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The Lakeside Voice
Volume 9, Issue 1
Colchester High School, Colchester,Vermont
SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE
SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME
October, 2009
Surveillance
cameras
installed at CHS
By Rachel Racicot
photo contributed by deanecompanyinc.com
Over a dozen security cameras were installed at CHS in October.
Students react to the new security measure
By Kelsey Latulippe and Rachel Racicot
Stephanie Fitzgerald, Senior:
"I don't like the fact that people are watching me. We're in
high school, and should be
respected and given more
responsibility and privacy."
just go to the bathroom, locker
room or other places that the
cameras aren't permitted."
JJ Ouellette, Senior: "It's not
a big deal; there will probably
be less `bad' things in the hallway and less people skipping
classes."
Sam LaCroix, Junior: "I
think they're a joke."
Ally, Freshman: "I think that
they're a bad idea. People will
Sam, Freshman: "I don't
think that they're needed."
Elise Crowley, Senior: "I
think they're good for underclassmen but not for seniors
because seniors are constantly
getting stopped in the hallways
already even though we have
privileges."
Peter Cormier, Senior: "I
think the school should be putting more money into food,
books or computers. Just
because a few kids made mistakes last year it shouldn't punish the rest of us. It's ridiculous
to spend that much money on
cameras when we could be
improving the school in so
many other ways."
Homecoming dance
By the second week in
November Colchester High
School will have at least fifteen
security cameras installed.
Most people have already
noticed the cameras being
installed, but they are not fully
finished yet. The locations of
cameras will be at all building
entrances, parking lot, fields,
and stairwells; the cameras will
be visible. Installing the cameras was the school board's
decision. The cameras are an
addition to our safety plan; the
administration hopes they will
make our school a safer place.
They have been a major
discussion all throughout the
school and it seems like most of
the students don't know what's
really going on. Many students
are upset about the cameras
because they feel as if the
school is violating their privacy.
Also, students feel that they're
getting older and should have
more freedom and responsibility. They feel like these cameras
get in the way of this.
Though the school will
likely face privacy concerns
from parents, students and civil
libertarian groups, school officials say that cameras curb
crime and are important sources
of physical evidence when
crimes do occur. There have
been many events over the past
five years such as vandalism (in
and outside), bomb threats, and
a very serious fight; these
could've been prevented if the
cameras were there. The cameras won't lead to more security
technology throughout the
school, but it is going to lead
more safety precautions.
The footage from the cameras will not be regularly monitored; the school will only use
the cameras if an incident
occurs. The tapes are recorded
over every two weeks, so the
old footage can no longer be
watched.
Security cameras are present in hundreds of schools
around the country. Colchester
High School is not the first
school in the state of Vermont to
install cameras; Windham
Regional Career Center has had
them since 2004, and since then
vandalism reports have fallen to
zero.
Brattleboro School
District is currently considering
adding cameras to their safety
plan.
An Autumn Affair to remember
By Erica Fritzeen
This year's homecoming
dance was successful and
everyone had a great time. The
dance was held on Saturday,
October 17th, from 7:30 to
10:30. The cafeteria was decorated nicely by the members of
our student government.
Students enjoyed dancing to
some of their favorite songs, at
one point, students formed a
circle in the crowd for anyone
that wanted to go in and show
off their best moves. As seen in
the picture at right, senior Ryan
White was busting out his best
and made the crowd go wild.
Although the music and
light show were great, there
was one issue going on
throughout the crowd: the main
cafeteria lights were on the
entire dance. Many people
were not pleased with this and
wanted to know why this was
happening because usually
they aren't kept on. The reasoning for this was supposedly for
safety reasons. However, this
issue started getting discussed
and there may be a solution for
it next dance by covering the
lights with colored paper so
that it's not as bright throughout the room.
Photo taken by Erica Fritzeen
Senior Ryan White entertains the crowd.
2
Lakeside Voice
Staff & Contact
Information
Advisor: Aimee deLaricheliere
The Lakeside Voice is published by students at
Colchester High School. Articles are selected and
submitted by the CHS community at large. The
high school Journalism class is responsible for
every facet of The Lakeside Voice publication.
Suggestions and ideas for the articles and letters to the editor can be sent in care of:
The Lakeside Voice
CHS Student Newspaper
Laker Lane
Colchester, VT 05446
The Lakeside Voice staff:
Shawn Beaulieu
Josh Camisa
Spencer Dandurand
Zach Dandurand
Tausha Deal
Matt Dudley
Erica Fritzeen
Aaron Hodge
Alex Hulbert
Heather Labrie
Kelsey Latulippe
Chris Lebeau
Alexandra Libstag
Shawn Place
Rachel Racicot
Becca Sanborn
Events
Godspell coming soon
October 2009
By Alex Hulbert
The Colchester Theatre Company
will be putting on the musical Godspell November 19th through the 21st
at Colchester High School.
The musical Godspell was written
by Stephen Schwartz and JohnMichael Tebelak. It is about the gospel
according to St. Matthew, telling the
story of Jesus with a rock n' roll soundtrack.
Godspell was performed on
Broadway in the 1970s. It was a big
hit during the time that it was in production. The show was played over
527 times before stopping. Then the
musical was made into a movie.
This year, the Colchester Theatre
Company will welcome the musical The cast of Godspell
again. Godspell has been performed
before at Colchester. Mr. Coon, the pure fun with a message," said
theater director, said that he liked hav- Cameron Brownell, who is playing
ing the students perform Godspell be- John the Baptist.
Mr. Coon also said that with
cause they get to show different
Godspell
you can do different things to
talents. There are over forty students
the
play
throughout the years. Mr.
that are a part of the production, and
Coon
has
been the drama director for
the community helps as well. "It's
Photo taken by Alex Hulbert
over thirty years. "Arts are life long,"
Mr. Coon said, talking about the talent
that Colchester has in arts.
Godspell will be another great play
done by the Colchester Theater Company--be sure to see it!
Student Government CHS Calendar
By Paige Laplant
As the new school year
begins, the CHS Student
Government is taking action in the school community quickly. Within the
first few weeks of the
2009-2010 year, we put
together a successful
Spirit Week filled with a
fun atmosphere, school
spirit, and many crazy
outfits. "An Autumn Affair" was the next school
event to be put on by Student Government. This
annual fall dance was a great chance for students
to get together for a good time in a common place.
In addition to Spirit Week and the annual fall
dance, we recently conducted freshmen and sophomore elections and would like to congratulate the
new representatives for becoming a part of such a
leadership position. In November, we hope to take
on an initiative that goes outside of the school, and
into the surrounding community. If anyone in the
student body has any questions or comments regarding the school community or issues here at
CHS, speak with any of the representatives listed
below as they can bring your thoughts and voices
to the attention of the administration. We look for-
CHS Lakers
Coffeehouse
Composers
By Raya Lurvey
The musical talent of Colchester High
School showcased their first performance of
the year at the Coffeehouse on September
25th. Mr. Lang and Mr. Warren work together
to coordinate and manage the affair; they are
both science teachers and musicians.
A few years ago, the Coffeehouse was
just a few artsy students standing around a
stage taking turns performing. This event has
amplified, becoming much more popular. Tables are draped with paper and scattered with
crayons for students and guests to color on
during performances, many of which show up
early to get seating and sign up. The fun envi-
ward to hearing your input, and we're looking forward to a great school year!
