Getting to Know Mr. Sousa

by Will Hastings

Welcome back students of Hopkinton High School. The new school year in Hopkinton begins with an assortment of new staff, among them a new Principal. Mr. Chris Sousa was chosen from three other finalists for the position.

Originally a business major interested in advertising, Mr. Sousa started substitute teaching on the side to earn money. It was then when he discovered that he liked working with children, so with the encouragement of an aunt in the education field, he attended Plymouth State University and received his teacher’s certificate.

Mr. Sousa’s teaching experiences are rather extensive and well rounded. He began teaching business in Rhode Island. After that he moved to Procter High School in Vermont to be principal, from there he went to be principal at Hampton Middle School. For Mr. Sousa the idea that he could "affect students in a positive way felt really great.” Aside from school work, Mr. Sousa enjoys mountain biking, hiking, and camping. He also enjoys trying his hand at guitar as well as cooking. Family is a huge part of his daily life; his children are truly his pride and joy.

Sousa’s passion for teaching seems to have no bounds. “If I had one million dollars and could do any job I wanted, I would have chosen to be a teacher.” he says. Hopkinton welcomes you Mr. Sousa, and wishes you the best of luck.

Welcome Mrs. Lulka!

by Anastasia Anderson and Shannah Kimball

Mrs. Lulka is a new math teacher at Hopkinton High school. She teaches grade nine through twelve. Lulka grew up in Mass, but she has also lived in New York City, and near the Grand Canyon. She has taught in the Bow, Manchester and Concord schools.

There are many reasons for her love of math, one of them being that all her grandparents were immigrants who came over to America with no money. Her mom, her dad and all her uncles had really good math teachers throughout school and went to college on scholarships. Now they all have great jobs as engineers and computer programmers. Another reason she got into teaching math is she enjoys finding patterns in things and math deals with a lot of different patterns.

So far, she likes Hopkinton as a community because she has more of an opportunity to get to know every student individually. She hopes to stay in Hopkinton as long as she can. "I have made good friends with all the teachers in the math department and the staff at the school and in all my classes. The students are great."

Hawk Art

by Colin Amoth

So far in the year, according to Mr. Kociuba, the arts department at Hopkinton Middle
High school has been going very well. With 11 classes, not including all the numerous photolabs, it’s easy to see that many students understand the importance that the arts has for their education.

Among these students is Danielle Gonzales. Danielle is one of the students who is taking a fine arts independent study under Mr. Kociuba. When I first talked to Danielle, she was shading in a quite remarkably good charcoal of R2D2. When asked why she was doing fine arts for an independent study she simply replied that she wanted to create a personal portfolio of her work for later in life, maybe even for college.

Even this early in the year we are seeing that students are producing some amazing pieces in all the arts. One example is this photograph, taken by Ian Hancock. This photo was taken on his own time even before he began his photo 2 class.

Keene Pumpkin Festival

by Aleksandr Hubbard

Summer is just about to end and fall is breezing in. Once school starts, many students groan about all the work they have to do. Instead of moaning, though, there are some fun things that can be done. Allow for some excitement to happen by attending the Pumpkin Festival on October 17th, 2009 in Keene, New Hampshire.

For the past 18 years Keene has sponsored an annual event to celebrate the coming of Halloween. This will be the 19th year anniversary. Here, thousands of people come to Keene to have a blast with the whole family. Over 25,000 pumpkins are present with a candle in each and every one of them.

If looking at pumpkins for the entire day sounds boring, then there are other activities for enjoyment! Some of these activities include: a costume parade, a seed spitting and pie eating contests, live music on three stages, face painting, craft booths, and lots of food provided by area non-profits.

Jenn Crowe, a senior from Keene High School says that she has been going to the Pumpkin Festival for 14 years. At the Pumpkin Festival “you can get together with friends, roam around, do your own thing, look at creative pumpkins,” says Jenn and, “as long as I have friends with me, I never get bored.”

