the 2004 grad issue - Dr. Charles Best Secondary School

Volume 4, Issue 8 Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Dr Charles Best Student Newspaper
A Standing Ovation for ‘Little Shop of Horrors’
Brittany Bjourdal, Shafer Carson, Dan Card (Audrey II), and Darren Burkett
Brittany as Audrey and Conor Rogan as Mr. Mushnik
mingled with the audience
by pretending to beg for
money or food; thus adding,
another dimesion to the production.
Not only did the actors do a superb job, so did
the five members of the
band. Three students, (Alice
Lee, Rebecca Norman, Matthew Michaeleski) and two
teachers (Mr. Roemer, Mr.
Carmichael) made up the excellent ensemble that provided the live music for “Little Shop.”
The music was almost
faultless; every song was
evidently well rehearsed and
complimented the actors
perfectly. And despite the
occasional problem with volume, every aspect the play
went smoothly from the costume changes, to lighting
sound and set changes.
Indeed, the stagecrew
lead by Kay Burgess and
Alyson Lajeunesse prepared
and orchestrated a superb
production and adjusted to
the few scene changes flawlessly.
The only part in “Little Shop” that was slightly
unsatisfying was the ending
a product of the script not
the production. Despite the
fact that everyone dies, the
ending does leave the audience with a powerful message of greed and love.
“Little Shop of Horrors” proved to be extremely
successful; each performance had an auditorium full
of people. Indeed, the spring
musical was the most impressive play the Best Players
have ever performed.
Perhaps, the most vi- is impressed by Seymour’s
tal player in “Little Shop” plant.
was Geoffrey Mielen, the
The chorus, featuring
voice of the demanding and the fine vocal talents of Demi
arrogant
Audrey II.
G e o ff r e y ’s
voice was
dynamic and
powerful despite the fact
that he remained unLittle Shop of Horrors’ band
s e e n
throughout the play.
Chao, Courtney Cran and
Dan Card, the actor Katie Jones, was the cement
who manipulated the plant’s that held many of the nummovements, did a phenom- bers together.
enal job working along side
Through out the play,
Mielen; the voice and body other members of the chorus
movements of Audrey II
were performed in perfect
unison and a highlight of the
production.
Shafer Carson in the
role as Orin Scrivello, the
most hated man in “Little
Shop” was impessive and
unforgettable. Carson, once
again, perfected his role as
the grating villain everyone
loves to hate. The creepiest
part of Carson’s role was
when his character, Orin
Scrivello constantly inhaled
nitrous oxide and emitted a
shrill evil laugh.
Another of the many
highlights of the show was
the brief but exaggerated
and entertaining performDemi Chao, Katie Jones, and Courtney Cran as the street
ance by Ronnie Haywood as
urchins
a wealthy business man who
Photo
Ariella Fong
Photo
by taken
AriellabyFong
and music were very evident
and his past experiences in
theatre are impressive.
Burkett has worked in companies such as “Theatre Under the Stars,” “Downstage
Right Productions,” and
“Footlight Theatre Company.” Burkett has also participated in “Joseph and the
Technicolor Dream Coat,” a
musical presented by The
Ford Center. Recently,
Darren took part in “Carousel,” which he performed at
the Royal City Musical
Theatre.
Indeed, Burkett’s professional talent for theatre
added to the wonder and excitement that is “Little Shop
of Horrors.” In one memorable scene, Darren and Conor
Rogan perform a ballroom
dance together on stage
while singing the musical
number, “Mushnik and
Son.” The duet, one of the
highlights of the evening,
entertained and amused the
audience.
Conor Rogan’s depiction of Mr. Mushnik, the
owner of the flower shop,
was probably one of the
most challenging roles.
Rogan’s performance as
Mushnik with his thick and
heavy Yiddish accent was
beautifully done, despite the
tricky musical numbers he
had to perform while staying
in character.
Photo by Ariella Fong
fortune and love.
The casting of the
play was terrific; the cast of
the musical worked harmoniously, each actor and
singer adding a unique
dimesion to their skid row
character.
Darren Burkett
starred as the nerdy yet lovable Seymour Krelborn.
Burkett’s flare for drama
Photo by Ariella Fong
“Little Shop of Horrors” has proven that at
Charles Best Secondary
School, it is not a challenge
to find students with incredible dynamic vocal skills and
acting talent.
Directed by Mr. Brad
Case, “Little Shop of Horrors” is a dark, musical comedy about a young botanist,
named Seymour Kelborn,
working at a run down florist
shop on Skid Row.
After a mysterious
eclipse, Seymour finds a
strange breed of venus flytrap, which he names Audrey
II. This particular plant has a
strange and unusual appetite
for blood.
Because Seymour
names the plant after her, the
plant impresses Seymour’s
friend Audrey with whom
Seymour is fixated. Audrey ,
a stereo-typical ditzy blond,
is played by Brittany
Bjorndal who shines in the
role of the pathetic Audrey.
The hybrid plant
brings sudden fame and fortune to the tiny floral shop,
but the Audrey II’s constant
demand for flesh has
Seymour facing many problems, until ultimately Seymour
finds himself tempted to murder those around him in order to feed Audrey II and to
satisfy his own thirst for fame
Photo by Ariella Fong
By Echo Reviewer
Ariella Fong
Editorials
The Echo
June 15, 2004, Page 2
Get off Your
A pathetic
Gluteus
Maximi!
By Echo Columnist
Allison MacRae
Recently, people in Vancouver
have been trying to pass a new piece
of legislation, the Safe Streets Act
that makes panhandling illegal. If
caught, panhandlers could face a
fine, and eventually jail time. I think
making panhandling illegal is an excellent idea. Wouldn’t it be nice to
be able to shop on Robson Street
without being asked a million times
for change? It’s incredibly annoying to have people coming up to you
and asking for money.
Panhandling is getting to be a very
serious issue. There are even kids
out there, some who can become
aggressive and even violent if you
refuse to give them money. People
say that by passing this legislation,
we would be taking away the freedom
of the panhandlers, but what about
my right to be safe? Sometimes people go too far in trying to help the
people who degrade our
city. Making panhandling illegal
would force them to stop panhandling
and infringing on our rights.
I feel completely threatened when
targetted by panhandlers; how do I
know they aren’t going to get aggressive when I say no? They could
easily pull out a weapon and hurt me
or chase me down the street.
There is no need for the people to
be out there on the streets bothering
the public. So why do people panhandle? Because believe it or not, an
average day can net more than the
average McDonalds worker; we’re
talking about $200-$300 per day!
Considering this, I’m seriously considering digging up an old hat and
staking out my spot on Robson
panhandling isn’t such a bad “career”. A student making minimum
wage would make a quarter of what a
good panhandler could make. Why
don’t we all just become panhandlers?
Where does the money the
panhandlers make go? Perhaps they
spend it on drugs, food and clothing,
but why don’t they invest some of
that money into getting off the streets
- to improving their lives?
These East-end street people always complain about the government not putting enough funds into
social programs in Vancouver, but if
they really want to change their lives,
why don’t these so called “poor people” do something to help themselves.
I am so sick and tired of people
complaining about helping the poor
when the poor really don’t seem
to need all that much help at all. In
my opinion they should get off their
lazy asses and get jobs! If a new law
would force panhandlers off the
streets then it would be beneficial to
everyone. It would reclaim t he downtown and get these people to help
themselves
Great Debate: Does advertising have a negative effect on teens?
The media does not
influence the actions
of teenagers
By Echo Columnist
Ashley Scott
Violent actions committed by
teens are not caused by one’s exposure to the media.
Today, it’s almost impossible to
turn on the television, listen to the
radio, or even look at a newspaper
without hearing about teenage violence and drug abuse. In fact, teens
are often the focus of many news
stories.
Some people argue that the excessive violence of television and
video games has created a negative
effect on the children of today, and
this is why there are so many teens
committing violent crimes. However, is it really fair to blame the
media for the mistakes of others?
Instead of claiming that the
amount of violence in the media is
the reason why so many teenagers
commit crimes, we should begin to
look at how children are raised.
Where were the parents when their
children were committing wrongs?
How did these young children get
weapons? It’s a parent’s duty to
make sure that their children are in
a safe environment and brought up
with proper moral values. Television should not be establishing morality in our society.
An interesting article that I read
earlier this year stated that the
number of crimes committed by
adolescents is increasing rapidly
everyday. It then went on to consider the reasons why kids are turning to violence for the answers to
their problems.
Some of the reasons listed were
peer pressure and the influence of
drugs and/or alcohol. The influence of the media, however, was
not one of the reasons listed. This
goes to show that in most cases,
children are violent because of their
home life and their character, not
the media.
I believe that the primary factor
that comes into play when looking
at this issue is: can kids really tell
the difference from right and
wrong? And that is a problem of
poor parenting.
Obviously, deliquents have some
issues, or weren’t properly taught
by their parents that it isn’t right to
do everything that they see on T.V.
Parents need to take more responsibility for raising their children.
The reason that we have ratings
on movies
and video
games and
parent advisory stickers on certain CDs is
so that parents can
monitor
what their
children are
watching or
listening to.
They are there to prevent younger
children from being subjected to
entertainment that is not appropriate for their age group.
