By Tyler Steeber BVAHS choir students sang with the West-

moreland Symphony Orchestra in their annual “Home for the Holidays” concert.

Each year at The Palace Theater in Greens-burg, the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra invites a high school “All-Star Choir” to per-form with them at their annual holiday con-cert. Made up of students from multiple high schools in Westmoreland County, this ensemble includes eight Belle Vernon Area High School students.

Senior Aubrey Cintron has been a part of said choir since her freshman year. “All-Star Choir is a great way to celebrate the holidays while doing something I love, which is singing,” said Cintron.

There are a few practices leading up to the event where students from the other schools can not only mingle, but make memories with music. “It’s fun, but I don’t know if people real-ize that sitting and rehearsing music can be dif-ficult work -- it constantly engages your mind,” said senior Tyler Chiste.

“Students getting to hear the symphony and perform alongside these musicians is some-thing I hope they keep with them,” said chorus teacher Michael Rozell, who is also directing the student All-Star Choir.

“Home for the Holidays” was held at 7:30pm on Saturday, December 19 at The Palace The-atre in Greensburg. If you wish to see a program from the concert, please contact Rozell.

By Falyn SamodaDonating and helping children pick out toys

is not only a great experience for the children but also for you.

Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. Toys for Tots was founded by reservist Major Bill Hendricks in 1947. At Toys for Tots, students who choose to volunteer help younger kids pick out toys that have been donated. The kids wait in line to come in the building then the high school stu-dents walk them through all of the toys and help them pick two or three.

BVA chemistry teacher Amber Null is an I n - t e r a c t c l u b sponsor and a big part o f Toys for Tots . Interact c l u b has had a long standing r e - l a t i o n -s h i p with the M o n V a l l e y Leathernecks, retired US Marines.

Toys for Tots is an invite only day where children come to the event and get to pick out toys for Christmas. It is always the Friday and Saturday before Christmas. This year, Toys for Tots was December 18th and 19th.

“Toys for Tots is important to me because I feel that every child deserves to feel special and have the chance to get a gift for Christmas. Children are so precious and the joy on their face when they get to pick a few toys is incred-ible! Giving to others is such a blessing to do during the holiday season,” explains Null.

Null believes that students learn about the or-ganization because they work hand in hand with the Marines, and they work with and talk with

them for the whole time.BVA social studies teacher Amy Medicino is

also an Interact club sponsor and a big part of Toys for Tots.

“I think it’s a good way for students to give back to our own local community,” Mendicino explains. She also believes students learn from participating in this charity event. “Personally, I enjoy seeing how happy some of the kids get when they receive toys and how happy and

Attacks in Parisby Falyn Samoda and

Emilee BonusPage 3

Fall Sports Recap by Bryce Coyne

Page 8

The holidays are here at BVA

Page 4-5

Volume XXV, Issue 2 Tuesday, December 22, 2015 $.50

Photo by Falyn Samoda

Photo by Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra

Interact Club does Toys for Tots

BVA students get once in a lifetime singing opportunity

grateful some of the parents are.”BVA senior Aubrey Cintron, started doing

Toys for Tots last year. “Before I started to take part in Toys for Tots, I had donated toys to the cause but never actually went.”

Toys for Tots is important to Cin-tron be- cause it’s a way to give kids Christmas presents who may not be able to r e c e i v e a lot at h o m e . She loves t a k i n g the kids a r o u n d and see- ing how e x c i t e d they are to pick out toys. Cintron also says watching them run around and deciding which toys they want makes her happy.

Cintron explains, “The most import-ant thing for me when it comes to Toys for Tots is giving back. These kids come from families who may not be able to have the Christmas that some of us have. Seeing not only kids; but the parents’ faces when they walk out is amazing. You can tell that that day probably made their holiday season.”

Every year Belle Vernon gives back to the community and is a big part of Toys for Tots. Interact club spends two days helping children pick out toys for Christmas that can help change a child’s holiday experience.

IN THIS ISSUE:

ALSO: FIND THE ELF ON EVERY PAGE(INCLUDING THIS ONE...)

“Every child de-serves to feel special and have the chance

to get a gift for Christmas”-Amber Null

“I enjoy seeing how happy some

of the kids get when they receive

toys”-Amy Mendicino

Star Wars: “The Force Awakens”

Senior Spotlight

By: Jesse Arutoff

By: Maddie Balsano2 It’s almost halfway through the year and the class of 2016 prepares themselves for their next chapter. The Leopard Tales highlighted seniors Marissa Zetty and Matthew Dawson as the spotlight of this issue. Zetty is a midfielder for the Lady Leps soccer team and Dawson is a member of the BVA golf team. Dawson plans to end his golf career in high school and continue onto Pennsylvania State University to major in computer engineering, unlike Zetty who plans to play soccer in college. With offers from multiple schools, she is still unsure of a specific university although plans to become a physician’s assistant. Both students agreed that senior year has been the most exciting and joyful time throughout their past four years here at Belle Vernon. When speaking with Zetty about her most memorable moment she states, “Winning a playoff game in penalty kicks against black-hawk was an amazing experience.”

