May 2017

SCHOOL SPIRIT

#13RW

BASEBALL

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The Sentinel On Guard VOLUME X, ISSUE 3

AN OPEN FORUM FOR STUDENT EXPRESSION SINCE 1982

MAY 2017

NEWS

BY HAILIE FITZPATRICK STAFF

Do you understand waking up way too early and staying up late? Were you taught the harmful effects that may follow and ways to prevent them?

An extreme consequence of lack of sleep is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) which is a condition that can reduce the flow of oxygen to vital organs and cause irregular heart rhythms. More problems include Narcolepsy, emotional issues, mood swings, hyperactivity, trouble concentration and more all play factors in lack of sleep.

A 2011 Huffington Post found some major outcomes for teens getting only five hours of sleep compared to those getting eight or more.

For example, binge drinking was a 70% increased risk, contemplating suicide a 55% increase, weapon carrying a 75% increase, and a 40% rise in obesity.

Sleepsomatics is a blog post that’s focus is restorative sleep, they found 73 out of 102 students felt they did worse on an assignment or exam due to lack of sleep.

For Spanaway Lake, school begins at 7:50, meaning that most buses pick up at six to seven o’clock, requiring the students to wake up almost an hour or more in advance to get ready.

It is easy to ask “Why don’t you just go to bed earlier?” Well, this school does not get out until after 2:00 p.m. and many students play after-school sports or have jobs, and not to mention too much homework. Teens get up earlier and stay up later and make up on the weekends. After all is done, students are still expected to socialize with family and friends, eat, shower, and whatever

miscellaneous activities pop up throughout the day but by this time it is much too late to get the full amount of hours we need.

Sophomore Jaqueline Maldonado said she “barely” sleeps, typically getting “four hours.”

Maldonado thinks you need sleep to “concentrate better” and to avoid being “tired in class” so you can pay more attention.

Teens are at an important stage of growth and development, so we need more sleep than adults which many do not realize.

Teens need eight to nine hours of sleep in order to feel rested and alert. Weekends may even be effected as the “internal clock” is influenced by weekly routines making many teens wake up between six and seven o’clock on their weekends off out of pure weekly habit. Many teens do not get enough sleep because of busy schedules, active social lives and get conflicting views on sleep. Parents need to create a calm and quiet atmosphere around bedtime so teens can unwind and relax. It is important to avoid any caffeine after 4:00 p.m, keep lights dim an hour before you go to bed and if you must nap keep it under an hour.

I am sure many of us hate that noisy alarm we hear Monday through Friday, the one that comes way too early disturbing the nice sleep but there are ways to adjust your time to attempt the possibility of more hours of rest.

Yes, schools should take sleep into consideration as lack of it can cause bad grades and bad attitudes but until that actually happens or if it ever does, you now know many ways to help yourself feel rested, or at least more than before.

SLEEPING STUDENTS: Sophomore Hailie Fitzpatrick snoozes in her class due to a lack of sleep. “If i’m lucky I get six hours of sleep” she states.

PHOTO BY ZOE SMITH

Lack of Sleep Hurts Teenage Brains and Study Habits

Are You Ready for Prom? The Most Important Meal Seniors, this years prom is on May 20th from 8-11pm. The theme is “Beauty and the Beast.” Be our guests at the Pioneer Park Pavilion in Puyallup. The prices are $20 with ASB and $25 without. There will be no tickets sold at the door.

The top trending colors for prom are primarily red, but more specifically satin burgundy, jersey grape, and even black.

Students who can not afford a prom dress can talk to counselor Jen Thomson to get more information.’

The dress code for prom is strictly formal attire. Prom is a formal dance traditionally held at the end of the year.

It usually tends to be in mid- to lateMay. The dance is for seniors. Some high schools have a junior prom. It is extremely idolized by every teenage girl in her dreams and in movies. They dream at a young age that it is a night to remember.

How do teens feel about prom? Going to prom is a high school milestone, and prom traditions have been around for decades.

Dresses, dinner, DJ’s, and dancing are all part of the amazing tradition.

For most teenagers, prom is all about celebrating life with friends or a significant other; however, there are negative aspects that are associated with prom as well, things like drinking, drugs, DUI’s, damaged self-esteem, or date rape can ruin the special night for everyone involved.

Senior Draeven Hayes said, “I look forward to prom because it’s the last dance of high school.”

Prom is the final celebration. It is the last dance you have with your high school friends and significant others in high school. Everyone knows what prom is and most look forward to it because of it being so idealized in movies, school, and sometimes even at home.

BY ISSAC MORALES STAFF

Breakfast is an essential part of a student’s day and should be a part of every person’s morning routine. It not only provides important daily nutrients such as protein, fiber, calcium and carbohydrates, but it also helps improve school performance and daily function.

Eating breakfast can wake students up in the morning and get them ready for the day that comes hurling at them. Just think about it, going to sleep around 9PM and not waking up until 7AM deprives the body from important nutrients that it needs to grow and flourish. Breakfast can really get people groovin’ and movin’!

According to Statistic Facts, studies from March of 2015 show that, 44% of Americans eat breakfast everyday and 22% of Americans that skip breakfast are obese due to the metabolic system slowing down once a meal is skipped. As reported by Kellogg, 77% of young children eat breakfast every day, but the number decreases to 50% in middle-schools and 36% among high school students. Breakfast is sometimes compensated later in the day by eating extra snacks for lunch or dinner which can and will lead to obesity. Obesity is an issue because it has steadily been ascending in lives of students in America and all around schools. Obesity is defined as having excess body fat. In keeping with the CDC, the percentage of children with obesity in the United States has more than

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE AP.

STAFF

PHOTO BY ZOE SMITH

BY KALLI HARPE-PROVORSE

tripled since the 1970s. Today, about one in five school-aged children (ages 6–19) is obese.

Women are more inclined to prioritize their hair and changing clothes than eating breakfast. Anything in the morning will help a person, even just a banana or a cup of yogurt. A morning meal should be considered everyday because not only does it taste good but your body will give thanks throughout the day and for the rest of your life.

