The week is called spirit week. It started on tuesday, ends on friday. It is a week without the regular dress code, a week to appreciate your chargers, show your pride, and dress crazy.

• Monday-regular school clothes
• Tuesday- MisMatch Day(pictures included)
• Wednesday-favorite sports team day
• Thursday- favorite decade day(pictures included)
• Friday- spirit day and peprally seventh period!

*AND HERES SOME OF THE PARTICIPANTS

Favorite Decade Day!:

            On November 21, the JROTC cadets held their annual military ball in Jeffersontown High School’s small gym. According to many the of many cadets, it truly was a night to remember…

            Samantha Pietrasiewicz, a senior cadet, went for her very last year. The Imprint asked for her input on how the evening went.

What are you going to miss about the military ball?

Getting ready (hair, make-up and getting my nails done.) I’ll also miss going shopping to pick out my ball gown.

What did you like about it?

Being there with all of my friends, dancing and seeing how everyone else dressed up.

Was your senior year your favorite year?

Yes, because I enjoyed the people I was there with.

What do you feel was the best part of the evening?

Dancing with my date because he didn’t step on my dress at all.

     At Jeffersontown High School, we have been given some amazing students and staff which is why The Imprint decided to select a few to spotlight for the month of December. These students are vocally talented, meaning their singing can blow you out of the water. . . literally. The director is Ms. Stewart and she has done whatever it takes to help these students raise their voices to become excellent and knowledgeable singers!!

 Christian Kinnard-Agnew

 Grade: 10

Extracurricular Activities: He will be working more with his church choir throughout the year

Goals for this year: He’s pushing to pass this year, learn more about music and life all together

 Hobbies: Singing, playing, instruments, dancing, poetry and comedy

Voice Height: Tenor

Kelsey Reid

  Grade: 11

Extracurricular Activities: Beta Club, Junior Class V.P., Choir

Goals for this year: To receive straight A’s, a distinguished at KMEA solo and ensemble and do well at the Woulu competition. Become chosen for Governor’s School of the Arts and inducted into NHS

Hobbies: Playing the piano, singing and acting

 Voice Height: Soprano

Zalika Gavin

 Grade: 12

Extracurricular Activities:She’s very involved in choir all around because music is her passion.          

 Favorite Song(s): “Tattoo” by Jordan Sparks and “Gift of a Friend” by Demi Lovato.

Voice Height:Soprano

Ms. Stewart

 Goals for this year: She expects to teach her students a variety of music and wishes to receive a Distinguished from the KMEA competition. She will also be entering her Women’s Chorale into the Chamber Choir Competition at U of L this February.

How long have you taught at J-town: This will be her fourth year.

Favorite Song(s): “Awaken” by the prog-rock band Yes. She also enjoys Jazz and Classical Rock.

Voice Height: She can sing from low D to a soprano A, although she mostly sings the alto part in her choir.

Fun Fact: In her spare time from the choir, Ms. Stewart is a team player for the Women’s National Football League. Good Luck!!

     If you spend most of your day lurking around B side, you’ve probably seen these students prowling in and out of the art room. But it’s no coincidence.   Art 4 students are constantly at work, sometimes even spending more than one period a day in art class. This time allows for students to create unique pieces that are consistantly used for competitions as well as potential slot fillers for a college portfolio.
But a lot of these students go unnoticed…

Amber Cox

-Favorite artists:
Paul Cézanne, Sierra Jeffries, Lara Kinne, and Betsy Deleon.
-Plans after high school:
College, and maybe look into wedding cake design.
-Favorite medium:
Oil paint.
-Favorite piece you’ve done:
I haven’t had a favorite…yet!

Sierra Jeffries

-Favorite Artists:
Andy Warhol, Phil Hansen, Christo and Jeanne Claude, and Amber Cox.
-Plans after High School:
Go to college and get my education on. I’m not sure what I want to pursue when it comes to careers, though. But I’ll still continue art on the side.
-Things you want your art to say?
Just for them to be interesting enough that people would want to actually look at them.
-Favorite medium:
Pencil and regular paper.

