Remembering Leelah Alcorn
Page 2
New Tech Trends
Page 4
Homecoming Basketball Games
Page 6
VALLEY BREEZE
Volume 80, Number 4
One Main Street Valley Park, MO 63088
February 2015
Students Celebrate Homecoming by Dressing in Drag and Eating Bugs
By Alexis Mason
The VPHS Student Council hosted fun
events the week of February 2-6 to celebrate the
2015 Homecoming. Each day featured a dressup theme and a wacky lunchtime food challenge. On Friday the entire district gathered for
a pep assembly in the field house.
Monday - Multicolor Day & Marshmallow
Challenge
On Monday students and staff dressed up
in a specific color that was assigned to their
grade. Seniors wore red, juniors green, sophomores purple, freshmen yellow, and staff pink.
For the Marshmallow Challenge, students
stuffed marshmallows in their mouths until they
couldn’t stuff anymore. Brice Bube stuffed the
most marshmallows in his mouth at 13!
Tuesday - Twin Day & Taco Tuesday Challenge
On Tuesday many students coordinated
their outfits with their friends. Mrs. McFadden and student teacher Ms. Wilshushen paired
up, with Ms. Wilshushen even sporting a baby
bump. During the Taco Challenge, students
ate blended up tacos from Taco Bell. Brendan
Ratay, junior participant, said the texture was
almost unbearable.
Wednesday - Opposite Gender Day & Wet
Wednesday
On Wednesday students dressed up as the
opposite gender. Many boys rocked leggings;
while the ladies sported baseball hats and baggy
sweatpants. Nyck Johnson pulled off an impressive ensemble, complete with headband and
purse, but said that “leggings are so uncomfortable. I don’t know how girls can wear these all
the time!” For the Wet Challenge students ate a
soggy burger.
Thursday - Tie day & Smoothie Challenge
On Thursday many students and staff
showed off their goofy and sassiest ties. For
the Smoothie Challenge, students had to drink
a 44oz. smoothie from On the Run. The fastest
finisher won!
Phillipe Chaux, Duy Bui, Paige Combs and CJ
Kaether.
On Friday students decked in orange and
blue made their way to the gym for the alldistrict pep assembly. Coaches McFadden and
Neal emceed the event while dressed in orange
and blue body suits.
During the pep assembly, the high school,
middle school, and elementary cheerleaders
preformed their peppiest cheers; Valley Park
teachers did an awesome dance battle; and
middle school and high school basketball teams
as well as the Blue crew showed off their best
dance moves.
Friday - Spirit Day & Freaky Friday
Do you have spirit? I know Valley Park
does! During Spirit Day, students and staff
sported all orange and blue from painted faces
to socks. For the Freaky Friday challenge,
students dared to eat creepy crawlers such as
LIVE Bean beetles and larva. The brave students who participated in this challenge were
Pictured from left: Izzy Iven, Nyck Johnson, John Kettler,
Jack Iven, and Nick Urban dressed as the opposite gender on
Tuesday, Feb. 3 as part of the Homecoming celebration. (Photo
Source: Ms. Magalli)
VPHS Students were Hot and Cool at the Fire and Ice Dance
By Samantha Wilson
On Saturday, February 7, 2015, Valley Park
High School celebrated homecoming with a
Fire and Ice themed dance. The dance began
at 6 p.m., with Coronation at 6:30. The dance
ended at 10 p.m.
The court consisted of freshmen Kiyah
Autry and Vaughn Pickett; sophomores Summer
Hampton and Brenden Wood; juniors Cidney
Grimes, Aaron Keehnast, Brittany Webster, and
Carter Ziegler; and seniors Lauren Hedrick,
Usama Ahmad, Mara Teer, Brennan Rausch,
Meaghan Fowler, Todd Combs, Cassie Bowers,
and Zach Vanelli. Last year’s queen, Christina
Vu-Pham, and king, William Cusack, returned
to crown this year’s King and Queen.
