Curriculum changes coming to SBA

The Eagle’s Eye
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
Volume 7 Issue 6
St. Benedict at Auburndale High School, Cordova, TN
1
March 30, 2011
Eagles dominate National History Day
Marissa Boulanger
Reporter
High school students from
all over the United States
square-off annually in the National History Day competition. The event begins with
the regional competition, followed by state, then moving
on to the national championship.
On March 5, St. Benedict
students participated in the
West Tennessee regionals for
National History Day.
“I have to brag on how great
our kids did… We represented
St. Benedict well and placed
in every category we entered,”
said Mrs. Kristen Browning,
one of the advisors for History Day.
Students of Mrs. Browning’s
See HISTORY on page 6
photo by Sharon Masterson
National History Day, which took place on March 5, resulted in numerous awards for SBA students. Winners will compete in Nashville.
Curriculum changes coming to SBA
Marissa Boulanger
Reporter
High school classes basically stay the same. However, new curriculum will be
rushing in soon at St. Benedict.
The most influential alteration is in core curriculum. Starting with the class
of 2013, a one half credit of
Personal Finance and an additional one half credit of
physical education will be
required.
Dr. Elizabeth Brock, St.
Benedict Director of Academic Affairs, reports that
the administration and guidance department will be encouraging students to earn
these credits their senior
year, when students have the
most elective opportunities.
Junior year is also suggested.
These new mandatory
courses are implemented by
the Tennessee Department of
Education as part of its Tennessee Diplomacy Project.
The Tennessee Diplomacy
Project is a broad overhaul of
standards and curriculum designed to challenge students
and better prepare them for
college and the workforce.
Dr. Brock says, however,
that these requirements do
not make much of a change
as “most of our students take
the classes anyway.”
Many students are already
aware that a major change
is coming that will shift the
actual grading scale to six
points for Advanced Placement classes. As of right
now, Advanced Placement
classes are worth the same
amount of credit as Honors
courses.
Students should know that
this modification to curriculum is not retroactive.
The new and supplementary
points will affect the freshmen class of the current
school year. It will not impact the classes of 2012 or
2013.
Another curriculum change
will feature the dual enrollment program. Dual enrollment offers juniors and seniors the opportunity to be
enrolled not only at SBA, but
also Christian Brothers University.
The first departments offering the dual enrollment option are Theater and English.
Students taking the dual enrollment courses get to start
their college transcript while
finishing their high school
requirements. For qualified
students, the program is paid
for by the HOPE Scholarship, with exception of the
$75 processing fee.
Mr. Valadie said that an exciting feature of the classes
is that it may relieve students
and their families of paying
for some expensive credit
hours in college.
What’s inside the Eye
Page
6
Neighborhood
Beat
Page
9
However, Mr. Valadie also
said, “It [dual enrollment]
is not AP. It does not take
the place of AP, and I hope
students won’t opt to take
it in place of AP.” Students
should be warned that hours
cannot necessarily be transferred to any school they
wish to attend.
New classes and curriculum
are suggested by students and
Mumford
and
Sons
Page
faculty alike. The movement
to transform these ideas into
courses is a time consuming
process. The concepts are
first proposed, and then reviewed. If a proposal is approved, a class is born.
The curriculum being applied to the next school year
is coming in quickly. It will
certainly be a year of changes
for the SBA community.
10
Boys
Soccer
2
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
Editorial Board
Editor-in-Chief
Kelsey Climer
Graphics Editor
John Hofer
News Editor
Leah Kiernozek
The Eye on Editorials
Libyan rebels fight for change
Kelsey Climer
Walking the Halls
Editor-in-Chief
Culture Editor
Victoria Darling
Sports Editor
Julie Eckel
Features Editor
Jerel Smith
Copy Editors
John Hofer
Jordi Soto-Phipps
Artist
Marissa Boulanger
Reporters
Zach Wiley
Allie Heirigs
Marissa Boulanger
Ashley Magnifico
Marisa Loeffel
Katie Akin
Adviser
Dianna Cervetti
Awards
2010 THSPA Awards
(THSPA-TN H.S. Press Assoc.)
All-Tennessee Award
(THSPA’s highest rating to recognize excellence in high school
publications)
Honorable Mention Awards
Best Overall Newspaper
Best Cartoon
Best Column
Best Sports Story
Change is everywhere I
look lately. It seems to start
out as a tiny spark that burns
until it comes in contact with
something that ignites it into
a much bigger flame engulfing everything around it until
things are much different than
before.
Our school is using change to
help better our curriculum and
standards academically. President Obama based his 2008
presidential campaign on the
same message of “change we
can believe in.” Recently, in
a worldwide sense, protesters
in Libya are using this same
glimmer of hope to shift power in the government to something much more democratic.
We are all fairly familiar
with the protests and rallies
that took place in Egypt in order to remove Hosni Mubarak
from power in January 2011.
After the success of the Egyptian coup, many other countries followed suit, one being
Libya.
Libya has become one of the
more forgotten revolutions in
my opinion. People know that
there is political unrest, but we
don’t exactly know what it entails or the story behind it, myself included.
In 1969, Colonel Gadhafi
took control over Libya in a
coup and has ruled over the
country with an iron fist ever
since. Over the years of his
regime, Gadhafi has been a
rather confusing person to
read on whether his intentions
are overall good or bad. Lately, however, they seem to lean
more towards the latter.
On February 17, many unrestful protesters took to the
streets of Benghazi, Libya in
order to demand the release of
a human rights activist from
jail. After only a few days,
thousands took to the streets of
major cities demanding Gadhafi step down, but the government had taken control of
most media and showed only
images of those in support of
the ruler.
After only four days of protesting, the Human Rights
Watch group reported that as
many as 173 anti-Gadhafi rebels had been killed and 800
wounded. Gadhafi continued
for many days to try and reiterate to the public that everything was fine and his people
still love him, despite the
mass murdering going on all
around.
Currently, Gadhafi is trying
Principal takes the plunge
2010 ASPA Awards
George Valadie
First Place: Overall Newspaper
Reflections
(ASPA-American Scholastic
Press Assoc.)
The Eagle’s Eye is published
monthly during the school year,
by the newspaper staff at St.
Benedict at Auburndale, 8250
Varnavas, Cordova, TN 38016.
Telephone:901-260-2840. The
Eagle’s Eye is distributed free
to all members of the student
body. Commentaries and opinion columns are the expressed
opinion of the author and not of
The Eagle’s Eye and its Editorial Board, or its adviser. These
opinions do not reflect the
views of the Catholic Diocese
of Memphis. Letter to the Editor Policy: Letters must include
the writer’s name, signature and
class or position. Typed, double-spaced letters are preferred,
but legible, hand-written submissions are acceptable. Letters
can be mailed, hand-delivered
or e-mailed to the adviser. The
Eagle’s Eye will not print anything deemed libelous, obscene
or in poor taste, in accordance
with the Supreme Court’s justified standards. The meaning of
any submission will not be altered, but we reserve the right to
correct spelling, grammar and
punctuation when necessary.
Additionally, The Eagle’s Eye
refuses to print criticism which
is not constructive and supported by facts.
Libyan students demostrate their frustration at Gadhafi’s rule.
Principal
We did it. We had sworn we
never would, but Nancy and I
went over to the darkside. We
joined Facebook. Our daughters joined this thing long ago.
And it’s not like I’m opposed,
but I have been leery.
Don’t be offended but I don’t
really want to be ‘friends’ with
y’all and the Diocese won’t allow it anyway. But part of my
hesitancy was caused as I tried
to grapple with what it means
to be a Facebook ‘friend’ and
how that’s different from the
ones I already had.
