Peace Pipe Chatter
Volume 95
Edition 3
October 21, 2009
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Page 6
Who is the
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Page 5
Best Haunted
Houses
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Toy Story Movie
Review
Page 10
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Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
Welcome
Board hears several reports
by
Ryan Miller / Copy Editor
While few decisions were made at the Oct. 1 school board
meeting, the board members heard several good reports and one
complaint.
Three student council members Kelly Mitchell, senior, Marty Rahn, junior, and Stephanie Engel, junior, explained to the
Board what the plans for Homecoming were. They thoroughly
explained what would happen each day of the week, which included battle of the bands, a talent show put together by choir,
and lunch events that included karaoke, the finding nemo contest, and a duck pond. They also explained how they did court
registration online in order to save paper.
Five teachers also were regarded for receiving an ECOLAB
grants that totaled about $4,800. Three teachers were in attendance at the meeting: Mr. David Belden (social studies), Mr. Joe
Urbelis (Science), and Ms. Regis Komberda (science). Belden
used his share to purchase microphones for his oral reports, Urbelis bought special microscopes that allowed students to see
the objects in 3D, and Komberda bought a software that allowed
her chemistry and physics students to do and turn in homework
online.
It was then that the board listened to public comments,
where Mr. Rimes Stankus made a complaint about sophomores
not being able to park at South Campus and asked what would
be done about parking for the Homecoming Dance. The issues
were discussed for about 30 minutes. The board agreed to set up
a private meeting with Stankus.
On the cover:
The varsity cheerleaders hold up their Homecoming sign for the football team to
run out of during their game on Friday Oct. 9th against the Romeoville Spartans.
Photo taken by editor-in-chief Jacki Kaluzny.
A special thank you
Designed by Jacki Kaluzny
Peace Pipe Chatter
Minooka Community High School
301 S. Wabena Avenue
Minooka, IL 60447
(815) 467-2140 Voicemail: ext 264
[email protected]
Editors-In-Chief
A&E Editor
Jacqueline Kaluzny
D.J. Valera
Sydney Trepel
Aubrey Aspan
Erick Klank
Cover Design
Editorial Editor
Sydney Trepel
Iman Bradley
News Editor
School News Editor
David Tibble
Taylor Roop
Features Editor
Assist. Sports Editor
Melissa Magnus
Jake Hoffman
Elliot Johnson
Sports Editor
South Editor
Mike Noe
Journalism I
Interactive Editor
Chatter Room Editor
Jacqueline Kaluzny
Ryan Miller
Copy Editor
Sports Photographer
Ryan Miller
Taylor Roop
David Tibble
Elliot Johnson
A&E Photographer
Aubrey Aspan
News/Features
Photographer
Susan Bahret
South Photographer
Journalism I
Journalism I:
Adaue Ajiere, Elnina Bartoli, Alexa Bowen, Baylee Dibble, Nicole
Eberhard, Christopher Evans, Brandon Fierke, Angelica Gonzalez, Ashley Groll, Elizabeth Guldenbecker, Samantha Harer, Austin Hough, Jamie Huff, Catherine Jostes, Mallory Keck, Joseph
Koenig, Shannon Lawlor, Danielle Luttrell, Michael Naszkiewicz,
Dutch Nave, Liz Purcell, Carrie Rickmon, Paige Toepper, John
Walsh
The Peace Pipe Chatter would like to thank Student Council for all of their hard work put into
this years Homecoming Week. They put countless time and effort into making Homecoming a
memorable event.
Submission Policy:
The Peace Pipe Chatter strongly encourages suggestions
and/or responses to material printed on its pages.
Letters to the Editor should be submitted to Mr. Thomas’s
mailbox or to a Peace Pipe Chatter editor.
While submission does not guarantee publication, PPC
staff members will do their best to respond to all
admissions. Submissions will not be returned. All submissions are subject to editing and will not be printed if they are
considered to be inappropriate. They must be signed but
may be printed anonymous upon request.
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
Opinion
Two weeks of
school.... Two
weeks Off
Chris Rolnicki /
Features Editor
by
Wouldn’t it be great to have a break
of school every so often? Well all year
-round schooling is for you. “The yearround schooling is proven to have helped
students with learning, doing assignments
on time, and is less stressful on people,”
said Melissa Kelly from 712 educators.
about.com.
The most popular example of year
round education is the 45-15 plan. This
has students attending school 45 days
and then getting three weeks 15 days off,
there is also the 60-20 plan and the 90-30
plan.
A lot of people use all year-round
schooling like other countries. Japan
uses it and is very successful and they
don’t have summer breaks so they can
retain the information very well. So why
don’t we do the same?
“Students tend to lose a lot of knowledge during the summer,” said Clark Terborg, junior.
Most students actually get tired of
having the long summer and would
rather have shorter breaks. It’s easier to
schedule vacations because not everybody wants to go on vacation at the same
time.
Since 1987, a number of public
schools have decided to start using a
year- round school system. Do you know
how many schools are using a year round
school system or how many children are
affected by the use of year round school?
The statistics in this article will most
likely surprise you. “From the school
year 1987-1988 to the school year 20022003, there was a 544 percent increase
in year-round school implementations
“Two weeks of school”
continued on page 13
3
Designed by Iman Bradley
Longer school
days not needed in
society
Ryan Miller/
Copy Editor
by
President Obama announced September 27 that he is proposing that year-round
schooling become a mandatory education
system in the U.S. There are many things
wrong with this general proposal. Year
round schooling has been done in may different ways, one being the 45-15 plan. As
a regular school calendar must accumulate
at least 180 days, the 45-15 plan says that
students are in school for 45 days and then
get three weeks (15 days) off. The other two
known plans include the 60-20 and 90-30
day plans which follow the same guidelines
as the 45-15.
The disadvantages of this idea are numerous, such as parents having to choose
between staying home and watching their
younger kids or finding an affordable daycare or babysitter in order to work, schools
would have less maintenance, and student
tuition fees would go up, along with higher
costs for school districts.
First off, year-round schooling is an option school districts may participate in if the
community feels it necessary. If the president feels that he needs to control our education system, then what else will he bother
to change? It is an option because not many
school communities would be able to afford
the school being open for that long.
Another issue is the costliness of the
idea. According to K12 academics.com,
while cost effective in the short term, it actually ends up costing more due to higher
utility costs, less or no down time for building maintenance, and the loss of opportunity
to build before the cost of labor and materials rise after population increases force the
building of new facilities.
A disadvantage of the year-long plan is
the overall cost for parents. The more school
there is, the higher the cost of student admission will be, taking more money out of
parents’ paychecks. Also, for parents with
younger children, it would mean that one of
the spouses would have to quit their job and
stay home to watch their kids, or find an affordable daycare that could watch them for
extended periods of time. Parents already
try to spend time with their kids and raise
them in a family environment while trying
to tackle the hassle of a regular school year;
so making school year round would only
complicate matters even worse.
Another factor to think about is the tourism industry. According to a Foxnews.com
article, in one popular East Coast resort area
alone -- the New Jersey shore -- the average cost of a rental home is $1,500 to $2,000
a week, according to realtors. In the tourist town of Wildwood, N.J., approximately
7 million visitors flood the boardwalks,
beaches, and restaurants from mid-June to
September, spending over $185 million on
hotels and prepared food and beverages
alone, according to John Siciliano, executive director of the Wildwood Tourism Authority. Resort, vacation, and even little
beach areas like Wildwood would all feel a
devastating blow due to people not staying
as long as they normally would.
