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Top Stories ’11-’12: Harrisburg Rally for Public Education yields many questions, few answers from Corbett Administration
Photo Credit: Sarah Truax, The Eagle Managing Editor
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Written by Dynae Shaw, The Eagle Senior Writer
More classmates! No Inmates! This was a chant along with several others that around 400 students shouted yesterday February, 14th 2012. If you are wondering why, on Valentine’s Day, it was because the theme of the Rally for Public Education in Harrisburg was “Where is the love for PA schools?” The rally took place in the Rotunda of the State Capitol where students, parents, teachers, board members, and other supporters of public education from many areas across the state of Pennsylvania all came together, demanding that Governor Corbett make education a top priority in the budget.
Before the actual rally, each group picked a few students to speak to the Committee Chair of Education, Paul Clymer and the Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis (Mr. Tomalis chose not to attend). I was the student (who spoke to Clymer) that represented Pittsburgh and Teen Bloc (a student led organization funded by A+ Schools). I shared with Mr.Clymer my personal story of how last year’s budget cuts affected the quality of my education and health conditions of my school. I asked him about whether a plan was in place to make sure that we have equitable schools. Unfortunately, it appears that there is no clear plan and he answered the question by steering the topic off into a different subject.
The entire conversation was filled with fluff, which many people said was typical of a politician. We mentioned that they were hoping to get private partnerships to help sponsor schools however; I stated that would be very difficult as the funding for higher education institutions has been cut even more; not to mention that private partnerships are not a guaranteed. Mr.Clymer responded by saying ,“That’s a good point you bring up.”
I also brought up how the education budget decreased while the prison budget increased. Mr.Clymer went on about how prisons costs get really expensive along with the standard rhetoric. I responded by saying that many prisons are privately owned and also by asking what the priorities of the administration are.
One student even asked whether Corbett is trying to set public school students up for failure as he is investing more into prison than education. One thing that Clymer did say was that they want to try a new tact this year. “To save hundreds of office hours,” he said, “schools will not have to report their spending anymore.” I don’t know how you feel about that, but I think it is one of the worst ideas the Corbett people have had; you can’t cut the education budget and then not make schools report their funding. After all, this is the most crucial time in which schools need to be reporting; someone needs to make sure that students get what they need at their schools from their funding.
After our meeting , the rally took place. Students gave very powerful and emotionally-charged speeches inside the Rotunda to make sure our voices were heard by the people who make the decisions. The main groups of students that attended were TeenBloc, the Philadelphia Student Union, a group from Chester, a group from Reading, and the nonviolent schools organization. Many adults were astonished and inspired at how organized, productive, and powerful the students were.
However, that was only the beginning. Leaders of each group met after the rally and discussed the next steps. We will be creating a movement. It will be similar to the Occupy movement. We are reaching out to other organizations with similar visions and missions so that we can take it even further to make sure public schools have equity in this year’s and future budgets. We believe it is a human right to have a quality education and it should be funded that way.
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Top Sports ’11-’12: Was there ever any doubt?
Photo Credit: Michaela Hammer
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Written by Brandon Hutton, The Eagle Senior Writer
The boys’ volleyball team traveled to Brashear this Tuesday to compete for the city crown. They were up against Brashear, Carrick, and their main competitor, Allderdice. The boys ended up being successful after rounds of hard work.
The team had to defeat Carrick for the first round of the tournament. They went up 6-1 and forced Carrick to take a time out. With good serves by Rondell Harris and all around good play by all starters, they ended up winning the first round 25-10. The second set came around and Obama seemed like a new team, that is, in a bad sense. They were making small mistakes which allowed Carrick to keep it tied for about five points but then Obama took over. Even with Jonah Raether’s elbow injury, Obama was able to sweep Carrick. Meanwhile, in the other gym, Allderdice beat Brashear which meant that Obama would play Allderdice in the winners’ bracket and Carrick and Brashear would battle it out in the losers’ bracket.