Betsy Deleon

-What do you hope to accomplish this year?
To do good pieces.
-Plans after high school:
Go to college.
-Favorite medium:
Using paint.
-Favorite piece you’ve done:
My painting of Amber’s hands.

Jacob Mueller

-What kind of art do you like?
Graphic and logo design.
-Plans after high school:
Major in graphic design, work for a company, and then create my own brand, “Bordum,” for skate and surf.
-Favorite medium:
Dark led pencil.
-Favorite piece you’ve done:
The J-town baseball logo.

Lee Cosby

-What kind of art do you like?
Art that makes you think outside of the box a little; abstract artwork.
-Favorite artists:
Jason Sluers
-What do you hope to accomplish this year?
I’m hoping to put out as many paintings and sculptures as much as I can, and submit them to Scholastic and hopefully receive an award.
-Favorite piece you’ve done:
My self portrait.

Lara Kinne

-What kind of art do you like?
Anything I can relate or feel attuned to.
-Favorite artists:
Otto Dix, Cindy Sherman, Fernando Botero and David Lynch.
-Things you want your art to say?
I want it to be comfy and unsettling. Everything I create is irrational to the point of whimsy, despite being ferociously serious.
-Favorite piece you’ve done:
My bacon and woman duet painting.

This year you may get lucky and meet the four German girls while you are walking through the hallways at J-Town High School. They are going to spend the whole school year in the United States. One of the girls is 15-year-old Lena. She left Germany six weeks ago. During these weeks she has had both positive and negative experiences when it comes to being an exchange student. But most of all she is happy to be here.
“I really enjoy being here. I have learned so much about myself and about this culture since I got here. The first few weeks it was hard for me to be away from my family and my home. I am used to spending a lot of time with my family, especially since I have three younger brothers. Here I am always very busy. I have a lot of things to do: school, homework, volleyball and orchestra, so there is not much time to relax with my host family and friends. I guess the time to relax is what I miss most about Germany.”

From the first days Lena got here she started to play on the volleyball team. She had played volleyball on a team in Germany for three years. She also plays clarinet and violin, so she wanted to continue playing clarinet in the band and in the orchestra.

“In Germany I used to hang out with my friends in my spare time. We used to go to the cinema together, go shopping, go to picnic, take a swim in one of the lakes, and sometimes go camping in the weekends. I guess we do the same stuff as American teenagers do.”

What do you think is the biggest difference between Germany and the U.S.?

“High schools here are really different from my school back home. We don’t have to change classrooms for every lesson and we have longer breaks. But I have to say that the teachers here are much nicer than our teachers in Germany. Here they are friendlier and not that strict. I think the students here have a better relationship with their teachers.  Some of the students here are very loud, and they don’t seem to care so much about school. That was a quite big shock for me when I started here. But I like the people here. They are very outgoing and easy to get to know.”

On September 15 Lena will turn sixteen years old. Then she is officially allowed to drink beer and alcohol- if she is in Germany. For a long time she had planned with her best friends that on the day she turns sixteen they will go to a festival together and drink beer and have lots of fun. That will be difficult to do while she is  here, but she will at least go to a festival

“”On my birthday I will join the Gaslight run. The big celebration will be done on the weekend. I will then go to the festival. I am looking forward to going there. I hope there will be some nice music to listen to!”

Lena has already set her plans for this year. Not only does she look forward to the festival, she is also looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break and the prom. In November she will go to Washington D.C. on a trip with the organization she is travelling with. Right now she has already gotten to visit Holiday World in Indiana and Atlanta, Georgia. She is very adventurous and she hopes to see as much as she can of the U.S. while she is here.

Did you want to go to other countries besides the U.S.?

“I applied to go to Costa Rica as well, but when I was accepted to go to the U.S., I decided that I wanted to go there because it sounded like a really cool country. I am glad I did, but I still want to go to South America some day. I love the Spanish language and I would love to learn it. I have heard that the South American way to live is very relaxing, and I love beaches.”

