Volume 21 Issue 2 November 2019

Leading Ladies comedy hits the stage

A standing ovation at the sev-en o’clock showing of Leading Ladies in the FHS auditorium on October 17 was expected as the talented cast took their final bows, ending the show with smil-ing faces and enthusiastic curt-sies. Leading Ladies is a comedic drama about two aspiring male Shakespearian Broadway actors (Leo and Jack) who go undercov-er as females in order to receive a large sum of money. Leo and Jack see an ad in the newspaper about an old woman (Florence) who is dying and is in search of her two granddaugh-ters, Maxine and Stephanie, in order to leave them the money in her will. When the two actors go undercover and arrive at the house of Mrs. Florence, things take an unexpected turn after Leo falls in love with the third grand-

daughter of Florence--Meg--who has taken care of Florence in her time of need. An ecstatic crowd was taken by a whirlwind of hilarity as the show progressed on through the night. Leading Ladies was filled with ex-hilarating plot twists and spicy innuendos. The cast of Leading Ladies carried this show, and it was easy to see how much time and ef-

fort went into each actor’s lines and part in the play. The leads, Junior Kyle Dupuis (Leo) and Senior Noelle Downey (Meg) captured the essence of their characters, delivering their lines to the audience with wit and humor. Kyle Dupuis shared how being in the show, Leading Ladies, was, “awesome because

the energy the crowd puts out is amazing.” Kyle’s favorite part of the play was, “when I tell Daniel about the plan for Duncan and he jumps on me.” The cast of Leading Ladies consisted of Kyle Dupuis (Leo/Maxine), Noelle Downey (Meg), Alex Ragas (Florence), Daniel Carmouche (Jack/Stephanie), Elizabeth (Lizzy) Pelto (Audrey), Quinn Young (Doc), Charlie Gill-Greve (Butch), and Jack Malloy (Duncan). Each one of the cast members have been in talented theatre at FHS, and most have been in more than one production. It isn’t hard to tell that they have the experience and the passion that goes with acting on stage. The director of the comedy perfor-mance was talented theater teach-er, Lance Nelson, Nelson said that he was “extremely proud” of the students he cast and that what he enjoyed most was“ hearing the crowd laugh.”

Day of Dead altar honors beloved teacher The Fontainebleau community lost one of their own in the month of September. Mercedes “Mercy” Burtch was born on July 21, 1953, in Havana, Cuba, and taught Spanish at FHS for twenty years. She began teaching the fourth year FHS opened and retired in 2017. She fought a courageous battle with cancer but passed away on September 26, 2019. The Spanish III class chose to celebrate Ms. Burtch’s life on the Day of the Dead. Day of the Dead is a widely celebrat-ed holiday, which begins on October 31 and ends November 2. The Hispanic cul-ture believes that death is a part of the human cycle, and the day is not about grievance but about celebration. Fami-lies and friends gather in cemeteries and decorate loved one’s graves. The living create altars, so they can celebrate with the deceased. The dead are remembered forever, as the traditions are passed down through each generation. Fontainebleau participates in the cel-ebration every year. The Spanish and Art department team up to paint faces to recognize the holiday. Spanish III classes set up an altar outside of Ms. Stumpf’s

classroom, Room 214. Junior Jeff Lee commented, “I enjoy remembering the happy memories shared when we made the altar.” Each level of the altar represents a dif-ferent aspect of remembrance. A picture of Burtch is placed on the top layer. Four white candles placed on the second floor represent the four cardinal directions. Three skulls represent the holy trinity. Flowers (Marigolds) and papel picado (tissue paper cut out into different de-signs) decorate the altar. Incense and fa-vorites of Burtch were placed throughout to help lead her soul back to the living. When asked about her favorite memo-ries, Spanish teacher Carol Stumpf re-plied, “My favorite memory of her is when she would dress up as a taco for school. She made me laugh!!!” Day of the Dead changes how people perceive death and offers ease for cop-ing with grief. It adds light in a moment of darkness for the school. Burtch was a part of the school’s community for a ma-jority of the school’s existence. She and her family will always be in Fontaineb-leau’s thoughts.

by Adriana Crawfordstaff writer

On a Day of the Dead altar made by the Spanish III class, Ms. Burtch’s picture rests on the top tier of the altar that was dedicated to her on November 1. Photo courtesy of Ms. Randolph

by Haley Martinstaff writer

At curtain call, talented theater students take their final bows after their performance on October 17 of Leading Ladies, a comedy that earned them a standing ovation. Photo courtesy of Katie Miller