Another issue with the idea is that kids
really aren’t going to sit in class any longer
than they have to. As a student, I know the
stress and the overall struggle to stay awake
in class is enough to make a student go berserk. Having an extended period of time in
school will burn us out, become rebellious,
and would discourage students to do their
work even more. Another factor are health
concerns for students when they attend
schools in the summer season, being that in
some areas like Texas or Arizona, temperatures get so high, that it could be dangerous
for student health.
On the topic of students, summer jobs
would become a thing of the past, as students would not have a time to really find
the time for a job, thereby never being able
to own a car, and never having the opportunity that our parents and grandparents had.
Overall, the idea of year-round schooling will bring down the economy and our
nations youth so much, that we basically
wouldn’t be the country our fore-fathers
sworn to protect and let us live freely.
Having year-round schooling a mandatory idea in the U.S. is clearly a destructive
one. It not only will make life for students
and teachers harder, but also small communities, vacation areas, and parents. Some
may say that students would retain more
knowledge, this however is uncertain. A
student can only learn if they truly want
too; meaning that forcing kids to stay longer
in school and making them learn, will not
make them learn anything at all.
4
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
News
by Taylor Roop /
School News Editor
Designed by David Tibble
Terror plot foiled
On Sept. 19, an Afghan-born man from
Colorado was charged with planning to
create bombs with household chemicals
made by beauty supplies he had recently
purchased from beauty supply stores near
Denver.
Najibullah Zazi, 24, is now being
charged with plotting to set off weapons
of mass destruction in the United States.
According to CNN.com, one of the workers
said he was a “regular” at one of the stores.
His excuse for buying so many supplies was
that “he had a lot of girlfriends”. According
to workers at two of the stores, federal
agents had been visting to do investigation
on the case. A worker at a third store had
been receiving calls from the FBI.
“That excuse sounds real believable!”
said Sean Macko, junior.
of conspiracy to use weapons of mass
destruction. He was transferred from
“That excuse sounds
real believable,”
-Sean Macko, junior.
Zazi was arrested at his home in Aurora
Saturday night and a federal grant jury
in New York indicted him on one count
Colorado to New York to be arraigned. If
convicted, he faces a potential life sentence
in prison.
Zazi’s father, Mohammad Wali Zazi, 53,
and his muslim cleric, Ahmad Wais Afzali,
37, were charged with lying to federal
agents in the case. Both have been released,
but federal agents have requested to keep
Najibullah without bail.
Federal agents found nine pages of notes
on how to create and use TATP, a highly
explosive compound, which can be made
using chemicals found in everyday items
such as nailpolish remover.
“Scary what people can do with stuff
that you have in your house all the time,”
said Patrick Meyers, junior.
Zazi travelled to Pakistan in August
2008 and returned in January of 2009.
During his time in Pakistan, he attended
classes on weapons and explosives at an al
Qaeda training facility.
2016 Olympic host city announced
D.J. Valera /
Editor-in-Chief
by
Athens, Sydney, Barcelona, London, all
of these cities have had the privilege to host
initial application of confirmation to the
IOC (International Olympic Committee) by
Sept. 2007, a 25-question IOC form was to
be submitted by Jan. 2008.
In total, seven cities applied to host the
2016 Olympic Voting First Round:
Chicago: 18 votes
Tokyo: 22 votes
Madrid: 28 votes
Rio de Janeiro: 26 votes
the Summer Olympic Games. On Friday,
Oct. 2 2009, the city Rio de Janeiro in Brazil
was named the host of the 2016 games. The
first time a South American country is to
host the Summer Olympic Games.
The 2016 Summer Olympic Games
bidding started back in May 2007. First all
cities that wanted to host had to submit an
game. By June 2008, the IOC eliminated
three cities, leaving Chicago, Madrid, Rio
de Janeiro, and Tokyo as the four candidate
cities. From Jan. 2009 to March 2009, a ten
member Evaluation Commission made onsite inspections of the candidate cities and
submitted the reports on Sept. 2, 2009.
The final decision was made in
Copenhagen, Denmark
on Oct. 2, 2009. The
decision was made
through
a
voting
election in a total of
three rounds of voting.
Chicago was eliminated
in the first round and
Tokyo the second. Rio
de Janeiro won in the
third round when it
garnered a total of 66
votes, while Madrid
only mustered up 32.
“It stinks that Chicago didn’t get it,” said
senior Matt Bechard. “But Rio isn’t that bad
of a choice either.”
According to an article on cnn.com,
Brazillian President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva was brought to tears after hearing the
results.
“I’ve never won a gift before,” said da
Silva. “Today, people who don’t even know
me gave me the greatest gift that a president
could have: to host the Olympic Games.”
“It stinks that Chicago
didn’t get it,” -Matt
Bechard, senior.
The 2016 Summer Olympic program is
scheduled to feature a total of 26 sports and
38 disciplines. The final decision on what
sports were to be included in the games took
place on Oct.9 by the IOC.
Even though the games for the summer
of 2016 are still about six and a half years
away, there already is excitement and
anticipation for it. This excitement and
anticipation doesn’t have to wait too long,
however, since the 2010 Winter Olympic
Games are just around the corner.
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
School News
5
Rachel ’s Challenge Touches Minooka
by Iman
Bradley /
Editorial Editor
On Tuesday Sept. 29, 2009 a special guest, also a friend of Rachel Scott,
Adam Northam, came to present Rachel’s Challenge to MCHS students.
There was a lot of emotion roaring
around as student listen to Rachel’s stories and predictions. The assembly is designed to desire for positive change.
At the assembly Northam presented
students with Rachel’s touching story.
The students also watched clips of Columbine victims tell their stories about
their point of view of the massacre.
Northam recited some of Scott’s famous
quotes from her diary and essay, which
was found after her death. He also wanted the students to accept Rachel’s challenge to not judge people on the way
they look, but by their character.
Moved by Rachel’s story Charmaine
March, junior said, “Rachel’s Challenge
has really change me and the way I look
at people. Ever since the assembly I
have become a better person.”
On April 20, 1999 Rachel Scott was
the first student who was shot in the Columbine High School Massacre. Before
she died one of her goals was to impact
peoples lives. Her family, along with other people, is making her goal into a reality
by going to schools to tell students about
Rachel’s story and teaching them how to
prevent prejudice and violence.
Before the presentation at Central
Campus, students were trained at the
south campus to learn how to influence
students to have a positive attitude towards their fellow classmates. The training session was about 45 minutes long,
involving both adult and student leaders
that show how to sustain the momentum
created by the assembly they also taught
the “how to” and ensures that the positive
impact will continue.
Tabatha Woodridge, senior, said, “I’m
glad I got to experience the Rachel’s
Challenge thing. I’m ready to teach people what I was taught.”
Northam asked students to accept Rachel challenge. The five challenges are:
1. Eliminate prejudice by looking
for
the best in others.
2. Dare to dream, set goals
WHO IS
by Soozie Bahret/
Head Photographer
“Every morning I see the
same guy holding the door.
Who is he?” asked junior Allison Baker.
This question has probably
puzzled a lot of students at
MCHS who, day after day, see
the same person kindly holding the door open for them.
His name is Alex Soto and he
is a senior at Minooka.
“Just call me Alex,” said
the mysterious doorman. Now the big question is,
why? Why did he start, why
does he continue?
“I just felt like it. And I
guess I still feel like it,” says
Alex. He leaves five minutes
before the bell rings in order to
make it to class on time.
“I think he is so nice,” said
junior Kevin Murphy, “I doubt
any other school has someone
who is sweet enough to hold
the door open for everyone.”
“The best part is just being
nice to people,” said Soto.
“He’s been doing it since
last year,” said senior Collin Brady, “Even when it was
Designed by Soozie Bahret
The student body and faculty of MCHS watch and learn from Northam about Rachel Joy Scott’s challenge to the world. Photo taken by Head Photographer Soozie
Bahret.
and keep a journal.