This festival is not a one time event for friends and families; I have gone once and plan to go again this year. Jenn sums it up right, “It’s a tradition.”

Teachers

Teachers at HHS

C U Y T A Z R E D D P F A U E K K J
T G M M O N P R N O O F H D N T K D
U G G X V P A X W L N O E F Z D N L
C T A Y P Z K V H K P O W F L G O N
G Z Z T Z J J U M C C L M R F R V C
D X T I N H O I W H H V Y W E E A O
G V R E X N A E X D C P R S W D R Z
Q B S Q A Y P R P R X L E B R A N D
C L X D N R W G B O B U E O Z B E U
O N E M I J Q T Y F O D N W K A K F
H A T Q D D T M F K E T B S E C P U
U H N N P N C G E C Q H E G J K I O
E B T L A N U F B I M T Y N L M Z C
O V D G L G W H A B V Q T D N A R B
W T J W Q J D D P H C I B H E N V L
P E I S X G K U Y N U K D Z O B Q P
V F J M B Q W J X V H L P E M P K D
G F X X Q M S E M M E N S K X N N E

BACKMAN
BICKFORD
BRAND
BRANDT
BRIZARD
HARB
NADEAU
OLSEN
PFEFFER
SEMMENS
UNDERWOOD
WELCH
ZIPKE
Sokul

Contoocook Carry

by Dan Lux

The 7^th Annual Contoocook Carry was held on Sunday, September 27, 2009. This is always a chance for anyone to get out and have some fun while supporting a great cause. This year one hundred percent of the proceeds will go to fuel assistance.

This year's volunteers consisted of The Rotary Club, Hopkinton Policemen, Hopkinton Volunteer Fire/Rescue Squad, Interact Club, the Girl Scouts, The Lions Club, local churches, and also individual volunteers.

The CC has three parts; a two-mile run, a kayak paddle plus a portage, and a fourteen-mile bike ride. The run started at the Hopkinton High School and ended out past Herrick Mill Works. The kayak is on the Contoocook River. About one sixth of the way down the river, the paddlers had to land their boats and carry them 200 feet across the dam, putting them back into the water on the other side of the dam. The fourteen-mile bike ride went through the beautiful backcountry of Hopkinton, and ended at the Hopkinton High School.

Cellphone Usage in School

by Katy White

According to the telephone use policy in the HHS student handbook, cell phone use in the school is prohibited in any location other than the office. However, when high school students were asked if they used their cell phones in school, the majority answered “Sometimes” and “Yes.”

Even though our school does not permit cell phone usage during school hours, kids still text during class. However, they are not necessarily texting other kids in other classes. Sometimes kids text their parents about after school plans, or their parents text them first.

Still No Rapids for Ducks

by Jake Lessels

Once again, two-thousand rubber ducks will be swimming in kiddie pools during homecoming. For the second year in a row, the Con-Ducky Derby will not be held in the Contoocook River. The ducks will be floating in plastic kiddie pools at the high school on October 3.

“The water conditions weren’t safe,” said the Booster club’s co-president Margaret Cook. When the ducks would float down the river, over the dam and under the covered bridge, somebody had to catch them, and for the past couple years that job has gone to the varsity soccer players.
The derby is the major funding source the Booster Club has that benefits all the athletic teams according to Cook. Those goodie bags of candy given to teams at the end of every sports season are from the Booster Club. Money from the Booster club provides championship winning teams with their commemorative clothing and celebration cake and balloons. The spaghetti dinner is also put on by the Booster club.

Ducks may be purchased from all members of the fall sports teams. The prices are three dollars for one duck and ten dollars for five ducks. The ducks will be drawn at every half-time of all the games and during the cross-country meet. The prizes consist of $700 worth of fun prizes, including Margarita’s gift cards and Dick’s Sporting Goods gift cards. Prizes can reach up to $50 in value. Come out to see all your favorite Hawks teams beat Hillsboro-Deering and buy some ducks!

