Fall 2018 Issue

Cherry Creek High School 9300 E. Union Ave. Greenwood Village, CO 80111

Journal The Union St.

Oct. 2018

Vol. 4 Issue 1

This is not an eggplant.

P. 8

IN THIS ISSUE....

USJ STAFF

NEWS

IDeology............................................3 Adderall............................................4 Dress Code.......................................5 STUDENT LIFE

Sources of Strength.......................6-7 FEATURES

Nude photos..................................8-9 ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Eighth Grade....................................10 Coming Age Movies.......................10 Club Penguin..................................11

Editor-in-Chief Gracie Lordi

Web Editor Hannah Edelheit

News Editor Bitanya Haile

Advisor Yoni Fine

Student Life Editor Da’Nazjah Dorsey

Illustrator Faith McCurdy

A&E Editor Chance Hausman

Staff Writers

Sports Editor Giovanni Machado

JJ Aquino

Opinions Editor Jacob Ginsberg-Margo

Matilde Marino

Photo Editor Olivia Burton

Sara Abbey Harper Hanson Jane McCauley Katie Northcott Cole Paterson

SPORTS

Boys’ Soccer.....................................12 Football...........................................13 Softball............................................13 OPINIONS

OCD................................................14 Stupid Questions............................15 Mood Memes..................................15 Staff Editorial..................................15

Purpose The Union Street Journal is a student publication distributed to the students, faculty, and staff of Cherry Creek High School. The paper serves as an information source and a two-way communication forum for both the school and community.

Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of Cherry Creek High School or the Cherry Creek School District.

Find more stories at unionstreetjournal.com

@creekusj 2

Oct. 2018

NEWS

IDeology: Creek’s new ID policy BY: GRACIE LORDI & HANNAH EDELHEIT Editor-in-Chief and Web Editor The usual first-day excitement this school year was joined by something very different and very personal for Creek students. The new ID Policy stirred unrest from the student body after it was announced, on registration day, that all students, faculty, and staff are now required to wear their IDs from the beginning of the school day to the end.

Mostly, students quipped about the physical feel of IDs around their necks.

“I don’t like the way it feels around my neck,” junior Jaden Busnardo said. “I bend down it like dangles all over and gets on my homework and stuff.”

Freshman William Nakasone agrees.

“I’m not used to something around my neck everyday,” he said.

Although students complained, many expressed their understanding of the IDs within our security system.

“I don’t mind them. I actually think they are very helpful,” sophomore Kate Hughes said. “If some random person comes without an ID we can stop it if they were to have a gun.”

In some ways, students believe that the ID policy is counter-productive.

“It doesn’t really change much if I see someone without an ID I’m like, ‘Oh you just forgot your ID.’” Busnardo said.

Although IDs are not fool proof, the IDs are nonetheless an extra layer of security.

“It’s not a groundbreaking thing, but I think if any tiny little measure can make our school a bit safer, I’m all for it.” Dean Craig Blaiser said.

The IDs are also creating a sense of unity between students, as they attempt to keep their friends accountable.

“I think it’s causing some or creating some community, where kids are calling eachother out.” Blaiser said.

Not only are students being affected, but so are the enforcers and the people in charge of issuing new IDs. Assistant to the Activities Director Penny Malloy issues between 10-20 new IDs every morning before school.

“It actually takes up between 7:30am to the time school starts,” she said “That entire hour is usually spent making IDs.” The deans who enforce the policy also must dedicate a lot of time to seeing to students, but it’s gone very smoothly so far.

“My office gets pretty busy with kids who don’t have their IDs on and referrals and things,” Blaiser said.

“I’ve see a ton of kids this week, but I think enforcement has been going great.”

Creek is visibly transition to a more rigid security to insure safety in these turbulent times following shootings.

Social Studies teacher Virginia DeCesare has taught at Creek for 24 years and, only in the last three years, has been required to wear as ID. “I have taught here for so long it is not a habit for me and I am a habit person so it was something really hard,” DeCesare said.

The security team has even added more guards to ensure the safety of our Creek community.

“Right now we have 11. But we were given 2 more positions. So we have 12 security guards on this campus from 7:30am to 4:00pm and we have one security guard that is considered our night security guard and they are on from 1:00pm to 9:00pm.” Uhlig said.

After the volatile year schools experienced last year, administration has responded with a another preliminary safety requirement.

“We felt like we had done, really just everything that we could do, but there are few things that we aren’t doing that we needed to consider and one of them was the idea of students wearing their IDs.” Silva said.

ID BADGE ENFORCEMENT POLICY I Offense

Oct. 2018

Catalina Jafek

“The real issue of school violence or school safety really should be addressed by changing the way we approach things ideologically, like in changing the environment in which we learn.”

Chris Willams

III Offense IV Offense

II Offense A written warning home

These seniors found creative ways to wear their IDs and here’s what they have to say:

Student is required to go to a supervised study session during one of their off periods

Student must go to a supervised study session for every one of their off periods for 1 week

One day out-ofschool suspension for every violation after the 3rd offense

“A lot of people are trying to project their own views - positive or negative on the rule - on the shirt, but at the end of the day, it’s just a shirt.”

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NEWS

Focus on the dosage

Students abuse adderall for studying BY: KATIE NORTHCOTT Staff Writer

“It gets fun” and “it feels pretty good” are some of the responses of students who were asked why they exceed the recommended dose of ADHD medications.

