Hello every1,

It's been a great Memorial Day weekend here in SC. Late nights and allot of fun to be had.

And it's definitely been a very interesting past few months as well.

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First off, the YG Open House was a complete success!!!










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In my recent Latin Four Honors classes, we made pasta from scratch! It was so much fun making it in one day and eating it the second.

It was definitely a major highlight of my senior year at Mann.





















Monica and Crysta enjoyed the food.



Andreina talked with Nicole (to her left and the head chef and ring leader of the project) about the recipe, while Ron and Grace look on.



Spence had an awesome time at the Pasta Party!



Although Jennifer and Jimella had the best time of all!

Kudos again to Nicole and Spence and the Latin Four Honors Class for putting it all together!

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Miss Talimann pageant came and the ladies strut their stuff! Yes it was finally held after a long delay.

The winners were:

Freshmann Attendant: Rilee Williams
Miss Freshmann: Kennedy Coulter

Sophomore Attendant: Chelsea Hedrick
Miss Sophomore: Marion Reeves

Junior Attendant: Madison Evans
Miss Junior: Annie Hickerson

Senior Attendant: Abbie Holliday
Miss Senior: Madison Mcclain

AND YOUR 2008 MISS TALISMANN IS..........................................................................................................................
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LOGAN GREENE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Congrats again to all our winners!!!



Abbie Holliday (Senior Attendant) , Madison Mcclain (Miss Senior) , Logan Greene (Miss Talismann)



Take Two!

Congrats again!
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My final dance recital was held this past Friday night at Furman and thank you to everyone who was able to come. We had a special performance by upcoming pop boy band V Factory before intermission pictures of the show and after show are on the MySpace and Facebook.
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Check out JL Mann Student's success story over the timeline stone debate below:

J.L. Mann walkway stays with three revised stones

Students' 'quiet protest' leads to compromise after some parents objected to use of religious symbols

By Ron Barnett • STAFF WRITER • May 20, 2008

After nearly a month of "quiet protest," negotiations and artistic redesign, J.L. Mann High School has decided not to tear up its "Walk through History" but only remove three stones that contained religious symbols, school officials said Monday.

The three stones -- two containing the Islamic name of God in Arabic and one depicting a Bible -- will be replaced with ones illustrating the same historical events but without the images some called inappropriate for a walkway, Mann art teacher Steve Garner said.

"There was never any intent to offend anybody in the first place," he said. "It was all just history."

Last month, principal Susan Hughes told The Greenville News said she planned to remove the walkway, which contained 136 stones depicting historical events, and display the stones elsewhere.

Some parents said they were offended that people could walk on words and symbols that were sacred to them.

But after students protested, school officials, students and the offended parents worked out a plan to remove only three stones. One depicted a mosque and the Islamic name of God, Allah, in Arabic; another included the Arabic name of God on an Iraqi flag; and another showed an image of a Bible to illustrate Gutenberg's printing press.

The mosque stone was created by an Islamic student from Jordan, said Garner, one of three teachers who oversaw the three-year-long project.

"I thought she understood what the project was for," he said. "We didn't think there was a problem at the time and were very surprised to find out that there was a problem."

After consulting with members of the local Jewish community, a Star of David used on one of the stones was found not to be problematic, Garner said.

Julie Perry, president of the school's Parent-Teacher-Student Association, said students acted in "a mature manner" in pressing their case to save the walkway.

"They did a quiet protest, very respectful," she said.

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As you all know this was by no means a "Quiet Protest." We had blogs, protests, and local and national media covering our efforts and we did not go "quietly" without "Stand On Your Art" badges and a Facebook group along with it. So kudos to our students and the local community for making the right decision to keep the stones in.

In a recent story in The Greenville Journal, the writer stated that the stones were viewable "on the school website and at the Old JL Mann Library." Hm..... I wonder where they got that from. I Googled to make sure and the only way they could have known that is through this blog. I wrote the fact in my first editorial about the timeline stones. It was never on the school website nor in the local papers, or the school paper for that matter. So yes, students of JL Mann High School. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! :)
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Enjoy the rest of the weekend every1

and yes "I am still boogying my way all across America and I will hopefully be releasing a new video soon."*

Have a good one,

Christian L.

*Thanks for the heads up Mannuscript.

With full force JL Mann's 2008 Talismann yearbooks were delivered to classes full of eager students, faculty, and staff. They just couldn't hold their excitement and with a loud burst of energy signed their yearbooks and cherished on memories of their past school year and years before that. This year, however, was the final Talismann for our Mann seniors. After this, there's last minute exams, graduation practice, and graduation itself. We will be moving in our own different ways. Some will go straight into the workforce, while others will continue their education in their respective colleges, universities, and technical schools. Whichever way they choose to go, this will be a Talismann seniors will cherish forever. The day started early for the seniors, somewhat, at 11 for Senior Skits and then moved on to book distribution and the like. A senior cookout was held and seniors wrote their memories of the past four years in friend's and teacher's yearbooks that were present in attendance. It will definitely be a Talismann Day they will never forget. It was also the year of Senior Domination in the yearbook. It was definitely full of seniors and respectively so from the looks of all the past editions.

