IN THIS ISSUE...

Editorial

Feature

Entertainment

Page 6Sports

Page 7 - 8

Page 4 - 5

Page 3

Shepard Cast Peforms to Soldout Crowd By David PrinceWeb Designer

This year’s fall play, “The Laramie Project,” per-formed at Shepard, was a play about the Matthew Shepard incident; a 21 year old man who was killed for his sexual orientation in Laramie, Wyo-ming. The opening night of the play was on Thursday, November 5, and it was per-formed again on November 6 and 7. On the opening night, the play sold out - which was the fi rst time in the history of Alan B. Shepard High School. The head writer of the play, Leigh Fondakowski, attended the opening night, and hosted a post-facilitation after the performance, in which Fondakowski led a discussion with the audience about the play. “The Laramie Project is really good at offering a lot of different perspectives,” said Jeff Vazzana, one of two directors of the play along with Mary Ellen Fawk, “People will agree or disagree with some of the monologues said, and it certainly will make people want to talk about it.” During the session, Fondakowski praised the cast, telling them that she was im-pressed by their performance. She felt the cast had done a great job at playing the char-acters correctly, and that the cast accurately represented the personality of the individual characters. “I think our students were able to capture the raw emotions, the refl ections, and the reactions of a com-munity distraught by the brutal hate crime perpetrated upon Mathew Shepard,” Fawk con-curred. At the end of the session, the students gave Fondakowski a bouquet of fl owers as a way of thanking

her for attending the play and hosting the session. The students also made a video which explains the signifi cance of the play, and how important it was for the play to be performed. “I know we could have done Alice in Won-derland, or Cinderella; and I would have played a re-ally good evil queen,” said Veronica Jacobson, a junior at Shepard, “Instead we chose to do this, and if a hate group showed up, that would show how what we’re doing is important. It’s not just a bunch of rag-tag kids just putting on a play- it’s a cast conveying a social message to a group of people that never really get to see that.” The video is available to watch on YouTube. The title of the video is absFallPlay-15tlpCastInterview, and it is posted on the account named District 218 News and High-lights. Prior to the opening night of the play, wristbands were handed out with the message “Hate is not an ABS value” written on them. “The play was speaking out against acts of hate because they can be very destructive,” said Pedro Martinez, a senior at Shepard. The wristbands were given out at school, and then later on could be received at the play by paying an addi-tional $10 as a donation, which would go towards the Shepard speech team.

November 25, 2015Issue 7Volume XXXIII

By Ashley Shellberg and Taylor NovakStaff Reporter

Every year, Shepard High School has helped families in need within the district with canned foods and monetary donations collected by the Lemon Food Drive. Jerry Lemon, a former health teacher here at Shepard High School, started the food drive with left over cans brought in by students in his health classes. It started in the early 80s. Glen Simms also started it with Lemon, although he gives the credit for the idea to Lemon. “We started it together even though it was his idea,” said Simms. “I thought so much of Jerry Lemon that I promised to myself I’d keep his baby going and I did until I retired in 2009.” The Lemon Food Drive was continued by Glenn Simms and is now run by teachers Bradley Fisher, Kristine LaRocco, and Erin McLean. English teacher Eric Kallenborn and counselor James Benes are also in-volved. The food drive begins after Halloween and ends on the Monday prior to Thanksgiv-

ing. “Every year I enjoy work-ing with the students to make this happen,” stated McLean. “This year the multi-needs program helped us shop. This would not be possible without their help!” The three classes that bring in the most dona-tions are rewarded with pizza parties. Students who donate receive a ticket, and are eli-gible for a raffl e. The drawings take place every Friday in the main offi ce. Several winners are chosen each week. The winners receive gift cards to various places. “This is a great way to raise a lot of donations for an amazing event like this.” Said teacher Michael Smith. There are many people nowadays that struggle fi nancially and around the holi-days it can be hard for them to provide for their families. Kal-lenborn thinks the food drive is “a great opportunity for us as a Shepard community to come together and help those in our community.” Helping others not only benefi ts those in need but also builds a stronger community LaRocco sums it up well, “Helping others is the BEST gift anyone could give themselves.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Narrator Rley McDermott listens to one of many monologues during Laramie Project performance in front of historical sellout crowd on November 5. (Photo courtesy of Odyssey Yearbook)

2November 25,2015

NEWS

By Michelle SneddonEntertainment Editor This year the March-ing Astros won’t be home for Thanksgiving dinner. Instead they will be enjoying dinner in the heart of Times Square. They depart Shepard at 5 p.m. on Tuesday November 24. They will drive in motor coaches, all night to Philadel-phia, arriving on Wednesday November 25 at 8 a.m. They will tour the city and many famous museums, including Indepen-dence Hall and Congress Hall, Declaration House, and the tallest building in Philadelphia, Christ Church. Once all the tours are done, they will break for lunch at Hard Rock Café. The next morning, Thanksgiving Day, the Marching Astros were chosen to march in the 6 ABC/ Dunkin’ Donuts Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade. After the parade, they will have a boxed lunch and get

By Gaby JuszczakEditor in Chief The Senior Citizen Dance is an annual event that happens at Shepard High School every year. The dance has been going on at Shepard for 15 years. About 175 senior citizens came from surround-ing communities to attend the dance. The event is put on by the Shepard Leo Club which is a community service-orientated club that focuses on volunteer-ing their time to give back to the community. Leo Club runs the entire event. Students from the Leo Club put together the event. Preparations include passing out fl yers, decorating the gym, and serving food at the dance as well. The theme of the

By Angeline SchmelzerEditorial Editor Many people know that Shepard has a proud tradition in speech. Each year some faces change, but the results seem to be ongoing. What many people don’t know is how speech events work. There are three rounds in each event. A judge ranks them after the fi rst time they present. Scores are added up to see if the student goes into fi nals. In each of the 13 events there are multiple competitors from different schools. The novice team had their fi rst tournament November 7 at the Ike’s Early Bird Novice Invitational at Eisenhower High School. Freshman Ma’lak Zatar broke in the radio fi nal and fi n-ished fi fth overall. The varsity team com-peted Saturday, November 14 and fi nished fi fth overall at Mar-ian Catholic High School. Junior Nick Harnisch was a tournament champion in poetry. The team appears strong again this year. Some key returners are Riley McDermott, Nick Loquercio, Veronica Jacob-son and Emma Toomey. “Riley has an incredible talent to grasp the interp. of a piece of a poetry in dimensions and levels most folks couldn’t even begin to do,” said speech coach Mary Ellen Fawk. “Emma is littlewith a serious demeanor but she is mighty, mighty funny.” Participating in speech at Shepard can be challenging, and demanding but also reward-ing. The life skills that they gain can and will be with them the

rest of their lives. Dylan Porter is a senior on the varsity team. “Speech is something I see as a challenge and it helps build my confi -dence,” Porter said, “because public speaking is something I will use in the future.” Junior Will Jarman is also on the varsity team. He feels as though speech devel-ops a student’s self-assurance in public writing and communi-cation. “It improves writing and public speaking, and it builds character” Jarman explained, “It is something that is important to learn and it provides that for the students.” It provides skills in communication that are needed in the future that can help students grow and become suc-cessful adults. Eric Kallenborn and Jon Nebor are the head coaches for this year’s speech team. “Speech is the most important job skill in the mar-ket today,” Kallenborn said, “I believe that any student that participates on the speech team has a leg up on getting into col-lege, getting jobs, and building better relationships.” Since the play was late this year, the team has been very busy preparing to compete by staying after school until 6:30 every day to practice around the school. Monday meetings con-sist of celebrating successes, important information, and plan-ning for the rest of the week. The team will participate in about 12-15 tournaments. Their season runs through February.

