the 2006 april fools issue

Saturday, April 1st 2006
Issue 5, Volume 6
BEST TO BECOME FULL FRENCH IMMERSION
By Echo Reporters
Kaitlin Dalton Gibson
Currently, there are
two split French Immersion
schools in District 43: Dr.
Charles Best and Riverside
Secondary. Recently School
District trustees in charge of
the reorganization of the district have decided to fund
only one fully French immersion school - Dr. Charles Best.
Instead of constructing a
new school, the district has
decided that Dr. Charles Best
Secondary will be converted
permanently into a full immersion school and Riverside Secondary will be returned to a standard high
school.
This change will not
affect the grade eleven and
twelve students because the
transformation will not be
complete until September
2007. Unfortunately many
grade nine and ten students
will need to find spots in
neighbouring schools or
they will be bussed to Riverside.
This is not going to be
a smooth transformation and
already many disgruntled
parents have called in to
complain to the board. As
soon as the word was out,
PAC and their President
Linda Porter immediately began organizing a protest
against the conversion of
Best. This protest will be held
at the school on April 15 at
8:00pm giving students and
their parents a forum to vent
their frustrations. William
Bunting, a School District 43
representative, will be
present to voice the school
board’s side of the argument.
Centennial, Gleneagle,
Pinetree and Riverside have
already started accepting
transfer requests from many
parents. Struggling with over
population, Centennial and
Gleneagle have both expressed their concern re-
garding the influx of students, and they estimate that
they will only be able to accommodate 64 students between them. It is important for
students to get the transfer
letters in as soon as possible
as those 64 spots are almost
full. Pinetree has approximately a hundred spots left,
but most students should
expect to be bussed to Riverside.
Students and teachers
alike are outraged with the
decision and demand an explanation. Mr Fichter is particularly outraged: “As soon
as Best exceeds Centennial
and Gleneagle on both an
academic and athletic level,
the district is willing to tear
down the foundation we
have built. This is a disgrace.
Just because of budget cuts
is no reason for a whole
school to be restructured.”
Best has struggled in the past
to be able to compete with
other major high schools and
just as the school is beginning to blossom into a thriving competitor, the district
wants to impose a restructuring program. Many teachers
share this opinion, as they
will be transferred around the
district because they are unable to parler Français. Fortunately some teachers are
able to escape the reorganization, for example, the English department will remain
intact as Grade 12 English is
still a graduation requirement. Unfortunately the Science, Socials and Elective departments will see an overhaul of teachers. Approximately 30 of Best’s 56 teachers will be replaced, including two of three administration.
Whether the school
wants it or not Dr. Charles
Best will be no more after
September 2007, all that will
remain is l’ecole Dr. Charles
Best Secondaire.
By Echo Reporter
Katie GLover
During Spring Break,
at the MGM Grande Poker
Marathon in Las Vegas, Mr.
Ishii, one of Best’s math
teachers, won half a million
dollars in the prestigious
poker tournament. After a
long night of Texas Hold ‘Em,
after the five day marathon,
Ishii was victorious. Although this tournament, televised on TSN, was not the
most prestigious, it drew
many famous players such as
Daniel Bergsdorf, Joseph
Hachem
and
Chris
Moneymaker all of whom
were eliminated early on,
leaving the field wide open.
Tired and bleary eyed, Ishii
was amazed that he made it
to the final against a group
of relative unknowns and
Daniel Negreanu. In the final
game the math teacher’s
prospects looked slim. Lady
luck was not on his side and
he was forced to fold one
hand after another. However
halfway through the game,
things started looking up.
Ishii began getting better
cards and was on his game,
bluffing when he needed to
and raising when he ought
to raise. He was unbeatable.
It was just a matter of time
before Ishii and Daniel
Negreanu, the famous Canadian poker pro, were the last
two at the table. Ishii had
accomplished the greater
number of chips, but
Negreanu was not about to
go down without a fight. The
last hand was the most exciting of the game. Negreanu
was dealt two Queens and
was all in. Ishii was dealt a
nine and ten of hearts. Two
more Queens were drawn followed by the eight of hearts,
putting Negreanu in an excellent position with four of
a kind and Ishii with a potential straight flush. It all came
down to the river. Ishii
needed the Jack of Hearts to
defeat Negreanu. “The suspense was unbearable”
stated Mr. Ishii. Luckily for
Ishii it was the card he
needed; he beat out
Negreanu and won the prize
of $500, 000. “It was all luck,
this guy has no talent,” complained a disappointed
Negreanu.
With his winnings,
Ishii is planning to take next
year off. He will finish the
semester while he’s waiting
for the check to clear customs and the IRS, but afterwards he’s out of here. He
does not plan to return for at
least a year. Ishii is excited to
leave his teaching job and
claims the only math he’ll be
doing in the future is money
management. Some of his
students speculated on what
Ishii will do with his brand
new cash. “I suspect he’ll
vacation in the Caribbean
and spend his days lazing
around the beach,” says one
Grade 10 student, Carly
Johnson. “I don’t think it will
last long. He’ll probably gamble it all away again in a few
weeks,” predicts a grade 11
student who wishes to remain anonymous. Whatever
Mr. Ishii decides to do with
his money, it is undoubtedly
safe to say we will no longer
be seeing him at Charles Best
Secondary.
Courtesy of MGM GRAND photography as found at MGMcasinos.com
MR. ISHII WINS VEGAS POKER TOURNAMENT
Mr. Ishii accepts $500,000 prize at MGM Grand annual poker tournament.
EDITORIALS
Teenage Love
By Echo Columnist:
Alaysia MacPherson
It’s not unusual for teenagers to be in relationships in
high school but exactly how serious are they? The words “I love
you” are meant to be somewhat
sacred, and it seems that today
those three little words are being
thrown about too frequently
among adolescents.Many young
couples are convinced that the
person they’re with now will be
the one they’ll spend the rest of
their life with, but is it really possible to say that you’ve found
someone you’re truly in love
with before you’ve even had the
chance to graduate, before you
know what you really want out
of life? Perhaps what these people are feeling is more infatuation, a kind of a trial love that will
prepare them for relationships
when they are more mature and
experienced.I’m not saying that
there’s no chance of high school
relationships lasting, because
some high school sweethearts
do end up getting married, but
it’s definitely not the majority.
