September

September Issue

September 2018-Table of Contents Jump Off- Page 2 Feminist or Feminazi?- Page 3 Failure to Flag-Page 4 Senior Spotlight with Maddie Brown- Pages 5-6 Futbol Report- Pages 7-8 Why it is Important to Remember 9/11-Page- 9 Should Drones Fly Over Public Spaces?- Page 10 K-Pop: Overrated or Underappreciated?- Pages- 11-12 Enriching the Experience-Page- 13 Is Social Media Making Us Narcissistic?-Page- 14 On The Walls- 15-16 Mastery Learning-Page- 17-19

Jump off Ryan Moore

Welcome back to school everyone!! Our first issue will be published in the September and we are so excited.

In the Vibe we have some familiar faces but mainly a lot of new members this year and everyone in the Vibe brings out so much talent in their own unique way.

You will have to read each article to know what I mean. September 22, officially kicked off the fall season, where friday nights are for football, flannels are the dress code, and everyone seems to be drinking starbucks and carving pumpkins. We get to see how beautiful the leaves are in their last days, changing from a multitude of colors; these leafs will set the mood for many senior pictures. With school currently being in session we are constantly encountering anxiety induced friends and trying to figure out the balance between the high demands of school and the never ending social circles that desires our every focus. Good and bad, there are a million reasons to be excited for this fall season. We get to support our favorite sports, in and out of school, participate in our favorite fall traditions, and of course, HALLOWEEN! But let’s not forget one more thing, we are one month closer to summer!

In our first newspaper of the year we have awesome and fun articles to read; but the entertainment won’t stop there. We have some fascinating and awe-inspiring things coming this year and we are so excited to share it with you. Through sports and academics this year we are looking towards something that has never been seen in monarch history. As always, stay tuned, stay warm, stay spirited, and stay spooky this fall season! GO MONARCHS!!

Reporter: Lauryn O’Connors What is feminism? Well, according to Merriam-Webster.com, it is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes run by women. Now how does one define a feminist? A man or woman that supports feminism. But in society today, there is a word similar to ‘feminist’ that is more often used; meet a feminazi. A feminazi is an extreme or militant feminist. Some people might think, “what’s the difference?”, but the difference is larger than they think.

When others alike think of feminism, they think of women wanting the same rights as men, to be equal to them. They want to show that they can do anything a man can do and they are just as good at it. But that philosophy has been bent quite a bit. The female side of feminists has given themselves a non welcoming title, feminazi.

Different to feminists, feminazis target men and want to be above them, in certain cases that have nothing to do with gender, they will try to base the situation to be about gender.

For instance, take Jessica Price, a member of the narrative team at ArenaNet. On twitter, she posts information about the games she develops, talking about her opinions about certain topics. When a fan on twitter nicely told her he disagreed with her and even complimented on her work, she got upset over it. He then responded, practically apologizing but it wasn’t enough for Jessica. She then posted this out of anger, flipping the conversation to another topic. “Today in being a female game dev: ‘Allow me--a person who does not work with you--explain to you how you do your job’”. Since that tweet, many people have responded to her, only fueling her fire more to change the subject to only sexism. The following day, higher ups at ArenaNet fired her and another employee

who agreed with her and was rude to the fans as well. Thankfully, this twitter fire has burned out and has been put to the ground.

One famous feminist who has been keeping the good side of feminism alive is Emma Watson, a British actress and singer. She openly talks about equality in this generation and has been someone many young girls around the world look up to.

You may know her from her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series and as Belle from the live action film of Beauty and the Beast.

Not only is she a feminist, but she loves books and spends her time reading. So from inspiration on January 6th, 2016, she started a Feminist Book Club. With 218937 members worldwide, she has inspired people around the world and has definitely influenced the media.

Depending on the person you are, you may say you aren’t a feminist. But in Emma Watson’s words, “If you stand for equality, you’re a feminist. Sorry to tell you.” I asked ten different people, boys and girls, if they are a feminist; six said they weren’t. I then asked if they stand for equality; they all said yes. And according to Emma Watson, everyone i interviewed are feminists.

There is nothing wrong with feminism, but if you are an active feminist, make sure you don’t overstep and become a feminazi.

Failure To Flag

Reporter; Connor Mahoney

If you’re like me, the idea of a long, formal set of rules for the way the flag is raised, lowered and when or why it’s presented what ways is unfamiliar.

Etiquette of the American flag is rarely talked about.

While for many of our years in school we stand for the pledge of allegiance, we never really learn about the official etiquette, or use of the flag. In light of recent events, I began to ask myself some questions about the flag. Despite what you might think, the flag code is extensive, having fitfy ‘titles of the flag code’ each that go into detail about how the flag should be presented,

In recent news, Arizona senator John McCain died, and when he did many people expected that President Trump would fly the flags at half staff until McCain was buried. In McCains case, it was not for two days, unlike many other government figures, where it was held until they were buried. It was because of this that the president became the subject of ridicule from various sources, the U.S. flag code states “By order of the President, the flag shall be flown at half-staff upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and the Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory”. Despite what the flag code states, there is no section that directly says the amount of time the flag must be at half staff, and there was no evidence the president ordered the flag to stop after two days. While on the topic of flying the flag at half staff, it is the decision of the president if the flag is to be held at half staff in the event of a death of a foreign dignitary, however it must also be “in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law”. The president isn’t the only person who decides what days the flag should be flown on. There are some days like Martin Luther King Junior day, New Year's day, Mother’s Day, Easter and of course, Independence Day that the flying of the flag at half staff takes place on.

