A chemistry lab is still under construction in the new addition. The new wing will have special features such as a sunlight porch and rooftop garden. Teachers should start moving into their new rooms this May. (Zach Praiss)

The new science wing, located on the top floor of the three-story building, will feature biology and chemistry classrooms and labs.  New hallways will also contain lockers and a couple of study spaces that overlook the quad.

Physics classrooms, other classes and the science office will be located in the old but refurbished area that is the current science wing.  These renovations are set to take place during the summer.

A new aspect to the biology space is a sunlight porch and a roof greenhouse for growing space.  Biology classes could utilize these areas for labs, personal projects and clubs for activities necessitating the aid of earth’s primary energy source.

“We’re going to definitely do some stuff to utilize the green house,” AP Chemistry teacher Nathan Peck said.
AP Biology teacher Sally Lazaroff has a strong interest in using the greenhouse for class work and possibly extracurricular activities.

“The greenhouse is probably the most exciting element of the new building,” Lazaroff said.  “I am looking forward to using plants as model organisms in studies of cell biology, genetics, evolution and ecology.”

Peck is also excited about the arrangement of the classrooms, as he will get to watch his favorite sport, baseball, from the large windows in his room.

The chemistry rooms are certainly an upgrade from the current classrooms. There is a large lab space with high ceilings and new ventilation lines. The drawers for lab materials are more abundant for better organization of materials, which is quite an obstacle for current AP Chemistry students.

The additional utilities such as a vacuum line will allow for a wider variety of labs to be performed in both the AP and sophomore Chemistry courses.

“Part of the cool things is the coziness of the classroom,” Peck said.   “Then you come out to lab and the ceilings are vaulted, unfinished and a lot more spacious.”

Lazaroff also enjoys the split classroom/lab design.

“We can move tables and chairs in the new classroom for better interaction and discussion and leave experiments to run in the lab for as long as it takes,” Lazaroff said.  “Students would be welcome to come in to the lab to make up work, or replicate an experiment while another class is going on in the classroom.”

Another neat addition is the natural lighting system that reflects sunlight through glass for light.  These lights can be dampened and turned off.  The building is not only better designed, but it is also more environmentally conscious.

Since the teachers of the science department constructed the plans for their new wing, they have maximized the project’s success and reduced any negative aspects that may have come from changing classroom arrangements.

“We designed it ourselves for doing what we want to teach,” Peck said.  “The rooms are set up really nice for doing science.”

In mid to late May, current science students will move chemistry and biology equipment into the nearly finished rooms.

Except for a few more finishing touches, the rooms are nearly complete.

A few counter tops are missing, walls need painting and some lab equipment still needs to be installed, but even at first glance, the new rooms look like they will ignite students’ interest in science.

Peck is also very enthusiastic about the new science wing era: “It’s going to be awesome.”

For photos of the new building and science classrooms, click here.

The boys’ varsity golf team looks forward to an exciting 2011 season.  While the team consists of only one senior, the young talent should prove helpful for developing throughout the season and into the future.

Sophomore Chris Cho gazes at his tee shot as it flies down the fairway. 2010 was a growing period for Cho, who is now ready to become a leader. (Globe Archives)

Since last year, the varsity team suffered four losses of senior players in Ryan Roth, Tommy Hummel, Eitan Kantor, and Corban Holtzman.  Will Rosenfeld will also be missed this year after suffering a broken arm.

The new varsity players who are mostly juniors and sophomores will have to step up if the team wants to accomplish the goals set by varsity coach Chris Moody.

“In conference matches I would like to be competitive in all matches and hopefully go .500 in the conference,” Moody said.  “In non-conference matches we hope to go at least .750 and defend our titles in the Clayton Best Ball and Affton Scramble.”

The current varsity team has nine definite golfers in senior Jack Hodapp, juniors Davis Biermann, Connor Flood, and Jeremy Beaudette, and sophomores Chris Cho, Andrew Tankersley, Adam Belsky, David Androphy, and Curran Conradi.

The young nature of the team allows Moody to look toward the positive future for his golfers.

“Obviously we are younger than we have been in the past but I feel good about the nucleus of players we have for this season and the next two or three years,” Moody said.  “Our conference schedule is challenging but this gives us the opportunity to play in pressure situations and be a better team because of these experiences.”

While often under the radar of the student body, the maturing golf team should draw more attention as they achieve more success.

A few players in particular are important to the high achievement the golf team expects for the future.

“Chris Cho is our returning Varsity player from last year who has made significant strides in his ball striking skills and should be a big part of our success this year,” Moody said.

Moody also has faith in Tankersly, Androphy, and Hodapp for providing to the team’s current and future success.
Golf is largely a sport involving concentration, strategy, and patience.

