Talk of the Hawk

We see these little, blue

laptops in the hallways every day

now. For some students at LCHS,

October 16 was the first time they

had ever owned a laptop. For a

fee of $20, they get to use a Dell

Latitude 2110 issued by the school

for personal and academic us-

age. This new learning initiative

gives infinite possibilities to what

teachers can do in the classroom.

Being connected with technology

used to be forbidden in school,

but now, administrators and

teachers encourage it. Programs

such as DyKnow and V-Class

make incorporating technology

into daily lesson plans simple and

efficient. Teachers such as Jaime

Smith have encouraged students

to transfer over all of their notes

written on paper to their laptop.

This will give them access to eve-

rything completed in the first nine

weeks of the school year without

a student having to carry a binder

to class, along with their laptop.

“We do assessments online to

provide students with immediate

feedback, daily Bellringer activi-

ties online, for our class it has

opened up the ability to be more

inquisitive about the topics we are

discussing, and I think this is just

the start of the possibilities of what

we are going to be able to do

when we get more familiar with

it,” Smith explains. “I‟m proud to

be in a district who has been a

leader in an initiative such as

this rather than a follower.”

The reality of it is most students

can type faster than they can

write. This increases the amount

of work that can be completed

and the amount of notes that

can be taken. Also, instead of

teachers being forced to leave

their classrooms to make cop-

ies, they can simply post an

assignment or reference sheet

on V-Class or use DyKnow to

wirelessly send it to a student‟s

computer. These programs also

give teachers monitoring abili-

ties that always seemed out of

reach. These are no longer

possibilities, but actualities.

Of course, nothing positive

comes without negatives. Stu-

dents who do not bring their

laptops to class are given an

alternate assignment which

does not require a laptop. If a

student‟s laptop has technical

difficulties, they are given a

temporary laptop to use until

theirs is repaired.

These repairs fall back on Fred-

die Newby, Theresa Banks, Paul

Richardson and Matt Wise, with

assistance from selected stu-

dents enrolled in a course enti-

tled “Help Desk”. They have

been trained to resolve com-

mon issues that arise with the

Little Blue Dell How new laptops at LCHS

make learning interesting.

Erika Bowles

La

ru

e C

ou

nt

y H

igh

Sc

ho

ol

N o v e m b e r 2 2 , 2 0 1 0

V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

T h e T a l k o f t h e H a w k

I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e :

F F A

B y : S h e l b y S u l l i -

v a n

2

R e s p o n s i b i l i t y

B y : J o s h J o n e s

3

E C T C

B y : T o r r e n c e

M a x b e r r y

4

C o l l e g e B o u n d

B y : B r i t t a n y C a r -

m a n

5

T e e n s a n d S e a t -

b e l t s

B y : J e n n i f e r

B o o n e

6

D i s t r a c t e d M u c h

B y : C h e l s e a L e e -

R e d m a n

7

I n t e r m e d i a t e L i -

c e n s e

B y : N a t h a n F u l k

8

Cheerleading a Sport?

By: Niccole Carter

9

Days at Camp

By: Tyler Litton

10

Teens and the Media

By: Laura Despain

11

Tatted Up

By: Luther Despain

12

School Lunches

By: Katelyn Edwards

13

Shoes

By: Brandon Druen

16

Dell Laptops. “The most com-

mon problems we see are stu-

dents incorrectly typing their

email address, accidentally

turning off their wireless, and

turning off their battery

charger,” says Banks. They have

anticipated “for the most part,

all of the problems they have

encountered. There was one

they didn‟t see coming,

though. “One student got milk

behind his screen. It was in

there for a few days and it

stank to high heavens,” banks

continues. Overall though, she

believes LCHS will have a jump

on other schools and students

will be more prepared for col-

lege. “My daughter is in college

and she uses her laptop for

everything.”

The new learning initiative gives

a whole new meaning to the

word “teaching.” Students are

more cooperative and focus

more on what they are sup-

posed to be paying attention

to. Teachers can block out

certain programs with DyKnow

and it gives them the ability to

“make students pay attention.”

It adds a new aspect to learn-

ing and prepares students for

the use of computers in college

and beyond.

This entire article was re-

searched and written on a

“Little Blue Dell.”

The tech people that work on the laptops: Freddie Newby, Paul Richardson, Theresa Banks

and Matt Wise.

When you hear

FFA what do you think of?

Farmers? Cows and pigs?

Perhaps tractors? Absolute-

ly. One thing that probably

never crosses your mind is

the Ag. Teacher that

makes it all happen. The

Ag. Teacher is the one be-

hind FFA. They take stu-

dents to events, coach the

teams, and help them

practice. They are the rea-

son FFA is the way it is.

One thing that

comes to mind for, Misty

Bivens, is opportunity. Mrs.

Bivens, Ag teacher at

Larue County High School,

says, “FFA does involve a

lot of farming, mainly just

for a student‟s SAE, but

there are tons, of opportu-

nities open for all students

enrolled in FFA.” A few

things Mrs. Bivens puts her

time into are; state and

national degrees, movie

parties, cook outs, and oth-

er ceremonies we host

such as the Green Hand/

Chapter Degree Ceremo-

ny and chapter and re-

gional banquets. She

does all of this so that we

have opportunities to be

successful in an Agricul-

tural career. She also be-

lieves that Teaching Ag. Is

more than just teaching

students about Agricul-

ture, it‟s about leading

FFA members and teach-

ing them how to, one day

use all of the opportuni-

ties they were given.

A question I had

for Mrs. Bivens was; what

is the most rewarding

thing about being an Ag.

Teacher? Her response

was, “My favorite thing to

watch is the quietest, shy-

est student get up in front

of the class and speak

with confidence. I love

watching my students

grow with confidence

and leadership because I know

I had a small part in it. I try to

use all my spare time to work

with my students to help them

become better FFA members.”

Our agriculture teachers strive

to build us, FFA members, as

stronger leaders, as well as be-

ing a stronger person. On aver-

age Mrs. Bivens spends 200-350

extra hours during the school

year. Our teachers put in so

much extra time for us and FFA,

No one gives the Ag. Teacher

the credit they deserve.

Although teaching ag-

riculture can be very rewarding,

it has its struggles as well. When I

asked Mrs. Bivens; what was the

hardest thing about being an

Ag. Teacher, she replied, “The

toughest thing to see is having

a student full of potential that

just won‟t participate. I enjoy

having the challenge of a stu-

dent who is not so sure about

FFA and pulling them in, but it is

hard for me to watch so much

potential go down the drain.”

Y o u r L o c a l F F A C h a p t e r : S h e l b y S u l l i v a n

W h o i s r e a l l y b e h i n d t h e m a k i n g o f y o u r l o c a l

F F A m e m b e r s ?


So tell me, now

what do you think of when

you hear FFA? Leadership?

Confidence? Opportunity?

Certainly. FFA is more than

just farming; it is about

premiere leadership and

providing the world with

individuals to go into the

field of Agriculture. Agricul-

ture needs technologists,

scientists, and even a few

reporters to tell the world

all the great thing it does.

We should be thankful that

we are given the oppor-

tunity to be in such a great

organization. But most of

all, we should be thanking

our Ag. Teachers, because

they are the ones who give

us all our opportunities, and

help us build up our confi-

dence and leadership skills

so that we can succeed.

Next time you see your Ag

teacher, thank them for all

the wonderful things they

do for your FFA Chapter.

Larue County High School‟s Agricul-

ture Teacher and director of FFA

Chapter, Misty Bivens, assisted a stu-

dent with their SAE to improve it for

upcoming years.

Responsibility

During this day and

age many consider

our generation to be

largely irresponsible.

Although this is largely

a stereotype, it does

prove a point. Many

would say it is unfair

for the world to judge

us, but that's just how

the world is, so we

have to prove to

them we are worthy

of their trust and re-

spect by showing

how responsible we

can be. Teenagers

should take a more

active role in being

responsible.

