• 2/14 Valentine's Day Pep Rally
  • 12/20 - 1/6 Winter Break
  • 12/12 - 12/15 Much Ado About Nothing in PAC
  • 12/19 End of Quarter 2
  • 12/16 - 12/19 Exam Week
  • 12/9 - 12/13 Winter Week
  • 10/31 Spooky Lunch Jams
  • 10/21 - 11/13 Fall Food Drive
  • 11/1 New Senior Lunch
  • 10/16 Senior SAT Day
The student news site of Lake Brantley High School

The Brantley Banner
The student news site of Lake Brantley High School

The Brantley Banner
The student news site of Lake Brantley High School

The Brantley Banner
Faith Shimick

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor

Faith Shimick is going into her second year on staff, this time as a senior and the News and Copy Editor. She is also working with fellow staff member Julia Moon on Perspectives, which is the Brantley Banner’s literary magazine. Around the journalism room, she is known for her out-of-season gingerbread cookies and more vibrant personality. Additionally, she holds a leadership position in the Patriot Band as Drill Sergeant, working with new members and dancers. She hopes to major in English at a college in the northeast, and is confident this year will be full of opportunities to prepare her for it.

All content by Faith Shimick
The boys water polo team beats Gainesville in their Mar. 30 District Final. "It’s awesome," boys captain and senior Will Parnell said. "It just, you feel like you’re on top of the world, that you can’t really be beat."

Water polo wins at Districts

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
April 6, 2022
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Students rehearse choreography for “Stick to the Status Quo” on Feb. 16’s rehearsal. “The singing and the dancing [are my favorite part],” senior Denver Graham said. “It’s not hard for me, stuff like this comes naturally.”

The start of the “High School Musical” ‘school year’

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
February 23, 2022
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Journalism students stand around Tammie Fields's table on Feb. 4 as she shows them forms of media she has worked on. "I went back and got my masters in digital journalism from the University of South Florida, because I started in film," Fields said. "Now, this is our chief photographer, he shoots on a little tiny disk. That's how much it has changed since and evolved."

Tammie Fields conquers the journalism field

Faith Shimick and Avery Ranum
February 17, 2022
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Disappearing Frogs pt. 1

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
January 31, 2022
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The main three cast members, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, reminisce about their time working on the film series.

Why I will not be watching “Return to Hogwarts” anytime soon

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
January 14, 2022
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The walk around the lake at Cranes Roost is a must do for many people during the holiday season. Lights are put up around the lake and can be seen from every point around it, as well as decorations in the apartments around it. The main attraction, however, are the live events that the city of Altamonte Springs puts on. “I like the decorations on the lofts, and the live music,” senior Nil Aydinoz said. “The music [is my favorite part], because a lot of people just feel very happy when they’re listening to holiday music, and it makes everybody in a good mood and it’s just really nice to be around.”

Best places for holiday lights: 2021

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
December 17, 2021
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Out of all of the small subdivisions this year, Beechwoods is the best one to walk. The neighborhood’s illuminated sidewalks are relatively easy to navigate, and there is a wide range of house decorations. A handful have lights along the eaves, but there are many that take it as far as garage projections and front yard inflatables, like this one.

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Across the street from the Beechwoods subdivision are plenty of decorated houses. There are enough houses lit up that make the lack of sidewalks worth it, and the rectangular layout of the streets mean that it’s easy to walk.

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Forest Edge is another great place to walk and see lights. There are street lamps in the neighborhood, lighting up the relatively easy to navigate sidewalks. While about half of the houses have lights on them, the ones that do make it well worth the trip to see the entire layout. “The decorations [are my favorite part of the holiday season],” senior Tabitha Warren said. “It brings a lot of spirit and a lot of joy to people, while putting them up and seeing them.”

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This house on Lake Asher Circle is representative of most of the street. Nearly all houses have lights on them, if not displays in the front yard. While the circle may not have great walking accommodations, it is a must-see due to the stunning displays on most of the houses.

