The Royal Page - June 2016

the bathroom issue

As HHS prepares for the installation of gender neutral bathrooms this summer, the Royal Page explains what it means to be transgender in the Hopkins community.

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ROYAL

Thursday June 2, 2016

Volume 34 Issue 6

Screens Up For Summer

by Edgar Vega-Espinosa

page 3

Production of Antigone

by Matt Molnar page 7

SinkďŹ eld’s Football Journey

by Alex Kim and Max Weesner

page 14

District hires new principal amidst a changing field

RP Thursday, June 2, 2016

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2 news

by Sophia Koritz Staff Reporter

principals. The University of Minnesota is one of these colleges, and it produces about 60 to 70 candidates a year. Of that group about 60 to 70 percent of them actually become principals directly after As the 2015-16 school year comes to a close, Ms. Patty Awsumb, graduating.

Legally, to hold a license one must have three years of teaching Principal, reflects on her eight years spent at HHS because this year experience and 60 credits beyond their bachelor’s degree. Also, one will be her last.

Ms. Awsumb will be leaving HHS to become the principal of is required to do an internship with another principal for 320 hours.

Katie Pekel, Principal in Residence at the University of MinFridley High School this upcoming fall. Since the news became public on March 16, HHS has been in the process of replacing Ms. nesota, trains principals to fit the criteria. “[Principals] need to be very student centered, which means they Awsumb.

Ms. Awsumb hopes that her replacement, Mr. Doug Bullinger, really need to be concerned about what’s best for kids and not just adults. They need to know quite a current associate principal of Mounds View bit about curriculum and instrucHigh School, will be able to adapt to HHS and tion. They need to be very open honor the culture it has to offer. minded and willing to listen to the “The most important thing for [Mr. Bullperspectives of multiple different inger] to do would be to really listen to stupeople,” Pekel said. dents, staff, parents, and community members Most principals are in the proand understand not only the great things that fession for 15 to 20 years, although are going on here but understand the culture of many tend to go between different the building,” Awsumb said. schools and districts. According to To have more help in finding Ms. Awsumb’s national research, a principal works replacement, a committee was formed containat a school for about six years. ing about 25 HHS staff, parents and commu“Principals often move from one nity members. The committee’s meeting was principalship to another principalfacilitated by Dr. Nik Lightfoot, Assistant Suship and that’s one way to advance. perintendent. The meetings consisted of creatThe other place that principals will ing interview questions, reviewing survey data, oftentimes matriculate to are jobs at and looking over candidate applications. the central office level like the dis“We worked with the interview community, trict office,” Pekel said. gathered input from students and parents, and The genotype of principal canpresented best practice research and competendidates has changed in the recent cies to establish the qualities that we were seekyears, being that there are more ing,” Lightfoot said. “We referenced all of these - Ms. Katie Pekel, Principal in women and people of color in the with the job posting and designed our selection Residence at the University of principalship role. This means there process around this information.”

Minnesota is more variety in the candidates The entire process took approximately two than there have been in the past. months to facilitate. Dr. Lightfoot and the “I think some of the great teachmembers of the committee put in many hours ers were not willing to take the risk, so I think we are seeing a litto ensure the right candidate was found.

In Minnesota, there are 14 colleges that are certified to license tle bit more now. I know that there is a lot talk about teacher and

“[Principals] need to be very student centered, which means they really need to be concerned about what’s best for kids and not just adults.”

Bullinger’s Experience Continuous Improvement Coordinator June 2015 - Present (1 year) Adjunct Instructor June 2015 - Present (1 year) Associate Principal - Curriculum and Instruction

July 2011 - June 2015 (4 years)

Adjunct Instructor - Twin Cities Teacher Collaborative

May 2014 - May 2015 (1 year 1 month)

Adjunct Instructor Januart 2008 - August 2012 (4 years 8 months) Source: Doug Bullinger’s LinkedIn

administrator shortage, but we’re not feeling that in Minnesota in quite the way that other places are feeling, merely because we have a better education system,” Pekel said.

In a press release, Mr. Bullinger expressed his excitement towards working at HHS for the upcoming school year.

“I am excited and humbled to be the next principal of Hopkins High School,” Bullinger said. “The students and staff have an exceptional reputation, and I can’t wait to work with them.”

What students have to say about HHS’ new principal...

“I’m excited to come to HHS next year and the new principal seems like he will make a great impact and form a positive environment. “ Eva Paavola, freshman

“I’m eager to see what takes place in our high school due to new leadership.’

Evan Segal, sophomore

“I’m going to miss [Ms. Awsumb] but change can always be good.”

Parma Yazdanpanah, junior

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news 3

Screens up for summer . . .

Chromebooks were brought into HHS for the 2015-2016 year. After a successful year with the computers, HHS will continue to use them next year as well as allow sophomores and juniors to bring their Chromebooks home for the summer.

photo by Edgar Vega-Espinosa

With the year coming to an end, sophomores, juniors, and returning students are encouraged to keep the chromebooks over the summer to learn

by Edgar Vega-Espinosa Staff Reporter At 7:47 am on an early Monday morning, Ms. Kathryn Anderson, Social Studies, has her students open their Chromebooks and start with a warm-up exercise.

HHS implemented the “One to One” program in the school year 2015-16 and is now planning

for the next school year. Now, HHS staff are evaluating whether the Chromebooks have met their expectations and seeing what adjustments can be made to improve the digital innovation experience within classrooms.

Teachers have had to adapt to the environment that comes with the Chromebooks in order to keep their lessons unique and engaging, as to make sure no two classes will ever be the same.

Mr. John Unruh-Friesen, Technology Integration Specialist, believes a magnitude of various lessons plans positively impacts a student’s learning.

“Before the Chromebooks went screens up, there had to be lots of planning prior to the distribution of the 1,600 Chromebooks to the students,” said Unruh-Friesen. “When lesson plans are able to connect to students, the students become more engaged and interested in learning.”

During the month of May it was announced that returning sophomores and juniors will keep their Chromebooks over the summer. The decision was made to ensure constant learning as well as to allow students to have their same Chromebooks when they returned them for the upcoming school year. Unruh-Friesen believes that this decision will also keep the turn in process from becoming too disorderly.

“Could you imagine the turn-in process and the distribution and the storage for next year? The

work needed to do such a process would be chaos,” Unruh-Friesen said.

Over the summer, a Moodle page called “I’m Still Learning” will be made available for students who want to indulge in opportunities for curious minds that aren’t sure what to do with their summer. The Chrome Corner has made a list of explorations such as learning how to code, new recipes to make, and type to learn classes all free and completely optional.

“It´s important to keep your brain active over the summer. Just because we are not in school doesn’t mean that you can’t learn something outside of school,” Unruh-Friesen said.

Anderson, for the past two years, has piloted the one to one using Chromebooks in her Faces Of Conflict class along side with Mr. David Williams, Language Arts.

“What I love about the Chromebooks is that it makes our class become more collaborative,” Anderson said.

With Anderson´s class being completely digital, and Chromebooks being with students all the time, student work completion has risen from 78 percent to 90 percent, from the year before.

“With the Chromebooks in students’ hands, I can quickly put up a peardeck or a kahoot for review to see if students are understanding the content or if I need to go over the material again,”

Anderson said.

Students being surrounded by technology has made learning an environment where students can have learning at their fingertips, something Anderson has noted.

“With the amount of apps that are available on the Google Chrome store, I can get apps that can utilize the Chromebooks to the specific way I’m trying to teach,” Anderson said.

