Tri-Color Times 2018-03

Granger high school

Tri-Color Times An open forum for student opinion and expression

TRICOLORTIMES.COM

MARCH 2018 LX-VII

G-card holders enjoy lunch with the principal

By Madison McCurdy G-CARDS have been allowing kids to enjoy all different types of rewards. Including candy bars, five minute early releases, G-gear discounts, lunch with the principal and so much more. Lancers have been doing so much around Granger to make this a better, safer environment.

When kids think lunch with the principal, they think getting their food, and having a sit-down conversation with their principal. That was not the case today.

Kids walked into the alumni

room, chatted with the principal, grabbed a plate of their favorite Panda Express food, and ate in the alumni room or went back to the lunchroom to eat with friends.

To earn these cards is simple: kindness. “I earned my G-card by helping out a kid in my class, and just simply being nice to other people.” Jose Velasquez (11) said. Kindness is not a hard task.

“I have never had a full conversation with the principal, so it was nice to finally meet him and talk to him,” Velasquez said.

The man who started this all,

Dr. Dunn, has never felt so much joy for giving kids the recognition they deserve. “It’s so great to recognize those Granger Lancers who have been putting their all into making this school a better place,” he said.

“We hope the students of Granger want to work hard, but not for the fact that they get lunch with the principal or just any Gcards for that matter,” Dunn said, as kids piled in to collect food.

“We have over three thousand kids at this school that deserve recognition, and this is how we

hope to achieve this,” he said.

A few hopeful people continue to get G-cards, waiting for the moment they get lunch with the principal, “Every time I get a G-card, it’s always is for a candy bar, I’m hoping to get lunch with the principal before I graduate,” Hailey Rigby (12) said.

Granger hopes to continue doing this for years to come. By introducing G-cards to Granger it has given administration and teachers the chance to give helpful students the recognition they deserve.

Dr. Dunn awarded a Panda Express lunch to lucky Lancers who earned G-cards through Granger’s recognition program.

Lancer is more than a title, Granger is more than a school

By Eric A. Antonio SOMETIMES school itself is not the difficult part of high school, but having school pride can be. In many cases, students simply go to school and then go home. That is not the case here at Granger High, though, as students are always engaged.

Granger High School has over 20+ clubs and organizations not including athletics. Being a school with many opportunities to show spirit, Granger was able to win The State Student Section Championship a few years ago.

The Student Section Championship was a Twitter competition going throughout the state with each school submitting a picture of their crowds at football games and it was decided on votes to see which school would come out on top as the best student section.

That is just one example of the Lancer Pride we have here at Granger. Some Lancers just need a small push in order to trigger

their spirit. The most common way to trigger excitement here is the spirit bowls. “I go berserk at spirit bowls, they bring the school together,” Park Beeler (9) said.

The Lancer vibes are not always present during school, but they are definitely active after school. Football and basketball games as well as track meets are where huge Lancer crowds are expected to represent. The best place to find proud Lancers is during any “Battle of the ‘Ville” against Hunter High.

Teachers at Granger are very proud of their school. Teachers like Mr. Clawson were Lancers since their freshman year and have come back to teach Lancers as a career. This is a good example of the saying “ Once a Lancer, Always a Lancer” in action.

Another example is Ivan Siete (11) as being a Lancer is a precious title for him. “I consider myself to have pride in our school because I attend most of

the events held at Granger while getting good grades as well. My favorite way to show pride and spirit is by representing the school as a wrestler. I am a Lancer for life,” Siete said.

For a lot of students, Granger is more than a school, it can be filled with tradition and memories. Granger alumni still represent and appreciate Granger by coming to games and meets to support their siblings, children, or simply the school as a whole.

The administration does not see Granger as just a job with students and coworkers, they see the school as a family.

With an amazing staff, students see it easy to have pride in the school.

It is clear that not just students are glad to be part of Granger, as teachers can be seen sporting Lancer gear at meets or events while supporting students because here at Granger, school spirit is very contagious.

The question for many students is how they can build their school pride. The most effective way to amplify Lancer Pride is to get involved. Getting involved in clubs, sports, or organizations can make school a more enjoyable place in general.

The culture here at Granger High is present and it is a culture of many cultures which allows everyone to get involved.

Granger being a school of innovation and opportunity is an advantageous situation for every Lancer because there is always something going on.

Granger High School is the biggest high school in the state of Utah, according to the niche.com website.

Granger is not just the biggest high school in Utah, but it is also the best looking building by far, and it is a place for everyone to come together and support this great school.

Taking pride in being a Lancer

is important because it can make school a fun place to attend where one can improve social skills and be academically successful.

There is a debate whether having pride in your school affects academic performance, and most Lancers agree that it has an effect on their school work and classes. “I believe having pride in school affects your performance.

Success is a culture. Successful schools are successful because they have pride,” Abby Davis (12) said.

Having school pride allows Lancers to make friends and create great atmospheres for others around. Social skills tend to improve after a fun game, meet, or even a club meeting.

Bright and proud interactions allow students at Granger to perform at the top of their game in school. Feel free and welcomed to join a club or team here at Granger, and show pride in the home of the mighty Lancers.

Want more Granger High School news? Check articles at tricolortimes.com or add us on twitter.com/tricolortimes.

Tri-Color Times VOL. LX Issue 7

February 2018, page 2 | Student News

New vending machines are a hit with students at Granger

By Bryon Brinley FOR THOSE who don’t know, Granger has recently received new vending machines. These new machines are more sleek in appearance and design. Apart from a new look, the new machines come with new snacks.

The new machines are not here for an aesthetic upgrade, but because they come with new technology. “So the machines are owned by Pepsi and they are the ones who fix them and restock them. The new machines run on Wi-Fi and can give Pepsi some data, but it also alerts them to problems. If the machine is not vending, it alerts them so they can come fix it,” Ms. Foster said.

As mentioned before, the new machines also brought new products. Despite most of the snacks being healthier alternatives to what the machines used to hold, the students who purchase from the machines regularly do not seem to mind.

“Yeah I think some of the things that were added are better than the food they had last time.

I think the Kickstarts are pretty good, a lot of people are getting

those now because those are better than like the flavored water drinks from before,” said Edgar Lopez (12) In most cases, when something new is introduced somewhere, people tend to be curious of what the new thing is. This has been the case with the vending machines as there are now more people purchasing and hanging around the area.

“There have been a lot more kids coming around to get food now. I think it’s because the new drinks in the machine. The Kickstarts are pretty good, so yeah everyone likes those. I also think it’s because they are restocking the Cheetos a lot more so kids come by to get them,” said Lalo Garcia (12).