Lena does not only speak German and English, she can also speak some French, Italian and Latin. Now she has just started to learn Spanish too.
“I would like to study languages some day. After this school year I have two more years to finish the school in Germany. After that I want to study languages or medicine or maybe I want to travel. But my dream is to be a doctor some day. “

This experience will be good to have in the future. Not only will she be fluent in English, she will also know the American way to live, which was one of the reasons why she wanted to come here. She will have an experience that few people have, and she will be a more grown up person than she was before. She would absolutely recommend American teenagers to do the same. It will be a year you will never forget.

     Hello, my name is Lim, Hyoung Sup (Luke). I’m 16 years old, a junior, and I’m an exchange student from South Korea. The counselor, Jimmy Wallace, is my host father. My first weeks at J-town have been fantastic. Mainly because school finishes at 2:20! It was unbelievable for me. In  South Korea high school finishes at 10:00-11:00 p.m.! Korean students spend most of their time in school. As you can see, their day is about fifteenn to sixteen hours long. Schools start at 7:30 and finishes late at night. There is no weekend break which means students have to go to school even on Saturday.  Some students have to go to school even on Sunday because some teachers want to do that for good scores! Moreover, surprisingly, some teachers don’t allow time from studies for students to go to church!!! But here, in America, I have a lot of time I can rest on Saturday, go to church, do homework at night, and sleep late!  There are a lot of differences in addition school time.
    
     Korean teachers don’t have their own classroom. They have only one big room where teachers stay. Teachers move from classroom to classroom when the bell rings.  Teachers don’t have their own classroom, but students do. However, there are teachers in each classroom who manage the classroom. They announce  information in the morning or in the afternoon.

     In Korean school, there is a lunch time and dinner time. Believe it or not, it is an hour. Many Korean students do a lot of things during lunch time or dinner time because there is time to do more than just eat lunch or dinner. Therefore, students play soccer, basketball, or other sports during lunch or dinner times. Interestingly, most Korean schools have only one playground because of the budget. Some rich schools have two or three playgrounds but they are not big like here in America.

     Surprisingly, some school don’t have cafeteria like America. At my school students eat lunch and dinner in the classroom in their desks! In America, desks and chairs are one but in Korea, they are separated. So, students can change the height and make desk and chair more comfortable. Because of that, at my school students don’t have to struggle to eat food.

     In America, students get grades by doing homework, solving some quizzes, and taking exams, but in Korea there are four exams every year in the school. Homework or quizzes cannot affect grades, but if students don’t do homework, teachers punish them. These four exams are very important in Korea because students can choose the university with their grades. Also, there is a most important test like SAT every year. Believe it or not, this test is only given once a year. Depending on the test grade, students can go to the good university or bad university. In Korea, most students can go to the university or college because there are a lot of university and colleges. To go to the good universities which are located in the capital, students have to study a lot. That’s why students stay in school almost all day.

     Korean schools have their own uniform. It looks like a suit. All students have to buy the uniform to go to the school, and it is very expensive. The cost depends on the quality but normally it costs $170-200.

     However, there are some similarities between South Korean schools and American schools like subjects and start time. Even though American schools are different from Korea schools in many ways, it is very fun to me. I like it here. J-town is very good to me. I like moving to class, playing on sports teams, and discussing in classes! Those are new experiences for me. I’m glad to be here and to meet a lot of new people.

It was a Thursday morning.  The time was 6:30 a.m. I was standing at the airport in Bodø, ready to leave my city. I had thirty minutes left to say goodbye to my family and my boyfriend.  Thirty minutes left of an old chapter of my life.  It was time for my American dream to begin!

 Hi, I’m Cathrine. I am a seventeen-year-old girl from the northern part of Norway, from a city named Bodø. I live here in Louisville with my two host-parents and my German host-sister Lena. I have now been at J’town High School for almost  four weeks. I started to play with the volleyball team when I first arrived, but it wasn’t something for me, so now I am going to try cross country. I am really looking forward to it. I would also love to be a cheerleader, but unfortunately I’m not good at tumbling.