The benches of Obama and Allderdice were going wild for the start of the game. Sadly, Allderdice ended up being louder as they had the 8-3 lead whenever Coach Vitti took a time out. There were many mistakes by Obama and they were down 11-24 at one point in the game. When the second game started, there seemed to be a change in the play of Obama. With a lot less mistakes made, they forced Allderdice to take a time out. Even though they were behind for a point at the score of 10-11, they ended up taking the lead on errors by ‘Dice. By only a two point margin, Obama won 25-23 on a kill by Sadik Roberts. In the third match, Obama came out looking good. With good serves by Sadik they were able to win it 15-8 and move on to the championships.
The loser’s bracket was then set with Allderdice and Brashear. Allderdice won that much in a closely competed game. Obama took a four point lead early in the game due to good spikes by Tobias and Sadik. With the game at one point 16-15 in favor of Obama, they turned up the heat and went on a big rally and ended up winning game one by a margin of 8 points. The second set didn’t look so good. Allderdice took the first three points on errors made by both teams. Obama was up 18-15 at one point in the game but Allderdice started to rally and made it 18-19, in favor of ‘Dice. On another kill by Sadik, the game was tied 20-20. Whenever Obama was up by two points, Allderdice called a time out and Obama took the last three points of the game to win 25-23.
This was the first volleyball championship under the name ‘Obama’ but really, the legacy of Schenley volleyball under Coach Vitti goes back another 6 years….in a row. This was number 7.
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Top Student Stories ’11-’12: Bravo Obama Drama!
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Obama Academy’s “Footloose” is something to praise! If you see one of your fellow classmates wearing magic ( a orange converse pin), or a Obama Drama sweatshirt, give them a pat on the back and a “well done!”.
Some of the many things that really impressed me were the choreography, costumes, lighting, set of the production, and most importantly the energy on stage. Considering how much they’ve been practicing and the fact that this wasn’t their first show during their tour, they still gave it their all. That’s one of the hardest things about doing a production, giving it your all every time for however long. And the fact that their dance moves were very demanding of energy, they still kicked butt!
Even though I enjoyed all their musical numbers, some of my favorites were “I Can’t Stand Still”, “Holding Out For a Hero”, “Can You Find it in Your Heart”, “Mama Says (You Can’t Back Down”)”, “Almost Paradise”, and “Footloose (Finale)”. During “I Can’t Stand Still”, I was tapping my foot and feeling the rhythm, and I absolutely loved it. And as a girl who used to live out in the country I REALLY connected with the song “Holding Out For a Hero”, all the guys wore overalls and drove pick-up trucks…
The acting during the show was absolutely entertaining! I have to say Fletcher Jones’ character “Willard”, Naomi Purnell’s “Wendy Jo”, and Nathaniel Rabuzzi’s “Betty/Coach/Dunbar/Cop/Mr. Dillingham” were hilarious! Fletcher’s southern accent was absolutely “dead-on!”, and he really made the character come to life.
I loved Naomi’s take as the ultimate ditz for her character “Wendy Jo”, if only she was blonde… And Than must be the fastest changer ever! It was like every scene you would see him as a totally different character, in fact two of his characters were women, seeing him dressed as a woman made my night! Even though he played many different characters throughout the show, he really made each one come alive.
The singing was incredible. Everyone from the main characters to the ensemble were amazing. And of course I absolutely loved the dancing! It was so fun seeing my friends and fellow “Obamians” dance their heart outs. Hats of to the choreographer Andre Rand Mathis who obviously did a great job, Miss Sharif-Lucas who was the Musical Director/Conductor who put together a lovely orchestra, and of course the lovely Ms McKrell who did it again…. Only under the name Obama this time.
And a quick shout out to the Student Production Staff- Aman Milliones-Roman, Asia Millender, Caley Donovan, Connor doubt, Fletcher Jones, Joseph Howell, Keyanna Taylor, Lewis Pell, Naomi Purnell, Than Rabuzzi, and TaJaya Thompson.
