According to ninth grade counselor Gabriela Murphy, the Ignite program is designed to help the freshman make a smoother transition from middle school to high school. Upperclassmen meet with the a group of five freshman and give activities aimed to help them learn how to make choices, deal with situations and make better grades. Last year was the first that the program was integrated in the school.

“There was marked improvement,” Murphy said. “We had fewer students sent to alternative and had fewer students failing.”

Even mentor sophomore Gianna Johnson has seen the effects of the program and the improvements made in the freshmen.

“I have seen a great difference with my group of freshmen this year,”  Johnson said. ”They’ve really become more mature over the past couple of months.”

The lessons taught by the mentors have helped to improve the freshmen’s grades and has encouraged them to seek extra help, according to mentor sophomore QuinTasia Jackson.

“Since we taught the STAAR lesson [which is a method of learning how to make better grades] my freshmen have brought their grades up tremendously,” Jackson said. “They actually started doing their howmework and going to tutoring.”

According to Murphy, the program has had a positive impact for the freshman thanks to the mentors.

“This year we’ve had great mentors who are serious about the lessons they do with the freshmen, ” Murphy said. “That has created a positive impact with the ninth graders this year.”

In order to spark interest, Kay recruited some freshman volunteers to help work the Academic Decathlon meet LHS hosted.

“We had 41 student volunteers working the meet, the majority being freshmen,” Kay said. “It was to allow them to see how the competition works.”

By recruiting the members as freshman, Kay hopes to slowly build a team and as each new class of freshman come in, continue to recruit in order to replace the graduating seniors.

“I want to start a young fresh team that could work their way up together,” Kay said. “This potentially gives them three years to compete in Aca-Dec.”

After seeing the need so an additional academic outlet besides UIL Academics, Kay hops to revive the Aca-Dec program for those who may not necessarily  be interested in science.

“I saw some students who were searching for another academic outlet to get into that isn’t science based,” Kay said. “Aca-Dec allows for a wide variety of academic interest.”

According to Kay, Academic Decathlon helps a student to learn and gain knowledge in a variety of subjects and gain life skills that are necessary for success.

“We’re trying to cultivate well rounded individuals that move into adult hood and independence,” Kay said.

Related Story: LHS Should be Embarrassed 

Which means only the very elite of schools’ teams can place, advancing to state, giving our school a slim chance to nab a prized spot.

Oh wait! We DID NOT even have a team compete. Forget about competing, we didn’t even have a team AT ALL.

Well, for the past TWO YEARS we haven’t had a team. It’s quite embarrassing to be the hospitable hosts of such a prestigious academic showcase, and yet have no one to compete.

This makes me wonder “Why aren’t more people eager to be involved in the most honorable academic event in America?” Is it because we don’t have any students capable enough or intellectuall enough to compete? Is it because we don’t have the adequate tools to compete with other schools? NO! It’s because the emphasis on education has diminished and been left to rot in the shadows of other things.

However, after speaking to a reliable source, my preconceived notations of Aca-Dec have been earth shakingly shattered and in the ashes are left my new discoveries of this wonderful academic opportunity. Unlike UIL Academics, which focuses on one specific event like math or social studies, Aca-Dec gives the competitor a chance to excel at a wider range of subjects. This gives students multiple opportunities to finally get that ‘earning-a-gold-star-from-the-teacher’ feeling and achieve academic success.

Academic Decathlon’s preceeding reputation of having several academically inclined students, all hovered over tests in the library, furiously scribbling away, doesn’t help to ward off any negative connotations. On the team of nine, the top three are referred to as the “A” students, with GPA’ s of 3.75-4.0, the next three, “B” students, with GPA’s of 3.74-3.0 and the final three, the”C” students, with GPA’s of 2.99 or less, according to Aca-Dec standards.

Aca-Dec provides an opportunity to give students something to be a part of and in a social environment like high school, being part of a group is vital to surviving. Aca-Dec helps to bridge the transition from ‘big dog’ status in middle school to ‘scanty fish’ status freshman year in high school. Students don’t necessarily have to be the valedictorian or prodigy to be able to excel in Aca-Dec.

