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H e a r dH e a r d

The Talon, the student newspaper of Vacaville Christian High School,

is a public forum for student expression and is published regularly

by the Newspaper Production Class and Journalism Class. Opinions

expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the

position of the administration, student body or advertisers. The Talon

staff welcomes and encourages submitted letters, stories, cartoons,

and/or any other student feedback. See guidelines listed below.

Please deliver all submissions to the Talon box in Room 102 by posted deadline.The following policies apply:1. Unsolicited articles and suggestions for story ideas are welcomed, but no guarantee is made as to whether they will be printed in the Talon.2. Letters to the Editor are to be signed when submitted to the Staff. Names may be withheld from publication only with the approval of the Editorial Board and Adviser. The Board will select the letters to be published.3. The paper reserves the right to edit submissions for length, repetition, and suitability of content.

Vacaville Christian High School821 Marshall Road • Vacaville, CA 95687

(707) 446-1776 journalism@go-vcs.com

Volume 11 Issue 3 December 17, 2010

Awarded Int’l First Place, 2002-2003

Editorial Board:

Editor-in-Chief: Gene Fogh

Managing Editor: Daniel Ewing

Opinion Editor: Emre Basaran

Features Editor: Payton Osborne

Sports Editor: Andrew Grabowski

Adviser: Mrs. Jeri McFadden

Principal: Mrs. Janet Fogh

Ranked First Class2005-20062006-20072008-2009

Visit us at www.vchstalon.com

2 our opinionsDecember 17, 2010

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for

this; it is a gift from God.Ephesians 2:8

overover Staff EditorialsStaff Editorials

The True Meaning of Christmas

I felt the warm sun come to rest on my shoulder as the dawn of Christmas day came to. Wasting no time with a meal, I ran downstairs; to find the rest of my family already gathered, patiently awaiting my ar-rival. I grabbed the nearest colorfully wrapped gift… and tore it open.

Christmas is a time of fellowship; a time of rest. It’s an opportunity to spend time with friends, play with that new Xbox 360 game or burn some music to that MacBook Pro.

Our priorities have shifted, and not for the better. We are more focused on giving gifts to our friends and getting them than we are on what matters most.

Winter is here and Christmas is around the corner. School and finals make students stressed out and worrying. But don’t worry! Shake it out, and leave school in a great mood for the break.

Over the break we may feel like we have lives again; these symp-toms are normal, we should not be alarmed. We might also notice that we have time to hang out with friends and family -- these are also not out of the ordinary. We should expect happiness and the feel of freedom.

Over the break we should all go out and hang with friends and go on adventures. Also another thing we should do is relax. We need time away from school and just relaxing will be a cure. Break is a good time to just go to our happy places away

So is all of that the true meaning of Christmas? I have to say it’s not, and far from it.

Christmas is a time that God gave us his greatest possession, his prize piece.

At times we forget what we are celebrating, the amazing thing that happened 2010 years ago. Jesus came into the world. His purpose? To let himself be the final sacrifice, the bridge between an eternity with Him and the world. That, is the great-est gift of all. So take a moment out of your Christmas day to recognize the gift that God gave to you; the gift of life.

by Emre Basaran

Relax Over Breakby Payton Osborne

from the world, away from all our troubles.

Once we have taken our visits to our happy places, it is time to do things we can’t when we’re in school. We could go to a theme park, take a vacation, go on a cruise, and many other things.

We can stay up late and not worry about school the next day, or stay at a friend’s house over and over. We should go see family -- sometimes school makes us be so distant from our families – they may really appreciate the visit.

At the end of our break we might get the feeling of sadness because it is coming to an end. Al-though we might want to cry, let’s try not to! Instead, we can just go back to our happy placesand get ready for school.

“you know meat always tastes “you know meat always tastes better if the animal is better if the animal is

endangered”endangered”Jacob Cain, VCHS Senior

our opinions 3December 17, 2010

Five Guys Burgers and Fries is becoming a popular place to eat, for students and teachers alike. Five Guys is a mix between old “Diner Style” burgers with a new In-N-Out twist, yet, almost too much. When you fi rst walk in, you greet cold air, and about forty sacks of potatoes -- that’s right -- sacks of potatoes. Five Guys gets new shipments of potatoes regularly from farms all across the country. They stack the sacks of potatoes up on benches, ready to use. When you are ready to order you can either get a Regular, Cheese, Bacon, or Bacon Cheese-burger, which come with two patties, available in junior sizes with only one patty. You can also get a Hot Dog, or a sandwich. All the toppings on the burger are free: mayo, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, ketchup, and mustard. If you would like, you can say “Everything,” or “All-the-way,” receiving

