On Wednesday May 2, 2012 our school held a tug of war tournament sponsored by Brad Mansfield, principal, to raise money for project graduation. Students bought tickets for  $1 and got out of their classes thirty minutes early. It was a success!

   Ten different teams participated : football, ROTC, cheer, volleyball, softball, Blue Belles, tennis, swim, Team 1 and the Diamond Dudes; each team had to pay a $20 for admission fee. The stands were filled with students of all grades impatiently waited to cheer on their friends.

   Everyone was glowing with their smiles of enjoyment for a chance of doing something fun during school. The tournament had 16 rounds, and as the teams progressed, they would face Team Manfield, who held the title of undefeated champion.  Team Mansfield was made up of coaches and teachers.

   Everyone was anxious to see who would go against the principal’s team. From the cheer team all the way to the Team Football, the football boys ended up going against Team Mansfield. The crowd was definitely pulling for Team Football.

   It was a tough one; they were at a tie. They had one minute for each round and each team was struggling for the championship. At the last possible second, Team Football pulled their hardest, and although they didn’t make it past the line, it was closer to their side than Mansfield’s side.

   The referee called Team Football the champions! The crowed was thrilled! The football team’s hard work paid off! They earned the reward of delicious breakfast tacos for the next morning and bragging rights of being the best team.

Promposals have recently become the new trend throughout our generation of high school students . The Prom season has influenced several people to go to extreme levels. Bar none.

Girls have made it evident that they are expecting their promposal to be original.

“I told my date that I would go with him, but I said that he had to ask me in a cute way.” Brooke Tschoepe said.

By definition, a promposal is a person asking another person to prom in an extravagant or over-the-top fashion.

“Promposals are a guy’s way of showing how much effort and thought that they put into their (hopeful) dates,”  Junior, Jake Voss said.

Matt Falloon made a huge impression when he had asked a friend (police officer) to pull over Haley Giamfortone. Haley, who had never been pulled over before, would receive a prom ticket instead of a real ticket.

Quinton Johnson decided to go in a different direction. He went into Nene Resendiz’ classes and left  notes that had a different letter everytime she found one. They would eventually spell out prom. The next time she saw him he would be holding a poster in the atrium that had the question “PROM? Check yes, or yes.”

Jake Voss asked varsity cheerleader Kayla Green by doing an original cheer for her.

“It was really cute, all I could do was smile!” Kayla Green said

Promposals are becoming a new tradition to this generation. No matter the extent of embarrassment, it’s nice to know that someone is putting a lot of thought into their promposals.

   In order to build their structures, Mr. Genty’s students are allowed to use one box of toothpicks and six sticks of hot glue per egg. Ultimately, the eggs drop from the top of the stands at Bible Stadium. The students that can keep their egg from breaking are given full credit. All others are given any grade up to a 90.

   “The success rate for my classes is usually about 25% to 30%. Overall, I think this year went well,” said Genty

   During Mr. Genty’s third period class, student Zack Springer managed to keep his egg unharmed. Springer’s plan was to create a parachute for the egg, unlike the majority of his classmates who tried to enclose their eggs in a box-like construction.

   “He did well; I was impressed,” said Genty

Zack was the only Student so succeed in his class, possibly because of his unique structure, but no matter the outcome, students has nothing but positive things to say about the experiment. Overall “Mr. Genty’s egg drop” is an experiment to look forward to.

Jessica Cory has played volleyball for LHS all four years of her high school career and started on varsity freshmen year. She has signed with a full ride to play at McMurry University.

OJ, like Jessica Cory has played volleyball throughout high school and started varsity sophomore year. OJ has recently signed to play four years full ride at Stephen F. Austin State University.

On April 4, 2012, LHS produced its very first lip dub video! Shawna Queen, the head of student council, got the idea from her old high school. So, student council worked on the idea for a few months, got several students together, and filmed!

A recent phenomenon known as lip dubbing has taken hold across the globe. A lip dub is a music video combining audio dubbing and lip synching. A group of people perform while it’s filmed in one continuous shot.

LHS decided to do a lip dub to enhance the school’s unity, show school-spirit as well as talents, and encourage participation in school events and activities. About 50 clubs and organizations participated in the video. Both students and teachers performed in the video. Planning for the video took months, but for LHS, the outcome was worth it.

Every participant’s positive energy flowed into the lip dub. All the clubs, organizations, and teachers truly came together as one. LHS really pulled off this event. Go Lions!