Cabinet Positions:
President: Paige LaPlant
Vice-President: Arianna L'Equyer
Treasurer: Rebecca Crane
Secretary: Emily Bishop
Representatives:
Paige LaPlant
Arianna L'Ecuyer
Rebecca Crane
Meagan Snyder
Emily Bishop
Rose Trudeau
Hogan Smith
Carly Schmidt
Jenna Weed
Tyler LaBonte
Alec Kozlowski
Matt Ketcham
Alyse Winchester
Lauren Zwonik
Riley Kruger
Gabby Southwick
ronment is perfect for first-time performers
and developing musicians to show off their
talent. Each year, more and more of the student body perform at these Coffeehouses. The
last one included performers such as Ryan
White, Kaitlyn Boudah, Diana Marchessault,
and Nick Kaim. With a little luck, there will be
more musicians each time.
It is incredible how much talent just one
school has to offer. One of the many students
that attend Coffeehouses regularly confidently
stated that she loves them: "they're a lot of fun
and really show off some of the great talent
there is at CHS. Just over the past three years
I've seen them grow so much. So many more
people have been coming and it's great to see
the growing support for the arts here." Jake
Blondin ponders his future performance, stating, "Well I'm always nervous to sing in front
of people, but at the Coffeehouse there is an
atmosphere of casual relaxation making it feel
good to perform whether you're good or bad."
The next Coffeehouse will be on Friday, November 13th, and we hope to see you there!
November 2009
11/4: Picture
retakes, 7:001:00 in the theater.
11/5: Parent
Conferences
Coming up... (students with
last names beginning with A-K), 4:008:00.
11/7: SAT test date
11/10: National Mix it Up
Day
11/10: Cap and gown info
for seniors during TA.
11//11: Winter sports par-
ent/athlete meeting, 7:00.
11/12: Parent Conferences
(students with last names beginning with L-Z), 4:00-8:00.
11/12-14: Instrumental District Music Festival
11/13: Coffeehouse, 7:00.
11/16: Practices begin for
winter sports
11/17-18: Seniors--order
your cap and gown with
Josten's, 11:00-1:00.
11/19-21: Godspell
11/20: Red Cross Club
Thanksgiving Baskets, Library, 2:30.
11/25-27: Thanksgiving
break
Photo taken by Allie Dwinell
Kaitlyn Boudah performs a song she wrote at the September 25th Coffeehouse.
Op/Ed
October 2009
Did I say
that out
loud?
3
What teachers
can and can't say
in the classroom
By Alexandra Libstag and Becca
Sanborn
America was built on the premise of
individual rights and justice. However,
this country's first amendment, freedom of
speech, is constantly trampled on in the
classroom. Teachers are placed with the
burden of having to monitor their words,
often asking themselves, "How much is
too much to say?"
Here at CHS we see censorship everywhere. Teachers must put a disclaimer on
every controversial topic they teach. In
many classes taught at CHS there are a
wide range of subjects where views and
perspectives are vital. Ideas of religion,
politics and thought are combated every
day. At CHS teachers have a general policy about censorship: they must present all
sides to every topic--neutrality is key.
We began our research with Principal
Minor. We asked her about the education
speech presented by President Obama and
confronted her about the anger and confusion expressed by students who felt that
not showing the speech was censorship.
What we found was that it had nothing to
do with censorship at all. Our school simply did not have the band-width to stream
the speech live for all to watch. "I'm sorry
we weren't able to do that." stated Mrs.
Minor, "And should another situation like
this come up I will be sure...we are able to
show it." So, unlike what was thought, the
Mr. Price, Ms. deLaricheliere, and Mr. Coon speak no evil, hear no evil, and see no evil.
blocking of President Obama's speech
wasn't censorship, it was a technology
issue. After our discussion with Mrs.
Minor we headed to the Humanities
department.
"As a public high school teacher I
should remain as neutral as possible so
students can get their own political
views," Mr. Price stated in response to our
question about voicing personal opinions
in class. Mr.Price's opinion on maintaining
"a very fine balance" was similar to
responses from several teachers. Mrs.
Brady responded that it's ok "at times as
long as you make it clear that it is a per-
sonal opinion." However with politics "it's
better to give students both sides of an
issue." Mr. Coon took a different stance.
He feels that it is ok to share his opinion,
though he wouldn't tell students who to
vote for or what to think. He welcomes
different opinions and healthy debates in
the classroom.
So what does all of this mean? To the
critical student this may all sound like
propaganda merely used to defer any sort
of inquisitive follow up questions that
could possibly lead to controversial
answers. Isn't that what this article is
about? Aren't we supposed to be digging
Lack of health care causes serious problems
up the dirt in the classroom? Easier said
than done. We feel the scripted responses
we got represent a fear that every teacher
has about repercussions of speaking candidly to students. And so with these
prepackaged responses comes a form of
truth. In their answers we are able to see
that there is a fear of speaking up and a
visible screen of self-censorship. As high
school upperclassmen we are sure of our
opinions and cannot be swayed as easily
as one might think. This is not to say that
classes should be bombarded with teachers forcing their views, however, they
shouldn't coast over every uncomfortable
Photo taken by Becca Sanborn
topic just becasue it's uncomfortable.
Censorship is a fact of life. It will be
ever present in situations where one person holds authority over another. Though
such blatant truths can be disappointing or
frustrating, it doesn't mean that we must
live our lives in a cloud of ignorance. The
many complexities of human nature allow
us to have perspectives that must be
shared in order to shape the world we live
in. Censorship is everywhere and the only
way to deal with it is to confront it head
on. As Robert Frost once said, "The best
way out is always through."
Why health care reform is a necessity
By Matt Dudley
People these days cannot afford the price of
health care. If you don't have a job with health
care benefits, you either don't have health insurance or have to pay a lot for it. Health insurance
is very important because when you or someone
in your family gets sick or hurt, you need to go
to a doctor so things don't get worse. When you
have no health insurance or cheap insurance that
doesn't cover very much, then you could be in
big trouble when something bad happens; it's
going to cost a lot of money directly out of your
pocket. If you need to get X-rays or CAT scans
that costs a huge amount of money, and the fact
is you need health care to cover the costs.
There are tons of people across the country
that have no health insurance and are in serious
financial trouble. They don't have the money to
pay for their house, their car, or other expenses.
To me that is not a good enough reason to turn
someone away from the doctor's or hospital
when they are in need. Many people are dying
because they can't get help and they have no
other option than to just wait and see what happens. The public needs health insurance no matter if they can afford it or not. It should be a right
that everyone has because it is an essential piece
to living a good life. People who have the money
to afford health insurance—or have a job that
covers it--aren't worried at all because it's not
them that are in this type of trouble.
People with good health insurance aren't worried about anyone else but themselves. Saying
that the public, no matter how poor they are,
should have to pay for their health insurance like
everyone else is crazy, because senior citizens
cannot work. They aren't covered for health care
because of their age (or it costs a lot), which does
not make any sense. They have earned the right
to be able to stay healthy and go to the doctor's
when needed. I think the United States is a country that treats older people with less respect than
the younger people. Today things are a lot more
youth-oriented, and I think that it's very different
in other countries. Everyone should be covered
for health care no matter how poor they are or
how old they are, and it seems quite ridiculous
that people are saying that they shouldn't.
I totally agree that every citizen no matter
what their status should have health insurance.
Personally, I have been to the doctor's or the hospital at least 60 times in my 18 years of life.
Imagine how much money that would add up to
without insurance. My uncle, Fred Dudley, who
until a few months ago lived in Florida with his
family, was one of the people that had no health
insurance. He was one of the best guys I had ever
met, but he still didn't have the money to afford
to go to the hospital and the doctor's. For years
and years he went without going to the doctor's,
hospital, and dentist. Then he started having terrible headaches for a long time, so finally he
went to the doctor's and they told him he had
brain cancer. Within of week of being told, he
died at his house in my dad's arms. This is only
one example of why the lack of health care for
everyone needs to be solved. The same thing is
happening to people all across the country and
we need to figure out how to change it now; we
need to stop putting it off.