all and only those toppings. Additional toppings are available: relish, onions, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, A1 sauce, Bar-B-Q sauce, and hot sauce. There are two kinds of fries available; Cajun, or Five Guys style. Five Guys style fries are lightly salted, while Cajun fries have Cajun seasoning, available in a regular size, $2.59, and large $4.69. Once the meal is ready, and the fi rst bite is taken, it’s like heaven on a plate, and its succulent all the way down to the last bite. The fries taste more like real fries, not processed and full of preservatives, likewise with the meat. Once you are done with your meal you might look twice at your receipt. The average cost for a family of four is $30, pricey for a meal of hamburgers. A regular hamburger costs $4.99, a cheeseburger is $5.69, a bacon burger is $5.79, and a bacon cheeseburger is $6.29. At some other restaurants the same items can cost

as low as $1, but the quality of the burgers at Five Guys is better than most other restaurants, and, instead of receiving one patty on a burger, a diner at Five Guys gets a burger with two pat-ties. A kids’ size burger has one patty, for about $1 less. A regular size soft drink costs $1.99, and a large costs $2.19. Five Guys and In-N-Out are very much alike in design, quality of food, and overall feel of the restaurant. The differences between the two stores are;that the Vacaville location of Five Guys does not have a drive-thru, and the prices at Five Guys are much higher than at “IN-N-OUT” as well as other “fast-food” restaurants. The overall experience at Five Guys is; good food, great feel, high prices, which I would recommend to anyone who has the extra change to afford it.

by Daniel Ewing

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, was full of mind bending effects and jaw dropping scenes.

The movie stuck very close to the book sometimes even to the letter. I have been a Harry Potter fan for about three years now and this movie has made me want to read the books for the second time through.

The film has been rated Pg-13 for se-quences of intense action, frightening images and brief sensuality. Harry Potter has a run time of 146 minutes with suspense along the whole way.

This sequel tells us about Harry’s travels to destroy Voldemort’s lifelines called Horcruxes which could be anything from a necklace to a snake.

The story set up a good base for part two of the final movie of this eightmovie enter-prise. This would not be a good movie for you if you have never read or seen a Harry Potter book or movie before.

by Andrew Grabowski

Harry Potter Our Ratings

Atmosphere-Quality-Speed-

Price-

5 Guys Burgers and Fries

Ratings 1-10, 1-worst, 10-best

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Action-

Story-Humor-

Suspense-

4 our newsDecember 17, 2010

On December 4th, A Black and White Tie affair dance took place. The gym was decorated in white Christmas lights, balloons, and the DJ stand. There was also a photo booth. The Dance went from seven in the evening to eleven at night.

“The dance started out slow,” said Stephen Gloudeman, “but it got better towards the end... not as many people but still fun.”

Megan Thompson said, “It was good.”There was a selection of beverages and

snacks at the dance. Among these were Shasta Cola, Shasta Twist, and Shasta Root beer. Torani cherry syrup was also available to add some spice to drinks. Snacks included were Hershey’s Kisses, mini cupcakes, Oreo’s, and sugar cookies decked out with chocolate frosting in the shape of a bow-tie.

Students would like to see a similar winter dance in the school year next winter. “I would have another winter dance,” said Raquel Tucker, “and it would be fun if the whole school went.”

Michael Gloudeman said, “Keep the drinks free.”

Highlights of the dance varied from student to student.

Rajkamal Pandher’s favorite part of the dance was “the part where we all went into a

Black and White Tie Affairby Emre Basaran

Lights strewn about, Christmas decorations scattered about, students scrambling to get the last decoration in, Deck the Halls caused many classrooms to be embellished with decorations.

Mr. Oshima, Mrs. Stitt, Ms. Salamone, and Mrs. Golden had their rooms decorated for deck the halls. The freshman decorated Mr. Oshima’s class, the sophomores Mrs. Stitt, juniors Mrs. Salamone, and seniors Mrs. Golden.

The freshman and sophomores tied for third place, the seniors placed second, and the juniors won the Deck the Halls competition.

The class colors for Christmas are as fol-lows: freshman red, sophomore’s white, juniors received green, and the senior’s received gold.

