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Free PublicationStudent Newspaper of

Theodore High School6201 Swedetown RoadTheodore, AL 36582

Member of National ScholasticPress AssociationStudent Press

March 2008 Vol.1 Issue 3

Pros and Cons of MySpace

Page 8

NEHS Inductions

Page 3

Turo Takes Tucson

Page 11

Christians and Drugs?By Omar Silva, Reporter

You may remember going to an assembly in the gym a few weeks ago, but did you get the message that was intended to reach you? The spokesman for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Steve Fitzhugh, goes around the country every year encouraging teenagers to maintain their beliefs and stay away from drugs. He said, “What students are most vulnerable to is peer influence.” Steve believes that students are not pressured into doing drugs or drinking; instead, they find themselves in situations, “…where it seems like everyone is drinking, but them, and they’re influenced to simply go with the flow.” FCA’s One Way 2 Play—Drug Free! Program encourages Christian teenagers to take a stand against drinking and using drugs and to be a positive influence for those around them. The main idea Steve tried to get across was that you should not be afraid of “soaring like an eagle,” because if you are, then you will be “stuck on the ground with the rest of the chickens.”

Photo courtesy of FCA

Mr. Steve Fitzhugh, spokesperson for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

How the 2008 Election Will Affect Us

By Katie Turner, Editor-In-Chief

This is not another article that will feed you mindless stats about various candidates. This article is go-ing to explain why you need to vote. Believe it or not this election is going to greatly affect everyone our age. Below I have outlined a few areas of legislation that will be up for change. Health Care- For us seniors we have never had to worry about health care or insurance, but when we graduate, go to college and get a job we will be responsible for paying for health care for ourselves and depending on who we elect it may be cheaper for us… or more expensive. Abortion- Right now because of Roe V. Wade, abortion is legal in every state. If a democrat is elected that will stay in place. However, if a republican is elected measures may be taken to overturn the ruling which would outlaw abortion. War in Iraq- This issue af-

fects everyone that is a senior whether you plan on entering in to the military or not. At 18, by law, every male is supposed to register with the military in case of a draft. Depending on who gets elected there may be an immediate withdrawal from Iraq or there could be a continued surge of troops. Taxes- Every time a new presi-dent comes into office there are changes

and adjustments made to taxes. If you have a job, this will most likely affect you. Different can-didates want to raise and lower different taxes. Depending on

who you elect taxes may drop, or they may skyrocket. This upcoming election is no doubt going to make history. And regardless of whether you are conserva-tive or liberal, republican or democrat this election WILL affect you.

2008-2009 Azalea Trail Maids

PAGE 5

Theodore’s Own Mardi Gras BallBy Tabatha Ely, Reporter

The sopho-more class sponsored Theodore’s Annual Sweet-heart Dance/Mardi Gras Ball on Feb-ruary 9. The dance flew by flawlessly, as students danced through this magical eve-ning of ball

gowns and roses. Couples filled the gym,

girls glowing in their loved one’s arms, as guys “acted” like knights in shining armor. The decorations were beautifully placed, and the lobby was decorated by several clubs. Spanish club won first place for their wall depicting Senior Siesta, and French club received sec-ond place for their decorations. These clubs helped add sparkle to this starlit evening. The walls were covered with hearts and glitter to follow the theme of a ball. Midway through the night, the sweetheart court was announced, and senior Amber Howell, our sweetheart Queen, was the belle of the ball as she

received her tiara. Junior, Justin Mad-dox, looked dashing as he received his Mardi Gras-themed crown deeming him king of the ball. The DJ filled the gym with music to let students dance the night away to the sounds of slow ballads and fast hip-hop. As the evening came to a close, couples paired off for one final dance. The night came to an end as the final couples drifted out of the hall. Thanks to Mrs. Wilson and Ms. Frier-son for making this ball such a great success.

Photo courtesy of Yearbook.

Queen Amber and King Justin stop to show off their crowns.

School NewsPage 2

Senator Presents

$5,000 to THS

The students and staff of Theodore High School would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to Senator Rusty Glover, State District 34 [Mobile], for his contribution to our school. This month, Sen-ator Glover presented $5,000 to Mr. Rowell, who graciously accepted the donation for the maintenance, upkeep, operation, and general needs of the school. Senator Glover was elected to the Alabama Senate on November 7, 2006, having served one term in the Alabama House of Rep-resentatives. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education, his Masters in Secondary Education and his Masters in History, all from the University of South Alabama. Once again, we thank Senator Glover for his generous support of Theodore High School.

By Daniel Jobson, Reporter

Theodore H.S. Archives

Mr. Rowell accepts the donation.

Miss THS- A Musical EventBy Tory Rogers, Reporter

A group of girls and guys danced their way into Theodore High School history on Friday, January 25, as the first group to ever participate in the Miss THS Pageant, which doubled as a fundraiser for prom. Se-nior contestants competed for the crown of Miss THS while juniors vied for Junior Beauty. Senior escorts appeared dashing in their tuxedos and ties as they accompanied the contestants and flaunted their stuff, showing off their own dance techniques. Fresh-men and sopho-mores were also able to participate with the hopes of becoming Under-classman Beauty. Contestants were judged on their grade point average, an interview process, and poise on stage. Char-acter and personality were also key factors during deliberation, which proves that this is not just a regular beauty pageant. With entertaining dances inspired by Hairspray, Grease, and Chicago performed by both the contestants and their escorts, it seemed as though the night should never end, but at the conclusion of the Miss THS pageant, Sarah Wood had not only been crowned Miss THS but also Pecan Festival

Underclassmen: Ashley Gazzier Latifha Harris Ashlyn Thompson- Underclassmen Beauty.

Escorts: Yosef Aborady Jacob Butler Garrett Gilmore Paul Lowery Austen O’ Conner- Best Escort Jonathan Poiroux Andrew Tice.

Participants-Seniors: Laurie Anne Armour-Second Runner-Up Tabatha Ely Jada Jackson- First Runner-Up Aimee Pope Richelle Scott Courtney Wilkerson Sarah Wood- Miss THS and Miss Congeniality

Juniors: Ali Botsis- Junior Beauty Stephanie Graham Ashley Jempson Cassidi Leslie Mallory Wilson

Queen and Miss Congeniality. When asked about her expectations upon entering this musical contest, Sarah said she entered with hopes for the best for herself and for others.

