School Newspaper - William Blount High School

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IN THIS ISSUE
Coach of the Month p. 2
Student of the Month
p. 2
Cole Lail Dedication
p. 2
Prom 2008 p. 3
Presidential Update p. 3
Sudoku p. 3
Sports Update p. 4
Athlete of the Month
p. 4
Editorial p. 5
Crossword p. 6
Ask Tookie p. 7
Entertainment Times p. 7
Feb/March 2008 Edition
Finding That Perfect
Summer Job
Jessica Lunsford
Summer is going to be here soon, and teens are starting to job search. They must ask themselves where to look
for one, who is hiring, and how to prepare to for an interview. There are a few restrictions that we all must follow and understand before even considering a job. You must at least be fourteen to even work, and if you are
between the ages of fourteen and fifteen, you can work eight hours a day, forty hours a week if you are under
sixteen. There are also restrictions on when you can work as well, such as no later than 7 p.m. during school
and 9 p.m. during the summer. If you are sixteen to seventeen, there may not be a time limit, but you cannot
work in a place the Labor Department considers hazardous. Beyond that, your next decision is where to work.
Finding a job isn’t as hard as a few people may lead themselves to believe. There are thousands of ads in the
newspapers, websites dedicated to helping teens find summer jobs, but finding them depends on the effort
expended to find one. Just Google ‘summer jobs for teens’ and a whole list will pop up for you to read and
mull over. You must have an idea of what you want in mind before you even consider searching for one.
Take into consideration the following: do I have a mode of transportation? Do I work well with others? Am I
responsible and mature enough to handle having a job? With those thoughts in mind, once you have figured
out vaguely what you want to do with your time during the summer, you must then find out who exactly is out
there hiring.
While there are a lot of businesses that require all of their workers have college degrees, what many people
do not realize is that in this town, there are thousands of small businesses hoping that a teenager would come
in seeking an internship or volunteer to help around the business and get it off of it’s feet. You have a wide
assortment of choices instead of the small business path. You could work at Dollywood, a superstore, fast food
restaurant, or even a day-care center. And if you just so happen to not have a reliable means of transportation, you can also work from your own home, baby sit, bake cakes, pet-sit, or start a home cleaning crew, etc.
If you are willing to forgo money, you could also volunteer at hospitals, animal shelters, or camps. After all,
most colleges are interested in charitable works in an applicant. Though, whatever you do, you must go into it
with a good attitude, because if you don’t, you’ll find you like it even less than you thought you would have.
And the place that good attitude must shine through the most is that all important job interview.
When being interviewed for a job, it can be most unnerving. Having been interviewed myself, I can personally
say that it is not as easy as you may think, depending on where you decide you want to work. If you choose to
work someplace other than fast food or a superstore, you will have to call and make an appointment and wear
something appropriate, something grown-up and mature. You must show a good attitude in everything you do
Continued on page 3
School Times
Student of the Month McCain for
President
Stephanie Vance
Killian Burke
Stephanie Vance
What grade our you in?
Junior.
Do you participate in any honors classes?
Last semester I did. I was in Pre Calculus
Honors and Chemistry Honors.
What is your favorite subject?
English.
Who is your favorite teacher?
Armstrong, he’s hilarious.
Are there any extra activities you do?
I like to run after school.
Is there a college you will be attending after
you graduate high school?
Yes, I hope to go to UT in Knoxville.
Are there any school activities that you enjoy
doing?
I have played basketball for all of my
three years, and I was on the softball team
my first two years.
Here is an original question, what is your
favorite color?
Are you serious? Green.
Katie Fair
page 2
Coach of the Month
Coach Wilhite
Tyler Jordan
McCain is pro-life. Abortion is a procedure
that ends a potential life, and can potentially
harm the mother-to-be. He said, “I have
stated time after time after time that Roe v.
Wade was a bad decision, that I support the
rights of the unborn.” However, he wants to
make some exceptions to the overturning of
this law. These exceptions are: rape, incest,
and the life of the mother.
McCain is also against universal health care.
