The Paw Print - December 2018

December/ 2018

The Paw Print MY DSHS STUDENT MEDIA - DRIPPING SPRINGS, TX - VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 3 SNAPCHAT MYDSHSSNAPS

Photo by Evelym Peterson

ONLINE WWW.MYDSHS.COM

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LOOKING INTO 2019

Technology Takeover

Isabella Roske Contributing Writer

At a glance, Dripping Springs High School looks as normal as can be. Although, a new problem is invading these crammed halls, overpopulated cafeteria, and stuffed classrooms. They are the hidden companions of the students and teachers. These distractors are hidden in plain sight, and students and teachers have become addicted to them in many ways. These not-so -silent distractors are the cell phones that everyone seems glued to.

Students and teachers are plugged in to their phones more than ever, especially with the school’s lax phone policies. This has a huge impact on the high school’s community.

“I think they are way too easy on it,” freshman Brooke Gains said. “I think they should be a lot more strict, and I think teachers should have some more rules about it.”

With the school’s lax phone policy, students can use their phones freely, but not without the phone often disrupting productivity.

How the grinch stole my christmas

The pressure of AP art

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Stop Cancelling People

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“When people are on [their phones] and texting each other or Snapchatting during class, it distracts everyone around them,” freshman Regan Logsdon said, “especially when they are on Snapchat and filming things. It’s kind of nerve-racking almost.”

The use of phones at the school has become a double edged sword; some staff and students support phone use during class, while others oppose it. . . .

CHeck out the rest of the story on mydshs.com

Front page design by Giselle Galletti

Photo by Makayla Banton

NEWS

DECEMBER, 2018

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Out

ThePAWPRINT

for Lunch Emily Roper

Contributing Writer

Off campus lunches are a new policy that was implemented at the beginning of this school year, giving seniors the opportunity to leave campus for lunches.

“I think it’s a good idea to keep [off campus lunch],” senior Kayleigh Dodson said. “It gives us freedom, and it’s a little break from school which is nice.”

Assistant Principal Michael Norton explains that off campus lunches were given to the students this year because of the increasing demand for the policy, as well as the increasing number of students in the cafeteria.

“We already have a lot of kids that are off campus because they’re taking ACC courses. They’re in internships, PALS, etc,” he said. “We have kids running around everywhere already, so there was already a lot of kids eating off campus lunch.”

There are several underclassmen that wish they could leave campus like the seniors, and even though it’s prohibited, there have been a few instances of juniors trying to leave campus.

“We have parking lot attendants that patrol that area, and when they need back up, they radio for

The Paws club was re-established over summer break by students Rylee Kirkey, Alexis Burch, and Jade Berry. Paws is a club that helps animals in need and animals shelters that may need assistance, allowing animals to have a better chance at life.

“We are focused on helping out dogs and other shelter animals,” senior and co-founder Jade Berry said, “[and working] to help them because a lot of shelters have really high kill rates, and we want to lower that.”

The club focuses on working with animals and helping out with any needs that local animal shelters or organizations might have.

“We’re hoping to volunteer at some animal shelters,” Berry said. “We recently started talking to this organization that got some new puppies and would like our help getting started.”

The Paws club has been in contact with a local organization called Freedom Canines International (FCI) that takes in dogs and trains them to be service dogs for people with disabilities.

“We chose to help this group because service dogs have such an important role in the life of the handicapped,” co-founder Rylee Kirkey said. “Being a new organization, they need help with their website, fostering the dogs, promotional videos, and even donations from the community and anyone who’s willing to help.”

Puppy Supply

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Evelyn Peterson Staff Writer

help,” counselor Jennifer Foreman said.

The idea to allow students to have an off campus lunch had been pushed around for a while, but administrators finally decided to give it a try.

“The principal and the assistant principals have been kicking this around for some time,” Foreman said. “I think it was a group decision, but [the counselors] didn’t have anything to do with it.”

When off campus lunches were first introduced to the seniors, there was a rush during the lunches of everyone trying to leave campus every day, but since then, it has slowed down.

“Students have gotten into a good rotation of going, ‘Okay, I’ll eat in the cafeteria a couple of days and go into Schlotzsky’s Friday’,” Norton said. “It’s going smoothly; there hasn’t been any complaints.”

Although there was some initial worry about the off campus lunch policy, administration has said that there have been very few problems with the students abusing the policy.

“There really hasn’t been any issues,” Norton said.

“It’s just one of those things where it’s a privilege, not a right. We can certainly shut it down if we start having issues.”

To join Paws club, students don’t have to meet any requirements except for showing up to the meetings, volunteering at animal shelters, and lending a paw to the cause.

“We meet every other Tuesday of each month from 8:20-8:50 in the morning,” Berry said. “We just talk about what the general plan for the week is, what the members would like to do next, and find dates for everyone to meet after school to do activities.”

Being a part of Paws is a way to become more emotionally connected to animals and create a better human and animal bond.

“It means a lot to help out animals that really need it,” senior and co-founder Alexis Burch said. “I have dogs myself, and they mean the world to me.”

So far, Paws has a small amount of members in the club; however, they are working to get the community more involved in order to create a bigger impact.

“We are trying to outreach to the community and get people involved,” Berry said, “and come to like a puppy shower, do fundraisers for the animal shelters, and just to help out and do whatever we can.”

This club helps focus on keeping animals alive as well as making the animals feel loved and give them attention.

“Paws isn’t actually an acronym,” Berry said, “but it stands for supporting animals and focusing on helping the community around us.”

Jade Berry

News & Entertainment Editor

Throughout the month of December and into January there will be a fundraising donation drive to raise money, supplies, and awareness for the latest addition of the Freedom Canines International (FCI) organization. The FCI is a nonprofit group that raises and trains new puppies to be diabetic service dogs for people in need.

Just recently, one of the dogs in the program gave birth to a new litter of puppies, and the FCI is trying to raise enough money to pay for the training, vet care, as well as food and equipment for all of the new puppies. In order to generate this revenue, the FCI is working with the Paws club and will be having a donation drive through the school where students can come in and donate toys and supplies for the puppies in exchange for volunteer hours. As a reward and thank you for the donations, the FCI will allow the class of students that donated the most supplies to name one of the puppies, within certain parameters.

