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FEBRUARY / MARCH 2012 Volume 66 • Issue 4
ART FEST
STUDENT OPERA
SCREAMING
ORPHANS
ENGINEERING
& STEM
SPORTS
CLUB NEWS
SCIENCE FAIR
Mike Elias
VARSITY CAPTAIN

ART FEST
By Genevieve Horton
Fort Myers High School joined one of
the biggest art festivals in Southwest
Florida and one that’s popular among local
families. Art Under 20 is a visual art
exhibit and competition for Lee County
high school students. All Lee County
high school students were invited to participate.
The talented young artists had
the opportunity to display their work at
the Art Fest and compete for $6,000 in
cash and scholarship awards to the Ringling
College of Art & Design Summer
Teen Program. There’s more! Awards
were given out to the best student artists
in these following categories: drawing,
painting, photography, 3-D, and mixed
pera Workshop
By Shion Kremer
media. Our school has had winners in
the past. We have received third, second,
and first place in best in show. Fort
Myers High School displayed some of
its student’s artwork and photography.
Mrs. Autry, the art teacher here at Fort
Myers, guided students Sydney Lang,
Mariah Coughlin, Daniela Villarreal,
and other seniors who participated in
the fest. Our school’s team was known
as the “Green Team” and they worked
hard on February 4th and 5th. They created
a 6x6 sidewalk art display. This was
a wonderful opportunity for students to
pursue their art and community support
of art programs in Lee County schools.
Mr. Koller usually can be found in the chorus room doing the same things, teaching chorus and theatre or working on the school musical. This year, however,
he is changing it up a bit with the creation of an opera. Never before has there been a student opera at Fort Myers High School. The opera is titled “Dido
and Aeneas.” You probably know some friends who have gotten roles in it. I talked to the main singer, Victor Costa, about his participation in the first opera
at FMHS. “I’m so excited to be in this opera!” he remarked. Not only are there singers, but there is also a ballet in the works, which was choreographed
by some members of the IB HL theatre class. We have yet to get Mr. Koller to allow us to dance for his opera, but hopefully he will incorporate the ballet.
Everyone should go and see the opera to support their musically/dance-talented friends! Dates for “Dido and Aeneas” performances are April 17 and 18.
By Shion Kremer

“Skydiving onto
a tropical island
with sweet music
playing on the
beach”-Hunter
Belcher (9)
By Olivia Hilfiker
No, they’re not orphans and no, they don’t
scream. So who are they? The Screaming
Orphans are a modern group of four talented
Irish girls with a passion for singing.
These musically-obsessed sisters performed
on Thursday, January 26th, in the
school’s auditorium. With an audience of
Interact members and a large number of
students, these girls rocked the house! They
sang a diversity of songs, from their own
traditional music from back home, to an
epic twist of “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz. As
the grand finale, the Screaming Orphans
did “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO,
their Irish version of course! After the performance,
it was clear how lucky FMHS
was to have them come to our school.
“Going to
a romantic
comedy movie
then to Blu
Sushi”
-Julia Bass (9)
Student Poll: Describe your perfect date...
By Bethany Chadwick
“Going
horseback
riding on the
beach”
-Mitchell
Goerke (9)
“Eating
French toast
with Lauren”
- Brandon
Morrow (12)
Did you know that just a few pennies can help a child in need? These past
few weeks, money has been donated in every 5th period classroom that
will go toward The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help people with
this life threating disease. Not only will your money help these people and
further research, but the class with the most money collected also won a
free Olive Garden pasta party! Runners up will receive mystery doughnut
days and shorts days! Every penny will make a difference to save
lives. The total amount of money raised was $7,300! The winning class
was Ms. Jungferman’s 5th Period, with Mrs. Kirk coming in 2nd place,
and Mr. Eichbauer in 3rd place. Good job to everyone who participated!

