January 2013

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the black and white. jan. 2013. volume 21 issue 6. 5152780449. 6501 NW 62nd ave. johnston, ia

student’s mom creates new dragon costume

Rumor Busters

- Wiley bought styluses - GPS tracking on iPad - AP honor roll

5

Colors, letters and numbers Leanna McAllister talks about synesthesia, where words have colors

8 9

Custodial Conversations the story behind the people who keep the school looking great

iPads should be used

making announcements on iPads would be more efficient

Scared to Ask

why you should not be afraid to ask for help

entertainment

New Mascot

6 7

sports

4

preview of the B&W online website photo collections

backpage

3

Photo Essay

opinion editorial feature

news

[ january 2013]

feature

n er

index

the b&w in this issue

10 Sci-fi Series

students and even a teacher share how they show their obsessions with the most popular Sci-fi series

11

Asthmatic Athletes

12

Life Hacks

what it means to be in sports with a breathing condition

random tips and tricks to help you through the day

meet the staff

Editorial board

editors in chief Hannah Soyer Laura Scieszinski Paige Cramer design editor Kenzie Foldes sub-editors Sarah Margolin- Copy Anne Rogers- Sports Sarah Ross- Feature Mallorie Goodale- News

Staff writers

Austin Busch Zoe Wilson Clare Farrell Jeremy Caracci Niki Ferguson Kevin Wu Monica Gagne Senad Besic Aaron Gray Daisha McAvaddy Mollie Greenwood Ellen Bennett Myles Glandorf Amra Devedzse Taylor Joens Medina Jusufobic Katelyn Lunders Carly Kinning Ethan Marshall Ashleigh Edwards Courtney Mithelman

PHILOSOPHY The Black and White is published solely by the Johnston High School newspaper staff. Its goal is to inform, enlighten and entertain Johnston students. It is an open forum. In accordance with Iowa law and board policy, students assign and edit material and make all decisions of content. The paper is published ten times per school year. The paper will avoid material that is libelous, obscene or an invasion of privacy. The law does not require parental permission to use student quotes. Ethically, we believe students can speak for themselves. Staff editorials represent the opinion of a majority of the editorial board. Editorial and opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the adviser, school officials or the district. Letters to the editor must be signed. Like all material, letters may not be libelous, obscene or an invasion of privacy. Bring letters to room 413 within one week after publication to be considered for the next issue.

The Black and White strives to report accurate and timely information. If you believe that an error has been printed, please contact the editors at jhsblackandwhite@gmail.com. The Black and White is a member of CSPA, NSPA, Quill & Scroll, and IHSPA. Recent issues of the paper earned these honors: Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist, National Scholastic Press Association First Class rating, Quill & Scroll Gallup Award, IHSPA state placings and sixth in the National Best of Show.

photo essay

the b&w p.3 layout Kenzie Foldes words Daisha McAvaddy

1.

Daisha McAvaddy/BW

A Sneak Peak of the B&W online photo collection

1.

Executing a perfect dip, senior Heath Danen and sophomore Abby Puk dance to “Too Darn Hot” in a Synergy performance put on for parents and students Jan. 17.

2.

2.

3.

Junior Jay Knuth shoots a free throw at the basketball game against Indianola Jan. 15. Knuth scored 27 points in the 51-44 win.

3.

Daisha McAvaddy/BW

4.

Daisha McAvaddy/BW

Daisha McAvaddy/BW

Look online to preview the rest of the photos at

www.jhsblackandwhite.com

Aiming his bow and arrow, senior Joe Dailey attends the archery team practice Jan. 18. The team shot over 3,000 points at a competition Jan. 26. They also won five of the six individual awards given that day.

4.

Seniors Connor Ward and Andrew Schwaderer shave sophomore Max Culbert’s head for swimming Jan 18.

