November 2015

Black Friday antics where has the meaning of thanksgiving gone?

The Booster Redux Pittsburg High School 1978 E. 4th Street Pittsburg, KS 66762 Vol. 99, Issue 4 www.boosterredux.com

Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015

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Jag student to travel to Washington D.C.

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In-depth COMMON CORE STANDARDS Page 7D

Fall Sports Sek standings and statistics Page 8D

proposed bond issue addresses needs JOSH LEE @Iamthejoshlee

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alking down a chemicalreeking hallway, senior Abby Harris mentally prepares herself for her next class, knowing there will be only one sink for a room full of students who will be dissecting cats in her Anatomy and Physiology class.

Students like Harris have long felt the effects of older infrastructure, and with an increase in population and aging school facilities, district staff and community members felt a need to expand and renovate the schools in town. “We know that there’s growth.

Classroom space is becoming more of a premium, and our infrastructure is becoming packed,� board member Al Mendez said. “Our goal as a board is to provide good education, top-of-the line facilities, and that’s why we started this all in motion.�

Students agree with Mendez; students who have attended the high school for four years as well as freshmen see a need for expansion and renovation. “I think one of the main problems is the hallways. It’s impossible to get anywhere any hour of the day,� Harris said.“I think all of the classrooms are really outdated, especially in the science hallway.

Some of the sinks don’t even work.

In one of the classrooms, there’s only one sink for thirty students to do a lab. It doesn’t make much sense.�

News students such as freshman Madison Nagel also see a need for improvement in the building.

According to Nagel, overcrowding is a growing issue in the school. “It feels like all the classrooms are really crowded, and so are the hallways,� Nagel said. “I think we need more classrooms. Maybe bigger classrooms, because some of my classrooms are just really small.�

Presenting these problems to the board of education that would

propose a plan was up to Principal Jon Bishop. “My role was to present data and fact about our school. There wasn’t a whole lot of talk to what I could add to, because it was more of a community-based decision of what we want to do for our schools and community,� Bishop said. “I’ve invited people here to look at hallways during passing periods.

We’ve had community groups out

plans for a new auditorium that will also serve as a storm shelter, a new administrative wing, and renovations to classrooms, hallways and cafeteria and kitchen areas.

The estimated cost of this project will be $67 million for all schools. “When you deal with a big number, people get caught up in the big number rather than what it costs you,� Brown said. “But when that number gets divided into $120

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during lunch to see just how spread out that can be.�

With such concerns, District Superintendent Destry Brown, along with members of a planning committee he assembled, proposed a plan to improve the conditions of not just the high school, but for all the schools in the district as well.

According to Brown, the proposals for the high school include

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Infograph by GRACE PALMER

a year, you break that down, that’s ten dollars a month. That’s pretty affordable.�

Currently, the planning process is over, and the next step that lies ahead will be up to the members of the community to decide. There will be mail-in ballots for voting for or against the bond issue in January. “If [the community] votes in favor of the bond issue, it’ll take

almost a year of drawings and design,� Brown said. “But during that time, we’ll get down to the really nitty-gritty as far as where everything’s going to be, exactly what it’s going to look like, and teachers and students will be much more involved [in the process].�

If the bond issue passes, Brown and Bishop hope to see not only new and improved spaces in the buildings, but better appropriation of the already existing space. “When it comes down to the need, we look at space, and we’re able to point out we have the space out here, we just don’t have the ‘smart space,’� Bishop said. “Things can be reallocated to better serve our student population.�

Brown hopes that the reassignment of space will prove to pave the way for what he considers a “twenty-first century learning environment�: one in which students are able to receive more comprehensive education from merged core subjects. “It will be more collaborative.

I think we will get to have more flexible spaces where we have more cross-overs [between subjects],�

Brown said. “I think there’s just a lot of new ways of enhancing education that we haven’t really scratched the surface on.�

And all the planning for renovations and expansions with the bond issue has been in the name of enhancing education.

Addressing any possible opposition to the bond issue, Mendez believes the community needs the proposed renovations to the schools. “Schools are the foundation of our community. School is how we educate our children and how we get them to move on with their lives,� Mendez said. “I think it’s important that students know what’s going on. I really want them to know that we are not here for ourselves. We are here for [the students] and for all the younger generations.�

2 NEWS

Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015

www.boosterredux.com SECTION D

Student publications win big in orlando Newspaper wins Pacemaker, 14 bring home awards MEGHAN BAKER @meghanbaker11

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fter the high school newspaper was announced as a Pacemaker winner, the 18 newspaper students that attended the convention jumped up in excitement.

“It was unbelievable. Whenever we heard our name being called, I was shaking, I was sweating, there was so much going through my head and I was like oh my gosh we are not going to get it and then we got it,” senior editorin-chief Alli Baden said.

22 students traveled to Orlando for the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA)/Journalism Education Association (JEA) convention on November 10-15.

“It is a really good opportunity for the students. Most of them have never been out of Pittsburg,” Student Publications Adviser Emily Smith said. “It is an opportunity for them to see the professional level of journalism and to see how many other students out there are involved and also the opportunity for them to compete.”

The 18 newspaper students who attended the convention knew that they were Pacemaker finalists along with two other schools in the same category but they did not know that they would be a winner.

“It was definitely surreal and we were already proud that we were nominated for the

Pacemaker award,” senior Josh Lee said. “Being nominated for the award is still a huge honor and then actually winning it is a huge leap. The fact that we won a Pacemaker is a huge deal for us.”

At the convention, 10 students out of the 22 who went to Orlando placed in different writeoff competitions.

The write-off competitions consist of competitions anywhere from design to writing. Students who participated in the design and photo write-off contests had to send a design or picture in early then at the convention they got critiques on it.

The students who participated in the writing write-off had prompt to write about. Then they had a question and answer period. After asking questions, they had an hour and a half to compete in different styles of writing contests. 2,003 students across the nation participated in the write-offs and only 712 students were recognized.

Sophomore Jordan Hawkins was one of the 712 students that was recognized. She received an excellent, which is equivalent to second place on her design in the write-off competition.

“Since it was my first year I felt really proud of myself and excited since not so many students placed in the write-offs,” Hawkins said.

Four student publications students along with alumna Miranda Moore placed with

Members of Pittsburg High School’s Student Publications traveled to Orlando for the National Scholastic Press Association’s annual fall convention. The newspaper was nominated for and won the Pacemaker award, in addition to two Stories of the Year and one Editorial Cartoon and one News Photo of the Year.

individual awards. Baden and Lee placed fourth for news story of the year, Lee and Moore got honorable mention for sports story of the year, junior Alivia Benedict received honorable mention for her editorial cartoon, and senior photographer Derek Brumbaugh placed third for news photo of the year.

“I was really hoping that I would get an award for it. I knew I wasn’t really likely to get it because there were several other students that were nominated too, Brumbaugh said. “I figured the chances of me actually winning and getting third or placing was very slim. It is just crazy and such an honor.”