The Cross Country Team

by Chiara Herlihy

When Coach Welch started his cross-country season he never expected that this year would be any different from the last. What he didn’t imagine was having ten freshmen already showing signs of promise, and 5 new upper-classmen, two of whom are already running on top seven. Add that to the twelve returning veterans on top seven and you’ve got state champions in the making. “I’ve never had a team this good.” Welch said, “It’s new territory for me. They’ve never been this fast or so hard working; they are so coachable and I’m excited to find out what they can do.”

When asked why he likes coaching this sport in particular he responded; “Cross country is all about heart, focus and sacrifice; everything else gets stripped away. You have to accept that in order to get good results.” Although Welch admits that winning is nice, the team is more concerned with running well and being proud of their progress as athletes. “My focus is about getting on that last bus ride home and feeling like we’ve accomplished something.”

The cross country team has three Saturday meets coming up and they need as many people cheering for them as possible so remember these dates because you’re going to want to see this team in action!

10/3 – Homecoming race at the Fairgrounds

10/31 – Class M State Meet at Derryfield Park in Manchester; 9:00am

11/7 – Meet of Champions at Nashua South HS; 2:30pm

Girls Just Wanna Have...Football?

by Dorothy England

Breanna Ostrander, grade 10, may be setting the record as the first ever female to join the Redhawks, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less excited. When asked what influenced her to join, she had no problem saying since there were no girls, there was a need for diversity. Also, she wanted to prove that girls can play. Although she admitted that yes, there are some difficulties and it is harder than she thought it would be, for her, it’s a good challenge and she likes working towards it.

Another challenge one might assume is the attitude the males may have, but Bre confirmed that the guys are nice, and the coaches treat her no differently than the guys are treated. Her friends and family support her decision as well, often asking how it’s going. Bre was quite excited to mention that her father, in particular, is very proud. She plays both offensive and defensive tackle and isn’t afraid to defend for her team. She’s really having a lot of fun when she concludes that it’s been a great season so far, and that the team works really well together.
Picture
submitted
by Bre
herself.

Redhawks Start with a Swift Victory

by Dorothy England

The Redhawks football team is a fairly new addition to both Hopkinton's and Hillsborough’s high schools. Combined, there are 44 members who practice in the privacy of Elm Brook Park for three to three and a half hours, for five days a week, where water breaks are their only relief. Their practices have paid off though, as they won their first Varsity game against Mascenic, 16 to 8.

With roughly sixteen hours a week of practice, it’s tough to imagine how any of the members can fit in their homework, but when asked, no one said it was an issue. Instead, members agreed it was an awesome experience and really well run. Blake Keniston, grade 10, encourages ‘anyone to try it’ and Bryce Sorel, grade 9, seconds that, mentioning that ‘anyone can join as long as they’re serious.’ Working with Hillsborough is also nice, because there are new people to meet. In addition, the tough, but firm coaches have a powerful impact on the team as well.

Combining their two schools as a team isn’t the only thing Hopkinton and Hillsborough joined together. Their name, Redhawks, is derived from each school’s spirit: red symbolizes Hillsborough’s school color and Hawks are Hopkinton’s school mascot. Combined, the teams works hard and devoted. The only real challenging task are the drills, especially running fully padded form one side to another. However, as James Herrmann, grade 12, says, ‘it’s difficult, but worth it.’

Cultural Collision

by Carolyn Maynard

Every year, three to four students from countries around the world attend Hopkinton High School for the school year. They stay with host families, take classes and play sports. Through all of their activities, they learn about American culture. This year, one of the four exchange students is Roxana Stefan from Romania.

