Issue 4 17-18 by Marquette Messenger

the

MESSENGER

Volume xxv, issue iv | MO 63017 | MARQUETTEMESSENGER.COM | December 2017

RE-EXAMINING FINALS

With the lack of a final exam policy at RSD, teachers and officials met in November to discuss their implementation and will meet in January with students. neelansh BUTE • abhijit SRIRANGAM • greg SVIRNOVSKIY • austin WOODS

TRUE

HEN LEEZA KABBENDJIAN, SENIOR, walked through the doors of MHS for the first time as a freshman, she felt genuine excitement at the thought of tackling a new challenge. However, differences between middle school and high school became apparent when she earned her first B in Honors Language Arts, dropping her down from an A. “Coming from the middle school setting where grades don’t really matter, suddenly one test dropped me an entire letter grade,” Kabbendjian said. “I think that transition is unfair to put onto any individual, especially at the age of 13.” Kabbendjian said her final reflected a momentary period of stress rather than her abilities in writing and reading. “High school finals place this incredible weight on students, to where stress is inevitable,” Kabbendjian said. “I think we should make finals just another grade in the gradebook and not put as much weight on it.”

ARE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE BELOW AND SEE PAGES 8-9 FOR ANSWERS. ACCORDING TO RSD POLICY:

Beginning Discussions

A Final Exam Review Committee, made up of several teachers and district administrations, met for the first time on Thursday, Nov. 9, to discuss changing policies. As of now, RSD’s final exam policies only address exemptions. There are no defined rules as to the comprehensive nature of the tests, the percentages attached to the exam or the makeups of each test. Scott Szevery, social studies teacher, said the committee discussed reasons behind having final exams and gauged teachers’ opinions on the merits of finals. “The district basically sort of realized that the final exam policy officially is very broad and vague,” Szevery said. “What we’ve been doing as teachers is following rules and guidelines that nobody’s sure where they came from.” Szevery cautioned that any change to refine current policies will take years to truly solidify.

FALSE 1. All finals must be worth 20 percent of a grade. 2. All finals must be comprehensive. 3. All finals must have a writing portion. 4. All classes must have a final exam. 5. There is a final exam policy beyond exemptions. 6. All teachers must offer study resources two weeks prior to the exam.

TABLE OF CONTENTS YOUTUBE

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THE PEOPLE Editor in Chief Online Editor in Chief Associate Editor Production Editor Copy Editor News Editors Opinions Editor Features Editor Arts&Leisure Editor Sports Editor Online Sports Editor Assistant Online Editor Social Media Editor Advertising Manager Business Manager Staff Reporter Staff Adviser

lls ice skating

CONSTRUCTION

5 14 7 13

family

fashion

Greg Svirnovskiy Neelansh Bute Austin Woods Abhijit Srirangam Mahika Mushuni Marta Mieze Kailin Zhang Alex McAteer Kavya Jain Kenzie Winstead Delaney Neely Jeff Swift Jen Bosche Connor Karst Sabrina Lacy Luke Malawey Jason Belval Emily Jorgensen

Jaela Kirkpatrick, sophomore, performs an ice skating routine at the Webster Groves Ice Skating Arena. Sruti Vyas, senior, and Ope Sangoseni, junior, model their fashion styles. While many spend holidays surrounded by family, for those in the military this is sometimes impossible. An empty spot sits in place of an absent family member.

OUR POLICY The Messenger is published eight times a year by students enrolled in the Newspaper Production class at Marquette High School, Chesterfield, MO, 63017. The publication office is located in Room 226, (636) 891-6000 ext. 26228 Opinions of Messenger columnists or the Editorial Board are not representative of the opinions of the entire Messenger staff, the newspaper or the administration. The

Seniors Elliot Svirnovskiy, Abby Copeland, and Morgan Hanley fill out forms at the inaugural meeting of the Leukemia Lymphoma society.

Messenger takes responses for any issue. Send these in at www.marquettemessenger.com. The Messenger reserves the right to edit submitted material and to refuse to print material because of space limitations, repetitive subject matter, libelous content or any other reason the Editor in Chief and adviser deems appropriate, including advertisements and letters to the editor.

Top 5 Most Viewed Stories on marquettemessenger.com

15 4

Camp Fury Begins Enrollment

Lil Pump at Pop’s Nightclub

Mr. Mustang policy changes

Stranger Things 2 Review

Opinion: Fixing our Mystakes

jen BOSCHE

austin WOODS

kailin ZHANG

alex MCATEER

zack LESMEISTER

An inside look at Camp Fury: a camp for girls wanting to enter the world of emergency, law enforcement and first response.

A post in Austin’s Music Talk reviewing a Lil Pump concert last summer. This review evaluates the artist, concert, and venue.

The explanation of the changes to Mr. Mustang and the reasoning behind the missing “Boxer Dance” in this year’s performance.

A review on the second season of this Netflix hit show. The second season of Stranger Things released Oct. 27.

A guest columnist’s view on the MHS tradition of “Mystake.” This opinion showcases a new way of seeing how traditions may need to adapt with the world around them. Infographic by Delaney Neely

OPINIONS

MUSTANGS SPEAK Who is your person of the year?

Dr. Greg Mathison, principal

editorialBOARD

Breaking the Silence “THE VOICES THAT LAUNCHED A MOVEMENT.” That number is both horrifying and inspiring. In the span of two months, the hashtag #MeToo Horrifying because each of those individuals in has been used more than 3 million times, resulting in some way violated another and got away with it for so the outsetting of sexual predators and the exchange long, unpunished until someone spoke out. Inspiraof stories between countless survivors. tional because countless individuals found the courReports of sexual misconduct expanded past the age against terrifying odds to come forth so other realms of the day-to-day individual and wrapped people don’t have to suffer what they did. around public figures — celebrities, producers, politiMany of these individuals were only comfortable cians, business leaders — and those stories led to the coming forth once they saw the support and seriousutter destruction of many of their reputations. ness survivors who had already come forth were met The consequences those individuals who commit- with. It is this culture that allowed so many individuted acts of sexual misconduct faced were met with als to fall from undeserving heights and for so many varying response in the eyes of the media. But we survivors to be brought some form of justice. And it are not here to discuss the repercussions those indiis this culture that we as a society must more freviduals should have or should have not faced. quently embody. The fact of the matter is that speaking out and TIME’s decision to name The Silence Breakers — sharing stories of sexual harassment and assault the individuals who spoke up against sexual is incredibly difficult. Sexual assault and misconduct — Person of the Year cannot harassment is still unfairly treated in our be described as anything less than society. Victims are met with support glorious. The movement created a “The Silent Breakers but also ridiculous amounts of scrutivoice for those impacted by such ny, disbelief and blame. It is the latas sexual assault. A voice have been incredible brave, atrocities ter response that shuns victims from that bound them together and do not let that bravery be amplified their individual voicstepping forward. In cases where the perpetrator is prominent, the es, a voice that gave them power squandered.” weight of the latter response grows and a voice that ultimately was just because of the visibility of the triumphant. accusation, making stepping forward While the battle against sexTHE MESSENGER even more difficult. ual misconduct continues, TIME’s Which is where movements such as choice for Person of the Year gives #MeToo comes in. us hope. Hope for a better society. The flow of accusations against Harvey By choosing The Silence Breakers, TIME Weinstein marked the catalyst for the influx of assisted in further elevating their voices, they asvictims of sexual misconduct coming out to speak sisted in creating a culture in which victims of sexual against the perpetrators of those acts. misconduct are comfortable enough to come forth Fifty-seven women came forth against Weinstein, with their stories. most publicly starting with Ashley Judd, who went The issue remains that eventually, no matter how straight to the New York Times in October, forcing strong, many movements lose their speed. We must the world to listen. After that first article, an onnot let that happen. As a society we cannot allow slaught of accusation began, culminating in the comsuch vulgar behavior to fester in our world. We canplete and utter tarnishing of Weinstein’s reputation. not allow it to seep into our communities. We must And other survivors saw this. Soon allegations support each other in the face of wrongdoings. against 81 prominent figures — in politics, in HollyThe Silence Breakers have been incredibly brave. wood, in the business world — arose. Do not let that bravery be squandered. Eighty-one accused.

