November 2015 Cedar Post

cedar post

SANDPOINT HIGH SCHOOL

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november 2015 highlights

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election results

nepal trip

winter sports

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volume 93 / issue 3

from shs cedar post .com

GIVING A HELPING HAND

Discussing Discipline

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^ Vice Principal Derek Dickinson and Resource Officer Spencer Smith enforce the no-tolerance policy.

On the R i s e ?

What is your opinion on the administration’s actions toward drug related incidents?

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“I think first offenses should be more geared towards school punishment rather than the law.”

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rise. In the first quarter of this school year alone there has been a 50 percent increase in drug-related incidents than in the entire 201415 school year.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily increased in prevalence. We have definitely had more [that] we have caught,” Dickinson said of the increase in cases.

School Resource Officer Spencer Smith agreed that students have always used drugs and alcohol around school, but he has noticed a significant increase in marijuana use recently.

The administration team hopes that the number of recent offenses will educate students on the strict no-tolerance policy, influencing them not to mix their education with drugs.

“I hope they wouldn’t do it at all […] but just don’t bring it to school.

Don’t use it here,” Dickinson said.

C O RY D I E L

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“I’ll only search if I really feel like they could be using or have the items [...] it’s your privacy and I really want to respect that,” Dickinson said.

School officials are in a delicate position.

The supreme court case New Jersey v. T.L.O. ruling resulted in a new ruling: “school officials need not obtain a warrant before searching a student who is under their authority” as well as “school officials need not be held subject to the requirement that searches be based on probable cause [or the offender] has violated or is violating the law,” according to the Cornell University of Law. Because administrators are not required to have probable cause to carry out a search they must maintain their integrity and trust in students in order to avoid unnecessary privacy invasions.

There is no question that drug-related incidents have been on the

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“I think it’s good that they are able to keep people safe.”

LANEY SEARCH

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hroughout this school year there have been numerous arrests and detainments on the school grounds.

Some students are assuming that the administration is cracking down on drugs and other disciplinary problems with an increased intensity from previous years, but it seems maybe only the problems have gotten worse.

In an interview with Vice Principal Derek Dickinson, he emphasized the school’s strict policies on questioning and reasons to search.

“We want to protect students’ rights, but at the same time we have an obligation to keep the school safe and drug free,” Dickinson said.

Dickinson expressed that just because a student is brought in does not mean they will be searched. A search is conducted only as a last measure to ensure safety and to maintain a drug-free campus.

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o re

“It seems the same as last year.”

GRACE KIRSCHER

fresh

by Julian Nizzoli, Opinion Editor and Cooper King, Editor-in-Chief photo illustration by Sarah Wells, Photo Editor

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In the first quarter of the 2015-16 school year, there have been nine drug-related offenses at school, an increase from last year.

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THE SIDESHOW

Alcohol

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This graph depicts the number of drug- and alcohol-related offenses on campus since 2013.

4 2 2014-15

Check out a compilation of a movie, an app, and a song/ album that the Cedar Post staff remembers from middle school.

1.

The Parent Trap (1998)

The Parent Trap is a Disney Channel classic and a rainy day middle school go-to.

Take a cinematic trip down memory lane.

2.

ock on for short school weeks.

Mary Johnson is a senior student artist who documents the life of Sandpoint High School through her artwork.

Find more of Mary’s artwork on shscedarpost. com.

dates to remember in

compiled by Cooper King

A P P L I C AT I O N

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2015-16

> media mashup: throwback MOVIE

he advanced Spanish and Art classes collaborated to celebrate the Day of the Dead through an art project.

The Day of the Dead is a holiday in Spanish and Latin American culture that celebrates deceased individuals and honors their memory.

compiled by Cooper King photos by Cooper King

Drugs

2013-14

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JULIAN REICHOLD

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D AY O F T H E D E A D

“I think they’re taking it pretty serious this year.”

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In the first quarter of the 2015-16 school year alone, drug-related offenses on campus outnumber the entire school years of 201315. Whether that increase is due to a more aggressive no-tolerance policy or an increase of drug use in general remains to be seen by the administration.

ason White and her family embody the meaning of making a change. Right now they are supporting an orphanage in Ethiopia, Africa by sending the orphanage clothes and food, and by providing financial assistance. The orphanage that they are supporting is in a small village in Ethiopia [...]

ALBUM/SONG

3.

Temple Run Free/iTunes

I Gotta Feeling The Black Eyed Peas

Relive the days of escaping digital monsters and running on pixel paths with Temple Run.

Middle School dances just weren’t complete without the Black Eyed Peas.

Maybe your high school playlist, too?

december

09 16 21

senior project expo 1:20 p.m. - 2:40 p.m. plc early release 1:15 p.m. winter break starts dec 21 - jan 4

2 News

SANDPOINT HIGH SCHOOL cedar post

A future

SMARTER

balanced?

