October 2005 - Saint John High School

Those Stupid Moments:
The World Is Laughing At You!
by: Kory Harper
The world is a monstrous place and
inhabiting it are we humans. Now there are
three basic types of humans: the intelligent
ones, the stupid ones, and the dead ones.
It is unfortunate that the stupid ones
inhabit the largest portion of the world and
even the intelligent ones have stupid moments!
So that is what needs to be spoken
about, stupid moments that are experienced
by the average (not normally stupid) person. I apologize but these moments of stupidity are inevitable, meaning you can’t get
away from all of them. But the question is
why do we have these stupid moments and
what are we to do when they happen to us?
Well, as one of the founding fathers of
stupidity I am here to give you some insight to the problem. Stupid moments occur when a person’s brain builds up too
much gas. This is scientifically known as a
brain fart. Although not uncommon, these
brain farts can be very dangerous; in fact it
is often held that they cause embarrassment
beyond our wildest dreams. Now this is
why they happen but what are we supposed
to do?
It is actually quite a complicated answer. First you must complete whatever stupid thing you were in the middle of before
you thought to yourself “What the heck
am I doing?” Afterwards you must look
around to see if anyone has noticed. If by
chance nobody did, just fix whatever problem there may currently be and walk away
like nothing happened.
Now if you stumble upon the problem
that your stupid moment occurred in front
of people, you must look around and laugh
like it was all a big joke. If nobody buys this
then you must attempt to further the joke
by being even more stupid but this time on
purpose. Now if worse comes to worst, the
last thing you can do is run. They may be
laughing at you but at least you don’t have
to hear it and from that day on have the
merciless echo of laughter demoralizing you
every day.
There may be other possibilities that
you can try but mine seem to be the surefire
way of not dying from lethal embarrassment.
So pants down, chin up, and hope to God
nobody saw what happened.
Andrew Hicks
Paddling his own Canoe
by: Karen Galbraith
Once upon a time, in Saint John on February 1st 1988, a boy was born, a boy with big
hopes and dreams! That boy’s name was Andrew Hicks. He is also known as our vice
president!
Andrew has done a great deal for SJHS, from the year end videos to the SRC and the
musicals. What are we ever going to do without him! Every assembly he does just gets
funnier! And he did an awesome job in last year’s musical, Suessical.
Right now he is doing a great job as vice president. “Being vice president of SJHS is
a great opportunity with many worthwhile challenges and it makes me want to face everyday of school and drives me to do more each day,” says Andrew. You would think getting
up in front of our whole student body one would get a little nervous or scared of messing
up in some way! But not Andrew. “No, in fact I find that as horribly as I screw up the funnier
it is to me to see everyone’s reaction. Screwing up in front of everyone is the best thing
anyone can ever do, because it shows you’re just like everyone else and you’re not some
kind of big shot when you’re in front of everyone talking perfect English. And sure, you do
need some kind of class when you’re in front of everyone and you can’t be too nervous.
You must keep yourself under control, and not go to the extreme when trying to be comical;
it just doesn’t work that way, and some people have a problem with that. But I find that if
you emphasize what you’re feeling and blow it out of proportion and make it something
funny for people to see then its entertaining.”
After he is done high school Andrew wants to pursue a career in filmmaking. He is
hoping to go to NASCAD or Concordia. He also hopes to do a little acting somewhere in
there too, “…and whatever comes along the way. You can never plan things out too
closely, so who really knows.” Since he was just a little kid he has wanted to be a filmmaker!
He says it started when he first, “wondered how they made credits scroll up the screen and
how the holograms were made in the old star wars movies.”
So next year we will truly miss him!! Andrew’s advice? “What ever you do, do what
you love the most but be prepared for the consequences. And Laugh!” Also....“Love
many. Trust few. Always paddle your own canoe.”
So Much to Do, So Little Lunch Time
by: Ben Hicks
I understand why many teachers and students have less than fond memories of last year’s labor dispute between New Brunswick teachers and the
provincial government. During the infamous “work to rule” campaign virtually all extracurricular activities ground to a halt for several weeks and it
appeared, to the horror of the graduating class, that the very fate of prom was in grave danger. But having said that, and at the risk of sounding
selfish, I was disappointed when a resolution was passed and things returned to normal because it meant an end to the shortened classes
and two hour lunch break. This redesigned time schedule that was intended by the teachers’ union to pressure the government turned out
to be great for the school and all concerned.
Just by shaving off a mere ten minutes from each class, students were given an astounding two hours of lunchtime. Suddenly,
teachers on duty were given time to grab a bite to eat where before they could not. Students had time to go up town and still return
to class on time. Some used their free time to catch up on schoolwork, or pursue their own interests. The shortened classes also made
the daily grind much more manageable. I propose that adopting this policy on a more permanent basis would result in a less stressful
and more pleasant working environment for students and faculty alike. This would mean that detentions and absences would go down
as good grades and perfect attendance go up.
Some might argue that the shortened classes are a hindrance to the education system because it means teachers must cover the same
material in less time. But actually, shortening classes could make them more productive. Students would spend less time goofing off and
more time working in order to cover the same number of assignments as before. This would also encourage students to make better use of
their time, causing them to become more efficient workers.
Reinstituting the shortened classes and long lunch break would make SJ High a much more stress-free and productive school. Teenagers today have enough to deal with, like working at jobs and planning futures, so it seems only right that school should be as pleasant and
pain free as possible. Just a thought.
2
Making Life
at School:
“Worth While”
by: Samantha Blanchard
Judging from a story in the 1990 October issue of the SJHS school newspaper
The Vitalis, it seems students then had the
same problem that we face today…only we
are a bit more used to it than they were because we have grown up with it. It’s the 7
words we all dread and are tired of
hearing…”Get your act together, or get out!”
The first thoughts that you probably think
are: “Man that teacher is a jerk!” or “She
doesn’t like me!”. Trust me when I tell you:
you’re wrong.
Over the years the education system
has changed dramatically for teachers and
students but yet no one stops to realize that
the teachers are the ones with the disadvantage. They experience the same stress
as us if not more. They have twice the work
to do because they need to teach the curriculum and mark it as well. Classes that
teachers like to teach don’t exist anymore
because now the educational attitude is to
teach someone quickly in order to get the
work done.
Without extra teaching time that used
to exist, teachers sacrifice hours during
lunch and after school to help students in
need. It is extremely easy for students to
get lost or left out because if you miss two
or three classes with the work load given
these days it is equivalent to missing a day
of school in 1989. When this happens the
teacher usually tells you to get the work
you missed from someone in the class. I
can almost guarantee you it’s not because
the teacher doesn’t care; it’s just the simple
fact that they have so much work to do in
so little time that it would be nearly impossible to keep track of every student who
missed time and to give them the work that
they have missed during their absence.
So look at it from this point of view
when a teacher tells you to get your act
together. They are actually saying to stop
wasting your time as well as theirs. They
are not plotting against you like you might
believe; they are only trying to get you prepared for the real world.
Our school motto is “VITA VITALIS, A
LIFE WORTH WHILE”. Let’s make it one.
The Hound
Opinions
Hungry Kids Need to Snack
So you have finally pushed your way
through the crowded hall ways at school
and made it to your next class. You have
been rushed since you first woke up late
this morning. You haven’t had a chance to
eat yet and your stomach is making strange
noises, loud enough for the entire class to
hear. You sit down and pull out that chocolate chip muffin from the cafeteria that you
have been craving since 9 o’clock. Then all
of sudden, like candy being taken from a
baby, it is grabbed by a teacher and tossed
into the garbage. Your whole day is ruined
because you are now starving and have
nothing to eat.
How many times has this happened to
you? Too many times eh? Getting up every
morning for school isn’t easy, and when you
add not eating to your morning everything
just goes down hill. As long as you are eating in a quiet and polite way, not disturbing
anyone around you there should not be a
problem with trying to catch a little snack
during classes.
Many students find that eating during
their class helps them to stay focused be-
cause they are not waiting, starving, for the
bell to ring, when they will be rushed back
into the crowded hallways. It is much easier
to sit at your desk without being crushed in
our busy hallways and quietly eat your
food.
This “eating during class” is becoming more and more common. There are select teachers who do not have a problem
with “eating in class” because they realize
that many students do not get the chance
to get the nutrition they need throughout
by: Courtney Breen
their busy day.
Asked what she thinks about this topic,
Emma Storey responded: “As long as you
are not gross and messy, there shouldn’t
be a problem. If it’s a quick snack and you
clean up your mess you’re not disturbing
anyone so it shouldn’t be a big deal.” Brittany Shaw also had feelings on this topic:
“I don’t mind when people in my class eat.
As long as it’s not a three course meal and
they aren’t getting food everywhere. I don’t
think it disturbs anything.”
This subject has been brought up by
many students and shot down by many
teachers. Many teachers seem very closed
minded about this “eating in class” because
of the few immature students who have left
huge messes behind for the teachers to
clean. Because of these students who do
not seem to think they need to clean up
after themselves, many hungry kids are denied the opportunity to get a quick snack
during class. This debate could easily be
solved in favour of the hungry students of
SJHS, if everyone agreed to eat quickly and
quietly and clean up after themselves.
