December RAMpage

Inside this Issue

Teacher of the Year

Fall semester wrap-up

A look ahead at

Spring sports

EIC Recap

Student Spotlight

Study tips for finals

College Acceptance

Music Reviews

Gift Guides

Beautiful U

Youth Leadership

DeKalb

Arabia Wins Award

Holiday Poll Results

Once Upon a RAM:

The RAMpage’s new

fiction section!

Reader Feedback

To get

in class,

you

need a

tardy

pass!

Volume 1 Issue 4 December ,2011

By Jaila Lyons

The Teacher of the Year

Arabia Mountain High

School’s 2011-2012 teacher

of the year considers herself

to be an unconventional

educator.

Chef Harris feels her

way of teaching is totally

different from other teachers

because she “loves hard,”

meaning she uses a tough

love approach. She believes

her nomination is due to the

passion she has for culinary

and for children.

She has 23 years of

teaching experience,

including 16 years in

Cleveland, Ohio and 7 years

in DeKalb County.

Chef Harris began her

career in the food service

industry. She didn’t intend to

be a teacher but always

wanted to make a

difference and help people.

A very inspirational person in

her life suggested that she

go into teaching, which

made her reconsider.

Harris has a bachelor’s

degree from the University of

Akron in Ohio, a master’s

degree in education from

Cambridge College in

Massachusetts, and is

currently working towards an

educational specialist

degree from Argosy

University in Sarasota.

Her favorite teaching memory is “Watching a

young man who was destined to fail thrive, graduate

from high school, go to prison, redirect himself and

through it all, graduate from College.” This young man

is now 34 years old and she is still in tough with him.

Chef Harris believes that Arabia has “some of the

best students in DeKalb County and the faculty is top

notch.” She likes the accelerated program here as it is

truly preparing the students for college.

Her favorite AMHS memory is placing third in

DeKalb County’s “Iron Chef” annual competition last

year. She plans to win this year.

If Chef Harris had not been inspired to teach, she

would be a counselor because “I love to help people

and allowing them to talk and have a listening ear is

vital for young people.”

Chef Harris knows she “loves hard,” but she truly loves

her “babies!”

“Watching, listening, and helping to guide young

adults is the catalyst of my teaching career.”


And the Runners Up Were…

Mrs. Harper by Laura Hill

“Although she’s not sure, Mrs. Harper thinks her

“passion for education” and “dedication to the

success of [her] students” were the reasons she was

nominated for teacher of the year.

Upon graduating from both the University of

Georgia and Kennesaw State University, Mrs. Harper

began her teaching career at McNair High School,

where she stayed until coming to Arabia Mountain in

2009. She currently teaches biology, AP biology, and

human anatomy.

The thing Mrs. Harper loves most about our school, besides her awesome students, is

the location. “I love being able to look out my window and just see all the trees!” she said.

Her favorite teaching moments were going to graduation and seeing the students she

taught walking across the stage.

If she wasn’t a teacher, she would be a food critic. She loves to cook and loves to

eat. Hopefully one day she’ll share that other talent of with her wonderful students!

Mr. Burr by Raashida Howard and Shanakay Watson

“I was just lucky,” Mr. Burr says about his second

consecutive nomination for teacher of the year.

Mr. Burr attended Marshall University in West Virginia.

After leaving MU, he began his career as a teacher. He

moved to California to teach before coming to Georgia

twelve years ago. “I love to move around a lot,” says Burr. He

doesn’t like to sit still, so pursuing a career as a teacher was

the perfect job for him to stay up on his feet helping students.

He also wanted to be a teacher so he can get the holidays

and summers off.

Although he’s teaching chemistry for the second year

at Arabia Mountain High School, in 2009, when the school

opened, he taught English. “I like being able to work with the

best students in the country,” said Burr when asked what he

loves about Arabia Mountain High School. If he wasn’t a

teacher, Burr thinks he would probably be a coal miner.

His favorite memory of teaching was when one of his students

said “I want to be a teacher because you inspired me."


Mrs. Davis by Shanakay Watson and Raashida Howard

You know her as the teacher who told you to tuck your shirt in and followed

you around the hall until you did. That persistence is what Mrs. Davis believes

earned her a nomination for teacher of the year.

Mrs. Davis has been a dedicated teacher for nine years now. She started

working as a teacher at Martin Luther King High School and then landed a

job as the department chair for social studies at Arabia Mountain High

School where she currently teaches AP American History.

Inspired by the teachers she had growing up, Mrs. Davis studied education

at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. She participates in many

activities with students and helps them in any way she can.

“I love the team work,” said Mrs. Davis when asked what she loves about

Arabia. Her favorite memory of teaching was seeing the smile on a student’s

face after earning a B in her class. The fact that he never gave up even

though he was struggling made her feel honored. If she was not a teacher,

she’d be an accountant in a corporate office.

Inspired by the teachers she had growing up, Mrs. Davis studied education at Agnes Scott

College in Decatur, Georgia. She participates in many activities with students and helps them in

any way she can.

“I love the team work,” said Mrs. Davis when asked what she loves about Arabia. Her

favorite memory of teaching was seeing the smile on a student’s face after earning a B in her

class. The fact that he never gave up even though he was struggling made her feel honored. If

she was not a teacher, she’d be an accountant in a corporate office.

High School Drama

Sophomores Dallas Turner (zombie), Kiara

Knight, and Caleb Logan stage a death

scene for a project for Mrs. Schmitt’s

engineering class.

Volume 1 Issue 2 October 4 , 2011

6

This year was a busy

year for the Arabia Mountain

High School Marching Rams.

With practice every day,

football games every

weekend, and extra

performances squeezed in at

every chance these talented

musicians had a packed

schedule.

Aside from football games

the Arabia Mountain

Marching Band performed at

many events such as: The

Atlanta Classic Parade of

excellence, The Clark Atlanta

Homecoming Parade, Robert

Shaw Elementary School Pep

Rally. They appeared on The

11 Alive News Network, and

The Regional High Stepping

Marching Band Competition;

but their most recent feat was

The National High Stepping

High School Marching Band

Championship Competition.

This trip was the bands first out

of state trip as well as their first

National Competition. The

band had many long hours of

band practice in preparation

for this trip. On November the

11th the band excitedly

boarded the busses to

embark on their journey to

Charlotte, North Carolina. On

Nov. 12, the band members

boarded the buses for the

most important performance

of the season.

On the bus ride to the

stadium there was only one

thing on everyone’s mind and

that was the competition.

When they arrived at the

stadium, they went to the

practice field where they

were allowed to run the show

through once then it was

show time!

As the drum majors;

Brandon Hill (Senior), Joshua

Stephens (Senior), Jordan

Chappell (Senior), and Bakari

Green (Junior), led the band

into the field of competition.

The opening song was a

fanfare called Wildflower

which was followed by a

Medley of songs such as:

Boogie Oogie Oogie,

Fantastic Voyage, and

Groove line. After there was

the Jewels dance feature to

Michael Jackson’s Shake your

Body into Bad Mamma

Jamma, which transitioned

into the Emeralds flag feature

Torture where seniors Raven

White, Shanice Wallace, and

Shannon Hunter not only

performed with their flags but

with fire as well.

Next the band played Piece

of my Love into the dance

mix which included Tupac

Back and Party Rock Anthem.

In the end , Arabia Mountain

High School Marching Band

did not win Nationals but they

still came back victorious with

3 trophies: Second Place

Drum Majors in Class 4A,

Second Place Flags in Class

4A, and Second Place

Dancers in Class 4A. This was

not the last that the nationals

competition would see of

Arabia Mountain, next year

they are going to go back

bigger and better than ever

to come home National

Champions.

All in all the Arabia

Mountain High School

Marching band had a very

productive season that

opened doors for even

bigger performances and

possibilities, but although this

was the end of a marching

season it is the beginning of a

legacy as they continue to

grow as students, musicians,

and as a band.

To see the nationals

performance video and more

pictures of the band go to

http://www.twitvid.com and

type in: @AMHSBandsGA 2011

Nationals Performance.

