Press206 W. Second Street, Cortez, CO 81321

Panther February 2012Volume 12: Issue 5

What Lies Within...

Native American conference

Page 2

Student Forum

Valentine Wordsearch

Page 6 Page 8The voice of Montezuma-Cortez High School

White is the New BlackFor the past three years, our school’s

rival game against Durango has been a Blackout. This year, however, all things will change. It’s going to be a blizzard in our gym this Febru-ary; get ready for the brand new Whiteout.

Accord-ing to M -CHS’ Ath-letic D i -rector, Mr. Lankford, the basketball coach-es requested the rival game be switched to a whiteout. “[We want] to match the theme of bas-ketball at home with all white uniforms,” Lank-ford said. M-CHS’ basketball coaches, Booster Club, and Athletic Director were the ones in charge of this decision, and depending on the theme of the basketball team, the whiteout may or may not be an annual thing. The students have mixed feelings about the switch, but “most really like the whiteout T-shirt design,”

Lankford states. However, Lankford believes “school spirit is key, not the color of the shirt.”

Junior, J.V. Basketball player, Major Lackey, says “I like

the whiteout change because white is

an optimistic color! It is the color of faith, and I have faith that our boys will w i n ! ” On the contrary, 1 0 t h g r a d e r ,

Mikkel Waltman says she doesn’t like the change because “it’s always been a blackout and our school colors are BLACK and or-

ange!” Aubrey Lopez, 10th grade, agrees with Mikkel and says she “probably does not want the whiteout” to happen

annually. Whether the students are

for the change or not, it’s happening. The color of the shirt shouldn’t stand in the way of supporting the basketball players; hopefully, the new color will bring the M-CHS Panthers to victory.

Brandi Avon, Staff Reporter

Our current principal Mr. Gordon Shepherd is retiring and a new prin-cipal will be coming to our school next year. Mr. Shepherd has been the principal of M-CHS for the past two years and has been a great principal to our school. After working in schools for 35 years, he finally decided to re-tire and “Take up a new hobby, not a full time job “ Mr. Shepherd said. He hasn’t made any major changes after becoming M-CHS’ principal. He also gets along well with all of the students and staff. When asked about what he will miss and not miss about M-CHS, Mr. Shepherd responded, “I’ll miss the kids and the staff and how rewarding

the job is but I won’t miss the time you have to commit and the problems you have to face everyday.” After the end of the shcool year, Mr. Shepherd won’t have to worry about the prob-lems of work everyday and in his place a new principal will be arriving to solve those problems. Although Mr. Shepherd will be greatly missed, many of the students are interested in

S h e p h e r d i n g i n a r e p l a c e m e n t p r i n c i p a lWyatt Ha, Staff Reporter the new principal coming and who he

or she will be and how he or she will be changing our school. Many staff do not know who the new principal might

be, “I don’t have the foggi-est idea but four a p p l i c a t i o n s have been sub-mitted and two are pending on-line,” said Mr. Rice, Career Technical Di-rector. “I do not know who will be selected, but they should be

starting the process this month,” said Mr. Shepherd. The school does not know who our new principal will be or what changes he or she may make; hopefully, any changes will be for the best. Many of staff and students have known Principal Shepherd for the past several years and he has been there for all of them. He’s kept many students out of trouble and has become friends with many of his co-workers. Regard-less, it’s time for us to say goodbye to Mr. Shepherd and shepherd in a new principal to our high school.

Photo taken by Wyatt Ha

Last day to cast your voteAdrian Opsahl, Staff ReporterThe Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School District is conducting a survey to dis-cover the community’s opinion on the four day school week. The deadline to take this survey is Thursday, Febru-ary 16. The survey can be found on

www.surveymonkey.com/s/3bhx92m. The school board would appreciate the input of the community to aide in de-cisions about possible future schedule changes.

RE-1 hires new leaderKearra Boggs & Miceal Allsup, Staff Reporters After working five years as a su-perintendent in Juneau, Alaska, fol-lowed by 12 years in Telluride, Mary Rubadeau has decided to work for the Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1. Although that was not her original plan, she is very excited to be working with students again after her brief retirement. At first, Ms. Rubadeau was going to work as a consultant and help with the school im-provement plan, but was asked to take over as s u p e r i n t e n d e n t as well. She is very excited to get back into working with education. “I love working with the staff and students,” Ms. Rubadeau said. Her main focus is going to be working with the teachers and the central office, supporting their ideas and the school improvement plan they’re suggest-

ing. Ms. Rubadeau will not be mak-ing any dramatic changes to the way the schools are currently running; she is planning on making suggestions to the school board. One concern of hers

is the students, “I look forward to meeting with more students and hearing what they have to say.” Ms. Rubadeau said. To try to get a better understand-ing of how the students feel, she will be meeting with the high school lead-ership team soon. One of her worries is how many students the RE-1 School District has lost, whether they decided to drop out or switched districts, and could continue to lose. In one of the previous

districts Ms. Rubadeau worked in, they focused on keep-ing their students up to pace. In order to help struggling students, they had many programs available for the stu-dents to participate in. An entire class period could be used to focus on spe-cific subjects; a technique she feels could benefit M-CHS.

Photo taken by Miceal Allsup

0 2Panther Press News

February 2012

Something has changed inside M-CHS, something that many of the students are unaware of. New counter-tops and sinks were installed in the Cu-linary Arts Department. It would be an understatement to say the old counters needed replacing. "They were the origi-nal counters; probably have

been around since the dinosaurs,” Ms. Carriger, culinary arts teacher, said. The previous counters were “old, filled with stains, and were the color of pee.” Ms. Wojciechowski, culinary arts teacher, added.

