “� e way you look tonight” Frank Sinatra03•18•10

oscar night

“Quoted”

“Channing Tatum! He looks amazing in ‘Dear John’.”

-Shannon Howard ‘12

“I would go with young Mitch [Schellenger] because we are the best of friends.”

-Evan Schneider ‘10

“Robert Pattinson! Duh!”-Carly Lombard ‘11

“Katherine Heigl because she is a babe, one of the best ac-tors I have ever seen… and I’m in love with her.”

-Nate Flessner ‘11

“Beyonce, as long as Jay-Z doesn’t beat me up!”

-Chris Dixon ‘12

“Jessica Alba, she is � iiiine.”-Jack Lovett ‘11

REDcarpet

theRC

The annual Academy Awards aired on Sunday, March 7. With prom less than a month away, we decided to show you RC’s version of red carpet fashion. The Rock also reviewed a number of Oscar winners and losers so you will know which movies are worthy of your time.

OSCARSthe rc

Photo courtesy of Bob D’Amico/ABC/MCT

Lily Sumners ‘12, in a pink rhinestoned dress by Sherri Hill.

Brittney Webber ‘10, in a white rhinestoned gown by Jovani.

CodyAnn LaCourture ‘11, in a blue sequined gown by Atechier Alyce.

Who would you choose as your celebrity date to take to the Oscars?

Compiled by Courtney Schellenger

Photos by Paige NewmanInformation compiled by Paige Hesen and Caley Pavillard

Brooke Skinner ‘10, in a purple pleated gown from Caché.

21soundtrack: “Starstruck” Lady Gaga03•18•10oscar night

REVIEWS

Life isn’t fair, at least according to Lee Daniels’ two time Oscar award winning movie, “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.” Pain and struggle—with a hint of violent cruelty— lead to an optimistic and hopeful future for an over-weight and illiterate teen battling poverty and her own dysfunctional family. Gabourey Sidibe, the star of “Pre-cious,” gave a performance that will leave audiences amazed, horrified, and touched at the same time. However, she didn’t manage to bring home an Oscar for Best Actress, despite her powerful perfor-mance. It is not fair that Sidibe lost to Sandra Bullock. Although Bullock was able to capture audiences’ attentions, Sidibe was able to command them. Precious’ hardships became the audience’s. The struggles of Bullock’s character were only understandable. Also, “Precious” was Sidibe’s first role in a movie, while Bull-ock has reached the big screen numerous times. This just doesn’t seem like an equal competition. Even though it did not win, it’s amaz-ing to see “Precious,” a low budget film, get so much recognition, because it is well deserved. So for all those who were disap-pointed by the fact that Sidibe’s Oscar dream didn’t come true, realize that the situation, like Precious’, wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that an indie film was going against a big time production movie, or that a first time actress was going against a starlet. Still, Gabourey Sidibe was able to hold her own and that’s enough to make her experience a true Oscar winner.

Dani Burrage

“Did I really win this award, or did I just ware you all down,” Sandra Bullock asked as she began her acceptance speech for best actress in a leading role for the movie “The Blind Side.” To be quite hon-est Sandra, I think you just wore us down. Out of the five nominations for this category, including Helen Mirren in “The Last Station,” Carey Mulligan in “An Edu-cation,” Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” and Meryl Streep in “Julie and Julia,” I think there were much better choices for a winner than Bullock. Sure, she did a good job, but what was so special about it? She played a suburban mom who takes in an African American teen and en-courages him to play football. I didn’t see anything that another actress wouldn’t have been able to do just as well. As for Gabourey Sidibe, she plays a 16 year old pregnant girl with her second child who was abused for years by her parents; in my opinion, that’s more award worthy than a suburban mom. Meryl Streep is an acting genius, plain and simple, and deserves any award. “The Blind Side” was a well made and memorable movie, but there were other actresses that could have pulled off the role equally as well. Although I don’t think she should have won, I do agree Bullock did a good job. It was a nice change for the actress who is usually in comedies. But maybe the award should have been given to someone a little less popular and a little more talented.

Jenn Burton

“The Hurt Locker” deserved to win the Oscar for Best Picture. It was a vio-lent, interesting, and unique perspective on the war in Iraq. The movie highlights the experiences of a bomb defusing squad for several months. Director Kathryn Bigelow un-veiled the raw parts of war to the world, which many people don’t see. That being said, I’m glad that “Avatar” didn’t win. James Cameron’s thriller was considered one of the top choices for Best Picture, but after the novelty of the special effects and 3D wears off, Avatar has a weak story plot and weaker acting. In a nutshell, Avatar is about humans attempting to tear apart the planet ‘Pandora’ for a metal called unobtainium. Really Cameron? Unobtainium is the best fake metal name you could come up with? On top of that, Avatar was way too long, even for the $16 spent for a 3D ticket. I’d say that an hour and a half of blue monkeys is enough for me. There are even rumors that Cameron stole the plot from a book called “Call me Joe.” Way to pull a Quentin Tarantino, James. The only good thing about the movie is that the special effects of Avatar are unmatched. Cameron’s genius combined with subtle 3D makes the planet and the characters truly come to life. They just have nothing to say. Avatar had the potential to be great, but a bad plotline and thin character development led to “The Hurt Locker” winning Best Picture.

Max Wellman

The camera pans around a quiet table. A dairy farmer and S.S. officer engage in a conversation about the hiding of Jews in France. The camera zooms, forcing the viewer to feel the discomfort and claus-triphobia of the situation, and from one aerial camera angle the audience captures the slaughter of a family in a manner that is discomforting yet sardonic. This is the opening scene in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards total. Despite the film’s abundant nomina-tions it only won one award, Best Sup-porting Actor - Christoph Waltz. “The Hurt Locker,” winner of Best Picture, was nominated for 9 awards, almost all of which were in the same category as “Basterds.” It took home six Oscars, and though the film is important and phenomenally well done, Tarantino’s “Basterds” was more deserving of many of the awards, specifically Best Picture. “Inglourious Basterds” was able to make World War II an exciting, fun, and near comical experience. The movie’s ability to confront a serious event with a carefully controlled sense of humor is something that most people are not able to do in their own lives. Given the hectic times we live in, the “Basterds” repre-sent a virtue that more people should embrace. Though “The Hurt Locker” is without a doubt a phenomenal movie it doesn’t offer an alternative way of looking at the present. As a result of this off beat approach to looking at things, it deserved to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Connor Dozois