After the month of December, the Paws club hopes to present the donated supplies to the FCI in a puppy shower which they will be hosting in January. This will be an event where all students can come and meet and play with the puppies, as well as get to know more about the organization and what they can do to help. Currently there has not been a decided location or date for the puppy shower, but it will be announced as January approaches.

The organization is fairly new and is still trying to establish roots in the community, so the FCI is reaching out and working with FFA chapters to benefit both the program and the students.

FFA students will have the opportunity to raise some of the puppies and serve as a

foster parent. This opportunity will be a unique learning experience as well as service opportunity for all of the students.

The fostering students will be working closely with some of the FCI instructors that will help them teach the puppies social skills and manners, and the puppies will even get to attend classes with their students.

After the puppies have been raised and are mature they will enter advanced training where they will learn important skills that are essential for Diabetic alert dogs like smelling drops in blood sugar and alerting their partner before it becomes dangerous.

The mature dogs can also give back to the school by serving as therapy dogs when it’s needed.

LIFE & THE ARTS DECEMBER, 2018

ThePAWPRINT

Andrew Spiegel

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The holiday season comes with a few ‘mandatory’ traditions. One such tradition in households across America Staff Writer is watching How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The late Dr. Seuss’ classic was previously brought to life by director Ron Howard.

This year, Illumination revived this old holiday classic with an animated version titled The Grinch.

With an all-star cast of voice actors such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Pharrell Williams, and Kenan Thompson, the film had the potential to be the next holiday classic.

After watching the film, I feel severely let down.

This animated spin on Dr. Seuss’ story strays far from the original plot line and butchered the classic story that most people know today. Additionally, the performances from the voice actors were nothing short of careless. To all fans of Jim Carrey’s Grinch, save your money.

The 2018 version has the Grinch walking the streets of Whoville without causing any disruption, a concept that would have been unfathomable in the original.

I had very high hopes for Benedict Cumberbatch’s new take on the Grinch as a character but I was very disappointed by the way his personality was taken over by a terrible string of humor that can only be seen as funny in the mind of a child.

Another big reason I am not a fan of the new Grinch film is the weird spin on the Grinch’s home;

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How the G r i n c h Stole My Christmas

Interview with a Young Success I recently had the chance to speak with a professional filmmaker and ask her a few questions. She has shot commercials for big brands and companies such as Target, Toms, Beats Music, American Girl Doll, and NASCAR, and she has even given a TEDx talk. The filmmaker is 15-year-old Amelia Conway, who actually went to Dripping Springs Middle School up until the end of her 7th grade year when she ended up moving out to Los Angeles to pursue her career that same year.

“I chose [to pursue] filmmaking because it was always something I was fascinated by,” Conway said. “My parents [have] worked in the industry since I was a kid so I was already drawn to it, and in a way, although I never planned on having a specific label in the industry, I knew that’s where I wanted to be. The real reason I started working was because I signed up with my management company which gave me a push towards getting the experience I needed to create a future for myself in the movie making industry, no matter what job I were to end up doing.”

With all her accomplishments presented my biggest question was: how did this happen? When she was just 11 years old, she grabbed a camera, a flashlight and a friend and shot a music video to Bon Iver’s song “Wolves”.

“This video I made was completely out of boredom, something to pass the time,” Conway said. “I made it because I just wanted something to make, not because I wanted to start directing professionally.”

Little did she know that after her mother posted the video online, she would sign with a talent agency. “[Signing] gave me a push towards getting the experience I needed to create a future for myself in the movie making industry,” Conway said.

As many directors would, Conway pulls inspiration from all corners of her life. She is not only influenced by other films but also by music, fashion and architecture.

“I look up to people that have had to work to get to where they are,” Conway said.

“Designers like Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Thierry Mugler, Yohji Yamamoto;

Feeling the Christmas Spirit Jami Holms Staff Writer

Oreo Balls

From the kitchen of Cady Russell

Ingredients 1 package of Oreo cookies 8 oz of cream cheese 1 package of Almond Bark chocolate, melted

Serves 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Directions

1. Crush Oreo cookies to make fine crumbles 2. Add cream cheese to Oreo crumbs and mix 3. Roll mixture into bite-sized balls 4. Freeze till hard 5. Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl 6. Dip frozen balls into melted chocolate 7. Let chocolate harden and enjoy!

and not only his home, but the advances and gadgets that come with it. In the original the Grinch has a very run down home in Mt. Crumpit.

With a collection of gears and motors the Grinch’s home is all self-made. However in the 2018 film, the Grinch lives in a nice, well lit, modern home, and the gadgets and tools he uses to steal all the presents from the Whos are straight out of the future. It seems almost as if the writers hadn’t even seen the original film.

My main reason for not liking this film and the reason I will likely never watch it again is the absence of the original back story. The original Grinch grew up in Whoville up until his last year of grade school where he had a traumatic experience that made him leave Whoville and despise Christmas as a whole in the Howard version. In the new film, the Grinch grows up in an orphanage and is neglected from celebrating Christmas like all the other Whos. The new film doesn’t have a strong or viable reason for the Grinch to truly hate Christmas.

Although the same concept of the Grinch story is maintained throughout the film, the movie was not executed properly by any stretch of the imagination. If the ultimate goal of the film was to become a holiday blockbuster, then the filmmakers were miles off target. Overall, I would suggest to anyone with the humor level above that of a 5th grader’s and respect for their own time to stay at home and watch the previous versions.

Andrew Spiegel Staff Writer

Seniors With Christmas just around the corner, there are a lot of local festivities beginning.

by Jami Holms

“I met Thomas Rhett at a Florida Georgia Line concert and it was great! He was super sweet and so was his team. They took pictures with and without flash to make sure the pictures were how we liked them. I was star struck at first but after we talked, he seemed like a normal guy just with a big reputation.”