She also spoke of how she tried to stay calm and focused in prepara-tion for the pag-eant by practicing at home and going to every dance practice that was held. With such success in the pag-eant, Sarah decid-ed to leave behind a few words of wisdom to those junior girls who plan to compete for the crown of Miss THS next year: “My advice to any underclass-men would be to not give up. If they have hopes of be

ing crowned Miss Theodore, then they should

keep driving on for their dream.” With such a huge success for the pageant this year, Ms. Ramirez, a teacher at Theodore who sponsored the contest, is expected to have the competition again next year, giving those who did not compete this year a chance to do so.

Photo Courtesy of Sarah Wood.

I LOST THE GAME

-Shey Music, Tory Rogers, Neil Buffler

I bought this ad to help my sister and I have nothing to say, but bunny says hey.

-Kassondra Cooper

Sarah Wood smiles after her win

School News Page 3Students Inducted into NEHS

By Traci Evans, Reporter

The National English Honor Soci-ety is a new organization here at Theodore High School founded by English teacher Mrs. Sondra Thomas. The society recognizes students that excel in English as well as other academic achievements. To be eligible for the society, stu-dents must meet the requirements of hav-ing an overall GPA (unweighted) of 3.0 or higher, an English GPA (unweighted) of 3.0 or higher, no class B or higher offenses in school records within one year of applica-tion, no retract within one year of applica-tion, a completed application form, two teacher references (one of which must be an English teacher), and application approval by a Faculty Advisory Council. The members will also be asked to participate in regularly

JuniorsAllen, JarisaBarney, DeanBentley, KristenCleveland, KristyDavis, AmberGegenheimer, KimberlyGibson, CameronIvey, BrettJacobs, MeghanKennedy, SeanKnaebel, KatyKowal, MeghanLaConsay, HeatherLowe, JarrettMcLester, BrittnanyMonego, JamieMoore, SamuelNason,Shana

Seniors Barthlett, KierraBendolph, MerriannaBoyer, Rachelle Breazzeal, EricBrooks, AloysiaBrown, ChrisBrumfield, JecilynCarney, JeredColeman, AerialCurd, Leslie Jo Davis, KiaraDicks, Jessie Dolbear, SarahEardley, ScottElliott, MatthewEly, TabathaEvans, TraciFerro, LisaGilmore, Garrett Graham, Andrew Henderson, ChaquittaHoward, Kristin Howell, Amber

Jackson, JadaKnaebel, NicholasKowal, Lauren McAfee, JessicaNobles, CaraPayton, Susanna Pendleton, Lauren Riner, KrystleRobertson, AliciaRone, ZackarySalter, CodySimmons, ChassidySingletary, ShelbySmith, JohnStanley, Regina Stoker, Maegan Tran, QuanWhitten, Amber Williams, Nauteshia Williamson, TylerWomack, Marissa Worch, Samantha Young, Rebecca

Page, ShawnaPeters, ThomasPrewitt, DavidSeaman, ArianaShuttlesworth, ShelbySummerlin, JessicaSunde, JuliaTang, ElizabethTang, RebeccaTillman, WilliamToney, DanielleTuro, D.JVanCleave, AndrewWear, AshleyWelborn, RichardWeller, AmandaWhite, WilliamWilson, MalloryWraight, Sarah

scheduled meetings and complete services projects. The sponsor, Mrs. Sondra Thomas, and co-sponsor, Mrs. Brandi Ellard, held an induction ceremony for the 85 inductees on January 24, 2008, at 7:00 pm, where they received a certificate and a National English Honor Society membership pin. Mrs. Patty Parris, Assistant Principal, welcomed the students and guests, and then guest speaker Chris Starkey, President of Sigma Tau Delta USA, presented the new chapter charter to Principal Ronald Rowell. Dr. Mary Beth Culp, Professor of English Education at USA and co-director of Mobile Bay Writing Proj-ect, was the keynote speaker. A reception followed for all inductees, their families and friends. The 85 inductees are as follows:

The senior class planned a volunteer day under the United Senior Class of Mo-bile County. Theodore High School Senior Class President Chris Jones, who is also president of Mobile County’s United Senior Class, went to Nan Gray Davis Elementary and Burroughs Elementary on Friday, Janu-ary 25, along with 24 other senior students. The purpose of visiting these schools was to allow seniors the opportunity realize the importance of community and the services we can do to improve it. “The students that the seniors helped with were very excited to see us,” stated Chris Jones, when asked how the day went. “All of the classes asked us to come back.”The seniors either read to the classes or helped the teachers teach. At Nan Gray Da-vis, most of the seniors helped parent volun-teers in P.E. for “snack day.” The event was said to have been a huge success with both schools asking if the seniors would come back at least once a month. The United Senior Class and the THS senior class are planning trips to more schools, hospitals, and assisted living com-munities. Chris Jones encourages all seniors to try to participate.

By Amber Howell, Reporter

THS Seniors Teachers For a Day

Theodore Represents in

Writing ContestBy Tabatha Ely, Reporter

The Friends of the Mobile Public Library Creative Writing Contest recently gave awards to three students from Theodore High School at a ceremony held at Davidson High School on January 25. Nathan Griffin, a sophomore, was awarded first place in the fiction division for his short story, “Koryes Great Meeting.” He enjoys writing and plans to make a living from it after he graduates. Nathan was surprised when his name was called for first place. Angela Richardson, a senior, received second place in the fiction division for her work, “The Love Letter.” She is a passionate writer and has been writing since childhood. Katie Turner, also a senior, received an honorable mention in poetry for her poem, “Glass Girl.” Katie has been accepted at University of South Alabama, and intends to major in English. It is great to see Theodore students achieving awards in writing. Congratulations to these three students.

Photo courtesy of Katie Turner

Winners Nathan, Angela, and Katie stand with their awards.