Crimson Band scores in Top 10 for Showcase

page 5

Volleyball seniors recognized for their efforts

page 6

Choir showcases talent at the Dessert Concert

page 7

2 EDITORIALS november 2019

FHS Gazette Fontainebleau High School’s

Community Newspaper

To contact the Gazette staff, you may email us at

fhsgazette@gmail.comAdviser: Rebecca Paul,

Room 610

Editors: Aidan Parks, Johnathan Silva, and Abby Sonnier

The Advocate and St. Tammany Farmer Correspondent:

Allee Gay

Staff Writers and Photographers:

Adriana CrawfordKayla Ducre

Eli ElliottStephen GuidryCadence Lowery

Haley MartinGabriel Monahan

Grace NeumanNina Pittari

Kenzi Rodriguez

The FHS Gazette is a public forum for discussion. The staff and editors deter-mine the content. However, the editori-als are the opinions of the authors. The Gazette welcomes contributions from all members of the school community.

Articles must be signed and submitted ten days prior to publication.

by Jonathan Jay Silvastaff writer

LGBTQ+ Workplace Rights in Danger

LGBTQ+ rights hang in the balance. On October 8, the Supreme Court heard arguments in three blockbuster cases addressing under federal law whether workers can be fired for being gay or transgender. Two of these cases involve men who were fired when their employers found out they were gay. The third involves Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman who was fired when she told her employer that she was a woman and intended to begin gender transition treatment. At its core, all three cases concern employment discrimination. They have far-reaching implications for whether LGBTQ+ people will be protected under simi-lar federal laws prohibiting housing, health care, and education discrimi-nation. According to court observers, it seemed that the court may be more likely to protect gay than transgender workers, due to the fact they are more generally accepting of sexual oreinta-tion rather than someone who identi-fies as transgender. In Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it states that employers cannot fire, refuse to hire, or otherwise penal-ize people because of their sex. Clearly there was no intent to cover sexual ori-entation or transgender idenitity, since this amendment was passed nearly half a century ago. The law also protects against discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin. However, the court has long ruled that sex discrimination includes sex stereo-typing, or generalizations about how a person should act or dress based on societal norms for men and women. In 1989, such stereotyping was the basis of a major victory for a woman named Ann Hopkins, who sued her employ-er for telling her she needed to wear makeup and otherwise play up her fem-inine charms in order to be promoted. LGBTQ+ advocates have argued that sex stereotyping is also what drives employers to discriminate against peo-ple who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, believing that LGBTQ+ people fail to meet society’s standards for how men and women should act. Opposing viewpoints try to stress that it is religious freedoms at risk versus the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and by

not firing them, as claimed by Aimee Stephens employer, that would be vio-lating “God’s commands.” However, the desire to use religion to validate discrimination against a certain group is not a new argument, as religious groups have a history of fighting both with one another and outside groups. In 2015, when same-sex marriage was le-galized in the United States, there were plenty of religious protesters saying that it was against their faith for LG-BTQ+ people to be wed to each other. The same goes for working LGBTQ+ citizens as opponents of their rights continue to claim what they do in their personal lives “goes against their (the employer’s) religion.” This issue is striking fear into the hearts of many LGBTQ+ workers across the country, including Foun-tainebleau’s LGBTQ+ students. One student, Hailey Maxwell, senior, said, “I think it’s unbelievable how [the Su-preme Court] are mixed about it … we LGBTQ+ people are the same as straight people. We’re all human -- we all bleed, so why does it matter who people like? We should have the same opportunities.” This ruling is particularly concern-ing for working members of the com-munity, many of which have jobs af-ter school or during the weekends. If this ruling turns against the LGBTQ+ community, then it’s quite possible that they could be fired for their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is still legal in 29 states to fire an individual based on their sexual orientation, and

in 34 states based on their gender iden-tity or expression. (This is especially concerning regarding companies that advocate against LGBTQ+ rights, for example, Chick-Fil-A, Their stance is made clear from the millions of dollars the fast-food chain has donated to an-ti-LGBTQ+ and hate groups over the years and from Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy’s hostile remarks about marriage equality.) Another student, senior, Ashley Schil-ling, highlighted the importance of this ruling, “It’s kind of scary being a mem-ber of the LGBTQ+ community right now. Nine people are currently decid-ing [on] how our future in this country will be … If Title IV doesn’t cover the LGBTQ+ community, it could have severe consequences. Job discrimina-tion could apply to government jobs, keeping LGBTQ+ people out of high-ranking jobs within state and federal governments.” For example, a current presidential candidate, Pete Buttigeg, under current federal law, could legally be fired from his position as mayor for his sexual orientation. If a mayor can be fired for what goes on in his private life, who’s to say that thousands of other LGBTQ+ members across the country, including here at Fontainebleau High School, can’t be, either? This decision will be a mile-stone in the continuous fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and if it is ruled in their favor, the members of the community can only hope that the jus-tices do so for the rights of all to freely live and work in this country.