“Avatar’s” Oscar win for cinematogra-phy sparked much controversy. Many say the movie was too good to win so little. But the award for cinematography “Ava-tar” managed to win should have been won by “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Across the board, “Avatar” was not short of amazing computer graphics. The picture was phenomenal. Brightly colored scenes, blue people, and plenty of pocket change showed that some six years of production actually paid off. That is to say, it took six years of someone sit-ting at a desk, eyes transfixed on a screen, fiddling with a graphics program, putting different sections of computer graphics

together. Ultimately, this is the essence of the cinematography in “Avatar.” It seems like the entirety of the movie can be split into percentages, in my opinion: 25% live action, 75% computer graphics. Since most of the movie is computer graphics, physical effort is minute and most likely, only required one take. In the other corner, “Harry Potter” is filled with amazing cinematography that is not only realistic, but physically exerting. In comparison to “Avatar,” I think Harry Potter’s percentiles stand as a complete opposite: 25% computer graphics and 75% live action. This means that most of the movie was thousands of hours on set, with actors repeating the

same action over and over roughly 100 times. Even though “Avatar” took longer to make, “Harry Potter” held more effort and produced more awe when it came to opening day. Fiddling with computer graphics for an insane amount of time is commend-able, but the suspension of disbelief is lost. The audience is well aware that everything done to bring the world of “Avatar” to life is because a computer made it so. “Harry Potter” showed more life. There were moments where the graphics were too real to be fake. “Avatar” was just too fake to be taken seriously.

Amber Cole

“The Hurt Locker:” deserving winner

‘Basterds’ was the better choice

Avatar vs. Harry Potter: The winner was effortless

From left: Gabourey Sidibe arrives for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre. (Michael Goulding/Orange County Register/MCT)Sandra Bullock with her Oscar for Best Actress for “The Blind Side.” (Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times/MCT). Kathryn Bigelow with her Oscar for Best Director for “The Hurt Locker.” (Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times/MCT). Quentin Tarantino arrives for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Did you know?• Kate Winslet is the only actress to receive four Oscar nominations before reaching the age of 30.

• The longest Oscar awards ceremony was in the year 2000, running for four hours and 16 minutes – beating a previous record by 16 minutes.

• Gone with the Wind, at 3 hours and 56 minutes, was the longest film to have won a Best Picture Oscar; it was also the first film in color to win Best Picture.

•The films with the most Oscar wins are Ben-Hur, Titanic and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, each winning 11 Oscars from 12, 14 and 11 nominations, respectively.

• Meryl Streep had more Best Actress nominations than any other actress; 13 in total, leading to 2 awards. Katharine Hepburn received 12 nomina-tions and won 4 Academy Awards.

Compiled by Paige Newman

Anyone but Bullock should have won

Sibide was the better actress

22 soundtrack: “Fashion” David Bowie03•18•10

community

to our corporate sponsors for their generosity in supporting the 2010 Fashion Show and After Prom

Thanks!

Juniors Sarah Duncan, Dustin Dodd, and Chloe Yarusso walk arm-linked down the runway during the formal wear portion of the Fashion Show on Sunday, Feb. 20. “I thought the fashion show was really fun and a good time to hang out with friends and I will definitely go again next year,” said Dodd. Photo by Meghan Long

Connor Hesen ‘12, and Russell Hunchar ‘11, show off their goofy side by turning their runway walk into a wheelbarrow. Photo by Meghan Long

Freshmen Ty Strimbu, Audie Ryburn, and Madison Jackson on the runway at the 2010 Fashion Show. The Hollywood-themed event raised over $20,000, and is the primary fund-raiser for the After Prom the night of April xx. Photo by Meghan Long

Park Meadows

60 percent of the time, it works every timeA little bit of silliness will relieve stress and anxiety on any kind of group project

On opening night of every play I have been in, the air is thick with nervous energy.

My cast mates and I have worked for months, and our results are going to be displayed before all of our friends and family in a brief spectacle that will last only a couple of hours.

If I mess up, the mistake is not just mine. It becomes the burden of my cast and my crew.

� is isn’t like a math test. If I fail, I can’t just throw away my marked up paper and hope to do be� er next time.

� is is sink or swim. If I fail, not only have I embarrassed myself, but I have let down the cast, crew and director.

As the clock gets closer to seven, that nervous energy fades, and just becomes plain nerves.

Knees begin to shake, brows begin to sweat, and as I make eye contact with a cast mate, we can both see fear deep in each others’ eyes.

As a cast, we make a circle to do warm ups. Some stand quietly, staring at their feet, mumbling their lines

over and over. Others jump up and down to physically release the bu� er� ies. Others are quite simply lost.

� en I start warm ups. I love leading warm ups, and the whole cast is listening, ready to repeat a� er me.

“� e arsonist had oddly shaped feet.” “� e human torch was denied a bank loan.”“Hey everyone! Come see how good I look.”Yes, I lead the cast in a series of quotes from the movie “Anchor-

man” (and a few from “Step Brothers”). We laugh together as the quotes range from silly to, if Mrs. Baker

is in the house, inappropriate. � e fear in our eyes slowly transitions back to energy.

� ere aren’t any di� cult tongue twisters, or stretches in my warm ups, just a bunch of jokes about the pa� ern of the pleats.

� e cast jokes, laughs, and calms down with the help of a li� le silliness.

I think that the world could use some more of this silliness.

Laughing together is the best way to get a group through a tense time.

Too o� en I � nd my peers and myself yelling when stressed, resolving con� ict by showing o� vocal prowess, and ultimately demeaning one another.

If instead, we all took a deep breath, realized that 60 percent of the time, ‘Sex Panther’ works

every time, and laughed, then the world would be just a li� le bit more pleasant.

Even be� er than ge� ing through stress is the laughter that brings people together. In a show, or any group project, the be� er the chemis-try, the be� er the � nal results.

By opening night, the cast has been living 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. days, go-ing from school to rehearsal, and ge� ing more exhausted by the minute. We have spent ungodly amounts of time with each other and are usually ready to strangle at least one cast mate.

But when we laugh, all of that goes away. � e anger and the frustra-tion are quickly turned into friendship that always shows in the � nal product.

Next time you are on a team, and someone drops the ball, or is just ge� ing on your nerves, look them straight in the eyes and yell, “I’m trapped in a glass case of emotion!”

