JagWire Newspaper Volume 15 Issue 1 by JagWire newspaper

SLEEP DEPRIVATION STRUGGLE pages 6-7

J AGWIRE

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • VOLUME 15 ISSUE 1 • SEPT. 18, 2014 • MVNEWS.ORG

NEWS byod introduced

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FEATURE homecoming tips

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SPORTS season update

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11 oreo A&E taste test

2 NEWS briefs

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • JAGWIRE

GSA GROWTH

news in brief WATER

BY LIZZIE KULCSAR

reporter jagwire.lizziekulcsar@gmail.com

WARS

BY MARGARET MELLOTT

STUDENTS USE NEW NUMBERS TECH

School embraces changes in technology, including Bring Your Own Device and building wireless upgrade

reporter/photographer jagwire.margaretmellott@gmail.com

This year’s senior assassins game started on Monday, Sept. 8. The game’s rules go as follows: once everyone who wants to play has signed up and paid the fee, the game begins. Each person is given a target, another senior, to shoot with a water gun outside of school. After that target is shot, they are out of the game and the person who shot them is given their new target. This cycle continues there are two people left standing. They then split the jackpot, which is all the money that students used to enter. There are 116 seniors participating, and as of Monday, Sept. 15, 96 are still alive.

ABOVE: Typing her essay in English 12 class on Sept. 10, senior Macie Rouse prefers using her Windows laptop. “I like using it to take notes and organize class work,” Rouse said. “It’s also nice to be able to type essays on my device.” Photo by Brooke

BY KATHERINE WHITE

editor-in-chief jagwire.katherinewhite@gmail.com

BY GRACE VAN INWEGEN

reporter jagwire.gracevaninwegen@gmail.com

ABOVE: Members of the Gay-Straight Alliance listen to president senior Monica Brich as they discuss their homecoming float on Tuesday, Sept. 9. Photo by Claire Biles

The number of Gay-Straight Alliance members has increased by 58 percent in the past six years. They currently have 24 active members. The club meets almost every Tuesday from 3-3:30 p.m. and they discuss current events that pertain to gender, romantic and sexual minorities.

TEACHERTALK

BY MARGARET MELLOTT

reporter/photographer jagwire.margaretmellott@gmail.com

During his first year of teaching, science teacher Chad Brown is thoroughly enjoying his Chemistry and Physics classes. “I really like it, the students are great, the teachers are great, and everything is great,” Brown said. “Although, it can get really busy.” With so much going on this coming year, Brown explained what he looks most forward to. “I just think seeing what [my students] are going to do.

TEXTBOOK

TROUBLES BY NICK BOOTH

news editor jagwire.nickbooth@gmail.com Design by Katherine White

Sponsor Jeff Wieland describes it as a “supportive environment.” “This is a place of people who are open and accepting others,” Wieland said. “If that’s what you believe in then this is the place to be.”

With all the projects, I think it’ll be fun seeing what they do and where they go,” Brown said. “With them all being really excited and everything, I think this whole year is going to be great.” ALL NEW TEACHERS: Science teachers Chad Brown,

Jessica Haney, and Shannon Long, engineering teacher Brady Palmerin, assistant band director Elliot Arpin, special services teachers Becky Segal and Amanda Wondra and freshman counselor Lisa Bozzoli and Sahra Gilgin

9 3

classes had a shortage of textbooks

weeks were taken to fix the problem

SCIENCE

SETBACK BY RAVEN HODGES

ads manager jagwire.ravenhodges@gmail.com

“We have a website that [senior] Jessie Lanning put together ... So instead of having to physically hand people an envelope with their target … it just automatically updates the website ... It will just make everything a lot easier.”

“We got off to a difficult start because we were getting negativity from a couple of people. But as we continued, things got better. We’re having a lot of fun now.” SENIOR MIKAELA MCCABE

SENIOR CLAYTON KISTNER

> Members of Science Olympiad, a group that participates in events that test knowledge of scientific facts, have been proactively looking for a new sponsor. > “Administration has not been really helpful,” senior Chari Pierce said. “They shrug it off ... [They] haven’t hindered us but they have not really helped.”