Sarah Abbas, freshman

“Jimmy Fallon because with all of the chaos that’s going on in our world, he still makes everybody, no matter where they stand in any issue, laugh. To me, humor and laughter is what brings people together.”

“I would nominate Madison Lakamp. She is an incredible human being who’s nice to everybody. As a freshman who just came in who’s having a hard time trying to find my group, she just helps [me] out. And she’s a good person. She’s nice, she’s funny and incredibly smart.” “I would nominate Mr. Nesbit because he’s always looking out for the kids and helping them out around the school, even if they’re new.”

Arthur McAlpine, freshman “I would nominate Beyoncé because she is caring, kind and loyal to her husband who cheated on her. She is the queen, she is overall perfect and [she is] who you would want to be as a human being.”

Shae Schiff-Clark, senior

Lydia Stewart, sophomore

“I would nominate Donald J. Trump because he is going to totally fix this country. He is going to build a wall maybe even build a wall, by Canada too, to keep out the immigrants.”

OPINIONS

Digital rights HOW THE ISP’S INTERNET COULD WORK: HOME

ISPS

(Internet service providers)

ISPs could block certain content and charge extra to use certain services

INTERNET

human rights that allow individuals to access, use, create and publish digital media or to access and use computers, electronic devices or communications networks.

Net Neutrality abhijit SRIRANGAM NET NEUTRALITY IS A TERM THAT many may not have heard, but you should know it because it’s in jeopardy. To put it simply, net neutrality is how the internet is right now. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like AT&T, Charter, Comcast and Verizon manage your “pipeline” to the internet without any meddling from them. Every website loads at the same speed - the utmost sign of equality. But this all may come to an end. To understand what’s about to happen with net neutrality, I’ll have to introduce two boring, but important terms: Title I and Title II. On Feb. 26, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed the Title II net neutrality rules. Title II is what allows for your pipeline to the internet

Right to be Forgotten greg SVIRNOVSKIY

ISPs could charge websites in order get their content into the homes of the ISPs customers

YOUTUBE

SOCIAL MEDIA

IF YOU SEARCH MY NAME, GREG Svirnovskiy, online right now, you’ll find a lot of interesting hits. You’ll see my linkedin profile, some newspaper stories and a news briefing about a test I took in seventh grade. Impressive, right? But if you scroll down to about the fifth link, you’ll see a picture of me, high on oxycodone, surrounded by seven crying kids while clutching a papier-mâché llama. Not exactly office space material. While this little link only further substantiates my reputation as an adorable misfit, other people struggle with the repercussions of the internet’s permanence on a far greater level. Honest Americans, often job seekers, who have moved on from their past lives, from “those drunken pictures of their college days,” are still hurt when companies search their names. The internet in its status quo can damage people’s lives and livelihoods for one little mistake. Which is why the European Union voted to instill the “Right to be Forgotten” into law in 2014. The Right to be Forgotten allows citizens within EU countries to ask for search engines to unlink certain categories of data from their index,

to be unfettered by your ISP. It also assures a level playing field, so that, for example, small online start-ups don’t get hit by large ISPs that limit their audience. The FCC wants to move ISPs from Title II to Title I. Title I has less regulations on ISPs’ control over their users’ internet and could allow your ISP to throttle certain websites that would normally come to you. For example, right now you use Snapchat with no problem using AT&T’s internet, but with Title I, AT&T could slow down your access to Snapchat unless Snapchat pays AT&T to have their app easily accessed by AT&T users. Another example is that big companies like Netflix could have an even higher subscription rate. This also could make it harder for small start-ups to have a website without being throttled by ISPs. As it stands, net neutrality may end by the vote yesterday. The effects of net neutrality ending may not be noticed right away, but there is nothing stopping ISPs from altering what does and doesn’t come to you through their internet. allowing that information to effectively be removed from the public eye if it is deemed unimportant to the public. Those unimportant articles and photos that damage citizen’s reputations have no effect on the condition of the public, and their removal would not either. They don’t even tell the whole story. In that photo you’ve probably already looked up by now, I was on prescription painkillers after getting my finger chopped off by a door, and I’d won an award for nicest camper. But you didn’t know that. For all you First Amendment nuts who think this violates our rights to free speech and press, I assure you, our mouths are safe. I literally write for this newspaper, protected by the bubble wrap of the Bill of Rights. I care and know about its facets far more than most. But the Right to be Forgotten doesn’t take away from our First Amendment freedoms. It doesn’t delete information from search engines. It only unlinks it, pushing websites and URLs to the back of the internet. Any person, if searching with actual purpose, could find any hidden document. All it does is stop unwitting, superficial searches which bar victims from moving on with their lives. It gives us all a second chance. Our generation is in a unique position to support the Right to be Forgotten. We’ve grown up in the internet age, the first peoples to have been touched by it in all facets of our lives. If we can embrace progress and give second chances, our voices will speak loudly.

ISPs and Censorship alex MCATEER NET NEUTRALITY MAY BE THE most important issue of our generation. If the government’s aggressive attempts to limit your freedom is not concerning to you, it is time to wake up. Allowing net neutrality laws to be repealed means that the internet as we know it will cease to exist. Internet service providers (ISPs) like Charter, Verizon, AT&T and Comcast will have total control over what you see and how much of it you see. All these companies have a stake in seeing net neutrality repealed with laws that will allow them to censor and monetize previously free access on the internet. This means the internet could potentially look like what television does now. Having a basic package and then having to pay for more channels, or in this case websites. This means services like YouTube or Twitter, which were once completely free, may become monetized. On top of all that, ISPs will have the ability to slow down internet speeds, making you pay exuberant prices to obtain usable internet. Or even worse, make certain sites so slow they become unreachable. Censorship. Censorship is the most frightening issue, as it directly threatens how Americans get their information. Picture a world where you only get what news a corporation, that has an agenda of its own, decides you can get. Sounds more like a George Orwell novel than legislation. The bane of the information era is sorting through the mass of lies that are now more prevalent than ever, in order to find the real truth. While China’s censorship is very different in it’s methods, the results may not be entirely different. China’s government has complete control of what their citizens are allowed to view on the internet. Websites like Youtube, Twitter and Wikipedia are completely unviewable in China. If ISPs gain control of what citizens are able to see through the internet, there is no longer anything in place stopping them from blocking websites or articles they don’t want you to see. So why is this even a conversation? Americans love their freedom and if this repeal will do one thing, it will limit freedom. Net neutrality is the most blatantly positive policy that has been threatened by our government in recent times. So I urge you to go online now. Do your research and speak your mind. Call your representatives and go sign the change.com petition in support of net neutrality. While you still can.

