December2009

2305 E. Main, League City, TX 77573

December 2009- Volume 84, Issue 4

Clear Creek High School

CCISD working to balance next year’s budget

Creek organizations celebrate the holidays

Allie Hinga

Ashley Farmer

Dr. Greg Smith and Mr. Paul McLarty are working to develop next year’s budget.Photo by Allie Hinga

Photos by Kaitlyn Boryk

In the midst of the nation’s ongoing economic struggles, a number of business-es and organizations have been forced to cut costs and balance decreased budgets. School districts are not exempt from this struggle, including CCISD. The district’s Board of Directors is already in the midst of its fiscal discussions for the 2010-2011 school year to discern the most efficient way to balance the budget while main-taining CCISD’s standard of education.

While many districts in Texas have faced deficits in the past, they have been able to balance their budgets with the as-sistance of the state legislature. However, when the last legislative session ended in June, the state made no long term com-mitment to continue to help districts keep up with increasing costs due to inflation, rising gas and in-surance prices, and the need to create more schools. Approxi-mately one third of schools in Region Four, of which CCISD is a part, adopted budget deficits this year. Dr. Greg Smith, CCISD Superintendent of Schools, said he expects another one third of the region to do so next year.

As a growing school district, CCISD has experienced the in-creasing demands of balancing

its budget. The district will be opening its fifth comprehensive high school, as well as a new intermediate school, in the fall of 2010. Altogether, these new campuses will add another $5.5 million in costs to the dis-trict. While the state does allocate funds to districts for taking on more students, the amount will not offset the expenses incurred by the addition of two new cam-puses. CCISD also expects to see escala-tions in property and casualty insurance, as well as a need for teacher salary increases

and other new expenses. In total, so far the district expects to face a $9-$10 million deficit next year.

“The funding levels from the state aren’t sufficient for

growth,” CCISD Chief Finan-cial Officer Paul McLarty said.

The district is finding ways to save money without decreasing the quality of edu-cation it offers. So far, energy conservation efforts have

saved CCISD $743,000. The district’s “Walk to Stop” program lengthened the distance between bus stops and saved an additional $200,000. The transition from block scheduling to a seven period day also saved the district $2.5 million this year.

“We have been frugal with our ex-penses and will have to continue to be that way in the future,” Dr. Smith said.

However, these savings have not been enough to cover the entire deficit. District employees have been looking into a num-ber of different options to help save money. Some possibilities t discussed range from allowing the out of district students of CCISD employees to come into the dis-trict to raise additional revenue to cutting the cost of employee travel. The district will also continue to evaluate current pro-grams, such as Smaller Learning Commu-nities, to see where to best allocate funds.

“Everything is on the table for us to look at this point,” Dr. Smith said.

The district is also working to develop alternative revenue sources and is currently looking into placing advertisements on bus-es as an option for raising additional funds.

CCISD has already held the first read-ing of the draft policy for this action.

While CCISD is work-ing to save money and garner ad-ditional revenue, it is looking to do so without decreasing its stan-dards as a district. The district

has avoided cut-ting allocations to

schools and is working to ensure that cam-puses continue to offer non-mandatory elective programs that allow students to pursue their passions. Dr. Smith said that the district is not considering a teacher re-duction in force to reduce costs at this time.

“We want to make sure we remain the highest performing large school dis-trict in the State of Texas,” McLarty said.

In December, McLarty began walk-ing the CCISD Board of Trustees through the annual budget to identify priori-ties for the 2010-2011 school year. The Board will be responsible for approv-ing the finalized budget that it believes best implements CCISD’s mission of providing students with a high qual-ity education and displays fiscal integrity.

The Board will receive input from com-mittees made up of CCISD staff, students, and community members throughout the area and will utilize these priorities, as well as their own findings, to develop a budget that best utilizes the district’s current funds. It will also be looking for ways to save money and develop other revenue sources. Some budget priorities that have thus far been identified include maintaining compet-itive staff salaries and academic standards.

In addition to finding ways to cut spending, if the district finds itself un-able to balance the budget, it has the ca-pability to access a capital outlay plan that will help offset any negative balances by

C l e a r C r e e k

H i g h s c h o o l students a n d admin-i s t r a -tors are

celebrat-ing the holiday s e a -son by partici-p a t -ing in numer-

ous ac-t i v i t i e s .

S t u -dents at C r e e k p a r t i c i -

pated in the League City Parade

on Saturday, December 5, hosted by the Baytown Parks and Recreation Department. The parade began on Main Street at 6:30 pm and ended at Com-merce Street. With 250 entries, the parade was the largest in League City history.

Organizations from Creek the CCHS Marching Band who played Christmas

music, the Cavaliers who danced, and the Cheerleaders who cheered all the way down Main Street through the evening weather. FFA, and Best Buddies deco-rated their own floats for the parade, com-plete with Christmas music. CLEAR and JROTC both walked in the parade and PALS sold hot chocolate to the onlookers.

Other holiday activities sponsored by the Student Council included sign-ing cards for wounded soldiers in Wal-ter Reed Hospital. The organization also sold candy cane crushes in the cafeteria.

Creek’s Habitat for Humanity Club is encour- aging its members to

provide gift wrapping services at Bay-brook Mall from

now until Christmas. “This is a

great opportunity to get hours for Honor Society,” Habitat for Human-ity Club sponsor Mr. John Lewallen said.

The Clear Creek Fine Arts organiza-tions are also busy this holiday season. The Drama department hosted the League of Extraordinary Improvisers on Thursday December 10, along with plays and their annual Thespian Holiday party. Choir had its concert on December 8 and Orchestra had its concert on December 9. Creek’s concert bands will have their annu-al Christmas concert on December 17 at 7:00. The Clear Creek Chamber Choir performed Christmas Carols at Chick-fil-a on Tuesday, December 1 to raise money for their Choir Boost- er Club.

“It was a re- ally cool experience. I liked sing-ing somewhere out of the or- d i n a r y,

outside of my

s c h o o l , ” sophomore C h a m b e r Choir mem-ber Chris Larsen said.

T h e C l e a r C r e e k

H i g h

School Christian Club participated in Op-eration Christmas Child in November. Members of the club donated and wrapped toys to be sent to children in need. They

also helped collect money to sponsor a child in the Hous-ton area whose fam-ily could not afford

Christmas pres-ents. This family was delegated by

the Alvin Habitat for

H u m a n -ity Chap-ter and the

C h r i s -tian Helping

Hands organiza-tion in Pearland.

“I am so blessed to be able

to witness the mem-bers of CCHS Christian

Club…their devotion to their faith, the school and the community is em-

powering,” Mrs. Smith, the sponsor of the club said.

As the organizations of Clear CreekHigh school prepare for the holidays, it is apparent they are impacting the people in the community and pulling in the holiday spirit.

Continued on page 5.

Creek Speaks OutPg 17

Pet Food DrivePg 9

Creek Players SignPg 19

OpiniOn2 OpiniOn2What is one thing you want to do before you die?

2009-2010 HiLife StaffClear Creek high School

Principal: Scott BockartAdvisor: Wynette JamesonExecutive Editor: Jan O’NeilEditor-in-Chief: Allie HingaManaging Editor: Chelsea HuebnerNews Editor: Jordan LittleAssistant News Editor: Amber ArnoldAround Creek Editors: Christine Sulkis TraceyGriffithFeatures Editor: Shannon O’NeilCreek Speaks Editor: Jacob ManciniTeen Interest Editor: Kaitlyn BlakeSports Editor: Christen ValcoviakCenterspread Editors:WillSheffield Ellen GaudetAdvertising Manager: Jordan LittlePhoto Editors: Kaitlyn BorykAssistant Photo Editor: Katlin FootePhotographers: Shauna Fererro-Donahue Emily Dismukes Tabitha Dirrim Mary VeedellReporters: Jacob Arredondo Reanna BainKaitlyn Casey Madison Doeckel Develin PollyAshley Farmer Derek Gay Katherine Gughiocello Meghan Mistry Lyndsey Gordon Olivia ZinobileKathy Chiang

Email us at: [email protected] us at: http://www.clearcreekhighschool.ihigh.comFor ad rates call: (281) 284-1889 Fax: (281) 284-1705

Freshmen

Sophomores

Juniors

Seniors“See the Rockets, Astros, and Texans win a championship.” -Joe Brouillard

“Travel around the world and save the children of Africa.” -Lindsay Satterfield

“I am going to grow an impressive beard and hitchhike from Tai-wan to Austria.” -Nate Johnson

“Before I die I want to be successful and live the American Dream.” -Alex Fisher

“I would like to back up dance for Britney Spears.” -Jalina Schexnayder

“Before I die I want to go somewhere no one else has.” -Kassie Bowen

“Before I die, I want to experience the joys of having my own family. I want to start my career, marry a man I love, and raise childen before I leave this earth.” -Lindsay Holden

“Before I die I want to scuba dive and travel all over the world.” -Mollie Cox

“I want to see Mayday Parade in concert and give them a hug.” -Allysia Dunn

“Travel to Italy, move to Japan and have two kids.” -Erica Morgan

“I want to be able to look back on my life and say that I made the world a little bit better.” -Madison Musler

“Do a service project outside of this country.” -Meagan Benavides

“Before I die I want to accomplish my dreams and make my parents happy.” -Tre Webb

“Before I die I want to graduate from college.” -Guy Robertson

“Walk down the Red Carpet with Taylor Lautner as my date.” -Macey Pendergast

“Before I die I would like to visit Venice, Italy because that’s where my family came from.” -Kendra Alessi

“Before I die I would like to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.” -Nathan Wood

“Before I die I want to go swimmingwith a great white without a cage and surf with them in the water.” -Jacob Abrey

“Before I die I would like to Base Jump off of Angel Falls.” -Quincey Simmons

“I want to change the world, [and] save someone’s life. Even in the little ways I will make a difference.” -Shannon Rast

“I would like to hold the world record of eating the most pancakes in 30 minutes.” -Cierra Felder

“I want to have dinner with the president.” -Adnan Walker

“Before I die I would like to be a missionary for a while.” -Ana Bianchi

“One thing I definitely want to do before I die is help the world prosper in a more eco-friendly way.” -Mel Knuth

“Before I die I want to see the places in 1001 Places to See Before You Die.” -Bhannu Kaul

“Before I die, I want to be the star of a major theatre produc-tion, hopefully Broadway.” -Erin Hinga

“Go to all of the amusement parks in the country.” -Erin Owen

“I want to change someone’s life drastically. I believe if I can achieve this then my life has had more purpose than serving myself.” -Toni Nickel

EditOrial 3EditOrial 3Allie’s Abstractions“Look at the bigger picture and change the world”

Guest Editorial: Christine Sulkis“Find a need and fill it” -Ruth Stafford Peale

One of my greatest weaknesses as a student is probably my tendency to pro-crastinate. In my last three and a half years of high school, and even in middle school, many important projects and an even greater amount of studying has been the product of a few late nights with a due date pounding its fists on my computer keyboard that seems to refuse to work un-til I reach the point of desperation. In the past couple of months, I can’t count how many scholarship applications I have com-pleted the night before the due date, despite my best efforts to get and stay organized.