The machines seem to be a hit with students here at Granger, but they aren’t the only ones who are liking the new machines. The administration is taking in the benefits that these new machines provide financially.

“Our contract with Coca-Cola ended this year, so we had to put out bids for a new provider. We had bids from Coke and

Pepsi, and the Pepsi report came to be a lot more efficient and cost effective. We get 25% of the earnings from the machines and none of that has to go to maintaining the machine anymore because Pepsi comes in and does it,” Mr. Jackson, a vice principal, said.

Granger can be a busy school with a higher than usual student count of around three thousand.

The administration understands this and is attempting to focus time on school-oriented tasks.

These new machines are helping them achieve this goal.

“Since the machine is owned

by Pepsi they have to choose what is in the machines and they have to come fix it. The good thing about the machines is that it tells them what is selling and what is not and they come to restock at least once a week. All of those things use to be the job of the administration or the finance staff and it just took up a lot of time that we needed. So not only are these cost effective they are time effective,” said Mr. Jackson.

Despite the new machines, there are still a few outdated machines left in the vending ma-

chine area. A common complaint is that the old machines do not have a card reader for those who do not carry cash. This problem could possibly be answered soon.

“Right now we have a few machines that we still have to stock and maintain. We do make more money off the machines we own but they aren’t time effective like the ones owned by Pepsi. We hope to bring in another company to take the space of the old machines and the new machines will have card readers for students.

The new company will bring more variety with the snacks, too

because they choose what goes in and not the school,” Mr. Jackson said.

With the arrival of new machines, students may not need to look much farther than the school when they are hungry.

With some of the recent advances in technology that have been conquering the news, it is hard to think of something as small as new vending machines being a part of that. Granger administration looked beyond and are now enjoying the benefits of the new machine, and the students enjoy them, too.

Lancers are excited about new vending machines.

Administration is trying to make students more thoughtful, empowered, and connected

By Gabriela Thompson EXTRINSIC motivation is what Granger’s administration is using to encourage more students be thoughtful, empowered and connected. When students do an action that impresses a teacher, for instance maintaining good grades or being thoughtful, they are now more likely to be rewarded. The admin are making more of an effort to let students know that with good behavior comes unique rewards.

Granger High administrators have been starting to make their reward system more well known.

Over the years, most students would rarely get many G-cards or honor roll parties, but now it’s becoming used more often and is more apparent.

“Research shows that students do respond with extrinsic motivation, which is part of the incentives. We have a variety of

incentives,” Ms. Alo said. Some of these incentives are principalbased, for instance giving honor roll students tacos from a nearby taco truck or giving students a discount off fines when having perfect attendance.

Originally, Granger started out with smaller sized, blue cards that could’ve been used at the G-store.

Now, Granger has slightly bigger black cards that have a range of prizes.“The new incentives have actually been around for the past four years. The difference is that the G-cards were based on cash value and now the incentive is based on prize value,” Ms. Alo said.

These new G-cards are called “Lancer Pride” cards and are black. The possible prizes from the Lancer Pride cards are: lunch with the principal, Granger swag, free Lancer special events tickets, hall sweep pass, candy bar,

5 minute early release, $1 Off G-store snack bar, and lunch fast pass. When getting a card, all one needs to do is scratch off the gray circle and hope for the best prize.

On average, most students get the candy bar, which can be retrieved from the principal’s secretary who is right in front of his office.

The next one that is mostly received is the 5 minute release and lunch fast pass. The one that is received the least is lunch with a principal. If one receives this prize, hold on to it and listen to GTV to know when the lunch will be served.

“My first card was from my AP psych teacher for good grades. At first I was like ‘oh what’s this?’ and she said ‘scratch it’,” Chau Pham (12) said.

Some Lancers feel that these new G-cards are pointless compared to the original ones. “It

wasn’t helpful to me and I gave it to someone else who needed it.

But other than that, I think that these cards are positive to some people. It has effects on different people,” said Pham.

Another Lancer who feels like this is Jaden Romero (11).

“Mr. Gibbons gave it to me when I entered on time for class. I was unexpected, when I scratched it was a candy bar. I think the tiny G-cards worked better than these though. We could’ve used them to buy G-gear and food, using it as currency. But they are can be positive,” Romero said.

However, the G-store couldn’t keep up with the number of Gcards that were being redeemed for food more than G-gear. The money lost for food had to be stopped, so G-cards aren’t going to used as currency for now.

Although, the other half of Lancers are looking on the bright

side of these new G-cards.

“I had all A’s for the whole of semester for Reading Fundamentals and another for perfect attendance. I won a candy bar. I feel like its a good reward for kids because it will encouraged them to do better. In my opinion it’s a good prize,” Elijum Tima (9).

Another incentive that Lancers are given is VIP Jazz Tickets.

“Community members or corporations would send us tickets and then we would ask the teachers if a student’s behavior or achievement would possibly qualify for a Jazz ticket, ” Ms. Alo said.

While this opportunity isn’t given as often, it is a once in a lifetime experience for Granger Lancers.

The administration hopes that Lancers will become more thoughtful, empowered, and connected with this improved and better promoted reward system.

This year’s Granger Lancers are hyped for March Madness games

By Darrian Bennett MARCH Madness first began in 1939, where the first NCAA men’s basketball tournament ever was held with the University of Oregon beating Ohio State University with a score of 46-33.

The title ‘March Madness’ is originally from a Illinois high school basketball tournament from 1908. This phrase ‘March Madness’ stayed confined to Illinois high-school ball until 1982, and in 1996 NCAA and IHSA battled in court for the title ‘March Madness.’ In the end they both gave up on going to court and decided on forming the March Madness Athletic Association. They now both get to use the nameIHSA uses it for their high school tournaments, and NCAA uses it for their college tournament.

Granger is getting “mad” for March Madness. Every year, college basketball teams face off to compete in a tournament to be the best college team through the month of March. At Granger, we

have a couple of students that have their own teams they are rooting for this year. Some students will be staying loyal to their teams even if they aren’t too confident in the team’s ability to win.

“I am rooting for BYU, but they probably are not going to get into it,” Alex Wilson (12) said.

Other students are paying attention to teams that are exceeding expectations, and have the best chance at winning. “I will be rooting for Villanova, they won it last year or two years ago, and it was cool ‘cause it was a change in teams. I like to see a repeat team win. I want to see them beat the big names like Duke and Kentucky- the teams I don’t really like,” Zack Parkin (10) said.

Some students at Granger have been watching March Madness for as long as they can remember.

Some students even remember the first game that they watched.

“I was with my family and we were watching a really close BYU game, and they ended up

winning in the end, it was really sweet,” Aaron Bently (12) said.

“The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournaments are an American tradition that sends millions of fans into a synchronized frenzy each year.

