Discovery Digest - Volume 1 | Issue 2

Discovery Digest

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Serving Discovery & Odyssey www.website/maybe.com

Mental Health Struggles at Discovery High Schools

Behind closed doors, students are dealing with a lot more than school work

Left: Painting depicting many hands reach out tooneanother.

Students Upset Over Food Waste At Discovery

By Sophia Perian & Willow Nusbaum

Every day students see food waste at our school and some have ideas to help.

Every day students witness food getting thrownawayatDiscovery.Muchofthisfood appears untouched and perfectly edible; studentsjustdon'twantit.

FoodWasteishappeningdespitehighratesof foodinsecurityinClarkcounty.InNovember 2021,TheColumbianreportedthatthiswasa problemfor20%ofClarkCountyresidents.

By Avery Perry & Larken Grimes

Depression can be seen in students who sleep through class, cry or just seemdown,buthowdoyou supportwhatyoucan’tsee?

At Discovery High School, there'sahighpopulationof students with mental illness, more specifically, anxiety and depression. Depression and anxiety are ahardbattletofaceonyour own, especially balancing school work and extracurricular activities, andforalotofstudents,it's the difference between passing or failing high school.

Garcia’s school work and learning, he responded with,“LastyearImissedthe majority of the school year because of my depression andanxiety,”

This isn't uncommon amongst students at DHS. Sitting through classes and completing work is incredibly difficult when dealing with your own problemsoutsideofschool. If you're sitting in a class crying, the last thing you wantistogetpickedonby a teacher, so how do teachers handle students whoarehavinga

mentalhealthcrisisintheir class?

Senior Demi Smith said, “They handle it good because they are understanding and don't makeitworse.”

“As a whole, the teachers justsendmetotheofficeor the councilors, they don’t bringitbackupandactlike everything is fine, or they don’t ask in the first place, so what am I supposed to do?” said senior Sam Maxson.

Thisseemstobearecurring themeforthe

Puppy Parade holds election for Dog Mayor of Camas

By Haylee Kohler

The city of Camas, Washingtonrecentlyhosted aPuppyParadeforalldogs andproudownerstoattend. OnSept.23,2022,therewas an election for a Dog Mayor.

Discovery High School teacher, Alexis Baranowski, broughtherbulldogtorun against the other canines for the title. Petunia, Baranowski’s white and brownEnglishbulldog,ran atwo-week

longcampaignagainstother dogs.

The owner’s job was to promote their candidate andreceiveasmanyvotesas possible. These votes were donations in the dog’s name, encompassing any amount of money towards the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society (WCGHU)—who hosted the event. WCGHU’s All Paws on Deck team organized it. The parade and elections' mission was toraiseawarenessaboutthe HumaneSociety

and promote donations to animalsinneed.

Thisyear,theparaderaised $9,246.50. The amount raisedwasover$1,000more than last year’s amount raised($8,200).AllPawson Deck’s website stated, “CamasDECAisincredibly grateful for all those who cametothestreetfair,made a donation, or submitted their dog.” They expressed their gratitude for this success,thisyear’sbeingthe fourthannualdogelection. Cont. On page 3

Somecommonthingsthrownawayinclude fresh fruits and vegetables and sandwiches, and it appears that Students are discarding food simply because it gets sold with something they actually want. For example, chips are sold with sandwiches. If someone wantschips,theycurrentlycanonlypurchase themwithasandwich.Thishasledstudents to question why people can no longer buy snacksfromthecafeteria.

"I think it would be nice if they return the purchase of snacks... that would be more helpful if people just want chips," said Kris Gilman

Some of the students who admitted to wastingfoodthemselvesstatedthat

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Mental Health Struggles at Discovery High Schools

DHS students, most teacherstrytostayoutof itwhichtosomestudents looksliketheydon'tcare, but to others is helpful. How can we find a medium between both issues? When asked how teachers can better support students, senior Braelyn Mera states, “Teachers need to understand that depression is an illness, notanexcuse.”

Some teachers do an exceptionaljobatdealing with mental health, Maxsonsaid,“Ms.Frisbie is very helpful when it comes to mental health, she pulls us out of class when she sees us upset and talks to us until we feelbetter,orsheletsus step out and have some timealone.”

Garcia also agreed that someteachersdoagood jobwiththisstating,

“Ms. Baranowski is a very helpful teacher, and Mr. Macke is chill about deadlines and giving extensions if you need them.”

