1. The biggest time gap in Russia is SEVEN hours.
2. There are no high schools in Russia. All kids from the first to eleventh (senior) grade attend the same school.
3. Schoolchildren in Russia may not choose subjects to learn. We learn a lot of them (about 15), but we don’t have the same schedule every day.
4. September 1st is the first school day for every single school in Russia.
5. You can only drive at the age of 18 in Russia.
6. You can watch a lot of American movies and TV shows on Russian TV. All of them are translated to Russian. It’s fun to watch Terminator or House speaking Russian!
7. American music is popular in Russia too. We also have these huge crowds of Justin Bieber fans (yeah!)
8. The life in big Russian cities sometimes looks like life in American cities. People eat in McDonalds, drink coffee in Starbucks and shop in Target.
9. In the towns people usually walk to places or use the public transportation: buses, trolleybuses or the subway. Some families do not even have cars.
10. There are a lot of small corner shops in Russia. You only need to walk for a couple of minutes to buy food. Parents start sending their kids to go shopping at the age of 10-12.
11. It’s really cold in Russia! In winter the temperature drops to under 0°F. Your winter in Arizona is our summer.
12. Most people in Russia live in apartments rather than in separate houses. Apartments usually consist of 3-4 rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom.
13. Russians drink a lot of hot tea. Sometimes, they put lemon and sugar into it.
14. In Russian movie theaters, when you buy a ticket, your seat is written on it and you cannot change it.
15. «Хорошего дня!» (horoshego dnya) means “Have a good day” in Russian.

Хорошего дня!

Desert Hills High School is pleased to announce an exciting college scholarship opportunity, “The Leona Promise,” available to our students!

Desert Hills is offering a $1,000 annual college scholarship to any student attending DHHS for four years. This scholarship, renewable for four years up to a maximum amount of $4,000, is open to any qualifying students who graduate from Desert Hills and attend an approved post-secondary program, four-year college or university. Students must be continuously enrolled at Desert Hills High School from 9^th through 12^th grades.

For more information on this scholarship opportunity and qualification requirements, contact the DHHS front office at 480-813-1151.

The event was deemed a great success, according to Fawn Eaton, Academic and Career Center Director and the organizer of the event, which drew more than 250 people to the Gilbert campus.

“We were extremely pleased that so many colleges and vocational schools sent representatives to the Extravaganza,” said Ms. Eaton. “Our goal each year is to give students as much information as possible about their post-high school opportunities, so that they can make informed decisions about their futures.”

The Extravaganza featured representatives from Arizona State University, Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Pima Medical Institute, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, ITT Technical Institute, Grand Canyon University and DeVry Institute.

Also in attendance were officials from Brookline College, Everest College, The American Institute of Dental Assisting, Rio Salado College, Carrington College and Mesa Community College, among other institutions.

Much has changed for Travis Largent, a Northern Arizona University student and military veteran, since he graduated from Desert Hills High School in 2005.

After graduating, Largent followed his passion to serve his country with the U.S. Army, and was deployed halfway around the world in Afghanistan.

 In Afghanistan, he found the adventure he was looking for, and also found himself in consistent danger. He ended his tour in a harrowing firefight that left him with three bullet wounds and a collapsed lung, bleeding and waiting for more than 30 hours for the medical transport that would ultimately take him to safety.

 ”We were in a five vehicle convoy, and we were ambushed,” Largent says of the attack, which occurred in January 2008 in Ibrahim, some 50 kilometers south of Kandahar, near the border with Pakistan. “We were under fire and being attacked on two sides. And because of the narrow terrain, we couldn’t back up.”

Largent was leaning out of an Army Humvee and firing, when he felt “heat” in his chest. “I had been shot three times in the side.”

Eventually, the convoy moved to relative safety, but Largent’s troubles were far from over.

“A medic was treating me, and we were waiting for a medivac to come in,” he says. “The medic said he had 36 hours worth of blood for me – after that, there was nothing left. I ended up waiting 34 hours for the medivac to arrive.”

Largent spent two months recuperating in Germany, and was sent at his request back to his unit. He ultimately was awarded the Bronze Star for valor.

Now, back in the U.S., married and studying at NAU, Largent, 22, says his experience in Afghanistan motivated him to become a classroom teacher.

After completing his coursework, he hopes to return to Desert Hills to undertake his student teaching.