Roxana decided to come to another country to learn about culture and to meet different people. “I am really grateful to be here and experience anything new that is educating,” she said. The application process to become an exchange student wasn’t difficult. It took about two weeks for Roxana to fill out her application. Once she was accepted into the program, there were three Rotary meetings where all of the Romanian exchange students met one another. They each were able to pick the country where they wanted to live, but not the area within the country. The area isn’t what matters to Roxana, though. “For me, it is more important meeting people. I will go on many trips with Rotary Club so I have the opportunity to visit parts of America.”

While there are many cultural differences between the countries, one of the biggest contrasts is in the school systems. School in the U.S. starts at 8 am and ends at 3 pm, with a lunch break in the middle. School in Romania starts at 12 noon and ends at 7 pm or 8 pm. Classes in Romania are much shorter than those at Hopkinton High School, and are also taught differently. About the teaching styles, Roxana said, “I like the way the teachers here approach their students.”

Throughout the course of the year, Roxana will rotate host families, take new classes, and play new sports. Hopefully the rest of her year will be just as good as the first month.

Peace Club

by Caitlyn Madore



Peace Club was started for Hopkinton High students to increase awareness of world, historical and current events and to brainstorm ideas to educate the public through peace rallies, conferences, and hopefully Hawk Talks this year. Coming up on October 17 is an event that many members will attend called the New England-Wide Rally Against Wars will take place in Boston. They also annually participate in planning and attending Gimme Shelter that will raise awareness for the homeless.

Co-presidents Margreta York and Jessie Pennell both encourage all to join no matter their views. When asked about participating members, Margreta York said, "[members] generally have a mutual belief that peace is the most positive solution, though everyone has different views on how to achieve this. It's most interesting for us to have new members every year so that we can have different inputs to balance our views on all topics we cover.” If anybody is interested in joining, meetings will start within the next few weeks of school at the first congregational church in Hopkinton around 7:00pm.

Review on Tim Burton's New Movie '9'

by Christina Hurley

Some people are saying that Tim Burton’s newest movie was a complete waste of time. The new movie ‘9’ was released on 9-9-09 and it was directed by a man named Shane Acker and produced by the well-known Tim Burton. This movie came to being because of a short film created by Acker that was a huge hit on YouTube; that little 10 minutes and 38 seconds had almost 500,000 views. A lot of critics are saying that Burton should have declined the offer from Acker, because this movie was nothing but a complete flop and should have remained only 10 minutes and 38 seconds.

The plot to the movie was very unclear and scattered. It begins with the main character 9 waking up in the laboratory with the professor dead on the floor. You soon find out that the professor created a machine that was an artificially intelligent B.R.A.I.N (Binary Reactive Artificially Intelligent Neurocircuit), and was intended to help the failing economy and the post-apocalyptic world. In the wrong hands of the Chancellor, the artificialbrain is put to the test of making weapons for war. It ends up breaking under the stress and turning against humanity. When 9 wakes up, all of humanity is already destroyed and the world is a completely dry wasteland. This B.R.A.I.N. sets out to kill every living thing including all the little ‘stitchpunks’ including 9 himself.

The entire plot of this movie is the struggle of the (1 through 9) little 5 inch dolls running around trying to destroy this B.R.A.I.N. and all of its huge cat-like beasts. 9 is the only one who really wants to find out why he was created and for what reason. He sets out to the ‘1^st room’ to find a little box that the professor left for him, which ends up giving him all the answers on how to destroy the B.R.A.I.N.

Still, a lot of people enjoyed the movie and called it brilliant for the demonic post-apocalyptic feel of the movie. This was a really different turn for Disney where a normal monster would only terrify the characters and not kill them, and was even rated PG-13 for all the grueling sights including the dead bodies still left behind in cars. In the end the movie was left with a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars and was not recommended for small children.

Fall Sports Preview: Varsity and JV Field Hockey

by Colleen Britain

Is this going to be the year that the Field Hockey makes it to the finals? The last three seasons have started with hopes of making it all the way, but for the last three years that hope has ended in the “Final Four” round. This year the question has intensified due to the loss of seven seniors, five of whom were starters. This year the team has gained ten freshmen, including two girls who have never played before.