Speech Offers Skills That Last a Lifetime

A New York State of Mind

Dancing the Night Away

By Ariel JohnsonStaff Reporter Verline Gaddis, Shepa-rd’s social worker, is the instruc-tor of Leading Ladies. This club consist of young ladies who have set high expectations aca-demically, socially, and person-ally to increase self-confi dence, and leadership skills. Gaddis’s goal is to strengthen their char-acter with exposure to a variety of careers and cultures. Leading Ladies is benefi cial to many girls because it highlights the potential and characteristics of each indi-vidual who joins. Also, many stereotypes and controversial topics, such as “respecting one’s body, and skin color are discussed within the group. There is a wealth of things to be learned in this club that can be applied to everyday life as well. “Exposure, enlighten, and empowerment are just a few words to describe leading ladies,” said Gaddis. She feels as though Leading Ladies will strengthen the knowledge and success of the ladies. If you’re interested in joining, meet Gad-dis in the student services offi ce to discuss further details. Leading Ladies presi-dent Kyara Rodgers explains that Leading Ladies is an afterschool organization that helps, the Shepard community prosper. “We have attended an opera, fashion shows, cook din-ners and help each other. The club meets every other Tuesday from 3:15-4:30. In Deb Shannon’s room. “The group has made me aspire to become better and more suc-cessful in life. Ms. Gaddis and Ms. Shannon are more than happy to help with personal problems. I joined the club my sophomore year and fell in love with the welcoming atmosphere. We encourage all young ladies to join our family because it’s like they say, The more, The merrier.”

Astro LeadinG Ladies Lend A Hand to those in need

Drumline gets ready to play at Varsity football game. (Photo by Michelle Sneddon)

dance was the familiar Moonlight Harvest. It has always been the theme, and the club did not want

to change it. The Teddy Lee Or-chestra was the band perform-

ing during the night. Leo Club advertised the event by putting it on social media and sending out

fl yers to local nursing homes. Erin Quinlan is one of

The Senior Citizen Dance was held November 14 by the Leo ClubPhoto Courtesy of Leo Club

back on the coach busses and start their drive to New York City. Then they will head to midtown to have dinner in the Broadway Lounge, in the heart of Times Square. Follow-ing dinner, they will walk to the Radio City Music Hall to watch the world famous Radio City Rockettes. They will take a tour of Manhattan on November 27. The tour will include famous landmarks such as the former site of the World Trade Center. They will conclude their tour at Rockefeller Center. They will then go the Top of the Rock, an Art Deco Skyscraper, which of-fers a fantastic view of Ney York City. The night concludes with dinner and a show at the New Amsterdam Theater. After the show, they will depart back for Shepard. They will return home Saturday November 28.

the Leo Club directors who runs the entire Senior Citizen Dance. She puts a lot of her time and effort into the dance itself. Quin-lan stated, “Running a dance can be very tiring, but the end result is so great! It makes us very happy to see senior citizens and students bonding!” The stu-dents spent a lot of time putting the dance together as well. The turnout of the dance was 175 senior citizens and 30 Leo Club members. Quinlan stated, “The Leo Club members love seeing the se-niors dance and enjoy talking to them. They get to learn about a different time and the seniors get to learn about teenagers.” In the end everybody wins.

EDITORIAL

Early Graduation Benefi tsBy Stef NeylonStaff Reporter

Early Graduation is offered to any senior student at Shepard High School that has completed all of their necessary classes required to graduate. Completing all these credits requires students to take two gym classes and two English classes in one semester. However, the students have the option to take classes during the summer as well. Early Graduation is completely optional and is one hundred percent the student’s choice. If a student chooses to graduate early they will only attend their senior year of high school for the fi rst semester. Students that are graduating early this year have their last day of fi nals on December 18, and then they are offi cially done with high school. Students have the option to come back to Shepard in May and walk the stage with their classmates. Students also have the option to still attend prom and other major school events. Some benefi ts of graduat-ing early would be the options the

students get; they get the option to get a head start on college, get a job or an internship, or completely choose how they spend their time. Graduating early gives students a semester to choose what to do and how to spend their time based on what is best for them. Senior Ashley Shellberg, who is planning to graduate in December, likes the options graduating early gives her. Shellberg said, “It will allow me to get a head start on my college courses and get some general education classes out of the way.” A Moraine Valley Com-munity College representative came into Shepard to meet with the early graduates a few weeks ago. She explained the importance of planning their future ahead of time. She also told them some things they need to start working on as soon as possible, such as applying for fi nancial aid. She gave informational sheets to all of the early graduates, and she reminded ev-eryone to use their helpful resources, such as counselors. Some drawbacks of graduating early may be the fact that

students will not physically be there dur-ing school days to truly experience their senior year. Another drawback that is a major concern to all of the counselors at Shepard High School is the possibility of students doing nothing after graduating. Some students will take that semester and not do anything productive with it; they might just sit at home and not use the extra semester to their benefi t. This usually leads to students continuously doing nothing and not pursing a college education at all. The counseling depart-ment is willing to work with and assist students in planning their future after graduating to avoid this from happen-ing. The counselors are also con-cerned with early graduates missing out on scholarship opportunities. One of the Shepard counselors, Sheri Reiplinger, said, “Graduating early limits students scholarship opportunities.” Overall, graduating early is a very great opportunity that is offered to Shepard students; these students must be dedicated and determined to continue their future on an earlier mark than aver-age.

By Brooke ZielkeEditorial Editor

Imagine how many deaths the United States could prevent if smart guns were sold throughout the U.S. Smart guns are an invention that could revolution-ize fi rearms. Never heard of them? Well, smart guns are fi rearms that use biometric trigger identifi cation which enables only the owner to use the gun. Gun owners are required to have a FOID (Fire-arms Owner’s Identifi cation card) in order to conceal and carry. Residents of Illinois are permitted to conceal and carry guns, however, the unlawful selling or using of fi rearms is a criminal offense. These guns have caused an uproar in the gun-lover community. One man who put smart guns up for sale at his shop received over 2,000 e-mails, and hundreds of calls, all complaining about the guns and how they shouldn’t be sold in his shop. The shop owner received death threats over the sale of the technologically advanced

fi rearms. Smart guns would provide a safer environment for children in the household. Two thirds of accidental shooting death in the home are due to loaded guns left in easy-access places. Hundreds of kids die every year because some parents do not know how to secure their fi rearms correctly. This could all be prevented if smart guns became mandatory. California is currently trying to pass a law in which only smart guns, or personalized guns, may be used. Personalized guns also include guns that are required to have a wrist watch or a ring to fi re the gun. The idea of a smart gun leaves the majority of gun-owners weary. Skeptics say things can go wrong, but, many things can go right. These guns would make homes and schoools safer. If a mother owned a gun, it would only work with her required print. It would make it impossible for a child to use the gun. This would save lives.