The Dreaded C-word
by: Candace Aulenback
Oh my gawd, did you hear? Randy from Harbourview just stole a car and now
the cops are after him. And Courtney from Simonds just broke it off with the star of
the football team, Tyler. Now get on that cell phone and call up to get all the juicy
details. But wait. Almost forgot! No cell phones are allowed in school. Even if you
so much as say the words “cell phone” in school, teachers look at you in utter
disgust. It’s almost like the word will pop out of your mouth and run through the
halls creating havoc. We all know how much teachers hate the C word.
With announcements blaring, immature kids in your class and non-stop chatty
teens no wonder they don’t want cell phones thrown into the mix. Do you really
think there is going to be that big of a crisis that you have to have your cell phone
glued to your side? I know it’s a comfort to know you can be reached at
all times even when Mr. McNiven
won’t stop rambling about King
Louis. But really guys, it’s not necessary. I know what a big fight we all
put up when teachers freak out because your cell phone has gone off
but when you think about all the
stuff they have to put up with, you
can understand.
When we get those ten minutes
for break and that fifty minute lunch
hour I don’t see what the big deal is
if we do use them. But I have seen countless teachers give students the death stare
when they come upon them talking on their cell phones during break.
I know all of us would rather be text messaging in class than listening to the
teacher ramble on but this is distracting to the teacher and also hurts the learning
process.
I asked a few people what they thought about cell phone rules and Jessica
Clarke replied: “ I think they are ok as long as they are only on during breaks and
emergencies and not during class.” Erica Findley’s thoughts on the topic were: “I
guess as long as they’re not being used in class time , there should be no problem.”
So there we have it, as long at they’re not being used in class and are not creating
a distraction in the halls. Why not?
In the words of Blondie “Call me my love. You can call me any day or night.”
That is, of course, unless you’re at school.
Saint John High School
Issue 4, 2005
Opinions
Assembly Seating Plan by: Ben Hicks
Who does not like school assemblies?
Whether you want to keep updated on the
latest school events, see what crazy stunt
our brilliant SRC will pull out of the hat next
or simply take a break from classes, few
would disagree that assemblies are a great
part of school.
But assemblies have been a
little...different as of late. In September, Mr.
Harbinson decreed that a seating plan would
be in effect at all school assemblies until
further notice. The decision met with the
usual groans, eye-rolls and mutters of discontent.
What this means is when called from
class to the auditorium, instead of hanging
with friends in the seat of your choice, you
are now compelled to sit in a designated
area with the rest of your class and under
the watchful eye of your teacher. The whole
setup feels pretty insulting to some students. Having nearly reached adulthood, are
we not mature enough to sit where we want
without being babysat?
Some might claim that our principal is
implementing this strict policy for no good
reason. But while it is widely accepted in
many circles that Mr. Harbinson lies awake
at night dreaming of new and creative ways
to squeeze the fun out of our day-to-day
lives, that is simply not the case. The truth
is that he cares deeply for this school and
would not have taken this action without
just cause.
This leads to the inescapable conclusion that we have this seating plan thanks
to the disrespectful conduct of students.
Back when assembly rules were considerably more lax, several minutes were required
to quiet students before the assembly could
begin. Also, it was all too common to hear
catcalls from some of the more mean-spirited individuals when the SRC got up to
speak. Since the new policy was implemented, however, these problems have subsided considerably which suggests it fulfilled its purpose.
To students still adamant about sitting
with their friends, I offer this suggestion:
maybe if more of us stopped acting like children we would stop being treated that way.
Just a thought.
What Makes A Kiss???
by: Deanna Gamble
Does kissing really mean anything? This is a question that came up in a conversation a few weeks ago among friends. Kissing once was something that meant love; it
was shared only in private and was an act that occurred very rarely. Back
a few years ago kissing was only shared between husband and
wife and never between an unmarried couple. Now kissing is
displayed everywhere and it occurs between people who
are married, dating, just friends, or even strangers.
I am surprised that the act of kissing is still considered to be something very special for some students of
Saint John High School. This surprises me because it is
not very rare to walk through the halls of our school
and see couples kissing everywhere! It seems that no
matter where you go whether it is on the first, second,
third or fourth floor there are at least two couples per
floor displaying their affection for each other. This
makes me wonder if these couples actually think that a
kiss in public means as much as a kiss in private. Clearly
there should be a huge difference between what is done in
private and what is displayed in the corridors of our high
school! But unfortunately this is not always the case with a few
couples in Saint John High School.
Curious to get alternate opinions, I decided to ask students from our school about
Issue 4 2005
3
Britney Bashers Have
“No Idea”! by: Troy Miller
In many people’s opinions, Britney Spears is not the most favored celebrity out there.
She has been slammed for pretty much everything she has done. So as a fan who has been
sickly obsessed with her for eight years and still going (and believe me, it’s more than just
your average crush) I’m here to tell you everything you think you know about her isn’t as
bad as you think. You think you know, but you have no idea.
Starting off with the breast implant rumor, it doesn’t really matter if she did or not, does
it? Can you sit there and say: “Yeah I know Britney, and she did get them done.” No you
can’t, so don’t sit there and judge when you yourself don’t like being judged. Besides
most guys are fans of the larger breasts anyways.
Then came less clothing in every video/performance she did, but when you have a
body like Britney’s you can’t just sit there and not show it off. Bodies like that are what
motivate people to get in shape. Would you rather see someone dancing around in curtains or something, or someone flaunting their six-pack? It’s an obvious fact that sex sells
in the music industry. Britney has sold over
55 million albums world wide. Compare that
to someone like Mandy Moore, who doesn’t
even show her bra strap off. What would
you rather see, somebody whose body is
covered in diamonds singing about being
“toxic” and a “slave for you”, or someone
declaring their love for candy? …Exactly.
Then there is the lip-synching. Can you
actually blame her given the way she dances
on stage? If she actually did sing while pulling those amazing moves off she would
sound as if she was making a sequel to Paris
Hilton’s first movie, moaning and panting
all the time. Besides going to a concert to
watch someone sitting on a stool, playing
their guitar and pouring their feelings into a
song isn’t as fun as costume changes, laser
shows and belting out tunes about the feeling of her hand.
Then comes her marriage. September
18th marks the one-year anniversary for
Britney and husband Kevin Federline.
That’s a lot longer then a lot of celebrity
marriages. Yes, I am well aware she was also married for 55 hours and then had it annulled,
but I won’t get into that. Back to the point, they have just had their first child together.
September 14th, Sean Preston Federline was brought into this world by two loving parents,
and they actually gave this child a normal name unlike some celebrities who name them
after food products.
So before you actually start bashing her again because you think you know everything about her, well think again, because you think you know, but you have no idea.
their personal opinions on kissing. When asked “What makes a kiss?” Cecelia Rodrigues
replied: “ A kiss is something passionate, but it is frequently misused. You can kiss
anyone but a real/good kiss is something you’ll remember.” Then I asked Kaitlyn Smith
the same question and she replied: “A kiss is something special; a good kiss has to
have chemistry! If you are not attracted to the person, it’s really not going to be
something you will remember.” Intrigued by these responses I was curious as to
what the male gender had to say about kissing. So I asked funny guy
Andrew Hicks, about his opinion on what a kiss actually was. He
answered: “A kiss is an exchange of expression between
two or more living things. This expression being exchanged can be classified as an expression of love,
trust, luck, and even sometimes sheer lust and these
expressions can only be seen through an action or something tangible.” After that response I moved on to another male representative from the student body of Saint
John High School. Scott Maclellan said: “ A kiss is
more of a passionate form of expressing one’s feelings,
(love, care, etc..). It is a step up from a hug. A hug is
casual; you can hug anyone but kissing is another
way to “exchange fluid” and have that person be a part
of you.”
I was quite surprised by these responses. I don’t know maybe I
was expecting something less deep. But here you have it students of Saint John
High, a kiss still means a lot to many students of our school. So stop neglecting it you
couples that are publicly displaying the act!
Saint John High School
The Hound
Opinions
44
Student Fees
by: Cory Lyttle
Do you remember your first week of
high school? One of the first things mentioned to you was how you needed to
pay your student fee. Every year it’s the
same thing over and over; there’s no slack,
no bargaining, and no exceptions. Pay that
fee or you cannot attend any school functions. Why is it that we don’t get a choice
regarding what we pay for? Every year, all
the students in Saint John High are required to pay the $40 student fee, but
what, exactly, is included in this? A locker
and lock, school field trips, and an
agenda.
Now I don’t know about you but the
last time I checked, that lock had to be
returned and most students don’t even
use their agenda (maybe keeping it in mint
condition will add sale value to it?) and
most importantly, I’ve been in the school
for four years and I remember going on
zero field trips. Most students feel that
this is ridiculous. They say that this money
is supposed to cover the year and the functions throughout. So why is it that every
science course requires a lab fee? Why
are grads paying a grad fee?
What I don’t understand is why we
can’t select what items we can pay for.
The locker should be a rental item; if the
locker is undamaged at the end of the year
you get a portion back. If the lock is returned, you get a portion back. If you don’t
want an agenda, you shouldn’t have to
pay for it and, since you don’t go on field
trips unless you’re in certain 11 and 12
courses, why pay for that? (That’s right!
Even when you do go on field trips you
still end up paying a fee of some kind before you can go) So why are we paying
this fee if it’s not covering anything really?
