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Irmo High School6671 St. Andrews Rd.Columbia, SC 29212

(803) 476-3071

STAFF The purpose of the Stinger is to in-form the student body of Irmo High School about events aff ecting them, infl uence readers through responsible editorials, to entertain through features and to provide a medium for advertisers and consumers. These goals will be achieved through fair and accurate reporting.

The Stinger is published eight times a year, including a prom supplement published in February and March and a senior supplement, to commemorate the graduating class, in May, by Journalism II-IV newspaper students at Irmo High School.

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INDEX

01 The Stinger02

cover illustration by Samantha Edwards

NEWSENTERTAINMENTFEATURESOPINIONSSPORTS

0307113134

For many years, summer reading was the only reading that some students really did besides the usual school textbooks. Starting in the 2009-2010 school year, a new reading program will be at Irmo High School. Th is program is known as D5 Reads 365, which is part of the High Schools Th at Work program.

Instead of just two or three books for summer reading, students will have to read about 10 to 15 books during the 2009-2010 school year.

Th ose 10 to 15 books can include the students’ summer reading, books read for their classes or books that students read for pleasure. Chapin and Dutch Fork High School will do this as well.

Judith Head, leader of literacy cohort, says she believes that this new reading idea will improve students’ reading comprehension and is good positive reinforcement.

“I hope that this new reading strategy will encourage students to read more,” Head said.

Each time a student reads a book, he or she will record it in a reading log that all students will receive at the beginning of the year. Th ere is no grade counted for those books, and it will not aff ect students’ grade if they are not able to read that amount of books. Incentives may be included for those who do complete that amount.

“If all 10 to 15 books are read, it is possible that students could receive prizes or rewards for their achievement,” Head said.

Alenda Jones, English department chair, says she agrees with the new program.

“We want to give as much recognition to students who excel in reading as we do to students who excel in athletics.” Jones said.

Shelby Cook, junior, believes that the

New reading program for Irmo studentsnew reading idea might be diffi cult for students due to extra curricular activities.

“I think that reading should be on someone’s own time,” Cook said. “It should be optional when it comes to school, unless it is for a specifi c class.”

Gene Williams, English teacher, supports the new reading program.

“I think it is good,” Williams said “It will take time to implement; you just have to take it step by step.”

Some teachers may designate specifi c reading time during their class or during channel one. Students are also expected to read on their own time.

Th e books can be on anything and can

Popular Reading Books:Twilight series• My Sister’s Keeper• Blueford series• She Said Yes• A Child Called ‘It’ • Go Ask Alice• Crank• The First Part Last•

Shortened summer school program

Summer school is off ered to students who need to make up classes that they may have failed in the previous school year. For the past few years, summer school has been off ered online for stu-dents through a program called Nova NET. Th is summer, District 5 is switch-ing to the web-based program APEX, currently being used this school year for students taking online classes.

Administrator William Olawsky was in charge of the program for the past three years. Th e new program will have a few changes from the previous years.

“Th e program will be at Dutch Fork [High School], not Irmo this year,” Olawsky said.

Th ere will be six computer labs used, each with a diff erent subject and a teacher who specializes in that subject area. Summer school will last through-out the summer from June 22 to Aug. 5 this year.

Th ough the program will last until August, hours for summer school have been cut back due to the district wide budget cuts.

“Because of the budget cuts, it will only be four days a week and last until 3 p.m.,” Olawsky said.

Th e program will also consist of three sessions: 8 a.m.–10 a.m., 10:15 a.m.–

12:15 p.m. and 12:45 p.m.–2:45 p.m. Summer school used to be fi ve days a

week and ran from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Th is will give students less time to complete the work assigned to them in the APEX program, which is more interactive than Nova NET

“Th ey can actually do work at home but they can’t take their chapter tests at home,” Olawsky said.

In previous years, students did not take work home with them to complete, but with less time, taking work home will be necessary to complete the courses.

“Students who have taken both like APEX better,” Olawsky said. “Under-classmen that do not fi nish, they will be put in the computer lab to fi nish the course and once they fi nish they will be put in either another APEX course or a half-credit course.”

All of the work students complete during summer school can be saved to transfer over to the fall semester for completion.

Students who are planning to take courses over the summer will also pay less than in past summers. Th e APEX summer school program is $225 per class this year, whereas the Nova NET program was $300 per class. Each stu-dent is allowed to take up to two classes during summer school. Registration for summer school started on May 1 and will end on June 19.

be any size. Th ere will be more new books next year in the school library for students to check out.

More information about the new school reading policy will be given out closer to the end of this school year.

“Reading for pleasure is important,” Head said. “I think that people should read more and read about things that interest them.”

Eddie Walker, principal, says he believes that reading is very important for everyday life.

“Th e ability to read is a critical ingredient in success,” Walker said. “If you can read you can learn to do just about anything.”

malloryMACGARGLEb u s i n e s s m a n a g e r

kaylaGROFFp r o d u c t i o n m a n a g e r

New Student Council offi cers electedanniePARHAM

c o p y e d i t o r

After serving two years in Student Council, one in General Assembly and the most recent on Executive Board, Maggie Carson, junior, decided to run for president.

“I thought it would be a good leadership role for me to learn how to become a better

Maggie Carson, presidentleader and help me later in life,” Carson said. “[It will] help me learn about public speaking and how to take charge.”

During her campaign, she says her family, her running mate, Jessica Irvin, and her close friends were really supportive of her.

I n addition to the stickers handed out by other students, Carson also handed out Dum Dum Pops bearing the slogan “Don’t be a dum-dum, vote for Maggie” and pencils.

“I wanted to make sure even people who didn’t know me would know who I was,” Carson said.

After fi nding out she won, Carson says she was really excited.

“I called my mom and my dad,” Carson said. “I sent a big email to my whole family. Everyone was making a big deal out of it.”

She says one of her goals for goals for next year is she wants to make Student Council more organized.

“Every year on Student Council everyone’s like, ‘we’re going to do this, we’re going to do that,’ and it never happens,” Carson said. “I really want to come through with the ideas that I have and not just talk about it.”

Carson says she is really excited for next year. She says she will try to be the best president possible and continue the good job that past presidents have done.

“I’ll probably open up doors [for myself ] that wouldn’t have been possible if I wouldn’t have run for this position,” Carson said.

IN CHARGE: Maggie Carson(left) and Jessica Irvin, juniors, were elected president and vice president. Th ey will be offi cers for the duration of the 2009–2010 school year.

Jessica Irvin, vice presidentJunior Jessica Irvin will become next

year’s vice president. She decided to run for this position

around a month before the beginning of campaign week.

“I didn’t want such a big role [like president],” Irvin said. “I wanted a small

role, but I still wanted to be involved.” Irvin promoted her campaign with

Maggie Carson, junior, who won for president. She says her friends were really encouraging toward her campaign.

She says she thinks her determination is what won her the position of vice president.

Irvin says she felt accomplished after fi nding out from Eddie Walker, principal, that she won. Walker called all of the candidates to his conference room to announce who the winners were.

Irvin says next year she hopes to continue the job Molly Sullivan, senior,

this year’s vice president, did, and improve anything that needs to be changed.

Irvin serves on student council’s fundraising committee right now. She says she thinks student council is not only useful to the school, but is also a lot of fun for the members.

Currently she also is a member of the Junior Board and the Varsity Cheerleading squad. She says she thinks being vice president will help her with these because she “will know more about the school.”

Irvin also says she believes holding this position will be benefi cial to her in the long run.

“I’ll learn a lot more leadership qualities, and it will give me more confi dence,” Irvin said.“

“

Irvin is servin’.–Irvin’s campaign slogan

courtesy of Facebook.com

04 The Stinger

n

Chad Bowman, secretaryChad Bowman, sophomore, assistant

spirit chair, was elected secretary for the 2009–2010 school year.

Despite the fact that he ran for this position, Bowman originally wanted to be either vice president or president. However, only rising seniors are allowed to run for these positions, and Bowman says he “thought the next best thing would be secretary.”

Bowman’s strategy for campaigning was to be nice to everyone, give out candy and stickers and to have a clever video.

“[For my video,] I have Devon [Gossett] come on dancing,” Bowman said. “I knew everyone would like that

because he’s funny. If people laugh, then they’ll vote for you.”

Th roughout campaign week, Bowman says his friends, especially Bradley Vaughn, Andrew Bodnar and Chris Slaughter, sophomores, supported him.

Bowman has a few ideas for the next school year, including changing the Student Council’s constitution so that juniors can be vice president and having a garage sale of some of the things the Student Council has but doesn’t use.

“We have a Leadership class, and we come up with ideas all of the time—random ideas, but no one writes them down, and they’re really good ideas,” Bowman said. “So, I’ll be the guy that writes all of the good ideas down next year.”

Bowman says he wants to be a big part of Student Council but also hopes that this will help him get into college. “

“

Who’s your daddy? Vote for Chaddy.

–Bowman’s campaign slogan

Catie Beth Bowman

and Caroline Garris,

spirit chairsCatie Beth Bowman and

Caroline Garris, freshmen, were elected spirit chairs for next year.

“We were excited [to fi nd out we won], and I was ready to start doing things,” Bowman said.

Bowman and Garris’s strategy during their campaign was to talk to as many people as possible, get their friends to spread the word and be as loud as possible so that voters would remember them while casting their ballots. Th ey also got staff members like William Olawsky, administrative assistant, and Sherrel Mars, clerical assistant, to support them.

Th ey say they received a lot of help from their good friends during election week, especially from McKenzie Lever and Katie McGarrigle, sophomores.

“[Lever] helped us make a bunch of shirts and a bunch of signs, and we went to Katie’s house a lot,” Garris said. “We both got sick campaign week, so everything we needed Friday and Th ursday, [Lever] was there.”

Overall, their main goal for next year is to come up with ideas to make the pep rallies more fun so more people will attend them.

“We’ve both been in Student Council for a long time, and we work well together so we’ll be able to come up with good ideas,” Bowman said.

Bowman and Garris say they hope this opportunity will help them to meet new people and improve their planning, organization and leadership skills.

“I think we’ll be more outgoing next year, and it’ll help us learn to take criticism,” Garris said.

Chelsea Partain andMary Kathryn McArthur,Public Relations offi cers

Mary Kathryn McArthur and Chelsea Partain, sophomores, each made the decision to run for public relations (PR) offi cers separate from each other originally. Both wanted to be PR offi cers and work together, which led to their decision to team up in late February.