Photos by Angela RichardsonJunior (top) and Senior (bottom) inductees

2007-2008 Officers:Co-Presidents- Traci Evans and Regina StanleyVice President- Cara NoblesSecretary- Amanda HowardTreasurer- Tabitha ElyHistorian- Nick KnaebelPublic Relations Chairman- Mattew Elliot

2008-2009 Officers:President- Jamie MonegoVice President- Shawna PageSecretary- Mallory WilsonTreasurer- Rebecca TangPublic Relations Chairman- Danielle Toney

School NewsPage 4A Scholars’ Life

for Me

The Theodore High School Varsity Scholars’ Bowl team recently concluded the 2007-2008 season. The last match was held on January 10, 2008, at Faulkner State Community College. For seniors Tabatha Ely, Shelly Boyer, and Sarah Dolbear, this was the last time they would ever participate in this scholastic competition. For the rest of the team, Tory Rogers, Jarrett Lowe, Shey Music, Tommy Peters, and Rebecca Tang, there is always next year. It was a tough season. The top scorer for Theodore’s varsity team was team captain, Sarah Dolbear. Theodore’s own J.V Scholars’ Bowl team had an interesting season full of ups and downs. All members did their best this season. Adjusting to new teammates was a little difficult for some. Over all it was a satisfactory season with a win loss ratio of about 1:1.The top scorer was captain, Ian Schipman. The J.V. team members for the 07-08 season were: Dean Barney, Clayton Finch, Neil Buffler, Shawna Page, Ian Schip-man, Jenny Hewes, Kayla Byrd, J.C. Rohe, and McCall Harnish. Scholars’ Bowl provides a good opportunity to be a part of something mean-ingful. The varsity sponsor, Mrs. M. Byrd, would like to encourage all underclass-men who are interested to attend tryouts in March.

By Sarah Dolbear and Neil Buffler, ReportersPhotos courtesy of Mrs. Byrd

(L. to R.)- Ms. Johnson, Neil Buffler, Cla-ton Finch, McCall Harnish, Kayla Byrd, Jenny Hewes, Dean Barney, Ian Schipman

(Standing L. to R.)- Tommy Peters, Mrs. Byrd, Sarah Dolbear, Rebbeca Tang, Shelly Boyer (Sitting L. to R.)- Jarrett Lowe, Tory Rogers, Tablitha Ely, Shey Music

Discovering Skills for a Competitive Workforce

By Traci Evans, Reporter

The Career/ Technical Education Program at Theodore High School celebrated Technical Education Month in February 2008, with the theme “Discovering Skills for a Competitive Workforce.” In today’s society, one out of ev-ery two high school students in Alabama participate in a career/technical education program. Students have an opportunity to explore career options in more than 215 courses, earn advanced diplomas, and re-ceive college credits. Courses at Theodore High School include: Agriscience Educa-tion, which prepares students for careers in agricultural fields such as plant biosystems or natural resources; Business/ Marketing Education, which provides students with marketing or financing skills; Family and Consumer Sciences Education, that provides necessary skills of culinary arts and fashion coordination; Health Science Education, for students to acquire experience in health-care and medical related careers; Technical Education for experience in communications or construction; and Career Technologies Education which gives students the chance to explore careers such as cosmetology and engineering.

A recent report published by www.Forbes.com states that Mobile’s projected growth at 34% will result in a high demand for educated and skilled individuals. Ac-cording to the Association for Career and Technical Education, research shows many of the country’s fastest-growing occupa-tions require technical, communication, time management, and leadership skills taught in America’s career/technical education programs. The Association also shows that among high school graduates entering the workforce, those with a technical education background earn more than those without this training. For more information about Career and Technical Education classes in account-ing, business, computers, design, drafting, fashion, finance, food, health, nursing, or co-op, consult the faculty members below:

Ms. N. Prine, (department chairperson),Ms. T. Adkison and Ms. S. Dubose, Busi-ness/ Marketing; Mrs. S Mitchell and Mrs. R. Robinson, Family and Consumer SciencesMrs. C. Gilmore, Health Sciences; and Mrs. C. Mallon and Mr. D. Weatherly, Tech-nical Education.

Photo by Angela Richardson

CTE Students

Be Prepared- It’s Grad Exam Time!!!By Amber Howell, Reporter

Attention all students: The gradu-ation exams are coming up during the first week of March. A total of six exams will be given this year due to the state department implementing a new science exam. This new assessment is to be taken by freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. The schedule for these exams is as follows:

Friday, February 29, 2008 – Social StudiesMonday, March 03, 2008 – (old) ScienceTuesday, March 04, 2008 – MathWednesday, March 05, 2008 – ReadingThursday, March 06, 2008 – LanguageFriday, March 07, 2008 – (new) Science The tests on March 4 through March 7 will be long tests. Who is going to test, you ask? The testing students are as follows: 1) Freshmen who have passed Algebra 1 can take the math exam; 2) Freshmen who have passed biology first semester will take the new sci-ence exam, not the old one; 3) Sophomores are to test all parts that are needed to pass;

4) All sophomores and juniors are to take the new science exam; 5) Juniors will test in all parts needed to pass; 6) Seniors who need to pass science will take the old science test. Seniors are exempt from taking the new sci-ence test on Friday, March 7.All students who are not testing will report to their assigned areas. Seniors will report to the cafeteria, while juniors and sophomores not testing will report to the gym. Freshmen will report to their homeroom teachers and remain there quietly. Every student must report to first block after the exams for at-tendance for the entire week of exams. The students still testing, when most are finished, will finish them in the library. Administrators will be giving eight to ten minutes to get to first block and five minutes for roll before the 10:58 lunch bell rings. Students can prepare for these exams by visiting www.usatestprep.com. The user-name is theodore and the student password is newton92. I hope everyone passes these assessments and feels better for it.

I love Charlie, too!

