Budget did not influence JanTerm passion project grading
Against student perception and concern, high project budgets did not lead to better or easier grades.
By: Willow Nusbaum & Eli ChiltonAs Discovery High School’s (DHS) JanTerm passion projects ended, some students expressed concern that projects with higher budgets had an easier time receiving good grades. An investigation by the Digest team concluded that passion project budget was not correlated with final grading in any way and that most studentsinthehigh-incometownofCamasdidnotfeel limitedbyprojectbudget.
While there were no grades officially released for this year’s JanTerm, there was grading data available for the previous year’s projects, which was used as a base for our statistic collection. Digest conducted personal interviews with many students and compiled a wider base of student data via a simplistic survey. The results of both the interviews and surveying implied there was nonoticeabledisparitybetweengradesandbudget.
Many students believe that the majority of people got very poor grades on their projects from the Intersession. However, some students claimed—with contrarian subtext—that you just needed to follow the providedrubricscloselytogetagoodgrade.
“I know there were a lot of people angry with [the grades]andstuff,butIjustkindoffollowedtherubric… and then I got like a three,” said an anonymous DHS student.
If the teachers followed the same rubric last year that was followed this year, then the final project grades should not be based upon the final product itself. Instead, project grading should be based on how students present their process and justify their month’s worthoflearning.
These grading principles may cause frustration for students putting large amounts of money into their project. A select few students—somewhat notoriously—spent a high amount of money on their projects(withthehighestbudgetbeing$ ).
Valentine’s Day is here!
Whatarethecouplesatourschooluptothis Valentine'sDay?
By: Ivan Frazee & Haylee KohlerValentine’s Day is right around the corner and Discovery High School (DHS) prides itself on the principle that love is love, regardless of gender identity. What better way to celebrate than getting to know some of the couples and couples’ activities around our school?
On top of a rise in waffle-related gifts, it appears that personalized Valentines day presents were common among couples this year. Dinner dates were consistent between every couple, which was in line with normal Valentine’sdayactivities.
the teachers want from you, not the overall product. If students are unhappy with the project’s product, they can always continue the product or create a better one in the future. Neither of those options hinge on financial standing unless students deliberately choose projectsthatwoulddictateit.
Our data shows that Discovery students living in Camas have a comfortable amount of money to spend on projects like those championed in JanTerm. Of all students surveyed, only one said they weren't able to affordtheirfirstchoiceofproject.
However, even if grades were given out equally, DHS studentopinionsremainedmurkyandundecided.Some students believed that those who spent a significant amountofmoneyontheirprojectssimplytooktheeasy route.
“I feel like they had put in less effort,” said Imogen Jones, a senior at DHS. “I do think it was a bit of a cop-out.”
“Monthly,wedoameetupataparkandwedoamovie date,” Sampey said. They plan to uphold this tradition on Valentine’s Day with some additional gifts for the event. “We’re watching my favorite movie and I got her rings from Howl’s Moving Castle,” Sampey reported. “That way it matches the theme. I also got her a strawberry cow plushie.” In addition to those thoughtful gifts, Sampey got her a heart shaped waffle maker. ” He seemed very excited about his gifts, hopefully Ava loves them too! We asked another sophomore couple, Ivan Frazee and Riley Velazquez, abouttheirplansforthisValentine’sday.
“We might go to Top Burger for milkshakes or burgers. We might go check out Tommy O’s.” Frazee stated. He didn’t have set plans but seemed excited to spendthedaywithRileyeitherway.
“I’m going to get them these stroopwafels he’s been excited about,” Frazee said when asked about potential Valentine’s day gifts. “I’m also making them this necklace and buying them some crystals to put all in a box.Webothlovetomakeeachotherfood,soI’m
makingthemsomebananapudding.”
We hope Riley enjoys their gifts! Have fun on your datewhereveryoumayendup,milkshakesornot! AnothercouplecelebratingthisValentine’sDayisDHS junior Haylee Kohler and Camas High School student Ben Hromadka. Haylee is an artist and enjoys making crafty things as gifts. Previously, Haylee created a painting as a gift to Ben. This Valentine's Day, Haylee has created a digital painting capturing the couple's personal jokes and memories. The couple plans to go downtownforadinnerdateandbackhomeafterwards foramovie. ImogenJonesandAlexAbe,bothseniors at DHS, plan to get reservations at Acorn and The Oak an upscale midwestern restaurant near Lacamas Lake this Valentine’s Day. Imogen plans to surprise her boyfriend with breakfast the morning of the holiday. Alex, being an avid musical artist, will be receivingacustomguitarpickpaintedbyImogen.Alex willalsolikelyreceiveahandcraftedcard.
