The Anoka Siren

Music, dancing, and bright lights-three things not commonly associated with the swash buckling crowd; however, students at Anoka bring pirates to life in their upcoming production.  The Anoka High School Theater presents, Pirates of Penzance, a musical that follows the life of some intriguing characters. 

The newly updated version of the original Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera was first performed in Central Park in 1980, and now it will be brought to the stage of Anoka.  The story takes place during the time of Queen Victoria and lets the audience follow the life of, “sentimental pirates, bumbling policemen, dim-witted young lovers, dewy-eyed daughters and an eccentric Major-General, all morally bound to the often ridiculous dictates of honor and duty,” (Anoka Theater). 

Senior Tara Schaefle plays the role of Ruth and feels like audiences will enjoy the production.

 “This play is really well known and well regarded…it is a slap-stick comedy musical and appeals to audiences because of its humor,” said Shaefle.

Directed by Matt McNabb this performance is sure to bring laughter and joy to its audience members.

 Performances:

Friday, January 20 at 7:30PM

Saturday, January 21 at 7:30PM

Thursday, January 26 at 7:30PM

Friday, January 27 at 7:30PM and

Saturday, January 28 at 7:30PM

By: Sarah Kobelinski

On Wednesday, December 7, seven Anoka students along with Mr. Orr, departed from the Minneapolis International airport and headed east to the “City that Never Sleeps.”  Senior DECA members, Ashley Barthel, Chase Baumgartner, Anna Bendiske, Addison Czeck, Tony Palosaari, and Kristina Taggart went to New York through the DECA Internship Program, to see the many aspects of business throughout the city.  The Anoka students were joined with a similar group from Coon Rapids, who together visited the many famous sites of New York.  From the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, and Little Italy, to the Empire State Building, Soho, and Broadway, this five day trip was filled with memorable sights and sounds.  The best part for Kristina Taggart was definitely soaking in the energy of Times Square.

“All the lights are amazing, there is nothing like it in Minnesota,” said Taggart.

As a part of the business aspect of the trip the New York bound students participated in two days of morning business classes where they listened to professionals in the field.  The classes included representatives from Planet Hollywood and Dave and Busters who taught the students about the lives in those career fields and the marketing side of their companies.  They also took a tour of Soho, the famous shopping district of New York.  Tony Palosaari got a good feeling of the professional atmosphere that New York embodies by walking the city streets.

“The city is very professional and sophisticated with so many dressed up people who know what they want and won’t let anyone stop them,” said Palosaari.

Although the trip was very busy and the students felt like they were always on the move, this gave them an accurate feeling of big city life.  This trip was a once in a life time opportunity for many of the DECA students, who experienced a world unlike their own.

By: Jayme Weidell

Roy Juarez Jr. had to grow up rather quickly.  At the age of fourteen he was homeless.  He tried his best to make life all it could be for his nine-year-old sister and his two-year-old brother.

Roy grew up on the streets of San Antonio, Texas.  He went from home to home every night.  Some people would only let his little brother stay for one night.  One of Roy’s favorite sayings is “the mountain is something everybody has to climb; some might just get a higher start than others.”

Everybody has some type of issue they see in life.  Roy had an abusive dad that kept following his family every time they tried to hide.  When Roy finally found a place to live, it was with a pastor at a church.  The only condition was that he had to go back to high school and get his diploma in order to live there.  Roy did go back to high school in San Antonio, Texas, and he did receive his diploma.

While Roy was out on the streets his mom, whom he always loved no matter what, was living with the police officer that didn’t want any of the kids.

Today Roy is getting his words out there about being homeless.  His little brother is a junior and his mom is now married to the police officer.  The police officer finally grew up and accepted the kids.  Roy Juarez Jr. is going around the United States with a goal of inspiring 100,000 youth to dream, not give up on life, and to understand the value of higher education.

Karrie Schaaf is the Anoka-Hennepin District 11 homeless youth and families liaison who set up Roy Juarez Jr. to speak to schools in the district and to help get his words out there.

