Budget cuts have taken away small classroom sizes, and curriculum availability, but now it is taking away something that cannot be replaced, fifteen of Allatoona’s most loving teachers and head coaches.  Some of these educators left their former jobs two years ago in order to have the opportunity to build a program from the ground up.  Now as of this week, these same hardworking teachers are being let go.  The expression “Teaching is not a profession; it’s a passion”, can easily serve to describe the dedication that thrived and still does exist in our affected teachers.

        Personally, my past two years at Allatoona has allowed me to become acquainted with some of the best teachers I’ve ever had.  I’ve met a variety of personalities and I’ve experienced a collection of teaching styles.  The sincere teacher who is so passionate about learning, she has cried about the most inspirational stories in history.  I had the privilege of learning about science from a dry humored, yet extremely funny coach and child at heart. I’ve even had the honor of being taught by Allatoona’s mystery woman who drives one of the nicest cars in the parking lot.

       However, unfortunately at the end of the 2009-2010 school year, Cobb County has voted to cut 579 full and part time teachers.  But, rather than having sympathy for the educators that we’re losing, perhaps we should celebrate their remaining time here.  A contribution a teacher has made to students’ lives cannot be “reduced” nor is it “temporary”.  It is a gift that has created some of the most passionate student reactions in Cobb’s history.  With these last two weeks left, the teachers and students at Allatoona should still spend their remaining time growing the connection that makes Allatoona the school it is, and will continue to be, regardless of our losses.

        In order to express to the community how dear our teachers are to us, please leave a comment on this article with a memory of your affected teacher.  Writing your name on a petition is one thing, but a sincere thought is something entirely different.

        What do you call bullying that leaves no physical evidence of abuse and no witnesses? One of the most commonly used forms of harassment- cyber bullying. Three quarters of the people who have admitted to being a cyber bully have never hassled anyone offline. This statistic implies that the internet has given youth a previously nonexistent courage.  By choosing the internet as their turf, a cyber bully feels detached to their victim’s feelings because there is no direct emotional response, therefore making it much easier to be malicious. Mrs. Candace Wilkes, an administrator here at Allatoona, elaborates on the thought process of an online bully by saying “It’s much easier to be mean when you’re anonymous.” Not only does the revolution of social networking sites open the door for cyber bullying, it paves the road to idleness.

        As with most habitual problems, the product isn’t the issue, the excessive use of it is. With the rapid technological advancements in America, children are encouraged to take full advantage of the equipment offered to them by not only their friends, but the media as well. The rate of overweight children in America is increasing rapidly. The childhood obesity statistics in America reveal the astonishing fact that almost 60% of children in America are obese, or overweight. With these very observable statistics, you would think that our population would be encouraged to become more physically active. “When your country leads the way in obesity, it’s time to put down the BlackBerry and pick up a basketball. I’m not advocating a Facebook boycott or a video-game bonfire. What I am calling for is a little participation in the analog world. Unplug for one day a week. Play flag football instead of Madden 10. Build houses for Habitat for Humanity instead of a barn in Farmville. Meet and befriend real people. After all, it’s not as if Facebook could give you a ride to the airport.”-Mel Layos (writer). We are doing ourselves a disfavor and producing a generation of socially inept people.

        Contrary to what you may believe, what you have on your Facebook is NOT just your business. The minute that you post it on the internet, it becomes the world’s business. According to a 2008 study, one in ten college admissions officers periodically check out college applicants’ Facebook and MySpace pages. Thirty-eight percent of them found posts and pictures that reflected poorly on those prospective students. Keep in mind that no admissions officer is going to be impressed by statuses reading “party, party, party let’s all get wasted!” Use your site as not only a place to communicate with friends, but a place to promote yourself and increase your chances of acceptance, or getting the job. Colleges and employers prefer applicants with apparent social skills. Posting pictures of vacations and appropriate photos with your friends and family is not a bad idea. By vacation, I don’t mean your annual Spring Break visit to Panama City: be sure to keep it classy. Be confident in the fact that your posts reflect upon your experiences in a positive light. Make an effort to join groups that have positive messages. Admissions officers and human resources representatives may be snooping on your Facebook, so before posting anything ask yourself if it represents you well.

