FMSC is a charitable organization based in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, whose Arizona chapter is in Tempe. They ship meals out to various countries around the world whose inhabitants require food and water, and the school’s monetary donations will help them fund their operations.  On the FMSC website theyassure people that “93% of donations goes straight to food operations,” and “each meal only costs $ 0.24 to produce.”

“As a husband/father/teacher/coach, I believe it is my job to make our world a better place,” says Buck, “and the way I try to accomplish this is by getting my baseball program involved.” After a week of collecting money from around the school, on March 31^st the players and their fathers will go down to the Tempe packing location and attempt to break the record for most meals packed in a day.

In addition to packing meals and collecting money, the baseball teams also participate in several other charitable ventures. Every year they adopt four families through the Christmas Angels program, buy them items they need and wrap them. This year they adopted an Arizona National Guard unit in Afghanistan and Iraq, and sent them care packages; and they’re also working with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Arizona, and on March 30^th, when they host the Brophy Broncos, will pick the kids up from their facility, have them on the field as honorary captains, and drop them off at their facility after the game.

As if last year’s state championship isn’t proof enough that Buck is a fantastic coach, he is also instilling his team with a sense of pride and charity. He explains, “I want them making it a point to take action and make something great and give something of themselves. When people are not selfish, the world and the rewards are so much greater.”

Klein introduced the unconstitutional Senate Bill 1467 introduced says that anyone who provides classroom instruction and violates the FCC standards should be penalized.

English teacher, Marilee Edel said, “I heard a rumor I could say the words that I hear on TV…then I am safe.”

But, it does not limit the standards from being applied outside the classroom.  So, the bill not only willfully inhibits a teacher from being able to discuss history, it does not limit these standards from applying to teachers in their private lives.

Social Studies teacher, Dawn Agnew acknowledges this might affect her if the bill stands as written.   She said, “All I have to say is nobody should watch me watch a Brown’s game.  That’s the only time I swear and I think it’s a personal choice to use that type of language.”

Under the law, however, she could be in trouble.

The Bill introduced into Senate says any teacher “who provides classroom instruction in a public school engages in speech or conduct that would violate the standards adopted by the federal communications commission concerning obscenity, indecency and profanity if that speech or conduct were broadcast on television or radio” would be reprimanded. Even if  “you’re, say, in the teachers’ lounge and you stub your toe and an inadvertent bad word comes out of your mouth, you’d be in trouble. If it’s the first time, you’d be merely suspended. If it’s the third, you’d be fired,” says Laurie Robert’s Blog entitled, “Talk about your obscenities.”

So, forget Romeo and Juliet, forget discussing Freedom of Speech, forget learning about real life, because teachers can no longer say anything that isn’t allowed in Disney movies, well, the nice Disney movies and those who don’t have inappropriate sexual innuendos.  Maybe, they can use language in cartoons, off the radio, or from primetime TV – well, no not those either.

English co-teacher, Nina Miller thinks the whole idea is “ridiculous.  They should be making better bills instead of wasting my tax money.”  More money is bound to be wasted when the courts have cases come before them for the unconstitutionality of the Bill or the cases where teachers get in trouble.

Roberts also points out that taxpayers will probably be adding to their tax base because they will need to serve up the potty police.  She wrote, “No word as yet on who will serve as the potty-mouth police. Presumably, the Legislature will want to set up a potty police force, with all attendant rules and regulations on how to operate, as it clearly doesn’t trust the local school boards and administrators to run their own business.”

So, law classes could no longer discuss free speech because the teachers wouldn’t have any.  There could be no health classes because the teachers could not talk about sex.  There would be limited access to famous works of literature.  The classes on movies, plays, art, etc., would also be limited.  They will no longer be able to be discussed, certain subjects would have to be modified so students could not be privy to the information, the protests and words that have made up the history of the country.

While social studies teacher, Tricia Smith, wonders who uses profanity in the classroom, she said, “The bill is a violation of First Amendment Rights.  Legislators should be more concerned with funding education and test scores.”

Edel concurs and said, “The Legislators are too big for their britches and need to butt out – oops, that’s a four letter word.  What people hear in the halls is what should be monitored.”

Penalties will range from a one-week suspension to being fired.

The UBS originally contacted Key Club sponsors English teachers Julie Zahara and Wendi Cox with the idea of holding a blood drive, and senior Paul Song then spearheaded the effort. As Mountain Pointe had not had a blood drive in four years, it was agreed that it was time to host another. Zahara and Song met with Activities director Patricia Goolsby and the event was approved.

The blood drive was advertised extensively around school, with the Key Club creating posters and sending their students classroom to classroom, explaining the process and moral benefits to donating blood. Sophomore Jessica Fong was in charge of the blood drive committee within Key Club, figuring out logistics and collaborating with UBS during the planning process.

