Beta Club and National Honor Society member Gil Gonzales said, “I tutor for the school’s tutoring program which is thirty minutes every day.”

National Honor Society requires three hours of tutoring each semester.  Students in National Honor Society are required to maintain a 4.25 GPA to stay in the group, as well as participate in at least one service project each semester. Most of the members are able to do all of the requirements.

Beta Club and National Honor Society member Chris Emery said, “I have free time and I can volunteer. I plan ahead.”

For Beta Club a majority of the members attend the required amount of meetings, keep their GPA at 3.9, and have 25 additional service hours by the end of the year.  About 10% of the students do more than what is required each year.

Beta Club Teacher Rosemary Abercrombie said, “The time [for projects] varied from monthly [Pennies for Patients took two months], and the rest were under six hours.”

Some students are in Beta Club and National Honor Society, and need to balance both of the work for these groups in addition to classes.

Vice President of National Honor Society Will Raley said, “Having to balance classes and groups is a good way to learn time management.”

For the most part students do not seem to have a problem with balancing these groups with classes.

Abercrombie said, “They have to be responsible and make out a schedule. They need to be responsible and mature.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 48.8% of teens were employed in July of 2011. Teenagers are working during the summer for various reasons; some do it for the extra spending money, and others do it for the working experience.

Brashier students have enlisted in summer jobs such as working at restaurants, doing yard work, and lifeguarding.

“I work really hard during the summer at my job to be able to do more and have more freedom,” says a rising junior, Vince Sims.

Sims, who paints mailboxes during the summer, says, “I’ve been working for a couple summers now. I like my job because it isn’t hard and I can earn good money doing it.”

Rising senior Kyerra Lindsay will work at Chick-Fil-A this summer.

“I love Chick-fil-A,” says Lindsay, “It keeps me occupied during the summer, and I like making money, of course.”

Rising Junior Kelly Roth had to get some training for her summer job.

Roth, who will begin lifeguarding this summer, says, “I just got certified in the spring…I’m excited to be a lifeguard.”

While some students are already hard at work, others are searching for a job.

Rising junior Audrey Sailaita says, “I’m searching for a job this summer; I’ve looked at working at several different places, but it’s hard to get a job when you’re competing with college students who are out for the summer too. I hope I’ll get a job…it seems fun.”

One of the most exciting parts of summer vacation is traveling to other parts of the world. Many students love to travel and they have had many fun experiences around the globe.

Junior Timmy Citeno visited Puerto Rico one summer and found it very memorable. “We went to go visit family members and we also toured around the place. I also surfed for a while. But what made it so memorable was basically just the random stuff that happened. One of the biggest memories I have is getting stuck in a tropical depression while riding a horse on a tiny little street. That was unforgettable.”

Summer doesn’t have to be spent in your backyard. Some students like traveling to other states.

“My most memorable vacation was when I went to Hawaii in 6th grade. I went snorkeling, and that was really cool. But another experience was hiking up a mountain to find an old World War II bunker that had been on display. While we were up top, we could see a bunch of whales jumping down below in the ocean. It was pretty cool. It’s Hawaii, what isn’t memorable about that?” says Junior Addison Hughes. 

Summer doesn’t have to be spent inside the pool or on top of a surf board. Finding something that provides evidence of ancient civilization is one unique way of spending summer.

“[The most memorable vacation] was going on an archeology trip last summer. We were finding different arrow heads from the Clovis period. There was something called a ‘fire feature’ throughout the entire plot. As we were digging down, we found a rock that had been exposed to heat treatment. So, that site was probably a domestic living area several thousand years ago,” says Junior Caity Tollman.

While some students’ vacations are remembered by the waves and summer breeze, others have more personal memories.

“We drove over 3,000 miles up through Ohio, then into Canada and on back down to St. Louis. It was a long trip, and what made it so memorable was the fact that it was the last time we got to spend with our grandparents. My grandma got really sick after that, so that was really the last time she was normal on a trip,” says Senior Kevin Johnston.

Summer isn’t only for students. Faculty members have memorable vacations too.

“My wife and I went to Costa Rica, and the whole trip was fun. But the most memorable event was we were eating dinner and we had a private table off to the side at this outdoor restaurant, and we thought it would be a nice quiet dinner. But, tourists kept coming and leaning over our table looking out at something. Then one group came up and they excused their selves, and said they would love to look at the volcano which was erupting off to our side. So when we looked over we noticed the nice lava flow coming down.”

Deb Osborne, the assistant athletic director at Brashier Middle College, has successfully created a swim team for the 2012-2013 school year. Students have signed up to show interest in the team since the start of this year, and all of the preparations to establish the team at Brashier have been completed.

Osborne said, “It was one of my charges and one of my main goals when I came [to Brashier]. Before I came, [Brashier] wanted to start a swim team, but we had to make sure we had what we needed: swimmers, a coach, parental involvement, money, a pool and other equipment, and school buy in. With those six things, you start a program.”

