Volume 10,Issue 3

First First First First First Annual Fashion Show is a Runaway Hit!Annual Fashion Show is a Runaway Hit!Annual Fashion Show is a Runaway Hit!Annual Fashion Show is a Runaway Hit!Annual Fashion Show is a Runaway Hit!On Tuesday, Novem-

ber 14th, Charles Best Sec-ondary hosted its first-an-nual fashion show, appropri-ately titled “Fall Into Winter.”Numerous families andfriends, as well as residentsof the community, gatheredto support the monumentalevent. The debut gala wassponsored by Mr. Jiwa as afundraiser for the educationaltrip to France next spring.Close to 35 students strut-ted down the catwalk in out-fits from local boutiques anddesigners. Models weregiven the full treatment.They went through runwaytraining – courtesy of profes-sional stylist/choreographerKevin Lorage – and posedfor headshots taken by thePhotography 12 class.

The show startedfashionably late, but all wasforgiven after an outstand-ing opening piece entitled“Steppin’ Out In Style.” Thesegment, set to JustinTimberlake’s “Sexy Back,”featured models displayingattitude and establishinghigh standards for the restof the extravaganza. Theclothes, provided by Le Cha-teau, followed an earth themeconsisting of black, brown,orange and leopard print.

“Celebration OfFriendship” and “Glitz AndGlam” showcased casualwear from Below The Beltand the GAP. The models,grooving to an upbeattechno play list, walked andtwirled in harmony as theypresented the season’s es-sentials: hoodies, graphictees, denim, bomber vests/jackets and sweaters. Severalpopular trends made appear-ances, including leggings,oversized knits and stripes.

The female models

dazzled on the catwalk, pro-jecting confidence at everyturn. Prancing to ChristinaAguilera’s “Ain’t NoOther Man,” the “saucygirls” took the spotlight,dancing and singingalong to the music, blow-ing kisses and wavingtheir arms in the air. Thecollection, supplied byThe Bay, consisted offeminine fabrics (velvetand lace) and the fall’shottest colour: red.“Uptown Girls,” with de-signs from JacquelineConoir, saw the girls pa-rading to the beat ofJennifer Lopez’s “GetRight” in stylish suitsmixed with jewel toned ac-cents and Brit-influencedpatterns. The final female-driven number, “WomenIn Charge,” displayed chicbusiness apparel from Sears.To the recognizable themefrom “The Apprentice,” the

girls staged a humorousscene with the male models,dragging them out by their

ties and giving themorders.In the guys’ number,“Hangin’ Out,” the modelsstrutted up and down the

stage in suave sunglassesand attire from Sears. One ofthe most memorable mo-

ments of the night was thegroup pose, which had theshirtless men arrangingthemselves as if they were

modeling for a GQ-like fire-men’s calendar. They re-ceived a riotous response ofwhistles and catcalls fromthe audience.

Romance was in theair during “Amour,” anumber which flaunted out-fits from L2. As a soulfulR&B ballad played in thebackground, the girls andguys executed a flirtatiousand seductive interaction.

The more elegantsegments, “Jewel Of TheNight” and “Evening Af-fair,” displayed ensemblesfrom Le Chateau, Blush andSears. In “Jewel Of TheNight” the models strucktheir poses to the signaturerunway anthem, Madonna’s“Vogue.” They weredressed to the nines in theholiday’s festive attire:

fancy cocktail dresses, clas-sic little black dresses, poshblazers and hip hats. In thespectacular finale, the run-

way shimmered, sparkledand flowed in garmentsbursting with vibrant col-ours. The models waltzedonto the catwalk like ladiesand gentlemen in their glam-orous gowns and handsometuxedos. Judging from thestanding ovation and the en-couraging applause fromthe room, the night was avery successful visual sen-sation.

Entwined between thevarious numbers were danceroutines by the EncoreDance Academy and a soloperformance by studentSaskia Wedding.

Samantha Morrison,a Grade 12 student who as-sisted with the image mediafor the night, favoured thenumber Evening Affair, “be-cause everyone looked re-ally good.”

One of the modelsfrom the graduating class,Sladjana Markovic, sharedher opinion: “Overall, thefashion show was an awe-some experience. It was defi-nitely one of the highlightsof my year.” When askedwhat the greatest perk of themodeling was, she identified“the clothes and the wholepreparation. We [the mod-els] became really tight dur-ing rehearsals.”

In regards to the chaosbackstage, she remarks that“pain is love!”

“With only a month toprepare, the models did ex-ceptionally well,” said Mr.Jiwa of their inaugural show.“Lots of hard work was putinto their performances.” Hecommented that the keything was that the audienceenjoyed and supported thepresentation.

The fashion showcertainly lived up to andexceeded its promise as the“event of the year!”

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Page 2 Friday, December 1st, 2006EDITORIALSEDITORIALSEDITORIALSEDITORIALSEDITORIALS

In a previous Echo newspa-per, Chris Tse voiced his opinionirresponsibly about North Korea.Are you trying to be funny? Nicetry, but I’m not laughing. Shall weall surrender to the powerful USA?Fall to our knees and commencekissing their butts? They are notthe undeclared ruler of the world,although they seem to think so.

However, there are sometruths to his article; we all mightagree that Kim-Jong-Il should bekicked off the face of the earth, andhave Korea re-elect a new leader.

But most of us know that“bombing the living crap out ofNorth Korea” wouldn’t be muchhelp. Because of Kim-Jong-Il’s lead-ership North Korea’s economy de-clined, causing food shortages andKorea’s death.

I understand that this wouldmake anyone’s blood boil, but tostate that bombing a country withaccess to nuclear bombs, wouldn’tbe the smartest solution. Solving asituation with a possible violentoutcome with more violence is notonly sending a message of una-wareness, ignorance and plain stu-pidity to everyone in the studentbody, but non-violent solutionsseem to work best Chris. Let’s thinkresponsibly, with the war in Iraq andnon-stop murder in Darfur the lastwe need in this world are morebombings in communist states.

- Nicole Ugali Grade 11

Letter to the EditorLetter to the EditorLetter to the EditorLetter to the EditorLetter to the Editor

Saddam Hussein was sen-tenced on November 5th to behanged for his crimes against hu-manity. The sentence was handedout after a lengthy trial that featuredseveral interruptions includingSaddam accusing Americans of tor-turing him – after which he went ona hunger strike and had to be hos-pitalized.

The subject of capital pun-ishment has always been divisive.Most developed countries haveoutlawed the death penalty (theUnited States being an exception).

When the verdict washanded out to Saddam, it was metwith much controversy from theinternational community.

In fact, Bush has been theonly major head of state who hasissued a statement in clear supportof the verdict; the UK, the EU, theVatican and the UN have all issuedstatements in opposition toSaddam’s sentence and/or capital

punishment in general.Even in Iraq, the verdict

hasn’t been celebrated by all. Onewould think that the execution ofSaddam, a dictator who ruled hiscountry using fear and violence,would help ease Iraq’s political tur-moil.

But the two major sects ofMuslims, the Shias and the Sunnis,are divided on the verdict. This isbecause the Sunnis, who were theupper, ruling class, were happyunder Saddam’s regime and, there-fore, oppose the verdict. The Shias,however, suffered greatly underSaddam, and celebrated Saddam’sverdict. Now, even more blood willbe spilled because of Saddam asthe two sects may well come intoconflict over the verdict. Sunnishave already demonstrated againstthe verdict, parading through thestreets and chanting, “We willavenge you, Saddam.”

The potential for conflict isclear, especially to the Middle East-erners. The first statement made byan Arab leader was by Egyptianpresident Murabak, who said that

“carrying out this verdict will ex-plode violence like waterfalls inIraq.” It sure looks that way, asviolence continues to escalate inIraq, each month having moremurders than the last.

