Volume 1 Issue 3
NEWS News Briefs
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A Bill to Preserve Safety? There is a new bill proposing mandatory metal detectors in the Illinois General Assembly. Would metal detectors at every entrance of Grant make us safer, awould it be the smart financi al choice?
P6-7 November/December Why can’t we wear masks Photoinofschool? the Month! Where does the Juliana By history begin Reynolds and what can we do to change it?
Keep It Red Learn more about digital citizenship and how to earn awesome prizes using the Bulldog Buck Buckets!
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@GCHS_newspaper
FEATURES Fighting Through Finals
gchs_newspaper
What makes finals so stressful, and how can you better deal with this physical and emotional toil?
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FEATURES (cont.) Holiday Cooking
Deconstructing the Division
Explore three different holiday recipes from three different cultures, all gathered from three different students.
What goes into adding a new sport at Grant, and how has wrestling evolved into adding a girl’s division?
Opinion
Living up to the Legacy
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A Student Made Culture
Giving Gratitude
Did you know there were so many student-led projects going on around the school? So many students search for empowering opportunities to showcase their passion!
Rather than choosing to be grateful for one week a year and selfish for the rest, Elizabeth Newcomb explores the importance of being appreciative year round.
Discussing the Discrimination
ARTS
What are the experiences of students at Grant, and what is being done to prevent discrimination here?
Artist Spotlight
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The Ways of the Holidays What are the different holiday traditions of students at Grant, and how does this impact our culture?
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SPORTS
Learn more about what drives and inspires our November artist, Natasha Bivins, and our December artist Alex Maliziola.
What is the dynasty of the GCHS cheer program, and how have the yearly expectations changed?
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Who to Watch! Check out our athletes at the top of their game and our players who are on the rise!
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Something to Declare
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The Crucible Collage See all the amazing pieces that worked together to make our Fall Play amazing!
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Deepest apologies, but our literary magazine will not be featured in this issue. Please continue to submit your work! The work that was submitted for this issue will be featured in our next issue! Again, we apologize to our writers and look forward to showcasing your work in future issues!
The Identity Issue The four years you will spend in high school will feel like one long identity crisis. All around you, well-meaning or not, people will try to place you in a box, give you one label or another. It’s nothing new, nothing unique to one school or another. It’s a side effect of chucking a bunch of hormonal teenagers into one building, each on the precipice of becoming an adult and into a world with no safety net. Labels are safety nets, manufactured from invisible threads, a way to quarantine and protect yourself from outside ideas and personalities. We label ourselves and put ourselves in a box sometimes, to give ourselves a sense of belonging among the chaos that surrounds us. That, however, is not healthy. We are multi-faceted beings that strive for an identity, almost to a fault. So frantic to label ourselves, we turn this tool to the outside world and the strangers that inhabit the street with us, basing our worldview on the reality we’ve conjured up in our head. Everyone else is stupid, or lazy, or ditzy, or cruel. Ignorance leads to bigotry, and we become the very thing we strive not to be. So take a step back. Think about how you view the people you’re in the hall with. Are they generalizations, based on things you’ve experienced in your life, in your parents’ lives, in your friends’ lives? If they are, reconsider.
Editors Kaitlyn Krueger Kristina Maestranzi
News Mariah Ona Kaitlyn Krueger
Features Elizabeth Newcomb Andrea Lowry The Bark editor, Kaitlyn Krueger.
Sports
There’s an age old saying that everyone’s heard, in one form another. “Treat others how you’d want to be treated.” As cliche and overplayed as that phrase may be, there is an inherent truth there. Not everyone can be treated the same, because everyone is an individual. However, there is a constant truth there: everyone is an individual. Go into the world like that. Go into the world with the idea that everyone is an individual with multi-faceted identities that have evolved from their culture, their experiences, and everything else that can develop a person’s identity. If you don’t want to be boxed in, don’t box others in.
Bryce Mandala
Cover Art Chris Carlson
Special thanks to our models for our “Discussing the Discrimination” article Top Row (Left to Right) Brei Panares Emi McCall Gabe Abernathy Middle Row (Left to Right) Alliyah Cobb Kiana Pope Marie Florov
Let The Bark Bark for You! The Bark is currently searching for: - artists for our cover art - writers for literary magazine section - photographers for Photo of the Month
For all inquires or interests contact: Kaitlyn Krueger 24861@stu.
grantbulldogs.org
or Kristina Maestranzi Coaches and Club Sponsors kmaestranzi@grantbulldogs.org If you are doing a special event that you would like covered or featured in our articles or events calendar, please contact us!
Bottom Row (Left to Right) Micah Smith Sabrina Mansurvora Sam Winters
NEWS
December 15, 2018
Hope Productions Holiday Expo Are you looking for a place to shop for the holidays? Go on down to the Hope Productions Holiday Expo. When and Where? Expo will be at The American Legion Post 771749 Milwaukee Avenue Gurnee, Illinois 60031 from 10:00am to 5:00pm on Saturday December 15th 2018.
How much is it? Entrance fee is only five dollars. Tickets can be purchased online at https:// sq.re/2ABXGc8.
What can I do there? You can go to Hope Productions Holiday Expo and shop from a variety of items for your loved ones. You can get different gifts for everyone without the trouble of going from store to store.
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any cultural traditions come and go without community-wide celebration or recognition. Día de los Muertos is a perfect example. Grant’s Spanish Club has made sure to not overlook this tradition. “we set up the display case downstairs and we had an ofrenda and we have flowers and we got sugar skulls.,” explained Mrs. Catarino, sponsor of Spanish Club. An ofrenda is sort of shrine with a picture of deceased love ones and offerings to them. Many people make ofrendas in their own homes, a way of keeping loved ones’ memories alive. When a family creates an ofrenda, the family
NEWS BRIEFS Rejoicing Recognition
Image of Spanish club with flowers made of tissue paper and sugar skulls that were used on Day of Dead taken by Mariah Ona
believes the dead come over to the land of the living to visit. “We leave out food for our family who is deceased, lots of offerings. Instead of mourning, we rejoice,” said Nelly Valle, freshman. Spanish Club cel-
By: Mariah Ona
Contribution to the Community
Wrestling tackling clean up by holding rakes up. Photo courtesy of Leonard Grodoski
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ebrated the Día de los Muertos by making sugar skulls for the ofrenda, along with flowers made of tissue paper. Spanish Club did an amazing job of creating a Grant Community celebration for this November 2nd tradition.
here is no better gift than giving. Especially when it comes to giving a helping hand. This year for the third time the wrestling program has done just that. “It’s sort of got a little bit of buzz in the community.” said Leonard Grodoski one of Grant’s
wrestling coaches. “We thought it might work as a way to get build more with the community.” he claimed. Community mebers may not be as involved as they’d like to be with Grant. Some probably don’t know any students due to the fact they may feel out of place. It’s ok though because by making connections you’re doing just that. This cleanup could be looked at as encouragement to be more involved with Grant. Now people outside of Grant are now people inside. “I met a lot of people” said Sean Land a freshman wrestler. Some people donated to the wrestling program. Being
thankful is a good thing and we appreciate the help of the funding to those who did donate. “We raked yards and just helped out a bit” said Sean, but a little bit goes a long way. Not only did the team give out some help around town, they gave people a reason to be involved with Grant. “I really do hope this will become a tradition here for years to come”.
