The Cougar Roar

Brookstones Student Newspaper

brookstoneschool.org

Volume 65 Issue 1

January 2016

Brookstone Chooses Its Next Headmaster

By Grace Lewis and Sarah Kate
Edwards

Brookstones interim headmaster, Dr. Frank Brown, was

generous enough to meet with
members of the newspaper
staff to answer questions regarding the search for a new
headmaster and how he feels
about Brookstone personally.
Although Dr. Brown will only
be with the Cougar family
for a year, he says he is still
excited to help our school in
any way possible and he is
anxious to get involved. Dr.
Brown says his favorite part
about Brookstone is the out-

standing student body and faculty members. He believes

Brookstone is a special, community-minded, and sound independent school.
Our school began the search
for a permanent headmaster
by looking for headmasters at
other independent schools like
Brookstone. Next, Brookstone
made contact with other possible headmaster candidates.
Once the top four choices
were chosen, Brookstone invited the candidates, one at a
time, to visit our campus for
interviews and a tour. After
the interviewing process was

completed, the board members, students, and teachers

that met with the candidates
voiced their opinions. Finally
the tough but exciting decision was made, and a new
headmaster was chosen: Mr.
Marty Lester. Mr. Lester is
currently headmaster at St.
Pauls in Mobile, Alabama,
but he has chosen to leave St.
Pauls in order to become a
part of the Brookstone Family.
The Brookstone community is
excited to see what the future
of Brookstone will entail with
Mr. Lester as our new head of
school.

St.Paul Episcopal School

Mr. Marty Lester

Finding Enrichment through Enriching the Lives of Others

By Abbey Crowley & Anna Parisi

Brookstones Servant Leadership Department is committed to adding an ethical dimension in students lives. To do
this, the department gives opportunities
year-round for students to serve the underprivileged in the larger Columbus
community and to give back to those
who are in need. Those opportunities
range from annual service events to ongoing weekly service projects.
Fall and winter are especially busy
seasons with community-outreach projects to celebrate the giving attitude of
the holiday season. October 30th was
Brookstone Upper Schools Day of Service, a day dedicated to helping others
with a variety of different events. This
year, the Sophomores spent the day at
Brookstones Fall Festival working with
Easter Seals by acting as hosts for the
visiting guests. Easter Seals has been
caring for those with special needs and
their families for over 100 years. The
Freshmen, Juniors, and Seniors could
choose from a list of 15-20 service projects where they spent the day helping
that specific project. Among these were
the Boys & Girls Club, Girls Inc., Stop
Hunger Now, Wynnton Neighborhood

Network, and Habitat for Humanity.

The day of service was a way for students to contribute to a cause they care
for as well as a way to enrich the lives
of others.
The day of service is not the only
time students can volunteer; there is a
range of charities that need assistance
all year round. Habitat for Humanity is
open for students to help build homes
for local, needy families almost every
Saturday from 8:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m..
Dr. Jim East encourages students to join
him in mending and building houses for
local families that need them. Service

with Easter Seals is also available year

round. Mrs. Stephanie East takes volunteers on a Brookstone bus to Easter
Seals every Tuesday after school from
3:15 to 4:45, a very valuable service to
the organization. Open Door also offers
after-school sessions on Wednesdays
from 3:15 to 4:45. Students do not need
to limit themselves to Service Day to
participate in charity work; they can
help the less fortunate every week.
Brookstone encourages all students to
take part in these volunteer opportunities and be enriched as servant leaders
in the community.

Brookstone School

The members of the sophomore class hosting friends from Easter Seals at the Fall Festival.

Editorial Notes

Cougar Roar

Editors Note

Hello! We hope this first issue of Cougar

Roar for the 2015-2016 school-year finds
you well! The first semester just concluded,
and it was a busy time for all of us students.
Seniors submitted college applications; juniors and sophomores were told to keep up
with their academic work; and freshmen became familiar with high school life. Even
with their busy schedules, many students
dedicated time to write an article (or two!)
for this paper. Our topics range from the
Paris terrorist attacks to the US Presidential
race to the local events at school. We hope
you will enjoy this issue and that you find
these articles informative and intriguing.

