2020-21 NS Times 1st Edition

Girls cross country ranks near the top of 3A.

NS welcomes 5 alumni back as teachers, in addition to 2 new teachers.

NS FOOTBALL TEAM ON TRACK TO BREAK SCORING RECORDS

-- See story page 11

-- See story page 7

-- SEE STORY PAGE 10

29 September 2020 www.nstimes.org Volume 13 Issue 1

Voice of the North Sanpete Hawks

WELL SAID “If you’re helping a kid understand or learn I think that it is the most important thing to view, regardless of whether they are in class or whether it’s remote learning.”

NS sees major changes to administration

-- NS art teacher Paul Allred on remote learning

BY THE NUMBERS

45+

Points that NS football team is averaging each game

photo by Carson Hadley

Christy Straatman (left) and Natalie Stansfield (right) watching a football game.

rilEy MadsEn

Despite the many challenges right now, both the new princiNS has gone through many pal and assistant principal say drastic changes this year. On top that everyone is learning how to of dealing with COVID-related make things run smoothly and restrictions, the school has sev- work together, doing their part eral new faculty and staff mem- to make this a good year. bers, including new administra- “It’s been crazy,” said assistors. For the first time in years, tant principal Natalie Stansfield.

NS has gained not only one, but “Christy and I are just figuring it two new administrators, and out as we go.” they are both new to the school.

One of the biggest challeng“You don’t often see a com- es, on top of the normal difficulpletely different administration,” ties of figuring out a new, comsaid Principal Christy StraatSee Admin, page 3 man. by

hoMECoMing aMidst a pandEMiC “I feel like the whole week went well, from it being thrown together so quickly and having to make so many changes.”

80%

Percent of students who think the school is doing a good job minimizing threat of COVID-19

-- Natalie Stansfield, NS Assistant Pricipal

7

Number of new teachers that NS has this year

5-1 The NS volleyball teams record in region

NS EVENTS Thursday, Oct 1 Volleyball vs Union @ NS 4:00pm-7:00pm Cross Country Sanpete Classic @ Skyline Mountain Resort Friday, Oct 2 Girls Tennis State Tournament Varsity Football @ ALA 7:00pm-9:00pm Tuesday, Oct 6 Volleyball @ Delta 4:00pm-7:00pm

CONTENTS Opinion.................5 Features................6 Sports..................10 Arts......................14 Crossword...........16

photo by Carson Hadley

NS volleyball team rides down St. Street in Mount Pleasant during homecoming parade. by

ElizabEth MadsEn

A homecoming unlike any other has made its mark in history this past week at NS. While many homecoming traditions happened as usual, there were activities that were taken away and new traditions added.

“We’ve tried to think of a whole ton of ideas,” said Student Body President Brady

Jacobson, “and when some ideas were shut down, we came up with some fun things that people could still enjoy.”

The student leaders at NS had to find ways to have assemblies without a large group gathering. They overcame this obstacle by working with Centracom to live stream events, such as a donut eating contest and a game-show, to each advisory class

Community impacted by the loss of beloved cheerleader MarlEE CroziEr

was struggling with cheers-she was always helping This past July, Sharlee them to better themselves,” Sorensen passed away due said Ben Anderson, the NS to complications resulting cheer team male coach and from a car wreck. Her un- team member. timely absence has been She wasn’t just known felt in the lives of many for her willingness to help that she touched. others out with cheers and “The first thing I think stunts, but also her overall she ever said to me was, ability to lift others up.

“Ya gotta fix your arms,” “She always had the and then she just showed best attitude about everyme how,” said Ella Eliason. thing,” Eliason said. “I Sharlee loved cheer- don’t think I ever saw her leading and helping people sad, and when you were out wherever she could. sad she always tried to “She was always really make you feel better, she happy to help anyone who cared more about others by

than herself.”

Sharlee radiated excitement and love to all that she saw, especially in times that others weren’t quite yet excited themselves.

“When she would walk into cheer she would ask us if we were excited,’ Marysa Lopez said. ‘I would be like for what?’ And she’d just say ‘I don’t know’, so then I would be like ‘yeah, I’m excited!’”

Even in her absence, her love has continued to live in the community and at NS. Many are paying See Sharlee, page 4

photo by Audrey Inglish

Kylena Akuola, NS Homecoming Queen, escorted by Morgan Poulsen.

at NS. “Rickie and the SBO’s and the other class officers worked with Barrett to do all of [the broadcasting] and get it planned,” said NS Vice Principal Natalie Stansfield.

“Rickie had all the links for everyone, and See Homecoming, page 3

NS adopts new procedures for COVID-19 by

harrison Cook

There is a large room, filled with administrators. Everyone has a mask. Papers are spread across desks. Every decision that was made was double checked. Triple checked. Sometimes more. Painstaking days, weeks, and months were spent working to create plans that would protect students.

“We met as a district administrative committee multiple times to start developing and going through that template that was given to us,” said NS Principal Christine Straatman.

This plan is not something that was just thrown together. The process started See COVID, page 2

News

2

Controversy surrounds new mask requirements by

bradlEy powEr

With the unexpected advent of COVID-19, the world was thrown into panic. Now, months later, our small high school is taking precautions. More specifically, the state is requiring that masks be worn while students are at school.

Masks are a controversial topic among students at NS with 29 percent of students being in favor of masks being required, and 29 percent against them.

The remaining students have neutral attitudes toward the new requirements.

One of the biggest reasons for opposing masks is simply that many NS students think that the virus is being blown out of proportion. Nearly 20 percent of students indicated that on a scale of 1-10, they thought that the threat level of COVID-19 was a one.

“COVID-19’s fake,” said junior Jamison Poulsen.

Poulsen, along with a significant portion of our student body, strongly disagree with the new mask requirements.

“You can’t breathe in the d--- things,” Poulsen said. “They’re annoying to wear, they’re pointless, they hide your face--it’s just annoying.”

While nearly a third of students don’t like the masks, 80 percent of students believe that our school is doing a good job with minimizing the supposed threat of COVID-19. And mask wearing is an important part of maintaining that safety.

“I feel like there’s lots of science behind that [masks] work,” said sophomore Brathan Nielsen.

“The school is [doing a good job]... but the students themselves aren’t really being careful with it.”

While it is certain that there are many different and even opposite opinions in the student body, there is very little contention in the school itself about the

masks. A whopping 49 percent of students say they never remove their masks, except to eat or drink. An additional 12 percent said they removed their masks during the ‘mask breaks’ that some teachers at the school offer as a part of class. Though 30 percent said they took breaks outside of class as well, only 8 percent said they removed their masks often.

Indeed, the majority of students both in class and in the halls wear their masks when they are told to do so. However, the few students who are against masks feel strongly that they should not be mandatory.

“It’s against our rights... just being an American--it’s a free country,” said Poulsen. “Why would we have to wear masks?”

Other students argue that masks do not halt the spread of the virus, or even that they facilitate transmission. Opinions on this, as with all controversial issues, vary widely.

Something else to consider is the fact that some people feel decidedly unsafe when others refuse to wear a mask around them.

“I’m worried about spreading it to other people who could die from this,” said Nielsen.

It is not just the students who feel this way. Alana Miner, a substitute teacher at NS, has multiple highrisk family members in her household.

“We need [masks],” Miner said. “To my family, it’s a very big threat. It saddens me that they’re not taking it serious and are not willing to help those who are immunocompromised and have underlying conditions.”

One simple conclusion that can be made from all these opinions is that very little is known about the situation as a whole.

“I think the virus is real,” said Brandon Olsen, NS shop teacher. “I think a lot of our student body

photo by Siri Huntington

NS students wearing masks at a homecoming activity.

doesn’t think it’s an issue because it hasn’t hit home.

We haven’t really seen it here.”

For now, it seems the only choice the student body has in the matter is whether or not to follow the guidelines provided by both the state and the school district. Regardless of whether or not those guidelines slow the spread of the virus and regardless of whether the virus is even a threat or not, NS will stand strong together as a school.

“Students need to be more caring and empathetic about people who can’t get the virus,” Nielsen said.

“We just all really need to work together on this.”

Valid opinions are presented on both the side that supports masks and the side that does not. However, these rules are in place for a reason. Wearing a mask is one of the only things that a person can do to feel safe in these trying times.

“I just hope everybody keeps wearing their masks,” Miner said, “so we can continue with school and we can continue with life.”

COVID, continued from page 1

photo by Audrey Inglish Student Body President Brady Jacobson distibuting hand sanitizer to other NS students at homecoming activity.

at the very top of our state’s government, with the Governor and the Utah State Health Department. “[The guidelines] come from the USBE, the governor’s directive, and they come from the Utah State Health Department,” said Superintendent Nan Ault. “We had to submit to the state a COVID plan, and for the plan we had to have options for different scenarios.”

The whole process was rather complicated, but simplified, it looked like this: First, the Governor sent out a directive, instructing schools to reopen.

Then, the USBE, in conjunction with the Utah State Health Department, released a handbook of best practice procedures. Then, the individual school districts made templates that were submitted to the USBE, and once they were approved, they were given to individual schools.

845 So. Highway 89 Mt. Pleasant, UT

“The Schools were required by USBE, which is the Utah State Board of Education, to come up with a plan so that we can return to school and open safely after the pandemic.” Straatman said.

Everyone who took part in the creation of these plans did all they could to ensure that the students at NS would be safe. This seems to have transferred well from paper to life. Of the students that responeded to the NS Times survey, 80 percent of feel as though the school is doing a good job of minimizing the threat of transmission of COVID-19.

“I think they are doing a very good job,” senior Morgan Drew said. “I think the principal is doing a great job of telling us to put our masks back on and stuff. I think the school, and the school board, and the health department, I

7 a.m.-5 p.m.

Monday-Sunday

435-462-2667 www.thecoffeedepotutah.com

think they’re all doing a very good job of keeping us safe so that we don’t have to shut down.”

However, while most people agree that the school is doing a good job, and that it’s necessary, there is a small portion of the population that think that the school could do better.

“I do think that masks are definitely a huge deal, and spreading people out at least,” senior Adam Cox said. “I feel like that’s where the school could do a bit better, first of all just making sure we’re always calling out people who have their masks down, [and] making sure as long as you’re in the building, you’ve got that on.”

The biggest struggle seems to be the wearing of masks. According to responses to the survey, 50 percent of students at NS felt that wearing masks was somewhat difficult. 10 percent said that wearing masks was highly difficult.