Editor’s Note: Haylee Kohler and Ivan Frazee both authoredthisarticleandwereprominentinterviewees.
Discovery Digest interviewed Theodore Sampey, a sophomorestudent,abouthisplanswithhisgirlfriend, Ava.to an end, Digest teachers’ opinions on it were, especially compared to their experience the previous year. Although there was a lot to refine, this year’s Intersession wentexceptionallybetterthanthelastone.
This year’s JanTerm went through multiple adjustments based on the previous year’s student feedback.Thesechangesseemedtohaveworked,as all teachers interviewed by Discovery Digest agreed that scheduling was much better compared to last year.
“Ilikedtheschedulingalotmorethisyearthanlast year. I think it gives a lot of flexibility to students andteachers,”saidKelsyBenton,oneofDiscovery’s Spanish teachers. “Last year it was just a big block of time for project time, it was nice that this year people who wanted those three hours of project timegotitandpeoplewhodidn’tneeditdidnot.”
JanTerm wraps up with teachers’ final opinions
Discovery’simprovedJanTermhasjustcometoanend, teachersexplaintheirfinalthoughts
By: Sophia PerianWhen looking back at last year's (reportedly) worse structure, other teachers mentioned that they didn’t really get to participate in JanTerm and interact with the students. Whether the teachers were involved, or simply watched JanTerm unfold from the sidelines, it was mass mayhem.
“Last year [the schedule] was up on a wall and you had to walk with a pencil and try to figure it out yourself, it was chaos,”saidCorinneLorch,oneofDHS’scienceteachers.
“Last year, I was only with the juniors so I only got to see the juniors’ projects; but this year I can view any student's project,”saidBenton.
There were also many non-scheduling positives this JanTermthatteacherswereimpressedandsatisfiedwith.
“What stood out to me was not the end product but the effort that students put into their projects.” said Ivy Sprouse, a DHS paraeducator who observed and helped manystudentswiththeirJanTermprojects.
“IliketheideaofJanTermandgettingclosertothereality that we want it to be.” said Kim Cunningham, a gym teacheratDHS.
“I liked the flexibility of [JanTerm] and I feel like it gave studentsmore‘ownness’,”saidSprouse. IthinkthisyearIsawmorepeoplethatwantedtoreallygo into[theirprojects]andthatmademereallyhappy.”
“This JanTerm allowed me to meet more students who I didn'thavearelationshipwithbeforeJanTerm.Itwasnice that I got to know more students other than juniors.” said Benton.
Lunchroom snack bar returns
Discosalesfoundingmemberswishtostayfriendly withlunchstaffasbothlunchroomvendors continuetogrow.
By: Beck GummerAfter a few years of absence, the snack cart has made a return in the DHS lunchroom, which may imply competition with DHS’ student store, DiscoSales. Founding members of the organization stated that there was no ill will or desired competition between them and theofficialcafeteria.
Once students came back to school for hybrid learning after the Covid- pandemic, DHS’ snack cart had a noticeable absence. It did not make an appearance during the following - school year, but returned in full operationthisyear.
“I do not think that [the reopening of the snack cart] is going to impact DiscoSales sales currently,” started Erika Wood,founderandcurrentpresidentofthestudentstore. Although there are some similarities between DiscoSales products and snack cart products, with the diversity of merchandise that they offer, DiscoSales didn’t expect to taketoobigofahit.
DiscoSalesoffersawidevarietyofproducts;fromT-Shirts andkeychains,toItaliansodaandassortedcandies.
“Aroundeverysingletimethatweopentheshopweraise at least dollars,” said Wood. “But now that we are going to be opening days a week with our new opening date on Monday, again during lunch—where we make most of our profit, I would say that you’re in the realm of around
When interviewing teachers, Digest came across many suggestions for next year, ranging from specific to overall adjustments. Two teachers, Linthwaite and Cunningham, seemedtoagreethatprojectsshouldhaveahigherlevelof interactivity.
“Seemstomeasiftherecouldbemoreparameterstowhat thestudentsarechoosing…Ijustmeanverifyingthattheir project has an interactive element,” stated Cunningham. “When projects are presented there needs to be an interactiveelementalready.”
