Raising their arms in triumph, the mighty Spartans of the milk-drinking competition chugged down their baby bottles in a ferocious battle of the classes. One girl and one boy representative from each grade was seated on a platform, where the girls squeezed milk out of pink and blue bottles into the mouths of their male counterparts. The catch: the boys, who were seated on the girls’ laps, could not touch the bottle. The first team to empty the bottle won the most points for their class.

With water pouring out of their mouths, and in some cases their noses, students weren’t too worried about messing up their fathers' ties on Non-Casual Friday. “This game is called ‘Make Lemonade,’” announced Mr. Davis. “But we’re not going to make lemonade in any style you’ve ever seen before.” The competition consisted of four contestants, one from each grade level, competing to “make lemonade” in the fastest time possible. Contestants had to eat two lemon wedges, wolf down two spoonfuls of sugar, gulp down two cups of water and mix it all up with five jumping jacks.

Texas Instruments has just released a prototype for its latest addition to the TI series of graphing calculators. The TI-97 will be available in stores on September 7, and comes equipped with more bells and whistles than the company could fit in the 978-page instruction manual. For a comprehensive description of the calculator’s capabilities, users must reference the 3-volume instructional VHS which runs about 11.5 hours long, and is also available in Beta-max format. A few features of the TI-97 include 4-D and 5-D graphing abilities; full-color touch screen; biometric user identification; light up keypad; padded leather carrying case with key, combination lock, and security alarm; military database; world clock; day-planner; GPS tracking-device; and the snake game.

Starting this September, East will be implementing a new policy requiring all students to carry backpacks. Due to the increased usage of tote bags and messenger bags, there has been a dramatic increase in scoliosis cases among students, which has aroused concern among parents and faculty members who advocate the policy. According to the National Scoliosis Foundation, scoliosis, the condition of sideways curvature of the spine, affects two to three percent of the population, or roughly 6 million people in the United States. “The primary onset age for scoliosis is from 10 to 15,” says Dr. Bert Vertabrake of the American Chiropractic Association, “so high school and middle school students are extremely vulnerable.”