Zach Vanelli and Cassie Bowers were
crowned King and Queen. Zach said, “I wasn’t
able to attend the dance, but the coronation was
put on very well. It was an honor to win king
my senior year!”
At the dance most girls were wearing
shorter, sleek dresses. Many girls wore black,
teal, or pink. The boys wore dark slacks and
button down shirts with ties. Several guys even
wore bowties.
The cafeteria was decorated with black cloth, blue and red balloons, and fire themed table
centerpieces. The photo area, where a photographer from Lifetouch took pictures of attendees, was
decorated with a black backdrop, a fire themed light, and ice cube-esque stacked lights.
The 2015 Homecoming Court posed onstage after coronation, with the 2014 King and Queen and the 2015 King and Queen
centered. Back row, from left to right: Kiyah Autry, Vaughn Pickett, Summer Hampton, Brenden Wood, Cidney Grimes, Aaron
Keehnast, Brittany Webster, Carter Ziegler, Christina Vu-Pham, William Cusack, Lauren Hedrick, Usama Ahmad, Mara Teer, Brennan Rausch, Meaghan Fowler, Todd Combs. Front row, left to right: Casssie Bowers, Zach Vanelli. (Photo Source: Zach Vanelli)
February 2015
Breeze
2
RIPower Leelah Alcorn: Why Trans Lives Matter
By Samantha Wilson
On December 28, 2014, 17 year old Leelah
Alcorn committed suicide. This fact probably
isn’t shocking to most people. Suicide is common in our society. It’s tragic, but outside of
family and friends, it doesn’t really matter,
right?
However, Leelah Alcorn’s story is slightly
different from the norm. The Ohio teen was
transgendered. Leelah Alcorn was designated
male at birth (DMAB) and given the name
Joshua. When she was 16, Leelah came out as transgender to her parents, who immediately rejected
her, saying “[she] will never be a girl,” and
“God doesn’t make mistakes, [she] is wrong.”
Her parents’ rejection drove Leelah to suicide,
as detailed in the letter she left behind on her
Tumblr blog.
So, why should you care about Leelah Alcorn? The answer is simple: she is one individual out of the 60% of trans* individuals who will
attempt suicide in their lifetime.
So, what exactly is trans*, anyway?
Transgendered, genderqueer and genderfluid,
and many other gender identities that are not
considered cisgender (those whose gender expressions match the gender they were assigned
at birth). Trans* is an umbrella term that refers
to anyone outside the gender binary of male and
female.
Why are trans* rights important?
Did you know that the average life expectancy
for a transgendered individual is only 30 to 32
years old? One in twelve transgendered Americans will be murdered. For transgendered individuals of color, the rate rises to one in eight.
One study from Patheos.com showed that 50%
of trans* adults were survivors of violence or
abuse, and 25% of responders had also experienced hate-driven sexual or physical assault.
This matters because trans* people are just
that-- people. But somehow, they are still treated as “freaks.” The United States government
does not officially recognize nonbinary genders,
and many states do not have laws protecting
trans* people against discrimination. Many young adults who are transgendered
do not receive the proper mental health care,
due to trans* discrimination. The following resources can help transgendered people, as well
as cisgendered allies.
http://www.glaad.org/transgender/resources
http://transstudent.org/sites
http://community.pflag.org/transgender
Another excellent resource is The Trevor
Project. The Trevor Project was founded in
1998 and is currently the leading crisis and
suicide prevention resource for LGBTQ youth. They offer a 24/7 crisis hotline geared
specifically towards LGBTQ teens and fosters
a safe online community for LGBTQ teens to
be themselves and get to know other teens like
them. To learn more about The Trevor Project,
visit www.thetrevorproject.org
The Trevor Project 24/7 Crisis Hotline can
be reached at 1-866-488-7386
“Fix society, please,” pleaded Leelah Alcorn in her suicide note.
Leelah committed suicide on December 8, 2014.
(Photo Source: dailymail.co.uk)
It Is Rape: Offensive Hashtag Trends
By Arijana Husic
At one point in January, #ItAintRape was
trending on twitter. The #ItAintRape tweets
explained certain situations in which rape isn’t
rape. The problem is that in every situation, it’s
still rape. Also, these tweets are sexist. All of
them target women.