NEWS

Mo. law requires CPR training for graduation mahika MUSHUNI SHAKE THE VICTIM. Call 911. Do sets of 100 to 120 compressions per minute until medical assistance arrives. These are the basic steps students will learn in the new CPR and Heimlich training students must now receive prior to the date of graduation by Missouri law. The first recipients of the training at Rockwood were those students graduating at semester. On Dec. 4 during fourth hour, 22 students headed down to the fitness room for training. For Grace Giordano, senior, news of the new graduation requirement came as a surprise when her third hour teacher gave her a pass to go to the training. “No one had said anything about it before so I figured we would’ve found out about it earlier,” Giordano said. During the training, Giordano said she learned basic CPR skills such as making sure someone contacts 911, how many compressions to do if the individual is an adult, how hard to push down and how to identify if a person really needs CPR through a video and supplemental instruction given by Felicia Durst, P.E. teacher. Giordano said she had gained important information and skills from the new graduation requirement. “If it happens in real life, instead of panicking, we would have more of an idea of what to do,” Giordano

said. For other students, like Alex Tognoni, senior, the new CPR class wasn’t anything new. “I took the first aid class with Coach Bosselman so I pretty much knew everything they had to say,” Tognoni said. During the training, Tognoni said they learned how to respond quickly and effectively if someone were to go into cardiac arrest or if someone was unconscious. Though, he said that the first aid class was more comprehensive and went more in depth, including mouth-to-mouth, which the CPR class didn’t go over. Josh Webb, senior, had already completed his CPR training prior to the session. “I didn’t go,” Webb said. But Durst said all students, even those who have received CPR training prior to the training provided by the school, can benefit from it. “It used to be that you were supposed to do both compressions and rescue breathing and now that has changed and they want you to do just compressions,” Durst said. “Now they know they aren’t going to have to do rescue breathing to save someone’s life so they are more apt to do the compression part of it.” Durst said the class is also beneficial to have because learning how to perform CPR is an important skill to have. “Everybody should learn how to save someone’s life,” she said.

“Everybody should learn how to save someone’s life.” Felicia Durst P.E. teacher

Seniors Marrissa Winters, Catriona Milne, Amy Stimmel, Alaina DiCarlo and Margaret Graves observe how and where to position their hands when performing CPR on practice dummies. “I’ve had CPR training before but we didn’t use the dummies so I thought it was helpful because you can know it theoretically without actually knowing how to do it physically,” Graves said. Photograph by Mahika Mushuni

Leukemia, Lymphoma Society Club returns to MHS greg SVIRNOVSKIY FOR NEHA BHARDWAJ, SENIOR, THE LEUKEMIA and Lymphoma Society is about tradition and excellence. “It’s a society that gives a lot both locally and nationally,” Bhardwaj said “It’s a cause that I care so deeply about.” The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society raises money for blood cancer treatment and research, donating all funds back to the St. Louis area. At the helm of her team of nine students, Bhardwaj will work to raise as much money as possible for LLS. Each dollar raised will count as a point to her tally. At the end of the season, the team that makes the most money will see their leader become the student of the year for the St. Louis area. First, it was Adam Deguire, then Nivi Biju. They passed down their positions at the helm of MHS’ chapter to Bhardwaj and she chose her team. “They all bring a different skill set to the table,” Bhardwaj said. “Together we’ll all be able to put in our different skill sets and personalities and work toward accomplishing that overall goal of being successful and raising money for blood cancer research.” Bhardwaj’s passion toward cancer prevention comes from her experience volunteering in hospitals around the city. “A lot of times I see kids with cancer who are fighting really hard,” Bhardwaj said. “They are my inspiration to join in this campaign and lead it.” To bring her team into the fold, Bhardwaj is working with Molly Devine, an organizer with LLS. Devine is driven by one noble quest. “Our goal is to end all types of blood cancer,” Devine said. “We have a few signature campaigns

By the numbers: for blood $10,000 raised cancer research 100%

of all proceeds go back to St. Louis

@LLSusa @LLSusa Neha Bhardwaj, senior, and Molly Devine lecture at the annual opening meeting of the MHS Leukemia and Lymphoma Society club. Bhardwaj selected a team of 10 seniors to help raise funds for the campaign. Photograph by Greg Svirnovskiy

where we really raise money to fund cancer research.” Devine said one of the best parts of the campaign is that all of the money goes back to hospitals and research centers in the St. Louis area. “It’s based on where the need is, where the doctors are, and where the researchers are,” Devine said. “But there are so many great ones in the St. Louis area that we try to get the money here.” Devine said the organization provides important services ranging from research to patient care. “There’s over a hundred types of blood cancer out there,” Devine said. “No one treatment fits all. We fund research grants as well as patient care, support,

all those things.” Abby Copeland, senior, is a member of the MHS LLS team. Copeland said she is motivated to raise money, in part out of support for Bhadrawaj. “She just has a lot of qualities that will serve her well,” Copeland said. “She is really good at taking her ideas and putting them into action. Seeing her so passionate makes me want to match her passion.” Copeland said her personal connection to cancer further pushes her to encourage research against it. “In the past year I’ve had five friends have their fathers die of cancer,” Copeland said. “Cancer is really close to my heart, its really something I want to see come to an end.”

NEWS

NEWS IN BRIEF

Committee plans schedule changes B

mahika MUSHUNI

Samara Armani, junior, won second place at the Lindenwood Fall Fashion event for creating and modeling a coat on Dec. 1.

On Dec. 2, Dylan Potthoff, junior, and Abby Grace, sophomore, earned a spot in All-State band. Speech and Debate took fifth in Sweepstakes at Bradley University Tournament on Dec. 2. Logan Paul, senior, won a Progressive 64 West Scholarship on Nov. 22.

Countdowns

Days until Winter Break

days until Spring Break

UNDER THE CURRENT SCHOOL day, students walk class to class to class. Each school day written out in the letters A, B and C. But now, talk of changing the rigidity of the schedule have begun. For the past year and a half, the High School Review Committee has been studying and researching various aspects of high school in order to better benefit students and prepare them for life past high school. Dr. Greg Mathison, head principal, said the committee took suggestions that each individual subcommittee had come up with and passed them along to the scheduling committee to formulate a schedule to accommodate as many of the suggestions as possible. The result was the possibility of changes to the schedule. “Built into the school day, there could be a period of time which is unstructured,” Dr. Mathison said. This unstructured “flex time” would allow students to study, do homework, request to meet with teachers for help, or do something else they need to meet their academic needs. The time also may prepare students for life after high school, giving them more freedom within the school day. “Students are going off to college or going into their career and they are ready to do that but they aren’t ready to make choices for themselves because our system right now is so structured,” Dr. Mathison said. “One thing we need

Hybrid Block

Potential new schedules

(every other week)

A A B

Flexible Time

Late Start weeks

Infographic by Marta Mieze and Kailin Zhang

to work on is giving students freedom of choice within the schedule.” As of now, two scheduling options are being considered are a hybrid block schedule and a flexible time schedule. A hybrid block schedule would eliminate the choice for blocked or standard classes, and instead gives every class both a block and a standard. The other option, the flexible time schedule, would eliminate Late Starts, incorporating the professional learning communities that usually occur on late starts into the 70 minute block. Mya Schnettler, senior, is on the high school review committee and said she believes that had she had such a scheduling situation during her time at MHS, she would’ve found it beneficial especially as a study hall without having to take a study hall.

Normal start weeks

C B

Every week, no Late Starts, 45 min periods

A: standard B: 1, 3, 5, 7 C: 2, 4, 6, 90 min flex time after 2nd hour

7th period always standard, 70 min flex times, including lunch, every day

“I feel that everyone deserves an hour to just work on stuff, even if it’s just an hour,” Schnettler said. “It’s really helpful because students don’t really have much time to do all the homework for seven classes.” The effects of change in the schedule would branch beyond students. Fran Kremer, guidance counselor, said there are many benefits for students as far as time to get help for teachers, having club meetings, and participating in co-curricular activities. The change would make scheduling students in classes they requested easier, while also helping to balance out class sizes. “As counselors, we want students to get the classes they want to take. The new schedule would hopefully help us accomplish that goal,” Kremer said.