Can perfectionism be healthy? Perfectionism is often viewed by so-ciety as a good characteristic, but it can have an adverse effect on people men-tally, physically, and socially. People with perfectionism often overlook their victories and focus solely on the failures they’ve suffered, give up on new things they aren’t immediately good at, and be-lieve the work they produce must be ab-solutely perfect. In recent years, there has been a spike of 33% of teenagers with self-oriented perfectionism, wishing to seem flawless at everything they do, from school to so-cial media to athletics. Parental pressures also hit teens hard since parents are often wanting to raise a successful, “perfect” child.” This is often the most debilitat-ing form of perfectionism since it leaves teens feeling as though they’ve let family and friends down because of a poor test score, because of rejection by a crush, or because of any other form of failure. This perfectionism is closely linked to anxiety and depression, the worst cases

resulting in eating disorders and suicid-al thoughts. Often teens struggle with these feelings in silence, believing they should be able to fix their problems on their own. This can come from hearing the phrase from parents too often that “you shouldn’t put too much pressure on yourself.” This is true, but some people have a hard time keeping their stress under con-trol. They can seek therapy and counsel-ling for this, or if they can’t do that, they can talk to a close friend about the stress and pressure they’re under. The most important thing for teens with perfec-tionistic tendencies to know is that it is okay to not be perfect. No one is.

SIGNS OF PERFECTIONISM:1. An All or Nothing Attitude

2. Unrealistic Standards3. A Critical Eye4. Fear of Failure5, Procratination

6. Low Self-Esteem7. Defensiveness

by Aidan Parksstaff writer

Gavel image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Chart image courtery of counselling.northwestern.edu.

november 2019 SCHOOL NEWS/FEATURES 3

FHS alumna wins Pulitizer prize Alexandra Wimley, a Fontaine-bleau High School 2013 alumna, is now part of a team of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalists who recent-ly won a Pulitzer Prize for their cov-erage of a mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue. Although just in her twenties, Wimley has already ac-complished much in her work and says, “I ... feel extremely proud to be part of such a talented and thoughtful team of journalists, and I felt proud to be at a point in my career at 24 that I never could have imagined being at, especially when I was a student at Fontainebleau.” Wimley was on the staff of the Fontainebleau High School Gazette for two years while attending the school, and was also a student corre-spondent for the Times-Picayune her senior year. She currently works in the field of photojournalism, which she enjoys “because every single day is different. I get to meet people with different life experiences than me and experience things that I other-

of Wimley’s from a young age, and working with the Gazette at Fontaine-bleau High School helped Wimley nurture an interest in photojournalism and develop skills she would later on use in her career. “Taking newspaper

wise would have no business being a part of. It’s really rewarding to get to know communities and little seg-ments of the city and be given the op-portunity to tell their stories.” Photography has been an interest

and writing for the Times-Picayune gave me the opportunity to just sort of get my feet wet. I was able to get a feel for jour-nalistic writing and photographing and talking to strangers,” she explained. As a photojournalist, Wimley has been able to achieve a great deal since her time at Fontainebleau High, including travel-ing overseas for her work. According to her, the most interesting experience she has had as a journalist was covering the 2016 presidential election in her senior year of college. “It was so fascinating to be able to witness that bit of history first hand.” Wimley notes the importance of high school journalism and advises promising writers “to not underestimate what you can do as a student. A high school jour-nalist can be a ‘real’ journalist if they’re doing real journalism. Just find what you are interested in and passionate about in your own community, and follow that. Lastly, don’t listen to anyone who tells you journalism is a dying field or that if you go into journalism you’ll just be un-employed. Those things are just not true.”

Staff members and contributors from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (from left: Shelly Brad-bury, Paula Ward, Alexandra Wimley, Liz Navratil, John Robinson Block, James Iovino, David Shribman and Andrew Goldstein) accept the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting. Photo by Eileen Barroso/Columbia University

by Allee GayFHS Student Correspondent

Adopt-A-Pond explores local ecosystems

Environmental Science students took to the ponds, or more specifically took up a pond, in Mandeville on Oc-tober 8th in an attempt to im-prove and learn about our local ecosystem. Ms. Fauntleroy’s Environmental Class decided to adopt a local pond through the St. Tammany Parish’s Adopt-A-Pond project. The students visited their adopted pond where they took water quality tests, for pH levels , salinity and water clarity, and the presence of nitrates and phosphates. After studying the tests, students found that the tests revealed chemicals and pollutants from runoff. Runoff is caused when there is so much water that the land isn’t able to absorb all of it. The excess liquid flows into streams, creeks, or in this case, a pond. However, as the wa-ter flows into various bodies of water, it can pick up litter, chemicals, or other substances that are harmful to the ecosys-tem. The evidence collected shows that this is happening