The freshman had a “Santa’s Workshop” theme for their room according to Solomon Hood. The freshman came up with the idea of putting wrapping paper on the desks, and wrap-ping up chemistry books to look like presents. Also, they had an infl atable Santa, and a light up Christmas tree.

Some freshman think they could have done better, “I think if more people brought more stuff we could have had more decorations,” said Hood.

The sophomores decorated their room as a “White Christmas”. They had snowfl akes hanging from the ceiling, a Christmas tree, and “snow” everywhere. The Idea of the snow was made by Alexander Hearn. Participation was a big issue for the sophomore’s room.

Classrooms decorated for Deck the Hallsby Daniel Ewing

Penguin stocking hanging in Mr. Oshima’s room 109Photo by Daniel Ewing

“This activity could have been a great op-portunity for my sophomores (which I adore) to o something amazing and work as a team. Some of them struggled with schedules, and making time, but it all worked out in the end,” said Mrs.Trini Stitt, sophomore class advisor.

Stitt came up with most of the ideas for the sophomore room, and did most of the decorat-ing, but was helped by; Luke Barker, Erin Dal-lenbach, and a few more people.

The juniors decorated their room as a “Christmas Craze” and had many lights strewn about. They had a ladder wrapped in green paper and decorated it to look like a Christmas tree, Infl atable snowmen, and a note for Santa.

“We thought it was going to be easy at fi rst, because everyone had lights, so we had everyone bring in their own lights and used them to decorate” said Kelly Siegal.

The seniors had a “Ginger Bread House” theme.They had the bulletin boards in the back of the class decorated to look like windows, with a snowy view outside. they also had “Frost-ing” hanging from the ceiling, and brown paper covering the back walls, to look like the ginger bread walls of a ginger bread house.

“The seniors had a whole bunch of good idea’s, but they got it all done last minute,” said Mrs. Terra Golden, senior class advisor. “but the other classes need to watch out, because when they get to planning, they are amazing,” said Mrs. Terra Golden.

Overall, deck the halls added some Christmas cheer to the VCHS student body, and hopefully, gets them ready for Christmas.

Students dance as the DJs mix music photo by Cayla Gutierrez

corner of the middle and started headbanging.”“Hmmmm... the music and dancing,” Stephen Gloudeman said.

“My favorite part of the dance was probably making up dances with the guys,” said Jeremy Rico.

Megan Thompson felt that there should be a greater variety of music played at dances. When asked if she liked the music, she said, “I didn’t really... they tend to stick to one genre.” She also said she would like more rock to be played.

our news 5December 17, 2010

Merriment on Main brings holiday awareness every year to the city of Vacaville. The city of Vacav-ile puts on this Christmas event and obtains a huge tree to light at the start of Merriment on Main. They get the name from the street that the festivites are taking place at. They hold this event in the historic downtown which has many small businesses such as Merchant and Main which is a fancy little restau-rant downtown.

“I liked seeing the whole town come together,” said AJ Hearn.

The churches head out there to advertise what they have for the people. Some hand out snacks such as hot chocolate and cookies. Some have choirs singing Christmas songs getting the Christ-mas Spirit going. They also have a Nativity scene with real animals. Some people come from other places in Solano County.

Summer Richardson said, “ I liked the Vaca High drum line.” There are many performers putting on an assortment of different types of entertainment.

Lauren Johnson said, “ It was a tie between the free food and seeing my friends.” People use this time to meet new friends and to get together with friends of long ago. This has been a tradition of 27 years with the tree covering the Three Flag monu-ment, located by the bridge next to Andrews Park. The Vacaville Reporter, sponsors this event for the past 27 years.

Kendra Rowland said, “I thought it was good for the churches. It gave everyone ready for the holiday season. It was fun to hang out with friends.”

MainMerrimentby Andrew Grabowski

Choir’s Christmas Concert Completedby Andrew Grabowski

The Christmas choir concert was a full house with Miss Salam-one leading the way. It was located at Orchard Baptist Church located on Orchard Street. The admission to this concert was $3 for students and $5 for adults. It happened on the 9th of December and the open-ing act started at about 7 o’clock.

The night started with three songs from the elementary kids, led by their music teacher Mrs.Heather Petree. They sang many favorites such as “Christmas Joy,” “Christmas Time is Here,” and “Hot Chocolate.” They sang with many hand motions and added a kid fac-tor to the concert.

