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Inside this issue . . . The Growl Staff 2019-2020
Letter from the Editors In this issue, we decided to explore the themes of family and unity, and that’s why we chose the “Brady Bunch” cover. The Brady Bunch TV show represented the idea that people can indeed come together to love each other. We live in a fast-paced world, and life is often crazy. Our team talked with TR students about family, unity, and support, which have always been a big part at our school. We decided to dig a little deeper into what students think. But, along with the support students feel, there is the inevitable feeling of judgment and criticism. The Growl also examined that through the eyes of our students.
ContenTs 3. Girls BBall Beats Vista 4. Grizzly Gives Week Schedule 5. How Often Do We Judge? 6/7. Unified Students and Pack the Gym 8. Unknown Talents of TR: Theatre Production 9. Unknown Talents of TR: Speech and Debate Club 10. How Students Take Criticism Cover photo illustration by McKenna Frakes Graphic by Maddy Stadler
STAFF Editor-in-Chief Cailtin Estes Jordan Lear Sofia Romano Art Director Maddy Stadler Photographers McKenna Frakes Xander Lees Sierra Martinez Caitlin Marty Ally Stadler Adviser Nikki Sameshima
Broadcasters Carter Brockbank Kaleo Comer Will Douglass Alex Downs Ryken Kucinski Carson Shea Steven Taylor Writers Lilly Moats Michael Reyes Jack Ryan Malory Travis Web designers Emma Rygh Jasmine Vaughan
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GIRLS BBALL team beats vista Michael Reyes
Top left: Senior Lindsey Anhalt shoots a free throw during the home game against Mountain Vista on Thursday, Feb. 20. The team made 13 of 18 free throws. Top right: Senior Heidi Haze, the team’s top 3-point scorer, dribbles the ball down court. Bottom right: Senior Maryssa Giauque fakes a pass. Bottom left: Senior Kristina Keefe drives to the basket. The ThunderRidge Girls Basketball Team won the game 51-50, with a 3-point basket in the last 10 seconds of the game.
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March 3, 2020
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how often do we judge? Jordan Lear and Jack Ryan
Maddy Stadler and Jordan Lear
Pros, Cons OF judgement “Seventy-five percent of the people that participated in this study misjudge people at least once or twice a month. Prejudgements about race, sexuality, and gender are made by age five. As children, we constantly appraised our environment and formed our conclusion.” Author Elizabeth Thorton “I stop judging people by how I know that God made everyone in his likeness. Everyone is made in their own way and it’s up to them to express it however they want to.” Junior Abigail Meyer SOCIAL MEDIA
We all struggle with self-confidence issues formed from society’s need to judge. We are taught to never take this judgement to heart; we realize by our own experiences, though, that not all judgement is bad. It is hard to differentiate between constructive criticism and nasty judgment. And sometimes our own judgement clouds the way we see the world; we judge others without knowing the background of the person or group. “Almost no one is immune from being negatively judgmental,” writes Yukun Zhao, Founder and President of Huaren Applied Positive Psychology Institute. “We seem to be more ready to judge others based on negative information than on positive information.” When we hear the word judgement, we think of the negative connotation of the word, however, the word is, in fact, neutral. The
circumstances in which it is used determines its positive or negative overtone. It is human nature to want positive judgement. Getting constructive criticism, or corrections, allows us to have an exterior view into ourselves. We, as students, are constantly corrected by our teachers. This is beneficial judgement because they help us understand our wrongs and teach us how to grow. It is our own job to determine if the judgement we are receiving is positive or negative. Positive judgement allows for our self-confidence to skyrocket. This is due to the confidence that is given to us when positive judgement is in play. Negative judgement, to most, seems like a minor thing that will blow over. However, if I were to change this term to a more common term for it — bullying — you would begin to take it more seriously. By using this term in
place of ‘negative judgment,’ people look at it more negatively. “It’s easy to unconsciously absorb and accept negative messages and damage your self-esteem,” according to www.succeedsocially.com. Bullying is a big issue in society. When it is ignored, confidence in ourselves and others deteriorates. Bullying is the most common version of negative judgement and when shown in this sense, people seem to take it more
seriously. In order to differentiate between positive and negative judgement, we need to look at some simple questions. Can this be seen in a different light? Do I agree with this judgement? Is this judgement negative or positive? Using these questions, we can determine if it is positive or negative. We are not immune to any kind of judgement, but knowing the differences and how to determine them will help boost our self-confidence.