OWN

The Smarter Balanced Assessment will no longer be required to graduate.

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story by Cooper King, Editor-in-Chief

story & photos by Sarah Wells, Photo Editor

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daho Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra presented two waivers in favor of removing the Smarter Balanced Assessment, commonly known as the “SBAC” on Oct. 21 this year.

One called for removing the test as a requirement for ninth grade students, the other pushed for removing the test as a graduation requirement for tenth graders.

Both passed the state board unanimously, according to a federal statement.

“It was clear that we needed to take a step back and provide some relief for local school districts,” Ybarra said in the statement.

Although the test has been waived as a graduation requirement, students will take it in order to maintain a

Sandpoint High School seniors Bella DeCecchis and Sage Jeffries are graduating after first semester to earn college credit and travel to Europe.

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or most high school students, graduation is a long-awaited destination in a four-year journey. However, for a small population of seniors, graduating at semester provides an opportunity for students to use their second semester to travel or take college courses.

Seniors Bella DeCecchis and Sage Jeffries have taken advantage of this by graduating at semester this year. Both girls plan to travel to Europe during second semester, including stops in Spain, France, and Belgium.

DeCecchis particularly wants to travel to Spain because of her post-secondary plan to teach English as a second language after having tak-

STORY CONTINUED BELOW

“I’m not letting the battle go yet.

It seems like common sense got thrown out [...] It’s a waste of instructional time for students.”

TOM ALBERTSON, PRINCIPAL

95 percent participation rate.

Sandpoint High School will be held to the participation rate or be penalized by federal regulations.

“I’m not letting the battle go yet. It seems like common sense got thrown out,” Principal Tom Albertson said of requiring students to take the test.

As of now, tenth grade students must take a test that has no impact on their graduation or education whatsoever.

“It’s a waste of instructional time for students,” Albertson said.

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en Spanish all four years of high school.

“I want to take English as a second language, I don’t know quite yet what I want to do, but I definitely want to study abroad. So I’m thinking U of I [University of Idaho] is my safety school but I’ve also heard that they have a really good study abroad program,” she said.

Jeffries is undecided about her post-secondary plans, but feels strongly about her experiences with graduating early: “I would [recommend it]. And it really was not that hard. All I had to do was take a semester of government last year; I took nine classes instead of eight.”

DeCecchis started her route to graduating early during

her junior year, but wanted to take fewer courses during her senior year. Thus, her path was more difficult.

“I took eight classes last year [...] but if you want to go my route you should start freshman or sophomore year because I decided the summer before my junior year that I wanted to graduate early,” DeCecchis said, “and that’s why it was so hard and it was really, really stressful. But now I’m really happy that I did it. I recommend to everyone that they do it if they think they want to; not necessarily if you want to take the semester off, but if you want to get college classes paid for [by the state] because that’s just an advantage in it’s own right.”

Counseling Challenges Sandpoint High School’s counseling department has been met with two planned absences and unexpected challenges this fall. story by Amanda Wikoff, Copy Editor

What do you think about the Smarter Balanced changes?

Vote online at

shscedarpost.com

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S, AIDE AND PPI, I L A N C I S S AU E .

JES H CL N SARA FILLED-I HAVE

D N AN RTSO E BEEN E B L A V MRS. INNER HA FICE OF SK .

E S H R M OF T TLY. OUT N RECE

RESULTS Local elections for Sandpoint, ID occurred on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Three city council seats and the new mayor were decided in this election along with the vote to remodel War Memorial Field’s grandstands by raising sales taxes.

M AY O R :

Sandpoint Election

SHELBY ROGNSTAD

MOSE DUNKEL

graphic by Megan Murray, Graphics Editor

LENNY HESS

bella &

sage

“I decided the summer before my “All I had junior year to do was that I wanttake a seed to gradmester of uate early government [...] now last year I’m really [...] I would happy recommend that I did it. It really it.” was not that hard.”

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ounselors Cindy Albertson and Amanda Skinner have been out on planned absences for much of the first quarter.

Mrs. Albertson’s leave of absence due to a required surgery took place in two intervals.

The first was a week long absence followed by a week back at school. The second absence followed her surgery as a recovery time and was intended to be three weeks long, but it was cut short by recent events at Sandpoint High.

“Things clicked along really well. We really didn’t miss a beat,” Mrs. Albertson said of the counseling team’s work over her absences.

63.7% 1,126 VOTES

35.5%

628 VOTES

.6%

12 VOTES

“We have Sarah Clausen, who is the Near Peer, so she helped fill in for Amanda every other day and then Jessica Lippi, who is actually a counseling intern [...] subbed for me as a counselor when I was gone and prior to that she subbed for Amanda on B days,” Mrs. Albertson said.

