Volume 7, Issue 5

May 8, 2013

by 'N Sync, All the Small Things by

Blink 182, and The Real Slim Shady

by Eminem. The cost of gas in 2000

was $1.54. Boy, the times have changed. Some current events that

were going on in 2000 were the Olym-

pic Games. They were held in Sydney,

Australia. Another thing that hap-

pened in 2000 was George W. Bush

was elected U.S. President. His victory

was over Vice President Al Gore. Nin-

tendo sold its 100 millionth Game Boy

handheld console in 2000. I feel old.

Do you?

I went around and asked some seniors

some questions. I asked Bruston

Shaffer, Hannah Yoder, and Rianna

Bixler.

First, I asked Bruston. Bruston said he

plans on attending Westmoreland

Community College as undecided. He

said his favorite class during high

school was POD. His favorite teacher

Seniors 2013 By Chantelle Harvey

Once again, the North Star High

School musical cast, crew, and pit per-

formed another great show this year.

For its twelfth production, the musical

chosen was Guys and Dolls. Producer

Kathy Shaffer, Music Director Chris

McAllister, and Choreographer/

Director Mary Mauzy began practices

for the show in January. Through much

hard work including learning difficult

dance routines, memorizing lines,

making props, getting fitted for cos-

tumes, and reciting songs, the stu-

dents’ hard work culminated in four

performances in mid-April. This

year’s leads were Ryan Gerney as the

gambling organizer Nathan Detroit,

Tessa Evans as his fiancée of fourteen

years, Paul Tretter as high roller Sky

“Obadiah” Masterson, and Kaitlyn

Miller as missionary leader Sarah

Brown. In the end, the combination of

the lights, the music, and the hard

work of all of the cast and crew re-

sulted in a production that was far

worth it.

Guys and Dolls performance impresses audience By Evan Gerney

Continued on p. 6.

Guys and Dolls

Photo courtesy of Mrs. Janis Gerney.

Cougar Paw PrintCougar Paw Print

It’s that time of year where seniors are

getting ready to move on into the big

world. Some songs that were famous

in 2000,

when the

seniors

were

starting

kinder-

garten,

are Bye

Bye Bye

North Star High School was proud to send seven talented students to this year's PMEA District Chorus festival. Seniors Ryan Gerney and Emma Gran-das, Junior Kate Miller, and Sopho-mores Paul Tretter, Trevor Mostoller, Tessa Evans, and Aubrie Koontz began their journey to Districts on October 21 at Claysburg-Kimmel High School where the District 6 pre-auditions were held this year. Here, they performed two pieces of music to a panel of expert judges. The students had been prepar-

ing for pre-auditions with their high school choral director, Christopher McAllister, since the start of the school year and were fully prepared to give it their all. The judges scored them based on their tone, diction, musicality and rhythm, giving higher scores to those who performed well.

The hard work of the North Star hope-fuls paid off, and after they received the good news of making it to the dis-trict level, they began preparing for the festival that would take place February

7-9. During their stay in Altoona, where District Chorus was held this year, the seven joined with dozens of other high school students from the district in or-der to put on a top-notch concert that would take place on their last afternoon together. Rehearsals with the guest conductor lasted hours, but even more daunting were the tryouts for Regional Chorus that happened to be exceed-ingly more competitive than the pre-auditions. To the delight of the North Star family, Ryan Gerney advanced to

Regional Chorus, attaining the coveted position of first chair. During their free time, festival participants had the won-derful opportunity to make new friends who shared their same musical talent.

In the end, the concert was a real hit to friends and family, with the chorus singing selections varying from spiritual to classical origins. North Star is proud of all this year's participants and wishes luck to the underclassmen who will audition next fall.

North Star Presents 7th Annual Art Exhibition

North Star High School Sends Seven Students to District by Emma Grandas

Page 2

The North Star Art Department is presenting its 7th Annual Art Exhibi-tion. An Opening Reception was held Friday April 19. This year is a special exhibition. For the first time, student work is displayed at the Jenner Art Gallery in the Mountain Playhouse. The work will remain up until May 17.

Participating Artists include Aaron Burton, Emily Mishler, Megan Wey-and, Hannah Yoder, Remigio Bearga, Brennan Brougher, Brooke Gary, Alexa Adams, Paige Daniels,

Tessa Evans, Natalie Folton, Ashley Jones, Abby Mishler, Jenna Petruniak, Sydney Young and Kylee

Joseph.