It’s this chaos that gives the tournament its March Madness nickname. March Madness is the concentrated hype of 68 teams vying for college basketball’s biggest prize. It’s the last-second, buzzerbeating baskets, the euphoria of winning to play another day and the agony of losing and going home,” as stated on the howstuffworks.com website.

“It’s been a long tradition that the tournament champions have cut down the nets to take home, but since 1986, the winning school has also been given the hardwood court, too. Many sell and/or auction off pieces to fans.

Thirty-five different teams have won the NCAA tournament, but UCLA leads all schools with 11 total titles,” as stated on the foxs-

ports.com website.

Selection Sunday will begin March 11, where they reveal which 68 teams have made the cut for this year’s basketball championships, and it’ll be streamed live on the NCAA.com website.

The first game of the tournament or the first four will be in Dayton on March 13 and 14. This year there are no games held in Utah, but it is hoped that there may be some next year. The final four games will be in San Antonio on March 31 to April 2.

The students at Granger are looking forward to March Madness. They can not wait to watch the games.

Some students even keep up to date through some of the players competing this year. “I’ve been following Elijah Bryant for just about a month, he’s just, he is really good and he made a Youtube channel so I started watching on there, and now I just really like watching him play, I think he will most likely make it to the NBA,”

Wilson said.

Granger Lancers are getting hyped for this year’s March Madness, and they can not wait to see how the results of the brackets turn out. Some students even fill out their own with their families. “Me and my dad watch the games, we fill out brackets and put money on it and that stuff and just have fun with it,” Parkin said.

Lancers are jumping with excitement.

February 2018, page 3 | Opinion

Tri-Color Times VOL. LX Issue 7

Fortnite new map update has problems that occured on initial release Opinion By Jonathan Manriquez THE NEW Fortnite map update was good for the first few hours.

Then after a while, everybody started to experience some lag.

Video game players do not like lag, though, because it ruins the fun of any game they play. I for sure did not like it when it started happening, because I was close to eliminating the other guy when it lagged me in front of him.

My friends had it a little worse, because they were running on a mountain and it lagged them into falling off and dropping them. Later, they took the time to actually do some server maintenance to fix the problems. After the server maintenance, there was an update. The update was pretty small so players could download it fast and play. Even though they

updated it, they are still fixing some of the problems.

There are still some minor problems that are happening in the game, because it is still the beta version and won’t be finished until later on this year. When the game is finished, it will be free.

So everybody that bought the ingame pass for the Save the World Campaign just wasted money to get early access instead of waiting.

After awhile, they came out with a new mode called “Sniper Shootout” which just includes snipers and revolvers.

Even though it is a limited time event, it is a pretty cool one.

I like the mode, but I don’t like how others have better accuracy than me when we get in a battle.

For example, we both start jumping to avoid the bullets.

After awhile, their bullets start to hit me and mine just keep missing. What they also changed was the friendly fire by turning it off, because too many people shot their teammates for fun or eliminate them for their loot.

I am glad they took this off, because I didn’t like when my group would shoot me for the loot. Some other things they took off left me annoyed. For example, they took off the ability to aim and shoot the enemy without getting out of bush. After the update, you need to move to aim on the enemy and get a perfect shot.

They even took out the ability to hide in the supply drop when it falls down on you. Even further down the line, they are making a new gun that looks like a minigun and should have come out on the 1st of February. That is going to

be a powerful gun, because no matter how much they lower the stats, it is going to shoot a lot of bullets. Before they came out with that, they came out with a chug jug.

This refills your health and shield to full stats. Unless someone snipes you, that is really useful to have. When people use snipers, all your health and shields take a lot of damage. The campfire is just annoying, because it runs out even before everybody can heal up all the way.

Some of the traps they also have are ridiculous because they sometimes lag to kill the people.

There was also a rumor about a new sniper that was coming to the game that had a suppressor.

I didn’t like this idea, as it is already hard enough to find someone with a sniper that is shooting

you. Even though there was this rumor, the gun never came out and the people that made Fortnite announced the gun. I’m pretty happy that it never got released in the game.

I am also pretty sad that the release didn’t come out on the date it was supposed to, because there were some glitches with the buildings. I think when the update will release, I will be happy if I get the minigun. But if someone else gets it, well, it may be bad for bases and people on the opposite team.

I hope they keep fixing all of the glitches the game keeps on having when you’re playing online. When they actually finish the game, and it will be free to play the campaign and the Battle Royal will no longer have any glitches.

60 years later: Granger High School established in 1958

By Andrew Tippetts GRANGER High School has gone through many changes throughout the years. These include small changes such as new teachers and students graduating, as well as big changes like a new building or new houses being built around the school.

Granger has withstood generations of students and teachers as well as different administrators.

Granger High School was established in the late 1950s, 1958 to be exact. This time was a lot different for Utah, the cities and counties we know now weren’t exactly the same back then.

West Valley City was once a farm town, and being the last city for miles and miles meant that we were popular even back then. Granger High was the only senior high school in West Valley, because Hunter wasn’t built until 1990. Kearns was Granger’s rival until Hunter was built.

Granger being the only high

school in West Valley caused a lot of changes for this little farm town. It was a new place for kids to get education, cliques to be created, and a new environment to get used to.

Granger has only had one other building in the past, built in ‘55 and taking in students beginning in ‘58, and the class of ‘60 was coming quickly. This building was able to accommodate all the students attending back then but as time moved on, the building felt smaller.

Granger High didn’t always accommodate 9th graders. Granger High was at one point only 1012. The new school was proposed and then built bringing 9th graders in with them from the junior high schools. “The old building was like this big, dark, and dank dungeon,” Mr. Ballew said.

Times were changing and the school needed an update. Cliques like greasers and cowboys were very prominent in the old school.

The majority of students attending were white and minority students were few in number.

Granger High had lots of pride in the past, as the only thing they had to be excited about was friends and sports. Basketball and football were the heart of Granger High in the past, and this seems to have carried over into the new school.

Lots of students drove cars in the older years and this meant lots of spots for lunch. Students went to normal burger joints and drive in’s for lunch as well as places like Francesco’s and Dee’s.

The old school was demolished in 2013 and the new school finished the same year to start the 2013-2014 school year. Bricks were placed around the perimeter of the demolished school for alumni and current students to take as mementos.

Students starting at the new school were parking cars and playing tennis in their old

Review By Allen Carrillo BEING new to MOBAS (Multiplayer Battle Arenas), I can not really give great feedback on the game compared to other MOBAS. The game itself is pretty straight forward: you have to go and destroy the enemy Nexus (a big shiny crystal). At the same time, you are defending your own crystal.