“They suck,” said Drew. “They’re hard to breathe in, they make it so I can’t see others’ faces and emotions, and I’m really like a social person, so that makes it hard for me to learn, especially when I can’t see the teachers face and emotions. It just sucks.”

But while this seems to be the majority’s opinion on masks, it isn’t the only way to look at things. From re-

sponses in the survey, we had about 40 percent of students respond that it was not difficult at all.

“I personally don’t find it difficult at all,” Cox said. “I think it’s not a big deal in the slightest for me. The worst that happens is that it gets a little stuffy in there when I am a little physically active, and that’s the worst [problem] that I’ve ever had.”

Another question that was raised was how dangerous COVID-19 is. To gauge the student opinion, we asked students to rate the threat level out of ten. Ten was the most dangerous, and one was the least. Responses to this question were varied, to say the least.

“However, the one thing that most people can agree on is that we need to stay vigilant. The risk is there, and if we relax the standards that we have set, there is a very good chance that NS would have to shut down again.

“I’m proud of everyone,” said Ault.

“I’m proud of students and teachers and the community and all the people who are willing to take the precautions necessary to keep the school open.

Wearing the mask is really the most important factor and it’s what keeps schools open right now. Wear a mask, wash your hands, and stay home when you’re sick.”

News

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Admin, continued from page 1 plex job, has been the struggles figuring out how to deal with Covid-19.

“It’s been an interesting transition,” said Straatman.

The beginning was hard because of all the unknown, and it took time to find what would work and what wouldn’t.

“Challenging,” said Straatman, “but I love a good challenge.”

Everything is different and everyone has had to figure things out together to make it work as best they can, but both administrators are determined to have a good attitude about all the struggles.

“You have to be positive about it,” Stansfield said.

Before school started, Straatman and Stansfield were coming into the high school not knowing what their first year was going to look like.

“We were just kind of blind,” Stansfield said. “We didn’t know what we were doing. But once we made a decision, we had a plan.”

Both are optimistic that this year will still turn out to be one of the best.

“The longer we do this, the more comfortable it will be,” Straatman said. “We’re just figuring it out.”

Straatman came from a different school district.

Coming from Granite School District, she has moved from several schools, learning and becoming an amaz-

ing administrator. Coming from Hunter High School, she has also seen a few changes to her career.

“Everything we do at North Sanpete is different [from] my other schools,” she said. “It’s been wonderful.”

Before her time at Granite School District, Straatman spent nine years at NS working at the EDNET building. She is excited to be back.

“I’ve been doing this for a while now,” Straatman said. “I have a lot of admin experience, but it’s been a new journey for me.”

Straatman chooses to be optimistic about the challenge she has been placed in.

“I believe that life puts you where you need to be,” Straatman said.

She didn’t know that she would be moving to NS or that there would be an opening for the principal position at the high school.

“In the moment, I was where I was supposed to be,” Straatman said.

Straatman has moved both her and her husband down to Sanpete County for the opportunity to have this job. They are currently living in a small one-bedroom apartment. They will soon be building a home in Spring City.

Prior to coming to NS, Stansfeild was a teacher at

Mount Pleasant Elementary.

“It’s busier [than the elementary], but I wouldn’t say more stressful,” Stansfield said.

Stansfield enjoys being more involved with the school. She says that this is a new kind of stress. But a good one.

“I love it, it’s a lot of fun,” she said.

Stansfield says she loved the elementary, but the high school has been a good kind of different.

When coming to a new job, as both of these ladies have, people always have ideas that they want to bring to the table.

“I want to jump in and work on our ESL program,” Straatman said. “I gained a lot of experience [at Granite] and I would love to come here and help with that.”

Straatman loves the feel of NS and loves all of the different programs that are offered here. Stansfield feels similarly.

“I think it’s a great school, and I love how they run things,” Stansfield also said.

She would like to get a feel for the school before she changes things.

“Ask me that question again in three years,” she said.

NS SBOs hope to unify school with new theme

photo by Jaslyn Dahl

NS SBOs dressed up for Tacky Tourist Tuesday. by

Jaslyn dahl

Unity is strength.

Courage is power.

Attitude is everything.

Students at NS are continuing to face the struggles the pandemic has brought, but this year’s theme—created by the student body officers (SBOs)— is a reminder of how students

can overcome the weight of these difficulties.

One of the big changes student leaders are dealing with are the activities involving the school.

“A lot of the fun things like assemblies and pep-rallies have gotten shut down,” said Brady Jacobson, the student body president, “and those are the big things I looked forward to.”

Among the many other changes this year, Natalie Stansfield is the new assistant principal and also one of the new supervisors for the SBOws. She’s a new positive asset to them and this school.

“It’s always exciting to get new people with good ideas,” said Rickie Stewart, the student government advisor.

Stansfield has been focusing on taking care of the students so they can continue to stay in school.

“She wants to make this year the best she can while keeping everybody safe,” said Aspen Clayton, the student body secretary. “Her first priority is just keeping everyone safe.”

Along with Stansfield and Stewart, the SBOs have been working hard to make this a good experience despite the challenge.

“I just want to make this

year the best that it can be,” Clayton said, “with the limited resources we have.”

Getting creative with ways to keep us entertained and informed is one way the SBO’s have risen to the task. NS’s officers have reached out to students mostly through social media.

“We like to do the live stream,” Clayton said. “We like to post things on social media to keep everyone tuned in and on the same page.”

Another way the SBOs connect with students is by advocating their new theme.

The SBO’s thought it was important to implement a simple saying to remind us what’s really important in these troubled times.

Unity is a goal of our SBO’s, and they have decided to prioritize making everyone feel like they are unified. “[We’re] mostly going to

try to keep kids as involved as we can,” said Riley Madsen, the student body Vice President, “so they feel like there’s something here for them.”

Bravery is just as important to them as anything else.

“If you have the courage to do the right thing, then everything will work out,” said Parker Lee, the student body activity agent.

Finally, the SBOs believe that the attitude NS has this year will really make it or break it.

“Attitude really is everything.” Madsen said. “You need to have a good attitude to know that this school year really can still be great.”

Although the circumstances aren’t ideal, the SBOs set an example of how to attack the challenges of these unprecedented times. They’ve done this by following this year’s theme.

Homecoming, continued from page 1 I think it went really well.”

Students started this week of events with pajama day. The NS student body then voted for the 2020 Homecoming royalty. This year’s royalty is freshman attendant Abri Benson, sophomore attendant Phaedra Lamb, junior attendant Aubry Cook, and Homecoming Queen, senior Kylena Akuola.

Tacky-Tourist Tuesday hosted an advisory rock-paper-scissors competition as well as flex-time chalk art. Lady Hawks Tennis competed at Millard and came away with a win. Lady Hawks Soccer was at NS and beat Maeser Prep.

Camouflage took over NS hallways on Wednesday. Cross-country ran at Carbon and volleyball played Richfield.

Following the win from volleyball, the annual Powerstuff boys’ volleyball game took place with the juniors and seniors beating the freshman and sophomores.

Thursday had NS going back in time for Retro day. A game show during advisory and street painting during flex time preceded the matches for tennis, volleyball, and soccer.

“We are trying to give people something to come together for,” Jacobson said.

Spirit day gave the students at NS a sense of unity. The day began with Senior Sunrise followed by a senior meeting. There was then a school-wide cakewalk where prizes such as free t-shirts, lanyards, and candy were given out.

After the cakewalk the students at NS joined together to clean up the school grounds through various service projects. The NS student body officers and student council then broadcast a pep assembly to the seventh period classes.

“I could not believe how many kids just dove in, grabbed their rakes, and then cleaned up all around,” Stansfield said.

Later that day, the homecoming parade marched down main street. The NS marching band, drill team, cheer team, wrestling team, girls soccer team, girls tennis team, and football team participated in the parade. Clubs such as FFA, LIA, and Drama also joined the parade.

“At first we were going to do a reverse parade,” Jacobson said, “but then we got the go from the health apartment to do a real parade” The NS football team then played the Delta Rabbits. The Hawks had a close call but gave their school a win of 28-21. This was not without difficulty though, as several of their varsity players were injured during the game.

“It’s their last of everything, and it has been a weird year,” Stansfield said.

“They are sad that it’s their last homecoming, they’re sad that some starters on their team are now hurt and won’t be able to play the rest of the season, there is just so much emotion that comes with that.”

photo by Kaylee Anderson

Runningback Trevin Morley running for first down at homecoming football game.

The homecoming football game was then followed by a school-sponsored stomp. This dance also helps to support the NS Drill Team.

“I feel like the whole week went well, from it being thrown together so quickly and having to make so many changes,” Stansfield said. “The students here are troopers, they don’t grumble, they don’t complain, they just enjoy it.”

When NS was unable to host a date dance, three NS seniors put together their own homecoming date-dance.

They had been planning this dance for several weeks and working with the Moroni City Mayor and following health

code guidelines to have a safe, but fun dance.

“Being my senior year, I just really wanted to be super involved with school activities and it’s hard with Covid-19, so me and my friends planned it,” said one of the organizers of the dance, Morgan Drew.

As students entered the dance, their temperature was taken to help ensure everyone’s safety. Masks were also encouraged for the students to wear.

“I think the dance went so well,” Drew said. “Way more people than we planned for showed up and it seemed like everyone had a great time. I know I did!”

News

4

Sharlee, continued from page 1 tribute to Sharlee and the light that she shared with everyone. “[In] everything we have done this year, we have decided our two themes are ‘For Sharlee’ and ‘Make it Count’,” said head coach Sydni Wilkey. “We don’t know what we are given.”

Many have also poured tributes out to her through social media.

“We are indeed grateful to have had Sharlee in our lives, but sad they can now only be memories. It is hard to know what to say - but hope she knew how much she was loved, and boy was she loved. The world is a little darker without her. Love you Sharlee. We miss you already,” posted the NS cheer team on Facebook.

Not only the cheer team but several other teams have done their part in remembering and keeping her spirit

alive.

“We made bows for the volleyball team,” Wilkey said. “One of our girls made these bracelets that has her name on it, we actually gave some to the football team cause they asked for those.”

The bows in particular hold a special place in the teams’ hearts, as they remind them of one of Sharlee’s little unique quirks.