Senior Personalities

Class of 2013 Senior Personalities voted by their classmates: Mr. & Ms. Senior - Samantha Costas & Austin Connor Most Likely to Read in Class - Emily Mishler & Tyler Moffe

Most Gullible - Blossom Charlton & Andy Robatin

Class Mooch - Rachael Dill & Rusty Miller

Teacher's Pet - Sabrina Matkoskey & Bran-don Smith

Most Changed in Four Years - Emma

Grandas & Ernie Shugars

Most Likely to be Famous - Olivia Mayak & Robbie Bloom

Biggest Case of Senioritis - Lauren Long & Skyler Berkey

Art Exhibition

Photo Courtesy of Mr. Mrosko.

Spanish and French students at North Star High School recently observed National World Lan-guage Week. This year’s theme is “Foreign Languages: They Enrich the Brain.” A variety of activities were planned, including a trivia contest, poster and piñata con-tests, and a greeting in Spanish and French during the morning announcements. Level III stu-dents created original storybooks for children in the target lan-guages. Level II students created a board game in the target lan-

On May 22 the North Star High School Jazz Band will perform at Country Manor in Jerome. Over the years the jazz band has tried to get out into the community by playing for various occasions.

One place they especially like to return to is the retirement home. The residents really appreciate the live entertainment, some songs taking them back to their childhood or young adult years. After their performance the stu-dents visit with the residents and hear stories of the ‘good ‘ole days.’

Jazz Band Reaches Out

World Language Week by Mrs. Jo Ann Mishko and Mrs. Gale Bala

guage. Authentic French and Mexican foods were also enjoyed.

Winners of the various contests were: Olivia Mayak, Baylee Kimmel, Ashley Wilshire, Emilie Miller, Logan Lichvar and Sam Costas.

French and Spanish students with piñatas

and posters made for World Language

Week.

Photo courtesy of Ms. Melissa Corden.

The National Honors Society tends to slide under the radar here at North Star quite unrightfully. This year’s pack of scholarly juniors and seniors has been active lately on several counts.

Last year, the National Honors Soci-ety Senior class took an annual trip, as they had in the past, to see a Pi-rates game. This year, however, the Society’s seniors decided to use the set-aside money on National Hon-ors Society jackets instead of em-barking on a field trip.

With the coming of spring, National Honors Society members held two fund raisers, selling chocolates and daffodils. The yellow flowers brought out the season splendidly and the chocolates were surely sweet.

The hard-work and dedication of this year’s National Honors Society members is to be com-mended.

National Honors Society by Patrick Stahl

On April 3 the North Star Wrestling Boosters held its annual wrestling ban-quet at the Boswell Legion to recognize this season’s grapplers and team ac-complishments.

That evening the wrestling program recognized six senior wrestlers that were part of the 2012-2013 team. They were Tayte Mostoller, Austin Connor, Tony Strasiser, Rusty Miller, Jon Burkett and Victor Panasci all of which were acknowledged for their accomplish-ments this season and in prior seasons.

Along with the seniors, many individual

awards were handed out that evening. Lenny Beeman was presented with the Ed Matsko, Most Improved Wrestler Award. Two sophomores, Tevin Mostol-ler and Jon Thomas, took home the Dennis (Skinner) Thomas Award. The award is given to the wrestlers which exemplify hard work and dedication to the sport. The Marshall Policicchio, Coaching Award, was earned by Tayte Mostoller. This award is presented to the wrestler who continually shows strong leadership skills. The Dennis Leyman, Will to Win Award, went to

North Star Wrestling Banquet By Tim Rosa

Page 4

pations represented and what levels of education are required for each posi-tion.

Following the Chamber of Commerce Day, each student will be required to

balance a budget using the income level that was assigned to them by the Real Game.

Best of luck with your Reality Check!

How do you do? What do you do for a living? How much vacation time to you get per year? These are all questions that the Career Education and Work students practice during the Real Game Chamber of Commerce Day.

Each student role plays a particular occupation and attends a mock Cham-ber of Commerce Day and practices proper businesslike introductions, hand-shakes and good eye contact. Each student learns about the different occu-

Career Education and Work Chamber of Commerce Day

Levi Albright. Corey Fritch was honored that evening for his outstanding season with the Walter (PIP) Jarosick, Pride in Performance, Most Outstanding Wrestler. Two-year letterman, Jon Burkett, received the Senior Award.

