The Bark Volume 1. Issue 5 - The Coping Issue

Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Volume 1 Issue 5

Coping with Life’s Obstacles

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Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

NEWS News Briefs

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A Financial Apocalypse How does one prepare for the upcoming financial apocalypse?

And since when was there a financial crisis on the horizon?

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Sleeping on a Pivotal Issue Are energy drinks really the solution?

Where does stress come from and how can we conquer it? Pg. 10-11

Opinion The Cost of Protection Feature editor, Elizabeth Newcomb, presents a different look at violence towards the police force.

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@GCHS_newspaper

FEATURES Sleeping on a Pivotal Issue gchs_newspaper

How can our sleep habits affect our lives, and what affects our sleep habits?

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FEATURES (cont.)

Hidden Artists

Where March Madness Came From

Why do people make art, what drives them, and where can we find these hidden artists at Grant?

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Learn a variety of recipes carefully collected from your fellow students.

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Will the softball team overcome their obstacles and make it to regionals?

Learn about what inspires, drives, and influences our February Artist of the Month, Meg Sampson, and the March Artist of the Month, Mae Neofotistos.

In this edition of Unheard Voices, explore the warning signs of a toxic relationship, and how to get out of one.

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Consequential Coping What are some poor coping mechanisms, and what are some substitutes?

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Read your peers’ submissions of poetry, short stories, and other literary works.

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Return to the Top of the Podium

Literature Magazine Tackling Toxic Relationships

Discover the similarities between Fantasy Football and gambling, and the impacts this may have on you.

Strike Out or End the Drought?

ARTS Artist Spotlight

Culinary Masters

SPORTS

Will Jason Thormo be the first student athlete in Grant history to win back-to-back state titles?

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Who to Watch!

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Check out our athletes at the top of their game and our players who are on the rise!

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The Coping Issue Features

What do you do when you become impossibly stressed, or upset, or angry? Lash out? Eat your favorite comfort food? Shop your sadness away?

These are your coping mechanisms.

They don’t define you, as they are only your reactions to difficult scenarios and coping mechanisms, a knee jerk reaction to something upsetting. This is unavoidable, and theoretically, perfectly fine.

Unfortunately, that’s where things start to go downhill. With certain people, certain personalities, the results of the coping mechanisms can build up and jumpstart a cycle of bad coping mechanisms.

When you’re upset, you treat yourself to some expensive item or something. And you do it again, and again, and suddenly you’re stretching your finances too far and you’re stressed, so you buy something else again to make yourself feel better. This continues and continues, and without self-control or a steady support system, this can spiral out of control.

The same thing can happen with eating comfort food, lashing out, or hiding away to just calm down. It creates a cycle that can soon become more unhealthy than anything you were originally coping with.

That is, of course, a very very broad perspective on coping mechanisms, and just a summarizing point. In this issue, while we do touch on coping mechanisms, we also look at some of the end results of poor coping mechanisms, such as our enormous personal debt.

April 2, 2019

The Bark Editors Kaitlyn Krueger Kristina Maestranzi

News Mariah Ona Kaitlyn Krueger

Features Elizabeth Newcomb Andrea Lowry The Bark editor, Kaitlyn Krueger.

Sports

But for the most case, this issue of The Bark covers many things besides just coping mechanisms. As you go through this edition, I hope you can keep in mind this concept, and reflect on how you may cope yourself.

As a final note, from everything that I have seen and learned about coping mechanisms over the course of this publication, I have found one recurring coping mechanism that is quite universally recommended - mindfulness. The basic theory of mindfulness is to be present, present in the world around you and the things you are doing and the things you are seeing.

Try being more mindful sometime, more present, and see how many more moments of the day you can actually recall.

Bryce Mandala Ethan Dicken

Cover Art Kristina Maestranzi (front)

Let The Bark Bark for You! The Bark is currently searching for: - artists for our cover art - writers for literary magazine section - photographers for Photo of the Month

For all inquires or interests contact: Kaitlyn Krueger 24861@stu.

grantbulldogs.org

or Kristina Maestranzi Coaches and Club Sponsors kmaestranzi@grantbulldogs.org If you are doing a special event that you would like covered or featured in our articles or events calendar, please contact us!

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NEWS

April 2, 2019

The Bark

COMMUNITY NEWS Information on the 2019 Spring Musical Sound of Music, which will be performed by students at Grant Community High School What can I do there?

You can come to the Sound of Music performed by Grant students. If you have a passion for theatre or just want to support our school, this event is for you.

What is the admission cost?

Tickets are $5 dollars for students and seniors and $7 for adults. Tickets will be sold in the book store.

NEWS BRIEFS Jazzing it Up

It’s crazy how fast an idea can become a reality. This whole idea of having a Jazz Ensemble was brought up to Mr. Avallone by a student.