Brandon Cho and

Rachel Hemmings

Editors-in-Chief

Editors-in-Chief

Brookstone News

Brandon Cho and Rachel Hemmings

Augusta Graham
Elyse Sway
Grace Lewis
Sarah Kate Edwards

Local News
Emily Teague
Elim Lee

Brandon Cho
Rachel Hemmings
Savanah Fowler
Max Dudley
Sydney Lavender
Harish Alappan

Layout & Graphic Design

Savanah Fowler

Service

David Resnick
Abbey Crowley
Anna Parisi

Opinion

Sports

John Pope
Carsen Storey
Vivian Swift
Uma Alappan

International News

Anne Henley Walker

Ameena Ali
Matthew Hannay

Faculty Advisor
Dr. John Harkey

Cougar Roar

Fashion
Frenzy

By Sydney Lavender and

Savanah Fowler
Try to think
back to October 3rd: did you
spend it studying
for your classes
or did you spend
it in the ever
daily mail
so lovely Paris
Gigi Hadid &
dancing along
Kendall Jenner
with some of the
biggest stars of today? October 3rd
was the date of Vogue Pariss 95th
Anniversary Party, which were
all jealous we didnt get invited
to. Some of the biggest names in
fashion and the stars who walk the
red carpet were there, dancing the
night away in celebration of the 95
years that the magazine has been
in publication.
Emmanuelle Alt is the current editor of Vogue Paris, and
she was the host of the late night
dance party that we were all able
to witness and partake in thanks to
Snapchat. Her goal for this party
was for it to be unlike most fashion events and parties, which typically turn out to be a bust and not
nearly as fun as what she imagined
they could be.
Paris Vogues soiree was star
studded. The party was held just
south of the Arc de Triomphe, at
the Paris mansion, which on this
night held an array of designers,
models, celebrities, and fashion
editors. This party was also a celebration for designers and supermodels who were done with the
New York, London, Paris, and
Milan Fashion Weeks. Kanye
West, Kendall Jenner, and Zendaya are just a few of the celebrities who attended this years party
to celebrate French Vogues 95
years. Zendaya was spotted wearing a white long sleeve Katherine Mavridis dress. Supermodel
bffs Gigi Hadid and Kendall
wore Versace and Ulyana Sergeenko. Kanye Wests Yeezy Season Two collection debuted the
Wednesday of New York Fashion
Week, and afterward he flew to
Paris to celebrate his shows success.
Overall this party was a success
in the eyes of Emmanuelle Alt.
Her party was set apart from other
fashion galas and the upcoming
100 year celebration is sure to be
even more extravagant and en
vogue.

International

Pandemonium in Paris
By Brandon Cho
It was a typical Friday night for
most people. They were having
dinner at restaurants with their
families, enjoying time with
friends, and attending concerts.
For some, this typical night became a living nightmare.
The recent Paris terror attacks
brought a time of mourning and
sadness throughout all parts of
the world. On Friday, November 13, 2015, a series of terror
attacks occurred in six distinct
places across Paris. The attacks
were carried out by terrorists
believed to be related to ISIS,
known as Daesh in French.
The first attack was a suicide
bombing that occurred near
Stade de France, where there
was a soccer match between
France and Germany. French
President, Francois Hollande,
was also present at the game,
and once he heard the news, he
was quickly evacuated to safety.
There were five other incidents
that happened across Paris, the
most devastating of which was a
shooting at the Bataclan Concert
Hall. Three terrorists entered the
concert hall around 9:40 PM and
started shooting aimlessly at the
audience. Hostages were taken
for about 15 minutes, until the
French public safety officials and
elite tactical units arrived at the
scene.
The horrific night resulted in
the deaths of 130 people and
about 400 injured people.
President Hollande immediately
issued a statement asking the

Annie Funderburk

The Eiffel Tower lit up in rememberance for the lives that were lost.