Partain and McArthur agree that Student Council advisor Sibela Nye has been really encouraging throughout this process. Th ey say she is what motivated them to run.

“She just encouraged us all to do something for Student Council—run for an offi ce position,” McArthur said.

Th is year, McArthur was on executive board, and they were both on social committee.

Partain and McArthur say they were excited to fi nd out that they

w o n

but were also relieved that the stress of election week was over.

Th ey say they applied for the PR position because they

want to make sure people know the events that are going on.

“Th is year we had a problem with people knowing the events going on and T-shirt sales and stuff ,” McArthur said.

Partain says she and McArthur will make sure this problem doesn’t continue next year.

“We’ll make sure we are loud to tell everyone about stuff ,” Partain said.

McArthur says she thinks “out of all of the jobs, this is the best one to have” because there are diff erent ways to publicize everything so it won’t get old.

Despite the many other activities Partain takes part in, she feels participating in Student Council will be a good thing.

“Social-wise, I think it will make [my life] better and more fun,” Partain said.

McArthur says she believes that laziness is a big problem in Student Council.

“We need people who really want to be in Student Council, they don’t just want the title,” McArthur said.

ELECTION continues on page 6

05April/May 2009

n

McLeod Best, treasurerMcLeod Best, sophomore, ran for

treasurer after watching the job that the current treasurer, Yousef Ibreak, sophomore, has been doing throughout the year. Best says the good job Ibreak did is what motivated him to run for treasurer himself.

Best, who is on the fundraising committee this year, worked out a strategy for his campaign.

“Anybody I could get to, I would shake their hand and tell them a little about myself, give them a sticker,” Best said. “I took a more personal route.”

Best says he had a lot of support from

“

Vote for McLeod

Best.–Best’s campaign slogan“

diff erent people including his parents and his friends, especially Taylor Kelley, sophomore, Jordan Kelley and Katie Ashley, seniors, who helped him with his video. Best says Student Council was also very supportive of him.

“Everybody p r o m o t e s e v e r y b o d y , like a win-win attitude,” Best said. “Even if you’re running against someone, you’re kind of wanting good for them, so it

helped me go out on a limb.”Best says he chose the position as

treasurer because of his love for working with people. He says that working with

new people and leading others are big parts of fundraising.

Before the winners were announced, Best says he was “feeling anticipation, anxiety and some nervousness.” He also says he waited until he left the conference room to get really excited and to celebrate.

One of the things he thinks is an important quality for a person to have is the will to go fi nd the solutions to problems. Something that he wants to fi nd a solution for next year is the lack of communication that Student Council members experienced this year. To solve this problem, Best says he suggests the creation of an online newsletter to keep this organized, even though he admits he is not the most organized person himself.

“Even if I’m not the best, most talented, the top, I can go out and I can work hard,” Best said.

Digital television (DTV) is the new broadcasting technology that’s about to power down all analog broadcasting. By June 12, all transmissions to TVs across the country will be digital.

President Obama and Congress changed the original February 17 date to a later time, in hopes that the public would be more prepared for this major transition. However, broadcasting stations across the country, including one in Charleston, have already started all digital broadcasting. As the June date approaches, there is still important information to know to avoid getting dead-air.

Currently broadcasters use an analog signal, which is basically variations in the amplitude and frequency of a signal, to send out picture and sound on for their local channel viewers. DTV, however, is able to transmit many diff erent formats defi ned by aspect ratio and size. Th e three categories of DTV used in the U.S. are high-defi nition television (HDTV), enhanced-defi nition television (EDTV) and standard-defi nition television (SDTV).

DTV will allow broadcasting stations to air several channels of digital programs simultaneously, a process the government is calling “multicasting.” For example, WISTV on channel 10, locally, can now off er diff erent programming on channels 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, etc.

Providing more programming choices is something analog television is not capable of. Th e switch to digital will not only give the public better picture and sound quality, but it will also allow the police and fi re departments to communicate more eff ectively.

Th ere are several diff erent methods to obtain DTV. One way to receive local channels is to simply get an antenna and a converter box for an analog TV. If you already have a digital TV (one that already has an internal digital tuner) then no additional equipment is required to receive local channels.

Becoming a subscriber to digital cable or satellite TV is another way to be assured of receiving a signal by the June transition date. However, additional equipment may be required for cable and satellite users to receive the new higher defi nition pictures.

Th e typical converter box costs between $40 and $80; however, there are government

All TV broadcasts go digital June 12coupons available that are worth $40 each. Th ese are currently available, but they are only valid until July 31. Even though the coupons expire after three months if unused, it is still possible to renew them by contacting the government agency responsible for DTV at 1-888-388-2009.

Th e United States is not the fi rst country to make this big switch. Luxemburg, soon followed by several other European countries, was the fi rst to switch to DTV in 2006. Japan, China and the UK are scheduled to switch within the next several years.

kristenPOLINSKIc i r c u l a t i o n m a n a g e r

06

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The Stinger

ELECTION continued from page 5

07April/May 2009

Hootie & the Blowfi sh started with just four friends brought together with music to form a brotherly bond. With a lot of talent and hard work, they fi nally made it to the big time.

“We persevered, and we had a sound that people could relate to,” Bryan said. “Sure, I thought we had a chance. Why not us? But I still feel like there was some luck involved as far as right place, right time. Th at is an intangible.”

Bryan said the fi rst time he heard their music on the radio, it was a monumental moment for him and his career.

“It was a full-circle m o m e n t , ” Bryan said. “It

was surreal. I had to check and make sure it wasn’t a tape or CD.”

Bryan had some advice for others who want to write their own songs and eventually made it to the radio.

“Play all the time,” Bryan said. “Play anywhere you can—parties, etc. Start writing your own music. Th ere are no rules. Th e best stuff comes when you aren’t trying. You can start with melody and lyrics, or some sort of musical riff . It is important to keep your ear to the street, and be able to relate to people through your songs.”

Th e band formed the Hootie & the Blowfi sh Foundation years ago to support public education issues in S.C. Th ey host Th e Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament, an annual fundraiser that is the main revenue stream for their foundation. Th is year, they have raised $4 million through it. Th ey also have Th e Hootie at Bulls Bay, an intercollegiate golf tournament. Th e proceeds from this benefi t the foundation.

“Th ey reach countless numbers of people through their foundation and charity performances and appearances,” Carney said.

Th e past three Hootie tours have been “Homegrown Tours,” and all the guests are asked to bring school supplies to the show. All the supplies donated are loaded onto a school bus and distributed to the local school district.

“For the past two years, the band has

South Carolina hoots for Hootie When hearing about Hootie & the

Blowfi sh, what most likely comes to mind is one of their hit songs featured on their debut album, “Cracked Rear View.” Many wouldn’t think, be aware of, how much the four guys reach people beyond their music.

Mark Bryan and Dean Felber were high school friends and came to the University of South Carolina in the fall of 1985. Bryan’s dorm room was on the same fl oor as Darius Rucker’s, who started school the year prior. Felber was on the fl oor above.

“Mark would always piddle with his guitar and Darius was constantly singing. Th e two started playing acoustic covers at the chicken wing/burger joint across the street,” Chris Carney, the band’s Minister of the Interior, said. “Dean was very reluctant to join them, but he said if they found a drummer he would consider it. ‘Who would bring a drum kit to a dorm?’ he thought. Well a kid named Brantley Smith had a drum kit in a neighboring dorm and Dean stayed true to his word.

After graduating, Brantley left the band to pursue a career in ministry; Soni, the drummer of another local band, sat in with Hootie while they auditioned for a replacement drummer. All four realized they shared the same desire for a career in music, and Soni offi cially joined up.”

It’s easy to notice that the band name Hootie & the Blowfi sh is very unique_, leaving many people wondering about its origin and meaning. As with the formation of the group, it was all by chance.

“Th ere were two guys in Carolina Alive, a song and dance group at USC, with Darius,” Carney said. “One had chubby jowls and was known as ‘Th e Blowfi sh.’ Th e other [had] big buggy eyes and was known as ‘Hootie.’ Th ey were close friends and walked into a party one day and Darius exclaimed, ‘It’s Hootie & the Blowfi sh’ and thought it would be a good name for a band, and it stuck.”

• Established in 2000 • Private non-profi t organization • In conjunction with Monday

After the Masters Golf Tournament

• Benefi ts children of South Carolina through education

and supporting school music programs

nationwide. •Donated over $1 million to

educational needs in South Carolina

www.hootie.com

““

There are no rules. The best stuff comes when you aren’t trying. It is important to keep your ear to the street, and be able to relate to people through your songs.

-Mark Bryan

held a ‘back to school round-up.’” Carney said. “School children are outfi tted with backpacks of school supplies and new shoes. Th ey’re given dental exams, haircuts and participate in educational programs led by the Charleston Library and S.C. Aquarium.”

Rucker, is working on promoting his latest solo country album, ‘Learn to Live,’ which was released in 2008. Currently the rest of the band has slowed down musically so they can have some well-deserved time off , spending time with their friends and families.

britniSLONEp h o t o g r a p h e r

Many people attended the showing of the “Twilight” movie, and read the “Twi-light” series. When it ended they were left searching for other books similar to the “Twilight” phenomenon. With the “Twi-light” saga over, new books starring vam-pires are hitting the bookshelves. Vampire series such as the “House of Night” by PC and Kristin Cast, and “Blue Bloods” by Me-lissa de la Cruz appeared on bookshelves and readers like Erin Westerkam, junior, picked them up. The reason for the popular-ity of books about vampires was, for many, “Twilight.”

“Me and Colleen went to the bookstore to look for vampire books, and I found an-other one called ‘Blue Bloods,’ so I’ve actually read two series because of ‘Twi-light’” Westerkam said.

Also, some students at Irmo went looking for similar books in the school library.

“Before ‘Twilight’ the [vampire] books were popular, but when Twilight came out it broadened and became more popular,” Karen Tisdale, media specialist, said.

People could be drawn to these pop-ular books because of the intense fight-ing scenes in some, the love stories like in the “Twilight” series or just the magic that is written in the books.

“I like all fantasy books like that, like with magic and stuff like Harry Potter, just because it’s interesting, but I don’t like the scary vampire books,” Westerkam said.

In the school library there has been more interest in the vampire books ac-cording to Judith Head, media special-ist, and Tisdale.

After “Twilight,” the school library stocked up on other vampire books along with the books in the “Twilight” series for active vampire readers.

