All posts by Katie Scott

Feature

Tips and advice for freshman year

Melody Norman

 

For those of you starting freshman year, you may think it is exciting and a new beginning because you can meet new people and join clubs. While others might think it is intimidating due to the late nights of homework, or walking onto the big campus.

“The scariest part of coming into O’Connor was not knowing my way around the campus,” sophomore John Locke said.

The school is a large campus, and the first few days can be very overwhelming, but there are maps all around that end up helping many students “I would have to say the best thing you can do is memorize where your classes are, and taking a picture of the map,” sophomore Maddie Schmitto said.

Even if you haven’t been to prep day, and you have not memorized the building, there is always administrators that would offer you help if you get lost. There are many things you can do to make your freshman year less stressful, including keeping up with your grades and doing your work that was given.

“What helped me was not procrastinating, and keeping up with my grades,’’ Locke said.

Work can eventually start piling up and it can be stressful, but there is plenty of time to get work done during school hours.

“The best time to get my homework done was during lunch, in the library (B102), as well as getting it done during tutoring,” Schmitto said.

Many teachers offer help in any way you need it whether it is the college tutors in the library or teachers that offer tutoring.

“The most helpful teachers were Mrs.Thornton my English teacher,” Locke said,
“If a student isn’t flagged by their teacher, and hasn’t flagged them- selves by the time Flexisched locks at 5pm the day before FLEX, I as- sign the student a place. The first place I fill is the computer labs. If students are near a computer or in a quiet computer lab they can still work even though they may not have found a place on their own through FLEX. The second place we fill is the library, and then after that, the Cafeteria. If the student’s teachers have open spots, I’ll flag them there too,” Thornton said.

Some students may also wonder what classes can override what other classes in order to flag a student that had already been flagged somewhere else.

“Core teachers will have priority days that go in alphabetical order. The first day of FLEX, English held the priority, the second day will be math, science, and then social studies,” Thornton said.

Thornton also states that if a teacher wants to flag a kid from another teacher, but neither have priority, the teacher who flagged the student first takes the priority.

If students or parents have any questions about FLEX, they can as their teachers or Mrs. Thornton in room B102.

Entertainment

Jazzed up: Students make Region Jazz band

Renee Alonzo

Jazz students on campus were thrilled at the results of the Texas Music Educators Association Region Jazz Ensemble auditions, which took place on September 14, 2019. Students prepared various jazz pieces to earn a top ranking and in turn earn a spot in the Region Jazz Ensemble, which is comprised of students from numerous schools and districts.

“Region Jazz pushes students to learn difficult music and become better musicians. Those that make the band get to perform with the best of the best in our region and across the state of Texas,” Jazz Director Michael Bradford said.

On campus, student musicians have made it into previous Region Jazz Ensembles. This year, students Jacob Chavez, Matthew Sepko, and Paul Schnoebelen scored seats in the 2019 All-State Jazz Ensemble among other musicians from schools all over Northside and region.

Participants were given their four pieces of music consisting of various Jazz styles and an improvisation guide to prepare for their auditions in late May, and their hard work paid off, although some pieces served as a challenge.

“Jazz, while it’s its own genre has many styles and sub-genres which the students are expected to demonstrate. This audition allows them to gain confidence, showcase their hard work and also evaluate themselves based on their peers and constructive comments from their fellow musicians,” Jazz Director Gabriel Valdez said.

The competition this year was intense and nerve-racking, as students must perform in front of other musicians of the same instrument, but according to saxophonist Schnoebelen, the key to overcoming nerves is to not be intimidated by other musicians.

“Being nervous is something that I have felt auditioning in the past, but, since I’ve improved through
the years, I’ve become less worried about the other competitors while I’m playing and more focused on just playing to the best of my ability,” Schnoebelen said.

Regardless of their placement, the jazz directors were proud of all students’ auditions. For some, this is their first year in the jazz program and their first time auditioning.