The varsity boys placed 2nd for conference which was Jan. 19.

news

the b&w p.4

Rumor

OUT

BUSTERS

e you get ‘em, w

THE

WITH

en Bennett words & layout Ell

BUSTED:

OLD IN

Students were handed an iPad and a stylus during the 1:1 Ini-

tiative. ”We had originally planned to go without styluses, but I was the one who encouraged for the purchase of them,” Instructional Technology Coordinator Ann Wiley

NEW

For the past five years the school has used the

same mascot costume in every game, at every event.

One parent recognized the wear and tear on the uni-

form and decided to do something about it. “I thought it was looking very worn and in need of an update,”

Miriam Yocum, mother of senior Erin Yocum said. She began making a new costume.

“I took economics in high school. I have created

costumes and used sewing as a creative outlet,” Yocum said. Her past sewing experience pushed her to update the current state of the mascot.

“Once I was granted permission to redesign or

update it, I just took ideas from anyone who had input,” Yocum said.

Yocum worked for more than three weeks,including

evenings and weekends throughout football and

basketball season. She started with a Hulk Halloween

costume, and began to resew the muscle lines to look more muscular than the previous one. She added

wings. The wings have yet to have been revealed, and will not be seen until football season.

The new costume has already been in use for two

girls’ games, the first before winter break and the sec-

ond on Jan. 15. The basketball manager wore the new costume.

Unfortunately, he can only wear the costume for

girls’ games. In the meantime, Gary Ross has posted announcements and asked cheerleaders but no one has shown interest.

People interested in the being the Dragon should

contact Gary Ross in the athletic office.

THE

Kenzie Foldes Zoe Wilson

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

said. Wiley ordered about 2,000 styluses for around $1 each. The money

came out of the school account, con-

The mascot gets a new look

MASCOT

tyluses

Ann Wiley bought s

WITH THE layout words

bust ‘em

MAKE OVER

Purchased two king sized blankets, sequins, foam, a Hulk costume, wire, spray paint and glitter.

Cut apart the old Dragon costume and lengthened the legs and arms.

Sculpted the talons and outlined the pecks and the eight-pack ab lines in the chest.

Used large winter gloves for the hands, and cut out holes for the feet.

Created a tail, formed it with wire and sewed the spikes to it.

Added new purple fur to the head using adhesive spray and hot glue.

Placed magnets under fur on the head for the head gear.

Added magnets to the retro jersey for basketball, hidden underneaththe purple spikes.

trary to the rumor circulating that Wiley paid for them herself. The decision to

buy the styluses came in December. Additional styluses can be paid for in the accounting office and picked up in the library. Students are also allowed to buy their own stylus outside of school.

BUSTED:

GPS tracking on iPads

The school does not know where a student and his iPad are at

all times and the current iPads are not very well enabled for such

a feature. “Tracking was an additional feature for the iPads that

we decided to go without,” iPad Specialist/ PC Technician Ryan

Witt said. “Find My iPad is something we are in the early stages of testing for our environment.” This app helps people find their lost

iPad, but has not been recommended for use in a school situation.

CONFIRMED:ens Fiery J iPad lock scre

Lock screens on the iPads are to remain as the original setting

of the fiery J. The screen contains a number that is needed to identify the iPad if it needs to be sent in. Many students have changed

this screen without knowing it was wrong but it can be fixed easily.

The screen can be changed to the original fiery J screen without

resetting the iPad. “You won’t get in any trouble,” iPad Specialist/ PC Technician Ryan Witt said. “It only takes 30 seconds to fix it.”

Students who have changed their lock screen should bring their iPad to iPad HQ for the quick fix to be applied.

feature

the b&w p.5

A colorful

perspective Senior Leanna McAllister sees letters with colors, leading her to the self diagnosis of the condition synesthesia

A

d

Even when the text is black, senior

Leanna McAllister sees her letters in color.

