I was in a car accident earlier this year. It was the night before my first prom. I was on Pilot Knob when the left arrow light turned green to get onto 140th. I put my foot on the gas and all of a sudden I saw a car coming straight through a red light at the passenger side of my car. The car was going about 50 miles per hour when it hit mine. The air bag flew at my face as I spun out in the middle of the intersection. I finally stopped and looked around the inside of my car. My first thought was to call my mom. There were many witnesses so other people called the police for me. As I was getting off the phone with my panicked mother, a police came to my window and asked for my license and insurance. I went to get it but was unable to. My glove compartment was jammed and hidden by the air bag. A police had to pull off the glove compartment door. I was finally able to get up and out of my car. I walked around it to see the damage. My front passenger tire was bent inwards 90 degrees. The whole passenger side was indented and scratched. I then looked at the other person’s car. Her name was Lauren Ham, an Apple Valley High School student. Her front end was completely shoved in. I was in such shock that I could not stop shaking enough to notice my own pain. When she hit me, my knee was forced into the steering wheel. My right hip went into the plastic part of the seat belt and threw my hip out of place. Lauren and her passengers were not hurt at all. Once my car was towed and the police report was finished I was able to go home and rest until prom.
This morning I had a rude awakening. My alarm clock went off and I fell on the ground trying to shut it off. I felt considerably more tired than usual and I was surprised as to why. I went to bed last night the same time that I normally do. Realizing defeat, I got up. I took a shower, brushed my teeth, combed my hair etc. and in 30 minutes I was ready to go to school. Unfortunately, when I looked at the clock it read 5:45. It seems my alarm clock was set an hour in advance for some odd reason and I got ready an hour early. I was so angry I think I punched a wall, but I might not have, I don’t quite remember; I was so tired. So after I cooled down, I decided the best thing to do is get back some of the sleep that I lost by taking a nap on my coach. So then I collapsed on my coach. At 7 I got up once again and got myself to school. Once I got to school, I started to feel the effects of getting up too early, but I persevered. By the time I got to Physics, I was fully awake. I then realized that I have to write about 4 essays in a week so that I can finish my college applications. So from then on I spent the day trying to finish my activities essays and finally finished during 6th hour. One thing that interrupted me was a teacher who decided that I couldn’t be in the east lab. I have no idea why. It’s not as if I was taking anyone’s computer space. Another newsworthy event today was that I had to take a Calculus quiz of some sort. I am not sure why, but I’m glad it was a partner quiz. The result was an easy perfect score. I’m very happy that it turned out to be a boost for my grade. I finished the day with an uneventful debate practice. I gave some rebuttals and we focused on things that we should research. I arrived home tired and unwilling to study for the impending physics test that I knew would be hard. I ignored my urge to watch television and instead I worked on my college applications essay. It was a frustrating endeavor because it was just supposed to be a short 150 word essay on why I benefited from debate. I took it a little too seriously and it took me 2 hours, but at least the end product was of some quality. Then I realized that I forgot to do my Calculus homework so instead of sleeping at 10, I had to work on the homework. Good thing for me it was really easy and required little effort. It was simple linearization problems and differential approximations. When I finished, I once again fought the urge to watch Leno before I slept.
So this morning I woke up. Then I ate breakfast, which was lucky charms and some Sunny D, which has 25% less sugar then other juices! I then went to school, hung out with my girlfriend and some of my other friends until school started, and went to history. We had an essay test that I didn’t really study for, although I did pretty well for not knowing anything, which isn’t all that unusual for me. Then I went to English, which wasn’t all that great either, except for the kid who freaked out because some kids were making fun of him and his limp. So he slammed the door really hard, and the teacher got really mad and kicked some other kids out of class. In the end it was kind of funny and sad at the same time. After her “that was really rude and disrespectful” speech it looked like she was going to start to cry, then she left the room for awhile. After English I went to math, and was almost late because I was talking to some of my friends and ended up in the opposite side of the school. Math was rather boring because all we did was work on homework the whole time, and homework is never fun. But I did get to play calculator games for awhile. After math I have science for 4th hour. My teacher just talked most of the time and I talked to one of my friends that sit next to me. I also dozed off and he called me out on it, oops. After that I went to Spanish and was nervous because I had to give a speech, but then B lunch came so I got to hold it out for another ½ hour or so. Lunch was weird because a bunch of random, creepy kids sat at my table, so I switched to another table. When I got back from lunch I did my speech, which wasn’t all that exciting in the first place. After a boring day in Spanish I went to band, which isn’t fun either. I’m not a huge fan of my band director and I don’t think he’s the greatest conductor, although he’s kind of a cool guy. Then I went to my Intro to Broadcasting and Journalism A class, which, I know that this paper is for this class, isn’t the most exciting. Although we do get to sit on the floor and it’s really relaxed and sounds like an easy “A”, so I’m not complaining. Now I’m sitting here writing this paper, which I don’t think is all that great, but I don’t really care. It’s supposed to be a whole page, double spaced so I’m thinking about something to add to my paper about my day for about 3 more lines or so. Now I’m going back and adding things about my lunch time to add more info so it’s a whole page, guess that about sums my day up…
As soon as school was done I was determined to get to my friends house as fast as I could to play some video games. I treated it like any other day after school; I got in my car turned on the radio and started it up. So far everything seemed normal. I pulled out of the parking lot and took a left on to Johnny Cake. Coming to the stop light I decided that I would take 140th to get to my friends house. Not really thinking I stepped on the gas and switched my car into trip tronic and began speeding. I normally speed everywhere because I had just got my license. Then, coming down the hill I see a car sitting in a driveway and then about a second later I knew who it was. It was a undercover cop in a Chevrolet impala just waiting for me. Right then I knew I had been caught. As I came close to him he turned on his lights and pulled me over. As he came to the window and talked to me I was very scared and nervous and ultimately extremely angry. He then tapped on the window and when I rolled it down he asked “was there any reason you were going 33 miles per hour over the speed limit”. And I didn’t really have a good answer so I just said no. My ticket ended up being 377 dollars and they put me on three month probation so I couldn’t get any more tickets until that time was up. I really think that it was a stupid mistake to speed that much over but since then I have really learned my lesson and have become a much safer driver.
A wave of relief hit me as my 4th hour ended at school. The rest of the day was easy for me. As I approached my favorite class, Developmental Psychology, I knew that there would be no busy work in this class. This class consisted of group discussions and bonding techniques you use with your fellow DP members. A chill crept up my spine as I entered the freezing cold room. It was me and my closest DP friend Bre that where the first to make it into the classroom. We started arranging our desks into a circle when we suddenly noticed a man standing in the corner of the room. Bre and I took a slow glance at each other and then back at this new addition. He smiled politely at us and asked us kindly “Is Mrs. D here?” “She should be here in a second.” Bre answered. The unfamiliar man stepped out in the hallway and left Bre and I confused. Within the next few minutes the man returned with Mrs.D at his side. Mrs.D smiled at the group and introduced the man. “This is Mr. Clauson, he will be speaking to us today about risk prevention.” The group smiled but I know we were all thinking the same thing: ‘Great, another lecture’. We all shifted uncomfortably in our desks when he started to speak about his job in the district. He told us he used to be Rosemount’s principle until he retired. His retirement was short as he ended up taking up a new job through District 196. I sighed as I received my inch thick packet filled with statistics dealing with drugs, alcohol, and pre teen sex. As we opened up the first page I could already feel the drowsiness taking over my body. He spoke in his monotone voice briefly for a long period of time as I fought to keep my eyes open. I eventually realized that our guest was silent and I was receiving an impatient look from my fellow classmates. “Huh?” I asked stupidly while blinking my eyes open. Mr. Clauson ignored my rudeness and continued politely about teens and chemical use. I decided to perk up a bit and pay attention. I scanned to the correct page of my packet and read a few statistics. As I read through them my jaw dropped. These facts where actually shocking, I couldn’t believe that this was actually interesting. I glanced back a few pages trying to catch up with my class but the bell had already rung. He collected his packets and I left feeling stupid, like I really could have learned some interesting stuff if I had given him the time of day.
The persistence of a ten year old may seem small and minuscule compared to that of an adult, but when the persistence is used for congenial purposes it grows and touches everyone. Such is the case of a young boy who tried to raise money for unfortunate children through his neighborhood, school ,and church. Jordan Daniels is a grade school student who just won’t take no for an answer. Growing up in a home where the answer “no” was used often, made accepting that one word answer fairly difficult for him. Jordan lived at home with three older brothers, a dad who didn’t show up often, and a mother who was struggling to support the entire family on her own with little help. Jordan’s father decided to leave when Jordan was nine severely crippling the family, making it almost impossible for them to survive. When his mother found a job, she had no time to take care of the home or really invest in her child’s activities. Although, the one thing Jordan’s mother made absolutely sure was that Jordan and his brother’s attend church every Sunday and Wednesday. As Jordan became more engrossed in his Wednesday Bible classes, he created new friendships and discovered opportunities he hadn’t even dreamed of having. His Wednesday night class resembled that of a Boy Scout troop centered around the Bible, and the class went on many camping trips teaching them how to work together and a achieve a goal through and for Christ’s children. One week Jordan’s teacher Mr. Blaine revealed a fundraiser to the children that would benefit less fortunate children. Because Jordan was remarkably unselfish for a boy his age, he considered himself a very fortunate child. He believed that God had given him the roof over his head, a school and education to enjoy, a lovely family in the church, and a family at home who supported him the best they could manage. Jordan decided that night to take the wonderful opportunity God had given him and use his gifts of strong will, persistence and a warm heart to raise money for the annual “Children’s Christmas Fund”. Over the next few weeks his teacher’s, family and friends watched as Jordan gave his toys, money and clothes to the fundraiser. At the end of the month Jordan had raised one hundred dollars, three boxes of toys,(all his own), and several shopping bags full of clothes. Jordan’s success inspired the rest of his class and, ultimately, the entire church to give to the fundraiser creating a record high in the amount of money given that year. Jordan was proud of pushing past “no” and “impossible” and accepting his extraordinary challenge. Not only do adults succeed and inspire, but the heart of a ten year old succeeds in everything when it is used to touch someone else.