“We made a bow with her name on it to wear at games, and she always hated high ponies, so whenever we wear that one it’s usually in a low pony,” Anderson said.

Many also remember another quirk of hers that resulted in lots of laughs and memories.

“I always loved that her and some of the other girls on the cheer team would talk in British accents,” Ander-

son said. “It was really funny and fun to watch that.”

Lots of love and care has been outstretched unto her family during this difficult time.

“I have kept in touch with the family and talked to them about what their needs are and how we can help. I think when something happens, you just want to do something--you just don’t know what to do,” Wilkey said. “I was really grateful for her mom and sister and brothers for allowing [the cheer team] to be a participant in the funeral and helping before the funeral.”

For anyone in need of help upon the loss of Sharlee, the counseling center and the safeut app are available.

Please reach out.

photo provided by Marlee Crozier

Sharlee (left) with Ella Eliason (right).

Teachers move classrooms in response to COVID-19 by

shirlEy XiCotEnCatl

Many changes have happened at NS due to the pandemic, including teachers moving classrooms.

Moving classrooms often creates challenges and headaches for teachers, but for some, it’s not a big deal at all.

Alex Barlow has moved to the auditorium for more space so that he can social distance better. Before he could move to the auditorium, he asked the administration and got the approval.

Barlow will move back to his old room next year after the pandemic is over. He also let Whipple use his old room for the time being. He brought what he needed for this year and he still has everything else still in his old room.

Whipple thinks that moving to a new room for this year was a great idea. He had moved to the room he is in now so he could social distance better and as

a COVID precaution. Whipple loves the room, the open space he has, and the windows in which he can see the sky.

“I think that it’s a fantastic gift that I got,“said Sterling Whipple.

Whipple had a hard time projecting his voice across the room, so he got a speaker and a headset to help with that. Whipple brought only what he needed as he will go back to his other classroom at the end of the year.

Ben Cox, journalism teacher at NS, has moved classrooms many times in the years he has been teaching. He has moved four times in the past four years, even moving back to the same room a couple of times. Those are only the most recent moves, as Cox has moved seven times in the seventeen years he has worked at NS. “We came up with the solution less than a week before school started,” Cox said.

This year, he had to move to a room that he could social distance from students because of the lung condition he has. Cox wishes he could go back to the room he had before this as he can’t hear his students sometimes and he likes the other room better.

He wouldn’t haved switched rooms if he didn’t have to because he had too many things to move.

Christensen was perfectly fine with moving rooms. She thought she was going to the now-retired science teacher Jed Brewer’s old room, but after some decisions from other faculty, she ended up in room S32. Room S32 was also the old journalism room and journalism hopes to return once circumstances change. She likes the room that she has now, even if she didn’t get to choose in the long run.

“I don’t really care as long as I have a home base,” said the health teacher, Taylor Christensen.

NS welcomes new Sterling Scholars for 2020-2021 school year for almost six years. For five of those years she was cochair with Ben Cox, who took the program and improved it significantly. But now it’s just Turpin.

“It’s definitely more stressful,” Turpin said. “I’m going to try to give it my all and see how it goes.”

If she decides it’s too much for one person, she will look for someone to help her.

But as of right now, Turpin is on her own.

Cox leaving isn’t the only change that happened. The photo provided by White Raven coronavirus has had an impact The Sterling Scholars will compete against 12 other schools on the Sterling Scholars as in an academic competition in March. well. by abby bEnCh and Cook, math; Jared Strait, sci- “It’s hard sometimes,” said VanEssa JiMEnEz ence; Kaje Nielsen, computer Liz Madsen, the general Stertechnology; Kaylee Anderson, ling Scholar. “But you know Overachievers. Involved. English; Maren Bench, drama; you’ve always got to look at Hardworking. Unique. These Shalyce Cook, dance; Spen- the good and control what you are words that can be used to cer Olson, music; and Rance can and leave alone what you describe the 2020-2021 Ster- Christensen, trade and tech- can’t.” ling Scholars. The Sterling nical education. The business Though this has been Scholars are a group of indi- and marketing, visual arts, and challenging, Madsen finds the viduals who compete against agriculture categories weren’t positive. One way she does this 13 other schools from our filled this year. is through service. surrounding area in one of 15 “[The Sterling Scholars] Service is a huge part of categories for a chance to get a are usually kind of the leaders being a Sterling Scholar. It’s scholarship. of the school or one of the best ways to imThis year’s Sterling Schol- really outgoing kids,” said the prove their portfolio. Their ars are Adam Cox, social sci- Sterling Scholars advisor Jori portfolio is a collection of what ence; Azlyn Freeman, family Turpin. they’ve done while they’re a and consumer science; Liz Turpin has been part of Sterling Scholar. When they go Madsen, general; Eneli Sil- the Sterling Scholar program to the competition in March, va, foreign languages; Harry

the judges look at the portfolios and conduct interviews.

Some Sterling Scholars even perform.

NS usually does very well at the competitions. A total of 50 kids have won or gotten runner up these past six years. We’ve had more students win and more runners up than any other school.

We’re first with 50 total, Delta had 42, and Manti was third with 36. The winner receives a 2,500 dollar scholarship and the runner up gets 1,000.

“It’s super fun to be a sterling scholar,” Madsen said.

“You get to be with a team of people who are all high achievers and who want to help people.”

photo provided by White Raven

Senior Eneli Silva was selected last week as the recipient of the Voices of Children Scholarship.

The $2,500 scholarship is given to a student who is a strong, effective advocate for her community through service and leadership.

Opinion

Voice of the North Sanpete Hawks

29 September 2020 www.NSTimes.org

5

Student sacrifices in-person school for safety concerns dents at NS who would choose to stay home if they had a vulnerable family member, just over half, 53 percent of students would stay home.

The other 47 percent would take the risk.

I personally do stay home from school. My dad has a disease called

by JakE CoX Cystic Fibrosis, and if he got the corona-virus If you had a family then he would most likely member or parent who be hospitalized, he could was high risk and vul- lose years off his life, and nerable to the effects of he could possibly die.

COVID-19, would you As a result, my brothchoose to do remote or ers, my sister, and I all online school rather than made the choice to stay at coming in person? home and do our learnWhen we asked stu- ing online to protect our

dad. Our parents gave us the option to go to school if we wanted and social distance from our dad, or stay home, away from friends and teachers, but able to be around our dad. We all chose the same. We wanted to be with our dad.

Staying at home is hard. I have to stay at home every day. I almost never go anywhere except to the school in the mornings when I go to a journalism class where my brother, dad, and I all sit in a back room with the door closed, and my dad teaches the class through speakers we set up so the

other students would be able to hear him. We are behind glass even when we are around people. We can see our friends right through the glass, but we can’t be with them. Most days are a struggle for me.

I really don’t like that I have to be away from everyone, but I feel like it’s the right thing to do.

My family and I love to go places. We go on lots of drives together.

But since the virus has hit we haven’t been able to go hardly anywhere. We also love spending time with people, but the virus has also ruined that as well.

We are very careful in making sure that we are safe and protected from this virus. The reason we can’t get out much isn’t just because of the virus itself. Some people just aren’t very careful when it comes to the coronavirus.

Some people think it’s a joke and a hoax.

That really makes it hard for us to get out and do things with others. Some people don’t want to wear masks to protect themselves and others. They just don’t care, and so we have to be even more cautious to make sure we don’t get the virus. So many people just don’t

think the virus is dangerous, and for many it really isn’t.

But for some others like my dad it can be serious, and it can really damage some people severely.

I know it’s not a big deal for most people, and that is why they don’t like to wear masks or be careful and I understand that.

It just makes it so much harder for the people who do have to be careful to do anything at all. That is why my brothers, sister, and I all stay home from school. It’s because some people just aren’t safe to be around.

Student expresses concern regarding remote-learning accommodations high school for the past three years and now it was being ripped out from under my feet.

At the end of July, the district initially decided that there wouldn’t be a remote learning option. After a previous year of involuntary homeschooling, I was ready to go back to school.

I missed my friends and the environment of being at school. by kEnna Cook After a couple weeks of deliberation with feedback When I received the news from parents, the school board that I wouldn’t be able to at- decided to organize a remote tend my freshman year of learning program, and I was highschool, I was heartbroken. excited…for about a millisecI had been looking forward to ond. The following week was

filled with Zoom meetings, emails and stress. After signing up for all my classes I was ready for my first week of school, only to find out I had been kicked out of four classes. After a week of sorting out schedules I was enrolled in 5/8 of them. I had no motivation--I had been thrown out of some of my favorite classes and I wasn’t going to be able to see my friends.

So far the school year has been extremely demanding. On average I spend over 4 hours daily doing schoolwork online - the recommended amount of homework for a healthy teen is

two hours. This is the least of my worries. Many of my teachers have been unresponsive despite my need for additional instruction. I have missed multiple assignments due to being new to Canvas, where most of the assignments and due dates are posted. A majority of my lessons have been given by my dad - a professor at BYU with a PhD in mechanical engineering - and Google.

My stress levels have skyrocke ted since the start of school. I am constantly worried that I have either missed an assignment, misunderstood

the material or forgotten an important meeting. My sleep schedule has always been a little wonky but now it’s essentially collapsed Although I can tell some of the teachers are making an adequate attempt, it seems obvious that the school is able to give a better effort for the remote learners. As far as I can see, the teachers and staff have all the resources they need to reach out to us. Even a small weekly email from each teacher would be a big help. In the end, it’s the small details that really count.

Wishing you all a safe, fun, and fantastic school year

GO HAWKS!

Voice of the North Sanpete Hawks

Features Full Circle

29 September 20 www.NSTimes.org

6

NS welcomes back 5 alumni as teachers, in addition to 2 new teachers. by

Michelle l ee and Sienna herring

The year 2020 is an unusual year in many aspects, including the fact that NS has the most new teachers they have had in twelve years. There are seven new teachers to include within the staff and each brings out something different and unique.

Austin Hadley (right) works with a student. Pictured below are James Swapp (left) and Cheyne Christensen (right). (Photos by Michelle Lee.)

James Swapp

Austin Hadley Austin Hadley is now teaching Math 1, Math 1 Honors, Physics and Intro to Engineering.

The lifestyle of a teacher is what brought Hadley to seek out his career as a teacher. The freedom that teaching allows, gives time to be with family when school is out due to a holiday or school breaks, and family is an important part of Hadley’s life. Both his parents are teachers and therefore, could go to his ball games and had time off when he was off.

