by Dillon Cooper
There are many new faces walking the sidelines wearing Pittsford Blue, from volleyball to football to basketball, and everywhere in between.
Mr. Curtis, who is a geometry and Algebra II teacher, will be the 7th grade boys basketball coach in the winter here in Pittsford. Mr. Curtis said that this is the first time in 18 years that he will be coaching basketball, though he does have varsity experience. Mr. Curtis definitely realizes that there will be a hurdle to jump over in his quest to be a great coach and teach J.H. basketball players the key fundamentals that will lead them to a very productive season in Mr. Curtis’s mind.
Mr. Burger is the Defensive Coordinator for the Wildcats’ great varsity football team after being the JV coach for a while. He is looking forward to the rest of the season. “I am just learning as much as I can about the system and how Mr. Clement coaches his team,” Burger said. Mr. Burger realizes that there are many challenges to his job, also. “This is a bigger challenge, and is more difficult, but also exciting, too,” said Mr. Burger. When the spot came open due to Mr. Cook’s being hired as high school principal, it didn’t take long for Mr. Burger to decide whether he wanted to apply for the open position. “Varsity is the pinnacle and it’s where every coach wants to be… there is nothing like a Friday night football game!”
Mrs. Clement and Mrs. Saunders are the new junior high volleyball coaches. Mrs. Clement is teaching the fundamentals and getting to know how the players are. “There is a lot to teach at the junior high level. There is even more time needed to coach the girls and it is very challenging to work with the girls individually,” explained Mrs. Clement. This is the first time Mrs. Clement has coached a sport, ever. She had always wanted to get involved with a sport after school. This isn’t Mrs. Saunders’ first rodeo, however, as she has been a coach in Jackson teaching volleyball. The biggest challenge that Mrs. Saunders is going to have to overcome is that she has to teach the fundamentals of the game to the girls. “Because we don’t have a fifth grade volleyball team or a sixth grade volleyball team most of the girls have a hard time doing some of the skills you need, because they have never been taught this before,” explained Mrs. Saunders. Mrs. Saunders loves working with her girls and teaching them the mechanics that they will need in the future when they get older and move up in the next levels.
Mr. Clark is the new J.V. football coach and Offensive Coordinator here at Pittsford High School. Last year Mr. Clark was the head coach and Offensive Coordinator for the junior high football team. Mr. Clark took this job offer because he loves football and there is definitely a much greater intensity and level of physicality on the JV level opposed to the Jr. High level. Mr. Clark will continue to be a coach here until he loses his drive, passion and enthusiasm about the game he loves.
There are many new faces new places for the Pittsford Wildcats. Coaching any sport at any level is a challenge especially if you are a newcomer and these coaches acknowledge this. There is no doubt that they will do their best to make sure that the players can reach their potential and play the best game that they can play!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Response Intervention popular in the elementary
by Shelby Strang
The elementary has started a new program for grades K-8 called Response Intervention. This is a program for children who struggle in the language arts department.
Every child is given the DIBELS assessment three times a year. The score from this test identifies specific learning deficits (phonemic awareness and phonics). Elementary principal Mr. Shaw believes this is a good program for children because it “attacks” the problem with reading and helps practice vowels. This is more beneficial to the kids than what was already in place. “Thankfully, it replaces the previous system of identifying learning disabilities with the ability-achievement discrepancy model, which requires children to exhibit a severe discrepancy between their IQ and academic achievement as measured by standardizing test,” said response intervention teacher Mrs. Duvall.
Mrs. Duvall uses some techniques to help the younger kids sound out the letters of the alphabet and sound out words. She makes them stretch out the word and as they sound it out they have to write it on the board of how it sounds. They also learn to make sentences. Some students of Mrs. Duvall’s class really get into the learning of the alphabet and sounding their words. One student says he really likes it rather than his other classes.
In this intervention they use phonics to help children read. Phonics is a method for teaching children to read English. It is also used to teach them to blend the sounds of letter together to make words that may be unknown to them. Mrs. Duvall also uses Phonemic Awareness, which help recognize the common sounds that different words make. The program also improves the child’s reading comprehension and helps them spell. The goal of the intervention is to find out what specific problem each child has with reading and get them back to grade level reading by the end of the year. If they can’t get the child back to the reading level with their grade they will use “Biologically-based learning disabilities” which basically means that the child would need special education in the future. “With RTI we can provide intervention as soon as children exhibit difficulty, instead of waiting for them to fail,” says Mrs. Duvall.
The elementary has started a new program for grades K-8 called Response Intervention. This is a program for children who struggle in the language arts department.
Every child is given the DIBELS assessment three times a year. The score from this test identifies specific learning deficits (phonemic awareness and phonics). Elementary principal Mr. Shaw believes this is a good program for children because it “attacks” the problem with reading and helps practice vowels. This is more beneficial to the kids than what was already in place. “Thankfully, it replaces the previous system of identifying learning disabilities with the ability-achievement discrepancy model, which requires children to exhibit a severe discrepancy between their IQ and academic achievement as measured by standardizing test,” said response intervention teacher Mrs. Duvall.
Mrs. Duvall uses some techniques to help the younger kids sound out the letters of the alphabet and sound out words. She makes them stretch out the word and as they sound it out they have to write it on the board of how it sounds. They also learn to make sentences. Some students of Mrs. Duvall’s class really get into the learning of the alphabet and sounding their words. One student says he really likes it rather than his other classes.
In this intervention they use phonics to help children read. Phonics is a method for teaching children to read English. It is also used to teach them to blend the sounds of letter together to make words that may be unknown to them. Mrs. Duvall also uses Phonemic Awareness, which help recognize the common sounds that different words make. The program also improves the child’s reading comprehension and helps them spell. The goal of the intervention is to find out what specific problem each child has with reading and get them back to grade level reading by the end of the year. If they can’t get the child back to the reading level with their grade they will use “Biologically-based learning disabilities” which basically means that the child would need special education in the future. “With RTI we can provide intervention as soon as children exhibit difficulty, instead of waiting for them to fail,” says Mrs. Duvall.
JV volleyball team showing improvement
by Chelsie Darrow
The start of the J.V season has been a bit off. They have won one game it was against Burr Oak. Sophomore Heather Mason gave us her view on why she thought we won. “I think we won because we worked well as a team together,” said Heather. This year all the games have been really close. The whole team has worked really hard. With a little more work we could see all wins! We are looking forward to that in future games.
The game against Hillsdale Academy was pretty close, but unfortunately we lost. Sophomore Keely Sanders thinks its time the Ladycat team had some renovations. “We have room for improvements, but we basically just need to work together and learn to set it up. Our problem is we don’t think before we act. We need to be smart and make good passes to the setter,” explained Keely.
The J.V team had a tournament on Saturday, September 20. The tournament was at Hudson, and Pittsford played many schools that we normally don’t play. We did pretty well considering the opponents that we were up against. We won 2 out of four games, and they were all really close; the whole team worked very hard.
The J.V team played North Adams on Thursday, September 25. It was a very intense game with North Adams winning the first, Pittsford winning the second, and North Adams taking the third game for the win. Sophomore Jade Smith expresses her thoughts on the loss to North Adams. “I think that we all worked really hard in all 3 games, we were all talking and trying our hardest, but we needed to get our serves in, and make smart choices and that’s what cost us the game. We can only get better though!” exclaimed Jade.
The start of the J.V season has been a bit off. They have won one game it was against Burr Oak. Sophomore Heather Mason gave us her view on why she thought we won. “I think we won because we worked well as a team together,” said Heather. This year all the games have been really close. The whole team has worked really hard. With a little more work we could see all wins! We are looking forward to that in future games.
The game against Hillsdale Academy was pretty close, but unfortunately we lost. Sophomore Keely Sanders thinks its time the Ladycat team had some renovations. “We have room for improvements, but we basically just need to work together and learn to set it up. Our problem is we don’t think before we act. We need to be smart and make good passes to the setter,” explained Keely.
The J.V team had a tournament on Saturday, September 20. The tournament was at Hudson, and Pittsford played many schools that we normally don’t play. We did pretty well considering the opponents that we were up against. We won 2 out of four games, and they were all really close; the whole team worked very hard.
The J.V team played North Adams on Thursday, September 25. It was a very intense game with North Adams winning the first, Pittsford winning the second, and North Adams taking the third game for the win. Sophomore Jade Smith expresses her thoughts on the loss to North Adams. “I think that we all worked really hard in all 3 games, we were all talking and trying our hardest, but we needed to get our serves in, and make smart choices and that’s what cost us the game. We can only get better though!” exclaimed Jade.
Varsity volleyball trying to collect victories
by Braily Lee
For the first game of the season the Ladycats took on the Waldron Spartans and were victorious, winning 25-18, 25-18, and 25-12. Junior Katelyn Kipfmiller had a total of 13 kills while junior Sam Nichols had a total of 19 serves for the three games. Junior Nicole Culbert credits teamwork for the victory. “We beat Waldron because we played well together and communicated really well.”
The second game of the season was a sad one for the Ladycats when the Rangers in 3 of 5 games, 28-26 Pittsford, 25-15 Reading, 27-25 Pittsford, 25-16 Reading, and 15-1 Reading defeated them. Junior Brittney Houser had a total of 11 kills, and Kipfmiller had a total of 14 kills and 21serves for the Ladycats. Kipfmiller states that the overall tactics during the game could have been better. “We didn’t play our hardest and we could have had better defense all the way,” said Katelyn.
The third game was against Burr Oak and was the second win for the Ladycats this season, 25-22, 25-14, 23-24, and 25-21. “We played well as a team; we had a bit of a struggle during the third game but we pulled through,” praised sophomore Abbie Brackman.
Hillsdale Academy was the fourth team the Ladycats played this season, but to no avail, as they were defeated in both matches 25-21, 25-15 and 25-20, 25-23. Houser had 11 serves for Pittsford. Nichols says, wake up team! You’ve got to be alive and want this! “We could have, if we would have woke up more, because it was kind of like we were dead, like we didn’t want to play, so I figure if we were wanting to play we could’ve done a lot better. Our passes were off and that made for bad sets by me which made for bad sets for the hitters so overall we didn’t do very well,” explained Sam.
