WCS holds induction ceremony

Wednesday night was the National Honor Society induction ceremony. While the traditional candlelight service may seem cliche, parents still feel a sense of pride in the fact that their children are a part of it. We know students feel a sense of accomplishment themselves in being a member of this elite society.

National Honor Society is considered to be a prestigious accomplishment due to the fact that an individual needs to maintain a 3.5 un-weighted GPA on a 4.0 scale.

The evening began with the procession of students down the chapel aisle. Once the students took their seats, the ceremony was opened with prayer led by Mrs. Palmer. Then, several returning members read short speeches about the values of the National Honor Society. This was led off by the Vice President Maureen Sleeting. Then the new members were inducted into the group. This was led by President Sarah McIntire, Treasurer Rachel Ward, and Secretary Allison Sleeting. Then, a short pledge was recited and the evening was over almost before it started. In all, the whole ceremony barely lasted 16 minutes.

Congratulations new NHS members!

--By Sarah McIntyre

NHS inducts new members

National Honor Society members (L-R): Whitney Vanden Bos, Steven Hoeflich, Emily Bickford, Luke Carani, Kyle Christensen, Sarah McIntyre, Maureen Sleeting, Carly Byer, Christine Berntson, Rachel Ward, Brooke Bertsche, Katie Pluymert, Ellie Fink, Yoha Lee, Allie Sleeting, Daniel Lindberg, Gwendolyn Payne, Frank Oliver

Checking exchange rates is good sense

The first thing I do after school is check exchange rates. Depending on the rate, I decide to withdraw money in my Korean bank account from the ATM, which automatically changes Korean money won to American dollar. I wait until the dollar gets cheap because when it is cheaper, I can get more American money out of same amount of Korean money.

An exchange rate is simply the cost of one form of currency in another form of currency. Why do we need it? Because we use this to buy other country's currency while we are in that country. The law of supply and demand is applied to the exchange rate. If there are more people who want to buy using the American dollar, then the cost of the dollar goes up. All the complex situations such as foreign investment, import and export ratios, inflation, and other economic factors help determine the rate.

Unlike many people think, the increase of the exchange rate is not always good. If the dollar is expensive, that means we can buy more goods from other countries for the same amount of money, which makes importers happy. However, it also makes our products more expensive in other countries, which eventually causes lower sales. So exporters are not happy with it.

These days, American dollars are getting cheaper. Exporters should be happy with this news but the reality is more complex than that because a cheap dollar means that its value is cheaper than before. Dropping values are the results of the bad economy of the U.S. The growing size of the U.S. trade deficit (the difference between the amount the U.S. imports and the amount it can sell to the rest of the world) pays a huge role in this problem. The U.S. is buying more than they are selling. Also, more and more countries like the Euro, the currency for many European countries. Americans need to think seriously about this problem because their dollar, their country, is losing its power.

However, it is good for me, a foreigner, because I can buy more American dollars and be able to spend more. So I will just keep hoping for the exchange rate to drop.

--By Yoha Lee

Seniors last home game ends in style

There was a lot of emotion going into the soccer match this day.  It was the seniors' last regular season home game of the year.  Many of the seniors have played all four years of soccer in high school.  These seniors went out with a bang, defeating the visiting IMSA 6-2. 

Josh Beachler had four goals, and Steven Hoeflich and Josh Sanders added goals as well.  It was a perfect ending to these seniors' last regular season home game.  The soccer team's regionals are hosted at Warrior Field, so these seniors will still get to play on home turf a couple more times.

Ladies post season bests against Plainfield East

The women finished their meet season in grand fashion by tying their season low match score in a loss against Plainfield East.

The Women Warriors were led by Anne Lehan's season best 56, Mikaila Conforti's season best 58, Ellie Fink's 61 and Kaitlyn Dahlman's 62. As a side note, Liz Meschewski also posted her season best with a 66.

The Lady Warriors play next Wednesday in the Regional at Golf Club of Illinois in Algonquin.

Win puts Warriors in first place

The Men played host to IMSA on Tuesday night with a chance to tie for first place in the conference, and they took advantage of their opportunity by beating IMSA with a season low team score of 167 to 178. Leading the way for the Warriors was medalist Christian Benson with a 40, Andrew Mason with his season low 41, and Mason McGannon and David Lindberg with 43's.

The win puts the Warriors in a first place tie with IMSA and Rockford Christian heading into the Conference Tournament this Saturday at The Highlands of Elgin.

The Men travel to play Walther Lutheran on Thursday.

Spirit Day wraps up Homecoming

Walking through the halls on Friday, Sept. 24, it was obvious that the theme of the day was Spirit Day.  Every Westminster student and staff member joined in on the fun and dressed up in warrior gear, whether it was just wearing blue and white or going all out and dressing like a true warrior, sword and all.

Friday was also the last day to compete for the Spirit Cup.  The event was the obstacle course.  The race was close between the freshmen and seniors.  The freshmen pulled ahead and came in first, while the seniors came in an extremely close second.  The sophomores finished in third place and the juniors had a very close fourth. 

Right after the event was over, Mr. Sevey began to announce the winners of the Spirit Cup.  The seniors came in first and claimed the trophy, while the sophomores pulled through with the surprise of claiming second place.  The freshmen followed in third while the juniors came in fourth.

The 2010-2011 homecoming week was certainly one to remember.  Everyone had a fun time dressing up.  Whether it was Pajama Day, Nerd vs. Jock, or Spirit Day, everyone let their school spirit shine through.