Now, the Shias are callingfor the execution to be public andbroadcast on TV. Is this some-thing that should end up onYoutube? Should anyone’s deathbe broadcast, for the public’s en-tertainment?

I know that in Canada wecannot understand the horror ofSaddam’s regime. Yes, he was re-sponsible for the deaths of mil-lions, but does killing him makeup for it? Is that ever the bestanswer?

It will only cause more con-troversy and bloodshed in Iraq.Placing him in a high-securityIraqi jail seems to me like one ofthe worst possible punishments.And why is he to be hanged?Because it’s less humane than asimple fatal injection. Also, itwould make a much more dramaticTV special, don’t you think?

Page 1 : Farhan DevjiPage 2: Leanne FeichtingerPage 3: Mike Noble and Jordyn Delville-Pratt

Page 4: Kelsey Davis and Katie Glover

The Echo Is...The Echo Is...The Echo Is...The Echo Is...The Echo Is...Page 5: Matt Newton and

Tara StaplesPage 6: Josh BloomfieldPage 7: Leslie Bouillet and

Kathryn MajdanskiPage 8: Kim Hession

At Home...At Home...At Home...At Home...At Home...

And And And And And AbroadAbroadAbroadAbroadAbroadBy Echo ColumnistLeanne Feichtinger

Public Speaking:Public Speaking:Public Speaking:Public Speaking:Public Speaking:Sweaty Hands orSweaty Hands orSweaty Hands orSweaty Hands orSweaty Hands orFuture Job Skill?Future Job Skill?Future Job Skill?Future Job Skill?Future Job Skill?By Echo ColumnistCynthia Assen By Echo Columnist

Nicole UgaliMany students hate givingspeeches. They get nervous whentheir time comes to stand in frontof the class and talk about some-thing for four minutes, prayingthey don’t embarrass themselves.

Some, in desperate attemptsto find any excuse for not doingspeeches, ask the question I’m sureteachers have heard, and that manystudents have wondered, manytimes before: “Why do we need todo speeches? It’s not like we’ll needto make speeches in the future!”

Wrong. And deep down, thestudent asking the question prob-ably knows he or she is wrong aswell.

In most careers, you will, atone point, need to talk in front of agroup, whether it be at a meeting, apresentation, or in an interview. Youneed to be able to speak in a confi-dent and effective manner to getyour point across clearly.

Now just how are you sup-posed to do that properly if you’rehiding behind your notes, speak-ing so quietly that the group canbarely hear you, and rocking backand forth on your feet the wholetime?

There is also a possibilityyou will be required to put yourpublic speaking skills to the test

outside of your career. Say you’vebeen chosen by your friend to bethe best man at his wedding. Youdon’t want to let him down on hisand his bride’s special day by de-livering a less-than-acceptablespeech, do you? Not to mentionembarrassing yourself in front ofeveryone present for the wedding.Wouldn’t you feel so much betterif you could be proud of yourselfknowing that you presented some-thing inspiring and outstanding?

The people who are fright-ened of the thought of speaking infront of large number of people arethe ones who need to do speechesthe most.

If you’re one of those peo-ple, take speeches as an opportu-nity to get over your fear! Thesooner you do, the better you willfeel. You’ll have one less fear to getover, one stressful thing gone for-ever! You’ll feel more confident ofyourself speaking in front of almostanyone.

And anyways, everyonetalks to a lot of people everyday!Not necessarily at the same time,but think about how much you talkto your friends, family, peers, andteachers each day. One would thinktalking about one subject for fourminutes would come naturally. Youjust need to brave and try your best.

So before you start whiningabout having to do Public Speak-ing, remember that we presentspeeches because it will affect ourfutures greatly, but in a positiveway!

Bullying has always been aproblem in homes, schools andwork places, but only in the pastforty years have people seriouslytaken notice of its effects. Someyoung students ages 11-17 cometo school terrified of their peers be-cause of what they might say ordo. These students may go on tocut classes or sometimes not evencome to school.

When it’s an extremely seri-ous form of bullying aimed specifi-cally at girls and young women, itis sexual harassment. This inappro-priate behaviour takes on many dif-ferent forms: a degrading whistle, alittle flip of the skirt or more com-monly, a slow look from head to toe.These actions, among other things,can make many young women feeluncomfortable.

Boys also tend to distract theopposite sex from their work, espe-cially when they say or do thingsthat are considered sexual. Whatthese boys and young men some-times don’t realize is that when theywhistle, touch or make commentsin a rude way, for a moment theyput these ladies back in a time whenthey had no respect, no independ-ence and no dignity.

It goes unappreciated thatwomen’s rights had to be foughtfor, but for that second when guysdecide to howl, they don’t knowthat they are undoing centuries of

hard work.Sexual harassment is when

someone pokes fun at another in asexual way, making them feel un-comfortable, humiliated and infe-rior. Mostly women are victimizedthis way.

Because the idea of sexualharassment is to humiliate others,this notion can be distorted to fitinto any situation. It seems obvi-ous that when a woman has beenvictimized she feels less confident,but it has also been proven that shebecomes more self-conscious aswell. You may see it in many schoolhallways, sadly even those ofCharles Best. Harassment from thehallways can convert into the class-room and even have an affect onstudents’ academics by distractingthem from their work.

When reminded of that, peo-ple may still recommend to “suck itup Princess; that’s life!” Others ac-cept it, setting it aside, thinking“they’re only teasing.” This is usu-ally the excuse people make, so asto not cause a riot. But where doesthe teasing stop and harassmentbegin?

Teasing is something ofchild’s play, where both sides weara smile and have a little giggle.Abuse is nothing of the sort. It iswhere one person becomes a vic-tim and sometimes unknowinglythe other becomes a perpetrator.Amazingly, there are many peoplewho do not understand that these“flirtatious actions” are a seriouscrime.

A law called the HumanRights Code protects people fromdiscrimination and harassment ina variety of places, includingschools. This means if teachersor even the Ministry of Educationdo not act upon a student’s com-plaint as quickly as possible, anannoying problem that wouldotherwise be solved quietly couldbe dealt with through a messylawsuit.

This idea doesn’t seem sofarfetched to me; all schools andworkplaces should be a safe ha-ven. You shouldn’t have to cometo a place of learning scared foryour reputation, and afraid ofthreats.

Certain surveys have shedlight on how bad sexual harass-ment has become in schools,showing 60% of students confirmthat they have been touched,grabbed or pinched in a sexualmanner on school grounds. Thisalso includes 48% who have hadsexual rumours spread aroundabout them, and 22% who’vebeen called gay or lesbian in acase when they are not.

These powerful surveyshave focused eyes on seriousproblems that would have other-wise gone unnoticed. The realproblem I find is when people lookat sexual harassment as just an-other small hurdle in life, they dis-miss it and let it go too far, wheredenial is replaced by truth and theproblem is not stopped andthereby not solved.

Have an opinion thatyou want heard? Write us aletter! Drop off Letters tothe Editor in Room 311.

Page 3Friday, December 1, 2006 NEWSNEWSNEWSNEWSNEWS

On Wednesday, November8th and Thursday November 9th,Mr.Carey’s Biology 11 classesheaded off for a day of educationalfun at the Vancouver Aquarium.

The days kicked off with anenlightening “wet lab” organizedby the Aquarium employee’s. Thestudents learned about different seacreatures while getting hands onexperience, literally!