Music, television, and radio are
forms of art where artists must be
allowed to express themselves
freely. Art, for the most part, should
not be censored - but access should
be restricted and that is the role of
parents!
It’s not fair for the government
or angry parents to blame the media
for influencing their children. Children are more influenced by the
people around them and the
behavior of those people.
Parents are just looking for an
excuse for their problems and irresponsibility when instead they
should be looking at themselves
and their actions around their kids.
Advertisers have a
negative influence
on teens today
By Echo Columnist
Allsion MacRae
You can’t go to school without
seeing advertisements. You can’t
have a conversation with someone
without talking about the latest this,
or the coolest that. In today’s world
there is no end to advertising and too
many of today’s youth are being
negatively affected by it.
It is understandable that companies need to advertise and sell their
products so that they can make a
profit; business is business. . But
should advertisers try
to brainwash kids
because
they are gullible and
more likely
to fall for a
gimmick
than an adult. Once kids are hooked,
they will want to buy products and
tell their parents over and over again
until they get what they want. Advertising has unfairly taken advantage of these impressionable teens.
Advertisers have wrongly influenced teens for years and it seems
like things keep getting worse and
worse. Why is it important to have
the right brand anyway? People put
far too much emphasis on the brand
name of things, instead of quality.
For example when you go to
Safeway you have a choice; you can
buy Coca-Cola, or you can buy the
Safeway Select brand for half the
price. Both products are identical,
made in the same factory, put into
the same cans, the only difference is
that one is marked with a brand name
and the other is not. So why is it so
important that people drink the
brand name cola instead of the nonbrand name one? Because having
the right brand names means being
cool. You see an A-list celebrity
doing an ad for Coke so you think
if they drink it then it must be what’s
in. Wrong! They drink it because
they get millions of dollars to do so,
not because they actually think it’s
cool.
Another way to see how advertisers and the media have influenced the world is to look at the way
people dress and what they wear.
Teenage girls put too much emphasis on what they wear. They think
they have to have the best brand or
else their peers won’t accept
them. This is ridiculous and the
blame lies squarely with advertisers. Why must advertisers stoop
to brainwashing kids in order to sell
their products? Is money so much
more important than producing welladjusted teens?
The Echo Is
Page One Editor:
Melanie Shim
Page Two Editor:
Andrew Carey
Page Three Editor:
Kathy Sum
Page Four Editor:
Lisa Holt
Page Five Editor:
Ariella Fong
Page Six Editor:
Kathy Sum
Page Seven Editors:
Nicole Mohoruk & John Lynch
Page Eight Editor:
Jill Manubay
Page Nine Editor:
Heather Banks
Page Ten Editor:
Allison MacRae & Christine Allen
Page Eleven Editor:
Ashley Scott
Page Twelve Editor:
Sarah Billy
News
The Echo
June 15th, 2004 Page 3
Vanessa Evans is the top grade 10 student
Rebecca Norman accepts her award for Most Outstanding Grade 12.
Photo By: Kathy Sum
that the attendance was less than he
expected, and he has plans to attract
more students to the event next year.
He thinks the ceremony would be
better if there were choir or band
performances, and he plans to “jazz it
up” for the coming school year.
As for his first time hosting the
event, Mr. French thought he could
have been better on stage, but, overall, he still considered the evening
Jordan Galaugher, William Wong, and Jill
Manubay are the top grade 12 athletes
successful.
All in all, the night was mediocre.
It seemed to drag on for too long.
The presentations of the awards
seemed endless but at least the gym
was cooler than it often is at this time
of year.
Despite the tedium, most of the
parents were proud of their children
and the students were proud of their
year end achievements.
Photo By: Kathy Sum
lete while William Wong and Jordan Galaugher shared the award
for top male athlete.
William was honoured because
of his participation on the tennis,
badminton and volleyball teams
and Jordan Galaugher won the
award because of his outstanding
success during the Wrestling
provincials where he placed first.
As the ceremony progressed,
what seemed like endless awards
were given out to students. The
night dragged on while the same
students went up on stage to receive their certificates, medals or
plaques.
In the French Immersion category, for example, there were many
awards, some irrelevant, most notably the award for the French immersion student with the “most
spirit”.
Mr. McCullough, Ms. Lee Thomas and Ms. Fitch came back to
award the students.
Mr. McCullough was especially
glad to take part in the ceremony: “I
was really excited, pleased and
proud to come back because this is
my home, my school, and these
[the students] are my kids.”
Despite his happiness at being
invited back to Best, Mr.
McCullough was a little disappointed in the number of people
that attended the event.
The gym had many empty seats
and he was hoping the place would
be packed. “I was disappointed on
the turnout. Every year the attendance has gone down.”
As for Mr. French, he too agreed
Photo By: Kathy Sum
On May 27th, our new administration, Mr. Fichter, Mrs. Murray
and the master of ceremonies for the
night, Mr. French, took the stage to
host their first Awards Night at Best.
The evening honoured students
with outstanding achievements. As
always, the award categories ranged
from community service to athletics
to academics.
The first awards of the evening
were the Community Safety and Service awards. Marko Boskovic, was
the only grade nine to receive a
community safety award, while
Rachel Whitmore, Bogart Kwong,
and Kyle McLaughlin were the
grade 12 recipients of the same award.
Grade 11 student Alvin Lam
earned the Exemplary Service award
for volunteering 315 hours.
Sharon Leung, Ryan Evans, and
William Wong were the grade 12s
who also received that award with
315, 334, and 681 hours respectively.
Following the “service” honours,
the subject awards were presented
to the those students with the highest grade in each subject. Each grade
had certain students who received
multiple academic awards. These
students named the Most Outstanding student in their grade.
In grade nine, Dena Javardi
earned top student award after accepting seven awards, including
awards for top student in Science
and Principles of Math 9.
In grade ten, Vanessa Evans was
one award shy of tying her award
total of last year. She was on the
podium nine times this year to receive her nine awards.
Katherine Jones excelled in grade
11 with a total of six awards and was
recognized as the most outstanding
student in her grade.
Once again, Rebecca Norman
received numerous accolades and
was the top student in her grade 12
class with thirteen awards. Some of
Rebecca’s achievements included
awards in difficult subjects such as
Biology 12, Calculus 12, Chemistry
12 and English 12. She also received
the Overall Musical Achievement
award.
In addition to all her academic
honours, Rebecca found the time to
do 51-100 service hours and also
accepted a senior block award,
granted to those seniors who have
played at least three sports between
grade 11 and 12.
When asked how she felt about
receiving so many awards, Rebecca
answered, “I feel very honoured and
grateful. I just want to thank all the
teachers and just everyone.”
Each grade also recognized its top
athletes and in grade nine, Scott
Redwood, and Chris Seidel were the
top male athletes. Rand Abood represented the ladies, receiving the top
female athlete award.
The top grade 10 athletes were
Karlee Diesing (top female) and
Ryan Kwasnica (top male athlete).
Anne Gibbons and Kaylea Cormier
shared the athletic award for the
grade 11 females and Jeff Thomas
was the top male athlete in his grade.
For the seniors, Jill Manubay
earned the award for top female ath-
Photo By: Kathy Sum
By Echo Reporter
Kathy Sum
Photo By: Kathy Sum
Charles Best’
op Students Recognized at Awards Ceremony
Best’ss T
Top
Students on stage accepting their senior block awards
William Wong recived the Most
Outstanding Citizen award
By Echo Reporter
Lisa Holt
Tuesday, May 12th was sunny,
but not too hot; the perfect day for
a trip to Playland. Physics students
from 43 schools around the lower
mainland attended ‘physics day’ at
Playland, marking the seventeenth
year of the event. Physics students
spent four hours at Playland,
analyzing rides, measuring forces
and calculating distance. Both grade
eleven and grade twelve students
were present, each with different
projects to complete. The grade
elevens focused on looking at rides
from a physics perspective, with
dynamics and kinematics being the
major units of study.
Grade twelve students had a more
complicated task, to design and
write up a lab based on a problem
that they were given. Their area of
academic focus was circular motion.
The main object of the day was to
show students how they can apply
physics concepts into everyday life.
As Leah Kruger said, “it was cool
‘cause we got to use some of our
‘physics skills,’ not that I wanted to
know the centripetal acceleration of
the corkscrew mind you.” Of course
another purpose of the trip was to
show students that physics can be
fun. “The students worked hard and
played hard,” Mr. Raabe said of the
event.
Other than Mr. Raabe, chaperones were physics teachers Mrs.
Hamilton and newcomer Ms.
Mazzucco, as well as Mr. Cober.
Due to pregnancy, Mrs. Hamilton
was unable to enjoy the rides, but
Mr. Raabe and Mr. Cober enjoyed
the new ride ‘crazy beach party.’
When compared to last year, the
weather was much better, and the
students seemed more focused on
their tasks.
Ms. Mazzucco was impressed
with the students, saying “the day
went smoothly, people made the
best of the day and it was a nice way
to start my time here.” It seems
physics day was a success, with
over 2,500 students in attendance
and a good time had by all.
Photo By: Melanie Shim
Physics Students Enjoy Educational Field T
rip to Playland
Trip
Physics Students ride Playland’s newest attraction, Crazy Beach Party
News
Berring And Arevelo Elected to Student Council
John Berring presents
his electoral speech.