Then came the high school choir members down the aisles, passing out candy canes to the audience. The pianist of all these songs was Mrs. Debi Bowen who has helped the kids in their practice for the concert. The next song was “Twas the Night After Christmas,” then came “Blue Christmas,” and

“What Child is This.” The singers Salina Conse,

Hannah Stadnick, Keturah Cox, Kyle Pazdel, Andrew Bliek, and Kyle Duke all sang their solos in the song “Winter Wonderland.” Fi-nally there came the fi nal set of songs which included “Sleigh Ride,” “One Still and Silent Night,” “Holiday Processional” and “This Christmas.”

This fi nished the high school’s part of the concert which they soon followed up on with a duet of both the elementary school and the high school choirs joining together in one fi nal song, “Peace,Peace.”

After this Miss Salamone said her fi nal good byes, Mrs. Lynch came up and prayed for the good night. Then everyone went out into the reception area and saw the cookies and apple cider waiting for them. The choir members were greeted by smiles and hugs from family and friends for singing these Christmas carols.

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Marissa Spence, Melissa Morgan, Selina Conse, Hannah Stadnick, Kyle Duke, Sydney Jessup, Andrew Bliek, Kyle Pazdel, Kendra hadley, Solomon Hood, Matthew Ignatiff, Nick Martens, Keturah Cox, Haley Gibson, Nicole Fish, and Andrea MacLean sing in the choir concert at Orchard Avenue Baptist Church.

Merry Christmas!Merry Christmas!

our features 7December 17, 20106 our featuresDecember 17, 2010

Getting what you need

Paper is one of the most important things in wrapping a present

Good scissors make it easier to cut the paper swiftly and with precision

For best results use transparent tape so it disappears when applied.

If desired use ribbon.

If your present isn’t already in a box you should get one to wrap it more easily.

Start to wrap your present

Measure the size of the box by putting the box on the paper and bringing the paper around the sides.

Make sure the paper overlaps itself by about an inch at all seams

Cut the paper wherever it overlaps

Wrap the present

Tape the seam

Fold the paper down on either end of the box to make trapezoid shaped fl aps.

Fold these fl aps one over the other making tight creases

Tape these down and your present is wrapped

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1. Gather the necessary ingredients

2. Wash your hands (you will be doing this a lot)

3. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

4. Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter in bowl, beat at medium speed

5. Beat in eggs

6. Beat in peanut butter, corn syrup, baking soda, and vanilla

Photos by Andrew Grabowski

Above: Some ingredients from the cookie recipe.

Right: Daniel adding egg to the butter and sugar mixture.

Bake Christmas Cookies

How To

Ch i C kiC ki

How ToMonster CookieIngredients:

Equipment:

Directions:

1 ¼ cup brown sugar 1 cup granulated sugar¾ cup butter3 eggs1 ½ cup peanut butter1 Tablespoon corn syrup2 teaspoons baking soda1 teaspoon vanilla extract4 ½ cups oats1 cup chocolate chips

2 or more large cookie sheetsLarge mixing bowlElectric mixing bowl (optional or other mixing utensilsIce cream scooper (optional)Large plate for servingOven mitts

7. Stir in chocolate chips and oats with spoon

8. Use ice cream scooper (or spoon) to scoop out approximately ¼ cup of dough on to baking sheet, place 2-3 inches apart

9. Bake cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 11 to 13 minutes, do not over-bake

10. Leave cookies on sheet for 2 minutes to cool

11. Eat and enjoy (Recipe makes about 2 ½ dozen)

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8 our sportsDecember 17, 2010

Wrestling kicks off their season with lots and lots of conditioning. Our wrestling team is getting ready for one great season. One of our wrestlers Nathan Lester said, “I enjoy the program, the training and the work routine. I expect to do all right, but not as well as others who are more seasoned than me.”

The wrestling team started their prac-tices on November 9. They had their first tour-nament Saturday, December 4 at Kennedy High School in Sacramento. Wrestling is very much an individual sport but to win a tourna-ment you have to work together as a team.

Last year was the first season of wres-tling and they have decided to have another team this year. Many people have joined the team for the first year.

Looking back at last year, Lauren Pfahlert became the first VCHS student to win a medal

in wrestling. Last year the team could not participate

in any of the matches because we did not have enough wrestlers. Although the team could not participate in the matches, they did enter into many tournaments to test their skill. Also last year they went to the state tourna-ment, which means the current team has a lot to show this year.