Write-off contest winners Alli Baden- Superior- Sports Writing Myla Turner - Superior- Yearbook Sports Photography Jordan Hawkins - Excellent- Literary Mag Design Grace Palmer- Excellent- News Mag Layout Isabel Hendricks- Honorable Mention- Yearbook Theme Layout Ivan Walter- Honorable Mention- Review Writing Jake Webb - Honorable Mention- Logo Graphic Design Devon Coulter - Honorable Mention Theme Photography Aspin Durbin - Honorable Mention- News Sports Photography Maddy Emerson - Honorable Mention- Student Life Photograpy

making school safer holidays inspire generosity

Local organizations have needs year round

MADDIE BADEN @ @maddiebaden school-wide announcement sounds over the intercom.

Principal Jon Bishop alerts the building there is an intruder in the 300 hallway. Students respond quickly and follow the provided procedures that they have been taught by Alert Lockdown Inform, Counter, Evacuate (ALICE).

This is one of three school safety precautions USD 250 schools puts a focal point on.

Since 2013, there have been 152 school shootings, according to everytownresearch.org. On average, 60 people are killed by a tornado each year, according to noaa.gov, and since 1975, seat belts have saved an estimate of 255,000 people’s lives, according to cdc. gov.

School safety pertains to all three of these topics.

“Student safety is one of the primary responsibilities for our schools,” Assistant Principal Rhonda White said. “Schools have to solve problems that they did not create in environments that they cannot control.

I believe that the problems we deal with in schools are symptoms of our society.”

During past years, the district has changed safety procedures that are followed by all USD 250 schools.

The district has changed the intruder actions, which is now known as ALICE and has also changed the location of students during a tornado scenario.

The ALICE program was introduced after last year attending conventions and speaking to local law enforcement agencies.

“In the ALICE procedures we implemented, [it is shown to be more effective] because researchers have shown that in previous lockdown drills, when the intruder is in the building, it was not as effective and it was not trying to improve [student and staff’s] survival ability,” Assistant Principal Chris Garzone said. “[With ALICE] your survival ability increases as you try to make decisions instead of just waiting there.”

White feels the same way, but feels that the students had a harder time adjusting to the procedure.

“I think when we first started to talk to students about intruder drills it was uncomfortable and awkward because we didn’t want to think that something like that could happen in our building,” White said. “Knowing that, we need to be prepared and need to make sure we know the procedures to follow.”

Teachers and staff are not the only ones who feel that ALICE is an improvement from the previous procedures. Sophomore Evie Shawn supports the change and believes the program is stronger.

“I think It is a good thing we have ALICE and we are being trained multiple ways to cope,” Shawn said. “[For instance,] if the shooter is in our area then we need to be hiding. But, if the shooter

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is not in our area, we should not be sitting, hiding and waiting on him to come get us, we should be leaving. Before, we were not being trained to leave, we were being trained to just sit there, and I feel moving on from that is a positive thing.”

Tornado safety is another factor that is requires new preparation and precaution taken serious at the school.

“One change we have is the tornado drill shelter locations,” Garzone said. “We use to go to interior rooms. We figured that [if we had a storm] like the Joplin [tornado] that type of tornado would wipe out any structure. We tried to see where we could go in the building that would either be underground or tornado safe rooms. [We found that the] locker rooms [met the criteria,] so we changed moving all of our kids to the four locker rooms and the basement.”

Even though the students and staff have a safe place to go for tornados in the meantime, Garzone hopes for the future that the high school will invest in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved storm shelter that could eventually hold the entire school.

Making the students safe does not just include inside developments.

S c h o o l Resource Officer Dave Petrey feels that wearing seat belts can make the school safer. “[We have] done really well for seat belt safety because it started out a couple of years ago at 78 percent and now we are all the way up to 94 to 95 percent [for] seat belt usage,” Petry said. “[This includes] the kids, the teachers and the parents that drop off the kids.”

The school, along with local programs, have presented many events to enhance seat belt safety awareness, including The Kansas Highway Patrol bringing the rollover simulator, students signing a pledge to wear their seat belts to be entered in a drawing and the Seat Belt Convincer being placed in the commons for a day.

The Seat Belts Are For Everyone (SAFE) program was also started at the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department for the school was the first in the state to use the program.

“I hope everyone wears their seat belts because [all officers have worked] so many fatalities out there where kids were thrown out [of the car],” Petrey said.

“There is nothing worse than going to tell parents that you have a loved one that is not coming home.”

The safety of the students and staff is a main priority to the district. Changing the procedures for disasters and crises has enhanced the school safety, according to White.

“I believe by changing our environment, we’ll foster an environment that is welcoming, nurturing and safe,” White said. “While we have to have procedures in place to respond to natural disasters or a crisis, we can and will work toward preventative methods that ensure students and staff are safe.”

student safety stu is one of the primary responsibilities for our schools ols -RHONDA WHITE, ASST. PRINCIPAL RINCIPAL

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GGINA N MATHEW NA @GMMathew13

‘Tis the season for giving. With the holiday season fast approaching, the spirit of giving to those less fortunate is in full force.

However, for charitable organizations in the community, that spirit only seems to manifest around this time of year.

“People [seem] more willing to give and to volunteer when it is the [holiday] season because they love that spirit of giving that [comes] with it,” Key Club sponsor Emily Rountree said. “People [who] would be really generous in the [holiday] season would probably not be as generous during any other time of the year because it is not really a priority.”

Many charitable organizations take advantage of this seasonal support to hold fundraisers and drives.

The Salvation Army hosts projects such as a coat and toy drive, food distribution and bell-ringing during the winter months to raise awareness for those in need of assistance.

Major Gary Gugala, Commanding Officer/ Pastor of the Salvation Army, thinks the holiday season is often overlooked with commercial consumerism.

“People should realize that [this time of year] is not about getting anything as gifts,” Gugala said. “That is not the point. The point is giving your time, talents and treasure with a motivation.”

Marcee Binder, Wesley House Executive Director/Pastor, says the neglect during the offseason is justified.

“People get really mindful around October, and then from October to December, we are just inundated with stuff,” Binder said. “[During] the summertime, we die because folks are on vacation and do not think about hungry people.”

This community forgetfulness does not seem exclusive to the city of Pittsburg.

Rather, Rountree believes it stems from a societal issue.

“I feel like Thanksgiving and Christmas are the main [holidays] for community service,” Rountree said. “People should understand [that] it is not just one time of the year.

People are in need year-round.”

Even if support is scarce throughout the rest of the year, the need for help never stops.

“We do not slow down [during summer months] because we are always open,” Binder said. “Sometimes it [speeds up] in the summertime because kids are home all

day long.

The same can be said for the American Red Cross.

According to Jan Hale, External Communications Manager for the American Red Cross, the organization typically relies on students during the summer for support.

“Donations tend to dip around the holidays as schedules are filled with family and other holiday activities, yet the need for blood is constant,” Hale said. “Young adults are a very important group to the Red Cross.

Nearly 20 percent of all blood donations come from high school and college students so during the holiday season or summertime when students are not available, we see fewer donations.”

The spirit of giving does not only extend toward humans.

The SEK Humane Society sees a supportive spirit for the community’s furry friends during this season as well.

Erica Wilson, Promotional Director/ Business Manager of the SEK Humane Society, sees the need for animals to be cared for throughout the year.

“We typically have more donations in November and December,” Wilson said.

“More people do tend to give during the ‘Christmas spirit’ season, [but] we do not really see an influx of animals during any certain time of the year. It is pretty much year-round.”

Even though volunteering is scarce during this time of year, the need for service work remains.

