Issue 2: Desensitized

6-7 AN_INSIDE_LOOK_ON: SCHOOL_SHOOTINGS

23 COLD_TURKEY: MY_EXPERIENCE_WITH STOPPING_MEDICATION

26 LET'S_TALK; DESENSITIZATION

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Themes: 12/11 vs Valley: Hawaiian Out 12/14 vs Ottumwa: Super Hero 12/18 @ East: Green Out 12/21 @ Hoover: Ugly Sweater 1/4 vs Roosevelt: White Out 1/11 vs Lincoln: Neon 11.15 vs Ankeny Centennial: Toga 1/18 @ Ottumwa: Camo 1/22 @ Southeast Polk: Jersey Out 1/25 vs DSM East: Frat Out 1/29 vs Fort Dodge: Decades ( 90s, 80s) 2/1 vs Hoover: Black Out 2/5 @ Dowling Catholic: Flannel/ Plaid Out 2/8 @ Lincoln: Pajama Out 2/15 vs Waukee: Spirit Out

Dates: 12/6 vs Fort Dodge: Home @6:30 12/8 Tournament: Saydel @9am 12/15 Invitational: Waukee @8:30am 12/18 vs DSM Roosevelt: Home @6:30 1/3 vs DSM East: Home @6:30 1/5 Invitational: PCM @9am 1/10 vs Ottumwa: Away @6:30 1/12 Invitational: Perry @9:30am 1/17 vs DSM Lincoln: Away @6:30 1/19 Invitational: Colfax-Mingo @9am 1/25 Meet: Southeast Polk @4 1/31 vs Johnston: Away @6:30

Dates: 12/6 vs DSM Lincoln: Merel Hay Lanes @2:45 12/10 vs Newton: Cardinal Lanes @3:45 12/17 vs Ankeny: Great Escape @3:15 12/18 vs DSM East: Merel Hay Lanes @2:45 1/7 vs Dowling Catholic: Val Lanes Rec Center @3:45 1/10 vs Ottumwa/ Sigourney: Champion Bowl @2:30 1/15 vs DSM Hoover: Merel Hay Lanes @2:45 1/17 vs Mason City: Merel Hay Lanes @2:45 1/28 vs Waukee: Warrior Lanes @3:30 2/7 Meet: Great Escape @11am

N Design: L. Finch/D. Oxenreider

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In the last few years, there have been more school shootings than normal.

Take a look at views from teachers and administration on how they would handle the situation, how to stay safe and data on school shootings since 1999.

Laura Christensen, Editor-in-Chief Lorelai Finch, Reporter What would your first instinct be if there was an active shooter in the school?

Principal Graeber: “First thing I would do is radio the school officer and make sure they’re aware of the situation, and my second move, I would take out my cell phone and call 911.”

Vice Principal Green: “Go through the emergency protocol, and make sure we go into our procedures to try and keep people safe.”

Coach Baring: “Depending on location, I would make sure everyone would be safe and, in the room, because the active shooter could be inside or outside.”

Officer Sims: “The reason I’m here in the school is to protect the students from any harm, so I would go straight to wherever the person was threatening people and stop them to save the students and faculty, so they don’t get harmed.”

Major Quinlan: “Student safety, not mine but students. Being a leader in combat and leading men, I always had to be at the point of friction.

But get the students into a safe area, get them calmed down and then follow school procedures. If you get out of the school safe, great, but if not, find a spot and then hide.”

News

• Since the Columbine shocoting in 1999, more than 219,000 students in 223 schools across the U.S. have experienced gun violence in their schools.

• The average age of a school shooter since 1999 is 16 years old.

• • • • •

• So far in 2018 there have been 23 school shootings making it the highest amount of school shootings since 1999.

• There have been at least 143 students, teachers and others people killed. 288 have been injured.

• To be classified as a mass shooting; there must have been at least three people killed. Out of the 223 school shootings, eight of them were mass shootings.

•

• •

•

Types of Training:

Online classroom District training that everyone in the district must receive Training from Officer Sims North High had a SWAT guy come in and talk about actions to take in different situations CPI (Crisis Prevention Intervention) Training that the security team takes part in

Steps to follow in an active shooter situation and how to stay safe:

Listen to your teachers’ instructions on what to do and how to stay safe. They have a specific protocol they need to follow, so you need to stay calm to listen.

The most important thing you can do is when you find out dial 911.

Make sure you are away from windows and not able to be seen by anyone. If you cannot leave try finding an object to protect yourself if harm were to come your way.

Depending on the shooter’s location, if you can get out of the building you should.

But if you can’t, hide and become as small of a target as possible and be quiet.

All Facts source: Washington Post article “More than 219,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine” Oct. 29, 2018

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In the United States, the government does not keep track of how many school shootings have happened. The Washington Post did a report on how many schools have experienced gun violence since the 1999 Columbine shooting.

