Anticipation rises as the cast of “Grease”, which includes almost 70 girls and 20 guys, attend hours of music rehearsals, blocking rehearsals, and even dance rehearsals. For many members of the large cast it is their first time participating in the spring musical so they are experiencing things that are totally new to them such as; sheet music, stage directions, and partner dancing.

 Ever since Marcia Nicklas, MHS English/drama teacher, and Susan Thornton, director, announced at last year’s drama banquet, “We’re going to Rydell High. Baby.” students all over the school have been excited about this year’s musical.

 As soon as MHS sophomore Matt Carlstrom heard about the musical he went up to his drama friends and said, “I’m definitely doing Grease this year it’s going to be so fun.”

 This reaction was shared by many people who have never participated in the musical before. They have come up to experienced drama student saying things like, “That sounds like fun, maybe I’ll do the play this year.”

 Marissa Machak, MHS Senior and Dance Team captain, excitedly tells her friends about her new experience. “In the ‘Summer Night’s’ scene we got to actually stand on the tables to dance. I had so much fun at that rehearsal it was very different then our normal dance rehearsals.”

“Grease” attracts other students who don’t usually participate in the show because it is a classic story that most high school students know. Last year’s show “Oliver” didn’t have the same effect.

“Oliver” took place during the late 1830’s while “Grease” takes place in the 1950’s, a time of poodle skirts, drive-in movies, and the hand jive. It’s easy to see why “Grease” is more popular with the high school crowd.

MHS junior Maggie Doherty is also a first time musical participant. Doherty is an ensemble member and a “Beauty School Drop-out” girl. Her favorite part of the musical is “all the dances and just being able to hangout with everyone. It makes the rehearsals a lot of fun.”

The performance is on April 16^th, 17^th, and 18^th. It is sure to be a swell time with sweet Sandy, the sassy Pink Ladies, the arrogant Burger Palace Boys, and a high energy ensemble. 

Middletown High School prepares to perform “Grease” as the 2010 Spring Musical. Students in the drama department are working hard to put on the best performance Middletown High School has ever seen.

MHS seniors Kelsey Swann and Justin Beard play the lead roles, Sandy and Danny.

“This is the only show I have done where I feel like I’m ready. I’m so excited for this show, it’s my senior year and it’s going to be great,” said Beard.

“Grease” has been the talk of the school.  While the cast and crew make their final adjustments, the community anxiously waits to see the musical.

“The show is going to be great; we’ve worked so hard on everything and I know that it will come out great” said Swann.

Get ready to see the Pink Ladies, who consist of freshman Amy Hoffman playing Jan, senior Sarah Biggs as Rizzo, senior Jordan Dumars as Frenchie, and senior Emily Hughes as Marty.

Who could forget the Burger palace boys? Senior Matt Thomas plays Doody, senior Eric Looney plays Sonny, senior Nick Etheridge plays Roger, and senior Kelly Delameter plays the infamous Kenickie.

Not only does the cast have to work their best to make this performance worth the wait, but the crew is working hard as well. The pit crew and the tech crew are the ones that make the show come together as a whole.

MHS junior Ash Maia said, “I’m very excited about the show. Everyone is putting a lot of effort and it will definitely pay off.” Maia, who is part of the tech crew, has been working hard for weeks to make this production come together smoothly.

Students part of the tech crew, or “techies,” are very important to the drama department. Without the tech crew, there wouldn’t be props or lighting, and the scenes would not be as realistic. For the past month the tech crew has been contributing several hours a night to get the set built and make sure everything is prepared for opening night.

“Being a part of the tech crew is a lot of fun. We work hard on the set, painting and building and in the end our work shows.  It’s great knowing that we helped to contribute to the show even if we are not on stage performing,” said junior Samantha Rowland.

Grease is nothing without the lively music. The pit crew helps to make this happen by working their best to practice and perform their music to the best of their ability.

“Practices are fun because the music’s interesting and to have someone like Mr. Shearer leading us is great. My favorite part about being in the pit is playing music from the 1950’s” said junior Bryan Goodyear.

Some of the songs that they will be playing are; The Finale, Those Magic Changes, There are worse things I could do, The Rydell Alma Mater-Parody, Summer Nights, All Choked Up, and Shakin’ at the High School Hop. Some of the musical instruments that the pit plays are the keyboard, guitar, bass guitar, and the drums.

The cast has been practicing diligently and is excited to see the show come together. They love the choreography, the songs, and the help they are getting from the pit and tech crew to make this show great.

The goal for each cast and crew members is to make this production great – for themselves and the audience who comes to see the musical.

Come and see the show April 16 and 17 at 7p.m. and April 19 at 2 p.m.

Maia said, “I think the show will be a great success and will be remembered for a long time.”