Call this a hidden conflict, not a warWe should not start wars to change others when we have a war going on in our own streets It is not acceptable for our country to go another day trying to raise up the middle and high class families, leaving the children of the low class neighborhoods to fall into the same path as their brothers and sisters. In the lower class communities, in the ghe� os and the slums, the dream is to make it out alive. � e only true source of protection is the brotherhood of the neighborhood gang, which leads to a life of crime in order to survive. Our con� icts in the Middle East are favored by our country’s media because of its e� ect on the civil-ians of our nation. But what about the con� icts that take place in the streets of cities around the country going unnoticed? Today, there is a war going on in South Central, L.A. In the past 30 years, over 15,000 lives have been taken by gang violence be-tween the Crips and the Bloods. Many people jump to conclusions when they read about these gangs killing each other throughout our nation. It all goes back to where and when they were formed. A� er all the leaders of the Civil Rights movement in Los Angeles were jailed or killed by radical white leaders or forces such as the FBI and LAPD, there were no other leaders to steer the new young generation away from illegal actions and into improving civil rights in our nation. � is is when, in the late 1960s, the Crips were formed,

which later brought about their rival, the Bloods.A rough black man did not create the

American gangster lifestyle, the apathetic white community did.

I’ve come to see that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Our educational system in the United States is still biased to favor white children over children of color. � is results in very few students of color moving on to higher education. Lack of resources in inner city schools is the main reason behind this.

� roughout time, these wars in the slums, ghe� os, and lower class streets have been

ignored, leaving no change in this struggle. � e wealthy population that has the power to make changes in our country does not have to drive down the streets and see their brothers and sisters not make it to 25 years old because of gang violence. So they don’t care to improve or give a helping hand toward the situation that they created.

I feel the next thing we need in this country is a leader that will not just improve the lives of the middle and high class families, but also go into the lower class areas with ambition to bring the people up rather than down. We need a leader with heart for a true change in the United States to make sure not one child goes le� behind, building the future generations strong to keep the lower class out of the struggle.

Find your favorite columnist...

Drew DoddsPage 25

Matt RabonPage 25

Skyler DraperPage 24

Curtis StuckPage 24

23soundtrack: “War” Edwin Starr

Art by Dani Barrage

Paige NewmanPage 24

Myles WallingfordPage 25

THE GUY LOOKIN’ UPAustin Frankel

SHORT N’ SWEET Alex Rowe

Political cartoons

Eric Viau ‘12

Will Ready ‘10

Anonymous

Chris Dixon ‘11

Anonymous

Anthony McKnight ‘12

(sic) Riendeau

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24 soundtrack: “Wild thing” Chip Taylor03•18•10opinion

my shoulder, it really is. Don’t get me wrong; I love babysi� ing and I love li� le kids. But when they get away from their parents and run over to the table, it’s like a whole new side of them comes out, a side that is de� nitely not as cute. Maybe it’s because they are out of their comfort zones, in a new environment, and their moms are not closely watching

them, so they know they won’t get yelled at. � e demon children came and went throughout the day, but at one point, I saw a child a� ached to one of those animal backpack leashes held by his mom. � is child was completely under control. He was laughing, smiling, having fun with his parents, and this may come as a shock but he was not bothering anyone. I

almost wanted to paint this kid’s face just because he was actually well behaved and deserving. Not all kids need to be put on a leash, but there’s nothing wrong with parents keeping their children a li� le closer so they can’t run o� and terrorize strangers. I give credit to parents, whether their children were the cute ones or not. Because if I had trouble being around kids for only the time that it took to paint a heart on their faces, I can’t imagine doing it every minute of every day. I don’t think these kids I met are bad at all; I’m sure they are adorable when they are not surrounded by games and face paint and candy. I just admire parents for the amount of patience they must have, the fact that they can talk in calm voices when they really want to � ip their lids, and how they always have smiles on their faces throughout the process. From now on, whenever I see a mother ba� ling a temper tantrum at King Soopers or at a store in the mall, I’m going to look at that woman like she is a hero.

I never thought the subject of my nightmares would be a screaming six year old. On four di� erent occasions, I have painted faces at carnivals and birthday parties, and each time is exactly the same. First, I set up a table and wait for the kids to start arriving. � e � rst few are adorable. I am extra friendly to them, give them plenty of options as to what they could put on their cheek, and maybe even paint two or three things on them. � e li� le kids are the best behaved because most of them are too shy to be irritating to someone they don’t know. You can’t help but love the three year olds that crawl into the chair and are thrilled when they see the li� le bu� er� y on their cheek in the mirror. � ere’s nothing wrong with painting these kids’ faces. As the a� ernoon crawls on, however, the kids get progressively more evil. It’s like a group of malicious seven year olds banded together and planned to try to terrorize the face-painting girl until she cries. � is age group, from about six to eight, is the worst. � ey ask for things like dragons and dolphins and kangaroos on their cheeks. I simply respond, “how about a soccer ball?” � ey get in my face and lean over my shoulder to watch their friends be painted, as boogers pour of their nose � ve inches away from my face. � e worst part is that the older ones think they are funny when they de� nitely are not. And they ask annoy-ing questions, too. Here’s one conversation I had with a boy who was probably around six or seven: Him: “Why are you pu� ing gli� er on her?” Me: “Why wouldn’t I put gli� er on her?” He didn’t have a response. Maybe this doesn’t seem that agitating, but when you add the fact that he would not move away from my side and go to the other side of the table, and that I had to physically wipe the snot o�

It’s tough to deal with little kids, but we have to put on a smile and tolerate them

As I begin the � nal quarter of my high school career, I look back and realize just how good I’ve had it here at Rock Canyon. I look back and remember all the teachers I’ve had that not only helped me grow into an intelligent student, but also as an informed adult. I see my friends and I remember deciding that it would be a good idea to play human bowling during my junior year (it wasn’t). But more than anything, I see myself walking into this school on the � rst day of my freshman year. Li� le did I know that this school would provide me with experiences I’ll never forget. Four years later, the innocent li� le freshmen that I once was is ge� ing ready to head o� to college. As of now, I’m in a metaphorical staring match with my

America misses recalling its own manufacturing mistakes

Stop and smell the roses

Painting on a smile

Toyota has been a reliable manufacturer for over 20 years; they will be � ne after the recall

The other day I couldn’t � nd my cheer shoes. My stu� was everywhere and I looked for them for a good ten minutes and I still couldn’t � nd them. I � nally asked someone if they had seen them and they said, “Oh, the ones on your feet?” Courtney Schellenger

We had a sub in my English class and we were supposed to be reading silently and my friend decided to turn my desk all the way around. The sub stopped and asked if we were having issues with our desk. I turned bright red and had to stand up and turn my desk around while everyone stared at me.

Jenn Burton

Filling up my water bottle, I was swinging it by the strap when it broke, sending it sliding down the hallway. Dang, that was a great water bottle. Laura Romer

I went home to work on a paper I was writing, and I spent the whole afternoon working with my backpack on the desk right next to me, and then realized it was still on my desk as I was pulling into the school after lunch. Logan � ompson

The lady I work next to told my manager that I was playing the radio at “extremely high volumes.” I got written up; one more and I’m � red.

