Kaldi's Coffee is a coffee shop open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. The shop is located at 29 S. Ninth Street. Photo by Urmila Kutikkad

When I was little I had a tree house, a fort made of pillows and sheets or a big cardboard box that said “Do not disturb.” And as I grew up, hideaways became more important. It is a place where I can shut off my phone, sit back and not worry about Calculus and (shockingly) have a long, real conversation.

Kaldis is my hide out. From the second I open the heavy door, I feel at home. The smell of the maple pumpkin spice latte greets me fondly, and the tinkling of glasses and whispers of conversation guide me in as I wait in line to get my cup. The old-style frames on the walls hold black boards with drawings of that day’s specials, and sometimes a little advice or Mizzou cheer.

I order my mocha in a ‘for here’ cup and I sit down in the beaten up wooden chairs.

Sometimes I go alone and watch the lonely cactus sitting up high in the window. I listen to nearby tables and smile at priceless conversational gems like, “What if you dated a girl with the same name as your cat? That would be weird. You’d probably have to re-name your girlfriend.”

Sometimes I go with a friend or two and we cover all the topics imaginable. The pumpkin colored walls beg for the customers to spill their secrets, not their drinks.

Eventually they call out my name. Some people are really clever and give names like “Regina Falange,” others are a tad obnoxious and give ones like “Senorita Ishmababa,” both of which I have heard. I always order with the intent of giving a great name, and then when they ask “Can I have a name for that?” I freeze up and forget, and just say, “Um.. Maria?”

So the barista calls out “Maria” and I walk up and get my coffee. My mocha has a heart in it. I sit down, content as can be, and sip out of my big ceramic mug, overlooking the community board and knowing that I have chosen wisely for my hideaway.

This place is perfect. Coffee in one hand, an old book in the other, the only thing that would make it better is a cardboard sign saying “please do not disturb.”

By Maria Kalaitzandonakes

Senior Grant Flakne plays his bass, practicing for the upcoming orchestra concert on Oct. 16. Photo by Lauren Puckett

Students passing through the music wing may recognize the sounds of RBHS’ orchestra, preparing for their first concert of the year. The concert will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. in the PAC.

Songs the orchestra will perform include “Folk Tune and Fiddle Dance,” “Blue Rhythmico,” “Adagio” and “Waltz of the Wicked,” along with a series of solo and duet groups.

“Overall, rehearsals have been great,” senior and orchestra member Grant Flakne said. “ … Personally, it’s my first orchestra concert so, for me, it’s a little more special. I’m excited just to perform on an upright bass.”

Admission is free for all who attend.

By Lauren Puckett

Sophomore Alyssa Jennings sports a pair of black boots with silver studs and bohemian patterned jeggings. Photo by Lauren Puckett

As Bearing News staff member Ashleigh Atasoy and I roamed the halls earlier this afternoon, we stumbled upon the idea of a “Style of the Week,” where we showcased Rock Bridge students with interesting and unique fashion choices. It didn’t take us long to find several looks that caught our eye, and our first find was a pair of patterned jeggings worn by sophomore Alyssa Jennings.

Name: Alyssa Jennings, sophomore

Favorite store: Forever 21

Jeggings: Marshalls

Boots: Dillard’s

“I just buy whatever I find,” Jennings said, “but within reason. Pretty much wherever I can find cute clothes. … My best buy was probably these studded boots.”

By Lauren Puckett

Check back here weekly for a new Style of the Week! Each week, we’ll add new pictures, new questions, and new styles to help you improve and expand your wardrobe. Enjoy!

Image used under fair use doctrine

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Ben Affleck’s Argo might be one of the most historically accurate films I’ve ever seen. It’s also an exceptionally delicious cake — metaphorically speaking, that is.

Like any self-respecting cake, Argo is deeply layered, with a new angle added to the film’s story on a regular basis for the first half hour or so. From the start, and at its core, this film is a historical look at the events surrounding the  Iranian Revolution  and the ‘Canadian Caper‘ with an incredible eye for detail and a profound and refreshing lack of bias.

Costuming, haircuts and dialogue scream late 70′s or early 80′s in the best way possible. The movie interweaves its central narrative about a real-life hostage situation in Tehran, Iran with actual and imitated news footage of both the United States and Iran during the 1979 revolution, giving the viewers a crash course on the global politics and tensions surrounding the film’s story. This both transports the audience into the movie’s setting and helps lend it a sense of authenticity—as does the casting. Any viewer who sat in for the credits can attest to the amazing degree to which the actors resemble the real men and women they portray.

