November 2012 Shield

A few weeks following the end of the fall sports season, the girls’ basketball team began preparing for a new season of basketball. The previous year, Westminster’s Girls’ Basketball Team success-fully made it to the Regional Championships as a result of sev-eral weeks of hard work and effort. Unfortunately, while competing in the Sectional Finals, the team lost when playing against top ranked Seton Academy. This year, the team is working harder than ever in order to achieve their ultimate ob-jective: the State Championships.

To help inspire its members, this season, the basketball team came

up with its own motto to play by. Junior Emma Anderson states that

their team’s new motto is, “One God, one team, one goal.” When asked about the contributing fac-tors to the team’s success last year, Coach Ken Flickinger gave me three different explanations. “The team as a group worked harder as a team than any other team I’ve had,” he stated. “During the sea-son, we really came together as a team. The team really believed in each other.” The coach also states the team will be reusing the skills they used last year with more experience from this year while playing in the new season. As far as what changes are being made to the team this

Ever since 2004, the dy-namic duo of the Palmer clan has changed Westmin-ster for the better. First grade teacher. Athletic Director. High School Principal. The Palmers have seen it all. Rick Palmer and Carolyn Kusz-maul met on the campus of Jud-son College. One day, Rick ap-proached Carolyn and asked her on a date. Luckily for him, she said yes, and the dream team was born. Rick and Carolyn were married, then had three children, Jessica, Ben, and Josh, who have all graduated from Westminster. The Palmers have always loved working at Westminster. With a

great staff and community, Mrs. Palmer states, “This is the best the school has ever been.” How-ever, they take their jobs one step further. Unlike most athletic di-rectors and principals, they take every opportunity to show the light of Christ to the students they encounter each and every day. Over the years, the Palmers con-tributed to the school in ways that go unseen by most of the students.

Westminster Christian High School Newspaper november 2012

Juniors lead girls’ basketball, “One God, one team, one goal”

Westminster ShieldVol. 5 Issue 3

Thrifting saves money and adds fashion(page 5)

Boys’ Basketball team continues commitment(page 7)

Sound of Music ranks among best at WCS(page 2)

(continued on pg. 7)

Feature: Passion of the Palmers

The Palmers cheerfully co-work at WCS.

Barack Obama has won a second term as president of the United States, but these results have shak-en the country and split it down the middle. Obama was safely declared the winner late in the night on November 6, 2012. The entire night was a neck-and-neck race with neither candidate gain-

ing much ground before the other would quickly catch up. How-ever, after Obama won both of the coasts and secured the key battle-ground states of Ohio, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire, he had won enough electoral votes to secure

the presidency for another four years. One of the most important states in the election was Florida. With its 29 electoral votes, it was the largest of the swing states; but did not report its results until November 10. Final results with all states reported showed Obama winning by an overwhelming 126 electoral votes, as he pulled 332 to Romney’s 206. Interestingly

enough, the popular vote counts were much closer; Obama won 51.4% of the 121,745,725 votes that were cast that day. The elec-tion was close, so close that it basically split the country in two

Electoral votes disguise majority

(continued on page 3) (individual profiles cont. on pg. 5)

Special Section: National News on Page 3

Every week, students from Westminster sacrifice their time to impact our commu-nity. Nine Westminster students devote every Tuesday to serving the students of Highland Elementary School. Crossroads was started by our very own superinten-dant’s parents, Bern and Jeanne Bertsche. It was founded in 1988 for the purpose of reaching kids with the love of God. Now, Crossroads has ex-panded and school groups are serving the public el-ementary schools in their community. Mr. Patrick Bertsche has sponsored Westminster Christian School’s Crossroads pro-gram. He donates to the Crossroads organization so that our program can receive the curriculum and training it needs. Before Bertsche’s sponsorship, WCS students were serving alongside other schools and their programs. Our Crossroads program is run by Mrs. Wawro. Her son, John Wawro, says he serves “because I went to a public school in elementary, so I know how hard it is. I know that Crossroads is impacting their lives.”

The students of WCS play games with the kids. Then, they break off into a small-group time where they teach the kids about God and encourage them to grow in their faith. When I asked Senior Joy Guge why she served with Crossroads, she said, “It’s en-couraging to see kids grow and engage. De-spite the brokenness in their lives, they are still eager to hear what God has for them.”