Preparation

General re-

sponsibility will often

reward teens with

many things. It helps

to prepare you for

the real world. It also

presents you with val-

uable life skills and

teaches you how to

survive in the world.

Say for example a

teen starts trying to

take responsibility for

their cell phone bill

and car insurance. To

do this they would

have to get a job of

some sort, this forces

them into an early

work environment

and while it may not

be full time, it shows

them just how life will

be after school. Some

examples are paying

for gas, food, cloth-

ing, getting a job, be-

ing more self suffi-

cient and learning to

budget money. From

time to time it pro-

duces stress, but so

will life outside of

school. See it as a

chance to experi-

ence it and handle it.

Respect

Many adults

these days were not

prepared as teens for

the world after

school. They know

how irresponsible

teens are prone to

be, because of how

they were as teens.

My pops, my father,

did a lot of stupid

things when he was a

teenager. He often

shares stories of how

he would get into

trouble or wished he

had not done some-

thing because it

caused people to

lose trust in him.

If a teen takes

initiative to try to pre-

pare themselves for

life after school and

gradually takes on

more responsibilities,

it will often times im-

press adults or

cause them to trust

and respect teens

more. Many adults

say they will trust

teens that prove to

be more responsible

and give them

more respect. That's

an important one

too, because as a

teen myself, I strive

to gain the respect

of my adult peers,

and my surrounding

classmates and

coworkers and

have found that by

my actions I often

gain it.

Once my fa-

ther showed im-

mense trust in me,

he gave me seven

thousand dollars to

deposit for him. It

was imperative that

I did it on time so a

check he wrote

would not bounce.

He trusts and re-

spects me and

knows that I can get

any job that he re-

quests of me done.

Actions speak vol-

umes about an indi-

vidual. By being

punctual, polite,

and progressive one

can gain the re-

spect of others.

Responsibility: Joshua Jones

How it can help you.


Benefits

Your actions

now can also have

future benefits. Being

more responsible is

often shown in a per-

son‟s grades too. Bet-

ter grades help you

get into college. Col-

lege helps to get you

a better job. Better

jobs, more often than

not, offer better ben-

efits and more pay. It

all makes sense when

you think about it.

Better colleges often

require higher GPOs.

The better your

grades, the better

chance a person will

have at getting into a

better college.

Act

Being responsi-

ble offers many re-

wards. Whether it is

life skills and experi-

ence, trust and re-

spect, greater bene-

fits present them-

selves in the long run.

It may require some

effort and hard work

but the pros well out

weigh the cons. Go

out and prove to the

world you are ready

to take on responsibil-

ity. Show them what

your made of and

what our generation

can do.

How do you im-

agine your senior year?

Do you imagine yourself

here at the high school or

over at the tech school

(Elizabethtown Communi-

ty and Technical College)

where you get a fully paid

year of college? Before

you choose, think about

it. Do not make the same

mistake that I did. You

should not choose one or

the other just because

you think it might be cool.

Choose the one that

seems more appropriate.

It would not be good to

go up to the tech school

without taking some

things into consideration.

You need to know what

you want to do before

you act upon a decision. Expenses

Do you think that

it was going to be

cheap? Well it is not. You

have to consider the trip

up to ECTC, the trip

home, and how many

days a week that you

have to travel up there.

You also have to consider

the cost of food. It is not

like high school where you

only have to pay $1.40.

When eating lunch at the

college, the cheapest

they have to eat is Chick

Filet, and if you have ever

eaten there you know

that it is not cheap. Driv-

ing to Elizabethtown every

day tends to get expen-

sive, especially if you work

and have to pay for eve-

rything yourself.

Wants

Think of what

classes that you want to

take in college. Well

don‟t get your hopes

up, because you prob-

ably will not get what

you want. When it is

time for you to register,

every one else has al-

ready registered for

class and you get what

is left. You literally have

no choice. You will be in

good shape if you have

a class that is even re-

motely on track with

your major. Further-

more, your schedule will

be all out of whack.

Some people that go to

the tech school have a

class at eight in the

morning until eleven

then their next class

isn‟t until seven at night.

If you have a problem

with your schedule,

there is no trying to fix it,

because there is no

way to get into any oth-

er classes.

Let’s Go To College Torrence Maxberry

The time of your life?

Some students

have classes

from 8-11 AM,

then their next

class isn‟t until

7 PM.


Friends

In college there is

hardly any one there that

you know. You are in a

school with a lot of people

that work really hard and

pay good money to attend

and here you are signing a

piece of paper that says

that you get into college for

a free year. Some of the

other people may be irritat-

ed that there is a premature

adult getting a free ride

when they had pay so

much money to get there.

Also, think of all the friends

that you will have to leave

behind to go there. You

might get lucky and get

someone that you know in a

couple of classes, but you

probably will not.

ECTC can also help

you. If you are an over-

achiever and would like to

get ahead of all of your

peers, then ECTC is the per-

fect place for you to go.

But how would you imagine

your senior year? Sitting

around with your friends? Or

up at the college taking

multiple three hour courses?

Just don‟t make the same

mistake that I did. Think

about your decision before

you act on it. You might not

make the right choice.

When you get there you

may like it, your parents may

fund you and pay for your

gas and food, and you may

meet many friends along

the way. But, personally, it is

not for me.

Elizabethtown Community and

Technical College

You are a sen-

ior, and it is your last

year of high school.

You are looking at

umpteen different

colleges that might

be the possible place

you will spend the

next four years of your

life. Are you ready?

When it comes time

to leave the nest, will

you feel prepared?

Studies have shown

that most students in

college say their high

school did not fully

prepare them to go

out into the college

world.

Some kids that

go to high school are

placed into ad-

vanced placement

classes. These classes

are more hands on

and require more

work outside the

classroom. But what

about the other kids

who don‟t make the

cut for AP classes?

You miss out on the

experiences, such as

dead- lines and the in

-depth discussions of

a college-like setting

that AP kids get.

Therefore the students

that don‟t get into AP

classes are unpre-

pared for the college

life.

Think of all the

colleges that you

know of. Now how

many of those colleg-

es are set up like your

typical high school?

Not many. Some col-

leges have huge

campuses, that can

encompass any-

where from five to

twenty buildings. Thir-

ty-seven percent of

all students who

switched from a high

school setting to a

college one, state

that the size change

was a shock.

The only thing

that surprises students

more than campus

size is the student to

teacher ratio. The

number of students in

any given class usual-

ly doubles when you

move from High

School to College.

The average teacher

to student ratio is one

to seventy-nine. This

extreme change in

class size could ulti-

mately shock a per-

son.

College life for

many is said to be a

part of some of the

fondest memories you

will ever make. At the

same time it can be

scary, overwhelming,

and in the end high

school really doesn‟t

help. The close class-

rooms and tight stu-

dent arrangement

sets up some kids to

be driven mad by the

wide spread campus-

es and random class-

mates. The only thing

that can truly prepare

a person for college is

this: good work ethic.

If you put your mind

to something, there is

no telling what you

can accomplish.

Make sure that while

you are in high school

you do all that you

can to prepare your-

self for college be-

cause when you go

out into the real

world, there is no turn-

ing back.

C o l l e g e B o u n d :

O r A r e Y o u ? B r i t t a n y C a r m a n

The

average

teacher to

student

ratio in

college is

one to

seventy-

nine.


Josh Atkins stressed out about his ACT

score.

In the state of

Kentucky, it is a law that

in a car or motorized

vehicle you must wear a

seatbelt or you could

get pulled over and get

a twenty-five dollar tick-

et. How do teens react

to this law? Sixty-five out

of a hundred teens say

they wear their seatbelts

while the other thirty-five

say they don‟t. Some of

the thirty-five say they

don‟t trust seat belts

and they can hurt you

just as easily as they can

help you, but how?