The abuse of prescription medications is nothing new to students, but with more and more students being diagnosed with ADHD, prescription ADHD medications are becoming easier to obtain.

It’s only natural, that more students would abuse the medications. This is concerning to school officials.

According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, the diagnoses of ADHD among youth in the United States increased 10.2% between the two years from 2012 to 2014. With almost a third of the 5.4 million children diagnosed being prescribed ADHD medications, it’s not surprising that the abuse of these medications would also increase.

According to the National Poison System, there were about 78,495 cases of adolescents who misused ADHD drugs reported during the years 2000 to 2014.

Even people who are diagnosed with ADHD will experience the negative side effects of overdosing on these medications.

“There is a reason for dosing,” school nurse Dr. Darcy Miccio-Pace said. “With certain medications, if you stop taking it too soon, you’re going to have some pretty serious side effects. If you increase the dose without having physicians’ recommendation it can be really dangerous too.”

Whether it’s combining different stimulants or taking too much of one, both cause an overstimulation of the central nervous system.

According to a poll of 126 students, 7% of the students at Creek admit to taking more ADHD medications than advised, and 4% admit to combining them with other drugs.

Side effects of drugs like Adderall and Ritalin, some of the most common ADHD medications, range from loss of appetite, anxiety, or high blood pressure to emotional irritability and addiction. Because stimulants produce a high, long term use of ADHD medications can create a tolerance that requires the user to take more of the medication in order to experience the high, and would also cause withdrawal symptoms according to Healthline.

Combining stimulants with depressants, on the other hand, don’t balance each other as it may seem.

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“Having a stimulant doesn’t necessarily always allow you to know when you should stop taking the depressant, such as alcohol,” said Dr. Miccio-Paci. “You may not be as aware of your own internal cues.”

Depressants, such as alcohol and marijuana, do the opposite of stimulants: they slow down brain activity and heart rate. In reality, mixing these substances puts the body in a state of confusion and disorientation.

Some students, with and without ADHD, say that they take Adderall and Ritalin because they are worried about grades and believe it helps them focus. These drugs stimulate the brain to create more dopamine, which is a chemical in the brain that helps regulate skills such as memory and attention.

“Medication can make certain behaviors or cognitive processes possible, so it might mean that now you can pay attention more easily,” School psychologist Andrew Russell said.

But he warns against counting on them to help with study habits in general, “It doesn’t teach you how to effectively make notes in your notebook.”

What might surprise students is that, according to a study performed by the University of Cambridge, stimulants only significantly improve cognitive function when the person taking it already has low levels of dopamine.

This means that even if the drug is somewhat increasing focus for a person without ADHD, it won’t help as much as it would for a person with ADHD. In fact, a study performed by the University of Alabama at Birmingham showed that people who aren’t diagnosed with ADHD performed just as well on cognitive tests when they took Adderall as when they took a placebo (a sugar pill that participants believed was Adderall).

The belief that they would perform better is what enhanced their cognition, not the Adderall.

“Again, my strong advice is only take what is prescribed to you and only take the amount that’s prescribed”, Dr. Miccio-Pace said.

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Medication can make certain behaviors or cognitive processes possible, but it doesn’t teach you how to effectively take notes.

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Oct. 2018

NEWS

New dress code met with approval BY: GRACIE LORDI Editor-in-Chief Massive changes have been applied to Creek’s dress code, but the majority of students don’t even know that any changes happened.

Last year, many body-shaming incidents occurred all throughout the U.S. attracting national attention.

In one such story, Senior Kelsey Anderson from Joplin High School in Missouri was ordered out of her classroom by a teacher claiming that she was too “busty” and should shop at stores more appropriate for plussized women, according to CBS News.

In February of 2018, Activities Director Dr. Krista Keogh took on the challenge of establishing a committee. In it, a diverse group of teachers, parents, and students met to discuss the policy.

The administration expressed that its main concern is the safety and equality of all students.

“Primarily, it comes down to if it’s a distraction,” Dean Tom Doherty said. “We want kids to be able to focus on learning when they’re at school, not what someone is wearing or not wearing.”

Sophomore Yael Wallen, Co-President

of Spectrum club, attended the committee meetings and expressed her concern with the previous dress code policies.

“I think it was not inclusive and it was aimed towards women,” Wallen said.

Keogh agrees that the wording of the policy did not promote equality and believes the spark for change was brought on by the old-fashioned phrasing of the policy.

“Our dress code, in general, was outdated and contained some gender-specific language around what females could wear versus what males could wear,” she said.

She found that, on a more general level, attention drawn to the dress codes resulted from popular culture and media.

“A lot of it is coming from some of the media attention,” Keogh said. “Then [The Union St. Journal] had the article which was really timely.”

Having not been revised since the 90s, the old dress code outlined the seemingly normal regulations, such as no spaghetti straps or bare stomachs, but also strange, dated ideas such as, “no open-toed shoes”.

As more progressive dress codes continue to surface from different schools all around the country, the stark contrast between those and our outdated dress code was divulged.

More Creek students began to voice their concern with the language of dress codes, prompting Principal Ryan Silva and other administrators to

POLL OF 63 CREEK STUDENTS

re-evaluate the policies illustrated in hundreds of Bear Facts planners.

Evanston Township High School, just outside of Chicago, is one of the schools breaking ground with a cutting-edge dress code, that focuses on the mission of the dress code and proper enforcement.

Creek’s new dress code is based primarily off of ETHS’s.