-Teryn Buckley

School News Page 5

Azalea Trail 2008-2009 Congratulations to our 2008-2009 Azalea Trail Maids: Kristy Cleveland, Kim-berly Gegenheimer, Shana Nason, Rebecca Tang, and Ashley Wear. I sat down with the girls and asked them a few questions about their experiences so far. When asked how they felt about becoming an Azalea Trail Maid, Kristy replied, “I feel extremely blessed for receiving such an honor.” “It’s pretty sweet! It’s such an hon-or,” Kimberly replied. “I am so honored. I’m anxious to be able to appear in front of everyone in my dress for the first time,” Shana added. “The shock was overwhelming, and

I’m super ready for this amazing experi-ence!” Rebecca said. “It’s cool. I feel honored, and it is so exciting,” Ashley concluded. The one thing that stands out the most to everyone is the elaborate dresses the girls have to wear. Kristy’s dress is lavender, Kimberly’s dress is blue, Shana’s dress is yellow, and Rebecca’s and Ashley’s dresses are green. To all of the aspiring Azalea Trail Maids, our girls have some advice they would like to offer you. “Don’t stress out so much,” Ashley said. “Make a jubilant, lasting impression

on everyone you meet,” Rebecca stated. “Make sure they take the ink-filled security tag off of your suit before your first interview!” Shana replied. “If you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true,” Kimberly added. “Have fun with it. I enjoyed learning about Mobile history. If all else fails, at least you get a new suit!” Kristy concluded. Congratulations once again to our 2008-2009 Theodore High School Azalea Trail Maids. Good luck to all aspiring trail maids, and may the queen be from Theo-dore!

By Angela Richardson, Reporter (Aritcle and photos)

Kimberly Gegenheimer Shana Nason Rebecca Tang Ashely Wear Kristy Cleveland

2008 Who’s Who I’m sure you all noticed that on Fri-day, February 1, 2008, several students were “out of uniform” for a “Who’s Who” pic-ture taking session. But what exactly is this “Who’s Who?” It is a group of students who were nominated and elected for a certain title like “Most Unique” or “Best All-Around.” The teacher responsible for this year’s “Who’s Who” was Mrs. Rigsby. Nominations for “Who’s Who” are normally taken either in late December or early January of each year. After nomina-tions have been taken, everyone goes to homeroom to vote for their grade level nominees whom they strongly believe fit that category. When the votes have been tallied, an assembly is set to announce the winners. The assembly for 2007 – 2008 was held on December 11, 2007. Congratulations to all the winners!

Who’s Who Winners – 2007-2008

Senior Notables: Jecilyn Brumfield, Aerial Coleman, Kiara Davis, Sarah Dolbear, Jada Jackson, Susanna Payton, Lauren Pendleton, Cody Salter, Regina Stanley, Missy Womack

Freshmen Beauty: Dana Burroughs Handsome, Isaac BrannanFavorites –Necoyia Sankey, Laura McCoo, Maria Fields, Jesse Raines, Isaac Brannan

SophomoresBeauty: Brooke JonesHandsome: Joseph AnkersonFavorites: Michelle Brumfield, Brooke Jones, Victoria Bridges, Brittany Barfield, Devin Myers, Brandon Kiser, Michael Lee, Nathan Griffin, Jeffrey Berg

JuniorsBeauty: Devon SchultzHandsome: Perez NelsonFavorites: Hayli Casey, Angela Clemmons, Jarisa Allen, Sinjean Simmons, Devon Schultz, Daniel Strong, Jeremy Lundy, Tyree Dawson, Sam Moore

SeniorsBeauty: Courtney WilkersonHandsome: Jered CarneyFavorites: Aerial Coleman, Chassidy Sim-mons, Candice Unkrich, Brandy Giambrone, Sarah Dolbear, Jeremy Pelletier, Tyler Vin-cent, Thor Evans, Chris Goode

Best Personality (Female): Marie JenkinsBest Personality (Male): Omar SilvaWittiest (Female): Destiny McCooWittiest (Male): Patrick EllisMost Athletic (Female): Jennifer FullerMost Athletic (Male): Justin AltamiraMost Unique (Female): Lauren KowalMost Unique (Male): Cory ThephabouthBest All Around (Female): Jada JacksonBest All Around (Male): Omar SilvaMost Likely to Succeed (Female): Chassidy SimmonsMost Likely to Succeed (Male): Quan Tran

Mr. THS: Cody SalterMs. THS: Sarah Dolbear

By Amber Howell, Reporter

Photo by Katie Turner

Our 2008 Mr. and Ms. THS Cody Salter and Sarah Dolbear

FeaturesPage 6

It takes hope to help finish the re-covery for a cancer survivor, so come out on May 9, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. to Theodore High School to honor cancer survivors and raise money to find a cure for cancer. The event is a free all-night walk, but donations are greatly appreciated. The first lap is led by the cancer survivors in the community. People

that come out to walk and give donations to help find better ways to detect, prevent, and treat cancer are funding the Cancer Society. Those touched by cancer can gain

the confidence that they need to recover from this disease by seeing all the people that come out to help fund the research. Every dollar that is raised makes a difference to the people’s lives that have cancer. Along the track are luminaria candles that are left burning throughout the night to remind the participants of their contributions. Relay for Life has been going on for years thanks to Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Washington. Wanting to enhance the income of his local American Cancer Society office, he decided to person-ally raise money by doing what he enjoyed: running marathons. In May 1985, Dr. Klatt circled the track at Baker Stadium at the University of Puget Sound for more that 83 miles. All throughout the night his friends paid him $25 to run or walk for 30 minutes with him, and he raised $27,000 to fight can-cer. Nearly 300 of Dr. Klatt’s friends, family, and patients watched as he walked and ran the track the first year. As he circled the track throughout that year, he thought of ways that everybody could take part. Throughout that year he envisioned a 24 hour team relay. In 1986, 19 teams took place in the first relay known as the City of Destiny Classic, and together they raised $33,000. Relay for Life has become the largest fundraising event in mankind’s history. Millions of people from all over the world have joined the cause. To-day there are more than 4,800 relays nation-wide.

By Ashley Dunnam, ReporterHelp Save a Life

Eat more chik’n!!

