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pirates pearl you might want to know insight on palisades spring sports kony 2012 awareness palisades rocks once upon a mattress spring and summer fashion trends volume 8 issue 5 april 2012 luck only counts in horseshoes by luke wysocki by kurt stenson the indianapolis colts finished the 2012 nfl season with the nfls worst record with 2 wins and 14 losses this gave the colts the number one overall draft pick in this years nfl draft the question is who do they draft after peyton mannings release from the team there is a gaping hole at the quarterback position in indianapolis in my opinion the colts only have two choices with their number one pick they could go the safe route and pick andrew luck cerebral quarterback from stanford or give the heisman trophy winner quarterback robert griffin iii from baylor a shot ding ding let the debate begin andrew luck has been called by many scouts the most proready quarterback in all of college football he compiled immense statistics in both his junior and senior year and found himself in new york for the heisman ceremony twice but fell short in the voting both times at six foot four inches andrew luck has the height to be an elite quarterback even though he weighs in at 234 pounds he has the athleticism to meet expectations at the nfl level as well he has remarkable intangibles that cannot be coached and he has been called the best quarterback prospect since john elway in 1983 odonnell many people were looking to the nfl scouting combine as a way for him to lockdown his position as the number one overall pick in aprils draft luck performed extremely well at the combine impressing many scouts putting up numbers that were very similar to cam newtons at last years combine he ran a 4.67 40 yard dash time reached 36 inches in the vertical and leapt ten feet and four inches in the long jump highest among quarterbacks garda luck surprised many scouts with what he did at the combine and bolstered his chances at being the first overall draft pick robert griffin iii worked out at the combine as well and he may have essentially outshined luck -continued on page 8 inside this issue editorials 2-6 sports palisades news current events entertainment calendar 7-11 12-13 14 15 16 kony 2012 the movement taking america by storm by jessica krauss joseph kony this is a name which was well known among politicians and social groups prior to this year but has most likely become exponentially more recognizable among common citizens within the last month the man behind this name is the leader of the lords renaissance army lra a guerilla troop from uganda kony is a fundamentalist christian and believes himself to be a sort of medium between god and the common people his organized group the lra was established in konys quest to achieve a state based on the ten commandments and local ugandan tradition while all of these ideas based on religious beliefs may sound completely harmless konys extremist ways have formed his mission into a monstrous program which strips children of their innocence their families and often their lives -continued on page 2 editor-in-chief samantha mitchell editor luke chadwick editor jess krauss editor luke wysocki editor megan slabicki editor kurt stenson

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page 2 pirates pearl editorials kony 2012 the movement taking america by storm by jessica krauss the lra quickly became a force that the ugandan government feared after its formation in 1987 after becoming unsatisfied with some national affairs the lra banded to create a rebellion kony believed that he was selected by god as a special correspondent between heaven and earth and that the holy spirit was directly sending him messages in order to communicate gods chosen task in order to complete these missions of revolt kony captured and forced thousands of children into his army he would march upon ugandan villages killing whole families and loving parents and leaving the small children with no choice but to follow his army he also kidnapped hundreds of students from catholic schools in uganda such as sacred heart secondary and st marys girls school when organizing his army kony truly believed that he was possessed by holy spirits and that it was his duty to use children to fight for the ten commandments throughout all of these terrible actions kony defends himself saying is it bad it is not against human rights and that commandment was not given by joseph [kony it was not given by lra no those commandments were given by god the times this quote displays konys mindset he felt it was not his fault for capturing and forcing these children into the lra but that it was gods decision and he was only fulfilling the obligation after the kidnapping of countless children kony enlisted the children in the lra and forced them to fight gruesome and bloody battles they were placed on the horrific front lines and ordered to lay down their lives without a choice not only did he employ child soldiers but he exploited these children using them as sex slaves as well in addition kony was a polygamist who possessed seventy seven wives as of 2007 and probably has more today history he is rumored to have up to two hundred of his own biological children with these women although no one knows the definite number many also inquire that he uses his own children in his rebel army everything about konys movement and his actions were immoral repulsive and unimaginably horrifying 100 us armed force advisors equipped for combat to enter into the central african region specifically uganda the troops objective is to eliminate kony and other lra leaders from their chief positions in order to terminate the entire project president obama wrote a letter to us congress defending his choice of the united states involvement saying although the u.s forces are combat-equipped they will only be providing information advice and assistance to partner nation forces and they will not themselves engage lra forces unless necessary for self-defense usa today the united states does not want to use force and violence to stop konys army in attempt to avoid warfare concerning our own nation but instead is trying to supply guidance to those who can become directly involved in the downfall of the lra -continued on page 3 joseph kony photo courtesy of fabodylous unfortunately these injustices flew under the radar for a number of years it was recognized by the ugandan government and they carried out many efforts to kill kony with no success kony himself has been placed on the list of specially designated global terrorists and the lra as a whole has been recognized as an assembly of terrorists by the united states and other nations president obama has been working to end konys actions as he signed the lords resistance army disarmament and northern ugandan recovery act in may of 2010 five months ago in october of 2011 obama ordered kony 2012 promotional poster photo courtesy of washington times

