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eEYE1900 Omaha Street Palm Harbor, FL 34683 December 2012

Palm Harbor University High School Since 1996

Volume 16 Issue 3

2 News3 Opinion

4-5 Feature6 Entertainment

7-8 Sports

Index6Entertainment

4-5Feature

Travel around the world in 7 holidays!

Corey and Topanga return to a T.V. near youSPORTS

Turn over for<

‘Tis the season for giving! Palm Harbor offers many opportunities, leaving you torn for whom to donate to this holiday season. From HOSA, to Interact, to school wide, there are so many options.

HOSA is giving the opportunity to donate to the Kimberly Home, an organization that helps young mothers while they get back on their feet. To donate, pick up an ornament from Ms. Miller’s room (6-101) or Mrs. Webb’s room (3-206).

“The ornament has a specific age, gender, and request (toy or clothing) on it for what a child at the Kimberly

Stefanie Caros Reilly Gies& Chloe Hubbard

The U gives back

Home needs,” Bridget Belcik said. Interact club is challenging the school

in a Toys for Tots face off. “Until December 11th they will be collecting unwrapped toys to give to children who would otherwise go without this holiday season,” Brittney van Kuijk, Interact club member, said. Drop the toy off in the box in the front office or Mrs. Gunn’s room (5-113) to donate to this great cause.

Interact club is also hosting a teddy bear drive until December 17th.

“You can donate new teddy bears for children at All Children’s hospital, it is so nice to bring a smile to a sick child’s face during the holiday season,” van Kuijk said. The teddy bears can also be dropped off in Mrs. Gunn’s room (5-113).

New year, new moves

The wrestling team had a sweet victory at the Jerry Mita Invitational match that occurred the second weekend in December.

All fourteen wrestlers who competed in the match placed in the top six. The team finished with a cumulative score of 299.5, 99.5 points ahead of Bradenton Manatee who placed in second, and East Bay in third.

The Hurricanes experienced a big win at last year’s Jerry Mita Invitational, ending with a total of 260.0 points and 11 placers, but even that 66.5 lead can not compare to this year’s victory.

“The team is now placed seventh in the entire state of Florida,” junior Jacob Timpanaro said.

Thirteen Hurricanes advanced to the semifinals, all but three qualifying for the finals. Tim Sakow, Jared Prince, Conner Prince, Tucker Hardwick, Aaron Hartman, and Tyler Modlin, who placed as champs, are among the ten finalists. The other four are Joe Capone, Michael May, Jacob Timpanaro, and Josh Kampmann.

Sophomore Jared Prince returned to claim his individual title for the second year in a row (as well as twin brother Connor and junior Aaron Hartman) and was named tournament MVP after pinning all four of his opponents.

Connor Prince, Hartman, and junior Tucker Hardwick also impressed by pinning their opponents in under a minute.

“Everyone should come to our meets and support us!” Timpanaro said. “We’re going to have another strong season.”

100 points ahead

Troupe 5590 traveled to Gibbs High School on Dec. 8 to represent the PHU drama department in the district competition. Upon returning to Palm Harbor, the Troupe boasted 4 Critic’s Choice Awards and 5 Honorable Mentions.

The all-day competition allowed the thespians to showcase solos, duets, monologues, small and large group musicals, and everything in between. Two events from each category were selected by a panel of judges, who awarded them with either Honorable Mention or, the top award, Critic’s Choice.

“We only had about 2 weeks to put everything together because of Into the Woods, usually we’d have months,” Amanda Springer said about their preparation for the competition.

Apparently two weeks was enough,

- Fusion members show off their skills at home basketball games.

Daniela Ress

Fusion rehearses choreography to Rihanna’s ‘Where Have You Been’.

Today the district, tomorrow the state

Katie Rodnite

The cast of Into the Woods takes a bow after their final fall performance before knowing that they would have a second chance at another encore.

- Troupe 5590 represents the Palm Harbor drama department at districts and secures a spot at states.

Daniela Ress

Angela Mastromarino

- The wrestling team wins by 100 points at the Jerry Mita Invati-tional.

particularly for Springer whose solo, large group musical and duet with fellow senior Sebastian Marin all won Critic’s Choice Awards. The fourth went to sophomore, Kyle Couture, for her outstanding performance in the tech category.

