“The idea to change around after Prom was good, but not a lot of people were there.” said senior Nicole Silvernell.

“It was pretty fun- just not as good as last year.” senior Bekah Crouch added.

As would be expected, after Prom included food and raffle prizes. Among the prizes were a TV, an iPod touch, a microwave, and a laptop. Subway sandwiches were provided as well as nachos, hot dogs, and soda.

“I was like running constantly. We play one part then reset and play it again,” senior Samantha Alberts said.

The drum line practices twice a week to work on their show for the competitions they and sometimes only work on a certain section of the piece for most practice. When the competitions roll around the drum line show up early to run through the show a couple of times, load the buses up with their instruments and head off for their competition.

Once they arrive, they unload the bus and wait until they can go to the practice rooms. Once they finish practicing they go to the gym and wait until they perform. When they finish performing, they then load the buses and head back to wait for the results.

Last year the drum line played “Spanish Fantasy,” but the piece this year has proven to be more successful. On Saturday, Feb. 27 they competed in the Greenfield competition and finished with a third place trophy. They received their highest score going into preliminaries with a 76.35.

“It is awesome. I really like it even though it can be hard at times,” sophomore Kegan Anderson said.

The drum line will compete in preliminaries at Avon High School March 13.

Sophomore Aubrey Kluth swims the freestyle during practice. The girls' swim team competed in the State competition Feb. 13.

They’re possibly the most committed athletes on the planet. They arrive at school at ungodly hours of the morning – only to plunge into the icy waters of the natatorium. They never have to buy perfume because they’d rather get eaux de chlorine for free. They’re the swimmers – the ladies who sport hydrodynamic swimsuits and “bust theirs to beat yours.”

After a dazzling performance by many a swimmer and diver at sectionals, seniors and captains Audrey Welklin and Meghan Potee; juniors Marley Cripe and Katie Bittner; sophomores Michelle Hance, Cora Meeham, Aubrey Kluth, and Claire Brolsma; and freshmen Katie Horn and Heather Hayes, qualified to compete at the 2010 IHSAA Girls State Swimming Finals held on February 12 and 13. There, the girls swam their way to number eight, thanks to a hard team effort – including Potee’s first place in 1 Meter Diving and Welklin’s inexhaustible endurance used to swim the most yardage one can at a meet (which means the 200 Yard Freestyle, the 500 Yard Freestyle, the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay, and the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay).

Although the team had hoped to rank in the top five – especially since the number two spot was up for grabs – they placed eighth with 88 points, behind the infamous Greyhounds, who championed their twenty-fourth state title with a sweeping 419 points – a whole 232.5 points ahead of Center Grove’s second place spot (ihsaa.org).

Despite the disappointment at state, Welklin said, “The overall season was, really, pretty good. I’m proud of my girls.”

Indeed, the season proved to be rather successful, highlights including the team’s second at the Carmel’s Sectional and the smashing of two school records, provided by Meehan (100 Yard Back) and Hayes (100 Breast Stroke).

And just as the swimmers taper before a meet, the swim now season tapers to a close – yet, not entirely. Noblesville Swim Club resumes directly after school swimming takes its bow, proving once again just how dedicated these athletes are.

But remember, no matter how crazy they may seem, the swimmers’ hard work pays off, and through daily practices, they become something of a family. Hance has enjoyed her time in the pool and said, “It’s really fun to participate.”

“Student government usually likes to donate money to good causes. It was a great way to get people to the dance and donate at the same time,” student body president Luke Hoffman said.

“The Student Government decided without input from me to donate proceeds from the dance to Haiti relief. I entirely support their decision. Given the great need, and our ability to give, I think these are very commendable actions for our students to take,” principal Annetta Petty said.

The theme of the dance this year was Red Carpet, which meant students could choose dress like their favorite celebrities. Instead of the usual dance location of the gym, winter formal took place in the Commons, junior Abby Floyd said.

According to junior Claire Gawaluck, there weren’t a lot of people at the dance.
“The dance was okay,” Gawaluck said. “But it was a good idea to send the money to Haiti.”

Sophomore Whitney Cummins also agreed with Gawaluck.

It was pretty good. There were a bunch of kids dressed like old people, which made my day,” Cummins said.

“I really like how the money went to Haiti,” Floyd added. “I didn’t stay very long, but that was okay because I knew where the money was going. They deserve it more than I do.”

Proceeds from the winter dance were donated to Unicef, which is dedicated to work for children’s rights, according to www.unicef.org.

photo by P. Davis

A break in the norm occurred last Friday at Noblesville High School, when an unknown person called in a bomb threat on the school.

As soon as the school was informed of the call it issued a code green (code green is an immediate evacuation of the building). “The students left the building in an organized and professional manner,” Principal Annetta Petty announced to the student body on Monday morning.

Students who drove to school waited in the parking lot for further instructions, while bus riders and other students without their own form of transportation boarded buses and were transported to either Noblesville Middle School or White River Elementary.