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page 3 pirates pearl editorials continued kony 2012 cont by jessica krauss it is empowering to see countless numbers of people who no matter how different their opinions are or what their background is are collaborating together for one of the most worthy causes of the moment one thing which every person can agree on is our duty to returning the right of a happy life to the children of uganda and bringing justice to those who have already had their childhood ripped away or their lives completely lost by the extremist monster joseph kony for more information on how you can get involved visit the official website of invisible children inc http www.invisiblechildren.com additionally it is strongly encouraged to watch the documentary kony 2012 it will only take thirty minutes of time and can truly relay the full message and an even deeper understanding of what this movement is really about the video can be easily watched at http www.youtube.com/watch v=y4mnpzg5sqc why is this issue so popular at the moment after all this time most likely almost every person reading this article has heard the slogans stop kony or kony 2012 in the past month all of this attention can be credited to a man named jason russell who created a half-hour long documentary titled kony 2012 the film was made in tandem with the crusade group invisible children inc whos mission is to preserve the right for children to live a carefree and innocent childhood already within the past few weeks of its posting the video has rendered almost 77 million views on youtube phrases such as kony stop kony and kony 2012 became an instant trending topic on twitter and tweets with messages such as for every rt [retweet $1 will be given to the kony 2012 promotional poster photo courtesy of sabatoge times invisible children foundation of uganda swirled around the internet gathering thousands of supporters celebrities such as oprah justin bieber taylor swift rihanna tim tebow george clooney angelina jolie and ryan seacrest among many others showed their overwhelming support they used their power of fame to draw attention to the cause by tweeting or posting the kony 2012 video link to their personal websites which therefore promoted it to millions of their fans around the world with the work of jason russell countless famous faces and the magic of social media the rightful cause now dubbed kony 2012 has gained unimaginable coverage and the support of millions of people worldwide one of kony s child soldiers photo courtesy of the roots foundation

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page 4 pirates pearl editorials continued spring/summer trends just a fad or here to stay by samantha mitchell an explanation on how runway trends work months and months in advance designers slave over new ideas they coordinate with a team of co-designers and work to create and polish these ideas after design concepts are created they meet with what are accepted among the industry to be the most powerful people in the business the magazine editors the editors are important because they decide what looks and styles make it to the target audience through their magazine without the support of a publication their new ideas mean nothing any accepted styles are redesigned and styled to create their runway looks they find the right models the perfect make-up artist and the best hair stylists often runway styles are changed and redesigned hair is re-planned and make-up reapplied right up until the moment the model walks on stage these runway fashions make up the seasons look book this is a compilation of each designers style put onto their website at this point any designer without an internet presence has no chance at all of surviving after the hype of a fashion show each style is dissected by media and fashion-conscious buyers some of these styles just work for the audience some do not fashions on the runway are often extremely over-the-top and far too intense for consumers so the designers and less expensive brands get to work creating more wearable versions of the clothing to which the target audience seem to have responded well within weeks sometimes days these more wearable versions are in department stores then chain discount stores and so on and so forth so what styles do i think will stay i knew you would ask well here is my answer trend number one here to say my vote probably not trend number three colored jeans pastels bolds cropped skinny ripped high-waisted just not neons please they are all in right now this style seems to have been grasped by the consumers in the past few seasons and in my opinion they are not going anywhere soon for the long haul will this become an iconic style my vote no trend number two sheer maxi skirts/dresses personally i am in love with this trend and am sincerely hoping it sticks around for a long time to get a firsthand look at this style go to shopstyle.com and type sheer maxi skirt into the browsing box the sheer maxi skirt/dress style comes in all colors shapes and lengths is it here to say my vote i hope so trend number four so classic and lady-like the oldstyle done-new is being seen everywhere in cute and flirty silhouettes lace dresses are easy to dress up or dress down my favorite lace dress is an adorable white belted number you can find it at issalondon.com a more affordable and every bit as adorable version can be found at macys its on sale right now is it here to stay my vote yes trend number six color blocking color blocking involves every piece of clothing from shoes to bags pants to tops dresses to sweaters with no way to explain it i am leading you to the website where i learned how to do it visit www.refinery29.com/colorblockfashion-2012-trend for pictures tutorials slideshows and more is it fresh skin with a pop who doesnt love a fresh face that was a question not worth asking honestly every girl would love to apply less make up well now is the time mix up the easy fresh faced style with a trend that seemed to be on the runway a lot this season a pop of something unexpected whether it be an orangey-red lip or bright eye shadow this look is completely easy to mix-up for a new and stylish look all the time is it here to stay my vote yes trend number five floral printed pants personally i find these to be so fun a less-common style that being seen right now most find a little too much pair them with a solid shirt preferably in a bright hue pulled from the pattern and over-sized sunglasses for cool look they made an appearance in the seventies and maybe they will be back in forty more years but i say have fun with the style because i dont think it will be here to last trend number seven lace dresses white white white such a classic white-on-white is now very in the style is low-key enough to be worn in a day-to-day

