The Greyhound Tracks

Track Clean Up

By Danielle Spelfogel

Pope’s track and field team had a clean-up day this past weekend. The track athletes and their parents got together to help clean up Pope’s athletic field and their track. They added new sand into their sand pit, picked up trash on the track and around the area, put down mulch, and organized their storage. They did this all by working as a team to help better their environment to run on. They had to clean it out so they can have a fresh area for everyone to practice on. The jumpers needed new sand, and the place needed some care, so the Pope Track and Field got together to fix it up.

Swim for Success

By Allison Game

This past weekend marked the last meet for the swimming season: the state tournament where girl’s placed ninth and boys placed twenty-third. From seasoned seniors to fearless freshman, this meet is considered an honor to attend. Sophomore Emma Murray swam in the finals for the 100 breaststroke, placing second and smashing a school record. Murray reflects, “It was a 13 year old record held by my year round coach’s sister. It is an honor to have a record at Pope High School.” Junior Landon Bennett placed 4th for the 500 freestyle, for which he holds a school record. Although Bennett did not place at state, he has no regrets: “It is a place I never thought I would be. As a freshman I made the team and went a 449.8, and now my freestyle time is 444.1 seconds.” Bennett hopes to break Pope’s 200 freestyle record and place in the top three at county next year. The reality of sports is that one cannot win every time. Freshman, Tyler Garvey placed 21st and 22nd for his races at the prelims but was not eligible to swim at the finals. Although his times did not qualify him to compete, he remains confident, “I will be able to get on the podium soon.” Although swimming is an individual sport, Pope swimmers support each other. “I put in the work to help the team,” Landon Bennett concludes. “We are all one big family,” Emma Murray states.

Ladies Lacrosse

By Bonnie Pirlott

With new coaching in the 2012-2013 season, and new players committing to the Pope girl’s Varsity Lacrosse team this year, team members have high hope for the current season. Coach Kennedy and Coach Sands have taken over the Ladies Lacrosse team this year, hoping to make this season a successful one. “I think we’ll have a great season, Coach Kennedy and Coach Sans are doing an amazing job coaching this year. Both coaches have really creative strategies that I think will get our team far in the season.” Junior, Cloe Gagnon said. However, this season the team has a large number of new additions to the sport, leaving the players confident, yet hesitant about the future season. “We have a lot of new additions to the team this year. Everyone’s really talented but it’s going to take time and effort to figure out how to work with everyone as a team. Each player has something to contribute to the team and we are all excited to play together this upcoming season.” Gagnon said. The Lady Lacrosse players have extremely high hopes for this season and plan to train diligently to have a successful season.

Pope’s View on the Pope

By Heather Giles

Monday, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by announcing that he will retire at the end of the month. The eighty-five year old has lead the Catholic Church for eight years and claims that in his deteriorating health he has “had to recognize [his] incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry,” as stated on CNN.com. Benedict will be the first Pope to resign since 1415, as Catholics and non-Catholics alike panic everywhere. What does Pope have to say about it?

“I’m really proud of him. That probably should have been done throughout the years or even the millennium, that when a Pope can no longer fulfill his duties he should step aside and allow someone else to fulfill that role.” – Debra
Strydom, Social Studies teacher

“I think there’s a lot of speculation because you never know if there’s something else going on inside the church causing him to step down, but if it’s just for his health I see it as a good thing .”- Iara Moran

“Considering that the Pope is supposed to keep his position for life I am not very supportive of his decision. If all the other Popes before him could do it, so should he.”- Mark Fisher

Parent’s Night Out

By Anushka Madwash

Parent’s Night Out is sponsored by Interact club, Pope’s version of Rotary Club. It is a babysitting service held twice a year for children belonging to Pope’s feeder elementary schools. The kids are provided with food, games and a movie. The event is sponsored by Interact club, Pope’s version of Rotary Club.
“We played with the kids, gave them dinner and let them watch a movie or play in the gymnasium” student Sarah Lee said. The Pope volunteers take care of the children with much care and make sure they have everything they need.
“The money that we make goes toward our international project. This year we have chosen Heifer International which is an organization where we actually buy real live livestock, like a goat or cow, to help out an impoverished family, usually in a third world country” Ms. Kretzmer said. This year alone, Interact raised $700 through Parent’s Night Out alone.
If your parents are in need of babysitting services, keep your eyes out for Parent’s Night advertisements this coming school year.