“We were always together and I think that’s a pretty good lifestyle,” Hadley said.

Teaching also brings a lot of opportunities for coaching. Hadley played golf, baseball and basketball in his high school career, and wants to continue with the sports as a coach. He is currently helping with boys golf, and in the spring will be coaching baseball. In the future, he is thinking of applying for the girls basketball position.

James Swapp is the new Freshman Academy and learning strategies teacher here at NS. Growing up in Sanpete, Swapp loves the environment and the great community here which is why he chose NS to begin his teaching career and get his foot in the door. Although he loves being back in the school, it is weird to be co-workers with his former teachers.

“It’s kinda weird because they were my teachers growing up,” Swapp said, “so it’s pretty weird to be at meetings with them. I love it, but it’s different.”

Swapp has grown to love working with people, and especially with the youth and kids.

“I actually really love working with

people and children and kids in particular,” Swapp said, ”so I feel like that’s a really pivotal point in a person’s life.”

With his love of sports, Swapp ties it into his lessons which helps to engage the kids in his teaching.

“I enjoy sports so I always wrap those into my lessons,” said Swapp, “so do a lot of the kids so it’s perfect.”

Cheyne Christensen Cheyne Christensen is the new teacher of web development, computer programming, digital business applications, and computer science principles.

NS is where Christensen went through his high school career and his teachers inspired him to be the teacher he is today.

“I loved the teachers I had,” Christensen said. “It’s weird to be in the role that I looked up to when I was in school...They always made me feel great and I hope to be able to return that favor by helping a student feel the way my teachers made me feel.”

See Teachers, page 7

Students, teachers face challenges unique to remote learning by

audrey ingliSh

Many challenges accompany a global pandemic, but providing a fair and accessible education to kids in quarantine is a challenge in and of itself. While most students at NS are being told to mask up and sanitize often, some students are learning from a drastically different perspective.

The majority of NS students have been able to attend school in person while following CDC guidelines, however, some students are unable to come in contact with others due to health conditions or family members with compromised immune systems. Instead of coming in person, they learn remotely.

“It wasn’t really up to me,” said junior Cambree Pehrson, who is taking two classes in person and the rest remotely. “My mom has Cystic Fibrosis, which is a lung disease, and we’re not sure how COVID could affect that, so

we just want to keep her as safe as possible.”

The number of students using the remote option is significantly lower than the administration initially expected: about 18% of parents in the district expressed interest in remote learning before school started, but less than 3% of students chose to take advantage of the option. In addition to this, teachers have watched the number of remote students on their rosters drop over the course of just a few weeks.

“At one time, there were thirteen of them that I had as remote learners, but the numbers keep on getting smaller and smaller,” said math teacher Matt Syme. “I’m down to eight.”

Before the school year started, students had the choice of three educational plans: attending school in person, taking courses on a separate online program, and taking classes remotely from teachers at the high

school. However, some students have been switching back and forth between these options, and teachers worry that they are falling behind.

“I know some people have tried the online [option] for a week and didn’t like it, so they switched to remote learning,” Syme said. “They tried that and they’re switching back and forth. That’s problematic because the longer you’re indecisive, the further and further behind you get.”

The students learning remotely are pre sented with a variety of new challenges as they attempt to learn from home. Among these challenges is that they were dropped from necessary classes that are not offered remotely.

“When I started this year, I had a full schedule,” senior Harrison Cook said. “Right now I think I have five classes, including journalism. I got dropped out of like half of my classes just because they couldn’t offer them online.”

Digital Challenges Communicating with teachers has also proven to be difficult for remote learners at times.

“I don’t have consistent ways to get a hold of my teachers,” Cook said.

“Sometimes the teacher clocks out, and I can’t email them afterward.”

Teachers have dealt with similar challenges. When trying to teach remotely, it can be difficult to find the time to respond to messages and emails, especially considering the extra effort that some have been putting towards Canvas courses and providing instructional materials. Additionally, some teachers have little to no experience in these processes, which can take extra time to figure out.

“I’m using Canvas probably the way it’s supposed to be used,” Syme

See Remote learning, page 8

Features

7

Determined student uses theater to cope with tragedy M ARY JONES When doing something in front of a large group, people often worry that something will go wrong.

When things don’t go as planned, attitude is a deciding factor in how things will end up. A positive attitude is one of the first things people notice about junior and drama club president Emily Wheeler.

“She’s always got a great attitude,” said drama teacher Alex Barlow. “I’m sure she is not always happy, like on the inside, but she doesn’t take it out on other people or she doesn’t bring negativity with her. She always has a positive attitude, and that’s a really good quality. I think people are drawn to that.”

Having a good attitude was particularly important in a drama competition during Wheeler’s freshman year while performing in a play titled “Arkansas Bear.” As Wheeler walked up a ladder on stage to do her part - she played a star that grants wishes for a little girl - she saw she was lit with a red spotlight.

“It probably looked pretty weird, because it’s this super magical and elegant scene, and there’s just this red spotlight,” Wheeler said. “I remember thinking, I was like, ‘Why am I red?’ and then I was like, ‘Uh, I don’t care,’ and then just kept going.”

One of the things that Wheeler sees as being important about drama is that it teaches you more than just how to memorize lines. Drama teaches lessons that are applicable on a day to day basis.

“When stuff goes wrong you just keep going,” Wheeler said. “That’s another great thing about theater, is that it teaches you [that] when stuff goes wrong, you just keep going and moving forward.”

Knowing to just keep going and to move forward when things don’t go as expected is a lesson that is important in real life. In the different roles an actor plays, chances are provided to learn about the characters themselves. They are also given a chance to develop empathy for the character portrayed.

Particularly valuable to Wheeler was being cast as Walt Whitman in “Drum Taps.” Whitman is the witness of a lot of people’s deaths. He finds himself bewildered, watching people BY

Emily Wheeler (right) on stage with Kylee Davis (middle) and drama teacher Alex Barlow (left).

that he has bonded with dying for some reason that is unknown to him.

“When my sister died, I just put everything in a box like you know what, I’m not going to deal with it. I’m going to move on with my life,” Wheeler said.

“The way that I was able to cope with my sisters death was taking all these emotions off this box and putting them into the piece, and I was able to release all of the emotions that I had pent up inside.”

Being in “Drum-Taps” gave Wheeler a use for all of the emotions that she had from her sister’s death.

Being able to use real emotion in her piece made the part more real.

“I was able to actually use all of those emotions in the piece, which made it so much better, ”Wheeler said.

“It was super powerful. Like, when I’m crying on stage it’s not just fake tears, it’s real. It’s real emotions that I’m just taking off a shelf.”

For Wheeler, theater was a means of coping with everything that was going on in her life. She started spending more time in theater, which is something that she loves. Last year, she was co-head costume designer for Tarzan

and the secretary of the drama club.

“Theater was just my coping mechanism,” Wheeler said. “When my sister died, my coping mechanism was, ‘I’m not going to think about it, ’ so I started doing theater more. I just put so much time and effort into theater that I just stopped thinking about all the sad parts of my life. Because I just stopped thinking about everything and put in so much effort, now I’m the president of the drama club and I use theatre to cope. That’s one of my main reasons I do it; it’s a coping mechanism for me.”

Putting in the extra effort to make her part good and more real is one of the reasons she enjoys theater. Since theater is something Wheeler loves, she puts a lot of effort into doing it the best that she is able, and her friends and fellow drama classmates have noticed.

“She’s always been, like, super organized,” said junior Shaylee Wilkey.

“As a secretary she did a really good job, which is why I think she got president this year is just because she’s organized all the time, 24/7, whether she wants to be organized or not.”

Being a junior, Wheeler is the youngest person who has been president of the drama club. For her, be-

photo by Bradley Power

ing president of the drama club means helping others feel happy and like they belong.

“I love it because sometimes when you’re so stuck in your own head and have gone through so much, you just want to make other people feel happy.”

Wheeler said. “So, what’s really rewarding about being president, is that everything I do, I do for the club.”

Focusing on others rather than themselves is what makes a good leader.

Last year while preparing for Tarzan, Wheeler designed and made many of the gorilla costumes for Tarzan. Since this was such a large project, it ended up being quite time consuming. Wheeler and others were working on these costumes every night.

“Every night, she was sewing and putting together those costumes,” Barlow said. “Her and a few other students, but she was right there in the middle of it, she didn’t just tell everyone else what they needed to do, she did a lot of it herself, and then, the other ones followed her example. They wanted to do more too because she was doing more, and so they took on more of creating the costumes as well. So, I think she is a great example of leading by example.”

Teachers, continued from page 6 To go along with his love for teaching, Christensen loves sports and tries to run his class the way he would run a practice.

“Allowing the students to be themselves, to make mistakes,” said Christensen, “but then allowing them to make the adjustments and realize the mistakes they made and figure out how to perform better or do class better.”

Matt Roberts Matt Roberts is the new Weight Training and PE teacher here at NS. He started his

career teaching at Desert Hills High School in St. George, later came to NS and then went back to Desert Hills. He has a Master’s Degree in sports conditioning and performance.

Growing up here in Sanpete, it is great for Roberts and his family to be back home. He grew up with a lot of the staff here at NS and has worked with others previously before transferring back to Desert Hills.

Roberts has always been an active person. He loves to be outdoors, moving, and especially playing sports.

“I really enjoy seeing kids

get the subject material that I teach and to be passionate about it and to want to improve and be better,” Roberts said.

get through high school and I like the challenge,” Briggs said.

Natalie Briggs

Jens Andreasen is now teaching Natural Resources, Beginning and Advanced Welding, Plant and Soil Science, and Agriculture Biology.

Straight from college, Andreasen chose NS to begin his career and enjoys the staff here.

“They haven’t tried to haze me or anything so it’s all good,” said Andreasen.

As Andreasen has looked back to his high school years, he has realized and is very grateful for their ability to help him better himself and wants to return that for the students he teaches.

“They helped me learn things that I use in my life to this day,” said Andreasen, “and I just want to have the chance to return to other kids what I was given in high school.”

Natalie Briggs is the new Learning Strategies and Language Arts Tier 3 teacher at NS. With most high school students, they don’t have much of a desire to learn, which will occasionally create a challenge for teachers. However, Briggs is up for the challenge.

“I like to learn, and I hope that I can influence others to like to learn,” Briggs said.