Their dress code states that “all students should be able to dress comfortably for school and engage in the educational environment without fear of or actual unnecessary discipline or body shaming.”

Creek’s dress code now is much simpler, outlining basic protocol like what students can and cannot wear. It also goes more into the ideology and purpose of the dress code in general.

Enforcement this year has been more lax because the policy change also led to Security staff no longer pulling aside students who are out of dress code.

“At the beginning of this school year we

Students cannot wear: any clothing item that is too revealing.

Short Shorts aren’t permitted. Chest, back middriffs, shoulders, and buttocks should be covered with clothing.

Students would be asked to modify clothing that would jeopradize their safety and welfare.

were told that there wasn’t a dress code and we’re not going to enforce any kind of dress code at this time,” Security Staff Vicky Owens said.

Although enforcement by security guards has drastically decreased they still are allowed to pull kids aside if they are wearing clothes that present hateful messages.

“Anything that is gang-related, hate-related, then we are allowed to say something about that,” Owens said.

Owens believes that the lack of dress code is unfortunate.

“I think it’s sad because I feel like a lot of people have taken advantage of it,” she said.

“But if there’s no code then there is nothing I can do about it.”

Wallen feels satisfied with the changes made by the committee and is excited to see how the alterations will be applied this year.

“I think that the new dress code is better,” Wallen said. “It’s a really good projection of how much Creek is going forward.”

Students cannot wear: clothes with violent language or images, language depicting drugs, weapons, or alcohol, that contain hate speech, profanity, or create a hostile or intimidating environmen any protected class or consistently marginalized group.

POLL OF 100 CREEK STUDENTS

Oct. 2018

5

STUDENT LIFE

Sources of strength: New club focuses on the positive BY: HARPER HANSON Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY GRACIE LORDI

THE CLUB: Activities Director Dr. Krista Keogh and the students of the club presented themselves at the homecoming pep rally on Friday, Sept. 28. “Sources of Strength is not a last resort program. It actively teaches us coping skills and our strengths,” Keogh said.

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As suicide rates rise, so does the need for suicide prevention.

In the state of Colorado, suicide rates have increased by 34% since 1999, according to CNN Wire. Creek Administration chose to implement Sources of Strength after being awarded a grant from the District Wellness Office to provide students with resources to use during difficult times.

“The atmosphere of this world has this negative undertone and now is a really good time to support one another rather than have this judgemental and competitive nature,” Activities Director Dr. Krista Keogh said.

Suicide prevention programs are often known for just presenting the signs of suicide. And some would even go as far to say that many programs often use scare tactics to prevent suicide.

Sources of Strength was chosen for a different reason: it focuses on preventing suicide through empowering all humans with their strengths.

“Sources of Strength is not a last resort program. It actively teaches us coping skills and our strengths that will help us if we ever begin to feel suicidal,” Keogh said. “We liked how it focused on how to be healthy and not just for the students, but for the adults too.”

After a year of waiting to be awarded the grant for Sources of Strength, Creek staff participated in a training that would help them understand how the program functions.

“The training was fun and engaging. I left feeling motivated to remind myself of my strengths on a daily basis,” Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Katie Sierega said.

Including participation from the staff, Creek has joined together a group of about 100 students to participate in Sources of Strength and help in a “school-wide effort to bring the culture of Cherry Creek High School alive,” according to Keogh.

After the student training, junior Sidney Whittney said, “The most memorable part for me was breaking into small groups and talking to only a few people about deeper things. It made me realize I’m not alone at Creek and there are teachers I could talk to about things.”

In order to bring this culture alive students will learn how to support one another in a series

of campaigns the students of Sources of Strength are putting on. Administration hopes this in turn will change the culture of our school, by everyone actively providing one another with support.

“Sources of Strength is an evidence-based program that has shown groups of peer leaders can shift school wide culture and norms in healthy directions,” Scott LoMurray, the Deputy Director of Sources of Strength, said via email. “Peer leaders can leverage their voice to be agents of change, to be the patient zero of an epidemic of health, a contagion of strength and hope throughout the community.”

Students across all social groups struggle. It is the goal of Sources of Strength to impact and help students in all corners of the school by making and intertwining social support and also having a safe teacher to go to.

It is not uncommon to feel alone while going through tough times. It is the goal of Sources of Strength to show students and staff that they are not alone.

“The program is focused on providing students and adults with tools that will help them cope with all the challenges life provides us, “ Princpal Ryan Silva said via email.

“Ultimately our goal isn’t to just keep people alive but to help people live healthy and full lives,” LoMurray said.

According to LoMurray, when someone looks at their strengths, these strengths can be undermined by negativity from others, and even themselves.

It becomes hard to believe your worth, when you don’t know your strengths, and this is when Sources of Strength takes part.

“We will support the Cherry Creek team as they work towards these goals,” LoMurray said, “but ultimately that culture change has to come from within. We can’t make it happen, our job is to provide a platform and a process that shines a light on your voice and empowers your students to leverage your voice and your power to make a positive impact on your world.”

The club meets once a month, during lunch periods, while the leaders meet several times per month.

Oct. 2018

STUDENT LIFE

“ Ultimately the model is about strength, wellness, connection, and hope.

”

-Scott LoMurray, Deputy Director of Sources of Strength

BREAKING OUT: Sources of Strength puts even the most unlikely groups of people together. The club is meant to provide an outlet and remind people that they are not alone.

