The source of the misunderstanding might begin with a misunderstanding of the Mayan calendar (or rather, calendars) in general. Mayans had several cyclical calendars, featuring different lengths of cycles and used for or based around different concepts (like the sun cycle, or crop rotations),

The particular calendar we reference when citing our modern doomsday is chronicled the “Great Cycle,” lasting over 5,000 years and ending in the year 2012. But though the cycle ends, Mayans did not claim its culmination would coincide with that of the world itself. Like their other calendars (and even our modern calendar), reaching the end does not equate to reaching the end of time—it means simply another cycle is about to begin. The end of a Great Cycle would be an event to celebrate.

But some “believers” refer to not just the existence (and end of this cycle), but other seemingly serendipitous occurrences—a solar eclipse seems to be a particularly popular theory—to happen around the same time. While December 21 (the alleged doomsday) does fall on our Winter Solstice, many scientists believe the cosmic events seeming to correlate with the calendar could not have been predicted so accurately, and doubt whether or not we should be expecting the more drastic, destructive cosmic events at all.

While the day will inevitably receive its share of panics and press, logically, the latest apocalypse appears it will fall flat under all the hype. And we can (reasonably) safely assume we won’t have to worry about firey rain just yet.

Twelve schools from across the district brought their one acts to compete for one of three slots at the state competition in March. Aside from these three performance slots, they are also competing for numerous other awards, such as All-Star Crew Member, All-Star Cast Member, Best Featured Actor and Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Actor and Actress, Best Overall Stage-Manager, and Best Overall Technical Execution. Each one act also receives a rating of Superior, Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor.

Although this year’s one act, “Putting It Together,” was not selected to perform at states, it nevertheless earned recognition. The production received an overall Superior rating from the judges, while junior Pablo Torres received the All-Star Cast award, senior Joshua Grosso received the Best Supporting Actor Award, and senior Robbie Pomeroy received the All-Star Crew Member award.

Despite the disappointment of not getting the chance to perform at states, the cast and crew look forward to continuing the show, which will be extended and mounted as the school’s spring musical.

“Performing isn’t about winning. Performing is about doing what you love and putting your heart and soul into your creation,” said senior Stephanie Elfont. “Although we would have loved to represent District 13 at the state festival, we’re looking so forward to putting up a full length version of the show, having yet another opportunity to create something beautiful, and doing what we love more than anything else in the world.”

The full-length version of “Putting It Together” will run February 25-28 in the Blackbox Theatre.

Conceptualized and created by seniors Garrett Enten and Diego Lodato, the biomedical engineering track will offer new classes such as Intro to Bio-Technology as well as specialized internships. The main purpose of the track will be to design, as part of an intensive, senior-year project, a biomedical engineering invention, and then obtain a patent on it.

Lodato expects great success for the track when it officially begins operating in the 2012-2013 school year: “Based on students’ requests, I have no doubt that the classes will be all filled,” he said.

The process Enten and Lodato had to go through to create the track reportedly had its share of complications. As Enten explained, he had to appeal to a sponsor from Motorola and then arranged meetings between science teachers Dr. Carlos Pulido and Mr. Franco Lodato to draft a formal plan to submit to administration. “And of course, we got the approval and here we are today,” said Enten.

The original idea for the track came out of a desire to combine medicine, engineering and technology into a single curriculum of study. “I remember complaining about this with Garrett back in sophomore year. We weren’t taking enough classes that would benefit us with our intended careers. After painstakingly endless meetings between the teachers and administration, we were able to optimize a curriculum where the students would get the best of both the medical and engineering fields,” said Lodato.

Multiple outside suggestions also contributed in making the track a reality: “With a ton of comments and requests from our peers and teachers, I knew we could set up an ideal track for future students who share our passion for science,” said Lodato.

Given their imminent graduation, neither Lodato nor Enten will be able to witness the Biomedical Engineering track in action, yet they remain motivated despite that fact. “It’s just so invigorating to do something like this,” said Enten, “and I really want to leave something behind at school, to make an impact.”

And win it he did, on November 27 at Markham park, on his eleventh run. Not only did Hutelin break the record, he did so by over 360 feet, more than doubling the world record and setting a new standard at 686.3 feet. Hutelin’s category of entrance, a BMX Manual, is a wheelie on the back tire without pedaling.

