HUB Staff Writer–

The sound of jazz music set the mood as the hosts welcomed in the guests to the Renaissance Awards in the Yolo County library on May 21.

The Renaissance Award ceremony was just about to begin; a time where students get recognized for obstacles they had overcome. The teachers nominated students they felt have not given into their struggles.

Junior Tara Mullen has been in charge of this event for the second year now.

“It’s a really intimate time. I really enjoyed the time I spent with this event. It’s just so sweet,” Mullen said.

Seniors Kylie Dunn and Monica Berry took their place behind the podium as the event began.

While teachers gave their speeches some fought back tears and others quoted Muhammad Ali, each student was presented with an award and a sunflower.

“I felt very noticed,” sophomore and nominee Serena Cooper said. Along with Cooper, junior Billy Sharp also received an award. Teachers felt Sharp never went into a shell and refused to give in to his disability.

After all 15 students had received their awards and flowers everyone was invited to C-4 at Davis High for desserts.

Many proud parents congratulated their children and thanked the teachers. Constant smiles filled the room.

“It’s the best, greatest bubbly feeling knowing my daughter won this award,” nominee Marta Parke’s mother Nina Parke said. “I couldn’t wait for this. It makes me so happy.”

The post Students recognized at the Renaissance Awards appeared first on Blue Devil HUB.

The yearbooks of the 2012-2013 school year will be passed out this Thursday to fifth period classes. Teachers of these classes will determine when in the period the books are actually distributed.

The theme of the book this year is “As One,” which focuses on the idea of coming together, and has some influences from “The Breakfast Club,” a popular 1980s teen film that centers on a group of high school students from a variety of cliques coming together.

Junior Alex Sprague is in the yearbook class and worked on multiple spreads, wrote stories and did layout groups. Next year, she will take the class again and be the assistant editor in chief.

Sprague is very excited about the theme and said, “It’s basically about how even though we’re all so different we’ve made it through high school together, and we’re all Blue Devils.”

Sprague and her fellow yearbook producers were scrambling all year—attending most sports events, all events put on by student government, the drama department, and the music department.

In the project’s finalizing days, stress levels were high while yearbook students rushed to do extra spreads and edit proofs, according to Sprague. However, the hard work paid off.

“I felt super accomplished when the entire yearbook was submitted,” Sprague said. “It was really exciting when the books came, but also a little nerve racking because I was worried we’d find mistakes, but overall the book looks great!”
Yearbooks will still be available for purchase next week at lunch, for a price of 95 dollars. Meanwhile, elementary plans for next year’s book will be underway.

The post Yearbooks to be distributed to students appeared first on Blue Devil HUB.

Exchange student Tony Paquet Skype’s outside of the Yolo County Library while waiting for his host family to pick him up. Paquet uses Skype to keep in contact with his friends and family back in Belgium.

By Zoe Juanitas,

HUB Correspondent–

A student takes his first step onto the Davis High campus and skims over the map in his hands, coming to terms with the foreign layout. Across the globe, an exchange student prepares for a 24-hour flight to America: his new home for the year. Elsewhere, a boy anxiously awaits the return to his childhood town.

These people, all with very different backgrounds share one thing in common: they all began the school year as new students in Davis.

Finding out that you have to leave behind your friends and familiar surroundings can be shocking, scary and even exciting. Alex Arnheiter, Jackson Herget, Tony Paquet and Brian Song know these feelings well.

“Any move is pretty big,” a sophomore Herget said. He moved from Oklahoma in early October. “I was pretty surprised and anxious.”

Herget is somewhat of a moving veteran. He has lived in six different places, ranging from Idaho Falls to Chugiak in Alaska. He was actually born in Davis but moved away when he was very young.

“The longest I’ve been is a year and a half in a place, or two years,” Herget said.

DHS is a big change in scenery for him, especially with its outdoor campus and “go along with the flow” attitude.

Sophomore Song feels similarly. “It feels kind of hippie and really laid-back,” he said.

Song moved from Atlanta after his dad got a job at UC Davis. His first day of school after the move was just like any new students’. “It was kind of like the first day of kindergarten. I didn’t really know anybody,” Song said.

Many new students join sport teams or clubs to meet different people and expand their friend groups. Song ran on the DHS cross-country team in the fall and ended up finding a new group of friends in the process.

“When you start running with the same group of guys, you start becoming friends with them and it’s something you look forward to everyday,” Song said.

Paquet, an exchange student from Belgium, also decided to join the cross-country team after he missed the high school soccer tryouts.

Paquet is from the French-speaking city of Liège and decided to come to America to improve his English.

His trip to Davis was anything but peaceful. He took four different planes, spent more than 24-hours in the air and ended up missing one of his flights. “I was stressed but finally I found another plane and I arrived on time in Sacramento,” Paquet said.

He now goes to Da Vinci, and said that even though he has made a lot of good friends in Davis, he is also afraid of losing some of his old ones back in Belgium.

That’s also the biggest downside of moving for junior Arnheiter.

Arnheiter moved in June from West Hartford in Connecticut, where he attended an all-boys boarding school.