to ponds across St. Tammany Parish. Environmental Science is a class dedicated to learning about the world’s ecosystems and habitats and human con-dition. Environmental issues are largely discussed, includ-ing causes and solutions to the problem of solution. Eva Schluter, sophomore, who is a student in Environmental Sci-ence class, remarked, “Seeing first-hand all the effects we have on the environment has been really eye-opening.” Be-cause of the class’s passion for the environment and the fact that they are learning about retention ponds, the Adopt-A-Pond field trip was a good choice for the class. Adopt-a-Pond is a program that partners with communi-ties around the nation in order to improve the water quality, appearance, and the wildlife habitats. The program edu-cates communities about how to care for and maintain their ponds for the long-term. Ear-lier this year, junior high and

by Gabriel Monahanstaff writer

In the hopes of learning about runoff, Colby Landry (12), Grace Phelan (11), and Eva Schluter (10) test water from their pond in Mandeville for chemicals. Photo courtesy of Caleigh Jernigan

high schools across St. Tammany, including Fontainebleau High School, have started this program to maintain seven retention ponds located throughout the parish. Adopt-a-pond is part of a bigger initiative called Replant St. Tam-many, whose goal is to preserve the community’s tree canopy, enhance water quality improve-ments, increase flood mitigation, and create eco-corridors and wild-life habitats. This is done through Adopt-A-Pond and the Tree Bank; the latter’s goal is to plant trees around the community. In Louisiana alone, millions of acres of trees have been lost due to nat-ural causes and human interven-tion. This loss affects the ozone (oxygen level) in the air as well as the animal habitats. Ms. Fauntle-roy’s class will return to a pond in January in order to plant trees to increase the ozone and create new habitats for the animals that live around the pond. These programs hope to im-prove our ecosystem while also educating students, and in the words of Pat Brister, the Parish President, about Replant St. Tam-many earlier this year, “We also have the benefit of teaching our young people about their own environment and how all of these elements work hand-in-hand to give us our wonderful, natural surroundings, and what they can do in the future to protect our community.”

Chevron sponsors Robotics “Game of Drones”

(985)-888-1170

by Kenzi Rodriguezstaff writer

As part of the Lead the Way Project to encourage STEM involvement, robotics club member Andrew Buras (10) guides a drone through an obstacle course in Game of Drones on October 11 in the FHS gym. Photo courtesy of Ms. Hoffman

Why would the First Robotics Team host a “Game of Drones” rather than the photography club in conjunction with Chevron on October 11 at Fontaine-bleau High? The answer is not so much in the eye of the camera but in the potential use of drones in the field of engineering. For Chevron, drones have proved to be useful in reduc-ing health and safety risks, as well as providing help in collecting key data during an emergency situation, such as an oil spill. In the past, trained inspectors would fly in helicopters or planes over a site to spot problems, or they would conduct di-rect field inspections. But the dangers involved were great, and they were limited in the amount of information they could gather. Project Lead the Way with support from Chevron-Gulf of Mexico aims at helping high school students devel-op solutions to real-world problems through the engi-neering design process. At the “Game of Drones” ex-hibition, there were a num-ber of engineers available to explain the obstacle courses students would have to go through with their drones and to discuss different

types of engineering jobs. Students worked as a team to solve puzzles and to get clues to find the keys to the drones in order to build and operate them before they could go through the obstacle course. Team coach and spon-sor, Mrs. Tracy Hoffman, explained that the event taught engineering and ro-botic students how to control remotely operated vehicles. It also taught them about the experiences engineers have had in the career fields these students are interested in. Project Lead the Way provided the obstacles that the engineers used for dem-onstrations, and volunteers worked with students, show-ing them how to manage the drones. Junior team member, Julian Miller, expressed his satisfaction of the Game of Drones exercise. He stated that “What I enjoyed most about Game of Drones was the multiple puzzles we had to solve.” He also com-mented that he had learned a mixture of teamwork, puzzle solving, drone agility, and flying skills. Game of drones was an experience that students will be able to take with them into the future of their engineering paths.

4 FEATURES novmeber 2019

Red ribbon week promotes drug-free lifestyleby Abby Sonnier

editor

Once a year, schools from all over the district participate in Red Ribbon Week in order to promote a drug-free lifestyle. Red Ribbon Week is sponsored by the National Family Partnership, whose goal is to “bring awareness, education and on-going initiatives to prevent illegal drug use.” This event took place during the week of October 21-25. Red Ribbon Week, sponsored by the SADD Club, includes themes that promote positive behavior and encourage students to say “no” to drugs. Students and teachers from around the pound participated in these festivites.The dress up days included: Hawaiian (Mon-day), Hippie (Tuesday), Pajamas( Wednesday), Twins ( Thursday), and Pink Out (Friday).