It was Saturday, November 15th, 2008, and the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace had just gotten out. As I exited the theater with Taylor, we decided that we should go have some ice cream at Ring Mountain, just down the street. In the lobby of the theater, I announced to our group of ten friends that we were going to walk over there. So we headed out into the cold, and started heading over there. We arrived sooner than we expected, since we had ended up running half of the way for no particular reason. After we all decided on what kind of ice cream to get, and sat down. After a while, Tim and I decided to go outside, since it was getting warm inside. As we left, nobody really noticed, and we were outside for a while. Eventually, a few more of our friends came out, and we noticed we had the perfect amount of people to make a pyramid. So we went on a mission to find a grass. Since we were standing in the parking lot, we had to walk a little ways, but eventually we found some grass. So we went to work building the pyramid, with Michael, Tim, and Matt on the bottom. As Maddie and I climbed up on them for the second row, we noticed it was kind of hard to keep balance, but we didn’t think much about it. As Taylor was finally climbing up to the top, we noticed we were on a slight hill. Since Michael was on the bottom side of the hill, he had the most weight on him, and accidentally slipped and rolled out of the pyramid. As soon as he did, the rest of us collapsed in a great heap on the ground. Right then, the other four members of the group showed up, confused about where we went since we didn’t tell them where we went. But we still had the goal of creating a six-person before the night was over; we went and found a more flat section of grass. We finally found it near Target, and were successful this time. We took pictures of it just for proof, and our mission to create a pyramid in Eagan, Minnesota was successful.
I was having a fun, eventful night. Little did I know, tragic, unexpected news was yet to come. I had dinner with some friends and rushed off to catch the light rail on the way to the Minneapolis Metrodome for the high school semi final football game. Despite the bitter sting of the winter weather and the loss of the favored team, a time of enjoyment was apparent in everyone. Returning to my friend Maddy’s house at around 12am, we all settled in her living room with a pile of junk food to consume and the usual gossip to share. Within moments of shutting my eyes for the night, I jolted up when I heard the ring of the home phone begging to be answered. I thought nothing of the call until I heard Maddy’s mom yell my name from the peak of the staircase. I instantly felt a rush of anxiety sweep over me as I softly mumbled a simple, “hello” into the speaker. Knowing something was wrong, I tried to pay attention to my mom’s panic-struck instructions. Immediately after hanging up, I tried to fight back uncontrollable tears, but failed to do so. I finally choked out the news that my stepdad, Johnny, was having serious heart problems and needed instant help. I explained that I needed to return home to take care of my younger sister Sarah while my mom and stepdad went to the hospital. Hearing well wishes from my friends, I stepped outside in silence to my car and was blinded by the 2am morning darkness. I felt like the 10 mile drive home lasted an eternity. With a hesitance walking into my house, my mom rushed out the garage door, with my stepdad close beside her. Throughout the day I was constantly updated on the tests and conditions Johnny was facing. When I visited him in the hospital that afternoon, I was shocked by the looks of the man lying in that hospital bed. Drained of color in the face, and swarmed with IV’s, I felt uncomfortable, like I was looking at a complete stranger. Despite appearance, my stepdad acted almost as if nothing had happened in the past 12 hours. The TV was turned on to the Sunday football game and he requested the Cowboys be turned on at 3pm towards the nurse assistant, who gladly accepted with a smile. Through this experience I learned a lot about myself and my stepdad. I look up to his courage and bravery. On the following day Johnny returned home, he was positive and filled with gratitude, like a true role model.
I was six years old and I was about to have the most exciting and painful day of that year. I decided to go outside and try riding my bike without training wheels because I was really jealous that most of my friends already had learned. So I hopped on my bike and started riding. I rode around my court probably one hundred times, I was so excited! It was way easier then I had thought and got the hang of it right away. I ran inside to show my parents and they were really proud. So the rest of the day I just biked all over the neighborhood. Then my friend Allie came over to ride with me. She had been my best friend since I could remember and I knew she would be proud too. We saw two boys sitting at the corner of the street and decided to bike really fast because we thought we were cool. So we kept riding back and forth very fast by the boys, until one time I had taken the turn to sharply and crashed. I don’t remember anything after that because I had received a concussion; I was not wearing a helmet. I woke up on my kitchen table with cuts, bruises and wraps all over me. I was in so much pain and could barely sit up. Later that day, I had walked over to my neighbor’s house who is a nurse and she told me and my mom what we should do. It was supposed to be the most exciting day for me, learning how to ride a bike with no training wheels. A short time after, I was asked to go ride my bike with my friends, but I could not get the courage too and just came up with an excuse. But then Allie cam over, she started telling me that she knew I was scared because of what had happened but I had to forget about it. She told me it would never happen again as long as long as I was careful and didn’t get nervous. So I listened to her because I didn’t want to be “the girl who can’t ride a bike with no training wheels”. So I hopped on the bike and rode around the neighborhood with her, I had no problems. I was a lot more cautious as to what was on the road and my speeds but I still rode. I was so thankful for my friend Allie for convincing me to get back on my bike because I knew I would have probably never gotten back on a bike after that day.
Today, on November 18, 2008, was an eventful day in fifth period Dance Tech. class. Allie Benner, Marissa Price, Rachel Rogers and Alyson Ryan were all in a group to choreograph the ending of the “No Air” dance. They were all sitting in a circle trying to think of a creative ending. They all had to the routine down perfect, but the ending was giving them trouble. It is a partner dance so there is a “boy” and a “girl” part. They determined Allie and Rachel would be the boys and Marissa and Alyson would be the girls. Allie and Alyson are a pair and Marissa and Rachel and the others pair. They kept practicing over and over again, when they got the idea to act out a fight at the end, because at the beginning of the dance both parts keep saying how confused they are about the other person’s feelings toward them and don’t know how they can be living like this. They decided at the end of the routine they would get in a fight with their partner and then end up switching and being with the other partner. To start off the fight they girls both fake punch their partners and they tumble to the ground. As they were practicing Allie and Alyson hit their hands together and Allie sliced open Alyson’s hand with her finger nail. They all started laughing at first, but when Alyson looked down she realized her finger was bleeding. She didn’t know, but that was just the beginning of her unlucky day in dance as she was washing away the blood in the bathroom. They began to practice their routine intensely since they have a dance test on Friday where they have to perform it in front of the entire class for a grade. Ms. Mahr, the dance class teacher, started the song over and the group began to go through their dance a few more times. Allie and Alyson do their part without any injury, now Marissa and Alyson are partners. Marissa is going to spin and Alyson will pick her up and that is the ending pose. Everything is going smoothly until Marissa goes to put her arm around Alyson and elbows her in the mouth. You can tell Marissa feels very bad and can’t believe she is the second person to hurt her today. Her lip also starts bleeding along with her finger. Alyson is a good sport and laughs it off, and everything is fine. Now that they have literally gotten out the bumps and bruises in their routine, they will for sure get an “A”!
My dad and I drove to the bank and that took a few minutes. My dad and I drove to the store and that took a few minutes. My dad and I pulled up to a light, thirty seconds. My dad and I heard a strange noise. I looked around and saw a motor cycle flipped over on the ground, half was on the curb and half was on the street. A man was lying a few feet in front of the cycle, face down and not moving, and I caught a glimpse of a tan car speeding off into the distance leaving the person behind. My dad instantly did a U-turn and we pulled up in front of the motor cycle. My dad and I ran out to go see if the Man was ok and check his pulse and his breathing. As we were doing this I quickly reached for my cell phone and dialed 9-11 and got in contact with the police. I told them quickly what was happening and they sent an ambulance. I then went on to help my dad to quickly help the victim. The Victim had cuts around his throat, most likely from the helmet strap, and some missing skin on his hands and arms. He was also lying face down on the ground. My dad quickly checked his pulse and then proceeded to check to see his breathing. We were relieved to finally hear him moaning as that signaled that he was alive. He flipped himself over and then we asked if we could help him, and he said yes. After that my Dad told me to run back to the car to get any napkins that we may have. When I got to the Car I searched and searched for any Napkins or paper towels. After a few minutes of checking for napkins, I quickly returned reluctantly to my father, who was talking to the victim. Then we heard the sirens and gave the man some last words of hope. When the paramedics arrived on the scene my father and I backed away quickly and continued observing. They got him up and into the ambulance. After that my dad and I left for home and told my mom about the story. It is interesting how long just a few minutes can be. This whole experience was a few minutes.
By Josh Landru On October 31, the Eastview Lightning football team faced off against the Rosemount Irish for the section championship and the right to go onto State for a chance at the State Quarter Final. “We were very confident going into the game.” Said Josh Landru, who is a backup nose guard for the Lightning, but when the Irish returned the kick-off for a touchdown he started losing confidence. As the game continued and the Irish kept the Lightning at bay and the away sideline kept getting more and more frustrated and upset. By half time, the Irish had a good lead and the Lightning was still in the game at this point from help from senior Matt Garin who is committed to the Gophers after he graduates from Eastview. During the game number 25 Joseph Broback of the Irish was carried off the field on a stretcher after being hit very hard in the neck/back region. As the game continued Andre Hunt and Matt Garin injured their knees and were out for the game. The final was 33-10 Rosemount.
Averi Haugesag Period: 7 11/18/08 My dad, Todd Haugesag, has been in the record business for many years. For nearly 15 years he was the manager of The Electric Fetus; a popular record store in downtown Minneapolis. This job has created many musical connections for my family over the years. One of these connections just so happens to be that his best friend, Leeann owns WeFest in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. I have attended WeFest since I was about 5 years old and each year Leeann gives me, my mom and my dad backstage passes and the chance to meet any artist I want. It was August 5th, 2008 and I was backstage in line to meet Taylor Swift, a popular new country singer. Leeann had told me to meet at the Media Trailer at approximately 2:00 or I would miss my chance. When I arrived to the meet and greet area I was surprised to find that there was nearly 100 people in line too met her. I had been too many meet and greets before this one and I had never seen so many young people in one line, much less backstage. Because I was Leeann’s guest, I got to go to the front of the line along with one of the head journalists in the music section of Star Tribune newspaper, John Bream. I was surrounded by over excited people. They were screaming, yelling and all getting their camera’s ready. There was even a woman a few people behind me claiming she was about to pass out she was so anxious. Suddenly a security guard came up to me and told me Leeann wanted me to go in the media trailer early so I had more time with Taylor. As I walked in I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Taylor Swift was. She had long curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes and was very tall. After Leeann introduced us to each other we sat down and talked about things any normal teenager would talk about. It was nice to meet a star that was so down to earth that I had so much in common with. After all, she was just 17! She began to tell me about the music video she had finished recorded for her new hit single, “Love Story” just an hour before attending WeFest. After nearly a half hour of talking it was time for Taylor’s manager to bring in her other fans. I sat in a chair next to Leeann and watched them pile in. Each seemed more excited than the person ahead of them. Although some of the fans were a little over the top, Taylor was very nice to them and one of the nicest, most talented country music stars I have ever met.