“Facilis Descensus Averno” means

the Decent into Hell is easy. This is the

motto of the Shadowhunters. Shadow-

hunters are warriors who have the

blood of an angel. Shadowhunters are

the main characters in the book series

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra

Clare. This series is one that I’m ob-

sessed with and my all time favorite

series.

Let me explain what some of the terms

I’m talking about mean. The Shadow-

hunters’ job is to kill any rogue Down-

worlder. Downworlders are creatures

like demons, warlocks, vampires,

werewolves, etc. They are like the

citizens of the Shadow World. The

Shadow World is where Shadow-

hunters and Downworlders live. They

live among us but mundanes, ordinary

humans, can’t see them. The only time

when a mundane can see the Shadow

World is when they have the Sight, or

they are told about the world. The

Sight is when you have the ability to

see the Shadow World, like I said be-

fore. A rune is a mark that Shadow-

hunters draw on themselves that gives

them abilities like healing for exam-

ple. That is a lot of terms but the plot is

easier to understand…kind of.

The Mortal Instruments is about a

group of teenagers fighting against

good and evil. The setting is mostly in

New York City. It starts out with the

main character of the series, Clary,

going to a club with her best friend

Simon. They go to the Pandemonium

Club and while they’re there Clary

sees Shadowhunters, Jace, Izzy, and

Alec, kill a Downworlder. That starts

off a chain of events that completely

change all of their lives. Events hap-

pen that cause Jace to have to draw a

rune onto Clary. That’s when she finds

out that she’s not human. In comes in

different characters like Magnus Bane.

He is one of my favorite characters but

I’ll talk about the characters later on.

Over the course of five books, the

sixth book is coming out next year,

Cassandra Clare throws twists and

turns and leaves you hanging off

the edge of your seats. You start to

fall in love with some of the char-

acters.

The characters have their own

personalities that are bigger than I

could ever explain. Jace is the ar-

rogant warrior while Izzy, Isabelle

Lightwood, can’t cook and likes to

shop. Alec, Alexander Lightwood,

is the oldest in the group and has a

secret. He’s also one of my favorite

characters as well. Clary is the lead

character and she’s strong because of

what she goes through. Simon is the

geeky best friend that falls in love with

a Shadowhunter and a werewolf…at

the same time. Now, Magnus Bane is

my favorite character from any book

I’ve ever read. He’s flamboyant,

crazy, loving, and just plain funny. I

think he’s a lot of people’s favorite

character. Anyway, reading the books

will help you understand who they

really are. There are parts that I don’t

care for.

I mostly love the book but there is one thing that kind of irks me. Cassandra

Clare focuses a lot on the love aspect

of the story. A lot of the time in the

books she writes about Jace and

Clary’s love life. It gets kind of old

even though there is a twist at the be-

ginning that made people not read the

other books as well as the same type

of thing happens in the fifth book

which angered people then. I didn’t

really get worked up over either part

because they’re not my favorite char-

acters. I do like to read romances like

that but it gets old after five book s of

it. That was really my only problem

with the book.

There is a movie coming on in August

called The City of Bones. The City of

Bones is the first book in The Mortal

Instruments. At first, I was really not

looking forward to it because I didn’t

want to be disappointed in the movie.

I love the books and I didn’t want the

movie to be the downfall of the series.

Then I watched the first trailer and I

was still kind of iffy on whether I

wanted to go see the movie or not.

Finally, I watched the theatrical trailer

and I knew I was going to love the

movie. I’m excited to see if they got

the movie right or not. I still don’t care

for some of the actors and actresses

they cast for the movie but maybe I’ll

change my mind when I actually see

it.

The Mortal Instruments is heart

pounding, suspense filled book that

will have you biting your fingernails. If

you like to read romance, adventure,

or about demons, then I suggest this

series for you. I do suggest this series

for anyone to read because it’s just an

amazing series. I’m going to leave you

with my favorite quote from the series

about Magnus Bane. Simon says, “That

you freed a possible criminal by trad-

ing away your brother to a warlock

who looks like a gay Sonic the Hedge-

hog and dresses like the Child

Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang

Bang?”

Page 5

The Mortal Instruments By Emily Lambert

was Mr. Evans. I laughed when he told

me what his favorite memory was. His

favorite memory is when he put some-

thing nasty into Lauren Long’s hair

and she choked him out in the locker

room. Bruston said he will most defi-

nitely miss being a kid.

