AP = Alotta Parties

I  know what you're thinking. "Monica, that's definitely not what AP stand for". Well, in this case it could help. This past Wednesday we had an AP Bio test, a couple of us decided we would have a study party the night before. It was a lot more fun than studying by myself and we got a plethora of work done. I was also more prepared for the test. I think we should have parties more often. I've also learned that doing the reading guides really help, the extra credit is always a good thing. c:

Sarah was working at some point, I promise.

Tom ato a tomato

According to an article from ScienceNews.com, men with high blood levels of lycopene are less likely to suffer from strokes. Lycopene is a compound found in tomatoes that gives them their red color. Lycopenes affect on strokes is a topic that has not been studied much. Jouni Karppi and colleagues at the University of Eastern Finland conducted an experiment with 1,031 men ranging from 46-65 years old. The results stated that men with lower lycopene levels were twice as likely to have a stroke as the men with higher lycopene levels. While this test was specifically aimed toward studying the affect of lycopene levels from eating tomatoes, lycopene is not the only nutrient found in tomatoes so the other nutrients such as: folic acid, vitamin C, and vitamin E may effect the results. As always eating fruits and vegetables will reduce your risk of stroke and heart disease. Stay healthy.

Homecoming 2012: A week where you never come home (your mom calls to make sure you still exist)

Sparta High School's Homecoming has no competition. We spend the whole day playing games, cheering on our grade, and engaging in some friendly competition. Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors compete for the red apple. Each grade really comes together and gets excited for the games. No one knows what will happen. Each grade preforms a dance related to the homecoming theme. Our games are somewhat unique. We play a game called the caterpillar where 60 students from each grade get in 3 lines on each side of the gym, in rows of 10 and they all line up heel to toe, then 1 student crawls in between all of their legs and the student in the beginning of the line pulls the student crawling up. Whoever is the fastest to complete all 6 lines wins. It may sound confusing, but its a grand ole' time (your knees will never forgive you). We also play games such as limbo, orange pass, and a cart race. These games occur on the Friday before the homecoming game. During the week we have a food drive and penny a point, both the food and the money go to charity. We also have dress up days during the week. Whichever grade has more students dressed up will get more points toward that grades final score, and they will be even closer to winning the red apple.

For me, freshman year and sophomore year were not as exciting as my junior and senior year. Although I didn't participate in the mock rock dance until my junior year. Being in the dance makes homecoming even more fun because you finally get to show everyone the dance that you've been working so hard on. My favorite homecoming would have to be this year. I went all out because I knew it would be my last one. I also spent several days at my friend Alyshia's (shout out). However, I didn't participate in as many games as I would have liked to but it was still a ton of fun. Every grade gets involved in the friendly competition with cheers and taunts. Something I enjoyed was Mark, Nick, and Lucas' "mating call". It wasn't annoying at all.The homecoming court speeches were more enjoyable this year because I knew the people giving the speeches. Overall, Sparta knows how to make a mark, not to mention some noise.