        As would seem custom, I must mention the child predators that lurk on the internet. Nowadays, predators are much more straightforward with their intentions. They used to hide behind fake names and ages only to find your general information (i.e. age, name, town, activities) so that they may have a chance of tracking you down. Whereas now, all that they use as a cover is a false sense of kindness and an interest in “getting to know you”. Not every person that adds you on Facebook has a heart of gold; don’t be so naïve as to think so. The phrase “stranger danger” could never be more appropriate.

        Prom was held at the Marietta Conference center from 7-11pm. While students slowly but surely showed up, the DJ kept the event upbeat. Dancing the night away, the DJ introduced the first prom court consisting of Kara Cook, Brittney Alferi, Ashley Noble, Kim Callahan, Laney Massengale, Henry Stevens-Carty, Eric Rich, Bubba Green, Dylan Abernathy, and Cody Hardin. Calling all of the court to the front of the floor, the king and queen were announced. Congratulations to Laney Massengale and Henry Stevens-Carty for being the first Allatoona prom king and queen in history. “I was really shocked but very much honored to be Allatoona’s first prom Queen. This was my first prom, I really thought it was awesome and I had a great time. It is definitely one of those memories I will always cherish,” said Laney Massengale. Allatoona’s first prom ever was a major achievement. With creative Masquerade Mask center pieces, good fun and music, the students helped make the prom successful. A big thanks to Mrs. Haney, Mrs. Wells, and Mrs. O’Conner for all their hard work. Prom was a great way to kick off the classical spring tradition.

     Now being a senior, I have witnessed Allatoona grow as a body and as a school.  I was extremely surprised when I realized that there were only about 150 students in my graduating class.  I was so used to being apart of a class that had over 700 students.  During my eleventh grade year, there were only 800 students at this school, due to the fact that there was no senior class last year; but now, there are over 1200 students!  The previous year, the faculty really made an effort to make this school the best it could possibly be.  But there have been some issues concerning the school that have been considered “stupid” by the student body.  The main issue has been the new dress code.  Coming from another high school (as many other students were), the administration was very lenient when it came to the dress code.  On the other hand, students at Allatoona can actually get ISS for wearing jeans with holes or for skirts that are not three inches above the knees.  But from what I experienced, the administration is trying to maintain a “professional” atmosphere for the student body. 

      There have been a few things about Allatoona that have been good considering it is a new school.  I was surprised by the new technology that was present in all the classrooms.  The fact that there are smartboards, projectors, and brand new computers in all the rooms does demonstrate that Allatoona does care about the students education. 

While being at Allatoona, I have enjoyed the chance to get to use the smartboard to learn various subjects.  It has been an interesting experience to get to use all the new technology that Allatoona offers.  Allatoona is definitely a school that has kept up with the technology of the century. 

     Finally, thinking about how much Allatoona has grown, I believe that most of the change has come from the expansion of clubs.  Last year, there were a limited number of organizations due to the lack of a large student body.  Last year, the only clubs that were available consisted of the Beta, Mileage, and Model UN.  There were no such activities as the Outdoor Adventure and Athletic Leadership club, and National Honors Society.  With the creation of all these extracurricular activities this year, students have the opportunity to be apart of something they love at school.  For example, I myself am apart of the Beta Club because I am not much of an outdoor person. 

     Now that the countdown has begun until graduation, I realize the amount of transformation that this school has been through.  Allatoona first began as school that did not have much to offer to students, but now it has something for everyone.  This school has been through much change and I can say that it has definitely made a difference.

          Much of its success can be attributed to the judges: Simon Cowell, the notoriously cruel-yet-somewhat-truthful one; Randy Jackson, the fair but honest one with his signature slang such as “Dawg!”; and then Paula Abdul, the judge that was more known for her sea of compliments than actually giving anyone criticism or advice.  For most of the first few seasons, people looked forward to the insults that Simon frequently threw at contestants, with the occasional compliment and praise.  Attentions also pointed to the kind-hearted Paula, whose general love and gusto towards virtually every performance was almost comical.  Her kind ways, however, began to backfire, as her opinions soon turned moot or unimportant.  She loved everyone, so why bother listening to her speak at all?