Stacked on top of this educational and meticulously replicated look at history is a layer of realistic spy thriller and CIA work. Be forewarned, though — realism really is the heart and soul of Argo, and its spies aren’t the glamorized and romantic Bourne or Bond. They’re agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck, The Town) and his supervisor Jack O’Donnell (Bryan Cranston, Drive), and their lives and missions are much more down-to-earth and relatively mundane. This doesn’t make them or the film any less exciting, however. Mendez’s mission is to rescue six men and women who escaped an Iranian raid on the U.S. embassy and are in hiding in Tehran. With revolutionaries executing Americans left and right throughout the city, Mendez and the CIA have to create a cover to smuggle the hostages into an airport and out of the city.

They settle on giving the hostages fake identities as a Canadian film crew, and this is where the movie gains yet another layer; a nostalgic but irreverent look at the Hollywood of the late 20th century and the cheeseball films it produced. This somewhat satirical look at classic cinema aids in giving the film its darkly humorous edge, along with real-life Hollywood makeup artist John Chambers (John Goodman, The Big Lebowski) and film producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine). The Hollywood characters involvement in the cover story and the slightly exaggerated jibes at old-school science fiction films help to lighten Argo’s mood without diluting its sense of purpose or its thrilling climax. All told, the three layers mesh together perfectly.

The acting in the film is fantastic; although there are no real breakout roles for any of the actors, Affleck, Arkin, Cranston and Goodman stand up to their well-deserved reputations and deliver intimate, believable performances. The dialogue, much like the rest of the film, has a refreshingly everyday, real-life feel to it that helps to draw the audience deeper into this very accurate retelling of a true story. There aren’t too many zippy, super-spy one-liners, but there are occasional bouts of well-written banter that provide some chuckle-worthy moments.

Argo may not be a film for everyone; it’s not a thrill-a-minute kind of movie, and it probably won’t blow you away with style. However, its characters and its story resound with truth and minimalist realism. It’s a visually, thematically, and emotionally arresting film that will engage virtually all its audience members for the entirety of its two-hour plus runtime.

By Jake Alden

Senior Kyle Tonnies, defender, keeps the ball away from Helias during their match Oct. 1. Photo by Patrick Smith

This past weekend, Cosmo Park was the site of the Bruin Soccer Shootout. Though not officially a tournament, soccer teams from all over Missouri, including the RBHS’ varsity boys soccer team, competed in a series of games to test their mettle. However, the team came away with a disappointing finish after losing their second game.

The Bruins battled the Oak Park Northmen on the viridian fields this past Friday, triumphing over their opponents with a final score of 2-1. Senior Jordan Reiske, a team captain, was pleased with the victory.

“The game versus Oak Park we played really well.” Reiske said. “They had one of the best players in Missouri running their midfield and we ended up shutting him down.”

The game against Springfield Catholic the next day was sadly a different story. Despite herculean effort, the final score ended up 0-1 in favor of Springfield.

“They win state in the class 1 division just about every year, so we knew they were going to be good.” Reiske said. “I think we underestimated them because they are a smaller school. They ended up putting away one of their chances while we couldn’t quite put one away.”

Though the Bruins came out of the weekend with both a win and a loss, there was a slightly bittersweet feeling pervading the field.

“For the seniors, these next few weeks will probably be the last time we play soccer at such a competitive level.” Reiske said. “The game versus Catholic was a reminder that now is the time where we leave everything on the field with no regrets.”

By Raj Satpathy

Senior Gracie Strawn during tennis practice September 12. Photo by Asa Lory

After an exciting night of homecoming, the girls tennis team hit the road Saturday morning in order to claim another sectional title as they played Francis Howell and Parkway North, both teams from the St. Louis area.  The girls came on strong in the morning as they played Francis Howell first.  After competing in singles, all six girls walked away winning their match with a score of 6-0 for the team.

The girls then played Parkway North in order to assure their spot as sectional champions.  The team then finished all matches, winning 6-0 against Parkway North and coming home to gear up for the state competition.

“I think our girls are doing well,” Coach Ben Loeb said.  “If we have everyone buy into what we need to do we can hopefully make it another special season.”

By Carleigh Thrower

The team spent Friday night in preliminary races attempting to qualify for the semifinals and finals which took place today, October 13. The RBHS Swimming and Diving team finished in eighth place out of 21 competing schools with a total of 130 points.  First and second place went to Rockhurst and Park Hill South respectively, with Rockhurst squeaking out a victory by only one point.