Myles Wallingford

The one day I didn’t wear a cami under my blouse, the bust area somehow became unbuttoned. I was completely oblivious and no one had the guts to tell me until my teacher said, “You probably don’t realize it, but you’re a little too exposed.” Rebecca Ruh

During Access, my friend was trying to teach me how to “jerk.” My attempt at the move resulted in me kicking my leg, tripping and falling on my face in the middle of the hallway. Taylor Pe� away

I was standing in my biology class and I was trying to act all digni-� ed, but as I walked back to my seat I stepped on my own foot and almost fell on my face.

Zach Anderson

That ‘s due today?

future and sooner or later, one of us will blink. With a brand new world right around the corner, I’m just now taking the time to appreciate all of the amazing experiences I’ve had here. Let me tell you, I wish I would’ve started about four years ago. For the most part I look back and

cherish the li� le things – making bets with my friends on who can throw a tin foil ball in to a trash can from forty feet away � rst, si� ing on the exact same bench every day a� er school, and hurling bowling balls between my legs in Indi-vidual Sports every block day. High school has been an unbelievable experience for me; I wouldn’t change it for the world. Four years have � own by in what seems like four seconds, and if there’s one thing I would go back and change, I would make sure I took the time to soak it all in. Appreciate what you have here, be-cause before you know it, you’ll be taking a long walk in my shoes down a road that makes Vail Pass look easy to navigate.

Toyota has recalled roughly � ve million cars since 1974, when the company was founded. I own a Pontiac, so naturally I thought I was safe from the recall fever. But now, my li� le red coup is being recalled for its power steering. � e recall on my car got me thinking: why didn’t Pontiac’s issues hit the news as hard as the Toyota recall? � e obvious answer is that the Pontiac recall didn’t a� ect as many cars as Toyota’s now infamous accelerator issue. But that isn’t true for other car companies that also had problems with their manufacturing. When Toyota is compared to other automobile manufacturers such as Ford, their � ve million recalls seems like a record low for the industry. Ford has recalled nearly 20 million cars, with 4.5 million recalls in 2009 and 2005. Ford wasn’t the only other car company that had to recall; Chevrolet also had recalls on ten di� erent models in the year of 2009 alone. Given these statistics, I don’t understand why the Toyota recall is being predicted to

ruin their reputation. In the last 20 years, Ford has had a terrible record for reliability in auto-manufacturing, yet they remain a popular choice in America without even a hint of a negative response from the media. I’m not going to say there is a conspiracy behind the coverage auto companies receive, but the response to the Toyota recall seems just a bit melodramatic when looking at America’s vast history of manufacturing mistakes. � ere is no reason to give Toyota a death sentence based on this mistake; it is their � rst major recall and this is something that nearly all car manufacturers have to deal with. It was only a ma� er of time until the Japanese manufacturer had a slip up, and we shouldn’t judge them based on this recall; we should judge them in how they recover from a mistake. Toyota needs to have a quick, e� cient recovery to prove to the American public that this was nothing more than an accident. � e a� ermath of this recall does lead me to wonder one thing, though: is this Toyota

incident just the type of event people are us-ing to reintroduce American car companies as the dominant � gure in auto manufactur-ing? I truly hope that this isn’t being used as an opportunity; I understand capitalism, but it is hypocritical to blow someone else’s mistake out of proportion to negatively a� ect their company, especially when American car companies have made the same mistake over and over and over again.

Everyone knows that feeling you get when you come to class and your teacher tells you to turn in a huge paper, and you

didn’t know it was due. When we get this feeling, we say “That was due today?”

THE BOSSPaige NewmanTHE BOSSPaige Newman

THE COMMENTATORCurtis Stuck

THE REDNECKSkyler DraperTHE REDNECK

Take a minute to soak everything in. Before you know it, it’ll be just a memory

25soundtrack: “Possession” Sarah McLachlan03•18•10opinion

Karl Rove’s new bookabout the Bush presidency

Limbaugh threatening to send illegal immigrants back to Mexico

Orange oompa loompas Its funny how at our school, everyone makes fun of the “oompa loompas” when most of the ones making fun are ex-actly what they are criticizing. � e other day I heard one girl with a terrible fake tan talking about how one of her friends got a terrible fake tan. It just doesn’t make sense. If you make fun of them, why are you just like them? Why don’t we just stay white? It’s be� er than orange. Jenn Burton

Traffic nightmares Walking through the congested halls this semester, I collided with not only timid freshman, but also a strange revelation. While you’re driving on the road in your warm Honda Civic, you don’t have to dodge and veer around hormonal couples sucking face, you aren’t zealously protect-ing your toes from Spanish teachers wheeling around carts of over� owing bingo chips, or pushing your way through clumps of obnoxious squealing sophomores standing at the exits of intersections or, in our case, pods. When you � nally get into that brand new Honda Civic of yours, don’t freak out, because if you think about it, road tra� c is nothing.

Kate Ready

Treated as toddlers I like being protected from harm. But is it truly harmful to me and the people around me if I walk to my � � h period with an open yogurt container? � e security guards seem to think so. What is this school, an airport? No open contain-ers allowed? Perhaps I should also remove my shoes and put my backpack through a scanner, to ensure that my binders aren’t hiding anything lethal. � e security guards are a li� le too anal about the safety of high school students, and it’s really beginning to bother me. If we could be treated as teen-agers, not toddlers, it would make my day a whole lot be� er.

Laura Romer

Where’s the passion? Looking back at last week, I realized that I need to make a change in my life. Last week, I simply went through the motions of each day: wake up, school, lacrosse, homework, and bed. Yet I did it with no emotion, like I was a robot.We all could have a li� le more passion in what we do. Pas-sion is what makes us unique, and as individuals we must strive to suck the marrow out of life. If we go through life likes it’s a duty, we have no time to enjoy the li� le things.

Max Wellman

Just not fair Teachers constantly ask us as students to be on time and do our homework, but why should we when some don’t ful� ll their own duties? I have a teacher who usually takes at least 10 minutes to � nish a� endance and then we usually have 10 minutes at the end of class to do whatever we want because the lesson plans are so ine� cient. And the teacher doesn’t put any e� ort into it. I feel like I’m wasting my time in this class. � at’s not fair to me or anyone else in the class, yet it’s the new, interesting teachers whose jobs are in jeop-ardy from budget cuts. Something is wrong here.

