Katie Sutherland Eastside Catholic High School

After continued cuts in funding for budgets that support high school art programs nationwide, an important question has been raised in the minds of students: Do high schools devote a disproportionate amount of their focus and money to athletics? Opinions are split on this issue.

Regarding the extracurricular funding at Skyline High School, some students are outraged at the cuts made to the art program budget, complaining athletics get all of the money and attention. Although this seems unfair to students involved in art programs, athletics — specifically football — generate more school spirit, national attention and revenue for the school than art programs do.

The Spartan football legacy includes a state championship title this year and five additional state titles since 2000. Alumni like Jake Heaps and Kasen Williams, have earned Skyline national recognition. Supporting the team generates income via game ticket sales, concessions and spirit merchandise. Skyline, like many high schools in the country, relies on the success of its football and other sports teams for important funding.

Though no less important than athletics, high school art programs simply do not garner the same community interest sports do. Programs that are the most popular and profitable at a school deserve a larger budget, and it seems only fair for the art programs to receive a smaller share of the budget.

It is important to find creative ways to offer funding to many of the clubs and organizations at the high school level. Without the revenue generated from athletics, many other school programs may not be funded. In our current economy, most school programs will have to fight for their fair share of funding — but sports should not be viewed as the culprit for funding decisions.

Athletics and the arts both deserve attention

It is not uncommon for high schools to view their successful athletes as the rising stars of the student body.

Olivia Spokoiny Skyline High School

Though in some cases that turns out to be the truth, there are a large number of students who do not get their chance to shine because they are not given the support they need. Athletics often overshadow the arts, even though they are of equal importance.

Year after year, several clubs and activities struggle to compete with strong athletic programs that are constantly in the public eye. Naturally, schools are more inclined to financially support activities that have numbers in their favor. The idea is that the more students involved, the more impact they can make. In other words, they can make more money.

Over the past few years, changes have been made. One example is Liberty’s theater program, which greatly benefitted from recent renovations to its theater space. Similarly, Skyline has been able to host more productions and unique events in the past two years, thanks to the installation of a smaller performance space called the Delphi Theatre.

There are so many more programs in our high schools that are small but mighty, and willing to work with the resources they’ve got. Balance in distributing funds in the schools is not always easy, but it is of utmost importance.

Iman Baghai Issaquah High School

Most students dread the 7:25 first-period bell. But a small group of students might really dread the 6:25 zero-period bell. These students drag themselves to school in order to practice America’s music — jazz.

Under Issaquah High School Director of Bands Patrick Holen, the Issaquah Jazz Band is an audition group of about 25 members. They play a variety of tunes from the swing big-band era, Latin salsas and hard-driven rock music that allows members to fine-tune skills and awaken sleepy minds.

“The experience is worth the lack of sleep,” said Madison Kelly, a pianist and junior.

But the sleep deprivation does kick in at times, according to Alli Gillett, a guitarist and senior.

“The vibe is laid back and chill … though that might be because no one is really awake yet,” she said.

Junior Jack Gentsch chimes in that the students still work hard despite being tired.

“We tend to work hard and make a great performance,” he said.

The Jazz Band most recently played at Swinging in Vienna on Jan. 14 and hopes to have more performances throughout the year.

New choir director expands repertoire

Hannah Grandine Liberty High School

From two years ago to today, Liberty’s choir program has grown immensely, both in size and quality of music, and has had great opportunities for performances at places like McCaw Hall and the Bellevue Hilton.

Much of the success has been due to the addition of new choral director Robin Wood, who took the position with the Liberty Singers last fall. Wood’s skilled direction does not slip past her students.

“What sets the choir program at Liberty apart is our amazing choir director,” senior Sheady Manning said. “She puts so much time and energy into making us sound the best we can, and I’m extremely grateful for that.”

“The passion and energy she brings every single class is astounding,” sophomore Eric Spradling said. “She ultimately pushes us to be the phenomenal ensemble that we, the Liberty Singers, have become.”

Choir will continue on strong this year, with singers competing at the Solo and Ensemble competitions this month. The Liberty Singers will also team up with the Issaquah and Skyline choirs and the Evergreen Philharmonic for the Masterworks concert in May.