It is something that would provide health
care for all in the U.S., but it adds many
taxes that most cannot and do not want to
pay. However, he wants to make it more affordable to all. He wants to allow more of a
choice of doctors and care facilities, and he
wants to make sure the life of the human receiving care is valued more than the money
they are paying.
Education is also very important to McCain.
He wants there to be better and higher paid
teachers in school. He also wants to give
students more of a choice in what school
they choose. He wants to make it easier for
students living in financial hardship to go to
schools that meet their needs. This makes
it easier for an exceptional child to be able
to go to a better, maybe more expensive,
school.
These are just three of the reasons that I believe that John McCain would make a good
president. He has many ideas that could
change America for the better.
Coach Wilhite
What is your name?
Coach Wilhite.
What do you teach?
A class which you are not in.
Why do they call you “Coach?”
I coach baseball and football.
Do you like WBHS?
Yes.
How long have you been teaching?
I have been teaching long enough.
What is your favorite sport?
Water Polo.
Cole Lail
Staff
The
WBHS
newspaper staff
would like
to dedicate this
issue of
the school
newspaper
to Cole
Lail. We
wish the
best to Cole and his family, and we hope for
a speedy recovery.
What is your favorite television show?
What is this “television” you speak of?
Do you mean you haven’t ever watched television?
Of course not, Turtle. I was just messing
around. I don’t have a favorite TV show.
What is your favorite part of WBHS?
The interaction with students.
Are you a Superman or a Spiderman kind of
guy?
Definitely a Superman kind of guy.
School Times
Prom 2008
Jessica Lunsford
One of the most highly anticipated
events of the year is coming: WBHS
prom 2008! Mrs. Hensley, prom coordinator for four years straight, tells
me that it is going to be a prom to
remember, though they are still arguing over what the theme will be. After
all, with so many good ideas this year,
no one is going to agree on one! The
shindig is going to take place at the
Music Road Hotel Convention Center in
Pigeon Forge from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30
p.m., and the food will be, in a word,
astonishing. There will be a buffet-style
spread for sampling, and the selection
ranges from chicken fingers and meatballs to multiple cheeses and a variation of fruits.
laconic in her response, as she responded:
“…my top national security priorities will
be to end the war in Iraq, to reinforce the
fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, and
to rebuild our shattered alliances…” In
contrast, McCain responded with a rather
verbose reply:
“Defeating radical
Islamist extremists is the national
security challenge
of our time. At
home, my administration will be fully
prepared to deter,
detect, and respond
Ron Paul
to any attack….As
President, I’ll implement an energy strategy of diversification and conservation to
page 3
break the dominance of oil in our transportation sector.... I will also push for a worldwide
League of Democracies. It could act where
the UN fails, principally because of the vetoes
of autocratic states.... As president, I would
call a summit of the world’s democracies in
my first year--just as America led sixty years
ago in creating the NATO alliance.”
It is very clear that there will be a tough
choice come Novermber this year.
Sudoku
It is forty dollars per person, which
would be eighty dollars to bring your
significant other. The price to get in
will most definately be worth it, considering everything that will be taking
place that night. You are allowed to
bring your boyfriend, girlfriend, or just
plain date from another school, so you
really have no excuse to not come. The
prom will be held on April 19th of this
year, which is fast approaching, so prepare yourself.
Presidential Power
Struggle
Jessica Lunsford
Throughout the last few
months, we’ve been hearing a
few names in the news, consecutively: John McCain, Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, and
Mike Huckabee, just to name
a few. Though the Republican
nomination has been clinched
Hillary Clinton by McCain, the Democratic
side has yet to have a representative, and the battle rages
on between the two candidates. Hilary Rodham
Clinton has her strong standpoints around the
subjects of the economy, budget, the Iraq War,
and health care. Barak Obama, meanwhile, focuses his debates around the same subjects. John
McCain, on the other hand, has immigration on
his list of things to discuss.
One issue that seems to be of big importance is
national security, to which Clinton and McCain
answered in different words. Clinton was very
Continued from page 1
and present a resume to your interviewer, though some people may not require that. You must clearly
articulate your message, and you shouldn’t constantly use the overly stated “thought” words, such as
“um”, “uh”, or “like.” Good eye contact is also something some people look for, and from personal
experience, it is best that if presenting yourself in a rolling chair, do not swivel or twist. Though
not all businesses demand such action from someone our age, you should be prepared for anything,
especially since you may not even know who these people are and first impressions stick with them.
