Lauren Redding stood on top of a parking deck, waiting for a man that she had never met before to drive her to an undisclosed location just so she can get the facts needed for her controversial story. If the identity of this “Deepthroat” is revealed, their job could be in serious jeopardy and Redding could find herself in hot water.

In just two years, Redding went from working on relatively small stories as the style editor for the Round Table, the Middletown High School student newspaper, to her Watergate-like story as a rookie reporter for the University of Maryland student newspaper, the Diamondback, that gained statewide attention.

Beginning as a writer for the style column of the Round Table, the Middletown High School newspaper, Lauren Redding did not take a serious approach to journalism, initially. That all changed when she read a moving novel about a journalist held hostage when in a war zone. This novel was the spark that started the fire. Redding became inspired, to the extent that she now had aspirations to become a journalist. Redding spoke with her adviser, Noah Kady, about her recent change of heart and she became the eventual online editor-in-chief, something unheard of for a rookie journalist.

 On Friday Nov. 11,Redding shared her experiences at MHS and at the University of Maryland where she is now the editor-in-chief of the Diamondback, the independent student newspaper.

Redding hit the ground running after speaking with Kady about her new aspirations and began to stand out amongst her fellow classmates.

Redding quickly moved her way up the ranks in the journalism hierarchy and became the online editor-in-chief; a position in which she believed was previously out of her reach. These experiences with Kady, and the journalism class, contributed to her journalism scholarship to theUniversityof Maryland following her senior year. However, her success mostly stems not only from experience and natural ability, but from her drive and “thirst” that comes only from within.

“You have to put everything you have into it. You need to want it,” Redding said.

This fearlessness and determination is needed for her laborious editorial job at the  Universityof Maryland that she earned after an internship with the Frederick News Post. As an editor, she may go days without eating, sleep in her office, and brave the elements just to follow local action and facilitate the paper. In the “sink or swim” atmosphere that accompanied Redding’s new position, she quickly learned the ropes and added new journalistic knowledge to her basic experience.

Redding has had writing appear in the McClathy Tribune, a wire service that appears in newspapers across the country. She has an interest in health-based journalism and hopes to eventually become a health journalist. She is currently studying at the University of Maryland where she maintains her position as the editor-in-chief of the Diamondback.

On May 12 at 10 a.m., the Knee High Knights Class of 2011 began their graduation ceremony at the Middletown Park. Earlier in the morning, Gretchen Martin took her Child Development 2’s to the park to decorate one of the pavilions in festive orange and black. While they spread tablecloths and arranged a variety of food, the Child Development 3’s were back at the high school, preparing the preschoolers for their big day.

MHS seniors Tara Shaffer and Nicole Henderson practiced with the children one more time for the ceremony. They recited the alphabet, numbers 1-20, and danced to the song “I’m A Little Teapot”.

“Working with the kids and teaching them new concepts definitely helped all of us as teachers to recognize and feel accomplished that we helped these little ones grow, develop and learn. I think that’s what makes Graduation day so important,” said Henderson.

After running through the kid’s recitations, other Child Development 3 students began to help dress the preschoolers in their bright orange caps and gowns.

After a few pictures and a final headcount, the preschoolers and Child Development 3’s began making their way to the park. Parents and other family members anxiously awaited the arrival of their preschoolers, casually chatting with one another. As soon as the preschoolers stepped into the pavilion, the ceremony was ready to begin. With some much-needed prompting from Shaffer and Henderson, the preschoolers proceeded with their recitations and group dance.

MHS junior Abby Buchanan said, “The children got to show their parents what they have learned, and we got to celebrate how much the children grew throughout the year.”

After a short closing statement from Martin, everyone was free to grab refreshments, play with the preschoolers on the playground equipment, or simply relax in the grass and enjoy the beautiful May sunshine.

Although all the children participated in the graduation ceremony, many of them will be returning to the preschool next year.

“The kids learn new things every day, social and emotionally. Socially, they are all ready to move onto Kindergarten. With a little more practice over the summer, they could all be at the Kindergarten level,” said Henderson.