“We need volunteers year-round,” Wilson said. “Typically in the wintertime, [volunteerism] slows down just because it is a lot colder out [and] not as convenient.

We still have that need, so it would be great to have people come out during the winter months and socialize with the animals.”

“Right now, we need tons of volunteers,” Gugala said. “We have needs for people to [assist] in the warehouse, ring bells and to separate coats and toys. We would love to have more help.”

Due to the seasonal support, most organizations seemed to share a common idea: Pittsburg’s spirit of giving.

“We have been very blessed by the Pittsburg community,” Wilson said. “They have helped us out so much.”

“The most important thing to convey is the generosity of this community,” Binder said.

“I mean, it is impressive [and] insane.”

PHS Updates: current events Winter Formal Dec. 5 from 8 PM to 11 PM

Debate Results

Spring Hill, Nov. 7 Open Division Caleb Stradley & Justice Lankford: 4-1, 22 speaks 6th place.

Jahlannis Jones & Caleb Blansett: 4-1, 23 speaks 8th place.

2nd place Sweepstakes Shawnee Heights, Nov. 6-7 Varsity Division Caleb Dial & Sebastian Johns: 6-1, Semi-finalists Zach Uttley & Isaiah Harris: 3-3, Quarter-finalists Cherryvale, Nov. 17 Novice Division Tayte Kelsey & Leyton Marler: 3-0, 11 speaks. 2nd place Ashlei Taylor & Amber Gomez: 2-1, 12 speaks. 3rd place Ace Edwards & Carter Uttley: 2-1, 12 speaks. 4th place Christal Merida & Nic Burk: 2-1, 12 speaks. 5th place

SECTION D Booster Redux staff and policy

www.boosterredux.com

tuesday, NOV. 24, 2015

OPINION

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is black friday eating thanksgiving?

Editors-in-Chief Alli Baden Molly Graham Megan Munger Morgan Plank

Design Editor Kailey Curtis

Photo editor Sherrick Rogers

Copy Editor Dante Menghini

Staff Maddie Baden Meghan Baker Connor Balthazor Alivia Benedict Lily Black Justin Blythe Katy Brown Nic Burk Trinity Butcher Mataya Cook Sophie Graham Ashley Henderson Meghan Hess Journey Jaramillo Josh Lee Gina Mathew Trina Paul Kali Poenitske Maddy Robison Jadyn Stewart Caleb Stradley Patrick Sullivan Ivan Walter Jake Webb Julie Wilson Kaylah Wilson

Adviser Emily Smith

The Booster Redux Pittsburg High School Student Publications 1978 E. 4th St. Pittsburg, KS 66762

PHS Student Publications Department and newspaper class produce The Booster Redux.

Please call us with comments at 620235-3200. The Booster Redux’s purpose is to inform, educate, enlighten and entertain readers fairly and accurately in an open forum.

Opinions expressed in editorials or opinion columns do not necessarily reflect views of all members on the Booster staff.

Digital photos have not been altered to manipulate reality.

Photo illustrations are labeled to reflect any technical alternations.

Anonymity may be given in the following cases: the information is unable to be presented another way, the information warrants anonymity, the source’s privacy and/or reputation requires protection and the source must be protected from damages.

A student or faculty member death during the coverage period will be covered with a short obituary.

The Booster Redux is a member of Journalism Education Association, National Scholastic Press Association, Kansas Scholastic Press and International Quill and Scroll. The Booster Redux encourages letters from students, teachers and community members under 300 words and signed with a valid signature only.

The Booster Redux reserves the right to edit contributions if they are libelous, obscene and for length. Any grammatical errors at the fault of the writer will be printed. Corrections of errors printed at the fault of the Booster staff will appear in the appropriate section of the next issue.

Justin blythe @jdblyt hat do you think of when imagining an ideal Thanksgiving? Eating warm roasted turkey, mashed potatoes smothered in gravy, fluffy stuffing and mouth-watering pumpkin pies all while being surrounded by family in a gathering of thanks?

This is what Thanksgiving should be like, and has been like until the recent mayhem brought by the Black Friday holiday shopping weekend.

Black Friday, as implied in it’s name, should start on Friday morning, not during Thanksgiving day.

According to the National Retail Foundation, 25.6 million people left their homes on Thanksgiving to shop for the latest advertised deals.

With major retailers such as Walmart, Macy’s, Best Buy, Target and JCPenney opening its doors around 8 p.m., it is no wonder why the mass of consumers flood in to snatch the best prices of the season for under the tree.

I believe that by being a consumer in a society full of materialistic minds, we have an obligation to respect certain cultural and traditional events, such as Thanksgiving, and save the mayhem until later.

Instead, consumers wage a war against the Thanksgiving holiday and continue to shop earlier and earlier as stores continue opening their doors earlier as well.

These various supermarkets and

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department stores push through time boundaries due to their confidence in us, the consumer, to continue to arrive and wait for the automated doors to slide open and the crowd with stacks of cash and credit cards by their side to pour in.

Retailers need to realize that even if they open their doors on Friday morning, consumers will still be available and just as determined to shop and find the deals they have their eyes on.

As a consumer, you should realize the inconvenience and inappropriate position you place employees of these major supermarkets and department stores into.

Is your new phone or gaming system more important than someone else’s time to spend with family on Thanksgiving?

By choosing to be disrespectful and wander out shopping on a holiday of thankfulness and gratitude, you are also choosing to drag others out from their traditional celebrations and into their dreaded supermarket or department store jobs.

With this in mind, decide whether Thanksgiving is a holiday that is worth anything to you at all, because the way American society is degrading the importance of this holiday makes me wonder whether Thanksgiving should stick around, or simply be swallowed up as just another shopping day before Christmas.

ART BY ALIVIA BENEDICT ART BY ALIVIA BENEDICT

class underdogs Staff Editorial Students support bond issue

Favoritism impacts teachers, students, classes

The booster redux staff @PHSstudentPub hen the bell rings and class is dismissed, students flood out into the hallway. Since there are over 850 students in the school, we have all become accustomed to the overcrowding and we have learned how to maneuver through the hallways. But, fearing a tardy to class because of the traffic in the main hallway, and being hit by a door because there are too many people in the hallway to move away from the walls, is something that we should not have to become used to.

These are specific problems that greatly need addressed. As well as this, the heating and air system is outdated, causing air circulation to be an issue. The bleachers in the gym have become a hazard and storm shelter upgrades are necessary, considering there is not a location specifically made to be a storm shelter that holds all students.

According to the district, in addition, 100% of all the elementary schools are over capacity.

But, specific to the high school, the bond issue will renovate classrooms and hallways, create a new administrative wing and cafeteria, as well as a new auditorium that will serve as a storm shelter and a new heating and air system that works properly. These items will

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improve the educational environment at the high school.

As of right now, the school can barely hold the population. Many teachers find themselves teaching in classrooms that weren’t originally intended for their subject, such as science. Some of the science classrooms were originally made to be business classrooms, and the bond issue will feature four new state-of-the-art science classrooms with updated equipment.

The new design of the school will improve the capacity and the overall well-being of the students.

It will allow the growth the district anticipates and the students will be better exposed to modern technology. Students pursuing interest in science will be given the equipment that will improve their educational experience and further prepare them for their college education.

The new cafeteria area will offer a more designated eating space for students that will also hold the population.

