What’s Inside:

Green HornThe Award-Winning Student Publication of Springfield High School

May 21, 2010 Volume 30, Edition 8

School gets out at 2:42. At times during the school year, however, the bell to signal the end of the day rang at 2:44, 2:45, 2:47, and 2:49.

Third period ends at 10:06. Over the past few months, however, the bell to signal the end of third period rang at 10:08, 10:10, and even as late as 10:14. Why were the bells ringing so late? Well, the most popular answer the students gave around school was that the school officials were trying to keep the students later in the day so they would have more class time. “Maybe it’s a conspiracy in the school to make us stay in school longer,” senior Jessika Watkins said. “They want to hold us in school longer be-cause they’re trying to get more school into us,” senior Nicole Cole said. “That’s what I’ve heard, anyway.” The normal school day begins at 7:45 when the late bell for first period rings, and lasts until 2:42.

Stumped By the Bell

Is it a Conspiracy?

By Ashley Richardson

See Bells page 20

Around and around the clock goes. When the bell rings nobody knows.

Jess Watkins thinks this confusion is part of a conspiracy. Erin Graham believes school officials are playing with time to get in an extra day of school to make up for snowdays.

Life is full of decisions. For some people, it’s not so easy to make these decisions. However, those who know exactly what they want, tend to get

what they want. For instance, dish or cone? Rainbow sprinkles or chocolate? Flavor of the day or the usual? The choices seem endless at Jonathan’s Summer Place, located in the plaza. It’s a warm summer night. There hasn’t been a status update in over an hour. You’re trying to think of where everybody could be. Then it hits you. They’re

A Summer Flavor

Dilemma By Courtney Downing

See Summer Place page 23

The Summer Place offers an extensive list of flavors.

all at the Summer Place. You hop in your car, roll the windows down, turn on your favorite CD, and you're on you’re way. You pull into the plaza, [or the zoo, as some once knew it] and there they are sitting at the picnic tables, dish in one hand, spoon in the other. You

Are you grammatically

incorrect?p.3

Buzz, buzz Mr. Holmes,p. 22

Softball team beats Bellows

Falls twice,p. 17

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Green Horn Interview

Erika Anderson, Ryan Brady, John Forbes, Sarah Gray, Sam Hensel-Hunter, Holly Hooke, Angelo Jardina, Jill Rushton,

Maria Stern, and Olivia Thayer

GREEN HORN STAFFCo-EditorCo-EditorCo-EditorLayout EditorLayout EditorPhotography EditorSports EditorTech News Editor

A shley Richardson.....................O livia Johnson........................... J enny Bradley.......................... S amuel L. Benton....................K elsey Christensen....................L aurel Porter.............................C ourtney Downing....................Melissa Tarbell............................

----------------REPORTERS---------------

By Erika Anderson

Maricel Lucero is a powerful figure in the Springfield community. A local musician, Lucero has offered workshops and directed

performances at Springfield High School. The mother of an SHS student, she keeps him involved in music. She is the director of The Feminine Tone, a chorus located in Springfield. Lucero recently brought her Latin band, The Black Beans, to SHS for music workshops and an assembly in April. They held a Latin dance party after school. Lucero is also important to the community because of the trips she takes to Cuba with her choruses. Evoking a warm personality and sense of confidence, Lucero is a great teacher, friend, and professional. The Green Horn interviewed Lucero about her history and passions.

GH: How many are involved in Black Beans?ML: There are four of us: Redel Frometa (percussion), Iliana Sanchez (keyboard), Walter Gomez (accordion, drums machine and director of the band) and Maricel Lucero, lead singer.

What did you teach during your April visit?We taught the Merengue rhythm to the band students. I also taught a couple of choruses to the singers in preparation to the performance.

Are you excited (about working with the High School)?Yes, I love working with the students at SHS and of course, I love to share the music of my heritage.

How did this group form?We got together about six years ago, after Walter and Iliana moved here from Miami. Mostly, we just wanted to gather because there are so few Latins up here. Walter

has been a band leader all of his life (in Uruguay, his native land, and in the U.S.); Iliana was a professional pianist and teacher in Cuba; I’ve been a singer most of my life, but didn't have a lot of experi-ence singing Cuban music. This was an opportunity to get back to my roots and to learn a new style of singing.

How did you arrive in the USA?I came to the U.S. from Cuba with my parents in 1968 when I was ten years old. We actually had to go to Spain first and we lived there for several months before we were given a visa to enter the US. This was a very difficult time for my parents but I enjoyed the adventure of it all. When we finally arrived in the U.S. things got a little harder for me because I had to learn English in a hurry. I did manage to make friends and by the end of my first year in school, I spoke English fluently.

Why do you re-turn to Cuba?I return to Cuba to visit family primarily but I also take the Feminine Tone to participate in international choral festivals. This is a great opportunity for the women in the chorus to get to know the Cuban culture, listen to great Cuban music, and meet people fromm all over

the world who participate in these festivals. The teen-age girls in the chorus especially enjoyed our trip last November and made a big splash everywhere they went. I'm hoping to take them to the next festival in two years. I try to go to Cuba at least once a year to visit my family. Since President Obama took office, it has been easier for Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba. We now have permission to travel there any time we want. In previ-ous administrations it was not so easy. During the Bush years, the restrictions for Cuban-Americans traveling to Cuba were the worst I can remember. Only people with immediate family could go to Cuba and only every three years. This was very unjust and I fought along with other Cuban-Americans to try and change this.

Have you imparted your love of music to your children?Yes, my daughter Shenandoah [a student at Kimball Union Academy] is a composer, singer, pianist and dancer. Her life is filled with music and she plans to follow a career in musical theater performance. My son, Sky, is also very musical. He plays a bit of piano and tuba and has recently become interested in com-position as well.

Do you enjoy teaching?Yes, I love sharing my love for music with my students. I felt very fortunate to work with many talented young singers and pianists in my home studio. I can't imagine ever giving that up. I especially enjoy working with teenagers who are preparing for a career in music. I do everything I can to encourage their interests and help them pursue their goals.

Maricel Lucero Talks About Music and

Cuban Society

What inspired you to pursue music?It was actually my high school music teacher. She was very enthusiastic about her job and gave much of her time to helping us kids to be the best musicians we could be.

What made you settle in Vermont?I was living in New Jersey before coming to Vermont and I wasn't very happy there. I came to visit friends here in Vermont and fell in love with the landscape. I was just tired of the city and this seemed like the perfect place to raise a family.

.

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Opinion

Grammatically IncorrectLearning to Read and Write Goodly

By Laurel Porter

Why can’t the English teach their children how to speak?” Henry Higgins of My Fair Lady asks this question, exasperated at the

apparent inability of the English people to speak cor-rectly. I pose the same query (though phrased slightly differently). Why can’t Americans teach their children how to write? Every day, we all see and hear horrific misuses and abuses of the English language. The chief offenders are text messages. yo…whr r u dude? ur L8!!!! What is this? Code? Although I’m sure Al Qaida will have difficultly deciphering your message, so will your intended recipient. I doubt your text messages contain classified information, so try to keep your use of the secret language of the illiterate to a minimum. Other frequent violators of common sense in grammar are, sadly, journalists and public officials. Okay, everyone. We're going to dialogue in small groups before we conference and share our ideas. Dialogue and conference are nouns. Not verbs, nouns. Linguistic modification is a pet peeve of mine. Noah Webster and Ben Franklin advocated using simplified spellings in order to make education more accessible, and while I understand their point, I wish See Grammar page 23

they had left well enough alone. Favourite is really no simpler when it is spelled favorite. Organise is no bet-ter, no easier to understand, when it is spelled organize. English is a difficult language, yes, but it is as beautiful and complex as a fractal. Trying to simplify the spell-ing of words is essentially lowering the status quo and implying that we don’t trust people to be intelligent enough to speak and write proper English. There are, however, some grammatical rules that I ignore. I start sentences with because all the time. It's technically incorrect, but why? It's a valid word. As long as my sentence makes sense and flows nicely, what does because matter? I've always considered the split infinitive rule to be fairly useless as well. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, people have been splitting infinitives since nigh about the 14th century, and the practice of writing an adverb or other element between the word to and the verb has only been punishable by death since the nineteenth century. Star Trek's famous opening titles, with the phrase "To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before," breaks the split infinitive rule; it should read "To Go Boldly" or "Boldly To Go." The only time the split infinitive rule comes in handy is when putting to somewhere other than next

to the verb changes the meaning of the sentence. This doesn't happen often. English playwright George Ber-nard Shaw once said: "I call for the immediate dismissal of this pedant [rule]. It is of no consequence whether he decides to go quickly or to quickly go or quickly to go. The important thing is that he should go at once." In any case, common sense usually helps when deciding the order of words in a sentence. According to legend, Winston Churchill said, after being confronted about his tendency to end sentences with prepositions, that there were some rules up with which he would not put. He may not put up with this rule, and generally neither do I. Most professional grammarians choose to pass on, inflexibly following this rule as well. The only sensible thing to avoid in regard to prepositions is their extraneous use. My most heinous grammatical crime is the use of incomplete sentences. But I can’t really arouse a proper level of self-condemnation in regards to my flagrant violation of this Prime Directive. Incomplete sentences add punch after strings of long, drawn-out verbiage. They make a point. And while I would never allow someone who is just learning to write use incom-

From top left clockwise, Benjamin Franklin and Noah Webster were advocates for simplified spelling. Captain James T. Kirk split the infinitive rule when he said "to boldly go." Winston Churchill believed that the injunction against

prepositions ending a sentence were a rule up with which he would not put. The Oxford English Dictionary rules over all.

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Prom

It seemed like winter was never going to end. Yet finally spring is in the air. Those teaser days come along and you can’t wait to spend more time out-

side. You catch yourself daydreaming of being out on the lawn soaking up some sun or maybe even going to the beach. It’s time to “Come Sail Away.” You guessed it. Prom and all the rituals that go with it: tuxes, beauti-ful dresses, fancy cars, and music. Mark your calendars since the Springfield High School Junior Prom is May 29th. The prom will be held at Riverside Middle School. “Early on we wrestled with changing the lo-cation, but we decided it is the easiest and most cost efficient at RMS,” said junior Maria Stern, a member of the prom committee. Grand March starts at 7 o’clock and the prom will end around 11:00 pm. A single ticket costs $35.00 and $65.00 per couple. It will be open to juniors and seniors with the exception of underclassmen who have been asked, or someone under the age of 21. The junior prom committee insists that “Come Sail Away” will be different than the proms of recent years. “We’re trying to create a cruise-ship atmosphere,” said Stern. “Our decorations are going to be nautical and beachy.” To make things different, the committee is

The Wind at Your BackCome Sail Away with Prom

By Holly Hooke

planning to have a bar shaped like a boat in the center of the room. “We’re definitely trying to mix things up,” said junior Nikka Bactad, also a member of the com-mittee. “Instead of having traditional favors, we’ll be giving out sun-glasses and party bags.” Junior class advisor, Ruth Haskell (health and Phys Ed teacher) is in charge of the music for prom. Posters hanging around school request student song choices that will be taken into account for the final play list. A student from the River Valley Tech Center Digital Audio class will run the music and other equipment the night of prom. With a matter of days until prom, Kirsten Aiello (SHS tech department) and other members of the prom committee are working hard to finalize last-minute details and food decisions for what they hope to be a spectacular evening of dance and entertainment. “I’m looking forward to the theme,” added SHS senior T.J. Wallace. “It should be a lot of fun.” According to junior organizers, prom this year is an event one will not want to miss and it seems to be stirring up excitement. “I can’t wait to dress up and have fun. It’s my boyfriends last year,” said sophomore Katelyn Daly. “I’ve looked forward to prom since I was a little girl, and I finally get to go this year.”

Prom committee member Nikka Bactad says organizers want to mix up this year's prom. For example, instead of traditional favors, sun-glasses and

party bags will be handed out at prom.

Post Prom. It’s something Springfield High School prom-goers look forward to almost more than prom itself. This substance-free—and completely

free—party hosted by parents is meant to offer a chance for students to have fun and be together with their friends in a safe environment after prom has concluded for the night. The SHS prom will be held on Saturday, May 29th, and this year’s Indiana Jones Adventure-themed post prom party is held directly after prom ends. It is the second year that post prom will be held at the North Springfield Armory on Fairground Road. All students and their dates attending Springfield’s prom are allowed to go to post prom. SHS juniors and seniors who have chosen not to go to prom are also allowed into the post prom party. However, freshmen and sophomores may only attend the party if they are the prom date of a junior or senior.