Teamwork is extremely important in League, just like in any other game­—especially when one champion can counter another champion with ease. That is why it is best to not be a toxic player and just communicate with your team.

Out of the 134 champions in League of Legends, they are all split into 7 classes with a few subclasses within each one. There is more to it than that, but I won’t go into the finer details.

The first Champion class out of the seven available is the Controller class. This a great class for players who are good at being the defensive, protecting their teammates, and making openings for them. The Controller class is split into Enchanter (giving them huge attack or defense buffs) and a Catcher (locks down opponents or minions so players have a clear shot)

If you would rather be in the middle of the battle and love causing melee damage, then a Fighter class champion is perfect.

They are very durable and dish out a ton of melee damage, which make them perfect for getting in the middle of the battle. The Juggernauts (the only subclass that can take and deal huge amounts of damage) and a Diver (fast Juggernauts for distractions) The third class (my favorite) is the Mage class. They go for ranged spell attacks that cause huge amounts of damage and can cause certain effects to the enemy. The only downside about the class is that most of the mages can not take a hit so they are best in the back during battles. I found that out the hard way.

The 4th class is sort of like the 3rd class and it is called the Marksman class.

It is similar to the Mage class because of their ranged attacks, but instead of relying on the Ability Power, they rely on their basic attacks. They are like the snipers of the game and can help clear a bit of the way from minions or keep the enemy a few feet back and on their toes. That is why they are one of the easier classes to use.

The 5th class is for those that

love to do a lot of damage while being sneaky.

It is the Slayer, class also known as the Assassin class.

They may be weak, but they are very fast and have abilities that cause huge amounts of damage and help them escape tight situations at the same time. Assassins are more for infiltration and the Skirmishers are for killing.

The 6th class is the brother of the Fighter class known, as the Tank class. The Tanks are made to take a whole lot of damage, but they can’t dish out a lot of damage. The Tank is more to hold the enemy down with their abilities to lock the enemies. I admit, they are very annoying when you’re against them, but when you have a good one on your team, you have a good chance to win.

The 7th and final class is called the Specialist class. The Specialist class champions used to be in the other 6 categories, but after the Version 7.10 update, they have been removed from those classes for some reason.

That doesn’t make them useless, though, because Specialists are more for Zone Control.

They are amazing Tank counters and can go against a wide variety of champions based on the items equipped.

League of Legends brings mass class variety

school’s backyard. Students of the old school may have missed it, but the new school brought new and improved schooling for everybody.

The new Granger High School, being a whopping 150,000 square feet, holds over 3,000 students.

Our multi-million dollar high school cost $80 Million to build.

It was a huge addition to the city as well as the state as a whole, as Granger is the biggest high school in the state.

The new school houses two gyms, a 15,000 seat auditorium, an interior courtyard, metal and wood shops, science labs, music and art rooms, and much more.

The school has softball and base-

ball fields as well as tennis courts and an entire soccer field.

Alumni from past years have put together reunions at parks and certain events. Old students and friends meet up to catch up and see how their former classmates may have changed over the years.

This brings some intense emotions sometimes, but can be very exciting at times as well.

Not only are alumni catching up with old friends and teachers, but they’re also visiting this new school.

Old students get to hang out in places they used to hang out as well as see new places they never would have imagined would be in the school.

Tri-Color Times Staff Editor in Chief Skye Rouse

Photo+Online Editor Hayley Rigby

News Editor Gabriela Thompson Opinion Editor Taea Edwards Copy Editor Madison McWordy Layout Bryon Brinley

Student Lifestyle Editor Natalie Aiono Sports Editor Stephanie Gutierrez Photographer KayLynn Gonzalez Social Media Calissa Loomis

Reporters Luis Acosta Molirae Afemata Sanah Alkaswan Eric A. Antonio Kalesita Apele Darrian Bennett Edward Carrasco Allen Carrillo Lorena Garcia Alexus Gillette Jr. Heimuli Braxton Henrie Nathan Hernandez Daniel Krouskop David Laumatia

Reporters Gwen Loloma Nyibol Makol Jonathan Manriquez Ester Manriquez Marcia Victoria Martinez Everestt Masters Douglas Mayer Tiffany Nguy Luis Rodriguez Eva Saucedo Tina Ta’afuli Shaolin Tabile Afatia Tiatia Andrew Tippetts Marleit Vargas

The Tri-Color Times serves as a student forum for student opinion and student expression.

The views expressed herein reflect neither the opinions of Adviser John Carlisle and Granger High School, nor those of Granite School District. The Tri-Color Times invites and publishes letters to its editorial board; all letters will be edited for taste, length, and liability.

Granger High School 3580 South 3600 West West Valley, UT 84119 (385) 646-5320

Tri-Color Times VOL. LX Issue 7

February 2018, page 4 | Student Life

How to be prepared for a unforgettable night at prom

By Tiffany Nguy GOING to prom seems pretty easy: students go out and get some sort of formal wear and decide who to go with. In reality, it’s like planning a big event. Students have to plan where to meet with friends, who to go with, and so much more. A way to get to the prom is what everyone should be worrying about first because planning a dinner, an outfit, or even get a date seems ridiculous without having a ride to the prom.

Prom takes up a lot of many students’ time, and this is owed to the fact that the planning is what makes a prom experience better.

When picking an outfit for the dance, make sure the outfit fits the dress code- prom is for formal wear. For girls this doesn’t mean it’s only dresses, a tux can work too. Prom-goers should be keeping in mind that the outfit that’s been chosen will most likely only be worn once.

“Prom is really fun but tiring.

Wearing heels hurt my feet, so that killed the mood [last year],” Jacqueline Vazquez Rodriguez (12) said. Bringing flats instead is suggested, or many heel-wearers end up taking them off during the dance. A date is what starts all the thought of going to prom, but if no one has asked a student yet, it’s OK to consider a friend to go to the prom with. Vazquez Rodriguez recommends going with

a date that can be fun to spend some time at the dance.

If a student is planning to ask someone, the proposal does not need to be a big thing that the whole school has to know about, so don’t feel pressured to make this a big action. Also, going alone could be an option, because maybe having a date is too much pressure and simply going alone is the easiest thing to do at such an overwhelming event.

Before, some female students have been waited for a boy to ask them to prom, but it’s changed since then and anyone can ask any student they’d like to go with.

Transportation is pretty hard to get, especially with a large group and trying to fit that many teenagers in a car is not going to be easy. Some will consider renting a limo for the night and just enjoying time with their friends, but payment for the limo needs to be taken into consideration.

Usually, a limo carries up to 10 passengers for $130 per hour. Of course, a limo is not needed especially for a couple of teens going to prom, but if going all out on prom is necessary for any student, it’s fairly easy but just a bit more expensive.