However, choir’s success all comes back around to Wood.

“She continually pushes us to grow,” senior Ashlynn Rowe said. “I couldn’t be at the place I am now without her and her coaching.”

Vocal jazz singers commit to excel

Sampurna Basu Skyline High School

Students attending Skyline High School have a chance to take their singing experience to a whole other level through enrollment in the school’s Vocal Jazz program.

As a student who has yet to explore the music wing of the school, my only interaction with Vocal Jazz students is during the week of Valentine’s Day, when students in the class serenade their classmates as a part of the Sing-A-Gram project. After further research, I realized students in this class put forth a tremendous amount of commitment to stretch their musical capabilities to the utmost.

“Vocal Jazz is a relatively small group of vocalists and musicians that are passionate about jazz music and performing,” Vocal Jazz student Sandi Scripa said. “It takes quite a lot of commitment to participate, and be willing to spend hours in after school rehearsals, travel and performances.

“So far, we have performed at a vocal jazz festival, Winter Fest in Seattle, and a number of after school performances.”

In February, the ensemble is traveling to Moscow, Idaho, to participate in the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. You can catch the group’s next performance from Feb. 8-11 at Skyline’s next musical, “Grease.”

Small band gives big performances

Shreya Tewari Eastside Catholic High School

The Eastside Catholic School band has been around since the school was founded in 1980. The number of band members fluctuates from year to year, depending on the amount of musical interest in the new classes.

This year, the Eastside Catholic band is a small (albeit dedicated) group with 13 members.

The band is divided into a jazz band and a percussion ensemble. In jazz band, there is currently one trumpet, four saxophones, one pianist, two drummers and one trombone, and two of the musicians are from the middle school.

The band has long since had a tradition of letting middle school students with exceptional aptitude or experience with a certain instrument play in the high school band. This makes for a long-running legacy and program, because there are kids that will have been playing in the band for five years by the time they graduate.

The percussion ensemble contains many of the same students as the jazz band, and they switch around instruments depending on the song — that way each member of the band has the opportunity to learn or play multiple instruments.

Last year, the band placed second at district competition and is currently preparing for an event at the end of this month.

Michael Payant

1.     Recall your resolution and write it down.

2.     Find a friend, and inform this friend of your resolution. Then, whenever you are starting to deviate from your planned course of action, he or she can remind you about your shortcomings. Self-discipline is difficult; peer pressure is easy to submit to.

3.     Get into arguments with your friend and blame him or her for your inability to stick to the resolution, even though you secretly know that you are just projecting your own feelings of disappointment.

4.     After a brief cooling-off period, make up with your friend by giving him or her a batch of your delicious homemade cookies.

5.     If applicable, attach barbed wire to anything you’re trying to avoid as part of your resolution. It will hurt when your eyes, hands, mouth or other sensitive areas are exposed to barbed wire but it will all be worth it.

6.     Once the cuts on your hands have healed enough, remove the barbed wire. That was probably a silly idea anyway.

7.     Get your resolution tattooed somewhere on your body. There is no better way to show devotion or commitment than with a tattoo.

8.     Take a nationwide soul-searching expedition.

9.     Return from your nationwide soul-searching expedition with a goatee. Because the goatee is a global symbol of self-confidence, your life will automatically improve.

10.  Fall madly in love with someone who understands you.

11.  Realize that want you really wanted was there all along. You don’t need to change, you are amazing just the way you are.

12.  Accept the behavior you were trying to change as “an essential part of your character” and write a self-help book using your newfound knowledge.

13.  Continue the behavior. It’s OK now.

14.  Slowly fall back into normalcy and prepare for next year’s resolutions.

By Veronica Austin Liberty High School

The rich and dramatic period piece, has returned to PBS for its long-awaited second season. Set in Britain during World War I, the show follows the life of the Earl of Grantham and his aristocratic family, as well as their numerous servants, all brought to life by a talented ensemble cast. From the dignified butler, Mr. Carson, to the quick-witted Dowager Countess (played by Maggie Smith, better known for her role in the “Harry Potter” films), each character has his or her own complexity that makes the story feel like a genuine and honest portrayal of ever-changing life in the early 20th century. “Downton Abbey” is certainly something not to be missed. It airs every Sunday at 9 p.m. on PBS.

