8
Features
January
Little Drummer Boy grows up, beats his own melody for life
,
H aley E pperly _____________
Contributing Writer
After playing the role of
"The Little Drummer Boy"
in a school play, Christopher
DelBene, freshman,
was hooked. "When I'm
playing I don't think about
anything but playing. It's
exhilarating," DelBene said.
DelBene is 100% Italian
and comes from a close knit
family that includes a Blue
Heeler Cross named Oreo.
His parents have a large
Italian flag in their bedroom
and pasta and meatballs
are a common meal in the
DelBene household. His
grandparents on his mom's
side live in Italy.
"My grandma makes
calazone every time she
visits. It's like a pizza folded
in half but a million times
better," he said.
The move from
Poughquag, New York to
West Linn in third grade
was difficult for DelBene.
He had to leave behind his
friends and family because
of his dad's promotion
to vice-president of
Welchallyn. He misses the
Christopher DelBene, freshman, perfects his art during some spare
time. The aspiring musician has played the drums since sixth grade
and has had the opportunity to show off his skills at a jazz festival.
Photo by Haiey Epperiy
warm weather and bright
lights of New York.
"New York is a lot busier
than West Linn, but the
people in New York are
snobbier. I wish I could pick
up my friends and family in
West Linn and drop them in
New York," DelBene said.
Some other hobbies
DelBene enjoys are playing
Wii, ping pong and jumping
on his trampoline.
He tried tennis for the
first time in New York
in first grade and started
lessons in sixth grade. "It's
action packed and you get
to hit a ball really hard. It's
like ping pong, but life size."
There were a few factors
that sparked DelBene's
interest in playing the
drums.
"A long time ago my
uncle was an extreme
drummer and he started
teaching me how to play,"
he said. But DelBene showed
an interest in drums long
before that. "When I was five
or six I made a drum out of a
jar and balloon."
Although he loves the
drums, there are some other
instruments he would like
to play and hasn't had the
chance to yet. "I've always
wanted to try the bagpipes,"
DelBene said.
DelBene's drum lessons
began with teacher Charles
Neil in sixth grade and he
has continued to study with
him for the past four years.
He has a lesson once a week
in Tualatin.
Lessons, which he
describes as extremely
intense, start with snare
drum solos and include
marching band lessons,
Latin and rock grooves and
soloing.
At home, he plays songs „
on his Pearl drum set such
as "Crank Dat Soulja Boy
Teachers reveal pet peeves: students be warned!
a L exi W elp _______________
Staff Reporter
Late Work. Texting during
class. Not cleaning up
after themselves. Overlong
bathroom breaks. Students
not being where they are
supposed to be. Teachers have
many pet peeves.
Students usually try to
avoid upsetting teachers, but
there are some things that
students just do; behaviors
that tend to agitate teachers
for no apparent reason. Often
a teacher's pet peeve is rather
obvious and easy to avoid.
There are also common pet
peeves that teachers share, for
example, when students line
up at the door before the bell
rings, or when students forget
to push in their chairs.
"My pet peeves include
lying, copying homework
in class from other students,
and papers with no names,"
Meagyn Keys, English
teacher, said. "I have maybe
taken a couple homework
assignments away from
students this year, nothing
big."
Remix" by Travis Barker. He
practices nearly every day
at home. "A lot of the time
I'm not really practicing
what my teacher tells me to.
I like to make up my own
stuff," DelBene said.
He tried piano lessons
once when he was younger,
but decided they were
boring. Neither of his
parents play an instrument.
"My mom is musically
challenged." He has two
younger sisters, Danielle
and Jacqueline, who also
attempted the piano but
quit because they did not
like practicing.
DelBene played the
drums in band throughout
his three years of middle
school at Rosemont. He
performed at the Mt. Hood
Community College Jazz
Festival in eighth grade.
Fine Arts
Assembly
showcases
talents of
student artists
l i i iris Itsse flirty__________ a
continued from page 5
on and tagging the white
board," Murray said. "It's
a waste of markers. I have
to take the time to erase it,
and it's distracting. It is a
seemingly harmless form of
graffiti, but it drives me nuts."
Tardiness is usually not
acceptable in most classes.
Todd Jones, social studies
teacher, includes it as one of
his pet peeves. Complaining
or whining is a pet peeve
shared by several teachers as
is students standing in the
Cheating and lying has
consequences in Keys' class. If
caught cheating in her class,
a student will have whatever
they are working on (usually
a test or quiz) taken away
and will receive no credit.
The student in question will
then have a conference with
Keys (and depending on how
serious the matter is, their
parents too) so that their
actions can be discussed.
When asked what their
biggest pet peeve is relating
out," Bilyeu said, when
addressing what he has done
to gum poppers in the past.
According to Bilyeu, while he
has changed grades from B+
to A's, he does give his class
a warning about what his pet
peeves are.
Jessica Murray, Fine Arts
teacher, has an unusual
to school teachers had many
different responses. The most
common pet peeves teachers
had were things involving
students chewing gum, and
having poor or ugly attitudes
during class.
"My main pet peeves
are students whining to
get grades changed from a
B+ to an A-, and students
making gum popping noises.
The worst is noisy gum
popping whiners," Jeff Bilyeu,
Chemistry teacher said.
"Sure I've kicked people
school-related pet peeve, one
that most students might
never even think about.
"My biggest pet peeve is
definitely students doodling
middle of the hallways
talking and blocking
passages.
"I hate it when people say
'24-7' about something they
couldn't possibly be doing
24 hours a day, seven days
a week. I also dislike when
people say, 'those ones.' It is
those. Ones is not necessary,"
Ann Breyne, English,
journalism and photography
teacher, said. "My newest pet
peeve is people texting during
a play or movie. Please, put
away your cell phones!"
People tend to associate
a theatrical auditorium
with professional
performances and this may
heighten the quality of their
behavior.
The stage is a focal
point for the audience,
and with the seating
arrangement, students
are less likely to converse
with their neighbor. The
sound system also benefits
performers, and the overall
atmosphere helps capture
the audience's attention.
This year the assembly
was held during second
period on Dec. 14. Teachers
signed up to attend the
event with their classes.
The auditorium holds
about 600 people so there
was not enough room to
accommodate everyone.
The majority of students
actually missed the live
performance since there
was only one showing. To
give students who were not
able to attend the assembly
a chance to view the
performance, a recording of
it was shown the following
Monday and Wednesday.
In the future, the Fine
Arts Department hopes
to hold more than one
performance to give
everyone a chance to
experience it live. Ideas for
how to organize multiple
showings while being
aware of preserving regular
class time have been
discussed, and with the
start of relocating the event,
the Fine Arts Assembly
is moving in the right
direction.