Doors open at 11:00 pm, as soon as prom is over, and will stay open until midnight at which time students are no longer allowed to enter. Students will be checked in upon entering the post prom party and are also signed out if they leave early. Participants may choose to leave early but will not be allowed back into the building. There are a lot of activities going on at post prom. One can try their luck at the casino, get a henna tattoo, watch their friends get hypnotized or become hypnotized themselves, get their picture taken in silly clothes, have a caricature drawn of themselves, make crafts or create sand art, among many other things. And, of course, there is plenty of food at the post prom party. Another great thing about post prom, which

Post Prom Party Will Be Indiana Jones Adventure

By Melissa Tarbell

See Post Prom page 23Martha Tarbell opens a box of prizes

for the Post Prom party.

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Opinion

New Show, New Direction[title of show] at SHS

By Erika Anderson

Come one, come all to…[title of show]. That’s right ladies and gentleman, a new show is com-ing to Springfield High School. It just happens

to be [title of show]. SHS seniors Eliza Pennell and Emily Mobus are the directors for [title of show]. “I am going to be the overall stage director,” said Pennell. “Emily will be the music director.” The show is a fairly new one to show busi-ness and has won numerous Obies, the Academy Award for off Broadway shows. “It’s about two men who decide to make a musical about making a musical,” said Mobus. “They basically just wrote down what happened in their daily life, and then put it to music.” The show features a five-person cast. “We chose to do a small cast because it would be easier,” said Pennell. “The students we chose as the cast are SHS

junior Kelsey Christensen for the part of Susan, Bill Knockenhauer for the part of Jeff from Green Moun-tain Union High School, Luke Brengolini from Green Mountain Union High School for the part of Hunter and Georgia Ladd, also from GMUHS for the part of Heidi. The last cast member is the pianist, Kelly Batchelder. (Homeschooled),” said Mobus. “We chose to use some of the GMUHS students because we went to the regional festival at the Lyndon Institute, and they were there,” added Pennell. “They were a lot of fun and cool. So, we thought it would be a good idea to grab them and use them since they are so close to us geographically-speaking.” Pennell and Mobus chose [title of show] for a number of reasons. First off it is a small cast (5) and

Seniors Eliza Pennell and Emily Mobus will direct [title of show]. Luke Brengo-lini, a senior at Green Mountain Union High School, and Kelsey Christensen

are two of five stars in the show.See [title of show] page 21

News

Masquerade, Cirque Du Soleil, Come Sail Away, Hollywood Glam, Americano, Life is a Highway, Peace, Love and Prom. After a

final vote, the decision was made that this year’s prom theme will be Come Sail Away. The junior class will be hosting the 2010 prom. We have to admit, we’re a little skeptical about this year’s prom theme. Come Sail Away? We just hope it’s more than anchors and boats. Prom is normally looked at as the magical night of high school. It’s one of those things that as a little girl you would fantasize about. But as we have both learned, prom is not automatically magical. Prom is what you make it. It can be horrible. It can be amazing. Like everything, it’s up to you. You have to remember, this is Springfield High School. We aren’t going to be waltzing around a castle or dining on a four-course meal. We are going to be grooving in the Riverside Middle School gym. That’s just how we rock. Once you accept that, you’re all good. But don’t expect to go in there and have the gym transformed into a ballroom. It’s still going to be the gym where you had to roller blade for Ms. Robbins in gym class years ago. Juniors Maria Stern and Amanda Porter have taken charge of this year’s prom and we are confident they will pull off a fabulous prom. But we still can’t help but wish a different theme had been picked. Hollywood Glam or Masquerade would have been our top choices. But we had our chance to plan prom last spring. This

Prom is What You Make ItBy Jenny Bradley & Olivia Johnson

year we’re just sitting back and watching. When it comes down to it, though, the theme is somewhat un-important. It’s not about the decorations, or the food. It’s about being with your friends and turning something me-diocre into something amazing. One other thing that is vitally important, though, is music. Bad music kills a prom faster than Olivia hearing the gossip (and trust us, she hears it fast.) However, af-ter seeing the list of songs made up by Ruth Haskell and realizing her determi-nation to make sure songs we love are played such

if you can’t dance, guess what? Neither can we. Just do it. Smile and live it up. Because before you know it, all these people who may drive you crazy, but deep down you love, will be gone. Make the memories while you can.

as old favorites or the hottest hits, we are confident that we will be happy with the music. All and all, we come back to the same conclusion: prom is what you make it. So put on your gorgeous dresses and spiffy tuxes, pretty yourself up, and be ready to dance. Because dancing makes it all. And

If prom is what you make it, juniors Maria Stern and Amanda Porter intend to make it fabulous.

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News

After eight years working as the Springfield High School Librarian, Katy Blair is retiring. Blair moved to Vermont from Georgia with

her husband, when she and her husband purchased the Hartness House on Orchard street in Springfield. Blair has lived in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Georgia, and Vermont. Trained as a librarian, Blair didn’t expect to go back to work after moving. “I planned to stay retired when I came up from Atlanta,” she said. “But this job opened up.” After her husband’s death and the sale of the Hartness House, Blair’s daughter called her about an ad for the librarian position. “I just took the job one year at a time,” said Blair. Blair plans to make the most of her more permanent retirement.“I’d like to do some travelling,”

she said. “I'll get to cook more, get to read more, do some other odds and ends.” When asked why she chose to retire this year, Blair had no definite reasons to explain her decision. ”I don’t know,” she said. “A lot of people have asked me. It just seemed like the right time. No one event made me decide.” Blair was impressed with her use of tech-nology in her second career go-round as a librarian. “I did not see myself having to use it as often as I did,” she said. ”I’m still using it at home. Friends have told me about the ipad, and that I would like it if I was still working.” As a specialist in literature and reading, Blair enjoys a wide variety of books. “I like reading biography and fiction, but it really depends on the author,” she concluded.

For Librarian Katy Blair, Her Second Act Has Just

About ConcludedBy Sam Hensel-Hunter

Librarian Katy Blair is retiring after eight years at SHS. She intends to read

and cook more, along with travel, in her new freetime.

Many have passed him in the halls, or maybe he's even played a great role in one’s high school career. However, after 23 years of

teaching, Springfield High School Special Education teacher, John Middleton is retiring. Middleton started out at Springfield High School in 1987 co-teaching math and English. He then became a special ed. teacher, a position he has filled until his subsequent retirement next month.

John Middleton Will Retire After 23 Years

By Holly Hooke

“I originally planned on teaching elementary school but a job opened up at SHS so I took it,” said Middleton. “I’ve been here ever since. I only wish I had gotten into education sooner.” Middleton acknowledged that teaching comes with ups and downs. Working with high school students is no easy task. “There are always tough moments,” said Middleton. “I can remember kids at risk to graduate but

“Teaching has given my life a sense of fulfillment, I’ve learned as much from the students as they’ve learned from me.”

“Teaching has given my life a sense of fulfill-ment,” said Middleton. “I’ve learned as much from the students as they’ve learned from me.” Before teaching at SHS, Middleton was an undergraduate at Texas Christian University. Next he worked for IBM for five years until he realized he was not interested in the career. From there, Middleton went to graduate school for two years at the University of Texas in Arlington. He then worked for ten years in a substance abuse intervention center before attending Castleton State College, where he received a teaching license.

I helped them through it and once I saw them receive their diploma, it was a proud moment.” Mr. Middleton doesn’t have an exact plan of what he will do in retirement. “I guess I’ll find something to do for a while,” said Middleton. “I’ll miss the students. I’ve enjoyed working with them and I’ve loved watching them grow from freshmen to seniors.” A new chapter is in store for John Middleton, though he’ll always remember the 23 years he spent at SHS. “I’ll leave with the memory of the people I helped and the things I learned,” concluded Middleton. “I guess I’ll have plenty of time to golf now.”

Learning center teacher John Middleton will retire from Springfield High School next month. After nearly a quarter of century at SHS, Middleton

will miss the students and will remember the people he helped and

the things he learned.

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News

After 31 years as part of the Springfield High School Occupational Development Program, ODP Director Linda Harbeson is retiring.

Harbeson started at Springfield in Job Placement and eventually filled the position of director. Harbeson is building a house in North Carolina and plans to spend

winter in North Carolina and summer in Vermont. “I have a camp in Northern Vermont, that I’m hoping to spend more time at,” said Harbeson. “The buyout [any teachers who chose to retire this year have been offered $55,000 by the Springfield School District to be paid over three years] definitely helped,” said Harbeson to explain why she was retiring. “But I hope to find a part-time position

Linda Harbeson Will Retire From ODP Director

PositionBy Sam Hensel-Hunter

ODP Director Linda Harbeson is retiring after 31 years at SHS. She

hopes to spend much of her retirement outdoors.

Barbara Estey, math teacher at Springfield High School, is retiring after 36 years on the job. “It was important to retire before losing the

enthusiasm I have for my job,” said Estey. “I felt that my reaction to teaching had been less than enthusiastic sometimes. And I was old enough [to retire].” Estey, a 1969 alumna of the University of Vermont, began teaching at SHS in 1974 after holding other teaching positions in Vermont. When asked how she first began teaching, Estey said, “I graduated from

Barbara Estey to RetireAfter 36 Years of Teaching

By Laurel Porter

college with [mononucleosis],”said Estey. “I didn’t have the energy to complete college and do job interviews at the same time, so I just finished school. After gradu-ation, I went and collapsed on my mother’s couch for two months.” “At the end of the summer, I realized ‘Hey, I’d better go get a job,’” said Estey. “I went applying and interviewing everywhere. And everywhere, they said ‘We wish had you talked to us in the spring.’”

With all new job positions filled, Estey was left without a job. “But then I heard that the local high school needed a teacher desperately,” said Estey. “And I needed a job desperately. In the end, we kind of took a chance on each other. I took some education classes and was certi-fied as a teacher, and I’ve been teaching ever since.” Estey has enjoyed her career as a teacher. “Every day is different,” explained Estey. “Just when you think you’ve seen it all—pfft!—you’re

wrong. It’s a wonderful place; you keep getting fresh starts every year and every term. It’s endlessly interest-ing.” Estey said she will miss teaching, and has enjoyed her experiences at Springfield High School. “I dropped into teaching because I desper-ately needed a job 40 years ago, and here I am,” said Estey, “still enjoying it.”

“I dropped into teaching because I desperately needed a job 40 years ago, and here I am, still enjoying it.”

Math teacher Barb Estey, after 36 years in Math Land, will retire in June. She has enjoyed teaching in which every day, every year, every term is a new

start. From Esty's perspective, it has been endlessly interesting.

“I have close ties to Springfield, I love my job, I love the kids, and the people I work with. I really enjoyed SHS.”

somewhere else working with kids and family.” Harbeson’s grandchildren live in Springfield. “I have close ties to Springfield, I love my job, I love the kids, and the people I work with,” Harbeson said. “I really enjoyed SHS.” However, despite her wish to continue work-

ing, Harbeson hopes to be able to spend lots of time outside in retirement. "I’m going to enjoy kayaking and spending time at the camp,” she said. Harbeson was passionate and inspired by her work at Springfield High School. “I really enjoyed seeing students who have challenges rise above them,” she concluded. “It’s pretty awesome.”

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News

Painting buildings, serving food, coaching young children in soccer. These are all examples of what some freshmen have done to earn the required

ten hours of community service they must perform before the end of the school year. The Springfield High School Class of 2013 is the first class to take part in a new policy for community service. This new program requires each student to complete ten hours of com-munity service each year, with a total of forty hours before they graduate. As of April 5th, only nine freshmen have completed and turned in their paperwork for the entire ten hours. “I bet twenty more kids have completed their community service, and just haven’t turned their paperwork in yet,” said Ruth Haskell, who is one of the freshmen class advisors. Even though Haskell was not on the original committee that came up with the outline for the community project for the incoming freshmen, she jumped at the chance to be involved in it. “I really believe in community service,” Haskell said. “I think it’s a great way to get people involved and give back to their community. Plus there is so much they can do.” She also thinks that the only reason it is hard to get people involved in community service is because they aren’t used to it.