On October 27 Harry Reid, the senate majority leader, brought forth a bill for a governmentrun insurance plan (the public option) to the
Senate. It's not going to be easy to pass a vote
that gives everyone health insurance, but
President Obama is determined to make it happen. In order to pass, the bill needs to be agreed
on by the House, Senate, and the President. We
are finally working on solving this problem, but
it does take a lot of long and tedious effort. There
is help on the way.
By Alex Hulbert
increase.
At least 17,000
American troops have been sent
to the region of southern
Afghanistan
that
borders
Pakistan.
Most people do not like the
thought of more troops in to
Afghanistan. We have been
active in Afghanistan for eight
years and in recent months troops
have increased—and so has the
violence. Some people are starting to view this war as another
Vietnam War because it seems
unwinnable. Over 800 American
troops have died in Afghanistan
so far. How many more will die
before it's over?
Army General Stanley
McChrystal, the top commander,
wants an additional 40,000 troops
because he thinks the region's
Cartoon by Lucie Stein
Everyone wants--and deserves--health care...but who's
going to pay for it?
Afghanistan: To increase troops or not to increase troops?
Now that the anniversary of
the Afghanistan war has come
and gone, the talk of increasing
troop activity is still going on.
President Obama increased troop
levels there in February and again
in August, but there is a possibility that there will be another troop
problems can't be solved without
more military presence. The
geography of Afghanistan is very
harsh, so they need more troops
to make Afghanistan stable.
Senator John Kerry thinks we
need to help make the government of Afghanistan more stable
before we send more troops.
Even if people think that this
war is worthless and is like the
Vietnam War, others think we
should still fight the war on terrorism. It's hard to make a decision whether or not to increase
troop again. There is no longer
strong public support for the war,
but the only way to get out of the
war is to increase troops. At this
point pulling out is not really an
option.
4
Wanna Take A Test??
2009 NECAP Incentives
described as a "perk" by the
By Alexandra Libstag
average junior.
This year CHS will be putting
the NECAP scores on the
A few weeks ago, juniors spent two
consecutive Tuesday and Thursday high school transcripts of the 2011
mornings racking their brains for class. After schools such as Essex and
clever insights and mathematical South Burlington announced the
epiphanies during the NECAP exams. scores would be included on their
Yet this year the class had more to transcripts, they saw their statistics
look forward to than just performing drastically jump in the right direction.
well for their school. "Last year's CHS couldn't take the chance of yet
scores didn't represent the perform- another year of low scores. "The
ance level for the students in this Burlington Free Press doesn't publischool," Principal Minor stated about cize the good things about schools;
the New England Common Assess- NECAP scores are a quick, easy way
ment Program (NECAP) outcomes. to say that a school is 'bad' or not,"
Mrs. Minor stated.
The combination
safe to say that
It's
of this fact and the
most
students
comparative scores
were less than
of other schools
thrilled about the
prompted the CHS
addition. "I'd try
administrators and
hard without havdepartments to take
ing to put the
matters into their
scores on my tranown hands. After a
script.
It just
survey from last
me
more
makes
juniors
year's
nervous," stated
showed that the
one junior. Anstudents had no
other
student
motivation to do
made
the
point
well on the test, the CHS Prinicpal Amy Minor
that
"If
you
apply
teachers decided a
to southern schools, they're not going
change was in store.
This year, juniors were greeted to know what a NECAP is, just that
with quite a few new incentives to do it's a standardized test."
Nonetheless, this information regwell on the reading, writing, and math
with the class, leading to many
istered
exams. During the two week window,
teachers were instructed to give the students spending several extra hours
juniors a significanlty smaller amount sitting in the library attempting to do
of homework, with nothing due the as well as possible. That is, as well as
days of the tests. If a student receives a student can do after testing for over
a 3 or 4 on the math section, he or she two hours and sustaining himself or
will be exempt from the final exam in herself solely on cheesticks, animal
math class. This is also the case for crackers, and apple slices. "I'm really
the A.P. English and Human Experi- proud and impressed with the juniors.
ence courses--earning a 3 or 4 on the I appreciate the effort and am really
reading/writing sections means ex- thankful," commented Mrs.Minor.
Only time will tell if these new inemption from the final. However the
centives
paid off, or were yet another
perks don't end here. A pizza party is
in store for the class that gets the unsuccessful attempt at fighting the
highest number of students who relentless battle of teenage motivapassed the exams or possibly a tion.
"The Burlington Free
Press doesn't publicize
the good things about
schools; NECAP
scores are a quick,
easy way to say that a
school is 'bad' or not."
Op/Ed
What grinds my gears
By Aaron Hodge
You know what really grinds my gears?
When people throw away bottles and
there's a recycling bin right next to it.
That Arizona Iced Tea isn't from Arizona.
When you look at your cell phone and
see that it says you have voicemail, but it
doesn't say who called. You begin to get a
little excited, thinking, "Ooh they didn't
text me or anything, it must be important!"
The fact that you don't know who called
just adds to the anticipation. So you
quickly type in your password for your
voicemail and stick the phone to your ear.
You're really excited now, maybe even a
little nervous to find out what this important message could be. Then all of a sudden you start hearing fart noises. At first
you're confused, but still eager; you think
that maybe they forgot to start talking. But
the fart noises go on for at least a minute
before the message ends and you realize
you've just been prank called.
When a bunch of kids clog the middle
of the hallway when I'm trying to get to
class.
October 2009
When people text "rofl." Are they really
rolling on the floor? I doubt I'm that funny.
You ever watch Animal Planet? You
know those shows where these animal cop
people drive around and rescue homeless
and abused animals? Well, once these animal cops were driving around in their
spiffy van when they spotted a duck on the
side of the road with an injured toe. Immediately they go all-out to rescue, feed,
and shelter this poor duckling, even soothing it with their reassuring words. Now in
no way am I against helping out animals,
but what grinds my gears is while they
were driving around they must have
passed by at least ten homeless guys.
That virtually no water comes out of the
water fountain in the boys' locker room.
The worst part is that it's been that way
since I was a freshman--can't we get
someone to fix that?
Whenever I'm about to log off Facebook and go to bed, it's always my longlost uncle or something that gets on to chat
with me, wondering how I've been. What
makes it worse is that it's always someone
who lives in a completely different time
zone and they're ready to talk for hours.
In every Hollywood movie about high
school, none of the kids have acne.
When Alec Kozlowski left my house
and then texted me ten minutes later saying he forgot his phone and asked me if I
could look for it. What grinds my gears is
that I believed him. In fact, I looked for 20
minutes before I gave up.
All right guys, when you walk into the
bathroom and there's another guy in front
of you and he picks the middle urinal,
even though he knew you were right behind him. Why'd he have to make it awkward?
If you pay even a little attention to football, you've probably by now heard teams
saying, "We're a second half team! Second
half is our time!" Every team says this, so
I wonder if any team says the opposite:
"We're a first half team boys! We're gonna
build up a huge lead in the first quarter,
maintain it through the second, but after
halftime we're done for!" Just a thought.
When people tell me that eating crushable yogurts without a spoon is uncivilized. Uh, it's called a crushable for a
reason.
That really annoys me.
Greg Olio: When people say
"What?" after you ask them a question they clearly heard.
When rappers praise Jesus, then proceed to talk about poppin' a cap in some
fool's posterior.
What grinds your gears?
school-wide pizza party if there are
major school improvements. However one particular change isn't being
Liam Connors: The water fountain in
the boy's locker room--you pretty
much have to french kiss that thing
to get any sort of hydration (see picture above)
Shawn Beaulieu: When you look at
someone's iPod and they only have
one song by a really good band.
Declan Maley: Life.
Michael Coccetti: When people call
"grinding" dancing; that's not dancing, it takes no skill whatsoever. It's
just an animalistic motion simulating
something inappropriate.