Josh Kikuyama talked about how the team will do this year against the other op-ponents: “I don’t know, we have had only one practice so far and most of the team has this year as their first year. But if they push themselves we could go far.”

Mr.Wilson, one of the football coaches, is the wrestling coach and is in charge of teach-ing the students of VCHS the art of wrestling. Gary Nguyen said, “It is going to be fun and it is a lot of work and it hurts.”

by Andrew Grabowski

Wrestling Team Grows

Photo By Andrew Grabowski

The back of the Varsity Wrestling Team’s sweatshirt reads, “1st period is won by the best technician. 2nd period is won by the kid in the best shape. 3rd period is won by the kid with the biggest heart.”

The junior varsity boys basketball team had a strong start this year, with a 64-32 win against Buckingham and a 25-56 loss against Bret Harte.

The junior varsity team also took second place in the Irene Maxwell Tournament. How will the rest of the season progress? Michael Gloudeman said, “I think its going to go well. We need to make our shots, and keep playing well.”

The JV team will be facing off against Gold-en Sierra, San Juan, Encina, Highlands, and Antelope. Although Antelope beat our JV team in the preseason last year our team has high

hopes for the coming game. “This time around our team is faster, stronger, and more skilled and we won’t lose without a fi ght. It doesn’t mat-ter that they have home court advantage, we’ll beat them anyways,” said James Aguilar before the game. The fi nal score, however, was VCHS 16, Antelope 68.

“Our team has a lot of work to do on the basics,” said Aguilar, “but as far as working together and raw talent we have the skill needed to win the league again.”

Nic Russel explained how playing basket-ball is like his walk with Christ. “Walking with Christ takes perseverance,” Russel said. “And when we run 16’s and ladders, it takes a lot of endurance.”

by Emre Basaran

Guys JV Looking Up

basketball Us Them Bold = home gameDixon High 42 47 DRAGON CLASSICSonoma 35 53Elsie Allen 53 31Terra Linda 33 60 Hogan High 64 36VALLEJO TOURNEYVallejo 54 32Albany 37 70Santa Rosa 45 77Woodland HighBrookside ChristianFALCON CLASSICVacavilleVacavilleVacavilleGolden SierraWinters EncinaHighlandsRio VistaBradshawSan JuanGolden SierraAmerican ChristianEncinaHighlandsRio VistaBradshawSan JuanPLAYOFFS

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our sports 9December 17, 2010

The VCHS Girls’ basketball team is starting this season in a new league, with a new coach.Their previous head coach, Bob Fernandez, is now coaching at Will C. Wood and has been replaced by former Assistant Coach Dean Roberts.Katelyn Rowland, a senior on the team, com-mented on Coach Roberts. She said, “He’s a good coach because he’s tough when he needs to be but will help you when he needs to.” Rowland has previously played both soccer and volleyball at VCS but this is her fi rst year in the basketball program. In comparison to the other sports she said that basketball has “tougher practices because they demand more of your body and there is a lot of running.”The team, along with the rest of VCHS sports teams, has moved into a new league, Sierra Delta League, in Division V.Audrie Jones, a sophomore and a captain this year, said that she does not know much about the teams in their new league, but believes Bradshaw Christian will be their toughest league opponent. The two teams will play in Sacramen-to on January 21.This year the team has fi ve seniors. Cristina Southern, a returning veteran, is one of those seniors. She said, “This is my last season, so I’m hoping it goes well and I’m excited for the upcoming season.”

by Gene Fogh

New Coach Leads Team

Our Varsity basketball team has had a strong start this season, with a 58-52 victory against Bret Harte, a 62-34 victory against Rio Lindo, and a 85-27 win against Buckingham. Varsity placed fi rst in the Maxwell Tournament. Our varsity Falcons are feeling optimistic for the games to come.

“Were feeling good,” Brandon Barnes said. “We’re returning a lot of our varsity players from last year, and we’ve got some good sophomores

and a new junior coming up this year.”There’s always room for improvement,

however. “We’re still rusty,” Barnes said. “We need to get a lot faster on our traps, but we need to work mainly on our twenty press.”“Basketball takes a lot of commitment and ef-fort.” Barnes said, “You have to give your all or else you’re not going to be able to play on the team because other people on the team will take your spot if you slack off.”