Community Service

By Olivia Thayer

The new community service plan says that every freshman will have to complete ten hours per year, and forty before they graduate, or they won’t receive their diploma. This is similar to many neighboring schools such as Claremont and Bellows Falls. Freshman have mixed feelings about their community service requirement. Some feel that forty hours is too much to volunteer in four years. Others have already surpassed the forty hours and feel that it’s not a problem. “I don’t think it’s that hard to get all the hours,” said freshman Jordan Crowley, who has com-pleted his ten hours for his first year by painting the SHS soccer shed and serving at his local church. “It’s not that hard unless you’re a slacker. That’s the only way you couldn’t get all your hours.” Freshmen Archie Farmer and Angelina Mei both agree with Crowley. Farmer completed his ten hours for the year by coaching a youth soccer team and Mei worked at the SHS Empty Bowl Dinner and the Beyond the Unicorn Craft Fair. Both are confident that they will easily complete their forty hours by the end of their high school career.

On May 1st, six ambitious members from the Springfield High School class

of 2013 lent some time in their busy schedules to green up and clean up

Springfield as part of their Community Service Learning Project. Cody

Stevens, Shelby Reardon, Courtney Page, and Larry Bolduc are pictured in front, with Amelia Thomas and Laura

Vogell in back.

Painting, Coaching, Cleaning

See Community page 20

Many Springfield High School students are avid fans of the revolutionary American artist and filmmaker Tim Burton. These students were

able to see an exhibit of Burton’s work on display at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on April 9th. Burton is famous for films such as The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. SHS English teacher Rebecca Skrypeck got the idea for this trip from an article her husband found over the summer. He jokingly suggested that she organize a trip. Skrypeck is a big fan of Tim Burton. She also teaches a film analysis class. Therefore she thought the trip was fitting. The trip took 48 SHS students, five adult chaperones and two parents. Fundraising to allay the cost of the trip began in November.

Ghosts and Scissor HandsMust Be Tim Burton

By Maria Stern

In preparation for the exhibit the trip-goers watched four of Tim Burton's films in addition to movie shorts. "We watched Tim Burton movies down on the bus and back on the bus," said Skrypeck. SHS senior Kayla Perham experienced NYC for the first time while on the trip. She is an enthusiastic Burton fan. Her favorite Burton movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas. In the movie the main character Jack discovers the Christmas holiday and tries to celebrate it with the creatures of Halloweentown. While at MoMA Perham was able to see the entire spectrum of “claymation” faces used for Jack. “They had the original Edward Scissorhands costume, which is my favorite movie,” said SHS senior Becca Trombly. The costume, worn by Johnny Depp in the movie, is black with numerous buckles, and, of course, scissors for hands. See MoMA page 20

Drama and Arts Academy teacher Rebecca Skrypeck organized the trip this spring to the Modern Museum of Art (MoMA) in New York City to view

the Tim Burton exhibit.

Skrypeck's favorite of Burton's movies is Beetlejuice, a story about a ghost named Beetlejuice who was called in when a deceased couple fails to scare the new buyers out of their house. In addition to costumes from the movies, the exhibit also displayed original

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News

Have you noticed the new posters around school? Well, that’s a trick question: the walls around Springfield High School are a sea of brightly

colored construction paper with blaring messages across them. But, we’re talking about a specific set of posters, the ones advertising the ZimbabWe Are fundraiser. This project was created because students in Jen Dodge's Honors Sophomore English class were instructed that for their final project for the book Night (Night, by Elie Wiesel, describes the author's journey through the Holocaust in the 1940’s) they had to educate and/or fundraise for a cause of their choice. The 18 sophomores chose to raise money for children in Zim-babwe, Africa, to send them to primary and secondary school. “No one really cares about Zimbabwe,” said sophomore Jake Sargent. “People hear about it, but no one really knows what’s going on there.” You may be asking yourself, what or who is Zimbabwe? Zimbabwe is a small country in northern Africa, with a population of over twelve million people. Zimbabwe used to be a thriving, educated country, but after the inflation of their dollar in the early 2000s, Zimbabwe has sunk into extreme poverty. By July 2008, Zimbabwe had reached a 231,000,000% inflation mark according to Wikipedia.com. “The economy [in Zimbabwe] used to be very high, and the country had a very high GDP [gross domestic product]” said sophomore Andrew Bladyka. “But then the dollar got inflated and the country is in economic crisis.” Bladyka added that the 80% of Zimbabweans who are living below the poverty line are existing on less than two dollars a day. “Even though poverty is a big problem in Zimbabwe, our class decided to do a project based around the lack of education in the country,” ZimbabWe Are participant Zaire Mann said. “No one in the country has money to spend on food, much less money to send their children to school.” “We [our class] looked at different countries and decided that Zimbabwe needed our help most,” said sophomore Felicia Graham. “Children have little to no education.” According to the Zimbabwe Benefit Foun-dation, the charity that ZimbabWe Are will be sending its proceeds to, 94% of schools in rural Zimbabwe are closed. “It only costs fifteen dollars for us to send a child to primary school for a term in Zimbabwe,” said SHS sophomore Emma Esty. “It only costs twenty dollars for secondary school.” The ZimbabWe Are benefit concert and fair took place on May 15th, at Riverside Middle School. The street fair portion of this event began at 11 am, and continued all day. “There will be a bunch of fair events like face painting, apple bobbing, and three legged and sack races,” said Bladyka before the event. Of course, there

ZimbabWe AreStudents Plan Benefit Concert

By Erika Anderson & Olivia Thayer

will be lots of food as well. The class will be selling hamburgers, hotdogs, and popcorn, but various vendors from around the area will be coming to sell traditional fair food like cotton candy and fried bread dough. The high school students have collaborated with the popular Springfield music venue, 802 Music, to provide a free concert. “There will be tons of bands,” said sopho-more Michael Whittemore. “Dave Hinkley [founder of 802 Music] has set up a lot of major bands to come into town for us.” There will be no entrance fee for this event, and all of the music will be by donation only. While the students want to make this a fun, low-cost day of fun for the residents of Springfield, they are also trying to raise money, so they encourage anyone who comes to donate some amount to their cause. “It will be a really fun day for a great cause,” said sophomore Liza Fontaine. “So come and help us make a difference.”

Emma Esty and Liza Fontaine will help host the ZimbabWe Are benefit concert. A stark example of the

poverty in Zimbabwe is shown in the emaciated form of a young child.

This spring, the Springfield School Board adopted a measure that promises district educators who have worked at least 22 years a $55,000 stipend

to be paid over a period of 5 years if they decide to retire. This measure was intended to save the Spring-field District money, with the added benefit of adding fresh, energetic professionals to the Springfield teach-ing team. “It’s a real nice thing for folks who’ve given a lot of time and years,” said superintendent Frank Perotti, in explaining this retirement package. “It’s a way to say thank you and help out financially.” When the incentive was a pending measure, the board discussed capping the number of staff eligible for the incentive. Ten teachers was a proposed capping

Retirement Incentive Will Save

MoneyBy Kelsey Christensen

See Retirement page 22

Board member Sam Coleman said that whether or not the retirement incentive will save the district money depends on

who is hired to replace retiring teachers.

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Column

By Kelsey Christensen

Examining Existence

My dreams come with vampires. No, not the blood-sucking, immortal enemies of Van Hel-sing, but “people, thoughts, or feelings that

stand between you and your creative self-expression,” as explained by the insecure, inhibited but very goofy actress Susan Blackwell in the musical [title of show]. Every Spring, when a year in my four-year high school incarceration comes to a conclusion, mark-ing the approach of bigger and better things, eventual career plans plague my mind. Often, I imagine I’ll just major in a social science and maintain an office job. It will be boring, but it will be secure. Then, in my wildest dreams, I imagine act-ing. Immediately following my stint at SHS, I imagine taking performance classes, auditioning, and updating my repertoire like a maniac. Instead of my plans of going to a semi-prestigious liberal arts college, I may consider following my dreams and doing something which I’m more interested in. However, there are obvious problems con-cerning my creative abilities. This issue is tackled in the musical [Title of Show] when secondary character, Susan, performs the song “Die, Vampire, Die!” This song highlights the different vampires represented by

Die, Vampire, Die

one’s own thoughts of self-loathing and insecurity, snarky comments from other people, and the temptation to make safe and prudish art. These are some of the wretched, overbearing vampires that plague us all. First, there’s the “You have to have a real job at some point" vampire. This vampire tells me that I may make it in acting eventually, but for years beforehand I will be a homeless, starving artist in New York City struggling for a break. Why not just study in theater and teach it? Teaching is a real job with security. “Don’t be a bum,” says this vampire. Second, there’s the age Catch-22 vampire. This vampire suggests that show business is impossible to break into, because if you study theater in college, you’ll be in your mid-20s by the time you’re ready to audition – old, according to Broadway and Hollywood. Though, if you don’t achieve a degree in theater, you might be less attractive at auditions, and college may significantly enhance your performance skills. Either way, you lose. “Why bother?” this vampire asks. The “you’re not good enough” vampire is the final and most significant strain on my ambition. This

vampire manifests itself as my doubt and self-loathing, and it says “Sure, you can study theater, but it won’t make you a good actress. You don’t have to have raw talent, and anyone who’s seen you thus far feels that you’re only amateur material.” This vampire leaves me to believe that no matter how tenaciously I audition, network, and study, I’ll never have the raw talent to make it in show business. “You have no talent, “says this vampire.

See Existence page 21

Actress Rebecca Holtz, who starred in The War, a Ken Burns documentary on World War II, came to

Springfield High School on Friday, May 7th, to talk to students about her acting experience. Social studies teacher

Angelo Jardina asked Holtz to come into his classroom and talk to all of his classes about her experience in The War

documentary. Jardina kept his classroom open all day for SHS students to hear Holtz talk about her film-making

experience. Holtz also explained what she learned about World War II through making this documentary. Holtz portrayed

Sascha Weinzheimer in The War, and was able to meet Weinzheimer years after she portrayed her character. Jardina had been planning Holtz's visit to Springfield High School for months and consequently many students were able to listen to her discussion on The War. Holtz, a recent Keene State College

graduate, will be attending Smith College in the fall.

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ColumnsWelcome To...

By Melissa Tarbell

Finding Serendipity

Spring, the season of awakening and renewal. I’m not just talking about plants here, though. It’s when we women wake up and realize that those

extra pounds from winter storage are apparent and we wear long jeans in 80-degree weather to hide it. It’s when all of those workouts you’ve been planning to do over the winter actually need to get done, but it’s when you feel the least amount of desire to actu-ally follow through with them. Every female who has an ounce of interest to her appearance knows what I’m talking about. All winter you’ve been saying to yourself, “When spring rolls around, I’ll go outside and work out all the time.” Yeah, sure, honey. I know the feeling and it’s not just that pesky weight goal that’s the problem. Sometimes the stress of work, school or spring sports gets the best of us and you just need to take a break. I’ve been reading up on some helpful hints to overcome these blue-sky blues, and I’m going to share them with you. Tip #1 (courtesy of Fitness magazine): Your

body does a lot for you, but what have you ever done for it? It’s time to give back to your body. Start by writing a letter to your body thanking it for the times it has been there for you and apologizing for the times you weren’t there for it. Don’t be afraid to get to the nitty-gritty and talk about specifics like those times you were too busy to eat a meal or when you ran a whole mile without stopping. This heart-to-heart will allow you to come to terms with your body and realize that you and your body are in it together. You need each other. You depend on your body for everything, so give it the respect it deserves. Tip #2 (courtesy of just about every maga-zine I’ve ever read): Eat right! Trust me, I know how hard it is to avoid that delicious cookie that you’ve gotten almost every day (thinking of the ones at lunch at the high school? Yeah, that’s what I was referring to), but it’s not doing anything for you. Every time I give in to the desire and eat one of those cookies, it definitely tastes delicious, but I feel so icky and disappointed

Spring Renewal

afterwards. Think of that feeling ahead of time. Visualize yourself all bloated and disappointed in yourself. Eat a piece of gum instead. You won’t regret not eating the cookie, but it is very likely that you will regret it if you