A B

words Mollie Greenwood layout Kenzie Foldes

“The uppercase ‘I’ seems like it can be yel-

low sometimes but the lowercase “i” has to be white, if that makes any sense,” McAllister said. “ The ‘u’ used to be pink and now its like more purplish. ‘M’ in general is usually dark grey but next to some pinkish things it looks purplish.”

McAllister has a condition called synes-

thesia, which is what makes her see her letters in colors. AP Psychology teacher Sue

Cline defines synesthesia as “when some-

body has two or more senses that are cross wired so their senses work differently than ours do.”

Along with seeing colors when she

reads, McAllister also occasionally sees colors when she is reading music for band.

“A major chord triad would be C, E, and G,”

McAllister said. “So then C would be yellow, E would be blue and G would be orange.”

She said that sometimes playing a C major chord results in her seeing a “bright-looking flash” in her head.

There are two main subcategories of

synesthesia: associators and projectors.

“Associators see things in their mind and

projectors see things in front of them,” McAllister said. She is an associator, and

in her opinion, sometimes being a projec-

tor can be dangerous. “There was a story

about a guy that was walking on a sidewalk

and he walked past a construction site and it caused too much color and he couldn’t see where he was going.”

One synesthete (someone who has syn-

esthesia) who is getting a lot of attention is an autistic savant (one with autism who

has an unusual or gifted skill) named Daniel

Tammet. “He does crazy math and he does it by looking at the shapes and colors of the

numbers in his head,” Cline said. On a

YouTube video, Tammet is quizzed by having to divide 13 by 97. His decimal calculation of up to 100 place values goes beyond what even a scientific calculator can do.

McAllister estimates that she discovered

her condition around the age of 7 one day

while she was playing a game with her dad.

“I was like ‘Just name a letter and I will tell you what color it is’ and my dad was all like

‘OK?’ but he played along,” Leanna said.

Her brother, who had heard of synesthesia before, was listening in on the game.

He brought up that this condition could be a possibility for McAllister. “I am self-

diagnosed, but there isn’t really any sort of doubt,” she said.

Cline said that synesthesia can often

come up in her class, since it deals with the

senses, which are talked about in AP Psychology. “All of the senses except smell go

through a very certain brain structure called the synesthesia,” she said. “I think it’s

the thalamus,” Cline explains. “All of your mostly due to being exposed to music at senses send your primary nerves through a young age.” there and then they split to go to their own

McAllister has no trouble reading.

sections of the brain for processing. So, I “It’s not like I have to be really particudon’t even consider it all that odd that some lar about being attentive with reading,”

people’s stuff does get a little miswired McAllister said. “I mean if a person withsince it’s such a small area we’re talking out synesthesia saw a page and it had about.”

colored letters, they would still be able

Cline has noticed a common trait in most to read it.”

synesthetes she has known. “Almost every-

Cline wishes she had more students

body that I have had contact with who has in her classes with synesthesia. “I can

a touch of it (synesthesia) is what I would understand though that for a synesthete consider a highly creative individual.”

they don’t know anything different so it’s

McAllister deems herself a relatively probably just as hard for them to under-

creative person. “I think I’m a creative per- stand how our systems work, as for it is son, but I think that isn’t just because of for us to imagine theirs.”

the b&w p.6&7

january 2013

CATCHING UP ON THE CUST DIANS

Get to know your custodians Afternoon custodians For one year, Sabahudin Okic, an afternoon custodian, lived as a

war refugee in Italy. Beforehand he spent half of his life living in Bosnia and Croatia before moving to Illinois. As a refugee, Okic had an

option to live in certain places around the United States and he chose Chicago. Later, Okic and his family decided to move closer to rela-

tives in Des Moines. For the last four years, he has been employed at Johnston.

Okic is an after-school custodian from 3:30 to 11:00 p.m. in the

empty high school. A typical routine includes picking up garbage,

vacuuming, and cleaning classrooms, bathrooms, tables and whiteboards. If there is a game or sporting event that night, then this all

Students and teachers are not the only ones here in the school. ‘Round the clock, custodians are here making the school the best it can be

happens after setting up tables, chairs and preparing for the activity.