Inspired by Rachel Scott, Tadrianna
3. Choose you influences; input equals Hutcherson, junior, said, “Everyone aloutput.
ways says they want to be different, but
4. Use kind words. A small act of kindness do something the same, start a chain reacequals a huge impact.
tion.”
5. Start a chain reaction with family and
In Rachel’s essay she says, “I have this
friends. Students accepted that challenge theory that if one person can go out of
by signing their signature on a huge ban- their way to show compassion then it will
ner during their lunch period.
start a chain reaction of the same.”
the doorman?
snowing.
“That’s the worst part,” says Soto,
“Always getting cold. I’ll probably
keep doing it in the winter though, as
long as I don’t freeze my hands off.”
Soto’s hobbies are hanging
with his friends
and sleeping. If
he could meet
anyone it would
be Will Smith,
his favorite actor because “he would be
an interesting person to talk to.”
“Alex was in one of my classes
last year,” says senior Lyndsay Doyle,
“He’s smart!”
According to him his best subject
is science because it has always come
easy to him.
“Next year, I’ll probably go to Illinois State or I of U,” he said. “I want
to be a biologist.”
Soto has been
through four years
of highschool and
when asked if he
has any advice for
students, he simply
replied: “Don’t take life too seriously.”
After learning a little bit about him,
the question we are left with is, will
anyone fill the shoes after doorman
Alex Soto is gone?
“Don’t take life
too seriously”
Soto, takes his usual position in the morning at the
front doors. Photo taken
by Soozie Bahret.
6
Above: Seniors Eric Garavaglia and Nick
Kettman flaunt their musical talent in a karaoke
competition during lunch. Kettman went on to
be crowned Homecoming king the following day
at the dance.
Below: Seniors Nick DeRango, Julie Ramsak,
Jacki Kaluzny, and Cody Carter pose together
before going to the dance. “This years dance
topped all the other years by far,” said Ramsak.
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
Features
the
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Homecoming
Week 2009
Top: The senior class rushes the football field to celebrate their 28-21 victory
over the juniors in their powderpuff game. “This years win was such a rush,”
said Andrea Carlson, senior. “Two years in a row, you can’t top that.”
Above: The varsity football team played against the Romeoville Spartans
during their Friday night football game. The Indians took home the win, 56-22.
Designed by Jacki Kaluzny
Above: To show their homecoming spirit,
seniors Sean Coyle and Brittany Bersano wore
their tie-dyed apparel to school. Bersano was
crowned this years Homecoming Queen.
Below: The MCHS band performed during
the halftime show of the Homecoming football
game. Senior John Bond played the turmpet
during his solo act of the performance.
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
Features
Designed by Melissa Magnus
Local haunted attractions bring on a scare
by
Melissa Magnus / Features Editor
Find your way through the dark
halls of Statesville Haunted Prison
encountering some of the most dangerous monsters known to be admitted into the
jail cells. Featuring over 200 experienced actors; Statesville Haunted Prison has been haunting the Chicago area for
more than 10 years. If you are 15 years old, or younger, you
must be accompanied by a paid adult in order to be admitted. Ten brand new rooms have been added to the thirty
other attractions within the walls of this deadly prison for
the upcoming 2009 season. The general admission price of
$30 includes not only an approximately 30 minute long tour
within the prison, but another smaller attraction known as
The City of the Dead. Statesville is known for their gory
themes, and elaborate costumes. If you do not make it all
the way through the attraction you will not be refunded.
Once again, it’s the Halloween season, and some
of the scariest ghouls, and ghosts are rising from the
shadows of the spookiest haunted attractions in Illinois. If you are looking for a scare, get a group of
friends together and go to one of the many haunted house attractions not too far from home. It’s a fun
and affordable way to get into the Halloween spirit!
Basement of the Dead Haunted House
Aurora
Hours: Friday-Saturday 7 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Sundays and Thursdays: 7 p.m. - 11 p.m.
General Admission $13 cash only
Visit www.42fear.com for more information
Are you afraid of the dark? If so, then Basement of the
Dead is not a place for you! This bone-chilling attraction is
based off of the fictional story of Al and Imus Kilya’s haunting deaths in the basement of an old laundry facility. The
industrial setting sets an uneasy and frightening mood of
the “haunted basement.” With special effects, and trained
actors, you and your friends will be put through 20 minutes
of unrelenting terror. The scare level is high, not allowing any admissions from children under 13 years of age.
trained actors, evil clowns, dark winding hallways, aliens,
and vampires. The Abyss does not allow any admissions under the age of 13 unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Minooka
General Admission $15
Visit www.abysshaunts.com for more information
If you are looking for an attraction close to home than
you found it, The Abyss haunt is located right in Minooka,
and it will surely bring you a good scare. The Abyss features
Crest Hill
Hours: Fridays-Saturday 7 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Sundays and Thursdays 7 p.m. - 11 p.m.
General Admission: $30 group prices, and flash passes
also available
Visit www.statesville.org for more information
The Abyss
Dream Reapers
A student is seen holding a coupon advertising Statesville’s
new and exciting Halloween season. Photo taken by PPC
Photographer Soozie Bahret.
Statesville Haunted Prison
Melrose Park
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.
(Halloween week only)
Fridays-Saturday 7 p.m. - 11 p.m.
General admission $16 group prices, and flash passes
also available
Visit www.dreamreapers.com for more information
Rated the #1 haunted house in the state of Illinois for
three years in a row, Dream Reapers is guaranteed to bring
you a big scare. With over 22 rooms, 40 animatronics, and
more than 40 trained actors; this haunted attraction has created a unique scare that is surely not recommended for the
faint of heart. All ages are accepted, but children under 10
years are not recommended. Dream Reaper’s haunted house
is over 1400 square feet of pure terror…enter if you dare!
MCHS votes on top 10 scariest movies
by
Sydney Trepel / A&E Editor
October 31st is notorious for one thing and one
thing only—frights. What better way to get yourself a little Halloween thrill by watching a scary
movie? As voted in a random poll of 50 MCHS students, here are the top rated scary movies of all time.
1. The Exorcist
Based on the last known Catholic-sanctioned exorcism
in the United States, The Exorcist is considered to be one
of the top thriller movies of all time. In the movie, 14-yearold Regan, who had once been a normal teenage girl, suddenly becomes plagued with fits and bizarre behavior.
Regan’s family calls in a priest who convinces them that
their daughter is possessed by the Devil. Both the priest
and Regan suffer numerous horrors and terrors during their
struggle to get rid of the demons. The Exorcist was originally released in 1973 and was directed by Jason Miller.
2. The Silence of the Lambs
In this multiple Oscar-winning thriller, Clarice Starling is
a top student at the FBI’s training academy. Due to her impressive analyses of serial killers, Starling lands her a special assignment—investigating a vicious murderer named
Buffalo Bill, who is known for the brutal techniques he uses
to kill his victims. Through her investigation of Buffalo Bill,
Starling ends up interviewing the infamous Dr. Hannibal
Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist turned psychopath who is serving time in jail for various murders and acts of cannibalism.
“Scary Movies” continued on page 13
8
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
South
Driver Ed difficulties
by
Katie Jostes /
Journalism I
Some students of the 21st century
think that driver’s education is one of the
best classes you could ever take. Others
don’t know the downside or difficulties
of that class.
“You don’t get gym out of the way,”
said Ontario Kostka, 15, sophomore.
This was on the issue of downsides of
first semester driver’s ed.
Many sophomores think it’s irritating
that they have to wait until at least junior
year to park your car anywhere on
campus grounds.