The Biology 11 classes picked upand held various forms of sea lifeincluding sea stars, sea urchins andcrabs. Several students experiencedthe grip of a small starfish, as itclinging tightly to their arm hairswhile others held the squishy, slimy

Biology 1Biology 1Biology 1Biology 1Biology 11 Dives Into the 1 Dives Into the 1 Dives Into the 1 Dives Into the 1 Dives Into the AquariumAquariumAquariumAquariumAquariumwere surprised with ex Best Biologyteacher Mr. Paine, who is anAquarium volunteer. The rest of theday allowed the students to explorethe Aquarium on their own, viewingvarious exhibits. As they explored,the students answered various ques-tions about different species in eachexhibit and the environments theylived in.

The students also had the oppor-tunity to take in the outdoor BelugaWhale Show or the Tropical BlackTip Rife Shark show. Overall, theclasses found the trip fun, entertain-ing and a great way to learn aboutsea life in a hands-on, interactiveenvironment.

sea urchin in their hands. “I reallyenjoyed the wet lab part of day. Itwas fun to be able to pick up theanimals and watch them interact withother animals on a small scale,” saidgrade 11 student Diane Kiss. Theclasses also received an extra spe-cial treat during the lab when they

Golden Future Golden Future Golden Future Golden Future Golden Future Ahead for Dynamic Sibling BMX DuoAhead for Dynamic Sibling BMX DuoAhead for Dynamic Sibling BMX DuoAhead for Dynamic Sibling BMX DuoAhead for Dynamic Sibling BMX DuoBy Echo reporter and NOWcontributor Brendan Batchelor

Layne Nyhaug

Tory Nyhaug

On November 23rd, Mr.Mackay’s Socials 11 class, and Mr.Mushens History 12 class weretreated to a surprisepresentation fromwar veterans ofWorld War Two, theKorean War andseveral peacekeeping missions.Organized by SFUstudent teacher Mr.Sutherland, theveterans andstudents took overthe library during Bblock for the event.

The firstspeaker was FrankWhitford, whofought during WorldWar Two in Italy, and participatedin the liberation of Holland. Manystudents noticed the number ofmedals he wore when he walked in.Mr. Whitford talked about hisadventures during his time spent

in Italy, the wounds he receivedand how he couldn’t wait to leavethe war, but instead was shippedover to Holland to help with the

liberation. Our next speaker wasFrank Smyth who was involved inthe Korean War as part of theCanadian Peacekeeping missionsalongside Bob Sutherland, who iscoincidently Mr. Sutherland’s

WWWWWar Var Var Var Var Veterans Veterans Veterans Veterans Veterans Visit Charles Bestisit Charles Bestisit Charles Bestisit Charles Bestisit Charles BestFall Plays Prepare BestFall Plays Prepare BestFall Plays Prepare BestFall Plays Prepare BestFall Plays Prepare Bestfor Upcoming Metfestfor Upcoming Metfestfor Upcoming Metfestfor Upcoming Metfestfor Upcoming Metfest By Echo Reporter

Mike Noble

By Echo ReporterMike Noble

By Echo ReporterKelsey Davis

Maeve Cyr and Darien Miyata

Photo by Cynthia Assen

Photo by Kelsey D

avis

Layne and Tory Nyhaug seem tobe normal students at Charles BestSecondary. They both play hockey,they both goto school, andthey’re bothfairly normalkids. But, out-side of thec lass room,the Nyhaugslead extraordi-nary teenagelives – asworld-classBMXers.

Layne hascompeted ininternationalBMX racessince 2001and wasranked 13th inthe world atthe comple-tion of the 2006 season in Septemberwhile Tory is a three-time UnionCycliste Internationale (UCI) BMXWorld Champion - in his age group-ing .

With the 2007 season kicked off

at the start of November, Layne nowlooks ahead to the possibility ofqualifying for the 2008 OlympicGames in Beijing, China.

“It’s something you’ve dreamedabout but you’d never think it couldactually happen, so if I actually gotto go it would be so cool.”

Tory agrees that the prospects ofcompeting in the Olympics are too

good to pass up.“That’d be really cool. I’d want

to.”However, the road to qualifica-

tion is a bumpy ride. While theNyhaugs must compete to gainpoints for their personal rankings,they are also competing on behalf oftheir country.

The number of competitorsCanada sends to the Olympics isdetermined by how the country faresin international rankings. With 2008growing ever closer, the Nyhaugsare looking to help qualify their coun-try, as well as themselves.

This past July, Layne was giventhe opportunity to travel to Braziland compete in the UCI World Cham-pionships in Sao Paulo, while Torywas unable to compete due to aserious accident earlier in the sea-son that left him with a broken leg.

But a disastrous crash cutLayne’s semifinal race short, leav-ing her with a serious concussion,12 hours of memory loss and anovernight stay in a Brazilian hospi-tal. Coming so close to the worldchampionship has made the elderNyhaug even more motivated to re-turn on a strong footing this season.

“Making it so close to finals atworlds this year was an amazingconfidence boost for me. Going intonext year I am motivated to trainharder and spend more hours at thetrack. I not only want to do well andhopefully wineverything inCanada, but Iwant to be com-petitive interna-tionally andbuild on thesuccess of lastseason.”

The trainingthe youngBMXers gothrough isstrenuous - asgruelling as thelast 20 metres ofan uphill race.

In additionto working outat the gym, theNyhaugs con-stantly ridetheir bikes both at the track and onthe street to help improve with speedand agility. Training together addsan edge that other riders may nothave.

“It’s good to have him (Tory)around,” says Layne. “He’s a goodtraining partner. He pushes me andI push him.”

While the two have never racedeach other in training, both have

similar opinions on what the out-come would be.

“I’d definitely win,” said Tory.Layne agrees, with a laugh. “Torywould definitely win hands down.”

From Wednesday November 22nd

to Saturday the 25th, the CharlesBest Players previewed three playsthey are going to present at thisyears Metfest in early December.

This year, Best offers threecomedic and very funny plays whichare definitely worth the price of ad-mission.

The first playpresented is alsothe main play,Mike’s Case, andstars grade 12student MattCarolei as thetitular troubledp r o t a g o n i s t ,who is trying tosolve his ownpersonal prob-lems by getting his friends to re-enact scenes from his life.

The next play in the BestPlayers’ repertoire is Sorry, WrongNumber, which stars Julia Clissoldas an ill lady who overhears a murderplot, and then tries to convince peo-ple and the authorities to do some-thing about it, since she is hope-lessly sick in her bed.

The third and final play is Shake-speare’s play within a play fromthe classic comedy MidsummerNight’s Dream.

Devon Henderson stars as Puckin this rendition of the play whichalso features Chris LeRose asBottom, Aaron Robinson asOberon and the hilarious DuncanWebster, who stole the show, asFrancis Flute.

As usual, the actors interjectedtheir ownu n i q u esenses ofhumour intothis farsicalShakespear-ean scene.Their hilari-ous anticsand exagger-ated actingp r o v i d e

many humourous and memorablemoments.

Metfest looks promising thisyear, with the audience in stitchesafter many moments in these plays.The festival is the first week ofDecember at Terry Fox Second-ary, and I suggest that everyoneshould go see it.

Bob Sutherland and Frank Whitford

Maeve Cyr and Darien Miyata

pictures provided by Layne Nyhaug

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Chris LeRose

Matt Carolei in Mike’s Carse

Chris Lerose

father. They were part of theAirborne squad, who were theparachutists that jumped behindenemy lines on reconnaissancemissions. Once they finished their

speeches, the forumopened to questionsfrom the students whoasked about manythings, such as freedom,the war in Iraq andwhether people shouldjoin the army once theygraduated from highschool. Studentsenjoyed the eventbecause it gave them afirst hand experience ofwhat happened duringthese wars, which was apleasant change fromreading pages from a

book. “I think it accomplishedexactly what I hoped it world” saidorganizer Mr Sutherland, “I wasreally impressed with the level ofrespect and reverence that thestudents displayed.”