-Charisma Sands

Movie Review- One Missed Call

By Shey Music, Reporter

As time passes, movies are begin-ning to be released at an alarming rate. A decade ago, a few movies would be released each month, but with this wait for new media, there was an upside. Most of the releases were good quality movies with a meaningful plot. Today’s society has settled for mediocre premiers where every film seems to be alike. The youth of today seem to have forgotten, or may have never known, what are the makings of a “good” movie. I am surprised that the viewing public has come to set its standards so low. Although the standard for a decent film has dropped, I still proceeded to attend a movie at a local theatre with a group of friends. Horror movies interest me, so we decided to see One Missed Call. The movie’s modernized use of evil cellular spirits was a bit corny, but its simplistic title was prom-ising. The special effects were realistic, and the plot was both scary and suspense-ful. The gruesomeness was not over done,

and I thought that it would turn out to be an “above average” movie for the current era. As the movie began to tie up loose ends, I

was actually interested in what fantastic ending the writer’s vi-sion had turned out to be. When the story came to a close, the theatre fell dead silent, not in suspenseful awe but in complete disbelief. I did not know that such an awesome idea could turn sour so quickly. The pathetic attempt at a twisted ending, combined with a lack of

explanation, proved to be the perfect mix-ture for a box office flop. By trying to leave the story open for a sequel, the producers completely ruined the story that had been previously told. I would not recommend this movie to anyone, for paying to see this film is an act that should not be performed. The one and a half hours that it took me to view One Missed Call will always be a void in my life that I will never get back!

Why Reruns?By Ashley Cooper, Reporter

The Writers’ Guild went on strike as of 2007, because they wanted the credit they felt they deserved. When episodes of a show repeat, the actors are paid for the rights to play it. The writers, who actually write the scripts for shows such as Smallville, Supernatural, and CSI, get an initial payment for writing them, but no royal-ties are received. So, in protest, they laid down their pens and stepped away from the desk in an effort to show the producers that the show could not go on without them. The strike was not intended to hurt the viewers, but to prove to the producers

of major companies such as CBS, FOX, NBC, Walt Disney, etc. that the writers deserve the same compensation as the actors and actresses.

Producers of late night shows such as David Let-terman, Jay Leno, etc., decided to give in to the demands of the Writers’ Guild as their ratings plummeted without them. Conan O’Brien had even gone so far as to pay them out of his own pocket. Finally, represen-tatives from the Writers’ Guild met with the pro-ducers and managed to

work out a new arrangement to satisfy everyone involved. The writers have returned to their desks and have already begun etching out the scripts for new shows.

Picture cortesy of Google.com

Theodore High School’s DECA club students competed and won in the DECA In-dividual Competitive Event Contest on Janu-ary 18. DECA is an international association of high school and college students studying marketing, management, and entrepreneur-ship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and services. The following students won first place awards in the contest and will represent Theodore High School in state competition on March 25, in Tusca-loosa: Devan Davis, Business Services; Trent Parker, Retail Marketing; Jonathan Doss, Business Services; Michael McLean, Mar-keting Management; Tyler Vincent, Sports Marketing; April Whitney, Food Marketing.

By Tory Rogers, Reporter

Deca Region Winners Represent Theodore

I love my Lenley and Justin!

-Teryn Buckley

Although we made constant announce-ments and made sure that the school knew about the sound off opportunity, the responses remained scarce. Complaints can be heard across the campus about the school’s down-sides, and yet when a chance to speak up arose, few came forward. The two entries that we did receive will be published in the next issue if we receive a large enough response. Come on peo-ple, I know that this school is not perfect, and who better to point out its flaws than the people who live here eight hours a day. Do not waste your breath expressing your ideas to your peers; write them down and put them in the sound off locker in C hall across from the lunch room. Help make our school better. The writers whose entries are used will receive a free candy bar compliments of the Paw Print News, so speak up and make your voice heard!

By Shey Music and Neil Buffler, Reporters

Sound Off!!!Features Page 7

Theodore High School’s Flag Corp is having tryouts for the 2008-2009 school year on March 18, 2008. Those who wish to try out must attend a training camp on March 10, 11, and 12 from 3:15 to 5:30, and on March 13 from 3:15 to 5:00. Trainees will be taught the basics of twirling a flag and a tryout routine. Judges will score on how well the routine is executed and how students perform under pressure. At the end of the tryouts on March 18, Dr. Dawes will an-nounce the names of those students that have made the 2008-2009 Flag Corp.

Photo by Angela Richardson

THS guard flag soars high.

By Lennie Anderson and Ashley Dunnam, Reporters

Getting Ready to Make the Team

By Traci Evans, Reporter (article and photos)

THS Football Players Accept

Scolarships

HI-Q is a nationwide academic team consisting of members who must study for challenging categories such as art history, American history, geography, current events, mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, and Shakespeare. A match consists of two halves, four people to a team, and up to eight people in a match. As they compete, they accumu-late points toward semi-finals. There are 15 teams in Mobile County, and only the top seven go to semi-finals. Out of those seven, the top three make it to finals with Fox 10 News Anchor Bob Grip as moderator. Last season the THS team placed fifth in the county. The season before, how-ever, they placed second to McGill, missing first by just one question in the finals. At finals, monetary awards are given to the winning teams: $2000 to first place, $1500 to second, and $1000 to third. The THS HI-Q team this year in-cludes the following students: seniors, Sara Dolbear, Shelley Boyer, Tabby Ely, Chassidy

Simmons; Juniors, Jarrett Lowe, Rebecca Tang, Jessica Summerlin; and Sophomore, Nathan Griffin. January 29, we played Bryant and Davidson at Theodore. Bryant scored thirty-six points, but they challenged twice and lost both, forfeiting four points, getting a final score of thirty-two. Theodore placed second with twenty-six points, challenging once with a closing score of twenty-seven. David-son came in third with twenty-four points. They are always looking for new members. If you are interested in joining, see sponsors Ms. Byrd or Ms. Johnson to sign up for next year’s try-outs.

By Ashley Cooper, Reporter

THS HI-Q Team Scores HI

Austen O’Connor

Demetrius Thomas

Austin O’ Connor and Deme-trius Thomas signed and finalized their football scholarships on February 7, 2008, in the school library to two elite universi-ties: Marshall Uni-versity and Univer-

sity of North Alabama. Austin received a full scholarship to the University of North Alabama and plans to major in busi-ness or coaching, while Demetrius is going to major in business at Mar-shall University on a full scholarship as well. They both have been playing football for many years and hope to continue until they achieve their dream of “making it big” in the NFL. “Take your ACT and work hard at everything you can,” advises Austin to those interested in play-ing football. When asked if the scholarship exceeded his expectations, he replied, “Most definitely.” Demetrius, on the other hand, says he knew he was going to receive a full scholarship. Demetrius said, “Don’t just play the game just to play it. Play it with a goal behind it,” to all the individuals that play football or other sports. We wish them well and know that they will succeed in their desired goals.

