Myers Park Hoofprint

The Myers Park High School Newspaper

Valeria Medina

Five Things for Twenty-Five

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After celebrating the New Year and enjoying the excitement it brings, we crash into the cold month of January, and are left to wonder, “What’s next?” Although the holidays aren’t for another year, other things to get excited about are much closer. From art and music to spring and nature, Charlotte has a lot to offer in the next few months. Below, I have made a list of five things to keep you excited throughout 2025.

  1. New Albums from Top Artists

Even before 2025 arrived, many of our favorite artists and musicians teased and built up angst in their fan bases by announcing new albums to come this year. Artists like The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Tate McCrae, Japanese Breakfast, and Lana Del Rey have teased or announced new album releases coming the next few months.

  1. Live Music and Concerts

More albums mean more live music! Many artists have included Charlotte in their U.S. tours, and there’s truly no experience that matches seeing your favorite artist live. Coming up this month, Kelsey Ballerini performing at the Spectrum Center and Wallows at the Fillmore, with tickets starting at about 70 USD. Later this year, Charlotte will also be expecting artists like Tyler, the Creator for his CHROMAKOPIA World Tour, Deftones, Shakira, Kendrick Lamar with SZA, Billy Joel, and Tyler Childers. The Fillmore, Spectrum Center, Bank of America Stadium, and PNC Music Pavilion will be filled with singing voices and unforgettable memories throughout all of 2025.

  1. Games, Jerseys, and Food

Charlotte’s own Spectrum Center is packed and booked throughout the rest of the year not only with concerts but also with its very own, the Charlotte Hornets. From now through April, the Hornets will be hosting a total of 19 home games. For those who prefer soccer, Charlotte FC is kicking off the season at the end of February. Last, but certainly not least, every football fan’s favorite event, the Super Bowl 59, will take place February 9th at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana this year with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Super Bowl’s halftime show will feature a performance by Kendrick Lamar and SZA along with the classic and long-awaited commercials. 

  1. Popcorn and New Movies

2025 is going to be a great year for scary movie lovers and Marvel fans. On the last day of January, The Notebook director Drew Hancock’s new thriller, Companion, featuring The Boys actor Jack Quaid was released. The thriller has a mystery in the middle of the plot and was highly anticipated. If you’re looking for a movie to watch on Valentine’s Day, what’s more romantic than watching Captain America: Brave New World with someone whose presence you enjoy? If you’re not much of a Marvel fan, you can still get excited about the new Minecraft movie, Wicked Part 2, or the live animations of Lilo and Stitch and Snow White.

  1. Seasonal activities

One of the most advantageous things about living in North Carolina is that the state experiences all four seasons throughout the year. Planning an activity to do with friends, family, or on your own can be a great way to keep you looking forward to something and try new things. Whether it’s going ice skating at the Whitewater Center or skiing in Boone, there are many winter activities to book up your calendar with. As spring rolls around and the weather warms up, North Carolina’s parks and trails become perfect for hiking. For just under an hour, hikers can drive to Crowders Mountain, or take a road trip to North Carolina’s most iconic hiking spot: Grandfather Mountain. In the spring, Carrigan farms just outside Charlotte opens its quarry for public swimming all throughout the summer, making it a great destination for a road trip with friends. 

Mr. Jeffus Feature

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Our school would not be where it is today without its hard-working staff members who keep the wheels spinning. A great example of someone who devotes their hard work to keeping Myers Park a functioning community is Assistant Principal, Mr. Jeffus. Going into his ninth year as Assistant Principal, Mr. Jeffus not only takes on administrative duties but also supports students and staff beyond the classroom. He is seen cheering on the Myers Park teams on the field and the courts while helping keep the student section safe and enjoyable for everyone. 

If you’ve been lucky enough to have sat in a classroom with Mr. Jeffus as your teacher, you’d know his background goes beyond Assistant Principal. Mr. Jeffus was the Assistant Principal at East Gaston High School in Gaston County for two years. However, before that, he taught math for 7th and 8th graders at Randolph Middle School for five years. He made the switch to Assistant Principal when he realized his passion was to “improve the overall educational experience,” as he stated in an interview.