Not only does Aca-Dec help to expand factual knowledge, but it also helps to form helpful habits that will allow someone to thrive in the ever changing jungle of the real world. There should be a stronger push to get students involved in such programs that help to facilitate the growth of our factual knowledge.

More importantly students need to pry their eyes away from Twitter, or watching the latest video of the laughing baby and invest themselves into soemthing that will not only potentially earn them scholarship money, but will also give them building blocks for the foundations for the rest of their life.

It’s no wonder America lags behind in education compared to other countries. We live in a country where more emphasis is placed on the adoration and aspiration of becoming the next Kobe Bryant or Chris Paul, and less on scholarly studies. Students have been brainwashed and spoon fed everything, and so when they are defenestrated* from the protective shelter of a school system into the real world, most shrivel up and fail.

(*defenestration:v; the act of throwing someone or something out of a window)

Students fail to see the long term benefits that programs like UIL Academics and Academic Decathlon offer. We live in a world where instant gratification is a best friend and it’s about crossing the finish line rather than the journey it to took to get there.

Related story: Kay Hopes to Build Aca-Dec

“For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat to this country,” said Obama in the opening paragraph of the speech. “Most of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban’s momentum has been broken.”

From that high note attention was soon turned to the economic collapse, and what could be done to salvage the poor state of the country. The president spoke enthusiastically about the economy, and insisted that the state of the Union is growing stronger, not weaker.

His plan for the rebuilding of Wall Street drew applause from Democrats, but Republicans were hesitant to clap as Obama praised the auto bailouts that Republicans have come to resent. Obama called for more regulation of business that left a bad taste in the mouths of the more conservative congressmen. His focus on bringing jobs back to America, however, brought praise from both sides of the aisle as he spoke about new tax reforms for citizens and companies.

“My message is simple,” said Obama. “It’s time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America. Send me those tax reforms, and I’ll sign them right away.”

Obama continued to emphasize the need for domestic industrial growth, as well as creating more American jobs, and used the need of preparing Americans for these new jobs as a segue into educational reforms. He spoke about the importance of teachers and how a good teacher can change a child’s life.

“Instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones,” said Obama. “In return, grant schools flexibility: To teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren’t helping kids learn.”

He went on to speak on tuition and how college could be made less expensive with cooperation between the states, students and colleges. From there the president tackled another tough political topic – illegal immigration.

While Obama has supported defending the border and keeping it locked down, Republicans believe his administration has been too lax on illegal immigrants who have made it into the U.S. already. Obama defended his policies and called for new immigration reform that would allow hardworking illegal aliens to earn their citizenship in the U.S.

“Let’s at least agree to stop expelling young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, and defend this country,” he said. “Send me a law that gives them a chance to earn their citizenship, I will sign it right away.”

Continuing on the theme of job creation, Obama encouraged the development of clean energy and wasting less money by developing the resources America already has. He laid out plans to lower spending of manufacturing plants that produce energy by 100 billion dollars. He also talked about the need to drill for oil and natural gas in America, instead of depending on foreign oil from Middle Eastern countries.

Along with development of new industries, Obama stressed a need to speed up construction projects that would boost the economy by creating thousands of jobs for Americans.

“During the Great Depression, America built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. Democratic and Republican administrations invested in great projects that benefited everybody, from the workers who built them to the businesses who still use them today,” he said, continuing on to detail his plan for building. “In the next few weeks, I will sign an Executive Order clearing away the red tape that slows down too many construction projects.”

President Obama talked about protecting the environment but reducing outdated and foolish regulations that hinder businesses and industries. But he made it very clear that he would not back down from regulations that would keep another oil spill, such as the incident with BP oil two years ago, from happening again.

Industrial companies would not be the only ones faced with new regulations, however, and Obama heavily emphasized that Wall Street would not play by its own rules, and that it would face new regulations and restrictions that would keep its behavior in check. This drew great ovation from Democrats but again left Republicans, who worry that the government will take too much control over the business sector, sitting in their seats.

Obama called for more responsibility from the financial sector, and unveiled the creation of a Financial Crimes Unit with the task of hunting down fraud and crimes committed by financial firms. Along with the new unit he wants new penalties and legislation to punish firms that commit fraud and steal people’s money.