Just going around asking my fellows classmates in this journalism class, no one states they eat breakfast everyday in the morning. People need to realize the nutritional value or the statistics for obesity will continue to rise.

It can affect your body and your self esteem, it only takes one piece of food to change the outlook of your body and your future. So please, everyone eat something in the morning and make it healthy so your day can be filled with happiness from your stomach and your body.

2

MAY 2017

Op-Ed

ON GUARD

THE ON GUARD | EDITORIALS

On Guard iPads in the Classroom

Spanaway Lake High School 1305 168th Street East Spanaway, WA 98387

EDITORIAL BOARD............................ Annabelle Crider ....................................................................... Freddie Green ........................................................................... Lexi Herzer ............................................................................. Zoe Smith REPORTERS ............................................. Jerdale Castro .................................................................. Hailie Fitzpatrick .................................................. Quinton DeLeon Guerrero ..................................................................... Hunter Haegele ............................................................ Kalli Harpe Provorse .................................................................... Terron Harrison ............................................................................... Joey Holt ........................................................................ Issac Morales ......................................................................... Jason Rehms ................................................................................. AJ Rose ..................................................................... Alyssa Taijeron ................................................................... Kaylee Tolentino ADVISER ...................................................... Todd Keister

PRINTING INFORMATION The On Guard is published and uploaded to Issuu.com on a monthly basis MISSION STATEMENT 1. First and foremost, the On Guard stands to inform and entertain the intellect of the student body, we shall at all times cover all stories with accuracy, integrity, and fairness.

2. The On Guard stands to obey all laws set forth and abide by the On Guard Code of Ethics.

3. The On Guard stands as an open forum newsmagazine. All students who submit an article, photograph, or artwork that meets all of the standards for publication and fits the tone of the issue shall be considered for publication.

4. All journalists shall respect the school and community by reporting with objectivity, honesty and accuracy.

5. The On Guard shall strive to exceed the highest standards of high school journalism.

6. To ensure accuracy, any corrections that shall be necessary will be printed promptly and neatly.

EDITORIAL POLICIES 1. Letters to the editor are accepted, and shall be printed if they meet the following criteria; submissions must be 50-250 words in length, convey a defined opinion expressed with details, and signed by the author with a signature and a grade level 2. The On Guard reserves the right not to publish any editorial submission for any reason. The On Guard may also edit to condense submissions that do not meet the given 50-250 word limit.

3. All opinionated publications must meet the same standards of fairness, accuracy, and integrity as all other submissions.

4. The Op-Ed page shall always give credit to all contributing staff members, in the staff box.

5. Staff editorials reflect two-thirds majority opinion of the On Guard. The staff as a whole may appoint a specific person to write the opinion of the staff.

CODE OF ETHICS 1. The On Guard shall abide by all laws.

2. The privacy of all students shall be protected.

For sensitive information to be published of a minor, a student release form with the signature of his/her parent or guardian is required.

3a. In the event of a death of a student, the On Guard shall write an obituary including the name of the person, the birth date, cause of death (if public), date, time, and place of death; date, time, and status of the memorial services; the family survivors of the deceased person.

3b. The On Guard may also choose to run a story about the deceased person, cause of death, the life of that person, and any other information if deemed by the Editorial Board to be newsworthy.

3c. No opinionated article should be written about the death of the student, unless in the form of a letter to the editor.

3d. The immediate family or guardians of the deceased may request for any and/or all information to be withheld from publication, in respect to that family.

4. Never should any article contain information or dialogue that personally attacks another student, or specific member of the community.

5. Any material deemed offensive by an editor (in charge of that page) or the adviser shall be withheld from publication.

6. If the details in a publication are relevant to the material, they may and should be published, despite if the facts are offensive. The truth is more important than making sure that the person isn’t offended by the facts of the content.

7. To protect the integrity of the On Guard, the adviser and/or Editor-in-Chief reserve the “fire” any staff member for inappropriate or untimely behavior. The advisor and/or Editor-in-Chief also reserve the right to reject the entry of any student into the On Guard staff.

8. All ads are subject to the same standards of decency as all other news and editorial submissions.

9. The On Guard may reject the submissions of any advertiser, if the product is deemed offensive and/or harmful to minors. Advertising will not be allowed to influence news content.

10. What a staff member does in their personal life is reflective upon the On Guard.

11. Staff members should not accept gifts from news sources, as a matter of a conflict of interests.

GOT OPINIONS? SEND LETTERS TO ROOM 215 OR E-MAIL US AT SLHSONGUARD@GMAIL.COM

BY ALEXANDRIA HERZER EDITOR

Advancements in new-age technology have come so far. In the Bethel School District, every student is issued an iPad at the beginning of the school year.

The questions to ask, however, are they worth the cost, and do they benefit or hinder the ability to learn at each student’s fullest capacity?

At some point in life we have all heard someone of prior generations tell those of us born in the “age of technology” that we have become slaves to our screens, and we simply laugh, but what if they are completely accurate?

According to a 2014 national study, the average person in the US spends approximately 7.4 hours in front of some form of electronic.

You may be asking yourself why this matters, and the answers to that are as follows: City of Tacoma taxpayers passed a Technology Levy in 2014 that would equip nearly 10,000 students in the Tacoma School District with iPads. What is not well known is that the total cost that was paid was close to $4.5 million to supply the students with these devices, and another $325,000 for wireless upgrades in the schools. With all of those expenses, it seems to have created a major controversy.

For many reasons the iPads used by the Bethel School District students are not as useful as what was expected; in fact, constant exposure to electronics causes changes in brain activity leading to a reaction similar to someone addicted to drugs.

You may ask how it is even close to similar, so here is the science behind it.

Exposure to technology, over time, has lead to decreased tissue volume in the frontal lobe (organization and impulse control) along with tissue loss within the insula (empathy and compassion development).

Not only is there tissue loss in the brain,

but there is significant white matter loss as well, which is what formulates a connection between the two hemispheres in the brain and between the different lobes. With the loss of communication throughout the brain, this leads to impaired cognitive function along with impaired dopamine release which means one could get depressed or withdrawal symptoms from the technology device.