“We did order a lot [of vampire books] after ‘Twilight’ and we also bought extra copies of the ‘Twilight’ se-ries,” Tisdale said.

The school library ordered more “Twilight” books than any other book. The vampire books not only reach the stereotypical girl, but, according to Head, they also reach boys.

“The ‘Twilight’ series is still very popular,” Tisdale said. “We even have more guys checking them out now.”

Head and Tisdale found that “New Moon” and “Breaking Dawn”, the sec-ond and fourth books in the Twilight

saga, are still in the top 10 books checked out in the school library.

Among the other vampire books that are popular with students at Irmo are, “Got Fangs?” by Katie Maxwell, “Tantalize” by Cynthia Smith and “Thirsty” by MT An-derson.

With the vampire books becoming in-creasingly popular since “Twilight,” it seems like readers may start to believe in vampires or werewolves or any mythical creature that makes up the books. Westerkam, however, disagrees and says she does not believe in them.

As many vampire books are appearing due to the popularity of “Twilight,” another vampire series such as “Twilight” may come out and take over the reading world.

Books keep biting after TwilightKeep Your Ears

Open For...

Even though the Scottish alterna-tive rock band, Travis, has been produc-ing albums since 1997, they have been able to keep their sound evolving.

Their debut album, “Good Feel-ing,” was upbeat, at least in the typi-cal ’90s way. Their second album “The Man Who,” which brought them to the international stage, and every album thereafter has been softer and more lyrical.

When the band went into the re-cording sessions last year for their sixth album, “Ode to J. Smith,” they headed in with a new direction in mind. Travis’s born-again album has expanded the band’s musical range with a more gui-tar-based and an edgier rock sound.

Despite the freshness, the new al-bum may remind dedicated band fol-lowers of an expanded-on sound from their debut album. “Tied to the ’90s,” which appeared on their first album, has the same upbeat feel as their new song “Get Up.”

The album entered the UK Album Chart at #20, which was a shock to most fans who expected the album to open in the top 10. The album did rank at #28 on Q Magazine’s list of the Read-ers’ Best Albums of 2008

Compiled by Kristen Polinski

E

08 The Stinger

margoGOODALEs p o r t s e d i t o r

week 1

The Breakdownj u n eThe Breakdown is a week-by-week glance at the books, music

and dvds that will be released in the upcoming month.

week 2

week 3

week 4

week 5

“Rogue” by Danielle Steelb o o k

“Land of the Lost”m o v i e

“The E.N.D” by Black Eyed Peasm u s i c

“Imagine That”m o v i e

“Gran Torino”d v d

m o v i e

“Far” by Regina Spektorm u s i c

b o o k

m u s i c

“My Sister’s Keeper”

“The Doomsday Key” by James Rollins

“He’s Just Not That Into You”d v d

“Cradelsong” by Rob Thomas

compiled by Kayla Groff

11

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April/May 2009

10

f

The Stinger

Irban Dictitonary is the slang dictionary IHS students wrote. Defi ne your school.

The girl standing on the road thinks to herself, “What is that creeper doing by himself by a trashcan? That’s sketch...”

Beast: Something or someone that is good; awesome. A person that appears tough or intimidating.1) Th at guy was beast at tennis.2) He looks like he’d be a beast at rugby!Brah: Friend, aquaintance. Short for brother, or bro.1) What’s up, brah?

Creeper: A person who acts in a weird manner, who tends to lurk, almost. One usually would not expect this person to be where they are, they follow quietly. 1) Why is that girl sitting by the trash can in that dark alley? What a creeper... Epic: Awesome, great, huge; could be used with failure or win.1) Th at win was epic for the Jackets.2) Person 1: Did you see that cheerleader fall during tryouts? Person 2: Yeah! Th at was an epic fail!

I Feel Ya: Understanding or empathy. Agreeing1) Person 1: I wish summer lasted longer! Person 2: I feel ya!

Real Talk: Th e truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Not joking around. Keeping it real. 1) I know he and I are best friends, but he really gets annoying after a while. Real talk.

Sketch: A situation that is not normal or out of the ordinary. A place that is unusual or suspicious.1) I wonder why that guy is dressed in all black and has a ski mask in the middle of the day... and is peering through my neighbor’s windows. Wow, that’s sketch.

Stank: Appearing trashy. Having a bad attitude that isn’t ap-proved by others.1) Person 1: *walks by with a look on their face like they own the place* Person 2: Uhh, stank!

Swag: Someone’s style, appearance. Th e way someone pre-sents or carries themselves. 1) His swag isn’t like any one else’s!

Tight: Stylish, cool. Can appear cool or awesome. 1) Person 1: Hey man, check out that kid’s new skateboard. Person 2: Dude, those are tight!Twerk: Th e way someone dances; dancing.1) Th ey were twerking it up at prom! Word: Used the same way as saying “Th at’s true.” Generally said in an agreement.1) Person 1: Th is assignment is so diffi cult! Person 2: Word!

The boy on the right is admiring his friend’s brand new skateboard. He points to it and exclaims, “That’s tight, brah!”

These two friends are discussing their plans for the summer. The one on the right says “I can’t wait for school to be over!” The girl on the left replies, “I feel ya!”

Margo Goodale and Priya Purohit

11April/May 2009

Leaphart student challenges high school chess team

Everyone has a hobby. From piano to basketball, robotics to card collecting, there’s no denying everyone takes a special interest in a diff erent activity.

Many students wish the school day was over so they can return home to the lazy state they were in the morning of. But not everyone. Jordan Owen is a fi fth grade student who is attending Leaphart Elementary. He has curly blonde hair and oval-shaped eye glasses. His mother, Nancy Owen, is an English teacher at Irmo.

He starts his school day at 7:50 a.m. and goes through the everyday routine of attending the classes in his schedule. Jordan does not immediately return home after Leaphart Elementary lets out at 2:40 p.m. Instead, he goes to Irmo High School for a little while. It is here that he gets to play something he enjoys a lot: Chess. As for the game, it’s known that this is not a simple game at all. Chess requires concentration, thinking, and patience. Jordan joins Irmo High students on Mondays to participate in the Chess club.

At only 11 years old, Jordan has played Chess for a little more than two years, since he was in the third grade. Th e interest did not rise from a crazy, out of the ordinary experience. Jordan sums up the reason he decided to try out Chess with one simple statement.

“I just thought it was an interesting board game,” He said.

Seniors and juniors challenge Jordan for games during Chess club, and there’s no telling who will come out on top. Jordan decided to stick with Chess because it is challenging and not always predictable.

“It’s fun and entertaining and gets a mind to work so you have a good game,” Jordan stated.

He typically plays one or two games in a sitting – sometimes even three. As for frequency, Jordan sits down to play Chess twice a week and sometimes even three times.

At Leaphart, they also give students the opportunity to participate in a Chess club. Jordan is a member of that club as well and enjoys playing amongst his fellow peers.

For his other hobbies, Jordan says, “I like collecting coins and I used to play soccer.”

He also occasionally does origami, a task of making shapes and fi gures by folding paper in often complex ways originated in Japan. One can create cranes, fl owers, and other animals out of paper if they learn a few steps.

Jordan will probably continue to play chess and will hopefully really benefi t the Irmo Chess Team by joining it when he gets to high school.

priyaPUROHITo p i n i o n s e d i t o r

Members of one of the newest clubs, the Future Greek Club, are stepping out and breaking the stereotypical reputation of fraternities and sororities in college. Such as the partying every night and making wrong decisions. Th e club has approximately 30 people participating and is open to everyone who wants to join.

“Th e club is open to everyone. We are trying to diversify it. It’s not about going to just a historically black school,” Lisa Hall, club sponsor, and administrative assistant, said.

Hall decided to sponsor the club when approached by students earlier in the year. She said that she admires them greatly for starting this club.

Many people are unaware of what the Future Greeks club really is. In reality it’s just what the name of the club implies. Future college students who are planning on participating in either a fraternity or a sorority when they are in college.

“Th e purpose [of the Future Greeks] is to gain exposure to campus life and to inform them about making good college decisions. Th e student organization is for college bound students dedicated to community service, competition, unity, and the golden rule. Th e club members are particularly interested in colleges or universities that have active fraternity’s or sororities,” Hall said.

Like many other clubs in the school, the members of the Future Greek Club do community service and special projects. Th ere is one unique diff erence about this club, and that is a step team.

Th is team performed for the student body at February’s pep rally. It brought a change and gave everyone a feel at

Stepping out to help the communitywhat the Future Greek Club really is and what they do, other than just being another club at Irmo.

Th e club also participates in many community service projects.

“We visit the children’s hospital to deliver books, we help the homeless and the Oliver Gospel Mission,” MyAzia Johnson, junior, and captain of the step team, said.

Th ey have meetings on a regular basis and during those meetings they discuss what is going on in the community, and talk about upcoming events in the community and the school.

“It’s like a forum to express concerns about the club and the school,” Hall said.

To be in a club you have to maintain many qualities to make the club successful and you have to maintain qualities that are positive and will make the club stand out in a positive way.

“To be in a club you have to participate in community service, you have to have leadership and you have to have good group work,” Johnson said.

Some fraternities and sororities in college come off with having a bad reputation. Th e Future Greek members hope to break this bad reputation and replace it with a better one. According to Hall, before a person is let into a fraternity or a sorority they are judged on certain qualities and abilities. “I think it [the Future Greeks] will dispel myths about historic black sororities and fraternities. Th e Future Greeks is all about stepping, academics and community service. Th ey judge you on that before letting you in,” Hall said.

Members of Future Greeks hope to add on to the number of people that are already in the club, give it a little more diversity, dispel the myths of fraternities and sororities, help out with the community, step, and have a good time all together.

margoGOODALEs p o r t s e d i t o r

emmaMcWILLIAMSf e a t u r e s e d i t o r

Jazz—the swing style, true American art form of music. For generations, jazz has been played in groups, or jazz bands. One jazz band in particular, the Irmo High School Jazz band, is having a successful year.

Irmo’s jazz band consists of 24 students. In jazz band there is one instrument for each person and one director. This is one of the reasons it is very different from concert band, since several people play the same instrument in concert band. Concert band often plays classical literature, and jazz band plays Latin, rock, slow ballads and swing dance tunes. Brass instruments are used in both jazz and concert band, but jazz also gets to use instruments like the piano, guitar and drum set.

