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April 30, 2006

Blue's Features
Table of Contents

Final IDU Project

Track

Lacrosse

Baseball

Movie Review: When a Stranger Calls


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Feature Articles by Students


Marketing Projects Conclude Freshman Year
by K. Berhent (Apr. 2006)

     As a team, we do numerous of group projects.  They are called IDU (interdisciplinary) projects, which are designed to show how skills in each discipline are used together to create new learning rather than separately as the classes usually are in school, and we take class time to work on them.  To date, we have done a process analysis rooftop lab, holiday culture, and Holocaust perspective projects just to name a few.  Each are in small groups and taken as a project grade in various classes.   
     Currently, we are doing a marketing project in groups of four.  We have to design a product using the principles of design and redesign we learned in science class, and then research and critically analyze which markets it could sell well in, using mathematical analysis and graph creation in excel.  Also, we have to sell it bilingually, which means we have to make advertisements in both Spanish and English after extensive study of advertising and culture in both the Spanish and World Studies classes. Then after we have gathered all the information, we will create complete, professional PowerPoints and written marketing plans, culminating with a 15 minute presentation trying to sell our product to the real world judges we have invited to come. Of course, throughout the project, we use the writing, organization, and even phone call skills we learned in English class to create polished, professional materials and communications with the business world.
     Overall, this project provides excellent college and business world preparation since this is how students will actually work beyond high school classes.  In addition to just the skills from each class we will use, the project also tests skills in cooperation, organization, time management, and professional business communications, most of which we have studied in Focus class.  In addition, towards the end of May, we'll even have a business professional in to teach us about business etiquette and presentation skills.
     Our marketing presentations will be from May 24 to 26 in room 202 and anyone is invited to attend - just check with the teachers or students to see when they are presenting.

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Track Team at Its Best by: C. Setterlin (Apr. 2006)

     This year’s track team has been motivated, committed, and moreover, successful.  A key to their successful season so far has been their new main coach, Mr. Beatty.  It is his first year as main coach, however, he has been assistant coach for past years.  “He’s a good coach, and he keeps us motivated and in shape.  He cares a lot,” stated A. Scheerer.  Along with Mr. Beatty’s motivation, the track team works together to achieve success.  “Although it is an individual sport, in many ways, it is just as much, if not more of a team sport as well,” said B. Onders. 
     By working and striving for success this season, the track team has been able to make huge accomplishments.  Their hard work has paid off so far this season because they have managed to place second in two invitationals, and have won numerous dual and tri meets so far.  “The team is actually really good and we have a good chance to rank very high in O.C.C.'s especially with our 4 by 1 team and our 4 by 8 team,”  A. Scheerer predicts of the rest of the season.  But the season isn’t over yet, and there is still time for this talented track team to have even more success by the end of the season.

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Lacrosse By: E. Voldmann (Apr. 2006)

          This year, the JV girls’ lacrosse team of Hilliard Davidson has worked hard since February to be the best they can be.  When they started, they soon realized that they had a lot to work on if they wanted to keep the tradition of great playing alive.  Back in February, the freshmen had serious troubles keeping up with the upperclassmen.  Since then, the team has learned how to work with each other, and has improved their overall game.  The team has showed to be competition to most of the teams they have played.   Currently, their record is 2-3, but the Cats plan to step it up during the next two weeks when they face eight teams. 
          The JV team works their hardest everyday after school for two hours and all of their hard work pays off in the games.  When asked about how she felt the season was going, Taylor Gill, freshmen, and starting midfielder, replied, “I think that we have done really well.  We have grown a lot as a team and we have yet to be disappointed in how we have played.”   The coaches, Jamie Buroff and Heather Ross, also agree that the team tries their best.  Anytime a player does something wrong, one of them tells the player and makes sure she understands what should be done in that certain situation.
           The team would like your support, so come to any game.  The whole season’s schedule is on www.sticksup.com, so stop by and cheer on the team!  Their final game is on Thursday, May 11 at Dublin Coffman at 5:30pm.  Come by and support the team!