The True Price Tag on the Inauguration

By Kelsey Asher

See some data here: Inauguration article

Monday, January 20th 2013 marked a historic day when Barack Obama was publicly sworn in for the second time as the only African American preident to date, on MLK day no less!
Not everyone is happy about the outcome of the votes tally because once an election year rolls around, citizens start wondering if their hard earned money will end up squandered amidst the over the top parties, luncheons and parades that people associate with an inauguration ceremony. “
“I don’t think we spend too much money on the Inauguration. We are seen as a beacon of hope and democracy for the rest of the world. So I don’t mind us spending a lot of money to shine light on the culmination of a peaceful democratic process,” Coach Jason Dasinger said.
The best way to pin point relatively how much more funds the federal government has dedicated over the years to these occasions would probably be to compare dollars raised from electorate to electorate, in this case Jimmy Carter’s costs in 1977 and George Bush’s second inauguration versus President Obama’s 2013 soiree.

Photo by Nick Seymour

The Buried Life

By Sam Piper and Hannah Carter

On November 27, two stars of MTV’s The Buried Life paid an inspirational visit to Pope’s Senior class due to the generosity of Mr. Neumann. Mr. Neumann, a freshman and senior English teacher at Pope, has been a longtime fan of the show and its mission. This documentary show features and is executively produced by four young men from Canada, Duncan Penn, Jonnie Penn, Ben Nemtin, and Dave Lingwood, who left behind family and school to accomplish a list of “100 things to do before you die.” Along the way, they also ask strangers they meet “what do you want to do before you die?” and help them accomplish dreams with everything from getting bands signed with record labels to reuniting long lost relatives.
The members of the show recently wrote a book based on their experiences and journey that hit New York Time’s Bestsellers list, which ironically was also on the group’s bucket list. As incentive for book sales, The Buried Life offered a free lecture from the guys to whichever school bought 500 copies of their book. With his own personal funds, Neumann bought the 500 copies.
On the 27th, Dave Lingwood and Johnny Penn came to Pope and accounted their personal journeys and anecdotes to the students. After sharing, the guys asked those in the audience who felt inclined to go up to one of two microphones in the theater to tell them what was on their bucket list. What ensued was a mix of both deeply personal confessions, freestyle rapping, and a breakdancing battle between Pope’s local B Boys and Dave Lingwood. And as the lecture dwindled down, students were allowed to ask questions to Lingwood and Penn. And even after all their experiences, they were humble to laugh at their journey and offer the best advice they could.
“I used to think happiness was a destination, but I’ve realized it’s not. It can’t be… Where would you go from there?” Johnny Penn said.
The presentation ended with an immense and well deserved applause for Mr. Neumann.

SWAG is Back

By Anushka Madwesh

While many students at Pope are writing their Christmas lists around this time, there are many kids in Georgia who cannot afford to get everything they want. “These students would not have much of a Christmas, so we take them out shopping” advisor Ms. Jessica Kelly said. Pope is adopting about 150 students from Brumby Elementary for a day and spending $125 dollars on each student. This sums up to be about $20,000 spent on this event. In addition to the presents, this year, Pope collected gently used and age appropriate books for the students. Before and after shopping, the children get brunch and dinner. If everything works out, this will be an unforgettable day for both the Brumby students and the Pope students.

All Area All Stars

By Allison Game

On October 13th, Pope’s varsity volleyball team competed in the second day of the area tournament, beating North View 3-1 for the area champion title. The area title has gone to the lady greyhounds for the past seven years and the current varsity team continues the Pope legacy.
Not only was the weekend a victory for the team, but also four of the varsity players were placed on the all area team. There are eleven schools in the area, and a total of twelve athletes were chosen for the all area team.
The coaches from other teams voted on the athletes that they wanted to be on the all area team, meaning that clearly pope volleyball players are looked highly upon.
Senior Ashley Savransky said, “We are really just a dominant team and we have better stats.”
Freshman Morgan Dees, and Seniors Rachael Reynolds, Caroline Ham, and Ashley Savranksy, were all appointed to the all area team. Freshman Morgan Dees said, “It’s all really exciting, not many freshman get picked. I’m just really happy.”
The Lady Greyhounds are a force to be reckoned with, and are preparing for domination at the state championship in November.