There is a big difference between
love, lust and infatuation and I
think adolescents may have a
harder time distinguishing between the three as a result of their
inexperience. You haven’t even
met half the people you’re bound
to throughout your lifetime yet,
so why not wait before jumping
to conclusions about your feelings? While we’re going through
this confusing time in our lives
many teenagers might feel they
need love, but that’s no reason to
go searching for it. There are so
many complications already that
come with growing up, and love
is one of the most complicated
feelings there is, so why add it to
the list of things we have to deal
with?Young people in relationships also have a tendency to focus their attention on the person
they are with, which leaves little
time for more important things like
homework. Why work on the
English essay that’s due tomorrow instead of spending those
precious minutes with your so
called lover? Good grades are
going to take you places in life
not having someone to hold
hands with in the hallways. Are
teenagers even emotionally
equipped to deal with the intensity of this so called love? An
Oregon study found that in 1995
an argument with a boyfriend or
girlfriend was the second most
common reason that teens attempt
suicide. I think the fact that some
teenagers are willing to end their
life over an argument with someone they might not even stay in
contact with after high school just
proves that we are not as capable
of dealing with our feelings as
we’d like to believe. Death is not
the only drastic action teens
have been known to take when
things are not going smoothly
with the person they are apparently in love with; some turn to
self abuse while others resort to
drugs or alcohol. These are extreme measures at any age let
alone between 14 and 18. Even if
the feelings are genuine, I think
serious relationships might just
be too much for teenagers to handle.
The W
orld As W
e See It: Another Year in Iraq
World
We
By Echo Columist:
Kris Mohoruk
Happy Three year anniversary, I guess. March 16th was the
three year anniversary of the United
States’ massive air assault against
Iraq. How does the United States
decide to handle this anniversary?
By launching another air assault,
actually the biggest assault since
the massive attack in 2003. A statement from the United States military announced that more than
1,450 Iraqi and U.S. lead troops, 200
vehicles and 50 aircraft are involved
in the attacks in the northeast of
Samara. In this latest operation
named “Operation Swarmer”, sol-
The Great Debate: Love or hate Pick-up Lines?
By Echo Columists:
Alaysia MacPherson and
Paige Claire
Paige: Every girl loves to be
complimented, but are they
gullible enough to fall for a
repetitive one liner? Since the
beginning of time men have
tried millions of pick up lines,
but are any girls out there likely
to fall for a pick up line?
Alaysia: I’m sure you’ve all
heard the line, “Did it hurt?
When you fell from heaven.”
Most lines like this one are so
corny that if a girl was to fall for
one, I might question her
intelligence.
Paige: Despite the unoriginality of this particular pick
up line, what girl wouldn’t want
to hear that she looks like an
angel? Although the intentions
of the guy in question may not
be pure, it is nice to have
someone think you look good.
In either case, it is an instant
confidence boost.
Alaysia: Although it may be a
confidence boost for some,
there are also a large portion of
females that take offence to
these lame attempts to get their
attention. Most pick up lines
have a tendency to be sexually
suggestive and inappropriate,
so unless the girl is looking for
someone that only wants in her
pants, the response should be
one of rejection.
Paige: I agree that there are lines
between appropriate and
inappropriate but most guys
know where to draw the line.
What sexual impact does saying
you fell from heaven have? Some
guys are un-original when you
first meet them, but face it we all
get nervous; who knows how
original and cute he can be if you
reject him?
Alaysia: The guy in question
could in fact be original despite
the pick up line, but he would
have a better chance proving that
if he went with something more
from the heart instead of using
an overused one liner. Something
simple and honest that proves
that they’ve actually taken an
interest in more than just your
appearance is a better choice.
Paige: When you meet somebody
for the first time, you will be
judged on your appearance; why
not hear that it’s noticed? Certain
non sexual pick up lines can be
cute compliments: “Do you have
a map? I keep getting lost in your
eyes.” Completely corny but
original and cute, and all he said
was he likes your eyes nothing
inappropriate.
April 1st, 2006
Cartoon by: Erin Norman
Page Two
Alaysia: To me there’s almost a
stereotype that goes along with
guys that use pickup lines.
When I hear a line like “Is that a
mirror in your pocket? ...because
I can see myself in your pants” .
I always picture it coming from
some greasy creep. A guy should
give a girl more credit than to
think we’ll be impressed by
corniness and vulgarity if he is
sincerely interested.
Paige: What exactly is so
“corny” about breaking the ice
with a joke or a compliment? It
means that he took notice of
you, and wants to talk to you. If
he makes a sexual comment, it is
almost always a joke, SO
LAUGH. We all have a sense of
humour and most pick up lines
are funny, so why act negatively
to a guy who has a sense of
humour and enough nerve to
come up to you?
Alaysia: If he wants to prove
he’s funny, he could just tell a
joke. Girls who fall for pick up
lines are a little naïve.
Paige: You can call me naïve or
a hopeless romantic, but pick up
lines are funny and cute, and
what’s the harm in falling for
them? Whether the guy is
sincere or just funny, I think
pickup lines are the perfect way
to break the ice.
diers are targeting an
area where
many insurgents are
operating.
President
Bush
is
pretty much
rehashing
the same
drivel he
has been preaching for the past
four years, trying to save himself
from plummeting ratings, and the
disapproval both the left and the
right. He needs to end this long
painful battle of good verses evil.
Yes there are terrorists out there
and unfortunally, there always will
be. But going after them is a horror,
catches innocent civilians in the
cross fire. In the Middle East, and
the United States.
There is also the ever mounting cost of the war which is close
to 250 Billion dollars. The terrible
cost just makes me cringe. I can
only imagine how much of that
money could go to eradicate diseases and poverty. The billions of
dollars spent on weapons just
causes more death, violence and
anguish. The situation is not getting any better, only worse!