Students are not the only ones being affected by the new improve-

ments and regulations to the high school. Previously, anyone had access into the school during his shift. “Now they are going to a new security system,” Okic said. “We used to have all doors unlocked and people coming in and out.”

The new iPads even affect the custodians. “They are saving me a

little more work,” Jose Pimentel, a custodian for 12 years, said. “Before, I had to pick up all the pencils and paper. Now, there’s not as much.”

Night custodians For night custodian John Wasson arriving home from work at 7:30

a.m is normal. Wasson has been a night custodian at Johnston for 20 years, 40 years total at other schools. For Wasson, this is the job for

him. “You can do things without having anyone around and you can get your work done,” said Wasson.

Being at the school from 10:00 p.m to 7:00 a.m wouldn’t be a work

schedule most would consider ideal, but after Jerry Johnson has done

it for eight years, he has his own schedule to follow. “I have a short nap about ten in the morning and then a long nap from 5:30 to 10:00 at night, then [I] come to work,” said Johnson.

With a school of 1,348 students, 150 staff and 102 classrooms, the job of a custodian is no easy task. We racked up the stats to show you everything the custodians take care of in our school.

10 CUSTODIANS 33 bathrooms

90 Air Conditioner Units 20 Air Handling Units 40 Heat Pumps

75 Exhaust Fans

100 Fire Extinguishers

The two night custodians take care of all the athletic facilities. This

includes the fitness center including all the equipment, the wrestling room, the big and small gyms as well as all the hallways.

Right: Dan Golbuff and Jay Nikolish start off the day by working on the VAV in the commons to help regulate the temperature. This is what is considered the air conditioning system through out the school.

Middle: Dan Golbuff shuffles down the hallway after school with his equipment and tools to end the day of work. Golbuff is condidered the head custodian, but his job also consists of many maintaince and electric jobs as well.

Left: Alex Johnson works his afternoon shift sweeping the engineering room. Part of cleaning the rooms includes wiping everything down and making sure everything is in place for the next day.

Custodians

save

custodians the day

Being at the school five days a week, sometimes six or seven, has to lead to some interesting events. We asked the custodians to share some stories of the craziest things that had happened while working here.

“ “ ” ” “ ” “ ” Saving the pigs It was eight years ago, I believe.

It was a homecoming prank that some students, seniors, turned baby pigs loose in the building and let them run about and we had to police them up. It was quite interesting to try to catch baby pigs in the halls of JHS but we got ‘er done. -Dan Golbuff

Saving the snowmen I heard them [two kids] on top of the big gym. Then the cops came.

I asked [the cops], ‘Well what happened?’ The two cops told me they were building snowmen. Then they jumped off the roof and ran across the street. You know kids, they’re -John Wasson just having fun.

Saving the ducks I believe it was four or five years ago now on a warm spring morning that the front office called us on our radios telling us that several staff members were outside the window to room 204.

There was a mom duck and two or three of her ducklings on the ground, and five or six more of her ducklings were standing at the edge of the roof getting ready to jump. The staff were concerned they would be injured if they jumped so Dan and I were asked to go up on the roof and try to catch or stop the ducklings from jumping off. So

we went up on the roof and as we tried to quietly approach them they all jumped off at once. Now the spring grass was nice and tall where they landed and provided a nice cushion of protection. None of the ducklings were injured and we watched from the roof as the mom duck waddled off with all of her ducklings following closely in a straight line. Some of the staff members stopped traffic on 62nd Ave. by the tennis courts so the ducks could safely cross the road and I believe they ended up in the pond by Pioneer.