With all this being said, it shows that technology exposure does not help the educational process, but hinders the basic brain function which makes learning more difficult for the average student.

Seeing how technology affects the brain, it is now time to delve deep into how it all applies to the iPad usage in our district.

Of the 300 students that were surveyed, an overwhelming 89% feel as if the iPads serve no real benefits to the learning processes because everything was provided prior to receiving iPads.

Students are required to always have these devices on hand to use during class, but what about those students who refuse to use the iPads due to the difficulty in functioning with so much screen time? The teachers and the school have made possession of these iPads mandatory, so students may begin to fail rather than excel.

Knowing how to spell is becoming obsolete due to most programs having spell check.

The ability to communicate with our fellow peers has plummeted as well, because group projects are done in front of a screen where collaboration is no longer necessary.

With all the negative aspects, there are many things that help improve work in the classrooms. They allow everyone to have access to the materials for the classroom, interactive quizzes like kahoot.it, and even explore new activities that were not available without the iPads.

In the end, the iPads are not worth the cost, both economically and mentally.

Keyboards or Pencils?

BY KAYLEE TOLENTINO

STAFF Imagine yourself taking a test, do you see it being taken online or on paper?

With technologies becoming more advanced, everything seems to happens online now. Tests that used to be taken on paper only are now primarily taken online. I am all for the convenience that the internet has to offer.

Even though we all know that everything has pros and cons to it.

The internet offers impeccable speed for taking tests online, but there are also a number of downfalls.

Computers can be unreliable. We never know when they are going to stop working.

They can also just not save your work or lose your work out of nowhere making you have to start over.

Computers are distracting.

Students spend a lot of time roaming the internet on social media applications, or online shopping instead of taking their test. Students also are able to use the internet to cheat on their tests.

Computers can cause headaches.

These headaches are caused from strained eyes, which can be harmful because these headaches could lead to worse outcomes. A headache can be just a headache, however it could also mean that the student could have something wrong with their eyes.

Computers are not cheap. Each

computer fresh of the assembly line is a least a couple hundred dollars. Some are even as expensive as tens of thousands of dollars.

According to Cincinnati.com, the setup for online tests can make it difficult for some students to continue their testing.

The student can actually accidently press the “exit test” button which is right next to the “next question” button.

Also, online testing strains student’s eyes causing headaches, which could cause them to not do well on the test.

Online testing doesn’t only include negative aspects. There are also perks to taking tests online.

Online tests are simply way more convenient.

They are so easily accessible, they’re everywhere, I cannot think of one classroom that doesn’t have a computer in it. Especially for tests that include some kind of writing section.

Online tests are beneficial to the environment. Instead of printing off a 50-page packet for a state standardized test for each student who needs to take it, they can save paper by having it be computerized.

Both sides of this argument bring up valid points. It really just depends on the test taker. So which side are you on?

Pencil and paper or mouse and keyboard?

HEAD MAESTRO

We need more spirit!

ANNABELLE CRIDER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Hollywood has a glamorous view of high school spirit: the entire gym shaking with spirit, students dressed up in the hallways, and nearly every single student participating in spirit activities. School spirit at Spanaway Lake seems to be nearly nonexistent.

Not only does having school spirit make high school more enjoyable, but according to the Connecticut Association of Schools, “Students with school spirit perform better academically, are more socially and civically engaged and happier in general than their less-spirited peers.” One example of this is Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah which claims to be one of the most spirited high schools in the United States. Their graduation rate is a staggering 93%.

At our ‘pep’ assemblies it is evident that the seniors are the only ones bleeding Sentinel spirit. Their tutus and pom poms leave teal flying through the gym.

Why do underclassmen not have school spirit? Maybe what they need is motivation.

All over the country, high schools use Spirit Point competitions between the classes to drive the students to unwavering levels of spirit. Naturally, when a competition is won a prize is expected. It does not take much. The school does not need large amounts of money to do something extravagant with the winning class, simply an ice cream party, or a movie day would work just fine.

The Spirit Point competition might seem a little complicated, but it is actually simple.

During rallies and assemblies, playing fun games or having loudness competitions are easy ways to decide who gets spirit points. On Spirit Days tallies can be made for each person wearing their spirit gear, points are awarded to that grade level.

“Don’t drop the spirit stick!” It is a phrase all high school girls have heard at least once in their lives, but spirit sticks are not just for girls and cheerleaders. The stick, a decorative piece of PVC plastic, made up in school colors, can once again be used in Spirit Point competitions.

A fun tradition to start is the annual hiding of the spirit stick and the student who finds it wins a certain number of spirit points for their class.

With all of these class competitions students are bound to feel a sense of unity within their own class. Actually, school spirit can bring an entire school together as one. Witnessing this first hand is completely different than just reading about it.

In the Medford School District, where I last went, there is an annual “Milli Vanilli” lip sync and dance competition. Milli Vanilli was a pair of guys in the 80s and 90s who won many awards for their music, but it was later discovered that they lip-synced all their songs; hence the name of their competition.

Any student could sign up for it with their class and they spend up to three months rehearsing and creating choreography for their performance, which would be showcased at a special assembly. Over those months students bonded closely together. Typically the seniors “won” but it was still fun for all the grades. Even the teachers surprised their students with a shorter dance. The winner of this competition typically won the entire Spirit Point competition.

School Spirit at Spanaway Lake is very far and few. Most of the time freshman do not even attempt to pretend they want to be here, sophomores are even less enthusiastic, juniors are on the brink and the seniors blow us all out of the water.

The Leadership class led by Kellie Neal continues to do their best to amp up the student body. They plan out all of the student activities and are an example of what all of the students in the building should do. Without the Leadership class and their spirit, I am sure that we would be far worse off.

Perhaps the solution could be a smaller club; the most spirited of the Sentinels who do not have time in their school schedule for a Leadership class. They could actually input their ideas and contribute their spirit without having to sacrifice one of their needed class slots. Meeting only a few times a month could benefit the overall happiness of the school in a great way.

