Malewicki being crowned at Hanover Harvest Festival. Photo by Dave Malewicki.

Every little girl dreams of becoming a princess, but how many succeed? Through the royalty program, that dream came true for Buffalo high school Senior Alicia Malewicki. She was elected as Hanover princess in August 2010.

She applied in early July by mail, sending an application form and a picture.  Before being chosen, a tea party was held where all the candidates were interviewed by three judges. The judges picked a queen and a princess to represent Hanover. The results were announced at the sixth annual Hanover Harvest Festival in August, with Buffalo graduate Mackenzie Haight as queen and Malewicki as princess.

“I enjoy the responsiblilites of representing Hanover in a positive way,” said Malewicki. “We go to other communites and participate in their parades and festivals. We also volunteer at local nursing homes, serving them food and playing turkey bingo.”

This program gave Malewicki the challenge to step outside of her comfort zone. She described herself as not being the type of person to say, “Look at me! Look at me!” Being a princess made her more confident, and she is proud to say she is now an expert at walking in high heels. The intense interview process made Malewicki feel she is better prepared for future interviews.

Malewicki’s favorite part was meeting other girls with common interests. She enjoyed how the older girls showed the “newbies”  the ropes. Malewicki said, “At first I didn’t really know what I was doing, or what was expected of me. But the past princesses were always there to coach us through new experiences.”

Malewicki isn’t the only Buffalo student involved in this program. Others include Senior Sarah Randall as the Howard Lake princess and Junior Kala Czanscowski as the Montrose ambassador.

If you dream of being a princess, look for announcements about the royalty program on the monitors in early May. For more information, contact Jackie Heinz.

“Mrs. Raymond is so dedicated to our team,” reveals Junior Sam Kemp, a first year lawyer on the Varsity Defense. “She provides a lot of insight to help us with our material.”

Mock trial is quite literally, a mock trial. Students are lawyers or witnesses for prosecution or defense. Witnesses have direct examinations by the lawyer who represents them, and are crossed by lawyers from the other side. One team has members on both defense and prosecution, who compete against teams opposite them. So, the Buffalo defense goes against another town’s prosecution and vise versa. There are bailiffs who swear in the witnesses, and team members who keep time. The lawyers deliver openings and closings as well. The whole competition is done in front of one to three judges, usually they are actual lawyers, sometimes even judges.

Each year there is a new case that lasts throughout the whole year. Members get a large packet that has information about the case like the evidence, and all the witnesses’ testimonies. Students witnesses have to memorize all the information about the person they are representing, and lawyers have to memorize questions to ask the witnesses and objections.

“I joined mock trial because I want to be a lawyer later in life,” explains Kemp. “It also sounded like a lot of fun.”

The case this year involves a young student athlete who died of a steroid overdose. The plaintiff side of the case is affirming that the school and coach are at fault for his death because they didn’t know he was using, or if they knew, they didn’t stop him. The defense side is saying that it was his own decision to use, and if anyone should have noticed, it should have been his mother.

Mock trial has practice three to four days a week from 2:45 to 4:45 p.m. Their next tournament is January 16th, 2010 in Apple Valley at 7:30 a.m. The kids act serious in the courtroom but love to joke around and have a good time.

“Last year I was on the J.V. team,” says Junior Kat Randall, who is a defense witness on the Varsity team. “And we got to watch the Varsity compete for the first time and we were all really excited. Graham Wyatt was giving his closing, and he paused for dramatic effect, and someone on my team farted really loudly. It was hilarious, everyone was trying so hard not to laugh! For the rest of the year we called her The Big Rip.”

When we return to the halls of Buffalo High School it will be 2010. The celebration of the New Year is one of the oldest holidays in the world- it was first observed in Ancient Babylon, almost 4,000 years ago. The Babylonians correlated the New Year with the first New Moon.  Though their celebration lasted eleven days and occurred just after spring began, or the Vernal Equinox.

Thus began a confusing period- where many emperors continually changed the calendars, forcing it to become out of synchronization with the sun. The Roman Senate (under Julius Caesar) finally declared January 1^st as the beginning of the New Year in 153 B.C. in order to set their calendar straight. But in order to make it work, Caesar had to drag out the previous year for an astounding 445 days.