Saving the student Last year as I was “covering” for Dean, the head custodian of the 8/9 middle school, I got a call on my radio that a student was trapped inside a locker. Well no one ever receives training for extracting a student from a locker but all the staff and students gathered around this locker looking at me to “save the day”. The student was all the way

inside the locker but he/she had his/her hand pushing out on the top of the door so I was able to get my finger tips on the edge and yank it open. It made me recall many episodes of “Saved By The Bell” when “Screech” ended up inside a locker and had to be let out.

-Jay Nikolish

editorial

the b&w p.8

Announcements should be on the iPads Calling students on the intercom is not effective, use the iPads instead

Technical Coordinator Ann Wiley and the iPad team have created a high

school app that will allow access to the school’s daily announcements. How-

ever, the office announcements such as guidance office secretary Sarah Marckmann’s are not currently on this app. In order to be the most efficient, a way should be found for this to happen.

Several students such as senior Jiahui Huang cannot always hear the an-

nouncements in the halls. “I miss a lot of important things,” Huang said. On

top of this, if students are outside of the school for a free period or a class on a different campus such as DMACC or Central Campus, they miss the announcements.

Depending on where you are in the building, Marckmann’s voice may be

clear as crystal or muffled to the point where you cannot understand what she is saying. Crowded halls with students talking all at once makes it nearly impossible for one to clearly understand the announcements.

There is also the confusion of which office is calling students. “When you

hear your name you don’t always know which office to come to,” Marckmann

said. “If the office announcements were on the iPads as well, then it would be much easier for students to know when their name is called. If I could send a

message to the iPad that said come to office, then it would be much better.

It would be a lot easier to send info[rmation] over to individuals instead of listing 20 names.”

The 1:1 initiative has made several aspects of school easier. However,

now that we have iPads, they should be utilized as much as possible. Marckmann agrees. “In general we need to take advantage of every technology

opportunity,” she said. This means using the iPads to get information out to

The editorial board votes on the opinion behind the editorial. A simple majority is needed to pass. This month’s vote was 3-1.

students so that they all can access it.

Even though students may have to put extra effort in pressing a button

to open the announcements, it would certainly be a lot easier than trying to hear over all the commotion in the halls. The iPad team is working on more

buttons for this app. These buttons may include current news, guidance, student council and the student school board representative. The current

news and guidance app are being revised so the students will be informed of almost everything that goes on around the school that they need to know as soon as possible.

It will be about a month until this app is introduced to the students. The

overall goal is communication and using resources to achieve that goal with a balance as to not to overwhelm the students with information.

Principal Brent Riessen’s hopes are that the school’s intercom announcements will

become less frequent and consistent throughout the school day. This does not necessarily mean that the announcements will be eliminated from the intercom completely. There will be the occasional announcement when any office or the principal will need to speak to the students directly via intercom. This is how it should be.

The iPads are great tools that the high school is lucky to have. But it is silly and inef-

ficient to not put them to their full use. Having announcements on the iPads would benefit everyone involved.

opinion

the b&w p.9

Asking

NOT

for HELPis

shameful

words & layout Hannah Soyer

Starting in sixth grade, I was convinced there some-

middle school. However, for many people going through

mid 20’s, and how when she was my age she used to cut

story or image would scare me so much that many of my

out that the feelings they’re having are similar to the symp-

never seemed anything but happy to me, even radiant, and

thing was wrong with me. Trivial things such as a scary

nights ended in me crying and being too ashamed to say why. Disturbing thoughts would overtake me even when I tried my hardest to ward them off. Oftentimes, I thought

of harming myself, even though I never did. I thought that

depression, this may be too late. By the time they figure

toms of depression or anxiety disorder, they may already be too scared to ask for help. And even if they can work up

the courage to, asking for help is often accompanied by a

herself and had a really hard time with things. My cousin when my mom told me this about her, I first started to feel that there might be hope for me.

I cannot begin to tell you how difficult it was to go to the

sense a shame.

counselor for the first time, and how scared I was that the

lock me up in a mental institution for being so unstable.

ask for help, they are weak. It proves that they are incom-

nod her head before calmly telling my mom it would be best

swearing that I could get through this without the help of

can get through life without the support of at least one other

if I were to reach out and ask for help, someone would I distinctly remember looking at myself in the mirror and anyone or anything.