Four Corners Home Builders Asso-ciation graciously installed the counters without charge. “It took six men and a full day of hard work and dedication to get the job done,” Mr. Rice, Career Technical Advisor said. “The men were all local builders,” Rice added. In order for the construction workers to install the new counters and sinks, a member of M-CHS’ maintenance staff had to shut off the water supply in the culi-nary arts classroom, which is why the

installation process occurred during winter break.

The new counters do have a few downsides according to Ms. Carriger and Ms. Wojciechowski. Since the counters are a dark color, they make the existing wooden cabinets “look

older.” They don’t match very well with the cabi-nets and “it’s harder to de-tect sanitation because of the color.”

The color of the counters doesn’t seem to affect the stu-dents too much, though: “It was worth the mon-ey, we needed them” Amnen

Arviso, Bakery Deli Catering student, said. Rashian Begay, Bakery Deli Catering stu-dent, said the new counters are bet-ter than the old ones, and she enjoys them. The culinary arts teachers seem to look past the mismatching color, “it gives the room a fresh new look” Wojciechowski stated. Carri-ger added, “Heck yes, I like them!”

Whether the rest of the student body agrees with installing new counters, culinary arts teachers and students clearly seem to enjoy hav-ing brand new countertops to slice, dice, and mix on. Be sure to check them out in room 308.

T h e t a b l e s h a v e t u r n e dBrandi Avon, Staff Reporter

Ms. Carriger and Ms. Wojciechowski show off their new countertops in the family and consumer science classroom

photo taken by Brandi Avon

The Band Boosters held a meeting on February 8th and have selected several fundraisers and events that will be held throughout the upcoming school year. The Band Boosters also elected the new president and vice president. The new president is Amy Smith who just moved to Cortez from Monticello, Utah. The new vice president is veteran, Cathy Allen-Lewis. Both of the new Band Booster presidents have students that attend M-CHS. Amy has a Junior son, Conover Smith, who plays percussion; Cathy has two students in the school, Senior Sarah Lewis and Freshman Aaron Lewis. At the meeting they also decided that the Band Boosters will have three prizes for the spring raffle this year. The raffle drawing will happen at the All-District Festival on May 7. The grand prize will be a mountain bike from Kokepelli Bike & Board, the second prize will be an X-Box

360 and other merchandise from Game-Stop, and third prize will be $100 gift/gas card from City Market. The club wants to have the raffle started by March and is hop-ing to have every band parent sell at least 20 tickets. Their goal is to sell 1,000 more tickets more than last year making the total number of tickets sold 2,000. The band is also asking for donations for the Senior’s Legacy Fund. Each senior has agreed to make a goal to raise at least $100 toward the fund. Also, the next City Mar-ket bake sale will be held on Friday, March 16th. Randi Lewis has also had the idea to do an “M-CHS Band Cookbook”. They ask that student families submit in their favor-ite recipes and they will be bound together and sold. The Band Boosters have put forth great effort into planning all of these events so please support the band and help raise money for future band events.

N e w y e a r f o r M - C H S B a n d B o o s t e r s

Native American students from seven schools from the Four Corners area gathered at the Fort Lewis College campus to get a clear vision for their future. It is estimated that 250 students attended the conference, including 150 students from M-CHS. Colorado Pathways Graduation Grant funded the whole trip to learn why Native Americans do not attend school and how the schools can help students discover the essentials they need for their futures. All of the students had an activity to do at one point. One was to take a dream catcher survey. The directions were for students to list goals they wanted to accomplish in the future. Attending college topped them all, and finishing high school came in second. “The conference made me see what I could do after I graduate high school and attend college,” Savannah Jacket, an M-CHS freshman who attended the conference,

said. Ms. Broersma, the teacher who was the head of the conference, had the dream to have the gathering put together since 2006 when she first came to M-CHS. Ms. Bro-ersma was the director of the Native Amer-ican club at CMS in 2004-2005, so she has a passion for the Native American students to set goals for after high school. “I was overwhelmed at the number of students that attended the conference,” Ms. Broers-ma said. “I was honored at the result of the gathering,” she added. Since the conference, several students have already stopped to talk with Ms. Bro-ersma about how they can start their fu-ture. With the success of this conference, Ms. Broersma has plans to do this yearly. Ms. Broersma would like to thank all of the students that attended and the students who were on their best behavior.

Dominic Brendle, Staff Reporter

M-CHS students at Fort Lewis College conference on January 19th.

photo provided by Sarah Broersma

T h e s t a r t o f s t u d e n t s ’ d r e a m sCheyanne Sam, Staff Reporter

Miceal Allsup, Staff Reporter

03Panther Press News

Check out our Panther Press webpage! The Panther Press’s website is available for students, faculty, and parents who want

to read the newspaper online. Anyone who wishes to read and critique newspaper ar-ticles before they have been published can do so at mchspanthernews.org. Choose a story you want to read and click “Full Story.” Scroll down to the bottom of the page and put your name, email address, and comments in the empty boxes,(as shown below) and click “submit.” Your comment will be reviewed by our newspaper staff. We appreciate any feedback and will use it to help improve our paper.

CTE MonthThe month of February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) month. CTE’s overall goal is to pro-vide quality educational programs and will prepare students for the challenges of the workforce ahead. As of 2009-2010, CTE had 115,411 enrollments in their secondary pro-grams and 31,782 enrollments in their postsecondary programs in the state of Colorado. There are 1,296 secondary programs in 155 public schools in this state; these include M-CHS and many other schools and technical and community col-leges. The Colorado CTE programs

are divided into six different sec-tors: agriculture, law, arts, technol-ogy, health sciences, and education. Within those sectors there are 18 career clusters to pick from. Stu-dents can pick classes in their clus-ter for training in that career later in their life. CTE is trying to get the overall word out that they are helping students with their dreams of becoming what they want to be when they grow up. Enroll yourself in CTE today, and start planning your future career.