On the fourth of July of 2008, two of my friends Matt and Alex and Alex’s dad Greg and I went outside of Alex’s house to light some fireworks. At first we were hesitant thinking we were too old for fireworks but we figured we had nothing better to do. Greg came out side and handed me a big box full of small fireworks like sparklers and smoke bombs. The tiny fireworks began to bore us and the box was starting to get empty so I stuck my hand deep inside the box and found one of the biggest fountain fireworks I had ever seen. We were really excited because we knew the fountain would put all the other fireworks to shame. Greg attempted to light the fountain but discovered there was no fuse. All hope began to die for the firework, but Greg wasn’t going to give up that easy, he was determined to light the fountain. Greg began to search for ways to light the fountain. He tried using another fuse from a smoke bomb but it wasn’t long enough. Finally Greg tore off the paper on the bottom of the fountain and placed it upside down to reveal its powder filled canisters. Greg told me to take the lighter and stick it inside one of the canisters. I had a bad feeling about it but considering the fact that Greg was the parent I began to light the powder inside the canister. All of a sudden the fountain began to spark and one by one bottle rocket type fireworks went flying out of the fountain in all directions. Greg ran behind a car, Alex, Matt, and I took off sprinting and screaming down the street. Bottle rockets went zooming by my head and I felt one hit my back, luckily I wasn’t burnt. For about three minutes it looked like World War Two and the rockets suddenly stopped. Greg yelled out to make sure we were all okay. It was silent for a couple of seconds then we all broke out in laughter. Our laughter soon turned to panic when we realized the neighbor’s bushes were on fire. We ran over to their house and grabbed a house. We sprayed the bush down with the hose and the fire died. We searched other houses for damaged and could only find minor things like bottle rockets on roofs. Luckily the bushes weren’t that damaged and the neighbors weren’t mad. Because of this day I learned to never play with fireworks.
I was getting up early in the morning for another day of school. I did the regular routine of slowly getting up out of bed at 6:45 to shower. After my shower I got dressed and lethargically walked down stairs to have the usual breakfast of a homemade banana chocolate chip muffin and a glass of milk. I sat in the living room chair trying to stay awake to eat and get my daily dosage of Sportscenter. I looked at the time and was saddened when I saw it was time for me to leave for school. I got up from my chair and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I grabbed the keys and went out to the car so I could leave for school. As I was driving I decided to take a different way than normal and take McAndrews to Johnny Cake for my route to school that day. As I turned on to McAndrews I speed the car up to about 50 miles per hour. As I was approaching the stoplight it was green and thought I had time to make the light. As I came closer I kept wondering whether or not the light will turn right as I’m about to go through it. Just when I was thinking about it, it happened and the light turned yellow. I was already partly in and knew I had to go. As I was going I saw a kid on his bike going across the intersection and I knew I was about to hit him. I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could and came to a screeching halt. As I stopped the kid and his bike hit the front right bumper of my car and the kid fell off. Everything around me stopped as I replayed the event in my head. A few seconds’ later things went back to reality and I found myself in shock not knowing what to do. A person nearby stopped the help and called the police. I tried to see if the kid was alright and he appeared to be a little shaken up but that’s it. Soon after the accident the cops arrived and started bombarding me with questions. After it was over I still had to go to school which made it even worse. The whole day I kept replaying the event in my head and thinking what if I killed that kid? I was thankful things did not happen that way and learned many valuable things from the accident. I learned that you should not take things for granted because something could happen and change your life instantly. I also learned to take your time when driving and be more aware. I’m grateful this happened to me because I learned many things and hope it will never happen again.
On October 23 and 24, Eastview High School had the Fall Dance Show in the PAC. There were many dances, including lots of class dances, a few extra dances, and some solos by girls in the Ms. Dance Team competition. The highlight of the dance show was clearly 6th Hour’s “Shoes” dance, followed closely by the “Ninja” dance put on by 5th Hour. Both class dances had a lot of energy and creativity and many studly looking dancers. Jessica Mahr was in charge of the show and she choreographed all the class dances and extra dances. Obviously Ms. Mahr is straight up domination. Next, we will take a look individually at the two top performances of the night: the “Ninja” dance, and “Shoes”. The star performer in the “Ninja” dance was, no doubt, Rachel Rogers. Rachel is leader on and off the dance floor. Her positive attitude and amazing contributions in class really benefit everyone. She really took the dance to a whole new level. Another amazing performer in the class was Alyson Ryan. She had some sick moves and always knew how to break it down. She picked up her talents from the street and always brought 100% energy to the stage. One of the slackers in 5th Hour was Nikki Fitzgerald. She really had no motivation and was always goofing around in class. She showed no energy or hustle while dancing, and that was just a buzz kill for the whole class. 6th hour also had an amazing dance. The class chemistry was off-the-charts, and everyone gave it their all. It clearly showed on performance night as all the dancers shined like stars. There really is nothing more to say because this was all around just a dominating display of dancing skills. Hopefully the winter dance show is just as strong as this one was.
The team calls her Fergie, but the rest of the conference knows her as Anne, one of the top runners in the state. She approaches the course with the whole team for the first time is a feeling a bit overwhelming, because she usually is the only member of her team to qualify. After tying her spikes, and strapping on her watch, she is ready to head out to the course with her team for the first time. Fergie leads all six other teammates throughout the course to get a feel for it before the race. Twenty minutes before the race is about to begin, the teams line up in their boxes and begin their pliometric exercises. This is when Anne’s nerves start to kick in, she is mentally prepared and she knows what she needs to do to run an outstanding race. Eleven 3 foot wide boxes each filled with seven nervous athletes. The man standing 100 yards out gets the crowd silent and says “Ladies step up to the line”. Fergie puts her front toe up to the line, and then the man says “Set”. The crowd and all the athletes are silent and still, awaiting the gun shot to begin the race. He fires the gun and the girls all take off. Fergie is one of the leaders of the group start out strong and get a good lead, setting the pace for the rest of the runners. Anne is trying to stick with the other top runners and pass the other runners she knows she can beat. At the top of the hill she sees their Coach Fischer, thinking to herself when she reaches her coach the first mile is over. Each coach is holding a stop watch and a clipboard, waiting to shout out the runners mile split times. Accompanying the Coach Fischer are all her other teammates with poster that reads “POP TO THE TOP” and “YOURE DOING AWESOME”. That’s all she needed to get a little more boost of energy when going through the most difficult part of the race. After the uphill she knew she had the nice easy downhill and to make it to the finish. In a previous race, the unbearable heat and lack of hydration all contributed to her collapsing right in front of the finish line and was unable to finish her race.
It was the first snow fall of the year in 2007. It was very cold outside and my friend Jessica and I were getting bored sitting inside her house watching the snow fall. Finally after about 30 minutes we decided to leave. Unfortunately her car was parked outside so we had to brush off all of the snow that was packed on top of it. Her leather seats were freezing so we sat in her car and waited for it to warm up. After a while we pulled out of her drive way and were on our way to get some coffee at Caribou. We did not realize how icy out it was until we were out of her neighborhood. We started listening to some loud music to help us not think about the terrible weather. We were headed down Cliff Road and there were 2 car accidents to the right of us. I was not too nervous because I knew Jessica was a good driver. Suddenly the car in front of her slammed on their breaks. She stepped on hers as fast as she could but it was too late. Her front bumper slammed right into this big red truck in front of us, it all seemed to happen so fast. We did not know what to do so we sat there in stillness for 20 seconds. The first thing she said to clear the silence was, “My parents are going to kill me!” I did not know what to say to her because I have never gotten into a car accident before; this was a first time for the both of us. The man who was driving the red truck stormed out of his car and came up to her window. I was in shock and did not move a muscle. Then he said to follow him to the gas station that was up there a little ways. When we finally arrived, which took forever because she did not want to drive too fast and get into another accident, the police had already arrived and were waiting. Her dad came a few minutes after and seemed very disappointed. I felt incredibly awkward being there because I did not want her dad to think it was my fault too. Once they exchanged insurance we headed back to her house. Once we arrived to her house I got into my car and drove slowly all the way back to my house.
Three years marks the day of one of the most tragic experiences for a young boy. This young boy experienced one of them most unneeded pain that no one should have to go through. This young boy suffered over 5 hours of painful, bone splitting pain. This boy’s name is Nick Mateen, when he was 12 years old in the 7th grade, Nick Mateen suffered a great pain in his arm but mostly in his heart. It was a normal day for Nick Mateen he was playing some football with his friends and having a blast at it, until his turn came up to run the ball he ran as fast as he could (which wasn’t that fast at all) then this bigger more muscled guy came up and tackled him. Sadly Nick Mateen fell to the ground putting his arms up to protect his face, but how unfortunate for him that there was a rock there that hit his arm. Nick Mateen is a big guy and when this big guy goes down, he goes down with a thump, and that thump cost him a broken arm. At first Nick didn’t consider his arm to be broken, until he actually tried to lift things around. Nick finally realized and hour after he really broke his arm, that his arm was actually broken. He told his mom and they went to the clinic to get it checked out, but what luck Nick had to wait a long painful amount of time ‘till the doctors could actually check his arm out. Finally when Nick got checked by the doctors the doctors told him how that his bone is pushing up against another bone, and without that support from the other bone, his broken bone would be sticking out of his arm. The doctor informed Nick on how they were going too pop it back in place in a few minutes. The doctor offered Nick either a shot which was to numb the pain, or a pill which was suppose to sleep him through the procedure. Nick was confused and thought the needle would just add to his pain, so he decide to go with the pill. While the doctor was popping the bone back in place Nick woke up, and started to scream from the agonizing pain. Eventually Nick got through it and realized he should’ve taken the shot. The doctor gave him a splint until his cast would be ready. Nick experienced a great amount of pain that day, a great amount that no one should have to experience. They say a man is judged how they handle there pain, if this were true Nick would hardly be a man.