”There was a student that came up to me asking if I would sponsor that activity. I said I would if there were names, and he came back with a bunch of names.”

Now the Jazz Ensemble is currently on its second year and is more built and constructed than the previous piloting year.

Out of the many schools at the Jazz Ensemble Jazz in the Meadows competition on February 23, they received a two on a scale of one through four, one being exemplary.

As opposed to last year ”We did as a non-competitive performance.”

There are 19 members in Jazz

Ensemble and each one had to audition at the start of the year to see where they would be placed.

“It’s just a group of us who all share a passion for music.”

Image of Jazz Ensemble performing at Jazz in the Meadows Competition

Alcohol Assessment

When and Where?

The Sound of Music musical will take place on April 12th through April 14th in the Grant auditorium.

Alcohol Awareness should be a more broad and open topic so people can understand how bad it is.

Throughout all of our school

years, even since elementary school, we have known about how horrible and addicting drugs are, but alcohol can be just as bad, if not worse. Alcohol is legal whereas drugs, (unless under medical circumstances) are not. This issue with alcohol is how Image of student during alcohol prevention Kahoot activity taken by Mariah Ona

In school some things we learn

we may never use in the future. But you still need to learn this criteria in order to graduate. But other things we will need in order to make decisions in our life such as alcohol awareness.

In February, GCHS had the first

schoolwide Kahoot on alcohol awareness. It was a way to see how much students really know about alcohol.

When asked how Elizabeth

Nehmoz, a student who participated in

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the Kahoot, feels about more hands on activities, she responded, “Yea I think it’s really important”. She believes that

accesible it is to people of all ages.

Lori Lev, a teacher here of 6 years,

believes TEAM should be “for community building” considering everyone has it, this is an understandable reasoning. Mrs. Lev has also always signed up for a freshman team class because she feels they need more help to be involved with the community.

Out of everything, the majority of

our school learned something since almost everyone did not get a perfect score. Due to this, every single student knows the harm alcohol can have. Now you know all the cons, but what is most important to remember is there are no pros.

NEWS

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Club Spotlight When and Where?

Gamer’s Club Image of students in Gamer’s Club meeting in Library on unofficial day taken

by Mariah Ona.

“ It’s really nice to have just a group of people with a common interest and a passion for the same thing that you do”

For more information, contact Ms. Stump at cstump@ grantbulldogs.org or the Library’s front desk

Gamer’s Club unofficially takes place everyday after school in the library until 4:00, but on official days, meetings are held in the Senior Cafeteria.

What are we about?

Gamer’s Club is about bringing people who enjoy gaming together. Instead of playing by youself or online, gamer’s club brings people face to face.

What do you need to know?

Gamer’s Club has no fee and they play all types of games (electronically or classic board/ card games/ live action games acting).

Events Coming Up! March 22

March 27

March 28

Fox Lake Library 4:00pm-6:00pm Ralph Breaks the Internet Showing

Fox Lake Library 3:00pm-4:30pm Teen Craft Bar- Magic 8ball

Round Lake Library 4:00pm-6:00pm Flashback Cartoons (Rugrats, Catdog, Rocket Power, etc) Snacks and Drinks Provided!

April 8

April 12

April 3 Round Lake Library 7:00pm- 8:30pm DIY Iron on Shirts and Tote Bags Ages: 13+

Round Lake Library 5:30pm-8:30-pm Dungeons and Dragons: Trials of MuliDungeon

Grant Community High School NHS Spaghetti Dinner

April 24

May 3

May 4

Grant Community High School Starting at 6:00pm Parent University Financial Aid Night

Grant Community High School Starting at 5:00pm Prom

Fox Lake Library Slots From 10:00am-4:00pm Star Wars Escape

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NEWS

April 2, 2019

The Bark

A Financial Apocalypse Kaitlyn Krueger

Every student here at Grant Community High School, at some point in their life, has learned about the Great Depression. Think back to middle school, elementary school, or even any of the history classes you’ve taken here. What do you remember?

For one, you may recall the general reasons that is said to cause the Great Depression, such as the overzealous spending that characterized the 1920s, and the stock market crash that jump-started the economic depression.

You may also recall thinking of this as an anomaly, that something like this could never happen again, and would never happen again. Our country is too big to fall to something like that.

That’s what they said about the banks in 2008 too.

Our economy works in waves and cycles. There is the expansionary phase, the peak, the recessionary phase, and the trough. The expansionary phase is characterized by an increase in spending, prices, and wages.

Once the economy hits the peak, it begins to decline, leading into the recessionary phase wherein spending decreases, production decreases, and workers are laid off. This continues until the economy hits the trough, or the bottom. If this bottom is especially low, this is a depression, or a recession.

This is natural. There will always be a period of growth, and a period of contraction, and on and on it goes. However, there is also an economic cycle in the long-run that runs much much longer.