WONDERING ABOUT MENTORING MONDAYS? READ ABOUT IT ONLINE:

{ http://www.mvnews.org } Cover design by Tori Aerni and Katherine White Cover photo by Karissa Schmidt

byod NEWS

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • JAGWIRE

The Bring Your Own Device policy, or BYOD, allows students to use their own electronic device, such as a laptop or tablet, in the classroom. The Department of Teaching and Learning suggested the plan to the Board in May 2013 after a survey of district patrons responded positively to the idea. The plan was accepted by the Board the same month, and the actual policies were accepted and drafted in spring 2014. BYOD will allow the District Technology Committee time to decide what new technology to purchase, associate principal Leah Vomhof said. “Some say this is a way for the district to not buy new technology, but that’s not true,” Vomhof said. “It gives us time to research and develop a plan that provides access to devices district-wide, and also make a replacement plan. The problem with laptops now is they’re old and there was no plan when we bought them to replace them.” The previous wireless system could not support all teacher and student usage at once, so in order to put BYOD into effect, the building was rewired, installing a newer and stronger Wi-Fi system. Vomhof said “we should see an improvement in our overall wireless quality.”

Senior Jessica Clark said the new policy will benefit most students. “[In a class] we were setting up Blackboard,” Clark said. “I was doing the same thing on my phone and the computer at the same time, and my phone got there first. I think a majority of students have better technology at home that they’d be able to use here for their benefit.” Junior Brian Fitzsimmons said BYOD will help him because he will not need to rely on the Portal. “I don’t have to use the Portal as much because I can just type my document on Word and bring it home and work on it,” Fitzsimmons said. “The Portal doesn’t connect at my house very well so I’ve lost a document before. It’s sometimes very slow or glitchy.” Senior Luke Rachwal, who uses his tablet to take notes, said BYOD allows students to use devices they’re more familiar with. “I think it’s a great opportunity because it lets people use technology that they are comfortable with,” Rachwal said. “It just helps that you know what you are doing.” Vomhof said learning how to use a device that one is comfortable with for educational purposes will be helpful in the future. “At college, you bring your own device,” Vomhof said. “It’s another way to help students in that transition. It helps students find out what device helps them learn best.” World languages teacher Edith Paredes incorporates BYOD into her lessons through online testing

and extra credit prompts answered by emails to her via a device. “I like the fact that students have access to more technology and that they can bring them in,” Paredes said. “It’s up to date ... I think kids learn better that way.” Paredes said she has also had some rough times having to reserve laptop carts early for testing or for using online resources. “If they have their own device, I can say, ‘let’s just go to the online textbook and check this out’ instead of planning weeks ahead to get a laptop cart,” Paredes said. Sophomore Emma Hansen, on the other hand, said BYOD could result in a bad situation if a student can’t bring a device. “I think it’s good in some ways, but then in other ways I don’t think they thought it through as much as they could have,” Hansen said. “For some students, they don’t have access to a computer or tablet or a phone. Then some ... classes are going to have to end up requiring us to have something ... when we don’t.” While students and staff get used to the changes, the District Technology Committee will be planning Year Three of the technology budget. They started meeting last fall, and members have discussed such questions as what kind of equipment to buy, what the student to computer ratio should be and how to use technology in the classroom. Director of Teaching and Learning Jessica Dain said the committee, which suggested the BYOD plan, believes that the new policy will be helpful for students and the district. “The committee is supportive of BYOD,” Dain said via email. “It allows the district to be fiscally responsible while opening the opportunity for more students to have their personal and preferred devices in use at school.” Vomhof said learning through your own device is a skill that will be invaluable throughout life. “I know we always say students know more about tech than we do, but do they know how to learn from it?” Vomhof said. “We prepare students for a career or college ... but in high school they’ll have enough exposure using tech to be familiar with a device and know how to learn from it.”

BYOD

JagWire poll of 607 students provides BYOD stats

percent of students who plan to use BYOD plan on using a tablet

percent of students say they definitely plan on using BYOD

percent of students who plan on using BYOD plan on using a laptop

Design by Nick Booth and Katherine White

4 NEWS lunch changes

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • JAGWIRE

LUNCH MENU REVISED

Changes include whole grain cookies and build-your-own Creation Station BY NICK BOOTH

news editor jagwire.nickbooth@gmail.com

BY BRADEN SHAW

reporter jagwire.bradenshaw@gmail.com The school’s lunch options have been changed as a result of new USDA-mandated regulations known as Smart Snacks and Schools. This program stipulates many changes including that the grains in the cookies must be whole grains. As a result of the program, the lunch format has been changed to include a buildyour-own Creation Station, an option for Domino’s pizza as a hot lunch and the ability to purchase wraps or sandwiches as a hot lunch. All of these options are for the regular lunch price of $2.35. The Creation Station option rotates each week and allows students to make their own lunch based on that week’s theme of Italian, Mexican or Asian. The Domino’s pizza option includes a single slice of pizza and all of the sides of a normal hot lunch, while using a formulation made especially for schools. Similarly, students can buy a wrap or a sandwich with the hot lunch sides.