Travis Coakley, jazz band director, has taught jazz band for seven years, but this is his first year at Irmo. The jazz band just recently recieved a “superior,” the highest rating at a festival in Newberry, S.C. Coakley said that this was a big deal because even though Irmo has had a jazz band in the past, there wasn’t one last year, and this year they basically started from scratch.

“It had been so long since the kids had done anything like that here that they didn’t believe it when I told them [they received ‘superior’,]” Coakley said. “They were very excited. The parents were jumping up and down, and the kids were excited, so it was great, a really good feeling.”

The jazz band has also received “outstanding muscianship” at a festival in Rock Hill, S.C.

Senior, Alex Knowles, lead trumpet, has been in jazz band for three years. He says that jazz band is more fun than concert band because he gets to play lead and “you swing everything.” “Swinging” is when the player holds on longer to the eighth

note. He says that the relationships within the jazz band are very good.

“We’re pretty tight,” Knowles said. “We just lost one of our jazz members. We’ve gotten a lot tighter through that. We make fun of each other now and then.”

Paul Sturgill, senior played guitar in jazz band until he was killed on March 7, 2009. This was the same day that the jazz band won their “superior” rating.

The class meets 8B and practices Thursday afternoons. The festivals are usually on Saturdays.

“We go and play tunes that we have been working on,”

Coakley said. “They will have judges listen to the

performance and rate us on that performance. Judges are usually college professors that

are teaching jazz music. They judge the guys on

improvisation and when they play solos.”

The judges r a t e

JAMMIN’ OUT: Junior, Joseph Robbins, plays the keyboard for jazz band. Jazz band students practice for about five hours a day, the majority in their 8B class.

Emma McWilliams

Jazz band receives “superior” rating

on whether the band is together or not, if they are in tune and if they sound good and have a good tone quality.

“If you’re playing good music, you get a good score,” Knowles said.

The jazz band students practice everyday, and they say that it takes dedication and hard work to be really good.

Johnathon Moore, senior, alto saxophone, has been in jazz band for three years. He says that he thinks jazz band is very comfortable and relaxed. He said that you can have “a flair” in jazz. Moore said that he chose to be in jazz band mainly because he likes music.

Moore said jazz band is currently recruiting Irmo Middle School students. He says that Coakley said there are at least 20 students signed up for the jazz band class next year.

“[They] are looking forward to being in jazz band since they heard about how we’re doing so well,” Moore said.

In the future, Coakley hopes to have two jazz bands to give people more opportunities to play, since jazz band is designed for one person per instrument.

“It’s like a football team—only 11 people can go out and play on the field at a

time and you have reserves on the side,” Coakley said. “So if you have two jazz

bands, you have more people that can play at a time. It’s like having a JV football team.”

UPCOMING SHOWS: Sprin

g Concert

Thursday,

May 21

Irmo ConcertSaturday, May 16

Chic-Fil-A on HarbisonMay 14

Graphic by Emma McWilliams

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12 The Stinger

Alabama State University

Raheema Hodges

Anderson University

MacKenzie Gurley Sena Nickles

Appalachian State

Nathan Dorton

Art Institute of Charlotte

Mollie Chitty

Bucknell University James Carson

Charleston Southern

Danielle Bridges Jordan Kelley

Glenda Robinson

The Citadel Brian Hill

Chelsea Marsh Mitchell Smith

Claflin University

Vanessa Anderson Courtney McIlwain

Erica Nash Brandon Thomas

Clark Atlanta Daniel Huguenin

Clemson Kelsey Barham

Kyle Bedenbaugh Kelsey Bullard

Chelsey Burkett Phillips DeRidder

Katherine Doerring Kandace Gallman

Kaela Gardner Janelle Haley

Gillian Harper Taylor Heath

James Lemmon Michael Lever

Jonathan Locklair William Locklair

John Mattox Hunter Medlock Trent Morgan

Cameron Newberry13April/May 2009

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Clemson (cont.)

Richard Renner Keven Sleeper Brittni Slone Larry Sluder Kaley Smith Travis Teague Neil Trefzger

Brianna Williams Katie Wilson

Clemson Honors College John Helms

Megan Watts

Coastal Carolina Duane Barrett Javonta Bolton

DeAndre Carson Devin Green

Leo Mukofsky Cierra Shade

Kathryn Shuford Rendell Stokes Forrest Sumter Addison Taylor Kiara Turner Taylor Varney Brandi Best

Coker College Amy Nelson

College of Charleston

Kashif Akram Hannah Aull

Laura Billington Adam Downie

Morgan Edwards Kenneth Henderson

Kyle Hubbard Haley Hutchens

Melissa Juszkiewicz Jessica Krust Kelsey Marsh Sydney Quinn

Shanell Ransom Lindsay Snooks

College of Charleston

Honors College

Thomas Burnette

Columbia College

Brittany Adams Shanae Benson-

Gibbs Brittany Juarez Lydia Stancik

Davidson College

Kenneth Westberry

Denmark Tech Brittany Lide

Duke University Rett Jackson

Francis Marion

University Jessica Saxon

Furman Anna Sheppard

Georgia Southern

Freddie Durham

Gupton Jones College

of Funeral Services

Latoya Lindsay

Johnson & Wales

Tiana Harmon Dylan Jones

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14 The Stinger

Johnson & Wales (cont.)

Kelsey Sease Lashanda Watlington

Juniata College

Kimberly Padula

Kettering University

Benjamin Rickman

King’s College John Whalen

Lander University

Sara Aiken Ana Blocker

Miranda Gartman Sernetta Taylor

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Frederick Moore

Midlands Tech

David Allen Blake Appling

Midlands Tech (cont.) William Balish

Addison Bankhead Tyler Barnes

Matthew Birnie Phillip Bradley Glenn Brown James Bullock Jamie Chaffin

Rederick Chatman Ralpheal Coleman Lindsey Contini Amanda Cristaldi Vanessa DeJesus Adam deKraft Erin Dillon Ralph Estes Elijah Gregg

Erin Jashinsky Quintin Knowles Jennifer Lawson Casey Lindler

Camilla Matthews Brittany McMillian

Quintin Morris Chelsea Moyers Zachary Nichols Amanda Niles Jerod Noble

Brandon Parker Olivia Pender Kiara Pollard

Cassandra Raines John Ramsey

Ashleigh Reeves Nichole Riley

Courtney Scott Adam Skidmore London Smalls Timothy Smith William Suddeth Fatima Williams Marinda Williams

Barrett Wilson Thomas Yeoman

Krystal Aulet Joshua Best

Lauren Billingsley David Bowers Alexis Ferrer

Santana Goodwin Kayla Mishoe Faith Poole

Military Keirstin Garrett Vanity Burton Amber Fleming Patrick Fortunat Treyon Goldsmith

Elliott Green William Holbrook

Naheema Inch Nolan Stukes

15April/May 2009

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Nashville Auto Diesel

College Jennifer Nix

Newberry College

Alicia Baxter Kaitlin Borman Robbie Brunson Christian Carter

Lindsay Cruz Thomas Gallman

Bryan Riddick Stephen Rosier Tiffany Sullivan

Other Celena Cardenas Jessica Griffin

Dylan Rice

Penn State Alexis Bausinger

Presbyterian Rachel Fogle

Theresa Freeman Christian Simoneau

Salem College Amelia Mau

Savannah College of Art

& Design Anthony Andrews

Savannah State University

Kayla Diggs Joshua Vaughns

SC State David Brailsford Chelsea Chong

Nathaniel Hanson Tanesha Morris Mikel Powell

Spartanburg Methodist Anthony Greer Ta’Rea Yates

Tri-County Technical

College Dalila JazicTravis Reed

Cooper Salter Jonathan Wenzell Andrew Wescott Christen Good

Trident Technical

College Ashton Whiteley

University of North Carolina

(unc)-Chapel Hill Chay Malvasio Janie Williams

UNC-Charlotte

Troy Belton

UNC-Greeensboro Eduardo German

Jordan Lower

University of Georgia

Margaret Sullivan

University of Pittsburgh

Chi Zuo

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16 The Stinger

University of south

Carolina (USC) Jared Addison Jenna Addison Nicholas Alfieri Aya Al-Shafei

Mary Katherine Ashley

Taylor Bates Allison Blair

Alyssa Blocker Andrew Brand

Christian Broom Joseph Corey

Brian Eckstrom Samantha Edwards

Justin Epperson Taylor Goodwin

Eric Inman Mali Irving

Connor Johnson Branavan Kalapathy

Katherine Kea Matthew Laroche

Paul Lindley Alexander Lott

Raymond McElroy Kristen Polinski

Hana Rac Faten Ragaban Andrew Rolfe John Rusnak

Naomi Sakakibara Katherine Sailer

Lisa Shao James Sitter

Stephanie Smith Nathaniel Stocker

Corbin Sutton Jared David Thomas

Lisa Towe Whitney Wright Brandon Govens

Ricky Patel Victoria Rosinski

USC Honors College

Stuart Burnette Kelley Freeman Christine Hsieh

David Prim David Redick

USC-Aiken Tamicka McLeod Michael Johnson

USC-Beaufort Travis Cashion

Garrett Driscoll Emily Yaden

USC-Sumter Caitlin Vaughn

USC-Upstate Jaron Bennett Ashley Good

Kevin Kennedy Chasiti Reid-

McKnight Kejuania Harris Tyoni McCants

Winthrop University

Jeanna Campbell Laura Conger Annie Floyd Kayla Groff

Daven Johnson Jennifer Mains

Jada Spain Ashley Sparks

Kecia Washington

Wofford Katherine Canning

Devin Scurry James Sieverding Brittany Walker

17April/May 2009

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Brittany Adams Jared Addison Jenna Addison Sara Aiken Kashif Akram Aya Al-Shafei

Nicholas Alfieri Vanessa Anderson Anthony Andrews Lashay Andrews Katie Ashley Krystal Aulet

Daniel Barfield Kelsey Barham Tyler Barnes Brittany Barr Allison Baskerville Taylor Bates

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18 The Stinger

Alexis Bausinger Alicia Baxter Jessica Bean Kyle Bedenbaugh Ariel Bell Troy Belton

Jaron Bennett Standrica Bennett Shanae Benson-Gibbs George Berry Brandi Best Danielle Bethel

Lauren Billingsley Matthew Birnie Allison Blair Alyssa Blocker Ana Blocker Kaitlin Borman

Kathryn Boso Brittany Bostick David Bowers James Bowers Jordan Bowers Reginald Boyles

David Bradley Michael Bradley Andrew Brand Justin Branham Danielle Bridges Christian Broom