“The other thing is Amanda really trained our aides prior to her leaving. She trained them well and they have stepped up and done an incredible job, so I want to give credit to the students because they have helped us out as well,” she added.

APPROVED:

1% SALES TAX

to complete the War Memorial Field project (Jan. 1, 2016 - Dec. 31, 2020)

SANDPOINT HIGH SCHOOL cedar post

cedar post staff

ourview ^

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Cooper King NEWS EDITOR Sarah Wells

Policing and Policies

Our View represents the majority opinion of the newspaper page Editoral Staff on a particular issue.

Has the administration begun a stricter crack down on drug use, or have Sandpoint High School students increased the use of drugs in general?

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hen a student is arrested at Sandpoint High school rumors spread like wildfire.

This is primarily true because their detainment is nearly always in full view of the student body.

Officer Smith acknowledged the need to protect students’ privacy and respect their standing amongst their peers, but we feel this has not been implemented with the arrests in

current years.

While we understand that administrators are here to keep the school on track and students safe, in recent times, it seems many of those in charge have switched their mentality from maintaining a safe environment at the school to seeking out students who may not be following the school’s rules precisely.

This becomes disruptive to the learning environment,

preventing students from reaching their full potential by creating an atmosphere of anxiety and fear of being ridiculed by peers if caught by the admin.

In an interview, administrators claimed that they have not changed their tactics on dealing with alcohol and drugs on school grounds, or seen an increase in student use, yet a significant rise in the number of students caught doing these

activities creates a different impression.

With drug related incidents on the rise, it seems that the administration must either be increasing their drug-arrest actions or drug use has increased, but some variable must account for this recent rise.

Whether that is due to more drug searches or more drug use in general remains to be seen, but clearly something has changed between

this year and last that has resulted in more students getting caught.

To truely identify the cause of this increase will take time, but for now we must focus on keeping a safe school environment and not allowing those who wish to undermine the integrity of the school to have an impact on students’ potential for learning.

Point &

Have the Dickinson & Martz videos been a beneficial element in teaching students school policies?

“No.”

Kelly Curtis

Nathan Faggard

“As a junior, I was familiar with most of the rules, but these videos would have been handy last year.”

“The videos are unnecessarily long and repetitive for the information presented.”

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t the start of each year, we all sit through the morning announcement videos that go over the rules we forgot during the summer.

We all need to brush up on the rules sometime, or in the case of freshman entering the school, we need to learn them.

The morning announcement videos produced by Mr. Dickinson and Mr. Martz are a good way to refresh everyone’s minds at the beginning of the school year.

While it may seem pointless for those who already know the rules, the freshman entering the school aren’t familiar with them and that alone is a good reason to have them. As a junior, I was familiar with most of the rules, but these videos would have been handy last year when there was a change in the tardy policy that most students weren’t familiar with.

Many people have complained about the length of the videos, but the information that was given was still

the same regardless of how it was presented.

One suggestion to Mr. Martz and Mr. Dickinson that I have is to try and condense the information presented so that the videos take less time, as students are known for their short attention spans.

Pauses within the video, or having the teacher pause to have the class discuss often only causes students to completely disregard the information. Condensing the information so that it is fluid and faster would help students to pay more attention to the videos.

As students we must understand the morning announcements are also the only time that the same information is being distributed across the student body at once. Other than the intercom, video is the only way to give all students this information.

While it seems monotonous to sit through the ten minute videos, it’s still important information to know.

Multimedia Staff

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SPORTS EDITORS Oakley Pettit Madi Schoening LIFESTYLES EDITORS Mikayla Brennan Caroline Suppiger COPY EDITOR Amanda Wikoff PHOTO EDITOR Sarah Wells ASST. PHOTO EDITOR Mackenzie Packer SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Kelly Curtiss GRAPHICS EDITOR Megan Murray BUSINESS MANAGER Amanda Wikoff WEB DIRECTOR Ben Bristow

MULTIMEDIA STAFF Matthew Curtiss Nathan Faggard Patrick Rockwell

Point and Counterpoint is an opportunity for students with contrasting views to voice their opinions on a particular issue. These issues range from school-specific topics to topics of national significance.

Social Media Editor

OPINION EDITOR Julian Nizzoli

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Logan Finney

Counterpoint

“Yes.”

Opinion 3

n my opinion, the Dickinson and Martz videos that have been put into the morning announcements are NOT helpful.

A large amount of the student body (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) have already seen similar videos during previous years and already know the rules anyway.

For these students, the videos are repetitive, boring, and not useful.

The freshmen might gain something out of them but the material shouldn’t be new to them because incoming freshman are familiarized with school rules and policies during their orientation.