          The most recent season of Idol, however, has taken an odd turn in terms of entertainment.  With the loss of Paula and addition of Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres as the newest judges, the panel has begun to flatten out and attention toward the show is falling.  Kara and Ellen seem to fall into the same category as Randy, offering honest opinions, while still being subtle.  Even Simon has mellowed out, giving more advice and compliments in the past few seasons than anyone ever thought to be possible.   Most of the contestants deliver mediocre performances at best, and the outstanding ones either come from the same few people or once in a blue moon from the others.  However, perhaps the strangest, and possibly the most unwelcoming, change yet would be the behavior of American Idol host, Ryan Seacrest.

          Though Seacrest has been with the show since the beginning, sharing the stage with comedian Brian Dunkleman only for the first season, he never did much outside of simply announcing the performances, winners, and those to be eliminated.  His occasional comments to the contestants or judges were usually brief and mainly consisted of questions or the rare quirky remark.  This year, however, Ryan seems to be stepping the talking up a notch.  Rather than keep to the basics, he’s started conversations with the contestants, judges, and even some of the audience members.  During one of Tim Urban’s performances, Ryan was seen dancing in the audience with a bulky man.  His actions confused Urban and distracted him from his performance.  “I didn’t really know what they were doing…people were laughing, so I just had to zone out and keep thinking about my song,” Urban says.  Seacrest also told previous Idol contestant Adam Lambert: “My tongue isn’t as talented as yours.”  His supposedly witty comment left the audience speechless and Lambert looking considerably embarrassed.  In addition, he mentioned on one of the shows that his former co-host Brian Dunkleman would return to host Idol Gives Back—then later admitted that it was just a joke. 

          Seacrest’s behavior is certainly not typical nor well-received.  Fans complain that he is trying—and failing—to be funny for the sake of attention and ratings.  This wouldn’t be unlikely, considering that ratings for the show are at an all-time low.  Idol has lost out on views from shows such as Dancing with the Stars and NBC’s coverage of the 2010 Olympics, dropping the ratings to the lowest they’ve been since 2003.  In addition, many of the fans feel that that his actions are uncalled for and embarrassing to the contestants and himself. 

          So if it’s causing all kinds of problems, why is he doing it?  Seacrest claims that it’s all in the spirit of fun. Since most of the dialogue for the show is unscripted, he’s free to say and do a great deal of what he wants.  “Often, I will playfully do things to amp up the energy for the live show, because it’s at the end of my long day,” he said.  Seacrest also claims that he’s getting ready for next season, with the tenth anniversary of the show as a look-back at the things that made American Idol special. “…the 10th-anniversary season is gonna be fun,” Seacrest believes.

          Whatever it is that he is trying to do, it may be in his best interest to tone it down a few notches and keep the jokes to himself.

            Recently at Allatoona, Cobb County, and in other Georgia state schools, budget cuts have caused resentment in the education institution.  Certain schools throughout Fulton County are now eliminating their music program, while others are contemplating cutting all “non academic” classes. But here is another question I pose: what is defined as academic?  Is preventing students from playing their instruments (most of whom have been playing since they were twelve) really worth ensuring them one credit of required physical education? It was even recently rumored that next year at Allatoona High School there will be no newspaper class.  Students currently enrolled in Journalism may have two options; one, they will completely drop the class or two, they may have a chance of continuing their writing if they’re willing to also work on yearbook.  Due to budget cuts students will now have to sacrifice their ambitions to keep up with county’s and Allatoona’s current and future decisions. High school is supposed to be the time of our lives and the time where we decide what want to do with it; having only core classes will never prepare us for such a major decision.

          Reports on NPR and CNN have claimed that there is a major decrease in doctors and that our nation is in dire need of younger and newer professionals.  What happens to our way of life when no one desires to become a teacher?  Why would anyone in their right mind want to pursue a career that is so unstable and is subjected to such painstaking salaries?  The sheer idea shocks me that soon teachers who obtain their Master’s Degree will receive the same salary as educators who did not.  Currently there is an overabundance of students who have spent the past four years of their life trying to receive a degree in education.  With so many new teachers and so few jobs, individuals that could change students’ lives forever are being cast out.

