The 2009-2010 edition of the LPPACS yearbook is available online now.
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Jack Johnson: To The Sea

With the release of Jack Johnson’s fifth studio album, To The Sea, one thing can definitely be said: summer has officially arrived.

Alongside his signature sound—muted strum pattern, pulsing keyboard, soft vocals—, Johnson also uses a surprising amount of electric guitar on the album, proving once and for all he is indeed not a hippie acoustic purist. His simple but catchy electric riffs layer well with his mellowed-out songs and act as a breath of fresh air, putting his “Banana Pancakes” days well behind him.

His lyrics continue to be built upon bright imagery and wittily constructed metaphors—most of which are based on the sea, thus the album title. Overall, Johnson produces a musical luau that celebrates self-searching and looking past something’s face value.

As can be expected, Jack Johnson once again has created an album that will likely melt listeners away to the ocean, the beach, or anyplace happy and sunny. To The Sea should certainly be considered as essential to enjoying this summer as ice cream, ultimate Frisbee and sunscreen.

–Logan Thomas

The members of the Spanish Club are students who are currently enrolled in a Spanish class. They work hard in class and also in the club — just ask club president, senior Kaleb Chesnic. They have organized and participated in many events throughout the school year, such as the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, nacho sales during lunches, and fundraising for organizations. (You may have already been a contributor to one of their nacho sales.)

Although when most clubs fundraise, it’s solely for their own benefit, the Spanish club has found other things to do with its earnings. The money from nacho sales this year went to a Haitian fundraiser after the disaster struck in Haiti, while funds from other different activities the club did throughout the year went to buy supplies for Lincoln Park’s Fun Day, as well as to the American Red Cross for Chilean Relief organizations.

While the Spanish Club does work for plenty of other groups, they do have opportunities to benefit themselves. Senior Stephanie Marshall is the Spanish Club’s “personal chef.” Stephanie has graciously given her time to prepare many dishes from countries throughout the Latin world. This year, Stephanie has made things such as provolones de cassia y Carmelo, which is a Cuban cookie with caramel on top; beef empanadas; pastel de choclo; chicken tamales; red beans and rice with spicey chorzio,;and tres leches cake. Some of these delicious treats were also sold to raise money for the club.

As many students probably remember, the Spanish Club sponsored a school-wide celebration of Cinco de Mayo. They had some beautiful decorations adorning the atrium during lunch as well as entertainment. Senior Karmen Simmel and junior Amber Nicole performed the tango, while junior Evan Kremmel and Amber performed the Mexican hat dance, which got some of the students watching involved.

As the year came to an end, the Spanish Club still worked feverishly to plan events. They sold some items at Fun Day, and also welcomed a Peruvian guest to school. And for those students who are particularly Spanish driven, Senora Van Hartogh will be offering a “summer school” program for current Spanish students. There will be fun, food — and lots of Spanish.

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Siren Video Editorial from Scott Andrew on Vimeo.

Tigers are busy roaming in the fields. Lions are busy prowling the jungle. And Lincoln Park’s Leopards are busy in the gym preparing for their upcoming basketball season!

Last season the Leopards came up against a few setbacks, including their one-point loss and season-ending game against Clarion. But after speaking with athletic director/new head coach Mike Bariski and a few of the players, it’s clear they don’t plan to let anything or anyone get in their way this year.

With the start of the season just a few weeks away, we wanted to be filled in on what the team thought would be the keys to this year’s success and obstacles:

Key newcomers and departures: With three integral players — David McCauley, Marcus Brown, and Justin Hosack – graduating last June, the Leopards felt sort of in a rut. But not long after these players’ departure, the coaches and remaining teammates realized they had a lot to look forward to in the arriving year.

“It’s close to impossible to replace David McCauley, but for the most part his scoring and ability will be split between three guys, and that will be Sean Shirley, Devontae Watson, and Kyle Taylor,” said Bariski.

With the newest additions — Jalen Katrell; freshmen from Midland, junior Kyle Taylor of Quaker Valley; and junior Seth Davis of Cornell all joining the Leopard family this year, the players and coaches suggest that they are at no disadvantage from the departures of last year. Another newcomer they were able to welcome is assistant head coach Mark Javens.

Key injuries: Through the duration of the season preparation, the Leopards thought everything was in place. However, a few weeks ago, point guard Kyle Taylor was injured during practice. When asked about the incident, Bariski expressed his determination for nursing Taylor back to health as soon as possible and not letting it take much of a toll on the jump of the season.

Taylor seems to agree. “I’m rehabbing right now and working on seeing doctors. I plan to wear a brace during the season to help, but overall I don’t think it will have a big effect on my playing because I always go hard.”

Key rivalries: At the end of last year, rumor was that the Leopards had formed many rivalries. After speaking with a few of the players, the rumor was primarily proven true. Sean Shirley, a senior from Midland and also team captain, said, “I’m thinking the season-opener against Blackhawk will be somewhat of a challenge because they’re Triple A and we’re Single A. In the past we haven’t had much success against them and I’m hoping we might have it this time.”

As the interviews progressed, there seemed to be a pattern. Each player felt their previous high school would be their biggest challenge. “In relation to our old schools, we like to think of it as more of a friendly rivalry,” said Keith Hutchins, a junior from Midland.

Key improvements and advantages: In a recent interview with Coach Bariski, there seemed to be a lot said about the newest players and their advantages, one of these being “the tremendous amount of size.” The tallest players on the team are Jalen Katrell, a freshman who stands at 6’4”; Seth Davis, a junior who stands 6’6” and the tallest, Devontae Watson, a towering sophomore standing six foot nine. Bariski said that of these three players, Watson “has the wingspan of a seven-and-a-half footer and for his size, has adequate leaping ability”; Davis “is a basketball player in a football player’s body, who is more of a physical player and will rely on his strength”; and Katrell, who “is big and young, has unlimited potential and is expected to be the next great basketball player out of Midland in the years to come.”

Key Dates: The Leopards kick off the season Dec. 11 and 12 by hosting the Midland Tip-Off Tournament. Teams participating include New Brighton, Blackhawk and Center.

Until then, each individual player with the Leopards is hard at work, and they have made it clear they think this year is there for the taking. “Our future looks so bright, one of the more appropriate reasons being that were so young,” said Bariksi. “There’s Dante Hutchins and Sean Shirley that are seniors, and once they’re gone the other 14 that are left are all juniors and down. We anticipate being competitive and quite good this year.”