The only student who might be gaining from the information is a new student who has joined after the start of school and possibly foreign exchange students.

However, school rules are generally the same regardless of what grade or school a student has come from and therefore

the majority of the information in the videos is already known or assumed by most students who haven’t already been presented with the information.

The videos are unnecessarily long and repetitive for the information presented. An average video takes around seven minutes of class time, but have gone as long as 12 due to loading time.

When this is added to the two or three minutes of morning announcements, that’s up to 15 minutes of class time that is taken up with information most students already know.

This is wasted time in my opinion that could be way more effectively used by the teacher. So in my opinion, the Dickinson and Martz videos are not beneficial to the school or student body and only limit the time a student gets to learn in class.

CARTOONIST Mary Johnson STAFF MEMBERS Carson Andrick Darien Bangeman Jordan Spring Brianna Jordan Liz Marshall Aubrey Stevens Roan Allen Jessica McPeek Lauren Sfeir Taran McLaughlin Kayla Palmer EDITORIAL POLICY The Cedar Post is governed by the same legal rights as the professional press. Under the First Amendment, we reserve the right to free expression and freedom of the press. The student newspaper of Sandpoint High School is an open public forum for the students of Sandpoint High School and the community of Sandpoint, Idaho, with its editorial board making all decisions concerning its contents; it is not subject to prior review by administration, faculty, or community members.

Unsigned editorials express the views of the majority of the editorial board.

Letters to the editor must be signed, although the staff may withhold the name upon request. The paper reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and clarity, and all letters are subject to law-governing obscenity, libel, privacy and disruption of the school process, as are all contents for the paper.

Opinions in letters are not necessarily those of the staff, nor should an opinion expressed in a public forum be construed as opinion or policy of the administration, unless so attributed.

CEDAR POST

410 S. Division Street Sandpoint, ID 83864 shscedarpost.com

SANDPOINT HIGH SCHOOL cedar post

4 Lifestyles

Drama Districts Comes to SHS Drama Districts are to be held at SHS for the first time in five years. story by Liz Marshall, Staff Member photo by Sarah Wells, Photo Editor

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he District I 4A Drama competition will be held at Sandpoint High School for the first time in five years on Nov. 21. The SHS drama competition team will compete against other schools in the district to try to earn a spot at state.

Since SHS has not hosted drama districts in five years, this will be the first time any student on this SHS drama competition team has felt the rush of both competing at and hosting districts.

“I think that it

[hosting districts] gives us some advantages because it’s our home and we are more comfortable with the surroundings than other teams,” Natalie Aller, a senior actress said.

Pieces that place first, second or third in their categories at districts will advance to the Idaho 4A State Drama competition which will be hosted by Bonneville High School on Dec. 4-5.

District competitions will be open to the public and are scheduled to begin at

8 a.m. in the SHS auditorium. Entrance will be free and all are encouraged to attend.

“This [hosting districts] is a great opportunity for Sandpoint to see and experience, with us, the excitement of districts. We’re all very excited to share our home and our pieces with everyone,” Aller said.

Check out shscedarpost. com after districts to see results and more information about the state competition.

Izzy Brown and junior Dakota Snelling, appearing onstage during ^ Senior the recent play, will both be performing at districts on Saturday.

Unknown Classes: History of Rock and Roll History of Rock and Roll is a class offered every other year with no required prerequisites.

by Matthew Curtiss, Multimedia Staff photo by Cooper King, Editor-in-Chief

Bringing Words to the PAPER

The Sandpoint High School writing club has chosen to participate in National Novel Writing Month.

by Lauren Sfeir, Staff Member

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Gordon teaches the History of Rock and Roll class during 2B. This ^ Mr. class alternates yearly with AP Music Theory.

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any students at Sandpoint High School are oblivious to the class The History of Rock and Roll.

This class, taught by Mr. Gordon, gives students an opportunity to see how Rock and Roll has changed into its most modern form. The class covers the history of music from early jazz up to current trends.

“We talk about what influences the artists including technology, social, historical, and other events,” Mr. Gordon said.

121 N 1st Ave.

The kids in the class are kept interested and the class provides students with a musical education that has a direct effect on their everyday lives as musicians which is rare and a great opportunity for students.

“The teacher is great and the things being taught are fun and exciting. Learning about the beginnings of Rock and Roll is very interesting,” Andrew Raiha, a senior in the class said.

History of Rock and Roll is offered every other year

alternating with AP Music Theory and Mr. Gordon has taught this class three times, including this year. The History of Rock and Roll gives students interested in music a class to learn about music in depth rather than just playing music.

“I really wanted to dig deep into America’s music history and find out how we arrived musically to where we are today,” Mr. Gordon said when asked why he decided to teach the class, The History of Rock and Roll.

his November, the SHS writing club has decided to take part in National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo is an annual Internet-based writing project that challenges participants to write 50,000 words during the month of November.