Michelle Li wins prestigious ACT award marta MIEZE • kailin ZHANG ONE OF THE TWO INDIVIDUALS who won the Champion for Change of Prevention Award in the state of Missouri was an adult. The other was Michelle Li, senior. Li has worked with substance abuse prevention since freshman year, beginning with founding a chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). The award recognizes those who put extensive efforts in substance abuse prevention. Li received the award on Nov. 29. “I was really honored,” Li said. Li received this award through founding the National Tobacco 21 Youth Coalition after changing Missouri laws on the legal age of smoking from 18 to 21. Through the coalition, Li promotes Tobacco 21 to student groups various states through presentations and meetings. “I think I’m really making a difference,” Li said. “It’s what I’ve found myself to be most passionate about in high school.” Li said prevention is important, especially in a school community because teens start using substances and smoking early on in their life which can

Michelle Li, senior, with her ACT award on Nov. 29. The award is recognizing her efforts toward promoting substance prevention. Photograph by Lisa Knost

lead to disastrous consequences in the future. Vicki Kemp, SADD sponsor, said Li has accomplished everything because of her passion. “If one door closed, she just went looking for another door or window,” Kemp said. Kemp said prevention is important because overdosing is one of the leading causes of teen deaths. Li wanted to

show her peers this risk is not worth taking. Although Li is graduating this year, Kemp said she has already given multiple leadership roles to other students to take over. “She cares about the continuity [and] sustainability of it all,” Kemp said. Lizzy Konopelski, senior, went to the conference as a member of SADD with Li. In SADD, Konopelski said students work with local drug prevention collisions to organize Red Ribbon Week and educate students on the risks and effects of drug use. “It’s not really taught in school,” Konopelski said. “They talk about it in health but they don’t elaborate on what the major effects are.” Konopelski said SADD has connected her to prevention communities and given her opportunities to spread awareness of the importance of drug prevention. “I love seeing people’s faces when I get to help them at these conferences,” Konopelski said. Konopelski and Li said they hope to continue the legacy of SADD and substance abuse prevention for years to come.

TREAT YO’ SELF:

FEATURES self-care encourages mental, physical health

kavya JAIN • kailin ZHANG

itive. The constant comparison on social media and in school motivates people to participate in self-care. WHEN ERIC TOW, SENIOR, WAS IN MIDDLE “It’s coming from extrinsic motivations instead of school, he had no self confidence. from within,” Rubanovich said. He was overweight and hated himself. Dr. Andrea Dinardo, psychology professor at St. Everything was going downhill. Clair College, defines self-care as any kind of healthy Now, Tow wants to be a nutritionist. restorative practice that nourishes the mind, body “I just decided I can sit here and sulk about life and spirit. It includes a wide range of activities, from and my pain, or I could try to change it,” Tow said. spending time outside to meditating to being grateful. Tow decided to start off small: playing sports, Dr. Dinardo said self-care is important because cutting out soda and cutting out sports drinks. This the more time people spend taking care of themeventually evolved into a lifestyle of clean eating selves, the less draining they will be on others. They filtering out sugars and processed foods. will have more to give back to the world. “It seemed like a lot was thrown at you “Self-care is not selfish,” Dr. Dinardo but if you do it in steps, it makes everysaid. “It is essential for a happy life.” thing so much easier,” Tow said. Dr. Dinardo said self-care is more Another important factor in popular among millennials due to Tow’s journey is fitness. Tow said heightened awareness from social exercise in an everyday routine is media and the internet. crucial in not only physical health, Baby boomers and the generabut mental health as well. tion before them did not have the Above all, Tow said dedicating technology that allows for muntime to oneself is necessary in such dane tasks to be completed quickly DR. ANDREA DINARDO a busy world. Between school and such as dishwashers and dryers, so PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR they work, Tow said students often forget had little time for self-care. to look after themselves. “Before it was all about surviving; “Take an hour a day, do anything you now it’s all about thriving,” Dr. Dinardo find appealing - whether that’s going for a said. walk, cooking, painting, or something else,” Tow Lauren Williams, language arts teacher, said said. “Just separate yourself from the system and soci- she practices self-care because she gets stressed ety and to focus on yourself.” easily. Romi Rubanovich, senior, said self-care is import“I have to be careful about how many things I ant because it is easy to get wrapped up in society’s take on because I like to do my absolute best, and you ideal of constantly achieving, getting good grades or can’t if you spread yourself too thin,” Williams said. getting into a certain college. Williams said self-care is especially important Rubanovich has seen social media posts encourfor students taking advanced classes because of the aging people to practice self-care. While she likes the intensity of their workload and busy schedule. positivity, Rubanovich said such posts may often be She said the district has been taking note of this hypocritical or just posted for the social media trend. through their emphasis on social emotional learning. Rubanovich said self-care has changed from “It’s the effect that emotional health plays on previous generations, as different standards emerged learning and how well you do and the idea that if you with the development of social media and attitudes are overwhelmed and stressed you are not learning as toward school, which have both grown more competwell as you should be,” Williams said.

TAKE CARE: The Messenger asked students how they maintain their spiritual, mental and physical health when school gets stressful.

1. EAT WELL “I always eat breakfast.” Lauren Breidenbach junior

2. SLEEP WELL “I try to get eight to eight and a half hours of sleep.” Sneha Chandra freshman

“Before it was all about surviving; now it’s all about thriving.”

3. EXERCISE “I run a mile a day.” Justin Schafer sophomore

4. BE MINDFUL “I use an app called Calm. It has breathing patterns and soothing music on it.” Alayna Higdon sophomore

Sleep deprivation hurts performance, development greg SVIRNOVSKIY EVAN DEL CARMEN, SENIOR, RECALLS TAKING an AP Psychology test about the effects of sleep deprivation last year while “unbelievably sleep deprived.” “It was probably two hours on a bad night, four to six hours on a bad night,” Del Carmen said. “It was just over taxing.” As a junior, amidst five AP classes and a plethora of clubs ranging from Mock Trial to Debate, Del Carmen said he found it difficult to balance his schedule. This year, he’s shaved his AP load, cut down on clubs, ad added senior incentive allowing more time for leisure. “I’m at school by 9, out of here by 3, and then I go to work until 9,” Del Carmen said. “That’s a good seven to eight hours of sleep. Last year was just a lot of studying. I’d get home and study and probably go to bed anywhere from midnight to later.” As the semester comes to a close, students prioritize schoolwork over sleep, leading to negative effects. On a good day, Cari Shearer, senior, gets six hours of sleep. Normally, though, it’s far less. “It’s more typical that I get about two to four hours of sleep per night,” Shearer said. “It’s definitely a lot harder to focus. I won’t be as focused when I’m taking tests. I won’t be as focused in class.” For Shearer, this lack of focus often results in a

Photo illustration by Abhi Srirangam

drop in academic performance. “It really affects my grades,” Shearer said. “On the weeks where I’m not getting a lot of sleep, my grades will start to slip.” Ashley Hobbs, AP Psychology teacher, said sleep affects students in more than an academic context. “It gives our body and our brain a chance to rejuvenate, restore, and reset,” Hobbs said. “If we don’t have enough sleep, our body and brain will physically shut us down.” Hobbs said that teenagers are most at risk for the effects of sleep deprivation. “Teenagers are still growing. Your bodies and

brains are still growing,” Hobbs said. “You tend to need more sleep at that time to allow more growth and development. Additionally, students have a lot of demands on them. Many students play sports, are involved in after school activities, hold jobs. In seven classes they’re also assigned homework, are expected to study, and they still want to have a social life.” But Hobbs said teachers are well equipped to help students who are sleep deprived. “I always give my assignments out before the unit,” Hobbs said. “It’s to give students flexibility to work on them and the school tries to offer incentives through things like senior incentive.”