1) Dressed up as characters from The Handmaid’s Tale, Ms. Lewis and Ms. Anderson show off their twinning outfits.2)”Leiing off drugs”, Emma Floyd, Aeryn Hernan-dez, Ms. Randolph, and Lane Firmin participate in red ribbon week by dressing up in hawaiian attire.3)Wearing their pajamas to school, from left to right, David Roig, Ashley Brashear (11), Presley Howard, Lindsey Hesson, Samaria Peters, and Amyiah Hill take part in “Lights out on drugs.”4) From left to right juniors Ciara Randolph, Ame-lia Bourgeois, Madison Michot, Brooke Caillet, and Marissa Palma say “peace out to drugs” with their Art III teacher, Ms. Shearman.5) Supporting Friday’s theme of pink out, Ms. Chavez and Ms. Bird sport their pink clothes and matching pink wigs.

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Faces of FHSby Haley Martin and Nina Pittaristaff writers

Hannah EganSophomore

Q:What do you like most about the holidays?A: No school

Landon Curtis Junior

Q:What is your favorite holiday tradition?

A:Meeting up with my family on Thanksgiving

Kalahan HillSenior

Q: What are you most thankful for this holiday season?

A:My family and my friends

Constantino DagoglouFreshman

Q:What is your favorite dish to eat during during Thanksgiving?

A:Turkey

November 2019 School News/FEATURES 5

Crimson band showcases talent with “The Heist”

After countless months of prepa-ration, the FHS Crimson Band boarded a bus to Lafayette to the Louisiana Showcase of Marching Bands on November 9 to earn their spot on the leaderboards. “My expectations for this year’s showcase are that it will be a thrill-ing and overall outstanding show,” said director Lee Hicks before the musicians took off. The theme the Crimson Band chose this year was “The Heist.” It involved a diverse selection of stories and roles played by band members and the colorguard team. Props included a shack, large vault, and a cityscape named “The City of Lass.” The brass section played poor, homeless strugglers who be-came rich and then blended in with the aristocrats. The drum corps had a helping hand from Lakeshore’s band di-rector, Craig Byers, who taught at FHS a few years ago. Byers helped compose the band’s drills and sto-ry outline for their performance. Most band members agree that the most challenging part of the preparation for Showcase is the balancing of extracurriculars. When asked about their experi-ence in band, seniors Jacob Barron

Fans defy weather at Voodoo Fest

emotional expericence,” said Lee, “as well as being a great charac-ter builder. It’s a great way to find supportive people.” Junior Jazz Seals agrees, “Al-though it is a mental game of push-ing yourself forward, you have to be focused all of the time. While also being fun, it creates compan-ionship and families.” Among the bandmates and color guard, it was the seniors’ last showcase before graduation. When asked to give a message to underclassmen about the future of the FHS Crimson Band, senior Brenna Dinapolis knew exactly what to say. “Never stop working and keep it pushing!” Band members, flag team, di-rectors, and fans endured the bit-ing cold while they waited im-patiently for the score. Finally, after what seemed hours, Fon-tainebleau High Crimson Band was asked to join the top ten in State on the field. In the 2019 Showcase, Fontainebleau placed 8th in the state overall. In their division, they placed 2nd in class 3A, 2nd place in auxiliary in 3A, and 2nd place for drum majors in 3A.

by Eli Eliottstaff writer

At the 25th anniversary of Voodoo Fest in 2016, 150,000 people were in attendance. That number was almost equalled this year, despite tropical storm Olga, who hit Oct.25 2019. Saturday’s opening for the second day of the 2019 Voodoo Music + Arts Experience was delayed from noon to 1 p.m. because of the strong winds and rain that came in overnight. One of the two 25-foot-tall LED video walls flanking the main Altar stage was blown down and reportedly damaged as wind gusts picked up on Sat-urday. But with headliners like Guns and Roses and Beck, and even the hip modern Post Malone, the rain was no match for the loyal fans. For the first time since 1996 , Axel Rose joined the band once again and rocked the stage for three long hours, through the pouring storm, and seemed to have a blast. Fans weren't as pleased as usual, due to the soaking rain and fields of mud, but as ever, most weren’t surprised that Louisiana weather does not stop the show. Fans sang, partied, laughed and ate and ate! Music festivals are one of the things New Orleans does best. I highly rec-ommend the Voodoo Music and Arts Festival to anyone who wants to enjoy the uniqueness of New Orleans and her love of music.