Our Ladycats attended a tournament in Onsted and won 2 out of 4 games. Junior Ashley Buckner thinks the team’s attitude was key to their wins. “We worked as a team and had a high energy level,” said Ashley.The Ladycats traveled to the home of the Tekonsha Indians and returned home victorious. Junior Kayla Clark applauds the team’s communication. “I think we did well on communicating with each other while playing,” said Kayla. This leaves the Ladycats season at 3-2.
For the first game of the season the Ladycats took on the Waldron Spartans and were victorious, winning 25-18, 25-18, and 25-12. Junior Katelyn Kipfmiller had a total of 13 kills while junior Sam Nichols had a total of 19 serves for the three games. Junior Nicole Culbert credits teamwork for the victory. “We beat Waldron because we played well together and communicated really well.”
The second game of the season was a sad one for the Ladycats when the Rangers in 3 of 5 games, 28-26 Pittsford, 25-15 Reading, 27-25 Pittsford, 25-16 Reading, and 15-1 Reading defeated them. Junior Brittney Houser had a total of 11 kills, and Kipfmiller had a total of 14 kills and 21serves for the Ladycats. Kipfmiller states that the overall tactics during the game could have been better. “We didn’t play our hardest and we could have had better defense all the way,” said Katelyn.
The third game was against Burr Oak and was the second win for the Ladycats this season, 25-22, 25-14, 23-24, and 25-21. “We played well as a team; we had a bit of a struggle during the third game but we pulled through,” praised sophomore Abbie Brackman.
Hillsdale Academy was the fourth team the Ladycats played this season, but to no avail, as they were defeated in both matches 25-21, 25-15 and 25-20, 25-23. Houser had 11 serves for Pittsford. Nichols says, wake up team! You’ve got to be alive and want this! “We could have, if we would have woke up more, because it was kind of like we were dead, like we didn’t want to play, so I figure if we were wanting to play we could’ve done a lot better. Our passes were off and that made for bad sets by me which made for bad sets for the hitters so overall we didn’t do very well,” explained Sam.
Our Ladycats attended a tournament in Onsted and won 2 out of 4 games. Junior Ashley Buckner thinks the team’s attitude was key to their wins. “We worked as a team and had a high energy level,” said Ashley.The Ladycats traveled to the home of the Tekonsha Indians and returned home victorious. Junior Kayla Clark applauds the team’s communication. “I think we did well on communicating with each other while playing,” said Kayla. This leaves the Ladycats season at 3-2.
PHS the school of choice for new students
by Tommy Verdon
Freshman Jacob Eichler is new to PHS, coming from Hillsdale. Jacob came to Pittsford after finding out that some Hillsdale kids aren’t the friendliest. “I got harassed in Hillsdale by a lot of the kids my three years of Junior High,” said Jacob. Jacob was pretty impressed by the teachers. “They’re good, they’re ok,” said Jacob. He really likes the kids more at PHS than he did at HHS. “Well, a lot of the kids here are nicer than when they were back at Hillsdale,” replied Jacob.
There are many people who have decided to come to Pittsford High School for the 2008-2009 school year and maybe for the rest of their high school career. PHS may not be for everybody, so why did some of the new kids choose to be here?
Freshman Jacob Eichler is new to PHS, coming from Hillsdale. Jacob came to Pittsford after finding out that some Hillsdale kids aren’t the friendliest. “I got harassed in Hillsdale by a lot of the kids my three years of Junior High,” said Jacob. Jacob was pretty impressed by the teachers. “They’re good, they’re ok,” said Jacob. He really likes the kids more at PHS than he did at HHS. “Well, a lot of the kids here are nicer than when they were back at Hillsdale,” replied Jacob.Junior Carley Bruner is also new to PHS. Some of the things that she found out to be different about PHS that she liked about the school was that it is “smaller than 
the last school I went to,” said Carley, who came from Sand Creek. The teachers are one of the things the she has found out to make the classroom experience more enjoyable. “I think it’s more fun; they make it funner for me,” replied Carley. The lunch was one of the many things that she had liked about PHS because it gives her time to talk. The one reason why she decided to come to Pittsford High School was location. “We just moved to the school district and it was the closet school to me,” said Carley.
the last school I went to,” said Carley, who came from Sand Creek. The teachers are one of the things the she has found out to make the classroom experience more enjoyable. “I think it’s more fun; they make it funner for me,” replied Carley. The lunch was one of the many things that she had liked about PHS because it gives her time to talk. The one reason why she decided to come to Pittsford High School was location. “We just moved to the school district and it was the closet school to me,” said Carley.Freshman Aaron Skursky is new this year to Pittsford, coming from Waldron. He was really thrilled that he could get away from his old school. “I really wanted to get away from Waldron,” said Aaron. The teachers really caught his eye when he walked into the classroom. “They’re better than last year,” opined Aaron. He was really excited about the level of football that we play here at PHS. “I definitely like playing football here,” commented Aaron.Hopefully the experiences continue to be good ones for all the students here, new and old.
School clubs making plans and getting organized
Brooke Maxson
It’s a new school year and of course, along with it comes new things going on with our clubs here at Pittsford High School. When it comes to our clubs, we all know they exist, but what a lot of us don’t know is what is planned for this year at this early date.
When we sit down at the beginning of next year and look at all the best memories from this year, we will have the yearbook committee to thank. I spoke with the advisor, Ms. Ervans and she is planning on attending a meeting at the beginning of October, which will fill her in on all of the new ideas other yearbook committee advisors have to offer for this year. Halloween will be here before we know it and the yearbook staff will be selling the candy grams as usual. The members will actually be working on the pages themselves this year after school, which Ms. Ervans thought was a good idea. The rest is up to the meeting she will be attending at the beginning of October.
The National Honor Society will be inducting new members and this year, we also have a new advisor, elementary teacher Mrs. Trish Weaver. Because this is her first year doing this, she is still unsure about a few things, but she is off to a good start. A few ideas for raising money in November/December include raking leaves, holding a cookie dough sale, and participating in Toys for Tots. On January 9 there will be a middle school dance during the game and afterward, there will be a high school dance. The NHS will be holding both. February 7 is the JR. High Quiz Bowl, which NHS will also be helping with. The elementary Quiz Bowl is March 7. The NHS trip hasn’t been decided yet, but it will be discussed in the next meeting with the seniors. The trip will most likely be from March 19-22. As always Memorial Day weekend, they will be helping with the 3-on-3 basketball tournament and at the concession stand.
Near the end of October, it will be time for S.A.D.D to hold Red Ribbon week. This year it will be from October 23rd-31st. Advisor Mrs. Chisolm informed me that right now, a lot of ideas are being formed for activities for this week. Basically, all they have at the current time is ideas that will hopefully turn into a great week. As far as the rest of the year goes, that is still undecided.
This year is very important for the members of the Spanish Club because it’s the last chance they have to raise money for their trip to Peru! The trip will be from June 9-June 16, 2009. Many things are planned to raise money for the trip, including a middle school dance on the 24th of October, and the homecoming dance on January 30th. This is the first opportunity they have ever had to hold the homecoming dance because it’s usually held by the NHS. There will be a candy sale the first week of October and another will most likely take place in February. Sweetest Day flowers will be sold the week of October 17 and delivered on that day. There has been a request for cleaning cloths to be sold again this year around the holidays. The club is also considering having a pie sale. Around the same time, there will also be a show including candles, pampered chef, Lia Sophia, Mary Kay, and Tupperware. The Spanish Club will really be spreading their holiday cheer this year!
The trip to Peru will be taken by 29 people (10 students and 19 adults). Seniors Clark Pelham and Zach Vanlerberg will be going for their 2nd time. This is the 3rd time going on the trip for local couple Chuck and Vicki French and the 2nd time for Brian and Shelly Hoard. The club will be going to Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, and the Amazon. The main attraction is Machu Picchu. According to one website, it is the best Incan archaeological site and it’s #7 on the top 10 list of things to see before you die! They will be staying in the Amazon resort for a couple days and they will be traveling in a motorized canoe. They will also be taking the opportunity to swim in an ox-bow lake. Because of Peru’s high elevation, almost everywhere they will be going will be taken by air besides the train to Machu Picchu. “This will be the first time I’ve been to South America, so I am very excited about this!” said Mrs. Spahr. Let’s help these 29 people have an experience of a lifetime by participating in their sales this year.
It’s a new school year and of course, along with it comes new things going on with our clubs here at Pittsford High School. When it comes to our clubs, we all know they exist, but what a lot of us don’t know is what is planned for this year at this early date.
When we sit down at the beginning of next year and look at all the best memories from this year, we will have the yearbook committee to thank. I spoke with the advisor, Ms. Ervans and she is planning on attending a meeting at the beginning of October, which will fill her in on all of the new ideas other yearbook committee advisors have to offer for this year. Halloween will be here before we know it and the yearbook staff will be selling the candy grams as usual. The members will actually be working on the pages themselves this year after school, which Ms. Ervans thought was a good idea. The rest is up to the meeting she will be attending at the beginning of October.
The National Honor Society will be inducting new members and this year, we also have a new advisor, elementary teacher Mrs. Trish Weaver. Because this is her first year doing this, she is still unsure about a few things, but she is off to a good start. A few ideas for raising money in November/December include raking leaves, holding a cookie dough sale, and participating in Toys for Tots. On January 9 there will be a middle school dance during the game and afterward, there will be a high school dance. The NHS will be holding both. February 7 is the JR. High Quiz Bowl, which NHS will also be helping with. The elementary Quiz Bowl is March 7. The NHS trip hasn’t been decided yet, but it will be discussed in the next meeting with the seniors. The trip will most likely be from March 19-22. As always Memorial Day weekend, they will be helping with the 3-on-3 basketball tournament and at the concession stand.
Near the end of October, it will be time for S.A.D.D to hold Red Ribbon week. This year it will be from October 23rd-31st. Advisor Mrs. Chisolm informed me that right now, a lot of ideas are being formed for activities for this week. Basically, all they have at the current time is ideas that will hopefully turn into a great week. As far as the rest of the year goes, that is still undecided.
This year is very important for the members of the Spanish Club because it’s the last chance they have to raise money for their trip to Peru! The trip will be from June 9-June 16, 2009. Many things are planned to raise money for the trip, including a middle school dance on the 24th of October, and the homecoming dance on January 30th. This is the first opportunity they have ever had to hold the homecoming dance because it’s usually held by the NHS. There will be a candy sale the first week of October and another will most likely take place in February. Sweetest Day flowers will be sold the week of October 17 and delivered on that day. There has been a request for cleaning cloths to be sold again this year around the holidays. The club is also considering having a pie sale. Around the same time, there will also be a show including candles, pampered chef, Lia Sophia, Mary Kay, and Tupperware. The Spanish Club will really be spreading their holiday cheer this year!