“The option is either to offer whole grain cookies or not at all.”

hot lunch and a la carte, and the a la carte was expensive. Now, we offer wraps, sandwiches, Domino’s and sides. Now free or reduced meal kids have that option also.” Some students are dissatisfied with the new options, especially the now-mandated whole grain cookies. “The cookies are bigger, but they taste worse,” sophomore Shawn Hill said. Sophomore Kasey Meeks also chooses to eat healthier as the new changes allow her to do so. “I tend to lean towards the sub sandwich kind of thing,” Meeks said. “Sometimes I eat salads, and the protein option also seems very healthy.” Although some students aren’t happy with the new cookies, the district is attempting to find cookies that reach a compromise. “For school meals, they’re here to stay. We’re trying to find formulations that are tasty and healthy,” Droegemeier said. “The option is either to offer whole grain cookies or not at all.”

homecoming FEATURE

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • JAGWIRE

HOMECOMING HOW-TO With Homecoming just around the corner, the JagWire offers some tips for students

Don’t forget to bring enough money to pay for you and your date’s dinner (and to tip well).

ABOVE: Reaching the end of the long lunch line, senor Amber Buisch chooses the new, healthier option of a fruit salad on Thursday, Sept. 11. Photo by Sharnelle Bennett

BY JILLIAN LEIBY

opinion editor jagwire.jillianleiby@gmail.com

BY SARAH MYERS

features/A&E editor jagwire.sarahmyers@gmail.com

BY GRACE VAN INWEGEN

reporter jagwire.gracevaninwegen@gmail.com

Be sure to make reservations for dinner beforehand. Restaurants fill up fast on Homecoming night.

Make sure you keep your hair and makeup simple. Don’t spend tons of money to get it done. It’s not Prom.

Try to match an article of clothing, preferably a tie, to your date’s dress.

“Don’t be afraid to dance. Everyone’s terrible at [dancing] and no one’s going to be looking at you, anyway.”

“Get the whole experience. Go to dinner, take pictures, stay for the whole dance ... It’s a fun experience and it’s memorable.”

Be sure to iron your dress shirt and slacks. Shower steam gets rid of wrinkles best on a time crunch.

SOPHOMORE HUNTER PAXTON

SOPHOMORE DANIE GRAVIETTE

DIRECTOR OF STUDENT NUTRITION AMY DROEGEMEIER Director of student nutrition Amy Droegemeier is excited about the changes. “The one thing I’ve seen already is more participation from the students,” Droegemeier said. “I think it’s been good. I’ve heard many good things about the Creation Station, especially the Mexican bar.” These changes have made it more difficult for the school’s kitchen staff to prepare food. “It’s harder because we offer so many more choices,” kitchen manager Jean Gile said. “It’s more work, but we’ve gotten some positive feedback, so that’s good.” Although, the workload is tougher, Gile is optimistic about the changes. “I think it’s made it better. Mainly that’s because there are more choices for the students,” Gile said. “In the past, there was just Design by Nick Booth

HOMECOMING HORROR STORIES

DANCE DREAMS

Students experience problems with past Homecoming dances

Freshmen have varied expectations for their first Homecoming

“I went with [senior] Jordan Cox and our whole group went to dinner at Stix. We made reservations for 7 [p.m.] but didn’t get a table until later SOPHOMORE because a party of 20 SIDNEY was ahead of us. So LAWYER we got to the dance at 9:20 [p.m.] and they didn’t let us in.” Photos by Sharnelle Bennett, Adri Talavera and Brooke Wiebe Design by Justin Curto and Adri Talavera

JUNIOR LINDSEY HAMNER

“I found a dress I really liked but ... it was a little bit too big. So we asked the clerk if she could order us one in a different size ... she said that it would be there in 7-10 business days ... That Friday before homecoming it hadn’t come yet ... I ended up borrowing someone’s [dress].”

FRESHMAN BAILEY WAGONER

“I would like being asked to Homecoming by a guy [with] a bouquet of roses. When we get there I would like to talk and have fun with my friends.”