“We got to perform the events we won Critic’s Choice for in front of the entire district that night at the closing ceremony,” Springer said, “And after our large group performance, the crowd gave us a standing ovation.” There were well over a thousand in attendance.

Others who were awarded with Honorable mention include: junior Joshua Perlin with a solo, a duet by seniors Cayli Caruso and Nina Andjelic, freshmen Miranda Walter and Jillian Ritowski for a pantomime, and the many involved in the small group musical, Corteo & Co., and the ensemble scene, Allen & Co.

As if those awards weren’t enough, the

competing troupes also voted Springer to represent the entire district at the state festival this spring.

“Mr. Howard got an email and came to tell me. I just wanted to scream but I couldn’t because I was in class,” Springer said of receiving the news. “I guess because I made the entire audience cry during my performance, they were like, ‘Oh, we want that one!’”

Springer will perform her solo, ‘I’ll Be Here’, at the opening ceremony at states in front of a 6,000+ crowd.

The accomplishments from the weekend are especially memorable to seniors who will be performing on the PHU stage for the last time this year.

“Hearing other schools say that they were representing their troupes for the last time really made it hit home that this is the fourth and final year that we will be doing this,” senior Cameron Phillips said.

Prior to the big day, members of the

drama club went through an auditioning process, in which they performed pieces for chorus and drama instructors, Justin Havard and Graham Howard. Eventually 50 were chosen to make the trip to districts.

This is not the last time that this year’s group will demonstrate their talent on an unfamiliar stage; their fall performance of Into the Woods was chosen to debut at Ferguson Hall in Tampa this upcoming spring. Out of 48 schools that auditioned to be recognized with this honor, only 8 were selected.

“The entire cast and crew is very excited to have the opportunity to represent our troupe at the state festival,” senior Megan Feldman said, “It’s rewarding to see all of our hard work pay off.”

The drama department will be showcasing a preview performance in the auditorium on March 15, the Friday before they go to Tampa.

The music begins and the room lights up as this year’s members of the Fusion Dance Team begin their contemporary dance to a remix of “Can You Read my Mind” by The Killers.

Fusion has been a club at Palm Harbor since 2005 when it was realized that there were so many other sports teams but no dance team. The team had their first performance of the season in November.

“I was nervous because I had never danced at a basketball game before,” sophomore Emmy Lis said. “I ran over the dance in my head real quick before.”

Some members of the team already have years of experience. Junior Emily Walker is this year’s team captain.

Co-captain is sophomore Savannah McCaskill, who has been dancing for 12 years.

“It’s an honor,” McCaskill said. “It’s fun! I thought [the team] was great.”

The team practices every Monday and Thursday after school at the YMCA for two hours. The practices consist of intensive stretching, practicing technique, learning innovative new steps, and dancing to choreography. Walker runs all of the practices. At the audition, the girls were asked to show

any special talents they had. Many can do things like flips and splits. Kristy Bourdeu has been doing gymnastics for 7 years, which comes in handy when the routine includes tumbling.

Chemistry teacher Mrs. Sarah Deforest has been sponsoring the team for six years and helps with management and giving advice to the dancers.

“I was really nervous. Once I got out there I just forgot about the people there and just danced,” junior Breanna Chute said.

- PHU students and faculty get into the holiday spirit by collecting donations for many different causes.

2 3 8

December 20122

Metaphysical Gift Shop Mind-Body-Spirit Intuitive Reading Classes and Workshops

..

“We’re not advocates or attorneys. We’re parents,” Head IEP Coach Anna Brynlid said.

Twelve parents of disabled youths. Thirty counties covered in Florida. 200,000 children assisted. This is the Central Florida Parent Center, located just down the street from PHUHS, and their jobs hit home.

For the parents and caregivers that act as guardians to disable youths, life is anything but simplistic. Finding justice and equality in the school system, coping with the hardships of day-to-daily life, and handling the medical aspect of life is draining, and without a support system, parents can feel lost.

“We work together with the parent, look at law, look at special policy, and create an agenda,” Outreach Coordinator Milagros Pou said. “[This is the] Individualized Education Plan .”

Part of AWARE [Assisting With Achieving Results in Education] the Central Florida Parent Center’s purpose is to ensure that parents of children with disabilities will receive training and information on their rights, responsibilities, and protections under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Their assistance ranges from working with local schools to create an education plan for the student to offering reinforcement to the parents through webinars and

constant available contact outlets.“Parents don’t need IEP. They

just need to talk to somebody. Cry, scream, yell – we are just there to listen,” Brynlid said.