It’s not that I don’t understand that this is a problem. Trust me, I hate staying up late, throwing something together, and hoping it turns out alright just as much as the next overstressed high school student. I have even tried to change my habits a few times, usually with elaborate plans of or-ganization and high aspirations for finally breaking the cycle of putting things off, but they usually don’t last more than a month.

While part of me may have an inher-ent tendency to want to be lazy sometimes,

I think that perhaps the bigger problem is my tendency to focus on the immediate rather than the grand scheme of things. It’s easier for me to focus on tasks that have concrete results that I can see in the near future, rather than seemingly abstract goals that are months or years away. Those re-quire a great amount of work without my being able to see the fruits of my labor for years, if at all. In a smaller context, it’s easier for me to finish my homework for each day rather than start chipping away at the major project due a month from now, not necessarily only because the daily work is easier, but because it is immediate.

I know that this tendency to look only at pressing issues because I see it in differ-ent areas of my life, not just my tendency to procrastinate. I am not the kind of person who settles with only halfway doing some-thing I promise to do. When I commit to any-thing, I give everything I can to accomplish what I set out to do, sometimes to the point that some of the other things I cared about before or planned get out of focus. While this means that what I do, I do well, it also means that countless times I have ended up in a place where I find myself wondering why it has become so hard to dedicate my-self to other things I believe are important. I often get so caught up in the details of my immediate circumstances that I forget that there is a much bigger picture than the little incidents I allow to consume my time.

While I have vaguely grasped this concept about myself for some time now, I think I realized this tendency most clearly about a few weeks ago. My newspaper classes decided that for one day, instead

of working on our usual tasks towards putting the paper together, we would call and write our congressional representa-tives on behalf of the organization Invis-ible Children to raise awareness about the urgency of bringing an end to the war that has been going on in the Congo for the last 10 years. I’ll admit, at first I struggled to participate wholeheartedly, choosing to spend my time at first worrying about how we would make deadline if we weren’t working on the paper. As I voiced my con-cerns, one of my editors, Shannon O’Neil, told me that right now, trying to raise awareness about the genocide in Africa seemed more important than this particu-lar day of working on stories for the paper.

While my first inclination was to dis-miss her comment, instead I decided to think about what she said for a little bit, and I re-alized that she had a point. While finishing the paper on time is certainly important, on that day, maybe what was more important was being a part of something that might really make a difference in thousands, if not millions, of lives. I had been looking at the immediate, at foreseeable deadlines and tangible results, instead of seeing the larger scope of things and being involved in some-thing bigger than my day to day routines.

I’ll be honest, this revelation shocked me, but not just in the immediate context of the situation. I realized that, despite my best efforts to deny it, this is a problem that I actually deal with quite often. Whether it be filling out a scholarship application, try-ing to stop a war, or just trying to make a difference in the lives of the people around me, it’s so easy for me to feel like my ef-

forts in these long term, large scale goals are “just one” thing on a long to-do list filled with seemingly more immediate pri-orities. Often, instead of being a part of something bigger than myself or something larger than I can see right now, I content myself with living only in the day-to-day, simply getting by with the bare minimum that life has to offer. While I certainly get by and fulfill all that is required of me, in a sense I miss out on being part of something that has deep significance and importance.

So maybe instead of thinking about my long term efforts as “just one more,” I can see them as “one more step:”one more step towards making college af-fordable, one more step towards stop-ping injustice, one more step towards truly having an impact on someone.

When I look at things that way, it seems more reasonable to take the time out of my schedule to do more than get by and meet my everyday demands. Starting that project looks less like a loss of time I could spend doing something more interesting and more like the beginnings of a more thoughtful final product. The person who needs my attention looks less like a hin-drance to my plans and more like a fellow human being worthy of my time and effort. My life looks less like an attempt to get ev-erything done and more like a part of some grand design of which I can be an active part. Instead of being a matter of survival, life starts seeming more like an adventure. Granted, that doesn’t make it easier, but it certainly makes it more worth living.

Allie Hinga

Photo by Shauna Fererro-Donahue

As 2009 draws to a close, I find myself wondering what I’ve spent the last 365 days doing. Around this time last year, I said I was going to make this a year worth remember-ing. For some reason, I don’t feel like I’ve done that. I’ve made memories, and don’t get me wrong, I loved this year, but am I going to remember the things I did 40 years from now? I doubt it. For 2010, I’m going to make close to the same goal. I want it to be a year I’ll remember. I want to make a difference. I want to be a better person.

Everyone knows that junior year is the most important part of high school. It’s a year to make good grades, join some or-ganizations, and tack on the service hours. Obviously, some students have been work-ing on these things for years, but frankly, I wasn’t concerned about it until now. I’ve always been a procrastinator, and now I’m starting to regret it. However, I doubt I’m the

only junior who only has 40 service hours.I always thought it would be fun to be

a candy striper at a local hospital. I saw them on cartoons when I was little, and it always seemed like a good thing to do. I’ve been telling myself for years, “One day, I’m going to volunteer at a hospital.” Like I said, I’m a procrastinator. Maybe I just never got around to it, or maybe I didn’t realize how important of a job it really is.

I had never been in a hospital before. I was that kid with perfect attendance who never got sick. Well, until now, that is. Af-ter having a dangerous reaction to a medi-cation I was taking and my mom calling 911, I found myself in a hospital for the first time. I thought, “How bad can it be? It’s just a hospital. They’ll finally figure out what’s wrong with me, and I’ll be better.” Boy was I wrong. After a month of being woken up five times a night, endless tests, and countless procedures, they still hadn’t figured out what was wrong with me. They began sending therapists to help me “cope with the fact that this illness might not go away.” I had never felt so hopeless before. I was beginning to think that this was some-thing I was just going to have to live with.

The only thing that kept my spirits up was the incredible support system I have. Between my amazing boyfriend who was driving an hour and a half each way al-most every day, my best friends who came at least once a week, and my family who were there constantly, I managed to stay

relatively distracted. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without them.

Then I realized how lucky I am. Most of the kids in Texas Children’s Hospi-tal haven’t even lost all of their teeth yet. They don’t have friends who can drive up to see them. They don’t have cell phones, laptops, and Facebook to stay connected. Most of them don’t even have parents who can stay with them. I was fortunate. My mom was able to take off of work and stay with me 24/7. Most kids aren’t that lucky. Most kids’ parents have to go to work just to be able to put food on the table. I can’t imagine being stuck in a hospital room to-tally alone. Young kids don’t even know what is going on. All they know is that their parents are gone and every time someone comes in, they get poked and prodded, or forced to take medicine. I can’t even begin to comprehend how horrible that must be.

I was amazed by the volunteers at Tex-as Children’s Hospital. Teens my age were giving up their weekends to work in a hos-pital for no pay. They did everything from painting nails, doing hair, playing games or reading a book, to just being someone to talk to. They made my day better even though I was already way better off than most of the kids there. Every kid needs a friend, especially when they’re sick.

One organization at Texas Children’s is called the Linus Project, a group of women who make quilts for patients. One Satur-day, a woman came by with hundreds of

handmade blankets for all of the patients. If these women who have jobs, children, and husbands can find so much time to do things for people they will never meet, surely we can find a few hours in our weeks to do something good for the community.

If we all gave up a few hours of our Saturdays, hospitals would be much better places. I can’t think of a better way to get service hours. Just seeing a sick child smile would make it all worth it to me. It’s instant satisfaction. Knowing that I made some-one’s day a little better is more important than a college application or what I could have spent those few hours doing. Chances are, I would have been sitting at home tex-ting and wasting time on Facebook. Chanc-es are, that’s what most high school kids spend the majority of their free time doing.

So this year, I want to be a better per-son. I want to give back to the people who have done so much for me. I’m so fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family.

I think I owe it to everyone. After seeing how much hospital volunteers do, I can’t imagine not doing the same. My new year’s resolution for 2010 is to make a difference. Whether it be at school, in my home, or in a hospital, my goal is to be a better friend, a better girlfriend, a better daughter, a bet-ter sister, and a better citizen. I want to re-member this year. I want to do something worthwhile. I want to make a difference.

Christine Sulkis

Photo from Christine Sulkis

nEws4 nEws4 nEws4CCISD community remembers Veteran’s Day

On November 11, 2009, many nations around the world raise flags that expresstheir national pride and engage in similar ceremonies. Referred to as Veteran’s Day in the United States and the Remembrance Day in places such as Australia and Canada, November 11 started out as Armistice Day and is still known as such throughout most of Europe and other countries in the world. While Veterans Day focuses on honoring the brave men and women who fought in the United States armed forces, Armistice Day’sspecificpurposeistocommemoratethe end of World War I and Remembrance DayismeantforreflectiononthepastandallthatwassacrificedintheWorldWarI.

Although World War I was not officially over until the signing of theTreaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, ArmisticeDaygotit’snamewhenfightingended with the signing of an Armistice on the 11th hour of November 11 and that day is now referred to as the end of the war.

Among those remembered in the United States on November 11t, 2009, are the victims of the Fort Hood shooting. On November 5 and army psychologist in Fort Hood, Texas, named Nidal Malik Hasankilled 12 soldiers and 1 civilian and injured 42peoplewhenheopenedfireinacrowdofpeople. All around the country, ceremonies were held in the home towns of these victims. According to the Washington Post, those who attended the ceremony included Senator.JohnMcCain,TexasGovernorRickPerry and senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson

and John Cornyn. The Post reported that President Barack Obama, speaking at the Fort Hood Memorial Service, said, ”In an age of selfishness, they embodyresponsibility. In an era of division, they call upon us to come together. In a time of cynicism, they remind us of who we are as Americans.”

Many Veterans Day celebrations in the CCISD community h a v e c e l e b r a t e d gratefulness to the heroes of this country and honor for our nation. Clear Creek ISD had many activities commerating this day. Students at North Point elementary school created a “Wall of Honor” with stories and pictures of their favorite veteran. They later recognized these men and women and others who had served in the military in a Wednesday morning ceremony. Clear Lake Intermediate School presented a Veterans’ Day program on November 11, and Clear Lake high school held a Veterans Day memorial ceremony to honor the service of local community members and teachers.

At Clear Creek High School, Barbara Striblingcreatedadisplayinthefrontofficehonoring the staff members at our school

that have served in the military and other veteran’s whose names were submitted by faculty and students. This powerful display, completewithredwhiteandblueflagsanddecorations, also featured old newspapers articles, a telegraph from a Prisoner of War

in Vietnam, and the jacket of Ray Hutchinson, a Creek Graduate who was killed as a specialist in the United States Army in Iraq in 2006. The national pride and dedication shine through the faces and articles

behind the glass.Mrs. Raymond, who submitted the

name of her husband Michael Raymond who served in the U.S Marine Corps, also praised the service of her father-in-law Donald Raymond. Mr. Raymond, a 90 year old man who served in the Navy during World War II had many interesting accountsofhisexperiencesinsubmarineswhen he was stationed at Pearl Harbor.