FRESHMAN BRODY FLAMING

“Everyone will get involved in dancing ... I don’t want anyone sitting on the side ... I don’t have anything planned ... I guess I will just go with the flow when it happens. I don’t know what it will be like.”

6 FEATURE sleep deprivation

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • JAGWIRE

DEPRIVING DAY A look into a normal weekday for senior Maddie Butterfield

sleep deprivation FEATURE

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • JAGWIRE

SCHOOL vs SLEEP American Association of Pediatrics study brings up problems of school start times and sleep deprivation among students

BY KATHERINE WHITE

BY JUSTIN CURTO

BY TORI AERNI

BY SARAH MYERS

editor-in-chief jagwire.katherinewhite@gmail.com editor-in-chief jagwire.toriaerni@gmail.com

The day before an important “People started writing about test or big game, it’s common to this in 2005, when it first became hear teachers and coaches encour- recognized as ... ‘we’re doing our age students to get a good night’s adolescents a real disservice by sleep. Senior Maddie Butterfield starting their school so early,’” finds it hard to make this a reali- Newman said. “Some people start ty, as she tends to get an average of 4-5 hours of sleep each night. Like many other students, Butterfield suffers from a lack of sleep during the school year. “[When you’re sleep deprived], you’re exhausted during the day and it feels like you’re never fully rested,” Butterfield said. “I have PEDIATRICIAN RAY NEWMAN to eat constantly. I had a nervous breakdown last year [because I had their school at 6:30 or 7 [a.m.], and a total of 7-8 hours of sleep that that’s two hours before their body week].” says they should be up and doing According to the American As- things.” sociation of Pediatrics, teenagers Another student who finds are supposed to get 8.5-9.5 hours of their lack of sleep affects them sleep each night in order to main- negatively is sophomore Emma tain their general health and well- Wilhoit. Wilhoit said she believes a ness. However, in a study published later start to the school day would by the AAP, researchers found that be beneficial. 87 percent of high school students “I think around 8:50 [a.m.] get less than the recommended could be a good time. I know a lot minimum of 8.5 hours. According of other schools do that and I know to a JagWire poll, only 4.5 percent that means we wouldn’t get out unof students meet the requirements. til shortly before 4 [p.m.] and that One of the cited causes for this lack could be a challenge,” Wilhoit said. of sleep is early school start times, “So the question is, would you rathas 40 percent of American high er stay up later [than you do now] schools have a start time before 8 and get up later or stay up late and a.m., including Mill Valley. get up early?” “I think it’s a huge problem for The reason why it is so diffiadolescents,” pediatrician and as- cult for teenagers to go to sleep sociate professor of pediatrics at and wake up early is because their Kansas City University of Medicine body’s biological clock tells them and Biosciences Dr. Ray Newman otherwise. When adolescents hit said. “I read [an article] the other puberty, they experience what the day and it said that by the time kids AAP study calls a sleep-wake phase are in 12th grade, 75 to 80 percent delay. of teenagers in this country are get“In adolescents, their rhythm ting less than 7 hours of sleep at of their body, the way nature says night, which is not enough for an they’re supposed to act, says ‘no, adolescent brain and body.” you shouldn’t be up at the crack of The AAP had a solution for this dawn and you shouldn’t be up till problem - starting school later. In 2 in the morning,’” Newman said. the study, they suggested all high “You should be up about 7:30 or 8 schools move their start times back [a.m.] and in bed at 10 or 11 [p.m.]. to at least 8:30 a.m. Newman sup- It’s just the natural cycle of things.” ports this suggestion. While it is well-known among

“We’re doing our adolescents a real disservice by starting their school so early.”

SLEEP STATS Student survey shows signs of sleep deprivation

4.5% GET THE NECESSARY 8.59.5 HOURS OF SLEEP PER NIGHT From a survey of 484 students