Tory Nyhaug

Layne Nyhaug

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Page 4 Friday, December 1st, 2006

On Friday November 17,Charles Best Secondary School ’ ssmall gym was transformed into theG l o b eTheater andEnglish 10s t u d e n t swere trans-ported backinto Shake-s p e a r e a ntimes to cel-ebrate theschool ’ sthird annualShakespearefestival.

Each year the English depart-ment runs the fair for Grade 10 stu-dents who study “Romeo andJuliet.” Mr. Murray , the teacher incharge of the festival, explains thatthe goal is to “ make Shakespeareaccessible and fun, to make it less

intimidating. ”Students and teachers ar-

rived at the schooldressed in variousElizabethan cos-

t u m e s ,ready andeager toparticipatein the dayse x c i t i n gevents. Al-t h o u g hthere wereless peoplein costumeand less

presentations than inprevious years, stu-dents still took partin all the activities.Some of the memora-ble activities included hilariousShakespearean insult hurling, ajeopardy game that quizzed the stu-

dents on their knowledge of Shake-speare, and an Elizabethan fashion

show. All students also partici-pated in short dramatic exercises(such as sonnet walks), and some

talented grade 10 ’ s, such as AnnaTai who performed the theme fromthe Romeo and Juliet , took the

stage and entertainedtheir peers.

Impressive stu-dent projectsdecorated thegym, includ-ing artwork,banners, rep-licas of theGlobe theatre,student-mademovies andpower points.Murray com-ments, “ Anumber ofstudents should becommended for theirefforts; there weresome terrific

projects.”The festivities ended with an

old-fashioned Elizabethan feast

and a showing of the “Romeo andJuliet” movie.

Most students seemed to en-joy the day; Sebastian Fritz , agrade 10 dressed as a Renaissancemerchant, praises the fair, “ The fes-

tival wasvery inter-esting. Alot of peo-ple got intoit. ” How-ever, oth-ers had dif-ferent opin-ions, “ itwas okay.It wasn’tfantastic,”

says Grade 10 Jennifer Ray .The creativity and enthusi-

asm of both the teachers and stu-dents involved truly makes the an-nual Shakespeare celebration anevent to remember.

Friday, November 10th,marked Charles Best’s annual Re-m e m b r a n c eDay assemblyto honour andcommemoratethose whohave foughtfor equalityand freedom.Students, staffand parentsfilled the gym-nasium allwearing pop-pies to ac-k n o w l e d g etheir personalremembrancefor all our countrymen who havedied in war or on military duty. Stu-dents were impressed with the pro-ceedings of the ceremony. “I

thought the assembly was very welldone in order to honour all the peo-ple who died in war,” said Keara

O’Brien. The

honour guardof Katie Jewel,Daniel Dick,S e b e s t i a nFritz andD u n c a nWebster pro-vided theirceremonial es-cort into thegymnas iumwhich was fol-lowed by therecitatal of“Oh Canada”

from our Senior Band led by Mr.Charmichael. The senior band fol-lowed with a piece titled “How Firm

Thy Friendship,” a chorale preludecomposed by James Swearingen.This unique piece offered both har-monious and heartening melodiesperfect for the occasion. “I give theBest Band an “A” for effort. Theyput their hearts into it,” agreesBryden Chan. Next, the CharlesBest choir looking to better lastyear’s performance of “What theWorld Needs Now,” performed yetanother fan-favourite, “DannyBoy.” MC’s Marissa Ahn andCynthia Assen explained the sig-nificance of the song in relation toRemembrance Day. “Your son ordaughter, father or mother, friendor relative is heading away to war.There is hope that they will returnto you again safely next summer.But there is also fear; the fear oflosing them, and never seeing themagain.”

Soon after, the dance classtook center stage. The grouplooked very sharp in their black en-semble per-forming adance named“Rent.” Thesynchroniza-tion and origi-nality madethis act onethat will beunforgettable.Last but notleast, wasA l a n n aMacRitchie’sd r a m a t i cpower pointpresentation.Despite some minor technical diffi-culties, the captivating presentationposed a perplexing question; If we

From November 3rd to No-vember 17th, the Charles BestPrayer Group helped an interna-tionally acclaimed organizationgive hope and presents to chil-dren who wouldn’t otherwise re-ceive any. With Operation Christ-mas Child, the Prayer Grouphanded out shoeboxes to volun-teers who filled the boxes withgoodies (clothes and crayonsand gifts such as that) and re-turned them, along with a sevendollar shipping and handling fee,to be sent off tochildren in less for-tunate parts of theworld.

Despite ourstudent popula-tion, which is wellover 1200, thePrayer Group onlyreceived 47 of the112 boxes that itgave out by thedate that theyneeded to send

them off.“It’s amazing that we got

that many boxes,” says grade 12prayer veteran, Kelly Rawlings,“It is a little disappointing that wedidn’t get back as many as wegave out, but this was the firstyear that we’ve done this and itwasn’t properly explained. Hope-fully next year, things will go a lotsmoother.”Well, kids in Africa andother third world nations will bethrilled with the presents and thefact that they otherwise wouldn’tget any. This noble cause hashelped to raise the spirits of manyduring the holiday times.

While the majority of stu-dents at Dr. Charles Best have beenfrantically cramming in last minutestudying for midterms, and anx-iously completing any final reports,one class has remarkably taken itupon themselves to write an entirenovel as well. Mr. Baker’s Writing12 students have not only acceptedthis seemingly impossible chal-lenge, but have decided to finish inonly thirty days. November is Na-tional Novel Writing Month, but allthe cool kids call it NaNoWriMo.

The 25 ambitious studentswho took Writing 12 this year, alongwith thousands of other ruthlessindividuals, have endeavored tocomplete a novel made fromscratch, with a minimum of 50 000(yes there are four zero’s at the endof that number) words. More sim-plistically, participants should ba-sically type out a cluster of wordsas quickly as they can, hoping it’sin some resemblance to a narrativeplot. Oscar Chung, who miracu-lously finished his novel in a meretwo weeks, remarks, “This was agreat experience, because it showed

me what I am really capable of do-ing when I put my mind to it. I thinkthat at some point, everyone shouldtry NaNoWriMo because theywould get to experience a month inthe life of a writer.”

What is the secret behindconquering this assignment? It’sabout concentrating on the quan-tity, not quality of your writing.“Just pound out the words as fastas you can, and take a year to edit,”Mr. Baker explains further. Thisraises the question though: Whyare teachers discouraging qualitywork from the classes that are par-taking in this novel writing compe-tition? “Because this contest val-ues perseverance and enthusiasmover ‘excellence,” says Chris Baty,the founder of this daunting inter-national challenge. “This is a wayto support the idea that anybodywho wants to write a novel has thepotential to do so.”

Well that may be explicable,but why is such a tight deadlinerequired for such an overwhelmingtask? “Even the most impossibletask, when paired with an inflexibledeadline, can be achieved,” ex-

plains Baty. He believes that toomuch flexibility and freedom in writ-ing may not produce the expectedresults, if any whatsoever.

This daunting 30-day chal-lenge initially originated betweentwenty-one friends who simplywanted bragging rights from writ-ing a book, but over the last sevenyears, has turned into a multi-na-tional contest between completestrangers. This year, it was pre-dicted that over 59 000 people werevolunteering to partake in this chal-lenge. In fact, this program hasgrown so big in fact, that they haveestablished themselves as a non-profit organization.

All of the people involved inthis challenge will walk away fromNaNoWriMo with a reward like noother. There are no prizes, otherthan a print out certificate if thewriting goal is in fact achieved, butthere is something greater that isachieved. This project offers an in-centive to write, and when it’s allover, participants are going to walkaway with the satisfaction havingwritten, of knowing that they at-tained their ultimate goal.