Guns to Undergo Facelift

By Dylan PorterSports Editor

There is still a year until America elects the next presi-dent, but campaigns are in full swing with primaries just months away. There are 14 Republi-cans running in this year’s elec-tion. The top three candidates in the most recent Huffpost Pollster show Donald Trump in the lead 32 percent. Ben Carson follows with 18.5 percent, and fi nally Marco Rubio with 11.6 percent. There are currently only three Democratic candidates in the race, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley. In the most recent Huffpost Pollster for the Democratic Primaries, Clinton leads with 56.5%, fol-lowed by Sanders with 33%, and O’Malley in last with only 3%. Republican Party leader Donald Trump has caused the most controversy throughout his campaign, despite the ongoing issue of Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. Donald Trump has claimed that he will build a wall between Mexico and the U.S. and he will deport more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the country. But when asked about having a specifi c plan about how this will take place he always seems to avoid the question. This is because deporting 11 million people is unprecedented. It would take years to move them all out and it is not realistic.

Presidential Race is UnderwayTrump is also known for say-ing provocative things which prompted democratic candidate Martin O’Malley to call him an “Immigrant bashing, carni-val baker” in the most recent Democratic debate. Controversy continues to follow Trump after the recent attacks in Paris. In an interview Trump said he “would have no choice” but to close some mosques throughout the United Sates. Doing this would cause more problems than it would solve. It seems Trump can’t get that through his head. Other Candidates have put in their take on the at-tacks and what should be done. Former Vermont Senator, Ber-nie Sanders said in an interview with Katie Couric that “What we have got to be is not just strong and tough, but we have got to be smart.” This is a statement from a man that knows what he’s talking about. America was built on immigrants and to just go ahead and refuse the refugees from Syria due to the attack would be unprecedent-ed. Sanders believes we should let them in, but not before being thoroughly checked out. Democratic Party leader Hillary Clinton has laid out her plan for attacking Isis, which sets her apart from the two other Democratic Candi-dates. Her plan states what she will do and how she will

do it. It also helps that she was Secretary of State and out of all the candidates, both Republican and Democrat, she has the most experience in Washington. Many would debate whether or not that is good or bad. Recently Dr. Ben Carson has also joined in on the contro-versy. He has been attacked on his childhood and if he is lying about his true self, but there is no evidence to back this up. It seems as though the media just likes to stir up contro-versy between candidates rather than focus on the real issues. The fi rst primary polls open February 1, and the Election Day for our next president will take place Tuesday November 8, 2016. Be sure to tune in to the upcoming Republican Debate on December 15 and Democratic Debate on December 19.

THE FREEDOM 7 STAFFEditor-in-chief

Gaby Juszczak & Humna Qureshi

News Editor Kara Kosman & Will Jarman

Editorial Editor Brooke Zielke & Angeline Schmelzer

Feature Editor Kelsey Thompson & Michelle wojtas

Entertainment Editor Michelle Sneddon & Pedro Avina

Sports Editor Candelario Delfin & Dylan Porter

Photo Editor Brandi Roberts

Cartoonist Michelle Wojtas

Web Designer David Prince

Advisor Mike Smith

Staff ReportersKerry Hermann Ariel Johnson Jacob Knoll

Jack Lucin William Mitchell Manos Morales Stefanie Neylon Taylor Novak Philip Quinlan Niki Rivera Brandi Roberts EJ Rueck Ashley Shellberg Emily Simunjak Kelsey Thompson Granit Xhemajli

3November 25, 2015

Photo Courtesy of Google

Feature 4November 25, 2015

By Kelsey ThompsonFeature Editor Since 1947, during the presidency of Harry Tru-man, the National Turkey Pre-sentation has been around. The Turkey Presentation is a ceremony that takes place at the White House every year shortly before Thanksgiving. The President is presented with a live domestic turkey. The National Turkey Federation and the Poultry and Egg National Board is usually involved. Occasionally the Commander-in-Chief will spare the bird presented to them. Since 1989, during George H. W. Bush’s fi rst Thanksgiving as president, it has been an annual tradition for the president to “pardon” the turkey, in other words save them from being thanks-giving dinner. The turkeys are raised in the same fashion as turkeys designated for slaugh-ter and are fed a grain-heavy diet of fortifi ed corn and soy-beans to increase the birds’ size. A fl ock of approximately 80 birds, usually from the farm of the current National Turkey Federation, are randomly selected “at birth” from thou-sands for pardoning They are trained to handle loud noises, fl ash photography and large

crowds. The fl ock of 80 is narrowed

to 20 of the largest and best-behaved turkeys. Eventually the fi eld is narrowed down to two fi nalists, whose names are chosen by the White House staff. Because most Thanksgiving turkeys are bred and raised for size at the expense of longer life, they are prone to health problems associated with obesity such as heart disease, respiratory failure and joint damage. As a result of these factors, most of the pardoned turkeys have very short lives after their pardoning, frequent-ly dying within a year of being pardoned. By comparison, a wild or heritage turkey has a lifespan of at least fi ve years.After Turkeys are pardoned they are sent to places throughout the country. The pardoned turkeys in 2005-2009 were sent to either the Disneyland Resort in Califor-nia or the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, where they served as the symbolic grand marshals of Disney’s Thanks-giving Day Parade. In 2010-2012, the turkeys were sent to live at Mount Vernon, the estate and home of George Washington, The 2013 and 2014 turkeys were sent to Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia, the estate of former Virginia governor (and prolifi c turkey farmer) Westmoreland Davis.

Thanksgiving Corn PuddingBy Michelle WojtasFeature Editor

Thanksgiving is always a time for family and friends to get together and think about all the things we are thankful for. Food is always something we look forward to during this time such as turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, cranberries, stuffi ng, and many more. Looking for new recipes is often a major part of Thanksgiving. A recipe our family loves to make dur-ing Thanksgiving time is corn pudding, and this recipe is simply delicious!

Ingredients: •1(15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained•1 cup milk•2 eggs; beaten•2 tablespoons all-purpose fl our•1 teaspoon baking powder•¼ cup white sugar•½ cup butter•½ cup white sugar•½ cup water; or to enhance fl avor use chicken broth•2 tablespoons all-purpose fl ourServing: 6 peopleDirections: •Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Fahrenheit•In a whisking bowl, whisk to-gether milk, eggs, fl our, baking powder, and sugar. Add corn and pour into 9X13 inch bak-ing dish. Bake for 40 minutes.•In a small sauce pan, combine butter, sugar, water and fl our. Cook until clear. Once corn mixture is cooked, remove from oven, pour butter and sugar mixture over top and serve.