-Madison Bonnett

1 WIMBERLEY TRAIL OF LIGHTS

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“I met Ryan Reynolds once when I was twelve in NYC. We were just visiting for baseball and our hotel was in Times Square which is where GMA was filmed and they happened to be interviewing Ryan Reynolds at the time. We were around the barrier in front row and he came and shook my hand and greeted us.”

-Chris Tyree

Just a town over, Wimberley puts on a trail of lights like you’d see in the movies. With the cute small town feel and cold weather, Christmas is best spent here.

2 CHRISTMAS ON MERCER

If you’re looking for something right her in Dripping Christmas on Mercer is right for you.

Mercer street provides arts and crafts, games, family entertainment, food vendors, and, of course, Santa. There is also a tree lighting to top it all off.

3 A PIONEER CHRISTMAS

If you are looking for some extra service hours this Christmas the rescheduled Pioneer Day is the perfect opportunity. If you just want to go for the fun of it, there are arts and crafts, and music. It’s the holidays with a pioneer twist.

4 WHOLE FOODS ICE SKATING

If you are really craving the Christmas activities, then ice skating is perfect for you this season.

Just located downtown is the quaint ice skating rink. Get snacks at Whole Foods beforehand and have a perfect view during.

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5 DECORATE A TREE ALONG THE ROAD

“I met Nash Grier once in eighth grade. It was really weird, they weren’t anything like I thought they were. I also met Felly, which was crazy because I was a really big fan. Meeting him was so weird because it was like meeting someone I already knew. He thought we had met before.”

-Grace Staggs

Camryn Horst Co-Editor and Lifestyle Editor

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Directors and filmmakers like Larry Clark and Wong Kar-wai. I could go on forever.

Being only 15 years old, Conway currently attends a public high school in Los Angeles.

“Not counting my failing grades, my life at school is really great,” Conway said. “Being back in LA has allowed me to meet all my creative, beautiful friends that I get to take pictures of and paint and make memories with. My experiences at school, meeting people and learning, has allowed me to build as a person and learn not to limit myself to one job. I’ve been able to find a passion for production design, photography, editing, fashion design and even party and event planning.”

Since Conway was so successful at such a young age, she was asked to give a TEDx talk at Manhattan Beach.

“Because I had practiced and rehearsed a ridiculous amount over the previous three months, it wasn’t as hard to actually get the words out, but actually walking up on stage felt very surreal,” Conway said. “It’s almost like they called my name, I stood up there for a few minutes and walked off. It happened incredibly fast and was almost a complete blur of emotions and nerves and unfamiliar faces in a room full of old rich white people.”

Within the film industry, Conway has achieved more than the average 15 year old. But she still is not satisfied with where she is; she has bigger goals on the horizon.

“I can definitely see myself leaving commercials and moving on to learn and experience other parts of the movie making process,” Conway said. “The advertising industry is great for people that genuinely love it, and there are definitely people that do, but personally, I think the advertising industry isn’t the best place for younger people because of the exploitation that comes with the label ‘young filmmaker’. That world just isn’t for me, and it’s amazing that I’ve had the opportunities to explore it and learn from it to know where I want to be in the future; but personally, I plan on moving on to become a production designer and doing more behind-the-camera work as I’m more of a handson person. Although, it’s super fun to be in charge on set to see your vision come to life.”

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Christmas has always brought a special feeling for many. The dazzling lights, gingerbread scents, red and green decorations, and the music brings a welcoming feeling. As the cold weather kicks in and December rolls around, it isn’t hard to remember why Christmas is so loved and a favorite holiday for many.

The first step in getting into the Christmas spirit is definitely decorating the house and listening to the best Christmas jams.

Decorations vary from family to family, but each step comes with its own set of memories. Sophomore Helena Bjeletich says her favorite Christmas decoration is the “tree and the lights.” It isn’t necessarily the action of putting the tree up for Bjeletich, but getting to “share memories of past broken ornaments and laugh” is one of her favorite things to remember.

Bringing out all the decorations definitely comes with its own set of Christmas smells. Some people enjoy all the scented candles and sweet smells, but Bjeletich just enjoys “the smell of the heater” because for some reason it “smells like Christmas.” Sometimes just enjoying the little things like the heater can make Christmas so sweet. On the other hand, Junior Ryan McCartney is particular when it comes to his Christmas smells. The suburban house smell of “the cinnamon chestnut plug in candle” brings a smile to his face.

One of the best features of Christmas is the activities to do in the cold or in the warmth of one’s own home. For McCartney “making cookies that never look good” is one of the best activities to do.

Although many people cherish Christmas for the presents, it is also a destresser and a time to spend with family. Bjeletich thinks of Christmas as being with family and she loves the plus of taking a break from her “busy school life”. Christmas will always be a time for laughter and celebration and for some just decorations and presents are meaningful. However, no one can forget the joy of Christmas bringing family and friends together. As McCartney puts it “everyone generally has more of a heart and are truly kind to others.”

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Decorating a tree indoors is fun, but decorating one in a safe location along the roads for everyone to see is even more fun! Get a breath of fresh air and make the environment a little bit more festive.

6 MAKE A GINGERBREAD HOUSE

All you have to do is buy a kit (or if you are feeling adventurous, make everything from scratch) and piece it together. Then you have something festive and fun to eat.

7 MOZART’S COFFEE LIGHT SHOW

Every year, Mozart’s coffee decorates their deck with 1 million lights and puts on a light show to holiday jingles. Admission is free, and the hot chocolate is delicious.

8 CHRISTMAS EVE AT THE SALT LICK BBQ What better thing to do than enjoy tons of barbecue at our very own Salt Lick BBQ. It’s the best place to get a Christmas meal the evening before! Open until 8pm.

FEATURES DECEMBER, 2018

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ThePAWPRINT

Letter for Letter

Where Our Students Work and why They Love It

Aquatic Science Teacher on Teaching with Dyslexia Madeline Tredway, Staff Writer “Tetra. Is that T-E-R-T-A?” says Nicole Watts, staring at the screen with her eyebrows furrowed. “T-E-T-R-A,” one of her students calls out. She thanks him, and for a half-second a tiny smile makes its way across her face. Ten years ago, she would’ve felt sheepish at the thought of having to ask for help. Ten years ago, she would’ve blanched at the prospect of writing a word in front of a crowd. She retypes the word, spelled Nicole Watts overseeing her students during a lab in correctly this time. Of course, ten years ago, Aquatic Science class. it wasn’t dyslexia; it was something to be ashamed of.