Next, I asked Hannah. She said she

plans on attending Penn Highlands for

general education then moving on to

an art school for her major. Her favor-

ite class during high school was art.

Her favorite teacher was Mrs. Gard-

Seniors 2013 Continued from p. 1.

North Star High School is proud to

have two foreign language clubs

available to the students enrolled

here. We have the French Club, which

is run by Ms. Mishko, and the Spanish

Club, which is run by Ms. Gale Bala.

The French Club is eagerly anticipat-

ing the annual trip to Pittsburgh to

celebrate “French Night” aboard the

Gateway Clipper. While cruising

down the three rivers, students will

enjoy French food, a French scaven-

ger hunt, a mime, and dancing.

The Spanish Club is only for Spanish

IV students. They have their meetings

during class instead of after school, as

a way of conserving time. Their presi-

dent is Aubree Stoy, whose job is to

conduct the meetings. The Vice Presi-

dent of the club is Tyler Moffe, who

fills in for any missing officer. Emily

Mishler is the Secretary, and she takes

notes during the meetings. Treasurer

Megan Weyand manages the funding

and money for the club.

Funding for the Spanish Club goes

into trips, such as the upcoming Gate-

way Clipper trip on May 16. The Gate-

way Clipper trip is the Spanish cruise

night for all Spanish classes. There

will be authentic Mexican food, a salsa

band, and possibly South American

dancers. Fundraising also goes into

North Star Foreign Language Clubs By Evan Gerney and Mrs. Mishko

fiestas, which the classes have from

time to time. Currently there is no

fundraising.

Students in Mrs. Mishko’s Spanish

classes will celebrate Cinco de Mayo

and a “Quinceañera,” which is a tradi-

tion first established during the Span-

ish colonization of Latin America.

When a girl reaches the age of fifteen,

a party is celebrated to present her to

society. Sarah Burkett, Megan Burley,

and Sam Wyant are the

“quinceañeras.”

ner. Hannah told me she her favorite

memory was getting out of class to

perform the musical for the student

body and faculty. She said she will

definitely miss her friends.

Lastly, I asked Rianna. She plans on

attending ACM and work till she’s 112

years old. She also plans on visiting

every continent at least once. Her fa-

vorite subjects were history and Eng-

lish. Her favorite teacher was Mr.

Muir. Rianna told me her favorite

memory was musical. She said she

will miss musical and certain friends.

Good luck to this years seniors. We

will definitely miss all of you. I hope

that you move on to big and better

things and that you have a great, long,

and gratified life. Always keep the

memories you’ve had at North Star

close in your mind.

Page 7

softball’s most integral roles. Tiffany

Forney, sophomore, stated flat-out

that errors have been the main nega-

tive of the season.

Tiffany also managed to convey some

reassuring positives. The players are

getting along together well, are main-

taining level heads, and are staying

positive.

Unfortunately, luck has not been a

lady for North Star’s softball team this

year. Their record as of this writing is

0-15. They’ve faced a long string of

strong opponents over a short period

of time. A portion of their games were

lost by small margins, no doubt fueled

by diminishing stamina.

This year, same as last, has not been a

good year for pitching. The team has

struggled to find success in one of

Please go out and support North Star’s

softball team as it enters its final

stretch of the season. With enough

crowd motivation, a minor resurgence

is still very much possible. Good

luck!

Softball By Patrick Stahl

Art Club By Lindsay Walker

Pep Club is ending the year just as

strongly as they came in. Throughout

our 2012-2013 school year, they have

organized two dances including the

homecoming dance. They have deco-

rated the football field, and have just

put another fence decoration on the

softball field. They also decorate the

football field with the Walk of Fame

stars around the field. Next year, they

plan to make more than one size of

stars available to buy.

Pep Club also hosts Meet the Cougar

Nights and spreads school spirit

throughout the school. Many of the

banners, signs, and locker decora-

tions around the school are supplied

by Pep Club. Senior Pep Club mem-

Pep Club By Megan Berkebile ber, Olivia Mayak, said “When stu-

dents from other schools came here, a

lot of them commented on how festive

our school is looking.”

Every year, they try to get one thing to

really increase the Pep Club spirit.

Right now, they are beginning to plan

what next year’s item will be. The

girls are hoping to purchase another

fence kit for the upcoming school

year.

Another event Pep Club gets to take

part in is North Star’s baseball games.