The point I want to make is that school spirit, while it might not be important to every single person, matters. High school is hard, stressful and it can suck, if you let it. It does not have to suck though. Students can work together to make high school fun or even exciting. Do not let high school suck here. Enjoy your last few years of being a kid.

ON GUARD

News

MAY 2017

3

World War Three Is Happening In Your Backyard

BY ZOE SMITH EDITOR

Reading through national news, one could believe we are on the brink of a third major World War. This news can be troubling to American citizens worried about attacks on our own country.

The events that have led up to this worry, are as followed:

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE AP PHOTO ARCHIVE

Syria

WWIII: Soilders are lined up and listen to orders given to them by their sargent. In preperation for World War Three the United States will have to train thousands of young men to be able to fight for our country.

Climate Change is Real The impacts of climate change include warming temperatures, changes in precipitation, increases in the frequency or intensity of some extreme weather events, and the rising sea levels.

The loss of more than 370,000 people can be attributed to extreme weather and climate events over the past decade (The Weather Channel) from the extreme weather events such as massive precipitation, flooding, droughts, and storms.

These impacts threaten our health by affecting the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the weather we experience. Warmer average temperatures will lead to hotter days and more frequent and longer heat waves.

This will also lead to possible chances of flooding or drought in certain areas which creates challenges for food distribution if roads and waterways are damaged or made inaccessible. Change in climate also affects Earth’s weather behaviors.

Climate change also affects the ocean,

Russia

one way it does is coral bleaching. When water is too warm, corals will expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues causing the coral to turn completely white which causes the coral to die out. Coral reefs play a very important role in the marine ecosystem, they act as a barrier from storms and surges, they provide nutrition for fish and other marine life, and regulate carbon dioxide levels in the oceans.

It is the release of greenhouse gasses (Co2) that is what scientist believe is responsible for all these unfortunate events. The United States being the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases because of the massive amounts of fossil fuels. The fossil fuels are burned for the use of manufacturing heat, electricity, and transportation (epa. gov sources of greenhouse gas emissions).

Greenhouse gasses our made up of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and several other fluorinated gases.

The impacts of climate change include millions of things that you would never expect. It affects our health and food.

THE ICE CAPS: Due to the recent amount of world wide climate change the ice caps are melting! Not only are they beautiful, but they will cause ocean levels to rise and take away the habitats of many organisms .

Russia has recently sided with Syria and has ordered the United States to stand down. On April 19th and 20th, Russian bombers were intercepted off of the coast of Alaska, allowing Putin to flex his military muscles. Russia is one of Syria’s most powerful allies. Russia has also been using these so called “Honey Traps”.

They have women sit in the bars where the soldiers go to after there rounds and having them message them for meet ups saying that they our friends of their colleagues (Express.co.uk by Marco Giannangeli).

Another superpower, China, has also recently threatened to start war with North Korea over the continual nuclear tests that Leader Kim Jong-un has ordered.

Jong-un also has gathered over 25,000 troops in the last few months and has been seen preparing for war. North Korea has recently adopted a nuclear bomb program and the tests are strategically run in order for the country to show off it’s power.

President Trump has indulged in other countries affairs. He told in a recent conference that he is going to try and place nukes in South Korea.

“That’s worth having not as good a trade deal as I would normally be able to make,” said Trump in an interview with Abigail Crutchfield of CNN. Trump recently sent VicePresident Mike Pence to South Korea to meet with their leaders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang have been fortifying their borders with North Korea in advance of any attack on the country.

All of this information could be very overwhelming to think about.

So has the world go too far?

Do you think that the ominus World War 3 is upon us? World War 3 is here.

What are you going to do about it?

Has the world gone too far? Have we overstepped the boundaries we had created? What caused all of this? How will this affect you? Here are the answers:

We are at war. We can’t do much about it being in high school. To help though you can talk to your family at home and ask about what type of emergency plans you have. Making sure that if you aren’t aloud to leave your house for reasons that you have at least two weeks of food and water for everyone in your family. If a situation does break out keep calm don’t panic. Call the local police department and sit tight. We will get through this.

Minimum Wage Raising

BY KAYLEE TOLENTINO STAFF

PHOTO BY PHOTOGRAPHER’S NAME

BY QUINTON DELON GUERRO STAFF

Recently the United States military dropped 59 bombs on Syria.

Syria had already killed dozens of their own people and at the least 11 children with a deadly chemical weapon within their own deadly civil war.

During his election campaign, President Donald Trump stated that, “We’re spending $6 trillion dollars on wars in the Middle East, while our own country falls into total disrepair.”

President Trump’s decision to drop the Mother of All Bombs (MOAB) on Afghanistan on April 13, at a cost of $16 million dollars. The statement he made during his campaign continues to show how quickly he flips on different platforms.

The MOAB was was dropped onto a series of tunnels dug in Afghanistan by Syrians trying to move into the country through these underground tunnels. Only 87 people were killed in the bombing and no children were said to be killed

China & North Korea

As one of the millions of employees found in minimum wage jobs I am very concerned about where our economy is headed with the rapid uprise of minimum wage. From 2016 to 2017 minimum wage in most counties is at least $11.00 dollars an hour. When I got my first job minimum wage was at $9.47 an hour for the county I was working in, down the street a couple blocks in a different county my friend was earning $10.45 an hour at her job. Although these dramatic increases in minimum wage standards haven’t already started directly affecting us the repercussions are well on their way.

It’s a give and take kind of situation. We give the employees more money an hour for their contribution to the job and in return pay more for everyday necessities like gas for the car or weekly groceries.

Do you like being employed? What about making at least $11.00 dollars an hour? I know the money adds up quick, and having more money is always nice, but in result to a higher minimum wage, the prices of everyday items skyrocket.

It’s basic economics, we get paid more as

employees therefore the cost to make things like clothes goes up, as well as the price of groceries and gas and other items that have a daily use. Employers use up more money to fill out paychecks, the more money it takes to pay us the more money it takes to make things we use the money we earned to buy.