I wasn’t sure if I could control who would and wouldn’t,
could and couldn’t see the
thoughts I might choose to
share.
But who wants to be left
behind a good chunk of the
rest of the world? Supposedly
there are 500 million Facebook users with half logging
on every single day.
I think I’ve seen most of
them. They seem to eat in the
same places we do. Couples
sitting across from one another in cozy booths, both with a
phone and an app and a lifeand-death need to know what
is happening in others’ lives.
Maybe missing a chance to
live their own.
I asked my daughters first
if they’d accept my friend
request, and they dutifully
obliged. In a matter of moments, my friend count leaped
to three. This seemed easy.
But after that, I began to feel
that same uneasy trepidation
I’d had in high school when I
had wanted to ask a girl for a
date but couldn’t pull the trigger, deathly afraid of rejection.
But age has given me confidence, so I sent out some
“friend requests,” hopeful to
be accepted.
Recently, I was up to 126 but
seeking four more since the
average Facebook user supposedly has 130 friends. Confident or not, I still want to be
at least average.
It’s funny, but before this, I’d
never felt the need to count my
friends. I just liked them.
Isn’t it ironic that one of the
four main Facebook options
is a ‘news feed.’ The stuff I
see there is definitely new,
but not generally thought of
as the site we might choose to
learn about Egypt’s revolt and
Mubarak’s exit.
And yet we forget. The Facebook on which we Americans share gossip and music
and how many bites we just
chewed at dinner is ironically
the same tool that had an inspiring if not organizing role
in the efforts of those Egyptian youths. Historically and
forever, it will be remembered
as the world’s first Social Media Revolution.
Consider it. Users combine
for 700 billion minutes per
month. Do the math. That’s
300 lifetimes of logged on
Facebook time - every month.
True, some of it’s a pretty
stupid waste of God’s gift of
time. But with some of it - we
get to reach out to family and
friends and long-lost acquaintances. God’s greatest gifts. It
might be the end of pens and
postage stamps but it works,
I’m hoping we’ll use it well.
to control his country by lashing out even more violently
as the days drag on and as the
death toll rises.
Sometimes I feel that we
take the freedoms that we
have as United States citizens
for granted. Instead of focusing on the trivial, annoying
things in life like having to do
homework or waking up early
for school, we should all just
take a step back and look at the
bigger picture.
We live in a country that allows us to take part in deciding who we want in office. If
we aren’t happy with the state
of the union, we can complain
and not be killed for it…we
can cast a new vote instead.
Attention
Class of
2011!
The senior edition of
The Eagle’s Eye is
coming soon!
In this edition, we will
feature senior wills of
the Class of 2011.
The deadline to turn
in your senior will is
April 15th
All senior wills must
be submitted by email,
and guidelines must
be observed exactly.
Look for more information regarding your
senior wills in your
religion class.
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
The Eye on Editorials
3
Around the World
News from off campus
Last WWI vet dies
John Hofer
Graphics Editor
Frank Buckles passed away
at his home in Charles Town,
West Virginia on Sunday, February 27. At 110 years old, he
was the last remaining American veteran of World War I, the
first war in which troops experienced mechanized warfare.
All major countries who
participated have now seen
the last of their veterans go.
Britain’s last survivor of the
trenches, Harry Patch, passed
away in 2009. Lazare Ponticelli, France’s last surviving veteran, died in 2008. Germany’s
Erich Kastner passed in 2008.
A Missouri native, Buckles
lied about his age to enter the
armed forces at 16, and then
pleaded with his superiors that
they allowed him to serve on
the European front. Finally,
they allowed Buckles to go to
France to serve with an ambulance unit. He was one of 4.7
million Americans to answer
the call to arms and fight.
Known as “the humble patriot,” Buckles didn’t seek the
spotlight. He spent the last
years of his life campaigning
for greater recognition of his
fallen comrades, asking politicians to support a national memorial in Washington.
Teenagers’ self esteem
affects marital future
John Hofer
ever, they are also more likely
Graphics Editor to end up divorced.
Researchers at Cambridge
The findings of the study inUniversity have found a link dicate that the happier youngbetween positive adolescence sters are, the more likely they
and well-being later in life, are to have higher levels of
and that one has a direct con- general well-being later in life,
nection with and effect on the but that they are more likely to
get divorced.
other.
Teenagers who have a happy
The conclusion that adolesupbringing and adolesence cent happiness can increase
are 60 percent more likely to chances of divorce is hypothperform better socially and in esized to be caused by a higher
work enviroments, and also self-esteem, and therefore a
less likely to develop mental greater ability to leave an unproblems later in life. How- happy marriage.
NFL players “locked out”
Zach Wiley
Reporter
Just a few weeks ago, The
NFL Players Association
(NFLPA) decertified from the
union. By decertifying, they
forfeit all their rights to meet
as a workers union; which allows them to let the players
file for an injunction in court.
This injunction would prevent
the owners from proceeding
with their plans of a “lockout”
on players. However, the NFL
owners and Commissioner
Roger Goodell were able to
meet and vote for a lockout before the NFLPA could file for
an injunction.
This whole debacle was
caused by four major disputes:
(1) how much money each
side receives for salaries and
construction, like new stadiums, out of a $9 billion pot,
(2) a salary cap on how much
money a rookie could receive,
and how much they can receive from a signing bonus, (3)
to expand the regular season
from 16 games to 18 games,
and finally, (4) benefits for retired players. All of these issues have yet to be solved.
Even though the lockout is
in effect, players can still sue
the owners in anti-trust suits
and receive an injunction to
stop the current lockout. So
far, NFL athletes such as Drew
Brees (Saints), Tom Brady
(Patriots), Peyton Manning
(Colts), and Osi Umenyiora
(Giants) have decided to act
as plaintiffs in the current
court cases against the owners. Also, current top-15 draft
prospect Von Miller of Texas
A&M has expressed interest in
acting as a plaintiff on the side
of future players.
Since the lockout is now in
effect, players cannot meet
with their teams, practice at
team facilities, or play a down
of football until these disputes
are resolved. Also, the 2011
Super Bowl Champion Green
Bay Packers will not be able
to receive their rings because
they cannot communicate and
decide which ring will be ordered.
Even though a work-stoppage
is in the works, the 2011 NFL
Draft will still take place April
28 – April 30 in Radio City
Music Hall, New York City.
However, after the players are
drafted and signed to their respective teams, they will not
be allowed to contact their
new coaches and/or organizations, or receive playbooks in
order to be prepared for when
the work stoppage is over.
Also, rumors have surfaced
that the NFLPA executive director, Demaurice Smith, has
sent letters to top draft prospects concerning boycotting
the draft. This would include
a private party for all who attend, hosted by Smith, so they
can celebrate when their name
is called but they will not go
up and shake Commissioner
Roger Goodell’s hand.
It is rumored that the boycott
party will be held somewhere
in New York City close to Radio City Music Hall. In addition, undrafted free-agents are
not able to contact interested
teams about signing a freeagent contract and vice-versa.
Even current players are not
allowed to contact their coaches. The players are completely
shut out of the equation and
the future is looming in their
minds.
Now the ball is in the owners’
court, and talks about signing
a new collective bargaining
agreement (CBA) will ensue
in the next couple of months.
Even though the owners are in
complete control, they will not
be able to withstand a “lockout” lasting more than one
year. Most owners do have
enough money to withstand
longer amounts of time, but the
smaller market teams do not.
In turn, if one team cannot afford it any longer, they all have
to give up and cut their losses.
In hopes of getting this whole
issue resolved, Goodell has
recently said that during the
lockout, he would work for $1
a year.