By Tayler Bengtson

Does jumping into a freezing lake in the middle of winter sound fun? Or ever want to help make a difference by helping a non-profit organization? Then look into participating in the 15^th annual Polar Bear Plunge from January all through March.

The Polar Bear Plunge is an event sponsored by Minnesota Law Enforcement to help benefit their year round Law Enforcement Torch Run fundraiser. All funds and proceeds are donated to the Minnesota Special Olympics to help raise money and awareness towards the organization.

The plunge has been a tradition every year since 1998 when it started at Como Lake with 65 plungers and raising around $20,000. Since then the event has become more popular, in 2011 there were over 11,000 participants who raised $2.2 million.

This year, the event has been growing even bigger with 15 different locations, 2,200 plungers already registered and $57,600 raised by just online pledges. Anyone is qualified to plunge, all one needs is $75 to become registered and to dress up in an one of a kind costume to jump into one of Minnesota’s glacial lakes.

Sources: www.plungemn.org

By: Jayme Weidell

Holidays are supposed to be a time gathered with loved ones; family.  Over the holiday season, military loved ones don’t get the chance to be with the ones they love.  Instead, they are over seas fighting for our freedom.  With the holiday season here, there is a constant pain to the families with the ones they love not here to help celebrate the time of year.

Helpful tips for surviving the tough times:

–Honor Traditions

–Keep the traditions alive, even for the younger ones.

–Celebrate with the deployed

–Make sure to keep in touch while they are on deployment.  You don’t want them to be left out, so send care packages with the things they love.

–Spread the cheer

–Nobody would want their loved ones to be lonely.  Make sure to stay strong, that way the ones you love know everything will be okay.

–People over seas wouldn’t want to know their loved ones are depressed.  Even though the holidays have a change to military families, people will get through it if they keep the faith and stay strong together.

By: Sarah Kobelinski

On Thursday, September 22, the varsity girl’s tennis team defeated Park Center at the Pirate courts.

With an overall score of 5-2, the Tornadoes had some very close matches, but pulled through to get the victory.  Winning for the team were #2 and #3 singles players, Maddy Jacobi and Megan Ryen who stayed consistent and focused during their matches.

“I did a good job getting the ball over the net,” said Ryen who also notes how it was an even better win being that it was her birthday.

Over on the doubles courts, the girls swept the Pirates by getting all three wins.  #1 doubles team of Whitney Leisner and Dani Peterson played a great match with set scores of 6-3, 6-0.

“[we] played well by implementing the strategy we have been working on,” said Leisner.

The other two doubles teams of #2, Justine Foyt and Sarah Kobelinski, and #3, Bridgette Beckermann and Elle Proch, both played three set matches.  Each of these matches went back and forth between the two teams, but with Anoka’s determination to get the win they fought through.

With a tough schedule ahead of them, the girls will continue to work hard in every point and never back down.  Head coach, Chad Fellows, was happy with how they played on Thursday and is excited about how the girls came together to win.

“We played great matches with a lot of consistency…” said Fellows, who later added, “…it has been fun seeing the team come together and work with each other.”

By Tayler Bengtson

Kicks, headers and saves the Anoka Boys Varsity Soccer team (6-1) took on the Elk River Elks. Before the game started, the Anoka captains, # 5 senior Donovan Gross, # 9 senior Stuart Heltemes, #7 senior Mitch Dorale, #01 senior Connor Iverson and head coach Mr. Hayes took the field to meet with the opposing team captains to determine who would receive the ball first.

Within the first forty-one seconds of the game #10 sophomore  Roland Oyou made the first goal of the game against Elk River with an assist from #5 Donovan Gross, making it the 6^th goal of the season for Oyou. During the rest of the first half Elk River tried their best to make a goal against Anoka, but the Tornados goalie senior #01 Connor Iverson stopped any attempt that was made.

At half time, girl’s varsity soccer player, senior Katie Jones had nothing but positive things to say about the boys soccer team, “Anoka boys soccer team are a well built team, ready to dominate their opponents.”