Not only does the minimum wage increase make everything more expensive it also makes the unemployment rate go up. Employers especially now want hard workers. The work world is especially cut throat. Potential employees know employers want harder workers, laziness results in termination. Employers do not want to fill open job opportunities with lazy bodies, especially now since minimum wage is at an all time high.

They feel the employees should work harder since they are earning more money.

They simply do not want to nor have the wiggle room to be employing people who aren’t going to help benefit the company.

PHOTO BY ISSAC MORALES

EVERYBODY BUY A YEARBOOK!!!!!!!

Don’t miss an opportunity to see your amazing self and your friends. The opportunity of being able to look back and see the amazing things you and your friends have done this year and being able to keep all of the captured memories that will never move from time is something you can not miss out on!

Being able to see all of our school’s accomplishments and victories we’ve gained this year!! The yearbook is $45 with ASB and $55 without ASB, so go buy your yearbook today!

Hurry and buy soon after may 15th the yearbooks will be on a first come first served basis!!

WORK HARD: Seniors Nick Misley and Jordan Zambrano work hard at Pizza Time.

4 MAY 2017

PHOTO COURTESY OF AP PHOTO ARCHIVE

News

ON GUARD

SCIENCE JOBS: A group of protestors in DC shows how important science funding is in the United States.

Science Takes A Stand on Earth Day

PHOTO COURTERSY OF AP PHOTO ARCHIVE

BY ANNABELLE CRIDER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SCIENCE MARCH: In Washington D.C thousands of science-lovers gathered to express their love and bring attention to their needs. They did this with creative signs and by peacefully marching.

Whether a person realizes it or not, science is used everyday in the life of your average human. It is essential for life.

On April 22, 2017 , Earth Day, scientists and science-loving citizens all around the world participated in the “March for Science.” The main march took place in Washington D.C, but thousands of other demonstrators gathered in 610 “Satellite marches” in places such as Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and all over the world including Australia, Germany, France and many more.

The spark that ignited this march was President Trumps science policies. He suggested a budget with severe cuts for agencies like the National Institutes of Health, which would lose 18 percent of their funding in his blueprint and the Environmental Protection Agency, which faces a 31 percent budget cut and the elimination of a quarter of the agency’s 15,000 employees. The US attorney general, Jeff Sessions has

also announced the dismantling of the National Commission on Forensic Science. Overall the science programs would lose about seven billion dollars.

At the march in D.C there were many large speakers such as the infamous Bill Nye the Science Guy, Dr. Tyler Dewitt- a popular YouTuber, many college professors and CEO’s of major corporations.

In an interview with The Guardian, Nye stated that Trump administration is “hiring the least qualified people on the planet to run the agencies.” he also states that Trumps dismissal of climate change was “dangerous”.

On the topic of climate change, another march was organized for Saturday April 29th, but this one is dedicated completely to bringing awareness to climate change.

2017 has been a year full of marches, protests, and riots. The United States citizens and the citizens of the world are standing up for what they believe in and it has been an interesting journey to watch from an outside perspective.

The Unicorn Frappe Fail

BY ANNBELLE CRIER, ZOE SMITH, ALEXANDRIA HERZER

UNICORN POOP: This is a visual representation of what a person would think the unicorn frappe tasted like.

get this drink. The first Starbucks was out and I just HAD to have this drink. I ran across a parking lot, all the way to Safeway to make sure I got one. Thankfully, they had everything. I order the Venti because I was so excited and thought it would taste amazing. The $5.50 was slightly worth it.

The drink looked awesome. Something that looks exactly like what you would think unicorn crap would look like. The look matched the taste: sour mango and blue jolly rancher crap. Me, being a idiot, drank over half of the drink and ate that soamazing colored powder on top of the whip cream. It tasted like I just licked all the sour power off of a Warhead sour candy.

I, being the crazy person that I am, as the people who know me know, drank over half of it and ended up making my tongue go raw from the sour powder and sour blue drippings in it. I was hoping that it would get better and the taste would grow on me to become somewhat nice. It did not. I am honestly very disappointed and not pleased.

But, you know it is like a unicorn - you only see it once in your life. I will be happy to die and never see and taste it again.

Lexi: Plastered all over Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat previews, this drink was made to be known. Everyone, including me, was so hyped to try it; however, it was a drastic disappointment.

The layered colors, pink at the bottom and blue at the top, with the colorful powder on top of the whipped cream was the only thing I had found appealing about this drink. This drink ultimately was a failed experiment.

PHOTO BY ANNABELLE CRIDER

PHOTO BY GOOGLE

Annabelle: Like every other basic girl out here I was so excited to hear that there would be a Unicorn Frappe. The first Starbucks sold out of the drinks because they ran out of the ingredients by 3 p.m., however, the second one prepared our Venti drink beautifully.

When I first saw the drink, my mouth started watering. The second it touched my tongue, I wanted to shrivel up and die.

It was sour, not sweet until the last few seconds when the flavor was leaving my mouth. Then, it was unbearingly sweet.

I was only able to handle maybe three sips from the entire thing. It was brutal.

Zoe: I was so excited when I heard of this drink. I honestly felt like I was five-yearsold. I arrived at the Starbucks so ready to

PHOTO BY ZOE SMITH

EDITORS

CRAZY COLORS: The infamous Unicorn Frappe gleams in glory with all of it’s beautiful, but digusting colors.

This drink was sold out at most Starbucks within the first week.

A&E

ON GUARD

MAY 2017

5

Popular Music of 2017

is a very energetic and favorable song.

Future’s song “Mask Off,” Kodak Black’s song “Tunnel Vision,” and Migos “Bad and Boujee” are also some of the songs that made it to greatest hits of 2017. These songs have incredible beats and these artists have made it to the top by having nothing but talent.

One of the best albums of this year so far is American Teen by Khalid, with songs like “Location” and “8teen.” XXX Tentacion “Look At Me” which are all good party songs.