By: Mariah Ona
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Decemeber 15, 2018
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Club Spotlight Mixing It Up With Milkshakes Image of FCCLA making millkshakes. Taken by Patricia Pipikios.
By Mariah Ona
“It’s a good opportunity for students to learn more about life skills, focus more on life skills, and actually incorporate them into their lives.” - Patricia Pipikios
When and Where? FCCLA takes place after school every other Wednesday from 3:10 until 4:00pm, in room 113. Late bus will be provided.
What are we about? FCCLA is about learning life skills you will use for the rest of you’re life. You can learn how to bake, cook, sew, and learn a variety of things within those categories. You can even go to nationals.
What do you need to know? For more information, contact Patricia Papikios at Ppipikios@grantbulldogs. org in room 113
You need to know that FCCLA is a club that will teach you skills you will use throughout the rest of your life. Mrs. Pipikios is very flexible on showing up to fit your schedule.
Events Coming Up! December 11
December 15
December 20
Holiday Band Concert 7:00 p.m. GCHS Main Gym
Fox Lake Library Winter Study Hall
Wii Bowling 1:00-3:30 p.m. Lakefront Park Building
December 12 Jazz Ensemble Concert 7:00 p.m.
December 13 Holiday Choir Concert 7:00 p.m.
1:00-3:00 p.m. Studying for finals? The 1st Floor Meeting Room is open for you and your study group. Snacks provided.
December 18 5:00-8:00 Big Hollow PTO No Cook Wednesday at Portillo’s in Gurnee
Come play Wii bowling on the third Thursday of the month. This class is for all abilities, and there is no experience required. Come as an individual or come as a team! This program is $1.00 per person and all of the gaming equipment is provided for this program.
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December 15, 2018
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Can you imagine walking through metal detectors every day?
A Bill to Preserve Safety? Kaitlyn Krueger Recently, a bill was proposed in the Illinois General Assembly with the goal that in the beginning of the 2019-2020 academic year, each institution of higher learning must install and operate a walk-through metal detector at each public entrance of the institution and during any special event on any campus of the institution if more than 1,000 people are present at the event. As stated by the bill, the State Board of Education shall, subject to appropriation, make grants available to a school district to assist in the purchase and operation of walk-through metal detectors.
This means, if this legislation was passed, federal funds would be drawn to, in part, pay for the installation and operation of these metal detectors. The deans have taken a very neutral approach to the bill, Jeremy Anderson stated, “The feasibility of putting metal detectors in school would be the point of discussion as this bill works its way through the government. If it [metal detectors in schools] were made mandatory, we would be given direction from the state and would ultimately adhere to state policy. Therefore, it is not for us to really determine the feasibility of such a measure.
“Ultimately we would support measures that would continue to keep our school safe”
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Ultimately we would support measures that would continue to keep our school safe.” Which raises the question, are metal detectors the best method of keeping Grant safe, or should funding be put towards other means? In recent years, there has been an uptick in the usage of metal detectors in public high schools. Although it’s difficult to track security systems in all schools, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that 8.7 percent of public high schools in the country used metal detectors at least once during the 2013-2014 school year. That’s nearly four percentage points more than in 2010, when NCES found that only 5 percent of schools used metal detectors. Clearly, metal detectors are not the most common form of maintaining school safety. Metal
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Decemeber 15, 2018
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detectors actually present many dif- Portal metal detectors avoid huge waiting lines, even with ficulties that prevent it from being (walk-through) vary widely in price. this much equipment and this many the go-to method of ensuring safety. Portals on the market range from officers, and still get everybody to The U.S. Department of Justice pubas little as $1,000 up to as much class on time was by a complete lished a report titled “The as $30,000. The moderately-priced restructuring of their class periods. Appropriate and Effective Use of Semodels around $4,000 to $5,000 The bill does not describe curity Technologies in U.S. Schools” probably offer the features and reli- what specific funds will be drawn, in which it was detailed how and abilities required for a school metal leading an uncertainty. Could funds when to use a metal detector cordetection program. However, the be allocated to something that’s rectly. All the following initial purchase price of more effective? information was oba portal metal detector The deans commented on The tained that report. is almost insignificant the effectiveness of metal detecSafety Stats A number of iscompared with the ontors. “Many times, the most efsues with using a metal going personnel costs to fective safety measure is to say detector quickly and operate the equipment. something when you see something. efficiently are present Data providTherefore, if you as a student see of public high with the setting itself ed by the New York City something alarming or concerning schools control access to school by and the capabilities of (NYC) Board of Educaplease let a trusted adult know in locking and controlthe metal detector. Mettion in about 50 of its the building; do not assume someling doors al detectors are usually inner-city high schools one else has already reported your not effective when used shows the amount of observation.” on purses, bookbags, personnel needed to Grant already has measures of public high briefcases, or suitcases. efficiently and effecin place to keep students as safe as schools use random There is usually tively use walk-through possible. Think of the number of dog sniffs to check a large number of difmetal detectors. For just security guards you see in the hall for drugs ferent objects or materione of its schools with every day. But if this bill is passed, als located in or as part about 2,000 students, the effectiveness of metal detectors of the composition of the weapon detection and whether or not we want it in of public high these carried items that program requires 9 school is negligible. Funding will be school’s use walkwould cause an alarm. security officers for allocated to proper training, proper through metal detectors Furthermore, approximately 2 hours installation. Hopefully, with time, if a metal detector alone each morning. this bill is passed, this addition will all data obtained from NCES cannot distinguish be These secunot prevent our school from runtween a gun and a large rity officers held a wide ning quickly and efficiently. metal belt buckle. This variety of jobs, some shortcoming is what makes weapon handling the initial metal detectors, detection programs impractical for and one just keeping the line movmany schools; trained employees ing. are needed to make these determi It should be noted that the nations. only way these schools were able to Another widely held belief about metal detectors is that they are a straightforward technology, where the equipment does all the work. This is not true at all. The average first-time user will undoubtedly expect a metal detector to be much smarter and more helpful than it can possibly be. A metal detector is only as good as the operator overseeing its use. This means that the bill will have to withdraw federal funding from some other part of the Department of Education towards the funding of the installation, training, Walk-through metal detectors can be effective when used properly, as seen with and operation of the metal detecthis office, Picture credited to Wikimedia. tors.