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page 5 pirates pearl editorials continued spring/summer trends just a fad or here to stay trend number eight the big ballerina bun so carrie bradshaw in fact it is carrie bradshaw she was the inspiration for this look and it is completely gorgeous and wearable it is a super chic way to get your hair up for this warm-weather soon to come if you cant picture what i am trying to tell you is so amazing google it trust me you will get results after you google it and fall in love with it you can learn how to it the uncomplicated way on youtube on leighannsayss channel then once you fall in love with her quirky sense of humor and super simple tricks to beauty you can follow her on twitter @leighannsays is it here to stay my vote maybe gosh i really hope so trend number nine jess says personally i am so extremely happy that spring came early this year except for the problem that lately i have been staring into my closet with a perplexed look on my face checking out all my sweaters boots and winter scarves and trying to dig out some cute spring outfits i definitely think this calls for a new-season shopping spree and asap sam s list of spring and summer trends really inspired me and made me extra excited to hit the shops this weekend to freshen up my look for this warm weather first off probably my favorite trend on this list is the lace dresses they re so dainty and pretty and can be dressed down with a denim jacket and sandals or dressed up with some pretty jewelry and summer heels everything about fresh crisp white lace just screams spring i also love the big ballerina bun it s my go to hairstyle when i don t want my hair down in my face and it s a lot cuter than your basic ponytail i am definitely going to check out the video link that sam included to see if i can get some advice on perfecting this delicate beautiful hairstyle i have a feeling i ll be using it a lot during the summer heat also peek-a-boo shoulders are always fun and easy for the beach and sheer maxi skirts and dresses are the perfect summer fashion statement as well it s what you wear when you really want to be noticed like at a summer barbeque or concert and don t forget to always rock the fresh face i completely agree that a minimal makeup look is best for summer just go with some rosy cheeks fluttery mascara and a peach coral or rose lip color and you re good to go okay ladies it s time to change it up with the new weather brings new styles so happy shopping ~jessica bright colors one bright color seems to be on every designers mind this season tangerine while i do not mind this tangerine take-over at all it can be a bit obtrusive to some it was seen in high doses on the runway but for an everyday look pick one piece a dress shoe scarf and pair it with white for a clean and finished look though tangerine is not your only option bright tones of blues yellows and greens are also very in after making a big debut on the 2011 spring trends charts pairings such as a blue dress and red belt or green pants with yellow top are very high-style with the right pieces it can be done everyday dailymotion.coms five minute fashion webisodes can show you how love this style now but is it here for the long haul my vote no trend number ten peek-a-boo shoulders oh hey there awkward spot that always burns to the shade of a lobster no matter how hard i try well its time to lather on sun-screen because something that seems to be in fashion this season is a peek-a-boo shoulder while it is super sweet and oh-so-fun is it here to stay my vote no well there are my answers and we will see which predictions come true im looking forward to utilizing every moment that these spring trends are in in my opinion this has been one the best and most wearable for the everyday fashionista trend season in a long time i feel like this seasons trends complete me like the red sole to a louboutin make me proud with a fashion-filled spring!