Each dot represents 10 students that have experienced gun violence in their school and each circle is one school shooting incident. The more circles there are next to each other means there were more school shootings that occured that year.

• 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary: 26 people were killed and 2 were injured.

• 2018, Stoneman Douglas High School: 17 people were killed and 17 injured.

• 1999, Columbine High School: 13 were killed and 21 injured.

Design: L. Christensen

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Sara Perdue, Reporter On March 25, 2018, the Iowa Department of Public Health announced they have given cannabis dispensary licenses to stores in five locations: Council Bluffs, Davenport, Sioux City, Waterloo and Windsor Heights.

As some may know, the dispensaries will only give medical marijuana to patients who are in need. So, what makes medical marijuana different from any other marijuana?

Medical marijuana uses cannabinols (CBD) oil and low tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) levels while recreational marijuana is mostly pure THC. The difference between these two forms of marijuana is simple. When THC enters the body, it gives side effects which most people call being “high”; however, CBD oil does not get you high but rather helps healing processes.

Iowa is following the same blueprint as Colorado: legalizing medical marijuana, bring up THC levels (slowly but surely) and eventually legalizing recreational marijuana.

-Epilepsy -Alzheimer’s disease -Parkinson’s -Anxiety -Depression -Inflammation

Many people, mostly teenagers, believe they will be able to buy marijuana for the THC and get high without it being illegal. Unfortunately for them, that is not the case.

When buying medical marijuana, you must be prescribed by the doctor or receive a card from the government allowing you to buy CBD oil or THC. Through this whole process, you must be 21 or over, just as if you were buying alcohol.

“I think medical marijuana should definitely be legal. It helps with so many different things from insomnia to seizures,” Emily Dykes, a sophomore at North High School said. “It would be beneficial to a lot of people who have to take meds that don’t help or just take a long time to work.”

Another positive opinion about the legaliz-

-Pain Relief -Some cancer cells -Reduce acne -Heart health -Insomnia -Schizophrenia

ing medical to recreational is from an anonymous junior at North High School. “When I was in about 7th grade, I realized I had a [great]amount of anxiety, I didn’t exactly know what it was all through middle school. Finally, when I got to high school, I realized deep breaths and counting down from ten is probably one of the worst things to cope anxiety with,” the anonymous source said.

“I started smoking in the middle of freshman year, but I wasn’t smart with it. I’d smoke during school or even when I didn’t have anxiety, I just smoked to smoke. As I’ve grown up more, I’ve realized smoking only helps with anxiety instead of focusing.”

However, even with the people who are opposed, dispensaries will start selling products December 1st 2018, making a change for the state of Iowa.

-Change in appetite -Changes in mood -Fatigue -Dry mouth -Nausea

www.healthline.com

News

Design: S. Perdue

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Where Does It Go? How funds are dispersed throughout DMPS and North High.

Taylor Sinnwell, Online Editor Money. we need it for everything.

Clothes, food, bills, etc. Have you ever thought about where the money goes for our school? The Des Moines Public School District gets a certain amount of money for each classroom to spend on supplies and necessities. Activities get money to run the programs and to pay for the things needed like equipment, supplies and officials. Another source of income for funds is the booster club and the main source for that is the annual “Polar Bear Gala”. The Polar Bear Gala is a way to raise money to support all North high school activities.

During the first Polar Bear Gala, there was a total of S30,000 made over the course of the night to provide North’s activities with things like camps for cheer and football or new uniforms for the dance team. Even makeup for the drama program. Last year, North hit a huge skyrocket from the first year and made a total of $74,000 to go towards our school activities. The way the Polar Bear Gala works is the Gala committee, including activities director Jon Johnson, develops a form and

has each coach or sponsor of the activity fill it out with information, such as how much money they need and what would they spend that money on.

When in an interview with Johnson, he stated that “Football Is Probably the most expensive sport, equipment wise.” He also states that he is not given money to spend on football, it’s just the district that gives football the most amount of money due to the high expenses included in the sport.

On the other hand, cross country is a sport that doesn’t require very much, so it is not on the more expensive side and on top of that, it doesn’t require a charge to get into the events so funds for that activity are not very high.

Johnson continued, “The only thing we really decide on are the funds from all that booster club money and that’s when all the coaches and sponsors submit their requests and we try to providee all that we can.”

A final source for funding is the fundraising accumulated by the coaches. The more fundraising they do, the better. Being a strong advocate for your program can get that program far and gain a wide audience.

Design: T.Sinnwell

Alyssa Bales, Events Director

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Cassandra Contreras – Franco, Reporter We’ve all heard about different milestones in a person’s life, whether you saw it in a movie, book or tv show. There is a point in someone’s life where they become an adult and it’s interesting how that can vary in different parts of the world. Milestones like Quinceanera, Bar/Bat mitzvah, and Seijin no hi can be seen throughout the world.