These, again, are only a few things that you should remember while doing an interview and it is
something vital to you getting that job you actually want. I would suggest also looking this up on a
big search engine and practicing proper etiquette to prepare yourself for those
Continued on page 5
Sports Times
Athlete of the Month:
Jacob Cupp
Dusty Tyler
In addition, the football team has again
invited the Blount County middle school
football players to work out after school.
Training in the weight room is offered
from 3:45 pm to 4:30 pm every Monday,
Wednesday, and Thursday. Coach Garner,
Coach Thornton, and Coach Armstrong are
there to assist the players after school
Tennessee Wins SEC
Staff
Jacob Cupp
Who’s your favorite baseball team?
Atlanta Braves.
Who’s your favorite baseball player?
Ryan Howard.
How long have you been playing baseball?
Eleven years.
How did you first get involved in playing baseball?
My father started teaching me how to play.
What’s your favorite part about playing baseball?
Batting.
What’s your least favorite part about playing
baseball?
Fielding.
How many homeruns have you had?
Six.
Govs Football
Update
Stephanie Vance
The football team started its weight training program again in January. The football team utilizes this time to prepare for
spring practice and the upcoming season.
The players work on improving their
size, speed and strength.
On
March 5,
2008 the
Tennessee Vols
(27-3)
made
history.
They set
a school
record
for most
victories in a season, won the first Southeastern Conference title since 1967 and
they may have knocked the Florida Gators,
defending national champions, out of the
NCAA Tournament.
The Vols started the game in dismal fashion. They got down early by as much as 16
points, but they battled back to win by three.
Jajuan
Smith
scored 23
points,
Chris
Lofton
added 21
and No. 4
Tennessee
overcame
a 16-point
deficit to
beat the
Gators
89-86 on
Wednesday night. Chris Lofton
After JaJuan Smith hit a second straight
3-pointer, he backpedaled to the other end
of the court yelling, “They’re done. They’re
done.”
The Vols look to take their winning ways
into the NCAA Tournament. If they play to
their capability, they should be at least final
8.
page 4
Lady Vols Update
Staff
The #
2 SEC
seeded and
#3 nationally ranked
Tennessee
Lady Vols
(27-2, 131) travel
to the
Sommet
Center in
Nashville,
Tenn., for the 2008 SEC Tournament.
Tennessee will open play on Friday, March
7 against the winner of the #7 Florida vs.
#10. Should the Lady Vols be successful, they
would play again at 8 p.m. CT on Sat., Mar.
8 versus the winner of the #3 Vanderbilt/#6
Auburn/#11
Arkansas
winner.
The SEC
Championship game
is slated for
Sun., Mar.
9 at 6:30
p.m. CT on
ESPN2.
The Lady
Vols are
looking to
add another
national
championship under
the guidThe Lady Vols scores
ance of head
coach Pat
Summit. This is the Lady Vols’ 34th season under Head Coach Pat Summit. She has
compiled a staggering 974-182 overall record,
which is just 26 wins away from a remarkable
1,000 career victories. She passed Dean Smith
(879 wins) for most NCAA collegiate basketball wins of all-time with a 75-54 victory
over Purdue on Mar. 22, 2005 …Her 2006-07
squad was crowned as the NCAA Champions
producing the program’s seventh title…UT
finished with a 34-3 overall record and were
also the SEC Champions.
With good play and some luck, the Lady Vols
have the spirit and talent to repeat.
Editorial Times
page 5
Textbooks to Notebooks
Jessica Lunsford
I
’m quite sure we all have imagined our schools without textbooks – that blissful thought rings out in the young minds of almost every student
throughout the continents – but what if we could make that dream a reality? Empire High School in Arizona did, so why not us? We are just
as capable, have just as much funding as they do. What it would need, though, is a great deal of planning, but that is the only setback. Some
argue that if we switched from textbooks, we would be distracted by IM’ing and such, but that problem is easily solved: there is software that
controls the usage of certain websites at certain times which can be purchased so that excuse is not relevant. The point I am trying to get across is
why keep the same old, rotting textbooks every year? Sure, some of them aren’t that old, but why not take the hands-on approach to learning? It
seems that it is a way to help students learn quicker, keep them interested longer, and probably help them remember it a little longer. All we need is
not only the effort to make it happen, but the drive to, as the old saying goes, “get ‘er done.”