This website offers writers the convenience of tracking the word count and progress of their novels throughout the month. It also allows participants to view the number of words written in their region by other writers. When writers have completed the writing project, NaNoWriMo gifts a free published copy of the finished version of the participant’s novel.

“I think “I love reading and that even though writ- this is even better be- ing is a very i n d i v i d u a l cause we get to be a thing, having a com- part of the process.” munity of people who also do it CORY ULRICH, WRITING can make the whole CLUB ADVISOR process even more fun than it already is,” Cory Ulrich, the writing club advisor, said, “I love reading and this is even better because we get to be a part of the process as well as the final product: the finished story.”

In order to complete these novels, the writing club has set aside every Tuesday and Thursday of November as days to meet. During these meetings, students discuss plots, enjoy snacks, and work on their books.

“I’d recommend it to all the people who have free time and have nothing to do. It’s just a good way to just sit down, talk with some friends, and try and write something,” sophomore Taurin Moore said.

As students are coming close to their deadline, they hope to reach their 50,000 words. Some also plan to join next year, as NaNoWriMo allows them to experience the feeling of being a writer.

SANDPOINT HIGH SCHOOL cedar post

Fitchett Takes Nepal

Lifestyles 5

Sociology Teacher, Scott Fitchett, recently returned from a month long trip hiking in the Himalayas.

by Jessica McPeek, Staff Member

Fitchett stands in front of prayer flags on top of 17,400 foot Kang La ^ Scott Pass (courtesy photo).

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hroughout the month of October, teacher Scott Fitchett spent most of his time hiking in the remote Himalayas in Nepal. Fitchett left Sept. 30 and returned Oct. 27 and spent a total of 15 days on the trek.

Fitchett decided to go to Nepal because of his interest in Tibetan Buddhism and its proximity.

“I’ve been interested in Nepal for a long time [...] I grew up in Sandpoint and the biggest mountains in the world are the Himalayas so I was really attracted to that,” he said.

The biggest reason Fitchett embarked on this trip was his uncle was already going. Fitchett’s uncle ended up funding his travel.

“My uncle was complaining to me in August about having to go by himself, so I was like ‘well I’ll go with you,’” Fitchett said.

During his trip, Fitchett wrote all of his students an individual letter about why he admires

and appreciates them. Each was a page long and included the location and date he wrote them.

“I felt guilty about leaving you all [stuScott Fitchett and one of the porters, Temba, dents], [...] so I thought ‘what can I do to in the remote village of Phu (courtesy photo). show them that I appreciate them’ so I thought I would have a lot of time like on ine and was made evident that he cares for his airplanes and stuff,” Fitchett said.

Fitchett wrote most of the letters in the airport students. I don’t think that very many teachers during his long travel time. He continued to write would do that.”

While on the trek, Fitchett went two weeks some of the letters on the trail but eventually ran out of paper and was unable to find more until he without being able to communicate with his returned to Hong Kong. Along with the letters, friends and family. It wasn’t until in a remote vilFitchett brought back all the students yak yarn lage in Nepal that he was able to find a hotel with WiFi and was able to communicate with his wife, bracelets.

“I thought it was very cool of him to take time Sage.

“That is when I got homesick,” Fitchett said, “it out of his personal vacation to think about each individual student,” senior Sociology student, reminded to make the most of the time that I had.”

^

Steffani Vom Dorp says, “it seemed very genu-

Fostering Healthy Changes

Humans of Sandpoint High School

Sandpoint High School’s administration has worked diligently on the topic of mental health within the school.

by Sarah Wells, Photo Editor

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n light of recent events at Sandpoint High School, some students have felt that the administration has not been focused on implementing a plan of action to support the student body. Others have questioned the omission of an assembly or other group events to discuss the topic of suicide. However, it is worth knowing that the administration has had plans in place to improve the school’s mental health atmosphere for several months.

The school district and high school administration follow step-by-step guidelines put in place by the Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) to carefully approach implementing change within the school. The SPAN guidelines were based on more than 50 worldwide research studies that pro-

vided data and analyses on how to handle the topic of suicide.

These studies include two from Harvard University which found that educating teens about suicide, while important, can do more harm than good unless it is done in small groups with safe, effective, and hopeful curricula. While it may seem counterintuitive, this is why student body assemblies are not part of Sandpoint High’s approach to moving forward: a small, inclusive atmosphere is more conducive to helping individual needs.