One student brought it to my atten-
tion that if we didn’t pay that rate, the
sports teams would have to pay more.(Oh
no! That’s terrible!) I’m a curler, I can’t
wait for the season to start up again, but
that’s a sport I choose to play and choose
to pay for. I’m not going to expect any of
the students to pay this fee just so my
curling fees are lower.
More expensive or not, the students
should have a choice. No one wants to
pay for a trip they aren’t going on. It’s
called pay as you go and it’s way simpler.
It just strikes me as being weird, how students pay this fee but they’re still paying
big money for pictures and yearbooks and
cabaret, etc. Maybe I’m just being biased
or maybe I’m on to something here, but
this all seems ridiculous to me and there
needs to be more things included with
this, or at least a discount of some kind
from an item or event.
Personally I see no change coming in
the near future so students, we just have
to stick it out together. Just remember
when your year of graduation arrives and
you get the list of items and events you
have to pay for, I feel your pain. Get a job
and get one soon, be prepared for the last
year, the year your wallet becomes a paperweight.
Romance: The Woman’s View
Romance: The Man’s View
by: Kaitlyn Smith
by: Kory Harper
“I’ll take you to the candy shop/ I’ll let you lick the lollypop / Go ‘head girl, don’t you
stop/ Keep going ‘til you hit the spot Whoa!”
Those are some of the lyrics to 50 Cent and Olivia’s song, “Candy Shop”. Nowadays
this is what passes for a love song. How sad and deeply demented. It sounds more like an
ad for prostitution. Maybe I’ve just listened to too many “oldies”, but once love songs
were actually about love - both physical and emotional. There was always a certain song
that “belonged” to a couple. Not anymore, because today romance is dead.
Teenagers listening to or seeing sexual content has become a daily occurrence. They
don’t understand that there is an emotional foundation — or at least should be — for
anything being passed off as romance. But today it’s all about booty calls and instant
gratification. Sex among youth is as casual as a handshake.
With romance itself, it seems that women in particular never got used to its disappearance. Everyone knows you always want what you can’t have, but I’d also say that another
compulsion is to want back what you once had. It once was getting picked up at your door,
him standing talking to your parents with flowers in his hand, dinner and a movie, and then
finally bringing you back home (before your curfew) right to your doorstep for that special
goodnight kiss. Now it seems like you meet your date at McDonald’s, grab a burger, go to
a party and find you’re own way home.
The problem is that men and women have extremely different approaches to romance.
Men always seem to butter you up at the start, doing everything perfectly, but once
they’ve got you, once you’re actually in a relationship, they think that their work is done
and they can put their feet up and relax. Women on the other hand, love the attention and
once the attention weakens they think the worst of things. They think: “Maybe he doesn’t
like me anymore,” when in reality, he does like you, but has become lazy.
Now guys, I’m not saying romance is your responsibility and you must be romantic
everyday, but it would be nice once and a while. Hold the door open and carry your
girlfriend’s books as you walk her to class. We love the little things. Whatever you decide
to do, don’t follow in the footsteps of Jimmy Fallon’s song, ”Idiot Boyfriend”.
The Hound
Attention Saint John High School, chivalry has died! When I say that, all the ladies are
thinking: “Yeah right, like that’s a news-flash!” Unfortunately to some people it really is.
Men have been parading around the earth for as long as we want to remember. And I
hate to admit it but we have done a loop from primitive cavemen, to romantics, and back to
caveman, only now we have loud music and sometimes we make use of forks.
I guess what I am trying to say is, the male population now lacks the finesse and
passion that a lot of women crave. For example, everyday the population of SJHS makes
their way through the halls to their next class. And it is very rare (though not completely
impossible) that I ever see a man wave a woman in front of him, or hold the door for her. In
fact I rarely even hear a guy apologize after he has accidentally bumped into the opposite
gender.
So let us dive to the root of the problem. We understand that romance is lost upon
most men, but for what reason? Why would a guy feel compelled to treat a girl like meat? To
answer this question I interviewed students from SJHS.
“Media now portrays women as objects and it is pathetic,” says an anonymous member of the grad class. “Guys are given the impression that they don’t need romance if they
have bling bling.” One hit on the media! Round 2!
“Many people as well as the media, too often think women can be owned. The younger
generations are exposed early to this negativity towards women.” These are the lyrics of
Chantelle Boudreau and she sang the truth! So the media is down for the count. But we will
never be able to knock it out. So I guess we have one more thing to look at. How do we
make changes that will solve this problem? Once more I obtained some suggestions from
our classmates. “Women themselves have to realize they are more than just items. After
this they should enforce the fact and let men know first thing.” This was the opinion of
another anonymous student.
From the detailed answers I received in interviews, it is clear that there is a way to
change the lack of romance. Let the men shout for joy because it is the women who will take
the first step! Instead of just being angry or disappointed at the fact, the female population
will have to take the initiative and let men know some of the things they want, and some of
the things they EXPECT.
Will romance ever return? As an indecisive male I cannot tell you. But I can state that
both men and women together should communicate in order to fix the problem. Sorry that
this wasn’t an advice column for the guys. But just be creative men and express yurselves.
If you make an effort, the girls will notice….I hope.
Saint John High School
Issue 4, 2005
Opinions
Kids With Jobs
Fighting: a Bad
Decision
Issue 4, 2005
by: Deanna Gamble
So it’s only Monday morning and already I have acquired 3 tests and 3 assignments all
due throughout the week and before Friday! This is going to be the most stressful week of
my life. Not only do I have 6 rather large school projects due, but I also work Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday and dance on Thursday. This leaves me with pretty much no time to
do anything. This is a big year; grade 12 means a lot and every mark counts.
Unfortunately marks tend to get neglected when you have a part-time job. Students
with part-time jobs have it extremely tough. Not only do they have the stress of working
but also of meeting the intense demands of each and every one of their classes. I’m sure
this is what every student feels like one time or another when they have part time jobs. It’s
really hard!
I was curious to see approximately how many hours a week students work on average
so I conducted a poll. The results that I came up with were: 18% of working students
worked 4-10 hours per week, 33% of working students worked 11-19 hours and 63% work
20 or more hours a week. Out of all the students that I polled, 88% of them had jobs. This
means that more than half of our students work a grueling 20 plus hours a week! This is a
lot of time taken away from studying.
I really wonder what it takes to do extremely well in high school plus be involved in
your community as well as sport teams. I mean in order to be eligible for many scholarships
you must have outstanding grades as well as an outstanding amount of involvement.
Really, how is a student supposed to find time for all of this? For most students, being
involved in sports teams equals paying a fair amount in money. Being involved in many
sports’ teams’ (which is strongly encouraged) is even more difficult because of the price
rises and many of our parents just cannot afford it all. This is when a part-time job is
needed.
So between being involved with different sports teams and working a part-time job in
order to pay for all of the requirements for all of these sports teams and community involvement where does high school fit in? Are we as students supposed to be these miraculous
beings that can handle everything that is thrown at us?? Or maybe should there be a law,
that is actually enforced in every work place, that students can only work a certain number
of hours depending on their school schedules. But then again depending on what sports
they play and how many different teams they belong to they may need more hours in
contrast to other students. Really there is no easy answer to this question. Perhaps it will
never be answered.
by: David Rowe
An immature way to prove that one is
right during an argument or disagreement
is fighting. What everybody doesn’t seem
to get is that fighting always seems to be a
stupid choice made at the end of a bad decision. Sure it might impress the people who
are interested in it and believe it is the only
choice in compromising and debating, but
majority wins, and the majority of young
adults and teens believe it is needless, harmful, antisocial and immature. The previous
adjectives are the average answers given
from a number of students in this school
when asked what they think of the act.
Fighting goes back thousands of years
from when it was used to gain ownership of
land, rights, money and so on. Nowadays,
certain teens go to these extents for reasons such as something small or to defend
his/herself or another person. One of the
things that encourages fighters the most is
the crowd that envelopes them. A large majority of people in crowds are cowardly spectators who use peer pressure to influence
the combatants not to bail out.
Some teens have little choice when they
resort to violence because they were raised
to do so and taught to defend themselves.
Fighting is in some ways illegal because
bodily harm, vandalism and disturbance to
the peace occurs. It has a long history and
has been performed to gain power over or
defend land, rights, power and money. It
actually has a lot to do with what position
Canada is in now because of the respect
gained in World War 2 and why the United
Sates is the most powerful country in the
world.
Young adults and teens have to realize
that resorting to fighting won’t make the
world a better place but will just makes it
worse. Cooperation and understanding is
the key. Let’s use it to open the door to a
less violent future.
5
Music not Cause of Suicide
It seems that in every generation
there is a genre of music that gets evil
connotations attached to it. This generation is no different. With numerous artists
getting hit (from Ozzy Osbourne to
Metallica) it seems that every genre is
getting slammed for causing unacceptable
behaviours. People have to realize that
music is not the problem and that other
problems could have caused these horrible incidents. The one that I am going to
narrow the discussion to is the invented
connection between music and suicide.
The idea that music makes people
commit suicide just doesn’t make sense.