Now I will admit there is need
for an army, for protection and to
attack when needed. But aggression is completely wrong. The origi-
nal reason
the United
States went
into Iraq
was to take
d o w n
Saddam
Hussein
and
his
weapons of
destruction. Well
they got Saddam, and those “weapons of mass destruction”, never of
existed in the first place. So why
don’t they pull out? Who knows,
the government has made so many
mistakes and screw ups that they
are afraid to admit they were wrong
so they continue the war or could
it be the oil wells that are located in
the Middle East that could be driving this war?
With the renewed violence
and pending civil war, you start to
wonder where is this going to go.
Should we really be scared? With
the way things are now, it seems
the only way this will end is to wait
until President Bush’s term ends.
Hopefully the next president will
pull the troops out.
If not, the future is looking
grim. This war can either stay in the
Middle East or blow out into a full
out world war. Why can we just listen to a wise man and give peace a
chance.
Page One by: Kaitlin Dalton-Gibson Page Five by: Erin Norman
Page Two by: Amanda Taschner
Page Six by: Laura Shaw
Page Three by: Chris Tse
Page Seven by: Elizabeth The
Page Four by: Jordyn Deville-Pratt
Page Eight: Leanne Feichingter
NEWS
Page 3
Sunday, April 1, 2006
France 2006
By Katie Glover
streets were extremely narrow.
On March 8th, twenty-four stu- Houses were smaller, closer together
dents and three teachers, arrived at and the same colour. The food, howthe Vancouver Airport, all extremely ever, was amazing; there were crepe
eager to be on their way to
France for 12 days. The trip Candace Holt, Heather Burgess, and Katie
was a chance to see Paris and Glover in front of l’Arc de Triomphe
many places in the South of
France. It was an amazing opportunity to explore this European country, and for the
French Immersion students to
practice their French.
After a nine hour plane ride,
followed by a stopover in London, the group arrived in Paris,
exhausted but incredibly excited. The first few days
passed by in a fascinating blur.
The group did many incredible things such as visit the
stands and patisseries on every corbeautiful Castle of Versailles, climb ner. “The food was fantastic,” says
up the Eiffel Tower, tour the Louvre Grade 11, Chris Stewart.
and walk through Notre Dame. The
After the four days in Paris, the
students also had a satisfying time students boarded the TVF, Europe’s
shopping in Paris, buying things fastest train, and headed to Prosuch as clothes and boots in the chic vence, in the South of France. In
Paris style. The time spent in Paris Provence, the students visited many
was especially adventurous as the historical Roman monuments, wangroup used the fast-paced under- dered through quaint little towns
ground Metro to get around.
and saw the beautiful Park Pont Du
The students found many differ- Guard. Next, the group hopped on a
ences between France and Canada. tour bus and travelled to Nice. Nice
The traffic was incredibly frighten- was gorgeous. The students were
ing, traffic lights were few, and the surrounded by palm trees and
went on a walking tour through
Greenwich Village with a “funny,
old…really old guide.” However this
was a two and a half hour walk which
was a little long for everyone. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and
By Carly Phillip
a tour of the United Nations BuildOn March 10th, fourteen stu- ing helped to keep the body and
dents in grades 10-12
from the Marketing
and Business departments flew to New York
to learn more about the
business world in one
of the most business
oriented cities in the
world. It wasn’t long
after landing that the
students discovered
just how much they
would have to pack
into their eight day
schedule. The itinerary included visiting
famous landmarks
such as the Empire
State Building, the
Statue of Liberty and
Staten Island, and
Ground Zero- which
proved to be an emoBest students pose beneath the Brooklyn Bridge
tional moment for
many of the students. Continuing mind fit. To keep spiritually in tune,
with the business theme, the stu- the students visited a gospel church.
dents were subject to a walking tour “That was crazy,” Carly Phillip exof the financial district of Wall Street claimed. “It was so fun.”
which turned out to be more of a
The tours weren’t finished
history lesson on immigrants in New yet, as students still had to visit the
York than an informative talk on MC Building, the planetarium and
finance. Walking tours appeared to the Met- “That was boring, I almost
be big on the agenda as the students killed myself” joked Phillip. The
Photo by Carly Phillip
Best Students
Have a Blast in
the Big Apple
beaches near the Mediterranean Sea.
“It was beautiful and interesting; I
loved Nice and the sea,” says Eliza
Regenyi.
This part of France was the
majority’s favourite due to the
beautiful scenery, the cruise on
the Mediterranean and the trip
to gorgeous Monaco; a tiny district known for its rich residents,
famous casino and the palace.
For the last weekend of the
trip, the students split up, each
staying with a French family.
This was an extremely exhilarating part of the trip as the students experienced true French
lifestyle and had an excellent
chance to speak the language,
which was a challenge for few
students not in French Immersion.
Many found the home stay to be
a great way to end the trip. Unfortunately, some students did not have
a good experience with their assigned
families.
All in all, the trip was an overwhelming success. The group enjoyed themselves immensely and all
felt it was worthwhile. Grade 11 student, Candace Holt, states, “I’m so
glad I went. I had an awesome time;
it was the best trip I’ve ever been
on.”
Madison Square Gardens was another stop on the agenda, and one
night while some of the boys went to
a Knicks game, a few of the girls went
to go see “Chicago” live on stage.
Through sheer determination, the
students stood in line for four hours
in order to get Saturday Night Live
tickets. Only four people didn’t get
tickets so they toured Times Square
for the night while the others enjoyed seeing the SNL filming.
Parades in New York have a
reputation for being some of the
best parades in the world, so naturally the students went to see the St.
Patrick’s Day Parade. “It was disappointing,” said Gr.11 student, Shirley
Price. “You expected to see floats
and dancing, but all there was was
people and marching.” Shopping
made up for the disappointment of
the parade. “We went to
Chinatown…went shopping,
Soho…went shopping…5th Ave.,
went shopping.” claimed Phillip.
Most of the students spent between
$500-$1000 on shopping and food.
On the last night the teachers had something really special
planned for everyone. Everyone
dressed up and they went to The
Tavern for dinner and had a great
time. After dinner, two limos were
rented and they drove around New
York for three hours. When asked if
the trip would be worthwhile to do
twice, Phillip replied, “Oh yeah, it
was fun. I would definitely go back.
I love New York.”