“Everything we do we have to be really, really careful and very thoughtout because when we help students and staff deal with griefe are doing things and we take it very seriously,” Tom Albertson, Sandpoint High’s

principal, said. bring in mental health exIn accordance with perts to support students these guidelines, the in times of need. In addischool has written grant tion, the check-in sheets proposals to implement passed out in classes have educational sessions for been personally evaluated students and staff, bring by administrators, and a guest speaker in dur- future plans to include ing January, and plans to the community and local continue health to work rofes“What we hope is not psionals w i t h on to just focus on those a “roundUnderg r o u n d close to the person, but table” disKindness. cussion also to help as many Writing have been students as possible.” set in mogrants and caretion. f u l l y “ W h at T O M A L B E R T S O N , we hope planning these acis not to P R I N C I PA L tions take just focus t i m e , on those which is why students may close to the person, but not have seen an immedi- also to help as many stuate change in the school. dents as possible,” AlbertThe school district still son said. maintains a contract with Kaniksu Health Services which allows them to

Humans of Sandpoint High is a series of interviews conducted in a similar fashion to Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York. Tyler Newton is a senior. See more online.

“Growing up in Long Beach completely changed the way I view nature, there aren’t a lot of things untouched by man down there.

There is so much light pollution – or just pollution in general.

I believe experiencing pollution first hand has shaped my perception about littering, and the need to preserve what beauty we still have left.

Living in Idaho has shown me how to take advantage of the beauty of nature and all of the fun activities the great north brings.

My favorite thing about Idaho is that there are endless possibilities of things to do, regardless of the season.”

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SANDPOINT HIGH SCHOOL cedar post

6 Sports

C

Long Term Damage From Concussions Discovered

hronic traumatic encephalopathy, otherwise known as CTE, is rare in the general population. However, in the early 1900s, researchers began to identify the disease in increasing numbers with athletes and people known to receive repeated head trauma. But new research photo illustration and story by suggests that this disease may be more Sarah Wells, Photo Editor prevalent than most had thought.

In a joint study between Boston University and The Department of Veterans Affairs, 87 of 91 former NFL players who had posthumously donated their brains to science tested positive for CTE. The brains came from players who had experienced symptoms of CTE while living, and as it turns out, 96 percent of them were right to be concerned.

Because the brains were donated by players who were believed to have symptoms, the true rate of CTE among NFL players can’t be known until more people who didn’t feel they had symptoms are tested. It’s possible that the occurrence of CTE may actually be quite low in comparison to all former-NFL players, which numbers over 20,000.

Athletes at Sandpoint High School Football players may be at risk for more long-term effects from concussions than previously thought. have their fair share of opinions about the risk of concussions in their sports. proteins, which can disable networks in the brain players under 13 during training sessions.

“I think concussions can affect you more long- that control memory, judgment, and fear.

While from this research it seems that repeated term when it’s older age,” Robbie Johnson, a sophoThe risk of damage from concussions has been concussions can lead to CTE, it’s hard to tell at this more football player said, “what I have experienced recognized by other sports. On Nov. 9, the United stage how common that phenomenon is in the NFL is just affects from the duration of the concussion.” States Soccer Federation released a new protocol and across other sports. However, it is making a Even so, CTE is still a very damaging disease to banning heading the ball for players under the noticeable impact on the way schools approach affected players. The brain tissue of people found age of 10 and restricting the number of headers for sports safety. to have the disease has an abnormal buildup of tau

^

athlete profiles | What made you start wrestling? | “My big brother started taking me to his high school practices at three in the morning and made me work out with him which was fun so that got me committed and dedicated.” | What is the most difficult part of this sport? | “The intensity and mental toughness is the hardest.” | What inspires you to keep going? | “I just love the adrenaline rush of being on the mat and the feeling of winning, the feeling of being on the mat itself is such a great feeling.” | Do you have any advice for wrestlers? | “For the incoming wrestlers when you go to state the best place to sleep is on the overhead storage cabinets. It’s quiet, peaceful and comfortable.” | How long have you been playing basketball? | “I’ve been playing since the third grade.” | What is it like to be on varsity as a freshman? | “It’s definitely more intense, and I have to live up to a lot more expectations which I think is fun. It’s hard but it definitely makes it better.” | What is the most challenging part so far? | “It’s a lot more aggressive and I’m not very aggressive yet, but I’ll get there.” | What inspires you to play? | “I always like being active and playing sports and basketball is another sport.” | What is the best part? | “You get a lot more friendships with girls.”

Best of the Bulldogs Some of Sandpoint Sanpoint High School’s most outstanding sports records.

Baseball

Cory Hawkins hols holds the record for both the batting bating average and for the most home runs in a game.

graphic by Megan Murray, Graphics Editor

Volleyball

Boys Track

Rich Whitehead, a junior, set the record Girls XC for the 1100 meter 31 State hurdle hertal in 1955. The Medalists.

Medalistis. record still stands Megan Bartlett today.

(2008) holds the record fo both the 5k and 3m.

Sandpoint High School has own won 14 State Volleyball Championships,which is the most in the state .