The trip to Peru will be taken by 29 people (10 students and 19 adults). Seniors Clark Pelham and Zach Vanlerberg will be going for their 2nd time. This is the 3rd time going on the trip for local couple Chuck and Vicki French and the 2nd time for Brian and Shelly Hoard. The club will be going to Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, and the Amazon. The main attraction is Machu Picchu. According to one website, it is the best Incan archaeological site and it’s #7 on the top 10 list of things to see before you die! They will be staying in the Amazon resort for a couple days and they will be traveling in a motorized canoe. They will also be taking the opportunity to swim in an ox-bow lake. Because of Peru’s high elevation, almost everywhere they will be going will be taken by air besides the train to Machu Picchu. “This will be the first time I’ve been to South America, so I am very excited about this!” said Mrs. Spahr. Let’s help these 29 people have an experience of a lifetime by participating in their sales this year.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
PHS student Franny Marino danced her way through Europe
by Chelsie DarrowHave you ever wondered what it would be like to visit Europe? Senior Franny Marino got to experience it this summer! She was afforded this opportunity by attending Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, which is located just outside of Muskegon, Michigan.
Franny was sent to Europe through this camp. In order to go she had to fill out a pamphlet, and send a ten minute video of herself in dance class. The program also asked the camp counselors what they thought of her overall performance.
She went to Europe and was able to dance in several different places, including Germany, in which she got to visit Berlin, Wolfsburg, Augsburg, and Ottoburnn. She also got to visit France where she visited Mulhouse and St.Paul. She was able to dance in all these places.
Franny left for Europe on June 12. They had to start rehearsal on June 6th, though. Some of the interesting things Franny saw in Europe were the Berlin Wall and some random murals. She also said that there were a lot of shopping areas, and there were at least four H and M's in each city. She also told us that all the houses were very small compared to ours.
Franny told us the culture wasn’t that much different than ours. The only differences were the language, of course, and they had really close-knit families. She also said that they called their dance clubs discoteques. And though the culture is much different, the food wasn’t. “The food was very wonderfully delicious," said Franny.
Not everything was roses for Franny, though."The only thing that I really didn't like was one of the host-fathers I had in France asked me if it was hard to go a month without hamburger!"
The hardest part for Franny was learning the dances, and moving around a lot. The things that she enjoyed were just being there, and also meeting the new people. She enjoyed site-seeing as well.
Overall, Franny had a very enjoyable time in Europe. She got to meet tons of new people and experience different cultures, but most of all she had a fabulous time!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Varsity football goes 4-0 after homecoming domination of NA-J
by William Belson
In front of a large homecoming crowd and in front of the newly crowned king and queen, Jake Johns and Franny Marino, the varsity went to 4-0 this week, crushing the Rams 34-0.
The Wildcats started off strongly by scoring 21 points in the first quarter behind the legs and arm of junior QB Garet Lee. Lee scampered for a TD on the first drive, then threw TD passes to seniors Jacob Gier and Zack Vanlerberg. Junior Zach Broughman can be saluted for his tremendous catch he had in the first half that led to another Wildcat touchdown a few plays later, a powerful run by senior RB Chase Weber. At the end of the half the score was 28-0.
In the second half the Big Blue offense did not slow down scoring six more points on a TD pass from Lee to junior RB Taylor Hatfield. Offense is not the only thing that can be credited for Friday night’s success; the Wildcat defense had six tackles in the backfield and forced NA-J to punt several times. The kickoff team also did fairly well by picking up a fumble dropped by the Rams’ kick return team. Junior Cody Krasny had an outstanding run for 30 yards caused from a great wedge block from the O-line, but what helped Cody the most on Friday night was “(being) fired up from homecoming stuff and ready to beat up on the Rams.” But the varsity’s outstanding record can’t be credited to only one person; there is plenty of credit to go around. “Good blocking, hard running and a solid defense,” is where senior Clark Pelham thinks the credit goes. The varsity team finally goes on the road, to Bellevue. Will the varsity boys be victorious in their first away game? We’ll all find out in a week.
In front of a large homecoming crowd and in front of the newly crowned king and queen, Jake Johns and Franny Marino, the varsity went to 4-0 this week, crushing the Rams 34-0.
The Wildcats started off strongly by scoring 21 points in the first quarter behind the legs and arm of junior QB Garet Lee. Lee scampered for a TD on the first drive, then threw TD passes to seniors Jacob Gier and Zack Vanlerberg. Junior Zach Broughman can be saluted for his tremendous catch he had in the first half that led to another Wildcat touchdown a few plays later, a powerful run by senior RB Chase Weber. At the end of the half the score was 28-0.
In the second half the Big Blue offense did not slow down scoring six more points on a TD pass from Lee to junior RB Taylor Hatfield. Offense is not the only thing that can be credited for Friday night’s success; the Wildcat defense had six tackles in the backfield and forced NA-J to punt several times. The kickoff team also did fairly well by picking up a fumble dropped by the Rams’ kick return team. Junior Cody Krasny had an outstanding run for 30 yards caused from a great wedge block from the O-line, but what helped Cody the most on Friday night was “(being) fired up from homecoming stuff and ready to beat up on the Rams.” But the varsity’s outstanding record can’t be credited to only one person; there is plenty of credit to go around. “Good blocking, hard running and a solid defense,” is where senior Clark Pelham thinks the credit goes. The varsity team finally goes on the road, to Bellevue. Will the varsity boys be victorious in their first away game? We’ll all find out in a week.
PHS draws teachers from all over
by Andrew Schultz
For some teachers, like Mr. Clark, Mr. Hoover, and Ms. Burkhart, this is their first teaching job. But for other teachers they have other schools and experiences to draw from, like Mr. Hodos,
Mr. Bulgrien, and Mrs. Barrett (just to name a few).
Mr. Hodos has been coaching at Pittsford for the past 10 years, but just started teaching here this year. Mr. Hodos was a natural fit for PHS. “Basically, my kids are here, I’ve coached here for the last 10 years and I graduated from here; I live a mile from the school so that makes a big difference,” said Mr. Hodos. “I get to see my kids every day.” It seems that Mr. Hodos has been in the Pittsford area for a long time but there is always a learning curve, which was made easier by the mentors here. “ I would have to say the older teachers are better,” commented Mr. Hodos.
Mr.Bulgrien started here at Pittsford a day before school started last year. He currently teaches English 11, English 12, and speech/drama. Mr. Bulgrien originally taught at Litchfield, working there for five years in the subjects of English 8-12 grade. Mr. Bulgrien likes that he can focus on teaching here, rather than lots of other things like he was asked to at Litchfield. “I don’t have to police the hallways. I can come and teach English like I was hired to do,” said Mr. Bulgrien. The reason he moved from Litchfield High School is that he really doesn’t think that it will be there very long so he needed a stable job to support his family.
Mrs.Barrett decided to take the job at Pittsford two weeks before school started this year, and she is teaching the special education classes. Mrs.Barrett came from Wapakoneta High School in Ohio and Madison High School in Adrian, MI. As a PHS alum, Mrs. Barrett had a familiarity with the staff. “Knowing a lot of the faculty, having them before made me feel very welcome. Growing up here, I graduated from here, I know the school so it’s been an easy transition,” explained Mrs. Barrett. The benefits of teaching here were multiple to her. “I wanted to move back to Pittsford to raise my family here and think it’s a great school and community.”
For some teachers, like Mr. Clark, Mr. Hoover, and Ms. Burkhart, this is their first teaching job. But for other teachers they have other schools and experiences to draw from, like Mr. Hodos,
Mr. Bulgrien, and Mrs. Barrett (just to name a few).
Mr. Hodos has been coaching at Pittsford for the past 10 years, but just started teaching here this year. Mr. Hodos was a natural fit for PHS. “Basically, my kids are here, I’ve coached here for the last 10 years and I graduated from here; I live a mile from the school so that makes a big difference,” said Mr. Hodos. “I get to see my kids every day.” It seems that Mr. Hodos has been in the Pittsford area for a long time but there is always a learning curve, which was made easier by the mentors here. “ I would have to say the older teachers are better,” commented Mr. Hodos.
Mr.Bulgrien started here at Pittsford a day before school started last year. He currently teaches English 11, English 12, and speech/drama. Mr. Bulgrien originally taught at Litchfield, working there for five years in the subjects of English 8-12 grade. Mr. Bulgrien likes that he can focus on teaching here, rather than lots of other things like he was asked to at Litchfield. “I don’t have to police the hallways. I can come and teach English like I was hired to do,” said Mr. Bulgrien. The reason he moved from Litchfield High School is that he really doesn’t think that it will be there very long so he needed a stable job to support his family.
Mrs.Barrett decided to take the job at Pittsford two weeks before school started this year, and she is teaching the special education classes. Mrs.Barrett came from Wapakoneta High School in Ohio and Madison High School in Adrian, MI. As a PHS alum, Mrs. Barrett had a familiarity with the staff. “Knowing a lot of the faculty, having them before made me feel very welcome. Growing up here, I graduated from here, I know the school so it’s been an easy transition,” explained Mrs. Barrett. The benefits of teaching here were multiple to her. “I wanted to move back to Pittsford to raise my family here and think it’s a great school and community.”
JV football secures first victory
by Dillon Cooper
The long search and rescue for a meaningful win to validate all of the hard work finally came through as the JV Wildcats beat the North Adams-Jerome Rams, 14-6!
The game was muggy but the Wildcats looked confident and ready to play. All throughout calisthenics the Wildcats were making their presence known. NA-J was also ready for the game but didn’t seem as excited about the game as Pittsford. NA-J won the coin flip and got the ball first. The ‘Cats’ defense was fierce and, as they say, offense wins games and defense wins championships; lately, however, the Wildcat offense hadn’t been winning much games.