All the players can do now is
stay in shape and hope that a
new CBA is in the works and
that it will get signed as soon
as possible.
Stuck between a car and a hard place
cartoon by Marissa Boulanger
4
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
What’s happening at SBA?
-News BriefsRetreat unifies juniors
Leah Kiernozek
News Editor
The juniors at St. Benedict had a class retreat at St.
Ann Bartlett on Wednesday,
March 23. The overall theme
for the retreat was based on
unity.
Many juniors attended the
event that was organized by
the senior retreat leaders,
along with Mrs. Giles, Mrs.
Browning, and Mr. Smith.
The students had an eventful day playing games, listening to the band, and spending
time reflecting on inspirational stories told by Jake Tucci
and Melanie Yerger. They
also watched a meaningful
skit about Christ’s love performed by some of the senior
retreat leaders.
Mass ended the retreat on
a positive note, tying in the
theme of unity.
Many of the people that attended the retreat had an enjoyable time, including junior
Daniel LaForce who said,
“The retreat was a blast! It focused on us coming together
and the theme of unity.”
Kids Kan is a success
Katie Akin
The Eye on News
Reporter
SBA continued its spirit of
giving last month with another food drive, Kids Kan. Kids
Kan proceeds benefitted the
Mid-South Food Bank. Students brought in canned food
from February 14 to 26.
SBA is widely known for
its philanthropy during food
drives. It is so well known, in
fact, that local radio station
KIX 106 broadcasted live
from campus to support the
Kids Kan effort.
In order to help the collection effort along, teachers including Dr. Bradley
and Coach Daleke offered
extra credit to students who
brought in certain amounts of
canned items.
Along with the canned good
collection itself, students
raised money for the Food
Bank by donating a dollar to
participate in a “Crazy Sock
and Shoe Day.” Mu Alpha
Theta accepted donations
in order for three administrators, Mrs. Morris, Coach
Lear, and Mr. Valadie, to receive a pie in the face on their
annual “Pi Day.”
By the end of the week, a
large amount of cans were
raised for the Mid-South
Food Bank.
Cartoonist visits SBA
Fathers dance with daughters
Julie Eckel
Sports Editor
St. Benedict junior and senior
girls were presented the opportunity to have an evening out
with their fathers at the annual
Father-Daughter Dance. The
dance was held at Colonial
Country Club on February 20.
The Father-Daughter duos
enjoyed an Italian themed
dinner, which included everything from lasagna to chicken
parmesan. After feasting on
the Italian cuisine followed
by dessert, the ladies and
their dates hit the dance floor.
The DJ played an assortment
of songs, ranging from the
70s to the present. The tables
cleared out and the dance floor
was filled when “Cha Cha
Slide” was played. Soul trains
were formed, jigs were danced,
photo by Julie Eckel
Rachel Nevle enjoys dancing at the Father-Daughter Dance.
and toes were stepped on.
Prizes were awarded to the
dads who were the best dancers, or even just the most entertaining.
The girls and their fathers also enjoyed a scaven-
ger hunt, planned by the DJ,
which consisted of attendees
digging through their pockets looking for odds and ends.
The night concluded with a
few slower songs to end the
evening on a sentimental note.
Model UN shines in Starkville
Katie Akin
Reporter
Model UN had a conference
on February 24, 25, and 26
at Mississippi State University in Starkville. Participants
from SBA represented several
different countries, including
the US, China, and Brazil, in
a mock United Nations. SBA
students debated current international social, economic,
and political issues with approximately 10 other schools.
A guest speaker, Allyson
Nelson, spoke to the attendants about women’s rights,
improper perceptions of
foreign countries, and the
danger of placing Western
values on other societies.
This conference was the
photo by Victoria Darling
Mrs. Karen Timmins (second from left), sponsor of Model UN at
SBA, joins two committee presidents and the secretary-general
(far right) at the 2011 MSU Conference.
first time that SBA Model UN
attended a conference at Mississippi State. It was also the
first time a Tennessee school
ever participated in the Mississippi State conference.
Senior Daven Aldrich received “Most Improved Delegation” for his representation of the United States.
Senior Victoria Darling was
awarded “Most Outstanding Delegation” for her
representation of China.
This was Victoria’s third
time to receive this award.
“This conference was a
different style than what we
are used to, and our team
looks forward to competing
in it next year,” said Victoria, Model UN president.
Eagle’s Eye staff wins awards
photo by Sharon Masterson
Famous cartoonist John Rose spoke to SBA students about
his profession. He showcased some of his popular characters,
such as Snuffy Smith.
photo by Dianna Cervetti
The Eagle’s Eye staff earned awards at the annual THSPA award ceremony for student media. Junior Marissa Boulanger placed second for her cartoon and senior Kelsey Climer received honorable
mention for a music review. The staff earned an excellent rating for the overall newspaper.
The Eye on News
Writer visits SBA
Jerel Smith
Reporter
John Jackson Miller, a 1985
alumnus of Auburndale, recently
returned to the campus (now St.
Benedict at Auburndale) to share
his life story with the SBA students. It’s been 26 years since he
graduated from Auburndale in
1985, and since then he has become a sci-fi and comic book writer. He has written several books for
the Star Wars trilogy, created characters and storylines for the famed
comic book series Iron Man, and
even began the Star Wars series
known as Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR). Since its inception, KOTOR has been made into
several video games and is the
basis for many storylines in Star
Wars lore.
Since his days as a child, Miller
has been a collector of comics and
also publisher of his own minicomics and magazines, or ‘zines’.
He has been obsessed with things
considered ‘geeky’ for a good
chunk of his life. Even during his
days at Auburndale, he developed
an interest for geek culture. While
in class one day, Miller decided
that instead of writing an essay on
Edgar Allen Poe, he would write
and draw a comic book instead.
The final result was a very knowledgeable and well-thought out interpretation of the subject.
While visiting St. Benedict, one
of the many topics Miller spoke
about was his experience with the
school’s paper, The Eagle’s Eye.
He explained that his time as editor, not only for The Eagle’s Eye,
but also for the University of Tennessee during his college years,
taught him how to write about
anything.
“You have to write about things
that you’re not interested in,” Miller stated in reference to his time in
journalism.
Early on, Miller realized that he
could turn his passion into a career.
He came to this realization as he
was writing a college essay on a
subject in which he wasn’t familiar and then twisted it in a way to
make it seem like he knew what
he was talking about. It was his
own personal aha moment; Miller
knew what he was good at…writing.
“What I thought of as a hobby
was actually useful,” said Miller
recalling the moment when he
finally grasped the idea of doing
what he adored.
Miller has found much success in
his life through his hobby-turnedcareer. He’s a New York Times
bestselling author, he has met
his idols, and he has worked on
projects that many only dream of
working on. John Jackson Miller
is “mining his childhood” for a
living.
photo by Sharon Masterson
John Miller talks with SBA students about his writing style.
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
5
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Ultimate Frisbee Club throws for fun
Jerel Smith
Features Editor
At Saint Benedict there are
many options for students to
play a sport and stay fit. Everything from tennis to basketball is available to students
to try out for and participate
in, but one sport stands out
from the proverbial crowd.
With the laid-back and mellow atmosphere of a club
sport, Ultimate Frisbee offers
an alternative to the more tra-
ditional sports at SBA.
Sponsored by religion
teacher Mr. Smith, the Ultimate Frisbee Club is simple
in its mission: get a group of
kids together to have fun and
throw a plastic disc around.