Correspondingly, Dawson states that his favorite memory also involved a sporting event that occurred in the 2015-2016 season. “This is my first year in high school that people have been significantly proud to go to Belle Vernon. My favorite memory would be beating Ringgold in football and charging the field with my senior class.”Both Zetty and Dawson got to experience the year that BVAs football team went undefeated throughout the regular season and made it to the quarter finals. They attended each and every game to support their Leps. When it comes to classes, science seems to be the common choice between the two. Zetty states “My favorite class in highschool was Anatomy. It was interesting, fun to learn about and I really enjoyed having Mr. Reda.” Dawson shares, “Physics was by far my most interesting class in highschool. Mr. Thompson taught it in a way that is easy to understand.” If there is one thing we can all agree on, it’s that high school is over in the blink of an eye. “I would really like to tell the underclassman to en-joy the time you have while you’re here. Spend your time wisely, get good grades, and focus on your true friends. High school goes way too fast,” states Zetty. Both Zetty and Dawson plan to end their last year with a successful outlook on their upcoming goals. The Leopard Tales wishes both students along with their class the best of luck in the future and a joyful ending to their senior year.

Matthew Dawson (Left) and Marissa Zetty (right) pose for their senior photo together. Photo by Maddie Balsano

Not so long ago in a theater not so far away, “Star Wars: A New Hope” was released, the first movie in the epic saga which people from all over would come to adore. In the years to come, five more movies would be released into the “Star Wars” saga ending on “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” in May of 2005. Now 10 years after the latest movie, we get to see what happens after events of the movie from 1983. The new installment in the story takes place thirty years after the events of “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” and revolves around Han Solo (portrayed by Harrison Ford) and his allies rising up against the latest evil Kylo Ren (portrayed by Adam Driver) and his army of stormtroopers.

People of all ages are excited for the release of this movie. Charleroi resident, Tim Parsons, plans to go see it opening night with his room-mate, and his family. “I’ve been waiting for this since I was young. “Star Wars” was a main bonding point for my father and I throughout the years, we went to see all of them since I’ve been born together, and we’re not stopping now.” With the overwhelming amount of support the “Star Wars” franchise has gathered through the years with 45 videogames, countless parodies, a world of merchandise, and even a section at Disneyland, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is bound to be a huge hit. Deadline.com predicts that the film will make at least $615 million from it’s global opening. According to deadline.com, in April, Disney held a “Star Wars” celebration which amassed a gathering of roughly 60,000. The first teaser

Promotional banner for the release of “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awak-ens”Photo by when-release.com

As a (mostly) retired Pittsburgh reporter and columnist who relishes “print media,” kudos to the staff of the inaugural issue of the new-look The Leopard Tales. The eight-page BVA High School newspaper with 20 articles, as many photos and several well-placed graph-ics demonstrated what talented, crea-tive students can achieve in communi-cations other than tweets and twitters. Sponsor Alicia Lyons said the initial press run consisted of 250 copies, printed and organized in much the same fashion as conventional newspa-pers. I’m certain that far more people read, enjoyed and learned from The Leopard Tales as a result of sharing and what’s known as “shelf life” of print products. I challenge the staff to continue building upon its experience, in-troducing new ideas and providing relevant, timely information. Efforts could expand to advertising sales and design, guest columns and even lim-ited community circulation in order to provide more hands-on student experiences and make the newspaper a bit self-reliant. Indeed, if The Valley Independent ceases publication, as expected, a void will exist in “school news” about everything from athletics and our an-nual musical to academic achievement and student development. Sign me up to receive future copies of The Leopard Tales. I am more than willing to ante up 50 cents to gain insight and information about our students, staff and school pride. (Signed) Joe Grata, Member Belle Vernon Area School Board

Letter to the editortrailer for the film, during Thanksgiving 2014 amassed over 100 million views from both theatrical and online sources. The Comic-Con crowd was so excited about the “The Force Awakens” presentation that they followed J.J. Abrams, director of the film, through the streets of San Diego to a special outdoor symphony concert featuring the music of “Star Wars.” Disney furthered the hype by hosting a live global Star Wars toy unboxing event on YouTube, taking place in 15 locations, includ-ing Hong Kong, Sydney, Berlin, New York, and Tokyo on September 4 when the new line of toys dropped. While “Star Wars” fans are most excited for the film’s release, AMC plans to do a movie

Winter Break

December 23rd: Last day before winter recessDecember 24th: First day of breakJanurary 3rd: Last day of breakJanurary 4th: Classes re-sume

marathon leading up to the release of “The Force Awakens” that will include all six of the films that are currently released, and leave you with enough time to head to theaters to see “The Force Awakens.”