The End of a Season, the Beginning of a Legacy

By: Kiara Falcher

http://www.twitvid.com/


The Lady Rams are springing back into action and leaping into the 2012 gymnastics season.

A few weeks, the gymnasts weren’t sure there would be a team this year.

Thankfully, Mrs. Andrews stepped up to the plate to coach. Last year, Lady Rams

placed top 5 in the county meet amongst eleven schools in the DeKalb region

with our top gymnast Camille Cassar.

In the 2010 season, the team placed 4th amongst the same 11 schools.

Arabia has had very dynamic teams in the past two years and hopes to have an

even stronger team this year. For those that don’t really know about high school

gymnastics is, it consists of four events: the balance beam, uneven bars, vault,

and floor exercise. It’s a competitive sport and very risky with the gymnasts

engaging in rigorous activities barefoot and wearing leotards.

In gymnastics the events are performed individually; however, the

gymnasts come together as a team. They support each other, help build each

other, and win as a team! Stay tuned the season kicks off in late February! Meets

will take places right here at home in the gym.

Fall Back By: Mickel Peace

The Lady Rams By Takiria Tyson

Football

Many people were looking

for the Arabia Mountain

Rams triumph this season,

and believed 2011 was their

year. Wrapping up a

wonderful season with a 3-7

record, the Arabia Mountain

Football team had a hard

and well-fought season.

Winning homecoming game

and almost making the

playoffs, the Rams as well as

Coach Beal believed they

did the best they could.

Junior football player Mike

Holloway scored 6

touchdowns this season and

ran 776 yards. He said, “I

worked hard this season, and

I plan on going harder my

senior year.” Ranking in the

state of Georgia at 287, the

team rammed their

competition.

Cheerleaders

The rams wouldn't have been

so successful without the spirit

and cheers from the Arabia

Mountain Cheerleaders. They

were at all the games for the

Arabia Mountain Football

team and cheered them on.

The cheerleader’s season is

not over and in fact they are

practicing for the current

competition season. Wrap-up

The end of fall sports is not the

end of the Rams success in

sports. Spring sports such as

track, tennis, and swimming

have already begun. Our

swimming rams started their

season strong with Coach

Williams by their side. Their first

swim meet was November 8th,

at Chamblee’s pool against

Redan. Senior Asher Bryan

said, “This is going to be a

good season."

Cross Country

If you ever stayed afterschool

during a cross country meet,

you often saw students from

schools across DeKalb

County running around

Arabia. Cross country also

had a fantastic season. They

made it to the DeKalb

County Cross Country

Championships and did their

best. On the boy’s team,

Cornell Mattox, a sophomore,

was the first to finish from

Arabia in place 59, with a

time of 22:03.16. Arabia

Mountain finished as a team

in 12th place. The girls’ cross

country team was a bit more

successful than the boys.

Ayana Sears, sophomore at

Arabia Mountain finished in

place 42 with a time of

28:21.86. Coach Griffin

couldn’t be happier of the

success of his team.


Marcus Wilson builds his model compost bin for EIC.

Sophomores Brianna Thompson and Caleb Logan

show off a pansy and a vermicomposting worm in

Mrs. Klein’s class.

Soccer

Coach Bryan Wallace is looking for players who want to know the game of soccer, have a positive

attitude, and are hard workers. Wallace believes it’s not all about winning; it’s about progress. He

expects to have a successful season and feels that Arabia can do very well in the South DeKalb region.

Once the team is selected the soccer players will have practices every day, and, based on the

practices, captains and co-captain positions will be earned.

Baseball

Coach Hoxie is looking ahead for the 2012 baseball season as he awaits the rivalry with Cedar Grove

and hopes to make it to the State regionals. Hoxie has an experienced team and says the success of

his team comes from all of the players being hard workers. He anticipates he will have a full roster of 15

players who are dedicated, dependable, and determined to take this team to the playoffs.

Arabia Mountain High School EIC is finally over for first semester. This year students from every grade

level had some unique topics. As a recap the topics for each grade level are:

During presentation week, I went around to look at students

presenting their projects and saw some interesting things. In 10th

grade, Lasandra Taylor and her EIC group members Sierra Beasley,

Kristoff Morgan, and, Marcus Wilson did a project on compost in Mrs.

Klein’s class. The group drew plans for a compost bin and built a

scale model. They hope to place a compost bin near the picnic

tables by the cafeteria to encourage students to compost food

and paper waste instead of throwing it away. A compost bin will reduce the school’s solid waste and

provide rich fertilizer for landscaping and for the horticulture class. To test the quality of their compost,

the group also used it to plant a pansy, which flourished.

In 12th grade, Sashay Narcisse presented her topic on

history and how her family contributed to Jamaica. She

researched her history on the different aspects that have

happen in Jamaica. Sashay noticed that religion is very

important, and decided to look up information in that category

and found out that her great, great, great, great grandfather

was a slave and was teaching the gospel. His owners were not

big fans of him teaching the gospel, so the chased him out of

town and all over Jamaica just to kill him. Once they found him

they chopped his head off and stuck it on a steak and road

around town to show all of the other slaves what would happen

to them if they teach gospel. In the end gospel was still spread

and very much alive today.

EIC RECAP!!!

By: Kirsten Winston

9th: Ecosystems

10th: Exploring resources dealing with nature and interaction with the school

11th: Energy

12th: Identity

Spring Forward to Spring Sports!

By: Kimberly Baker


These students have out done themselves and received excellent grades on the project.

Students in other grade levels have also done good projects that represent Arabia Mountain EIC very

well. We can’t wait to see what next coming year bring us.

Spotlight on: Miles Bizzle

Remember the name, Miles Bizzle because you’ll hear

about him in the future.

A sophomore at AMHS, Bizzle maintains As and Bs, excels

during EIC, and is an all-around great student.

He has been recommended to go to the Young Scholars

Program at UGA, which is a big accomplishment.

In his free time, he plays golf, and with that has come so

many opportunities. He has been sponsored to go play

golf in the Bahamas and gave a speech at East Lake

Country Club for the Commissioners of DeKalb county on

how golf has made him a better and more responsible

person.

He describes himself as “helpful, fun to be around, overachiever” who “won’t stop until I finish what I started.”


Hello Mighty Ram’s! Final’s Week is fast approaching and studying should not be put off to the last

minute. Here are some studying tips that can be beneficial when you are trying to learn bundles of

course material in a short time.

Use Your Study Guides

A lot of teachers have already put up their final exam study guides for your

viewing. Be sure to print these out and collecting notes on the material the exam

will cover. Study guides should be your main source of reference for what will be

on your test.

Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute

As previously stated, Final’s Week is here. Waiting until the last minute to start studying is not wise.

Cramming, a widely practiced technique for studying is not helpful because as you try to memorize

large amounts of material your brain will release most of this information. Memorizing and learning is not

the same thing.

Study in a Quiet Area

While it is nice to plan studying groups with food and conversation with your

friends, it is not a great environment for trying to study. When studying for your

finals, close yourself in a quiet room or library, and dedicate as much time as you

can to simply absorbing the information. Later, you can choose to quiz yourself

with friends so you can assess what you have learned.

Learn How You Study

Find out how you study best to maximize the volume of information you can

absorb. If you are a visual learning, converting your information into

diagram, chart and graphs may help you learn. If you are an oral learner,

than having someone read the material to you may help you learn.

Whatever way you learn best, use this method to study.

And last but not least…

STUDY! STUDY! STUDY!

Finally, if the previous tips haven’t convinced you enough, studying

is vital to your success on your final exams. This may be the most

important tip to remember. Studying is the only way to assess that

you have the knowledge you need to do well on your final exams.

If only for a few minutes each day, take time out to study to ensure

that you get that “A” that you are pining for on Final Exam day.

What You Need to Study for Finals!