Students at Brashier are looking forward to the start of a swim team, and many are interested in joining.

Sophomore Kelly Roth, who swam for Holly Tree for a few years when she was younger, said, “I think [the start of a swim team] is awesome. I wish I could be a part of it, but it’s the same season as volleyball.”

Students that will be freshman at Brashier next year are also interested in being a part of the new team.

Allison Pierce, a rising freshman who has been involved with swimming for several years, said, “I think that the start of the team will be good because it will provide more options of sports for people to play, and I think it will be fun to be on a first year team.”

According to Osborne, tryouts will start on July 30, and practices will begin immediately afterwards. Becky Webber will be the coach, and Webber and Osborne are not looking to make cuts. The team will practice at Poinsettia pool.

Osborne said, “Because it is a first year team, there will definitely be bumps in the road but we’ll be competitive.”

Pierce agrees that the team has a chance to be successful. She said, “I think the team can be successful if we work hard and have people with experience on the team.”

Though not as confident about the possible success of the swim team, Sophomore Vince Sims, who has been involved with swimming since he was six years old, is enthusiastic about the establishment of the new team.

Sims said, “I feel like we should have gotten other sports teams first, but a swim team will be a good addition. [The success of the team] really depends on who we swim against.”

In response to the question of adding more sports teams, Osborne said, “We’re not looking at too many more, though I firmly believe we need a cheerleading squad. You can’t have a sport just to have it.”

Whether the swim team is immediately successful or not, its arrival has brought excitement to the students and faculty of Brashier.

Osborne said, “I’m very excited about the swim team; I think that it’s great. The interest is there and it will get better.”

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Killinger isn’t talking about a vocation or a job.  Rather, she is talking about her 13-year experience as a Girl Scout.  Through Girl Scouts, Killinger has been able not only to learn new things, meet new people, and make lasting memories, but she has also had the opportunity to earn the three most prestigious awards given to girls.

An experience such as this has always been offered to American girls for the past 100 years.  2012 marks the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting in America, which has recently been cause for great celebration across the country.  Current and previous Girl Scout members are reminiscing on Girl Scouting of the past and are looking forward to years of Scouting to come.  Service Unit 639, a unit based in the Greenville area, recently held a special Bridging Ceremony in honor of the 100^th anniversary.

“It was a celebration of that fact that the Girl Scouts had gone through 100 years [and] a commemoration of the last 100 years looking forward to the next 100 years,” says Killinger.

The Girl Scouts began as a humble organization in 1912 which soon blossomed into a revolution.

“For girls in the 20’s to be involved in things like learning semaphore and Morse code and first aid… that was radical… they [the Girl Scouts] drew a lot of criticism for being too masculine,” says Girl Scout Mom and Volunteer Bobbi Killinger, who has been involved in Girl Scouting for 30 years.

The tradition of learning new skills through scouting is still present today.  Through Girl Scouts, girls are taught numerous practical skills that they can continue to practice throughout their lives.

“…Half of the stuff I’ve learned in my life… was from school and the other half was from Scouts,” says Katrina Killinger.

Brashier Junior and Girl Scout Ambassador Allie Conner agrees, and feels that there are more benefits to scouting other than the skills one can learn.

“…I’ve learned a lot,” says Conner, “I’ve made a lot of friends and met a lot of people and I’ve gotten some really great experiences under my belt.”

Many aspects of the scouts, unlike skill-building, have not remained constant.

“The Promise [and] the way the badges are done has changed,” says Bobbi Killinger.

Lessons taught by the Girl Scouts have changed as well.

“[There is] even a heavier leadership role… the impact now is in the direction of business and being an entrepreneur,” says Cadette Girl Scout Leader and Service Unit Team Member and Cookie Manager Carol Paglialunga.

Yet the Girl Scouts have good reason to push business careers.

“…We’re still trying to teach girls how to live their life the best that they can live it… and be able to be a productive citizen,” says Service Unit 369 Community Development Manager Penny Gill.

Conner also agrees that the organization has changed.

“…[The Girl Scouts] is more modernized… it’s changed for today’s society,” says Conner.

Though many changes have occurred in the Girl Scouts over time and on a national level, Conner mentions changes on a more local level.

“I’m a delegate… [and] the biggest change… is undergoing change with the [membership] dues… there’s a lot of controversy over that,” says Conner.

The dues paid in order to be a scout seem to be worth the trouble.  Katrina feels that the organization is good for girls.

“…A lot of the stuff in Girl Scouts helps them [girls] become better leaders,” says Katrina.

Conner agrees, listing “leadership” as one of the skills that Girl Scouts has taught her.

Katrina and Conner also feel that scouting can be beneficial to girls because of the opportunities given to members.