Promotional banner revealing release date of “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens”Photo by when-release.com

ISIS terrorizes Paris and kills and injures hundreds of people.On November 13, 2015 Paris was hit with ISIS Terror attacks. More than 100 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks in Paris. Three teams of terrorists staged coordinated attacks at six locations throughout Paris. The attackers targeted several popular loca-tions across the city. The first place hit was the Bataclan Concert Hall during a live concert. There was also a bombing right outside of the Stade de France stadium during the France vs. Germany soccer game. Also, there were at

least two restaurants hit by attackers.Two bodies were later found linked to the blast, one appeared to be a suicide bomber and the other was a passerby. “The French resolve to answer the bloodthirsty rampage across Paris was on display in Raqqa, Syria, where French warplanes on Sunday bombarded the city that serves as the de facto capital for ISIS,” according to CNN. “ISIS is just a very well funded, incred-ibly brutal group of sociopaths who are just strong enough militarily to defeat those who have opposed them. They believe in a very twisted version of Islam and have a very bloody concept of what they think their Sharia Law should be. They are attempting to set up a “Caliphate” or nation based on their values and vision,” also states CNN.“ISIS has claimed re-sponsibility for sending teams of attackers armed with assault rifles and suicide vests to attack tar-gets around Paris,” states CNN. French police carried out raids around the country overnight into Monday, November 15, 2015, seizing weapons. Police declared seven of the terrorists dead, either shot by officers or blown up by their own suicide vests. BVA counseling department intern Fran-cois, has family and friends in France who is also from France. Fortunately, his family made it safely through the attacks. “You feel helpless. Diout plans to go back to be with his family It’s more difficult when you’re

ISIS terrorizes Paris

away,” Diout explains about being away from his family and friends. As Diout was watching the France vs. Germany soccer game, there was news about a shooting around the stadium. “I thought it was a joke,” he said.and friends over Christmas break but does not plan to go back earlier than originally planned.French teacher Susanna Babko explains her feelings about the attack. “Even though I don’t have any French background, it sort of hit home a little bit more than maybe it would have somewhere else. It’s hard, it could happen anywhere real-ly which is what’s scary,” explained Babko.

Babko believes that this will continue to effect everybody on a daily basis, mainly on how people go about doing what they do and how the security will be working. She also believes everyone will stop and think about their safety after the tragedy that took place on November 13, 2015. BVA social studies teacher Rodd Kavic explains his opinions towards the ISIS attacks. “It brings more publicity to the terrorist group ISIS, it heightens our security and concerns, and it also, unfortunately brings many xeno-phobic, paranoid, and war-mongering people out of the woodwork. In the end, it may result in some level of curtailment in our basic civil liberties, as people become more willing to trade certain freedoms for what they perceive

to be more security.” Kavic believes ISIS attacks big places simply just because they can. He also believes that they will attack the U.S. and other places if they can. “It is certainly more newsworthy and makes a much bigger splash to pull of terrorist act in a large famous urban area than somewhere less populated or less famous.” Since the attack in Paris, there

have been incidents of terrorism all over the globe. The usual areas being affected are across the middle east and northern Africa. ISIS has been trying to attack many big places for a very long time and with the strong security and military forces, America hopes to bring the attacks to an end.

As the new year creeps in people usually look to better themselves. They come up with bad habits that need kicked or good habits that need started. Some plan to diet, others plan to save up. Whatever your resolution may be this year here are a few tips on how to make sure you follow through for the entire new year. Write down your goals where you will constantly see them1.Keep a progress journal2.Discipline yourself3.Have a support system When you write down your goals and keep them where you will constantly see it, like in your locker, on a bedroom door, or refrigera-tor, or somewhere that pertains to your goal, it will help drive in how badly you want to accomplish the task. Also, have a note of why you want to accomplish this goal, that way you draw more motivation from seeing it than if it was just a small note saying what to do. Keeping a progress journal will help you feel good and help you prove to yourself that you can accomplish your goal, even if it is little by little. After all the deadlines are for you to set and as long as you stay on track, that is an accomplishment in itself.

Disciplining yourself is the most important part of keeping on track to accomplish your goals. Some ways to discipline yourself are if you start slacking or falling back on your goal, to take away one of your own privileges or punish yourself in a way that picks up the slack. Having a support system also helps to keep your spirits high and your chin up when you start to doubt yourself. This also helps to stay on track and give reminders when you start to slack on your goals or fall behind. So as you come up with a new year’s resolution, be sure to follow through this year.

How to keep a New Year’s ResolutionBy Jesse Arutoff

Photo By ; Myfootpath.com

Its a holly jolly Disney Christmas We all know Disney as the happiest place on Earth and Walt Disney intends to keep it that way for Chirstmas. BVA senior Larissa Fordyce has never been to Disney before going there at the end of this past November. “I can’t wait to see the Candlelight Recessional and the fireworks. I’ve heard the that time of year is the best because of the fireworks, and I honestly can’t wait to see winnie the pooh and tigger because they have always been my favorite.” BVA music teacher and marching band director Mark Surovchak explained about the band’s history with going to Disney. “We did the night parade and you have to perform well and apply a year before and the girls had illuminated poms and the color guard had tubes that lite up. We go every four years with the band.” BVA librarian Elizabeth Wilson explains, “My favorite part is the magic because it’s just a magical place, the best time was halloween because we went to mickey’s halloween party. It’s a fun place to be and you’re away from ev-eryday life. February is my favorite because its warm and it’s cold here so it’s nice.” Disney offers many things to do during christmas like the Jingle Cruise and the Holiday Wishes Nighttime Spectacular. They also offer new attractions like frozen fun and Mickey’s New Christmas party. Many good things have happened in Disney and people say good things about the magical place. Fordyce agrees. “I’ve only heard good things about Disney so even though I’ll be busy with my dance schedule I think I’ll have a lot of fun especially since I’m

going to be with some of my good friends.” says Fordyce. “I’ve only been there in one season and that was spring but that was the best to be there because it was warm and sunny. I was especially excited to see tigger for childhood memories and goofy because well who doesn’t love goofy.” adds Surovchak. Disney is a magical place where many dreams can come true, and some dreams are still coming true because of Walt Disney and his magical home.

photo by: Sarah Juba

By: Sarah Juba

Photo by: Google

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By ; Emilee Bonus , Falyn Samoda

Photo by; playbuzz

Photo by; maxwell.com

“Even though I don’t have any French

background, it sort of hit home...”