Leslie Bouillet, Stacey Tkachuk, Jessica Atnikov, and Kim Hession in front of
the Eiffel Tower
Kendall Scott, Layne Nyhaug, Mr. Mushens,
Jared Rogers, and Rebecca Innis in Prague
The “Best” of Europe
amazing shopping and they spent a
By Samantha Lee
On March 9th, Mr. Mushens and
students Rebecca Innis, Jared
Rogers, Layne Nyhaug and Kendall
Scott began a two week trip to central Europe. Mr.Mushens and the
Best contingent travelled with his
wife, who works at Alpha High
School in Burnaby and brought 11
of her students. Students visited
five countries: Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary. One of the main highlights on
the way was the concentration camp
Dachau. Next, in Hungary, the students just happened to stop there
when they were having a national
holiday. There were parades and
festivals in the streets and the cities
were very alive. Best of all, there was
lot of money. All the students then
arrived in Vienna, Austria where they
experienced a very moving classical
Mozart concert. Another main highlight was a historical ceremony held
in Bat Aurch, Germany, to recognize
a pilot that was shot down in WWII.
His high school ring was found,
there was media all over the event,
and his family was flown in. It was
open to anyone and the students
were on the Germany TV news. This
was an amazing opportunity for not
just Best students, but every student and teacher that attended.
“Every student should travel. You
will learn more than I could ever
teach to you in my class. If you’re
open to new experiences, it’s a great
opportunity.” – Mr.Mushens
Saturday April 1, 2006
NEWS
Drug Dog T
o Patrol Best’
To
Best’ss Hallways Profile: Nicole Ponsart
Page 4
Officer Potter told us. “He’s already very good with people so it
shouldn’t be a problem.”
So if the German shepard
approaches you don’t worry – he’s
well-trained. But you should probably start to worry if Rocky sits
Cultural Fair T
astes Good T
o All
Tastes
To
By Echo reporter
Chris Tse
juice, Spanish desserts, deep-fried
stuff, and Rabbit candies, among
others.
One could say that there was an
opportunity to really get a taste of
the different cultures of the world.
(insert ba-bum-chhhh here). For
The world is made up of different races and cultures, and we’re all
the better for it. Without Asians, we
wouldn’t have chopsticks; the NBA
would be a lot less fun to watch with
out black people, and so on and so
forth. On Friday,
March 3rd, Dr. Charles
Best held its Annual
Cultural Fair. In a
school where the student body is more
colourful than Fruit
Loops, the event was
met with a great deal
of enthusiasm.
Students popped
into the small gymnasium on their offblocks, and some
teachers brought
their classes down to
take
in
the
multicultural atmosPhoto by Kim Hession
phere.
Organized by the Language and some, the food was the main/only
ESL departments, the day featured reason to be there. As one student
booths, performances, and food, put it, “There was lots of good
among other things. At most of the food, and basically, it was…yeah, I
displays, there was information re- can’t really say anything else. Exgarding different cultures, and visitors had to complete certain tasks to
earn rewards.
There were recipes for different
foods from different regions and
countries, such as Maple-On-AStick from Quebec and sushi from
Japan.At one booth, students learned
how to write their names in Korean,
while at another booth, they were
taught how to use chopsticks. For
performances, there were dances,
songs, skits, and a fascinating display of kendo, the ancient Japanese
art of sword-fighting.
As all good cultural fairs are aware,
food makes the day, and oh, there
was food aplenty at this fair. Sushi,
cakes, crepes, rice pudding, nachos,
cept that there was food.”
Unfortunately, all good things
must come to an end, and the
cultural fair started packing up at
the end of D block, which upset
many students who were not able
to attend in earlier blocks.
Barring this
slight mishap,
however, the day
was a rousing
success, and the
teachers and students of the Language/ESL departments deserve a round of
applause.
As grade 11
student
Kim
Hession said, “I
thought that it
was, like, good,
and people were
interested, and
lots of teachers
brought their
classes there, and it was, like,
good.”
Well
put, Kim. We
couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Photo by Kim Hession
By Echo reporter Chris Tse
E: What did you do after the camp?
She can cheer, dance, or
N: Well, I was strictly there to play
knock the living crap out of the lacrosse, and I didn’t really care for
other team on the lacrosse field, doing much else. I finished the camp
but no matter what she’s doing, on the 14th, and then had a whole day
you can bet that Nicole Ponsart’s to kinda chill and relax, and then I had
giving it her all. It’s not often to leave on the 16th to meet my cheer
that you see a cheerleader/sports team in Anaheim for the USA Nationplayer, let alone a cheerleader/ als.
lacrosse player, so this grade 11
E: How was that?
student has already demonstrated
N: That was awesome. We probably
her ability to compete at both ran one of our best routines. Even
ends of the athletic spectrum.
though one of our stunts didn’t go up,
What makes Nicole even we still did our best performance and
more extraordinary though, is the we finished 4th overall in the competifact that she has reached the top tion.
level in both of her respective
sports. Just two weeks ago, Nicole Ponsart
Nicole had an opportunity to
travel to Toronto for the U-19
Women’s National Field Lacrosse Team tryouts. Five
days later, she was down in
Anaheim, helping the Charles
Best Cheer Team place 4th at
the USA Nationals.
Recently, the Echo had a
chance to interview Ms.
Ponsart, discovering just
how she manages to juggle
the rigorous demands of an
elite student-athlete.
Echo: So recently, we heard
you went to Toronto for some
tryouts?
Nicole: Yeah. I went to go tryout for the U-19 National Women’s Field Lacrosse team on
March 11th to March 16th. It was
a three-day camp where we had
to play in front of the 18 judges,
who were there to determine the
next round of cuts, which would
be 40 of the 60 girls who were
there. And there were about six
girls from BC and five from Alberta who had never played field
lacrosse before, I being one of
them, and…
E: Hold up. If you’ve never
played field lacrosse before, what
were you doing at the national
team tryouts?
N: Well, Mr. House introduced
some of the girls to it at the
beginning of the year, and I took
a liking to it. I’ve played box
lacrosse for six years, so I have the
basic skills that I can apply to
field.
E: Were any other girls from
Best there?