The New Year is often considered a time for setting goals, letting go of old baggage and starting over.  Many people also watch the annual ball drop in Time’s Square at midnight on December 31st on their televisions.  It is also a tradition to create a New Year’s Resolution to try to stick to during the upcoming year.  Congratulations to anyone who meets their goal for 2010!

“My New Year’s Resolution is to have more free time because I’m running myself ragged,” admits Senior Michael Bonde. “I’ve had less than six hours of sleep every night for the last two weeks.”

“My New Year’s Resolution is to give everyone a chance, to not judge them differently,” explains Junior Megan Elsenpeter. “Okay, and maybe be nicer to my sister, Jess.”

Photo from pattyappleby.wordpress.com

DECA is not an acronym for anything, just a word defined as “An Association of Marketing Students”. Before 1990, it stood for the Distributive Education Clubs of America. But,  eventually it was decided that the name was too limiting for what DECA was becoming. DECA began in 1965 and focuses mainly on marketing and presenting products- it is a competitive business marketing organization. DECA used to be an organization that covered all aspects of business, but it became too large. They then split off into two; BPA and DECA. Both of these are still run by the same non-profit organization.

DECA is instructed by Kremmers, and has 25 to 30 members. DECA here at BHS doesn’t have meetings very often, but when they do, it’s during AAA. Instead, they have quick check-ins with Kremmers just to let the instructor know where they’re at. The group usually competes with marketing a certain idea to a specific age group, it is not always pitching a product. They can also write business plans. Some schools even have DECA as a class students can take- their presentations and work ethic are graded.

“I joined DECA because it was a great looking organization that was very flexible,” says Junior Michael Deisting, a first year member of DECA. “It’s a very independent activity, you can chose your own work schedule. There’s also none of those flashy power-points like in BPA.”

BPA stands for Business Professionals of America and is instructed by Mrs. Diekman and Mrs. Karna (Burrell). BPA has been around since 30 years ago, when it was known as  OEA (Office Education Association).

The group meets at least once a month, more depending on what time of year it is. The main purpose of this group is to prepare the members for a business career and give them an opportunity to experience real business situations. This year BPA’s member count has increased from 18 to 26, making it one of the larger seasons.

“I joined BPA because I want to get a business degree and go into that field when I’m older,” explains Junior Jessica Demueles. “This is my second year being involved.”

So, there you have it folks. Both DECA and BPA involve business, but if you are looking for a more specific business branch, hopefully one of these activities meets your criteria. These groups are helping teenagers prepare for jobs in the future, each in different yet helpful ways. They both emphasize creativity, speaking skills, and independent work.

The ninth graders tried out November 16th through the 18th after school from 2:40 to 4:40. The tenth through twelfth graders tried out November 23rd and 24th. They tried out before school from 6 to 7:15 and after school, from 2:40 to 5. The teams have already been posted, tryouts officially ended today (Tuesday, November 24th).

The Varsity coach is Nick Guida, and the Junior Varsity coach is Ross Mjelde. The tenth grade team is coached by Dan Dehmer, and the ninth graders are led by Mr. Starns.

The practices start Wednesday, November 25th. The Varsity and JV already have a scrimmage on Saturday against Orono. The boys are excited for the season, but know there is a lot of hard work ahead of them.

“I know the practices are going to be long and hard,” says Freshman Ethan Freer, “But it will all be worth it in the end once the section tournament comes around.”

If you click here you can enter the Buffalo site that will allow you to reach a link to the Buffalo boys basketball page. However you must be an atual member of the activity to be allowed into this site.

The photo is from http://www.aa.psu.edu/sports/mbasketball/

Armistice Day, as November 11 became known, officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans. In the United States today, there are currently 23.2 million veterans.

“Every year on Veterans Day I play the piano at the nursing home,” says Junior Sarah Spande. “I play a patriotic song, and there are always a few who hum along.”

Everyone at Buffalo High School had the opportunity to donate one dollar on Veterans Day to help out those who have served our country. They also had the opportunity earlier in November to write a letter to a veteran, showing their thanks. On Veterans Day, the letters were set out, so the veterans could read them, and know how much people appreciated them.

“I had to memorize so much music!” exclaims Junior Pickle Hjelmberg. “Plus I had all my songs from Seussical [the fall musical].”