By: Megan McCall


Salayna Bryant – Tuskegee University

Takira Tyson – Johnson and Wales University

Kyle Woumn – Georgia Tech

Clennette Read – LSU, Hampton University

Amber Owens- University of Alabama, Alabama State, Jacksonville State

Revenna Brown – Benedict College

Javanti Woods – Georgia Southern University

Jason Summerville – Georgia Southern University, Valdosta, Elon

Kiar Goldthwaite - University of Alabama

Xenia Jackson – Benedict College

Xavier Henderson – University of Central Florida

Mialiisa Nurmi – Brenau University

Nicole Barkley – Drexel, Western Carolina

Kiara Fletcher- Johnson and Wales University

Josh Dixon – Georgia Gwinnett College

Michael Lee- University of Kentucky

Adonis Hill – Alabama State

Jared Middleton - Tuskegee U, Albany State, Alabama State

Raashida Howard - Brenau

Kemayriah Milton – West Georgia

Ahjahnae Smith- Southern University Andrew White- Georgia Tech

Kymariah Milton- West Georgia

Revenna Brown- Benidict College

Kiar Griffin- University of Alabama

Xenia- Jackson- Benidict College, St. Johns, Brenau University

Mialiisa Nurmi - Brenau university

Jared Middletin- Tuskegee, Albany, Alabama A & M

Adonis Hill- Alabama A & M

Cameron Williams- Winston Salem State University

Josh Dixion- Georgia Gwinnett college

This year’s seniors have endured twelve long years of late nights and last minute

projects, but, most importantly, they’ve gained an extraordinary amount of knowledge that

they will take with them for the rest of their lives. High school seniors have worked hard for the

past three years studying for tests, concentrating on maintain good grades, and, of course,

procrastinating.

Everyone knows that the best part of senior year is the acceptance letters. Being

accepted into a college is one of the best feelings in the world. It validates your strengths and

work ethic and means that the school picked you over the other thousands of kids who

applied. There are many acceptances letters already issued in the Arabia Mountain Senior

Class of 2012 and there will continue to be more as the year progresses.

College Acceptance

By: Salayna Bryant and Raven White

Want to see your name here? Email

[email protected]


2011 Music Reviews and Gift Guide By Takiria Tyson

The results of the RAMpage Best Music of 2011 poll are in and the best Hip Hop/R&B album is

Drake’s Take Care. In this album Drake delivers some of his best rhymes; however, in my opinion,

this was the worst album among the other choices, which were: J. Cole’s Sideline Story, Wale’s

Ambition, and Jay Z & Kanye West’s Watch the Throne.

The second runner up was J.Cole’s Sideline Story. Lots of people really

think that J. Cole’s album was the best, and he won Best Hip Hop

artist. His music shows experience. J. Cole is a rapper with great

potential and an unbelievable flow. His album gives that real Hip Hop

feeling. I really enjoyed J. Cole albums and think that it is the real #1

album. Please check his album out and his underground music. He is

something real.

In third place was another one of my favorites, Wale’s Ambition. I

think Wale came out from under a rock, and he surprised a lot of

people with his underground mixtape, 11/1/11. A lot of people were

sleeping on him, and I think there are some people who still are. So,

for all of you who are sleeping on Wale, I highly recommend this

album. You will love it. In the album there is a mixture of Hip-Hop

and R&B. I must admit I love majority of the CD! My top three

favorites are “Chain Music” featuring Rick Ross, “Slight Work”

featuring Big Sean, and “Lotus Flower Bomb” featuring Miguel.

Parental Advisory!

Some underground music you should consider is Kendrick

Lamar. People try to compare him and Drake, but there is

no comparison - none whatsoever! Kendrick Lamar is a

real, powerful rapper out today. A lot of people do not

know about him but I highly recommend his music.

Hopefully he will get a deal sooner rather than later

because his music is something that you may not even

understand. That’s how great his music is. My all time

favorite would happen to be “Growing Apart” featuring

Jhene Aiko. Be sure to look Kendrick Lamar up!


It’s about that time. The holiday season is approaching. The thrills and excitement begin to fill our

hearts. Its only one worry we have. What gifts to buy? This is always the hardest part. Your mind is

rambling with thoughts: what do I get my parents, best friends, significant other, etc? Well here’s some

ideas suggested by fellow peers.

Gifts for your parents aren’t as difficult. They will love anything you get them because they know

it’s from the heart. Some possible ideas are: box of chocolates, perfume, breakfast for a day, gift cards,

flowers, jewelry, and so much more.

One female artist that you should listen to is Adele for you all that have not heard. She is so

phenomenal and graceful. She has music that is relative to females. She is one of the top Pop

and R&B artists out today. Be sure to check her out.

Some other artists to watch out

for are:

BIG K.R.I.T FUTURE

2CHAINZ CURREN$Y

BEI MAJOR SLICE9

TYLER THE CREATOR

THA JOKER

Most of these artists can be

found at livemixtapes.com

The RAMpage Gift Guide By Salayna Bryant and Jaila Lyons

Vera Wang Cardigan,

$40 @ kohls.com

Stevie Color Blocked Bag

$57 @ meliebianco.com

Old Navy Popcorn Scarf

$12.50 @oldnavy.com

Gifts for Mom


Bobby Flay 5 piece Griller’s Kit $63.99 @ kohls.com

Dior Homme Sport $54 @

sephora.com

For your best friends, it gets a little harder. Depending on gender, you get what

symbolizes your friendship. Best friend gifts for girls are easy. Everyone knows girls love things

such as bath and body works, Victoria secret gift cards and perfume. Also jewelry, candy,

teddy bear, Forever 21 jewelry and nail polish, and even a girl’s day out.

Gifts for Dad

Old Navy Marled Socks $5 @

oldnavy.com

Gifts for Her

e.l.f. Gem Tools $4-10 @ eyeslipface.com

Book of Shadows IV $64 @ amazon.com

Deborah Lippman Sets $40

Juicy Couture $48


Gifts for boys are similar in ways but more of clothes, watches, chocolate, cologne, and

gift cards. For mutual gifts, you can get a picture frame with your picture as a trademark.

Now a gift for your significant other gets a bit more complex. You can get shoes, jewelry,

clothes, gift cards, perfume/cologne, flowers, a special date, CD expressing your feelings,

teddy bears, candy, bake a cake, or something heartfelt. Just make sure your gift expresses

your feelings.

Live Love A$AP by

ASAP Rocky

Reasonable Doubt by

Jay Z

Gifts for Him

Super Dry USA Beanie

$30 @ superdry.com

i360 Snow Infused Beanie

$39.95 @ amazon.com

HEX Watch Band for iPod Nano 6G

$24.33 @ amazon.com

If You Buy Any of These Albums or Mixtapes,

You’re Awesome By Andrew Green


C

H

E

A

D

E

E

D

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Celebrate the BB EE AA UU TT YY in You with Beautiful U By Asia Minor

What does beauty

mean to you? Is it makeup,

long hair, and bright eyes? Is it

high heels, fashionable clothes,

and dramatic personalities?

There are many definitions of

the word beauty, but, in our

world today, it is often

characterized by light skin, a

size zero body, trendy clothes.

Most peoples’ idea of what is

beautiful has been influences

by television and magazines.

Unfortunately, many young

girls’ perspectives of themselves

are based on the media as

well. As a result, many are

discouraged or have low self

esteem when they are unable

to achieve the worlds’ idea of

what is beautiful.

Cheadee Doe is not one of

those girls. Cheadee believes

“Beauty has no limit, no color,

no nationality, but is BOLD and

confident to be different.” To

Cheadee, being bold creates a

unique, different kind of beauty

that can also transform a girl

into a strong leader and a force

for change.

“Beauty has no

limit, no color,

no nationality,

but is BOLD and

confident to be

different.”

Members of Beautiful U, Sydney Sailor, Eleana Sherchian, and Cydney

Bacon, gather around club president, Cheadee Doe, as she discusses

her vision for the club.

Cheadee was hesitant at first to

start a new club because she had

never done it before, but her desire to

help other young girls learn to embrace

their own beauty was stronger than her

fear. She had heard of the horrible

tragedies that many girls face when

they have low self-esteem and poor self

image. Pushing the anxiety aside, she

made the bold decision to start

Beautiful U. Through the club, Cheadee

hopes to become a role model to girls

everywhere and inspire them to feel

beautiful no matter what.