When an individual athlete applies these traits, they will be par for the course.  When the team has this mentality, they can be sure to compete against even the toughest of competition.

With so many young, talented players, the CHS golf team has much to look forward to in the future optimistically involving conference, district, or even state championships.  Hopefully the team’s success will attract more attention to the sport, gaining student support and interest.

Sophomore Dan Zeng leads fellow Chinese students in tai chi lessons. (Hongling Zhang)

At the restaurant, students observed how the Chinese celebrate their New Year through a wide variety of hands-on activities.

Some of the activities included calligraphy, making decorations with paper cutting, origami, making dumplings, practicing tai chi, learning to use chopsticks, and observing a kung fu master’s display of martial arts.

In addition, students put on a talent show with Chinese songs and music.  The entire day was packed full with comprehensive activities to enhance the Chinese learning experience.

“The students learned the activities from each other and had a chance to talk to students from different grade levels,” Chinese teacher Hongling Zhang said.  “It’s a celebration of the Chinese new year as well as the community learning.”

Another part students were able to enjoy was the lack of paper work that often turns students off from the idea of out of classroom work.

However, many of the higher-level students set up stations for others to experience and get a signature to confirm they completed the activity.

“It worked out really well and the students loved the activities,” Zhang said.  “The food was fantastic, of course, and I would like to continue to do this in the future, with some variations.”

The field trip proved successful in educating students about the culture of China and allowing them to enjoy themselves while learning.

“Going to Lulu’s Chinese restaurant really showed me a lot about the Chinese culture and people who are descended from the culture,” Chinese scholar Max Redeker said.  “This opportunity to go to Lulu’s motivated me to learn more about the Chinese culture, and I plan on expanding my knowledge of their culture.”

Fellow student Lily Niswonger echoed Redeker’s positive reflection.  She took what she learned such as origami from the day and shared it with family and friends.

“After the field trip, I folded another flower for my mom and dad, and I taught my friends and younger sister how to write and say the word ‘rabbit’ in Chinese,” Niswonger said.  “Overall from my cultural experience, I had a really great time and I learned a lot about Chinese culture.”

The trip to Lulu’s fueled junior Jonathan Shumway’s interest for Chinese customs.

“The field trip experience enhanced my understanding of Chinese ethnic culture and tradition,” Shumway said.  “Due to this experience, I plan on celebrating Chinese holidays more regularly so I can appreciate Chinese cuisine and the Chinese way of life that has been practiced for thousands of years.”

Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell spoof the buddy movies in "The Other Guys". (Used with permission of Columbia Pictures)

Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz, played by Ferrell and Walberg respectively, are at the bottom of the police force barrel.  The full of extent of their job is doing paperwork for the more popular and traditional cop pair Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson).

However, when Danson and Highsmith die on the job it is Gamble and Hoitz’s turns to step up.  They take on a minor missing permit case that becomes more and more complicated the closer they get to solving it.  Through this case, Gamble and Hoitz become better people and better friends.

For this feature film to become a hit, it needed to fill the criteria for a good action movie as well as a good comedy.  Shooting scenes, high speed chases, explosions, and hand-to-hand combat are all well choreographed to be suspenseful as well as funny.

Special effects were not over-used, a common issue in many recent motion pictures.  The witty dialogue, plot and character development keeps the audience interested without a need for overly dramatic explosions.

The first and foremost reason that The Other Guys is better than any other comedy of its type is that it is not a parody.  Many comedies rely on poking fun at classic and popular movies and adopt a similar plot.  With an original script, the jokes are hardly necessary to make this movie a hit.

However, writers Adam McKay and Chris Henchy enhance the experience using many different elements of comedy.  Despite some use of cruel language and adult content, this movie could be appealing to anyone looking for a fun way to spend an hour and a half.

Garfinkel has led the team in scoring with 81 goals already this season.  He will be the team’s key to success in post season play for a conference, district or state title.  However, Garfinkel is far from the most important part of the team.  He has a supporting cast of competent swimmers that aid him in his final season at CHS.

Six other players, male or female as water polo is a coed sport, assist Garfinkel in the pool during a game.  One of these six is sophomore Alex Yepez.  Yepez starts for the team and enjoys his experience as a part of the water polo club.

“My favorite part about water polo is passing and shooting,” Yepez said.  “Proper combinations of these concepts make for memorable and beastly goals.”  Although offense may be a more enjoyable part of the game, a successful water polo team has both a relentless offense and a shut-down defense.

The CHS offense is an “umbrella” formation.  There is a hole-man who sits in front of the opposing team’s goal.  Two wings, one on each side of the pool are apart from each other on either sides of the goal.  Two drivers are also in position on the sides of the pool, ready to swiftly swim down towards the goal to receive the ball.