The students at HHS have adjusted and adapted to using the Chromebooks in educational ways that benefit them in and out of school. Students who have busy schedules with sports, AP classes and enjoying using technology, the Chromebooks have become as important to them as a number 2 pencil.

Students that have become immersed in technology have adapted their skills with technology to help them do better in class with the chromebooks.

Yacob Yisehak, junior, has a busy schedule and stays on top of his grades.

“The Chromebooks have been a great utility for writing papers and searching online resources for class,” Yisehak said.

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RP Thursday, June 2, 2016

Community meets to discuss substance abuse

by Morgan Downing News Editor On April 16, 2014, Ms. Jamie Walker received a call from an emergency room informing her that they had her daughter but they were “losing her.”

Walker’s daughter, Payton Troute, then 18, had intentionally overdosed on drugs. Troute’s substance abuse began with alcohol, but expanded to include marijuana, Adderall, and later cocaine.

On April 25, Walker and Troute sat on a panel alongside law enforcement, Ms. Bobbi Pointer, Licensed HHS School Nurse, an employee of MN myHealth, and Ms. Holly Magdanz of Hopkins One Voice to present to a crowd of over 100 members of the Hopkins and Minnetonka community on how substance abuse has directly affected them and members of their community.

Walker believes that a discussion about the effects of substances is important because those who abuse them often do not understand that they are hurting more than just themselves.

“Addiction skews the moral compass of the user,” Walker said. “It erodes trust and breaks down communication. It was hard to realize that as a parent we had a role to play in enabling [Payton’s] use. It’s crazy when you are wondering what’s wrong with your child and can’t prove what’s wrong.”

Sergeant Darrin Rain, Minnetonka Police Department, has seen the effects of substances abuse on people and notes how powerful the hold the substances take on the abuser.

“I have seen drugs affect our community over the past two decades. I have seen drugs erode people over time, some to the point [that] they have died of overdoses. My perception is

[substances] are indiscriminate to region, age, people, etcetera,” Rain said.

According to the Minnesota Drug Control Update, in 2015 approximately eight percent of Minnesotans admitted to using drugs in the past month. In Minnetonka, 2,392 crimes were reported, 277 of which were narcotic citations. In Hopkins there were 1,311 reported crimes, 96 of which were narcotic citations.

Narcotics are defined as substances that affect one’s mood or behavior and are sold illegally for nonmedical purposes. Narcotics range from methamphetamine and cannabis to cocaine and heroin.

Last year, heroin and methamphetamine were two of the three most used narcotics in Minnetonka. Though data does not include the substances obtained during the arrests, it does include that 58 narcotic obtation citations were given to those 18 and younger. On April 25, HHS experienced a “Stay In Place initiative,” widely known as a soft lockdown, and one citation was given to a student for possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, and one arrest was made for fifth degree possession of a controlled substance.

Abby O’Callaghan, junior, is a member of HHS’ Student and Wellness Committee, a club that aims to provide aid to students dealing with problems pertaining from mental health to substance abuse. O’Callaghan believes that while substances are evident in HHS, the reasons for using are not.

“It’s true that people choose to use, but other people are not seeing the reason to why they choose to. A lot of my friends who use are dealing with problems like depression or addiction and can’t help but use [drugs] to feel better. That’s

why I think it’s so important to provide help,” O’Callaghan said.

O’Callaghan wants others to know that it is more important to offer help to those abusing than to denounce them for their choices.

“It really is the [substance] that is affecting the person. The Student and Wellness Committee wants to help people that are in need of it, not criticize them for their choices. If we were to do that [the people using] most likely wouldn’t want to receive the help we want to give them.”

O’Callaghan said.

Walker admits that she missed many opportunities to help Payton because she did not understand her daughter’s way in asking for help.

“In hindsight, we missed a ton of signs. We saw her behavior change, but never, ever did drug and alcohol abuse cross our minds. Payton would tell me stories of her “friends” and I never in a million years thought she was really telling me about her own stories. When I learned that she was using, and was addicted, my heart shattered,” Walker said.

According to a Monitoring the Future Survey, peer pressure has been a common initiative for urging teens into drug use.

Magdanz hopes that the One Reason campaign, a campaign dedicated to reducing teenage alcohol use, ends peer pressure.

“It’s totally normal for students to fit in, so if they believe their friends are using or drinking, they may be led to use. So one strategy [One Reason] has is helping them understand a lot of their peers aren’t using so the more students decide not to use, the more they make a common decision,” Magdanz said.

Magdanz believes she has seen a difference since the One Reason has appeared in HHS, which has aided the campaign in moving into the junior highs

for the ninth grade classes.

“We wanted to keep [the campaign] for [HHS], but we wanted to make sure younger students knew that as well, so we decided to do campaign the junior highs as well, and we’ve seen a shift in what we call the ‘social norm,’ Magdanz said.

“The number one reason for why students decided to change their minds about using was because they realized not a lot of people like them, their age and older, weren’t using.”

Whether or not One Reason is responsible, both the Minnetonka and Hopkins community have experienced reductions in narcotic offenses.

In 2014, Hopkins had 21 narcotics offenses, and 20 in 2015.

In Minnetonka, 337 narcotic offenses were reported in 2014, and 277 in 2015.

Magdanz believes that it is up to teens to make good decisions in order to eliminate substances from their community.

“The substances some teens choose to use are dangerous and obviously need to be eliminated, but it really is up to the teens to decide whether to use or not,” Magdanz said. “It’s really about making positive choices.”

For Walker, she hopes that her story, which includes Payton’s, aids in helping teens, as well as their families, in choosing the right choices.

“I’m hoping that our story can inspire hope in the users as well as the families,” Walker said. “So many times, kids are afraid to let their parents know what they are doing for fear of punishment, but parents need [to have] the intestinal fortitude to take action. It’s not a ‘phase,’ and it likely will not pass, but there is help, there is hope, and there is recovery.”

infographic by Morgan Downing

RPThursday, June 2, 2016

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Pacify releases first clothing collection

by Izzy Goldfarb Feature Editor

Model poses with Pacify visor and Pacify crop top for a photoshoot to feature on PacifyMpls.com

photo provided by Gabby Bolatto

A model with bright green hair poses with an alien girl visor on her head. A clothing release party is hosted at a donut shop. A clothing brand created by three female HHS attendees.

All aspects of clothing brand Pacify are unique.

Promoting positivity and individuality, Pacify came to the market on May 8. Pacify was created by sisters Gabby, junior, and Maddy Bolatto and friend Lisa Person, HHS alumni.

Pacify has three items on sale for their first spring and summer collection. Two items

feature an alien girl design made

by Gabby on Photoshop. One item displays three plant designs printed on mint green and yellow tee-shirts.

In the past, the Bolatto sisters and Person had worked together creatively on photography projects. Thus, when Gabby suggested the creation of a new clothing brand, the name and concept of the brand was easily drawn up within a week.

“We see the definition of ‘Pacify’ as peace and tranquility, so the name is perfect for our brand, which is all about individuality and positivity,” Gabby said.

After the team of three

women decided their name, they asked themselves who they wanted to see wearing their brand.

They answered that they would like people like Willow Smith and Beyonce, who they believe are positive, powerful, and unique influences. This helped the girls choose designs to print on their shirts and visors.