French people to remain strong

and united, and he declared a
state of emergency in France.
He also declared three days of
national mourning. He vowed to
mercilessly fight against terrorism, and other leaders from different nations are going to work
with France to join the effort.
President Hollande convened
a special Congress with the
French Parliament to announce
plans to combat Daesh and
to plan diplomatic actions. He
proposed a three month extension of the State of Emergency,
a change to the French constitution that enables the government
to be more cautious towards
dual citizens who might pose a
risk, and increased military action against Daesh. Only days
after the attacks, the French military launched a massive airstrike
against Daesh. French borders
were temporarily closed and sol-

Pope on the Move

By Max Dudley

Pope Francis recently ventured out

from the Vatican to visit his followers,
traveling to the United States to cities
like Washington DC, Philadelphia,
and New York. Previously this year he
has visited Sri Lanka, the Philippines,
Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Cuba. While in the
US, he met with President Obama at
the White House, celebrated mass at
multiple cathedrals, gave an address to
congress, spoke to the United Nations
General Assembly, participated in a
service at the National September 11th
Memorial and Museum, and visited a

school in East Harlem.

When speaking to Congress, he told
them to accept the immigrants connected to the refugee crisis in Europe
and the Middle East, and to take climate change seriously. He supported
pro-life arguments, and later condemned the death penalty and excessive jail time saying that, A just and
necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the
goal of rehabilitation. In his speech
he supported same-sex marriage, and
through his powerful and reverent language he united both parties and drove
them to thunderous applause. Later,
his talk with Obama included discussions about marginalized populations,

diers were brought into Paris to

help the police maintain order.
After the Paris attacks, ISIS
declared that they are planning
other attacks, and the United
States is one of the possible targets. Nations worldwide, including the US, have taken measures
to tighten security efforts. With a
possible risk of an attack closer
to home, we must always be vigilant, and realize that the risk is
greater than what it may seem to
be. Many nations and the United
Nations offered messages of
condolences and solidarity for
France.
On behalf of the staff and editors of the Cougar Roar and the
Brookstone family, our deepest
condolences and solidarity go
toward the French people and
those affected by the recent Paris
attacks.

religious freedom, immigration reform, and economic opportunity.

The current Pope, through his tours
and interacting more directly with
the people, is more progressive than
most previous Popes, and some say
he is better at upholding Christian
ideals. Others argue that because of
the Popes more progressive views,
he is the antichrist and his meeting
with the US President has given him
the nickname Popama. However,
his speech in Congress has helped to
unite a gridlocked capital on the more
important issues facing our country
today, and he may be in a unique position to create more unity in the coming
years.

4
Trump and
Clinton
Neck-andNeck

By Rachel Hemmings & Brandon

Cho
Next years presidential race is
already off to an exciting start. As
the nomination process is underway, many candidates have made
a surprising mark on the political
world. Current frontrunner for the
Republican Party is Donald Trump,
with 31.4%. He leads his closest
contender, Ted Cruz, by 15.1%.
Trump has continued to surprise
both Republicans and Democrats
with the support he is receiving, and
has caused much controversy with
his blunt, and sometimes offensive,
speaking style. On the Left Side,
Hillary Clinton has taken and maintained a clear lead, and currently
holds 54.6% of the Democratic
polls. Behind her is Bernie Sanders
with 32.2%.
This election will have huge impacts on the upcoming generation,
and many young people are able to
and excited to vote when next November rolls around. Because of the
drama and theatrics of current candidates, people are becoming more
interested in politics than ever before. Televised debates have drawn
in record-numbers of viewers; the
Republican Debate, which aired on
Fox News in August, was watched
by over 24 million people.
The next leader of the United
States will have many issues to
sort out, including refugees entering America, dealing with ISIS and
other terrorist organizations, homeland security, and climate change.
The President will have a lot on his
or her plate, and will arguably shape
the lives of the millennial generation. It is essential that voters take
the election seriously because of the
large impact this election will have
on the United States, as well as on
the global stage.