While this is a pricey project, totalling in at 67.6 million dollars, there is no price to pay for the improved safety and education our students will be receiving.

As the upcoming bond issue election approaches, we encourage the community to consider the best interest of the students.

kaylah wilson @wilsonkaylah

Everyone has their favorites.

Favorite food, favorite TV shows and favorite clothing. Students have their favorite classes and teachers, and teachers also have their favorite classes and students.

Favoritism can turn any normal classroom into a class full of resentment and discontent.

Some teachers show favoritism toward students, not only in singling out one student, but an entire class.

I believe that favoritism supports unfair decisions and prejudice towards others.

-KAYLAH Some people will say favoritism is not a problem and it is something that happens in life.

As a student, it causes me to feel unsatisfied with the class. I feel like our assignments are not graded fairly.

For example, I got a test back and compared answers with a classmate.

I noticed that we both had the same answer but mine was marked wrong.

When I started looking around, I noticed that it happens to other kids as well.

This is not an appropriate message to send to kids. I am at school to

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learn, but how can I want to learn, if my teacher doesn’t even care for my presence?

I can see this from both sides.

Teachers can be blamed for not paying attention, when in most cases, they are doing the best they know how to do.

With the hundreds of people they see everyday, they could possibly not think about talking to each and every one of us.

They have busy schedules and an everyday life to live.

Teachers deserve respect and should not be blamed for something that can easily WILSON be controlled.

Students should take responsibility and realize they are the problem in some cases.

If you don’t like the way someone treats you, the most mature thing to do is talk to them about it.

Sometimes this will work; maybe they didn’t know they were doing it, or maybe they just made a mistake.

People do things without thinking about the impact.

Either way, at least they know that it is upsetting you. How they take it is their problem. You have to stand up for yourself and point out the problem before anything can change.

if you don’t like the way someone treats you, the most mature thing to do is to talk to them about it.

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Accepting yourself first Wilson talks about importance of positive self image Julie Wilson @jl_wilsonn We are all hypocrites. Ask anyone if it is okay to judge someone because of their looks, clothing or weight and they will say it is not. However, we all still judge, and sometimes the person we judge the hardest is ourselves.

We spend money on clothes that we will never be satisfied with. They looked good on someone else, but not on you, or at least you think that. Maybe if you cut a couple of meals, it would fit better. Or maybe you should go to the gym a little more.

These are all things that go through our minds. Why are we driving ourselves crazy with this?

When we do not feel accepted, we modify our looks and personalities and hide the greatest parts of ourselves. It seems if you are not fitting in, being involved or being seen as cool, then there is something wrong with you. It has left so many people desperate for attention that it has become a serious problem.

If you look around and see how hard people try in order to make it look like they belong, you can recognize how pitiful it really is. If you see it in other people then look in the mirror and you might see it in yourself.

We beg for attention online by getting rates from people on Instagram or Facebook. The more people pay attention to us, the better we feel about ourselves.

However, we can be happy without other people’s approval. It isn’t healthy to need their attention and it shouldn’t matter what they think.

There are a lot of ways to feel better about yourself without bringing somebody down or judging yourself too hard.

Instead of trying to fit in and be someone you are not, you should try being yourself around people who appreciate you for who you are.

Try doing things you like by yourself. A hobby or game you enjoy can make you feel better about yourself, and exercising improves your mood.

Stop criticizing yourself and other people. When you focus on the negatives, you stop thinking about the positives.

Compliment yourself and others.

Don’t try to be perfect, because it just can’t happen. Be happy with efforts and not results.

If you are not the best at something, tell yourself it is okay and remember what you are good at. Someone, somewhere is always going to be better than you at something.

Do something different. Watch a movie you would not normally see. Step out of your comfort zone.

Basically, be willing to change. It’s not going to happen quickly, and if you try to make too many changes, it may not work at all.

Stop being a hypocrite and change yourself, even one thing at a time. You’ll be happier, and so will everyone around you.

ART BY ALIVIA BENEDICT

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Tuesday, Nov 24, 2015

www.boosterredux.com SECTION D

black ops surprises gamers Connor balthazor @PHSstudentpub here is much I could say about “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3,” but I will keep it simple. This game is just plain fun. I tried to keep my expectations low after I was disappointed with last years installment “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.” This year, however, any, and all, assumptions I had made about the game were blown out of the water.

“Black Ops 3” introduces many new gameplay elements. One of the new features is thrust jumping, which is similar to boost jumping from “Advanced Warfare” but not as erratic. Another one is wall running, which is exactly what it sounds like.

In “Black Ops 3,” there are three main game modes.

“Campaign” is the game’s story mode. Set after the events of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2,” it follows an unnamed player, who suffers life threatening injuries while on a mission to rescue the Egyptian Prime Minister with Hendricks, another member of his team.

While on the mission, he meets John Taylor, a special forces operative with cybernetic enhancements to his body to make him more adept in combat. After he sustains his injuries, he slips into a coma and receives his own enhancements to replace his lost limbs. While in the coma, John Taylor and his team test his abilities by communicating with him by using their Direct Neural Interfaces (DNI). Taylor deems him worthy, along with Hendricks, and they join the CIA and participate in black ops missions.

While the campaign does have an interesting storyline, it gets somewhat con-

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Call of duty: Black Ops 3

«««« ««« fusing and hard to follow at times. Out of everything in the game, this is really the only feature that is a major concern.

The most well known game mode, which is also a staple of the franchise’s major success, is “Multiplayer.” “Black Ops 3” has taken the normal multiplayer experience and has added in a few interesting twists. One of the major new additions is “Specialists.” “Specialists” are the characters that you control ingame, there are nine to choose from and they each come with two special abilities that you can choose before the beginning of a match. Another new addition is the “Paintshop.” The “Paintshop” allows players to create camos that they can add to any gun they wish, and is one of my personal favorite new features. Also, underwater combat has been added in. It is a relatively small gameplay element but it always bugged me that it wasn’t in the game. Many people play “Call of Duty” just for the multiplayer, and if you are one of those people, this game will be enough to

keep you interested.

The third game mode available is a trademark of Treyarch (one of the companies that develops Call of Duty), “Zombies.” While “Advanced Warfare” has “Zombies” available for purchase, most people are in agreement that it could not even be compared to Treyarch Zombies. “Zombies” is a game dear to the hearts of many dedicated “Call of Duty” fans. And, this game mode went above and beyond expectations yet again. At the launch of the game, there are two maps available. The first map is called “Shadows of Evil.” The map follows four characters that have committed serious crimes. The players are led by a mysterious being known as The Shadow Man. The second map is called “The Giant,” which is a remake of the classic map “Der Reise.” The map plays exactly like the original, so if you liked “Der Reise,” there is no question that you would also like “The Giant.”

This year in “Zombies” a new feature called “Gobblegum.” “Gobblegum” is

A striking picture Let me take a selfie Katy Brown @katylady22 Selfies have been bashed excessively. They are said to be taken by self-absorbed people, but I believe they are used to gain confidence.

Ever y time I see someone post a selfie, I smile because they thought they looked good and felt comfortable enough to take a picture of themselves and post it. It shows they are gaining confidence, or they already have confidence.

Selfies can also bring people together. At big events, it is a common occurrence to take a group selfie. It makes people feel more comfortable by bringing them together, and sets the mood by making people laugh at the fact that they are taking a group selfie.

