With midterms getting closer and closer a movie is a good way to relieve any stress and to just relax and take a break from all that cramming and studying.

On Friday January 13 three new movies will be opening in wide release: Beauty and the Beast in 3D, Contraband, and Joyful Noise.

Beauty and the Beast is a timeless Disney classic. It tells the story of Belle, a girl who goes to live in a mansion with a Beast and how she falls in love with him. Originally released in 1991 the movie has been remade and is now available in 3D.

Contraband is an action/adventure and thriller film. Former smuggler Chris Farraday, played by Mark Wahlberg, is forced back into the business after his brother-in-law botches a deal. In order to set things right Chris must smuggle millions of dollars in counterfeit bills from Panama into the United States. And if anything goes wrong the drug lords will target his entire family for death. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, and Giovanni Ribisi.

Joyful Noise is a musical/performing arts film starring Queen Latifa, Dolly Parton, and Keke Palmer. The movie is about the church choir of a small Georgia town. The choir has entered a national competition but the two leading women, Vi Rose (Queen Latifa) and G.G. (Dolly Parton) are disagreeing about everything. The two must pull it together and work things out for the sake of the choir or they could lose everything.

For movie times and theaters click here.

Following a poor, sixth place finish in the Iowa Caucus, Republican Presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann removed herself from the race this morning.  Despite being from Iowa and having been the in first place in August straw polls, Bachmann was not able to capitalize on such potential opportunities.

CHS students following the race are not particularly shocked by this development.

“I saw how her campaign was unfolding and I think it was the right decision for her to drop out,” Junior Will Seitz said.  ”She didn’t have a very legitimate shot, so there’s no real point in continuing.”

After losing momentum over the past few months, Bachmann’s legitimacy as a candidate was, frankly, almost nonexistent.

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney, the surging Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Perry finished first through fifth, respectively.  These candidates will fight to the finish for the trust of Republican Americans.

With the first semester of the 2011 school year coming to an end, the Coppell High School Academies began the process of trying to recruit fellow students for the upcoming school year.

Though scheduling for the 2011-2012 school year does not begin until the spring, Academy students hope to recruit freshmen, sophomores and juniors. EMAC Academy sophomore Emma Eells was one of the students that visited history classes to promote the learning experience that the Academies have to offer.

“We are basically trying to inform students that are already at CHS about the benefits of joining EMAC,” Eells said. “We just spent about five minutes in each class giving out handouts and showing the students a video of the Academy.”

The Academies are a great learning experience for students interested pursuing a career in media, health or engineering. For more information about the Academies, click here.

After being named Dallas Morning News’ “High School Paper of 2011“, the motivation to join our staff should be even greater! Applications to join The Sidekick for the 2012-2013 school year can be picked up in Mr. Wofford’s room, D115.

The Sidekick is an awesome opportunity to work as a team and learn the ropes of journalism and, of course, it is a great prerequisite for those looking to pursue a career in journalism. I personally have had a great experience working with a variety of people while learning how to better my time management.

Not only do you get to meet new people and learn to work on a deadline, but the satisfaction of having your work published and seeing what you’ve accomplished is awesome.

This article will not make Jon Huntsman win the Republican Nomination. In all honesty, it probably won’t even help. And that’s a shame.

Before I begin, I want to get one thing straight: I have been a supporter of Barack Obama since he first started his presidential campaign. I have been behind Obama since I first saw his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech and heard him remind me that “there is not a liberal America and a conservative America – there is the United States of America.”

What attracted me to Obama was his message of “hope” and “change.” Not only was he eloquent and exciting, but he was telling it like it is. Many people thought he was too inexperienced and that his name was too different and his skin too dark, but he was different and I believed he would do things differently. I was wrong.

Jon Stewart put it best when he said “I have been saddened to see that someone who ran on the idea that you can’t expect to get different results with the same people and the same system has kept in place so much of the same system and same people.”

Before I am a democrat, a republican or a moderate, I am an American. I want this country to work. I hoped Obama would change the system he preached against through his years of campaigning. He’s hasn’t. Therefore, he’s not the best choice to be President of the United States.