WWWWWriting 12 Class Triting 12 Class Triting 12 Class Triting 12 Class Triting 12 Class Takes on NaNoWakes on NaNoWakes on NaNoWakes on NaNoWakes on NaNoWriMoriMoriMoriMoriMo By Echo Reporter Lauren Jeanneau

Prayer Group Sends PresentsPrayer Group Sends PresentsPrayer Group Sends PresentsPrayer Group Sends PresentsPrayer Group Sends Presentsto to to to to AfricaAfricaAfricaAfricaAfrica

By Echo Reporter Jordyn Delville-Pratt

Rememberance Day Rememberance Day Rememberance Day Rememberance Day Rememberance Day Assembly TAssembly TAssembly TAssembly TAssembly Touches Hearts and Minds of Studentsouches Hearts and Minds of Studentsouches Hearts and Minds of Studentsouches Hearts and Minds of Studentsouches Hearts and Minds of StudentsBy Echo Reporter Farhan Devji

Small Gym is TSmall Gym is TSmall Gym is TSmall Gym is TSmall Gym is Transformed Into Globe Theaterransformed Into Globe Theaterransformed Into Globe Theaterransformed Into Globe Theaterransformed Into Globe TheaterBy Echo Reporter:Katie Glover

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have lost so many loved ones inpast wars, why are we still fightingtoday? The “Last Post” by SydneyHollins and the always emotional

moment of silencecapped off whatwas an assemblyto remember. Dueto the solemn na-ture of the event,students werevery respectfuland were on theirbest behaviour forthe entirety of theassembly. “Ithought it was afantastic cer-emony. All the dif-ferent activities

the students performed made theexperience more impacting for oth-ers which is the overall purpose ofthe assembly.” – Mr. Johnstone

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Page 5Friday, December 1st, 2006FEAFEAFEAFEAFEATURETURETURETURETURE

Speak Out... What Inspires Speak Out... What Inspires Speak Out... What Inspires Speak Out... What Inspires Speak Out... What Inspires YYYYYou Tou Tou Tou Tou To Wo Wo Wo Wo Write?rite?rite?rite?rite?

Alianna Chisholm (Gr. 10)“Having an extreme imagination

and creativity.Why? It’s abstractthoughts that therefore inspire me.”

DJ Reynes (Gr. 12)“My poodle Belle and absinthe.”

Alyssa Pipke (Gr. 11)“My experiences and emotions;

you can really just write about any-thing.”

WWWWWin a Sub!in a Sub!in a Sub!in a Sub!in a Sub! Find all the words,then hand it into theoffice once you’redone! Last month’swinner was SeanMahaffey. Head to311 to claim your freeSub!

The Houseby DJ Reynes

The house was barren with nofurniture and no warmth, just oldcarpet and the smell of mildew. Thebuilding was obviously inhabitedby teenage boys, a thick layer ofsludge lined the rims of the toiletbowl and sink. The shower was prob-ably white porcelain at one time, butnow was coated in grime with a layerof off-green crust near the top. Thekitchen, would boast being thecleanest room in the house; how-ever any health inspector in theirright mind would condemn it at firstsight. The fridge was speckled withpictures of Peter and his footballteam, and a photograph of Shake-speare hung like Jesus on the cruci-fix at the front of the freezer portionof the fridge. Nearly outdated milkand lunchmeat were commonlyfound in the fridge around cases ofcheap beer and Dunkaroos . Theliving area was a disheveled excusefor a room; the tabletops were coatedin grease and spotted with the reddinner plates the boys used, creat-ing the image of a zit infested teensface. The floor was inhabited by ashag carpet with an orange-ish huethat paired with the wood panelingwalls like a grotesque marriage be-tween a prostitute and a pedophile.Brian’s room on the other hand waskept very clean; it had recently beenpainted and held a chic feng shui,

CONCLUSIONEDITORFICTIONINTRODUCTIONPAPERPENCIL

The Power of Prayerby Dajana Grabovac

I felt as if I’d been hit by anairplane. I went completely numband I could see absolutely nothing;everything went pitch black, and Iremember wondering if I was stillalive. I saw my mom get up, grabmy sister and run, and I followed,ignoring the pain in my left wristand leg. And then I started toscream.

I had a small scratch on myleg, my mom had broken hers, andmy little sister’s clothes were rippedup—just like her back….and as forme, the small scratch had turnedinto a bruise that ran from my kneedown to my toes. It was one of theworst pains I’d ever felt.

One day, after an especiallypainful physio treatment, thedoctor sat me and my parents down,saying, “your hip has slipped outof place, and you are not allowedto step on your leg, to preventfurther slipping.” I felt myselfgetting lightheaded, and my eyesstarted to water.

I did not even realize howserious my situation was, until theytold me if the operation did not gowell, and my leg didn’t get used toit, there was a chance they’d haveto amputate.

Dajana Grabovac (Gr.12)“I’m kind of shy, so I like to putmy feelings down on paper.”

The words youneed to find arelisted below:

Untitled

by Alianna Chisholm

You are nutritious and delicious,my dear

and I believe the only bank I needis rich with your thoughts.

But I forged the signature I neededto witthdraw from your knowledge,

and I still don’t know anything.

For this month’s Feature, we chose to collectsamples-both poetry and prose-of some of Best’smany talented writers. We also asked what in-spires them to write, and why they enjoy writing.

-Page Editors

Brooklyn Untitledby Alyssa Pipke

Lining the deserted Brooklyn road,lay gum covered slabs of concrete.Cracks between the squares are filledwith dirt. Within these fractures,grows small tuffs of green grass,

What is this?What is this?What is this?What is this?What is this?

making a shit to champagne com-parison with the rest of the house.

I prayed every second, andso did my family and friends. Theoperation took half an hour andeverything went …perfectly!

Recently, I went in for acheckup and was told thateverything is progressing as itshould—I can take part in anyactivity whatsoever. It’s all thanksto my amazing surgeon—whobasically saved me physically andemotionally—and to somethingelse as well. The power of prayer.

trying to get a glimpse of the starfilled night sky. Few cars whiz by,their winds moving the still grassand particles of dust.

Before resting itself in the crev-ices, the debris lingers in the pol-luted air for a few seconds. Browndirt stains the hard cold surface.Despite the brown tinge, boxes drawnof chalk create a hop-scotch game,only intercepted by the A.B.C. pinksubstance. With numbers writtenbackwards and out of order, thelopsided boxes are a perfect fit.

Colours of the rainbow work as amap, leading the path to a clump oftiny stones. Beyond the small graypebbles, remains from the children’sgame, a heart embeds the pavement,encircling the initials from love-struck teens. The vintage act of af-fection is worn, but forever holdsmemories of the two adolescents.

Sam Goodman (Gr. 9)“When I’m bored I just give’r andit’s lots of fun.”

Page 6 Friday, December 1, 2006

ByEcho Columnist Josh Bloomfield

Straight from Kazakhstanin possibly the most offensivemovie of the year it’s the infamousBoratin the self titled movie: “BoratCultural Learning’s of America forMake Benefit Glorious Nation ofKazakhstan.”

It stars Sacha BaronCohen ash i sc r e a t e dcharacterc a l l e dB o r a t .T h i smovie ishilariousfrom startto finish.B o r a texperiencesmany very funny situationsincluding a trip to the rodeo, anantique shop visit and a drivingtest.

Although this movie isloved by many, the Kazakhstangovernment is not very happy withthe portrayal of their country.