Musicians in 2017 have really stepped up their ways of creating songs that not only have meaningful lyrics, but also have beats that make you want to stop what you’re doing and just dance to the song. There is nothing better than having a feeling like no one can stop you from doing what you feel the need to do, but at the end of the day, music just isn’t all about what song is better than the other, it’s about the lyrics and how you can vibe with them and others, and making new connections with everyone just based off of a song. So, remember don’t be afraid of showing your taste in music, it can start a new friendship with anyone!

PHOTO COURTSEY OF AP PHOTO ARCHIVE

STAFF Feeling the beat from the amazing bass, the brilliantly organized harmonies, and even singing along with the artist.

Music is what makes everyone connect on a different level and in ways we may of never thought we could. Music can make you feel anything from happy and excited, to chill and relaxed.

The Billboard Top 100, currently consists of a large variety of popular songs that you can’t get out of your head like: Ed Sheeran with the song “Shape of You,”, Kendrick Lamar with “Humble,” and Bruno Mars with the groovy sounds of “That’s What I Like.” These songs can be looked as the greatest hits of 2017, so far.

These artists have a variety of genres that reach out to everyone’s unique tastes in music and can be one of the ways that brings people together in schools or even work. These songs can really get you groovin’ no matter what mood you are in.

In my opinion, all of these songs are pretty good. Kendrick’s “Humble” is great because, it consists of a really nice beat and you can definitely feel the vibes. It is a fun song that you can really jam to, along with other top songs such as “Now or Never” by Halsey that

PHOTO COURTESY OF AP PHOTO ARCHIVE

BY JOEY HOLT

13 Reasons Why: A Netflix Original

BY ALEXANDRIA HERZER EDITOR

“Th1rteen R3asons Why”, 2017’s biggest Netflix obsession, is a drama that has so many people hooked. This emotionally grasping show, based off of a book, is about a girl named Hannah Baker who tragically took her own life and left her parents in confusion along with heavy despair. However, the one’s who received the thirteen tapes know the real reasons; them.

Clay Jensen is one of the final people expected to receive the tapes and is completely baffled on why he is a part of Hannah’s elaborate plan or what her purpose behind them was.

This show covers a variety of tear jerking scenarios like suicide, bullying, rape, depression, and the loss of so called “good friends”, yet the one thing that could have gone right seemed to go terribly wrong.

Hannah Baker started off as a sophomore at Liberty High School, knowing absolutely no one, but Miss Antilly, her guidance counselor, took it upon herself to help make Hannah and Jessica Davis, who is also new in town, feel less lonely. The two girls started off rough, but soon became close friends and spent time at the soon to be the common meetup, “Monet’s Garden” also known as the “office”. There they ended up meeting Alex Standall. The three of them became best friends and met at the office very often to chat. Lies about Hannah ran around the school about her

and Justin Foley’s relationship going too far and it started everything bad. When rumors started and sexual harassment came in everything snowballed to drastic measures, that’s when she decided to record and send the tapes off to everybody, with Justin recieving them first.

On the tapes she talked about her life, it was full of sadness and memories that she had not talked about since.They were completely and utterly filled with destructive reruns of everything that happened to her leading up to her suicide.

Perhaps one of the most heart-wrenching tapes is that of Clay Jensen. He spends days- possibly weeks even listening to the tapes before his. He does not understand why he deserved a tape. All of these people had done horrible things to Hannah, but him, he liked Hannah. They were friends.

When he finally listens to his tape, Clay does not know what to do with himself.

He did not necessarily do anything wrong, but he didn’t do what she wanted him to do. Hannah wanted Clay to care, to save her, to come back in that bedroom and make sure she was okay, but he didn’t.

When he hears this he hates himself. Even questions the worth of his own life now.

Throughout the series the audience gets a chance to really connect with the other characters that Hannah mentions on the tapes. They got to see inside each of their lives and possible even feel a little sympathy, but not much.

With a cliffhanger ending the 13RW fan base is definitely hoping that Netflix will renew a second season.

Ten Facts You Never Knew

In 1997, frogs literally fell from the sky in a town in Mexico during a storm. Though it sounds crazy, it’s not all that rare. Many animals and bugs get picked up in storms and hurricanes then eventuality fall from the sky.

Some airplanes have secret bedrooms for flight crew, this is typically on planes that are used for longer flights and are accessed through a secret flight of stairs and there are usually 6 to 10 beds, a bathroom and some entertainment.

Blind people do dream and though they do not see any images, they do have vivid dreams involving their other senses. People who became blind after birth can however see images.

Before erasers, bread was used to to erase pencil marks

You can only fold a regular sheet of paper seven times, but if you could fold it 42 times it would be thick enough to reach the moon!

Chocolate milk was originally sold as a medicine

A strawberry is not actually a berry, but avocados and bananas are.

BY HAILIE FITZPATRICK

ALL FACTS COURTESY OF GOOGLE

Lighters were invented before matches

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF AP PHOTO ARCHIVE

In a deck of cards, the king of hearts is the only king that does not have a mustache

Chainsaws were invented to help with childbirth by the German orthopaedist Bernhard Hein.

6

MAY 2017

Sports

ON GUARD

Lacrosse takes the win

BY TERRON HARRISON STAFF

6-5 with Ratliff scoring the winning goal.

“It felt really good to know that I contributed to the win of our first league game and I got to prove that I deserve to be out there on the field.” said Pellant.

This team this year has came together through thick and thin and the winning and the losing. They practice hard every day with the help of their varsity head coach Sean Murphy. Murphy has been coaching for 16 years and has taught them that if they always play like a team and stick together, they can get through anything. He also taught them how to be strong when playing defense and offense.

“They like to do a team bonding activity, for instance they went to a girl’s house and had a bonfire,” said Murphy.

Playing Bishop Blanchet, the Sentinels defeated these Braves, 8-2.

All of the girls played strong defense and offense. Sophmore goalkeeper, Keila Hall, was outstanding the goal, blocking multiple shots thrown at her by Blanchet.

This team has been through it all.

Playing through rain and anything this Washington weather throws their way.

Their season is not over yet and these girls are not giving up.

HUDDLE UP: Coach Sean Murphy prepares his team for their game. Murphys pre-game talks are legendary and get his girls excited for their game.

