Mock Presidential Election

       Tuesday will be the 56th consecutive quadrennial election in United States history for President and Vice President. This year is a unique year for the presidential candidates because one candidate, Barack Obama, is the first black man to run for Presidential office. The other candidate, John McCain, is over 70 years old, which is the oldest candidate in US history to run for President.  The Democratic Party has elected Obama to run as their candidate, and the Republican Party has elected McCain as their candidate. It is also the first time in history that both candidates are sitting Senators.

     Although almost all students at Deerfield-Windsor School will not be eligible to vote next week in this year’s election, it is still important for them to know the issues each candidate is for and against. It is also nearly impossible for students to avoid seeing some kind of media on the election. Teenagers can see the campaigns everywhere on television, in the paper, in magazines, and even on signs in their neighbor’s yard. Because they will see this everyday, why not get out there and educate themselves about each candidate?  Students should find out which candidate has the same views as they do and from this information, they can decide who they would vote for if they were eligible to participate in the election.

     To enable students to “vote” for president without being 18, the upper campus at Deerfield has decided to hold a mock election for the President. It will last until Thursday and the results will be announced Friday. Each student will be able to “vote” using any computer in the Media Center or in any computer in the Computer Lab. The directions are printed out and give the students easy steps to follow to “vote”.

     The website that created this great idea is youthleadership.net The University of Virginia Center for Politics produced this website. “Through this website, students may participate in mock elections, a mock congress and campaign simulations, and teachers may download civics and government lesson plans.
” Every student is encouraged to log on and vote for the candidate they like best. Students should get their voice out there even if it will not affect our country. So no matter whomever you are voting for, go to the lab and vote today. Teenagers should see what its like to vote and prepare themselves for when they do turn 18 and are eligible to. 

Miss DWS Pageant

     “And the Miss DWS for 2007 is…Kaitlyn Daugherty.” Those were the words of Ms. Newsome, high school English teacher, announcing the winner at the DWS pageant last year. Excitement around school has been recently swarming about all the talk of the pageant this year, which is November 10^th. It will be the 36^th pageant in Deerfield history, being that the first one was in 1973. The pageant will be held at the Albany Municipal Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be on sale November 5^th-7^th at the DWS upper campus and also at the Municipal Auditorium starting at 6:30 p.m. the night of the show.  The ticket price will be twelve dollars for each person.

     In the past years, high school English teacher, Ms. Newsome, has been the Mistress of Ceremonies for the pageant. She adds a creative and personal touch to the times when the curtains are closed by telling the audience stories of her classes or trips she has gone on in the past. Ms. Newsome will not be the Mistress of Ceremonies this year though because she has a pre-planned event she has to attend the same night.  The new voice will be Mr. Nowack, a high school English teacher taking on the Master of Ceremonies. “I am very excited to be filling in for Ms. Newsome this year. I hope I can live up to her standards since I know she has done such an excellent job in the past,” says Nowack when asked about taking on Newsome’s role.

     Many people do not know all the work and preparation the pageant constants must put into to getting ready for the pageant. The constants start practicing for their talent right when they discover they are in the pageant, which can be as early as the first week of school! There are rehearsals starting two weeks before the pageant for all the constants and even nightly rehearsals the week before. Varsity Football Cheerleading Representative Devon Bacon says, “The earlier the constants start practicing their talent, the less stressful the experience will be. Especially, when you are a dancer, like me, you have to perfect your technique as well as your facial expressions. I am very excited for November 10^th because I finally get to reveal all the work I have put in to the judges.” There are fifteen constants this year in the pageant and each one will be sure to shine through each of their talents. So come to the Municipal Auditorium November 10^th and cheer on all the girls and also see who will become Miss DWS of 2008.    

Principal interview

    Students may often wonder what school or college their teachers or principal attended. Well the Deerfield students can learn about Mr. Collin's background from my interview with him I had this morning. He attended Ga Southwestern, Ga Southern, and Florida State. His favorite subject has been History, which led him to the AP US History class he teaches to Sophomores. Mr. Collins also told me that growing up he knew he was interested in working in the school system since his father and grandfather were teachers and coaches. To learn more, watch the video below! 

Locks of Love

     Locks of Love is a non-profit organization started in 1997. It gives young kids with cancer and losing their hair, a human hair wig. These kids are going through so much and they want to live a life as normal as possible. The wigs allow them to live a normal life and not be ashamed of having a bald head. I chose to write about Locks of Love because I think it is such a significant and outstanding organization. People can donate their hair if it is at least 10 inches long and is not bleached. I feel so strongly about this organization because I think it is so good for people to donate their hair without out even knowing the person they are giving it to. Watch the video below to learn more and find out how you can get invloved to help change a life!

Deerfield vs. Southland game

     Tonight is the first region football game against our oldest rival, Southland Academy. Many students are anticipating the game and are so ready to show some good school spirit. Rumors around school are said to be that the students at Southland are wearing their annual camo outfits. They think wearing the camo will represent them "hunting" us since we go to Deerfield. Some students here are considering wearing white to "white-out" our rival. We will see tonight how these ideas turn out. 

     I interviewed seniors Lee Leach and Laine Moore to ask them what they think of the game tonight, who will win, and their plans to show school spirit. Being seniors this year, the girls are so excited for this game since we have been rivals for so many years. We have beat them many times in the past and hopefully will tonight. Leach and Moore told me their plans to eat before the game in Americus, cheer their team on, and hopefully see us win for their last year at Deerfield. Being also that it is the first region game of the season, the team is very anxious for this win against our biggest rival. Watch the video below to see Lee Leach and Laine Moore talk about the game! 

Fall Break!

    The whole school is looking forward to Fall Break, which means having this Monday and Tuesday off from school. Students can’t wait to have two full days off to go on a trip or just stay home and relax. Senior Sarah Schatz says, "I will be visiting Wake-forest and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I am very anxious to get a picture of what the schools are really like and hopefully decide on where to go." Many seniors will be visiting colleges this weekend to get a feel to where they might be interrested in going.
    Some students are also deciding to just stay in Albany and relax here for the weekend. Having two days off from school is a good time to catch up on sleep, go to a movie with friends, or even start on that school project due soon. Teachers are glad to have two school days off too. They can't wait to be able to spend more time with their families or take a neat trip. Coach Hobbs has told his Today's World class that he is taking his family camping this weekend. Since the weather is great this time of year, get outside and have a great Fall Break!

Grandparents Day!

     Tomorrow is a day that students love and have looked forward to this whole week. It's called Grandparent's Day. Students love Grandparents Day because they get to eat lunch with their grandparents, their grandparents get to see all of their friends, and they also are able to see what their grandchildren are doing in school. Every student's grandparent is invited to come Friday at 11:30 and gather in the new gym and eat lunch. After eating the lunch, provided by the PTO, Mr. Henry will give his annual greeting speech, football danceline will perform, and the chorus will sing. Students are also encouraged to show their grandparents around the campus and introduce them to their teachers and see their classrooms before leaving.
Grandparent's Day has been an event at Deerfield for as long as anyone can remember. Senior Abigail Long when asked about her opinion of the day says, "It's one of the best days of my school year because all the performances are great and there's nothing better than eating lunch with my grandmother. I will miss it very much next year when I am at college." Many students will always remember this day as one that was a fun, positive one. It lets students take a break from their classes and have a lunch with the people that they love the most! Hundreds of grandparents should be here and it will hopefully be a huge success!