Photo by Caroline Morrison

Win in the Water

By Danielle Spelfogel and Darby Thompson

This past weekend, the Pope water polo team won against Wheeler and Wesleyan to become Cobb County champions, as well as placing 12th in state. It was an unexpected win for the Greyhounds.
“It was really cool because we beat Wheeler, and we weren’t supposed to win,” said Senior Davis Roberts.
Competing at the Cumming Aquatic Center, Coach Schreer made a deal with the team if they won.
“Pope hasn’t beaten Wheeler in 6 or 7 years, and so if we won, then they decided how I designed my face. They had a choice between star burns or a cat tail, and they chose cat tail,” said Schreer.
The team beat Wheeler 8-6, and also dominated against Wesleyan 16-7. They also went up against rivals Norcross and Pace Academy.
With these victories, Pope brought home the win and they were pronounced county champions. The Pope community is very proud of this accomplishment and hopes the team the best in their future. Also, Pope hopes that Coach Schreer encourages the team with another bet that helps to inspire the team to defeat their opponents.

Photo by Sam Piper

Road to the Ring

By Cristina Bixby

The Lady Greyhounds begin their path to the state championship after wrapping up the Region Tournament. Now the girls must work together now more than ever to stay in the fight for the AAAAA championship.
“The thing that’s special about Pope Softball is that we’re a family,” junior Sydney Segers said.
The Greyhounds look forward to playing next week on Wednesday and continuing in the competition. The players recognize that these games hold extreme importance and will look to each other for support, as they have done for the whole season.

The Band Marches to Victory

By Allison Game

The weekend of October 5th, Marching Band members traveled to Charleston, South Carolina for the Low County Invitational. The competition consisted of mainly South Carolina schools, but Pope’s Band had no problem standing out, seeing as they played exceedingly well. Senior Gus Todd said, “Everyone in the band played really well.”
The Marching band won first place in their 4A class, and second only to Fort Mill High School for the overall title.
Sophomore Assistant drum major, Sarah Borozan said, “It was a really rewarding experience for the band and the freshman to know what it feels like to have a crowd cheering for them and having the support behind them from a crowd.”
Overall, the invitational proved to be a very successful experience for the marching band, and they hope to excel at this level for the rest of the marching season.

Pope celebrates 25 years!

Monday – 80′s Music Monday: Dress up as your favorite 80’s band member. Don’t forget your shoulder pads and hairspray!
Tuesday – Tie Dye Tuesday: Peace, Love, and Tie Dye. Come to school in your most “far out” tie dye ensemble.!
Wednesday – Wacky Wednesday: Be your true self! Wacky clothes, wacky hair, and wacky shoes make for a wacky day.
Thursday – Happy Birthday Thursday: Bring your party hats and birthday cake for Thursday’s birthday bash!
Friday – Freaky Friday: With Halloween around the corner, see if you can restrain your inner freak!

Habitat Lends a Hand at the East Cobber

By Allison Game

Habitat for Humanity is constantly praised for their community service and for building houses for the less fortunate. Many Pope Habitat members went out on Saturday, September 15th to aid vendors at the Annual East Cobber Parade and Festival with set up and clean up.

A donation was made for the work that the students did, but in order to further increase profit for the club, they sold water bottles to make a little extra money. The club made $942 dollars, which will go into their building funds.

Sophomore Silvia Kim participated in the event and said, “I worked for six hours at the Justice League Bouncy Castle. It was fun because the community felt so close knit and there were really great vibes throughout the entire event.”

While the club must focus on making money to be able to pay for the house they will build in the spring, members always keep the main focus of service within sight.

Habitat Senior President Hanna Han said, “The process of helping others to get a desired shelter makes me aware of the many needs of the community. I realized that a lot more people out there need help from us and that not everyone in the world has the environment that I have.”

With all the dedication that the Habitat students have, the club continues to make a difference in the community.

Challenging the mind: Academic Bowl stands tall at team’s first competition this year

By Darby Kunnemann and Hannah Carter

This past weekend at Walton Pope’s Academic Bowl Team competed in their first ever competition against rivals Walton, Wheeler, Campbell, and Kell.

“It was stiff competition. All of the schools, like Walton obviously, have really good academic records,” senior Wendi Boa said.

After a long day of questions the team placed fourth above Kell High School. Even though the team faced a challenging new set up in tournament rules and placed lower than they had hoped, they will continue practicing and preparing for future tournaments while still having fun. They plan on entering another tournament within the next month and hope to achieve high scores.

Lady Greyhounds On Fire

By Cristina Bixby and Anushka Madwesh

Any Pope student who tunes in for the morning announcements knows that the Softball team has had a noteworthy season so far. Moving into the midst of the season, the games hold more importance. Last weekend the team was overall successful in the Milton Tournament, setting the tone for upcoming pivotal games.

