Clearwater, Florida
Countryside High School October 5, 2018 - Issue 1 Volume 40
Features
October 5, 2018 | Issue 1 | Paw Print Newspaper
2
Red tide rolls into Florida’s coast katieGOSS
rich material such as fertilizer to run off into natural water sources”. As the bloom reaches closer to shore, these nutrients from the runoff, as well as increased water temperatures, help keep the algae blooming and producing the harmful toxins.
the animals being affected by this awful bloom, especially this past year. A whale shark was Algal bloom, most commonly known as the first of its kind to be found washed up on red tide, has officially put Florida in a state of the shore of a Florida beach, dead due to what emergency in seven counties as of Monday, biologists believe was the red tide. Wildlife in the August 13. Harmful algal blooms are created by area are not the only ones affected by the bloom, plants that grow out of control, in freshwater the surrounding residents and tourism have or saltwater, and start to produce harmful been affected too. toxins to not only sea life in the area, but The toxins from the algae can get into to humans and wildlife in the surrounding the air, and if people are close enough to the area as well. Sometimes the algae can water, or it has been in the air long enough, get so bad that it lowers oxygen levels in they can have severe breathing problems the water to the point where sea life can as a result that could potentially be fatal. It suffocate. Most people do not know that is highly recommended to not go into water algal blooms happen normally throughout being affected by the red tide and to not be in the year in different coastal cities, however, the areas where it has affected the air. Tourism this one seems have stuck around much has been affected heavily by the red tide. longer than most at an astonishing ten Many beautiful beaches people travel to for months. The blooms only usually last up vacation have become highly recommended to a couple of months at the very most. to not swim in, and since the air quality has The big question that no one can seem to been on the low, the tourists’ eyes become answer is, why has it been so bad and stuck irritated every time they stay outside, or they around so long this year? experience breathing problems, especially by Like many environmental issues lately, the beach. Considering we live in the “Sunshine everything seems to keep coming back State” with some of the best beaches in to climate change or big industries. whale shark, the largest fish in the world, washed up dead on Sani- America, we as a state rely on this tourism for With increased temperatures in the air bel Beach after high levels of red tide. photo credit Florida Fish & financial needs for Florida and ocean lately, toxic algal blooms are Wildlfie Such a small thing has grown out of control, attracted to the hotter water. Red tides, and we are starting to see the domino effect which is just another name for algal blooms, take place in our environment. Pinellas County typically start offshore and move in the longer Wildlife caught in these bloom areas are looks to be the next county to be affected by the they stay and progress. The runoff into the ocean harshly affected. If the bloom gets bad enough, red tide outbreak, as it creeps its way up the gulf by companies does not help the issue once it it can lower oxygen levels to the point of animals coast. We may not be able to stop nature from reaches onshore. suffocating and dying. The harmful toxins can doing its natural processes, but we can help our According to the Washington Post, “there are also get into the animal’s systems and cause environment from becoming a toxic environment several ways human activity can exacerbate a a painful and slow death. Dolphins, sea turtles, so that it does not breed more problems, such as bloom, but the main culprit is allowing nitrogen- birds, manatees, and fish are a big chunk of out of control algal blooms. features editor
A
Countryside’s Gold Gang is on the prowl taurissaDORSEY
staff writer
sports team to succeed,” Newman said. Gold Gang wants to get as many people involved as possible. This year’s main focus is to “restore the roar” at Countryside. The club has a new President, Megan Jones, and Vice President, Brooke Micallef. Mrs. Prince is the new advisor who will be assisted by Mrs. Trautwein to further ensure things continue to run smoothly and build up the morale of the students.