“This year as a program our goal is to build up our younger players and rebuild the stable of confident performers. For many students, this was their first jazz audition and for them to overcome the newness of this style of music is a feat to be proud of itself,” Valdez said.

All students who participated in the auditions left having learned more about themselves as musicians.

“Different students have different goals and we as directors have different expectations based on the student. For some, we are looking to see how they perform under pressure. Others we are looking for improvement from the previous year and for our top musicians we are looking for them to successfully perform at the highest level we know they can with the hope they make the region band,” Valdez said.

Students took inspiration from other professional jazz musicians when learning their etudes. “Jazz artists that inspire me are Wynton Marsalis, Lee Morgan, and Clifford Brown. I try to interpret their style into my playing which will help me grow as a musician,” Chavez said.

The jazz program is a stepping stone for student musicians who want to pursue jazz music as a career or continue after high school. It gives them a chance to get used to performing solos in front of an audience and to perform to the best of their abilities.

“I definitely see myself see myself doing gigs or shows after I graduate and I currently have no intention to stop playing music,” Schnoebelen said.

Now, students who made the Region Jazz Band will continue to practice their ensemble music in preparation for their concert on November 16, 2019.

Sports

Professional sports Fall line up

Kace Schermerhorn

  After three long months, the NBA will finally be returning on Fox, ESPN, and TNT programs,“I like it because it changes every game. No game is the same; my favorite player is Demar DeRozen [for the San Antonio Spurs],” junior Jaden Villarreal said. Villarreal also pointed out that the NBA is something that he has been watching since he was little, and it is better that the games are spaced out to not be a distraction, “I started watching basketball when I was little, and I watch the games more spaced-out; it depends on the scheduling.” The 2019-2020 season tipped off on October 22nd, 2019, after last seasons dramatic finish with the Toronto Raptors taking down the defending NBA Champions, the Golden State Warriors, 4 games to 2.

  This fall marked the 114th World Series Classic. The series features an American League and a National League team. This year, the Houston Astros will be representing the AL and the Washington Nationals will be representing the NL. The Astros beat the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. José Altuve hit a walk-off home-run in the bottom of the 9th to send the Astors back to the World Series for the second time in three years. The Nationals swept the Cardinals in the National League Championship series, advancing to the franchises first World Series.  The Nationals took games one and two in Houston, showing that they were not afraid to be the underdogs. After the first two games, which were played on October 22nd and 23rd, the series went to Washington, where the Astros won all three away games, which were played on October 25th, 26th, and 27th. On October 29th, the series headed back to Houston, where the Nationals definitively won, tying the series. Game seven was played on October 30th, 2019, with the Nationals winning 6-2. This was the first World Series championship won by D.C. since 1924 when they were known as the Washington Senators.

Entertainment

Fall entertainment: what to watch

Kace Schermerhorn

  Fall is a great time for new show releases; it’s when people bundle up and binge watch for hours and hours on end. This fall, Netflix, along with Hulu and Amazon Prime will be releasing several new shows, including premiering a few movies that have been out for a while. Hulu has also had some interesting releases this fall. On October 23rd, they released the second season of “Castle Rock.” The show is primarily horror set in the Stephen King multiverse. “Castle Rock” combines the storytelling of King’s best works, creating a very dark series. It prominently figures on King’s famous books, such as Cujo, The Dark Half, IT, and Needful Things. The show has had very positive ratings, having an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and received a four out of five star rating by Common Sense Media. The second season looks very promising and may surpass the first in views and overall rating.

  On October 17th, Netflix premiered “The Karate Kid” directed by Harald Zwart, starting Jaden Smith. The film is about a 12-year-old boy named Dre Parker who has moved to China due to his mother’s career path. Dre meets Mr. Han to help him improve upon his karate skills, as he wants to conquer the school bully, Cheng. Mr. Han teaches Dre all about Kung Fu so that he will be able to get the better of Cheng and prove to Mei Yeng, his school sweetheart, that he’s the one for her.