Jake Stalnaker: Mags.
Ryan White: When I buy a Pop-Tart
and only half of it is frosted.
Photo contributed by scienceblogs.com
Juniors at CHS took NECAP tests for reading, writing, and
mathematics October 6th-15th.
Mr. Hammond: When you're part of
an email thread with a bunch of people and somebody replies to the
sender but it sends it to everybody.
Chris Poirier: When people ask me
what grinds my gears.
Ms. Boles: When people Facebookfriend you and you've never spoken
to them before.
Peter Cormier: A boy can't eat
peanutbutter in school anymore.
Alexa Ayer: When one person feels
the need to complain about something that's annoying everybody--like
when we're outside for a fire drill
there's always that one person who
complains loudly about how cold it
is.
Hope Perez: When people surveying
you in the mall tell you it'll take two
minutes, but then they have you
watch a half-hour video.
Tim Palmer: Drunk driving.
Jay Morgan: When Hodge does his
"apple picker" dance.
Shawn Place: When the school pays
all this money for high-tech computers but then the internet is really
slow.
Eric Decker: Lindsay Lohan.
Mr. MacArdle: Apathy.
Jason Sebo: Really thin toilet paper.
Mike Bombardier, conditioning
coach of the football team, all around
scary guy: When my grandfather
clock signals the hour, but then I look
at all the other clocks in my house
and they're all ONE MINUTE OFF
(capitalization used to express
anger).
The Haunted
Walk
October 2009
Features
What was
your best
Halloween
costume?
Ian Costello,
Senior
Come and stay... forever!
By Heather Labrie
The Haunted Walk includes
thrilling performances that will
make your hair stand on end and
creepy roaming ghosts, haunted
hayrides and even a Headless
Students
at
Horseman.
Colchester High School help
produce this spooky evening.
The event is put on by the
Colchester School District,
Parks and Recreation and the
Colchester Police and Fire
Departments. It takes place
Friday, October 30th at Bayside
Park. Guests can show up anywhere between 6:30 p.m and
9:00 p.m for a scary, entertain-
ing, and safe experience.
Families and friends from all
over are more than welcome to
attend this all-ages free event.
The Haunted Walk attracts
between 1400 and 2000 guests
throughout the night. Mr. Coon
has designed it every year for
the last 23 years. During an
interview with Mr. Coon, he
revealed that originally the
Haunted Walk was called The
Haunted Forest until the
Catamount Haunted Forest
threatened to sue Colchester for
having the same name for their
spooky experience. Mr. Coon
Josh wants to know:
What's your favorite
horror movie?
Saw
The student body has voted
and The Saw series was on
the tip of everyone's tongue.
This bone chilling movie
series is full sick and twisted
games, sending its vitctims
through a rollercoaster of
emotions. These movies will
forever be considered a classic in the view of Colchester
High School students.
Nightmare on Elm Street
Here's Freddy, coming
in second. A familar
childhood horror movie,
it tells the creepy tale of
a burned teen-stalking
murderer who kills you
in your dreams. What's
scarier than that?
Photo courtesy of John Coon
Sophomore Nick Kaim (half of him) performs at the
2008 Haunted Walk.
says The Haunted Walk was
originally brought to his attention years ago by the Colchester
Police Department as an event
to "cut down damage on cabbage night."
People should attend this
event because it is the "best kind
of Halloween event to go to that
is free," according to Coon. The
Haunted Walk is also an awesome opportunity for the school
to give back to the citizens of
Colchester. The Haunted Walk
is that it is only advertised in
Colchester to cut down on the
amount of out of town attendees. It is advertised in the
school newspaper, through the
recreation department and The
Colchester Sun.
There are two other haunted events in the area; however,
the other events charge $10 or
$12 a ticket. The Haunted Walk
is the only free spooky event in
the Colchester area. Don't miss
it!
Ghost sightings at CHS?
Leah Jankowski,
Junior
By Aaron Hodge
For years there have been rumors of a
man in a black trenchcoat haunting the theatre,
with many people claiming to have seen him.
It all started in 1995 when Mr. Coon held a
fundraiser with Ed and Lorraine Warren, the
founders of the New England Society of
Psychic Research. They told crowds of people
of their paranormal experiences and cases-including those that were the basis for the
movies The Amityville Horror and The
Haunting in Connecticut. During the fundraiser, a student asked if they thought the theatre
was haunted. Lorraine, the clairvoyant one,
proceeded to walk around the stage until all of
a sudden she stopped, pointed to the back corner, and said there was a man there. Nobody
else saw him, but then she began to describe
his physical features. "He wants to say hi to
you Mr. Coon," Lorraine relayed blankly.
Eventually she said what the ghost's name was;
Mr. Coon recognized it as the name of a former
student of his who had played in his bands.
Sadly, he had recently committed suicide.
Numerous encounters have occurred
over the years, including one involving a former teacher. She claims that she forgot something at the school one night, so she drove here
to get it. When she walked past the main office
on her way to the exit, she began to hear
singing from the theatre. Although frightened,
she peeked in to investigate. It was pitch black
inside. She could clearly hear someone singing
so she yelled "Is someone in there?" The
singing ceased. Frightened, she ran out of the
building and drove off. While she was leaving
she noticed there were no other cars in the
parking lot.
Other teachers have maintained that when
they have sat in the theatre alone to work they
have felt a presence behind them, sometimes
even catching a glimpse of a trenchcoated figure in the corner of their eye as they turned
around to find no one there. Mrs. Minor is positive there is a ghost here; she claims that when
she was here one Sunday morning she heard a
toilet flush in the bathroom. On investigation,
she found nobody. She was the only one in the
school.
Years ago a student locked himself in the
theatre for a night with a video camera to try to
catch the ghost on film. In the morning he was
confident he had done just that, but after
reviewing the tape with Mr. Coon they discovered that it was merely his reflection in the
mirror that had scared him.
These are only some of the stories, so the
question is: do you believe?
This year I'm going
to be a dark fairy.
Anne Rathe,
Sophomore
One year when I
was younger I was
a pumpkin.
Nick Scibeck,
Freshman
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
A personal favorite, The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
comes in third. It is based
on a true story of inbred
cannibals. They hunt their
human prey with one very
effective weapon:
Leatherface. He's giant with
no remorse--just a chainsaw
and a bad limp.
When I was five I
was a watermelon
with seeds.
Photo contributed by arbogastonfilm.blogspot.com
Ghosts in the theatre?!? Only one way to find out....
I was a lion
when I was six.
5
Features
Off to
a good
start
6
October 2009
9th graders
adapt to life at
CHS
By Tausha Deal
When the first bell rang at 7:40
a.m. on the first day of classes at
Colchester High School, teenagers
scurried through the hallways to get
to their first mod classes. And you
could see that familiar look of angst
on every freshman's face as they
began their journey through their
high school careers.
Going from middle school to
high school can be a difficult transition for anyone. One minute,
you're just a kid with no worries at
all and the next minute, you're making big decisions on your own. Not
only that, but high school can seem
frightening to an incoming freshman - a larger building, exams, and
older kids who have been rumored
to stuff kids inside of lockers.
One thing that isn't too familiar, though, is how fast this year's
freshmen have already adjusted to
CHS. The Class of 2013 adjusted to
their classes quickly and made
many new friends. The increase of
Photo taken by Tausha Deal
A group of freshmen enjoy lunch and each other's company during the school day.
freedom and variety of classes has
remained popular to all underclassmen. Either way, freshmen have
been flourishing in their social and
academic lives.