FeaturesPage 8

Pros and Cons of Myspace

Pros ConsBy Traci Evans, Reporter By Daniel Jobson, Reporter

Millions of people across the globe are famil-iar with the term Myspace, especially teenagers. Although Myspace has been characterized as unsafe and a waste

of time by many, it also has advantages for others as long as they safely use the internet site. Have you ever wondered what hap-pened to some of your old classmates that seemed to just disappear? Myspace can help you find those friends you have missed and wondered about for so long. Personal experience has made me a believer of this particular advantage. Two of my closest friends moved to a different state across the country in fifth grade. For years I was faced with wonder of where they were living and how they were doing, until my wonder was put to rest when I made a Myspace profile at the age of 16. Out of millions of users of this site, they had found my profile by simply pushing the search icon and typing in my name. If Myspace was not created, my friendships would not have been rekindled. Many Theodore High graduating se-niors and alumni say that Myspace is an easy way to keep in touch with those left behind, as they go to explore colleges or military opportunities in different states or countries. Desire McDonald, an alumni of Theodore High School, says she feared that once she graduated, she would lose touch with most of her friends. Myspace has helped her over-come her fear by giving her the chance to stay in touch through the various profiles and messaging. Myspace is also known for promot-ing advertisements for bands, businesses, and jobs. Many musical and movie artists are able to promote their music and movies that are not well known, while local businesses make ads to promote their businesses. Many individuals have even found jobs, as there are icons and profiles to link to job opportu-nities. These are just a few things that make Myspace an advantage, but there are many more you can enjoy with the proper use of the site!

As the sixth most popular web-site and with over 200 million accounts, Myspace has attracted a vast amount of inter-net users interested in “social networking.” However, even Myspace has flaws, and not too subtle ones at that. Just as its logo admits, Myspace is a self-proclaimed “place for friends,” allow-ing you to create and customize your own personalized profile and enter your own per-sonal information for your friends, or whom-ever else, to see. Granted, you can check the options that allow only your friends to view your profile, send messages, and post com-ments, but even that option is not fool proof. One of the biggest problems with which Myspace users are plagued with is hackers using phishing and other hacking techniques/software to access personal infor-mation and passwords to accounts, in which case, they most often spam other users with false messages and ads for products as well as for pornographic websites. When creating a Myspace profile, you can add other Myspace users to your friend’s list—whether they are friends, acquaintances, or complete strangers. The decision to add these users is wholly yours to make, just like the decision to place yourself at risk by releasing your personal informa-tion onto the internet. However, delinquent users have been known to make fraudulent profiles to further advertise pornographic websites, often mass-spamming other users on the site with ads, comments, and friend requests. That is the real trouble with Myspace—it has not influenced the inter-net as much as the internet has influenced it. Myspace has adopted the internet’s two most prevalent and frequently occurring ele-ments—product ads and links to pornogra-phy. Being as popular as it is, it is a rare occurrence to find a teenager without a Myspace profile these days. According to police, it is also hard to find an online sexual predator without one as well. Despite its logo as a “Place for Friends,” police have observed that many sexually-related crimes involving teenagers originate from teenagers meeting strangers that were their “friends” on Myspace. After all, isn’t a friend some-one that you can trust? That is why the “Deleting Online Predator Act” was approved and passed by Congress in 2006, restricting access to social networking websites by students in federally funded institutions, such as public schools and public libraries.

Hearts, Stars, and... Death?

By Lennie Anderson, Reporter

Today Val-entine’s Day is celebrated on February 14 as a lover’s holiday where friends and couples exchange gifts and I love you’s, but it wasn’t always celebrated

that way. Valentine’s Day originated in the ancient Roman Empire, but not as a lover’s holiday. It was a day to honor Juno, the goddess of women and marriage. Years ago young girls and boys lived their lives sepa-rate; however, to honor the queen goddess, they had a day of name drawing. Name drawing was a way of pairing the young girls and boys together for a festival called Lupercalia. On the eve of the festival, all the young girls’ names were written on a piece of paper and put into a jar of some sort. Then each young man would take his turn draw-ing a name out of the jar, and the name that he drew would be his partner for the festival. Sometimes the festival could last for years, and it was said that most children that were paired would fall in love and eventually get married. According to legend, most pairs did. After many years Rome came under the rule of the emperor Claudius II. Claudius was a very cruel ruler and wanted an enor-mous army; however, when he tried to recruit soldiers, he found that not many men wanted to leave their families so he canceled all marriages and engagements.But there were those that opposed him. One happened to be Saint Valentine. Saint Valentine was a priest in Rome that believed couples should be married. So he and a few other priests and Christian martyrs secretly married couples. For his deed, Saint Valentine was apprehend-ed and condemned to be beaten to death with clubs and then have his head cut off. While in prison, St. Valentine had one visitor, the daughter of the prison guard. The morning of his death, St. Valentine left a letter for his friend thanking her for their conversations and signed it “Love from your Valentine.” His life was taken February 14. So the day we now celebrate as a lover’s holiday is re-ally the day that Saint Valentine was sen-tenced to death.

(Researched information from www.isabelp-erez.com/St%20ValentineStory.htm)

Features Page 9

We all begin our high school journey the same way: doe eyed freshmen who can’t wait for the next four years to pass at the speed of light. However, if you ask any se-nior, they will tell you it passes much faster than that. You go to sleep wishing you could drive, and wake up taking senior portraits. Before you know it, the real world is knock-ing at the door. The class of 2008 will soon be answering that call with trembling hands, but there are certain lessons that I want to pass along to underclassmen. Hopefully these tips will help prepare you for the next few years and help you reach the potential within you. The most important advice is this: Do not be afraid of success. No one wants to be made fun of, but in the long run, yours is the only opinion that matters. Make sure that when you look back in ten years, you have no regrets. Secondly, test yourself. Do not take easy classes just to keep up your GPA. High school is supposed to prepare you for col-lege. Push yourself. See how much you can handle so that when you get to the big leagues, you won’t be overwhelmed. Yes, a great GPA looks good, but it means nothing if you cannot back it up. You may also be wondering, “Does the ACT really matter that much?” Yes, it does. Of course, your high school transcript is important, but a good ACT score can help you with scholarships. Many colleges use a combination of your GPA and ACT scores