Track and Field Dominates

BY FREDDIE GREEN IV

PHOTO BY KALLI HARPE-PROVORSE

It’s Lacrosse season and the Spanaway Lake girl’s team is ready as ever.

This year’s league bumped down to 3A from 4A. This team has traveled all over Washington to play any games they can through rain or shine.

On April 19, the girls Lacrosse team defeated Bethel for the first time ever.

This was their second victory this year and their first win in league. Senior, Sharae Ratliff scored four goals with outstanding defense and offense.

“Going into the Bethel game I just new I wanted to beat them because they are like our rivals and once the game started my team and I stuck together and played as a team and we got the win.” said Ratliff.

Ratliff this year has really held this team together. She was one of the top scorers on this team and keeps on scoring. She also has the help from her sister Makaila Ratliff, who has been by her side for two years now.

Towards the end of the game Haley Pellant tossed the ball to Cheyanna Burns and scored the goal to put Spanaway ahead of the Bethel Braves. Both Pellant and Burns played great defense and offence when needed. They defeat Bethel

PHOTO BY KALLI HARPE-PROVORSE

DEFENSE: Junior Makaila Ratliff, defending not only her team score but her chance to stand out on the field.

focused on trying to graduate and going to playoffs and possibly state for Rugby. I don’t plan on going to state for track but hopefully we go somewhere in Rugby,” said Hunkin.

Junior Izaiah McQueen is eightieth in boys’ 300-meter hurdles and ninth in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles.

“I feel very excited being top-10 in districts for both of my hurdle races. I love the hurdles and I feel very confident in running my races. How I am going to prepare for districts is by running what I usually don’t run six 300s that my coach is planning on,” said McQueen.

“It was good knowing that I was top in the whole district in the triple jump event it was took a lot of hard work to get there as a freshman I was at top with a distance of 42’8 ft and I would’ve kept training to beat my PR,” said freshman Xavier Thomas.

Thomas is proving that freshman can be just as good as a senior. He was number one in the districts for triple jump. Suffering from a torn left quadricep injury, he is officially out for the rest of the season. Thomas’s coaches can not wait for him to return next year in top shape.

The track team has exemplary coaches this year, with the head coaches Emily Peterson (girls’) and Darin Bickford (boys’). Their assistant coaches included coach Mariah Holland, Robert Smith, James Cho, Dominic Batten, and Ty’mon Norman.

Spending time day in and day out to make the athletes here the best of the best.

“To be the best you have to beat the best” Ric Flair is something our coaches strongly believe in.

“This years track season is going to be great and we can’t wait to see who’s got the mustard to make it to the postseason” Darin Bickford, head coach.

PHOTO BYISSAC MORALES

GETTING THE BALL: Junior Rebecca Pentland, capturing the ball and running towards the end to give the team another point.

EDITOR The state championship is in the eyes of the Sentinels. With only three weeks of track and field left, every Sentinel is trying to make their mark to get to districts.

Junior Emoni Ross is currently first in the girls’ long jump, and second in both the 100- and 200-meter race. Sophomore Jordyn Warner is third in girls’ high jump. Junior Vaela’a Lefeiloa’i is eightieth in girls shot put. Freshman Quinlynn Furman is eightieth in girls’ 3200 meter race. Sophomore Anika-Jo Muna is sixth in girls’ pole vault, Senior Colton Smith is seventh in the boys’ 3200-meter race.

Senior Nathan Scanlan is sixth in boys shot and eightieth in boys’ discus. Junior Jordan Bickford is fifth in boys’ pole vault.

Junior Jakob Bell is eightieth in boys 110hurdles. Junior Damon Reed is tenth in the boys’ 100-meter race.

Junior Letauaeletise Hunkin is second in girls shot put and third in discus.

“I’m so hype about being top-10 in districts for both my events, because I’ve been working really hard to get to where I am. I’m going to prepare for districts by improving my form everyday and making sure I’m aggressive, and to keep state in mind,” said Hunkin.

Junior Rock Gray is first in boys’ javelin and fourth in Boys shot put.

“It feels great to be in the top 10 in state for the javelin, and the shot put. It also is cool to see the hard work starting to pay off after all these years of training.

My goal is to be able to compete and win state eventually, and I know this will be possible as I continue to give the effort needed,” said Gray.

Senior Leitumalo Hunkin is ninth in boys’ shot put. “I feel indifferent about being top-10 in district because I am more

PHOTO BY ISSAC MORALES

PHOTO BY ISSAC MORALES

THROWING IT AS FAR AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN: Junior Rock Grey, getting ready to throw the javelin as far as he can, seeing if he threw it farther then he did the last time.

TAKING OFF: Sophmore Jordan Warner, getting ready to race to the finish line where nothing is holding her back from one of the many things she loves to do.

ALL ABOUT THE WRIST: Junior Tise Hunkin, uses her strength and wrist flicking to throw the disccus as far as she can.

Sports

ON GUARD

MAY 2017

7

Baseball Team Becomes League’s Worst Nightmare

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRIA HERZER

“My goal for this season is to simply make it count,” said Misley. “This season is already off to a great start and I know we can keep up the pace and fight for a spot in playoffs.”

Sophomore Dawsen Kaaiwela currently leads the league, throwing out 37.5% of runners attempting to steal. It seems like every time Kaaiwela approaches to the plate, he gets on base constantly and his 0.606 on base percentage shows it. During a close battle with the Wilson Rams, Kaaiwela came in clutch in the top of the 7th inning with a game-tying two run home run. The team’s dugout was so ecstatic that they could not help but rush home plate to celebrate this rare feeling.

Kaaiwela feels like the season has been, “very positive, with not much negativity at all. My teammates have really stepped it up, and made our program what it once was.”

Senior Tynan Preece is curretly third in league for ERA with a 0.88 over his 16 innings. Preece is in his fourth year as a starting varsity pitcher. He constantly proves to the coaches and his teammates that he deserves this starting role.

“Preece has been my go-to guy now for four years,” said head coach Todd Keister.

