Students Inducted into NHS

Taylor Adcox 

Features Editor

These Apex students were inducted into

National Honor Society on May 24, 2012:

DECA Competes Internationally

Eleni Krakowski
Staff Writer

DECA Students win at international competition.

Seniors Katie Godfrey, Megan Gravley and Sydney Snedeker won first place in the International DECA Competition. On January 22, 2012, the girls held the Peak City Gala of Hope to benefit the V Foundation for Cancer Research. They raised over $30,000 for the foundation and won at both the state and international levels in the DECA competition. It was the most successful year for Apex DECA. Apex was the only school in North Carolina to win multiple international trophies and the only N.C. school to win a first place trophy. Godfrey states, “My experience this year in Apex DECA is one that has brought me closer to so many incredible people, closer to understanding what I want to do with the rest of my life, and closer to understanding how to seek opportunities for hard work and success that benefit more people than just myself.”

The following students received International Awards of Excellence:

• Laura Brockington and Shelby Wilt in Advertising Campaign

• Tim Merithew and Zach Gadwah in Advertising Campaign

• Kyle May and Mark Tate in Creative Marketing, third place trophy for creative marketing plan with The Performance Academey

• Chris Denison in Entrepreneurship Written

• Dipali Aphale and Karen Cheng in Finance Research

• Alia Capone in Hospitality and Tourism Promotion

• Katie Godfrey, Megan Gravley and Sydney Snedeker in Learn and Earn, first place for Peak City Gala of Hope

• Lena McCord and Erica Gilarranz in Sports and Entertainment Promotion

2012 Teacher Superlatives

Best Comebacks to “Stupid” Student Questions – Coach McIntyre

Most Likely to be Mistaken as a Student – Mr. Stapleton

Most Likely to Catch you Texting – Mr. Valder

Senior’s Favorite – Ms. Jumonville

Most Entertaining – Mr. Oltmans

Most Inspiring – Ms. Koefler

Most Quotable – Coach Thomas



Favorite Substitute – Mr. Miller

Most Memorable – Ms. Fackler-Bretz

Senior Superlatives

Athletes of the Year

Taylor Adcox 
Features Editor

The 2011-2012 academic year has seen its fair share of amazing athletic performances by the many student athletes at Apex. However, two athletes have stood out with their accomplishments both on and off of the field. Seniors Kyle May and Audrey Diener are this year’s Legacy Athletes of the Year.

Kyle May has been on the Apex
baseball and football teams.

Kyle May has been a member of both the baseball and football team during his high school career, seeing success in both sports. As the baseball team’s catcher, May has been part of some big moments. “My favorite memory would be being the winning run against Green Hope this year in baseball when Austin Debevec hit a walk off single,” says May.

May’s achievements are not limited to the baseball diamond. “My biggest accomplishment [in high school] has been just recently winning third at DECA Nationals with Mark Tate,” says May.

In college, May plans to continue playing sports. “I will be playing baseball at Louisburg College,” says May.

Audrey Diener pole vaults for Apex.

The 2011-2012 female Athlete of the Year is Audrey Diener, Apex’s star pole vaulter. Diener started vaulting when she was a freshman. “I got into pole vaulting…when I saw an article in the newspaper about a vaulting club in Cary that had recently started up,” says Diener. “I went there and started learning,” she added.

Diener found success throughout her high school vaulting career. “My biggest accomplishment…has definitely been breaking records every year,” says Diener. However, Diener does not take all of the credit for her achievements. “I have been really lucky I have Coach [Mark] Trezona at the school,” says Diener. “He’s one of the best coaches I could have had and I cannot thank him enough,” she continues.
Diener plans on pole vaulting in college. “I signed at App State for a vaulting scholarship two months ago, so I will be going there as a full time student athlete this fall,” says Diener. She plans to major in exercise science.
Both of the 2012 Legacy Athletes of the Year are exceptional on and off of the field. Whether they are setting athletic records or setting an example in the classroom or community, Audrey Diener and Kyle May are some of Apex’s best.

