“Connally is the team that Coach [Kristin] Stone coached before she came to coach here,” senior Paige Oliver said. “I think that will give us a great advantage in the game. We will have to really focus and make sure we listen to every tactic Coach gives us in preparing for our game on Tuesday.”

The team finished the season with a district record of 4-3-3, earning them third in the district.

“Our ability to get past our struggles has brought [the team] closer together and helped us to understand each other,” senior Ashley Lee said. “That makes us play well as a team.”

This year is Stone’s first season as head coach of the varsity team.

“Coach Stone has changed the program by really getting to know each player as a person and not just as a soccer player,” Oliver said. “She understands us extremely well and set her standards high from the start.”

The team started the season hoping to match its playoff run last season, in which it lost to Frisco Wakeland in the state championship game.

“Starting out our season with a completely new team was hard at first because we didn’t yet know each others’ strengths and weaknesses,” Lee said. “But now that we have been playing for a while, we all move well together.”

Though two starting seniors are out due to injury, the team hopes it can overcome adversity and make a successful playoff run again this year.

“Things have changed a lot since last year, and we have to put in more effort and work harder for what we want to achieve,” Oliver said. “We all have one goal in mind, and we know what it takes to accomplish that goal.”

“We really pushed the ball for the fast break, and we did really well on the free throw line,” senior center Chinwe Duru said.

The girls defeated McCallum in the first round of playoffs 77-11, the largest margin of victory in the first round. The girls are now 31-2 on the season and ranked ninth in the state.

“[Head Coach Mike Martin] and the rest of the coaching staff prepare us for each game by having us focus on that one game, and taking it one game at a time,” junior forward Rachel Purl said. “He doesn’t let us get ahead of ourselves.”

Tonight, the girls face Boerne Champion, who advanced to 27-7 with its win over Schertz Clemens Monday.

“We’ve tried to work out every possible scenario their offense could come up with,” Duru said. “It’ll be a tough game, especially if we don’t come in playing the best we can.”

With an undefeated district record and only two regular season losses, the team’s goal is to have a run for the state title.

“The further into playoffs [we get], each win is dependent on the number of possessions you get and who executes the best,” Purl said. “We hope to make the school proud by competing in the most professional and sportsmanlike way possible.”

The game tonight starts at 7:00 at Wimberly High School.

 “I’m researching animal science, determining the affects of different pH levels on Daphnia. Daphnia are small fish without a backbone,” freshman Caitlin Valley said.

Freshman in pre-AP biology are studying and writing research papers for their projects, which account for a huge part of their grade. For some, it’s a bit of a challenge just getting started.

“It was hard time finding subjects that were willing to come to my house to be tested for how music affects a human’s heart rate,” freshman Jacklyn Halversen said.

Out of 200 participants, only 60 can advance to regional’s.  Students not only work hard to earn a good grade, but to better understand and explore our own environment.

“I learned about the affects of acid rain on our aquatic life and that we must be careful about the pollution of our water,” freshman Caitlin Valleys said.

“The garden is so dirty that no one notices it,” Oduye said. “So we’re going to clean that up and plant new trees and put our name on it.”

The event will be publicized by KXAN and Hill Country News and follows Oduye’s previous DECA project, which was a two-day period in which the cafeteria workers didn’t clean the tables in the cafeteria.

“We were surprised at the outcome,” Oduye said. “Everyone kept the cafeteria pretty clean.”

Keen on Clean is Cedar Park’s initiative to keep the city clean while conserving resources and promoting public involvement. The city’s website states the program is meant to “instill community pride and increase participation in the green knowledge and other environmental activities year round.”

DECA has made it a point to bring this message into the school environment.

“I want to get across the message that what we are living with is the result of human choices,” Oduye said. “We can change by making wiser choices.”

Students interested in Keen on Clean should visit its Facebook page and take the pledge to be Keen on Clean.