Quinceanera What is a Quinceanera? A Quinceanera is when a Hispanic girl turns 15 and becomes a woman. This tradition is celebrated all throughout Latin America. It celebrates the transition of childhood between womanhood. A Quinceanera usually starts off with a religious ceremony followed by a reception where all the guests can go to the party. It is common to celebrate a girl’s 15th birthday in a very elaborate and luxurious manner.

According to costhelper.com a Quinceanera budget can be anywhere from $5,000 – $20,000, this is usually why most people prepare as early as a year before. Sophomore Zitlali De Avila had her Quinceanera last September “I planned nine months ahead” she said.

Some Quinceanera traditions include a crown, bouquet of flowers, flats, heels, and very big dresses. Important things that happen at the reception are the father and daughter dance, the Waltz, and the surprise dance. “My favorite part was the dance

practices with my court of honor”, De Avila said. A Quinceanera “court of honor” are people that are closest to the Quinceanera like family, friends, and classmates and they all share a dance together. 40 years ago, the “court of honor”, would have to 15 people to represent the 15 years you’ve been alive.

According to North High School’s Spanish teacher Mrs. Silmary, Quinceanera’s have changed a lot. “My point of view on Quinceanera’s are that back then they were more religious, and the ceremony was more respected. Now girls care more about the party or food and don’t even have a mass.

Another aspect is that they are more modern, Quinceanera’s don’t wear only pink and white dresses anymore now there are more options. Also, some girls don’t want Quinceanera’s anymore, they want vacations or cars to replace the party.” Overall Quinceanera’s are something important to the Hispanic community and are a respected tradition.

Illustration Credit: Itziy Melo-Garcia

Features

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Bar/ Bat Mitzvah

Illustration Credit: Itziy Melo-Garcia

Seijin No Hi What is it? Coming of Age Day is a Japanese holiday held annually on the second Monday of January. It is held in order to congratulate and encourage all those who have reached the age of majority over the past year, and to help them realize that they have become adults.

In Japan when someone turns 20, they can drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and vote. The “Coming of Age” ceremonies are usually held at offices or local government officices where they usually are given small gifts and souvenirs. The clothing worn on this holiday is very important and involves

According to Chabad.com a website where they explain the Jewish Religion, a Bar Mitzvah is when a Jewish boy turns 13 and now has the obligations of a Jewish adult. A Bar Mitzvah can vary between communities, but all the basic principles are about the same. Most of them consist of a religious ceremony and then a big celebration afterwards.

Since this is such a big milestone in the Jewish community, most people think it’s fair to celebrate with a party. The reception is usually held at a large event center where all the guest can fit, eat, and dance.

This celebration is so important to people that they prepare months ahead to plan out everything.

Freshman Dalton Daly had his very own Bar Mitzvah in 2017, when asked about the budget for his party he said, “My uncle said

it was around 10,000 dollars”. According to popcolorevents.com, the biggest categories people spend money on the Venues, Catering and Rentals. Things that usually go into the budget are photography and video, invitations, decorations, and attire.

When looking at all the things that go into the budget, a big question is how have things changed from then & now?

We asked Mrs. Krantman’s Husband who is Jewish he said “There are 3 main kinds of Judaism-Orthodox never changes but in my opinion Conservative and Reformed are more relaxed, less formal. Bar Mitzvah’s are everything to a Jew, it is when a young boy becomes an adult in the eyes of God.” No matter how much time has passed Bar Mitzvah’s have continued to be very popular and respected.

much preparation. Women usually spend hours on hair and makeup. Women usually wear “Furisode”, a long sleeve kimono worn by unmarried women, and men wear traditional Japanese clothing “Hakama.”

According to culturetrip.com the holiday dates to hundreds of years back and the attendance is getting lower. 20 years ago, there would be more than 4,000 people each ceremony but now that number has lowered to around 1,300. Even though less people are participating Seijin No Hi is still something that people still look forward to and honor in the Japanese Community.

Illustration Credit: Itziy Melo-Garcia

Design. I. Melo-Garcia

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Cassandra Contreras-Franco, Reporter

Imagine getting to represent a whole community when you’re only in high school. Sophomore, Leslie Martinez is doing just that by being the current, “Miss Quince Latina Iowa”. This all started when Martinez had her own Quinceanera in 2018 and her photographer nominated her for the title, “The photographers nominated the girls and the public voted by commenting, liking, and sharing on each girls picture”, she said.

The girl that had the most likes won the whole competition and earned the title. The job of the girl who wins is to go to all the Latino events and represent the community.“Since I won, I have a responsibility to uphold, as I have to have good grades, I cannot get into fights, can’t drink, smoke, I have to be a responsible young lady” she said.

The Miss Quince Latina Iowa Facebook page posted their announcement

Features

on October 18th 2018. According to their Facebook page Martinez will have a coronation where she will begin her job.