Textbooks are to education as vinyl is to music: old and outdated. Think about it: how often do you throw on a record and listen to the Jackson
Five, scratches, skips, and all? People really need to get started on moving the educational system along with the rest of
the world, and this is most definitely a good way to start. It could solve a lot of problems fairly easy: over-crowding, lockers, and graduation statistics. If we had the ability to take online classes from home, the student populous would be cut in
half – it could be reserved for the AP classes only, once a week, which serves as an incentive to do better so those kids who
happen to not be an AP student could also have that special privilege. As the program expanded, I think that we as students
would not only be happy to do our homework (assuming some of us don’t now), but we, in my opinion, would find it a lot
more exciting, a great deal more interesting. As for lockers, we would no longer need them. After all, with the absence of
those massive textbooks, why bother bringing anything but the laptops provided for us? We would be able to knock out our
load to school, which no longer presents the need to get new lockers to replace the decrepit ones ever so present in the locker areas. Another issue our school seems to have is graduation rates; I am not very sure about this fact, but if it is correct, it happens because kids
don’t find school interesting and they think they don’t need it. I believe a program like this would remedy it very quickly.
With something interactive, one could immerse oneself in the knowledge instead of listening to a teacher talk about it. I
am fairly certain the teachers do not enjoy repeating the same lesson plan almost verbatim year after year either, especially
if the students do not listen or appreciate the effort that they are making.
These are just a few of the benefits to this switch from old to new that this school could make. I think if every public
school in the U.S. took a lesson from Empire High, not only would trees be saved from senseless mass chopping, but students can grow up to be technologically knowledgeable, which will help create more jobs in the long run, and as a whole,
help not only us, but our nation and world.
Physical Activity
Jessica Garner
I
t’s good to see that the state of Tennessee is finally getting somewhat serious about childhood obesity. But is our school taking the right approach? Looking at how we use the twenty-three minutes, I don’t think we are. If the school is serious about this
they need to come up with a better system than what is in place. It is not enough time to get the exercise that is
needed each day. If students don’t want to become healthier and change their lifestyles after school, then the parents will have to become more involved with how they spend their time. Instead of watching their children play video
games for hours and not eating a healthy dinner, parents might try taking a walk with their kids.
The most effective way we can stop obesity in our school is by having a gym class required for every year. A lot of
students won’t enjoy dressing out, but it will be good for everyone in the long run. Having an every day, longer activity
time will have a greater impact on the student body.
Continued from page 3
questions you will be asked.
You can do just about anything you set your mind to, if you have a good attitude. Once you know where to look, who might be looking to hire,
and what to do in an interview, you should be more prepared than most of your peers and have a greater chance of landing that position you
want instead of being turned away. A few people will say no – that’s life. But, if you keep an open mind and are interviewed by more than one
person, chances are higher you will receive a call back and then you will have all summer to earn that money you desperately want, help save
cute little kittens for free, and have something for the college application.