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December 15, 2018
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Red Read
Bulldog Buck Buckets
Digital Citizenship The most recent lesson you participated in was about digital citizenship, which is a pretty broad term. Our main focus during the lesson was social media. When we interviewed students, everyone agreed seeing negative things on social media isn’t helpful and made them feel pretty low about themselves and their community. There have been many experiments, specifically on Twitter, that show how big of a reach you really have when you post something online. Your tweet has the potential to reach thousands of people! Beacuse of that large reach, several students said social media can be used as a positive tool, so it should be kept that way. What does being a responsible digital citizen mean to you?
We’ve created a new way for you to use your Bulldog Bucks! From now until the end of break, our brand new Bulldog Buck Buckets will be out in the Senior Cafe and the Commons. Each bucket represents a different $10 gift card: Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Jimmy John’s and bowling! All you have to do is turn in your bucks to the bucket of the gift card you want to win. We’ll pull one winner from each bucket, eight total, on Fridays along with our normal Bulldog Buck winners. Good luck!
Quarterly Drawing Our next quarterly drawing is coming up on December 14! Remember, quarterly drawings offer bigger prizes. Not only do you get your choice of something off the cart, like candy or a tshirt, you can also win winter dance tickets, a parking space for next year, a pizza party and gift cards! What a better way to head into finals than being a quarterly winner! Make sure you get ALL your bucks turned in for your chance to win!
November Bulldog Pride Winners: Cameron Barnes, Jacob Wagner, Tyler Carlson, Libby Nehmzow, Deon Lopez, Cedajia Atterberry, Crysta Ricketts and Nicole Stigler.
Freshmen 857
Sophomores 680
Juniors 454
Seniors 1681
Remember, you can earn Bulldog Cup points 8 off of how many Bucks your class turns in! based 8
Bulldog Buck Totals
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Decemeber 15, 2018
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December 15, 2018
Fighting Through Finals
The Bark
An insight to the challenges that are slapped in the faces of both students and teachers during the timeline of final exams Written And Collected By: Elizabeth Newcomb
Day
Class Period
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Wednesday 12/19
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7:40-8:55
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10:24-11:39
5/6
7:40-8:55
7/8/9
9:02-10:17
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10:24-11:39
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Thursday 12/20
Friday 12/21
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Pictured above are students in the library, who are demonstrating what the emotional aspect of finals feels like. Photo by Elizabeth Newcomb
Each and every year when finals roll around, new challenges appear. Trying to cram your brain with new information and also manage to remember everything you’ve learned all year is a struggle. Not only is it a difficult time for students, but also teachers. Greg Wodzien, English teacher at Grant Community High School claims “The truth is that students and teachers spend 4 and a half months preparing for this one moment.” Behind this statement lies a serious truth. Students try to maintain decent grades throughout the semester in hopes that finals will boost them, not break them down. Some students claim that teachers are out to get them because of their grades, but this isn’t the case.
Mr. Wodzien claims, “When I look at the formative and summative assessments students have taken in class, I’ve shaped the way the class learns so they will be successful come final exam time in December.” Academic achievement is the overall goal at Grant. Maintaining success within educational environments is a priority for most students and teachers as well. Although being prosperous within the gradebook is a huge accomplishment, it takes a lot of studying to achieve that. Students who try their best to be exceptional at school often struggle even when they have good grades. For example, last year freshman Abby Allen
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Pictured above is Hannah Newport studying for finals in the library, Photo taken by Elizabeth Newcomb
claims that finals were a challenge. “I thought they were really stressful even though I studied a lot.” Abby has a remarkable GPA, but she claims that it’s a lot to keep up with. The side effects emotionally from these tests is quite impactful. Finals not only take a toll on emotional health, but also physical. Students who are staying up late to relearn everything from the semester, are missing out on sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, teenagers need about eight hours of sleep each night. Depending on the personal life of the student, they might not be getting home until eight or nine PM because of extra curriculars or sports practices. Afterwards they have to find a time to eat, socialize with family, and then study. At this rate, they might not be falling
asleep until midnight or later which makes it more tempting to hit snooze rather than wake up and face the day. Another factor of sleep deprivation could be the increase of students turning to caffeine to boost their mood and keep their eyes open. Whereas in fact just getting a little bit more shut eye could potentially be what they need instead. Now that you’ve been exposed to the true aspects that go into finals for everyone, perhaps rethinking the way you tackle them this year is necessary. Overall, the key to finals is to get lots of rest, pay attention in class, and do all of the tedious study guides.
Above is an infographic generated through Piktochart made by Elizabeth Newcomb.
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Eddie Molsen rehearsing the vocals of “A Rumour in St. Petersburg” in the choir room. Not pictured: the ensable of his student production. Photo credits to Kaitlyn Krueger
A Student Made Culture
Kaitlyn Krueger
Nearly every day, at precisely 10:10, you could find Eddie Molsen walking in a circle in his garish red gym uniform, occasionally looking up to ask for an opinion, but otherwise engrossed in the work on his phone, specifically. Nearly every open tab is dedicated to one thing, and one thing only: musicals, Anastasia. “There’s no feeling quite like having a creative outlet that is entirely your own and that you get to do whatever you want with,” explained Eddie, before quickly jotting down a note about how he wants a particular line to be sung.
