Echo Issue 1 2014-2015

ith the new positions finalized to lead the high school, the administration’s policies will remain similar to last year. However, Superintendent Rob Metz said there are new district-wide policies that will implemented.

According to Metz, an anti-bully policy enacted through the state will charge someone with the responsibility of monitoring bullying in school.

“At the high school that will be the assistant principal, Ms. Schweitering. She is going to be the person who will handle all the bullying situations,” he said. “I will be sending a letter to every family in the school system describing the new policy.”

Additionally, Metz said in response to the middle school drowning death that occurred during class, the district is forming a task force to study the school pool use and establish new rules.

“For the time being we will not being use the swimming pools during the school day during physical education classes.” Metz said. “We are going to form this task force and study the topic of how pools should be used.”

Regarding the administration’s student policies, interim assistant principal Kari Schwietering said although there are currently no plans for them to change, the administration will work this year to improve the clarity of policy.

“We are hoping to have some clarity regarding previous policies and to be as transparent as possible in future changes,” Schwietering said.

Senior Emily Weinberg said the school should change the method for creating clubs.

he Department of Health will be requiring more vaccinations for seventh graders before the 2015-16 school year. Because of this, all freshmen entering the high school in 2016 will have been vaccinated as required by the new law.

The new immunization laws will include a required meningitis vaccination as well as a Tetanus- Diphtheria-Pertussis (TDaP) booster. According to Karen Dorn, one of Park’s high school

nurses, these new laws will keep students healthy and help avoid preventable diseases.

“Pertussis (whooping cough) was added as a requirement because the effectiveness of the pertussis vaccine wanes over time, and there has been an uptick in the number of cases over the last few years,” Dorn said.

Despite the fact the requirements will not affect current high schoolers, Amanda Anderson, another nurse at Park believes these immunizations should still be taken by most students so they can stay healthy after high school.

“Most colleges will recommend students get these vaccines so they can prevent the spread of

“I think it restricts clubs’ creativity, even though it’s a good way for kids to get involved at school,” Weinberg said.

Interim Principal Scott Meyers said the parking will remain the same except cost has gone to $50 per semester.

“We have done some basic things like restriping to try to help, and consulted with the fire marshal to see if there are any safety measures we need to consider before moving forward,” Meyers said.

Meyers said the administration is willing to examine policy once the year begins.

“We heard last year that some things didn’t work smoothly and we will try to address those, however some of the progress made last year was good too,” Meyers said.

disease since students live in close spaces,” Anderson said.

These colleges include the University of Minnesota, which requires students to get certain immunizations in order to keep their school disease-free.

According to the University of Minnesota’s website, the university requires immunizations for staff and students to maintain a high standard of health.

Although these shots are required to go to school, students can be exempt from them if they decide not to for medical or personal reasons.

“There are exemptions allowed for medical reasons documented by a physician or for the conscientious beliefs of a parent

when a notarized statement is provided,” Dorn said.

The exemptions are important for students such as incoming freshman Jade LaBelle who said she believes the vaccines are more harmful than helpful.

“I don’t think they’re necessary,” LaBelle said. “The vaccines have more negative side effects than benefits.”

Since the laws are only for incoming seventh graders, high schoolers will not be affected by the new requirements, Dorn said.

“For the present time, high school students can rest easy.

While there are vaccines needed for school, there are no new requirements for this year or next,” Dorn said.

omecoming week represents a longstanding tradition at Park. Smaller events during the week display school spirit and energy, with the dance being the week’s main highlight.

This year, the dance returns to Mall of America. Last year, the Homecoming dance was at the high school. As of recent years, the dance took place at the Mall of America.

Junior Shea Swanson attended the dance last year, and said

she is excited about the change in venue.

“Surprisingly, the dance was fun last year. However, I do look forward to going to nicer venue this year. I think that more people will attend, because it is semi-formal and the location is outside of the school,” she said.

Sarah Lindenberg, Student Council adviser, said Student Council has been fundraising and planning in order to increase pride in the community.