Read the full story at hopkinsrp.org

RP Thursday, June 2, 2016

The Royal Page 2015-2016

Print Editor in Chief Addie Lennon

Web Editor in Chief Claire Benton

Photo Editor

Ruby Krietzman

Managing Editor Trianna Downing

Associate Editor Grace Dosdall

News Editor

Morgan Downing

Feature Editors Bea Frank Izzy Goldfarb

Opinion Editor Andrew Zhou

Sports Editors Noah Kaplan

Backpage Editor Abby Doeden

Sports Bloggers Alex Kim Max Weesner

Staff Reporters

Evelyn Barczak Noah Fogel Carmen Garrigos Noah Kahn Sebastien Karo Sophia Koritz Kyle Miller Dennis Plotkin Alex Shwartz Max Taylor Edgar Vega Espinosa Andy Weisman

Adviser Mr. Kocur The editorial represents the opinion of the newspaper staff. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the administration, the student body or the advisor. Signed viewpoints represent the view of the writer.

The Royal Page operates as an open forum student publication, and student editors make editorial decisions regarding content.

Advertising information available by mail, fax and phone.

Annual Subscriptions are available for $20.

The Royal Page encourages letters to the editor. Letters are not guaranteed publication, are subject to editing for content and length, must be signed and meet deadlines. Compliments and suggestions are also welcome.

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6 feature

Zach Roy: biographer extraordinaire

by Dennis Plotkin Staff Reporter

As the hockey players lace up their skates, Zach Roy, junior, switches on his camera: a Panasonic FZ1000. He follows the players with his lense as they skate across the ice. Hockey was where Roy first began filming videos.

“I started five or six years ago. It was kind of lame, but I started somewhere,” Roy said. “[Then] I started getting into editing and stuff and it went from there.”

Roy’s passion for cinematography increased when last summer he created his first documentary, “Behind the Lens,” which was about the process of filming sports.

At the beginning of the school year Roy was recruited to film the Hopkins boys’ basketball team by Mrs. Denise Swanson, Art, when Joe Perkl, Assistant Athletics Director, reached out to her for students with a skill for creating graphics.

Swanson asked Roy and two other students to run the graphics for the basketball games. Roy agreed and so did the other two students. But, the other students failed to fill out the necessary paperwork and weren’t able to contribute.

Perkl had been looking for someone to expand on the use of the video board, as well.

“We needed to add a little more to it with such a nice HD video board. We needed more content and I was not good at creating it,” Perkl said.

And, as it turned out, Roy’s senior night video was exactly the change that Perkl had been looking for. “[In the senior night game against Edina] we had firsthalf video highlights during a second-half timeout. It was so cool to see a thousand people all looking at the video board

during a timeout, all watching first-half highlights,” Perkl said. “It is incredible to take the first-half highlights, get on a computer, quick put together a highlight reel and have it up there by the second-half.”

Roy describes the experience of filming the boys’ basketball team as a highly rewarding experience.

“The senior video for the boys’ basketball team was pretty fun because I got to interact with the players a lot and the whole thing was just a fun experience,” Roy said.

Perkl had initially only wanted Roy to create the senior video. But Roy didn’t stop there; he fulfilled Perkl’s request and then some.

“I told him I would love to do the graphics board and asked him, ‘How does in-game highlights sound to you?’ and he said, ‘Great, let’s do it,” Roy said. “I did it one time and he really liked it, and it just went from there.”

For three years now, Lindbergh Center has had a video board, but Perkl has been the only one to contribute to it.

Even then, it’s only been with some simple graphics.

“I don’t have a background in graphic design or anything so it’s pretty basic stuff. Usually some headshots of the players with a bio; they go up [on the video board] during basketball games, volleyball games, wrestling matches, and dance meets,” Perkl said.

Perkl is pleased with Roy’s creative ideas for the video board, along with the praise it receives.

“I had an Edina mom come up to us after the Edina game and says ‘You [have] got to teach our guys over there how to do this. We have a video board and they don’t do anything; they just leave the stats up there. It’s like a stat board instead of a video board,’” Perkl

Top: Amir Coffey, senior, lays the ball up during Zach Roy’s, junior, Senior Night Video. Bottom Left: A Twins Player walks off of the baseball diamond during Roy’s biography “Behind the Lens.” Bottom Right: The logo for “Producktions” created by Roy. photos provided by Zach Roy

said.

Roy’s videos earned him more than just praise; he was even offered a job by the boys’ basketball team’s booster club.

His videos often come with obstacles to conquer. This was exemplified when Roy was due to project his graphics board video.

“I finished the video and everything was perfect, but the big graphics board [at HHS] that shoots everything up was lagging [when the video was played],” Roy said. “ But luckily, we figured out how to fix it: we scaled down the video and shot it up to the board, and it worked just fine.”

Perkl described the event as “hectic” for those working on the graphics board video.

“There’s a super long download and rendering time with it. The JV game goes into over-

time so we’re like, ‘Alright we have five minutes,’ but we start doing the announcements and it’s still not ready,” Perkl said.

“We were at the point where we have to skip it and do it at half time, but right then it finished. Everyone working on it was sweating.”

As Roy’s range of videos expanded, he labeled his collection of YouTube videos as “Producktions,” with naming help from Noah Kaplan, junior.

“One day Noah Kaplan came up to me and he said ‘You know what a good name would be? Producktions, and the logo would be a duck.’ Then I said ‘That’s a great idea!’ and it just went from there,” Roy said.

Recently, Roy teamed up with two others after a brief conversation at HHS prom.

Ahmed and Salieu Sanneh, junior, will partner with Roy and

continue to create videos under Producktions. Roy is looking forward to the future of Producktions.

“I want to go to school for film, digital cinematography, or something like that. What I really want to do is what I am doing now: freelance stuff for people. Whatever they want, I’ll make it,” Roy said.

Roy expects immense change after his next interview with a possible client, one he describes as a very positive course for Producktions.

“I have a very big meeting this weekend,” Roy said.

“There’s something big coming.”

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RP Thursday, June 2, 2016

Students prepare for Antigone on the Little Theater stage after school. The participants practiced most days after school before their first performance on Thursday, May 12. photo by Matt Molnar

Antigone: The story behind the play

by Matt Molnar Staff Reporter Lights, camera, wait for it…

There’s a lot more to putting on a play than just showing up on opening night and performing. It takes months of preparation and late night rehearsals.

“The whole process begins with auditioning by preparing a monologue and performing it in front of Natalie Foster, our Director,” said Olivia Gulden, junior. “Once that happens, if performed well, you’ll get a callback to read some more.”

Sophia Peifer, junior, who portrayed the role of Nurse, found just finding and preparing a monologue to be difficult.

“I spent at least three hours just searching for a monologue to perform, and even more time preparing it to be ready for the audition,” Peifer said.

During the whole audition process, depending

on the kind of play, there will be more or less people taken to fill roles. In Antigone, there were only 12 speakings roles available with approximately 10 extras to fill the remaining roles.

After auditions take place and callbacks are made, the cast and crew is assembled to begin the next step of the play making process. While the cast is preparing their roles, learning their lines and movements, the crew is hard at work creating the costumes and the set.

A large part of the responsibility for getting the costumes and stage together was left to Shannon Maroney, sophomore, who was tasked with the role of stage manager.

“The costumers decided they wanted to go for a timeless look. The costumes included a lot of green, black, brown, and grey, while the warriors wore camouflage and black for their costumes,” Maroney said.

When it came to stage design, things had to go backwards before they went forward since the play

took place in the ancient city of Thebes, Greece.

So, the crew had to transform the little theater into an ancient city.

“The set was constructed into a yellow floor with a four foot platform upstage with stairs on both sides of the stage and moving stairs that were primarily in the center,” Maroney said.

With the costumes and stage coming together by the technical crew, the main cast were hard at work, learning their lines and getting the actual performance together. In order to prepare for the play, rehearsal took place almost everyday.