PHOTOS BY HARPER HANSON

Oct. 2018

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Why do kids

SEND NUDES?

{

FEATURE

Lots of kids send naked pictures of themselves.

It’s pretty common, but it’s illegal.

So, lots of kids are felons.

BY: OLIVIA BURTON Photography Editor

“

If any of the parties involved are under 18, it is automatically a felony and they can be charged as a sex-offender.

-SRO Josh Martinez

Oct. 2018

”

Being a teenager is all about taking risks and testing boundaries, so it’s no surprise that many Creek students have sent or received nude photos at some point since the 8th grade.

“Most students probably start sending [nudes] in middle school because they want to seem cool, hormones are raging, it makes sense,” senior Ivana Casillas said.

“They’re not mature enough to have sex yet but sending nudes is easy.”

This may be the case for most Creek students, starting at a young age and carrying old habits into high school.

“We are finding that kids are starting to send nudes in middle school, not so much in high school.” said Counselor Lisa Geissler.

Studies are showing that most kids start sexting when they get access to camera-phones, which is now around the ages of 10-11 years old.

“Kids keep sending nudes because it’s fun and convenient,” sophomore Victor Stamenkovich said.

Psychology studies suggest that young teens send nudes because it’s new and “naughty.” It is the same science behind teens trying drugs.

“Kids send nudes to be rebellious,” junior Sarah Lytle said.

Teens enjoy the adrenaline rush of doing something they’re not supposed to do.

Adrenaline produces dopamine, making teens happy and excited, so they continue to do it. However, like drugs, The New York Times is showing studies that say teen sexting may be linked to depression.

Many students argue that sending nudes in high school isn’t a big deal because so many teens are doing it, but also because high schoolers are doing “real stuff ” now and sending nudes isn’t big compared to what most teens are doing.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a problem,” freshman Nick Corsi said. “I mean, I get that it’s child porn, but it’s not a big deal.”

Sending nude photos, or, sexting, is considered a felony for anyone who is under the age of 18.

“If we know of someone who is receiving pictures that are graphic in content, we will immediately send that situation to the SRO’s [Student Resource Officers] and let them handle it,” Dean Tom Doherty said.

And the SRO’s do not take it lightly.

“If any of the parties involved are under 18, it is automatically a felony and they can be charged as a sex-offender.” said Student Resource Officer Josh Martinez.

Sending and receiving nudes is consid-

ered possession of child pornography and according to Colorado.gov and HB 171302, exchanging, posting, or possessing nude photos is a class 3 felony.

If a student is caught sending nudes, they can be registered as a sex offend.

Their name will appear on a registry for the rest of their lives, potentially affecting where they live and work.

For students that do send nudes, they feel the risk is worth the reward.

“I think some kids send nudes for validation, because it feels nice when somebody else likes your body for what it is,” senior Omar Hussain said.

According to DoSomething.org, 34% of teen girls say they send nudes to feel sexy.

“That’s what they think they have to do to be liked,” sophomore Cheyenne Band said.

Whether Creek students are sending nudes for their own self-indulgent reasons, to fit in with friends or to be liked by their crushes, sending nude photos is a risk that mant students seem to be wlling to make.

This causes concern for many adults.

“I wish that students realized the gravity of their choices,” Fine Arts teacher Michelle Scott said, “because in our technological age things never go away.”

9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Coming of age movies for Generation Z

These movies tell the stories of moving through childhood and adolescence. One you

should watch

DIFFERENT: In Bo Burnham’s new film, Kayla experiences her last week of eighth grade. Through her last days there, she reveals her true witty and humurous personality, but remains shy around her peers at school.

BY: HANNAH EDELHEIT Web Editor The new coming of age movie Eighth Grade is relatable and funny. It can take us all back to a time of awkward cringe moments we wished we would never have to experience again. This movie is worth seeing because it can relate to the present day teen.

I loved this movie because it represented, for me at least, a modern growing up story for my generation.

It is important because it gives teens a platform to talk about mental health issues that affect the transitioning time to becoming a young adult. This movie is a great film for anybody looking for a feel good movie to look back on the times of eighth grade.

Eighth grade starts out with a young girl named Kayla (Elsie Fisher) just trying to make it through her last week of being an eighth grader. As she moves through her last week, we learn that she is funny and witty as well as shy and quiet. She embodies a time that everyone goes through: being a pre-teen.

The pre-teen years are about as awkward and awful as they come and Eighth Grade does a great job showing all of the silly, crazy, and heartwarming moments of becoming a young adult.

The movie shows Kayla making videos about becoming empowered through 10

Boyhood is a coming of age movie about a young boy named Mason through 12 years of his life. The most interesting thing about Richard Linklater’s Boyhood is that it shot throughout 12 years with the exact same actor. We see a young boy age into a young adult along with every member of his family.

It shows a brand new perspective on the idea of growing up. We see Mason go through the real transitions of childhood. This movie accurately represents the struggles of growing up because it gives the audience a chance to see an inside perspective on someone’s life.

Boyhood is also an interesting film because it gives little snapshots within someone’s life so, the audience has to fill in the blanks. Boyhood also allows everyone to be able to relate to the struggles of being a teen.

HANNAH EDELHEIT

self-confidence; however, she is the exact opposite in real life. She is shy and walks with her head down low.

We see her try to make friends and become more popular as well as go through common things like crushes and having an awkward social life.