So what has changed since
years past? One factor could be
that the upperclassmen are a lot
more welcoming. "When I was a
freshman, I remember being scared
of the senior girls. They were
intimidating," senior Erica Fritzeen
recalls. But this year is a lot different. The upperclassmen have joined
freshmen in activities such as spirit
week and sporting events, and are
just as supportive in general
throughout the day - they don't look
down on them because they're
younger. Freshman Kathleen
McMahon says that, "the seniors
are nice," and many other freshmen
say they don't really notice the difference in grades.
Meet the new teachers
Smart Start also helped the
freshmen. They had their own
school day without sophomores,
juniors, or seniors to overwhelm
them. It made them comfortable in
their surroundings and with their
teachers. Many upperclassmen
attended Smart Start to help the
freshmen make this a smooth transition.
"I wasn't nervous coming into
the high school. It's not a scary
place," Thomas Deal, freshman,
says about the transition. Hearing
something like that is a breath of
fresh air.
CHS has improved as a welcoming community where everyone enjoys themselves. Being a part
of the community here at CHS is
something to be proud of, not
something to be scared of. That is
proven with this school year.
Vice Principal among 5 new faces on the faculty
By Shawn Place
One major new addition
to the staff of CHS is our
new Assistant Principal Mr.
Ryan Parkman, filling in for
Mr. Clark. Mr. Parkman
comes to CHS with a great
deal of experience in the
field of education; he is in
his 16th year working in
schools, and his 5th year in
administration. He first
started as a math teacher in
Rutland, where he was born
and raised. He taught at
Rutland High School for 11
years. He then went to
Bellows Falls where he was
an Assistant Principal.
When I asked Mr. Parkman
what his hopes were for his
first year at CHS he said
jokingly, "to stay alive," but
followed up by stating that
he "wants to get to know all
the kids and the systems at
Colchester High School."
There are four other
new faculty members here
at CHS this year. Over in
the band room you will find
Joshua Pauly; the band
sounded great at the pep
rally, and he is off to a great
start with them. Another
new face is in the guidance
department is Candace
Condry-Bowles, and the
new addition to the math
department is Michelle
Page. Also a familiar face
to us here at CHS, Jason
Thime, is teaching an
English class, as well as
keeping his role in the
Writers' Workshop helping
kids perfect their papers.
Photo taken by Aimee deLaricheliere
Mr. Parkman, our new Vice Principal, comes to CHS
from Bellows Falls.
Seniors: What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
Marie
Ploof:
"Skipping
class does
not make
you cool."
Jacob
Sanderson:
"Just how
quickly
graduation
really comes
to you."
Jessika
Campbell:
"Who my
real
friends
are."
Ryan
Mercado:
"How Dirty
Ron's has
20 piece
nuggets."
Spirit Week
Lakeside Voice
7
October 2009
We've got spirit!
Photos and story by Erica Fritzeen
The fall 2009 Spirit Week started on Monday, September 28, with Comfy Clothes
Day. The rest of the week included: Decade Day, Vermont Heritage Day, Blue and Green
Day, and Beach Day.
It is optional for the students to participate. However, every student seems to be
involved in at least three of the five days. Beach Day was a new addition to our spirit
week this year; not as many students participated because of the chilly weather, but some
pulled through with great outfits.
There has been talk about a pep rally for spring sports and maybe even a spring
spirit week. Out of about 100 students, 80% were interested in the spring spirit week
and would participate as long as the days were different. The other 20% weren't interested
because of our traditional fall spirit week that everyone goes all out for; to them, it doesn't
seem necessary to have one in the spring, too. Either way, a spring pep rally could still
be held to recognize the spring athletes because the other two seasons get recognition.
The senior class won spirit week. During the pep rally, it was a close call for some
of the competitions. The Jell-o eating contest was neck and neck between the juniors
and seniors. The crowd was full of suspense watching the race between senior Shawn
Place and junior André Drewniak to finish their final bowls. The seniors came out
victorious when Shawn finished his bowl first. Drama Club, Chorus, and Band all kept
the crowd entertained with their music, dancing, and singing. Overall, everyone did a
great job and the fall spirit week of 2009 was very successful.
Movie Reviews
8
Where the
Wild
Things
Are
October 2009
A tasteful, yet
obscure adaptation
of the classic book
By Shawn Beaulieu
The beloved 1963 children's book
Where The Wild Things Are, by
Maurice Sendak, has--as countless
other classics--fallen victim to the
avaricious grasp of Hollywood.
However, director Spike Jonze
(director of "Being John Malkovich"
and "Adaptation") was determined to
maintain the alluring, imaginative
essence of the original story. As with
most things, this was easier said than
done.
The fundamental issue with creating a respectable adaptation was
the length of Sendak's whimsical
story, which is a mere 338 words
long--hardly enough material for a
feature-length film. Doubtless, it was
necessary to extend the story and to
do so efficiently and cohesively. For
all intents and purposes, Jonze succeeded.
The movie begins by portraying
Max in true "Wild Things" fashion.
Shortly after the opening credits, a
playful snowball fight erupts - ending sourly and leaving Max feeling
vindictive and spiteful. Fiercely, he
Photo contributed by thinkhero.com
Max Records stars as Max, King of the Wild Things, in the new adaptation of the children's classic.
lashes out: rampaging about the
house, covered in snow, tossing anything within his grasp and roaring at
his mother to "make food, woman!"
before biting her and storming out of
the house in a panic. In his hysteric
escape, Max stumbles across a
derelict boat on a nearby beach and
sets sail to wherever the waves might
take him (whereas, in the novel, Max
is sent to his room, which morphs
into his own, absurd retreat). That
place happens to be a secluded island
of boisterous, chaotic fantasy--the
perfect location for the rambunctious
Max to channel his energy.
Here, he meets his equally
rowdy companions, Carrol (James
Gandolfini), KW (Lauren Ambrose),
Douglas (Chris Cooper), Judith
(Catherine O'Hara), Ira (Forest
Whitaker), Alexander (Paul Dano)
and The Bull (Michael Berry Jr.).
While their mischievous adventures
and games with one another are as
lighthearted and eccentric as the
Couples Retreat
written story, the primary emotion of
the film will be lost on the majority
of viewers. KW's detachment and
Carrol's subsequent depression are
infused with a general feeling of sadness without any explanation as to
why everyone feels this way. Many
will find themselves asking this very
question--especially young children,
who haven't necessarily experienced
such emotions, and many won't
come away with a clear answer.
Despite this, however, the won-
derful purity and deviancy of Where
The Wild Things Are is excellently
captured--a classic tribute to author
Maurice Sendak and fans of all ages.
This nostalgic, irrational atmosphere
of adolescence is complimented by a
rich soundtrack from the likes of
Karen O and the Kids, The
Raconteurs, Deerhunter and various
others, including an untrained children's choir.
The Vince and Jon show
By Chris Lebeau
Don't get me wrong, Vince Vaughn
and Jon Favreau are brilliant actors. But
Favreau has experience in directing box
office hits (Iron Man) and Vaughn is a
newcomer; you can clearly tell by this
film. In Couples Retreat this usually
dynamic duo is lacking the "dynamic"
component. It's a middle-aged, clumsy,
and tepid somewhat-romantic comedy
that shows just how bad of a director
Favreau can be when he's paired with
Vaughn. However, Peter Billingsley (yes,
Ralphie from ‘A Christmas Story') also
directed, which made me look at the
movie as sort of a joke.
Vaughn plays a middle-aged man
Dave, who is happily married to Ronnie
(Malin Akerman), with two kids. Their
friends Joey (Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin
Davis) are high school sweethearts who
are secretly planning on divorcing after
their daughter goes off to college; Jason
(Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen
Bell) are considering divorce after they
continually try to conceive but just can't;
and Shane (Faizon Love) is recently
divorced and trying to be young again
with 20-year-old girlfriend Trudy (Kali
Hawk).