Entertainment Times
WBHS Crossword--Geography
Staff
ACROSS
2. Land makes up a part of the earth called this.
6. A haze caused by the sun’s interaction with exhaust gases.
7. The wearing away of the earth’s surface.
8. The study of the earth and of the ways people live and work on it.
10. The part of the earth where life is found.
13. The changing of liquid water into vapor, or gas.
14. Resources or goods brought into one country from another.
15. A measure of how hot or cold something is.
16. A group of closely scattered islands.
17. Because of the mild climate, the southern United States is often called this.
18. The frozen subsoil.
19. Mass of ice, snow or rock sliding down a mountainside.
DOWN
1. Way of life of people in different places.
3. Oceans, lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water make up this part of the earth.
4. Resources or goods sent from one country to another.
5. Brooks, rivers, and streams that feed their waters into one river.
9. The sun is directly over the equator and the days and nights are equal length.
11. A narrow piece of land that connects two bodies of water.
12. The term for weather patterns that an area typically experiences during a long period of time.
page 6
Entertainment Times
Ask Tookie
Dear Tookie
Three Of A Kind
Stephanie Vance
Teen heart throbs Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas make up the hot
band the Jonas Brothers. The brother’s ages vary from 20, 18,
and 15 respectivley. With Kevin on guitar and background vocal, Joe doing lead vocals and miscellanious instruments, and
Nick sharing the lead vocals and doing a variety of instuments,
usually the guitar. The brothers have made it to the big time.
Their hit “When You Look Me in the Eyes” is a top-forty hit,
and their self-titled album Jonas Brothers hit number five on
the Billboard Hot 200 in its first week.
I’m moving to a new city in Nashville
after this semester ends. But I don’t
have the courage to tell my friends,
and I don’t want to lose my boyfriend.
What should I do?
Sincerely,
Afraid to Move
Afraid to Move
The only thing you can do is take a
deep breath and just tell them. They
have to know. As for your boyfriend,
well you need to talk to him and find
out what is going to work best for you
two. Though more often then not, long
distance relationships fail, but that is
not always true.
Tookie
No Country For Old Men
Wins Oscar
Stephanie Vance
Joel and Ethan Coen and Oscars they won
for “No Country For Old Men.”
The Coen brothers walked away with
three Oscars for their film No Country For Old Men on February 25. The
brother’s movie swept the titles for best
film, best directors, and best adapted
screenplay. Javier Bardem also won an
Oscar for best supporting role.
No Country For Old Men is a bloody
tale of drug dealing gone bad. I give it
one thumb up, so rent the DVD.
page 7
The Jonas Brother’s start, however, was not for the trio, but
for Nick. At the age of 6 he was discovered singing at a barber
shop and recommended to a professional manager.
Nick Jonas
At age 7 Nick began performing on Broadway. He did several
plays including: A Christams Carol (as Tiny Tim and Scrooge at 8), Annie Get Your Gun (as Little
Jake), Beauty and the Beast (as Chip), and Les Misérables (as Gavroche). During Beauty and the
Beast he wrote a song with his father called “Joy to the World (A Christams Prayer)” and in 2003
INO Records and released the single. During this time Joe followed Nick’s lead and performed in
Broadway’s La Boheme. Nick was soon jointly signed to INO Records and Columbia Records and
released the single “Dear God.” There was supposed to be a December release of a self-titled solo
album, but the album had been pushed back;it did, however, get a limited release. Nick, along with
Kevin and Joe, had written several other songs for the album.
In early 2005, Columbia Records’
new president, Steve
Greenberg, listened to
the record. Greenberg
didn’t like the album, but liked Nick’s
voice. After meeting
with Nick and hearing the song, “Please
Be Mine,” written
and performed by the
brothers, Daylight/
Columbia Records
had decided to sign
the three brothers as
the group the Jonas
Brothers.
Nick, Joe, and Kevin at one of their concerts.
In 2005 the brothers released their first album, It’s About Time. They had two hit songs: “Year 3000”
and “What I Go to School For.” Both songs from the UK band Busted. The trio also did a number
of songs for popular tv shows. “Mandy” was featured in the Nickelodeon television film Zoey 101:
Spring Break-Up and the Zoey 101: Music Mix soundtrack album, and the group’s music was also
featured on Cartoon Network’s Cartoon Cartoon Fridays. The band covered “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life
for Me)” from Pirates of the Caribbean for the DisneyMania 4 album., and also created the theme
song for the second season of American Dragon Jake Long, airing from June 2006 to September
2007 on the Disney Channel. Another popular hit was the remake of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from
The Little Mermaid.
Their second album Jonas Brothers has hd hit after hit, like the hit singles “When You Look Me
In the Eyes”, “Hold On”, and “SOS.” They also performed “We Got The Party” with Miley Cyrus.
Their hit songs have pushed them into the spotlight, and they are not going anywhere.