Instead of focusing on arts and student produced poetry and prose, the current Decatur Magazine, Carpe Diem focuses on conveying stories and opinions about student life.

There is one class, however, that also produces a magazine. Though it publishes its work a lot less often in comparison to the DEC and Carpe Diem, the Creative Writing class headed by Dr. Cara Cassell produces a literary magazine every spring.

It is created by first-year creative writing students, and they then sell the issues to the student body.

Why is it that Decatur doesn’t produce a literary magazine that gets created and distributed to students free of cost? You may be wondering.

“Because of budgeting, and personal commitments, the school is not in a position to take on another student produced magazine,” Cassell said. “I believe that one day, when we’re able, the school will produce a literary magazine, as well as offer an opportunity for students to take the class for a second year,”

“Producing the magazine was a challenge, but the end result was rewarding, because it’s one of the first times I’ve published my work,” SaDarria Player said.

Though it may be too late, to purchase a magazine, you can still see it floating around the school with various teachers, proudly on display.

Junior Alex Powers suffered from a partially torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament, a main ligament of the knee, during this year’s lacrosse season.

“If I was running up the field it would literally feel like my knee was going to give out any minute,” Powers said.

She had to start physical therapy to heal her ACL, but through the difficult time of rehabilitation her love for the sport motivated her to continue.

“I was on crutches for a month and a half, [I] went through 4 months of physical therapy, and I’m supposed to wear a knee brace any time I’m doing a lot of physical activity,” Powers said.

Powers was eager to return to doing what she loved.

“I wasn’t even fully cleared to play when I started, but I didn’t want to waste any more time,” Powers said.

Fellow teammate Monica Lefton noticed how important it was for Powers to take care of her
injury.

“It’s great that Alex rested and treated her knee because it will help her in the long run, and I know how committed to the sport she is,” Monica Lefton said.

After months of hard work during rehab Powers became a main contributor to the girls lacrosse team.

Currently, Powers plans to continue her physical therapy and strengthen her knee. She also hopes to continue to play lacrosse in college and coach teams for underprivileged girls in her community.

Vogel decided to volunteer at the Main Frame program of the Central Outreach Advocacy Center(OAC). The OAC assists homeless or near homeless people in the metro-Atlanta area. The Main Frame helps guests attain job readiness skills, such as learning to use computers to make resumes.

The original Main Frame classroom.

Before Vogel came to the Main Frame program, the computer room for classes was very small and in the back of the building, which was difficult for guests to find. Vogel moved the equipment to a room with more space and to a more visible area, which would help the overall program expand.

“The most important part was knowing I did something that would make a difference in someone’s future,” Vogel said.

Vogel also got to help teach a computer class one day at the Main Frame program and help guests learn how to navigate the computer.

The Main Frame director Thomas Guthrie mentored Vogel during his time at the program.

“He was real helpful when it came to the move,” Guthrie said.

After completing the project, Vogel feels as though he has become more independent. He also is glad that he did something to help others in the community.

After high school Vogel plans on becoming a computer engineer, and that is why he decided to work in a computer program.

Vogel’s advice for upcoming seniors is to base their senior project on something they love.

Starting out, Revolution Doughnuts sold doughnuts at the Saturday market under the name “Little Red Hen Bakery,” and now they have their own business on West College Avenue.

“We opened a location in downtown Atlanta, but it didn’t do so well so we closed it down. We decided to try again in Decatur, but we knew that this time we had to get it right,” owner Maria Moore Riggs said.

Riggs and her husband used their retirement fund to start up the place, but replaced the money using Kickstarter.

“We had to have our kitchen to a certain standard and we had to get new walls put in so there would be a bathroom,” Riggs said.

In preparation for the new location, remodeling was done and furnishings came from various places.

“The tables and chairs that we have were left by the business previously in the building. The counter that we have we got off of Craigslist and a friend of ours repainted it,” Riggs said.

In remodeling the venue, Riggs wanted to go with a retro look.