International & National Cougar Roar

Europe Adapts to Refugee Crisis

By Harish Alappan

The European Refugee Crisis

has gained widespread attention
ever since news broke of a devastating boating accident that occurred in the Mediterranean Sea.
The accident, which occurred
in April 2015, became breaking
news when boats carrying close
to two thousand people sank, resulting in just over one-thousand
deaths. The refugees were fleeing
from dangerous areas of conflict
in Syria, and because the hostile environment they were fleeing from allowed for no proper
planning, the refugees were
forced into using below-average
boats that could not support the
roughly one hundred refugees
that were packed into each boat.
To make matters worse, one of
the most dangerous Mediterranean voyages to embark upon is
from Syria to the southern tip of
Italy, which is the intended path
of most refugees fleeing Syria.
In 2015 alone, over 640,000 applications of asylum have been
filed so far by refugees seeking

Refugees cross borders seeking asylum in Europe

Ahmed Mohameds Homemade

Clock: Brilliant or Dangerous?
14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed, a
ninth-grader in Texas, had not suspected anything out of the ordinary for
his day at school. He had assembled a clock using a circuit board, which is
very impressive for a student as young as him, and he was eager to display
his creation to his teachers. He hoped for a praising reaction, but he had
never dreamed of what actually happened.
Ahmed Mohamed was arrested in his own high school. School is a
place where new ideas should flourish, and creativity should thrive, yet
his teacher saw his clock as a bomb and did not even try to examine the
device. Young designers should be empowered, not degraded. However,
his teacher and principal called the police, and Ahmed, an innocent Muslim
boy who simply showcased his invention, was handcuffed.
Was Ahmed arrested because of discrimination against Muslims, or would
this have happened to any child? When the police officer saw Ahmed, he
said, Yup. Thats who I thought he was, which made Ahmed feel very

By Ameena Ali

to come to the EU legally and

escape dangerous areas. Of the
roughly 640,000 plus filings
of asylum, 184,665 application
have been accepted as of August
2015 for asylum. This is already
close to the 2014 refugee total of
283,532, and 2015 is expected
to reach the range of 300,000360,000 by December 2015. Of
the accepted applications, the
top five nationalities of refugees
were Syrian, Eritrean, Afghans,
Iraqis, and Iranians. Almost all
of these refugees are fleeing oppression or harmful conflicts in
their home regions. They feel
they have little choice but to pack
up their belongings and leave
their countries in hopes of finding peace.
The amount of legally accepted
refugees alongside the amount of
illegal refugees entering Europe
by the hundreds each week can
put stress on economies and societies, but the European countries
that have accepted refugees have
shown great acceptance and tolerance towards the sudden inclusion of refugees into their society.

In August, during the first round

of UEFA Champions League
soccer matches and UEFA Europa League soccer matches, one
euro was donated to a fund for all
European refugees, and big clubs
such as Bayern Munich of Germany and FC Porto of Portugal
donated close to 6 million euros
to the same fund for refugees. In
September in Munich, Germany,
waves of citizens waited at central train stations to welcome
hundreds of Hungarian refugees to Germany. In October,
during a soccer match in Madrid, Spain, Portuguese superstar
Cristiano Ronaldo was escorted
by a Syrian child refugee, which
prompted 80,000 fans in the stadium to give the child a standing
ovation.
As more and more refugees are
accepted for asylum, Europes
task of handling the increasing
population will become more difficult, but so far theyve helped
thousands of people find peace
and temporary freedom.

yournewswire

insecure of his name and skin. Even after he told the officers that it was
simply a clock, the officers response was, It looks like a movie bomb to
me. The police claim that they would have reacted the same way in any
situation, but no child should have to endure humiliation and an arrest in
his own school hallway a place where students should feel comfortable
and stimulated.
Ahmeds arrest ignited a fire on social media. His sisters created a Twitter
account called @IStandWithAhmed, and it gained thousands of followers
in a matter of a few hours. The hashtag #IStandWithAhmed became the
number one trending topic on twitter as numerous people tweeted in support of him. Not only did he gain attention from commoners, but also celebrities like President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Mark Zuckerberg
noticed his unfair arrest. Obama tweeted, Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to
bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like
science. Its what makes America great. Ahmed was also invited to MIT
and the Google Science Fair.
Even though Ahmed is being supported, he is still scarred from his traumatic experience. He wants to switch to another high school and says he
will never bring an invention to school again. Hopefully no other child will
have to go through the same trauma that Ahmed did.