N: Lisa Seidel went with me to
the tryouts.
E: What did you think about
the experience?
N: I thought the experience
was great. We learned a lot
about the sport... I think we
matched up well against the other
girls, and I think that Lisa and I
have a good chance of making the
next cut.
E: So when will you find out
whether you made the cut?
N: Um, I’ll find out either tonight or tomorrow, they’ll mail me
a package of information on how
I played and give me things to
improve upon if I didn’t.
E: Were you one of the youngest there?
N: Well, I was one of the
younger girls there. Lisa was
one of the youngest, though the
youngest girl there was fourteen.
Photo by Brandon Timko
be at our school at least three
times a week, and Rocky will be
accompanying him about once a
As of April 30th, Charles Best will
week.
be implementing a n ew measure
Rocky also works with
to help control the so-called “drug
the narcotics officers for the
problem” at that has been present in
Coquitlam RCMP. Although
our school for the
many schools in the
past few years.
States have their own
A new liaison
drug dogs, this is one
officer, Robert Potof the first uses of drug
ter, will be in charge
dogs in
Canadian
of the new drug crackschools.
down, which will inSchools in Queclude a drug-sniffing
bec implemented the
dog and locker seardrug dog system last
ches. Some of you
year and have had nothmay have already
ing but positive feedseen Rocky, (named
back from all involved.
after
Sylvester
Montreal stuStallone’s character
dents were unhappy
in the movie) our
with the dog at the bedrug dog, while Conginning, but they bestable Potter was
came used to the idea of
Constable Potter and Rocky after having paid a visit to the smoke
acclimatizing him to pit at the back of the school last Monday morning.
a drug dog as their
the school environschools became a safer
ment early last week.
enviornment less filled with drugs
down beside you. In that case, you
Constable Potter has been
and the peer preasure that goes
will be requested to open your
taking him around the school to get
along with that. Constable Potlocker and possibly be stripused to the hallways, lockers, and
ter hopes that other schools
searched.
kids. “I want to be completely sure
nearby will follow Best’s examIf you refuse to open your
that Rocky is comfortable around
ple in fighting drug use in high
locker, you could be suspended
the school and near the students,”
schools.
from school. Constable Potter will
By Echo reporter
Leanne Feichtinger
E: So what does that mean to you,
being a lacrosse player and a cheerleader?
N: Well, I like to keep my options
open, y’know, playing lots of different
sports. I danced for 11 years, and then
I discovered that I liked lacrosse,
which I’ve played for six years. What
makes cheer and lacrosse similar is
that they’re both team sports, which I
excel in.
E: Have you ever experienced any
discrimination as a result of the sports
that you play?
N: When I was at the lacrosse
tryouts, people kinda made fun of me
because I was a cheerleader, and back
east, cheerleading’s not as popular as
it is over here. Most people think
stereotypical cheerleaders are dumb,
but that’s not what it’s all about.
E: How do you manage to juggle
both lacrosse and cheerleading?
N: Well, I have cheer Mondays,
Tuesdays, and Thursdays and lacrosse
the other days, so it gets pretty hectic
sometimes. But luckily, I haven’t had
too many conflicts.
E: What advice do you have for girls
like you who want to keep their options
open?
N: Do all you can for as long as
you can. I never knew when I started
playing box that I’d end up trying out
for the national field team. Just do all
the things you can, and eventually
you’ll find something that you’re
really good at.
The Echo would like to wish Nicole
and Lisa the best of luck in making the
U19 National Field Lacrosse Team for
women
Vitals
DOB: August 25, 1989
Food: Flying Wedge Pizza
Color: turquoise
Sport: Lacrosse
Movie: Fight Club
Subject: Earth Science
Teachers: Mr. Coops, Ms. P, and
Mr. Foulkes
Favourite Cartoon Character:
Stewey from Family Guy
Saturday,April 1st, 2006
NEWS & ENTERT
AINMENT
ENTERTAINMENT
Page 5
written by Echo reporter
Samantha Lee
On March 9th, the student council
and staff held
the very successful and festive Spring Fling
dance.
When you
think of Spring
Fling, usually
you think of
flowers, sun and
well, images associated with
spring. Who
would have
guessed that on
the day of Spring
Fling, it would snow? Although
many were very much surprised by
this turn of weather, it didn’t stop
people from attending the dance,
not even close.
Despite the snow, many of the
students who attended said that
they had fun overall and it was just
a really well organized and enjoyable
event. Held in the
small gym, the
crowd danced and
went crazy to the
mixings of the professional DJ that
had been hired for
this social event.
There were various genres of music played but
some attendees felt
that the selection
was one sided. According to Adam
Hansen (Gr.11), “There was too much
hippy hop. You know, you gotta
have variety.” Although, when
Aaron Robinson, Grade 11, was
asked what he thought of the dance
and music, he commented by saying: “Well, it was fun, but I don’t
really care what kind of music they
play. As long as there’s music and I
can dance to it, I’m there.”
Not every student in the school
attended the dance but everyone
does know by now that every year,
Best has two dances open to all
ages: The Halloween Dance and The
Spring Fling. In the past, these
dances have been unsuccessful for
numerous reasons of which every-
Photos by Amber MacDonald
Photos by Amber MacDonald
Students Enjoy a Successful Spring Fling at Best
Students have a fun time at dance
one is aware of but this dance proved
otherwise.
It would appear that either people
have matured, or the ones who were
more mature all along are now the
only attending the dances. Well,
one thing is clear, for the seniors
who attended; this was a very pleasant and enjoyable last public dance
for them.
snow-appropreiate clothing was
scarce.
Can these sudden snowflakes be a
sign of something bigger? Something to come? Perhaps, but at least
we know it isn’t global warming!
Spring Break or W
inter W
onderland?
Winter
Wonderland?
On March 8th,
2006, Dr. Charles
Best Secondary
endured an immense snowdump.
Normally in
March, the weather
is rainy or sunny;
snow, however, is
quite unexpected.
Despite the stormy weather, students welcomed this last-minute winter wonderland. This
sudden snow storm
was a surprise to
many
There were students and teachers
that were concerned
about their Spring
Break vacations being delayed, but just
in time the snow subsided and gor-
geous true spring weather appeared.