However, anything with “ultimate” in its name is probably not that simple. The
members of the club don’t
just throw the Frisbee in the
fashion that one might envision. They throw it in all possible ways imaginable and
then more. They duck and dive
and jump for that round piece
of plastic. The club even competes with other local teams,
bringing out their own competitive spirit. All of this makes
the sport of Ultimate Frisbee a
lot more demanding than one
may originally think.
The Ultimate Frisbee Club
meets every Friday after school
usually on the practice field.
Anyone (both boys and girls) is
welcome to come out to participate and just have a good time.
Language clubs unite for food festival
Allie Heirigs
Reporter
The Saint Benedict language
clubs organized and participated in an international food
festival on March 1 in the dining hall.
The event was organized
by faculty club sponsors. The
goal of the festival was to expose students to the cultures
that the other language classes
study every day, as well as
give a positive representation of their own. The event’s
planning has been in progress
since the beginning of the
school year.
The French, German, and
Spanish clubs contributed to
the festival.
Students attending were
encouraged to prepare or
purchase a dish commonly
eaten in the culture whose
language they study. The
clubs organized the food
based on which country it
represented. “Nobody likes
German food,” said Frau
Sanders, “so we brought
cookies and games.”
Students and teachers were
able to walk around and sample dishes, as well as mingle
with people outside of their
club. French music was
played and German puzzles
were solved. The club members soon noticed curious
onlookers straggling near the
cafeteria. Having more than
enough to go around, they
were invited to join in.
“I have been looking forward to (the festival) since it
started being talked about,”
stated Megan Singer, president of the French club, “It
was pretty fun.”
The Sound of Music evolves from its past
Leah Kiernozek
News Editor
Everyone around the world
is probably familiar with the
movie The Sound of Music
to a certain extent. But, does
everyone know how the story
came about?
The well-known musical
which has been presented as
a play, movie, and book, is
based off of a true story that
took place during the 1940s.
As the story goes, Maria
von Kutschera was living at
a Benedictine Convent and
was sent by her Mother Superior to watch over George
von Trapp’s children after
the death of his wife. Maria
introduced music into the
children’s lives by teaching
them how to sing, creating a
wonderful relationship full of
love and laughter. Over the
course of time, Captain von
Trapp and Maria fell in love
with each other, and happily
raised the children as one big
family.
Because the story has been
portrayed in different forms,
some variations have been
made in regards to specific
details about the Trapp family. For instance, in Rodgers
and Hammerstein’s theatrical production of The Sound
of Music in 1959, Maria
came to the Trapp family as
a governess to watch over
the Captain’s seven children.
However, in reality, it is said
that Maria came as a tutor for
the children and there were
ten of them, not seven. This
tiny alteration in the storyline carried out through other
productions of the musical,
and is still watched and persuch as the Hollywood- pro- America in 1958.
duced movie in 1965, starring
From there, the book ex- formed today. St. Benedict’s
Julie Andrews and Christo- tended its popularity into theatrical department is perpher Plummer. Although the America, where it was made forming The Sound of Muage and names of characters
into a Broadway sic from March 31 to April
3, with Madeline
were changed, along with a
play and a movMarconi starring
few other miniscule details in
ie. The musithe plot, each version originatas Maria and
cal has grasped
Ryan Cooper
ed from the same story.
the attention of
playing the role
The famous Trapp family
many viewers
of Captain von
story evolved after Maria
around the
von Trapp published her
Trapp.
world
book The Story of the
Trapp Family Singers, in 1949. Her book
became a best-seller
and was then made
into two different German films:
The Trapp
Family in
1956 and
The Trapp
photo by Sharon Masterson
Family in Ryan Cooper and Madeline Marconi star in SBA’s production of The Sound of Music.
6
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
The Eye on Features
Cafeteria worker is part of SBA family
Marissa Loeffel
Reporter
Every day during fourth, fifth,
and sixth periods, the cafeteria becomes jam-packed with
hungry students trying to beat
the extensive lines to satisfy
their rising appetites. Aside
from the ever-changing menu
of the hot lunch; the salad bar,
dessert, and deli stations remain basically the same. The
faces of the servers usually
remain the same as well. One
server in particular has found
a soft spot in the heart of St.
Benedict students.
Known to most of the student body as “The Chicken
Man,” James Parker seems
like an average man doing
his job. Raised in Memphis,
he attended Mitchell High
School. When he wasn’t in the
classroom or at home, he was
practicing basketball which he
loved and still enjoys playing
today. While growing up, he
dreamed of acquiring a job as
a truck driver in order to see
more of the country than just
barbeque and blues on Beale.
When it came time for him
to look for an occupation, he,
along with countless Americans, realized that it was easier
said than done. But, fate found
a way to lead Parker to Sodexho Food Services where he
was offered a job as a server in
St. Benedict’s cafeteria. Upon
taking the job, he was placed
at his own station by the grill
where the chicken nuggets,
tenders, hot sandwiches, and
French fries are served. Because he works at the chicken
station, which has the longest
line almost every day, he soon
became known as “The Chicken Man.”
Parker enjoys working at
St. Benedict because, “I like
making the children laugh.”
And that he does. Numerous
students make an effort to get
to know “The Chicken Man”
every day in the hopes that he
will put aside an order of the
popular chicken tenders for
them before they run out.
“I love The Chicken Man
because his tender touch of
love makes the chicken tenders the best that they can be,”
said senior Larkin Turner, who
claims to know and love Parker the most out of her class.
Even though his prior road
to becoming a truck driver
wasn’t taken, it’s safe to say
that he and the students of
SBA are more than delighted
with the one that was.
photo by Marisa Loeffel
James Parker, known fondly by many as the “Chicken Man,” has
found a soft spot in the hearts of Saint Benedict’s students.
The neighborhood beat--
Yogurt Mountain is teen hangout spot
Jordi Soto-Phipps
Features Editor
With its unique purple and
green decorative theme, Yogurt Mountain offers a very
futuristic look.
“It’s really a great environment,” said manager Chris
Whitten.
There were 20 stores opened
nationwide last year and 15
more this year. Yogurt Mountain’s first store was opened
in Tuscaloosa, Alabama about
one year ago.
Currently, there are two
Yogurt Mountains located in
Memphis, but owners are hoping to have at least six stores
opened by the end of the year.
The yogurt is self-served with
HISTORY
continued from page 1
U. S. history classes, along
with those of Mr. Mark McDonald’s world history classes, competed at the History
Day contest held on the University of Memphis campus.
Competitors had the option
of creating an exhibit, documentary, paper, website, or
performance, focusing their
projects on the theme Debate
and Diplomacy: Successes,
Failures and Consequences.
They also had the choice of
working in a group or as an
individual.
At the end of the competi-
the customer’s choice of several different flavors and toppings. Once the customer has
completed their masterpiece,
the bowl is then weighed for
a price check. The finished
product is offered at 45 cents
an ounce.
“Vanilla and chocolate are
the most popular types of yogurt. Cookie dough, strawberries, and marshmallow cream
are the most popular toppings,” said Whitten.
It is a hot spot for teenagers,
as they are credited for most of
the business; especially high
school students.
“The majority of our business is teenagers,” Whitten
said, “Come after a game and
present your ticket or your
student I.D. and you get 20
percent off your yogurt cup.”
He also went on to say that if
extra-curricular clubs want to
have meetings there, he’d be
willing to offer a discount for
the club as well.
“This is by far the most fun
place I’ve ever worked at. I
came here back in November,
and fell in love with it. It really
is a great environment. It’s the
busiest place I’ve ever worked
in, we have $10,000 weekends,” Whitten said regarding
Yogurt Mountain.
With its futuristic appearance, delicious yogurt and
toppings, and fun environment, Yogurt Mountain is considered by many to be a great
place to visit and relax.
tion, St. Benedict entrants
brought home 10 awards.