The defense for the Wildcats would hold stiff and force a three-and-out. Freshman Cyle Brown was deep to return but fumbled the ball when he tried to return it. The Rams recovered and had great field position. Luckily Pittsford’s defense would hold the Rams again. The Wildcats would receive the ball and move it down but then, just like the Rams’ offense, stalled completely out. The Rams would get the ball but in a matter of no time the Wildcats’ freshman linebacker, Drew Herman, picked off a NA-J pass. “That was a huge point in the game,” said Herman. “I had a feeling before the game that I was going to have an interception or something really big.” This INT would set up a Wildcat touchdown within two big plays. Brown would score on a play that was keyed by the offensive line. Time fell off the clock like stocks fell down on the stock market. It wasn’t until sophomore running back Kyle Wyatt broke free and ran for an important overpowering touchdown that was a dark cloud that seemed to loom over the Rams. This would give Pittsford a 14-0 lead at the end of a thriving first half for the ‘Cats.
The Wildcats would receive the ball to start the second half and would start off very slowly, almost like they were stuck in concrete. Later in the third the Rams would drive down the field and score and try and go for two, but failed on a run right up the gut. The Wildcats would get their act together as the sophomore leaders rattled the boys up again and they seemed to possess the energy needed to repeat a great performance that had led them to a dominant first half. The Wildcats would be stopped and would be forced to punt the football to the now-motivated Rams. The Rams drove the ball down and weren’t stopped until sophomore Dillon Cooper pushed through the NA-J line for a tackle-for-loss. The Wildcats would hold them to a three and out but now they would have to play one more play, possibly the biggest play of the game. It was 4th and 32 and everyone knew exactly what the Rams were going to do--pass! The ball would fall incomplete and it would be turned over to the Wildcats who would decide to run the football until the time on the scoreboard read goose eggs.
The game was much closer than one would first think, but what would you expect from a team that finally received a win in a much-anticipated game. The Wildcats will look to extend their winning ways. “This is the game that will start our 6-0 run and let us finish 6-3,” said assistant coach Mr. Hodos. Freshman Jimmy Lafollette added that he was finally happy at the end of a game. “When we first scored I knew we were going to win and it felt good,” freshman Zak Schaedler would later say. The Pittsford Wildcats definitely could sigh in relief. “The first win is always the hardest,” said Wyatt. P-ford will not have it so easy in the next couple of weeks, but they will still face teams that, like themselves, hadn’t won a game.
The long search and rescue for a meaningful win to validate all of the hard work finally came through as the JV Wildcats beat the North Adams-Jerome Rams, 14-6!
The game was muggy but the Wildcats looked confident and ready to play. All throughout calisthenics the Wildcats were making their presence known. NA-J was also ready for the game but didn’t seem as excited about the game as Pittsford. NA-J won the coin flip and got the ball first. The ‘Cats’ defense was fierce and, as they say, offense wins games and defense wins championships; lately, however, the Wildcat offense hadn’t been winning much games.
The defense for the Wildcats would hold stiff and force a three-and-out. Freshman Cyle Brown was deep to return but fumbled the ball when he tried to return it. The Rams recovered and had great field position. Luckily Pittsford’s defense would hold the Rams again. The Wildcats would receive the ball and move it down but then, just like the Rams’ offense, stalled completely out. The Rams would get the ball but in a matter of no time the Wildcats’ freshman linebacker, Drew Herman, picked off a NA-J pass. “That was a huge point in the game,” said Herman. “I had a feeling before the game that I was going to have an interception or something really big.” This INT would set up a Wildcat touchdown within two big plays. Brown would score on a play that was keyed by the offensive line. Time fell off the clock like stocks fell down on the stock market. It wasn’t until sophomore running back Kyle Wyatt broke free and ran for an important overpowering touchdown that was a dark cloud that seemed to loom over the Rams. This would give Pittsford a 14-0 lead at the end of a thriving first half for the ‘Cats.
The Wildcats would receive the ball to start the second half and would start off very slowly, almost like they were stuck in concrete. Later in the third the Rams would drive down the field and score and try and go for two, but failed on a run right up the gut. The Wildcats would get their act together as the sophomore leaders rattled the boys up again and they seemed to possess the energy needed to repeat a great performance that had led them to a dominant first half. The Wildcats would be stopped and would be forced to punt the football to the now-motivated Rams. The Rams drove the ball down and weren’t stopped until sophomore Dillon Cooper pushed through the NA-J line for a tackle-for-loss. The Wildcats would hold them to a three and out but now they would have to play one more play, possibly the biggest play of the game. It was 4th and 32 and everyone knew exactly what the Rams were going to do--pass! The ball would fall incomplete and it would be turned over to the Wildcats who would decide to run the football until the time on the scoreboard read goose eggs.
The game was much closer than one would first think, but what would you expect from a team that finally received a win in a much-anticipated game. The Wildcats will look to extend their winning ways. “This is the game that will start our 6-0 run and let us finish 6-3,” said assistant coach Mr. Hodos. Freshman Jimmy Lafollette added that he was finally happy at the end of a game. “When we first scored I knew we were going to win and it felt good,” freshman Zak Schaedler would later say. The Pittsford Wildcats definitely could sigh in relief. “The first win is always the hardest,” said Wyatt. P-ford will not have it so easy in the next couple of weeks, but they will still face teams that, like themselves, hadn’t won a game.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
PHS alum finds his way home to teach, coach
by Mike Fauls
Many of us know the semi-new teacher named Mr. Hodos, but only a few know who he really is and where he came from.
Mr. Hodos’ primary job is to teach physical education, but the funny thing is that he was never really interested into teaching P.E. “I like coaching and teaching P.E.,” he said. “I like the kids that go here, I truly believe that we have the best teachers and the best school systems,” Mr. Hodos said.
Mr. Hodos is no stranger to these parts, as he went to school at Pittsford and graduated in 1989. After that he proceeded to get a tri-minor and started teaching L.D. at Waldron. “In L.D. classes there is a lot more paperwork and a lot more parent time,” Mr. Hodos said. After teaching at Waldron he decided to come back to his home school and take over as the P.E. teacher when Mr. Cook was bumped up to being the school’s principal. “It was an easy choice,” said Mr. Cook. “I believed that he could get the kids disciplined and get their respect.”
Mr. Hodos also has been coaching J.V. Football at Pittsford for years now and takes what he learned from coaching on the field to the classroom and into the gym. “I take coaching and teaching the same way; it’s not just about being an athlete or a student. It’s about lifelong learning.”
Many of us know the semi-new teacher named Mr. Hodos, but only a few know who he really is and where he came from.
Mr. Hodos’ primary job is to teach physical education, but the funny thing is that he was never really interested into teaching P.E. “I like coaching and teaching P.E.,” he said. “I like the kids that go here, I truly believe that we have the best teachers and the best school systems,” Mr. Hodos said.
Mr. Hodos is no stranger to these parts, as he went to school at Pittsford and graduated in 1989. After that he proceeded to get a tri-minor and started teaching L.D. at Waldron. “In L.D. classes there is a lot more paperwork and a lot more parent time,” Mr. Hodos said. After teaching at Waldron he decided to come back to his home school and take over as the P.E. teacher when Mr. Cook was bumped up to being the school’s principal. “It was an easy choice,” said Mr. Cook. “I believed that he could get the kids disciplined and get their respect.”
Mr. Hodos also has been coaching J.V. Football at Pittsford for years now and takes what he learned from coaching on the field to the classroom and into the gym. “I take coaching and teaching the same way; it’s not just about being an athlete or a student. It’s about lifelong learning.”
PAS laying out schedule for using sinking fund dollars
by Justin Renigar
Last May voters passed a sinking fund to provide money for fixing the school’s facilities. The top three things that are going to be done first are the heating, the windows, and the bathrooms. “Precious dollars are being thrown out the window,” said superintendent Mr. Shaw, referencing the need to do the windows and heating first.
The old windows and boards have cracks in between them so the heat escapes out the window during the winter, costing PHS a fortune to keep the school heated. What they are going to do is put a 3-way control valve on to the boiler. The valve will make sure that when more water needs to be added to the boiler to make the heat, it does it automatically. When it needs to cool down, it will bypass the water out of the boiler by itself without any manual labor. This also allows the heat to be distributed evenly throughout the school, so each classroom is the same temperature. To fix the heating alone will cost about $160,000 and will be done some time next summer.
They aren’t sure on the price of the windows yet but they know that it will be done during the summer of 2011. The bathrooms will cost an estimated $200,000 and won’t be done until after the summer of 2011. The bathrooms are being held off for so long because the sinking fund only generates $94,000 a year. Seeing as how it is the most expensive project, we are going to have to save up to get that done. Future projects are just simple general maintenance like cracks in the walls and ceilings. Just like any other type of building, you have to touch things up over time and keep it clean, and that’s what passing the sinking fund will allow PAS to do.
Last May voters passed a sinking fund to provide money for fixing the school’s facilities. The top three things that are going to be done first are the heating, the windows, and the bathrooms. “Precious dollars are being thrown out the window,” said superintendent Mr. Shaw, referencing the need to do the windows and heating first.
The old windows and boards have cracks in between them so the heat escapes out the window during the winter, costing PHS a fortune to keep the school heated. What they are going to do is put a 3-way control valve on to the boiler. The valve will make sure that when more water needs to be added to the boiler to make the heat, it does it automatically. When it needs to cool down, it will bypass the water out of the boiler by itself without any manual labor. This also allows the heat to be distributed evenly throughout the school, so each classroom is the same temperature. To fix the heating alone will cost about $160,000 and will be done some time next summer.
They aren’t sure on the price of the windows yet but they know that it will be done during the summer of 2011. The bathrooms will cost an estimated $200,000 and won’t be done until after the summer of 2011. The bathrooms are being held off for so long because the sinking fund only generates $94,000 a year. Seeing as how it is the most expensive project, we are going to have to save up to get that done. Future projects are just simple general maintenance like cracks in the walls and ceilings. Just like any other type of building, you have to touch things up over time and keep it clean, and that’s what passing the sinking fund will allow PAS to do.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
PHS hosts physics class on ITV
by Eva Gucker
Pittsford High School is bringing in students in a new way this year.
Although physics has been a familiar class here at Pittsford for years, a new twist has been added. By using ITV technology, Pittsford’s physics class, taught by Mr. Burger, is now being viewed at North Adams-Jerome High School. Students from NA-J enrolled to take Pittsford’s physics class via television. As Mr. Burger teaches his class here at Pittsford, North Adams students are able to listen and interact with the Pittsford class. This brings different opportunities and depth to Pittsford Schools although it may include some possible challenges.