Helping members of Beautiful U

learn to embrace everything about

themselves as beautiful is one of Doe’s

first goals. Some of the founding

members of the club include Gabrielle

Hazelwood, Alexis Prince, Aliyah

Garvins, and Cydney Bacon. All four

members believe Beautiful U will help

them embrace their own beauty by

gaining boldness, confidence, and

leadership skills.


The RAMpage’s Guide to Feeling Beautiful

inside and Out

Take a minute to perform a random act of

kindness. Hand a pen to the student next to you

who is furiously digging in his bag. Hold the door

for a student who is carrying too many books.

Tell a teacher you enjoyed the lesson. You’ll be

surprised at how good you feel!

Do not take your phone, laptop, ipod, or tablet

to bed with you. Unplug yourself and relax by

falling asleep to a happy memory from your

day. You will wake up feeling more refreshed

and peaceful.

Live an active lifestyle! Make sure that you are

getting enough exercise, drinking enough water,

and eating a diet with plenty of vegetables and

whole grains.

Do not procrastinate! Stress can cause acne,

insomnia, overeating, and general irritability.

Read The RAMpage. It’s good for your heart!

Club members Alexis Prince, left, and Gabrielle Hazelwood,

right, listen as Cheadee shares her vision for Beautiful U.

Cheadee hopes to accomplish

many things through her work with

Beautiful U at Arabia Mountain High

School and would love to see it will

blossom into a larger organization.

Hitting the ground running, the

organization is holding a coat drive this

month and will collect donations

during lunch. Beatuiful U is planning a

fashion show in May. However, this will

not be a typical fashion show filled with

the latest new looks. It will highlight

people who have a unique and

creative taste in clothing. Cheadee

would like to reach out to other schools

to get more young people involved to

include a diverse group of teens in the

fashion show to bring awareness to

other cultures. Everyone will be

welcomed, no matter what size or

race. More information about the

fashion show will be announced at a

later date.

Although the 2011-2012

members have already applied and

been selected, there will be a meeting

held in the spring where applications

will be handed out for next year.

Arabia is fortunate to have an

organization like Beautiful U. Cheadee

sees Beautiful U becoming a great

success at Arabia Mountain High

School as well as in the community.

Beauty should be defined by each

person’s truth about themselves.

Beautiful U is here to help every girl find

her own definition.


Three AMHS students have been identified as future leaders.

Youth Leadership DeKalb consists of 35 sophomore and junior students from public and private

schools across DeKalb county and Georgia’s Metro regions. The students participate in a 10-

month training program which educates them on DeKalb County itself, and provides training in

areas such as public safety, health, banking, their career options, and personal etiquette.

Arabia Mountain has three students participating in the program, sophomores, Alivia Cromartie

and Brittney Sears, and junior, Ayana Sears.

The students are enjoying the program, which

they joined in this program to be a part of

community, become better leaders, and help

others become better leaders in the school. They

enjoy going to different places, and so far have

visited the courthouse to learn about the judicial

system, they’ve had a health workshop, an

etiquette class, a bonding retreat at Rock Eagle,

and learned about Georgia’s history from visiting

the first plantation.

“Its fun, every month you get to do a different

activity.” says Brittney.

“You get to meet people you would never know,

and get to experience new things.” said Ayana.

They both agreed that the best part was that you

get to go back during your senior year and be

interns.

Brittney, left, and Ayana, right, are future leaders.

Youth Leadership Dekalb

by Laura Hill


Arabia Mountain High School is one of the highest performing schools in DeKalb County due in

part to its demanding and innovative curriculum. Not only is AMHS Georgia’s first LEED certified high

school, but students also earned the highest average score on the science portion of the Georgia High

School Graduation Test in DeKalb County.

Our ability to succeed, learn, and make a difference in our community caught the eye of

Georgia Chapter of the U.S Green Building Council of Georgia, USGBC. The USGBC is a Washington

D.C.-based non-profit organization committed to creating a prosperous and sustainable future for the

nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green building. The organization created LEED in 1998.

The Georgia Chapter presented AMHS with an award for Leadership in Environmental

Curriculum. We hope to continue our legacy and next year hope to be nominated for an award at the

national level.

An ecstatic Mr. Wells explains, “The award validates the work and dedication to solving

environmental issues by our AMHS students. The teachers are cultivating them to become leaders in the

environmental community.”

Here’s what the organization had to say about AMHS: “While many schools may teach lessons

about the environment, Arabia Mountain High School’s entire curriculum

captures environmental issues. Every student conducts investigative research that connects each

content standard, participates in service learning for the community, and defends findings to local

businesses that have the ability to implement the students’ design plan. By having students construct

their own theories and experiments, they are well-prepared to enter college or the work force as

leaders in the environment. Last year, Arabia Mountain had a 94% average pass rate on the Science

section of the Graduation test. This was the highest pass rate for a traditional high school in DeKalb and

exceeded the State and System average.”

Way to go AMHS!

Arabia Wins An Award!

By Revenna Brown and Shanakay Watson

Volume 1 Issue 4

December ,2011

“Promethean projector

bulb “ -Mr. Burr

“A super bowl for the

falcons”

- Mrs. Thompson

Pagani Zonda

– Myles Young

“Michael Kors watch”

– Jenae Vernon

Lomography camera –

Brittney Thompson

A lomography camera is an

analog (meaning, not

digital) camera that

requires actual film.

Different models have

different special effects

built in. The model

pictured is a Diana Mini.

For more information, go

to www.lomography.com.

What I want more than

anything is to cuddle on

a couch by a fireplace,

drinking coco, and

listening to Boys II Men

Christmas CD. That

would be perfect. -

Ninakupenda Gaillard

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

The RAMpage staff listened to your feedback: What you want to see in

the paper is YOU! Here’s what you said.

Volume 1 Issue 4

December ,2011

Favorite Holiday Foods! That Sounds Good!

“My mom’s

mashed

potatoes”-

Mr. Canney

“Lobster”

– Coach Daniels

“ Gumbo and Jambalaya”

- Chris Booker

Green Bean Casserole

– Kiara Knight

Gumbo

-Ms. Watkins

“Pepperpot”

– Zhane

Cruckshank

My favorite holiday

food is Chex Mix.

For some reason,

my family only fixes

during the holidays,

and I eat literally

two pounds of it by

myself. – Mr. Burr

My favorite

food is

banana

pudding! It

has to be a

certain way

for me to like

it: creamy and the

perfect

balance of

cookies and "nanners." - Gwen Hanna

Volume 1 Issue 4

December ,2011

Christmas Around Arabia By Raashida Howard

Germany- Mr. Griffin

In Germany they do not celebrate Thanksgiving, instead they celebrate a holiday

called Erntedank fest. Erntedank fest is a local celebration that doesn’t happen on any

particular day. It is the celebration of the harvest and usually takes place inside a church.

They do, on the other hand, celebrate Christmas. A lot of Christmas traditions come

from Germany, for example the use of a Christmas tree, which stands for eternal light. Just as

in the U.S., Christmas Eve is the 24th but Christmas is celebrated for two days, the 25 and the

26. Children open presents on both days. In Germany, they recognize Knecht Ruprecht as

Santa’s little helper. He beats the children that have done wrong and punish all the naughty

kids. One of the foods eaten at this time is Stollen, which Mr. Griffin describes as a baked

sweet bread.

Just as in North America, Germans celebrate New Year’s. They make New Year’s

resolutions and watch fireworks.

South Korea – Mrs. Kim

Christmas is not recognized as a national holiday in South Korea. Usually for Christmas

they just have a family lunch. The widely celebrated holiday is New Year’s. As soon as you

wake up on New Year’s day, you go to your parents’ house to eat breakfast, then return

again to eat lunch. One New Year’s tradition is that the children have to bow to their elders.

Instead of the children making their own New Year’s resolution the elder gracefully dictates

what they would like to see the children achieve during the year. After the elder is done

talking, they extend a sum of money to the child. Each child gets the same amount of

money regardless of their age.

In South Korea they celebrate a second New Year’s based off the moon calendar.

Sometimes it occurs in February, sometimes March. The children have to then bow again to

receive their monetary gifts.