See Welcome page 21

By Eliza Pennell

How to Be a Facebook Creep

Good news. You know how tricky and incon-venient it used to be, trying to nose into other people's business, straining to overhear juicy

gossip in other people's conversations? Finding out just enough about your distant acquaintances to make people a little squirmy? It's gotten easier. You now have Facebook to aid and abet in your creepy conquest. First of all, you need to have a Facebook account. Well, no. The very first thing you should do,

if you don't even have a Facebook account, is crawl out of the cave or bunker you are living in. Then acquire a Facebook account. Get yourself some friends. Become a fan of a few things. Join a few groups. Then you'll be all set to begin becoming a bona fide Facebook creep. If you already have a Facebook account, you can, of course, skip that first step and jump right into the fun stuff. The fun stuff includes any number of Facebook activities. First of all, friend away. Friend the verb. Friend your real friends. Friend your pseudo-friends. Friend your school acquaintances. Friend those kids you went to summer camp with and maybe shared a lunch table with one day. Friend those people you see in the hallways at school and sometimes make eye contact with. Friend those people you see in the hallways at school and never make eye contact with. Friend those kids you know go to school with you because they always have—even though you haven't seen them since your seventh grade Language Arts class together. (Besides, maybe they dropped out, and that's why you haven't seen them. And you'd want to know if this were the case, of course. Just another reason to friend, friend, friend.) Look at your friends' friend lists. Do they

have any friends who look vaguely familiar? Maybe you've seen them before—and this is just cause to friend them, if you are a bona fide Facebook creep. When/If these individuals accept your friend request, go onto their page and look at every picture anyone's ever tagged them in. View their photo albums and comment on the very, very old ones that you obviously had to dig around for. Maybe it's family photos from fresh-man year or photo booth-esque shots of your Facebook friend with one of his or her real friends, or, if you're very lucky, you'll find pictures of this Facebook friend with a significant other from the past. Whatever it may be, comment on it. At the very least, click “Like” on some of the pictures. When your Facebook friend is notified that you commented a photo/album, they will be surprised and a bit curious to see which picture that person he/she's not really even friends with might have commented. Then, when they see that it's an old snapshot of them with their grandfather, they'll be weirded out. You're on the right track. Facebook statuses are a fantastic addition to life in the 21st century. Now you can tell people exactly what you're thinking, feeling, eating, doing,

See Serendipity page 22

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Review

By Samuel L. Benton

Surviving Apocalyptia

By John Forbes

Humor

I Love Rock 'n' Roll(Joan Jett & the

Blackhearts; 1981)

Dressed to Kill

Last edition we picked a zombimobile that would extend your longevity in the zombie apocalypse, leaving one of the big issues in the dust. Now

let’s talk about traveling on foot or on a bicycle. Let’s just say you’re riding your bike and you round a corner. Suddenly there’s a lone zombie next to you, or maybe a small group of the undead. The zombie decides that you look tasty and decides to take a nibble. Well since almost all zombies spread their grotesque infection via bite you’re essentially a zombie now. Or are you? I know sometimes it seems that once you make any sort of contact with zombies, you’re dead. But that’s not completely true. If you have some good armor you may stand a chance. But then, what’s good armor? Naturally your first thought is going to be something that covers your entire body, maybe some tactical body armor, or maybe a medieval suit of armor. Most people aren’t lucky enough to own either of these,

but luckily there are a lot of common alternatives. If you’re traveling on foot, you’ll want something lightweight. Otherwise, you’ll end up with an extreme case of exhaustion in no time, which will in turn lead to an extreme case of zombie bites. Good armor includes anything made of leather, heavy leather. If you face the zombie apocalypse in a windbreaker , it’s very likely that you’ll sustain quite a few bite wounds in quite a short time. If you plunge in wearing a motorcycle jacket however, you’ll fit right in. Beyond the weight and durability of your armor, your choice should be based on comfort. Com-fort is an important aspect in day-to-day life, but even more so when there are walking corpses lurking around every corner. The apocalypse is a psychologically-trying scenario, and if you find yourself in a lifeless wasteland struggling for survival, running in oversized shoes will be the difference between life and death. A pair of pants that don’t fit right may be enough to drive you over the

edge. Try not to wear baggy clothing, though, because it will get caught on something while you’re running from hungry zombies, and we all know how that ends. A word on color. Stay away from bright, flamboyant clothing. Bright colors are remarkably easy to see, so stick to colors that match your surroundings to avoid being seen by the zombies. If you’re in a forested area, for instance, you should stick to brown or green colors. Also you could restrict yourself to night-time traveling and wear a lot of black. The object is to remain unseen. Unique fashion isn’t so important when it makes you look tastier.

Joan Jett first gained fame in the mid-70s when she became a founding member of the all-girl rock group the Runaways. Jett played rhythm guitar,

provided backing vocals, and wrote or co-wrote many of the Runaways songs, staying in the band through its five-LP run. Her first solo album was released on May 17, 1980, in Europe, but was rejected by 23 record labels in the U.S., prompting Joan Jett and her producer Kenny Laguna to release it on a new label all of their own, called Blackheart Records. Laguna helped Joan Jett form a backing group, the Blackhearts, comprised of “three good men” as Jett specifically requested in an ad in the L.A. Weekly. The Blackhearts made their debut on Joan Jett’s I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll in 1981, and would go on to back Jett for all eleven of her following records. I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll is Joan Jett’s biggest album to date. It reached number two on the U.S. charts

and was certified platinum. It spawned three top 100 singles, with “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Crimson and Clover” reaching numbers one and seven on the charts respectively. Jett found most of her popularity in the United States, contrasting with the lack of success the Runaways found. Of the ten songs that make up I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll, six are cover songs, including the title track. The covers (one of which, “You’re Too Possessive,” was originally recorded by the Runaways) are very similar to the originals, just given a more heavy, raw, and rockin’ vibe in the Ramones fashion (the Ramones often times covered classic rockers like “Let’s Dance” and “Do You Wanna Dance?”) Although I would classify the music as strict rock ‘n’ roll, it does share similarities with punk music. The arrangements are simple, loud, and fast (best example: “Nag.”) The music is good on its own, but take a look at the cover and you’ll see what gives it its greatness. Looking back at you will be a raven-haired rocker. Joan Jett looks tough, with a capital T. Spin the album and

you’ll realize that you can judge a book by its cover and be accurate. While her music isn’t full of greatness, it is full of life. Aggressive life, at that. This lady has the snarl of a punk rocker, and the attitude to back it up. She has her female identity displayed proudly in her music. It was that exact female identity (also found in the Runaways and other all women rock groups of the time) that would lead into the Riot Grrrl movement of the early 1990s. All-girl bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile emerged with messages of rape, sexuality, abuse, and all wrapped under the blanket of feminism and rock. Joan Jett and other hard-rocking women bring a boat load of power to women, channeled through their guitar amps. I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll is simple, direct, and powerful. It is not one of the greatest albums of all time quality-wise, but it is a blast to listen to. Joan Jett is a rocker of the highest degree. She doesn’t just love rock ‘n’ roll, she makes it. And she makes it well.

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Reviews

2010 is turning out to be a year of movie re-imaginings, the Hollywood term for remakes. A Nightmare on Elm Street, Alice in Wonderland,

Clash of the TitansFrom Campy to Charmless

By Sam Hensel-Hunter

butchered movie. Clash of the Titans often feels like it was edited by a small child with a short attention span. There isn't enough lead up to important moments, and the character development is minimal at best. Some of this can be attributed to editing the movie so it could be rated PG-13; cutting sex and violence from it and seems to leave an empty space in its place. Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson put in respectable performances as the Olympians Hades and Zeus, but their screen time is slight, and for most of the film we’re stuck with the wooden Worthington, and his CGI opponents. Clash of the Titans in 1981 wasn’t a perfect movie, but its accuracy to the myth, and its equal em-phasis on story and effects, and lack of ADHD editing make it a much more pleasant viewing experience that Clash of the Titans in 2010 for those not easily addled by flashy CGI.

and Predators are all hoping to cash in on high-grossing but recently-deceased franchises. Topping the charts is Clash of the Titans, switching up the original’s stop motion animation for CGI and 3D. 1981’s Clash of the Titans was is a more faithful adaptation of the myth of Perseus with the campy acting and effects and the many creatures charm-ingly animated by the great Ray Harryhausen, best known for his work for Jason and the Argonauts which portayed a battle of seven resurrected skeleton warriors. Long before any of the flashy special effects that are a standard in today’s movies, Harryhausen created fluid stop-motion movement of characters that seemed much more organic and fluid than many of the effects of later movies. This style of animation has preserved well and continues to pass the test of time. The 2010 Clash of the Titans does not have any of the charm that keeps the original alive. The visuals have been updated, but they surround a heavily

After a successful writer dies, it has become expected that some aspiring whippersnapper will take up the mantle of the author’s most

celebrated characters and plot devices and attempt to "do them justice"—through a re-write of the original story, a new sequel, or perhaps even an alternate reality scenario where characters are transported to a new time period or dimension. Most of these rewrites are stunning and hilarious failures that will only be published online and (thankfully) never see the light of bound printed matter. There are some atrocities, however, that do manage to make it to the page, giving them the status of glorified Fan-Fiction. (Fan-Fiction is any story written using ‘borrowed’ characters that were created by an original author who does not accept the rewritten story as part of the true ‘canon’ or plotline.)This glorified Fan-Fiction is usually only slightly better than the stuff found on the Internet, and is generally mocked by true devotees of the original author. In the realm of Sherlock Holmes Fan-Fiction, there is certainly a landfill stuffed with preposterous plotlines: ‘Sherlock Holmes versus Dracula!’ ‘Sherlock Holmes In Love!’ ‘Sherlock Holmes Catches Jack the Ripper!’ ‘Sherlock Holmes IS Jack the Ripper!’

The Beekeeper’s ApprenticeFan-Fiction Fun

By Laurel Porter

These titles and ideas are ridiculous, but amusing. I consider myself to be a true Holmesian scholar. Until a week ago, I scoffed, along with the rest of my fellow fans, at the absurdity of glorified Sherlock Holmes Fan-Fiction. As if anyone could ever come close to writing Holmes the way the original author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, wrote the original. Unfortunately, I wrecked my ship of snob-bery against a series previously undiscovered by myself. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice (1994) is the first in a progression of novels by Laurie R. King in which the Great Detective has retired to Sussex after a successful career and is now minding bees as a part-time hobby while keeping his mind sharp with scientific experiments and the occasional political intrigues of a World War I-era England. Holmes, however, is not the main character of this series. The main character is a certain Mary Rus-sell, a half-Jewish, half-American teenager with a sharp wit and even sharper deductive mind. Russell (as she is called throughout the series) is also our narrator, and she begins her association with Homes after she nearly trips over him while attempting to read a book and walk

at the same time. Here is the decription of that event: As it was, my first awareness that there was another soul in the universe was when a male throat cleared itself loudly not four feet from me. The Latin text flew into the air, followed closely by an Anglo-Saxon oath. Heart pounding, I hastily pulled together what dignity I could and glared down through my spectacles

See Beekeepers page 22

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Baseball

During pre-season, the Springfield High School baseball team realized they needed to work on intensity. Last year, the team didn’t do as well

as they had hoped, and ended their season at 4-12, which disqualified them from the playoffs. "The difference between this year and last year is that this year, people care about winning and losing and don't want to have season like last year,” senior Derek Osborne said. “We weren’t a strong team last year, but we’ve been improving our intensity this year.” This season is already different because of the new players who came back to play baseball their senior year. Seniors Bennett Chevalier, Matt Mitchell, and Brandon Boyle came back this season to help the Cosmos to a winning record. “This season I hope we go all the way,” Mitchell said. “It’d be good for the program. The base-ball program has been down for a while, and it’s time we start winning.” In the Cosmos first game of the year, they fell to the Burr and Burton Bulldogs 15-9 in a game that was called in the middle of the seventh inning when

Baseball Team Drops a Hot Biscuit to the Bulldogs

By Ashley Richardson

the umpire couldn’t see the ball anymore. Because of darkness falling, the Cosmos were issued a loss. “We just need to be more consistent at the plate, and just play baseball,” senior Bennett Chevalier said. “We need to have intensity from start to finish.” In the second game of the season, however, the Cosmos pulled it together in the rain, and came away with a 5-4 win against the Division I Hartford Hurricanes. In the beginning of the game, Hartford took a small lead, but the Cosmos were able to answer with runs of their own. “We had a few errors in the beginning that hurt us, but we were able to pull it together in the end and walk away with a win,” Osborne said. “We didn’t give up when we were down. And we were able to come back and win.” Osborne and junior Jeremy Currie are veteran varsity pitchers, and are leading the team this year on the mound. In Hartford, Osborne pitched four innings, and Currie came in to relieve him in the 5th. “We didn’t hit the ball as well as we should have, and