Another way to make it a memorable night is to take pictures. Now there’s no need to take multiple selfies because a student’s hair or makeup looks bet-

ter than usual, but take some time and enjoy taking quirky pictures and elegant photos at the same time with a date or friends. “People don’t need to worry about how they look, you would just go there just to have fun and make memories,” Vazquez Rodriguez said.

Prom isn’t going to be what the movies make it out to be.

Planning all of this for a perfect night may seem like it’ll become a teen movie, but don’t expect too much from this one night unless the planning goes a bit overboard.

Besides that, enjoy the night and have fun dancing. Students should consider going because that’s what everyone is waiting for: going to prom and remembering a bumpy year they’ve had but enjoying the last part of the school year.

School dances and prom can be some of the biggest events that can turn up in a regular high schooler’s life and can be very nerve-racking. Dancing is what’s mainly going to happen at the prom of course, but don’t go too wild on the dance floor like it’s a

nightclub because it’s still school.

An adult may possibly stop wild dance moves a student puts out on the floor.

Not everyone is the greatest dancer, but maybe the most embarrassing night could be the most memorable night. Remember that prom is supposed to be a fun evening for everyone and there is no need to feel pressured or get stressed out about it, just letting everything happen itself and letting it all fall to place will easily make it a great night to look back at.

Jacqueline agrees that this love-filled night allows couples and friends alike to celebrate their love for each other.

February 2018, page 5 | Student Life

Tri-Color Times VOL. LX Issue 7

Super Lancers faced challenges, but were still able to succeed

By Ester Manriquez Marcia At Granger High, there is now a group of Lancers that are called the ‘Super Lancers.’ These students were chosen by their teachers and administrators as being worthy of recognition. There are posters of these Lancers hanging on the walls of the school. This is a relatively new recognition here at Granger.

The Super Lancers were recommended by their very own teachers. They were chosen based on how they behaved and treated others, in addition how they do academically and how much they participate in class or in other subjects.

Landon Martin (9) was chosen by his Freshman Success teacher, Mr. Mundt. “I think I was chosen for this award because I think that I am great student, and I always follow tasks that are given to me,” Martin said. These are just some of the things students can do to be recommend.

“I chose Landon because I like his ability to become a good student, while he is overcoming his adversity of losing his father. Although, he has a lot of energy he also cares a lot about academics,” Mr. Mundt said. Students don’t need to act a certain way, they just need to care about their education and still have respect for

the classroom and everyone in it.

While Martin thought that his friends didn’t think he deserved it, they said something completely different. “I was very proud of my brother because we had recently had to overcome some difficulties in the past with our family,.I wasn’t jealous, I was just really proud of him for achieving this,” Kaden Bates (11) said.

Another Super Lancer was Jordan Lopez, she is a senior here at Granger High, who is on the soccer and basketball team. She was chosen by one of her basketball coaches, Ande Miller, who is also a teacher here at Granger High. Lopez was very challenged with her classes and the sports she did.

Many think that this was an honor to have been rewarded with because it shows the teachers recognize your achievements.

“I think I was honored to be a Super Lancer because I work really hard in school and I try to be nice to everybody that I encounter,” Jordan Lopez (12) said.

Students are very thankful for their teachers and coaches that noticed the hard work they do in and out of class. “I’m thankful for Ms. Miller and everything she has done and still does for me,” Lopez said. “She has always been a coach I adore and find as a men-

tor, so I’m glad she recommended me,” Lopez said.

Ever since these rewards were given, the freshman teachers have started to think and work on more rewards to give to freshman. “We found inspiration from the original Super Lancers, to have some rewards for the freshman like the Super Lancers in the freshman hall, “ Mundt said.

In the freshman hall there are two small shelves to show the most recognized freshman students and staff members. On the shelves, there are multiple pictures of athletes and SBO students, and most acknowledged teachers in the freshman class.

Review by Douglas R. Mayer IT’S NOT too late to refresh a New Year’s goal. Lancers, it’s been two months since the tradition of setting goals at the start of the new year, and while a large group of people may have failed at keeping them, it’s not too late. There is still time to make new goals to help some succeed through the last part of the school year. Pushing through for the last little bit of school is a good idea, but many don’t know how to set smart goals. Consider this article as a “how to” for making smarter goals.

The first step to making a smart goal is by picking something small to improve upon.

Many people at the beginning of the new year may have decided to lose weight and get fit, but many may have failed to keep that weight off. It’s hard to blame them as losing weight is a very hard process. Regular exercise

is a big part of why some people can’t lose weight.

Many people have trouble losing weight, but there are many things a person can do to lose weight. Instead of riding an escalator at the mall, take the stairs.

Don’t get on the bus, walk instead. Changing the small things can help one live a healthier life.

There are other activities a person might do to lose weight.

Take Jeremiah Snow (10) for example. “I’m planning on working out over the summer,” Snow said. Weight lifting, swimming, walking with friends or playing sports are just some the activities that can keep students active and healthy. After acknowledging what needs to be changed, it’s time to move to the next step.

The second step to making a smart goal is making sure it’s mesurable. Some people that set goals that are weight related might start thinking that it’s a

good idea to work out until they get abs or something of the sort.

But the problem with this is that it isn’t measurable. One should ask themself how long it will take and what the process will be to achieve their goal. Some people don’t even think about these questions when deciding.

Instead, a smarter goal would be ‘I’m going to workout for an hour every day for a month.’ This is the first step to making the goal measurable. The next step is evaluating what they’re going to do to achieve the goal. ‘I’m going to do different ab workouts like crunches, swimming and sit-ups,’ may be a good place to start. This is a better goal, because each time a person works out, they have something planned. There is one issue with this, however. It’s measurable, but finding time to do the activity may be hard, which leads into the next step.

The third step to making goals

Each student that has been given this award has a picture of them hung up somewhere around the school, with their name and the title of ‘Super Lancer.’

“I like the pictures on the wall; they look real cool around the school,” Mr. Mundt said. On the poster it has their name horizontally by the picture of them, and most pictures are hung up in Dhall. Students are happy with the pictures and the fact that they are being recognized.

“I like having my picture around because it makes me known around the school for a good thing or a good cause,” Martin said. His picture is hung

close to the commons area.

Many think that this was an amazing reward for the students to get recognized. “I think it’s important because we need to celebrate great students, which we have a lot of here at Granger,” Mr. Mundt said. Students here at Granger High have lots of potential. Being a Super Lancer is more important than it looks like to others. Being one of these Lancers helps with the way people see them in school. They look at them differently in an academic way than how their friends see how hard a student works for school and their good habits.