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page 6 pirates pearl editorials continued update from an angel by samantha mitchell i have worked with the soldiers angels organization for a little over a year now it is a volunteer-run non-profit organization whos purpose is to recruit civilians to write to deployed soldiers marines airmen and sailors when i first signed up there were approximately 1,400 servicemen and women in need of a pen pal now there are only 164 studies show that soldiers who have support stateside while deployed have less of a chance of developing ptsd post traumatic stress disorder and other mental and emotional problems of course this is only one of the soldiers angels many endeavors they continuously host drives and events to benefit deployed military not only do they help currently-serving military but veterans and wounded warriors too as a member of soldiers angels i write letters and send care packages to servicemen who have no other support during difficult deployments also as a member of american legion fidelity post 113 i work with veterans on a regular basis these commitments i have made to work with the wounded veterans and currently-serving military mean a lot to me but also mean the world to the men and women who receive my support my point get involved make a difference to a veteran who thinks no one cares about the pain he went through make a difference to the marine who lost his leg overseas make the difference to the soldier who does not hear his name during mail call you can make a difference world ending in 2012 by megan slabicki all of the false information on the web and the now constant solar flares are making some people go into a frenzy people now believe even more than ever that the world will end on december 21 2012 whether someone tells you that the world will be toasted by solar flares or that a planet named nibiru is on course to hit the earth all of this information is not true nasa has stated that the earth is not threatened at all in the year 2012 the earth has been getting along fine for over four billion years so why is everyone saying that the world is going to end now people predicted that a planet named nibiru would hit the earth in may 2003 and once that did not happen they moved the date to december 21 2012 this date fit the role of doomsday even better people soon noticed that this date happened to coincide with the date that the mayan calendar ends and the date that a winter solstice is set to occur when people said this nasa just stated that just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after december 31 the mayan calendar does not cease to exist on december 21 2012 this date is the end of the mayan longcount period but then just as your calendar begins again on january 1 -another long-count period begins for the mayan calendar one man has a totally different idea of what is going to happen patrick geryl decided to quit his job after he had enough money saved up to last until december of 2012 geryl decided that it would be pointless to save up money that he would no longer need because he strongly believed the world was going to end on december 21 2012 geryl predicts that first the north will become the south and that the sun will rise in the west due to a polar reversal soon after earthquakes volcanoes huge tidal waves and more will follow nuclear reactors will melt and buildings will collapse while a huge cloud of volcanic dust will block out the sun for forty years geryl has taken the steps he believes to be necessary to survive once all this happens but most people believe that this is completely unnecessary and uncalled for geryl is not the only one who seems to be preparing for doomsday in europe canada and here in the usa people have created survival groups if 2012 end of the world is typed into the google search engine a shocking 153 million hits appear if the same thing is typed into youtube 87,700 videos appear on this one topic alone companies are feeding into the fear of all of these people there was even a movie entitled 2012 where the world supposedly ends it has become a common idea to have a party on december 21 2012 for those people who do not believe anything is going to happen to the earth meanwhile the people who believe the world will be in jeopardy will be prepared and equipped for what is supposed to come overall this reporter believes that the whole earth ending in 2012 is just a huge scam which causes unnecessary worrying but is worth a good laugh.

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page 7 pirates pearl sports saints or sinners by luke wysocki according to an nfl report members of the new orleans saints football team were paid cash rewards for hits that injured opposing players at times players both pledged significant amounts and targeted particular [opponents for example prior to a saints playoff game in january 2010 defensive captain jonathan vilma offered $10,000 in cash to any player who knocked [brett favre out of the game king these are the words from a memo that was sent to all 32 nfl teams on march 2nd 2012 the memo included details on 22 to 27 defensive players from the new orleans saints who maintained a pay for performance program that included bounty payments paid for by then-defensive coordinator gregg wiliams during the a saints defensive player celebrates after his gruesome hit on then-vikings quarterback brett favre in a 2009 playoff game photo courtesy of brobible.com many players were even willing to receive on-field penalties for illegal hits such as this roughing the passer penalty on brett favre if it meant that the opposing players chance of injury would be greater photo courtesy of the washington post 2009 2010 and 2011 seasons nfl.com after a lengthy investigation the nfls security department discovered that the saints bounty program was in violation of several league rules the investigation showed that saints players received $1,000 for a hit in which the targeted player was carted off the field and $1,500 for a hit in which the targeted player was knocked unconscious the report also revealed that players were promised large sums of money if their on-field performance improved with flashy plays such as interceptions or fumble recoveries in a statement released from the league nfl commissioner roger goodell stated the payments here are particularly troubling because they involved not just payments for performance but also for injuring opposing players when