Wyatt Ha, Staff ReporterEditing a new chief As of January, and hopefully for the rest of the year, a new editor-in-chief has taken over the journalism team. This new chief is no other than M-CHS's own Josh Maes, who has willfully taken up the respon-sibilities of choosing and editing all of the journalism stories. Usu-ally, a new chief isn’t picked until a new year. Mack Carter, the for-mer editor-in-cheif, chose to step down half way through the year. Of course the team was very sad and was looking forward to Mack being the chief, but at the same time they were happy to see Josh step up and lead them into the making of the paper. Much can change with the pa-per when a new editor in chief is in charge. They can change how the pa-per is for-matted and they edit the stories that the team submits. So no matter how bad or good Josh is at his job, journalism will still be creating the paper every month for M-CHS. But there is always room for im-

provement and criticism, so what could Josh change about the paper that would improve it and maybe get more readers? Josh has been a good editor-in-chief; he is nice about mistakes, but also stern about them, encour-aging the team to improve them the best they can, he will most likely be a great chief for the rest of the year. For that, he has to thank Mrs. Debra Mcvicker who has guided him with a gentle hand to teach him how to do his job well. And then his left and right hand ladies Kristin Campbell and Abby Lock as managing editors, help him edit everyones stories, and of course the rest of the journalism team who

keep the p a p e r r u n n i n g like a w e l l -o i l e d machine. With that said, the journal -ism team

will keep bringing the students of M-CHS the school newspaper lead by the current editor-in-chief, Josh Maes.

Wyatt Ha, Staff Reporter

Photo taken by Kearra Boggs

SportS 04 Panther PressFebruary 2012

While some sports just work your leg muscles, or only exercise your arm mus-cles, swimming exercises all your muscles, and is referred to as a full body sport. “It works muscles I never knew I had before,” said dedicated senior swimmer, Megan Curtis. She reports that each team mem-ber has been dropping seconds each week, beating their old times and reaching new levels of speed and stamina. This is an im-mense accomplishment when compared to how the team started off the season. Fortunately, the team knew how to swim, but not one of them had any prior expe-rience with the butterfly stroke, which is the most difficult and fatiguing stroke to swim. Now, half the team is swimming the butterfly competitively with the rest of the team encouraging them as they race. Even though it is essentially an individ-ual sport, it is also a team sport. “At each end of the pool, the entire team will be there, cheering you on,” said another se-

nior swimmer, Arlina O’Camb. According to O'Camb, the whole team gets along and works well together. The varsity swim coach Ann Hight is in her second year coaching at high school level. In the past, she participated in swim-ming, water polo, adventure racing, and several other active and challenging sports. Speaking for the team, Megan Curtis said that their coach is tough, and pushes them hard, but is supportive, and “makes you feel accomplished.” Ann Hight is aided in her job by assistant coaches Steve Heath and Kevin Ketterer, and both of them have their own specialty, which has helped in the team's training. The team will be participating in State in Thornton, Colorado on the 10th. The swim team is looking for new recruits next year to replace the seniors that will be leaving and to expand the team.

Just keep swimmingMiceal Allsup, Staff Reporter

Getting pumped upvs.

we lost to Durango, but in 1936 we beat them. At this time, both teams played in the San Juan Basin League. Now we play in the Southwestern League,” stated Deb-ra Ramsey, the Montezuma-Cortez High School Principal’s Secretary. The Cortez Panthers, last year, beat the Demons 42 to 38 and are hoping to beat them again. “Of course we have a good enough team, we just have to play how we can play,” stat-ed Devin Fox, M-CHS Senior Basketball Player. So let’s go Panthers, go out there and beat the Demons.

On Thursday, February 16th, 2012, the most rival basketball game is coming to town. The Durango Demons are coming to Cortez to face the M-CHS Panthers. This basketball game is one of the most intense games in this school’s history because the two teams are battling for the top seat in our division. “It’s an opportunity for the school and community to support the teams and really get excited about M-CHS Athletics,” stated Jimmie Lankford, the M-CHS Ath-letics Director. “Cortez and Durango have played several different sports against each other since both schools opened. In 1926,

Zach Smouse, Staff Reporter

Freshman Selena LaPaz practices her stroke. Courtesy photo by Megan Curtis

M-CHS Varsity Basketball Seniors Photo by Thomas McDonell

05Panther Press OpiniOn

Februray 2012

Panther

Press

s t a F F

e D I t O r I a L

Panther Press 2011-2012 Staff & InformationEditor-in-Chief

Josh MaesAssistant Publisher

Christina StevensManaging Editors

Abby LockKristin Campbell

Business ManagersChristina StevensKrissey Gonzoles

PhotographerKearra Boggs

Staff RepoRteRS

Dominic BrendleAnthony HodgeMiceal AllsupBrandi AvonWyatt Ha

Adrian OpsahlCheyanne SamZach Smouse

Want to adveRtiSe With the pantheR pReSS?

Call ouR BuSineSS ManageRS at (970) 565 - 3722 ext. 148

pRefeRaBly BetWeen 7:30 aM and 9 aM Monday thRough thuRSday

ContaCt uS at: MontezuMa-CoRtez high SChool

attn: pantheR pReSS (deB MCviCkeR) 206 W. 7th St., CoRtez, Co 81321

the M-ChS pantheR pReSS iS an open foRuM WhiCh opeRateS undeR Re-1 diStRiCt poliCy. the Re-1 SChool diStRiCt, BoaRd, and Staff aRe not ReSponSiBle foR the

infoRMation and opinionS expReSSed in the pantheR pReSS.