A total of 13 girls were competing in the competition to be “Miss Quine Latina Iowa” including Martinez. She had 393 likes, 155 comments, and 148 shares on her post which earned her first place.

“When I found out that I won, I cried because it had taken the directors a while to announce the winner, me and my family thought something had gone wrong, I was also happy because this is an opportunity for me to use this platform and help people” she said.

Martinez will be “Miss Quince Latina Iowa” until this time next year, then other girls will be nominated. So as for now Martinez will be our very own Miss Quince.

Design. I. Melo-Garcia

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Caleb Slater, Editor-in-Chief William Holmes, more commonly known as Will Keeps, has built his name up around North High and the Des Moines community as an influential figure for youth to look up to.

As a rapper and motivator from the south-side of Chicago, Keeps continues to mentor young, at-risk youth, to set them on better paths in life.

“Chicago was a tough place to live,” he explained. “Gangs, drugs, everything you can imagine.”

Keeps moved to Iowa in his mid-twenties in hopes of starting a better life for himself.

On his introduction into music, Holmes credits Michael Jackson as his primary inspiration. “I used to listen to Michael Jackson as a kid. I knew all his dance moves, all his songs.

He’s the one who really inspired me to get into music.”

His music career took off when he wrote the song, “Wake Up, Iowa” as a response to the death of Terry Harris, an African American Des Moines teenager, who was shot in 2016. “I never thought that I was gonna be in this position,” he said. “My kids wanted me to

do something more in my community.”

“Terry’s death was really hard for most of our family,” said Sky Holmes, senior at North and daughter of Mr. Holmes. “We took it really hard when he passed.”

Upon taking off in popularity, Holmes chose to call his rap project ‘Will Keeps’, as he wanted listeners to ‘keep’ his message. “Keep my music everywhere you go,” he said. “Keep it in your heart, keep it in your soul.”

Holmes has been working with many students at North in his activism and mentoring.

“I talk to kids who aren’t willing to talk to no one, but they’ll talk to me. They wanna see some of the things that I’m doing.”

In May of 2018, Holmes released a music video for his song “Get It”. The video, which features many of the students he works with, was filmed within the halls of North High.

“I’ve always wanted to do something at North.

I thought it’d be fun to choose North to do that [music] video,” Holmes said.

“Stop thinking you know everything. Let people be able to teach you,” Holmes said, offering a word of advice to North students.

“One of the programs I have is called, Step

by Step, and what I mean by that is that I want you to go through the steps to get to the prize, instead of trying to get to the prize by skipping the steps.”

Holmes wants students to use him as an example of someone who has turned their life around. “He’s trying to change the lives of every kid that’s going through stuff, those that he can,” Sky Holmes said of her father.

“All that negative stuff I’ve been through, I view it as a positive, and I use it for good,” William Holmes said.

“Stop thinking you know everything. Let people be able to teach you.”

Design: C. Slater

16 Amanda George, Reporter Christmas:

During Christmas time, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ all over the world.

Decorations and festivities can be enjoyed, even in countries where Christianity is not the most popular religion. Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December, but some countries have celebrations and traditions that last longer. In France, celebrations start on December 6th; St. Nicholas day, and children leave their polished shoes outside of the chimney in hopes that ‘Père Noël’ will fill them with sweets.

In Italy, ‘Babbo Natale’ hands out presents to children on Christmas Day, but many families exchange gifts on January 6th, which is the day of Epiphany. In Germany, the Christmas tree is put up in the homes the morning of Christmas Eve. Like France, children in Iceland put their shoes on the windowsill hoping to wake up to treats from ‘Juletide Lads’. In the Philippines, there is a tradition of having a Christmas lantern. Although only two in ten people are Christians in Singapore, Christmas is still celebrated with many lights. Christmas comes in many different forms, but it is a great time for people to have fun and spend time with their families.

Hanukkah:

The Hanukkah festival lasts for eight days and is celebrated by Jewish people all over the world. Hanukkah celebrates the Jewish uprising and the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. In Germany, Rabbis install a giant Hanukkah Menorah at the launch of the eightday celebration at the Brandenburg Gate.

In India, people light coconut oil wicks instead of regular candles to honor the miracle of the oil, and in North African countries, they spend the whole seventh day honoring the heroines of the story.

Jews in Afghanistan have had a complicated history with the majority Muslim population, feeling they need to hide their religion, but that does not stop them from celebrating in their homes. Although the Jewish religion is frowned upon in many countries, it is an important holiday for Jews and they spend the eight days worshiping their beliefs.

Kwanzaa:

Although Kwanzaa was only founded 52 years ago, many families around the world celebrate it and its rich history in the African American heritage. It is a seven-day holiday

that is celebrated from December 26th through January 1st. Each day of Kwanzaa represents seven principles; unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

During the candle lighting, each person says what the principle means to them. When Kwanzaa was created is was meant to be separated from non-African holidays, but as years go on, more African American families celebrate the holiday along with Christmas and New Year’s. Gifts were kept to a minimum to keep the message Kwanzaa gave, but many families put their own twist on the holiday.