Despite not placing first, senior diver Blake Ward knows the team performed well and made progress overall, finishing in the top half of all schools.

“I feel really good about this meet,” Ward said.  “A lot of people came out with personal best times.  Relays were great as well with the whole team being able to work together to achieve our goals.”

One of those personal bests resulted in a new achievement for the team.  Sophomore Michael Rhodenbaugh qualified for state in the 100 meter backstroke event, with a time of 57.98 seconds.  This qualification is not only a great achievement for Rhodenbaugh but also for the entire RBHS Swimming and Diving team as it is their first individual state qualifier.

Overall, it was a very productive event for the team as they finished with seven top ten placings, including a third place finish in the men’s 200 yard freestyle event by freshman Alex Tschopp and a fourth place finish in the men’s 200 yard medley relay.

Ward attributed a lot of the team’s overall success to the moral support provided by all swimmers and divers, no matter their individual situation.

“The swimmers that did not qualify for finals were awesome in supporting their teammates, which especially cool,” said Ward.  “You could tell everyone really cared about the team as a whole, not just their own personal performance.”

Sam Mitchell

The Swimming and Diving team will compete again next Friday and Saturday in the Springfield Invitational at the John Foster Natatorium in Springfield Missouri. 

“We’ve seen a lot of  car washes here, so  we knew that they were open to having groups come over here,” Cook said while supervising several students with soapy sponges in hand. “So Julia [Smith] called the manager of Break Time and set it up, and then we put out the plea to sign up the kids. We printed up tickets and pre-sold tickets and then we just all showed up today and prayed for sunshine.”

Though the sunshine wasn’t present, the rain held out as gray skies moved in and the car wash still received plenty of business. RBHS Gifted Coordinator Jake Giessman said the band students did a great job of spreading the word about their event and, standing by his car watching the students rinse and dry the vehicle, he joked that it was the best car wash he’d ever had.

Sophomore “Juan Chacon wouldn’t stop pestering me until I bought a ticket,” Giessman said, laughing. “This is probably the cleanest my car will be all year because I don’t wash it ever.”

For hours , students  danced around with signs on the side of Stadium Boulevard advertising their event. However, massive cardboard signs weren’t the only form of promotion present for the car wash. Seniors Grant Flakne and Brian Cook hauled two guitars and a string bass out to a median in the road and used their musical skills to draw oncoming traffic to their fundraiser. Not wanting to wash cars but needing to make money for the vacation he must pay for on his own, Grant Flakne was quick to grab his bass and sign up to play music on the roadside. However, for Brian Cook the guitar in hand meant a bit more.

“I am doing this, one, because I love to play music,” Brian Cook said. “Two, it’s going to help get people over here so they will go to the car wash so other people can make money. Three, it’s going to make me money for this so I can go to Hawaii.”

As the car wash wrapped up at 1:00, Kay Cook wasn’t sure how much money had been raised overall. She was certain, though, that the fundraiser held meaning beyond the dollars earned.

“While we probably didn’t make a huge amount of money, I think it has been really good for the kids to get up and have to work to earn some of their money for Hawaii,” Kay Cook said. “Everyone seems to be having a good time so I think it’s been a real benefit.”

By Alyssa Sykuta

The  band heads to Hawaii during spring break? Have you made your plans yet? What are they?

Sophomore Alex Ofodile after a drive in Friday's Homecoming Game against Liberty. Photo by Paige Kiehl

Senior night offered a chance for a last minute win when the Bruins battled the Liberty Blue Jays in the 2012 homecoming game.

Being the last home game of the regular season for RBHS football team, the night held special meaning for the football team, cheerleaders and Bruin girls – senior night.

Perhaps it was this realization—that these Bruins would never be in this place again—that made the team come together during overtime to beat the Blue Jays 28-21.

The road to the victory was bumpy, however.

In the ninth minute of the first quarter, an interception by junior Zach Reuter, who returned for a touchdown put the Bruins on the board first. The RBHS boys went for a two-point conversion on the drive but were penalized on the play for having an ineligible receiver on the field, making the score 6-0.

Before the end of the first quarter the Bruins scored another touchdown. This time, a pass from quarterback sophomore Logan Twehouse to Reuter resulted in the second touchdown of the game, giving RBHS a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

But the Bruins didn’t end the half with such a secure lead. In the second quarter, Liberty made a touchdown to make the score 13-7 when the teams headed into their respective locker rooms.

During the third quarter, the Bruins and Blue Jays went back and forth with solid drives but neither of the teams could score.