Even the President has done this.

Bashing selfies is essentially bashing confidence; it brings people down and is unnecessar y.

While selfies are a great thing, they have their time and place.

For example, it would be great to walk down the hallway without being stopped by a big group of people taking a picture for no reason on an unmemorable Tuesday.

A popular selfie tag I have seen is “#funeralselfie.” Obviously, taking a selfie at a funeral is inappropriate and disrespectful. If you are looking particularly good at a funeral and want to take a selfie as a dead person lies in their coffin a few feet away, perhaps consider this: do not.

I agree with people taking selfies, but it is clear

“

that there is a time and place that is appropriate to take them and people need to learn when that is.

If other people taking selfies isn’t hurting you, there is no need to complain. I can see where people are coming from when they get upset about people who take selfies and inconvenience others.

When I go looking for pictures of my family, the pictures I do find usually are scarce and don’t show an extended period of time. Recently, because of the advancement of technology, it is easier to take pictures. Selfies go along with that.

Later on, it will be much easier for family members to find out about relatives through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

While selfies don’t always show much other than the person, as you look through someone’s feed; you can see them growing up and maturing.

- KATY BROWN We live in a time where self-esteem issues are common and I believe selfies are helping us get past that.

Selfies aren’t a new thing, they were first defined on UrbanDictionar y.com in 2005; they’re just more prevalent.

Feel free to take selfies, but don’t inconvenience others in order to take them.

People who are against selfies are going to get lost in the past while ever yone else moves into the future.

A ppopular selfie tag i have seen is #funeralselfie. obviously Taking a selfie at a funeral eral is inappropriate. e.

”

similar to perk-a-cola machines, except you choose five gum balls to put in the machine before the game begins, and it is completely random which one you get. They also last for different amounts of time and have different effects. Also new to “Zombies,” is a level system.

Leveling up has been a core part of the multiplayer side of “Call of Duty” for many years, but this year it has finally been added to “Zombies.” “Zombies” has been a staple mode for many years in the series, but in “Black Ops 3,” somehow, they managed to go further than anyone thought they could.

This year, “Black Ops 3” has made a pattern of surprising people across all areas of the game. While many people expected it to be a mediocre title in the “Call of Duty” series, “Black Ops 3” will certainly surprise anyone that had negative preconceptions about this game, myself included. I highly recommend this game to anyone who has either played “Call of Duty” before, or is looking to start playing.

new album shows out patrick sullivan @P_Sullivan15 achine Gun Kelly’s latest album has proved a lot of doubting listeners wrong. I would say I was a little skeptical before listening to the entirety of the album. I was blown completely away by the level of music that has been produced onto this album.

You may not have heard of this less than mainstream rapper from Cleveland, Ohio.

Machine Gun Kelly, or MGK as he is widely known, has produced several hits before recording “General Admission.” Arguably his most popular track “Till I die” is featured in this album although it was released as a single in January. This song is about Kelly’s strong Cleveland connection and his supportive fans. Tracks similar to these make “General Admission” a solid album from song to song.

MGK’s style of rapping is unlike many other rappers in the game. He spits fast lyrics with an in-your-face attitude.

Although many of his songs are explicit, he does convey messages as well, a neces-

M

sary component for successful rap music.

“General Admission” starts off with a different tone than I expected.

“Spotlight” was an enjoyable song to listen to but did not impress me by any means.

Kelly’s flow and speed at which he raps is quite remarkable. “Till I Die” gave me chills when I listened to it the first time. This track is something to most definitely give a listen to as it offers a sneak peek of the rest of the music featured.

I feel as if MGK put a lot of his personal feelings and opinions into the tracks in “General Admission.” He tells a story in the lyrics about his tough childhood and other events that have occurred in his life. Many of the songs have outstanding beats and rhythms that are extremely catchy such as “World Series” another song released as a single soon before the album.

This track has a memorable beat and MGK basically shows us his rapping skills in this tune. Not many people still purchase entire albums anymore but this is definitely a solid album as a whole.

MGK Comes out with a bang General admission playlist 1. Spotlight

9. Gone

2. Alpha Omega

10. Story of the Stairs

3. Till I Die 11. Merry Go Round 4. Eddie Cane 12. A Little More 5. Bad 13. All Night Long 6. World Series 14. Make It Happen 7.Oz. 15. Round Here 8. Everyday 16. Therapy ART BY NIC BURKE

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passion motivates teachers Educators express classroom challenges, rewards caleb stradley @PHSstudentpub Every day, health and weights teacher, Merle Clark enters the school with one thing on his mind: his students.

“I draw energy from the exuberance of youth, as kids do have a lot of energy,” Clark said.

While each teacher has a reason for becoming an educator, there are multiple benefits as well as struggles that come along with their job.

Clark, who was originally was a dentist for nine years, played sports in high school and began to miss the atmosphere of being in school.

“After nine of years of dentistry, I needed to be around kids, [I] needed to do what I wanted to do. I switched professions and I haven’t regretted one minute of it,” Clark said.

Clark has now been teaching for 27 years. In those years, Clark’s favorite part has always been the energy of students as well as listening to their opinions and ideas. Spanish teacher Angie Pallarés agrees with Clark.

“I obviously love interacting with children, and seeing how creative they can be and the things they think of that I never thought of,” Pallarés said.

Pallarés originally never wanted to be a teacher. However, after a kindergarten position opened up at The American School of Asunción in Paraguay, she took the job. It was then when she began to

Addressing his biology class, science teacher Stuart Perez outlines instructions for an experiment his students were to complete. Perez repeats his molecule analysis lab year after year because of its interactive nature. PHOTO BY SHERRICK ROGERS

love teaching.

While there are perks of being a teacher, it also comes with challenges.

According to math teacher Kristi

Neef, working with students who are reluctant to learn is often a big obstacle.

“Trying to help kids who don’t want

to be helped, that’s the most stressful for me because they get angry at me and it’s like, ‘I’m trying to help you,’” Neef said.

Neef and Pallarés do whatever they can to help students. This includes staying after school, working with them in Dragon Time, and working with them one-on-one.

“Sometimes it’s just a situational thing or something happened in their family life, then I’m like, ‘okay, now I can get off your back,’” Pallarés said.

Teachers can spend hours grading, taking up quite a bit of time.

“I honestly think grading is the most stressful, because it’s like you’re at home, but you’re not there,” Pallarés said.

Science teacher Stuart Perez believes that, in school, students are not the only ones learning.

“Everyday is a learning opportunity for me as well, and I like to look at it that I’m a teacher but I’m also a facilitator,” Perez said, ”Everyday I learn how I can become a better teacher.”

Pallarés believes that as a teacher, it is a responsibility to give students what they deserve.

“I take my job seriously and I ask a lot of my students, so therefore I feel like if I’m asking you to do stuff, I need to do keep up my end of the bargain.”

fandoms offer outlets for Reserved senior Valenzuela shows interest in T.V. shows, books, bands MEGAN MUNGER @dragonstwirler The minute she gets home from school, senior Reyna Valenzuela sits down on her bed and immediately immerses herself into a world that assures her she is never alone.

“There are always other people I can talk to even if they don’t live around me because it is not just in the US, it is all over the world,” Valenzuela said. “We can all connect, no matter what is going on, through this one thing that we all love.”

