Awesome blogs to also check out!!!

The title should already have you all excited and jumping around your living room. Below are a just 3 of the great blogs my fellow classmates have created in our Journalism in the Digital Age class. Be prepared for greatness. You ready? You sure? I'm not sure if you can handle the awesomeness but here we go...

Bella Anglin created the BayaRights blog which can be found here: Baya Rights. She talks about her state of Oregon and some of the cool things that happen there. Go check out her article "Interview With A Tattoo Artist" - it is very cool and insightful.

Gemma Carroll's blog Boston Writes can be found here: Boston Writes. Her article "The Work that Goes into Getting into College" might as well be included in a guide to college applications. She offers a lot of really good advice in the article and the article is also written very well (always a plus).

Last, but certainly not least, is Ashley Anglisano's blog Awsum Adventures. She talks about the things she is passionate about and offers great articles on really controversial topics like gun control and animal testing.

So again, I urge you all to check out these other super cool blogs.

Mock Trial

For the last 3 years, Mock Trial has been a big part of my life in the fall. Not only that, but the fact that we were able to make it to the state championship this past year shows the level of dedication of many kids at my school. This is not the first year we have gone far either. For the last decade or so the Lewiston Mock Trial team has always come in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the state.

Many of you may not know what Mock Trial is so I am including a slideshow that shows what it is below this post. If your school has a team and you love to debate or you simply like law or the legal system, I would encourage you to join your team. There are so many benefits including public speaking, critical thinking, and writing. These are skills we all have to master no matter what field we go into and you get them all here (plus Mock Trial is super fun).

Mock Trial 2012-2013 Slideshow

LHS Cheerleaders Win States Third Year in a Row

At Lewiston High School cheerleading is much more than a group of girls screaming "U-G-L-Y, you ain’t got no albeit." It is hours of hard work. Sometimes this could be as little as 3 hours to as long as 7 hours.

Coach Jen Roy detailed a day in the life of an LHS Cheerleader. It begins with the girls going through their day of school from 7:45 AM to 2 PM. The girls then carpool together to the National Guard building to begin practice at 2:45 PM. Practice then goes from 2:45 to 4:30, but their day is not over. From 4:30 to 5 the girls do conditioning. This includes calisthenics, running, stunt work, and other activities to help their bodies become stronger. As Coach Roy said, "If you don't spend that time, you won't be able to do the more advanced stunting and tumbling. Sometimes this ends their day, but if it is a night with a sports event like a basketball game, their day is only half over. The girls cheer at these games and sometimes they go as late as 9 PM.

This is all practice for when the girls compete against other schools. Their long hours and dedication certainly pays off because on February 11, 2013 the LHS cheerleaders won the Maine State Cheering Competition for the third year in a row. The team was the best amongst 12 teams in the Class A competition. They won with a score of 167.7. This was also the best amongst the 4 teams that won in Class A, B, C, and D.

Senior cheerleader Torey Reny has been cheering for 13 years and has been an LHS cheerleader for all four of her high school years. She feels that the best part of cheering is how exciting it can be. She said that when they first won states years ago she felt accomplished and was very happy that “we accomplished this goal as a team.” Three years later, she still loves the excitement she gets from cheering, and is still very proud of her team. This year she stated that again she was really proud of her team and all they had accomplished.

Fellow senior Kirsty Beauchesne echoed Reny’s words. She felt very excited for her team for winning. She has been a cheerleader for the last 12 years and has been an LHS cheerleader for the last four years.

When asked about how their coaches have helped them get to this point, both girls said that their coaches push them hard, but they understand why they do so. They understand that their coaches really want them to be their best so they push them hard. Reny also stated, “We have amazing coaches. They have been a huge part of my life for the last four years.” Beauchesne said that they could not have accomplished all that they had without their help.

The next stage in the competition is the New England Competition. This will be on March 15, 2013.

*Photos Courtesy of Donna Barnies 

Welcome to my blog!

Hello there! Thanks for visiting my blog. I am going to help reshape the world's view of my beautiful city of Lewiston in the my home state of Maine. The diversity and sense of community are things that I don't belive get pointed out a lot and I am going to remedy that through this blog. Thanks again for visiting!