The third entry of this adventurous series takes place in Lexington, New York, Concord and Boston. It is set during the American War for Independence. The game highlights the Boston Tea Party, making the game based on American history.

The main player, named Connor is a Revolutionary Assassin that fights for freedom. His mother was a Native American and his father was British, making him choose between the side of Americans and British.

The game includes 7 modes in which you can play as a different person. A different perspective on life in 1775 during the American Revolution is a good way for players to really get involved in the game. Players can play the role of a Scottish orphan, Spanish crusader, an Irish Tomboy, a doctor, a man named Joe, a Native American in search of revenge and a violent Native American woman.

Lady Maverick is an orphan that grew up on the streets with her younger brother, using street smarts to get by. She is also a politician that influences the minds of men with her seduction.

A Spanish crusader named Padre Federico Perez, born in Florida. He has an obsession with the need to cleanse the people who compulsively sin. Perez has charisma most people might not understand.

The woman with violent tendencies comes from Shawnee Ancestry. Her nickname is The Independent originating from her childhood behavior, as she was very solitary. She fights for equality and justice.

“The Silent Shadow” originating from Mohawk ancestry is a Native American man raised in seclusion by his father. As the war was erupting, the British brutally killed his father. Players may become the man who seeks for revenge from his father’s murder.

Joe being a more dark and sinister player is also a Native American, however his ancestry is unknown. His nickname is the Night Stalker, scared by the light of day, stalks the streets at night. In this setting players are able to observe New York in the 1700s.

The ruthless tomboy of Irish Ancestry going by the name of Emily Burke is nicknamed The Pioneer. She is the only girl in a family of ten. As the men in her family fight in the war, they wind up killed. Burke seeks for revenge throughout the game.

The Doctor of British ancestry is also in the setting of New York named Victor Wolcott tries to keep patients alive. While disease spreads and soldiers come back injured Wolcott tries his best to save the lives of civilians. He is fascinated with biology and medicine. He studies the inner workings of the human body.

The series was previously set in the Ancient Middle East and the Italian Renaissance.

From the Boston Tea Party to the Revolutionary War, Assassin’s Creed 3 is filled with excitement. This game is on the must-buy list for our Trojans.

In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs. The holiday, labeled “All Saints’ Day”, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain, a Celtic tradition where communities held bonfires and wore costumes to deter evil spirits. The evening before became known as “All Hallows’ Eve”, which evolved into “Halloween”.

The American Halloween tradition of “trick-or-treating” probably dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades inEngland. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives.

The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes.

To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

In modern day, Halloween is a holiday celebrated by annually by people of all ages acrossAmerica, if only to serve the purpose of partying and obtaining free candy.

Aaron Davis ‘13 believes the best part about Halloween is the abundance of free candy, which reminds of him of simpler times.

“There’s literally candy almost everywhere you look. Teachers start passing it out in class, they’re selling it really cheap at Wal-Mart; it’s everywhere. I used to freak out when I was little because there was so much candy. Halloween reminds me of that every year and that’s why I love it,”Davissaid.

To Ryan Hulings ‘15, Halloween reminds him of all the mischief he got into as young trick-or-treater.

“My friends and I used to throw eggs at houses and play ding-dong-ditch on people lat4e at night. Thinking back, that was a little bit stupid and immature, but it seemed like a great idea at the time,” Hulings said. “I wouldn’t recommend anyone else do that. I used to get in a lot of trouble trying to celebrate Halloween mischievously.”

Sarah Nichols ‘14 enjoys dressing up for Halloween the most, and loves the dramatics the accompany putting on a costume.

“It’s so much fun because you can just be goofy and no one cares. I love dressing up. I love doing make-up or designing or making a costume. It’s something I really enjoy and Halloween fives me a chance to embrace that. I enjoy all the weirdness,” Nichols said.

For Caleb Ellis ’16, Halloween is a time for celebration and having a great time.

“I love Halloween, especially the parties. Everyone gets together with their friends and you can just have a blast. I like to go to the Field of Screams with big groups of friends. I always see a ton of people there and we always have an awesome time,” Ellis said.

There are many ways to celebrate Halloween

“My favorite thing about golf is that it is an individual sport and that it is pretty peaceful,” Daniels said. “It is also a sport that takes a certain level of patience.” Patience is the key to becoming a good golf player, but patience is also essential to the sport.

“The only disadvantage to golf is that it is so time consuming,” Daniels said.

However, that doesn’t stop Daniels from playing the sport.

Daniels has been in golf for a long time, so naturally there are occurrences that he will specifically remember.