From teaching before at Provo High School, Briggs has had experience with teaching and with the youth. Although she enjoys interacting with the staff, her main goal is to help students succeed.

“I want to help you guys be successful and

Jens Andreasen

Alex Bailey

Alex Bailey is the new speech and debate teacher along with the facilitator of the online classes. Even though she doesn’t know much about speech and debate, earning her major in English qualifies her to teach the class and provides the opportunity to give her the ability to learn more.

Teaching with her former teachers is, in a way, weird to Bailey with the realization that she has been out of high school that long. However, in other ways, it is still the same.

“I still see them as my mentors and that’s what they’re still doing for me now,” Bailey said.

As a teacher, it is rewarding for Bailey to be able to explain and then watch her students understand and grasp the concept of what she is teaching and being able to see them grow.

“The process of teaching people is all the same, and it’s really rewarding to see people get it and seeing them grow,” Bailey said. “That’s really why

Features Remote learning, continued from page 6 said. “I’m posting all of my assignments on Canvas with the due dates, and I’m creating videos of myself teaching, which is uncomfortable for me to watch. Based on the feedback I’ve gotten, the videos have been good, but that’s something that I didn’t think I was going to be doing, is creating educational videos.”

However, not all teachers are new to the experience of creating instructional videos.

“As far as the online teaching aspect of it, I’m really comfortable with online teaching,” said Sterling Whipple, family and consumer science (FACS) instructor. “I’ve been doing Youtube videos for seven years, teaching financial principles online, so the idea of presenting curriculum content through an internet medium is nothing new to me.”

When it comes to teaching, communication goes both ways. Some teachers have been struggling to get in contact with a few of their students that are learning remotely.

“I have some kids that respond within 24 hours every single time, and I have kids that I still haven’t heard from about the first email that I sent out during the first week of school,” Whipple said.

A student’s remote learning experience varies largely across each class, depending on who the teacher is and how they feel about the process of teaching remotely.

“With a few of [my teachers], you can tell that they’re putting in a lot of effort to make sure that we keep up with the class,” said freshman Kenna Cook.

“One of my teachers even emailed me and said, ‘I want to make sure that you’re doing the same amount of work,’ but other teachers will say, ‘We’re going to have a zoom meeting on this day, but you don’t have to come.’”

One of the biggest differences Harrison Cook has observed between remote and in-person learning is that he typically figures out how to do assignments on his own, without as much instruction from teachers.

“There’s a lot less instruction happening, as far as I can tell, for people online,” Cook said. “We’re mostly teaching ourselves. We get assignments, and then we go and do the research that we need to, and then we do it ourselves.”

However, both students and teachers agree that the lack of interaction and discussion with students at home is extremely difficult.

“A lot of the things that are helpful to teach a kid are discussions with the class,” said Paul Allred, art teacher. “A kid can say, ‘I don’t understand this,’ and sometimes another kid has the same problem, but they’re not willing

to say it. And sometimes they’ll bring up a good point that you never thought of as a teacher, and we all learn from it. I think the kids that are doing remote learning don’t get that feedback off of peers, which I think is vital too.”

Different subjects deal with unique obstacles when it comes to teaching remotely.

“The teaching in mathematics doesn’t happen when I’m up there presenting my information,” Syme said.

“The teaching happens when the kids start working in the math and I can see what they’re doing and I can fix their problems and I can guide them as they’re working on the math.

That’s where the real teaching happens. I just can’t do that with remote learners.”

Whipple, on the other hand, has found himself at a slight advantage compared to some of the other teachers at NS, due to the content of his course.

“A lot of what I teach is conceptual, and a lot of those principles can be discerned through a screen,” Whipple said. “Unlike art, where it has to be something done by hand, or unlike sewing, or foods, where you have to actually construct something, a kid can understand what a zero-based budget is without needing to be here.”

Some remote learners have also noticed that their course workloads have been lighter than expected.

“So far there has been a lot less homework,” said Kenna Cook. “In one of my classes, I’ve only had like one assignment since school started.”

Teacher Concerns Considering how drastically the workload differs between remote and in-person students, teachers are concerned that some students are taking advantage of remote learning as a way to make money when they would otherwise be learning in class.

“I understand that three of my remote learners are working during the day,” Syme said. “So they’re using this remote learning as an opportunity for them to make money when otherwise they would have to be in school.

That’s almost a slap in the face to what the remote learning is supposed to be. It’s supposed to keep students and their families protected from this COVID-19, but I’ve got these three students that are working in the workforce instead of being in school.”

Teachers like Syme have struggled to keep assignments uniform between in-person and remote stu dents. They have found that in-class activities can be difficult to translate through an online medium. However,

8

photo by Harrison Cook

Freshman Kenna Cook, remote learner, works on her assignments from home.

Whipple has found success in keeping student work consistent.

“I do keep the practice work uniform,” Whipple said. “It’s part of just trying to be fair to everybody. I don’t differentiate the instruction hardly at all between the at-home and the inclass kids.”

The Debate Initially, the district didn’t plan to offer remote learning as an option to students. However, parents expressed concern about the available options and over 90% of teachers in the district voted to make remote learning available to students. Even now, teachers’ opinions vary on whether offering a remote learning option is worth the struggles and extra effort. Some teachers sympathize with students in their discomfort or inability to attend school.

“I’d say it’s worth it,” Whipple said. “Giving kids and/or parents the opportunity to say, ‘This is a global pandemic, I don’t want my child to be in the middle of this,’ I think that is a good thing. I’m for it, and one of my classes only has one at-home student.

I am totally fine with that. I am totally fine to accommodate him or her because I also feel not totally comfortable about being here in the middle of a pandemic. So if you have the option to continue your education at home in a safe space - especially if you or you have family members who are highrisk - absolutely, I am totally in support of that.”

Allred feels similarly, highlighting that making sure kids can learn is important, despite the physical limitations that accompany remote learning.

“If you’re helping a kid understand or learn, I think that’s the most important thing to view, regardless of whether they’re in class or whether it’s remote-learning,” Allred said.

“I think if we understand that, then

we’re helping kids be educated.”

Other teachers feel the effects of the challenges, and based on the flaws of the remote learning system itself, do not feel that the administration should have offered it.

“I do wish that we would have not done it,” Syme said. “I was hoping it would turn out to be something different, I was hoping that the kids that chose remote learning were going to take it seriously, were going to stick with it, but a lot of them just haven’t. They’re using it the completely wrong way. A lot of them are using it as an excuse to not do work. It hasn’t worked out the way I hoped it would have.”

Remote learning presents both students and teachers with unique struggles, however, Cook feels it is important to acknowledge that teachers are trying their best to accommodate students with the limitation of learning from home.

“You have to realize that there was a lot of pressure on the administration to open schools,” Cook said. “From parents that don’t believe COVID is a threat, and from the government. So there are all these other factors that make it really hard for the administration and the teachers because it’s not just up to them. They’re doing their best, so you do have to be fair. It’s not ideal, and maybe they could figure out a way to do it better, but they are trying.”

And despite the struggles, the remote learning experience has brought about new resources and skills that teachers will use in the future of their careers.

“I sympathize with students more now; I guess I’m a little bit kinder, a little bit more understanding,” Syme said. “And I picked up some tricks that I think will help all of my students. Once I put together my canvas courses, they’re going to be really good courses that I can use from here on out.”

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Features

9

Students find ways to cope with high stress levels a thena d e g roff “My pulse starts to quicken. My lungs begin to strain. I’m drowning. It’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay, it’s NOT okay.”

This is how Ella Roberts, a sophomore at Rock Springs high school, describes her experiences and feelings with stress.

Stress can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. For some, it may cause exhaustion while others may experience panic. During the current coronavirus situation, these feelings are even more prevalent.

“I think anxiety or stress-related problems are on the rise,” said Heather Allred, counselor at NS. “People are more isolated and things are uncertain, and then you have the worry of getting sick or giving it to other people so I think that [stress] is definitely higher than it was February of last year.”

The cause of stress differs from person to person. For Siri Huntington, a senior at NS, she finds it hard to balance school, sports, and time with family and friends.

“I just feel like I have a lot to do and never really time to do it,” Huntington said. “I also don’t want to work all of the time, I want to have some fun times too.”

Kaje Nielsen, a senior at NS, finds that sometimes his stress is caused by the feeling that things need to be completed soon after they are assigned, which he calls “reverse procrastination.”

“I’ve always been raised with my mom saying ‘work before play,’ and that’s so ingrained in my mind that I can’t even have fun if I know in the back of my head that something needs to be done,” Nielsen said.

Stress is not limited to what high school you attend or how many responsibilities you have.

For Roberts, who attends high school in Wyoming, stress is something that affects her life daily.

A moderate amount of stress can be healthy and work as a motivator to help get things done. However, It can have the opposite effect and negatively impact your routine.

“Freaking out, thinking of the absolute worst possible thing that could happen, crying, not being able to sleep, or being extremely tired,” Roberts said. by

“Trying to run, not physically, but sometimes I feel like I need to run away from my problems, and I attempt to but it never works.”

Roberts has found that others’ reactions to her stress only make matters worse.

“They kind of just tell me to get a hold of things,” Roberts said. “And I’ve found that doesn’t really help and usually leads to more stress.”

Instead of telling people what they should be doing, Roberts recommends taking time to listen, and to also be supportive and helpful.

Each individual has a different reaction to stress, and most people have both negative and positive coping methods. Along with debating with others on Facebook and stress eating, Nielsen finds himself drinking plenty of water on stressful days.

“I’ve probably drunk like a gallon and a half of water every day, maybe two gallons on the most stressful days,” Nielsen said. “I don’t know if that helps anything, but when I’m stressed I just sit and guzzle.”

Stress comes in many different forms, as well as levels of severity. No matter what someone’s situation is, or how bad their stress is, there photo by: Bradley Power are ways to cope with stress and decrease its neg- Michelle Lee sits surrounded by notes and ative effects. homework.

For Huntington, it helps to take a step back and assess what needs to be done. Putting things ture, but also don’t be afraid to just have a good in perspective helps her realize exactly what she time and enjoy your life.” should do.