See Baseball page 23

Underclassmen, Golfers Swell Baseball Ranks

By Jill Rushton

Coming off a 4-13 record, the Springfield varsity baseball team hopes for a more successful sea-son in 2010 with the help of six players who

have returned after playing golf last spring. “The coaches held open gym during winter before the season to work on fundamentals and get in shape,” sophomore outfielder Aaron Wallace said. “We had a pretty good turn-out. It got us back into the swing of things.” With the lack of participants in the program, however, coach Larry Partridge, who also teaches physi-cal education at Riverside Middle School, intended to fill positions with underclassmen, including sophomore Kirk Perham and junior Ethan McAllister. The Cosmos were beaten 15-9 by the Burr and Burton Bulldogs at home in their season opener, a game shortened by darkness. But the boys offset the opening-game loss by beating the Division I Hartford Hurricanes, 5-4, on Friday, April 9th. “My hopes for the season are to make it to the playoffs,” senior third baseman Bennett Chevalier said. “We have a pretty good bullpen. This year we have bonded more as a team, which will definitely be good for our season.” Larry Partridge returns to lead the team for

his 7th season. With the switch of the golfers, along with new talent in the lineup including outfielder McAllister, Partridge hopes to improve on their record from last year. Six freshmen have been part of the bonding process on the varsity baseball team. The newcomers have adjusted well to the faster pitching and tougher competition. With the help of the coaches and upper-classmen, the freshmen have been making a smooth transition. “I adjusted pretty quickly to the high school level,” freshman first baseman Kirby Goodrich said. “The coaches helped the transition and got us used to the faster pitching. I did some Babe Ruth games in the summer which got me back into the flow of baseball and helped me get acquainted with the kids I would be playing with.” Seniors Matt Mitchell, Bennett Chevalier, Brandon Boyle, and junior Cody Filkins return to the team after taking a year off from baseball. Boyle will fill the shortstop position, while senior Derek Osborne and sophomore Jeremy Currie send the heat from the mound. “I definitely see how much I’ve missed in a year,” Chevalier concluded.

Matt Mitchell steps up to plate against Otter Valley on April 28th. The Cosmos lost the game 13 to 6.

Junior Jeremy Currie prepares to strike out an Otter Valley Otter on

April 28th.

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Sports

For over 40 years, the Springfield Cosmos rival school has been the Bellows Falls Terriers. They’ve passed a trophy back and forth, played

each other in the playoffs and in championship games, and had streaks of wins and loses. The Cosmos are on one of their many winning streaks. The Cosmos have not lost to the Terriers in any other sport besides baseball. That means that the Cosmos have beat Bellows Falls in softball, boys and girls soccer, field hockey, boys and girls basketball, and this year, softball again. On Thursday, April 15th, the Cosmos destroyed Bellows Falls 13-3. “In the first inning, Bellows Falls got three runs,” sophomore Eibhilin Whittemore said. “I think that everybody was just getting warmed up then, because that was the only inning anybody from BF got home. The rest of the game, we didn’t let anybody score, and we started getting some runs.” At the end of the first inning, the score re-mained 3-0, in favor of Bellows Falls. But in the second inning junior Sarah Vredenburgh stole home to make the score 3-1. No one else could get a bat on the ball, however, and the Cosmos were still trailing going into the second inning.

“The game went really well,” senior Erin Graham said. “I got a little nervous about the outcome of the game in the first few innings, but then we got better. We had wonderful hitting, and the defense was miraculous.” After the third inning, the Cosmos began to put their bat on the ball and started making the Terriers work their defense. That proved to be the key point in the victory. The Bellows Falls Terriers couldn’t make the plays on the bunts, and the Cosmos runners were able to advance to second and third without the catcher throwing them out. This aggression only increased as the game went on. “The team was a little down at first, but when we got into trouble our team and fans just cheered louder,” junior Amanda Farnsworth said. “This allowed us to stay positive and finish the first few innings. We tried to catch up for about three innings, and had a hard time getting on base. But eventually we had a few good hits consecutively and that really pulled us back into it. It took us a while to come back, but when we did, we annihilated them.”

Cosmos Wallop Terriers13-3 Romp Evens Record

By Ashley Richardson

See Softball page 23

Where is the one place you can get a tan, wear your bathing suit, twirl a whistle, and have full-time access to an air horn? The town

pool. During the summer, between 10 and 15 lifeguards lather on the sun block and assume their positions in their life guard chairs, sitting high and mighty over the shimmering blue mirror of the town pool. During the semester, the six students enrolled in the lifeguarding spring course, along with instructor Joan Cioffi, venture past the doors to Springfield High School and head to the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center located on Clinton Street in Springfield to work in the lifeguarding course. The class is broken up into a water portion and a video and lecture portion. “I love being around the water and being outside in the summer, so I thought lifeguarding would be a great job,” said sophomore Larissa Bargfrede. “It’s a really good certification to have.” Bargfrede's favorite part of the course involves the time she gets to spend at the rec center working in the water. Another member of the lifeguarding class, sophomore Olivia Thayer has experience around the water. Last summer she worked at the Claremont town pool. Since then she has wanted to be a lifeguard. “I’ve been swimming since I was eight,” said Thayer. “So swimming and the water has been a huge part of my life. So lifeguarding was just a natural job choice for me.” Lifeguarding is a semester class. Students are required to have 30 hours of work completed. When the class is at the pool, they swim or practice life-saving techniques with a lifeguarding tube. They focus a lot on back boarding techniques. The students also practice and eventually are certified in first aid training. They learn how to deal with open wounds and blood cleanup, among other health protocols. SHS phys ed teacher and instructor Joan Cioffi teaches lifeguarding with Scott Bushway, who is the aquatics director at the Rec Center. Cioffi was a lifeguard instructor for 15 years. In order for Cioffi to keep her certification, she would have to teach a class at least once a year. “I just didn’t have time to teach once a year,” said Cioffi. Cioffi teaches the DVD and book part of the course. The lifeguarding class costs $16. However, if a studen were to take the class out of school, it would cost from $250-$300. For these six students, they gain a life-guarding certificate without clearing out their wallet.

Lifeguarding Class

Offers First Aid Training

By Courtney Dowining

Erin Graham bats during the Otter Valley game on April 28th. She stands on second base after doubling in the same game. Graham, one of four seniors on

the squad, displayed great leadership in the contest but it wasn't enough for the Cosmos as they lost to the Otters, 3-0.

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Sports

Golfers Tee-up Hope and OptimismBy Ryan Brady

Frank Gould and Mark Xu prepare their clubs, while Kevin Orth and John Kendall stand with golf-like discipline.

The Boys and Girls State Golf Competition will occur June 8th-9th.

Springfield High School baseball, softball, and track teams started competition in early April. But since the golf team commenced later, their

first match didn’t take place until April 26th since weather delaying the start of the season. As usual, the golf team started its season with service days at the Springfield Country Club at the beginning of April. The team aided the greens crew and earned themselves free golf throughout the golf season, for both team practice and individual use. “The work isn’t hard,” said sophomore golfer Tom Kendall. “You work for a couple days and then get free golf for three months. It’s a great deal.” About three weeks, after the teams service day, the team completed its first match. The match took

place on Tuesday, April 27th in Windsor and SHS faced off against the Windsor golf team, and the Westminster Golf team. The squad finished second out of the three teams, shooting a 33 on a par 34. “The season is going well,” said senior golfer Mark Xu. “There’s a lot of new faces on the team, and Brandon left.” Team numbers for golf are down from last year with only eight boys on the roster. Girls numbers are even lower with just one female golfers. The boys include seniors Russell Schliemer, John Kendall, Mark Xu, and Kevin Orth, along with sophomores Derrick Gralich, Tom Kendall, and Frank Gould, and finally freshman Levi Parker. During practices, the golfers practice putting

and chipping, along with playing the course. “We warm up and then get right into playing,” said John Kendall, “and two or three times a year we work with the pro-shop’s pro on chipping, putting and our grip.” The golfers expect to have a good season despite the low numbers. Their second place finish in their first match was a good start. “We have four matches in the second week,” continued John Kendall. “I think we’ll do well” Early matches included a match on Monday May 3rd, along with a match the following day May 4th at Tater Hill Golf Club.

Senior Kim Murray prepares to return volley against a Woodstock opponent. The Springfield girls tennis team is half way into their season with a

winning record. Although the girls have not faced their toughest opponents yet, such as Burr & Burton Academy and Brattleboro High School,

they have pulled through strong with their previous matches. Both the number one seed, senior Olivia Johnson, and the number two seed, Lauren

Sanderson have winning individual records. The girls hope to defeat their long- time rival, Woodstock High School, in late May. For seniors Taylor Thomas,

Melissa Tarbell, Kim Murray, Nicole Stewart, Jenna Swan, Brittany Andrews, and Olivia Johnson, this will be their last tennis season.

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Sports

Victory on Foreign Ice

By Angelo Jardina

Business trips will sometimes bring one around the country or possibly out of the country. But until you are out of high school, or college, the

only way to get out and about is to tag along when your parents take a family vacation. Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with family vacations. But there are alternatives. One, in particular, is if you are a sports fanatic and love a certain sport, you may have the opportunity to try out for a club/ travel team. Many teams for various sports travel about the country and even out of the country to play in major tournaments. I for one love to travel, and lately since I have started to become more involved with school, varsity sports and looking at colleges, I have had less time to get

See Hockey page 20

Sports Essay

James Stillings Honored at Football Combine

Springfield High School football was represented well in the recent National Underclassmen Foot-ball Combine (NUC) in Massachusetts, when

sophomore James Stillings took home the Offensive Line Most Valuable Player award. “There were probably 80 or more sopho-mores at the combine with me,” Stillings said. “They break it up between days for grades 8-11. After the combine, I received Offensive Line MVP, which means I was overall the best offensive lineman there.” Stillings is the only Cosmos player to attend a combine. In fact, Stillings was the only player from Vermont at the combine in Massachusetts. “I learned about the combine on accident,” Stillings said. “I was on another football website and saw an advertisement for it so I looked into it. I thought it would be a good idea. Nobody from SHS has done one, and as far as I know, nobody’s going to. But I’m definitely going to do it again.” At the combine, players were challenged in many different drills. It was structured to resemble combines the National Football League conducts. “We did the vertical leap, broad jump, 40-yard dash, shuttle drill, bench press, and one on ones," Stillings said. "It was only a one day thing, and lasted for about four hours.” During these drills, Stillings competed against about 100 other football players from large

By Ashley Richardson

The Black Ice hockey team enjoys a triumphant photo moment after winning the Montreal Enterprise Tournament with a 4-1-0 record. Cosmos hockey player Angelo Jardina, in the middle of the back row, and Brian Martin, sitting third

from the right, both played for Woodstock High School in the winter.

schools in Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well as players from surrounding states. “My favorite thing about attending this combine was the experience of competing against all the great competition,” Stillings said. “It’s definitely going to be a big help for the rest of my high school career. The competition down there was ten times better than up here. Up here, I’m also competing against seniors and juniors, and down there they were all in my grade.” After Stillings’ MVP award-winning per-formance at the combine, he plans to attend a football camp in New Jersey. “Most likely I will be invited to New Jersey for the Ultimate 100 camp,” Stillings said. “This combine is for the best in a certain region, our region being the east. They also have south-east, north, north-west, west, etc.” SHS football players are already using the weight room to get in shape, and will begin pre-season practices in August. Stillings’ experience at the NUC combine helped give him a leg up in preparing for the 2010 football season. “It was a huge boost in my football career,” Stillings said. “NUC is partnered with a lot of other companies, such as the National Collegiate Scouting Association [NCSA]. This company lets you create a profile on their website, and over 20,000 profiles are viewed by college coaches every month..”