Aquatic Science teacher Ms. Watts knew from a young age that she had dyslexia. The problem, it seemed, was never identifying it, accommodate her disability, and encourages others but rather moving past it. to do the same.

“Growing up, I struggled through school,” “It’s crucial to take breaks and help yourself,” Watts Watts said. “I felt very down about myself said. “I mean, that even goes for people without when I was younger.” dyslexia.”

Watts’ friends were all in upper-level Watts feels grateful that she has learned ways to classes, which she could not be in due to work around dyslexia, both in the context of learning her disability, which made her insecure as a and being open about it, even if the latter came too person and a student. late for her.

“As a student, I was always in and out of “I’ve always been nervous about my disability,” tutoring, which really pushed me away from Watts said. “But, now I sort of use that to advocate.” enjoying education,” Watts said.

Watts uses her position as an educator as not just a In high school, Watts felt that nobody platform to speak about it, but a way in which dyslexic really understood the effects of her dyslexia, students can find a lifeline and know they are not thus feeling isolated and as if she wouldn’t alone. be able to succeed as a student.

“It really wasn’t until the tail end of my career as “It really wasn’t until college that I felt the a student that I learned how to help myself,” Watts most confident in my disability,” Watts said. said. “But that just encourages me to help others with In college, Watts forced herself to learn dyslexia be open and do what they need to do to different writing and teaching methods to succeed.”

High Days and Holidays

A Look at the Diverse Holiday Traditions of DSHS Students Cady Russell, Staff Writer

As the holiday season approaches, the fever of winter break rises along with it. Lights line rooftop edges and wreaths adorn every door, showing off the spirit of each family inside.

However, with the excitement of the impending holiday season, Americans often forget that the holidays are celebrated differently from person to person, religion to religion, and from country to country. “[In Germany] they actually have St. Nicholas Day, so St. Nicholas will come around and he’ll fill your shoes with oranges and chocolate,” sophomore Morgan Tombarge said.

Tombarge lived in Germany for five years before moving to Austin over the summer.

“There’s also this evil guy named Krampus, and if you were naughty, he’ll whip you,” Tombarge said.

While Germany celebrates Christmas in all of its grandeur with festivities drawn out over two full days, Italy also finds extravagant ways in which to celebrate.

“It’s a really big thing, because all the family comes together and relatives that maybe are not as close,” junior Alice Massara said. “I see some relatives only on Christmas and then, for the rest of the year, I never [see] them.”

Massara, a foreign exchange student from Italy, will experience Thanksgiving and American Christmas for the first time this year.

“A really big thing every Italian family has on Christmas is panettone,” Massaraa said. “We have it,

“I get to serve others and make people smile” -Natalie Tindol, 12

“The people I work with” -Cade Smith, 12

“Getting to take as many flowers home as I want” -Gemma Folsom, 12 “Getting to make children smile and have an impact on how they see the world” -Kylee Ladner, 12

and it’s [a] really good dessert. It’s [a] really important tradition in Italian Christmas.”

Not only do Christmas traditions differ throughout regions, but other holidays such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa contrast as well.

“I wish that they knew that every person who celebrates Hanukkah is different,” senior Julia Junker said. “The way we do it is different from other people, and for us, it’s not just about the religious aspect of it; it’s about family and coming together to light each candle every night.”

Junker’s family celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, as her mother is Jewish and her father is Christian.

“I like the togetherness we have, because we decorate the tree every year together,” Junker said.

“Usually, my dad ends up being the one who puts up the tree, and my sister and I just do all the ornaments and stuff like that.”

While some families celebrate multiple holidays, other religions don’t participate in any specific holiday traditions.

“Since I grew up not celebrating Christmas or anything it was kind of difficult at first when I stopped being a Jehovah’s Witness,” sophomore Aleena Ahmed said.

Religious groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses may not take part in faction-sanctioned practices, but many

Editor-in-Chiefs’ Corner

Hanna Gaither, Staff Writer

followers do participate in general holiday season festivities.

“We just spend a lot of time with the family.” Ahmed said. “We’ll go to my grandma’s house and just hang out, because even though we don’t celebrate Christmas or something specific over the holidays doesn’t mean we don’t spend them with our family.”

Throughout the numerous religious holidays and traditional aspects of the winter season, families and individuals alike can find the joy of the holiday season across borders.

“That’s probably my favorite part,” Junker said, “just the feel of holiday spirit.”

Family During the Holidays A PSA to those who don’t always get the Hallmark experience Giselle Galletti, Editor-in-Chief

The holiday season is most commonly associated with people getting together with their extended/whole family, or even just sitting down with your immediate family for the first time in a while. For some people, this a an exciting, fun-filled time to hang out with their cousins, aunts and uncle, and grandparents, but for others, it doesn’t always work out like that.

For one reason or another, not all families are able to be together during the holidays, or at least not happily. Maybe none of them get along, they all live too far apart, or they’re all just over the whole thing. Whatever the reason is, it can sometimes kill the holiday spirit for the kids stuck in the middle of all of it, and seeing their friends on social media, having a blast with their own families. Well, it sucks.

This isn’t to say that people shouldn’t post about their families, they definitely should keep doing so; there is no reason to take away that joy. But this is for the people who get a little sad every time the holidays roll around. It’s okay to be spending the holidays with only your parents and siblings, one parent, your grandparents, your friends, your significant other’s family, your dog, your neighbor, or even just working the whole time on purpose.

There is no shame in doing any of these things.

There is also no shame in spending the time

with all 64 of your cousins and their extended families as well, because the holidays don’t have to be spent with your blood family to be valid; they don’t even have to spent with anyone in particular. They can be if you want, but if it just doesn’t work out that way, find another way to celebrate.