During the second half, with help from #7 Mitch Dorale, #17 sophomore Gary Quinones was able to make the second goal for Anoka, making it his first goal of the season; the score 2-0, Anoka in the lead. With 19:37 minutes left in the game, Elk River was able to make a goal against Anoka, their first one of the game, the score 2-1.

The game ended with an Anoka victory against Elk River, the score 2-1 Anoka.

“I am very happy with how the team is playing. We have a good mix of senior leaders and young talent that work together. That was a big win for us against Elk River,” says Mr. Hayes, the boy’s varsity head coach.

By Claudia Fernholz

The Hall of Fame was organized for graduates of Anoka High School who have made something of themselves. Some of the recipients were Olympic athletes, a band director and memorable coaches that impacted people’s lives greatly. They all made a big difference to someone, and that is why they were given this opportunity to remember the good times.

The presenters were honored to be able to have the chance to grant the awards to the recipients. They didn’t forget to mention how they got to where they are in life, to mention the hard things that happened to them, or to mention how they overcame it.

The recipients sat in three rows, all anxious to accept their award. In their speeches, they all acknowledged how extremely honored they felt to be given this award. Most of them took time out of their busy schedule to come back to their old high school.  iIf they were unable to attend or if they had passed away, their family or friend would accept it for them. They were each given a golden plaque with their name on it. When they were given the award, they were also given a hug or a hand shake.

One of the recipients who were unable to attend gave the school 7,000 thousand dollars to help athletes who can’t afford to play in sports. The recipients family handed the over sized check to Mr. Farley with honor and pride in their eyes. Mr. Farley took the check, shook the presenters hand and smiled wide to show his school was ready to play.

The school was pleased to host such a successful event, the presenters and recipients were honored to accept and give away the awards. Thanks were spread throughout the auditorium and everybody is looking forward to the next Hall of Fame induction.

On  Friday, September 9^th 2011 at 7:00 pm, the Anoka Tornadoes ran out onto the field holding a #7 jersey in memory of their team-mate, Dylan Witschen. It was the first game of the season, and they were ready to play.

The team started out the first half of the game with a touchdown, making the score 7-0. The crowd was pumped and ready to see more. The battle went on, and Anoka scored another touchdown, making the score 14-0. The chance that we could win was exciting the crowd like crazy. The Huskies wanted to win. They were willing to do anything.

“The Andover team was so cruel to us. One of the players grabbed hold of an Anoka player and flung him on the ground,” says Anoka varsity football manager, Alycia Nessman, 10.

Andover ended up scoring a touchdown making the score 14-7. Anoka wasn’t going to let them get the lead, or score another touchdown. They were ready to end this thing. They ran out the clock and scored one more touchdown, making the score 24-7, proving that Anoka is the real A-town.

By Sarah Yang

The look of confidence on the Anoka boys’ swimming team was evident during the final minutes  before their first meet of the season started. Blaine sat across the pool, less assured, but reluctant to throwing the towel in without a fight.

Throughout the night, the Tornadoes fought the Bengals neck-to-neck, later to be declared  victorious, leading 99-84.

“They stopped counting at 95 because it was impossible for [Blaine] to catch up,” says senior Caleb Weight.

Exceptional swimmers for last night’s meet  included Matt Pint, 12, and captains Kyle Herold, 12, and Mitch Kampf, 12.

According to Sean Scott, 12, the 200-relay was an especially heart-stopping race, Anoka just barely touching out Blaine for the win.

The boys encouraged one another all through the course of the meet, knowing they had a sure win over the Bengals.

“I feel great. The teams are great; the captains are awesome; the coaches are pushing us hard as always. We’ll probably win the team sectionals this year,” Scott says with a pleased smile.

With a start as strong as theirs last night, the boys’ swimming team will definitely bring on their top game all season long. Their next meet is an invitational at Northdale Middle School on Saturday, December 18, at 9:00am (diving) and 1:00pm (swimming).