Maddie Jones

Quick Hits

Replacing sentiment with trendy and newInstead of replacing perfectly good items with the brand new, realize the value in the older things A while back, my family and I took a short vacation to Zion National Park in Utah. I anticipated that there would be fantastic biking trails, so I decided to bring my mountain bike along. Before we hit the trail, however, we � gured it would be wise to have our bikes checked by the local shop. To my surprise, my bicycle had several serious problems. Apparently my gears did not shi� properly, one of my tires was losing air, and the frame itself had warped from me having my seat too high. I had owned this bike for at least six years; it was my mode of transportation to get to work and back, so I had used it quite a bit. It was for this reason that I was actually more pleased by what I had learned rather than distraught. I had used this bike for years, and it had value far be-yond what I originally paid for it. It wasn’t just any old bike. It was my bike that I had ridden to the point of it falling apart. Most people today are always looking to replace things or get rid of what they have not because it doesn’t work but

because they simply “have to have” the newer version. But doesn’t an object gain value and mean more when it looks used, and has, in a sense, become yours? For example, if you buy a book, then mark it up or put sticky notes in it, and a page or two tears, you don’t worry, be-cause it’s your book. More importantly, if you put money into something, then you should use it until is has to be replaced and get your money’s worth. Today’s world is a materialistic one, and it seems that everyone is constantly in search of what more they can get.

The Olympic games in hindsightThere is a science that lies behind the constantly competing puzzle pieces of Pangaea � e Olympic Games featured athletes from 80 di� erent countries around the globe. In those 80 di� erent countries were television sets that had 80 dif-ferent versions of Bob Costas as their host. � ose hosts broadcasted from 80 di� erent studio locations reading from 80 di� erent scripts in 80(ish) di� erent lan-guages. In close proximity to where those viewers sat � ew 80 di� erent rectangular cloth pa� erns with various colors. When gold was won, athletes who won the medal stood on a podium and heard their national anthem being played. It’s interesting to hear the national anthem of another country, to think that they are so familiar with this piece of music and it’s our � rst exposure to it. � e ‘Star Spangled Banner’ has never reached the ears of most people in each of the competing countries, unless of course they had watched a previous Olympics. If any of those viewers were adopted at birth and brought to the United States, he/she would be able to predict the oncoming stanzas of our nations ‘theme song.’ I believe the only di� erence between myself and them is a physical

distance. I love seeing maps of the world without boundaries penciled in upon the continents. � e lines we draw on maps are not engraved into the earth. I wonder if that concept is what causes some people to feel hesitant about saying the pledge of allegiance. Are they not a citizen of the world? Aren’t we all citizens of the world? Earth is like a cell. Inside that cell are millions of di� erent components work-ing together to keep the cell functioning. � e cell works with billions of other cells in a certain part of the body. � at part of the body needs the other parts of the body to keep the human subject alive.

Humans are the components of this cell, labeled as “Earth.” � e only end to this cell will come from within. It will be rejected by other cells and leave the body, which will go on living despite the loss. Arguments of superiority, greed-ridden tendencies, and destructive habits are paused for the ingestion of water and oxygen. Without such substances, these qualities could not exist. If one who spoke a di� erent language heard us say the word “love”, it would only be a sound. A physical barrier blocks the mutual understanding of something that is instinctual in all humans. � ey know what the feeling of love is just as we do. I believe that is what we must focus on – the qualities that are inherent in all humans. Not the ways in which they are displayed or the location where they are experienced. Just as the Olympics brought countries together in the spirit of competition, the world brings humans together as coexisting forms of life. We may ‘compete’ as much as we please, but at the end of the day, we all follow the same rotational path around the sun.

Art by Zach Anderson

Half full, or half empty?Quit complaining and take advantage of life’s opportunities People are always talking about their problems, as if that is what occupies ev-ery second of their lives. I say to people, why continue on with your problems, why complain, and why not eliminate them by accepting your place in life and understanding its value? I was riding up the chair li� the other day with a good friend of mine when he began to complain about our mundane lives. � is ticked me o� for some reason, whether it was the six hours of sleep I got the previous night or the lack of food I had in my system. Nevertheless, it struck me as a prime example of idiocy. I am not to trying to be blissfully naïve when I say you only have one life to live. But why look for the � aws in your life when you can choose to see past

them? In the halls of Rock Canyon you hear students complaining about this or that daily. “Lacrosse is under funded.” “Teachers are frustrated by the budget cuts.” Why stand for this, why waste your time complaining, when you could be improving your life? � at chair ride in which my fellow peer and I were riding was resting 20 feet above the snow’s surface. If you craned your neck a good 45 degrees down, you were enriched with the panoramic view of the valley and the mountain ranges extending out. Yet people continue to complain about the long waits, the cold seats and so on, when the chair li� ride alone is a privilege, not to mention the

skiing itself. Not just anyone can strap on a pair of 600 dollar skis and head out on the slopes of Aspen. So stop wasting your time complain-ing. It is an undeniable fact that everyone has done it at some point in their life. Who hasn’t? Everyone complains, me be-ing the worst at times. Complaining takes things that could have been viewed as tol-erable or even memorable and rips them apart until they are no longer bearable. So don’t waste your life time complaining; instead, try improving it.

In 5 minutes ago Out

It’s as though their self value is directly proportional to how much stu� they can accumulate. I, however, would argue that this is not at all true, but rather, the stu� that ma� ers should be those things that have real meaning and that you actually use. A� er all, what good does a book do you if all it ever does is collect dust on the shelf? A� er returning from Zion, I got to thinking about what things I have that I never use; upon scouring my room of all the stu� I own, I found that I have loads of crap that I hadn’t even looked at in years. � is made me very self conscious about what I spend my money on, and helped me save a great deal of money. If you try to resist the materialistic trend of our society and only invest in the things that will hold real value to you now and a ways down the road, this will not only help you become a more frugal person, but it will also cause you to value what you do own to a much higher degree.

Barack Obama’s book Politicians sticking to politics

Tiger’s sex rehabilitation Tiger perfecting his stroke on and o� the course

Limbaugh threatening to go to Costa Rica for health care

Limbaugh following through on anything ever

The Hurt Locker Green Zone (the Bourne War on Terror) There’s a war in Iraq?