The idea of the class was brought to the Pittsford administration by the Hillsdale County Intermediate School District (ISD) near the end of the 2007-2008 school year. Because there are few highly qualified physics teachers in the county, many schools can’t offer physics, so Pittsford was asked to host the class. The administration chose to take the opportunity to utilize ITV because of the many possibilities that could come of it.
Pittsford will see the benefits in many ways from choosing to broadcast their class. The Pittsford school district receives funds from NA-J that can be generated back into the school and/or physics program. “If we can broadcast (the physics class), we get money for our school district. We use that money for new books, technology, and other materials,” said high school principal Mr. Cook. The small schools in the county have only a core group of seven or eight students in their physics classes, if they can offer one at all, and combining classes would be the most reasonable idea to solve resource problems.
Students are also enjoying this new program. One positive effect that students receive is being exposed to new technology. “The technology allows us to have communication between schools,” said senior student Ben Wines. Because of that technology, interacting with previously unknown students brings new learning experiences. “It’s cool that we get to work with kids from another school because we get to look at things from a different perspective,” said physics student Maggie Chisholm.
Although there were some glitches at the beginning, the program is starting to make progress and become very useful. There are still some problems, but they are continually being worked out. “Tech issues are always a problem,” said Mr. Burger. There may be more problems in the future including the way both classes will be able to participate in labs. “I’m reluctant about the ability to do laboratories. It is going to take some creative thinking on my part to make sure it happens,” said Mr. Burger. Pittsford hopes that this program will eventually go smoothly on a daily basis.Here at Pittsford we are advancing our classroom experiences through the new ITV. The school is seeing how taking this chance was a great decision that will enhance our school for years to come.
Pittsford High School is bringing in students in a new way this year.
Although physics has been a familiar class here at Pittsford for years, a new twist has been added. By using ITV technology, Pittsford’s physics class, taught by Mr. Burger, is now being viewed at North Adams-Jerome High School. Students from NA-J enrolled to take Pittsford’s physics class via television. As Mr. Burger teaches his class here at Pittsford, North Adams students are able to listen and interact with the Pittsford class. This brings different opportunities and depth to Pittsford Schools although it may include some possible challenges.The idea of the class was brought to the Pittsford administration by the Hillsdale County Intermediate School District (ISD) near the end of the 2007-2008 school year. Because there are few highly qualified physics teachers in the county, many schools can’t offer physics, so Pittsford was asked to host the class. The administration chose to take the opportunity to utilize ITV because of the many possibilities that could come of it.
Pittsford will see the benefits in many ways from choosing to broadcast their class. The Pittsford school district receives funds from NA-J that can be generated back into the school and/or physics program. “If we can broadcast (the physics class), we get money for our school district. We use that money for new books, technology, and other materials,” said high school principal Mr. Cook. The small schools in the county have only a core group of seven or eight students in their physics classes, if they can offer one at all, and combining classes would be the most reasonable idea to solve resource problems.
Students are also enjoying this new program. One positive effect that students receive is being exposed to new technology. “The technology allows us to have communication between schools,” said senior student Ben Wines. Because of that technology, interacting with previously unknown students brings new learning experiences. “It’s cool that we get to work with kids from another school because we get to look at things from a different perspective,” said physics student Maggie Chisholm.Although there were some glitches at the beginning, the program is starting to make progress and become very useful. There are still some problems, but they are continually being worked out. “Tech issues are always a problem,” said Mr. Burger. There may be more problems in the future including the way both classes will be able to participate in labs. “I’m reluctant about the ability to do laboratories. It is going to take some creative thinking on my part to make sure it happens,” said Mr. Burger. Pittsford hopes that this program will eventually go smoothly on a daily basis.Here at Pittsford we are advancing our classroom experiences through the new ITV. The school is seeing how taking this chance was a great decision that will enhance our school for years to come.
JV football still searching for first W
by Dillon Cooper
Once again there is another depressing sequel to a story that always seems to end the same way…. with a loss.
The Pittsford Wildcats would travel yet again to a not-so-far away place. Their home away from home, Hillsdale College, is where they took on the Mustangs of Grand Rapids Northpointe Christian. In this battle the Wildcats defense played a key role, forcing GRNC into countless turnovers, many sacks and a lot of failed drives, but even that couldn’t stop the Mustangs from finally punching through the goal line with 4:30 left in the game. The Mustangs would try for two but failed as they were tackled in their own backfield. The score was 6-0 and that is how it would stay as the Wildcats would have two more attempts to drive it down and prove that they could prevail in the toughest of times and the most critical of times, too.
Earlier in the game the ‘Cats played tough and just couldn’t, like before, seem to cross that distant goal-line. It wasn’t until after halftime that the Wildcats would start doing some real work and punishing the Mustangs defense for what they had done in the first half. “We just told coach where they were lining up and we adjusted to it,” said sophomore offense tackle Nick Kik. Indeed the change that the offense made really seemed to work. On their first play the ‘Cats drove down for a tough 20 yard run. The runs just seemed to keep going. Pittsford would finally get it down into the red zone and then when it seemed that nothing could go wrong the Wildcats, they would throw a very disappointing interception which was returned for big yardage to set the Mustangs up for the drive that would eventually score the game’s only touchdown. Pittsford would get the ball back but just couldn’t get it going like they did earlier. That spark of life was now just a distant memory for the Wildcats.
The Pittsford Wildcats will travel to North Adams where they will take on the Rams. This is the last away game until the last game of the season.
Once again there is another depressing sequel to a story that always seems to end the same way…. with a loss.
The Pittsford Wildcats would travel yet again to a not-so-far away place. Their home away from home, Hillsdale College, is where they took on the Mustangs of Grand Rapids Northpointe Christian. In this battle the Wildcats defense played a key role, forcing GRNC into countless turnovers, many sacks and a lot of failed drives, but even that couldn’t stop the Mustangs from finally punching through the goal line with 4:30 left in the game. The Mustangs would try for two but failed as they were tackled in their own backfield. The score was 6-0 and that is how it would stay as the Wildcats would have two more attempts to drive it down and prove that they could prevail in the toughest of times and the most critical of times, too.
Earlier in the game the ‘Cats played tough and just couldn’t, like before, seem to cross that distant goal-line. It wasn’t until after halftime that the Wildcats would start doing some real work and punishing the Mustangs defense for what they had done in the first half. “We just told coach where they were lining up and we adjusted to it,” said sophomore offense tackle Nick Kik. Indeed the change that the offense made really seemed to work. On their first play the ‘Cats drove down for a tough 20 yard run. The runs just seemed to keep going. Pittsford would finally get it down into the red zone and then when it seemed that nothing could go wrong the Wildcats, they would throw a very disappointing interception which was returned for big yardage to set the Mustangs up for the drive that would eventually score the game’s only touchdown. Pittsford would get the ball back but just couldn’t get it going like they did earlier. That spark of life was now just a distant memory for the Wildcats.
The Pittsford Wildcats will travel to North Adams where they will take on the Rams. This is the last away game until the last game of the season.
Tech Talk w/ Andrew Schultz
This column is a new addition to the Wildcat Times and will talk about new things in the world of technology that will either help your life, be relevant to you, or simply be really cool and interesting (to me, that is). This month’s tech talk will feature three new products coming out or already out in September/October of 2008.
Are you a guitar legend?
The first piece of technology that I will be touching on and the one thing a lot of us students are a little hyped up about, is the new Guitar Hero: World Tour. This game is expected to become available for purchase around October 26, for Playstation 3, Xbox360, Playstation 2, Wii, and hopefully PC. The PS3 and Xbox360 systems will have downloadable songs available, such as Metallica’s Death Magnetic album, and some R.E.M. and Smashing Pumpkins songs. Some of the artists that will be featured in this new GH IV are Nirvana, Lenny Kravitz, Ozzy Osbourne, Blink-182, The Police, System of a Down, and Van Halen.
Andrew’s Take: I, being a huge Guitar Hero fan, cannot wait for this to hit the streets because I will buy it immediately. The set list is excellent with a lot of classic rock and new age rock so I think it will be a big hit.
iPod and Zune battle it out
The big rivalry between Apple and Microsoft now goes to their mp3 players. Apple’
s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune go head to head in a battle. Zune released their new product lineup a day before Apple’s product lineup. Zune has released their new slimmer lineup of mp3 players with the options of 16GB and 120GB. The prices on the others have changed a little bit, as the 120GB Zune is now $249.99(not including tax) and the 16GB Zune is only $199.99(not including tax). With Zune, they are now making it capable to listen to the radio and when you hear a song you like you can either tag it or if you are in a wireless internet hotspot you can download it from the Zune marketplace right away.
Apple’s iPod lineup offers the 8GB for $149.99, 16GB for $199.99, and the iPod classic which has 120GB will sell for $149.99. The iPod nano will now have an extended battery life, voice recorder, and Genius, which will a
utomatically create play lists of songs that go together in the user’s music library.
Andrew’s Take: Personally I think that the Apple iPod has nothing on the Zune. The iPod cannot download songs wirelessly from the FM tuner straight to your mp3 player. The iPod’s only new feature that has a decent impact on the iPod is the longer battery life of 24 hours of music. The voice recorder I think has no use because if you want to record voice you would have a hand held voice recorder. Their new high definition screen capable of playing HD videos I think is a nice feature since a lot of people may carry videos or podcasts on their iPod. The last thing about the iPod is the Genius, which I think is a very neat feature that shows you songs that are similar to the ones in your library but you may never have heard before.
Foiling Method does not apply to math
Getting tired of your car’s old and boring paint job but don’t have the time or money to have it professionally done or do it yourself? Now it can be done in two days and last up to four years. 3M Adhesive company has made a big overlay sticker that will allow you to paint your car in two days by using the “foiling” method. The adhesive will protect the underlying paint from chips, scratches, and nicks and comes in a variety of colors.
Andrew’s Take: I think that this is a great idea for a quick paint job; and it would also be a very funny prank. The police could use this to paint their cars because it helps make the original paint last for four years or more. I think it’s a great idea!
Are you a guitar legend?
The first piece of technology that I will be touching on and the one thing a lot of us students are a little hyped up about, is the new Guitar Hero: World Tour. This game is expected to become available for purchase around October 26, for Playstation 3, Xbox360, Playstation 2, Wii, and hopefully PC. The PS3 and Xbox360 systems will have downloadable songs available, such as Metallica’s Death Magnetic album, and some R.E.M. and Smashing Pumpkins songs. Some of the artists that will be featured in this new GH IV are Nirvana, Lenny Kravitz, Ozzy Osbourne, Blink-182, The Police, System of a Down, and Van Halen.