You’ve heard of the Great Depression, but have you heard of the Long Depression? This is yet another depression in the 1800s, so early in our country’s history that it is not nearly as well known as the Great Depression. You’ve heard of the 2008 financial crisis, but have you heard of the Panic of 1819? Yet another banking crisis, out of the public mind.

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All these things add up to suggest that another financial crisis is not only likely, but nigh. These are not anomalies, blips in our economic history because we did not yet know how to manage our economic system and control the financial system and our spending and the consequences of our actions.

We still don’t.

Let’s pull back to the Great Depression for a moment. The warning signs of the incoming financial crash were all around, but just like in the 2008 housing market crash, not enough people saw the signs.

The biggest warning sign of the Great Depression was, yes, the spending, but also the extreme amounts of debt racked up on a national and personal level. Due to the lack of regulation in the banks, people spent recklessly, loans were given out without much consideration, and the debt racked up across the country. Interest prices were artifically low, encouraging more loaning, adding up to more debt.

This came to a stall in 1929, where companies had expanded far too quickly without enough growth to sustain this expansion, and the economy contracted too quickly for anything to really stop what was happening.

In 1929, the debt to GDP ra-

tio was 16%. A low debt to GDP ratio indicates an economy that produces and sells goods and services sufficient to pay back debts without incurring further debt. This doesn’t seem too bad, but recall that this is significantly higher than previous years, and the government incurred a seriously high amount of debt in enacting programs to help deal with the effects of the Great Depression.

So what is our debt to GDP ratio? 105.64%. Not good.

It is understandable that we would rack up a significant amount of debt over the decades. It is unavoidable, after all, we are a country that was born into debt. However, the debt we are facing now is insurmountable. And that isn’t even the scariest number.

The U.S. Total Personal Debt is $19 trillion. This is not debt acquired from wars or other such debt-acquiring activities, but a representation of the debt we as a nation, home to home, have acquired. This is mortgages, car payments, credit card debt, all forming a bubble that is just ready to pop.

In the face of this debt and the cyclical nature of our economy, it does not seem unlikely that we are facing the possibility of another Great Depression. So what can we do about it?

The housing crisis of 2008 led to the foreclosure of many homes. If this is to happen again in 2030, expect a surge of foreclosures.

NEWS

April 2, 2019

The Bark

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Features

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April 2, 2019

The Bark

Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Written and Collected By: Elizabeth Newcomb Whether you’ve made a drastically poor decision that resulted in a felony charge, or if you’re a plain-old careless teen who was pulled over for speeding, one thing remains constant: you are going to have an encounter with the police. At first, it can be terrifying. The flashing blue and red lights intimidate people and make their hearts race.

However, unless you’ve robbed a bank, you’re probably going to be alright. When cooperated with, the police are the most accommodating and orderly people one could ever meet.

Nonetheless, the police aren’t always respected as they should be.

Police Officers work, to serve and protect the public, is innately dangerous. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, twenty police officers were murdered viciously this year alone.

Police deaths in the line of duty have significantly increased in the last four years. According to The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, between the years 2015 and 2016, the number of police officer deaths in the line of duty increased 10% and the percentage of deaths from gunfire increased to 56%.

During that year, forty one officers had been killed which also indicates that it was the highest rate since 2011.

According to an article written by USA Today, it was stated that within the year 2018, there were 46 officers who were fatally shot. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund also calculated the number of gunfire-related deaths.

There were eleven tragedies within 2019 this year so far.

Clearly, this is an issue worthy of public attention. Within every police department, there are people who risk their lives every day and put themselves in precarious situations for the public’s benefit. With that being said, why are these individuals being targeted?

The answer is somewhere within a gray area. Every situation and case has a different motive, so there isn’t a direct response as to why this keeps happening. Despite the lack for a definitive reason, there is no excuse to change how relevant or heartbreaking this topic is.

The student resource officer at Grant Community High School, Matthew Malczewski stated, “You see it happening in the news every day in some places...One of my biggest fears is not being able to see my family grow up. The fact I might not be at a wedding or have met my grandkids is always in the back of my mind.”

Based on Malczewski’s personal thoughts, it is evident that this possibly occurs within the minds of every service member. The idea of ‘Is this my last day with my family’ and ‘what if something goes wrong today’ is relevant to members of the blue community within every moment they’re on the job and even more so when they’re not.

Surviving every day is precarious and can seem as if they never know when or if something is going to go badly or not. When and if something does go wrong, it doesn’t just affect the people who knew the officer closely, but instead the entire community.

The loss of an officer wounds more of the public than people might realize at first glance.

It is a gaping hole in the hearts of every person who was influenced by them. Friends, family, colleagues, and even others who will only ever hear the stories of this brave soul are all deeply impacted.