Great job everyone!
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Top Sports ’11-’12: The man who would be king
Photo Credit: Brandon Hutton
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Written by Jada McLain Ellis, The Eagle Staff Reporter
Most underclassmen do not get the opportunity to start varsity basketball during their sophomore year, especially when the team is known as one of the best in the city. But then again, Obama’s Darelle “D.J.” Porter is not most underclassmen, and has that honor. DJ is 6’3 and starts at center for Barack Obama’s basketball team. I had the pleasure to sit down and do a interview with him.
Q: How has the team grown since the beginning of the season?
Porter: We’ve really grown a lot because we had to get used to each other, and form a relationship with each other. Now it’s like anybody can go hard in the game at anytime!
Q: How has the season gone for you as a sophomore?
Porter: Pretty great because I’ve averaged double figures and had numerous double doubles this whole year, so far.
Q: What are the things you need to work on?
Porter: I think some of things I can work on more is speed and defense.
Q: What do you think the next season will look like?
Porter: I believe we’re still hungry for more this season but looking ahead to next year, I believe we will be undefeated city and states
Q: How do you balance basketball and school?
Porter: We have study hall every day before practice so that helps.
Q: who inspires you to play basketball?
Porter: The people who inspire me the most are Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Michael Jordan. The reason why they inspire me the most is because they all worked hard to be the best that they could be.
Q: Have you ever came to a point to were you wanted to quit basketball?
Porter: I will never want to quit basketball… I love it. When we lose it just makes me want to work harder to make sure it doesn’t happen again, not quit.
Q: What is something you’ve gained this year?
Porter: I would have to say maturity, confidence, and responsibility
Even though the interview was supposed to focus on basketball, there are other things DJ likes beyond the hoop court. Take rap music, for instance. His favorite rappers are Lil Wayne, Drake, J Cole, Biggie, and Tupac. He’s also a big fan of little Tyson chicken strips and drink lots of Gatorade. DJ is an average young man off of the court, but anything but average when he is playing basketball.
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Top Sports ’11-’12: Late goals by Leeza and Merce propel Lady Eagles to “another” city league crown
Photo Credit: Lewis 'Caz' Tidrick
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Written by Joel Macklin, The Eagle Staff Reporter
Two late goals propelled the Obama girls soccer team to the city league title on Monday night, as they beat Allderdice 2-1. Allderdice may have beaten the Eagles in two previous games it meant nothing in this annual “turf war” for the city championship. While it was the first Obama girls soccer city championship, in reality it marks 5 straight city titles for the Schenley/Obama banner.
Forward Merce Lemon Pierce scored the game winning goal that ensured the Eagles victory. Leeza Tokarski scored in the last 6 minutes of the game bringing the score to 1-1. 36 seconds later Merce and the Eagles smashed through the Dragon’s defense and got the tie breaking goal. In the end, Obama won ending their season at 11-5 while Allderdice remained 11-4 without the championship win. Obama is now advancing to the state competition level. As for the idea of more championships, Merce said, “We have good potential for the future”.
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Top Student Stories ’11-’12:Footloose is the Obama continuation of a great Schenley tradition
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Written by Molly Newell, The Eagle Staff Writer
After seeing the Obama Drama Department perform Footloose, I’m sure most, if not all of us can say they have definitely lived up to the legacy of Schenley’s musicals and that they’ve also lived up to their motto: “New Name… Same Game”.
Footloose is about a teenage boy named Ren, who moves to a small town where dancing is illegal. Ren is played by Aman Milliones-Roman, a senior here at Obama and the student director of Footloose.
The other leads performed exceptionally well. One of my personal favorites was Willard, who was played by Fletcher Jones. Willard brought comic relief to the play, especially during the number “Mama Says”.
The choreography was almost always synchronized and the singing was harmonized so well that it sounded almost good enough for Broadway, but not completely. Having a live orchestra definitely brought more liveliness to the musical.
