“I enjoy that [NJROTC] teaches you discipline. It’s like a big family,” freshman Ryleigh Blanchett said.

Cadets can participate in various teams including the Unarmed Drill Team, Armed Drill Team, Rifle Team, Physical Training Team, Cyber Patriot and Color Guard. The members also participate in various military events such as the Military Ball.

The Military Ball will be held Feb. 18, in honor of the Navy’s 237^th birthday, Blanchett said.

However, NJROTC is not just about socializing. It’s about building skills that will be useful later in life, especially to those seeking a career in the military.

“We offer opportunities for members to make friends and have a sense of belonging,” Master Chief Robert Turner said. “It’s something to focus your time and energy on instead of homework. [But] the main goal of this program is to instill good leadership skills in cadets and to develop leadership skills.”

Currently, there are 125 students enrolled in the NJROTC program, including students from Rouse High School as well as Vista Ridge. Students interested in joining should see Warrant Officer Hulse or Turner in C410.

“This program is for anyone who wants to make new friends and become disciplined as well as organized,” Blanchett said.

“Within the first day of lacrosse practice, [Coach Richardson] got all of the lacrosse players to learn new things,” varsity captain, Trey Peavler said.

Coach Richardson was the varsity captain of the Coppell HS team, leading them to win the THSLL DII State Championship in 2009, and the team is hoping for the same this semester.

“Coach Richardson seems to know what he’s talking and has a general better understanding of the sport Lacrosse,” sophomore John West said. “I even think we are going to playoffs!”

With a new coach, come new exercises and techniques. West said that they have begun hardcore practices every day of the week, and they have been working on their passing, ground balls and a little technique called “wall ball.”

“Wall ball is when you throw the ball at the wall, and it has to bounce back to you perfectly! It’s like your perfect best friend,” Peavler said.

The first game is on Saturday, February 18, against Vandergrift HS. Varsity play from 5- 6:30pm and JV will follow at 7- 8:30pm.

 “[Students] should come and support us,” West said. “Everyone loves a little extra support!”

“We are trying to make the biggest impact, and we thought this would be a good way to impact all parts of the school,” sponsor Cheryl Pitt said. “We [are trying to] set an example for other schools that this is important and doable.”

To become an eco-friendly campus Environment Club must undergo the establishment of a committee, an audit, obtaining recommendations to become more eco-friendly  and implementing as many of the recommendations as the budget can handle, including better pest control and indoor air quality;  all of these will take at least one full semester.

“We need to complete the audit, fix the issues found, educate the school and a few other steps,” vice president Jordan Pitt said. “It could be positive [for the student body], but most probably won’t know we’re doing the audit.”

Although Environment Club is only campus wide, the club urges those beyond the campus to help with the auditing process.

“We need to include community members, parents, administrators and other teachers along with the student body as a whole,” Cheryl Pitt said.

 “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

Trunk or Treat is a safe way for children of all ages to go Trick or Treating without the dangers that come with the night of Halloween.

Several school clubs and organizations, including R.A.D.D., Stu-Co, the football team, the Star Steppers, P.A.L.S., the cheerleaders and many more will volunteer their trunks to be filled with assorted candy.

“It’s a safer way for kids to get candy,” senior Derin Oduye said.

“We’re really excited for playoffs, and we think we have the chance to go a long way,” junior Amanda John said.

This is the third time the team has made playoffs. The team plays its first game on either Oct. 31 or Nov. 1. Their opponent is still undetermined.

“The seniors really want to leave a strong legacy,” senior Fran Whitworth said. “And this is their chance to do it.”

“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.”