Throughout the nation, news of fallen heroes shakes up people’s emotions. They are angry, saddened, and confused as to why this keeps happening. What is going wrong within society today that is allowing for this issue to be so

prevalent? Whenever life seems to take a turn for the worst, the police are always there and willing to lend a hand.

Despite the fact that some people within this world feel the need to neglect that, there are many who choose to acknowledge and embrace that feeling of security. For every fallen officer, there are grand gestures of honor for that person such as peaceful protests and parades within the community for that person. On a smaller note, strangers often share Facebook posts in awareness of this issue and to spread the word that what’s happening isn’t okay.

Although there may not be a clear cut answer about how to solve this or change the world we live in today, there is one crucial message that can be spread. If the public were to appreciate the daily tasks the police department endures for them, then perhaps this issue of violence against the police would minimize itself.

If not, at least the idea that blue lives are real, valuable, and matter could be spread as well.

The

Safety Stats

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Officers have been killed this year due to line of duty service.

46

Officers were murdered from gunfire within the year 2018.

All data obtained from USA Today and The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

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Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Sleeping on a Pivotal Issue Many caffeinated drinks tend to have very addictive qualities that can, in the long run, impact your quality of life.

Kaitlyn Krueger

Think back to this morning.

Did you eat breakfast? Think back to last night. When did you fall asleep?

Think about each day. Are you eating, or relying on caffeine to get through the day? Do you find yourself in those cycles of little sleep, high caffeine intake, and poor diet, unable to break out of it?

Let’s not pretend you haven’t heard this before. Everyone and anyone with a semblance of authority repeats the same tired mantra: “get 8 hours of sleep, eat a healthy balanced breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Cut out sugars and reduce your processed fats and sodium intake. Drink 64 ounces of water every day.” We get it. It runs past us, in one ear and out the other until the words have no meaning and we are left wondering, in the long run, does it even matter?

In short? Yes.

Let’s start with the physi-

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cal tolls that a lack of sleep can take on your body. About 87 percent of American high school students are chronically sleepdeprived, according to a 2006 survey from the National Sleep Foundation. In the short term, the physical effects of sleep deprivation can cause drowsiness, impaired decision making, and it affects the ability to form memories.

In the long run, sleep deprivation increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, according to data collected by the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services.

The physical tolls that sleep deprivation takes on your body is echoed in the toll sleep deprivation takes on your mental health. Mrs. Forbes is an English teacher at Grant, a member on the PBIS committee, which strives to educate students on various topics, generally relating to their socio-emotional health.

“I believe physical health and mental health are directly correlated, they’re not independent of one another,” Mrs. Forbes explained.

“I have students in my first period [...] who come in and they’re extremely stressed. “I’m so anxious, I’m cry-

“‘You’re sleep deprived, you’re over caffeinated, and you’re over sugared.

No wonder you’re not mentally healthy!’”

Features ing over these tests that I have.” And I said, Well, what did you eat this morning? How much sleep did you get? And they’re telling me I didn’t sleep last night. [...] I didn’t eat anything. [...]

You’re sleep deprived, you’re over caffeinated and you’re over sugared. No wonder you’re not mentally healthy!”

A study of nearly 28,000 suburban high school students, published earlier in 2015 in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, found that each hour of lost sleep is associated with a 38 percent increased risk of feeling sad or hopeless and a 58 percent increase in suicide attempts. Teens who sleep an average of six hours per night are also three times more likely to suffer from depression, a 2010 study found.

Obviously, sleep deprivation has an enormous negative physical and mental effect. You might be thinking, “I’m trying to get the 8 hours of sleep, but I just can’t!” There are a wide variety of reasons you might be getting poor sleep, besides forcing yourself to stay awake for your workload. One very possible reason may be your diet.

Ana Krieger, the Medical Director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, explained that eating

an overall healthy and nutrient-rich diet affects our brain health and activity — and in turn, our sleep, she explains.“Eating healthy and allowing the body to absorb proper nutrients provides the brain with the chemical environment that it needs to produce the neurotransmitters that it needs to maintain adequate sleep,” Krieger says. The nutrients we get from food serve as the building blocks for other minerals and proteins that are needed to create the amino acids that are involved in sleep.

So there’s junk food, of course, but what about our caffeine intake? How does that affect our bodies and our sleep? Harrison Witek is a senior that’s done the math, as he usually does. On a daily basis, he gets between 440-460 milligrams of caffeine. The safe limit for adults is around 400 milligrams.

He theorized how all this caffeine might be affecting his sleep, interrupting the REM cycles (a key component of sleep) and how it might be affecting his diet before describing what happens when he doesn’t get enough caffeine. “I feel absolutely miserable,” he said. “Withdrawals are completely crippling to

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Rachel Patel is a senior known by most of the lunch ladies for consistently and constantly, buying hot cheetos for four years.

the point where I can barely get out of bed.”