At the home baseball games, Miranda

Pastuch and Cali Yeager, of Pep Club

run the concession stands.

Seniors say that they will miss the

many memories they have made in

the last four years. This year, the sen-

iors in pep club are Krista Valentine,

Hali Livingston, Emily Eutin, Emily

Gavel, Alexcia Acosta, Sam Costas,

Hailey Smith, Olivia Mayak, and Jess

Valentine.

One of the many activities North Star

offers is art club. Run by Mr. Mrosko,

the art club consists of about seven

regular members and meets every

Tuesday until 3:15 to experiment with

different styles of artwork. This is

done by creating something unique

using your own imagination and vi-

sion. One example of a project done

by members of the art club, is finding a

word in a newspaper article and using

different art mediums to represent how

the artist themselves imagines it. The

members also participate in team pro-

jects, and painting on canvas using dif-

ferent techniques. When asked, mem-

ber Abby Mishler said that it is a lot of

fun to be there, and the projects are fun to

do. She also added that you get to

use your imagination and be crea-

tive with the projects you do

Derek Mullen each added 2 hits

apiece, among the dozen collected by

the team, in the 15 to 4 victory. Shane

Supanick gave up 2 hits and struck out

9 while picking up the win.

In the following Tuesday's league

game, the host North Star Cougars

baseball team scored a nice 13-3 vic-

tory over the Portage Mustangs.

Brantley Rice picked up his second

win of the season in as many starts,

scattering 6 hits over 5 innings and

striking out 7 Mustangs. Rice was

backed by Dalton Rice, Brady Walker,

Tony Strasiser, Shane Supanick, and

Brady Shroyer with 2 hits apiece as

the Cougars collectively banged out

13 hits. The North Star Cougars base-

ball team proceeded to trounce the

Ferndale Yellow Jackets, 14-1, in

Thursday's league contest. Tea Stra-

siser threw 3 innings to pick up the

win, striking out 7 and giving up just

one hit, while helping himself out by

adding 3 hits at the plate. He received

his offensive support from Brantley

Rice, Brady Walker, Shane Supanick,

and Derek Mullen, all with 2 hits

apiece. Rice added a homerun for his

Following last season’s run to the

Class “AA” state title, in which the

Cougars fell short in the Western Final

to eventual champion Riverside, and

finished with a record of 19 and 5, the

bar was set high entering the 2013

season. The weather during the

month of March was exceptionally

dismal in terms of baseball, as the

Cougars had nary a practice on a real

baseball diamond. Duplicating game

conditions in the gym or parking lot or

football field while keeping motivation

high is the ultimate preseason chal-

lenge for any baseball coach and by

the time that the Blacklick Valley Vi-

kings sailed into town on April 03rd,

the Cougars were ready for action.

The end result of the contest was a one

sided 14 to 3 victory in favor of the

Cougars. Brantley Rice picked up the

mound win, giving up 0 hits and strik-

ing out 6 in 3 innings of work and also

collecting 3 hits at the plate as well as

the Cougars picked up a dozen hits to

score their 14 runs. Dalton Rice,

Brady Walker, and Elijah Knupp each

contributed a pair of hits in the vic-

tory. The following day the Cougars

hosted the Conemaugh Township In-

dians, and the backyard rivalry was

anything but a fair fight. Iced Tea

Strasiser led the charge with 3 hits,

while Dalton Rice, Elijah Knupp, and

first of the season. The Cougars then

were slated to take on the Shade Pan-

thers on April 16th, and came away

with a 5 to 2 victory, the closest call to

that point in the season. Brady

Shroyer drove in two of the Cougar’s

runs while Brantley Rice and Shane

Supanick combined to strike out 13

Panthers while only giving up 6 hits.

