Parade Stops Traffic

by Caitlyn Madore and Colleen Britain

A long line of floats paraded through the center of Contoocook last Friday, holding up local, visiting, and Fed Ex drivers for about 30 minutes. Each of the four classes were represented by a theme voted on by the class; freshman, fiesta; sophomores, Star Wars; juniors, Romans; and seniors, pirates. The middle school and teachers were also represented.

The traditional elaborateness of the float by the seniors went as planned, with a working mast and spinning wooden wheel. It took tons of effort by the class to build it, including a late night stay at HMC and a noise complaint by nearby neighbors sending Officer Arsenault to the sight. “It was funny because at first he thought we had stolen all of the lumber and we had to convince him with a receipt that we had bought it earlier that day from Home Depot”, commented Noah Booth.

Halfway through the parade, the juniors abandoned their Roman Capital, running, walking, and fighting their way to the High School with marooned pirates and rejected Star Wars characters. It was a unique display for all who came out to watch the annual homecoming parade. “It was fun. Especially when there was a massive sword fight between the Star Wars characters, Romans, and pirates, although a sword would have come in handy!”, recalls Libby Wetterer.

Although, the Mexican celebrants were forced to stay on their float because of high walls, their high spirits didn’t falter throughout the parade. They had high-energy music leading it throughout the town for all of the spectators. It was a lesson to be learned for the newest high schoolers, but don’t worry, they get better each year!

First Goal Scored 29 Seconds In

by Christina Hurley

Newport was not expecting the Hopkinton Varsity Field Hockey team to come out with such brute force; Danielle Gonzales scored the first goal scored 29 seconds into the game. The adrenaline was flowing as the team ran back for high-fives expecting more goals to come. As the game continued the ball went back and forth over the 50 mark, then the referee called a warning on Abby Lunau for pushing one of the Newport girls. Shortly after Mimi Ramsdell was taken out of the game accused with shoving and given a yellow card. During the first half of the game the Hopkinton team started to realize that the ref was calling unfairly. Less than two minutes later the ref called yet another yellow card on Margareta York for shoving when she only tripped into another girl. Now left with only 9 players on the field vs. 11, Hopkinton still held their ground and overcame the loss of the two players; keeping the defense strong. The second half of the game began with all 11 players back on the field; Hannah Richards scored the other 3 goals. Half way through the second half of the game the ref calling unfair calls tripped, and hurt her leg. After the time out ended, her leg is wrapped in an ace bandage cast and she asked the teams if they would like to continue for the remaining 16 minutes and 54 seconds left or end the game. Hopkinton was given the decision and they decided to end the game 4 Hopkinton, 0 Newport. Miranda Murphy, a senior at Hopkinton and the varsity sweep, said, “It feels good to win on your last homecoming.”

Dear Bertha

by Chiara Herlihy

Dear Bertha,

I’m a freshman and going to a high school dance is a new experience for me. I don’t know how I should dance, act or even dress. Do you have any tips you can give me on this? P.S. What about slow dances?

Sincerely, Dancing Dummy

Dear Dancing Dummy,

There are many differences between middle school and high school dances but the first thing you have to remember is that they are much bigger. Everyone is crammed together and the gym may feel like it’s a sauna so wear something comfortable that won’t give you heat stroke. Guys usually wear shirts and polos with shorts or jeans, while girls like to dress up a little in skirts or fun dresses. On the subject of dancing, remember not to take yourself too seriously and have fun. Dancing in a group is always a good time because you’re not as self-conscience and you can belt out all the songs you know. Since “dirty dancing” is not allowed at this school, it’s a good idea to stay away from it; you don’t want a teacher coming over and breaking up the crowd. If you’re thinking about asking someone to slow dance, don’t be nervous, the worst that could happen is that they will say no and you can move on. Both guys and girls ask people to dance, so no matter who you are, don’t be afraid to ask. If you aren’t with someone during a slow dance, don’t worry, sometimes that’s more fun than dancing with someone. Interpretive dance is a popular activity and it’s a good laugh as well. The most important thing you have to remember to do is to have fun because that is entire point of a dance.

Homecoming Bonfire: Now a Place for Non-athletes

by Carolyn Maynard

In previous years, the traditional bonfire portion of the homecoming activities was after the parade, and before the spaghetti dinner for the sports teams. This year, there was a change in the schedule. The bonfire and the dinner were at the same time.