Exhibit winners were Hannah
Scarborough with first place
in individual, Laura Morissett
and Will Doster with second
place in group, and Allie Heirigs, Alexis Bingham, Jeremy
Mothersell, Megan Singer,
and John Hofer with fourth
place in group.
SBA swept the group documentary division, taking first,
second, and third place. Winners were Craig Thillen, Josh
Stoddard, and Hunter Donohue with first, Renee Adamec,
Paige Scrivener, Alanna Murphy, Wendy Alyea, and Mary
Katherine Langley with sec-
ond, and Marissa Boulanger,
Marc Cabe, Matt Groendyke,
Ben Schneider, and Rachel
Sowell with third.
Winners of the writing division were Katelyn Frierott
with first and Denise Sweeney
with second.
Website winners were Jessie
Peel, Alex Boston, Matt Brint,
Allie Cummings, and Michael
Steele with second in group
and Alex Bolds, Dillon Allen,
and Crain Hubbard with fourth
in group.
Students who placed move
on to the Tennessee State
Competition. The contest will
be held in Nashville at Legislative Plaza on April 2.
Meagan Wynne
Make/Model: 2006 Honda Fit
Powertrain: Inline 4, Automatic
Interesting fact about car: It’s a LOT bigger than it looks
Favorite thing about car: It gets great mileage
Kyle Jennings
Make/Model: 2006 Pontiac Solstice
Powertrain: Inline 4, Automatic
Interesting fact about car: It’s a convertible
Favorite thing about car: Underglow neon
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
The Eye on Features
7
Prom takes much preparation
Jerel Smith
Features Editor
Every year millions of students from all across the nation attend a prom of some
sort. From New York to California, kids everywhere get to
enjoy that one magical night. It is a night that many high
schoolers have dreamed of
since middle school, but many
have no idea about the work
that goes into organizing that
single enchanting moment. A
lot of planning, time, and effort goes into making that special night actually happen.
At St. Benedict, the first thing
that must be done to prepare
for prom is to decide the location. This decision is made at
least a year in advance by the
previous committee, enabling
the juniors of the current committee to pick the location
they would like for their senior year prom.
This early decision is imperative because time constraints
must be considered. The venue usually has to be booked
months in advance, in order
to reserve the space before
another party grabs it. Case in
point, the Memphis Zoo was
originally meant to be the location for last year’s prom; but
because of scheduling issues,
Minglewood Hall was chosen
instead. However, this year the
SBA Eagles will definitely be
flying into the Memphis Zoo.
After the desired location is
acquired, the actual planning
for prom doesn’t begin until
the following school year, and
with an entirely new commit-
tee. St. Benedict’s committee
is entirely made up of juniors,
and is sponsored by the trio
of Mrs. Stafford, Mrs. Brannon, and Mrs. Ford. The junior
class as a whole decides who
to elect as prom chair; this
year the committee is led by
junior Valarie Holmes.
After the committee is
formed, the real work begins.
The committee decides everything from the theme to who’ll
be spinning the music at the
event. The students come together to put the majority of
prom together; prom at St.
Benedict is for the seniors as
well as the juniors.
“We’re a well-oiled machine,” Mrs. Ford exclaimed
jokingly.
Even though a lot of things
go smoothly every year, old
Mrs. Rose loves SBA
Julie Eckel
Sports Editor
Native to New York, Mrs.
Providence
Rose,
better
known as Provie, made her
way to Memphis 27 years ago.
Mrs. Rose was born and
raised in The Bronx, a burrow
of New York City. Growing
up with four younger brothers,
Mrs. Rose had aspirations of
being a neonatal nurse, working with little babies.
Mrs. Rose attended Theodore Roosevelt High School
in The Bronx, and then went
to college at Kingsborough
Community College in Brooklyn. While in high school, she
was the Chair of Senior Prom,
was on the committee for the
senior play, and was active in
the Merchandizing Club.
After getting married in New
York, Mrs. Rose and her husband, Werner, moved south,
first to Miami, then to Houston, and finally ended up in
Memphis. When first coming
to Memphis, she began working at Holy Spirit Church as
assistant director for Mother’s
Day Out.
She then joined the staff at
St. Agnes. Several years later,
a job at St. Benedict opened
up when Mrs. Morris was
pregnant with her first child.
Dr. Mary McDonald, who was
principal at the time, hired
Mrs. Rose to take her place.
Nowadays Mrs. Rose still
works in the office, but she
runs the spirit shop, handles
and new problems always
seem to arise. One problem
they seem to run into every
year is scheduling issues with
the chosen DJ. It seems that
every year, the selected DJ
seems to get double-booked or
just can’t make the gig.
Another issue that arises constantly is the rules that the venue places on the committee.
Every location comes with its
own set of constraints to work
around, such as no straws or
plastic ware at the Memphis
Zoo.
Even still, despite the problems that may arise, the committee strives to put on an unforgettable prom every year.
From the decorations to the
lights, from the music to the
theme everything is meant to
emit a sense of excitement.
However, with the state of the
economy along with a higher
quality, everything just costs
more. Therefore the senior
class must pay a nominal fee
of $10 for their tickets, where
in previous years they weren’t
required to shell out anything
at all.
“The reason we want to charge
the seniors…because we want
more quality,” said Mrs. Brannon.
Year after year a new student committee, plus the seasoned staff put on a new and
different prom. They try to top
themselves every year, making
a spectacular night for both juniors and seniors.
“It’s going to be the best
prom yet, it makes me love
life,” junior Rebekah Little
said.
-PollWhat is something you want
to do before you die?
Christine Lake, 12th
Buy a Prada purse
Keifer Douglas, 11th
Meet the entire cast of
Malcolm in the Middle
Luckie Krog, 9th
Have a mud fight
Andrew Nevle, 10th
Release a rap album
Mary Jane Hedden, 9th
Bungie Jump
Chris Anderson, 11th
Ride a dinosaur
photo by Julie Eckel
Mrs. Provie Rose helps SBA by being one of the most versatile
employees, helping out in many different ways around campus.
accounts, works in the business office, handles invoices,
and takes care of all the printers and copiers.
After working in a rough
middle school in the Bronx
earlier in her life, Mrs. Rose
says she loves life at St. Benedict. “I love the atmosphere,
I love the people, I love the
hours, and most importantly,
I love the environment,” said
Mrs. Rose.
In her spare time, Mrs. Rose
enjoys redecorating her home
and working in the yard. She
also likes to go shopping, especially if she can snag a bargain.
Mrs. Rose also enjoys going for walks. Nearly every
year, she walks the St. Jude
half-marathon. She does it to
commemorate her son’s stay
at St. Jude. Several years ago,
in 1994, her son John developed leukemia. After a long,
four year battle, he came out
victorious. He was told, however, that he would never have
children. John is now a healthy
35 year-old cancer survivor,
living happily with a wife and
21 month-old baby boy. To
celebrate this gift of life, they
named their child Matthew
which means “Gift of God.”
Mrs. Rose is now contently
living in Memphis and enjoys spending time with her
husband, who is a deacon at
Church of the Holy Spirit, and
spending time with her two
sons and their families.
The Eye on Culture
Watch for all
the latest styles and trends at Prom
Marissa Boulanger
Reporter
Prom – a four letter word
that could represent the most
memorable night of the average high school career. What
is a major part of this memory? The fashion, of course.
One of the biggest trends for
the 2011 prom season is cutouts. Cut-outs are sections of
a dress that are what they’re
named for—cut out.
They give an edge to a standard dress, especially when
they are filled in with other
textiles such as lace. However, shoppers should beware
that this trend can go too far
with overly excessive missing
fabric.