51% HAVE STAYED UP UNTIL 2 A.M. OR LATER FOR SCHOOL WORK

58% CITED SCHOOLWORK AS A MAIN CAUSE OF LACK OF SLEEP

managing editor jagwire.justincurto@gmail.com features/A&E editor jagwire.sarahmyers@gmail.com

students that not getting enough sleep at night can be detrimental to schoolwork, many do not realize the other harmful effects sleep deprivation can have. “You can’t ignore the safety element of it either,” Newman said. “You have students driving after four hours of sleep at six o’clock in the morning. [Then] they’re at school for 10 or 12 hours and they’re sleep deprived on the way home. That’s really a consideration, as well.” Students also find it hard to get a proper amount of sleep because of the combined workload of schoolwork, extracurricular activities and athletics. Some students, such as sophomore Lance Marx, have been able to break the cycle of sleep deprivation. “I used to wake up with only five hours of sleep and that really didn’t work for me,” sophomore Lance Marx said. “I was always tired throughout the day and when I changed I found that it’s helpful and that lots of sleep is good.” Although many students talk about sleep deprivation, Wilhoit thinks it does not receive the right kind of attention. “I think [sleep deprivation] does get a lot of awareness, but it’s not in the right light,” Wilhoit said. “You walk down the halls and you hear people say ‘oh, I’m so exhausted, I stayed up so late to work on a project’ but you consider that to be normal, like a normal teenage problem. But it should be seen as more than that; it should not be so easily dismissed.” For Butterfield, starting school later would be a solution to many problems that she has faced for years. “If [school] started at 8:30 … that would be a godsend; it’d be phenomenal,” Butterfield said. “Sleep deprivation is an awful way to live … If you can get sleep, do so.

Photo by Karissa Schmidt Design by Tori Aerni and Katherine White

8 OPINIONS JAGWIRE INFORMATION

STAFF

Editors-in-chief Tori Aerni Katherine White Managing editor Justin Curto Photo editor Karissa Schmidt News editor Nick Booth Feature/A&E editors Sarah Myers Adri Talavera Opinion editor Jillian Leiby Sports editor Sam Lopez Web editor Jena Smith Business manager Raven Hodges Reporters/Photographers Claire Biles Sharnelle Bennett Madison Ferguson Lizzie Kulcsar Margaret Mellott Braden Shaw Grace Van Inwegen Brooke Wiebe

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • JAGWIRE

FF STA RIAL TO EDI

CENSORSHIP POLICY Kansas Senate Bill 62 guarantees the same rights for student journalists as are guaranteed for professional journalists. These rights include, but are not limited to, all First Amendment rights, including the rights of freedom of speech and the press, insofar as published items may not contain libelous, slanderous or obscene statements, may not incite or promote illegal conduct and may not cause a substantial disruption to normal school activity. EDITORIAL POLICY We value your opinions. If you wish to submit a column or a letter to the editor for the JagWire, you can do so by handing it in to a member of the staff or to the print journalism room (C101). Additionally, you may email any member of the staff with opinions, as well as tweet us at @millvalleynews. Anonymous content will not be accepted. Please understand that we have the right to edit all copy that runs in this publication. SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter/Instagram: @millvalleynews Facebook: Mill Valley News

SHOULD SCHOOL START LATER? If start times were later, students would function better in school

Disagree

0 Absent

0 YOU SAID IT What do you think of Mentoring Mondays?

Illustration by Jason Chen

Mentoring Mondays is a new program set into place as a part of the district-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support policy, in which seminar travel is stopped to allow teachers to check up on students’ academic standing. In addition to Mentoring Mondays, Professional Learning Community meetings were moved to seminar. While the intentions are beneficial, the new policies hurt more than they help. If adjustments were made, seminar would be much more effective. The goal of Mentoring Mondays is to inform students of missing assignments and current grades. However, informing students does nothing unless they have the ability to go and get these assignments or seek help in classes in which they have bad grades. This could create problems if a student is absent on Friday, and then needs to make up an assignment, quiz, lab, project or test. If a student is unable to come in before or after school, but is pre-

pared to make up an assignment or test, making them wait until Tuesday is helping no one. Moving PLCs back to seminar also removes a day when a teacher can be visited. If a teacher has Mentoring Mondays, PLCs on Tuesdays, MVTV on Thursdays and Early Release on Fridays, then Wednesday is the only full seminar to visit them. A solution to this would be to move mentoring to Thursdays, which are already partially taken up by MVTV. While moving mentoring would require re-scheduling PLCs, it would be worth it. Another option would be to keep it on Monday, but only have it once a month. This would free up more time for students to get help while still keeping the goal of Mentoring Mondays. Seminar also has an odd time frame for Mentoring Mondays; 45 minutes is too short to do impactful mentoring. However, it is also too long to be devoted to telling approximately 20 students about their grades, which would average

just over 2 minutes per student. While some students may need 2 or more minutes, others who don’t have any missing assignments will need much less time. It is contradictory to have a system set into place to encourage students to be responsible, when in actuality, the responsible thing to do would be for students to keep up with their own grades and assignments. A more beneficial system might be to make having no missing assignments a requirement for Early Release. This would cause students to motivate themselves to get all assignments turned in, rather than relying on teachers to remind them to do so. Moving Mentoring Mondays to a different day of the week, decreasing its frequency or tying in missing assignments with Early Release requirements would be more beneficial than what is currently in effect. The administration should take the steps necessary to make Mentoring Mondays more helpful for everyone.