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Eddie Molsen is a junior and a self described “dedicated crazy person”, currently in the middle of producing his very own completely student run production of “A Rumour in St. Petersburg” from the Broadway musical, Anastasia for the Variety Show. The production is completely student run, meaning Eddie has to operate: casting, choreography, set, vocals, practice, and everything else that falls under the umbrella of a musical. It’s true that Eddie has a passion for musicals and creating his own works that is rather unparalleled, but our school is filled with student run projects. From the Variety Show to Super Fans to Film Club,
Grant is filled with opportunities to find your own creative outlet and not nearly as frightening as it may seem. The Variety Show is a long standing tradition at Grant, running for at least 20 years, though the last 5 have been very student run. Thanks to Mr. Austin’s insistence on having student run organizations, the MC’s, the lighting, the sound, everything is student run. The MC’s are student’s who write their own scripts, and each act is completely of the students own volition. Doubt it? Last year, a particularly bizarre act called “The Susan Burmann Revival” made it onto the
Features second round, featuring the song “Lux Aeterna” playing in the background while a completely silent cast member… eats cereal. Various strange events take place throughout the performance, which remains completely wordless. It’s totally possible to have a weird production that is entirely your own. Getting an act approved for the Variety Show is surprisingly simple, but let’s say you want something with a little more of a support structure. Film Club is a fantastic opportunity to create your own student film, with the support and back-seat guidance of the sponsor, Mr. Schmitt. Currently, student films are in production, and without any current films made, it’s best to turn to a student who, just recently, made a mockumentary about the Fall Play, “The Crucible”, Emma Lancaster. When asked about the experience of creating a short film with only minimal teacher support, Emma replied, “I think it adds a sense of like, responsibility. You feel proud of the things that you create because you’re the one initiating it and you’re the one taking control of the situation and whatever the product is, it is solely you that created that.” Over the course of a few days and planning, Emma wrote the script, filmed, and edited the video, with a very supportive and very busy cast. You might be wondering if it’s difficult to have a completely student-run project. However, Emma found that it was really quite simple. “I thought it would be hard to control the students … but actually everyone was really cooperative and it turned out really cool.” she explained. “I think students are more receptive to each other’s projects, because when it’s their peers doing it, they feel more included and more of a part of it. When it is a teacher’s project, it just seems like all this is the teachers work and they’re going to take credit for it, but when it’s all students working together, it feels more like a team.” Emma created this production during the two weeks before the show, a.k.a. tech week, when
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Natasha Bivins and Neil Knudsen in the silent performance of “The Susan Burmann Revival”. Photo credits to VIPIS
every aspect of the theater program is at its busiest. Eddie is going to be rehearsing and performing his show when the Spring Musical starts to get really really busy. Students are willing to put their time aside to work on these student productions, and it really is a worthwhile experience. At this point, you might be wondering, “are all the opportunities for student run projects just artsy or in the Performing Arts Society?” and the answer is no! The well known group Super Fans is actually entirely student run.
This year’s leads, Joe Gordon and Matt Auckland described running a student run organization built around supporting Grant’s Athletic Department. “It’s basically impossible to like do everything on your own.” Joe explained how they work with the deans, teachers, and administration.”So I mean, the fact that it’s, like, student run and we have faculty on our side with it, it makes us feel more mature and more at their level which is really nice.” Over the years, with mutual respect and combined cooperation with administration and students, Super Fans has continued to grow. There were many firsts this year, such as the t-shirts made for breast cancer, with all the profits going towards charity. In short, there are opportunities to do something of your own creation all around Grant. Whether you want to support the Athletic Department, the Performing Arts Society, or create something entirely of your own accord, it’s entirely possible! If you’re intimidated, just take that leap of faith. Eddie believes that he can pull off his full on musical production with that faith. “It’s a little intimidating but I’m very excited because I think we can do it with the help of as many students a possible.”
A how to guide of the first steps of creating your own club!
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When you LaBEL me, this is all you see
I am MORE than just a
LaBEL
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December 15, 2018
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Pictured above is Aliyah Cobb, member of the Black Student Union. Photo taken by Elizabeth Newcomb
The Unheard Voices: Discussing The Discrimination Written And Collected By: Elizabeth Newcomb
A story by Guerritha Muntu as told by Elizabeth Newcomb When you first look at me, you may not know that when I walk down the hallway I hear degrading slurs regarding my race. In those moments, my palms start to sweat and my face turns red. Hundreds of questions flood to my mind frantically. Are they talking to me? Are they talking about me? More importantly, why did they say that type of word? A dozen synonyms race into my mind about other words they could’ve said. Do they even know the true meaning or denotation of this word?
In my head, I can’t help but wonder why they choose to speak in such a manner. Does it come from a place of insecurity or pure ignorance? Whatever the reason, all I know is that it doesn’t feel acceptable and it isn’t right. Being discriminated against for any reason shouldn’t be tolerable, yet there are few consequences. When I arrive at school everyday, I set goals for myself. Academic success is my main priority. Yet, almost everyday I hear degrading comments and I feel worthless, as if I shouldn’t be here at all. Nobody wants to be in an uncomfortable position especially at school where they’re supposed to be
safe. So why is this happening to me and people who look like me solely because our appearances? At Grant Community High School, racism doesn’t seem like an issue that would come to mind at first thought. In our society in general, this is a huge problem. Despite the tremendous progress with equality movements, prejudices are still present. Judging others based on their looks, values, beliefs, religion, sex, etc. are all examples of discrimination that are current today. Speaking up is a challenging task for anyone who feels as if their voice is powerless. Aliyah Cobb refuses to stay silent though, “People
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really don’t notice it, but I notice it everywhere.” Throughout the interview, Cobb opened up about what her personal experiences with discrimination felt like. She described it as a burden and she kept wondering why. “I just feel like a lot of the kids here need to understand that certain things hurts us with the way they say things.” Unfortunately, taunting in the hallways, cafeteria, classrooms, and even on our very own football field is present. When people think of racial slurs, the majority of thoughts go to the N word. Aliyah claims that this isn’t the only word that deeply impacts her. She feels personally from her experiences, when people make jokes about slavery or shootings that occur in Chicago, she takes them to heart. Switching the perspective, but not the poor circumstances, senior Micah Smith had similar experiences to share. “I’ve been noticing racism coming off as if it isn’t even a thing. It’s just like a joke to people nowadays.” Micah claims that it feels hurtful and overall frustrating. His goal is to try and encourage a change within society to stop playing racism off like it is just a joke to laugh about rather than a serious issue. Despite these highly offensive statements being used, the staff at Grant works tirelessly to decrease the amount of discrimination here. The Deans have written policies of proper protocols to follow in certain situations such as these. These guidelines protect students from harassment and can be found on page 19 of the student reference handbook. The Deans claim that specific cases might have different types of consequences depending on the severity of the situation. Not only are strict policies in place, but a change in approach to curriculum has been made. History teacher at Grant, Mr. Maxwell Boton claims that he educates students using the method provided by Teaching Tolerance. Teaching Tolerance is a tool in which the practice of being open minded and
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Pictured above is Mr. Maxwell Boton, teacher at Grant and leader of the Black Student union. Photograph taken by Elizabeth Newcomb.