They Hurt?

Thirty percent of

the teens surveyed said

they have been in a situ-

ation when a seatbelt

could have hurt them.

Twenty-five percent say

they have been in a situ-

ation when a seatbelt

has or could have

helped them. The other

forty-five percent say

they have never been in

either one of those situa-

tions. Many people think

that is impossible for a

seat belt to hurt some-

one but I know different.

My cousin was in a bad

car accident about a

year ago and even

though the seatbelt did-

n‟t kill him it did hurt him.

He had a punctured

lung and a big open

gash starting behind his

ear all the way down to

his neck. When the

accident happened,

his seatbelt locked up

so when he slung for-

ward it put pressure

against his lung and

cut his neck. That‟s just

one way that a seat-

belt can hurt you;

there are other ways

such as you could run

into a lake or a river

and the seat belt jam.

If that happens and

you can‟t get out you

could die.

Another way is

you could hit a tree

and the seatbelt lock

up and jam so once

again you would be

stuck. One way to

prevent yourself from

getting stuck is by car-

rying a knife or a razor

blade with you in the

vehicle at all times.

That way if the seat-

belt gets stuck you

can cut it off.

S e a t b e l t s a n d T e e n s J e n n i f e r B o o n e

D o y o u w e a r o n e ?

Only 65% of

teens at

LCHS wear

a seatbelt.


Getting Lucky

Even though seatbelts can

hurt people they can also

help people. They are built

to stop someone from be-

ing ejected out of the ve-

hicle, hitting the wind-

shield, or being thrown all

over the vehicle. My

mom‟s friend, Thomas, was

drinking and driving one

night in a Blazer, that he

had just bought my mom

a week before. He was

coming down 84 between

Hodgenville and Sonora;

another car was coming

(on the opposite side of

the road). As the car was

going past Thomas over

corrected and flipped the

blazer six times. The officer

stated „If Thomas would

not have been wearing his

seatbelt he probably

would have died. He is

very lucky that all he got

out of this was four stitch-

es, it could have been

plenty worse.‟ That is just a

small example of how a

seatbelt can save you.

Now You Know

So now you see

seatbelts can help you but

they can also hurt you. The

majority of high school stu-

dents actually wear their

seatbelts, which is a good

thing. A lot of people still

think the seatbelt law is a

joke, though, but they can

still save people‟s lives and

people should still wear

them. There is a stronger

chance of a seatbelt help-

ing someone then hurting

them. If my cousin would-

n‟t have been wearing his

seatbelt that night the

doctors said he probably

would have been dead.

Even though seatbelts can

be detrimental, they are

still very safe. They can

save your life if you are in

an accident. Be smart and

wear your seatbelt.

D i s t r a c t e d M u c h ? C h e l s e a L e e - R e d m a n

H o w d i s t r a c t e d d r i v i n g a f f e c t s e v e r y o n e a r o u n d y o u .


Police officers

are reporting every single

day to the news that

someone has had a fatal

crash and passed away.

People really need to

pay more attention to

what is going on around

them. It is hard to see the

faces of the loved ones

lost because of the igno-

rance of others on these

roads. People these days

do not care about others

on the road they‟re just

concerned about getting

from point A to point B,

but what they don‟t real-

ize is that when they‟re

driving down the road

and they take their eyes

off the road that they‟re

endangering not only

their lives but others

along the way . Not only

teens but adults need to

stop and think about

what is going on inside

“In 2008, nearly 6,000

people lost their lives and

more than half a million

were injured in crashes in

which at least one form

of driver distraction was

report-

ed,” (www.cyberdriveillin

ois.com .) Every single

second of every single

day someone some-

where is risking the lives of

other drivers on these

roads we all drive on.

Many may think that they

are not doing wrong.

They think they can just

get distracted while driv-

ing and nothing is going

to happen. Well they are

in denial. Students and

also adults should always

pay attention to the

road.

“The number of

fatal crashes involving a

distracted driver has in-

creased from 8 percent in

2004 to 11 percent in

2008.” (www.cyberdriveilli

nois.com .)In the past

year, “sixteen percent of

fatal crashes in 2009 in-

volved reports of distract-

ed driving.” (http://www-

nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/

Pubs/811379.pdf) New,

young drivers everywhere

are speeding along, tex-

ting/calling on the

phone, grooming them-

selves, changing the ra-

dio, and much more

while driving which is tak-

ing not only their eyes,

but their minds off the

road causing them to

crash, whether it just be

themselves involved in

the crash or with another

car. People all around

the world every few se-

conds, minutes, hours are

dying and injuring others

upon the roads.

the vehicle. A crash can happen within the blink of

an eye.

Mainly parents are

worried about their children

driving. They know that

young drivers these days

drive fast, text on their cell

phones and much more

while driving. Parents are

really giving up a whole

bunch of trust when hand-

ing over keys to their young

teen. Parents may or may

not put their kids on their

insurance because they

know that if their teen

wrecks, their insurance is

going to go up rapidly,

messing up not only the car,

but also the parent‟s credit.

It happens to be a lot of

pressure put on parents.

One LCHS student reports,

“Sometimes I mess with my

radio [when I‟m driving]

when I know I shouldn‟t.”

“Drivers were found to be

engaged in some type of

distracting activity once

every six minutes while driv-

ing.” (http://

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

pmc/articles/PMC2586781/)

Because of people

crashing, people dying, and

other problems, students as

well as adults should really

pay more attention to what

happens to be going on

around them while driving.

Risking the lives of others

can result into many things.

If everyone just pays more

attention, all the rates of

crashes, deaths, and injuries

in these situations would

decrease. Speak up to any

driver who happens to be

distracted and change the

rates. Do not be selfish; it is

making others lose their

loved ones.

An LCHS student is seen texting and driving.

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com




http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2586781/



Two years ago, the

state of Kentucky

came up with the

idea of having an

intermediate driv-

er‟s license. It re-

quires the holders of

this license to have

more time to drive

before you get the

full license. The in-

termediate license

allows you to drive

by yourself, but you

can only have one

friend with you in

the car, and you

are not allowed to

drive after mid-

night.

You are eligi-

ble to receive your

intermediate li-

cense six months

after you receive

your permit. You

must pass the driv-

ing test adminis-

tered by the Ken-

tucky State Police.

Then, you must

keep it for six

months and then

you get your full,

unrestricted license.

GOOD IDEA?

A survey was

taken at LaRue

County High School

to see if they like the

idea of the interme-

diate license. When

asked if they

thought having the

intermediate license

first was a good

idea, 85% of stu-

dents said no. Teen-

agers do not like the

idea because they

want to be able to

run around all night

with all their friends,

but they are not al-

lowed to do that.

RULES

When the stu-

dents were asked if

they follow the rules

of having their inter-

mediate license,

68% of students said

no. They probably

drove around with a

car full and did not

care how many

people were in the

car with them. Co-

dy Graham said, “I

did not follow the

rules, I carried

around a lot of my

friends at once and

went riding around E

-town and Hodgen-

ville.”

Students were

asked if they

thought most drivers fol-

lowed the rules of hav-

ing their intermediate

license and everyone

said no. “I do not think

a lot of people followed

the rules because they

wanted to have fun and

ride around with all their

friends,” said Brandon

Druen.

So in conclusion it

seems like most kids that

have or are about to

get their intermediate

license do not like the

idea of getting that first

nor do they follow the

law. I think it is a good

idea personally be-

cause it gives kids that

extra practice to get

Intermediate License: Nathan Fulk

Good or Bad?

68% of

students at

LCHS don‟t or

didn‟t follow

the rules of

their

intermediate

license.


the feel of everything

before they start risk-

ing the lives of every

person that gets in

the car with them.