“I don't want the trifolds to be involved. I want it to be a student and their finished product willing to have a conversationaboutwhattheylearned.”saidLinthwaite.
Linthwaite and Cunningham had also mentioned many generalswitchestheywouldliketoseeormakeinthenext JanTerm.
“One other thing that I would change was the table setup for presentations,” said Cunningham. “Some people really got the shaft, it wasn't set up equally. I didn't see some of the people's projects because of accessibility.” said Cunningham.
“Whether or not you can make a pretty poster doesn’t matter at all in life skills.” said Linthwaite. She repeatedly expresseddisdainfortheamountofqualityoftrifoldsthat werepresentinthe Intersessionexhibition.
“I think we should scoot up the school exhibition by a week so that students can get direct feedback on their exhibition,” said Linthwaite. “I don't think I will offer reassessment as I did this year because it took up a lot of timeforprojectsupport.”
“Projects should be assessed by students. It should be a discussion of how they reached the standard.” said Linthwaite.
“Ithinkweshouldinvitestudents'parentstocomehalfway throughthemonthsotheparentscangetaprogresscheck onwhattheirkidsaredoing,”saidLinthwaite.
Finally,nowthatJanTermisover,teachersareveryproud to know how hard their students worked. They hope for future Intersessions to be even better, with even more amazingprojectstocome.
potentially dollars [sic] a week.” This has led to DiscoSalesrecordingrecordprofitsrecently.
DiscoSales often takes advantage of the DHS cafeteria equipment for their own operations. All the ice in their Italiansodaproductsissourcedfromthekitchenusedto producestandardschoollunches.
JackHarding,afoundingmemberofDiscoSales,doesn’t believe the snack cabinet’s reappearance will negatively affect relations between the lunchroom and student store.
Despitethesnackcabinet’srecentreturn,Discosaleswill continue operation and expansion as normal. The organizationhasalsobeenhintingattheannouncement of a new line of hot foods that will be available for purchaseinMarch.Theto-be-releasedproductsmaybe seen as a introduction that will inspire more competition with the school cafeteria. However, as reported by Wood and Harding, DiscoSales has no intention of beginning direct competition with the cafeteria. They made it clear their intent was to stay friendly with the lunch staff, offering students more lunchoptionsinsteadofacompletealternative.
“[DiscoSales] has been going incredible,” stated Wood. “Better than I really expected it to be.” DiscoSales will releaseaspecialitylineofValentine'sdaythemedItalian sodas, aptly named the Makeup and the Breakup, which willbeavailableforpurchaseFebrurary – , .On the same days, they will begin execution of their “Cupid’sArrow”promotion,wherestudentswillbeable to send Valentine’s Day gift baskets to other students duringWINperiod.
Around , the cafe was made available to the students of Discovery High School, offering the purchaseofsnacks.Itprovedtobequitepopularamong students. The popularity of Discosales has only increasedwiththeadditionofItaliansodasforpurchase. It has participated in multiple after-school events, offering confectionery and drinks to potential customersoutsideofDHS’studentbody.
DiscoSales’ Cupid's Arrow promotion sales counter (Beck Gummer/Discovery Digest)Students ready to work post-JanTerm
By: Aliferia GonzalezDiscovery High School’s (DHS) Intersession (also referred to as JanTerm) concluded on Jan. , , marking the proud exhibition of many students’ projects. As the new semester reared its head, Discovery Digest conducted interviews with ninestudentsandtwoteachers.
Digest surveyed all interviewees for their motivation after JanTerm, as well as their experiences and outlooks on the new semester’s classwork. Among other things, students said they were working faster—right as their teachers promised to begin the semester’s class work withouthesitation.
Of the interviews conducted, there were several near-constants among student opinions. All but two students reported faster work completion times as they began their standard classes, while every single interviewed student not only enjoyed JanTermbuttheoutcomeoftheirexhibitions.
Students’highworkefficiencyappearstobeinspite of class and work enjoyment; six out of nine interviewees reported neutrality toward their regular class schedules and five students reported beingneutraltotheirclasswork.
Two teachers, Corrine Lorch and Jenifer Linthwaite, were interviewed on their coming plans for the next semester and motivation levels. As for the coming semester’s workload, the conclusionwasunanimous:theywerereadytostart atfullspeed.
LorchreportedthatasoftheirinterviewonFeb. , , they had already begun the freshman’s overarchingsemesterproject.