Twelve women, all caregivers to those with disabilities, service and assist 200,000 of the 400,000 children in Florida that have IEPs. But the budget is tight on a government grant, and they can’t raise awareness and gain support alone.

“We don’t have money for a big television campaign,” Director Eileen Gilley said. “We are funded by IDEA dollars and the Department of Education Funds.”

More than being a non-profit organization, Central Florida Parent Center is providing a way for students with disabilities at PHUHS to get involved.

“We are hiring a youth liaison for $9/hr to work on Facebook, tweeting, vlogging, and blogging about fifteen hours a week,” Gilley said. “Most of our contact work would be through the youth liaison. We want to create a space online to talk about school, disabilities, bullying, dating, etc.”

News

The ‘safari of Palm Harbor’ is officially known as the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary. It is home to many exotic animals including great apes, small primates, birds, crocodiles, and snakes.

Student volunteers are an essential part of the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary; roughly 50% of their volunteers are in high school, and a majority of them come from our school. Whether it is to earn volunteer hours or for personal reasons and interests, students come back to work year after year. They are accepted through a process of application and interviews by the owner and employees of the sanctuary.

“When we volunteer, we clean their cages, prepare food, and do enrichment activities.” freshman Annette Lott said. “It’s really fun and I like animals, and it gives me a chance to work with them. I care

for a lot of different small primates, macaques and capuchins are the main big groups.”

The sanctuary is home to over 70 various animals including former pets, animal-testing subjects, and even movie stars. For example, one of the small primates named Buddy was a star in the movie Noah’s

Ark back in 1999. Also, one of the orangutans named Pongo starred in a car commercial back during his good old days. They both now reside peacefully in the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary.

“[Enrichment means] I will sit

down and talk with them... from the outside I’ll just sit across from them and [say] ‘Hi, how are you?” senior Kathy Voutsinas said. “Especially Blue, he’s a cute spider monkey and every time he sees someone he likes, he does this really high pitched hooting to greet you.”

Volunteering at the sanctuary counts towards Bright Futures hours, and that is the main initial reason for high schoolers to spend their time working with monkeys. Eventually most of them grow to like it so much that they stay even after they have completed all of their needed hours.

“Last week we built a cage, and that was pretty hard, but usually it’s not that bad at all.” Lott said “It makes me feel very enriched because I’m helping animals that can’t help themselves, and it’s just a really nice experience.”

The sanctuary is open to the general public Thursday through Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm.

While enriching the macaws, Kathy

Voutsinas bonds with the animals.

No more monkeying aroundEmily Huntley

Twinkie turmoilTo most people, the Hostess

holdout only affects one with a Twinkie or Wonder bread addiction, although there are far larger implications than the missing Ho-Ho’s and Ding Dong’s.

On Nov. 16, Hostess filed a motion in United States Bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York. Over the next few days Hostess began to terminate employees. On Nov. 21 the employees went on strike. Those who still worked for the company along with those who were let go stood outside Hostess locations throughout the country with signs protesting.

Hostess CEO Gregory F.

Rayburn was quoted saying that the company doesn't have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike; therefore the company began to liquidate its assets. Hostess rejected a contract that allowed major concessions on wages and benefits.

“The company was going through bankruptcy and they had to let go of employees,” Randy Estep, a driver for Hostess, said.

A total of 18,532 employees were terminated; this has affected not just the employees but their families as well. With the economy the way it has been the last few years new jobs will be hard to acquire.

“I think it was poorly handled. We didn't receive any severance pay we also were not given any notice,”

Estep said.As result of the holdout, other

bread brands along the east coast are raising their prices. It has been said that Hostess put their friends with no experience in the baking industry in high level management positions.

Company leaders have failed to keep pace with a changing market, struggled with debt, and failed to invest in its operations or workforce.

Hostess products will remain on the shelves until the company sells off the rest of its inventory. Part of the liquidation process will most likely be selling of certain recipes and products, so a Twinkie like pastry will almost certainly reemerge in the near future.

Michael Bauza

Parental guidanceLena Schwallenberg

Emily Huntley

Visit theeyeonline.com for

more coverage!