The license of a student at LCHS

who followed all of the rules of

her intermediate license.

On July 21, 2010, a

federal judge from Con-

necticut stated,

“Competitive cheer may

sometime in the future qual-

ify as a sport under Title IX,

but today, however, the

activity is still too underde-

veloped and disorganized

to be treated as offering

genuine varsity athletic par-

ticipation opportunities for

students.” As a cheerleader

myself, cheerleading should

be considered a sport.

What It Really Means

The definition of

cheerleading out of the

Webster‟s dictionary is, “the

act of leading organized

cheering, as at sport

events.” It‟s a lot more than

that though. As a cheer-

leader for fourteen years, it

is very hard work and not

just anyone could do it. It

takes lots of practice, skill,

commitment, and dedica-

tion. All four years of

cheering in high school,

there would be practice

two days a week, 3:30 PM

till 5:30 PM. It is also an all

year round activity so it is

very strenuous. When time

for competition comes

around, we practice

some Saturdays for four

hours usually, with a 30

minute break.

Competitions

Cheerleading

has its own competitions

and we compete with

other schools in our divi-

sion, just like football play-

ers play their games, bas-

ketball players, softball

players, and others. If

they win, they take a tro-

phy to display at school,

just like the other sports.

Cheerleaders travel to

competitions by bus. The

team picks what compe-

titions they want to go to,

competitions could be any-

where, out of state or county it

doesn‟t matter. Competition

takes up most of cheerleader‟s

time. Cheerleaders also have

games to cheer at, which

means they have to practice

sidelines but they have to prac-

tice for competitions, also.

That‟s a lot of practicing.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is another

thing that has to do with physi-

cal activity. Cheerleaders do

the same things as gymnasts,

minus the beams and bars and

adding cheers and stunts. These

stunts include lifting, flying, and

basing. Gymnastics is a sport

and is in the Olympics.

Scholarships

Cheerleading should

be considered a sport because

it offers scholarships. You can

get scholarships to college from

cheerleading. Saying that, why

shouldn‟t it be a sport? Cheer-

Sports: Niccole Carter

A Physical Activity


leading is also an activity

you can do in college. You

still compete and can go

pro just like other sports!

Seventy-eight per-

cent of students surveyed

at LCHS students surveyed

believe that cheerleading

should be considered a

sport. Here‟s what a few

had to say: one senior

male athlete says, “No,

because cheerleaders

don‟t have their own

game.” One senior female

says, “Yes, because they

practice and they are just

like other sports.” Eleven

out of fourteen say yes,

cheerleading should be

considered a sport. So from

all this information why is

cheerleading not consid-

ered a real sport? It should

be, with the opinions of

others, scholarships, and all

the physical activity. The

judge should rethink his

decision.

LCHS cheerleaders complete a basket toss,

a stunt which consists of throwing a

cheerleader in the air and then catching

her.

LCHS Cheerleaders do a pike jump at

KAPOS, a cheerleading competition.

“LaRue County Band

of Hawks, you may

now take the field!”

This is when the Band

of Hawk‟s hard work,

dedicated time, and

endearing heart final-

ly pay off. It all comes

together for that one

moment in time to

show just how hard it

really is.

Thinking…it is

about all we can real-

ly do at a moment like

that. Then our minds

slowly fades back to

the first day of band

camp where the

band spends two

weeks of the summer

from 8AM to 4:30PM

marching and playing

with only an hour

break. Yet, again

school starts up only

to lead to more non-

stop practice. The

constant yell of the Dr.

Beat keeping time for

the band, but then

the ring fades in to the

hands of the drum

major hitting the beat.

Day One: “Step, roll,

pass, kick,” the slow

long drawn first step!

Day Two: what

could be worse than

that but to only wake

up again and possibly

get on to the se-

cond step. At first

you think it‟s not

hard, but oh how

soon you realize

how it is not all fun

and games. It is true

110% hard work.

Now you think a lot

of people would not

under stand the

work ethic of the

band. Most of the

second day is con-

sidered to be easy

and not very diffi-

cult. But it‟s not just

band kids that think

this. Most people

think this. So out all

the students in

LaRue County High

School, about 65%

of them agreed with

the statement that

marching band is

not difficult. Day

Two: “Step, roll,

pass, kick two step,

D a y s a t C a m p T y l e r L i t t o n

“Step,

roll,

pass,

kick!”


roll, pass, kick” as the

day ends

Day three drags

along, but today we

start anew. We “move 8

hold 8 move 8 hold 8.”

This consists of marching

eight steps and then

holding eight counts

continuously down the

field. The practice field is

also known as the very

hot school black top

due to the blazing hot

sun. Then you think

“Why am I here?”

Boom! Your head flies

back to the competition

and now you think, I

mean truly think. The

show begins with your

first step, not too fast,

not to slow, but right

with the drum major.

Your thinking slows as

the last note rings

through the air and this

is when you think, “This is

why I am here”.

Back at camp,

we are finally done. The

weekend has come

and it is time to rest and

relax. Yet, in the back of

our heads, we are al-

ways thinking and al-

ways ready. The con-

stant ring fades slightly,

but only for a little, be-

cause the weekend

cannot take it away.

Now as the band stu-

dents think of the week

that has passed, they

say “It‟s not that hard.”

But deep inside they

think “It‟s one of the

most complicated

things I have ever

done.” This is the time,

work, and heart of the

LaRue County Band of

Hawks.

LaRue County marching band at semi-finals.

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Targeting Teens

Did you know

that people between the

ages of 13 and 19 years

old are more self-

conscious than any other

age group? Teens worry

about their appearance

every day. Questions like,

“Am I too fat?” or “Why

don‟t I look like…?” run

through their heads all

day. What causes teens

to be so insecure? Along

with the multiple hor-

mones flooding their

bodies, the media tells

teens they should look a

certain way. The people

behind the media know

teenagers are suscepti-

ble to the unrealistic im-

ages that are portrayed

and use that susceptibil-

ity to target them for ad-

vertisements. While

meaning to get teens to

buy something, they also

end up lowering the self-

esteem of their demo-

graphic.

Desiring Perfection

Television, maga-

zine, and Internet adver-

tisements intend to per-

suade teenagers to buy

a certain product or

wear a specific clothing

brand. Advertisements

show picturesque people

using the product, and

teens buy in hopes that

the product will make

them just as gorgeous as

the people shown. When

this does not happen, it

causes low self-esteem.

Teens already constantly

obsess over their imper-

fections and compare

themselves to the phan-

tasmagoria in the media.

This problem is only exac-

erbated when teens do

not become „perfect‟ like

the people in magazines.

Teens allow the media to

tell them how they should

look. 75% of LCHS students

in a survey conducted at

LCHS admit that teens try

to live up to the unrealistic

images portrayed in the

media. Some teenagers

are affected so severely

that they will try anything

to get the body they saw

in the ad, and become

depressed when they do

not get the result they

want.

Depressing Realizations

When teens real-

ize they are no closer to

their desired result, they

feel bad about them-

selves for not looking like

the models in photo-

graphs. Most adults know

that the images in the me-

dia are not “real”, but a

shocking percentage of

teens do not know this.

23% of LaRue County High

School students surveyed

about the media‟s effect

on teens did not know

that images in the media

are computer edited to

remove imperfections be-

fore being published. The-

se are the teens that are

impacted most by the

images in the media. Too

many high school students

believe that beauty is

everything and that the

epitome of beauty is a

thin body.

Emphasizing Skinny

The importance of be-

ing thin is emphasized in almost

every form of media. Although

most people know that media

images are computer edited,

they still buy into the message

that in order to be attractive,

females must be a size 0 and

males must have a ridiculous

amount of muscle. 56% of LCHS

students in the aforementioned

survey feel pressured by the

media to be thin. Some teens

feel so pressured to be thin

that they develop eating disor-

ders. According to the South

Carolina Department of Men-

tal Health, about seven million

women and one million men in

the United States struggle with

an eating disorder. This number

would most likely drastically

decrease if teens were not

pressured into having a

„perfect‟ body.

