Allow me to dispel these rumors. Yes, it is correct that Syria has plunged into civil war. Yes, Iran and Israel may soon be at each other’s throats. Yes, Europe and the United States are in strained financial straits. The misconception is that all of this will somehow come together and bring war to the world, killing a large portion of the population and sending the survivors into a Fallout-like post-apocalyptic dystopia.

                The rough happenings going on now are only worrying because the media is covering them closely. What about all the other terrible things that happen in far-away countries that most of America has never heard of? Illegal slavery and human trafficking? Brush wars that completely devastate small communities that had yet to share their cultures with the world? Tragedies happen every day. Just because we are made aware of these does not mean it is the end of the world, or that the leaders of these countries will choose to doom the rest of us with nuclear warfare.

                Furthermore, consider the fact that American and European intelligence agencies- FBI, MI6, MI5, CIA, NSA, INTERPOL, DIA- have already thought this through. They undoubtedly have layers of defenses in place in case of an attack. Many of the European nations are also allied with each other and with the United States. Should someone start a global throw down, we will not be alone.

                I strongly discourage the belief that we are at the end of times. Everything has its own cycle and that includes social and economic uproar. The world is just moving through the crest of a wave, fueled by selective media reporting and the subsequent public panic. Stay calm, ladies and gentlemen, it will be all right.

               The winning door was created by a team of the special education instructors he was working with.  It is a beautiful image, consisting of the silhouette of a soldier honoring his fallen comrade with the faces of soldiers killed in action adorning the background.  Over the top, in bright letters, the door reads “Freedom is not Free.”  The haunting, but truthful image solidifies the message of the sacrifices that have been made to ensure our freedoms as citizens. 

                The winning donations class, under computer teacher Wade Simms, apparently showed very much enthusiasm during the event.

               “I really did not have to do anything to motivate them, once they knew what this was about they jumped all over it,” Simms said.

               In their enthusiasm, Simms’s students created their door in a short two class periods and brought in everything from candy to toiletries for donation.

               The regional tournament was hosted at Grissom High School. They competed against Gadsden City, Grissom, Huntsville, Bob Jones, Buckhorn, Oxford and Austin.

               Junior Micah McClathery, sophomore Cody Watson and freshman TJ Edwards finished top four in each of their weight classes, which means they will represent Sparkman at the state tournament this weekend, Feb. 16 through Feb. 18.

               The day started with a tough loss for captain Jesse Westerhouse. He was ahead 10-3 against a Buckhorn High School opponent, but ended up losing the match. Westerhouse, junior, has had health barriers in the past and at the beginning of the season, resulted in surgery concerning his appendix in early November. 

               “My abdomen started hurting. I couldn’t really do how I wanted to, but I finished the match and lost. My coach and I decided it was best to not wrestle the rest of the day,” Westerhouse said.

               Watson won three out of his four matches, with the only loss being a surprising one. His only victorious opponent was from rival Bob Jones. The opponent’s head was wrapped with gauze and medical tape; both nostrils had plugs due to a busted nose.

               “When we got into the third round it was six to five, he was winning. It came down to ten seconds left and I was on top, which is really hard to win. I came close to turning him over but I didn’t get to pin him,” Watson said.

                Watson has only been wrestling for three months and really found his niche. In his second match, he defeated his opponent with a cow-catcher move within the first 20 seconds.

               “I put him in a headlock, put my arms under his armpits and turned him sideways in the air,” Watson said.

               The other captain, McGlathery, finished fourth in his weight class. His first two matches were won by his outstanding ability to maintain an unbreakable cardio system.

               The last qualifier for state, Edwards, came in third in his division. He lost his first match and wound up facing the same opponent for his last match. At the second facing, he sent his opponent to defeat.

               “Overall, we did better than last year, but since we didn’t have a full roster, we didn’t have a shot being

               McGlathery (145) is seated sixteenth in the state. Watson (182) is seated eleventh in state and Edwards (152) is seated at eleventh instead.

               Theater teacher Sherri Ryan is the director of the program and has organized the production, while Kerri Dyer, one of the students’ mothers, has taken charge of the public relations aspect. Ryan has a lot of pressure, considering the type of production they are taking on. There are about 65 cast members, and this includes the “tech”, which are the students behind the scenes that make sure everything is flowing smoothly.