The Panther Press invites your letters, comments, and questions. Letters will be edited on the basis of content and

conciseness.

pantherpress@cortez.k12.co.us

dmcvicker@cortez.k12.co.us

970-565-3722x148

Last Wednesday, I went to go into the men’s room by 200 Hall, and as I pushed the door to enter, I bounced off. I tried it again, just to see if it was a fluke or maybe there was some-one on the other side, but no. It was locked. As the day passed on, I heard several rumors about the bathroom being tagged. This of course seemed completely idiotic and point-less to me, and I heard several of my peers voice similar thoughts. Why would someone even tag a bathroom? The janitors will just clean it up, so what’s the point? What is there worth tag-ging about in Cortez? Many students, includ-ing myself, were also upset with the administration for locking the bathroom after the alleged graffiti incident. We were not the ones who had done any-thing wrong; why are we being punished? This incident led me to begin thinking about the way that so many students at M-CHS disrespect the school, both as an institu-tion as a physical place. It’s been going on for a long time, ever since I can remember. No one likes M-CHS. We all com-plain about the poor state of the build-ing, the failure of the sports teams, the lack of money. I’m guilty of it too. But is it really right for us to be doing this? Our high school is a public institution established and paid for by our country and

ourselves, through the proxy of taxes, and the only purpose it serves is to serve us as students. Students joke all the time about how they’re never going to get anywhere in life because they have been stuck at M-CHS, but if it becomes true for them, it’s certainly not the school’s fault. Sure, it might be easier for students to get into college if they all had personal tutors to coach them through everything, but that’s

just not going to happen for the majority of us. No, if anyone fails, it is almost always his own fault. No one can do anything without committing himself to the task at hand, and at M-CHS it seems that

there are a lot of students who are lacking the commitment to succeeding in high school. They say that they’ll try harder once they get a good teacher, or once they’re in a classroom with new desks and a SmartBoard, but those things won’t have any effect. Students will just come up with new excuses for their own laziness. Besides, those helpful little extras are nev-er going to come to a school full of malcon-tents. Why would teachers want to teach students who are actively rebellious and show no interest in learning? Why would the State of Colorado pay extra to give lazy kids advantages that won’t be used? Of course there are some excellent teach-ers who do make sacrifices and teach at M-

CHS, and those students who actually utilize them are universally grateful. But Superman’s not going to swoop in and save the day for the rest. In the real world, there is no Superman. Ev-eryone is going to have to make their own way, because going on welfare is not a permanent option for any self-re-specting, productive member of society. If you want to make something of yourself, you’re going to have to do it yourself. So pay attention in class. Do what your teacher tells you. Seek out opportunities for academic enrichment.

Start preparing yourself for the next steps af-ter high school. No one can make you do it but yourself.

S u c c e s s : a D I Y p r o j e c tMack Carter, Guest Editor

A Bright Future for the Panther PressJosh Maes, Editor-in-Chief

for our readers. It has been my honor to work among such bright young reporters with such a strong work ethic.

I am confident that with such strong young writers in the class, the Panther Press will continue to be an award winning

p u b l i c a t i o n through the years. The staff decided to compose a brand new m i s s i o n statement that will reflect its desires as a newspaper through the years: “We as the Panther Press strive to inform and entertain our school and our

community with current information that is accurate, and relevant to our school, community, and nation. We as the Panther Press staff wish to print an honest, ethical, and unbiased newspaper that will equip our students and our

The Panther Press has faced many changes over the past few years: a new teacher, and several changes in staff, including the position of editor-in-chief. In spite of all of the changes, the Panther Press remains strong with a bright future ahead of it.

As I look back upon the process of creating this month’s paper, all I can say is that I am extremely proud: I am proud of our Panther Press staff. In spite of what many people may think, writing stories for a newspaper is no elementary task. It involves a lot of thought, preparation, and time and it can often be quite stressful. However, this semester’s press staff, which, apart from staff reporter Zach Smouse and I, is made up of entirely of freshmen and sophomores, have worked diligently to write stories

“We as the Panther Press strive to inform and entertain our school and our community with current information that is accurate, and relevant to our school, community, and nation. We as the Panther Press staff wish to print an honest, ethical, and unbiased newspaper that will equip our students and our community members with the power of knowledge and understanding of our world as it relates to our high school.”

community members with the power of knowledge and understanding of our world as it relates to our high school.”

We hope that this semester’s stories serve to both enlighten and entertain our readers. We as a paper promise to never compromise our integrity, to never settle to publish a paper that is simply “good enough,” and to never stop working to make the Panther Press a stronger publication.

Seek out opportunities for academic enrichment. Start preparing yourself for the next steps after high school. No one can make you do it but yourself.

06Panther Press Feature

February 2012

V a l e n t i n e s D a y W o r d s e a r c h

Dear Sheldton, Why do you keep on

looking at me if u like me? U can ask me out.

Charon Benally

Dear Kody Deavers, We have known each other for quite

some time now and I know I have had the opportunity to tell you how I feel, but I don’t

have the guts to say it to your face. You make me laugh and smile and I can’t help to think

what life would be without you, it just wouldn’t be the same. I enjoyed the time we share in

class together and you were always the life of the party. But now my feelings are starting to get the best of me. We haven’t really been that close, but we have known each other for years,

and I like having you as a friend but I want to be so much more. Hopefully soon some day you will feel the same. Sincerely, Your Secret Admirer

Dear Jaci Veach, Your red hair is beautiful. I really enjoy you! <3 Me, your admirer

Dear Christina, You’re so hot bro! You’re

like the sunlight in my life! I can’t live without you!