BY JUSTIN CURTO

STAFF VOTE Agree

JAGWIRE OFFICE 5900 Monticello Road Shawnee, KS 66226 Phone: (913) 422-4351 Fax: (913) 422-4039 Email: jagwirenewspaper@gmail.com Adviser: Kathy Habiger khabiger@usd232.org JagWire, a monthly publication of Mill Valley High School, is printed by the Sedalia Democrat. PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS Kansas Scholastic Press Association National Scholastic Press Association Journalism Education Association The 2014 JagWire was named an All-American newspaper by the NSPA and earned an All-Kansas rating from KSPA. The Mill Valley News website earned an All-Kansas rating as well.

PRO/CON

SEMINAR CHANGES INEFFECTIVE More modifications need to be made before seminar can be accepted by all

OPINIONS

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • JAGWIRE

“I can’t travel where I would like to go, but it’s helpful when you need it. ”

“I don’t like [it] because I think it is a waste of time. I can’t go see my teachers … if I have a test the next day.”

FRESHMAN KYLE FRANKLIN

SOPHOMORE KYRA WILLIAMS

“I believe Mentoring Mondays are awful because we do not have the ability to travel and go get help from other teachers.”

“Mondays can be important for students ... so I think we should’ve had it on Thursday because we have MVTV.”

JUNIOR LUCAS KRULL

SENIOR KAITLYN JACKMAN

managing editor jagwire.justincurto@gmail.com For me, waking up for school in the morning is quite an endeavor. There are days when I wake up 15 minutes after my alarm goes off, others when I can’t function enough to get dressed after waking up and still others when the only reason why I don’t fall asleep during first block is the 12 ounces of coffee I drink each morning. And when all three of these events coincide, it’s a miracle I even make it to school. Contrary to popular belief, there is a way to end these terrible mornings – starting the school day later. Recently, the American Association of Pediatrics published a study stating that middle and high schools should start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. They found that 87 percent of high school students don’t get the 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep they’re supposed to, and that delaying school start times would help solve this problem. If the school day started later, the effects would be amazing. Students would be getting an extra 30 minutes to an hour of sleep, which could push many of them to the recommended 8.5 hours, and would still leave others feeling more rested and energized for their day. The study cites physical, mental, health, safety, academic and overall life quality benefits from getting more sleep as a teenager. However, starting the school day later would consequentially make after-school extracurricular activities run later. This brings up a question: which deserves priority, education or extracurriculars? Since a high school’s first purpose is to provide the best education possible, the best way to do that would be to allow students more sleep, even at the expense of extracurricular activities. If the school day were to start later, the effects would be tremendous and immediate. It’s time for the district to listen to the AAP and change our start times.

Conflict would arise if school start times were to be pushed back BY LIZZIE KULCSAR

reporter jagwire.lizziekulcsar@gmail.com Imagine you wake up to birds chirping and a beautiful sunrise just outside your window. Now let’s get back to reality. My reality is waking up in pitch-black darkness, chugging coffee and praying I don’t forget anything before I venture off into the land of stress and judgment, aka high school. Many people think pushing back school’s starting time by an hour will result in the ‘perfect’ morning like my first example, but that’s just not realistic. Sorry to break the bad news, but all pushing back school’s starting time does is cause conflict. One major complication is timing. How do you get to school? Students who rely on a parent to take them to school on their way to work will have to find a different way of transportation because by the time they’re ready to go to school, their parents will have already left for work. Also, the busing schedule will completely have to change and this causes extra work for the bus department. In addition, if you participate in any extracurriculars or have an after-school job, think about what time you usually get home. Once you get home you also get to do the oh-so-wonderful day-to-day tasks of excessive amounts of homework, chores, personal hygiene, eating, etc. Now imagine all this pushed back an hour. It’s basically sucking up an hour of daylight in which we can be productive. I’m not denying that sleep is very important, especially for teens, but this simply isn’t the solution. The world doesn’t slow down and adjust for people and since high school is supposed to be helping us prepare for the real world, I don’t see why this should be any different. A change in our school’s schedule is not necessary because this is a simple problem that can be fixed for everyone individually.