A series of events and an emotional state
causes suicide to be an option to some
people. It could be that the parents who
missed these troubling signs in their
child’s behavior are blaming music for suicide. These people are unaware of the
many ordeals that their child has gone
through. Then, after this horrific event,
they attempt to find the cause and they
quickly blame music because it is the easi-
est thing to do. Another thing to think
about is what about all the other people
who listen to these songs? It seems impossible to find a person who does not
know of the band Metallica; they have a
large following of many people that listen
to their music all the time. With that in
mind here are some lyrics from their song
Fade to Black: “Nothing matters no one
else / I have lost the will to live / Simply
nothing more to give / There is nothing
more for me / Need the end to set me free.”
If the connection between music and suicide was real, we would have an epidemic
on our hands, but we don’t and that is
because the connection does not exist.
Another thing that is missing from
the argument is the proof and the reason
they don’t have it is because it does not
exist. Where is the correlation between
listening to music and actually committing suicide? If people want to make these
grand statements they have to be backed
with statistical evidence. In any science if
a person wants to say that anything is
Saint John High School
by: Shams BenAmor
true they have to back it up with strong
statistical evidence or people will not care.
There is no real evidence to back these
claims up. So why do so many people believe them?
Suicide is not one dimensional, there
is no one cause for this horrific occurrence. If you are so worried about someone contemplating it please find help for
the person and don’t just blame the first
thing you think of.
The Hound
Hallo
6
“Great” Halloween Parties
Halloween is a time of great eccentric
fun. Children get to go out on the town
dressed up as whoever or whatever they
want. Then go and knock on doors of strangers and beg for candy. Now I don’t know
if you know this but candy to a child is the
equivalent of money to an adult. Anyway
the point is that you have a certain expectation of joy built up when Halloween
comes along. Then all of a sudden it hits
you! You are no longer allowed to go out
and dress up n’or beg for candy. You can
still knock on peoples doors however and
collect UNICEF, but that just doesn’t have
the same excitement to it as the candy collection (sad, but true). So if you’ve already
filled your little UNICEF box in the days
leading up to Halloween, and your also too
old to trick-or-treat then there is only one
Does Age Matter?
thing left to do. Party.
Having a Halloween party would
be a pretty good synthetic version
of your previous tactics to enjoy
the eerie night. You still get to
dress up. You still get food, and
heck, if the parties catered you
get to sit on your arse and
have the treats delivered, to
you! Now that is what I call
service. All these years of
walking from house to house
for candy when i could have just
went to a catered Halloween party,
what was i thinking? I don’t really
know if there are any catered Halloween
parties around here, but there definitely are
parties.
Now if you are having a party you
have got to have games right? Wrong! But
for some reason most birthday parties and
Halloween parties do include them. For instance i have never gone to a Halloween
party where we did not bob for apples. Matter of fact I have never gone to a Halloween party where the filthy, ill, snots all over
his face and now in the water where my
mouth is going to go kid, doesn’t bob for
them first. Another great classic is the “we
are about to spin you 290 times blindfolded
and see if you can shove your hand in a
box full of random things and describe it
game”. And that is basically what happens.
You get spun around to disorient you (or
by: Corey Farnham
kill brain cells by causing lack of blood flow
to the brain, whichever way you choose to
look at it) then touch 1 of a number of
strange, often disgusting textures all in
order to describe what it is exactly that is
in the box. Which leads me to my thesis
that Halloween was created by someone
on psychedelic mushrooms because these
games are not of sober origin.... never mind.
Basically it’s a whack game that just messes
with your sense of touch. Another fun Halloween party game I have had the lovely
experience to “play” is the one, which involves, yep you guessed it, apples. Except
this time just one apple. What it is is a game
where an apple gets tied onto a string, then
hung from a celing while the contestant
gets to sit in a chair, blindfolded of course,
and has to take a bite out of the apple.
Sounds simple eh, well it’s not. Especially
since this time Mr. I have influenza and
crusty snots on my face is going right before you. Next thing you know your getting blindfolded with the last thing you saw
being an apple filled with dry mucus and
bacteria that you know is going to be zooming by your face. And try as you may to
lose the game you always win with that
big, filthy apple taste in your mouth the
rest of the night.
So Halloween parties are a great way
to still enjoy Halloween as we grow old,
but just remember, Don’t invite the filthy
kid.
by: Candace Aullenback
Rich creamy chocolate, chewy fruit candy and crispy chips. Your mouth starts to water at
the thought of such delicious treats being placed in your mouth for....free? That’s right only for
the small price of your pride. Are you willing to put on that zebra costume your Aunt Hilda
made in grade two for that one moment of caramel melting in your mouth? This brings us to the
age-old debate: “Are we too old to go out and trick or treat?”
Ever since we were kids people have been telling us: “You’re just not
old enough.” Many times I’m sure you’ve wanted to do something but
wait, you’re not the right age for that. But today I ask why should there
be an age limit on going out with your friends and receiving free candy?
No matter what your age, there is still a tiny piece of your
heart that will always belong to the kid in you. The kid
that wants to go out and dress up crazy, get the rosy
cheeks and, at the end of the night, enjoy the mouth-watering goodies. I know what the adults will think when they see you with all
that glitter and purple lipstick on your face comes to your mind. But last
Halloween I noticed a significant drop in kids trick or treating. And that
means more people are stuck with all this left over candy so why not
take it off their hands? And when you do go out bumming the stuff
that rots your teeth the adults always laugh at your costume and
love to see what you look like. There is never a problem even if
you’re maybe a “little too old”.
When asked if he thought students in high school were
too old to go out, Scott Maclellan replied: “Not a chance!
Who could ever think that free candy has an age limit? Gals put on
makeup all the time and dress up for dances... why not put on crazy makeup, dress for outside,
and receive tons of candy?”
A lot of teens think that they may be too mature to go out but hey you’re only young once
so why not make the most of it? After high school is going to come university, college, bills,
work, kids, marriage, stress and bad clothes. So why not be as care free as you can in the last
few years that you can? In the words of Jessica Clarke: “You’re never too old for fun.” So this
Halloween why not get your friends together and have a good time grabbing some free grub.
Halloween Memories
by: Amanda Hebert
You’ve all experienced them at some point
in your life. Young or old you get
dressed up in crazy costumes
with a few friends or family members and went door-to-door trickor-treating creating great Halloween
memories that you’d treasure forever.
I’ve asked a few students throughout the school what their favorite Halloween memory was and these were some
of the ridiculous memories recalled.
Adam Perry: ”I was about five or six
and I was dressed up like Bugs Bunny. My dad
was taking my friend, Charles and I trick-or-treating around our house where we lived. We went to
this one house that was decked out with crazy Halloween decorations everywhere. There was this one ‘decoration’ that just sat on a chair in a bush. It was supposed to
b a frightening scarecrow to freak out the kids walking by
but my friend and I being curious decided to go up and look the
cool live-looking thing. On our way over to the scarecrow, it shot
up straight off the chair that he was sitting in and started to scream
and chase us! I was so scared that I dropped my Bugs Bunny
mask and told my dad to take us home.”
Sara Searle: “Knowing we were too old, my two friends and
I got dressed up just enough to pass as being dressed up and
went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. We found an
old shopping cart and fooling around we pushed each other
around in it. After our pillowcases got too heavy from the
amounts of candy we had gotten we filled the entire cart up
with our candy. It was the most candy I’ve ever seen and I
felt sick for weeks.”
Justin E. Shepard: “I remember one time two years
ago. I went to a party with a friend who was dressed like
a ‘Blues Brothers On Glue’. When I came down three
flights of stairs, I came nose-to-nose with a police officer. Fortunately I was sporting a rather fashionable black
tie, and sunglasses that got me away without an incident. Another
Halloween memory of mine was a time I filled someone’s windowsill with suckers that I
sucked on for about twelve seconds. Just enough to make them sticky and gross!”
Young or old, family members or friends, you know you’ve all got some great Halloween memories that you will always remember. So this year why not get dressed up, go
out there, and make some more!
oween
7
Witches and Goblins - Where
Have They Gone? by: Tara Murphy
Halloween used to be the holiday way back in elementary school.
We spent weeks thinking of what our costumes would be and spent
days making them. But now, we see kids going around with their
not-so-great attempt at a costume.
So where has the Halloween spirit gone? The problem is that
kids just don’t care anymore. They think they are too old, or too
cool to get dressed up. All they want is the candy. Don’t get me
wrong, candy is a GREAT part, but dressing up is
what makes Halloween what it is! Fun.
Don’t you remember when you were a kid,
searching around for the best costume, something
that no one else would have, bugging your parents to
help you make it, and feeling so cool when you FINALLY got
to show it off on Halloween night? And they were actually
good costumes, like black cats with long tails, witches with
green faces, big pumpkin heads, pirates with huge gold earrings, devils with pointy ears and pointy tails, dead brides with
black eyes and snow white faces, and angels with huge sparkly
wings and a pink halo. It was a good time! These days, kids dress up as Harry Potter, which
consists of a little cape and glasses. Where is the effort? They put on just a witch hat, or paint
their faces black, or they go to the Dollar Store and buy a little rubber mask and some black
gloves. Where are the fancy outfits? Where’s the makeup? Why don’t they have fun with it?
The kids just make effortless attempts
on their costumes, put on a mask or something, and go out getting all the candy they can
get and then it’s over. No amazing costumes in sight.
The younger generation is all about being “cool.” It seems
cool to them is not having any fun with Halloween. When we
were kids, dressing up WAS cool, it was the best part!