“The council has been fundraising over the summer and planning. A big focus that Student Council has had this year is to help increase Park pride and the sense of community through the school,” Lindenberg said.

Week events include girls’

hile for many students summer involves remaining in Minnesota, senior Abby Klugman traveled across the globe.

Klugman traveled to Rwanda during the summer, participating in one of the 38 trips sponsored by Putney Student Travel. The trip involved visiting multiple cities in Rwanda in an effort to learn about public health concerns, in addition to studying the effects of the 1994 genocide.

Upon their arrival the group visited multiple non-governmental organizations, health centers and hospitals to gain a better understanding of the country’s health concerns in the area.

She added that one of the highlights of her trip was spending time bonding with local children.

“We spent a couple days at a center

powderpuff football, badminton, coronation, movie on the field and the pep-fest.

Homecoming week culminates with the parade and football game against Richfield High School Sept. 12, followed by the dance at Mall of America Sept.

13.

Senior Anna Baer said she is eager for the upcoming Homecoming events, particularly powder puff football.

“I’m excited for powder puff football. In the past, it has been a lot of fun to see other teams’ costumes and the cheering from the sidelines added high energy to the game,” Baer said.

Lindenberg said Student Council has been using publicity to get students involved and ex-

called Aveh that cares for children with pretty severe mental and physical disabilities,” Klugman said.

Despite the barrier posed by the disabilities, Klugman said it was evident they had made an impact while hanging out together.

“Even just sitting with them and just holding their hands, they would have these enormous smiles on their faces.”

While other aspects of the trip involved volunteering in local schools, and embracing themselves in the culture, the other main focus of the trip was learning more about the recent genocide in Rwanda that occurred in 1994.

“We got to go to a few genocide memorials. We went to one in Nyamata, which was actually a church where 5,000 people were killed. The first thing we saw when we walked in were shelves with rows and rows of bones,” Klugman said. It was really hard to imagine everything that was going on.”

cited about Homecoming week.

“Homecoming is earlier this year. They are doing publicity to get students involved and there is a push to get freshman to know what is happening about the week so they can encourage each other to attend,” Lindenberg said.

Junior Jessica Schmidt, Student Council representative, said she thinks the early timing of Homecoming will positively impact the student body.

“Homecoming is the first event all school year. Excitement is especially high this year because of how early it is. Not only will people be excited about coming back to school but also Homecoming week,” Schmidt said.

St. Louis Park Senior High School 6425 West 33rd Street St. Louis Park, MN 55426 Peter Johnson Ivy Kaplan David Hope John Kinney Daniel Vlodaver Ladan Abdi, Ori Etzion, Gila Grad & Sara Tifft Maddy Bremner & Carolyn Guddal Zoe Kedrowski, Madisen Lynch & Natalie Sanford Amira Warren-Yearby Natalie Vig Noa Grossman Noa Raasch Josh Mesick Emily Melbye Erin Wells Adna Aideed, Mara Bacig, Harrison Barden, Hannah Bernstein, Joe Brandel, Kaylee Chamberlain, Sean Cork, Allison Cramer, Eddie Diaz, Brigid Duffy, Jackson Eilers, Zoë Eilers, Shayan Gilbert Burke, Malik Grays, Hannah Goldenberg, Jamie Halper, Conor Hannon, Sari Hattis, Abby Hickstein, Kate Huber, Brita Hunegs, Maxwell Kent, Celene Koller, Jonah Kupritz, Shoshana Leviton, Julia Nathan, Polina Pekurovsky, Conrad Phelan, Loni Rutherford, Neda Salamzadeh, Albie Sher, Olivia Sieff, Amina Mohamud, Amran Nur, Harry Steffenhagen, Emily Tifft, Cedar Thomas, Zach Tronson, Miranda VanPilsum-Johnson & Heather Westwood Noah Robiner Scott Meyers

lthough teachers often start the school year by briefly covering the syllabus and reviewing the student handbook, there is a difference between knowing and understanding school policy.

Students can’t follow the rules if they don’t understand them.

When the administration makes changes to policies, students should be the first to know.

Having more transparency surrounding school policy changes will lead to better understanding and compliance with school rules.