TEBOWING
By Ricky Guerra
Students take Second
in Robot Competition
By Brooke Boers
Somewhere out in the sea of green,
there is a group of engineering students
assembling robots. As awesome as it
sounds it is most definitely true. Alex
Bonham (Coach), Alexander Swhartz,
and Devon Koch, are just three of the
ten students building these mechanical
robots assembled from kits and being
judged at competitions such as “The
Great Robot Uprising,” a competition
recently held at Mariner High School.
ten schools and
several robots
competed in
this competition
on January
14th. To begin
the first event
the students
had to program
the robot
(vb) to get down on a knee and start praying,
even if everyone else around you is doing
something completely different.
to move and function solely on its own
without any student or teacher guiding
the controls. The second stage of
the competition was for the students to
drive the robots to move bowling balls
and 2’x4’ crates across the floor at the
competition. Of course things come
up unexpectedly and the robot was
programmed the day of the competition.
This was a very chaotic time for
the team who had never participated in
a competition before. Fortunately, the
team pulled through and placed 9th
out of 14 teams and placed 2nd among
the first year teams. If you are interested
in joining this wonderful team of
students, contact Mr. Drew. But most
importantly, congratulations to all the
students that put so much hard work
into making the competition a success!
STEM
By Brooke Boers
On January 24th, Mr. Drew
took 20 promising engineering
students (all of which are
Advanced Level 4 Engineering-certified
in solid works) on a field
trip to a Cement Industries plant and
Marine Concepts and Covanta to experience
and see first-hand the multiple
fields of engineering. The locations
on the Science Technology Engineering
and Math, otherwise known as
the STEM field trip, were based on the
interests of the students as well as to
see how the industry works. The first
stop on the field trip was Cement Industries
on Martin Luther King Boulevard.
While there the students took
a tour of the facility to test the quality
of how strong the cement is and even
learn how to pour the cement to make
the walls that support our local schools.
The next stop for these engineering
students was at Marine Concepts and
Covanta. Located in Cape Coral, these
future engineers had privilege or listening
to a speaker talk about his job
at Marine Concepts and how he takes
trash off the streets, dumps the trash
into an incinerator, and makes energy
to supply houses. The field trip was
not only a bird’seye view into life as a
successful engineer, it was also a wonderful
experience overall. Senior Alex
Bonham says, “I learned that it’s better
if you work hard and get hands on with
all the materials instead of sitting at a
desk all day.”

LACROSSE GOES VARSITY
After years of being a club at FMHS,
lacrosse is now officially a varsity
sport. The lacrosse club has had a
winning trend over the years and
they have even made it to the playoffs
before. Multiple players from
that year’s squad were selected to be
Senior All-Stars in the Senior Lacrosse
Classic. Over the majority
of this decade the club has become
one of the best teams and now they
can improve even more as an official
varsity sports team.
Tuesday, Feb. 21, opening day of
By Selina Urech
Boys team in action versus Canterbury
By Selina Urech
the regular season, was rewarding
for the boys and girls programs at
Fort Myers, Estero, Cypress Lake
and Riverdale and girls program at
Cape Coral.
The Fort Myers girls won 9-4 against
Bishop Verot, which began playing
varsity lacrosse a year earlier against
schools outside Lee County.
“I’ve been starting for four years,
and I didn’t get a letter until now,”
said Green Wave senior tri-captain
Megan Griffin. “It’s kind of like your
hard work is paying off.”
Lady Wave Basketball has had a great season this year. The JV
team had an undefeated season, winning all 17 games! Congratulations
JV Lady Wave! The varsity team is this year’s district
winner. They played a total of 28 games, winning 22 and losing
only 6 games.
Tienda Mexicana San Isidro, less
than a mile from FMHS, and next
to the Circle K, is so hidden they
don’t even have an address. Don’t
worry, when you pull into the Circle
K you can’t miss it. When you enter
this fine establishment you walk
into another world. As my friend
stated it, “This reminds me or walking
into one of the hometown shops
back in Mexico.” When you walk
back into the little shop there will be
the nicest person behind the freezer
to take your order. It’s then time to
decide what masterpiece you want
to enjoy. From the succulent steak
to the spicy chorizo tacos, you must
decide your fate. If you’re feeling
like a little pocketful of explosive
flavor, try one of their empanadas,
stuffed with chick-
By Alex Johnson
en, steak, and cheese. Tacos and
empanadas aren’t the only thing on
their menu, they offer tortas, which
are like sandwiches. After you order,
you can choose to eat there or
get your food to go. I would recommend
eating there, then, when you
realize what’s been missing from
your life you can order more of
the food. Your first bite is going
to introduce you to flavor
town, your second bite makes
you the Mayor, but your last
bite will make you sad, because
it’s over. That’s why you
buy another one! Just bite,
swallow, and repeat. Remember
- things hidden from site
make the BEST bite!