Graphic profiles Hostess Brands

bakeries, with company details,

history, and map locating

bakery sites to be closed as the

company liquidates its assets

after 82 years in business.Dorrell

Corrction: In the feature story on page 5 in the last issue of The EYE, the text should have read, “These are your traditional zombies. They are known for their superior physi-cal fitness and leadership skills,” in-stead of the text that was printed. We regret this error.

Opinion32012 December

EYETh

e

Palm Harbor University

High School1900 Omaha St.

Palm Harbor, FL 34683(727) 669-1131

We, The EYE staff of 2012-2013, will strive to provide our peers with accurate news pertaining to their daily lives. We promise to uphold the integrity of both ourselves and the reputation of our school. Our reporting will be fair and objective as to appeal to all interest levels in the stu-dent body. Through these goals, we will provide an entertaining outlet and a reliable source that all students may enjoy.

Editor-in-ChiefsDaniela Ress

Libby Rodnite

Staff ReportersDylan Assimokopoulos

Michael BauzaHannah BermanStefanie CarosKara Condie

Quentin CumingsMaggie Dowling

Reilly GiesKevin Griffith

Valentina HerreraChloe HubbardEmily HuntleyMegan Ingram

Angela MastromarinoKatelyn Montagna

Morgan MyersPauline Piotrowski

Megan RushAnna Steriacci

Stephan VlachosJack Zygadlo

Business ManagerLauren Spiegel

AdviserJudy Cannaday

Managing EditorJordan Lutz

Layout EditorsEmily Manning

Lena SchwallenbergOnline Editor

Kiele McLaughlin

Who likes mornings? Nobody. Who likes traffic? Nobody. Who likes hanging out in the student parking lot? Your mom. Parents have more recently dropped their kids off in the student parking lot in both the morning and the afternoon. This rash problem is unacceptable, unsafe, and needs to be avoided.

As PHU’s student population has increased over its sixteen years, so has its traffic issues. Parents are known to drop kids off in side streets, on Omaha St. in moving traffic, and also in the student parking lot.

“The student parking lot is not very safe”, said SRO Deputy Jeffrey Cuttitta. “The speed limit is 5mph, but you can drift faster than that.”

With inexperienced drivers like us, throwing parents into the parking lot who are not familiar with the layout and flow of the student parking lot can be catastrophic. Although the morning can be hectic and the car line can be even more hectic, student safety should be a number one priority.

Although it may be easier to drop kids off wherever you want, please follow the rules and just drop student off in the car loop. It will provide a safer day for all.

The student parking lot is overcrowded due to the unwelcome visitors.

Jack Zygaldo

Keep your mom out of the loop

Winter is one of the most exciting seasons of the year. Homes are warmly decorated with twinkling lights. The aroma of gingerbread houses, fresh baked cookies, and pine needles floats through the cool winter air. Malls throughout the country bustle with shoppers. And every five seconds there is a commercial on TV reminding us of the “modern” meaning of Christmas.

For Americans, it is very easy to get caught up in the “shopping storm” that surrounds the holidays. This year, retailers have stooped to a new low by barging in on our Thanksgiving dinner and beginning “Black Friday” on Thursday evening. The hard-core shoppers, feeling compelled to be the very first in line, missed out on the opportunity to have those great family discussions around the dinner table, chat with their cousins while washing dishes, watch a movie together, or just relax and contemplate the meaning of Thanksgiving. Maybe some of us have allowed commercialism to go too far.

While tacky commercials and cliche songs may portray that happiness is obtained through acquiring things, racing around madly shopping can ultimately leave a person feeling unsatisfied. Sometimes it is important to step back, take a deep breath and re-claim the holidays! Make sure things are on your terms and not dictated by the pressure of advertising. Take some time to do something kind for someone in need over the holidays like “adopting” a family,

volunteering at a cold weather shelter or a soup kitchen, visiting a retirement home, or spending some time with an elderly relative. Acts of kindness have a way of making a person feel better and reflect on how much they have to be grateful for. By giving time to help the less fortunate, you may be surprised to find out that it’s the best gift you could receive, not to mention the smile you’ll put on someone else’s face.

Mrs. Paula Nall, a manager at the non-profit organization, Clothes to Kids in Clearwater, selflessly spends almost every day giving back to the community. Clothes to kids collects donations of either new or slightly used clothing, and then allows less fortunate children to choose outfits for school.