Sherry Lu flashes a big
smile for the camera.
Photo by John Lynch
Photo by John Lynch
Eliezar Moreno gives his
speech from atop the podium.
Photo by John Lynch
Karen Aravello smiles as
she lists her reasons why she
should be Deputy Prime
Minister.
Photo by John Lynch.
Shila Khayam presents her
speech to the crowd of voters.
Photo by John Lynch
The Echo
Tuedsay June 15th, 2004 - Page 4
By Echo Reporter
John Lynch
Ms. Karen Aravello, the deputy
Prime Minister-to-be for 2005, and
Mr. John Berring, the heir apparent
to Zar Driver and Prime Minister-tobe, won their titles in an election held
on the ultimate Friday of May, the
twenty-eighth in the halls of Dr.
Charles Best secondary school.
The speeches relevant to the elections were given, incongrously, on
the preceding Monday, allowing students the opportunity to mull over
the direction in which to cast their
votes.
The candidates and their speeches
were introduced by Mr. Fichter, and
they concluded with the current P.M.
urging all present to vote when the
day came, though his pleas seem to
have encouraged few; althought the
entire school—grades nine to
twelve—was permitted to vote, surprisingly few actually did.
This may be at least partially due
to the extremely low-key nature of
the elections, which literally took
many students by surprise, having
much fewer posters and much less
campaigning than most previous
elections have. Also, many students claimed they were simply not
informed of the election date.
A quintuplet of candidates ran for
the two offices: squaring off for the
top spot were Eliezar Moreno and
John Berring, and Karen Aravello,
Sherry Lu, and Shila Khayam vied
for the title of Deputy P.M.
Of the duo running for Prime Minister, Eliezar presented first, giving a
rousing speech assuring the school
that it was small but great, and appealing to the student body to raise
it from ubiquity. He stressed such
accomplishments as the spring musical, the Cheer and Dance, Wrestling, and Badminton teams’ high
places, and the skill of Best’s teachers, as well as promising to listen to
the student body.
Following his tough act was John
Berring, who ran on a platform of
not having a platform, but instead
listening to the student body and
bending to their wishes. “Take
dance,” he said “I personally hate
dances, but I will get as many as I
can.” His speech was very funny,
opening with a lengthy definition
of ‘platform’ in explaining his lack
thereof, and promised that he would
be an honest politician.
The winner of the Deputy P.M.’s
post, Karen, led out the debates
overall, running on a platform of
approachability, honesty, and
school spirit, closing her speech
with the challenge “Vote for me/
and you will see/just how fun high
school can be.”
Following Karen was Ms. Sherry
Lu, whose speech was by far the
shortest and assured her honesty.
Shila Khayam rounded out the
competitors vying for the deputy
P.M.’s office, calling herself a
hands-on candidate concerned with
dances, fun, and friends and promising to “try as hard as [she could].”
The elections were held now,
rather than in the customary first
semester of the next year, to allow
the winners time to plan for it and
start the coming year off well.
John and Karen smile for the camera.
Questions And Answers
What do you plan to do as P.M/
Deputy?
John: Get a debate team, dances,
talent shows and battle of the bands.
Karen: One of my goals is to bring
up school spirit.
Who do you like in the upcoming
federal election?
John: I prefer not to disclose my
opinion, that doesn’t mean I don’t
have one though.
Karen: I’m not currently informed
with the political situation.
What is your favorite colour,
number, animal, food and word that
rhymes with elope?
John: Don’t have one, 3.4x10-34,
none, manatee, antelope
Karen: blue, 3 and 12 (because of
Alan Iverson), orcas (free willy), sandwiches, and hope
Are there any rumours about your-
self you want to clear up?
John: I am not currently or ever
have been Craig Johnson
Karen: I hope not!
If you had unlimited power and
resources what would you
change about Best?
John: I’d get a pool, rock
school, and more money for the
technology and music
departments.
Karen: I’d make sure everybody
was always smiling.
Obviously, you’ll do your
utmost to make 2005
memorable for its grad class,
but what do you have planned
for grades 9-11?
John: I never really separated
them.
Karen: I want to leave a legacy
of ideas and traditions!
Best Built In Buddies Camp At T
imberline Ranch
Timberline
By Hannah Choo
Echo Reporter
From Thursday May 20th to
Friday May 21st, fifty-two Best students went to Timberline Ranch in
preparation to become a Best Buddy
leader for the new grade nines arriving in September.
The Best Buddy Program started
three years ago, a group of students
helping grade nines with their transition from middle school to high
school. Each buddy leader is to be in
charge of a
group of
g r a d e
nines during the orientation
day, providing
them with
informaBuddies dancing
tion and
answers to
the questions they may pose. The
buddy leaders also help the grade
nines become familiar with the lay
out of the school, by giving them
brief tours of their classes and
homerooms.
To qualify for a Best Buddy leader
this year, one had to be nominated
by a teacher, whereas last year, anyone was allowed to volunteer for the
program. The two-day training
course, organized and lead by Mrs.
Dillon, Ms. Yu and Mr. Mackay,
focused on developing leadership
roles, problem solving and working ball and swimming. “It was a positive experience,” said grade 11 stuwith different groups of people.
dent Zachary Rogers. “It was aweThe stusome to esdents left
cape from
early Thursthe presday, May
sures of final
20th and beexams.” On
gan training
Friday, their
immediately.
last day at
Practicing
the ranch,
and organizthe future
ing
iceleaders orbreaker
ganized the
games in
annual
Pancake
breakfast
which is
which they were to lead and play
th
.
Past
pancake
to
held
on
June
16
with the grade nines, students were
breakfasts
have
been
a
huge
sucable to understand the responsibilcess,
with
everyone
getting
to
know
ity of a Best buddy leader.
“We did many team building ac- each other in a friendly environtivities,” said grade 10 student Keely ment.
“After the training, the leaders
Mason. “Through the activities, we
were
excited and looking forward to
got to know each other a lot better.”
meeting
the grade nines,” said Mrs.
Several skits were presented, each
Dillon.
“We’re
not fully ready yet,
group acting out different scenes to
but after meetthemes like
ing in August
“What every
one more time,
grade nine
we will be.
should know”
They’re a posiand “The qualitive group of
ties of a Best
kids- this group
Buddy.”
consists of perAfter a trainfect role moding session on
Buddies
play
a
little
fooseball
els and they will
Thursday
be making conmorning, stunections with
dents were able
the
grade
nines
during
classes and
to relax and enjoy a variety of activilunches
through
out
the
next school
ties, which included horseback ridyear.”
ing, archery, rock-climbing, volley-
Jeff Thomas and Christine Allen enjoy a swim in the pool
Nicole Lucarino, Rachel Webb, Courtney Cran, Katherine Bain, Julie
McCrae, Chloe Portlance and Stacey Burnes pose for a group photo
Graduation 2004 - Special Edition
Artwork By: Sharon Leung
Photoshop By: Ariella Fong
The Echo
Tuesday June 15th, 2004 - Page 6
Graduation 2004
Congratulations
to the Class of
2004!
Speak Out!
Ryan Dingle: “In New Zealand, in
a samurai village with superbikes.”
Where Do You See Yourself In 10 Years? Nicole Mohoruk
Lisa Dojack: “In a mental institution.”
By Echo Reporter
T.J. Hutchings: “I’ll be making
millions endoring Monopoly after
people mistake me for the Monopoly
guy.”
Mikela Rudichuk: “I’ll be teaching somebody else’s kids.”
Alex Petrie: “I want to be the
creepy old man at the end of the
street with all the cats.”
Graduation 2004
The Echo
Tuesday June 15th, 2004 - Page 7
Alright boys, alright
girls, the time draws near: in less
than a month, the people who have been
here longer than any group before will be leaving
for good. We’ve been here since the seventh grade, most
of us, and we’ve all learned something. I know that I have, and
I also know that the least important among them have been how to graph
a hyperbola, the finer points of Elizabethan English, and what exactly differentiates
a virus from a bacterium. Here goes. Be yourself. I know, I know—we’ve all had the
glorious experience that is the after-school school special, but I’ve worn six years worth of masks
in this school and only recently have I even started to just let my face be, and I suddenly find myself wishing
that I had listened when I was told this way way back in grade eight. However crazy or loud or whatever you are,
remember that we can see through your façade as easily as you can see through ours, and we’ll probably like the flawed person
better than the flawed act. It’s taken me years to figure that one out. On that note, listen to everyone; the mindless Jock that
you spend one math class a day ignoring has more wisdom than even he knows, and Nerds are more than just answer mines—believe me, I
am one. Show respect to everyone, but only respect those who earn it; you’ll be glad later in life. Watch what you put in your mind at least as
much as you watch what you put in your body. If there really is nothing worth watching on T.V., turn the glowing box that lives in your living room
and usurps your time off. Start a conversation, read a book, play a game. Don’t get me wrong; just as everything from Cherry Coke to vitamin supplements
have a place in your diet, everything from Are You Hot to the discovery channel has a place in your mind, but eating to much McDonalds makes your
body fat neither more nor less surely than seeing Soul Plane will make your mind groggy. Find love. I of course mean with another, but in those two
words lie what may be the keys to every problem. If you love your classes, you will find yourselves magically at the top of them. If you love your
hobbies, you’re going to master them. Love your friends (if you just snickered at a gay joke, feel intense shame), and do the absolute most you
can to stay close to them. Cherish the days you’ve whittled away gossiping and playing cards and complaining about your homework and
worrying about that next big test. You won’t know how much you love them until you face losing them. But what I really mean is
this: find true love; find your soul mate, and try to do it from today until the day you do. Don’t confuse love with lust, and don’t
be afraid of either, but seek love; accept lust. Think with your brain, pee with your privates, but love with your whole being.