Snow conditions became so harsh
that the roads were barely visible. In
fact, Mr. Fichter felt it necessary to
warn students of the unforgiving
roads.
Many moans and groans were
heard throughout the school as no
one was prepard for this unexpected
snowfall.
Since spring clothing is associated with Spring Break, most students were wearing few layers and
Photos by Amber MacDonald
written by Echo reporter Erin
Norman
Name that famous Bunny and win a FREE Subway!
Last Month’s winner, Stacey Tkachuk can pick up her prize in room 311.
by Erin Norman
A.
B.
______
_____
C.
_____
D.
_____
ENTERT
AINMENT
ENTERTAINMENT
Page 6
Saturday, April 1st, 2006
Speak Out: How do you feel about the giant rats found in the school?
By Echo Reporter: Brandon Timko
“They’re just trying to find a
natural habitat.”
-Cody Martell and Gord
Reimer (Gr. 12)
“We should genetically mutate
them so they become super
rats, then dissect them in
biology.”
-Nicole Ponsart and Meaghan
Nicholson (Gr. 11)
“The school is dirty and it
sucks mondo rat.”
“Eww! That’s disgusting!”
“That’s gross man, I hate
rats.”
-Wes Kamensek and Kevin
Larsen (Gr. 11)
-Theresa Lawson and
Lauren Pineau (Gr. 10)
-Krishan Siew (Gr. 12)
toes. Separated into three parts, the
book, set in Philadelphia, is about
two sisters trying to define themselves.
Polar opposites, the two sisters have a sturdy bond that keeps
them connected even while miles
apart.
Rose Feller is an accomplished
lawyer who is working her way to
the top, while her younger sister,
Maggie, is an aspiring actress
whose only accomplishment is a
perfect body.
Maggie keeps on making one
mistake after the other; she can’t
seem to keep a job, she is evicted
from her apartment, and her learning disabilities are holding her back
from becoming the actress she has
always dreamed of becoming.
Rose feels as if she is always
“In Her Shoes” is T
op Quality Chick Literature
Top
By Echo Columnist
Erin Normann
“In Her Shoes” by Jennifer
Weiner is a witty and delightful
escape book, a tragedy and romance told in a humorous tone.
I strongly recommend this
book for anyone who is interested
in an intriguing and suspenseful
narrative that keeps you on your
looking after her little sister and
picking up the pieces.
When Maggie is forced to
move in with Rose, their relationship is put to the test.
Maggie’s wild lifestyle is on
a collision course with Rose’s calm
and currently blissful existence.
This book is one of Jennifer
Weiner’s best books in my opinion
and was so well written that it has
even been made into a movie. However, I do not believe the movie can
capture the depth of thought this
novel.
To get the entire sensation
from her characters, you need to
read the book to understand just
how interrelated they are.
In conclusion, I put this book
in my top ten list for best “Chick
lit” genre.
Movie Reviews: The T
op Five List of Classic 1980’
een Movies
Top
1980’ss T
Teen
By Echo Columnist: Erin Normann
1.) The Breakfast ClubThis is the ultimate 1980s teen
movie. It has everything from rebellion and revolt to classic one
liners. The characters are dynamic
and extremely engaging. Plus, it
has Molly Ringwald in it. What
more can a teen ask for?
2.) Ferris Bueller’s Day OffWho hasn’t seen this classic Matthew Broderick film? It is perfect if
all you want is an entertaining teen
movie. Ferris takes you through all
the unbelievable adventures every
teen wants to have (including lip
syncing on a parade float).
3.) Fast Times at Ridgemont
High- This classic gives a goofy
approach to dealing with every teen
crisis imaginable. Through humour
it still manages to get important
messages across. Plus, it has Sean
Penn in the role of a surfer; need I
say more... dudes?
The Strokes’ Bad “First Impressions”
By Echo Columnist
Laura Shaw
The Strokes have recently
released their third album, First
Impressions of Earth. With the
amazing guitar riffs and loud bass
and drums that characterize the
Strokes, I expected this album to
be masterpiece. Instead I was
quite disappointed. The CD is
filled with excessive use of synthesizers that give the music a
fake, manufactured sound. The
band sounds a lot like the Killers,
the White Stripes, and Radiohead,
but with much more grumbly,
whiny vocals and meaningless
lyrics. Julian Casablancas’ voice
sounds like he should be on a toilet while he’s singing. He should
have stopped crying before he
started recording this CD. He’s a
grown man but it’s hard to realize
that because throughout the entire album, all he does is whine and
snivel about his worthless life. I
guess being exceedingly wealthy,
recently married, and really successful is really tough. The first two
tracks “You Only Live Once” and
“Juicebox” start out with great, loud,
emphasized bass guitar. All the way
through this CD, the band does an
exceptional job, but unfortunately
the disappointing vocals overpower
any talent there is in the
instrumentals. After the first two acceptable songs, the CD only gets
worse. The music starts to sound like
an Atari game, or like the old Super
Nintendo games when they freeze
and keep playing the same music
over and over again. I hate it when
that happens. I hoped that they
were just trying something out,
maybe trying something new, but I
discovered as I continued to listen,
that it wasn’t going to get any better. Track five, “On the Other Side”
sounds like the theme to Inspector
Gadget, except with Casablancas
moaning the same hollow lyrics for
a solid four and a half minutes.
Track 7, “Ask me Anything” is by
far the worst song on the album. It
is full of boring, stupid lyrics like
“Don’t be a coconut/ God is trying
to talk to you.” What is he trying
to say? I don’t get it! The chorus is
quite ironic, as he repeats over and
over again “I’ve got nothing to say,
I’ve got nothing to say.” That’s obvious. As a final rating, I’ll give this
CD 4 out of 10. The lyrics and vocals were unexceptional, but the rest
of the band was endurable and the
CD was overall satisfactory. My
dog will be happy to get a new frisbee.
4.) Can’t Buy Me LoveAnother film about teen confusion
and discovery: hurray! It may have
a redundant theme, but who really
cares. Everyone loves a movie
about a nerdy teenager trying to
be someone else and then recognizing that he is perfect the way he
is. Pure classic.