Cougar Roar

National & Local

Hip-Hop Makes History on Broadway

By Elim Lee

Six years ago, Tony-winner

Lin-Manuel Miranda performed
in front of the President of the
United States with a prelude to
his current success. He rapped a
song about Alexander Hamilton,
the right hand man of the first
President. Debuted at the White
House Poetry Jam, this rap has
blown us all away by evolving
into a smash Broadway musical.
Since 2009, Miranda has expanded his fascination with the
Ron Chernow biography into a
two-act musical, transforming
the founding fathers into relatable geniuses that have a talent

of rapping their way through

congressional debates. From his
previous works, In the Heights
and Bring It On, Miranda has
fused his favorite genre of rhythmic beats and with his talent of
telling stories, making Hamilton
the most modern sounding show
to be on Broadway for a while.
A refreshing change of pace from
Sherman Edwards 1776, a musical about the same Revolutionary
events, Hamilton utilizes the fast
pace of rap music, and Miranda
writes like hes running out of
time. The word count in Manuels musical would take five

Local Food:

Plucked Up
By Anne Henley Walker

I
mostly
wanted
to
try Plucked
twoforachew.com Up last year
The Chicken Coop from Plucked Up.
because
it
rhymed with profane language, and
I thought it was really clever. I also
jumped at the chance to dine at a new
Columbus eatery because if I had to eat
one more overpriced Panera bagel or
greasy quesadilla from a restaurant that
begins with the word El I was going
to shove my fork down my throat. I
longed for culinary diversity and quality cuisine.
Thankfully, Plucked Up quenched my
desires and it is still one of my all-time
favorites. The menu has a host of quality options. There is everything from
gourmet biscuits (sausage with blackberry mustard, ham with goat cheese
and pepper jelly, etc.) to beignets. For
lunch they have biscuit sandwiches
that range from from buffalo chicken
to goat cheese and spinach with tomato
compote.
My absolute favorite dish is The
Chicken Coop: two biscuits served
open faced with fried chicken, Plucked
Up gravy, bacon, cheddar cheese, and
an over-easy egg. The biscuits are as
light as air and the chicken is flavorful and fried perfectly. The gravy is divine and the eggs are always perfectly
cooked. (I dont have to comment on
the bacon and cheese because everyone knows they are already works of
perfection.)
I encourage everyone to go and try
Plucked Up. It will restore your hope
in Columbuss culinary offerings.

hours to perform at the rate of

Phantom of the Opera! However,
Manuel has an advantage, as he
is singing and rapping his own
lyrics. He composed the music,
wrote the lyrics and book, and is
starring as the title role in Hamilton. Already, such a unique piece
has won Miranda a MacArthur
fellowship, and the fact that hes
a triple threat on stage makes him
eligible for personally receiving
the Tonys for Best Lead Actor in
a Musical, Best Original Score,
Best Book of a Musical, and Best
Musical this coming awards season.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

broadway

Concussions in Football
By John Pope

Since the inception of contact sports, there have been

inherent risks. As a player,
one must accept those risks
and proceed onward; however for some players, injuries can be detrimental
to physical and mental performance. Players often
overlook minor blows to
the head or mild headaches
which often lead to more
substantial and concerning
injuries. In recent years,
doctors and researchers
alike have been analyzing
the effects of contact sports
on the human brain. Most
of this concern has been
focused on football, due to
the rough and brutal nature
of this sport. Serious blows
to the head occur frequently
with little regulation. However, in 2013 the NCAA
created a rule for college
football penalizing players
for helmet to helmet contact. The penalty stands
today as an automatic ejection to the player making
the tackle and that player
will also sit the first half of
the next game. This may
seem drastic, but it is rules
like this that will prevent
players from injuries that
occur due to those blows.
This will in turn protect the
mental stability of those

players throughout their

years after football.