Andrew’s Take: I, being a huge Guitar Hero fan, cannot wait for this to hit the streets because I will buy it immediately. The set list is excellent with a lot of classic rock and new age rock so I think it will be a big hit.
iPod and Zune battle it out
The big rivalry between Apple and Microsoft now goes to their mp3 players. Apple’
s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune go head to head in a battle. Zune released their new product lineup a day before Apple’s product lineup. Zune has released their new slimmer lineup of mp3 players with the options of 16GB and 120GB. The prices on the others have changed a little bit, as the 120GB Zune is now $249.99(not including tax) and the 16GB Zune is only $199.99(not including tax). With Zune, they are now making it capable to listen to the radio and when you hear a song you like you can either tag it or if you are in a wireless internet hotspot you can download it from the Zune marketplace right away.Apple’s iPod lineup offers the 8GB for $149.99, 16GB for $199.99, and the iPod classic which has 120GB will sell for $149.99. The iPod nano will now have an extended battery life, voice recorder, and Genius, which will a
utomatically create play lists of songs that go together in the user’s music library.Andrew’s Take: Personally I think that the Apple iPod has nothing on the Zune. The iPod cannot download songs wirelessly from the FM tuner straight to your mp3 player. The iPod’s only new feature that has a decent impact on the iPod is the longer battery life of 24 hours of music. The voice recorder I think has no use because if you want to record voice you would have a hand held voice recorder. Their new high definition screen capable of playing HD videos I think is a nice feature since a lot of people may carry videos or podcasts on their iPod. The last thing about the iPod is the Genius, which I think is a very neat feature that shows you songs that are similar to the ones in your library but you may never have heard before.
Foiling Method does not apply to math
Getting tired of your car’s old and boring paint job but don’t have the time or money to have it professionally done or do it yourself? Now it can be done in two days and last up to four years. 3M Adhesive company has made a big overlay sticker that will allow you to paint your car in two days by using the “foiling” method. The adhesive will protect the underlying paint from chips, scratches, and nicks and comes in a variety of colors.
Andrew’s Take: I think that this is a great idea for a quick paint job; and it would also be a very funny prank. The police could use this to paint their cars because it helps make the original paint last for four years or more. I think it’s a great idea!
Football team stays undefeated with 43-0 domination of GRNC
by William Belson
With two wins under the varsity’s belt they move to a record 3-0 by destroying Grand Rapids Northpointe Christian, 43-0. Big Blue started the game by kicking off to GRNC, only to score on defense a few plays later with an interception from senior Chase Weber. The Wildcat offense scored a total of 26 points in the first half, literally leaving Northpointe beaten at halftime. As the second half started you could see that Pittsford was ready to crush some heads, leaving the Mustangs even more beaten. The Wildcat second offense scored a total two touchdowns in the second half, with junior Kurtis Brackman leading on the running game and scoring one of the two touchdowns. Brackman’s running was inspired by “the will to win,” said Kurtis. This win was very important to the Wildcats in their third week, but what makes this victory even sweeter was the shutout. “The effort the players put forth, and we executed our schemes well,” is where the credit lies, said Coach Burger. Will Pittsford’s record improve to 4-0, or will North Adams best them during the P-Ford homecoming? Go to Harvey Hauer/Robert Clement Field at 7:00 p.m. Friday, September 19 and find out.
With two wins under the varsity’s belt they move to a record 3-0 by destroying Grand Rapids Northpointe Christian, 43-0. Big Blue started the game by kicking off to GRNC, only to score on defense a few plays later with an interception from senior Chase Weber. The Wildcat offense scored a total of 26 points in the first half, literally leaving Northpointe beaten at halftime. As the second half started you could see that Pittsford was ready to crush some heads, leaving the Mustangs even more beaten. The Wildcat second offense scored a total two touchdowns in the second half, with junior Kurtis Brackman leading on the running game and scoring one of the two touchdowns. Brackman’s running was inspired by “the will to win,” said Kurtis. This win was very important to the Wildcats in their third week, but what makes this victory even sweeter was the shutout. “The effort the players put forth, and we executed our schemes well,” is where the credit lies, said Coach Burger. Will Pittsford’s record improve to 4-0, or will North Adams best them during the P-Ford homecoming? Go to Harvey Hauer/Robert Clement Field at 7:00 p.m. Friday, September 19 and find out.
Elementary gets new playground equipment
by Chelsie Darrow 
When you drove into school on the first day, or when you came to practice during the late summer, you may have noticed some changes here at Pittsford. Among the painted walls and freshly planted flowers there was one other thing that stood out: the bright and shiny new playground equipment on the elementary playground!
You may ask,” Why of all things did we buy the playground equipment?” when we have numerous other things at Pittsford that we could be paying for. Well, we can thank the Parents Club for the new equipment! They put a lot of hard work in over the summer working on various fundraisers to come up with the money for the equipment. The school also helped by scrapping the old playground equipment and other rusty things around the school that we didn’t need anymore. The main contribution for the playground equipment was the grants that the Parents Club received from a Hillsdale YOUTH organazation grant; $10,000 total with $5,000 coming from each a youth grant and an adult grant. So the school didn’t have to pay anything towards the playground equipment.
The playground equipment was put in on Friday August 22. They started putting it in at around 10:00 that morning and were finished with it that day, so it was a quick and easy job. It’s been a long time coming for new playground equipment. “I’d have to say it has been about 12 years,” said elementary principal and PAS superintendent Andy Shaw. Obviously, we were long overdue for the new playground equipment.For the new playground equipment we can all thank parent Stacie Clark for putting it all together. We can also thank the Parents Club for all of their hard work that they put in over the summer, and also thank the school for contributing the old scrap metal to help pay for it. Next time you’re at a game or school event check it out! Though Mr. Shaw requests, “All big kids please stay off!!”
When you drove into school on the first day, or when you came to practice during the late summer, you may have noticed some changes here at Pittsford. Among the painted walls and freshly planted flowers there was one other thing that stood out: the bright and shiny new playground equipment on the elementary playground!
You may ask,” Why of all things did we buy the playground equipment?” when we have numerous other things at Pittsford that we could be paying for. Well, we can thank the Parents Club for the new equipment! They put a lot of hard work in over the summer working on various fundraisers to come up with the money for the equipment. The school also helped by scrapping the old playground equipment and other rusty things around the school that we didn’t need anymore. The main contribution for the playground equipment was the grants that the Parents Club received from a Hillsdale YOUTH organazation grant; $10,000 total with $5,000 coming from each a youth grant and an adult grant. So the school didn’t have to pay anything towards the playground equipment.
The playground equipment was put in on Friday August 22. They started putting it in at around 10:00 that morning and were finished with it that day, so it was a quick and easy job. It’s been a long time coming for new playground equipment. “I’d have to say it has been about 12 years,” said elementary principal and PAS superintendent Andy Shaw. Obviously, we were long overdue for the new playground equipment.For the new playground equipment we can all thank parent Stacie Clark for putting it all together. We can also thank the Parents Club for all of their hard work that they put in over the summer, and also thank the school for contributing the old scrap metal to help pay for it. Next time you’re at a game or school event check it out! Though Mr. Shaw requests, “All big kids please stay off!!”
Monday, September 15, 2008
SCAA expands, adding numbers and distance into the league
by Justin Fish
Earlier this decade, Pittsford added Climax-Scotts into the SCAA, and again they are expanding with more teams and more players. The football team has started the new journey with Colon, Battle Creek St. Philip, and Bellevue, and Hillsdale Academy (though the Colts have been in our league in one or two sports before; they’re now in our league for all of their sports).
All of this happened for a couple of reasons. Colon, BCSP and Bellevue approached the SCAA and wanted to join the league, according to Pittsford High School athletic director Mr. Hoeft. After that, each league school had to vote to either accept them or decline them. We voted against them joining our league, but every other team in our league (except Camden-Frontier) voted for the new schools to be accepted.
One thing that is on the mind of all superintendents in Hillsdale County is whether or not they have enough money in their school budget. Pittsford is in that predicament. With the new teams in the SCAA that means that they will have to travel to new places, and some adjustments will have to be made. “It is not going to affect the overall budget traveling to new places like BCSP and Bellevue. We have added some here and saved in some there,” said Mr. Hoeft. However softball coach Mr. Irelan begged to differ. “I think it is ridiculous driving that far at $4.00 a gallon. A ridiculous financial decision and fiscally stupid,” said Mr. Irelan. For some of the sports in Pittsford, traveling has decreased, such as baseball, but with most sports they have increased; for example football and track.
With the new teams that means different divisions for different sports. In football (and presumably track) we are in one division, in baseball/softball they have a three-division schedule, and all other sports are in another division. Make sense? Not to anybody here, either. Mr. Hoeft declined comment on the division breakdown.
“In the end, everything is going to be a wash,” commented Mr. Hoeft. With the new challenges and teams there is always something new, we will see what the new school year and the new teams bring.
Earlier this decade, Pittsford added Climax-Scotts into the SCAA, and again they are expanding with more teams and more players. The football team has started the new journey with Colon, Battle Creek St. Philip, and Bellevue, and Hillsdale Academy (though the Colts have been in our league in one or two sports before; they’re now in our league for all of their sports).
All of this happened for a couple of reasons. Colon, BCSP and Bellevue approached the SCAA and wanted to join the league, according to Pittsford High School athletic director Mr. Hoeft. After that, each league school had to vote to either accept them or decline them. We voted against them joining our league, but every other team in our league (except Camden-Frontier) voted for the new schools to be accepted.
One thing that is on the mind of all superintendents in Hillsdale County is whether or not they have enough money in their school budget. Pittsford is in that predicament. With the new teams in the SCAA that means that they will have to travel to new places, and some adjustments will have to be made. “It is not going to affect the overall budget traveling to new places like BCSP and Bellevue. We have added some here and saved in some there,” said Mr. Hoeft. However softball coach Mr. Irelan begged to differ. “I think it is ridiculous driving that far at $4.00 a gallon. A ridiculous financial decision and fiscally stupid,” said Mr. Irelan. For some of the sports in Pittsford, traveling has decreased, such as baseball, but with most sports they have increased; for example football and track.