Countryside’s Gold Gang club was founded by Alison Beitzel and Mrs. Trautwein in 2015, and it continues into its fourth year. The purpose of Gold Gang is to boost morale and student participation in school events. Gold Gang brings students together, allowing them to meet new people while supporting the school, and cheering on Countryside athletes. “I joined Gold Gang to be a part Tailgates: of something that brings the school Oct 8, volleyball senior night together and encourages our athletes to Oct 19, football homecoming game do their best,” said Renae Newman, one Nov 2, football senior night of Gold Gang’s captains. Nov 30, girls soccer game Gold Gang often has tailgates before Students can join Gold Gang by going select sporting events with food and to K-7, Mrs. Trautwein’s room, and pay giveaways. Any members who wear old Gang cheers on Countryside football as they make the winning touchdown the dues of $20. These dues cover the their Gold Gang shirt can participate in against Boca Ciega High School, bringing the score to 50-33. photo credit Gold Gang shirt, food at tailgates, and the fun. Tailgates are the perfect Countryside Cougar Football spirit gear given away at select games. opportunity for students to get excited Gold Gang wants to encourage for the football games. everyone to get involved, have fun as a student “My favorite part is the environment that Gold body, and ultimately to be loud and proud! gang provides, everyone involved just wants our
G
Opinion
October 5, 2018 | Issue 1 | Paw Print Newspaper
3
Cougar’s Rants We want to hear what you have to say!
“Ha v clu ing a bs va is v and a riety o e f ry b ctivi for t invo me to enefic ies lved get ial env in the more iron s me choo -Es l nt.” tefa ni B ece rra
e lacks
“Countryfseidffort and
o a sense e rity of th the majo an in g in lt , resu g students in rn ssful lea unsucce ” t. n e environm Moon -Aubrey
e sid try ney n u Co ch mo ed ke el li o mu oppos e f to “I y new log nds on spe echno ing it pplies t on spend t or su ts.” to pmen tuden uez i s q equ r the h Vas fo mia re -Je
Measles strikes back in Pinellas County sayreSHIVELY
staff writer
Not everyone loves needles, I don’t like needles. No one wants the flu, measles, or any other type of illness, it’s better to get vaccinations now, done and over with, so it’s never to be bothered with again. One quick painful prick is better than getting everyone sick. Vaccinations play an important role in everyday life. Pinellas County Schools have made sure vaccinations have been strictly enforced to make sure students have all the required shots. Before kids enter 7th grade, they should have all of their shots including the Tetanus, Hepatitis B, inactivated polio, and the Measle prevention shot. If not, “Mandatory exclusion from school is required by law in Florida until acceptable immunization documentation is presented. All immunizations must be presented on a Florida DOH Form,” according to the Pinellas County School Board. Pinellas county recently has had
its first case of measles in years, which is scary in the fact that an unvaccinated kid can get other people sick. Measles, another word for Rubeola, is an extremely rare virus that is contagious and can possibly result in death. The vaccine can be given to infants to protect them in the future, but it can be given to anytime to anyone. Once someone is exposed to the measles, it could take up to two weeks for symptoms to show. Symptoms include having a high fever, inflamed eyes, runny nose, dry cough, and a blotchy looking rash, that can cover your entire body. Rubeola lasts between seven to eighteen days, depending on how severe the case is. The number of Measle cases have been gradually increasing over the years. If you think that not getting a vaccination keeps you safe, it doesn’t. Measles is easily attained when there is nothing to stop it. No one wants to be sick, think twice, and make sure you’re doing the right thing. Just this year, 124 individual cases and have been confirmed in 22 states, including Florida.
The first case this year, in Florida, was August 13. This was the first confirmed case in Florida since 1998 and now there are 7 confirmed cases in Pinellas County. Some parents won’t let their children get vaccinated, because they will think that something bad will end up happening to their child or don’t believe in them for religious reasons. Some people believe that vaccinating their child will put them at risk of getting conditions such as autism, but that has been debunked over and over. “Measles can affect pregnant mothers, so if they contract the measles virus while pregnant that can have complications for their unborn fetus’ and the mother itself,” Countryside High School Nurse Andrea Blancoat said. If you don’t want to get sick, get vaccinated now. You don’t want to end up in ICU or worse, dead. Honestly, even worse than your own death is the death of someone else because of your lack of knowledge of the measle vaccine. Get vaccinated!
