“[The Moth Project] brought me together with a diverse group of kids and we got to show students it’s not only about racism, it’s about people with real problems,” Bria McWoods, senior, said.

Tyanna Green, Mia Woods, Bria McWoods, Oscar Sanguinette, Daisha Smith, Allison Walter, Adrienne Columbus, Kory Anthony- Petter, Sami Rindahl, Quincy Webb and Blake Voller were participants who opened the eyes of KHS.

“I didn’t like what I saw,” Sack said of her 234-pound frame. “I was just so sad with myself.”

One year later and 80 pounds lighter, Sack described how her achievements changed her life.

“I guess [I feel] confident and accomplished,” Sack said. “I’m more outgoing now.”

Her mother, Stephanie Sack, has seen positive changes in her daughter first-hand as a result of her sucesses. Not only has Courtney lost a significant amount of weight, but she continues to lose insecurities along the way.

“I think [Courtney] just feels so much better about herself,” Stephanie said. “She just seems a lot happier.”

According to Courtney, her mother has been one of her biggest supporters by paying for her trainer, providing encouragement and with providing healthy foods.

“I’ve always just encouraged her whenever she didn’t feel like she wanted to work out or whatever,” Stephanie said. “I just encouraged her to go for it.”

Her personal trainer, Greg Moore, whom she visits three times weekly, said it is typical for teenagers to give up on losing weight and it takes a lot of dedication.

“It’s harder to get the dedication with the teenagers because of busy lifestyles and the lousy eating habits,” Moore said. “So [Courtney is] definitely a special case.”

With lack of motivation being one of the biggest aspects of weight-loss failure, Courtney said she stayed motivated with her father’s promise of a new car with the meeting of her 50-pound weight-loss goal. After changing her goal to 100 pounds, Courtney stays dedicated by picturing her before and after pictures on a wall in her gym, Club Fitness, where success stories are displayed.

Moore thought Courtney set herself apart from other teenagers because of her extreme dedication.

“She’s so determined,” Moore said. “She’s like no one else I’ve worked with. She’s just a go getter and a real inspiration in many aspects of life, other than just weight loss.”

For teens desiring to reach their own goals, Moore said the importance lies on sticking with with their aspirations.

“If you’re thinking about doing [losing weight], just do it,” Moore said. “Don’t do tomorrow what you want to do today.”

Black Nike sweatpants, a black shirt with red capital lettering screaming, “BALL IS LIFE” with AND1 Streetball shoes on. A 6-foot-6-inch junior weaves through the halls spinning a basketball around and around on his fingers. Frankie LeBeau is a magician whose tricks revolve on a single basketball.

LeBeau, junior, first spun a ball on his fingers at age 12. Soon after, he discovered streetball freestyle, a sport which individuals perform tricks using a basketball, such as taking targeted shots off a wall or spinning three balls at once, all of which LeBeau can do. For LeBeau, streetball freestyle is an entertaining hobby for him and for others around him.

“I don’t consider myself extremely good at this compared to others in the whole world,” LeBeau said. “I just do it because it is fun and it entertains other people and myself.”

LeBeau has never played on a basketball team; instead he is in a group, Unprotected Hoops, where professional freestylers and players post videos of their tricks, including LeBeau’s.

“What I like the most is nobody considers themselves better than anybody else because everyone has their different style,” LeBeau said.

He connects with other spinners through Facebook, where a photo album he posted of his tricks is a popular hit with around 4,000 likes.

“[Other streetballers] can all do [my tricks], obviously, if they felt like it,” LeBeau said. “But no one has ever made an actual picture album like I have, so they will just say that is a cool and new idea.”

Jordan Olsen, junior and camera man for LeBeau’s pictures and videos which are posted on his Twitter and Facebook page, has been friends with him since second grade.

“I think it is kind of fun to experiment with photos and doing different shots and camera work,” Olsen said. “There are a lot of kids that follow him around when we are walking down the halls and tell him to spin the ball.”

LeBeau has maxed out his number of friends on Facebook at 5,000 because of his website, Twitter account and Facebook pictures. He has countless unanswered requests, some of which are from St. Louis, but others are from countries around the world, such as Indonesia and Iraq.

“I have at least one person from every state, including a bunch from California and New York,” LeBeau said.

Alex Shehadeh, junior, created a website featuring LeBeau’s photos, videos and accomplishments, EnigmaStreetball.org. He has seen the best and worst of LeBeau’s tricks. Shehadeh’s favorite trick is when LeBeau puts a pen in his mouth with a spinning ball on top.

“It has gone wrong a couple times where the pen has exploded in his mouth,” Shehadeh said, “but it’s a cool trick when it goes right.”