Since her freshman year of high school, Valenzuela had been an avid fan and part of multiple fandoms.

A fandom is a community of people who love one certain thing and unite around it.

A few of the book fandoms Valenzuela is involved with are Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Inheritance Cycle.

After Valenzuela reads a book she likes, she gets on Tumblr to find fan art. From there, she goes to fanfiction.net to look for fanfictions regarding the book’s characters.

According to Valenzuela, fanfiction and fan art are a large and common part of fandoms and they both serve the equal purpose of giving fandom members the chance to influence the fandom by adding their own work to the community.

From books like Harry Potter to youtubers like Jacksepticeye, Valenzuela spends her free time incorporating herself further into the fandoms.

However, it was not always this way.

During Valenzuela’s freshman year of high school, fellow senior Hannah Oertle introduced her to fanfiction and it grew from there.

“She’s such a bookworm that it makes sense,” Oertle said. “She always comes up to me and says ‘read this part of this book.’ There is always something that she is very excited about and that is just the way she has always been.”

Although books are where it all began tell me something really awesome, making and remain the largest part, another part me have to watch it.” of Valenzuela’s fandoms are her fandoms Both Geiger and Oertle agree that the regarding youtubers. plethora of information Valenzuela retains “Books gave me something to relate to regarding fandoms is impressive. but, youtubers gave me something more “If I tried to keep track of all of that, I tangible, something real,” Valenzuela said. would get so confused and I’d get every“It’s not like I’m talking to them but, they thing mixed up,” Oertle said. “She has understand. Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, and different people that she talks to about The Game Grumps, they’ve helped me different fandoms. She knows to talk to realize in the past couple of years that it this person about this book and this person is okay to be crazy. It is okay to be weird about this show. I don’t know how she because you’re being yourself and what does it.” everyone else thinks doesn’t matter.”

Valenzuela feels that she will always be In addition part of fandoms and to books and that it will help her youtubers, in the future.

Valenzuela is “I don’t think it involved with will fade. I just think the fandoms I’ll get involved with of bands The different parts of the Vamps and The fandom and I will Tide, movies develop and evolve such as Star with the fandoms,” Wars, Lord of Valenzuela said. “It The Rings, and will also give me a -reyna valenzuela Pretty Woman, way of understandand the television shows Supernatural, ing my students because I want to be high Doctor Who, Sherlock (BBC version), school teacher. I will remember these years Once Upon A Time, The Big Bang Theory of my high school life and how much the and Friends. fandoms impacted my life, so when I have Over the years Valenzuela has became kids that feel outcast, I’ll have a way to more open about her fandoms and due to relate to them or I’ll have a way to [help this, has gotten one of her closest friends, them].” junior Kristen Geiger, involved.

Valenzuela believes that they have done Some of the fandoms that Geiger enjoys nothing but positive things for her. are Supernatural, Doctor Who, The Vamps, “Fandoms really helped me come out of Hunter Hayes, The Tide. my shell. When I was growing up and it “[Valenzuela] is crazy fun. She always was just books, it kinda made me feel out has something really funny or interesting of place. I didn’t understand why everyto add to a conversation if we’re talking one wasn’t getting [my love for reading]. about fandoms,” Geiger said. “She always While some people picked on me about has a new little tidbit that gets me excited it, they didn’t mean it and they did it in a to watch a new show. If I’m behind in a loving way, which I knew, but I think that season and I’m [contemplating on whether other people did mean it and would pick or not] I’m going to finish it, then she’ll on me [because they did not understand].”

“

we’re a community and because we love this thing, we love each other

”

Having dealt with bullying, one of the things that Valenzuela loves about fandoms is the support they offer.

“If somebody is having issues, like if they’re depressed or they’re having problems, the people in the fandom help them,” Valenzuela said. “We’re a community and because we love this thing we love each other, even though we’ve never really met.”

The way that fandoms are viewed varies depending on the generation, according to Valenzuela.

“I think as the years go by fandoms are becoming more popular. Fanfiction has gathered popularity because of the shows and the movies that are out now. I think that our generation views it as something that is everyday life, like if it wasn’t there it’d be weird,” Valenzuela said. “I think old generations like our parents and our grandparents they don’t get it because for them, fandoms weren’t as accessible because of the whole internet thing. Now that we have internet, everything is right there. So I think that sometimes you can be looked down upon by older generations because of them because it is such a big part of your life.”

However, she does not believe that her generation fully understands fandoms.

“Even though people our age understand [the presence of fandoms], I still think that some people need to remember that for some people, this is what saved them from suicide or depression or some really hard times in their life,” Valenzuela said. “People need to remember that just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean that [that person] isn’t going through a tough time, and that fandom that you don’t understand or that you’re making fun of them for is what is helping them. They’re passionate about it which gives them something to look forward to so don’t take that away.”

students learn coding in new math class

Together, junior lydia Winters and math teacher Kris Mengarelli look over Winters’ class project. Winters created an app that houses information about PHS, such as a calendar and access to Power School. PHOTO BY KAITLYN KIDD

journey jaramllo @journeybutcher In room 214 math teacher Kris Mengarelli oversees students as they work on independent projects in his new computer math class.

This is Mengarelli’s first year teaching a computer math class and has 24 students enrolled.

With this class, students create games, artwork and apps by writing code.

Software being used to develop each student’s project include Khan Academy, Codecombat, RobotC and other tutorial programs.

Some of the students who participate in this class include sophomore Alex Pierson and junior Lydia Winters.

For the project, Pierson created multiple pieces of artwork by writing code.

With this being her first year in a computer math class, she shares the ups and downs the construction of this project has brought to the table.

“It’s a lot harder than it seemed to be at first, but it’s fun. [I like that] it allows you to get out of the zone of constant tests and pressure,” Pierson said. “[Also], it has allowed me to learn more because it is all project based for the most part, and anything you learn is from trial and error.”

Winters created a school app called PHS Dragons. The app allows people to see the calendar, lunch menu, the library

web page and the Booster Redux as well.

After a process of paying a developer fee and getting the app approved, her app is now featured on Google Play stores. With this and completing her app, Winters felt a sense of accomplishment.

“I [was] very excited. It is now on the Google Play Store and will soon be one the Apple App Store,” Winters said.

“When I found out it was published on the Android Store I told all my friends and I couldn’t sleep.”

Having had the last few weeks to work on this project and enjoy the things that come with creating it, Pierson feels that she may want to keep pursuing the base of the project as a hobby. “[After finishing], I wanted to do more.

I started working on [other projects],” Pierson said. “I could continue to make art for someone else or I could make my own website and so on. The possibilities are pretty limitless.”

After seeing all of the different outcomes that came with this project, Mengarelli feels that even though he may change some things next semester, overall the class turned out well.

“I think I would consider this class a success, some of the students have come up with some really good projects,” Mengarelli said. “If you ask the students, I think most of them will say they have learned a lot about coding.”

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Play Marches through stereotypes “Band Geeks” taught actors new accents, skills Ashley henderson @PHSstudentpub ollywood repeatedly depicts the average high school to be composed of cliques.

“There’s theater nerds, there’s band geeks, there’s jocks, there’s cheerleaders, and all of those things stereotypically make up a high school,” theater director Greg Shaw said. “The musical is taking that one segment [band geeks] and letting them have their moment and prevailing in the end.”