Leah Pedro Elected Student Body President

Ciara Healey 
Staff Writer

Junior Leah Pedro was recently elected
as the 2012-2013 Student Body President.

After three years of experience as Class President at Apex High, Leah Pedro was elected the new Student Body President for the 2102-2013 school year. “I’m really looking forward to being president. I think it’ll be a great year for Apex,” Pedro says.

Pedro knew she wanted to be involved in student government since her freshman year when she decided to run for class president. “I honestly didn’t think I was going to win, but I’m so glad I did. Being president has been a major part of my life,” she says.

Pedro has made many changes to the school along with the officers in Student Council. “We collaboratively have been able to create activities like the Homecoming festivities, pep rallies, the annual talent show, Mr. Apex and others,” said Pedro.

There are, however, many challenges that will arise next year and bring change to our school. “Since there are roughly 800 freshmen coming into Apex High, the school will have to accommodate for the large size. There’s talk about making three lunch periods next year, and there’s going to be parking problems for sure,” she explains, “Some things are inevitable, but I’m going to do as much as I can to listen to the students and try to fix these problems.”

Four Years in Review

Emily Lindesmith
Editor-in-Chief

We arrived at Apex in 2008 as scared, unsure freshmen but will soon walk away in 2012 as confident, determined seniors. While each of us experienced personal changes during our high school years the world around us changed as well.

2008

• February 19, 2008 Fidel Castro announces his resignation as President of Cuba.

• February 28, 2008 is a leap year.

• Spring 2008 Men’s basketball makes it to the state championship by winning five games

in a row as the underdog.

• August 10, 2008 Michael Phelps earns a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Summer Olympics.

• November 5, 2008 Barack Obama is elected as the first African-American President.

Seniors Attending Colleges Out-of-State

More Classes for More Tastes

Jake Pedersen
Staff Writer

Apex High will be offering the following classes next year: Accounting 1, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics and Beginning Orchestra.  “With more AP classes, we’re trying to help people get more AP credits, and expand to different areas where more people will be interested,” said Assistant Principal Jeanette Hill.

The new additions are due to a rise in the student population next year and increases in student interests. “We’re trying to do as much as we can appeal to everybody in the school. This year we added agriculture so that appealed to a certain section of students. So every time we add classes, we’re looking at certain sections of students,” said Hill.

With the addition of the new classes, new teachers will not need to be hired. The teacher’s schedules will be different. “I will no longer be teaching AP Government, another teacher will. I will teach AP Macroeconomics one semester and AP Microeconomics the other semester,” said social studies teacher Adam White.

With the new classes, White wants to try to appeal to mainly rising upperclassmen, saying, “I think there is a population at this school who could benefit from having those kinds of courses. [The goal of this course] is to hopefully have a good amount of kids learn information so that they can get college credit.”

More Students, More Lunches

Jake Pedersen 
Staff Writer

Apex High will have three lunches for the 2012-2013 school year due to an increase in the student body with an expected enrollment of 2,500 students.

Apex students gather in the cafeteria for lunch.

 “The biggest jump in numbers is going to be in the freshmen class. Those are kids not going off campus,” said Principal Matt Wight. ”If you go in there [the cafeteria], especially if it’s cold or rainy, there are very few places to eat. We want lunch to be a time when people are not jam-packed.  We really don’t want kids to be sitting in the cafeteria like sardines,” stated Wight.

Lunch will still be 40 minutes to allow juniors and seniors to go off campus. Class periods will continue to be 90 minutes. The biggest change will come with the addition of the new lunch that will require a split class period.