There are many interesting facts about the flag you might not know, for example; why is it that at some places the American flag is above the Ohio flag? It is because in §7,D of the United States Flag Code states that nowhere in the united states should another flag ever be flown “equal, above, or in a po-

sition of superior prominence or honor to, or in place of, the flag of the United States”. When I read that, I realised that at certain businesses, they have this very

thing; an American flag above the Ohio flag, and usually the company logo, which is something that can even be seen around town.

When you hear that there are rules, you’re also going to wonder; what will happen if there rules are disreguarded? There is up to a one hundred dollar fine, or up to (but not exceeding) thirthy days in jail. It should be noted that in any place but washington DCthis does not apply.Any other state, place or United States territory it is permissable. On the topic of the rules and punishments, the official rules for the United States flag weren‘t made until 1942, when congress passed

Aside from just a way to show your patriotism or respect for the dead, there are many other ways to use the flag. Flying the flag upside down is one ways that you aren‘t supposed to fly the flag. In cases of extreme danger, however, the flying of an upside down flag is appropriate as a warning sign. A way it cannot be flown, however is for the purpose of advertising, nor can it be used as clothing. Clothing such as a T-shirt, pants, hoodie or, bathing suit can have the flag on them, but not made with the flag sewn into it. It is specified that it can be used as a patch on a Military, Police, or another uniform of a patriotic organization.

It’s not allowed to, under any circumstance use the flag as clothing, bedding or drapery and is considered severely disrespectful. It’s not just some businesses that fly the flag either, in many places, especially public areas the flag can be seen, such as at school or the town hall. This all just goes to show how knowing information about the American Flag is important.

How To Handle it All: Senor Spotlight with Maddie Brown Reporter: Julia Robinson

“ I feel like people are mean for no reason and it's so frustrating. I don't think we talk about it enough. Not only are people bullying one another but we don't talk about the good that others are doing. It’s simple just be kind.”

With many morals and a giving heart Maddie Brown finds this most important from many issues, we talked about these type of problems a lot. I sat down with Maddie Brown outside of The Studio at Marysville High School to get her thoughts around how to balance a busy schedule and a multitude of other things. At age eighteen leaving home for college, having a job or trying to find one while being a full time student isn’t a walk in the park. When I asked Maddie if she did anything to help with the stress she told me she does a breathing technique, in for three out for seven along with staying organized and spending time with friends and family. There are some very special people that she mentioned to me that do

Maddie Brown’s volleyball picture- senior year

a great job with helping her be the best person she can be.

First is her best friend since 5th grade Lindsey Ityre. She lives right down the road and her family always goes out of the way to help her and always have made her feel comfortable. Stephanie Perry has all her classes with Maddie and even though they get on each others nerves sometimes, they still love one another. Not even twenty minutes away from each other can keep the two Maddies away, Maddie Bechtel goes to Benjamin Logan but is there for Maddie any time she needs her, since they also met in 5th grade. Finally her Grandma.

Maddie goes to her nursing home every week to watch the Bachelor and the Bachelorette. “She is a sassy lady,” said Maddie “but the sweetest person you will ever get the pleasure to know.”

For Maddie some of her favorite classes are Calculus which is very difficult but bareable because she has always enjoyed math, English 1100 the new (college) class as of last year is again tough but she enjoys the challenge. Finally her most beloved class at Mary1sville is textiles and interior design. For her creating blueprints for houses and planning layouts is something she loves to do. Included with all those classes you have to use the internet and Maddie would describe the internet as interesting, “you never know what your’re going to see,” replied Maddie and I would completely agree with that statement. On top of her many other classes as a senior she also play for the school volleyball team and has play XCEL (an advanced volleyball club) from many many years.

Would this article really be about a teen if it didn’t have an embarrassing high school story? So here is hers, “ it was my freshman year and my sister was in choir and you could order those singing telegrams. No one got me one however, my sister still stopped me in the middle of the hallway and sang to me, I was like oh my gosh i'm going to die!”

She said looking back on it, it's almost as funny as her favorite joke that her little brother Henry told 1

As youth we always have things we want to change about ourselves and Maddie said hers would be her shyness, just to be outgoing in big classrooms or crowds. Maddie is so kind and mature so I thought it might be interesting if there was one certain event that changed her to become that way. She answered with when her little brother Henry was born. She felt that it really shaped her as a person. She had to pick up the slack around the house and made sure to be mindful about setting a good example for her brother in the future.

Then I finally asked her the question I wanted to know, how do you manage your time?