Take school seriously. Let’s be honest for a second; we all know that from kindergarten to about second year university is
little if anything more than hoop-jumping with some practical knowledge thrown in for, basically, flavour. But it’s
hoop-jumping that must be done. Try to make it matter; discipline will eventually fail, and you’ll hate it.
Find something to focus on, and love it. Cry if you have to. Think for yourself, and (pardon my
anachronous slogan) question authority. The media, your parents, your teachers, the president,
your church, the government, your friends, yourself are all entirely fallible, thinking, problem-making
organizations and people. Know as well that nobody is totally stupid, and your parents have a
better idea what you’re up to than they show— you’re growing up, and sex and underage
drinking are just as much a part of growing up as love or school or getting a job, and
they know that you won’t be young forever. Make your own choices, but keep them
sane. Rebel for a cause. Rebellion is not a cause. There you go, kids. Six years
worth of life’s wisdom boiled down and condensed into 749 words.
It’s incomplete, full of holes, and sometimes, I’m sure wildly
inaccurate. But here it is; it’s stuff I know. All right,
finally, one last thing: live with zest, live with zeal,
and die having done foolish things.
By Echo Columnist
John Lynch
Speak Out! Where
Brendan Braun: “In ten years,
I see myself nearing retirement ”
Echo Reporter
Do You See Yourself in 10 Years? ByNicole
Mohoruk
Anthony Churko: “I’ll be retired.
Just chillin’ on my large pile of money
with several of my Playmates.”
Amanda Lewis: “I’ll be living off
of some rich person because I hate
working.”
Kay Burgess: “I am hoping to stay
in theatre somehow. It’s a hobby I
don’t want to get rid of.”
Rebecca Norman: I’ll probably
still be in university.”
The Echo
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 Page 8
Graduation 2004
Best Grad Class 2004: V
aledictorian Profiles
Valedictorian
Ryan Dawoodharry
by Jill Manubay
Echo Reporter
actually funny!” said Ryan jokingly.
He raps. He cracks jokes. He works out in “But I’m glad my dad at least has somesky gym during his spare block. Students of what of a sense of humour; however, I’d
Charles Best, meet this year’s male like to think I get whatever genes that
make me funny from my mom.”
valedictorian Ryan Dawoodharry.
“The main reason I ran for
When conversing with Ryan, one immediately notices his affable, outgoing, and hu- valedictorian, aside from being able to
morous personality. A professed rap and R express my feelings about our gradua& B fan, Ryan confidently displayed his tion, was to make my parents and family
musical and lyrical talent during the speech proud,” remarked Ryan, “I thought of
the pride my mom would be feeling when
he rapped at the Valedictorian Election.
Having attended Best since grade seven, she saw her youngest son up on the
stage.”
AlRyan has now bethough a bit
come an authority
Ryan’s Favourites
anxious beforeon life at Best: “EveBook: The Client by John Grisham
hand, Ryan disrybody knows
Movie: The Last Samurai
played focus
each other. Almost
TV Show: Friends; The Simpsons; WWE
and calmness
all the teachers in
Wrestling
throughout his
the school will take
Food: Rice
performance.
time to say ‘hi’ to
Quote: “Life isn’t measured by the breaths
Like many of
us in the halls –
we take, but by the moments that take our
this
year’s
whether we like it
breath away.” and “Sum days wouldn’t be
graduates,
or not!”
special if it wasn’t for rain; joy wouldn’t feel
Ryan will be
Attending
special if it wasn’t for rain.” – 50 Cent
sorry to leave
Charles Best was a
Best.
natural decision for
Ryan comRyan and his family because he lived so close to the school. mented, “I don’t that think that there is
“Attending Best has allowed me to expe- another graduating class as diverse and
rience things I probably would not have friendly as ours,” said Ryan, “ Everyanywhere else,” commented Ryan, “I basi- body knows everybody, and whether
cally spent all my teenage years at Best, so they’re friends or not, I believe everyone
I cannot imagine what those years would has a mutual respect for each other.”
After highschool, Ryan plans to enroll
have been like anywhere else.” As a member
of Best’s Senior Rugby team and Weightlift- at SFU. Currently, his career plans are
ing Club, Ryan has proved himself to be an indefinite, but Ryan says that he is “leanactive part of the Charles Best ing towards a career in the law field such
community.Unlike most high school teenag- as a lawyer or prosecutor.” In the meaners, Ryan has found himself in a unique time, Ryan intends to enjoy the summer,
situation: His dad, a French and Social Stud- planning either a trip to Mexico or a road
ies teacher, teaches at the same school he trip within British Columbia. In addition
to the traveling, Ryan plans on working
attends.
“My dad has been following me around full-time to earn money to pay for school
from school to school since grade one, so I tuition.
Before he graduates and leaves Best,
have grown accustomed to it by now,” explained Ryan, “I get along with most of my Ryan has some advice for the graduatteachers, and all my friends are great people, ing class:
“Everybody has dreams, if you want
so it never really bothered me that he knew
them. The only thing I feared was the fact that to make them become reality, stay foothers might feel I get ‘special’ treatment cused. Work your butt off and don’t get
because of him. However, I feel that I have distracted by anything that could pose
accomplished everything I’ve done through a threat to you realizing that dream.
Make whatever sacrifices you must in
my own merit and hard work.”
His father, Mr. Dawoodharry, agreed, the next few years and you’ll have a
“Ryan deserves it. He’s a hardworker. Of lifetime to enjoy the benefits your hard
course, any parent would be proud.” Al- work and sacrifice has brought you.
However, never forget to always be
though both Ryan and his father are known
throughout the school for their jokes and positive and have fun. It is possible to
sense of humour, Ryan likes to think that have a balance between working hard
they’re styles differ. “My sense of humour and having fun.
It’s up to you to find out how to do it.”
differs from my father in one way – I’m
Andria Kapatias
by Jill Manubay
Echo Reporter
originals to go through Charles Best and we
Whether it’s her comic timing, her easygoing all know each other so we hold special
persona, or her self-proclaimed resemblance to bonds.” Andria also appreciates Best’s
the That 70’s Show character Eric Forman, Andria small population, and the personable atKapatais never fails to elicit laughter from a mosphere that comes attached.
Not only are Andria’s peers happy for
crowd. As this year’s female valedictorian, Andria
will be presenting a speech at Commencement her, but her family is proud as well. Andria’s
fraternal twin sister, Chrisse Kapatais, was
with fellow valedictorian Ryan Dawoodharry.
“Being valedictorian is the greatest honour not surprised that Andria was elected: “I
and achievement I could have hoped for in my knew she could do it. I think it’s really cool.
final year,” commented Andria. Naturally, Andria I’m really happy for her. And we’re Greek, so
my mom is going to
is looking forward
show and tell everyto presenting the
one that Andria is
speech with Ryan
Andria’s Favourites
valedictorian.” UnDawoodharry
Colour: Pink
derstandably,
whom she deBook: Granny Dan by Danielle Steel
Andria is very close
scribes as “funny,
Movie: Beauty and the Beast
to her twin sister and
weird, outgoing,
TV Show: The Batchelor; The O.C.
she enjoys being a
big,
purple,
Quote: “Try everything once, and try the
twin: “It’s great beBarney-like, and Gfun things twice.”
cause you always
Unit,” adding that
have a friend to talk
his rapped speech
to. Like I know I
was “soooooooo
couldn’t live my life without Chrisse beRyan.”
Certainly no stranger to the stage and no cause she’s a huge part of me.” Also,
victim of stage fright, Andria has been giving Andria’s mom is especially proud of her
speeches in front of crowds ever since the age of daughter; Andria mentioned that her mother
four. “When I was young, I had to present was very likely to purchase a video camera
speeches in front of large groups at Greek school,” just to videotape Andria’s Commencement
speech.
explained Andria.
Always joking, Andria lists “winning the
Indeed, Andria’s fondest memory at Best is
one of her presenting a speech about her twin Super 7 Jackpot” as one of her post-secondsister Chrisse at the Public Speaking Contest ary pursuits. However, she does intend to
Finals in grade seven. “I feel like I was destined enroll at either SFU or Douglas College next
to run for valedictorian because I started my life September in hopes of becoming an elemenat Best with a speech, so now I get to end my life tary school teacher, a career path she chose
at an early age. Currently, she is taking the
at Best with a speech,” said Andria.
For Andria, “the chance to address the people Teaching Careers course at Best, participatwhom [she] has spent six years with” remains her ing in a teaching placement at a local elementary school.
biggest motivation as valedictorian.