IN-DEPTH

Y E K R E W ANS

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“Rockwood is a big bureaucracy and bureaucracies move very slow,” Szevery said. “We were just beginning the discussion, and I thought that in that sense the meeting was very productive because I think we really had a very wide-ranging discussion about what we’re trying to accomplish as educators and where do final exams fit into that set of goals.” Szevery said that finals are meant to validate a person’s pre-final grade in the class. “The whole idea is that if the kid is earning a B, and then they get a B on the final, that sort of proves that the final was valid and was accurate,” Szevery said. Finals in Szevery’s classes are formatted distinctly, crafted to test a student’s depth of knowledge in the subject through a format that extends beyond the multiple-choice. Dr. Cathy Farrar, science teacher, said the committee discussed what exactly final exams should quantify for students. “We looked at the kind of an outcome we want from high school students in general, so like, at the end of high school, what would we expect you to take away,” Dr. Farrar said. “Then we looked at how our assessment practices are reflective of all that.” Dr. Farrar said the talks centered around the flexibility of finals for different classes, or how they can be tailored to judge real proficiency. “We did talk quite a bit about how, in some courses, a performance event may be better than a multiple choice and written component,” Dr. Farrar said. “Maybe in a more content-driven class, it’s more important to assess the content.” For eighth grade students at RSD middle schools, finals were weighted at 10 percent of the semester grade during the 2016-17 school year, according to the RSD website. Issaka Thomas, freshman, found it difficult to balance the gravity of finals with the workload of multiple honors classes upon transitioning to high school. “The difference is that I have more things to do now,” Thomas said. “I’m definitely more stressed. It’s difficult because I have a research project now as well as multiple pages of homework.

I also have to prepare for tests and study for the next unit to get ready the final.” Though she doesn’t agree with t 20 percent weight of high school fin Thomas isn’t in favor with the 10 p cent weight either. “I don’t like the 10 percent beca since finals go over everything in th year, it’s a collective of what you lea Thomas said. “But, it shouldn’t be a much as 20 percent because it could greatly impact your grade if you do do well.” Alex Paolicchi, senior, was a fre man when he experienced the signi icance of finals on overall semester grades. In his German class, he went fro an 83 percent to a 69.5 percent afte scoring a 15.5 percent on his final exam. While he’s disappointed with outcome, he owns up to the fact tha was due to his own lack of studying “I put C for every answer becau I didn’t know any of the questions a I already knew I was going to fail,” Paolicchi said. Despite his acceptance of this gr drop being his own fault, Paolicchi he still thinks finals are weighted to much. “I think 10 or 15 percent would a better weight. I feel like they shou affect your grade, but not an extrem amount,” he said. In this instance, Paolicchi was p of the 6.3 percent of classes in whic students receive at least one letter grade lower after the final is include in grade calculation, according to G Hancock, director of research evalu ation and assessment for RSD. Mea while, only 4.9 percent of classes ha students that receive at least one le grade higher after the final is includ Deepak Manda, senior, is one of select few to see their semester lett grade increase. Manda’s grade in hi Latin class, as he approached the fin was a B. “I worked really hard and I cam in after school four days that week learn the stuff I thought I didn’t kno Manda said. “I took the final, did we and it brought me up to an A.” Manda, like Paolicchi, said that f nals, generally, should not be weigh as much. Ultimately, the weight of a final exam ought to depend on the class itself, Manda said. “It should be based on the curri ulum of the class,” Manda said. “Som classes have frequent testing and th

IN-DEPTH

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reuse the material throughout the year. In those classes, the final should be lower because they don’t need to test overall material as much.”

Administrative Perspective Superintendent Dr. Eric Knost recognizes the benefits of separate testing policies at the four high schools. “I think there is some autonomy in the district,” Dr. Knost said. “It’s up to the individual classes as far as what to collectively test students on based on what individual departments decide.” The strict use of specific policies, however, may not be completely functional in school settings when it comes to final exams, Dr. Knost said. “I think schools nowadays have been forced through governance and laws to perform like bureaucracies and I don’t necessarily think that’s a good thing because it hinders creativity,” Dr. Knost said. “Creativity needs to be alive and well in our schools.” Dr. Knost said he believes in establishing a free-form testing policy, one that is open to changes in format within each individual class. “I’m not a superintendent or educator that believes in more standardization,” Dr. Knost said. “I’m not a proponent for standardized testing and I’m not a proponent for every teacher doing the same thing. We need to make sure that we have some equitable measures of how testing is handled in each individual classroom.” Dr. Shelley Willott, executive director of learning and support services at RSD, said that despite not being written into policy, some rules regarding final exams are standard. “The 20 percent weight was determined years ago, but it is not specifically written into district policy,” Willott said. “The district policy just states that we must give exams.” But Willott is also in favor of developing variable testing policies so teachers can proctor finals conducive to their particular class types. “Weighting finals differently will most likely come up in the conversation as we examine best practices in assessment and make decisions,” Willott said. Dr. Takako Nomi, assistant professor in educational studies at St. Louis University School of Education, deems final exams as a necessity to determine students’ college-readiness, albeit with some expectations. “As a teacher, you have to prepare

students to do well on exams, but those exams may not always be reflective of a student’s comprehension and understanding of the material,” Dr. Nomi said. “You would hope that the teacher has multiple ways to ensure that the students understand the material, like multiple-choice questions, essays and more.” Dr. Nomi said the format of final assessments should be based on the subject tested as not all subjects can be tested for mastery through identical methods. “Teachers should have some grasp on where students are throughout the course and not simply rely on the end-of-course multiple choice assessments,” she said. “In general, students should be tested through other forms of testing.” Student performance on assessments and final exams also may be influenced significantly by testing anxiety, thus unexpectedly dropping student grades, Dr. Nomi said. “I would imagine some students have anxiety,” she said. “Discussions, homework, presentations, projects, for example, should also help assess.” In regards to final exemptions, a policy seldom offered in college, Dr. Nomi said dropping a class’s exam may have some merits. “In college, depending on the instructor, some student have the option of dropping the lowest grade,” Dr. Nomi said. “Exemptions depend on the overall future purpose of students. If you have too many exams, you should be allowed to drop a final that is not critical to your goals.” Principal Dr. Greg Mathison finds it necessary to give teachers more autonomy over their final exams to ensure properly-formatted assessments per subject. “Sometimes we’re making finals because we have to have a final at 20 percent, and maybe 20 percent might not be the number. Maybe 10 percent would make sense for this class,” Dr. Mathison said. “But in another class, maybe it’s cumulative and I need to see everything that the kids have learned from that year or that semester, and it needs to be 20 percent. Maybe it needs to be more.”

Teachers’ Viewpoints For math teachers, the current weight of finals seems fitting: a 20 percent justifying a semester’s worth of education.

“In math now, the final is very effective,” Matthew Nienhaus, math teacher, said. “It’s very predictable of what you would deal with in college. Our goal is to not only assess whether or not what we’ve done in class but also to help teach you to deal with a high-stake assignment like that.” In the math department, the general consensus agrees with the 20 percent weight, Nienhaus said. Though the current weight of finals has not faced resistance from other departments, Sophomore Principal Richard Regina said it is important to realize that a generic scantron-based final may not work in all contexts. Similarly-formatted language arts finals, for example, are not entirely representative of a student’s understanding of the subject, Regina added. “What a final exam looks like in math certainly might be a lot more different than what a final exam looks like in language arts or in PE,” Regina said Regina said his past experiences as a language arts teacher at MHS pushed him in favor of eliminating the uniformity of finals in all classes. “In my 14

years of language arts, I felt like our final exams evolved into something we thought was really applicable and useful,” Regina said. “As I became a much more seasoned teacher, I really got some good class discussions going, which is much more applicable for life.”