Also, driver’s ed takes a lot of study.
“You basically take lots of tests and
learn the rules of the road. It turns into
a study hall at the end of the year,” said
Kostka.
First of all, you have to be a least
15 to be eligible for driver’s education.
Something else freshmen may not know
is that in order to get a permit, they have
to pass the permit test and get good
grades in the class.
“You can take drivers ed during
sophomore year, or over the summer,”
said Liz Castro and Danielle Burne,
sophomores.
“You need 50 hours total, but 10 hours
have to be night hours,” said Castro.
As you can see, driver’s ed isn’t just
taking off behind the wheel. There is a
lot of preparation involved before you
can even get your permit.
A car is parked outside Central Campus
which is the only campus students can
park at. Photo by Katie Jostes.
Designed by Chris Evans
Pesky pass problems with new planners
by
Mallory Keck /
Journalism I
Many students are probably facing the
same problem this year when it comes to
hall passes: why are there so few?
Last year students had eight passes for
every week, while this year there are 84 for
the entire year.
With the eight passes for each week,
students found themselves still savoring
every last pass, and even sometimes having
to tap into their future accounts if an
emergency called for it.
“It’s really tough for me because I go to
the bathroom at least three times a day at
school,” said sophomore Ashley Miller.
Another problem is that in resource
students often leave the room multiple
times.
Sophomore Kinsey Minor said, “I have
a routine in resource: I go to my locker
halfway through the period and I usually go
to the library, too, in the beginning. I already
used up almost the entire front page.”
Dean Renee Ebel said, “We felt that 84
passes was a sufficient amount.
Roughly that’s one pass every
other day.”
One pass every other day
means around two or three passes
a week, which is less than half of
what students had last year.
Second semester, students
might find themselves without
any more passes.
“We do not anticipate that
happening, but if it becomes an A filled out pass page shows how students have troubles
issue we will survey the staff and with the number of passes provided. Photo by Mallory
decide collectively on the best Keck
course of action,” said Ebel.
Another question students
why students may now notice that campus
were wondering was regarding the printing monitors have stations set up in the majority
errors in the planner, and if the hall passes of corners.
were one of those errors.
Another one of those factors was
“It was an error that the passes were left vandalism: especially in the bathrooms.
out [originally], but it was not an error that “That was a factor that was considered [in
the passes were reduced,” said Ebel.
making the decision], but it was not the sole
There were many factors that went into reason,” said Massey.
the decision of changing the number of hall
For now students will have to continue
passes, one of those being roaming the halls, to save their passes and hope that they can
according to Dean Sarah Massey. This is make it through the rest of the year.
Top 10: Halloween Costumes 2009
by
Danielle Luttrell /
Journalism I
The PPC surveyed students at South
Camus to see what students’ favorite
costumes for 2009 Halloween are; here is
what they came up with.
1.Banana
The yummy yellow fruit that everyone
loves to eat, and apparently dress up as. “I
think banana is the best because its original
and random, who would be a banana?” said
Nicole Eberhard, freshman.
2. Princess
Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping
Beauty, every little girl wanted to be one
of these Disney characters when they were
little. “When I was little I always wanted
to dress up like a princess!” said Taylor
Downing, sophomore.
3. SpongeBob
The famous Nickelodeon character that
lives in Bikinibottom with all his friends.
4. Scream
The mask the killers wear in the Scream
movies.
5. Vampire
The fanged monsters that have been
recently made popular again from the
Twilight saga. “Vampires suck,” joked
Bobby Smith, freshman.
6.Superhero
Spiderman, Superman, and Batman, the
superheroes that little boys wanted to be
when they were little.
7. Movie star
Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe
are some of the famous movie stars that
people like to dress up as.
8. Witch
Scary men and women that can cast spells
and make potions.
9. Rock star
Gene Simmons is just one of many
famous rock stars that people like to dress
up as.
10. Hippie
Peacemakers from the 60’s and 70’s.
“All my friends and I are being hippies
for Halloween,” said Brittany Ditch,
sophomore.
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
A&E
Fall into some great concerts this fall
Who’s playing where and when in the upcoming months.
by Eric Klank / A&E Editor
Everyone loves music, and now that
homecoming is over there really isn’t
to much to do around here. Thankfully, there are a lot of concerts this fall.
For anyone that’s into Alternativerock Wilco is playing two dates this fall,
who just released their selft titled 7th album name “Wilco.” They’re playing on
October 18th and on the 19th. They’re
an established alternative rock band that
has created a solid following of fans for
a reason, and are Chicagoland natives,
so the show is something not to miss.
American Idol. That’s all that needs to
be said about Kelly Clarkson, the American Idol winner is the first, and last to be
truly successful. She’s had hits like “Since
you’ve been gone” along many others, and
is coming to the Rosemont theatre this October 27th. Also on the 27th is Disney pop
star Miley Cyrus, so even after American
Idol Kelly Clarkson still has competition.
Miley Cyrus is playing at the United Center.
Another great rock band is coming
through Chicago this fall. The band “Train”
is playing at the Vic Theatre on the 2nd
of November. Train is most commonly
known for their song “Drops of Jupiter.”
Gene Simmons is also stopping by
Chicago this fall. Legendary classic rock
band Kiss is playing, and playing with
them is band Buckcherry. Two great
bands at the same show, truly awesome.
There isn’t a lot of love for the Chicago land area when it comes to rap or
hip-hop this fall, but R. Kelly is stopping by. He is playing November 17th at
the Auditorium Theatre. For all the metal
fans Rob Zombie is going to be playing
the Aragon Ballroom on November 22nd.
All Time Low is playing this fall in
Chicago on the 22nd and the 23rd at the
House Of Blues. They’re playing with the
Friday Night Boys, and Hey Monday. Hey
Monday is a band similar to Paramore, and
this show may easily be one of the biggest
shows this fall in Chicago, and for that reason this show is playing on back to back
nights at the house of blues.
Overall, there are some great concerts
that you do not want to miss out on, especially after some students at MCHS already
missed the Taylor Swift show for Homecoming, going to the concerts this fall is a great
and smart way to keep yourself entertained.
Designed by Eric Klank
Who’s
playing?
Where?
When?
Wilco
UIC
Pavillion
October 18-19
Kelly
Clarkson
Rosemont
Theatre
October 27
Miley Cyrus
United
Center
October 27
Train
Vic
Theatre
November 2
Kiss &
Buckcherry
Riviera
Theatre
November 6
R. Kelly
Auditorium
Theatre
November
17
Rob
Zombie
Aragon
Ballroom
November
22
All Time Low
&
Hey
Monday
House
of
Blues
November
23
Not so subtle performances at battle of the bands
by
Eric Klank/ A&E Editor
Tuesday during Homecoming week
MCHS hosted a battle of the bands. The battle of the bands this year was put together
by junior Marty Rahn, and was helped with
other student council members, including Matt Stewart, junior, who was overall
pleased with the battle of the bands. “The
battle of the bands was kind of chaotic for
me, but it was a lot of fun,” said Stewart.
This year’s Homecoming battle of the
bands had four acts. The first act to play was
the Violin Girl, she played her violin and
combined it with other various sound effects
to give her act a unique and interesting act.
Next up was band Subtle Uproar, a ska
band. The band was a mixture of MCHS
students, including junior Anthony Abbonato, and senior John Bond, and students from the Plainfield area. They played
some original songs they had made, but
covered two songs by established ska favorites, like the song “Yesterday” by
Mustard Plug, and “The Science of Selling Yourself Short” by Less Than Jake.
Overall, Subtle Uproar did a great job
in making the crowd feel like they are
part of the show and they did a great job
entertaining everyone. Sophomore Jake
Jarz was especially entertained by them.