Sophomore Cosmos lineman James Stillings participated in a National Underclassmen Football Combine in Massachusetts recently. He was

named Offensive Line Most Valuable Player at this event which included 100

top football players.

pg nroeG Hner1�

Sports

Since entering the sixth grade, Springfield High School seniors John Kendall and Brandon Boyle have been close friends. Kendall has always

played soccer, and Boyle switched from soccer with Kendall to football in middle school. Now, six years later, Kendall and Boyle will travel together to Castleton State College to play soccer and football respectively. “Brandon and I have been friends since sixth grade, and now we’re both going to Castleton to play sports,” Kendall said. “I really like the soccer program, and Coach Warner at Castleton, and decided this year that I wanted to continue my soccer career with him.” In high school, Kendall was named to the Marble Valley League team three years in a row, and the All-State team his junior and senior year. “I’m really proud of how I played through-out my senior year, and I’m honestly honored by the awards,” Kendall said. “I definitely could not have achieved these awards without my team.” Boyle also received many honors throughout high school, including the All-league award for three straight years and the All-State award his junior and senior year. He also won the All-American U.S. Army award, the Jerry Rice Nomination award, the Vermont National High School Hall of Fame award. He was also named one of the top 100 receivers in the nation. Boyle played in the North South football game in late November, and will play on the Vermont football team in the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl Game in early August. “All the awards I received in high school were very generous,” Boyle said. “I feel very honored to get them. They’re the type of awards you don’t hear about very often, so when you do, it’s kind of a huge deal. The Shrine game will prepare me for college ball because I will be going against a lot faster, bigger guys.” After the Shrine game, Boyle will attend his own pre-season football practices at the same time and while Kendall will be attending his own pre-season soc-cer practices. Their similarities don’t end there. Boyle and Kendall will also be rooming together at Castleton State College, and are hoping to unite the Castleton football and soccer teams. “It will be really fun rooming together at Castleton and playing different sports,” Kendall said. “We’re hoping to pull the two teams together there next year like we have done in the past four years at SHS.” “I’m really excited to room with John,” Boyle added. “We haven’t always been extremely close, but we’ve always pulled together the football and soccer teams and cheer each other on. He’s someone I can trust

Sports Friends Forever?Standout Cosmos Athletes Boyle and

Kendall Will Room Together in CollegeBy Ashley Richardson

See Castleton page 21

Seniors Brandon Boyle and John Kendall have been friends since sixth grade. Next autumn they will room together at Castleton State College where Boyle will

play football and Kendall will play soccer for the Spartans. Boyle, pictured bottom left, will play in the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl game. Kendall, bottom

right, was named to the Marble Valley League team three years in a row and the All State team for his junior and senior year.

nroeG Hner pg 1�

Sports

On your mark. Get set. Go. For months, athletes around the world trained and competed for the 113th Boston Marathon held in Massachusettes.

The Boston Marathon took place on April 19th and 26th. 735 runners participated in the world’s oldest and most venerable annual race. One of the runners was Springfield High School’s Precision Valley Program (PVP) teacher John Davis, who ran with his two sons, 28-year old Jed and 23-year-old Ben. To prepare for the marathon, Davis ran six days a week, and tried to maintain a healthy diet by eating lots of fruits and vegetables and keeping track of calories. “I trained for 16 weeks,” Davis said. “I ran 4-6 miles progressively on weekdays, and long runs up to 20 miles on weekends.” All three of the Davis boys crossed the finish line together almost 4 ½ hours after the marathon race started. Although none of them came close to beating second-time winner Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, John Davis finished ahead of Jenny Craig Diet System spokeswoman Valerie Bertinelli. Cheruiyot, by the way, finished first in the race with 2:05:52, and beat the world record.

John Davis Runs the Boston Marathon

“Both my son and I use the quote ‘acting our way into right thinking’ as a guiding principle throughout our life,” said Davis. “If I sit around and wait it doesn’t do any good. But if I just go out and run it feels good. It’s kind of like learning. You’ve just got to do it and you feel good about it after.” Davis and his oldest son, Jed, participate in a series of adventure games across the country that include rock climbing, mountain biking and canoeing. The Davis father-son duo won events in Arkansas and Wisconsin and have placed in top rankings in more competitive races in Texas and Florida. “All of the races are difficult, but the most challenging was [a race] in Florida last spring,” said Davis. “There were alligator-infested swamps we had to go through. But they’re all challenging. That’s why we do them.” The Boston Marathon is a charitable event where runners from around the nation and the world run a 26-mile course through Boston. What was once just a local event has become a worldwide tradition, where approximately more than 500,00 spectators stand by to cheer on the runners. The marathon has generated local

By Jill Rushton

traditions such as girls from Wellesley College who kiss the runners as they run by. Another tradition, started in 1903, is a Boston Red Sox home game at Fenway Park that starts every year at 11:05 am. When the game ends, the crowd emp-ties on to the streets to applaud the runners just in time for the final mile. This year, the marathon expected to exceed $100 million in total funds raised by its official charity program. To qualify, a runner must complete a standard marathon course within a certain period of time before the date of the marathon. “Our goal is to do events in every state,” said Davis. “The events get me to another state. This one was close so [my two sons and I] entered.” John and Jed Davis have done marathons for the past nine years in over 40 adventure races. They do not plan on packing their sneakers away anytime soon. The Davis duo has already planned their next running adventure in Burlington, Vermont, in late May. “I’ll do the races until I can’t,” Davis con-cluded. “It’s something people usually don’t do. That’s the satisfaction that makes it worth it.”

PVP Teacher John Davis and his sons Jed and Ben participated in the 113th Boston Marathon on April 19th. They crossed the finish line in roughly 4 1/2 hours, over two hours after the winner Robert Cheruiyot. Though they didn't

finish in the front, they ran faster than Jenny Craig spokeswoman Valerie Bertinelli, on the right.

Shares the Ecstasy of Victory with Sons

pg nroeG Hner�0

away from all the stress and commotion. Some people may have camps outside of town that they run away to with their family, but as you get further into your high school career escape can become more and more dif-ficult. Not all of us have the chance to get away but when you do it feels great, especially if you are with people you love, doing the things you enjoy. Some people enjoy just having some relaxation time. But for those of us who like to keep on the move, playing sports has always been the path to take. There are many different skill levels of travel teams across the country and many of them can give you the chance to see new and wonderful places. I play on a travel hockey team called Black Ice, based out of Rutland, Vermont. The team has been around since 1999. For the past four years I have en-joyed my time playing hockey and traveling around to different cities in the Northeast. This spring we traveled to Montreal, Canada, where we took the gold medal in the Canadian Enterprises Tournament. First place at this tournament is something we had never experienced. We

Hockey from page 17

storyboards, Tim Burton’s poetry, and some artwork from his childhood. Perham and Trombly described his artwork as colorful with disfigured people that were either “really tall and skinny, or really short and fat.” "There was a lot of neat stuff from his child-hood," added Skrypeck. Another feature of the exhibit that remained imbedded in the minds of Perham and Trombly was a three-dimensional dollhouse with a dead person's feet sticking out and a child holding the knife. "It was creepy but cool," said Perham. Due to a crowd, the group spent about an hour in the museum. Also on display at MoMA for the SHS group to see were famous works of art including Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night. The rest of the time was spent touring New York City. Some notable sites the group visited included Times Square, Rockefeller Center, the Radio City Music Hall, Trump Towers and numerous stores. "I had a really good time," said Skrypeck. "I can't pick out one thing. It was just a really good day."

MoMA from page 8

But the way the bells rang during the month of March and into April, the school day was extended by about 7 minutes. Which, to high school kids, seems like an eternity. “I think the bells were off because our school was too lazy or too busy to fix them,” senior Lindsay Turgeon said. In many classrooms, the clocks are off. They may just be off by a few minutes, but there are a few clocks where the hour is completely wrong. There are even clocks that simply don’t move. During the class period, many students watch the clock tick off every second, just counting down the minutes until they can leave. But when the time is off, there’s nothing to watch or get anxious about. And then students would never know if the bell was ringing on time. “During class, I usually check my cell phone to see how much time is left in the period,” freshman Taylor Knoras said. “So I noticed that the clocks were off. But they seem to be more on time now.”

Bells from page 1

surprised many of the Canadian hockey fans with our victory and finally earned ourselves a good name in such a big city. Although hockey was the main reason for the trip, there was quite a bit of much-needed down time in between games. The free time we were given was supposed to be a time to rest up and re-focus for the games ahead. But since we were teenagers, little rest was needed when there were city streets in need of exploration. New cultural experiences have always been something I have enjoyed, and since I was in a completely new setting I had many opportunities to expand my cultural knowledge. The hotel I stayed in along with the rest of the team was set smack in the middle of Old Montreal. Just down the block, Notre Dame loomed over the streets. At night the flashing neon lights coming from the shops below would shimmer up the spires toward the sky. The streets of Montreal are full of life 24 hours a day. Many of the people are friendly enough to help you with directions or information. But when exploring Montreal, directions are rarely needed.

As I walked from street to street, weaving in and out of people of all ages, I noticed that at least one window in every shop or restaurant was dedicated to hockey. Even the windows of the shops in Chinatown displayed hockey paraphernalia. There was no-where to hide from the fact that Canada, well Montreal in par-ticular, is in love with the sport of ice hockey although their national sport just so happens to be lacrosse. Seeing hockey all around me made me real-ize how connected I had become to almost every person on the team including the coaching staff. Hockey it seems has a certain kind of bond with the players and coaches. Even though many of my teammates, in fact all but one, play for different high school teams, I treat them as if I have known them my whole life and they treat me with the same attitude. It is an odd circumstance. But it is what makes playing hockey so enjoyable. Black Ice hockey has broadened my travel experiences and made hockey an even more enjoyable sport that has enveloped my life.

Since there were four snow days this year, Springfield High School students and staff have to give up one more week of their summer sun to come into the high school and learn. But, as some students and some staff members believe, SHS officials were adding min-utes on to each day in order to cut off one of the snow days. “Because of the messed up bells, a lot of kids were late to class. The first bell would ring late, then there would only be like a minute to get to your next class, which made everyone late,” senior Erin Graham said. “They were probably trying to get an extra day in of school so we don’t have to make up a snow day.” During March, the New England Accredita-tion of Schools and Colleges visited SHS to see if it was going to continue to be an accredited school. During this time, a team of NEASC members shadowed SHS students around the school, and to all of their classes. They only stayed one week, and used as much time as they could to understand SHS.

“I heard that the bells were off because they needed longer class time for the students while there were the NEASC people coming into the school and inspecting it,” junior Caitlyn Nye said. “I really didn’t like it, of course, because the classes were longer.” A lot has happened at SHS in a month this spring. The NEASC committee came, daylight savings occurred, and a lightning storm hit. Add that onto four extra days of school in the summer, and it’s a disaster bound to happen. Well, that disaster came: the bells being off made students stay in school seven extra minutes. “I think that the bells were off because of the time change, and the time we had the lightning storm,” senior Paulina Mei said. “I just don’t think they changed the clocks.” While most of the clocks still aren’t fixed, the bells have been ringing on time for the past few weeks. And, as much as students and staff believe there is a conspiracy by the SHS officials to keep them in school longer, that doesn't appear to be the case.

Some members of the Class of 2013 enjoy their community service and have volunteered for more than the 20 hours required by the school. “I thought the community service was easy,” said freshman Sarah Stiles, who completed more than her mandatory hours without trouble. Some freshmen have even grown to love the act of giving back to their community, like freshman Allison Pinney, who has ac-complished a staggering 60 hours of community service just this year. “I really like doing community service,” said Pinney, who volunteers three times a week at the River Valley Tech Center pre-school. “I’ve completed over sixty hours, I just haven’t turned in any paperwork.” Unlike many of her classmates, Pinney thinks it’s fair that only freshmen and the grades below will be affected by this new requirement. Many fresh-men feel that it’s unfair that their class has to perform this un-paid help, while seniors, juniors, and sophomores are still not required to do any community service before

Community from page 8they graduate. “I think community service is dumb,” said freshmen Jessica Crowley, who has only four out of her ten hours logged. “We have enough else to do with our lives.” Crowley, also along with Mei and Stiles, think upperclassmen should have to complete some hours before they depart SHS. For freshmen like Crowley, the question may become “So, what will happen if I don’t complete my hours for freshmen year?” Haskell says that while there is no direct consequence as of right now for not completing hours, every student who doesn’t have a plan to complete there hours will be assigned work. Haskell also says that she and the rest of the community service committee are currently revising the policy so a clearer consequence will be set in place for next year. “There are so many things that people can do,” Haskell said. “Plus it shouldn’t be just about working, it’s supposed to be about helping the com-munity.”