“Its hard, i am not going to lie, a lot of late nights.”

She told me 3 major suggestions that help her. First a planner is key to staying organized as well as lists are very helpful to keep track of what is done and what still needs to happen. Next she said to make sure to use study halls and monarch periods effectively and try to get any of the homework acquired that day, done in school. She said multiple times how important it was to make sure your’re also having fun. Weekends are just that, time to have fun and relax so make sure that you have that dedicated time reserved.

It was absolutely delightful to get to talk with Maddie, her affection and joy radiates to all that have the bliss of being able to speak with her.

There were so many things that we talked about from favorite jokes to the weird wide world of the internet and handling stress. Many more things were discussed that afternoon. From her being a total nerd and loving school her words or, whether it was looking forward to starting a new chapter in her life. I asked her if she wanted to add anything else she responded with “My mom is going to share this with like a bunch of people so please say that I love my parents.” So don't worry Maddie I got you.

Maddie Brown with her friends on a night out!

Futbol Report Reporter:Sawyer Bix They flashbacked to last year when the Marysville Boys Soccer Team made it to the district final and was seeking their first district championship in 30 years. The team went in with high hopes of accomplishing something that would be a first for Marysville since the 90’s when they won a district title. They went up against Hilliard Darby, and one of the advantages was playing on their home turf. The glimpse of being so close to victory but tasting bitter defeat. The Monarchs dropped that game 6-4 in a tough game for the seniors to go out. Now it is a new year for the Monarch soccer team and they are ready to roll. With injuries to Max Brennan of a torn ACL and Connor Hamlett with a broken foot this was not the beginning the monarchs wanted.

The returners I enjoy to watch on this team are seniors Thomas Wolfe, Luke Kudart, Drew Levy, and Mason Taylor.¨It was a crushing loss in the district final, but that is what builds toughness in a team¨, (Logan Clute back defender for Marysville). The monarchs team lost some depth after losing graduated seniors Matthew Walters, Brett Cingle, and Ryan Peck who are all now playing at the collegiate level currently. The juniors on this team that will be required to step up include a cast of members that are ready for the opportunity to play varsity minutes. These juniors include Joey Duke, Logan Clute, and Ryan Walters all players on the come up. All three of these young men are great athletes and great scholars and I had the pleasure to interview two of them. The soccer team has been very successful in the past reaching the district final last year. Sophomore Nick Mcintosh is also helping the cause as he is scoring clutch goals in crunch time of games. Logan Clute has also been a key contributor to the team so far this season as the back defender. Logan Clute has been playing since he was six now going back to his younger years.

Logan was a very interesting person to interview because of his sense of humor. Clute is the back defender for the soccer team and played the same position his sophomore and freshmen year. I asked Clute to begin how long he has been playing the game of soccer. “I’ve been playing for about ten years now ever since I was six”,(Clute on his playing career). I then asked Logan why he wanted to play soccer over any other sports his response was, “it was just the people I played with I really liked to be around those guys” (Clute on the comrodity of the soccer team).

In the interview I also asked about the sport he would play if soccer didn’t work out, “Basketball, I played up through middle school(Clute on previous sports hobbies). Clute was a little skeptical about his post highschool playing career as his response was ‘‘Maybe if it’s with the right school with good academics’’(Clute on his post highschool soccer career). Logan’s favorite professional soccer player might not suprise a lot of people based on his popularity, ‘‘Neymar jr. by far, no question about it’’(Clute on his favorite pro player).

The next person I interviewed was another member of the team Joey Duke. Joey is an impressive athlete a multi-sport athlete with basketball and soccer. Also Joey is a proven great scholar in the classroom too. I asked Joey some questions on the team this year. Joey is also a midfielder for the monarchs. I began the interview by asking him how long he has played soccer, his response was clear ‘‘I have been playing since i was 5 or 6 years old’’(Joey on how long his playing career has been so far). Joey’s response about his teammates elevated my thought on the comrodity of the team ‘‘I love my teammates and my coaches too”(Joey on the comrodity of the soccer team). Friendship wise Joey had many friends on the team, but his best friend included my previous person I interviewed ‘‘Logan Clute or Luke holle I would say’’(Joey with his best friend on the team).

I also interviewed Luke Holle the left wing on the soccer team. Luke goes to the stem school and this is his first year starting for the varsity squad. The obvious question I asked Luke was why play soccer, his response was very clear. “Soccer has been my favorite sport for awhile now, since I played FC elite and Club Ohio”, (Luke on his [laying career). My next question in the interview was I asked him how long he had been playing soccer? “I have been playing soccer since I was five or six years old”, (Luke on how long he has been playing soccer). I then asked Luke a hypathetical question about his sports career. “If I didn’t play soccer, I would definitely play basketball, as I grew up playing basketball too”, (Holle on the sports he played before soccer). Then to wrap up the interview I asked Luke about the younger players in the lower divisions. “I would advise younger soccer players to keep pushing forward in their quest to be a better soccer player”, (Holle on the younger soccer players expectations once they get into highschool).