“We had lots of potato sacks, but we had no place for food, so we put them in the showers. We couldnít take a bath until we ate them. We didnít get a bath for a long time,” Raymond said. He stated that one of the things he remembered the most was going out for a long time

and watching for Japanese ships. They would shoot the ships with Torpedos and the Japanese would return fire.

“It would shake us up pretty good, but we did all right.The world is scary, but you just had to get over that. Fighting for your country is just something you have to do, and we did do it. That’s why we went in the service,” Raymond said.

Sharing his sentiments, Luis Garza, a teacher at Creek who served as a combat medic in the army said “Being in the service has made me proud to be an American. I cannot imagine serving a greater country than ours.” He refers to his time in the army as an “obligation” that he “takes pride in”, he claims that the experienceshe went through will stay with him forever and he will ìnever forget the sound that RPG’s make as they fly over your head.He said he went through many trials in the army, but his biggest challenge was putting his life in someone else’s hands and knowing he had their lives in his hands.

“We all know what soldiers are for. That is why I take pride in what I have done and hope every soldier can fulfilltheir obligation,” Garza said. Creek proudly showcases Veteran’s Display in honoring the staff members that have served in the military including Luis Garza (combat medic in the Army), Mark Ruckstuhl (Desert Storm Veteran), Duane Sheets ( U..S. Army), Ronald Wells (U.S Navy), Mark Sepulveda (U.S Army) and Wendell Harris (U.S Army).

Ashley Farmer

Students now rezoned Amber Arnold

New classes are built Jacob Arrendondo

Many students have noticed that Creek is involved in a new construction process. The new building will improve the science depar tment by providing space for the growing m u m b e r of students on campus.

T h e school is building two new science c lass rooms to meet the needs of the influxof students coming into Creek. With the new high school being c o m p l e t e d by nextschool year, boundary lines will be changed to accommodate all the schools in CCISD.

Creek needs the new science labs to accomondate the number of students who are coming in along with the number of students who are staying. The new science classrooms are being built because the school did not want any problems converting current classrooms into science labs.

The new rooms will come complete with lab tables and all other science room essentials, including everything from a new fume hood to new gas lines for class experiments.

The science lab construction is currently blocking the access to the portables through the back of the school.

This used to be the main route for students to access the portables. Now that that area has been blocked off to students and teachers, students must walk through D-building to

get into the portables. The traffic andcongestion blocks the way for some students trying to walk to their next class.

“I don’t like that I have to walk all the around to get to and from the portables, I waste too much time there,” Creek student Brian Ottman said.

T h o u g h many students have shown frustration of this temporary detour, if the timetable stays on track, the construction will be completed and students will be able

to walk through to the portablesbynextsemester.

When the construction began, students were concerned about some safety hazards. But Mr. Vince Hoechten is confident that the constructioncompany is highly safety conscious and always has safety as their first priority.

Additional science labs will help the school’s science teachers by giveing them room for science lab projects and activities.

“I have to share a science classroom, so it would be great to have my own room so I can prepare for labs and classes,” biology teacher Ms. Lisa Bidelspach said.

Once the science labs are complete students and staff can avoid overcrowded hallways.

CCISDwillopentwonewschoolsnextyear in its new Education Village, Bayside Intermediate and Clear Falls High School are all new schools. With the additional new schools, the district will be changeing the school boundary areas. This change will affect over 3,100 students next year.

These changes won the approval of the School Boundary Advisory Committee on December 1,2009, but still face public hearings and require the school board’s approval.

Students who go to Seabrook Intermediate originally zoned to Clear Lake High School will now go to Clear Falls High School. Students who go to Bayside Intermediate will also go to Clear Falls.

Students at Clear Lake High School will come from Space Center Intermediate and a portion of Clear Lake Intermediate.

Stewart Elementary students will no longer go to League City Intermediate and then Clear Creek High School. Now they will go to Bayside Intermediate and then Clear Falls.

Hyde Elementary students will still attend League City Intermediate but will no longer go to Clear Creek High School. They will go to Clear Falls.

Students who go to Ralph Parr Elementary will go to Victory Lakes Intermediate, but then will go to Clear Creek High School instead of Clear Springs High school. Victory Lakes students will split up in high school, with those east of I-45 going to Creek

and those west of I-45 going to Springs. Students at Mossman Elementary

School will to Bayside Intermediate and then Clear Falls because all of the campuses are located in the Education Village.

Students at Whitcomb Elementary will go to Clear Lake Intermediate, but then they will attend Clear Lake High School.

The 27 member School Boundary Advisory Committee has been discussing this issue for at least six weeks, and is

now ready for input from parents and students. The community v o l u n t e e r committee will contribute to the attendance zones for some high schools and intermediate schools. There will be public-hearing meetings on Tuesday, December 15 at Clear Lake High School and on Thursday,

December 17 at Clear Creek High School from 7 to 10 p.m.

“There will be two public hearings overthenexttwoweeksandweencourageparents to attend one or more of the hearings to provide their input,” CCISD Public Information Director Elaina Polsen said.

In the past, CCISD practice has been to have incoming juniors and seniors at their current high schools.

The committee plans to present its final recommendations to the CCISDschool board on January 25,and the board hopestomakeafinaldecisiononthatday.

Photo by: Kaitlyn Boryk

Creek is expanding by creating new classrooms.Photo by: Kaitlyn Boryk

Image by ccisd.net

nEws 5nEws 5nEws 5New courses offered Think before you drink

helping take care of the district incase of an emergency and for nonreoccurring expenses.

If CCISD continues to face a large deficit, it is possible that the Board may consider increasing class sizes across the district. By allowing classes have one to two more students, the district could save millions of dollars. The district is looking to avoid this course of action at this point.

In the event that CCISD does not receive any additional assistance from the state of Texas and is still trying to resolve forecast-

Budget discussions

Amber Arnold

In the spring, students pick what classes theywant to take the next schoolyear. During t h i s time, students are required to make a number of decisions. Students have to choose classes they need in order to graduate, such as math and science. They must decide if they want to take an AP or regular class. Once they have met these requirements, they have to figure outwhat type of electives they want to take. CCISD has decided to offer a number of newcoursesnextyearfor the 2010-2011 school year. Middle and high school students will receive the new catalog this spring.

According to CCISD, Intermediate students can currently take Spanish 1 for high school credit, but the class is taught at a high school level. Intermediate students who want to learn at a slower pace will now be able to take Spanish 1A for one year, then Spanish 1B a second year to receive one year of high school credit for both years. Students who want instruction at a faster pace can still take Spanish 1 for a year of high school credit. Pre-AP Latin 1 and Latin 2 classes will be available in grades 9-12 at all high schools. Currently, the more advanced pre-AP classes are offered only in the third year of Latin and up. Pre-AP versions of Chinese

1 and Chinese 2 are now available in grades 9-12 at all high schools. Currently, the more advanced pre-AP classes are offered starting with the third year of Chinese, which actually is Mandarin Chinese.

There will be two-way immersion versions of sixth grade

social studies and language arts classes taught entirely in Spanish available only at Clear Creek I n t e r m e d i a t e Schools for students who have been taking such immersion classes at McWhirter E l e m e n t a r y . I m m e r s i o n classes begin in kindergarten and are made up of both English speakers who want to be fluentin Spanish and Spanish speakers who want to be fluent in English

Construction Math is designed for at risk math

students in eighth grade. This semester-long elective is for students who are taking the target math class. This class is for students who failed the TAKS math test the previous year. Students can also take exploringConstructionTechnology1asanelective, which is similar to a shop class. The American Civil War class is available for grades 11-12 at Clear Springs High School only. “I think that the new courses will bring more choices for students to choose what class they need to graduate,” said Mrs. Mary Bragg, a counselor at Creek.

These new classes won’t require hiring any new teachers, since the courses that don’t match the minimum number of 15 students will be dropped.

ed deficits, the district may have to hold an election in the community and attempt to raise the tax rate to bring in additional funds. Currently the district is working to balance its budget without taking this measure.

“This is not a good time to go out and ask for a tax rate increase,” Dr. Smith said.

The Board of Directors is expected to continue discussing next year’s budget un-til August 2010. Though the district faces a number of difficult decisions regarding fiscal planning, its goal remains to main-tain its high standards and to create stu-dents who are college and workforce ready.

CCISD plans to expand its course catalog for next year.Photo by Kaitlyn Boryk

Continued from Page 1

December is a time full of holidays, parties, and great merriment. Along with the time, however, comes the increased risk of being on the road with drunk drivers. That is why December is recognized as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month, or 3D month. During the month of December ,organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, and Students Against Destructive Decisions, also called SADD, renew their efforts to educate Americans about the dangers and consequences of drinking and driving. Many chapters of the organizations host awareness events and information workshops and set up sobriety checkpoints. Candy Lightner founded MADD in 1980, after her daughter was killed by a repeat drunk driving offender, with the help of Cindy Lamb, whose daughter was severely crippled at the hands of a drunk driver. The mission of MADD is to “stop drunk driving, to support the victims of this violent crime, and to prevent underage drinking.” Over the 29 years of the organization’s history, it has come to be one of Americas most-liked non-profit organizations, accordingto the MADD website. The organization has put out 12 issues of MADDVOCATE Magazine, nine issues of DRIVEN Magazine, as well as grief brochures, injured brochures, legal brochures, financial brochures, teen and childrenbrochures, and intervention brochures. SADD was founded as Students Against Drunk Driving and over the years as come to be known as Students Against Destructive Decisions. The name was changed and the mission expandedat the request of student members. The mission of SADD is “to provide students

with the best prevention tools possible to deal with the issues of underage drinking, drug use, impaired driving, and other destructive decisions.” There are SADD chapters all over the nation in middle schools, high schools, and colleges. “I don’t think enough teenagers realize that when you drink and drive, not only are you risking your own life, but the lives of others,” Laura Salkawski said. These organizations do many things throughout the year to help put an end to drunk driving. They are able to do this with help of donations from individuals, members, and companies. During the month of December this year, MADD’s corporate sponsors are going to give this

national organization a portion of their proceeds to help

put an end to drunk driving. These companies include Allstate Coffee, D i a l A m e r i c a , Home Safe Card, # Taxi, and the book

“ROAD RULES: Be the Truck Not the Squirrel.” With the help of Americans

and corporate sponsors, MADD will continue to make a difference in the lives of victims of drunk driving crashes and continue to fight to put an end to this problem. According to MADD research, in 2008 an estimated 11,733 people died in alcohol related traffic collisions. Further, they found that three out of every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol related traffic collision in their lifetime. “Drunk driving ruins lives, tears families apart, and endangers innocent people,” 11th grader Corrinne Pena said. The month of December is traditionally in the spirit of giving, which makes Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention the perfect fit because when one drinks and drives they are taking the risk of taking away the most valuable things a person has, their life and their future. So “be smarter than the car, don’t drink and drive,” Alex Fisher said.

