How seniors are dealing with the pressure of applying to college page 7
FROM THE EDITORS
FROM THE EDITORS
dent struggling with everything that comes wtih college admissions, from where to apply to what to write. Duhn won a cover concept design in class, and her ideas mesh with those of classmates Riya Bhatt and Brayden Schimp for this finished product.
This year’s year-long back cover concept is a photo story series titled “Frame by Frame,” where senior photographer Trevor Anderson captures images from around the school on
The fall musical debuts
Story and design by Emmi Mattox
Ever since the fall musical was announced last year, there have been mixed reactions from the student body. Many of them never having heard about the play Rent. But after a summer of production and late night rehersals, Rent is finally being presented to the public. Crew member sophmore Amelia Creager is excited for the production to hit the stage. “I cannot wait to see the final result,” she says. “Me and my classmates have been working so hard during the
Rent: Unified softball:
few months we have been together.” For Creager, this peice means a lot, and with a message of survival and love, there is a lot riding on the cast of the musical.
Senior Michael Williams who plays, Collins in the musical shared, “I hope everyone comes to the show, especially on student night.” Showings take place from November 8-10 and November 15-17 with student night being November 14. Tickets are available
A softball game and student connection
On October 15th, Unified Club hosted a softball game for their students. Senior Mateo Icaza joined the Unified game after Coach Cardona informed the baseball team of the opportunity. “I thought it’d be a good way to share the joy from my sport [with] others and impact our community,” shared Icaza. One of the many participants, Javian Timothee, said that his favorite moment from the game was getting to play with all his friends. “We scored, and we won.” One of the other players, sophmore Sean Wilson remembers the crowd cheering for him and his friends, “We won and I was so happy about it,” said Wilson.
Story by Abby Hosler; design by Emmi Mattox
This years fall musical promotional materials were designed by English teacher Lindsey Wangler.
Fishing Club helps aspiring anglers reel in success
Story
Riya Bhatt; design
Madeleine Duhn
The newly formed Portage United Fishing Club is so much more than its name suggests: the club centers around not just fishing, but also preserving ponds, lakes, and aquatic life of different kinds. They have had three meetings so far this year and have had the opportunity to learn through guest speakers and educational trips. Freshman Joselyn Bopp is a member of the club. “My favorite activity was the one we did at the fish hatchery,” she says. “The next meeting will be about learning about different types of fish and preserving the land.” Founding staff member and administratve assistant Samantha Mein, who is a serious sport fisher, was thrilled to create the club. “Fishing is a great activity that you can carry on and be able to do no matter what age, size, disabilities, or not,” she says.
Members of the Fishing Club learn on the dock at the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery. “We had a private tour and they showed us what they were doing with the fish and how they were growing them,”
Annual Career Expo assembles local experts to inform student futures
Students learn about the
On Thursday, November 11, over 160 students attended the first career fair of the school year. Speakers represented a large variety of careers, including the armed forces, cosmetology, fire safety, hand surgery, tattoo art, and newborn nursing among others. Students had their free choice of 4 stations and spent 20 minutes with each presenter. Senior Neajai Lewis attended the cosmetology, tattoo, and engineering sessions. “The cosmetology one was my favorite,” she said. “It had a hands-on activity where there were two mannequin heads and we competed to see who could do different kinds of braids the fastest, and the prize was a free manicure at Empire.” While Lewis does not plan to go into cosmetology, she shared that it was, “nice to see from that perspective and what that job entails, and also to hear from someone who wanted to go into 4c hair because there’s not a lot of people that do that.” Junior Lamarcus Sharp’s favorite session was about real estate. “It was informational and simple to understand,” he said. “I’m planning to go more into accounting, but real estate sounds like an interesting additional opportunity to look into.” The next Career Expo will be in March 2025.
“The tattoo session was great. It was nice to see that there are interesting careers that you don’t go to college for.”
-Lily Strang (12)
by
by
Story by Abbey Dudley; design by Madeleine Duhn
Kalamazoo Electrical Training Alliance, which was one of over 30 topics represented. Photo courtesy of Emily Zemlick.
NL Notes: the perfect principal
We’ve had four principals in four years. This is what we’re looking for in this one.