to determine the amount of money to offer you. Therefore, you should take the test for the first time in your freshman or sophomore year to get an idea of what you need to work on. Focus on improving your weak subjects and making your strong ones even stron-ger. Theodore now offers a class specially designed to help prepare you for the test. Speak to your grade-level counselor for more information. Another way to improve your chanc-es for scholarships is to get involved in your school and community. Keep track of your service hours because you will really need them when you begin filling out applications. Get involved. Be a leader. Not only does it look good, but it will help you grow as a person. Remember that it is never too early to begin looking for scholarships and keep-ing an eye out for deadlines. Traditionally, December 1st of your Senior year is the pri-ority deadline for many colleges. When you become a Senior, your counselor will begin informing you of any opportunities that they know of. Also, web sites such as FastWeb. com, can be extremely helpful. Keep track of what is going on and when it is due. Finally, remember to have fun. Be good to your friends, and remember that you have the power to make a difference. Live each day with dignity and do not give up on yourself. The class of 2008 wishes you the best of luck. Make us proud.

By Sarah Dolbear, Reporter

Tips From the Class of 2008

As polls closed on February 5, 2008, the Alabama primary indicated a clear win for Republican Party candidate Mike Hucka-bee and Democratic Party candidate Barack

Obama. Support for Hucka-bee has already been shown in several other key southern states such as Georgia, Tennessee, and Arkansas--the state in which he previously was governor. Religion plays a vital role in Huckabee’s winnings in Alabama, taking into

consideration that eight in ten voters in Alabama iden-

tify themselves as evangelical or Christian in faith. Nearly half of republican voters in Alabama chose Huckabee, a Baptist minister, trumping Mitt Romney, who is Mormon, and has picked up only 15 percent of voter’s sup-port, and John McCain, who has seen wins in the East Coast and Illinois. Candidate Rudy Giuliani finished with the lowest amount of votes, pulling only 2,174 votes, a mere 0.4 percent, as opposed to Ron Paul’s 2.73 per-cent, Mitt Romney’s 18.13 percent, and John McCain’s 37.52 percent, who is currently placing second behind Hucka-bee in Alabama. Exit polls indicate that Obama picked up the Demo-cratic win primarily through younger voters and supporters, which fits his cam-paigning target audience. Through usage of the internet and social networking sites for more effective campaigning and his promises for change, young voters are just the sort of people that Obama, a new blood him-self to politics, hopes to rally support from. Although he won more votes with a 14.4 percent lead over Hillary Clinton, Clinton won more delegates, totaling 21, which was one more than Obama’s tally. John Edwards finished the lowest in the Democratic pri-mary with a final tally of only 1.5 percent of voter’s support behind him. Huckabee’s win in the Alabama Republican primary does not come as much of a surprise, since he displays qualities of a traditional conservative. However, Obama’s victory in the Democratic primary comes as a major victory in a state where George Wal-lace was consecutively elected as governor for four terms in the past. Source: CNN

By Daniel Jobson, Reporter

Photos courtesy Google.con

Photos courtesy Google.con

Mike Huckabee

Barack Obama

Alabama a Pick-up for Huckabee

and Obama

One In FourBy Charlotte Brown, Co-Editor

Cache3218 Bel Air MallMobile, Al 36582

Though February 29 only happens every four years, out of the estimated 6,568,250,905 people in the world approximately 18 million people share the February 29 birthday. Out of that estimated number, three of those people are students here at THS. Brooke Burkett, Shane Smith, and Thomas Stokes all share the same special birthday. Brooke, a sophomore here at THS, says she celebrates her birthday just like everyone else. “Just do the whole cake and ice cream thing.” She also says that she celebrates her birthday on March 1, as if it was really Febru-ary 29.

Though you would think it would be weird to have such an uncommon birthday, to these three students it is just another birthday. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY Brooke, Shane and Thomas; we hope your birthday was the best that it could be.

Boys Tennis TeamClayton Finch Nathan GriffinCraig IveyJosh LewisShey MusicTaylor NasonJake RainwaterJamie WaltersWilliam WhiteRyan Vincent

Girls Tennis TeamVictoria BridgesBrooke JonesKara KimbrellApril LawrenceVictoria RumpfJulia SundeMallory Wilson

Tennis season is underway, and it is showing a lot of promise. Coach Cochran is the tennis coach here at Theodore, and we all know he will do his best with his team. Clayton Finch, one of the tennis players, had this to say about the upcoming season, “We are putting a trophy in the cabinet.” Bobcats should do their best to support our tennis team this year by coming to the matches and rooting the team on to victory. We have a lot of good players who all want the same thing, to have fun and win.

By Neil Buffler, Shey Music, Reporters

Racking Up Points

Football Players Receive Recognition

By Charlotte Brown, Co-Editor-In-Chief

The Theodore High School Bobcat football team held its annual Football Ban-quet on January 19,2008, in the THS gym to honor departing seniors and upcoming juniors, sophomores, and freshmen. The eve-ning began with a few words from Mr. Row-ell who said, “I appreciate you going that extra mile for your school.” He discussed his appreciation for the player’s hard work and dedication. Following Mr. Rowell’s encourag-ing words, different coaches awarded their players with certificates of participation, and sophomores and juniors were awarded with their T’s, which will be placed on their letter-man jackets. The coaches spent a few min-utes apiece to talk about their players in front of family and friends. A play clip was put together by Coach Cochran showing game winning extra points, long yard touchdowns, and well executed plays. However, the end of the clip sparked the real celebration. The coaches have spent all season studying their team, seeing which of their boys deserved to be honored with the 11 main awards of the evening. Those awards and winners are as follows: The Henly Award, James “Chiefie” Jackson; Iron

Man, Yosef “The Egyptian” Aborady; Of-fense MVP, Demetius “Shake 20” Thomas; Defense MVP, Leroy Rix; Academic Award, Charles “Dew” Dewberry; Offense Captain, John “John-John” Smith; Defense Captain, Mark Gobin; Bobcat Award, Tyron “Stew-meat” Smith; Most Improved Defense, Austin O’Conner; Most Improved Offense, Johnathan Lattisaw; and Specialty Player, Brian McCreary. The most important award given out that night, according to this reporter, was given to Matthew VanCleave. Matthew, older brother of defensive line player Andrew Van-Cleave was given the title biggest fan and received his brother’s #53 home game jersey. As he walked to his seat beside his father and mother, John and Lis VanCleave, he held the jersey high over his head and his smile lit up the room. Overall, the night was great fun and helped the family, friends, and coaches express their appreciation for the player’s endless and tiresome work. Good luck to all seniors in their college years and may your futures be bright.

