The Anoka Siren

By Sarah Yang

The Anoka brawlers won against Blaine at last night’s wrestling meet. According to Keanu Phou, 10, the Bengals were no competition; their victory last night confirmed it.

Captain Kyle Begin, 11, wrestled well, as did junior Jeremy Beaman. The fastest pin of the meet was made by Brandon Krone, 9, against Blaine’s Johan Allen, 11, in 41 seconds.

Other notable plays included Anthony Bush’s, 12, check on Tommy Hall, 12;  and Kodi Krone, 10,  and Cole Harris’, 12, 4 minute pins.

All in all, the Tornadoes sent the Bengals home without a doubt as to who the top dogs were.

By Sarah Yang

As you strolled past the IMC this morning, an unusally melodic sound caught you off guard. Before you could help yourself, you found yourself walking toward the open, welcoming doors, drawn magnetically, involuntarily. As you approached, your head began to bob to the rhythm of the Christmas songs ringing in your ears. After all, you do love the holiday season.

You entered and saw Anoka’s 7th Avenue choir standing erect at the front of the IMC, caroling away. With a smile, you quickly searched for a seat and sat down to watch the performance when your stomach reminded you that you skipped breakfast. Without missing a beat, however, your nose directed your eyes to a counter stocked full of donuts, coffee, hot chocolate, and muffins. The carolers’ sweet voices are pushed back into your subconscious as you bee-lined to the food.

Greeted by BPA members, you purchase your breakfast and returned to your seat for a satisfying breakfast-and-a-show. Little did you know that you just donate to BPA’s annual adopt-a-family project.

Todays’ morning jam was the last of BPA’s funding activities for this project. They raised another $121 to add to their current adopt-a-family savings

“We did very well,” Ms. Bement, BPA director, said. BPA will be heading out sometime in the upcoming week to purchase gifts for the family and deliver them.

Before the 2010 year goes out, BPA has one more task at hand: They will be answering “Dear Santa” letters from students at Crooked Lake Elementary School. They look forward to reading the enlightening letters from Santa’s favorites: kindergarteners.

By Melissa Jensen

On December 17th, the Anoka High School theatre department performed the closing production of the holiday musical, Snow White.

Incorporating Christmas spirit into this renowned Grimm Brother’s fairytale was a must for this show as the musical kicked off just two weeks prior to the holiday.  The show began in Santa Claus’s Mystic Magic Toyshop with the elves scurrying to complete the toys for Santa’s Christmas Eve route.

After two small children (Abby Hastings and Mitchell Nagy) show up in the workshop, Santa (Devin Blanchard) decides to tell a story to the young children:  the story of Snow White (Leah Pickhardt). The rest of the play chronicles the traditional tale of Snow White  including the seven dwarfs (Austin Gordon, Michael Spiering, Whitney Leisner, Cody Olson, Tara Schaefle, Holly Gabbert and Kati Meuller-Barndt), the evil queen (Alyssa Boyer), and of course, Prince Charming (Tyler Nielson).

Snow White’s closing number, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, captured the holiday spirit, and brought joy to all  during this season of celebration.

Besides entertaining audiences through this play, the AHS theatre department decided use Snow White to give back to the local community. Fifty cents of every ticket and flower sold was donated to the Family Promise of Anoka County which aids in trying to find a solution for the Anoka County homeless crisis.

Snow White brought joy, harmony, and that cheerful holiday air to all audiences who attended the  2010 winter musical here at Anoka, and also helped to ensure that members of the local community were able to enjoy this season of happiness.

By Sarah Yang

Anoka girls’ hockey won against the Andover Huskies in yesterday’s game, 1-0.

Team member Blair Parent, 9, boasts of sophomore Katie Johnson’s sniping throughout the game; Kayla McLaughlin, 10, made three breakaways, stealing the puck from Andover’s grasp. McKenna Parent, 11, also had good, steady passes over to Katie Johnson.

During the half-time teddy bear toss, fans from both Anoka and Andover enthusiastically participated. In the end, Anoka collected more teddy bears than Andover; their principal will be seen wearing an Anoka hockey jersey this upcoming week.

The Tornadoes continued strong for the third and fourth quarters. All in all, the offense battled viciously, bringing home victory once again.

By Melissa Jensen

On Friday, December 10th, 2010, all students and staff were called down to the field house during second hour to listen to the words of wisdom of world-renowned, motivational speaker Mark Scharenbroich.

After a rocky start to the 2010 school year, Mr. Scharenbroich’s inspiring advice and witty humor was just what AHS needed in order to make the remaining months of this school year the best that Anoka has ever seen.

Mr. Scharenbroich’s hour-long presentation was not the typical motivational speech as he covered topics such as teenage romance, differences between seniors and freshmen, and even introduced a chant to students and faculty.

One of the key ideas in Mr. Scharenbroich’s speech was the idea that we should all maintain our elementary-school enthusiasm to learn and also to readily accept others’ differences. Students should stop focusing on the negatives of their appearances, and embrace the positives. Also, we must help out and encourage others in the Anoka family no matter what grade they are in as Anoka High School is one, solid unit.