New Year:

Around the world, different cultures welcome the new year in their own ways. In Spain, it is customary to eat 12 grapes at each stroke of the clock at midnight. Residents in Columbia carry empty suitcases around the block in hopes of travelling in the new year. In Denmark, people throw plates and glasses to banish the bad spirits. People in Greece hang an onion on the front door of their homes to symbolize rebirth. Some of the traditions are unique but the New Year is seen as a clean slate, and time to start over.

Fun Facts:

• The Christmas nativity story resulted in many wars.

• “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” was originally a threat.

• The “12 Days of Christmas” song would cost you about $1.3 million.

• During Hanukkah, 44 candles are lit by each family over the eight days.

• All letters addressed to Santa in the United States go to Santa Claus, Indiana • “Jingle Bells” was originally supposed to be a Thanksgiving song.

Features

Design: A. George

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Tyler Sochit, Reporter

UNDER:

$25: Water bottle or coffee cup

STEPS

1

A blanket

Most gift baskets have a specific theme. Your theme could be based upon the occasion. For example, it could involve Christmas, Halloween, a birthday or a house warming gift.

Find items matching the theme to add to your basket Figure out their interest or related items to the theme. In addition to buying related items, you can also be creative and make items to put in the basket. Examples could be socks, movies, edible items, blankets or even gift cards.

3

Socks

Pick your theme

A portable charger

2

Find the perfect basket

Bag Crate Jar Big Bowl Box

You now get to put all the fun items inside the basket. By layering newspapers or a blanket at the bottom of your basket, put the items on top of the paper with the big items in the middle or back and then the small items in front or around it. Make sure it looks nice and presentable for whoever you created the basket for.

$50: Bluetooth speaker Mobile lens Sandals/Slides

Who says a gift basket has to be a basket? You could use a:

Assemble your unique basket

Phone pop socket

OR ABOVE $100:

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Headphones Polariod camera Sneakers Mini fridge

Design T. Sochit

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Tasha Brown, Reporter Q: What is your opinion on legalizing marijuana?

A: Sophmore: Madi Rehor: Should be legal because it helps people with medical issues and it’s all natural.

Junior: Jakob Gill: Shoulder be legal because more money to the state.

Junior: Brenda Lie: I’m okay with it but not if they’re under the influence and doing something reckless.

Q: Do you have any idea of what you want to do after you graduate and if so, what?

A: Sophmore: Lorelai Finch: Law School or criminology.

Sophmore: AJ Larsen: Carpenter.

Junior: Anastasia Billington: I would really like to do something involved with astrology and space like things.

Junior: Aline Marino-Moreno: Become Famous.

Q: If you could start school at any time; what time would it be and why?

A: Sophmore: Alyssa Oliver: Start at 8:15 because you still can get ready and have time to do your makeup but it’s not super late either.

Clark Jaschae.: Earlier in the day, to get it over with.

Junior: TJ Garfield: 6:30, you can get out of school earlier.

Junior: Brandan Gallegos: 7:45, it’s the same as last year.

Senior: Kevin Nguyen: 7, you find yourself not as tired after a couple hours go by. You don’t really think about the time after being up for a while.

Senior: Nathan Routh: 7:40, more time after school.

Madi Rehor, Sophmore. Photo Credit: T. Brown

Aline Marino-Moreno, Junior. Photo Credit: T. Brown.

Brenda Lie, Junior. Photo Credit: T. Brown Alyssa Oliver, Sophmore. Photo Credit: T. Brown

Features

Design & Photos: T. Brown

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Leslie Martinez, Reporter Behind your average student is always a story none of us can guess. It builds and shapes this person into who they are. Sophomore, Lorelai Finch is involved in Polar Bear Crew and a part of the Oracle staff, but has an ongoing, unique family story.

Finch has felt abandonment in her life growing up, as she never met her biological dad.

“I had never seen a picture of him, I didn’t know he knew about me until I was seven years old,” she said.

Finch’s father was an alcoholic and was abusive when he came home drunk.

Her mother knew how she wanted her daughter to be raised.

“She didn’t want me to grow up in the environment he was providing,’’ Finch said.

After a certain amount of time of the constant abuse, Finch’s mother decided to leave and start a new life with Lorelai.

Meeting her Biological Father When Finch was 13 years old, she decided that she wanted to meet her father. She discussed it with her mom and they had sent her father a message to try and reconnect.

He didn’t reply until many months later.

They finally worked together to come up with a plan that they would meet when Finch turned 14.

Leading up to that moment, she was very nervous to meet him.

She said that when she first saw her father, she was very emotional and couldn’t control her feelings.