In by far the cheeziest yet somewhat
predictable scene, Jason and Cynthia ask
their friends to go on a couples retreat to
an exotic island. Now this happens in the
very beginning of the film and has no
backstory. Cynthia and Jason are hoping
to get counseling to repair their crumbling
marriage, while they promise their friends
they can have tons of fun--and of course
they all accept.
But once at the resort the couples
soon realize they must follow a strict
schedule for couples therapy or risk losing their airfare back home.
With a super-hippie love guru (Jean
Reno), a smoking hot yoga instructor
(Carlos Ponce) and a negative-attitude
majordomo (Peter Serafinowicz) this film
is an absolute joke.
For the majority of the movie, all
Vaughn does is rant on about things. He
even makes a comment about Richard
Simmons! You can tell it's a Vince
Vaughn film. The film has a Vaughn's
boys' night vibe throughout; it's all about
Vaughn and nobody else.
The movie also lacks realism. Who
is going to actually go to a tropical island
to seek marriage counseling? Overpaid
actors are in abundance as well. There are
actors (Faizon Love) that are almost completely unknown that are getting paid
more than top notch actresses such as
Kristen Davis and Malin Akerman; all
because they are men in a Vince Vaughn
movie.
In all due respect, Couples Retreat is
just a fun Vaughn and Favreau movie that
lacks so many aspects of a Hollywood
blockbuster.
By Matt Dudley
Bruckheimer is an action comedy about
the latest evolution of a covert government that is training animals to work in
espionage. Armed with high-tech government weapons these guinea pigs are
ready to save the world from destruction.
The movie Final Destination 4 is
out in 3-D, and so far people have said
that the movie is more confusing than
clever. Final Destination 4 is about a
group of people that go to a race track
where the race becomes deadly. The
three movies that came out in the past
were all similar; they were all about a
group of people that are destined to die
at a certain time. Hopefully the newest
Final Destination will be the best one
yet, but people say the movie is just as
stupid as it sounds...but maybe it will be
cool in 3-D.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
is a story based on the well known children's book. It's about a scientist named
Flint Lockwood. Flint is trying to solve
the problem of world hunger when he
runs into problems with proportion and
The cast of Couples Retreat
3-D Movies: Comin' at ya!
The movie studios are stacking up the
money due to the new releases that feature 3-D. Everyone is excited about the
new movies that have came out in 3-D.
Some of these hot new movies are GFORCE, Final Destination 4, Cloudy
With A Chance Of Meatballs, Toy Story
and Toy Story 2, and Astroboy.
G-FORCE, produced by Jerry
Photo contributed by themovingpicture.net
giant food starts flying down from the
sky.
The Toy Story movies in 3-D were
released October 2nd and only ran for
two weeks because it was a limited
engagement. It had hot reviews and
seems to be a thumbs up 3-D movie. The
Toy Story movies are about toys that get
sent to toy making shops, and put in the
aisles in stores.
Astroboy is a movie based on a
robot boy that was build by a professor
in Metro City. Powered by positive
"blue" energy, Astroboy is equipped
with X-ray vision, super strength, super
speed, and the ability to fly. Astroboy
sets out looking for acceptance when he
realizes that the people from Metro City
need him and he goes back to save his
city.
Get to a movie theater to check out
some of the new 3-D movies; it is a new
way of watching movies and it's quite
interesting.
October 2009
Josh wants
to know:
Who's your
favorite
musician?
Music Reviews
Auto-tone and beef
in the rap game
Old school vs new school
By Matt Dudley
Lil Wayne, live from the
504, holds the #1 spot. He
was voted top MC in the
game by the critics and
the students at CHS.
More and more rap and hip hop
artists are starting to use a musical tool
called auto-tone. It is a voice synthesizer that you download on a computer.
You record the voice, put it on the computer, and then run them together and it
mixes the voice to sound mesmerizing
and futuristic. Some people that listen
to rap and hip hop like the new mix to
the songs but a lot of people prefer
more old school style and they complain about the overuse of auto-tone.
The old school rappers such as Dr. Dre,
Snoop Dogg, The Game, and Jay-Z
don't like using any type of voice
changer.
I think this is exactly what rap
needs: as much diversity as it can get.
The more "beef" that the artists have
with each other, the better the music
gets. Jay-Z put on a concert that was
Photo contributed by trueslant.com
called "Death of Auto Tone." This was
directly pointed toward Kanye West
because he is one of the artists that is
overusing auto tone. Plus Kanye is supposed to be a good example, but he's
just really rude and uncivil. The old
school rappers are calling out the new
school rappers and they are challenging
each other to put out the best music.
The first time auto-tone was used
was in the 1970s, so it's not new; it was
just underused in the rap game. A lot of
rappers have put out new music featuring songs that use auto-tone. In my
opinion, I think it's becoming way overused. Not only do too many rappers use
it, but too many rappers use it in too
many of their songs--and their songs
have more auto-tone than real rap.
The artists that I like who feature
auto-tone in some of their songs are
What's your favorite
song to cruise to?
Bob Marley in the #2
spot. His artistic genuis
is still appreciated by
the youth of a new
musical generation.
9
"So Good, So Right"
Chis Furlani likes
cruising to this song
because "it make
you feel so good,
and so right." Song
by Bone Thugz and
Harmony.
"Forever"
The Game is Compton's
next rising star, already
rockin' the charts with
multiple platnium albums.
He holds the #3 spot.
Photo credt 3
Mike Hoffmann
loves cruising to this
song because it has a
good catchy beat.
Says Mike, "it speaks
to me." Song by
Drake featuring Lil
Wayne.
Kanye West uses auto-tone, prompting Jay-Z and others
to claim that Kanye can't rap.
Gorilla Zoe, Lil Wayne, Tech N9ne,
Drake and Flo-Rida. There are some
rappers that I don't like to listen to like
T-PAIN, and Akon, because they are the
ones that are overusing auto-tone. They
are taking the original meaning of rap
and changing it into a completely different sound, and that's what is causing
all the talk. The artists that I like that
use auto-tone don't seem to overuse it;
it's only in a few of their songs.
If you started out in the rap game
as an old school rapper, you can't
change the type of your music from old
school to new school, which will drive
the fans away. That's why I am up for
listening to different artists because I
like all different types of rap.
If you listen to the lyrics as well as
the beat, you will hear the other rappers
talking about each other because it's
really all about competition. Lil Wayne
oftentimes will feature with another hot
rapper and they'll make songs and put
them out specifically to see who will
put out a song trying to show up theirs.
Tech N9ne has a song called "Blown
Away" and the whole song is about calling out another artist for who's the best
rapper. That's what people are looking
for in rap music: people talking smack,
ill rhymes, and fresh beats.
Cage the Elephant: a stampede
of rock, funk, punk and blues
By Becca Sanborn
Cage the Elephant's new self-titled
album has taken young indie rock music
followers by storm. The band's exhilarating high speed performances and
influential lyrics are a perfect catalyst
for success. The album tackles subjects
like shady smack talkers ("in one ear"),
corruption, hypocrisy ("James Brown"),
and war ("lotus"). The band's sharp
lyrics and lively music makes for an
explosion of honesty, matter-of-fact
insight, frustration with the world we
live in, and just plain amazing music.
The band was formed by five guys
from Kentucky in 2008 and they made
their name one to look out for at this
year's South-by-Southwest Music
Festival. Produced by Jive Records, the
album is a strong display of the band's
energy and style. You can hear the fire
behind lead singer Matt Shultz' vocal
delivery. Shultz' voice is joined by
brother Brad Shultz and Lincoln
Parish's furious twin guitar assault and
fueled by the heavy beats and rhythms
laid out by bassist Daniel Tichenor and
drummer Jared Champion. On the
band's website, Matt Shultz states, "The
music comes from a pure place. We
really like the energy of music that feels
passionate, raw, unplanned emotion.
