On May 16 from 5 to 9 p.m. the Naperville Tom and Eddie’s will be selling each of the four classes’ burgers and they will compete to see who sells the most of their masterpiece. The Central community is encouraged to go because 10 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the school. Bell provided a description of each burger to be sold.

The Burrito Burger is made with cheddar cheese, fresh avocado, salsa, tomatoes, lettuce, black beans and chipotle mayonnaise. It costs $7.99.  Customers can show support for this burger by liking their Facebook page, NCHS Burrito Burger, and twitter, @NCHSBurritoBurger.

The Chicago Style Burger features pickles, green relish, cheese, onions, tomato, pepperchinis and mustard for only $7.49.

The Taco ‘bout a Good Burger has sour cream, guacamole, tortilla chips and Chihuahua cheese. The cost is $7.99 and this burger’s twitter is @Tom_and_Eddies.

The Viking Burger boasts haystack onions, avocado, Tabasco sauce, pepper jack cheese and a fried egg for $7.99.

Winners include junior Steven Trainor with a third place finish in spreadsheets, junior Ben Jobst with a fourth place finish in accounting and junior Rebecca Paras with a ninth place finish in legal procedures.

“Spreadsheet is basically creating files on Microsoft Excel, normally business related items like financial statements,” Trainor said.

According to Paras, her event, legal office procedures, was partly a scantron test about different legal terms and ideas. The other part involved typing up legal documents.

“I participated in other open events as well, which are open to anyone to take,” said Paras. “I placed in the open event ‘business meeting management’ at state, so I took that one again at nationals as well. But since they are open to everyone, it is much harder to place in them.”

Other attendees at BPA nationals were freshmen Hannah Dulski and Lucy Wang for presentation management, freshman Juhi Mahajan for extemporaneous speech and sophomore Cassie Zhang for database applications.

There were about 25 states and 6,000 kids in Disney representing BPA, according to Trainor.

“I’ve been to Disney before, but I was little so it was so great to go back,” Paras said.

The BPA National Leadership Conference isn’t only a competition though. It is also a place for BPA members to exchange ideas.

“BPA [nationals] is set up so that you have your event, but once you compete, there is also a lot of free time,” said Paras. “This is great because you can meet new people from across the country, even all the way from Alaska…It was great to spend a lot of time with the other kids from our school and [BPA sponsor] Mrs. Wells.”

“One Way Trigger,” the first song leaked from the album, is a standout which utilizes Julian Casablancas’ vocals mixed with a catchy, repetitive synth to create a high power track. Upon first listen, I was confused and a little disappointed because this was not what I expected from The Strokes. Nonetheless, I grew to love the song and it soon became a favorite of mine from the album. It sets the stage for the album for being experimental yet endearing after the first few listens.

Another standout track, “Welcome to Japan,” features more 80’s synth loops and thoroughly entertaining lyrics, creating a truly addictive track. The lyrics aren’t only humorous but memorable too, satirizing similar 80’s tracks and crooning, “What kind of asshole drives a Lotus?” The combination of the lyrics and infectious chorus make this a key track on “Comedown Machine.”

“50/50” is a powerhouse track with abrasive guitars, scratchy vocals and driving drums. The Strokes prove they still have the power and emotion they had in “Is This It,” the Strokes’ first studio album, and “Room on Fire,” their second album. I was drawn to this song for its neo-grunge sound and hardcore drumming, which is a genre the Strokes seem to perform well.

The song “Partners in Crime” starts off with hypnotizing guitar rhythms akin to that of the youthful playing in “Someday” from “Is This It,” showing their original fans they haven’t forgotten about them. The track then moves to a sort of falsetto-duet which makes it a strange but enticing track.

The album closes with the track “Call It Fate, Call It Karma,” a song that seems like it was derived straight from the phonograph era. The song cleverly works in the distant sound of the electric guitar without sounding like it left the lounge. Sounding as if it belongs in The Great Gatsby, the track is pure beauty and unbridled creativity. Between its sensual falsetto and antiqued record sound effects, The Strokes were very successful at creating a different, alluring work of art.

After listening to the album in its entirety, I felt satisfied and accepting of The Strokes’ new approach in “Comedown Machine.” Overall, I give it an eight out of 10 for the band’s willingness to try something new while being held to the high standards of “Is This It.” The album possesses an exciting and thoroughly entertaining sound. The result of these endeavors is a step in the right direction for the evolution of the band as a whole and possibly outside of the box after The Strokes’ chart-breaking first album.

In the last 48 hours there has been a significant amount of rumor and speculation taking place around school concerning the reported threat made to student safety last Monday. As parents, you may have heard some of these rumors as well. Most of the comments were being shared verbally, some via social media channels like Twitter.

