8:45, Speech and debate teacher John Tomberlain is in his speech class when he hears a loud banging from outside the classroom. He’s used to the routine now, he exits the room and directs whoever is locked outside to go around the school and check into the front office.

“There’s a sign on the doors that says ‘Doors lock at 8:20 students will need to go around and check in at the front office,’” Tomberlain said. “It’s not like I get some sick joy from locking people out, but its my job to make sure the door is locked.”

While a locked door at the end of the 600 hallway isn’t entirely new, students can expect a heavier focus on security this year.

“We haven’t had any major security changes,” Principal Bill Harp said. “We’ve really tried to increase awareness among staff and students about different things.”

Administrators want the students and faculty alike to know what to do during an emergency.

“We are changing our attitude toward secu-rity,” Officer Pete Mann said. “The staff and students need to think about the options they have if there is an intruder. Things like locking down the school, which has always been a plan, aren’t really practiced and I don’t think that it’s on everybody’s mind. Once we do practice it, nobody will be in the dark and we will have a way to account for everybody.”

The drills would be similar to the fire drills that are already practiced at the school.

“If people are familiar with what the proce-dure is with a specific emergency, then if it ever comes up it’ll be a lot easier to deal with and there will be much less panic,” Mann said. “We are just trying to tighten things up and have a plan that we can work from.”

While practicing drills is one area of focus, administrators also want to keep the school more secure.

“Keeping doors locked is one of the easiest things we could do to keep people, and their property safe,” Mann said. “It’s a fairly simple thing, we don’t have to necessarily add any more physical security than we usually have. We just have to use the resources that we already have available to us.”

Mann pointed out the rules had been over-looked the past few years, but he said he wants to focus more on enforcement.

“We’ve been kind of lazy about keeping a secure perimeter especially when we have visiting teams or other things like that,” Mann said. “That’s probably the simplest and one of the most effective things we can do to keep everyone in the building safer and their property safer. There are even certain doors in the gym that, during volleyball or basketball games, Mr. Harp will lock so people can’t get into the locker rooms.”

Doors locked to the outside will keeps unau-thorized persons out of the building, but only if they are actually closed.

“If you’re going out to the new gym through a door that is locked to the outside, make sure it locks behind you,” Mann said. “Never block open the door because then we are no longer able to control who comes into the building, and if you see somebody where they don’t belong make sure to let someone know.”

Administrators staged a demonstration during inservice to show just how easily someone could get into the school.

“We had a presentation over the summer for the faculty members and talked about the philos-ophy behind response to an intruder on campus and how it has evolved over time,” Mann said. “It has changed from a situation that everybody is waiting for the police, which is reasonable, but alone isn’t the best option.”

The administration has stressed that whenever an alarm or announcement warns that an intrud-er is on campus that all teachers lock their doors and keep all students in the classroom.

“That’s the safest thing to do, as opposed to just closing the door and leaving it unlocked, or letting everybody run into the wind,” Mann said. “That way, we’ll be able to make sure that everyone is safe.”

Mann added that while education is the main goal, but also pointed out that keeping everyone safe is part of that goal.

“It’s gotten to the point that kids will bang on the door and I’ll just point to the sign that says they lock at 8:20,” Tomberlain said. “The usual response I get is ‘but it’s 8:21!’ and to that I say, ‘And you’re late, go around.’”

District buckles down on school security

LockedDown

Mark Northammanaging editor

Just ask us

-parkertrippe, 11

I like the idea because the country needs more knowledge on portion control.”“18% said yes

82% said no

The government shouldn’t have the power to regulate any-thing.”

-nicholasmcdowell, 11“

In efforts to reduce the number of obese peple in New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg passed a bill on Sep. 19 that limits the size of sugary drinks. The bill prohibits the sale of any drink over 16 ounces. However, the number of 16 ounce drinks a consumer can buy is not limited.

“All we’re doing here is educat-ing,” Bloomberg told New York Times. “It makes you see the difference.”

Do you think the government should regulate the purchase of drinks with high sugar content?

For the class of 2013, seniori-tis hasn’t kicked in quite yet. Whether you’re taking all AP classes to stay up in class rank or have an easy schedule, there are still things that need to be done.

The deadline for early action college applications is Nov. 1. Early action increases the chance of being accepted to a selective college more than regular deci-sion does, which is due in Janu-ary. If you submit before Nov. 1 you will be in the first group of candidates for consideration.

To submit your early action ap-plication, log on to your potential college website and complete the application, or use applytexas.org or commonapp.org

“I want to be in the first schol-arship cut,” Conner Palmore said. “I’ve already applied to West Florida and UNT so I can be ahead of the pack.”

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pleasant grove high school5406 mcknight road | texarkana, tx | 75503

vol. 28 #1 | Sept. 28, 2012

No more mean girls

Mrs. Edmonds opened up the box and read the first students name. After more than a year of waiting, the trial group was finally getting their Kindle Fires.

“At first, nothing really went well,” junior Chase Henson said. “They kept being pushed back. When they finally arrived, everybody was really excited, it was just like Christmas.”

The Kindles will be tested by a class of juniors to determine if they should be give to the entire student population instead of textbooks.

“I really think that it will come in handy in classes like English, History and Math,” Henson said. “It comes with a really handy dictionary feature that can define a word the instant you come across it.”

But in order to use the kindles effectively, the students in the trial group will need access to wireless internet.

“Now that the Kindles are in, we are going to have to make multiple access points,” Principal Bill Harp said. “You have to have access to iCloud, with the Kindle, to make documents, take notes while reading a novel, and download-ing books. So to accomplish that, we will open

up the wifi to students around the end of the first six weeks.”

The wifi was supposed to be running at the beginning of school, but some unexpected snags pushed the date for opening it back.

“Whenever you’re putting in a new network, you have to make certain hardware upgrades,” Harp said. “A new router, coupled with a few glitches, has been the main barrier for opening up the system.”

The system should be open for the Kindle users by the second six weeks, and students could see it opened up for laptop use later this year.

“Eventually, students will be able to bring laptops to class for note-taking purposes,” Harp said. “The only problem we have to deal with is the Federal and State laws CIPA and COPA.”

CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) and COPA (Child Online Protection Act) both set guidelines that the school will have to cover before allowing the use of laptops during class.

“There are certain things that need to be done in order to meet that standard,” Harp said. “Once we get the wifi up and running we will

work on

rewriting our policy and take

that to the school board and see if they

will approve it.”Every school has

to comply with the requirements set by CIPA and COPA, but Harp hopes that students will be able to take full

advantage of the devices once they are all approved.

“Hopefully, it’ll be the students that benefit the most,” Harp said. “Different teachers and classes will use them more than others, so it would really be up to the teachers to determine how much they are used.”

Once the system is open, students will log into the system using an open password.

“I’m really looking forward to the use of all these different devices,” Henson said. “I’m hope-ful that this will eventually result in using our e-books instead of those tree-killing texbooks.”

Mark Northammanaging editor

School wifi network will soon be open for student use

Getting Connected

Schools are taking bullying seri-ously these days after the Texas legislature passed a series of mea-sures that requires administrators to address harrassing behavior.

Starting this fall, school districts must notify parents, set up pro-grams for students and staff, and provide counseling to bullies and victims.

Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted or nega-tive actions, and may involve a pattern of behavior repeated over time. Cyberbullying is included.

Consequences for bullying range from a verbal warning to suspension.

“We’re doing everything in our power to stop bullying, both in school and online,” Principal Bill Harp said. “Anything that nega-tively affects our students, we’re going to stop.”

thebottomline events, activities, and news briefly

oct/nov

20Even though exercise and Saturday mornings don’t sound like they go together, it’s for a great cause. Sign up to support the PG team.

Race for the Cure

After four years of football games and half-time shows, senior athletes and spirit groups are honored before the game

12Senior Night

Though this ACT prep test may be equally as boring, you at least get out of class for this one.