9
“Subtle Uproar was amazing! Their drummer is also a prodigy, and had an amazing solo,” said Jake Jarz, Sophomore.
Up after them was hardcore band Reaching For Alaska. They were a hardcore-screamo band. All of the members of the band
showed great stage presence and always
kept the crowd entertained. Aaron Haney, junior, was the only member of Reaching For
Alaska that is currently attending MCHS.
The last band to play was an acoustic duo
called the Sean and Mack Experience. They
were very entertaining as a whole, and played
many cover songs ranging from “Lovebug”
by the Jonas brothers to the song “Closing
Time” by Semisonic. Singer Sean Coyle and
guitarist Mack Theil cracked a lot of jokes
about anything ranging from him and Mack,
to anyone that was attending the show.
After all was said and done the top three
acts were awarded cash prizes, ranging from
$79 to over $320. The winner was announced
on the amount of applause they received,
and the band with the most applause won.
The Sean and Mack Experience came
into third place. There was then a close debate into who had won between Reaching
For Alaska and Subtle Uproar. Reaching
For Alaska came into a close second place,
therefore, giving the win to Subtle Uproar.
10
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
A&E
Designed by Aubrey Aspan
The Lost Symbol doesn’t measure up
David Tibble /
News Editor
by
Six years ago, the novel The Da Vinci
Code by Dan Brown was released and
captivated the world. It became Harry
Potter for adults mainly because word of
mouth spread about its “controversial”
subject matter.
Despite all of the scandal surrounding
the book, it was also a well-written and
exciting thriller. It even spawned a movie
directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom
Hanks as the main character, Harvard
symbologist Robert Langdon.
With all the success that The Da Vinci
Code has had, people knew there had to be
a follow-up coming (The Da Vinci Code
was actually the follow-up to the 2000
novel Angels and Demons). All that was
known about the follow-up to The Da
Vinci Code was that it would take place
in America, unlike the European settings
of Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci
Code. People waited anxiously for it, and
after six long years, a longer wait than for
any Harry Potter book, The Lost Symbol
has finally arrived.
similar to The Da Vinci Code because it
The Lost Symbol once again stars
involves Landon hopping from landmark
Robert Langdon. Langdon’s mentor
to landmark to decipher lost clues to
Peter Solomon asks Langdon to come to
discover an ancient secret. The problem
Washington, D.C., to speak on his behalf
with it is that we’ve seen it before and it
at a banquet. When Langdon arrives,
was a lot more fresh and fun the first time
however, he discovers that Solomon has
around. It may just be the personal tastes
been kidnapped. The man who kidnapped
of this reviewer, but finding
him wants to use
the Holy Grail in The Da
Langdon’s symbology
Vinci Code was a lot more
skills to discover an
interesting than discovering
ancient secret hidden by
lost wisdom hidden by the
the Masons. The Masons
Masons.
are a secret society
Even without all the
that actually exists and
controversy, The Da Vinci
has been prominent
Code worked because it was
in American history.
a fast-paced and suspenseful
Solomon himself is a
thriller. For the most part,
Mason. The kidnapper
The Lost Symbol is not.
will kill Solomon
There should be a sense of
if Langdon doesn’t
urgency in the book because
discover the secret. Thus
Langdon should be racing
begins a race through
David Tibble shows off his to help find his friend, but
many landmarks in
copy of The Lost Symbol.
the first half of the book has
our nation’s capital to
Photo taken by Soozie
major pacing issues. The first
discover the ancient
Bahret.
half the book drags because
mysteries hidden by the
there is a constant stream
Masons.
of lectures by Langdon about the Masons
The best thing about The Lost Symbol
and background information about the
is also its biggest problem; it is The Da
Vinci Code in America. The plot is way too Solomon family. Much of this information
Toy Story 3D a
by
Aubrey Aspan /
A&E Editor
The classic story of Woody and Buzz
Light-year has come back in 3d as a
campaign for the new Toy Story 3 coming
out in June of 2010.
The first release of Toy Story was
in 1995 and instantly became a huge
hit. This is a story about a cowboy doll
named Woody who becomes extremely
jealous after Andy gets a new action figure
spaceman for his birthday and becomes his
could have been cut down significantly,
and the reader still would have known
what is going on. The book also suffers
because crucial information is revealed far
too slowly. Things pick up in the second
half, but people with little patience will
have likely given up on the book by then.
Brown’s writing style has been
criticized in the past for having too many
lectures, but up until The Lost Symbol, it
was never really a problem. It really hurts
the flow of the story, but the story itself
wasn’t as interesting this time around.
Many people will tell say that
Angels and Demons was Brown’s best
book because it had the most interesting
story and was really fast-paced.
The Lost Symbol is not bad by any
means. The second half the book is much
faster-paced and more interesting. For The
Lost Symbol, Brown has created his most
interesting villain yet. The villain, who
goes by the name Mal’akh, at first seems
like a one-note character, but as more
information is reveled about him as
“Lost Symbol” Continued
on page 13
new twist on a classic story
new favorite toy. After trying to get rid of
Buzz, the two characters find themselves
in the room of the boy next door, Sid, and
have to find their way back home before
Andy moves away leaving them forever.
The main idea of this premiere is the
3D, the first movie is the same, but a
bubble or toy monkey that would pop out
at you on a regular basis. This changes the
story a little bit but keeps the main idea
alive, Buzz also flies, or “falls with style”
toward you to keep you on your toes.
Other than that both stories remained the
same.
Toy Story 2, which came out in 1999,
picked up where the first Toy Story ended.
Woody is stolen by a toy collector at
a garage sale. Woody was there in the
first place because he was trying to save
another toy, Wheezy, from the same
fate. Buzz and the rest of the gang try to
save him before Andy comes back from
summer camp and Woody is sent off to
Japan to a toy museum with Jessie, Bull’seye, And Stinky Pete, three new characters
which are also collectables.
Though this film is made for younger
kids, everyone at some point has probably
seen at least one of the films. Looking
back at these movies you also pick up on
different things that when you were little
never picked up on, and it’s just great to
see old movies that you haven’t seen for a
long time.
At the end of both films an extended
sneak peek of Toy Story 3 is shown. Andy
is now 18 and is headed off to college,
he now has to decide what he is going to
do with all of his old toys. He decides to
donate them to a daycare center. But all
of the toys that are here are abused by all
the toddlers, not wanting this fate, the toys
decide to escape. Toy Story 3 premiers
June 18, 2010 and if you loved old Toy
Story this would be a great movie to see.
,
a
r
h
s
e
g
y
m
i
a
L
m
c
m
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
A&E
,
s
t
David Tibble
News Editor / Copy Editor
by
The Oscars are probably the most wellknown awards show, but it is not the only
important one in the entertainment industry.
The Primetime Emmys are probably just as
important because it is the biggest award
show for TV shows. Receiving an Emmy is
the highest honor a TV show can receive.
People didn’t know what to expect
from the Emmys this year. Its ratings had
been down for the past few years, and last
year’s show drew much criticism because
five different reality show hosts hosted it.
Usually comedians host the Oscars because
they make for interesting and funny shows.
Reality show hosts like Ryan Seacrest aren’t
exactly known for their comedic talent.
The entertainment industry knew it was
time for a change in order to get people
interested in the Emmys again. The first step
was getting Neil Patrick Harris (Harold and
Kumar Go to White Castle, How I Met Your
Mother), an actor well versed in comedy,
to host the show. The second step was to
make the Emmys a more well put together
show by dividing each TV show genre into
its own portion of the show, beginning with
comedy, and ending with drama. However,
the biggest awards of the night, Outstanding
Comedy Series and Outstanding Drama
Series, won by 30 Rock and Mad Men,
respectively, were saved for the end of the
show.