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Wekiva Cove is another neighborhood that’s better suited for driving. There are many houses done to the nines, like this one near the front of the neighborhood. While the subdivision is large enough that the amount of houses outfitted does not make sense enough to walk it, it is safe enough to walk, with street lamps lighting up areas not made bright enough by the lights.

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Many people this year are using their natural landscaping to elevate their lights, like this scene in The Trails subdivision of Country Creek. Although it’s a great way to use an unconventional lawn, some houses here still stick with classics like inflatables or light structures.

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While Country Creek may have a lot of lights up this year, most neighborhoods are better to drive through. Not all of them have street lamps, and the layouts can be confusing in the dark. However, houses like this in The Glen have stand out decor that are almost impossible to miss, so a slow drive through with good company or even by one’s self makes for a good night.

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The holiday lights at Cranes Roost, which are sponsored by Duke Energy, feature many animated structures, like an elf petting a reindeer, or the highly enjoyable dragon. “Cranes Roost [is my favorite place to see holiday lights], because there’s always some interactive moments or just lights everywhere around the lake,” freshman Reid Intro said. “It’s very interesting. The dragon [is my favorite], because it's actually animated and the tail goes up and down, up and down like a little snake. It slithers, you know what I’m saying?”

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Macaulay Culkin features as Kevin, the supposed protagonist of Disney's 1990 Christmas film "Home Alone". While he may be advertised as a lovable hero, he is anything but.

Kevin McAllister is the real villain of “Home Alone”

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
November 26, 2021
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Senior Queens and Junior Jokers set up for one of the first plays of the Powderpuff game on Nov. 3. The first and only points of the game were scored by senior Maddie Jones 12 minutes and 46 seconds into the first half.

Queens rule the Jokers in powderpuff

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
November 11, 2021
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Homecoming tickets are on sale at myschoolbucks.com. The homecoming dance will take place Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7:00pm.

Fabulous Lake Brantley all about homecoming

Faith Shimick, Copy Editor
November 1, 2021
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Disappearing Frogs pt .66

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
October 19, 2021
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Travelers!: Thoughts on Frequent Flyers

Travelers! Thoughts on Frequent Flyers

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
October 19, 2021
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Students play La Lotería at the Hispanic Heritage Festival on Friday, Oct 15. La Lotería is a game similar to bingo, but uses images instead of numbers, and is originally from Mexico.

Hispanic Heritage Festival

Faith Shimick, Makayla Martindale, Julia Moon, Julia Hubbell, and Marcela Maya
October 19, 2021
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'Girl with a Pearl Earring' tribute

‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ tribute

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
October 16, 2021
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Disappearing Frogs pt .33

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
October 7, 2021
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Principal Brian Blasewitz subjects himself to an ice cream bath during the Rivalry Week lunch pepe rally on Sept. 10."Our victory over Lake Mary is going to be sweet tonight," Blasewitz said.

[Photo] Lake Mary Pep Rally

Makayla Martindale, Sports Editor
September 15, 2021
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Free viewers from the train wreck of “Free Guy”

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
September 14, 2021
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Review on "Free Guy"

Review on “Free Guy”

Faith Shimick and Julia Moon
September 14, 2021
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Kiera Moore sits in front of her collection of dice as she participates in an adventure at Friday, Sep. 2’s Dungeons & Dragons club meeting. “I’ve been playing D&D for about 4 years,” Moore said. “A friend of mine invited me to play because I bought her a D&D starter kit from Barnes and Noble.”

Dungeons & Dragons: an adventure from home

Faith Shimick, News and Copy Editor
September 14, 2021
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I Love, You Hate

Faith Shimick and Grace Stoker
March 29, 2021
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On the Dec. 1 meeting, members chat with each other and Dr. Roy while enjoying activities. “We usually do activities that are either physical or little icebreakers,” Ortega said. “Sometimes, actually, we started this, Dr. Roy has been doing a little short on ‘did you know about this’, but it’s for underlooked gay people, LGBT people that get underlooked and shrouded by history, so we’re doing that to inform other people as well. Sometimes we’ll have serious days. We’ll just stop, sit, and talk about whatever’s in our mind, spread awareness and whatnot.”