The Musical Repertory Theatre class performed the musical “Band Geeks” on Nov. 19-21.

Band Geeks required the actors to learn the proper manner of marching, as members of a band would. On top of marching, some individuals also had to learn choreography while carrying their instruments.

“It was pretty fun getting to do something different,” senior Makayla Bockover said. “It wasn’t too hard since I was in band in middle school and I did a little bit of marching so I already knew how to roll step.”

When it came to deciding the roles, Shaw did not let the background of the students affect the process. The actors did not have to learn an instrument for their role.

“It is a suspension of belief that they kids are playing,” Shaw said. “But we actually had a pit band and they [played] all of the music except for a little bit of drum.”

Senior Jack Warring knew how to play the drums prior to his role in Band Geeks. This allowed him to play live on stage.

“The hardest part was volume. The marching snare I used [during Band Geeks] is made to be played outside on the field,” Warring said. “In the theatre I had to work on playing quieter, but still making it look good.”

H

At the halftime show on Friday, Nov. 13, seniors Derrick Brumbaugh, Will Schindler and Jared Wilde perform the number “Twirler Girl” from the musical, “Band Geeks.” The musical, which focused on breaking stereotypes and boundaries, was performed on Nov. 19-21. PHOTO BY MADDI DAVIS

uniting as one: new club involves Hispanic students in school Maddy robison @PHSstudent pub This October, several of the members of the Hispanics United club experienced the tradition of carving pumpkins for the first time in their lives.

Resulting in the large population of Hispanic students, Sophomore Advocate Gloria Montes has created a new club: Hispanics United. Mixing the American and Hispanic cultures is what pushed Montes to create the club.

“I want kids to feel like they’re welcome here,” Montes said. “I want them to be motivated and involved.”

There are currently 121 Hispanic students enrolled at the high school, with 45 of those students enrolled in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). ESOL is a class that helps stu-

dents who cannot speak English learn the language. Some students have to rely on a translator to help them in class.

This club immerses Hispanic students in the American culture, but also helps nonSpanish speaking students interact with the Hispanic population.

The club has already been active around school and intends to become more involved in the commu-

“

nity.

“We are trying to implicate [American] holidays. For example, we had pumpkin carving after school one day. And, out of the 50 members, only two had ever done it before.”

Montes said.

Hispanics United is one of the two clubs offered to students who are not accustomed to the American culture, with the being Chit -JENNIFER GARCIA other Chat club.

“The Spanish Club is learning about the Spanish culture. For Hispanics

Most of the Mo Hispanic students weren’t involved and now they are.

United, it’s reversed,” senior Jennifer Garcia said. “We really want the students to learn about the American culture and language.”

So far, the club has approximately 50 members.

“Most of the Hispanic students weren’t involved in anything and now they are,” Garcia said.

The club has been working after school with the Spanish, French and Chit Chat club to help Hispanic students with homework.

Hispanics United is also working on setting up fundraisers to help the club financially and to also get students more involved in the community. The club hosted a mini soccer camp for kids ages kindergarten through fifth grade on Saturday, Nov. 21.

Senior nominated for JAG conference Rueda fights stereotypes, becomes first PHS student selected Lily black @PHSstudentpub @

N

ot wanting to be another statistic, senior Ivon Rueda fought the stereotypes. She is the first student nominated for the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) National Student Leadership Academy (NSLA) in Washington, DC. “I am the first, I am Hispanic and I want to be a good role model for other Hispanic [students] at our school,” Rueda said. “I want to make a change. I want more Hispanic people out in the community to stand up and actually do something, because not a lot of us go to college and a lot of us are dropouts.”

JAG teacher Nidia Lopez Rueda will be representing the Southeast Kansas (SEK) Region at the NSLA conference December 2-6.

Every year, JAG programs around the nation are asked to nominate a student who is academically and socially successful to attend the NSLA. “Ivon has been with me for two years. Her grades are great, she is doing very well academically, [she] holds a full-time job, and is planning on going to college,” Lopez said.

Lopez nominated Rueda to be a representative at the conference because of these traits, and Rueda believes the conference will help develop the skill set she already possesses.

“I want to broaden my leadership skills, [and] compete in competitions. Some people are very competitive,” Rueda said. “Not many students have this opportunity. I feel very accomplished and grateful.”

Not only was being nominated a shock to Rueda, but so was being the first student from the school chosen to attend.

“I never thought I would get selected, I was surprised. I was very excited and I couldn’t believe it,” Rueda said.

With wanting to break the stereotypes in While in government class, senior Ivon Rueda listens to history teacher Gary Wolgamott. Rueda was nominated for the national JAG conference. PHOTO BY SHERRICK ROGERS mind, Rueda believes the JAG conference will

Winter Formal

Saturday Dec. 5

8-11 p.m. @ PHS Tickets 5$ in advance $6 at the door

help her achieve her goal.

According to Matthew Fearing CEO of JAGKansas,NSLA aids students in developing their knowledge and understanding the significance of their education. “[We] work with students to enhance their chances for graduation and, as importantly, to become employed following graduation,” Fearing said.

It is mandatory for students to engage in one of three competitive activities during NSLA, math skills, public speaking, or employability skills.

Rueda will be competing in the employability skills event. According to Lopez, the student will compete for a simulated job opening by developing a letter of application and a resume. “[The purpose of the competition is] to enable students to demonstrate their ability to secure employment through proficiency in the job application process and interview situations,” Lopez said.

JAG Programs were established to help students devise a plan of employment during and after high school. NSLA was thought of not long after to take a step further, and help students evolve future life skills. “[NSLA] provides an opportunity, not often available to most students, to visit our nation’s capital, meet and develop relationships with fellow JAG students from across the nation, develop leadership and job skills, and to see monuments and displays about our nation and cultures,” Fearing said.

Rueda’s consistent determination and diligence is what inspired Lopez to nominate her to represent the SEK. “She was able to come to school, make good grades, and she stayed persistent,” Lopez said.

“I thinks she’s one of those kids that the light switch came on, and now she has plans. She’s motivated.”

Senior Salutes Due Dec. 4 Turn into Emily Smith in Room 604 or send to esmith@usd250.org

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thinking critically about common core National standards implemented in classrooms Morgan Plank @momoplank he creation of monsters and rollercoasters are not typically considered a part of education.

However, for complex math and classic literature these are examples of what Common Core strives for education to be.

Since its introduction of new state standards in 2009, there has been a negative connotation associated with the term Common Core. Part of this has been credited to the media.

“Some of the unfortunate situations that we are in has politicized the educational system and has made Common Core a political target as saying that it is not good for our students; that we are forcing teachers and schools and students to conform to some program that they are criticizing,” Assistant Principal Rhonda White said.

However, despite the backlash it has received, many believe in the power of the Common Core State Standards.

“I do think that the media has led people to believe [Common Core] is a bad thing, and it is not. It is good,” math teacher Rhonda Willis said. “We get so caught up in our traditional methods of learning that we are not open to new algorithms of things. It’s wanting to teach students to think, to think more deeply and to work hard.

What is bad about this?”

The Common Core State Standards were developed due to the lack of standardization between all the states, according to corestandards.org. The intention of these standards is to better focus on preparing students for college, career and life.