A lot of bad things tend to happen during the holiday season, but just as much happens during the rest of the year. There’s just this stigma around it because it’s “the holidays”. And yes, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and about a million other holidays happen within the next month, but more importantly, it’s the end of another year - another year of you being alive and having accomplished things or not accomplished things or preparing to accomplish things.

I don’t know your life or your situation. But I do know that there is no reason to feel sad or be ashamed because you might be spending the holidays differently from the other people around you.

There are so many people in this situation who don’t see the holiday season as a time of joy, quite the opposite actually, so please don’t pass up a chance to invite someone over or give them a hug or even a candy cane. The littlest things during this time of year can hold a lot of weight for a lot of people.

FEATURES DECEMBER, 2018

Q&A with:

Lee Harlicker

By Grey Patterson, Contributing Writer What is the most challenging thing about your students?

“Probably the multitudes of learning styles. Of all the students, just having 25-30 students in class with probably 20 different ways of preferred learning is probably the most challenging.”

You teach various history classes, ranging from UT OnRamps history and regular history. How do the classes compare?

There’s a lot of similarities. I mean, you have really bright kids in all classes. I think, when it comes to maybe On-ramps, you can maybe rely on students to be more apt to do homework and also you’ll have more students that will come to class and be willing to discuss stuff in class. Where maybe in on-level, though they’re good at doing homework, but when it comes to class discussions it’s not as much - not as many students that want to get involved and discuss something.

What is it like teaching different history classes?

It’s a little bit challenging. I try to approach all my classes the same way where I have high expectations for all of them. I expect them to get their work done when it’s assigned and to study when tests are given. I hope that I kind of approach and treat them like young adults and treat my classes the same.

Q&A with:

Alison McafaDden

ThePAWPRINT

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Drawing up Plans

Art students begin work on college AP portfolios Ella Johnson, Contributing Writer

In a quiet art room, senior Katie Hilton paints a masterful watercolor - the side profile of a girl munching on a Twix bar.

The contours of the unfolded wrapper and the girl’s sweater give her a little trouble, but she keeps her brush moving across the paper. This is the second of many similar portraits. All will have different details, but be the same in their subject matter - a girl eating food, painted in watercolors, and facing a different direction than any of the other portraits.

Every year, a few upperclassman art students emerge from the flock of the art program to create their AP Art portfolios.

These portfolios are a long process for the students, but it’s the best thing they can do to achieve their future goals as artists.

The portfolios are submitted at the end of the year in hopes of receiving a favorable evaluation and better chances of admission to quality art schools.

“Art is my passion, really,” senior Vasi Bjeletich said. “So I want to do the best that I can with it. I want to push myself to make more pieces, to make good pieces.”

The basic components of an AP art portfolio, concentration and breadth, total to about 24 works of art, all of high quality and effort. Each section tests a student in a different area of their artistic capability.

“For your portfolio, it’s 24 pieces,” Bjeletich said. “You’re not going to make all of those in one year. So you look at the highlights of your art career.”

The concentration section is theme based. Students choose a theme, such as people they see every day or girls eating different foods, and create at least 12 pieces based on it. This tests a student’s ability to stick to a subject matter through a long and arduous project.

“The fact that I get to make 14 pieces that are specifically of watercolor, girls, and food, that’s fun,” Hilton said. “Because I’m way better at drawing girls than boys.”

The breadth section is all about variety.

It is also comprised of 12 pieces, all in different subjects, styles, and media (watercolor, pastels, acrylics, pencil, etc.). This section displays a student’s depth as an artist and their ability to plan and complete - a project of this magnitude.

“It’s important for a portfolio to have that section where it’s like I can do colored pencil and other things,” senior Maya Diaz said.

The last part of creating an AP portfolio is quality. This section consists of the five best pieces out of all the rest, small enough to

ship but large enough show the extent of the student’s artistic capabilities.

“It’s really hard to be satisfied with your portfolio, in my opinion,” senior Isabelle Avena said.

The hardest part of creating an AP portfolio, as art teacher Jay Bates says, is the sheer amount of time a student must commit to making each and every piece.

“The stress of that, knowing I need 24 good pieces?” Bjeletich said. “That’s the point of the class.”

These portfolios take a lot of creativity to complete, which can either be severely draining or the perfect way to focus a student’s talent into something that will shape their future progress as an artist or a normal adult.

“With portfolios, you have really high expectations of how you want your portfolio to be, and a lot of the time, you don’t know how to do that or when you start working on it, it doesn’t turn out that way,” Avena said.

The students’ portfolios have to be finished by Friday, May 10. Most students have barely started on their pieces, so the pressure is certainly on.

“I think that once you have a completed piece, it’s a good, gratifying feeling,” Diaz said. “All that suffering was for a cause.”

On Decorating the Classroom...

Megan Batson

Brenna Albracht

Q: To what extent do you decorate your classroom for Christmas?

Q: To what extent do you decorate your classroom for Christmas?

A: I have a full box of Christmas decorations in my cabinet that I put out after [Thanksgiving] break. I have a Christmas runner that I put on my desk, and I’ll be putting banners on the wall and by the door. I have some wreaths that I’m going to put out. I have a Christmas pillow that says “Have a Very Merry Christmas”.

A: I don’t. Usually it’s a timing thing, like I have other priorities. We also usually don’t let out near Christmas so I’m not fully in the Christmas spirit.

I don’t know, maybe this year I will since we’re letting out on the 22nd. We’re not super festive in here.

Q: Do you feel like it has an effect on the students?

Q: Do you feel like it has an effect on the students?

A: I feel like they definitely get into the Christmas spirit. I actually have a Christmas tree I put up year round that students comment on a lot and

A: No, I think they’re just worried about doing well in my class.

get excited about.

By Grey Patterson, Contributing Writer Ali, what extracurriculars are you involved in? What position in lacrosse?

“I play girls lacrosse, I am in Student Council, NHS, PALS, my church youth group, and I play the piano. I play midfielder for varsity lacrosse.”

You have announced during pep rallies before. How do you prepare for those?

