Tapping into Talent: Two juniors share musical passion, original songs through live performances, Extended Play recording, Pages 7-9.

the

TIGER PRINTnewspaperBlue Valley High School — Vol. 45 —Issue 1 — August 2014 — Overland Park, Kansas

Photo by Maddie Davis.

2 inthenews August 2014

international newsexplained

Pages designed by Sally Cochran.

MALAYSIAN PLANE DISASTER: PART TWOOn July 17, another disaster struck the al-ready infamous Malaysian Airlines. Passen-ger flight MH17 was shot from the sky over the Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. Washington believes the Ukrainian gov-ernment was not involved and suspects the attack was orchestrated by pro-Russian sepa-ratists. There has been conflict in regions of Ukraine after the peninsula of Crimea was annexed back to Russia, which most officials viewed as a power-grab on Russian president Vladimir Putin’s part. Investigations on who

shot down this commercial flight, which posed no security threat to either Ukraine or Russia, have not produced a guilty party as of August 5. Suspicions do point toward Russia, seeing as it has been an aggressive nation under Putin’s rule. The consensus with Russian involvement has been agreed to everywhere except Russia. One of the most pro-Russian propaganda news stations directs the blame toward the Central Intelli-gence Agency (CIA), who is allegedly out to destroy the Russian economy.

Tensions have always been high between Israeli and Palestinian extremists. While most conflicts between the neighboring nations have seemed like a sideshow to the rest of the world, recent events have drawn the world’s attention. As of July 27, there were over 1,000 Palestinians dead from the conflict. Forty-four Israelis have been killed — 40 of whom were soldiers.

It is unclear who initiated the latest round of bombings, but both nations claim self-de-fense. United States officials believe Israel needs to give up its control on the ports of the Gaza Strip and provide free access to enter and exit the strip. A cease-fire was called for 24 hours Sunday July 27 for humanitarian relief to the decimated streets of Gaza.

GAZA CONFLICT

inside this issue

Going the DistanceGraduate races with college solar car team, makes local stop page 3

Beat in BrazilStaffer reflects on US team’s World Cup matches page 23

Fun for FallStaffers review popular summer releases, suggest ideas for fall entertainment pages 12-13

NEWS 2

SPORTS 14

ENTERTAINMENT 12

FEATURES 7

OPINION 4

Visit bvtigernews.com for even more stories, pictures and more.

gennifergeermanaging editor

Students generally don’t think about the intricate workings of the school’s building, nor the logistics it takes to maintain such a system.

However, like any building, Blue Valley constantly needs updates to keep everything running smoothly.

This summer, the main switch gear for the building, a unit that controls the electric-ity in the school — in the same function as main electrical boxes do for houses — was replaced to ensure BV had reliable power.

“We were afraid that if this switch would have opened and turned the power off to the school, we would not be able to get the

power back on,” BV District Maintenance Coordinator Richard Heusman said.

The new unit performs the same job as the old one, but it has a different design. As opposed to the old unit’s use of fuses, the new installation operates with thermal overload breakers.

Heusman said the main reason for replacing the main switch gear was the old unit’s untrustworthiness, so the replacement won’t affect students or staff much.

As the old unit wasn’t the source of BV’s almost-yearly power outages, the new unit can’t fix those annual issues.

“The power problems have all been with [Kansas City Power and Light Company] and not with the internal equipment in the building,” Heusman said.

Summer repairs made on BV electrical

Stories by Sheila Gregory.

August 2014 inthenews 3

gennifergeer and sheilagregorymanaging editor and news editor

Speeding down the highway, a small car starts on a cross-country race. Built entirely by students, it’s an experiment in engineering. Holding one person, it runs off sunshine and shows no sign of stop-ping.

The annual American Solar Challenge (ASC) rolled through Kan-sas City July 24 with Blue Valley 2013 graduate Jackson Walker.

Walker’s school, Principia College, has consistently participated in this race, and this involvement prompted Walker to choose that college.

“It’s a major draw that brought me to the college because I like computers and math and science and things like that,” Walker said. “I was like, ‘That’d be a good reason to come to this school, to be involved in that.’ So, I got involved. I started working really hard, and they picked me to go on the race.”

The competition is open to colleges and students from all around the world. Teams must design and build a solar-powered vehicle within the requirements set by the ASC with the hopes of making the 1,700 mile cross-country journey.

Not just any team with a functioning solar car can enter the chal-lenge. Each one must have submitted blueprints as well as construc-tion information to be considered.

To reduce weight, previous Principia cars had three wheels. How-ever, this year’s design, Ra9, had four.

“What we’re doing is designing our car to meet future regulations for future races,” Walker said. “We want to go to Australia next year, and they’re going to require a four-wheel vehicle. Instead of designing a new one next year and rebuilding it, we decided to build a four-wheel car that could handle this race and the next rac-es. Instead of specializing in one arena, we just built a general car that met regulations for everything, so we don’t have to redo it.”

If all design standards are met, cars were sent to the Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) to be tested and scruti-nized. Each car had to complete either 60 laps in one day or 90 laps over two days with different drivers to ensure the vehicle was suitable for the journey.

The teams who completed the race started their journey in Austin, Texas, and eventually made their way up to

Minneapolis, Minnesota. A KC energy and infrastructure company, Black and Veatch, host-

ed the participants for one night on the eight-day road trip. The race commenced on July 21 and came to Overland Park, Kansas, on July 24. Each night had a checkpoint in various states along the route.