Bo Burnham, the writer and director of Eighth Grade, started his career on youtube making funny videos. Burnham wanted to be able to relate with students that had the anxiety of being an adolescent. “‘I was feeling a very acute anxiety from my job of performing,” he said in an National Public Radio On July 18. ‘And then I would talk about those problems in that circumstance onstage and afterwards kids- 14-13 year-old girls - would come up to me and say, ‘I know exactly what you’re going through.

I’m going through it, too”’.

About two times in the movie Kayla has a panic attack about being social or her true self. As a teenage girl growing up in a world where there is a constant pressure if you don’t look or act a certain way, I understand her pressure. I was able to identify with Kayla’s character because having an anxiety of this type was something I experienced in middle school.

When we first see Kayla get access to the

internet she purposefully likes photos in hopes of getting likes back. That totally relates back to our teenage society today because it is all about how many instagram followers you have. People always feel the need to post those cute pictures that have a nice image or message underneath it to show how popular they are.

Burnham has interesting shots of Kayla scrolling through her phone throughout the movie. We see her looking at her phone and a translucent image of her phone screen is set up behind her looking at what pictures she is liking.

I feel Burnham did a great job portraying the idea that every kid has fears whether big or small. He shows Kayla at a pool party and just before she goes out to talk to everyone she is in a bathroom having a panic attack. We hear her heavy breathing and her vision becomes blurry. In most high school movies we do not see that side of a character. The older high school movies show a kid being bullied and then that’s it. There is no scene where the audience is inside the characters head.

This film was able to bring that idea of self discovery and the fear that comes along with it to life. As Kayla put it, “You need to face your fears and let people know the real you.”

One you

have seen

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off isn’t just another story about a high school senior wanting to skip class for a day. It’s a story reminding the audience of days full of nostalgia and the transition from awkward teenage years to the beginning of adulthood. The desire to become more independent and responsible for our own actions is represented by the face of a high school senior named Ferris Bueller who gets away with his actions without consequences. He is constantly trying and succeeding to find a way to skip a day of school until he makes his last attempt before he graduates.

JANE McCAULEY

Oct 2018

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

In Memoriam: Club Penguin BY: COLE PATERSON Staff Writer

Millions of retired players arrive back on an island to honor and recall the childhood memories of a legend.

They all gathered to watch a 12-year run of a popular childhood game come to an end. This game, formally known as Club Penguin, was launched in 2005 and created a way for kids to interact with each other as avatar cartoon penguins. It broke records in the gaming industry with nearly 250 million accounts created before the unfortunate end of the game.

“It was like the game to play in elementary school,” Junior Sebastian Cole said.

With all the activities Club Penguin offered to the players, we could not forget the amazing game that created the platform for children’s games today.

From waddling around and throwing snowballs at your in-game friends to exploring in the forest, the themed events that came out every season kept the players coming back for hours of new gameplay. Also offering competitive gameplay, including soccer, hockey, and karate, players have an array of opportunities to battle their friends in an unlimited amount of ways.

Club Penguin also had plenty of missions that people could play and explore with the ability to earn more items and coins. With just naming a small portion of the possible games to play included; the Polar Bear, Dr. Herbert, or the Dragon King, there were tons of adventures you could explore and

conquer. This gave the play- e r s their own sense of ownership and ability to create their own path.

You could express yourself by customizing your skin and your outfit and showing it off to your friends.

You could even invite your friends over for an awesome party at your custom igloo that you took hours to perfect to your own liking.

If customizing your own igloo wasn’t enough, the game also featured little pets called puffles that kids could interact with. You could take your puffle everywhere with you, and the game included arcade games that you could play with them. Beware, because if you did not feed the Puffles, then the pets could become sick and then die without a way to bring them back.

Club Penguin gave kids something they could look forward to when they got home, and it was in no way a violent video game, instead it was a warm friendly environment that let you be who you wanted to be, and that’s what gave Club Penguin the popularity they gained. Club Penguin, you will always be in our memories and our hearts, and for that we thank you.

83% Have played Club Penguin

17% Have not played Club Penguin POLL OF 100 STUDENTS

Junior Andrew Wilson

“It made me feel like a detective, cause I used to play as the detectives. I felt really cool and smart, and also it helped me develop my parenting skills because of my black puffles.”

Sophomore Hugo Ibarra

“It was my first ever online multiplayer game with real people.”

Oct 2018

11

SPORTS

PHOTO BY GIOVANNI MACHADO

FROM FAR AWAY: Varsity soccer (now 3-5-1) tied 1-1 on Sept. 4 against Mountain Vista. This is the first year of the Varsity team under Barrera’s coaching. Barrera, who is from Honduras, pushed his players to make sure they had a cause for dying their hair this year “This year they are going to collect some money, and with the money they are going to buy soccer balls, and other equipments, and donate to any unprofitable organizations.”

Boys’ soccer preparing for a new era BY: GIOVANNI MACHADO Sports Editor

After sixteen years under Marcelo Curi’s (Chelo) coaching, William Barrera is the new boys’ soccer coach this year. And with the coach’s changing, the coaching style, after a long time, changes as well.

In the team this year, there are some experienced players that were coached by both Chelo and Coach Barrera, and they agree that the practices and the coaching styles are different, and that each coach have his own strength.

“There are definitely different things in their coaching style,” Junior Cody Wellington said.

“Chelo was very intense, and I appreciate that. I like the way he played, and he understands the game very well,” Junior Blake Bennett said. “Coach Barrera is a great coach.