After collecting donators’ paperwork in English classes, there was a total of 120 students register for Wednesday. When the big day rolled around, kids were reminded to eat a big breakfast and drink plenty of water. Starting at 8 AM and continuing through the day, kids showed up to go through the interview and donation process.

Afterwards it was counted that 114 kids actually showed up to the small gym, and of that number, due to restrictions with illness and travel, only 86 were able to donate. But UBS was able to collect 88 viable units of blood, which is very successful, according to Zahara.

There were two donation processes, a whole blood donation, which is the typical one-pint, or the power red. Power Red, also known as a double red cell pheresis donation,whole blood is collected from one arm, run through a cell separator, which removes the red blood cells from other blood components, collects a set amount of the red blood cells and then pumps the rest back into the body with a saline solution. Power red requires that your blood be cycled through the machine three to four times, and allows the donor to give two pints at a time.

Of the 86 kids able to donate, there were a total of 59 whole blood donations and 27 power red. According to the American Red Cross website, less than 38% of Americans are eligible to donate, and with the typical blood transfusion being about 3 pints, every drop counts.

On Wednesday, many of Mountain Pointe’s own students were able to find the hero within and help save lives.

On the first day, it was a fairly simple excerpt of the routine for “(Hey Mama) Welcome to the 60’s” with the requisite “step-step-kickball-change” and everyone dancing in unison. There were 71 people who showed up on the first day, pinning numbers on their shirt fronts like marathon runners, swapping nervous laughs, and asking about audition protocol. Stage Manager Brianna Manheim issued orders like the seasoned vet she is, making sure the kids knew where they needed to be.

The second day consisted of a more difficult routine set to the iconic “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” while kids were pulled off in smaller groups to sing for specific parts. This last maneuver by the directors resulted in mass speculations and early fan casting by the other cast hopefuls.

Now, three days after the first note was sung, the cast list has been posted, on nondescript white paper, stapled to the call board outside the drama room.

The top of the list reads Tracy Turnblad: Shea Hunter. A great lead role for a senior with a soaring voice and lots of talent, this will be a great crowning achievement for her long career in theatre.

Below that is Tracy’s father, Wilbur Turnblad: Conor McDermott. A perfect role for the exciting, and slightly mad actor who brings such life to each of his roles, playing the goofy father who owns a joke shop will bode well with McDermott’s talents.

Tracy’s competition and nemesis Velma Von Tussle and her duplicate daughter Amber will be played by Madeleine Kretchman and Brenna Gaunt respectively. Tracy’s best friend Penny Pingleton will be performed by Shannon Phelps, while Penny’s love interest, the irrepressible Seaweed is Christian Branham’s part.

Last, but most anticipated, parts, for any girl who’s watched the movie, dashing and handsome Corny Collins, the ebullient show host, and lead singer, heartthrob, and teenage sensation Link Larkin. Corny will be portrayed by none other than the eccentric and debonair Bailey Latam. Corny’s show’s lead singer and dancer, the pulchritudinous Link will be portrayed by Justin Young.

Hairspray is this year’s Mountain Pointe Spring Musical, and is where most of this year’s theatre company budget is going. Renting wigs, costumes, lighting, and bringing in professional makeup and hair stylists will play out to the tune of $18,000. However, with six weeks till the show, and rehearsals every day, Bonagofski confidently predicts a full house.

The show will premiere Thursday April 12^th, and run until Saturday April 14^th, with one show on Thursday, one show on Friday, and two shows on Saturday.

After being eliminated early in the state playoffs last season, the Pride is focusing on starting the season off strong. The team only lost one senior last year due to graduation, so the fairly young team is really learning how to work together. 

Key players that will help the team with rebuilding strength and making the playoffs are Ciara Gonzales, 12 and Nyla Wambold, 12. Gonzales is the starting senior pitcher, who dominates the mound. This is the key to success for the Pride. Teammate of Gonzales, Wambold is the short stop for the Pride. She is considered one of the most athletic people on the team. Her agility on the field will give the offense an advantage, allowing the Pride to score more runs and win more games. While the seniors seem to be the dominating force of the field, juniors Chandler Hillman and Brooke Burchfield also add to the power behind this team.

Head coach and science teacher Mel Wendell said, “We made great strides at the end of last season, I expect us to continue where we left off and make a big impact for this year.” However the future still remains uncertain for the Pride. Many players are recovering from serious injuries in the off season. Rebuilding the strength of the team is a major priority for the team before they focus solely on making the state playoffs.

I don’t like to be afraid of things. Of course, a little fear is good, its what makes us human, if humans weren’t afraid, our race would have died out during the caveman days. “Hey guys, want to go kill that saber tooth tiger that’s ten times bigger than us?,” “No man, that’s scary.” See? Fear may have just saved one of your ancestors lives.