All in all, Mr. Scharenbroich’s over-the-top impersonations and uplifting message to support everyone in the Anoka family will hopefully resonate with many students and help to create a successful, loving environment here at Anoka for years to come.

By Sarah Yang

The Anoka boys’ basketball team lost to the Armstrong Falcons, 82-73, on Thursday night’s game.

The game started on a rough note, with the Tornadoes struggling to stay above water. Although they trailed the Falcons by 15 points by the end of  the second quarter, the boys played well.

Spencer Specht, 12, Spencer Grow (captain), 12, and Tyler Sorvari, 12,  were quick on their feet, weaving in and out of oncoming opponents to score impossible shots for the Tornadoes.

From 15 points behind to 3 points behind, the Tornadoes slowly crept forward for a comeback.

Center Eric Brumbaugh and guard Eric Jordan tag-teamed, stumping the Falcons and adding up more points for the team.

The second half of the game proved better-played; however by the final bell, the Tornadoes still lagged by 9 points. The Armstrong Falcons took home this game’s victory.

By Lizzy Yarges

Anoka’s orchestras kicked off the holiday season with their yearly holiday concert. The Varsity, Philharmonic, Sinfonia, and Concert Orchestras all preformed various traditional holiday songs along with three songs arranged by Anoka’s own Mr. Halstenson.

Ms. Griffin and Mr. Halstenson led each orchestra to wonderful performances that left the audience at the edge of their seats anticipating the next song.

The Concert Orchestra’s flawless performance was the highlight of the night. Anna Loe, 12, preformed a viola solo in Mr. Halstenson’s Coventry Carol. Gordon Neilsen was a special guest who narrated “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” a story within a song portraying a visit from jolly St. Nick. The concert ended with a twist to a traditional holiday carol with guitars played by Bryce Dahlke, 11, and Lindsey Block, 11.

By Sarah Yang

Once again staff in the IMC rolled out the speakers, hooked up the microphones, pushed back the tables, and set out an assortment of donuts and hot chocolate. Morning cafes were an anticipated event, much more popular now than they were back then.

Behind the counter with cordial smiles stood not Amnesty International, however, but the Business Professionals of America (BPA). Rather than just run “Light Up the Night” to fund for their annual holiday Adopt-a-Family, they decided to also host a morning cafe to add to their revenue.

All proceeds made this morning will go towards purchasing items for their family in need.

“So far, it’s turning out pretty good,” says BPA member Paige Tack, 12.

With a couple more light bulbs to sell and an upcoming morning cafe next Friday, featuring the 7th Avenue Carolers, BPA’s total income to spend on their family will breach $300.

They encourage all to attend their upcoming cafe next week to help them reach their monetary goal.

By Sarah Yang

It seemed to materialize over the course of the week, this strange object that sat in the IMC. Triangle sat upon triangle, towering above the bookshelves and library users. As students and faculty stroll, they attempt to hide their curiosity, but the question can be clearly seen on their faces: What is that?

Mathematics teacher Mr. Kelley smiles knowingly. He and his three sections of Geometry have been working diligently since before Thanksgiving break to construct the structure that which sits in the IMC. They only just completed their strenuous task the Monday of this week.

Made from a series of pyramids stacked in groups of four, this structure is known as the “Sierpinski Pyramid”. It was named after the Polish mathematician Waclaw Sierpinski, who created it in 1915.

The Sierpinski Pyramid is a basic example of a self-similar set. In other words, it’s a pattern that can be reproduced at any scale or magnitude.

The Pyramid in the IMC had 5 levels of reproduction:

1. The 2-D pyramid template

2. 1 constructed pyramid template

3. 4 constructed pyramid templates taped/glued together

4. 4 of the previously constructed pyramids (4 of #3) taped/glued together

5. 4 of those previously constructed pyramids (4 of #4) taped/glued together

In regard to Geometry, the Pyramid is utilized for teaching about similar figures.

“I think [my students] learned a lot about similar figures and had fun while doing it. Besides, it looks cool,” said Mr. Kelley.

This was the first time in over eight years that a Sierpinski Pyramid has been built and set in the IMC. Depending on what curriculum is established for Geometry next year, students may or may not be engaging in creating another Sierpinski Pyramid.

By Emily Hall

In the the November 30th game against Blaine, the Anoka Varsity girls’ hockey team beat the Bengals 3-2 in overtime. It was an exciting game, with much competition on both sides. The score was 0-0 after the first period, and right away at the start of the second, Blaine scored the first point, with Emily Brigham from Anoka scoring shortly after. The score was 2-1 for Anoka thanks to a second point from Blair Parent in the third period, and Blaine scored again with four minutes left. With the score then 2-2, the game went into overtime and with five minutes left,  Katie Johnson scored the winning shot. After this win, Anoka is tied for 1st in the conference with Coon Rapids and Elk River. The team is going strong, with a record of 4 wins, 0 losses, and 1 tie.