respectful comes first when attempting to teach students. Mr. Boton believes in educating this way because he claims that it represents students in a manner that is deferential through hard topics such as racism. Mr. Boton also suggests that any students struggling with racism of any kind to come visit a meeting with the Black Student Union. Everyone is welcome and this is a safe place where students can come to build community and discuss pivotal issues such as these. Overall, the main goal at Grant Community High School is to always encourage the safety of students. Principal Mr. Jeremy Schmidt
states, “My personal thoughts are as a school, we want everyone to feel welcomed, accepted, and safe.” Throughout the remainder of the interview, Mr. Schmidt continued to explain how the Deans and staff work tirelessly to do their best and provide students with a healthy and respectful learning environment. Mr. Schmidt provided a deep understanding of how important it is to keep students safe and be empathetic towards the problems they find pivotal such as this one. “Whether it be race or anything else, if that’s being infringed upon for our kids, we want to work to make that better.”
Pictured above is an infographic generated by Elizabeth Newcomb through Piktochart based off of numbers from the participants of the Instagram poll.
HEAR my story . . .
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December 15, 2018
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. . . take in my COMPLEXITY . . .
. . . appreciate my HUMANITY.
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T
he book of holiday traditions is endless. There isn’t a place we can call the end because once you think you’ve found the last page you learn so much more and realize you are nowhere near the end. Although we may not know it, several people, including students here at Grant, celebrate different things for the holidays that we don’t know much about. What traditions do students actually do, and how do they do it? Antonina Kawecki is a senior here at Grant, and she celebrates the holidays following the Polish traditions she and her family have been doing for years. Antonina and her family celebrate Christmas with their own family twist. “We all get dressed, like, super fancy,” says Antonina. “We cook the whole day before (Christmas Eve). We have a bunch of different dishes, I think it’s like 12 or 13 [...] different dishes. We sit down, we eat, and you have to try everything because it’s rude if you don’t.” Antonina and her family also do not eat red meat during the holidays. On Christmas morning, they eat things such as fish and walnuts, according to Antonina. After they eat on Christmas Eve night, they move on to do a family tradition where the children do the finding of the ‘first star’. “It’s supposed to be like Santa’s sleigh,” says Antonina. “That’s what I always told my sister.” After the star is found, the
Picture by Andrea Lowry A Christmas ordament from Mr. Austin’s art room
family goes on to unwrap presents for the remainder of Christmas Eve. “I like the way it’s celebrated,” says Antonins. “I feel like I don’t have the patience to wait until morning (to open presents).” A student with French descent celebrates the holidays in a unique way that is sure to surprise you. Tanner Newman is a senior here at Grant, and her family celebrates the holidays in their own special way. “Every year, we have a different theme for Christmas,” says Tanner. “We’ve had Harry Potter, we’ve had Doctor Seuss, [...] The Apocalypse was a theme. This year I get to pick and because I’m French, I’m choosing like French Victorian era decorations.” Not only does Tanner’s family celebrate each year with a new theme, they also do a ‘Secret Santa’ among everyone in the family. They do this on the 23rd of December, which also starts the tradition of small daily presents from their parents.“We always get a present every day leading up to Christmas, which is fun,” Tanner says. “I would not want to change anything (about the way my family celebrates the holidays). I adore it so much.” Samuel WInters is a senior here at Grant, and he celebrates Christmas and Hanukkah with his Jewish family. With celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah, Samuel’s holiday usually consists of a lot of family. “We all get together, like dur-
December 15, 2018
The Bark
ing Christmas,” says Samuel. “Usually all the extended family from my step dad’s side gather and have a nice family party”. Samuel’s family also tends to shy away from the typical tradition of eating a large feast for the holidays. “We usually eat appetizers for the most of it,” says Samuel. Samuel is overall happy with the way he celebrates the holidays, and he wouldn’t want to change a thing. “It’s amazing to be able to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas.” says Samuel. Although you may not know it, every single person celebrates the holidays differently. Whether you have a different theme every year for the holidays or your family gathers together for a family party, the way your family celebrates the holidays is special. Have a Happy Holiday, Grant!
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Holiday Cooking Features
December 15, 2018
The Bark
By Andrea Lowry
The holiday season brings out many things. Family, celebration, tradition and so much more. One thing almost everyone does during the holidays though is eat special foods they reserved for this time of year. Everyone eats something different, whether it be something simple that everyone knows about, or something different that maybe not many people have heard of. What do the students here at Grant eat during the holidays?
(Picture) Freshman Cindy Ponce cooking for the holidays
Picture by Andrea Lowry
Picture by Creative Commons
Mole
Alejandra Salinas Gonzalas is a Junior here at Grant. Considering her heritage is Mexican, Alejandra’s family eats Mexican food on a regular basis. Something her family eats frequently during the holidays is a Mexican dish called Mole. It consists of things such as nuts,
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Mole
fruits, garlic, and onions. “[I have been eating this for] my entire life,” says Alejandra.
Step 1: Heat two teaspoons of Vegetable Oil in a saucepan with medium heat. Step 2: Cook 1/4 cup of onions in the oil until they are tender Step 3: Mix in one teaspoon of ground cumin, unsweetened cocoa powder, cilantro, and 1/8 tablespoon of minced garlic Step 4: Stir in 10.75 ounces of tomato soup and 4 ounces of green chile peppers Step 5: Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Credit to allrecipes.com
Features Picture by Creative Commons
Russian Vegetable Pie
Marie Florev is a senior here, and her family eats foods from Russian tradition for the holidays. Something her family eats during the holidays is called a Russian vegetable pie. “ It’s kind
of like if you baked a pie but instead of a filling, it’s still crusted,” says Marie. “At the very top is more crust there’s, like, [egg and egg white.]””