4
October 5, 2018 | Issue 1 | Paw Print Newspaper
Focus
Active assailant drills go into effect all across Florida sofiaBURGOS
staff writer
Recent tragic events in schools across the nation have spawned new legislation for school safety. This new act is called the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act, which helps put new safety rules in place to protect the students and staff from any future events. Students, school faculty, and administrators everywhere fear their school will be the next one to be attacked. Pinellas County Schools and Countryside High School are starting to enforce new legislation passed to prepare students and faculty on how to keep themselves safe in the unfortunate event of a shooting. RUN, HIDE, FIGHT. The new motto for safety. Run, if a successful exit is possible. Hide, if a successful exit is not likely. Fight, if neither running or hiding is no longer possible. Parkland student Kaitlyn Jesionowski mentioned her anxiety, stress, and fear came rushing back when she heard news about another shooting in Texas. These events are
very scary and can be even more traumatizing if you have not prepared, just in case. According to The Washington Post, 141 children and educators have been killed in shootings. At least 287 have been injured. In 2018 alone there have been 17 shootings. According to a recent New York Times article by Chokahi and Burch, a Santa Fe high school student, Dakota Shrader, said he thought somebody was going to “come up behind me and hurt me, shoot me, or kill me”. Twelfth grader Chris Lotici was asked about his opinion on the new active assailant training, he mentioned: “I thought it was necessary in case something like that happened, we’d be prepared”. “Just because of all the recent and close to home shootings and all the background that was missed we felt it was necessary to introduce a practice to give students and staff prior knowledge. The district started making laws and realized that sitting still isn’t really the proper thing to do,” School Resource Officer (SRO) Paul Comini said.
Legislators began to bring up an idea of arming teachers, “It is not the best idea for teachers to be armed. We as police do not know what teachers come into school wearing every day. If I hear a gunshot from M wing and a teacher comes out, armed with his or her gun there is a chance we could possibly mistake that teacher as a shooter,” said Comini. Students around the school are asking if this new training is really beneficial for us. When asked about this topic Comini said, “Anyone is likely to encounter an incident like this anywhere other than school. We hate to have to train students on this and for our students to have this mindset of “What if”. We want you all as students to have prior knowledge to protect yourselves.” Although the videos presented to inform might seem silly, it is all in the interest of the student’s safety in Florida.
Focus
October 5, 2018 | Issue 1 | Paw Print Newspaper
Giving back at this year’s homecoming brookeMICALLEF editor-in-chief Homecoming is an annual school tradition celebrated by a week of school pride which includes festivities such as spirit week, a home football game, homecoming court, and a dance. This years theme for the dance is ‘Hula by the C-Side’, created by student government. The inside of the school concorse, where the dance is held, will be decorated like a Hawaiian hula for all the students who attend. Tickets sales start Tuesday, October 9th and are sold through Friday, October 12th. Tickets on Tuesday will be available for purchase for $35, cash only. The following week, October 16th to the 19th, they will be available for $40 cash only. Homecoming tickets can be purchased before or after school in Ms. Guzell’s room (E3). The tickets will also be sold at both lunches during the dates listed. This year, student government is pairing up
with The Salvation Army to assist them in their annual canned food drive. When purchasing a ticket or upon arrival at the dance, bring a nonperishable food item to recieve a lei at the door. Student Government’s goal is to have 600 items brought to help struggling families during the time of year when they need assistance the most. Some high demand items to bring are canned fuits, canned vegetables, pasta sauce, soup, pasta, and boxed desserts. The homecoming dance will be held on Saturday, October 20th from 7pm to 11pm. Students will not be allowed entrance into the dance after 8pm. The first 500 ticket sales are guaranteed a homecoming themed t-shirt, so make sure to purchase a ticket sooner, rather than later. For all the students who plan on going to the homecoming dance remember to bring a canned food item for a good cause.