5.) Pretty In Pink- Poor
Molly Ringwald, misunderstood
yet again. After her family forgets
her sweet sixteenth, things must
get better right? Nope; it wouldn’t
make a good movie if things didn’t
become worse. Any teenager can
love this classic. Haven’t we all felt
neglected?
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WWWOXFORDLEARNINGCOM
ENTERT
AINMENT
ENTERTAINMENT
Page 7
April 1, 2006
Hollywood Engages V
iewers W
ith 78th Annual Academy Awards
Viewers
With
by Echo reporter / Elizabeth The Jessica Alba wowed the crowd in a
glitzening gold Versace number,
From the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal proving herself to be the belle of the
to Reese Witherspoon, the Holly- ball.
wood elite aligned on the red carpet
Jon Stewart of The Daily Show
at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles proved to be an exceptional host
on March 5th for the 78th Annual during the ceremony as he took hiAcademy Awards, honouring the larious jabs at the controversial film
outstanding film achievements of candidates, attendees such as tri2005.
ple-nominee George Clooney, and
Not only were viewers wondering the recent shooting scandal involvwho will win,they were also asking, ing Vice President Dick Cheney: “I
what their fado have some
vourite stars will
sad news to rebe wearing. At
port. Bjork could
this year’s most
not be here. She
watched fashion
was trying on her
event, celebriOscars dress
ties modelled
and
Dick
themselves after
Cheney shot
the sophistiher,” Stewart recated, shimmervealed, referring
and-glimmer
to the infamous
styles of the
swan outfit of
Golden Age’s
2001.
screen sirens in
In contrast to
rich tones, metalthe high-tech,
lic colours and
cutting-edge
classic black.
style of the reThe exquicent cinema age,
sitely regal Keira Knightley topped the evening’s set-up saw a return to
the “Best Dressed” lists with her Classic Hollywood. Throughout the
wine-coloured, one-shoulder gown show, multiple montages, which paid
by Vera Wang adorned with a one- tribute to Film Noir, Blockbusters,
of-a-kind vintage Bulgari necklace Epics and Biopics, were frequently
of emeralds, rubies and diamonds. displayed. Without a doubt, the
If You W
ant a Second Date,
Want
Don’t See “Date Movie!”
by Echo columnist / Laura Shaw
The creators of the Scary Movie
sequels, Aaron Seltzer and Jason
Friedberg have recently written and
produced a new comedy, “Date
Movie.” This movie stars Alyson
Hannigan and Adam Campbell as
the main characters, Julia Jones (as
in Bridget Jones), and Grant
Funckyerdoder (cue Meet the Parents), who fall in love and get married. Sorry to ruin the ending, but
you’re wasting your time and money
going to see this horrible movie
anyways. This movie was supposed
to parody other date movies. Instead, it only made references to
other romantic comedies, without
adding any humor that wasn’t already there, or that would’ve benefited the scenes in anyway. The
humor was childish and tasteless at
best. The writers tried to get laughs
out of the audience with stupidity
like beating up a homeless man,
Michael Jackson, and farting cats.
There were also many scenes that
were too long and boring, without
even one attempt at any humor
whatsoever. It was as if they put
every joke they could come up with
into one scene, and when they had
nothing left for the next scene they
decided to make a regular scene,
without the terrible punch lines of
the preceding scenes. Perhaps they
knew that they would need to give
the audience a break from all the lame
jokes and terrible movie references.
There was also a random cameo by
Lil’ Jon. I guess they had to get him
so they could attract all the teen rap
enthusiasts who are obsessed with
seeing his twenty thousand dollar
“grill” and hearing his absurd
tourettes-like lingo. In general, the
movies that “Date Movie” attempted
to parody were much funnier and
more original than “Date Movie”
itself. As an overall rating, I give
“Date Movie” 3 out of 10 because
aside from the rare, clever satire, it
was basically just another cheesy
teen date movie.
Academy’s efforts to encourage
movie-lovers to experience the full
enjoyment of the silver screen resulted from the current box office
slump.
Several comedic ploys added to
the formality’s entertainment factor.
For the granted
parody
of
Brokeback
Mountain, a
rather bizarre
clip show of
western films
with scenes involving male
characters talking emotionally
with perceived
innuendo was
exhibited. Spoof
advertisements,
modelled after
the vicious political advertisements, attacked the candidacies of
various nominees on behalf of other
entrants. Highlights of the night included Tom Hanks’ spoof on acceptance speeches, Ben Stiller’s
floating head routine and Will Farrell
and Steve Carrell’s presentation for
make-up artistry.
The Academy Award honourees
continued the trend away from bigbudget blockbusters and aimed at
smaller independent efforts. Many
of the competing contenders dealt
with sensitive socio-political themes
including racism (Crash),
transgenderism (Transamerica) and
homosexuality (Brokeback Mountain and Capote).
For the most
part, the Oscars
went out to deserving, favoured candidates. Best Actor
Philip
S e y m o u r
Hoffman received a gold
statue for his remarkable impersonation
of
writer Truman
Capote
in
Capote. Reese
Witherspoon
accepted the title of Best Actress for her immaculate portrayal of country singer June
Carter in Walk The Line. George
Clooney and Rachel Weisz won for
supporting performances as a CIA
agent in the thriller Syriana and a
passionate activist in The Constant
Gardener.
The summer sleeper hit March of
the Penguins won for Best Documentary and was collected by four
French men in tuxedos with matching stuffed penguins.
Hip-hop group “Three 6 Mafia”
enthusiastically seized Best Original Song for Hustle & Flow’s “It’s
Hard Out Here For A Pimp.”
As for filmmaking endeavours,
the exotic romance Memoirs of a
Geisha acquired trophies for Visual
Arts while the magnificent spectacle King Kong gained acknowledgement for its accomplishments in
Sound and Visual Effects. Ang Lee
obtained a statue for his directing
talents in the critically acclaimed
Brokeback Mountain, a piece on
the love affair between two cowboys. The film, along with Crash,
was also recognised for its notable
screenplay.
