The cans are here, and the competition is upon us. The canned food drive has just begun and all of the teachers and students are competing to collect the largest number of cans in Sage Creek history. Some teachers seem to be more ready than others.

This year Christina Della-Penna and Madison Young are the leaders for this drive. The prize for the winning class will be free, large, Kona ice.

Some recommended foods to donate include canned beans, canned vegetables, canned tuna and chicken, peanut butter or other nut butter and canned stews. ASB asks that you do not donate any foods that come in a glass container or foods that are single serving only. They also prefer to have canned goods donated rather than cereals and other items that are contained inside cardboard boxes. In the end, all of the collected cans will be going to a local shelter to help feed the homeless.

With this drive comes the time once again for the epic showdown between Mr. Manente and Mrs. Turner. There is, however, a slight chance Mrs. Turner’s class will be at a disadvantage due to her absence while she is on maternity leave. In addition to that, two newcomers have entered the ring.

The two newcomers this year are Mrs. Mclean and Coach Kung. Both of whom are sprinting towards a victory. Mrs. Mclean won third place last year in the canned food race and she plans to get first place this year. Coach Kung, this being his first time ever participating in the drive, is also bringing his competitive spirit with him.

Coach Kung is particularly excited to participate in the drive for the first time, and he feels he has an edge on the other teachers.

“I’ve organized the whole canned food drive so I know how long we have to collect cans. I take all the knowledge I have from organizing the canned food drive and I try to pass that on to my students,” Kung said, “I’m coming for the title this year. It’s my first shot at it and I am going to make the most out of it.”

John Hennessey, a freshman student in Kung’s third-period class, agrees with Kung’s attitude and exclaimed, “I feel great. I believe that we can win!”

Coach Kung’s biggest rivals are most likely Mr. Manente and Mrs. Mclean, two of last years top three donors. Three-time champion, Mr. Manente gave us an inside scoop on what he has planned for this year. Since his class size from last year has almost halved he believes it will be very interesting if they can uphold the winning title for the fourth year in a row.

However, he keeps a positive attitude and says that his “game plan for this year is to get the kids passionate about doing something good for other people.”

Though the canned food drive does have a competitive side to it, Mr. Manente believes that “ we can do a little better each day,” and that we shouldn’t donate to win but rather donate so we can help those who truly need it.