The reason why I wanted to be an exchange student this year was to improve my English, to get some new experiences and to get some new friends. I was thinking about other English-speaking countries, but I decided to come to the U.S. because I have heard about this country every day since I was little, so I was curious about how life was here. People told me that Americans are very outgoing, wild and easy to get to know, and to be honest- a little bit stupid sometimes.
Lots of things in Norway have their origins in America. We do have McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, donuts, brownies etc. We listen to the same music as you. Mostly I watch American TV-shows like Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy and many others. Some people even celebrate Halloween, but it’s not as big as here.

Norway is the blue country in the nothern part of Europe.

Four weeks ago I set my foot, for the first time, in America. During these four weeks I have experienced that the United States is totally different from Norway or any other place I’ve been in the world. The first thing I noticed when I came to the U.S. was nothing different from what other Europeans have said before: Everything is so big here! The buildings, the cars, the roads, the food, and the malls- you can get everything in XXL.  There are  so many opportunities here! In Norway we don’t have stores like Meijer and Walmart. I was in Meijer some days ago to buy my mom a birthday card and I used 20 minutes to find the perfect one because I had to look through every one. There was so much to choose from!

However, the biggest difference is the school. In Norway we stay in the same classroom the whole day and the teachers come to our rooms. We have ten years in the school where everyone has to go and after that we are free to do whatever we want, but most of the students choose to go to “high school.” In my school there are about 1000 students. That’s when the difficult part comes; instead of choosing our own subjects, we can choose  to specialize  in sports, music or just take basic subjects like math, history, science, English and foreign language.You can also take subjects that prepare you to start working. Their syllabus is for two years and the students can specialize  in design and art, electronics, industry, hairdressing or health studies, farming and plenty of other opportunities. They have easier subjects. This really seems to work out well for the people who don’t like school so much or are having problems with learning.

In Norway we start school at different times from day to day. Sometimes at 8: 00 a.m., other times at 10: o0 a.m. We are normally finished at school at 3:20, but some days we  finish earlier. Thus, we have thirty hours a week, spread over five days. We have ten to twenty-minute breaks per day plus lunch in 30 minutes, and we usually have one hour once a week when we can do whatever we want to do. It’s lovely because then we get to socialize with friends.

A major difference is that we use computers in every lesson at school. We get about $700  from the school to buy our own laptop which is our private computer. We can decide by ourselves which brand we want to buy. There are many positive sides to being able to use the internet in classes, but I think it has more negative sides. It’s easy to get distracted by other things like facebook, games, other computers, msn ect. Of course, we are not allowed to do this stuff, but the teachers are standing in front of us so they can’t see what we are doing.

In our spare time in Norway we play sports, hang out with friends, go to cafés, go to the cinema, go to concerts, watch soccer-games, do some shopping, go swimming in the summer or mountain hiking, and do some skiing in the winter. We like to be outside in nature. On the weekends we sometimes meet other people at parties. We dance and have a lot of fun.

 
Norwegians love to be outside in nature.

I have to admit that I feel very homesick right now. I really miss my family, my friends and my boyfriend. It’s hard to imagine being away from them for nine more months. After four weeks at school here in America I have started to get used to all the differences. I like the subjects very much. They are really interesting and I couldn’t be happier with my teachers. I’m looking forward to homecoming week, Halloween, Thanksgiving, prom and other American traditions. I really hope that this school year will be great, not just for me, but for everyone!

“I want to thank everybody for being so caring, and thoughtful. I appreciate everything and everyone for their support. I miss Denzel more everyday but you guys keep me going. I love you all so much.”
-Ms.Shun

This is Denzel and his mother (Shundell) after he got his tattoo.

     Early Father’s Day morning the Lord called for one of his angels to come home. June 21st, 2009 Denzel Leshun Steward was out with friends and got into a car accident. Denzel was so many things wrapped up in one. He was a fantastic son, a hard working athlete, stupendous student and a special friend. He will be missed so much.

“But every family isn’t filled wit special people that’s real
and that’s real and I would never turn my back or turn ya down
Even if you turned around.
But history is history
I miss you and I know you missing me.”
-Lil Wayne

Denzel was a friend to so many at Jeffersontown High, even outside these school halls. Many people have their own stories of times spent with Denzel, their own special memories with him.