As the overall steadfast evening
came to a close, the biggest surprise
came when Crash, a film about racial
prejudice in Los Angeles, beat out
the expected winner, Brokeback
Mountain, (which had received the
top prizes at various award shows as
well as led the Academy Awards
pool with eight nominations), for
Best Picture.
Despite the bewildering turn of
events, this year’s commemoration
of motion pictures left viewers entranced from the red carpet arrivals
to the final “good night, and good
luck.”
Page 8
BLUE DEVIL SPORTS
Saturday, April 1st 2006
Charles Best Hosts Lacrosse Championships and Places 2nd
Photo by Kim Hession
score was 9-8 New West.
Both the Senior and Junior
teams placed second in their divisions.
Photo by Kim Hession
Photo by Kim Hession
at 6 minutes into a sudden-death
double-overtime, New West
scored, the final score being 10-9
New West.
“Getting beat in double-over
time in the finals is the closest you
can get to winning without actually winning,” said Mr. House of
the Junior’s performance.
Saturday was the first time
that the Senior lacrosse team has
ever made the final. The game was
an exciting one, with Curtis Sim
scoring Best’s first goal.
New West then scored four
goals, and by half-time the score
was 6-3 New West.
With 25 seconds remaining
in the game, Kevin Cuccione scored
to bring the score to 9-7 New West.
With four seconds remaining in the
game, DJ Reynes scored a goal,
and Best then called a time out. Best
team captain, Matt Beers, asked the
officials to check the stick of a New
West player, and the stick was
deemed illegal.
Best was awarded possession of the ball, but Kevin
Cuccione’s shot hit the post as the
clock hit one second. The final
Photo by Kim Hession
From Wednesday, March 1st
to Saturday, March 4th, both the
senior and junior boys’ lacrosse
teams played in the BC High School
Field Lacrosse Championships.
Twenty-six teams competed over
the four day tournament, hosted by
Charles Best.
Both teams got off to a good
start, with both the junior team and
the senior teams winning their
games on Wednesday.
After the quarter finals on Friday, the Best Senior and Junior
teams were both in the finals, along
with New West, Fox and Claremont
in the Seniors and New West, Heritage Woods and Delta in the Juniors.
Best Seniors defeated Fox 1311 to continue into the finals
against New West, while the Juniors beat Delta 12-3 and also moved
into the finals against New West.
In the Juniors’ final game, the
team matched New West goal for
goal, and with six seconds left
Robert Church tied the game at 6.
During the 10 minutes of overtime,
each team scored 3 goals. Finally
Photo by Kim Hession
By Echo Reporter
Leanne Feichtinger
Best W
aterpolo T
eam
Waterpolo
Team
Remains Undefeated
Photo by Amber MacDonald
By Echo Reporter
Kaitlin Dalton Gibson
March 3 rd and 4 th the Dr.
Charles Best Water Polo team participated in a major tournament at
the Coquitlam Aquatic Center.
Coached by Jordy StaceSmith, the team maintained a spotless record of 4-0 and remained
undefeated for the second season
in a row.
This tournament was a trail
run before the Provincials Championships help April 15th at Richmond’s Watermania.
The goal of the tournament
was to give some students who
had never played before a taste of
the game before diving in at the
Provincials.
Many schools and recreational teams were part of the 3-day
tournament. Charles Best played
Castlegar, St. Georgia’s, Earl
Marriott (Abbotsford) and Yale
(Surrey).
Yale was the strongest of
these teams giving Best a run for
their money. Fortunately Best won
with a score of 8-7.
Dr. Charles Best is known as
the team to beat at Provincials. The
Best Water polo team has the best
record of any Charles Best Sport
team. They have already clinched
two Provincials titles in the last
three year, once in 2003 combined
with Centennial and last year independently.
MVPs
By Echo Reporter Paige Clare
Instead of spending spring
break at home lounging on the
couch like the average student, The
Charles Best Cheer Team traveled
to Anaheim for the annual USA
Spirit Nationals.
Heading into the competition, with nine equally outstanding
teams, the team was less than optimistic. Before competing the team
had expected to place 8th or 9th but
through out the tournament, they
wowed the judges and came in an
astonishing 4th place.
The 2006 competition was
Charles Best’s third trip to the USA
Spirit Nationals. Last year, the girls
placed a disappointing 17th but redeemed themselves this year
clinching 4th place in the small co-
ed division. The teams coach Ms.
Peterson explained, “When we first
looked at our competition list, we
were sure we were going to come
last or second to last so the fact
that we placed 4th was a big deal for
us.”
The USA Spirit Nationals is
a huge competition with over 300
teams broken up into numerous divisions “It was a big competition
bigger than most of the kids on our
team had ever seen with a huge
arena, lighting, good sound and
really high end judges. Overall the
atmosphere was really exciting for
the kids,” stated Ms. Peterson.
In a competition as colossal
as the USA nationals, it is easy to
feel like an outsider, but Mrs
Peterson explained “It was pretty
supportive, all the teams from
Northwest Washington State and
BC all supported each other; each
team had their own cheering section, even though the teams came
from so far away.”
The whole time down in
Anaheim was not all about the competition. On one of their free days,
the team split up and explored
Anaheim.
Some students spent the day
at Disney Land or Knott’s Berry
Farm as other team members explored the stores for a little shopping
All in all the trip was a success; the team did exceptionally
well and the students enjoyed their
spring break even though it was a
little far from the couch.
Jennelle Hameluck
This months MVP is Jenelle
Hameluck (grade 11), because she
had enough spirit and energy to
help the cheer team succeed at
nationals. At the beginning of the
competition, Janelle’s stunt fell,
but she was so determined and
motivated she presevered
anyway. She had a strong impact
on the success at nationals, and
gave an outstanding performance.
Photo by Brandon Timko
By Echo Reporter
Kaitlin Dalton Gibson
Photo by Brandon Timko
Cheer T
eam Places 4th at Nationals
Team
Matt Beers
This months MVP is Matthew
Beers (grade 11) because he
makes a amazing team captain. As
a member of the lacrosse team he
contributes by always being
prepared for the worst. Matthew
is a highly important member of
the team. playing lacrosse he has
proved to be a strong leader and
an incredible player.