Teaching is an extremely common job in America; according to a government census there are approximately 6.5 million teachers in America.

But what makes teaching such a popular job? What do Middletown High School teachers have to say about their job?

John Miller who is a social studies teacher at MHS says “I love the energy from being around kids; it helps keep me young in mind and body.” 

Teaching takes a large amount of energy especially if the teaching is being done correctly. Teachers are required not only come up with lesson plans but find interesting ways to present them. While coming up with theses lessons teachers have to find extra time to find creative ways to keep the students interested.

It’s the little things that keep teachers loving their job, as MHS English teacher Melissa Bolt describes.

 “The students make me laugh and I enjoy helping them” said Bolt.  Each student plays a role in the way a teacher can feel about their job.

“You have to enjoy what you do, if you want to do it well” said MHS social studies teacher Michael Desimone.  

The most important thing about teaching is learning to love it; each teacher should love what they do. Often the best teachers are the ones who love their job the most and who especially love being around kids.

Current MHS senior Amanda Woozley who plans to major in education in college said “I love kids and I want to be a positive influence; kids are our next generation and it is great to help them.”

Each person is able to be influenced and each person is able to influence another, in a positive or negative way. It is very important for teachers to have a positive influence on students by encouraging them and guiding them to do their best in succeeding their own dreams.

Most students at Middletown High School are juggling something. Finding time to fit in schoolwork, sports, and hobbies is stressful on any teenager.

But for MHS sophomores Patrick Sheridan and Anthony Gesiotto and MHS freshman Paul Fritz, juggling is what they do best.

Sheridan and Gesiotto performed a juggling act at the MHS talent show on March 5. Though they did not win, they wowed many with their impressive skills.

Both Sheridan and Gesiotto have been juggling for about a year. They are self-taught and practice in Sheridan’s basement.

It was Sheridan who inspired Fritz to start juggling two months ago.

“I learned from Patrick, Anthony, and YouTube,” said Fritz.

Since he started, Fritz said he has learned “too many tricks to count.” A few basics are called “the shower, cascade, Mill’s mess, the factory, takeouts, Orka’s mess, Burk’s barrage, Rubenstein’s revenge, one up two up, the fake, and Boston’s mess.”

Gesiotto said his “favorite trick is the Mill’s mess because it was the first really difficult trick I ever learned.”

 “I wouldn’t want to juggle as a profession, but if someone wants to give me money for it, be my guest,” said Gesiotto.

 “I wouldn’t mind being a street performer with a hat to collect change,” said Fritz.

The boys juggle standard objects such as balls and clubs, but also practice with unconventional items. Fritz juggled a banana, a shoe, and an apple. Gesiotto juggled a pair of shoes and a milk carton.

Fritz said he has juggled for three hours without a break, and nine hours with short breaks in between. Gesiotto has juggled for three-four hours straight.

“It’s a very enjoyable hobby,” said Fritz.

Perhaps if juggling a schedule is too stressful for some MHS students, they should try juggling something different: balls, clubs, or even fruit.

From the first “How To” speech in fourth grade to reading an AP Lang essay in twelfth, oral presentations have been dreaded by students at every age.  When the teacher asks for volunteers, wide eyes dart around and chairs squeak as bodies shift uncomfortably.  Each student avoids eye contact with the teacher, hoping they will not be the first victim.

Even Philippa Hatch.  She moved from Michigan in the summer of 2008, before her junior year, and is now a senior at MHS.  As a girl who won third place in a national speech competition this summer, it’s hard to believe she’s ever struggled with public presentations.

“I’ve always been afraid of public speaking.  It took a lot of encouragement, but then I competed in Skills USA,” said Hatch.  Skills USA is an organization dedicated to technical students.

One participant from each state advanced to the National Toast Masters Competition sponsored by Skills USA, known as “Prepared Speech.”  The competition was held last June in Kansas City.  Hatch received a medal and a $200 gift certificate to Staples for placing third.

“I had to write about leaders in transition, and give a six and a half minute speech,” said Hatch.  Her speech centered on the idea of every school district in America having technical high schools.

She gave the speech three times, each time fully memorized.  Typically, nerves play a big role in public speaking.  To avoid stumbling or forgetting, Hatch prepares extensively.  “I run it through my head over and over again until it’s all I think about.”

Success in the previous competitions show that Hatch’s speech writing skills are above the rest.

Hatch explained that great speeches do not usually formulate perfectly the first time they’re developed.  “I start with the main idea I want to write about, then a rough outline, and the final is about its tenth edition.  I just continue to edit.”

Along with following a general plan for creating her speeches, Hatch enlists the help of Michael Boyd, a professor at Frederick Community College.  Boyd volunteers at the Career and Technology Center, where Hatch takes marketing classes.  He serves as her public speaking mentor.