Crossroads is chang-ing so many kids’ lives, and all it takes is some students step-ping up and deciding to make a difference in our community. Stephanie Kleczynski believes, “It’s impor-tant to show God’s love to the kids, es-pecially in a school where they don’t have a Bible class every day.” Many of us take

the Westminster Com-munity for granted. We have the freedom to talk about our faith, and to learn more about God every day. The Highland elementary stu-dents, unfortunately, do not have these types of freedoms and opportunities. Through Crossroads, Westminster is reaching these children with the amazing gift of God’s love.

school news

Musical brings joy and memories to all

Chess club makes move

page 2

On November 8-10, the Westminster theatre department put on a spectacular show for its four performances of Rodgers and Hammer-stein’s The Sound of Music. All of the hype sur-rounding the production didn’t disappoint; each

performance packed the house with either full or nearly full au-diences. Westminster has been blessed with a multitude of incred-ibly gifted students who gave it their all to create a truly unfor-gettable experience.

Kate Chapman blew the audience away with her stunning vo-cals as Maria Rainer. She took on the roles of misfit postulant, fun governess, and tender step-mother with ease. Matt Swing comple-mented her character perfectly as the uptight

George von Trapp. By the end of the musical, the once-despised father captured the heart of audi-ence members. Viewers marveled over Alivia Dehaan’s superb act-ing skills as she seamlessly took on the roll of Elsa Schraeder, snooty voice, pretentious air, and all. Both she and Nate Sunday (Max Det-weiler) acted splendidly together. Each of the seven von Trapp children put on impeccable performances and truly acted as a family. The elementary and middle school stars were adorable and show promising tal-ent. Little Gretel, played by Emma Sherman, left viewers grinning from ear to ear each time she opened her angelic mouth. The flirtation and ultimate betrayal between Liesl von Trapp (Helen Bernston) and Rofl Gruber (Logan Hopp) added delightful drama to the produc-tion. In addition, Melissa Kees, who played Sister Sophia, shocked Westminster with her outstanding voice; many were unaware of her

incredible talent. Each of the nuns in the sis-ter chorus put on lovely performances. Shirley Irwin was perfectly cast in the role of Mother Abbess, the maternal yet stern head nun. All in all, each one of the cast members performed outstandingly and fulfilled expectations. Memorable scenes included the stormy night performance of “My Favorite Things” in Maria’s bedroom, the entertaining puppet show that filled the chapel with laughter, and the final performance of “So Long, Farewell” before the family’s dramatic escape. All 50 cast members put on a truly fantastic show.

Stephanie Kleczynski and Joy Guge play games with Crossroads’ kids.

Sound of Music cast sings finale, “Climb Every Mountain.”

Do you want something more out of lunch on Wednesdays? Come test your thinking skills in chess club. Chess club in Mr. Landers’ room “is the top grossing club at Westminster,” said sophomore Tyler Mamrot. Mr. Landers said, “I created this club be-cause people in my study hall were playing chess in their free time, so I saw a need for it.” On any given

Wednesday, there has been an average of twenty people who compete in epic chess battles. Mr. Landers wants chess club to get to the

point where he has a top twenty list for the top chess players at Westminster. However, for the chess club to grow, they have an ever-growing need for more chess equipment. To compensate for this need, Mr. Landers has fashioned up some classy looking offi-cial chess club T-shirts. All proceeds of these T-shirts will be put back into the growth of the club. These T-shirts are available in Mr. Landers’ room for ten dol-lars to anyone who wants one. Senior Vashti Cassidy said, “Chess club is the best club at Westminster.” In response to the club’s newfound popularity, Se-nior Luke Nowakowski responded with, “I can beat them all in chess; I’m a big guy, I make big plays.”

Crossroads Kids Club makes difference

Alexa Pederson battle Rachel Knox as several chess club games go on.

“No way to stop” this.