Many people can figure out coping tech“For me, it helps a lot if I write down what I niques such as doing an activity they enjoy, makneed to do,” Huntington said. “It keeps me orgaing helpful lists, or drinking extra water. Howevnized and keeps me calmer.” er, if stress is overwhelming and coping becomes Roberts finds that forgetting about her redifficult, it is important to seek out help. sponsibilities for a while helps her cope with “It grows and gets bigger, and then you can’t stress. Whether it is listening to music, hiking, or sleep and you can’t eat and it starts to kind of spending time with family and friends. impact your functioning,” Allred said. “So your “I like to listen to music a lot,” Roberts said. thoughts are scrambled and your body feels bad, “It helps me cope with my stress. Also just deand so you kind of start to avoid everything.” ciding to step back for a moment and not care As a professional counselor here in our about my responsibilities and just live in the moschool, Allred knows strategies for helping peoment.” ple handle their stress. She recommends starting Nielsen also realizes the importance of takwith slowing your breathing down and focusing ing time to enjoy life, instead of only focusing on on the present to reduce and manage stress. responsibilities.

“If you can identify your thoughts, then you “I feel like a lot of people in high school can do something about them,” Allred said. “So don’t realize that they’re in the middle of life you start to take control instead of your mind right now,” Nielsen said. “So prepare for the fu and body controlling you.”

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Voice of the North Sanpete Hawks

Sports

29 September 20 www.NSTimes.org

10

Hawks on pace for record-setting year

photo by Kaylee Anderson

Senior Trevin Morley runs past defenders in a recent home game. Morley, who was injured in the homecoming game, will miss the remainder of the season.

By Siri Huntington The NS Football team is breaking records. This is only the second time in 18 years where they have started out with a record of 6-0. But what is so impressive about this is, is how they are winning these games.

They are currently averaging over 45 points a game which is unprecedented in NS’s history at this point. And not only are they doing this but they are doing it with an impressive passing game. They attribute their success to intense preparation.

“It helps with offense knowing that the kids know exactly what they have. It builds confidence in me calling the plays and them knowing the plays when they are out there on the field,” said head coach Rhett Bird.

A great passing attack doesn’t happen just by preparation. In order to have a great passing attack, they also need to be able to trust their quarterback to hit the right guy.

“If you don’t trust your quarterback there is really no point in playing,” said senior Magnus Clawson. “He’s like the center of the team and everyone rides off of him, so you’ve got to trust him.”

Bowles is currently tied for 2nd in the state in all classifications for passing touchdowns with 27, just one behind the leader. He is averaging 4.5 passing touchdowns a game.

Another reason the quarterback is so central is that he touches the ball every single play, and he makes decisions about who gets the ball.

“If you don’t trust him, then it breaks the whole team down because that’s who you

rely on because he touches the ball every single play,” said senior Brady Jacobson. “If you don’t trust in someone that does that then your team is not going to be very good.”

The NS football team is also able to put so many points on the board because of the work the players did in the offseason.

“Our guys have put in hours and hours getting in extra work outside of coming to the high school and working out with the team,” said Bird.

“They’ve hired personal trainers and gone up north to try and get better at their skill set.”

One of these players is senior captain, Brady Jacobson.

“It seems like he has more burst, more speed and he’s one that was going up north and getting a lot of training outside of what we were doing here,”

said Bird.

Another player that was doing this was senior captain, Cole Mickel.

“Cole Mickel went from tackle to playing tight end, but we didn’t know how he was going to do there,” said Bird.

“He was another one going up north and getting extra training and putting in extra work.”

Coach Bird has loved seeing the team put in the extra work, especially because it means that it gives them more versatility on what they can do offensively.

“We haven’t asked them to do that but it’s exciting to see the kids buy in and know that they need to put in the work to be successful,” said Bird.

This work has paid off as one of our tight ends and one wide receiver are both tied for 3rd in all classifications for most touchdown receptions.

A lot of the motivation to put in the extra work has come from wanting to go all the way. “[I] just want to win a state championship. [I] just want to get over the hump that

the boy’s sports have had in this school,” said quarterback Landon Bowles. “I want to go win one.”

But Bowles isn’t the only one with this drive.

“It’s always been really important for me to try and win a state championship in this school,” said Clawson. “I’ve always thought about it when I was a kid. It wasn’t ‘if I won,’ it was always ‘when I won’.”

In order to be able to do this the team needs to take the season week by week, game by game, just preparing for each as they come. A lot of the time this looks like watching film on the opposing team.

“I set it to where I only see pass plays and I’ll go through every pass play and see what different receivers do, how they run if the balls coming to them or if they change up their stance, like if they change how they do their gloves if the ball is coming to them,” said Jacobson. “I try to pick up on little things that they do and then I watch the lineman to see if they give away anything. Some lineman will stand up in their

by Kaylee Anderson

Several Hawk defenders pile on a Rabbit running back during the homecoming game. The Hawk defense held Delta to 21 points in a close win.

Volleyball piles up region wins, moves up in RPI

By CarSon Hadley Coming into this season, the NS volleyball team was unsure how the year would go, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, almost halfway through the season, they hope that they can carry the momentum from their recent successes.

“I think the expectations are the same every year--we put our best team on the floor that we can,” said head coach Rickie Stewart.

With four starters along with several other seasoned varsity players returning this year, the team is expected to compete in both region and state play.

Though pre-season and tournament play started off a little rocky, the Hawks have found their groove and are able to play better as a team.

“Early on we had our struggles, but…we’re starting to now have six rotation players,” Stewart said.

Currently they are 5-1 in region play, with seven region games left to play before the state tournament.

NS has won their most recent games against Maeser Prep and ALA in only three sets.

The Hawks stiffest competition this year is expected to come from within their own region from defending state champions Union High School.

NS’s recent game against Union went into five sets, with Union winning the first two 26-24 and 25-16. The Hawks took the next two sets 31-29 and 28-26, but fell behind in the fifth and lost 6-15.

Still, NS is proud of how they competed against the defending state champions.

“At Union we competed and hung in there and played gritty the entire time,” Stewart said. “Not everyone played great, but they were tough enough that Union had to.”

Union is currently ranked number one in the state RPI, closely followed

by Morgan and Grand. NS is ranked number seven.

“The goal is always to compete,” Stewart said. “RPI is obviously a big deal, so we want to be top four in the RPI by the end of the season. [On] Friday, we were sitting at fifth [in RPI], then over the weekend we dropped to eighth without playing, and we’ll just keep moving up with wins, especially in our region.”

To prepare for the upcoming

photo by Audrey Inglish

Lady Hawks celebrate a point during a recent home victory. The team has been improving as the season progresses.

games, the team has put in a lot of time, both on and off the court.

“We train really hard and make sure that we are developing skills and developing good people,” Stewart said.

“We don’t ever want to be outworked by anybody.”

This year, NS has practiced in certain areas in order to become a more well-rounded team.

“We just train, and we train specific skills,” Stewart said. “This year

our focus has really been on creating volleyball players instead of just [being] skilled in positions.”

One player who has worked hard in both practice and competition is senior Graciee Christiansen.

“Graciee is a game changer for us because she’s on the right hand side and not a lot of [teams] have offense on the right like we do,” Stewart said.

See Volleyball, page 12

Sports

11

New runners add depth to girls cross country

photo provided by Bill Bedford

Lady cross country runners pose with their trophy from the Timponogos invitionational. Both teams are poised to do well in 3A.

By JoSHua Cox The morning echoes with the

sound of a gunshot. Then they start, running up the hills and valleys as they will until the end.

“The race we had last week was Soldier Hollow, and I wanted to die,” said senior cross country runner Jared Strait, “ It was honestly the worst course I’ve ever ran.”

The whole NS cross country team ran it too, they trained hard, but it wasn’t what they expected at all.

“As we all know, it can be brutally tough with the hills,” said coach Bill Bedford, “We are trying to train specifically for that venue by adding hill work into the mix.”

The cross country team has had some interesting developments this year.

“We gained a bunch of girls this year,” said cross country runner Aubry Cook. “There used to be only a few, with more boys than girls. This year it’s the opposite.”

There are a total of 12 girls and 7 boys. The reason for this difference?

Not gains by the girls; no, the reason was losses of the boys team.

The boys team lost six seniors, and six other runners. A total of twelve losses for the boys team, including a small gain for the girls team.

The girls are set to do well this year.

“They won the pre-region meet without our top runner and have not lost to a 3A school to date,” Bedford said.“I predict they will go first or second at State. They work very hard and have great focus, all the makings for a successful cross country team.”

Another factor besides just numbers contributes to the team’s success.

Mari Briggs, a freshman, has emerged as the top runner.

“She is insane. Like, I mean, in-

sane,” Strait said, “She beat everyone, just absolutely swept the floor. She is on a whole other level.”

Besides just beating everyone on her own team, she has also taken first in one race, along with a third in the Timpanogos race, which are all 3A-5A races.

Despite challenging situations, the boys team is also doing well, with the top five varsity running sub nineteen minutes. There are some challenges they will have to overcome because three of the seven runners are new.

Although the new runners, (Tezra Fisk, Jerry Jones, and Thayne Smith), have proven themselves capable of running well, there are other challenges presented with new people on the team.

Becoming a team, unified together.

“We learn to encourage each other on the team. With new people on the team, they always start out shy,” said Strait, “but throughout the season, our team has really grown together, and we’ve learned to push each other forward. That’s what every team needs, unity.”

To make this season even weirder, there are complications with the coronavirus.

“We have seen some very fun events cancelled due to coronavirus and also seen our invitationals make adjustments to accommodate the recommendations to keep the events safe,” said Bedford, “But these are not a big deal as long as we can still train, race, have fun and compete.”

Tennis team battles up and down season, finishes stong in region

By JeSSiCa BlaCkHam As the girls’ tennis season slowly comes to a close, NS reflects on the success they’ve seen both on and off the courts.

In this year’s season, the team has won several meets. They have beaten schools such as Millard, Delta, and Gunnison.

With region tennis fast approaching, the team is focused on preparation.

The team credits their positive attitude and strong work ethic as the key to all of their success. They understand that without it they don’t play as well.

“Winning is important, that’s our job to help

kids be the best they can be,” assistant coach Cynthia Bedford said, “but it’s not the only thing.”

Bedford, along with the head coach Matt Braithwaite, want the girls to establish a love and respect for the game.

Part of their coaching philosophy teaches the girls to be the best version of themselves in life and as tennis players.