Courtesy of: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/13648/thanksgiv-ing-corn-pudding/

President Obama pardoning the turkey in the White House. (Photo courtesy of Google)

By Brandi RobertsStaff Reporter The weekends of November 6-8 and 13-15 Moraine Valley Community College theatre preformed the show “Reefer Madness.” The cast was college students but it defi nitely had an ABS look to it. The cast featured several Shepard alums. Eric Wilder, class of 2015, played Jesus and he also played a role in the ensemble. Wilder stated, “While in high school I never could see myself singing in front of a crowd. My senior year my friends asked me to join the musical. I loved it. He is also majoring in music education. Samm Hilger, class of 2012, played Mae, who is abused by her slick boy-friend. This is Hilger’s second appearance on the Moraine stage. Hilger was in speech all four years of high school

and performed in the plays and musicals here at Shepard. Sam was also a Freedom 7 editor and a state qualifi er in journalism. Her Shepard classmate Ken-ny Garner played Jack, who is Mae’s abusive boyfriend. This is his third time performing on the Moraine Val-ley’s stage. He was in speech and also performed in all of the plays in his high school career. He hopes to continue is pursuit in an acting career.The 2015 graduates Kaitlyn Sheppard and Liam McCool, performed in the ensemble. This is both their fi rst appearance in the Moraine Valley’s Stage. It was also McCool’s fi rst musical. The audience was fi lled with Shepard alumni and current students, who were there to support their fellow Astros.

Shepard Alums Perform At Moraine

Obama Spares Turkey

Feature5November 25, 2015

Shepard’s Dancing Astros Perform with PrideBy Jacob KnollStaff Reporter

Sonne explained that these girls are gaining an ap-preciation for the arts. The team is made of girls all grade levels at Shepard High School. The one thing that everybody on this team shares in common is the fact that they all have a deep rooted love for the art of danc-ing. The team hopes to make it to state this year. The Shepard Dance team practices to perform for either the crowd or the stage. “When I see them go out on the fi eld it is just so amazing to see them piece together quite an ex-cellent show,” said David Prince. The team does a mix of poms, jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary although is not limited to this. They hone their skills, technique, and routine during their practices held by Coach Nicole Sonne. Each individual

on the team is talented. They also participate in fundraisers with assistance of some of the dancer’s parents to gain money for the team.

The Shepard Dance team consists of Captains Jess Garcia and Jordan Hill along with team members April Vil-leroz, Gaby Villarreal, Hannah Vasil, Kim Meeks, Ali Leon, Liz

Scott, Ariel Villarreal, Mal-lory Byrd, Libby Correll, Lizzie Martinez, Paige Gilbert, Na’Kari Douglas, and Natalia Perea. “Our Captains, Jess Garcia and

Jordan Hill, have really stepped up and shown the rest of our team what it means to be a team,” said Sonne.“The girls work really hard to

come together and accomplish a common goal. We do have other girls that step up and display leadership in other ways, as well,” Sonne said. “We have

built a team around the idea that the upperclassmen take the new dancers under their wings. This has created one of the closest teams I have ever worked with.

Eighth Grade Open HouseBy Kerry HermannStaff Redporter

An open house was held at Shepard on Thursday, November 19, for all junior high students interested in attend-ing Shepard in the future. It is a time for future Astros to see what Shepard has to offer, meet teachers and coaches, gather academic and athletic info, and ask questions about clubs and activities. The night started with everyone gathering in the gym-nasium Students and parents were welcomed by Principal Dr.Josh Barron. He talked about the many activities offered here, the new science wing, the as-sortment of Advanced Place-

ment classes. He also talked about Advanced Placement scores going up in the past few years, and recognized some Shepard upperclassmen for their academic and athletic achieve-ments. Then, parents and students were asked to attend one of three presentations by the Counseling Staff in the Fine Arts Center. There course of-ferings/selection and graduation requirements were presented. Afterwards, there were a multitude of different demon-strations such as Art/Ceramics, Anatomy, Auto Shop, Astro Television Production Center/Broadcast Journalists, Business, CAD Lab, Adv. Wood Shop, Culinary Arts Studio, Foreign Languages, Newspaper, Pre-

School, JROTC, Science Lab, Scuba Diving/Aquatics, Show Choir, Speech Team, Weight Room, etc. Students could talk to presenters from clubs and activities they were interested in. The cheerleading and dance teams performed and the Jazz Band had a performance, as well. Also in the gym was the ‘Rock the Wall’ climbing. Exhibition tables were held in the café for athletics and differ-ent sorts of activities and clubs.This open house was a great way for current 7th and 8th graders to get a feel for Shepard and everything it has to offer, and hopefully infl uenced them to want to come here in their near future.

Foreign Exchange Students Experience Academics in the USBy Nicole RiveraStaff Reporter

District 218 schools, Shepard and Richards are host-ing foreign exchange students from a variety of countries. Four different exchanges students ar-rived in America in the middle of August. Students will be here for the rest of the school year and will return home the third week of May. Natcha Pliansilathong, senior, from Thailand has come to the United States for the fi rst time. Natcha said “Almost everything here is different than in Thailand. I like the buildings here the most, but I don’t like the weather and I also miss Thai food.” Pliansilathong is attend-ing Shepard High School and is being hosted by the foreign exchange coordinator, Athena Gomez. Fletcher Ladd, a junior, from Australia, is also attend-ing Shepard High School. He too is currently being hosted by Gomez. Ladd will return home January 21, earlier than the other exchange students due to school starting in Australia. Fletcher plans to come back to America in the near future and said the most exciting thing he has done here in Chicago so far is going downtown and seeing all the sites. Ladd also claims that the high school here is way

too big, “It’s so big compared to my school at home,” stated Ladd. Attending Richards High School is freshman, Yas-mina Priebe, from Germany and junior, Charles Rodriguez, from Spain. Some countries do not give any credit to students that come here as an exchange student. For Yasmina Priebe and Fletcher Ladd, they do not receive credit for school at Richards and Shepard. However most countries do like Spain, but they do have to receive offi cial documentation from the govern-ment that says they completed classes here in order for their school to accept American credit. Each student has to ap-ply to become an exchange stu-dent. Students and their parents have to write an essay along with other recommendations such as speaking a certain level of English, having good grades, and a clear background check. Once all requirements are clear they then get processed into the system and people such as Athena Gomez fi nd families to host. “Sometimes when a student comes, their sibling will come a few years later and stay with the same host family” said Gomez, “It’s so cool when it hap-pens.”

Future Astros Visit Shepard HighBy E.J RueckStaff Reporter Shadowing offers 8th grader a chance to visit the high school they are interested in at-tending. They follow an upper-classmen around the whole day. Potential ABS students have a chance to experience what it’s like to be a part of the Shepard school day. To shadow a parent or guardian must contact Assistant Principal Curry Gallagher to set a date. They expect parents to give a week’s notice for the shadow to be set up. They won’t arrange a shadow the day be-fore because the teachers need an advance notice. Gallagher will choose

the shadow based on the pro-spective students academic and extra-curricular interests. If they are interested a certain sport or club, they are paired with someone that’s in that sport-club. Shepard only arranges for juniors or seniors to serve as shadows. The ones who are selected are usually student leaders or part of our Ambassa-dor program. Shepard does not allow the 8th grader to choose their shadow unless it is their sibling. Shepard allows students to shadow any day through the end of April. All shadows can attend for one full day or a half day, either starting or ending their day at Shepard.