Police were brought in from nearby counties and from the state department.  As K9 units were being transported to the scene, a pre-recorded message was sent out to the parents of all high school students. The message relayed information that the high school students would not have school and that elementary buses would be running behind due to transportation needs for the high school.

The school parking lot quickly emptied as news crews and K9 units arrived. The authorities did not find any sort of explosive within the school.

On Monday morning, students were notified of the seriousness of the threat. According to Petty the crime was a Class-D felony, which consists of expulsion, up to three years in prison, up to $10,000 in fines, and thousands more for police and other responders for used up resources.

“I got to school at 7:15, and the first thing I noticed was that the doors were all crowded. I just started asking around, and I first heard there was a gas leak, and then I found out about the bomb threat,” junior Connor Feeney said. “I didn’t think there was good communication going on because no one really knew what to do.”

Feeney was not the only confused student. “I wish there was an easier way to communicate what was going on to the students. They did the best they could, but I wish there was more, because once I was at the middle school, I was not informed of anything at all. At least they told us when to go home,” Senior Katie DeBoy said.

“It was the time of the day that made our response the toughest. Being before school, we could not function as well,” Assistant Principal Dan Swafford said.

“The time, the weather, the fact that we were being informed as well, and the pace at which we were being informed all affected the outcome of Friday. We could not release information unless we knew it was 100 percent true, not just partially true,” Assistant Principal Jeffrey Bryant said.

A: Any mechanical or weather related condition that jeopardizes the safety of
students either on the way to school or when they get there.

Q: What qualifies as a reason for canceling school?

A: Any mechanical problem (like the broken gas line at Forest Hill this week-end
or if a school has no water or electricity) that makes it unsafe, uncomfortable,
or unhealthy for children to be in a building; any weather related hazard that
jeopardizes the safety of students to or from school.

Q: How many days are allotted for 2 hour delays? Canceling school?

A: There are no limits to how many days in a year we can delay two hours, but for
cancellations, we have to go to school 180 days. So if there are no extra days
built into the calendar, then a canceled day has to be made up. In our case, we
will now have to come to school on President’s Day because we missed a day last
week. If we have to cancel any more days, we will have to make them up at the
end of the year. So there’s no limit on the actual number of days school can be
canceled, but we have to have school 180 days.

Q: Are you required to meet with anyone to discuss whether or not to delay/close
school?

A: I am not. However, this is a very important decision that affects nearly 9,000
students and 900 employees, so I don’t make it without consulting several
people. I begin talking early in the morning (4:30 a.m.) to The assistant
superintendent, Dr. Atha; the Director of maintenance, Mr; Wallace (who drives
the roads); the Director of Transportation, Mr Gadberry (who drives the roads);
and all Hamilton County Superintendents.

Q: How much time before school begins must you call off/delay school?

A: There is no set time, but it has to be before buses leave the garage. So, that’s prior to 6:10 a.m. I like making the decision by 5:30, however. Same concept for a delay that’s then cancelled – 8:10 a.m.

Q: Do you base your decision on whether or not to call off/delay school on other
schools and whether or not they delay/close school?

A: First of all I look at our district conditions. That has to drive my decision.
I talk with the other superintendents, and we know what each other are doing, because we
each receive complaints (no matter what the decision) and those are worse if
neighboring districts don’t make the same decisions.  The ones I am most
interested in are Westfield and HSE. I always talk to Carmel, but they are
farther south and do not always have as poor road conditions as we do.

This past decade began with a thunderous shot heard around the world. The United States was attacked on September 11, 2001, in a way that many people could have never imagined. A group of terrorists hijacked and crashed four planes out of U.S. airports on this day. Two crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and one crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers of the plane attempted to retake the aircraft.

This catastrophic event triggered a major war that is still affecting a large part of the world today.

“War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing,” former president George Bush said during a post-9/11 press conference.

But the world has not seen the end of this war. It has lasted through the passing of the decade, and it is expected to continue for years to come.

On Monday, April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho, a disgruntled student at Virginia Tech University, broke into classrooms on the campus and opened fire on students and teachers. He shot and killed 32 people and injured 25 more before turning the gun on himself and ending the massacre.

The disasters that our nation has seen have not only come from human actions but also from natural causes. Natural disasters have also shaped the way that people have lived and adapted throughout the last decade.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast, and left New Orleans in ruins. It took years for the city to be revived and get back to the point where it once was.

The last decade was not only a decade of terror and of hardship though. It was also a time of monumental performances and feats from African Americans.

In 2007, Tony Dungy became the first African American football coach to win the Super Bowl, after 40 previous years of the game.

On a worldwide scale, in 2008, Barack Obama was elected the first African American President of the United States, after over 219 years of previous elections. Both of these accomplishments showed the advancements in our civilization in this decade, and how far we have come since the times of slavery and oppression.

The last decade has been full of terror, resilience, and pride. Throughout all of these events, we have maintained our standing in the world, and we have lived…the American way.

Photo from http://upload.wikimedia.org