Although the set was a little bit boring, the cast made it work and were very imaginative about what it could be.
Overall, the production of Footloose was just as good as a Schenley production was…or maybe even better. Ms. McKrell did a fine job directing it and I have no doubt that Footloose will receive a Gene Kelly Award to help Obama Academy create a musical legacy of its own.
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Top Stories ’11-’12: PPS Superintendent Dr.Linda Lane balances tough choices of today with optimism for the future
Photo Credit: Sarah Parker
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Written by Joel Macklin, The Eagle Editor
Pittsburgh Public Schools has been plagued by school closings, budget cuts, and a loss of students in recent years. For PPS Superintendent Dr.Linda Lane, it hasn’t been any easy time period, and yet, even though the district is suffering, it is comforting to know that there are still people out there who are looking out for the best interests of students, like Dr.Lane. Simply put, she is always looking at ways in which students can achieve more while also being on the cutting edge of technology
During an interview, Dr.Lane made note of new strategies, and said the district is looking to develop a way for us to be active readers in areas that might suit more students. For instance, many students have cell phones, iPods. iPads, tablets, or Kindles and Dr. Lane is looking at how PPS can mold this new technology in a way that will get students more interested in reading. “I think books are going to be replaced someday,” she noted.
Another way she’s looking to enhance the achievement of students is in a new program that’s underway called Empowering Effective Teachers (EET). EET was set up to support teachers’ professional development. “How can we support each other? We all want to improve,” she said.
Dr.Lane sees a classroom situation in which teachers are skilled in the latest techniques of how to instruct all types of learners, and students benefit greatly from the experience.. Pittsburgh has been recognized for its phenomenal teacher evaluation program (RISE) that was produced from EET. This new system is thanks to the willingness of the school district and the teacher union to work together, something which is out of the ordinary in most districts. To Dr.Lane, the idea is all about producing world class students who are ready to go further.
In the area of financial troubles, Dr. Lane explained that the budget cuts are the result of a smaller number of students coming to PPS and a smaller ratio of money now coming from the state. Just this week, Governor Corbett announced that PPS will receive the same amount of funding next year as it has this year. But that’s not a positive to be happy about. “The problem is that with inflation, our costs keep rising,” she said. “ We still need to find money for the bills.”
Unfortunately, finding more money often has to come in the form of staff cuts and school closings. In particular, the closing of Langley is usually pinned on Dr. Lane but she said, “I hate closing down a school” but it cannot be prevented at this point. With more kids going to cyber school, charter schools, and private school, less and less students are actually showing up to PPS and” the district can’t afford any unnecessary spending with less funding from the state.” PPS faces more competition than ever and that competition has made for schools with smaller populations, something the district cannot afford in tough financial times.
On a more hopeful note, The Superintendent also made mention of building a curriculum across subject areas that will provide students with what they need for college and careers. This new curriculum, which is supposed to go into effect around 2014, focuses more on nonfiction reading, for example. In the area of reading specifically, preparing for SAT’s and real-world reading will be more of the goal.”The curriculum will focus on what we learn and how we learn it,” she said
. Dr. Lane is trying hard to do what’s best for Pittsburgh students even in difficult times. One hopes that her vision help make a brighter future for all of us.
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Top Student Stories ’11-’12: Beyond powerful
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Written by Sarah Truax, The Eagle Managing Editor
For me, the Holocaust is something that is very emotional. I, along with some of my fellow 11th grade classmates went to the National Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. thanks to our good grades in history for the first semester. The museum takes a big toll on your emotions after you stroll through four floors devoted to the entire process of this tragedy from the very beginning pretty much to the very end. You’re given a passport when you enter and at the end of every floor you are supposed to flip to the next page to find out even more about your person’s experiences—a true rendering of the life and capture of someone ensnared in Hitler’s efforts to eradicate occupied lands of all Jews– and at the end you find out if they survived or if they perished. But remember, each floor has a different reason for being in the museum.