Accepting Imperfection

No one is perfect, but

each person is unique and

should embrace their individu-

ality. Many teenagers do not

do this. Instead they obsess

over their imperfections. In the

survey conducted, 57% of

LCHS students feel that their

Teens and the Media: Laura Despain

Do images in the media affect teenagers’ self-images?

57% of LCHS

students feel

that their

opinion of

themselves is

affected by

what the

media says is

attractive.


Many teenagers do not know that images in the

media are Photo-shopped.

opinion of themselves is

affected by what the

media says is attractive.

Teens need to learn to

love what they see in the

mirror, not want to

change it. In fact, every-

one, adults and teens

alike, need to learn to

embrace their individuali-

ty and forget their inse-

curities.

Have you ev-

er seen someone

with a tattoo that

makes you think

“Ouch! That had to

hurt!”? If so, does it

make you not want

to get one? A lot of

people are getting

tattoos even at the

surprisingly young

age of 16. Over the

years, people‟s

thoughts and opin-

ions of tattoos have

changed. There

was recently a sur-

vey handed out

with simple ques-

tions referring to tat-

toos.

The first ques-

tion asked was, “Do

tattoos hurt and if

you don‟t have one

do you think it

would hurt?” Be-

lieve it or not, most

people said

“Somewhat or not

really.” Many have

said, “They want a

tattoo so bad the

feeling of it really

does not matter to

them anyways.”

The second

question asked

was, “Are tattoos

worth all the pain,

money, and last-

ing forever?” The

higher percent-

age of students

answered, “It de-

pends on what

you get.” Tattoos

can be very

meaningful. Tat-

toos can be pain-

ful and expensive

but if you have a

reason for getting

the tattoo, then it

should not matter.

Tattoos also last

forever unless you

get them re-

moved, but this is

very costly. There

is always a reason

why someone

T a t t e d U p L u t h e r D e s p a i n

A large

percentage

of LCHS

students say

they would

get a tattoo.


gets a tattoo done to

themselves, rather for

decoration or mean-

ing, it‟s probably spe-

cial either way.

There are a lot

of people that have

tattoos that make the

comment, “Tattoos

are addicting.” Tat-

toos can be addict-

ing once you get one.

After that it just seems

like a hobby that gets

easier each time. So,

the third question

asked was, “If you

have a tattoo would

you get another one

and if you don‟t have

one would you ever

get one?” Surprisingly,

the majority said may-

be. Most people get

more tattoos done

because they feel like

it‟s a way to express

themselves. Tattoos

can describe any-

thing going on

through your mind.

Most people get tat-

toos because they

make them feel cool

or happy.

Finally the last

question was, “What

do you think is the

most popular place

on your body to get a

tattoo?” This question

is more of an opinion

question so I got a lot

of variety answers.

The two most popular

votes were on the

back and arm. Gen-

erally most people

get tattoos on their

lower back, shoulders,

or rib cage.

Tattoos are very

popular in today‟s so-

ciety and many peo-

ple are getting them

more and more each

year. Some might

think tattoos are

trashy but really they

are a way for people

to express themselves.

Luther Despain

displays his tattoo.

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Have you ever heard of

the terms “mystery

meat” before? If so,

then you should know

that this term is com-

monly used to describe

your school lunch. The

menu may say barbe-

cue, but the way it

looks may say “Ewe!”

Have you ever won-

dered what you‟re real-

ly putting in your

mouth? Is it really food

or that so called

“mystery meat”?

According to

the National School

Lunch Program, school

lunches must meet the

recommendations of

the Dietary Guidelines

for Americans. No more

than 30% of the calories

can be from fat, less

than 10% from saturat-

ed fat. The lunches also

must provide one-third

of the Recommended

Dietary Allowances of

protein, Vitamin A, Vita-

min C, iron, calcium,

and Calories. But be-

cause schools are al-

lowed to choose what

students are served,

these requirements may

not be met all the time.

We all know

that schools across the

country are all trying to

be healthier because

obesity has also been

linked to school lunch-

es. Most all soda ma-

chines have had diet

sodas, water, fruit drinks,

or other healthy prod-

ucts put in them. Here

at LaRue County High

School, there is only one

soda machine that sells

regular soda products,

but it is not allowed to be

turned on until after three

o‟ clock. School lunches

consist of choices of fruit,

vegetables, salads, and

a main course. In the

past few years our school

has gone from having a

wide variety of main

courses to basically

chicken and pizza every

week. Depending on

how the chicken has

been prepared it is actu-

ally really not healthy for

you. If you were to just

look at all the grease and

fat that comes off the

schools chicken, then

you could see that your

consuming a big mess of

fat and grease, more

than you are the actual

chicken. Schools may be

trying to become healthi-

er, but in actuality, the

food is only getting

worse.

Hunger: we all

know what it feels like. It‟s

when your stomach is

empty it definitely lets

you know, but the feeling

that most are now get-

ting after eating school

food is not enjoyable, but

painful. You would think

that after getting food

you would feel better,

but instead some stu-

dents claim they feel sick

and weak, especially on

days we have baked

chicken. This is caused by

all the grease, fat, and

other unmentionables that

are in the food that were

consuming. It is hurting our

bodies. The fat and grease

contributes to what is called

bloating because they can

delay the process of empty-

ing your stomach; all that fat

and grease is just marinating

in your stomach trying to find

a way to digest. This is truly

unhealthy for you.

We are sent to school

every day with the expecta-

tion that we are going to be

fed a healthy meal, but sadly,

this does not happen. Stu-

dents, if you want to know

what you‟re eating, just bring

your lunch.

School Lunch: Katelyn Edwards

What are you really eating?

School lunches

have gone

from having

many choices

for the main

course to

mainly chicken

and pizza.


The number of healthy vending machines in schools

are increasing.

Have you ever

been walking down

LCHS hallways and

realized the different

types of shoes every

day? There are so

many different styles

from Nike to Under

Armor, New Balance

to Adidas. It is crazy

how much money

people spend on

shoes and how

many pairs they

have. Right now, you

can go to Shoe Car-

nival and buy a pair

of Nike Shocks for

$149.99. That‟s ex-

pensive.

According to LCHS

students, they would

rather wear Nike‟s

over all the other

brands. The aver-

age amount of

shoes per person is

ten pairs! Why own

so many pairs of

shoes? I asked one

LCHS student and

they reply. “Why

not? I have shoes

to go with every

outfit. When I buy

clothes I buy

shoes.”

Most people spend

over 100 dollars on

shoes and it‟s point-

less. You could just

buy a knock off

brand from low

clearance. Students

at LCHS would not

do that even if they do

not have the money to

get high dollar shoes,

they make sure they get

the top of the line.

According to a

survey, 58 people said

they buy shoes twice a

year and 40 people said

they buy them once a

year. It‟s normal for peo-

ple to buy shoes once a

year but once a month,

that‟s ridiculous. I had

two people tell me they

buy their shoes every

month. I would assume

they had money and

their parents spoil them.

Students in LCHS

are crazy. I surveyed 100

random students from

every grade. I asked five

Shoes Brandon Druen


questions about

shoes and how

much money people

spend on them and

how many pairs they

have. I got a lot of

different answers.

Some answers I got

were reasonable

and some was ridic-

ulous. Don‟t spend

so much on shoes

and don‟t buy so

many. There is no

point in spending so

much on one pair of

shoes that you may

only wear once and

throw them in the

bottom of your clos-

et and never see

them again.

Nike Shocks: this pair of shoes is in

the store right now for $149.99.