19April/May 2009

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Glenn Brown Ryan Brown Robbie Brunson Alden Bullard James Bullock Chelsey Burkett

Thomas Burnette Stuart Burnette Mason Bushman Danielle Byrd Emily Calvert Jeanna Campbell

Markeechell Canada Katherine Canning James Carson Shateque Carter Travis Cashion Jamie Chaffin

Mollie Chitty Chelsea Chong Ariel Clark Jared Clary Antoinette Cockfield Ralpheal Coleman

Corey Combs Laura Conger Jimmy Conner Lindsey Contini Joseph Corey Sherrell Counts

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20 The Stinger

Amanda Cristaldi Allen Davis Audrea Davis Vanessa DeJesus Adam deKraft Danielle Derrick

Phillips DeRidder Kayla Diggs Erin Dillon William Dimirra Katherine Doerring Philip Dorley

Nathan Dorton Adam Downie Garrett Driscoll Freddie Durham Travis Dykes Brian Eckstrom

Morgan Edwards Samantha Edwards Justin Epperson Dallas Epting Megan Estes Ralph Estes

Emily Fanguy Evan Felker Tequestia Felton Abrianah Fennell Amber Fleming Katelyn Floyd

21April/May 2009

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Rachel Fogle Shanequa Frazer Stephen Freedman John Freeman Theresa Freeman Kelley Freeman

Stephanie Funderburk Amanda Furstenberg Lizkebe Gado Kandace Gallman Thomas Gallman Kaela Gardner

Keirstin Garrett Ostacia Garrick Miranda Gartman Joseph Gause David Geddings Eduardo German

Mitchell Gildner Ashley Glenn-Banks Ashley Good Santana Goodwin Taylor Goodwin Brandon Govens

Devin Green Mason Gregory Jessica Griffin Kayla Groff MacKenzie Gurley Janelle Haley

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22 The Stinger

Nicole Ham Nathaniel Hanson Tiana Harmon Gillian Harper Jessica Harrell Kejuania Harris

Anthony Hart Taylor Heath John Helms Kenneth Henderson Michael Hickman

James Hile Brian Hill Jasmine Hill-Latta Raheema Hodges William Holbrook Daniel Holden

Chelsea Holmes David Hornor Christine Hsieh Bryant Hunt Haley Hutchens Julia Hutchins

Justin Irby Mali Irving Breona Isaac Ronald Isom Ashley Jackson Dion Jackson

Gelisa Highley

23April/May 2009

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Rett Jackson Erin Jashinsky Hannah Jeffcoat Justin Jeffers Connor Johnson Daven Johnson

Kennith Johnson Michael Johnson Kenee Jones Raymond Joyner Brittany Juarez Melissa Juszkiewicz

Branavan Kalapathy Natalie Kaufman Katherine Kea Matthew Keith Jordan Kelley Kevin Kennedy

Raymond Keyes Brittany Kirby Jessica Krust Matthew Laroche Jennifer Lawson

Stacey Leas Angelique Lee James Lemmon Michael Lever Brittany Lide Casey Lindler

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24 The Stinger

Paul Lindley Matthew Livingston Jonathan Locklair William Locklair Eduardo Lopez Alexander Lott

Allison Lovelace Jordan Lower Jennifer Mains Vivek Malhotra Chay Malvasio Bradford Marino

Chelsea Marsh Kelsey Marsh Camilla Matthews John Mattox Amelia Mau Tyoni McCants

Samuel McConkle Chris McDowell Raymond McElroy Kyle McEwan Adrian McGee Courtney McIlwain

Keitta McKune Kayla McLauchlin Richard McLellan Tamicka McLeod Brittany McMillian Matthew Meadows

25April/May 2009

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Hunter Medlock Chelsea Metts Bobby Metze Bridget Milller Macey Miller Michael Miller

Frederick Moore Trent Morgan Quintin Morris Tanesha Morris Chelsea Moyers Leo Mukofsky

Erica Nash Amy Nelson Cameron Newberry Quang Nguyen Sena Nickles Amanda Niles

Jennifer Nix Yaw Nkrumah Amanda Northington Gail Nyanankpe Harrison Pappas Brandon Parker

Olivia Pender Drew Pierce Alicia Plemmons Kristen Polinski Faith Poole Hakiim Pope

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26 The Stinger

Megan Price David Prim Sydney Quinn Hana Rac Cassandra Raines John Ramsey

Theresa Randolph Shanell Ransom David Redick Benjamin Reed Travis Reed Ashleigh Reeves

Chasiti Reid-McKnight Richard Renner Benjamin Rickman Bryan Riddick Casey Riddle Glenda Robinson

Andrew Rolfe Jessie Rosenthal Stephen Rosier Micha Rowland Shannon Ruddy John Rusnak

Kelly Ryan Quenten Sabb Katherine Sailer Naomi Sakakibara Chatham Salter Cooper Salter

27

f

April/May 2009

Bradley Sanders Migsara Santiago William Saunders Jessica Saxon Katelyn Schiesser

Courtney Scott Devin Scurry Kelsey Sease Shelby Sessler Lisa Shao

Anna Sheppard Kathryn Shuford James Sieverding Christian Simoneau James Sitter Adam Skidmore

Keven Sleeper Brittni Slone Larry Sluder London Smalls Kaley Smith Mitchell Smith

Stephanie Smith Timothy Smith Samuel Smoot Lindsay Snooks Ashley Sparks Jordan Steiner

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28 The Stinger

Christopher Scott

Alexsia Shelley

Taylor Steiner Nathaniel Stocker William Suddeth Margaret Sullivan Tiffany Sullivan Trayona Sumter

Corbin Sutton Octavia Sweat Addison Taylor Hayword Taylor Morgan Taylor Sernetta Taylor

Travis Teague Brandon Thomas Erin Thomas Jared Thomas Emily Thompson Kayla Thompson

Lisa Towe Neil Trefzger Kiara Turner Christina Van Wickler Caitlin Vaughn Joshua Vaughns

William Vest Catherine Wade Bre’anna Walker Brittany Walker Ben Wall Kecia Washington

29

f

April/May 2009

Lashanda Watlington Megan Watt s Jonathan Wenzell Andrew Wes cott Kennet h Wes tberr y John Whalen

Ashton Whiteley Max White Brett Williams Brianna Williams Da’jour Williams Janie Williams

Latoy a Williams Marinda Williams Yasmine Williams Samantha Williamson Kornell Willis Barr et Wilson

Katie Wilson Bailey Woot en Whitney Wright Emily Yaden Th omas Yeoman

Carmioy a AlewineDavid Allen

Blake App lingHannah Aull

William BalishAddison Bankhead

Duane Barr ett Joshua Bes t

Laura BillingtonSamantha Bodnar

Javonta BoltonDaniel BookmanDavid Brailsford

Vanity BurtonCelena CardenasDeAndre CarsonChrist ian Carter

Rederick ChatmanLindsay CruzDustin EllisAlex is Ferr er

Patrick FortunatTrey on Goldsmith

Christ en GoodDevin GosnellElliott Green

Anthony GreerElijah Gre

Alex ander Gre Lunden Herr onKyle Hubbard

Daniel HugueninNaheema Inch

Eric InmanEmily InmanDalila Jazic

Samantha JensenMichael Johnson

Abril Johnson

Kennith JohnsonDylan Jones Ashli Jones

Quintin Knowles Latoy a LindsayChelsea Lynch

Rashad Mallett eKayla Mishoe

Ana Mojon-Gonzales Jonathan Moore

Blair Morr isZachary Nichols

Jerod Noble

Kimberly PadulaRicky Patel

Kiara PollardMikel PowellCarla Profi t

Faten RagabanDylan Rice

Nichole Riley Vi oria Rosinski

Chris Scott Cierr a Shade

Alex sia Shelley Dalton Smith

Jacob SmithJada Spain

Lydia StancikRendell Stokes Nolan Stukes

Forr es t SumterTaylor Varney Crystal Vickers

Fatima WilliamsEmily YadenTa’Rea Yates

Whitney YoumansChi Zuo

Not Pictured:Carmioy a Alewine

David AllenBlake App lingHannah Aull

William BalishAddison Bankhead

Duane Barr ett Joshua Bes t

Laura BillingtonSamantha Bodnar

Javonta BoltonDaniel BookmanDavid Brailsford

Vanity BurtonCelena CardenasDeAndre CarsonChrist ian Carter

Rederick ChatmanLindsay CruzDustin EllisAlex is Ferr er

Patrick FortunatTrey on Goldsmith

Christ en GoodTrey on Goldsmith

Christ en GoodTrey on Goldsmith

Devin GosnellElliott Green

Anthony GreerElijah Gre

Alex ander Gre Lunden Herr onKyle Hubbard

Daniel HugueninNaheema Inch

Eric InmanEmily InmanDalila Jazic

Samantha JensenMichael Johnson

Abril Johnson

Kennith JohnsonDylan Jones Ashli Jones

Quintin Knowles Latoy a LindsayChelsea Lynch

Rashad Mallett eKayla Mishoe

Ana Mojon-Gonzales Kayla Mishoe

Ana Mojon-Gonzales Kayla Mishoe

Jonathan MooreBlair Morr is

Zachary NicholsJerod Noble

Kimberly PadulaRicky Patel

Kiara PollardMikel PowellCarla Profi t

Faten RagabanDylan Rice

Nichole Riley Vi oria Rosinski

Nichole Riley Vi oria Rosinski

Nichole Riley

Chris Scott Cierr a Shade

Alex sia Shelley Dalton Smith

Alex sia Shelley Dalton Smith

Alex sia Shelley

Jacob SmithJada Spain

Lydia StancikRendell Stokes Nolan Stukes

Forr es t SumterTaylor Varney Crystal VickersTaylor Varney Crystal VickersTaylor Varney

Fatima WilliamsEmily YadenTa’Rea Yates

Whitney YoumansChi Zuo

Whitney YoumansChi Zuo

Whitney Youmans

30

F

The Stinger

Senior Supplement compiled by Samantha Edwards

Starting a new school has always been nerve-racking. A new school for kindergarten, a new school for fi rst grade, starting public school for second grade, a new school for my preteen years (aka middle school); then there was high school, Irmo High School.

It was hard enough leaving everyone in my life in New York behind to move to South Carolina, so starting my freshman year in a completely new environment was not easy.

Looking back to the beginning, freshman year really set the base of the person I am today. Th ere are a few, I guess you could call “events,” that occurred which have become so vividly stuck to my brain, they’re hard to forget.