Also for the soccer team the FC Elite team has growing young players who will play in a couple years. Freshman and sophomore that are making an impact on the JV level are players such as Shane Hothem, Clayton Rice, and Tyler Hamlett. Shane Hothem and Clayton Rice are both sophomores while Tyler Hamlett is an experienced junior. Tyler Hamlett and Shane Hothem both run track and are impressive multi-sport athletes.The JV team is excited and ready to go when they play varsity down the line. The JV team is off to an impressive start so far this soccer team. The JV players are ready to take that next step forward to the varsity level in one or a couple years. This soccer team is the most interesting team yet, because last year the team did not have to go so much adversity. The insertion of young players this year has helped them gain experience on the field. In years past injuries have not played a factor for this team, but the injury bug always rolls back around for most teams. ¨The injuries hurt our team, but injuries happen to all teams so we cannot use this as an excuse¨, (Joey Duke midfielder for the monarchs). This year injuries have mounted for the team, but the insertion of young players give them more varsity experience for the future. The toughness instilled in this team will reflect in wins in years to come. Injuries can either make or break a team, as some teams who have injuries are more motivated after the injuries. Or injuries can become too much for a team and affect their play. The

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monarchs hope that these injuries and adversity will motivate them for the rest of the season.

Neymar Jr’s Impact Neymar jr. is one of the role models for many players on the Monarchs

Why is it Important to Always Remember 9/11?

Reporter: Julia Robinson

president George W. Bush did an interview and said a very important fact that we learned as a nation. “And one of the major lessons of 9/11 is the human condition elsewhere matters to our national security” (from Real Clear Politics).

Seventeen years ago a horrific terrorist attack took almost 3,000 lives. Now we just remember the event to be respectful. In my generation it isn’t really a big topic of discussion unlike school shootings and suicide.

Many are afraid that we will forget what happened on that dreaded day, I’m trying to figure out why it relates to today and why it’s important to never forget what happened on September 11 2001.

Let us also not forget how many people risked their lives for the people that were in crisis. The dozens of firefighters, police men and other observers that did anything they could to help comfort and eventually clean up. The people that overthrew the hijackers on the plane that was heading toward the capital, knowing full well that they were going to die. The thousands of peoEvery year I watch the same news reports see the same ple thinking that they would arrive where they needed pictures and every year I hear the same interviews. As safely and get to see their families at the end of the day. time goes by more and more people start to loose some For the wives that husbands did not return, for the kids sensitivity to the issue that occured. That is the prob- thats parents never made it back. That is why we need to lem that is starting to make older generations anxious always remember so that we never ever forget how it felt about the future. If students continued to see different and that we can always pay respect for the things that viewpoints maybe families that were affected the stu- we could not do ourselves. dents could hear after gain their interest back. If teachers continue informing while maybe parents share Due to the attacks in NYC and Washington we came their stories about that day. This event took place a few together as a nation, became aware of other threats, years before I was born and in the 21st century most respected those who sometimes goes underrecognized people don’t remember the events because they were and became strong and brave. “ If learn nothing else too little or like me, not even born yet. I have heard from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is many devastating stories that have hurt my heart. My no time for hate” Sandy Dahl. I will leave you with this, mother told me her story and I thought it was a great the live broadcast from the day of the attacks. The day example of how not only New York and Washington that we realized the world would never be the same. “ was hurting but the whole nation. “It was in the morn- What you’re looking at, live, from the tip of Manhattan, ing and I just dropped off 3 daughters to school and is a new face of war. You’ve heard talk about terrorism, was holding my 9 month old when I watched it hapthe war of terrorism, the war being waged by terrorism. pen on the news. My neighbor came over and we cried Take a good look-- this is what it’s about. We’ve said for together as friends and mothers and it was a horrific years that terrorism would soon be coming to America. day that I will never forget”.

It began coming here big time in the 1990s with the first U.S News and World Report said “not only for its own sake; we must remember so that we may hopefully prevent it or anything like it from ever happening again”. We also must always have to remember that the world is still a dangerous place and continue to recognize the sign and how to cope as a nation. Osama bin Laden is a great example of the evil out in this world it’s scary but that is why it’s always important to commemorate that day. Thankfully we handled it as well as possible that we could as a nation at the time, and others can learn from what we did but also learn from things we didn’t do well also. The former

attack of the World Trade Center and other terrorist attacks… There is a war… It’s a 21st century kind of war.

It’s a war by sneak attack, in this case a devastatingly effective one” CBS news anchor Dan Rather.

Should Cameras on Drones Watch Over All Public Spaces?

Advanced Reporter, Kami Carter

Regardless of the fact that it is almost impossible to prevent crime entirely, we are always trying to find new ways on how to prevent crime to the world we live in. For instance, undercover officers, neighborhood watch systems, home security are all ways we decrease crime in our community.

But the real solution could be right in front of us. Having cameras attached to drones that fly over all public spaces may decrease crime with people knowing they are being watched at all times.