Parents must drop off their son or daughter at door number 1 with security and that is where they must also be picked up. Shadows should be dropped off at approximately 7:45 and picked up at 3:00. Some parents prefer to pick up their child at 2:20 which is the end of seventh period in order to avoid the traf-fi c at the end of the day. Shadow students may not ride a bus to or from school. Shepard does not allow shadows to walk home. Shadows should bring a lunch or approximately $5 to purchase a meal and drink from our cafeteria. Shadows will receive a Shepard folder with pertinent information in it. No supplies are needed, just their attentiveness.

The girls support one another and are inspired by their own efforts.” The team practices three to four days a week after school. They will even practice on the week-ends sometimes. While football was a big part of the year for the team, they must now focus on the competition season. The team’s fi rst competition is on November 22 at Oak Forest. Including this upcoming event for them, they will be perform-ing in a total of fi ve competition throughout the year including Minooka High School, Argo High School, conference, sectionals, and –of course- hopefully state. “It’s like a little family and it’s cool to have a group to call your sisters who all enjoy the same thing,” said team member Ali Leon, “The atmo-sphere of it makes me glad to be part of the team.”

Entertainment 6November 25, 2015

By Pedro AvinaEntertainment Editor

Chiraq is written and directed by Spike Lee. Lee has written and directed many acad-emy award movies including his 1989 fi lm Do the Right Thing. Lee decided to write about the harsh reality of Chicago’s south side gang violence. Chiraq is set in the neighborhood of Englewood. The movie is about black-on-black violence in Chicago. Lee is supposedly retelling an old play called Lysistrata and putting it in modern day Chicago. Lysistrata is a comedy by Aristophanes. It was originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of one woman’s extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War. The trailer was released on November 4 and since then it has sprung lots of controversy. It has generated controversy locally because they fear it might promote gang violence or make light of this se-rious subject. Many people also think the trailer paints Chicago in a bad way. Lee described the movies is a satire and that is why many people have harshly criticized the fi lm. Lee has dismissed such criticism. In May, the month

before the shooting of the movie, Lee publically spoke in Chicago about the fi lm and said “A lot of things have been said about this fi lm by people who know nothing about the fi lm.” It has sprung so much controversy that the city of Chi-cago did not give Lee a permit to shut down the block of South Throop to have his block party for the movie’s release. Even-tually the Chicago Alderman changed his mind and allowed the permit to shut down South Throop, so Lee’s party could take place. Shepard student Julian Williams is part of the cast. He plays one of the gang leaders in the movie. When asked about the movie he said that “Well it’s about the violence of Chicago not how Chicago really is.” He believes that being part of the movie was a unique experience. He said “It was funny, surprising, and crazy.” He met lots of rich and famous people that were cool and not uptight like they seem. Roadside attractions and Lionsgate are partnering with Amazon studios (main distributer for the movie) to hold a limited release in theaters on December 4, with the movie premiering on Amazon Instant Video shortly thereafter.

chiraq

By Humna QureshiEditor-in-Chief

What would happen if the world was covered in snow? How would society survive? More specifi cally, how would a 15 year old teen survive; espe-cially one that’s searching for his missing family? Follow Willo in his search for his family in the New Ice Age Era in After the Snow by S. D. Crockett. As a resilient survi-vor, he lives with his family of stragglers in the hills outside the city. Willo has hunted, farmed, and matured in the wilderness he calls home, but when the cold gets too much for him to bare, he makes his way down to the now empty house he once shared with people he loved deeply. Now he must travel through extreme weather in search of his family. During his quest, he

runs into a fragile 15 year old girl named Mary. The two reluc-tantly continue onward together towards the dreadful city. Once there, Willo encounters a group of thugs, nearly freezes to death, and ends up staying with an elderly couple until things get too complicated. Follow Willo, in his jour-ney to fi nd his family, uncover the truth about things he never knew, and grow into the man he was meant to be in S. D. Crock-ett’s After the Snow. I would recommend this book to anyone who was interested in the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It offers the same kind of heart-stopping adrenaline rush as the Hunger Games does, along with a bit of twisting drama. I’d give this a 4/5 star rating. The book could’ve used a bit more character devel-opment between Willo and Mary but it still is pretty good.

Cold, Fragile Love

By Philp Quinlan JrStaff Reporter

Nuclear war: It’s been a part of human history ever since August 6, 1945. While nuclear tensions may have eased in re-cent decades, video games still make great use of this theme. The post war setting is where we found ourselves in Fallout 4, 200 years after a nuclear war broke out. Players play survivors of the day the bombs dropped. They survived in a fallout shelter. The Fallout series has been going strong since 1997, and has blended a style of ste-ampunk, and post culture 1950’s America. Reviews are streaming in, and the game has received critical acclaim from multiple gaming websites. However, it’s not just the critics who are pleased. Shepard Senior, and avid gamer, Jacob McGrath was asked about the game as he has been waiting for it for months. “It is amazing,” stated McGrath, whose favorite aspects have been the atmosphere, and gameplay mechanics, “It’s fl uid, and everything wrong with past games has been improved

upon.” McGrath should know a good Fallout game, as he has played almost all of them over the years. “I’ve been excited since they announced the game 5 months ago.” McGrath respond-ed. Fallout 4 boasts a setting in a post-apocalyptic Boston.The environment is beautiful. Boston landmarks are recognizable. throughout. The story is something that has intrigued people as well. You play as a created character who wakes up 200 years after being frozen in a shelter. While McGrath has played a small chunk of the story, he “doesn’t want to spoil anything” and claims “It’s all a great mystery” McGrath’s favorite aspects have been the atmo-sphere, and gameplay mechan-ics. Fallout 4 has received rave reviews, and is a contender for Game of the Year according to IGN, Polygon and Gamespot. When asked about Fallout 4 winning the title, McGrath nod-ded in agreement “So far, yes.”

King of the Wasteland

By Philip Quinlan JrStaff Reporter

As a way to get ex-cited for the new Rocky spinoff: Creed, we’re going to be looking at all the Rocky movies in a week long format. Get ready to root for the underdog in Rocky week. Monday: The fi rst day of the week is rough, but it’s even rougher when you’re a boxer fi ghting for peanuts in a tiny boxing gym. Rocky gets the opportunity of the life time when undefeated champion of the world, Apollo Creed, challenges him as a marketing gimmick. Rocky decides to give it his all, and gives the champion his toughest fi ght. Rocky ends up losing, but hey, it’s only Monday. Tuesday: Rocky comes out of retirement to rematch an angry Apollo Creed, who is up-set that Rocky did so well. Apollo isn’t fooling around this time; he gets far ahead on the score cards but goes for the knockout. Rocky manages to pull the upset and knocked out the champion to win the heavyweight title. Wednesday: The middle of the week is always the hardest, and Rocky takes one of his biggest loses. He loses his title to loud mouth Clubber Lang, his manager, trainer, and father