Teams faced difficulties along the way such as conserving energy on cloudy and rainy days, breakdowns and simple fatigue.

One car stored in the bay next to Principia’s car caught on fire early in the qualifying stage of the race, causing the sprinklers to go off and flooding the Ra9.

“We had to rip out everything in the car and rebuild it in one day and get back on the track and qualify,” Walker said. “In order to do that, we had to split [our qualifying laps] over two days. We didn’t even get the number of laps, but they made an exception because we were able to show it’s road-worthy even after ripping it apart after water damage.”

The winner was determined by which team had the shortest elapsed time. So even if a team got to the finish line first, another team who completed it with an overall faster time would win.

With the 23 colleges registered and nine teams qualifying to race, Walker came in fifth.

As of June 24, Walker said the highlight of the race was recovering from the fire incident.

“All these teams pitched in to help us get back on our feet, and that’s what this is about,” he said. “It’s about camaraderie. Winning is cool and all, but there are certain teams that are going to do better than others. So, winning isn’t everything. It’s about the learning and the friendship that happens.”

Blue Valley graduate participates in American Solar Challenge, makes stage stop at local engineering firm

Graduate Jackson Walker poses by Princip-ia College’s ninth solar car, Ra9. The car was named for the Egyptian sun god, Ra. “As a group, we figure we’ve spent over 8,000 manhours on the car this summer,” Walker said. Photo by Gennifer Geer.

4 outloud August 2014

makaylanicholisstaff writer

Columbine High School, April 20, 1999: Students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shoot 33 students, killing 12 and wounding 21.

Both then commit suicide in the library surrounded by ten of their victims.

Since then, an overwhelming number of school shootings have taken place all across the United States.

People tend to absentmindedly blame these terrible occurrences on gun control — or lack thereof.

But for once, I would like to grind this issue down all the way to the root — because kids don’t just see a gun and think, “Hey! How cool would it be if I took this to school and murdered a bunch of my classmates?”

Teenagers who shoot up their schools don’t want to kill their teachers just because they know they can get to a gun.

If authorities would stop trying to place the blame on a faulty lockbox or lousy parenting skills and take a step back to look over the so-called perfection of their school system, then perhaps we wouldn’t need to argue so much about gun control.

The brutal truth — the honest answer that everyone has so des-perately tried to avoid, to excuse themselves from — is that kids have turned to violence because of the school system itself.

We sit at desks, five days in a row, having loads of information shoved down our throats. Our lives are determined by the sound of a bell. Deadlines set our hands shaking, red letters at the top of a page break our hearts and it takes the loudest setting on our iPods to drown out how stupid our brain is telling us we are.

We don’t have time for friends, but we feel the pressure of needing to impress them.

We worry over what to wear to school and whether we should bring an extra shirt in case we get pushed into the water fountain again.

We’re all too familiar with the feeling of our bodies being shoved

against lockers, the sound of snide whispers behind our backs or the sight of subtweets getting favorited by people who we thought were our friends.

With all this pressure, combined with hours of mindless home-work a night, how could anyone not be depressed?

And violence doesn’t just come through the barrel of a gun. It comes in pinches and razors, matches and rubber bands.

According to a survey conducted last year by the University of Minnesota, 39 percent of high school students are depressed, and 83 percent of high school students self-harm or have self-harmed.

It’s easier to overlook this fact. It’s more comfortable to avoid the scenario entirely.

But it’s happening, and ignoring that fact will not make it untrue — especially when such conditions can lead to acts of violence, such as school shootings.

Nothing is flawless, but the education system is rotten nearly down to its core.

And their answer? Common Core, a system that piles on even more work and a heavier measure of self-worth based on memoriza-tion skills.

How are we, as teenagers on our way to college, supposed to be able to choose what we want to do with our lives when we’ve spent the entire time locked between four walls?

This is not preparation for “the real world.”This is hiding us in a box and convincing us your way is the only

way.Let us out.Allow us to see the world — and not just the U.S. because the U.S.

only does things one way. Put us in situations that make us uncomfortable. Show us how people really live their lives — from businessmen, to

artists, to charity workers, to acrobats, to vagabonds.Expose us to the world before we have to decide what ours will be

like.Elementary school, to middle school, to high school, to college,

then on to a job that we may or may not even like, is a system author-ity has fallen in love with.

We go along with it just because everyone before us did, not because it’s good.

Something needs to change because a world where students would rather go to their graves than to their school is not a world anyone should want to be a part of.

Flawed American school system, student violence connected

Page designed by Sally Cochran.

an honest BREAKDOWNof the school system

5August 2014 outloud

staffeditorial

Cartoon by Mandy Novicoff.

Let’s be real.High school is nothing

like how it is portrayed in the movies.

No one is mean enough to make an entire “Burn Book” as a way to make fun of 95 percent of the school popula-tion like in “Mean Girls.”

It is highly unlikely some-one as good-looking as Chad Michael Murray is going to run off the football field in the middle of “the big game” to kiss his “Cinderella” in the stands just as it begins to rain like in “A Cinderella Story.”

And there will never, ever be a party as crazy as the one in “Project X,” regardless of whether or not that one kid’s parents are out of town and he instructs everyone to invite whomever they want.

We don’t even get the benefit of having soda in our school cafeteria like in the

movie “Clueless.”So, the question is, why

are we all trying to achieve this perfect high school experience like you would see in the movies? Why is it so easy to blame our actions on “peer pressure” like it’s so commonly depicted on the big screen when, really, we are making decisions for ourselves?