Yes, these tweets are ridiculous. No, they
aren’t funny. Rape is never funny and should
not be discussed so lightly and cold-heartedly. Rape is a serious issue. It’s 2015 and some
people still believe rape culture doesn’t exist.
Rape culture (defined by Marshall University)
is “An environment in which rape is prevalent
and in which sexual violence against women is
normalized and excused in the media and popular culture.” These #ItAintRape tweets prove
that rape culture is very real.
Here are a few of the #ItAintRape tweets. This
is what it looks like to condone rape:
If a woman is intoxicated, she is not in the right
state of mind to give consent. Intoxicated or
sober, NO ONE is asking to get raped. Also,
*accept.
Fortunately, not everyone went along with
#ItAintRape. If you’re wondering what others
had to say about this hashtag, here you go:
Maybe she can’t actually say “no,” but I’m sure
screaming/crying/etc. is equal to no.
I’m not sure why someone would even think
about tweeting this.
If there was a “Most Sexist Tweet Award”, this
one would take the cake.
These tweets are disgusting. It’s sad that
people say - and believe - these things.
Social media can be fun, but please don’t
use it to add to rape culture and victim blaming. This hashtag is completely unacceptable
and should never be used again. Think about
what you’re saying before you tweet something.
Would this hashtag still be okay if it was about
your mother, sister, cousin, friend, or you?
February 2015
Breeze
3
Remember Stuart Scott, Inspiration to Many
By Matthew Pearlman
On January 4, 2015, the sports world lost a
pioneer. Stuart Scott, ESPN sports caster, lost
his battle to appendix cancer after a brave seven
years of fighting. He was 49 years old.
Scott was born on July 19, 1965, in Chicago, Illinois. He was a sports fan throughout his
life and played sports in high school as he was
the captain of his football team.
While at the University of North Carolina,
Scott became involved in radio. He later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in speech communications.
After Scott graduated from UNC, he had a
series of news reporting jobs, including working at WPDE and WRAL TV, both located in
North Carolina.
After working at these two news stations,
Scott worked for WESH (NBC affiliate), which
was located in Florida, and after years of hard
work, he got a call from ESPN2. Soon after he
started working for SportsCenter.
Over his long career in sports casting,
Scott interviewed some of the most influential
people in the world such as Bill Clinton, Barack
Obama, Tiger Woods, Sammy Sosa and hundreds more.
As his career progressed, Scott became more
and more popular for his very interesting catchphrases: “As cool as the other side of the pillow”, “Hallah”, “Boo-Yah!” and many more.
Aside from working as a sports caster,
Scott has been featured in many movies such as
The Longest Yard, Enchanted and Just Wright.
Scott had been in over ten TV shows including
“Dream Job,” “Teammates,” and “I Love Toys”.
In addition, Scott has also been featured in music videos by Lil Wayne and LL Cool J.
On July 16, 2014, Scott received the prestigious “Jimmy V ESPY Award for Perseverance”
which honored his brave fight against cancer.
Although Stuart Scott past away, his legacy
still lives on through the people who grew up
listening to his long time energetic sports career.
Scott receiving the Jimmy V. ESPY Award for Perseverence.
His sports reporting and attitude during his fight against cancer
made him an inspiration to many.(Photo source: Slate.com)
Pro and Cons of Lowering Drinking Age to 18
Why isn’t the drinking age lower? It’s a question that won’t go away soon. Valley
Breeze staff members summarize the research considered on both sides of the debate.
By Alyssa Haines
By Dashyne Bass
Did you know that 4% of 138 countries
have a Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA)
of 21? Most of the 138 studied countries have
their MLDA of 16-18, including most of Europe. 9% of countries have no drinking age.
According to drinkingage.procon.org, these
are some pros for lowering the drinking age:
1. 18 is the age of adulthood in the United
States, and adults should have the right to make
their own decisions about alcohol consumption
2. Allowing 18 to 20 year-olds to drink alcohol
in regulated environments with supervision
would decrease unsafe drinking activity.