After you get your passport you are put on an elevator that looks like the inside of one of the gas chambers and sent to the fourth floor, where you then go through an experience backwards from what you’d normally think.
The fourth floor is very basic, designed to tell you about how it all slowly came to be and all the different types of people who were involved, from the Nazis to the prisoners. On this floor, I learned that the young people of Germany (non Jews) were essentially forced into different Nazi programs in which they were raised to go into the Nazi army, especially the boys.
The third floor connects everything more personally. It provides videos that were recorded in the camp. It also has one of the real cattle railroad cars that brought prisoners to the camps and you get to explore what had to be cramped, terrible conditions. There’s also the sign that was at the top of one of the gates at Auschwitz that each prisoner would have gone through to go into the camp—Arbeit macht frei—that translates into, “Work will set you free.”
You hear survivors talk about their experiences and see a model of the gas chambers while hearing an explanation of what it would have been like to go through that. There’s a pathway that you walk down and on each side there are hundreds and hundreds of shoes (pictured) that people wore while they were living in the camps. The very last thing you see on this floor are models of the ovens that they would have burned the bodies.
The second floor contains some information about the end of World War II and the end of the Holocaust, that features a huge wall that has all the names of the heroic individuals such as Oskar Schindler who helped people escape.
And then the Hall of Remembrance is at the very end of everything before you go back to the first floor. In this very important hall there is the Eternal Flame which was built upon some of the stones and dirt from the camps and so on. You can also light a candle for people who were in your family that died as a result of this horrible, horrible tragedy. Even though some of this doesn’t seem like it would be an emotionally draining tour, it truly is. It is no understatement to say that the National Holocaust Museum is something you need to experience for yourself.
I personally got choked up all throughout the third floor, from the very beginning to the very end of it. I got tears in my eyes watching some of the videos and walking through the train car. One of the things about the train car that really got me was the smell of it. It just seemed like something was wrong in it, the smell and feel of it just bothered me. Then the gate and hearing people talk about their actual experiences.
Then when I entered the room with all the shoes, the hundreds of shoes that were so worn down and some of them were so small, I just burst into tears and ran out. It made things just a bit too real for me, thinking that real people who died a horrible death wore those very shoes. It made it hard for me to walk through what was left.
I ran past the room with the ovens in fear that it would have made everything even worse for me. When I got to the Hall of Remembrance I turned to the last page of my passport. After learning about my person and knowing about how her husband died before they were put in the camps and how she had four kids, one of the boys died as a baby then the other boy and her two girls died in the camps, I found out that she was also killed by being gassed.
I started crying again.
I sat down and stared at the Eternal Flame until I calmed down and we got up and went downstairs. Surprisingly, I want to go back to D.C. just so that I can go to this memorial museum again and have more time to look at some of the things I had to over look and pass up just simply so that we could leave on time.
I’m pretty sure I sound crazy, but I could have spent hours upon hours there looking at every single thing they had to offer, studying everything to its final detail. This trip was well worth it and I suggest that you go too. I was lucky enough to have people go on this trip that were good friends of mine. Anyway, take a trip to D.C. go to some of the museums, including the National Holocaust Memorial Museum, I promise you that you will not regret it.
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Top Stories ’11-’12: “Dance Moms” returns; looks for another big year
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lifetime
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Written by Joel Macklin, The Eagle Staff Reporter
Editor’s Note: Dance Moms is a Lifetime reality show that attracted almost 60 million viewers last year. The surprise hit made stars of dance instructor Abby Lee Miller, her young dancers, and their mothers. As is the case with any reality show, there is a great deal of drama, and in many cases the viewer can’t quite figure out just who the “level headed ones” are.
Last fall, our Joel Macklin interviewed Holly Frazier, one of the dance moms, about her thoughts on the just-completed first year. Holly is a high school principal and Joel’s aunt (while dancer Nia is his cousin) and if there is any calm and cool adult on the show, most would agree that it is she.