“I started as a volunteer and became very passionate about my work. It’s important that children have nice things to wear and have the opportunity to shop in a store-like environment,” Mrs. Nall said.

The store provides an astonishing 40 to 50 kids each day with winter clothing at every store location. Providing this opportunity for children to shop for nice things helps them to develop a higher self confidence, allowing them to focus on more important things in life like pursuing an education.

“At Clothes to Kids, we supply necessities to children so parents can focus on food, shelter, and other important things,” Mrs. Nall said.

Take some time these holidays to remember the less fortunate. Sometimes the smallest act of kindness can make a world of difference for someone else.

With a swipe, click, or touch, the tweeting has become enough. Twitter not only creates a nest for teenagers to procrastinate, but also a branch for high school drama. Is the sensation to tweet worth the negative comments from your peers?

It’s like an annoying buzzing bug in your ear that won’t go away no matter how hard you try to stop it. Its continuous presence keeps your attention even if you can’t stand what you hear. This is exactly how we feel about tedious twitter fights.

Even the kids that find it amusing to watch your tweet your feelings about each other outwardly on the Internet realize that fights over the web are childish.

“In my eyes, twitter fights are very necessary,” junior Ross Flemming said. “They keep everyone busy, but are pointless.”

How can something as mundane as a negative comment from some person you pass in the halls every day impact your social life through one network? The freedom to

be able to say whatever you want online has been drastically misused as a weapon of cyber bullying.

This attention grabbing trend to read up on everyone’s drama on a simple news feed has taken a hold of many high school students’ energy and time that could instead be spent on valuable activities. We, along with various other students, feel that this network has turned into a place of battle and distress towards the wellbeing of teenagers in this already stressful society. Although it has its perks, we think that twitter has been abused for the wrong reasons.

“Twitter fights are hard to explain, you basically make statuses back and forth about each other,” junior Avery Soltys-Gilbert said. “It doesn’t solve anything.”

A network that started off harmless has taken a turn for the worst. A question we want to leave all of you thinking about, “is your constant squawking worth the constant drama?” Remember everyone, there is only twenty-four hours in a day so don’t tweet all your time away.

The gift of giving-Dig deep in your heart to help the less fortunate.

I heard it from a little birdie...-Twitter is sweeping the nation, and with it the brains of countless teens.

Jack Zygadlo

Morgan Myers and Katelyn Montagna

Kevin Griffith

Sophomore Kaley Davis doing her medical magnet homework at lunch.Anna Sterlacci

Hurricane wannabees

Anna Sterlacci

-Incoming students must be careful about applying to magnet programs.

It’s almost that time of year again! Eighth graders from Pinellas County are preparing to shadow the medical and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs. While these shadows should be choosing their future high schools based on their preference, it is a tendency for them to apply to a magnet program to avoid the school for which they are zoned. This can end up damaging a student’s chances at success in the future.

“Because of the additional expectations for IB students in terms of Extended Essay, Internal assignments, and a rigorous course load, it would be difficult for a student who is complacent about learning to succeed in the IB program.” IB assistant principal Mrs. McMullen, said. “Success in the IB program comes from an internal drive to do amazing things.”

Likewise, a student must be devoted in order to achieve success in the medical program.

“You have to thoroughly study, because everything you learn is tested on,” freshman Haley O’Meara said. Without a lust to pursue a career in the medical field, applying for the program isn’t worth it. “If you don’t want to do anything medically in your career, you’ll be bored,” said O’Meara.

Someone applying to a magnet program because of the school where it’s offered rather than the program itself must be extremely passionate about attending that school. They have to be able to maintain an impressive GPA and not feel bad about taking an opportunity away from a student in the county who may value the program itself more.

“I just don’t want to see a seat in the program wasted on a student who has no investment in the program when there are others who really want in, but never get the chance,” Mr. Prince, head of the medical program, said.

Only students who can maintain elite GPA’s should apply to magnet programs. “I would rather see students making A’s and B’s in the IB program,” McMullen said.

Would you rather be average in a rigorous program or outstanding in a less advanced one? This is not to say that one should just trash the idea of applying for a rigorous program altogether…they just have to know what they’re getting into, be willing to work for it, and only apply if what they truly value is the education provided by the program…not the privilege of going to the school of their choice for some other frivolous reason.