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sports a very low set cost. Both of these appealed to the directors. The cost of the show, though expensive, was better priced than other musicals (about $1,000). Pennell also knew some people in New York City who were up to date on the current plays. “I have a friend in New York City and she showed me the music to [title of show],” said Pennell. “We were really thinking about shows that would be possible to do.” Mobus is very excited to be the music di-rector for [title of show] and is looking forward to the experience. “I am extremely excited for the show,” she said. “It will be so much fun working with the music and it will be a great experience because I have been involved in music for many years so the chance to help tutor and give back will be satisfying.” Other than [title of show], which will be

performed outside of school, the SHS Drama II students will be putting on some other plays. Kelsey Christensen will be directing Proof a play about a female mathemati-cian who is trying to convince the world that a proof is hers, not her deceased father's. ”It will be great to have a directing experience and see what Mrs. Skrypek goes through. It will be good to see the other side,” said Christensen. The other play, called The Good Body is an effort of seniors Jess Watkins, Emily Mobus, and Lindsay Turgeon. The show, written by Eve Ensler, is a humorous show about how women feel about their bodies. “It is a series of monologues,” said Turgeon. “Its aim is to make woman feel better about their bodies, and the main focus is stomachs and butts. It’s a great little show.” Money, however, has been a concern for the production of [title of show]. “Money is a problem for

[title of show] from page 5

Armstrong’s famous “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” that he was determined to be the first to eat fruit on the moon? A male cricket’s ear is located on its leg. This is Olivia’s favorite fact. She thinks it’s awesome and she loves animals almost more than hu-mans. Earlier today in physics we were talking about the Tacoma Bridge. There was mention of a person having died in this incident, and Olivia made no comment but then we realized it was a dog. Olivia flipped out. She

Bubble from page 24

do. Tip #3 (courtesy of my sister): Stop moping around, waiting for the “right time” or a new week to get exercising! Who says you can’t start a new workout routine on a Thursday? Nobody, that’s who. Nobody says you have to go to the gym, either. There are plenty of things you can do right in your home or around your neighborhood to get healthy. Just go online and you can find good moves or workouts to strengthen those muscles. Some especially good sites are self.com and shape.com. Now is the perfect time to start. As my sister says, “Nobody ever said, ‘I wish I hadn’t worked out today.’” Make yourself get going and you’ll feel good

afterword. After all, exercise is supposed to increase the naturally-occurring chemical in your body called dopamine that makes you feel happy. Tip #4 (courtesy of me): Out with the old and in with the new. Make some changes in your life. Get the old stuff out of your way to make room for improve-ments. For me, it is all of that college junk mail that has been sitting in my room for a good year. Now that I’ve finally chosen a college (UMass Amherst, by the way) I have no need for those college brochures that have been collecting in boxes on my floor. They’ve been taking up so much space that now that they’re gone, I feel so free! Whatever it is that’s dragging you down, take care of it. Even if it’s just getting rid of some clutter like

Welcome from page 11

us right now. Thankfully, local businesses have donated items (VonBargens donated a Pandora bracelet and friendship charm, and PizzaStone in Chester donated pizza gift certificates) and we will be holding raffles for them,” said Pennell. “As directors, we need to pay for rights and royalties, which can get expensive.” [title of show] will open at GMUHS on June 3rd at 7:00 pm, followed by a performance at SHS on June 4th, also at 7:00 pm. Judging by the directors' comments, this is a riotously funny show with a lot of pizzazz and humor. When asked about what she was looking forward to the most, Pennell said, “I have never directed a show before so it will be interesting to see what happens. I don’t know what to expect.” With ultimate confidence, Pennell con-cluded, “I have a fantastic cast and music director, and am excited to make this happen.”

old clothes, you’ll feel better. Get a new haircut, change your makeup—or try going natural! Anything that works for you, just try it. Tip #5 (courtesy of SELF magazine): Sched-ule a certain amount of time every day for yourself. If you have already planned even a half hour to yourself then if something goes awry during the day you won’t feel like you’re losing time that you didn’t have for it. If there are no sudden surprises during the day, then use that time to relax. Watch a movie, take a long warm shower, or it could be used for that exercising you haven’t gotten to yet. Tip #6 (courtesy of everyone who’s ever said it): Don’t sweat the small stuff. I just think we all need a reminder of this from time to time.

to not steal my things, so I think us rooming together will be a really good thing.” Castleton State College is a small, Divi-sion III college in the NCAA Division. Their football program was created last year, and the team has a new Spartan Stadium. Boyle will be playing receiver on this new team, as well as on the special teams, and will be part of this new program. “I’m really excited to be playing football at Castleton,” Boyle said. “There’s only two recruited classes there now, since the program is brand new, so I’ll actually have a chance of playing my freshman year which doesn’t happen too often. Castleton is one of the top three largest crowd attendance Division III schools in the nation, so I’m excited to play in front of a big crowd.” Kendall will be joining the Castleton soc-cer team, which has been part of Castleton’s athletics

for over 50 years. He’ll be joining a team laced with success stories, the latest being in 2004 when the team earned their first-ever apperance to the NCAA national tournament with a school-record 15 wins. Kendall will be playing striker on this competitive team and has been watched by the Castleton soccer coach since middle school. “I’m playing striker at Castleton, and it will definitely be a big adjustment for me, but I love playing for Coach Warner,” Kendall said. “He was my ODP soc-cer coach in Riverside, and I know his program is really strong, so I’m pretty excited to stay playing there.” Although football and soccer may be the most important and prominent part of Boyle and Kendall’s lives at Castleton, especially in the fall, they both are going in with a declared major. Kendall plans to major in business management or marketing while Boyle is looking more at communications. “It’s going to be pretty tough managing my time at Castleton with football and classes, but I have

Castleton from page 18 to go to mandatory study hours at the student center for five hours a week, so that will really help,” Boyle said. “I just have to stay on top of my school work and I’ll be all set.” For the next four years at least, Kendall will be spending every waking moment studying for his classes and practicing his penalty kicks. But he won’t be alone in this unfamiliar place, as Boyle will be doing his studying and practicing right beside him. Boyle and Kendall are one of about five SHS seniors attending Castleton in the fall, and will continue their friendship and love for sports together. “The only problem we thought we were going to have was the fact that our morning practices were going to be at different times,” Kendall said. “But we decided that if I have an earlier practice, Brandon will sleep without his hearing aids so he won’t hear my alarm, and he’ll invest in a vibrating pillow or a light up pillow so if he has the first practice, I won’t hear it. Basically, this is a perfect room set-up.”

accused the owners of locking the dog in the car –which is ridiculous. This is Olivia. When animals are in harm, she is their defender. Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale. Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Oooooh! (That was for you Erin). Anyway, back to the fact. Wow, are you serious? Obviously they are. They’re Snapple. This is a great fact. It just reminds you of how huge whales are. Elephants are HUGE and the fact that most of them don’t even weigh the weight of a blue whale’s tongue is ludicrous. We love this.

It’s hard to tell if these vampires are honest insecurities, or just an excuse for lack of ambition. We often set the bar so low that it’s impossible to fail, because we’re so afraid of failure. Either way, if I want to fully achieve a life that will make me happy, like in [title of show], I’ll have to grab a stake, and kill those vampires.

Existence from page 10

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at this figure hunched up at my feet: a gaunt, greying man in his fifties wearing a cloth cap, ancient tweed greatcoat, and decent shoes, with a threadbare Army rucksack on the ground beside him. A tramp, perhaps, who had left the rest of his possessions stashed beneath a bush. Or an Eccentric. Certainly no shepherd. He said nothing. Very sarcastically. I snatched up my book and brushed it off. “What on earth are you doing?” I demanded. “Lying in wait for someone?” He raised one eyebrow at that, smiled in a singularly condescending and irritating manner, and opened his mouth to speak in that precise drawl which is the trademark of the overly educated upper-class English gentleman. A high voice; a biting one: definitely an Eccentric. “I should think that I can hardly be accused of ‘lying’ anywhere,” he said, “as I am seated openly on an uncluttered hillside, minding my own business. When, that is, I am not having to fend off those who propose to crush me underfoot.” He rolled the penultimate r to put me in my place. …My shoulders went back, my chin up, as I stiffened for combat. I had no idea where I was, or who this man was, whether I was standing on his land or he on mine, if he was a dangerous lunatic or an escaped convict or the lord of the manor, and I did not care. I was furious. “You have not answered my question, sir,” I bit off. He ignored my fury. Worse than that, he seemed un aware of it. He looked merely bored, as if he wished I might go away. “What am I doing here, do you mean?” “Exactly.” “I am watching bees,” he said flatly, and

turned back to his contemplation of the hillside. This wonderful bit of dialogue is indicative of the overall wit and quality of the book. Russell guides the reader through her training as a detective, a kidnap-ping case, and eventually an attempted bombing, facing an evolved version of one of Holmes’s previous arch-enemies with skill and mastery. King has an astounding gift for understanding the absurdity of English hilarity; her dialogue (as seen above) is pitch-perfect. The be-lievability of King’s new plot and updated Detective is astounding. It is clear that King knows her subject and her craft well; she maintains the integrity of Holmes’s personality while writing beautifully. Corruption of Holmes is usually the chief problem of Holmes Fan-Fiction. Inevitably, the authors of atrocity cause Holmes to fall in love, or present him as a Vulcanesque thinking machine with no sense of humour. King finds and presents a happy medium; the Great Detective has, perhaps, mellowed with age, but is as mentally sharp as ever. Yet, at the same time, she creates a true sense of peril. The plot is creative, yet believable enough that the reader senses that the main characters are in true danger. There are, however, some worrisome ele-ments to King’s adaptation. Russell is at times an unbe-lievable character; she is an independent, obnoxiously tall, gloriously-coiffed, intellectual feminist who seems a bit out of place: “I beg your pardon, are you hard of hear-ing?” I raised my voice somewhat and spoke slowly. “I said, if you want a new hive you’ll have to follow the blue spots, because the reds are sure to be Tom Warner’s.” “I am not hard of hearing,” [said Holmes] “although I am short of credulity. How do you come to know of my interests?” “I should have thought it obvious,” I said

Beekeeper from page 13impatiently, though even at that age I was aware that such things were not obvious to the majority of people. “I see paint on your pocket-handkerchief, and traces on your fingers where you wiped it away. The only reason to mark bees that I can think of is to enable one to follow them to their hive. You are either interested in gathering honey or in the bees themselves, and it is not the time of year to harvest honey. Three months ago we had an unusual cold spell that killed many hives. Therefore I assume that you are tracking these in order to replenish your own stock.” Russell is unbelievably perfect and pomp-ous here; the character begins to seem contrived. King generally makes up for these difficult parts with better writing, but these odd patches make it seem like the character was not fully developed when King began writing, as Russell’s personality seems to shift. The other disconcerting aspect of this book involves Holmes and Russell’s relationship. It is fairly clear oncethe book begins that their mentor-student relationship will eventually become a romantic one. However, Russell is fifteen at the start of the novel, and the thought of she and the fifty-something Holmes becoming involved is bizarre at best and disturbingly Nabokovian at worst. Generally, King manages to skirt the issue by having Russell grow up very quickly; when the dynamic duo has their first case, she is nearly twenty. In addition, Russell and Holmes are always portrayed as intellectual equals who learn from each other. In the end, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice was a delightful book. By staying true to the legend and persona of Holmes, King manages to retain the friendship of his devotees, but also manages to attract new readers with the sharp-witted Mary Russell and an ingenious plot. This fun and believable book is highly recommended to any Holmes fan, as well as to anyone simply looking for a good read.

wishing, wanting, dreading, hoping. All the time. You need to take advantage of this. At the very least, people will think you're strange and annoying, but if you fully commit, you could make several people wonder if you may indeed be a Bona Fide Facebook Creep. They'll wonder why you are under the impression that anyone cares about you eating cocoa puffs, being bored, or lov-ing your dog. And everyone else's statuses? Comment them. Like them. For this, it's actually best if you don't even know the friend you're commenting. Maybe they'll have a status about their favorite television show—comment with a paragraph or two voicing your own opinion of the show. This could be a perfect segue into walling them. Yes, walling. Write on their Facebook profile wall about the TV show as well. Suggest a TV-watching marathon, just the two of you. This will make them feel uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. Depend-ing on the individual, they'll feel obligated to respond to you. To them, you will become a person who has too much time and who is a little too interested in talking to them. You will become strange, unsettling. You will become a task: they’ll have to think of imaginary plans they already have on Friday night and reasons why they can’t IM at the moment. And speaking of which, Facebook chat is an invaluable tool in the quest to Bona Fide Facebook Creep status. You know that girl who you went to kin-dergarten with? You now live two towns away from one another and you have only seen her in passing, maybe