Most of the head injuries sustained by football
players and other athletes
are classified as concussions. A concussion is a
traumatic brain injury that
alters the way the brain
functions. A concussion is
caused by the crash of the
brain into the skull, which
in turn causes damage to
cranial tissue as well as
the layer of spinal fluid
that surrounds the brain for
protection. Studies have
shown that repeated concussions can lead to long
term irreversible effects
that encroach on everyday tasks. Some of these
symptoms are dizziness,
migraines, and a severe decrease in cognitive activity
and performance. This loss
of mental function is what
prompted class action lawsuits against the National
Football League (NFL) for
not regulating or educating
the players on the effects of
these traumatic brain injuries. Many of these cases
were brought to Neal Popes
law firm here in Columbus,
GA by retired NFL players. They were in dire need
of a voice to advocate for
regulation on head to head

contact and proper testing

of concussions. The majority of these retired players
suffered from multiple diagnosed and undiagnosed
concussions. The principal
issue is the undiagnosed
concussions, which do the
most harm to the players
over the long term. Because
of the many repeated blows
to the head they suffered as
football players, these older
men are struggling to function while doing everyday
tasks.

Ted Johnson, former
New England Patriot, spoke
out on the issue of doctors
not acknowledging the long
term effects of concussions
by saying, I shouldnt have
to prove to anybody that
theres something wrong
with me, but any doctors
who do not connect concussions with long-term effects
should be ashamed of themselves. This is only one of
the countless examples of
seriously injured players
who need to be advocated
for and protected against
this horrible malady. This
issue of diagnosing and
protecting against concussions will daunt all levels of
sports for countless years to
come.

6
Cougar Roar
Arts
Brookstone
Little Shop of Horrors:
Goes OffOne Act 2015
script with New
This year the theater sure that the casting with their scene partImprov Team
department selected was done, Maggart also ners. All grades in the
By Elyse Sway

By Augusta Graham

Imagine being on a stage in front of

a large crowd without any clue as to
what your lines are, when suddenly
you realize that no one else on stage
knows their lines; in fact, this performance doesnt have a script at all. This
sounds like a terrifying nightmare--but
for the members of the newly formed
Improv Team, its what they call fun.
The Improv Team is the newest addition to Brookstone Theatre. But many
Brookstoners ask, what is it? Improv
(short for improvisation) theatre is
performing a show without a script or
set idea of what will happen during the
performance. Usually performed in
small groups of around five to ten people, improv is common as a genre in
comedy clubs, like the famous Second
City or iO Theatre in Chicago. Brookstones troupe will eventually be able
to perform in front of audiences here,
bringing a new aspect of theatre to the
school.
But why form a troupe now? Recently the improv teams at the Springer
Theatre Academy have disbanded,
leaving a gap in the community for
improv. This may lead to the theatre
troupe expanding to include students
from other schools, conjoined performances, or even just introducing the
idea of school improv teams to Columbus. Currently, this team will be
the only source of improv theatre for
people under 18 in the area.
The still tentative list of members
of the new team includes Morgan
McGrory, Abbey Crowley, Mason
Gillespie, Judith Borom, Anna Katherine Drew, Augusta Graham, Elim
Lee, Cara Hunter, and Jonathan Hart.
Anyone can join right now, but theatre
experience is recommended. Practices
are currently biweekly on Wednesdays
in Ms. Krista Maggarts room.
There is still a lot to be discovered
in the coming months for the Improv
team. The group plans to build the
team for a while to help each other
learn to function as a cohesive ensemble, so while there are no set performance dates yet, there will be some
in the foreseeable future. But with all
the new plays, musicals, and performances coming to the Turner Center,
one question remains: what is next for
theatre at Brookstone?