Mrs. Bilbrey started the Health and Wellness Committee at Grant, which aspires to promote healthy behavior at school, leading to the creation of the Health Fair here and other programs. She explained, “Science tells us that your prefrontal cortex is not fully developed to the age of 25. And that’s part of the brain that’s responsible for decision making impulse control. So you make a situation where eating healthy and getting sleep is difficult enough for adults to do. I think it’s almost twice as difficult for teens to do, coupled with technology, access to fast food and, you know, unhealthy kind of junk food wherever you go. It’s like an uphill battle. [...] But it’s hard to make that initial decision, right?”

Changing these addictive behavioral patterns is important, of course, but it isn’t going to be easy. It will be a process, and the hardest part is taking the first step.

Data obtained from The Guardian. Infographic generated by Kaitlyn Krueger through Piktochart Premium.

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Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Culinary Masters

By Andrea Lowry

Chefs. We may not realize it, but they’re everywhere. In the kitchens at our favorite restaurants, passing by us while driving on the highway, shopping for groceries in the same store as us, or even walking past us during passing period in school.

When the Foods course came to be at Grant, not only did students become better cooks, but they devel-

oped a passion for the art of cooking. Miss Pipikios, a Foods teacher at Grant, frequently sees students fall in love with cooking. “Students get pretty shocked sometimes that they could make certain thing from scratch,” she says. “They become proud of their work.”

After taking the foods course, several students find themselves cooking on a regular basis

at home, regardless of if their Foods course has ended or not. This is exactly what happened to students Jesica Arguelles and Joseph Smith.

After taking the Foods course, they began to turn cooking into a personal hobby. Both students have recipes whether they made themselves or are closely related to their family, and they want to share their recipes with the world.

my mom and my aunt when they cook (for the party). They inspired me.” Jesica would also find herself scrolling through the foods channel at a young age, finding interest in every show she scrolled past.

Jesica’s family was her inspiration to begin cooking, so it only makes sense she would have special

family recipes. Apple Cream Cheese Rose Tarts are small rose shaped pastries that have been in Jesica’s family for years. To Jesica, the rose pastries are more than just simple treats. “Me and my family have made this for several different events,” she says. “It brings back a lot of good memories of us together.”

have a sweet tooth.” Joseph not only found inspiration from family, but also through simple advertisements on the tv. Joseph recalls a time when he saw a Cordon Bleu commercial air on the tv, and he remembers the rush of realization for his cooking passion he received after watching the advertisement.

Joseph typically enjoys cooking meats, such as chicken, but he also really enjoys cooking his favorite

baked treat, cookies. Since he has a passion for baking cookies, it only makes sense he would have cookie recipes. Joseph decided to take all of his favorite components of other cookie recipes and combine them into one unique cookie recipe.

Jesica’s Story

Jesica Arguelles is a senior here at Grant, and cooking inhabits a huge part in her heart. Ever since she was young, cooking has been something she enjoyed. Her passion began by observing her family. “My family would host parties in which they would cook a lot,” she says. “I would always be in the kitchen with

Joseph’s Story

Cooking becomes a natural interest to many chefs when their family consistently cooks throughout childhood. This is exactly what happened to Joseph Smith, a senior here at Grant. Since a young age, Joseph has been interested in cooking.

Family was a major inspiration for Joseph to begin his passion for cooking. “ I think the biggest thing that inspired me was that my entire family all likes baking,” he says. “We all

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Features

Apple Rose Tarts

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Recipe credit to tastemade.com Ingredients: 1 Apple 1 tbsp of sugar Dough sheets Cream cheese 3 tbsp of water Cinnamon

1. Cut the apple in half and throw away the core. Cut both of the apple halves into thin slices 2. Take a bowl and add in the lemon juice, water, and apple slices. Mix them together and microwave for 3 minutes 3. Lay out the dough sheets and cut them into thin strips 4. Spread a layer of cream cheese on top of each strip of dough.

5. Sprinkle sugar over the cream cheese 6. Dry the apples out from step 1 7. Place the dried apples horizontally on each strip of dough, and sprinkle cinnamon over them 8. Roll each dough strip to form the shape of a rose, 9. Grease a muffin tin and place the roses in the tin.

10. Bake the roses at 375* for 40 minutes 11. Wait until cool, and top with your favorite choice of topping

Cinnamon Chocolate Cookies

Recipe credit to Joseph Smith Ingredients: 1 cup of unsalted butter ½ cup of white sugar 1 ½ cups of brown sugar 2 eggs 11 ½ Ounces of flour 1 Tbsp of Kosher Salt ½ tsp of baking soda ¾ tsp of cinnamon Chocolate chips Flaked sea salt

1. Brown 2 sticks of unsalted butter. After browned, put the melted butter into a measuring cup and put in the fridge till the butter is solid again 2. In a bowl, add the butter along with the sugar and brown sugar. Mix them together with an electronic mixer 3. Add the eggs to the mixture and mix together 4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon 5. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture from earlier, mix thoroughly 6. Add chocolate chips to the mixture, and mix together. Put the mixture in the fridge for an hour at the smallest or 2 days at the longest.