Varsity Basketball team is ConfidentBradshaw will probably be one of the

hardest teams, according to Barnes and others. VCHS has been rivals with them for awhile and they did lose two of their best players last year but they’re always good no matter what, the varsity players added.

Overall, the basketball team is feeling strong about the season.

“I really don’t expect us to lose any games throughout the season,” KC Yost said.

Photo by Gene FoghJacob Abel shakes a Buckingham High School defender.

by Emre Basaran

basketball Us Them Bold = home gameDixon HighBret Harte 58 52Rio Linda Adv 70 34Buckingham 85 27IRENE MAXWELL TOURNEYPrinceton 75 37Arbuckle 64 19Faith Christian Antelope 68 71DENAIR TOURNEYDenairDenairDenairAlumniFALCON CLASSICVacavilleVacavilleVacavilleGolden SierraWinters EncinaHighlandsRio VistaBradshawSan JuanGolden SierraEncinaHighlandsRio VistaBradsahwSan JuanPLAYOFFS

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10 our featuresDecember 17, 2010

Oh come all Ye FaithFulOh Little Town of BethlehamAway in a mangerLittle Drummer BoySilent NightAngels We Have heard on HighThe First NoelWe Three KingsI heard the bells on christmas day

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in the Original Radio Play category for their work on Unit X-7.

our features 11December 17, 2010

Nitin Sauklha is a sophomore at VCHS. Not many people at VCHS have an Indian heritage, but he is one who does. Indian culture affects his ev-eryday life from the food he eats to the way he was raised, and he enjoys it. Both of his parents were born in India, but then moved to America.

Saukhla used to take bi-annual family trips to India, but he said that he hasn’t visited there in the past couple of years. “I think the Taj Mahal has been the most amazing thing [in India] I have seen,” said Saukhla. He flew to New Delhi, India, with his parents and his brother in February of 2003, to visit family and to attend his aunt’s wedding in Pathankot.

One day at school last year, while Saukhla was talking with his friend Raj, the two began to share that they both went used to visit India quite often. After thinking hard, and remembering time frames, the narrowed it down, they realized that they had visited India within the same month. And after getting exact dates, they concurred that they had both been visiting India the exact day.

Concerning his heritage, Sauklha likes being who he is. He said, “Almost every night I eat Indian food, and I was raised to be smart.”

Nitin Saukhla Celebrates His Indian Heritage

by Daniel Ewing

“I think that kids think very much in the mo-ment and think they’re invincible. It’s very easy for them to just not care rather than thinking in the future. They’re not concerned with spiritual matters,” said VCHS senior Christianna Ripley. She believes that is why teens struggle with apathy -- because they think in the present and don’t account for the future.

Ripley went on to describe apathy. She said, “Regular apathy can be anything like not caring about how you do in school, how you treat your parents, or your future marriage or career.”

However, she said that the real problem is spiritual apathy.

“Spiritual apathy is not caring about your religion or your walk with God. It can be more general than that, as in not caring where you go when you die,” she said.

Spiritual Apathy a Problem

by Gene Fogh

Photo by Daniel Ewing

The staff of the VCHS Talon would like to congratulate the

VCS Radio Jazz and the 2010 Radio Broadcasting class for

winning the

Drury Award

Andrew Bel-amide and Mr. Ralph Martin flew to Chicago to attend the award banquet, where they accepted the award.Photo courtesy of Mrs. Faith Perez

She said that regular apathy can lead to a lot of brokenness and a lack of success while spiritual apathy can lead to spiritual death.

Ripley mentioned that she had recently watched the TV show 16 and Pregnant and it reminded her about spiritual apathy.

As for how to combat spiritual apathy, Ripley said, “Just don’t think so much in the moment. Really spend time thinking about the future. Be intentional about setting goals for yourself for the future. Think about where you want to be in ten years and then take steps to make that happen.”

However, more specifi cally for spiritual apathy, Ripley offers the advice, “Talk to God and be in your Word.”

Ripley is currently the student body presi-dent and is a member of the National Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation, Do Hard Things club, and the Spanish club. She is also a member of VCHS’ 20-9 volleyball team.

VCHS Senior Christianna Ripley believes that spiritual apathy is the biggest problem facing teens in today’s complex world

Photo by Andrew Grabowski , styling by Keean Kondo

12 the back pageDecember 17, 2010

What are these pictures of? All the photos were taken on campus.

Post your guesses on

vchstalon.com

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