The wings can pass up to the hole-man or the drivers.  If the drivers do not receive the ball, they return back towards the middle of the pool and essentially switch positions with the wings.  The team looks to for a set, passing up to the hole-man, so he can shoot and preferably score.

The defense is much less organized, but still effective.  Each guard simply swims with his opponent, man to man, to attempt to keep him from shooting, passing, or receiving a pass.  It is essential that each defender guards one offensive player or else somebody will become open to pose as a threat of scoring.

“The most difficult part about water polo is endurance,” Yepez said.  “A good water polo player must be able, more or less, to swim quickly for 20 minutes straight. It is challenging to guard very fast offensive players and to get around quick defenders.”

Teamwork is an important part to water polo as it is much more difficult to maneuver in water as opposed to on ground.  The team aspect to the game was lacking at first to the Clayton club, but they have gotten better as the season moves along.

“The team is moderately successful because of the determination and hard work all team members put in as well as the leadership and skill exhibited by our strongest players,” Yepez said.  With the end of the school year approaching, districts for all spring sports is not far off.

The water polo team hopes to immortalize themselves by putting a plaque up on the walls of CHS.  Yepez has high aspirations for his team while looking towards the future.

“I think the team will do well in districts because we have improved a lot since the beginning of the season,” Yepez said.  “We now go harder and cooperate better. These attributes will lead us to some success.”

A swimmer comes up for air during a butterfly stroke in a race. The butterfly stroke is the most difficult stroke to master, but one of the most graceful strokes when performed correctly. (Thalia Sass)

According to the USA Swimming Foundation, there are nine deaths from drowning each day in the United States. These are not due solely to freak accidents, but simply unsupervised children who are unable to swim.
Swimming as a survival skill is simple physics. Humans are made up of 95 percent water. This means that only 5 percent of a person’s mass will sink in a large body of water due to the force of gravity. This allows the body to float near the surface of the water, but not on top of it.
To stay up, one must push themselves up with their hands or feet to counter the gravitational force. This repetitive action is known more commonly as swimming.
Swimming for racing or exercise is slightly more complicated. To move forward, a force must be applied to help the body accelerate from rest in a certain direction. This is more than possible with knowledge of Isaac Newton’s third law. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
“Push back on the water as hard as you can and it pushes you forward with an equal force,” physics teacher Gabriel De La Paz said. “Also, you need to reduce drag. This can be achieved by shaving your legs.”
Drag is a force that opposes motion and will reduce a person’s velocity while swimming. These precious seconds cannot be spared when racing against opponents at a swim meet.
Swim competitions include four different types of strokes in which swimmers are successful depending on how fast they are in the water while using a particular type of stroke. The strokes used at high school meets are freestyle, breast stroke, back stroke and butterfly.
“Butterfly is the most difficult stroke because of the major strength needed to maintain consistency,” said sophomore Alex Yepez, a varsity swimmer. “However, it is almost impossible to perform a slow butterfly stroke.”
The butterfly is the most complicated of all the strokes and difficult to learn. The correct form is kicking your legs with a whipping motion as if they were a dolphin’s tale. The arms are used for pushing back the water simultaneously with the big kick. A small kick fits in while resting and resetting the upper body and gliding through the water.
The freestyle stroke is the most basic swimming maneuver. A swimmer would have legs straight back with toes pointed, kicking up and down the entire time. The arms move in a windmill type motion, alternating with each pull of the water. About every three strokes, the swimmers head would come out of the water on the opposite side as the arm that is coming out of the water.
The stroke Yepez feels he travels the slowest with is the breaststroke. This stroke resembles a frog swimming through water. The arms and legs are drawn in close to the torso, bending at the elbows and knees. The legs are thrust outwards and then drawn back in quickly. The arms push forwards and then circle back to the starting position. This will allow the swimmer to rise up out of the water for a breath. This motion is then repeated after gliding for a short distance.
The final stroke that the swim teams use for competition is the backstroke. This stroke is basically the same as freestyle, but while floating on a swimmer’s back. The legs are straight with toes pointed for constant up and down kicking. The arms once again circulate in a windmill motion that is opposite to the rotation in freestyle. Coming up for breaths during this stroke is not necessary as the swimmer’s face will be out of the water the entire time.
The members of the swim team is each able to perform all four of the strokes.
So far, according to Yepez, the team is “better than last year.” This year’s team has four wins with seven more meets to go. The team is coached by Wally Lundt who has instructed them with a bit of his own scientific instruction.
Yepez remembers a crucial piece of advice for all swimmers who race: “When you are doing a stroke, it is important to ‘catch the water’ with closed hands. This reduces the energy you have to use for your hands when they are under water.”