-Students have been getting dropped off in unsafe areas around campus.

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Feature4 December 2012

Around the World in 7 Holidays“On Christmas Eve we have all of our friends and family

over and we eat our Christmas Eve appetizers and sit all

around my house. Then we all put our handmade German

ornaments on the German tree that my parents have.

After that, my immediate family and I sing German

Christmas carols by the fire for our friends. My favorite

appetizer that we have is the German Wedding Soup. We

also open one present on Christmas Eve and the rest

on Christmas Day. It takes us six hours to open them

because they get opened one by one and my grandma tells

us stories from when she was a little girl in Germany."

Senior Jessica Gluzband- Israel

Senior Yessica

Caramaya- Mexico

Freshman Samantha Pertas-

Czech Republic

“I light the candles around my house

every year with my sister. We have an

extra day called St. Stephen's Day. We

light the candles instead of [having]

a Christmas tree. If you're bad, you

don't get coal, you get a potato. Instead

of Santa, if a potato is brought, it is

brought by the devil."

“Families hold posadas

for Christmas in Mexico.

They happen once or twice

throughout the week. There's

music and a bunch of food;

you don't even have to

know the family _ everyone

is invited. It goes on until

three in the morning, and the

purpose is to get together

and celebrate giving."

“We light a menorah and eat

latkes, which are potato pancakes

and eat jelly donuts. [We] spend

time with family and get/give

presents. Every year [we] go to

Clearwater beach to light the big

menorah."

Hanukkah

Navidad

Vánoce

2012 December 5Feature

Around the World in 7 Holidays“On Christmas Eve we have all of our friends and family

over and we eat our Christmas Eve appetizers and sit all

around my house. Then we all put our handmade German

ornaments on the German tree that my parents have.

After that, my immediate family and I sing German

Christmas carols by the fire for our friends. My favorite

appetizer that we have is the German Wedding Soup. We

also open one present on Christmas Eve and the rest

on Christmas Day. It takes us six hours to open them

because they get opened one by one and my grandma tells

us stories from when she was a little girl in Germany."

Junior Nandini Adhikari-

India

Kelsea Schulenberg- Germany

Senior Camille Ubas-

the Phillippines

Senior Tannaz Mir Hosseini-

Iran

Illustration by Katie Rodnite

“In the Philippines, we have a celebration kind of like

Secret Santa. It's called Monito-Monito. We have a

lot of pot-luck parties. We attend a series of masses

called Simbang Gabi. They last eight days. After

the last mass on Christmas at midnight, we have a

Noche Buena _ it's a traditional feast. After eating, we

open our gifts. We have parols, which are Christmas

lanterns They symbolize the Star of Bethlehem. We

hang them everywhere."

“I celebrate Diwali, which is

the festival of lights. We put

lights up all over the house to

get rid of evil. Also, I celebrate

Durga Puja, which is where

we celebrate the Goddess

Ma Durga. [It's] a two day

celebration with dancing.

[It's to] celebrate our culture

as a whole. It's specifically

Bengali."

“I celebrate Persian New

Year, which is on March 21.

[There's] a big party at Ruth

Eckerd Hall, and we dance a

lot. It's based on the Persian

calendar. I do celebrate

regular New Years also.

Persian New Year is where

you basically stay out all

night."

Weihnachten

Persian New Year

Misa de Aguinaldo

Diwali

Vánoce

December 2012Entertainment6

This issue of The EYE is Sponsored by:

Mali Piotrowski Broadrocket

Lenni Ivarson (Mr. Butter) Mary Hancock

J.R.R. Tolkien's world-famous Lord of the Rings trilogy has already been adapted into three successful movies, but now the prequel, The Hobbit, is hitting movie theaters on Dec. 14. Students are preparing for the release in various ways, some are even attending a 13-hour marathon. Whether they are hard core fans or just simply like the series, people across the globe are anticipating the debut eagerly.