High school isn’t about being the most “popular” or having the most “friends,” especially because those “friends” aren’t usually there for you like you would like them to be.

High school is not about being in the perfect rela-tionship or finding your soulmate, especially since many of us know that most relationships in high school don’t even work out in the end.

High school is not about drinking and partying all the time.

It’s time we all break the high school stereotypes.

It’s time that all of our actions reflect who we are and what we want to do with our lives, rather than

trying to create this image for ourselves that makes us seem “cool” to others.

After high school, none of this is even going to matter. As hard as that is to imagine — that we’re all going to be out in the real world some day, not even thinking about what sort of reputation we had as high schoolers — it really is only four years.

So, make the most of it. Surround yourself with

people who actually care about you — people who will make you laugh so hard your stomach hurts or be a shoulder to cry on when you need it.

Wear the things you want to wear.

Skip the party that every-one’s going to on Friday night and watch movies with your friends.

Be the person you want to be.

Don’t let the movies make you feel like your high school experience is mediocre.

No matter who you are or what you do while you’re in high school, there will be plenty of stories to tell later in life.

staff editorial

8agree

0 disagree

High school experience not like the movies; students should focus on being themselves

“The Tiger Print,” published seven times a year, is an open forum for student expression. Therefore, the opinions expressed within this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrations of Blue Valley Unified School District #229.

Letters to the editor are encouraged for publication. “The Tiger Print” reserves the right to edit all submissions for both language and content. Letters should be submitted to room 450, emailed to thetigerprint@yahoo.com or mailed to:

The Tiger Print c/o Blue Valley High School 6001 W. 159th Street Overland Park, KS 66085

the

TIGER PRINTnewspaper

editor-in-chiefSally Cochran

managing editorGennifer Geer

photo editorMolly Johnson

news editorSheila Gregory

opinion editor Riley Miller

features editorMaddie Davis

entertainment editorRachel Lock

sports editorMatt Antonic

adviser Michelle Nuss

photographersIsabelle AllenAlyssa HessSophia Ragomo

cartoonistsMandy NovicoffChristine Rice

staff writersChloe BreauHope BrownCourtney CarpenterNimisha HalderMegan HegartyBridget HowardMakayla NicholisCassie NicholsCharlotte RooneyIfrah SayyadaMeredith Strickland

6 outloud August 2014

sallycochraneditor-in-chief

“Education Beyond Expectations.”But not too far beyond expectations.When comparing the Blue Valley School District graduation

requirements with those of the Kansas Board of Regents, one can see the similarities.

It makes sense BV has followed in the footsteps of the Board of Regents, whose requirements dictate what high school classes stu-dents must take in order to apply to one of five state universities.

BV School District is helping students be able to continue with their educations, and that’s great.

If we didn’t adhere to these requirements, we would have far fewer college students.

However, there are a few missing links when looking at this list.For example, the Board of Regents and BV School District only

require three years of math.It’s true that five of the six Kansas universities don’t require more

than that to apply for admission. However, many other schools do. It would be unfortunate if a student was otherwise fully qualified

to attend a certain college but was not admitted due to a missing math or science credit.

In addition, there’s more to college than just getting admitted. Even if a student can apply to and attend a Kansas university

without taking math or science his or her senior year, how successful will that student be?

After not being in a math class for two months, attempting to complete my summer math assignment was pretty much a disaster.

It only stands to reason that a student who skipped math for his or her entire senior year won’t be doing well in a freshman course.

If BV is really concerned about preparing students to be complete-ly college ready, the district needs to require a math course all four years.

That will lead to true education beyond expectations — even the state’s expectations — as well as higher student success in college.

The staff of “The Tiger Print” would love to hear your ideas for the newspaper.

If you know of an interesting event, person, idea or really anything that deserves coverage, you are welcome to reach out to us.

Stop by room 450; shoot us an email, Facebook message or tweet; or talk to a staff member.

In addition, if you feel strongly about a topic or have feedback for us, we accept letters to the editor. Turn to page five and read the para-graph in the gray box to find out how your ideas can be published.

Speaking of feedback, we love to hear it. Good, bad, neutral, whatever.

Let us know what you think of the paper that you’re reading right this instant and those to come.

We as a staff only know what you do and don’t want to see again if you tell us.

I’d like to thank you for opening this newspaper up. I hope that we will produce quality content throughout the year that will keep you reading.

Editor’s note:

For greater student success after high school, BV district must require four math credits

Kansas Board of Regents’ requirementsComparison: BV graduation

requirements

4 English credits3 Math credits 3 Social Studies credits3 Science creditsElective credits1 P.E. credit1 Technology credit1 Fine Arts credit

Page designed by Sally Cochran and Rachel Lock.

* *Kansas Board of Regents requires three math credits and a math subscore of 22 on the ACT or four math credits.

(3)(7.5)

August 2014 upclose 7

musicmakin’

Walking around the hallways of Blue Valley, the love of music is easily seen.

A boy walks to class with his Beats headphones on, listening to his favorite song before class.

A group of girls cluster together in a group, each wearing a T-shirt from Miley Cyrus’ most recent concert.

The band kids take their instruments to the band hall, excitedly chatting about the new solo part one of them has received.

Show tune-loving students debate which musical has the best score.

Despite our different tastes in music, most teenagers look up to and even idolize their favorite bands and artists.

They’ve seemingly captured ideas and emotions none of us could explain, let alone put into a song.

However, BV is lucky enough to have two aspiring musicians who, one day, may be the artists thousands of teenag-ers look up to.