Pumpkin Spice Latte – To get your taste buds into Fall, try the delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte for only $4 at your local Starbucks.  If pumpkin is not your thing, try the  Salted Caramel Mocha for a salty-sweet treat. http://www.starbucks.com/

The Turkey Trot – On Thanksgiving morning join people of all ages from around the city for the  kids K, the  five-mile run or the one-mile walk starting at the Long Center downtown. Burn off some calories before the big meal. http://thundercloud.com/index.php/trot

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – Gather around your T.V. Thanksgiving morning to watch the 85^th annual parade. This year the parade features our own district’s Vandegrift Legacies at 8 a.m. http://social.macys.com/parade2011/?cm_mmc=VanityUrl-_-parade-_-n-_-n#/home

Zilker Tree Lighting– On Dec. 4 at 6 p.m., gather around the famous tree for a timeless Austin tradition. http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/zilker/zhttree.htm

New Year’s Eve movie – On Dec. 9, celebrate the coming of the New Year with more than 20 internationally-known stars for a movie  that will get you pumped up for 2012. The movie is rated PG-13. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598822/

“The test was developed by the Texas Education Agency, in collaboration with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and Texas educators with a focus on increasing post-secondary readiness of graduating high school students,” assessment coordinator Lisa Coats said.

The STAAR tests will replace TAKS testing as the exit-level testing program and will count as 15 percent of each student’s year-end grade for each course for which a STAAR test is required. The STAAR tests are more difficult than TAKS, and students must meet the performance standard set by the state to pass each course.

“I think the STAAR test will be more effective than TAKS because it will measure what a student has learned in their core classes that year instead of a culmination of what they have learned over several years,” Coats said.

With the STAAR tests, courses that require an EOC exam will require a midterm semester exam; no exemptions will be permitted on these exams, as outlined in House Bill 3 of the Texas Legislature.

“When I heard we couldn’t have exemptions, I was kind of disappointed,” freshman Danielle Darrow said. “I was looking forward to not having to take [finals] if we knew the curriculum well enough already.”

The tests are aimed at encouraging students to especially focus on the end-of-year tests, something the state feels students did not do with TAKS.

“I think the STAAR test should make students take their core courses more seriously and work harder to learn the material taught in the class,” Coats said. “I hope students will take it seriously and work hard to do their best.”

For more information, including a list of courses which require STAAR tests:

Leander ISD’s Star Testing Information Page

“If Scott could talk, I know exactly what he’d say,” Neill said. “He’d say that he loves each and every one of you. But I know he’d also say, ‘don’t do what I did.’”

Neill recounted the night of May 15, 2010, the last night he spoke to his son before his accident, which was caused by texting and driving.

“Tell me a text that’s that important,” Neill said. “Tell me a text that’s worth dying for.”

As part of senior rotations Wednesday, DECA, Student Council and HOSA partnered with Allstate Insurance to bring Neill back for a second annual presentation on the dangers of texting and driving. The presentation featured Neill and Allstate agent Deedee Biscoe.

“Texting is the main form of communication among teenagers,” Biscoe said. “You may not know car crashes are now the number one killer of teenagers.”

Distracted driving has become an epidemic in recent years. Biscoe said 23 people a day die because of distracted driving, and driving while texting is equivalent to drinking four beers. Eighty percent of all crashes are due to driver inattention within three seconds of the crash.

These statistics, coupled with the fact that 82 percent of teenagers admit to texting and driving, make distracted driving one of the leading causes of car accidents.

“The presentation made everyone think about what they’re risking when they text and drive,” senior Hadley Lewis said. “Something as simple as texting and driving can end a life.”

Director Dona Dye said “The Tempest” is a play that has delighted audiences for almost 400 years and is regarded by almost all scholars to be Shakespeare’s last complete work. Ultimately, “The Tempest” is a play about magic.

 ”It is a series of illusions that dissolve into reality,” Dye said. “It’s about the destruction of power, the madness of revenge and the possibility of human redemption through magic and love.’”

Sophomore Cassie Brawner, who plays Lord Adrian, said it was hard to memorize Shakespeare.

“It was their language which is completely different from how we talk today,” Brawner said. “I play Lord Adrian. I think they cast me [a male lead] because I am flexible with characters, and they thought I was mature enough to play the part.”