In March 2008 Eastview High School girls basketball team received third place in the state tournament. They played many games to reach this point. They were played many tuff teams to reach this point. In the regular season the battled against many teams such as Lakeville North and Bloomington Kennedy. The team only had one loss in the regular season. They lost to Bloomington Kennedy on the last regular season game. The team still came out as lake conference champions for the fourth time in the last five years. As they moved on to the regional tournament they were seated number one in section three. Their first game was played at Eastview High school against Lakeville South High School. They received an easy win over this low ranked of Lakeville South. Their next game they moved on to play Apple Valley High School. They played at the college of St. Olaf. They had a very physical game against Apple Valley but pulled out with a win. They would now move on to play Park of Cottage Grove. Eastview and Park had met before in a preseason game. The game was close and came down to the final seconds but, Eastview’s team won. Everyone now doubted Eastview going in to this game no one thought they would pull off this win. Eastview did win by a large margin. They would now move on to the state tournament. Going in to the tournament they where seated second. Their first game would be against St. Francis. The game was easily decide in the first half Eastview was up by twenty at half time. The game was over and Eastview was moving on. The next they would play St. Paul central the state champions from last year. The game was at two o’clock. They played tuff but has down at half time. They were very discouraged. They play hard the second half but didn’t come out with a win. They were disappointed but they still had one more game to play. They play a good game against Chaska and came out with a win. Didn’t finish
As the 8th grade boys’ basketball tournament came to an end, fans gathered at the far end of the gym to witness the final game. A St. Paul High School team was down by two points with only seconds left. Unfortunately, the game seemed to be over as the opposing team stepped up to the free throw line, ready to sink the last two points of the game and increasing the lead. If they made this shot, there was no way St. Paul could score enough points to pull through. With only three seconds left to go, the free throw shooter swished the first shot. The fans roared as they took a three-point lead, believing they had just won the tournament. The second free throw was shot, rolled around the rim, and came out. It didn’t seem to faze the leading team as a St. Paul player snatched the rebound, brought the ball behind his shoulder, and sent it hurling into the air. The fans jumped to their feet at the sight of the ball getting closer and closer to the opposite basket on the other end of the court. Without even touching the rim, the ball went soaring through the hoop, leaving fans wide-eyed and in disbelief. The teammates warming the benches leapt to their feet, the St. Paul team yelling and cheering, the opposing team shocked and confused. The scoreboard changed from 68 to 71, leaving the two teams tied. Overtime quickly began and the teams fought hard to declare themselves the first place champions of the tournament. Another nail-biting last minute left the fans on the edge of their seats, once again. St. Paul, trailing by two points, had possession of the ball. As the clock went from ten seconds to five seconds, the point guard took the final shot from half court. The ball rolled around the rim, hesitated, and then came back out. The hard-fighting St. Paul team fell short in the end, but contributed some amazing plays.
I was sitting in my 6th grade science class playing with my hair and looking out the window. A fresh blanket of white snow had fallen the night before making the world outside the huge glass window look flawless. Mrs. Mueller was giving the dullest lecture in the whole wide world and no one was focused. It was the Friday before Christmas break and some students were tapping their pencils; others were shaking their legs trying to distract themselves and make the day go fast. Mrs. Mueller was just about to give us our assignment for over the break but then the phone rang. It was like maybe when she answered it she would forget that she had an assignment in her hands. She hung up and summoned me over to her and instructed me to get everything I needed from my locker and then go to the main office. I did as I was told, thanking god as he saved me from my boredom. In the office my mom was there waiting for me and we went out to the car where my brother and dad were waiting. On top of the car were my parent’s skis and my brother’s and my snowboards my parents told us we were spending the weekend up north. I was really excited they had completely surprised me! I spent the next eternity in the car with my annoying little brother. Finally the car pulled into the resort parking lot next to a red convertible, I thought to myself who the heck is stupid enough to drive a convertible through the snow. As our car stopped, a lady holding the cutest little Pomeranian puppy ever got out of the car. “Oh cute,” I said as I reached out to pet the puppy. He was tiny about 2 pounds and had brown fur with black around his eyes and little black highlights through his dark brown coat. “Would you like to hold him?” she asked, she reminded me of the Mrs. Claus I had seen at the Mall of America a week earlier when I had been forced to pose with a fake Santa. I held the puppy in my arms, he wiggled and licked my cheek and I laughed. I looked up at my parents and gave them my best puppy dog pout begging them with my eyes for a puppy just like the one I was holding. They smiled and then turned away. I was handing him back but the lady didn’t hold out her hands to take him back. What she said next completely surprised me “He’s yours.” I couldn’t believe it my parent’s had surprised me twice in one day! “Really?” I asked her just double checking in case I was like on punk’d or something. She nodded yes I held the puppy close to my jacket. Her husband got out of the driver’s seat holding another puppy and gave it to my brother. We had two new puppies I was so excited. “I’m naming mine Gaborik,” said my brother. My mom laughed and my dad just smiled at him like he was crazy. “I’m naming mine Motley,” I said after a town we had stopped in for dinner. The cold snowy wind whipped passed my face and Motley whimpered. I said thank you to the lady and her husband and climbed in the car with motley for heat. I waited in the car while my dad handed the lady a check. My mom said it looked like my dad was buying drugs instead of paying for the puppies. My dad got in the car and the heat on full blast. We continued up the snowy road to the cabin we were renting for the week. I couldn’t believe that my parents actually got me a dog. It was the best start to my Christmas Vacation.
One of the most exciting moments in my life was the day that my sister and I got out ears pierced. We had been begging my dad to let him let us get them pierced. Soon some of our friends were getting them pierced, which made Alex and I want to get them even more. My dad said that we wouldn’t be able to get them pierced until we were sixteen. Finally one day my mom was tired of us being sad about not getting them pierced that my mom said the latest that we could get them pierced is when we are twelve, but the only problem with that is that we were only ten, so we might still have to wait two years to get them pierced. Our birthday was November 4th and getting our ears pierced was sadly not one of the presents that we received that year. So one day after Thanksgiving we were at the Burnsville Mall just walking around when my dad suddenly said,” Well if you were to get your ears pierced, where would you get them done?” Well Alex and I knew where Claire’s was from pretty much every store in the entire mall so we sprinted to the store and looked around, and looked very carefully at the earrings. Then all of a sudden my dad said, “Well get on up there!” Alex and I both stared at him in awe and in mid- sip of our Blue Raseberry ICEE. So that day we got out ears pierced. As soon as we got home we ran to all of our neighbors houses and rang their doorbells to show them. It was by far one of the best days of my life and definitely one of the most surprising as well.
The Eastview Lightning Girl’s soccer team had been on the lookout for a new coach for the 2008 season. Former head coach, Len Berlien resigned after the 2007 season. Many applications were looked over, but the former assistant coach, David Harem, seemed to be the best fit for the Eastview Lightning Girl’s soccer program. At the beginning of the season many coaches from other schools predicted Eastview to be “just average” due to the loss of a large number of seniors and the new coaching. At the start of the season, head coach, David Harem, and assistant coach, Mary Dye, made it very clear that they had high hopes for their new team. Coach Harem told his players in August that their goal was to win the Lake Conference and return to the state tournament. Success wouldn’t come easy. Goals were set high and each practice was a challenge, but it was worth it for these girls. Few soccer teams in the state of Minnesota had as good of a season as the Eastivew girls did. The Lightning girls soccer team went on to win the Lake Conference title with an undefeated record. The team went on to win the Section 3AA title after an exciting victory in a shootout to Park Cottage Grove. The girls then entered the state tournament with anticipation and excitement. The past two times the lightning soccer team has made it to state, they lost in the quarterfinals. With this in mind, coaches geared up their players against their first state game against Lakeville South, who they previously defeated with only three seconds left in the game. Fortunately, the girls advanced again and made it further than any other Eastview Lightning girls soccer team has ever made it- the dome! On October 26th, 2008 the Eastview Lightning Girl’s soccer team advanced to the state tournament. the team for its first time into the state semi final game against the Eden Prairie Eagles in the dome. Unfortunately, they suffered two losses to Eden Prairie in a shoot-out and Wayzata in the Class AA state tournament. The team earned fourth in the state tournament. Eastview finishes the season with a 20-3-0 record, a good ending for the coach’s new beginning.
Kelly Gibbons Period 7 It was a dark Saturday night in mid-April and the Gibbons family was anxious to get away from all of their responsibilities and take a long needed vacation. Michael, the father, was given this trip for business but most of the time they would spend there would be relaxing and enjoying each other and their company. Where were they headed? They were flying to Marco Island, Florida. The entire house was quiet and everyone was sound asleep. The youngest child; Shannon, had barely been able to fall asleep because she could not wait to ride on an airplane for the first time in her life. She was the baby of the family, about ten years old and she was so excited. Kelly, the youngest boy, had all of his bags packed two weeks before they left and was ready to take a break from the many long hours at school on top of additional sleep lost each night doing homework. By about two o’clock in the morning, which was about four hours until their flight, everybody was finally in bed and ready to board the plane later that morning. However, they had not known that they would be running into some obstacles that were trying to prevent them from boarding the plan on Sunday, for some odd reason. Morning had almost arrived and that meant that it would not be long before they must board the plane. The taxicab was supposed to be there at about four-thirty so that they would have enough to time to get there by five o’clock, and still have plenty of time before the flight would leave. However, it was about four-forty-five and he still had not come, so Kelly impatiently said, “Dad, how about you just drive us up there in your car and you can leave your car at the airport?” “That is an excellent idea,” responded the entire family in unison. Therefore, we proceeded to drive ourselves to the airport but, of course being the father that he was, the car had barely any gas in it. When Shannon, exclaimed, “We are out of gas, Dad!” that is when everyone began to panic, because when Kelly glanced at the clock to read that it had now been closer to five-fifteen already. Tensions were high and impatience consumed the entire family to a point where they were so frantic that they began arguing about whose fault it was; saying, “this is all your fault” and “now we are going to be late” etc. However, by the time they had gotten to the gas station and back on the road, it was only five-twenty, and so the nervousness and apprehension that had once consumed each family member had been destroyed. It was clear that they would not miss their flight when they made it to the airport by five-thirty; even though they had to rush through security as fast as they could, they still made it before there flight was scheduled to leave. But, ever since this dreadful experience, the Gibbons’ family has never put any trust or even relied on a taxi to show up, because after all; was it not the taxi’s fault?