3. MLDA 21 is largely ineffective because the
majority of teens continue to consume alcohol
4.MLDA 21 is not statistically associated with
lower rates of suicide, homicide, or vandalism.
5.Lowering MLDA 21 would reduce the number of underage people who are hurt from
alcohol-related injuries or accidents due to fear
of legal consequences if they sought medical
attention.
6.Lowering MLDA 21 would be good for the
economy. More people would legally be able
to drink in bars, restaurants, and other licensed
establishments. Revenue would increase for
private business owners, and greater amounts of
tax revenue would be collected by the government.
Lowering the drinking age to 18 will put
teens at risk of causing harm to others. At the
age of 18 your decision making process is not
fully developed, and drinking will only hinder
that process. This may cause you to make a decision to get into a car and drive, putting others’
lives in danger.
According to procon.org these are the cons
of lowering the drinking age to 18.
1. Lowering MLDA 21 would be medically irresponsible. Alcohol consumption can interfere
with development of the young adult brain’s,
essential for functions such as emotional regulation, planning, and organization.
2. The drinking age should be higher because of
the dangers posed by drinking. A person cannot
legally purchase a handgun, gamble in a casino
(in most states), or adopt a child until age 21,
rent a car (for most companies) at age 25, or run
for president until age 35.
3. A 2002 meta-study of the legal drinking age
and traffic accidents found higher legal drinking ages associated with lower rates of traffic
accidents.
4. 21 should not be lowered to mirror European
drinking age limits because the rate of drinking
among US teenagers is lower than most European countries. Most European countries report
higher rates of intoxication and binge drinking
for youth under 13
5. MLDA laws reduce the number of underage
drinkers. The percentage of underage drinkers
has decreased since 1984 when most MLDA 21
laws came into effect.
According to those five facts, Congress
should not lower the drinking age to 18. At the
age of 18, the brain is still developing; you’re
still learning right from wrong. Because the
brain is not developed at 18, if you were to
drink you might decide to drive yourself home
which would put you at risk of having an accident.
If the U.S. were to lower the drinking age
to match European countries, the number of
adolescents drinking will sky rocket. The U.S
should not lower the drinking age because of
the medical risk, mental risk, and endangerment to others’ lives.
February 2015
Breeze
4
Battle With Cancer: Emotional and Physical
By Fahmid Islam
Stuart Scott, a sports reporter known for his
catchphrases and energetic reports, was just as
well-known for his heroic battle with cancer.
Unfortunately, in January Stuart died at the
age of 49. The spread of cancer is a problem
throughout the world, and there are many different types of deadly and incurable cancers.
According to Medical Health Today, the
second leading cause of adult deaths in the U.S.
is cancer, and it is a topic that everyone should
know about. Cancer is also the reason for many
deaths around the world. The U.S. Health
organization says that these potentially fatal
diseases kills about 7.6 million people a year
globally, and about 20,000 per day. There are
many types of cancers, the most widely known
and deadly being lung, breast, prostate, bowel,
and pancreatic cancer.
There are many different ways to increase
your odds of getting cancer. Some cancers are
hereditary and can be passed on from generation to generation. The most common way
to get cancer is through your lifestyle. If you
smoke or drink excessively, then you have an
increased chance of getting lung cancer, or
other types of diseases. Another way to expose
your body to cancer is living in a poor environment. For example, if you live in a polluted
area where everybody smokes and there are a
lot of factories letting off smoke, your chance of
getting a type of cancer significantly increases,
as opposed to living in an area without as much
pollution.
There are many ways to get cancer, but there
are also many ways to lower the risk. Besides
the obvious -don’t drink or smoke excessively
and live in a good environment- you should also
eat nutritious foods to make sure your body is
getting everything it needs. Physical activity is
another important way to prevent cancer, as it
maintains body weight and is good for the heart.
It’s advisable to get regular health screenings to
catch problems before they become too seri-
ous.