               “It’s a bigger cast, we have to work hard and we have to learn dance numbers. It takes much longer than a regular show, but it should be awesome,” junior Darnell Sharperson said.

               The long hours of rehearsals should pay off when the performance weekend comes around. They have musical rehearsals Mondays and Wednesdays 3:00-5:30, and choreography rehearsals on Saturdays from 9:00-2:00. Occasionally, they have additional musical rehearsals on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

               “We practice so often that by the time March 1 comes around everyone will be ready. Every line and every stage movement will be perfect,” Sharperson said.

               Since “High School Musical” is such a character-oriented script, there are a plethora of main roles rather than one or two. The two lead roles, Troy and Gabriella, will be performed by seniors Zachary Swanner and Chelsea Dyer. Both have taken the musical theatre class since their sophomore year.  The other main roles are Sharpay (sophomore Sandra Gates) Ryan (junior Darnell Sharperson) Zeke (freshman Roderick Sims) and Taylor (junior Grace Keys). Grace Keys is also the understudy for the main role Gabriella.

               “I think it’s exciting because there are a lot of people-which is hard- but it’s definitely coming together, slowly but surely,” sophomore Keanna Swanner said.

                Since there are so many roles, the department is expecting a huge outcome in audience on the days of the performance. There are 350 available seats in the Fantasy Playhouse Auditorium.  The department is selling tickets to students for $10, adults for $20 and senior adults can buy tickets for $10. They also have set aside school shows on Thursday and Friday of the performance dates.

               “I’m praying for six sell-out shows… Cause I want six sell-out shows,” Sharperson said.

                Other than the families of the cast filling the seats, the department has advertised in a way they hope to be successful. They have been posting fliers throughout the community, targeting specific businesses and people oriented environments.

               “Aside from fliers, we have given out car magnets with the dates on them. We also had a photo shoot to reenact the classic “High School Musical” jump from the movie. The picture will go on our billboard when we find a location,” Sharperson said.

                An additional feature the department is incorporating in the show is a meet-and-greet with the cast members between shows. Also, they are selling goody bags for $5 each to young children.

               “If the parents buy a goody bag, their kids get to go on stage and do the original dance with the cast,” Sharperson said.

               The entire production cost the department $12,000 to create the show. The script, costumes and playhouse itself accumulated several thousands of dollars. In the past year, the department has sold spirit wear, “BOB WHO?” t-shirts and coupon books. They have had car washes at Arby’s, and the department also has business and individual sponsors. Students and parents have helped pay for the program out of their own pockets.

               “Surprisingly, we’ve covered the cost of the program and we have already made an $800 profit, not even including the tickets,” Sharperson said.

Start with style. In an age of text messages and tweets, where making a Facebook event qualifies as an invitation, a little formality goes a long way. Send your guests tangible invitations, similar to the ones the stars themselves receive for the award show, in order to effortlessly add class and grace to your get-together.

Rule the red carpet. Celebrities have to share the red carpet sometimes. As your guests arrive to your viewing party, have them strut their stuff and pose for waiting “paparazzi” in their most elegant apparel. Add a twist by challenging your guests to dress like their favorite nominees—or take the opposite approach and have your guests rock the red carpet in their cutest pajamas and sweats.

The girl with the dragon cupcake. A good host never lets his or her guest go hungry, just as a good host never lets a theme go to waste. Celebrate the nominated films with thematic treats, such as black-and-white cookies for the monochromatic movie “The Artist” or ballpark snacks for “Moneyball”.

I mustache you a question… Every host should be prepared to entertain his or her guests during those lengthy acceptance speeches. Before the ceremony, cut out paper mustaches, hats and glasses to stick on the television to survive even the longest speech— even if a director feels obligated to extend thanks to every single member of his cast and crew, everyone is funnier with silly facial hair.

               Seniors Grant Banks, quarterback, and Justin Grays, defensive back, both signed scholarships to play football. Banks signed an athletic scholarship to Faulkner University, one of the five schools to offer.

               “I chose Faulkner because the offensive set up is similar to Sparkman’s, so I feel like I would be more prepared and ready to play,” Banks said.

               Aside from the athletic aspect of Banks’s college career, Faulkner University is a Christian school that he believes will help him spiritually.

             “Another reason I chose Faulkner was because I think it will help me better my relationship with God,” Banks said.

              Grays managed to achieve an academic scholarship from Birmingham Southern University, where he will also play football. Birmingham Southern was one of three schools Grays was considering.