-Susanna Babko

The hol idays are here at BVA!

By Emilee BonusChristmas is a day full of meaning

and traditions. It can also be de-scribed as a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends.

Families all around the world come together on this day to share love and thankfulness. Many fami-lies either go on vacation or simply put on pajamas and watch christmas movies. It is a holiday that anyone can enjoy.

BVA sophomore Jenna Kutcy’s family goes on vacation every other year two weeks before Christmas to Myrtle Beach. The vacation is her mother’s gift to her and her sister, Amber.

“Honestly, out of all the events we do during those five days, my favorite part is just sitting back with my family and spending quality time talking to each other, as well as having a good laugh,” said Kutcy.

BVA health and physical education teacher Shara Zupanc’s family “goes crazy for the holidays.”

All of her family travels to her aunt’s house for an “Italian Christ-mas that everyone looks forward to,” Zupanc explained. Her family spends all day with each other, her uncle cracks jokes, and they eat their Christmas feast together.

Zupanc said she has one responsi-bility on that day, and it is to get her mother to dinner on time!

“I just love seeing everyone at once. I cherish every moment with my family because you never know when they won’t be there,” ex-plained Zupanc.

Another Christmas tradition, the “Christmas pickle,” is celebrated by BVA sophomore Meagyn Salaske’s family during the holidays.

Each year on Christmas after presents and breakfast, Salaske’s mother and father hide a pickle in their Christmas tree. Whoever finds the pickle gets an extra present.

Salaske and her family alwys search the tree up and down for this pickle. “Our tree is so big and has so many ornaments, that it’s hard to find it,” said Salaske. They push and shove each year and battle to see who will get the extra gift.

“I typically always find it first and get my extra present,” said Salaske.

“This issomething my family has done together for years,” Salaske explains. “There is nothing like being around your family during the holiday sharing laughs and acting goofy. I would not want it any other way.”

By Madison BalsanoWe’ve all heard about it, and it’s

finally here. The time is upon us; standing in line, freezing outside of stores, holding your hot cocoa, and patiently awaiting the Christmas shopping delight. This year, holiday shoppers are on the move to find seasonal discounts.

Black Friday shopping is one of the biggest series of events that occur throughout America each year, although not the most popular. Ac-cording to the SAS holiday shopping survey, 71 percent of voters claim that they will be shopping during November and December. Along with only 28 percent that claim they will be spending their time shopping on Black Friday.

Some ask why Black Friday shop-ping is such a hit. Statistics from the previous survey show us that 60 per-cent of shoppers participate for the deals. Standing in second, 27 percent claim they do it for the excitement.

In today’s generation, more than 90 percent of people own computers, phones, or some sort of technolo-gy. So does this mean that Cyber Monday or online shopping will be the big hit? Surprisingly, according

to the 2015 survey, 80 percent of shoppers still prefer shopping in stores. “I still prefer online shopping. There are no crowds to fight and you get to see reviews to help you choose a product.” states BVA librarian and gifted advisor Clinton Hall. However, online shoppers in particular are the early birds who have already started to fill their digital cart.

The Belle Vernon Area staff and students adds their input about holi-day shopping. Senior Aubrey Cintron shares, “My favorite time for holiday shopping is on Black Friday. The dis-counts are outstanding and it really helps me keep my budget in line.”

Senior Dylan Lundy adds, “I prefer to shop during the holiday season rather than Black Friday. The dis-counts may not be as good, but the chaos isn’t worth it.”

Many consumers are wondering how much money really goes to-wards holiday shopping, and if budg-eting is still a thing,” Hall shares. “I do have a christmas savings account, but I usually end up paying off the big credit bills in January.” Overall, shoppers are likely to spend more money this year than previous years

Little-known backstory to timeless traditionBy Tyler Steeber

A single item, the Christmas tree, may represent more than a decoration to people. The history of the tradition explains why it is so important to some.

“It would be difficult to describe Christmas without a tree. It wouldn’t seem like much of a Christmas at all,” said sophomore Johnathan Tielsch.

Senior Larissa Fordyce stated, “I have no idea how the Christmas tree became such an iconic symbol, but I’m glad it is one.” The tradition is said to have started before the advent of Christianity. People would decorate their homes in pine, spruce, and fir trees for the reason that they stay green all year long. In many countries, it is believed that the evergreens would keep away ghosts, witches, and illness.

The shortest day and longest night

of the year, the winter solstice, falls on December 21 and 22. Ancient people had the belief that decorating with evergreens would help the sun god who had become sick and weak by the cold weather. They would celebrate this day because it meant that the sun god would finally start to get well.