Now, that doesn’t mean that Obama is the worst choice either. It doesn’t mean he can’t succeed. I will vote for Barack Obama… unless his opponent is Jon Huntsman. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Ron Paul, Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann have done nothing that leads me to believe they would be better presidents than Obama. Huntsman has.

Huntsman stands out for the simple reason that he doesn’t try to stand out. As Anthony Bergen wrote, “Romney flip-flops, Gingrich is kind of a creep, Ron Paul is out-of-touch an unrealistic, Bachmann and Santorum are religious nuts, Herman Cain is a clown, and Rick Perry is a joke.”

Huntsman is reasonable. We need reasonable leaders. This country was formed by reasonable men in an era that was actually called “the Age of Reason.” While the founding fathers may not have gotten everything right, every decision they made was supported by thought and reason. Jon Huntsman is a man of reason.

While voters flitch at the idea of calling anyone a moderate, moderation is exactly what the United States needs. Moderation doesn’t erase core beliefs. I’m not going to change mine and I don’t want my president to change theirs. Huntsman is a worldly and sane leader.

Huntsman is for civil unions for same sex couples, but against same sex marriage. That’s not what my perfect president would believe, but it was Obama’s stance in 2008 and I’m willing to compromise. Huntsman is pro-life and against abortions in the second and third trimesters. I respect his prolife stance (I disagree with it, but I respect it.) As for evolution and climate change, this is what Huntsman tweeted in August: “To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.”

Will Jon Huntsman win? I hope so. Can he win? Absolutely. He is the most formidable opponent to take on President Obama and he is the most appealing GOP candidate. It will be difficult for him to clinch republican support, but I believe the he would have a shot at the presidency. Huntsman has a platform that manages to appeal to youth, democrats and minorities. All other candidates are running for the GOP nomination. Huntsman is running for the President of the United States.

The senior shirts that were order a few weeks ago have arrived and can be picked up at all lunches for the rest of the week.

The shirts that were picked at the senior meeting feature the words, “Back Off. I’m a senior,” which was one choice out of three presented that seniors designed and then voted on. The shirt could have been purchased in a short sleeve black shirt for 15 dollars or a long sleeved charcoal colored shirt for 25 dollars. Seniors are required to wear these shirts or a shirt of a similar color to their classes panoramic picture which will be sometime in the coming months.

Also, seniors be sure to wear your shirts to school and the football game on Friday for senior night. Before the game, all senior football players, Silver Spurs, cheerleaders, and Lariettes will be announced with their parents to honor their hard work that they have put in over the past four years. In addiction to this, all of the members of these groups were given the opportunity to write their parents a letter in the game day program.

Online Copy Editor

For many students, all of the trials and tribulations of high school are worth it because of the perks of the long-awaited senior year. Students grind through their work with thoughts of the payoff of a glorious senior year as their only solace.

This year’s seniors, the class of 2012, are already beginning to reap the benefits of being kings and queens of Coppell High School. In addition to undeniably cool senior class shirts which declare “BACK OFF, I’M A SENIOR” in all caps, and an upcoming panoramic photo opportunity, the seniors will enjoy a Senior Class Picnic this Wednesday during school.

This year’s edition of the annual picnic, which will take place at Andy Brown Park on October 19, is set to include food and beverages as well as a multitude of games such as volleyball and frisbee.

Tickets for the picnic were sold last week at lunch for $6. Students who purchased a ticket were given a wristband to leave campus on October 19. It will be a great opportunity for seniors to escape to confines of CHS and enjoy a mid-day breeze with their friends for awhile, a worthy reward for 3 years of hard work.

Seniors take the lead to show CHS spirit and pride at the recent Coppell vs. Arlington football game. Photo by Rowan Khazendar

By Dyer Whitt
Staff Writer

As the school year strikes with full force for the students at Coppell High School, the class of 2012 prepares to take its throne with class.

Webster’s defines seniority as “priority, precedence, or status obtained as the result of a person’s length of service,” and as a high school senior, this definition can have quite a few different interpretations.