Juniors pursue music through live performances, EP recordingPages 7-9. Lead by Maddie Davis.

Photos by Maddie Davis and submitted by Addie Sartino.

Pages designed by Sally Cochran.

8 upclose August 2014

maddiedavisfeatures editor

It’s 3 a.m., and while most of us are sleeping, junior Madison Morrill is chewing on her pen as she works on a new song. She strums her guitar every few minutes, solid-ifying a tune to go with the lyrics in her head.

Morrill said she became interest-ed in music at a very young age.

“I started seriously singing around the same time I started songwriting,” she said. “I was about 8. I remember that I was watching The Ellen Degeneres Show, and her guest was Taylor Swift, who had just released her first single, ‘Our Song.’ I thought that was so cool, that she was 16 and had written her own song that was number 1 on the record charts. After that, I was like, ‘I want to do that.’ So, I sat down, took the tune of a Beyoncé song and wrote down random words that fit with the music.”

Since then, Morrill said music has become much more meaningful.

“Music for me is basically a place to vent because I don’t like to always be outright with how I feel about things,” she said. “It lets me be cre-ative without having to worry about proper grammar. I can put my heart and soul into a song and not worry about if it sounds correct. If people like it, they like it; if they don’t, then too bad — it’s me. I like music so

much because it’s an escape. I love when you can find a song, you just sit there and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is me,’ to the point where it reduces you to tears. I love the power that music has.”

Not only has Morrill’s love and appreciation for music grown, but she said her songwriting ability has, too.

“I think my most quickly written songs tend to be the best because I didn’t pause to think over a long period of time,” she said. “It’s truly what I was feeling in that moment. One of my favorite songs describes how people grow up and change and how they continuously wonder, ‘How am I going to be 10 years from now?’ and what you come to realize in life. I really like this song because it’s real emotions, and many people can relate to it.”

Morrill said she hopes to reach out to people in need through her songs.

“With my music, I want people to feel like they’re not alone,” she said. “There’s been many times where I’ve been trapped in my head just thinking, ‘Wow, no one cares,’ and I don’t want anyone else to have to feel like that. I want to feel like I’m there for someone. If my music can do that, I’m living up to what I want to do.”

Morrill said she also reaches out to people through performing.

“[Junior] Lance Jewett’s dad came up to me after I performed at Gaslight Grill and told me that my song had made him cry,” she said. “Then he hugged me. I was so shocked that a full-grown man had just told me my song made him cry. I didn’t know how to react — I felt so bad because I sort of just said ‘thank you’ really quietly. I’ve never received that intimate of a compli-ment before about something I’ve created.”

Morrill said she enjoys per-forming even though it can be nerve-wracking.

“Since it’s my emotions in the

song, I get concerned that people will think I’m weird,” she said. “But then I just remember it’s my song, and if they think I’m strange, then too bad for them. I really like being on stage — I just hate waiting for it. Because, once I’m on stage, the true me comes out.”

Morrill said she goes by a stage name, Sunny, because that is when she feels truly like herself.

“Sunny represents the real me, the one that isn’t afraid of what peo-ple will think of her,” she said. “She’s the person that holds nothing back. She lets me show what my songs are really saying so that I don’t hide behind the lyrics anymore.”

Morrill said although other artists’ music is where most of her inspiration comes from, there are times when she finds ideas in the world around her.

“One time I was nannying a 4-year-old who could not stop talking about trains,” she said. “It was adorable, but I thought about trains all the time. So, I wrote a song based on an emotion I was feeling and ended up calling it ‘Wrecked Dreams (Locomotive).’ I started with the rawest emotion I was feeling and the object that was stuck in my head — trains. From there, I pieced it together in my head.”

Morrill said that although some songs have been fairly easy to write, she has struggled with writing others.

“Sometimes I want to write a song, but I just don’t know where to start,” she said. “A lot of people as-sume that you always start with the first verse, but, sometimes, the first verse doesn’t come to you. The cho-rus or the bridge or the last line can come to you first. The struggle for me is finding out where the phrase or idea that comes into my head goes in a song and then working up, down or sideways to figure out the rest of the song. Or [I struggle with] just having general writer’s block or not being able to get my emotions out as clearly as I’d like.”

Besides battling writer’s block, Morrill said there are also barriers to cross in terms of her career as a whole.

“I’ve been writing songs for almost nine years, but there are quite a few people who don’t know I write,” she said. “I know there are some people who are very straight-forward about the fact that they write music, but that’s not me. I do it more for myself. I only really let on that I songwrite through social me-dia because that’s where I’m com-fortable doing it. Getting noticed in a sea of musicians will always be a constant struggle for me.”

Morrill said she plans on releas-ing a few songs or an EP in the near future and thinks it will help with her publicity.

“I’ve come to really like the songs I’ve written recently,” she said. “A couple I’m planning to release sometime in the next couple months as just a single. If that goes well, then I’ll probably do an EP later.”

Morrill said despite all of the hard work music comes with, she wants to do it as a career, but, if it doesn’t work out, she has an idea for a backup.

“Currently, my fallback plan is to major in Music Business or Music Management,” she said. “That way, if I am able to go somewhere with my music, I can manage myself and not get ‘tricked by the system.’ Or, if [my music career] doesn’t work out, I can manage someone else. I’ll still be in the music business because that’s where I would like to be.”

Undeterred by adversity, Morrill said she doesn’t let people bring her down.