In this movie Boratcreates a stereotype that inKazakhstan women are consideredinferior and also he makes it loudand clear that he is not very fondof Jewish people. The movie opensin Borat’s home village where he

With an interesting conceptand comedian Will Ferrell leadingthe cast in his first major semi-serious role, Stranger ThanFiction could have been great, butI left the theatre slightlydisappointed. It started out strong,with author Karen Eiffel (played byEmma Thompson) describing hernew book’s ill-fated lead character(Ferrell’s Harold Crick) as he goesthrough his morning routine, andwith the introduction of said authorand her problematic case of writer’sblock. As a character, Harold Crickwas funny at most times, butduring one part of the film, I foundmyself wondering why on earth hewas acting like he was. That’s notto say Ferrell hasn’t proved hisworth as far as serious acting goes;he has, particularly as he strugglesto grasp the idea that his life maybe ended by a few clicks of the

Magnetic NorthMagnetic North Hiphop4.5/5

By Chris Tse By Tara Staples

brags that his sister is the 4th bestprostitute in all the country.

As a reporter for a channelin Kazakhstan, he is sent toAmerica along with his rather largeproducer Azamat Bagatov to reporton customs and culture in thestates.

Their trip takes them toCalifornia where Borat aims to fulfillhis lifelong dream of meeting

P a m e l aAndersonwho doesappear inthe movie.For me, then u d ewrest l ings c e n eb e t w e e nBorat andAzamat isone I will

definitely not be forgetting any timesoon .

When you watch thismovie you can’t help but doubt ifthe interactions with the public aregenuine or set up. With this movieBaron Cohen does an excellent jobof walking the line of what isappropriate without really crossingit.

This is the type of moviewhere you either love it or hate it,and so far I would have to say thereis definitely more lovers thanhaters.

SwitchfootNothing is Sound 3.5/5

By Chris Tse

The Sounds Dying To Say This to You 3/5

By Tara Staples

keyboard (and whether or not heshould go down without a fight).The story itself had grabbed myinterest from when I first heard

about it: an author struggling tooff her fictional creation, who wasactually a living person living a lessthan enviable existence until hebegan to hear his life narrated by astranger. However, the idea,despite its ingenuity, had a few plotholes (or loose ends that couldhave been addressed). Eiffelsupposedly has no idea hercharacter can hear her, and knowsnothing of the lengths Harold goes

to figure out what’s plaguing him,and thus doesn’t narrate thoseparts of his life. This iscontradicted later on, when sheis stroking away on hertypewriter about his quest to finda payphone; the reason Haroldis doing this is to call Eiffelherself, and no explanation isoffered as to whom she believesHarold is phoning or why. Moreconfusing is that Harolddiscovers his part in Eiffel’s story

10 years after she began it. Whythen, does he hear the beginningof the book in his head, if the authoris in truth nearing the end of thenovel? Surely she didn’tt only justbegin to type the story out? All plotholes aside, the ending was stillslightly anticlimactic, or rather, thefaux-ending was.

Without divulging toomuch, at one point in the story it isbelieved that the author has foundthe beautiful, poetic ending thatshe had been searching for such along period of time. The “ending,”which may have looked great onpaper, was executed poorly and theintended beauty was lost on me.

Thinking back on the film, Idon’t remember an hour and forty-five minutes worth of story, and thegeneral agreement of my party wasthat the middle was stretched out.All in all, Will Ferrell’s newest is adecent enough movie with a fewgood laughs that perhaps thosewith a less meticulous eye for detailwill find no fault in.

Fleetwood MacRumours5/5

By Tara Staples

Thom Yorke The Eraser 5/5

Borat: Controversially GoodBorat: Controversially GoodBorat: Controversially GoodBorat: Controversially GoodBorat: Controversially Good

Stranger Than Fiction:Stranger Than Fiction:Stranger Than Fiction:Stranger Than Fiction:Stranger Than Fiction:WWWWWorse than Badorse than Badorse than Badorse than Badorse than Bad

By Matt Newton

ENTERTENTERTENTERTENTERTENTERTAINMENTAINMENTAINMENTAINMENTAINMENT

The Sounds’ new andhighly anticipated album has finallyarrived.

Dying to Say This to Youhas a similar theme to The Sounds’previous album; however, on thecurrent album the band has asomewhat newer sound, a moremore 80’s new wave beat that youare likely to lip sync to in front ofyour mirror.

Front woman, MajaIvarsson belts out more of heregocentric lyrics but sounds biggerand better than before.Varioussynthesizers and sound effects areexplored on a number of the tracks.“Queen of Apology” and “Tonythe Beat” both make goodlistening, expressing ratherdifferent messages than the typicallovesick theme.

On the whole, Dying to SayThis to You is a strong piece ofwork that develops a contrastbetween sensuality andassertiveness.

Ever since his initial hiatusfrom Radiohead to make his firstsolo debut album, it is safe to saythat lead vocalist, Thom Yorke haskept up with his distinct style. TheEraser proves that Yorke hasmainly stuck to his experimentalroots, while leaving some room tobranch out. The sound of his newalbum reveals a somewhat differentside of himself which speaksthrough rhythmic beats, andcaptivating lyrics. The emotionallyrics suggest they are aboutspecific individuals, despiteatypical metaphors and poeticdevices. Tracks from The Eraserare somewhat similar to Radioheadsongs; still, Yorke adds somethingdifferent to the album. Tracks suchas “Harrowdown Hill” and “ItRained All Night” featureprogressive beats, while “BlackSwan” features Yorke’s signatureguitar riffs. The Eraser deliversYorke on a more personal level thanmany Radiohead collaborations.

In 1977, Fleetwood Macreleased Rumours, an album thatwould later become a classic. Thealbum includes catchy tunes andsuggestive songs on love and briefdrug references.

Rumours delivers a mix ofblues and 70’s pop, a somewhatunusual style that most blues fanwere unfamiliar with at the time.

All but two of the songson the album feature an upbeattempo and dynamic guitar riffs.

Most of the lyrics areoptimistic while the loud andeuphoric chords of the guitar andtambourine lighten the darkpassages of songs such as “NeverGoing Back Again” and “Gold DustWoman.”

Other popular tracks on thealbum include “Go Your Own Way”and “The Chain.”

Overall, Rumours is anamazing album people of all agescan relate to; it is stronglyrecommended.

Hip-hop and rap have gen-erally been the music genres ofblack people in the past, with theexceptions of Eminem and Jin. YetI was surprised at what this Asianemcee duo had to offer their firsttime around. They capture hip-hopfrom a different angle, redefiningthe genre with a unique sound.The speedy delivery of Derek Kancoupled with the sharp voice ofTheresa Vu offers a distinctive rap-ping sound, and the beats are ablend of traditionally classical in-struments such as the piano, vio-lin, and kora, all set to the strict driv-ing rhythms of a drum machine.However, what sets this groupapart the most from other hip-hopartists is not their sound, but themessage they deliver. Kan and Vuconstantly rap about racism, dis-crimination, and a will to fight back.If you’re sick of the guns and drugsand bling that ruin today’s hip-hop,then Magnetic North will be a re-freshing change.

Switchfoot started as aChristian rock group but eventu-ally broke into the mainstream,largely thanks to their album TheBeautiful Letdown.

Their most recent albumNothing is Sound fails to live up tothe lofty expectations that were setfor it, though the album itself is stillpretty decent. The band combinesa hard rock style with a pop-punkapproach throughout the CD, mostevident in songs such as “Stars”and “Easier than Love.”

Most of the songs are catchyand bear thought-provoking mes-sages. What earns Nothing isSound a significantly lower ratingthan expected is the presence ofslow, morbid songs with lyrics thatcould be perceived as bleak.

For a band that describes it-self as “a beacon of hope in a seaof despair,” Switchfoot needs toprove to its listeners that the bea-con hasn’t dimmed.