With 50 hours of rehearsal after school and on weekends, the cast along with the crew and tech theater classes that constructed the sets have prepped for opening night for more than a month.

“The whole cast is coming together and putting on a great show for everyone,” junior Spencer Lane said.

Lane said the director made a couple of adjustments to the play to make Shakespeare’s diction a little easier to understand.

 “I really like this play because you really get in depth with the characters and you become the characters, which is really cool,” Lane said. “Shakespeare is meant to be acted, not read in a desk.”

“We had a great week of practice and were focused all week on the task at hand,” senior wide receiver Chris Schneider said.

The game was a defensive struggle, with each defense having two interceptions, and the only points coming from two field goals by Chris Nichols. Linebackers Mason Thom and Jamison Geracci led the team with 16 and 14 tackles each, respectively. Senior Cooper Foster also had two sacks.

“The defensive staff’s goal is to be the best defense in the district,” senior Ricky Anciola said.  “With that being said, there is a standard of effort and pursuit of perfection that we are always trying to achieve. This standard pushes all of the defensive players to excel every game, and this has been showing on the field. “

Senior quarterback Blake Estes completed 10 passes for 141 yards, 44 of which came on a screen pass to Schneider.

If there was an offensive silver lining, it was the running game. Blake Estes had 17 attempts for 70 yards, and sophomore running back Stedman Mayberry had 10 runs for 51 yards. All in all, five backs combined for 162 yards on 34 attempts.

 “We’re not so individualistic this year, and it’s more team-oriented,” Schneider said. “We still need to learn how to finish games and to be more enthusiastic at practice.”

The team improved its record to 2-3 with Friday’s win.

The team plays cross-town rival Cedar Park tonight at Gupton. Cedar Park is 4-1, with its only loss coming to a much-improved Westwood squad. Still, Cedar Park is ranked 41^st in the state.

“Cedar Park is very well coached team overall,” senior Ricky Anciola said. “The strength of their offense is definitely the quarterback position. He runs the offense really well, and we are going to have to stop the run. Offensively, we are going to have to make plays and be consistent.”

The team hopes the season will be better than last year, and is preparing for another playoff run.

“The team chemistry we have is very impressive,” Anciola said. “We all support each other in all aspects and have bonded through all the hard work.”

1. If you have not already, register and take the SAT and ACT college entrance exams.

SAT Testing Dates

 Go to collegeboard.org to register.

ACT Testing Dates

 Go to actstudent.org to register.

 If you qualify for free or reduced lunch, go see your counselor and get a free testing waiver.

2. Apply for scholarships.

Some popular scholarship websites are:

Fastweb.com is a very helpful website to find scholarships that are specialized to your academic interests. It gives you a brief summary of the scholarship and requirements, along with what it’s worth. A link to the scholarship application is also posted. 

Finaid.org has a lot of helpful resources including a college calculator to calculate tuition costs, loan payments, savings, ect. 

ScholarshipExperts.com is much like Fastweb.com.

3. Attend the Junior/Senior parent night on Sept. 22, at 6:30 p.m. so your parents can learn all there is to know about college applications and scholarships.

4. Attend the College Fair at Leander High School on Thursday, Sept. 29 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

5. If you are an athlete, resister for NCAA.

Go to eligibilitycenter.org for the application. This is available to athletes for scholarships for their freshman year.

6. Apply to the universities you are interested in no later than Thanksgiving. Even if the deadline isn’t until February or March, it is best to get your application in early.

“The earliest bird does get the worm” in this case. The earlier the admissions office receives the application, the higher the chance of being accepted.

7. Obtain a FAFSA pin number with you parents.

Go to studentaid.ed.gov/complethefasfa and get your FAFSA pin number for easy log in when you complete your application in January.

8. After Jan. 1, 2012, you and your parents can complete the FAFSA application. However keep in mind that you (if you file for taxes) and your parents need to have your  1040 Tax Form to apply.   

At the start of the new year, apply at FASFA.ed.gov. Remember, you and your parents will need recent tax information.  

 With these eight tips in mind, you should be set to follow your college dreams.