“Seniority definitely deals some aspects of carelessness, but you feel more mature and know how to handle your work-load and can balance work and play,” said senior Chris Reagan, sports director of KCBY.

While some seniors focus on the power and maturity that comes with senior year, others are taking advantage of the freedoms that come with it.

“[Being a senior is] an inordinate gift of confidence,” senior Class President Anna Nudo said. “We feel fine walking down the hallways, singing to the songs over the loud speaker, not caring what any underclassmen think.”

Senior perks affect the majority of the class. Options including dual credit and senior release give students the opportunity to get out of certain periods everyday making their schedules less hectic.

Contrary to that, students like Nudo work hard and take on the responsibilities of planning fundraisers and events for the senior class, to ensure a smooth year.

“Our main goal this year is to raise as much money as possible to make prom tickets as cheap as possible, “ Nudo said. “We have had a couple fundraisers like the parking spot painting, homecoming parade and also a T-Shirt sale.”

The perks of senior year have enabled students to show more school spirit through senior overalls and jorts, as well as having benefits in the classroom.

“I think the teachers are more lenient in class about not giving us a lot of work and the CHS traditions like senior overalls are a big hit among the girls,” senior offensive lineman Jake Williams said.

Senior plunger boy Teddy Croft gets the student section pumped up every game, showing his pride for CHS with rowdy chants and plunger thrusts.

“Being a senior means I get to act as crazy and loud as I want at games and don’t have the feeling of being humiliated in front of my peers,” Croft said.

The culmination of high school has also given the students a sense of appreciation for the hard work and sacrifices made by the faculty, parents and volunteers who make CHS such a success.

“CHS has done so much for us and it’s our chance to show how much we appreciate our school,” Croft said.

Photo by Rowan Khazendar.

CHS provides unprecedented opportunities that no other school can, and now even more with the addition of the academy, that focus on different areas of talent and give students an idea of what career that want to pursue in the future.

Reagan, a three-year veteran to the KCBY staff, describes his experiences at CHS as “life changing.”

“We have a lot of opportunities at CHS and with the KCBY program I really fell in love with a career I could see myself in down the road,” Reagan said.

Entering CHS as a freshman, you are subjected to a completely different setting and lifestyle. The intimidations of keeping up with homework and balancing a social life can run its toll on a lot of students. You may even envision high school as a four-year prison sentence, but this year’s seniors are more assuring.

“It’s all worth it in the end,” Williams said. “Just make sure to try your hardest freshman and junior year and stay focused on academics.”

For us seniors here at CHS are final first six weeks is coming to a close but is senior year all that we have expected?

From my point of view its been mostly what I have anticipated but I feel like I cant kick into senior- ides mode just yet. The past week and this current week teachers have flooded me with assignments but I think they are just trying to keep me focused until my mind lingers off to day dreams of college.

Something I wasn’t expecting about my senior year is how fast it has gone by already. Plenty of people have warned me that this year would be a quick one but I never believed them until now.

Things that I am looking forward to for the rest of senior year are finding out where everyone will be attending college and of course the subsiding of the work load. So far, I have had a good amount of work on my plate and especially at the end of this six weeks which will hopefully die off as we come closer to graduation. Also, with everyone applying to colleges and some people already getting excepted it will be interesting to see were all of our senior classmates end up next year.

Staff Writer

According to Harold Camping, the rapture may not be that far away.

That’s right – the Armageddon that Family Radio Worldwide’s leader Harold Camping predicted is happening this Saturday.

For those who somehow missed the news reports of Camping’s band of RVs that help to spread the word of the end, or the billboards that announce the date, Camping and his followers believe that the end of times will be on May 21 2011, rather than the 2012 date that most people believe. Of course, there are plenty of people who are skeptical of his claims, especially when you consider that Camping has predicted the apocalypse before and failed (afterward, he admitted that he did not do enough biblical study).

Maybe the world will end this Saturday, maybe not. Whatever the answer, we will find out soon enough.