I like him a lot and I appreciate what he does here at Creek.”

Even though there are some differences between the coaches, Senior Jordan Sabatier sees some good similarities between them.

“They are both passionate. They both really

12

love the game, and they play in a similar fashion,” Sabatier said.

Even though he has been living here for a very long time, he is still very impressed with the structure that the school provides him to coach and play soccer here at Creek, compared with Honduras “It’s tough over there [Honduras]. Everything that we have here, like equipment, and soccer balls is great. It’s a thousand time easier here than in Honduras,” Barrera said.

When Barrera took the position of varsity coach, he saw himself in the middle of a discussion that he was not expecting; whether the players would dye their hair or not.

“It was a big discussion, and we ended up deciding to do it again and a lot of the guys were happy about it,” Sabatier said.

Most of the player wanted to do it; however, at first Barrera didn’t see a reason why the varsity team dyed their hair every year, so he decided to give it a meaning.

“I asked what was the meaning behind it, and nobody knew it. So now if they want

to dye their hair, there must be a meaning.”

Barrera said. “This year they are going to collect some money, and with the money they are going to buy soccer balls, and other equipments, and donate to any unprofitable organizations.”

The players know that even though they have already made the varsity team, the hard work should still be the same as the tryouts.

And they know that the beginning of the season is the most important time to show work to the coach. “[Practice] is super intense, especially in the beginning of the season where we were all fighting for positions,” Bennett said.

“As a team, we do a great job; we compete on the field, but of the field we are all really close friends,” Sabatier said.

All this hard work does not go unnoticed by coach Barrera, who has coached multiple teams throughout his life, including some from the district, such as Grandview High School.

“The kids are way more dedicated here at

Creek,” Barrera said.

Barrera knows that he has a really tough job to do ahead; however, his goals, with the varsity team, are to be as victorious as Chelo was.

“It takes some time to fit in, but my expectations are always high,” Barrera said.

“I want to win the championship and win everything we can win, including the league, the conference and state.”

With a record of 2-4, Barrera is hoping for a strong finish to the season. He also has other goals as the new coach.

Some of goals those are not completely related to soccer, but to the players of the team.

“My philosophy is that the two most important things is to win and develop the player’s character. So, a simple win in a game will not define our program.” Barrera said “This program is more than just about soccer. So my philosophy is a program where we can develop men with good characters.”

Oct. 2018

SPORTS

Top-ranked football eager to win championship again BY: OLIVIA BURTON Photo Editor The season is looking up for Bruins football this year, as the team is currently undefeated and ranked the number 1 team in the state after beating Pomona, who was formerly number 1 in the state.

The bruins have not won a football championship since 2014, but this year, they’ve got their eyes on the prize, as they dominate this season with large wins.

Cherry Creeks class of 2019 currently has the most players committed to Division 1 programs and it’s no surprise given the stats. The team is hyped for the season and they are all confident that they will be winning state this year.

Junior Delonte Dickey says the team is doing so well this year because the team is truly motivated to win state. “We actually have players that want to win and work together as a team. We’re excited to see what this team can do in the playoffs and we’re looking forward to getting’ a ring this year.”

Their last game was at homecoming where they beat Overland 45-0.

D-1 Commitments Aiden Kreller - New Mexico Alex Padilla - Iowa Michael Lynn - Nebraska Alec Pell - CU Boulder Dom Pallotto - Air Force Marcus Miller - Air Force

PHOTO BY OLIVIA BURTON

FOCUSED: Quarterback Julian Hammond during the game against Mullen on Sept. 7. Creek won that game 35-8. They are currently 6-0 and ranked #1 in Colorado.

Bringing adventure to the softball fields BY: GRACIE LORDI Editor-in-Chief

When you think of a softball team, you envision the crack of bats and the enticing smells of peanuts and Cracker Jack.

What you don’t typically see is a bunch of girls stumbling around blindfolded careening towards a bucket. In unison.

This year Creek’s softball team is changing up their internal strategies, approaching team building activities in a fresh way.

Junior Mackenzie Opp is a part of Creek’s Adventure Leadership Program and wanted to find a way to incorporate the Adventure Program with the Girls’ softball team.

She has been a active participant in Creek’s Adventure Program for a little over 2 years and values the real-life skills students develop in the program.

“The skills that you learn throughout this class are so important,” Opp said. “You can really use them anywhere in your life.”

Opp’s head coach, Physical Education teacher Allison Mckean, participated in Creek’s Teacher Challenge Course.

“It’s like a week long Adventure Course that the adults can take and basically they learn everything that a student will learn in a semester in a basic Adventure classroom,” Opp said.

Mckean was very grateful to have learned from the experience of the Adventure program.

“There’s something to be taken from every single thing we did. So, whether it was working with communication or working as a team to get over some obstacle, it was all super beneficial.”

Creek’s softball JV and Varsity teams are made up of a diverse group of students who haven’t really played together before from freshmen through seniors.

“We have some freshmen that don’t even go to this school, and they just play softball with us.’

The Adventure program is ideal for unifying people from all different walks of life to be able to work together.

“It doesn’t matter what your background is or what’s going Oct. 2018

PHOTO BY GRACIE LORDI

WATCH YOUR STEPS: Softball players bonded during an Adventure program activity. on in your life, in an Adventure Program you become a family,” Opp said.

Opp believes the Adventure program was perfect for any team situation, because it helps to strengthen the bond teammates already have while still instilling important skills.