Mr. Jeffus is all around the school throughout the day. He takes on multiple tasks like assisting teachers and students, subbing in classrooms, attending meetings, doing classroom observations, and even keeping order during lunch and class transitions. When asked about the most challenging part of the job, Jeffus responded by saying, “For me personally it is administrative tasks like observations. I like more authentic interactions.” In fact, it is these honest interactions with students and teachers that fuel his passion for being Assistant Principal. He added his favorite part of the job is “seeing students and staff reach goals, in and out of the building,” whether it’s making a team, getting a B grade instead of a C, or great test scores.  “I enjoy being a part of life. I value the trust that comes with sharing the hard things–college, mistakes, grades. Watching change and adapting to an ever-changing environment,” he commented. 

As Jeffus is committed to students’ interests and goals beyond the classroom it is important for students to know who Mr. Jeffus is beyond the classroom. Outside of school, Mr. Jeffus stated he enjoys cooking and coaching, especially coaching his daughter’s soccer team. In fact, he has always been a fan of sports, having played tennis, soccer, and basketball, and even running cross-country at Southwestern Randolph High School. He added he still enjoys playing tennis, basketball, and his recent favorite: golf. Although admitting to not consuming much television or music, Mr. Jeffus will never skip out on watching classic movies like Sandlot, Mighty Ducks, Fast & Furious, Mission: Impossible, or Little Big League with his kids. Mr. Jeffus’ taste for classics carries on to music as he commented he enjoys listening to mostly country, 90s music, The Fray, and Coldplay.

Mr. Jeffus’ support and devotion towards Myers Park High School is a great example of what passion for what you do looks like. His work, along with the rest of the staff at school works hard to help keep the learning environment functional and safe is undeniably something to appreciate and express gratitude for. 

After being asked what advice he would give students, Jeffus ended by saying, “I tell 9th graders at the beginning of the year—it’s always better to communicate earlier than later. Admin, we’re here to support you. As soon as you notice an issue, let somebody know. Don’t be afraid to reach out. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.”  

PCP: Chocolate is NOT Candy

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When one is told to think of candy, classic treats like Nerds, Sour Patch Kids, Jolly Rachers, DumDums, Skittles, etc. are always the first thought. If you were to google candy right now, the image results would show a variety of gummy or hard candies, but not chocolate. This is because chocolate is not and should not be categorized as candy. 

Candies are usually colorful, coated with and majorly consisting of sugar, and usually have some sort of fruit or artificial flavor.  They are defined as “A confection made by the addition of ingredients to a sweet base derived from sugar cane or artificial sugar.” Cocoa from which chocolate is made is very bitter unless a sweetener is added. Chocolate as we know it is essentially the roasted cocoa bean ground up into a paste with some sugar added, and often some additional cocoa butter. Chocolate can be made with no sugar as well. Candy can not, its main ingredient is always sugar or artificial made ingredients.

Chocolate experts and enthusiasts would surely be offended by the categorization of chocolate as candy since many luxury chocolate brands have spent years perfecting recipes and finding the best cacao there is. Chocolate is a flavor and food in itself and not just an ingredient. No food tastes like chocolate unless it’s chocolate itself. Ask yourself, would you ever eat a Sour Patch Kid or Skittles to satisfy that craving for chocolate?  

Chocolate often has a different connotation than candy. For example, If you are getting your significant other something for Valentine’s Day, giving a box of chocolates says something completely more significant than giving them a bag of candy. Chocolate implies romance, while candy is less mature and tells that person “We’re friends”. The fact that chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate cake, ice cream, drinks, and all of these exist, should be pure proof that chocolate is a flavor and its own type of sweet. Although there are some foods that are candy-flavored, gum that tastes like Skittles is not as revolutionary as a chewy chocolate chip cookie or chocolate-covered pretzels.