Don’t forget to bring a nonperishable food item when purchasing a homecoming ticket, or upon arrival at the dance to receive a free lei.
5
Countryside freshmen
Six degrees of Separation
Student Life
October 5, 2018 | Issue 1| Paw Print Newspaper
Marlayna Linkner knows Boomer Martin because in middle school they had 5th period together.
meganJONES
Madison Recore knows Marlayna Linkner from middle school.
Boomer Martin knows Maria Ruiz from Safety Harbor Middle School.
editor-in-chief
Maria Ruiz knows Lyka Torres because they have been best friends since 7th grade.
Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is connected with approximately six acquaintances between them. For this issue, Pawprint writers linked together students from the freshman class.
Savannah Burk knows Madison Recore because they went to the same middle school.
6
Lyka Torres knows Savannah Burk because they went to middle school together.
photo credit by Megan Jones
Cougars see the world and more
chloeYATES
editor-in-chief
staff writer
Chris Lotici traveled to Italy and Switzerland with his family this Summer. Chris swam and went boating in the Mediterranean Sea. His favorite part of the summer was having all of the“family time and seeing all of the new sights.” He was amazed by seeing the Alps and layers and layers of mountains for the first time.
OCTOBER 5th- Dunedin Away @7:30 12- St. Pete Home @7:30
Olivia Crutchfield traveled to Bogota and Cartagena, Colombia with her family for two weeks this summer. She had an astonishing time and would love to go back again. “It’s my mothers homeland and she’s been wanting my dad and I to experience it for a long time. I rode a gondola up to the mountains and tried so many delicious new foods.” Olivia said.
19-Seminole Home @7:30 26- Pinellas Park Away @7:30
photo credit Susan Jones Photography
oliviaDYDZUHN
Upcoming Countryside football games
NOVEMBER
Nikola Misic traveled to Belgrade Serbia to see the lots of family and friends that he has there. He was there for the entire summer and would definitely go back. He commented that “I will never forget the great memories and fun things I did with friends. My favorite part was getting to see and be with all of my family and friends.”
2- Northeast Home @7:30 10- FHSAA Playoff TBA @7:30
photo credit Chris Lotici, Olivia Crutchfield. and Nikola Misic
Countryside High School Drama 3000 SR-580 Clearwater, FL 33761
$2
off ANY show during the 2018-2019 school year* One coupon per person
Nov. 1, 2, 3, 2018 Showtime: 7pm Ticket Price: $10
Entertainment
October 5, 2018 | Issue 1 | Paw Print Newspaper
7
...Ready for it? Taylor Swift rocks Raymond James business manager
The facts:
On Tuesday August 14, 2018 Taylor Swift made her long awaited return to Tampa Bay with guests Charli XCX and Camila Cabello. The show consisted of 30 minutes of Charli XCX followed by a brief intermission, then a 30 minute set by Camila Cabello, another 40 or so minute intermission, leading to a 2 hour set by Taylor Swift.
The venue:
Raymond James Stadium is a really great place to watch a football game, but kind of an eerie place to see a concert. Parking at the stadium itself is one of the most difficult feats you may ever have to complete. Even if you are lucky enough to find a spot you will then embark on the epic journey to the stadium itself, which will consist of, at minimum, a 15 minute walk. The stadium is split into four different sections, making the search for seats incredibly simplistic. During the intermission between Camila Cabello and Taylor Swift, there was a PSA on how to exit the stadium in case of emergency, which seemed to be more helpful to those who had seats closer to the stage. For those on the ground, there were plenty of exits, the next level however, seemed to have decidedly fewer exits, and so on and so on, until you reached those poor folks in the nosebleeds whose only true options seemed to be jumping off the stadium and aim for the bushes. Despite the flaws, Raymond James was still a relatively nice place to see a show.
Rate:
the pace for the rest of her performance until she eventually ended with her hit ‘Havana’. The job of the opening acts is to set the pace for the rest of the show and get the crowd excited about the concert and these opening performers did this in spades.