by Grace Neumanstaff writer

ticing to move in sync while playing, and performing challenging flag maneuvers takes great dedication, the payoff in the end seems to drive the students and direc-tors toward their goal. “It is overall a very mental, physical, and

and Heather Lee had to contemplate their an-swers. “The experience I’ve had has been over-whelming but a fun one,” said Barron. Although months of marching in July heat, learning difficult musical selections, prac-

Taking 2nd Place in Class 3A Division, 2nd in Auxillary, and 2nd for drum majors, the FHS Crimson Band takes their places on the field at the Louisiana Showcase of Marching Bands in Lafayette on November 9, 2019. The band placed 8th Overall in the state. Photo courtesy of Mr. Miller

SURVEY OF FAVORITE BANDS FOR VOODOO FESTIVAL 2019

Photos courtesy of spin.com and uber.com

november 2019 Sports/Entertainment 6

Volleyball players stand tallby Abby Sonnier

editor

Fontainebleau’s volleyball team radiates excellence as two of their players have earned special recognition for doing well on and off the court. Senior Kayla Wort is on the All-Star volleyball team for Louisiana. Fellow senior defensive specialist Chloe Chaix has earned the title of an Academic All-State Player. Senior volleyball players from all over the state were handpicked by coaches from the Louisiana High School Coaches Association (LHSCA) to be on the 2019 All- Star Volleyball team. The team is comprised of an East and a West side. Wort is one of the few volleyball players from the district of St. Tammany to be on this prestigious team, representing the East side. When asked how she felt about being named an All-Star player, Wort responded, “It’s hon-

Senior defensive specialist Chloe Chiax, who earned the rec-ognition of an All-State Academic Player, goes down to dig the ball while teammate Ella Thomson watches on. Photo courtesy of Emma Santiago

Kayla Wort, a senior middle hitter, moves to hit the ball over the net in an effort to help her team win against Chalmette High School on October 23,2019. Photo courtesy of Emma Santiago

estly such a big honor to be named an All-Star player, but I would not be able to be where I am without my team constantly supporting and pushing me.” Coach Mule, the head coach for the girl’s volley-ball team explained “ that Kayla has performed really well. She has really grown in her ability to play.” In regards to playing in the All-Star game on No-vember 23, Wort reported that she was “super excited to be able to meet and join a team of girls who I’ve competed against every season. It’ll be really fun to come together as a new team as we end our volley-ball careers.” After graduating, Wort will attend Texas A&M University with plans to major in either business management or finance. Texas A&M runs in her family, as both her mom and brother graduated from the university. In her free time, Wort enjoys working out and hanging out with her friends. To be a successful stu-

dent athlete, one must find a way to balance sports and school. Chloe Chaix does exactly that. This year Chaix, another senior for the volleyball team, was named an Academic All-State player. In order to earn this recognition, a stu-dent must have a 3.5 GPA or better. In regards to this title, “It’s something I’ve been working towards for a long time. I have been working hard outside of volleyball and in classes,” says Chaix. In her free time, Chaix enjoys working out. Out-side of volleyball, she interns at Evolve Studio in Mandeville. There she works at the juice bar and aids in maintaining the business’s appearance. For college, Chaix plans to at-tend either the University of Louisiana Lafayette or a college in southern Ala-bama with hopes of major-ing in child psychology. Coach Mule says that Chaix “works extremely hard on and off the court. She has been vital to our team’s success.”

DIY: Fun fall mason jars

Photo courtesy of http://sparkandchemistry.com/blog/leaf-mason-jar-candle-holder/

Materials:1 mason jar1 jar of Mod Podge1 pack of fake fall leaves (these can be accquired from the dollar store)1 battery operated candle (optional)1 ribbon (optional)

Procedure:1) Clean the outside of the mason jar with rubbing alcohol2) Dip the sponge brush into the Mod Podge and apply a light layer onto the jar3)Place the leaf on the desired spot4) Apply another layer of Mod Podge onto the leaf 5) Repeat steaps 2-4 until the desired look is achieved 6) Tie a ribbon onto the top of the mason jar (optional)7) Place a battery operated candle inside the jar (optional)

Swimmers meet goals at Metro Competition

by Nina Pittaristaff writer

Junior Gabby Chautin and senior Will Plauche were two of the swim-mers that competed in the Metro swim meet at UNO on October 25 though the 26. The girls placed 8th with a to-tal point score of 106.50, and the boys placed 7th with the total point score of 137.00. But Chautin and Plauche stood out with their times, especially in their individual events. Along with swimming, Chautin is also involved in the student council at FHS and the National Honor Society. When asked about how she felt con-cerning her last big competition and if she had any regrets, Chautin replied “I’m super happy with the results. All the hard work I’ve put in over the past season paid off. No complaints!” Chautin, along with other girls, placed in the top of all the divisions they en-tered. Chautin replied “Yeah definitely!