“The preschoolers have improved so much this year. They’ve mastered skills like counting and writing, as well as physical skills like catching a ball. But I feel like it really is true that we learn more from them than they do from us,” said Buchanan.

Like a siren, the bell at Middletown Elementary School rings, signaling that the school day is about to begin.  A small class of second-graders walks behind their teacher like a trail of ants.  As they turn a corner toward the front of the building, the children witness chaos.  An overwhelming crowd of parents is flooding the front lobby.  One by one, the children are plucked out of line and dragged by the hand by their worried parents to their cars.

Second-grader Mckenzie Miskell looks around confused and scared. She doesn’t understand the gravity of what is going on around her, but she knows it’s something bad.

The date is Sept. 11, 2001.

At that same time, Middletown High School junior Allison Parker (now Grisso) leisurely walks into her English class. A few other students have already trickled in and had gathered around the television in teacher Noah Kady’s classroom. Just as she glances at the T.V., the second plane hit the towers. Blowing it off as some kind of joke or clip from a movie, she moves her stuff to her seat and gets relaxed and ready for class. As more students file in and see the news, she realizes that this is no joke and her thoughts turn to her father.  Is he all right? Is he hurt? Knowing her dad works for the Department of Energy and occasionally has to go to the Pentagon, Kennedy begins to panic. The rest of her day is spent worrying.

Although the events of that fateful day occurred nearly 10 years ago, the memories have never really disappeared.  Fueled by an ongoing war in Afghanistan and the impact of the Internet, the quest to find Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the group – Al Qaeda – responsible for the tragic collapse of the towers, has never faded.

So when President Barack Obama announced the death of Bin Laden, Middletown students responded like much of the rest of the country.

MHS alumni Kate Logan (‘04), remembers when the twin towers were hit and how people all over the United States were talking about it for months. But to her, the death of Osama isn’t as big of a deal as the attack on the towers.

“It’s just one man’s death and killing one person isn’t going to change things. If someone killed our president, would we fall to pieces? No. We would survive and keep moving forward. Plus, the media needs to stop harping on his death because the more we talk about it, it’s like we’re glorifying death, and someone still died,” said Logan.

Unlike Logan, MHS senior Bryan Goodyear thinks it’s great that Osama is no longer a threat to everyday Americans.

“We’ve waited nine to10 years for our military to find him and now the families of those lost on 9/11 can finally have peace. It’s not celebrating someone’s death, but celebrating peace for the families and progress in the war against terror,” said Goodyear.

When the events of 9/11 took place, people felt many emotions, including fear, anger, sadness, loss and devastation.  The jumble of emotions has made it hard for many people to understand how they feel or what to believe now that Osama is dead.

”I have conflicted feelings about the entire event. In an ideal world, I’d have preferred if he were taken alive and put on trial for the world to see. I accept that if he resisted, it may have been necessary to use lethal force, but the fact that he was unarmed gives me some pause,” said MHS alumni Brian Pepper (’04). ”On the other hand, I wasn’t there, and few details have been released about how he resisted, so ultimately I can’t pass judgment.”

Although for many people the death of Osama was a psychological success in the war against terrorism, it doesn’t always bring a strong sense of pride. To some people it wasn’t anything more then the death of another human being on earth.

“I don’t feel a sense of justice or American pride over it, because nothing is going to ever make up for the evil that happened that day — especially not more death. I’m especially disturbed by some of the footage of the celebrations because I remember watching footage of Al Qaeda celebrating after 9/11, and it’s appalling to think that America is reacting the same way,” said MHS alumni Liane Schmersahl (’07).

Many other students feel the same way about how Americans are reacting to the death of Osama.

“I’m disturbed by the fact that people are celebrating it to such an extent. I believe that his death was justified and necessary to prevent more death and suffering, and I am glad that it has brought closure to those directly affected by 9/11, but he’s still a human being. I’ve never seen such a collective outpour of hate and celebration of death,” said MHS senior Megan Rigby.

Although Bin Laden was a difficult obstacle for the U.S. military to overcome, the long battle is not over yet, and some believe there is still more death and fighting to come.