fi gure, Micky, dies. Rocky loses his motivation, and fi nds help from an unlikely source: Apollo Creed. The former enemy trains Rocky, and gets Rocky his “eye of the tiger” back. Rocky battles Clubber Lang, and knocks him out to re win the title. Thursday: The week is almost over, but Rocky’s problems aren’t. When super Russian, Ivan Drago, comes to the United States he kills Apollo Creed in a boxing match. In or-der to avenge his friend’s death, Rocky heads to Russia to fi ght the Siberian superman on his home soil. With a hostile Rus-sian crowd, and his opponent jacked up on steroids; Rocky’s heart and will turn him into a fan favorite and he knocks out Drago for the victory while giving a speech to end the Cold War. Friday: It’s Friday, and Rocky decides to head back to his old neighborhood in Phila-delphia after being not cleared to fi ght due to brain damage. He meets young boxer Tommy Gunn, and decides to train him. Gunn eventually wins the world title, but turns his back on Rocky. As the public insults Gunn as a “paper” champion, he fi ghts Rocky in a street fi ght. Rocky proves he hasn’t taught Gunn all that he knows, and takes back his pride.

Saturday: There is no rest for the wicked as they say, and Rocky’s fi ghts aren’t over. Being close to his 60s, and feeling a gnawing sensation for one more fi ght, he accepts a fi ght with heavyweight Cham-pion: Mason “the Line” Dixon. Rocky puts his heart and soul into the 10 round exhibition bout. He breaks Dixon’s hand, and scores a knockdown against his younger opponent. Rocky loses on the scorecards, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s gotten that last fi ght out of him: As Creed draws closer, so does Rocky’s story. He’s older, lost his friends, and is sickly. However, when one week ends, a new story begins. Creed follows the story of Apollo’s son, Adonis, on his journey to live up to the family legacy. Creed debuts on November 25.

By Kara KosmanNews Editor

1. What famous Founding Father wanted the Turkey to be the national bird of the United States?2. In the U.S., how many million turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving festivities?3. Thanksgiving is always the fourth _____ in November4. Turkeys can _____ if they look up when it is raining?5. The average person consumes how many calories on Thanksgiving Day?6. Of the people who boarded the Mayfl ower, fi fteen of them were named_____?7. The largest turkey on record was how many pounds?8. The Pilgrims celebrated the fi rst Thanksgiving Day in what town of Massachusetts?9. What percent of Ameri-cans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day?10. The fi rst Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade was in what decade?11. What tribe was invited to the fi rst feast?12. What part of the Turkey is saved and snapped as a superstitious good luck custom?

1. Benjamin Franklin2. Around 280 Million 3. Thursday4. Drown 5. 45006. John7. 86 pounds8. Plymouth9. 91%10. 1920’s11. Wampanoag tribe12. The wishbone

Flip for Answers

Thanksgiving Trivia

A Week Of “Rocky”yy

Photo courtesy of Google

Sports7November 25, 2015

By Nicole RiveraStaff Reporter

Coach Richardson and the staff are encouraged for the upcoming season with the numbers so far. The offi cial fi rst practice was Monday, November 9. On Friday, November 20 the team had an intrasquad meet where wrestlers faced their teammates followed by a parent meeting. The Shepard wrestling program will host their annual Turkey Trot at 7:00am Thanks-giving morning in the Main Gym. All wrestlers, family members, and faculty are invited. Healthy refreshments will be available after the trot before everyone goes home to spend the holiday with their families. The 2016 wrestling competitions kick off Saturday November, 28 for varsity at home against Downers Grove North, Brother Rice and Stagg High School. The Freshman and Sophomore teams will be wres-tling at the Thornwood invite the same day. Seniority rules for all seniors in being the 2016 wres-tling captains. Seniors include Savanna Tarver, Philip Quin-lan, Anthony Branch, Kenneth

Brown, Andrew Herrera, Davion Owens, Dakota Marrello, Chris-tian Deleon, and Austin Alarcon. The starting lineup will not be announced until all varsity wrestlers are weight certifi ed. Weight certifi cation consists of a hydration test, a calipers test, and the weighing

of the wrestler. IHSA will then state what weight the athlete will wrestle at throughout the season. New on varsity wrestling this year is freshman Casey Roberts. Roberts has been wrestling for nine years and recently wrestled for the Mt. Greenwood Mustangs weighing in at 108. This year Roberts will

Wrestling Kicks Off the Winter Season

By Cande Delfi nSports Editor

Losing seven of his eight top players to either gradu-ation or transfer coupled with having his smallest team ever, Coach Tony Chiuccariello may have a challenge ahead of him. Coach Chic’s goal for the season is to be a better team than the Astros were last March. “Since we are much smaller and not quite as fast or high fl ying (vertical leap) than most teams we play, we have to work harder to improve our outside shoot-ing”, stated Chiuccariello. “The three pointer has to be the great equalizer for this team. We must

become more physical in boxing out to get rebounds and set-ting screens to get three point shooters open. We must be willing to move the ball quickly from one side of the fl oor to the other to create scoring opportu-nities. If we work hard in these areas we will be a very competi-tive team.” Two players that coach will be looking for major contributions from are Kenjrick Watson and Billy Fitzgerald. Watson is the only returning starter. “Great kid, hard worker,” said Chic. For a short guy he can rise up with an outstanding vertical leap. He is expected to play the point.Chic called Fitzgerald under-

Hard-working Astro Hoopers Prepare for a Successful Upcoming Season

Courtesy of Odyssey Yearbook

By William MitchellStaff Reporter New girls basketball coach Ricardo Gamino will look to the leadership of point guard Abby Newsome. He also has high expectations for small forward Casey Radz. Gamino is looking forward to the challenge. “It is going good,” stated Gamino. I am enjoying this journey we are on. It is the beginning stages but I believe our players have a lot of poten-tial and are willing to put in the hard work and have the dedica-tion needed to compete. It’s a matter of time before we start to bring it together and reach that potential.” Kylie Radz and Becca McNichols will also play key roles.Shooting guard Cassidy McBride, power forward Jourdan McBride, and center Jada Bolden round out the starting lineup. The team looks to get a boost when Jess Coyle returns after Christmas from a broken metatarsal. Gamino sees the team as a hard working group that is learning how to come together as a team. The team is rather young but does have some strong se-nior leadership. Newsome is one player who might provide that leadership. “Abby is a very hard worker on and off the court,”

Gamino Takes the HelmGamino said. “She is a three sport athlete that also concen-trates on training in the weight room. On the basketball court she has the ability to score and also looks to be a distributor. She is one of our captains and we need her to be a leader.”The team’s goal is to get better every day and to compete in each game for four quarters. The head coach expects the team to compete in each game. “I look for our players to come together and play team basket-ball, fi ve as one,” Gamino said. “If we play together as a team, we will have success.”