In the following Thursday's league

challenge, the North Star Cougars

baseball squad triumphed over the

visiting Conemaugh Valley Bluejays

by a margin of 12-2. Tea Strasiser

tossed a one hitter against the 8 win

Bluejays while Zach Maluchnick had 4

RBIs and Dalton Rice drove in 3 in col-

lecting the victory as North Star im-

proved to 6 and 0 on the season. The

North Star Cougars baseball team

scored 11 runs and limited the visiting

Rockwood Rockets to 0 in the Cougars

league victory on Monday to start a

busy week that would have the Cou-

gars playing 5 varsity games. Derek

Mullen had 3 hits and drove in 4 runs

while Shane Supanick added 3 RBIs

and Brantley Rice his second homerun

of the season. From the mound, Su-

panick totally grounded the Rockets

by striking out 10 and only allowing 1

hit through the 5 inning contest. The

next day had the Cougars venturing

north to Blacklick Valley to take on the

. . . high expectations By Coach Mike Blucas

Page 8

2013 North Star Varsity Baseball Team

Picture by Mrs. Spangler

Vikings on their home port. The Cou-

gars managed only 6 hits on the after-

noon, but were able to push 14 runs

across the plate while Brantley Rice

drydocked the Vikings, holding them

to 2 first inning runs and 5 hits total, as

the Vikings couldn’t hit water with a

paddle if they fell out of their own boat

after that shaky first inning. In a carry-

over from the previous football sea-

son, which saw the Viking fans engage

in some rather brutish behavior,

Coach Evans was able to quash an

unpleasant uprising in the stands as

the Viking pitchers hit three North Star

batters in the contest. With only 1 win

to show for the season, the Vikings

could go back to what they do best –

raiding the snack drawer. A one day

break allowed the Cougars to re-

charge their batteries headed into a

backyard rivalry game at the Cone-

maugh Township Indians. The game

saw the Cougars, for only the second

time to date in the season, play an

opponent for the entire 7 inning con-

test. The Cougars knocked on the

door of the mercy rule several times,

but could not quite push across the

12th run that would’ve ended the con-

test, instead settling for an 11 to 2 vic-

tory. Tea Strasiser (4 hits), Brantley

Rice (3 hits), and Shane Supanick /

Elijah Knupp (2 hits apiece), led the

charge. Tea Strasiser started on the

mound, giving up no hits and striking

out 5 in three innings of work. Brady

Walker then threw the final 4 innings,

showing some composure by putting

out a fire that was lit by Dalton Rice in

the meantime, and ended the game

with 8 strikeouts added to his stat line.

The Cougars then headed into the 20th

Annual Boswell Area Jaycees Classic

with a record of 9 and 0, looking to

win the tournament for the first time

since 2009. The Cougars squared of

against the Ligonier Valley Rams in

the first contest, coming away with a

10 to 3 victory in a game that was

much closer than the score would in-

dicate. The Cougars were down by

three runs headed into the bottom of

the 4th, when Dalton Rice proceeded

to launch a three run homer to left to

knot the score on his way to player of

the game honors. Shane Supanick

went the distance on the bump, effec-

tively corralling the Rams through the

rest of the game, striking out 13 in the

process. Tea Strasiser fed off of Ligo-

nier Valley pitching, tallying three hits

in the game (on a day that would see

him reach base in every plate appear-

ance), with other offensive support

from Derek Mullen (3 RBIs) and

Brantley Rice (2 RBIs). The Cougars

advanced to the championship to face

an unfamiliar foe, the Bishop Walsh

Spartans of Cumberland, MD.

Through 6 full innings, the Cougars

were only able to muster 1 run, trail-

ing the Spartans 3 to 1 headed to the

top of the 7th inning. Brantley Rice was

able to keep the Cougars as close as

he could, limited BW to only 3 hits and

striking out 12, but the Spartans capi-

talized on some untimely errors to

scratch out their 3 runs. Tea Strasiser

(3 hits, 2 triples) and Derek Mullen

and Shane Supanick all had extra base

hits in the final frame secure the inter-

continental world championship belt

by the score of 5 to 3. After a rest to

start the next to last week of the regu-

lar season, North Star travelled to

Portage to take on the always ready to

play Mustangs and came away with a

hard fought 4 to 2 victory, running

their overall record to 12 wins against

no defeats. Shane Supanick again

gutted it out on the mound, throwing

hard for 7 innings, striking out 11, and

also helping himself out at the plate,

scoring two runs and adding a triple

deep off of the right field wall. Elijah

Knupp chipped in with 2 runs batted

in as the Cougars continue to march

through their schedule. Collectively

the Cougars are hitting at a .351 clip,

scoring 127 runs in the process as the

season continues May 03 as the Cou-

gars travel to Shanksville. Expecta-

tions will continue to run at an all time

high, with the Cougars scheduled for

4 more regular season contests in

preparation for another deep playoff

run.

The North Star Cougars would like to

express their endearing gratitude to

the booster program, all those stu-

dents / parents / community members

who have aided us in any way, and

ESPECIALLY our very own cougar den

mother, Ms. Jennifer Spangler for all

the hidden work that she does for the

baseball team and want to recognize

her for her above and beyond efforts!