Onestudent,RoryPerger,reportedincreasedwork efficiency and dissatisfaction with their JanTerm final product simultaneously. Describing their month’s work as, “beheaded flesh puppets,” they cited their project exhibition as something uplifting.Eventhoughtheytoldthemselftheir
Discovery Staff Spotlight
Get to know the amazing staff at this school
By: Avery PerryAsstudents,weareblessedtohavesuchamazing teachers and staff at Discovery High School (DHS). Of course it’s important to know and appreciatetheteacherswhohelpkeepourschool afloat,buthowwelldowereallyknowthem?
Thisweek,thespotlightisonastaffmemberyou see every morning as you walk through Discovery’s doors—someone who knows every student by name. Melissa McGuffin has done so muchforthebehindthescenesofourschool.So, itisimportanttoreallylearnaboutwho'sbehind thedeskeveryday.
McGuffin has been working in education for years.ShewastheoriginalsecretaryatDiscovery HighSchoolandhasremainedthereeversince.
product wasn’t something to be proud of, Perger’s exhibition left them with a feeling akin topositivesurprise.Theyreportedbeingsatisfied with how they presented their negatively-perceivedproject.
During the three-day weekend after Intersession concluded, student emotions were high and diverse. When each statement was boiled down to binary values for statistical collection, feelings after JanTerm’s conclusion had the highest amount of variation in response. From nine interviews,sixdifferenttypesofemotionshowed prevalence in student experiences. The most common and universal feeling was relief, with seven responses using that specific word as a description.
The second most common feeling during the post-Intersession weekend, exhaustion, was reported by four different students, Theodore Sampey, Jax Goertzen, Thinh Ngo and Rory Perger. Each student reported a different level of satisfaction with their final product, with different project types being used for each. This led Digest to conclude that no matter the perceived product quality, many students put in enough effort to feel exhausted after Intersession’sconclusion.
It appears that beyond workload, students and project administrators were on the same emotional levels for a variety of things; Sampey and Lorch both described themselves as overwhelmed during the three days after Intersession.Meanwhile,Linthwaite’sexhaustion seemed in line with, if not worse than, many students. She fell ill toward the end of Intersession,likelyduetostress,andcanceledher weekendplanstorest.
Although their product was not up to their standardsandtheyreporteddisdainforreturning to their normal classes, Perger still mentioned feeling relief the weekend after Intersession’s conclusion.
The similarities between student and teacher emotions point toward a bigger picture within DHS’ campus. “Friendship and community was a bigpartofJanTerm,”DHSstudentWillowFazio said in an interview with Digest. “I couldn’t have done it without my friends, the students, and the staff. The teachers were, like, the biggest part of it.“
Theodore Sampey, Thinh Ngo, Jax Goertzen, Silvia Pujol, Perger, Zachariah Tricola, Jack Harding, Willow Fazio and Logan Bevers were thestudentsinterviewedforthisarticle.
Discovery Digest
Editor-in-Chief: Aliferia Gonzalez
Copy Chief: Ivan Frazee
Creative Director: Beck Gummer
Feature Editors: Sophia Perian Jack Walsh
News Editors: Willow Nusbaum Bee Logan
Sports Editor: Jack Walsh
Arts & Culture Editors: Haylee Kohler Braden Tricola
Social Editors: Avery Perry Larken Grimes
McGuffin'sfavoritepartofworkingatDiscovery is being able to see and get to know all of its students. She enjoys people-watching as well as seeing so many smiling faces pass by her office everyday.
McGuffin also shared that she enjoys the multitasking aspect of her job. According to her, most people don't think multitasking as a whole is possible, but she does it every day while she’s workingbehindthedesk!
Something most people don't know about McGuffin is that she lives on a farm! At the farm's peak, they had chickens, turkeys, cows, goats, pigs, four dogs, and two cats.
When asked how she likes her toast, McGuffin responded. “sourdough bread with a medium toast,crunchypeanutbutterandcinnamon.”
Wewanttotaketimeoutofourdaytogogetto knowtheteachersyouspendsomuchtimewith, because—as referenced in this very article—they take time out of their day to learn more about theirstudentsthanwecouldeverimagine.
Teachers promise to resume work unapologetically as the –school year’s second semester begins.Melissa McGuffin hard at work in the front office of Discovery High School. (Avery Perry/Discovery Digest)
Discovery Advice Column
With Ivan Frazee & Haylee KohlerHowdoyougetmore comfortable withconfrontation?
