Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all Cassie Shaurette
Favorites! Color: Red Food: Pasta Dessert: Chocolate cake Animal: Panda Movie Genre: Horror TV Shows: House Hunters, Castle, Teen Wolf, and Pretty Little Liars Sport: Cross Country This was my first year on staff!
My role as a staffer This was my first year on staff, and I had a great time! I signed up to take Advanced Publications again next year and I also signed up for Advanced Media and Communications! This year I was a writer and a photographer! I wrote five stories for the Highlander Online; they were a feature, an opinion, two photo stories and an inspiration story! I also did a photo poll for the Newsmag, on the most popular apps at Homestead! I am a photographer, so I was required to take 20 really nice photos each week for a grade. I was assigned to take pictures of sporting events, clubs, and different class at Homestead. I love taking pictures because I believe that it's so important to capture memorable moments in time, so that you can look back on them later in life.
Action shots (Left) Cassie Shaurette, junior, wrires a story for the Highlander Online. Her story was on the 8 things you didn't know your iPhone could do.
(Right) Cassie Shaurette, junior takes pictures during freshamn gym class. Shaurette then got quotes from the students.
HOMESTEAD SHIFTS IN A NEW DIRECTION Cold, hungry, alone, feeling unwanted, jobless and homeless. These are all things that foster teens experience once they turn 18. According to FosterClub, 75,000 former foster children, who have aged out of the system, will experience homelessness as early as the age of 18. That means when most young adults are just starting college, there will be thousands of homeless young adults, who must fend for themselves. They will have no money for college, which is why, according to the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, “fewer than three percent will earn a college degree by age 25.” These foster teens need help, and that is why Amelia Stastney, junior and president of Students Helping Impact Foster Teens (SHIFT), decided to bring the club to Homestead this year. Homestead had a similar club, Kids for Kids, for about eight years, and it became very popular until its conclusion two years ago. SHIFT came up with ideas for fundraisers, such as, chuck-a-puck, which will occur at one of the home games for Homestead hockey, and HomesTED talks, in which teachers will speak on fun topics of their choice. The group has made some suggestions for activities to do with the teens, which include going to the movies, making art projects and playing sports outside. SHIFT is hoping to do one-on-one activities, so that they can get to know each individual on a more personal level. “Making meaningful connections and developing friendships with the teens is super important to us,” Stastney said.
“A child’s chance of adoption plunges after the age of five, from one in three when a child is four or younger, to one in 15 after their fifth birthday,” the Department for Education revealed. That means that many kids will be stuck in the foster care system until they turn 18, and then they are forced to live on their own. That is why SHIFT finds it so crucial to impact their lives now while they are still young, so that they can learn and benefit from this experience. “If there were one goal for this club, it would be to bring awareness to foster care, and its injustices,” Stastney said. “I feel it’s important to give all kids the same kind of opportunities and experiences, so being able to spend time with foster kids in southeastern Wisconsin is amazingly rewarding,” Lindsey Scozzafave, junior and vice president said. SHIFT meetings are every two weeks and all are welcome to come. SHIFT has their own Facebook page and website for more information about the club.
Reflection: This was my first article as a staff member and I was very nervous to write it, but it all turned out alright in the end! Once I got started it was even really fun to write because I am in the club SHIFT so getting interviews and quotes was really easy!
STUDENTS DESIRE CLASS REGISTRATION LATER IN THE YEAR Feeling nervous, stressed and overwhelmed are all emotions that students experience when it comes time to pick classes for next year. Schedules for picking classes were handed out on Monday, January 12th, and are due back on January 27th for freshmen, 28th for sophomores and 29th for juniors. The classes that students take in high school can affect them for the rest of their lives, affecting their future professions and life choices. Rushing to pick classes at such an early point in the year could be detrimental to a student’s education.They could end up choosing classes for which they have no background information and normally wouldn’t take, simply because they didn’t have enough time to choose wisely. How can students know which classes they would like to take next year when they have neither finished their second trimester classes, nor started their third? “I don’t think it’s smart to have class registration so early because I don’t even know what my final grade will be in that class, which leaves me with nothing to base next years classes on,” Kaitlyn Schultz, junior, said. In a poll of 100 Homestead students 72 percent said that they would rather have class registrations later in the year. When asked why she would prefer it later in the year, Molly Ryan, freshman, said “the classes that I have third trimester could determine what I would want to take next year. For instance, I have Exploratory Art third trimester, and I don’t know if I want to take other art classes because I haven’t taken art yet.”