Rate:
Taylor Swift: Reputation:
An easy way to describe Taylor Swift’s performance, is to acknowledge the fact that it was a spectacle. Not only was the performance an impeccable representation of her latest album, moreover a celebration of her musical resurgence from her sexual harassment case of 2017. She began the set with ‘...Ready For It?’ a song from her latest album ‘Reputation’ which drew an incredible ovation that would ignite the fire that would keep the crowd involved for the rest of the show. The show itself came with a lot of pyrotechnics, an effect that was sure to keep the performance entertaining. Additionally everyone was given bracelets when they arrived, which would light up in coordination with the show. Taylor played all of her hits accordingly and even had Charli XCX and Camila Cabello come out for her hit ‘Shake it Up’. Unfortunately, she did not play anything off her album ‘Red’ nor ‘Fearless” which in term left out several songs that long-time fans come to expect. Despite the fact that most of her essentials were not played her performance held up to par and left the audience wanting more, a lot more.
W
pictures by megan jones and brooke micallef
loganSCHNEITER
ith intricate set designs, and elaborate choreographed dances, Taylor Swift blew her fans away.
S
wift belted out hits from her Reputation album, and even included snippets from fan favorites like “Love Story” and “Should’ve Said No.”
Rate:
Opening acts:
On the subject of the opening acts, I can honestly say, I was pleasantly surprised. Charli XCX was about as good as you would assume somebody of her popularity would do. She played an entertaining, but ultimately forgettable set headlined with her one hit ‘Fancy’ which received an adequate pop. Camila Cabello, the Justin Timberlake of breakout band ‘Fifth Harmony’ played a notably good set. She started the set on a big with ‘Never Be the Same’ which really set
The verdict:
Despite the fact that Taylor didn’t play most of the songs that die-hard fans wanted to hear, her performance was a thing of beauty and shouldn’t be considered anything short of a masterpiece.
Overall Rating:
T
he show ended with an assortment of lights, colors and of course, fireworks.
Pumpkin Spice is back and earlier than ever katieGOSS
features editor
Pumpkin Spice. The two words that make customers rejoice that fall is finally here, and make baristas scream in frustration. From Starbucks’ teasing emails leading up to the happy release day to bakeries preparing their inventory for the pumpkin flavored sweet treats, these most anticipated items are devoured almost as fast as they are available. Even some car auto parts store signs say “Pumpkin spiced breaks are back!” in light of this lovely time of year. Most people are aware when this limited flavor is available, however, the big question is where the best pumpkin flavored items are from. Starbucks is by far one of the most popular
coffee shops around the world, no doubt, and they definitely do not make a disappointing coffee. When it comes to the pumpkin flavors, they also do not disappoint. With a wide variety of drinks, from their pumpkin spiced iced coffee to the latte version, and their bakery items, like the pumpkin cream cheese muffin and pumpkin bread, there is a pumpkin something for everyone to choose from. A competitor in the coffee world to Starbucks is Dunkin Donuts, who also has a wide variety of pumpkin-flavored items. However, some may think their coffee is not as good as Starbucks or other places that may sell pumpkin flavored coffee. While their coffee is not up to standard as we would like, they do offer pumpkin flavored
bakery items as well. They usually come out with a specialty pumpkin donut as well as pumpkin muffins, and a new edition of pumpkin cream cheese for their delicious bagels. YUM! Local bakeries also sell pumpkin flavored items varying from coffee to pastries, so check them out! With everyone’s favorite pumpkin spiced everything being back, there is a downside to this wonderful seasonal promotion. Usually, by mid or the end of November, it will all be gone as places get ready for the winter-themed promotions and Christmas. So while the pumpkin craziness has only just begun, it will be gone before we all know it. Get your favorite flavored coffee and bakery items before it is too late!
Pawparazzi
October 5, 2018 | Issue 1 | Paw Print Newspaper
8