So as you see, this generation doesn’t find Halloween as
important as our generation did. That is sad because what if Halloween dies? What if in the
future there is NO Halloween because none of the kids care anymore, because none of the kids
put any effort into making their costumes or making it a good holiday? Well this generation
better shape up soon or no one will want to give them candy, and then they will care.
Halloween Candy
by: Jill Cullen
When I was younger I loved Halloween. The excitement of getting all dressed up
and going house to house getting pillow cases full of free candy, was every child’s
dream! But the best part of Halloween night is coming home and emptying out your
pillow cases and looking through them to see what you have received. I used to sort
everything into piles – the good candy and the crappy stuff that I usually ended up
giving to my parents.
I loved getting the little bags with different stuff in it. I liked pretty much
everything except plan chips and those little Halloween kisses (little
hard-as-rock toffee candies). Why do people even give them out?!
Another thing I loved was getting the regular size chocolate
bars, chips and pop; they were rare but very exciting.
I asked a few other people what their favorite and
less favorite candies were. Natalie Thorne said: “I
loved getting candy apples but I hated those black
toffee candies.” Another person I was talking
to was Stephanie Dupuis. She said: “The worst
Halloween treat would be an apple, because
you never know what people could put in
them, and the best are rockets.” I am sure
there are not many kids who like getting fruit for Halloween. What kid
wants that for a Halloween treat?
We have to eat that every day.
Also, as Stephanie said, it is
pretty easy to tamper with.
Tampering is another bad
thing about Halloween
candy. I would assume not
many people in Saint John
would do anything like that
however I am sure there
are a few. The last person I
talked to was André Albert.
His thoughts were: “Ooh
the disgusting things that
no one likes, Halloween
kisses. The best ones
are….I don’t know; there are
so many good ones.”
So from talking with other people and my own Halloween experience, it seems that
everyone pretty much likes all different things but everyone seems to hate getting fruit
and especially those Halloween kisses. So for those of you who are still young enough
to go out trick or treating, have a fun and safe Halloween. To everyone else: Happy
Halloween!
Saint John: a Spooky City
by: Tiffany Dobson
You may or may not have heard of some of the “spooks” that live in our city. One of the
many famous tales of the ghosts and ghouls that live in our city is the story of the hiding place
of Lady la Tour’s remains. The story goes that after Lady la Tour died her remains were never
found. Now since Fort la Tour is on the east side of the harbor, then her remains should be
there, but the many claims that have been made over the years have never truly panned out.
Her body has never been found and that is why, as the story goes, she continues to restlessly
walk the streets of Saint John at night. There are stories that Lady la Tour was possibly buried
on the west side of the harbor because of numerous sightings there of a woman who resembles
Lady la Tour. But many say the woman on the west side of our harbor is another ghost who is
called the Lady in Grey. Who knows? Why is she walking our streets? And do you believe in
her?
Another haunted spot in our city is the Tilley house on Germain Street. Now the Tilley
house belonged to Sir Leonard Tilley, so one would think that he would be the one haunting
this house. But as the story goes, he is not nor is another in his family
haunting the Germain Street house. Apparently it is someone
completely different. Someone who is tapping at night on the
top floor of the home, the ghost with no name, is walking back
and forth and pacing the top floor. That has got to be annoying!
Now everyone has been to the Old loyalist Burial
Ground and many stories steam from there, but a story
I would like to share with you is about the woman who
had most of her important information removed from
her grave. Her date of birth and death are there but the
rest of the information is gone. The story goes that
when she married her family hated the man she wed. So
when she died and her husband remarried, her father
and brothers went out to her grave site and removed all
the information off her grave that would shame her
family. Now, at night when the moon is full, she walks the
graveyard looking for her tombstone, searching for her name
and destined never to rest in peace.
Now I could go on and on about the goblins and spooks
that haunt our city and walk its streets, but I would then run out
of room. So if you’re still interested in finding out more about the
ghouls that inhabit our fair city, pick up a copy of New Brunswick Haunted Houses... and other
tales of strange and eerie events or a copy of New Brunswick Ghosts! Demons! And things
that go bump in the night. Both books are by New Brunswick’s own Dorothy Dearborn and
contain many tales of the city of Saint John.
Where did Halloween
Come From?
by: Rachel Wheaton
Today we celebrate Halloween as a time to get dressed up and hand out candy, to have
parties and to have fun. On October 31st you will see all kinds of different creatures knocking
on your door wanting candy and people will be bobbing for apples at parties. Halloween is a
really strange day. Where do you think it came from?
Our modern day our celebration is very far from the original Halloween. It was the biggest
and most significant holiday of the year for the Celts who lived more than 2000 years ago in
what is now known as Great Britain, Ireland and France. Their new year began on November
the 1st. Legend has it that on this night all the fires of hearth in Ireland were put out and then
relit in the central fire of the Druids 12 miles from the royal hill of Tara. Upon this night they
burned animals and crops. The putting out of the fire was the “Dark Half” and the relighting
was returning life that was hopeful for a good spring. In their belief system things as simple as
one day meeting the next were magical. The turning of the year was the most potent of these
times. This was the time when the “veil between the worlds” was at its thinnest, and the dead
could communicate with the living. They didn’t really have demons and devils in their belief
system. Some Christians said that Halloween was a festival where the Celts sacrificed humans
to evil. This however was not true, they did believe in god, giants, monsters, spirits and such
but they were not considered evil.
The fairies for example were considered hostile and annoying to humans, because they
were believed to be mad at men for talking over the land. The fairies sometimes tricked humans
into becoming lost forever.
The feast of
Samhain is order suspended; during this the
normal universe is
suspended. They
believed that when
people died they
went to the land of
youthfulness and
happiness; they
didn’t believe
in heaven and
hell like Christians do.
Tradition
speaks of practices associated with the ancient Celts’ celebrations. The most common were dealing with marriage, weather, and coming fortunes of the
year. Ducking for apples or apple peelings was a marriage practice, performed then. The first
person to bite an apple would be the first person to marry in the coming year. The apple peeling
was for how long your life would be, the longer the peeling the longer your life would last. And
in Scotland they placed stones in the middle of the hearth before returning home for the night
and whoever’s stone was moved during the night would die in the upcoming year.
Features
Opinions
28
Shams Ben Amor is a young man in grade 12 who is
part of the Grad Class Council. Shams first came to this
school in grade 9. He knew very few people but it seemed
lots of people knew him because his older brother attended
SJHS as well but graduated the year before; somehow he
let them all know about Shams. The next year Shams went
into the IB program in grade 10 and made many new friends
but he did not care for the program. When Shams went
into grade 11 he dropped out of full IB but continued with
IB math. Near the end of grade 11, with the support of his
friends, Shams ran for Grad class treasurer and won. Now
Shams is in grade 12 and many people have heard of him
but have never really met him. Now you get the chance to
know him a little better.
First off if you want to get to know Shams you should
know his full name, Shams Eddine Ben Amor. Many people have gotten his name mixed up with many, many variations, such as: Shane, Shamus, Shame, Shans, and the
one he finds most annoying, Ben. Shams was born in Halifax but his family is from Tunisia and has lived in various
areas in Atlantic Canada. Shams now calls Dipper Harbour his home.
Shams the Man
by: Drew Stewart
Shams’ favorite food is chili and his favorite color is
dark blue. He loves to play Unreal Tournament 2004, Risk,
Crono Trigger and Wario Woods. He likes to listen to
Heavy Metal. Shams likes to create web sites (Shams Town
is his current project), hang out with his friends, and gloat
when he wins or is starting to win so he has the chance to
before he loses. If you ever get into an argument with
Shams be prepared to back it up because he knows what
he is talking about and can very easily improvise and
change the whole argument around on you. Shams is easy
to get along with; you can talk to him about a variety of
topics so if you ever see him around in the school don’t
be afraid to approach him, though he may seem a little
weird (he calls himself “unique”). One of Shams’ biggest
pet peeves is people being rude, so take that into note if
you see him.
All you newcomers to the school may have never
heard of or known Shams but now you have a little insight about what Shams is really like and who he is. So in
the school assemblies you all should now know who
Shams is and cheer him along when he is up on stage with
everyone else.
Cartoons Make Little Sense
by: Tim Benson
Many of us have little brothers and sisters. Some of us even have brothers and
sisters who watch children’s cartoons on
TV. After watching a couple with my little
cousin and discussing them with my brother
and one of our friends, I have come to the
conclusion that a lot of these shows make
little or no sense. While I can’t explain the
pointlessness of today’s TV programs, I can
give you things to think about.
Now shows like Sesame Street I can
handle. While it does involve an oversized
talking bird among other things, it teaches
children numbers, letters and the like. But
what about Teletubbies? This show holds
no educational value whatsoever. First of
all, there is a baby in the sun! How did he
get there? Why is he there? And how does
he survive? He lives in a sun after all so
wouldn’t food and water burn up? Second,
they live in a bomb shelter with windows.
Don’t windows defeat the purpose of a
bomb shelter? And why would they need a
bomb shelter anyway? The only things that
live with them are rabbits and a vacuum
cleaner. Third, they don’t even speak English! They just make noises and say their
names. Now some people say that the colors
stimulate the children’s minds. But I’m sure
there are better things today’s children
could be watching than this.
The next show that swept the continent was Spongebob. What is wrong with
Spongebob you ask? Where do I begin?