            Focusing on a more local and personal level, confirmations have quickly been spreading throughout Allatoona’s halls regarding the 4×4 block schedule next year.  This decision will put AP students at a strong disadvantage.  Each year the AP course exam is held in May during second semester; any student that takes more than one AP class first semester will go a whole eighteen weeks without that class and will therefore have to attend morning review sessions in addition to their spring classes.  This basically means that any student who chooses to have rigor on their college application is automatically penalized for striving for a challenge.

            I’m not blaming our school, nor our educators because I realize that just like students, they have certain parameters to respect.  Yet even though they do have to “play by the rules,” some still share our sentiments. A teacher at Allatoona allowed me to interview him or her, but wished to remain anonymous. When considering the incredible pressure on students to receive high testing scores he or she stated that, “Curriculum should be formed around kids, not tests.” However, the same teacher expressed sympathy for Fall AP students on the 4×4 schedule who will have to miss a whole semester of their AP class before they take the college credit exam. Later on in the interview we discussed the annoyance of policies that expect children to learn large amounts of information in only one semester, “When did education become about ‘beating the clock’?”   Some teachers do believe that the 4×4 schedule will have a positive impact on students because it will help them retain information due to classes meeting every day opposed to meeting every other. However, the situation still harms AP students because of an entire Spring semester without their course.

          Towards the end of our interview I then learned that certain schools are offering difficult classes such as economics and U.S. History to freshmen and sophomores so the Georgia High School Graduation Test failure rates will lessen dramatically. As a junior, I question the legitimacy of fourteen and fifteen year olds being able to grasp the concepts in classes that some of our very own politicians cannot seem to handle. Schools in Georgia are “planning on students’ failure” as one of our very own indicated.

            This article is by no means a demand for change.  I’m not encouraging students to rally up, or disrespect educational policies.  I’m merely pointing out that so many decisions regarding our education are made without considering our perspective.  However, I do applaud our school for keeping up a survey that requested students’ opinion on scheduling options. If anything, I hope this article gives insight to those who read it; whether you agree or disagree with what I’ve said please keep in mind I’m merely a concerned student; a student who realizes how much discontent there is in one school, and I fear for the time when no one like myself, or those I’ve written this for, decide to express their opinion about it.

Brooklyn’s Finest- Two Stars

By: Jordan Fox 

          Director Antoine Fuqua has directed similar “good cop-bad-cop” films in the past, including Training Day. Fuqua was concerned about taking on another cop movie but, regardless, he decided to pursue this one. He says that he doesn’t view Brooklyn’s Finest as a “police” movie, but more of a human drama.  “It’s about men and women under tremendous societal pressure, and they happen to be our protectors.”  In spite of his hopes, Brooklyn’s Finest didn’t stray too far off that beaten path. The movie is about police officers in, you guessed it, Brooklyn. Three cops, all of which are in various stages of mental breakdowns, will gradually fall to pieces before your eyes.

          Tango (Don Cheadle) is an undercover cop who is deeply involved in the rising drug empire of his friend Caz (Wesley Snipes). Ethan Hawke’s character, Sal, is a dirty narcotics cop who is looking to secretly score some drug money so he can move his pregnant and asthmatic wife (Lili Taylor) and their six kids out of their black mold-infested house.  Richard Gere plays a burnt out cop trying his hardest to make no impact during his last week on the force. As fate (or Fuqua) would have it, these three crosscutting stories all collide in the end.

          At a lengthy 125 minutes, the movie was extremely slow paced. Though it became more interesting as the film progressed, distraction felt almost forced upon us. Besides the three leads (Ethan Hawk, Richard Gere, and Don Cheadle), a lot of other good actors, such as Vincent D’Onofrio, Brian F. O’Byrne and Ellen Barkin, appeared in the movie. The actors were all better than the screenplay deserved. Christopher Smith commented on this disaster of a movie by saying, “For such a potentially great concept to result in such a thoroughly mediocre product is baffling, especially given the talent involved.”  If ever there was an anti-recruit movie for police work, this would be it. This film is rated “R”, for extremely graphic and bloody violence, strong sexuality (being that one of the police officer’s girlfriends is a prostitute), nudity, drug content, and pervasive language. I thought that Brooklyn’s Finest was a tremendously bleak and overrated film. I do not recommend this movie to people who don’t have the patience to watch long and sometimes overwhelming movies. We give Brooklyn’s Finest 2 stars.