Fear is a healthy thing to have, but what is not healthy, is letting fear stop you from doing something that could save lives.

Out of the hundreds of sophomores, juniors and seniors over the age of sixteen only 85 people have signed up to participate in Key Club’s blood drive. 85. That is an extremely small number for the amount of people at this school.

Of course, there are exceptions, a shocking amount of people have reported that they have blood disorders that prevent them from donating blood, obviously they are exempt from donating, which brings down the number of those eligible significantly.

Key Club has been promoting the blood drive for several weeks now, going into classrooms to speak, going on the announcements, and putting up huge posters all over the school. The phrase: “I didn’t know that it was going on” is frankly, a lie. Still, 85 is all that would come forward to donate.

Despite my fear of needles, I am participating in the blood drive. I have a very legitimate fear of needles, and yet I am doing the blood drive. Why? Because I have perfectly healthy blood that I don’t necessarily need every pint of. I want to help save lives, and if that means doing something that I am afraid of then so be it.

I understand the fear, I really do.  We all have reasons for our fears, and fear can often times be paralyzing. But, you know what else is paralyzing, being in a situation where you desperately need a blood transfusion.

According to the American Red Cross: Every two seconds someone in the United States is in need of blood, a single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood, and more than 38,000 blood donations are needed each day. Cancer is a disease that has affected almost everyone in the country in some way, one million people are diagnosed with cancer each year, and nearly all of them will need blood transfusions sometime during their treatment.

I could have died the night of my accident, and I was lucky to get away with the few injuries that I did. If that car had been a few degrees to the right, or been going a little faster, who knows what could have happened to me. I could have easily been on the receiving side of a blood transfusion. Dumb luck was the only thing that saved me that night and I feel that it is my duty to donate my blood to save someone who may not have gotten off as lucky as I had.

Come on Mountain Pointe, let’s face our fears! I promise that I will be just as scared as all of you. Do not let fear keep you from doing the right thing, do not let fear keep you from saving a life. To those eighty-five that stepped up to donate, I applaud you, and I look forward to seeing you all next Wednesday.

That game is over, both teams have been on a good winning high, and now the stage is set again, but this time in Thunder territory. On February 2^nd, both teams will meet again in hopes of claiming some rights to call Ahwatukee theirs.

Coming in to the end stretch of their regular season, both teams are already well on their way to playoffs, now these final games left are just fighting for seeding. The pride coming in with a 10-5 record will need to win these last crucial games to raise their playoff berth, while the thunder is sitting pretty with their 15-2 record.

This game, like the last one, will be full of tension, screaming fans and exciting plays, while the rivals go at it for a win. The last game the pride played was against North High School, and although it was a somewhat close score the pride had no difficulty fighting of the Mustangs.

The pride will center their focus on their team full of fast guards, and powerful forwards trying to put together a victory against DV’s tall and scoring dominate team.

Returning six players from last year’s team that made it to the quarterfinals, the pride had to rebuild their entire roster around the returning players; seniors Marcus Ramirez and Cameron Gaskin, juniors Khari Hollway and Tre Campbell, and sophomores Jalen Brown and Austin Witherill.

Among the stat leaders, Hollway leads the team in scoring with 18 points a game, and assists with four per game. On the defensive end of the court, Brown is leading the team in blocks with 38 on the season, and 2 blocks per game. Taking care of the rebounding is Campbell, and Witherill, with 215 combined rebounds between the two of them.

With this stat line, it will be hard for DV to beat them again without a fight. The game kicks off on February 2^nd, at Desert Vista. The freshmen game starts at 4:00pm, JV at 5:30pm, and varsity takes center stage at 7pm. This will be an exciting match so don’t miss it!

To start with the most recent blurb of news, we’ll go to the recent finding of a suspicious envelope found in his home. The envelope contained two intriguing things: one, a note saying “Resign or Die,” and the second, was a suspicious, white powdery substance. The envelope had his address as the return address, and it had his signature on it, although it is been clarified as probably forged. The white powder was identified as not toxic, and was a safe substance.  Next, we have the issue of Joe firing his aid, in an article written on KTAR, Arpiao said, they were “lying about his involvement in a group that gave thousands of dollars for an advertisement attacking the sheriff’s 2008 opponent.”

When the sheriff was running for his fifth term in 2008, he was reported to have given 100,000 dollars to the Arizona Republican Party, who in turn gave some to a T.V. station, which then ran an ad attacking the sheriffs’ opponent. This led to his defeat, and reelection as sheriff for Joe in 2008. The sheriff has also had an issue with being labeled as a racial person. He has quote “a pattern of racially profiling Latinos, basing immigration enforcement on racially charged citizen complaints and punishing Hispanic jail inmates for speaking Spanish,” said in a FOX news article. Whatever is happening, “America’s toughest sheriff” won’t be leaving the headlines of some newspapers for a while.