Emily Browning
Junior Staff Writer

On Tuesday, May 5, all A-TECH sophomores were rewarded for their high pass rate on this year’s Nevada High School Proficiency Exams.

Five minutes after the start of eighth period, sophomores were released to go to the SAC. The lucky ones got there first and were able to immediately enjoy their ice cream. Those who weren’t so lucky stood in a long line and only got their ice cream at the very end of the period, with only a few minutes to enjoy their treat.

Once students handed their pass to the hall monitor, they got their ice cream in bowls as well as any available toppings. Afterwards, they had the rest of the period to catch up with friends and enjoy themselves.

“I liked it,” said sophomore Grace Lovelady. “It was good ice cream.”

By Kristiana Trinidad
Junior Staff Writer

The Star Trek Movie, based on the original Star Trek series from 1966, premiered in theaters on May 18. It is the eleventh movie from the Star Trek franchise.

The movie is an alternate reality that is completely divergent from the TV series and other movies. It explores the lives of the original cast with new actors before their adventures aboard the USS Enterprise, especially putting much focus on the main characters of the original, James T. Kirk and Spock, played by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto.

One of the hardest things about producing a movie based on a TV series with so many fans is finding a way to satisfy them while also making sure those who have never watched the show not only enjoy the film but also understand the events that are occurring.

This movie passed this test with flying colors. Though it was a bit confusing at first for movie-goers who knew nothing of the original Star Trek story, everything was eventually explained, without having to go through long, repetitive flashbacks that would bore the others that have actually watched the show.

As for the Star Trek fans, otherwise known as “Trekkies”, they enjoyed seeing their favorite characters portrayed as younger and more reckless than in the original series. One of the best parts for them was seeing Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock in the original Star Trek TV show, make an appearance as an older version of the character he once played.  The storyline wasn’t as satisfying for them as compared to those who have never watched one episode or movie, but the alternate universe twist was definitely far more interesting than just a plain old prequel corresponding to the original series.

When Star Trek comes to mind, most people think of amazing special effects. After all, most of the film’s setting is in outer space. Well, of course, this film did not disappoint in this aspect. Though the special effects budget hasn’t been reported, it cost a whopping $150 million to make this film, which is the most ever spent on a movie of the Star Trek franchise. The film created a fresh look on space travel in this movie. One of the best parts, the fight scene on the elevated drilling platform with Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, played by John Cho, was amazing and well put together. Despite all the great special effects, it still wasn’t so overwhelming to the point that all the characters are overshadowed.

Coming from someone who knew nothing about Star Trek before the movie, it was pretty unexpected to have some humor in the film. The best thing about the comedy was the fact that it was subtle, and the writers weren’t trying too hard to make the audience laugh. It created a lighter atmosphere, as opposed to other movies that are always heavy, dark, and serious.

The only downside was the plot, which was even predictable for those who aren’t fans. The alternate universe plot isn’t exactly original, but there were aspects to the story that weren’t generic, such as the lack of fear from the characters from the future of changing the past.

Overall, it was one of the best movies released so far this year. Despite its unoriginal plot, the actors and special effects made up for more than enough of it. Those who have never watched the television series, who believe the entire franchise is for geeks, will be unexpectedly pleased with it. Once the credits rolled, the entire audience applauded.  The Star Trek Movie more than makes up for the loss of ten dollars.

Alexis Hanselman
Senior Staff Writer

Students at A-TECH are known already for being overachievers. When students take six Advanced Placement (AP) classes, that’s overachieving to the max.

Students that take only one AP class know how difficult it is to pass that one class and score well on the test. So, those students understand how difficult it is to be taking six AP classes. Two seniors, Karissa Dold and Joslyn Leyva are definitely overachievers.

Dold is taking six AP classes. Her classes are: AP Psychology, Literature, U.S. Government, Comparative Government, Calculus AB, and Biology. The only classes in her schedule that are not AP are her program area class, Business, and guidance. She believes that her guidance class is one of the things that helped her to manage her time. Aside from those classes, she is also the president of National Honor Society, a member of Student Ambassadors, and dances.

“I wanted to take AP classes for college credit,” said Dold. “I also like the challenge.”

Taking AP classes is not a new thing for Dold. She took three AP classes last year: AP Spanish, Composition, and U.S. History. She believes that all of these AP classes will help her greatly in the future. They have given her the chance to learn a lot about how to manage her time and figure how to work independently.

Although taking six AP classes, Dold manages to still have an outside life. All of her homework doesn’t consume all of her time outside of school. She still manages to make time for herself by spending time with her friends.

Leyva, on the other hand is taking five AP classes but took six AP exams. She is currently taking AP Calculus AB, Literature, Government, Physics, and Psychology. She wanted to take AP Spanish as well but that class happened to be the same period as her AP Physics class so she couldn’t take it. However, she took the AP exam for Spanish.

Besides her AP classes, Leyva is also in National Honors Society and Trial by Peers. Any free time that she has is dedicated to Trial by Peers. She took the classes because she wanted college credit but if she could go back, she would take less AP classes.