Max Wellman

Tiger’s back to golf

Limbaugh threatening to go to

THE GENIUSMatt RabonTHE GENIUS

HERE’S WHAT’S UPDrew Dodds

THE OPTIMISTIC CYNICMyles Wallingford

26 soundtrack: “Goldigger” Kanye West03•18•10

budget cuts

Seventy-six million dollars. That’s how much Douglas County School District will lose in revenue dur-ing the next two years. This means huge changes for Rock Canyon. On March 3, the DCSD board met and discussed the reductions to be imple-mented over these two years. $12 million will be taken back by the state, there will be a reduction plan of $40 million for the 2010-2011 school year, and finally another reduction plan of $24 million for the 2011-2012 school year. Students will certainly be able to see many of the changes to take place, and even seniors heading off to college will see its effects. The school district receives the vast majority of its funding through the state of Colorado; approximately 45 percent of the state budget goes to educa-tion. However, primarily due to the current economic crisis, the state is suffering

financially and has fallen into debt. Furthermore, the state has many other expenses to take care of other than education, like prisons, roads, and Medic-aid. “It actually costs more to keep a pris-oner for a year than to educate a student for a year,” said Dr. Gary Steven, Principal of Plath River Academy. “Furthermore, the state crisis will affect high school seniors because the state must increase college tuition across the board.” Based on the current reduction plan for the next two years, about $8 million will be cut from central office depart-ments such as custodial services and human resources, and another $5.5 mil-lion cut through program reductions and transportation changes. “Cuts at the district level make our jobs much more difficult,” said Gregg Sheehan, “and less support from the district means we will have less time with

students.” The next area where reductions will take place, however, will have a huge impact on students, and this is the SBB (site based budget) reductions. This is where DCSD will save $15.5 million by reducing the money allocated to each student by $250. At Rock Canyon alone, if you assume a student body of two thousand, that’s a half million dollars saved. This is the area in which several teach-ers will have to be let go. 220-300 teacher jobs will be lost district-wide. The number of teacher jobs that will be lost at Rock Canyon is yet to be determined. This inevitably means larger class sizes. The average class size next year could be between 33 and 35 students. Finally, the additional $11 million will be taken out through a compensation freeze, three additional furlough days, and transportation/athletic fees.

While the employee compensation freeze will not have a direct effect on stu-dents, the furlough days and additional fees might. On a furlough day, one particular set of employees does not work, and there-fore, is not paid. However, this does not necessarily mean three additional days off for students. “Because there are so many employees, they probably will not be the same days for every employee,” said Sheehan. The additional transportation and athletic fees that are planned to be imple-mented, however, are not yet set in stone and are still subject to change. “It’s all highly dependent on what happens at a state level,” said Sheehan, “though they have agreed to increase athletic fees by $30.”

Matt Rabon

See our editorial views on facing page.

Rock: How many teachers will be cut?Rauh: Cut is really not the best word. There will be teachers who will be reas-signed. They will be teaching more than one class, or mov-ing to another building. Not too many teachers will lose their jobs completely.

Rock: How many reductions will there be?Rauh: There will be reduc-tions in supplies and materi-als, athletics and activities, support staff, and teachers. The teacher-student ratio will be increased to 180 students per teacher, compared to this year’s 150.

Rock: What will the average class size be next year?Rauh: It could be as high as 35, but we’re hoping for 33 or 34. That’s just an average, so some classes will be smaller and some larger.

Rock: Will only one-year teachers be let go?Rauh: I don’t make that decision. The district decided that one-year teachers will be displaced.

Rock: Who decides what areas of school will have budget cuts?Rauh: The school district gives us our budget, and then we have to make reductions to meet that budget. All program decisions are made by the building.

compiled by Maddie Jones

Q&AWith Principal Kim Rauh

The #’s1

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The break downIn the 2010-2011 school year, $40 million in budget cuts are being made. This is the official proposal for exactly how the money will be saved.

2010-2011 Budget Reduction Proposal:

•$8 M - Cuts in district services (custodians, etc.) expected 40 jobs lost

•$5.5 M - Program reductions (buses, AP classes, innovation and development reduction, etc.) expected 35 jobs lost

•$15.5 M - School Based Budget (SBB) funding reductions. This represents a loss of $250/student, meaning 220-300 jobs lost. At RCHS this means approximately 7-10 teacher jobs lost plus all one year teachers

•$7 M - Teacher compensation freeze and three additional furlough days (days in which teachers do not come to school so that they do not have to be paid)

•$4 M - Additional fees for transportation and athletics

The remaining $24 million will be reduced from the 2011-2012 budget.

compiled by Matt Rabon

Victoria Roberts is passionate about her kids’ educa-tion. Her family, including Cameron, 7, and Brooke, 5, moved to the Douglas County School District so the children could attend Gold Rush Elementary School af-ter her son was diagnosed with autism. Roberts wanted the best education for her son. “I interviewed with principals from many districts,” said Roberts. “I picked Gold Rush Elementary because they believe that all kids can learn, no matter their dis-ability.” Roberts attended the school board meeting about budget cuts on March 2 and spoke to the board about splitting charter school funds with public school funds. “Charter schools are great and I appreciate what they do, but now is not the time to be taking even more money away from the public schools,” said Roberts. “Charter schools don’t have to pay for transportation, or individualized attention for special-needs kids, so the cost is less,” said Roberts. Roberts believes that it is her duty to advocate for the children and the teachers. “I was told by the board that there was going to be a full panel with charter and public schools. When I got to the meeting there was no panel,” said Roberts. “I wanted accountability and they just disregarded it and didn’t analyze the situation; that’s when I spoke up.” Cameron Roberts is a Significant Support Needs (SSN) student that is protected by the Federal Individu-al Education Plan (IEP). IEP are given to special needs students to ensure that

they do not fall behind in school. Even with next year’s budget cuts, Cameron will still be legally protected and get individual attention for five hours a week. “Douglas County has one of the top special needs programs,” said Roberts, “I love their philosophy on special needs.” Gold Rush Elementary School emphasizes the ability of all students to succeed in school. While Cameron’s education is protected, the budget cuts may jeopardize the education of other students. “It’s the kids that don’t have that level of security that will be affected,” said Roberts. Another category of students is moderate needs, students who may learn at a slower pace than others. This can include students with dyslexia and A.D.D. “I feel bad for moderate-needs kids,“ said Roberts, “because they are not legally protected so they won’t receive as much attention as needed.” Roberts also worries about teachers leaving the school for a better pay. “I am afraid that the teachers will not be able to make ends meet because of the budget cuts and will have to move to a neighboring district,” said Roberts. To ensure that Cameron’s school is still thriving, Roberts will continue to volunteer in the classroom, participate in fund-raising, and lobby for the school and extracurricular programs.

Lauren Scheirman

Fighting for a good fitA mother and her autistic son reconsider their choice of moving to Douglas County for a good special-needs education

Dollar to ride the bus. Each student will pay $1 per round trip bus ride.

First-year teachers being laid off

Furlough days

Percent pay cut for substitute teachers.