Of course, only asking students how the teachersdealwithmental healthwouldn'tbefairto the teachers, so we interviewed some of the staffandhere'swhatthey had to say about this subject.

When asked how she feels Discovery aids students when they're having bad days, Alexis Baranowski said it was betterthanotherschools.

This was a common themebetweentheother teachers we interviewed. They all believed that compared to other high schools in our area, we handle mental health better, giving more one on one help to students, making sure everyone is takencareofand

even accommodating for the mental health of students who need specialhelp.

When asked how they personally feel they support students when they'rehavingabadday, Johnna Christensen said, “IfI’maware,Itrynotto make it worse, I always seeiftheyneedsomeone totalkto.”

Baranowskihadasimilar approach, said, “I lay off them for a hot minute, mathcomessecondaryto mentalhealth.”

Are teachers equipped with the tools to aid students with their depression?

‘’Idon'tthinkI’lleverbe fully equipped,‘’I don't think I’ll ever be fully equipped, there's always moretolearn,”

Cheryl Krohnert replied when asked what education she had for thissubject.

“We are offered yearly trainingonmentalhealth and communication betweenstaffisdefinitely themosthelpfulbecause we can communicate if anindividualneedsextra support.”

So what can be done to fixthisgrowingissuewe seeinteensandstudents these days? For most students, just being left alonecanfixtheissueall together, but for others they need teacher support or extensions to getthroughtheday.

There's always people you can reach out to so don't feel alone in your battle. Teachers at DHS strive to make students comfortable and confidentinthelearning environmentandwantto doeverythingtheycanto supportusandinschool therapy, counseling or justfindingsomeoneyou trust can be a great solution. National Suicide Hotline 988

Students upset over food waste at Discovery

they felt bad about wasting food but didn't know what else to do with it. They weren'thungryforitduring lunchbutdidn'twanttoelse todowithit.

Studentsofferedmanyideas for reducing food waste at theschool.Theyexpresseda desire to more easily give unwanted food to others, suchasasharetable,starting a composting program and bringing back the ability to purchasesnacks.

When asked about the possibility of implementing some of these solutions, principal Aaron Smith expressedsupport.

"WehadsharetableswhenI was the principal at Skyridge.Itseemedtowork okay...Iwouldsupportthat," saidSmith.

Smith suggested that a student-led movement would be the best way to createchangeinthisregard.

By Aliferia Gonzales

The consequences of the Integrated Projects period’s absence are being felt by Discovery High School students and staff, leaving many uncertainties about craftsmanship grading for thecomingschoolyear.

As the current school year’s novelty began to wear off, Discovery High School’s (DHS) populace was beginning to once again experience what Thinh Ngo called a “love/hate relationship” with craftsmanshipgrading.

When asked to name the feelingsNgoassociatedwith craftsmanship scores, he responded: “dread, ‘insanity’, accomplishment, pride, anxiety,andhope.”

Ngo’s feelings seem well-documented among other Digest student interviews and personal recounts—the grading standard has become a hot topic among DHS’ student body.

As the first documented craftsmanship grades came in for the sophomore class, one question remains unanswered by administrators and teachers: where are craftsmanship grades entered into the gradingsystem?

The four years of high schoolstudentsarecurrently experiencing dictate part of their potential future in postsecondary education, an impact that the Education Data Initiative says will affect 62.7% of high school students

According to Principal Aaron Smith, craftsmanship is one of three prioritized “success skills” in DHS’ itinerary.

Thesegradingstandardsaim to help students hone competencyinexpertisethat will assist and qualify them greatly once they depart fromhighschool.

As such, it concerned Ngo that viewing and culminatingscoresforthese skills was not possible for students and staff respectively.

For students similar to Maximillion Sampey, craftsmanship is an incredibly important step in their work. In an interview withDigest,hestated“Iput all of the effort [into craftsmanship].”

Sampey emphasized his emotional involvement in the standard, remarking, “I take pride in my craftsmanship, and sometimesitgetsdamaged.”

Smith and history teacher JohnnaChristensenasserted that the conflict came from anabsenceoftheIntegrated Projects class in all grades Discoveryoffered.

Previously,theextension of humanities classes had been used to offer students time for completing projects integrated between courses they were required to take. While other standards were present, it primarily received success skill grading. With the introductionofaWhatI Need (WIN) period in the 2022-2023 school year, the class was removed from student schedules. This left craftsmanship, collaboration, and communication grading withnoproper

receptacle in transcripts andgradebooks.

