February

The 2nd month of the year is

an outstanding one. In the

Georgian calendar, the

calendar that most of the world

uses, February is the second

month of the year. Most of the

months have 30 or 31 days in a

month, but February is shorter.

February had 28 days until

Julius Caesar gave it 29 and 30

days every four years. This is

because the Roman emperor

Augustus took one day from

February and added that to

August because August was a

month that was named after

him. February is a very cold

month followed by January in

the northern half of the world.

However, there are sunny days

in February that indicate that

spring is almost here. Different

from the northern half, the

southern hemisphere usually

enjoys midsummer weather.

Below are some fun facts about

February:

1. The birthstone for February

is Amethyst

2. Two zodiac signs for

February are Aquarius (January

20 - February 18) and Pisces

(February 19 - March 20).

3. The month has 29 days in

leap years, when the year

number is divisible by four. In

common years, the month has

28 days.

4. Viola and Primrose are the

birth flowers.

5. Black History Month is

celebrated in Canada and

United States.

6. National Day of the Sun is

celebrated in Argentina.

7. In order to complete the

Soviet Union's victory in

Stalingrad during World War

II, the last German troops

surrendered in the Stalingrad

pocket.

8. On February 4th, 1861, a

temporary committee met at

Montgomery, Alabama, where

they organized the Confederate

States of America.

9. On February 6th, 1933, the

20th Amendment was

proclaimed, moving

Inauguration Day to January

20th.

10. In February 1910, the Boy

Scouts of America was

incorporated.

11. On February 6, 1899, the

U.S. Senate ratified the peace

treaty that led to the end of the

Spanish-American War.

12. On February 6, 1952,

Princess Elizabeth became

Queen Elizabeth II of Great

Britain.

13. February 11 - National

Foundation Day in Japan

14. February 12 - Abraham

Lincoln's Birthday

15. February 14 - Valentine's

Day

16. February 21 - International

Mother Language Day

17. February 22 -

Independence Day in Saint

Lucia

18. February 22 - George

Washington's Birthday

19. February 24 - Flag Day in

Mexico

20. February 25 - People Power

Revolution (Philippines)

The Cardinal ~~~~February 16, 2015 Issue: 4 Volume: 3 ~~~~~

Quote of the Month

By: Lillian J. Davis

“When I was five years old, my

mother always told me that

happiness was the key to life.

When I went to school, they

asked me what I wanted to be

when I grew up. I wrote down

‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t

understand the assignment,

and I told them they didn’t

understand Life.” – John

Lennon

FCCLA WEEK

For the first week in February,

our very own FCCLA (Family,

Career, and Community

Leaders of America) club put

on FCCLA week. On Monday,

we talked to all the RTI groups

about basic information

involving FCCLA and its

members. Hugs and Kisses were

also handed out to everyone.

Tuesday’s activities included a

teacher appreciation luncheon

for whole staff at CHS. This

luncheon was prepared by

FCCLA members with the help

of our leader, Mrs. Phipps. On

Wednesday, we all wore purple

in support of Epilepsy

awareness. There was a picture

taken of all the participants

standing in the shape of a

ribbon. Thursday, RTI groups

worked hard to decorate a cake

inspired by the birthday of

their current RTI teachers.

These cakes were judged and

presented before being eaten

the following day. Also on

Friday, FCCLA sold stickers for

$1 that allowed students to

wear their hats for the entire

day. Those profits went towards

the FCCLA foundation. Hat Day

brought in $14. Over the entire

week, the High School classes

and Jr. High RTI groups

participated in a change war to

support the awareness of

Epilepsy. From the Jr. High, Mr.

Gisinger’s group raised $58.85,

taking the win. Mrs. Mason’s

RTI was in second place with

$48.55. For the High School,

the Juniors raised the most with

$57.19. Seniors had $41.40,

Sophomores raised $15.60, and

Freshman provided us with

$6.06. In total, the change war

raised $276.48 for Epilepsy

awareness! You could also see

all FCCLA members with bags

of suckers a $1 each that

included flavors like mint

chocolate chip. Sweet freedom,

sour pink lemonade, and

strawberry cheesecake.