             “I decided to go to Birmingham Southern because they have a good music program. I plan to major in music, and hopefully have a career in commercial music, or be a musical engineer,” Grays said.

               As a head coach, it is always a goal to hope for the best for your players as you watch them develop into athletes. Head Coach Roger Haynes has coached Banks and Grays from the time they were freshmen until the time they signed their names on the dotted lines of their future.

             “It means everything to me to see these boys go on and play at a higher level. Hopefully we have prepared them well enough here at Sparkman for them to be successful,” Haynes said.

                Huntsville High came from behind to take the lead in the first quarter before going on to win the game, 43-33.

                The Panthers kept sophomore star Alexis Jennings, who averages 20 points a game, from scoring easy baskets underneath.  Huntsville led 19-13 at halftime and 33-24 at the end of the third quarter.

                Sophomore Maiya Rumph led the team with 13 points. The team ends the season at 20-9.

Get your sweet tooth ready for a delicious opportunity that is quickly approaching. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and, for the guys who do not have a gift for their girls, here is a one-time get out of jail free card.

The Literary Magazine is selling 5-by-7 inch cookies at $10 each from the Great American Cookie. Also, a message three words or less can be written on the cookie without any extra costs. The cookies can be picked up on Tuesday, Feb. 14 after school in Renee Quaife’s room 406 in the English hallway. All money is to be given to Quaife and not the Lit. Mag. members.

“We are hoping that a lot of people buy cookies because it all goes toward the Silhouette,” sophomore Rebecca McDaniel said.

Along with the cookies, the environmental club is selling single stem roses for $6 each and FBLA has candy grams available for $1. See an environmental club member or a FBLA member for more information on either of those items.

“I am buying a cookie for myself, and my grandmother is buying one too,” sophomore Mara McDaniel said.

               Through a student survey, the Business Academy saw the need for a stock of basic school supplies and spirit wear, in case a student or staff member wants to show their support at pep rallies or the next game, thus the “Senator store” was born.

               “The store is really beneficial in case someone forgets their supplies. They don’t have an excuse not to have it. It also helps with business,” FBLA student Devin Luckie said.

               Students and staff members may find the new store by the gym open for business at 7:15 a.m. Monday through Friday.

               This store is not only intended for one’s personal needs, but also academic purposes. It teaches Business Finance and Business Management students to have a “hands-on” learning experience with money.

               “We wanted to be able to bridge our curriculum with real life. We did a survey around the school to see what everyone would need,” Bev Massa said.

               Massa, her student teacher Brandi Glenn and Verna Wilkerson have all collaborated to make the school store possible by working with their first and second block classes and teaching them what it means to run a business.Massasays that Glenn has truly been a helpful addition to the academy.   

               “We anticipate to keep restocking the store once we run out of supplies and not closing it,” Glenn said.

               Also being an illegal downloader, like most other Americans, this presents a great barrier to satisfying entertainment needs. For instance, it would be a terrible pain to discover an album after rooting through hundreds of lists on the music cataloguing site Rate Your Music, only to not find it on iTunes or at any local record stores. Since there would be virtually no place to torrent the album, you would be completely out of luck. All of this is especially unfair to someone who eventually buys downloaded albums on two physical formats- CD and vinyl.

               You can almost guarantee that most artists are against these daft censorship acts, since usually musicians make their only money from people hearing those “illegal” downloads and, in turn, coming to their shows. The record companies ensure that hardworking Americans-who invest every bead of sweat in their body to perform in front of hundreds of loving fans- do not see but a fraction of a penny on those album sales. The reason this legislation is squirming its way through the cracks in our system is because many of the greedy, corpulent record companies are whining to Congress that they are only still making millions of dollars. To cut off the influence of these companies- which seems to grow virulently like weeds-there will need to be rallied support for homegrown, independent labels. Though this may sound like it is easier said than done, it is the only course of action that will effectively shrivel their massive egos. You just need a small supportive community, a handful of bands, a venue and some money for basic recording equipment. Just ask Ian MacKaye, who started his own label, called Dischord. He built it from the ground up, with little money, when he started his first band called Minor Threat in Washington D.C. in 1980.

               Legislation like this will continue to be proposed in the future- everyone must be vigilant and remain on their toes to always ensure that these acts are struck down indignantly.