Colombia and Spanish speaking countries

Mrs. Rodriquez, Mrs. Anderson, and Mrs. Williams explained that Spanish speaking

often celebrate Christmas much like it is celebrated here in the US. They have the same

decorations the only difference is the food. Santa is called Papa Noelle.

In Colombia, the children leave their shoes out to receive money in the morning. This

is now a fading tradition. Mrs. Rodriquez did this as a child, but it is no longer strongly

followed.

The big holiday is New Year’s. Mrs. Rodrigues passionately added, “Me and my mommy cry.

It’s like a get together. New Years is for the adults Christmas is for the children.”

Nigeria – Dr. Okoh

Dr. Okoh, chair of the science department, is from southern Nigeria. Like the United

States, Nigeria was colonized by the United States and is a Christian, English-speaking nation.

Okoh explains that the Christmas traditions in Nigeria are very similar to American traditions.

However, they "don't give gifts like we do here," and "gifts are limited to family." Okoh

remembers that when he was growing up, he often received his school uniform for Christmas

because school began in January.

Like in America, food is an important aspect of the holiday. A traditional meal

includes rice and stew. A large extended family would go to the cattle yards together and

purchase a whole cow to slaughter and share.

Leading up to Christmas, Nigerians go door to door Christmas caroling and also have

a masquerade with traditional dancing on Christmas Eve.

Volume 1 Issue 4

December ,2011

What are you thankful for in 2011?

Family, health, TO BE AT ARABIA

What is your favorite THANKSGIVING/holiday food?

Thanksgiving-Dressing, Christmas- Red Velvet Cake

Holiday wish for the world?

Be at peace with one another

Favorite memory of this semester?

First day of school

New Years Resolutions

Be better person in 2012 than I was

in 2011, and help teachers so they

can help students to recognize

higher level of academic

achievement

What Do Our Principals Want for Christmas?

What are you thankful for in

2011?

My family is extremely big and

they are all healthy

What is your favorite holiday

food? Fried turkey

What is the one thing you want

most for Christmas?

To get away from DeKalb

County for a few days and go to

a warmer climate


Peace and Joy

Favorite memory of this

semester?

First day of school

New Year’s Resolution

To take better care of myself

health wise (diet/excercise)

What is your favorite holiday

food?

Honey Baked Ham

What is the one thing you want

most for?

New car


Peace

Favorite memory of this

semester?

Juniors getting

their writing test

scores back

New Years

Resolution

Never make

any

What are you thankful for in 2011?

Family, health,

What is your favorite THANKSGIVING/holiday food?

I make special cookie bars for my family

What is the one thing you want most for Christmas/the

holidays?

A new suit from the Steve Harvey Collection


For people to stop being so self-consumed and have

compassion for others

Favorite memory of this semester?

Seeing Ramiil Dunford win Homecoming King

New Years Resolution (social/personal life)

To be more physically active

and read more, and to reduce

the number of seniors in danger of failing

Volume 1 Issue 4

December ,2011

RAP

POETRY

SHORT STORY

Once upon a Ram … (((Inspired by Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story”)

Written by the RAMpage staff

ft. MC Mr. Davidson

Once upon a ram Not long ago When people recycled And green was gold. All was stern Knowledge was learned Justice stood And Rams were behaving Like they all too good. There was a student that was misled By another little student And this is what he said “Me and you are gonna make some cash Recyclin‟ old cans and making a dash.” They took the job And money came at ease But one couldn‟t stop It‟s like he had a disease He picked up anotha‟ And anotha‟ and a bag With his brotha‟ And this is the way I have to end this story He was only 17 trying to green… Think you can do it better? Submit your original work

to [email protected]

Tie Dye By Laura Hill

Have you ever looked at the colors, The colors on a tie dye shirt? They fit together perfectly No one color overpowering the other That‟s how we are The 6.8 billion people on this planet No one is the same But we all use one another to make something better Rather short, tall, skinny, fat Black, White, or anywhere between Singer, dancer, doctor, lawyer Each are needed to make our world a happier place This is diversity Like a tie dye shirt All the colors blended together Creating something beautiful

Volume 1 Issue 4

December ,2011

Music by Evan Phillips Turning the dial on the radio Scrolling through my ipod Different voices Different artists Different songs Different genres From Aerosmith to J-Lo Eminem to Marvin Gaye Music is for everybody Some artists appealed to a number of people Like Elvis Michael Jackson And the Black Eyed Peas Some say that the music you listen to influences you Listening to diverse music, you can appeal to different people Understand different people Interact with different people Diversity is mostly thought of as of difference in skin color People of every skin color makes music Music is diverse I‟m diverse You‟re diverse The whole world is diverse

Listing Places by Ashlee Bailey She wanders, as the world floats by why she can‟t be in. She folds the flab, and pokes and gags, hurting to be “thin”. In the store, they stare and laugh, blindly pulling her, She throttles her heavy weight on by, And this isn‟t even the worst. In fast food lines, they screech and moan, At “that fat kid” in front of them, Reminding her why she‟d never try, She‟d never get “him”. Her self worth hurts, She‟s lost her soul in the tears she cries most days, A slice of cake‟s a big mistake, Justifying, worsening her ways. In the stores, she‟d search for more, Hopelessly defeat. „Cause they‟d stare her down, The indifferences surround, The thought is bittersweet. The mirrors glazed, Reflects a being that can‟t seem to love itself She pinches the rolls But nothings worse than the inside pain she felt Until one day, one average day, she stumbled clumsily. But when she fell, New love prevailed, as she struggled to her knees All alone she thought aloud “I‟m- so- through-- with this.” With tears in her eyes she grabbed her pride and wiped her flabby cheeks She heard no noise, but an inside voice that screamed “I love… me”

Change Scene by Lauren Owen Mark eagerly strummed his instrument when he noticed a few out of tune strings. He needed it to be perfect, at least for one night, to really catch the music industry executive‟s eye. He began tuning with a certain precision that would make any guitar legend proud when his competition, Andy strolled into his dressing room. “It sounds out of tune to me,” remarked Andy in a patronizing tone. Mark knew Andy since childhood Boy Scouts where the use to work together in camping, fishing, and helping old ladies cross the street, but that was almost a decade ago, and the two could barely stand being in the same room. “Really? Thanks for telling me Andy I hadn‟t noticed,” replied Mark sarcastically. “I can understand why you didn‟t notice. Your cheap guitar probably never stays tuned longer than one strum.” “You‟re right Andy. But when I get signed tonight, I‟m sure they‟ll buy me better guitars and people that will tune it for me.” “You think you‟re getting signed? Tonight?” “No, I know I am getting signed.” “Hate to burst your bubble but that exec made a decision weeks ago and a contract is currently being produced. Tonight is just the opportunity for his colleagues to be assured by their investment and brainstorm ideas on whether to market me to be a teen heartthrob or more of an adult contemporary type artist.” The sound of a lighting engineer could be heard hitting the floor like thunder on a stormy night, and Mark‟s eyes were in such disbelief of Andy‟s words it was like he was the unlucky soul caught outside during this uproar of nature. “Hey, I got to go man. I‟m up next. And, uh… I‟m sorry you didn‟t already know.” Andy truly looked sorry but refused to look in Mark‟s eyes. He walked to the doorway and then took a look back at the disappointed stranger he once knew so well. A tear made a nest in the corner of his eye as Mark‟s nest ruptured and began coating his cheek.


Unexpected

Arrival 1864 by Brianna Frye

Peering out my window, White crisp snow trickles from the clouds above, Sirens sore through the town, Another warning that the Union and Confederate solders are at battle, Hesitate I run for safety, Glancing upon the pure white snow slightly covering my lawn, Army trucks appears, One stops, Squinting, I see what looks like men jumping out of the army truck, Approaching my house, Bloodied, Injured men limp towards me, Waving in the distance for assistances, Running towards the door Have my eyes deceive me, Hand on the doorknob I turn it slowly anxious for what‟s next, My mouth drops as I fall to the floor, Happiness and relief overwhelm my body, The tears I shed are not of sorrow but of joy, For what is in front of me, What my eyes are gazing upon at this moment, My father and three older brothers, Alive and will, Father looks at me with love in his face, He hands me a cloth of some sort, Unfolding it, It brings a huge smile to me face, Looking at the Confederate flag, The war is over, We, The Union, Won the war.