FEATURES

Troops serve over the holidays mahika MUSHUNI

ETHER DHARMESH, SOPHOMORE

MEET ETHER jen BOSCHE

LIFE IN INDIA “I was born in India and lived there for 12 years. When I was there we started out learning foreign languages like English, Hindi and Sanskrit. I grew up learning languages so it just became a habit to start learning new languages.”

LEARNING LANGUAGES “I like learning languages and I’m trying to learn two languages right now. The first one is Korean and the second one I tried to learn was Japanese, but I quit. Korean is really fun because I watch a lot of Korean drama. It’s fun trying to understand what they’re saying.”

IMPACT “Learning a language is really fun because when I meet people who actually speak these language, it helps me communicate with them and I also get to know a lot about their cultures. I think it’s impacted me a lot because it helps me understand people of different cultures better and become more open minded and embrace the diversity in our world.”

4 P.M. CENTRAL TIME. At senior Marie Bryan’s house, the table is set. Ham, turkey, pumpkin pie and an assortment of food sits upon the table 16 seats but only 15 plate settings. 7 p.m. Central European Time. David Bryan, Marie’s brother, sits around a table of 20 friends in Vilseck, Germany. The smell of freshly roasted turkey fills his army friend’s home Three months before graduating from MHS in 2016, David decided to follow in his family’s footsteps of military service. On July 25, after completely basic training in Ft. Benning, Ga., he boarded a plane to Germany where he was stationed. “It was hard on both sides,” Marie said. As with most of her Thanksgivings, Marie spent the day at her grandmother’s house, but this year was different. For the first time in her life, Marie spent Thanksgiving in absence of her brother. “For my mom and I, it’s really hard because I lost my dad when I was five so David was a big part of my life and he was my big brother and so when he’s gone it’s really hard not having him around,” Marie said. “Without my brother, it didn’t feel the same. Knowing that he was seven hours ahead eating way us.” 4,715 miles away, David spent his Thanksgiving abroad with mixed emotions. “It was also tough for me, but I was glad I was able to spend it with friends that I made since being here,” David said. “We went to a friend’s house. They made some delicious food for all of us. Played some card games and got to know everyone a lot better as well.” In his own way though, David still got to be with his family. “What made my Thanksgiving better was that I FaceTimed my family so I could talk to them,” David said. David is one of many of those serving who are unable to spend some holidays with their families.

Rockwood Drug-Free Coalition

Although freshman Liliana Sparks’ older brother, Braxton, ‘17 grad, was not a sea away, he too was unable to join his family for Thanksgiving and instead spent it at Fort Leonard Wood, two hours away from his family. “It was my first Thanksgiving without him so it was sad not having him,” Sparks said. Joshua Hyde, social studies teacher, served in Iraq from June ‘03 to June ‘04. “I was lucky enough to get [rest and relaxation] for Thanksgiving but otherwise for the other major holidays, I was overseas,” Hyde said. Hyde said he was unable to go home for Christmas and that it wasn’t too bad because he had just spent Thanksgiving with family but it was definitely still a very different experience. “You didn’t even keep track of what day it was. It was Christmas, it was Christmas Eve and then it was on to the next mission and nothing really stopped because of the holidays,” Hyde said. “More or less we just celebrated in our own little way. [We] said ‘merry Christmas’ or ‘happy holidays’ to each other and it was back to work.” During his time in Iraq, Hyde said communication between soldiers and their families was limited. Every six weeks or so a satellite phone was passed around for soldiers to call back home in shifts. It wasn’t until the spring of ‘04, Hyde said, that they were able to call more regularly or have access to their emails. “There’s an 11-hour difference so a lot of times if you didn’t sign up for one of the spots at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, you were just going to be talking to an answering machine,” Hyde said. From just the experience of being away from home during the holidays, Hyde said his outlook on holidays and spending time with family changed. “It’s one of the things that people forget about that we take for granted, how easy it is to go see family even if they live in another state. There is still the ability to say ‘well I can go’,” Hyde said. “For that soldier overseas, they

Before leaving for Germany, David Bryan and his sister Marie take a picture on July 15. Marie said she looks forward to seeing her brother when he returns Dec. 16. “We are going to see my family but he leaves New Year’s Day, so it’s kind of short. He’ll be here for Christmas and New Year’s Eve though so that will be nice,” Marie said. Photo by Julie Bryan.

don’t have that ability.” While David didn’t have the ability to go home over Thanksgiving, he was able to request time around Christmas off to spend 17 days with his family. “It’s the first time in almost a year since I will be able to see my whole family and cousins as well. I’m just excited to be in the States and back home. I missed it a whole lot,” David said.

FEATURES

Climate change prompts discussion marta MIEZE CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL AND destroying the environment. Climate change is made up and used to win people over in politics. These are some of the arguments made about climate change. People debate its existence and its effects. Controversy around the topic can affect the way it is taught at school. Many people, like Eric Schweain, environmental science teacher, consider climate change a man-made problem that results in the “greenhouse effect,” which is when the heat gets trapped in the atmosphere due to increased burning of fossil fuels and clearing of land. To understand what is happening now, Schweain said, students need to evaluate what happened in the past and compare it. “We need to know where we’ve been before we know where we’re going,” Schweain said. Schweain said the way to change minds and make a change for the environment is to provide students with credible news sources and factual studies. Most science classes include parts of climate change but are restricted by the limited time meant for curriculum from going in-depth, Schweain said. Schweain said most people deny global warming because there are a lot

of stories with different views. Students are not introduced to credible sources and therefore don’t know what to believe. “We need to think outside of just our little world,” Schweain said. As one person, Schweain said he cannot bring change, but he can educate students, who are lifelong learners, in the hopes they will seek to make change, research and leave the planet in a better shape. Akash Sarkar, senior, said climate change is definitely a real, man-made issue but doesn’t think it is an important part of school. “I don’t think it should be the school’s responsibility to teach it,” Sarkar said. “Students who care to know about the topic should research it and come to their own conclusion.” Sarkar said the wide spectrum of views on this issue comes from the politics of it and makes people less likely to look at the facts themselves, instead looking only at their party’s views. However, Sarkar said, it is important for more people to be aware of climate change and its effects. “If we have more consensus about the causes of global warming, there are ways we could combat climate change to some degree,” Sarkar said. However, many, like Matthew Del Pizzo, social studies teacher, argue otherwise. He said there is not enough

evidence to support that theory and that the problem has become too politicized. Del Pizzo said if schools are to teach the existence of climate change, they should also teach the side that disproves it, especially during times when issues like global warming has become so politicized. “We are not supposed to tell you how it is. We are supposed to get you to the point where you think about it and analyze it, looking at all of the information not just one side of the information,” Del Pizzo said. “And then you make your own deductive reasoning and you come to your own conclusions.” It is too early to know the true facts because there have not been enough records, Del Pizzo said, and they don’t stretch far enough in history. It doesn’t affect people living in the U.S. which has a good system in place to protect the environment, Del Pizzo said, most of the pollution comes from China. Del Pizzo said that if climate change is real, there is not much people can do now other than wait and see for more facts and evidence in the future. “I’m gonna be on the Earth for such a short amount of time that it really doesn’t affect me,” Del Pizzo said.

BY THE NUMBERS CARBON DIOXIDE

407.06

parts per million

GLOBAL TEMPERATURE

1.7°F

since 1880

SEA LEVEL

3.5

mm per year

Infographic by Kavya Jain. Information from nasa.gov.