“My proudest moment in golf is when I won Region this year,” Daniels said.

Winning a regional golf tournament is an honorable achievement.

Daniels plans to play golf atMoreheadStateUniversity.

“I’m looking forward to playing my first college tournament,” Daniels said.

Daniels has huge plans for the future; he plans to go to a great college and play golf for them. Daniels has been playing golf for so long that he does not plan to quit anytime soon.

Joe Burroughs is the new head coach of the wrestling program. “I am glad to be in this position and i plan on leading this program to success,” Burroughs said. Burroughs plans to make drastic improvements to the wrestling team.

With chilly days and frigid nights becoming more frequent, many students are dreading the upcoming winter and the freezing weather that accompanies it. For some students, however, winter cannot be here quick enough.

Though the season is not quite here yet, dedicated athletes are preparing for the winter season ahead time in hopes of getting a head start on the competition.

Many of the wrestlers are already attending “open mat”, optional technique sessions held for new or returning wrestlers, and learning camps in an attempt to build their stamina and hone their techniques so they will be on top of their game once their season starts.

John Dunlosky ‘15 has been attending pre-season open mat to regain his stamina, which he feels is key to being a successful wrestler.

“Wrestling is beyond tiring. I cannot even wrestle for four minutes without huffing and puffing, trying to catch my breath. A normal wrestling match consists of six minutes, so I have to be in good shape if I plan on beating anyone that is mildly good. Open mat gives me a good workout and helps me prepare for new season,” Dunlosky said.

Joey Ruley ‘15 found himself going to pre-season sessions to fine tune his technique.

“I really want to have a successful season and I know I have to build up my technique for that. It is been months since I have been on the mat, so I need to get familiar with the moves again. I’m hoping that after enough repetition, they’ll become instinctive and my wrestling will flow more naturally,” Ruley said.

Trea Wills ‘13 yearns to be a champion and thinks that the best way to achieve his goal is to give his last wrestling season his all.

“I want to be on top of that podium this year. I’ve been working out all summer to prepare myself for this year.  I’m going to take advantage of any and all opportunities for me to get better and become the wrestler I want to be. It’s going to take a lot of extremely hard work, but I’m ready to do it all,” Wills said.

Jacob Burroughs ‘13, a three time middle school state placer, plans on making up for time he spent off the mat last season by being all he can be on the mat this season.

“I weighed too little to really wrestle competitively last year. I know so much about wrestling and the proper techniques because I’ve been wrestling all my life and my dad is a coach, but I couldn’t prove myself because everyone was bigger than me. I’ve been lifting and put on weight this season, so I’m prepared to make a comeback this year,” Burroughs said.

The new head coach of the wrestling team, Mr. Joe Burroughs, is especially elated about beginning the new season. He feels this year is the start of a new era forNorth Hardinwrestling.

“I love this sport and I’ve dedicated countless hours of my time to help progress the sport in this area. I have researched wrestling technique for years and I know I am capable of turning this team into a championship team. I am going to make the wrestling team the team to admire, on and off the mat,” Burroughs said.

Though the wrestling team is the only team holding preseason sessions, they are not the only ones preparing for the upcoming season.

Both genders’ basketball teams and the swim team have hosted try-outs. The boys’ and girls’ basketball teams hosted theirs on October 15, and the swim team hosted theirs on October 8.  All three teams were eager to pick their varsity and junior varsity line up from the pool of talented and athletic students that can be found atNorth Hardin.

The way the ball is rolling, it appearsNorth Hardinathletics is going to have a prosperous winter season, which is something that should make all students proud to be a Trojan.

Social studies teacher Tony Garrison incorporates technology into all of his lessons. His incorporation of technology is used to reinforce what he teaches daily. Between the actual hardware in his classroom and multitude of software he teaches across many different ways.

This year he is using a new site called Edmodo which he hopes will help his students.

“It’s a social networking site where I can post discussions, assignments, and topics pertaining to the class. It’s similar to Moodle, where I can upload quizzes for my students, which I also use for my class,” Garrison said.

The technology within his room itself however turns heads and even gains the attention of the classes next door, especially during his “brain breaks,” which are breaks within lectures to help students refocus.

“Brain breaks are research driven and help students to gain a break between the lectures and information. The short clips allow the student to then refocus and be ready for more,” Garrison said. 

Other teachers around the school use Promethian boards in order to teach their classes.  Using this board, teachers can show students PowerPoints, videos, and websites that pertain to their class.