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pirates pearl page 8 luck only counts in horseshoes continued by kurt stenson griffin iii came into the offseason in many peoples minds as the second best quarterback in the draft but what he did at the combine started copious amounts of conversation about who truly should be the number one quarterback taken in the 2012 nfl draft griffin led all quarterbacks with a 39 inch vertical leap and was third among quarterbacks with his ten foot broad jump petrak these numbers were impressing but what really got the scouts talking was his 4.41 40 yard dash time this was the fastest amongst all quarterbacks at the combine and one of the fastest 40 times for a quarterback in nfl history robert griffin iii was the winner of the heisman trophy this past year and for good reason he was second amongst all quarterbacks in the ncaa in passer rating 189.5 and threw for 4,293 yards and 37 touchdowns griffin is the leading passer in baylor history with 10,366 yards 78 touchdowns and only 17 interceptions he also has 2,254 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns both new records for quarterbacks from the school griffin broke or tied 54 school records in the 41 total games he played at baylor who also had a school record of 10 wins last season robert griffin iii happy with showing griffin showed amazing athleticism and unquestionably deserves to be in the discussion when it comes to the number one overall pick in the nfl draft this april as for the 2011 stats for both quarterbacks robert griffin iii has luck beat in every single category except for touchdowns tied with 37 in passer rating rg3 led luck by about 20 percent 189.5 to lucks 169.7 griffin smoked luck in passing yards this past year with over 700 more than luck 4293 yards to lucks 3517 yards griffin also edged out luck in completion percentage 72.4 to lucks 71.3 rg3 also had the highest yards per pass attempt rating of any quarter griffin iii left and luck right shake hands at the 2012 nfl scouting combine photo courtesy of the black beast blog spot back in the ncaa this year whereas luck found himself two yards behind 10.7 to lucks 8.7 andrew luck was considered one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the ncaa but griffin threw fewer interceptions in 2011 6 to lucks 10 not only do these statistics show griffin had a better year throwing the ball but griffin is also a dual threat andrew luck can run the ball but not nearly as effectively as rg3 can as griffin collected 699 yards on the ground this year compared to lucks 150 yards rg3-10 tds luck 3 tds all statistics from espn.com statistically rg3 had an incredible year and easily outplayed andrew luck but many say luck is still the safe choice for the number one pick due to his rare talent and professional mental approach to the game of football whether or not rg3 goes number one instead of luck he is still going to be a starter in the nfl on some team the trade value of the number two overall pick previously held by the st louis rams skyrocketed after rg3s extraordinary combine and lead to a trade with the washington redskins the redskins quarterbacks have been more than untrustworthy and so they completed a trade with the rams the redskins gave the rams their sixth overall pick the teams first round pick next year their 2014 first round pick along with their second round pick this year in exchange for the 2012 second overall pick no matter who is selected first the washington redskins are going to get one of the best two quarterbacks in the draft while the colts receive the other when april rolls around there will be a distinct favorite to go number one but as of right now it is andrew luck so who do you think it should be luck or rg3 andrew luck and rg3 share the cover of pro football weekly draft 2012 photo courtesy of business insider

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page 9 pirates pearl saints or sinners continued by luke wysocki asked about what the nfl plans to do in terms of punishment goodell responded it is our responsibility to protect player safety and the integrity of our game and this type of conduct will not be tolerated we have made significant progress in changing the culture with respect to player safety and we are not going to relent we have more work to do and we will do it nfl.com suspicion that the saints were running some sort of bounty program started during the 2009 playoffs when the saints defensive players seemed to be targeting arizona cardinals quarterback kurt warner and minnesota vikings quarterback brett favre the saints received multiple roughing the passer and unnecessary roughness penalties throughout the course of both games it was not until the 2012 nfl offseason that the saints bounty program was exposed according to a special report from peter king of sports illustrated on saturday nights during the 2009 nfl season former saints defensive coordinator gregg williams would hand out white envelopes filled with cash to special players of his defensive unit for their intentionally gruesome hits on opposing players the players who were given the cash were then encouraged to give the money back in order to beef up the pot and make the stakes bigger as the season went on king king also states that when brett favre was injured in a 2009 playoff game in which saints middle linebacker jonathan vilma put a $10,000 bounty on his head cameras caught saints defensive tackle anthony hargrove on film slapping hands with his teammates excitedly saying favre is out of the game favre is done favre is done an on-field microphone also reportedly picked up one of the players yelling pay me my money the nfls report did not end there as two of the high ranking officials in the saints front office were also exposed according to the report both saints general manager mickey loomis and head coach sean payton were made aware of the allegations against the team in 2010 both loomis and payton shot down the reports and refused to look into the matter any further this was a huge mistake for both men as they have now been publicly exposed and a swift and severe punishment is expected to rain down on them sorry i have learned a hard lesson and i guarantee that i will never participate in or allow this kind of activity to happen again nfl.com the nfl players association also released a statement in which it promised to look into the nfl s allegations health and safety is a paramount issue to the nflpa the statement read the nflpa was informed of this investigation by the nfl earlier today and will review the information contained in the league s report for commissioner roger goodell player safety has become a top priority and nothing could undermine that more than cash incentives for players to injure their opponents king after all of that the nfl and the nflpa has done to improve player safety in the nfl with new equipment and rule changes in order to prevent injuries with long-term health effects such as concussions the worst thing the players could do is intentionally try to injure each other the saints bounty program is commissioner goodells worst nightmare as the league that he works so tirelessly to make safe is being ruined from within by its own players and coaches although some might see it as farfetched it is possible that other nfl teams have participated in some sort of bounty program in the past the saints may not have been the first team that has illegally used a pay for performance program but they need to be punished and used as an example of what not to do or else they might not be the last photo courtesy of espn before the end of april furthermore former saints defensive coordinator gregg williams who is currently the defensive coordinator of the st louis rams has not denied the allegations against his former new orleans saints team i want to express my sincere regret and apology to the nfl [saints owner tom benson and the new orleans saints fans for my participation in the pay for performance program while i was with the saints williams said in a statement released by the rams it was a terrible mistake and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it instead of getting caught up in it i should have stopped it i take full responsibility for my role i am truly