“It took endless hours of practicing and rehearsing in order to get the play ready in time.

The worst of which was tech week,” Gulden said.

Tech week is the week before the play is set to launch, in which the entire cast and crew is assembled to do a complete run through of the play including make up, costumes, and lighting.

“Rehearsals on tech week would start at nine am and go until four pm, and some nights it would

go even later; it was exhausting,” Peifer said.

The work doesn’t just stop after tech week.

The work and rehearsal continues up to and even past opening night.

The preparations for the play are endless, with costumes, lighting, and even makeup being applied for most of the cast. The most extensive makeup belonged to Dylan Judge-Steuck, senior, who played the role of Creon, and had to be transformed into an old man.

“The whole process included, spray painting [Dylan’s] hair making it look grey and white, while also applying aging makeup as well as a beard,” said Josh Freeman, junior.

The whole process took months of rehearsing and preparing, as well as creating the set and costumes and choreographing the entire play.

And action.

RPThursday, June 2, 2016

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8in-depth

the bathroom issue Across the U.S., transgender bathroom accessibility has become a controversial topic. As HHS prepares for the installation of gender neutral bathrooms this summer, the Royal Page explains what it means to be transgender in the Hopkins community.

by Trianna Downing and Andrew Zhou Managing Editor and Op-Ed Editor

trans flag

infographic by Addie Lennon

RPThursday, June 2, 2016

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in-depth 9

DEVELOPING While growing up, Andy Gamble, sophomore, struggled to understand gender.

“I always knew I was different when I was little, like when I was five,” Gamble said. “But I just didn’t have a concept of gender. I didn’t really see how it affected the way you were seen by others. So I grew up uncomfortable, but not knowing what I was uncomfortable with.”

However, Gamble felt that he was leaning more to the side of masculinity and was called a tomboy. When he was 15, the summer going into his sophomore year, Gamble began his transition into a transgender man.

According to the Williams Center at University of California, Los Angeles, the medical term for a transgender person is an individual who does not identify themselves with the gender they were assigned to at birth. When a transgender person transitions, they may begin to live as the gender they identify with rather than the gender they were assigned to at birth.

While Gamble’s definition of being transgender is similar, he understands the concept in a more personal way.

“Gender is inside your head,” Gamble said. “The gender that’s in your head or the gender you identify with isn’t the one that matches your [biological sex].”

For Z Herstig, sophomore, the catalyst for his transition began with a haircut.

“I just went to get a haircut, and when the appointment was over, I looked at the style and I thought, ‘this feels much better,’” Herstig said. “When I was 14, I definitely knew.”

That same year, Herstig began publicly identifying as a male.

However, he believes friends and family could tell before he came out to them.

“After freshman year was over and the summer passed, people could probably tell by that time that I had transitioned. During pride weekend, I went on Facebook and wrote that I was a boy, and people said they already knew. People were really supportive,” Herstig said.

While Herstig understands that some people may have been offended by these types of assumptions, he appreciated his loved ones’ support.

“Everyone’s different,” Herstig said. “This is just my story.”

Gamble received a similar reaction when coming out to family and friends.

“I’m really lucky to have a really supportive group of friends and family, and so transitioning socially was not hard. I wasn’t attacked.

My friends were very accepting, and it was a very easy social transition,” Gamble said. “Now it’s turned into more of a medical thing, which I started recently.”

TRANSITIONING The process of transitioning varies greatly from person to person, especially since the process can take years.

After all, according to a 2009 survey from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, there are approximately 700,000 transgender people in the U.S. There is no single path for transitioning that all transgender people take.

But once a person does decide to transition, they may take measures such as changing their name or the way they dress. Some may

choose to make more complex medical changes as well.

These medical changes do not take place overnight, however, and people looking to make those changes must seek out specific medical facilities to begin the process. Anney Lyons, a Sex and Relationship therapist at MN myHealth in Hopkins, has studied transitioning. For some, this includes a process called hormone therapy. “[Hormone therapy is] the process of getting [testosterone or estrogen] and taking doses in order to start gaining more characteristics of the gender someone wants to be,” Lyons said. “There are definitely complications, since hormones control our emotions a lot. In order to get hormones, there has to be a psychological evaluation or therapy session and then a medical assessment.”

Some transgender people even undergo sex-reassignment surgery, either female-to-male or male-to-female, to surgically alter his or her genitalia to match the gender to which they identify with. Many transgender-friendly clinics also provide services unrelated to hormone therapy or surgery. For example, MN myHealth offers discussion groups and therapy.

“We recently started an LGBTQIA group that basically provides a space to talk for like-minded people. It’s basically a safe space,” Lyons said. “[Gender identity] is a huge area people don’t understand, and people think it’s just someone being insane or someone experimenting or wanting privileges of the other gender.”

DISCUSSING A debate has stirred between both the U.S. national and state governments on the issue of what bathrooms transgender citizens may use.

The debate began on Feb. 22 when the city of Charlotte, N.C., passed an ordinance that protected citizens of the LGBTQIA community against discrimination in places of “public accommodations.” Examples of these places would include stores and hotels.

The bill was set to go into effect on April 1, when N.C.’s General Assembly denounced the bill. On March 23, 103 Republicans and 11 Democrats, under the support of N.C.’s governor, Pat McCory, passed a different bill: HB2. It would become popularly known as the “bathroom bill.”

HB2 stated that all citizens would use multi-stall bathrooms at places of “public accommodations,” according to the gender they were assigned to at birth. With the passage of HB2, it is illegal for cities to expand the state laws that limited workplace discrimination, minimum wage standards, and other business issues.

Since January, almost 200 anti-LGBTQIA bills have been introduced.

Supporters of the bill argued that it would be best for the safety of women and children. Gov. McCory tweeted on March 23 that the “ordinance defied common sense, allowing men to use the women’s bathroom/locker room, for instance. That’s why I signed bipartisan bill to stop it.”

However, the LGBTQIA community voiced its disapproval in N.C. and the rest of the nation, and Attorney General Roy Cooper believed that the bill threatened the rights of transgender people.

Cooper even went as far as to call the bill a “national embarrassment.”

President Obama recently called for a directive that local schools grant bathroom access for all transgender students. In response, 11 states sued the Obama administration, challenging the

President that the administration had no right to force schools to allow access to the bathrooms.

FACILITATING HHS has recently made an effort to make its campus safer for transgender students by building two new gender neutral bathrooms, which will be ready for use by the beginning of the 2016-17 school year. The new gender-neutral bathrooms will be replacing two bathrooms located near the Little Theatre. To be approved by the American Disabilities Act and accommodating for all genders, the remodeling will cost approximately $100,000.

This change was first proposed by the club HHS Responds, a group of students dedicated to making HHS a more inclusive, aware place. The adviser for the group is Mr. Tim Owen, World Languages.

“I’m really proud of our students for doing this. I think schools should be the start of social change,” Owen said. “We just need to be on top. We need to be pushing society to do better.”

After presenting the idea to Ms. Patty Awsumb, Principal, and the Hopkins district, plans were quickly put into motion to replace two bathrooms by the next school year.

“For students to feel safe, welcome, and supported is the number one priority [at HHS],” Awsumb said. “We’ve had students who are not comfortable, who may be transgender but may not be comfortable using the bathroom of their identity or expression, and so many students have been using the nurse’s office we needed to have more options.”

These plans are the most recent of a number of efforts to make HHS a more accepting and educated place, which include teacher training sessions and discussions.