Next year, the school will miss her presWhen asked to describe his co-valedictorian,
Ryan Dawoodharry exclaimed, “There’s nobody ence, but before she leaves, Andria has
like her! She’s a hilarious individual who’s also some advice to impart. Indeed, as brevity is
the soul of wit, Andria keeps her advice for
intelligent and a pleasure to be around.”
Having attended Best since grade seven, this year’s grads short but sweet: “Follow
Andria views her graduating class as “a big, your dreams.”
happy family.” She adds, “We are the last of the
Valedictorian Speech Quote
At last it’s come; a job well done. Enough cannot be said
Of patience, time and sacrifice, just tryng to get ahead.
Be proud of your accomplishment. Through time, recall this day.
You beat the odds; you stayed the course;stand tall;
You seized the day.
- Shayne Tolman
News
The Echo
June 15, 2004
Speak Out!
By Echo Reporter
Heather Banks
Heather Burgess, grade 9
“ Has to be Jesus. That would be
insane.”
Page 9
If you could go on vacation with one person,
dead or alive, who would it be?
Edmond Chan, grade9
“ I would take Britany Spears, so
I can enjoy the MOON.”
Erin Schulz, grade 10
“ Yi Young, my best friend, to
Italy because we rarely see each
other anymore.”
Mario Rossi, grade 11
“ I would take my mommy so she
can cook for me.”
Natasha Barrow, grade 11
“ I would go on vacation with
Harry Potter, but if I couldn’t
get him Daniel Radcliff would
do.”
Student’
alents are Highlighted at Evening Concert
Student’ss Musical T
Talents
By Echo Reporter
Christine Allen
On Wednesday June 2 nd Dr.
Charles Best held a year-end music
concert. The concert included the
Junior Band, Senior Band, Choir,
Jazz Band and a special guest. The
night began with Sharon Leung giving a short introduction on the types
of instruments used in the band. It
was a very educational speech and
a great way to start off an evening.
After Sharon’s introduction the
Junior Band filed out from behind
the stage and set up their instruments. They started the evening
with a song from Lord of the Rings
called “Highlights from Lord of the
Rings” composed by Howard Shore.
The song was accompanied by a
power point movie featuring still
photos from the Lord of the Rings
trilogy. The next song played was
“Big Noise From Winnetka” composed by Gil Rodin, Bob Crosby,
Bob Harrat and Ray Bauduc and the
final song the Junior Band played
for the evening was an excellent
rendition of “Highlights from Harry
Potter” composed by John Williams.
Band did a very good job playing ,
especially as they have only been
playing together for a year.
The nex to perform was the Choir.
The choir sung three songs: “One
Moment in Time” composed by
Albert Hammond and John Bettis,
“Shenandoah” composed by Linda
Spevacek, and “We Are One” composed by Marty Panzer, Jack
Feldman, and Tom Snow. The choir
did an excellent job, performing as
one harmonious voice.
Following the choir’s performance was a quick five-minute intermission. Opening the second half
of the show was an amazing performance by Courtney Cran and
Shafer Carson. Courtney sang
“It’s my Life” by No Doubt originally done by Talk Talk.
The senior band took to the stage
next. They played a variety of songs,
very different from those songs
played by the Junior Band, including: “Song of the Matador” composed by Douglas Court, “Pueblo
(Land of the Ancient People” composed by John Higgins (ASCAP),
and “Fanfare For a New Era” composed by James Curnow. The band
sounded very professional and
their performance impressed the
audience.
The evening closed with the Jazz
to Tse, the school he is currently
attending offers the toughest training in the province. “We know this
because when we’re at tournaments,
our physical level is much higher
than those of karate/taekwondo, no
offense.” Along with the traditional
moves, Tse also works with many
weapons, such as spears, horse poll,
northern saber, staffs and double
daggers. The use of weaponry is
one of his favourite element of martial arts. But sparring, or practice
fights with no body armor and bare
fists, is his most disliked aspect.
“Although sparring is supposed to
be considered everyone’s favourite
part,” said Tse. “The training is painful and you can easily break stuff.”
Besides, sparring is only a small
portion of the broad category of
martial arts- it doesn’t affect him
much, but he would rather avoid it.
When asked what his greatest
achievements were, Tse refused to
answer, due to the fact that in the
kung fu community, one is not at
liberty to state what rank or goals
he/she has accomplished. This is
because other people might challenge fights with the trainers. If one
is ever caught involved in a fight
outside of tournaments, he/she will
face suspension by the National
Kung Fu Association. “He is very
respectful and follows the rules of
martial arts,” said grade nine student Aaron Robinson, one of Chris’
close friends. “He is very passionate about what he does.”
Martial arts isn’t the only interest
in Chris’ mind. He busies himself
daily with other sports: hockey,
wrestling and running. He also enjoys writing during his free time.
Just like an average teenager, Chris
likes spending time with his friends,
and hopes to study criminology in
the future. “If they ever decided to
include kung fu in the Olympics,”
said Tse. “I definitely want to be in
it one day.”
This was a particularly entertaining
performance because one could actually picture the movies as you
listened to them play. The Junior
Best’
se
Best’ss Own Martial Artist: Chris T
Tse
By Echo Reporter
Hannah Choo
Those impressive
stunts and moves you see
in movies and video games
are not as easy as they
look. Take it from Charles
Best’s own martial artist,
Christopher Tse. “People
get the wrong impression
when they watch movies
like the Matrix and Kill Bill,”
says Tse. “They think martial arts is all about fighting. But that’s not what it’s aboutit’s about self control, defense and
discipline.”
The grade nine student has been
training in kung fu and kickboxing
for almost seven years, practicing
regularly twice a week at Kam’s
Martial Arts Association. Tse trains
in three different styles of kung fu:
chow gar (hand fighting, a relatively
new style that originated in Hong
Kong), southern plains (a mixture of
kung fu styles from small villages in
southern China) and mix (combination of wushu, shaoin and animal).
“The training is a great way to let out
frustration, especially after school,”
said Tse. “Plus, I needed to reconnect with my heritage.” According
Band.They played the last three
songs of the night. The songs included: “When I Fall in Love” composed by Victor Young,
“Malaguena” composed by Ernesto
Lecuona, and “St. Thomas” composed by Sonny Rollins.
The night was full of interesting
talks by Mr. Carmicheal and amazing
performances by the students of Dr.
Charles Best.
By the end of the night, the audi-
ence had learned a lot about music
and came to realize how much musical talent we have in the school. This
concert was also a great last performance for the following Grade 12
students: Rebecca Norman, Sharon
Leung, David Wang, Sara Mackay,
Rachel Whitmore, Michael Malyuk,
Steven Anas, Anthony Lauzon.
These students have spent a lot of
time playing music at Dr. Charles
Best and their talent will be missed.
TOP TEN LIST
00001010
By Echo Columnist
John Lynch
Howdy Gang, tonight we’ll be
discussing technology. I want to
make it clear, before I rant, that I do,
in an abstract sense, approve of
technology; it makes our lives easier,
safer, more fun, more convenient,
and more interactive. But there are
some wee little articles of technology that, although brilliant in their
inception, have since been terribly
perverted.
1) Computers/The Internet: both
of these things have been around
for a long time. And they both have
great potential—computers can literally be lifesaving devices, and at
the very least are tremendously useful in the organization and filing of
innumerable meaningless items of
the office, but lets face it, the World
Wide Web is really a Global Pornography Network.
2) Phones: I refuse to own a cell
phone. Cell phones breed dependency, as well as a bizarre tendency
to think that one is the least bit
interesting. Case in point “Hi
honey… yeah… I’m in London
Drugs… no, I’m just at the
checkstand… I don’t think they
sell meat, no… so do you want
anything?
3)Clocks: Some clocks have
alarms, some tick and tock, and all
of them slowly count away the minutes of my life. Anything that can
make me late, I hate.
4) Cosmetic Surgery: A staggeringly brilliant idea in its non-twisted
form: restore to victims of diseases/
accidents/genetics what was taken
from them, and what plays a tragically large part in our social organization. In reality, however, we are
condoning the Michael Jackson
Facial Tragedy.
5)Lasers: a thing that seems like
an idea of singular brilliance, lasers are everything from terrifying
weapons to entirely new kinds of
tools to communications devices.
However, all of that was debased
with the introduction of the laser
pointer. Now, every movie one
attends is a crapshoot: will there
or won’t there be some moron with
one thinking he’s doing a public
service in highlighting the various bits of anatomy inherent in
some starlet or another.
6)Television: I f left unperverted,
we get the nine o’ clock news, The
Simpsons, hell, even Friends. In
reality, there is airtime for Jackass.
7)Discmen: another great idea
gone horribly annoying. I love
mine as much as anyone else, but
here’s the thing: I have headphones
that I can hear. Not you, me. So
should everyone else; that way
I’ll never hear Tipsy ever again.
Tipsy alone is responsible for
making discmen evil.
8)Furbies, Tickle-me-Elmo, Singing Barney, - enough said!
9) Snail-Mail: It is no better
than E-mail, taking much longer
than its electronic equivalent, and
having as much spam as the other.
This is also how mean people send
me bills. In conclusion: Hug a tree.
10) Breathalyzers: Granted,
these have a tremendous benefit
to society, keeping drunks off the
road and out of my life (unless I go
visit Uncle George). But they can
be perverted into sinister tools of,
if not Satan, bulky, officious, surly
administration, which is, I say,
more eviler. If anyone wants to
breathalyze your dance, especially
grad (and thus disallow limo-champagne), tell them that they’re
perverting the technology.