  Following that major release, Netflix will be broadcasting “The Bucket List” after they have removed it and released it several times. The movie, being released on Christmas Day in 2007 was directed by Rob Reiner and starrs Morgan Freeman as Carter Chambers (who is a car mechanic) and Jack Nicholson as Edward Cole (who is a billionaire). It’s about the two getting extremely ill and landing in the same hospital room. They have no relation to each other, but soon find out they are similar in the sense that they want to see and much as they can and do as much as possible before their deaths. Even though the doctor doesn’t agree with their choice, they leave the hospital and set out on an incredible journey together.

  In recent news, it was announced that “The Office” will soon be taken off of Netflix, roughly around the end of 2020. This sparked up a lot of controversy as it is arguably Netflixs’ most popular show. “My favorite show is ‘The Office,’” sophomore Grace Kallberg said. “I watch T.V. more because of the show, and I started watching it around 4 years ago.” The show aired in 2005 and ran until 2013 with 9 total seasons and 201 episodes within those seasons. Throughout its run, racking in millions of views and tons of loyal fans.

  Along with “The Office” being removed, “Pretty Little Liars” was removed from Netflix in late July. “My favorite show is Pretty Little Liars,” sophomore Jaymeson Hacker said. “I like the show because it’s a modern day mystery show, but I can also relate to the characters.” The show released its final season in June of 2017, after having a total of 7 seasons. It’s one in Netflix’ most watched shows, and fans are still wondering when, or if, the platform will bring the show back.

Feature

Students make memories at homecoming

Zelma Hernandez

Some of the highlights of the homecoming dance night were the new
and hot songs that everyone was able to dance to and enjoy, especially the Cupid Shuffle by the cupid singer. Students ran to the dance floor. Not to forget the romantic songs such as You Make It Easy by Jason Aldean, Despacito to by Justin Beiber and Luis Fonsi. When all the couples seemedto rush to the dance floor so they could slow dance together. For those people who didn’t enjoy dancing there were many fun mini-games scattered around the courtyard such as ring toss and corn hole. In addition to the perfect night, there were drinks and pizza for everyone to savor. Lastly, the main focus of homecoming is to have fun so it was very nice to see many smiling faces as well as people venturing outside their comfort zone and stepping onto the dance floor.

Homecoming week sparks a lot of anticipation for students, but for some students, that anticipation also comes with several decisions. It also is a great way for people to come closer as one and work together while also having fun.

“I thought homecoming was super fun especially since it was the first dance I’ve been to in a long time. For some reason I thought it was going to be super boring but I liked how we were able to go outside and chill in-stead of everyone being forced inside. The activities outside in the courtyard were fun, there was a beanbag toss and something similar to ring toss. I’ll definitely be going to homec

oming again next year. It’s a fun way to start your year,” junior Fernando Corona said.

Congratulations to the new Homecoming King Tyreke Lumpkin and Homecoming Queen Isabella Benavidez crowned on October 17, 2019. They were crowned on the football field in front of the crowd.

Sports

Playoff bound: Football second in district

Isaac Garcia

The regular season came to a victorious end with a win of 31-0 over the Falcons. Varsity football prepares now to go to playoffs on Saturday November 15, 2019 versus Reagan at 2 P.M.

Senior David Dodd made several smart calls in the rain as quarterback, preventing interceptions. The win brings our record to 8-1 in district, finishing the regular season as second in district.

Senior Zion Taylor led the team in with 117 yards gained with 3 touchdowns.

Photos by Ava Garvic

The team kept in good spirits even while freezing from the rain and chilly temperature.

“We really need to just keep driving down the field non-stop,” junior Gio Waller said.

With some of our strengths being able to get the stop the defense when the game is coming down to the wire and all we need is one good stop on the defense and we’ll be able to win the game.

“I’m super hyped to play these other games. It’ll be an in the moment thing where it’s now or never. Everyone wants to see us end the season with a win for the playoffs,” junior Carson Jones said.