“Yes, we made a script, but we also had to improvise some of it just based on changes in the planning or just however we felt like we needed to boost the energy in the pep rally.”

Would you say you enjoy doing pep rallies?

“I really enjoyed it. I loved it. I get enthusiastic about school spirit and about school events so I had a ton of fun at being at rallies.”

You’re involved in student council.

What is the student council trying to accomplish this year?

“We are working on fundraisers, and we are starting teacher appreciation efforts that will either be weekly or monthly.”

What is your opinion on Dripping Springs High School and what do you like most about it?

“I really like Dripping Springs High School. It is definitely very different from what I’m used to, but I think it does a great job on placing importance on both academic and extracurricular.”

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Santa Claus: the Man, the Myth, the Legend Students’ Opinions on the Jolly Man Himself Katie Haberman, Features Editor Each year when December strikes, holiday spirit dives into the hearts children at full-force, bringing with it an abundance of joy, laughter, and a belief in the impossible. But as kids grow older, this belief becomes further and further out of reach until even Santa Claus is just a distant memory.

There comes a time within every child’s life when central holiday figures begin to appear wildly unrealistic, with the truth about Santa Claus acting as a main turning point. This instant occurs at largely varying intervals and in a myriad of different ways depending on the specific child, and these revelations differ greatly especially in the memories of students at DSHS. “When I was in first grade, I saw my parents put it under the tree and [that] kind of messed it up,” junior Cassie Pruski said. “But even a few years after that, I still kind of held on, gave myself that faith.”

While some instances of learning about Santa were gradual, others happened almost instantaneously.

“I stopped believing in Santa Claus in, I think, third grade, whenever the Santa Tracker app first came out for the iPod,” junior Sarah Davison said. “My mom told me to go to bed and she was

like, ‘Santa’s only an hour away!,’ and I checked the tracker app, and he said he was 12 hours away. So I was like, ‘Mom, you’re lying to me’, and she was like, ‘Santa’s not real,’” Though the shock of Santa’s secret often hits children hard, many still have memories of when they believed to hold on to.

“I remember making gingerbread houses,” junior Lydia Lehman said. “[Santa] would eat that and then put something inside of the house, so we’d lift it up and there would be a little present.”

Other memories have been slightly modified by more recent revelations that explain seemingly magical happenings during the holiday season. Due to the realistic aspects of ‘Santa’s’ endeavors, secrets tend to come out.

“In kindergarten, we made that reindeer food out of the oats and stuff, and we spread it out in our backyard,” sophomore Helena Bjeletich said. “Then the next morning it was all gone and I was shook, but then later I found out that my sister had just eaten it.”

Though many parents worked hard to help their young ones believe, sometimes vengeful siblings ended up ruining the spirit for their younger counterparts.

“The year I stopped believing in Santa, I thought that Santa brought me a dog because my sister thought it would be funny to wrap up a can of dog food and say that Santa got it for me,” Davison said.

“I’m like, ‘Did I get a puppy?’, and they were like, ‘No, it’s just dog food. Santa’s a jerk,’ and I almost started crying. It was a great time.”

However, if Santa did exist (as a real, good guy) some students wouldn’t react too excitedly.

“I’d be a little offended that he wasn’t coming to my house anymore and eating my cookies,” Lehman said. “He’s skipping out on me.”

While some hold onto hope of Santa Claus, the wide majority has learned to carry on without him, though the holiday spirit itself hasn’t wavered.

“On Christmas Eve, my parents walked out to go give the presents and they accidentally stepped on me on the floor, and they woke me up,” Bjeletich said.

“I woke up [again] 15 minutes later, and they were gone, and it was over for me. It was over.”

CREATIVE DECEMBER, 2018

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ThePAWPRINT

Behind the film: The Hunt For Tupac A Q&A with Logan Moore & Clayton Appleman By: SamaNtha Moore Q: What was the filming process?

A: Logan- The filming process was really just us going around and messing around, seeing what we caught on camera that was funny.

Clayton- We took about a week over the deadline to make sure our video wasn’t rushed and we were proud of what we created. Paying attention to every detail and making our scenes come to life.

Q: What was the inspiration behind the video?

A: Logan- The inspiration was definitely Indiana Jones at first, and then some memes relevant at the time.

Clayton- Our AV Tech teacher has a picture of Tupac hung up in his classroom.

That and our love for Tupac is what inspired us to create the video about him.

Q: How long did the making of this video taken?

A: Logan- The video took about two weeks to make, just working on it as ideas came to us.

Clayton- Overall, I think it took us about three or four weeks to complete.

Comics By: Jade Howe

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OPINION

DECEMBER, 2018

ThePAWPRINT

Exploring Vietnam Mitchell Williams Staff Writer Vietnam is a place known to most Americans as the location of a lost war.

This has led to a bitter attitude toward the country by our citizens, which is expected and even understandable to this day. I visited Ho Chi Minh city over Thanksgiving Break, which is the business hub of the country.

Here are five great reasons why you should plan your next global vacation to Vietnam: First of all, it is extremely tourist friendly. In case you may be worried about acceptance as an American, or just entering a communist country in general, Vietnam is very open to tourists. They make a lot of money off tourism each year, especially during dry season

(from November to May). You will not feel out of place; there are tons of European and Asian visitors walking the streets.

There are beautiful countrysides and many tours that take you to local farms and villages. You’ll get to see beautiful landscapes and chill with local families.

It’s an amazing way to really start to understand and respect a different culture.

The people are extremely hospitable and friendly. Everyone I made contact with, English speaking or not, provided assistance or at least smiled.

City life is vibrant and safe. If one of your fears is safety, the streets of downtown Ho Chi Minh are great. There are shops everywhere, great restaurants with food from all over the world, and really cool markets

where the Vietnamese sell their products. There is also a lot of history like the President’s palace, an old post office, and some tunnels used in multiple wars.

Motorbike taxi rides. This one sounds a little crazy, but let me explain. It’s not for everyone, but if you give it a chance, you will encounter some great experiences. The streets of the cities are very crowded, very, and almost everyone uses motorbikes because taxes on cars are over 100%. So, taking a ride on the back of a bike through those streets is an exhilarating thing that always earns the driver a tremendous amount of respect.