CHOIR CHANGES CREATE SCHEDULE DIFFICULTY New choir class excludes rather than includes

BY CLAIRE BILES

reporter/photographer jagwire.clairebiles@gmail.com

This year, the choir department removed the non-audition Concert Choir to make the very top choir, Jaguar Singers, a class during the day instead of a choir that practiced only during the morning. The other three choirs include the Treble Ladies, which is made of all females sophomores- seniors, Jag Chorale, an audition choir with students grades sophomores- seniors which you must be in to be a part of Jaguar Singers and Mixed Choir, the primarily freshman choir that choir director Sheree Stoppel encouraged upperclassmen to join this year. These changes have affected many of the choir students in-

cluding myself. Due to the changes, I could not be a part of choir at all. Singing is an activity I love, and because of the lack of choices and a conflict in my schedule,

“Singing is an activity I love, and because of the lack of choices ... I couldn’t sing in a choir.” I couldn’t sing in a choir. When picking a choir for my sophomore year there were four choirs that

I could be in, but this year there were only two to be a part of. Also trying to get into Jag Chorale has become extremely competitive due to the fact there is only one audition choir. But if I decided not to audition, I was left singing with all females or with the less experienced, very large Mixed Choir. Last year’s choir department had a very successful year, so next year the department should go back to the old ways. Jaguar Singers could be practicing in the afternoon instead of the morning. The removal of one choir has created fewer opportunities to the majority of the singers just to create an elite choir of 20.

DRIVERS NEED TO BE MORE CAREFUL Students need to be more responsible behind the wheel after school

BY SAM LOPEZ

sports editor jagwire.samlopez@gmail.com I think everyone who goes to Mill Valley knows how chaotic it is getting out of the school parking lot after school. No one is looking where they’re going, people are backing out on the both sides of you, no one is checking their mirrors for possible obstacles (read: people). The upperclassmen start honking wildly at each other and burn out in the parking lot. At this point you realize that most people really don’t care about how they drive in the parking lot. What you just read may have been a fictional anecdote, but nonetheless, it is still true and happens multiple times throughout your average school week. The high school parking lot is the epitome of reckless driving. We are only one month into the school year and I have already witnessed a handful of car accidents and heard about plenty of others. And most of them occur because people aren’t paying attention simply backing out of their parking spot. As a fellow teenager it’s embarrassing to watch this happen. As teenagers, we have a million things racing through our heads and a million things that distract us. However, a high school parking lot isn’t the place to drag race or bust out a Journey song with your horn. It doesn’t matter how much fun racing your friend out of the crowded parking lot is, you’re a hazard to yourself and to those around you. All it takes is one wrong turn, one look down at your phone and you could be in a wreck. Sure you’re not an adult yet but when you get a car and you get your license you need to be responsible and pay attention to what goes on around you. Now, it is a little hypocritical for me to promote completely safe, focused driving because let’s be honest, no one is a perfect driver. However, behind the wheel we should strive to be the perfect driver because if we’re all responsible the parking lot will be much safer. All I am getting at is that when you are driving in the school parking lot and there are other people walking and driving around you, you should hop back into that Driver’s Ed state of mind and at least get off school grounds before you speed off honking your horn at your friends. Design by Jillian Leiby

10 SPORTS briefs

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • JAGWIRE

NEW COACHING

OREO EDITION

The volleyball team hired new head coach Debbie Fay after the resignation of former coach Whitney Revelle. After 31 years of coaching, Fay comes to Mill Valley with a record of 789-211-48. Fay looks forward to the rest of the season. “[I expect] for every player to improve,” Fay said.

editor-in-chief jagwire.toriaerni@gmail.com

BY SAM LOPEZ

sports editor jagwire.samlopez@gmail.com

Eight students and two faculty members taste test nine unique Oreo cookie flavors

HEAD VOLLEYBALL COACH DEBBIE FAY

OTHER NEW HEAD COACHES: “I’m eager to get back into coaching.” BOYS SOCCER C-TEAM HEAD COACH RYAN ROBIE

FINAL

BY SARAH MYERS

features/A&E editor jagwire.sarahmyers@gmail.com

FAVORITES

BY JENA SMITH

web editor jagwire.jenasmith@gmail.com

“I’m excited to get the girls fired up and to be a coach again.” GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY HEAD COACH BETSY MEEKS

“[The Oreo] smells gross. Oreo needs to rethink this flavor.”