The fight against cancer is a problem
throughout the world, and it can take a devastating toll on the patient, family, and the community. Although there are ways to treat and
prevent cancer, it continues to claim lives of
millions, but there are many brave men and
women out there who continue to fight a battle
that seems to last forever. Jim Valvano, a victim
of cancer said, “Cancer can take away all of my
physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it
cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my
soul.”
While cancer can hurt your body, it can never touch your soul unless you let it. (Photo Source: Cancerapparelgifts.com)
Inventions That Can Change Your Life
By Nyck Johnson
3D printing- 3D printers start at $1,000. They
could change everyone’s life forever. Right
now, you can only print smaller things such as
a replica of a skull. However, they are working
on getting these printers in a larger scale. Soon
you may be able to print the outline of a car,
as seen in the 2014 tech expo. You can see one
of these 3D printers right here at VPHS in the
industrial tech building.
Apple Pay- Apple Pay released in 2014 and
is free to all iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus users.
Apple Pay could change your shopping experience forever. All you have to do is put your
credit card information into the secure app that
is run by Apple. Then, when you go shopping
and it’s time to check out, all you have to do is
click on the app and place your phone next to
the credit card reader.
Apple Watch- The Apple Watch will be releasing this year with a starting price of $349.
This watch will be able to perform the same
things as your phone but without the phone call
capability. You can set alarms, read texts, manage apps, and much more with this awesome
watch. This watch could change your phone
experience forever.
3D printer, starting at $999, from Cubify. (Photo
Source:3dens.org)
Apple Pay, free with an Iphone 6 or Iphone 6 Plus.
(Photo source:Fortune.com)
Apple watch, starting at $349, from Apple. (Photo
Source: Money.Cnn.com)
Self-driving cars (Pictured at right)- Mercedes
and other companies such as Google have been
working hard on self-driving cars. They want
you to be able to put in a destination and the
car do all the driving while you sit back and
relax. There is no price set for how much these
cars will be yet; however, they will probably be
pretty expensive. If these cars are perfected and
sold, then this could change the lives of drivers
everywhere.
Out of all the technological advances
we are making in 2015, these are four
of the most popular. In my opinion, 3D
printing is probably one of the most
exciting advances we are making.
What do you think - would you use any
of these?
Self driving car, probably really expensive, from
Mercedes. (Photo Source: Youtube.com)
February 2015
Breeze
To Infinity and Beyond! Space Holds New
Discoveries
By Brendan Ratay
Life on Mars, probes on Pluto, and sending your hair to the moon - 2015 is full of new
progressions and discoveries in space.
New probes and rovers being sent to Mars
are sure to bring back daunting discoveries
about microbial life on Mars. New technologies
are giving NASA scientists the ability to explore the rover’s surroundings just as much as a
human astronaut would.
Previously, Mars explorers have been stuck
on one side of a computer screen. This new advancement will give scientists the opportunity
to explore the Martian environment from a first
person perspective by creating a 3d simulation.
In other news, NASA’s New Horizons
spacecraft recently began its long awaited
encounter with Pluto. “NASA’s first mission
to distant Pluto will also be humankind’s first
close up view of this cold, unexplored world in
our solar system,” said Jim Green, director of
NASA’s Planetary Science Division according
to www.nasa.gov.
The probe is expected to reach Pluto by
summer this year and will bring back high resolution images detailed enough to map Pluto and
its moons.
A new mission to send an unmanned drilling module has been set to land on the south
pole of the moon in 2024. The main goal is to
discover the geologic composition of the moon.
To raise funds for this mission, a time capsule is
to be buried on the moon with record of life on
earth and the hair of anyone who donated to the
project.
If you want to safely store your DNA at an
off planet location, donate to “Lunar Mission
One” via Kickstarter.
This drawing depicts a future mission to Mars with new probe technology. (Photo Source: pcmag.com)
Six VPHS FBLA Participants Headed to State
5
From 1 Mind to 1,000
People
By Nyck Johnson
All it takes is some typing and the click of a
button for a rumor to go viral. Facebook, one of
the most popular forms of social media, is one
of the leading ways for rumors to spread. These rumors could end someone’s reputation, cost them a job, or even lead someone to
suicide.