First, he lives in a pineapple under the sea.
Pineapples don’t grow underwater. Second,
his boss (who is a crab) has a daughter who
is a whale. Am I missing something because
I’m pretty sure crabs can’t have whales?
And why is a crab selling burgers made from
other crabs? This seems like a clear case of
cannibalism to me. Then there’s his pet snail
that sounds like a cat. Need I go on?
Next, there is the show Dora the Explorer. While it may teach kids a little Spanish (and I emphasize little), it has many
things in it that make little sense. First, the
monkey is named Boots. Grade 10 student
Jeremy Benson says, “Why is the monkey
named Boots? I’m pretty sure he wasn’t
born with the boots. So how did they know
he was going to wear them?” And then there
is the Fox, Swiper (who is conveniently
named after what he does). He stalks this
six year old girl and for some reason, when
she says “Swiper no swiping”, he leaves.
Good thing this isn’t real life or her face
would be on a milk carton right now.
Finally, there is that children’s movie,
The Lion King. Mufasa gets run over by
wildebeests. Why is it that the wildebeests
will run from hyenas but not from a lion?
The lion could eat the hyenas, but I guess
no one told them that. Again, Jeremy
Benson comments, “I can just imagine what
they were thinking, ‘Oh man, I could run
from the lion but the hyenas laugh funny.’”
So do the wildebeests go around the lion?
No, they go over him. I’m not even going to
start on Looney Tunes.
I could keep going for most of this paper but I only have limited amount of space.
So, in conclusion, this is what today’s children are watching on TV, but really, what
are they getting out of it? Last time I
checked, flashing colors don’t stimulate the
brain, they only cause epilepsy.
The High Cost of Insurance
by: Amanda Scott
Most people are very excited to finally
go and get their license so they can drive,
but then when they find out the price of
insurance and what it is going to cost them
it scares them. I think that people who are
The Hound
new drivers should have to pay only a hundred dollars a year, instead of eight hundred to a couple of thousand. I know a lot
of people who are fairly new drivers and
they can’t afford to pay rent, buy food, gas
and pay their insurance. Most of the time
their parents end up giving them money and
buying their groceries, because they know
that they can’t afford it.
Think about being a university student.
You’re trying to get your education and you
have to pay for insurance, rent, your groceries and gas for your car. Most people
end up walking or taking a bus to class. So
if you’re a new driver and you don’t have
to pay high insurance because you’re under your parents’ insurance be very grateful that they trust you.
Troy Miller
Troy Miller is known to all of you,
but do you really know the kind, energetic, and always happy person? I do
and I want the rest of you to know him
as well.
Troy has tight brown curly hair,
which is always blowing in the wind
because he’s always flipping his head
in the hair while he’s re-enacting Britney
Spear’s music videos. Troy is better
known as the “Saint John High School
cheerleader” but not only has Troy
cheered for Saint John High he also runs
his own cheerleading team which has
him choreographing and organizing the
team.
Troy’s lifetime ambition is to be a
choreographer so everyone can see
this wonderful work. If anyone has seen
he’s cheerleading then you know that
his dancing is absolutely amazing. Another goal Troy wants to accomplish is
to meet Britney Spears. “Troy loves
Britney Spears more then life,” says
Amanda Smith, a good friend of Troy’s.
Troy sometimes appears to suffer from
“Tourettes” shouting out Britney’s
name in hopes that she can hear him.
He is driven and years from now it
wouldn’t surprise me if he’s on tour
with her as her background dancer.
An average day for Troy is almost
the same as for the rest of us but Troy
wakes up to over-sized poster of The
Notebook (which is the best movie
ever) over his bed and a Mean Girls life
size cut out beside him every morning.
That just goes to show how passionate he is about movies and music. He
has stacks of movies at his house,
which soon enough he’ll have to start
Saint John High School
by: Cecilia Rodrigues
renting out. He arrives at school with a
warm welcoming smile everyday making all of his friends happy to be
around. “Sometimes Troy can be loud,
outspoken and hilarious” says Matt
McGowan but that’s what makes Troy
who he is and that’s what makes us
love him even more.
Troy, this summer you wrote a
poem regarding our friends talking
about graduation explaining how we’ve
all grown up and how thankful you are
to be our friends. I wanted to take this
opportunity to thank you and show you
my gratitude. You are a warm-hearted
person and it’s too bad that the rest of
the school hasn’t had the chance to
get to know you as well as I have. I’m
proud to be your friend and I’m proud
to write this article about you. Much
love.
Issue 4, 2005
Features
Opinions
Why Men are Indecisive
39
Annoying Things
by: Ashley Ingersoll
by: Kory Harper
Since the dawn of time men have been indecisive. But I am not here to have a
male bashing hey-day because I am one. Mostly I would like to talk about the fact
that this is not going to change, but there are ways to cope and deal with it.
In today’s world, as men, we come upon many circumstances where we must
make a decision. But part of the reason we can’t make them falls upon the woman.
Some women know what they want, others don’t, but I speak for all men when I say,
“We have no clue what you want!”
I realize being indecisive is not a good attribute, but if the female doesn’t know
what she wants, then even the “nice guys” don’t want to decide for fear of choosing wrong. Not to insult women but you have to admit, sometimes there is no right
answer and it’s just best to say “Whatever you think honey.”
For instance, often a girl asks the dreaded cliché question: “Does this make me
look fat?” This is one of the situations in which men should either run away or not
give a direct answer. Indecisive? Yes, but only indecisive as to what to say. We
weren’t left a whole lot of leeway and let’s face it, as men we sometimes lack the
desired creativity to make light of the situation. Answering “No you look absolutely stunning” will lead to a reply of: “And I don’t always look stunning?!” On the
other hand, answering “Yes. You should wear something that doesn’t make you
look like a cow.” plainly and simply leads to damage of the male anatomy. I am also
hoping no man, however indecisive, is stupid enough to use the previously stated
quote.
So now, it is time to learn how to cope and deal. Listen closely both men and
women. Men, you must learn to create responses that sound like they are answering while they are really just well worded and haven’t directly stated anything. This
is hard and requires work and creativity, but it has to be done. Rather than giving a
direct answer why not
give a “reply” that
sways the female’s decision. It is a safe bet.
And women, if you
ever feel like arguing,
tell another girl something catty. That is
enough to last you a
couple weeks without
asking a question just to
see how stupidly a man
can answer. I realize it is
a fun game and you find
it amusing putting us on
the spot but please, we
don’t like being physically harmed. I am not
saying it is all your fault,
but come on, if I can admit we as men are always indecisive, you can all admit that at times you just want to
mess with our heads.
So, by testing out the previous tips we may be able to avoid bodily harm and
awkward situations. When you can’t change something, might as well try to cope
and deal.
For everyone there is that one little
annoying thing about something or someone that makes them just want to scream!
For me it’s when people are walking slowly
in the hallways and then stop to talk to their
friends, blocking the whole hallway in the
process. It drives me crazy!!! I asked 70 people at SJHS what annoys them the most and
here are the most popular answers from least
popular to most popular:
#6 “When teachers get mad at you for
talking through the announcements but
then they talk all the way through them and
you miss something you were waiting to
hear,” says Bronwyn Atkins. It really isn’t
fair if the teachers are going to yell at the
students for talking during the announcements but then they go and do it instead.
How about we all just be quiet so no one
misses anything important on the announcements and we’re all up to date on
what’s the haps in the school?
#5 “When people hang out in the bathrooms during the break and you have to
shove by them to wash your hands,” says
Vanessa Doiron, as well as many other gals
at SJHS. No guys said this bothered them,
but I guess it wouldn’t really bug them since
guys don’t go to the bathrooms all together
and girls can’t go near the bathroom alone!
There’s bound to be a bunch of girls around
the mirror doing their makeup, fixing their
hair and talking to each other. Advice to the
girls: Go to your locker to do your makeup
or do it quickly at the mirror and move when
someone wants to wash their hands and we
will all get alone fine.
#4 “When you’re on the bus and you
can hear the conversation of a person from
the back of the bus and you are all the way
at the front,” says Kyndra Burke. I totally
agree! The whole bus or hallway does not
need to know all about your life! We don’t
really care if you’re going out with a new
guy or what you’re doing this weekend! So
quiet down!
#3 “When you’re uptown or in the cafeteria and there’s this one person that you
can’t stop looking at because they are chewing with their mouth open as wide as it will
go so you can see everything they are eating moving all around in their mouth,” says
Stephen Stone. Laura Higgins also agrees.
She hates when people “chomp on their
gum.” So when you’re eating or chewing
your gum just imagine how many people
are looking at you thinking, I wish they
would chew with their mouth closed so we
don’t have to see their whole lunch being
digested.
#2 “Homework... we do work all day in
school for like 8 hours of our day and then
we have to go back home and do more
work?” says Tom McGovern. Its true we
deserve more slack. It is ridiculous all the
homework we have to do for school, and
then go home and do more work! Its tough
on a student that has a part time job and
also wants to have a social life. So give us a
break and don’t be so crazy with the homework!
#1 “Rudeness” says Chris Brideau “Is
definitely number 1!” He’s right! More than
half of the people asked what they thought
was annoying said rudeness. It’s true. No
one likes when someone acts rudely towards another person. It’s not nice! So do
what more then half the people interviewed
say and don’t act rude!