“I’ve seen all of the Lord of the Rings movies, [but] I’ve only started to read the first of the trilogy.” Oriana Beard, a freshman, said. “I liked the first

movie the best.”Directed by Peter Jackson and

written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, the book is being split into three full-length films. The first, An Unexpected Journey, comes out Dec. 14, then The Desolation of Smaug, will be released Dec. 13, 2013, and finally There and Back Again debuts July 18, 2014. There will be familiar faces such Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, and Ian Holm playing Gandalf, Frodo, and old Bilbo (respectively), but the movie also introduces many new actors such as Martin Freeman as young Bilbo and

Richard Armitage as Thorin.There was a 13-hour-27-minute

marathon of the extended editions of the trilogy’s movies; The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. It was on Dec. 8 at 10 am and lasted until 11:30 PM. All attendees received commemorative gifts and limited edition lanyards.

“Of course I’m going to the marathon.” freshman Megan Haring said. “I’m going because I’m obsessed with Lord of the Rings.”

“I think it’s going to do pretty well.” Beard said “I know a lot of people that are going to see it.”

Making it a Hobbit- The much anticipated prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy hits he theaters after obtaining a cult-like following.Emily Huntley

Martin Freeman, front, as Bilbo Baggins in the fantasy adventure "The

Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," a production of New Line Cinema

and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), released by Warner Bros.

MCT

Anything boys can do,

girls can still do better-The Strikeforce women’s bantum-weight title holder moves on to bigger things.

Megan Rush

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is known for its brutal men’s mixed martial arts and its cult following. Never in a million years did president, Dana White, expect to be adding women into his octagon.

Enter: Ronda Rousey. This 5 ft. 6 in, 135 lb. powerhouse has been deemed the number one women’s fighter in Strikeforce MMA, and also caught the eye of Ultimate Fighting Championship president. Right after Thanksgiving, White singed Rousey to the UFC. Rousey is the first ever women to be signed to the all-male organization.

"She's a real fighter and she's very talented," White said, "She has the credentials, the pedigree; I mean everything. I think she has that 'it' factor.”

White is not solely focusing on Rousey; however, he wants to bring in a whole new division for women to UFC, committing to the 135 pound bantam-weight division.

Of course with every decision come critics.

“It’s a risky move. It has the potential to do well, but at the same time, I don’t think there is going to be that much of an interest in it,” said Christopher Briggs, AP and HL Biology teacher. “The UFC works because it’s males fighting males and that’s what people, be it women or men, like. This women’s division would have to be supported by the women who watch MMA and I just don’t think there’s enough interest from the ladies fan-base.”

However, senior Chandler Collins thinks otherwise.

“Anybody can fight. It’s a sport! If you want to go and fight and you’re a lady then go for it. This will potentially change society’s view of women. It’s an eye-opener for people,” said Collins.

It’s expected that eight other ladies will move into the UFC alongside Rousey from Strikeforce. Look for Rousey making her debut at UFC .

New Year scene stealers - 2013 will be bringing a year full of many new TV shows.Valentina Herrera

In the year of 2012, many things are coming to an end: Gossip Girl, 30 Rock, Jersey Shore, Weeds, Private Practice, The Office, and possibly the world. But, along with the end to these chart-topping shows and more, is the addition of new shows in the beginning months of 2013.

3. Deception

2. The Carrie Diaries

1. 1600 Penn

Carrie Bradshaw, the iconic main character of Sex and the City returns to television in the body of Anna Sophia Robb in the year 1984. Carrie is in her senior year of high school and struggles with an internship, boys at school, and a newfound love with New York City. Premiers January 14, at 8pm on the CW.

“Modern Family meets The West Wing” with Bill Pullman Jenna Elfman, Josh Gad and others as the eccentric First Family during an election year. Premiers January 10, at 9:30 on NBC.

When a wealthy socialite dies of an overdose, Detective Joanna Locasto (Meagan Good) renews her friendship with the Bowers family to investigate the shady details. Premiers January 7, at 10pm on NBC.

Stormwatch7December 2012

Through your EYEsThis issue's question:

What is on your Christmas wishlist?

Sophomore Casey Jones Junior Sarah FreemanFreshman Jessica EggerJunior Aly FiegleSenior Eleana Iacono

“Dark blue Beats.” “New makeup.” “A new computer battery.”

“A laptop.” “A trip to England.”

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“Hold ‘em down!” It’s that sea-son again: time for the wrestling team to dominate the high school wrestling world.

The team is ready to be champi-ons yet another year, after coming in 5th place in the Durant match that occurred in November.

“It was a really good feeling having the team do so well at Durant, knowing that all of our hard work and practices paid off,” Junior Marco Prusac said.