According to forbes.com, over 500 million
people are signed up with Facebook. Since this
is such a high number, the amount of people
who can see your posts is also high.
There have been numerous counts of suicide because of social media, the front runner
being Facebook. People have been contacted
via Facebook messenger with hate, and death
threats, and countless other forms of bullying.
Some of the most known suicide from Facebook bullying cases includes Megan Meier
(13), Ciara Pugsley (15), and Anthony Stubbs
(16). The victims of this Facebook hate ranges
in gender, age, race, etc.
Facebook has many steps that you can take
in order to make sure you do not fall victim to
this hate. Three things that you could do is to
put your Facebook on private, this makes it to
where only your friends can see your posts, and
send you messages.
Second, only post things that you don’t
mind everyone seeing.
Lastly, only accept people who you know
to be your friends on Facebook. If you do these
three things, then your chance of getting involved with the wrong people on social media
such as Facebook greatly decreases.
If everyone would take advantage of the
many privacy options that Facebook and many
other social media cites have to offer, then there
would be a lot less instances of suicide and bullying.
By Matthew Pearlman
The FBLA District 9 competition was held
at the Chesterfield Mall on February 3. The
Hawks were able to get past the difficulty of
taking many tests and have a successful tournament.
Twenty-six students from Valley Park
competed in the tournament, with six of them
qualifying for state.
State qualifiers included the following:
Paige Combs - 1st, Computer Applications
Andrew Donnell - 3rd, Introduction to Information Technology
Andrew Kircher - 4th, Introduction to Informa-
Pictured left to right, six FBLA members who medaled at
district: Andrew Donnell, Austin Dodge, Paige Combs, Lauren
Hedrick, Cidney Grimes, and Zach Vanelli. (Photo Source: Ms.
Libby)
tion technology
Austin Dodge - 5th, Introduction to Business
Communications
Cassie Bowers - 4th, Agribusiness
Zach Vanelli - 5th, Personal Finance; 4th Business Commnications; 2nd, Agribusiness
FBLA sponsor Ms. Libby noted the significance of the students’ achievements: “It’s the
first time ever in VP FBLA history that we will
have more than 2-3 students compete at the state
level!”
The FBLA team competes again in March
online, then the actual state tournament will take
place in Springfield in April.
Brendan Ratay before siging into Facebook, which has become a source of rumors, bullying, and even threats. (Photo
Source: Nyck Johnson)
February 2015
Breeze
6
Patriots Prevail as Super Bowl Champions
By Andrew O Brien
As the biggest sporting event of the year is
now behind us, let’s recap what led up to the
big game. From a team with only seven wins
earning a playoff bid, to a 16 point comeback in
the second half, the Super bowl was set.
As the long awaited Super Bowl Sunday
finally arrived, the New England patriots and
Seattle Seahawks geared up to play on the biggest stage of the year on Sunday, February 1.
With superstars on both teams, this game was
going to be decided by who had fewer mistakes. The Super Bowl began with a 1st quarter
that featured no scoring, but fans needed to wait
no more as the Patriots found the end zone early
in the second quarter to make the socre7-0.
The slow starting Seahawks found their
groove during the second half as they marched
down the field, and Marshawn Lynch put it in
the end zone from three yards out to even the
game at seven.
As the second half winded down Tom
Brady found tight end, Rob Gronkowski, in the
end zone to take what they thought would be
a half time lead into the locker room. But the
Seahawks had other plans as they took the ball
down the field in 31 seconds to tie the game in
the dying seconds of the first half at 14 with a
touchdown pass from Wilson.
Although this was a game for the ages, the
half time show was to be “unreal” as Katy Perry
rode into the big stage on a large robotic tiger.
The 3-D props and bright colors were the talk of
the night. Katy Perry ended the show with a big
bang as she sang her song “Fireworks” while
flying around in the air on a shooting star with
fireworks erupting from the stadium outside.