<3 your secret love

Dear lovely Kylee Sitton, You are the song in my

soul. I can’t even describe my burning love for thee. Even if I

died right now and went to heaven, it would still be hell

without you. You are the only person that can make my heart

beat faster and slower at the same time. Even if the sun were

to go out, you would brighten my day. You may not know this, but I love you with all of my heart, and I am writing this letter to you in

hopes that one day soon, you will find your love for me. I hope to be

with you soon. Forever Hoping, Your anonymous admirer

Dear sweet Devynn Nutt, You are the cure to my

discontent; I long to see you every day. If my love for you could be measured, it would be more than all the stars in the

universe. You are the rhythm to my life song. Although my love for you is

unknownst to thee, it is great and I long for your sweet, soft skin. I hope we are

together soon. Forever Hoping,

Your anonymous admirer

Dear the love of my life Andrea

Tripp, I have never had the courage to tell you how much

I like you. We always talk in band and I can’t help but gaze into your beautiful hazel eyes.

You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life. I would like to take you out to dinner and maybe even a movie. If you can figure out who this is, I will proclaim my love for you in front of everyone. I

am embarrassed because I know you won’t accept a guy like me, but this letter will at least show you how much I care. You truly

shine like the light from the sun.

I LOVE YOU ANDREA TRIPP!!

V a l e n t i n e ’ s D a y L e t t e r s

07Panther Press Feature

Despite popular belief, succulent sweets, fragrant flowers, and frilly greetings adorned with Cupid’s arrows and blushing hearts aren’t the true origins of Valentine’s Day. In fact, the holiday’s history is much more gruesome. Multiple stories surround the history of Saint Valentine and cast a shroud of mys-tery upon his holiday. The most popular story contends that Saint Valentine was a Roman priest who performed secret marriages for lovers because the laws of Claudius II, the Roman Emperor, forbid young men (potential soldiers) from mar-rying. Claudius II became aware of Val-entine’s illicit deeds and Valentine was in-carcerated. It was said that Saint Valentine himself wrote the first Valentine card to his lover from behind the bars of his dingy prison cell. Claudius II attempted to convert Valentine from a Christian to a worshipper of Roman gods, but when he refused, Claudius II ordered Valentine to be

S t . V a l e n t i n e ’ s D a y : A D a y o f L o v e a n d M a r t y r d o mAbby Lock, Managing Editor

executed. Valentine was executed on Feb-ruary 24, 270 A.D. After his death, he was declared a “Patron Saint”. He became the spiritual overseer of an already existent celebration that allowed young Romans to bestow cards of affection on their love interests. The cards from the festival date back to 1415 A.D. Valentine’s compassion and con-siderable regard for romantic love made him the most popular saint in England and France. To this day, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in most of Europe, Asia, and some Middle Eastern coun-tries. Each country differs in their Valentine customs, but the celebra-

tion of love is universal. In Vietnam, couples coordinate their attire for the day, while in Japan; young couples exchange different colored chocolates. The boys give

the girls white chocolate and the girls return with dark chocolate. However, the idea of forbidden love still exists in other countries. Most Muslim middle-eastern countries have outlawed the festivities and products of Valen-tine’s Day. In Pakistan, despite the harsh laws, florists have recorded dramatic increases in floral sales on the day of February 14th.

FACTS: •Approximately 141 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making V-day the second most popular card-sending holiday after Christmas. •Valentine’s Day may have been set in mid-February to “Christianize” the Pagan festivities of Lupercalia. •The oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. • Americans began exchanging cards in the early 1700’s

Are you planning for peril on Friday, December 21, 2012? According to the calendar used by the ancient Mayan culture, it could be the end of time alto-gether, or merely the beginning of a new era. Galactic alignment, spiritual transformation, natural catas-trophe, and walking dead are popular theories that have pro-duced an astounding response

from mainstream commerce. The movie “2012” made nearly $770 million in 2009. In 1996, “Inde-pendence Day” grossed nearly $818 million at the box office. According to Jill Replogle from KPBS.org, the Guatemalan government has created a “2012 committee” to promote tour-ism around the event. However, most South Americans believe that Dec. 21 is not a doomsday. In fact, it is con-sidered “an Anglo perspective of the

world” Ernesto Arredondo Leiva, a Guatemalan archaeologist said. Mod-ern day Maya expect to welcome “the awakening of the human race” on Dec. 21st with celebrations spon-sored by their governments. Nevertheless, many online blog-gers and pseudoscientists hold to their beliefs. A popular blog called 2012apocalypse.net argues that the biblical chapter of “Revelation” links to the asteroid 433 Eros that is sched-

uled to pass earth on December 21. The blog’s arguments also extend be-yond religion and begin to delve into scientific reasoning about galactic alignment. When one evaluates both sides of the contention about the 2012 apoca-lypse, reason can be gathered from both angles. Some students and staff from M-CHS have made up their minds about this potential Armaged-don.

Is it the Beginning of the End?Abby Lock, Managing Editor

“Catastrophes visit the earth all the time, but I don’t believe that you can predict them.”

“I do not believe that because the calendar ends that the world will end. I think that as humans we will eventually corrupt ourselves.”

“I don’t believe that the apoca-lypse would happen because there’s no evidence something of that scale will occur. But I do believe things are starting to change in our world and major events might go down.”