On April 28, a number of teachers and students met in HHS’ Little Theatre to discuss ideas to make HHS a more accepting place for students of all gender identities. Along with discussion about the bathrooms, the session covered a number of topics, including the importance of using correct pronouns.

Ms. Felicia Homberger, Language Arts, was one of the leaders of the event, and she stressed the importance of keeping students and staff educated.

“If a teacher gets [the pronoun] wrong, it’s not that they don’t care, it’s that they are uninformed,” Homberger said.

HHS now joins fellow Lake Conference high schools such as Wayzata High School, Edina High School, and Eden Prairie High School in incorporating gender neutral bathrooms into their campuses.

But not all students at HHS are in favor of this change. Preston Dull, senior, believes the gender neutral bathrooms to be a threat to student safety.

“I don’t have anything against transgender people, but think about the safety of those who go into the bathroom. There could be people who go in and are sex offenders,” Dull said. “I’m thinking about it as the safety for everyone involved.”

However, Gamble believes the new bathrooms will benefit the school and that there is no difference with the gender neutral bathrooms.

“It’s very transphobic and narrow minded to label transgender people as perversions,” Gamble said. “We aren’t. People tend to forget how big the trans community is, but it’s enormous. Transgender people have always existed.”

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Editorial: Saying goodbye to Principal Patty Awsumb

The staff editorial represents the viewpoint of the Royal Page

As our final days with Ms. Patty Awsumb, Principal, come to a close, we at the Royal Page would like to thank her.

Awsumb has always been supportive of the journalism program at HHS. She trusts us to make our own publication decisions and does not censor us or review the paper before it comes out.

Without this support, the Royal Page would not be able to cover issues as freely and honestly as we have these past eight years that Awsumb has been principal. Sometimes our top 10s are borderline risque, our cover stories deal with issues like partying, fighting, and rape, and our writers share controversial opinions in our op-ed section.

But our editors always work very hard to ensure that these stories are dealt with cautiously and respectfully, a right that we feel privileged to enjoy.

While we value the opinions and concerns of our administration, we believe that student press cannot represent a fully unbi-

Top 10 :

ased voice while working under prior review of administration.

This past year, members of the editorial board of the Royal Page have met with Awsumb on a regular basis to discuss a variety of school issues. She always greeted us with a smile and was willing to talk through any concerns we had about the culture and community of HHS. We understand that some of the topics we brought up were delicate and controversial, but she always treated our ideas with respect.

We have not only valued this open dialogue with our principal, but we have enjoyed simply having conversations with her.

Through each of these meetings, it is clear that Awsumb not only cares for our publication, but for the entire student body.

Awsumb took time out of her schedule to individually congratulate students on their achievements, offered students to engage in a monthly lunch with her, and allowed students to put her face on giant cardboard cut-outs during sporting events. There’s no doubt that Awsumb has built connections with the student body.

Rejected senior pranks

10 Hall para dunk cam 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Change all Chromebook desktops to rarest of pepes Change all computers to Windows XP

Upstairs cow Replace all flags in the school with Shrek posters

Bend all the spoons Everyone checks out a library book Shakesperean rendition of The Bee Movie

Graduation no-show Snakes

Awsumb has been a support system and a way for students to feel as though they have a voice in the Hopkins community.

Whether it’s meeting for lunch or chatting with her in the hallway during passing time, Awsumb was a resource for the student body.

As many of us on the editorial board are gearing up for graduation, we are saddened to see Awsumb leave HHS with us. We wish her the very best of luck at Fridley High School next year.

The students there are lucky to have her.

Awsumb has been an asset to HHS and we want to wish her luck as she embarks on a new adventure next year. We hope that she looks back on her HHS experience fondly.

While we are sad to see her go, we are excited to welcome Mr. Doug Bullinger as her replacement. We hope that he will be able to lead our community as well as Awsumb has. Awsumb has paved the way, and Bullinger has big shoes to fill.

Thanks for everything, Patty. We will miss you.

A final farewell to Hopkins Hopkins High School Students, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for being the most talented, creative, intelligent group of students I have ever had the opportunity to work with. I have had the chance to get to know many of you, and you have been a delight, the best part of my job as your principal.

I have enjoyed your energy, your enthusiasm,

your commitment to your studies, your activities, and your relationships with each other and with the staff at HHS. I wish you the best of luck in your future. I will miss the students, staff, and community of Hopkins High School very much.

Take care, Patty Awsumb

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down HHS students and staff share their thoughts about the end of the 2016-17 school year “I get to not see a lot of people again.” - Isaac Kadoun, senior “As a senior, you’re leaving everything you’ve ever known.” - Megan Anderson, senior “You can pee whenever you want.” - Mikela Anderson, sophomore “I’m not excited about being chased by Mr. Swenson’s baseball bat in the mall.” - Anya Steinberg, junior

infographic by Andrew Zhou

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RPThursday, June 2, 2016

The road less traveled

by Addie Lennon Print Editor-in-Chief

“I don’t want to go to college next year.”

I awaited a response from my parents as they sat across the kitchen table. Usually when the topic came up, they talked around it. But for once, they were listening.

The idea of a gap year had entered my mind from time to time throughout my high school years, but a voice in my head was constantly telling me it wouldn’t be possible. It seemed that my only option was to go straight to a four year college.

I wasn’t entirely opposed to that. I’ve always loved learning, and I know that I want to pursue a career that requires further education.

But the idea of going straight to college made me feel like I’d get stuck. Stuck in debt after college, stuck working hours on end to pay off that debt, stuck postponing my dreams.

As I began to look into gap year and other traveling abroad programs, I was shocked at the endless opportunities available. Each option ranged in price, length, country, and type of program.

I also learned that the idea of a gap year wasn’t entirely crazy.

Schools like Harvard, Princeton, and NYU actually encourage their students to take a year off.

And according to a survey by Daily Mail, 66 percent of students took their school work more seriously after taking a gap year, and 88 percent said their gap year helped them decide what to study in college. I’m even in the company of Malia Obama, who will be attending Harvard after her gap year.

Throughout my search, I continued on with the college application process as well, knowing that I’d want to defer. I ultimately decided to defer my admission at the University of WisconsinMadison for the fall of 2017.

But before I begin unpacking shower caddies

and wall posters into a dorm room, I’ll be packing hiking boots and a sleeping bag into a backpack.

I’m off to Cusco, Peru to teach English for five months.

I will be spending my gap year volunteering with International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ), a company I chose based on its honest beginnings and reasonable pricing.

IVHQ was started by Daniel Radcliffe in 2007 after being shocked by the high prices of various travel and volunteer companies. Now, IVHQ offers opportunities in over 30 countries, all of which offer in-country support, employment to locals in poor communities, and accommodation and meals for volunteers.

Yes, I will be paying to volunteer. And I will be a year late to college. I still know that this is the best route for me.

In Peru, I will have the chance to work in a Peruvian village with eager English-learners, experience an entirely new culture, and hopefully learn a few things about myself.

Being away from a lot of modern comforts (and distractions) might allow me to figure out what my life should really be about. I will be away from technology, my peers, and my family. I get to rediscover who I am.

And the thing is, if I can do this, anyone can.

My parents are not paying for my college education or my year abroad, and there were no special requirements needed to apply to my program. I was just annoyingly stubborn and self-motivated to the point where my parents had to accept my choice.

But surprisingly, they did, and they have been incredibly supportive. For that I am thankful.

I am unbelievably excited for the year ahead.

So if you’re ready for college, go. If you’re not, don’t. There are a billion options out there for you, some that I haven’t even touched on.