Those are your results for Top 10 Most
Annoying Things. Try to not be so annoying and not do anything on this list and
people will love you forever!
Things You Didn’t Know
by: Jill Cullen
Here are some interesting and odd facts that you might not have known about.
Norwegians drink 10.7 kilograms of coffee per person annually. They also have the
highest rate of anxiety disorders. Time to switch to herbal tea?
More than a third of the time, Icelanders don’t show up for work. Maybe that’s why
they’re the world’s happiest nation.
A rat can go longer without water than a camel can.
Grizzly bears can run as fast as the average horse (scary).
The first bicycle was made in 1817 by Baron von Drais. But it didn’t have any pedals,
people walked it along.
A crocodile can’t move its tongue and cannot chew. Its digestive juices are so strong
that it can digest a steel nail.
Mr. Peanut was invented in 1916 by a Suffolk, Virginia schoolchild who won $5 in a
design contest sponsored by Planters Peanuts.
The creator of Mickey Mouse was afraid of mice.
The stall closest to the door in a bathroom is usually the cleanest because it is the least
used.
Coca cola was green.
The fist couple to be shown in bed together on TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
In the 1920’s swallowing goldfish was a fad that was very popular with college students
and drew crowds of spectators who wanted to witness.
More Monopoly money is printed yearly than real money throughout the world.
People photocopying their behinds is the cause of 23% of all photocopier errors worldwide.
A whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound.
“Almost” is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical
order.
Issue 4 2005
Saint John High School
The Hound
Features
Opinions
10
4
Donald, Mickey, Sailor,
Mouse…Ring A Bell?
by: Samantha Blanchard
When you hear the words Disney you probably think about movies such as Monsters
Inc. But think further back to the videos that used to be basically
glued into our VCR’s, back to the movies we all grew up to. Not
movies like Aladdin, The Lion King, and Beauty And The
Beast but further back like, let’s say about to the time of
Mickey Mouse and his crew. That’s right I’m talking about
Donald and Mickey, the oh, so famous childhood cool
“toons”. Ring a bell?
Mickey Mouse, was one of Walt D i s n e y ’ s
most famous characters. He made
his screen debut on November
18, 1928 and was the star of the
first cartoon ever made with
sound: Steamboat Willie.
Mickey Mouse was the foundation on which Walt Disney
built his creative career and, has
become a universal symbol to everybody living in the twentieth century!
QUACK, QUACK!!!…Hey look it’s Donald Duck.
He is an animated white anthropomorphic cartoon duck. He has a yellow-orange bill, legs
and feet. He is a very naughty duck who likes to run around without wearing any
pants…Scary, don’t you agree? Don’t worry you’re safe. He usually tends to be in a sailor
shirt and hat.
During the years of World War II Donald was created because people wanted edgier
cartoons. Before 1941 Mickey Mouse was the famous mouse and by 1949 Donald Duck
was a rising star.
Is Disney going to be something that remains cool even as you age into an older man/
woman? Are you a “loser” because you remember and liked Mickey and Donald Duck? Or
are you just a person who remembers them as your childhood role models? — Hey it’s
possible!!!
School Custodians by: Karen Galbraith
You see them everyday. You pass them
in the halls. Each and every day they work
hard to keep our school spotless! And
they’re pretty cool guys too! That’s right
I’m talking about the custodians here at
Saint John High. From plant superintendent to the many custodians, these are the
people who make SJHS a respectable looking school. And all we have to do, to make
their job just a little easier, is so simple.
Every time you eat something in the
cafeteria clean it up when you’re finished
and when you’re in the bathroom, flush the
toilet. It’s all stuff we would do at home
anyways right? So why is it so hard for us
to do it at school?
We take the custodians for granted
sometimes, but without them the school
would be very disgusting, and cold. The
Plant Superintendent, Mr. Ferris is in charge
of all the heating and air conditioning in the
school and he’s the person who makes sure
The Hound
Livestrong Bracelets
by: Hilary Bustin
It seems that everywhere you look
nowadays you see those yellow
“Livestrong” bracelets around every
body’s wrist. But do all the people wearing
them know about these bracelets – how
they got started and what they are supporting by wearing one?
In the summer of 2004, the Lance
Armstrong Foundation, with funding from
Nike, developed the Livestrong wristband.
The original yellow bracelet was manufactured for Nike Inc. and was designed with
the help of Lance Armstrong. The proceeds
from the profits of the bracelets are donated
to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which
provides support for people living with cancer. Since 1997, the foundation has raised
more than 9.6 million dollars for cancer research. Margaret Paulin, a grade 12 student, said: “I have a Livestrong bracelet that
I wear everyday. I think that it supports a
really good cause.” The foundation believes that, when battling cancer, “unity is
strength, knowledge is power and attitude
is everything.”
Lance Armstrong is a 35 year old champion cyclist. At the age of 25 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer which later
spread to his brain and lungs. He survived
and became the first and only cyclist to win
the Tour de France for seven consecutive
years, inspiring the event’s nickname “Tour
de Lance”. That is pretty good for a guy
who was given less than a 50% chance of
survival less than ten years ago. In 1997,
after he won his battle with cancer, he
founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation,
to aid people battling cancer.
With everybody wearing these bracelets, and so many different versions of them,
some people think that they are just a passing fad. However, the significance of the
bracelets goes way beyond that. They are
to show support and raise money for an
important cause. “I personally don’t have
one but it’s nice to see people supporting a
good cause,” said grade 12 student Vanessa
Doiron.
There are also variations of the
Livestrong bracelets to support different
causes. You can wear them to help support
breast cancer, poverty, hurricane victims or
the Make-a-Wish Foundation, to name a few.
There are also ones you can buy at accessory stores that say things like peace, love,
hope, or even I heart nerds. Stephen Stone,
a grade 12 student said: “I like the ones that
support a good cause, but I don’t like the
ones that say juicy or brat or whatever.”
Grade 10 student Alison Floyd said, “I think
that the bracelets are a really good idea to
show support to all the different organizations. I have one for the Children’s Make a
Wish Foundation. I like how they have different colors for each cause. It makes each
one unique.”
the pool doesn’t get all green! So if he
wasn’t around, imagine the school!! It’s not
only him though. Without the guys cleaning up after our careless messes, the school
would be chaos! Remember that mouse
problem we had last year? All the custodians made those mice history!
If you come into the school late from
lunch or have just skipped a class and these
guys tell you to get to class or take off your
hat or anything at all, they have the right to
tell you to do it, just as a teacher would, so
you better do what they say!
So every time you go to the bathroom
flush the toilet. Every time you eat something throw it out when you’re finished.
Think of all the stuff in your locker and then
think of a mouse in your book bag. Don’t
keep food or garbage in your locker. And
above all respect the custodians . They have
just as much power as any teacher. Always
Find A Garbage Can!!
Saint John High School
Issue 4, 2005
Features
The Horror of it All
by: Tim Benson
I’m sure many of you know people who have been victims of the craze known as
horror movies. You know the movies I’m talking about; they involve a lot of death and
decapitation. These are the movies where no one fights back; they just scream and run and
eventually die. For the last few years, horror movies have been storming theaters, but
when is it enough?
Now don’t get me wrong, there are good horror movies. I liked The Ring and a few
others, but there is a point when the good ideas seem to run out. For instance, there was a
recent movie called Dark Water. This movie was about woman who was being stalked by
a ghost girl who controls water. Can no one think up a better idea for a horror movie than
killer water?
Then there was the movie Freddy Vs Jason. I’m sure it has its loyal followers who will
hate me for saying this, but it was horrible! I could say the story was bad, but it didn’t have
much of one. Basically, everyone gets impaled, dismembered, decapitated or something of
the sort and with today’s technology, you know that this movie’s only purpose was to
show off the gory special effects. I mean, the final fight between the two title characters
was basically them hacking each other’s limbs off. I’m sure there are some people who love
this kind of movie, but to me it was stupid and pointless.
Of course there is the rare case where a horror movie that is a remake (as most of them
are) improves on the original and makes for a good movie. A perfect example would be the
new Amityville Horror. The original movie wasn’t that interesting (of course it was based
on a true story). Now the remake is full of special effects and quite a few things that didn’t
happen in the original were added to make it more interesting.
One exceptionally good horror movie that I liked was the movie Hide and Seek. This
movie was a thriller in the style of The Shining that kept me on the edge of my seat until the
end. I recommend it for any fan of the genre.
So are horror movies running low on original ideas? Most definitely. Will we be seeing
the end of them anytime soon? Probably not.
Cliques
SHJS Sea Dogs
It’s that time of year again….hockey
season! And as everyone knows we have a
new hockey team, the Saint John Sea Dogs.
We have two of the players, Felix Schutz
and Martin Bartos, here at Saint John High
School. We are very proud to have these
star players!
Felix Schutz is a forward. His jersey
number is 5 and he is originally from Eruding,
Germany. He played in the 2005 world junior championship for Germany. Last season
he played for the Landshut Cannibals senior team, in Germany, and he was selected
41st overall in the CHL European draft. He
is an amazing hockey player!
Martin Bartos is also a forward. His jersey number is 23 and he is originally from
the Czech Republic. He played in the World
Cup under-18 tournament in the summer of
2005. He was selected by Saint John Sea
Dogs in the import draft. Last season Martin played in the Czech under-20 league and
was selected fifth overall in the CHL European draft.