Smith spoke on the absence of a solution, stating that values and district regulations played large roles in preventing a simply-createdvesselfor craftsmanship scores. Preexisting course codes must be used for all schools in Washington State, even experiential learning schools such as Discovery.

Selecting a predetermined and accurate period that students would not be able to interact with posesmanydifficulties.

and a half pound size fool you, his hobbies includepaddleboarding, fetch, swimming, wrestling and this summer he took up skimboarding, there is nosporthewillnottry."

Although Jackson may make an excellent mayor, it would have been wonderful to see our very own math teacher, Baranowski, have a celebrity in the family. Digest wishes youthebestoflucknext year,Petunia!

As The All Paws on Deck website said, “Everyone had a great time at the street fair, and we look forward to seeingyounextyear!”

Craftsmanship future unsure to students and staff alike

On top of ensuring the course is legal, Smith wishes for students to receive an extra half general elective credit everyyearbasedonthese successskills.

“There’ssomelimitations that come with being here, and that extra general elective credit could really help some studentsout,”Smithsaid.

Integrated Projects was removed from the 2022-2023 school year’s available courses with student and staff feedbackinmind.

cont.

Smith stated that with a three-period “barrage” of humanities periods occurring some days, staff and

students complained of (andwereassumedtohave) burnout.

Christensen, who noted herself as “firm but fair” withcraftsmanshipgrading, spoke on her intent for success skill integration in the current year. She does not intend to increase or decrease the craftsmanship workloadduetothelackof a dedicated physical period for students to exercise them.

“Welostalittlesomething,” Christensenremarked,

“We’ll get a little less history and math now. There’s always compromise.”

Digestinterpretsthisas anindirectstatementof howshevaluessuccess skills;sheiswillingto sacrificeherownclass timeinordertoteach andintegratethem.

Studentandstaff’s reasoningforthe inherentvalueof craftsmanshipaligns withSmith’s.Sampey andNgobothstatedthe apparentreal-world applicationof craftsmanshipinany andallcareerfields.Ngo listedengineers,doctors, andlawyersaspeople whowouldfind Discovery’ssuccessskills importanttotheircareer performance.

“Lookingatarchitecture, craftsmanshipisyour entirejob,”Ngowenton tostate

Smithremarkedthat craftsmanshipwasnot initiallyplannedtobe valuedwithinDHS’ gradingsystemand experimentallearning standards.Abookstudy ledbyCorrineLorch, oneoftheschool’s scienceteachers, revealedtheskill’svalue tootherteachingstaff, whothenprovided feedbackto administratorsthatled toitsintegration.

Lorchofferedto participateinan interview,butschedules betweentheinterviewer andintervieweedidnot lineup.

principlesandinspiration forclubactivities.

DiscoveryDigest interviewedEChaudhry, thepresidentandfounder oftheGSA,andAlexAbe, theco-presidentand co-founderoftheRock

alsopartofthe community,”Chaudhry said,“it’sreallygreatto learnaboutthingsfrom newpeople,learnabout people,andtoencourage connectionwithinthe community.”

Below: The Discovery High School rock climbing wall. (Credit Beck Gummer)

tomeetanddiscussgender andsexualitytopicsand issues.Membersaremeant tohangoutwithother queerpeople,andenjoya safeenvironmentforthe DHSLGBTQ+community togather.

“We’reopentoeveryone,” saidChaudhry.

TheRockClimbingClub isaclubthatwasfounded in2021byBeckGummer andAlexAbe.Abe& Gummercurrentlyserveas theclub'sco-foundersand co-presidents.

SinceDHSwasbuilt,a rockclimbingwallhad beenpresentintheschool gym.However,until2021, ithadremainedunused.

“Weusuallygatherduring lunch,andwemighthave alittlehuddletodiscuss therules.Thenwejustget intoit,”Abesaid.

Abeadvertisedthe meetingsduringlunchas anopportunityformany studentstoclimbandgeta workoutin.

Abewentontoexplain, “TheRockClimbingClub isagreatwaytogetsome exercise,andtomeetother people.”

Rockclimbingisoften perceivedasadangerous sport.However,theRock ClimbingClubaimsto maketheexperienceas safeforeveryoneas possible.Usingautomatic ropesystemscalled auto-belays,peopleclimb thewall.

arealsohopingtomeet one-to-twotimesaweek duringlunchtohavesome additionaltimeforthe clubtocometogether.

TheGSAismeanttostand asaplaceforqueerpeople

“Wemadeuseoftherock wall,andwecanclimbon it,''saidAbe,while discussingtheclub's foundingandformatting hisspeechtomatchthe mottooftherockclimbing club.