7. Roll your cookie dough into balls. Break each ball in half to give them a rustic look, and place them on a cookie sheet.

8. Bake them at 350* for 12-17 minutes or until brown. Top with sea salt.

9. Cool and enjoy!

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Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

The Unheard Voices: Tackling Toxic Relationships Written and Collected By: Elizabeth Newcomb

Pictured above is Madison Serafin making a statment about an end to toxic relationships. Photo taken by Elizabeth Newcomb.

When strolling along the sandy beaches of a tropical island, relaxation might approach one’s mind.

The sand peeping through toes along with the sound of the waves cascading onto the shoreline is the pure image of serenity.

Up above head is a mural painted with swirls of purples and spirals of pinks and blues that fold together to create a divine skyline.

At the beginning of my relationship, it felt similar to this. Each day was positive and filled with affection. Truthfully, I didn’t even recognize the beginning of toxicity until later. Fits of rage and jealousy soon replaced the sweet sandy beaches and the best parts of our relationship washed away with the current.

I admit I was too busy strolling along the shoreline with my eyes focused on the water and not on the clouds that were forming a storm ahead. I began to not be able to see the negativity. All of the signs slapped me in the face along with the warnings from the people who care about me. It changed who I am as a person and to this day, I’m not sure if I will ever love or trust again.

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Surviving the storm seemed as if it was the main priority. I wonder if I should’ve ever gone to the beach at all. Eventually, I realized that relationships can’t be avoided as easily as skipping vacations by the ocean. It is inevitable to avoid relationships in general, but if you notice a storm appearing sooner rather than later, it might be safe to reschedule or at the very least bring an umbrella.

-An anonymous story as told by Elizabeth Newcomb Toxic relationships surround us everyday, and are hidden in plain sight. Several people grapple with how to deal with the concept of a toxic relationship.

Adults, children, and teenagers are all affected by this issue.

Nobody is exempt from the poor behaviour, yet each can find a way to survive through it.

According to The Hidden Hazards Of Toxic Relationships, written by Sherrie Bourg Carter of Psychology Today, the first step to getting out of a toxic relationship is realizing you’re

even in one to begin with.

Sherrie states within her article, “Many people in unhealthy relationships are in denial, even when friends or family members can see the danger signs and have told them so.” Essentially that means that no matter what their friends or family could be telling them, they won’t process and understand it until the denial wears off.

Sophomore at Grant Community High School, Viviana Torres has personal experience with trying to help guide her dear friend out of a toxic relationship. She claimed, “As her friend I first decided to speak her first about all the things that I thought were toxic for the relationship. I do realize that some think it’s not my place to say anything, but if you saw your friend hurting as much as I saw mine, how could you not say anything?”

When describing how excruciatingly difficult it was to be involved with such a time consuming and traumatic process, it was evident that there was only one solution.

The best way to survive something as painful as this is to get out of the

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“Some advice that I have for anyone suffering through a toxic relationship would be, think about the time that you have been in the relationship. Do the positives outweigh the negatives? If the answer is no, then you have to automatically think ‘why on Earth are you in this relationship’?”

However, as clear cut as it may seem to be in order to leave, that isn’t always the case. Sophomore at Grant Community High School Rebecca Fabry claimed that, “It got to a point where I couldn’t get myself out of it.”

After enduring a very toxic relationship, Rebecca felt at a loss of words. She compared it to having an internal bully. Soon enough, she knew it was time to self advocate for and move forward in a positive manner. She describes it as the breaking point.

“There was a point where I couldn’t take it anymore.” Becca answers before addressing pieces of advice she wants to spread with the community and anyone who happens to be struggling.

“If you know deep in your heart that you’re not happy no matter if it’s in a toxic relationship or not, get out of it. If you’re not happy then you’re hurting yourself until you’re hurting the other person.”

Dr. Asa Don Brown wrote an article through Psychology Today about toxic relationships and claims that the definition of a toxic relationship is any kind of relationship that is proven unfavorable to you or others.

Throughout the rest of the article, Brown mentions points of how to get out of an unhealthy relationship and how to recognize the signs earlier.

Concluding his piece, Brown stated, “Toxic relationships may be made up of good people with bad or poor relations.

Importantly, toxic relationships can be made up of poor choices, bad decisions, and wrong turns in life.”

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Heartbreak drawing representation Photo credit: Creative Commons

Pictured is Madison Serafin reading text messages from a toxic person. Picture taken by Elizabeth Newcomb.

