Category Archives: Claire DeFrancisci

Claire DeFrancisci, Features

Highlander Outfitters store aims to dress students in school spirit attire

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By Bekah Landers, Paige Thompson, and Claire Defrancisci

The Highlander Outfitters may be one of the most under-the-radar aspects of FC. Located in the spine, the Highlander Outfitters store is full of merchandise to fulfill students’ school spirit needs.

FC’s business management class, taught by Chris Street, is in very high demand. With a maximum enrollment capacity of 28, Street accepted 35 students into the class. The class, which meets fourth period, operates the store.

“[The class] teaches them how a business operates, how to work with coworkers and classmates. They exhibit a lot of individual personality,” said Street. Being in business management means that students will be getting the hands-on experience of having their own business by working at Highlander Outfitters.

Students working at the store say they are learning real-world skills. “It will prepare someone to be financially capable of owning their own business,” said sophomore Amy McCormick.

Business management is also a way for students to acquire a more in-depth understanding of financing.

“We pretty much sell the merchandise, take inventory, learn about finance and how to handle a business,” said McCormick.

It is evident in the amount of money that the store makes that the students’ hard work is paying off.

“The store makes a lot of revenue. We made $25,000 last year,” said junior Hannah Merk.

Highlander Outfitters sells a variety of merchandise supporting FC. The prices range from a $5 water bottle to a $40 windbreaker.

“Crew neck sweatshirts are my favorite item because they’re cozy and don’t choke you,” said McCormick.

The Outfitters store offers sweatshirts, sweatpants, T-shirts, crew neck shirts, hoodies, jackets, polos, and much more. In the upcoming weeks the Outfitters store may also offer a new drawstring backpack.

Although the final decision is made by Street, student input on designs is highly important. Street said they try to offer new products every semester.

“There isn’t a lot of advertising going on; we attend all sporting events and extracurricular activities to get the products out there as much as possible,” said Street.

Students, parents, and faculty interested in merchandise can stop by the Highlander Outfitters every Thursday and Friday during lunch and at all sporting events. In addition, Street said the Highlander Outfitters will soon be on Facebook as well.

Claire DeFrancisci, Features

Fairgoers flock to try the new and bizarre creations at the state fair

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By Claire DeFrancisci and Bekah Landers

As soon as you walk out of the car and onto the fairgrounds the familiar smell of fried food and manure fills your head. This is the Kentucky State Fair. This year’s famed attraction at the fair is a bizarre creation: Deep fried Kool-Aide.
Deep fried Kool-Aide is one of the many new and peculiar additions at this year’s fair. Raking in new customers every day, it is surely one of the main attractions this year.  It ultimately is made with Kool-Aide powder mixed with batter and deep fried to perfection and sprinkled with a powdered sugar dusting to top it all off.“I have no idea what this tastes like,” said Sarah Bardolf of Crestwood Kentucky. “To me it tastes like cherry pie filling inside of a corn dog.”Rhonda Stanbury, a fairgoer from the area said, “They’re awesome, they taste like a cherry doughnut.”

The Krispy Kreme Donut Bacon Cheese Burger is another attention-grabbing food booth. It is essentially one glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut, lettuce, tomato, onion, hamburger patty, cheese, bacon, and finally another Krispy Kreme doughnut. This multi-meal snack packs in a near 1,500 calories.

“We try to bring new items to the fair every year. Last year it was the donut burger, this year it’s the buffalo chicken donut sandwich. We also have the fried Kool-Aide and the fried Derby Pie,” said Krispy Kreme booth employee Don Kenna.

Kenna also said that he feels the Donut Burger appeals to fair-goers the most because it is a good product with great advertising.

High prices were an issue at the fair for some.  With a $10 entrance fee for adults and an eight dollar parking fee, some people are hesitant to purchase anything else.

“I went to get a lemonade shake up and it was six dollars. It wasn’t worth it,” said junior Matthew Langdon.

The fair will be open until Sunday, Aug. 28. Traditional fair rides, agricultural exhibits, dog shows, concerts, games, and much more will be featured.

Claire DeFrancisci, News, Uncategorized

Movie marks end of era

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By Claire DeFrancisci

The movie theater buzzes with excitement as the lights dim and applause breaks out as the Warner Brothers logo takes over the screen. The familiar theme song you’ve been waiting for fills your ears.  It starts to sink in that this is the last Harry Potter film ever to come out.

J.K Rowling has been enchanting the world with the stories of Harry Potter since 1997. This past weekend the final installment to the book and movie series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, came out in theaters.  The book was split into two separate movies to ensure that no important parts of the books would have to be cut out of to save time. July 15 at midnight Harry Potter fans of all ages gathered at local their movie theaters to say goodbye to the well-known series.

In this final film, the protagonist Harry is finally coming face-to-face with the villain, Voldemort, to fight to the death. All secrets are revealed and loose ends tied to finalize the life story of the young wizard and his friends.

The midnight premiere of the anticipated ending was a place full of both laughter and tears from fans of all kinds.

“I think even if I didn’t read the books I would still like the movies. The two people I’m here with tonight have never read them before but they’re still here because they think it looks cool,” said sophomore Maria Torres, who has read all seven novels.

Many fans believe that Harry Potter will continue to be a popular series in the future, “I think [Harry Potter] will live on because the books are so well written and the movies are so extremely accurate to the books,” said Providence student Alex. 

 Contrary to popular belief, although the book and movie series has come to an end, J.K. Rowling continues to expand the Harry Potter franchise. In October a website called Pottermore, an interactive and unique website that is free to use, will be launched. On Pottermore members will be able to purchase all seven novels as E-books and audiobooks, and read more on the background of Harry Potter from Rowling herself. In addition, there is now an amusement park located at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, allowing fans to step into Harry’s world.

“It felt like you were really an actual wizard. It really did bring the story to life,” said senior Brittany Bowen regarding the theme park.

The most magical aspect of Harry Potter is that the reader grows up with the characters. Starting the books at a young age, and growing up with Harry makes the reader think of Harry as more of an old friend, rather than a fictional character. Books like this don’t just end; Harry Potter will live on for generations to come.