After many years of abandonment, Finch said, “It’s been really hard to forgive someone for impacting your life so much when they feel they had no part in what they did to you.”

Growing up, Finch has tried to forgive her father for his actions. ‘‘It’s becoming easier to get over it now that I have met him and he’s trying to have a relationship with me, but it doesn’t change what happened and now we both just put these feelings aside and try and move on rather than holding onto them or completely forgetting about them,’’ she said.

He lived in a different state and would come to Iowa once in awhile to football games and

Sophomore North student, Lorelai Finch, shares her story of a biological father who wasn’t there and a step father who was and is. (Left) Finch as a baby. (Right) Finch on Tropical Tuesday during spirit week at North this year.

Photos Courtesy: Lorelai Finch

events going on in the state.

There were nights where he would have dinner with Finch, her mother and step father.

She would feel uncomfortable calling her step father “dad’’ around her biological father even though she’s been doing it half her life.

When Finch’s mother decided to get remarried and give Lorelai a new father figure, she knew it would change not just Finch’s life, but her own life as well.

Being eight years old not exactly knowing what’s going on and having the new changes happening wasn’t easy to adjust to.

Now being 15 years old, Finch and her step father have created a father-daughter bond she has always searched for in a father.

Possible Legal Father Status Christmas Eve of 2017 Finch decided to ask her step father if he wanted to adopt her. She had felt that after six years it was the right time to ask him.

“It’s just the little things that obviously my father never did for me and my mom wouldn’t do,” she said that made her want him to adopt her.

Her step-father did the smallest things, he would cook her dinner late at night, one time he woke up at five in the morning to run to the drug store and buy eyelashes for Finch to have

for that school day.

For the adoption to go through and be accepted, Finch’s biological father had to sign the adoption papers.

The year after meeting his daughter, Finch’s biological father felt that she was “using” him for only a signature. He ended up getting a lawyer and created a case, as he was very angry with the fact that he had to sign the papers.

He had sent an email to them stating that he did not believe that Finch was his daughter. He wanted to take DNA tests; he was angry at the whole adoption situation.

She reached out so that she and her father could develop a relationship not for a signature. She said she tried to explain it to him, but he wouldn’t budge.

After that, Finch’s biological father cut off all communication with her.

A Bit of Hope About a year after, her biological father reached out to Finch and her mother and explained that he was being selfish and didn’t want to be the person that took the right for Finch to have a father.

Lorelai and her step father are in the process of making the adoption a reality and hope to have it finalized in the new year.

Design: L. Christensen

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Emily West, Online Editor Things To Do During Break Have you ever thought you have nothing to do during your winter break? Well, here are some ideas for you to not have that problem anymore. You can do outdoor activities like building a snowman, snowball fights, sledding down hills and many other things.

There are also things to do just in your own homes, for example, you could do a DIY project, have a family night including games, movies or tv shows, read a book, color, or even start a hobby.

Other things you can do are make a bucket list, make your new year’s resolution or just plan out the end of the year and the beginning of this new year. Make a jar of activities to do so when you are bored you can grab an activity out of the jar to give you something to do.

You can also volunteer at your local ice rinks, tree farms, food banks, and many other donation places. Other activities you could do is knit, paint, do puzzles, write, and exercise.

Recommended Movies & TV Shows On Netflix people can watch many different genres of shows and movies, along with Hulu and Amazon.

Giving Back During the Winter You can do is volunteer or donate during this break. There’s the oprion of volunteering locally or farther away.

Places to donate to are at food banks or there are donation buckets that are located at Fareway throughout the months.

Places to volunteer at are churches, temples and any other religious places to help for the holidays. You can also volunteer at tree farms or ice rinks.

Netflix • The 100 • To All The Boys I've Loved Before • Stranger Things • The Chilling Adventures of Sebrina • Supernatural • Dexter • Daredevil • Shameless • Lost in Space • Grey's Anatomy • The Good Place • Once Upon a Time • The Flash • Arrow • Full metal Alchemist

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Amazon • The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel • Game of Thrones • Mr. Robot • House of Cards • Doctor Who • The Expanse • Breaking Bad • Poldark • Hannibal • Incredibles • Avengers: Infinity War

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Winter Break Boredom Hulu • Rick and Morty

• The X-Files

• Saturday Night Live

• Runaways

• This Is Us

• Blackish

• The Simpsons

• Community

• American Horror Story

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Design: E.West

22

North High Counselors: They are not just there for your schedules.

Alizia Guzman , Events director Every person is or knows of someone that struggles with mental illness. mental illness such as anxiety and depression.

More than 11% of teenagers report suffering from one or more depressive episodes, according to Mental Health America.

It is often common because of stress with school related subjects it may also be hereditary.

Some people may feel like they don’t have anywhere to turn when they want to talk about something and not get judged. Peer pressure to act a certain way and fit in with everyone around also ties in to that.