Chelsea Huebner

Graphic used with MCTCampus membership.

Different organizations try to prevent drunk driving, especially during the holidays.Photo by MCTCampus

6 ads6

CrEEk spEaks 7CrEEk spEaks 7CrEEk spEaks 7Senators respond to Invisible Children letters

Dear Ms. Gaudet, Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts about supporting peacemaking efforts in Northern Uganda. I appreciate your taking time to share your views with me, and I apologize for the delay in my response. As you are may be aware, in Northern Uganda the government forces fought the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), an armed rebel group backed up by the government of Sudan, Through over years of civil war, the brutal insurgency has created a humanitarian crisis that has displaced over 1.5 million people and resulted in the abduction of over 20,000 children. Recently, the government and LRA have participating in ongoing peace negotiations mediated by the government of Southern Sudan. You may be happy to know that these negotiations have resulted in significant achievements including the cessation of hostilities and a peace agreement. There has been no fighting in the last few months. Members of the LRA have visited the capitol to meet with government officials. Over 400,000 internally displaced individuals have returned to their homes. This is one of the most significant breakthroughs in this civil war. You mentioned the values of democracy and freedom in this country. I believe values should drive U.S. foreign policy. I applaud your interest in

the health and vitality of other nations. Negotiations between Northern Ugandan government and the LRA are scheduled to restart in the upcoming months. I will continue to monitor the situation and work with my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives should an opportunity arise to ensure that these fruitful negotiations can continue. Thank you again for contacting me about this i m p o r t a n t issue. Hearing from you and listening to what you have to say is one of the most important parts of my job. I am proud to represent Louisiana’s Third District, and I am here to serve you. Please feel free to call, write, or email again if I can ever help you in any way. Please visit my website at www.house.gov/melancon to learn more about my work at home and in Washington.

Sincerely,Charlie MelanconMember of Congress

Dear Friend: Thank you for contacting me

regarding the conflict in northern Uganda. I welcome your thoughts and comments on this issue. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has fought the Ugandan government since 1988, waging a brutal campaign while displacing more than 1.4 million people. Should legislation concerning the

conflict in nor thern U g a n d a c o m e before the S e n a t e , you may be certain I will keep your views in mind. I appreciate h e a r i n g f r o m you and hope you

will not hesitate to keep in touch on any issue of concern to you.

Sincerely,Kay Bailey HutchisonUnited States Senator

Dear Mrs. Jameson, Thank you for contacting me regarding humanitarian aid for foreign nations. I appreciate your contacting me on this matter. The United States has a long and proud history of providing humanitarian aid to people in genuine need. And while I support responsible humanitarian aid to the injured and at-risk, I absolutely oppose U.S. tax dollars being funneled into the hands of terrorist organizations or corrupt government officials. Our foreign aid programs must have adequate safeguards to prevent such misuse. As a Member of Congress, it is very important to me that I understand the concerns, interests and priorities of all my constituents. Please know that I will keep your thoughts in mind should any relevant legislation come before the U.S. House of Representatives. Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. I am honored to represent you in the U.S. House of Representatives. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact one of my offices or visit my website at www.house.gov/olson.

Very respectfully,Pete OlsonMember of Congress

The Clear Creek senior class is headed to Broadway with this year’s production of “Dames at Sea.” Tryouts were held for the senior musical on November 10 and 11. Those who auditioned didn’t know what to expect, as the musical is fairly unknown.

“Dames at Sea” is about Ruby, a girl from Utah, who comes to Broadway to become a star. She begins her dream when big time showgirl, Joan, informs the show manager Hennessey that one of the chorus girls has left and a position is open. After arriving, Ruby instantly falls in love with Dick, a sailor and inspiring songwriter, who found her suitcase on the bus. The relationship between Dick’s fellow sailor, Lucky, and former girlfriend, Joan, rekindles.

Tension arises as the theatre is scheduled for demolition when the opening night is only hours away. To save the show, Dick and Lucky persuade their commander, Captain Courageous, to allow the opening show to be held on the deck of their battleship. Weary at first, the captain is easily persuaded by the captivating Mona. Mona causes problems by pushing for more songs from Dick and kissing him as Ruby enters. She is upset, but changes moods when she finds herself the star of the show after Mona becomes horribly seasick. Tryouts for the musical were held by Mr. Kinser, the director of the senior musical, Mr. Pullen, the CCHS choir teacher, and Mrs. Carpenter, the Cavalier instructor and dance teacher. Students had to sing, dance, and act for the roles.

The results of the auditions were posted the day after tryouts. The cast includes Rachel Rodriguez as Ruby, Daniel Jenkins as Dick, Molly Rivers as Mona, Katy Parrott as Joan, Scott Wahl as Lucky, Caleb Trout as Hennessey, and Sean Jackson as the Captain. The remaining students were cast in the chorus to bring out the Broadway sequences needed for the production. “I was so excited to make the role of Dick. I was really in shock. Dick was definitely my first choice as the lead but I

was skeptical because of all of the choir guys trying out, but I gave it my all, and it worked I guess,” Jenkins, a senior, said. Many of the performers have had musical experiences within choir, band, dance or drama; however, many have never done a production as large as the senior musical. “This will be my first time being part of a big production like this. For me the main thing will be memorizing

the lines. For the group as a whole I think it will be most difficult

to be able to be comfortable around each other, but other than that, things should run smoothly and things are already off to a great start,” Parrott, a senior, said. That same Thursday, the whole cast and chorus read through the entire script and listened to the music on tape. The perfectly fitted cast brought the play to life within the bundle of round tables in the cafeteria. The frequent rehearsals have already begun for and they plan to make the musical fun and fantastic. The dramatically comedic, high-energy performance of “Dames at Sea” will be held January 27th-30th. All proceeds will benefit the senior class.

On November 18 thousands of people with Invisible Children across the United States challenged Joseph Kony, the leader of the Ugandan War, by voicing the need for the U.S. to take action against the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda. That day the HiLife Staff called Houston’s Senators and wrote them emails and letters. These are some of the responses from the Senators:

Amber Arnold writing a letter to a SenatorPhoto by Shauna Fererro-Donahue

Senior Musical beginsReanna Bain

Habitat for Humanity is an organization dedicated to lessening the number of homeless people by providing shelter to those in need. Creek takes part in this organization through its Habitat for Humanity Club which has big plans for this year. In order to achieve their goals, the group has teamed up with the New York Harlem Ambassadors to put on a show for Creek and the community. Specializing in basketball tricks and comedy, the group consists of male and female players who perform to raise money for nonprofit organizations. They are famous for their slam-dunks, comedic routines, and ball-handling tricks. The Habitat for Humanity Club is working toward building a house in a Habitat for Humanity residential area in Dickinson. To make this possible, the club is raising the money needed for the project. The chance for fundraising came when the Bay Area Habitat for Humanity director Natalie Ainsworth called to ask if Creek was interested in having the Harlem Ambassadors come to play. Club president Megan Bridges is hopeful about the outcome of the performance. “I hope it will bring the

community together. It’s a show for all ages, so families can enjoy [it] together. I hope everyone comes so we can sell a lot of tickets to raise money and have everyone enjoy themselves,” Bridges said. The Harlem Ambassadors will play against teachers, coaches, parents, Creek sponsors, or community members who want to challenge the team. Teachers will get an email to sign up for the event, which will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. The members of the Habitat for Humanity club are selling tickets at school during lunches, basketball games, and at the Harlem game. In addition, they are also finding sponsors to support the event. The club is giving their full effort to make their habitat house possible. “The best part of being the club sponsor is working with young people who want to make a difference and get involved in their community,” Mr. Lewallen, the club’s sponsor, said. The Harlem Ambassadors will be playing on Sunday, January 17 at 5:00 pm in the Carlisle Field House. Tickets will be on sale in the cafeteria the week leading up to the show or in E-107. Tickets are $8 for students or $10 at the door. All proceeds will benefit Creek’s Habitat for Humanity Club.

Dribbling for a cause Reanna Bain

Daniel Jenkins striking a posePhoto by Katlin Foote

arOund CrEEk8 arOund CrEEk8

Project Grad begins

Best Buddies rock for friendship concertJordan Little

On Saturday November 14, Bay Area High School’s Best Buddies Chapter had its first “Rock for Friendship” concert at Clear Lake Park.

The high schools that make up the Bay Area chapter include Clear Brook, Clear Springs, Clear Creek, Clear Lake, Friendswood and Deer Park. All members of the CCISD community were invited to attend the event from 5 to 9 pm. High school rock bands played at the concert including Stow Away, Beautifully Broken, Sunrise and Ammunition, Low Frequency, Beautiful Risk, and Winter Road. Adults paid $10 to get in and students paid $5, and all proceeds went towards Best Buddies. Raffle baskets and t-shirts were sold as well as barbeque. A volleyball court was also open for anyone who felt in the mood for a game.

Best Buddies mission is “to enhance the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships and integrated employment.” Anthony Shriver, who was inspired by his aunt, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, started Best Buddies. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of former

Derek Gay

Creek pet food drive

Mrs. Morris brought her dog to school to advertise pet food drive.Photo by Shauna Ferrero-Donahue

The League City Animal Shelter was recently running short on food, and animals were being euthanized before it became necessary. Mrs. Morris, Mrs. Bidelspach, and the Science National Honor Society have teamed up to help the League City Animal Shelter by holding a food drive at Clear Creek High School.

The League City Animal shelter is a g o v e r n m e n t organization that has been r e s c u i n g homeless and abandoned a n i m a l s s i n c e

1998. The L e a g u e City Animal Shelter’s goal is to secure every animal in a caring home.

The League City Animal Shelter receives funding from donations and the city of League City. The food shortage began when a large number of animals were brought to the shelter in need of adoption.

The Science National Honor Society had wanted to do a project that could help the community. The group saw the pet food drive as a great way to help prevent the animals from being euthanized.

The city of League City’s funding does not pay for animals to receive vaccinations. With the Science National Honor Society sponsoring a donation for food, they are able to reduce the amount of money that is spent on food. The money the SNHS raised from donations will be spent on food for the animals in need.

“The students at the Clear Creek High School made a huge impact on the pet food drive. the students have a big heart, and they have genuine compassion towards the animals.” biology teacher, Barbara Morris said

Mrs. Morris’ dog, Abi, came to Clear Creek to give students a visual aid of who they were saving. This boosted the donations.

The Science National Honor Society and the student body of Clear Creek High School donated $441 to the League City Animal Shelter. A large amount of pet food was also collected for the shelter.