Shutter Island-Five Stars
By:Lauren Gourley

          Martin Scorsese has done it once again! Well known for his other movies such as The Departed and Gangs of New York, he combines an unpredictable plot for the epitome of heart stopping suspense. Set in 1954, Leonardo DiCaprio plays U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels who is investigating a disappearance at Shutter Island, a land mass solely dedicated to housing criminally insane convicts. During his stay he begins to realize there is something awry with three asylums on the island. The first two are divided by gender, but the third is a mysterious Civil War building that holds the most dangerous patients that just so happens to be restricted to the marshal and his partner. Daniels (DiCaprio) interviews all employees and discovers that his stay on the island might just be longer than he intended.

            Personally, I absolutely loved Shutter Island. Scorsese had a great plot that keeps audience on the edge of their seats the whole duration of the movie. Originally, I was under the impression that the movie would be another terrifying “pop out” film where there were surprises around every corner; however, Scorsese used a different type of approach and kept his surprises in the suspense of the plot. At first I thought the story line was mildly predictable until the very last fifteen minutes where everything I predicted went into a completely different and unfathomable direction. Another enjoyment was the music selection of the movie. If the plot didn’t produce an eerie feeling, the loud burst of symphony music and the low yet spooky drown of strings certainly would. Though the whole movie was filled with suspense, there were a few moments of comic relief that quelled the anticipation for another major twist. All in all, I highly recommend Shutter Island for those of you who can appreciate an extreme tension film.

Extraordinary Measures-1 star

By:Jordan Fox

           Inspired by an incredible true story, the CBS Films’ docudrama Extraordinary Measures portrays one father’s desperate quest to save his children from dying of a rare genetic disorder. Working-class father John Crowley (Fraser) finally catches a break and is on his way to corporate success when his two young children, Megan and Patrick, are diagnosed with Pompe disease, a condition that prevents the body from breaking down sugar. In time, it disables the heart and the muscles, ultimately resulting in death. With the apprehensive yet unconditional support of his wife, Aileen, John ditches his career and teams with specialist Dr. Robert Stonehill (Ford) to found a bio-tech company and develop a cure in time to save the lives of his children. Though the movie had a good base, Extraordinary Measures was nothing more than a waste of potential. Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford, two reputable actors, were cast as the lead characters. While they played well off of each other, the script was far too predictable. From the bulgy-eyed stares to the slight twitches, Fraser’s performance was distracting and awkward. Going in with high expectations definitely led me to an enormous let down. Rotten Tomatoes commented on the flop by saying, “Despite a timely topic and a pair of heavyweight leads, Extraordinary Measures never feels like more than a made-for-TV tear-jerker.” We give Extraordinary Measures 1 star.

Alice in Wonderland-4 stars

By: Jordan Fox

        With much anticipation, a few friends and I ventured over to the ever-so-convenient NCG to see the premiere of Alice in Wonderland. The 3D movie kept everyone entertained to say the least. In the film, Alice is 19 years old and accidentally returns to Underland, a place she last visited when she was only six years old. While she’s tries to remember her past, Alice is told that she is the only one that can slay the Jabberwocky, a dragon controlled by the dreaded Red Queen of Hearts.

I’m not going to give too much of the storyline away, but you should keep in mind that this is not a re-creation of the original Alice in Wonderland; it is more of a sequel. It is an “extension” of Lewis Carroll’s novels Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Director, Tim Burton, said the original Wonderland story was just about a girl wandering around from one weird character to the next; he never felt an emotional connection to the plot, he wanted to make it feel more like a story rather than a series of events. Burton, however, does not see this as a sequel to previous films because of the major differences in the basic storyline. With a stacked cast including Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and Mia Wasikowska-the characters are truly enticing. Rotten Tomatoes commented on Burton’s piece by saying “The movie’s strengths are the costumes, the makeup, the production design, the special effects, the vocal work and a terrific musical score by Danny Elfman that has a quality of magic and wonderment missing from the screenplay”. We give Alice in Wonderland 4 stars. So, grab a “dwink”, as the evil queen would say, and your 3D glasses and get ready for a surreal movie experience.

