Plugged In
Issue Two • the official school newspaper of Speedway Senior High School • November 14, 2014
Behind the scenes
“The Phantom Tollbooth”
opens tonight at the Jordan
Pam Albrecht
Plugged In
Staff Writer
The Phantom Tollbooth is a children’s story written
in 1961 by Norton Juster. This story is about a little
boy named Milo, and it elaborates his adventures
in the “Lands of Beyond.” This educational show
shows the adventures of a curious boy and his
adventures exploring the cities of Dictionopolis and
Digitopolis.
Why is this year’s fall
play a children’s play? According to Drama Director
Al Hoffman, “Along the
vein of The Little Prince, The
Invention of Hugo Cabret,
and Willy Wonka and The
Chocolate Factory, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton
Juster is not only one of my favorite children’s
books, it is simply one of my favorite books.”
“I wasn’t exposed to it until I was in my twenties,
but it struck a chord in me,” noted Hoffman. “The
story and its diverse group of characters resonate
on many levels with adults as well as with children.
When I discovered the adaptation for the stage by
Susan Nanus I couldn’t resist!”
Sophomore Kayelynn Woodlock and freshman Josie Gholdson, along with the entire cast of The Phantom Tollbooth invite you to this weekend’s performances. The
curtain opens at 7 p.m. tonight and tomorrow. Photo by >>>>>
The varsity volleyball Sparkplugs
represented Speedway with class
and dignity in their Regional
championship match with archrival Ritter. Despite losing in
five games, the girls could hold
their heads high, rallying from
two games to extend the match to
a decisive fifth game. They give
their student body fan base a lot
to shout about that night. Photos
courtesy of Brandon Knight and
Inter-State Studios.
See SPORTS on page four.
A life-changing cultural experience
Speedway students find great value in trip to Motegi
Speedway has been a sister city with Motegi, Japan since 2007. As part of
this program, seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students have had the chance
to venture there for ten days on four different occasions. It takes months of
prepping and fundraising to make this trip possible. This year, we had five
ninth grade students travel to the land of the rising sun and I had the absolute
pleasure of asking them assorted questions of their travels.
stood them very well so the conversation was never lacking.
PH: They were really nice. They kinda, like, gave me a little bit still of an
American feel like back here, but then they allowed me to try new things.
NS: I liked them. They
were nice and really shy
until the very last day.
What was your first thought when you got off the plane?
Christina Ellett: “I thought… ‘This is actually happening.’ All the work, it’s
finally here.”
Abbi Isenhart: “Oh my gosh. I’m in another country. I just got off a plane
because I had never been on a plane before.”
Peyton Hartman: “This isn’t America…this is going to be totally different from
home.”
Nick Strader: “... just happy to be off the plane and walk around and not
cramped up.”
Chris Carroll: “That I’m in Japan. It wasn’t really what I expected it to be. I
thought there would be taller buildings. Stuff like that.”
What did you think about
Allyson Burns
Plugged In
the movies, music, tv shows,
Staff Writer
etc.?
AI: Definitely a lot
weirder than America.
Definitely a lot more
colorful, too. Like, they love color. And, like, we were watching the news with
my host family and the news was like, like our news is like sophisticated and
you have like a guy in a suit and a girl in a dress. No, theirs was like a million
different colors and bubbles and some kind of character sitting in the corner.
I didn’t even know it was the news until I heard them talk about the weather.
CC: They listen to American. They’re influenced by us than we are of them.
And it seems like they’re a lot happier.
How did you feel about your host family?
CE: They were really nice. Like, I would ask if they needed help and they would
say “No we got it, you can go rest.
AI: They were pretty good. They were very kind and were always making sure I
had everything and the parents were high school English teachers so I under-
Which foods did you like the best? Which did you not like?
CE: I really like their soups. My least favorite food would probably be the sea
urchin.
continued on page two
2
Features
Behind the Scenes
Crew members help ensure a timeless performance
painting, and designing
just for the entertainment
of others.