The winner of Best Actor in a Drama
was Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) for
E
the second year in a row. Not bad for the
guy that used to be the dad on Malcolm in
the Middle. Other winners included Glenn
Sheen (Two and a Half
Close (Damages) winning Best Actress in
Men), Steve Carell (The Office),
a Drama, Michael Emerson (Lost) winning
and Jamaine Clement (Flight of the
B e s t
C o n c o rd s )
Supporting
for
Best
Actor
in
Actor in a
a
Drama,
C o m e d y.
C h e r r y
Even though
Jones (24)
H a r r i s
winning
hosted the
B e s t
Emmys, he
Supporting
did not win
Actress in a
the award
Drama, Toni
he
was
Collette
nominated
(United
for,
Best
S t a t e s
Supporting
of
Tara)
Actor in a
winning
C o m e d y.
Best Actress
That honor
in a Comedy,
went to John
Kristin
Cryer (Two
Chenoweth
and a Half
(Pushing
Men).
Daisies)
I
n
winning
response to
B e s t
the winners,
Supporting
S t e v e n
Actress in a
Michalec,
Photo taken from isdnews.com.
Comedy, and Jeff
junior, said, “Some
Probst (Survivor)
of the actors are
winning
Best
really good, but I had no clue who some of
Reality Show Host. Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), other actors were.”
beat out longtime nominee Tony Shaloub
“I don’t care as to who wins. I just watch
(Monk), first time nominee Jim Parsons it for kicks,” said Steve Flynn, junior.
(The Big Bang Theory), as well as Charlie
Another big winner that wasn’t featured
11
Designed by Sydney Trepel
on the actual show was South Park winning
Outstanding Animated Program 30 Minutes
or Less. Speaking of animated shows,
Family Guy became the first animated show
since The Flintstones to be nominated for
Outstanding Comedy Series. An animated
short featuring Brian and Stewie from
Family Guy was shown during the show.
In the short, Stewie asked Brian to vote for
Family Guy, but Brian wanted to vote for
How I Met Your Mother. It did not end well
for Brian.
The Emmys had some interesting
moments and by interesting. When the
camera panned to the nominees for Best
Actress in a Comedy, Sarah Silverman (The
Sarah Silverman Program) was wearing a
mustache. All of the actresses nominated for
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy wore
crazy glasses. The show even opened with
a hilarious musical number sung by Harris,
who begged people to keep watching the
show.
Harris’ musical number must have
worked because this year’s show drew 13.3
million viewers, the highest number in 3
years. Last year’s audience was only 12.6
million viewers, an all-time low for the
show. However, this year’s show was only
in second place in the ratings for the night,
behind the Giants-Cowboys football game.
12
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
Interactive
Halloween Crossword
Designed by D.J. Valera
Answers for SepT. 30 Issue
Sudoku
Riddle me this...
Across
1. Wicked ____ of the West
5. Trick or _____
6. Large orange squash
8. Wear white Sheets
9. Flying mammals or wooden sticks used in
popular American sport
12. Witch’s hot pot
13. Needed for trick or treating
15. Ghosts
16. Disgusting
17. Sweet
Down
2. A home for ghosts and spirits
3. A scare
4. October 31
7. Ate lunch with Little Miss Muffet
8. Creature that does evil
9. Furry pet with a dark coat
10. Why didn’t he cross the road? Because
he had no guts!
11. A type of bat or a dead person come
back to life
14. Frightful
It would be at the
same spot it was
nailed in, trees grow
at their tops.
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
4. The Ring
In this offbeat thriller, a disturbing video seems to hold the power
of life and death over those who
view it. Rachel Keller, the aunt of
a teen who had watched the video
and died suddenly one week later,
begins investigating the rumors
and travels with her son to find
the truth, but finds out that there
5. The Shining
“Here’s Johnny!” -- or rather,
here’s an average, everyday father
and husband Jack Torrance turned
homicidal psychopath in this
‘80’s thriller. After taking a job as
a caretaker in the old, eerie Overlook Hotel, Jack, a writer, and his
family start experiencing unnerving visions and thoughts brought
on by the hotel’s ominous past.
While Jack’s son, Danny, begins
having psychic visions of murder
and death, Jack himself becomes
plagued by disturbing images and
thoughts that may prove to be
deadly. The Shining was directed
by Stanley Kubrick and based off
of a book by renowned writer Stephen King.
6. Nightmare on Elm Street
Wes Craven questions the line
between nightmares and reality in this 1984 horror. Decades
ago, after being charged with
child molestation, Fred Krueger is
burned alive by the angry parents
of a small town who believe that
killing Krueger will solve their
problems; they’re proven wrong,
however, when Krueger makes
himself apparent in the dreams of
the town’s children, claiming their
lives as his revenge. Nightmare on
Elm Street will make all of your
childhood bogeyman nightmares
seem gruelishly true.
Designed by D.J. Valera
Don’t open the door. Don’t try
to escape.” Three of the most famous phrases in all of scary movie history are found in the movie
Scream. A teen named Sydney
Prescott finds herself at the center
of a serial killers world, enduring
eerie phone calls from an anonymous source that always seem
to foreshadow the next murder.
Scream was released in 1998 and
produced by Wes Craven.
9. Saw
The first of the Saw saga is centered around two men trying to escape the grasp of a psychopathic
serial killer. Neither man knows
how either of them got there, only
that the chamber that they are in
is completely unfamiliar to them
and unlike anything they have
ever seen before. Neither man is
optimistic about their surroundings, yet they work together to
try and escape the nightmare they
have been placed in. Saw was directed by James Wan and was released in 2004.
7. Alien
In this sci-fi horror classic, a close
encounter of the third kind becomes a nightmare when an alien
invades the space craft Nostromo.
On the way home from a mission,
the Nostromo is sent to another
planet to answer a distress call.
When the crew arrives, however,
they find a world unlike they have
ever seen before--one filled with
pods and creatures of the alien variety. After being
attacked
10. The Blair Witch Project
by a creaSet as a documentary filmed in
ture that
the back woods of Maryland, The
bursts out
Blair Witch Project takes you
of one of
along with three college students
the pods,
as they try to debunk the old folk
the crew
tale of the Blair Witches--a group
allows
of old women that the locals refer
a fellow
to as witches who tortured and
m e m killed several children years ago.
ber back
What starts as a school project
onboard
suddenly turns into a nightmare
the Noswhen the three kids lose their
tromo--a
map and start hearing horrific and
mistake
daunting noises outside their tents
that could
in the middle of the night. This
cost them
haunting documentary was directt h e i r
ed by Daniel Myrick and released
lives.
in 1999.
Alien was
directed
by Ridley
Boys Soccer
Scott and
Record: 8-8-2
released
Key Performers: Tomasso Raimondi
in 1979.
(Senior), Jake Popek (Senior), Kory
Seddon (Senior), Letty Masula (Junior)
8
.
Coach
Jason Boe says, “The season
Scream
has been great, we’ve been doing really
“ D o nnice
’ t things. We started off strong and
a n s wwe
e r hit a little low point. We are playing
t h good
e soccer now which is good for the
p h o nprogram.”
e.
13
“Lost Symbol” continued from page 10
the story progresses, he becomes a very interesting character.
For most of the story it seemed like Mal’akh’s
motivation was unclear and didn’t make much
sense, but towards the end of the story, his motivation is revealed and makes perfect sense.
Mal’akh is easily the most disturbing villain
since Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in
The Dark Knight
One of the things that all of Brown’s books
starring Robert Langdon have in common is a
M. Night Shyamalan-style plot twist in the climax of the story. It will have readers’ jaws on
the floor. The Da Vinci Code’s plot twist was too
similar to the one in Angels and Demons, but the
twist in The Lost Symbol is much more original.