I was wrong. I am 99% sure that if I had not asked for

For some reason, society has this view that if people

petent and cannot do things on their own. But really, who person?

The sign of a truly strong person is one that recognizes

help and began seeing a counselor, I would not be here to-

their need for help and asks for it. There is nothing shame-

feel bad for me. I’m sharing this because I know that when

is nothing shameful in asking for it.

day. This is not a sob story. I’m not sharing this to make you I was in my darkest hours, I never felt more alone, and I

ful in needing help (after all, doesn’t everyone?) and there

as if they are the only person in the world. Why? Because

people don’t discuss what depression is with children until they think they can handle it; that is, once they get to late

and thoughts I’d been having, she assured me that I was

not crazy and that I could get better. This translated into one thing: hope.

People should be denied this hope because they have

mental disorders must be removed if we hope to move

pression as well, listing names of my relatives and family

depression, and yet for those going through it, it seems

finally choking out what I going through and the feelings

that there were many people who have gone through de-

through the same thing right now.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Preven-

to myself or others. But, of course, this was not so. After

been made to feel too ashamed to ask for help. The solu-

thing was wrong with me and I needed help, she told me

tion, an estimated one in 10 adults in the U.S. suffer from

to send me off somewhere where I wouldn’t be a danger

When I finally admitted to my mom that I thought some-

thought I was the only person in the world going through

this. But I wasn’t, and chances are, someone else is going

moment I told her what was going on with me she would

friends. For many, the fact that other people had dealt with the same thing as I had may seem obvious, but to me, it

was as if suddenly the dark shell that had been closing in around had started to crack and I could glimpse through the opening a score of other people that were just like me.

My mom told me about my cousin, who is now in her

tion to this includes multiple things, but the stigma behind forward. If you have a story similar to mine, I urge you to

share it. You never know who you might help. And if you are seeing yourself reflected in the words above, know that you really are not alone, no matter how grave your situation might be or how messed up you think you are. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

opinion

the b&w p.10

BATTLE SERIES OF THE words & layout Mallorie Goodale & Carly Kinning

Chris Siewert

The Force is stronger with Star Wars

Science teacher Chris Siewert fell in love with Star Wars as

soon as he saw the explosion of the Death Star at the end of the

three more movies.”

Rumor has it that Siewert has a room devoted to Star Wars mem-

first movie. Siewert saw Star Wars as a child a couple weeks

orabilia, which is not entirely true. “I do have a Star Wars Christmas

“I remember when I was at that movie theater I had no clue that

room. I have stuff that probably fill up a room but right now I have it

after its premiere. His family may or may not have been with him.

they were even there,” Siewert said. “I was so into the movie and to this day I still can’t remember but I remember the explosion at

tree,” Siewert said. “That’s why a lot of people think I have the whole in boxes.”

Siewert has Star Wars collectibles from games to stuffed animals.

the end and just being wowed after that.”

Nine to 11 tubs full actually. “I have a whole bunch of the things that

Siewert got to go to JC Penny where he purchased his first Star

dorky saying this but it’s all there, it’s in the collectables, ready to be

Not long after seeing the first movie in 1977, as a present

Wars toy, an X-wing starfighter and the pilot, Luke Skywalker.

“Ever since then I’ve just enjoyed it,” Siewert said. “I used to play

with the little figures and then as I got older they had books that came out so I kept interested in that way and then lo and behold

fly around, like the spaceships,” Siewert said. “Yeah I know I sound displayed someday in a room.”

Siewert is not concerned about the future of Star Wars, now that

Disney bought them. “I think they’ll take it where it needs to go,” Siewert said. “I’m just excited to see another movie.”