How many ten year olds do you know who are given a chance at a little bit of stardom by appearing on a television show, and then have that chance blossom into a wildly popular TV hit?
Nia Frazier is a 10 year old girl who was given this chance by being on a new Lifetime show called Dance Moms. Dance Moms is a reality show that follows a Pittsburgh dance group around the US to different competitions with the infamous Abby Lee Miller. The show seemed to increase in popularity each week, and by the end of the season, Dance Moms was getting around 1.8 million viewers every week.
In a conversation with Dance Mom Holly Frazier, I asked about her daughter’s mentor, Abby Lee. “Abby is a character,” stated Holly when we discussed Abby’s personality. She said that Abby is a great teacher for Nia but is frustrating to work with. She had a lot more to say about the program and the experience, as well.
Joel: How has the show benefited you and Nia?
Holly: “The show has helped Nia and I have more mom and daughter time. That was good for our relationship and it helped Nia grow as a dancer.”
Joel: What could be improved about the show?
Holly: “The actual show didn’t show the girls dancing as much as I expected so I think that they could have added more time dedicated for dancing.”
Joel: What do you think Lifetime has in store for next season?
Holly: “Well, Lifetime keeps this from the actors too and we will know where we’re going around the day before we have to leave.”
Joel: Is Dance Moms scripted?
Holly: “Dance Moms is not scripted and 100% real. We don’t know exactly what is put in the show. All that we know is that they shoot us almost 24/7 and they do get all the fights and events.”
Joel: Do the girls have any friendships?
Holly: “The girls actually get along really well as if they really are best friends. They treat each other like an extended family while the fighting between the mothers never trickles down to them.”
Joel: How did the girls react to the pyramid system?
Holly: “Even though it was a bit degrading, it definitely made Nia and the others girls work harder because it was hard to climb to the top when you are stuck at the bottom.”
Dance Moms re-runs appear on Lifetime every Wednesday night and the new season will likely begin next spring.
Nia is trying to get more publicity like the other girls on her Facebook page. Even though she has made it farther than most do in a lifetime, she is still very ambitious and is trying to make it to Broadway or a kids’ TV show.
You can visit Nia, Holly, Abby Lee and the other girls and moms on Facebook or on the Lifetime home page.
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Top Sports ’11-’12: State Playoffs:USO loses heart-breaker in OT, 33-32
Photo Credit: Abner Roberts
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Written by Abner Roberts, The Eagle Staff Reporter
It was a momentum rollercoaster on Saturday, November 26th at the PIAA state football quarter finals between the State College Little Lions and the USO EAGLES.
State College jumped ahead early with a 60 yard run that lead to a touchdown but later in the first quarter the Eagles scored and failed to make the extra point making the score 9-6 with 33 seconds left in the 1st quarter.
State College kept the lead as the half ended, after almost giving up a touchdown from a clever hook and lateral play from USO with seconds left.
By the 4th quarter the Eagles had reduced the lead to 22-12 and eventually scored to make it a one touchdown game, and in the process switched the momentum to their side. When the ball returned to USO,the “rollercoaster” flew off the track when Eagles quarterback Akil Young threw an interception. A couple players later,State College returned the favor with a fumble.
Akil Young and the Eagles drove down field in the 4th quarter and scored, taking the lead with less than a minute left. At this time USO fans thought was in the bag, but the offensive effort by State College proved to be too much for the defense after they drove down the field and made a field goal attempt from 25 yards out as regulation time expired, taking the game to overtime.
The Eagles scored and once again failed to make and extra point which eventually would cost them the game after the Little Lions matched the touchdown followed by the successful extra point to win the game 33-32.
State College will take on WPIAL Quad A Champ North Allegheny this Saturday in Altoona, while USO will look back on a great season and think about what it takes to go a bit further next year.
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