Dollars per student to help pay for district technology

Average high school class size for 2010-2011 school year

Million dollars expected in ad-ditional budget cuts for 2011-2012

Million dollars saved in 2010-11 from total budget cuts

compiled by Max Wellman

Perfect storm produces budget crisisConcerned teachers and parents listen to members of the school board discuss how to balance the district’s rapidly decreasing budget in the coming school year. Photo by Lauren Scheirman

27soundtrack: “Don’t worry, be happy” Bobby McFerrin 03•18•10editorial

The goals of The Rock, the student newspaper of Rock Canyon High School, are to inform, educate, and entertain readers as well as to provide an educational opportunity for the students who produce it.

Editorial BoardAlex Rowe-Editor in ChiefConnor Dozois-Online Editor Logan Thompson-Online AssistantDaniel Wheeler-News Editor Ade Eichie-News Assistant Emma Kate Fittes-News AssistantMeghan Long-Sports Editor Zach Tornabene-Sports Assistant Sara Heyn-Sports Assistant Kate Ready-Sports AssistantPaige Newman-Culture Editor Max Wellman-Culture Assistant Caley Pavillard-Culture Assistant Maddie Jones-Culture AssistantRachel Curtright-Visual Editor Paige Hesen-Visual AssistantLaura Romer-Community Editor/News AssistantThe Couch-Copy EditorJack Kennedy-Non-voting Adviser

Reporting and Photography StaffEvan AlmonZach AndersonAmanda BeckerEvan Ann BooseDanielle BurrageJennifer BurtonAmber ColeMichael DempseyDrew DoddsSkyler DraperAustin EnterlineAustin FrankelDrew Goodman

Erika GuilbaultKarly HansonGabriel MartinezSean McGavinAlexandra PedrinanTaylor PettawaySam PusarMatt RabonRebecca RuhLauren ScheirmanCourtney SchellengerCurtis StuckMyles Wallingford

The Rock invites your comments. Letters to the editor and commentary submissions are encour-aged. You are also encouraged to submit coverage ideas, cartoons, photos, or anything else you want to see in The RockOpinions of the staff of The Rock are presented as editorials. All editorials are at least the majority view of the editorial board. We also feature a number of columnists and commentary writers. Their opinions are their own.

Recent Honors and Awards

Submission and Editorial Policies

The first three copies of The Rock are free, additional copies are available for 50 cents each

Rock Canyon High School5810 McArthur Ranch RoadHighlands Ranch, CO 80124Phone 303.387.3060 / Fax 303.387.3001

Congress shall make no law respecting an estab-lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exer-cise therof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The First Amendment

2008-09 NSPA All-AmericanQuill & Scroll Gallup Award 2009

The benefits of a positive attitudeThe best way to survive the budget cuts is going to be to keep looking ahead.

Next year $40 million will be cut from the Douglas County School District Budget. This means fewer teachers, larger class sizes, and fewer opportunities for teachers and students alike.

It is extremely unfortunate that this burden is being placed on the education system of such an affluent area, but as it is written, so it shall be done.

Ignoring the possibility of passing a bond in the fall, the District employees and students have been trapped in the middle of a sticky situation.

Historically, people born to afflu-ence and that receive a good education become the decision makers of the world. The potential that lay ahead of Rock Can-yon students is nearly limitless, but the chances students reach that potential are directly dependent on their education.

The Rock urges all students, teachers, and administrators to face the budget cuts with chins up and chests out.

This situation is as far from ideal as possible, but the best way to handle it is going to be to remain positive. If each individual has a positive attitude despite the crowded classrooms and the miss-ing textbooks, then education can be preserved.

However, if the staff and students become stuck in a pattern of negativity, student learning will suffer more than anything else.

The best teachers are the ones whose greatest rewards do not lie in their bank accounts, but in the success of their students.

The best students are the ones who are motivated to learn not by instructor prodding, but by personal drive.

Those ideas are going to be the only things that will allow the members of the Rock Canyon community to get through the deficit smoothly and happily.

Students: The Rock challenges you

to push yourself to learn more than ever, when it is harder than ever.

Teachers: The Rock challenges you to continue inspiring your students while the odds continue to stack against you.

It can be done.The quality of education can be pre-

served despite the incredible difficulties, inconveniences, and setbacks.

This community has a responsibility to the world to produce educated and driven citizens, and that starts now. Over the next few years, even when it is hard, try to maintain a positive attitude.

Find the silver lining, and smile. After the budget was cut last year, the

educational integrity at this school was not compromised. It can happen again despite another round of cuts.

The secret is going to be in the right attitude from every member of the com-munity.

Keep it positive.

Got a minute?

You so don’t Rock!

• An all-senior baseball team and a season opener that drew a large crowd despite the wind.

• Getting sunburned in March. • Sean Kovacs doing the splits. • The temperature outside has been higher than

the number of school days left. • Getting behind the football linemen when they

push the mobs out of the way when trying to get into the 3000 hallway.

• Teachers who want summer to come more than students do. We feel like that goes against every rule of the universe, but we like it.

• Fake tans in order to prepare for spring break.

• We estimate that our grades will drop by at least a letter grade since we’ll be watching March Madness basketball every class period.

• Teachers who yell at us for being slackers. We’re not the ones cramming belated lesson plans into two months!

• My Pontiac has a recall on the power steering. We don’t own a Toyota. We thought we were safe!

• Getting pinched all Wednesday for not wearing green.

• Having to cut open a baby pig for my grade....looks like we are failing Biology.

You so Rock! Guilty of glorious greatnessMonths of work proved valuable for the successful Mock Trial teams

The team files into a fluorescent courtroom at the Colorado Springs Justice Center, anxious for the first round to begin. After brief introductions with their opponents, the judge strolls causally into the room, and everyone stands. This is what they spent months prepar-ing for.

Rock Canyon Mock Trial participants and coaches spent countless hours staying late at school memorizing objections, direct and cross examinations, opening state-ments, closing arguments, and becoming familiar with the latest case.

The team members, from lawyers to witnesses, and coaches to parents, dedicated themselves to securing Rock Canyon’s place in the Mock Trial community.

As a direct result of their tenacity, Rock Canyon’s A team and B team took first and second respectively in the regional competition on Feb. 19 and 20.

“Mock trial requires that you be extremely prepared, even at the regional level,” said B team member, Sam Classen, ’10. “We had every aspect of the case covered so that we knew how to react in every situation.”

The Rock would like to praise the mock trial teams for all of their stunning achievements this year. This was the first year that Douglas/Elbert County had hosted their own regional competition, making Rock Canyon the first ever school to qualify for the state competition from the region.

Not only did two teams qualify, but the members of the Rock Canyon mock trial program won 16 of the 20 individual awards at the regional competition.

These awards included ‘Outstanding Attorney’

and ‘Outstanding Witness,’ which are awarded to ten participants who mastered the mock trial case material and rules. The mock trial team did not only succeed at regionals, but at state as well.