We’ve all been there, craving a sweet treat only to face the consequences of sugar rushes, or worse, sugar crashes. Giving in to that battle of comforting your stress with chocolate can make you feel guilty if you’re still stuck in the mindset that anything that tastes that delicious must not be a good idea. However, giving in to some chocolate cravings could be a benefit to your body. Unlike many candies that are filled with empty calories and high sugar content, chocolate, especially dark chocolate with its leading ingredient being cocoa, offers secret health benefits. Dark chocolate is known for having antioxidants containing health benefits such as reducing inflammation and improving heart health. Additionally, it provides magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc which are essential nutrients for good health. It is even proven to create mood enhancement. This provides a compelling reason to separate its greatness from the category of candy. 

Though a dull person might categorize chocolate as candy, a true chocolate lover would recognize that chocolate is so much better than candy to be put in the same category. Chocolate not only has an unmatched unique taste but also offers health benefits, unlike most sugary and nutrient-lacking candies. In the world of gourmet treats, the master creators of chocolate and the crafty creators of candy never dedicate their work to both. At the end of the day, no candy could replace that velvety feel and unmatched taste one gets from a bar of good chocolate.

Leprechaun Myths

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Photo contributed by Creative Commons

With Saint Patrick’s Day coming up, what better way to celebrate than to talk about Leprechauns? These festive mythical creatures date back to the eighth century and were regarded as agile male fairies. They are described by the World History Encyclopedia as “figures in Irish folklore who guard hidden treasure”.

Leprechauns are often imagined in front of a rainbow, guarding a pot of gold with a big grin on their faces. However, according to Irish legends, this idea we have of leprechauns is nowhere near correct. Irish myths say leprechauns are not necessarily the nicest creatures. They are known for living solitary lives and causing trouble. One of the oldest and most popular myths about leprechauns is that if you encounter one, they will either attack you on the spot or make your life miserable. People say they do this by stealing food, throwing furniture, and even kidnapping babies. Some people in Ireland believe that if their dog disappears and it shows back up covered in mud, they are most likely taken on an adventure by a leprechaun. This doesn’t just apply to dogs but also to goats and sheep. 

Leprechauns seem to be creatures to stay away from, however, the risk of being attacked by one is as great as the reward. Irish legend has it that if you catch a leprechaun, you can luck out with a pot of gold or make three wishes. If you ever want to test your luck and try catching a leprechaun, legends say that to catch one, you must listen for the sound of them making shoes. This is because some people believe that leprechauns are shoemakers, however, no two people would say the same about how leprechauns came to be. There are a variety of myths about how these creatures came about.

One of the oldest myths is that leprechauns were water spirits known as ‘luchorpán’, meaning “small body”. They were regarded as so back in the eighth century. Others say the leprechaun is an old bachelor elf who fended off his mother’s attempts to marry him to a pretty young girl and was exiled after doing so. This legend would explain why the leprechaun is known as a solitary creature. It’s been said that the reason they carry a pot of gold dates back to wartime. According to legends, Danes would bury pots of gold throughout Ireland and trust leprechauns for safekeeping. Throughout time, these theories of leprechauns have become more generalized and the truth is less known. 

Leprechauns have also become a sort of tourist attraction, featured in the beloved Lucky Charms cereal, the Notre Dame mascot, and multiple leprechaun horror films. Growing up around Venezuelan and Latin American culture, I got the more intimidating narrative of leprechauns. My family would go to the springs over the summer and sometimes I would be warned not to go in the water alone because a leprechaun would be waiting for me. Though the scared parents of a stubborn child might not be the most reliable source of information, this stuck with me for years.

My cousins would feed this fear of mine by putting on a home movie about the legend of leprechauns. The movie tells the tale of a couple that went to the lagoon one summer and got cursed by the town witch so whenever the couple would go in the lagoon, green and wrinkly hands appear from the surface of the water and would start attacking them. Years later, I go back on YouTube to find the same movie titled “Archives from Beyond: Leprechaun of the Lagoon.” After watching the forty minutes of over-dramatic acting and nonsense screaming, I realized how silly this fear was. While this is an exaggerated version of the tale, to this day, my 22-year-old cousin says she swears she saw a leprechaun one summer at the lagoon. No matter what myth you choose to believe, if any, next time you go to a lake or a lagoon, never let your guard down.