On the other hand, drones are helping us in many diverse ways like in planting trees. The speed of drones make them a good tool for planting trees. While a farmer or someone working at a frantic pace may be able to plant several thousand seeds a day, a drone can do ten times that amount in less than half that time. Organizations are investigating ways that drones can be used to prevent crime. They are relatively low cost, have the ability to fly high and capture high-quality images, and can be very effective in chaotic situations. In addition, whenever there is a massive event or an open meeting, drones are used either to capture the whole moment or for security reasons. I do not feel that it is a violation; it is simply just a new lifestyle. Prior to this, things happened and there was no proof.

Nowadays, we can confirm it with the help of these cameras on drones!

Therefore, if this was to be created, there would be several issues to go along with the solutions to this idea. Some people believe this is an invasion of their privacy.

A fellow student at MHS, Ainsley Parker, says that she’d feel as if she was “living in a prison” if she knew drones were watching her nonstop. Ainsley also made a point of saying that the government (or whomever would be watching the drone cameras) could possibly misunderstand the situations being seen on them. For instance, they cannot hear the situations, they can only see what is going on. Other than causing invasion issues with the people of the U.S., this idea might cause financial problems as well. The government cannot afford to buy a drone for every square foot of our country.

This photo was on www.wsj.com. This survey shows that most people do not support drones flying over their property.

In conclusion, drones flying over every square space of the U.S. will not stop crime completely. Yet, they would help prevent crime, they would still cause other issues. It is up to us to decide whether we go ahead with this idea or not.

Reporter: Lauryn O’Connors When you hear the word K-pop what do you think? Music, Koreans, beautiful women or handsome men? While that is a part of Korean music, there are some other things people have to say about it. K-pop became known to the United States around 2010. They call it Hallyu; a Korean wave.

Mostly adored by teenage girls, k-pop became popular for the slick dance moves, addictive beats, and the fashion of the idols. One group, a K-pop boy band called BTS, is currently the most popular group in the world. The members of BTS are Kim Namjoon; the leader, Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, and Jeon Jungkook; the maknae. A maknae is what you call the youngest member of a group. You can understand why so many people like them by their perfect choreography, dedication to their fans, and their looks.

For most fans of K-pop, they have a favorite member which is called a ‘Bias’. Most times it’s not because of the physical attributes of the members that makes people choose a bias. Normally a bias is chosen from genuinely enjoying how the person behaves and what they say. A lot of times, the fans have a certain connection to the idol, and thats what makes the idol their bias. For instance, Park Jimin on an episode of JTBC’s ‘Please Take Care of My Refrigerator’, shared that he went on a ten day diet of only eating one small meal a day. He also shared that he was never able to love himself for the way he looked. This touched the hearts of many fans and they were able to connect and relate to him on this subject, thus him becoming their bias. Some aren’t as serious, as Kim Namjoon is often called the ‘God of Destruction’ for always breaking things. The fans were able to connect as they could see themselves as clumsy, making their favorite member Kim Namjoon.

From BTS’s photoshoot for ‘Love Yourself: Tear’ album

BTS is very popular because of their music and most popular song, Blood Sweat and Tears, but honestly, the fanbase goes deeper than that. BTS practices 12 to 15 hours A DAY; and students here thought gym was too long. Whenever BTS gets a break, they always sleep; who can blame them? In BTS’s song, Sea, it is about the grueling struggle of their daily life. While being a Korean star seems fabulous, it’s not easy. Getting into or passing auditions alone is a struggle since so many want to be famous. But if one does get the chance, they normally sign a contract that can last as long as a murderer’s jail time sentence. Not only that, but if the manager or producer feels the star needs plastic surgery, he or she will most likely do it. In the K-pop world, what you say is always monitored.

In the pre chorus of ‘Sea’, the english translation speaks about the hardship of being a star, and that they have to keep their chins up and make it seem everything is okay.

“I know, I know, my hardship right now. I know, I know, I’ll overcome. I know, I know, open me up.

It’s the place I can rely on. Think positive, I’m swallowing my dry spit. Even if I’m nervous, even if I’m in a desert. I’m in the beautiful Namib Desert.”

In many interviews, BTS always mentions that they do it all for the fans. Their dedication to their fan base which they call ‘Army’ is strong. And Army gives the dedication back as well, winning them a Guinness World record title with the most Twitter Engagements, beating Harry Styles and almost tripling the amount he had. This definitely got the attention from other American pop artists like Nicki Minaj who did a collab with BTS in their song, ‘Idol’.

In an interview with freshman, Amanda Thacker, she was asked why she loves K-pop so much; this is what she had to say, “I love K-pop so much because all of the groups are diverse and especially BTS have amazing reasons for why they create music and there is always a message behind every song.”

So to say the least, K-pop is strong all across the world and is still spreading. The music is not only fun and touching, but inspiring and even educational. So maybe next time you see something about K-pop, take the time to read it or hear it because it might not be as overrated as it seems.

Enriching The Experience Reporter Skye Shuler-Soto

For the vast majority of high schoolers, navigating their freshman year is nearly impossible. What friends to make, who to sit by, who to avoid, and don’t even get started on lunch!