Girls Track

In 1972, Helen walkely set the W record for the long jump at 17 feet and 5 inches, she went on to become a state campion. Her record champion still stands today.

Wrestling

Sandpoint has been ranked among amoung the top twenty in the nation.

Boys XC

Sam Levora (201213) holds the record for the 5k and 3m.

21 State Medalists.

Softball

Boys Soccer

In the spring of 1991, Sandpoint High School finished the season with a record of 16 to 0.

Sandpoint High holds 15 state titles (8 boys, 7 girls), making it the most successful soccer program in the state.

Tanjee Raynor holds the record for the most home runs in a game at 11.

Girls Soccer

In 2013, Sandpoint High School broke Bishop Kelly’s 89 game winning streak at the State Championship game.

With 3 State Tournaappearances in a ment apparances Sandpoint has row, Sanpoint only had a total of two goals scored against them. That is 2 goals in 8 games.

Sports 7

SANDPOINT HIGH SCHOOL cedar post

Winter Sports Home & Away Calendar

SHS vs. the World

by Oakley Pettit, Sports Editor photo by Mackenzie Packer, Assistant Photo Editor

Date Opponent Time

BOYS BASKETBALL Dec. 1 @Priest River 7 p.m.

Dec. 4 @Pendleton Tourney TBA Dec. 5 @Pendleton Tourney TBA Dec. 8 Kellogg 7 p.m.

Dec. 11 @Lake City 7 p.m.

Dec. 12 East Valley 6 p.m.

Dec. 18 Bonners Ferry 8 p.m.

(Moose Madness) GIRLS BASKETBALL

^

Nov. 24 Dec. 4 Dec. 5 Dec. 8 Dec. 11 Dec. 12 Dec. 15 Dec. 18

WRESTLING Dec. 8 Dec. 11 Dec. 12 Dec. 15 Dec. 18 Dec. 19

Sandpoint’s students getting jacked at the state playoff game against Rigby on Nov. 14.

In the last few years, rivalries concerning trash talk and fair play have grown exponentially with the use of social media between opposing schools.

Rivalries often take place between teams that are in “In the end, the only way to end the trash talking is to beat them!”

JEZZA HUTTO, FRESHMAN S O C C E R P L AY E R

the same district and consistently compete with each other academically and athletically. In recent years, there have been only two distinct rivalries for athletes at SHS: Lakeland and Moscow.

For most sports, athletes must overcome both Lakeland and Moscow to make it to the state tournament, so each time Sandpoint plays one of the two, or any other high stakes game for that matter, things get heated.

These rivalries consist mostly of banter and trash talk by fans and players alike, both during games and on social media, especially on Smack High on Twitter.

“I think [trash talking on Twitter] brings a lot more intensity to the game, at least to the student sections of both teams and if our student section is loud, hopefully our team will respond and dominate the opponent to

win the game,” Tyrone Larson said, a sophomore that plays football and baseball.

“It makes both teams want it more and overall makes for a much better game because in the end, the only way to end the trash talking is to beat them!

When our student section gets into it with other schools, the energy level goes up a lot and gets the players super jacked,” Jezza Hutto said, a freshman soccer and basketball player.

Players from rival schools also agree that the added intensity is healthy and makes for more exciting games. “As a player, it definitely gives me more motivation to win because it’s much easier to

@Coeur d’Alene 7 p.m. @Pendleton Tourney TBA @Pendleton Tourney TBA Kellogg 5:30 p.m. @Lake City 5:30 p.m.

East Valley 4:30 p.m.

Timberlake 7 p.m.

Bonners Ferry 8 p.m.

(Moose Madness) @Riverside Duel @Inland Empire Inland Empire @Priest River @Tri-State @Tri-State

talk trash when you win,” Brett Rotz, a senior soccer player at Lakeland, said. “But in all reality I enjoy games against Sandpoint a lot because of the heated environment and the intense rivalry.”

But sometimes the trash talk can be a little too hurtful and over the top. Connor Baranski, head coach of the girls soccer team agreed that while sports will always have that competitive edge, he said, “There is a line to be crossed, and

4 p.m.

4 p.m.

9 a.m.

4 p.m.

4 p.m.

9 a.m.

people do need to be held accountable.” “[The trash talk] stays in players’ minds if the talk is serious enough, so when we make a big play it is even sweeter. While it brings a lot more intensity to each play, the post game smack talk can sometimes be hurtful and excessive, like when people say, ‘we won, you suck’, kind of talk.’” Robbie Johnson, a sophomore football player, said.