Page 9

. . . high expectations Continued from p. 8.

The student council has been working

on a lot of things lately. They have

been planning for Field Day and the

blood drive on May 8.

Thanks to the student council, we had

movie days and fun assemblies that let

us take a break from class. But the

biggest thing they’re doing this year

is Field Day. They are ordering food

and organizing the Johnny Blough

Dodge Ball Tournament and a hockey

tournament.

They plan to have more fun assem-

blies and activities for the future.

Student Council By Rebecca Flick

Page 10

For over six decades, the maple in-

dustry has found a new representa-

tive/sovereign each year. 2013 was

no different. On March 2 at the Mey-

ersdale Area High School, Ranita Bow-

ers-Thomas was crowned Queen Ma-

ple LXVI. She wowed the Maple Prin-

cess Pageant judges with a vocal solo

among other stellar qualities. A total of

sixteen Maple Princesses competed in

this year’s competition: Emily

Blubaugh of Meyersdale Area High

School, Ranita Bowers-Thomas of Ber-

lin Brothersvalley High School, Court-

ney Brant of Meyersdale, Marissa

Denner of Shanksville-Stonycreek

High School, Kyley Dunmeyer of Mey-

ersdale, Hannah Fortini of Somerset

Area High School, Rebecca Katz of

Somerset, Anna Knoblach of Meyers-

dale, Hayley Petenbrink of Meyers-

dale, Bethany Reddick of Meyersdale,

Kylie Shober of Shanksville-

Stonycreek, Kelsey Snyder of Berlin

Brothersvalley, Emily Tinkey of Som-

erset, Balee Wahl of Somerset, Paige

Yutzy of Meyersdale, and North Star’s

own Aubree Stoy. Aubree performed

a tap dance, but was edged out by the

eventual victor, Ranita Bowers-

Thomas. Ranita also competed locally

in Forensics/Speaking.

In any case, all Princesses who com-

peted in the Pageant did so with

poise, grace, and respect for the ma-

ple industry. Congratulations are

rightly deserved.

Maple and Its Monarch: The Aftermath By Patrick Stahl

Minuetto, and Fanfare for the Third

Planet. Fanfare for the Third Planet was

conducted by Ryan Gerney, a senior.

Small groups also performed. The

percussion ensemble, which is new

this year and only consists of percus-

sion instruments, performed Rainfall.

The brass quintet, which is also a new

group that only consists of five brass

musicians, played a Fun Medley ar-

ranged by Ryan Gerney.

A band banquet was held on May 3 to

honor the seniors. The seniors of the

band include Rianna Bixler, Sabrina

Matkoskey, Patricia Beam, Megan

Weyand, and Ryan Gerney. The un-

derclassmen wish them luck in their

future endeavors and hope to see

them again in future performances.

As the school year is coming to an

end, the concert band season is com-

ing to a close. However, the jazz band

season is in full “swing” and there is

much more in store for a jazz lover.

The high school concert band and jazz

band concert took place on May 1.The

jazz band went on first playing songs

such as Little Brown Jug, Come Fly With

Me, Manteca, and What a Wonderful

World and Tequila. Tequila was con-

ducted by Patricia Beam, a senior. Jazz

songs are set apart from concert

pieces because they consist of swing-

ing rhythms. The instruments used

are only saxophones, brass, percus-

sion, and sometimes a bass or guitar.

The jazz band will be performing dif-

ferent songs on the May 16 concert at

7 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

They will also be travelling to Country

Manor to play for the elderly people

of the community.

The concert band went on afterwards

performing their final concert of the

season. They performed pieces such

as Hypnotic Fireflies, Stand by Me,

Band News By Ashley Kelly and Rebecca Flick

Thanks for the fun!

Pattie, Sab, Megden,

Ryan, and Ri.

Love, the band kids.

Page 11

Newspaper Staff

Emily Lambert– Editor-in-Chief

Haley Smith– Co-editor & Design

Rebecca Flick– Co-editor

Jordan Stanko and Dan Karashowsky– Computer Techs

Patricia Beam

Rianna Bixler

Erik Bloom

Tayte Mostoller

Patrick Stahl

Remigio Baerga

Aubree Stoy

Sabrina Beck

Elizabeth King

Katie Manges

Evan Gerney

Lindsay Walker

Megan Berkebile

Chantelle Harvey

Ashley Kelly