SportsPage 10

No, C.J! I’m sorry! We do not have your waffle sundae! -Candance Howell

P.S. Ashley, it’s a joke! C.J. dared me to write it!

D.J. posing while in Tucson.Photo courtesy of Under Armor

D.J. Turo was chosen as an Under Armor Preseason All-American and partici-pated in the Under Armor Preseason Tourna-ment in Tucson, Arizona, on January 11-13. D.J., a junior at Theodore, plays pitcher and first baseman for the mighty Bobcats. He was selected by a professional scout to attend the tournament along with about 250 other players from across the United States. The tournament was a great experi-ence for D.J., who has been playing baseball all his life. When asked what other oppor-tunities being an All-American would bring him, D.J. responded, “More colleges will know me, and hopefully I can go to school for free. I would really like to go to L.S.U or Alabama.” Aside from the notoriety, D.J. says that he enjoyed being able to play in a different part of the country. D.J. enjoys every part of baseball, and can be looked up to as a player. His ad-vice to younger players is to work hard and don’t quit, and in the words of Rob and Big (MTV reality show personalities), “Make sure you always ‘do work son’.” Not only is D.J. a great athlete, but a well-rounded stu-dent. He is a member of the National Honor Society and the National English Honor Society. Because of D.J.’s determination and commitment to baseball and academics, I’m sure we can expect to hear more good things about him in the future.

By Sarah Dolbear, Reporter

Turo Takes Tucson

The new season for the Lady Bob-cats’ soccer team has just begun, and players are brimming with passion and dedication for the sport that is played around the world. Driven with hopes of winning the approach-ing season, the girls can be found on the field everyday, practicing for hours in prepara-tion for the tough games that loom ahead. When asked why she had such heart for the game, Sarah Dolbear had only this to say: “When I am on the field, nothing else matters. Being with my team and just doing what I love is the most fun I could have. I don’t like soccer, I love it.” Though the devotion for soccer is high for the Lady Bobcats, they do not receive much support for their hard work. With games played in the bitter cold

and freezing wind, a crowd of supporters in the stands would be a much needed source of encouragement for the players. And with only one break during the entire eighty min-ute game, spectators are assured to witness

the fast-paced excitement that is associated with soccer.

Lady Bobcats’ 2008 Soccer Roster: Megan Baston, Jessie Brumfield, Michelle Brum-field, Felicia Buish, Kayla Davis, Sarah Dolbear, Tabby Ely, Casey Fuller, Courtney Hardeman, Whitney Harmel-ink, Keturah Harris, Heather McDade, Destiny McCoo, Samantha Moreland, Erica Nelson, Jessica Petz, Tory

Rogers, Rebecca Schmidt, Martha Silva, Liberty Winston, Danyale Wright, and Re-becca Young.

By Tory Rogers, Reporter

Lady Bobcats’ Soccer Kickin It Into Gear

Sports Page 11

Team Amazing!

-Nathan Fox

The boy’s soccer team began its training for the 2008 season filled with high hopes and determination. When asked about his expectations for this year, Coach McGuff replied, “I believe that we have a good op-portunity to win about 14 to 15 games this year. Our main goal is to remain very com-petitive and have fun doing what we love to do.” In addition to coaching football, Coach McGuff has been the boy’s soccer team coach for the past six years. He considers it a very exciting game, and urges students and faculty to come out and support the soccer team as much as possible. The returning seniors for the 2008 spring season are: Ryan Brown, Andrew Lundy, Omar Silva, and Cory Thephabouth. These experienced players have been play-ing soccer since they were young and are very passionate and devoted to their sport. For instance, Andrew’s passion for the game has led him to receive a sponsorship from Nike. Along with our outstanding keeper, Ryan Brown will control the defense and protect the goal as the last defender. As for Omar and Cory, they will use their skills

Reaching For Their Goals

By Omar Silva, Reporter

to manipulate plays and maintain a steady game speed. However, these players know that a team effort will be required to ensure the bobcats come out victorious. Due to the mixture of these rookie and veteran play-ers, this year’s soccer games promise to be sensational and full of surprises.

Boys 2008 Soccer Team:Isaiah Alston, Pat Alterio, Dean Barney, Dais Blackmon, Jacob Clements, David Da-vis, Blaine Dees, Thor Evans, Jason Gomes, Chris Goode, Justin Hanson, Andrew Lundy, Sam Moore, Nein Nguyen, Tony Nguyen, Tony Orellana, Christopher Reed, Joao Sed-er, Carlos Serrano, Omar Silva, Cory Theph-abouth, Ricky Tran, Ryan Vaughn, Brandon, Wiley, and Eric Williams.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rogers

Tory Rogers keeps the ball away form the other team

Your New Bobcat StaffPage 12

Paw Print NewsThe Student Newspaper of Theodore High School

6201 Swedetown RoadTheodore, AL 36582

251-221-3351FAX 251-221-3355

Ronald RowellPrincipal

Sondra ThomasAdvisor

Kathleen TurnerEditor-in-Chief

Charlotte BrownCo-Editor-in-Chief

Section Editors:

Ashley Cooper & Traci EvansSchool News

Daniel JobsonFeatures

Neil Buffler & Amber HowellSports

Charlotte BrownEditorials

Editorial Policy: All letters to the editor must be 300 words or less. All entries must be signed and in-clude grade level. Names will not be printed at the submitter’s request. Omar Silva

Reporter

Daniel JobsonReporter

Shey MusicReporter

Angela RichardsonReporter

Tory RogersReporter

Ashley DunnamReporter

Tabatha ElyReporter

Traci EvansReporter

Amber HowellReporter

Lennie AndersonReporter

Neil BufflerReporter

Ashley CooperReporter

Sarah DolbearReporter

Kathleen TurnerEditor-in-Chief

Charlotte BrownCo-Editor-in-Chief