Kansas adopted the standards in October of 2010, but were not fully instituted until the 2013-2014 school year.

“I think Common Core is a system that provides clear learning standards and learning targets and helping [students] with their critical thinking,” White said.

English teacher Melissa Fite Johnson agrees.

T

“I much prefer common core over our previous standards. It focuses much more on critical thinking skills rather than test prep and memorization,” Johnson said.

Junior Coral VanBecelaere is enrolled in Advanced Placement (A.P.) Language and Composition taught by English teacher Lyn Schultze. The class is currently reading the classic novel of Mary Shelley’s, “Frankenstein.”

“Frankenstein is really challenging; I’ve had a lot of issues with understanding it. I have had to go beyond reading and use other resources to try to help me understand it,” VanBecelaere said. “If I have to read five chapters, instead of it taking an hour, it takes at least two because I have to go and study more of what I am actually reading.”

Common C o r e focuses on standardizing various subjects that are broken up into three areas: mathematics standards, English Language Arts (ELA) standards and non-ELA standards.

“Those [standards] allow for all the teachers to focus on reading, writing, speaking and listening skills and try to implement those standards into their curriculum,” White said. “So, a student in English can write an argumentative paper with the same set of standards that a student might write in a social studies class, but about a different type of topic.”

While the standards are a guideline to a teacher’s curriculum, teachers have the freedom to construct their own set curriculum.

“The standards will help drive the curriculum, but the standards are standards of skills and learning targets that we want our students to be able to achieve and demonstrate. How we

“

get there is entirely dependent on the teachers and how they develop their units and curriculum,” White said.

In the English department, one of the initial changes was the additional work analyzed in class.

“We added more non-fiction right away because one of the focuses is more real-world situations,” Schultze said.

Another implementation of Common Core in the English department was the arrangement of units.

“Previously, our study units were structured by genre: short stories, drama, novel, poetry, descriptive writing, comparison-contrast, research.

Now they are structured by a central theme in which r e a d ing, writing and research skills are related,” English teacher L i n d a Barberich said.

“I t h i n k -RHONDA WILLIS LLIS making those connections are beneficial.”

Currently, classes have incorporated higher levels of reading to better ensure future success.

“The text complexity level of what we are reading has been raised to get students ready for college-level reading,” Barberich said. “In English 9 and English 10, we incorporate materials written at a 1080-1305 lexile level.

Grades 11 and 12 check for Career and College Ready lexiles of 12151355.”

Lexile measures correlate to a student’s grade level, and there are a range of lexile scores assigned to each grade level. In relation to Common Core, the purpose of this is to help students become accustomed to the reading demands they will face after graduation.

“In A.P. English we obviously read more advanced things, and I noticed

It’s wanting to teach students to think, to think more deeply and to work hard. What is bad about this?

”

vs

myths

Graphics by grace palmer

-Standards were developed by the federal government -Government require states to adopt the standards -Standards include all academic subjects -Standards dictate what and how every educator must teach

we read a lot more classics, which are harder to understand, so it raises your reading level and your understanding level,” VanBecelaere said.

In math, Common Core has enabled teachers to better explain the realworld application of mathematical practices.

“We have really tried to give students opportunities to discover and see how it pertains to the real world.

Common Core gives you multiple tools for solving problems and it gets you understanding our number system better, thinking more deeply and persevering through problems,” Willis said.

Common Core has engaged students more in the critical thinking process, partly in math related projects.

“I am able to see how what we are studying relates to real life because it makes me realize math is involved in many aspects of work,” junior Logan Lord said. “By using polynomials and zeros, we were able to come up with a piece of a roller coaster design. It was very challenging and pushed everyone in our class to think about math in real-world situations.”

In addition to pushing students, Common Core also pushes teachers to have high standards.

“It has allowed me to feel it is okay to have high expectations for students to be very precise,” Willis said. “I think [Common Core] is the right direction to go.”

Studying relates to real life because it makes me realize math is involved in many aspects of work,” junior Logan Lord said. “By using polynomials and zeros, we were able to come up with a piece of a roller coaster design. It was very challenging and pushed everyone in our class to think about math in real-world situations.”

In addition to pushing students, Common Core also pushes teachers to have high standards.

“It has allowed me to feel it is okay to have high expectations for students to be very precise,” Willis said. “I think [Common Core] is the right direction to go.”

-States developed the standards -State Common Core adoption is voluntary -Standards include only mathematics and English language arts -The standards are not a curriculum

facts

Information compiled by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

8sek SPORTS selections

Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015

Sek Champs

season stats

1st team

-Sullivan Lauderdale only allowed 10 goals -Only 13 goals conceded

Frander Marroquin Jazon Marroquin Jaime Maldonado Lukas McConnell Trevin Jameson Sullivan Lauderdale

-Most Individual Goals Scored in a Season Frander Marroquin - 40 -Most Goals Scored in a Season - 116

Jose Ayala Ivan Walter

Regional Champs

Sectional runner up

record breakers

2nd team

www.boosterredux.com SECTION D

record

Jose Ayala

16-3

Sek Champs

photo by derek brumbaug brumbaugh

Sek Placings Gracie Lopez - 5th Logan Lord - 6th Jamie VanWyck - 7th Lauren Valenzuela - 12th

state qualifiers Logan Lord - 19th Gracie Lopez - 28th Jamie VanWyck - 48th

sek champions first time in school history Logan Lord photo by derek brumbaugh

season stats Individual Records: Abi Felter - 26-15 Alexa Yantis - 29-10 Madison Vogel - 29-8 Sam Bollinger - 31-13 Ashlee Beitzinger - 22-12 Chania Stewart - 18-12

Seal’s 600 win

th

state qualifiers Sam Bollinger & Abi Felter Alexa Yantis & Madison Vogel

Sam Bollinger

photo by Macy Frasco

Boys Sek Champs

sek selections All Sek McKenzie Wilks Lupita Sanchez Connar Southard Cade Southard Reece Watson Derrick Sumner

Sek boys coach of the year Coach Gary Ausemus

Honorable Mention

state qualifiers McKenzie Wilks

Seth Hoffman

Connar Southard

Connar Southard

photo by Savannah Jones

Co-Sek Champs

season stats Iola Tournament Champs Chanute Tournament Champs League Record - 5-1

Sub State runneR up

sek selections record breakers

record 26-14

1st team Taylor Muff (Unanimous) Abbie Casper

2nd team

Taylor Muff Tay

Abby Harris

photo by Macy frasco pho

Sek Champs

sek selections 1st team Offense Spencer Turnbull Sherrick Rogers Trevor Kent Drew White Kayne Hutchison Defense Zack Roark Chiantia Allen Will Mengarelli Adrian Scroggins Deveron Duncan

2nd team

Offense Dylan Untereker Dana Coerver Nathan Neef Defense Elijah Harris Kayne Hutchison Dylan Untereker

-Most Kills in a Season Taylor Muff - 373 -Most Serving Points Abby Harris - 365

Honorable Mention Offense Dante Menghini Chiantia Allen Elijah Harris Joe Salas Defense Keyth Waltrip Trevor Kent

Regional champs sectional runner up

SEKMost record breakers Points Scored by Kicker Nathan Neef - 63

record

most valuable Players

9-2

Sherrick Rogers Will Mengarelli

Zack Roark

photo by derek brumbaugh