When our staff became aware of the growing number of rumors and a belief that another threat had been made, we began to investigate the source and credibility of the rumors. Every conversation we have had with students and parents has led us to the same conclusion. There has been no new threat made and all of the comments were an extension of the original incident on Monday.

Because some of the new rumors were stating that senior events were a target, I personally spoke to the senior classes. It is important that our students understand they are safe, and we take all comments concerning their safety very seriously. Even though we are confident that none of the comments we have heard are based on any actual threats, we will increase police presence at the school on Friday. This is also being done to deter any students from playing any type of “practical joke” during a time when anxiety is elevated.

Equally important to keeping students safe is the need to encourage students to stop participating in speculation and the spreading of rumors. I would like to ask all of our parents to emphasize with their students how important it is to:
1) Not make statements they cannot confirm to be true;
2) Not share or post comments they do not know to be true;
3) Report any statement that causes them concern to someone in authority, even if they do not know if the statement is true.

Keeping our students safe is our top priority. Being able to trust the information we receive to be truthful is important to their protection. Your help in instilling this message in our students will make a difference.

Again, thank you for your support. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me or our school staff.

Bill Wiesbrook, Principal NCHS

NCHS Community:

This information is being sent to you so that you have a clear understanding of the events that took place at school today.It was reported to school administrators that a statement of a concerning nature had been found on school property.  This report was immediately investigated by school administration in partnership with the Naperville Police Department. 

As is procedure, a threat assessment was conducted and it was determined that this incident does NOT pose a credible threat to the safety of the students, staff or the school.There is nothing more important than the safety of our students.  NCHS is and remains a safe place. 

I would like to commend the students who responded quickly in this situation.  They acted in a highly responsible manner and in the best interest of the entire Central community when they reported what they saw to staff members.  We encourage all parents to talk with your student and instruct them to take similar action whenever they have information that may protect their own safety or that of their classmates and school.

If any parent has a concern or question, feel free to contact me.  Thank you for your continued support. Bill Wiesbrook, Principal

Student Community, or StuCo, meets every Wednesday from 7-9 at CCC. Students said that StuCo stands out from other churches or youth groups because of how the students can relate to the messages that pastor Bret Koontz teaches.

“I like [StuCo] because Bret makes it fun so kids can understand what’s going on,” said freshman Jessica Kanney. “It’s not a long, boring service. Our church is so much different from any other church. It’s amazing. They make it more relatable to kids.”

Kanney started going to StuCo two years ago with her friends.

“Right when I started going, they stopped going, so I was going by myself,” said Kanney. “It was scary but I felt that I wasn’t as scared because I knew God was there and that the people… would be welcoming. Because that’s what it was all about.”

Junior Jared Prosapio agrees that there is a tight-knit, welcoming community at StuCo.

“Anyone who goes can hang out,” said Prosapio. “If you just moved in, you can try StuCo out and everyone will surround you.”

Prosapio said StuCo helps him stay rooted in his Christian faith.

“It’s a reminder of who I am, what I’m doing wrong… what I should be doing,” said Prosapio. “It’s definitely a life-check, in a sense. [StuCo helps you] really influence other people’s lives and just be good to people.”

Every week at Student Community, the students participate in communion, an offering called “Giving Back to God,” live worship music, a short teaching of a Bible passage and then an hour of gym time.

Kanney’s favorite part is the worship time.

“That’s when I connect the most,” said Kanney. “It’s worship, but at the same time, it’s not always the slow, quiet, boring church [music.] Everyone is jumping up and down, falling on each other and sweating. Everyone’s together in that moment, singing together.”

The youth group also gives back to the community. The organization Food Fight, whose goal is to pack and ship meals to impoverished areas of the world, was born out of StuCo. Prosapio, who will be in charge of the organization next year and Kanney, who will be a student leader for the event, both believe that Food Fight has had a positive impact on their personal lives and Central as a community.

“You’re getting more people [involved in] that and they hear about StuCo so they’ll come to that,” said Kanney.”That’s good for us and the church.”

Propsaio said that he thinks even if someone is not Christian, they should still consider attending StuCo.

“Even if you don’t really know who God is or if you don’t really believe in him, just still come and have fun with us,” said Prosapio. “It’s something you want to do, something that will affect your life even if you’re not a Christian. It’s something that will make you a better person.”

Some attribute such low attendance to the wording of the district announcement. Principal Bill Wiesbrook believes the announcement may have sent the wrong message to students.

“When that announcement came out, high school kids were already in the building,” said Wiesbrook. “The high school kids… interpreted that message to mean ‘We don’t have to be here,’ so quite a few kids decided they were just going to leave school.”

Senior Chris Li asked his parent to call him out of class after hearing that school was optional.

“Since nobody was going to go to class, we weren’t going to learn anything,” senior Chris Li said. “I didn’t want to waste an hour [at school].”