The Concert choir started out with the song Schubert Mass in G for the audience on Monday. Then the BHS singers came out and wowed the crowd with The Star Spangled Banner, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Danny Boy, Thriller, and Welcome to the Wonderful World of Sports. Afterward, the Treble Singers came out and performed a few songs, and then the Concert Choir came back out. They ended with Hark! I Hear the Harps Eternal, Zigenerleben, Early One Morning, and That Lonesome Road. The songs were difficult, but the students knew it was all worth it when they heard the applause after each tune.

“Zigenerleben was so hard to sing,” says Junior D.J. McMoil. “It was 25 minutes long, and all in German.”

If you couldn’t make it to this performance, make sure to clear your schedule for the next one, on December 21st at 7:30 p.m. in the PAC.

“We’re starting to learn our Christmas music for the next concert,” laughs Junior Katie Mueller. “I’m so excited!”

This show is made up of various musical/comedy acts done by students, with adults accompanying at times. This year there were 17 performances, split in half by an intermission in which concert band/choir students served pop and sugar cookies. This year’s show featured everything from “Rap” performed by Kelvin Orr and Seng Vang, to senior Mitchell Calstrom dazzling us to “Passacaglia” on the piano.

The evening was emceed by seniors Mandy Haggen and Bobby Person. They kept the audience laughing with their attempts at finding creative ways to introduce each act. They also both perfomed themselves,  Mandy singing a duet with her sister, and Bobby singing “The Impossible Dream.”

The Variety show took place on Saturday, October 10th, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in the BHS Performing Arts Center. The cost was $7 for adults, and $5 for students (all money going to the trip/scholarship fund). If you were able to attend, thank Mr. Walsh and Mr. Liefert for helping prepare an awesome evening.  If you missed it this year, make sure to go next time!

Junior Kat Randall sang “God Bless the Broken Road” by Rascall Flatts, and was excited, but nervous before her performance.

“I’m so happy to have the opportunity to perform in front of my family and friends,” explains Randall.

“There was this one guy,” Triplett remembers. “He would come in the night before, sleep in the booth, and then wake up when the rest of us came at 5.”

The Breakfast Club started around ten years ago, but back then it started at 5:00 a.m. This is the first year they’ve set it for later in the morning.

“I go there to carry on the tradition,” says Junior Sami Manick. “And to eat pancakes.”

This group used to be only members of the music department, but over the years it has grown to involve anyone who would like to come. Just show up, you’ll know which corner to come to.

“On the last day of school we go to Perkins at like midnight, and stay awake til school starts,” laughs Triplett. “Then we go play Frisbee golf.”

From 2:30 to 4:45 on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays you can be a part of the after school weight lifting program at Buffalo High School. You don’t have to sign a form or add your name to a list, you can come once, or you can go till the last week of school. You can walk in to lift at 2:50 or 4:30- it is completely up to you.

This program has been happening at BHS for many years. Previously the adults who supervised the weight room after school were just coaches during their off seasons, but in 1999 Troy Hanson was the first to be hired full time in the weight room.

“This gives students an opportunity to improve their physical fitness and athletic performance,” explains Hanson. “I also work with sports, and help out the coaches with team and individual work outs.”

You can lift whatever weights you would like while there, a purple sheet is provided with lifts to do each day to give your work- out some structure. The sheet recommends starting out with warm- ups, such as leg swings, bikes, or rope jumping. At 3:20, Hanson leads abs in the weight room, at 3:30 it is flexibility, and at 3:40 they work on agility/conditioning/speed enhancement. Those are totally optional.

Many students who come after school to the weight room participated over the summer in a similar program, Strength & Conditioning. The program runs from June to August, and is at 7 am, 8 am, 9 am, and 6:30 pm in 90 minute sessions. These sessions consist of a group warm- up, weight lifting, abs, and conditioning. If you attend this summer activity with perfect attendance for two years straight, you can earn an athletic letter.

Besides lifts like the bench press, leg extensions, and lat pull-downs, you can go on the stationary bike, elliptical, or the pull- up machine. There are also at least 15 lifts you can do with just a dumbbell alone. If you ever need suggestions for lifts to do, just go and talk to Hanson- he can figure something out for you.

“I attend the after school program because I enjoy weight lifting and it keeps me in shape,” says Junior Sam Kemp.