There are many more things to discover for yourself about Vietnam. Americans need to join the rest of the world and see it for themselves.

PAGE

Lewallen Feeling Bailey Contributing Writer Green

Lunch is chaotic - a 45-minute time frame that goes by in a flash. Once those minutes are up, hundreds of students in the cafeteria congregate at the trash trolleys, where they are expected to sort each item properly. In the chaos that inevitably ensues, I’ve personally encountered dozens of students rushing to throw away their trash, and instead of sorting it into the proper bins, they just toss everything into one slot.

Each section on the trolley has a clear label as to what is acceptable to put in that bin. However, the order is where we go wrong.

“Every time I’ve gone up to a trolley, I’ve felt discouraged,” senior Mckayla Cothern said. “I think that since people always have general garbage and food scraps together, those two bins should be placed side by side and nearest to the styrofoam tray cart. Even though it’s simply swapping signs around, I feel like it would increase efficiency and usage of the trolleys when it comes to waste disposal in the cafeteria.”

Stop Canceling People

In high school culture, social media is rampant. We use Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter to connect with each other through story times and shared experiences. However, a new trend has emerged among almost all of our social media platforms: canceling. Canceling is the act of boycotting a specific person or brand for acting in a controversial, and often offensive, manner.

Canceling is actually most prevalent in social media, where public figures rely on views and likes to pay their rent. Social media influencers such as James Charles or Jeffree Star have fallen victim to this culture, as well as larger celebrities such as Katy Perry. Laura Lee is a prevalent makeup artist on YouTube who used to average somewhere between 15 and 20 million views a month. In July of this year, a few of her racist tweets from 2012 emerged and her career plummeted. Despite posting a video to YouTube apologizing for her past mistakes, Lee lost over 500,000 subscribers within a month and went down an average of almost 5 million views. Within the last 30 days, her new subscriber count has gone down 133%, all according to the website SocialBlade.

People, in general, pick and choose what they wish to believe. A study conducted by Ditto and David F. Lopez, Ph.D., has proven this to be true. In this study, participants were sent to a medical exam where half received information that they had tested negative for a fictitious enzyme linked to pancreatic disorders- the other half testing positive. Participants who tested positive claimed the testing to be inaccurate, while those who tested negative rated the testing as accurate.

The participants who tested positive presented explanations for the test’s inaccuracy and requested a second opinion. When confronted with an opposing opinion outside of one’s everyday comfort zone, the natural instinct is to discredit and ignore foreign information. This process leads individuals to associate foreign ideas with the people they come from. So if we do not agree or support another opinion, we often escalate to disagreeing with the person in general.

However, if this is true for one side of an argument, it must be true to the other.

While keeping up the tug-a-war, a divisive environment grows. Through arguments and isolation, we are dividing ourselves and not allowing connection and education to flourish between communities. People evolve and Photo by people change. Our minds are still developing, and Mckayla Banton they won’t stop until a while after we have all graduated. So please take others’ Arguably one of the most controversial yet unspoken opinions with a grain of salt, topics that our students are dealing with is mental health. and try to listen.

The current health services offered by our school only pertain to physical health and preventing the spreading of illness, according to the district website. Although guidance and counseling are provided, the perception of school counselors is that they are only there for schoolrelated issues and the college application process.

I took a poll recently to get other students’ opinions and input on questions that I had about mental health at our school. 100% of the students that responded want mental health to be talked about more at school.

There is a negative stigma surrounding mental health,

Tessa Stigler Opinion Editor

Lets Talk About Mental Hanna Gaither Health Staff Writer CONTACT US General Questions: DSHSstudentmedia@dsisdconnect.com 512-858-3245 Advertising Inquiries: DSHSadvertising@gmail.com

Editor-in-Chief Giselle Galletti ‘19 & Camryn Horst ‘19 Features Editor Katie Haberman ‘20

Creative Editor Jade Howe ‘19

myDSHSsnaps

@myDSHSnews @myDSHSsports @my_dshs_news

Additionally, there is no place to discard the styrofoam bowls we use for froyo,

which can be recycled as well.

I propose we use one of the plate and tray sections on our trolleys for the froyo bowls.

That way those styrofoam bowls can stay out of our landfills as well.

Lastly, in an effort to speed up clean up time after lunch, our custodial staff comes around tables with normal trash bins where students end up throwing away all their trash in the regular plastic bins instead of sorting it all into the trolleys. Unfortunately, the lack of effort many of our peers put into cleaning up after themselves ends up generating so much left over waste for the custodians to clean up, which then forces the custodians to get a running start before lunch is over. If every student would take care of their own trash and sort it properly, the amount of waste going into the landfill would be decreased even more.

If we all educate ourselves on how to properly use the sorters, we can continue to make an increasingly large impact on how much waste goes into landfills from our school alone. So, I beg of you, put your garbage where it goes so we can continue to make Earth a little bit greener.

mental illness, and other psychological issues.

To positively impact this and bring an end to this stigma, issues like these need to be talked about. Whether in an assembly about suicide awareness/prevention or incorporated into the school curriculum, these issues need to be addressed and our students need to be educated on the invisible illnesses that many our classmates have to deal with daily.

According to the total number of students in the 2016-2017 school year, there would be around 374 students that will experience a severe mental illness at some point in their life according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Along with all of the stress that comes with approaching the end of the semester, the pressure of finals, the worry of college decisions and college applications, and the craziness of the holidays. Seasonal depression-also known as seasonal affective disorder- comes into play during these winter months. 100% of respondents agreed that it is important to provide resources for mental health. Therapists and psychiatrists are expensive services, and some won’t accept insurance, so getting therapy or medication can be an impossible task for many students that are struggling severely.

If the school provided resources such as licensed therapists, therapy dogs, accommodation for anxiety (like a calm room), excused mental health days, and/or psychiatrists, it would allow many students who would have not been able to be diagnosed or seek help due to cost or fear.