3Plan Test

completed by Kenzie Floyd, Jordan Hearn, Ashlyn Hurst, Ruth Kliewer, Megan McCorkle

27ACT TestAfter studying and cramming, the big day is finally here. Your college career depends on it–no stress.

3Homecoming DanceNo more sweating in the caferia, amid the leftover odor of chicken fingers. This year the dance will be held at Silvermoon Theater on Broad Street from 7-10 pm.

8In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And that means a nice break from tests, homework, and early mornings.

School Holiday

page2 news

19 Book Drive endsAfter a month of collecting books, the intermediate library is hopefully full. Make your donation before it’s over.

On a turf football field, in 100 degree weather, 600 people are all wearing black. Not the best combination, but to find a cure for breast cancer, PG students were willing to take the heat.

Instead of a pep rally devoted to a pink glove video, the student body marched out onto the field, to film the PG part of the breast cancer awareness video.

It all started with Medline, the largest producer of medical supplies in the world. To raise awareness of breast cancer prevention and treatment, they made pink gloves, got creative, and danced in Portland, Oregon in 2010. For the sequel, over 4,000 medical workers from California to Times Square dancing and showing off their pink in 2011. Last year Medline hosted its first national competition with Texarkana taking fifth place. The Christus St. Michael’s team is determined to win the contest this year, with PG being part of it.

Theater teacher Debby Sutton and drill team spon-

sor Tiffany Beck came up with a plan to create a “pink ribbon” on the field with students filling in the shape and dancing to the selected music.

“Once we had the creative aspect together, the logistics were the difficult part,” Sutton said. “ It’s not easy getting 600 people onto a football field and in a shape of a rib-bon as quickly and efficiently as possible–that’s not even mentioning the heat.”

It was all worth it once everything was in place.“When we were up there in the stands it was honestly

just fantastic. All we could think was I wish the kids could see this,” Sutton said. “We knew that when they were down there it just seemed lame but its like being a dancer in the Rose Bowl when your doing your part you have no idea what is going on, but it is truly amazing.”

Once the video is done students will vote through their Facebook accounts.

We throw our Hands Up in the Air sometimesStudents take the field for breast cancer awareness in national video contest

Junior Elena Thompson tries to make herself as small as possible, attempting to weave in and out of the shoulder-to-shoulder traffic in the halls. With more people in the school navigating, “rush hour” is more of a hassle.

“The entrance to the 300 hallway is the absolute worst,” she said. “It gets really bad.”

With the increased number of new students this year, there’s no where for people to walk. The school has gone from about 580 students to over 630 students.

“We normally gain about thirty students, but this year we had a definite

increase in the amount of students enrolled,” secretary Joyce Cook said. “It definitely shows.”

With more people, all needing to be in classes, teachers’ classrooms have gotten more crowded, too.

“Our numbers have increased by at least 25%,” art teacher Nicole Brisco said. “It’s hard to accommodate everyone’s schedule. We even took on another full class.”

The new students come from all over, ranging from Brazil, Spain and Russia to California, Nevada, and Ohio.

“ All I can say is walk like you drive,” Elena said “And stay on the right side.”

Shoulder to Shoulder

@PGHShawks Like the “Pleasant Grove High School Hawks” Facebook page

Lucy is excited. So are Maggie and Smokey and Ralph. Smuggles can’t wait. And neither can their own-ers.

This sum-mer the city of Texarkana won its own “Dog Park” in a con-test sponsored by Petsafe brand pet products. Texarkana won $100,000 with over 160,000 votes by pet owners. The dog park will be for people and their pets to have a place that is safe to play, exercise, and socialize.

Lucy and her owner, senior Kathryn Griffin, are ex-cited about the dog park.

“Heck yeah I am going to bring my beagle to the dog park,” said Griffin. “I am going to take her with her pink collar and leash. We are going to have a lot of fun.”

The park will be located at Jefferson park, and will be called Jef-Fur-Son Dog Park.

Officials say it is too early for a construction date, but they hope to have the dog park up and running as soon as possible.

City wins contest to build pet recreation area

Increased enrollment brings crowded classrooms, hallways

A Walk in the Park

gimme5

[ ]Texting friends and talking to people during practice.Chelsea Cole (10)

Social networking and watching the announcements. Tyler Goldsmith (11)

How do you keep up with school news?

How to Stay Connected

Students of the MonthSeptember: Kendall Lindsey

Senior Class OfficersPresident: Nick CockerellVP: Kendall LindseySecretary: Naveed HaqueTreasurer: Collins Riddelll

District administrators have created social media accounts to let students and parents keep up with information about school accounts.

Five Pleasant Grove Locations2802 Richmond Road - 670 N. Kings Hwy.

6424 Richmond Road - 5602 Summerhill Road5121 Summerhill Road

Proudly supporting Hawk Nation

Red River Pecan Plantation

237 River Road Fulton, AR 71838To order, call 870-896-2737

GO HAWKS!

page3 news

Maggie Cobb loved to read. Almost more than anything else.

It’s been over two years since Pleasant Grove elementary student passed away after a rare brain tu-mor. But her memory still remains around Texarkana and especially Pleasant Grove.

“Since Maggie loved to read and went to the intermediate school, we thought it was a good idea to honor her while helping out the school,” junior Natalie Irwin said.

Natalie is part of the Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Leaders Program. The group of students from all the school districts in Tex-arkana needed a school project, and what they came up with was a book drive.

Since the elementary and intermediate schools split a few years ago, the intermediate school has not had many books in their

library. Most of the books went to the younger students. So when the TYTL students heard that they needed the books, they jumped at the chance to help out.

“It’s a way to give the intermedi-ate children the books they once had,” said Natalie.

The book drive started Sept.17 and ends Oct. 19. It will be a district wide event so anybody can bring books to any of the schools, but the books will only benefit the intermediate school. The books can be from fiction to educational but have to be age-appropriate for young children.

“Mrs. Davis told us to put the ‘In Honor of Maggie Cobb’ sticker in-side each book so everyone would know how special the book drive really was to the children who checked the books out,” Megan McCorkle said.

Bins are located in the front office of the high school for dona-tions.

For Tiffany Beck, it’s personal.Three years ago Mrs. Beck’s

mother was diagnosed with Stage One breast cancer. After surgery and chemotherapy her mother is doing well, and for Beck, who is on the Texarkana Race for the Cure committee, the event now has more meaning.

“As a woman Race for the Cure is something I’ve always been interested in,” Beck said “The more people you know who’ve been affected, the more relevant it is.”

Beck is organizing the Pleas-ant Grove team to participate in the Race at the Four States Fair Grounds on Oct. 20.

In the past, the district has had groups from all campuses in the

race but they’ve been little groups.“We need to make a bigger im-

pact,” she said. “All of our separate groups need to all come together and unify as one Pleasant Grove team. Our goal is 500–a big lofty goal. I will be super happy if we have 150 people district wide, but we need way more than that.”

To join the team, students can sign up online with a credit card at komentexarkana.org or pick up a registration form outside of room 603. Put the form and money in an envelope and turn it into the front office by Sept. 28.

“We’ll be all one team. Groups like Keyettes, Interact and Showstoppers will be listed on the back of the shirt,” Beck said. “Club sponsors need to let me know if their group is participating on the district team.”

Delivery • Gift ShopGourmet ItemsKnives & Fishing Supplies

Marcia PeeplesOwner/Pharmacist

where PG gets T-shirts

T-shirtsHatsBags

ScreenprintingPromotional items

Vinyl letteringBanners

Signs

4012 SUMMERHILL SQUARE

TEXARKANA, TX903.792-0088

A Drive to Read

Kindles Spark LearningHawk Nation Runs for the Cure

Teen leadership program works to collect books for intermediate school library

Junior English students get e-tablets in trial program, funded by grant

Taylor Langdonreporter

Trying out the features on their new Kindle Fire tablets, juniors Logan Young, Adam Northam and Clint Ryther after receiving the equipment in English teacher Shawn Edmond’s class. The students will keep and use the tablets until they graduate. ccraytorphoto

Meredith Paynereporter

Megan McCorklereporter

The first day of school is the worst. Summer is over. Early mornings and late night study sessions are back. And to top it all off, teachers pass out 30 pounds of books. All year long, those 30 pounds have to be toted back and forth.