Serendipity from page 11 at football games between your respective high schools. It’s fair to say that you don’t know each other. This is what makes an IM attack so effective. Start chatting with her one day. Just seeing your name pop up will weird her out a little bit, but you need to go above and beyond. This is perhaps the climax of your journey to becoming a Bona Fide Facebook Creep. Start talking about the problems you and your significant other are having. Tell her all about the dysfunction your family went through last month when you went on vacation. If possible, also tell her about any strange medical conditions, allergies, sicknesses, or skin growths you may have. To wrap up the conversation with an extra punch of creepy, tell her that you really enjoyed talking to her, you need to do it again, and you’d like to make plans to hang out together soon, because it’s just been too long. As a final note, make sure you talk about Facebook all the time in real life. Talk about those pictures of that big blowout party that happened a few nights ago at the home of that supercute guy who doesn’t know or like you enough to invite you. Talk about those girls who changed their relationships statuses and are supposedly now in a relationship—are they really together? Is it a joke? Are they lesbians or something? Talk about the link one of your friends posted last night. It was hilarious; did anyone else see it? Wasn’t it hilari-ous? If you have a full conversation that in no way includes any mention of Facebook, you are not doing your job. As a Bona Fide Facebook Creep, Facebook is your life. It should be all you care about. You live in Facebook. You are Facebook.

amount. This would mean $550,000 of retirement pack-ages, with a loss of 10 teaching salaries. These teachers would have received a 2% raise annually on a five-figure base salary for over 22 years. The board decided against capping the budget, allowing the incentive to be used by any eligible teacher. Since the offer was announced, approximate-ly nine staff members have announced their retirement. “Originally, the administration had indicated around 10 staff had expressed interest,” said Board Member Sam Coleman said. “So, the response is expected.” Perotti expected interest in the incentive to be larger, but he knows many teachers had already formed specific plans about the future. “Money may not be a factor,” said Perotti. Some retirees will be replaced with new teacher, while others will be filled with current staff members whose position may have been reduced from full time. “[The savings] really depends on who gets hired to replace the retiring staff,” explained Coleman. Base salaries vary based on the experience of an ap-plicant. Perotti estimates the average salary of Springfield personnel around $60,000. With nine an-nounced retirees, the cost for the retirement packages rounds at $495,000. Perotti expects that even with the rehiring, the incentive will save the district around $200,000. “That could amount to three new positions,” concluded Perotti.

Retirement from page 9

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we lost focus a few times, but our pitching really pulled through,” Osborne said. “I went four innings, and then Jeremy came in and did a great job at shutting them down.” Once again, the game was called in the 6th inning due to the weather and the darkness. But this time, the game was called in favor of the Cosmos, and they continued with their season at 1-1. On April 12th, the Cosmos traveled to Mill River to face the Minutemen, and pulled away with yet another win, 6-3. “We’re doing really well when it comes to being a team,” Chevalier said. “We get along, and we communicate really well. We’ve started to find our rhythm.” After two straight victories, the Cosmos faced their biggest rival, the Bellows Falls Terriers. In the last inning, the Terriers pulled away with a 3-2 win. “Today’s game was just a reminder that we still have a ways to go,” Chevalier said. “It was a tough pill to swallow, but it’s a lesson better learned early. In the past few games, teams have scored runs right off in the early innings. Then we find our rhythm and zone in, but we have to play catch-up. So far it’s worked. But today we found out that you can’t always rely on that type of play.” After the Bellows Falls loss on April 15th, the Cosmos dropped their record to 2-2 on the season. They will play Mount Anthony, Burr & Burton, and Otter Valley in the month of April. “I just hope we keep improving,” Osborne said, “and get better each game so we can go far in the playoffs.”

Baseball from page 14 After the slump in the first three innings, the Cosmos scored multiple runs in each consecutive inning. In the 5th inning, the Cosmos got their score up to nine runs when seniors Erin Graham and Meredith Ward, as well as juniors Jessie Haskell and Sarah Vredenburgh and sophomore Kristin Cook, all piled in runs. “We did really good hitting near the end of the game,” Whittemore said, who drove in two runs in the 5th. “The defense remained tough throughout the game as well, and picked up the intensity in the last few innings.” After the Cosmos took the lead, they didn’t slow down. Not a single Terrier scored after the first inning, and only three got on base after the first. “After they took the lead, we kept our heads up,” Graham said. “We knew that it was a must win, and it was possible to win it, so I think that is what kept us going. Our chem-istry brought us back into reality to win the game.”

Softball from page 15

has been made possible by donations, is that everyone wins a door prize. “Many local and regional business have been very generous,” said Martha Tarbell, a parent helping to coordinate the event. “Without their support it would be very difficult to offer this drug and alcohol-free event for students.” Although most students have expressed their satisfaction with the party, some students have been concerned with things like the location of the party as well as the timing of some events. “The best part of the party is when the hypnotist comes,” said senior Derek Graham, “but I don’t want to wait until 1:00 in the morning to see it.” But Tarbell explains it is planned that way on purpose. It is a way to ensure that kids aren’t leaving the party to drink. Everyone enjoys watching their friends get hypnotized, so they are likely to stay for the whole event just to enjoy that part of the night. Years ago, the post prom party used to go until 5:00 or 5:30 in the morning at which time more

Post Prom from page 4parents would show up and they would provide breakfast for the students. Since then the hours have been cut back. As far as the location goes, now that the SHS prom is being held at Riverside Middle School, organizers feel it makes sense to have post prom at the North Springfield Armory, which is relatively close. In the past, when prom was held at the high school, post prom took place at the Howard Dean Center. Tarbell has an answer to those students who have been dissatisfied with anything about post prom. “If anyone has a concern,” she said, “they should talk to the adults who are coordinating the event.” Post prom is put on for the students, so parents definitely want their input. On the other hand, though, as Tarbell points out, “Our insurance does not allow certain activities [such as inflatable sumo-wrestling, jousting or a bull-riding machine like they wanted to have last year] to take place. It limits the things we can have.” In the past, anywhere from 200 to 250 kids

have checked into post prom and about 148 to 165 kids stayed for the whole affair. Tarbell, who has helped plan the post prom party four times—in 2006, 2007, 2009 and this year, 2010—thinks that these numbers show just how well this event has succeeded. “From the time I’ve known that post prom has taken place,” Tarbell added, “I haven’t heard of any major parties being busted or deaths from drinking and driving.” There are roughly seven parents who have been meeting consistently to plan this year’s party. “I expect twenty adults on hand that evening,” said Tarbell, “which includes staff from the high school as well as parents.” The coordinators of the event have been mostly parents of juniors and seniors, but any parent may join. “I’d encourage the parents [of underclassmen] to get involved,” said Tarbell. Since most freshmen and sophomores don’t drive, Tarbell insists, “We want them to know that their kids are in a safe place and in good hands.”

The Cosmos scored four more runs in the 6th inning to solidify the win, and pulled away with a 13-3 victory over the Terriers. Part of the reason for this win, besides the hitting and the tough defense, involved the chemistry on the team. Nine Varsity players from last year returned to lead the team this year, and the Cosmos only have one new starting second baseman, freshman Jill Rushton. “Everyone likes everybody on the team this year, and there is no conflict between us,” sophomore Emma Esty said. “The teamwork is great. This chemistry will definitely help us win games. When everyone has a positive attitude with each other, it just makes the team feel better and do better.” After this win, the Cosmos raised their re-cord to 2-2 on the season, and 2-0 in the Marble Valley League. “We’re 2-0 right now in the league, and we’re tied with Otter Valley,” Graham said. “I hope we keep it up, and keep up the team chemistry and intensity, and come out of this season as MVL Champions.”

pull in, and walk over, check out what flavor everyone’s enjoying, in order to help you make your decision. You glance over at the flavor of the day sign. Now comes the hardest part, deciding which flavor you want? You think to yourself, ‘self, …what am I in the mood for?’ The Summer Place offers a wide variety of soft serve flavors. Varying from strawberry and banana to mocha or peanut butter. The flavor choices seem almost endless. Along with the many topping’s. Fruit or candy? Whipped cream or sprinkles?

After you decide upon a flavor you’ve got to choose what to put it in. A dish or a cone? But what size? Tot or regular? Sugar cone or a waffle cone? Once that is taken care of you must then decide on a topping or two. Junior Alexis Esposito, who frequently visits the Summer Place, has a system for ordering. “Before the 4th of July I get a vanilla tot in a cone with Oreos,” said Esposito. “After the 4th of July I order a chocolate vanilla twist, in a waffle cone, with Reeses Peanut But-ter cups and red white and blue sprinkles.” In the case of a sprinkle outage Esposito goes with the twist with Oreo’s. While many believe that Esposito is a Summer

Summer Place from page 1Place employee, due to the endless hours she spends there, she is not employed by the Summer Place. Junior Chelsea Howland is entering her third summer working at the ever-popular ice cream hang out. Howland finds a, “great variety of customers.” Howland said, “I think people enjoy coming to the summer place because it’s in the center of the plaza, there are picnic tables, and of course the ice cream.” With this much variety packed into one small building, in order to try every ice cream and topping combination there is, it will take you all summer to do so. I suggest you start with my personal favorite, vanilla ice cream, in a dish, topped with strawberries.

plete sentences, I believe that successful handling of such irregular syntax is indicative of, if not skill, then at least linguistic confidence. However, the rules of grammar apply more stringently in some situations than in others. Writing a history paper requires a greater formality of syntax than writing a personal essay. I wouldn't dream of using a sentence fragment to bring home a point about the Founding Fathers. History essays are about facts, not

Grammar from page 3 effusive writing. (Math has its own language, as does science. I daren’t mess around with either.) In conclusion, grammar is a slippery, crafty creature. There are some rules we ignore, as we well should, because they interfere with the artistic flow of language, but there are some rules that had best stay in place, especially when formality of syntax is required. But, above all, writing improves with repetition and a genuine desire to improve. Grammar is either a way to make writing and language better or something to ignore when necessary. It’s up to the writer to decide.

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SHS Speaks Out

Bursting the Bubble

By Jenny Bradley and Olivia Johnson

By Laurel Porter

In Athens, Greece, a driver’s license can be taken away by law if the driver is deemed either “un-bathed” or “poorly dressed.”

This probably seems random for the begin-ning of our column, so let us explain. For this edition of the Green Horn we decided to be a little more light-hearted and less catty. We have picked seven Snapple facts to discuss, ridicule, support, but mainly just laugh at. Alright, let’s get back to Athens’ strange law about driver’s licenses. What? That’s ridiculous. If that was a law in the United States literally half the people who drive now wouldn’t have their license. And maybe we’d be better off. Think about it, we would be much more ‘green’ as a whole. There would also probably be less car accidents, considering there would be less people on

the road. Hmmm, maybe this isn’t such a crazy law… There are more chickens than people in the world. Hahahuahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Everything tastes like chicken. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day. That’s depressing. Laughing is therapeutic all by itself. Think about how much better you feel after you’ve laughed. Life is so serious. There’s death, war, hunger and thousands of other terrifying things that plague our world. But if we sit here and just think about all these horrors, nothing will ever be changed. Therefore, we have to laugh. We have to forget about

things like human trafficking for a little while so that we can stay sane a little bit longer to fix these horrific things. So laugh. Laugh like you’re a six-year old. Thepeachwasthefirstfruittobeeatenon the moon. How did they decide what the first fruit to be eaten on the moon would be? Do you think one guy just pulled out a peach and dug in before they had a chance to think about it? Or do you think they discussed and analyzed the pros and cons of each fruit? Sounds pretty ridiculous. And why would they record that? Do you think Buzz Aldrin was filled so with jealousy after Lance

Oooh! Snapple Facts!

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The eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull has sent newscasters and conversationalists into a tizzy. Mispronunciations of the Nordic name (correctly pro-nounced EYE-a-fyat-la-jo-kutl) abound, and to honor the hilarity of phonetic butchering, this edition of Green Horn asked: What word do you have difficulty pronouncing?

Sophomore Alec Benoit“Endometriosis. I just get tongue-tied. It’s a pain in

the butt to read, too.”

Music Teacher Jim Chlebak“Particularly is difficult. It has an embedded R next to

an L, and Rs and Ls are very close in sound.”

Senior Kayla Perham“Colonel. It doesn’t have an R in it. You know that, but

pronouncing it really irritates you.”

Freshman Samir Mann“Onomatopoeia. I’m not capable of saying it.”

Senior Tabitha Molden“Fatigue. I learned it as fat-i-jew. It gave me a lot of trouble for a long time, and then I moved on to [mis-

pronouncing] blatantly.”

Sophomore Eibhilin Whittemore“Anemone. It has so many vowels.”