Calliope Online News

That Thing in the Spring the Caldwell Academy’s upperclassmen dance was another success. The dance took place last Friday on April 20^th, and students went to a downtown location and were served a wonderful buffet dinner. As always, the juniors had their ceremonial toast to the seniors, which set off the night. They spent a lot of time dancing, with several dances including the swing, waltz, foxtrot and cha-cha and several line dances including the wobble. The theme, “Above the City Lights” was fitting as they could even see the fireworks at the Grasshopper Stadium from the ballroom. Receiving much positive feedback from students, teachers, and parents, it was a night to remember, and That Thing in the Spring was an epic success.

-Brent Eisenbarth

Many Bush-Era tax cuts are set to expire at the end of 2012, which would increase the total tax revenue of the government by $500 billion. These taxes would hit all classes, but lower and middle income classes would be hit the hardest. The end of these tax breaks would push taxes from a bottom rate of ten percent and a top rate of thirty-five percent to a bottom rate of fifteen percent and a top rate of forty percent. These tax breaks could put a serious damper on the economy. The average increase in taxes of $3,800 would be taken out of individuals’ disposable income as standards of living remain the same. This would slow economic growth and possibly increase unemployment according to several economists. Many of the tax breaks that end are meant for children, families, and the elderly. These members of society aren’t as financially flexible as other taxpayers and the increased taxes could greatly change the living standards for these groups. Normally, the tax system operates on a year-to-year basis, with politicians always modifying tax rates to appeal to voters, but with the presidential and congressional elections coming up, it is expected that nothing will be legislated to prevent this serious tax hike. Politicians are more concerned with maintaining their seats in Congress before taking any drastic, politically repercussive actions. However, it can be certain that the tax hike will be a talking point for upcoming candidates, both for the Presidency and Congress.

-Wesley Hase

The time is fast approaching, everyone mark your calendars!

For what?!

The Caldwell Spring play, The Count of Monte Cristo! This play is directed by our wonderful Mr. Ethan Roberts with the help of Miss Sarah Beyer and Mrs. Elizabeth Roberts. For about a month and a half now, our peers at Caldwell Academy have been memorizing lines, rehearsing, and spending hours every week practicing for this play! In addition, with the help of our drama classes at Caldwell, also taught by Mr. Roberts, to create the layout of the stage and the props, this play should be a hit! The opening night of the play will be next Thursday, April 26^th. That Friday and Saturday (April 27^th and 28^th) are also days that Caldwell will be performing The Count of Monte Cristo.

Thursday Night Showing: 7 o’clock pm

Friday Night Showing: 7 o’clock pm

Saturday’s Showings: 2 o’clock pm and 7 o’clock pm

Everyone come out and enjoy the play! You’ll laugh, you’ll be frightened, you’ll smile while watching your friends act out this amazing story!

-Maddie Newsom

India is working on setting dates to test fire their new intercontinental ballistic missile. This missile is the fifth installment in India’s locally-developed Agni missile project. Analysts believe the Agni missiles will help with nuclear deterrent. The Agni V can deliver a single one and a half ton warhead deep into China, helping to deter against any nuclear attacks. The launch weight is fifty tons and it cost roughly 480 million dollars. Ravi Gupta, a spokesman for the Defense Research and Development Organization told new agencies that the “Agni V is to meet our present-day threat perceptions…This is a deterrent to avoid wars and it is not country-specific.” India’s new set of missiles will act as a deterrent to any nuclear war.

-Jordan  Rennie

The Long Island Lizards have a new head coach. The Lizards new head coach, Joe Spallina, was the head coach at Adelphi for four years with an impeccable record of seventy-three wins to only two losses. He was also named the head coach of the women’s lacrosse team at Stony Brook seven months ago and he was the assistant coach to Jim Mule, the head coach of the lizards for two years. Spallina will take the place of Mule, since he stepped down earlier this year to spend time with his family. This announcement of a new head coach has become common place in the MLL this year. All teams in the Major League Lacrosse, except for the Hamilton Nationals, will not have the same head coach that they had at the beginning of the 2011 season. This could either be an outstanding season of rebirth or a season of total failure.

-Zane Wiesman

Mitt Romney, the Republican GOP presidential candidate for the 2012 elections, delivered a rousing speech to those present at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ironically, this is to be the site where Obama will address his supporters on September 6^th. To most of Romney’s listeners, Romney’s speech was a ‘prebuttal’ to the president’s convention speech four months early. In his speech, Romney attacks Obama’s policies and how he has particularly failed in the future of America, with consideration to the American economy and job creation. Romney is determined to bring Americans together to create “a shining city in a hill.” The likely GOP nominee will also go to Ohio on Thursday to bracket Obama’s speech regarding the economy. The presidential elections this year is heating up with each passing month. Which candidate do you most likely agree with on policies and issues of America?

-Kristen Korankyi

Tim Tebow plays football and Bubba Watson plays golf. They have nothing in common on the playing field, but they do have something in common off the field. They are both very strong Christians. They met through Tim Tebow’s charity foundation when Tebow asked Watson to be a guest in his celebrity golf tournament, where all the proceeds went to charity. They both think very highly of each other. Tebow supports Watson’s golf and Watson supports Tebow’s football. Watson received the number fifteen badge when playing in the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia. He knew this was Tebow’s number and told his caddie not to open it so that he could give it to Tebow after the tournament. Tebow was very appreciative of this because it wasn’t something Watson had to do, but something he did just out of the goodness of his heart.

-Corey Ganim

University of Chicago researchers state that belief in God is highest among older people and increases with age. They feel that this is due to the fact that they are slowly growing to realize that death is coming closer. The university’s National Opinion Research Center says on average, forty-three percent of those aged sixty-eight and older were certain that God exists. On the other hand, twenty-three percent of people aged twenty-seven and younger also firmly believed in the existence of God. Researcher Tom Smith states, “Looking at differences among age groups, the largest increases in belief in God most often occur among those fifty-eight years of age and older. This suggests that belief in God is especially likely to increase among the oldest groups, perhaps in response to the increasing anticipation of mortality.” In most countries, belief in God has had modest declines in the past two decades. In the United States, eighty-one percent of people surveyed said they had always believed in God, and sixty-eight percent support the concept that God is concerned with people in a personal way.

-Kimberly Pantuso

On Tuesday April 17, 2012, Discovery, the NASA space shuttle that holds the record of thirty-nine space missions, was put into flight for one last time. This time wasn’t for a mission; it was to honor its long career and the people who flew in the space shuttle during its multiple missions. This iconic shuttle was put on a modified 747 airplane and flown around D.C. for forty-five minutes while people all around starred up in the sky. It was flown around the dome of the Capitol, the White House rose garden, the tip of the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian’s original Air and Space Museum to honor the many accomplishments of Discovery and its astronauts.

-Phillip Parker

The NCAA tournament will be soon coming to a close with the Final Four right around the corner. The four teams that made it this far are Ohio State, Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisville. The Kentucky vs. Louisville game will be particularly exciting because both teams are from the state of Kentucky and are very big rivals. Kentucky is the clear favorite to win, being the number one overall seed as well as having arguably one of the best teams in college basketball history. The Final Four is being held in New Orleans this year and the first game is on March 31. None of the Final Four teams had an easy path to the Final Four; all played tough teams and performed very well under pressure to get to where they are today. Teams are currently making preparations for the big games that will begin soon by practicing every day and making sure all of the players are healthy by the time the game rolls around.

By Corey Ganim