Thanks to a grant from the Pleasant Grove Educa-tion Foundation, the English department has made progress in solving that problem. Last fall, they received a grant to purchase Kindles as part of a pilot project. The selected classes received the tablets last week and will use the Kindles instead of multiple textbooks and novels.

“I like the Kindle because it’s in one place,” junior Jace Ryan said. “It really helps with class work be-cause the Kindle helps with the efficiency.”

Not only is the Kindle lighter, but for some students these new tools drastically improve their learning experience. Some of the helpful features include zooming capabilities, easier annotation, and access to the teacher and classmates outside of school.

“The Kindles make class easier for me,” junior Jor-dan Day said. “The textbooks were harder to com-prehend because of my dyslexia. With the Kindle, I can easily look up words or zoom in to make the text larger, and that makes understanding the text easier.”

While some prefer the idea of having an actual book, the Kindle has been an asset in English teacher Shawn Edmond’s room so far.

“Books are reliable, but the Kindle is much more convenient,” Edmonds said. “The pros outweigh the cons. There are so many possibilities: it allows us to spend more time on productive research, we can cut down on paper, be more green, and the Kindle has helpful reading tools.”

With all the attention the Kindle pilot program has been getting, people are wondering when the rest of the school will get their own. “The Kindles will stay with this group through their senior year,” Edmonds said. “At the end of next school year, we will go back and evaluate how the pilot program worked to see if it’s feasible for the rest of the students to recieve their own tablet. I think the program has the potential to be great.”

Kenzie FloydNaveed Haque

Josh Whitt Editors

Avery BorrellCollin Craytor

Carson CraytorNatalie ThigpenPeyton TrippeLandon YoungPhotographers

Kyle GreenJordan HearnAshlyn HurstAlex Kauai

Ruth KliewerTaylor Langdon

Nick MarchesaniMegan McCorkle

Mark NorthamCurtis Zachry

Reporters

Meredith PayneContributors

Charla HarrisAdviser

William HarpPrincipal

phone: (903) 832-8005 . fax (903) 832-5381

Editorial policyEdge is produced by the

newspaper students in the publications department of Pleasant Grove High School and are responsible for its production and content. The newspaper serves as an open forum for student expression and the discussion of issues of concern to students.

Unsigned editorials represent the opinions of the student staffers and do not necessarily reflect those of the administration. Signed columns and reviews reflect the opinion of the author only.

Edge encourages and accepts letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and will be edited to eliminate obscenity and inappropriate content. Letters may be submitted to the editor in room 603.

Edge is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference, National Scholastic Press Association and Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

epleasant grove high school5406 mcknight rd . texarkana, tx . 75503

ged

- michellemcInnis, teacher

How do you feel about the president being on talk

shows?

How do you feel about the spirit check?

Head to Head

-austinreynolds, 12

What was your favorite part of the Olympics?

One Direction or Justin Bieber?

-rachelharris, 9

staff editorialNYC ‘soda ban’ has good intentions, bad idea for Texas

Everyone enjoys his or her Route 44 on those tough days, but is it possible that too much of a good thing might be a bad thing?

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City and New York City Board of Health thinks so. The city recently approved the “Soda Ban” bill, which limits the serving size of sugary drinks in order to combat the rising cases of obesity.

The goal is noble, but banning the limits doesn’t really solve the actual issue at hand. All it will do is make the people who want their soda to go an extra mile to get their 2-liter coke. And with 58 percent of adults in New York City overweight or obese and 5,800 deaths a year in the city because of obesity, it is evident that some people just aren’t responsible enough to feed themselves.

This lack of nutritional responsibility affects everyone — obesity costs the city $4 billion a year in direct medical costs. And the proposed ban on large, sugary drinks isn’t really a ban on anything. Even though New York City Board of Health passed

the bill last Thursday, 7-Eleven will still be able to serve its 50-ounce Orange Explo-sion Slurpee, which contains 107 grams of sugar, the equivalent of nearly four full-size Snickers bars. Dunkin’ Donuts can still sell its large Vanilla Bean Coolatta (174 grams of sugar, or nearly six Snickers bars, in its 32 ounces).

And if you can find a place with un-limited refills, you can still drink as much soda as you like. The proposal would not include alcohol, fruit juices or any diet soda. Grocery stores and convenience stores would be exempt. Iced coffee and other beverages where the sugar is added by the customer would remain unaffected.

Drinks are also exempt if they contain more than 50 percent milk, which would most likely allow Dunkin’ Donuts to sell Coolattas, and Starbucks Frappuccinos, as long as they can prove the milk content is there.

The ban will certainly not stop people from getting exactly what they want, as

Mayor Bloomberg has made clear. Will any laws similar to Soda Ban af-

fect Texas anytime soon? Most likely not, with recent statistics of obesity in 2007, 66 percent of Texans were obese or overweight, and as of July 2011 the obesity rate in Texas was 30 percent. Lucky for us, we can continue enjoying our route 44 as long as we can control our cravings.

We’ve tried banning things already. Schools in Texas pulled out their drink machines. In response students brought their own drinks to school. Cafeterias offered only milk on the lunch lines. Students refused it. People will always find a way to get what they want even if it means taking a more difficult route.

This ban is a good thing in the sense that it brings the public’s attention to the un-healthy affects of drinking too many sugary drinks and provokes the public to educate themselves on their diet. Buying multiple 16-ounce drinks is also okay, but it is not necesarily beneficial to your health.

jordanhearn, reporter

A Life Changed by LoveRelationships

made in Honduras

sure to last forever

page4 opinion

I’m on my knees holding him close to me, looking into his deep brown eyes, and I hear him say it. In English. “I love you.” I feel my eyes getting hot and watery. I can’t believe he said it.

I stammer out “I love you too, Joshua.” I know its true. I stand up take one last picture with me crouching down his hand on my back. I wipe the dirt off of my scrubs, take a deep breath and start down the stairs wiping away the flood that I can’t stop.

I can’t see anything through my tears, but I managed to fumble my way onto the school bus that has been taking us all over Tegucigalpa. I sit in the old brown seat the fabric pulling up from all it’s years of use, and hold my necklace, tracing the cross pattern, trying to remember to breathe. I think of the roof almost falling on us, the barrels we washed hair with, the lice everywhere, the rotten teeth and the painful tears, the hundreds of people lined up, the smell of diesel and pollution. Everything. All of the bad comes

rushing back to me. I try to combat it in my head.

I think of the good. I think of the smiles. The people with their new glasses. The kids running around with toothbrushes. The people at pharmacy getting medicine for their sick babies.

Six days earlier: Saturday, June 30, 2012. I walk off the plane and into Tegucigalpa, Honduras, my dad by my side. I don’t know a single other person, I’m in a foreign country to tell everyone from gang members to prostitutes about God. It’s my first out-of-the-country mission trip and I am in the country with the highest murder rate in the world.

All I can think is “Good choice Jordan, at least you will have a noble death.” I’m terrified. I’m at peace. I’m excited. I’m homesick. All at the same time.

I’m here to help with World Gospel Outreach’s medical mission trips. I have to learn how to work optical machines, hold dental instru-ments, evangelize to people who speak a foreign language, and learn

how to treat lice. I knew what I was there to do, but what I didn’t know was what was going to happen. I didn’t know how many people would make me cry. I didn’t know that I would never want to leave. I didn’t know I was going to fall in love with the people.

Back to Friday July 6, the day before I board the plane home, complete with a roof, floor, and even drinkable water.