Short Scene by Chinua Rose All the thoughts of doing a show, throwing the most memorable parties, and having the woman of his choice at his side all began to confront Mook. He stared intently at the signature line of the recording contract. It was as if the words above the tiny line didn‟t exist. He scribbled his full name on it. It felt awkward because he hadn‟t actually gone by that since he was three when his unstable father gave him his nickname. The contract was shaking wildly as he handed it to the CEO of the label, a white man at least in his late forties. Did people his age even listen to rap growing up? “This is that one decision that changes your whole life, son.” The CEO said staring Mook in the face for the first time in the whole meeting. He then finished his statement with a fake sort of reassuring smile to which Mook tried his best to smile back. It was clear that neither remembered the others name. All Mook knew was that he was the most important man he had talked to so far about his career. In the back of his mind, he was well-aware of the CEO‟s intentions of making the most money that he can out of him. Mook probably would do the same thing if he were in his shoes. He rapped about all the dollars he knew he didn‟t have. Guys like this CEO were the ones that made the real money. The one or two million Mook was about to get was chump change. But at least it was one or two million more than he had now.


The Sherlock Squad By Megan Mickel and Je'Rhonda Brown

The sky was an angry gray. The clouds hung heavily over of the Bowman household. A blaring alarm sounded throughout the empty townhouse. A girl groaned from her room. She ran a hand harshly down her face. From her plush bed, she hit the snooze button to the annoying loud clock. The girl raised her head, dark eyes still glazed with sleep. With difficulty, she read the numbers presented in block red lights. 7:45 am. She yawned, flopping back on her mattress. She had time, school started at 8:00 after all. She blissfully drifted back to sleep. Less than a second, she jumped up in a flurry of covers. Eyes wide, she leapt from her bed, scrambling out. She went two doors down, throwing open the column of wood. Laying there was another girl her age. She slept equally soundly.

“Jessie! Wake up!” The one from the door yelled. The girl jolted up.

“What?! There should be a good reason for waking me up Max!” she yelled back angrily. Max sighed.

“We over slept, we‟ll be late to school.” Jessie raised a tired eyebrow.

“So?” Max sighed, pointing to the clock. It now read 7:50. Jessie stared at it for a minute. Then, she vaulted out of bed, rushing past her sister to the bathroom.

“How did this happen?” she asked, jerking her toothbrush to her lips.

“I told you how! We over slept!” Max said running her sink of water. Both brushed and washed up vigorously. They dressed themselves and dashed down the steps of the house.

“The alarm‟s in your room! Didn‟t you here it?!” Jessie asked. She ran to the pantry, pulling out two pop tarts. She threw them to Max, who had both their bags and her keys with her. The sisters ran out the house to their car. Max sped out of the garage. Both hoped they could make it to the school in 10 minutes.

Thankfully, the sisters didn‟t live too far from the school, and, with a little illegal speeding, the duo made it to class before the bell rang. Max plopped her head down in a fit of exhaustion. If she rushed like that again, it would kill her. She pulled out her notebook, beginning to take notes on what was on the board, when the sound of ambulance alarms chimed from outside. Everyone rushed to the window as the white and red truck pulled up to the school, followed by two police cars. Max watched in silent confusion as they pulled around to the back of the high school. What were they doing here? She wondered to herself what could be going on when the intercom above her came to life.

“Will you please send Maxine Bowman to the office please? Tell her to bring her things with her.” Max stands at the mention of her name. She picks up her bag and leaves the room without making a sound. She stands in the hallway for a second.

“Amazing, I just got here, and I‟m already out of class.”

“I know right?” her sister Jessie said when she walked up behind Max. They both shared a smile and headed to the office where a woman with big poofy blonde hair and long nails told us to head to the football field.

“Seems like you girls are always being shipped off somewhere,” she said with her rough sounding voice as we left. Arriving to the field, the sight of the cop cars parked on the nice dark green grass, the yellow tap sectioning off a section on the slope that led down to the field, and of course the usual dead body greeted them as they strolled over to their boss slash partner in crime.

“It seems this one came a long way. A very long way,” Detective Givens said to us when we came up to him. He did a few drags on his cigar, releasing huge puffs of grayish white smoke. He jabs a thumb behind him at the body, “Just a few minutes ago, four eyes informed me that the body, the poor girl, came from Indonesia and is part of that big underground merchandise market we‟ve been working on for a while now.”


“Really?” Max squatted next to the body to examine some purple markings on the girl‟s neck, which she was able to define as bruises caused by three small punctures. “Hey can you get Donnie over here?” she asked to particularly no one. She just wanted someone to get him. A man with dark brown skin, navy blue cargo pants, and a navy blue wind breaker jacket that had big yellow lettering on the back came trudging over. He had a serious expression, one that made him seem like he had eyesight problems, as he looked down at the body. He was studying the puncture wounds that Max pointed out.

“These are not the fatal wounds,” he said in a slow smooth deep voice. He ran his index finger slowly around the puncture. A few droplets of blood oozed out. “They were created a few minutes to an hour after the body was dead, and plus they‟re no deeper than 5 to 7 centimeters by the look of it. But to give you the time and cause of death I„m goanna have to take this body back to the lab so Bonnie and I can examine it.” He motioned a few guys with a black body bag to come over. When the body was bagged and ready to go, Donnie and the few guys towed it over to their white truck, placing it in the back, and left for the lab.

“Do you think he could have done it?” Jessie asked Max. Her sister raised her eyebrow.

"Theo? I don't know; anything is possible." She began a slow walk around the field. Detective Givens gave Jessie a puzzled look.

"Who is this Theo?" he asked. Jessie‟s eyes watched Max as she stepped away from the spot where the body was.

"Theo is a criminal that's been running rampant a few weeks ago. At least, that's what our theory is. We just call him Theo because he always leaves a "T" somewhere after he kills," she explained, voice flat. Givens gave a grunt in response.

"Found it!" Max called suddenly. The duo ran to where she stood, behind the steel bleachers and to the left of them. They found her crouched on the ground underneath the beams. Beside her, etched in the grass, was a jagged uppercase "T".

"You were right Jessie," Max said a few minutes later. They all were back inside the school, standing by the front door. It had begun to rain outside, the drops heavy as they splashed against the glass.

"Theo has struck again," Jessie attested.

"But why?" Detective Givens asked from behind the duo. Max's eyes stared unblinkingly out the window, deep in thought.

"I have no idea. Theo's targets are usually older women, maybe in their 20's," she whispered. "And that girl looked to be our age."

“No,” Jessie said, shaking her head as she did so, “She looked more like she could be 18 or 19 years old.” She fell silent then, and so did everyone else.

After a while they arrived at the station. They went straight to the lab room, which was a floor just before it led to the basement. Two large silver doors slid open permitting them entrance into the room, after Max swiped her ID card in the key lock. Inside Donnie and Bonnie, the lab twins, were removing organs from the cut open body, putting them into silver trays that sat on tall wheeled tables.

“Good,” Donnie said when he spotted us as he grabbed a knife to cut the stomach open, “You guys are just in time.” He grabbed a spoon; he scoop undigested food out and put it into another bowl where. He took a magnifying

glass, using it to study the contents of her stomach. He noticed that the juices, the acids, weren‟t the usual color but black and thick, milky like. “When Bonnie and I saw the discoloration of the liver and the lungs we assumed she was poisoned and this,” he gestured to the mush he was just studying, “Proves it,” he lays the magnifying glass down, removing his gloves.

“I‟ve heard that Black Moray was capable of doing this but never to this degree,” Bonnie said then motioned for the three detectives to come and look at the heart and liver, “You see, these organs have shrunk as if you‟d put them in the dryer or something.” Black Moray was a new Chinese poison of this century. Scientist from all over the nation has classified that the content of the poison derived from all the components that created all the other existing poisons, making it untreatable.


“Are you sure it‟s Black Moray?” Detective Givens asked.