One of our crew
members that frankly is
very important is our very
own “Jr. Crew Chief ”,
Pam Albrecht
Chris Pettigrew. This
Plugged In
Staff Writer
sophomore has only been
a crew member two years,
As you know, without the stage
but he is a very hard worker. “Chris
crew, nothing would really be there.
is the one that when I say jump, he
There’d just be a dark stage with
replies with ‘How high?” said crew
a bunch of weird people running
chief, Nate Hall. Even though “Jr.
around on a bare stage yelling so you
Crew Chief ” is not an official title, he
could hear them. Face it; crew is very
honestly filled this role with all aspects
important to any theatrical producof leadership skills, and hard working.
tion. All of the crew (including myEven in our work time, Chris along
self) spends countless hours building,
with junior Lucas Culp keeps all of
the people in the workshop laughing
and socializing.
Chris isn’t the only important person. All members of the crew family
are important; we each hold specific
roles and do different things. Lucas
and Chris are specifically building
crew, and then while my brother, an
eighth grader, and I work both build
crew and the lighting department.
Theater isn’t only a fun extracurricular, it’s a dysfunctional family. We’re
all a huge dorks, like to play around
all the time, and just be around each
other. Running around, and goofing
off is our specialty.
This is where your two sentence caption will be. The first
sentence will be a teaser describing the action and the second
sentence will include the names of the students in the photo.
Photo by Pam Albrecht.
Motegi kids tell all!
Speedway students tell their tales of their adventures
continued from page one
AI: There was some fried shrimp thing and I don’t know what it’s called. I can’t
remember for the life of me. That was really good and their soup is really good.
I do not like the raw fish. Like with sushi, I liked the eel; it’s just the texture.
PH: Well I disliked sushi. I mostly liked these Japanese barbecues where the grill
is already on the table.
NS: Probably when the dad grilled American food like beef and fish and stuff
like that. I didn’t like sushi.
CC: I liked different types of sushi like they had us try octopus and squid and
eel. Eel was okay. I didn’t like the octopus and they had us try salmon egg and
that wasn’t very good.
Did you learn any Japanese while you were there?
CE: I knew “kawaii” (cute). “Arigato gozaimasu” (formal thank you). That’s
about it. It’s hard to follow.
AI: I learned “kawaii” and “thank you” and I already knew “Kon’nichiwa”
(hello) and “ohayou” (good morning). It’s really hard to pick up.
PH: How to say “please” (dozo), how to say “yes” (hai), picked that up...I
learned names, like addressing, like “sempai” and stuff.
NS: A few words like “thank you” and “yes” and “good morning”.
CC: A few words but not much.
What compelled you to go on this trip? How has this trip changed you?
CE: I really, like, you know in America we’re known for our melting pot and we
have so many different cultures here and I really wanted to know theirs because
I saw a lot of it in America. It helped me learn about...just, people, I guess.
AI: I wanted to learn about a culture and I honestly didn’t care which one and
Japanese sounded very interesting because there was very different from our.
It also sounded fun and, like, a good experience. Like I never had before. This
trip kinda makes me want to be a better person because they’re very, like, put
together and calm and I’m not.
PH: I’ve always liked to travel and when they came over here, they had a great
experience over here and I wanted to see new things and experience a different
way of life there and compare to here. I don’t really know how it changed me.
It made me more willing to try new things. Like come out of my shell and meet
new people. Not necessarily learn a whole new language but learn enough to
survive.
NS: Just seeing people
go before and hearing
them talk about it and
just wanting to travel
Allyson Burns
more and try new things.
Plugged In
Staff Writer
It really makes me want
to travel more and go to
different places and learn
new cultures.
CC: I wanted to go and experience a different culture and I’ve always been
interested in Japan because I have a cousin that lives over there so I wanted to
see what it’s like personally. I know a lot more about Japanese people and more
knowledgeable about Japan.
What differences did you find in schools there than in Speedway?
CE: They cleaned everything. Like, they had no janitors or custodians. They also
had these slippers you had to wear inside. You have to take your shoes off and
wear these special slippers on and you walk around.