Then I think of Joshua and our broken conversations. I think of the 9-year old teaching me Spanish and my humorous attempts to teach him to pronounce Jordan. I think of our matching frog stickers on our cheeks and tying on his salvation bracelet. I think of sharing my Honduran chips with him, and him handing me the lice shampoo. I think of how much I love this little boy and how much I want to keep him safe. I want to give him a chance at life. I want him to have opportunities. I want to make sure he lives to see tomorrow, because in Honduras you aren’t guaranteed even that.

“I think it’s uplifting for the school, and it unites us into one giant hawk.”

“I think it’s fun. It’s really quirky and silly.”

“Too much clapping...”

“It’s not very objective because with talk shows you only see what they want you to know.”

“It’s really good publicity because he’s appealing to a younger demographic.”

“We see enough of him on the news.”

“One Direction singing at the closing ceremonies was my favorite part!”

“My favorite part was supporting Micheal Phelps by weaing the same uniform as him.”

“Watching men’s water polo was so cool. They have to have so much strength. It was just awesome.”

“Justin Direction. It’s a mixture of the two groups. They never say never because you don’t know you’re beautiful.”

“One Direction, most definitely.”

“Who?”

page5 feature

Homecoming Goes Over the Moon

A Gold Medal Vacation

The flimsy black chair screeches across the linoleum floor echoing throughout the empty cafeteria. 7:00AM. Assistant principal Robert Goline sits at the worn table, props his feet on the chair in front of him, and pulls out the lat-est issue of the Texarkana Gazette. Behind him, a wall of trophies. The shiny success of present and past students. His students.

The tardy bell rings calling students to class. Mr. Goline begins his rounds.

“Every morning, I take a tour of the building to check on the teachers and the students. After I’m done, I’ll go back to my office and work on the project of the day. By the end of the day, I make at least two more rounds,” Goline said. “My day can change minute to minute. Everyday is different.”

One day, answering phone calls and preparing for the upcoming state test. The next, dressed as one of the band members of Kiss complete with a wig, cape, and stage makeup.

“That’s the kind of stuff I don’t mind. It’s the other side of me,” said Goline. “There is noth-ing more exciting than being around a bunch of high school students.”

During his eight years of administration at Pleasant Grove, the Hawks have soared.

“When I’m with the students and they are successful, it’s the best feeling,” said Goline.

But he hasn’t always been an assistant prin

cipal. In the beginning of his 26-year career in education, he was a math teacher.

“I had the students other teachers called ‘troublesome’. I didn’t let my students fail, but I didn’t just give them the grade. I pushed them and made them work for it,” he said. “They were teenagers. All they needed was encourage-ment.”

After five years in the classroom, Mr. Goline took a break as an accountant, but when he was laid-off in a wave of downsizing, returned to teaching.

“Being part of a high school is an indescrib-able feeling,” he said. “I adopt the students as my own. My only agenda has always been to help them succeed.”

Nothing changed when he applied for his first administration job at Pleasant Grove and became apart of Hawk Nation.

“It’s a reward as a teacher to see your students that you care about do so well and succeed. I love working with teenagers,” said Goline. “If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t be here.”

Years of celebrating his student’s victories and pushing them to achieve are coming to an end. Mr. Goline has plans to retire within two years.

“Retirement isn’t saying good-bye. It’s just time to move on and do something else,” he said. “I’m looking forward to spending time with my family and being free to enjoy life with them, but I will miss the Grove.”

“It’s been fun.

Assistant principal looks back on career as retirement nears

Dressed as a member of the

rock band Kiss, Mr. Goline runs into the gym at

the first pep rally. -nthigpenphoto

Ashlyn Hurstnews editor

Ruth Kliewerreporter

Jordan Hearnreporter

Making a Go-Line Stand

Over the course of a working lifetime, associate’s degree grads in Texas earn

$478,600morethan someone with a high school diploma. Texas Association of Community Colleges

TEXARKANA COLLEGE2500 N. Robison Rd. | Texarkana, TX903-823-3456 | texarkanacollege.edu

Here’s a reason to support Texarkana College:

Even with darkness and decorations, the caf-eteria still doesn’t feel like a dance. To make the homecoming dance more special, Student Council has moved the Nov. 3 event to the Silvermoon Theater downtown.

“It’s a real cool building, When our TYTL group was there this summer, they told us LE was having homecoming there. We thought it was a good idea,” Student Council sponsor Tiffany Beck said.

The tickets will be $15 for singles and $20 for couples, the same price as last year.

Because the dance is in downtown Texar-kana, parking will be limited.“Students should carpool as much as possible,” senior Leader-

ship student Kenzie Floyd said. “You can park at TRAHC, the Perot, all those places downtown, any parking lots that are open.”

There will also be extra security in the area, Beck said. One security guard will be in the parking area and another one inside the theater and event areas.

In October Leadership students will set up a suggestion box in the cafeteria during all lunches to come up with ideas for the dance theme.The DJ for homecoming will be Wes Spincher from power 95.9

There are different rooms in the Silver Moon. In the theater room, there will be kareoke and “Just Dance”games. The DJ will set up in the grand hall. The courtyard will be a place for people to cool off and get a drink.

When junior Matt Day and his sister Jenni-fer realized four years ago that the Olympics were headed for London, they started mak-ing plans. The two pole vaulters had always wanted to see the Olympic competition, so they saved money and made reservations, and for almost two weeks in August, they had the Olympic experience.

“It was really interesting because Olympi-ans are the people you idolize and they were

all over,” Matt said. “You would walk into a

touristy shop and see them everywhere.”The view from the living room couch is a

little different then actually being there. “The first event we watched was fencing,

and I didn’t think it would be all that great because it just seems like they start, poke each other, and are done, but in person it was really cool to watch,” he said. “They were really going at it.”

Matt and his sister Jennifer also watched table tennis which ended up being much more exciting than expected.

“I was surprised. We watched the doubles matches and they would be running and sprinting back and forth,” he said. “It wasn’t really what I expected.”

Since Matt and his sister are pole vaulters, their favorite event was track and field.

“It’s what I do so it was cool, especially since I knew a lot of the pole vaulters that Jennifer had competed with.”

Matt got to experience what everyone at home watched on TV.

“It was amazing. We were walking around one time and there was a guy with a gold medal walking around and posing for the photographers. We were so close I could have reached out and touched the gold.”

Siblings savor Olympic experience during London games

Hot. Dusty. Poor.Comilla.Not the ideal vacation spot.But the conditions can’t stop the Haque family from visiting.

They’re on a mission. They’re going to help.Naveed Haque and his parents follow a man along an old

wooden fence. Finally, they come to a stop in front of a gate. The man opens the gate and lets it swing open.

For Naveed, this moment is Christmas in July.In this moment, Naveed sees, sees the outcome of work he’s

been doing for the past five years.Sees two blue adobe school buildings. Sees a large courtyard

for the students to play in.He sees the students. Sees their smooth dark skin, their big

brown eyes. Their dark hair. Their thin purple uniforms.And he sees the look in the students’ eyes.The look of hope.Naveed sees Pother Kolee – a school his family helped build

from the dust up. The students, happy, but living in a world where there isn’t

always something to smile about.Naveed sees them.And he sees what he could have been. * * * Seventeen years ago, Naveed was born in Comilla, Bangla-

desh.Born there and lived there until he was three.But his family was wealthy and had a house with many luxu-

ries. Luxuries like running water, electricity, A/C, plumbing, comfortable beds, maids, satellite TV.

Luxuries unfamiliar to most people in Comilla.But Naveed was young, too young to realize almost everyone

there lived in poverty.“Going back to Comilla when I was sixteen was definitely a

reality check,” Naveed says. “Before, I’d never seen how bad things really were, and I didn’t know that I couldv’ve been one of those little kids with bare feet. I realized how lucky I was.”