“…I’ve had the opportunity to earn the Gold Award which I’m working on and that’s some pretty awesome resume material,” says Katrina.

Conner is also pursuing the Gold Award.

“I’ve earned my Bronze and my Silver… why not Gold?” says Conner.

And after her experience, Conner has developed a passion and admiration for scouting.

“…I love everything that it is and I’m gonna advocate it for the rest of my life,” says Conner.

Katrina has good reason to continue on with scouts even after she ages out.

“I wouldn’t be the same person if I hadn’t been a Girl Scout,” says Katrina.

To see the pictures larger go to

http://prezi.com/lz46izduswem/copy-of-tae-kwon-do/

In the beginning of the early 2000s, video games had just begun their huge rise in popularity. One man decided to pick up a new hobby. This ‘hobby’ soon evolved into the basis and inspiration for countless games to come and is praised as being the beginning of both the indie gaming movement and the retro gaming movement. This is Cave Story.

Cave Story is a freeware retro side scrolling platformer mixed with an exploration shooter.  Released in 2004, Cave Story has inspired countless other people to independently manufacture their own games. Without the creation of Cave Story, Indie games like Super Meat Boy and Bit Trip may not have ever been made.  What is really remarkable about the creation of Cave Story is, while modern games (both in indie gaming and mainstream gaming) there are usually more than one person making the game. Each part of the game has its own group working on it and it is a team effort. Part of why Cave Story was so inspirational to so many people, is because the whole game was created and developed by one person, Daisuke Amaya.

Amaya, commonly known by his online art name “Pixel”, started working on the game back in college as a hobby. He said in an interview that he continued working on the game, code name Doukutsu Monogatari, in his free time for five years, and even stayed up late nights after he had gotten a job as a software developer and started a family. After five years of hard work, Pixel released in 2004 Doukutsu Monogatari in Japan for free on the internet. Its fame spread like wildfire due to its amazing game play and even more amazing story. It became so popular that patches were made by fans that translated the game into several different languages, one of which was English. Doukutsu Monogatari when translated into English means Cave Story.

In the game, you play as a robot who is lost in a cave and has no memory of his past life. Armed with only your trusty blaster, you forge on through the cave. Eventually you come upon a race of beings called the Mimigas. The Mimiga are without a doubt the cutest thing that I have ever seen in my whole entire life. They look like a puppy crossed with a bunny and a kitten. You soon learn that the Mimigas are being rounded up by an evil scientist known only as The Doctor and his henchmen: The witch Misery and Balrog, a huge robot. The Doctor plans to make the Mimigas eat the ‘forbidden red flower.’ This causes the Mimigas to go out of control and turn into huge, rage filled monsters that The Doctor plans on using to take over the surface world. You quickly jump to the Mimigas defense and with the help of another robot, Curly Brace, you both fight to save the Mimigas.

The Gameplay of this game is standard to what you would expect from a platformer. You can go left, right, and jump. The controls are extremely fluid and are very natural to the player. The game has the elements of an exploration shooter because of the sheer vastness of the underground world that you traverse. This design was intentional, seeing as Pixel drew inspiration from the Metroid games and the Castlevania games, which rely heavily on the idea of exploration. The game also has RPG elements in it. As you progress through the game, your character gets new weapons added to his arsenal. Similar to the Mega Man games, the different weapons that you get help you out in different situations. For instance, players can use the Polar Star weapon when they need to use a basic pistol type weapon, the Blade weapon when they need to clear out a large area of a corridor and the rocket launcher when they need to lay on the damage. However, each of these guns starts out at a level of 1. As you kill enemies, they drop weapon triangles. When you collect these weapon triangles, they add experience to your weapon. When your weapon levels up, it changes the projectile of your weapon slightly and adds more power to it. Each weapon can be leveled up fully three times. When one of your weapons reaches the end of Level 3, it attains the rank of MAX.  This means that your weapon cannot be leveled up any more. However, being hit by enemies not only damages your health, but also decreases the experience of your weapon.

Another huge part of Cave Story is its use of hidden power ups and save points. Scattered throughout the world are heart pods which increase your total HP, and other useful items that will help you on your journey. Also, scattered throughout the world are Save Points. These are very important in Cave Story because of the pacing of the game. This game often throws Boss Battles at you every twenty or thirty minuets, so be sure to save often. 

All in all, this game definitely lives up to the hype. I have played through this game and have loved every single minute of it, whether it was because of the barrage of fun boss battles, trying to max out all of my weapons, or just exploring while listening to the phenomenal soundtrack of 8 bit goodness while on the lookout for any heart pods I had missed. Not only is the gameplay highly addicting, but the story is one of the best I have ever had the privilege to hear and plays lot on the theme of preventing animal cruelty. I give this game an A+ and highly recommend this game to anyone who likes classic gaming, or just gaming in general.