“I am a firm believer in Christian-ity and I understand that during the end times there is going to be war, famine, and disease. All of that has already happened. I believe that ac-cording to the Bible and the Mayans that the world could possibly end this year.”

“The 2012 apocalypse seems like a distant apparition to most; it has become, however, an acknowledged reality for others. Only time can determine the fate of this world” Abby Lock

W h a t D o e s M - C H S T h i n k ?

Caitlin Wesch, Senior Christine Sanders, Junior Lynn Thiel, English Teacher Collin Cathey, Sophomore

Photos Taken by Kearra Boggs

Photo Credit to Google

08Panther Press OpiniOn

February 2012

Student Forum1. What do you like about CSAP?2. What do you dislike about CSAP?3. Did you know the name is changed to TCAP?

Photos and story by Brandi Avon, Staff Reporter

Andrea Tripp, Sophomore 1. We get a break from regular classes and shorter school days. 2. Colleges don’t really look at CSAP scores. 3. I have heard of it.

Ashley Brown, Freshman

Johnny Lopez, Sophmore

Zac David, Sophomore.

1. I don’t like anything about CSAP. 2. All the time that it takes. 3. No, I haven’t heard that.

1. I like the long lunch and we have shorter school days. 2. The test itself.3. No, I haven’t, actually.

1. Long lunches. 2. Sitting in one room all day. 3. Yeah, I’ve heard of it.

•"Eat less junk food and sort of."

New Year’s resolutionsKrissey Gonzales Business Manager

Panther Press wanted to see how many people made New Year’s Resolutions and if they kept them. All participants asked to remain anonymous.

•"Eat healthy, no more junk food or pop, yeah I have."

•"Get better grades and be more focused on school, yes I have."

•"Better grades and no, not really."

•"Get good grades.... uhhh yeah!"

•"Winning all my bets, especially my mustache one. Of course I've kept it, I still have my mustache!"

•"To be a better person, and of course I have!"

•"Try not to get in as many verbal arguments with my siblings. Heck nay!"

•"Try not to eat so many bugs, of the gummy persuasion of course. No, not at all."

Trying to “fit in”

09Panther Press news

“The Foreigner” is just around the corner. The M-CHS Drama Depart-ment is putting on this play in early March, so mark your calendars. Unlike “Suessical the Musical”, a very successful musical put on by the Drama Deptartment earlier this school year, “The Foreigner” is not a musical, but a comedy. “The Foreigner” was originally written by Larry Shue about two British travelers. The play’s comi-cal themes are sure to keep the audi-ence laughing. The lead role of “Char-lie” is played by M-CHS Junior Rachel Faught. There are 20 cast and crew members doing their best to bring M-CHS the absolute best in the perform-ing arts. The target audience is every-one, so invite your friends and family to come see “The Foreigner.” The play is turning out to be a great production. The comedy theme is sure to pack the auditorium with excited audiences. “I’m excited about this pro-duction. I have a very dedicated cast and crew, and I have no doubt they will have the audience rolling in the aisle,” Theatre Director, Nicholaus Sandner, said about his cast’s hard work. A pro-duction that has the audience falling out of their chairs laughing will definitely be worth seeing. While the cast is busy working on stage, the crew behind the scenes will be working just as hard to bring a quality show to everyone. The Drama Department is known for its high-quality productions, both with the acting and the visual effects, which

R e a d y f o r a l a u g h ?

Stage Dwellers Productions is rehearsing.Photo taken by Lacey Lucas

keep the audience wowed and want-ing some more. The production sounds like it is going to be exciting. “It’s such a fun production for both the actors and the audience,” lead role Rachel Faught said. “The Foreigner” sounds more and more exciting the closer it comes to premiere time. The play premieres on March 8th, and plays through the weekend and also the next weekend, of March 15th. The play also has inexpen-sive admissions, charging only $8 for adult tickets, $5 for students All chil-dren that are less than five years of age along with M-CHS faculty have free admission. With a dedicated cast, “The For-eigner” is definitely turning out to be a greatly anticipated production. The audience is going to be laughing up a storm by the time the cast takes their bow. It will definitely be something to see. So, come one, come all, because “The Foreigner” is coming to town.

French and Spanish Club is helping M-CHS students find love with their second annual Iflurtz survey. The If-lurtz survey is a creation of a Canadian company, and was originally suggested by the previous journalism teacher, Nate Thompson. This year, 15 copies per classroom were passed out, a total of about seven hundred copies. Around six hundred Iflurtz surveys were turned in and filled out. The French and Spanish club, taught by Ms. Judy and Ms. Copeland, trav-els every three years to Paris, France, and Barcelona, Spain. Usually last-ing 10 days, the trip includes tours of the towns and cities, cooking French cuisine in Loire Chateaux, and seeing Spanish art in Barcelona. Being in the club is not required to be able to travel with it, but having taken at least one French or Spanish class is necessary. In the club, there are other activities besides traveling to France and Spain. The club celebrates all cultural events in any country that speaks French or Spanish. Some of these celebrations are Dia de los Muertos, Mardi Gras, the National French Week in Novem-

Burritos and escargot Miceal Allsup, Staff Reporter

ber, and Cinco de Mayo, which has the Salsa Contest in May. Movies show monthly at the Cortez Public Library, which club members frequently watch. They also host a French Cuisine Cook-off during National French Week. This competition is open to anyone from the school. On each celebration, they make French or Spanish dishes for lunch, de-pending on which country the celebra-tion is from. They are currently eating at the Mexican restaurants all over Cortez and critiquing the food. “You can do a sport and still be in the club,” said Ms. Copeland, the French teacher, “You don’t have to do a lot.” “It’s an outlet to increase the knowl-edge of the cultures. There’s only so much you can do in the classroom,” Ms. Judy, one of the school’s Spanish teachers said. The French and Spanish club encourages all interested students to join. Meetings are every Tuesday at lunch and Ms. Copeland and Ms. Judy invite new members to join the club.