But now – standing in Pother – Naveed sees it all.And his mouth falls open as he stares at Pother Kolee.“What I felt in that moment was indescribable. It wasn’t

seeing the school that was so surreal, I’d always known my fam-ily had a school in Bangladesh. A school I’d never seen, with students I’d never met, smiling faces that I didn’t know. But in that moment I saw it all.”

* * *Naveed’s in fifth grade, and he has an idea.Build a school for children in his hometown.So he pitches the idea to his parents.

And one month later, the process of constructing a school in Bangladesh begins. Bangladesh, a small country in Asia 8,515 miles away. Bangladesh, the country Naveed calls his home.

“My religion, Islam, calls you to donate at least 2/5 of your wealth to charity,” Naveed said. “Building this school wasn’t go-ing to bankrupt my family, and we knew we could help a lot of people by doing this. There wasn’t any excuse not to go for it.”

In Bangladesh, almost half the population lives in poverty. And in the very poor families of Comilla, most children are forced to go to work early in life and sacrifice their education.

Naveed and his family want to change this.“Education is the first stepping stone to get out of poverty, so

what we wanted to do is give children of poor families the op-purtunities they deserve,” Naveed says.

* * *Planning a school in a foreign country isn’t easy for the

Haques.First, they need money – $30,000.Naveed’s parents pull money from their savings account – a

lot of money.They contact family friends in Bangladesh, friends are willing

– and able – to donate.But the hardest part? Transferring the money from America

to Bangladesh.And the plans for the actual building? All have to be done

over phone and e-mail.Luckily, the Haques still have family members living in

Comilla. Friends who don’t hesitate to help out when problems arise.

“It was like building a school in Texarkana, but much more complicated,” Naveed says. “We still had to buy the land, hire contractors, draw the blueprints, and pay for everything-- but it was all happening overseas.”

* * *2005 – the school’s finished.And children in Comilla can now go to pre-k through fifth

grade at Pother Kolee for no cost.They can learn English, math, science, and Arabic.They can eat lunch free.They don’t even have to buy their own school supplies.They finally have a chance.And it doesn’t cost them anything.“It was amazing to see a small number of people work to-

gether to accomplish such a big task,” Naveed says. “Even if it’s just one kid that gets his life changed, it’s worth the work.”

* * * Five years pass.Traveling expenses kept Naveed and his from visiting Comilla

when the school was first finished.But finally, in July 2010, when Naveed’s about to be a junior

in high school,the Haques pack their bags for a month-long trip.A month-long that begins with a 25-hour venture to Comilla.It takes a day to recover from jet-lag.Two more hours to find their way through the crowded

streets of Comilla.But the Haques finally arrive at what they’ve been dying to

see for five years.“It’s one thing to buy a pair of Toms and know you’re help-

ing a kid in Africa, but it’s a completely different feeling to see that kid wearing the pair of shoes that you bought him and wit-ness the smile on his face,” Naveed says. “I finally got to see all the hope, money transactions and blueprints come to life.”

Naveed stands in front of the school. He can’t speak. Can’t tear his eyes away from the building. The teachers. The smiling faces of the children.

Just stands there a few minutes, frozen, staring. Almost crying.And then, Naveed begins to talk.Talk to the children, ask them what they think about Pother

Kolee.“When I visited with to the students, I could tell they loved

being at school just by the smile on their face. They know they have a chance,” Naveed says. “The gratitude they show is through their actions and not just through what they say, and that should be a lesson to all of us.”

Naveed doesn’t want to credit the students’ happiness to his own family or himself – the credit doesn’t matter to Naveed.

“When the people around you are happy, you’re going to be happy,” Naveed says. “It doesn’t matter who did what or how much work it was, it just matters that everyone is experiencing it.”

***Naveed walks the halls of Pleasant Grove as a senior. Passes students with iPhones, North Face backpacks, and

designer jeans.Hears someone talking about what private university they

want to attend in the fall.Looks down at his own hundred dollar Sperrys.Thinks about the children at Pother, and gets the chills.He is thankful. “We are born into certain situations that we can’t control,

and some of us are luckier than others. That doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about the bad situations,” Naveed says. “Ev-ery decision we make has an effect on others, and we need to make that effect a positive one. Even if it’s just one person that gets their life changed, it’s worth the work.”

building hopeStudent’s family gives back to homeland by building schoolKenzie Floyd

editor-in-chief

1. During a break session, two shy students stare into Naveed’s camera. 2. First graders recite the English alphabet during class. 3. A teacher practices math exercises with his students. 4. Hugging the column, students wait for class to start. 5. A student writes numbers on the chalkboard. 6. Smiling, three first grade boys visit with Naveed during their break time. 7. Under his instructor’s watch, a first grade boy writes on the chalkboard.

13,000people living with AIDS/HIV

150,000,000people total

about

Bangladeshreally is

whatA small country in south Asia...

69number

on the list of poorest countries

in the world

Pother koleewhat you can

do for

Now that Pother is built and running, the need for improve-ment is lurking.

Pother needs money to expand the school in order to take in more students, and also to buy generators so the school can have electricity for lights and fans in the classrooms.

If you want to help, donate money to the Interact Club fundraiser. The club will be transferring the money to Pother in the next few months. The club has a goal to raise $10,000 school-wide.

“Humanity is awesome, and just one person can help change so many lives,” Naveed said. “If we as a school can accomplish our ten thousand dollar goal, it will be truly amazing.”

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Cinderella, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstilskin, Prince Charming, and the Evil Queen. Growing up, ev-eryone remembers the stories of all their favorite fairy tales. ABC took all of our favorite childhood stories and intertwined them together in the show Once Upon a Time.

The Evil Queen hates Snow White so much that she uses a powerful curse to take away every-one’s happy ending. The curse takes them from their world and brings them to ours. Everyone forgets their past life, their family, and friends. Everyone is given a new story and memories for their life in Storybrooke. Their only hope of redemp-tion is with Emma, the daughter of Snow and Charming.

In the Season 1 finale, Emma finally discovered the truth. Everyone remembers their life before the curse, and were given a brief moment of happiness before a dark,ominous fog rolled over the town. In the Season 2 premiere on Septem-ber 30, we get to find out if everyone gets their happy endings back or if the fog brought even more misfortune for the people of Storybrooke. Sundays at 7 p.m., NBC

Staffer: Megan McCorkle

Ever have thoughts about renting out half your house? Prob-ably not. But, if you do you might want to check out a show called In-come Property.

This show follows a man named, Scott McGillivray, who goes around and helps people renovate their houses. The purpose of

what you should be watching

Out of all the reality shows out there, Cheer is one that you don’t want to miss. The hour long episodes of Cheer take you inside the high pressure, high stakes world of competitive cheerleading and give you an honest interpretation of what cheer really is-- hard. The show focuses on the senior team Cen-tral Jersey Allstars, consisting of 20 girls ages 10 to 18. Outside of the gym, these girls must work hard to do good in school, spend time with fam-ily, and control the pressures of everyday life. But in the gym, all of that is put aside and the only thing that matters is cheer. The head coach, Patti Ann Romero, is extremely tough on the girls and pushes them to do everything they can to suc-ceed. Tune in to watch the team practice daily and perform at several state and national level competitions. Cheer is worth an hour of your time. This airs on Fridays at 10 p.m. CMT.

Staffer: Kenzie Floyd

Income Property

page8 A&E

Once Upon A Time

WilfredCheer

We supportHawk Nation!

Amigo JuanMexican Restaurant

4301 Morris Lane

September 18, advanced art teacher Nicole Brisco’s art show “Ascension” opened at the John F. Moss Library on the Texas A&M- Texarkana campus. The show feautured 60 pieces of her work indi-rectly inspired by her mother’s terminal illness. The opening

night was very successful draw-ing in the largest turnout the library had ever seen. “Opening night was very suc-cessful,” Mrs. Brisco said. “A couple hundred people showed up, and I sold 17 pieces.” Even if you didn’t get to go on opening night, there is still time to go see “Ascension” before it closes Oct. 23.