According to the History Channel, modern traditions brought to the United States by the German settlers in Pennsylvania included the lighting of the tree and decorating with ornaments. “I did read that the title of the song ‘O Tannen-

baum’ is German for ‘Oh, Christmas Tree,’ which would explain its roots,” said librarian Clinton Hall.

The Christmas tree really took off in the United States at the turn of the century when electric lights became available. Manufacturers started to make ornaments for trees, which soon became a booming business during the holidays. “My grandma gets me a new ornament every year to put on my tree,” said Tielsch. The act of giving ornaments to decorate trees, as well as the decorating itself has become a favorite of families around the country. Fordyce stated, “My favorite part of decorating my tree is seeing the angel go up very last and being able to step back and take in the long process of putting the tree up.”

While the backstory may be simple, the Christmas tree will hopefully remain a pleasant reminder of the holiday season for years to come.

with 24 percent of voters claiming they have already spent more than last year.

Overall, the holiday budget and people participating in christmas shopping has gone up in the poles since 2014. According to the Holiday Savings Center the biggest christmas sales of 2015 will be seen in Macy’s, Verizon, Best Buy, and Sears. “I find my best deals on Amazon or Ebay. Although they may not have exactly what you need, sometimes I come across extremely cheap yet valuable items,” states Cintron. We hope to see shoppers out and about this upcoming holiday season, although, we cannot estimate the amount of chaos that will occur until the time is upon us.

Holiday discounts bring Chrismas chaos

Family traditions

Photo by Tyler Steeber

By Sam JenneyWe cannot forget about one of the

best things about Christmas, to most people, which is listening to Christ-mas songs! There are so many great Christmas classic songs. Songs about “Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and many more.

Some radio stations that play Christmas songs are 94.5 3WS and 101.5 Word. The songs that are celebrated around Christmas range in religious, traditional, humorous, old, and new songs.

BVA senior Dominique Flagg explains “ ‘Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer’ is my favorite Christmas song because I actually know all of the lyrics.”

When the Christmas songs start playing, it gets everyone in the holi-day spirit. BVA senior Aaron Ellis

explains, “My favorite Christmas song is probably ‘Jingle Bells’ be-cause it is the most original.”

Each song has a different story behind it. Whether it is talking about love, holiday spirit, and/or the real meaning of Christmas. Some songs talk about what Christmas is really all about or what the day brings for everyone.

One Christmas song is “Last Christmas” by Wham!, which is about love.

The start of Christmas songs playing gives most people a warm feeling inside, just knowing that Christmas is finally approaching.

Christmas songs are one of the great ways of getting one’s friends and family together. It gets most people in a holly jolly mood for the holidays.

The sounds of music are here at BVA

Happy Holidays- from -

The Leopard TalesStaff!

4

The hol idays are here at BVA!

Time to feast

By Sarah JubaPittsburgh is such a big city,

some people don’t know where to go during the holidays.

BVA science teacher Heather Kristen goes to light up night every year and goes to Kennywood’s light up night as well. “ Our neigh-borhood has a light up night, so we go there as well as to Kennywood Park for their’s. My son plays hockey, so we get to travel all around the city during the winter.

Having a family member that works at Kennywood can have its perks. “My dad works at Ken-nywood, so we go to their light up show, and we see the light up night in Pittsburgh. We also go ice skating a lot,” says freshman Cassie Falosk.

PIttsburgh offers ice skating and fun lights around this time of year.

“One thing we do every year with my kids for the past 5 years we go to the Phipps Conservatory. There are different ecosystems, and we

see Santa Claus there. They have a giant train set and we like to see the trains during the different seasons of the year,” says BVA principal John Grice.

Normally, people go to see a Christmas play every year like Grice. “I’ve went to see The Nutcracker for the past ten years with Mrs. Grice.”

Kirsten explains how the holiday is special for her and her kids. “I go with my kids and family. Seeing the excite-ment on their faces is probably the best thing to see. I like having my friends over for a Christmas party and enjoy sitting down to play cards.”

Grice agrees that the holiday is special to his entire family. “Each memory I have with the kids is the best memory,” said Grice. “I can’t just pick one.”

People do many things for Christmas in Pittsburgh, such as going see the lights, or going ice skating with friends, but there are hundreds of other things out there to do there during the holiday season.

By Sam JenneyChristmas is a time for cheer,

laughter, and joy! For most people, spending quality time with one’s friends and family, opening up pres-ents, and best of all, the foods, are a great way to spend Christmas.

Christmas obviously comes with a dinner. There are many different tra-ditional foods that have been passed down from generation to generation. Each family serves all kinds of different foods such as: turkey, ham, fish, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, and more.

BVA senior Josh Joll explains, “My favorite holiday food is turkey because it makes me feel good.”

One cannot forget the best part after dinner, which is dessert. Some traditional desserts are fruit cake, apple pie, gingerbread, pumpkin pie, Christmas cookies, cranberry sauce, and more.

BVA Senior Isaac Crosby explains,

“My favorite holiday dessert is pumpkin pie, especially with whipped cream to top it off.”

One of Pittsburgh’s popular traditional food is the Feast of the Seven Fishes, it has been a ritual every since the city became home to Southern Italian immigrants.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian celebration of Christmas Eve with meals of fish and other seafood.