Another huge trend for prom
dresses is an interesting posterior style. The intricate beading and necklines usually reserved for the front of a dress
are now being constructed for
the back. From dips down the
back to criss-crossing laces to
designs in the shape of a big
butterfly, decorative backs are
making a statement.
Perhaps the most trending
item on the hot list is shine.
Fully beaded, fully sequined,
or fully metallic dresses—they
are all great ways to add sparkle to prom.
The glittery add-ons that many
dresses this season are embellished with are being stocked
on the shelves as quickly as prom wear are accessories.
they are being bought off of Stocking the shelves this year
them. Whether it is to give a are bedazzled clutches, bold
glamorous twist or just a break jewelry, and glam shoes that
from the generic look, twinkle add a pop.
and glitter provide the fashBib necklaces, layers of
ionable oomph that every girl pearls, and sweet strands of
wants.
gold or silver are touches that
Another style striking the can really add some interest to
prom scene is oversized prints. a dress. Shoes that have crazy
Blown up florals, animal trimmings or are metallic and
prints, and watercolors come glitter-covered are also great
together to provide a variety for adding interest.
of looks to choose from.
Dresses and accessories are
One of the newest looks an exciting part of prom that
this season is the high-low thrills girls everywhere. But
dress. The hemline of high- prom fashion is not simply
low dresses
limited to those
usually start
without the Y
off short in
chromosome.
Stocking
the
the front and
Menswear this
shelves are becascade down
season is paythe back, typiing homage to
dazzled clutches
cally hitting
the unexpected.
and glam shoes.
the floor. This
Whether it is
high fashionslight changes
inspired look
like navy suits
gives the wearer a unique instead of black or kooky
dress that seems to extend the outfits with plaid shirts and
leg. It is a great choice for striped bowties, menswear is
those who want the dramatic making a splash. Men’s clothlength of a long dress, but still ing at prom is all about taking
want to show off the shoes that the simple and adding your
go with it.
own style.
Asymmetry is also a huge
From edgy mini-dresses to
look for prom. Uneven hem- fanciful gowns, from sparkle
lines, single shoulder dress- clad accessories to menswear
es, and unbalanced embel- with a twist, fashion finds a
lishments are a few ways to home in prom. No matter
achieve the asymmetrical what kind of person you are or
look.
what kind of clothes you wear,
Some of the keys to perfect prom looks make a statement.
hStudent Poll
h
8
Fashion Forecast:
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
If you could choose a prom
theme, what would it be?
David Caron, 12th
“Minecraft”
Cameron Russell, 12th
“Underwater”
Carley Vandeven, 11th
“Amusement Park”
Branton Wiederholt, 11th
“Anything but Jersey Shore”
Forrest Welsh, 10th
“Disco”
Will Smith, 9th
“Zombies”
Samantha Rebholz, 10th
“New York Hipster”
Gabriella Locastro, 9th
“Masquerade”
Where is this celebrity now?
Marilyn Monroe is making millions even after her death
Victoria Darling
Culture Editor
Norma Mortenson, otherwise known as Marilyn Monroe, is remembered for her
blonde hair, flirty white dress,
and bright red lipstick. By
1946, her unique image appeared on the covers of over
33 magazines. Monroe, who
began her career as a model,
eventually evolved into a Hollywood starlet for the famous
broadcasting company, Fox.
Though she was denied several times before receiving her
contract with Fox, Monroe
finally got a break when she
met Johnny Hyde. Her “less
than professional” relationship
with Hyde opened the door to
Monroe’s first on-screen role
in Love Happy. In 1950, after
Hyde’s death, Monroe signed
a seven-year contract with
Fox.
After signing with the broadcasting company, Monroe received over 2,000 pieces of
fan mail weekly. The notoriety
she gained gave way to her
first role with Fox, Don’t Bother to Knock.
From 1946-1961, Monroe starred in 18 movies, had
three marriages, and countless
more relationships. On August
4, 1962, four days before she
planned to remarry, Monroe
was found in bed, dead from
a presumed overdose. Many
still wonder today if someone
else played a role in her death.
Mark Roesler, an agent
who represents more famous
people than any other person
in the world, currently represents Monroe. His clients have
a unique quality unlike others;
most of Mr. Roesler’s clients
are dead. Representing over
250 entertainment, sports, music, and historical clients, he
represents anyone from Babe
Ruth to Bette Davis.
Roesler’s company is called
CMG, and is located far from
Hollywood in Indianapolis.
About his clients, Roesler
says, “It’s not really that much
different than if they were
alive. You just can’t book them
for personal appearances.”
The main job of CMG is to
create merchandising deals to
pitch to businesses that sell
their clients’ memorabilia. One
of Monroe’s biggest sellers
is “Marilyn Merlot.” Roesler
claims that this is rated as one
of California’s best merlots.
Monroe is reported to be one
of the richest dead celebrities
along with Audrey Hepburn.
In her prime, she gained on
average of $202,000,000,
and currently she has
grossed
$154,000,000
since her death. Monroe
will eventually
gross
more
mone y
dead
than
alive.
Despite
her controversial
reputation,
Monroe argued
that she just wanted
to make the most out of her
life. She said, "Beneath
the makeup and behind
the smile I am just a girl
who wishes for the world."
One of
her most
classic
looks, Marilyn Monroe’s
tradmark white
dress, red lipstick,
and curly blonde
hair, is still featured
in magazines and
movies today.
The Eye on Culture
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
9
Exchange student sees world through American eyes
Victoria Darling
Culture Editor
Sixteen-year-old Pablo de la
Portilla set out on a trip to the
United States with his Rotary
group to travel and learn about
the country. Pablo is from
Pamplona, Spain, a city that
is known for hosting the “running of the bulls.”
Pablo has learned a lot about
the American life since arriving in August. He especially
enjoys the welcoming attitude
of Americans.
As for differences in the two
cultures, Pablo believes that
people in Spain are generally
more active than Americans.
He said, “In Spain we have
cars, but we try walking most
places.”
Spanish citizens must wait
until age 18 to get their license;
this is another reason that Pablo believes the Spanish are a
little less sluggish than people
in the United States.
Though teenagers and children go to fast food restaurants
in Spain, it is uncommon to
see adults there. Pablo said, “I
sometimes go to fast food restaurants, but as I grow older I
am more hesitant to eat there.”
Pablo also finds differences
in the European and American
school system. “There are no
multiple choice questions on
our tests, instead we have a
lot of questions with long an-
swers,” he said.
Another significant difference is that they are not given
study guides; they are instructed to review cumulative
notes. For these reasons, Pablo
prefers attending St. Benedict
since teachers seem to be more
accommodating to students’
needs.
Though Pablo enjoys school
in the states, he misses the
food from Spain. One of his
favorite dishes is Jamon Serra-
no, which is similar to a lunch
meat. It is made of uncooked
ham that is cut into thin slices.
Typically it is served plain, but
some people put it on crackers.
To replace this traditional
Spanish meal, Pablo has found
delight in American hamburgers and apple pie.
Unfortunately, Pablo will be
leaving St. Benedict in a few
months, but he plans to return
to the United States to visit.
Rituals of voodoo include
prayers, drumming, dancing,
singing, and animal sacrifice.
During Voodoo ceremonies,
it is believed that the Loa can
possess the bodies of the ceremony participants. Loa appear
by "possessing" the faithful,
who in turn become the Loa,
relaying advice, warnings, and
desires. Voodoo is an animist
faith. That is, objects and natural phenomena are believed to
possess holy significance and
a soul.