“When people tell me I won’t make it in the music industry, I just ignore them,” she said. “I don’t like to argue my dreams because no one has the right to tell me what I will and will not do. If the day comes when it hits me that I’m not going to make it in the music industry, then I’ll accept it. But until then — I have complete faith in myself.”

Junior creates original music, performs live

August 2014 upclose 9

Besides battling writer’s block, Morrill said there are also barriers to cross in terms of her career as a whole.

“I’ve been writing songs for almost nine years, but there are quite a few people who don’t know I write,” she said. “I know there are some people who are very straight-forward about the fact that they write music, but that’s not me. I do it more for myself. I only really let on that I songwrite through social me-dia because that’s where I’m com-fortable doing it. Getting noticed in a sea of musicians will always be a constant struggle for me.”

Morrill said she plans on releas-ing a few songs or an EP in the near future and thinks it will help with her publicity.

“I’ve come to really like the songs I’ve written recently,” she said. “A couple I’m planning to release sometime in the next couple months as just a single. If that goes well, then I’ll probably do an EP later.”

Morrill said despite all of the hard work music comes with, she wants to do it as a career, but, if it doesn’t work out, she has an idea for a backup.

“Currently, my fallback plan is to major in Music Business or Music Management,” she said. “That way, if I am able to go somewhere with my music, I can manage myself and not get ‘tricked by the system.’ Or, if [my music career] doesn’t work out, I can manage someone else. I’ll still be in the music business because that’s where I would like to be.”

Undeterred by adversity, Morrill said she doesn’t let people bring her down.

“When people tell me I won’t make it in the music industry, I just ignore them,” she said. “I don’t like to argue my dreams because no one has the right to tell me what I will and will not do. If the day comes when it hits me that I’m not going to make it in the music industry, then I’ll accept it. But until then — I have complete faith in myself.”

meredithstricklandstaff writer

Microphone? Check.Guitar? Check.Performing experience? Check.Recording studio? Check.EP album? Check.Junior Addie Sartino said she has

set and achieved many goals for her musical career.

Sartino has been playing the guitar and singing in many different videos of her original songs.

“I started guitar lessons in fifth grade, but I had wanted to since first grade,” Sartino said.

Sartino has written more than fifty songs. She said writing songs is sometimes difficult, and some songs go unfinished.

“I started songwriting in fourth [grade], but the [songs] were all really bad,” she said. “I didn’t get good [at songwriting] until seventh or eighth [grade].”

Sartino said she tends to have a case of writer’s block, but after creating an EP, she has decided to create a band to help influence her music ideas.

“I was so stressed out while I was recording [my EP], so releasing it felt like a relief,” she said. “But I had this moment of, ‘Whoa, I’m about to share myself with everyone.’”

Sartino also said she had a lot of

help from her creative partner junior Nimisha Halder. Halder has filmed many of Sartino’s songs that can be found on her YouTube channel. Sartino said she thinks collaborating with other musicians helps the writing process.

“I get writer’s block all the time,” Sartino said. “It’s awful. After recording my first EP, I went through horrible writer’s block. It’s what persuaded me to start a band, though. I need to feed off other musicians’ creativity, I think.”

An EP is a set of fewer than eight songs. Sartino released her first EP in May 2014 with a cover painted by her younger brother.

“My little brother made that picture two years ago, and, when he showed it to me, I fell in love with it,” she said. “The message I got was: You can be a regular shape and boring, or you can be star-shaped. It sounds really cheesy, but it’s what I took from it.”

She said she believes that she has a way with her words, and writings songs all comes naturally.

Sartino’s favorite song she has writ-ten, “Lonely,” is featured on her EP.

“When I finished writing it, I had this moment of awe,” Sartino said. “It’s the song that assured me of my capabilities.”

Sartino said recording the EP was stressful due to the many stages of recording a song.

“The process of recording involves recording the instrument, recording the double for the instrument so it’s heard in both ears, then the vocals, then the mixing to make it sound professional,” she said.

During the time that Sartino was recording, she said she went through a few difficult moments. She said it was a hard process to go through, especial-ly when having to deal with a small illness.

“Recording is tedious, and slightly nerve-wracking,” she said. “I was in a basement studio, and I had to make the people around me leave because I’d get so nervous. I was sick during a solid month of recording, too, which affected my voice.”

Sartino said her album has brought

many fans to listen to her songs. “So far I’ve gotten a lot of good

responses from people saying that it’s made them cry and smile,” Sartino said. “I’ve gotten a few negative responses, but that’s to be expected.”

Sartino does not only record her songs in a studio, but she also sings live at different locations.

“I do open mic nights, and I played a show at Blackdog Coffeehouse this summer,” she said. “Performing live is intimidating because you don’t want to be that performer who makes the lame jokes that aren’t funny, but you also don’t want to be boring. I’ve discovered that I enjoy performing in a band better than performing as a solo artist.”

Sartino said she has developed a strong bond with music and hopes to be a musician and attend Belmont University or the University of Texas in Austin.

“I’m going to attend a school for Music Business, most likely,” Sartino said. “My goal is to perform with a band and become very successful in the alternative music world. I don’t really have a backup plan because I don’t see the point in investing in some other career that won’t make me happy. No matter what, I’ll find a way to be happy and successful in the music industry.”

Sartino said she has been influenced by many different artists and bands.

“I have a few big influences in the music world,” Sartino said. “I’d say Twenty One Pilots, Daughter, Ingrid Michaelson, Keaton Henson and The Killers [have had a large influence on me]. I have like thirty more favorite bands, but I wouldn’t necessarily call them influences.”