By Echo reporter DevonHenderson

On November 15th, Charles Best’sSenior Girls Volleyball team headedoff to Semiahmoo, White Rock tocompete in the Fraser Valley finals,hoping to securea spot in theProvincials. Theysplit the first dayof play, winningthe first gameagainst EnverCreek Secondaryand falling tohome teamSemiahmoo ingame two. Havingwarmed up on dayone, Best had anamazing day twowinning gamesagainst EarlMariot and YaleSecondary. Thenext game againstHeritage Woodswas a high stakesbattle for the Dev-ils. If they beat Her-itage Woods onFriday, Bestwould automati-cally qualify for the Provincial Cham-pionships on November 30th andwould play for third and fourth placein the Fraser Valleys. The team waspumped to play Heritage, as theywere the only team to beat the BlueDevils in the districts. Seeking re-venge, Best beat the Kodiaks inthree straight games, and advancedto play another local team, the Riv-

erside Rapids. Even though the Dev-ils put up a good fight, they fell to theRapids 3-1. Fortunately, thanks totheir previous wins, the Devils werea lock for the Provincials, starting onNovember 30th in North Vancouver.

The Devils had a long road beforegetting to the Fraser Valley Finals.On November 8th, Charles Best’ssenior girls volleyball team kickedoff the district playoffs at HeritageWoods Secondary.

After ending the regular season insecond place in the district, the BlueDevils were top contenders goinginto the district playoffs. The Devils

SPORTSSPORTSSPORTSSPORTSSPORTS Friday, December 1, 2006 Page 7

breezed through the first roundagainst Maple Ridge SecondarySchool, winning three straight gamesin a best-of-five competition. Thewin against Maple Ridge put thegirls through to the Fraser Valley’s.

Round two proved to be difficult forthe Devils, as they were playingagainst the Heritage WoodsKodiaks, who were in their elementon their home turf. Although theKodiaks took the first game, Bestfought hard and won a close gametwo 28-26. Unfortunately, theycouldn’t keep up the intensity, and

By Echo ReporterLeslie Bouillet

The cuts have been made, and

the Junior Boys Lacrosse team isready to get the season started.

The final team, which was de-cided on November 7th, has startedpracticing hoping to again crushtheir opponents.

This year’s team, which will becoached by former Best studentsAaron Brascia, Kevin Cucionne,and Jordan Weir, is sponsored byMr. House.

Starters for some positions havebeen chosen: Kevin Neufeld, Spen-cer Krischuk and Nathan Kleinon big sticks and Braden Weir asstarting goalie.

The season may not start untilJanuary, but the boys will be par-ticipating in a tournament in Victo-ria over the weekend of November23rd to 25th.

Starter Kevin Neufeld said, “Weexpect to do really well in the tour-nament.”

As the Senior Girls Basketballteam has only six returning girlsfrom last year, the team has theirwork cut out for them.

Coached by Ms Edgell, the girlshave been practicing four times aweek, not including work out ses-sions in the gym. Without settimes and days for the practices,some of the players are struggling.Janice “Janiqua” Quan is “[find-ing] it hard to work around prac-tices that change from week toweek, but [feels] that when theseason starts, everything will clickinto place.”

Right now, the girls are workingon fast breaks, focusing mainly onoffence. Lauren Parker, lastyear’s captain and a grade twelvestudent, is optimistic: “We feelconfident about challenging everyteam that we play.” In their firstgame, they will be face arch rivals,Centennial.

By Echo ReporterLeslie Bouillet

This year’s Senior Boy’s Bas-

ketball team is ready to start theirseason, and hopefully make it allthe way to Fraser Valley Champi-onships and Provincials.

This year’s team is made up offive grades 12’s and eight grades11’s, and includes star playersKarim Hemmings and Sam Free-man. Coach Hyde thinks, “Thisteam has the most talent of anyteam from Best”.

Grade 12 players KarimHemmings,Adam Cutbill and ScottRedwood are also confident in thisyears team, so “Centennial betterwatch out, because we’re the bestteam in Best history.” Some gameshave already been scheduled, suchas their game against the alumni onMonday, November 27th and R.C.Palmer from Richmond will visitBest at 7:30pm on Tuesday, No-vember 28th.

From the Fraser Valley swim meet,Andrew Kamchilime and ChristineLawson swam their way to the Pro-vincial Swimcompetition.

The two daycompeti t iontook place onFriday the 17thand Saturdaythe 18th inSannich onVancouver Is-land.

The swim-mers were se-lected out of sixothers from Dr.Charles Best.

The twos w i m m e r swent across toSannich withMr. Cairney,and proudlyrepresentedthe school.

A n d r e wKamchilimeplaced in thetop 15 in all ofthe categorieshe was in. In the the fifty meterfreestyle, also known as call frontcrawl, Andrew placed 15th.

In 100 meter butterfly and 100

meter breast stroke, Andrew finishedfourteenth. Andrew did very wellseeing that there were 36 other com-petitors, including a few nationalswimmers.

Christine Lawson won the conso-lation final for 50 meter freestyle,placing ninth over all.

In the 50 meters backstroke sheplaced 14th, against 48 other swim-

SrSrSrSrSr. Girls V. Girls V. Girls V. Girls V. Girls Volleyball Tolleyball Tolleyball Tolleyball Tolleyball Team Qualifies for Provincialseam Qualifies for Provincialseam Qualifies for Provincialseam Qualifies for Provincialseam Qualifies for Provincials

By Echo ReporterKim Hession

Lawson & Kamchilime Compete at ProvincialsLawson & Kamchilime Compete at ProvincialsLawson & Kamchilime Compete at ProvincialsLawson & Kamchilime Compete at ProvincialsLawson & Kamchilime Compete at Provincials

Lacrosse CutsLacrosse CutsLacrosse CutsLacrosse CutsLacrosse Cuts

Best in HistoryBest in HistoryBest in HistoryBest in HistoryBest in History

By Echo ReporterKathryn Majdanski

Sr Girls Ballin’Sr Girls Ballin’Sr Girls Ballin’Sr Girls Ballin’Sr Girls Ballin’

lost the next two games. Now play-ing for third and fourth place, Bestfaced rival team the PinetreeTimberwolves. After an upsettingloss in the first game, the Blue Devilsrebounded with a vengeance and

s laughteredthe T-Wolvesin the next threegames, mainlyowing to thedrastic linechanges ofCoach Raabeafter the firstloss. ChelseaEades, theteams startingsetter, wasmoved topower, andsenior setterJ u l i eMcDowell wasmoved toEades’ regularposition. Thischange gavethe team a new-found confi-dence thathelped themdominate thelast three

games. Another boost to the team’smorale was the return of TanyaGaviers, who had a great tourna-ment after recovering from an injury.The Devils are hoping to match lastyear’s 3rd place finish in theProvincials, and with a solid seasonbacking them, prospects of walkingaway with a win are looking good.

Pict

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by: K

atie

Glo

ver

mers.Even though Andrew and

Christine did not place first theyboth say that they tried their best.

“There was good competition

there,” explains Andrew “I’m quitehappy with how I placed.”

Andrew also says “it [theprovincials] was a great experience,and was worth while going.

I met some new friends and had alot of fun.”

Good job Christine and Andrew!Way to represent our school.

Andrew Kamchilime

Christine Lawson

Pict

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Charles Best player Nicole Battistel gets ready to pound the ball at the defenseless opposition

Page 8 Friday, December 1st, 2006SPORTSSPORTSSPORTSSPORTSSPORTS

The Senior boys soccerteam’s season ended on a sournote, as they lost both playoffgames in theFraser Valley’sand abruptlyended theirs h o r t - l i v e dplayoff run. Af-ter finishingfourth place dur-ing the regularseason, Best be-gan in the FraserValley tourna-ment against thefirst place MapleRidge team, whoended up win-ning the tourna-ment. After los-ing 5-1, theylooked to re-bound againstCentennial, butended up losing3-0, whichwrapped up astrong season, with a disappoint-ing ending.