If only to reiterate policy from previous years, teachers should inform students of changes to the student handbook on the first day of school and encourage students to ask questions about policies they do not understand.

Students must also make the effort to understand the student handbook and follow school policy.

If students do not understand an element of the student handbook, they need to consult with either a teacher or administrator to clarify what they misunderstood.

To raise awareness of changes to the student handbook, the administration could create short

videos outlining key differences between this and previous years’ policy. Teachers could show these videos to their classes.

In addition to showing videos, the administration could post contact information and offer information sessions for students and parents with questions specifically regarding changes to

policy. The administration could also send out an e-mail to parents with information about general policy changes.

Both teachers and students can benefit by having clearer rules and expectation for the upcoming school year.

Establishing students’ knowledge and understanding of guide-

lines early on leads to increased cooperation between students and teachers.

Students should take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about policy changes. They can do this by reviewing the student handbook and contacting the administration with questions about policy change.

Quad Graphics Lori Keekley The Echo is the official studentproduced newspaper of St. Louis Park Senior High School. It is published triweekly for the school’s students, staff and community.

The Echo will not be reviewed by school administrators prior to distribution, and the adviser will not act as a censor.

Content represents views of the student staff and not school officials.

The Echo will work to avoid bias and/ or favoritism. We will strive to make our coverage and content meaningful and interesting to all our readers.

We will make every effort to avoid printing libel, obscenities, innuendo and material that threatens to disrupt the learning process or is an invasion of privacy. We will avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph.

Staff editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board arrived at by discussion and will not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Echo staff or administration as a whole.

The Echo welcomes reader input.

Letters to the editor and suggestions may be emailed to slpecho@gmail.com or submitted in room C275. Letters must be signed and should be no longer than 250 words.

Emailed letters must be verified prior to publication. We will not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.

Anonymous letters wherein the Echo does not know the identity of the writer will not be printed.

Advertisements will be sought from local businesses. We maintain the right to reject any ads we believe to be false, misleading, inappropriate or harmful.

The Echo does not necessarily endorse the products or services offered in these advertisements.

NSPA All-American and Hall of Fame member; NSPA 2007, 2011, 2014 Print Pacemaker Finalist, 2013 National Print Pacemaker Award Recipient; 2014 Web Pacemaker Finalist, JEM All-State; CSPA Gold Medalist; 2012, 2014 CSPA Silver Crown, 2013 CSPA Gold Crown.

The Echo is a student-produced newspaper of the St. Louis Park High School. Its primary goal is to be the voice of the students to each other, the staff and the community.

Its purposes are to inform and persuade its readers, to provoke thought and discussion, to entertain, to serve as a public record of news-worthy events and to provide a designated open forum for the free exchange of ideas.

In these goals and purposes, the Echo will strive to adhere to high standards of journalism and will look to the best of the professional press as its model.

The Echo will work to avoid bias and/or favoritism. We will strive to make our coverage and content meaningful and interesting to all our readers. We will also strive to promote the diversity of our student body.

We will make a sincere effort to avoid printing material that is libelous or obscene. Our emphasis will remain on factual and substantial information and will avoid gossip and hearsay.

When the Echo covers a sensitive issue, sources cited have the right to request anonymity. We will support the journalist’s right to withhold sources under these circumstances.

When the Echo is in error and a correction is necessary, it will be printed in the next issue.

Advertisements will be sought from local businesses. We maintain the right to reject any ads we believe to be false, misleading, inappropriate or harmful.

The Echo does not necessarily endorse the products or services offered in these advertisements.

Early Homecoming: Now it will get extra steamy on the dance floor.

The Echo will resist any attempt at censorship from people or organizations outside the publication staff.

The staff will take into consideration guidance from its adviser, but the staff will make its own decisions, striving for accurate, unbiased and robust coverage.

The editor in chiefs will be responsible for all final decisions on specific policy issues that may arise during the year and are the persons ultimately responsible for the overall content.

Opinions pieces not featured on the opinions page, aside from features and sports columns will be labeled as such.