People may not know that there are other options that are there for them, and it’s right in the high school, such as friends, teachers, and especially counselors.

Counselors are formally trained and must go to graduate school. “In graduate school, we take a lot of psychological class to navigate ways to get people to open up,” North counselor Trent Griggs said.

Counselors can also help outside of school.

Everyone is different so if that student does not feel comfortable opening up to them there are different ways they can help.

Some ways that they can help is they contact an in school or out of school therapist if any student needed that outside perspective.

mechanism for students with anxiety and depression often is music.

Griggs stated that “kids often reflect on the song lyrics and the way they are feeling such as someone with depression tend to listen to more sad music.”

Counselors also relate to students because they were once a teen, so they understand what others are going through so they tend to try to make us comfortable when talking to them. Such as when in their offices they have comfortable chairs where you can relax, and little trinkets you can play with, and lastly stress balls you can squeeze when you are feeling anxious.

You may not feel like you have anyone to relieve what you’re feeling to, but the counselors are always an option to talk about feelings and to ask questions to.

“Some things you can do for anyone you know that is struggling is to just be there and support them because knowing that you have at least one person there for you can make all the difference,” stated Griggs.

“Some things you can do for anyone you know that is struggling with mental illness is to just be there and support them because knowing that you have at least one person there for you can make all the difference.”

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We know that students do not feel cofortable talking to counselors because they think their parents are going to be contacted about the conversation. When talking to your school counselor they are not allowed to break the confidentiality between you and them unless you are a threat to yourself or another person.

Not only do they help with personal problems they help with group problems between you and other students. A common coping

Design: A.Guzman

The

24

Music Re

Adrianna Campos, Photo Editor This school year is kicking off with a fall musical that is combined with 20 different types of scenes and music submitted by multiple students. The creation of this musical has been a very long process, with many talented auditions, to late night rehearsals.

This musical compilation is the first one that this theater program has done since 2005, and it is the first original compilation that they have ever done along with their own transitions and introductions.

Amy Rost, the theater teacher here at North High School, has been a big part in the creation of this musical. Alongside Vanessa Brady, the music teacher at North, they listened to and studied the many different songs and

Arts & Entertainment

Mary Cecil, junior, and choir student at North High School sings along with the rest of the choir during a practice for the school’s first musical of the year. Photo Credit: Cassandra ContrerasFranco

scenes from musicals to decide which ones would be the best fit for this musical showing.

This year’s musical is not like other musicals or plays in the way that there isn’t one theme or main message in its entirety. Rost explains that each scene has it’s own kind of theme.

“Students alongside with Mrs. Brady and myself have selected songs & scenes we wanted to do. Some are sad, some happy, many are dramatic, and others are funny. You’ll know some, some will be new.” Rost said.

According to Rost, the hardest part is casting, not only because of the amount of talent but because the look and makeup of the cast is also very important.

“You want the actors to gel well together.

Married couples need to be comfortable, students playing one dramatic role— Are two friends better to play comedic roles because of their natural comfort level with each other,”

she said.

The cast for The Musical Revue is made up of 32 students this year, but there are also 50 students that are a part of the musical vocally, and another 35 students are added onto that for the painting crew, lights and other jobs that help pull the musical together. Rehearsals for the musical are about 8 to 10 weeks, but for everyone involved, this selection process actually started in the summer.

The technical students are the ones who create the order for the scenes that makes the most sense, while the actors work together to come up with the narration pieces for the transitions between scenes and the introductions.

Rost tries to run a student lead program, where students get to have a say in what things they would like to do and include into the musical, but she also gives her input on what might be best for them and the musical.

25

ical evue

Choir students Ei Ei Naing (left), and Alyssa Oliver (right) share a binder during practice to prepare for the musical. Photo Credit: Cassandra Contreras-Franco

”I do not like to run a program that is ‘mine’.

I’m here to serve the students and to help them create art. I can certainly make choices, but I always want to ensure it is something the students would enjoy/want/love,” Rost said.

This student lead program is not just inside the classroom, but also outside during the practices and rehearsals. “I direct rehearsals as sort of a ‘this is what we are going for,’ but we rotate through scenes where students are leading their own sections too. Each scene has an assistant director that is free to make suggestions/changes/edits and I typically leave those choices in,” Rost said.

Although the cast has quite a bit of time to memorize lines, mistakes can still happen. But

according to Rost, it’s the matter of if you can keep yourself together, that you can pull off hiding that mistake.

“On stage, students have to memorize everything. Where to walk, what to say, how to look, when to leave, when to move the furniture, when to turn off the lights, when to unmute microphones, when to play the phone ringing sound, when to close the curtain,” Rost said.

Today, we live in a place where we don’t have to memorize things, we have a variety of technology that does things for us. But with plays or musicals, that technology can’t go with you on stage. So memorizing lines can be quite difficult even for the best of actors/actresses.