the musical Little Shop

of Horrors, by Howard
Ashman, to be the competition One Act play.
Within the first week of
school, the Advanced
Theater class, under the
direction of Ms. Krista
Maggart, began a nonstop schedule to prepare
the first One Act musical in Brookstones recent history. Given the
talking, life-sized puppets that have an unfortunate habit of eating
people, the show was a
fast-paced comedy with
darker tones.
Along with determining how to shorten the
musical and making

had to keep the tech and

ensemble heavy show
together. Working with
only a 55 minute time
slot, the show was car-

@cougstheatre

ried by the strong voices

of Jonathan Hart as Seymour and Abbie Crowley as Audrey. These
two leads knew how
to adapt and work well

high school were represented in the play,

whether in lead roles,
in the supporting cast
of urchins and other
characters, or in the tech
crew.
The One Act team
journeyed to Gainsville,
Georgia to participate
in this years Georgia
Thespian Conference
(GTC). Heading up on
Wednesday, the One
Act team spent the entirety of Fall Break at
the competition. At the
awards ceremony, Jonathan Hart was selected
for the All-State cast by
the adjudicators of the
conference.

2016 Overview of Local

Theatre
By Abbey Crowley

-Annie//RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, January 19

-To Kill a Mockingbird//Springer Opera House, January 21-31
-Reawakening Rebekah: The Gift of the Clamor Girls//
CSU Riverside Theater, February 12-20
-Stone Soup//Family Theatre, February 19- March 5
-The Sleeping Beauty//RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, February
25
-Sweeney Todd//Springer Opera House, February 25-March 13
-The Cat in the Hat//Springer Opera House, March 9-20
-Saturday Night Fever//RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, March
15
-The Last Rose of Innod//Family Theatre, March 18- April 2
-Tartuffe//CSU Riverside Theatre, April 1-9
-Mother of Rain//Springer Opera House, April 7-17
-Tom Sawyer//Family Theatre, April 22- May 7
-The Whos Tommy//Springer Opera House, April 28- May 15
-42nd Street//RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, April 30

Cougar Roar
Fun Facts:

Opinion

Size-mology

By Matthew Hannay

1. The largest type of star is the Red Supergiant, and the largest known Supergiant
is VY Canis Majoris.
2. The smallest species of monkey in the
world is the Pygmy Marmoset, which
weighs only 100 grams and is the size of a
finger.

Cougar Roar
Student Survey

3. The largest spider in terms of leg span

is the Giant Huntsman, with a leg span of
about 1 foot.
4. The smallest exoplanet ever found is
Kepler-37b; it is approximately the size of
our own moon.
5. The tallest living person in the world is
Sultan Kosen, whose height is 8 feet and 3
inches.

Falls Must-see Movies

By Emily Teague

This fall is a wonderful time to get out of the house and head to the
movie theater. With many great comedies, action movies, blockbusters,
and Oscar contenders coming out over the next few months, youre
guaranteed to find a movie that you will enjoy. Some of the most highly
anticipated coming attractions include:
-Steve Jobs (soon to be on DVD) Michael Fassbender is already
generating Oscar buzz for his portrayal of Steve Jobs in this movie that
explores the Apple founders life.
-Spectre (currently playing) Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in
this action thriller directed by Sam Mendes (Skyfall).
-The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (currently playing) One
of the most awaited movies of 2015, the final movie in The Hunger
Games series is sure to attract large crowds.
-The Danish Girl (currently playing) Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne stars in this movie about the first man to surgically transition to
a woman.
-Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (now playing) Directed by JJ Abrams and featuring actors from the original cast including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, this next film in the
Star Wars saga is the most highly anticipated movie of the year. The
film is sure to set box office records, so get your tickets early!

