“I feel like I can actually focus on other things now that I have finished it,” said Senior Hope Mueller. “I haven’t done any homework for any other classes the past two weeks.”

The time consuming paper is not only hard work for students but for teachers as well. They have the task of teaching high school students how to write and research at a college level.

“Their goal is to make their paper equivalent to a college-level paper. It’s a six week long process,” said English Teacher Vicki Cary. “It takes me about an hour to grade each paper. I have to check all of their sources. It’ll end up taking me 60 hours to grade all of the papers.”

During the six weeks the students have to do research on the topic and write about it without plagiarizing anything. This is one of the many things that they have learned how to do and how to put it all together.

“I would have to say the hardest part about the trend paper was being told I needed to restart it; getting knocked down and having to learn how to get back up again,” said Junior Jenna Lowell.  “Everything in the paper is so precise that it takes weeks to get correct.”

“The music was junk,” said Senior Charlie Weros. “I couldn’t even dance to it. I feel like last year the music was much better.”

As the night went on the DJ played different genres of music. Rap, Pop, and Country were the top three genres played.

“The music was good this year,” said Sophomore Haley Anderson. “It was loud enough. It got really good though at the end of the dance.”

While some students agree with Anderson, others thought that the music wasn’t as loud as it could be.

“It wasn’t as loud as I thought it would be,” said Senior Jake Kramber. “There was a lot of variety though.”

Some students’ music expectations weren’t met. However, most students agreed that their prom night was successful and a night to remember.

Junior Sandra Lao knows all about this website and describes it as a “dangerous addiction”.

“It’s definitely an extremely dangerous addiction. I can’t seem to get away from it. I’m worried I’ll end up spending all of my money,” said Lao. “I check mine from my phone or computer at least twice a day.”

Lao isn’t the only BHS student who is hooked on Wanelo. Freshman Madi Hulett also can’t quit her “Wanelo addiction”.

“Wanelo is amazing. All the clothes are so super cute and I can’t stop checking it throughout the day,” said Hulett. “Honestly Pinterest doesn’t even compare to it. Wanelo never gets old and it actually allows you to have the product.”

Many BHS students will admit that they’ve bought something off of Wanelo. For some, the product they ordered didn’t turn out the way they had planned.

“I ordered this super cute necklace. It had a pendant,” said Junior Katie Davis. “It was actually really cute but it really wasn’t my style. It was big and gaudy.”

Wanelo seems to have won over a lot of Pinterest users and it seems like it’s nowhere near on its way out of the online-networking world.

“I will never get sick of my Wanelo,” said Lao. “I got a really awesome phone case off of it.”

“I’m excited and sad. I’m sad to be done because now I have nothing to work on,” said Wycoff. “The exciting part though is that I get to drive it.”

Wycoff has always had a love for old trucks. He got his inspiration for restoring one from his uncle.

“My uncle has 6 to 7 of them. My favorite is his 1981 454 Chevy. I’ve always loved that body style,” said Wycoff. “I ended up wanting to restore a truck of my own. I told my uncle and it all started from there.”

Wycoff’s favorite feature of his truck is its brand new paint job. When he got the truck it had a rusty cab and was in need of a fresh coat of paint. Wycoff had never painted a truck before, but knew he wanted to do it on his own.

“The truck’s color is candy apple red,” said Wycoff. “I painted it myself. I’ve never had any lessons or professional help but it turned out great.”

His future plans for his truck is to drive it everyday except for in the Winter. He’s also planning on keeping it for a long time.

“I don’t want to drive it in the Winter because it might rust. I put a lot of time into that truck,” said Wycoff. “I plan on keeping it for awhile.”

“If I’m right, Pi Day is on March 14 and it celebrates the number Pi,” said Sophomore Carl Sones. “I don’t have any plans, so I’ll celebrate it by being aware of the holiday.”

According to Top Technology News, Pi day was first celebrated in 1987 by Larry Shaw at the San Francisco Exploratorium. Pi day was made into an official holiday by the government in 2009.

“To celebrate Pi Day, I eat pie or I don’t think about it at all. Isn’t that terrible?” said Mathematics Teacher Carlton Urdahl. “It’s just another date, for crying out loud.”

Favorite ways to celebrate the holiday around BHS include eating pie, memorizing as many digits from the number as a person can, and doing math problems involving the number.

“I have, like, ten digits from the number memorized,” said Junior Whitney Nyholm. “Maybe on Pi Day, I’ll try memorizing a few more.”

Photos By Jack Flesher

“My favorite part about America is the freedom. Back home, we have a lot of parental and governmental control,” said Rojtavornpornsuk. “I don’t like the snow though, and I don’t like McDonald’s very much.”

Both girls agree that the food in America isn’t very healthy and both have gained weight since arriving here. They also agree that the snow is a great aspect of Minnesota, but it’s not their favorite thing.

“One of my least favorite parts is how everyone burps out loud here. People in my country are like, ‘Oh sorry’, and here they just let it out,” said Lin.

In Lin’s home country of Taiwan, people fear that Americans are too racist. The people in Rojtavornpornsuk’s home country of Thailand, on the other hand, have a much different view.

“People in Thailand think Americans are cool because it’s a big country,” said Rojtavornpronsuk. “Everyone wants to be like Americans.”

Lin and Rojtavornpornsuk didn’t know each other when they stepped off their plane into Minnesota. Now they consider themselves sisters and will be in each other’s lives forever.

“I can tell her everything. We can share things,” said Lin.

“We’re like sisters,” said Rojtavornpornsuk.

After four long months for BHS’s hockey fans, the NHL lockout finally ended on January 5, 2013. The condensed and shortened season began on January 19 and consists of 48 games instead of the usual 82.

“It makes me feel wonderful that the NHL lockout ended,” said Social Studies Teacher Cindy Khalil. “I missed it a lot but it made me appreciate the NHL all the more.”

When 30 BHS students were asked how they felt about the end of the NHL lockout, 40% said they don’t watch NHL hockey. 26% said they are happy but it wasn’t the end of the world when the lockout started. 34%, however, can’t live without it.

“I’m a moderate fan. My husband, son, and sister in law are the biggest fans on earth,” said Khalil. “I really only go to the Excel Center to eat food and watch the game. My favorite part is the horns.”

Khalil is a season ticket holder for the Minnesota Wild. She plans on going to every game that her ticket doesn’t sell for.

Khalil, along with other students and staff at BHS, showed their support by wearing their Minnesota Wild gear after the lockout ended.

“I showed up to school the following week with my favorite Wild sweatshirt on,” said Weros. “It’s about time the lockout ended.”