Wrestling is more than just having big muscles and great strength. A lot of hard work

-The wrestling team is back and working harder than ever to maintain their winning status.

and dedication goes into being successful. The team has practice Monday through Friday every day after school for two hours, where they go through the routine of warm ups, drilling, live wrestling, and conditioning.

“I work them very hard at prac-tice, but it all pays off in the end,” Coach Sakevich said.

The team have several meets coming up in December and Janu-ary which they are training for.

“We hope to have another win-ning year this year, as we did last year,” Prusac said. “I’m confident that our hard work will pay off again.”

Sweating their way to the top

Angela Mastromarino

They fight for the win with vigor, focus, and dedication. It’s half way through the season and the odds are ever in their favor this year with a 10-1 lead over their other rivals. The PHUHS hockey team has started off strong and has only gotten better, a future for this year that no one anticipated.

“We play 18 games throughout the whole season, each of which only last about an hour or so,” said senior Austin Cabaniss, defender. “Our home rink is TBSA in Oldsmar, and we’ve been doing great this season even with all of our newest players.”

The team has gotten a lot of new players this year. From a 10-8 season last year to their current 10-1 record, these new players have brought with them the necessary

Goal for more fans on the ice-The PHUHS Hockey team is tearing up the ice this season, but every Friday night the stands remain empty.

talent and team size to help push the team to the winner’s league.

“It’s a big team now, so there’s now more breaks, and because of these breaks, we players get more time to rest so we’re always ready,” Cabaniss said.

“I’ve gone to a couple of games here and there,” senior Matej Mensik said. “I came from Europe so already I’ve been interested hockey. But I mostly love how it’s fast-paced, exciting, and I like watching our team win.”

“We’ve really bonded as a team, with more strict practices we get to work on things like passing; stuff we useD to struggle at,” Cabaniss said.

Fans and support are the two things the team lacks the most, even though their record has improved this year. Hockey games used to

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Maggie Dowling

The boys and girls varsity soc-cer season is in full motion as they quickly approach the middle of their season.

The girl’s team, coached by John Planamenta and Darryl Southard, is 11-0, so far, their most recent win against Seminole, which they won 4-2.

“[Our best game has been] the East Lake game. They’re our rivals and everyone played really well so we came out with a win,” senior

Morgan Lorenti said. The game took place on Tues-

day Nov. 27 PHU winning 3-1, with goals scored by junior Katie Im and senior Skye Barbra.

The boy’s team, coached by Alex Delgado, is 7-2-1, their most recent win against Clearwater, win-ning 2-0. This season, the team had to go through some changes. The U.S. Soccer Federation has moved its Development Academy boy’s teams from a seven-month to 10-month schedule, which con-flicts directly with the high school

PHU kicks off soccer seasonJordan Lutz & Stephan Vlachos

-Yale Recruit

-Became a college prospect after freshmen year at states.

-Able to succeed in the International Baccalaureate Program and swim.

-Started competitive swim at age eight.

-College Goal: Win the NCAA title in 100 or 200 free style.

“I’m just so excited to go to Yale! I look forward to the academics in college because I have always been academically oriented,” Senior Ryan McRae said.

Student Spotlight:

Ryan McRae

be popular, but suddenly less and less students started to show up. Though the team is doing well, their stands remain practically empty.

“This is one of our best seasons yet and we really need the support from our school. Right now it’s mostly parents that come, with the exception of 15 or so students,” Cabaniss said.

On Dec. 21, PHU will be facing off against one of their biggest rivals, East Lake. This is when the team will need students the most.

“I always go with friends, it makes watching the game more fun when you have someone with you,” Mensik said.

There are games every Friday night and the team is desperate to fill those bleachers.

“We need support. we’re a good team! Please come and watch our games, we need it,” says Cabaniss.

season. Some of the players from last year’s team could not return this year due to fact that this new schedule made them have to choose whether to play for their club team or high school team.

“[We have] a much younger team [this year], inexperienced but with lots of talent,” senior Anthony Campbell said.

Still in the midst of their seasons, both teams are confident that they will make it to States this year. Their next match is against North Port on 12/14.

The Aftermath

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The PHUHS girls soccer team is in the middle of their undefeated season despite having new players this year.

The Aftermath

Senior Ryan McRae cheers on his fellow swimmers at a spirit meet.

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