Important Dates

Our next meeting will be on November 19, 2009 in Mrs. Gautier's room (209) until 3:15. If you have any questions, please see Mrs. Gautier or Justin Kiefer.

On November 13, new members will be inducted into Belvidere's chapter of the National Honor Society. Don't forget to congratulate them!

The Scarlet Scoop would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday. Make sure you eat plenty of turkey!

        For the last few years, October has simply come and gone for me. I never understood the purpose of Homecoming, or the enthusiasm that many students show during Spirit Week. It was all something that simply passed me by, a mere whisper in the wind. Like many students, I was eager to get home and enjoy the weekend before another hectic school week commenced.

        However, as I was walking around the gym floor taking pictures for The Scarlet Scoop during this year’s pep rally, I couldn’t help but notice that the front of my shirt contained a single seven letter word that summed up my entire high school career in a nutshell:  Seniors.

Indeed, for years at pep rallies I had seen students wearing this shirt. But what did it mean? Obviously they were high school students in their final years here at Belvidere. For almost four years they had walked the same hallways, ate at the same lunch tables, and learned from many of the same teachers. Yet only now do I understand that being a senior means so much more; it is the culmination of your entire high school experience. The person wearing that shirt is someone who has become a part of their school in many different ways, be it as a member of a club, an athlete on a team, a vocalist in chorus, an instrumentalist in band, or just a scholar in general, with some even managing to do all of these things.

        It really says something about the passage of time. As freshmen, we were always told that high school would whisk by us. With four years of studying ahead of us, how could we take such a statement seriously? I’m sure that even now the current freshmen class is asking itself that very same question. After all, for them, four years is an eternity.

        Just as well, being a part of the Homecoming skits this year meant a great deal to me. In the past such things seemed trivial and irrelevant. However, when I was asked by several members of the Homecoming court to be in their skits, I felt honored. We had a great time putting these performances on, and the entire school was laughing all week! It was definitely something that all of us will remember well beyond our years here.

        Who is to say what the future will bring? As we begin our journey out of this school, a whole world of opportunity awaits us. Can we meet the extraordinary challenges of tomorrow? This is a question nobody can answer for us, but do remember this: the best moments in life are often the shortest, and high school was certainly no exception.

-Justin Kiefer