Imagine this: it’s midnight, you are stand-ing at the end of a line that is 300 yards long waiting to get into Target, it is 20 degrees out-side, you are bundled up like an eskimo, and the doors don’t even open for two more hours! Every year, shoppers across the coun-try participate in Black Friday sales events. Store fronts around every corner and in every shopping mall are lined with people eager to save a few bucks on that “must have” item. Over the years, Black Friday and vio-lence have gone hand in hand. When a devoted Black Friday shopper arrives at a store in the middle of the night, they ex-pect to witness a couple fights here and there. Some are even ready to spring into action if someone gets in their way of

checking off the last item on their shopping list. Every year we expect these fights, and ev-ery year they happen, just as predicted. How-ever, as the years go on, these fights increase in violence. Those involved have been severely injured or, in more serious incidents, killed! This year, in Tallahassee, Florida, a fight broke out in a Walmart parking lot over a parking spot. The fight heated up and, eventu-ally, firearms got involved. Both men involved

were shot. The Los Angeles Times reported that the two were injured, but will recover. Around the same time at a Sears depart-ment store in Texas, two men began fighting over an item. The first Black Friday shopper slugged the other man across the face. En-raged, the second man pulled out his gun, caus-ing panicked shoppers to run out of the store. A third man got trampled and injured in the stampede of people, the LA Times reported.

“I think it’s funny,” Junior Emma An-derson stated, “that Black Friday is a day where people are willing to kill over ma-terialistic things, just a day after celebrat-ing what they are already thankful for.” You can save a lot of money Black Fri-day shopping. However, next year, be careful and stay away from any fights that seem to be escalating. Black Friday is not necessarily a bad thing, but is it re-ally worth risking your life to save a few bucks on something you don’t really need?

page 2 page 3 national news

Election (cont. from pg. 1)

Black and Blue Friday

Hurricane Sandy’s heroes recognized

We all know what a blessing The Red Cross, Salvation Army, and The Na-tional Guard are when natural disasters strike, but do you know the amazing courage and strength everyday unsung heroes had during hurricane Sandy? After Sandy hit the east coast October 24th, the NYU Langone Medical Cen-ter was in need of big help. The vic-tims leaned on the above organizations for help, but the day-to-day survival

depended on people like Margot Con-don. Condon is a nurse in the NICU at NYU Langone Medical Center. Dur-ing the storm, the hospital was being evacuated because of a power outage. All the NICU babies were hooked up to various machines, which were now running on battery power, but it was only a matter of time before the battery

life would run out. This meant that all the babies had to be transported one by one to neighboring hospitals. The ba-bies needed a team of about six people each to move slowly and carefully down nine flights of darkened stair-ways. While traveling down the stairs, Condon had to manually squeeze a bag to get air into the babies’ lungs. Another unsung hero is the wonder-ful Nuris Barzey-Ramos. As soon as she found out how catastrophic Sandy would be, she couldn’t wait to help. At

the shelter where she was helping, many people there had lost their homes in the electrical fire in Queens, New York. Barzey-Ramos stayed and comforted those at the shelter for days. After being there for so long, she just wanted to go home and sleep. How-ever, she didn’t give up on those who really needed it.

Condon, Barzey-Ramos, and many other citizens represent what it really means to be a hero. Their perseverance is what gives vic-tims hope. Heroes go above and be-yond, sometimes risking their own lives for others who are in need. These types of inspiring people give our country hope again and show us what the human spirit is capable of.

during the campaigning season. Ideologies clashed over how best to run the country. If the split could be defined by one all-encompassing battleground of debate, it would be the clas-sic big government vs. little government debate. This is in reference to an individual’s preference between wanting gov-ernment involvement in their lives, or as little government in-terference as possible. In these hard economic times, it is not hard to see why many chose the former of these two options. It is very easy, in Westminster, to hate on the president.Why is it so easy? Well, after a survey of the school, it turns out that 75.3% of students consider themselves and/or their families to be republican. The percentage of those who supported Obama is also surprising; less than 13% supported him, and 79% ei-ther simply did not support Obama or vigorously opposed him. These statistics show why it is so easy to bash Obama. But, let me remind you of the words Jesus spoke to the Phari-sees: “But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: ‘Every kingdom di-vided against itself is brought to desola-tion, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand” (Matthew 12:25 - NKJV). If we as Christians can put aside political differences and support the leader that God has appointed to us, we can be an example to the rest of the country. The process of becoming a whole country again begins with you. The challenge falls on your shoulders, but what will you do?

President Obama wins 2012 election.

Journalist/author, Anderson Cooper, has hero nurse, Margot Condon on his television show.