One Decatur student, Autumn Kirkendall, was ecstatic that she got a job there.

“I came by day after day asking about a job and Maria kept telling me ‘no sorry we don’t have any openings,’ but finally she gave me a job,” Kirkendall said.

Revolution has attracted a huge vegan following as their doughnuts allow a new segment of the population that couldn’t eat doughnuts to now have them.

“We use organic flour, fruit to make the frosting, and we use gluten free products,” Riggs said.

Revolution has many different choices including the nutella cream puffs, salted caramel and bacon, and carrot cake.

On Aug. 17 of last year, Techau came to Decatur on a study abroad program from Germany.

“I felt like I was going on an adventure, and I was really excited about it,” she said

When she got off the plane she not only saw the difference between Germany and the U.S, but she also felt it.

“The first thing I felt was it was really hot,” she said. “I arrived at two AM and I was really tired and all I felt was the heat.”

Besides the Georgia heat something else was shocking to her. “It was the first time I’ve seen so many black people,” she said.

According to About.com, there are between 300,000 to 500,000 blacks currently living in Germany compared to over 42 million in the U.S.

“In my school there were only three black people and they were from the same family,” she said.

After a few days of living in America, Techau began her sophomore year at Decatur.

“On my first day I was lost and lonely, but that feeling was gone after a week,” she said.

Someone who became friends with Techau is junior Emily Chanonhouse.

“Ever since she helped me in German II we’ve been attached,” Chanonhouse said. “She has become part of my life, and I will never forget her.”

As the school year comes to an end, Techau has only a month left before returning to Germany.

“On one side I am happy to see my family again, but I am sad leaving my friends here,” she said. “I found all my good friends in the last few months, and I will really miss them.”

Though she will miss living in Decatur she hopes to come back soon.

“I want to come back for vacation, but I hope to travel a lot and see more places and cultures,” she said.

During her time in America she celebrated her seventeenth birthday, went to homecoming and prom, and created many memories with her friends. Many of those unforgettable experiences have taught her so much about Decatur.

“One thing I will always remember about Decatur is how open-hearted the community is because they are willing to accept anyone, including me,” Techau said.

This was the first time Techau spent her birthday away from her family.

In October Techau attended the Homecoming dance. “It was the first time I’ve been to a school organized dance and it was really fun,” she said.

Techau was able to visit New York City with her art class during spring break.

During her time in New York she saw Wicked on broadway. “It was a really good show, and it was cool to go to a broadway show that is well known in Germany,” she said.

Techau borrowed a dress and got pampered with her friends to attend her first ever prom.

Glassblowing is an ancient practice, which is still producing great works of art today. Atlanta Hot Glass aims to open glassblowing to the masses. Brian Wong Shui co-owns the small studio, and disagrees with the “mass produced” style of today’s industrial art.

“We felt that there was a need for people to get hands on glass as a material and create something. It is too easy to look at something today and devalue the amount of work and effort that it took to produce,” Wong Shui said.

Wong Shui says the community is full of “Makers.”

“These are people who want to further their knowledge about the world about them free from the constraint of formal classes,” Shui said.

With an open studio, exhibitions, and instruction, Atlanta Hot Glass wishes to help people realize that they can create art too.

Through cycles of rolling, molding, and reheating, glassblowing artists can achieve something that might seem impossible at first. This is precisely what Atlanta Hot Glass wishes to teach, among other things.

Students can use glass blowing to learn about chemistry (color – metal oxides, batch), physics (momentum, centrifugal forces), art, and history.

“The actual task of learning to blow glass is technically challenging and brings your eyes, touch and smell into the piece at hand,” Susan Chin another employee at AHG, said. “I have heard that glass has a mind of its own.”

From a simple material like glass, intricate creations can be made. To showcase this, Atlanta Hot Glass also has their own gallery, with everything from glass swans to sparkling vases.

“I would like Atlanta Hot Glass to be a place where the community can visit for anything glass,” Chin said.