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I was in a car accident earlier this year. It was the night before my first prom. I was on Pilot Knob when the left arrow light turned green to get onto 140th. I put my foot on the gas and all of a sudden I saw a car coming straight through a red light at the passenger side of my car. The car was going about 50 miles per hour when it hit mine. The air bag flew at my face as I spun out in the middle of the intersection. I finally stopped and looked around the inside of my car. My first thought was to call my mom. There were many witnesses so other people called the police for me. As I was getting off the phone with my panicked mother, a police came to my window and asked for my license and insurance. I went to get it but was unable to. My glove compartment was jammed and hidden by the air bag. A police had to pull off the glove compartment door. I was finally able to get up and out of my car. I walked around it to see the damage. My front passenger tire was bent inwards 90 degrees. The whole passenger side was indented and scratched. I then looked at the other person’s car. Her name was Lauren Ham, an Apple Valley High School student. Her front end was completely shoved in. I was in such shock that I could not stop shaking enough to notice my own pain. When she hit me, my knee was forced into the steering wheel. My right hip went into the plastic part of the seat belt and threw my hip out of place. Lauren and her passengers were not hurt at all. Once my car was towed and the police report was finished I was able to go home and rest until prom.
This morning I had a rude awakening. My alarm clock went off and I fell on the ground trying to shut it off. I felt considerably more tired than usual and I was surprised as to why. I went to bed last night the same time that I normally do. Realizing defeat, I got up. I took a shower, brushed my teeth, combed my hair etc. and in 30 minutes I was ready to go to school. Unfortunately, when I looked at the clock it read 5:45. It seems my alarm clock was set an hour in advance for some odd reason and I got ready an hour early. I was so angry I think I punched a wall, but I might not have, I don’t quite remember; I was so tired. So after I cooled down, I decided the best thing to do is get back some of the sleep that I lost by taking a nap on my coach. So then I collapsed on my coach. At 7 I got up once again and got myself to school. Once I got to school, I started to feel the effects of getting up too early, but I persevered. By the time I got to Physics, I was fully awake. I then realized that I have to write about 4 essays in a week so that I can finish my college applications. So from then on I spent the day trying to finish my activities essays and finally finished during 6th hour. One thing that interrupted me was a teacher who decided that I couldn’t be in the east lab. I have no idea why. It’s not as if I was taking anyone’s computer space. Another newsworthy event today was that I had to take a Calculus quiz of some sort. I am not sure why, but I’m glad it was a partner quiz. The result was an easy perfect score. I’m very happy that it turned out to be a boost for my grade. I finished the day with an uneventful debate practice. I gave some rebuttals and we focused on things that we should research. I arrived home tired and unwilling to study for the impending physics test that I knew would be hard. I ignored my urge to watch television and instead I worked on my college applications essay. It was a frustrating endeavor because it was just supposed to be a short 150 word essay on why I benefited from debate. I took it a little too seriously and it took me 2 hours, but at least the end product was of some quality. Then I realized that I forgot to do my Calculus homework so instead of sleeping at 10, I had to work on the homework. Good thing for me it was really easy and required little effort. It was simple linearization problems and differential approximations. When I finished, I once again fought the urge to watch Leno before I slept.
So this morning I woke up. Then I ate breakfast, which was lucky charms and some Sunny D, which has 25% less sugar then other juices! I then went to school, hung out with my girlfriend and some of my other friends until school started, and went to history. We had an essay test that I didn’t really study for, although I did pretty well for not knowing anything, which isn’t all that unusual for me. Then I went to English, which wasn’t all that great either, except for the kid who freaked out because some kids were making fun of him and his limp. So he slammed the door really hard, and the teacher got really mad and kicked some other kids out of class. In the end it was kind of funny and sad at the same time. After her “that was really rude and disrespectful” speech it looked like she was going to start to cry, then she left the room for awhile. After English I went to math, and was almost late because I was talking to some of my friends and ended up in the opposite side of the school. Math was rather boring because all we did was work on homework the whole time, and homework is never fun. But I did get to play calculator games for awhile. After math I have science for 4th hour. My teacher just talked most of the time and I talked to one of my friends that sit next to me. I also dozed off and he called me out on it, oops. After that I went to Spanish and was nervous because I had to give a speech, but then B lunch came so I got to hold it out for another ½ hour or so. Lunch was weird because a bunch of random, creepy kids sat at my table, so I switched to another table. When I got back from lunch I did my speech, which wasn’t all that exciting in the first place. After a boring day in Spanish I went to band, which isn’t fun either. I’m not a huge fan of my band director and I don’t think he’s the greatest conductor, although he’s kind of a cool guy. Then I went to my Intro to Broadcasting and Journalism A class, which, I know that this paper is for this class, isn’t the most exciting. Although we do get to sit on the floor and it’s really relaxed and sounds like an easy “A”, so I’m not complaining. Now I’m sitting here writing this paper, which I don’t think is all that great, but I don’t really care. It’s supposed to be a whole page, double spaced so I’m thinking about something to add to my paper about my day for about 3 more lines or so. Now I’m going back and adding things about my lunch time to add more info so it’s a whole page, guess that about sums my day up…
As soon as school was done I was determined to get to my friends house as fast as I could to play some video games. I treated it like any other day after school; I got in my car turned on the radio and started it up. So far everything seemed normal. I pulled out of the parking lot and took a left on to Johnny Cake. Coming to the stop light I decided that I would take 140th to get to my friends house. Not really thinking I stepped on the gas and switched my car into trip tronic and began speeding. I normally speed everywhere because I had just got my license. Then, coming down the hill I see a car sitting in a driveway and then about a second later I knew who it was. It was a undercover cop in a Chevrolet impala just waiting for me. Right then I knew I had been caught. As I came close to him he turned on his lights and pulled me over. As he came to the window and talked to me I was very scared and nervous and ultimately extremely angry. He then tapped on the window and when I rolled it down he asked “was there any reason you were going 33 miles per hour over the speed limit”. And I didn’t really have a good answer so I just said no. My ticket ended up being 377 dollars and they put me on three month probation so I couldn’t get any more tickets until that time was up. I really think that it was a stupid mistake to speed that much over but since then I have really learned my lesson and have become a much safer driver.
A wave of relief hit me as my 4th hour ended at school. The rest of the day was easy for me. As I approached my favorite class, Developmental Psychology, I knew that there would be no busy work in this class. This class consisted of group discussions and bonding techniques you use with your fellow DP members. A chill crept up my spine as I entered the freezing cold room. It was me and my closest DP friend Bre that where the first to make it into the classroom. We started arranging our desks into a circle when we suddenly noticed a man standing in the corner of the room. Bre and I took a slow glance at each other and then back at this new addition. He smiled politely at us and asked us kindly “Is Mrs. D here?” “She should be here in a second.” Bre answered. The unfamiliar man stepped out in the hallway and left Bre and I confused. Within the next few minutes the man returned with Mrs.D at his side. Mrs.D smiled at the group and introduced the man. “This is Mr. Clauson, he will be speaking to us today about risk prevention.” The group smiled but I know we were all thinking the same thing: ‘Great, another lecture’. We all shifted uncomfortably in our desks when he started to speak about his job in the district. He told us he used to be Rosemount’s principle until he retired. His retirement was short as he ended up taking up a new job through District 196. I sighed as I received my inch thick packet filled with statistics dealing with drugs, alcohol, and pre teen sex. As we opened up the first page I could already feel the drowsiness taking over my body. He spoke in his monotone voice briefly for a long period of time as I fought to keep my eyes open. I eventually realized that our guest was silent and I was receiving an impatient look from my fellow classmates. “Huh?” I asked stupidly while blinking my eyes open. Mr. Clauson ignored my rudeness and continued politely about teens and chemical use. I decided to perk up a bit and pay attention. I scanned to the correct page of my packet and read a few statistics. As I read through them my jaw dropped. These facts where actually shocking, I couldn’t believe that this was actually interesting. I glanced back a few pages trying to catch up with my class but the bell had already rung. He collected his packets and I left feeling stupid, like I really could have learned some interesting stuff if I had given him the time of day.
“Ten-Year-Old Persistence”
By: Amanda Taylor
The persistence of a ten year old may seem small and minuscule compared to that of an adult, but when the persistence is used for congenial purposes it grows and touches everyone. Such is the case of a young boy who tried to raise money for unfortunate children through his neighborhood, school ,and church.
Jordan Daniels is a grade school student who just won’t take no for an answer. Growing up in a home where the answer “no” was used often, made accepting that one word answer fairly difficult for him. Jordan lived at home with three older brothers, a dad who didn’t show up often, and a mother who was struggling to support the entire family on her own with little help. Jordan’s father decided to leave when Jordan was nine severely crippling the family, making it almost impossible for them to survive. When his mother found a job, she had no time to take care of the home or really invest in her child’s activities.
Although, the one thing Jordan’s mother made absolutely sure was that Jordan and his brother’s attend church every Sunday and Wednesday. As Jordan became more engrossed in his Wednesday Bible classes, he created new friendships and discovered opportunities he hadn’t even dreamed of having. His Wednesday night class resembled that of a Boy Scout troop centered around the Bible, and the class went on many camping trips teaching them how to work together and a achieve a goal through and for Christ’s children.
One week Jordan’s teacher Mr. Blaine revealed a fundraiser to the children that would benefit less fortunate children. Because Jordan was remarkably unselfish for a boy his age, he considered himself a very fortunate child. He believed that God had given him the roof over his head, a school and education to enjoy, a lovely family in the church, and a family at home who supported him the best they could manage.
Jordan decided that night to take the wonderful opportunity God had given him and use his gifts of strong will, persistence and a warm heart to raise money for the annual “Children’s Christmas Fund”. Over the next few weeks his teacher’s, family and friends watched as Jordan gave his toys, money and clothes to the fundraiser. At the end of the month Jordan had raised one hundred dollars, three boxes of toys,(all his own), and several shopping bags full of clothes.
Jordan’s success inspired the rest of his class and, ultimately, the entire church to give to the fundraiser creating a record high in the amount of money given that year. Jordan was proud of pushing past “no” and “impossible” and accepting his extraordinary challenge. Not only do adults succeed and inspire, but the heart of a ten year old succeeds in everything when it is used to touch someone else.