Taste test participants and the JagWire staff choose the best and worst Oreos

JUNIOR AVERY KILGORE

PARTICIPANTS’ PICKS

1st

SPORTS SCHEDULE

ABOVE: As a member of the new boys soccer C-team, freshman Bradley Teasley looks for an open play to pass to on Saturday,Sept. 6 against the Gardner-Edgerton Blazers. “[I hope] to have a good season and to get better,” Teasley said. Photo by Madison Ferguson

SO FAR THIS SEASON

Senior Isaiah Young

Sophomore Rachel Rule

Senior Cameron Rohr

Junior Amber Akin

Sophomore Meg Green

Junior Paige Wiebe

FOOTBALL

VOLLEYBALL

BOYS SOCCER

CROSS COUNTRY

GIRLS GOLF

GIRLS TENNIS

0-2 5-7 3-2 Photos by Madison Ferguson and Karissa Schmidt Design by Tori Aerni and Sam Lopez

1 firstfinishplace first place second place 2 finishes 2 finishes

3-2-5

FOOTBALL 9/19 @ 7 P.M. @ Derby 9/26 @ 7 P.M. vs KC Southwest VOLLEYBALL 9/18 @ 5 P.M. vs St James & BV 9/20 @ 8 A.M. @ Hayden CROSS COUNTRY 9/20 @ TBA @ Iowa State 9/27 @ 8 A.M. @ Free State BOYS SOCCER 9/19 @ 7 P.M. @ SME 9/22 @ 5:30 P.M. @ Tonganoxie GIRLS TENNIS 9/18 @ 3:30 P.M. vs Free State 9/20 @ 8:30 A.M. Invitational GIRLS GOLF 10/1 @ 3 P.M. @ Aquinas 10/6 @ 1 P.M. @ Free State

THE SHOWDOWN

Multiple fall sports teams gain new head coaches

BY TORI AERNI

oreo showdown A&E

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • JAGWIRE

“It was better tasting than you’d expect.” JUNIOR DALTON SIEPERDA

“[The Oreo] really tastes like root beer.” FRESHMAN ZACH ALT

“[This was] quite disappointing. [It wasn’t] even close to actual cookie dough.” SOPHOMORE MARIA PORZELT

last

“Not really feeling the whole root beer cookie thing. Actually, they are nasty.” SOPHOMORE COLLIN PETIGNA

JAGWIRE STAFF PICKS

1st “This is the best [cookie]. It’s the bomb.” CUSTODIAN RHONDA JENSEN

“The peanut butter inside the Oreo didn’t taste like real peanut butter. ” BAND TEACHER ELLIOT ARPIN

last “This was like burnt cupcake shoved into a cookie.”

“These are the best things I have ever eaten in my entire life.”

SENIOR STEVEN BLAINE

SENIOR EMILY TAYLOR

Photos by Brooke Wiebe and Jena Smith

Design by Sarah Myers and Jena Smith

12PHOTO ESSAY color guard

MILL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL • JAGWIRE

SHOWING THEIR

COLORS

Under the direction of color guard director Jennifer Smith and band director Deb Steiner, the color guard performs with the marching band at all performances, using props such as flags to add a visual element. This year, the color guard has 14 members.

FAR ABOVE: Twirling her royal blue flag, junior Audrey Meacham practices for color guard on Monday, Sept. 8. Meacham said. “We really add flair to the whole thing.” Photo by Margaret Mellott ABOVE LEFT: Sophomore Knowle Julander does a drop spin with his flag in sync with the color guard on Friday, Sept. 5. Photo by Madison Ferguson ABOVE RIGHT: As she hears the next bit of instruction, junior Annie Dillon leans on her flag during color guard practice on Monday, Sept. 8. Photo by Margaret Mellott

ABOVE: Practicing her routine before a football game on Friday, Sept. 5, senior Laci Moore counts with her teammates to stay in rhythm. “We give more movement and dynamic to the band,” Moore said. “We always have themed outfits or like our flags would be a different color or theme so we add color to the band.” Photo by Karissa Schmidt LEFT: Senior Gracie Sulzman practices the Captain America routine with her fellow teammates on Monday, Sept. 8. Photo by Claire Biles