Movie: ‘War Horse’

Stephen Spielberg’s “War Horse” follows the stories of young Albert Narracott and his horse, Joey, as they struggle their respective ways through World War I. As expected, the film contains more than one tearjerker moment, but the story is well crafted, just as entertaining and dramatic as it is weepy. “War Horse” is a great and ultimately heartwarming adventure, which makes it worth seeing for anyone who remains a kid at heart.

Music: ‘Born to Die’ by Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey, who became an internet sensation in late 2011 with her songs “Video Games” and “Blue Jeans” is set to release her debut album, “Born to Die,” at the end of the month. The first four songs of the album have already been released, as the “Lana Del Rey – EP,” a short collection that leaves listeners hungry for more. The soulful chanteuse, who could easily become the next (dare I say it?) Adele, is bound to be the next big thing.

Eastside Catholic High School

“My favorite part of Super Bowl Sunday is yelling at the TV with my family and my mom’s homemade chili.”

Lauren Auerbach, senior

“The ridiculous commercials are the second best part of Super Bowl Sunday. The first being the food!”

Julia Hormuth, junior

Issaquah High School

“Laughing at commercials and eating lots with friends.”

Tom Howe, senior

“My favorite part of the Super Bowl is dressing up to match my favorite team and cheering really loud. I love the competition and the great Super Bowl food!”

Ashlie Humphries, junior

Liberty High School

“Spending time with friends and cheering for one team, even if the team you root for isn’t playing.”

Dawson Solly, senior

“Hanging out with friends and family, eating good food and watching the game!”

Jessie Bisset, sophomore

Skyline High School

“The commercials!”

Beca Kuttemplon,  junior

“Getting together with family and friends.”

 Joseph Kim, senior

Lee Xie Issaquah High School

The spirit of philanthropy is always alive during the holiday season, but various student-run nonprofit organizations in the Issaquah School District prove that giving back is practiced year round.

The Washington Association for Chinese Education (http://waceducation.weebly.com) is a student-run, nonprofit organization dedicated to generating interest in learning Chinese, helping students understand China and increasing the number of Chinese programs in Washington schools.

Founded in March by a group of Skyline High School students, WACE is now in seven schools and five school districts. Its “Why Learn Chinese Competition” concluded last month, and the results will be announced at the awards ceremony next month. Andrea Liu, founder and co-chair of WACE, recently announced that due to WACE’s hardworking efforts, Skyline will have Chinese as a course offering next year.

Another nonprofit is The Washington Student Math Association (I), an organization dedicated to supporting math education in Washington. Founded in 2009 by a group of students and now led by President Ashwin Rao (a Skyline senior), WSMA has written a comprehensive starter pack to help new math clubs get started, hosted elementary math expos in local libraries, hosted the first Math Bowl, a “Jeopardy!”-like competition between eight high schools and partnered with the Microsoft Store to host Mathmania.

Organizations have a constant need for volunteers, while students are always looking for volunteer opportunities.

That led to the creating of the Linking Opportunity (www.linkingopportunity.org) organization. Linking Opportunity is a student-run nonprofit organization that connects high school students to organizations seeking volunteers for events. Organizations post volunteer opportunities on the website and students can register for the events of their choice.

Linking Opportunity already has more than 30 nonprofit partners, including the city of Bellevue, Bellevue Arts Museum, Seattle Children’s and YMCA.

“Experiences generated through volunteering help both the volunteers and the community to bring the people of the world together to solve problems,” said Iman Baghai, an Issaquah High School junior and head of marketing at Linking Opportunity.

These organizations are all working toward a better community — a worthy cause that will always be in season!

Jacob Brunette Issaquah High School

Every day, a teenager has to answer many important questions: What should I wear? What homework did I finish last night? Can I get away with sleeping through English?

But perhaps the most important question is: Should I compost my lunch? Every day, the students at Issaquah High School must decide whether his or her organic food scraps should rot in a landfill or in a natural environment where they will help sustain the plant life.