Design: A. Campos

26

America reaches its 308th mass shooting this year

Search Desenstization

I’m Feeling Scared

11 Killed in Synagogue Massacre; Suspect Charged with 29 Counts ... https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/27/us/active-shooter-pittsburgh-syna-

A gunman opened fire in a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday, leaving 11 people dead and six others injured.

Brianna Cobb, Reporter There have been almost as many mass shootings as days in the year.

As of Nov. 2018, there have been 308 mass shootings in the United States since the beginning of the year, Gun Violence Archive, a statistics website used by CNN and The New York Times, said.

On a Nov. morning when I woke up, I did the same thing I always do: I turned the news on.

Within a single moment, I was confronted with flashing images and the phrase “breaking news” sprawled across the screen of every television station and instantly, my mind went to another shooting. “It’s a horrific scene, there’s blood everywhere,” a Los Angeles sheriff on CNN said, confirming my thoughts as he recounts the tragic details his officers were faced with after a shooting at a bar in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks.

Then, I did something that in retrospect, surprised me. I thought to myself, “Wow, that’s terrible, but thankfully it was only 12 people.” Then I moved on with my day. This mindset is precisely the problem we’re facing as a country, and I’ll admit I’m part of it.

A study was done by Jason R. Silva, a Doctoral Candidate in Criminal Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice Graduate Center. The study shows the media

Opinion

tends to cover mass shootings that occur at schools or have a high death toll.

If our brains react differently to violence then realistically, continuously having school shootings or mass shootings with high death tolls being reported can cause our brains to have a lesser reaction to similarly tragic incidents in which fewer people were killed, as stated above.

Instead of seeing the casualties as people, we begin to see them as just a number. We subconsciously compare it to what has happened in the past and add the phrase “It could’ve been worse” to the end of our sentence before continuing with our day.

The truth is, if there’s this continuous cycle of violence in the media our brains will start to react differently to violent stories and images. We will also become desensitized to the other tragic events that continue to plague our country because it does not supersede the “breaking news” stories depicted in the news.

In other words, we become desensitized to violence.

But what is desensitization other than a big word that’s hard to say?

Think of it this way: if one day, everyone started to wear their clothes backward, it

would be weird at first. But if everyone continued to wear their clothes backward, after awhile you would probably get used to it and it wouldn’t seem like that a big of a deal.

Now, replace ‘clothes’ with ‘acts of mass violence’ and you’re left with a giant portion of the population who do not see the rising number of casualties and breaking news stories as anything other than another Tuesday.

No matter where you stand on gun control or public safety, it is hard to ignore that a large percentage of our population is used to seeing mass shootings in the news.

If we’ don’t do anything, then the population will continue to become used to violence until it is incorporated into our daily lives, even more than it has already.

And just like the world getting a little bit warmer each year has become the norm, mass shootings soon will be too.

If that doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will.

So, be aware of what is going on in the world and especially be aware of the laws and bills that can affect how public safety is instilled in our country.

Don’t let yourself become desensitized.

Design: B. Cobb

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e b d l u o w t T I E E SW u o y if a t h g u o b ! k 5 o 2 . o n b a J r e a u D ye yearbookordercenter.com North High School 2969 Price: $50

Ingredients

Delicous Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup of butter (unsalted) 2 eggs (room temprature) 1 cup of granulated sugar 1 cup of brown sugar 1 teaspoon salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, vanilla 3 cups sifted flour 1 1/2 of milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1) preheat oven too 350 degrees 2)in a large mixing bowl combine white and brown sugar 3) put butter into microwave safe container; put in microwave for 30 seconds take out and sir put back in for 30 seconds add to sugar combination and wisk 4) Add in eggs stir in one at a time until combined 5) whisk in salt , baking soda, vanilla and cocoa powder 6) add in sifted flour 3/4 cups at a time reserve 1 cup flour 7) Add in chocolate chips then whisk in the 1 cup of flower until dough is no longer sticky and can form a ball 8) Form dough into Balls using a heaping Tbs put on pan and cook for 9-11 minutes or until solid

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

2 Cups of all purpose flour 2 Tsp ground ginger 1 Tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 Tsp ground nutmeg 1/4 Tsp ground cloves, salt and baking soda 1/2 Cup butter (unsalted) 1/3 Cup of packed dark brown sugar and molasses 1 Large egg

Directions: 1)In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in molasses and egg. add dry ingredients; mix just until a dough forms. Place dough on floured plastic wrap; Wrap well; chill until firm 2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half. Working with one half at a time. place dough on floured parchment or waxed paper; roll out 1/8 inch thick, and flouring dough (and rolling pin) as needed. Freeze dough (on paper) until firm, about 20 minutes.

3.)Loosen dough from paper. Cut out shapes, and transfer to baking sheets.

4)Bake until firm and edges just begin to darken, 10 to 18 minutes, depending on size. Cool completely on baking sheets.