Mr. Carl Baker, a mathematics teacher, uses his Promethian board to show examples of problems and how to work them out. 

At the same time, the use of technology has also become a neccessity in many classes.  Advanced Placement classes, like English, require typed assignments in order for a more professional environment and prevent last minute work.

The engineering classes, which were first  available last year, are based heavily on technology. 

Clubs and athletics have even moved into the digital world. Already football and the marching band have created Facebook pages to help spread information pertaining to games and even booster information. While clubs too have created pages, including the Y-Club, Student Council, and others, all for the common idea of spreading the information  and to help the group.

The use of technology in the classroom allows students to have access to a nearly limitless pool of information.  This resource not only helps students with assignments and essays, but it allows them to connect with one another for help afterschool. 

Because of the Internet, students rarely have to open a book to find what they need.  All they have to do is open an Internet browser and use a search engine.

Infinite Campus keeps track of grades and eliminates the need to ask teachers about your grade in the class. Infinite Campus is an easy way for teachers to give you feedback on turned in assignments almost immediately.  It also has a calander that watches what assignments are do and when and how many days you were tardy or missed.

Numerous other tools are used to further the education of the students.  These include “Elmo’s”, a piece of equipment that magnifies a document and projects the image onto the screen, remote controls to take paperless quizes, and televisions in the cafeteria that play the announcements in the morning and at lunch.

The onset of the technological age has been beneficial for not only the social and media world, but also for education, as seen here with the ways of our student organizations and teachers. Only time will tell if technology will fully take over education.

Senior Skip Day is a yearly event carried out by students who skip school and travel up to the Kentucky State Fair in celebration of their stolen time. This rebellious celebration of their last year of high school is very popular amongstNorth Hardinteens

Braden Price ‘13 travelled up to the fair with a group of friends, which is no new experience for him.

“I had a blast. This year’s was so much better than the times I went in the past. I went to the state fair with a group of friends and we basically had our own party.” Price said. “I went my sophomore and junior year, but it was kind of lame then.”

Ryan Daniels ‘13, who also attended the fair, had an extraordinary time and plans to arrange future skip days for his class.

“I didn’t think it was going to be that fun. In the past, all I ever heard was that the State Fair was boring, but on Senior Skip Day, it seemed like everything was entertaining. I love being with my friends too,” Daniels said.

Some students feel that Senior Skip Day is not only a celebratory tradition, but a way of escaping the pressure they experience at school.  Morgan Chapman-Abell 13’ feels it was a well-deserved break from the stress of the day-to-day scholastic grind.

“I’ve been so tired of all the school work and early mornings lately. Being able to sleep in and then go up toLouisvillewith my friends was a much needed break,” Chapman-Abell said.

Not every student who participates in Senior Skip Day, some underclassmen like to take advantage of the opportunity before them and take a premature trip into senior traditions.

Tyler Karr ’14 also skipped school, but did not make the trip up to the fair.

“My sophomore year I went up to the state fair and had amazing time with seniors from the class of 2012. This year I stayed in town and had a little get-together with my best friends,” Karr said.

No matter what grade, Senior Skip Day is a great way to take a break from school and bask in the traditions of those that graduated before you. It is a tradition bound to be continued.

The golf season has started off strong with many wins and at tournaments with many individual qualifiers.

Like most sport players, golfers dream about getting a high title and going to a state, region or even higher level tournament. Through many hours of practice our golfers strive for the title of Mr. or Miss. Golf. Lydia Gumm ’13 is one of these golfers that have won the title of Miss Golf before.

“I have won the title of Kentucky Miss Golf for four years. This title wasn’t just handed to me. I practiced hours and hours every week. I felt like there wasn’t enough practice,” Gumm said      

Everyone has a reason for getting into a sport. They have someone who inspires them to pursue the sport. Players learn to play and grow a liking to the sport. Ryan Daniels ’13 is one of those golfers that have developed a passion for golf.

“My favorite part is how it’s not a team sport. Its 100 percent all on me,” Daniels said.

Daniels has a skill that he is strongest with and a skill that he needs more practice on.

“My strongest skill is my mind and how I just focus on the game and only the game. But my weakest skill is loosing confidence in myself,” Daniels said. 

Every player sooner or later does learn how to get past their weakest skill and overcomes their bad habit. As the season progresses, players set a goal and strive for improvement.

“I need to get better at performing better under pressure and stay focused on my game and not worry about anyone else’s,” Gumm said.

The players hope to continue to win tournaments and  make it to state.

The cheerleading squad does their routine at kapos. “We competed and when we ended we were happy with at least getting out of there and doing the best we could,” Alyson Burns ('13) said. the cheerleading squad placed first.