One Woman ShowArt teacher shows off her talents in local exhibitionMegan McCorkle

reporter

(Top) At the exhibit at the Texas A&M Libarary, juniors Alex Smith, Lauren Hinton and Baylie Taylor look over their teacher’s work. (Bottom) Artist Nicole Brisco talks with a visitor at the exhibit.-ahurstphotos

an income property is to rent out a part of your house in order to gain a little extra money at the end of the month.

Scott usually renovates either the bottom or a top floor for whoever he is working with. His renovations have a price range of 25,000 to 60,000 dollars. He can turn nothing into just about whatever he wants.

I watch HGTV all the time in the hopes that my future home will be perfect. So, if you want to have a house you can be proud of check out Income Property. The best show ever.

Staffer : Josh Whitt

It’s not a mystery that dog is man’s best friend, but Wilfred brings that statement to a whole new level. As the show started off, I saw Elijah Wood, who is Frodo in Lord of the Rings. This really took me for a loop, so I had no idea what to expect.

The story starts off with Ryan Newman, a depressed man who believes he is getting no-where in his life and plans to kill himself. In the middle of his attempted suicide, he is asked to watch his neighbor’s dog, Wilfred, but Ryan can only see Wilfred as a real person instead of an animal that everyone else sees.

As they begin to bond more and become friends, Wilfred teaches Ryan a life lesson about people, love, and living. Although this show is ultimately about how Wilfred is slowly but surely teaching Ryan new lessons, each episode is riddled with a ton of dry humor. As each episode goes on, Wilfred and Ryan find themselves in a new dilemma, some that may seem insurmount-able at the time.

At the end of almost each epi-sode, the two find a ridiculous way to conquer this challenge, which in turn brings them closer and closer. If you are a fan of dry humor and ri-diculous story lines, this is definitely a show you will enjoy watching. Wilfred airs on Thursdays at 11:30 p.m. on FX.

Staffer: Kyle Green

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When did you decide to be-come a teacher?In high school I wanted to be a drill team director, and a theatre teacher. I changed my mind a few times but ended up deciding being a teacher was what I really wanted to do.

If you could have any super power what would it be? I would want to be a witch. That’s like all of the super pow-ers put together. It would be re-ally nice to be able to wave my wand and say ‘Clean my house!’

How did you meet your husband?The summer before my junior year of college a friend and I were out and she saw Jon. She said we should hang out with him. We’ve been together ever since.

Will your kids be dancers?Probably. Caurie is taking dance currently, and MaryClaire is always dancing around at home.

How much time goes into preparing for a Showstoppers performance?For a pep rally or a football game, around seven and a half hours of prep. For spring show or competition, we spend months.

Someone stole 10 million pounds of syrup in Canada, what would you do with that much syrup?I don’t know, syrup is kind of gross... I guess I would just sell it.

Who is the scariest celeb-rity?Probably someone from Jersey Shore, or one of the Kardashi-ans. They’re just tacky. It con-cerns me that some people look at them like they’re role models.

What was your favorite toy as a child?I was kind of nerdy, I usually read books.

What was your favorite book then?Bridge to Terabithia, I read it over and over.

Were you a drill team mem-ber during high school?I was a member of the Red Line at Arkansas High.

What are some of the differences between the Showstoppers and the Ar-kansas High drill team?The styles are different, Arkan-sas is more like a college pom squad, while we are more of a traditional East Texas Kilgore Rangerette drill team. The girls are all very similar, very dedi-cated.

College or pro football, favorite team and biggest rivals, and championship picks?

I am a huge college football fan, I love, love, love college football. I’ve been a huge Arkansas Razorback fan all of my life. Their three biggest historical rivals... Texas has to be number one on that list. LSU is a definite number two. Number three... You’ve probably got to go back to the Southwest Conference, and it’d be Texas A&M. As far as which of those I would rather see win the national championship? None of them, I’m okay if Alabama wins... I guess I’d say one of the SEC teams just because Arkansas is also in the SEC. Texas never, I’d root for the Devil before I root for Texas. I do think that Alabama will win the championship, everyone says, “Oh, but USC can beat them,” I’m sorry did you see what Stan-

ford did to them? And then they say, ‘Florida State can do it,’ I’m just like, NO! There is not anybody that can hang with the powerhouses of the SEC, there just isn’t.

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Did you see the movie,and was it accurate?I did see the movie, and I thought it was pretty accurate. It’s a short book so nothing had to be left out.

What was your favorite movie this year?Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was awesome. The kid in it is really good, and it’s just so relevant. That was a huge event in our lives and the way it’s presented is really powerful.

What, aside from teaching, is your dream job?I’d have to say dancing on Broad-way, I want to be in “A Chorus Line.”

What was your favorite band when you were in high school?Hootie and the Blowfish, and I also really like Weezer. I was into the alternative rock movement which was super popular when I was in high school.

What would it take for a guy to make the Showstopper squad?They’d have to be able to do everything that the girls could do. I’m being very general here, but most guys in the Texarkana don’t have the flexibility to do it. I just don’t think that any of them can do the splits, or kick their face.

What was your first pet?I had a brown dozen named Honey She was my baby, but we had to put her down.

If you could make anyone President, who would it be?Hillary Clinton. She is a woman and she rocks the house. I actually use to have a Hilary bumper sticker on my car.

What’s your favorite movie of all time?I love Forest Gump, and Tom Hanks is my favorite actor. The best line in the movie is, “Sometimes there’s just not enough rocks.”

Tiffany Beck grew up in Texarkana and be-gan her teaching career at the private Liberty Eylau Christian School. She was the drill team director at Arkansas High for five years before accepting her current position at Pleasant Grove. She is married to Jon Beck and has two children, Caurie and MaryClaire.

What was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?It was my first game as a drill team director, and the team was about to dance. During the kick routine two show-stoppers fell, but I was pretty understanding because it was extremely humid outside and the field was slippery. Right after the game Ms. Margaret Davis came up to me and said, ‘Well I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Showstopper fall on the field before.’ That was pretty awkward.

14

Tiffany Beckwith

21questions

Ask the Students

I like it a lot more. It gives the top four teams a better chance of winning the championship.”

on th

e ed

ge

New Way to Rank the Game

- quentinmiller, senior“

Who will win the college football national championship?

“- landryguyton, sophomore

I don’t really watch football, but Oklahoma St. or Alabama.

University of Texas, El Paso. If not them, then San Diego St. has the win.

page10 sports

As college football gets underway many people have strong opinions on the way BCS rankings work. NCAA has come to the agreement that the top four teams will have a playoff. Do you think this is they way to find college football’s number one team should be picked?

Q&A withKatie Brolo

What position do you play? I am an outside hitter and a left back.

What do the outside hitters and left backs do?The outside hitters are on the front row and are mainly offensive players. Left back is like a defensive specialist.

What is it like on varsity?The team is different in a positive way. We all have the same goals which makes us work really hard.

What are your expectations for the team?I think we can be district champs and I’m expecting to make a deep run in playoffs.

When and why did you start playing soccer?I started in seventh grade and I loved it. I’ve just loved it since.

-marshallward, 12“

71% said yes

29% said noI didn’t even know they had a

new way of finding the national champion.”“

-calebsmith, 12

Breathing hard. Tunnel vision. Feeling Weak. All while trying to listen to coach Craig Jones shout out orders. Finally, it was all too much. As the defensive group got back into the huddle to listen to

the formation, senior Calum Bolig came crashing to his knees, then face.As the players looked around at each other cluelessly, Jones ran into the

huddle.As he flipped Bolig over, he was greeted with an unresponsive face. Bolig

had passed out, but not from the Texas heat that he had gotten so accus-tomed to during a month of two-a-days practices. He wasn’t well fed and hydrated today, unlike all the rest of the days. And because of that he had to suffer the consequences.