“The thing that I have learned,” said Leyva, “Is how to prioritize things based on what I am struggling in and what I am excelling in.”

Emily Browning/Maverick Messenger Sophomores celebrate their outstanding high scores with an ice cream social.

By Iun Chen
Junior Staff Writer

On March 17, students in the sophomore class took their math, reading, and science proficiency exams.

Throughout the school year, sophomore teachers had prepared their students for the proficiency exams in hopes that all their students would pass. Students who do not pass the proficiencies during their sophomore year have to retake it during their junior or senior year.

“The exams were actually easy for me, which was surprising,” says sophomore Meghan Burke. “Out of all of them, I loved the math exam because it took the shortest amount of time for me.”

Students were given two hours to complete each exam. However, students can use more time if they are working productively.

This year’s results were significantly higher than the previous ones were, and last year’s results were still great compared to the rest of Clark County School District. This year, 100 percent of A-TECH’s sophomores passed the reading proficiency exam, as compared to a still high 99 percent last year. In math, 96 percent passed, compared to last year’s 92 percent. In science, A-TECH students had a 98 percent pass rate, compared to last year’s 94 percent.

“Fantastic,” says Mr. Burt. “There’s no other way to explain the type of scores that they earned, other than it was exemplary and fantastic and all of those kinds of adjectives.”

Mr. Burt also pointed out that A-TECH’s scores are above any other school in the Clark County School District.

Tyler Livingston
Copy Editor

Toward the end of a student’s senior year, seniors are accustomed to celebration.

Between senior breakfasts, barbecues, upperclassmen sports games, and the ability to wear school-provided crowns every day toward the end of school, the average school day of a student who is about to graduate is anything but boring.

This year, student council wanted to add one more event to the list of events planned for seniors.  They decided to add an assembly to the senior line up that they named “Mr. Maverick.”

The Mr. Maverick assembly was going to be held during class time in the midst of senior week.  The event would single out senior guys at A-TECH who were nominated by classmates as the “Best Guy at School.”

Four guys were nominated for the title of the “Best Guy” at A-TECH, and the assembly seemed like it was good to go.  Then, when the guys were presented with their nominations, all four of them turned down the opportunity to become Mr. Maverick.

Apparently none of the nominees were excited to potentially become Mr. Maverick, and since they didn’t cooperate with student council, the assembly was cancelled.

Josh Jensen, a sophomore senator from student council, wishes they didn’t have to cancel the event.  “It’s a shame that the Mr. Maverick assembly didn’t happen,” commented Jensen.  “We could have had one every year.  We were hoping it would start a new A-TECH tradition.”

Brianna Vargas
Assistant Editor

Prom is Saturday and the prom court has been chosen for A-TECH’S 2009 “Music of the Night” prom. The race for prom court this year’s for junior and senior classes is close. Candidates for prom princess are Lilien Gil, Florence Fernandez and Donna Schwartz. Jonathan Winsted, Jesse Sutherland, and Parker Junger are the junior class’ prom prince candidates. Ashley Huggins, Annie Palabrica and Joy Castiglione are running for the coveted position of prom queen, and Jared Banares, Nick Rosa, and DeAngelo Young are all trying to be king of the prom.

The upperclassmen had much to say about their predictions for prom court. The senior class seemed to coordinate their choices.

“I think King and Queen will be Jared and Annie,” said senior Amelia Castillo. “I think Annie will because she’s my friend but her and Jared were elected for homecoming last year so there’s a good chance that they’ll win again.”

“I think King and Queen will be Jared and Annie,” said senior John Maloney. “They both advertised themselves and are involved with the school.

Juniors were similarly united in their expectations.

“Florence and Jesse are my choices,” said junior Edgar Balbuena. “ Jesse is an all around guy and Florence is smart and mature.”

“I like Jesse and Florence,” said junior Anthony Borgean. “ Florence and Jesse are both very active with the school and Jesse is pretty popular. He has a good chance.”

Other students differed from the standard predictions.

“I want Nathan and Joy to win,” said senior Jasmine Burns. “Nathan stands up for the little people and Joy is nice.”

Some upperclassmen just aren’t feeling that prom school spirit.

“Prom really isn’t that important to me,” said senior Ashley Young. “it’s pretty much a waste of time.”

“I actually think the idea of prom and prom court it pretty lame,” said junior Elizabeth VanDike. “I think it’s a waste of money.”

Alyssa Hahn
Junior Staff Writer

From April 19 to 22, Future Business Leaders of America clubs from schools in Eastern, Northern, and Southern Nevada gathered at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno for the State Business Leadership Conference.

Not all of the members of A-TECH’s FBLA club attended the conference since it wasn’t mandatory to attend, but about half of FBLA’s members came together and competed in the Reno conference. In total, around 500 people attended the conference.

Junior Carmen Puentes competed against two people for the title of State President of FBLA. The whole time Puentes was at the conference, she had to divide her time between campaigning for State President and competing in the conference events.

“It was really hectic. I had no time to do anything!” says Puentes, “On the Sunday we arrived, each candidate for State President was interviewed. The next day the candidates gave their speeches, then, on the day after that, we had a questioning period. We stood in front of an audience and answered questions. The same day, the people in the audience voted on who they thought should be elected president.”