This Earth is vast and beautiful. Go see it.

Royal Shorts: Budget cuts

The Royal Shorts are made up of comedic and satirical pieces written for The Royal Page

by Andrew Zhou “It’s true that minimum cation to essential electives such wage is barely enough to sup- as Film Studies,” Bryce said.

Opinion Editor Due to district-wide budget cuts for Hopkins in the 2016-17 school year, which includes the removal of a number of classes and full-time equivalent positions, next year’s students and staff will have a unique experience.

In addition to the confirmed cuts, all staff salaries at HHS will be lowered to minimum wage when school begins again in September.

“It was a difficult decision, but in the end, we either had to lower salaries or cut the Film Studies class, and they watch some cool movies in that class,” said Mr. Brendan Carter, Superintendent. “The ending to ‘Dumbo’ is so good.”

Although students and staff alike have expressed outrage at this decision, a number of teachers are also supporting the district’s choice. Mr. Lloyd Jansen, Language Arts, understands the reasoning behind it.

port our families. It’s true that we shape this country’s children and therefore shape this country’s future. It’s true that we pour our hearts and souls into education, the foundation of our nation,” Jansen said. “But man, Disney was really on a roll there with ‘Dumbo.’”

Next year, Jansen will be taking on a weekend job as a dumpster diver, selling scrap metal he finds in alleyways over Craigslist. He is very excited to start living out of his car.

One of the school’s Film Studies teachers, Ms. Maria Bryce, Science, understands the difficulties the new wage cuts will produce. However, she is glad that Hopkins shares her priorities.

“Already they’ve cut a number of teaching positions, some beloved German and French classes, and I just sold my wedding ring to buy my children clean water. But I’m glad that Hopkins is proving their dedi-

“Also, ‘Dumbo’ is, in my opinion, Disney’s best work. Even better than ‘Mulan.’”

It is unclear if teacher salaries will ever rise again above the poverty line, but some remain optimistic, believing that the district’s decisions will help everybody when it comes to course selection and staff treatment.

Some students even argue that cutting less essential classes will push more students into taking classes with higher educational value.

“I’m glad they cut German. I mean, who even speaks German anymore?” said Lindsey White, junior.

In the latest budget cut update, the Hopkins district is considering selling the Lindbergh Center to Wayzata High School in order to fund Film Studies 2, Film Studies 3, and Film Studies: Pixar.

Not half-sister, full sister:

by Trianna Downing Managing Editor If a telemarketer calls and asks for Timaria Downing, I instantly correct them.

“It’s not Timaria Downing,” I say. “It’s Timaria Hammond-Downing. She has two last names.

She’s my half-sister.”

I’ve never understood why I am so quick to correct them; it’s not as it’s some big secret or something they should concern themselves with. It’s simple really; Timaria and I share the same mom but have different dads. Therefore, we’re half-sisters.

Maybe it’s because people do treat our relationship as if it is some big secret or an issue they need to concern themselves with when really, it shouldn’t be. The relationship between me and my sister is what a healthy relationship between sisters is

supposed to be. I’ve tried to get this point across to the people I associate myself with, however, some of the people I surround myself with have a hard time understanding this concept.

When Timaria graduated from high school in 2010, my family, which consists of our mom, my twin sister Morgan, myself, and my dad, and Timaria’s family, which consists of her father, her stepsister and half-brother, and her father’s girlfriend attended the ceremony.

I was young at the time, but I wasn’t stupid.

I heard the whispers from the other families.

“Which one is her dad?”

“Are the twins her step-sisters, half-sisters, or sisters?”

“How many kids does her dad have?”

It was that day I realized people did not see the relationship that I had with Ti-

Stuffed with features from some of the most current hiphop artists, layered with tight, charming flows, piquant lyricism, and topped off with a soulful style that can attract more than just the avid hip-hop listener, Chance The Rapper’s third solo release “Coloring Book” is hands down one of this year’s most defining albums.

The consistency of Chance’s fluid melodies paints such a vivid picture that even features from less poetic artists such as Lil Wayne or Young Thug, who seem to only slightly contribute to the overall symphony of the project. Unlike many other popular hip-hop artists, Chance does not allow the “Coloring Book’” contributors to take over the overall theme and sound of the album.

Kanye West, a prominent contributor to “Coloring Book,” was tremendously influenced and assisted by Chance on his latest project, “The Life of Pablo,” which is an acclaimed “gospel album with a whole lot of cursing in it,” according to West. But unlike West, Chance fulfills the gospel sound on Coloring Book with rich harmonizations

from the Chicago Children’s Choir, lyrical crooning, and a profound message that resonates even after a first listen, without referencing Taylor Swift or “bleached ***holes,” as West did in “The Life of Pablo.”

“Ain’t no blood on my money, ain’t no Twitter in Heaven, I know them drugs isn’t close, ain’t no visiting Heaven,” propagates Chance in the song “Blessings.”

Chance defines hip-hop in 2016. Being in an industry surrounded by others who attempt to guide their career via the internet and other pathetic, mediabased tactics, Chance continues to stand out by providing more product and less talk.

Blood relations are complicated, but family is family no matter what

maria, but rather the relation we had to each other.

From that day on, similar circumstances occurred where I found myself explaining my relation to Timaria. For example when I show pictures of the three of us to friends. Timaria’s dad and our mom have lighter complexions while Morgan and my dad have a darker skin tone, resulting in our skin tone.

This was what everyone felt the need to point out.

But if it’s not the questions of who’s dad is who, or the reason for our skin tone difference, it’s people trying to pry into our business about our family situation.

“Is her dad not around?”

“Do Timaria and your dad hate each other?”

“Do you and Timaria get along?”

The first question is not only annoying, but rude.

There has always been the stereotype that AfricanAmerican fathers are deadbeats and neglect their children. The surprising revelation is that this claim is just a myth.

According to a report by the National Center for Health Statistics in 2014, black fathers spend equal if not more time with their children versus White and Latino fathers, whether living with or without their children. While 16 percent of black fathers who do not live with their children under five years old played with their children daily, only 10 percent of white fathers did.

“The relationship between me and my sister is what a healthy relationship between sisters is supposed to be.”

Album Review: “Coloring Book” by Chance the Rapper

by Max Taylor Staff Reporter

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12 op/ed

Check out more album reviews at hopkinsrp.org

But whether Timaria’s father is or is not around is not your business. Their relationship and situation is between Timaria, her father, and my mother.

Heck, I don’t even know what their system is, but it’s not my responsibility to know anyway.

As for Timaria hating my dad or vice versa, well that is also a bogus question.

When Timaria was five years old, my parents got married to each other. Timaria knew the difference between her real father and her step-father, but to make it clearer, she called her dad Daddy, and my dad, her new stepfather, Daddy Gerald.

And from what she has told me and the exchanges I’ve seen between them, Timaria loves Daddy Gerald. He went to all of her track meets, her orchestra concerts, and dance recitals. He took her on her college tours and even found the college she would be attending: Roanoke College. She has always introduced him as her dad in front of all her friends as her dad.

Therefore, the answer is no.

Timaria and dad love each other very much.

As for getting along with Timara having an older sister has been such a blessing in my life.

Not only do I have someone older looking out for me and filling me in on the secrets of living a successful life, but I have someone who I can talk to when talking to Morgan gets boring, I have someone’s apartment I can crash at when the house is too cramped, and I have someone who keeps me in line when it looks like I might get into trouble.

My name is Trianna Downing. Hers is Timaria Hammond-Downing. Though what separates us from being sisters is a father, our love for each other does not.