“The only one you can give a person for more than 6 years before it kills you,” Bonnie said then took off her gloves too. She walked over to one of the steal counters where a vanilla folder was sitting open. She scribbled a few things in a blue ink pen then handed it to Jessie who read the autopsy results. The three gave their thanks to the Donnie and Bonnie, and, right before they left Bonnie asked Detective Givens to deliver some DNA samples to Rose in the forensics lab. After the elevator rides, the three split up, Jessie and Max to their office and Detective Givens to the forensics Lab. An hour later they were called down to the forensics lab for results.

“Well Jane Doe isn‟t Jane Doe anymore,” Rose said when the two walked in. Rose was a tall woman with long blonde locks, blue eyes, and creamy skin. She held out a sheet of paper with the victim‟s picture on it. “Her name is Alexandria Groves,” She turns around in her chair and faces her computer, putting all what she had found on the big screen in front of them, which had a projector projecting what was on her computer screen onto it, “however, that‟s all I got so far. Sam and a few other employees are working on it and helping me so you‟ll get it tomorrow.”

“Good,” Jessie said, “I hope you guys can find everything; we‟ll need it, trust me.”

“Thanks for the hard work,” Max said and pulled her sister out the door with her, leaving Givens there to help Rose. Since school was already over they went home, e-mailed their teachers for assignments so they could maintain their grades. It was ok with the teachers, understanding that, being two young detectives, their work load and schedule will force them to miss classes. The sisters didn‟t min going over their notes at home anyway. Afterwards, both the girls stayed up an extra hour doing miscellaneous activities before going to bed.

The next morning the two came into the station determined to get some leads on who did what and why. As soon as they were in their office and sitting in front of their computers, ready to do some snooping, Sam, a fellow coworker was making a mad rampage down the hall to their office. “Here‟re the papers you wanted,” Sam said when he came bursting into Max‟s and Jessie‟s shared office. He nearly slammed the thick and over flowing vanilla, green, blue and burgundy folders against Mac‟s desk. “This is all I could find, after we had done identified Ms. Jane Doe. Rebecca from the private records office pulled an all-nighter; she found some decent tid bits. See here.” He pulls out a burgundy folder that had old reports of a missing child report, “Alexandra Groves was reported missing three years ago from today. She was last seen at school.,” he hands the file over to Jessie‟s outstretched hand, continuing, “I had someone from my department help me locate the mother, Mrs. Groves, and went down to the clinic where she worked to question her about the day she disappeared.”

“Hold on are you telling me that all this,” Max said as she sifted through the mounds of folders, that she was looking through with Jessie, “is just information about her from when she was kidnapped, which was about when she was approximately 15 years old?”

“Yeah, exactly,” he pulls out a tablet out of his back pocket, “in Mrs. Groves‟ statement she says that she knows, not think, but knows for a fact that it was her boyfriend that took her. But the question is: who was her boyfriend?” They looked at each other in silence for the moment. The sound of fans blades slicing through the air and the clinking of the metal chain hitting the fan‟s big bulb sounded through the room, before Jessie spoke up.

“Maybe the mom could tell us a little bit about this boyfriend of hers, after all he could have had a play in her death; She could be involved with Theo too.”

“Good Idea,” Max said then turned to Sam, “Sam you drive since you know the way.”

The three of them left the station in a red four passenger Toyota Tundra. They made their way over to Mrs. Groves‟ house. On a small plot of land a small mint green ranch house with a big oak tree out front stood in the suburban countryside, an old grey 1996 Nissan sat in the Driveway. The three of then jumped out of the truck going up to the dingy grey marked white door. Sam knocked twice. On the other side dogs set off barking.

“Oh be quiet Ginger!” a woman‟s voice shouted; then the door swung open. In the doorway a short stout woman with short grey streaked hair with under curls stood in her plush purple rob. “Aren‟t you that guy from yesterday?” she asked and adjusted her big thick brimmed circular classes to see him clearly, “I see you brought a couple of friends with you. Came to talk more about my daughter?”


“Yes, if you don‟t mind,” Sam said. She ushered them in beyond the threshold, into a small cluttered space, which they deemed to be her living room. The smell of dog circulated in the room.

“Go on,” she said. She waved a hand at the three as she lowered herself down in a big plush tan arm chair, “sit, sit.” They took a seat on the tan couch across from her. Sam started up the conversation by asking what her daughter was like and how come she was never found until recently. She told them it was because everyone, even her husband, just thought she ran away to go be with that boyfriend of hers, but they only said that because they didn‟t know what he was really like.

“What do you mean?” Jessie said. She scoots to the end of the couch.

“Well they argued a lot and a few weeks after she left called my cell phone from a blocked phone number. She wouldn‟t tell me where she was and she sounded scared. I tried to get the policed involved but they just sat there and laughed at me as they ate their doughnuts and drank their coffee.” She rocked herself forward and got up out of her chair. She went over to a bookcase that sat by the door. Off the top shelf she took down a black box thrusting it over to Sam, and went back to the arm chair. Sam opens the box to find a bunch of old photos of Alexandria with some boy. He had short cropped black hair and dark brown eyes. His skin was tanned. He had a bunch of tools on his belt with a yellow hard hat tucked under his arm, suggesting he was probably a construction worker. “His name is Tristan Downin. He might look sweet and innocent but know he‟s not. He was pure demon. Seems like I was the only one that could see it,” she began to play with the silver crucifix that she‟d pulled out from under the robe‟s layer, “And when my poor Alexandria found out it was too late for her, too late.” As Max was rummaging through the box one specific photo caught her eye. Before she could lose it she snatched it from the mound of photos. In the photo it had Tristan in only a white T-shirt and baggy jeans. He was squatting on the ground next to a capitalized T burned into the deed grass. “He loved to set fires and make shapes out of the burned areas just as much as

he loved to do his drugs. That‟s something else nobody but myself and my daughter knew. Every time he went on his drug rampage he‟d become violent; dangerous. He was so repugnant that I had to kick him out of my house once. He responded by going out and raping six women, six.”

Jessie and Max looked at each other; their eyes gleamed with new truth.

“Seems we found Theo,” Max said and turned to the lady, “Thank you for your help. We promise that we‟ll have this man put away for good.”

“Thank you,” she said and grabbed Max‟s hands and kissed them, “Thank you.” She walks them out the door. However, before they were completely out the door Sam stopped, turning to the woman, and said, “Wait, if you knew all of this and knew what our Theo was doing how come you didn‟t make the connection and call the police?” All the blood in the woman‟s face drained from it, making her look pale.

“You knew it was him but you still kept quiet?!” Jessie said disgusted.

“You could have saved your daughter you know,” Max said coldly, “Seems like we are going to have to take you down to the station for further questioning.” She pulled out a pair of silver handcuffs she had hidden away in her back pocket. After cuffing her they put her in the truck‟s back seat, heading for the station.

They all were silent when Sam pulled up to their last red light.

“Hey what made you…?” Sam began before he heard Jessie yell.

“GET DOWN!!!!” Jessie forces Mrs. Groves to the floor, Max and Sam flung themselves down to the car floor. Bullets shot through the windows. Shards of glass went everywhere. Some of them nicked Sam on the ear. When the gun shots stopped Jessie asked, “What the heck was that?”

“It was him,” Mrs. Groves said, her voice quivering, she sat up and pointed at a crystal blue impala, “There he is!” In the front


seat, Tristan was sitting on the driver‟s side. Out of the window he held a gun aiming at them. Before anyone could react a long silver bullet sliced through the air and made home in the center of Mrs. Groves‟ forehead. She was dead on impact. Her lifeless body toppled over to the left, hitting the passenger door. Tristan got out of his car and started walking towards the truck. He had a sly grin on his face, which grew bigger and bigger as he was getting closer. However, he stops in the middle of the street and raises his gun. He aims at Sam, shoots but misses.