AI: Well, the slippers. Like their slippers, we don’t have them obviously. They
have to clean up themselves. Their classes are a lot smaller. Like, one of the
classes I went to at the high school with my buddy, there was four people in that
class. It was the front row and that was it.
PH: They had to clean up their own schools and the schools seemed much bigger and they’re all made out of wood. And the teachers switched classes not the
students.
NS: The kids there are really polite and it’s a lot cleaner even when the kids take
the responsibility and it’s just they’re all serious but they like to have fun at the
same time.
CC: They don’t have tvs in every classroom or promethean board, they don’t
have any air conditioning. They also eat lunch in their classrooms and they’re all
supposed to go brush their teeth afterward.
What were the technological differences in Japan?
AI: They still use flip phones over there. Like, they have IPhones and Samsung
and stuff but they use it like if you have it, you probably have more money than
continued on page four
Cartoon
{Cotton}
4 Sports Plus
And the winners were ...
Speedway’s fall athletes received many accolades for a job well done
On Monday night, students,
parents, coaches, family and friends
gathered at the Jordan Auditorium to
celebrate the accomplishments of the
Speedway fall sports teams. Again this
season, there was much to celebrate.
The girls volleyball team captured
its third straight sectional championship. They very nearly captured their
second straight regional championship
as their season ended in a fifth game
heartbreaking loss to arch-rival Ritter.
The boys soccer team won its second straight sectional championship.
After winning the Speedway sectional,
the boys defeated Fountain Central in
penalty kicks before losing to eventual
state runner-up Tri-West, 3-1 at the
Lebanon Regional championship.
Cross Country
By virtue of their performance
at the Ben Davis sectional, Andrew
Adkins, Mark Goshen, Jourdan Isaac,
Adam Otte, Evan Tiffany represented
Speedway at the Ben Davis Regional.
Not to be outdone by the guys, juniors Renee Fields, Lauren Dailey also
participated in the Ben Davis Regional
based on their top fifteen finish at the
Ben Davis Sectional.
Football
It was a bit of a rebuilding year for the
varsity football team. But Coach Steve
Wray’s first year at the helm showed
great promise in the final game of the
year. The boys hosted Monrovia and
had the Bulldogs on the ropes, losing
a tight 22-20 game to the eventual sectional champs. Seniors Sam Ahrens
and Jefferson Hall were named ICC
All Conference.
Soccer
Three seniors were members of
a program that has created a lot of
memories the last four years. Seniors
Blake Arevalos, Drew Jones, Michael
Tudor were all honored for their accomplishments by being named to the
All-ICC boys soccer team. The boys
were members of teams that won two
sectionals and a regional trophy, along
with being just the second boys soccer
team to reach the County finals.
BoysTennis
Fresh off a third place finish at the
ICC tournament, the boys team concluded sectional play with a tough oss
to Ben Davis. Junior Garrett Hornaday and Will Jackman advanced to the
Individual state doubles tournament
Regional round and were also named
to the ICC boys tennis all-conference
Team based on their runner-up finish
to state qualifier Park Tudor.
Volleyball
Senior setter Natalie Owens and junior
all-around player Melanie McHenry
were named to the All ICC Volleyball
Team, quite an accomplishment given
the depth of volleyball talent in the
ICC. McHenry has also been invited
to tryout for the ICGSA South junior
all-star team. Senior Sam Rusler was
also honored by the Indiana Coaches
of Girls Sports Association as a member of its Academic All-State Team.
Major Awards
Mental Attitude Award
Boys Cross Country – Andrew Adkins
Girls Cross Country – Lauren Dailey
Football – Jaden Powell
Boys Soccer – Blake Arevalos
Girls Soccer – Cato Van Der Kelen
Boys Tennis – Clay Robertson
Volleyball – Caitlynn Long
Hanna Scholastic
Football – Nick Smith
Boys Soccer – Blake Arevalos
Girls Soccer – Maddie McKinney
Boys Tennis – Cole Elam
Volleyball – Sam Rusler
Most Improved Player
Boys Cross Country – Adam Otte
Football – Collyn Carson
Boys Soccer – Melvin Castillo
Girls Soccer – Hannah Sherfick
Boys Tennis – Thabiso Ndlovu
Volleyball – Callie Collins
M.V.P.