Morgan Downing, senior, Timaria Hammond-Downing, and Trianna Downing, senior, pose for a photo at their uncle’s wedding. Morgan and Trianna were born seven years after Timaria.

photo provided by Trianna Downing

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RPThursday, June 2, 2016

Bulking up the strength program

HHS has paired up with Lifetime Fitness of St. Louis Park to implement a weight training program in the Lindbergh Center

by Kyle Miller Staff Reporter When Matt Bowers, senior, walked into the weight room at HHS during April, he noticed something was different. No, new equipment hadn’t been purchased and wall decor hadn’t been put up, however, there were new athletic trainers. This is because HHS finalized a strength training contract with Lifetime Fitness.

“The new trainers are very skilled at what they do, and they really understand how athletes work out. The weight room is definitely going in the right direction,” Bowers said.

The Hopkins School District teamed up with Lifetime Fitness in order to better prepare its athletes for their competitions according to. Hopkins School District’s number one interest is what is best for the kids according to Mr. Dan Johnson, Hopkins Activities Director. Additionally, according to Johnson, the fact that Hopkins has gone through numerous trainers in such a short period played a large part in the decision to finalize the contract.

“We have had the unfortunate situation of going through three strength coaches in less than one year,” Johnson said. “The way the position is designed, it appeared that this may be a constant. We needed to look at more long range ideas and figure out a better way to deliver the program.”

The contract was finalized on April 21, 2016 and is set to be in effect until Dec. 31, 2016. Both parties are hoping to renew the contract when this contract expires. When asked about renewing the contract, Mr. Kerry Sutherland, General Manager of the St Louis Park Lifetime Fitness, was very clear that he wanted to.

“Absolutely. We plan on renewing it and hope we deliver the services that Hopkins and their athletes are looking for us to come back,” Sutherland said.

The contract includes 139 sessions ranging from the beginning of April to the end of December. The sessions are $100 per day, with the exception of July where the cost increases to $180 per day before decreasing back to $100 in Aug. These costs will be paid for

by Hopkins School District.

“The money will be pretty close to the same, either way. Money was not a factor in the final decision, but we do look at finances in every decision made,” Johnson said.

As far as Lifetime working with schools’ strength and conditioning programs, Hopkins is the first.

“Hopkins is the first school [Lifetime] has extended our services to,” Sutherland said.

Both parties hope that the benefits will be mutually experienced.

Hopkins wants to best prepare their athletes for competition and Lifetime Fitness wants to get their name outside of the walls of their business.

“We hope [Hopkins] gets a lot from this contract, and for us, it gives us an opportunity to expand and provide our services in a different location,” Sutherland said.

The contract comes with quite a few terms as well. Lifetime is required to provide trainers who have “certified strength and conditioning specialist or (CSCS)” certification. They also have to give the certified trainers a background check in order for them to be assigned to Hopkins.

“All of our trainers hold a national accreditation of certification as a personal trainer, and we went through and looked for trainers that specialize more in strength and conditioning and that work well with both small and large groups,” Sutherland said.

As far as Hopkins’ side of the contract, they have the right to refuse trainers they see unfit, they don’t have to pay if the weight room is unavailable and also if the session is cancelled due to insufficient number of trainers. Many athletes feel as though Hopkins is moving in the right direction, strength and conditioning wise.

Another athlete who is in favor of the Lifetime trainers is Sam Oxford, junior. Oxford has worked out in the weight room for the whole school year.

“I have worked out six days a week for the whole year and five [days] used to be at school until the old trainer took over because I didn’t feel as though he benefited me, so I started finding other places to workout until the Lifetime guys showed up,” Oxford said.

“They have been great so far by helping you when you ask and leaving you alone when you don’t.”

With the new Lifetime contract, Hopkins is moving in the right direction. They hope that Lifetime is going to provide exactly what the athletes need.

“We hope that this situation is exactly what we were looking for and that our student/athletes are being served in the best possible way,” Johnson said.

A member of the Minnetonka community uses the Lindbergh Center to workout. After school The Lindbergh center hosts individual training and trainers programs. photo by Claire Benton

“Hopkins is the first school [Lifetime] has extended our services to.”

The Lindbergh Center weight room is filled with many machines that students use every day. The HHS partnership with Lifetime Fitness will put these machines to better use. photo by Claire Benton

- Mr. Kerry Sutherland, Lifetime Fitness, SLP

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coming home

after a long journey, taking him to six states and two countries, alumnus terrell sinkfield jr. is returning to his home state to join the minnesota vikings

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by Alex Kim and Max Weesner Sports Bloggers Terrell Sinkfield Jr., 2008 HHS alumnus, takes a sip of his water and talks more to himself than to me as we wait on our food at the Ridgedale Redstone.

“The atmosphere is changing with the Vikings now; they’re starting to win and have a winning atmosphere,” Sinkfield said.

“The new coaching staff brought that new atmosphere in. It reminds me of the feel we had at Hamilton. I’m excited for that.”

On January 23 of this year, Sinkfield signed a futures contract with his hometown, the Minnesota Vikings.

Sinkfield is 25 years old and has been cut by five NFL teams including the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, and the New York Giants. Before college, Sinkfield had never even played the wide receiver position.

That was then. Now, Sinkfield is coming off of his most productive football season of his career as he posted more than 1,000 yards last season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League. The season before that, Sinkfield helped his team to the Grey Cup, the CFL’s version of the Super Bowl.

Hopkins’ hometown hero is now getting another shot with the Vikings.

He has earned it. The player who once reportedly ran the fastest ever hand timed forty yard dash at 4.19 seconds has never given up on his dream of playing in the NFL. Sinkfield has shown dedication, grit, and maturity throughout his journey.

“Where to even start,” Sinkfield said with a laugh.

Sinkfield was not recruited highly out of high school. After dealing with a lingering ankle sprain, Sinkfield was nominated his senior year as honorable mention for the AP Minnesota All-State team in 2008. His 750 yard and 10 touchdown senior year wasn’t enough to convince the University of Minnesota to offer him a scholarship.

“It definitely put a chip on my shoulder. It was a dream and a big motivation of mine to play for Minnesota. This is the only D1 school in Minnesota, but the only regret I have is wishing that [UNI] could’ve played them,” Sinkfield said.

Running backs coach Edward Burnes reflects fondly on Sinkfield’s high school days.

“He was one of the best at changing directions in a full stride that I had ever coached or ever been on a team with at any level,” Burnes said. “And I played with a division one school.”

One of NFL.com’s football writers Kevin Patra offered up a similar analysis of Sinkfield days before the 2013 NFL Draft.

“Watching the 6-foot-1 receiver’s highlights, we expected to see a lot of go routes and Sinkfield just running away from defenders, but the senior displayed a lot more polish than just a track runner,” Patra wrote. “He adjusts well to many of the underthrown passes, fights for the ball, and displays elusiveness in the screen game.”

At the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), Sinkfield got playing time as a true freshman, and by his junior year he was a starting wideout. Throughout the college process, Sinkfield had to adapt to life as a wide receiver after playing running back his whole life.

Nonetheless, the Hopkins alumnus caught 76 passes for 1,097 yards (14.4 average) and 10 scores throughout his time at UNI. “My greatest memory in college was facing rival school North Dakota State University. All the games were crazy, and it made it even more special because I played against my best friend and high school teammate, Marcus Williams who was starting at corner. We would matchup against each other all the time, so that was pretty cool,” Sinkfield said.

For Sinkfield, it was his speed that brought him the recognition to appear on professional teams’ radar.