It was Saturday, November 15th, 2008, and the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace had just gotten out. As I exited the theater with Taylor, we decided that we should go have some ice cream at Ring Mountain, just down the street. In the lobby of the theater, I announced to our group of ten friends that we were going to walk over there. So we headed out into the cold, and started heading over there. We arrived sooner than we expected, since we had ended up running half of the way for no particular reason. After we all decided on what kind of ice cream to get, and sat down. After a while, Tim and I decided to go outside, since it was getting warm inside. As we left, nobody really noticed, and we were outside for a while. Eventually, a few more of our friends came out, and we noticed we had the perfect amount of people to make a pyramid. So we went on a mission to find a grass. Since we were standing in the parking lot, we had to walk a little ways, but eventually we found some grass. So we went to work building the pyramid, with Michael, Tim, and Matt on the bottom. As Maddie and I climbed up on them for the second row, we noticed it was kind of hard to keep balance, but we didn’t think much about it. As Taylor was finally climbing up to the top, we noticed we were on a slight hill. Since Michael was on the bottom side of the hill, he had the most weight on him, and accidentally slipped and rolled out of the pyramid. As soon as he did, the rest of us collapsed in a great heap on the ground. Right then, the other four members of the group showed up, confused about where we went since we didn’t tell them where we went. But we still had the goal of creating a six-person before the night was over; we went and found a more flat section of grass. We finally found it near Target, and were successful this time. We took pictures of it just for proof, and our mission to create a pyramid in Eagan, Minnesota was successful.
I was having a fun, eventful night. Little did I know, tragic, unexpected news was yet to come. I had dinner with some friends and rushed off to catch the light rail on the way to the Minneapolis Metrodome for the high school semi final football game. Despite the bitter sting of the winter weather and the loss of the favored team, a time of enjoyment was apparent in everyone. Returning to my friend Maddy’s house at around 12am, we all settled in her living room with a pile of junk food to consume and the usual gossip to share. Within moments of shutting my eyes for the night, I jolted up when I heard the ring of the home phone begging to be answered. I thought nothing of the call until I heard Maddy’s mom yell my name from the peak of the staircase. I instantly felt a rush of anxiety sweep over me as I softly mumbled a simple, “hello” into the speaker. Knowing something was wrong, I tried to pay attention to my mom’s panic-struck instructions. Immediately after hanging up, I tried to fight back uncontrollable tears, but failed to do so. I finally choked out the news that my stepdad, Johnny, was having serious heart problems and needed instant help. I explained that I needed to return home to take care of my younger sister Sarah while my mom and stepdad went to the hospital. Hearing well wishes from my friends, I stepped outside in silence to my car and was blinded by the 2am morning darkness.
I felt like the 10 mile drive home lasted an eternity. With a hesitance walking into my house, my mom rushed out the garage door, with my stepdad close beside her. Throughout the day I was constantly updated on the tests and conditions Johnny was facing. When I visited him in the hospital that afternoon, I was shocked by the looks of the man lying in that hospital bed. Drained of color in the face, and swarmed with IV’s, I felt uncomfortable, like I was looking at a complete stranger. Despite appearance, my stepdad acted almost as if nothing had happened in the past 12 hours. The TV was turned on to the Sunday football game and he requested the Cowboys be turned on at 3pm towards the nurse assistant, who gladly accepted with a smile. Through this experience I learned a lot about myself and my stepdad. I look up to his courage and bravery. On the following day Johnny returned home, he was positive and filled with gratitude, like a true role model.
I was six years old and I was about to have the most exciting and painful day of that year. I decided to go outside and try riding my bike without training wheels because I was really jealous that most of my friends already had learned. So I hopped on my bike and started riding. I rode around my court probably one hundred times, I was so excited! It was way easier then I had thought and got the hang of it right away. I ran inside to show my parents and they were really proud. So the rest of the day I just biked all over the neighborhood. Then my friend Allie came over to ride with me. She had been my best friend since I could remember and I knew she would be proud too. We saw two boys sitting at the corner of the street and decided to bike really fast because we thought we were cool. So we kept riding back and forth very fast by the boys, until one time I had taken the turn to sharply and crashed. I don’t remember anything after that because I had received a concussion; I was not wearing a helmet. I woke up on my kitchen table with cuts, bruises and wraps all over me. I was in so much pain and could barely sit up. Later that day, I had walked over to my neighbor’s house who is a nurse and she told me and my mom what we should do. It was supposed to be the most exciting day for me, learning how to ride a bike with no training wheels. A short time after, I was asked to go ride my bike with my friends, but I could not get the courage too and just came up with an excuse. But then Allie cam over, she started telling me that she knew I was scared because of what had happened but I had to forget about it. She told me it would never happen again as long as long as I was careful and didn’t get nervous. So I listened to her because I didn’t want to be “the girl who can’t ride a bike with no training wheels”. So I hopped on the bike and rode around the neighborhood with her, I had no problems. I was a lot more cautious as to what was on the road and my speeds but I still rode. I was so thankful for my friend Allie for convincing me to get back on my bike because I knew I would have probably never gotten back on a bike after that day.
Today, on November 18, 2008, was an eventful day in fifth period Dance Tech. class. Allie Benner, Marissa Price, Rachel Rogers and Alyson Ryan were all in a group to choreograph the ending of the “No Air” dance. They were all sitting in a circle trying to think of a creative ending. They all had to the routine down perfect, but the ending was giving them trouble. It is a partner dance so there is a “boy” and a “girl” part. They determined Allie and Rachel would be the boys and Marissa and Alyson would be the girls. Allie and Alyson are a pair and Marissa and Rachel and the others pair. They kept practicing over and over again, when they got the idea to act out a fight at the end, because at the beginning of the dance both parts keep saying how confused they are about the other person’s feelings toward them and don’t know how they can be living like this. They decided at the end of the routine they would get in a fight with their partner and then end up switching and being with the other partner. To start off the fight they girls both fake punch their partners and they tumble to the ground. As they were practicing Allie and Alyson hit their hands together and Allie sliced open Alyson’s hand with her finger nail. They all started laughing at first, but when Alyson looked down she realized her finger was bleeding. She didn’t know, but that was just the beginning of her unlucky day in dance as she was washing away the blood in the bathroom. They began to practice their routine intensely since they have a dance test on Friday where they have to perform it in front of the entire class for a grade. Ms. Mahr, the dance class teacher, started the song over and the group began to go through their dance a few more times. Allie and Alyson do their part without any injury, now Marissa and Alyson are partners. Marissa is going to spin and Alyson will pick her up and that is the ending pose. Everything is going smoothly until Marissa goes to put her arm around Alyson and elbows her in the mouth. You can tell Marissa feels very bad and can’t believe she is the second person to hurt her today. Her lip also starts bleeding along with her finger. Alyson is a good sport and laughs it off, and everything is fine. Now that they have literally gotten out the bumps and bruises in their routine, they will for sure get an “A”!
Mike Whelan
My dad and I drove to the bank and that took a few minutes. My dad and I drove to the store and that took a few minutes. My dad and I pulled up to a light, thirty seconds. My dad and I heard a strange noise. I looked around and saw a motor cycle flipped over on the ground, half was on the curb and half was on the street. A man was lying a few feet in front of the cycle, face down and not moving, and I caught a glimpse of a tan car speeding off into the distance leaving the person behind. My dad instantly did a U-turn and we pulled up in front of the motor cycle. My dad and I ran out to go see if the Man was ok and check his pulse and his breathing. As we were doing this I quickly reached for my cell phone and dialed 9-11 and got in contact with the police. I told them quickly what was happening and they sent an ambulance. I then went on to help my dad to quickly help the victim. The Victim had cuts around his throat, most likely from the helmet strap, and some missing skin on his hands and arms. He was also lying face down on the ground. My dad quickly checked his pulse and then proceeded to check to see his breathing. We were relieved to finally hear him moaning as that signaled that he was alive. He flipped himself over and then we asked if we could help him, and he said yes. After that my Dad told me to run back to the car to get any napkins that we may have. When I got to the Car I searched and searched for any Napkins or paper towels. After a few minutes of checking for napkins, I quickly returned reluctantly to my father, who was talking to the victim. Then we heard the sirens and gave the man some last words of hope. When the paramedics arrived on the scene my father and I backed away quickly and continued observing. They got him up and into the ambulance. After that my dad and I left for home and told my mom about the story. It is interesting how long just a few minutes can be. This whole experience was a few minutes.
By Josh Landru
On October 31, the Eastview Lightning football team faced off against the Rosemount Irish for the section championship and the right to go onto State for a chance at the State Quarter Final. “We were very confident going into the game.” Said Josh Landru, who is a backup nose guard for the Lightning, but when the Irish returned the kick-off for a touchdown he started losing confidence. As the game continued and the Irish kept the Lightning at bay and the away sideline kept getting more and more frustrated and upset. By half time, the Irish had a good lead and the Lightning was still in the game at this point from help from senior Matt Garin who is committed to the Gophers after he graduates from Eastview. During the game number 25 Joseph Broback of the Irish was carried off the field on a stretcher after being hit very hard in the neck/back region. As the game continued Andre Hunt and Matt Garin injured their knees and were out for the game. The final was 33-10 Rosemount.
Averi Haugesag
Period: 7
11/18/08
My dad, Todd Haugesag, has been in the record business for many years. For nearly 15 years he was the manager of The Electric Fetus; a popular record store in downtown Minneapolis. This job has created many musical connections for my family over the years. One of these connections just so happens to be that his best friend, Leeann owns WeFest in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. I have attended WeFest since I was about 5 years old and each year Leeann gives me, my mom and my dad backstage passes and the chance to meet any artist I want. It was August 5th, 2008 and I was backstage in line to meet Taylor Swift, a popular new country singer. Leeann had told me to meet at the Media Trailer at approximately 2:00 or I would miss my chance. When I arrived to the meet and greet area I was surprised to find that there was nearly 100 people in line too met her. I had been too many meet and greets before this one and I had never seen so many young people in one line, much less backstage. Because I was Leeann’s guest, I got to go to the front of the line along with one of the head journalists in the music section of Star Tribune newspaper, John Bream. I was surrounded by over excited people. They were screaming, yelling and all getting their camera’s ready. There was even a woman a few people behind me claiming she was about to pass out she was so anxious. Suddenly a security guard came up to me and told me Leeann wanted me to go in the media trailer early so I had more time with Taylor. As I walked in I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Taylor Swift was. She had long curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes and was very tall. After Leeann introduced us to each other we sat down and talked about things any normal teenager would talk about. It was nice to meet a star that was so down to earth that I had so much in common with. After all, she was just 17! She began to tell me about the music video she had finished recorded for her new hit single, “Love Story” just an hour before attending WeFest. After nearly a half hour of talking it was time for Taylor’s manager to bring in her other fans. I sat in a chair next to Leeann and watched them pile in. Each seemed more excited than the person ahead of them. Although some of the fans were a little over the top, Taylor was very nice to them and one of the nicest, most talented country music stars I have ever met.