“I remember when it just be like one of them nights were we be partying hard, and we just be acting all silly and stuff. I miss our little late night drives to Taco Bell. Also, I couldn’t forget his gorgeous smile.”
-Nisha

His smile would brighten anyone's day when you saw him.

He was one of those friends you could tell anything to and know it wouldn’t go beyond you two.

“We were talking one night and I was telling him about me and my family and how I felt in the position I was in. I miss that because he was the only one that seemed to understand my situation.”
-anonymous

     He was a wonderful son to Shundell Steward and Eric Steward. Denzel and his mother were  close and we all know it’s a horrific thing for a mother to lose a son and for a father to lose his “mini me”, especially on Father’s Day. Our respect and prayers go out for his family; we all are hurting deeply. In memory of Denzel, the school is planting a tree. A tree represents eternal life and that shows that Denzel is forever living in us.

“Ms. Shawn,
My thoughts and prayers are with you always.”
-Ms.Tobin

“More than just Football.”
-Coach Weiter

“Speaking from football terms he was a hard working player. Football isn’t all he should be remembered by. He was a great individual; what kind of person you are is more important. He was a great person to be around and you could learn a lot from him.”
-Coach Weiter

#32 will be the number that nobody can replace. He will be missed out there on the field. On August 28, the first Charger game of the season, Denzell’s jersey was retired.  

“I’m sure every player remembers this, but I don’t remember if it was a game or practice though. Anyways, somebody threw the ball and it’s the first time Denzel had caught the ball and he was so excited he didn’t know what to do. All I remember is we was all yelling for him to run but at the same time laughing so hard because he jus had the biggest grin on his face.”
-Michael Turney

“As we go on, we remember all the good times we had together, and as our lives change from whatever, we will still be friends forever!”
-Vitamin C

     This year would have been Denzel’s senior year. I’m sure he wants  all the seniors to represent for year 2010. Don’t think of it as a sad year. He would want us all to be happy. We might be upset that he’s not here to celebrate his senior year, but remember he’s always here living through each of us who knew him. So each one of you seniors just remember to live it up for Denzel and make him proud.

     “Everybody that knew him knew he never acted like somebody he was not and never tried to be something he wasn’t. He was respectful to teachers, and peers. Never saw him “hating” on anybody. What I would miss most about him is that he had standards in his life, just had it all planned out. I think the students here could learn a lesson from him which would be:
Live the way he lived, have standards and be respectful and stay focused. Want to be a somebody, and not just out here.”
-Ms. Bowen

Poems by Denzel:

Alone
By: Denzel Steward
Alone is how I came
Alone is how I’ll leave
I’m alone so much, I can’t believe
That I’m not a criminal or something worse
Because alone too much, you may end up in a hearse
I didn’t raise myself, I had a little help.
As a matter of fact, almost as much as everyone else
But I’m alone enough to get into trouble
I could be stealing, I could be fighting
Honestly, I could do anything to my liking
However, I try to make good decisions
I even got a job to try and make a living.
I do have wants, and, of course, I’ve got needs.
But alone’s how I came and I hope it’s how I’ll leave.

My Addiction
By: Denzel Steward
My addiction, is all I can say
I just had to get them in yellow and gray
I have to buy them all
I have to get them now
My mother said you need counseling now
Black and white, or white and red
These go perfect with one of my caps on my head
Or red and yellow and green with lime
I heard those come out around Christmas time
It’s okay for red and pink on the day of love
And another time refer to the colors above
I love fresh white, I never had black
But on the day of Derby they’ll be bright
That is a fact. At the end of the day, when I get off from work
if I buy these on the 23rd they will get their feelings hurt.

Poem submitted from Ms. Tobin:

After the Storm
By: Hilen Letiro
The storms may come and limbs may break;
yet others bend beneath the weight–
Of heavy rain and windy breeze…
A storm can mark the strongest trees.
Life sometimes deals with us this way;
in unseen trials we meet each day.
It’s not how much our bodies break
or how much they may bend;
it’s Our Outlook in Our Own Life
that helps our spirits mend!