Now that Puentes is FBLA State President, she is considered a member of the Board of Trustees. Puentes will overlook all the other FBLA vice presidents, manage the newsletter the club puts out, and attend all conferences.

“I’m really happy that I won,” says Puentes. “This is what I really wanted. I’ve been in FBLA for three years and, back then, this seemed like a very distant goal, but I’ve done it.”

“At Nationals last year, I noticed that FBLA wasn’t really close. There wasn’t much communication, so one of my goals is to bring FBLA closer together.” says Puentes.

By Casey Goodwin
Editor-in-chief

Facebook and MySpace pages are supposed to be private places for users to communicate with their friends and family. However, students who use these sights need to be extremely careful regarding what information and photos they include on their pages.

According to an article by the Wall Street Journal, 10 percent of admissions officers from 500 top colleges admit to looking at applicants’ pages on social networking sites.

The information they found harmed prospective students more often then it helped them. Only 25 percent of the college admissions officers who looked at Facebook and MySpace pages said they positively affected their views of the students. A much larger 38 percent said the contents of Facebook and MySpace pages had a negative impact.

This information is all from September of this school year. By the time A-TECH’s current junior, sophomore, and freshman classes start applying to college, there is a good chance that even more admissions officers will take advantage of advances in technology to become further acquainted with their applicants.

Some employers also check online before deciding which applicants to hire, so students who are looking for jobs should also keep their profiles clean.

As a rule of thumb, don’t put anything online that will make you look bad to college admissions counselors or possible employers. This includes photos, comments, and status updates on your Facebook or MySpace page, as well as things on your blog or twitter account, if your real name is connected to them in some way.

Before putting any information online, ask yourself if you would want a stranger knowing such things about yourself, and if they make you look like a good student or employee.

Tyler Livingston
Copy Editor

Susan Boyle became a celebrity overnight after her audition for Britain’s Got Talent made it across the Internet.

Boyle, a 48-year-old woman from West Lothian, Scotland, appeared on the BGT stage looking like she had been cleaning the house all day, still in her non-fancy cleaning attire.  Her hair was a bit messy and she didn’t look as though she was ready for primetime.

When the camera was on her backstage, she said that she’s never been married and there’s nothing she loves more than Pebbles, her pet cat.

The three judges of the British talent show—Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden, and Simon Cowell—didn’t expect much from Boyle, and even made fun of her when she first stepped on stage.

When the judges asked who Boyle wanted to be like, she replied, “Elaine Paige,” a famous British singer and actress who’s known mostly for singing in musical theatre.  The audience and judges alike laughed at this aspiration, obviously ready for a horrible singing voice to come from Boyle.

Boyle announced that she would be singing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables, Broadway musical.  When she began singing, the audience was shocked at her extraordinary voice and Simon Cowell’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

After the performance, Boyle casually walked off the stage forgetting that she was supposed to wait for the judges to tell her whether she will be continuing the next round in the competition.  She was directed to go back on stage, and when she went on for the second time everyone showed Boyle great respect, contrary to her experience the first time on the stage.

Judge Simon Cowell jokingly claimed that he was expecting Boyle to be extraordinary from the second she stepped onto the stage, but no one foresaw the talent that Boyle was about to display.

When it came time for the judges to reject or accept Ms. Boyle into the competition, Piers Morgan gave her “the biggest yes” he has ever given anybody, and all three judges agreed that Boyle would come back to Britain’s Got Talent to perform in the semifinals.

Alexis Hanselman
Senior Staff Writer

Prom is just around the corner for A-TECH’s upperclassmen. The biggest concern that arises with most students is what to wear. So how do students match the theme, correspond with their date, and still look good? It is actually rather simple.

Music of the Night is the A-TECH prom theme this year. Music of the Night comes from a song from the musical Phantom of the Opera. Students can expect to see a lot of black clothing since black is the color most people associate with Phantom of the Opera.

“When I think of Phantom of the Opera,” said junior Khanitha Nimkorn, “I think of lots of black, gold, and blood red.”

Since prom is fifty dollars this year, money is also an issue with most students. Some good places to find cute dresses would be Dillard’s, JC Penney, and Macy’s. They have cute affordable dresses.

“I found really cute dresses that I liked at Dillard’s,” said junior Katie Graul. “I am not sure where I’m getting my dress from yet though.”

For guys, there is nothing wrong with a simple suit or tuxedo for the occasion. The Men’s Warehouse and Tux shop in the Meadows Mall are great places to find affordable tuxedos.

“If I end up going to prom,” said senior Brent Flores, “I intend to wear a plain black tuxedo.”

Some students love the prom theme and plan their attire to correspond with the Phantom of the Opera theme but others do not.

“I think that the theme is great,” said junior Lilien Gil, “but I’m wearing a long, turquoise colored dress.”

With prom being this weekend, it’s important to get a dress or tux reserved now instead of waiting last minute and having the best dresses already taken or your tux size unavailable.