“He has done things on the mound that no other Sentinel has ever done. Every game he toes the rubber, he is making some sort of history.”

The team will finish off their regular season next week with their Senior Night celebration against Bonney Lake on May 1.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SLHS BASEBALL

A BIG HIT: Spanaway Lake’s bench erupts after senior Justin Newsome ties the game with a double against River Ridge in the team’s first game. The Sentinels tied the Hawks 6-6 in 9 innings and the game was called due to darkness.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SLHS BASEBALL

STAFF For the first time since the 1980’s, Sentinel Baseball is off to a great start in the Pierce County League.

In their first year as a 3A school, the Sentinels are already well-known as a new threat in the league.

The team is currently on a four game winning streak and does not show any signs of slowing down the pace.

In their game on Saturday, April 15, the team defeated Bethel High School. The Sentinels swept the series and won 7-1, and 14-2.

The team has proven that they are not to be taken lightly, which the Wilson Rams learned the hard way in the two games against the Sentinels. The team is known for quieting the opposing dugout.

Senior Jason Rehms said, “The overall vibe of our team this year is amazing. Everyone is up and screaming and supporting each other constantly throughout the game. Our team chemistry is something special.”

During their early season run, the Sentinels have a few players who have been eye-opening and should be feared by the rest of the league.

Senior Nick Misley currently leads the Pierce County League in batting average, hitting .609 through the team’s first nine games. Misley has been doing very well at the plate, as he has had multiple three and four hit games. In the last Bethel game, he went 4 for 4 with three doubles and a single, while scoring one run and knocking in another.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SLHS BASEBALL

BY JASON REHMS

SENTINEL POWER: Senior Tynan Preece (left), senior Nick Misley (center) and sophomore Dawsen Kaaiwela (right) are the keys to Spanaway Lake having a successful season. All three players are putting up their best season stats of their career.

Fastpitch Team Makes History One Game at a Time

BY TERRON HARRISON

STAFF Changing classifications from 4A to 3A this season really made a drastic change in the competition for the fastpitch team.

The team is currently in third place in the 3A Pierce County League, a spot in the standings they have not experienced since 2012.

In their first game of the season, the team faced Graham-Kapowsin (GK) in a non-league game. These two interdistrict teams had been league-mates since GK’s inception in 2005.

Behind sophomore Carmen Miller’s 13 strikeouts, the Sentinels defeated the

“You are all a team and there is no gap between different grade levels. You all are one as a team.”

- head coach Ken Leise

five with five RBI’s, a single and a triple.

“I saw the pitcher and the faces she made when she pitched. I like watching the pitchers faces it makes me laugh. I also saw the ball kind of go flying and the outfielder miss the catch,” said Conklin. having Conklin being able to go up to the plate and be able to hit anything has been really nice as well as all the Sophomores who have filled in where needed has been a huge asset.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Miller came in again and dominated, striking out four people and she had another outstanding offensive game.

Miller went four for five with a single and three doubles, scoring two runs and driving in three RBI’s.

“I was reseat to dominate and it was a great feeling at the end of the game after we beat them,” said Miller.

Sophomore Ashley Carlton, batting seventh, hit a bases loaded pop fly to right field with two outs. The Bethel outfielder dropped the ball and Carlton ended up clearing the bases with her single.

It was an extraordinary victory for the team since they struggled towards the beginning of the game. Coming together as a team, they put their bats on the ball and finished strong.

One of the keys to the success of the team is their head coach. Leise has been the head varsity coach at Spanaway for the past five years and has been in the

program much longer. He and new assistant coach Jessica Clairmont have had a big impact on the team already.

“It makes the team a little more balanced, meaning Clairmont keeps us more accountable and works us hard during practice and in the games.Where Leise will give us a purpose of why we do things the way we do.We basically get the best of both worlds. Both coaches care for their players and want what is best for each and everyone of us.,” said Syraiyah Armendariz.

Both Leise and Clairmont each bring a different aspect to the team.

The relationships they share with their players, however, is what helps bringing it all together. They both help their players to excel and use their full potentials.

“Having two coaches who want the best for you and push you to be your best is really encouraging and makes me want to play my hardest and be able to excel in the sport I love to play ,” said Terron Harrison.

“The biggest thing is that everyone gets along,” said Leise. “You all are a team and there is no gap between being different grade levels. You all are one as a team.”

At 3-2 in league and 5-2 overall, the team has evolved into becoming more than just a team. They have became a family who wins together and loses together who continue to make history and fight for the league and district championships.

HUDLE UP: Head coach Ken Leise calls in the girls for a quick pep talk.

PHOTO BY FREDDIE GREEN

PHOTO BY FREDDIE GREEN

Eagles 8-6 for the first time in four years.

Miller, along with being dominant on the mound, also got two hits, a single and a double, and scored one of the Sentinel’s runs.

“At first I didn’t even know I struck out that many people. But I was trying to help out my team as much as I could and do my job as a pitcher,” said Miller.

The Sentinels second batter, sophomore DeMaris Best, laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance sophomore Rime Clark to second base. Best then hit two singles and scored one of the team’s eight runs.

“With Miller and Rime working together to become better than they already are at pitching. and our outfield having so much speed that we never had before and having a strong infield we have been very tough,” said head coach Ken Leise.

The varsity team is made up of two freshmen, seven sophomores, two juniors and a senior. Each of them are an asset to the team with having different levels of playing but having it all tie into a great team.

“Having (Syraiyah)Armendarez step up as a leader being the only senior she really has a positive attitude and lifts everyone up,” said Leise.

Sitting in one of the top three spots in the league, the girls work together to make the unthinkable happen. After defeating GK earlier in the season, they then defeated the Bethel Braves in a lopsided 16-6 game. The team had not defeated both district teams in several years.

In the circle, Clark struck out four people and then played incredible defense in left field. She scored three times in the game.

The second hitter for the Sentinels, freshman Mariana Conklin, went two for

BATTER UP: Number 10 Jazmin Bennett lines up at home plate ready to hit the winning pitch of the game.