“Overall, the students of Clear Creek High School made this

holiday fundraiser a blast for the pet shelter

and made us feel pretty good too.” Morris said.

Morris had the idea when she saw that the media

had been leaking information

a b o u t

animals that had been pre-maturely euthanized.

Students who w a n t to donate food can contact the League City

Animal Shelter at 821 North Kansas Street. The League City

Animal Shelter accepts donations at any time. The League City Animal Shelter is always in need of cat litter, canned dog and cat food, animal shampoo, animal collars and harnesses, and bath towels.

The students of Clear Creek High School helped a number of animals through the drive. The food donated to the League City Animal shelter will cut down the cost spent on food, leaving more money to be sent on vaccinations which is not funded by the City of League City.

president John F. Kennedy, loved her sister Rosemary Kennedy. Rosemary was born with developmental difficulties, and Mrs. Shriver made sure that Rosemary and others like her were treated the same as anyone else. At the Rock For Friendship concert, each school had one or more students and their buddy, or buddy pairs come onto the stage to speak. Each pair would talk about what it is like to be in Best Buddies, its importance to them, and how much they loved being friends. Best Buddies President Marissa Trevino, a senior at Creek and her buddy, Sara Keller,

spoke about their friendship, as did Alyssa S c h a e f b a u e r and her buddy.

T h i s D e c e m b e r , Creek’s Best B u d d i e s decorated and ran a float in the League City Holiday Parade. R e c e n t l y , they had a Thanksgiving Potluck as well as a Halloween party. Students and their b u d d i e s frequently go on fun field trips including bowling, go carting, or the mall. Students and their buddies have time to hang out, whether

that be in school or outside of school. “It’s more than what other people

think it is. It’s a friendship,” Marissa said. Best Buddies meets on Thursdays

after school in B116 in Ms. Loft’s room. Officers of Best Buddies attend officer meetings on Wednesdays before the group meetings on Thursdays. The historians of the program take pictures, document parties, make posters, and help plan for future events of the club. Leah Whitmarsh, a junior at Creek, is one of the historians of Best Buddies. She enjoys the time she spends in Best Buddies.

“I’m really happy doing it. I like doing the fun activities, like the things we take for granted because they don’t get to talk or hang out every day. I like hanging out with them,” Leah said.

What Corrinne, a junior in Best Buddies loves most about the program is “giving them a friend and someone who will be with them.”

For more information about Best Buddies and the group’s future activities, please visit www.bestbuddiestexas.com or [email protected]

Best buddies had their “Rock for Friend-ship Concert” at Clear Lake Park.Photo by Shauna Ferrero-Donahue

Project Grad beginsTracey Griffith

The Project Graduation committee has begun planning and fundraising for this year’s party. Project Graduation is an all night, alcohol and drug free event for all seniors to get together after graduation.

“The most important thing to remember about Project Graduation is having a party that keeps the kids safe so that a happy event like graduation does not turn into a tragedy with a senseless accident,” committee president Karen Vaughn said.

Project Graduation was created in the 1980s and became a tradition at Creek in 1991. It helps prevent “party hopping,” when students attend several parties in an effort to meet with all of their classmates. According to the Project Grad website, “it keeps all of the graduates off the roads, prevents them from becoming an accident statistic, and allows their parents to rest easy knowing their son/daughter is safely celebrating.”

The party is designed to be both entertaining and fun. A few activities include a casino complete with blackjack tables, slot machines, and a roulette table with fake money; arcade games, as well as a Wii andXbox;andinflatablegames,includingan obstacle course and bungee run. There will also be a DJ and a Hypnotist. Students canbuyraffletickets,whichwillputthemin a drawing for expensive prizes. Someof last year’s prizes included a TV, laptop, and iPod. The party also features unlimited food that will be available all night.

This party requires both money and planning to put together. Students and parents are encouraged to get involved

in volunteering and fundraising now, and the profitswill be used towards reducingthe price of the admission ticket. The last committee meeting took place on December 7andthenexteventwillbeMr.ClearCreek.The committee is working on securing the entertainment, acquiring corporate donations, and organizing fundraisers.

Some of the fundraisers that take place throughout the year are Friday lunches, a golf tournament, and the concession stands at senior musical and Mr. Clear Creek.

The most recent fundraiser was the League City Holiday in the Park festival on December 5. Project Graduation receives a donation from the organization in charge of the event for their volunteer work. After that, the Mr. Clear Creek pageant is currently scheduled for February 13. The golf tournament is scheduled to take place on March 7, 2010 at the South Shore Harbour country club. The format of the game will be four person scramble, and the cost of the tournament will be $100 dollars per person.

Parents are needed to help volunteer at fundraising events and chaperone the party this June. In the spring, students can get involved by selling raffle tickets.Studentswho sells two raffle ticketswillget free admission to the event. Students who sell four raffle tickets will get freeadmission for a guest as well. For more information and event dates, students and parents can visit the Project Graduation website at www.cchsprojgrad.com. or contact Karen Vaughn, the president of the committee at [email protected].

divErsiOns 9

Used with MCTCampus membership

tEEn intErEst12tEEn intErEst12tEEn intErEst12New Moon still has room for improvement

A book that captivates World’s end projected

Tracey Griffith

Emily DismukesAshley Farmer

On November 20, the premiere of Summit Entertainment’s eagerly awaited second movie of the Twilight saga, New Moon, opened. The saga tells the story of teenager Bella Swan who falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen.

New Moon raked in $140.6 million in sales its opening weekend, giving it the third highest opening weekend sales of all time, coming in behind The Dark Knight and Spiderman 3. This was considerably more than the opening weekend sales of the first Twilight at $70.6 million.

New Moon is significantly different from the first movie because Edward, Bella’s vampire boyfriend, is absent for the majority of the film. He is replaced temporarily by Jacob Black, a Quileute Indian and old friend of the Swan family.

The movie begins on Bella’s birthday. During her party at the Cullen’s house, Bella gets a paper cut and suddenly finds herself bleeding in a house full of vampires and has a near-fatal accident.

Edward realizes that he is endangering her and disappears in hope of protecting her from his world.

The majority of the film focuses on

In light of the many controversial theories and predictions concerning the events that may occur in the year 2012, the movie 2012 can be viewed as thought provoking and intriguing. It combines many of these theories into one movie and presents a unique solution.

The movie begins as scientist Adrian Helmsley receives news that record-high solar activity is causing nuclear reactions in the core of the Earth, resulting in the shifting and destabilization of the worldís tectonic plates. Consistent with several other doomsday productions like The Day After Tomorrow, California is the first to go after splitting down the San Andreas Fault and s l i d i n g gracefully into the ocean. The shifting of the plates leads to o t h e r catastrophic occurrences such as the reversing of the magnetic f i e l d s of the Earth and tsunamis from the underwater earthquakes.

As Hemsley creates a prospective timeline of when all of these events will occur, global leaders hire Chinese workers to build massive ships, called arcs designed to withstand the impact of the tsunamis and ìpreserve humanityî, as stated by the White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser, played by Oliver Platt. Some of the lucky few allowed to take refuge on these arcs were chosen based on the skills and talents they would be able to contribute to the reconstruction of the world, but some were chosen based on their pocket books. Admission tickets

New Moon hit the box offices on November 20.Photo courtesy of Summit Entertainment

Bella’s devastation and pain because of Edward’s absence and her growing relationship with Jacob Black, whom she later finds out is a werewolf.

The climax of the movie occurs in Italy after a misunderstanding in which Edward believes Bella to be dead. They find themselves facing death from the ancient and menacing vampire rulers, the Volturi.

The first movie in the saga, Twilight, directed by Catherine H a r d w i c k e , left many fans disappointed. The movie skipped over important details, and cheesy lines, bad special effects, and inadequate acting were frequent throughout the film.

New Moon, directed by Chris Weitz,

was more true to the storyline of the novel by Stephenie Meyer. Although the film still contained some poor acting, and the script was occasionally substandard and inefficient,

there was improvement in special e f f e c t s . T h e transformation of the Quileutes into their wolf form was considerably i m p r e s s i v e .

O n e n e g a t i v e quality of the film was that the portrayal of Bella’s pain from the loss of Edward s o m e t i m e s seemed too melodramatic a n d

was poorly depicted.In the beginning of the movie, there is

a scene that shows the amount of time that

passes before Bella is able to somewhat recover from Edward’s absence. Following suit with the book, the names of the months were shown on the screen one by one. The representation seemed unprofessional, and the passing of time could have been portrayed in a more clever way.

There were also scenes in the middle of the movie that were dull and even slightly boring, especially to viewers who were not fans of the book. The depressed tone common throughout the movie added to this. The movie was also too long and made viewers restless and ready for the movie to be over.

One quality of the movie that didn’t disappoint was the way the film was captured. The quality of the color and picture was exceptional, and the beautiful, green landscape of the film site was captured nicely.

The movie was given a rating of three out of five stars by the New York Daily News. On the movie critic site, Rotten Tomatoes, only 29 percent of the reviews given by critics on the site were postitive.

Overall the film was mediocre, neither impressive nor terrible. It was better than the first movie, Twilight, but left room for improvement in Eclipse, the third movie of the series scheduled to come out next year.

Susie Salmon, age fourteen, was murdered on a cold day in 1973, by a man she thought of as just another neighbor. Alice Sebold’s novel, The Lovely Bones, opens with Susie explaining what happened to her and the events that followed. From her perch in her personal heaven, she narrates what goes on in the life she left.

This book is not light-hearted. It’s s o m e t h i n g that only the most mature of readers s h o u l d a t t e m p t . The Lovely Bones, in addition to the slightly g r a p h i c scene of Susie’s death, is full of heartbreak and unresolved issues. Susie, ripped from life at such a young age, still pines for the crush she left behind. Buckley, her little brother, struggles to make sense of his family’s reaction to his sister’s death. Susie’s sister Lindsey remains strong, but only on the outside. Their mother withdraws completely from the family and their father develops an obsession with finding the man who murdered his daughter. Meanwhile, the killer remains just out of reach, to Susie, her family, and the detective who is investigating her case.

Sebold puts a whimsical spin on the afterlife. Suzie’s heaven is a place where she can finally have whatever she desires, be it a home or a dog or a school with no

classes but art and no textbooks but teen magazines. Susie soon finds that she is able to affect the lives of those on earth. She appears to her father and begins to live somewhat vicariously through Lindsey. As her sister grows up and goes through

the common rites of passage for teenage girls, though, Susie is constantly reminded that she, existing in a “perpetual yesterday”, will never do what her sister is doing. This brings another emotional blow to the reader when Susie expresses that her greatest desire is to be alive again and her “mother” in the afterlife explains that this is the one wish that can’t be granted.

There are problems with The Lovely Bones, of course. The dialogue, mainly spoken by teenagers, is

somewhat unrealistic. Everyone seems to be supremely gifted with language, even though many of them

are fourteen years old or younger. Perhaps Sebold was attempting to point out that the younger characters, in their innocence, are often smarter than the jaded adults, but it takes even more realism away from the book. In the latter half of the novel becomes more abstract.