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pirates pearl page 10 palisades 2012 baseball season by bryce shortall the palisades baseball program has gone through many changes over the past year one change is that the team has a whole new coaching staff led by head coach gary koenig along with the new names the team has an entirely different mentality for this season compared to the previous years the team is more relaxed and excited to see how the new philosophy will help the team said team captain adam reitz the pirates made the playoffs last year losing in the first round to a strong blue mountain team that was the first seed in the playoffs the pirates hopes are even higher this year as they plan to go deep into the colonial league playoffs cocaptain andrew hollander had this to say of the upcoming season every year our goal is to make playoffs but after last year i think the guys really want to bring home a conference title the pirates season started on monday march 5th with tryouts for all four grade levels there are a lot of players coming out this year and it should be fun to see the boys compete for a spot on the roster i know all the coaches are real excited to help these kids become great baseball players said head coach gary koenig the varsity team is considerably young compared to the veteran team the pirates had last year seniors include captains adam reitz and andrew hollander danny yashinski and matt laiss the seniors are followed by a group of talented juniors including trey lingle tanner smith bobby skibo and cory snyder many more names will emerge as the season progresses everyone knows baseball is a game of streaks and anyone can get on a roll junior shortstop tanner smith sounded excited when asked about the pirates chances this spring i was on the team last year that went to the playoffs and losing that first game really hurt this really motivated me to get my work in over the off-season to prepare myself for this year the energy is high among the players and all are excited to play this year the pirates have a talented young roster and should have a great year competing for the colonial league championship be sure to try and catch some of the games this spring and support your fellow pirates girls softball starting with a bang by courtney kienzle girls softball started on march 5th 2012 head coach michelle borzok is very excited for the upcoming season the athletic director becky george stated that in the past years the girls softball team has made it to many championships for example in 1954 the team won the buxmont league title after many long hardworking years of no titles the girls earned the district xi aaa championship in 2008 since then the girls have been on a great winning streak which they are very excited about the very next year 2009 the girls won another prestigious award the colonial league championship they also grabbed hold of runner up for the district xi aaa championship game the girls were happy with their runner up status in districts but wanted more so the very next year the girls took back the title of district xi aaa champions since the middle of december all of the coaches have been holding open gyms for any girls who are playing to get in shape even though the attendance was low the girls who did go got a head start and formed a good relationship with the coaches for all the players monday march 5th and tuesday march 6th were tryouts for varsity and junior varsity after tuesdays practice the coaches discussed and separated all the girls between those two teams after that regular practices began on thursday and now continue everyday throughout the school week all of the girls on the team agree that this years coaches are by far the best and they are excited for the upcoming season there are four coaches this year and all of them know their statistics about softball head coach borzok is excited to hopefully lead this years group of girls to another district xi aaa championship right behind coach borzoks quest to win are assistant coaches ms young who also helps coach the varsity team and the two jv coaches ms pasquarella and mrs jacoby a teacher at palms all four coaches are hoping for a great and a successful year!