That's what we were really trying to
capture in the studio."
The album is significantly different than just about anything I've heard
in a while. The band seems to have a
laid back lazy attitude in Shultz' casual
voice, but add in the drum beats and the
occasional bluesy bass line and the
music takes on a tone that speeds along
at a 100mph pace. It makes you listen.
According to Matt Shultz, "Forming
Cage the Elephant was a rebellious
thing — a way for us to carve out our
own path instead of following the path
created by the community that surrounded us." They most certainly succeeded.
"Fortunate Son"
Photo Credit 4
New rap talent Drake
is in the #4 spot. Also
a TV actor, he could
be the next Will Smith.
Peter Cormier likes
getting pumped up to
this song. "I've always
liked it and it's always
been on my dad's station. I listen to it
before games." Song
by CCR.
photo contributed store.livenation.com
Photo credit 5
Cage the Elephant's new self-titled album is available
now.
By Spencer Dandurand
Laker Football
"Laker Football is perfection," stated a confident
Shawn Place. Place is a safety on the undefeated
Laker Football team that has seen quite a bit of success this season. After a disappointing end to last
year's football season, the Lakers have rebounded
to an astonishing 8-0 record, outscoring their opponents by over 200 points.
Where has all of this recent success come from?
Sophomore running back and defensive back Alec
Kozlowski says, "The success we've had is due to
hard work." The Lakers' practices have been based
around conditioning and hard work and it is clearly
paying off for the team--not to mention the great athleticism the Lakers have shown. One of the more outstanding athletes on the team is Junior running back, Devon
Grammo. Grammo led the team with 17 touchdowns last year
and he is well on his way to leading the team for the second
year straight. Grammo has credited his success to his teammates: "My line block's amazing."
Laker Coach Tom Perry deserves a tremendous amount of credit
for the undefeated record, as does the rest of the coaching staff.
Perry has been the conductor of the Laker Train for the past six
years and he couldn't be more impressed with this year's players.
"Number one is leadership. We have good quality leadership from our
seniors and we have some pretty good athletes." Captain Tyler Combs
has done a tremendous job keeping his teammates focused and making sure
the good work ethic continues. "Tyler Combs has done a great job this year.
He's always getting on his teammates in practice and in games," said Perry.
The football season is winding down, yet the excitement has accelerated each week
in hopes that the Lakers will stay perfect. The Lakers will face the Milton Yellowjackets
this Friday night in the season finale. "My goal is that players learn how directly effort relates to success," stated Coach Perry. If the current effort and hard work continues, there
is no reason why the Colchester Lakers Football team shouldn't indeed remain, perfect.
Undefeated!
Sophomore running
back Alec Kozlowski. Laker
Football takes on Milton this Friday,
October 30, at Milton. Game time is
set for 7 PM.
"You can't stop us!" - Junior offensive and defensive lineman
Ryan Crowley. Pictured: Junior
running back Devon Grammo.
"We condition harder than
anyone I have played for."
-Junior linebacker Jay
Morgan (also pictured).
"We have come together as a team this
year" -Senior defensive end D.J.
Keough. Pictured: Senior guard, Aaron
Hodge, senior tight end, Tyler Combs,
and D.J. Keough.
Laker Sports
October 2009
Winter sports on the horizon
By Josh Camisa
With the fall sports season drawing
to a close, winter sports teams are starting to get ready for the 2009-2010 season. The girls' varsity basketball team
has a new head coach this year; T.J.
Sawyer will be replacing former coach
Joe Johnson. Both the boys' and girls'
varsity basketball teams have already
begun open gym sessions to try to improve over last season. Of the boys'
team, senior Spencer Dandurand said,
"we did lose our entire starting five, but
we have the energy to be successful-and we will surprise many teams."
Most varsity teams are returning
with a handful of seniors, and all hope
to be Colchester High School's next undefeated team. The downhill skiing,
cross-country skiing, and dance teams
all expect success this season with
strong returning team members. The
wrestling team also anticipates great
things from junior team member Devon
Grammo this season. The varsity
hockey teams are very young this year,
By Spencer Dandurand
As October comes to an end, the fall sports season
begins to wind down. This can only mean one thing:
Play-offs. Here is a preview of how the Laker sports
teams are shaping up for their play-off runs.
Laker Football
The Laker football team has secured home field
advantage for the first round of play-offs with their
62-22 triumph over North Country last Friday night.
Play-off pairings will be announced this Monday.
Boys' Soccer
The boys' soccer team battled with second-ranked
Burr and Burton Academy on Wednesday.
The boys' basketball team line-up.
Colchester
High School is in
the process of
building two new
sports fields this
year. Hopefully
ready by this
spring,
the new
Laker Athletics
Laker
territory
will be used for
lacrosse and rugby games and as a
baseball practice field. "If not finished by spring, they'll definitely be
ready to start off next year," says
Athletic Director Bernie Cieplicki.
The idea of new sports fields
was originally introduced to the
town last spring. The offer was to
place four new fields at the High
School, but the taxpayers voted
Photo courtesy of Josh Camisa
but have strong senior leadership.
Speaking of the boys' team, senior
Shawn Place said, "we may be young,
but we have a lot of potential." They
expect to have a very exciting year.
With the weather getting colder
and colder, Colchester High School's
winter sports teams are anxious to get
started. Practices officially begin on
November 16th. Our winter athletes
start the season with hopes for future
championships. With strong returning
players and promising young talent,
those hopes could become a reality.
against this. An anonymous citizen
then donated $250,000 to build two
of the fields so that taxpayers
wouldn't have to be affected by the
decision. CHS was thrilled by the
huge donation and immediately
began excavating. "A lot of different people came together and spent
a lot of their time and energy trying
to get these fields for the end of this
year," Cieplicki stated. It seemed
to bring the people in the community together, as well as brighten the
school's environment.
CHS won't be attempting to
build the additional two fields any
time in the near future, but if they
are eventually built, they would be
used as another soccer field and
possibly a game field for JV teams.
By Spencer Dandurand
New fields hopefully ready for spring
Kelsey Latulippe
Fall sports
teams head into
play-offs
Girls' Soccer
The Lady Lakers squared off against Burlington
in the first round on Tuesday.
Field Hockey
The Laker field hockey team ended their season
with a dramatic 1-0 loss to second ranked South
Burlington. They started their play-off run with an
overtime victory over Burlington.
Cross Country
Jenna Griffith and Brendan Copely ran their way
to Metro titles this past weekend. The State Championships will be held at Thetford Academy on October 31.
World Series action
The Fall
Classic is upon
us--that dramatic
finale of the
Major League
Baseball season
that never seems
Yankees vs.
to let us down.
Phillies
The New York
Yankees set the stage for the
World Series with a victory over
the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday night. The Yankees clinched
the American League penant by
winning the series four games to
two. Prior to the ALCS, the Yankees took care of business by
sweeping the Minnesota Twins in
the divisional play-offs.
Representing the National
League for the second year in a
row will be the Philidelphia
Phillies. The Phillies made easy
work of their two opponents by
dispatching the Colorado Rockies
in three games in the Divisional
Play-offs, and then defeating the
Los Angeles Dodgers in four
games in the NLCS.
This year's matchup will
likely prove to be a great one as
the Phillies are locked and loaded
for another World Series victory,
but the Yankees are hungry for
their first ring since 2000. Game
one is set to be played Wednesday
October 28 in New York.
Who do you like in the World Series?
Philadelphia Phillies or New York Yankees?
Senior D.J. "Fluffy"
Keough thinks the
Phillies are the team to
beat.