   Josh Turner, 34 year old country hit singer just revealed his punch bag tower. To introduce his new album being released in July, Josh Turner premiered the song  “Punching Bag” at the Austin Rodeo Arena. As he approached the stage, high pitched screams came from the audience, full of enthused women. A Dodge Ram pickup truck drove up, and delivered him to the stage as he began to serenade his listeners with his deep baritone voice. Later on in the show he introduced his fellow band members, one of which is his wife, Jennifer. She plays keyboard on his tours, and sings background vocals. Together they have three sons. This shows how close their family truly is, that she would travel with her husband in order to support the family business of music.

   Josh Turner will really shock you as an authentic country singer. Appearing to the stage in a plain white V-neck and wrangler jeans shows you just how real he is. This man is a singer of integrity and spirituality. He values religion and family, love and life, and it shows in his work. Some of the best artist have their voices are altered on albums in order for better presentation. However, Turner sounds the same both on the stage and on the radio. Altogether he presents himself well, sings with amazing pitch and acuity, and hears his audience with integrity.

   Appearing in Austin, Texas where tons of live music opportunities happen daily, helps stimulate Austin’s economy and Josh Turner’s reputation in the heart of Texas. Being that the Rodeo had some tough competition with South by Southwest this spring break, Josh Turner truly prevailed on his concert night. The Austin Rodeo also featured other hit artists including the Eli Young Band, Jake Owen, Kevin Fowler, and even Demi Lavato. Next spring break, definitely put this rodeo on your to do list!

The Old Pecan Street Festival is coming up!  Come to downtown Austin and celebrate 34 years of community on May 5^th or 6^th.

The Pecan Street Festival is an Austin tradition held on 6th street, the heart of Austin. As their gift to the community, the Pecan Street Merchants Association puts on the festival every Spring and Fall, selecting many non-profit groups to benefit from the proceeds.

It’s a total Austin Tradition and has been known for the last 33 years as a great way to spend the weekend in downtown Austin.

The festival is the largest art festival in Central Texas. Artisans from all over the U.S. display and sell all sorts of arts and crafts.

Being set in the live music capital of the world, there will be lots of music. Local musicians perform on three stages for your entertainment. The outdoors, food, music, and art. Does it really get any better than that?

The festival admission is free, it’s fun, and it’s all for your enjoyment! Bring your friends and family. All ages are welcome. Don’t miss out on all the fun!

Dearly Departed is the first book in a new series by Lia Habel. The year is 2195, and the place is New Victoria. The setting is a high-tech nation that is filled with the manners and fashion that is the updated version of the Victorian era. But high society teenager Nora Dearly would rather learn more about military history rather than attending balls and tea parties. After the death of her father, Nora finds herself in a dower situation when her spiteful aunt plans to marry her off for money.

Fate interferes when an army of walking corpses kidnaps her and takes her to be safe from the enemies of her country. There she learns about the Laz, a deadly virus that can bring the dead back to life. Then she meets Bram, an undead solider whom she feels drawn to. But the disease would stop at nothing to keep them apart.

Dearly Departed is a page turner that kept me wanting more. Lia Habel has blended two very different genres into a wonderful tale of love, suspense, and zombies! Nora Dearly is my kind of girl who would stop at nothing to be with the one that she loves as we are introduced to a wonderful cast of unique characters. Be sure to read the sequel Dearly Beloved, coming soon to book stores.

   On Feb. 2, the University Interscholastic League realigned all athletic and academic teams for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. UIL realignments occur every two years, and each time schools across the state prepare to face changes. Following the introductions of Rouse and Vandergrift in 2009, Cedar Park High School dropped to 4A, and this time it’s Leander.

   Realignments are configured based on student populations, and the student body parameters for the 5A conference are set at 2,090 and above. This past year, Leander’s roster fell short with 1,900 students.

   Having spent over three years playing 5A, Leander’s expected to rank within the state’s top ten. The 5A conference is known for its tough teams and its tough players. Pooling from the largest student bodies, it’s more likely for teams to gather an all-star group. These giants have constituted Leander’s opposition, and they’re what our varsity team has been trained to withstand.

   Moving to 4A, Leander will instead encounter smaller schools. It’s believed that a smaller school will produce a weaker team, one that centers on one or two star players. However, this is not always the case. In 4A, Leander will play against Vandergrift, Vista Ridge, Dripping Springs, Marble Falls, Rouse, and perhaps most notably, Cedar Park.

   For sure, playing against Cedar Park for district will inspire a vicious revival of the old Cedar Park and Leander rivalry. A staple of that rivalry is fierce competition, and constantly, the tides between our two schools shift. Cedar Park has proven to be a tough opponent, and if the other 4A schools are anything like it, the 4A conference should challenge the Lions yet.