LeBeau can spin three balls at once, one on each foot and one in his hand. He can balance a spinning ball on top of an umbrella while opening it up at the same time. He can make a spinning basketball balance on the tip of his biology book, a chair leg, or even on a cell phone antenna. All of these pictures can be found on his Facebook page.

LeBeau does not spend much time practicing his tricks. Instead, he studies YouTube videos of streetball freestylers, Bavo, Snake and Lunatic, and attempts to mimic their tricks.

“I try to stick to the ones that are easier to do,” LeBeau said. “They just look cool physically to everyone else, but they’re not hard to do.”

Besides basketballs, LeBeau collects baseball hats which he wears sports daily. Each hat is custom made and custom fit. While speaking with me during our first interview, he wore a midnight black hat with the word “Magic” written in a silver graffiti font.

“When people ask me how I spin a basketball,” LeBeau said, “I just say, ‘It’s magic.’”

Kenny Klostermeyer, junior, ditched the private school polo for a KHS sweatshirt this semester. Although Klostermeyer has switched schools before, he has attended private schools until this year.

“I have been to three high schools: Desmet, Vianney and now Kirkwood,” Klostermeyer said. “I made a deal with my dad that if I didn’t get all C’s [at Vianney], I would come to KHS. I ended up getting a D in geometry.”

Klostermeyer said he was surprised at the calm tone of the students and staff at KHS, a huge contrast to the uptight attitude of a private school.

“If you get out of line even a little bit at Catholic school, you are in deep trouble. At KHS, you don’t have to watch what you do as closely.” Klostemeyer said. “It’s a lot more laid back and you have a lot more freedom going from a private school to a public school.”

Some students may not realize many of these freedoms are restricted in other schools.

“At Desmet and Vianney, you could never have your phone out. You couldn’t have it out between classes, during lunch, in the halls and sometimes not even before school started.” Klostermeyer said. “You can also go to lunch wherever you want or even choose to not go to lunch, whereas at my old schools, you would go to the cafeteria and you have to stay there until lunch is over.”

Klostermeyer said even the grading is more relaxed. He claims that private schools have a stricter grading system than KHS.

“An F at Kirkwood is a 59 and an F at Vianney is a 69, and it goes like that all the way up the grading scale,” Klostermeyer said.

Stephen Bregande, sophomore, made the switch from private to public school his freshman year and thinks making the transition would be tougher in the middle of the year.

“I think it would be difficult in a sense,” Bregande said. “If I spent that much of my life seeing the same opinion, because private schools are typically more conservative, it would take a while to to get used to all the different kinds of people here, but [the different kinds of people] is what makes it easy to fit in.”

Bregande said most private school students notice the relaxation Klostermeyer described.

“In my experience, the environment is much more friendly, much more open and a lot less restrictive. At private schools, they had all kinds of rules, and the uniforms were ridiculous,” Bregande said.

Although Klostermeyer transferred for academic purposes, KHS receives ex-private school students for several reasons.

“If [the student] started with us at Nipher or North, they are typically more comfortable,” Cheryl McClure, resource counselor, said. “Students may come because they want to fit in better, or want to be happier.”

Overall, Klostermeyer thinks switching to KHS was a good move. He said not having to wear a uniform helps him concentrate better and he feels much more relaxed in the public school environment.

“It’s impacted me very well. The relaxation has helped me be able to focus on my work. Because I’m so relaxed, focusing takes half as much work,” Klostermeyer said.

View Klostermeyer’s Schools in a larger map.

Ashley Nicholas, freshman, is used to the comments and looks she receives on a regular basis. They come with the style, she said. They may not bother her anymore, but they do become an annoyance. People think they know her just by looking at her, but according to Nicholas, they really don’t.

Despite the rumors about her “yarn dreads,” Nicholas’ dread-extensions are made out a material called kanekalon, a type of synthetic fiber, the same material used to make weaves. And while she may listen to musical artists such as Marilyn Manson and Slip-Knot, Nicholas grew up listening to anything from country to classical, rap and hip-hop.

“People need to be mindful and just learn to be nice to others regardless of what they look like,” Nicholas said.

When wearing “normal” clothes, Nicholas tends to feel more tense, sits with her arms crossed and is less talkative.

“I’m not trying to be different,” Nicholas said. “I’m just most comfortable like this.”

Her mother, Mary Nicholas, said her style is her business. As long as her daughter is happy, she’s happy for her.

Nicholas began to transform her wardrobe in fifth grade, cut her hair short and dyed it black in seventh and got her first piercing (other than ears) in eighth. Her naturally curly hair was braided into her first set of dread-extensions Aug. 3 of this year.