11
Senior Kristen Couillard
is a firm believer in the
Phillies' chances to win
it all.
Freshman Bobby
Brigante says, "Yankees all the way!"
Senior Brittany
Turkuljia has the Yankees as her top pick.
Sophomore Brendan "Baby
G" Deorsey thinks the
Phillies are on their way to
a repeat in the World Series.
October 2009
Laker Sports
Strong season for girls' soccer
Boys' soccer in
play-offs
12
By Zach Dandurand
The Colchester boys' varsity soccer
team started their year off with an eventful pre-season. The team headed off to
train at camp Teela-Wooket in Roxbury,
Vermont to polish their skills and bond
together as a team before the season
started. Senior captain Abe Pasic spoke
well of what was accomplished at the
soccer camp: "At camp we learned a lot
about each other and ourselves, we
came together as a
team, and made
sick beats in the
process."
Although the team is
primarily juniors,
the Lakers have
been able to compete with every
team so far.
They began
the regular season
facing Rutland on a
Saturday morning.
Junior Dustan Whitcomb was able to put
the Lakers ahead early on, but due to a
controversial penalty kick call, Rutland
was able to tie it up and put the game
into overtime. The game ended in a one
to one tie and Colchester was a little
slow to rebound, losing some close
games.
But recent games have shown that
the Lakers are bringing it all together
while overpowering North Country
three to zero to pick up a win at home
and playing tightly against soccer powerhouse CVU as well. Leading goal
scorer Dustan Whitcomb had this to say
about the win against North Country:
"We played well, we didn't fight, we
possessed the ball, and we came together as a team."
The Lakers continued to play well
as they headed off to BFA to play their
second game against the Bobwhites. A
couple of first half goals by Dustan
Whitcomb put Colchester up two to zero
early. Both great goalkeeping and defensive play allowed the Lakers to stay
ahead and to come away with the win.
Coming off a tough loss to South
Burlington, the team set off to play the
defending state champion Burlington
Seahorses. The game was locked at
zero to zero at the end of regulation and
was sent to an intense
overtime.
After
Mark Miller was
fouled in the attacking third, Abe Pasic
was set to take the
free kick. He served
in a nice ball to the
far post and Zach
Dandurand was there
to head it in past
Burlington keeper
Amir Pasic for the
win.
The soccer team looks to keep playing well down the stretch and into playoffs as they are heading towards some
key games. Three year Colchester varsity soccer member Ben Morton-Black
was asked about how he views the rest
of the season and answered with, "At
this point in the season, we should just
prepare for play-offs, while trying to
win as many season games as possible."
Despite a few bumps along the way,
coach McCannell likes the way the team
is coming together down the stretch:
"We've had to overcome obstacles in
order to achieve consistency but now as
we're headed to play-offs our whole
team is together for the first time all season."
"Now as we're
headed to play-offs
our whole team is
together for the first
time all season."
Coach McCannell
By Zach Dandurand and Shawn
Place
Senior Paige LaPlant likes the way the team is playing and is optimistic about their play-off chances: "We
definitely have the potential to go far in play-offs but we
just need to be consistent with our play. It's a great group
The Colchester girls' varsity soccer team started
of girls and I'm really excited about our team chemistry."
off the season with a bang by sneaking past Rutland one
The Colchester girls have seen much success alto zero in an exciting double overtime game. Lauren
ready this season beating top ranked teams, despite the
Bernard fired a shot past the Rutland keeper for the win.
fact that they have a very young starting core. Although
This was a great beginning
they are young, they have a
to what has been a promising
lot of talent.
season for the girls' team. The
Rising star Lauren
Laker girls' next test was when
Bernard is one of the most
they set off on a long trip to play
talented soccer players in
North Country. They made the
the state. She has been chotrip worth it by blanking the
sen to play on her age
Falcons three to zero.
groups' national team
After starting off strong
which she says has really
the girls' team lost some tough
helped her become a better
games, but got right back on
player: "Playing with some
track while stringing together
of the best players and havthree straight Metro wins, the
ing an opportunity to be
first of which came against
coached by some of the
Essex. The Lakers went to their
best coaches in the country
field and dominated, winning
has helped me become a
four to one. Katharine Morely
better player." Although
and Lauren Bernard each had a
traveling all of the time is
pair of goals in the victory. This
hard, Bernard went on to
win was the first win against
say that she enjoys the exEssex for the Colchester girls'
Photo courtesy of Kate DeCoff perience, "I don't like being
soccer team since 2004.
away from home and from
The second win during this Junior forward Katharine Morley
Andrew, but it's a good exstreak was when Mount Mans- rushes for the ball in a game against perience and I have fun
field visited Colchester and was
while I'm there."
defeated two to zero. Lauren Bernard and Rachel SeaThe Lakers are hoping that all of their talent will help
man each had a goal in the win. The Lakers kept it going
their team go far this year.
by beating Essex for the second time in one week, this
The Colchester girls' varsity team looks to finish up
time two to one. Kristen Couillard put the Lakers on the
their season strong and head into to play-offs with a lot
board first and Bernard added another goal to push them
of momentum.
past the Hornets.
X-country running prepares for state meet
By Shawn Beaulieu
The Colchester High School Boys' and
Girls' Cross Country Running teams,
who both placed fourth in last weeks
NVAC District meet, are preparing for
the State Championships in Thetford,
Vermont, which will take place this Saturday, the 31st.
Running legend,
sophomore Brenden Copley, and freshman Jenna Griffith both took first place
with times of 16:26 (Copley) and 19:13
(Griffith). With these two sensational
runners, and admirable support in Ryan
White, Liam Connors, Emily Davis, and
Nicki Davis, Colchester is hoping to
qualify for the New England Championships in November.
An interview was scheduled with
Mr. Copley, in regards to his personal
and team expectations for Thetford;
however, Copley left early, saying, "He
don't know speak." Captain Ryan White
served as a surrogate, saying, "If we run
our best, we can place in the top 4. And
of course, Brenden will lead the team,
but we also have rising stars like first
year runners Mack Hyman (Personal
Record - 19:24) and John McNeil (Personal Record - 18:03)."
The notoriously cold and muddy
course at Thetford will pose a great challenge to the team, demanding greater
strength and perseverance than any other
meet this year. The girls' and boys' teams
will see the extent of their running capabilities this Saturday.
Photo courtesy of Shawn Beaulieu
Brendan Copley leads the pack.
Field hockey goes to quarterfinals
By Chris Lebeau
Photo taken by Jeff Barton
The 2009 Laker boys' soccer team prepares to take the field for a recent
game.
The Colchester Field Hockey team
had a great season that brought them all
the way to quarterfinals. They were 7-52 in the regular season under coach Shawn
Carney-Lefebvre. In their first play-off
game, they defeated the Burlington Seahorses in dramatic fashion in overtime.
Junior Kaitlyn Boudah scored the winning
goal, leading the Lakers to a 2-1 win.
They unfortunately couldn't maintain that
momentum against the impressive South
Burlington Rebels in the quarterfinals. The
final score was 1-0.
"We had a pretty steady season and
we had some unexpected wins (Mt. Abe)
and we put up a good fight against Mid-
dlebury," says Senior Captain Elise Crowley. "We've had some on-games and some
off-games" says Freshman Jackie Sortor.
The team has a tremendous amount of
school spirit to accompany their drive to
win. The girls are always dressing up nice
or wearing some very colorful and coollooking outfits on game days.
The J.V. Field Hockey team didn't
have the season they hoped for, but they
came together as a team and learned a lot
under the instruction of Kellie McClintock. "We all came together as a team and
we all had a lot of fun," says Sophomore
Lilly Hamlin.
Overall, the field hockey teams had a
lot of fun throughout the whole season and
they hope to have just as much fun next
year.