On the fourth of July of 2008, two of my friends Matt and Alex and Alex’s dad Greg and I went outside of Alex’s house to light some fireworks. At first we were hesitant thinking we were too old for fireworks but we figured we had nothing better to do. Greg came out side and handed me a big box full of small fireworks like sparklers and smoke bombs. The tiny fireworks began to bore us and the box was starting to get empty so I stuck my hand deep inside the box and found one of the biggest fountain fireworks I had ever seen. We were really excited because we knew the fountain would put all the other fireworks to shame. Greg attempted to light the fountain but discovered there was no fuse. All hope began to die for the firework, but Greg wasn’t going to give up that easy, he was determined to light the fountain. Greg began to search for ways to light the fountain. He tried using another fuse from a smoke bomb but it wasn’t long enough. Finally Greg tore off the paper on the bottom of the fountain and placed it upside down to reveal its powder filled canisters. Greg told me to take the lighter and stick it inside one of the canisters. I had a bad feeling about it but considering the fact that Greg was the parent I began to light the powder inside the canister. All of a sudden the fountain began to spark and one by one bottle rocket type fireworks went flying out of the fountain in all directions. Greg ran behind a car, Alex, Matt, and I took off sprinting and screaming down the street. Bottle rockets went zooming by my head and I felt one hit my back, luckily I wasn’t burnt. For about three minutes it looked like World War Two and the rockets suddenly stopped. Greg yelled out to make sure we were all okay. It was silent for a couple of seconds then we all broke out in laughter. Our laughter soon turned to panic when we realized the neighbor’s bushes were on fire. We ran over to their house and grabbed a house. We sprayed the bush down with the hose and the fire died. We searched other houses for damaged and could only find minor things like bottle rockets on roofs. Luckily the bushes weren’t that damaged and the neighbors weren’t mad. Because of this day I learned to never play with fireworks.
I was getting up early in the morning for another day of school. I did the regular routine of slowly getting up out of bed at 6:45 to shower. After my shower I got dressed and lethargically walked down stairs to have the usual breakfast of a homemade banana chocolate chip muffin and a glass of milk. I sat in the living room chair trying to stay awake to eat and get my daily dosage of Sportscenter. I looked at the time and was saddened when I saw it was time for me to leave for school. I got up from my chair and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I grabbed the keys and went out to the car so I could leave for school. As I was driving I decided to take a different way than normal and take McAndrews to Johnny Cake for my route to school that day. As I turned on to McAndrews I speed the car up to about 50 miles per hour. As I was approaching the stoplight it was green and thought I had time to make the light. As I came closer I kept wondering whether or not the light will turn right as I’m about to go through it. Just when I was thinking about it, it happened and the light turned yellow. I was already partly in and knew I had to go. As I was going I saw a kid on his bike going across the intersection and I knew I was about to hit him. I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could and came to a screeching halt. As I stopped the kid and his bike hit the front right bumper of my car and the kid fell off. Everything around me stopped as I replayed the event in my head. A few seconds’ later things went back to reality and I found myself in shock not knowing what to do. A person nearby stopped the help and called the police. I tried to see if the kid was alright and he appeared to be a little shaken up but that’s it. Soon after the accident the cops arrived and started bombarding me with questions. After it was over I still had to go to school which made it even worse. The whole day I kept replaying the event in my head and thinking what if I killed that kid? I was thankful things did not happen that way and learned many valuable things from the accident. I learned that you should not take things for granted because something could happen and change your life instantly. I also learned to take your time when driving and be more aware. I’m grateful this happened to me because I learned many things and hope it will never happen again.
On October 23 and 24, Eastview High School had the Fall Dance Show in the PAC. There were many dances, including lots of class dances, a few extra dances, and some solos by girls in the Ms. Dance Team competition. The highlight of the dance show was clearly 6th Hour’s “Shoes” dance, followed closely by the “Ninja” dance put on by 5th Hour. Both class dances had a lot of energy and creativity and many studly looking dancers. Jessica Mahr was in charge of the show and she choreographed all the class dances and extra dances. Obviously Ms. Mahr is straight up domination. Next, we will take a look individually at the two top performances of the night: the “Ninja” dance, and “Shoes”.
The star performer in the “Ninja” dance was, no doubt, Rachel Rogers. Rachel is leader on and off the dance floor. Her positive attitude and amazing contributions in class really benefit everyone. She really took the dance to a whole new level. Another amazing performer in the class was Alyson Ryan. She had some sick moves and always knew how to break it down. She picked up her talents from the street and always brought 100% energy to the stage. One of the slackers in 5th Hour was Nikki Fitzgerald. She really had no motivation and was always goofing around in class. She showed no energy or hustle while dancing, and that was just a buzz kill for the whole class.
6th hour also had an amazing dance. The class chemistry was off-the-charts, and everyone gave it their all. It clearly showed on performance night as all the dancers shined like stars. There really is nothing more to say because this was all around just a dominating display of dancing skills. Hopefully the winter dance show is just as strong as this one was.
The team calls her Fergie, but the rest of the conference knows her as Anne, one of the top runners in the state. She approaches the course with the whole team for the first time is a feeling a bit overwhelming, because she usually is the only member of her team to qualify. After tying her spikes, and strapping on her watch, she is ready to head out to the course with her team for the first time. Fergie leads all six other teammates throughout the course to get a feel for it before the race. Twenty minutes before the race is about to begin, the teams line up in their boxes and begin their pliometric exercises. This is when Anne’s nerves start to kick in, she is mentally prepared and she knows what she needs to do to run an outstanding race. Eleven 3 foot wide boxes each filled with seven nervous athletes. The man standing 100 yards out gets the crowd silent and says “Ladies step up to the line”. Fergie puts her front toe up to the line, and then the man says “Set”. The crowd and all the athletes are silent and still, awaiting the gun shot to begin the race. He fires the gun and the girls all take off. Fergie is one of the leaders of the group start out strong and get a good lead, setting the pace for the rest of the runners. Anne is trying to stick with the other top runners and pass the other runners she knows she can beat. At the top of the hill she sees their Coach Fischer, thinking to herself when she reaches her coach the first mile is over. Each coach is holding a stop watch and a clipboard, waiting to shout out the runners mile split times. Accompanying the Coach Fischer are all her other teammates with poster that reads “POP TO THE TOP” and “YOURE DOING AWESOME”. That’s all she needed to get a little more boost of energy when going through the most difficult part of the race. After the uphill she knew she had the nice easy downhill and to make it to the finish. In a previous race, the unbearable heat and lack of hydration all contributed to her collapsing right in front of the finish line and was unable to finish her race.
It was the first snow fall of the year in 2007. It was very cold outside and my friend Jessica and I were getting bored sitting inside her house watching the snow fall. Finally after about 30 minutes we decided to leave. Unfortunately her car was parked outside so we had to brush off all of the snow that was packed on top of it. Her leather seats were freezing so we sat in her car and waited for it to warm up. After a while we pulled out of her drive way and were on our way to get some coffee at Caribou. We did not realize how icy out it was until we were out of her neighborhood. We started listening to some loud music to help us not think about the terrible weather. We were headed down Cliff Road and there were 2 car accidents to the right of us. I was not too nervous because I knew Jessica was a good driver. Suddenly the car in front of her slammed on their breaks. She stepped on hers as fast as she could but it was too late. Her front bumper slammed right into this big red truck in front of us, it all seemed to happen so fast. We did not know what to do so we sat there in stillness for 20 seconds. The first thing she said to clear the silence was, “My parents are going to kill me!” I did not know what to say to her because I have never gotten into a car accident before; this was a first time for the both of us. The man who was driving the red truck stormed out of his car and came up to her window. I was in shock and did not move a muscle. Then he said to follow him to the gas station that was up there a little ways. When we finally arrived, which took forever because she did not want to drive too fast and get into another accident, the police had already arrived and were waiting. Her dad came a few minutes after and seemed very disappointed. I felt incredibly awkward being there because I did not want her dad to think it was my fault too. Once they exchanged insurance we headed back to her house. Once we arrived to her house I got into my car and drove slowly all the way back to my house.
Three years marks the day of one of the most tragic experiences for a young boy. This young boy experienced one of them most unneeded pain that no one should have to go through. This young boy suffered over 5 hours of painful, bone splitting pain. This boy’s name is Nick Mateen, when he was 12 years old in the 7th grade, Nick Mateen suffered a great pain in his arm but mostly in his heart. It was a normal day for Nick Mateen he was playing some football with his friends and having a blast at it, until his turn came up to run the ball he ran as fast as he could (which wasn’t that fast at all) then this bigger more muscled guy came up and tackled him. Sadly Nick Mateen fell to the ground putting his arms up to protect his face, but how unfortunate for him that there was a rock there that hit his arm. Nick Mateen is a big guy and when this big guy goes down, he goes down with a thump, and that thump cost him a broken arm. At first Nick didn’t consider his arm to be broken, until he actually tried to lift things around. Nick finally realized and hour after he really broke his arm, that his arm was actually broken. He told his mom and they went to the clinic to get it checked out, but what luck Nick had to wait a long painful amount of time ‘till the doctors could actually check his arm out. Finally when Nick got checked by the doctors the doctors told him how that his bone is pushing up against another bone, and without that support from the other bone, his broken bone would be sticking out of his arm. The doctor informed Nick on how they were going too pop it back in place in a few minutes. The doctor offered Nick either a shot which was to numb the pain, or a pill which was suppose to sleep him through the procedure. Nick was confused and thought the needle would just add to his pain, so he decide to go with the pill. While the doctor was popping the bone back in place Nick woke up, and started to scream from the agonizing pain. Eventually Nick got through it and realized he should’ve taken the shot. The doctor gave him a splint until his cast would be ready. Nick experienced a great amount of pain that day, a great amount that no one should have to experience. They say a man is judged how they handle there pain, if this were true Nick would hardly be a man.