AHG also plans to host community events, such as a glass Pumpkin Patch, where both children and adults can come to enjoy glass-themed parties.

“Events like these will bring our community together and build fellowship,” Chin said.

At its heart, Atlanta Hot Glass is simply a studio where everyone has the potential to create something beautiful.

“When you purchase a handmade object, something in your DNA is resonating with some part of the artist’s vision,” Chin said.

Glover started marching as a freshman and he marched cymbals on the drumline. Glover decided not to march his sophomore year and came back his junior year. As a junior, Glover played snare drum and would do the same as a senior.

Ever since Glover made the snare drum he would spend countless hours in the band room just drumming on his drum pad. Everywhere Glover was, you always saw a pair of sticks in his hands and his drum pad. Glover always has lived by the philosophy that “Drumming is life.”

With the help of the band director Megan Williams and the percussion instructor Matthew Howell, Glover was accepted into Georgia State’s drumline.

This transition between high school and college isn’t going to be easy though. Glover knows that he will have to start from the bottom again.

“I really want to play snare, but I know I’m probably going to have to play in the front ensemble.”

Another transition that’s going to be hard for Glover is leaving friends behind.

“It’s going to be pretty sad actually leaving but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Glover is both excited and cautious about the future.

“Although is going to be challenging, going to college will give me a fresh start,” Glover said.

Glover believes that the college experience will allow him to meet new people and make connections with people that share the same passion that he has.

Cook teaches two to six year old girls at a dance studio called I Am Movement located in Atlanta, GA. Unlike most jobs, she isn’t paid in salary but she does gain volunteer hours.

Recently her students participated in the BRAVO dance competition. “I was very nervous because once we got closer to actually competing, the kids seemed to forget their choreography,” Cook said.

However, her students were awarded the second highest award given which is the platinum award. They also received a special judges award.

“Briana is very dedicated to her students and will spend as much time as she can with them,” LaShan Cook, Cook’s mother, said.

Due to the fact that she spends so much time with her students, Briana has to say no to some friend events.

“I have no problem not being able to go to every party because I love my students and they are such a pleasure to be around,” Cook said.

“Last year I offered to help our director, and about halfway through the process she had to step out, which left me in charge. Since I had done it before, I took the reins on this year’s production,” Miller said.

Miller asked all the dancers in the DCD company to choreograph or volunteer to be part of her show, which was one among many details she had to tend to.

“Finding a venue, creating a flyer, creating a program, coordinating with choreographers to ensure dances, speaking to audiences, keeping 40 dancers under control, and of course, and most importantly, dancing in the pieces myself,” Miller said.

Miller wasn’t alone in her directing, many of her senior friends helped contribute to the show and took some weight off her shoulders.

“Emily didn’t ask for help very often, she wanted the show to be all about the students and she mostly had support from her senior friends,” Kathleen Banks Everett, Owner and Director of Decatur School of Ballet, said.

It wasn’t easy to be a choreographer and a dancer in her own pieces, but Miller was able to juggle that in addition to directing the entire show.

“I choreographed a dance that ended up exactly as perfect as I imagined it in my head. In all honesty, at my final rehearsal for the piece, my cast brought tears to my eyes. It’s unbelievable to watch something you’ve imagined, have life breathed into it by a cast of dancers. There are so many opportunities for the soul of a dance to get lost throughout the duration of the rehearsal process. It was such a special moment to see in front of me, exactly the dance I imagined in my head,” Miller said.

“[Miller] was a really incredible director and was really good about reminding us about upcoming rehearsals or giving us deadlines for different part of the process. I honestly can’t believe she worked so hard on the shoe on top of college applications and the senior project. She puts so much time and dedication into the show and I can only hope that we find someone just as passionate to direct next year,” Zoe Bayer a choreographer and performer in the show, said.

“I can only attempt to convey just how remarkably proud I am of the show we put together. To put hundreds of hours, endless thought, and infinite effort into something, and have it all work out in the end; there is no feeling equal to it,” Miller said.