Songwriting and producing music have become an immense part of Sartino’s life.

She said many artists say music is an outlet, and Sartino agrees, but she also believes that it is about gaining experience.

“Every time I listen to a new artist or watch their interviews or music videos, I get this new perspective on the world,” Sartino said. “I get an inside look at their feelings toward things.”

Junior creates original music, performs live Junior uses music for self-expression, releases EP

10 upclose August 2014

“over the summer, I...”

Students share summer memories, experiences

“Getting the chance to be a ju-nior staff member at a summer camp I have gone to since I was a baby.” — Senior Abby Lindmark

“Walking in on a dubstep party at camp.” — Senior Luke Conners

“Going on Prayer & Action in Lawrence, [Kansas], to do community service and make a bunch of new friends.” — Junior Josie McKenna

“Competing at Pony Club Dressage Nationals in Lexing-ton, Kentucky, and placing fifth with my horse, Encore.” — Junior Alexis Vance

“Going to concerts. I went to Buzz Under The Stars nights one and three with a few of my friends. I love the feeling at concerts — you just feel so

happy and free.” — Junior Brooke Metz

“Watching a friend try to hag-gle with a street vender in Italy with a plastic folding fan.” — Senior Kirsten O’Leary

“Taking a family vacation to West Palm Beach, Florida, because this was our first vaca-tion where everyone could go in four years. It felt wonderful to lay out by the beach all day and catch up with my brothers [and] my sister.” — Senior Catherine Eatherly

“Perform at Broadway camp in New York City for Broadway producers and stars like Eden Espanosa and sing in Paris, Strasbourg and Switzerland in famous cathedrals.” — Junior Anna Arends

“Getting the opportunity to ride a Segway through down-town Kansas City.” — Senior Ashleigh Tysick

“Losing my voice at a Neutral Milk Hotel concert in Chicago.” — Senior Jonathan McHenry

“I went on a mystery mission trip. I had no idea where we were going until we got there. We went to Colorado. We were in Denver for a while and worked near Loveland.” — Senior Sammy Hoskovec

“Pulling an all-nighter and going to Lifetime at 4 a.m. and spending the night in my friend’s car.” — Senior Katie Jarnevic

“See the movie ‘Neighbors.’” — Sophomore Carson Rut-ledge

“March with one of the best drum corps in the world, Carolina Crown.” — Senior Jenna Carey

“I went paddleboarding and completely wiped out, hitting a boat. The funny thing was, instead of falling off the pad-dleboard, I started hanging on for dear life on someone else’s boat.” — Senior Ariana Dunlap

“Waiting two hours in a thunderstorm for an outdoor concert.” — Senior Madison Mrla

“Went on college visits all at the same time so that I took three separate three-hour round trips within a week and a half.” — Senior Andrea Hamilton

“Kicked a barracuda in the face while scuba diving in Key West with Navy Seals and Green Berets.” — Junior Cameron Smith

“Climbed a fourteener in Colorado.” — Senior Cody Nelson

The craziest thing I did this summer was...

“Had to save my little brother from a rip current taking him out to sea. The lifeguards weren’t paying attention, and the poor thing was scared out of his mind.” — Senior Sarah Olson

“Had to say goodbye to my sister because she moved to Lawrence, [Kansas], for college.” — Junior Maria Wonderlich

“Looked for colleges on a really hot day.” — Junior Maggie Conners

“Worked at the arboretum for eight hours during a thunder-storm.” — Senior Jonathan Jarrell

“Started working on my math summer assignment and realized how much I had forgotten.” — Junior Emma Wormington

“Didn’t get to sleep in.” — Junior Nathan McClain

“I was in Alba, Missouri, with my church’s elementary camp, and it was 100 degrees [with] no air conditioning.” — Senior Allison Billi

“Had surgery. But it was okay since it ended up being a less painful surgery than expect-ed.”— Senior Katie Mercer

“Realized I’d gotten nothing done over the last few months. It was the best day, too.” — Junior William Liu

“Had to pull an all-nighter to get on a 4:30 a.m. plane to Walt Disney World. My summer rocked.”— Senior Adrienne Bieker

My favorite memory from this summer was...

On my worst day of summer, I...

Quotes collected and page designed by Sally Cochran.

August 2014 payin’thebills 11

www.bvtigernews.com

Check out our website for updated news coverage,

exclusive stories, photos and digital issues of the paper.

the

TIGER PRINT

newspaperThe Tiger Print on Facebook

@bvtigernews on Twitter

wallpaperpropainting.com Exp. 9/30/14. Exp. 9/30/14.

Your ad could be here!Advertising with “The Tiger Print”

is easy and affordable. Prices: Whole Page — $250Half Page — $130Quarter Page — $70Eighth Page — $40Single-Page Inserts — $125Multi-Page Inserts — $150

We distribute to approximately 1,600 students, faculty and community members. Pre-designed advertisements are welcome, but our staff can also design an ad for you.

Call: (913) 239-4835Email: thetigerprint@yahoo.com

12 centerstage August 2014

from summer“The Fault in Our Stars”Release Date: June 6, 2014Synopsis: In this summer blockbuster, Ha-zel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley), a witty teen with stage-4 thyroid cancer, is taken by surprise when she meets the cap-tivating Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort) at her cancer support group. The two quickly fall in love in a heart-stirring romance where they discover the true value of living life to the fullest.