            While Team USA won the medal count with a total of 37 medals and set the record for the most medals ever received in a winter Olympics, Canada swept the gold medals with 14 compared to USA’s 9. The US had many disappointing loses to Canada in the fight for gold medals. The most renowned was the Men’s Hockey team losing to Canada in overtime. USA had momentum in the last 20 seconds of regulation time by scoring possibly one of the best goals in hockey history. The goal tied up the game and forced it to go into overtime where the USA lost in sudden death because of Sidney Crosby’s once-in-a-lifetime shot.  The USA Women’s Hockey team also lost to Canada and went home, like the men’s team, with the silver medal. Another disappointing event for Team USA was the Women’s Halfpipe. The Women’s Team was expected to place first, second and third with the phenomenal athletes of Hannah Teter, Kelly Clark, Elena Hight, and Gretchen Bleiler. But the only two to stick their landings in the competition were Hannah Teter, who took the silver, and Kelly Clark, who won the bronze.

            Team USA also had many triumphs in the past two weeks. Shaun “The Flying Tomato” White was definitely a memorable one. After his unforgettable first run in the Men’s Halfpipe he was already guaranteed the gold and in his second run he decided to break all the records and do a Double McTwist 12, which he just so happened to create. At the end of his second run he was almost granted a perfect score with 48.4 out of 50 which is the biggest run ever recorded since the games moved to a 50-point table.

Another athlete who had a lot of the spotlight on him was Apolo Ohno. In Vancouver he made his third Olympic appearance and raced in the Men’s Short Track 100m, 500m, 1500m and 5000m relay race. Throughout these races he received his 7^th medal in his career and set the record for the most medals ever won by any Winter Olympic athlete. He was said to be one of the best athletes to watch because he is aggressive, in control and can easily come back from behind.  Shani Davis had the right to a victory lap also for the USA team. He won the men’s 1000m speed skating race. Four years ago he was the first African American to win an individual gold in the Winter Olympics. He wanted to win this year so that he would be known for his skating, not just his skin color.

            Vancouver had some troubles hosting the Olympics this year with the lack of snow and opening ceremony mishaps such as the torch not lighting properly; however, the closing ceremony came through full circle. Vancouver managed to make a joke out their torch disaster by hiring a mime to pretend to pull the torch up and they gave Catriona LeMay Doan the chance to light her torch. The closing ceremony had performances by Michael Buble, William Shatner, Catherine O’Hara and Michael J. Fox, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette, and Nickelback. It had a striking performance by the Russian Ballet and the Russian opera singer Maria Guleghina because the next winter Olympics will be in Sochi, Russia.   No matter what anyone says about the 2010 Vancouver Olympics it is definitely one of the most memorable Olympics for Team USA whether they won or lost their event.

          This is not the only incident where schools have been obsessively cautious over the possession of toy guns. This time an eight-year old boy was actually suspended for bringing it to the classroom. In Duniway Elementary school in Oregon, the boy forgot that he had the toy gun in his pocket and accidentally brought it school. He showed it to one of his friends and later another student reported it to the staff. The boy’s father stated that he thought that the district “would go that far with something so little like that.”

         So what do these incidents have to say about the New York and Oregon school’s policy against weapons? They are saying that the kids are not even allowed to bring a harmless toy to play with during recess. I for one am completely against this kind of policy because the kids did not mean any harm to the school. It is ridiculous to suspend elementary school children for no real reason whatsoever. These incidents prove that schools are not kidding around when they say “no weapons in school,” even when the gun is not even real. So parents, just to be on the safe side, make sure that your children are not bringing any toy weapons (no matter the size) to school, or else you too will be receiving that ominous phone call.