Good morning, I'm Melanie Miller, and this is the North Central High School news update.

Although Hurricane Andrew did little in the way of serious damage to our area, the storm did leave a lasting impression on many who had never experienced a hurricane before.

One reaction from Brandi Ford, a junior here at N.C.H.S., who spent the night in a shelter, is that she was simply scared. Sherrie McKnight, also a junior says she was more excited than scared because it was her first experience.

The storm also brought out the best in North Central High Hurricane spirit as students of Mrs. Velma Hendrix's BETA Club collected canned goods for the storm's victims.

On to a lighter note.

This summer was a busy one for several of North Central High's students who were selected to participate in various academic and extracurricular activities.

Among these students was Keshia Rideau, who attended McNeese State University's Upward Bound in Math and Science. Regina Bowie also participated in Southern University's Upward Bound Program. Keshia Rideau, Kim Bolden, and Felicia Thomas were students in the Bayou Phase VI at Southern University. Diane Green, Marylyn Tezeno, Susan Lamb, and Nicole Tyler all attended Upaward Bound at USL. Our youngest program participant was Rheadacia Thomas, who attended a computer program at Northeast Louisiana University for three weeks. Not only did the students further their education, but they were also able to go through the daily routines of college life. Our students should be commended for their willingness to learn.

Also, this summer six of North Central High's cheerleaders attended Northwestern State University. These cheerleaders were: Helena LaBostrie, Shonta Callihan, Ledricka Johnson, Raven Rideau, Shemeka LaBostrie, and Howanda Offord. The cheerleaders proved their school spirit by winning the spirit stick one night and winning the Most Improved Trophy the last night.

This school year of 1992 to 1993 has brought many new and exciting changes to our school. Some of our parents and teachers have fought hard to provide us with several new courses, and we would like to thank them for that. One of the new courses offered at North Central this year is Speech & Drama.

With that report on Speech and Drama is one of the students in that class, Angela Mitchell.

Among the many new courses here at North Central, is Speech & Drama. This class is taught by Mrs. Velma Hendrix.

The first part of Speech & Drama, speech, is intended to help students speak in front of a large group of people clearly and without nervousness. Being able to communicate correctly is very important in this day and age.

The second part of Speech & Drama, drama, will be a very promising source of entertainment for the coming year.

The Drama class and club plans to put on quite a few plays for your viewing satisfaction. The plays will not only be for students, but parents as well. The plays will be put on during school as well as the evening.

All in all this course was greatly needed, and we are very thankful.

With our new courses we have gained several new teachers.

Martha Johnson, one new teacher, says, "By using my skills that I have as a teacher, I hope to help the students begin to learn as much about science and life as possible."

Mrs. Jane Westerhaus and Mrs. Kaye Duvall, who work together in the Special Ed department, are both interested in helping the children see the importance of a good education.

Mrs. Judy Dupre, who isn't a stranger at North Central, has taken on a new task of teaching in the classroom. She is fulfilling her dream which is to work with children.

Mr. Abul Pitre,our new social studies teacher, when asked what he could contribute to North Central High, his response was, "Since I'm coming fresh out of college, I can relate to the students and improvise new methods of teaching."

NCHS is very happy to welcome two new foreign exchange students to our school . .

Thais Zampar comes from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Thais' native language is Portuguese. Her hobbies include playing tennis and swimming.

Thais is sixteen years old and a junior at North Central. She enjoys living in the United States because she feels that people here love one another and have respect for other. Thais will have to stay in the United States for 10 months before returning to Brazil, but she plans to love every moment here.

Stephan Steffi, is from East Germany. Steffi lives in Palmetto with Mrs. Judy Dupre, one of our new teachers here at N.C.H.S. Her favorite hobby is listening to music. She is sixteen years old and also a junior. Steffi thinks she will like her stay here in the U.S.

And now here's Angela [Hopkins] with the NCHS Sports Update

1992-93 will be the year of the Hurricanes. Just two days after Hurricane Andrew blew out of town, North Central High Hurricanes blew away St. Eds at St. Landry Parish Jamboree with the winning touchdown, scored during the last seconds of the game by Lenoard Tanner.

The following weekend belonged to the Cane's as NCHS whipped Davidson 26-0 in the first game of the season. In the contest, David Johnson rushed 12 times for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns. Daniel Hubbard, the starting quarterback, threw 8 passes for 38 yards and one touchdown. On the defense side of the ball the Hurricane defense was flawless. The blue wave defense allowed Davidson a total defense of 65 yards. Last Friday night North Central lost to Livonia High, but they plan to make an enormous comeback this Friday night against Elton. Head coach, Bobby Fontenot, believes that the players are really on the right track. Assistant football coach, Jeff David, added that this year's team has more dedication, pride, and knowledge about football. Overall, North Central is pleased with the effort of the team and hopes for continued success throughout the season.

Back to you Melanie.

In closing, Hurricane principal, Milton Ambres in this year of the hurricane has his hopes up.

Mr. Ambres, principal of North Central High School expects to have one of the best year's in the school's history. He has set two goals for this school year. One goal is for the test scores for the 1992-93 school year to rise at least 10% above the 91-92 school year scores. The second goal is for the ACT scores at N.C.H.S. to rise at least 2.5 points.

Mr. Ambres also stated that he will implement a new program. In-school suspension will no longer be on Saturdays. If students are unfortunate enough to get in-school suspension, they will be isolated from the entire student body for the amount of days they are suspended.