Under Armour Shoes

Ladies, imag-

ine, you are in the

store staring down at

that perfect Coach

purse. It is the perfect

size, great colors. The

purse is so pretty. You

love it. Price tag: $180.

Whoa! Do you really

have $180 to spend on

a purse? Of course

not, but you spend it

anyway, don‟t you?

Question is, why? Why

do people spend so

much money on purs-

es? Why do most peo-

ple match them with

their expensive design-

er clothes? Why not

just get a knock off?

WHY?

A survey given

to 100 random girls in

Larue County asked

them if they would

spend over $50 on a

purse. Seventy-six said

they would. One teen-

age girl says, “Yes, be-

cause their cute, ador-

able and you can get

them to match your

expensive outfits.” An-

other random teenage

girl says, “Yes, because

I like to fit in with every-

body else.”

PARENTS

Now, let‟s talk

about mothers and

fathers. Most of them

are buying these purs-

es for their daughters.

Why? One LaRue

county parent says,

“Because my daughter

is pretty and smart. She

helps me in any way

she can. She‟s responsi-

ble, so she deserves it,”

meaning she likes re-

warding her daughter.

A father says, “Well, to

go with her expensive

designer clothes. She

can‟t have one without

the other.” Meaning his

daughter has designer

clothes so she needs

designer purses to

match.

KNOCKOFFS

Why can‟t girls

get the cheap purses

and save their money

for something more

productive? Not many

girls are going to buy

knockoffs because the

purses are cheap and

fall apart quicker than a

real Coach, Gucci, or

Chanel purse would.

These girls are going to

walk down the hallway

and stress about other

people making com-

ments on her “fake”

purse. “She can‟t afford

a real designer purse”.

“She‟s cheap and

fake”. All she thinks

about when she goes to

buy an expensive purse

is looks and what peo-

ple are going to say

when she puts it on.

“How much money was

that”? “It‟s so adora-

ble”. “It goes so well

with that outfit”.

USES

Many girls like to

look fashionable. They

don‟t want to go out in public

not matching. Girls like to look

their best when they are out

on a date, out with friends or

just out somewhere in general.

Most of them care about what

people say and they try to

look better than everyone

else, so women will spend a lot

of money to do that.

So why do these crazy

teenage girls spend too much

money on designer purses?

Because there cute, you can

match them with your outfits,

and you fit in with everyone

else. Why do parents spend so

much? Because they also

want their daughters to fit in

and they want to reward her

for doing well.

Designer Purses Britney Mack

Why Spend So Much

76% of

female

students at

LCHS said

they would

pay over $50

on a purse,

even if they

couldn‟t

afford it.


A Coach purse retailed at $298.00.

“I don‟t want to be

known for who I am

but for the love that I

show,” replied Josh

Engler, the lead singer

of the Christian rock

band ABANDON,

when I asked him what

he wanted his fans to

see in him. Then I

thought what do I

want people to see?

When most of us go to

a Christian concert we

just go to see our fa-

vorite band or just to

worship in a way differ-

ent then our Sunday

morning church ser-

vice. But until I talked

to Josh, I had never

thought about what

the band is there for.

Are they there to just

play a song they wrote

about their religion?

Are they just trying to

fit in? Or have they

been sent there by

something greater?

Kind of like an act of

service toward Him, to

their God.

I was blessed

with the opportunity to

sit down with Josh and

just hang and talk. I

was absolutely

amazed at the love

this guy had for his fans

and how much love

he actually showed.

The more we talked

the more and more

he treated me like a

friend. “It‟s about

connecting with your

fans,” he told me,

and this guy practic-

es what he preach-

es.

“What is the

most important thing

to you?” I asked.

“To be an ad-

vocate to the peo-

ple in a lost world, I

want to show people

the love of God, not

just by singing but

more importantly by

my actions. I want to

do it in a unique

way, though. I want

to be different. God

made us all unique

so why just join in?

Why not stand out

and stand out and

stand up for Christ?”

Faithful Love: Chris Mills

No Matter What

I want to show

people the love

of God, not just

by singing but

more

importantly by

my actions.


This is the reason

that ABANDON gets on

stage. They don‟t get on

stage to be cool or to

look good. They get on

stage to be servants.

They get on stage to be

artists with a talent that

they want to offer to Je-

sus as an act of simple

worship.

This is something

we can learn from. Many

of us just go through our

day, not thinking about

how people see us. We

do our everyday things

like nobody is watching.

But what if they were?

Would you act different?

Would you try to be a

better person? Try to set

an example? We all

know that famous prov-

erb: actions speak loud-

er than words, so why

not practice this? One

kind act could change

somebody‟s life forever.

After hanging out

with Josh, I was truly in-

spired to continue living

in love. So that maybe I

could impact some-

body‟s life in a powerful

way!

Josh Engler, lead singer of Abandon.

What‟s better

than rocking out at an

AC/DC concert, wear-

ing a cowboy hat,

Wrangler jeans, with

boots tapping to the

beat of true rock and

roll? Surely you would

agree that something

like that would never

happen. Believe it or

not music does influ-

ence the way you

dress.

According to

the survey conducted,

35 out of 100 students

that were surveyed

favor country music.

Forty-two students fa-

vor rap music. If you

take a hard long look

at the people in our

school, you see guys

wearing their pants

down to the ground.

Apparently when the

world decided that

technology was the

next big thing, people

began to forget how

to dress themselves. If

you listen in the hall-

ways mainly towards

the Ag rooms, you

hear the clicks of their

boots on the tile floor.

There are three

main genres of music,

country, rap, and rock.

Then there are three

main types of person-

alities in the school,

country (wears

boots), prep (mainly

named brand cloth-

ing like Aeropostale

and American Eagle

with high prices) and

emo/Goth (wear too

much eye liner and a

lot of black).

According to

the survey conduct-

ed, many students

disagreed with the

idea that music influ-

ences the way you

dress. Actually only

15 out of 100 stu-

dents agree yes. 27

students agree that

maybe its possible.

35 students disagree

with its most likely not

true and 21 com-

pletely disagree. If

we went by the sta-

tistics, then the theo-

ry that music does

not influence the

way you dress would

be completely

wrong.

According to

the results of the sur-

vey conducted 46

students out of 100

wear named brand

clothes. Aeropostale,

American eagle, Hol-

lister and Abercrom-

bie would fall under

this category. Many

Music + Fashion = Chaos! Kristin Eldridge


music performers like to

wear certain things to

show who they are. For

instance, Miley Cyrus

wears her line of clothes.

Country singers like to

wear hats and boots.

Rockers like to have long

hair.

A random survey

was conducted of 100

random students. Three

questions were asked.

“Do you believe music

influences the way we

dress?”, “What type of

music do you listen to?”,

and “What brand of

clothes do you prefer to

wear?” According to the

statistics the theory men-

tioned above was

wrong.

Next time you are

walking down the hall

and you see a group of

people just standing

there, take a guess on

what type of music they

listen to. But go only by

the clothes they are

wearing, then go up to

one of them and ask

what kind of music they

listen to. I bet you may

find out that music does

influence the way we

dress.

This student displays the classic

“redneck” look, which many

listeners of country music show.

Recently many

universities in the U.S have

dabbled into research

dealing with the long-term

effects of Metal music on a

teenager‟s everyday be-

havior. Metal music is de-

fined as music with a

heavy, driving tempo and

predominately violent lyr-

ics. There have been many

interesting discoveries, in-

cluding that several people

do not believe that a spe-

cific music genre holds

absolutely any sway over a

person‟s actions. The results

varied among factions.

Researchers believe that

an area of music should

not have any effect on a

teen‟s behavior. Some say

it‟s just a way to fit in with a

hard-core crowd. Many

today are convinced that

the out-of-control actions

of today‟s youth are due to

the violent lyrics in the Met-

al music.