Although DHS is a very different environment compared to his last school, Arnheiter did not have a very hard time adjusting. He said, “They’re [co-ed and single gender schools] the same once you get used to it.”

Connolly, who is a junior at Jesuit High School in Carmichael, said that the benefits of going to an all-boys school are that there are not as many social pressures and no drama. He added, “There is also a much more relaxed environment between the students and even faculty.”

Arnheiter described how at his old school “the teachers would take you out to breakfast. That was kind of fun.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 40 million people move each year. Out of those, about 1.3 million people move to a different country, just like Paquet. About 7.6 million move to a different state, like Arnheiter, Herget and Song.

Song believes that people should be exposed to change more often rather than living in the same place their whole life.

Moving is like a “fresh slate. You can be whoever you want to be,” Arnheiter said.

The post New kids on the block appeared first on Blue Devil HUB.

Davis High varisty field hockey players show younger athletes and potential players how to shoot the ball on a May 18 free hockey clinic.

By Genny Bennett,

HUB Staff–

As field hockey players lined up to take shots on the goal, one thing looked different than it normally does. Dispersed among the tall high school field hockey players were smaller beginning players from the elementary schools and junior highs.

Saturday, May 18, was the first clinic that the Davis High field hockey program has put on for younger players who wish to try out the sport.

About thirty girls and one boy from elementary school through sophomore year in high school attended the clinic.

According to senior Ariana Enzerink, a varsity field hockey player, the clinic mainly focused on the basic skills needed for the sport.

“It certainly isn’t the most exciting part of the sport, but it’s incredibly important to lay the groundwork and learn the basics correctly before moving onto other aspects,” Enzerink said.

While the varsity field hockey coach, Sandie Marotti-Huckins,  was at the clinic, most of the coaching was left up to the Davis High seniors who will be playing in college next year (Emily Barber, Kayla Robinson, and Ariana Enzerink), and varsity juniors.

According to Enzerink, the field hockey program was not established enough to have clinics before she was in high school, but in recent years the program has grown and therefore they are able to host events like this one.

Enzerink says she enjoyed the event and thinks it was successful, and that there will likely be more clinics in the future.

“I’ve really enjoyed the time that I’ve played field hockey. It’s been a huge part of my life and it will continue to be for the next four years, so it’s really special and fun to teach younger kids about the sport I love.”

The post Field hockey team shares the sport with younger players appeared first on Blue Devil HUB.

A Franklin High player throws in the ball during Saturday’s game. Davis lost the section final game in penalty kicks.

The women’s varsity soccer team ended their season May 18 with a loss in the Sac-Joaquin section final against Franklin ending in penalty kicks after 100 minutes of play.

The game ended without either team scoring, but in the first round of penalty kicks, Franklin landed four and DHS only three.

“It’s a hard loss. The girls played hard. We got here for a reason. And it’s never fun to lose in PKs,” coach Sara Stone said.

Goalie Maddy Purves stood out during the game when twice she grabbed the ball from crowds of defenders and attackers.

First, she ventured from the goal box and dove for the ball, her hands snatching it away from the swarm of lunging heads. Next– after a corner kick, a header by Franklin toward the far side of the goal and knee by DHS stopping the goal attempt but leaving the ball open three feet from the goal line– Purves swept in and dove, her arms and goalie gloves enveloping the ball.

“She had a lot of momentum in goal today. She had some key saves. I was hoping that was going to carry over to the PK situation,” Stone said. “But she played great.”

When the last Franklin penalty kicker stepped up to the goal, and prepared for the shot that would either win the final for Franklin or start a new round of PKs, Stone had one line cycling through her head. “Maddy come up big. Maddy come up big. Maddy come up big.”

But after two near-evenly matched teams finish regulation time and overtime without a single goal, the outcome of the penalty kicks is almost as random as the coin flip that started the game.

And the victory went to Franklin.

For Purves and the other seniors on the team, their last year of soccer won’t end with a section crown, but the 20 win, five loss and one tie season with a 12-game winning streak is something they can always remember.

“They’ve been stellar this entire year on and off the field,” Stone said. “It’s not the way that you want to end your season, but just not to hang your head and be proud of the things that happened.”

The post Women’s varsity soccer loses final in penalty kicks appeared first on Blue Devil HUB.

HUB Staff Writer–

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ply8eAcgt_Q?list=UUTW08JEVcI6N7tq8QcYgrOA” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

The post Men’s Lacrosse senior night appeared first on Blue Devil HUB.

A decathlon is an event that includes ten events. Some people are competent in one sport, but to become competent in ten requires true skill, dedication, and hard work.

The post Davis High decathlete dreams appeared first on Blue Devil HUB.

Student Gov members scrub hard to clean a teachers car

By Nick Juanitas,

HUB Staff Writer–

Faculty members were thankful for their jobs on Wednesday because it meant that they were entitled to a free carwash courtesy of Student Government.