Homecoming

Homecoming is the tradition of

welcoming graduates back to

our very own, Chrisman High

School. For our homecoming,

we use an entire week to

celebrate. Monday, each class

decorated their hallways using

our theme, “Lost in

Wonderland.” The hallways

were judged and points were

assigned to the class based on

what place they deserved.

Monday you also were asked to

wear your red, white, and blue,

showing our support for the

USA. Tuesday was Fake Injury

Day. During all hours of the

day, walking down the hallway

at Chrisman High School,

would entail seeing everything

from black eyes to crutches on

basically everyone you saw.

Generations Day was

Wednesday. This means that

Freshmen and Sophomores

were dressed up as babies and

toddlers and Juniors and

Seniors were dressed up as the

working class and elderly. Our

homecoming games took place

on Thursday, during which,

our individual classes were

dressed in their colors.

Freshman in green,

Sophomores in blue, Juniors in

yellow, and Seniors in red. The

winners of the games in order

were Seniors-1st, Juniors- 2nd,

Freshmen- 3rd, and

Sophomores- 4th. The “Lost in

Wonderland” inspired posters

from each class were also due

this day at 2. The Juniors and

Freshmen tied for first, Seniors

took 2nd, and Sophomores took

3rd place for the posters. Friday,

an early dismissal day, was

Pajama Day. That evening, we

played the Salt Fork Storm in

our homecoming game. We

won 55-41. Go Cards! And

Lastly, Saturday was the day of

our very own homecoming

dance themed “Lost in

Wonderland.” As you entered

the dance you walked along

black and white tiles all the

way up to a keyhole shaped

doorway. Once inside, your

eyes were immediately drawn

to the colors and details of the

Alice in Wonderland

decorations covering the walls

and ceiling. Although we had

some issues with the music, it

was a very successful and

beautiful dance that I am sure

will not be forgotten.

Drama

Drama auditions will take

place on February 17 and 18.

Auditions usually consist of

students singing about thirty

seconds of a song and reading a

piece of dialogue from the

character they are interested in.

This year’s production in

Seussical the Musical. Seussical

combines lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

with themes and characters

from classic Dr. Seuss books

like Horton Hatches the Egg,

Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!,

and The Cat in the Hat.

Seussical will be presented on

April 17 and 18. Good luck to

those auditioning and break a

leg!

Slender Man Stabbing

Incident… How Could

This Have Happened?

Article by: Emily Watters

Almost everyone has heard of

how two twelve year old girls

stabbed one of their best

friends and claimed that

Slender Man told them to. The

two culprits are Morgan Geyser

and Anissa Weier. This all had

started in May 2013. They had

stabbed their twelve year old

friend about nineteen times,

before leaving her out to die in

the woods. Although, the victim

crawled out of the woods, and

she was rescued by a passing

bicyclist. She was immediately

taken to the hospital.

Morgan and Anissa had

claimed that the mythical

internet sensation, Slender

Man, had told them to. But

who is this Slender Man?

Slender Man is a fictional

supernatural figure that was

created by Victor Surge on the

forum: “Something Awful.” He

was originally a meme, but was

soon turned into something

else, as seen in this case.

The victim of this stabbing is

recovering well according to a

few of close friends and family.

It is reported that they have

seen her walking, playing with

a cat, etc. The trial for Morgan

Geyser and Anissa Weier is set

to be February eighteenth.

Mythical Creature of the

Month

Scylla is a monster that guards

one side of the Straight of

Messina between Italy and

Sicily. The whirlpool Charybdis

guards the other. She used to be

a beautiful sea nymph until

Glaucus, a sea god, fell in love

with her. The god went to a

witch named Circe so that she

could cast a love spell on the

sea nymph. But, Circe became

jealous of his love for her so

instead she cursed Scylla so

that she would become a horrid

monster. She is now seen with

six heads that each have three

rows of extremely sharp teeth.

Her body is made out of many

growling dogs and depending

on who you ask, twelve feet or

tentacles. Her necks can reach

out towards passing ships, grab

sailors, and crush them against

the surrounding rocks so that

she could snack on them

whenever she pleased. Because

her and the Charybdis are so

close to each other, the sailors

traveling through that straight

would often have to choose

between being killed by one or

the other. Scylla is forever

trapped on her rock,

completely unaware of the love

felt towards her or the chance

she had torn from her grasp.