Bedford and Braithwaite strongly believe in the power of positivity. As coaches they focus on this often and the girls understand its importance. The team environment truly reflects how much they value this idea.

photo by Jessica Blackham

Brittany Rasmussen prepares for her partner’s serve in a recent home match.

“I know it’s easy to kind of get frustrated,” senior Morgan Drew said. “You don’t want to go to practice some days because life’s just busy and it’s hard, but if I bring positive energy every day, then I hope that it reflects off of me onto [the younger girls] so that they can be positive and want to go to practice every day and want to better themselves.”

Drew is a varsity player and has played for the high school team photo by Audrey Inglish since her freshman year.

With lots of experience, Senior Kaylee Anderson serves in a match. Anderson was one of six tennis Drew understands how players who qualified for the state tournament this coming weekend. much work it takes and Bedford truly loves itivity, hard work, and ed to join the team. how hard it can be. How- the girls and she’s so the support of one an“The coaches are ever, in the end she real- grateful for their strong other. The main goal of really good at helping izes that it’s worth it. leadership on the team. the team is to try your you along the way, even This year the team The seniors help pick out best and to improve. The if you’ve just started,” has six seniors. Along uniforms and they make Benson sisters are a great said Natalya Benson. “All with the coaches, Drew announcements to the example of this energy. of the girls are so invitand her fellow seniors girls. This helps them to Junior Natalya Ben- ing, everyone is there to automatically become create a sense of unity on son and her sister Abri help you get better.” leaders on the team. the team, and it makes Benson, who is a freshBedford loves each They strive to set an ex- them stronger as a whole. man, are new to the team and everyone of the girls. ample for the younger Support is another this year. They quickly She loves to watch them girls. key part of the team’s picked up the team’s win, but she more impor“They’re out here success on the tennis goals and focus. The two tantly loves to see them right at 3 o’clock ev- court. The girls have play doubles together on grow closer together and ery day,” Bedford said. learned that supporting Varsity. They’ve learned be happy. The team un“They’re not here one your teammates helps to a ton and have improved derstands that without minute after, they’re create that positive team so much throughout the their support of one anthere at three. They’ve environment and by season. other, their hard work, got those kids running. bonding with each other, The Benson sisters and positivity attitudes We go through a rou- it brings love and support are grateful for the se- they wouldn’t be where tine with them once, that helps them do their niors and coaches who they are today. The girls they pick up on it, they best on the court. provide such a great ex- tennis team is a great exchange. They may add The coaches and ample and support them ample for all of NS. a few things but they are the seniors strive every no matter what. They’re on top of it. Every kid of day to encourage pos- both so glad they decidthe team respects them.”

Sports

12

Girls soccer team fights through challenges to season

By Hope SHelley It was 37 degrees, with girls cheering in blankets from the sidelines, but they didn’t just walk away with frozen fingers. They walked away with a win from an impossible score in overtime.

“It was freezing,” said Aspen Clayton, a team captain.

“We won in overtime barely, but it was super cold.”

The girl’s soccer team has made improvements this year, and despite a challenging season, they feel good about the growth they’ve experienced.

“In a technical sense, they’ve completely changed to a whole other team,” said head coach Julio Tapia. “They have held their formations a lot better and worked together as a team, especially against very tough opponents.”

This year the team has a new coach who has helped them more in many ways. He

boys for a long, long time, and coming back and coaching the girls has been challenging. It’s different. I really enjoy it.”

Tapia is observant and knows how to improve his team and his players as individuals.

“He is really good at understanding everyone’s point of view and knows where you’re at in your head,” said sophomore Lydia Ence. “If you’re having a bad day he can tell, and he can talk you out of it and help you. It’s really nice.”

Even when they are in the middle of playing games he helps them learn what soccer is about and why they are there.

“He always tells me to ‘get out of your own head’ and ‘just play soccer’ and so he just helps me to be able to get back in there and be better,” said Clayton.

Tapia doesn’t expect

photo by Jessica Blackham

Freshman Sarah Church dribbles down the field in a recent

has played and coached before, so he knows the processes.

“I’m a new old coach,” said Tapia. “I coached the

them to be perfect but he knows what they are capable of. This year he has set a goal for the team to make it to state.

photo by NS Times

Senior Aspen Clayton fights off a Manti defender last week. The soccer team has fought through a tough region schedule. State playoffs will be in two weeks.

At the moment their record is 5-7 and he seems very confident that they will make it to state and achieve their goal.

“My one and only goal was from the very start, and still is, to go all the way to the finals at state,” said Tapia. “It never was to reach anything big in region, but I feel like this team has the capability of being state champions.”

A lot of their team is made up of freshmen. They are very good players and know how to work together.

The highest scorer on the team is a freshman, Adelay Stavros, with six goals.

“I feel like I’ve worked hard to be here and be in varsity but it’s been really fun,” said Stavros. “It’s definitely hard though because there are a lot bigger girls than you so

you get pushed around.”

On their team, they have key players who help and guide the team, including the team captains. The team captains have scored a lot of goals for their team; Aspen Clayton has made the second-most on the team with five goals and Siri Huntington has the third most with four goals.

“I want to be a friend to everybody and be that person that they can lean on if they are struggling, with something with soccer or outside of soccer with school, friends, or anything, just being that person for them to talk to,” said Clayton.

The goalie, Eryn Briggs, has also been a crucial part of the team. Briggs has stopped 186 goals this season.

“I have to have faith that

I can do it and be confident knowing everyone is watching me,” Briggs said.

Their last game was against Manti where they took a loss with a score of 0-4. Although it was difficult, they will keep striving to do better and win next time.

Though they have had so much improvement from last year and will continue to get better, the team would love more support.

“I would like [for] more people to come out and support us, get a bigger crowd, and get more cheers coming,” said Tapia. “Especially if we make it to state, I would like to see a very big group support.”

If they make it to state the season will end on Oct. 24 – the state finals.

Young, inexperienced golf team draws strength from friendships

By Cael Howard As the snow was drifting down, the NS golf team was playing at Skyline golf course on Sept. 9. Though the cold weather was challenging their focus, they stayed on course and finished the game strong. They ended in fourth place, their best game of the season.

“We’ve only had one cold weather day, and that was our best round as a team,” said Coach Bill Pollock.

Besides the weather, the golf team has been faced with other challenges. With a lot of older students on the team, juggling work and practice can be a challenge. Time management

is often a challenge for high school students.

“It’s harder when the older kids have work,” said junior Kaysen Smith.

Another difficulty that the golfers face is that most play other sports or are involved in other clubs, which makes it challenging for them to practice golf out of season. Many go straight from the golf season into their swim or basketball season and after that to tennis, soccer, or track. Even if they didn’t participate in the swim team or basketball, who’s going to be playing golf in the middle of winter with two feet of snow?

“It’s a sport you have to play a lot out of season,” said Pollock.

The golf team has a lot of challenges, but they also have strengths that make these challenges seem small in comparison. They are a very unified team and get along well. They are supportive and very encouraging towards each other.

“Our strength is knowing each other a lot, being there for each other, and encouraging others,” said sophomore Cooper Christensen.

This year’s team is diverse. They have many different skill sets which allows them to learn from each other’s strengths and get better overall. With around twenty players, a lot can be learned from each individual.

“Their strengths are so different,

Volleyball, continued from page 10 Christiansen plays outside or right side hitter.

“She’s playing all the way around; she’s a good leader, good server,” Stewart said.

“So she’s really come along as being one that’s hard to stop.”

Christiansen says that the time in practice to work on specific skills has really helped both her and the team prepare for upcoming games.

“So we work on different skills every time we play, so it just depends on the game and who we’re playing,” Christiansen said.

And the work they put in

in practice is paying off as they get further into the season and continue to play better.

“We definitely haven’t hit our peak yet, but we’re on our way for sure,” Christiansen said.

Junior Mekai Laupapa, another hitter on the team, says that they have worked on more than just playing volleyball.

“Attitudes, and our energy is a lot better on the court-we’re a lot more happy,” Laupapa said. “We just play a lot harder all the way around.”

With all the work they

have put in, the team hopes that they will be able to win some more games and move up in the state RPI standings.

“Fifth place and up is probably where we should be,” Laupapa said.

But regardless of where they rank in RPI, the team hopes that they will still be able to compete in the state tournament.

“Wherever we land, we land,” Stewart said. “We have to win them all anyway to take state, and that’s always the goal, to be competitive at the state tournament.”

all of them,” Pollock said. “Every kid’s individual strengths are different, so maybe that is our strength.”

The golf team hasn’t won much this year. They’ve been in last place or close to it almost every game. The team they’ve been the closest to in scores is ALA. They either beat ALA or they lose to ALA by a few strokes.

There are about 20 people on the golf team but they can only have about 7 people at a tournament, so they usually end up leaving around 13 people home.

“We’ve been close to ALA in scores every time,” said Pollock.

Sports

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Arts

29 September 20 www.nstimes.org

14

Band and drama adapt to new circumstances Michael larsen

nect with their classmates.”

These practices were put NS has gone to great mea- to the test as students audisures to keep students safe, but tioned and prepared for their no other classes have had to annual Shakespeare competichange more than the drama tion. But this year will be unand music classes. like any before. Students will You wouldn’t think that not be able to attend in person such a close contact such as the and will have to perform their drama classes would be able to rounds without a crowd. continue after the coronavirus “Shakespeare is incredibly struck, but NS drama teacher, different,” Barlow said. “NorAlex Barlow, is trying all he mally, [for] Shakespeare we can to keep everyone safe, and go down to SUU and there’s keep his classes up and run- 3,000 students there, and we ning. get to see shows and partic “There definitely is go- ipate in workshops then do ing to be some challenges,” all the rounds, and obviously said Barlow. “They find that they’re not doing that this year, singing is [one of the most], so it’s all virtual, it’s all digital. if not the most contagious ac- So we have to record our piectivity you can do with covid. es and send them in and we If someone has covid, and don’t go, so right now we’re they’re singing really loud, working on that.” with a choir or something like But drama competitions that, they can spread it really were not the only upcoming easily.” event to be considerably alDrama students now have tered. Many seem to wonder to attend their classes wearing how the theater will be able to masks, and need to participate execute the anticipated musiall while maintaining social cal, “Beauty and the Beast,” distancing. Group projects but the musical has been have been restricted and stu- pushed back to near the begindents have been doing more ning of April as a result of the and more individual work, but coronavirus. this seems to be taking its toll “The ideal thing with the on inexperienced students. musical is to do the full in per“With newer students, son performance, which is why freshman students, or just new we’re pushing it back,” Barlow students that I have in gener- said. al, it’s taking more time,” BarAlong with the musical below said, “and it’s harder to ing pushed to second semester, connect with them, being so as of now, it will be expected to distant from them, and with be done virtually if necessary. their masks, but I think that it’s [also] a little bit harder to con“If you have a live perforby

mance, and you get a covid

classes here at NS.