I never really cared about the way I looked in middle school and that’s almost how I was my freshman year. Th en one day in French class a girl made a comment that changed my uncaring attitude for, what I believe, the better. I was dressed in a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers with my hair pulled back in a ponytail, my daily wear. She told me if I cut off my head and chest I would look exactly like a guy. At the time, I blew it off but I began to think about what she had said. I was in high school, I didn’t want to look like a boy. I started paying more attention to what I wore, not in a big way but with little things like keeping my hair down and wearing

less baggy shirts. I was still being me, just looking more my age I guess you could say.

During my freshman year, I also gained confi dence in myself, which I had had just not as much as I would have liked.

Th ere are always those mean girls in school, but sometimes there are those girls who stand up to them and say something back. Apparently, being quiet and keeping to myself sent the wrong idea to some people. One day I was walking home from school when this girl stopped and said “You’re weird, just to let you know.” I don’t think she expected me to say anything, her being with some guy and all, but I looked at her and said “So are you, just to let you know” and kept walking. I heard her say she was kidding but I didn’t turn around to say the same. After that day I never cared what anyone said about me.

I know gym class is not an event but it’s where I started to make a few friends, which wasn’t easy for me to do being shy and quiet. Volleyball helped me meet and encourage my now best friend to play the game and my “shiny necklace” was the center of the craziest comment I have ever heard, giving me a friend who has been through so much with me, especially this year.

I made a few more friends throughout the rest of the years, some staying, some coming and going, but the ones I still have I hope I get to keep in college.

Oh college, my next new school and my next big adventure. Every new school gave me another new experience to learn from and new friends. I have become the person I am and want to be during my years at Irmo, and I’m hoping that when I go to Winthrop in the fall, I will only become more confi dent in myself and what I do.

Becoming my own person and staying true to my own values has helped me through a lot. I only hope that my “own person” continues to grow in the next chapter of my life, which has been so full that college will end up being my fourth and fi fth novels.

It’s what you think about yourself that mattersRecently, Heather Hook and I

decided to try and gather fellow staff members together for a short prayer meeting time after school on selected Wednesday afternoons. We sent an e-mail to all staff members at Irmo High, asking them to either join us or at least send prayer requests – burdens and concerns that we could lift up. We did not badger, we did not proselytize. We were concerned about the economic conditions that were threatening the loss of hundreds of positions in our district and also the many illnesses and deaths that many of our friends and colleagues were enduring, and all we wanted to do was let them know that we cared for them, that we loved them, that they would know they were not alone in their condition. We have been told we could no longer use the district e-mail system to send out this reminder/request. As a result, we can no longer use this format to ask fellow staff members to share their burdens with us. We are not angry about this nor or we deterred from continuing in our quest. I just would like to use this opportunity to remind everyone that we will continue to meet, we will continue to accept unsolicited prayer requests and we also wanted you to know that we still care and want to share in your burdens and rejoicing. We are here if you need us. I hope all of you have a restful and blessed summer break!

kaylaGROFFp r o d u c t i o n m a n a g e r

P R A Y E RtommyCOLLIER

g u e s t c o l u m n i s t

31 April/May 2009

Senior Supplement compiled by Samantha Edwards

Everyone always says time goes by faster once you get older. They all said my high school years were gonna fly by and before I knew it, I’d be graduated and ready to start college. When they would inform me of this, I’d just smile and nod, not believing a single word. However, as this year has progressed and is now nearing its closure, I’ve come to realize how fast time really has gone by. I honestly thought this day would never come. It felt like high school was going to last forever and I’d never be able

to leave the ‘Irmo bubble’ to be on my own and move on to bigger and greater things.

After surviving our awkward stage that ended with freshman year, we were finally sophomores. Thankful to no longer be at the bottom of the food chain, things started to look up. We lost some friends, but made many new ones. Junior year came even more quickly. Filled with too many projects and sleepless nights, it was a relief once it was over and done with. With senior year, came a sense of accomplishment and relief.

Although it was stressful at the beginning, taking the SAT or ACT that one last time, hoping for a little bit higher of a score, completing college applications and all the tedious things that went along with them. Right after the winter break, senioritis started to get the best of us. Caring less and less about school, keeping our grades up became quite a challenge that the majority of us just didn’t care about tackling anymore.

Last year, one of my best friends and I were asked to be on newspaper staff for this school year. We were hesitant at first, but eventually we decided to go into and come out of this together. It has been my first and last year on staff and I wish I could say it has been all that I’d hoped it would be. I went into this thinking it was what I wanted to do with my life, but quickly I learned that I

just wasn’t right for it. On top of everything I have had to do for newspaper this year, I tired to divide the rest of my limited amount of time between school, family, friends, church, and work. And as I learned quickly, there are just some things I just can’t do.

Through the literal tears, slammed doors and arguments, I’m glad that I can still say that it was worth while. I have formed close relationships with almost everyone on staff and I also learned a great deal about myself.

With the gain of new friends this year, I also lost one of the greatest I’d ever had. Thankfully, it wasn’t because of a tragedy as in the previous years our school has experienced. Although it wasn’t a tragedy by definition, it surely felt like one to me. As I learned first-hand this year, sometimes people just grow apart and there’s little to nothing you can do about it. As cheesy as it sounds, even though we are no longer friends, she will always hold a special place in my heart. So I hope, that one day, we can go back and regain the loose strings.

Graduation will be a bitter-sweet goodbye, but like all good things, it has to come to an end. Although I’ve been incredibly anxious to get out of high school for the past four years, I can honestly say that a little part of me will miss my many days spent at good ole IHS.

Graduation is a bittersweet goodbyebritniSLONE

p h o t o g r a p h e r

We learn a lot in our lives. From birth to death it’s an ongoing experience of trials, rewards, love, heartbreak, kindness, cruelty and more teachers than we can count. No, I’m not just talking about school teachers, although my “official teachers” have taught me all I could ever want to know from kindergarten to twelfth grade. But my real teachers have been my friends, enemies, strangers, and acquaintances.

I wouldn’t be the same person I am today,

a happy yet slightly crazy person, if it weren’t for the people I deal with every second of the day. As graduation day nears I find myself looking back, I question whether we are the sum of our experiences or merely a sum of how we handle our experiences. Either way, it puts a spin on things.

I realize now how much of a butterfly effect we all have on each other. We are so connected that we don’t even realize it. Look around you for a moment. Those are the people that make your high school experience what it is. There’s the girl across the room that is always a little rude to people, the guy down the hall that you’re thinking about dating, the shy person in the corner who people make fun of. All of them will effect you in some way, but how will you effect them?

My high school experience has been a pretty typical one. Freshman year was for the drama, sophomore and junior year was for the work, and senior year was for the fun. I’ve gone to a fair share of parties, failed a few tests, had friends come and go, seen some pretty stupid

“Ob-la-di ob-la-da, life goes on”morganEDWARDS

f e a t u r e s e d i t o rstuff, been with some pretty stupid guys, and overall I’ve had a decent time.

I’d like to imagine I’ve had a positive effect on at least a few people, but I know I’ve stepped on some toes along the way. In the end, I just hope that I’ve helped make their high school experience as fun as mine has been.

Although there were some good times and some bad times I don’t regret anything that has happened since I’ve come to Irmo High because regret is a wasted emotion. All I can do is give some advice to the next few graduating classes. Enjoy it. Stop taking life so seriously because no one gets out alive anyway. Stess less and have more fun because you’ll never have as much freedom as you do right now. Make as many friends as you can and live every day as if it were your last. Like one of my teachers says, “ob-la-di ob-la-da, life goes on.”

High school seems so important when you’re in it but to be honest, it seems really stupid once you’re leaving it. Anyone who has suffered from senioritis can tell you as much. So take life one step at a time and enjoy the experience because you only get it once.

o

32 The Stinger

Coming to a new school my sophomore year was something I hope no one else has to ever do. It took me up until about April of that school year to actually feel like people knew my name, and not just that I was new. It was also difficult to get into a group of friends that I really got along with and felt comfortable with, to keep myself from being caught up in my life I left behind, and how much I hated my dad for it.

As I got used to my four honors classes on a day and my extremely easy classes on b day with this block schedule that made my A days dreadful. I went through Mrs. Brock who gave me a completely new perspective on studying for a test, Mr. Orr who gave me a whole new meaning of the number 14; I came to realize that the south is not as slow as I had assumed.

Sophomore year was the year for me to remember considering I made new friends and became part of the Irmo community.

But now, as a senior, I have come to realize that moving to this Irmo community was actually one of the best things that ever happened to me. I have learned so much about southern hospitality, that South Carolina bands (The Movement!) could kill any mid-western band, that the beach could keep me occupied for the rest of my life, that Irmo weekend gatherings are always going to be something to always be remembered for giving me the time of my life.

I will also always remember the Nebraska vs. Clemson game my senior year that kept me talking to these Tiger fans for days.

Although my life was completely turned around, I have come to a whole new meaning of school work, southern belles, southern entertainment, southern accents, southern love, southern summers (FW!) southern principles, and I have come to love the south more than I ever thought I could. So I raise my glass to the Class of ’09 for giving me high school memories to last a life time!

jeannaCAMPBELLe d i t o r i n c h i e f

How the south changed my life

33April/May 2009

o

Up to this point, a part of my life has focused on high school and everything associated with it.

When I graduated from kindergarten, my parents and grandparents were already planning 12 years into the future; they told me that before I knew it I was going to be graduating high school. From then on I was a high school student in the making.

In elementary school, as I started to watch Disney shows and movies such as Lizzie McGuire, Cadet Kelly, Pixel Perfect, Even Stevens, and Brink!, my high school training began.

In those early years, my friends and I would pass notes, gossip about crushes, go to the mall (via the parental unit), and have sleepovers. Like millions of others, I adopted a Hollywood version of high school.

I had quite a reality check my first week of freshman year – high school was absolutely nothing like what I was led to believe. Of course, I didn’t expect students to break out in song and dance, but I at least thought I’d decorate my locker. All

four years, I’ve never bothered to find my locker and something tells me I’m not the only one.

After the reality check, I moved on and adapted.

But, despite all the differences, I have found a similarity between myself and the characters. I have found a trendy truth from the high school shows I once watched so devotedly. Just like all the characters that end the show with some sort of epiphany, I came out of high school learning about myself.