The Echo
Tuesday, June 15th, 2004 Page 10
Entertainment
The OC: A Little Music From Newport Beach
By Echo Reporter
Melanie Shim
Since its season finale, the everpopular television show, The O.C.,
has given their dedicated fans something to talk about. Now that there
are no longer any new upcoming
episodes until this fall, what are
these fans supposed to do? Well,
purchase Music from The O.C.:
Mix 1 of course!
Maybe this soundtrack seems
like a marketing scheme to trick
vulnerable teenagers in to wasting
their money on rich people, but it
isn’t. It is an old-fashioned way of
advertising the television show
and its relationship with music.
This CD, which contains musical
tracks by obscure, yet talented
artists, is definitely a great way to
introduce fresh, talented artists to
audiences who are unfamiliar with
their music.
The one thing that makes this CD
work is the selection of songs. They
all seem appropriate and relevant to
the show’s theme and characters.
While listening to the music, I can
actually picture Newport Beach,
with its complex characters and hilarious plot. I’m positive that that
was the creator’s intention.
I can’t quite describe the type of
music this record contains. Since
it’s a compilation of twelve different
artists, it’s hard to define who would
like this CD. Some songs are the type
where you would curl up with a book,
while others have an upbeat tune
where you could find yourself tap-
ping away with your fingers.
A song with the potential for success is Paint the Silence by South.
It’s melodic rhythm and soothing
lyrics make this song memorable and
unique. This song has this haunting
feel to it and has become a favourite
of mine. It’s nice to listen to when
you want to de-stress and take a
nice, long, warm bath (the closet we
would ever get to the type of weather
Orange County has!)
Another song that stands out is
The Way We Get By by Spoon. It’s
a total turnaround from Paint the
Silence because it’s got a more
upbeat rhythm to it. The memorable chorus is what hooks listeners.
This is definitely the type of
song where you would find
yourself embarrassingly
bopping your head.
A television soundtrack is
never complete without its
theme song. California, by
Phantom Planet, is an additive
and catchy tune featured at the
beginning of every episode of
The O.C. This song is conveniently placed at the end of the
CD, so it’s the last song you
hear. My sister and I are constantly singing this song, and
we still can’t figure out whether
getting this song stuck in our
heads is a good thing.
All in all, this CD offers a wide
selection of songs that make me
think of the television show. Meaning that this record is doing its job,
and reminding us to watch season
two in the fall. I would recommend
this CD to all diehard fans of the
much loved television series (like
me) because it provides some
therapy for the summer of reruns.
This record is definitely worth your
paycheck.
Third Harry Potter Doesn’t Meet Expectations
By Echo Reporters
Allison MacRae and
Melanie Shim
It has been two years since the
last Harry Potter movie. Each of the
movies was an instant success, seen
by young and old. Die-hard fans
have been waiting patiently for the
latest installment of the boy wizard’s magical adventures. We
(Melanie and Allison) walked into
the theaters filled with excitement,
but left feeling a little
disappointed. The
new
director,
Alfonso Cuaron put
a different spin on the
third movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban.
Harry Potter is thirteen years old, and is
stuck at the Dursleys’
for another summer.
Soon, mayhem strikes
and Harry runs away.
He ends up safe and
sound at Hogwarts,
but soon discovers
that Sirius Black, a
convicted murderer and faithful follower of Lord Voldermort, is after
him.
Let’s start with the main reasons
we were disappointed. Right from
the beginning, we felt that it started
off a little too quickly, leaving out
key plot elements. For example, they
didn’t emphasis Harry’s hatred towards his relatives and his longing
to return to Hogwarts.
We both felt that throughout the
whole movie there were sloppy transitions, and it felt extremely rushed.
Since the book is lengthy, it was
expected that they would cut scenes
out, but it seemed that they made
poor choices when they decided what
to cut.
Character development was lacking throughout most of the movie.
The character Draco Malfoy, Harry’s arch nemesis, was too wimpy. It
was really pathetic! They did not
present his character in way that
made the audience despise him, as
they did in the previous films. As
Ron and Hermione, Harry’s two best
friends, grow up their relationship
evolves but it does not show the
change well. The elements that triggered their fights in the book were
not clearly presented.
Even though there were many
negative aspects in the movie, there
were also many parts we enjoyed.
The scenery was by far the best out
of all three movies. The cinematography was well done by the director
and his crew, accenting the beautiful landscape. Hogwarts felt like a
magical school.
The characters are quickly growing up, and the physical changes
are much appreciated. Daniel
Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter,
is quickly becoming a teenage
heartthrob. Girls everywhere are
falling for the 14-year old Radcliffe,
who not only acts but is thought to
be the next Ron Howard. The big
surprise, however, was the 15-year
old cutie, Rupert Grint, who plays
Ron Weasley. Rupert stands out
because of his endless humour and
flowing red hair. Emma Watson,
who plays Hermione Granger, is
becoming a very accomplished
actor and will continue to progress.
Many may not have noticed, but
the movie’s poster and one particular scene in the film were inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
The choir can be recognized singing Macbeth’s infamous scene with
the witches and their cauldron.
Macbeth and Voldmort’s characters parallel each other
because they are both
wanting power and are
willing to kill anyone
who gets in their way.
By using old literature
in
contemporary
works, it adds a special
something that makes
the movie unique.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the
movie but it did not live
up to our own expectations. We might have
put too much hype in
Harry Potter mania because of its publicity.
Although we were disappointed,
there were many high points that
made the movie a must see.
Anticipated Movies of 2004
by Echo Reporter
Laura Chow
This summer could be considered to be the summer of the sequel.
Three more sequels are lined up for
the summer, in addition to other
potential hits. Here’s a list of some
of this summer’s most awaited movies.
Spiderman 2: This is one of the
most anticipated sequels coming
out in June. Tobey Maguire returns
as Peter Parker (Spiderman) and
Kirsten Dunst comes back as MaryJane. Now that Spiderman has killed
the original, evil Green Goblin, he’s
got nothing to worry about, right?
Well, Dr. Otto Octavius, otherwise
known as Doc Oc (Alfred
Molina) apparatus, which
causes more trouble for
Spidey as a mad scientist.
He’s attached four mechanical arms to himself,
giving him eight limbs.
Will Spiderman defeat this
evildoer?
Spiderman 2 opens
June 30.
A Cinderella Story:
Lizzie McGuire star Hilary Duff is
Sam Montgomery in this modern
adaptation of Cinderella. Sam lives
with a wicked stepmother, Fiona
(Jennifer Coolidge) and her even
more wicked stepsisters. Sam meets
her Prince Charming, Austin Ames
(Chad Michael Murray), online.
When the clock strikes midnight,
Sam leaves her cell phone behind
after meeting him. She refuses to
face him due to her fear of rejection.
Will Sam face her Prince Charming
in the end?
A Cinderella Story opens July 16.
I, Robot: Based on the short story
collection by Isaac Asimov, Will
Smith is the paranoid detective. The
movie takes place in the year 2035
and every household has a robot.
Smith investigates a crime that he
believes to have been committed by
a robot, leading him to a reality
scarier to humans than anybody
could imagine.
I, Robot opens July 16.
Catwoman: Halle Berry is Patience
Philips, a woman who excels in the
art of apologizing. When she uncovers a dark secret of the company she works for, Hedare Beauty,
she becomes Catwoman . Patience
begins a relationship with a police
officer, Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt),
with a fascination for Catwoman.
According to Lone, Catwoman is
the cause of many crimes committed all around the city. A love story
gone bad or a female desperate for
attention?
Catwoman opens July 23.
The Borne Supremacy: Matt
Damon returns as David Webb,
better known as Jason Bourne from
2002’s ‘The Borne Identity’. This
movie is based on Robert Ludlum’s
trilogy of novels. Although Webb had
promised girlfriend,
Marie Kreutz, that he
was no longer involved in the world
of espionage, he
finds himself brought
back unwillingly into
the dangerous business when a Chinese
dignitary using the
name Jason Borne is assassinated.
The Borne Supremacy opens
July 23.
Collateral: Collateral stars Tom
Cruise, Val Kilmer and Jamie Foxx
in L.A. Foxx is a cab driver who
drives a contract killer (Cruise) and
becomes his hostage. Kilmer is a
cop who’s on Cruise’s trail, wanting to catch Cruise. The object of
the movie? For Foxx to save both
the next victim as well as himself
from Cruise’s bullets.
Collateral opens August 6.
Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement: Anne Hathaway returns as Princess Mia Thermopolis
living in Genovia with her grandmother, Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews). In the first installment of
The Princess Diaries, Mia accepted
her responsibilities to the throne,
but what she has not expected is to
take the throne so early. Another
unexpected twist of fate? She must
marry before accepting the throne.
Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement opens August 11.
Entertainment
The Echo
Tuesday, June 15th 2004 Page 11
Consumer Report: How to.. get a Summer Glow
by EchoReporters
Ashley Scott and Allison MacRae
Summer’s almost here and the
number one concern on every girl’s
list is how they’ll look in their teeny
weenie bikini. Extra trips to the gym,
protein bars, and trips to the tanning
salon are all investments for girls
Product and Price
hoping to look their best when strutting down the beach.