HOSA
Club News
By Rianna Wasson
ASIAN
COOKING CLUB
Are cooking asian foods like
sushi. New members are
welcome.
Will be going to tour
the Lee Memorial
Hospital at their next
meeting.
Happy Easter from
the
Tidal Wave!
Count the number of
Easter eggs hidden in
this issue of the Tidal
Wave for a little Easter
fun! Turn this slip in to
Room C124 to enter a
drawing for a spotlight
in the next issue!
Your Name__________________
Total : _____
SGA
Law
Academy
Have raised over $5,000 for
blood cancer paitents. Will be
holding the Mr. Greenwave
competition soon.
Recently ran a Goodwill
drive and collected over
1,200 lbs of donations.
FILM CLUB
Working on music videos
and watching short
documentaries.
Math Team
Attending competitions
at Tampa Bay Tech
and Cape Coral
High.
MUN
Preparing for the FGCU
conference in March
and the Washington
D.C. WAMUN
conference.
Sweetheart Auction
By Rianna Wasson
The Sweetheart Auction was
again a huge succcess for FMHS. It was held on February
10th. Over $2,000 was raised to go toward the 2012
Prom thanks to all the people who came out and supported
our guys. The cost was only $3 to get in, but some of the
winning bids were much more! The highest bidder paid
$105 for Jacob Taminosion. Some close runners-up
were Ryan Fowler with $95 and Ryan Denish with
$65. The guys escorted their girls to class everyday
that following week, making sure
to carry all of their books. If you
didn’t win a guy, be sure
to come out next
year!
MOCK TRIAL
By Courtney Scoufis
The Fort Myers High School Mock Trial Team is continuing its tradition
of success! The Green Team is our district champion and is moving on
to regionals. Also, many individuals within the team were recognized
for individual achievements. Sara Jackson won best closing argument,
Gabriella Giotti won best prosecution attorney, and Andrew Parslow
won best witness. Congratulations again to our Mock Trial Team!
From Left to Right: Mr. Beatty, Catherine Hackler, Jacqueline Cloutier,
Thomas Seidler, Sarah Hoffman, Masyn McMillin, Sara Jackson, Sam
Denholtz, Ross Pinkard, Jen Nargi, Mrs. Pence

Courtney Oleksa &
James Dowling
Cutest Couples
By Courtney Oleksa
A big congrats goes out to all of the winners at the Thomas Alva Edison Science and Inventor’s Fair. Five FMHS
students entered the competition and brought home many of the grand awards. Courtney Scoufis won first place
with her project. She is moving onto states and was awarded a FGCU scholarship for her achievements. Mariah
Coughlin was awarded the U.S. Army Award, 1st place, as well as 2nd runner up in Best of Fair for her project.
Tarini Chandok also won 1st place and 3rd in Best of Fair with her presentation. Props go to Katie Thorp and
Jack Norleans for being awarded Honorable Mentions. Best of luck next year to these phenomenal contestants!
STAFF
Editor-In-Chief - Emily Campbell
Feature Editor - Brooke Boers
Graphics Editor - Shion Kremer
Photo Editor - Rianna Wasson
Student Life - Courtney Scoufis
Alexander Abernathy, Bethany Chadwick,
Ricky Guerra, Olivia Hilfiker, Genevieve
Horton, Courtney Oleksa, Gianni Reyes,
Selina Urech
Cover Illustration: Shane Sabiston
To advertise in the Tidal Wave,
please contact
Mr. Eric Riemenschneider
Newspaper Advisor:
ericcr@leeschools.net
239.334.2167 ext. 240
Fort Myers High School
2635 Cortez Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33901
David LaRosa
Principal
Copyright 2011-2012
Kellie Huff &
Davis Matte
Taran Sayre &
Justin Verley
Where did you attend school and what degree do you have?
Mr. Escarra: I attended The United States Coast Guard Academy and Edison State
College and have a degree in Secondary Math Education.
How long have you taught at Fort Myers High School?
Mr. Escarra: This is my second year teaching at FMHS.
Caline McCarthy
& Kyle Miller
Besides teaching students, what do you like to do outside of school?
Mr. Escarra: I like to run, go to the beach, and go boating. My father is a fishing
guide on Marco Island, so I was raised on the water. I enjoy anything on the water.
We have heard that you were one of the first teachers to get a SmartBoard,
what do you think about it?
Mr. Escarra: Being a recent graduate from college I had experience with the Smart-
Board before teaching at FMHS. At its most basic level, the beauty of a SmartBoard
is that it is an infinite white board. I never have to worry about running out of
space or erasing a problem and not being able to get it back. However, the application
of it should not end there. By having the ability to be connected to the
computer and Internet, I can use any source, example, song, or picture of my cute
puggle puppy to help drive home a lesson or just to get a laugh. For the first time,
we can truly integrate the power of computers directly into lessons. Just as being
connected to a computer has revolutionized the cell phone, I truly believe the
SmartBoard will help revolutionize education in our country.
Marco Bohm &
Jenna Elliot
Science Fair Winners
From left: Courtney Scoufis, Katie Thorp, Jack Norleans,
Mariah Coughlin, and Tarini Chandok
TEACHER SPOTLIGHT
By Courtney Scoufis
Charles Escarra

GREENWAVE
FLASHBACK
By Shion Kremer
To celebrate the hundred-year
anniversary of FMHS, the Tidal
Wave will be featuring reminiscent
images taken from our archives.
We hope to display the
rich history of our town and the
century old Fort Myers High
School. From pole vaulting to
the Alma Mater, these are reflections
on our long-lasting
traditions and our enduring
school spirit.