The Seahawks dominated the 3rd quarter as
they scored 10 unanswered points to put the Patriots in a ten point hole. But Tom Brady and the
Patriots would have one last late game attempt.
Brady threw a 4-yard TD to Danny Amendola to cut the lead to three, 24-21 Seahawks.
The Seahawks’ offense came onto the field and
the Patriot defense stepped up and forced a
Seahawks punt to send Brady to the field for one
final chance to win the game. He drove the offense all the way down the field to the end zone
for a TD to go up 28-24.
With two minutes left, Russell Wilson and
the Seahawks would have one last chance to
repeat as Super Bowl Champs. They made
their way down to the half-yard line; everyone
thought the game was over as the Seahawks
would just run the ball into the end zone with
NFL best running back, Marshawn Lynch and
take the lead.
But the Seahawks thought different and they
threw the ball. This turned out to be a big mistake as Patriot rookie, Malcolm Butler intercepted the ball to seal the Patriots fourth super bowl
championship in 14 years. Tom Brady received
the MVP award after the game as he completed
36-50 passes in the game.
VPHS Homecoming: Small Town, Big Excitement
By Andrew O’Brien
In the small town of Valley Park, Missouri,
nothing is bigger than the Valley Park High
School homecoming game. As the big game approached, over 800 people piled into the VPHS
field house to be a part of the excitement.
Although previous homecoming games
have been very big as the Hawks have beaten
non-conference teams by a large margin, this
year was different. The Hawks are in the run
for a conference championship and each team
is trying to knock them off. That’s exactly what
conference foe Hancock tried to do against the
Hawks. But like many teams this season, Hancock came up short.
The game began with the first quarter being
tightly contested as the Hawks had a slim lead
at the end of the first.
The second quarter was underway and the
Hawks settled down and were able to pull away
for a 10 point half-time lead. With the help of
VPHS band and cheerleaders, the half-time
show kept the energy level high.
The Hawks came out from half-time and
scored a few points quick and never looked
back. As the fourth quarter was underway, the
Hawks dominated every part of it.
Senior, John Kettler was injured earlier in
the season and his return was unsure. But with
his hard work and determination, he did everything in his power to play in his senior homecoming. With two minutes left in the game,
Blue Crew started asking for John Kettler
repeatedly. Cheers erupted when Coach Sher-
man told Kettler to sub in.
Kettler was able to get open for a lay-up and
score two points. Again, the field house erupted
in cheers for Kettler. The clock wound down to
zero and the Hawks improved to 4-1 in conference with a 61-39 win. The Blue Crew and
many other student fans stormed the court to
surround the Hawks and celebrate their win.
Senior John Kettler returned from an injury to score 4 points
which caused the crowd to erupt into cheers. (Photo Source:
Ms. Magalli)
Valley Breeze wants to know..
Why Did You Watch the Super Bowl?
Commercials - 10%
Half Time Show - 12.5%
The Game Itself - 27.5%
All of the above - 21.25%
I didn’t watch the game - 28.75%
*percents based on 80 VPHS students and
staff polled.
Tom Brady celebrates after winning his fourth Super Bowl
Title. (Photo Source: CBSsports.com)
Lady Hawks Fall to Hancock
By Alyssa Haines
The Lady Hawks played conference foe
Hancock on February 6 at the 2015 VPHS
Homecoming.
By the end of the first quarter the score was
2-10 Hancock. In the second quarter the Lady
Hawks added 12 more points, and by halftime
the score was 14-34. When third quarter was
over, the score was 24-48. The Lady Hawks fell
to Hancock by the score of 27-60, making their
record 4-15 and 1-3 in the conference.
The leading scorers of the game were
Mara Teer with nine points, and Lejla Memisevic with eight points. Daja Hayes and Taylor
Thompson added six and four points respectively.
Senior night, which is also the last home
game for the Lady Hawks, will be February 17
versus Brentwood.