Recap of popular summer releases“22 Jump Street”Release Date: June 13, 2014Synopsis: This movie is a sequel to the commonly known comedy “21 Jump Street.” Throughout the movie, Schmidt and Jenko (Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum) go deep undercover at a local college. But when Jenko meets a stu-dent-athlete on the football team and Schmidt infiltrates the art major crowd, they begin to question their partnership with one another.

“Transformers: Age of Extinction”Release Date: June 27, 2014Synopsis: In the fourth installment of the Transformers series, a single father with mechanical skills, Craig Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), buys a truck to strip down for parts. Little does he know that it is actu-ally the Autobot warrior Optimus Prime. Craig, his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz) and his best friend Lucas (T.J. Miller) are taken away on an incredible journey and are shown the true power of the Autobots.

“Begin Again”Release Date: June 27, 2014Synopsis: This is an emotional comedy about what happens when two lost musi-cians meet. Gretta (Keira Knightley) and her long-term boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) are songwriters and college sweethearts who relocate together to New York when he lands a deal with a major label.

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Release Date: July 11, 2014Synopsis: The second installment of the old franchise’s reboot, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes shows us a world where apes are the rulers. Most of the humans have been wiped out by a deadly virus, but a band of survi-vors emerges. Conflict erupts between these genetically evolved primates and the humans for possession of the Earth.

“Sinner” by Maggie StiefvaterRelease Date: July 1, 2014Synopsis: A companion novel to The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, which includes Shiver, Linger and Forever, this book follows the lives of Cole St. Clair and Isabel Culpeper. Cole returns to the spot-light as a rockstar after his mysterious dis-appearance. Isabel knows his secret — he can transform into a wolf. Haunted by the ghosts of their past and the love that they thought was lost forever, can these two finally find a place in each other’s lives?

“The Half Life of Molly Pierce” by Katrina LenoRelease date: July 8, 2014Synopsis: In this original and intriguing tale, Molly Pierce, a seventeen-year-old suffering from memory loss, begins to unfold the secrets of her past. Trying to piece together her fragmented memories, Molly discovers that she might have led a separate life. Readers will greatly enjoy the unique, disjointed narrative the writer effectively uses to convey Molly’s story of discovering who she was and who she is now.

August 2014 centerstage 13

Time to brush the dust off of your backpack, sharpen your pencils and drag yourself out of bed at some ungodly hour.

Time to let go of the peaceful bliss of the poolside on a sunny day, the late nights and the freedom.

Time to stick your nose is a book, get hand cramps from frantically taking notes and cram for a test the night before.

Summer is over, and it is time to go back to school. But does this have to mean complete and utter boredom

until you can finally, after desperately counting the days, flip the calendar over to May where summer is once again within reach?

Even though the seasons are changing, you can still find ways to have a good time.

Pages designed by Sally Cochran and Riley Miller.

tofallKeeping summer fun alive during the fall

Have a BonfireThis is a great activity to do as we move toward fall. Get together with some friends and — very safely — burn some stuff. Even if all you have is an outdoor fireplace and some stale marshmallows, you can still have a blast.

The RoyalsEven though the summer is over, it is still great to be outside at a baseball game. Go and support our local team while enjoying hot dogs, cotton candy and lemonade. A Royals game is a great way to have some fun on the weekend before hitting the books.

Prairie FireFrom a deluxe movie theater to bocce and bowling, the new ad-ditions to the area are sure to bring new and exciting experiences to visitors. Catch a movie at the new theater, Cinetopia, which has several different theater rooms to enjoy, all equipped with extra large screens and the latest technology. Or, pick up some artisan chocolates at Cocoa Dolce to satisfy your sweet tooth. There are many other places worth a visit as well including Pinstripes, Rock and Brews, Fat Brain Toys and Wasabi Sushi Bar.

ConcertsMiley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake may have passed, but The Blue Man Group, Demi Lovato, the Zac Brown Band, Chevelle and Rise Against are just a few of the concerts hitting the Kansas City area in September. Grab your friends and go see some live music you enjoy.

Have other ideas for fun in the fall?

Tweet us @bvtigernews

Stories by Rachel Lock and Cassie Nichols.

Sporting Kansas CitySummer may have come to an end, but Major League Soccer (MLS) is in full swing. Go out to Sporting Park and support our home soccer team as they try to maintain their title as MLS Cup Champions.

14 tigerturf August 2014

The USA entered its opening match in the Group of Death on a mission; secure 3 points and end break the losing streak to Ghana, who had knocked the Americans out of the last two world cups.

Thirty three seconds in, Midfielder Clint Dempsey sent every American into a complete state of euphoria with the fastest goal of the tournament. For the next 80 minutes, the US net was assaulted on all fronts until Ghana broke through as Andre Ayew slotted home the equalizer to make it 1-1.

American prospects of victory seemed grim until a corner kick

was won in the 86th minute.As midfielder Graham Zusi sent his corner kick in, the rela-

tively unknown substitute John Brooks rose above the pack and beautifully headed the ball home for the winning goal.

The U.S. held off the relentless Ghana siege throughout a seem-ingly eternal stoppage time and secured a vital three points, while ending the Ghana hex in the process.

FIFA Man of the Match — Clint Dempsey

USA vs. GHANA — June 16, 2014

A horrible defensive error by American center-back Geoff Cameron allowed Portuguese Midfielder Nani an easy finish and a 1-0 deficit five minutes in.

Midfielder Jermaine Jones took the loose ball at the top of the box and unleashed a screaming shot into the corner to level the match.