Landon and his poster hung up by the commons area being acknowledged in the school.

Starting today, achieve SMART goals for a better year is making sure they’re realistic. A person might think ‘I’m going to get a rock hard body in the span of a month.’ Although it follows the first two steps, it doesn’t follow the third step. This goal isn’t realistic for some people. People can’t go from being big to skinny in just a month.

A fairly old TV show by the name of The Biggest Loser took people that had a desire to lose weight and put them through extreme diets and weight loss. Many people decide to do the same and go to the gym everyday, but many fall short of their goals.

Almost 80% of the contestants that went on that show gained back most of the weight they lost on the show.

One might think that those people did not have enough willpower, but the answer isn’t about temptations.

The real reason why these weight losers put on pounds after

the show was because of basic human biology. When a person eats very little and exercises everywhere they go, their body will adjust to the extreme change and it will slow down their metabolism.

Since a slow metabolism likes to hold onto calories, after the diet their body will store most the food they eat into fats.

Losing weight over a short period of time won’t help, so making sure that the goal is realistic is very important. The next two steps are easy if the first three steps are applied.

The next steps are checking the goal to see if it’s relevant and time limited.

If the goal doesn’t apply to the person they won’t achieve it. It also helps if it’s time oriented. If a person knows how much time they have at any moment, it allows them to manage their time wisely.

Tri-Color Times VOL. LX Issue 7

February 2018, page 6 | Sports

Athletes have high hopes for the future athletic seasons

By Braxton Henrie WITH SPRING on the horizon and winter sports coming to an end, it paves the way for the new sports seasons. Claudia Lopez (11) has to be self-motivated to get ready for the upcoming track season.

“For me to do this sport, I rely on my parents to keep me encouraged when I need it and when I am feeling down,” Lopez said.

The thing that she is looking forward to this upcoming season is improving upon what she did last year and trying to help bring her team to state.

“The quote that keeps me going through a meet or a practice is that ‘Mental strength is more important than physical strength,’ ” Lopez said. She plans to encourage other people to join because it has a ton of benefits and has given her so much, so she plans to give back to the sport by giving it future athletes and hopefully future championships.

She wants for her team to achieve amazing things and to show this community what Granger is all about. This sport has helped her as a person and has kept her in a healthy condition. She wants to improve on her 100, 200, and 400-meter times to help elevate her team and improve their chances of going doing great things this season.

While doing any sport she thinks that it is vital to focus on what your doing it for and to maintain a positive outlook no matter what you are faced with.

“One quote that I always have in my head during a meet, is ‘Success isn’t given, you have reach out and take it. If you don’t, you will never obtain it,’ ” said Lopez.

This new season brings high hopes for many players on the boys soccer team, especially for Lenin Villegas (10), who has high expectations.

“Soccer is one of my favorite activities to do in my free time

whether it be practicing at home or at school I love it. I also plan on continuing my career past high school and onto the college level,” said Lenin One thing he hopes to achieve this season is to be a top scorer on the team, and possibly the top scorer in the state.

“Soccer has done many things for me it has kept me out of trouble, it kept me focused when I needed it the most, and it has allowed for me to keep a good GPA throughout high school,” said Villegas.

He keeps his team focused and motivated by communicating and helping them even when they do not ask for it.

“This sport has helped me to meet new people, forge new friendships, and improve my social skills. One quote that is in my head during games is ‘The pain is temporary, but the glory is forever,’ ” said Villegas.

A professional player that he

looks up to is Neymar Junior, who plays for PSG. The reason he looks up to Neymar is he sees how he started from the bottom where nobody knew his name, but has since has grown to become one of the best soccer players in the world.

“My parents always support me and tell me that I should continue this sport for as long as I want or as long as I still enjoy the sport, but I don’t see how I could ever not enjoy this amazing sport and cherish everything it has done for me,” Villegas said.

Athletes need the help of their parents to navigate this mine field called life, and without them, it can blow up in their faces. Some athletes can do it on their own, but others tend to struggle.

It can help to know that they have someone in their corner rooting for them to succeed.

“My favorite moment from last season is when I scored more than once in multiple games and

provided my team with what we needed to be successful last season, but this season will be different. We will be challenged every way imaginable and then in ways we have yet to think of, which is what I love about sports—nothing is ever assured,” Villegas said.

Many athletes struggle with the line between student and athlete because the line often becomes blurred, but some of those athletes still have a chance to become successful.

When the line becomes blurred it can be hard to navigate through and they often fall short and quit.

“A quote that I often think about during a game is ‘It doesn’t matter how hard you can hit, it matters how hard you can get hit and still keep going,’ ” Villegas said.

Athletes usually draw quotes from famous athletes, actors, or inspirational people because they have navigated these same waters and came out successful after it all.

By Afatia Tiatia BASKETBALL is one of the main sports here at Granger, but unfortunately the girls team goes unrecognized. Basketball season begins around the winter time and lasts into the springtime. People often go and watch these games, especially to support their friends.

Basketball is just another way to get students hyped to play or maybe even watch the games. It is also another way that someone can get scholarships for their dream college that they want to go to.

Cierra Olsen (12) is on the girls basketball team. “Learning life lessons in sports and knowing what a nice person I can be is something that is important to me,” Olsen said.

Although girls basketball isn’t well recognized, it requires the same effort as all the other sports.

“I have been playing basketball

ever since I was ten years old,” Olsen said.

As an athlete, people may think about why they have the desire to play the sport.

Often times, setting a goal for playing may be the only desire.

“Focusing on school and wanting the desire to play is very important,” Olsen said.

Another hard-working athlete is Samra Mehmedovic (12).

“Being on the basketball team pushes me to better my limits,” Mehmedovic said.

Sometimes athletes have a hard time with things they need to work on or things that they have achieved. “My strength is being a good team leader and being strong, and my weaknesses are getting irritated faster,” she said.

Knowing the person that inspired athletes to play is probably one of the most important things to some athletes. “The person

that inspired me to play basketball is Darren Williams, who has also played for the Utah Jazz team,” Mehmedovic said.

Ms. Smith is Granger’s head coach for the girls basketball team. “Basketball is more rooted in life lessons. Learning about more opportunities is important as an athlete. Not learning life lessons is equal to not being successful in basketball, but all of these things also carry over to education,” Ms. Smith said.

There are lots of things that coaches like to improve on. Some might be teaching their players how to play on the court, and others may be focused on how to deal with life.

“I plan on improving every year, but every year is also completely different than previous years. I can’t expect to use the same ethics with these girls who have different personalities. I

also hope to build cultural development and to also build athletes to fight through whatever they are going through,” Ms. Smith said.