“It’s only just a vicious cycle that will never end and Osama’s death is just the beginning of the cycle. I think that one death in a terrorist group will not end terror on innocent people,” said MHS junior Jessie Bunk.

When Bin Laden’s death was announced to the public, reactions spread like wildfire across the Internet from those in the United States and the Middle East.

“A quote that’s been going around the internet sums up my feelings nicely: ‘I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.’ It is falsely attributed to Mark Twain, but apparently it is actually a corruption of a Clarence Darrow quote,” said Pepper.

Just like when things are posted on the internet, they are never completely gone once they’re deleted. Although he is dead, the memory of Bin Laden and the tragic events and pain he inflicted on the United States will never truly be forgotten.

The National Weather Service in Sterling, Va. issued three tornado warnings for Frederick County throughout the morning of April 28.

According to EarthStorm a tornado warning is defined as: an alert “issued by the local National Weather Service office when a tornado or funnel cloud has been sighted visually OR detected by radar.”

A tornado watch is placed in effect only when the formation of a tornado funnel is probable due to weather conditions.

Once the early morning warning had been lifted another warning was issued almost immediately after, just as many high school students across Frederick County were outside waiting to catch their bus.

“When the siren went off again I was terrified because I didn’t really know what to do. Schools weren’t delayed, so I had to make my bus at the same time they were telling us to take immediate shelter. That just wasn’t possible at the time,” said Parker.

Many MHS parents held high concerns as their children traveled to school in the midst of severe weather threats.

“My mom was really concerned that I was going to school (with serious weather in the area),” said MHS junior Ben Vershel.

FCPS communications coordinator Dian Nelson said that school transportation officials, including bus drivers, were trained and knew exactly how to react in the event that they did face a tornado while transporting students to school.

However, for some Middletown High School parents Nelson’s assurance wasn’t enough.

“I believe it was irresponsible for the busses to have been enroute to pick up the high school students during an emergancy weather alert that was serious enough to activate the tornado sirens with instructions to take shelter. My high school student was sick today and did not attend school, but if she were to have been picked up as usual I would have not allowed her to board the bus,” said MHS parent Daean Menke.

Nelson said that when there are isolated reports of tornadoes or severe weather within the county, “there is no county-wide protocol.”

Under the Frederick County Public Schools Calendar Handbook an absence or late arrival due to “hazardous weather conditions” is “considered lawful and therefore excused, as described in the Public School Laws and Code of Bylaws of the Maryland State Board of Education.”

“With a county as large and geographically diverse as ours, it is hard to make a decision to close schools county-wide, so it becomes the parents’ decision (to keep their children from school),” said Nelson.

Nelson also said that due to the fact that “high school transportation starts so early there needs to be time to make a decision,” which FCPS deemed there was not enough of.

Nelson said that “all schools were notified repeatedly” as the status of the county’s weather alerts were updated throughout the day.

Principals across the county were instructed to act accordingly; instructing students and staff to seek shelter if they deemed it necessary in their school’s area.

Several schools urged students and staff to seek “shelter indoors” in the morning as the final warning was issued.

A staff member from Linganore High School said that Principal Dave Kehne “announced over the school’s intercom to have students and staff move into the the auditorium, gym, the middle of the building in hallways away from windows and into the music room,” after Kehne deemed weather conditions in the school’s area severe enough to take action.

Students in classes outside of the school building held in portables were removed from the portables, and brought inside the school building. Students and staff were not permitted to exit school buildings as they were instructed to keep “shelter indoors”.

“A number neighboring counties with issued tornado warnings remained open and on time,” said Nelson. Along with Frederick; Baltimore, Carroll, Howard and Montgomery counties remained open and on time despite tornado warnings implemented for their area.

Nelson said that the decision to have schools remain open was based on the location of the reported funnels and the speed at which they were traveling through an area.

Also, FCPS superintendent Linda Burgee was on leave for the entire week, and other school officials did not want to make a decision regarding the delaying of schools without her.

According to a story from The Frederick News Post, Burgee released an apology to parents the day following the storms, due to “parents’ frustration regarding students being on buses during tornado and flash-flood warnings, and because of the Board of Education’s concerns.”