Within the last month, something shocking has become commonplace on my beloved twitter page: insults directed toward a specific person that is not identified by name (welcome to the world of subtweets, my friends). The intriguing thing, however, is that I’m beginning to notice Westmin-ster students subtweeting more and more, includ-ing me. Although it may seem harmless, we have to realize that a simple 160 character tweet has the power to really hurt someone’s feelings and blow a formerly minute issue out of proportion. Everyone was eager to start using Facebook and Twitter, but now, instead of a fun social network-ing site, it has become a means to insult people without direct confrontation. In the words of one student, “You want the person to know, but you don’t want to say it to their face.” Subtweet-ing is a way to vent about your feelings, positive or negative. But the problem is, we go to such

a small school that we can read a subtweet and know immediately who it’s directed toward. A little tweet or Facebook status about someone may, at first glance, seem harmless. But, is it still harmless when students go home crying because people are making fun of them for their hair color, beliefs, or daily wardrobe choices? In reality, sub-tweets are worse than face-to-face arguments for many reasons. First of all, subtweets force every-one who sees the tweet to take sides and get in-volved. Should you defend the victim or agree with the attacker? Within a span of 10 minutes, a 2-per-son argument can turn into a 10-person argument. Subtweeting can also cause more problems because the face-to-face situation becomes in-credibly awkward, and it leaves the victim won-dering what he or she did to deserve the insult. One student commented, “I was confused be-cause I’d never talked to the person [who in-sulted me through a subtweet] before and all of a sudden they were tweeting about me.” As Christians, we need to be hyper vigilant of our actions, whether it’s at school, at home, or on Twitter. What we say really affects other people. We ought to start thinking twice about hurtful words that come out of our mouths, and are begin-ning to appear on our Twitter and Facebook pages.

page 4

Many high school students find themselves a little short on dough every once in a while, and of course, we need that new pair of kicks or that new video game! But, is having a job in high school worth the profit? Many students at Westmin-ster have different opinions on whether or not having a job in-terferes with homework, sports, or other extra curricular activi-ties. “I never have any free time; but it’s worth making my own money in the long run,” said se-nior Alivia DeHaan regarding her job at Goodwill. Although making your own cash is impor-tant, every student does need to have a healthy balance, and not be too over-loaded with work and school. The majority of students at WCS love the jobs they have, with the exception of seniors Jozie Herrington and Patty Winsauer. Herrington plainly said, “I hate being a janitor,” when talking about her job as a janitor at Willow Creek church. However, Winsauer claims to love her job,

just not everything about it. She says a lot of gross things go on at Village Green nurs-ing home, but the grossest event was when a resident threw up on her plate and all

over the floor! Winsauer also states that she doesn’t always get along with her co-work-ers; she says, “We just have different views.”According to Senior Joy Guge, “Having a job allows you to be more independent.” Guge also tells us that she has extra jobs on the side such as babysitting and dog sitting, along with her job at

feature

High school life of your very own Dr. Marsh

Many of you have probably wondered what high school life was like for a teacher. If not, perhaps you thought it was the same as yours. Wrong! The history of Dr. Bill Marsh’s high school life goes way beyond what you will ever experience. We all know him as an inspiring philosopher, gentle and kind hearted compared to what the world was like in the sixties. Marsh attended a high school in a beach community of Los Angeles, graduating in 1970. He was a po-litical revolutionary in high school. Basi-cally, he got into a lot of trouble back in those days. His worse time was after senior prom, when he was not yet a Christian. One of his best times that he had during his high school years was leading a demonstration, in fact several, protesting about the Vietnam War and school polices. They all ended in differ-ent ways, some peacefully, others with riots. Music festivals, he said, “Rocked the school!” What made his high school years so memo-rable was that the sixties was a time of ram-pant drug use and promiscuity. During that time, Marsh was going to do anything to

change the world, and find himself in anyway that he could. Marsh enjoyed talking about politics and life with his politics teacher, Mr. Srumbis. His English teacher, Mr. Lincomb, however, was more of a con-servative and drove Marsh crazy. His high school also provided many electives and

clubs, but Marsh never participated in any of them! Throughout his high school years, he would get into major trouble with the school, the establishment, and with the cops. He was also suspended many times. He felt bad for giving his parents so much grief. All in all, Marsh regrets the things that he did, but after awhile he realized that God had a plan for him. And once Marsh be-came a Christian, many people said that he has a gift in wisdom and knowledge, and God set aside a calling for Marsh to become a teacher that we all know and love today.

Students working hard or hardly working?

Senior Luke Nowakowski with customer, Mr. Scott Sevey at Santa’s Village Azoosment Park in Dundee, IL.

Tweeting circles are becoming the norm around WCS.