OPINION

MEET THE STAFF Sports Editor Rigley Willis ‘20

7

Opinion Editor Tessa Stigler ‘20

News & Entertainment Editor Jade Berry ‘19 Staff Writers Hanna Gaither, Jami Holms, Samantha Moore, Evelyn Peterson, Cady Russell, Andrew Spiegel, Collin Spires, Madeline Tredway, Mitchell Williams

The PawPrint welcomes reader viewpoints through letters to the editor and guest columns. Opinions expressed in PawPrint are not necessarily those of the Dripping Springs High School or Dripping Springs ISD administration

EDITORIALS, COLUMNS, & LETTERS

Editorials express the opinion of the writers. Letters and columns are the opinions of an individual and not PawPrint

LETTERS

To submit a letter, email DSHSstudentmedia@dsisdconnect. com. Letters should be a maximum of 400 words. The letter is not guaranteed to be published.

SPORTS

DECEMBER, 2018

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ThePAWPRINT

Fresh Faces

The Boy’s Basketball team looks to find success with new varsity group Rigley Willis

A playoff run cut short in 2017 left only three remaining players on the roster from that years campaign available for this years campaign. The Dripping Springs High School men’s basketball team has trained harder than ever while also developing players from the junior varsity and freshman levels.

Head Coach Craig Swannack’s team centers around many quick and smart shooters with a bigman centered in the middle of the offense.

“With our guards, we like to space them out around the perimeter and give them opportunities to both attack and shoot,” Swannack said, “Then we’ve got a couple of bigmen who we try and keep mobile, once again so that our guards can attack.”

Nick Statz, Trace Young, and West Weichert were among many players to have played on subvarsity teams in 2017 before moving up and becoming

Sports Editor

contributors on the varsity level in 2018.

“Playing on [junior varsity] really helped prepare me for this year, I had the chance to play on varsity, but I decided to work on my game and my focus so that I could help the varsity team even more this year,” Weichert said.

The importance of a year on junior varsity is superior than a year spent on the end of the bench as a varsity member and many players felt this way and followed through with that route.

“I really wasn’t that great of a player coming into last season, I had the size to play varsity, but I couldn’t really move my feet, and I just needed some time to learn the game,” Statz said, “Now after a year of developing I feel like I’ve morphed into a real basketball player and I know the rest of the team went through the same thing.”

Coach Craig Swannack brings the players in for a huddle ahead of their matchup against Lake Travis High School (Photo

by Karis Bradshaw)

There are many differences between the junior varsity level and the varsity level including skill, pace, and the general importance of games. However, the one thing that tends to stand out between the two is the atmosphere in which the games take place in.

“I think the environment is the biggest difference,” Ben Bondurant said, “The amount of people, the music, the pregame intros, the noise of the crowd, it’s all so noticeable on the court, especially after last year it [seemed] like we were playing in complete silence.”

As of November 27th, the team is 3-2 following a loss to Lake Travis and they will look to avenge that loss on December 4th against Burnet High School.

“Tiger Nation, make sure to come out to the games and support, we’ll try and put on a show for you guys,” Price Siemering said.

West Weichert (left) and Nick Statz (right) get shots up ahead of practice (Photo by Karis Bradshaw)

Horseback Riding Collin Spires Staff Writer

Horseback riding takes more trust and practice then it seems. Building a strong relationship between the horse and the rider can completely change how well they do in competitions.

Junior Hannah Mitchell describes the relationship with her horse and the experiences she has encountered.

“[Horseback riding] has kind of made me the person that I am today. I’ve been doing it since I was 4 years old, it’s kind of been one of the few constant things in my life that has been there for over 90% of my life,” senior Hannah Mitchell said.

Every sport brings its own unique attributes to the table.

Diversity is what makes the entire sports world amazing.

“A Lot of people don’t think that horseback riding is a sport, but it actually really is. Especially since you use your entire body and your communicating with a 1,200 pound animal that doesn’t speak our language and is scared of everything from a plastic bag flapping in the wind, to his shadow,” Mitchell explained.

Like any other sport, there are struggles that come along. It’s how you respond that shows how dedicated you are to that sport. Hannah explains the struggles of finding the right horse that works the best for her and the events that she does.

“Recently, its been trying to find a horse that will match my experience level and can do I want them to do, because last year I had my regular competition horse had to have surgery and had to be put into a working retirement, because we didn’t want him to do the same level of competition that I was wanting him to do, and then the horse I had that was supposed to be my next horse after that, he came up lame and just trying to diagnose him would of been thousands of dollars and were like yeah, you are not in pain, whenever you’re just out in the field, you can go be a pasture pony and we found him another home,” Mitchell said.

Climbing to the Top Collin Spires Staff Writer

Caden Getty explains the in’s and out’s of one of the world’s must unknown competitions

Rock Climbing has the most some of the most diverse competitions and challenges. You never know what your going to face until you do it. Junior Caden Getty explains the experience he has had with rock climbing so far, and his motivation that keeps him going. Trying new things can help you figure out what you want to pursue.

“Tournaments, I didn’t actually know we had until we got into the [Sport], because I didn’t know we were going to go all over the U.S, but when I realized it was, I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to go all over the U.S to explore more,” Getty said.

Competing against yourself can bring out the true character in people. Not only does competing against great climbers make you better, but pushing yourself to be better each day is one of the greatest motivations.

“In rock climbing it’s not really about competition against others, it’s competing against yourself, you need to compete against yourself to get that climb, and the environment there is just awesome, everybody is cheering you on, even your opponents,” Getty said.

Things might not always go in your favor, so you must keep trying your best in every single situation that you might encounter.

“The biggest struggle is definitely not knowing what is going to be there when you get there, because when you get to a meet you have never been there before, you don’t know any of the climbs, so you have to kind of mentally prepare yourself to know that you have to be open to different climbs,” Getty said.

Getty scales the side of a rock-climbing course. Photo provided by Michelle Getty

Photo by Chandra Achberger

Congratulations Volleyball The Lady Tigers Place 3rd in State after going 35-16 on the season

The Lady Tiger Volleyball team storms the court following their Regional win over Boerne-Champion High School (Photo by Mark Lebovitz)