“I would be nowhere near as good of a speaker as I am without him,” said Hatch.

Hatch’s talent was not only noticed by Boyd; she was suggested by MHS English teachers to participate in a Rotary Club speech competition in winter.  Every year, MHS sends students to present, but previous students never made it past the preliminary rounds.

It comes as no surprise that Hatch broke the streak, and placed first in the Rotary Club competition in February.  She won $400, and advances to the district competition on April 10.  The winner of the Rotary Club district competition receives $1,800 toward college. 

Surprisingly, Hatch does not intend to pursue a professional career in public speaking.  She is currently considering the University of Delaware, Radford, Albright, and Drexel, and plans to double major in Fashion Merchandising and Fashion Design.

Hatch will keep giving speeches and presentations on the side. Skills USA continues through college, offering many opportunities for students as they advance.  “I definitely want to continue public speaking,” Hatch said, “I really enjoy it.”

Recent spring weather has inspired popular new trends such as styles of dresses, different types of sunglasses, and, perhaps the most popular new trend, the floral skirt.

MHS freshmen Ally Soule is the proud owner of 18 floral skirts. MHS junior Emily Gallagher beats her out with 29 skirts, not including floral dresses or repeated skirts in different colors.

Soule thinks that the skirts are so popular because “they’re bright, girly, and fun. Different from shorts, skirts in general are more comfortable and make you simply feel, well, prettier.”

The main reason that the new skirts are popular is because of the warm weather that has hit recently. As soon as the weather hit mid-70s, almost every girl at school whipped out their dresses and skirts and went “spring shopping.”

Many girls can be seen wearing them either high waisted with a belt or worn like a normal skirt, at the hips.

Soule and Gallagher bought their skirts at Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, Old Navy, Hollister, Macy’s, Wal-mart, Target, and Charlotte Russe.

Most of these stores, particularly Charlotte Russe, have a big display of the new skirts right in the front of the store, encouraging girls to buy them.  These stores try to push the latest trend because they know that once the trend picks up those skirts will sell like crazy.

This tactic worked on Gallagher, she describes her favorite skirt as “navy blue with purple and magenta flowers on it.”

According to Soule, one of the main reasons these skirts sell so well is because they are comfortable and stylish. “I know when I get dressed in the morning I have two things in mind: comfort and style.”

Gallagher thinks the reason these skirts have gotten so popular is “because it is a quick and easy outfit to throw on but it is also really stylish because of the synched waste.”

Both Gallagher and Soule agree that the new trend took off because of the recent spring weather but the first signs of the new trend actually started during the winter months. “The recent floral trend began in the winter but, for comfort, we added tights,” said Soule. One of Gallagher’s favorite things about the tights is that “when it’s warm you can wear them with a tank top and flip flops but if it’s cold you can also wear them with leggings, boots, and a sweater.”

Soule and Gallagher are just two of the many girls at MHS sporting the spring floral skirt.

“I had this guy leave me a voicemail at work, so I called him at home, and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It’s exhausting.”

-He’s Just Not That Into You

Throughout the last decade technology has become an increasingly popular way to interact with others. Some say that teenagers would lack communication skills if technology was taken away. In today’s society it’s common for teenagers to be in constant contact with each other through various types of technology. Many argue the question “is technology ruining communication skills?” Or is it making communication skills even better.”

Teens wake up to the alarm on their cell phones, listen to their Ipod on the way to school, and by eight in the morning they are already texting their fellow peers.

Teenagers especially use technology to communicate with each other. Facebook, Skype, and Twittering are just some of the ways teenagers keep in constant contact and let others know what they are doing. And it is not a surprise most of these communication portals are accessible by a mobile phone.

“Facebook is my number one way to stay connected, without checking it regularly I feel out of the loop on everyday things,” said junior Makenzie Deener.

Everyday things include events, new relationships, birthdays, and recent events that have taken place due to your friends posting photos or posting their status updates. In older times teens would not know the news as quickly as they know it now.

Take Facebook, this day in age if you ask most teens what the term “Facebook official” means they would define it as the “legit” way to tell if two people are dating.

“If someone changes their relationship status to either “single” or “in a relationship” on Facebook it makes it official, if you don’t put it on Facebook no one is going to know they are dating,” said MHS junior Taylor Greene.

News moves at such a fast paced speed; that some ask, Is this a good thing that everyone can know everything in an instant?

“I hate how people update their Facebook status so everyone knows what they are doing constantly, and I’ve been in situations where people know what I’ve been doing over the weekend because of my status,” said MHS junior Greg Norman.

Many see the negatives in technology, and that one rumor can be spread so fast it’s unbelievable. 

“It’s so easy for a rumor to be spread; it can be texted or can be known by Facebook, it’s insane”, said MHS junior Becky Johnson.