Both teams vamped up their energy and intensity in the fourth quarter. The game came to a heart-stopping moment when Blue Jay Mathew Zombo caught a pass by Twehouse intended for senior Kenny James. The interception resulted in a breakaway run and a touchdown, giving Liberty a 14-13 lead over RBHS.

With less than eight minutes to play, several pass completions led RBHS to a touchdown with five minutes left in the game. Playing smart football, the team decided to go for a two point conversion which was successful and put the Bruins  back on top, 21-14.

With less than four minutes to play, Liberty recovered a punt off the back of a RBHS player. Zombo then ran for another touchdown to tie the game back up, 21-21, sending the game into overtime.

In the first drive of overtime, multiple passing completions and effective running led Rock Bridge to score a touchdown on a pass to wide receiver Sam Mulholland.

RBHS needed to stop Liberty in order to win the game.  With Liberty near their end zone, Blue Jays tried to run the ball, but safety senior Shelby Wilson forced a fumble, and RBHS recovered the ball in the end zone for a touch back to end the game.

“It really paid off in the end to hustle all night,” Wilson said. “I dove for a guy I didn’t even think I could reach and ended up being the game winning play.”

RBHS fans blew up after Shelby’s play to end the game, chanting his name and giving him words of praise.

“It’s amazing to come out here and see a high character, hard-working senior come out on senior night and score the game winner,” head coach A.J. Ofodile said. “He never complains and always gives it 100 percent, he got his opportunity and he capitalized on it. I think that’s beautiful.”

By Tyler Dunlap

Morgan Bumby received her title as Homecoming Queen at Friday's game against Liberty. Photo by Paige Kiehl

At last night’s homecoming football game halftime, senior Morgan Bumby was crowned Homecoming Queen out of nine potential queen candidates. Accompanied by her escort Salim Gumati, Bumby accepted the crown on the RBHS football field.

Bumby is an active participant in RBHS girl’s soccer and is the manager for the boy’s soccer team. She also participates in the school’s National Honors Society and Rock Bridge Reaches Out Club.

“I just feel really honored that my school picked me to be homecoming queen, that people voted for me and stuff,” Bumby said. “I just feel very honored. It’s a big honor.”

By Jake Alden

With additional reporting by Maddie Magruder

Vera Reichlin's first B day advisory created a Candyland-themed door dec. Photo by Maddy Jones

The homecoming door decs proved more than just a way for sophomores to showcase their creativity and craftiness this fall. They also offered a chance for individual advisory students to grow closer to one another.

In room 134 during first hour B days, Vera Reichlin’s advisory not only designed a award-winning door dec that included a life sized Candyland game consisting of a “veteran valley” made out of candy cane trees and a “food bank forest” containing giant lollipops, the class also formed bonds and taught some life lessons, sophomore Madison McDonnell said.

Making the door decs “made us come together as a team,” McDonnell said. “We all participated in a common goal and that made us stronger as an advisory and helped us connect with each other.”

As well as ethics being strengthened in the process, RBHS counselor Melissa Coil, the coordinator of advisory for the last five years and judge of the B day door decs, also mentioned that the theme this year was not as easy to portray as it has been in previous years.

“I think that the theme wasn’t necessarily easy to carry out in a door dec because it wasn’t something super specific so I think some people struggled with ‘What do we really do?’” Coil said. “The nice thing about it not being specific is that it really lended itself to people to be more creative so some people completely took it and ran with it and really came up with some super creative stuff.”

The winning advisories, which consisted of A day, Fancher, Jorgenson, Weber and Winslow, and B day, Reichlin, Engebritson, Elsbury and Weaver, all received 10 points toward the Advisory Olympics, in which the two advisories with the highest amount of points will compete for the grand prize of a pizza party at the next assembly. But for now, the winning advisories are celebrating their door dec victories, senior mentor Ryan Stanowski said.

“I don’t know [how to celebrate] yet,” Stanowski said, “but I’ll probably pick up donuts and watch a movie Friday.”

Even though only one advisory per block could win, each gained something a little more and the decorations get the student body into the excitement of homecoming, Coil said. Just the teamwork and dedication put towards the door decs was award-worthy.

“For each advisory it’s the first opportunity for them to really get together and work hand-in-hand on specific things,” Coil said. “In a whole sense, it’s supposed to help build the community and I think it does that within the advisory and also in the whole Rock Bridge community because everyone [looks] forward to door decs.”

By Kaitlyn Marsh

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Which was your favorite dec?