“Frederick County Public Schools did not respond in the manner we should have to the tornado warnings of yesterday morning, April 28. We apologize to our students and their families for any worry or concerns caused,” said Burgee in the released apology.

Burgee assured parents that she is “working with staff to reevaluate” the FCPS’ “safety protocol.”

“Timely decision making and communication in future emergency situations are critical to maintaining your trust in us to keep our students safe,” said Burgee.

As the month May is approaching quickly, students and staff are trying to cram for the AP tests. Students preparing for the test can determine whether or not they can earn a college credit before even attending a college or university.

Not all students have the chance to take AP classes in school; Middletown High School offers a variety of classes such as Advanced Placement Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Science, Calculus, Psychology, Language and Composition, Spanish, US History and many more.

In classes, teachers are coming down on their students trying to prepare them for everything that they think or know will be on the test.

Middletown High School teacher AP Calculus Jeremy Brenneman says that, “We are practicing everyday and making sure that we understand the material”

Students realize that time is running out and that they need to prepare to do the best of their abilities for the exam.

MHS senior Kelsey Owens explains how she studies for the AP Chemistry test, “I study a chapter a night. I make sure I fully understand the content that we covered during class.”

Teachers are offering their time after school to help students study and develop a better understanding of material covered in the beginning of the semester and for students who took advanced placement classes starting off in the beginning of the year.

Fox Island is a place where one can go crabbing, marsh mucking, and playing in the mud. It’s a place to teach students about the environment and how to conserve on many resources.

On March 31, Middletown High School students went on a journey to Fox Island. Staying there for a few nights, students had the chance to learn more about what it was like to live a more traditional lifestyle- using less resources to survive.

“I learned that we have very little water resources that are available to us and we waste a lot of it. Like each person uses 100 gallons of water a day, which is a lot,” said MHS junior Ginny Dinh.

By doing different activities such as canoeing, students had a unique experience with traveling to different islands and learning new things.

MHS senior Katie Tartaglia said,” we focused on conserving our resources such as light, water and trash. We learned a lot about the Chesapeake Bay and spend a lot of time on a boat and collected sea animals. We were always outside no matter what the weather was and we all bonded very well together.”

Some students had previously been on the trip, but still had a good time.

“I went last year so I already knew most of the trivia and information. However, I learned that people from any sort of group of friends can join together and become close and gang up on a less-than-satisfactory counselor,” said Tartaglia.

MHS has been visiting Fox Island for years. It’s a new opportunity for students to learn more about the environment and help take part in making the world a better place to live in.

“It’s a chance to do some things in the environment that they probably wouldn’t get to do normally,” said environmental science teacher Scott Bean.

Conflicts in the Middle East have recently begun to consume the news. The chaos has brought awareness and concern to Middletown High School students, and has started to impact drivers as well.

The issues that first took place in Tunisia, by a human sacrifice, have led to a whole revolution sweeping the Middle-East in countries such as Egypt, Libya, and Saudi Arabia. The movement is an effort to try to overthrow middle-eastern governments in hopes for democracy.

However, with the revolution beginning to influence Saudi Arabia, prices for oil are beginning to take a turn for the worst.

The average gasoline price, for February, in the east-coast was roughly $3.18, a significant rise from last year’s reported cost of $2.65.

CNN news says that gasoline prices could be pushed to $4 a gallon by summer, in some parts of the country.

Local Middletown BP Amoco gas station, located on Main Street, is currently at a $3.53 rate for regular gasoline.

People are beginning to take a stand to this ‘crisis’ including Middletown High School students, by adhering to the “No Gas Day,” organization started on Facebook.

The purpose of the event was not designed to just fill up your gas tank the day before the event, but to use alternative ways for transportation. Some ways being: taking a bus, riding a bike, or carpooling.

North Carolina resident, Sarah Thompson, created the “No Gas Day” Facebook page where she is calling on drivers to avoid all gas stations on March 31. As this so-called “strike” swept the internet, it has reached so many people that even some Middletown students and teachers are supporting the cause.