Sun tanning however, is neither
healthy nor beneficial to the skin in
the long run. Studies have shown
that sun tanning naturally or with
the help of tanning booths not only
Pros
increases the risk of skin cancer, it
also contributes to the development of unwanted wrinkles and skin
damage.
So how can you achieve that
bronzed look, without damaging
yourself? The answer is tanning
Cons
lotion. Many major companies have
created these lotions, gels, and
sprays with our skin’s health in mind.
Most tanning lotions are quick and
easy to use. In a few short minutes,
people can walk out with a believable
tan! Another plus is that the tanning
lotions are inexpensive (about $10
and up) so you don’t have to waste
Effects
money by going to the salon ten
times.
Relax, it’s doesn’t always have to
be painful to be beautiful! You can
achieve the look you’ve always
wanted without damaging your
health. Here are a few tips from us on
selecting the perfect tanning cream
for you
Overall
L’Oreal
Sunless Tanning
Tinted Lotion $15
Easy to put on because you can
see it right away (it’s tinted).
Lasts only about a week. And
you need to put more than one
coat on for it to look good.
Overall it’s a good product beLooks real and gives a nice sunny
cause it’s easy.
look.
3.5/5 stars
Lancome
Flash Bronzer
Gel $40
Easy to apply, smooth and quick
because it’s a gel. Shows up in
about an hour.
Best for legs, and itsn’t good for
upper body. It’s quite expensive.
Gives a really pretty glow, just
like you walked off the beach.
Lancome
Flash Bronzer
Spray $35
Neutrogena Instant
Bronze Tinted Sunless
Tanner for the Face
$9.99
Neutrogena
Instant Bronze Foam
$11.99
Dries very quickly, so it’s good
if you don’t have lots of time to
spend on getting a nice tan.
Easy to apply because it’s
smooth and in cream form. The
price is also very reasonable.
Easy to apply, dries quickly, and
shows up right away so you can
make sure that your tan is perfect.
It comes in a spray so it’s a lot
harder to apply. Plus it makes a
big mess if you’re not careful!
The tan doesn’t
always look good
because the color
doesn’t show up right
away. Make
sure to wash hands
thoroughly after
applying!!!
This product is sometimes hard to
clean when streaks happen to appear, so make sure you’re totally
happy with the results before it’s
too late!
Famous T
elevision ‘What ifs’ for the year 2004
Television
By Echo Reviewer
Laura Chow
T.V. season finales are supposed
to close out
with a bang
and leave us
in suspense
for the following season,
but they always seem to
be predictable. Even so,
you wish that they didn’t leave the
year with such cliffhangers. Now of
course cliffhangers aren’t always
the worst ideas in the world since it
entices you, the obsessed viewer,
to tune-in in October, just to find
out what happens. The predictability of the shows, however, needs to
be hyped up a little; so, for all of you
T.V. fanatics out there, here are some
‘What if…’s that could have made
the season finales much less predictable.
Friends: Phoebe got married this
season; Monica and Chandler were
getting the babies they so desperately desired and Joey was going to
make it on his own. Ross frantically
tries to find Rachel at the airport,
goes to the wrong airport, and finally tracks her down and expresses
his undying love for her. She STILL
gets on the plane – the director’s
poor attempt at creating suspense –
only to get OFF the plane and tell
Ross how much she loves him.
What would have happened if
Rachel had just stayed on the plane
and left Ross behind to mend his
broken heart? If Rachel had gone to
Paris would she dream about what
would have been? Would she be
happier in Paris than she ever would
be with Ross.
Would the audience have
been faced with
Ross’s uncomfortable tears?
T h i r d
Watch: The
very last scene
of the season
finale of Third Watch had the gang
all in the waiting room, getting shot
at through the glass with a machine
gun. Kim tells everybody that she’s
pregnant and Faith’s husband has
left and taken the kids because she’s
too devoted to her job and not devoted to her family.
The show couldn’t have been
much more predictable unless the
series of events leading up to it were
different. ER also happened to close
out the same way; have I mentioned
that the two shows have the same
producer? See any similarities? I
think so…GET SOME CREATIVITY!
Survivor All Stars: What is there
to say about Survivor All Stars? It
was obviously created in attempts
to bring back the show’s popularity
of the first two seasons. Amber
Brkich won 1.25 million dollars and
was proposed to by Rob Mariano;
of course she said yes. Jerri Mathey
walked off the show; Rupert
Boneham won the second prize of
one million dollars.
What if the most talked about
story of the show had been a love
story between two ‘old’ people? Or
even better, what if the ‘oh-so-loving’ couple ended up winning the
entire 2.25 million? I’m sure the pair
wouldn’t have had enough media
coverage yet anyway. Does ayone
even know the names of the other
contestants?
The OC: What would have happened if Theresa hadn’t gotten pregnant? Ryan never would have had
to leave Newport if Teresa wasn’t
pregnant and all the people that
cared for him behind. What if Ryan
hadn’t left? Would Seth have been
so upset? Would he and Marissa
have gotten together? Could
Marissa have a had a reason to be
happy and not become a 17-yearold alcoholic.
Gilmore Girls: Gilmore Girls had
a slow season, with a loss of the
leading men, forcing the producers
to come up with mediocre plot lines.
But in the season finale, some new
hope arises. Luke and Lorelai are
finally going out; Rory told Jess to
leave and proceed to chase down a
married Dean, with whom she loses
her virginity to.
Rory’s main love interest, Dean
got married last season. What would
have happened if Dean never got
married? Would he and Rory have
continued to chased each other all
year?
I guess we’ll have to wait until
next year to see if the directors and
producers can get some new ideas
for the coming year. Maybe they’ll
make their series more exciting, or
maybe they’ll stay on the same track
as this year.
A great product especially for legs
but is very expensive so for teens it
may not be the best option.
4/5 stars
Gives a good tan but can be
very streaky if not applied properly.
Not the best choice because it’s
very hard to apply and it costs a
lot. 2.5/5 stars
The tan only looks good
sometimes, so it’s not a very reliable
product due to the fact that the color
isn’t visible right away.
A very messy tanner and not the
best choice because streaks are very
easy to come by. 3/5 stars
Worth it! The tan is very effective
and it’s easy to apply. Makes a nice,
even bronze.
Perhaps one of the best choices
on our list because of the price, the
effectiveness and the reliable bronze
that this tanner creates. 5/5 stars
“Love”
this book by C.Mackler
By Echo Reviewer
Ashley Scott
Love and Other
Four Letter Words
is an animated and
realistic story about
self-discovery and
repairing old relationships with people who are close to
you.
Sammie Davis is a 16 year-old
girl who is forced to move to New
York City with her mother, following
her parents’ divorce. Being a total
drama queen, Sammie rants and raves
that this move is truly going to ruin
her life and her very existence. She
will now have to make new friends,
and try to adjust to new
surroundings, but her biggest fear is
that she’ll have to catch the attention of new boys.
During this traumatic move,
Sammie is forced to deal with an
issue that she fears the most: change.
While feeling awkward in her own
body, she begins to develop new
friendships as she watches old ones
fall apart; she begins to learn that
even those she loves and trusts the
most can disappoint her.
One of the more serious parts of
this story is when Sammie’s mother
has to make frequent trips to Long
Island so she can care for Sammie’s
dying uncle. These tragic and emotional events bring mother and
daughter closer than ever and
Sammie begins to realize that her
mom is going through a rough time
as well. After this, Sammie no longer
thinks about herself all the time; she
begins to open her eyes to the needs
of others’.
Since this novel is written like a
diary at times, the reader is partisan
to all of Sammie’s thoughts. This
makes the whole read very animated and exciting.
Being a total drama queen adds
comedy to Sammie’s character. She
is always claiming that certain situations are going to be “…the end of
her existence and social life…” while
her frazzled mother just looks on in
pity.
During the story, Sammie makes
cute references to songs and music
artists that she’s interested in. This
creates a fascinating and quirky
twist in the novel because like a
movie, it also has a soundtrack.
Sammie’s guitar is a major part in
the novel as well, it frequently plays
the role of her friend when she’s
upset about a situation or lonely.
Overall, this book will make you
laugh and cry, but most of all it will
make you appreciate all the great
people who surround you in life.
When she first learned about her
parents’ divorce and that she and
her mother were going to move
away from her father, Sammie completely blamed the whole situation
on her mom and developed anger
towards her. However, by the end
they both sort out their problems.
Even though this story is based
on the life of a teenage girl, it is a
great story for people of all ages.
This book reminds us of what it’s
like to be young and adventurous
again. I rate it 9 out of 10 because
it’s really cute and it’ll make you
treasure your youth.
Blue Devil Sports
Best Hosts T
ennis Provincials
Tennis
The Echo
June 15th, 2004 Page 12
By Echo Sports Reporter
Jill Manubay
Grade eleven Jeff Thomas hurls the javelin
Best Successful in T
rack
Track
By Echo Reporter
Laura Chow
Dr. Charles Best Secondary track
and field athletes competed in numerous track and field events in the
Lower Fraser Valley Track meet on
Thursday, May 13th, 2004, and in the
Regional track meet, held in
Abbotsford, the following week.