According to

many surveys conducted

by students at Kaplan Uni-

versity studying psychology,

63 percent of adults over

the age of 40 sincerely be-

lieve that teens today be-

tween the ages of twelve

and nineteen are heavily

controlled by the type of

music they listen to. The

adults surveyed have it in

their minds that that age

group is being transformed

into debauchery loving

misfits. In a questionnaire

done at LaRue County

High, 67 percent of stu-

dents admit to listening to

metal music. If those adults

surveyed by Kaplan were

right, over half of this school

is heading straight into

oblivion.

However, thanks

to an experiment done at

Kaplan, these adults will be

changing their minds. The

studies show that both col-

lege and high schools stu-

dents that enjoy metal ac-

tually obtain higher IQ and

test scores on average. This

was elevated on problems

that demanded out of the

box thinking. Child psy-

chologists and behaviorists

strongly think that having

lower grades in school is

likely due to aspects of

personality or environment

(such as high stress) rather

than any direct effects of

the music itself.

Music is one of the

deepest ways to express

yourself and your views.

Words speak to a person.

They open up a whole oth-

er part of you that you nev-

er even knew were availa-

ble. Metal is shown to have

calming qualities, especial-

ly after a long, difficult day

of school. In becoming so

calm, this type of music

allows for venting frustration

through loud noises and

not through violence. In the

words of Bruce Springsteen,

“The best music . . . is essen-

tially there to provide you

something to face the

world with.” To 41 percent

of students at LaRue, that is

all it is: the drastic release

you look forward to all day.

All types of music continue

to serve this goal well, by

becoming part of the so-

cial backdrop for exploring

feelings of intimacy and by

defining in-groups and out-

groups along lines of musi-

cal preferences. This is one

effect that the metal genre

of music will continue to

have on adolescents.

When a person is

asked why they listen to

music, the response is bare-

ly ever the lyrics. The an-

swer is simple; the way the

music sounds. In most cases

today the lyrics seem to

become irrelevant. Studies

show that heavy metal

music, while it is often pre-

ferred by troubled teens, is

not the cause of their prob-

lems. A study of students

with psychiatric disorders

who were heavy metal

fans, actually showed im-

proved mood after listen-

ing to their music of choice.

These teens reported that

they frequently listened to

artists such as Jimi Hendrix

and Led Zeppelin. Forty-five

percent of students at

Larue County High say that

they mostly listen to those

bands. The bands listed

above are commonly asso-

ciated with drug use, but

researchers have found this

claim to be false.

Furthermore, re-

searchers have found no

correlation between music

preference and drug use or

Metal Music: Jessica Wells

Does it have any effect at all on a person’s behavior?


This chart shows the percentage of students at LCHS

that do and do not listen to metal music.

drug-related values. Overall,

use of alcohol and/or drugs by

parents has the greatest influ-

ence on adolescent drug use.

There is no hard evidence sug-

gesting that metal has any

detriment toward teenagers

what so ever. Most studies

even show that metal lovers

have positive side effects of

listening to metal.

Over 80 percent of

students surveyed at Larue

County High School who listen

to metal agree that the only

side effect they feel from lis-

tening to it as an insane sense

of calm and happiness. This

issue will continue to be de-

bated for several years with

numerous amounts music gen-

res. It will forever be a moral

issue. If a person feels this type

of music is a negative influ-

ence, he or she should simply

not listen to it. It all depends on

the perception of right and

wrong in society, but why

blame metal because of mor-

al panic? It is a choice first and

foremost. To all you metal lov-

ers out there, keep rocking.

How many hours

of sleep do you get a

night? Four? Five? Well

studies show that teen-

agers between the age

of 11 and 22 need nine

and a half hours of sleep

(Teens). How does that

compare to you?

Most teens think,

“I don‟t need that much

sleep. I can skimp on it

during the week and just

catch up on the week-

end.” WRONG! A study

conducted by the Uni-

versity Of Pennsylvania

School Of Medicine

shows that participants

who only had four hours

of sleep for five consecu-

tive nights, then got ten

hours of sleep the follow-

ing night still experi-

enced lapses in atten-

tion and delayed reac-

tion times.

Have you ever had

an eye twitch that simply

will not go away? Guess

what causes that? You

guessed it! Sleep depri-

vation. Lack of sleep not

only causes eye twitch-

es, but many other ad-

verse effects. Sleep dep-

rivation can cause

memory problems and

stop the flow of creativity

making it difficult to

learn. Also, teens need

sleep to help deal with

emotions and stress,

which in high school, you

have plenty of. Lack of

sleep only causes more

stress. In some cases,

chronic sleep depriva-

tion can cause teenag-

ers to become de-

pressed and lower their

immune system causing

them to become more at

risk to serious illnesses.

Although it is difficult

to get enough sleep,

some of these tips will

help the process of get-

ting to sleep much easier:

Stay away from caf-

feine and nicotine

which are both stimu-

lants after noon. Also

avoid alcohol which

can disrupt sleep.

Avoid heavy studying

or computer games

before bed; they can

be arousing.

Avoid arguing with

your parents or girl-

friends/boyfriends just

before heading to

bed.

Avoid trying to sleep

with a computer or

TV flickering in the

room.

Avoid bright light

in the evening, but

open blinds or turn on

lights as soon as the

morning alarm goes

off to aid awakening.

You can sleep in on

the weekend, but no

more than 2 or 3 hours

later than your usual

awakening time or it

will disrupt your body

clock (Adolescent).

As stated previ-

ously, nine and a half

hours of sleep is ade-

quate, but, sleeping

during class does NOT

count toward those

nine and a half hours.

When you get sleep at

night, you open up so

many possibilities to

what you can do dur-

ing the day. You will

have infinite amounts

of

energy and be able to focus

and pick up on details that

you need. It is so much easier

to do some-thing when you

know how to do it, so now

that you know how to pre-

vent sleep deprivation, do

your homework early, cut out

the caffeine, and make sure

the TV is off. It may seem diffi-

cult to make time for sleep,

but it can be done.

Works Cited

“Adolescent Sleep.” Stanford.

N.p., 5 Oct. 1999. Web.

28 Sept. 2010. <http://

www.stanford.edu/

~dement/

adolescent.html>.

“Teens and Sleep.” National

Sleep Foundation. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2010.

<http://

www.sleepfoundation.or

g/ article/ sleep-topics/

teens-and-sleep>.

S l e e p D e p r i v a t i o n : E r i k a B o w l e s

W h a t c a u s e s i t a n d w a y s t o p r e v e n t i t .

Teenagers

between

the age

of 11 and

22 need

nine-and-

a-half

hours of

sleep

each

night.


Luther Despain sleeps in class; this is

probably due to sleep deprivation.

C e l l P h o n e s L u p i t a C u e v a s

W h y s p e n d s o m u c h m o n e y o n t h e m ?

After a survey

conducted at Larue

County High School, 62

out of 100 students

bought their own phone,

but 72 out of 100 re-

sponded they do not

pay for their own cell

phone bill; not only stu-

dents from LCHS but stu-

dents from all over the

world would spend too

much money on just a

cell phone.

While some stu-

dents would just go for

the “cheap” phone, oth-

ers would spend up to

$600 dollars. “It‟s ridicu-

lous!” Chelsea Lee-

Redman said after see-

ing the results of the sur-


Most people enjoy hav-

ing a good quality

phone. A few years ago

it sounded crazy to

spend a few hundred

dollars on a cell phone,

however nowadays

there is no limit to the

amount of money that

you may end up paying

for the latest or greatest

cell phone. At Larue

County most of the own-

ers of expensive phones

are teenagers, and half

of them are not em-

ployed. Cell phones are

consumable goods and

they have to be re-

placed within a few

years, therefore it could

be a waste of money.

Why do so many

people listen to music?

Some people like to

listen to music when

they study, because it

helps them concen-

trate on what they are

doing. It also helps

them remember what

they have studied.