Not only are all the different foods one of the best parts of the day, but also spending time with friends and family is a great way to tie the day together. Christmas is the time that brings everyone together to enjoy each other’s company.

It is sad that we spend so many hours preparing all the foods for everyone, but it only takes so long to eat. Christmas dinner brings every-one together to enjoy the holiday and everything that comes with it.

Holiday discounts bring Chrismas chaos

Pittsburgh fun for Christmas

Time to feastPictured is an assortment of Christ-

mas cookies ready for the holiday.

Holiday discounts bring Christmas chaos

Santa Claus helping out with the last

minute rush of Christmas shopping.

The sounds of music are here at BVA

Pictured to the left is a popular slo-

gan customized for the season.

Family traditionsThe quintessential Christmas Eve

dinner.

5

Meet the Staff

(Back row)Jessie Arutoff, Chris Rogers, Bryce Coyne, Emilee Bonus, Re-becca Holderbaum, Tyler Steeber

(Front row)Madison Balsano, Marissa Hasson, Samantha Jenney, Sarah Juba, and Falyn Samoda

Not in picture: Ashley Kirchner and Rachael Schwab

Snowflakes in the air, snuggled up with warm blankets on the couch, ad watch-ing your favorite Christmas movies is what the holidays are all about. Christmas movies have shown to really get people in the holiday spirit. When BVA consumer science teacher Ruth Kozel was asked if Christmas movies get her into the holiday spirit she said, “The sentimentality of the very joy of Christmas. Yes, [movies] definitely get me in the Christmas spirit.” Everybody has that favorite Christmas classic that they have watched a million times but it just never gets old. Senior Ni-cole Staley states, “I watch “The Christmas Story” all day long on Christmas Day with my family and it never seems to get old. A lot of programs on television host Christ-mas movies all throughout the month of December. ABC Family hosts the famous “25 Days of Christmas” every year. They play several favorites every day in December. Staley also adds, “I try to watch as much as I can on ABC’s “25 days of Christmas” be-cause they always play really good movies.”TBS plays “A Christmas Story” for 48 hours straight on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This channel used to play “It’s a Won-derful Life” and then switched over to “A Christmas Story.” A lot of families have Christmas tra-ditions centered around the watching of a family favorite movie. Senior Zoe Zadrozny shares, “Every year all of my siblings and myself get together and watch all of the “Home Alone” movies because they are our favorite.”Senior Courtney Hyrcko also has a family movie tradition. “My whole family watches “Christmas Vacation” every Christmas Eve after we eat dinner.” Traditions such as these really make the holidays special for families and friends.As old classic Holiday films are adored, many also like to see new films. This 2015

Christmas season has many new Christmas movies for all different genres and ages. If one enjoys scary movies there is a new Christmas movie called “Krampus.” A great kids and family movie currently out in theatres is “The Peanuts Movie.” Another family Christmas flick this holiday season is “Love the Coopers” which you can watch with the entire family. Lastly, if you like comedies, The Night Before” stars and is about famous comedian Seth Rogen. Statistics from Statista show that the high-est grossing Christmas movie in the United States is “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” This hit blockbuster was released in 2000. Following behind this hit movie in revenue is “The Polar Express” and “Elf.” Some people do not just have a favorite movie, but also a favorite scene. There are just some classic scenes in movie history that really make a movie. Zadrozny shares, “My favorite Christmas scene is from “Elf” when Buddy is excited for Santa to show up to see the kids.” Songs are also something that really make a christmas movie for some. Staley enjoys the song “When Christmas Comes to Town,” while Hyrcko enjoys “Christmas Vacation,” the song at the beginning of the movie. Many things make Christmas special for different people, but what really does it for most is a great Christmas movie.

Christmas movies brings happiness this time of year By Marissa Hasson

Daily Lunch SpecialsMonday- Bacon

Cheeseburger

Tuesday- Boneless Wings & Breadsticks

Wednesday- Pizza

Thursday- Chicken Sandiwch

Friday- Nachos/Meat/Cheese/Bun

Christmas word search

By Falyn SamodaPenguin fans are ready for winter

to bring back hockey season. Pitts-burgh fans are ready to see how the rest of the Penguin’s hockey season will go.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are bringing back hockey with a record of 9-5-0 as of November 11, 2015. Fans are ready to see how the rest of the season is going to go for the Pens. BVA science teacher Patrick Conners is a big fan of the Penguins and is ready to see how the rest of their season will go. Conners states, “In the immediate future I see them winning the Metropolitan Division and going to the Eastern Conference Finals, but losing and not making it to the Stanley Cup Finals. In the long-term future, I believe that when the Pens are sold that the new own-ership will do all that is possible to keep them on top.”

Conners believes that the Pens are a team that still struggles to find an identity and that they should let their talents loose with all of the offensive talent they have. “The game plan up to this point has been to play it safe and just win a low scoring game if need be. Hockey is a funny sport, the powers that be don’t seem to want to let the stars be stars. They need to call penalties and turn the league stars loose. I suppose their most valuable strategy is just to win, even if it is boring!”

As I’m sure many others do, Con-ners believes that Sidney Crosby is

their most valuable player. “He plays every shift at a high energy level and never gives up!”