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Freshman Baseball By T. Backstrom (Apr. 2006)
             The Hilliard Davidson Freshman Baseball team after Friday, April 28 is 11-2. The two losses have come in out of league play and were within the first five games of the season. Now they are on a hot streak winning eight straight.  In league play they are 6-0, forcing the 10 run lead mercy rule in four games. They also won the Dublin Coffman Freshman Baseball tournament with a tough 3-2 win over Newark and a convincing 16-0 drubbing of Dublin Coffman.  The team has been one cohesive unit since regaining T. Backstrom back from the mononucleosis virus and R. Meadows from the J.V. team.
            H. Broadstone and Z. Daniels are leading the team in hitting while they rarely commit errors in the field. A.J. Pope, H. Broadstone, and S. Hutter complete a unit of outfielders who lack in size and arm strength but make up for it in speed.  Z. Daniels, N. Van Dyne, G. Goodwin, and A. Frazier split time at shortstop and third, while, M. Renner and M. Flinta split at second.  M. Odierna and T. Backstrom split time at first and T. Kawakami, T. Backstrom, A.J. Pope, and H. Broadstone do a majority of the pitching.  
            There are great things destined for this team in the future if everyone sticks together.  There may even be a long play-off run heading towards Davidson in the very near future when these players start contributing to the varsity squad. The freshman end their season on Saturday, May 6 playing a double-header at Bellefontaine. During that week they also play at Westerville North Monday, at Worthington Kilbourne Tuesday, at Thomas Worthington Wednesday, and at Newark Friday. If they beat Westerville North Monday they can lock up a league title.

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Scary Movie Doesn't Do the Job By T. Backstrom (Feb. 2006)

Movie Review
When a Stranger Calls

Directed by: Simon West
Starring
Camilla Belle as Jill Johnson
Tommy Flanagan as “The Stranger”
 

            When a Stranger Calls is a remake of the 1979 When a Stranger Calls, which is rated R for the bloodiness. The new version however has zero blood and an ounce of gore to it. There are 2 off-camera murders to insignificant characters. One of which we don’t even meet and the other, the house keeper, we see for around 15 seconds. Until later our main character Jill (Belle) finds her underwater while trying to escape the murderer (Flanagan). The director relies on sounds and automatic lighting in the house to create suspense during the chase scene as you see light after light go on when the apparent stranger stalks his prey and you see a cat walk down the stairs. Then, Jill turns around to see the stranger on the other side of this unbreakable glass in a monster terrarium. This is the scariest part of the movie. Everything before builds up to it because when you see the preview you see the “We’ve traced the call, he’s in the house” bit, so everyone is on the edge of their seat waiting for that line and when it comes and after about 5 minutes of fighting its over. Until the stranger rides past her in the cop car and hi eye’s and Jill’s eyes meet and we see the scar on his face creating a new fold in this bland plot. Too bad it came with 2 minutes to go in the movie. 
           
This movie doesn’t end though. Jill remembers the face of the man and she dreams that he tries to kill her while she is in the hospital. The director kind of leaves you hanging when Jill’s friend Tiffany comes over then leaves, but, there is a branch that Tiffany has to get out of her car to move so she can leave and next thing you know the stranger is using Tiffany’s phone. 
     
       Overall if you are into the not very scary, no blood and vague murder movie with scary title genre then this is the movie for you to see. I guess if I was in 6th or 7th grade this would be scary. This not very scary, no blood and vague murder movie was also released for viewing at the wrong time. People were just coming off Hostel and Saw 2 so when this movie title shows up you think that this will be the third in a trio of scary movies released within months of each other. So if you haven’t seen it yet and you are very fond of the original save yourself the 7 or so dollars and don’t go.

Rating: 2 stars/5 stars

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