The Sea dogs team is doing great so
far with 7 wins! There are twenty-two other
by: Karen Galbraith
players on the Sea Dogs team and I think
they are all doing a really good job!
Good luck to the Sea Dogs in the rest
of their games! We are very proud to have
star players at our school! Congratulations
boys!
by: Samantha Blanchard
You see the situation everyday, everybody is a part of one and sometimes more
than one. They are everywhere you go and
part of our everyday lives whether you want
them to be or not. They involve the groups
of people we “hang” out with, the clothes
we wear, the music we listen to and sometimes even the way we talk to other people.
What are we? We are cliques!
Every time you walk down the hallways,
go uptown for lunch or even walk through
the mall you see groups of people in different types of cliques. A clique is normally a
group of people who dress the same, act
the same, or more basically are just inter-
Issue 4, 2005
11
ested in the same type of things.
Although in most situations cliques are
formed by people with similar interests,
there are the odd times when you see a person changing their normal behavior to be a
part of a more popular clique. But who really has the power to decide which cliques
are “cool” or not… the people in them? So
wouldn’t it be safe to say that all clique
members believe they are “cool” in their own
ways because they are in a group?
There are also cliques who tease other
cliques or make fun of other cliques by saying they are “losers” because they don’t
like the same things, or they don’t look the
same. Why care so much about what other
people are doing? They’re not affecting your
lives so why should you affect theirs?
Wanting to fit into a certain clique is
normal because it is normal for people to
want to be accepted by their peers and by
being a part of a clique it gives you a sense
of belonging.
Firstly and lastly, should we change the
way we act, dress, or look to impress some-
one else or to fit in, or should we accept
who we are and be a part of the cliques we
should belong to? Think about it…is your
pride really worth being accepted by a certain group of people?
Saint John High School
The Hound
Entertainment
Opinions
12
4
An All-New NHL is Back!
by: MarkWedge
The NHL is back after a very long “off
season” for players, coaches, referees, and
especially fans. On the day of September
the 15th when commissioner Gary Bettman
announced the possibility of a lockout most
hockey fans probably didn’t believe it but
on October 13th when the first official
hockey game was missed due to the lockout a lot of people started to believe it.
Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the season was going to be
cancelled on February 16 due to salary caps.
Salary caps means that a hockey player can
only get paid a certain of money, so now
there won’t be any one player making incredibly more money than someone else. A
salary cap also gives a “poor” team a chance
to buy a good free agent before a wealthier
team just offers the player a huge contract
so they will sign for that team.
Things that have been changed in the
game of hockey include: the amount of grab-
bing and using your stick on other players,
the size of goalie equipment is smaller, the
center red line has been taken out to eliminate 2-line passing, the goalie now has a
area behind his net that he must stay in to
play the puck or he will be assessed a 2
minute penalty, and the biggest thing that
has been changed for the fans is the fact
that there will be no more ties. Now if a game
is tied, after a 5-minute overtime period there
is a shootout which goes until there is a
winner.
The NHL season officially started on
October 5th in Ottawa. The fans got a taste
of the first shootout in the NHL when the
Ottawa Senators won the shootout over
Toronto. Dany Heatly scored to win it for
them.
Dany Heatly is also one of the big
trades that have happened in the NHL. Some
other big trades are the Washington Capitals trading Jagr, Bondra, Lang and Gonchar
for Anson Carter and a bunch of draft picks.
The team to get the best players and best
draft pick and choice was the Pittsburg Penguins as they pick up Zigmund Palffy, Mark
Recchi, John LeClair, Sergei Gonchar, and
former Saint John Flame Rico Fata. The Penguins also got the number draft pick in which
they chose the phenomenal Sidney Crosby.
Another team to watch this season will be
the Phoenix Coyotes who have the great
Wayne Greeks behind the bench as the
head coach.
The fans are probably very excited to
see “Hockey Night in Canada” and
“Coaches’ Corner” hosted by Don Cherry. I
am really excited to see hockey back on television and enjoy watching the Canadians
play. So enjoy the 2005-2006 NHL season. I
know I will, and I’ll be rooting for those
Canadians and hopefully you will too. GO
CANADIANS GO!!!
Things You Didn’t KnowYou Didn’t Know
by: Ashley Valardo
Things you didn’t know, you didn’t
know, are facts. These are facts that you
never knew, and you never knew them because they are so insane that you have never
heard them. You may have heard this on K100 on the morning radio, where they find
and share crazy facts nobody has ever
heard. I decided to find out some more crazy
facts from students of SJHS and research
others.
When I first approached some students
and asked them what their favorite, “thing
they didn’t know, they didn’t know” was
from the time you are a baby. This is strange
but true, and Kalyn Martin informed me that,
your nose and ears never stop growing. I
checked on this fact and nobody quite
knows why, you just have to deal with it,
and hope you don’t have a big nose or ears.
Some other things you didn’t know, you
didn’t know, are: a goldfish has a memory
span of three seconds, an ostrich eye is bigger than its brain, a crocodile can’t stick out
its tongue, October tenth is national metric
day and a Jiffy is the actual unit for 1/100th
of a second. Okay maybe you were smart
enough to know some of those but did you
know that on a Canadian two dollar bill, the
flag flying over the parliament building is
an American flag. Also in every episode of
Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere. I
didn’t watch every episode of Seinfeld, but
obviously somebody did.
The last strange facts I’ve found are
two of the strangest. The bark of redwood
trees is fireproof. When they burn, the fire
takes place inside the tree. Lastly on a lighter
note you are more likely to be killed by a
champagne cork than by a poisonous spider.
Prom Count Down by: Courtney Breen
Eight months and counting! Right ladies? The most talked about, expensive and
planned night for everyone graduating is definitely prom night. So is everyone a little bit
crazy for getting dresses, reservations, and all sorts of plans ready this early in the year?
For some students yes. However for many students at SJHS, especially the ladies, everyone has been thinking about prom since grade 9, waiting for that day to roll around in June.
There are many things that girls need to think about, such as dates, dresses, reservations, hair and many other things. As for the guys they get off a little bit easier. Once they
have a date and have made the reservations, as long as they show up in a nice tux, and
bring along a corsage, things should be fine.
Prom can be very expensive for everyone, especially for the girls when it comes to
finding the perfect prom dress; they seem to be getting bigger and more expensive each
year. Girls have found many ways over the years to save money when it comes to prom
dresses. Some girls borrow a dress that’s just as nice as a new one and save a lot of money.
As well, some girls have their dresses made by a seamstress or a family friend to save
money. All these ideas are really good at helping you have the great night you have always
planned on.
Many students at SJHS have different opinions on how important prom is, or how
important it should be. Stephanie French says: “I think prom is made into something way
more important than it really is. It is an important milestone in our lives but I feel people
make it into a huge deal and it really isn’t that important, at least not to me anyways.
Brittany Shaw had a little different take on the prom scene. She says: “It’s just another
thing to look forward to in your grade twelve year. It’s a great way to bring together all the
grads as its going to be the last time you’ll ever see some of these people again. Also, you
get to look beautiful and pick out the dress of your dreams.”
For the majority of the grads at SJHS I think prom is one of the events they most look
forward to. Even though it seems far away right now, it will be here in no time!
Shakespearean Play by: Hilary Bustin
Saint John High School has done a
Shakespearean play almost every year for
the past few years, and this year will be no
different. Well, there will be a few differences; the format of the show this year will
be different. Instead of a full-length play, it
will be a show of scenes and soliloquies
from different Shakespearean plays, “Shakespeare 101”. And because of an expected
smaller crowd, the play will be shown in the
mini theater instead of the auditorium
“Shakespeare 101” will include different scenes and soliloquies from Shakespeare’s works such as: Romeo and Juliet,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear,
and Macbeth, as well as a fifteen minute
scene from Hamlet.
Grade 12 student, Caroline Radcliffe
said of the play: “I don’t really like the idea
of having different scenes from different
plays. I think it will be kind of hard to follow,
especially if you haven’t read or seen the
plays before. I think if they stuck with one
play it would be easier to follow. But on the
other hand, if they are doing lots of scenes,
then it will give more people a better chance
of getting a part.”
Adam Donnelly, who will play the part
of Macbeth in one scene and William Shakespeare, Polonius & Claudius in the fifteen
minute Hamlet, said of the format and location: “I believe this year’s Shakespeare production is going to be really interesting because we aren’t focusing on one specific
play. We are focusing on several works by
Shakespeare. In the past years Shakespeare
was performed in the auditorium, which is
nice and all, but let’s face it there just aren’t
many Shakespeare fans out there. It’s more
economical if we host it in the mini-theatre.”
Ms. Bloc is back directing after a year
away from Saint John High School and will
direct side-b-side with Ms. Lutz. The show
will run October 27th, 28th and 29th.
they kind of looked at me like I was crazy.
Once I explained I got some pretty interesting answers. Kristin Button, a grade twelve
student, claimed her favorite crazy fact was
that a Tim Horton’s cappuccino has the same
amount of fat as a McDonalds’ Big Mac.
This is yet to be actually proven, but it is
still disgusting. I learned from Caroline
Stebbings that your eyes are the same size
The Hound
Saint John High School
Issue 4, 2005