Although hockey is a winter sport and the playoffs are in the spring, there is still that hockey feeling in Pittsburgh. “The Penguins have been a part of my life since I was very young, long before hockey became the spectacle that it is now. My cousins introduced me to the sport in the late 1970s and I have been a fan ever since. They are a part of the fabric of my life along with the Pirates,” says Conners.

BVA senior Megan Nay-lor, gives her intake on the Penguins hockey season. Naylor’s favorite part of hockey season is the playoffs. “It’s when the teams are most phys-ical and playing their games at their very best.” Naylor enjoys hockey season because the crowds are dif-ferent than any other sport. “During hockey when someone scores a goal everyone stands up, high fiving each other, and just going crazy.” Naylor usually goes to about 4 or 5 games every season.

BVA math teacher Jason Herrod, gives his intake on the Pens season so far. Herrod believes their most valuable strategy is, “develop-ing four legitimate lines through free agency and trade. I think this is by far the deepest Penguins team in regards to forward depth since the 2008 Stanley Cup final team. Opposing teams really didn’t have to worry much about the Penguins beyond the Malkin and Crosby lines for the

past several seasons.” Herrod also believes their most valuable player is Marc Andre Fleury because, “his importance to the Pens this season is similar to an “ace” starting pitcher in baseball. He’s earned us some wins that we otherwise wouldn’t have in his absence.”

Playoffs is also Herrod’s favorite part of hockey season like many others would say. This is when the teams play their best. Besides playoffs, the opening stretch in Oc-tober is also Herrod’s favorite part of the season.

“I started watching the Penguins when I was very young after my mom had brought me home some hockey cards from the grocery store one day. I watched my first game during the season prior to the Pen-guins winning their first Stanley Cup and I instantly fell in love with the sport. Mario Lemieux was my idol growing up. He simply did things that no one else could and you were likely to see something amazing when you watched him play,” ex-plains Herrod.

The Penguins hockey sea-son brings enjoyment to many fans in Pittsburgh. As the great Wayne Gretzky states, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”

Penguin fans are ready for hockey!ELF HUNT

ANSWERSPAGE 1: In Toys for Tots photo

PAGE 2: Over Senior Spotlight

PAGE 3: In New Year’s resoloutionPAGE 4 & 5: In Make A Wish StarPAGE 6: In Meet The Staff PhotoPAGE 7: In Penguins Team PhotoPAGE 8: In Photo

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Photo from Pinterest

Photo from Pinterest

where he was a two year captain, Chiste played on other club teams. His overall fa-vorite memory from high school soccer was going to the ESPN Na-tional League Tournament that took place in Dis-ney World. He scored the first goal in his team’s second game, which led to his team winning and advancing to the playoffs. In terms of advice for underclass-men trying to accomplish what

Preseason ranking has BVA wrestling at the top

By: Bryce Coyne

Player of the issue

7After making Belle Vernon Area wrestling history last year, the team has big expecta-tions coming into this season. In the 2014-2015 season the leps wrestled in the WPIAL finals, all the way to the state semi-finals losing two heart-breaking matches in a row. The team has been working hard this offseason to ensure they will go farther this year. Although that is the farthest a Belle Vernon Area wrestling team has ever gone, they hope to surpass that milestone this year. Derek Verkleeren, BVA senior captain, states “We expect to win a WPIAL and state title.” The leps are returning almost a full team, only losing one teammate who was a senior. They have also gained a few freshman wrestlers who are hop-ing to help the team out.This team has a good combination of younger

wrestlers and older, experienced leaders. Verk-leeren states, “The younger guys are fortunate

to be involved into what the older guys have started; we have been wrestling since we were little and they are apart of something special. I

want them to learn from us and continue to be successful.”

Senior captain Austin Bell also adds, “I feel the team is not as young as it has been in past years and will have more confidence which will hopefully lead to more success.”The Leps are returning all of the starting wrestlers from last year. This includes Jarod Verkleeren, who became a world champion this past summer in Bosnia. Se-nior Austin Bell, who recently committed to wrestle at the Divi-sion 1 level at the University of Pittsburgh and senior, Mitch Hartman, committed to Bucknell University to wrestle at the Divi-sion 1 level.Coach Doppelheuer states, “The

coaches have one goal for this team, a PIAA state title. The kids have bought into that notion, and we’re expecting them to get there. It’s not going to be an easy task, but we have

the talent.” The Leps wrestling team will be attending three of the top tournaments in the country this season. They will be attending Ironman, Escape the Rock, and Powerade which they placed fifth at Powerade last year and are hop-ing to improve their finish. Again Coach Dop-pelheuer adds, “As a team, a top 10 finish at Ironman would be remarkable as nearly every highly ranked team in the country attends this event.” The team is currently preseason ranked number one in the WPIAL. Also, according to Intermatwrestle Belle Vernon is ranked number eighteen in the nation. Bell states, “It is nice to be ranked number one but that puts a target on our backs so we have to prove to everyone that we are number one.” The Belle Vernon Area wrestling team is not only shooting to make BVA wres-tling history, but also all BVA sports history. No team has ever won a state title in any sport in Belle Vernon history. This team is trying to change that this season. Catch the team at their first match against Connellsville on December 9, 2015.

Wrestlers cheer on their team at a tounrament.