Whenaskedaboutthe club'sroutineformeetings, Aberevealedwhataclub meetingusuallylookslike.

WhenDigestinquired aboutaccessibilitytoother studentsandwhois allowedtoclimb, Abesaid, “Anygrade,last yearwehadalotofmiddle schoolerswhoclimbedthe wall.”

Editor'sNote.Theauthor ofthisstoryisa co-founderand co-presidentoftherock climbingclub.

Baranowski expressed her disappointmentfortheloss oftheelection,butwasstill satisfiedwiththeeffortshe putinforPetunia.

“My mother in law works at an animal hospital and wasniceenoughtoletme put up posters for Petunia,”Baranowskisaid.

The festivities were also a bigpushbythedowntown Camascommunityto

promoteyourdogthrough theirbusinesses.

Baranowskisaidtherewas one dog who was represented by Caps n’ Taps downtown, a local brewery hot spot for families and their fluffy companions. Petunia was also taken to Camas High School events and games, promoting her adorable faceformayor.

The Digest asked Baranowski about her experience at the Puppy Parade,

Book Fair Comes to Discovery

The Scholastic book fair comes to Discovery

TheScholasticbookfair is at Discovery High School from October 3rd to October 7th to raise money for our school library to purchasenewbooks.

On the Scholastic website, it states “Scholastic Book Fairs help schools earn millions in funds and resources, and provide exclusive programs to engage the whole communityingiving”

Robert Mattson, who runs the book fair and Discovery High School MediaCenter, stated“If we sell over $4,000[ofmerchandise] wegethalfoftheprofit backfortheschool,soif you go into the media center,

rightinfrontofthedoor you’ll see a number of books that are on the shelf right there. Those were books that were purchased using book fairmoneylastyear.”

According to Mattson, last year the book fair gained $4,500 in profit, which meant that the school had more than $2,000 to spend on books for our library. Newbooksforstudents toenjoy.

Mattson expressed how he likes running the bookfair,“WhenIwasa kidIalwayslikedgoing to the book fair and I can see how excited people are, so, it's an opportunity to, you know,bringliteracyinto people'slives.

”Hecontinues,“Alotof what

whichwasthefinaldayfor votingandwherethemost successful mayoral campaignwasannounced.

“Itwasafuntimetobring your dog and pet other dogs at the event,” Baranowski said, “there were games, dogs that did tricks, a dog costume contest,anobstaclecourse to take your dog on, and

As much as all dogs were pampered,onlyoneofthe toptendogscouldwinthe positionofDogMayor.

The contestants came down to Joey the golden retriever, Spud the Chihuahua,Banjothemini Aussie, Barley the yellow lab, Summer the golden retriever, Bo the sheepadoodle, Pawz the pitbull mix, Gus the Bernedoodle, Petunia the English bulldog, and JacksontheYorkie..

All puppies had a great campaign and made an amazing effort.Only one could win, and it came down to a small, two-year-old, Gucci slipper-wearing, Yorkie namedJackson

The All Paws on Deck website quoted the owner of Jackson with his main campaign message: “Jacksonisabestfriendto everyone he meets, often greeting them with kisses. Don'tletJackson'sfive

Students Upset Over Food Waste At

Discovery Cont.

"If it's sort of a movement by students and kind of promoted and managed by students,Ithinkthatitwill have a greater chance of takinghold,"saidSmith.

The school had prior experiences with composting but found it wasunsustainable.

we do buying books is overamazonandalotof independent bookstores have gone out of businessbecauseofthat, so this is a way to get people engaged and browsing and touching books, and hopefully helping people find a newloveforliterature.”

Our book fair can be found in the Zen Den, where Mr. Mattson welcomesyoutobuyall kinds of merchandise, including posters, pens, pencils, erasers, and of course,books.

There are books for all levelsofreaders,andthat includes fiction, such as EscapefromEastBerlin, and non-fiction, like the FiveNightsatFreddy’s book collection. The bookfairisopenduring HighSchoollunch.

"Weusedtodocomposting... Oneofthereasonswedon't have composting in our schools right now, and it's not just Odyssey and Discovery,it'sotherschools aswell,isbecausewhatthe waste management companies were receiving was too contaminated with things that shouldn't be in there, so they stopped offeringthatforus,whichis unfortunate," explained Smith.

Smith did express support for the return of composting.