The attendance office has not finalized the number of students present at school today. However, Wiesbrook notes that there may be consequences if the attendance rate is too low.

“In order for a day to count, schools have to have a minimum of 50% of students in attendance,” Wiesbrook said.

Without a majority of students in school, the district may need to add on an additional school day at the end of the year.

Although all District 203 schools were open today, the junior high and high schools dismissed students early at 1 and 12pm, respectively.

Tornado and flash flood warnings have been posted on websites such as weather.com. The storms hit Naperville last afternoon and haven’t stopped since. District 203, however, refused to cancel school earlier in the morning.

“District 203 schools are open today,” said the district in an online statement. ”Please be alert to weather conditions this morning. Buses may be delayed due to road closures. We understand that students may be delayed getting to school. Auto and foot traffic will be delayed. Please travel with caution and safety.”

While students were getting ready for school, they took to social media to voice their displeasure with school not being cancelled at the time.

Senior Kyle McElroy thinks there might be a purpose behind this flood.

Some students have attempted to make the adventure to school, only to be met by the flooding streets.

Later in the morning, the district released a statement on their website deeming school to be “optional” for the day.

“Road conditions are making bus travel extremely challenging,” said the district in an online statement. “Bus pickup for this morning will continue but expect significant delays. Student attendance today is optional. Please send students to school only if safe to do so. Additional updates to follow shortly.”

However there are still some students stuck at school.

Senior Nick Thomas attempted to lead a rebellion and this is the result of what happened.

Senior Lauren Michael sums up the view from school of today’s rain day.

NOTE: Every Central Times member she knows. So there were a few members she doesn’t know about that grinded it out at school.

Students still at school were released from school at 12 pm today. Elementary school and junior high school students are being sent home later. Now that school is out, it seems that the high school students are already beginning to pass the time.

Juniors Kate Pinnella, Jeni Kane and Rachel Downs were just some of the people that took advantage of the high water levels to pass time.

The storms are expected to pass by tomorrow as they will move on to the east coast of the United States.

Want to see your tweet or picture online? Email centraltimesnewspaper@gmail.com or tweet at us @centraltimes and you could see your tweet or picture on the website

Starting at Central and Naperville North, the club has spread to five other area schools in the past few years. Food Fight urges high-school students to make a difference in the world, specifically by taking steps to end world hunger.

Volunteers can devote time out of their lunch periods or gym classes to pack meals in bags that are sent both overseas and places within the United States.

“[Food Fight] is helping high-schoolers to do something bigger than themselves.” senior Courtney Clinkert said. Clinkert has been a member of Food Fight since her freshman year.

Helpers line tables with bins of rice, dried vegetables, soy and chicken flavoring. The contents are measured and emptied into a clear bag, which is sent down the assembly line of students towards the packing station at the end. There, the bags are sealed and stacked in cardboard boxes to be shipped.

The first day of packing produced 128,000 meals, while the final amount is still being determined.

Many students, including junior participant Elise Rimsa felt grateful for the opportunity to give back.

“A lot of people don’t have the advantages of food that we do, and it makes me feel good when I’m helping other people,” Rimsa said.

Overall, the event was well-received by the students who chose to participate.

“We should definitely have more days like this,” junior participant Kelsey Pajor said.

Despite the long days packaging food, the club is grateful for the support they have felt from students within the school.

“It is through [student’s] support and donations from our fundraisers that we are able to buy the food in the first place,” senior Connor Tobin said.

Food Fight plans to host more packing events in the future. For more information on the club, talk to Mr. Bochenski, humanities teacher.

“Oz” starts off with black-and-white film showing the life of Oz as he struggles to make a career as a magician at a fair. After being involved with a muscle-man’s girlfriend he hops in a hot-air balloon to escape and is whisked away by a tornado, after which he awakes in the bright and colorful Oz.

The first character he encounters is Theodora the Good, who entrances him with her beauty. And after being enticed by the tales of Kingship and wealth he can receive if he destroys the Wicked Witch, he agrees, thinking he can weasel his way out of doing any real work.

He meets Thedora’s sister, Evanora, who sends him to the forest to kill the “Wicked Witch.” Along with some pals he picks up along the way he heads to the forest, only to discover he’s been tricked by Evanora and the “Wicked Witch” is really Glinda the Good. From there ensues the classic good vs. evil battle.

I guess I should have done more research, but I was expecting a more mature, more serious movie. Instead, it’s a very feel-good, simple movie that included lots of humor and cute scenes.

It starts off a bit slow, and doesn’t pick up until he meets Glinda and they have their first grand escape.  And even from there on all the battles they’re involved in are solved creatively and suspiciously easily.

Overall, it ranks at a 6/10, but mostly because I was expecting something different. If you’re looking for a feel-good movie with cute, sassy talking animals and a predictable plot, go for it. If you grew out of that stuff, maybe look for something else.