Underclassmen enjoyed their day in Advisory writing comments in each other's yearbooks and watching movies such as "Singing In The Rain" and "The Lion King" to pass the time. Others played Chess and Checkers on their Promethean Boards Too. Once school was finally dismissed their was only another year ahead for most of them to make more lasting memories of their high school years.

The "Mann In The Spotlight" Students Of 2008 are as follows:

*9th: Tyler Fant

*9th: Jordan Layton

*9th: Raheem Adams

*10th: Robert Hall

*10th: Carley Chardukian

*10th: Cody Rabideau

*11th: Madison Evans

*11th: Rishun Cheek

*11th: Daniela Meza

CONGRATS TO THESE FINE AND AMAZING MANN PATRIOTS FOR 2008!

AND NOW TIME FOR OUR SENIOR SUPERLATIVES FOR THE SENIOR CLASS OF 2008!!!!!!

Best All Around -
Male: Charlie Humphreys
Female: Alex Roper

Most School Spirited -
Male: Nico DiNunzio
Female: Emily Ayer

Best Dressed -
Male: Gordon Gulledge
Female: Tiffany Marino

Best Looking -
Male: Will Davis
Female: Katie Sikkelee

Best Smile -
Male: Bradley Phillips
Female: Jessica Todd

Best Personality -
Male: Logan Vanzura
Female: Elizabeth McAfee

Most Athletic -
Male: JT Floyd
Female: KiKi Rutledge

Most Flirtatious -
Male: Will Watson
Female: Emily Propes

Most Sarcastic -
Male: Shane Francis
Female: Laurel Crout

Best To Take Home To Mom And Dad -
Male: Allen Reid
Female: Caroline Burdette

Best Hair -
Male: Kyle Haghshenas
Female: Collin Sarvis

Best Eyes -
Male: Michael Mew
Female: Carolyn Welsch

Most Memorable -
Male: Christian LeBlanc
Female: Madison Wynn

Biggest Heart -
Male: Will Broadus
Female: Nicole Girard

Class Clown -
Male: John Orren
Female: Sarah Miller

Most Likely To Take Over The World -
Male: Knox White
Female: Elspeth McWaters

Most Likely To Be Late To Graduation -
Male: Riley Howard
Female: Taylor Lentz

Friendliest -
Male: Michael Johnson
Female: Shaina Toner

Most Likely To Succeed -
Male: Tyler Crull
Female: Lauren Bjerke

Most Intelligent -
Male: Cyrus Saharkhiz
Female: Nina Kuo

Most Likely To Brighten Your Day -
Male: Carson Steinmetz
Female: Sammie Burman

Forever Young -
Male: Colin Harding
Female: Brenn Gray

Most Time Spent In Front Of A Mirror -
Male: Kevin Pitts
Female: Logan Greene

Worst Driver -
Male: Jock Symons
Female: Page Tarleton

CONGRATS TO ALL OF OUR 2008 TALISMANN SENIOR SUPERLATIVE WINNERS!!!!!!

AND NOW HERE IS OUR 2008 SENIOR HALL OF FAME NOMINATED BY THE SENIOR TEACHERS!!!!!!

*Emily Ayer

*Jay Bridgeman

*CJ Carlton

*Jamaal Cox

*Rohail Kazi

*Nina Kuo

*Victor Orozco

*Alex Roper

*Katie Scardo

*Knox White

CONGRATS TO THESE FINE PATRIOT SENIORS OF 2008 FOR THEIR HARD WORK AND STRONG DEDICATION TO JL MANN. THEY ARE AND HAVE BEEN THE TRUE SPIRIT OF MANN THIS YEAR AND THE PAST FOUR YEARS!

These past four years will be ones to remember from Spirit Weeks to Homecomings to Proms. Memories have been made and never will be forgotten thanks to the class of 2008!!! GOOOOO SENIORRRRSSS!!!!!!!!

On a side note, let us congratulate again this year's Prom King And Queen from "A Night At The Ritz" at the Downtown Hyatt this past Saturday.

This year's Prom King And Queen were..........................................
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PROM KING: Neil Brown
and
PROM QUEEN: Emily Ayer
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Congrats to you both again for a splendid evening along with the the Junior Class with the leadership of Lizzie Miller as class president. This was a Prom night that will definitely be the one to remember for a very long time.

Good luck to all of next year's Student Council nominees in the elections this week.

And for now that is all. Prom photos are up so check them out.

Hope all is well with every1 and enjoy the weekend and life in general. Live it to the fullest! Much love and support to you all!

PS. Congrats and Kudos to the Art Club and our entire Mann community for showing what it means to stand up for what we believe in and using "common sense." Our timeline is staying in the new walkway after a long fight and only two stones will be removed and replaced. WAY TO GO MANN!!!!!!

Christian L.