"Ittakesalotofmonitoring, which we could do and come with a system," said Smith. "I think it's something that could and should come back because that certainly is a more responsible way of dealing withfoodwaste."

As for the return of snack purchases, Smith indicated thatthiswassomethingout ofhiscontrol.

"Our food services in the district are all, it's kinda a collaboration, between Syscofoodservicesandthe district.Sotheyhandleallof that. Basically, I don't get involved in all the nitty gritty of our breakfast and lunchprogram,"Smithsaid.

Puppy Parade holds election for Dog Mayor of Camas

Above: The sign outside the bookfair detailing the hours (Credit: Aliferia Gonzales)

New bookstore opens in downtown Camas

By Ivan Frazee

Bookish, a new children’s bookstore found in downtownCamas,openedearly August 2022. Melissa Peake, ownerofBookish,hasthedesire to draw in young readers and keep their attention with new andexcitingbooksthathavethe ability to spread across our Camascommunity.

Bookishsellschildren’sbooksas well as young adult books, offering titles such as The Creepy Crayon, Fred Gets Dressed, The Name Jar, the ScaryStoriesToTellIntheDark series, TogetherWeBurnand The Midnight Girls . This selectionallowsteachersand

parents to find new and engaging books for their kids; someofthemareevenselected byPeakebasedoffherchildren’s

“We [her and her children] would read for 20 minutes, which turned into a hour. We would have our lunch time book,andournighttimebook.” Peakestated.

Bookish strives to hook and amplify children’s existing interests in reading, inspiring them by providing exciting books that would not be found inside of your everyday bookstore.Oncethesebooksare found in Peake’s establishment (and potentially even other ones)byinterestedpatrons,they willbebought,

read by children and young adults, then given to schools, libraries, or even Bookish for resalevalue.Theideaisforthis cycle to spread underappreciated and engaging titlesaround theCamasareain aprofitablemannerforthestore.

“it’s important these books get out to the community. So someone buys them, and reads them,then eventuallywecanresellithere.“ Peakesays.

Miranda Wakeman, a happy customer at Bookish, spoke on thestore’sallure,saying“allthe inviting cozy spaces made me andmykidsjustwanttostayall daytokeepreading.”

Wakemanpointedoutthatonce you’ve bought your new book, the bookstore is known for being very comfortable, with pillows and cushy seats everywhereyoulook.

Bookish entertains even the youngest of readers, having storyaswellascrafttimeevery Friday and Saturday at 10 am andeverySundayat11:30am.

Discovery Digest Mission Statement

DiscoveryDigeststrives to differentiate itself from other local school-based papers by introducing unique and often hyper-localized stories. While accomplishing this goal, the Digestaims to remain factually accurate, uphold journalistic integrity, and provide an unbiased truth to readers.

Tennis Soccer Cross country

10/11-gameagainstSkyview@ 3:30-CHS

10/13-gamesagainst Union,Varsity@3:30-Union JV/CteamagainstUnion@3:30 -CHS

10/17- gameagainst BattleGround@3:30-CHS 10/19-Districts@8:00 -GreenMeadows 10/20-Districts@8:00 -VTC Let’sCheeronMax andConner!

10/15-invitetomeet, timeTBD-MiloMcIverState Park

10/19-Districts@2:00 -LewisvillePark

10/12-gameagainstSkyview,C team@6:30-DocHarrisgrass field gameagainstMt.View,JV@5:00 -DocHarris

10/13-gameagainst LakeOswego(Navy)@4:30,C team-DocHarrisgrassfield 10/17-gameagainst LakeOswego(White)@4:30,C team-DocHarrisgrassfield 10/19-gameagainst Sherwood@6:30,Cteam-Doc Harris

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Swim Volleyball Golf

10/12-meetagainstschoolsin Evergreen@5:00-Gold’s Gym 10/22-SWWinvite @8:00-MarkMorris Let’sCheeron Sophie!

10/12-gameagainst Evergreen(4th/C/JV/Varsity) atEvergreen - 4th@4:00,Cteam @5:30,JV@5:30,and Varsity@7:00 10/15-Tournament @8:00,4thteam-CHS 10/18 gameagainst Kelso(4th/C/JV/Varsity)at CHS

- 4th@4:00,Cteam @5:30,JV@5:30,and Varsity@7:00 10/20-gameagainst Mt.View(4th/C/JV/Varsity)at CHS - 4th@4:00,Cteam @5:30,JV@5:30,and Varsity@7:00

10/10-Districts@ 11:45-HeronLakes 10/11-Districts @11:45-HeronLakes