The Purple and Gold PressHernando High School Bi-weekly Online Edition

High positions of au-thority are everywhere, and more often than not, unheard of people strive to reach them. In any race for the position, whoever wins will have every important decision in their sanction placed in their hands to toy with. Politics have been a heated opposition since this coun-try was founded, and every-one has their own ideas on how to run things. Majority rules in America when it comes to authority, so why isn’t the percentage of vot-ers higher? On average, 78% of the 18-29 year olds in this country are registered to vote, and for each decade of people above it, the per-centage does not increase

very much. The percent of those registered voters who actually vote each year are even less. The people of today help change the future, no one can deny that, and in the future these same people hope to shape the US of A into a cleaner, safer, health-ier society that others from all over the world can enjoy. If people in general are not involved in politics and are not interested in choosing a leader, whether it be for the state or for the country, things will never chance, and the same mistakes will be made over again. If that is not enough to stir the generations of today, then bringing up their per-sonal futures, or the future’s of their family, might. Every

person 18 years of age and older has the opportunity to have a say in how this country is run. Since the opinions of everyone vary, then leaving a pool of po-tential leaders for everyone else to fish through is like handing one’s paycheck, job, and everything else the government affects in a stranger’s hands that may

want someone in office that has lost millions of dollars in their previous terms. Though not mandatory, taking a part in the future should be something every-one should do to make sure the government positions are filled with intelligent, honest people that have everyone’s best interests at heart.

Your Life, Your GovernmentThe importance of voting at a young ageReporter, Rachael Jackson

Often times the television broadcasts commercials showing major companies stating what great and self-less things they are doing for those in need or the less fortunate. They act as blankets to comfort the mind that something is being done and there is a good force to combat all the saddening catastrophes. When major companies

do such things it’s nice to be appreciative, but when you see people in your own county helping out however they can it can honestly change you, especially if you participate in it. The Dawn Center and our very own Interact Club definitely know this to be true. The interact club at Hernando High school has joined up with the Dawn

center and is looking to raise toilet paper and tooth paste from the students of Hernando High for the women of The Dawn Center. The Dawn Center is a local organization set on being of any help to those who have been victims of a variety of physical assaults or emotional trauma. So many families are thankful for the help of this organiza-tion and how it has helped shaped their lives for the better.

Dawn Center SupportHernando High helps woman’s centerReporter, David Dudley

Each toilet paper roll, each toothpaste bottle you donate leads to a happier to-morrow for a family in your community. Our media center has even decided that if you owe money for a late book you’ll be exempted from one per toilet paper or Toothpaste. If you have been looking for a chance to give here it is, all great things start out small, and a small donation given by a large mass leads to major accomplishments.

Did you vote this season?

Hernando High School Bi-weekly Online Edition

Many people have a family member, a friend, a spouse, or know someone with one of those people in the Army. Surviving the tours throughout the course of a war is a miracle all on its own, and people with some-one dear to them in the army know that better than anyone. What many people here do not know is what it re-ally means to be a veteran. A veteran, by definition, is a person who has had long service or experience in an occupation. In this case, that occupation is the Army. Going through war, the emotional and physical strain is something no one can really grasp until it is happening to them person-ally. Stress on their family, on their country, and on their life is what these men and women go through to protect the people back home. To honor the people put-ting everyone else in front of themselves, on Novem-

ber 11th of every year, people across America are reminded of the commemo-ration of the end of World War I and the honor of the people that have served in the Armed Forces. This Veteran’s Day, we cel-ebrated those who fight for

On Thursday November 11 the inaugural HHS Sports Hall of Fame din-ner was held at the Faith Presbyterian Church. The turnout for the event was outstanding and many prominent Hernando County residents attended the dinner. Eight HHS graduates were inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame. Bronson Arroyo, Kevin Fitzpatrick, and Tam Varn Sr. were some of the inductees. The families of all the athletes attended the event as well as School Board member James Yant, who was on the committee which selected the candi-dates for the hall of fame. All in all approximately 120 people came to congratulate the inductees. Next year HHS will hold another dinner to name eight other athletes to the hall of fame. The committee would also like to thank Carrabba’s Italian Grill for catering the event.

our freedom. Over Thanks-giving break, let’s keep those in the military and their families in our hearts as we break bread with our loved ones.