“Dang it Sam! Get this car moving or we„ll be all dead!” Max yelled. Needing no other further instructions he put his foot on the gas and propelled them forward. He nearly ran over Tristan. Cars that held Tristan‟s men went after them. As Sam drove Max got on the radio, calling all squad cars, while Jessie retrieved a rifle from under the seat, which she used to shoot at the three cars. Jessie was able to get one of them in the tire, making it swerve and run off the road. In the second car a big burly man came up through the car‟s sun roof with a hand pistol, and aimed at Jessie. He shot twice, however, only one hit her. “Jessie!” Maxine yelled when she saw her fall to the ground.

“I‟m fine,” she said as she cupped her shoulder, “I‟m goanna have to stay on the floor to bind this wound up so, you‟ll have to shoot.” Max nodded, climbing to the back. She picked up the rifle, starting to shoot again.

“Whoa!” Sam yelled as he slammed violently on the breaks, throwing Max back up to the front seat over Jessie„s back. A group of other cars filled with Tristan‟s men blocked their way. What made it worse was that this was a one way street and they had explosives. “I hope everyone is okay because I‟m not. I mean I think I just peed in my pants,” Sam said nearly crying. Max and Jessie slapped him.

“Be a man!” they yelled together. Then Max continued, “What are we going to do now?”

“We‟re taking a plane,” Jessie said calmly as she watched the men light stick dynamite.

“Jessie you could at least make sense when we are about to be killed!” Max yelled at her.

“It‟ll make sense after we get out of this car!” She dove, pushing Max out of the car. Sam followed when Jessie stumbled, felling out of the car. They made it only a few feet away when the dynamite hit the car and went off. Sending ten feet in the air and propelling them through a nearby house‟s window. Lucky for them the resident‟s weren‟t home.

“You should have just said he was throwing it,” Sam said to Jessie when he sat up. Glaring at him she slapped him a second time. “OW!”

“Be quiet!” She said. The trio looked up as the group stalks closer to them, guns drawn. Options flitted through Max‟s mind. Her eyes scanned the proximity, finding a narrow alley to their left. It would be a long shot, but, if they could make it down that alley, they could possibly avoid the thugs, Tristan too, who was nowhere to be found. But, if without knowing what lay inside the passage, they risked running into another trap, let alone their own demise. She heard the safety of the guns unlock. “If anyone has any bright ideas, now would be a good time to say it!” Jessie hissed. Max looked at her, a calculative light in her eyes.

“On three, everyone into the alley,” she whispered. She then steadied herself on the steel firearms in front of them. Three in total. They could make it. “THREE!” Sam, Max, and Jessie jumped to their feet and scrambled to the alleyway. Gunfire rained down on them from their left. One bullet in particular hit Sam in his right shoulder. He pitched forward as he fell through the opening. Max grabbed him, holding him up. Jessie searched thee small space, hearing footsteps closing in on them. She found a metal door. She took out her own pistol, shooting the lock. Jessie threw open the door, revealing the inside of an abandoned warehouse. Max pulled Sam inside. She quickly patched up his wound, tearing off a piece of her shirt to bind it as a bandage. Jessie closed the door back, hoping that the gang hadn‟t seen them come in. Their footsteps stopped at the door for a second, causing all of them to hold their breath, but continued down the alley, fading slowly away. They all sighed in relief.

“Now what, we have no car!” Jessie said her voice in a whisper even though the thugs had ran past them. Max stared at her through calm eyes.

“Back up should be coming soon, especially since the explosion before,” she said. “All we have to do is wait it out here. Sam‟s injured after all.” Jessie nodded. Suddenly, an eerie laugh echoed throughout the building. They turned towards the noise. Tristan came walking out of the darkness of the shadows, smiling, and briskly clapping his hands as he came forward.

“Bravo!” he said, “Bravo!” he stops midway and leans on a stack of crates, “You‟ve solved the mystery and escaped death more than two times. Very impressive you three, very impressive.” Jessie started to reach for her pistol. “Ah-uh,” he said


wagging his finger, “No guns Jessie.” Just when she touched the cool metal of the gun a bullet lands a centimeter from her hand, grazing it a bit. “I said no guns,” he said coldly.

“Why are you doing this,” Max asked, “Why did you kill Alexandria, Mrs. Groves, and rape all those people? What could you have gained from all of it?!” His mouth molds into a snarl. He aims it dead at Max.

“Shut-up!” he yells, in his eyes he seemed to be a bit derange, “You don‟t know jack! You don‟t know! I loved her with all my heart. Besides,” a wide, sadistic smile adorns his face now, verifying how insane he is, “when you get with Tristan and his group, you don‟t leave unless you goanna go six feet under. Alexandria knew that and she made the choice. Her mother made the same choice too. She was supposed to keep her mouth shut unless she wanted a bullet to engrave itself into her brain,” he laughs softly, “They had their choice. Unfortunately for them it ended their lives,” the gun starts to click slowly, “And you‟ve made ya‟ll‟s choice so, here‟s ya‟ll‟s consequences.”

POW!!! The sound of a gunshot went off. Tristan drops his gun and staggers back. Smiling and laughing, he collapses on the floor in a puddle of his blood. His laugher grew louder, louder, until it finally stopped, freezing his facial muscles in smile. Blood, like that that flowed generously from the gun wound near his heart, trickled down from his mouth in a steady stream.

“Go Sam,” Jessie said slowly as she watches Tristan‟s lifeless body. The hand he held the gun in, drops to his side.

“I knew there was a reason why I didn‟t like that bastard,” he said then began laughing, which started everyone laughing. Outside the warehouse, sirens sounded everywhere. Shouts echoed throught the streets along . It wasn‟t until five minutes later when Detective Givens come in with his group to find the trio sitting on the floor. They were no longer laughing but rubbing their aching parts.

“Well I‟ll be Danged,” he said then placed his hands on his hips, “Earning a few wounds, catching the bad guy, and getting a confession is just another day with you Sherlock prodigies.”

“How did you know we got a confession?” Sam asked as he, Jessie, and Max helped each other up to their feet.

“Well that‟s because of me,” a man from the back came up to the group of people. It was Rick from FBI. He was unknowingly on the case with Jessie and Max. Or should you say more like a shadow on the case, because he was never seen but collected lots of information and recorded conversations.

“Well if you were here this whole time why didn‟t you come and help us?” Sam asked. He laughs holding up his camera recording equipment.

“Well I can‟t bring a knife to a gun fight now can I? That‟s how people get killed you know,” he shakes his head, hands Detective Givens the tape that had the whole confession to convict everyone else and left to join those that were outside.

“Good job guys,” he said turning the tape in his hands and leaving, his group following him. Some paramedics came in and started to tend to their wounds.

Later that day, the detectives were called into the police station. Detective Givens waited for them there.

About a week later the trio was honored for their closing the biggest ongoing seen in history. Not too long after the ceremony they were hit with another case. There‟s no resting for the Sherlock Squad is there?


Arabia Mountain High School

6610 Browns Mill Rd.

Lithonia, GA 30038

[email protected]

(678) 875-3699

Room #: D202

For More Info

Contact Mrs. Klein at

The newspaper was very attractive and it made me really want to look at it. The best part

about it was the brilliant slide show of the beautiful people we have at Arabia mountain

high school. I could say that these pictures are very good and years from now we will

have some great things to laugh at!!!!!!

I wish Arabia has more school spirit and more pep rallies.

It would be nice to have spirit day more often and include college wear.

Be real with everyone, don’t hide how you feel, just make sure that you don’t get suspended for expressing

it.

My name is Destiny Summers and I am a freshman of

Arabia Mountain High School. I think that the

Rampage should do stories on freshman and see how

they look up to the upper classmen. Of course upper

classmen don't like freshman, so that is why I think we

need a freshman section in the Rampage to show

these upper classmen that we aren’t as bad as they

think we are, and truly i believe that most of our

freshmen are more mature anyways!!!!!!!

GO CLASS OF (2015) :)

As a teacher if you are unable to be involved you are able

to still hear and see about all the fantastic things going on

around the school!

It was really good. They had Great pictures and very interesting topics.

I like how it went day by day. That was very creative. Colors were eye-

catching.

It was really bias... it had

people at home in a school

paper, and you can tell who

put the slide show together

because it had the same

people over and over

Reader Feedback!

mailto:[email protected]

See You Next Year!

December RAMpage

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Transcript of December RAMpage