Photo submitted by Jarod Verkleeren

The Gold Standard: BVA fall sports recap

Fans poured from the student section and onto the field after Belle Vernon beat their undefeated rival Ringgold to practically lock up the section championship. This was the scene on Belle Vernon’s gold field and the gold standard BVA’s fall teams had achieved in their seasons.Belle Vernon’s football program ended the regular season as undefeat-ed section champs. Despite finishing as the only undefeated AAA team, they were ranked as the number two seed.BVA senior linebacker Collin Johnston says that the seeding will do nothing but “motivate them to prove everyone wrong again.” The leopards have been picked to lose in multiple games to this point. He says he embraces the underdog role.The team lost a thriller to Franklin Regional on Friday, November 13, 2015 with a score of 28-7. However, the scoreboard doesn’t tell the full story. The teams were knotted up 7-7 at half-time before giving up two straight scores. Even being down two touchdowns, the team still had an opportunity to come back in the fourth

quarter, but could not capitalize. Johnston said he spent the last few minutes “reflecting on the season they had.”

The Leopards still had arguably the best season in school his-tory. The team went undefeated during the regular season, while beat-ing some impres-sive teams.

Belle Vernon won their first playoff game in 15 years and won the section for the first time since 2002. Johnston said he believes this team “stacks up with the best teams Belle Vernon had, and [we’re] arguably the best team to ever come through Belle Vernon.” Although the Leopards lost in the second round, they brought a gold standard back to Belle Vernon.BVA golf, despite being largely under the radar, also had a sensational season. The team went undefeated in their season at 14-0, and captured a section title.The golf team isn’t a team that’s highly covered or noticeable in Belle Vernon despite

what they were able to accomplish during their season. They lost their first round playoff matchup.The Lady Leps soccer team is Belle Vernon’s third section champion team of 2015. After some tough section losses to Ringgold, the team’s hopes of a section championship and making the playoffs were in jeopardy.The Lady Leps stormed through the rest of the season, fin-ishing with a record of 13-5-1. Plus a fancy, new section title for 2015. Senior outside midfielder Meghan Lovett says, “It feels amazing to be section champs and make our coach and school proud.”The ladies went down in the second round to Central Valley in an intense matchup at Peters Township. The Lady Leps had to travel to Moon Township for their first round game de-spite winning their section. They were the only section champion to not be awarded a home playoff game. Lovett says, “The team and se-niors were disappointed they weren’t awarded a home playoff game because we worked so hard this year and we deserved it.”Looking ahead to next season, the Lady Leps will be a totally different team. The team is losing nine seniors, six of them named to the

all-section team, Meghan Lovett, Courtney Hyrcko, Kaity Watson, Marissa Zetty, Sarah Sepesky, Bailey Campbell, Marissa Hasson, Mckenna Keffel, and Emily McCullough. On top of losing a chunk of their difference makers, coach Paul Sasko and the rest of the coaching staff has stepped down after the 2015 season.The boys soccer team did not win their section,

but despite this still managed to make it to the playoffs. In making it to the playoffs, they were matched up with none other than rival Ringgold, for a thriller in Ringgold’s own stadium. Ringgold won and knocked out Belle Vernon in just

the very first round.Belle Vernon will lose their midfielder Tyler Chiste, who has committed to play soccer at division one school Elon in North Carolina, in addition to Jake Martin, Max Shrader, Zach Ostrander, Bobby Timko, and Lincoln Mimidis.BVA’s fall teams made Belle Vernon respect-able in sports again, something that hasn’t hap-pened in a long time. Belle Vernon was a force in the fall, and although they didn’t end up with any WPIAL champions, the winter sports season is hopeful to have similar results.

Tyler Chiste is a senior captain on the boy’s soccer team. He recently committed to play soccer at and attend division one school Elon University. Chiste’s commitment to Elon University was not an easy one. Choosing a college is no easy task, especially when it comes to choosing where to play a sport at. Chiste says it was very difficult choos-ing his college because he had to “go to numerous camps or talk to many coaches.” He ultimately wanted to choose where he could “get the best education and be in the best environment.” Chiste says the biggest factor in choosing Elon was was “the campus, the coaches, the players, along with their re-

By Marissa Hasson

Photo Credit to Modern Art Studio Photo Credit to Modern Art Studio

By Bryce Coyne

cord and reputation.” Chiste vis-ited Elon a m o n g s t other col-leges and the overall envi-ronment was “very enjoy-able.” Chiste has had many m e m o r i e s in his high school soc-cer career. Outside of just play-ing on the Belle Ver-non team,

Chiste has during his time at Belle Vernon, he says, “live in the moment and enjoy your time.” Adding that “if you rush through high school, you will have at least one m e m - ory in h i g h school a n d w i s h y o u c o u l d go back to that t ime .” M o s t of these memo-ries for h i m came during soccer and the musical, and he wishes he could go back to them.The Leopard Tales and Belle Vernon thanks Tyler Chiste for what he did for Belle Vernon soccer and everything else he brought to the school. The Leopard Tales wishes him the best of luck with everything he will go on to at Elon University and in life. Chiste shows some skill while playing Connelsville.

Photo copyright Herald Standard

“Live in the mo-ment and enjoy

your time.” -Tyler Chiste