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Features

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The Bark

Exploring the different types of coping that results from numerous amounts of issues such as family, work, and school.

Written And Collected By: Elizabeth Newcomb

Each of us as humans have strange ways of coping with stress.

Whether you bite your nails or pace around the room, it is obvious that there are other ways to manage your feelings. Despite that, many people indulge in unhealthy coping mechanisms such as hiding away all of their feelings or lashing out on people constantly.

Geometry teacher at Grant Community High School, Trisha Crambes claims that stressors within her life oftentimes contribute to how she handles her problems. “It depends on the type of stress. Family stress, you just have to move through it. You accept what it is and it just kind of passes.”

However, sometimes throughout life there can be stressful situations that cannot be solved through waiting and that is when the unhealthy habits can kick in. Crambes stated, “Sometimes I eat through my stress. Sometimes a chocolate bar helps.”

Following that statement, when asked about if it is healthy or not, she had a mixed answer. “I think it is pretty balanced. Most of the time, I think I just deal with stress and move on but, when it gets overpowering, I noticed I do snack a lot.”

Switching perspectives, sophomore at Grant Community High School, Morgan Guinn claims that sports guide her through troublesome times.

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Guinn stated, “I cope with stress by exercising and being in sports.” After a couple of follow up questions, Guinn had to ponder about whether or not she thought her coping mechanism was considered healthy or unhealthy in her own opinion.

She replied by stating, “Instead of taking it out on people when I’m stressed out, those sports help me lift up a positive attitude and I get to take it out on basketball. I consider my coping mechanism to be healthy.”

Although there can be pros and cons to how people handle their problems, the cons can be overbearing at times.

The same concept applies for junior Allie Johnson. In order to deal with her own issues, she turns to sports.

Johnson stated, “I cope with stress through track because I get to be with my friends and I get to focus on goals which keeps me from distractions.”

However, when approaching coping mechanisms there can often times be temptation towards unhealthy habits.

Senior at Grant Community High School, Rachel Patel has a relatable yet unhealthy way dealing with personal issues.

She claims that in order to get by in stressful situations, she turns to her cellphone. Patel claims that relying on this specific coping mechanism is very easy. “I can talk to people on my phone. I can talk to people on Snapchat

and get a response in an instant.”

Within society today, teens and adults can be found turning to their social media accounts rather quickly.

Patel views her way of coping as an unhealthy issue.

When asked about how often she’s stressed she replied, “All the time.” From this statement it can be inferred that Patel, and people who deal with situations similarly, can be found on their phones the majority of the time.

No matter the coping mechanism you use, there are always better alternatives. Some find comfort in sports, communicating with others, art, or even having a yummy snack. Each of these ways of handling issues are unique to the person using them and can help take some of that pressure and stress away.

Nonetheless, the next time you’re pacing around the room while biting your nails so hard they bleed, stop and take a deep breath instead.

Positively affirm yourself and then make a mental checklist of all the tasks you have at hand while creating a plan to conquer them. Otherwise you might end up without fingers and a huge amount of anxiety weighing on your shoulders.

Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

“I can talk to people on Snapchat and get a response in an instant.”

-stated by Patel

“I eat through my stress. Sometimes a chocolate bar helps.”

-stated by Crambes

“Instead of taking it out on people when I’m stressed out those sports help me life up a positive attitude and I get to take it out on basketball.” -stated by Guinn

Each picture was taken by Elizabeth Newcomb.

“I cope with stress through track because I get to be with my friends and I get to focus on goals which keeps me from focusing on distractions.”

-stated by Johnson

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Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

You Can Lead or be Left in the Dust

By Gavin Dilocker

Do you want to be a Future Business Leader of America just like Abby Yoder and Joanna Trujillo?

Mr. Jon Schaap, leader of the Future Business Leaders of America, said that FBLA is a group that meets every other week and enjoys food while also learning information about being a business leader.

“The first thing that pops into my mind [when I think about FBLA] is donuts followed shortly thereafter by pizza because in every morning meeting we have donuts and then in the afternoon we have pizza. These two things are what tend to draw people to the meetings and my hope is that they also are learning the information as well” said Mr. Schaap, business teacher and FBLA adviser.

While they eat their food, they also learn to be confident talking to large groups of people.

“I gain the pleasure of seeing students go from scared freshmen who are unwilling or terrified to speak in front of people to very confident young men and women who are happy to have the challenge of speaking in front of others. I also have the pleasure of taking many of them on some of their first trip to Springfield.

Members have attended “International Conferences in Anaheim, San Antonio, Baltimore, and Atlanta to learn about the business world” said Schaap. If you think you may have a future in business, or just want to find out more about it then check out FBLA.