This year’s seniors have had as many principals as they’ve had years of high school. This is a strange thought, especially for a school like Portage Northern that is known for being great at several different things. On the off chance that our new principal stays, and we hope he does, here is our input on the principal we’re hoping he will be. Mr. Lowder, welcome to PNHS: this one’s for you.
The first thing we’re looking for in our new principal sets the bar pretty low. Basically, we just hope that he stays. That might seem pretty simple, but it’s important not just in the literal sense, but in bigger ways, too. Staying here means choosing us. Choosing us not just when things are good, but when they’re not, and staying committed to us even in the face of adversity or other opportunities. We are a PACK. The leader of the pack doesn’t abandon them. Period.
embodies everything that he wants students and the school culture to be. Whether it is lighthearted, like participating in school spirit events, or serious, like modeling what it means to be a good person with strong morals, we should always be able to look to him as an example.
More than anything, we want a principal that we can genuinely connect with.
We want a principal who takes the time to get to know us and who demonstrates, in both word and action, that they have an abundance of pride and love for the school they work for. We know that this takes time, and we’re looking for someone who is willing to take that time getting to know all of our programs, all of our people, and all of the things that make PN great. Once they know them, the expectation is that they will help them flourish, giving support and funding not just to the curriculum, but to the extra programs that enrich students’ experiences.
all students and staff with the respect, kindness, and compassion that they deserve. This comes from someone who understands that just because they’re principal doesn’t make them better than anyone else, it just means they’re serving the school in a way that they are specially qualified for. Within that role, they should have consistency in decision-making and especially in student discipline. Even if we have to receive consequences, knowing they are fair and equally applied ensures that relationships and the school climate are not damaged.
We’re also hoping for a principal that leads from the front and that
We are also looking for a fair and unbiased leader who will treat
This is important because, more than anything, we want a principal that we can genuinely connect with. Our principal should feel approachable and like someone you look forward to seeing out and about in the school on a regular basis. They should be someone who regularly asks for student input and responds to student feedback. We don’t want a perfect principal, we want the perfect principal for us, and that person will be someone that students can look up to, depend on, and communicate with.
Story by the staff; design by Abby Hosler
I
wish I could keep my thoughts to myself, but I was born without a filter…
That’s just how I feel, take it or leave it…unfiltered.
Season of Stress
Seniors deal with the pressure of applying to college
Written by Kenna Hulick, Sukhi Kaur, and Gabe Bautista; design by Oli Matthew and Oluwadabira Mewomo
With college application deadlines approaching, seniors feel stressed about applying and whether or not they will get accepted into the colleges they prefer. “I feel like if I don’t do the right thing or don’t have enough, then I won’t get accepted into the college that I want,” laments senior Isabelle Stahl.
She is not alone: her classmates have been under pressure between schoolwork, college applications, maintaining grades, and finishing their last year of high school.
“I’m more tired during the school year juggling both schoolwork and trying to get my Common App essay and application done,” senior Blessing Afiademanyo explains. She and other seniors have agreed that balancing school and applications can be difficult for most.
“There’s just a lot of stress with finishing it on time while also doing well in school. Also stress of if I will get into certain colleges or not,” says senior Olivia Smith.
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The requirements
The standard college application will ask applicants to write an essay about your accomplishments throughout high school. This is separate from when they ask you to write an essay about your transcript.
Depending on where you apply, colleges might have other questions about how you view yourself as a student and person, or it might be about your achievements.
demic achievements nand to who the applicant is as a person.
“You feel like you don’t have a single moment to breathe because college applications are just ‘do’.”
- Grace Birko
”’What are you thinking?’ Those kinds of broad questions that actually allow you to explore the way that you think,” explains senior Grace Birko, “and allows them to get to know you feels more like ‘Oh they care about me as a person and not just to pay to come to this school.’” These kinds of questions allow colleges to see beyond aca-
The Common App, which is the most frequently used college application platform, also has other requirements. Various parts of the application ask about education, testing, activities , and leadership. This allows applicants to use this informatino for multiple colleges at once instead of having to re-enter it for each college that they apply o While most colleges use the Common App, not all do.