Photo By Emily Wheeler stay together.

outbreak right before your show’s about to open, which has happened in some places in the state, you’re just toast,” Barlow said. “You’d have to shut down the show, you’d lose all the money you made and wouldn’t get it back, and that is why I’m leaning so heavily towards doing recordings this way.”

But Barlow and his students are still excited for the new possibilities and experiences that are to come.

In the same effect, several changes have been put into place regarding the music

“We’re doing our best to minimize any risk by keeping our masks on until everyone is ready to play,” said music teacher Tim Kidder.

“We’re also limiting the amount of time during each class that we play by incorporating other activities like listening or solo pass-offs.”

Incorporating these protective measures will decrease the risk of passing on the virus, but has made a noticeable impact on class productivity.

Kidder has found that when the class is social distancing, it seems harder for the group to

“We’re starting to settle into our new routines,” Kidder said, “but we’re trying to work towards a smoother process that will maximize efficiency.”

But even with all of these newfound complications, students are making the best of it.

“The willingness of my students to work together has always been amazing,” said Kidder, “and I’m not surprised that they’ve stepped up to this new challenge.”

Drama incorporates face coverings in unique performance to be shown for Shakespeare competition.

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Arts

15

Innsanity prepares to open despite pandemic Maren bench

thought a motel would be pretty cool, and that’s kind of how it all became.”

Screams, laughter, and a chainsaw Once they figured out the theme added to the symphony of noise echo- for the haunt, the next step was to figing through the October night. ure out how to build it. Using old storThe InnSanity, created by Parker age containers and journeying to thrift and Amber Mcfarlane, is located at stores to find props and set pieces, The Sunderland farms in Chester, Utah, is InnSanity slowly but surely came into back for another year. With new addi- existence. tions to the haunt, they are excited to “Parker helped build the Haunted offer you an even more thrilling expe- Hollow in Ogden, Utah,” said Amber rience that will be sure to give you the Mcfarlane, an alumna of NS, Parker’s scare of a lifetime. wife and co-owner of the InnSanity.

“I’ve been in the haunted indus“He helped build the Strangling try nineteen years,” said Parker Mc- Brothers Haunted Circus in American farlane, co-owner of the InnSanity. Fork. He also worked at the Haunted “Having my own haunt is something Forest.”

I’ve dreamt about ever since I started Having worked in and built mulin the haunted industry.” tiple haunts, Mcfarlane was able to The dream of having and running figure everything out and get the ball their own haunt had been floating rolling. The next challenge that awaitaround in the Mcfarlanes’ heads for ed them was finding a cast to bring all a while, but they hadn’t settled on a the characters to life. theme yet.

“Normally the biggest challenge “It’s kind of been brewing for was getting a good cast together,” said eighteen, nineteen years,” Mcfarlane Mcfarlane. “I don’t know how it hapsaid.

“This was originally pened, but we had the best cast last going to be a haunted farm, [but] as year.” we were brainstorming together, we By word of mouth and social methought we needed a better theme. dia, the Mcfarlanes’ were able to put There’s a lot of farms out here so we together a cast that consisted of NS by

drama students, old colleagues and their family members.

“It’s really good for my first job to work with somebody that I know and their really good employers,” said Ava Sunderland, Amber and Parker’s niece. “It was fun and it was a really good work environment. We all knew what we were doing. They had clear work schedules and clear expectations.”

Despite the challenges that this year brings, the Mcfarlanes have decided to open up the haunt again this year.

“We were really debating whether or not we could open up until probably about two and a half months ago when we finally made the decision, ok we’re opening,” said Mcfarlane.

“We’ve expanded, we’ve added new rooms, we added new props, we added a little hay maze at the end.

My goal this year is to provide the public with something where they can just forget about Covid-19 and come out and have a good time, still be safe and still be clean, and just have a good time.”

With the InnSanity reopening this year, the Mcfarlanes are facing anoth-

er problem, getting the word out.

“Getting the word out has probably been the most challenging,” said Mcfarlane. “We’ve got two things working against us: one, we’re kind of in a rural area, and two, our location isn’t really easy to find. I really think the biggest challenge for us is making sure people know we are here.”

One of the ways the Mcfarlanes are combating this challenge is through word of mouth and social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook.

“Social media of course is probably the biggest pull that we had. Most of it was word of mouth and social media,” said Mcfarlane.

The Mcfarlanes are eagerly awaiting the reopening of the InnSanity, October 2nd, and giving the public a place where they can enjoy themselves and escape the worries of the world.

“Last year I spent most of my time just at the exit and walking through,” said Mcfarlane. “Hearing the people scream and come running out of the haunt laughing and screaming and then they can’t stop talking about it, that’s what it’s all about, right there.”

Art classes presented with unique challenges after shut down Phaedra laMb

ics class. Juab, Manti, and Gunnison were all in the exact same boat.

Olsen didn’t quite do the same thing as Allred Teaching hands-on classes is hard enough as is, and it just got so much harder last semester when when it came to supplies.

“You can’t exactly check out some of the equipart and woodshop classes were forced to close their ment we have,” Olsen said. “We went to the textdoors because of precautions related to COVID-19.

“It’s really hard trying to teach woodshop on- books. It was bookwork; I had to give them someline,” said Brandon Olsen, shop teacher at NS. thing.”

Most students were forced to set aside their “There’s no online program that can replace the projects while at home because they didn’t have achands-on component.”

It’s even harder when the correct materials ha- cess to the proper equipment.

“It wasn’t as much fun,” said senior Rance ven’t arrived. Paul Allred, NS art teacher, experiChristensen. “We couldn’t finish our projects.” enced this first hand last semester.

“The clay was the nightmare part,” said Allred. However, not finishing the project last semester “The bad thing was when they shut down, the clay didn’t stop all students. “[Shutting down] gave a lot of other students a company in California--they couldn’t get the clay” lot of drive,” said Christensen, “Me, I love the class.

Eventually the clay arrived, but until then...

I always try to do my best.”

“I had to use the old clay,” Allred said.

Allred did this by shaping and working with the clay While it was difficult shutting down the classfor hours just to get it to a sufficient consistency for rooms, there are a few perks that came with going online. his students.

“I got to teach in my pajamas every day,” said “It’s always worth it if a kid can learn,” Allred Auralee Brooks, NS sewing and foods teacher. said.

While Brooks was loving the pajama look, Olsen Then he spent seven days, two hours per package, and 14 hours by the bus just to hand out sup- took the time to reflect on how he teaches.

“It gave me a moment to reevaluate the way I go plies. about teaching,” Olsen said. “It’s a balance, a little NS wasn’t the only school with a clayless ceramby

this way, a little that way.”

Olsen wasn’t the only one to reflect, so did Allred. He even went as far to question if he should change some of the ways he teaches.

“It really made me focus on what the kid needed to know,” Allred said. “Even now I think, ‘Should I change some of the ways I teach?’”

Some teachers were forced to change their ways, and Olsen saw this as a good thing.

“If we can look at the shut-down with anything positive, it was that it forced a lot of teachers including myself to incorporate Canvas,” Olsen said.

Canvas is an online tool used in and out of classrooms that focus on using online assignments.

If the school ends up shutting down again, Olsen hopes it’s only for a two week time, and he is still prepared.

“I’m more prepared to be more effective,” said Olsen.

Brooks also might make a few minor changes.

Last semester was rough because due dates were all over the place.

“I would also strictly enforce due dates,” said Brooks. “[Last semester] for the longest time I didn’t have any grading, and all the sudden my grading was there.”

Arts

16

FRUITS

by Michael Larsen

Heard in the

Halls -“I found some candy in my brother’s shoe.”

-“We just can’t keep the frick’n chik’n.”

-“Is Christina Perri a leprachaun?”

-“I’m not an eavesdropper, I’m just a good listener.”

-”I swear I’m not intoxicated, I’m just bad at driving drones.”

-“We won’t get in trouble for a bloody rabbit!”

-”I have four older brothers and I’m still not a serial killer.”

ACROSS 2. This plant has a variety of uses, from commercial animal feed, to the creation of ethanol.

3. Grain grown in a flooded field.

5. India’s national fruit.

7. This fruit has more fat than any other fruit in the world.

13. Halloween’s vegetable.

15. Common fruit that is in fact apart of the nightshade family.

16. Vegetable whose name means “Round Plant” in Latin.

17. The Great Famine was caused by blight on this vegetable.

20. Tropical fruit native to Mexico.

21. Fruit with over 100 large, black, seeds said to taste peppery.

22. This red fruit is often confused as a berry but isn’t.

24. A fruit native to North America known for being harvested in flooded beds or marshes.

25. Fruit known for being spicy.

26. Tropical fruit that actually grows on a bush-like plant.

27. The Japanese tradition, Hanami, involves this fruit tree.

28. “Mexican Husk Tomato.”

DOWN 1. Releases a chemical irritant that makes you cry.

3. Leaves of this tart, stalk, vegetable are poisonous.

4. Fruit named after its resemblance to a face or a skull by Portuguese explorers.

6. The study of growing fruits.

8. Fruit in the rose family that is known for its red, and purple colors.

9. Southeastern Asian fruit known for its pungent smell.

10. The most consumed fruit in the world.

11. As recorded, a doctor’s most common fear.

12. Herb commonly found growing along streams.

13. The edible flower of a cactus.

14. Cactus fruit nicknamed “Dragon Fruit” due to it’s spiked, scaly appearance.

18. Sweet fruit that is 92 percent water.

19. This yellow fruit is botanically considered a berry.

20. Key ingredient to wine.

23. Has the highest sugar content of any vegetable.

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-”Your spandex makes you feel powerful, but my hair makes me feel powerful.”

-”It’s like a corset for your foot.”

-“Since when has relevance played any part in what we do here?”

-“I should fire myself from school.”

-“Mustard ice cream is not as good as it sounds, trust me.”

-”I can’t spell my name in cursive.”

SERVICE.

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