I’ve known for a long time that life doesn’t realistically revolve around me or anybody in particular, but during high school I’ve become more consciously aware of the world around me. During my junior year, I registered to vote, and as a seventeen year old I voted in the January 2008 presidential primaries. After that, I became obsessed with

the election process; by the time the November elections came along I became an Obama junkie – I stayed up way after the Electoral College vote was swept by our new president. Seeing how the world reacted to was an eye opener.

I’ve also learned the true meaning of responsibility – four years in high school is definitely filled with many experiences such as getting a drivers license, staying out late, getting a job, and managing everything on top of school work.

After taking the SAT and ACT, I realized that I’m not the best standardized test-taker and I didn’t let that bother me as I began searching for potential colleges. In high school I have gained the self-confidence that will be important as I enter college and then the job market.

Now that I am moving on to college, whenever I watch a “high school” movie again, I will fondly look back at the highlights that only come in high school.

kristenPOLINSKIc i r c u l a t i o n m a n a g e r

It’s been a long time coming

34 The Stinger

Irmo High School’s golf program consists of 13 students who make up the Varsity and JV teams. Varsity contains the top six players and the rest of the students make up the JV team. They practice twice a week at Rawls Creek and also go to Weed Hill Driving Range twice a week.

Coach Stephen King teaches Social Studies and has coached golf at Irmo for seven years. He says that this season has been the most promising in a while.

“This year we have got the best depth [Irmo’s] ever had since my first year,” King said.

King said that Irmo has had a tough season this year because of all the good competition in the region.

“We have a really tough region, probably one of the toughest, if not the toughest in the state,” King said. “Dutch Fork is in it, and they are defending state champions. North Augusta, Lexington and Chapin are also really good.”

Going into regional state qualifiers King was optimistic.

“If we play well at the region I think we have a shot,” King said. “Three teams qualify from our region to go to state. Then after that they take the lowest score by a player whose team did not qualify, so you have a chance for an individual to go as well.”

When the regionals were over King was satisfied with the way things turned out. He said that they came out fifth and that he wasn’t disappointed with the outcome.

Travis Cashion, senior, is thought of as a major asset to the Irmo’s golf team by his coaches. King said that his work ethic and determination makes him a leader of the team.

“I think [Travis Cashion] has definitely been our leader,” King said. “He’s been in the top six on the varsity since seventh grade. He has been around a long time and he leads by example, in the sense that he works hard all year. He works really hard on his game, he competes all year, and he’s out there every day practicing. He just works hard at it, and I think leading by example is a lot better than just words.”

King says he doesn’t think that he could have done this season without his coaching staff to help him out.

“We have one of the biggest golf staffs in the state,” King said. “Coach Zipp is the JV coach for me and helps me with varsity as well. Coach Orr, Coach Airasian and Coach Holmes also help out with JV. When you’ve got two teams and they are playing on the same day and you have one paid coach, which is me, without the assisstant coaches, we couldn’t do it. We have to get JV here and Varsity there, the same day, it would be impossible. So they volunteer their time, and I’m very appreciative of their time.”

Zipp said he believes that golf helps a player build character by trying their honor.

“Golf is a sport built completely on honor,” Zipp said. “You call penalties on yourself and there are no other sports that do that. You have to be an honest person, and you have to be able to think for

Golf builds player’s characteryourself. It is not a team sport. You have to

work really hard.”King also said he thinks the game of

golf can help an athlete in the real world by testing their character.

“In golf, like no other sport, you are expected to police yourself

and call [penalties] on yourself,” King said. “There is integrity in making yourself do that, because I know it’s tough if you

are out there playing and you do

something that really is not that big of a deal. You are

s t a n d i n g there, for instance, and you

address the ball and the ball moves an eighth of an inch,

that’s a penalty. You have to call yourself, but no

one else is probably going to see it. That is a test of

character.”

TEAM ROSTER: Top row - Coach Zipp, Riley Chambers, Chris Doerring, Kenny Henderson, Travis Chasion, Hunter Medlock, Michael Day, and Coach King. Bot-tom row - Neal Price, Cole Baxley, Hunter Fields, Bryce Boulware and Robert King. Above Hunter Medlock walks to the green.

rileyMCCULLOUGHe n t e r t a i n m e n t e d i t o r

S

35April/May 2009

Athletes make commitments to collegesSix seniors have been signed to different

colleges for various athletic programs this year because they excelled in athletics while at Irmo.

Brian Hill has signed for football at the Citadel. He has been playing quarterback for four years.

“I really liked the Citadel and wanted to play football there so it made sense,” Hill said. “I like the Charleston area and the campus and the military atmosphere there.”

Hill said that he is very excited for the challenge and is ready. He has always loved football and the competition it offers. He thinks that the speed of the play, and the guys will be much bigger. He hopes he brings leadership to his team, and he expects harder practices as well as tougher college classes.

“I will miss Coach Hanna, Coach Savitz and Coach Curlings and the school in general,” Hill said. “I will miss playing on Friday night.”

Brian Hill, Football

Caitlin Vaughn has signed for softball at the University of South Carolina Sumter. She has been on varsity for four years and has been playing catcher since her sophomore year.

“I wanted to go on to play college softball somewhere,” Vaughn said. “I got a couple of offers and after I went on my visits I liked the coach and the program the best at USC Sumter, so I signed up.”

Vaughn says that she liked the school because it wasn’t a small town, and the fact that it had a mall was even better. Her USC Sumter coach, Age Cataldo, was a catcher in college and Vaughn says that she believes having a coach who once played her position would be a good way for her to become a better catcher. Vaughn says that she plans to go to USC Sumter to get better and then transfer after her first year to go somewhere else.

“I felt that was best for me, and that way, academic-wise, my credits would transfer,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn says she was nervous about playing in college at first, but after watching the college team she says that she feels she can handle it and that it won’t be as big as a step as she thought it would be.

“I’ve always played sports since I was little—since I could walk—and I’ve been playing softball and basketball since I was five, so that’s the only life I ever knew,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn says that she will miss her family, her best friend, Melissa Britt, who is a junior at Irmo and the Irmo faculty and staff. She says that she will miss playing basketball, since she won’t be playing in college. Basketball was another sport Vaughn played while at Irmo.

“[In softball] I’ll miss my teammates because we’re really close as a team,” Vaughn said. “It will be different playing with a group of new people.”

Caitlin Vaughn, Softball

Lindsay Cruz signed for softball at Newberry College. She has been playing shortstop for about five years. She says she really liked the school and believes the sport will be very different in that it will be much more hard work.

“I’m really excited to be playing [softball] in college because it’s going to be a fun experience,” Cruz said.

Softball is Cruz’s passion because she loves playing and will never get tired of softball.

Lindsay Cruz, Softball

Alicia Baxter has signed for soccer at Newberry College. She says that she wanted to play soccer in college, and that she liked the small college environment at Newberry. She says that she will miss playing with the girls she has played with her whole high school career. She is willing to play whatever position her coach wants her to play.

“[Soccer] is my passion because I grew up playing it and my dad and brothers played,” Baxter said. “It is also my escape from everything around me, when I play soccer I don’t think about grades or fights I had with friends and family. It helps me get my mind off of things.”

Baxter says that she will bring energy, good sportsman ship, leadership and her heart for the game to her college team.

She says that being away from home in a new environment will be very different.

“I expect college to be completely different from high school,” Baxter said. “[College will require] more responsibility along with harder classes and much harder practices.”

Alicia Baxter, Soccer Nathan Dorton, FootballNathan Dorton has signed for football at

Appalachian State. He has been playing receiver for two and a half years.

“Throughout the whole recruiting process, I never felt at home at any other place,” Dorton said. “Appalachian just has the atmosphere that once you get up there, you never want to leave. I wanted to go to Appalachian because their program is built off of blood, sweat and tears. No other place I visited was like this. At Appalachian, you’re going to work hard, and you’re going to win. That’s just the way it is. Some people think it’s arrogance, but [these people] didn’t win three national championships in a row either.”

Dorton is confident about playing in college and believes that once he adjusts and continues doing what he has always done, he will turn out fine.

“Sometimes, I honestly don’t know why I love football so much,” Dorton said. “God has instilled a passion in me that I just can’t put into words. He put me on this earth, to catch a ball and run around for his glory. I will have such a stage as a college athlete to serve Him.”

Dorton doesn’t really know what to expect for

Jimmy Carson, FootballJimmy Carson has signed for football at

Bucknell College. He has been playing defensive line since his freshman year.

“I wanted to play football at the next level,” Carson said. “I am interested in majoring in engineering, and this major was not possible at the closer schools that were recruiting me. Also, I visited the campus [at Bucknell College] and really liked it.”

Carson says that he is excited to play at the college level and thinks it will be much harder.

“I have played [football] since I was young and while it has not always been my best sport, it has been my favorite,” Carson said.

College of Charleston signed Haley Hutchens for soccer. She plays center middle and has all her life.

“I love the atmosphere at Charleston, and I fell in love with it when I went on my unofficial visit as a junior,” Hutchens said. “Plus I liked the size and the level of competition and I really liked the coaches and players as well.”

Hutchens says that she is excited about playing college soccer even though the competition is much greater than it is in the club and high school levels.

“I’m a little bit intimidated for college ball because I’ll have just come back from my recent knee injury,” Hutchens said.

Hutchens can’t play soccer her senior year because of injuries she’s sustained, her first games back will be in college. She tore her ACL, MCL and meniscus and had surgery Dec 23. Hutchens says she has a huge passion for soccer.

“I’ve always loved soccer,” Hutchens said. “I don’t exactly know why, I just love the intensity, and how you have to be in super good shape and really have to push yourself to the limit in order to be the best. Having to be aggressive is the fun part—being able to get your anger out and knock girls down. I also love the feeling of scoring and winning, and even when we do lose I always come out of the game having learned what I need to do better individually and what we can improve on as a team.”

Hutchens said that she will miss her teammates and Coach Mauldin. She said that she will also miss being the “soccer star” and always being in the newspaper.

Haley Hutchens, Soccer

college, except that his team will win. He knows for certain everything will be much harder.

Football in college is like your job, and I am completely fine with that,” Dorton said. “I like the idea of football being my job. I need to get used to it.”

Dorton says that he will miss the simplicity of Irmo. He will be on his own which he believes will be nice but will miss being in high school a little bit.