Picture by Creative Commons
Beignet
December 15, 2018
The Bark
Russian Vegetable Pie Step 1: Heat your oven to 400 ferenheit, Step 2: Bring water to a boil, and remove it form heat. Step 3: Place 4 eggs in the boiling water for 11 minutes, then remove the eggs. Peel them and slice them. Step 4: In a seperate bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups of flower, 1 teaspoon of salt and white sugar. Add butter until the mixture seems to crumble, and then add 4 ounces or cream cheese, until it’s in a shape of a ball. Step 5: roll 2/3 of the dough. Take the remaining dough and make a circle to fit inside of a 9 inch pie pan. Put aside. Step 6: Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet. Add in 1 chopped onion and 1 small cabbage and saute. Season, and saute until onions are soft. Set aside. Step 7: Add a tablespoon of butter to a pan and saute 8 sliced mushrooms for 6 minutes. Set aside. Step 8: Spread cream cheese on the bottome of the pie crust. Place the egg slices in a layer on top, the sprinkle it with dill. cover them with the cabbage. Place the mushrooms on top, then finish off with the circle of dough from earlier. cut small slashes in the top. Step 9: Place in the preheated over for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees, and bake for 25 minutes. Credit to allrecipes.com
Beignet
Another student here at Grant celebrates the holidays with an African tradition. Gurritha Muntu is a sophomore at grant, and she and her family eat several different kinds of foods, one being a French dish named Beignet. “The country I come from, we were colonized by a French
country, Belgium.” says Gurritha. “So we have some French food.” Beignet can consist of sugar, milk, lard, and more. “It’s really good,” Gurritha says. “You can eat it with peanut butter or nutella. Some people eat it with hot sauce.”
Step 1: In a bowl, dissolve 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast in warm water. Add in 1/2 cup of sugar, a teaspoon of salt, 2 eggs, 1 cup of evaporated milk and mix. Add 4 cups of flour and mix till smooth. Add 1/4 cup of shortening, and then three more cups of flour. Cover, and chill for 24 hours. Step 2: roll out the dough to be 1/8 inch thick. Cut it into 2 1/2 inch squares. Fry them in 1 quart of 360 degree vegetable oil. (The beignets should pop up to the top of the oil, if the temperature is hot enough.) Drain them onto a paper towel. Step 4: Sprinkle confectioners sugar over the top. Credit to allrecipes.com
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Giving Gratitude Year Round Features
December 15, 2018
The Bark
Written And Collected By Elizabeth Newcomb
Every year as the holiday season approaches, the majority of people find themselves spreading festive cheer. From October to November it seems as if the majority of people up their positivity because of the thankful atmosphere. The common theme of giving and receiving gifts transpires and creates more gratitude, but isn’t this a practice we should be encouraging year round? “There’s a lot of wonderful things in life that you need to show appreciation for,” says French teacher at Grant, Madame Rebecca Wilds. Personally, she believes in spreading joy everyday, not just at the holidays. “Overall, people tend to kind of think about those things more during the holidays. I think the holidays bring out that kind of goodness and appreciation. But I think we do need to be cognizant of that all year
Pictured: Madame Wilds, Alyssa Sbertoli, and Abby Allen. Photo was taken by Elizabeth Newcomb.
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round.” Switching the perspectives, but not the common theme, sophomore Alyssa Sbertoli shares the same values. “I feel that I am always grateful for the life I have been given.” Alyssa is highly involved with extra curriculars and shared that her family life keeps her optimistic. “The support of my family and friends helps me so much to have a good outlook on life. With all of this love surrounding me, I can’t help but to smile and appreciate so many of the amazing people that have always been there to support me.” Throughout the season, holiday cheer is encouraged from the media and also our society. Sophomore Abby Allen would like to remind everyone of the true meaning of joyful spirit even through the holi-
days. “Year round I try my best to stay positive but when it gets to the holidays I make sure I am and that I’m not faking it because you are surrounded by loved ones and friends who care about you and appreciate you.” As this season progresses and the year continues to evolve, remember to be kind. Alyssa encourages to “spread kindness like confetti.” After all, nobody wants to surround themselves with a Grinch! Spread your confetti and positivity everyday!
Features
December 15, 2018
Artists Spotlight
The Bark
Natasha Bivins
N
atasha Bivins is a senior with an affinity for abstract art, and a bright future ahead of her! The November’s artist spotlight is guided by art, and her aspirations for the future. “Art gives me a sense of direction,” she explained. Her introduction to art came at a young age, with her grandmother who has been a huge inspiration to her. She described how the two painted together, and how her grandmother has supported her interest in the arts.
However, her path towards going to Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and continuing with art in her future was really jump started when she took Intro to Art and landed in Mr. Austin’s class. “It has one hundred percent led me on the exact path I needed to be on to get where I am today,” Natasha described. “Austin was someone who believed in me and really pushed me to immerse myself in my art, which has made all the difference.” And where is she
today? Natasha is the president of the National Art Honor Society, a club she fought to have established at Grant, and has been the student art director for four shows. Natasha’s ink piece She’d like to thank the people that have surrounded her and supported her, including the whole Art Department and her grandmother. However, her own hard work and determination to continuously improve her art are not to be ignored or forgotten; for her style and skill continue to develop.
Alex Maliziola
He plans to also help with the set of this year’s spring musical, taking his ability to find pleasure in the meticulous to the fine details of the set.
H
ow many people can find the meticulous relaxing? Making tiny little lines and watching as it blossoms into the bigger picture. Some of us don’t have the patience for it, but December’s arist spotlight, Alex Maliziola, wants to make a career out of it. Alex is a junior, and for as long as he can remember, has always been doodling on anything he could get his hands on. This continued into his high school years due to, what he referred to as, the joy of creation. He explained, “it’s just the sort of satisfaction that I made this, y’know? That’s sort of pushed me to keep on improving.” And in digital art, there’s always room for improvement, development. Alex wants to go into game development, working on concept art.
Alex’s digital design of Bear for a PSA.
His medium of choice is digital art, and he loves 3D modeling. “It’s very meticulous in that exact process and it’s very relaxing,” Alex said. “Just doing all these little lines or putting down all these little nodes to make one massive wireframe. It’s very satisfying.” However, he is not simply focused on digital art. Alex is actively involved in the theater program, helping paint the set for “Beauty and The Beast” last year and playing the role of Judge Danforth in the fall play’s “The Crucible”.
Alex proudly standing in front of all his artwork in the case. 23
Arts
December 15, 2018
The Bark
The Crucible Fall 2018 Collected by Kaitlyn Krueger - Photos VIP
Jay Jenkins, Meet Patel, and Jacob Wagner were live percussion. Katie Dinschel and Hannah Goodwin moving set pieces.
The entire cast of The Crucible. 24
Senior Meg Sampson as the dramatic Ann Putnam.