“It was just a regular old day, I ate a good meal before practice” Bolig said. “But it was just one of those days that was so incredibly hot, and before prac-tice all I drank was sweet tea. Let’s just say it wasn’t a good combination.”

This isn’t normal for Bolig. Most people think just because he’s a football player he eats what he wants, when he wants. But that’s not the case at all. In fact, one would actually have a hard time believing that Bolig is a football player based on his diet.

“Most days, I’ll start out with oatmeal, an apple, and yogurt. For lunch I’ll eat a tuna sandwich, a banana, crackers, and a fruity or veggie drink,” Bolig said. “And for dinner, as long as I’m having some kind of meat, I’m happy.”

It may be surprising to hear that a football player is actually eating that well before practices and games, but that’s nothing compared to some other athletes around school like sophomore Chase Denson. Unlike in football, Denson has to eat a certain way in order to excel in his sport.

“An ongoing diet for me is all whole wheats, no white bread,” Denson said. “I eat lots of fruits and veggies. And stay away from any processed foods, pretty much anything in a wrapper.”

It’s not a mystery that Denson is a cross country runner, some of the healthiest people in sports. But this diet pales in comparison to Chelsea Cole’s sports diet for her select soccer team. Instead of setting her diet according to certain food groups, her coach sets her diets according to his standards.

“During soccer tournaments, my coach gives me a specific list of things I can and can’t eat,” Cole said. “He tries to focus a lot on carbs, stuff like gummi bears, wheat thins, pancakes, and pasta.”

But it’s all about commitment. These athletes have the choice to either eat what they want or to stay the course and reap the benefits of a great diet. But it’s not always easy to stay committed, especially when each athlete has their own weakness.

“I absolutely love Wing-Stop,” Bolig said. “But every time I eat it I end up getting sick to my stomach because I eat so much.”

Cole’s weakness is something most residents of Texarkana love, and find pretty easy to acquire, Sonic drinks.

“I’m really big on Sonic drinks like the Cranilla Craze,” Cole said. “But they are just so bad for you, all it is just a bunch of sugar.”

Chase Denson has some practical and some not so practical weaknesses.“I’d say my biggest weaknesses are chocolate and ice cream,” Denson said.

“But I’d also have to say sushi. The white rice and soy sauce is really bad for me.”

Although these three students tend to stick to their healthy diets, every once in awhile they will slip up. And when they cave into their wants, the foods usually don’t do them any favors.

“I usually eat right before the game in order to get something in my sys-tem,” Cole said. “And so that day I ate pizza right before the game thinking that the carbs would sit well, but they didn’t. I felt weak and sick the entire game and didn’t play too well.”

Whether they were good or bad, these three students have had their full share of experiences when it comes to dieting. But the big question is wheth-er or not the students learn from these bad experiences. And although Bolig just had this incident a few weeks ago, it’s safe to say that he has learned the importance of nutrition.

“I’ve just got to keep hydrated and well fed, especially before practices and games,” Bolig said. “I’m going to eat a nutrition bar and drink a whole Gatorade right before I hit the field, you can count on that.”

Diet of aChampion

Athletes from around the school show their passion for sports by setting healthy eating habits

Kyle Greenreporter

Part of freshman Chase Denson’s cross country lunch. -aborrelphoto Freshman Chase Denson enjoys his lunch in preparation of the cross country season. -aborrelphoto

“Hit.” “Hawks win.”Clap.

Senior Jacob Brown has ended practice like this hundreds of times, but now every time he says it, Brown feels a stab of sadness.

“It’s my last year to play but I am trying to make the most of this season,” Brown said. “I have made a lot of memories playing football and it really has made high school for me. It is a totally different experience being a senior. Ev-erybody is looking up to you and how you act.”

Brown and the rest of this senior-laden team have been working hard to try and make sure this last year is one to remember.

“We have 20 seniors on the team so for a lot of guys this year is our last to play,” Brown said. “Going in we all wanted to have a great season, which has made starting off without a win so tough.”

The Hawks had a rough start to the season dropping their three first game. However, the Hawks pulled it together last Friday against Commerce and get their first win of the season.

“We knew our non-district schedule was go-ing to be very tough, and getting that first win wasn’t easy,” senior Casey Rayburn said. “Even though it was tough starting the season with

three loses, everyone on the team kept fighting. The team will be ready for district, you can bet on that.”

District for the team starts in two weeks against the 1-3 Liberty Eylau. The Hawk’s dis-trict is one of the toughest in the state, especially with teams like Atlanta and Pittsburgh, so it’s going to challenge the team every week.

“We aren’t going to give up on this season, we have got to keep fighting,” Brown said. “It really does help that we have so many seniors to pick up the younger guys and tell them we are still in this. The past is the past, we just have to deal with the games ahead of us.”

With all the seniors on the team, head coach said Kevin Davis hopes that the team will be ready to handle the challenges of district.

“I know this team is fully capable of making district we just have to keep working,” Davis said. “We have some really good leaders and even though our district is very hard I know the team can do it. People get so caught up in wins and losses that really we are just focusing on im-proving and being the best we can be, whether that is on or off the field.”

The team will kick off at 7 in Jefferson tonight to take on the Bulldogs in the last game of their non district road trip.

Football Team Hopes to Use Experience Against OpponentsSenior laden football team is focused on improving over last year’s record

Senior Cason Cordray runs the ball against Spring Hill. -nthigpenphoto

Curtis Zachryreporter

The loud screams from the Hawk stands slowly hushed. All eyes were on sophomore Chelsea Cole. The gym was completely silent. Cole took a breath, and with the smacking sound of the serve, the Hawk fans began shouting. The rally hadn’t lasted long until the ball was in Hawk territory again.

There was a bump. The Hawk fans went silent. Then a set by Cole. The fans let out a gasp. As senior Samantha Huang went up to kill the set, everyone knew what was about to happen. The currently rebuilding Lady Hawks were about to beat a top tier

Texas High team in three games.

“Beating Texas High in three games has definitely been our most defining moment of the season so far,” senior Katie Brolo said. “Ev-

eryone played up to their full potential, and we beat them in three sets so it definitely wasn’t luck.”

A win like this is big, especially for a Lady Hawk team who lost a lot of impact players coming into this season. But instead of focusing on finding those few players who really stand out, coach Amy Collvins has seen something different in this team.

“A big strength on this team has been the fact that we get along so well,” Collvins said. “There has always been some sort of social barrier on my previ-ous teams that held us back in some way. But with this team, everyone is always picking each other up, it’s great.”

Collvins isn’t the only one who sees great chemis-try on the court. Brolo and her teammates notice it too. Instead of just one player carrying the team, she emphasizes the importance that each player brings to the table.

“We always get along really well, and we are always trying to make the team better,” Brolo said. “You know, everyone once in while we might jump on each other on the court, but it’s only to motivate each other and make the team that much better.”

Good chemistry has done wonders for this team. And without it, things might not have been the way they are now according to Collvins. The team’s chemistry has made up for some of the other aspects that the team isn’t up to par on when it comes to Collvin’s standards.

“We still have a somewhat slow offense,” Collvins said. “And we are still playing the basic offense. The faster we get, the more we will be able to play advanced offense and the better and more consistent we will play.”

The only way to get a faster offense, is to get faster players. Collvins knows this. That’s why her entire workout is based on improving the stamina and all around physical fitness of the girls while they are on the court.

“I believe in a lot of agility and weight workouts. Speed and body mass are going to help on the court,” Collvins said. “Also these high intensity work-outs build people’s mental toughness and make them believe more and more in their ability to play.”

Brolo is all too familiar with these workouts. She had to endure them throughout two-a-days. But for Brolo, it was hard to stand out among the pack during these intense workouts, mostly due to the fact that with Collvins as the new coach, she has to start all over.

“The first two days of two-a-days, literally all we did was like straight running to see who was in shape, it was so intense,” Brolo said. “It was a lot harder than past two-a-days, it was a big difference from what we had been used to. That’s why it’s kind of weird. As a senior, I’m having to relearn a lot of things, so in a sense the lower class men and I are on the same level. That just makes us depend on each other even more.”