“It’s important to have team building skills like trust and communication, aside from the bonding you get from just playing softball together and that’s why Adventure is so great, because you bring all the girls from the team together to learn

those important skills,” Opp said.

Bringing this unique program to the softball fields not only helps to create a perfect team, but also to help players to learn more about themselves.

“I wish it was mandatory for every kid to be able to do a challenge course class because it helps you learn who you are,” Mckean said.

13

OPINIONS

Battling life with mental illness: OCD vs. Me BY: HARPER HANSON Staff Writer Going to bed started with eleven layeasy, so how did I do it? The answer is, I got help. pulsion is you actually itching the bite. This gives you relief for ers of Chapstick and a thorough search This was something I was very fortunate to get, something a couple seconds, but then the mosquito bite itches worse than with a flashlight to make sure no one was (in the beginning) I was forced to do. You see, I was ashamed it did the first time. This vicious cycle is how OCD works. in my room. I could not go to bed when of my mental illness when I first started going to therapy and Living with OCD is like living in an obstacle course. There the clock was on a multiple of thirteen, it is all because of the stigma behind therapy, mental illness, are constantly tasks you need to do and things you need to and had eleven seconds to turn on my and the way people react. avoid. left side when the clock was on a so called “good” number. On Because of treatment and because of support, I have so Opposed to common beliefs, OCD is not the constant urge that eleventh second I would say “goodnight I love you” to my much more freedom and the reigns of my OCD have loosto wash my hands, and it is not the urge to keep everything guinea pig three times, and take one last breath, covering my ened to a point of allowing me to function. organized. For me, OCD is the constant feeling that I was neck with the blanket. When the second of thirteen arrived, I like to describe OCD like a mosquito bite. in danger or the ones I love are in danger. It is this feeling of I could not breathe or move, because if I were to be stabbed, An obsessive thought is like the mosquito bite itch. It is next impending doom that destroyed my functionability, keeping that would be the second it would happen on. I then had elevto impossible to ignore and is extremely distracting. The com- me in this prison of what I believed to be protection. The only en seconds to turn onto my other problem was that this protection did side and complete the same ritual not exist. It was fabricated by my with the number thirteen. Hello, OCD. I am Harper Hanson, and I have OCD’s job is to protect me from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. the dangers of this world but in all Throughout Creek, I constantactuality, stopped me from enjoying ly hear my peers saying things this world. like “That is so OCD,” or “OCD I think one common misconcepmuch?” As people say this, my tion about telling people I have gone anxiety grows. My mental illness to treatment for a mental health nor anyone else’s is an adjeccondition is that often people expect tive. It is not a joke and it is not me to be cured and live a perfectly something to be casually thrown happy life. around in a conversation. It is a Yes, I am in a better place than serious illness that affects 2.3% of before, and I am able to live a fairly the U.S. population. normal and stable life, but that isn’t Obsessive Compulsive Disto say I am 100% all right all of the order, also known as OCD has time. I still have bad days where my dictated my life for over thirteen OCD rituals spike and I still have years. Although I wasn’t officially days where my functioning is next to diagnosed until I was 13, I can nothing, but not all days are bad days, track back to around age four and and that is the best part because there remember symptoms I had of the are many good days too. illness.

I will always have OCD but I know OCD consists of two parts, now that I am not alone. I have coping obsessions and compulsions. Obskills, a family that loves me, great sessions are unwanted thoughts or friends, and a life worth living, but images that are projected into the where I am today took time. Lots of mind and cause high amounts of it. Four years of therapy twice a week, anxiety and distress. Compulsions medication, two partial hospitalizaare rituals that are performed to tion programs, 14 weeks in Florida, try and decrease the anxiety obExposure and Response Prevention sessions cause, but in all actuality Therapy everyday, and a lot of courmake the OCD worse. age.

Let us go back to my night time Getting help was one of the hardest routine. It could take anywhere things I have ever done, but what was from ten minutes to over an hour; even harder, was accepting the fact I completed this routine every that I needed help. Because of therapy, single night for over five years. because of support, and because of Every action I completed was time, I was able to get where I am a compulsion, all trying to calm today, but 80% of 13-18 year olds are me from the obsessive thought not receiving treatment for mental of being stabbed. As I got older, health conditions (National Alliance the thought of being stabbed was on Mental Illness). less prominent, but the feeling of Recovery is possible. The time you impending doom stepped in its take to get yourself healthy and do the place. Impending doom is a feeling things that make you healthy are just “of if I do or do not complete this PHOTO BY HARPER HANSON a blip on the radar when it comes to compulsion, something bad is the bigger timeline of your life. It is 12 Hours and Up: Over 12 hours a day would be filled with these obsessive thoughts and compul- what you do now that will make your going to happen.” sions. Simply living became exhausting. OCD challenged my every move, but with treatment I was future time worth it. Now is not your Over the past six months, my life has become increasingly easier able to deal with it. forever, but you have to choose that, to live, but getting here was not you have to choose to fight.

14

Oct. 2018

OPINIONS STAFF EDITORIAL

An imperfect policy We’re high school students. We know what’s going on within schools. We don’t want our ears to be covered. We want to be informed.

In the past, the administration has done a fantastic job of addressing problems and creating ways to progress.

When incidents of body shaming began coming out nationwide, Creek created a committee and changed their dress code.

When suicide rates increased sharply, Creek formed the Sources of Strength club.

