With confusing subjects, hard exams, and difficult teachers, students often struggle trying to find a source of extra help without having to pay for an expensive tutor. However, Khan Academy, a free online tutoring program, helps students master formidable concepts with over 2,600 tutorials on subjects from biology and chemistry to algebra and calculus, with [...]

As the much anticipated break grows nearer, many students at Leesville are breaking out Christmas decorations and reviving yearly traditions. For many students, Christmas decorations are a fun way to jazz up normal school days and get excited for the winter break. Lane Hering, junior, covers her car with decorations and has other traditions as [...]

Burton Hills once said, “The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree….the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.” Yet to have the happy family, you first have to have the perfect Christmas tree. Going Christmas tree hunting is the best way to bring a family together. While most families [...]

On an unusually warm day for December, I walked into Starbucks after track practice. I don’t like coffee, so I planned on buying peppermint hot chocolate to quench my chocolate desire. Yet after smelling the rich aroma that naturally surrounds Starbucks, I thought, perhaps, I would branch away from the typical hot chocolate and actually [...]

The Model UN club met Thursday, December 1 to discuss the rules of order for their caucus (a debate)  next week. Since Model UN is a debate club, students must learn certain rules and procedures for their debates. For example, students must say “point of order” to correct the chair. Yet the students in Model [...]

Many researchers, as well as parents and other adults, believe children are growing up too fast. Younger girls are striving to look older by wearing more mature clothes and layers of makeup. Pressure for girls to develop quickly is practically everywhere: on TV models are stick-skinny, in magazines girls are pushed to dress older, in [...]

Block scheduling is a program based off of two semesters that are four classes each. Traditional schedules are different in that seven to eight classes are taken year long. As I have progressed through high school, I have started to notice the various benefits as well as the drawbacks of block scheduling. Instead of having [...]

The Raleigh Fine Arts Society Literary Contest is a short story writing competition held for high school students in Wake County. The contest starts Oct 3, 2011, and ends Jan 11, 2012. The short story must have a maximum of 5,000 words, be typed and double spaced, and have a 12 pt font. The stories [...]

Governor’s School is a six week residential program where rising high school seniors take a course and live on college campus. The courses vary from core classes like Math and English to electives, such as Theater and Dance. There are eleven areas of study to apply to the wide variety of interest. The Governor’s School [...]

Beyza Batca, Larry Han, Justin B. Palpant, Dominic Sirkin and Jeremy Weiss are named as National Merit Scholar Semifinalists. The five Leesville seniors are among 16,000 other semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. “After I became a semifinalist , I felt full-filled. It was my life’s dream,” Han said. The National Merit Scholarship Program [...]

Various studies show the positive effect nature has on humans. A study done by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan from the University of Michigan has shown that nature reduces mental fatigue and stress. Too much directed attention at one particular subject creates fatigue, which leads one to be impulsive, irritable, and distracted. But spending time in [...]

Leesville seniors are applying to a variety of colleges and are nervously anticipating a reply. Several schools both out of state and in state have deadlines in October for Early Action/ Early Admission, such as NC State. Many seniors have felt the pressure to send in their applications on time and have been stressed out [...]

The Leesville JV Volleyball team defeated Durham Jordan 25-4, 25-15 on Sept 27. The Pride rallied hard and had great performances from the entire team. “The team did a lot of things well on Monday. We have three goals: be aggressive, be on our toes, and communicate. They did all of that well,” said Christie [...]

Contagion, a science thriller, was released in theaters September 9, 2011, and has made over 45 million dollars. The film has a famous, well-rounded cast: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Marion Cotilliard, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kate Winslet. Director Steven Soderbergh takes the usual disaster movie and adds insight that many directors overlook. Instead of spotlighting the [...]

A new self serve frozen yogurt store, Yopop, just opened in Little Brier Creek, near Pei Wei.   Similar to Yogurt Mountain, Yopop has 14 different flavors of frozen yogurt and 38 toppings. The yogurt varies from chocolate and red velvet to fruitier kinds, such as mango and pomegranate. The toppings include fresh fruit, chocolate [...]