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March 3, 2020
Pack the gym for Unified Maddy Stadler
Top left: This Unified student happily races down the court with the ball in her hands, during the first quarter of the game. Top right: A Unified player shoots from the three-point line, with the crowd in the background watching in anticipation. Bottom right: The crowd cheers for the Unified students. They were doing their “Go Bananas� chant.
Michael Reyes
March 3, 2020
pack the gym for Unified Maddy Stadler
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Michael Reyes
Top left: Art teacher Matt Dowling gets pied in the face by a Unified student. Dowling was one of the four teachers who raised enough money to be pied in the face. Top right: One Unified student runs up to the one-point line, with a determined and excited look on her face. Bottom left: A Unified player performs a running shot, in the hopes of regaining the lead against the Mountain Vista Unified Team.
Students, staff and families filled the ThunderRidge gym on Monday, Jan. 27, to watch the Unified Grizzlies take on the Unified Basketball team from Mountain Vista at the annual Pack the Gym event. “Pack the Gym is a basketball event to promote unity and community,” says Samantha Wheatley, a SSN teacher. “We are excited to pack the gym to show the kids how much we care for them.” During half-time, the Unified Poms danced a routine with other Poms team members. Also, adding to the half-time fun, the Unified Basketball members pied four teachers: Art teachers Kim Chlumsky and Matt Dowling, Math teacher Rami Hoaglin and Science teacher Bob Rusk. These teachers were chosen, after DECA members helped them raise the most money. The ThunderRidge community does accept students for who they are, and Pack the Gym is just one of the ways the Unified kids are integrated into everyday Grizzly life. “I loved going to Pack the Gym. It was a great time to watch the kids have a blast,” says senior Kimberly Burriesce. Everyone loved watching and cheering on the students, as they ran across the floor playing their best game. “I loved going and watching the students play their very best. They did a great job, and I would love to come the next three years of high school,” explains Freshman Kiera Price. The students were loved by everyone who came to support them as they played against our rival Mountain Vista. “I think that people should go again next year and support our Unified program as much as we can when they play their next game,” Price and Burriesce both said.
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March 3, 2020
unknown talents of TR: Malory Travis
Malory Travis
Theatre Production
This is a picture of the stage manager's desk backstage. The stage manager uses this desk as a command post to run the show through rehearsals to the final production.
Most people will never know everything that goes into producing a high school theatre production. The play goes on and the audience enjoys it. But behind that curtain, there is a very close-knit group of people that go through stress and pressure and joy together just to produce a show. The actors get attached to their character and the techies get attached to the set. Keeping the show together requires months of hard work from everyone involved, but these struggles and celebrations always bring the cast and crew together. The lead actress for John Lennon, Madison Cronin, found that after the
show was over leaving her character, the ever charismatic Star, was a challenge. “I feel like I just began to love being Star and now it's over,” Cronin said, as the cast and crew were “striking” or tearing down the set. It is always a challenge to say goodbye to a show that requires so much work from the actors and techies to bring a paper script into a living show, nevertheless it is an intoxicating feeling to see something that you worked so hard on hit the stage. John Lennon and Me was a show that had a lot of technical components involved. From the “Star Wall” to the effects of Star coughing up blood at the end of Act 1, this show was full of
special effects. There was never a dull moment behind the scenes. The very first thing that has to happen behind the scenes is the high stakes process of putting up the set. The stage is marked up. The set designers create a design. Then many of the techies start building the set. Walls are attached and painted, and for John Lennon and Me the painting of the set was a very big deal. The “Star Wall,” which was the wall in Star’s room covered in multi-colored pink stars, and the wall in Jeff’s room that was army green and blue, were both labor intensive. Painting the walls different colors is a wellplanned out activity, and it
helps show who the characters are before they are even seen on the stage. Meanwhile, designers are creating special effects. In John Lennon, Star coughs up blood, that was part of out special effects team. They made sure that Star got the blood on at the right time and they also made sure that Star got the blood off before the next scene. Through the course of a show a lot happens, and technical difficulties are unavoidable in most situations. But in the long haul, getting around them and working through the show brings the theatre closer together as a family.