Now, if asked, most would say that, of course, they would prefer to help the environment. But it can be so hard to separate your pizza crust from your Gatorade bottles, and sometimes the yellow compost bin is all the way on the other side of the room, and… ugh.

• Composting at Issaquah High was introduced last year, and in all honesty, it isn’t that difficult. Unfortunately, it has to combat teenagers’ natural apathy, and all too often, it fails.

• While many do a good job separating their compost from their trash and recycling, several students will just drop everything in the trash bin, sending it all to the landfill. However, composting’s future looks bright, as many middle schools are introducing composting programs of their own.

As a result, kids are coming into high school already brainwashed into being good citizens. And that’s the best thing that could happen. Once it takes more mental effort not to compost, it will stay a part of school lunch forever.

Club ideas save money  

Veronica Austin Liberty High School

The Issaquah School District is changing for the better, thanks to the efforts of Liberty High School’s girls’ science club, the Physettes, and their environmentally friendly ideals.

Led by President Macaire Ament, the Physettes have attempted to initiate a series of green changes at Liberty, including a project to cut down the amount of light used in certain areas of the school.

“In some cases, lights are on full power all day, and at some point, people ought to be mostly out of these areas and therefore those areas require a reduced amount of light,” Ament said.

If the school were to accept the plan, Physettes hope that the money saved would go toward getting recycled paper. However, the change would have to be adopted districtwide for the proposal to be effective, which complicates the process.

“Given both the economic times and the general state of change in the school, recycled paper is an issue that may unfortunately be put off for a while, despite it’s many long-term benefits both to the district’s public image and to the Earth,” Ament said.

Despite setbacks, the Physettes have continued to pursue greener alternatives for the schools, including meeting “with a district official early in the year to learn about some of the green developments at other schools, (light timers, low-flush toilets, smart sprinklers) that were scheduled to come to Liberty,” Ament said. “We are looking forward to those developments and hope to see more green elements in the future.”

A paper full ‘paperless’ week

Sampurna Basu Skyline High School

In an attempt to reduce the school’s environmental impact, Skyline High School’s Spartans tried to survive one week without paper.

The idea was introduced to promote environmentally friendly methods of submitting school work. Teachers were supposed to ask students to submit homework assignments virtually in order to limit the use of paper. All available printers and copy machines were shut down for one full academic week.

However, most classrooms did not go paperless. Instead, there was simply a shift in the source of the paper being used. As a result, paperless week received many complaints from both the student body and staff members.

There was a significant increase in students using their own notebook paper due to the usage of class copies. Many teachers forced students to print their assignments at home, which posed a problem to students who do not have access to a printer at home. Overall, very few teachers actually started using a virtual method of homework submission.

In addition to the failure in the academic area, hundreds of paper snowflakes hung in the commons area and hallways of the school. Despite the holiday charm of the snowflakes, their presence during paperless week contradicted the whole point.

In conclusion, Skyline’s efforts to become more environmentally friendly were truly a step in the right direction, but have not yet generated the best results.

Schools are going green

Shreya Tewari Eastside Catholic High School

Sometimes I get annoyed when I hear about groups, schools and people coming up with new, creative, constantly evolving ways to “go green.” It’s often so difficult to think of unique things to try that I feel like I can’t contribute to the community.

However, during the past couple of weeks I’ve been paying attention to the environmental practices at school and I’ve realized something. Contributing to the community doesn’t have to mean doing something different. Sometimes it can just mean keeping things up.

At Eastside Catholic High School, we recycle. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, right? Anyone can recycle. But not everyone does and not necessarily in an organized fashion.

At three places of the cafeteria, outside the gym, in every hallway and in every classroom, there are separate disposal bins for garbage and recyclables. No matter where someone is, it’s just as easy to walk to a recycle bin as a trash can.

Also, everything that needs to be disposed of in staff workrooms is taken care of meticulously. All paper and other materials would’ve been recycled, naturally, but there is a system for recycling all of the printer cartridges and even machine parts. The light fixtures and some other construction materials present throughout the campus are also recyclable!

Recycling everything and making recycle bins easily accessible to everyone makes the recycling program achieve the most it possibly can, even if it’s not necessarily new.