Despite these issues, though, Sebold succeeds in taking a very real and very serious subject and capturing every aspect of it. Her prose is elegant but accessible. Every feeling felt by a character is felt by the reader, too. She leads her readers through a captivating story of life, death, hopes and regrets that will stay with them for a very long time.

The Lovely Bones came to theaters on December 11, 2009.Photo taken by Shauna Fererro-Donahue

The movie 2012 foreshadows the end of the world in the year 2012. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

to the arc were sold for billions of Euros, spawning one of the central conflicts in the movie as Anhueser, Helmsley, and the Presidentís daughter Laura Wilson, disagree on whether or not humans on the Earth should have “the right to fight for their lives”, as Helmsley stated in a very intense emotional scene in the White House.

Unfortunately, Helmsleyís timeline proves to be inaccurate and the events began occurring much more quickly than he had originally projected. This creates as the ticket holders try desperately to reach the arcs in time. All of the main characters in the movie are faced with tough decisions such as who to bring with them, who to

inform, and when push comes to s h o v e , whether it is worth risking their lives to save some of their fellow citizens of the world.

O n e rough spot with this m o v i e , h o w e v e r , is the impress ion

it leaves on common people who are just watching it for thrill and enjoyment. The biggest difficulty faced when viewers walk out of 2012 is not being able to shake the ominous feeling created by the vast amount of death and disaster in the movie or the fear of the possibility of the end of the world. The biggest difficulty faced by viewers is untangling their minds from the web of tragedies, destruction, and chaos thrown together with the help of outlandish special effects. The constant action in the movie, while captivating, is at times overwhelming and distracts from the plot of the movie.

tEEn intErEst13tEEn intErEst13tEEn intErEst13Polaroid remakes old camera film Movie

provides a fresh take on an old story

My Sister’s Keeper touches lives

Emily Dismukes

Kaitlin Casey

Meghan Mistry

My Sister’s Keeper is a heart-wrenching novel that pulls on every emotion. Jodi Picoult’s best -seller tells the tale of a young girl battling cancer, a sister conceived to be a donor, a neglected son, a father’s love, and a mother’s undying devotion to one daughter. The novel is a classic story of devotion, self-rights, and love, even in the wake of tragedy and hard-ships. It follows multiple character’s point’s of view. Anna the 13-year-old daughter of Sarah and Brian Fitzgerald was genetically conceived in an effort to be an organ donor for her sister, Kate, who was diagnosed with Leukemia at a young age. As Kate went back and forth between the hospital, dialysis, and home, Anna was repeatedly used as a donor for bone marrow, blood, tissue, and organ pieces. When Anna grows tired of being her sister’s second body, she decides to take out a lawsuit on her parents for the rights to her own body.

Today, when someone wants to capture a moment, he or she simply pulls out a cell phone with a camera, snaps a picture, and posts it to Facebook or sends it out as a text message. Before this became a common practice, however, instant cameras were the only option in these. Polaroid was the first company to produce true instant cameras for the public. The Polaroid line was born in 1948 with the Polaroid Model 95, also called the Land Camera. By the 1960s, there were dozens of cameras in the Polaroid line, including the OneStep Land Camera, which was the best selling camera of any type for four years after its release, according to newmediastudies.com. After 60 years of producing its instant camera models, however, Polaroid announced in 2008 that production of both the film and the cameras would cease. This announcement caused an uproar of people who found the low quality of Polaroids compared to modern digital photos to be nostalgic and beautiful. When the last packs of film were produced in June of 2008, one group in particular decided to take action to bring them back. The Impossible Project began in October 2008. Its original mission was to produce an entirely new line of film that would work with already existing Polaroid cameras. The team purchased all

the production equipment from Polaroid and acquired a factory to house it in. They then found people from all over the world to work on the new film. According to the organization’s website, www.the-impossible-project.com, they didn’t want to re-build the same product but develop an entirely new, more modern one to serve the same purpose. T h e

Impossible Project aimed to have Polaroid-c o m p a t i b l e film back on the market by the beginning of 2010. In September 2009, it announced on its website that the team had managed to produce its first “complete and stable” instant photo. A month later, on October 9, the final batch of Polaroid-brand instant film reached its expiration date. Though film can still be found on eBay, the quality is now much lower and more unpredictable.

On October 13, nearly a year after The Impossible Project began, the Summit Global Group, a Polaroid licensee, held a press conference to announce that it is

planning to relaunch several of the most famous Polaroid Instant Cameras.

As of now, The Impossible Project is still going ahead with its original plan. It will

sell its own film under its own brand name beginning in 2010. These films will be first available only in black and white,

with color versions to follow. Along with this, the

group has also been commissioned to produce a limited edition of Polaroid

branded films to go along with the relaunched cameras. To celebrate one year of existence and hard work, the team started one of

the machines in their factory on October 28. Though the film that came from that machine wasn’t the film that the Project will produce next year, online videos of the scene have prompted happy comments from people everywhere, both new and longtime fans of the Polaroid cameras.

My Sister’s Keeper is a heartwarming novel recently made into a movie. Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema

Polaroid is going to start making the old camera film again. Photo by Emily Dismukes

It never fails that during the holidayseason a Christmas movie hits the-

aters. One of this year’s new mov-ies is A Christmas Carol, a re-imag-ined retelling of the previous movies based on the book by Charles Dickens.

The storyline is true to the plot of the original Dickens tale. It is about a man named Scrooge who only cares for him-self. However, his outlook on life changes when the ghost of his old partner Jacob Marley visits him. Marley warns him that he must change his ways and that he will be visited by three ghost that night: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas present, and the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The ghosts show him the current state of his life and how his actions have affected others. Scrooge gets a new perspective on life, chang-es his ways, and begins to help others.

The animation effects were won-derful, possibly because the film was also made to show in 3D. The graph-ics were done so well that the audience members felt as though they were in the movie, which helped catch their atten-tion and kept them interested in the film.

The film also succeeded in putting a fresh perspective on familiar characters. While watching the movie, the audience was able to sense that characters were the same ones they knew and loved, yet at the same time the they seemed a bit different than those they with which they were familiar. This gave the film a nostalgic feel without making it a simple rehashing of an old story.

Although it had a heartwarming sto-ryline, the film also contained scary el-ements. Characters and objects often seemed like they were coming out of the screen. Also, some visual effects, such as some characters’ faces and general ap-pearance made them appear frightening

Despite this, A Christmas Carol was still a very good movie. In fact, some of the scary parts actually added to the film because it kept the audience on the edge of their seats. Overall it was a very good movie that aptly retold the classic tale.

Once the lawsuit is filed, Anna is supervised by her guardian ad litem,

Julia. As guardian ad litem, Julia was in charge of watching over Anna and talking to her, but also making sure that while living with her parents, they won’t sway the case. Julia also had a long history with Anna’s lawyer, Campbell Alexander. My Sister’s Keeper was made a major motion picture and was released June 25, 2009. It was the first of Picoult’s books to be made into a major movie, while others only premiered as Lifetime Original Specials. Although the movie follows the same basic outline as the novel, it has several differences. The movie focuses more on Sarah’s point of view. While the book included her perspective, it focused more on Anna’s. And while Campbell plays a major role in the book, he has very little screen time.

Jesse Fitzgerald, the brother of the donor and cancerous child, Anna and Kate

respectively, is easily forgotten. In the book, the father is c o n s t a n t l y working or stargazing with Anna, while his mother is with Kate. Jesse takes his depression and discontent out with fire, the one thing he can control, by beginning a series of arsonist fires. On the screen, however, Jesse is more s y m p a t h e t i c

to both sisters and does not set fires.

The main change from the book to the movie was the ending. The novel and the movie both twist and turn throughout the journey for Anna’s medical emancipation. After the court’s official decision regarding Anna’s medical emancipation is made, the main difference becomes apparent as the novel includes the death of one character, while in the movie that character lives on. The survivors are completely different, even though this change was made against Picoult’s requests while writing the script.

Although the movie and the novel are very different, both are exceptional pieces of work. Eloquently worded and masterly crafted, My Sister’s Keeper is hard to let go of. It’s the perfect story for a good cry, as the heart-wrenching tale is sure to cause a downpour.

14 COllEgE14 COllEgE1420 Things to do Freshman year

of college

Establish a study schedule

Experiment with a variety of classes

Learn major prerequisites and requirements

Find out when you have to declare a major

Learn graduation re-quirements

Meet with an advisor

Meet your instructors

Take time to socialize

Find student activities your school offers

Know the campus and its resources

Keep an eye out for limited engagements

Explore beyond campus

Be aware of safety hazards on campus and in town

Learn all about financial aid

Get a checking account

Set up a monthly budget

Look into housing options for next year

Explore internship opportu-nities

Learn to balance work and play

Start planning for life after college

thehighschoolgraduate.com

A college student offers advice

Remember to fill out the FAFSAThe year is nearly half way over, which

means for seniors it’s time to begin filling out a FAFSA. First off, a FAFSA is a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This application is used to apply for federal aid for college, such as grants, work-study, and loans. This isn’t the shortest process so it is recommended that you start early. It will be time consuming but the rewards may prove to be substantial. The FAFSA forms will begin being accepted January first.

Before students begin their FAFSA they will need their social security number, drivers license (if any), 2009 W-2 forms and other records of money earned, 2009 federal income tax return, their parents 2009 federal income tax return (if they are a dependent student), 2009 untaxed income records, and current bank statements.

Some things to keep in mind while filling out the FAFSA form. When the form says “I,” “You,” or “Your” it is referring to the student and not the parents or family, so answer accordingly. It is extremely important to double-check everything on the form including spelling of names and

zip codes. The FAFSA is color-coded and every year is different. This year the green items are for students and the purple items are for parents. Remember to save frequently if filing online.

It is extremely important that all of the information on the form is correct. Check and double check things such as the social security number and email address.

The next section starts at question 60 and it is the beginning of the purple section. Before this section is filled out, Students must determine who is considered a parent in terms of the FAFSA. If the student lives at home with their married parents, then they are considered parents. Also, a step-parent is considered a parent for financial aid purposes. If the parents are divorced or separated, then the parent with which the student has lived with more for the last 12-months is considered to be the parent for financial purposes. If the student lives with neither, then the parent is considered to be the one who has financially contributed more or the one who claims the student as a dependent on their IRS tax return. A foster

parent, legal guardian, or grandparent is not considered a parent for the FAFSA unless they have legally adopted the student, in which case they are treated the same as a biological parent. Once parental status has been determined, answer all of the questions in the purple section. Remember, that it is very important to answer every possible question. Now, it’s time to send the FAFSA. Students are allowed up to four schools to send their form to. Then the students has to sign and date the form on questions 105 and 106. The FAFSA can not be filed before January first because it will result in getting a “FAFSA rejected” notice. If this happens then the form will have to be filled out again and resubmitted.