Provided/KT Galloway-Menke

Audrey Kaus Hungry for The Hunger Games During sophomore year after taking her ITBS, teacher

Jane Behrens came up to junior Audrey Kaus and suggested that she read The Hunger Games, because of her

resemblance to the main character, Katniss Everdeen. “I

got the second one, that one I also couldn’t put down,”

However, Kaus feels they did a very good job

read them multiple times since.

was really happy that they had decent actors.”

Kaus said. Finally she got the books for herself, and has Kaus did not have a chance to make it to the pre-

read it and I could not put it down,” Kaus said. “I ended up

mier, but she had planned to dress up like Katniss. She

got hooked pretty much instantaneously.”

ers taking up half of her wall, even a bow and arrow.

reading it at my family Christmas instead of socializing. I Kaus wanted the second book, Catching Fire, directly

after The Hunger Games. “I got back (to school) and I

filming the movie. “I was kind of upset, but I Kaus said.

So as Kaus falls asleep tonight, and

also has a Hunger Games shirt, a backpack, three post-

most nights, she will

Kaus enjoys the movie, but the differences between

keep her up for Catch-

the movies and the books bother her as she watches it.

Hunger

Games

to

turn

on

The

ing Fire, coming out late November 2013.

Carly Kinning/ BW

Abby Dockum, Millie Varley & Lydia Sinclair Spellbound by Harry Potter

Provided/Katie Landy

Juniors Lydia Sinclair (far left) and Abby Dockum (next to Sinclair) dressed up for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 midnight premier.

Juniors Abby Dockum and Millie Varley decided to go in

could combine our costumes,” Dockum said. “We would

lows: Part 2. “We didn’t know but the theater that we were

neath so we could actually watch the movie.” Because

test,” Dockum said. “We ended up getting second place in

to back, when they went in to watch the movie, under

elaborate costumes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hal-

walk back to back but then we both had costumes under-

going to, the Merle Hay Theater, they had a costume con-

the costume required Varley and Dockum to stand back

that and then we got a poster so that was pretty exciting.”

their cape they were still dressed up as their characters.

the amount of cheers from other people in the theatre. The

dressed up as Draco Malfoy. “We made a rule that no

For the premier, Varley dressed up as Voldemort and

said. “We tried to think of characters that were not as

In the theater, the people who dressed up were judged by

Another member of their group, junior Lydia Sinclair

winner of the contest was dressed us as MadEye Moody.

one could dress up as Harry, Ron or Hermoine,” Sinclair

Dockum dressed up as Quirrell. “We had a robe that we

popular in the books that no one would expect.”

sports

the b&w p.11

Athletes battle asthma words

What would coaches do?

“

“ “

“What I’ve done in the past is give

Anne Rogers layout

Kenzie Foldes

I ran almost every day in the summer be-

during the season for it, and before I run I

met at the fitness center at 7:30 a.m on the

Ackerman has had her share of asthma

fore my sophomore year with my team. We

take an inhaler.”

weekdays and ran different workouts to build

attacks, and one thing she hates is when

until I noticed it was harder to breathe.

want people to gather around [when I have

endurance and speed. I loved every day of it, I told my mom after a couple of days, and

people panic and gather around her. “I don’t an attack]” Ackerman said. “Just give me

someone a racing buddy. I say, ‘For the

I started sitting out of a few practices here

person.’ It’s usually a person who I know

we thought it was just the heat. After it cooled

year, after a cross country race. “The first

er. I couldn’t take a deep breath. The cross

said. “I didn’t know why it happened, and I

next race you’re not allowed to pass this

the athlete can keep up with, without having an attack.”

-Patrick Hennes, girls’ cross country coach

“If an athlete is having an asthma attack,

the first treatment should be getting them

to use their inhaler if they have one. If this

“ “

doesn’t help, or the athlete doesn’t have

their inhaler on hand, someone needs to go

for help right away. Work with the athlete on slowing down their breathing, in through the nose, out through the mouth. If they can’t

slow their breathing down, they’ll need an ambulance. Stay calm, and don’t panic.”