Principal Silva even released an announcement about seeking and giving support to the people around us at the end of the 2018 school year.

Administration, understandably, skirted around the main purpose of the newly enforced ID policy - the recent school shootings - in order to prevent unnecessary panic.

However, they should have addressed it directly.

Allowing the school to know about these new changes would promote a sense of safety, security and, most importantly, unity.

We feel like administration wanted to make it look like they cared, so they implemented a useless protocol to make students feel safer.

During volatile times like these, we as a school should be communicating, not enforcing confusing policies.

The enforcement of the IDs has created an

even larger divide between students and administration.

Making us feel like we’re the suspects and if we aren’t properly identified we become the enemy.

It’s safer for us to know what’s going on and it makes us more likely to fully participate in something we know is going to make our school a more secure place.

The IDs are counter-productive in two ways: 1. Without any sort of address aside from “wear your IDs or you’re going to your dean” we’re left to make assumptions about the security of our school.

2. They promote a false sense of security, because now we see students without their IDs and just assume they forgot their IDs. Creek could easily address the issues of school safety and violence properly just as they have done before.

Thus far, other new security measures such as an increase in security staff and more locked doors have been understandable measures of increased safety. They didn’t really an explanation.

Implementing a invasive policy like the IDs was something that needed to be explained.

As a news outlet, we focus our attention on the best way to communicate information in order to remain connected.

Despite all that was done to make our school a better place, it doesn’t matter if it’s not communicated to the student body.

‘Is Paris in Italy?’ Stupid domande I get asked everyday

Letters to the editor Letters to the editor are accepted and can be submitted via email to news.creek.usj@gmail.com Letters cannot be anonymous and they may be edited for clarity.

Corrections policy Corrections will be printed when mistakes are found or brought to attention of the staff.

Mood memes BY: FAITH MCCURDY Illustrator Many of us like to express our feelings in descriptive and passionate ways. These are illustrator Faith McCurdy’s versons of memes that students might find interesting.

BY: MATILDE MARINO Staff Writer Do you guys have cars?

Is Paris in Italy? At what age did you start to speak Italian?

No, I’m not joking. I’m Italian and I have to deal with these questions everyday.

Let me introduce myself: my name is Matilde.

I’m an exchange student from Italy, and I want to cry every time somebody tells me that the Chicago pizza is the real pizza.

I want to collect here some of the funniest questions that Americans have been asking me since the very first day I came to this school, and who knows, maybe I’m gonna answer your questions too. Or I’m gonna destroy your dreams, whatever.

• “Do you have the Pope in Italy?” Okay, this is really good. I’ve never seen him, but yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s in Italy.

And no, we don’t come across him while heading to the grocery store (some people believe we do).

• “Is the Alfredo sauce an Italian sauce?”

No! I’ve never heard about this famous Oct. 2018

sauce before coming here and now my friends hate me because they’ve been thinking that it was Italian for all their lives. I guess I don’t have friends anymore, but somebody had to tell them the truth.

• “So, if you are Italian, then you speak Spanish?” ‘Hola’, ‘Como estas’ are the only words I know in Spanish. And guess what? That is probably because I speak Italian, not Spanish.

• “When you go to the restaurant, do you order in Italian or in another language?”

• “How do you say ‘pizza’ in Italian?” I’m literally shocked by this question and the only answer I have is that anybody who doesn’t know where pizza comes from doesn’t deserves to eat it.

This was pretty much my experience so far, as an Italian abroad. Anyway, I’m not being mean, because after almost two months I still don’t understand if everybody here has a gun or not.

Fair enough?

I’m expecting other months like this but I’m ready to face them with courage and to fight to let people know that Italy actually exists.

15

FALL SPORTS

SNAPSHOTS

PHOTO BY OLIVIA BURTON

PHOTO BY GIOVANNI MACHADO

FIELD HOCKEY: “[The season] is going so good! We are having so much fun, and we are playing really well as a team,” Senior Colleen Henry said. “Our expectation is to win state! We are going to win state!”

“We work very hard and I believe that shows on the field.” Henry said.

RECORD: 10-0

PHOTO BY GIOVANNI MACHADO

BOYS TENNIS: “So far so good, we are fighting in a very competitive field, and we’ve got our hands full,” Coach Art Quinn said. “We’d like to have fun, and play well, but certainly our aspiration would be to win the state championship.”

RECORD: 13-10

Coach Mark Goldsberry said. “We just finished regionals last week, and qualified three of our four to state tournament.” The state tournament will be at October 1st and October 2nd in Colorado Springs.

“We ended up finishing third in the league last year. And at Colorado Springs we would like to finish in the top three for the state,” Goldsberry said.

VOLLEYBALL: [The season] is going

really well,” Senior Molly Chapman said “we’ve lost to a few teams that we thought we were going to win against, but otherwise I think we’ve been putting up a really good fight, and I think we have a really good chance to go to state.”

RECORD: 11-2

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK GOLDSBERRY

BOYS GOLF: “[The season] is going well,”

PHOTO BY GIOVANNI MACHADO

PHOTO COUTERSY OF SUNNY CHEN

PHOTO BY MATILDE MARINO

GYMNASTICS: “We have definitely

had some downs but we, as a team, stay positive and we push through those struggles,” Jocelyn Wetherington said.

“We definitely are united and try to work together to make the season successful.”

CROSS COUNTRY: “I hope for the girls to be at least 3rd and for the boys I would want them to be 11th,” coach Ethan Dusto said.