Freshman Taylor Thompson scores two points of a jumpshot
against Hancock. (Photo Source: Ms. Magalli)
February 2015
Seven of the Best Senior Pranks
By Fahmid Islam
With the school year winding down faster
than we realize, seniors are already getting
ready to pack up and move out. Before they do
so, they still have one last homework assignment due: the SENIOR PRANK.
If you don’t have any grand ideas on how
to finish your high school experience off with a
bang, this article is just for you. Here are some
of the best senior pranks that will be a fitting
conclusion to your high school years.
Before I continue, a warning: Be responsible with pranks! Have fun but be smart and
get your administration’s approval and make
sure your pranks will not leave lasting damage
to people or property.
1. The Alarm Clock Prank
Hide a dozen or so alarm clocks throughout the
school, and set them to go off at the same time.
2. The Screensaver Prank
Change the background screen of the teachers’
and students’ computers to a headshot of you
and watch the priceless reaction of the teachers
and classmates.
3. The Balloon Prank
Filling the hallways and classrooms with hundreds of balloons is going to make sure that you
graduate high school with a bang.
7
Breeze
4. The Fort Prank
You spent twelve years of your life waking up
early, and on your last day might as well sleep
in; this inexpensive prank requires you to build
a fort in your school commons and just sleep in
until lunch.
5. The Post-it Prank
The classic Post-it prank is universally known
as one of the best pranks to pull on your school.
With thousands of those sticky little posts-it
notes all of over your walls and doors, you are
sure to leave the school in a sticky situation.
6. The Zip Tie Prank
Take every desk in a classroom, and zip tie them
together, or to something immovable, like a railing. Another version would be to zip tie all of
the teachers desks together, but make sure you
label the desks so the teachers know whose desk
is whose.
7. The Water Cup Prank
Filling the sidewalks or other entrances to the
school with plastic cups that are filled with
water will ensure that you end your high school
years with a splash. Again, be smart: don’t create a mess in the actual building.
Tech Student Help Host
METC Conference
Guest Contributer Mariam Alhalabi
On February 10-11 the annual Missouri
Educational Technology Community (METC)
Conference kicked off at the St. Charles Convention Center. North and South Tech Cisco
students had an opportunity to help host the
event and experience the exhibits and demonstrations.
As the North and South Tech Cisco students scrambled through various halls helping
the speakers get set up, many companies broke
out their new innovations- advertising them to
educators of all kinds.
The vendors were mainly targeted for educators, but as the tech support of the conference
the students were able to join in on the fun. “You can’t be a successful company without
[being well rounded in all types of technology],” said Ken Cook of KeyStone IT.
In the end, educators were able to get a
scoop of the future of education and how they
are able to immediately implement them in
their classrooms.
So what do you think, Class of 2016 - can you
top those?
Many participants discussed how Legos could be used in the
classroom setting. (Photo Source: Mariam Alhalabi
It is our intent to bring our readers accurate and
objective news about Valley Park High School. The
views of the staff are to be regarded separately than
those of our administration, faculty, peers, and advisors. The Valley Breeze is published by the students
of the Journalism classes at VPHS. The Valley
Breeze staff welcomes signed letters-to-the-editor.
We reserve the right to edit them for grammar, clarity, obscenity, and length. If you wish to write you
may drop your letter off at room 212, e-mail us at
smagalli@vp.k12.mo.us, or write to:
Some students have created a splash with their senior prank and have filled their school’s hallways with cups full of water. (Photo
Source: youtube.com)
Valley Breeze
Journalism Dept - Room 212
Valley Park High School
One Main Street
Valley Park, MO 63088
Editor-in-Chief:
Samantha Wilson
Da’Shyne Bass
Alyssa Haines
Arijana Husic
Fahmid Islam
Nyck Johnson
Staff
Alexis Mason
Andrew O’Brien
Matthew Pearlman
Brendan Ratay
Advisor
Ms. Magalli
It is our intent to bring our readers accurate and objective
news about Valley Park High School. The Views of
February 2015
Breeze
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Photo sources: The New Yorker