I think I would have started my 100 freestyle faster so I wouldn’t have tied for first and instead have won it completely,” when asked if she felt her score reflected her best work. After being asked who has influ-enced her love for swimming the

most, the junior swimmer responded, “My year round coach, along with my teammates.” Senior, Will Plauche explained, “Yes, I could have trained harder and more often” when asked if he felt like his scores reflected his best work and if he

would have done anything differ-ently. Since this is the senior swimmer’s last year at FHS, he expressed this sentiment about his teammates, “I hope they continue to swim and work hard. I have enjoyed every moment with them, and I am thank-ful to have been able to call them my teammates.” About the last big competition and if he’s happy with his results, Plauche replied, “ I am happy with my results, but we actually have one more meet left, State Champion-ships, and I don’t have any regrets.” Both swimmers have accom-plished much with the time and effort they have put into the sport.These talented swimmers make swimming look easy, but their dedi-cation and expertise are not to be taken for granted.

Before the Metro Meet at University of New Orleans, swim team members unite to encourage each other on October 25. Photo courtesy of Gabby Chautin

NovemBER 2015 School News/Review 7

Choir honors veterans 40s styleby Kayla Ducre

staff writer

In honor of Veterans Day, Ms. Lem-mler and her students hosted a des-sert concert in the auditorium on November 11 at 7: 00 pm to share the music of the 40s. Most of us never knew our great grandparents, but the music of the 40’s dominated their lives. For many of them, WWII permeated every part of their world, and much of the music the choir will present brought comfort and distraction to the troubled nation. The Dessert Concert was arranged by Lemmler to broadcast the music that was released during the time of WWII to everyone, even those who may not know the music of the 40s. Fellow teacher, Ms. Steigman admit-ted that, “the concert was supposed to be on a different day, so I’m happy it was changed. This way, we were able to celebrate our Veterans, with includes some of my former stu-dents.” Lemmler is the ideal person to oversee such an honorable proj-ect because while she was part of a three-girl band, a new WWII mu-seum opened. As the museum began to grow in popularity, she decided to learn about WWII and to intensely absorb the music of the time. With her prior knowledge of the music, Lem-mler rummaged through hundreds of songs during that decade to find the right ones. Lemmler chose songs

she felt singing with the choir, Steig-man answered, “I was singing with Rhythm and Blues. I loved it because I love being on stage and I was happy to be a part, even in a small way.” Choir students were dressed in pe-riod costumes, either black and white with a splash of red or with polka dots, as was prevalent during the 40s. They performed the songs that Lemmler chose in a display of respect to the veterans who fought in WWII. Tickets were $5.00 and could be purchased from any choir student. Because the concert is in honor of veterans, all veterans who attended were free of admission fee. During the short intermission, in the cafeteria, sweet treats were avail-able for concert goers: cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and many oth-ers. The cost of the ticket covered desserts as well as the performance. Lemmler’s ultimate goal was to be able to honor those who fought and to enlighten those who do not know the music of the 40s. She intended to achieve these goals by awarding those who attended with delicious desserts. Steigman explained why she chose to participate in the concert, “I’ve always been interested in singing, but I was always busy with teaching. And I like singing with the students because I get to meet new students and know them better, other than being their teacher.”

Joker stirs audiences with fear and empathyby Stephen Guidry

staff writer

There have been a host of comic book movies released in the last few years, but Todd Philips’ “Joker” flips the usual superhero movie blueprint on its head. Released on October 4, the film brought a unique and origi-nal take to the iconic villain, show-ing us the man behind the makeup. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck (the Joker), along with film veterans Frances Conroy as Penny, his mother, and Robert de Niro as talk show host Murrary Franklin, Arthur’s idol. The film opened to polarizing reviews, some criticiz-ing how the film attempts to make the audience empathize with a se-rial killer; however, many critics applauded Todd Philips’ direction and Joaquin Phoenix’s disturb-ingly convincing performance. The film begins by showing Ar-thur dressed as a clown advertising for a corner store on the sidewalk of a busy street in Gotham City. A gang of teenagers takes his sign and ultimately beat him with it. After being harassed akin to this on the daily, a coworker of Arthur’s offers him a pistol for protection. Arthur goes to a hospital to perform as a clown for sick children, but as he dances around, his pistol falls out of his shoe, resulting in his being fired. The film depicts a man hitting

rock bottom with nothing going for him, and it pulls off the feat incredibly well. As the film progresses, and as the viewer begins to see Arthur transform into the Joker, the movie still urges the viewer to empathize with him; something it does with surprising ease. Todd Philips focuses on the character of the Joker, not the action and chaos he brings along with him. The entire film depicts a man’s descent into madness and why he ends up where he does. Arthur has every-thing and everyone going against him and the film forces movie-goers to un-