No matter what you may believe, technology has undoubtedly changed the teenage generation. And it’s an individual’s decision to decide if it is for better, or for worse. 

The longer one waits to do something that must be done, the worse the situation becomes. This is true whether it be an assignment for school, chores at home, or simply getting up in the morning.  So why does nearly everyone procrastinate? This is always a reoccurring question among high school students, and a question we all try to find an answer to.

There are many different ideas as to why people procrastinate.  Psychologists have speculated that some of the reasons are perfectionism, anxiety, teenage rebellion against overbearing parents, fear of failure, and thrill-seeking. 

Rapidly increasing types of technology have provided more ways to procrastinate.  Timothy Pychyl, a Canadian psychologist, remarked, “We do know that 50 percent of the time people are online, they’re procrastinating.” Middletown high school students could verify that.

When school projects are first assigned, there always seems to be plenty of time.  However, that plentiful time soon creeps away, leaving little opportunity to finish.

“The pressure of having to complete an assignment in such little time creates stressful situations that aren’t necessary”, said Maria Duva, Middletown high school science teacher.

Although they procrastinate, students still manage to complete their projects on time. 

 “I get my projects done on time. I’m just rushed to do them,” said MHS junior Ash Maia

Homework assignments, given by various teachers, often have colliding due dates.  

“Normally, if you’ve put off one thing, you’ve put off another, and then they coincide for the perfect storm of procrastination,” Said MHS English teacher, Becky Larson.

A 10-year research study on the causes of procrastination was recently performed by Piers Steel, a University of Calgary psychologist.  He came up with “the procrastination equation.”  Psychology Today in the Sept.-Oct. 2009 issue explained his equation as “How likely one is to delay depends on one’s confidence multiplied by the importance/fun of a given task, divided by how badly you need the reward (for finishing) multiplied by how easily distracted you are.”

Procrastination is an endless struggle that must be fought on a daily basis.  And being aware of the problem is most likely the best way to conquer it.

There are many extracurricular activities to participate in at Middletown High School, but one of the many activities that students don’t consider very often is Women’s Choir.

Women’s Choir gives students the chance to take choir outside of school. They are also able to participate in concerts, fund-raisers, and the annual trips at the end of the year.

“I started the Women’s Choir to give girls the opportunity to sing in a group outside of class,” choir director Jessica Parsley said.

Parsley makes Women’s Choir enjoyable for students by picking various songs, such as gospel, musical theater, movies, and classical pieces to sing.

Parsley allows the students to pick songs out of what she has already chosen. This gives students the opportunity to sing what they would like to sing, rather than in class choir, where the director chooses the songs. 

“Students tend to be excited for Women’s Choir; they truly show me they want to be there. The girls are always in a good mood and excited to sing,” said Parsley.

Women’s Choir gives students the chance to express their singing ability and meet new people. 

“I love meeting new people,” MHS junior Megan Rigby said. “I am generally an outgoing person and to get the chance to meet new people is exciting.”

All MHS female students are welcome into the Women’s Choir and it gives students the chance to get together once a week and sing with new faces.

The Women’s Choir will be performing on May 11 at 7 p.m. in the MHS auditorium. Students who are interested in joining Women’s Choir should meet every Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in the choir room.

For millions of years, males in the wild have performed bizarre rituals to find the thing they desperately need: a mate. Rams butt heads to impress the girl, peacocks flash dazzling feathers at nearby peahens, and the Blue-Footed Boobie dances to win his lady’s heart. Superior beings chuckle at these trivial practices; surely man would never behave like these primitive beasts.

But perhaps man has not evolved as much as he thought.

Take a look down the halls of Middletown High School. Senior boys screech and shout for attention. They wear certain clothes and shoes. They act cool and nonchalant when pretty girls walk by.

MHS senior Casey Lindberg said to attract girls, boys have “thrown things in their hair, spit, ignored them, been way too nice, and changed who they are.”

“They act like idiots,” said Lindberg.

In addition to the silly practices performed to attract a lady friend’s attention, high school boys tend to butt heads like untamed rams.

“Some boys fight verbally and physically in front of girls, trying to outdo one another,” said Lindberg.

Such is true in the wild, when male sea lions fight for the mating rights of a harem of 3-20 females. The winner gets the girls; the loser goes back to the ocean.

In the wild, animals look for mates that have the best chance of passing on their genes to the next generation. This tends to be the healthiest creatures, or best looking. Perhaps this is why high school girls are attracted to clean hair and rock-hard abs.

MHS senior Tony Allevato looks for girls with “symmetrical faces and fertile wombs.”

Boys are attracted to “nice personalities and a good sense of humor,” said an MHS sophomore. And shiny hair helps, too.

It is a common assumption that humans are the most superior species on the earth. But the similarities shared with their wild cousins are prevalent in the depths of Middletown High School.