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page 11 pirates pearl palisades tennis by sage wylie spring is the start of many sports including softball baseball track and field girls soccer and of course boys tennis it is the start of a new season for the boys of the reed spangenberg zoned into an intense rally during a close match at pen argyl photo courtesy of luke wysocki fun in fact luke wysocki who is a second year player said that his favorite part of the sport is that it is so relaxed were all able to joke around and have fun with each other while still focusing on the game and improving our skills luke said with that said what does he hope to improve on this year im really focusing on trying to improve and have a more powerful and accurate forehand i would also like to be able to use two hands when taking a shot with my backhand my goal by the end of the season is to make the leap luke wysocki strums his victory air guitar after a 6-2 6-1 beat down vs pen argyl photo courtesy of reed spangenberg palisades tennis team and they are all excited to be back last year they had a great season with their first year coach marlene gubler coach gubler is just as excited as the boys are to be back coaching the team again not only does she coach boys tennis but also girls as well a lot of the boys like her because they are able to joke around with her something that is important in any sport to keep the playing of that sport not as serious and to keep it alex nicholas rehydrates his core tennis muscles after a wicked 6-0 win photo courtesy of luke wysocki nathaniel newborg shows off his brand new hair dew after defeating pen argyl s junior varsity 1st singles player 6-2 6-3 photo courtesy of luke wysocki from junior varsity to varsity kurt stenson a second year varsity player also told me what he wants to improve on and what he plans to achieve i want to get at least a couple wins and overall enhance my game for next year when i have two years of varsity and will have a better chance at pulling out some wins it is important for the players to have personal goals because although tennis is considered a team sport matches are only played with at most two people tennis is set up like this there is a varsity and a junior varsity jv for varsity it starts at first single kurt stenson second single evan fritz third single ustym koshak first doubles charlie koehler joe finney and second doubles luke wysocki reed spangenberg for jv its the same way the first single is austin schlemmer nate newborg is second single and the third single is nick uslar first doubles are andrew leff and logan tubielio and second doubles are james rillera and alex nicholas other team members include ryan currier sam mccaughn alex poniktera and evan lamson to be able to improve in this sport however you have to be willing to compromise and work with everyone just like any other sport kurt said something that relates to this point the best part is that no matter how good or bad you are you get to play a match no matter what this gives everyone a chance to play the game and improve luke also commented on something about teamwork in terms of tennis i hope to help out the phs tennis team in any way possible to get the win each and every match

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p. 12

page 12 pirates pearl palisades news meet miss alfredo by samantha mitchell last semester and the second semester of the 2010-2011 school year as a long-term sub for mrs schlosser miss alfredo taught journalism and academy english now as a replacement for the newly retired mrs reisinger-becker she teaches ap english sat reading prep and english 10 miss alfredo also coaches the palisades middle school girls soccer team and plays on the bensalem womens soccer team herself the young teacher graduated from temple university two years ago and continued on to substitute teach at several local school districts miss alfredo was also a student teacher at council rock high school north miss alfredo likes to get involved with the school activities as she dressed up and danced with the faculty during spirit week she also does her best to teach in a way that will get her students involved and she loves to use technology she uses programs and websites such as edmodo and googledocs with experience in being a part of miss alfredos classroom for the past three semesters it can be said her teaching style has in many ways assisted many students in their learning during the two semesters of journalism and current semester of english with miss alfredo it has been noticed that she goes above and beyond to insure that she is teaching to the best of her ability meet miss campellone by maria stuebing this is the first year at palisades for new teacher miss campellone she came from teaching at a big school in philadelphia to our small palisades community she says that she likes the change because she sees familiar faces in the hallway and she feels more at place in the high school miss campellone teaches english because she has always loved this subject and said its important to know how to read and write its always been my passion miss campellone started college at westchester university then went to the university of san diego and then went to temple graduated and went straight to teaching when asked what she would be if she wasnt a teacher she replied a fashion designer miss campellone is an upbeat and fun teacher she has a great personality and teaches to the best of her ability being in her class i have experienced the great way she teaches using technology books and many different teaching methods she decided to become an english teacher because she loves reading and writing and she wants to share her love for english some of her hobbies include water polo swimming and walking her dogs outside and by the lake near her house her favorite vacation spot is calabria italy just like miss alfredo miss campellone is a great addition to the palisades staff is welcomed to palisades by all students.