By Kim Bussing Issaquah High School

To say the cast of the recently released “New Year’s Eve” is star-studded would be an understatement: Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, and many others, all make an appearance in this film, which is in the spirit of 2010’s “Valentine’s Day.” For those unfamiliar with the previous film, which also name-dropped several stars, including Patrick Dempsey, Taylor Lautner and Anne Hathaway, the duration of the movie occurs on the specific holiday as the plots of individual characters intertwine. The primary storylines revolve around relationships — new and old — work and family. It has all the promise of a good romantic comedy, and should offer the perfect happy ending for the holiday season.

Book: ‘Room’ by Emma Donague

Though not a newly released book, Emma Donague’s “Room” deserves some residual spotlight from its summer debut across bestseller lists. The novel is told from the viewpoint of 5-year-old Jack, whose entire life has occurred in Room with his Ma; his only knowledge of the outside world is through the TV and the occasional visits from Old Nick. Jack’s innocent beliefs and childish representation of ordinary objects is refreshing, as is Donague’s ability to maneuver around a chilling topic with the gentle touches of youth. Though sometimes chilling, “Room” is a heart-warming and uplifting story of freedom, family, and the triumphant bond between mother and son.

Music: ‘Whatever’ by Hot Chelle Rae

After a year filled with successful singles, like “Tonight Tonight” and “I Like it Like That,” and landing performances at prestigious venues, such as Seattle’s Jingle Bell Bash, Hot Chelle Rae’s sophomore album has a lot to live up to. And with its upbeat, catchy tracks, it does not disappoint. “Forever Unstoppable” and “Whatever” are sure to dominate the radio waves, while the ballad “Why Don’t You Love Me,” which features Demi Lovato, provides an interesting contrast from the pop-sound of the other songs. This album makes it clear as to why Hot Chelle Rae is being hailed as one of America’s top new bands.

Eastside Catholic High School

“I love waking up early before my parents with my siblings, and waiting for my parents to wake up so we can open presents.”

Sebastian Van Coevorden, senior

“Making cookies for Santa and setting up the Christmas tree!”

Cassie Harvey, junior

Issaquah High School

“Riding on the ferry boat to Seattle on Christmas morning with my family. The view is gorgeous.”

Chloe Lathe, junior

“I sit in front of the TV, watch NFL and eat. I have eaten until I gained 10 pounds at one point.”

Keith Luu, senior

Liberty High School

“At my family Christmas party I get to hand out the presents to all of my little cousins. I like being the first person to see the big smiles on their faces right before they tear up some wrapping paper!”

C.J. Johnson, junior

“Every Christmas since we were little kids we had the “elves” visit us. They bring us an advent calendar on Dec. 1 and a pair of PJs on the 24th.”

Caitlin Duffner, senior

Skyline High School

“Christmas dinner with the family.”

Charlotte Zhao, junior

“Snowboarding with the whole family.”

Shawn Lee, senior

By Jacob Brunette

When I had joined swim team on a whim, I had assumed that pretty good physical fitness and basic knowledge about how to swim would be enough to put me somewhere in the middle of the team. Instead, I ended up swimming about as well as a drunken monkey. With asthma.

My arms flail around, my lungs can hold approximately no air, my legs kick more weakly than you would think possible after running cross-country for five years, and I have multiple scabs from scraping the bottom of the pool after a flip turn. (You would think turning around wouldn’t be that difficult. You would be wrong.)

Swim team is hard. I was expecting to go in for a relatively easy season that would keep me in shape over the winter, and instead I’m working harder than for any of the sports I actually care about. I get out of the pool every afternoon, ready to sleep until dinner, except then the entire team goes for a run or lifts weights. Because an hour of intense full-body workout isn’t enough.

Despite all my complaining, I’m happy I joined the team, although said happiness tends to only appear when I’m not actually swimming. It’s a fantastic workout and it’s going to make me so buff by the end of the season (haha, no). I’m even improving, little by little.

My asthmatic monkey now has an inhaler, and maybe, by February, I won’t be able to compare myself with an asthmatic monkey at all. Maybe.