May 6 marked the beginning of national teacher appreciation week and Student Government pondered on how they could give back the most to the men and women who make their school days go by so smoothly.  Last years baby-sitting night was a big hit with the faculty but this year they decided to bring back the car wash because it was such a big hit two year ago.

According to Mr. Morgan, Student Government’s advisor, it was unlucky that the students weren’t able to do the car wash last year because of the amount of the events they were putting on at the time.

“We brought back the car wash this year because I had a group of students who wanted to do it.  Last year we didn’t have enough staff to do every event we wanted to do so we were lucky to have the perfect timing and pacing this year,” Morgan said.

ASB President Adam King believes that it was a good decision by Student Government to bring back the car wash because of how much the teachers love it and take advantage of it.

“One of the reasons we brought it back was because so many teachers asked about it. We already have twenty teachers signed up and we probably aren’t going to be able to wash all of these cars,” King said.

Career Center advisor Julie Clayton is one of the faculty members who took advantage of the free car wash by Student government.

“I chose to let them wash my car because it’s so convenient for me. I get to sit here at my desk while my car goes and gets washed. I feel like I work for google,” Clayton said.

The post Stud Gov gets soapy and wet for teacher appreciation week appeared first on Blue Devil HUB.

Davis High lacrosse players huddle together during an exciting game against Granite Bay. The Blue Devils win 10-9.

By Inés Guinard,

HUB Staff–

On May 15, the men’s varsity lacrosse playoff opener against the Granite Bay Grizzlies went without surprises: the Grizzlies and Blue Devils were neck and neck. The Blue Devils emerged as champions with a final score of 10-9.

In less than five minutes the Grizzlies took on a 3-1 lead, outrunning the Devils and keeping the ball on the offense.

The tide switched immediately as sophomore Liam Neville and senior Willie Hawkins leveled out the score, giving the pep band a little something to jam out to.

At 3-3 the second quarter began and the score alternated constantly: a one-point lead for the Grizzlies would soon be tied by a Blue Devil goal. Senior Mikie Schlosser tied the game twice during this quarter.

A short halftime pause allowed the Grizzlies to reenergize as crowd members buried themselves under sweatshirts and blankets to fight off the unexpected cold.

Granite Bay re-entered the field with a new game plan, which successfully brought them to an 8-5 lead, leaving the Blue Devils in shock but nothing extraordinary.

Nonchalantly Davis High racked up enough goals to tie the game in literally a matter of seconds. Junior Ryan Amesbury found the net, which was followed by goals from Hawkins and Schlosser.

“When we tied the game and everyone got hyped up was the most exciting part of the game,” junior Mark Bruemmer said, looking back on the game.

Forming a ring around the goal, Davis High ran a play passing from person to person until senior Kevin Klenzendorf cut into the middle and caught a perfect pass for a goal. This gave the Blue Devils a 9-8 lead.

With three minutes left, the game was paused momentarily as both teams took a knee for injured junior Kian Reno, a key player in the Blue Devil line-up.

In the blink of an eye, the game was tied again. The Grizzlies continued to fight seeing as though the title was only 2 minutes away.

But to few people’s surprise, the Blue Devils pulled out the winning goal with seconds left, and that was the end of it.

“We were able to win in the end because we got the energy up and really locked into the game. We brought the intensity. Doesn’t hurt to have good fans too,” Bruemmer said.

This clutch victory brought Davis High’s season record to 17-3.

“It was exuberating! This season has been a lot harder than the last because we have an expectation to work harder and do better than the 20-0 season last year,” senior Rudy Buhlman said.

The Blue Devils hope to add another win to their record in the second round playoff game.

The post Blue Devils lacrosse clinches the title in matter of seconds appeared first on Blue Devil HUB.

The Momentum Dance Company performs at the DHS quad. This Company has a variety of cultural dances to entertain their audiences.

By Brigitte MacFarland,

HUB Correspondent–

A few minutes after lunch started on May 15, students were settled in and eating in the quad when all of a sudden, their lunch got a little more exciting. A group of girls clad in long colored skirts and black shirts flowed out from the gym.

They got into formation, bowed their heads, and the music started.

The Davis High Momentum Dance Company was beginning its lunchtime performance of an African dance prepared and rehearsed in class. The dance featured long, full skirts to accentuate the movements of the dancers and add a flourish. A complex mix of rhythm and vocals served as their background music.

This lunchtime performance gave the dancers an opportunity to present their skills to their fellow students.

Dancer Miki Benson was injured when her class learned this dance, so she was glad to finally be able to perform it. Benson enjoys performing because she loves getting an opportunity to entertain an audience.

“I like public informal performances because it’s always nice to get a surprise dance show. Or any other surprises really,” Benson said.

Groups of students in the quad paused what they were doing to admire the dance. Junior Natalie Shuman waited in the quad before proceeding to her usual lunch spot to eat.

“We were here supporting a friend that was in it, so it was fun to get to see her dance and cheer her on,” Shuman said.

At the end of the performance, students in the audience applauded as the dancers peeled out of formation in a circle and exited the quad.

The post A monumental Momentum performance appeared first on Blue Devil HUB.