A former Pacific, MO resident, Nicholas sees Kirkwood to be more accepting and open-minded, while the teachers are understanding and respectful of their students. With her mind set on pursuing a career in liberal arts, Nicholas works especially hard to maintain nearly perfect grades.

“Having good grades is imperative for getting an art scholarship, as well as taking all of the art classes and art opportunities that I come across,” Nicholas said.

Tomas Mata, senior, met Nicholas last summer through his older sister. After spending time with her, Mata realized she was easy to get along with.

“I thought she was pretty shy at first,” Mata said. “But we ended up getting along just fine. She’s really cool and creative.”

Her mother describes Nicholas to be sweet and polite, both in and out of the house. Her best characteristic, however, is being humble.

“She’s honest with herself, and has realistic goalsand expectations,” Mary Nicholas said.

Nicholas is not what her peers expect her to be. She said her style does not tell the whole story; there’s more to her than just dark clothes and piercings, including high hopes for her future.

“I look at all of the adversity I’ve faced as something to motivate me to do well in school, to make myself stron- ger as a person, and to learn from mistakes my family and friends have made,” Nicholas said.

2. Maximum thickness of the dough should be about ⅜ inches. For houses that are larger than six inches, use ¼ inch thickness and for houses smaller than that use ⅛ inches.

3. Cut templates out of cardboard or poster-board for the structure of the house. To make sure it will be able to stand alone, tape the templates together. If the templates can stand alone, the house will most likely stay together.

4. For a base, use a baking tray, if you want you can have it filled with gingerbread, but that is not necessary. Make sure you can move the base around easily just in case you have to transfer it someplace else.

5. If using icing, spread on lightly, and if the icing proves to be too thick add water to help thin it out. Let the icing completely dry before assembling.

6. Add icing to the sides of the house using a pastry bag full of thick icing. Let the structure sit for 20-30 minutes before “gluing” the structure together.

7.  When placing the sides together, add icing to the top or bottom of one side of a wall. Do not add too much icing so that it drips, but add enough so the structure stays together well enough. If you want more stability, feel free to glue the bottom of the walls to the base.

8. Any smudges can easily be fixed by using a wet paper towel and lightly cleaning up the mess, or adding candy to the spots.

9. To add decorations such as candy or cut outs from the left over dough, simply add icing to the back side of the object and hold in place for as long as you see fit.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 3/4 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

In large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until fluffy.

Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in oats and raisins.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool slightly, remove from sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Chocolate Chip cookies
Ingredients

• 1 cup Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips or Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/3 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, plus
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, or more to taste

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together thoroughly. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, both sugars, corn syrup, milk, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. The dough will be very soft.

Divide the dough in half. Divide one half of the dough into 10 equal pieces (each a scant 1/4 cup).

Place 5 pieces of dough least 3 inches apart on each lined baking sheet. Use your fingers covered with a piece of plastic wrap to flatten each scoop until it is 3 inches in diameter. (Cookies will spread even more as they bake).

Bake the two sheets for 15-20 minutes, watching closely until the cookies are evenly dark golden brown all over. (Pale cookies will not be crispy). Let cool on pan for 5 minutes. When the baking sheets are cool, repeat with the remaining dough.

Cool cookies completely before stacking or storing.

1. Build a gingerbread house

2. Go ice skating at Steinberg’s Ice Rink

3. Bake cookies
(See thekirkwoodcall.com for recipes)

4. Make a snow fort and have a snowball fight

5. Fill the house with scented candles
Glade’s seasonal scents: Apple-Cinnamon, Peppermint Crush, Cashmere Woods

6.Watch a holiday classic and drink egg-nog
KHS top classic holiday movies: 1. Elf 2. The Grinch 3. Polar Express 4. A Christmas Story 5. A Wonderful Life

7. See the lights at Tilles Park Winter Wonderland For location information on more places to see lights, visit thekirkwoodcall.com

8. Create paper snow flakes

9. Throw a tacky sweater party

10. Give back
(See thekirkwoodcall.com for charity foundations.)

How the Grinch prepares for the holidays

Destroy snowmen – Sing carols out of tune
- Step on elves

- Melt icicles

- Break ornaments

- Steal candy canes from children

- Steal Christmas trees

- Watch scary movies

- Steal presents

- Burn cookies

Ronald McDonald house provides a place for kids to live when they are getting surgery away from home, and their parents cannot afford to come with them. The foundation is a “home away from home” for children who do not have a mom or dad by their side while getting a serious surgery, or overcoming a fatal sickness. To learn more, and donate to the foundation visit: http://www.rmhc.org/