The media expects tourism in Washington,
D.C., to increase in the coming months because
of this book. They have good reason for believing that because The Lost Symbol has become the
fastest-selling adult novel in history. The Lost
Symbol takes readers on a tour through many famous landmarks in our nation’s capital. Expect
to learn many interesting new things about D.C.
For example, did you know that Darth Vader is
one of the gargoyles on the National Cathedral?
Overall, The Lost Symbol is just okay. In
other words, it’s a good book, but a below-average Dan Brown book. Six years between books
should have produced something much better.
The great elements such as the American setting
and the great villain should have been wrapped
around a more interesting and better-paced story.
The Lost Symbol is only recommended for people that really like the first two books. Anyone
interested in what all the fuss is about should
read Angels and Demons and/or The Da Vinci
Code instead. If you have never read either of
these books and decide to read The Lost Symbol
first, you won’t get what the big deal was.
among the public
schools of the United
States. At the end
of this period, year
round school experiences schedules had
been implemented in
3,181 schools in 46
states and affecting
2.3 million students,”
according to Educationblog.org
California led the
nation with 1,322
year round public
schools, with secondplace falling to Hawaii with 296. Third
“Two weeks” continued from page 3
3. Halloween (original version)
In Haddonfield, Illinois, on Halloween night of 1963, 6-yearold Michael Myers inexplicably
slaughters his family. After years
of institutionalization and psychiatric observation, Michael escapes—right before Halloween.
may be more to the story than it
seems. The Ring was released in
2002 and was directed by Gore
Verbinkski
“MCHS Update” continued
from page 16
“Scary Movies” continued from page 7
Starling and Lecter develop a
seemingly odd trust and relationship through the interviews, leading to unpredictable twists and
turns at the end. The Silence of
the Lambs was released in 1991
and was directed by Jonathan
Demme.
Jump
came Arizona with
175. Nevada with 107
and Texas with 101
were fourth and fifth,
and Georgia, with 97
was sixth. The order
was the same for enrollment except that
Georgia had more
students than Texas.
According to Educationblog.org.
The reasons that
are listed for all year
round schooling are
great and should definitely be used everywhere.
14
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
Sports
Designed by Elliott Johnson
Journey of girls volleyball
by Mike Noe /
Sports Editor
The varsity girl’s volleyball team is coming off a very successful season last year
and they catholic looking to grow off of
that success. So far this season, the team has
been able to fight to a 7-2 record and looks
to improve as the season goes on.
The girls have won all four games against
Plainfield teams and another win against
Romeoville, but suffered a couple of tough
losses against Oswego East and Oswego.
The team was able to get its’ revenge against
Oswego East by taking a win at their home
court.
Last year the team was able to win their
conference and then finish second in regionals. As this season rolls on the team will
look to take it another step more and take
over as regional champs.
“We should take first in our conference,
and we see ourselves winning regionals,”
said Jacki Kaluzny, senior. One thing that
separates last year’s team from this year’s is
there is more of a team effort.
“Our team this year has a lot of chem-
istry. We don’t just look to one person and victories came against Normal Community High
we finish the
School
game
toand Plaingether,” said
f i e l d
Kaluzny.
North.
Megan
They
McMillin,
recently
senior, said,
had the
“We are all
Volley for
pretty close
the Cure
on and off
event,
the
court.
w h i c h
I think we
helps the
have a betSusan G.
ter variety of
Komen
defense and
c h a r i t y.
offense this
All of the
year.”
money
Although “We are all pretty close on and off the court. I think we have
raised will
the team has a better variety of defense and offense this year,” said Megan
go to that
struggled in McMillin, senior. Photo taken by Elliott Johnson.
charity
some games,
for breast
the team has
battled and hopes to improve on the already cancer. The game was played here at Migreat record. The girls have had some really nooka against Plainfield North.
Tomorrow the team will play the last
close games as well as some blowouts. Big
game in their conference against Oswego.
They will look to get revenge after Oswego
beat them in their own court. This game
could determine whether the girls will repeat as conference champs.
“It was a really frustrating loss because
they hadn’t won a game in conference yet,
and we hadn’t lost a game yet, and they
came in and beat us,” said Dariyan Harper,
junior.
After that game, they will go to a tournament in Lyons this Saturday. The regional
tournament will start the following weekend
at home and the championships will be on
Halloween.
“I would like to take home regional
champs this year and get up on the board for
the first time in 10 years,” said McMillin.
It would be huge for the team to finally
bring home the regional title and end this
drought, which is exactly what the team
looks to do. It has been a fun season for the
girls and they will be happy to stretch it out
just a little farther to bring the crown back
to Minooka.
ing even worse. His
parents took him to the
hospital only to find
out that his appendix
had ruptured and that
he would need surgery
to have his appendix
removed.
The appendix can
cause death if ruptured
because of the fluids
and bacteria held in
it. When told that he
had to have surgery
he wasn’t nervous
about it, but upset
that he would miss
a huge part of the
football season.
fluence on the team.” “we were two of the
strongest corners on the team.”
“Tevin is a huge influence on the team because of his work ethic. He’s a quiet leader,
out leads others through example.” Coach
Carey, sophomore football coach.
When asked how he felt about losing
Hopkins, he responded, “I was glad he was
okay because it was a serious injury, but im
sad to loose him because he’s a very, very
good football player.”
“I’ll be very happy to get him back. Tevin is currently okay and getting better. He
still wants to play and get back on the football field.
Not many people can show leadership
without trying, but Hopkins is one of the
few who can. He strives on and off the football field.
Tevin Hopkins Comeback
by
Elliott Johnson /
Sports Editor
Tevin Hopkins, sophomore, suffered
from a rupture of his appendix on the Saturday after the game against the Plainfeild
East Tigers. When asked how he felt during
the game Tevin stated, “It was bothering me
a little but I could still play through it.”
He continued on not knowing the outcome of his actions. After the game was
when the consequence came.
“It hit me hard as soon as the game was
over.” Referring to the pain, “I wasn’t even
off the field yet.” He continued on with his
day not knowing what the pain he was feeling was caused by until Saturday.
He went to his little brother’s game feel-
“Tevin is a huge influence on the team because of
his work ethic. He’s a quiet leader, out leads others
through example.” said,
Coach Carey, sophomore football coach. Photo taken by Elliott Johnson.
After the
surgery
he
stayed in the
hospital
for
two nights. He
said that he
“I will return,” but when
asked what his
goals are for
next year he
just said, “to
work on my
game.”
K e n n y
Milosovic,
sophomore,
said, “Tevin
was a big in-
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
Sports
Meet The Coach: BErt
by Mike Noe/
Sports Editor
Even from a very young age competing to the best of your abilities played
a very important role in varsity football
Coach Bert Kooi’s life. Kooi’s biggest
inspirations as a child were his parents.
“Both my parents were successful high
school athletes. They strongly believed
the values they taught us at home we’re
reinforced and could be put into practice
on the athletic fields,” said Kooi. “I never
remember not competing in something.”
Kooi has been a coach here at Minooka for six years. He was hired as
head football coach, and instructional leader in P.E, Driver Education, and
Health. He was inspired by many of his
past coaches from his own playing days.
“I was very fortunate to play for several outstanding high school and college
coaches,” said Kooi. “Very early on I admired and emulated guys like Coach Ollie
Cromwell our high school (T.F South) defensive coordinator and freshman wrestling
coach; Coach Joe Sowinski our varsity
wrestling coach; and Coach Carl Poelker
our defensive coordinator at Millikin. They
15
Designed by Jake Hoffman
certainly inspired me, but without ques- of St. Francis, Reed-Custer, and Providence
tion, my parents gave me that opportunity.” Catholic.