Oof! It can be so overwhelming. Unfortunately in that whirlwind of possibilities, most students forget about the fun parts of highschool, clubs.

Clubs help point you to new friends, opportunities, and genuinely make the high school experience. But still the question looms, what clubs?

Like helping and community service?

Showing off our monarch pride? Planning dances? Join Student Council! Advised by Mr.Scherer and Ms.Newman, Student Co. helps plan dances, community events, blood drives, pennies for patients, and run tons of charity events. Remember that awesome pep rally we kicked the school year off with? Stem council. And the next one? MHS Student Co. is ecstatic to plan that. It looks great on college apps and there are tons of friends to make.

Regardless, it’s got a little bit for everyone and with only twenty hours of service, who could say no!

Leadership not quite your forte or just a little apprehensive? I suggest yearbook. It’s just as influential but allows one’s creative juices to flow free. You can select or be assigned spreads, or two pages, by the advisors (Mrs. Bise at MHS or Mrs.Boylan at ECHS). What the spread is exactly can range from clubs to senior selects. Members are charged with putting pictures in, names along with them, and dazzling viewers with creative layouts, backgrounds and clipart. All done through software that’s accessible at home and school.

The Key, or MHS yearbook, has been a time honored tradition. Years from now, students will flip back through their old yearbooks, and as their kids stare in awe at the flawlessly designed pages, the yearbook legacy lives on, your legacy could live on.

Not visually creative, but more linguistically? Join the MHS Writing club, also known as Catseye. It’s an exceedingly welcoming and relaxed environment where anyone can come to work on stories, poems, plays, scripts and journals.Together members focus their writing, practice different techniques and prompt each other to strengthen their skills. Members constantly give tips, critiques and praise as well as offer their eyes for simply a second opinion.

Opportunities like poetry contests are posted on schoology to challenge students to pursue their writing goals and possibly get published.

Lasy year’s Catseye Members: Kneeling: Julia Shade, Samantha Harris, Megan Melish, Lauren Sullivan, Skye Shuler-Soto, Emily Wigglesworth. Standing: Anna Blumberg, Chase Cutarelli, William Matheny, Laura Sophie Freudenthaler, and Aaliyah Siders

Not to state the obvious, but sports are also a really great way to get out there. Team or individual sports, high levels of activity or low, sports are fun and can help propel your future. Not convinced you should go out and join basketball or hockey? Neither am I. But I was convinced to join the bowling team. Who doesn’t love bowling? It’s no contact but still competitive and 2 seasons count as all the gym credit you need to meet graduation requirements, as do other sports.

Whichever route you go, or don’t, clubs are just as important as classes. If your schedule is busy, try finding one that meets during monarch period. Busy then? No biggie, after school programs are available too. They present with opportunities to grow as people and as students. Between the unique experience you can gain and the people you can meet, clubs are crucial to any high school experience.

Is Social Media Making us More Narcissistic?

general, this has lead to a more self-focused culture. The word ‘selfie’ was named the word of the year by the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013.

Social media takes up a major part of our lives. For example, facebook has over one billion active users per day. This explosion of social media has lead to several cultural, social and economic changes. One issue we see in today’s culture is narcissism; or excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one’s physical appearance. Is social media becoming an outlet for narcissistic individuals? And is social media turning us all into narcissists?

The more challenging question is if the arrow points the other way. That is, does social media use cause narcissism? Researchers have noticed narcissism and social media use might be accelerating together. But this data is correlational and doesn’t tell us about individuals social media use; therefore it doesn’t say much about how social media will influence users. Recently, researchers have tried a couple different strategies to test this theory to the best of their ability. One is an experiment. For example, you take two random groups, have one group work on their social media page and the other on an unrelated computer task.

Then you measure differences in narcissism to see if the social media group is higher. Results from this test have been mixed and inconclusive. It might also be the case that social media inflates the narcissism of those already predisposed, but has no effect on others.

Advanced Reporter, Kami Carter

Photo found on www.theconversation.com

Some use social media as platforms for self-promotion or places to sneak attention.

These friends bragging about their amazing lives using photographs and hashtags that come off quite narcissistic. Even the spots on social media where you go to post can come off as narcissistic. On Youtube is says “broadcast yourself,” Twitter is “what are you doing?” the name of all apple products start with an ‘i’.

For instance the ‘ipod,’ ‘iphone’ and ‘ipad’. In

So, it is likely that social media use increases narcissism. But there is also research suggesting that social media use can make children more empathetic. For example, children who spend time engaged with their friends on social media might become more concerned with the up and downs in their friends lives. Thus, given the unpredictability of social science and the challenge of figuring out how to answer this causal question (without randomly assigning 300 children to avoid social media until they turn 18 and have their narcissism measured), I think it is best to wait for more data.

Reporter:Shaylynn Jackson

You may be walking around the school and seeing artwork hanging up. Well those are created by the talented senior Tyleesha Jamana Aryaa Russells.Her artwork is hanging up in the hallway by the library,as I describe them u can pick them out.She has three of them.