In the year 2012, families will enjoy going to the theater together more often. This year will be filled with the most excit-ing movies ever. The technologies for mov-ies have been advanc-ing more and more ev-ery year on movies for the year 2012! Here are some movies that families might like to go see this year.

2012 Movie Reviews Zach Smouse, Staff Reporter

Kristin Campbell, Managing Editor

of rogue wolves on the hunt – before their time runs out. It is based on the short ghost story "Ghost Walker" by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers," reviewed by www.hd-trailers.net. This movie will be two thumbs up and the technology will blow your mind. The technology in the sound and picture has increased in quality. “The current technology has gotten more advanced than it was 20 years ago” Quinn Swope, M-CHS Cortez Options teacher, and most other staff of M-CHS stated.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – (February 17th, 2012)

“While laying low in Eastern Europe seeking to escape his demons, former stunt-rider John-ny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) is tasked to stop the Devil from taking over the body of his mortal son,” reviewed by http://www.hd-trailers.net/. This movie is the sequel

become one

The Grey (January 27th, 2012)

"Liam Neeson leads an unruly group of oil-rig roughnecks when their plane crashes into the remote Alas-kan wilderness. Bat-tling mortal injuries and merciless weath-er, the survivors have only a few days to es-cape the icy elements – and a vicious pack

to “Ghost Rider” and it will have more action than the first movie. Mrs. Ramsey, the M-CHS Principal’s Secretary, said “I want to see action movies this year.”

This year’s movies will be filled with action, romance, comedy, and so much more!! If movies were cheaper, more people might go to them more often. Britney Jaramillo, M-CHS Senior, said “I don’t go to the movies very often because the theatre costs more than a

regular movie on a disc.” In general, most of the faculty and students of M-CHS would like to see horror and action movies this year. They also be-lieve that the technology has gotten better in the last 20 years. Most don’t go to the theaters very much and a few said a review might help let them know what kinds of movies are out in theaters.

Photo Credit to Google

10Panther Press LifestyLe

Feburary 2012

Who decides how, where, and when classes get to take a class trip? Class trips can be a good way of learning because they are experiencing things first-hand which could stick to students longer than book learning. “I be-lieve class trips should be related to clubs, teams, school orginiza-tions, etc, because there all an important part of learning,” Ms. Martucci said. Some parents/students believe that class trips are a waste of time, but are they beneficial? “I do be-lieve class trips are beneficial because the students can connect their learning to the real world, and it is usually a memorable ex-perience,” Ms. Tesci said. Trips can be fun and educational, but some students view it as a chance to get out of school and just mess around. “Sometimes when I go on class trips I just sleep on the bus and wherever we go I just mess around, because it’s a chance to get out of school,” an anonymous sophomore said. Even on class trips, accidents can happen. Risks that are taken during a school trips can be school bus accidents, student health prob-lems, and any freak accidents. “Sometimes I don’t feel very safe driving with a teacher in a bus that isn’t qualified to drive it,” an anonymous junior said. Many people think class trips are a waste of time but they can be very beneficial. The goal of educational class trips is to allow students to go out into the world and see things that they might not otherwise experience. The things that stu-dents have been learning in their textbooks are brought to life when they are on an educational trip. There are a variety of tours that can take place and it can oc-cur in virtually any city around the world. When students go on these trips, it is a chance for them to hear stuff they have never heard before, see stuff they have never seen, smell stuff that they haven’t smelled, and experience stuff first hand that will stay with them forever.

Class trips motivate studentsAnthony Hodge, Staff Reporter

Twenty percent of all teens will suffer from depression before reaching adulthood according to teendepression.org, and five per-cent will suffer from major symp-toms at any one time. When teens fall into a depressed state, they generally stay in it for about eight months, and while in it they tend to do and think things outside of their normal behavior. Many teens are violent, even suicidal in some cases. Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death for people over the age of 10. Not only does it affect a person at the time you are de-pressed, but it can also affect he or she later on in life. If someone has experienced being depressed be-fore, he or she are at a high risk of falling back into it at a later time. Also, a lot of times, teens can de-velop bipolar disorders as a result of depression. This is all a very sad reality, and there are many things that can be done once you are depressed. There are many therapies and med-ications to help the general public, but what about stopping it before it happens? Exercise isn’t just for people who want to lose weight, or athletes, it can benefit every-one. Not only to keep you physi-cally in shape, but also mentally too. Anytime you get your heart rate up more blood flows to the brain. When blood flows through the brain more easily, your brain releases all kinds or endorphins that automatically make you hap-pier! Chocolate also has this effect according to CNN.com, but exer-cise is probably the better choice because not only does it boost your mood, it jogs your memory, helps increase ability to focus, and in-creases your confidence. People in a healthy mental state are more ca-pable of bouncing back from things that make them upset, whereas people who are not are more likely to fall into a depressed state. Exercise is definitely one of the best things a person can do for him-self or herself, although it is not the only thing. Eating the right foods, drinking lots of water and getting good sleep can also do wonders for your body. Yes, you’ve heard it a million times and are probably tired of hearing it, but taking care of your mental health is very im-portant.