Voodoo is seen as one of the
oldest religions still practiced
today. It isn’t human sacrifices,
blood dripping, or even devil
worship. People that participate in the religion do not stick
good and evil pins into dolls to
heal or harm others. Voodoo is
a life-affirming practice that
encourages its participants to
better understand the natural
processes of life and their own
spiritual natures.
Religions related to Vodun
are: Candomble, Lucumi, Macumba, and Yoruba. Voodoo
is a way of looking at and
dealing with life. It heals and
destroys, is both good and
bad, and is simple in
concept and complex
in practice.
Voodoo, as presently practiced, endures
little similarity to its
ancestral practice. Presently there are about
fifty million worshippers worldwide. The
central belief of the religion is in spirit possession,
through which the gods speak
to the devotees only for a short
time during the ceremonies.
However, the faithful believe
that the work of the gods is
present in all aspects of daily
life, and that pleasing the gods
will gain them health, wealth,
and spiritual commitment.
Voodoo is universally
practiced in Haiti, but
practiced in many cities of
t h e United States such
as New York, New
Orleans, Houston,
Charleston, South Carolina, and Los Angeles.
In the United States it
is recognized as a legitimate religion.
Voodoo has no scripture or world authority. It is
community-centered and sup-
ports individual experience,
empowerment, and responsibility. Voodoo isn’t the same
everywhere. People may practice Voodoo in their own way.
Over time, American culture
became fascinated by this mysterious tradition and began to
depict it in movies and books
as sensationalized horror. Hollywood created a mythology
that we have taken as truth.
"Voodoo" has become part of
modern folklore as something
evil that can hurt us.
In the United States, many
Voodooists are afraid of how
they will be treated so they
hide their religion. While this
is logical, it also highlights
suspicion that they practice in
secret to hide something bad
or violent.
The Voodoo myth and legend debunked
Ashley Magnifico
Reporter
"Do unto others as you would
have them do unto you,” is a
basic statement of the Voodoo
belief system.
Voodoo originated from
African ancestors who were
brought to the Caribbean in
bondage around the 1830’s. It
is also known as Vodun, Vodoun, or Vodou.
The word voodoo means
"spirit of God." Voodoo believers accept the existence
of one god, along with other
lower-ranked spirits often referred to as Loa. These powerful spirits are responsible for
the daily matters in life such
as family, love, money, happiness, wealth, and revenge.
Folk gets new twist with Mumford and Sons
Kelsey Climer
Editor-in-Chief
Still riding high on the edges of a nationally recognized
Grammy performance, it has
become fact that British Folk
quartet Mumford and Sons
have what it takes to become
well known and still retain the
qualities and sound that define
them so uniquely from popular
music today.
The band’s first release, entitled Sigh No More, derives its
namesake from Shakespeare’s
Much Ado About Nothing.
Many of the other tracks are
influenced by strong literary
inspirations, as well.
Sigh No More is the type of
album that takes many of the
greats and combines them with
newer names to form a fresh
twist on an old folk sound. It
is something akin to a sweet
jam session of Crosby, Stills,
and Nash, Kings of Leon, and
Fleet Foxes all gathered on a
backyard porch in Nashville.
The album’s first single
Little Lion Man gives way to
a pounding rhythm of banjos
and guitars with a thunderous
chorus filled with harmonies.
It is easily one of the best
songs, but the lyrics come off
as a little self-aggrandizing.
But do not let that fool you.
This song is still hard hitting
enough to leave you walking
away with a sore jaw, unlike
the rest of the album’s songs
that come off as mere swats to
the face.
The Cave is a song full of
hope and change which encourages you to better yourself. It shows off lead singer
and guitarist, Marcus Mumford’s growling vocals with
enough fervor, charm, and
emotion to put the King’s of
Leon to shame.
“Thistles and Weeds” is a
haunting tune that conjures
up images of dark skies along
with that eerie calm before the
storm, making it clearly one of
the more powerful songs on
Sigh No More.
“Timshel” derives its basis
of lyrical content from John
Steinbeck’s East of Eden. The
lyrical flourishes contained
within the song bring the story
to life through music.
Drawbacks to this album are
very few and far between. Al-
though, I must admit some of
the themes become a bit repetitive, and Mumford and Sons’
folk rock sound is not necessarily for everyone.
The band may be young,
but whatever the Sons are doing right now in the early days
of their fame and recognition,
they are doing it right.
If you are looking for a newer band filled with perfect harmonies, an eclectic assortment
of instruments, coupled with
beautiful, thought provoking
lyrics, Sigh No More is clearly
your best bet.
10
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
The Eye on Sports
Soccer gears up for new season with new coach
Jordi Soto-Phipps
Reporter
The SBA boys soccer team
looks to improve on last year’s
disappointing season. New
faces cover the soccer field,
most notably the head coach.
Due to health issues last
year, former head coach Jack
Schenkel was unable to finish the season, allowing Tony
Turner to jump in as interim
head coach. Andy Brannigan
has taken over the head coaching position this year.
Coach Brannigan comes in
with high expectations and
a focus on conditioning. He
strives to produce the most
conditioned team by season’s
start.
Since Coach Brannigan has
been an assistant coach of the
h Student Poll g
If you could participate
in any extreme sport,
what would it be?
Layne Thomas, 9th
Sumo-Wrestling
Jessica Focht, 10th
Skydiving
Tim Sisneros, 10th
Extreme Curling
Winnie Law, 11th
Extreme Ping-Pong
Valeria Torres, 9th
Elephant Wrestling
Taylor Seaman, 12th
Canyon Gliding
Kara Krajenta, 11th
Hot Dog Eating Contest
Alec Turner, 12th
Real-Life Angry Birds
team before, he is familiar
with several of the players and
what to expect out of them. He
is also enthusiastic about the
freshmen that have joined the
team.
Jake Tucci, a senior midfielder, shares his enthusiasm.
He said, “We have a good
freshman class that should
help.”
The team consists of eight
seniors: Ryan Aeschliman,
Nickel Ebbing, Eric Etter,
Max Smith, Jake Tucci, Alec
Turner, Paul Wagner, and Andrew Zazzara.
This year’s big games include
matchups against Christian
Brothers (CBHS), Memphis
University School (MUS), and
Briarcrest (BCS).
CBHS is almost always the
team to be reckoned with and
this year SBA feels as though
they will give them a run for
their money.
According to Jake, “We
should be pretty decent. We
have a lot of potential if we
can put it all together. We are
going to be a lot better than we
were last year. A lot better!”
The team kicked off their
season with the Jackson Jamboree on March 5.
Winter sports make
their mark at SBA
Julie Eckel, Jordi Soto-Phipps
Reporters
With the winter sports
seasons coming to a close,
some Saint Benedict athletes look at success and
some look at heartbreak.
The boys basketball season came to a close at MBA
as they lost the substate
play-in game. The game
was out of the Eagles’
hands early as MBA outscored the Eagles in every
quarter except the fourth.
Both Ryan Van Hoeck
and Jordan Wilkins finished the night with 10
points.
In the regular season, the
boys finished second in
region play, beating both
CBHS and MUS. However, the Eagles did not do as
well in the Region Tournament, finishing fourth. The
Eagles ended their season
at 14-14.
Ryan Van Hoeck and Jordan Wilkins were named
First Team All-Region,
Trey Wilkins was named
Second Team All-Region,
and Van Hoeck was also
named to the All Region
Tournament Team.
The SBA wrestling
team finished the regular season with a record
of 14-7. In the Region
Tournament, they lost
to CBHS in the finals,
giving SBA the title of
DII-AA Runner-Up.