Art is her favorite class.In eighth and ninth grade she took Art 1,and in sophomore year she took Art and Design and ceramics junior year she took on drawing and painting one year and senior year which is this year she is taking advanced art and drawing and painting two. Shes says that the reason it is her favorite class is because it helps her relieve stress;she says with all her other classes she is taking as a senior and throughout her high school years she couldn't really relaxed like she can do with art.I asked her is their really anything she likes to do outside of school besides art and she responded with no I do all of my artwork in school,and put my hard work into them to get them finished”, and outside of school she likes to sleep and work,which is very relatable to me too,and probably relatable to most teenagers.I wondered if she gets intimated seeing her artworks compared to people around the high school because there's many great artist at the Marysville High School and in art shows.

She says “when I am in a big room with artist i look at their paintings and think to myself “I could have did better” or “They really did great on that i could never do that”,which what i've heard from her and teachers she really shy so I get where shes feeling intimidated but i'm sure her artwork is as good or

better than these peoples..She starts to tell me a story and she explains”in eighth grade the art teacher was passing back our projects and the project was to pick any person and draw them realistically and I came back the next day and i was almost done but I couldn't find mine so we looked in different class piles of drawings and someone actually took mine and erased her name off of it.”She said that felt like a smack in the face because in art you don't have to be great you just have to try and learn from your mistakes,which is understandable.I asked her if she uses her art skills anywhere else and she says she does.She uses them in the area in cosmetology and she loves to do hair,nails and makeup and she says “those are just another piece of paper to me.”She hopes to develop her art into a career either through cosmetology or being a tattoo artist.I love the way shes does her hair makeup and nails I always notice that about her and I asked her if that a way she expresses herself and she said yes because face,nails and hair to her is just another media of artwork.

Looking around the school and seeing the artworks,people wonder what's the meaning and who did them?Tyleesha has three artworks around the school and as she describes them she says one ,is a girl crying in water and she has two buns,and the name in the artwork is “Drowning In Tears.” She says she painted that when she was going through depression and cried everyday”For no reason”she says.When Tyleesha was going through that emotion she explains “I couldn't even bring myself out of bed.”and when she did get out of bed that's how she summed up everything was through each stroke of a paint brush,which I found inspiring because everyone has their bad days.The second art work she has hanging up around the school is a colored pencil drawing of a flower,it doesn't really have a name to it, but it made her try new techniques she explains .She said she really never did that and she was really proud of the outcome.The third one is a self portrait of Tyleesha and it’s mainly watercolor.That painting to her actually lets her explain to people how her anxiety makes her feel.There's five faces one is

smiling,one is holding her head down,another is

crying the face is broken one has her restrained from her speaking and in the middle is almost covered up by all the others which shows who actually she is.That painting is called “Engulfed”because that's how anxiety makes her

feel.She explains”I don't want anxiety to define me as a person or let it prevent me from expressing myself not just artistically but verbally and physically and not to be scared anymore.” Which hits home for me because I let my anxiety define me because anxiety is very powerful.Most of her artwork she says people has told her is empowering to african americans.”I wouldn't say I only draw for african americans.”She explains.To her, she takes pride in her race and every aspect of it.She wants to bring the African American cultural up and support them in any way she can even if its through art.After year and years of her being put down she says”why not teach people the beauty in themselves,and how they are is just fine.” Talking to Tyleesha she has inspired me to be a powerful young woman and i hope she can inspire everyone else because she seems like a great person that just needs help breaking out of her shy shell.

MASTERING EDUCATION Reporter Skye Shuler-Soto

First coined in 1971, Benjamin S. Bloom described an educational strategy known as Mastery Learning. After the initial instruction and classwork, he believed students should be given a formative assessment that determines what they understand and what they have yet to ‘master’ or areas that still require improvement. He even suggested that “The formative assessment includes explicit, targeted suggestions—termed correctives—about what students must do to correct their learning difficulties and to master the desired learning outcomes” as he wrote in his book, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.

Dr. Susan Koukis, a beloved teacher at MHS, is a member of the pilot program, or so called ‘cohort’. The pilot program is the first step into the switch of all Marysville classes over to mastery learning by 2020. Dr.Koukis defined mastery learning and said that it’s implementation is “to make sure students are proficient in their subjects and the main difference that shows their proficiency is the change in the gradebook. In the past grades have been averages… In mastery learning the gradebook should reflect just the learning that the students have done”. This year, mastery learning is a term students at Marysville High School are hearing more and more. Unfortunately, seldom are explanations as to exactly what, how ,or why these practices are being used, provided to the classes. Perhaps more importantly, student input has little to no effect on the matter at hand.

Curious as to what the general consensus was about MHS’ new teaching practices, I conducted a survey open to all members of our student body, with the breakup being represented in charts A and B.

Over 75% of respondents claimed they had classes that used mastery grading, with foreign languages and English making up the majority. It also became rapidly apparent that some classes, although not formally converted to the new convention, were using the scale in some units or on certain tests, but not in the intended way. Some teachers are using different scales that are inevitably confusing their students.