“See you at the crossroad…Keep a place up there for me.”
-everybody

Fond memories of Denzel from students and staff

“I remember a time, it was like a week before he passed and we was at the Waffle House. He had been bugging us to take him to the Waffle House for a long time so we was like let’s just go. So we get to the Waffle House and we order our waffles, and you know how you stack the waffles on top of each other and cut them all together? Well that’s what me and our other friend was doing and Denzel was looking all surprised and stuff, and we was like, “What’s wrong with you?” He was like, “How you all cut you all waffles like that?” So we showed him and he just got this big smile across his face like somebody jus handed him a million dollars or something. That was my funniest memory I can think of.”
-James Cook
“He was a very sweet young man. I loved his smile, and when he smiled his eyes just lit up. He was quiet, but it seems as though he had a lot to say.  I thought of him as a silent leader.” -Ms. Buchenberger

“He was always smiling. I can still hear his voice and when you say his name…he was so generous and friendly also a great role model.” -Mr. Thomas

“He caused me no problems. He was shy and had the biggest smile. He was quiet and very bright. He was easy to teach and did well in my class.” -Ms. Doucette

“Always courteous, kind, and his conduct was always acceptable.” -Mr. McKinney

“He was quiet, dedicated, and always polite. He always tried and did what he had to do and never gave up. I framed his final exam that he aced. I’m going to put it above the piano where  he played.”
-Ms. Stewart

“Wonderful kind student that always obeyed and had a smile on his face.”
-Mr. Prince

“There’s so many memories, I couldn’t narrow it down, but one of my memories is like the last time I seen him. It was like his last time taking me home and we was riding around just joking on everybody and just acting silly like fools. We were talking about him going to college and stuff and I told him to be safe and keep in contact. He promised me he would always be safe and call whenever. I know he knows he’s missed and we gon’ rep his name to the fullest.”
-B. Hood

Name: Shelby Kilgore

Grade: 9

Parents’  Names: Duncan and Cathy Kilgore

Extracurricular Activities: Volleyball, softball, and pep club

Recognitions/Awards: Honor roll

Organizations outside of school: Softball travel team

Hobbies: Softball, spending time with family, and hanging out with friends

Goals for this year: Maintain A’s all year long

Goals for the Future: Undecided

Advice for other J’town students wanting to be featured in the student spotlight section of The Imprint: Have good behavior and be respectful!

Name: Devonte Taylor

Grade: 10

Parent’s Name: Angie Strictland

Extracurricular Activities: Wrestling, football, and ROTC

Recognitions/Awards: Honor roll

Hobbies: Wrestling and football

Organizations outside of school: Black achievers

Goals for this year: Pass with a 3.5 gpa and to do well in the sports I participate in

Goals for the future: Law school and participating in college level football or wrestling

Advice for other J’town students wanting to be featured in the student spotlight section of The Imprint: Do your best at whatever you do and keep your eyes on the prize because the person next to you is.

Name: Kaori Obatake

Grade: 11

Parents’ Names: Aiko and Masami Obatake

Extracurricular Activities: Dance team and basketball

Recognitions/Awards: Honor roll

Organizations outside of school: Jazz dance team, copy band, and cram school

Hobbies: Watching movies, listening to music, and playing the guitar

Goals for this year: To gain a unique experience in America and to tell many people about Japan

Goals for the Future: Go to college to study international relationship and become an interpreter

Advice for other J’town students wanting to be featured in the student spotlight section of The Imprint: Be sure to work your hardest and be respectful!

Name: Matthew First

Grade: 12

Parents’ Names: Tony and Patty First

Extracurricular Activities: NHS, beta club, PITW, orchestra, robotics, and

Tri-m

Organizations outside of school: Youth group, church, and FCA motocross team

Hobbies: Motocross, cars, hanging out with friends, skiing, building things, and listening to music

Goals for this year: Graduate.

Goals for the Future: Attend U of L Speed School and get a good job in the field of engineering.

Advice for other J’town students wanting to be featured in the student spotlight section of The Imprint: Work hard