Dorton has one opinion on football and that is that “there ain’t nothin like high school football.”

emmaMCWILLIAMSf e a t u r e s e d i t o r

Running toward success

Their sport is your sport’s punishment. They spend hours a day laboring in sun, wind or rain. When other sports are cancelled, they’re still out there p r ac t i c ing . It’s a sport that goes all year long, and s o m e t h i n g that never goes out of style. J u m p i n g , r u n n i n g , s p r i n t i n g or pole-vaulting—it’s all for the glory of the win and the s t r e n g t h that these athletes earn.

Raheema H o d g e s , senior, and Jack Lewis, junior, are two of the best runners on the track team according to most standards. Both have numerous achievements and talent. Their hard work and dedication is what has gotten them this far.

Mike Moore, track coach, spoke admiringly of both runners.

“Both of these athletes have a deep desire to win,” Moore said. “They both have worked extremely hard to perfect technique and improve levels of conditioning.”

Lewis says that track takes up a lot of his time, but he has learned a lot f r o m it, including time

management and p e r s e v e r a n c e . Lewis has earned numerous medals.

“So far, I’ve managed to make first place in the region 4x800 relay twice and I

made it to third in the state meet for the same relay last year,” Lewis said.

Hodges doesn’t measure her achievements by her awards, though.

“My achievements are great in track

and field,” Hodges said. “Every time

I step on the track I’m achieving something whether I win or lose.”

Lewis recognizes that being on the track team is not easy.

“I’d say that in order to be on the track team you have to be willing to work hard,”

Lewis said. “ M o s t people look at running as punishment, and that’s pretty much what we do. If you’re not willing to work and fight through the t r a i n i n g , chances are you won’t be the best you can be.”

T o H o d g e s , track has m u l t i p l e a p p e a l s . She enjoys

spending her time with such a talented group of people and but still being able to escape the world for a few minutes.

“I love to run so much because it sets me free from the world and everything in it,” Hodges said. “Running lets me get away from all the stress in my life and the world. I also love to win and see my name and picture in the paper.”

Track is a team sport in general, but individualistic at its core. It’s all about pushing your own limits, with the encouragement and support of your teammates.

“The thing about track is that as long as you’re willing to

work for it, you can make yourself better and more physically ready for the sport,” Lewis said.

Hodges and Lewis have been learning from Moore for a while, but Moore claims they are

teaching him as well.“They have taught

me a lot.” Moore said. “Raheema has been running since the seventh grade and Jack since the ninth. Each presented me with challenges that made me a better coach.”

Morgan Edwards

morganEDWARDSf e a t u r e s e d i t o r

WORKING TOGETHER: A combination of running skills and hand-eye-coordination helps Hodges and Lewis dominate the relay. Teamwork is key to this eent.

v a r s i t y s o f t b a l lBOBBY HENDERSON

WHAT SPORT DO YOU COACH? • Varsity softball

HOW LONG HAVE YOU COACHED? • 17 years

MOST THRILLING MOMENT: • Beating the #1 ranked

team and defending state champions.

WHAT COLLEGE DID YOU ATTEND? • University of South Carolina

CORNERCOACH’S

Favorite Quote

Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do the right all the time. Winning is habit. Un-fortunetly, so is losing. - Vince Lombardi

s

36 The Stinger

There is more than one difference between baseball and softball

Baseball

Softball

VS.

Amanda Evans, junior, girls varisty softball pitcher Tony Ford, junior, boys varsity baseball pitcher

There is numberous differences between baseball and softball other than one is a boys sport and the other is a girls.

According to Matt Livingston, third base man and pitcher, varsity baseball, softball [at Irmo High School] is faster pace, and they play on a smaller field.

“Baseball ranges around 329 in. down the lines [base to base] and 370 in. in the center [from home base to the pitcher’s mound],” Livingston said. “Softball is around 200 in. down the line. We have a round field, they have a flat circle.”

Amanda Boyeson, outfield man, varsity softball said basically their bases and their pitchers mound are closer together.

The equipment used for each sport is also different.“[A softball] is big and yellow, while baseball is smaller and white

and red,” Boyeson said. “The barrels of baseball bats are also bigger.”Both teams have tournaments around the same time,

condition before their seasons, and have pre season tournaments.Boyeson also said the girls have preseason conditioning.

Both teams have preseason conditioning to prepare for their seasons. Baseball, although, has more seasons than softball.

“We play in the fall and summer,” Livingston said. Softball, on the other hand, only plays in the fall.

Both teams have about the same amount of games, and not too many home games, they usually have five to nine home games. To prepare the teams for their games each varsity team has three different coaches to assist them in different areas.

“[We have] coach Henderson, coach Johnson and Mr. Pete,” Boyeson said.

The baseball’s coaches, according to Livingston, are teachers Ray Canady, Jack Curlings and Chris Stout.

Both softball and baseball practice for around two to two-and-a-half hours. Both teams have different uniforms and warm ups. Livingston and Boyeson both said they like their warm-ups because they’re comfortable and make their team look sharp. Each team wears a different color for home and away games.

“We have two [uniforms], for home games we have white,” Boyeson said. “And away we wear black.”

The baseball team wears black jerseys and gray pants for away games.

“For home games,” Livingston said. “We wear white on white and sometimes our black uniform. We also wear hats; they sometimes wear visors, or no hats.”

Another difference between the two is that the varsity baseball team doesn’t have a captain.

“But we know who the leaders are though,” Livingston said.On the other hand, varsity softball does

have a captain, Chelsey Burkett, senior.“[Chelsey is the one] who keeps us together, but

everyone plays their part as leaders,” Boyeson said. Both teams try to bond outside of practice and games.“We try and get out a lot,” Livingston

said. “We hang out at each other’s houses.”The softball team often has sleepovers as well as

rookie night to initiate the new players. Boyeson said they also like to eat together before or after games.

graphic by Jeanna Campbell37April/May 2009

s

jeannaCAMPBELLe d i t o r i n c h i e f

jeannaCAMPBELLj o u r n a l i s m I I I

samanthaEDWARDSj o u r n a l i s m I V

kaylaGROFFj o u r n a l i s m I I I

Graduating StaffGraduating Staff

Recognition:MWSC 2009 High School Contest

1st Place - Reviews

Positions:E n t e r t a i n m e n t E d i t o r ‘ 0 7

E d i t o r i n C h i e f ‘ 0 8E d i t o r i n C h i e f ‘ 0 9

Spring 2007 ESNA: 2nd Place - Computer Graphics

3rd Place - LayoutYear 2007 ESNA:

3rd Place - Computer GraphicsFall 2008 ESNA:

2nd Place - News Feature3rd Place - Layout

Spring 2008 ESNA: 1st Place - Centerspread

Year 2008 ESNA: 2nd Place - Centerspread

PICA 2007-2008: Best Newsletter

Fall 2009 ESNA: 1st Place - Centerspread

1st Place - Computer Graphics2nd Place - Layout

Spring 2009 ESNA: 1st Place - Layout3rd Place - SportsYear 2009 ESNA:

1st Place - Centerspread1st Place - Computer Graphics

1st Place - LayoutMWSC 2009 High School Contest

1st Place -Single Page Layout1st Place - Double-Truck Layout

1st Place - Graphics

Recognition:

Positions:S p o r t s E d i t o r ‘ 0 8

E d i t o r i n C h i e f ‘ 0 9

Recognition:Spring 2008 ESNA: 2nd Place - ReviewsYear 2008 ESNA:

3rd Place - ReviewsMWSC 2009 High School Contest

2nd Place - Opinion - Kayla Groff

Positions:C i r c u l a t i o n M a n a g e r ‘ 0 8P r o d u c t i o n M a n a g e r ‘ 0 9

South Carolina Scholastic Press

Association (SCSPA): Newspaper Evaluation:

Class 5 - HonorESNA Sweepstakes Award:

3rd Place - Class B

SCSPA Excellence in Scholastic Newspaper

Awards (ESNA):Fall 2009:

1st Place - Centerspread - Samantha Edwards1st Place - Graphics - Samantha Edwards2nd Place - Layout - Samantha Edwards

Spring 2009:1st Place - Layout - Samantha Edwards

1st Place - Photography - Morgan Edwards3rd Place - Sports - Samantha Edwards

Year 2009:1st Place - Centerspread - Samantha Edwards

1st Place - Graphics - Samantha Edwards1st Place - Layout - Samantha Edwards

2nd Place - Photography - Morgan Edwards

Media Women of South Carolina (MWSC) High

School Contest Winners:1st Place - Reviews - Jeanna Campbell

1st Place - Single-Page Layout - Samantha Edwards1st Place - Double-Truck Layout - Samantha Edwards

1st Place - Sports Photo - Emma McWilliams1st Place - Graphics - Samantha Edwards1st Place - Environment - Annie Parham

1st Place - Sports - Kristen Polinski1st Place - Features - Emma McWilliams

1st Place - Columns - Annie Parham2nd Place - News - Emma McWilliams

2nd Place - Opinion - Kayla Groff

38 The Stinger

Thanks for your support!

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Mandy and Danny WesterkamTidwell & Associates, Inc

The Smoak FamilyBobby Blankenship

Marcelle & Sam Edwards

SupportersBob and Martha Veto

Brett and Leah MacgargleJames E. Parham Jr.

John and Bonnie HuttoMarvin and Lorraine Veto

Mr. and Mrs. Rick AbercrombieJohn and Betsy Goodale

Mr. & Mrs. Gene M. PorterNucor Building

CenturionsCalvin and JoAnne McGeeTerry and Diane ParhamJohn and Jenny Edwards

The Purohits

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kristenPOLINSKIj o u r n a l i s m I I I

britniSLONEj o u r n a l i s m I I

morganEDWARDSj o u r n a l i s m I I

Recognition:Spring 2009 ESNA:

1st Place - PhotographyYear 2009 ESNA:

2nd Place - Photography

Positions:F e a t u r e s E d i t o r ‘ 0 9

Graduating StaffGraduating Staff

Recognition:Spring 2008 ESNA: 2nd Place - LayoutYear 2008 ESNA: 2nd Place - Layout

MWSC 2009 High School Contest1st Place -Sports

Positions:F e a t u r e s E d i t o r ‘ 0 8S t a f f Co o r d i n a t o r /

C i r c u l a t i o n M a n a g e r ‘ 0 9

Positions:P h o t o g r a p h e r ‘ 0 9

EDITOR IN CHIEF2009-2010

Congratulations, Annie! You have earned your new title. All of your work thus far has been unquestionably boss, and we are confident that you are capable of doing a bang-up job as Editor in Chief. =] Good luck, kid!

Annie Parham

-Sam & Jeanna39April/May 2009