Dr. Marsh as a senior.

Twitter gets bitter

(continued on pg. 8)

page 4 page 5 Feature

As you walk through the thrift store doors, you are overwhelmed by the thousands of clothes, some old, some new, but all different, displayed on racks before you. Each thrift store has a cer-tain smell about it. You can’t tell if the smell is good or bad, all you know is that it will take a few turns in the washing machine until it has completely escaped the clothes. One of the best things about thrift shopping is that you never know what you will find. The experience is an adventure; you may come home empty-handed, or with practi-cally brand new Uggs and a vintage sweater. So, what lures ev-erybody to the local Goodwill or Village Discount? After all, aren’t the clothes used and dirty? Well, I cannot speak for everyone, but perhaps it is the fact that you can almost always leave the store with something “new” and special without spending a fortune! Or, perhaps you just like the fashion that they wore in the eighties and nineties such as sweat-

ers with shoulder pads (which all thrift stores have in abundance) and highwaisted shorts, pants, or really anything. Thrift stores are good for more than just cloth-ing. Many people find shoes, purses (some are lucky enough to find real Coach!), bikes, and furni-ture; almost anything can be found in a thrift store.

After taking a survey of the en-tire high school, I found that many people have found pricey items at a thrift store and bought them for a min-ute fraction of the original price. For example, freshman Zach Aters bought $150 football cleats for a mere $15

dollars. As another example, senior Alivia De-Haan bought a pair of name brand Ugg boots for only $4! If that deal doesn’t get you running to the thrift store, I don’t know what will. But, sometimes, it is the less popular brands that are the true gems. Last year, I bought a semi-formal striped dress originally from the U.K. for the

price of $6 (the original price was £80). When asked about her favorite part about thrifting, ju-

nior McKaila Hays commented that “the quality for the price” is her favorite part. Her best purchase was a pair of com-bat boots that were bought for only $2.50. Junior Jared Miller has similar views; he loves the fact that everything is so cheap and you can always find a good deal. His family bought a Blu-ray player for $50. It included internet, Netflix, and many other benefits; it was nearly a once in a lifetime deal (the original owner never logged

out of his Netflix account on the Blu-ray player, so the Millers scored a free Netflix account). So, why doesn’t everyone shop at thrift stores? Don’t ask me. Thrift stores are treasure chests just waiting to be explored by boys and girls who love good deals and are willing to do some dig-ging. Although many might think that only “hip-sters” thrift, they are mistaken; anyone can find what they love at a thrift store, and who knows, perhaps you will be lucky enough to stumble upon something like a free Netflix account.

Thrifting popularity rises; stylish students save on fabulous fashion

After eight years as Westmin-ster’s athletic director, Rick Palm-er still has one goal in mind for the athletic department: “to honor God in everything we do.” Mr. Palmer’s in-fluence on our ath-letic department normally goes unseen, but many changes have hap-pened in the short time that he has served as the athletic director. In his eight years, Westminster has added eight varsity sports includ-ing boys’ and girls’ bowling, boys’ and girls’ track, softball, foot-ball, cheer, and boys’ volleyball. Palmer’s main focus is, of course, with the athletic aspect of his de-partment, but he still wishes to create a strong Christian environ-ment in every sport. Palmer states,

“I tell all of the coaches to honor God first, to disciple the kids sec-ond, and coach the team third.” There is a lot more to Mr. Palmer than may appear on the

surface. “I am a friendly guy, even if some kids may believe differently. And I also think I have a pretty good sense of humor. “One aspect of my job that I wish I could get more in-volved in is getting

to know the athletes on a more per-sonal level. I am not just there to come in on Mondays and tell them that they are ineligible. All I want is what is best for the athletes.” In addition to leading the ath-letic department, Mr. Palmer gets to work very closely with his wife. When asked what it is like working so closely with his spouse, Palmer responded, “Fun!”