The cheerleading squad participated in the Kentucky Association of Pep Organization Sponsors (KAPOS) at Central Hardin on Saturday, January 28.

The cheerleading squad competed as a co-ed group for the second time during KAPOS. Many new squad members were nervous but were happy with the routines the team did.

“I didn’t think much of it at first but it made me nervous and it put a lot of pressure on me. I see why the cheerleaders take it so serious,” Eric Callens (‘13) said.

Teammate Holly Yates (‘14) has been on the squad before so KAPOS was not anything new but was still nerve racking.

“We were all nervous but pretty excited going into it,” Yates said.

After competing, the squad placed first in the large co-ed division. The squad will not be able to compete in state.

“Our routine was pretty soid for the most part. We have a few things to fix before state but in all, everyone was confident with how it turned out,” Yates said.

Teammate Sarah Carney (‘12) also felt the team’s hard work turned out to be great.

“We wanted to show everyone how hard we’ve been working and how bad we wanted to go to state,” Carney said.

The cheerleading squad will be competing in state on Saturday, February 18.

Roberts is varsity Girl’s basketball player and State-Runner Up in shot put. On top of that, Roberts has also made earned Honor Roll status, despite losing time to extra curricular activities.

Roberts feel motivated to succeed, so she doesn’t mind the loss of time to school and sports.

“I like what I do. I enjoy playing basketball and doing shot put, so I don’t see it as an ‘extra-curricular’ activity or work, just something I do for fun. Practice isn’t always easy and I sometimes have trouble finding time for school work, but I find if I put in the effort, I can make it all work,” Roberts said.

Roberts is gained recognition for placing second in the state tournament for shot put. She feels she can attribute this outstanding performance to the help of her coaches and practice.

“I don’t think I’m super extraordinary or anything. It helped that I was strong coming into the season, but I really have the coaches to thank. They gave me great technique and pushed me hard at practice,” Roberts said.

Determination, Humility and Passion are to key characteristics found is successful athletes. Roberts obtains all of those characteristics.

“I feel like sports have made me a stronger female. I’m very passionate about sports because sports is another way i could get to college other than grades.” Roberts said.

Being able to play all different types of sports and dominate is a unique trait that most people don’t have. What is more unique is that Roberts is able to continue to dominate in sports and in the classroom. Roberts is a role model for other athletes atNorth Hardin. Roberts continues to WOW her peers through her talents and skills.

This year, the team now has a new assistant coach, the same coach who turned North’s middle school wrestling program into a state champion team after two years.

Many believe that the new coach Joe Burroughs, “Coach Joe B.”, is the change the team needs, including some of the wrestlers.

Wrestler Kyle Shultz (‘14), who has been wrestling for two years, supports the change.

“He’s a great coach and is someone I respect. He has formed me into the wrestler I am today and I believe he will help us become a team recognized throughout the whole state,” Shultz said.

Darrius Parrott (‘14) is excited for the new year and the new coach.

“New year and a new me. I’m working hard to get where I want to be,“ Parrott said. Darrius is currently ranked   fourth at the  195  lb weight class.

Other players like Coach Burroughs, but are cautious of the change. The previous coach, Randy Pitcher, had been a big part of their wrestling career and they have had doubts about dedicating so much time to someone new.

Bradley Pokuta (‘13) has been wrestling for six years, most of them under the supervision of the previous wrestling coach, Pitcher.

“Wrestling for Coach Joe B. is definitely something new to me. He has a totally different way of doing things and it takes some getting used to, but I think he’s a great coach. He loves what he does, so he does it well,” said Pokuta.

Marshall Cox (‘12) thinks Joe B. is a great Coach, but is hesitant to accept the change.

“Don’t get me wrong, Coach Burroughs is a good coach, but I really liked Coach Pitcher. Joe B. does things differently and it’s weird adjusting to his ways. I was hoping to wrestle my last year as a high school wrestler with Pitcher,” Cox said.

Some of the freshmen who wrestled for Joe B. last year on the middle school team are excited to wrestle for him again this year.

Trevor Edmonson (‘15), who had been having doubts about making the transition from middle school wrestling to high school wrestling, was grateful to find himself wrestling under the same coach he had last year.

“I was unsure of myself. I didn’t really know the old coach and was worried about how different things might be. I was intimidated by the fact that I’d have to wrestle in a different environment under new leadership,” said Edmonson.

With the new change in leadership, there are big hopes for the upcoming years; many expect success or big improvements.