BMX, Hutelin explains, is essentially just Motocross (a sport where competitors race a certain track length on motorcycles) using a bike without an engine.

Although inspired to train for the Guiness record about  two months ago, Hutelin began his BMX career at the age of nine, when he learned from his father, who also used to ride, the rules of the race. He practices at tracks located in Miami, West Palm Beach, and even Naples.

“I run a race almost every Friday, but I probably go to 10-15 large tournaments every year,” Hutelin said. While the smaller runs only last one minute on a 400 foot track, the larger qualifying tournaments have several rounds of races, where it eventually whittles down to eight competitors in the “Main Race,” or finals. Riders generally travel about 20-30 mph.

Following his decision to attempt to break the record, Hutelin had to make an official inquiry on Guinness’s website. While the company will dispatch a representative to observe the race and determine its validity, it would cost Hutelin over $3,000. “That was way too expensive,” Hutelin said, “so I hired police officers from Broward, photographers, and a survey crew to come out and watch me ride.”

After breaking the record and having it deemed legitimate by observers and authorities alike, Hutelin had to create an official pamphlet with witness testimony, photos, and videos of the ride, which he then sent to Guinness headquarters in London.

“I actually just got their response back about a week and a half ago telling me my record was approved,” Hutelin said, “it was really exciting.”
Because of his record, Zach picked up a sponsorship with Bicycle Generation, a biking company that endorses Hutelin and gives him special discounts and offers on equiptment–a good thing, since it’s a costly necessity to protect Hutelin in case of a crash.

“Unfortunately, it’s a dangerous sport,” Hutelin said, “but that’s how it goes. You work through it.”

Science Fairs take place around the world, allowing students to conduct experiments, collect data on their topics and then present their results on a project board.  The levels of Science Fair range from  school, to county, to state, to national and finally to the international level.  American Heritage students have won at the county, state, national, and international level in the past. Alumnus Anna Joykutty  won 2nd national in 2011 and junior Rohan Batra who won 4th internationally. Jaya Krishnan, a freshman who participated in the science fair commented on the importance of it by saying, “it could help make new discoveries in science and provoke new research and ideas that could someday be beneficial to society.”

Biology teacher Mrs. Leya Mathew said that to win, students must have a variety of original ideas or topics or possibly “back-pack” off a university’s research projects and findings to base their science fair project on. School science fair topics range from the effects of magnetism on blood viscosity to different types of antibiotics and their effects on the growth of bacteria.

If someone wants to see the Science Fair projects that went to the County level, one can view the projects at the Coral Ridge Mall, all day February 10.

According to Mrs. Mathew, everyone should enter the science fair because “it gives students a variety of experiences from hands-on science and technical writing, opportunities to present data to scientists at the top of their field and also to meet people from around the world.”

“It was awesome for Marshall to have the opportunity to meet the top talent in the nation. It will help prepare him for the next level,” said offensive line coach Travis Spiva.

Morgan is 10 for 12 on field goals this year for Heritage, and broke a Broward County record with his 59-yard field goal in the game against Dillard High School.

“I think this experience will really help me adjust to the new atmosphere in Georgia since I became close with these guys in just one week,” explained Morgan, who will be playing for The University of Georgia in the fall.

Proponents of the bills claim their passing will take a perhaps drastic, but nevertheless necessary, step in preventing the increasing issue of online piracy; however, as the protesting sites like Google tried to convey with their “Internet Blackout,” it does so at the expense of the site’s (even unknowingly) hosting pirated content, and the content it provides by extension.

While many of the roots of both support and protest toward the bills might lie in the legalities and logistics of opposing large corporations (content providers bitter over the millions each year lost through online piracy and hosts anxious about the millions they could lose if sued for copyright infringement), if passed, these bills would not only affect the business side of things; the experience of anyone simply on the web would be jeopardized.

In an age where almost anything can be shared with a click, the modern Internet user is constantly giving and receiving information. But with this ease of online communication comes a (seemingly insignificant) lack of judgment. We come in contact with (technically) “pirated” content rather often, sometimes unknowingly, and, even if known, rarely think of it as a crime.