Lowering the stress
Stahl’s advice to lower the stress early on, “definitely do research on colleges. Even random ones around Michigan, you’re going to want to apply to more colleges since it’s good to know what the other colleges around us offer.”
“Take your time, enjoy what you have, it flies by really fast.”
-Elijah Parker
Survey says...
Fifty Portage Northern juniors and seniors shared their experiences with the college admissions process in a Google Forms email survey.
While some seniors are applying for their college’s early deadline, many are still working on their applications. Scan the QR code at left for tips on using Common App.
Mr. Lapham makes the transition from teaching middle school to high school
“I think Mr. Lapham’s transition from middle to high school is great,” said junior Caleb Ferworn, who had the outgoing English teacher back when he was at North Middle School. “I had Mr. Lapham as an eighth grader and he was a really good teacher that pushed me, and taught me a lot,” Ferworn stated. “As a teacher, he does a great job inspiring kids to enjoy literature and has so much knowledge in the area that he can help every kid find a type of literature that they enjoy.” Lapham joined the PNHS English department at the beginning of the school year, filling the vacancy left when Aimee Wendland moved to PCMS.
Lapham has spent his teaching career in English literature arts, inspiring students to work using their full potential. He taught high school in Battle Creek before he came to PNMS, and felt like it was the right time to return to that environment. “The position opened, and I was asked if I’d like to apply, and so I did, and it was great,” he said. “It’s kind of like coming home or slipping into a nice warm bath or putting on your favorite pair of comfortable socks or shoes or biting into like a really good cookie that you had forgotten about, but the cookie’s always been there waiting for you, and it was just delicious.”
Though he has switched from teaching junior-sized Huskies to full-sized Huskies, Lapham still finds a way to create a fun work environment for students and prepare them for success beyond school doors. “There are some things that I had to learn when I transitioned from teaching high school into middle school that I had to unlearn when I went back to high school, but the staff’s been really supportive,” Lapham stated. “I like being able to discuss more in-depth matters about literature. With high school comes more experience, so the more experience a kid has, the more they have to say about a piece of literature.”
Moving to the high school has also allowed Lapham to see kids before, which has been fun for teacher and students both. “It’s really nice because all the students I had last year I get to see again this year,” he said. “It’s weird to see kids I had in sixth grade as twelfth graders who are like 90 feet tall and sporting a full beard right now, but it’s been nice.”
Blake Cardella had Lapham as a 6th grader and now has him again now as a freshman. “He is nice and he understands how to treat kids. He’s also understanding about problems and is able to work things out with students,” he said. “That’s just one of the many, many good things that I can say about him.”
New HS ELA teacher Bill Lapham keeps track of student progress in class. Photo by Layla Carpenter.
Story by Layla Carpenter and Asher Carpenter; design by Asher Carpenter
Freshman Avery Kelm (top left) and junior Olivia Stacy (right bottom) have been finishing within seconds of each other all season long.
Photos by Craig Stacy.
By Ryan Mauwa and Topher LaLonde; design by Javarion Boyd-Franklin
Story and design by Mitchell Barnard
wrath of the triple god goddess
The new Rick Riordan book gets fans into the Halloween Spirit
Story and design by Ana Van Dyke
more about the book:
Beetlejuice,
Beetlejuice
Story by Sophie Amberg ; design by Chase VanderWalle
Spirit
Story and design by Trevor Anderson
Photos by Trevor Anderson, Brayden Schimp, and Sukhi Kaur.
MacBeth Act 1 Scenes 1 and 2
Across 4 The country attacking Scotland at the beginning of the play
6 The country the play takes place in 7 This is the first person to deliver the news of Macbeth's exploits
10 The _______ Plot was intended to assassinate James 1
15 The king
16 Machiavelli thought it was better for a leader to be ______ than loved.
17 Killing a member of a monarch
Down
1 The (very brave) thane of Glamis
2 The enemy that Macbeth "unseamed"
3 Someone who gives money to the arts
5 This thane was a traitor and will be put to death
8 Guy Fawkes was drawn and ______ for his assassination attempt
9 Macbeth is a _______, which is a play that has an unhappy ending
11 the phrase "fair is foul and foul is fair" is a literary _____
12 The play opens with 3 of these in a field
13 The king of England during Shakespeare's time
14 The king's son