Preview to Winter Sports

Boys Basketball Coach: Kent Leiss Key Players: Davan Norris, Carlos Collado, Paul Sundquist, Matthew Curtiss, Jake Aguirre, Taran McLaughlin, Spencer Thompson, Robbie Johnson Outlook: “The Freshmen, JVs and Varsity will all be much improved. Many of our players spent a lot of time last summer in the weight room and the gym working on their strength and skills. Our goal for Varsity is to definitely advance to State and win some games. I think if we work hard, play great defense and play together we will have a chance to have a very good season.”

Team Motto: “If we play hard, play smart, and play together we will be successful.”

Team Goal: “Win a couple of games at state and bring home a trophy.”

Wrestling Coach: Mike Randles Key Players: Casey Randles, Tyler Presser, Jake Williams, Scout Nash, Hyrum Hunsaker, Mahonri Hunsaker, Zach Alamillo, Justin Hobson, Dean Ramey, Elijah Guthrie, Andrew Webster Outlook: “While we will still be thick in the upper weights, we should have a better spread across all the weight classes, which we haven’t had for several years. This should have a positive impact on duels.”

Team Motto: “None, we never do gimmicks--they don’t last.”

Team Goal: “Outwork everyone.”

Girls Basketball Coach: Duane Ward Key Players: Madi Schoening, Riley Couch, Grace Kirscher, Taylor Ward, Grace Hicks, BreLynn Converse, Danika Tomazich, Katherine Kaul, CheriLyn Darrah, Audrey Matilla, Paige DuMars Outlook: “We are going to have a good year, no surprises in store for this year.

We just take it one game at a time.”

Team Motto: “Play hard, play smart, and above all else, play together.”

Team Goal: “Our goal is to make everyday our best day of practice, and every game our best game.”

by Taran McLaughlin, Staff Member photos by Cooper King, Editor-in-Chief

SANDPOINT HIGH SCHOOL cedar post

8 Post Script

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by seniors Brianna Jordan, Staff Member and Sarah Wells, Photo Editor

Next Steps Idaho NIC Admissions SHS Counseling Unigo.com

PSAT

You will have the opportunity to take the PSAT for the first time. This test is very important junior year, so seize this valuable learning tool.

The path

to post-secondary education

S

WHETHER IT BE A CERTIFICATE PROGRAM, A TECH-SCHOOL, A COMMUNITY COLLEGE, OR A UNIVERSITY CAN BE

Join a club, do some volunteering, and/or join a sport! If you’re already involved in these activities, document what you do.

It helps a lot when applying for scholarships later on.

Most importantly, love what you do.

overwhelming.

However, now that we’re seniors, we want to share some tips with you.

Around the PATH,

THERE ARE SOME STEPS THAT EACH GRADE LEVEL MAY WANT TO CONSIDER AS THEY PROGRESS THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AND SOME TIPS FROM SHS COUNSELORS

Tour your top-priority lk colleges or tawith admis s sions officer for schools s. and program Meet with counselors and make sure you’re on track.

Jeralyn Mire & Sarah Clausen.

“Unigo.com is my favorite resource for scholarships. The website will match scholarships to your profile so you don’t have to sift through ones that don’t apply to you.”

- Brianna Jordan

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“Visiting my top college choices was a big part of my decision. The school I thought I wanted to attend didn’t seem like the environment I was looking for in-person.”

- Sarah Wells

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Your GPA and grades matter a lot this year because they’re often the most recent ones on your transcripts when applying to schools.

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“If you’re interested in the medical field, volunteer at the hospital, if you’re interested in animals, volunteer at the animal shelter [...] we don’t do a good enough job of [asking students] ‘what are your strengths?’ I think we spend a lot of time helping students figure out what their weaknesses are, and that makes it hard for students to go ‘what do I really like to do?’”

- Jeralyn Mire, Counselor

j

“North Idaho College has a whole workforce training center, so that could be a police officer, an EMT, massage certificate [...] there’s lots of jobs that require a little bit of training.”

- Jeralyn Mire, Counselor

sophomores

Again, 25% of your GPA is based on your sophomore year grades.

References:

Ask f o of r r letters menecomear dation your ly. Have sch college essa olarship / by p ys edited ee teac rs and hers .

TEST

C A on cl P/H side w as on r AP ant ses ors Pre Cr o to if y ed r D ta ou it ua ke la l te ro n.

PATH

Fill out the FAFSA with your parentss or guardian online or in print.

Reta SA ke the wan T if you t you to raise Also r score. c takinonsider AC g the stud T: some it ea ents find sie the Sr than AT.

“The most common thing I hear [with current seniors] is ‘I wish I had known my freshman and sophomore year that my grades would matter so much’ [...] it’s almost too late by the time they realize [it].”

- Sarah Clausen, Counselor

en

PLANNING your

FAFSA “I highly recommend trying the ACT. For me, it was a lot easier than the SAT in terms of the questions and material on the test.”

- Sarah Wells

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