Our fascination with information has changed our standards; we want that song, that show, that article, and disregard the source. And although this nonchalant attitude inevitably hurts content providers (whether the artists themselves or the sites legally sharing their work), taking so drastic a step as SOPA and PIPA might, in fact, further damage the industry.

Because SOPA and PIPA quicken and simplify the process of suing an Internet host featuring unauthorized materials, many sites may simply choose not to provide a significant amount of information for fear of being unable to recover from a hefty lawsuit.

Though they wouldn’t be controlling the content directly, the bills would virtually force certain websites (especially smaller ones unable to afford adequate legal protection on so large a scale) to self-censor their content.

Increased unavailability would lead to increased appeal and resentment, and therefore, increased attempts at deliberate piracy itself.

However, many fail to see how helpful the research paper assignment really is.

First off, the paper is great preparation for college. Though this statement may incite eye-rolling, it’s the truth. Many universities expect a certain writing level from students.   Because we learn to hone our writing skills now, in high school, and not, say, as we prepare for our first college essay, the transition from senior to freshman undoubtedly becomes smoother.

Our English department sees to our writing needs and helps us escape (early on) the clutches of dangling participles, the use of second person, and even the much-dreaded passive voice. Not to mention, it teaches us how to properly write and cite; the latter skill is not always easy.

By giving us a solid foundation upon which to build our writing, research papers pave the way to university.

That’s not all, though. These yearly assignments also help us develop analytical skills. As the research paper allows more time for, well…research, and idea development (which is not always easy to come by in a 49-minute class period).

As opposed to reading “The Yellow Wallpaper” (Charlotte Perkins Gilman) in one go and trying to write an essay on it in less than an hour, the stretch of days which accompany the assignment allow students to read the story ten times, if they should choose, while exploring background and others’ analyses of the piece.

With the added information and time, students have the opportunity to create a well-developed and distinct essay.

Lastly, the research paper is a reflection of a student’s development. Just as we change each year (haircuts, backpacks, braces), so does our writing. Look back at a research paper from three years ago and compare. It’s likely that the old one might bring on a cringe or two, and the new one, a feeling of pride. It’s hard to say the research paper hasn’t been effective when the proof sits in black and white.

Yes, it’s still true that many don’t enjoy the annual essay, but that remains a matter of preference. The research paper is most certainly beneficial, as well as an excellent boost to the school curriculum, and students would be hard-pressed to prove otherwise.

The team won the North Side Christian Holiday tournament in St. Petersburg, December 17-19. The team repeated the feat a few days later, December 27-29, at the Jim Clark Holiday Tournament in Orlando. In both instances, the team achieved victory by winning three games and had to beat opponents such as Largo High School, Palm Harbour University School and Oak Ridge High School.

The team’s players also received many individual honors: in both tournaments, sophomore Kobe Eubanks was named the Most Valuable Player, while fellow sophomores Drake LaMont and Lucas McCormick made the all-tournament teams at St. Petersburg (with LaMont also making the all-tournament team in Orlando.).

LaMont, who cited the team’s defense as key to its wins said, “It was the best basketball we’ve played all year, and it brought us closer together as a team.”  McCormick added, “Everybody was sharing the ball, running plays, scoring. We were clicking on all cylinders for those two tournaments and won them both; it was great.”

Ambition is plentiful in the team. While he stated that his goal for the team was to win districts and do well at states, LaMont also has lofty goals of his own: “I plan to play college basketball and then move on to play in the NBA. It seems like a long shot, but I believe that with hard work and extreme effort I can do it.” Similarly, McCormick stated, “My personal plans for my future basketball career is to get accepted into a great Division I college, work hard, get better, and then hopefully advance to the pro level.”

Despite the team’s positive results, Coach Charles Stephenson, who is in his first year as head basketball coach at AHS, but has been working with different teams in Broward County for 20 years, believes there are some areas it can still improve on, namely sharing the ball on offense.

The team intends to use its two tournament wins as a springboard for additional success. As Coach Stephenson said, “We hope to win the school’s first district

CONCENTRATE: Senior Vitor Britto sets up for a free throw after being fouled on a shot. (Photo/Haleigh Richards)

title by working hard during practice, believing in the Heritage basketball brotherhood and playing stellar defense.”