Seasons

Like summer time, the memory

leaves

Vanishing, as the rest of the

world breathes

There was no warning, no

heads up

No crystal ball in his solo cup

Like winter time, the world is

cold

Whiting out everything once so

gold

She doesn't think of anything

but him

Falling down once again in

light so dim

Like fall, everything can start

again

Finally, she'll see who she's

been

All this time, such a selfish

guppie

Wondering around like a lost

puppy

And like spring, we grow

We use what we know

Building a new garden as the

world restarts

Fitting puzzle pieces into

missing parts

Looking back at the day

Not a detail left astray

It's strange, but life goes on

And some people in it just don't

belong

Mendenhall Glacier and

Ice Caves

Visiting Mendenhall glacier

and ice caves allows you to

witness every stage of the water

cycle all at once. This glacier is

12 miles long and lies in the

Mendenhall valley. It is located

in southeast Alaska. This place

is federally protected being that

it is part of the Mendenhall

Glacier Recreation Area which

belongs to the Tongass National

Forest. Origionally, this glacier

had two names. One was

Sitaantaagu meaning “glacier

behind the town” and the other

was Aak’wtaaksit which means

“glacier behind the little lake.”

The ice caves are located inside

the glacier. The only way to get

to these caves is by kayaking to

them then climbing over the

glacier. Although, each year,

this glacier retreats more and

more due to global warming.

According to Juneau Icefield

Research Program, the

Mendenhall glacier has

receded about 2 miles since

1958. Earlier we had recorded

that it only moved .5 miles

since 1500.

A fun fact about this glacier is

that it is one of the 38 large

glaciers that are placed in the

Juneau Icefield. Year after year,

the snow that layers on top is

compacted and added to the

glacier itself. The bigger it gets,

the stronger the gravity pulling

on it is. Therefore, each year,

there is even more gravity

pulling the glacier down 13

miles to Mendenhall Lake. As it

does this, it is grinding down

the bedrock that it moves over.

There is a lot of wildlife

around this glacier. Coyotes,

porcupines, squirrels,

snowshoe hares, and short-

tailed weasels are just some of

the Mendenhall glacier

inhabitants. There are also

migrating songbirds that build

nests in the young forest. Near

Steep Creek, ponds are being

created by the beavers while

black bears and eagles are

enjoying snacking on spawning

Sockeye and Coho Salmon.

Mendenhall Lake has been

chosen by loons, gulls, and artic

terns. Mountain goats also love

the surrounding peaks.

If you are planning a trip to the

ice caves, keep in mind that

allow they are beautiful, they

are dangerous if you do not

know what you are doing.

Because of the many risks, you

should always be accompanied

by a guide that knows the area

expertly. It takes about six to

eight hours to make it to the

west flank of the glacier where

the ice caves are located. Also,

be sure to wear proper clothing

and bring a spare set so that if

anything were to happen that

caused you to become wet,

whether it be weather or a fall,

you can get out of those close

as soon as possible.

Hypothermia is a huge concern

here. Lastly, the ice caves can

collapse and injure or kill the

people around it. The entrance

is a lot thinner and more likely

to collapse. Rocks that are

above the entrance sometimes

also drop without warning.

This is another reason that you

should always keep your eyes

open, be aware of your

surroundings, and follow the

orders of the guide that has

done this many times,

unharmed.

Ten Songs for You to Look

Up (If You Haven’t Heard

them Already)

1. Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder

2. I’m Just a Kid by Simple Plan

3. High School Never Ends by

Bowling for Soup

4. Have You Ever Seen the Rain

by Creedence Clearwater

Revival

5. Brick by Boring Brick by

Paramore

6. Young Volcanoes by Fall Out

Boy

7. Kryptonite by Three Doors

Down

8. Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles

9. Somewhere Over the

Rainbow/What a Wonderful

World by Israel

Kamakawiwo’ole

10. I Don’t Want to Be by Gavin

Degraw

Newspaper Designed

By Lillian J. Davis