GSA Rebrand

Faith Shimick, Staff Reporter
March 24, 2021
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Senior Chadrick Richards competes in the 200 meter event at the districts gathering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on April 10, 2019. “His work ethic from on the field to off the track is just great,” junior Relamp Ramirez said. “He is a good student and leader, and is always going on runs and workouts when not on the track, he is always putting in that extra work.”

Chadrick Richards: talent on the track

Faith Shimick, Staff Reporter
March 7, 2021
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"I want to look weird,” Llorens said. “I want people judging me. I want the attention. I want them to see me like ‘look at me’. Does it look like I care what you think about? Nah, cause I look amazing.” Created by: Faith Shimick

Jeremy Llorens: costume master

Faith Shimick, Staff Reporter
January 17, 2021
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Former President Donald Trump gives a speech to workers at a manufacturing plant in Mich. after signing the United States- Mexico- Canada Agreement, a replacement for NAFTA. Although most of his speeches do not result in violence, Trump draws people in with his words, and taking advantage of that could lead to violence, like on Jan. 6. provided by the Trump Administration

The danger of powerful speech

Faith Shimick, Staff Reporter
January 15, 2021
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Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden celebrate with staffers and family after a victory speech in Delaware. After a long contention by Republicans, Biden finally got confirmed on Nov. 7.

Election chaos

Faith Shimick, Staff Reporter
November 10, 2020
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Band director Brad Wharton stands in front of the band as they perform a cadence. Wharton spent a lot of time leading up to the first game making sure it was safe for band members to perform.

Limited in size, but not in spirit

Faith Shimick, Staff Reporter
October 1, 2020
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Junior Elijah Huyck prepares to launch a marble into a cup during Stephen McGovern’s fourth period AP Physics class. “Basically, this lab was a real world application of the formulas we were learning in this class,” Huyck said. “The goal was to use the formulas we had learned to predict the outcome of a real world scenario.”

Launching into physics

Faith Shimick, Staff Reporter
September 28, 2020
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The information shown above is from taxfoundation.org's '2018 Tax Brackets' article. In it, the breakdown of how much a single person pays based on their income is detailed.

‘Progressive’ is not the right word for the tax system

Faith Shimick, Staff Reporter
October 12, 2020
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Students like senior Maddie Watts enjoy B lunch, the new middle lunch created to space students out during COVID-19, at the back of the cafeteria. "I was really content with having B lunch since that's when I would normally eat lunch at home," Watts said. "I also have lunch with a few of my friends, which is definitely an added bonus."

New lunch, new opinions

Faith Shimick, Staff Reporter
October 1, 2020
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Sophomores Laura Howell and Ashley Welch play with the sound- and light boards on a set building work day. "Definitely the people helping me with the lights got me interested," Welch said. "You learn teamwork better- how to work with your peers that you don't really know much."

Chicago: Behind the stage

Faith Shimick, Journalism 1 Reporter
March 10, 2020
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Troupe members cool off with a fun game of limbo while waiting for something to do. Work days can often be slow, but the end product of the set is very rewarding.

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Senior Connor Albrechtsen looks on as sophomore Ella-Rose Smith tries out a staple gun for the first time. "I've used like a drill or, yeah, just a drill," Smith said. "But that was the first 'gun' experience."

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Troupe 2888 members wait around for the major work to start at Chicago's first work day. Sometimes people will be waiting for a job, but then the power tools are brought out and it becomes a fun time for all involved.

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Although power tools scare her a little bit, it's important that every one pitches in to build the set. "I am using a staple gun to staple wood to other wood on the proscenium," sophomore Jolie Hartley said. "It's my first time doing it, so it's pretty fun! I like it."

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Junior Angelina Jonkaitis and sophomore Brooke Holland finish up moving a light. The lights were arranged five to a line in order to get the zones correct on the lightboard.

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