The Fraser Valley’s are likethe playoffs, except in a tournamentformat. It is a double knockouttournament, where the two prevail-ing teams play each other for firstand second respectively. MapleRidge ended up winning the tour-nament.

The Blue Devils 6-3-1 recordwas respectable, but coach Mr.

Napoletano felt they underachieved.“We underachieved. Loses to theweaker teams hurt, and we endedup with a fourth place finish. Ahigher ranking would have given

us a better seeding, and a chanceof making Provincials.” Paul Minalso agreed, adding “The teamdidn’t reach its potential. Wecould’ve gone much further thanwe did in the season. Hopefullynext year, this year’s grade eleven’swill step it up and have a much bet-ter year.” Injuries and suspensionsto key players also didn’t help, asthey weakened the team and de-pleted the roster. Still, many play-

ers stood out. The top players ofthe year, as chosen by Mr.Napoletano, were Paul Min andKresimir Bebic on offence, RhysParsons and Scott Duncan on de-fence, and Matt Beers along withJustin Walry were the outstand-ing two-way players of the year.Goaltender Scott Redwood also hada “very good” season. “In the nextyears, our senior team should bestrong, especially with the juniorsmoving up,” stated Mr.Napoletano.

As for the Junior Boys team,they finished with a 2-3-1 record inthe regular season, and finishedjust short of the Fraser Valley’s.They lost in penalty shots in theirlast game, which decided whetherthey would make it into the playoffsor not. Coach Mr. Devaney ex-pressed that they “shouldn’t havebeen in the situation, but were be-cause of the lack of goals.” Thegoal of the team was to finish sec-ond or third and advance into theFraser Valley’s, but they came upjust short.

Even though the team failedits goal, the future is promising.Many players stood out as the sea-son progressed, especially KadeMcGregor, Taren Roughhead, KalJones and Paul Clerc- all had out-standing seasons. Though bothof the Charles Best soccer teamsdidn’t come home with the “hard-ware”, the Juniors and Seniors hadsatisfactory seasons, and, accord-ing to the coaches, should improvenext year.

Soccer Seasons Draw to a CloseSoccer Seasons Draw to a CloseSoccer Seasons Draw to a CloseSoccer Seasons Draw to a CloseSoccer Seasons Draw to a Close

Photo By Lauren Jeanneau

Dr Charles Best Defender fends off opposing team

The dream of any younghockey fan is to manage an NHLteam; to decide who stays and whogoes, who is traded and who isuntradable, and who is acquired viatrades. As we reach the quarter-mark of this year’s NHL season, Idecided to give myself said power.What changes would I make to theVancouver Canucks if given the op-portunity? Who has performed upto their capability, and who hasn’t?

After analyzing the facts and

performance of the Canucks so far,I chose three players that I wouldtrade at this point in the seasondue to lacklustre performance, andthree players throughout the restof the NHL who I would acquire toreplace them.

Get Outta Town!Brendan MorrisonThe Pitt Meadows native

has had a very poor start to theseason. Despite being reunited onthe ice with friend and team cap-tain Markus Naslund, Morrisonhas tallied an unacceptable 6 goalsin 24 games and sits at -6, definitelynot the output required of a sec-ond line centre.

Although there is sentimen-tal value attached to keepingMorrison in Vancouver --the old“grows up to play for the team heloved as a kid” story-- he has out-worn his welcome on the westcoast and needs to find himself anew home.

Jan BulisComing into the season,

Bulis was touted as the saviour ofthe second line, a player whowould bring secondary scoring tothe power play and at evenstrength.

After going the first 8 gamesof the season without a goal andbeing demoted to the fourth line,Bulis has only managed 3 goalsthrough 23 games and only has 7points overall. Only one phrasecomes to mind when thinking ofJan Bulis: “Get him outta here!”

Danny SabourinThe new backup goaltender

acquired off waivers at the start ofthe season has proved to be hugelyinadequate.

Though he has only started

2 games and played in three,Sabourin was visibly nervousand shaky letting in 2 goals in thefirst 4 minutes of his first startagainst the Oilers on October17th, and when called upon againagainst the Ducks on November9th, after Roberto Luongo allowed3 goals on 9 shots, Sabourin wasstill unable to hold down the fortas the Ducks cruised to an easy6-0 victory.

The Canucks need a solidbackup that can win them 5-10games when Roberto needs a

break, and Sabourin is not the manfor the job.

Welcome to Vancouver!Antoine VermetteThe young Senators

breakout has already scored morepoints this season than he did inall of 03/04, and is on pace tooutdo his point total last seasonby at least 20 points.

A player who takes minimalpenalty minutes, Vermette wouldbe a perfect replacement forMorrison on the second line andwould bring a much neededyouthful jump to the offense.

Ales HemskyThe young Oiler was pro-

jected to have a breakout yearthis season but has only managedto tally 4 goals through 22 games.

However, he redeems him-self with 14 assists and 18 pointsmaking him a perfect second lineset up man to play with Vermetteor maybe Ryan Kesler and AlexBurrows.

The Oilers may also givehim up at a cheaper price due tohis slow start.

Martin BironThe Sabres back up is re-

ally a capable starter that fell fromgrace last season due to the emer-gence of young prodigy RyanMiller.

With a 2 million dollar con-tract, the Sabres will be eager tounload Biron and the Canuckshave room to bring him in to backup Luongo.

This would erase the fearand questions regarding “Whatif Luongo gets hurt?” as Bironhas proven himself to be a capa-ble starter who can carry histeam.

The Canuck ReportThe Canuck ReportThe Canuck ReportThe Canuck ReportThe Canuck ReportBy Echo ReporterBrendan Batchelor

Ales Hemsky Jan Bulis

By Echo ColumnistZane Jiwa

Heather Teit is this monthsfemale MVP.

It is her fourth year play-ing basketball for Charles Best,and she is no stranger to the ath-letic department.

As a member of the CharlesBest Senior Girls volleyball team,Heather is a committed athlete.This all-around all star has earnedthe well-deserved MVP award forDecember. Her team mates havenominated her because she is apowerhouse on and off the court.

Her positive attitude af-fects the entire team, and helpsto keep both practices and gamesrunning smoothly

After voting for Heather,Lauren Parker explained her rea-soning for the vote: “She is avaluable addition to the team, and

nhl.com

canucks.com

BLUE DEVIL MVPS for DECEMBERBLUE DEVIL MVPS for DECEMBERBLUE DEVIL MVPS for DECEMBERBLUE DEVIL MVPS for DECEMBERBLUE DEVIL MVPS for DECEMBER

This month’s male MVP isAndrew Kamchilime.

a great post player.”Heather has also participated

in the yearly “Hoop it Up” camps,along with fellow team members.

Janice Quan, who also votedfor Heather, said that she is “verycalm” and “keeps the team solidi-fied.”

A valued team member,Heather’s attitude has made an im-pression on this school. From bothyour team and your peers, con-gratulations Heather; you deserveit!Heather THeather THeather THeather THeather Teiteiteiteiteit

Andrew representedBest at the BC Provincials.Andrew participated in threeevents: freestyle, butterfly andbreast stroke. Andrew placed15th in the freestyle event, and14th in the other two categories.All of events had fields of 32swimmers or more. Andrew alsoswims for the Hyack winterclub, which is notorious forpushing it’s members very hard.

Mr. Cairney describesAndrew : “Andrew hadImproved dramaticallythroughout the year, he is avery hard worker”.

Andrew was not onlychosen to be MVP for hisplacement in swimming, but forhis dedication and positiveattitude towards his placement.

AndrewAndrewAndrewAndrewAndrewKamchilimeKamchilimeKamchilimeKamchilimeKamchilime

By Echo ReportersKathryn Majdanski andKimberly Hession