With the new teams that means different divisions for different sports. In football (and presumably track) we are in one division, in baseball/softball they have a three-division schedule, and all other sports are in another division. Make sense? Not to anybody here, either. Mr. Hoeft declined comment on the division breakdown.
“In the end, everything is going to be a wash,” commented Mr. Hoeft. With the new challenges and teams there is always something new, we will see what the new school year and the new teams bring.
New Look for an Old School
by Mike Fauls
Many students have noticed the new improvements around the school. Whether it may be the landscaping outside or the new paint on the inside; Pittsford Schools are improving cosmetically. For the school to move the dumpsters and paint the walls, it cost less than $5,000.00. This stuff isn’t free, however; the money came from the sinking fund and Parent’s Club.
The main concern for most students is the bathrooms. To build new bathrooms would cost about $200,000! Not only that, the bathrooms are the last in line to be done. According to Mr. Shaw, Pittsford’s superintendent, the first thing to be worked on is the heating of the school. Next will come the windows, and finally will come the bathrooms. “It’s like an old house,” Mr. Shaw said. “Every year something new comes up that needs fixing.” By the time that everything in the school is done it will be the year 2018 or 2019 at least. Repairs on the school are “never-ending,” says Mr. Shaw.
Among other things to have changed is the new attendance policy. Ins
tead of missing 15 days before you get into trouble, now it has been decreased to 10 days. “It’s important for me to be in school, it’s important for the teachers to be in school, so it’s important for the students to be in school,” said Mr. Shaw, “It’s not good to miss days.” Students seem to be in favor of the change. “I like it because, personally, I don’t see why people should have 15 days to just skip school because that’s all they use it for anyways,” said junior Sarah Frank. “I think it was a good move to keep people in class more often,” junior Chase Stratton said.
Another thing in the mix is that the high schoolers get their own lockers. The response from Mr.
Irelan’s fourth hour class was all thumbs up and plenty of words showing their approval. “It gives the students more room, especially with coats in the winter,” said junior Zac Broughman. “It gives me more room and I don’t have to worry about my girlfriend getting in the way,” junior Taylor Hatfield said. After saying that, Taylor was slapped in the head by his girlfriend and went back to class with a smile on his face. Some buses are also being replaced with newer, nicer-looking ones that continue to meet regulations. “We have dinosaurs,” says Maintenance and Transportation Manager Mr. O’Haver. The school is selling the old buses and making bigger routes. By eliminating one route the school is saving 1300 gallons a year. And at an average of $3.68 that’s about $4,784. Last year the school spent about $57,350 on gas. “The buses are more efficient,” says Tori Pike.
Many students have noticed the new improvements around the school. Whether it may be the landscaping outside or the new paint on the inside; Pittsford Schools are improving cosmetically. For the school to move the dumpsters and paint the walls, it cost less than $5,000.00. This stuff isn’t free, however; the money came from the sinking fund and Parent’s Club.The main concern for most students is the bathrooms. To build new bathrooms would cost about $200,000! Not only that, the bathrooms are the last in line to be done. According to Mr. Shaw, Pittsford’s superintendent, the first thing to be worked on is the heating of the school. Next will come the windows, and finally will come the bathrooms. “It’s like an old house,” Mr. Shaw said. “Every year something new comes up that needs fixing.” By the time that everything in the school is done it will be the year 2018 or 2019 at least. Repairs on the school are “never-ending,” says Mr. Shaw.
Among other things to have changed is the new attendance policy. Ins
tead of missing 15 days before you get into trouble, now it has been decreased to 10 days. “It’s important for me to be in school, it’s important for the teachers to be in school, so it’s important for the students to be in school,” said Mr. Shaw, “It’s not good to miss days.” Students seem to be in favor of the change. “I like it because, personally, I don’t see why people should have 15 days to just skip school because that’s all they use it for anyways,” said junior Sarah Frank. “I think it was a good move to keep people in class more often,” junior Chase Stratton said.Another thing in the mix is that the high schoolers get their own lockers. The response from Mr.
Irelan’s fourth hour class was all thumbs up and plenty of words showing their approval. “It gives the students more room, especially with coats in the winter,” said junior Zac Broughman. “It gives me more room and I don’t have to worry about my girlfriend getting in the way,” junior Taylor Hatfield said. After saying that, Taylor was slapped in the head by his girlfriend and went back to class with a smile on his face. Some buses are also being replaced with newer, nicer-looking ones that continue to meet regulations. “We have dinosaurs,” says Maintenance and Transportation Manager Mr. O’Haver. The school is selling the old buses and making bigger routes. By eliminating one route the school is saving 1300 gallons a year. And at an average of $3.68 that’s about $4,784. Last year the school spent about $57,350 on gas. “The buses are more efficient,” says Tori Pike.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
PHS provides mandatory bus to vo-tech
by Justin Renigar
As most of you may or may not know, the vo-tech bus is back at Pittsford. Those of you that go to the A.M. classes also know that the bus is mandatory. No matter where you live, even if you drive past your vo-tech center on the way to school, you still have to ride the bus.
PHS principal Mr. Cook wanted the mandatory bus in the interest of kids’ safety. “It gets the kids to school safe and on time,” said Mr. Cook. Last year there were a large number of absences and tardies with the vo-tech kids. There were also a few accidents that happened after the kids got out of vo-tech and were supposed to be on their way back to the school. “Kids were taking advantage of their driving privileges,” explained Mr. Cook. What he means by that is that last year some kids, instead of coming to school directly after vo-tech, would go into Hillsdale to go out to eat or just skip and go home instead of coming right to school. The bus solves those problems.
Even though all those things are true and the bus does stop a lot of problems, most vo-tech student think the bus should be optional and not mandatory. In fact, 24 out of 24 students asked to comment for this article all said that they think the bus should be optional. “Being forced to ride the bus makes me feel irresponsible,” commented senior Jake Richards. “The bus should only be used for kids with out a ride to vo-tech.”
The kids know what consequences they will face if they are tardy or skip, and most vo-tech kids think that if they want to make the choice and end up getting punished, then so be it. “If you drove to vo-tech last year without any problems and passed your classes, you should be able to drive this year,” opined senior Corey Gamble. However, this is an administrative decision at PHS and what the students say has no difference to the outcome of the situation. Like it or not, there is a bus and you vo-tech kids have to ride it.
As most of you may or may not know, the vo-tech bus is back at Pittsford. Those of you that go to the A.M. classes also know that the bus is mandatory. No matter where you live, even if you drive past your vo-tech center on the way to school, you still have to ride the bus.
PHS principal Mr. Cook wanted the mandatory bus in the interest of kids’ safety. “It gets the kids to school safe and on time,” said Mr. Cook. Last year there were a large number of absences and tardies with the vo-tech kids. There were also a few accidents that happened after the kids got out of vo-tech and were supposed to be on their way back to the school. “Kids were taking advantage of their driving privileges,” explained Mr. Cook. What he means by that is that last year some kids, instead of coming to school directly after vo-tech, would go into Hillsdale to go out to eat or just skip and go home instead of coming right to school. The bus solves those problems.
Even though all those things are true and the bus does stop a lot of problems, most vo-tech student think the bus should be optional and not mandatory. In fact, 24 out of 24 students asked to comment for this article all said that they think the bus should be optional. “Being forced to ride the bus makes me feel irresponsible,” commented senior Jake Richards. “The bus should only be used for kids with out a ride to vo-tech.”
The kids know what consequences they will face if they are tardy or skip, and most vo-tech kids think that if they want to make the choice and end up getting punished, then so be it. “If you drove to vo-tech last year without any problems and passed your classes, you should be able to drive this year,” opined senior Corey Gamble. However, this is an administrative decision at PHS and what the students say has no difference to the outcome of the situation. Like it or not, there is a bus and you vo-tech kids have to ride it.
New student sees advantages of PHS
by Tommy Verdon
*the views expressed in this point/counterpoint are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Wildcat Times or Pittsford Area Schools.
There are many things that I have found that are different here at Pittsford High School than at my old school, Hudson High School. Some of the things that are different would be the teachers, students, and the spirit that the kids and parents have at all of the sporting events.
The things that I have found out to be different about the teachers here at PHS is the way they teach. What I like about the way they teach is when they are having a conversation about a question that has been asked, they like to include the whole class and not just the person who has asked that question. The teachers really don’t care who you are; they all like to get know you no matter what. They will never worry about someone seeing you talking to them or what you are talking to them about. The last thing that I have found to be better about the teachers is the quality of their work effort. They like to have fun but they are always serious about what they do.
Another reason why I have to say Pittsford is better then Hudson is the way the kids act. They don’t have groups that you sit with all the time and they don’t really care what you look like or what you act like. Sure, there are of some of those kids that go to Pittsford, just like at any school, but most of them are open to get to know you and are very friendly. Another reason why I like the kids here at PHS better is that they will help you with anything that you need.
The last reason why I like Pittsford better is because of how much school spirit they have. No matter how bad the team is (not that we’ve have bad teams here!) the students are always standing up and cheering loud. They always take their sports so seriously. You can usually tell how hard they practice when they go to the games because they never miss a route, a pick, or even an open man (or girl, volleyballers!).
Some people might disagree with me because they will say that not all Hudson teachers are like that, but I know from experience how they are in class. Maybe not all teachers, but the majority I’ve been around are like that. They might also say that the kids are some of the nicest ones around, but I never found one kid that didn’t care what you said or did. The coaches might say that they have the hardest working group of kids that never messed around in practice but if you ever decided to show up for some of their practices you will find out why they are not that great in most sports.
*the views expressed in this point/counterpoint are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Wildcat Times or Pittsford Area Schools.
There are many things that I have found that are different here at Pittsford High School than at my old school, Hudson High School. Some of the things that are different would be the teachers, students, and the spirit that the kids and parents have at all of the sporting events.
The things that I have found out to be different about the teachers here at PHS is the way they teach. What I like about the way they teach is when they are having a conversation about a question that has been asked, they like to include the whole class and not just the person who has asked that question. The teachers really don’t care who you are; they all like to get know you no matter what. They will never worry about someone seeing you talking to them or what you are talking to them about. The last thing that I have found to be better about the teachers is the quality of their work effort. They like to have fun but they are always serious about what they do.