Depression in teensKearra Boggs, Photographer

E y e s o n t h e r o a d . . . . Texting while driving is dangerous and stupid. Ac-cording to Dosomething.org, “Texting while driving makes you 4 times more likely to cause a crash.” Yet, according to Fcc.org, “50% of teens even admit to text messaging while driving.” Fcc.org’s data also revealed that “The National Highway Traffic Safety Admin is t ra -tion reported in 2008 that driver distrac-tion was the cause of 16 percent of all fatal crashes -- 5,800 people killed -- and 21 percent of crashes result-ing in an in-jury -- 515,000 people wound-ed.” Mr. Richard Fryhover, an M-CHS spe-cial education teacher, said, “I do very little texting, I only text my family mem-bers when they have texted me. I do not drive and text. I don’t know anybody who drives and texts, but if I did I would tell them it’s dangerous and ask them to stop.” Mr. Brendon Gordon, an M-CHS math teacher, said, “Texting and driving is a bad idea. Some people could do it if they had the key pad memorized and didn’t have to look down at it.” But that’s not en-tirely true.Texting and driv-ing doesn’t only take the driver’s eyes off the road. It takes the driver’s mind off driving. Distraction.gov proves this:"because text

messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive at-tention from the driver" For those who don't know, cog-nitive means to take your mind off what you are do-ing. Texting while driving is dangerous, but not only to the texting driver. Anybody in the car can be hurt, so can

people in other cars. An M-CHS student, Matt Portell has this to say about tex-ting while driving:"...more dangerous than talking on the phone or even eating while driving because your eyes are taken off the road and you aren't paying at-tention to the other 1000 pound death machines go-ing straight at you..." Mr. Fryhover agrees and said,” Yes, texting and driving is dangerous and stupid. If you are looking at your phone you can’t see what’s in or on the road.” Mr. Gordon said, “It can be potentially dangerous and stupid and is like looking down below your feet for something you

dropped, because if you’re moving at 60-70 mph you can move 100’s of feet in the few seconds you are distracted, which can lead to accidents and rear end collisions.”Sara Broersma, an M-CHS history teacher, had this to say about tex-ting while driving:"I have texted while driving, but

only on a couple of instances be-cause I cannot concentrate or operate my vehi-cle safely if I do so. I usually pull off the road to do so. I do though, make phone calls while driving.... I get upset when I see a car not staying in their lane and their eyes are focused down t a phone. I am glad that Col-orado law says 'No' to texting while driving."Mr. Gordon also

said,” I had a friend who al-most went off the road from texting while driving. I had to tell her she was going off the road!” This is what Ms. Broersma said ," My fam-ily has suffered from two automobile accidents from my children texting while driving. In one, no one was hurt, but the car was totaled. In the other, my daughter was seriously injured for failing to stop at a red light and the car was also totaled. We spent up to $20,000 in medical costs and of course had to replace the vehicle."Save the texting for later.

Adrian Opsahl, Staff Reporter

Photos by Kearra Boggs, Photo deesign by Adrian Opsahal

11Panther Press

Students have a familiar face around this year. Although this is Ms. Bane's first year here at M-CHS she worked six previous years as one of Cortez Middle School's art teachers. She loves art, which is one of the main rea-sons she decided to become an art teacher. “I get to share my love for art, and try and make other people love it too,” stated Ms. Bane. She attended the University of Northern Colorado and gained her degree in Visual Arts. Even so, she has been in a few jobs outside of the art field. Ms. Bane worked in

drug and alcohol rehabilita-

tion cen-ters, and she also worked

in a mental health hospital. Af-ter dealing with many of the resi-dents, the students here at M-CHS are unlikely to faze her. Ms. Bane reported that while working in the mental health hospital, a 6 year old once stabbed her with a broken CD. She also worked in custom fram-ing, where she built and designed picture frames. Although Ms. Bane loves to draw, it isn't her only hobby. During the summer, she likes to camp and hang out at the lake. She also loves to play softball. As well as being one of the high school art teachers, Ms. Bane is also sponsoring the Nation-al Art Honors Society this year. Ms. Bane is popular among the students. M-CHS is glad to have Ms. Bane as a member of the staff this year.

Staff Spotlight It may not look like it, but M-CHS has come a long way in the last couple of years. Many of the students attending here now have been able to watch our school mature, but did they notice? Mr. Robinson did. “I think we have made a huge step, and for the bet-ter.” In comparison to the last couple of years, the overall attitude of our school has improved significantly. There have been less disciplinary issues this year, things like, dress code, skipping class, vandalism, P.D.A., harassment, and more. Even the number of students get-ting into fights has decreased. Mr. Robinson told the Panther Press he was proud to see the students handling their issues with each other in such a mature way. More than ever before, students are communicating with each other and trying to stop the fight before it occurs. Although if it does; it is not taken lightly. Different degrees of punish-ment come with different degrees

of a fight, so regardless of the situation each student is given an accurate punishment. If a student is hazardous to the overall safety and security of M-CHS, they are looking at 3 to 5 days suspen-sion. Even an expulsion if they make a habit of breaking the rules. Keeping the students safe is the number one goal. Even so, the number of students that have had to be expelled has decreased significantly. Furthermore, it isn’t just about punishing the students, but also rewarding the ones who are doing everything they can to further improve the school. It is very exciting to see how far the school has come, but they’re not stopping here. The next step is to get M-CHS students thinking about the future, and to realize all of their options sooner. The staff strives to get students interested in academics and to realize all the options offered to them when they get a great education. Hopefully, M-CHS will continue to see a growth in the students, for an even

M-CHS has come a long way..Kearra Boggs, Staff Reporter

Kearra Boggs Reporter & Photographer

Ms Bane enjoys teaching art classes at M-CHS

News

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February 2012