At the State Tournament, the Eagles finished seventh out of
18 teams with eight
medalists: Jeff Lamer,
third at 189; Peter Zaleski, fourth at 103;
Greg Stratman, fourth
at 152; Ben Kurtz, fifth
at 145; Trevor Jenkins,
sixth at 130 Tom Lack- Senior Symone Daniels was the Miss
ie sixth at 160; Saeed Basketball Runner-Up and led her team
to the State Tournament Final Four.
Zarshenas sixth at 135
and Shahram Zarshenas sixth at 140.
style relay.
The Eagles swim team had Recently, the cheer and dance
a few members advance to the teams advanced to the NationState Swim Meet in Knoxville. al Competitions. The varsity
Senior Marshall Quarles was cheerleaders placed eighth in
the lone male swimmer repre- the semi-finals and fifteenth
senting SBA, swimming both overall in their National comthe 50 and 100 freestyle.
petition.
Junior Megan Wynne set a
The dance teams also had a
school record in the 200 free- successful showing at Nationstyle. Megan, senior Storm als, placing seventh overall
Jones, junior Molly Wagner, in the Large Varsity Hip Hop
and senior Marley Mitchell division. The Junior Varsity
swam in two relays, setting a team placed seventh in the JV
school record in the 400 free- Hip Hop Category.
photo by Sharon Masterson
SBA wrestlers Ben Kurtz, Peter Zaleski, Saeed Zarshenas, Thomas Lackie, Trevor Jenkins, Greg
Stratman, Shahram Zarshenas, and Jeff Lamer earn medals at the TSSAA State Tournament.
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
The Eye on Sports
Tennis is ready
for competition
Zach Wiley
Reporter
Tennis is an SBA sport that
has seen big improvements
over the past few years. Head
coach Michael Jeffrey and assistant coach Angie Buchanan
expect the students’ best effort
every time they step out onto
the tennis court.
Both the girls and the boys
teams have had consecutive
winning seasons. Last year,
through effort and determination, the teams advanced to the
state quarterfinals. The coaches are looking for that same
kind of dedication to drive
them into this year’s postsea-
son.
This season, the boys do not
have any returning seniors.
However, leadership is not a
concern; all of the guys are
dedicated to the team and are
willing to step up when needed. The team expects sophomore twins Alex and Andrew
Bolds to play a key role this
season.
On the other hand, the girls
have five returning seniors;
Emily Civera, Tori Cullen,
Christine Lake, Bernie Smith,
and Catherine Stukenborg.
Rivalries often drive athletes
to push their limits and SBA is
looking forward to a competitive season. The rivals for the
boys are CBHS and MUS. The
girls have
big games
against St.
Agnes and
Hutchison,
the sister
schools of
CBHS and
MUS.
Coach
Buchanan
is looking
forward to
the season
and said,
“I expect
a
good
year with a
good combination of
young talent and experienced
upperclassmen.”
photo by Julie Eckel
Bernie Smith practices on a cold February day.
SBA Signings
11
Trey Wilkins signs with Harding
photo by Sharon Masterson
Trey Wilkins signs a National Letter of Intent to play football at Harding University in Searcy,
Arkansas. Pictured are (front) grandmother Janet Hinrichs, Trey Wilkins, mother Angie
Wilkins, father Billy Wilkins, (back) principal George Valadie, Coach Chris Jordan, Coach
Mike David, and brother Jordan Wilkins.
Hannah Kurtz signs with CBU
photo by Sharon Masterson
Hannah Kurtz signs a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball at Christian Brothers University. Pictured are (front) grandfather Casey Kania, mother Malecia Kurtz, Hannah Kurtz,
father Jim Kurtz, (back) brother Matt Kurtz, brother Noah Kurtz, brother Ben Kurtz, Head
Coach Angie Buchanan, Assistant Coach Janet Daleke, Competitive Coach Jitka Okilicany, and
principal George Valadie.
SBA Track and Field running strong in 2011
Julie Eckel
Sports Editor
Despite the fact that the team
has seen numerous athletes
graduate, the Saint Benedict
track team has an optimistic
outlook on the season.
“In addition to our talented
seniors, we are excited about
this year’s rookie class, and
we think they will add a lot
to our team,” says head coach
Dianna Cervetti.
This year’s track and field
team is returning several seniors. The boys team includes
seniors Jay Gilman, Matt McCurdy, Jordan Lee, Ryne Wilson, Michael Caprio, Luke
James, and Andy Brito. The
girls team is returning Shannon Rooker, Rebecca Butcher,
Holly Graham, Sarah Patchen,
Kaitlyn Favorite, Julie Eckel,
Sarah Jones, and Angie McGhee.
A typical practice consists
of a leisurely team warm
up, followed by specialized
workouts. The distance team
goes with Coach Cervetti to
complete a long workout; the
sprinters work with Coach Ted
Paduck; the throwers, coached
by Don Williams, make their
way to the new throwing area,
which is by the tennis courts
and the high jumpers train
with Coach Janet Daleke.
Last season, the track and
field team saw plenty of success. Both the boys and girls
traveled to Kenwood, Tennessee to compete in the
Charles Babcock Invitational
Meet. The girls team won the
meet and the boys took third
place. By the end of the season, every single girl’s relay
qualified for the State Meet.
In addition, each of these relay teams were named to the
Commercial Appeal’s Track
Honor Roll. School record
holder Michael Caprio was
able to snag a wild card in
pole vault and advance to the
State Tournament, as well.
“This season, I plan on
working hard, and hopefully
breaking the school record…
again,” said Michael.
Last year, the boys 4 x 800
team missed State by less than
half a second and they plan
to come back with the same
determination this year with
hopes of a better outcome.
In track, the meets are not
separated into large and small
school divisions. In the Region Tournament, Saint Benedict athletes will compete
against all private schools in
West Tennessee, regardless of
the school’s size.
This challenge makes it more
difficult for track and field participants to advance to State.
At the State Tournament, athletes will compete against all
private schools in Tennessee,
in addition to the schools in
their region. This season, the
team is prepared to work hard
to repeat some of the previous
success, in both Regions and
State.
The 2011 season opened
with a home meet against Germantown and Briarcrest. Several first place finishes were
achieved by SBA individuals
and relays, plus the girls team
won the overall competition.
“The competition is very
tough in DII track, but we are
ready to face the challenge,”
said Coach Cervetti.
12
The Eagle’s Eye
St. Benedict at Auburndale
March 2011
The Eye on Fun
Comedy Corner
These puns brought to you by punoftheday.com
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger.
Then it hit me.
Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off?
He's all right now.
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity.
It's impossible to put down.
He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the
Mercedes bends.
Need an ark to save two of every animal?
I noah guy.
Connect the Dots
This game is for two or more players. Take turns connecting dots that are
right next to each other until you make a box. The person who draws the line
that creates a box sould label the box with an initial. The one with the most
boxes at the end wins!
Time flies like an arrow.
Fruit flies like a banana.
Lightning sometimes shocks people because it just doesn’t know
how to conduct itself.
Yesterday I accidentally swallowed some food coloring.
The doctor says I’m OK, but I feel like I’ve dyed a little inside.
A hungry traveller stops at a monastery and is taken to the kitchen.
A brother is frying chips. ‘Are you the friar?’ he asks.
‘No. I’m the chip monk,’ he replies.
A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference.
The one who invented the door knocker got a No-bell prize.
Reassembling the skeletons of prehistoric mammals can be a
mammoth undertaking.
I’ve never tipped a cow.
Then again, one has never served me food.
sudoku
Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain
one of each digit...so must every column and every 3x3 square.
Brain
Teasers
Answers: red in the face; history repeats itself; banana split; tuna (2 na) fish;
paradox (pair of docs); try to understand
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