Four Best athletes qualified for the
Provincials, which were held on June
4th and 5th, 2004.
Linnzi Campbell, Hannah
Carpendale, Rebecca Innis, Rhys
MacGregor, Lawrence Panzo, Jeff
Thomas, Jamie Walker, and Matt
Willcox competed at the Fraser Valley track meet, which was held at the
Coquitlam Town Centre track.
During the course of the day, the
athletes competed in various events;
Hanna Carpendale ran in hurdles,
Linnzi Campbell threw the shot put,
Jeff Thomas threw the javelin and
Rebecca Innis represented the gr.9’s.
Matt Willcox not only ran the
100m and 200m individual races, but
also ran in the 4x100m and 4x400m
relay with Rhys MacGregor, Lawrence Panzo, and Jamie Walker.
All athletes competed well, however, only the male athletes qualified
for the Regional meet, held in
Abbotsford, Thursday, May 20th.
The relay team qualified for the
Provincial track meet and Matt
Willcox qualified for both of his
invidividual events.
Jeff Thomas threw a respectable
36.92m with the javelin, but it was
unfortunately not far enough to carry
him to the Provincial meet.
The qualification heats of the
Provincial meet were held on
Friday, June 4th, while the finals
were held on Saturday, June 5th.
Although none of the teams made
the finals, they did place in the top 20
athletes after competing against 30
other teams.
Even the dismal rainy weather
wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits of tennis players who came from
all over the province to play in the
AA BC High School Tennis Championships. Thursday, May 27, 2004
marked the first day of the threeday tournament hosted by Dr.
Charles Best Secondary. Charles
Best finished 8th in the province out
of twelve teams, while Brentwood
College clinched the provincial title
in a close 4-3 win over fellow Vancouver Island school Shawnigan
Lake. “The team put out a good
effort and displayed excellent
sportsmanship. I was proud of their
accomplishments this year,” stated
coach Mr. Napoletano, ”The tournament ran smoothly. There were
a lot of really good teams and individual players. It was very competitive. Playoff matches were very,
intense, exciting and very close.
The only negative thing about the
tournament was that it rained the
whole three days.”
Because of the rain, the tournament was run under the ‘wet weather
Cameron Recreation
up with ideas for
Centre. On Thursday
opening ceremoand Friday Best’s tennies.” All the tennis
nis team found themplayers were given a
selves at People’s
lei and a raffle ticket
Courts where as many
for prizes later on. For
as six teams were
the raffle, each team
crammed into the tiny
was asked to bring
lounge. Commenting
prizes from their
on the Provincial tourschool such as tnament, the People’s
shirts, sweat suits,
Courts on-site direchats, or water bottles.
tor, Best’s own coLater on, Matthew the
coach Ms. Skye,
Magician entercited, “Organizing the
tained the tennis playPamela Yuen gets ready
provincials meant a
ers with amazing
lot of long days, but I
tricks involving metal
got to meet a lot of cool people from rings, a deck of cards and Diablo
all over the province.”
sticks.
In the first round, Best won 6-1
“The tournament ran smoothly,”
versus Summerland Secondary, a said Mr. Napoletano, “There was a
school from the Okanagan. Next, lot of really good teams and indiBest faced private school Brentwood vidual players. It was very competiCollege, eventually losing 2-5. As a tive. Playoff matches were very,
result, Best placed second in their intense, exciting and very close. And
pool, keeping the team in the main I was pleased with all the teams’
draw. On Friday, Best lost to display of fair play. The only negaShawnigan Lake, and then lost again tive thing about the tournament was
to Fraser Valley #1 seed MEI. On the that it rained the whole three days.”
final day of the tournament, Best Whether they were munching on
played at Blue Mountain Racquet jellybeans, playing card games, or
Club, but fared no better, losing folding origami between matches,
to Notre Dame.
the tennis team seemed to enjoy
A highlight for all teams in themselves throughout the tournathe tournament was the Provin- ment. Remarking on the overall tencial Banquet. Tables skirted nis season, Ms. Skye notes, “It was
with grass, palm trees in the a blast. A fun season!”
basketball hoops and
brightly-coloured
flowers lining the walls
of the small gym, the
1st - Brentwood College, Vancouver Island
Hawaiian theme for
2nd - Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island
the night was more
3rd – Sa-Hali, Okanagan
than evident. “I was
4th – Cambie, Richmond
very pleased with how
5th – M.E.I, Fraser Valley
many individuals on
6th – Collingwood, Vancouver
the team helped out
7th – Notre Dame, Vancouver
with preparing for
8th – Charles Best, Fraser Valley
hosting the AA
9th – Moscrop, Burnaby
provinicials,” commented
10th – Steveston, Richmond
Mr.Napoletano, “They did
11th – Valleyview, Kamloops
a great job with decorating
12th – Summerland, Okanagan
for the banquet and coming
Final Placings:
William Wong serves the ball
format’ meaning that every match
had to be played indoors at three
local venues: People’s Courts, Blue
Mountain Racquet Club and
Dr
Dr.. Charles Best’
Best’ss Sports Season Comes to a Close
Girls Soccer
By Echo Sports Reporter
Sarah Billy
Dr. Charles Best’s girls’ soccer
team started out with a victorious
season, winning nearly every
game. The only exception - two
ties and two losses. Their great
season landed them a spot in the
Fraser Valley Tournament, which
is something that former Charles
Best teams have never attained.
Unfortunately, the girls did not
manage to display their talent for
very long, and the tournament
ended in a disappointing double
knockout.Their first match was
against Fleetwood Secondary
from Surrey, a close 1-0 victory for
the other team. The Blue Devils
played quite well, considering they
were missing a few players.
The second game was against
Terry Fox Secondary, who the girls
had some trouble with before
(Terry Fox was the cause of one
loss and one tie during the regular
season). Again, the girls were missing quite a few of their players, and
the game ended in a 5-0 loss.
Even though the girls lost the first
two games and were immediately
knocked out, their spirits were not
dampened. “We were just proud of
ourselves for making it to there,”
Nicole Kirkley (one of the grade
eleven players) explained.
During the last game against Terry
Fox, the girls proved that ‘it doesn’t
matter whether you win or lose, as
long as you have fun.’ Lacking a full
squad, the girls just went out and
tried their best, and when they saw
they were going to lose, they didn’t
let it darken their spirits. “Even
though we lost, we still had a lot of
fun,” Nicole commented.
Besides being the first Best soccer team to enter the Fraser Valley
Tournament, the girls can also boast
that they played very well throughout the whole season, and finished
third place in the district league.
Girls Rugby
By Echo Sports Reporter
Nicole Mohoruk.
On Thursday May 13th, the girls
rugby team’s season came to an
end. They played their first game of
the playoffs, and lost against Enver
Creek from Surrey, who had lost
their last game, dropping them down
into the same division as Best. The
final score was 30 - 5 for Enver
Creek.
Team members have mixed feelings about the season. Anne Gibbons, a grade 11 student, stated, “I
felt that we played well, but we
weren’t in the right league.” And
then there are others who might
sympathize with what grade 12 student Vanessa Krawchuk feels: “It
could have been better, but it wasn’t.
Playoffs were cheap, but it was
fun.”
On Wednesday May 26th, Best’s
girls played a girls-vs-boys game
against the boys rugby team, and a
barbeque was held for the players
afterwards. The game started at 3:30,
and lasted until about 5:30. Sadly,
the girls team lost to the boys by a
score of 20 - 5. Mr. French was the
referee for the game, and the team’s
captains were Brittany Neufeld and
Alicia Guerin, both of whom played
in Wednesday’s game. When asked
to comment, Alicia replied, “It was
a really intense game! I thought the
girls really fought hard, and tried
their best. Maybe next year we will
beat them!”
Mountain
Biking Club
By Echo Sports Reporter
Ariella Fong
The Mountain Bike Club is the
most informal club at Charles Best. In
2004, the team consisted of only four
to five members. Mr. Scott, an art
teacher from Charles Best, sponsors
the Mountain bike club.
To become a member, a student
has to sign a waiver form and attend
runs. Members of the bike club must
provide their own equipment including bikes, helmets and any additional
gear. They cycle local trails near
Simon Fraser University, Burke
Mountain and other local runs.
Next year, Mr. Scott hopes that
there will be enough members to
participate in Spoke Races. School
based bike clubs sponsors spoke
Races held from April to May.
To participate in Spoke races, a
biker has to be a member of Spoke or
a member of a school bike club. To
compete in the Spoke races, the
bike club four to ten new members.
Next year, the team also hopes
to take part in other races series
and weekend rides.
Participation in these great
events are a lot of fun and are a
fantastic opportunity to win prizes
and to meet other people who are
interested in mountain biking.
Golfing Club
By Echo Sports Reporter
Sarah Billy
Dr. Charles Best’s Golf Team
has been very successful this
season. Wednesday May 26th
was the last golf match of the
season, and some of Best’s players managed to win a few competitions.
Ross Millen won the closest to
the pin competition, and Dave Lee
hit the longest drive competition.
These two boys played a fantastic golf season.
As a great way to finish off such
a great season, Dave Lee officially
passed on the ‘Blue Master
Jacket’ onto the new 2004 champion of this year, Ross Millen.