“

-Melanie Mason, athletic trainer

and there. That summer it got really hot, so down a bit, I went back, and it was even hardcountry season came along, and I was still finding it harder and harder to breath.

knew it wasn’t normal.”

After my incident with the paramedics,

it was not working like I had hoped. Then, I

scribed asthmatic steroid, one that helped

me an inhaler, which helped for a while but started to get asthma attacks when we would

specifically run hard workouts. One moment I am running and all of a sudden I cannot

tor again. This time, I was able to get a preto prevent asthma attacks. The next day at practice, I noticed I was feeling a lot better.

Having asthma that I could not control for

breathe. I start to panic and I hyperventilate,

the first part of the season made me feel ter-

collapse to the ground.

the one thing I loved to do. Now, I felt like I

then I cannot even stand up anymore and What do the people around me do? They

do not know, so they run to get help. One per-

son tries to get me to take my inhaler, to get some air, but it is hard to.

There was one time, when I had such a

bad attack, my coach had to call the ambu-

her in the room immediately, we’d ad-

also has asthma. “It’s not that I’m out of

steps to remedy the situation and get the

lungs,” Ackerman said.

athletes know to follow the same protocol

freshman year, and has been running with it

My teammate, senior Nicole Ackerman,

minister the inhaler, and take the proper

shape, it’s just that I can’t get the air in my

athlete breathing normally again. Our

She was diagnosed with asthma her

- Aaron Tecklenburg, varsity wrestling coach

time was really scary, and I cried,” Ackerman

my parents decided to take me to the doc-

lance for help.

should their teammate have an attack.

She had her first attack her freshman

I decided to go to the doctor, and he gave

We are fortunate to have an outstanding

trainer (Melanie Mason) on staff. I’d get

space and let it pass.”

all four years of high school. “I just have to

deal with it,” Ackerman said. “I take medicine

rible. It was as if I was losing the ability to do

would be able to learn how to control it. Of course, that will take some time, and a lot of patience, but it can be done.

I may not be the fastest on the cross coun-

try or track team. In fact, I’m far from it. I just

want to do what I love to do, and that’s running. When I run, I feel like I belong somewhere. Like I can finally just get away from everything and run. Asthma makes it hard

to do that. But so many other people have

learned to control their asthma, and I can soon be one of them. I do not look at asthma

as an obstacle. It’s just another competitor in

a race, and my attitude is to beat it, to overcome it.

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Helpful hints Going up

In most elevators, pressing the button to the desired floor at the same time as the closedoor button sends the elevator straight to that floor, regardless of any floor buttons already pushed.

Tested tips and tricks that add practicality or ease to everyday life words Aaron Gray

layout

Kenzie Foldes

A chip off the old block

Got to get that boom, boom, boom

Want speakers for your iPhone but don’t want to shell out the cash for it? Cut a small hole in an empty toilet paper roll and put the bottom of your iPhone in it. It’s not fancy, but it works just fine.

A tasty alternative to salt and pepper? Grind your favorite chips well and put them in a shaker for an extra kick to your meal. On the same note, most chips are excellent fuel for fires due to their high amounts of fat, making them a good substitute for that next campfire.

Ice, ice baby

Iced coffee to go? Pour coffee in an ice tray and let it freeze to add to your next cup of joe. Save some money and a trip to Starbucks.

Keep from boiling over

To avoid a pot boiling over, put a wooden spoon over the pot to keep the foam levels from erupting.

Silence is golden

Cheesey goodness

Turn the toaster sideways and put a slice of cheese on top of the bread for grilled cheese without the sticky mess. Make sure and be careful though!

Need a universal mute for your electronic device? Break off the headphone jack from an old or unused pair and plug the nub into the audio port. Most, if not all, sounds will be muted even if the jack isn’t connected to anything.