“It is absolutely necessary for students to fill out the FAFSA because number one, universities can give scholarships and grants and work study oppotunities based on the FAFSA information. Second, without the FAFSA you cannot apply for a school loan,” Ms. Herd said. During the spring semester there will be a finincial advisor at Creek to help students through this process.

Chelsea Huebner

CCISDholds annual College Night

Compared to high school, college has its ups and downs. One of my favorite things about college is that I don’t have to sit in class nearly as much as I did in high school. For example, I only have to go to class

a few hours a day and only four days a week. Others go for longer hours and fewer days or shorter hours and five days a week. The thing about college is that you get to schedule when you want to go to class. If your not a morning person, you

don’t have to take classes in the morning and I recommend avoiding them, because if you don’t want to wake up to go to class and, you don’t have to, you probably just wont go. This will make passing your classes rather difficult because much of the information on the tests will come from the professors’ lectures.

It is a very good idea to register early for your classes. I recommend registering early because that way you can get the classes you want and the time schedule that is most convenient for you. I didn’t sign up early enough and I got stuck with three classes on Mondays and Wednesdays and only one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I don’t enjoy my schedule as much as I could because it’s not balanced. It’s better to have a balanced schedule, especially on exam days.

When scheduling for you’re first semester of college, my advice would be to take reasonable classes and not to put too much on your plate because college is a big

change from high school. While the teachers don’t assign much homework the work load in college is much greater. The only class that I have that assigns daily homework is math and the rest of my “homework” is long-term projects, papers, and hours of studying. I remember in high school there wasn’t much studying involved, at least I know I never did. Now that I’m in college, studying has become a much larger part of my life, as exams have become a much larger part of my grade. Not having too much homework is a nice change but the downside to that is that the exams are most of your grade. If you don’t do well on the exams, you don’t do well in that class. Even if you do poorly on one exam, it can have a substantial affect on your grade.

While it seems that college is all about having freedom and independence ,you have to make sure that you go to class everyday, pay attention, and study. If you’re able to manage your time well. you will enjoy college and it will be fun.

Matt Connell

On December 2, 2009 Clear Creek ISD hosted their annual College Night. College Night is a chance for students to begin their hunt for the right college. College Night took place at Clear Springs High School this year but was open to all students in the CCISD school district. Students had the opportunity to talk with representatives of over 100 different college choices.

“I was glad to see some schools that my parents graduated from. I was able to narrow [my choices]down to a couple of schools I want to go to,” 11th grader, Brandon Keith said.

The list of participating colleges goes on and on, from major universities, junior colleges, and community colleges, to colleges with specific career focuses. Each school had its own booth set up either in the school cafeteria, auditorium, or hallway.

Representatives from the schools were ready to answer any and all questions.

Hundreds of students from all grades, 9th through 12th, attended College Night to visit all the different booths.

“I was excited to see [Texas] Tech stuff. There was a lot of information about colleges but it was crowded,”

11th grader, Julienne Unabia said.There are many choices for

students. Students have the opportunity to travel far from home to out of state colleges like Georgia Tech, Iowa State, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

For students that would like to stay close to home there are many options like Houston Baptist University, University of St. Thomas in Houston, and Galveston College.

There are also many college options for students who aren’t ready to venture into the major universities.

There are schools that offer a religious foundation for educations, such as Baylor University, Abilene Christian University, and Texas Christian University, who were all at College Night.

For the students who are interested in specific careers like fashion design or a culinary career there are colleges like the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and The Culinary Institute of America.

Representatives from the United States Air Force, Texas Air National Guard, United States Army,

and United States Marines, were ready to answer questions to students interested in a military career and education.

Harvard College and Texas A&M University-College Station held presentations in the Springs auditorium.

However, with all these different college choices, some students weren’t able to get information on the school they were really interested in.

“ [College Night] gave me many choices to think about but the colleges I really wanted to see weren’t there,” 10th grader P a t r i c k Peña said.

CCISD student at College NightPhoto by Shauna Fererro-Donahue

Shannon O’Neil

Mix it up 15Mix it up

16 CrEEk Clubs

17FEaturEs 17“We Want Obama”

Jordan Little

The HiLife reprints “Yes Virginia”

Depression can affect anyone re-gardless of age or gender. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, major depressive disorder is the lead-ing cause of disability in the United States for people ages 15 to 44. The alarming statistic of 1 in 8 teens may suffer from depression is proof that depression is not to be taken lightly. Teenage depression warning signs include feel-ings of sadness and hopeless-ness, low self-esteem, slug-gishness, substance abuse, spending more time alone, decrease in desire to do things that were once enjoyed, physical ail-ments, problems in school, talking about death or suicide, not caring about appearance, and running away from home (familyfirstaid.org). Teens who have bipolar disorder can de-velop depression as well. It is typical for teenag-ers to experience frequent mood swings, but for some teens it’s more than just having a bad day. “When someone’s depressed, it’s pretty easy to tell,” Glenn Urbach, Execu-tive Director of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance- Greater Houston, said. Statistics show that the depres-sion rate increases after the holidays. The

excitement that the holidays bring can cause teens to forget temporarily about family, financial, and personal problems.

However, once the celebration is over and the stress of the new

year has begun, some teens become depressed or fall back into their past depression.

“The main thing is to talk to someone,” Mr. Urbach said. Sometimes the best way for teens to fight depression is to talk to a loved one or a friend or adult they can trust. It isi m p o r t a n t for teens to continue e n j o y i n g

their favorite h o b b i e s , c o n t i n u eworking out, and continue talking to friends over the long holiday

season. Teens should advise taking on too much stress and focusing on problems over the break. The Depression and Bipolar Sup-port Alliance-Greater Houston, or DBSA, sponsors support groups, including one in Friendswood, that provide teens with the

During this holiday season, give the gift of peace to the children of Northern Uganda by joining the petition to arrest one of the most dangerous men in Northern Uganda, Joseph Kony.

Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, whose intention is to overthrow the Ugandan government and is one of the masterminds of the Ugandan war. Kony abducts children, between 8 and 12 years old, and forces them to be in his Lord’s Resistance Army. The children are forced out of their homes, forced o witness brutal acts on family members, and handed guns to fight in a war that they are not trained to fight.

Invisible Children is an organization founded by three aspiring filmmakers: Laren Poole, Jason Russell, and Bobby Bailey. Poole, Russell, and Bailey went to Uganda and were shocked at the devastating war occurring in Uganda and the children forced to fight. The boys knew they had to do something, so Invisible Children was born.

Today the child abductions are less frequent but Kony is still free and heading to the Republic of Congo. Invisible Children wants to arrest Joseph Kony and stop the war brewing in the Congo. However, Invisible Children needs the help of many volunteers, petitioners, senators, and congressmen. With their “We Want Obama” campaign, they are attempting to get the president to pass a bill to commit the U.S. to intervene. Anyone can go online to wewantobama.com and sign the online petition to help Invisible Children reach their goal. With the United States’ recourses and intelligence, Joseph Kony can be stopped quicker and more efficiently according to Invisible Children. According to Invisible Children, only about half of the country’s senators and congressmen have supported the bill. The Clear Creek High School Newspaper attempted to change some of the Texas’ representative’s minds. On November 18, Invisible Children organized a day asking everyone to contact their state senators. The Newspaper staff began writing letters, emailing, and calling their representatives. To find how to contact a state representative, asking them Obama to help go to wewantobama.com. There people can sign the petition to arrest Joseph Kony and view a list of contact information for a state representative. Invisible Children hopes to get enough signatures, 250,000 to be exact, to bring to the white house on December 15, 2009. Then they hope to get President Obama to agree to support the bill and work to end the Ugandan genocide.

Shannon O’Neil

Though the recession is raging on in the United States, the HiLife would like to look back on the story of one girl, Virginia O’Hanlon Douglas, and one reporter’s, Francis P. C h u r c h ’ s , search to find the truth about Santa Clause during a hard economic time in the year of 1897. Church’s editorial, “Yes, Virginia,” is as follows. “Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your

opportunity to talk with other teens about what they are experiencing and feeling. “What people have to under-stand with mental illness is that your brain is an organ and it doesn’t always function as it should,” Mr. Urbach said. By talking with other teens who are experi-encing depression or by confiding in trusted friends and adults, teens suffering from de-pression are able to humanize the depression. “What you’re going through is not unusual,” Mr. Urbach said, an important message for a teen experiencing depression. Sometimes, a teen who is depressed doesn’t seek help because they falsely believe that their own “weakness” has caused the dis-ease and they feel alienated. It is vital that a depressed teen talk to someone they trust about what they are feeling. Teens need to understand that they are not alone. Support groups, therapy, and medication can also be important to helping teens who suffer from depression overcome the obstacle. “Whatever it is they’re go-ing through, the symptoms have a name. There is no reason why they should not seek treatment. There’s no shame in having it,” Mr. Urbach said. The most devastating effect de-pression can have on a teen is to cause a teen to take his or her own life. Teens can’t forget that the most important step to overcoming depression is to not give up but to take action against the depression. “ It just doesn’t go away. It’s not worth suicide,” Mr. Urbach said.The pain of depression can be prevent-ed, and lives can be saved, as long as teens are aware of the seriousness of de-pression and the steps to overcoming it. And most of all that they are not alone.

life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were n o Santa Claus? It would

be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no

childlike faith then, no

poetry, n o

romance to make

tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light which childhood

fills the world would be extinguished.

“Not believe in Santa Claus? You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus,

but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. “You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, not even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernatural beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. “No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10 thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.”

Thomas Avalos and Kasey Lester rely on each other for support.Photo by Shauna Fererro-Donahue

Image by graphicsfactory

Avoid depression during holidays

18 spOrts18 spOrtsCreek football rounds off the 2009 season

Girls’ basketball teams start strong this year Girl’s basketball kicked off its season with a Herrera-based game on November 10.

Almost every organization at Creek has done its part in raising money for Ms. Herrera, a young single mom and teacher battling cancer. Ms. Herrera is a Creek teacher currently battling Stage 4 Glioblastoma. Herrera has three young children and being out sick from her job makes supporting the kids very difficult. Her battle with cancer is filled with many hardships, and as a member of the Creek faculty, the

student body does its part to ease the pain.Word of Ms. Herrera’s

remarkable story spread to the coaches of the opposing team, Deer Park, and they too did their part to contribute to the cause. Deer Park raised just over $200. “Even Deer Park is helping out, and for that we’re really thankful,” Williams said.

Throughout lunches leading up to the game, many team members collected change from students. Every little penny could help Ms, Herrera, and in the end, basketball contributed just over $200.

T h e first game of the girl’s basketball season was named “ H o o p s for Herrera.” T h e entire money rose

from previous collections and

a portion of o p e n i n g

n i g h t ’ s proceeds

w a s

d o n a t e d to Herrera.

