January 2010
Monthly Archive
By Hannah Lawson
Amp writer
Incredible athletes of the future are walking our very own high school halls. It’s in the teen years that they develop a strong passion and ability for their chosen sport. Even those athletes who will not compete in later years will undoubtedly develop lifelong skills.
Local teen Matthew Behr walks the halls of Francis Howell High School. He’s been competing in wrestling for two years now, the first year on freshman and Junior Varsity. For his second year of competition, he’s made it all the way to Varsity, though still only in his sophomore year.
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Tags: Francis Howell High School, Hannah Lawson, Matthew Behr, wrestling
By Evan Loveless
Amp writer
Most teenagers can tell you what a recession is, especially now since we’ve been going through one for the last few years. They probably could also tell you about how their family is affected and maybe even what caused it.
But some people are affected by the recession more than others. Some kids’ parents are part of the 15 million Americans or 10 percent of the country’s workforce that are unemployed. I am one of those teenagers who is part of a family that went from financially stable to just trying to make ends meet.
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Tags: Evan Loveless, recession
Even if you’re not to the point of having to make a college decision yet, your whole high school career is going to pretty much point you in that direction. Especially for upper classmen, every step along the way is just going to remind you that you’ve got a decision to make: which college to attend and what to major in. One of the major factors in picking a particular college is obviously location, location, location.
Community colleges offer a more affordable experience without having to live in dorms. Family and friends are still nearby; you may choose to live at home while attending. You may also keep your same job, if this is a factor for you.
Xantiana Clouse, 19, is a St. Peters resident who is attending St. Charles Community College, also known as SCCC. She lists her reasons for choosing this college: because it’s cheap, because it’s useful to get your core classes out of the way, and because it’s close to home. Clouse says that many other students share her reasons for attending.
“The atmosphere is great, and classes, I like most of the time. The teachers on the other hand I’m not a big fan of,” Clouse admits.
Clouse says it would be a little different if she was attending a four year college, “I would be living on campus, and probably be a lot busier and be tempted with a lot more partying and stuff.” Clouse plans to finish her education at this college, and says that “most of the time,” she’s glad she made the choice to go to SCCC.
Isaac White, a homeschooled junior, is dual enrolled at SCCC. His view is this: “I think it’s a great option; as opposed to our usual setting of home education, the college allows one to experience outside classes on a larger scale.”
White sums up his reasons for attending SCCC: “In a sense, I’m using it as both a means of learning how to study in the college atmosphere, and to get some freshman classes out of the way before I graduate.”
Being at a community college is unique, according to White. He says, “Because I’m on campus so little, I can’t say I’ve been able to have the full impact of the college life, but it has given me a taste for the amount of work that’s expected when I do graduate.”
And it’s been a good choice overall for both students. “Other than a few difficulties enrolling, I have greatly admired being around a few brilliant minds,” says White of his college experience.
A cold, dreary Friday; 9,020 people from all over St. Charles and St. Louis; and eight bands putting on their first show of the weekend. It all adds up to another great Winterjam experience- it was Winterjam 2010. The doors of the family arena opened at about six; there was a rush to pay at the door and a sprint for seats; the show went on till after eleven. During one performance, giant, confetti-filled balloons showered the crowd, many of whom opted for the crammed standing space rather than seats. Tony Nolan, Winterjam’s touring pastor, gave a great invitation. The program promoted Holt International, an adoption agency, and saw many homeless children supported by the end of the night.
Winterjam was a bit different this year. The Newsboys were one of the main groups; they’ve been around for a while and are very well-liked. They began their segment with the crowd pleaser, “I’ve Gotta Feeling”. As good as their performance was, I didn’t see the crowd react to them the same way they got excited for TobyMac last year. Toby Mac had everybody out of their seats and dancing. There were plenty of people dancing along this year, but the energy wasn’t quite the same. That said, I think the Newsboys did a fantastic job, and their introduction was quite a pleasant surprise. They even covered an ever popular song of TobyMac’s- “Jesus Freak.”
Down on the floor area, there were just a few reserved seats and then standing room for anyone who was up for it. Last year that space held the most coveted seats. Since no one was aware of the change, my group and many other people just stood on the floor looking confused after coming in. Hence, the seats we claimed didn’t have quite as good a view of the stage as in previous years, but we spent the majority of our time standing on the floor anyways.
I have to say that my personal favorite band was Tenth Avenue North. I’ve really enjoyed their music and wished they would have played more than just their three most popular songs. I still enjoyed their time on the stage, however.
Revive and Fireflight, two smaller groups, opened the show. They both put on good shows to open up for the bigger artists. Robert Pierre, a single artist of only seventeen, who I had never heard of before, was fairly impressive; he had a nice voice and good stage presence. The lesser known artists aren’t as good at exciting the crowd, obviously, but still provide a good show. I appreciate Winterjam’s introductions to these artists who may be otherwise passed by for a more popular group.
Third Day played quite a few songs and was greatly welcomed by the crowd. The lead singer made a few mistakes in his performance and comically began to instruct the audience on what not to do as a lead singer of a band. Their songs “Rockstar” and “Revelation” were met with cheering, jumping and singing along.
Newsong, the hosting group, didn’t seem to have quite as much stage time as last year. It was still good to hear them, however, in the midst of the new artists.
Aside from the music, there were plenty of people purchasing t-shirts and cds- typical concert merchandise- and plenty committing to something else- the sponsorship of a child. Holt International was featuring orphans who needed sponsors, and quite a few people were moved to do just that. When I walked over to the information table with my group, it was packed with people looking to sponsor a child. The sight of such a number of people willing to help those children was moving in of itself.
St. Charles was just the first stop of the weekend, as the Winterjam tour went on to visit Champaign, drawing 9,552 people, and Des Moines, for a crowd of 8,210. And it doesn’t end this year; they’ll be back. Each year is a new experience.
Francis Howell High School senior Megan O'Toole works at Renaud Spirit Center in O'Fallon as a work program participant.
By Evan Loveless
Amp writer
At the beginning of their senior year, local high school students have an opportunity to attend only a half day of school. While other students remain in class, these students are allowed to leave and attend college or work a job.
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Tags: dual enrollment, Evan Loveless, Francis Howell High School, Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles Community College, work programs
By Hannah Lawson
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