“We will also establish a Financial Crimes Unit of highly trained investigators to crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people’s investments,” said Obama. “This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.”

Speaking heavily on responsibility, Obama waded into rough waters with his goals and ideas on class taxation. Obama and the Democratic congressmen have more than once called for the rich to pay a higher percentage of taxes than the middle and lower classes. This stance has repeatedly angered Republicans, who believe the rich shouldn’t be forced to bear the nation’s  financial burdens on their own.

“Tax reform should follow the Buffet rule: if you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent on taxes,” said Obama, followed by an ovation from the Democratic congressmen.

Turning from the economic woes, Obama focused on a critical cornerstone of American life and politics – the military. He spread out his plans to strengthen the country’s military while cutting dollars spent on its maintenance, and brought applause from both Republicans and Democrats over the issue.

“I have proposed a new defense strategy that ensures we maintain the finest military in the world, while saving nearly half a trillion dollars in our budget,” he said. “ To stay one step ahead of our adversaries, I have already sent this Congress legislation that will secure our country from the growing danger of cyber-threats.”

Obama used the issue of the military to bring the speech back to where he started, and emphasized the importance of Americans working together and watching each others’ backs in these desperate times. As the 2012 election year drudges on, Obama’s plans hinge on the voters as they will weigh this speech and decide if he should have his way in the presidential election this November.

The House of Representatives’ controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate’s Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) have been going on in Congress for months and the purpose of these bills is to make it harder for sites — especially those located outside the US— to sell or distribute pirated copyrighted material such as movies and music as well as physical goods such as counterfeit purses and watches. These illegal acts have been a recurring problem throughout America for a while now because the Internet is worldwide. We are able to shop online and download free music from websites that are not necessarily ‘American’.

Since Wednesday, Jan. 18, certain websites were blocked, leaving many Internet companies outraged and millions of protesters expressing their freedom of speech and access to the Internet.

The censorship affects everyone, but especially teenagers because we are constantly on the Internet. Many people use the Internet worldwide and even though there are countries like Cuba where the internet is censored. With our phones we are able to access the Internet with a simple touch.

Right now, the 21st century is known for an unrestrained amount of technology and Internet use. We  receive most of our information on the Internet and I was angry when I found out the government would try to censor the Internet because it is not justified. And the government might go to extremes  by cutting off other different sites which I use more regularly. I pay for my Internet so I am authorized to browse any cites, and buy anything online of my liking.

However, I do agree that the government should try to do something to help prevent illegal merchandise being sold. It is unfair that some people go buy CD’s doing what is right, while others just receive free songs on the Internet. This goes with the socialist theory that if you do not have enough money, you can get what you want for free.

However, the common fact of life is that everyone needs to work hard in order to receive what they want. Songs and most of the illegal things that are being sold are not necessities of life like food or water, so if you cannot afford these luxuries, try something called self-restraint.  The new laws accomplished nothing but facilitating anger in the American people. Instead, the governement needs to find other ways of preventing illegal acts, rather than banning sites in order to make a change.

Both the girl’s and boy’s teams placed first and the whole team placed first overall against Pinetree and Nederland. Other goals were accomplished at Monday’s tri-meet, several swimmers earned their letterman jackets by qualifying in specific times. Freshmen Abby Yates, Matt Smithhart,  Jacob Morris, and juniors Marisa Willmon, and Desiderio Ramirez all qualified for their letterman jacket times.

According to swim coach Andy Stewart, the team is tired at this point in the season, but that hasn’t stopped some swimmers from improving their times.

“I thought the team performed fairly well.  It’s obvious the team is tired, but at this time of the season, they need to be tired,” Stewart said.

Chart showing TV ad spending in South Carolina ahead of the Jan. 21 primary by Super PACs on individual GOP presidential candidates. Los Angeles Times/MCT 2012

Just hours before the final GOP presidential debate last night, Rick Perry announced that he is dropping out of the race and has endorsed Newt Gingrich as his choice for the Republican nomination.