Seniors Attending NC Colleges

View In State Colleges in a larger map

2012 Senior Top Ten Picks

Ciara Healey & John Santos
Staff Writers

Songs:

1.      WE ARE YOUNG- fun.

2.      SEXY AND I KNOW IT- LMFAO

3.      SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW- Gotye feat. Kimbra

4.      WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL- One Direction

5.      PARADISE- Coldplay

6.      CALL ME MAYBE- Carly Rae Jepson

7.      LOOK AT ME NOW- Chris Brown feat. Busta Rhymes and Lil’ Wayne

8.      PUMPED UP KICKS- Foster the People

9.      STRONGER- Kelly Clarkson

10.  MOVES LIKE JAGGER- Maroon 5

Tips for Rising Seniors

Frankie Campisano 
Arts & Entertainment Editor

 Rising seniors, the year you’ve been anticipating is finally in sight. In preparation for your senior year, Legacy has compiled some helpful tips for the class of 2013. If you set your goals ahead of time and follow through with them, you will have a great senior year.

1-      Plan Ahead for AP Exams
You don’t want to reach the spring semester with seven AP exams to take, as your scores may suffer from the lack of preparation time, and your course load may not be able to recover from a week of absences. Begin studying for your exams throughout the year, and use the spacing effect to your advantage; studying thirty minutes a week will have a longer lasting effect than cramming two hours the night before your exam. It is important to prepare yourself for every possible outcome; however, the scores you take during the second semester of your senior year will not be sent to the colleges until after you already have committed to a school.

2-      Visit College Campuses Multiple TimesVisit the campus of every college where you plan to apply to ensure that the money spent on your application is well spent. After receiving your acceptance letters, attend the orientations for your potential schools and narrow your choices based on which school you feel is your best fit. Multiple visits to campuses should result in an increased feeling of comfort with your school of choice. Your time in college should be both comfortable and academically tailored to your success, because your campus will be your home for the next four years.

3-      Plan Ahead for Teacher RecommendationsAsk your teachers for recommendations as early into the semester as possible. Your chances of receiving an original, heartfelt letter will be increased tenfold if your chosen teacher hasn’t been bogged down by thirty similar requests. Bring a stamped, addressed envelope. Be sure to provide any necessary information, including an up-to-date resume. The sooner you ask, the more likely you are to get the letter you want.

4-      Get as Much Accomplished in the Summer

If you’ve been putting off that road trip with your friends or waiting to put the finishing touches on your latest masterpiece, the summer before you leave for college will be the prime time for completion. If you haven’t had a part time job before your senior year, it’s time to play catch up. Even if you focus on your academics throughout the school year, adding work experience to your resume will help you in the long run.

5-      Take Leadership Roles in Extracurricular Activities

Colleges will be looking for you to be a well rounded student, so instead of joining as many clubs as possible, focus on the clubs you’ve already been attending and make a name for yourself. Being president of one club will take you farther than being a regular member of three. Once you’ve found your niche, be sure to regularly attend the club’s meetings and volunteer for activities. If you’re interested in pursuing your extracurricular activities on a collegiate level, it will be to your advantage to say that you did more for a club than simply show up on time.  

Spanish Honor Society Inducts New Members

Sarah Muzzillo

Layout Editor

La Sociedad Honoria Hispánica—The Spanish Honor Society—is an organization for diligent Spanish students. In order to be inducted, students must fill out an application, and have taken at least three semesters of Spanish, earning A’s and B’s in each class. Accepted students are eligible for the Joseph Adams Senior Scholarship, as well as all expense paid trips to Spanish-speaking countries. Members must attend all Sociedad meetings and help with the peer-tutoring program after school. On May 21, the following students will be inducted:

·         Thais Bonilla

·          Caroline Broadwell

·         Logan Buie

·         Alia Capone

·         Valerie Daratony

·         Rukmini Deva

·         Andrew Dodd

·         Katherine Feliciano

·         Ayla Goktan

·         Michaela Hinks

·         Matt Lee

·         Jeremy Miller

·         Shaylyn Murphy

·         Jessie Robinson

·         Alicia Tobey

·         Caroline Trezona

·         Leah Weaver

2012 Prom Hairstyles

Amanda Nash, Sarah Muzzillo, Ciara Healey

Videopgrapher, Layout Editor, Staff Writer

 

Click "Read More" for a step-by-step guide to each hairstyle!