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p. 13

page 13 pirates pearl palisades news continued e-ship expanding outside of the classroom by jillian vinciguerra aside from teaching kids the basics of business the entrepreneurship e-ship class has extended beyond its walls introducing the school to new and exciting studentservices additionally this year the e-ship class has opened the new school store you can find everything from school spirit gear to stylish handmade material made by the schools very own swag-co the eship class has also introduced the new and improved snack cart to the kids of palisades high school mrs momorella the teacher of the e-ship class is in charge of various business classes offered here at palisades including personal finance multimedia connections and accounting the e-ship class teaches students the basics of business students learn how to run their own business and brainstorm ideas on what the target markets would want to buy stated mrs momorella many students planning to attend college for a business career greatly benefit from this class this class really benefits kids into college or a career in the field of business because it teaches a lot of offtextbook learning this class teaches the kids skills such as responsibility organization and communication said mrs momorella this year the e-ship class has greatly expanded beyond the classroom demonstrating for the rest of the school what entrepreneurship is all about the students help the cafeteria ladies with selling food on the food cart that comes around in the morning they share a percentage of the profit with the cafeteria the swag co has input on what they get to sell which seems to really reach out to the students mrs momorella remarked the swag co and food cart are examples of a great way to reach out to the entire student body in new ways that also benefit the student entrepreneurs many kids from grades 9-12 are involved in making these businesses a success andrew stenken a senior this year at palisades high school is involved in working with the new snack cart the snack cart idea came from the students desire for something to eat in the morning for breakfast said stenken although the cafeteria did sell breakfast food there was still a better way to offer breakfast to kids in the morning and thats where the snack cart originated from morning is a very busy time and getting ready for school sometimes leaves no time to eat the most important meal of the day in luckily if you are running late and do not have enough time to fit breakfast in the snack cart is out every morning serving a variety of foods there is a large rotating selection of food that is offered on the snack cart each day of the week there is a different breakfast sandwich ranging from ham egg and cheese on english muffins to breakfast wraps we also offer the big breakfast which consists of a side of eggs hash browns and a muffin or bagel with your choice of fruit and milk stated stenken along with these meal deals there are also individual items such as fresh bagels yogurt parfaits and many other items the breakfast cart visits all rooms during first period and i encourage anyone who has not seen the food cart to check it out added stenken an investment such as the food cart is a new and exciting way for the kids participating in the e-ship class to participate in a hands-on working experience with running a business adding these new services for the kids of palisades high school is not only an educational experience but an inspiring experience as well participating in these activities is a great way for kids to get involved in working in a business-based field the e-ship class is a class that is preparing kids for a career in the business field as well as training students early in running and managing a business swag co members knitting hats photo courtesy of philly burbs

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p. 14

page 14 pirates pearl current events obsessing over cell phones by hannah legg in this day and age cell phones are constantly being used by teens in the american society seventy-five percent of teens between the ages of twelve and seventeen have a cell phone in 2004 only thirty percent of teenagers had cell phones that means there was a forty-five percent increase eighty-eight percent of teen cell phone users are texters fiftyfour percent are daily texters meaning that they text all day everyday girls typically send more texts receiving eighty texts per days that is fifty more texts than boys according to pewresearch beginning in 1990 cell phones became all the rage almost everyone had the device glued to their hands or to their ear the question is why are cell phones so popular especially now it is because of how far the world has been advancing in technology there has been a new type of phone almost every few months for the past four years currently the newest phone is an iphone 4s the iphone 4s has more than just texting and calling making it more appealing to most the iphone 4s provides the world at the fingertips of its users having an iphone 4s gives the user access of the internet games music and almost anything there is even a gps option i use my phone for everything it is my savior on most days without it i would have died so many times a palisades student stated there is a danger though when using a cell phone in the car according to the human factors and ergonomics society cell phone ple are able to call 9-1-1 faster when an accident has occurred that means that the ambulances show up faster making it more likely for someone to survive a crash cell phones have many good points and bad points in owning them photo courtesy of intomobile distraction causes 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the united states every year drivers that talk on the phone have an eighteen percent lower reaction than drivers that do not talk on their cell phones even free hand cell phone users have a slower reaction rate it takes them longer to get back into the flow of traffic which annoys many drivers having cell phones also saves many lives according to the human factors and ergonomics society peo cell phones provide entertainment and are an easy way to get in touch as long as you are not driving most adults do not understand the obsession most teenagers lives revolve around their cell phones the rave of cell phones will be growing bigger and bigger throughout the decades depending on technology many will be looking forward to the growth in technology although there will be those who will frown upon it.

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p. 15

page 15 pirates pearl entertainment palisades rocks once upon a mattress by cheyenne dodge singing dancing acting palisades high schools thespians have it all on the 23rd 24th and 25th of february they performed in once upon a mattress the comical parody of the timeless childrens story the princess and the pea although some parts seemed a little rough around the edges they did a spectacular job the acting was superb while the singing was equally as wonderful luke wysocki a junior at palisades high school shared his experience as the minstrel in the play i was nervous for the first night of the show because it was my responsibility to sing the first song on the first night of the show so if i messed up then i could have given the show a bad reputation from the start after the first night was a successful experience he mentioned being less nervous as each scene passed by smoothly the play began in a similar way to the original story however it soon unraveled into a hilariously adorable little creation that jay thompson dean fuller and marshall barer the original authors of the book themselves would be proud the set was painted and crafted well to really have the story come alive wysocki agreed saying what really made this show awesome was the sets ms anderson nora katzs mom put in a ridiculous amount of effort to make the sets for this show the singing scenes were taken seriously and were done very well as well as the dancing scenes which were very silly in their own cute way all the actors and actresses have really outdone themselves in this particular show wysocki stated i think that this years musical was one of the most entertaining musicals that we ve put on in my three years at palisades overall this play was very well done and everyone involved should be very proud to have been a part of the masterpiece once upon a mattress girls guys cast photos photo courtesy of tootsie carty

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