Coaches are just like everyone else. Being a coach, they also have strengths and weaknesses as well. “Putting on a good game is a strength, but one thing that can be a strength or a weakness is leading with compassion, or showing tough love towards the players when they need it. Especially because I’m too nice of a person it can be tough,” coach Smith said.

Judy Ahio (11) is on the varsity girls basketball team. “One of my short-term goals is getting back to my speed and something that the coaches can do to help me achieve this goal is getting me to condition more and more,” Ahio said.

As athletes, thinking about goal setting is something very important. These students want

to reach for certain things during their time playing on the team.

“I have goals to be an all-around athlete. What that means is I want to play all the positions there are in basketball,” Ahio said.

As an athlete, there comes achievements, which are what can motivate an athlete to do well on the court. Sometimes these achievements make the players want to do better while playing.

“One of my biggest achievements that has happened to me during basketball season was probably making it on the varsity team as a sophomore,” Oseola Pauni (11) said.

Being an athlete may be hard when it comes to balancing sports and school work. Sometimes focusing on school can get in the way of playing on the court. Other times, playing the sport will get in the way of doing one’s school work.

Many years of training hard will forever pay off

Sacrificing hours of sleep to strive for success in sports

By Edward Carrasco MANY STUDENTS at Granger High are dedicated to their training for sports. However, not many people are willing to train both in the early morning and after school. In order to be great, a player has to put in more than just the required hours of conditioning and training.

Luis Valencia (10) has a mindset that puts himself above the rest. His will to be the best he can be is also rubbing off on his friends and teammates. One of the main reasons for his hard training is so that he will be able to play his favorite sport.

“The reason why I started to train was for soccer, trying to improve myself, trying to get that varsity spot,” Valencia said.

Valencia does a variety of basic workouts to improve on his skills. “I come in at 6:30 a.m. every day, in between laps, I do sets of push ups and sit-ups, I also do planks and lunges and burpees,” Valencia said. Like many goals that are set, there is something that motivates the person to keep going when they feel like stopping and giving up.

“My mom is my motivation is because she works her tail off, she makes the sacrifices, I am just trying to help her out, Latinos in West Valley City are not necessarily wealthy,” Valencia said. If anyone is wondering where Luis got his hard-working traits, look no further than his mother.

When trying to prepare yourself for a sport, it is more of a mental challenge than a physical one. The physical part is a lot easier than the mental aspect. Having the mental toughness is being able to push oneself as an athlete and as a person.

Having mental toughness is more important than the physical traits, and Valencia understands the importance of it. “You have to have the mind-set to push yourself when you want to stop, why have a low mentality to only run one lap, when you can have the mentality to add on more laps,” Valencia said.

Valencia is coming early in the morning every day to improve on himself, and he is trying to convince his teammates to do the same in order to have success this upcoming season. “I have tried

encouraging other people to come early, I know I can’t control their mind-set, it’s all whether they have the hunger to get better and see how much it’s about soccer,” Valencia said.

Valencia has strong character traits, and his hard-working mentality is one of the first things his friends notice about him. “He’s really hard working, dedicated, a fun guy to be around, but when it’s time to get serious, he can do it,” Martin Cruz (10) said.

“The first thing that I think of him is that he always has a positive mind-set, he is also very hardworking, he doesn’t give up on what he wants, he keeps pushing, he is also a very humble person, he isn’t selfish, he thinks about other people, he is also motivational,” Jonathan Rodriguez (9) said.

“He is very loyal, open minded, he is a hard worker,” Alyssa Martinez (10) said.

Valencia’s hard-working personality is one of the many reasons his friends admire him. This is one of the reasons his teammates look up to him and seek his motivational support.

“His sign of commitment in soccer and school, he doesn’t like the feeling of bad grades, he doesn’t like to be beat in soccer, he doesn’t like to lose at all,” Cruz said “He influences other people to work hard and not to give up on what they want,” Rodriguez said.

Since starting his early and after-school training, his teammates are already starting to see improvements in his game. “You can see signs of improvements in his skills, not just in soccer, but also academically, he’s improv-

ing in general,” Cruz said.

Many students join sports in order to improve themselves academically and physically. However, it can also be for the reason to motivate one’s self. “He’s improved a lot, he started not knowing how to touch the ball, now he has a good performance, leaves all his efforts on the field and plays with all his heart,” Rodriguez said.

Valencia’s mental toughness and hard-working traits will make him able to find success in anything he puts his mind to.

Sacrificing hours for greatness means a bright future for Valencia.

February 2018, page 8 | Reviews

Tri-Color Times VOL. LX Issue 7

John Green continues winning streak 39 Steps sounds like a winner Review by Alexus Gillette TURTLES All the Way Down is a new adventure novel written by John Green. This book has a very different vibe than all of his other books.

In this story, our main character is a 16-year-old girl by the name of Aza. I found this character quite relatable. She is a very compulsive girl and is always thinking, or rather, overthinking.

This book always had me wondering what was coming next or what was going to be the next thing that Aza did. There were things that were normal that she did often, but then there were things that took the story for a turn. Her best friend, Daisy, was usually the cause of these small little turns or different adventures they went on.

Depending on how you feel, it can cause some conflict with Aza because she is a girl who doesn’t really understand her place in the world in a way that isn’t what you would likely think. Of course, she is a teenager and that’s how most of us feel: like we don’t really have a place yet.

It is something she struggles with, but in a way that she doesn’t feel like she is in control of her life. She feels more like she is merely there to exist in the way that she is being narrated and told how her life is-- or that she is being controlled.

This leads to a lot of different conflicts and troubles in the book.

Now, most of us teenagers are looking for someone to call ours, more specifically a boyfriend or girlfriend. Now imagine not being able to be with that person because you can’t handle their bacteria. This is not something you or I would normally think of, but for Aza it is.

Another character that some of us may relate to is Davis, Aza’s love interest. He writes poems and has a lot of different views on the world. He and Aza have a complicated relationship because they want to be with each other, but with Aza’s problems, she doesn’t feel like she can maintain a relationship. They compare a relationship between them as being like a Ferris wheel.

Now to me, I think that this book has something that every-

one can relate to in some way because there are so many different views from different characters on different things.

It is not overwhelming, but they are things that help the story progress and move along. Without these views, the book would be boring and the story would be bland and basic.

The way Green can incorporate all of these different feelings into 286 pages is very impressive, and to be quite honest I find his works almost alluring and mesmerizing.

His stories with interesting characters are something you start and just have to finish just because you will never know what you are going to get next.

As I was reading this book I was always stumped on what could possibly happen, just because Aza’s mind is always running on overdrive. Since she is always thinking about various different things, it affects the entire story completely because her decisions affect all of the other characters in some way.