“At the Milton tournament we did really well, we ended up going 4-1. We came in second place and the only team we lost to was Milton. We hit the ball during the weekend. We did a lot of great hitting and such,” sophomore Kelly Barnhill said.

The pressure of knowing how substantial these games are helps them come up with reasonable, yet accomplishable goals.

“Our goal is to finish anywhere from 4th in the state to state champions,” junior Sydney Segers said.

This past Tuesday the team proved victorious over Creekview with the final score: Pope 3, Creekview 0. Adding to the perfect night, Barnhill also pitched another no hitter. The ladies look forward to supporting one another through a week of more crucial games.
“The thing that’s special about Pope softball is that we really are a family,” Segers said.

Pope rallies around banned books

By Kelsey Asher and Kaegan Stone

Every few years controversy over banned books tends to ignite like wild fire, strangely reminiscent of Ray Bradbury’s 1954 novel Fahrenheit 451. Each year the American Library Association sponsors Banned Book Week raising awareness about the books most frequently challenged and “celebrating the freedom to read.”

To support the national effort at Pope, media center specialist Melissa Zonin is sponsoring a campaign called “Look Who Got Caught Reading Banned Books.” Students can stop by the media center and have their picture posted to the wall of fame and bring in a copy of the banned book list highlighted with the books they have read.

Usually the censorship uproar results from a desire to shield children from inappropriate content, though many view the bans as a much too extreme answer to the problem.

“I do not think that books should be banned because if the school keeps us from all religious, sexual or other potentially offensive literature then we will begin to lead very sheltered lives. Not only that, but it is also a violation of freedom of speech and expression,” junior Jessie Peters said.

Schools sometimes discount books with literary merit because of the fear of exposing their students to certain taboos. Though appropriateness factors into what a school should teach or have available in its library, perhaps students need to understand how to approach adult literature with maturity.

“If you prepare students on what you are going to teach them and why then I think they can gain a lot from it. They are at a point in high school now where we do have to start preparing them for college, where they can read whatever they want,” said Ms. Wells.
While banned books create conflict, adults need to prepare students to select their reading choices wisely while still giving them the option to choose for themselves.

Run for Your Life

By Darby Thompson and Natalie Williams

This past weekend, Pope’s cross-country team traveled to Lake City, Florida to compete in the third annual Alligator Lake Invitational. Patrick Fleming led the pack, coming in third place overall with a National Elite finishing time and helping the varsity boys come in third. The junior varsity boys also came in third. Despite only having eleven girls total in attendance, varsity girls placed tenth and junior varsity girls earned second place.

“It was pretty flat, but it’s Florida, so the heat was bad,” said Junior Shannon Duffy, one of the JV girls who attended the event. The runners had to trek through 3.1 miles of mud and spongy terrain, bordered on both sides by swampland. The race was aptly named, due to the real threat of alligators in the area.

“They had a lake that was fenced in, and we all knew why,” said Junior Maddie Hosack.
Pope had a successful weekend, with the JV girls placing second and all of the Pope XC runners returning unscathed by alligators.

Forty-five points stronger: Pope scores another victory

By Morgan Puckett and Allison Game

September 21 marked Greyhound Football’s second win of the season, driving in a 45- 27 win, the highest final score this season. Even though several players were injured and not able to play, the Hounds still dominated the field.

“Every aspect of the game clicked, we clicked on all cylinders” senior Alexander Parker said.

Two running backs, Itabari Mason, and Ronald Woods, ran over a hundred yards in the Northview game, contributing to the overall win.

“A lot of people contributed to this win, the boys worked hard practicing, and some phenomenal plays were made” Coach Matt Kemper said.

After last season’s success, the win against Northview sets a precedent many hope will carry on further into the season.

“We got the ball rolling, and we plan on keeping it up” senior Brooks Climmons said.

Fresh Living Club takes on the Ocoee

By Wyatt Bazrod and Samantha Piper

This past weekend, a group of students from Pope’s new Fresh Living Club went on rafting excursion on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. After a speedy two hour road trip, they took in the crisp September day on the rigorous class III and IV rapids, but not without some roadblocks.

“Our rafting guide had this rafting trick. [He] pinned the boat down under the water with some hooks, so it was like a raft Jacuzzi for a few minutes, but he couldn’t figure out how to unhook it and we were submerged in the water for fifteen minutes,” Junior Luke Oliver said.