Logan Thompson ‘10, took home an ‘Outstanding Attorney’ award at the state level, the only Rock Canyon student to receive this honor.

“To tell the truth, I’m surprised that [my coaches] managed to put up with me for three years to get me to this point,” said Thompson.

This year wasn’t the first time RC went to the state competition either; in 2008 Rock Canyon’s A team was the first Douglas County team to go to the finals.

Mock trial has put in so much work in the past years to reach this level, and The Rock has given very little praise to the coaches, members, and families of the mock trail community for the awesome acomplishments that came as a result of this work.

If every student put as much time and dedication into what they love as the Mock Trial team, then Rock Canyon would be even more capable of accomplishing incredible things.

Mock Trial has shown the potential that RC students have, not only with their activities, but with the relation-ships they form with each other. Their amazing work goes to show that when students get together with a common goal they can become more than just hallway acquaintances.

“All of us put in extra hours to get where we wanted to,” Emily Gray ‘11, a member of the A team said. “I love our mock trial family.”

For your infoAccording to the article “America’s 25 richest counties” published on Forbes.com on March 10• Douglas County is the eighth

richest county in the United States.

• The median household income in Douglas County is $97,480

• 54 percent, or 145,954 Doug-las County residents 25 or older have a bachelor’s degree

• The total population of the county is 270,286 citizens

compiled by Alex Rowe

Art by Zach Anderson

In the editorial “RCHS, capable of amazing things... in the world” it was printed that Key Club’s grant was to be used “to give computers to these students.” According to David Sapienza, the club faculty sponsor, the Kiwanis grant was to “help support our Costa Rica work. Half of the money will go to student traveling and half will go to purchasing math curriculum for Escuela Verde in Uvita, Costa Rica.”

Correction

28 soundtrack: “I believe in you” How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Cast03•18•10musical

Sibling rivalry Nate Schnebeck ‘10, and Aimee Schnebeck ‘13, have di� erent interpreta-tions of what is happening above. “Aimee is trying to give me a hug,” said Nate, “and she was pretending to be nice to me, because she wanted money, and I was like, ‘I don’t want this.’” “After a long day of not seeing my brother,” Aimee said, “I saw him and I thought ‘Oh my gosh, Nathan, I haven’t seen you all day.’ So I ran up to give him a hug, and I was hugging him and I said, ‘Nathan, do you have any money for the vending machine. Then he pushed me away. He doesn’t really hug back, but I love my brother regardless.”

Time for celebration Sean Kovacs ‘10, hugs Maggie Brister ‘09, after the show is over. The cast and crew come to the lobby to see the people supporting them after curtain call. “It’s an honor to have people – especially like Maggie Brister who is a performer and understands our work – come and support us,” said Kovacs. “It is both a pleasure and a blessing.”

OBSERVATIONSDaniel WheelerOBSERVATIONSDaniel Wheeler

A song from “Annie Get Your Gun” claims that there is “no business like show business.” How true. People who work in the theater have a reputation for being extremely dedicated. � eater is probably one of the most demanding occupa-tions in the world. Professional actors o� en rehearse for eight hours a day, six days a week. � ey frequently perform eight times a week. � ey are rarely employed on a consistent basis, usually having to audition, face rejection, audition, face rejection, audition, and…well, you get the pa� ern. But it’s worth it. I myself signed away my life on Nov. 30, when I promised to commit to “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” With it came the prospects of tiring rehearsals, di� cult choreography, and backstage drama. Here we go…Rehearsing � e choir room is buzzing. It’s the � rst day of rehearsal a� er winter break. Eager cast members are seated with scripts in hand, ready to begin. Questions have arisen. How many people dropped out over winter break? When will the choreographer come? Will this show be a success? � e principle thing I’m concerned about is my song. For the � rst time I have a song I sing with the lead. Admi� edly, I’ve always been a self-conscious singer. For the past couple months, I’ve worked with a pri-vate vocal coach to get my song just right. Surprisingly, I’ve improved vastly and my con� dence has increased. It will be later in the week when I will actually have to sing it in front of my peers. “Let’s begin,” says Julia Dale, our director. She turns to Eric Opp ’10, who opens the play with his brisk and clean narration. Here we go…Dancing

“Do it again,” barks Terrell Davis. Davis is our choreographer, and a damn good one at that. A slim,

mohawked individual with a penchant for Isadora Duncan scarves and honest criti-cism, Davis is always a pleasure.

He might demand a lot from us, but we know he only has so much time to teach us many complicated numbers, and we want to use his time e� ciently.

I return to my position for the number ‘Company Way Reprise.’ � e dance is hilarious, ironically joyous, but not so much on my part. My character, the beloved Mr.

Twimble, head of the mailroom, spends most of the dance as the victim of Bud Frump’s (Morgan Hayes ’12) whims. Here we go…Perfecting While most students are planning the prospects of a good weekend, the cast of “How to Succeed” is at school. It’s a late rehearsal, our � rst, and so far it’s a night-mare. � e scene changes are radically slow and confused, and the dances tired. We need an injection of life. � e � rst act is running six hours, most of it unproductive. Here we go…Performing It’s opening night. � e show has improved vastly, but there is still an air of fear hovering over the entire cast and crew. We had our teaser show for the middle school yesterday, and middle schoolers are a horrible audience. Ben Hilzer ’10, begins to launch into the opening number. “Oh my God guys, it’s real,” somebody says. Here we go…Closing I’m in the drama room at intermission, watching the cast sign posters. We’ve had an outstanding run. All shows have had great audiences and top-notch perfor-mances. I suddenly realize that this will have been my last time performing my song “Company Way.” � is will be my last time performing in this fantastic show, my last time performing with this cast, my last high school musi-cal Auditions for the spring comedy are next week. One show over…and the next one begins. Show business: there’s nothing like it. Here we go…

Three months later, here we go

Strike time After the � nal performance, the cast and crew work together to strike, or disassemble, the set. Above, Alliy Green ‘10, and Camille Stillman ‘13, organize the lumber rack during strike. For “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” that meant taking the carpet o� the set, taking apart the platforms on the stage, taking apart Mr. Biggley’s o� ce, organizing and putting away props and costumes, and cleaning the entire performing arts wing. The cast was at the school until after midnight working to remove all traces of the show, and getting the stage ready to be used again. Photos by Alex Rowe

Awww SNAP! Before every show at Rock Canyon, the cast gathers together, jumps up and down, and yells “Awww Snap!” This cheer � rst started as a handshake between Abby Roberts ‘09, and Maddey Smith ‘09, and it grew to a drama program tradition. This is part of the routine that helps the cast raise their energy and get ready for show. They also do it in the hall after curtain call to celebrate a successful show.