“March 31 I will not buy gas!” said English teacher, Daria Baldovin-Jahrling. “Even besides the fact of the problems in the Middle-East, were getting ripped-off for the prices of gas by gas stations. “

Other students however, like senior Mattie Smith, cannot get on with their everyday tasks giving up their car. “I can’t participate in the No Gas Day but, I would if I could. I just have way too many things to do, and places to go to give up my jeep for a day,” said, Smith.

While some students, feel indifferent about the situation.

MHS senior, Delainey Kendall, shares that she is not a fan of the current gas prices, so to speak, but she doesn’t feel as strongly about it as some people. “Gas prices are sky-rocketing, and I could really go a day without buying gas,” said Kendall.

By filling up the day before the protest, organizers hope oil companies lose millions if not billions of dollars. However, whatever people try to do to fight against this challenge we face, students have different opinions for solutions.

“I really think we should be more open to electric cars, and alternative gas sources,” said Smith.

Smith is not alone in her opinions. “I know there has to be other resources to power cars with or car companies should just start moving on to producing electric cars,” said junior, Brendan Maye.

The gas crisis is not only impacting The Middletown community, but everyone across the nation. Only time will tell if this “No Gas Day” will make a difference, or not.

Middletown High School juniors are receiving word if they were accepted into Fort Detrick’s intern programs these past few weeks. Juniors had the option to apply for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) or United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMARIID) science program at Fort Detrick.

Middletown High School will have many students participating in these programs come the 2011- 2012 school year. Students who were accepted into their desired program will begin their experiences in June 2011 and continue for a half-day session during the 2011-2012 school years.

Students who applied for the USAMARIID program have already received word if they have been accepted, while NCI applicants still have to wait just a few more days for the news.

Requirements to be eligible for this opportunity include two successfully earned credits in science and mathematics, all with grades B or higher, must be sixteen years of age or older, and have an overall, unweighted grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

MHS junior Jake Kirkwood, who applied for the NCI program, said “Getting the entire requirement done was a little difficult but I’m pretty confident in my self.”

Over the summer, students receive payment for their work in the lab, the amount of these payments depends upon which program the student interns for.

MHS junior Nick Walker applied for these internship program opportunities and was accepted to enter the USAMRIID program. Walker said “The internship program is a great opportunity to get your name out there and looks great on a college application… and the money is nice too.”

Blood donations are desperately needed throughout all fields of medicine. One pint of blood can save up to three lives, but only 3 out of every 100 Americans actually donate blood.

On April 8, the MHS Student Government Association will be holding a Blood Drive for the American Red Cross in the Wrestling Room, and MHS students and faculty are prepared to donate.

MHS students have shown support for blood donation.

MHS sophomore Claire Diedrich says that “if it helps people, then I think it should be promoted”.

However, it’s harder for people to find the willpower to actually donate.

“I’m kind of scared of needles, but I probably will be open to it eventually,” says MHS sophomore Sarah Engle.

Anyone who fills out a donor packet, is over the age of 16 and meets height and weight requirements is eligible to donate.

SGA supervisor Alisa Gibson donated blood for the first time two years ago, and says that “it’s just a little pinch and that’s it.” The blood donation process takes up to an hour, but the donation itself only takes 10-12 minutes.

By Ana Billotti
Round Table reporter

Students from Middletown High School’s journalism class traveled to West Virginia University on April1 to participate in the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism High School Journalism Competition and Workshops. Eighteen students from the class left MHS at 5:30 a.m. and arrived at the campus around 9:00 a.m.. Students participated in various workshops throughout the day and were able to explore the campus during their free time. At 6 p.m. the students attended an awards dinner. Out of the 350 entries submitted from 22 schools around the West Virginia area. MHS’ journalism class took home eight awards total; four first place awards, two second place awards, and two third place awards.  Brendan Raleigh and Emma Trapp each received a first place award, along with Julia Karcewski, whom recieved two. Shannon McKenna and Ana Billotti received second place awards; and Brittany Titus and McKenna both took home third place awards.  The night was topped off with ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery and cheering at WVU’s basketball and football stadiums.