Turkey Run Provides FunBy Emily SimunjakStaff Reporter

The 38 Annual Turkey Day Run is being held in the Windy City at Cannon Drive at Fullerton Ave. It is a great way to have some pre-feast fun. The Turkey Day Run on November 26 is supporting the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Each runner donates two cans of food, in hopes that no Chicagoan goes hungry this Thanksgiving. Pre run tailgating will be at the Diversey Harbor – In-ner Lake Shore Dr. on Diversey Parkway. Tailgating will have lots of activities including Turkey Bowling, Football Throw, Corn Hole Toss, Costume Contest, CLIF Kid Zone Tent, and more! Runners receive a long

sleeve race shirt! Be sure to dress warm for the fall weather. This 5K run is a fantastic way to get out and active with your fam-ily and friends. In order to participate, you must register online. There is a $45 fee which allows a long sleeve race shirt, free race photos, post-race food, and hot beverages. Kelly Hermann, a for-mer Shepard student proclaims, “The Turkey Day Run is a great run with lots of good vibes. The most exciting part was going up at the starting line and anxiously waiting with many other people to start the race. It was a fun experience and I can’t wait to do it again this year!”

jump 12 pounds to weigh in at 120.Roberts is looking forward to his varsity season. Roberts said, “I am nervous and excited at the same time.” Top returning wres-tlers include sectional qualifi ers senior Dakota Marrello, junior Thomas Quinlan, and sopho-

more Tyler Karas. Quinlan used to wrestle for the Oak Forest Warriors before high school. He has been on varsity wrestling since freshman year. “I’m confi -dent in myself and in my team” said Quinlan, “I believe we will do well this year.”

Dakota Marrello striving for a win. Photo courtesy of Odyssey

Kenjrick Watson makes a move against an Oak Lawn defender.

sized for a center at six foot, but feels that he makes up for that with his extreme physical play and hustle. Joining those two in the starting lineup will likely be Joe Newhall at shooting guard. “Joe has great court vision is a good passer, who worked hard this summer to improve his outside shot,” said coach Chic. And the forwards will be long range shooter Roy Humphery and David Headd. Some other players who will be in the mix include guards Jack Cody, Mario Wilson, P.J. Cullom and Teddy Aguilar. Forward Tamer Ashkar and center Chad Longfi eld also fi gure to play large roles.

Basketball ScheduleVarsity Boys:

11/25 District 218 Trny at Shepard11/27 District 218 Trny at Richards12/4 vs TF North at Shepard12/8 vs Tinley Park at Shepard12/11 vs Lemont at Shepard12/15 vs Manteno at Shepard12/18 vs Oak Forest at Oak Forest12/26 Romeoville Trny Away12/28 Romeoville Trny Away

Varsity Girls:

11/24 Marist Trny Away11/25 Marist Trny Away11/27 Marist Trny Away12/4 vs TF North Away12/8 vs Tinley Park Away12/11 vs Lemont Away12/17 vs Oak Forest Home12/23 Riverside Trny Away12/26 Riverside Trny Away12/28 Riverside Trny Away12/30 Riverside Trny Away1/7 vs Hillcrest Home

Sports 8November 25, 2015

Boys Cross Country Makes Shepard HistoryBy Will JarmanNews Editor

For the fi rst time in Shepard history the boys cross country team qualifi ed multiple runners for the state meet. Caleb Washington and Paul Milkus were two of 207 runners that ran at the state meet in Peoria, Illinois on November 7, and both ran the races of their lives. “Caleb ran the fastest time in Shepard history with a time of 14:48 and ran the fastest 26 place time in 38 years, he was one place out from making All State,” said Troy Walker, the head coach of the boys cross country team, “Paul ran for 87 place with a time of 15:24, the fi fth fastest time in Shepard history. Both ran excel-lent races.” This wasn’t Wash-ington’s fi rst rodeo though. Washington qualifi ed for state last year as well, and Walker described the differences from last year’s meet and this year’s

meet. “First year down was a learning experience, this year we came in focused. Both run-ners worked really had to make it and there are emotions and feelings you can’t simulate at other meets.” Not only have Wash-ington and Milkus performed well, but the team as a whole has been impressive. “This year’s team was a lot of fun,” said Walker. “Grades are incred-ible, very hardworking, and lots of high character guys. I’m very happy with how this season turned out.” Walker thinks next year’s team should be just as exciting. “Both Washington and Milkus are back along with a very strong group of runners. Once again I have high expec-tations for next year’s team. Should be a lot of fun.” Walker also noted “I’m so proud of the guys. Hopefully this experience motivates them to do excel-lent things next year and years ahead in their running career.”

By Brooke ZielkeEditorial Editor

Kelli Callahan has had a very successful season on varsity girls cross country. Callahan had an amazing run at sectionals, at Hinsdale Central High School at the Katherine Legge Course on October 31. She fi nished in 13 place, which qualifi ed her for the state meet. Callahan has a unique race style. “Kelli doesn’t go out hard the fi rst mile,” said head coach Angela Ochoa. “She goes out reserved and then runs her best the last mile. At sectionals this strategy worked for her because the course was hilly and muddy because it was raining all day.”

Callahan was in 30 place in the second mile, and she managed to move up seven-teen places in her last mile. “She is a tough competitor, so when the conditions are bad, she runs better,” said Ochoa. At state, which was held at Detweiller Park in Peoria on November 6, Callahan ran a personal best at 18:25. Callahan, a junior, will have another season to compete, and hopefully improve as her coach believes she can. “She is a disci-plined athlete,” said Ochoa, “and has set high, attainable goals for herself. She doesn’t know how good she is yet. I’m hoping that track will build up her confi dence so that next season she is mentally ready to complete with

Callahan Qualifi es for State

By Humna QureshiEditor-in-Chief

The varsity girls swim team fi nished with 5-6 record and fi nished fi fth in what head coach Barb Larson called a rebuilding year. One major highlight was junior Annie rangel was the conference championin the 500 free style.Other strong performers included Grace Spindler in the 100 breast stroke and 200 free. Emilia Burda stood out in both the breast stroke and the indi-vidual medley. As a team the girls took fourth at the Tinley Park Invite, and sixth at the Shepard

Invite. The team consisted of 24 girls with two divers. Coach Barb Larson said, “We had a young team this year with 13 freshmen and one new sophomore, so our goal was to becoming stronger and more competitive. Many of the newcomers had little or no swim-ming experience, but worked hard and had good results. Larson was impressed with Rangel who competed in two overlapping sports. She stood out in cross country as well.“I have never had a swim-mer attempt this feat, but this is surely an accomplishment.”

Caleb Washington and Paul Milkus with supporters at state meet in Peoria. (Photo Courtesy of Troy Walker)

the caliber of competition that I know she can compete with.” The team has been supportive of Callahan as well. Callahan’s teammate, Les-lie Tello, had high praise for Callahan.“I believe that Kelli is a great runner as well as a great person. As a junior, Callahan also sets a good example for up-and-coming runners on the team. She’s a good role model to the younger girls because they can see how much work she puts into running and how everything pays off. During cross country camp and the whole season she worked very hard and I never doubted her ability to make it to state because I knew all the work she had been putting in.”