Arts
December 15, 2018
The Bark
Maddie Bieniarz and Gina Green guarding the entrance to the prop shop
All of the crew members in The Crucible
Ryan Lewis and Emma Lancaster as John amd Elizabth Proctor, respectively
Vice student art director, Bree Vouga, moving the gallows backstage
The young women are led in hysterics by Faith Smith as Abigail Williams
Deon Lopez, Peyton Baisden, and Jacob Wagner discussing the bible 25
Sports
December 15, 2018
The Bark
Deconstructing the Division Bryce Mandala
I
n the U.S., Title IX is a federal what has to happen following the law that states: “No person in the introduction of a boys sport regardUnited States shall, on the basis ing Title IX, “In order to abide by all of gender, be excluded from particithe Title IX rules, if we added a boys pation, be denied the benefits of, sport we had to add in a girls sport or be subjected to discrimination as well...so what happened was that under any education program or we sent out an interest survey to all activity receiving Federal financial the students during their TEAM class assistance.” In our school system asking what new sport they would in a more simple explanation, for want to see at Grant for both girls every extracurricular opportunity and boys. Boys Lacrosse, of course, that’s given to boys or was the number girls, that same numone sport for boys, “In order to ber of opportunities is and for girls it was abide by all the required to be given to Badminton.” Title ix rules, if the other gender. Essentially, For example, the Athletic Departwe add a boys this spring at GCHS, the ment didn’t just sport, we have Athletics Department choose those sports to add in a girls is introducing Boys for us, we took a sport as well.” Lacrosse and Girls Badpoll and that’s what - Mr. Ross, Head minton as sponsored we, as students votsports. ed on as a whole. Athletic Direc A lot more goes Since Girls tor into introducing a new Badminton wasn’t sport than you may already a pre-existthink. ing club, the way In most cases, the sport has it’s going to operate is going to be a to start out as a club first and have little different than other sports. Mr. a sustained level of popularity for a Ross touches on that as well, “Girls number, of years. If that happens, Badminton will start out as a pilot the schools Athletic Department then program since it wasn’t a club previhas the option of moving that sport ously, and has to sustain itself for a to the IHSA (Illinois High School Asnumber of years before it becomes a sociation) Approved Program, and full-fledged IHSA sport.” that’s exactly what happened with So Girls Badminton will still Boys Lacrosse. It got approved and play organized games against opis now its own sanctioned sport at posing schools, but needs to have Grant taking place during the spring pronounced popularity before it season. becomes official. Mr. Ross, the Head Athletic The Head Varsity Coach for Director here at Grant, talks about Boys Lacrosse will be Mr. Christian, and Girls Badminton has yet to be
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decided. Some other ground-breaking news in our school, for the first year ever, girls have their very own division within our wrestling program. Historically, when girls wrestled at the high school level, they would have to match up against other boys, which wasn’t the most ideal situation as far as competing goes and ultimately caused them to lose interest for the sport altogether. This year however, that’s not the case, girls will be compet-
Senior, Gordon Kiesgen blows past a Hampshire defender in a club game last Spring. Photo Courtesy of: VIPIS
Sports
December 15, 2018
The Bark
Coach Cramer with some of the fellow Girl Wrestlers. Photo Credit: Bryce Mandala
ing against other girls.“This year who are for girls’ wrestling and said the IHSA has officially sanctioned they’ll have girls on their team that Girls’ Wrestling as an emerging sport will compete...there’s about 70 or so where they compete against other people that have joined, and I’m sure girls, and they’re working right now there are more who are on board, towards getting their but just haven’t own state tournament joined the com“I put in as much and having it be its own mittee yet. We effort as they legitimized, accredited have seven girls do, and bring the sport within the IHSA.” on our roster cursame ambition quotes Mr. Grodoski, Head rently that have to show that I’m Varsity Wrestling Coach. come out, and I strong and Not only has Grant know Stevenson empowering.” jumped on board with and schools like -Sophomore Girls’ Wrestling, but so that have a lot Citlalli Salashave some of the “higher on their roster as Abrego level” wrestling programs well.” in the area, and some Sophomore states already have a state female wrestler, tournament. Citlalli Salas Mr. Grodoski Abrego recently speaks on how other schools are moved from Atlanta, Georgia just pushing towards having their very this year and was involved in the own girls’ division, “Right now wrestling program at her old school, there’s a committee that’s working but wasn’t aware that this was the ofto get this approved by the IHSA as ficial inaugural year for Girls’ Wresa state-wide sanctioned sport. There tling in Illinois. “When I came here are coaches who have committed
at the beginning of the school year I was notified that it was the first year in Illinois and I was very shocked, because in Georgia, they’ve been doing it for awhile and it’s pretty common there.” Citlalli also talks about what it’s like to be a minority in a maledominant sport. “In practice when I wrestle guys, I do feel like I fit in, and I put in as much effort as they do. I bring to the mat, the same ambition to win and the same ambition to show that I’m strong and empowering.” Very inspirational words from the sophomore. Overall, equal rights among different races and genders has been one of the most controversial topics within our society the past 200 years. Some have even questioned whether or not we’ve taken a single step forward, but with stories like this, it’s assured that we’re headed in the right direction and will continue to progress moving forward.