When asked

“Do you listen to music

alone or with a friend?”

a lot of people re-

sponded with a friend.

They like to dance and

have a good time.

Most people like to vid-

eo their friend dancing

and singing.

M u s i c S a r a h H y m e l

vey.

“I know, I can‟t believe

teens would spend that

much, I mean let their

parents spend so much

money on just a cell

phone,” Emily Silva re-

plied.

Cell phone is a

very useful device for

communication and it is

understandable to have

a phone, but it‟s unnec-

essary to get a fancy

phone. Yeah, if you

have the extra money,

why not? But when you

cannot afford it, then

that is the problem.

Some students would try

to get them even if they

do not have the money.

But hey! They think

parents are the best

solution to that! But if

you think about it, it

could just be a waste

of money!

Why people

spend so much mon-

ey on just a phone?

There is still not a spe-

cific answer. Every-

body will have their

own point of view,

and it might not be

the same as yours, but

unnecessary consum-

able goods that are

going to have to be

replaced within a few

years are just a waste

of money.

Another question

was “What do you mostly

listen to?” The people

that listen to rap music

picked “Teach Me How

to Dougie” and country

people picked “Rain is a

Good Thing.”

Another one of

my questions was “How

often do you listen to mu-

sic?” About 100% of peo-

ple responded “all the

time.” The reason most

people listen to music

everyday is because

when you‟re bored and

you have nothing to do,

you just go to your room,

crank the music up loud,

and dance.

The most common device to listen to

music on is an Apple iPod.

T a p o u t : C o d y G r a h a m

D o e s i t f i t y o u ?

the ears, and second

most popular was bel-

lybutton, while, no one

had an eyebrow

piercing. Many people

get new piercings of-

ten. Many people

want to know why

people get piercings,

and when a student

with 10 piercings was

asked why she had

piercings, she replied “I

wanted to pierce stuff,

so I just did.” One teen

with 16 ear piercings,

was asked why she

had so many, and she

replied “Because I like

them… I get to wear a

How popular do think

piercings are? Some

piercings are very

popular this year at

Larue County High

School. The research

results were somewhat

surprising.

A variety of students

were asked some

questions about pierc-

ings. 60% of Larue

County students have

piercings. Most of the

60% got their first

piercing from age

newborn to 10 years

old.

The most popular

piercing reported was


It has come to my

attention that many kids at

school are now starting to

wear Tapout clothing. Just

about everyone owns a Ta-

pout shirt or have friends that

wear Tapout clothing. Myself, I

own and love Tapout clothing.

It is very appealing to my life-

style. I have been given the

privilege to give my fellow stu-

dent body a survey to get their

opinions on Tapout clothing.

When asked about if

they have ever owned any

Tapout clothing, 15 students

replied they own Tapout cloth-

ing and 38 students replied

they do not own any. Those 38

students must not be into MMA

(UFC) as much as I or the other

15 students involved in this sur-

vey.

When asked about if

any of their friends owned any

Tapout clothing, and if so how

many? 49 students replied yes,

and 4 students replied no. Out

bunch of colors. I am

a colorful person. It

reflects my personali-

ty.” Another teen was

asked why she had

her ears pierced, and

she said “I don‟t know.

I was a baby. Ask my

mom.”

In conclusion, Pierc-

ings are very popular

with the teens at Larue

County High School,

just no one really

knows why they have

them, they just do,

and piercings will con-

tinue to get more pop-

ular as time goes on.

P i e r c i n g s T i f f a n y H a y c r a f t

of those 49 students that said

yes, 25 said 0-3, 18 said 4-6, 2

said 7-9, and 7 said 11+.

When asked if wear-

ing Tapout shirts made people

higher or lower on the popular-

ity scale? On this question 8 of

the students said higher. Only

3 people said lower. And 47

students said that it does not

affect their popularity. When

asked if wearing Tapout cloth-

ing suggests that person likes

to fight, about 12 students

replied yes and 41 students

replied no.

Well according to this

survey, it seems to me that

people kind of look down on

Tapout clothing. Maybe it is

because Tapout promotes

MMA, or maybe they do not

like to fight. I hope whoever

reads this learns that Tapout is

a way of life and it is promot-

ing one of the biggest sports

worldwide. The very famous Tapout logo.

Have you ever

wondered if the

world would really

end in 2012? There

are a couple of

movies that are

based on the year

2012 and the

apocalypse.

Many of the

people I have

talked with have

said they do not

believe that the

world will come to

an end. Then, I

would ask them if

the apocalyptic

movies they had

seen worried

them. Many have

said yes.

These mov-

ies are based up-

on the apoca-

lypse. During these

movies, they show

different ways that

the world could

end. In the movie

The Day After To-

morrow, states

across the country

one by one got

severe weather;

including torna-

does while it is

snowing.

In a survey

conducted at

LCHS, The Day Af-

ter Tomorrow was

the movie that

worried people

the most: Sixty-

seven out of 100

people. Thirty out

of 100 said the

movie 2012 was

the second. Thir-

teen out of 100

stated Knowing

was the most wor-

risome. Some peo-

ple even stated

that the movies

made them be-

lieve the world

would end in 2012.

There was a man

talking on the ra-

dio the other

morning, relaying

about a man who

truly believed the

world end in 2012.

The woman was

talking about how

her husband made

a bucket list. As

she continued talk-

ing she stated that

her husband had

put them in debt

while trying to do

everything on his

list. This is an exam-

T h e 2 0 1 2 P h e n o m e n a :

D o y o u b e l i e v e ? C h r i s t i H y m e l

The

apocalypse

has been a

topic of

discussion for

many years

now, basically

since the

beginning of

man.


December 21, 2012 is the supposed

date that this event will occur.

Have

you ever had

a dream

where you

are in unfa-

miliar place?

You don‟t

know any-

body there,

when sud-

denly some-

one reaches

out to you.

Being new at

Larue County

High School is

very similar to

this. Difficul-

ties

The

change from

four blocks to

six periods

was hard be-

cause adjust-

ing to the six

periods was

really hard.

Not knowing

anybody can

be difficult.

When some

people move

from a differ-

ent state and

came here

they may find

that there is

not many

electives. The

bus ride

seems longer

because

there are lit-

tle kids that

like to sing

songs and be

loud. Positives

Some of

the class sizes

are bigger.

We got lap-

tops this year

that we did

not have at

other

schools. Get-

ting out at

1:30 on Fri-

days is ad-

vantage.

They are less

chaos and

more struc-

tured be-

cause there

are no cops

here. Reflec-

tions

Talking

to more

people

would have

been better.

The teachers

are all nice

to you on

the first day.

Erika Bowles

said “The

teaches

give much

more one-

on-one help.

Going from

a class of 36

to a class of

Being a New Student

Elizabeth Lewis


24 makes all

the difference

in the world.”

She trans-

ferred here in

March of her

junior year.

There are

more ad-

vantages then

disadvantages

when you to a

new

place .You

get more

chances and

opportunities

and a clean

slate. You get

to meet new

people. If you

ever have to

go to a new

school, just be

yourself. If

they like you,

then they like

you. If they do

not, then it is

their loss.

Erika Bowles– Chief

Editor

Shelby Sullivan– Co-

Editor

Tyler Litton– Co-Editor

Our goal with this E-

magazine is to capture

the essence of life at

Larue County High

School.

Y o u r E d i t o r s

LCHS

LCHS Publications

The 21st Century Publishing class responsible for the E-magazine you are

reading.

Got a question you need an-

swered? Need advice? Write your

question on a piece of paper and

put it in the box inside Mrs. Garris‟

room.

Chatter from the Nest

The editors of “Talk of the Hawk”: Erika Bowles,

Tyler Litton, and Shelby Sullivan.

Talk of the Hawk

Documents

Transcript of Talk of the Hawk