“I remember him as being one of the fastest young men I had ever seen from a standing start,” Burnes said.

Sinkfield was not invited to the NFL combine and instead had his chance to prove himself at his pro day which took place at the University of Minnesota. 11 professional teams were in attendance.

The 22 year old ran his first forty yard dash in a hand timed 4.27 seconds. The NFL combine record is currently held by running back Chris Johnson, who ran the forty yard dash in a blazing 4.24 seconds.

S inkfield ’s second attempt was clocked in at 4.19 seconds.

A video of Sinkfield sprinting the forty surfaced after the pro day and before long, the sports world was introduced to Sinkfield.

“There was a little buzz going on... I turned on the TV, and sure enough, it was on like every sports show,” Sinkfield said. “It was pretty nuts. [The 4.19] was what I needed to get some more exposure.”

The video wasn’t enough to convince an NFL team to pull the trigger and draft Sinkfield during the 2013 NFL Draft.

“I was getting calls on draft day, but I knew it was kind of a long shot. It wasn’t too big of a disappointment. I was just happy to get phone calls [on draft day],” Sinkfield said with a laugh.

After the draft, Sinkfield decided to sign with the Miami Dolphins. Less than a month later, he was cut.

Sinkfield bounced from team to team, playing a handful of preseason games but never staying long enough to make an impact.

“I went through the transition all throughout college of making the transition from running back, and I think that’s a big part of me getting cut in the NFL, still not being my full potential as a receiver. The teams wanted to see a more polished receiver, so that experience was rough,” Sinkfield said.

By August 25, Sinkfield was back in Minnesota and jobless. He knew he had a tough decision to make.

“The opportunity came for me to go to Canada to go to the CFL,” Sinkfield said. “I took it as an opportunity to get more experience as a receiver. It ended up being the best decision I made.”

In his first year with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Sinkfield

“Now that I’m signed with Minnesota, it’s time. It’s really a dream come true, growing up watching the Vikings. It still hasn’t really hit me yet.”

- Terrell Sinkfield, Hopkins alumnus

infographic by Claire Benton

helped the Cats make it to the CFL championship game, the Grey Bowl. The following year, Sinkfield blew up, doubling and tripling his previous year’s statistics in receptions, yards, scores, and games started.

Sinkfield posted 1,399 all purpose yards in 2015 and received recognition for six receiving touchdowns.

On January 23, 2016, Sinkfield’s hard work panned out into a second chance. He was offered a futures contract for his hometown team, the Minnesota Vikings.

“Now that I’m signed with Minnesota, it’s time. It’s really a dream come true, growing up watching the Vikings. It still hasn’t really hit me yet,” Sinkfield said.

Sinkfield is ready to get to work in a Vikings uniform.

“My first goal is to make the team. Other than that, I want to fight for a starting job as a receiver and help get the team to a Super Bowl any way I can. I’m excited to go out there and block for Adrian Peterson. He’s the greatest running back to do it. I’m just excited and ready to get out there.”

a farewell from your sports bloggers Hey Hopkins, this is Max Weesner and Alex Kim. From driving to distant sports events, traveling to Portland, Oregon, and sitting courtside at the Target Center, it’s been a pleasure writing for the Royal Page. We want to give a big thank you to everyone who took the time to read our articles; we hope you enjoyed them as much as we enjoyed writing them for you. A big shoutout to Mr. Kocur for giving us so much freedom to pursue our stories. We hope everyone has a good summer. Go Royals!

RP Thursday, June 2, 2016

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Graduating With the Class of 2016 photo by Trianna Downing

Donna McCarthy, Social Studies Ms. Donna McCarthy, Social Studies, is retiring this year after 29 years in the Hopkins School District.

To McCarthy, the highlight of HHS is working with the students and seeing their personal improvement.

“My highlight is being with kids, and being able to see them grow. I love the school environment as well,” McCarthy said.

She also believes that HHS has one of the best teaching staffs in the state, and that makes on top of our diversity is what makes HHS unique.

Emily Goering says that she will miss McCarthy for the kindness she has received from her.

“I will miss her kindness to all of her students. She really respects the students and thinks highly of all of us,” Goering said.

McCarthy is looking forward to traveling more and spending time with her family and friends in her retirement.

page by Abby Doeden Backpage Editor

photo by Abby Doeden

photo by Carmen Garrigos

photo by Abby Doeden

Scott Neiman, Alternative Program

Sue Westegaard, Math

Randi Rood, Art Department Chair

Mr. Scott Neiman, Hopkins Alternative Program (HAP) Coordinator, is retiring this year after working for the Hopkins District for 26 years.

Neiman began working in the HAP program in January of 1990 when he realized his passion was helping other people, specifically students.

“I really like leading the alternative program, and giving them opportunities to work with different things,” Neiman said.

As far as his favorite aspects of HHS, Neiman admires the school for the creativity and innovation he has seen over the years.

Neiman believes that HHS is unique because of the staff and students that makes up the campus’ population.

Sydney Bloomquist, sophomore, had Neiman this year, and says she has valued his influence in her life.

“I will really miss how he is always willing to help someone when they need it,” Bloomquist said.

Neiman is looking forward to spending all of his days how he wants to during his retirement.

After 45 years of teaching, 20 of those spent at HHS, Sue Westergaard, Math, is retiring.

For Westergaard to decide on one aspect of HHS she admired the most was difficult.

But ultimately, it was the diversity that she believes makes HHS so unique “With the diverse culture here, you get so many different perspectives and opinions” Westergaard said.

Westergaard also believes that she has enjoyed all of the opportunities that HHS gives to teachers to learn new skills and techniques.

Raena Suggs, sophomore, had Westergaard as her geometry teacher, and says that besides the granola bars, she will miss the effort that Westergaard puts towards her teaching. “[She] really cares about her students and wants them to pass the class. She will stay after school if we need her, which isn’t something that a lot of high school teachers will do,” Suggs said.

Westergaard says that she hopes to start teaching more yoga during her retirement.

Ms. Randi Rood, Art Instructor and Department Chair, is retiring this year after working for 20 years in the Hopkins District.

The highlight of Rood’s time at HHS was the trip she and her AP Drawing and Painting students took to Nicaragua to teach art. HHS has since had a tradition of painting portraits of kids in orphanages there for 10 years.

Other than her trips, Rood will miss the HHS students and staff.

“I love working with all of the wonderfully quirky, diverse students, and the fun, committed staff here,” Rood said.

Art plays a huge part in Rood’s life, and believes art is necessary in a person’s life. She loves the creative and intuitive expressiveness of art and being able to share it with students.

Mr. Christian Blanck, Art, says he will miss Rood’s personality. “[Rood] is very zany and crazy and I’ll really miss that,” Blanck said.

In her retirement, Rood is looking forward to continuing making art, and traveling more.

photo by Mary Arndt

Susan Kooman, Special Education Susan Kooman, Special Education, is retiring this year after 23 years at HHS. What Kooman loved most about HHS was the diversity throughout the high school.

“You can have a kid who has a lot of money next to one who has very little,” Kooman said.

“It is very special to see, and is one thing that makes Hopkins unique.”

Aside from the diversity, Kooman will also miss working with the students and staff at HHS. “The staff here are really great, and the students are super fun to work with,” Kooman said.

Ms. Deb Franson, Special Ed Secretary, says that she will really miss Kooman’s work ethic next year.

“I’m going to miss Susan’s ability to never be frazzled by anything. Things will happen, and she will just move on,” Franson said.

In her retirement, Kooman is looking forward to spending more time with her grandchildren, and focusing more on her hobbies.