Though, you would have to be someone that can deal with frustration because Aza is that

way. She never knows exactly what she’s thinking and her actions sometimes even make her frustrated. Not understanding yourself and your thoughts can cause conflict in real life, so just imagine when a made up character feels this way in a book where anything can happen.

It is definitely something to look into and find out, just because we all have these curiosities about life and ourselves. This book takes that all to a new level with the words and the way everything plays out.

Aza even has medication and sees a therapist to try and figure out her self-worth and to try and get her thoughts to calm down.

She is scared to live every day in fear of multiple different things like infection, disease, bacteria, and not being in control of herself.

Now we all have our bad habits, but Aza has habits that included constantly opening a wound to clean and change the band-aid or swallowing hand sanitizer. Aza, of course, knows these things aren’t healthy or logical, but she also knows that she is somewhat crazy.

Review By Taea Edwards WHEN YOU think of a show, you’d think of the standard musical or play, right? That’s what I thought too, and I know many others and I were confused at the thought of watching a live radio show.

However, knowing many of the cast members and learning that every night had sold out, I was pretty excited to watch The 39 Steps. It wasn’t until after I was seated and I saw the cast come out, did I really get excited.

I was not disappointed.

The 39 Steps: A Live Radio Play was an amazing show. You could see the effort our advanced theatre put into this show, it really showed throughout their performance.

The 39 Steps: A Live Radio Play is a show set in 1930s London, following Richard Hannay as he tries to prove himself innocent after the murder of Annabella Smith. With a cast of 29 amazing actors and actresses, this radio show comes to life in an amazing display.

For one, they did a fantastic job portraying the setting.

All cast members were decked out in their 1930s outfits and tweaked their voices into various British dialects. This made it much easier to get into the story.

One of my favorite things about this show was their sound effects. It was all done by the cast members, who used shoes, a tire, doors, live music, people in both the show and the audience, symbols, and much more for sound effects. It was so unique and interesting being able to watch the people as they spoke and to hear these things in the background. I absolutely loved how they went about doing this.

It made the show more interesting, unique, fun, and it showed that you don’t need to see all of it to truly see it.

Nevertheless, despite how much I loved the use of the sound effects, it got a bit confusing at times. It wasn’t often, but in the beginning I was confused about how things worked. Later in the story when they were supposedly on the train, the amount of sounds used and everything that was going on got jumbled up in my mind

and I got just a bit lost.

Those things aside, I seriously can’t complain because this was one amazing show done by a bunch of amazing actors.

Another great thing about this show was the humor. Considering it was a radio show, they had points in which the people producing the show came and sang little jingles or portrayed people in various ads, which was super funny and added lots more to the show. There was also some acting done by the makers of the radio show, before the show started.

Just watching them walk around, chatting and discussing, was really interesting!

The actual plot of the show was done very well, and the actors really brought out these characters well and the show as a whole fantastic.

I am a total sucker for a good character, and this show was packed full of them. There were many different characters in this show, some of whom add mystery, humor, sass, drama, and so much more! Some characters were mysterious and plotting, others innocent, some funny, some sassy, and some so extremely sarcastic it hurt. Their portrayal of these different characters made the show heaps better.

I was also impressed by the foreshadowing. Looking at the actual writing of the show, it was done extremely well. In the beginning, there are many things that I didn’t think much about. I figured these people were simply there to move on the plot, or to add to the story; little did I know, they were way more important than I originally thought.

I was on the edge of my seat quite a bit of the time, desperate to know the truth behind the mystery the story posed.

Through foreshadowing, funny encounters, amazing sound effects, plot, characters, effort, and everything else put into this show, it turned out to be absolutely amazing, and I actually wish I could see it again.

This was such a fantastic show and here’s a big thanks to the advanced theatre for producing, creating, and devoting so much of their time to putting such an entertaining thing together.

I started high school in New Zealand and finished in Utah Opinion by Gwen Loloma OVER the time period of my high school life, I have been to three different high schools. I first attended a high school in New Zealand, where I was born and raised until I was fifteen. This high school was called Marcellin College. In New Zealand, instead of calling it ‘high school’ we call it ‘college,’ and we call ‘colleges’ ‘universities.’

The high school here and the school system was very difficult for me to adapt to. This was because I had to take in a lot of critical information for me to pass my classes and get decent grades. The fact that the whole school system was very different to the school system in New Zealand made it very overwhelming for me as I adjusted.

As a sophomore in 2015, my life changed forever after I

moved here to America and to Salt Lake City, Utah. Unfamiliar with my new surroundings, I had the chance to choose which high school I should go to. Without any knowledge of what schools were like over here, I chose to go to the closest high school to my house which was Taylorsville High School.

Going in as a sophomore into this school made me feel small, because most of the people who were showing me around were seniors and juniors. The high school system was more difficult than the systems I was used to at my old school.

There were a number of things I could list with the differences between these two high schools I’ve experienced in two different countries. Instead of getting A’s, B’s, C’s, D’s and F’s the grading over there was either achieve,

merit, or excellence.

Instead of 27 credits received from passing your classes required to graduate, you needed 60-80 credits all depending from whichever test are taken at the time. This all adds up to three big tests of your high school life.

I thought that earning credits over here was really easy because even with a D- you’re still eligible to get the credit. In New Zealand, every school started the big exams once you were a junior all the way up to a when you’re a senior. For example the big tests here are ACTs for juniors only.

This meant that the majority of freshmen and sophomores didn’t require any credits accountable to graduate at this time. As months and years passed by, I got used to the whole routine and I felt relieved at the fact that my credits from my other school were count-

ed over here.

I noticed that a lot of schools here have something a lot of schools in New Zealand had, and that was school uniforms. Despite this wonderful experience with everything and everyone over here, one thing I really missed while going school over there was wearing a school uniform.

Now most of you might think I’m insane, but I liked the idea of not having to spend time finding clothes to wear for the next day and not worrying about being judged for the clothes I wear. The colors for uniforms varied among different schools, and one thing I learned was the importance of knowing which school you came from by the appearance of your school uniform and how well you represented it.

I thought it seemed cool to wear anything appropriate to

school, but now that I’ve experienced this change, I feel like I always have to have a new outfit every week.

After two years spent at Taylorsville for sophomore and junior years, I moved to West Valley City. I then had to transfer to Granger High School. Starting as a new student was easier the second time, because I now knew how things worked. As a senior starting fresh, I wanted to make sure that I focused on my school work because everything I do will count when I graduate.

Overall, I think that experiencing the differences between the three schools I’ve been to has been a great experience. Although I’ve had some ups and downs adapting to the new rules and system, I still was able to accomplish and learn new things over the past two years.