ARTS & LEISURE

Peppermint:

STRESS RELIEF IN A SHINY WRAPPER

kavya JAIN • kenzie WINSTEAD MEGAN CLINE, SOPHomore, looks forward to the holiday season because of all the peppermint products that are released: peppermint hot chocolate, peppermint bark brownies, candy canes. She loves the smell and taste of peppermint, especially in her tea. Cline said on average she drinks one cup of tea a day finds that different types of tea leaves have varying effects on her disposition. “I drink peppermint tea in a lot of situations,” Cline said. “It has sort of a subtle taste, but it’s still powerful. It calms me down, and I feel more refreshed and ready to go afterwards.” Peppermint is known to have such an effect. Some of its uses include reducing stress, recharging the nervous system and encouraging regeneration, concentration, vitality and vibrancy, according to Aroma Apothecary Healing Arts Academy, a holistic healing and aromatherapy school in Colorado. Dr. Bryan Raudenbush, professor of psychology at Wheeling Jesuit University, said smells affect three parts of the brain: the frontal lobe that recognizes some-

thing has been smelled; the amygdala, responsible for emotions; and the hippocampus, responsible for memory. This is why people usually have ties to emotions and memories with certain scents. “Peppermint effects the area of the brain called the reticular activating system,” Dr. Raudenbush said. “This is the part of the brain that wakes us up in the morning and puts us to sleep at night. So, smelling peppermint wakes us up and leads to greater arousal.” Dr. Raudenbush said these benefits of peppermint can be harnessed more by smelling the scent rather than using flavored products like gum. “Take a whiff whenever you feel tired or need an extra boost of energy, particularly when studying for exams,” Dr. Raudenbush said. Darcy Hachmeister, math teacher, has been handing out peppermints before final exams for as long as she can remember. “I’m not sure if it is an old wives’ tale or not, but they’ve been saying peppermint stimulates the brain since I began teaching,” Hachmeister INFOGRAPHIC BY DELANEY NEELY said.

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ARTS & LEISURE

Cartoon by Delaney Neely

Winter Style :

Billy An, senior

Practicality vs Originality

greg SVIRNOSKIY CLAD IN DESIGNER CLOTHES AND VINTAGE scarves, seniors Sabrina Linenbroker and Sruti Vyas view fashion as an outlet to express themselves. “As soon as I enter the room, people know a little bit about me,” Vyas said. “It’s an interesting way to dress up my life. We go to school every single day. Why not make each day special.” Vyas said fashion allows her to depart break away from the stereotypes that have defined her Indian upbringing and heritage. “I think the way I dress shows other people that not every Indian person is the same,” Vyas said. As the season changes, Vyas and Linenbroker are throwing out their wardrobe and embracing a new start. Vyas relies on her fashion sense to predict popular brands for upcoming seasons. All over MHS, students are doing the same. “Bell sweaters are very in right now,

over the knee boots, shoulder tops,” Vyas said. “I think right now a lot of girls and guys are gonna opt for Lululemon athletic wear because it’s casual. Patagonia and Vineyard Vines are also going to be some popular brands.” Jordan Butler, sophomore, loves clothes from the 90s. It’s all about skinny jeans, bandanas, oversized jackets. Butler takes pride in what he wears to school. “I get a lot of compliments for it which boosts my self confidence,” Butler said. Butler wears what he says make him feel good. He likes making a statement through his clothes. “It expresses my life,” Butler said. “It’s different, it’s not what everybody else is wearing, but it attracts attention.” For Billy An, senior, fashion is secondary to comfort. Everyday, he comes to school in cargo shorts, shunning jeans even in

Sruti Vyas, senior

the winter. “When I was younger, I always admired my mom’s purse,” An said. “It could hold an entire closet. And then I discovered cargo shorts. I have one of those closets on each of my legs. Practicality over style, that’s my motto.” Ope Sangoseni, junior, also dresses exclusively for comfort. “Most days, I’ll wear either leggings, a tee shirt and a jacket,” Sangoseni said. “If it’s really cold, I’ll wear jeans and a sweater.” Sangoseni’s style is toned down. Muted colors and fuzzy textures in replace of flashy garb. “I dress pretty generically most of the time, just basic stuff,” Sangoseni said. “It doesn’t really look that good, but it’s warm and soft.”

Sabrina Linenbroker, senior

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SPORTS

Born on the ICE Jaela Kirkpatrick’s ice skating carrer continues austin WOODS SOME MHS STUDENTS ARE being adversely affected by the oncoming cold weather. Whether it’s catching colds or finding it

increasingly difficult to spend time outdoors, the impacts of winter is taking many aback. But Jaela Kirkpatrick, sophomore, is no stranger to the cold. She’s practically been on ice since she was born. After all, Kirkpatrick has been competing in synchronized ice skating since she was 1 ½. Kirkpatrick practices with her team, St. Louis Synergy, at the Webster Groves Ice Arena every Tuesday from 7 p.m.-10:15 p.m. Thursdays from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 6 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Additionally, Kirkpatrick practices on her own whenever she can to keep up with any advancements in the team’s routine. “It can get stressful because we have a lot of latenight practices,” she said. “You either have to get your homework done early or you’re up really late, and that’s stressful.” She first got into it for fun but eventually began skating competitively. While she is involved in individual figure skating, she focuses the majority of her time on synchronized skating. “Most people are surprised when I tell them about it because it’s not too common,” she said. “Especially when I mention it’s synchronized skating because most people don’t know what that is. Most people just hear about synchronized swimming.” In addition to late-night practices, St. Louis Synergy also participates in competitions and shows throughout the season. Kirkpatrick said that while these commitments can get stressful, she nevertheless finds the synchronized figure skating season to be rewarding. “It makes you a better person,” she said. “You have to deal with a lot of people because you have teammates and you have to cooperate and everything. I see myself grow in that aspect. It’s a cool thing.” Kirkpatrick anticipates utilizing the skills she’s learned in her future. “I’m not sure what I wanna do when I get older, but skating helps you learn how to cooperate with others and it teaches a lot of valuable skills,” she said. “You’re really close to people.” Kirkpatrick cites her mother, Tricia, as her biggest supporter. “She’s always giving me advice and has always been really supportive of my decisions,” Kirkpatrick said. Kirkpatrick said this was especially evident when she had to undergo surgery in middle school due to hip problems and decided to take a year off, which her mother supported. “When she went back she felt like she had lost so much when in reality all of her peers had continued to progress and she had stopped when she had the surgery, so she was now behind all her peers,” Tricia

said. Tricia said she made sure to encourage her daughter and provide her with the morale necessary to get through this adversity. “It made her doubt her abilities, but I kept encouraging her to keep in mind how long she’d been on the ice and encouraging her to not keep comparing herself but to work on her own things, and she made an incredible comeback within six months of returning to the ice,” she said. Tricia said that adversity like this has strengthened Jaela’s ability to handle stress, and ice skating and general has taught her about properly managing her time. “Whether it’s the injury or a competition and things didn’t go well, she’s learned how to get back to work, pick herself up and move on,” she said. Kirkpatrick said her sister, Ashlyn, is another major inspiration. Ashlyn began skating when she was young, which in turn inspired her sister to take up the sport. “She was pretty

much on the ice from the time she was born because I was always there,” Ashlyn said. “I remember my coach taking her out to skate, and she was very little and she could hardly stand up. They had to give her the smallest skates they had.” Ashlyn said she’s impressed with her sister’s skating career, especially given the fact that she made the decision to pursue it at such a young age. “It’s very hard for a kid to make that decision and realize they’re giving up other opportunities, like having sleepovers every night or going out with your friends,” she said. “It’s been awesome to watch her grow over the years.” Ashlyn has competed at an advanced level in her own skating career and even moved to California for a season to continue competing at her level. She said she believes her sister can reach this level of skill if she maintains her work ethic. “I had the opportunity to watch her perform [recently] and they looked really good,” she said. “She has the work ethic and the capability to go all the way and compete in international competitions. As long as she keeps working hard, I know she can make it there.”