Staff editorials, which are featured on opinions, are the opinion of the majority of the editorial staff, arrived at by discussion. Staff editorials will argue for the welfare of the entire student body and/or the high school as a whole.

The Echo encourages its readers to write letters to the editor whether in response to specific coverage in the Echo or to another topic. We will not necessarily publish all letters received.

Letters should be no longer than 250 words. If we believe the author of the letter has misinterpreted what the Echo had written, we allow the writer a chance to revise the letter.

Letters should be personally submitted to the editors in chief or the adviser in room C275, or emailed to slpecho@gmail.com. They will then be verified with the writer for authenticity and intent.

Letters must be signed when they are submitted. Letters submitted by a large group should be signed by the main representative.

Anonymous letters wherein the Echo does not know the identity of the writer will not be printed.

New immunization laws: Now we can’t have chickenpox parties anymore.

Minnestota’s largest candy store: Dentist’s biggest paycheck.

J.M., E.M., J.M.

hat started as a simple apple stand off the side of the road in Jordan, Minnesota expanded into a giant yellow barn home of Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store.

It is a family business owned by the Wagner family for almost 40 years. Herb Wagner started the candy store after having a successful apple farming business.

“I had too many apples than I knew what to do with, so I built a barn,” Wagner said.

While Wagner initially built the yellow barn as a place to store and sell apples, the barn soon added candy and other goods. Now, the barn is home to 155 different kinds of root beer, 87 kinds of licorice, the world’s largest soda section and America’s biggest puzzle store.

Families from all over Minnesota, including students from Park, go to Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store for the huge selection of products sold.

Junior Andrew Sams said he visits the candy store annually for the large selection of candy.

“I bought plenty of things there.

My favorite stuff to buy is, strangely, the bacon flavored stuff,” Sams said.

The store is almost completely family run, with only a few employees not being part of the Wagner family. This includes the manager of the

The Minneapolis Institute of the Arts presents “Marks of Genius: 100 Extraordinary Drawings,” showcasing paintings rarely brought out of storage. Tickets cost between $13-15.

candy store, James Hendrickson.

“There’s three generations of Wagner family members working here. I’m one of the few employees that is not a member of the family,” Hendrickson said.

The Wagner family also has their own way of conducting business.

There is no website, email or phone number for the store. The business strays away from social media in hopes to create a more unique candy store.

“We want the store to stand out from other common retailers,” Hendrickson said.

In accordance with their business philosophy, the candy found within the store is not commonly found anywhere else.

“It’s nostalgic, all homemade items you can only get here. We purposefully don’t buy certain items that you can buy at a Holiday or Walmart, because we don’t want to be them,” Hendrickson said.

Junior Emily Hinz said she appreciates the store’s unique selection of candy, especially many of the bacon flavored sweets.

“I hope to get to the store before summer ends because I heard they have bacon flavored candy and mints,” Hinz said.

The majority of the products sold at Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store are made by Minnesotans. The Wagner family turns to friends and locals for their products.

“We make a few products in house, like the pies, but we contact a lot of local suppliers that we rely on,” Hendrickson said.

The Mall of America presents “Star Trek the Exhibition,” one of the largest collections of authentic Star Trek artifacts and information ever put on public display. Tickets cost $17.

Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store is open everyday from July to November from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Even within this time frame the candy store still gets many customers.

“We get about 6,000 on a Saturday and 7,000 customers on a Sunday,” Wagner said.

Wagner looks at the store as a kind of family entertainment. For many Park families, including the Sams family, trips to the candy store have become traditions.

“It’s become a yearly family outing and it’s always fun to see the new stuff they have every year,” Sams said.

With the polka music playing all day and the wide variety of foods, students could enjoy a day at Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store. From bacon flavored mints to the caramel apple pies, students are guaranteed to find something they will enjoy.

The Hennepin Theatre Trust presents “The Book of Mormon,” telling the story of two young Mormon missionaries in battle-torn Africa. Tickets cost between $49-154.

The Renaissance Festival displays the era with different activities including jousting, crafters selling their products, giant turkey legs and fire walkers. Tickets cost $19.95.