“What I saw in Afghanistan were a lot of young men who were uneducated. And because they were uneducated, they were able to be manipulated,” he says.

“I saw the importance of education,” Largent says. “And I wanted to make a difference.”

Over 100 people attended, and although it was warm outside, it was crowded on the dance floor. Those who just wanted to hang out socialized and enjoyed the twinkling lights in the shady trees. For dancers with the munchies, Ms. Jones provided snacks at the student store and Student Council sold water for a dollar.

After two hours packed with blaring music and high energy, the DJ announced the Homecoming Royalty. Homecoming Queen and King were Katherine Wilson and her charismatic date, DJ Joe. For Prince and Princess, Devaughn Rufus and the bubbly Shelby Pastore were the winners. The main attraction was the black and white balloon arch where Kelsey Haasch was busily taking photos for Facebook fans.

The dance ended soon after the royalty was announced and the clean up began. Unfortunately, the pride of Student Council, the cardboard box city buildings, had to be thrown away. Ms. Fieman managed to save one, however, and it stands to this day in her class room next to the world map, a remembrance of that starry night.

For all those who attended, a warm thank you from Student Council. All proceeds go to future dances, so if you though that Homecoming was fabulous, you will be pleasantly surprised at Winter Formal!

Olive soon discovers that she actually likes the attention garnered by her new reputation, and she soon agrees to help out her bullied friend, Brandon (Dan Byrd), by pretending to be involved with him. Later, however, her image rapidly degrades to a more obscene state and her life spins out of control.

As classmates come to ask Olive for help to make themselves look cooler, she cannot help but say yes and her lies continue to escalate. Now she has to try to clear her name before the school’s most pious girl, Marianne (Amanda Bynes), gets Olive expelled.

Director Will Gluck’s film is unlike any high school film I have ever seen. “Easy A” is a very entertaining movie that delves into the life of teens and the aftermath of rumors. This movie is one of the best comedies that I have seen this year. I give this movie five out of five stars.

Sylvester is mean to the nth degree – she is constantly out to ruin Schuster and the glee club who have taken away funding from her first place cheerleading squad. Lynch portrays her character in such a way that her sarcastic, evil and somewhat odd dialogue comes off as cruel, but at the same time completely and utterly hilarious. Lynch quite literally masters the art of sarcasm and sardonic remarks in the role of Sue Sylvester.

The story line of Glee has many twists and while it is a comedy, it also has a dramatic flair to it. This leads me to classify it as a “dramedy.” The show as a whole is sometimes a little bit too over the top to be a believable high school experience, but then again, it is basically a prolonged musical. It definitely has a Broadway feel to it. In fact, one of the main characters, Rachel Berry, is played by real life Broadway star Lea Michele. Her character is the over-achieving, over the top diva of the group whose egotistical nature often drives the other glee club members mad. Although, there is no doubt that Michele is incredibly talented. Along with her costars, Lea has made many Glee songs into smash hits on Itunes.

The show has created a frenzy. The fans faithfully identify themselves as “gleeks”. But what exactly is the appeal of a story about a high school glee club? I think it is the fact that it is different than anything on television these days. The concept of a musical television show is completely unique. Also, music can sometimes speak to people more effectively than anything else, especially when it is sung by a vocally inclined cast such as the one that Glee boasts.

They cover a wide variety of music, every genre from rock ‘n roll to gospel. Glee is a pop culture phenomenon in the making. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be entertained with good music and a good laugh. And yes, I’ll admit it. I am definitely a gleek.

When you can see undergarments, or have to hold your pants up when you walk, your pants are too low. Now I understand what you are thinking. I have only presented a problem, but no solution. Well my dear people, the solution is simple. PULL UP YOUR PANTS!

They have these inventions for helping aid in the proper pant ride height. They are called belts and suspenders. I believe that if you are at school and your pants are too low, you should be required to wear a pair of suspenders until the end of the school day. If this rule is enforced at school then maybe, just maybe, we can encourage youths to keep their pants at the height that they are designed to be.

The DHHS Green House, built in conjunction with Glendale Community College and other sponsors, is being established as an addition to Desert Hills’ Land Lab and will be operated by the school’s Department of Science and Agriculture and FFA program.

The grand opening was a family event, and featured pumpkin carving, face painting, a pie eating contest, a petting zoo and pony and hay rides.

For more information, contact the Desert Hills front office, at 480-813-1151.