Sai Tokekar, freshman, pins Ramond Tate, freshman, during a drill at practice after school. This drill is named “bridges” and helps practice getting out of holds. Photograph by Jeff Swift

Sai Tokekar makes wrestling history jeff SWIFT ACCORDING TO THE NWCA, GIRLS WRESTLING has grown 1,450 percent in the last two decades. But in most places, it’s still seen as a guy’s sport. This has been true at MHS where the school has never seen a girl anywhere near the mats. Until now. Sai Tokekar, freshman, is the first girl to ever call herself an MHS wrestler. And while she hasn’t won a match yet, Tokekar said she has learned a lot. “It’s been a whole lot of fun and it’s really taught me a lot about pushing my own limits,” Tokekar said. “I need to work hard to succeed in it and wrestling has really taught me a lot about that.” Tokekar said it’s a good sport for girls to try, and she wants to see more girls try out for wrestling next year. “I would love to see more girls sign up, I think that it’s a great opportunity for girls,” Tokekar said. As for Tokekar, she said the inspiration for her signing up for wrestling was the Bollywood film “Dangal,” in which two young girls train to become wrestlers despite receiving backlash from those in their community. “It really inspired me to do wrestling and try something new,” Tokekar said. But unlike the girls in the film, Tokekar said she doesn’t feel like an outcast on the team. “It really inspired me to do wrestling and try something new,” Tokekar said. “They’re probably a lot more rowdy when I’m gone, but they’re still pretty rowdy when I’m around. They’ve been very accepting of me.” Josh Howard, freshman, said the team has done a good job at accepting her. “At first it was kind of awkward,” Howard said. “I think we’ve really grown to accept her.” As a wrestler, Howard said that she’s gotten a lot better. “You know, she’s definitely learning,” Howard said. “She puts in a lot of work and seems to really be enjoying herself.” Jake Dieffenbach, wrestling coach, has been impressed by Tokekar. “She is always very focused and has a great work ethic,” Dieffenbach said. “We are all in this together as a team and it doesn’t matter if you are a boy or a girl as long as you show that you are committed and work hard every day.”

SPORTS

All-inclusive dance team dazzles MHS kailin ZHANG

AS STUDENTS FILE OUT THE SCHOol doors when the final bell rings on Wendesdays, 9 SSD students join the 19 Mystique girls at practice. The Dazzlers dance team learns new choreography, practices dance routines and prepares for performances. Above all, Kristy Laracco, Early Childhood Special Education teacher, said the team works toward strengthening friendships as students learn from each other and collaborate together as one team. The Dazzlers dance team formed when Laracco thought of the idea to create an all-inclusive dance team. Laracco reached out to Janet Sansone, SSD paraprofessional, who had similar ideas. Laracco and Sansone gathered funding from individual sponsors and set up initial practices. Sansone loved the idea of an all-inclusive dance team because many of her students are inspired by music and love to dance. “Music is a means of expression that everyone can understand,” Sansone said. Sansone said the goal of the program is socialization and performance. The girls on Mystique wave to team members in the halls, check in and chat at lunch, and walk with them to class.

Clare Marie Kuebler, senior; Bridget Willis, senior; Caroline Cudney, sophomore; and Brendan Morris, junior; practice on the stage in the Commons every Wednesday after school. This all-inclusive dance team performs at several school events, such as football games. Photograph by Kailin Zhang

“Performing in front of an audience is awesome. It’s like icing on the cake,” Sansone said. “Most of them really ham it up and put on a show. It is entertaining and heartwarming.” Sansone said the Dazzlers team is important because it allows the community to truly see and appreciate

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those with special needs, and emphasized the importance of making them feel connected and appreciated. Senior Lizzy Laracco, Kristy’s daughter, said it’s important to show that everyone is equal, important and treated the same. “I’ve always loved special-needs

kids, and so has my mom,” Lizzy said. “We wanted to give them the opportunity to participate in what I love to do, which is dance.” Lizzy said being a part of the Dazzlers has made her more aware and open to meeting new people and has motivated her to make an effort to include everyone throughout the school day. “I did not expect to make such strong connections - especially my partner Lauren,” Lizzy said. “It’s crazy to see how fast they respond to being friends and how quickly they learn to be themselves with you.” Lauren Straeb and Jordan Straeb, seniors, are members of the Dazzlers. Lauren is buddies with Lizzy on the team, and Lauren helps set up the music at practices. She loves performing at games. Mark Kohler, senior, also dances for the Dazzlers. He said he’s made many new friends on the team, who wave to him in the hallway and stop by his class. “I love doing jumping,” Kohler said. “I get my groove and then I go.” The Dazzlers’ next preformance will be Jan. 12 at the varsity girls basketball game against Parkway Central. The game starts at 5:30 p.m.

SPORTS

ICE Flow

Varsity hockey works to strengthen chemistry delaney NEELY • greg SVIRNOVSKIY BEN CHASE, JUNIOR, THINKS ABOUT IT WHEN he steps onto the ice at Queeny Park for practice. When he lines up on the face-off dot, when he looks at the stands before the game. Every game, every night, he’s chasing the legacy of the Marquette team two years before: winning the Wickenheiser cup. They beat an aggressive Francis Howell Central team 4-2 at the Scottrade Center. Chase remembers how together that team was. How much they all loved each other. “That team was strictly chemistry,” Chase said. ‘It was probably the most all together team that we had. We just have to get to the whole team mentality here. It just seemed like a brotherhood last year. I’d like to see that again.” That’s what this year’s team is building. “The chemistry has been well,” Chase said. “Our whole team is built on it. In every good team, you obviously need chemistry. That’s really helped us out a lot.” Ethan Natzke, senior, was a member of the varsity team two years ago. He saw their win from the bench, as close to the action as possible. Natzke said the team is still building connectivity this season, working to better understand how each player works on the ice. “It got off to a bit of a rough start,” Natzke said. “Kind of tough getting together with everybody but we’re starting to pick it up. We’re starting to find our stride, starting to find out how to play together again. We’re making good progress.” But there have been snags. The team stumbled to a four and three start through their first seven games, not living up to their own projections for the season. Their tough start has been compounded by the loss due to injury of Sam Mudd, senior and captain of the team for the season. “It’s a big loss. he’s a captain,” Natzke said. “He’s a good player. We’re just gonna have to step up behind him and make sure we don’t lose any ground.” Adisen Brueck,

sophomore, has the same next-man-up mentality. “It just means more people have to step up and try to carry more weight,” Brueck said. Brueck said the team is looking for ways to rectify their start, primarily by improving their chemistry “It hasn’t been as successful as we’d hoped but we’re working on it,” Brueck said. “We’ve been trying to spend time with one another, having dinners with one another. Chemistry is really important.” Gary Tockman, head coach, said building chemistry has been a hard task for the team due to contrasting schedules. Many of the players also play for tier one club teams, taking off their focus from the Marquette team. “Kids are playing on two teams so they’re missing practices, team dinners, team building events,” Tockman said. “That’s something we have to deal with everyday and that’s part of the reason we’re struggling.” Tockman said the best recipe for a struggling team is hard work. He and his coaches strive to put plans into place that push players to their best. “The only thing you can control is how hard you work,” Tockman said. “We put the x’s and o’s into place and put the systems into place. When the day ends, if you don’t have hard work, you don’t have anything.” Tockman has tried to instill that kind of culture at the team’s practices, although a packed schedule of games has made them a rarity. “We’re right in the middle of the puck schedule. We haven’t had a chance to practice in a while,” Tockman said. “We’ve just got to find creative ways for kids to get involved and keep challenging each other.”

Ben Chase, junior

Ethan Natzke, senior

Dec. 15 vs. Parkway South @ Queeny Park 8:15 p.m.

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