Written by: Claire Kister, Features editor

SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 3-9, 2008

FRIDAY
USA Nationals varsity cheer, Anaheim
Boys’ varsity baseball @ Farmersville Baseball Classic, 9 A.M.
FCA meeting, 11:30 A.M.

SATURDAY
FCS Auction 2008, 5 P.M. in the FC gym.
USA Nationals varsity cheer, Anaheim

SUNDAY
USA Nationals varsity cheer, Anaheim

VARSITY CHEER ADVANCES TO USA FINALS
The varsity cheerleaders, under the direction of coach Katie Mendenhall, advanced to the final round at the United Spirit Association (USA) National Cheerleading competition in Anaheim, March 7. The girls are competing in the Performance Cheer division. Only two teams from their division advanced to the finals and the FC varsity team will compete on Sunday, March 9 at 3:03 P.M. in the Anaheim Convention Center.

FIRST TENNIS MATCH
FC boys’ tennis team will host their first match of the year against Sierra at T-Sport Health and Racquet Club on Blackstone and Shaw, March 6. Match play begins at 3:30 P.M.

FCA MEETING
Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) plans to host a lunch meeting in honor of the baseball team in room 604, March 7. Students may purchase sub sandwiches for $3 or bring their own lunch.

DESTINATION IMAGINATION
The high school Destination Imagination team will perform in the regional tournament, March 8. The competition will take place at the Buchanan High east gym at 10:40 A.M. Their presentation will last for a maximum of 10 minutes. Entrance is free of charge.

NIGHT OF THE STARS
Night of the Stars (NOTS) tickets will be on sale at lunch for $50 each. The leadership class is offering two free tickets to the guy who asks his date in the most creative manner. To enter the competition, the guy most submit a description of the proposal into the box in Josh Tosland’s room. The winner will be announced on March 25. Tickets will remain on sale until March 27.

VARSITY BOYS’ BASEBALL
FC varsity boys’ baseball continues their winning streak in the Farmersville Baseball Classic by beating Strathmore, 9-8, March 4. The team holds a current record of 3-0 in the tournament.

Stowe Empereur; WP
Coleton Hutchins; S, 2-4, 3B, Bunt Single
Daniel Kingen; 3-4, 2 3B, 2B, RBI
Ronnie Giannetta; 3 B

FRESNO BEE RECOGNIZES THE FEATHER
The Fresno Bee printed an article, High school newspaper earns shot at award, March 5. The Metro article outlines The Feather’s recent nomination for a Pacemaker award. The article may be found in the Local & State section of the Bee on page B2 or online at http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/442149.html.

THE FEATHER NAMED GRAND CHAMPION AT FRESNO STATE COMPETITION
For the first time in campus history, The Feather print edition was named the Sweepstakes winner of the San Joaquin Valley Scholastic Press Association’s (SJVSPA) annual publications competition at Fresno State, March 1.

During the awards ceremony, 11 different Feather reporters received individual honors while the greatest prize was saved for the end. The Mass Communication and Journalism Departments at California State University, Fresno, annually sponsor the event.

For four of the last five years, The Feather has won the SJVSPA Small Schools Division and named an All-Valley Newspaper. However, this year the paper earned the honor of Sweepstakes winner: the 2008 grand champion of the day despite competing against schools with populations over 10 times their size.

Editor-in-chief, Mary Kneefel, and layout & design editor, Ryan Martens, were honored along with the 10 other individual Feather award winners.

The contest consisted of three components: mail-in competition, critique of fall semester’s newspapers, and on-the-spot contests. Fresno Christian earned the distinction of Sweepstakes winner, while beating all schools, regardless of size or division, between Stockton and Bakersfield.

REMINDER CSF STUDENTS
The fundraising committee wants to remind all California Scholarship Federation members to continue to sell vouchers for Sal’s Mexican Restaurant. All money and order forms must be turned in to Molly Sargent, March 14. The class which sells the most will receive a prize for their efforts.

CSF COMMUNITY SERVICE
California Scholarship Federation (CSF) is partnering with Children’s Hospital to help the organization with fundraising. The hospital needs 20 volunteers to hand out fliers and collect donations at the Save Mart Center for the Fresno Falcon Hockey game at 6 P.M., March 11. When the volunteers finish their work, they can sit and watch the game. Each volunteer also receives two free tickets for family and friends. If interested, sign-up in front of the office. For more information talk to senior Kara Linkowski.

KIDS DAY
In preparation for the upcoming Kids Day 2008, Children’s Hospital Central California needs volunteers to sell special $1 Kids Day editions of The Fresno Bee, March 11. Student leadership plans to participate in the event. The Fresno County-wide event is also sponsored by The Fresno Bee and ABC 30. If interested, contact Kevin Damm, ’09, or members of the leadership class.

ADVENTURE P.E. OFFERED–
Once a month the physical education department will organize excursions not normally associated with PE classes on campus. The small class returned from a one day biking trip to Yosemite earlier in October. For more information e-mail Callisch at [email protected] as soon as possible for the spelunking activity.

The next adventure PE offerings are:
March – Scuba diving intro class
April – Windsurfing
May – Rafting

MARCH ADVENTURE P.E.–
The next Adventure P.E. will be at Bob’s dive shop in Fresno for scuba diving, March 13. Students interested in exploring underwater sign-ups are available in front of the office. The cost for scuba diving is $25.

CHEER TRY-OUTS
Cheer try outs for the 2008-09 school year will begin soon. If interested, packets with more information are available in the office.