“We had some great wins at ProviThis year the Minooka Indians football program is looking good, which gives dence, both on the football field and
hopes that the program is finally turn- wrestling mat,” said Kooi. “University
ing into a serious conference competitor. of St Francis wins against Grand ValKooi said, “I truly believe the win sev- ley State and Ferris State were huge.”
Throughout high school Kooi played
eral weeks ago against Plainfield South will
football
and
wresbe the game that
tled at T.F South.
we will refer
He said, “I was a T.F
to, years down
the road, as the
South Rebel. I loved
turning
point
it. I wasn’t big or fast or
for our footskilled enough to be a
ball program.”
highly recruited athlete,
Although the
but I still wanted to comfootball
propete.” During his junior
gram has hit a
year, the Rebels won the
rough patch the
conference title, but lost
past few years,
to the soon to be state
they are workchampions
Rockford
ing hard, and
East in the first round.
hope to create a
While attending Milwinning season.
likin University, Kooi
Before
wrestled for three years
Bert Kooi has been the head coach of
MCHS, Kooi
and
played football for
Minooka football since the 2003 season.
coached at Herfour.
scher, University
“I visited many Divi-
Kooi
sion III schools and was sold on Millikin
University by Coach Carl Poelker,” said
Kooi. “That was my first major life decision and it was one of the best decisions in
my life.” They were conference champions
in football from his sophomore year to his
senior year.
Today Kooi leads the Minooka Indians
as varsity football’s head coach. One of his
beliefs is if you work hard in the off-season, it will pay off when the season begins.
“Success is not determined during the season, it’s what you do between seasons that eventually determines your future success,” said Kooi.
When asked what he wanted his players to remember him by when they
move on, Kooi replied, “Someone that
they can call or go to at any time, someone that genuinely cared about them!”
When his players leave Minooka, Kooi wants them to know these
few things before they move on:
“No. 1, Surround yourself with good,
hard working people that you can count
on and most of all trust. No. 2, Make your
family your priority. Finally No. 3, find
your passion and make it your profession.”
Football playoffs on the radar?
Jake Hoffman /
Sports Editor
Minooka Football is off to a great start
this season, from finishing the season last
year with a 3-6 record and finishing 6th in
the Southwest Prairie Conference to already
having more wins in 5 games then they did
the entire season. The Indians are 5-2.
The Indians are just one win away from
making the playoffs, since there magical
2003 season. The Indians really knew they could
do something special when they defeated
Plainfield South.
They had previously lost to South the
past four times.
by
The Minooka Indians practicing for their game against Plainfield
North. The Indians played tough, but lost six to nothing. However,
they bounced back strong against Romeoville winning 56 to 14.
When asked what
is different from this
last year to this year
Junior Blake Montella
responded,
“We
believe in ourselves.”
The next two
games will be tough
for the Indians having
to face Oswego and
Plainfield
Central,
who bothhave winning
records.
Getting the W
against Oswego will
not come easy, last
year the Indians fell to Oswego 44 to 6. With
their only six points coming in the second
quarter.
Central will be another tough one, always
a strong conference contender. Minooka
was defeated last year by 38 points.
Being held to only 15 points with the
final score being 53 to 15. The Indians hope
to make Central “Pay the Piper” for last
years defeat.
One thing is for sure, the Indians have
their heart set on the playoffs and nothing
will get in their way.
“We hope to take our season farther this
year then previous years,” said Kyle Banks,
junior running back.
16
Peace Pipe Chatter, October 21, 2009
Sports
Bahret, Ben Heide, Maddie
Simon, Kaitlin Hoy, Laura
Simon, Kiley Saunders, Allie Rossi, Alex Szymanski,
Devin Doran, Rachel Morman, Nicole Johnson
Inside
Sports
Coach Kevin Gummerson says, “This is the key
part of the season as these
kids are working extremely
hard and racing at a high
level. We are continuing
to improve each and every
meet, and that is in large part
due to the growing confidence of this team. We have
gone against some great
competition so that these
kids are prepared when we
see the best at the sectional
and state meets.”
Meet the
Coach:
Bert Kooi
Page 15
Kevin Hopkins
Comeback
Page 14
Minooka
Football’s
Strong Start
Page 15
MInooka Girls
Volleyball
Season
Update
Page 14
Designed by Mike Noe
Girls Golf
Sophomore Kenny Creasman drops back to pass a deep ball for practice. Photo taken by
sports photographer Elliott Johnson.
Fall Update: Seasons wrap
up closing out the fall
As the Indians close out the fall season, teams are looking
to finish strong. A lot of teams are hoping to have conference championships and make a good post-season run.
Looking back at the fall season, one can see drastic improvements on on many teams. The varsity football team
has look very good all year long and will look to build on
that success during future season. Also cross country has
had a very successful season once again. Overall, this fall
has been one to enjoy and it keeps rolling on into
championships.
Cross Country
Record/Highlights: 6-0
in SPC (Boys)
6-0 in SPC (Girls)
Irish Conditioner Champs –
Varsity Boys, Varsity Girls,
F/S Boys, F/S Girls
Joliet Invite Champs – F/S
Boys
Joliet Invite – Varsity Girls
(2nd Place); Varsity Boys
(3rd Place)
Minooka Invite Champions
– Varsity Boys, F/S Boys
(20 teams)
Minooka Invite 3rd Place –
Varsity Girls
Loyola Lakefront – Varsity
Boys (3rd of 32); Varsity
Girls (5th of 30
Key Athletes: Sean Coyle,
Joe McAsey, Kyle Smith,
Andrew Santillo, John Muir,
Andrew Carpenter, Danny
Record/Highlights: 7-4
and went undefeated in
their conference to repeat as
conference champs. Krystal Paramo qualified for the
state tournament.
Key Players: Megan
Kezerle, Sam Gewalt, Krystal Paramo, Rachel Herzberger, Allie Omatto
Coach Joseph Host
says, “We are very pleased
with the repeat as conference champs. A bright spot
is that we have had some
very good scores from our
freshman and sophomores,
which gives us a great upside for the future. Our JV
had five of the top six scores
at conference and seven out
of the top 10.
Boys Golf
Record/Highlights:
4-3 in conference 7-4 overall. They finished the season
at Lick Creek in Pekin, Illinois. Alex Walter qualified for the state tournament. Also the team won
the conference tournament
at Blackberry Oaks with a
team total of 318, but lost
the overall conference. It
was the first time since 2005
the team won the SPC cenference tournament. Alex
Walter was honored with
Most Valuable Golfer in the
SPC conference. The first
Minooka Indian to do so
since 2005.
Coach Brian Petrovic
says, “I’m very proud of
the work the boys have put
in this past golf season. We
did have an up and down
season, call it streaky if you
like, but they really stepped
it up when it counted. All
of them should be proud of
the accolades they were able
to achieve this year. Finally,
I’m very proud of the seniors we had who put in an
outstanding and dedicated
career here at Minooka High
School. Most of them playing all 4 years. They will be
off to college next year and
we wish them all the best. ”
Girls Tennis
Record: 6-11
Key Performers: Taylor
Hartman, Sara Tredennick,
Taylor Anians, Tori Anians,
Chanteil Ulatowski, Paige
Sandal, Claire Wojnarowski, Jessica Fleckenstein, Michelle Dominik, Sarah Cowley, Rachel Hopman
Coach Jessica Carter
says, “It’s been a tough,
highly competitive season
for us, but we plan to upset the conference tournament!”
“MCHS Update”
continued on page
13