We’ve all recognized the “click-clack” of our very own Mrs. Palmer running through the halls, or have heard her warm welcome as we enter chapel. What many of us do not recognize is everything Mrs. Palmer has done, and contin-ues to do, for Westminster.When Mrs. Palmer is not doing school work, she en-joys reading and watching movies. Her favorite author is Francine Rivers, but she says she will read almost anything, even cereal boxes! This is Mrs. Palmer’s 19th year at Westminster. She started as a 1st grade teach-er. She misses teaching, but loves working in high school. Mrs. Palmer cares very dearly about every student at Westmin-ster. She wants all of us to know what a great school we attend. If there is one thing to ask of stu-

dents, she would ask for more school spirit. Also, she would love to hear opinions on what we want the school to be like. Mrs. Palmer encourages all of us to be involved; be on a sports team, be in a club, go out for the play. Just be involved. It will make you a healthier person and make

us a stronger school. Looking back, Mrs. Palmer said she was not very involved in her high school, so, speaking from experience, she strongly encourages us to make our high school years memorable.

The dynamic duo: married and co-working has never been this fun

Senior Alivia DeHaan’s thrift finds.

Thrift store purse for only $4!

Mrs. Palmer happily works in her office.

Mr. Rick Palmer ponders life.

“At the beginning of her career, she was a true country gal, but now she has molded and con-formed into what sells,” senior Megan McDonaugh states while giving her opinion about Taylor Swift. In 2006, when her first single “Our Song” came out, I definitely thought she was the next big coun-try singer. Since she started her singing career in Nashville, her first album that came out was a hit in the country genre. Almost every song on the first album has that country feel to it: the south-ern accent with banjo playing in the background. Receiving a Best New Artist Nomination at the 2008 Grammy Awards, her fame skyrocketed.

Ever since the be-ginning, Taylor has written her own songs about her ex-periences as a teen-ager and as a young adult, so it’s no won-der that her songs change through-out her different

albums. Her music has turned into more cross-overs, which are pop songs with country elements. In my opinion, Taylor has grown into more of a pop singer than a country one. The real “definition” of a country singer would be one who was born and raised in the south and has definite “country-truck ridin’ mama’s good cookin’, hometown” feel to it. As Taylor has grown way more popular than she

ever imagined, she has been influenced by different worlds besides Nashville. She wants to write songs that will please everyone, but I think that her new album Red is definitely more pop than anything. Overall, Taylor has conformed into pop from coun-try, but that shouldn’t turn people away from her great music just because she has been nominated in more than one genre. Taylor writes every one of her songs, and that right there should be more inspiring than whether or not her lyrics reflect country or pop.

T-Swift: Country or Pop?

The saga might have ended, but Twi-Hard fans will remember this film forever. Break-ing Dawn: Part 2 ended the successful se-

ries with a bang. Twilight fans will love the movie if they haven’t already gone to see it on opening day. The movie grossed at $71.2 million on opening day. The final film has to be the best in the series. The only problem

was that people who have not seen a single Twilight movie would not like it as much as Twi-Hards would. Only fans who have seen

every movie would really like this movie to its full potential. Now, I have read the Twilight series be-fore the movies came out, and I have seen every movie, so maybe that is why I liked the movie so much. It had, surprisingly, lots of action, including a full 10 min fight scene which kept everyone in the theater on the edge of their seats. And, of course, it also had a lot of drama and romance for the ladies. Director Bill Condon

stayed true to the books written by Stepha-nie Meyer. On a rating of 1 to 5 stars, I give it a 4. It was well filmed and way better than the prequels. Jared Miller, who hated the first movie, said, “It was pretty epic.”

page 6entertainment

Duck Dynasty brings laughs, lacks maturity

Can you find a show nowadays on T.V. that is godly, appropriate, and does not have too much foul language? It is awfully hard to find one. If you find an appropriate show, it is usu-ally found on Discovery Channel or Animal Planet. My point is, there are hardly any shows that are both appropriate and entertaining - until now. Duck Dynasty is a recent-ly made comedy show. It comes on every Wednesday on A&E, and it has already made its second season. It is about a multi-millionaire family that started a busi-ness called Duck Com-mander, founded by Phil (Willie’s father) and Si Rob-ertson. Willie Robertson, the CEO of the company, has his brothers, Jase, Jep, and his uncle, Si, as his employees. Then, there is Martin and Godwin, the other employees that are currently in the show who work for Willie. The Robertsons first started with sell-ing hand-crafted duck-calling devices and decoys. The company grew rapidly, and now they own multiple factories and have numerous employees working for them. I would recommend this show to some peo-

ple because it fits all of the criteria; it is god-ly, appropriate, and there is minimal foul lan-guage. First, it is definitely godly because of the sight of the family praying over their food before supper. It is appropriate with no vio-lence, no unneeded drama, and no immodest clothing. Lastly, although there is some foul language, it is considered appropriate com-