FEATHER AWARDED TOP 10 HONOR
For the third year in a row, the campus publication, The Feather Online, has been named one of the best high school newspapers in the country. On Feb. 25, editor-in-chief, senior Mary Kneefel, and her staff have been named a National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Finalist.

Online editions from across the country were entered in the annual competition, which has recognized student journalism since 1927. Many refer to the coveted Pacemaker as the Pulitzer Prize of student journalism.

The 12-week competition began Jan. 28 and will conclude when the top three online newspapers in the United States are announced at the NSPA National Convention in Anaheim, CA, on April 19. For more information, the NSPA home page is www.studentpress.org/nspa/.

Only 10 high school newspapers in the United States have been named finalists this year, up from seven in 2006 when The Feather Online won the competition. Of this year’s finalists, three are from California and two from Maryland. All high school newspapers in the United States, regardless of school size, are eligible to compete for this award.

Those interested in viewing all 10 Pacemaker finalists should go online to the NSPA website.

FEATHER WRITER RECOGNIZED
The Online NewsHour with Jim Lehrer selected sophomore Sydney Ray’s Jan. 17 article, “Upside to Down Syndrome,” to publish on the PBS website. The Feather congratulates Ray for this accomplishment.

CAUTION STUDENTS
Students are not allowed to chew gum on campus unless they turn in a specific note from their doctor. This rule comes from Peoples Church and is in effect even after school. It costs the Peoples Church approximately $3,000 to clean up the mess created by gum.

FCA USED CELL PHONES
Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) encourages students to donate used cell phones in effort to raise money for the club. Please turn in all old and used cell phones in the designated box outside the office. The money will be used for lunches, prizes, and scholarships for camp.

SHOE DONATION
Track coach Ericlee Gilmore and his wife, Dorina, plan to visit Haiti over the Easter break. Haiti is considered poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The Gilmores would appreciate your help in gathering as many used or new shoes as possible to take with them to Haiti for distribution. If interested, please place the donations in the designated garbage bin in front of the office.

ANAHEIM JOURNALISM CONVENTION–
The Journalism Education Association and National Scholastic Press Association hosts the Spring National High School Journalism Convention at the Anaheim Marriott. The convention offers more than 200 learning sessions, workshops, and seminars in regards to journalism from April 17-20. Deadlines for early action registration is March 27. Contact adviser Greg Stobbe at [email protected] for more information about this event.

NATIONAL EDITION HONORS CONTINUE–
This week (March 4) three Feather reporters have articles in the Entertainment section and one in Student Life. Sophomore Suzanna Quiring’s review, “Idina Menzel overwhelms trite lyrics”. Freshman Austin Ward’s movie review, “Vantage Point puzzles perspective”, was also chosen. Senior Brittany Lauber’s book review, My name is Aram chronicles Saroyan childhood, was also featured in the edition. Jennifer Rose’s article on The Feather’s new blog was printed in the Student Life section. The National Edition was down last week so this is seventh week in a row this semester Feather articles have been chosen.

Currentley, 26 out of 29 Feather reporters and 50 articles have appeared on the National Edition since August 2007.

Over 665 high schools across the United States, regardless of size, participate in online newspaper production and are eligible for this honor. While The Feather Online posts new articles each day on its home site (www.thefeather.com), reporters continue to be chosen to represent the National Edition online high school newspaper.

Readers can check out the article in the features, entertainment, opinions and student life sections of the National Edition or in The Feather Online.

The National Edition began publication in September 2003 and is sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors (www.asne.org).

FENTON’S MATH LAB–
Michael Fenton, math teacher, now offers assistance to students in room 606 Tuesday through Friday during lunch and after school.

ATTENTION STUDENTS–
A list of all students who have not bought a yearbook are posted on the office window. Those whose names are crossed out have purchased yearbooks and those whose names still remain have not purchased one. If anyone is still interested in purchasing the yearbook, make a check payable to FCS for $80 and turn it into Molly Sargent in room 621 or the office.

REGISTRATION FOR ALL MALES AGE 18–
All men must register with Selective Service when they turn 18. Those who fail to register may be denied many important opportunities such as student loans, government jobs, a driver’s license in most states, and citizenship for male immigrants. Go online to register: Selective Service System.

TUTORS NEEDED–
High school students interested in tutoring see George Freeman in the junior high office as soon as possible. This is a paid position.

MOM’S IN TOUCH–
Please join Mom’s In Touch prayer group every Friday from 8-9 A.M. in Room 204 in the Peoples Church building. If you have any questions, call MaryAnn Fujihara, (559) 298-7953.

DATES TO REMEMBER–

MARCH–

March 8 – FCS Auction
March 13- Adventure P.E. scuba diving
March 14 – End of third quarter
March 15-24- No school, Easter vacation
March 29- Night of the Stars

APRIL–

April 1- *SAT registration deadline for May 3 test
April 2- Half day schedule, Teacher’s In-service

April 9-12- Choir trip to Seattle

April 14-18- SAT10/Otis Lennon testing
April 16-19- Publications to NSPA National Convention, Anaheim

April 23- Half day schedule, Teacher’s In-service

MAY–

May 3- Sadie Hawkins
May 5-6- Drama: The Man Behind the Mask
May 9-10- Drama: The Man Behind the Mask

May 21-23- Half day schedule
May 23- End of second semester
– FCHS graduation
* SAT deadlines: U.S. deadlines apply, late fees enforced