Though they were hoping for a better turnout, the small group of rafters enjoyed their time together.

“We’ll be having more events in the future; we’re hoping to get people excited about nature.” Senior Anna Trakhman said.

If you’re interested on joining in on the nature excursions, stop by and see Ms. Ragland in room 308.

Drama Preforms Dark Towers

By Colin Edmonds, Brewer Kunneman, Bonnie Pirlot, and Anna Morrell

With last year’s elimination of the Drama class, some people wouldn’t expect the Drama students to produce a play; however, the Drama club, more than ever, believes that the show must go on. The cast lead by director Kimberley Walters have already begun staging this year’s first production, “Dark Tower.”

“‘Dark Tower’ is a play about a man who is coming to the end of his life and he has had a troubled past and he hasn’t been able to deal with. It’s about him dealing with all of the problems of his path,” junior JoJo Fernandez said.

The play will be performed for the Pope students in October. With a short production time, actors feel the stress of getting a perfect performance. Despite pressure, the students are still excited to perform the play because “Dark Tower” has a darker edge than the other plays Pope has put on in the past.

“We’re excited to see how Pope responds to this different play,” said Fernandez.

Music Midtown: two days of talent and terrific times

By Harper Beckham and Emily Sermons

This past Friday and Saturday was Music Midtown, Atlanta’s annual outdoor concert. The two day event featured over 15 acts and Pope students flocked to see their favorite artists.

Where? Piedmont Park
When was it? Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd
Headliners: Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam
Pope Favorites: Avett Brothers, Florence and the Machine, and Neon Trees
Pope Connection: Seniors Eric Hangartner, Bobby Wagner, Andrew Mendel, and Kayla Ilg maneuvered their way through the thousands that came to see the Avett Brothers and landed the best seat in the house. A freak stroke of luck found both Eric and Andrew jumping for the set list the Avett Brothers tossed into the crowd after their show, with Andrew coming up victorious. “I’m gonna get it framed probably”, said Mendel, a big Avett Brothers fan.

Champions Once Again

By Danielle Spelfogel, Savannah Cole, and Heather Giles

For the fifth year in a row Pope Varsity Volleyball dominated in the Cobb County Tournament. Held at Allatoona High School, they competed against rival Harrison High School. This was a key game for the Pope Volleyball team because it would determine whether or not they would move on in their bracket. The game was described as a “very intense” by sophomore Kristen Philips.

Though things seemed bleak when they were down by one point, the Pope Varsity team came back strong when Ashley Savransky served five in a row. The team was proud of their win and was eager to play the game. “It was exciting and everybody was pumped and ready to win,” freshman Morgan Dees said.

Baby Boom In Pope Drama Club

By Kelsey Asher and Harper Beckham

The prospect of starting high school can be daunting for some freshmen. To encourage student unity, Drama club is reintroducing freshmen adoptions, a program where the senior veterans take in new freshmen members under their wing.

“Freshmen adoptions are fun because it shows seniors in a good light, that they actually care about the freshmen and want them to enjoy high school,” senior Jordan Milam said.

The newcomers are excited to learn more about Drama and also Pope from the veterans. Both seniors and freshmen have written vows promising to learn from each other and respect their fellow club members. The seniors will mentor the freshmen throughout the year and encourage them through experiences that may have previously been foreign to their younger friends.

“I’m looking forward to acting in the plays and the musicals! I have been looking forward to the Pope Drama club forever!” Thayer said.

Global Connection: exchange students talk about first weeks

By Emily Sermons and Danielle Spelfogel

Imagine leaving home for a year, picking up everything and going someplace that you aren’t accustomed to. That is what Gisa Jacob and Philipp Eichhorn did. Gisa and Philipp are part of a foreign exchange program from Germany and are staying with families to live the way we do.

“It’s a big family. It’s often a full house, and often there’s something happening and that’s a lot of fun,” says Philipp about the Seymour family, who he is staying with during the duration of his visit.

Gisa noticed some key differences between her new life here in America and the life she is accustomed to at home. “In Germany, we eat all our meals together and we cook together, but not here,” Gisa said.

Phillip voiced another difference: transportation.

“Everything is bigger. You don’t walk here, which is different. I live in the city, so we don’t have cars so I walk a lot, bicycle, or take the bus. You always drive,” says Philipp.

They both feel different about the way of life, but they both feel the only difficulty about being here is learning American literature. Gisa Jacobs and Philip Eichhorn are looking forward to lasting friendships and great experiences to bring back home.