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starwars

8
Strong Year for
Cougars Cross
Country

Brookstone Athletics

Cougar Roar

Softball Hits it Home

By Carsen Storey

By Uma Alappan

This year, the

cross country
team started
off strong with
their preliminary races and
Brookstone School has improved
William Jenkins placed First
at the Area Cross Country i m m e n s e l y
Meet
throughout the
season. Dr. Dorothy Cheruiyot, the teams head coach, has
worked extremely hard in training her team, working six days
a week nonstop since the season began in August. The team
practiced in the afternoon every
Monday through Saturday, running 4-6 miles a day. For their
commitment and hard work,
these runners certainly deserve
a reward.
All of the runners have worked
hard, improving their times
with each race. The top runner
for the boys division is William Jenkins, with an average
time of 17 minutes, and for the
girls division, Gigi Yancey and
Abbie Dillon are the top runners, both with average times of
23 minutes. The City Championship took place October 13th
at Kinnett Stadium, where the
cross country team competed
against other schools in order
to advance to regionals. Both
the boys and girls cross country
teams placed 4th in this race,
with William Jenkins and Gigi
Yancey placing overall as individuals. William placed 2nd
overall for the boys with a time
of 17:28:49 minutes and Gigi,
with 22:22:42 minutes, placed
10th overall for the girls.
On October 27th, the cross
country team competed at the
area level in Macon, and William Jenkins placed 1st as an
individual and the Varsity team
placed 2nd. This gave them the
opportunity to compete at the
GHSA state level, and the Varsity team tied for 10th place
in the state meet, beating First
Presbyterian Day School of
Macon. The entire cross country team has worked hard to
reach this level, and with each
runners dedication to the sport,
the team had a successful season
overall.

To say that our 2015 Lady

Cougars softball team had a
great season would be an understatement. Ending their
season with an 18-3 record
and a region title are just two
of their awesome accomplishments this year. This team
embodies many of the characteristics it takes in order to
be successful, such as high
spirits, a battle-ready attitude,
intense focus, uplifting encouragement, and efficiency
on the field. Because the team
lost many crucial players from
last year, Coach Nate McConnell knew that there would
be some big shoes to fill, but
he says, the team was able
to recover because they continue to be a family and enjoy
being with each other. This
years team had many talented

Brookstone School

Lady Cougars head to the Elite Eight

players including four seniors: Helen Snaveley, Emily

Timmons, Naeisha McClain,
and Browning Lane. Coach
McConnell also stated that,
along with our awesome new
freshman who stepped up to

fill some big shoes, we had

some outstanding leadership
from our seniors, along with
great support from our junior
and sophomore players. The
lady Cougars had a season to
be remembered.

A Surprising Comeback: Brookstone Volleyball

By Vivian Swift

Having lost all of their

starting Varsity seniors, the
Brookstone Volleyball team
seemed off to a rough start.
Not a single girl on the team
had ever played a game on
the Varsity squad, and two of
the new freshman, Meg Kenimer and Lucy Laughbaum,
had never even played a JV
game. It was easy to say that
the 2015 season was lacking
in experience, but that didnt
stop the sophomores and
freshmen on the team. Every
player, determined to make
the season pay off, put forth
her best effort each time she
walked onto on the court.
Winning the first two area
games, the Cougars were off
to a surprisingly good start.
Being such a new team did
not seem to faze these girls.
Although suffering some
heavy loses here and there,
the Varsity girls were becoming more and more ex-

Cougars slam Heritage

perienced with every point.

Beating all odds with hard
work and determination,
Brookstones 2015 volleyball team made it to the area
semi-finals. But the long trip
to Macon for the area tournament was nothing compared
to the arduous trip to Savannah the Cougars had to make
to play in the first round of
the State tournament. Despite the close loss at State,
a great and miraculous feat
was accomplished by the
only Varsity team in Brook-

Brookstone School

stone history composed of all

underclassmen.
Given their advancement
to the State tournament, the
girls of the Varsity team were
anything but ashamed. Their
tenacious efforts and hard
work will only lead them
to get better and better with
every passing year; and with
the determination these girls
hold, Brookstones Varsity
volleyball team is expected
to dominate the court in the
coming years, making this
team the best it has ever been.