Another reason why I have to say Pittsford is better then Hudson is the way the kids act. They don’t have groups that you sit with all the time and they don’t really care what you look like or what you act like. Sure, there are of some of those kids that go to Pittsford, just like at any school, but most of them are open to get to know you and are very friendly. Another reason why I like the kids here at PHS better is that they will help you with anything that you need.
The last reason why I like Pittsford better is because of how much school spirit they have. No matter how bad the team is (not that we’ve have bad teams here!) the students are always standing up and cheering loud. They always take their sports so seriously. You can usually tell how hard they practice when they go to the games because they never miss a route, a pick, or even an open man (or girl, volleyballers!).
Some people might disagree with me because they will say that not all Hudson teachers are like that, but I know from experience how they are in class. Maybe not all teachers, but the majority I’ve been around are like that. They might also say that the kids are some of the nicest ones around, but I never found one kid that didn’t care what you said or did. The coaches might say that they have the hardest working group of kids that never messed around in practice but if you ever decided to show up for some of their practices you will find out why they are not that great in most sports.
In the end, if you already go to Pittsford High School and you want to change I think that it would be a really bad idea because you already are getting a lot of good things out of this school. If you aren’t already here and are thinking about changing schools, then you should look into PHS and give it a lot of consideration. There’s a lot of really good things going on here.
Point/Counterpoint: Euthanasia and assisted suicide--should it be legalized?
by Emily Hines and Brooke Maxson
*the views expressed in this point/counterpoint are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Wildcat Times or Pittsford Area Schools.
Euthanasia is when a third party performs the last act that intentionally causes a patient’s death. Assisted suicide is when one doctor helps a patient die by providing the means of death.
Brooke: Do you remember hearing about Dr. Jack Kervorkian? He was imprisoned in Coldwater, MI for using lethal injections to his patients who agreed with euthanasia and assisted suicide in 1990.
Emily: Yeah, I heard a few things about it. I never really realized how close to home he and it was.
Brooke: It sounds awful. Don’t you think?
Emily: So you feel like he was wrong?
Brooke: Yes. Technically, it’s murder.
Emily: If the patient gives his or her permission, then it’s not murder.
Brooke: What if the patient has a chance at living but still feels hopeless?
Emily: Wouldn’t the doctors tell them they have a chance? Then they wouldn’t be so hopeless if they knew what the outcome could be.
Brooke: The doctors can guess, but they never really know for sure.
Emily: The patients know things could have the possibility to get better. They don’t need to be told. It’s their choice what they want to do with their life.
Brooke: The person is probably not thinking straight because they just lost hope. They need someone else to look at it from a different perspective. They might see more opportunity than the person with the stress upon them at the time.
Emily: Euthanasia could be the only possible way to relieve people in excruciating pain.
Brooke: Modern technology in the past has created new ways to lengthen life-spans even when the patient feels they can’t go on. Doctors are always coming up with new ideas to help patients escape the pain.
Emily: It makes more sense to legalize assisted suicide because then patients could die peacefully surrounded by friends and family rather than hopelessly, by themselves.
Brooke: Either way, if they have a serious disease his or her friends and family would already be expecting death. The family would always have doubt in their decision and might always regret it.
Emily: In some cases, it isn’t the family’s choice. If the patient is capable of making decisions, it’s their choice.
Brooke: They might have other treatment options and are only concentrating on the pain and getting rid of it, so they might not take the time to think of their possibilities.
If suicide isn’t illegal, why shouldn’t assisted suicide and/or euthanasia be legal for certain circumstances or if the patient gives consent? Should the option even be legal? You decide.
*the views expressed in this point/counterpoint are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Wildcat Times or Pittsford Area Schools.
Euthanasia is when a third party performs the last act that intentionally causes a patient’s death. Assisted suicide is when one doctor helps a patient die by providing the means of death.
Brooke: Do you remember hearing about Dr. Jack Kervorkian? He was imprisoned in Coldwater, MI for using lethal injections to his patients who agreed with euthanasia and assisted suicide in 1990.
Emily: Yeah, I heard a few things about it. I never really realized how close to home he and it was.
Brooke: It sounds awful. Don’t you think?
Emily: So you feel like he was wrong?
Brooke: Yes. Technically, it’s murder.
Emily: If the patient gives his or her permission, then it’s not murder.
Brooke: What if the patient has a chance at living but still feels hopeless?
Emily: Wouldn’t the doctors tell them they have a chance? Then they wouldn’t be so hopeless if they knew what the outcome could be.
Brooke: The doctors can guess, but they never really know for sure.
Emily: The patients know things could have the possibility to get better. They don’t need to be told. It’s their choice what they want to do with their life.
Brooke: The person is probably not thinking straight because they just lost hope. They need someone else to look at it from a different perspective. They might see more opportunity than the person with the stress upon them at the time.
Emily: Euthanasia could be the only possible way to relieve people in excruciating pain.
Brooke: Modern technology in the past has created new ways to lengthen life-spans even when the patient feels they can’t go on. Doctors are always coming up with new ideas to help patients escape the pain.
Emily: It makes more sense to legalize assisted suicide because then patients could die peacefully surrounded by friends and family rather than hopelessly, by themselves.
Brooke: Either way, if they have a serious disease his or her friends and family would already be expecting death. The family would always have doubt in their decision and might always regret it.
Emily: In some cases, it isn’t the family’s choice. If the patient is capable of making decisions, it’s their choice.
Brooke: They might have other treatment options and are only concentrating on the pain and getting rid of it, so they might not take the time to think of their possibilities.
If suicide isn’t illegal, why shouldn’t assisted suicide and/or euthanasia be legal for certain circumstances or if the patient gives consent? Should the option even be legal? You decide.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Varsity football team starts year with two wins
by William Belson
The Wildcat varsity football season opener started out with a bang against Ottawa Lake-Whiteford, with the ‘Cats winning 29-16. At halftime the score was 8-7 with Whiteford winning, but the second half was where the Wildcat varsity showed their true colors by scoring a few more touchdowns to pull themselves out of reach of Whiteford. This can mostly be credited to the offensive line and senior running back Chase Weber, who did not play any offense the first half due to injury, but was ready to tote the rock in the second half and totaled 60 yards and a TD. “I felt unstoppable,” said Weber. Whiteford was unable to move the ball effectively due to the Big Blue defensive line. Improvement needs to show, though, said coach Bob Clement. “Coming off low and hard with their heads up,” was one area of improvement, said Coach Clement. The Pittsford offense improved since their scrimmage against Sand Creek and Onsted a week before, but still needs to make strides. “(The) offensive line’s quickness and maintaining blocks, and the offensive backs coming off quick with good fakes,” is another area of improvement, said Coach Clement.
The varsity took the win from first game and used it for momentum into their second game against Colon, which they won 28-14. P-ford scored all of their points in the first half, and had great intensity all the way through their dominant first half. At halftime the score was 28-0. The great intensity didn’t carry through into the second half on defense, which led to Colon’s two touchdowns. The offense, on the other hand, played a great game all four quarters and had great blocks against the defense “The offensive line was incredible,” said junior QB Garret Lee. The varsity had a rough week not being able to perform to their full ability in practice, but was able to grab this great win despite the rough week. One of the big challenges going into this game was the “unpredictability of a team we’ve never played before,” said Coach Clement.
The Wildcat varsity football season opener started out with a bang against Ottawa Lake-Whiteford, with the ‘Cats winning 29-16. At halftime the score was 8-7 with Whiteford winning, but the second half was where the Wildcat varsity showed their true colors by scoring a few more touchdowns to pull themselves out of reach of Whiteford. This can mostly be credited to the offensive line and senior running back Chase Weber, who did not play any offense the first half due to injury, but was ready to tote the rock in the second half and totaled 60 yards and a TD. “I felt unstoppable,” said Weber. Whiteford was unable to move the ball effectively due to the Big Blue defensive line. Improvement needs to show, though, said coach Bob Clement. “Coming off low and hard with their heads up,” was one area of improvement, said Coach Clement. The Pittsford offense improved since their scrimmage against Sand Creek and Onsted a week before, but still needs to make strides. “(The) offensive line’s quickness and maintaining blocks, and the offensive backs coming off quick with good fakes,” is another area of improvement, said Coach Clement.
The varsity took the win from first game and used it for momentum into their second game against Colon, which they won 28-14. P-ford scored all of their points in the first half, and had great intensity all the way through their dominant first half. At halftime the score was 28-0. The great intensity didn’t carry through into the second half on defense, which led to Colon’s two touchdowns. The offense, on the other hand, played a great game all four quarters and had great blocks against the defense “The offensive line was incredible,” said junior QB Garret Lee. The varsity had a rough week not being able to perform to their full ability in practice, but was able to grab this great win despite the rough week. One of the big challenges going into this game was the “unpredictability of a team we’ve never played before,” said Coach Clement.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
New HS resource room teacher is PHS alum
by Shelby Strang
Ms. Jackie Barrett is the new high school resource room teacher at Pittsford High School, taking over from Mrs. Lovell, who retired. She actually grew up around here and also graduated from Pittsford High School in 1994.
Ms. Jackie Barrett is the new high school resource room teacher at Pittsford High School, taking over from Mrs. Lovell, who retired. She actually grew up around here and also graduated from Pittsford High School in 1994.
Ms. Barrett has taught for some time and isn’t new to the classroom, but it’s always an adjustment to a new room. She has also taught at Wapakon School in Ohio and at Madison schools in Adrian. This school differs from her other schools that she has taught at because Pittsford is smaller, more rural, and teachers and students have closer relationships. She really likes the nice students and feels very welcomed here.
Ms. Barrett is a graduate from here so she really loves the school and the community. That’s why she chose Pittsford rather than a different school. Though there’s always an adjustment, things here are progressing nicely. “So far so good!” said Ms. Barrett. So next time you see Ms. Barrett make sure to say hi and make her feel welcomed here at Pittsford!
Indroducing the new medium for the Wildcat Times
Here at Pittsford High School, the journalism class is making strides to make our paper more accessable to students, parents, and community members. We will be posting the most recent stories on this blog as we get them edited and finalized. We will still put out a printed publication every 3-4 weeks, but in this age of instant information, we are happy to make our articles available to our readers much more quickly than has been our custom with the printed publication. Bookmark us and/or add us into your favorites, as our updates on Wildcat sports, classroom activities and general school happenings are must-read!
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