HHS Sports’ Hall of Fame Banquet Brooks Timmons

The importance of our VeteransThank you, Vets! Reporter, Rachael Jackson

Battling for our freedom is never easy.

An elderly veteran that knows just how tough life in the war can be.

We salute those who salute the flag.

The Purple & Gold Press thanks you for reading! Keep your eye out for our print editions here at HHS!

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Hernando High School Bi-weekly Online Edition

Riordan does it again! ‘The Lost Heroes is a hit! Reporter, Stephen Skipper

It’s finally here! Out now, the brand new series The Heroes of Olympus, the lat-est series by famed author Rick Riordan, features an astonishing mixture of both Greek AND Roman my-thology. In the first amazing installment, titled The Lost Hero, a brand new trio is introduced. Jason, the am-nesiac protagonist, whose lost memories hide a dark secret. Piper, who claims to be Jason’s love, even if he can’t remember. Leo, a wise and crazy inventor that has a mysterious power. To-gether, these three embark on a quest to rescue the goddess Hera and, in turn, reclaim Jason’s lost memo-

ries. However, there is a dark enemy lurking under the earth that, if resurrected, will destroy the entire Greek cul-ture at its roots. Once again, Riordan has done a master-ful job at crafting a brand new series from the depths of his Olympian mind. In addition, he does a beautiful task of combining the two greatest mythological eras of the ancient world. You may be asking “Where’s the old group?” Don’t fret, for most of the old crew returns, including everyone’s favorite Anabeth. Unfortunately, Percy does not return, but you will have to read this book yourself to find out why. I completely recom-

mend this book to any fan of the Percy Jackson series, as well as any fan of mythol-ogy period. I myself cannot wait until the next install-ment, The Son of Neptune, releases next October. But you don’t have to wait that long until a new Riordan book, for the next Kane Chronicles, a separate series featuring Egyptian mythol-ogy, will be released this May. At the current state of time, the title is unknown, yet it doesn’t matter for all it takes to write a good book is a good author, which Riordan has proved himself to be many times.

Upcoming Events!

What is AYP?What is the AYP? AYP is Adequate Yearly Progress. It’s based on a school’s subgroups such as mentally disabled, white, Hispanic and economically disadvan-taged. Each school has 39 benchmarks (subgroups) to score 100% on; if 15% of the schools’ population doesn’t meet one of the benchmarks then it isn’t calculated into the schools score. AYP was created when NCLB (No Child Left Behind) was put into

effect January, 8, 2000. Under former President George Bush, Hernando High School was one of only two schools in Her-nando County to score 100% AYP. The other was Challenger K-8 School of Science and Mathemat-ics. That’s right, 100%. A schools’ AYP is scored based mainly on FCAT scores. Last year, Hernando High only scored 79% on the AYP. The AYP has no benefits or incentives like FCAT, aside from pride of having a score so few schools accomplish. Ac-cording to Mr. Pritz, our

school grade level would be a C if the lowest quartile would make that extra ef-fort. Christmas treeing the test has also become a prob-lem with some students. The AYP is only based on 9th and 10th graders scores on FCAT though, so, it’d be 15% of 9th and 10th graders for the benchmarks. This is the first time Hernando High has scored 100% on the AYP. Schools will get their grade after Thanksgiv-ing.

What is AYP?Reporter, Taylor Spears

Class Rings12/1/10- Josten’s deliver lass rings and take senior orders during lunchs. *All rings must be paid in full to recieve on delivery day.Caps & GownsSenior cap and gown, graduation announcements, ect. Payment due to Jon-ston’s by 12/15/10 to avoid additional fees. call 727-953-3635 if you have any questions.

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