Athletic director Mr. Meserve used to announce the sports teams and their members in front of the bonfire to the rest of the attendees. Since the dinner was at the same time, that didn’t happen this year. “Student council and Mr. Meserve felt that announcing the names again was repetitive since we did it at the pep rally that day,” said student council co-president Katie Babson.

The switching of the homecoming schedule made it difficult for students on sports teams to go to the bonfire. By the time most people were finished eating spaghetti, the bonfire was completely burned out. This didn’t faze some athletes. Cross country’s Ali Grise mentioned, “I might have stayed at the bonfire for a while if it had been there after the dinner, but I wasn’t too concerned about it. Usually it’s so cold and you don’t want to be outside waiting for food.” Most of homecoming is focused on the sports teams, so the bonfire has turned into a good place for students who aren’t on teams to have their own part of the celebrations.

Homecoming Dance

Homecoming Dance
by Katy White


On October 3rd Hopkinton High School held it’s annual homecoming dance. The dance took place from 7:30-10:00 in the HHS gym. The Varsity field hockey team dressed up as cowgirls and the JV field hockey team dressed up as nerds. When students were asked how the dance was, they replied “the music was bad, and the music videos that were being projected were out of sync with the music” Despite these comments, most people had a good time.

You Gotta Have Pep!

by Cristina White

Fall sports teams were fired up in preparation for the Pep Rally. The players waited anxiously as Mr. Meserve announced each team. Once everyone was seated the games began. First off was the sack race. Players tripped and fell all over the place. The first event was followed by five others: Hopkinton Road Race on a tricycle, trivia, three-legged race, Apple Juice drinking competition, and Simon Says with Mr. Chase.

The three-legged race was a heated event. Tess Ferguson and Kaley Cook represented the Varsity Girls Soccer Team. “We didn’t practice much,” said Ferguson, “but we communicated well and worked well together.” Their hard work and communication led them to winning the event.

Soon after, the well-known trivia competition was held. Miranda Murphy helped out the Varsity Field Hockey Team in this event. “It was a lot of fun. Trivia isn’t like the other events that you can prep for, you just have to rely on your knowledge and your team to help you out,” Murphy said, “I picked trivia because it’s a laid back event and you don’t have to worry about something embarrassing happening to you.” Despite her hard work, the Soccer Teams took the win.

Mr. Chase completed the Pep Rally with his legendary game of Simon Says. Players fled back to their seats fairly quickly but Hallie Loft stuck it out and earned the High School Cross Country Team their only win. As this event ended the scores were tallied and the Varsity Boys Soccer Team took the victory.

Hopkinton Skate Park

By Mike Prisco

In 2003, our skate park was built after the death of Robby Carr and Jacob Shumway. It earned the name of Spirit Skate Park. It is made of lumber and plywood that has worn out after the years of all of the bikers, skaters, inline skaters, and scooter kids. There have been a lot of repairs done from the people who have built it and they still help fix all of the problems that has occurred through the years.

Spirit Skate Park is very nice and has well built ramps, but it also has its flaws. Will Hastings, a local who skateboards, says that our skate park should be organized more correctly for the skate boarders who skate there because all of the ramps are too close together. With the ramps being too close together, the people who go to the skate park struggle with the tricks they are doing. Will also said that it would be a great idea to build an extension that is more built for a skateboarder on our park.

In consensus from listening to all of the Hopkinton skate park kids; it has come to conclusion that it should be extended outwards because there is such little space. The extension would cause the field hockey field to move outwards about ten to fifteen feet. This would give the skate park the opportunity to build at least 4 to 5 new ramps. These ramps should be friendlier to skateboarders such as more kickers (jumps), tabletop ramps, and rails.

Goffstown has a skate park that has ramps that are better for skateboarders, but not for everybody else like bikers or kids who scooter. The Goffstown skate park has a lot of space, but there are not as much ramps as the skate park in Hopkinton. Goffstown wouldn’t be a good place to go instead of the Hopkinton skate park, so the extension would be a great idea to get more people to skate or bike there. If the Hopkinton skate park built an extension, it would attract more people and donations could be thrown in to help repair all of the ramps and to save up for more charities to make the Hopkinton skate park one of the best in New Hampshire.