Confrontation can be a difficult process to get used to and comfortable with. I would recommend preparing your thoughts before talking to the person(s) at a neutral time and in a relaxed environment.Ifyouaretheonebeingconfronted,I would recommend just listening and reflecting. Both can be very tough, but if you keep an open mind you can work through it. Know that the otherpersonwantstosolvetheproblemthatyou're confronting them with, and if they don’t, you shouldexaminewhoyouputyourtimeinto.
MymomsaysthatIneedtowashmyjeansevery timeIwearthem,butIthink2-3daysofwearisok. Who’sright?
Jeans can get pretty worn down if you wash them after every wear. In my own experience, I find that it’s okay to wear your jeans and wash them after a few days of wear. As long as you don’t stain them or sweat too much, you should be good to go! So, I wouldsayyou'reright.
IworrythatI’mabadinfluenceonmylittle brother.Notinthetraditionalway,butassomeone withdepressionwhostaysinmyroommostofthe time(notreallywithinmycontrol)Ifeellikehe mightbepickingupantisocialbehaviorfromme. WhatcanIdo?
Mental health can be a challenge for everyone, especiallywhenitcomestodepression.Asaperson with both depression and a younger sibling, I think it’s the small interactions that can encourage social behavior. I tend to try and play games with my siblingorjusthavesimpleconversationswiththem in the car or at dinner. You could also try recommendingactivitiestoyoursiblingthatappeal to their interests, maybe even bring up the idea for them to invite friends. If you check in with your sibling frequently, I’m sure they’ll get more interactive. As long as you're being nice to your sibling,that’sthebestinfluenceyoucangive! Thank
Camas Public Library is celebrating years!
The library is sharing artifacts through the years to celebrate the past century of being open!
By: Larken GrimesThe Camas Public Library is celebrating its -year anniversary. The organization had set up an exhibit showcasing old local newspapers starting in to , set to run all the way through February. Discovery Digest was able to go personally tour the exhibit and get aninterviewwithElliotStapleton,whohelpedcreateit.
“I think you can learn a lot about Camas by looking at thenewspaper,”Stapletonstatedinaninterview.“Ihave learnedalotbyworkingonthisproject.”
There are many copies of different Camas papers aroundtheroom,allofwhichdisplayednumerous
Use
changesthat hadoccurredovertheyears.
When newspapers from different years were laid out acrosstheexhibit,itbecameclearhowdifferentthings hadchangedwiththestyleandlayoutofthepaper.
The clearest example of changes made to the local newspaper was the development of visuals over time. Camas’ oldest archived papers used simplistic illustrationssparingly,whilethelayoutsclosestto had photographs printed across articles and even in advertisements.
Onething Digest learnedisourlocalpaperhadgoneby quite a few names over the years, not just one. It started as the Lacamas Post, then Camas Post and then PostRecord.
“The idea was brought up during COVID, when the galleryclosed,”Stapletonsaid.
“When rebooting it [the gallery], paterons wanted more history exhibitions.” The idea to have an exhibit related to the newspaper came up during spring of .
The idea of having more history exhibitions gives peopleandthecommunitymoreinformationabout
the past of our community, as many people might not knowaboutCamas.
The exhibit is not only to celebrate years of the Camas Public Library, it's to celebrate history all throughCamasandwhathashappenedthatmakesour townwhatitistoday.
In the end, checking out the exhibit was quite fun and there was a lot of interesting and fun history to learn about.Stapletontoldmanyinterestingstories,manyof which made Digest members laugh. For example, the articleonfarmingprunesinCamaswaslargerthanthe president'sdeathatthattime!
If you would like to check out this exhibit it is in the upstairs portion of the Camas Public Library. This specificexhibitisonlyupuntiltheendofFebruary,so students are recommended to check it out quickly. There will be another one in December that will have papers from to , showing more Camas history.
Discovery Digest Mission Statement
Discovery Digest strives to differentiate itself from other local school-based papers by introducing unique and often hyper-localized stories. While accomplishing this goal, the Digest aims to remain factually accurate, uphold journalistic integrity, and provide an unbiased truth to readers.
youforallofthesubmissionsthisweek!Weareworkinghardtorespondtoallofthe confessions,soifyoursisn'tinthiseditionthenbeonthelookoutforthenextone!
thisQRcodetosubmit yourconfessions!