Joaquin Pheonix disturbs audiences with his chilling rendition of the iconic character, the Joker.Photo courtesy of www.dazedigital.com

derstand why he acts out on Gotham. A large segment of the film focuses on the political scene of Gotham: this is how the Joker is able to practically become a ce-lebrity in the city. As John Willingham put it, “The movie looked more on the politics behind the city rath-er than just action and fight-ing or whatever, and I liked that.” The lower class feel forgotten about by the rich and well-established law makers and stockholders, and they relate to Arthur’s fight against these people. Arthur looks much happier and free as the Joker than he ever did as himself; he

finally feels recognized. Human connection is what Arthur seeks during the entire runtime of the film, and he receives it when he puts on clown makeup. The main draw-back to this movie is, in fact, Ar-thur’s mind: his dwindling mental state makes the viewer question what is ac-tually real and what is not. Karissa Garett shared her opinion: “I honestly didn’t know what was real or not, which is very annoying.” One could argue that the entire film was in Ar-thur’s head, while another viewer could say that only a small portion was; no-

body knows. This does leave flexibility to the Jok-er’s actual backstory, but a concrete storyline would have been more favorable. At just under two hours, the movie’s runtime is be-low that of a regular block-buster, but its length is one of it’s greatest assets. The story moves quickly, and it does what it sets out to do: make the viewer em-pathize with the Joker. Todd Philips’ masterful di-rection combined with Joa-quin Phoenix’s disturbing performance creates a must-see; the movie will have you thinking about it for days after you have seen it.

that she thought expressed and rep-resented the time period most. Put-ting together such a big production is a difficult task in itself, so when asked about whether there were any difficulties organizing the concert, she replied, “It’s always a chal-lenge when so many people are a part of a project, so I spread out the musical jobs.” Each one of her stu-dents were given a job to complete for the concert to come together. During the 40s, the music moti-

vated and inspired the citizens at home to support war efforts. This explains why most of the music is extremely patriotic. Also, dur-ing the decade, Swing and Jazz music was at its peak in popular-ity. One of the songs which was performed is “A Tisket a Tasket.” Choir student, Senior Tyler Cook replied that his favorite part of the concert is “being able to be a part of something that’s bigger than myself.” When asked how

In order to perfect their performance, Ms. Lemmler and her choir students practice for The Dessert Concert by going over the steps in the auditorium on November 6. Photo by Kayla Ducre

“I honestly didn’t know what was real or not.”-Karissa Garrett, Sophomore

8 ENTERTAINMENT November 2019

Meet the Staff

Grace Neuman10

If you could live any-where in the world,

where would it be and why?

Germany because I think it fits my

personality well.Who do you look up

to?Kate Stratford from Ten

Things I Hate About You.

Eli Elliott11

Do you have any hid-den talents?

Not to toot my own horn, but I’m pretty

good at realistic draw-ing and singing.

Who is your favorite band?

The Arctic Monkeys.

Aidan Parks11

Do you have any pets?Yes. Many. It’s awful to

wake up to roosters.Where do you see

yourself in 10 years?Too many paths to

choose from! My favor-ites are psychologist, teacher, or journalist,

maybe married.

Horoscopes

Aries - Your money and finances sudden-ly come into focus. You thought you had more. Where is it?Taurus - You finally find yourself again. You left yourself in the woods. Moss and ferns have grown over your body. You are at peace.Gemini - There is nothing you won’t do to keep the peace with your loved ones, even if it means los-ing your soul. Be careful.Cancer - Family can be a blessing and a curse. Choose wisely. It will affect your de-cisions later on.Leo - Love will be here soon. Soon.Run.Virgo - Your home comes to a lull, the storm is passed, your ship is calm. All is well. You are well.Libra - Your tongue is

by Aidan Parkseditor

a whip and the words you speak cut deep. Be careful not to hurt those you love.Scorpio - You may think your hands are tied, but you roar like a lion and shake the stars down from heaven.Sagittarius - Luck is on your side this month. You will need every ounce of it.Capricorn - Secrecy is your friend. Keep your secrets close to your chest. Like a hand of cards.Aquarius - Push forward. You will get it done. You will achieve exactly what you want. Push. Push. Oh, wait, that’s a pull door.Pisces - Your true worth comes to the front, glittering for all to see on your chest. Why do you have a diamond in your chest?

by Cadence Lowerystaff writer

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance toparticipate in any meeting, please contact Tracey Peters (985-892-7112). Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the school to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to the meeting.