Whether or not the girls excel at these workouts

page11 sports

TennisHead coach: Katie WhitecottenRecent Matches: The team tennis beat Atlanta 16-8 in a duel match.Top Players: “Travis Alkire (junior) is our top boy and Sarah Mitchell (senior) is our top girl. They both have a lot experience.” Whitecotten said.Season Expectations: “I want to advance at least half of the players to regionals,” Whitecotten said.

Sophomore Kevin Nguyen

Upcoming games:JV Volleyball10/2- Atlanta10/5- @ Paris10/9- North Lamar10/11- Pool Play

10/13- District Tourn. @ Paris10/16- Pittsburgh10/23- Paris

theradarunder

Upcoming games:JV Football10/4- Open10/11- @ Liberty-Eylau10/18- Atlanta10/25- @ Paris

11/1- @ Pittsburgh11/8- North Lamar

Sophomore Jackson Beavert

JV FootballHead coach: Andy Allen and Blake Wor-leyRecord so far: 2-1Top Players: “Hunter Hatfield (fresh-man) plays QB and middle line backer, he’s like another coach on the field. He knows exactly what everyone has to do.” Allen said.Season Expectations: “Win district baby,” Allen said.

“... in a sense the lower class men and I are on the same level. That just makes us depend on each other even more,” Brolo said.

Junior Taylor Flanery

JV Volleyball

Upcoming games:JV Volleyball10/2- Atlanta10/5- @ Paris10/9- North Lamar10/11- Pool Play

10/13- District Tourn. @ Paris10/16- Pittsburgh10/23- Paris

A Team of ChemistryNew coach has varsity team focusing on training and strong team bondingKyle Green

reporter

Junior Matt Fomby calmly stood over the ball. Hole three, Texarkana Country Club. He loaded back and swung the club. With the sweet sound of impact, Matt casually walked back to his clubs, thinking he’d have to take another two shots to make par.

As he got to the clubs, he turned to see something he wasn’t expecting. A man laughing in disbelief.

“It went in,” the stranger said.Matt stood in silence.“What,” Matt said. “No way...Really?”With a slight nod from the stranger, Matt

went crazy. As he threw his club into the air and celebrated with his friends there was only one thing that came to mind. To Matt, golf is a passion that he shares with his brother.

“My twin brother and I have been playing since we were nine,” junior Cole Fomby said. “It really has helped us stay so close through the years.”

For the Fomby’s golf is more a lifestyle then a hobby.

“Our dad, grandpa, and uncles all play. So I guess you could say I literally have grown up around golf my whole life,” Cole said. “Matt and I play so many rounds of golf a year there’s no way of counting. It just makes golf so much more fun when you have someone to play with. Matt is the reason I play so much, he helps keep me accountable.”

For Matt Fomby having a twin is an ad-vantage that has helped him time and time again.

“Cole seems to always know what I am doing wrong and how to correct my swing,” Matt said. “Also during tournaments we can just look at each other without saying any-

thing and tell how the each other is doing.”For head coach Steve Wren the Fomby’s

have stepped up this year and have become leaders for younger students.

“They both shoot pretty consistent scores and have really helped shoulder the burden of the rough start the team had this year,” Wren said. “We haven’t done that great early in the season but every tournament we are getting better.”

For the Hawks district is still a ways a way but for Cole district is all that matters.

“It really doesn’t matter how good you are if your team doesn’t make playoffs, so it’s all about coming together when district gets here, “ Cole said. “We have made playoffs every year I have been on the team and I do not want that tradition to stop now.”

The next time the Hawks tee off is Oct. 5 in the Tiger Classic at Texarkana Country Club.

Curtis Zachryreporter

is not the issue. Collvins has made that clear. What Collvins views as the real challenge is getting the girls to get in the right mental state for the season.

“As I come in for my first year, I really want them to understand my expectations when it comes to my phi-

losophies and my work ethics,” Collvins said. “Ultimately, I’m trying to get them to believe that they can always do more. And in this aspect, the girls continue to prove that they do.”

One in a Million

Junior Matt Fomby drives the ball at the Texarkana Golf Ranch.-nthigpenphoto

Head coach: Lindsey Thompson Record so far: 1-1 in districtTop Players: “Taylor Flanery and Peyton Trippe (juniors) are great to have on the team, they always make big plays,” junior Erika Rodriguez said.Story of the Season: “This Texas High tourna-ment has prepared us for district, we are con-fident going into district play, we beat everyone but North Lamar,” junior Taylor Flanery said.

(Top) The Lady Hawks run out and bond before the game against Avery. The Lady Hawks beat Avery in five sets. -ccraytorphoto (Bottom) Junior Brooke Smith discusses the White House game with coach Amy Collvins. The Lady Hawks beat White House in three sets. -lyoungphoto

page12

The“Chariots-

of-Fire”

-elena thompson, 11

TheWasssup!

-john altenbaumer, 12

-tony kirk, teacher

-taylor everett, 12

-caden thompson, 9

PicturePerfectSchool picture day– Edge style

How You’re Remembered

Your eyes were closed. The flash reflected off your brace face. Frankenstein’s bride wants her

hair back. You were going through that “awkward middle school phase”. Either way, they are the pictures you hide in your closet and under your bed. As long as nobody sees them it’s okay, but

we’re here to dig them up.

“For spring pic-tures I always do something weird, like make a face or twitch, but those don’t go in the year-book. It’s just better to be yourself.”

“Whenever you take the normal school pictures its an awk-ward head tilt. School pictures would be so much better if you got tomake it fun”

“Wearing a som-brero is always better. I’m weaaring a sombrero which is the international symbol of fiesta (good time). Fiesta = Mr. Kirk”

“It’s a funny face that runs in the family!”

-hannah buster, 12

You walk through the halls laughing at the hairstyles, trying to figure out what they were thinking. You find your friend’s parents and look at the old picture of Mr. Schwartz. It’s your class’s legacy. It’s your senior composite.

Its important to look your best, you never know who could be looking at your picture in twenty years.

“Don’t come looking like you just got out of bed. Look nice and put some effort into it. Don’t wear a lot of jewelry.” said senior Joel Webb.

To get in and out quickly so you can cherish

your last days of summer remember to keep it simple.

“You should wear a tank top if your a girl ,” said senior Megan Morphis. “Make sure you have some sort of a necklace, too.

“It’s pretty easy. They just take your picture and you are out.” said Joel.

Before secretary Joyce Cook chose the pictures for the senior composite but now it’s done all through the company.

“I don’t choose the pictures anymore. The com-pany does it all, they choose the pictures, figure

everything out, and coordinate it all.”Cook said.Without Mrs. Cook to chose your pictures you

may be worried about what goes on the wall for all eternity.

“I’m sure they choose the best. They definitely look at the retakes closely. All I do now is get the proof of the composite ant check the spelling and details.”

Whether Mrs. Cook chooses a picture or a dif-ferent company the composite is still going on the wall year after year. So make sure you leave your mark.

“I didn’t have to worry about if my face looked stupid, just my hair.”

Duces paired with the duck face. A wink. The classic mouth-open ‘I don’t know why I’m so

excited’ face. Showing as many teeth as you can, eyes squinting. Or just a sweet little smile. What-

ever you want. If you could choose how to pose for your school picture, what would you do?

If I Had it my Way

The Tebow

The Fiesta

The No Words

“Saw some-thing I didn’t

expect.”-jessie brewer,

12

“Swag doesn’t come easy.”

-jordan labrie, 11

“I like to go sloth mode on the

softball girls and make them feel

awkward.”lexi davis,12

“I love Adam.” “I love Tyler.”

“He’s beautiful.” “I love his eyes.”Tyler Wellborn & Adam Owens,12

“In a regular picture, you can’t be yourself. “The Tebow” was the first original pose that I thought of.”