Caleb Washington in stride at the state fi nal meet in Peoria were he ran the fastest race ever by Shepard runner. Rangel Wins Conference

Shepard Girl’s Swim Team PhotoPhoto Courtesy of Odyssey

State cross country runner Kelli Cal-lahan. (Photo by Odyssey)

Feature5November 25, 2015

Shepard’s Dancing Astros Perform with PrideBy Jacob KnollStaff Reporter

Sonne explained that these girls are gaining an ap-preciation for the arts. The team is made of girls all grade levels at Shepard High School. The one thing that everybody on this team shares in common is the fact that they all have a deep rooted love for the art of danc-ing. The team hopes to make it to state this year. The Shepard Dance team practices to perform for either the crowd or the stage. “When I see them go out on the fi eld it is just so amazing to see them piece together quite an ex-cellent show,” said David Prince. The team does a mix of poms, jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary although is not limited to this. They hone their skills, technique, and routine during their practices held by Coach Nicole Sonne. Each individual

on the team is talented. They also participate in fundraisers with assistance of some of the dancer’s parents to gain money for the team.

The Shepard Dance team consists of Captains Jess Garcia and Jordan Hill along with team members April Vil-leroz, Gaby Villarreal, Hannah Vasil, Kim Meeks, Ali Leon, Liz

Scott, Ariel Villarreal, Mal-lory Byrd, Libby Correll, Lizzie Martinez, Paige Gilbert, Na’Kari Douglas, and Natalia Perea. “Our Captains, Jess Garcia and

Jordan Hill, have really stepped up and shown the rest of our team what it means to be a team,” said Sonne.“The girls work really hard to

come together and accomplish a common goal. We do have other girls that step up and display leadership in other ways, as well,” Sonne said. “We have

built a team around the idea that the upperclassmen take the new dancers under their wings. This has created one of the closest teams I have ever worked with.

Eighth Grade Open HouseBy Kerry HermannStaff Redporter

An open house was held at Shepard on Thursday, November 19, for all junior high students interested in attend-ing Shepard in the future. It is a time for future Astros to see what Shepard has to offer, meet teachers and coaches, gather academic and athletic info, and ask questions about clubs and activities. The night started with everyone gathering in the gym-nasium Students and parents were welcomed by Principal Dr.Josh Barron. He talked about the many activities offered here, the new science wing, the as-sortment of Advanced Place-

ment classes. He also talked about Advanced Placement scores going up in the past few years, and recognized some Shepard upperclassmen for their academic and athletic achieve-ments. Then, parents and students were asked to attend one of three presentations by the Counseling Staff in the Fine Arts Center. There course of-ferings/selection and graduation requirements were presented. Afterwards, there were a multitude of different demon-strations such as Art/Ceramics, Anatomy, Auto Shop, Astro Television Production Center/Broadcast Journalists, Business, CAD Lab, Adv. Wood Shop, Culinary Arts Studio, Foreign Languages, Newspaper, Pre-

School, JROTC, Science Lab, Scuba Diving/Aquatics, Show Choir, Speech Team, Weight Room, etc. Students could talk to presenters from clubs and activities they were interested in. The cheerleading and dance teams performed and the Jazz Band had a performance, as well. Also in the gym was the ‘Rock the Wall’ climbing. Exhibition tables were held in the café for athletics and differ-ent sorts of activities and clubs.This open house was a great way for current 7th and 8th graders to get a feel for Shepard and everything it has to offer, and hopefully infl uenced them to want to come here in their near future.

Foreign Exchange Students Experience Academics in the USBy Nicole RiveraStaff Reporter

District 218 schools, Shepard and Richards are host-ing foreign exchange students from a variety of countries. Four different exchanges students ar-rived in America in the middle of August. Students will be here for the rest of the school year and will return home the third week of May. Natcha Pliansilathong, senior, from Thailand has come to the United States for the fi rst time. Natcha said “Almost everything here is different than in Thailand. I like the buildings here the most, but I don’t like the weather and I also miss Thai food.” Pliansilathong is attend-ing Shepard High School and is being hosted by the foreign exchange coordinator, Athena Gomez. Fletcher Ladd, a junior, from Australia, is also attend-ing Shepard High School. He too is currently being hosted by Gomez. Ladd will return home January 21, earlier than the other exchange students due to school starting in Australia. Fletcher plans to come back to America in the near future and said the most exciting thing he has done here in Chicago so far is going downtown and seeing all the sites. Ladd also claims that the high school here is way

too big, “It’s so big compared to my school at home,” stated Ladd. Attending Richards High School is freshman, Yas-mina Priebe, from Germany and junior, Charles Rodriguez, from Spain. Some countries do not give any credit to students that come here as an exchange student. For Yasmina Priebe and Fletcher Ladd, they do not receive credit for school at Richards and Shepard. However most countries do like Spain, but they do have to receive offi cial documentation from the govern-ment that says they completed classes here in order for their school to accept American credit. Each student has to ap-ply to become an exchange stu-dent. Students and their parents have to write an essay along with other recommendations such as speaking a certain level of English, having good grades, and a clear background check. Once all requirements are clear they then get processed into the system and people such as Athena Gomez fi nd families to host. “Sometimes when a student comes, their sibling will come a few years later and stay with the same host family” said Gomez, “It’s so cool when it hap-pens.”

Future Astros Visit Shepard HighBy E.J RueckStaff Reporter Shadowing offers 8th grader a chance to visit the high school they are interested in at-tending. They follow an upper-classmen around the whole day. Potential ABS students have a chance to experience what it’s like to be a part of the Shepard school day. To shadow a parent or guardian must contact Assistant Principal Curry Gallagher to set a date. They expect parents to give a week’s notice for the shadow to be set up. They won’t arrange a shadow the day be-fore because the teachers need an advance notice. Gallagher will choose

the shadow based on the pro-spective students academic and extra-curricular interests. If they are interested a certain sport or club, they are paired with someone that’s in that sport-club. Shepard only arranges for juniors or seniors to serve as shadows. The ones who are selected are usually student leaders or part of our Ambassa-dor program. Shepard does not allow the 8th grader to choose their shadow unless it is their sibling. Shepard allows students to shadow any day through the end of April. All shadows can attend for one full day or a half day, either starting or ending their day at Shepard.

Parents must drop off their son or daughter at door number 1 with security and that is where they must also be picked up. Shadows should be dropped off at approximately 7:45 and picked up at 3:00. Some parents prefer to pick up their child at 2:20 which is the end of seventh period in order to avoid the traf-fi c at the end of the day. Shadow students may not ride a bus to or from school. Shepard does not allow shadows to walk home. Shadows should bring a lunch or approximately $5 to purchase a meal and drink from our cafeteria. Shadows will receive a Shepard folder with pertinent information in it. No supplies are needed, just their attentiveness.

The girls support one another and are inspired by their own efforts.” The team practices three to four days a week after school. They will even practice on the week-ends sometimes. While football was a big part of the year for the team, they must now focus on the competition season. The team’s fi rst competition is on November 22 at Oak Forest. Including this upcoming event for them, they will be perform-ing in a total of fi ve competition throughout the year including Minooka High School, Argo High School, conference, sectionals, and –of course- hopefully state. “It’s like a little family and it’s cool to have a group to call your sisters who all enjoy the same thing,” said team member Ali Leon, “The atmo-sphere of it makes me glad to be part of the team.”