When asked how the team looks this year, varsity Coach Connolly said, “I am very pleased with how quickly the team is coming together this year. As always it is hard losing the seniors from the previous season but there are certain players who have really stepped up to the plate.” Already the team has a winning record, with five wins and three loses. If this is any indication of how the rest of the year is going to go, this could finally be the year the team makes the finals.

Fall Recipes

Pumpkin Madeleines

2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
dash of salt


In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar at high speed for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat the flour into the egg mixture at low speed. Gradually beat in the butter. Increase the speed to medium and beat in the pumpkin, lemon juice, pumpkin pie spice, and salt until well blended. Cover and let the mixture stand at room temperature for 1 hour.


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F). Spoon the batter into the prepared madeleine molds, using about 1-1/2 tablespoons for each cookie. Do not spread the batter in the molds. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the madeleines from the molds at once and cool on a rack. They are best eaten within a few hours of baking. Or, store in an airtight container and freeze for up to 8 weeks.

Back to School Club Feature

by Cristina White

Interact

Community service is what Interact is all about. Interact is a club run by Madame Harb,which meets every other Thursday at 7:15am. Senior Emma Brown said, "Any of the service projects that we do are available to everyone, with the exception of going to Honduras." The trip to Honduras is strictly for the members who have been on Interact for 2+ years. "In order to retain your status as a member, you are required to participate in at least three of the projects we do every year," says Brown. Recycling is the most important project. Members come in on the designated morning and recycle all of the paper items in the classrooms. If you believe you are a person who enjoys helping others through Community service projects, join Interact.

Drama Club

Everyone has their choice of extracurricular activities after school, whether its going to soccer, putting on some ballet shoes, or going to a piano lesson. Others find joy in what happens under the lights of a stage. Hopkinton High School's Drama department performed two major shows last year. 'Bang, Bang, You're Dead', and 'Flapper the Musical'. Sophomore Gabrielle Lui said "Drama was a lot more laid back than I had expected." While putting on a show can be stressful, these students found a way to go around the stress and relax. "I loved it," said Lui, "Everyone makes you feel so welcomed. I would definitely suggest it to others." If you like to be under a spotlight or just enjoy acting, singing, or dancing, give the Drama club a try.

Discover Who Really Keeps HHS Safe

by Mimi Ramsdell

School safety is being stressed this year at Hopkinton High School. Locks on every locker, cameras in the parking lots and bike racks are only a few of the additions Mr. Sousa has mentioned to improve school safety. While each of these additions does improve school safety, there is always the timeless question -- who keeps the school safe? Mr. Sousa believes it is the students, teachers, and administration who keep the school safe. But let’s not forget a group of staff that truly keeps the school safe. From locking the doors, to sanding the walkways in the winter, the custodial staff works hard every day.


The custodial staff, the truly under-appreciated workers of HHS, keep the school safe. Walking into the school every morning, it is noticeably clean. Not only is it easier to focus in a classroom that doesn’t have gum stuck to the bottom of the desk or broken chairs, but it helps prevent the spread of germs. Having the classrooms disinfected keeps students and staff safer every day, especially this fall and winter.


Furthermore, all of Mr. Sousa’s ideas, mentioned earlier, involve help from the custodial staff. Who installed the bike racks or will cut off locks when students forget their combinations? Brian Hall, a custodian, entered the office the other day reporting that a student’s car alarm kept going off. That is something the cameras could not see, and it helped keep HHS safer.


The custodial staff are recognized by some; the superintendent, Mr. Chamberlin, provided them with lunch to show his appreciation for all of their hard work over the summer. It is a shame that more people do not recognize their impact on HHS. Mr. Sousa stresses that students can’t learn if the environment is not safe. The custodial staff deserves much of the credit for keeping HHS a productive learning environment.