Boys Cross Country – Jourdan Isaac
Girls Cross Country – Renee Fields
Football – Sam Ahrens
Boys Soccer – Drew Jones, Michael
Tudor
Girls Soccer – Sami Barry
Boys Tennis – Will Jackman
Volleyball – Melanie McHenry &
Natalie Owens
I.C.C. Academic Award Winners – Junior
& Senior varsity award winners with a
cumulative G.P.A. of 3.76 or higher.
• Cheerleading – Hope Hiller,
Kellie Sparks, Sydney Judge
• Cross Country – Evan Tiffany,
Renee Fields, Lauren Dailey
• Football – Nick Smith, Adam Scheck
• Boys Soccer – Blake Arevalos,
Tyler Mobley, Josh March
• Girls Soccer – Maddie McKinney
• Tennis – Cole Elam, Will Jackman
• Volleyball – Sam Rusler, Cait Long
What ranks as the best of the best?
Motegi students found many aspects of trip satisfying
continued from page four
another person but even their flip phones were touchscreen. They had touchscreen flip phones that I had never seen before.
CC: The daisuke (son) didn’t have an IPhone or anything like that and neither
did the younger sister. Only the dad had did so it’s different. They didn’t all have
Apple products. A lot more vending machines than we do here.
What was your favorite part of the trip? What was your favorite parts about Japan?
AI: The host families, probably. And seeing the different places. Like, their malls
are different, where they hang out is different. They don’t go where we go. Like
we would go to the park, they would go to like an arcade that has, like, everything like photo booths and stuff. It was very different. I liked how they were
much quieter than us, they’re not as rude so you know someone will help you if
you need help and they’re just more serene than we are.
PH: Probably hiking outside of town. And probably just experiencing everything and all the new friends I made and reaching with host family. Just the
people were my favorite part of Japan. They just took us in and they were really
nice to us and let us be comfortable and give us a great home.
NS: Being able to meet new people and explore a new place. My favorite part of
Japan would be Tokyo, probably because it’s just such a big city. I’m surprised
no one got lost.
CC: I enjoyed the time I had with my host family because that’s when I really
got to learn the most about Japanese culture. I loved the time I spent in Tokyo
and Tokyo’s country and all the stores and all that and all the vending machines
and there was a lot more wilderness there.
What surprised you the most about Japanese culture?
CE: I guess, how everything is really efficient than in America. It’s a big difference.
AI: Probably how they’re more open minded than we are. Like we Americans
are usually more stubborn.
PH: Probably all the various shrines and what they mean to them and what they
do for their religion and stuff.
NS: How serious they are when it comes to certain things. Like, Americans
don’t take things that seriously with religion and school and stuff like that.
CC: When they eat, they sit on the floor other than a chair. They always say a
little prayer before and after the meal. My family also had a little shrine and a
little temple in their living room and that was different than here.
Will you be at the opening show tonight?
continued from page one
“It is an imaginative story that
teaches children the importance of
communication through language and
mathematics, the rewards of perseverance, and the value of camaraderie,”
added Hoffman. “For adults, it is a
friendly reminder to not take ourselves
so seriously all the time.”
Does our cast think this is an
appropriate play for the Speedway
student body? And will our audience
agree? Senior Dominik Garcia anticipates the play and his role of King
Azaz the Unabridged.
“As King Azaz I hold reign over
all words,” said Garcia. “As a person
who loves words, I can relate to the
King very well. Of course I don’t
agree very well with my brother, the
Mathmagician and argue with him (as
I am) consistently and constantly disagreeing. I anticipate the audience to
see my love for words come through
in my character and be able to understand a bit about me as a person.”
The show opens tonight and will
also be performed on Saturday night.
Tickets are $10 at the door.