Speculation suggests that this may be the leading cause in the rampant distaste for mastery learning. Braeden McGinnis, a sophomore and show choir star, said that his English class is “not doing mastery learning how it was described to me”. When asked, most students gave a positive reaction to the idea of mastery learning, with our statistics showing 56% of students scored it as a 3 or higher on a 5 point scale. However, when asked how they liked the use of it in their classes, 77.2% rated it below a 3. By our account, the disconnect regarding the method of education and feedback between our predominately negative survey and the positive results shown in larger scale study stems from the misuse or misinformation surrounding mastery learning.

Chart A Grade in School

Chart B Time spent in MEVSD

The disconnect is only a small part of what students who dislike mastery learning say the problem is. Individuals who strive to do the best of their ability pilot most of the opposition. “... as someone who always strives to do their best, [mastery learning] seems to take away from all of the hard work needed to get good grades” said one respondent. If an 80% is equivalent to a 100% on a mastery scale, or scored as a 1, why try any harder to get a better grade? Sure, it influences the margin of error, but no high school student would take that seriously. “I felt like I was not learning the material because I could retake tests as many times as I wanted to. I also feel like mastery learning discourages studying, because many of the students would just fail the test, then retake to get the grade” said another.

While mastery learning allots for those who need the retakes, abusing the system is incredibly easy.

As most students know, work smarter not harder.

Larger scale studies, such as the one conducted by NYU, also claim that students’ grades improve as does their understanding. When taken to the students here at the high school, a vastly different picture was painted. 50.9% of students surveyed said that the switch to mastery learning in their classes had no measurable amount of influence on their grades. 25% said it had negative impact on their reflective scores in class. Education is more than simply student grades. Understanding is just as crucial to student success. 28% of students reported that they actually understood less of their material because of mastery learning and 44% said it neither helped nor hurt how much they learned. However, with mastery learning, you must first overcome the basics before you can advance. While it might take longer, it is almost illogical to say that it hurts student’s understanding of the material as they cannot continue throughout the course without passing certain checkpoints.

Not only is the switch to mastery learning stressing students out about their current high school grades, but many people are worried how it will affect them at the collegiate level.

I met with Beloved spnaish teacher Ms.Newman and asked for her input on mastery learning

Not only is the switch to mastery learning stressing students out about their current high school grades, but many people are worried how it will affect them at the collegiate level. “I still firmly believe that it is not preparing us as well for college, where mastery will certainly not be offered,” worried another sophomore, Madison Chapman, and she has a valid point. The style of teaching directly corresponds to how students are going learn how to take in information.

Throughout high school students are constantly toying with different techniques on how to interpret and utilize the information they’re presented with. By college the expectation is that one has determined the most effective way to do just that. Kelsey Newman, a teacher here at MHS, explained the mastery learning and college relationship as “At the end of the quarter, semester, and year, you still have your traditional A-F grades on a transcript. How they got there is of less interest to the college, I think. To me those grades are actually more meaningful because there’s no possibility of them being inflated by extra credit or perfunctory participation, it’s completely based on your ability”. Now the conflict arises as is their grade a true reflection of their ability? “Life isn’t going to give you infinite retakes” said one responder. Dr.Koukis and her colleague Mrs.Kozak disagree.

MASTERING EDUCATION CONTINUED SAT, ACT, drivers tests, all these things, what we consider so pivotal in life, can be retaken.

Even college courses, you can always pay to retake them if you did poorly. And while high school is great tool in preparing someone for adulthood and the ominous ‘real world’, relying solely on experiences from four rocky years of life is questionable at best.

Mastery learning has copious benefits and generates a world of possibilities for students beyond just their grades. As Ms. Newman put it, “I think it’s a very pro-student pro-growth system” primarily because, “We’ve always known that students learn at different paces and yet so much of assessment is based on a deadline, and if you don’t understand by the deadline you’re out of luck. The teacher moves on, and not only do you have a bad grade, you have no foundation to move forward. With the newer system the message is, ‘I want to know that you mastered this skill.

It doesn’t matter to me if it takes you longer than your peers, it just matters that you keep progressing until you do get there’ “. Mastery learning provides a wonderful opportunity for those who require more time to digest and absorb material. It also generates a much more accepting environment. Rather than the drift between those who are thriving and those who may be struggling being widened by time, strengths and weaknesses can be balanced, leveling the playing field.

While the general consensus demonstrates a strong dislike towards the new policy, teachers and some students are hopeful for the future. Mastery learning as a whole creates a multitude of possibilities for the average student.

Education is being pushed beyond just letter and number grades. Here, at MHS, education is taking the plunge into material and ensuring pupils are really understanding what they’re being taught.

That right there prepares people for adulthood more than a wide range of percentiles determining their excellence.

Perhaps more importantly, as mastery learning is used more and more, students will grow to admire it; to see the same world of endless knowledge and success that the pilot program had in mind when choosing to take the first step.