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Living up to the LEGACY Sports
December 15, 2018
The Bark
Bryce Mandala
T
o say that the GCHS Varsity Cheerleading team has been successful in recent years would be an understatement. In fact, they have been undoubtedly the winningest sport at Grant since 2013. Four state plaques hang on the wall in the Bendetti Center Fieldhouse, the two most recent coming from Cheer. A 3rd Place finish in 2013, and the highest place finish in a state tournament in school history. A 2nd place finish last season in February, just two points off from taking The Varsity Cheer team after their 2nd place finish at the IHSA State Cheerhome a state championship. leading Finals last Winter. Photo Courtesy of: VIPIS Some other notable accolades include placing 1st at the annual Stevenson Compedown either, six freshman, team is young, and tition to kick off the season, Numbers to as well as eight sophomores makes the accommoseven consecutive years in a were pulled up for this winter dations necessary in know... row. And in the 15 years that competition order to keep leaderCheerleading has season, meanship traits balanced been an IHSA “I’ve had to shift ing that more across the team. sanctioned sport, things, and really than half of “I guess I’ve had The number of conthere has yet to work on leadersecutive years that the team is to shift things as a be a single seaCheer has placed ship and tried made up of coach this year, and first at the Stevenson son where they to get my underCompetition. underclassreally work on leadhaven’t qualified men. ership and tried to classmen to start for state. For get my underclassbecoming better It seems that many unmen to start becomleaders.” that cheer has The amount of derclassmen ing better leaders, underclassmen established itself -Mrs. Joray, Head that were placed on to be placed even though they’re into an apparent Varsity Coach Varsity. on Varsity, the only freshman and “powerhouse” level of skill is sophomores. We do program, not apparent but leadership meetings just within our one problem outside of practice The number of years school, but in a row that Grant that that can convey is leaderand really just try throughout the state and Cheer has qualified ship problems due to lack of to develop them”, for state. known within other cheer experience. quotes Joray. programs as well. They aren’t Head Coach Mrs. Joray takes In the meanshowing any signs of slowing into consideration that the time of developing
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Sports
December 15, 2018
The Bark
Cheerleaders waving to the crowd and judges following a competition. Photo Courtesy of: VIPIS
some of the younger teammates, the influenced him to try out for Cheer, upperclassmen are looked upon to what it’s like to join a new sport step up and lead them in the right and stepping into a new environdirection. ment, “I looked at it, that it was my Three-year Varsity Cheersenior year, and thought that doing leader, Lexi Georgia knows a bit something new was a part of going about that, “Leading the team can through high school. I just wanted be challenging at times because the to experience it, and see what it was underclassmen don’t understand high like.” school cheer and the In order to different rules and be considered a Co-Ed “I thought that regulations there are, Cheer Team, you need doing something so we have to re-teach to have at least two new was a part little stuff like the immales, and the Grant of going through portance of yelling in Varsity Cheer Team high school, and a routine. As a leader has a total of six, five wanted to see I have to stay focused of them being Seniors. myself and set a good This can be used as a what it was like.” example for them, as huge advantage when -Senior, Ryan Tewell as the rest of the it comes to yelling vaga team. Keeping a posiduring a routine and tive attitude is the possibly give a team key to being a great the edge in a competileader and is the only tion. way to get a lot done Although, as this during practices.” can be seen as an advantage, like all The freshman aren’t the only other sports, anything can happen. new faces to the Varsity Cheer team. In cheer, even more so, beThey’ve also added three senior boys, cause one of the top ranked teams in Ryan Tevaga, Stephen Reisig, and the state could have a minor slip-up Tyler Fritsch. and then everything falls apart. With One of the three guys from other sports, for the most part, you the trio, Ryan Tevaga speaks on what know a gist of what you’re going
to get, even if a team has a bad game. At a cheer competition, you have one chance to perform a routine and that’s it. Mrs. Joray talks about the importance of that, “With cheerleading, it’s really unpredictable. When you go into a competition it’s pretty much, are you going to hit your routine or not, that’s one of the biggest differences between cheerleading and other sports... and even if you perform well, you never really know where you stand because it’s always comparing to the other teams in the competition.” Even with the unpredictability of competitions, the expectations for the Cheer program stay the same, no matter the year, or who’s on their roster, and that’s a bid to state. In this season, and in years past, each and every cheerleader has worked hard to continue the winning tradition of this decorated program.
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3 Athletes to Watch Sports
December 15, 2018
Boys Wrestling
The Bark
Justin Brown 182 Lb. Weight Class
Junior Shifting Tides It wasn’t that long ago that Junior, Justin Brown didn’t enjoy Wrestling at all. “My parents basically forced me
Regional Champ
to try some sort of sport because I was homeschooled at the time...I hated it for the first two years, but qualified for state in eighth grade and realized that
Team Captain
it’s something I could be really good at.” Although he qualified for state in middle school, he did so as well on a much bigger stage last winter for Varsity Wrestling
State Qualifier
Girls Basketball
Ally Mahinay 3x All-Tournament Selection
as just a Sophomore.
Senior Rookie to Vet Ally Mahinay has been through a lot in her four years as a Varsity Basketball player at Grant. From
All-Area Honorable Mention
countless different teammates, to having three different head coaches. In most cases, that can take a toll on a player’s performance. Although with Ally,
4-Year Starter
that hasn’t been the case. “To learn from those different coaches and those different coaching styles, I think has really helped me evolve as a player”. Ally
All-Conference
Boys Basketball
Henry Kusiak All-Area Honorable Mention
also boasts an astounding 5.1 GPA.
Senior
Familiar with the Fight Henry Kusiak isn’t a stranger to the big spotlight. He has played a significant role on every team he’s
Academic All-Conference
been a part of. Whether it’s on the court, on the field, or in the classroom, you know he’s going to produce big. Henry always puts the team before
All-Conference
himself and is why he was voted by his teammates for the “Bulldog Award” last season. Basketball isn’t even his number one sport, as he hopes to play
4.9 GPA
baseball at the Air Force Academy.
Bryce Mandala
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3 Rising Stars Sports
December 15, 2018
The Bark
Boys Bowling
Boys Basketball
Co-Ed Cheerleading
Tommy Janusz
Tavarus Williams
Joey Califf
Junior
Senior
Senior
289 Pin Game
9.5 PPG
2-Year Varsity Bowler
4.5 RPG
Male Cheerleader
School Record Holder
3 APG
Multi-Sport Athlete
633 Pin, 3-Game Series
Record Shatterer
Multi-Sport Athlete Overcoming Adversity
NHS Member
Top All-American Nominee
Flips in the Family
If you’ve paid any attention in the last week
The tables have turned for 6’6’’ Tavarus Wil-
If you don’t know Joey Califf, you’ve defi-
to recent news in our school on social media
liams, from getting very limited minutes last
nitely seen him with his high-flying flips
or the monitors in the hallway, you would
year as a Junior, to being one of the largest
and stunts at the school pep assemblies,
know that Tommy Janusz broke the school
contributors for the Boys Varsity Basketball
along with the oohs and aahs from the
record for most pins in a single game with
this season. He credits his success all in
crowd. Although Joey is in his last year of
289. The most you could possibly achieve if
part to the small role he had last season.
high school, he’s only cheered for a whole
you strike out in all ten frames is a 300, so
“I finished the season with a chip on my
two years. Prior to cheering, Joey has been
he was near perfect. Before freshman year,
shoulder, and it really motivated me to work
performing tricks for as long as he can
Tommy never bowled a single time in his
harder for the next season.” Tavarus plans to
remember. His dad was a gymnast for the
life, and has ahown amazing growth since
continue his Basketball career in college and
Ohio State University, and his family ran a
then.
is also a Varsity Boys Volleyball player.
gymnastics center since he was little.
Bryce Mandala
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