“Altogether we raised about $400,

$200 or so from Deer Park, and $200 or so from

Creek. It was r emarkab le that we

raised s o much in such a little time,” Williams said. Both JV and Varsity are undefeated in season, but including the tournaments, Varsity is 6-3 and JV 7-1. They have played Deer Park, Houston Memorial, Dulles, and Eisenhower. The most recent JV tournament, played in Deer Park from December 3-5, was cancelled, and Varsity’s December 4 game, against Baytown Sterling was cancelled due to weather. The “Peggy Whitley Classic” was held December 10-12. The tournament is a tradition in honor of t h e former basketball coach, P e g g y Whitley, who led her Varsity team to 14

consecutive district wins. The tournament incorporates in-district teams and other 5A teams. Only Varsity competes throughout the tournament, but the Creek JV team and freshmen team members are in charge of running the event all weekend long. Both Varsity and JV hope to continue to the district play-offs and eventually win the district title. To reach their goal, the teams practice Monday-Thursday, only taking a rest on Sundays. Wednesdays and Saturdays the teams participate in weight room training. “It is important that we put weight time in so that we can grow stronger and

prevent injuries throughout the season,” Williams said.

When not in the weight room, the teams put

in court time from 1:50 to 4:30 daily.

G i r l ’ s Basketball has high hopes for the current season, not willing to stop at anything less than p e r f e c t i o n . Winning is not eve ry th ing ,

however, the teams also hope to benefit the school and its faculty. Hoops for Herrera proved successful in supporting a sick teacher, and according to

team members, the season will hopefully

honor the school.

Meghan Mistry

Photos by Kaitlyn Boryk

Jacob Arredondo

After a long and grueling ten game season, the Wildcats failed to make the play-offs. It is there firsttime to miss the playoffs in four years. Afterdroppingthefirsttwogamesthatincluded a heart-breaking loss to Kingwood fromalastsecondfieldgoal,theWildcatsrebounded by winning their homecoming game against Baytown Lee 17-7. In that game, Creek put up 354 total yards in an offensive performance that dominated in the air and on the ground. The Wildcats rode on their wave of momentum by coming on top of multiple shoot-outs inthefirstthreedistrictgames of the season. They beat the district-favorite, Clear Brook by the score of 42 to 35. Creek’s offense put up another balance offensive performance by rushing 205 yards and passing for 274 yards. Quarterback Jarryd Garza put up 3 touchdowns, two to wide receiver C.J. McElroy and one to Tevin Jones. The big game between the new Creek rival, Clear Springs, proved to be even

biggerasthewinnerwouldbeinfirstplacein the district and would be in a cruising mode to the play-offs. After trading scores inthefirsthalf,ClearSpringspulledawayin the second after scoring four unanswered scores in the second half. The loss was the down fall in the district for the Wildcats. C r e e k needed to rebound

against the B r a z o s w o o d Buccaneers to get back in the district first

place race. Creek lost the

next two games toBrazoswood and Alvin,

putting first-place out ofreach, and giving Creek a new goal of getting into the playoffs. Despite the three game losing streak,

the offensive numbers for the Wildcats stayed steady, but

turnovers, defensive let downs, and missed opportunities put the

Wildcats in losing situations. With Creek getting help

from the other teams in the district, the Wildcats had

one last opportunity to get into the playoffs. The game between Creek and Clear Lake was primed to be one of the biggest games in the classic rivalry.

Clear Lake needed the win to salvage a disappointing season, while Creek needed the win to get the last spot in the playoffs. The night started off rough as Lake got ahead of the Wildcats with the first twoscores of the game. A

sixteen-yard touchdown

runinthefirstquarterand a thirteen-yard touchdown run in the second. Four

minutes later, Creek’s o ff ense

answered the Lake touchdowns with one of their own. Marcus Mata had a six-yard run in to the end zone to putsome much needed points on the board. In the second half, Clear Lake stuck to its game plan by running the ball with great success. Lake put up four hundred and nineteen yards on the ground out off the total of four hundred and twenty-one. The Wildcat defense could not stop

the run and could not stop the Lake offense from running down the clock, which kept the Creek offense off the field. When a fourteen-yard touchdown run by Garza cut the Lake lead to only eight points, the Wildcats

had an opportunity to tie the game up with a last second score. But a

Creek turnover gave the ball up to Lake and ended the game with a knee. “We worked hard, we did are

best, and we went out giving it our all,” Garza said. He had a total of 156 yards and one rushing

touchdown in the game. The loss put the Wildcats out of the playoffs by one game. Another win would have given the Wildcats the opportunity to go to playoffs, but errors and bad luck cost the Wildcats in the end. Creek ended its season with a loss

to its rival, Lake.Photo by Katlin Foote

spOrts 19spOrts 19

The Clear Creek baseball team has been vigorously preparing for the upcoming 2010 season. It has been doing various regiments throughout its off-season, including practicing on the field, hitting in the cages, hitting up the weight room, and running on the track. When the baseball players take the field, they work on their defense. They take grounders, do long toss, and mock real game situations so they can be prepared when they play their first real game in District. In order to improve their offense, they go to the batting cages. In the batting cages they hit off of the “iron mike” which is similar to a pitching machine except that a person does not have to place each individual ball in it. In the batting cages, the players also live pitch and soft toss to each other as well. The players work hard to keep their offensive skills sharp. They also visit the weight room occasionally to do bench, squats, incline, sit-ups, and curls in order to get ready for the season. On the track, they improve their stamina and stay in shape by running. They also spend time running on the track to prepare themselves for “the loop,” the two and a half miles every person trying out for the team has to run. They have to run the loop in under 19 minutes and 45 seconds in order to make the team in January. Another preparation tool the team members use is class time. When they are not physically preparing themselves for the

Creek players sign to fulfill college dreams

season, they are mentally. They take notes on their coaches’ instruction, which might include material about situations a baseball player might encounter and how they should react. Class members eventually take a Benchmark test in order to see how well they understand the material that was covered. Recently the baseball class participated in Fall Ball, which is a non school related baseball program that keeps the team playing together and getting more practice time in. Fall Ball’s main purpose was to discover what the players needed to

work on and help them to improve those certain areas. Their Fall Ball league record was 9, 0, and 1 in the Baseball USA tournament. “The team plays well together and we

pick each other up when one makes a mistake,” senior Alex Fisher said. The baseball team has been doing multiple activities in off-season to prepare themselves for District and they plan to be well prepared physically and mentally for next season. “We still need a lot of work and I think my team is like a rough diamond that is on its way to get polished. In other words, we have a lot of talent but there is still room for improvement,” junior Gamalier DeJesus said. With all of its preparation and dedication to the game, the Clear Creek baseball team believes it is well on it’s way to having a great season.

Clear Creek girls have reached their athletic goals and made their scholastic dreams come true in the process. On November 11, Jennifer Paden, Lindsay Musgrove, and Kaylin Dugie signed to the school of their choice in the Butler gym. Katy Moulder signed in the softball locker room. Pictures, parents, fellow athletes, students, and refreshments were present as the girls put on a big smile and signed. Paden will be attending Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. She is receiving a scholarship both for golf and academics. Her dreams after college reach farther than golf, however. “I want to start a family and get a masters of divinity to become a preacher,” Paden said.

Katy Moulder signed to Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. She will be going as a pitcher and must leave before school starts in order to train and prepare for her college season. After playing for Nicholls, she wants to either become a professional softball player or a coach. Lindsay Musgrove signed as a gymnast for Penn State. Kaylin Dugie signed to the division two Catholic University, Incarnate Word, in San Antonio. On November 19, Michaela

Adams had

a personal signing in the softball locker room. It was relatively private with only team members, family, and coaches present. Adam’s signing to UT Tyler involved a string of speeches from family members and appreciation from Adams for those that helped her make her softball d r e a m s possible. The room was decorated in orange and blue streamers and bal loons,

colors that Adams didn’t originally think she’d be playing for. “UT Tyler actually wasn’t my first choice school. However once I visited, I knew it would be the right school to go to,” Adams said. Once Adams knew that UT Tyler was the school that she was going to commit to, she got a special offer to play for the team this spring. To prepare, Adams took English 4 in the summer and completed both government and economics during her first semester of her senior year. Although she could have graduated early, she decided that it wasn’t best for her and the Creek softball team. By leaving early, she wouldn’t have played her final year of Creek’s softball season and knew that her last season was one that couldn’t be missed. After playing for UT Tyler, Adams plans to become an Anesthesiologist, get married, and coach softball. These, and other Clear Creek students who plan to sign later in the year, have worked hard to make their collegiate team.

Reanna Bain

Creek players Jennifer Paden and Kaylin Du-gie sign to their future schools.Photo by Wynette Jameson

Preparing for baseballChristen Valcoviak

Photo by Kaitlyn Boryk

Playing “down under”Meghan Mistry

On November 8th, the Creek boys’ basketball team played an unusual op-ponent, the South Australian Club. The basketball game was a rare one, since the group only plays teams within the Unit- e d States once every two years. Previously, the team had traveled to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. Each time they come, however, they pick a new region in which to play their games. Creek got a chance to play the team when the club posted on a Texas basket-ball website for coaches asking for a place to play in Texas. The team planned to travel in Texas for two weeks, playing various teams throughout the state. On Tues-day the 18, the two teams met on the court. Creek’s Varsity won the game with a final score of 71 to 56. The Australian team kept up it’s game with good shots and ball han-dling, but in the end Creek’s endur-ance and speed made the difference. “Our Varsity is much more ath-letic than theirs, and I think in the end our speed was the difference.” Michael Mc-Cormick, Creek basketball coach said. Despite Varsity’s win, JV had a close loss by 4 points. The first quar-ter involved many turnovers, missed shots, and fast breaks by the opposing

team. However, in the last three quar-ters of the game, JV had a strong return. After the game, Creek in-vited the team over for pizza. For a few hours the teams mingled on the floor of Carlisle Field House.

“Our guys really enjoyed it. They got to talk to them about everything: girls, basketball, language, travel,

the whole thing,” McCormick said. During international games, it is custom for the coaches of both

teams to exchange small gifts. Creek gave the Australian

team Clear Creek Basket-ball T-Shirts, and the South Australian Club gave the coaches stuffed koala bears waving Australian flags. At around 9:30 the teams parted with the Australians hoping to visit NASA the next day. The 16-18 year old Aus-tralian team members are an internationally touring team who paid

for their trip entirely on their own and spent weeks

of their summer vaca-tion thousands of

miles away from home playing a

sport they love. “ F i f t e e n

years ago, America dominated the game.

The world has caught up and fell in love with it too,” McCormick said. The internationality of the sport was portrayed when a team all the way from Australia flew in to play Creek. Creek, aware of the international com-petition, trained hard to come out with a victory against the South Australian Club.

phOtOFinish20 phOtOFinish20 phOtOFinish20