In a chaotic sequence, Zusi found Dempsey in the middle for an ad-libbed finish and a 2-1 lead.

Less than one minute before the final whistle, forward Cristia-

no Ronaldo, quiet almost all match, sent in a world class cross that found the head of Silvestre Varela and the back of the net to tie the game, salvaging a point for Portugal and breaking American hearts.

The U.S. would now enter the final group match with power-house Germany possibly needing a positive result to advance to the knockout stage.

FIFA Man of the Match — Clint Dempsey

USA vs. PORTUGAL — June 22, 2014

After the World Cup draw, most Americans held reserved prospects of a win or a draw against Ghana and Portugal. But the match against world-class Germany was essentially tabbed as a loss right from the get-go.

In the pouring rains of Salvador, Brazil, the U.S. team’s future would be decided. The result of the Ghana-Portugal match simul-taneously occurring and the result of the U.S.-Germany match would determine the Americans’ fate.

In an ugly match, Germany dominated possession and chances,

but the US refused to break. German Striker Thomas Muller, the tournament’s leading scor-

er, finally broke the valiant U.S. defense with a beautiful strike off a rebound in the 55th minute.

The tension rose once again.Portugal held on for the win, sending the U.S. to the knockout

stages for a date with Belgium.

FIFA Man of the Match — Thomas Muller

USA vs. GERMANY — June 26, 2014

The USA fought, scratched and clawed but could not get the job done against the dark horses of Belgium, losing 2-1 in extra time. Belgium, with a population roughly that of Ohio, was clearly the better side, attacking the U.S. net relentlessly and recording 38 total shots to the USA’s 14.

It took a Herculean effort from U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard, who set the World Cup record for saves in a match with 16, to keep the U.S. in the game.

U.S. Striker Chris Wondolowski had the best chance at the very end of regulation, but crushingly missed in front of goal, sending

the match to extra time.Belgium took three minutes before finally breaking through,

with midfielder Kevin De Bruyne finding the net. Twelve min-utes later, Striker Romelu Lukaku struck on the counterattack to double the lead. The U.S. refused to surrender, and 19-year-old Midfielder Julian Green pulled a goal back with five minutes to go, but that was all the Americans could muster. The final whistle sent Belgium to the quarter finals.

FIFA Man of the Match — Tim Howard

USA vs. BELGIUM — July 2, 2014

WO

RLD

CU

P

Stories by Matt Antonic.

August 2014 tigerturf 15

B V S P O R T S

TIGER TURF

How is your team preparing for the upcoming season?FOOTBALL “During the week, we lift weights then go to the field and do running drills.”— Senior AJ Harris

VOLLEYBALL“During the summer, we have workouts and open gyms to work on basic training and build our endurance. We go in the weight room and do cycles, or we go outside and do cardio either on the field or on the track.”— Junior Georgia Killen

BOYS SOCCER“We go up to the high school a couple nights a week for kick-arounds and work to stay in shape.”— Senior John Carpenter

CROSS COUNTRY “We are running constantly throughout the summer to help build confidence and become in better shape for this season.”— Senior Cole Hahn GIRLS TENNIS “We are hitting as a team on a few evenings before the actual season starts to get the group together again.” — Junior Mandy Novicoff

GIRLS GOLF“A lot of girls are participating in summer tour-naments, taking golf lessons and participating in leagues to prepare before school starts.”— Junior Gracie Goheen

WO

RLD

CU

P

World Cup Fun Facts

Pages designed by Sally Cochran.

Information collected by Sally Cochran. Information from: http://sports.yahoo.com/http://www.worldcupbrazil.net/world-cup-2014/facts/http://www.huffingtonpost.com

The World Cup had the highest average attendance per match when the U.S. hosted in 1994.

This year’s World Cup was the first with goal-line technology.

The Netherlands has never won a World Cup, but made it to the semi-finals this year.

Brazil was the fifth country to host the World Cup for the second time.

A paraplegic teenager in a robotic suit took the first kick this year. Franz Beckenbauer is the only man to win the World Cup both as a captain and as a coach.

An episode of “The Simpsons” was dedicated to this year’s World Cup.

The top goal scorer in the World Cup is awarded the Golden Boot. This year, the award went to Colombian James Rodrí-guez.

Brazil has the record for winning the most World Cups.

Twenty-five referees officiated games this year.

The best U.S. World Cup finish was making it to the semi-finals, which oc-curred in the first year of the tournament in 1930.

16 snapshot August 2014

iger ravel

Blue Valley students travel abroad, share photos

1. Walking in London, senior Sarani Pachalla poses on Abbey Road. The Beatles took a famous photo for an album cover in this location. Photo submitted by Sarani Pachalla.

2. With a group of BV French students, senior Abbie Piero stops for a photo at Mont St. Michel, France. The trip includ-ed a home stay where travelers spoke only French with their French host families. Photo submitted by Abbie Piero.

3. While in Hyderabad, India, senior Menita Vedantam, her mom and her brother hitch a ride from two oxen. Ve-dantam and her family visited her mom’s family during their trip. Photo submitted by Menita Vedantam.

4. Smiling, sophomore Maddie Kuec-ker, junior Adam Houghton and junior Madison Wilkins give piggy backs to senior Kristina Jewell, junior Rachel Trout and sophomore Maci Virgillito. They traveled to the Palace of Versailles on the school-sponsored Europe trip. Photo submitted by Adam Houghton.

T1.

4.

3.

2.