In response to students preferring registration later, Principal Bowers said “we have to have students choose classes at this time, so that we have time to decide on staffing, build the master schedule, and revise conflicts within it. That process takes several months.” Some students do see the advantage in picking classes early because they are already prepared with the classes they would like to take. “I would rather have it now because that way I can just get it over with, and not have to worry about it later” Emily Kowaleski, junior, said. “I think that if students take the time to think through the process, seek the advice of teachers, and confer with their counselor, they can do the course selection process without a high degree of stress,” Principal Bowers said. Teachers have been encouraged to be increasingly involved in the advisement process, which is an important step. There are also opportunities to have both small group and individual talks with teachers, and counselors are always available.
Reflection: I chose to write this story because I have a very strong opinion on the topic. I think that class picks should be later in the year because then students would have a better understanding of the classes they are signing up for. This article was easy for me to write because I found a lot of students that shared my opinion.
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE In general, Valentine’s Day is one of those days that people either love or hate. Many “cupid critics” object to the pressure that comes as part of the pretty red and pink package, either to be part of a couple if single, or, if in a relationship, to shower significant others with love, a romantic gift and a night out. According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. The average annual spending for Valentine’s Day is $13.19 billion, making it one of the most expensive holidays of the year. The amount the average consumer spends on Valentine’s Day is $116.21. According to Statistic Brain, 53 percent of women said they would end their relationship if they didn’t get something for Valentines Day. “It’s fine to not give gifts on Valentine’s Day, because it’s just another day to spend money. You could spend no money on somebody, and still make them feel wonderful and appreciated for the rest of the day,” Mr. William Woessner, school psychologist, said. For other magazine articles like this click here or here.
Reflection: This was one of my photo stories, so I had to take a picture of all the girls holding gifts that they would receive on Valentine's Day. This was kind of an awkward story because I had to bring all of the gifts to school with me, and carry them around all day. I ended up extremely happy with this story though because it was simple, but looked really nice.
Basketball Pictures
Reflection: I was assigned to take basketball pictures many times throughout the year. I love watching basketball, so it was always fun and interesting to take them. It was sometimes hard to get really clear and crisp pictures because the players moved so quickly, but I always found some good shots because I would take hundreds in a row.
Hockey Pictures
Reflection: Taking hockey pictures was always pretty easy because although the players moved quickly, the shots were always clear. Hockey is a really intense sport, so that resulted in great actions shots. The hockey players, both boys and girls, were the best at getting quotes to me,l which was super helpful!
Band Pictures
Reflection: I took these pictures at the band Collage Concert, and it was cool to take pictures and listen to the songs that the band played. These pictures were so easy to take because there was so much lighting on the stage, due to all of the bright stage lights. I could also take great close ups because I was using the huge lens for these pictures.
Reflection This trimester was so much fun for me because I was a Highlander Publications staffer. I looked forward to coming to this class everyday because we never had a dull moment, whether it be the plethora of treats brought in, or the continuous jokes, this class was always entertaining. At first I was extremely nervous to be on staff because I knew it would be a really big responsibility, but I became accustomed to the stress of deadlines pretty quickly. I always seemed to have trouble finding a topic for my stories, but as soon as I found a topic the ideas just naturally started flowing. Although getting quotes from students for an article was sometimes a little awkward, I always found it interesting
to compare their opinions to mine. Taking pictures for different events was always my favorite part of the class because I love taking pictures. It's so cool to be the one behind the lens, deciding what angle to use and what moments to capture. I did always dread getting quotes from people for my captions though because people can be so unreliable, but I understood how helpful the captions were for other staffers. I'm taking two trimesters of Publications next year, and I'm hoping that my skills will just continue to improve. In college I would love to study journalism or mass communications because I love writing so much. I will certainly continue to write, and take pictures no matter what happens in my future!