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unknown talents of tr: Lilly Moats
Speech and Debate
Lilly Moats
Freshman Sam Stratton works on research for an upcoming debate.
Many ThunderRidge students are members of talented groups and clubs, though a large portion of these clubs are shaded from the limelight. This month, we learn about one of these clubs that deserve more credit from our diverse school community. Speech and Debate Club is a staple in many high school communities. Surprisingly, ThunderRidge has not had one for quite some time. Thanks to English teachers Amy Joyner and Jason Mercado, the Speech and Debate club was revived this year. Speech and Debate is a competitive and insightful club, where students can fairly and knowledgeably express their opinions and thoughts through emotional
speeches or powerful debates. There are many different forms of Speech and Debate. Debate has three different sections, which are Lincoln Douglas, Congressional, and Public Forum. Speech has five different sections, Extemporaneous, Original Oratory, Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, and Duo Interpretation. Participants can choose from any of these styles to work on and then perform at a meet. For debates, students research a deep inquiry statement provided by the National Speech and Debate Association that will then be debated at a monthly competition between other schools. March’s inquiry
statement for public forum is “The United States should prioritize the production of nuclear power plants over other forms of renewable energy generation.” In the last month, teammates have been working together to create two different opinionated sides to this statement. For many participants, they find Speech and Debate Club to be a great place to expand their knowledge. “[Speech and Debate is] a place where I can freely speak my mind, while also getting challenged, in the sense, where I can create an argument that I am not necessarily super invested in but then as I learn more about it. I get more knowledge about the world, its pol-
icies and overall it makes me a well rounded person,” says freshman Sam Stratton. For speech, students create meaningful speeches or research relevant topics to make speeches that will then be presented to judges at a monthly competition. These speeches can be long or short, opinionated or not. Speech and Debate is a great way to improve one's knowledge of current events and overall knowledge. By participating, you learn so much more about the world we live in. In this club, you build speaking skills and confidence while speaking. In a constantly narrow minded society, this club really teaches how to open your mind and improves life principles such as empathy.
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March 3, 2020
how teachers give criticism Micheal Reyes Taking criticism from teachers is never fun. Sometimes, it can feel like a personal attack against a student’s work instead of advice aimed to improve oneself. Why is that? How should criticism be viewed by teachers and students alike? A group of teachers and students from all grades, were interviewed and asked how well they take criticism in general, some said they “take it pretty well,” while most said, “it depends on who is giving it out.” A follow up question was soon asked afterward, questioning whether or not the interviewee could distinguish a difference between the delivery of criticism from friends and teachers. Everyone said yes, for a number of reasons. Students listed how “the
Ally Stadler amount of experience the teachers had, defined their perspective on how they viewed an individual’s work,” meaning teachers could be more honest in their critique, than what friends and classmates would say. “Friends are more familiar to you [too],” said Junior Lila Thompson, “which means they know a lot more about you.” That familial factor can make criticism a lot more personal to some people, “and unintentionally hurt people, if they’re not careful with their wording,”junior Abby Owens later added on. Although, a large majority of the students questioned said, “[Criticism] is a lot easier to hear from friends,” because of that amount of familiarity. That leads to the final question: How should crit-
icism be given and received? The overall consensus from the group seemed to be a common sense answer: One should be gentle in their delivery and only tell the person what they need to hear; never insult the amount of work and effort they put into it. For the person receiving the criticism, be respectful and hear the critic out on what they have to say about your piece. Never be discouraged by criticism, use it as a tool to guide you towards a better finished product. If everyone follows these guidelines when giving feedback, then hopefully to some, criticism can be a little more tolerable.
Facts About Criticism: 1) People will criticize you even for not doing something. 2) You may encounter people with the wrong motivates. 3) Criticism makes you stronger. 4) You might come across roadblocks. 5) Criticism is inevitable.
Students genuinely take criticism as a bad thing from teachers, but it can be extremely helpful. Teachers give their best opinions to their students to help them grow and succeed.