In March 2008 Eastview High School girls basketball team received third place in the state tournament. They played many games to reach this point. They were played many tuff teams to reach this point. In the regular season the battled against many teams such as Lakeville North and Bloomington Kennedy. The team only had one loss in the regular season. They lost to Bloomington Kennedy on the last regular season game. The team still came out as lake conference champions for the fourth time in the last five years.
As they moved on to the regional tournament they were seated number one in section three. Their first game was played at Eastview High school against Lakeville South High School. They received an easy win over this low ranked of Lakeville South. Their next game they moved on to play Apple Valley High School. They played at the college of St. Olaf. They had a very physical game against Apple Valley but pulled out with a win. They would now move on to play Park of Cottage Grove. Eastview and Park had met before in a preseason game. The game was close and came down to the final seconds but, Eastview’s team won. Everyone now doubted Eastview going in to this game no one thought they would pull off this win. Eastview did win by a large margin. They would now move on to the state tournament.
Going in to the tournament they where seated second. Their first game would be against St. Francis. The game was easily decide in the first half Eastview was up by twenty at half time. The game was over and Eastview was moving on. The next they would play St. Paul central the state champions from last year. The game was at two o’clock. They played tuff but has down at half time. They were very discouraged. They play hard the second half but didn’t come out with a win. They were disappointed but they still had one more game to play. They play a good game against Chaska and came out with a win. Didn’t finish
As the 8th grade boys’ basketball tournament came to an end, fans gathered at the far end of the gym to witness the final game. A St. Paul High School team was down by two points with only seconds left. Unfortunately, the game seemed to be over as the opposing team stepped up to the free throw line, ready to sink the last two points of the game and increasing the lead. If they made this shot, there was no way St. Paul could score enough points to pull through. With only three seconds left to go, the free throw shooter swished the first shot. The fans roared as they took a three-point lead, believing they had just won the tournament. The second free throw was shot, rolled around the rim, and came out. It didn’t seem to faze the leading team as a St. Paul player snatched the rebound, brought the ball behind his shoulder, and sent it hurling into the air. The fans jumped to their feet at the sight of the ball getting closer and closer to the opposite basket on the other end of the court. Without even touching the rim, the ball went soaring through the hoop, leaving fans wide-eyed and in disbelief. The teammates warming the benches leapt to their feet, the St. Paul team yelling and cheering, the opposing team shocked and confused. The scoreboard changed from 68 to 71, leaving the two teams tied.
Overtime quickly began and the teams fought hard to declare themselves the first place champions of the tournament. Another nail-biting last minute left the fans on the edge of their seats, once again. St. Paul, trailing by two points, had possession of the ball. As the clock went from ten seconds to five seconds, the point guard took the final shot from half court. The ball rolled around the rim, hesitated, and then came back out. The hard-fighting St. Paul team fell short in the end, but contributed some amazing plays.
I was sitting in my 6th grade science class playing with my hair and looking out the window. A fresh blanket of white snow had fallen the night before making the world outside the huge glass window look flawless. Mrs. Mueller was giving the dullest lecture in the whole wide world and no one was focused. It was the Friday before Christmas break and some students were tapping their pencils; others were shaking their legs trying to distract themselves and make the day go fast. Mrs. Mueller was just about to give us our assignment for over the break but then the phone rang. It was like maybe when she answered it she would forget that she had an assignment in her hands. She hung up and summoned me over to her and instructed me to get everything I needed from my locker and then go to the main office. I did as I was told, thanking god as he saved me from my boredom. In the office my mom was there waiting for me and we went out to the car where my brother and dad were waiting. On top of the car were my parent’s skis and my brother’s and my snowboards my parents told us we were spending the weekend up north. I was really excited they had completely surprised me! I spent the next eternity in the car with my annoying little brother. Finally the car pulled into the resort parking lot next to a red convertible, I thought to myself who the heck is stupid enough to drive a convertible through the snow. As our car stopped, a lady holding the cutest little Pomeranian puppy ever got out of the car. “Oh cute,” I said as I reached out to pet the puppy. He was tiny about 2 pounds and had brown fur with black around his eyes and little black highlights through his dark brown coat. “Would you like to hold him?” she asked, she reminded me of the Mrs. Claus I had seen at the Mall of America a week earlier when I had been forced to pose with a fake Santa. I held the puppy in my arms, he wiggled and licked my cheek and I laughed. I looked up at my parents and gave them my best puppy dog pout begging them with my eyes for a puppy just like the one I was holding. They smiled and then turned away. I was handing him back but the lady didn’t hold out her hands to take him back. What she said next completely surprised me “He’s yours.” I couldn’t believe it my parent’s had surprised me twice in one day! “Really?” I asked her just double checking in case I was like on punk’d or something. She nodded yes I held the puppy close to my jacket. Her husband got out of the driver’s seat holding another puppy and gave it to my brother. We had two new puppies I was so excited. “I’m naming mine Gaborik,” said my brother. My mom laughed and my dad just smiled at him like he was crazy. “I’m naming mine Motley,” I said after a town we had stopped in for dinner. The cold snowy wind whipped passed my face and Motley whimpered. I said thank you to the lady and her husband and climbed in the car with motley for heat. I waited in the car while my dad handed the lady a check. My mom said it looked like my dad was buying drugs instead of paying for the puppies. My dad got in the car and the heat on full blast. We continued up the snowy road to the cabin we were renting for the week. I couldn’t believe that my parents actually got me a dog. It was the best start to my Christmas Vacation.
One of the most exciting moments in my life was the day that my sister and I got out ears pierced. We had been begging my dad to let him let us get them pierced. Soon some of our friends were getting them pierced, which made Alex and I want to get them even more. My dad said that we wouldn’t be able to get them pierced until we were sixteen. Finally one day my mom was tired of us being sad about not getting them pierced that my mom said the latest that we could get them pierced is when we are twelve, but the only problem with that is that we were only ten, so we might still have to wait two years to get them pierced. Our birthday was November 4th and getting our ears pierced was sadly not one of the presents that we received that year. So one day after Thanksgiving we were at the Burnsville Mall just walking around when my dad suddenly said,” Well if you were to get your ears pierced, where would you get them done?” Well Alex and I knew where Claire’s was from pretty much every store in the entire mall so we sprinted to the store and looked around, and looked very carefully at the earrings. Then all of a sudden my dad said, “Well get on up there!” Alex and I both stared at him in awe and in mid- sip of our Blue Raseberry ICEE. So that day we got out ears pierced. As soon as we got home we ran to all of our neighbors houses and rang their doorbells to show them. It was by far one of the best days of my life and definitely one of the most surprising as well.
The Eastview Lightning Girl’s soccer team had been on the lookout for a new coach for the 2008 season. Former head coach, Len Berlien resigned after the 2007 season. Many applications were looked over, but the former assistant coach, David Harem, seemed to be the best fit for the Eastview Lightning Girl’s soccer program. At the beginning of the season many coaches from other schools predicted Eastview to be “just average” due to the loss of a large number of seniors and the new coaching.
At the start of the season, head coach, David Harem, and assistant coach, Mary Dye, made it very clear that they had high hopes for their new team. Coach Harem told his players in August that their goal was to win the Lake Conference and return to the state tournament. Success wouldn’t come easy. Goals were set high and each practice was a challenge, but it was worth it for these girls.
Few soccer teams in the state of Minnesota had as good of a season as the Eastivew girls did. The Lightning girls soccer team went on to win the Lake Conference title with an undefeated record. The team went on to win the Section 3AA title after an exciting victory in a shootout to Park Cottage Grove. The girls then entered the state tournament with anticipation and excitement.
The past two times the lightning soccer team has made it to state, they lost in the quarterfinals. With this in mind, coaches geared up their players against their first state game against Lakeville South, who they previously defeated with only three seconds left in the game. Fortunately, the girls advanced again and made it further than any other Eastview Lightning girls soccer team has ever made it- the dome!
On October 26th, 2008 the Eastview Lightning Girl’s soccer team advanced to the state tournament.
the team for its first time into the state semi final game against the Eden Prairie Eagles in the dome. Unfortunately, they suffered two losses to Eden Prairie in a shoot-out and Wayzata in the Class AA state tournament. The team earned fourth in the state tournament. Eastview finishes the season with a 20-3-0 record, a good ending for the coach’s new beginning.
Kelly Gibbons
Period 7
It was a dark Saturday night in mid-April and the Gibbons family was anxious to get away from all of their responsibilities and take a long needed vacation. Michael, the father, was given this trip for business but most of the time they would spend there would be relaxing and enjoying each other and their company. Where were they headed? They were flying to Marco Island, Florida. The entire house was quiet and everyone was sound asleep. The youngest child; Shannon, had barely been able to fall asleep because she could not wait to ride on an airplane for the first time in her life. She was the baby of the family, about ten years old and she was so excited. Kelly, the youngest boy, had all of his bags packed two weeks before they left and was ready to take a break from the many long hours at school on top of additional sleep lost each night doing homework. By about two o’clock in the morning, which was about four hours until their flight, everybody was finally in bed and ready to board the plane later that morning. However, they had not known that they would be running into some obstacles that were trying to prevent them from boarding the plan on Sunday, for some odd reason. Morning had almost arrived and that meant that it would not be long before they must board the plane. The taxicab was supposed to be there at about four-thirty so that they would have enough to time to get there by five o’clock, and still have plenty of time before the flight would leave. However, it was about four-forty-five and he still had not come, so Kelly impatiently said, “Dad, how about you just drive us up there in your car and you can leave your car at the airport?” “That is an excellent idea,” responded the entire family in unison. Therefore, we proceeded to drive ourselves to the airport but, of course being the father that he was, the car had barely any gas in it. When Shannon, exclaimed, “We are out of gas, Dad!” that is when everyone began to panic, because when Kelly glanced at the clock to read that it had now been closer to five-fifteen already. Tensions were high and impatience consumed the entire family to a point where they were so frantic that they began arguing about whose fault it was; saying, “this is all your fault” and “now we are going to be late” etc. However, by the time they had gotten to the gas station and back on the road, it was only five-twenty, and so the nervousness and apprehension that had once consumed each family member had been destroyed. It was clear that they would not miss their flight when they made it to the airport by five-thirty; even though they had to rush through security as fast as they could, they still made it before there flight was scheduled to leave. But, ever since this dreadful experience, the Gibbons’ family has never put any trust or even relied on a taxi to show up, because after all; was it not the taxi’s fault?
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