A struggling Perry came out strong in the beginning of the primaries, but after a few mishaps in the debates and lagging poll numbers, the Texas governor is hanging up his hat and heading home.

Perry concluded his finaldecision Wednesday night and made a call to Gingrich right before his press conference on Thursday morning. His support for Newt could possibly swing voters in South Carolina who take to the polls in two days.

“I have no question that Newt Gingrich has the heart of a conservative reformer, the ability to rally and captivate the conservative movement,” Perry said.

Perry plans to fly back to Austin for the weekend, and whether or not he will campaign for Gingrich will be decided after the SC primary, spokesman Ray Sullivan commented.

Meanwhile, Gingrich and Romney debated last night in Charleston, South Carolina – a big state for Republicans since no Republican nominee has won without winning this state. The elections will begin in two days as Republicans continue the grind to find just the right man for the job.

Many heard the news by early morning phone calls, text messages from friends or family or found out via Facebook.

“I woke up to a phone call from one of my friends,” senior Damaris Perez said. “I stayed quiet for a second because I couldn’t believe it.”

It wasn’t until Perez looked on Facebook that she finally convinced.

“Everyone was posting about Coach Outlaw and it finally sunk in,” she said. “I was very shocked.”

Junior Kirsten Kindred the stories were confirmed with one phone call.

“This morning my mom called our neighbor’s the McManus’s,” Kindred said. “I cried because he was such a great man and truly changed the lives of many boys.”

And Junior Bailey Watson said she was shocked by the news after reading about it on Facebook.

“I woke up to a newsfeed full of loving and supportive status breaking the news,”  she said. “My initial reaction was shock. I didn’t want to believe that such an inspiring and invincible man had passed away.”

According to local news sources, Outlaw, 58, collapsed in his home after his routine early morning jog and transported to Lufkin Memorial Hospital. An autopsy was ordered and official results are expected to show that Outlaw suffered a heart attack.

Outlaw began coaching in Lufkin 17 years ago, and according to those who knew him, his impact was more than just Friday nights and the score of a game.

“I don’t think it was the football victories that made him so inspiring,” Bailey said. “I think it was the way he coached and the way he carried himself.”
Kindred added, “Even if you didn’t know Mr. Outlaw, he smiled and said ‘Hi’ to everyone.”

Outlaw’s passion for not only the game of football but for his kids as well, earned him the support of the city.

“When Lufkin goes out of town to play,  all of Lufkin leaves to support the team and people are always ready to help the team with whatever they need,” Kindred said. “How many cities can say that?”

And many statements issued by Superintendent Roy Knight has included how he views Outlaw’s impact and role in Lufkin – “He was an icon.”

Many are expected to show more support for Coach Outlaw as evident in LISD opening the doors to the Lufkin Middle School Auditorium for the legendary coach’s funeral service scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday.

*Argentina: Children receive their presents on January 6th, known as “Three Kings Day”. On the eve of January 6th, Argentinian kids place their shoes outside the front door of their homes to be filled by the Magi.

*France: On Christmas Eve, children put out their shoes or wooden clogs called sabots, to be filled with gifts from Pere Noel. Pere Noel is said to travel with his  companion, Pre Fouettard, who reminds him how each child  behaved during the past year. On Christmas day, children find what they asked for along with fruits, sweets, and nuts.

*India: “‘Bade Din ki Mubarak”  is Merry Christmas in Hindi. India is a large, diverse nation of different languages, cultures, and religions. Christianity is also a minority, but Father Christmas or Santa Claus is held to be the giver of presents to only well behaved children from a horse and cart.

*Italy:  on January 6, Italian children await a visit from “La Befana”; according to the legend, while on their way to Bethlehem to visit the baby Jesus, the three wise men stopped during their journey and asked an old woman for directions. They then asked her to join them to meet the newborn, but Befana refused. She would refuse again to the traveling shepherds. Within a few hours the woman had a change of heart and wished she had gone to visit the Christ child. She is depicted variously as a fairy queen, a crone, or an ugly witch on a broomstick. Befana is said to be flying around ever since, looking for the Christ Child each year and leaving presents at every house with children in case he is there.