pared to most modern day comedy shows. Sophomore Tyler Mamrot said, “It is a de-cent comedy show. And it is very funny.” Michael Sleet-ing recommended this show by commenting, “It shows what quality American is.” I would not recommend this show to people who are not a big fan of laid back Southern comedy. Person-ally, Duck Dynasty would not be my first choice if I had to pick the funni-

est show. Two out of three times, the show is either very slow moving or it is a waste of time. The only times I watch this child-ish show is because it has a good meaning at the end of every single episode. One of them had the meaning of being true to one another. I will conclude this tv show review with a bit of advice; it is absolutely your choice to be in love with it or completely despise it. It is up to you.

Twilight finale booms, Twi-Hards rejoice

page 7 sports

How much would you sacrifice for some-thing you love? This year’s basketball team has sacrificed time, social life, and a lot of sleep to endure the most demanding season of all West-minster’s sports. When asked how demanding the sport truly is, players rated it on a scale of 7-10. Hard work is a top priority for WCS basketball, and the men on this team give 110% to be a part of this satisfying team sport. An estimated 12-18 hours a week are given up, and practice and games take up all weekdays. Even morning prac-tices are scheduled; the guys get up as early as 4a.m! Players give up special occa-sions, but it all pays off in the end. Sammy Carani says, “I have missed a couple of family gatherings over the years, but come on…it’s basketball!” The love for the sport and each other makes all the hard work worth it. The boys learn many life lessons that give val-ue to their future. Coach Firchau finds teaching the boys basketball is truly a gift to his own life. He loves to give the guys lessons that are im-

portant and that will influence their character. Some life lessons that are taught and exercised through basketball are: time management, commitment, responsibility, respect, selfless-ness, and much more. But to endure the long and draining season of basketball, motivation is key to get through to the end. For all players, motivation comes differently. It is the combina-

tion of Wil Woodhouse’s pas-sion for the game and his de-sire to play college ball that pushes him to work harder. His teammates push him to work hard and he returns the favor. Aaron Wiewel ex-presses that his motivation comes from his teammates and from “those who have sacrificed time, money, and effort to send me to a school where I can play basketball.” Colin Brandon’s motivation comes from the potential he would like to reach. He de-sires to become the best he can be along with helping the team improve, which makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Basketball is truly a gift to both the players and coaches. They all sacrifice 5 months a year to be involved in something they love. Play-ers see basketball as a memory worth the work they invest. They work extremely hard and give all they have to become not only excep-tional basketball players, but godly young men.

Boys’ Basketball: Men with commitment

page 6

NHL, end the lockout!

For the Hodge family, we would usually be spending our nights sitting around togeth-er, decked out in our Black Hawks apparel, screaming and cheering for our favorite play-ers. But, for many families, including my own, our year is going to be very different. How will this winter be spent without hockey? What will we do with our late weeknights? Cory Hodge, a former student at WSC, de-scribes the current NHL lockout: “It is dumb… I don’t understand why the players and owners can’t get along, and settle on an agreement.” We knew this was going to happen. A lockout with no foreseeable ending would mean a lot of the NHL’s talent would be moving on to other leagues. We know that a lot of talented young players will probably head back to the AHL or the OHL. A lot of the top tal-ent, however, will very likely look to the leagues in Europe as a way to keep their edge and to earn a paycheck. Boston Bruins defenseman, Andrew Ference, played in the Czech Republic during the 2004-05 lockouts. Ference explained his thinking about setting up his plan B: “I have to. When I look back at last time, I feel like the guys who didn’t play and didn’t keep sharp definitely lost a step. I think everybody’s still eyeballing this thing as optimistically as possible and still preparing to play and hopefully the sooner the better. But if it starts stretching out, you can practice for only so long. You want to get into some games and play and stay competitive and keep working on your game. It’s hard to do when you’re just scrimmaging and practicing.” The cause of the NHL lockout is due to the lack of money flowing from players to the owners. Some players have already packed their bags and sprinted to the airport. Boston Bruins back-up goalie, Anton Khudobin, announced that he will be spending the season in Russia. David Krecji is contemplating a similar move to the Czech Republic. Dennis Seidenberg could go play in Germany with his brother. I know these men have lives and take their careers seriously. By having them all leave, it makes the possibil-ity of this being a season-killer all the more real.

Senior Aaron Wiewel going up for lay-up.

Girls’ Basketball (continued from page 1)year, Coach Flickinger says the team’s lineup will change, and that the team is going to be more of a pressure-driven team, which also means the team is going to be faster than it

was before. Another important aspect of the girls’ basketball team is the recent addition of fresh-man Maddie Ver-sylus. “Maddie is a natural basketball player; the way she plays is not what you’d expect from

a freshman. So we’ll be using her a lot in the post, as well as defending in the front row press,” says Flickinger. The games at Sand-wich and Big Rock were credited primarily to the team’s defense. Coach states, “Our goal is to be the best defensive team in the area.”

When asking basketball players McKaila Hays, Elizabeth Atchison, Claire Speweik, and Emma Anderson what the best part about being on the team is, the players responded, “The bonds we form, the teamwork that de-velops during games and the encouragement of each other both on and off the court.” With several weeks of practice and future games still to come, the team ultimately hopes to compete in this year’s State Championships.

McKaila Hayes makes lay-up.

page 8opinion

Once a month, the seniors are given the privilege of having lunch off campus. The students sign out at the front desk, then drive to whichever destination they choose, as long as they are back at school within the one hour time frame.The off-campus lunches give us a chance to get away from school for a bit

and have a good time with friends. Needless to say, the break from homemade or hot lunches is a plus. Some of the hot spots are Chipotle, Noodles & Company, and Panda Express. A quick run to McDonalds or Taco Bell is a possibility as well.

I am sure I speak for many seniors when I say how much we would appreciate more off-campus lunches. I could go on to say how a longer lunch pe-riod would be nice as well, but that is a different story. Multiple pub-lic schools have a whole period for lunch, and, in addition, have off-campus lunch every day for not only seniors, but for anyone who can drive.

However, I am very thankful that we have off-campus lunch at all. The lunches are something to look forward to every month. Perhaps the very rea-son we look forward to them is be-cause we only have them once a month. Regardless of how I or any other se-nior may feel, we are privileged to have off-campus lunch here at Westminster.

Seniors appreciate off-campus lunch, remembering privilege StafF

Seniors Nick Norden, Colton Wiethorn, Luke Nowa-kowski, Michael Sleeting, and Liz Farwell at Chipotle.

Student jobs (continued from page 4)

On November 9th, Michael Sleet-ing helped organized a Veterans Day breakfast at Elgin Country Club. This event was sponsored by BCS Private, the company Mr. Sleeting works for. Michael was given the opportunity to organize this event with the help of his father. On this occasion, Michael gave a touching excerpt from Ronald Rea-gan’s Veterans Day speech to about 50 veterans and their families. Mi-chael described the event as a somber,

patriotic assembly that he is proud of organizing and participating in. On the following Monday, Westminster put on its third annual Veterans Day assembly. Mr. Bruce Firchau spoke on the inspirational life of Louis Zamperini, an Olym-pic athlete who later became a prisoner of war in World War II. After Mr. Fichau’s speech, Mi-chael showed his patriotic colors again by giving another speech on the history on Veterans Day. Blues and Barbers were also in-

volved with both Veterans Day events by singing the National Anthem.

Veterans Day recognized, Sleeting organizes breakfast

Seniors enjoying lunch at Steak and Shake.

Veterans talking with Superintendent Bertsche.

Caribou Coffee. Getting your own pay check frees you from asking your par-ents for money, and starts getting you ready for the real world. Guge and De-Haan, and many others, be-lieve that the pros outweigh the cons of high school jobs. Although they don’t have much free time, when they are free, they are able to do a lot more with their profit.So, you may be wonder-ing, “Where are some good places to work?” Well, right here at Westminster, we have some pretty in-

teresting student jobs! Depending on what you want to do, you could work

anywhere from your favorite cloth-ing store, to a delicious restaurant! It may seem as if there are not a lot of opportunities for students to work, but there actually are tons! For example, DeShawn Bloom recently got a job at Portillos, Libbie Atchison throws birth-day parties at Sharkies Cuts for Kids, and Josh Brehm, Luke Nowakowski, Melissa Kees, and Cassidy Finnegan work at Santa’s Village Azoosment Park! If you don’t know where to start, just pick up an application from your favorite store, and apply! It’s just that simple! There are a lot of fun, easy jobs out there that will get you some quick moola and freedom from your ‘rents!Junior Cassidy Finnegan with customer, Mr. Sevey.