FBLA members enjoying doughnuts after a club meeting Photo credit: Andrea Lowry

Let’s Bounce On Into the Table Tennis Club

By MaCalyn Flores

When most people think of ping pong they think of playing casual non-competitive games in the basement with friends. In contrast, Billy Freeman, a member of GCHS’s Table Tennis Club characterized the thrilling, competitive side of his sport that a lot of people may not realize is there.

“The words I would use to describe this club are ‘astounding’ and ‘competitive,’ Freeman said. “It’s tons of fun, helps with my hand-eye coordination, and you get free pizza.”

Along with those things, there are also some other reasons why he loves this club.

“I’ve loved playing ping pong for nine years now, and I continue to love it because of the feeling I get when I beat my opponent.”

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Billy gets to feel the excitement of winning very often. “So far this year I am undefeated, and I hope to stay that way.”

If you are interested in challenging yourself, trying something new, and eating free pizza then go talk to Mr. Wintersteen and join table tennis.

“I feel it’s a fun, low commitment activity to be part of after school,” concluded Wintersteen.

Student participating in a game of table tennis at table tennis club Photo credit: Yearbook

Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Spectacular Speech

By Parnell Conner

17-year-old Genevieve Torrey, captain for 2018/19 Speech Team and State Qualifier in Original Oratory, is ready to speak her mind. Genevieve Torrey uses facts to defend her view of colorful teen language.

“Anytime I use an expression using ‘tea’ as a replacement for ‘drama’ or ‘gossip’ with my mom, she asks that I “please don’t use that because she doesn’t understand it’s origin,” explained Torrey.

Torrey argues that every generation develops its own slang.“According to the Boston Globe on November 27, 2016 “ slang is PROBABLY as old as human language,” so why are today’s teenagers currently under fire for their use of slang?” queried Torrey in her Original Oratory, a Speech Team event.

Adviser Mrs. Trisha Crambes coaches her students one-on-one on

their intonation and word usage in their speeches. As Torrey exemplified in her speech, Crambes encourages her students to foster their unique perspective in the most effective way.

“Members will even admit that it improves their ability to talk in front of people. [Speech Team] improves confidence and composure,” said Crambes.

Some students join Speech Team to raise their confidence. “We ask them to [sign up] to work with a coach to improve their individual performances,” explained Mrs. Crambes.

“Originally, I was quite timid and I wanted a way to break out of my shell,” 2019 Regional Prose Champ Katie Freimuth confirmed.

Assistant coach Miss Eve expects the students to have “dedication and commitment ...at the level expected from professionals.”

Mrs. Crambes adds that work-

ing with Speech Team “...gives her a sense of relief. The speech kids are some of the best and brightest and they will help lead us into a new future one day.”

Speech Team members posing for a picture Photo credit: Speech club member

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Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Brr... It’s Cold Outside!

You Don’t Have to Come Out to Come In

By KayCie Whittington

In GCHS’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), students are not ridiculed, judged, mocked, or taunted.

All are welcomed into a group of loving individuals.

Violence, bullying, and mental distress cast an ominous shadow over LGB+ teens across the U.S. “Forty-percent of gay, lesbian, and bisexual students have seriously considered suicide” reports Ruoling Liu of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). LGB+ youth are also “five times more likely to use illegal drugs.”

One group member explained that not everyone has the luxury of having people in their corner, which may cause them to quit the activities they enjoy most. Groups like GSA are helpful because they provide support

that members might not find elsewhere.

Group members of this student-led club share their experiences and give advice about how to handle situations in a manner that will reflect positively on the LGB+ community. Meetings begin with a question of the day as well as each member stating his, her or their pronoun of choice.

Schroeder explains, “Gender can be fluid. It doesn’t mean that today you want to be called ‘she’ and then we’re going to call you that the rest of the time you’re here. We do weekly pronoun introductions so we can be respectful of other members.

Some students that are transitioning are not yet comfortable with just coming to the group and being open

Want to Shred Some Major Narr?

right away.” GSA is good for anyone looking for support or just to be around kind, supportive people.

“Should you find yourself the victim of other people’s bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; remember things could be worse-- you could be one of them,” Schoeder quipped.

GSA member painting windows for Homecoming 2018 Photo credit: Ms. Schroeder

By Joseph Masini

Experienced and learning skiers and snowboarders can test their skills and learn in the Snow Dogs Snowboarding and Skiing Club.

Adviser of the Snow dogs, Mr. Jeff Austin, is passionate about creating an exciting environment for the students at Grant High School.

Austin explains, “My hope for the students who are a part of this club is for them to be involved in something where they have the opportunity to make new friends and have fun.”

Along with creating a fun environment with new people, another part of the club that is important to Mr. Austin is changing the apparel.

“I always want to make sure the club has the coolest shirts and hoodies with the best material. I am going to

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try and get new school merch.”

Along with the new merch, Austin has some other goals he likes to accomplish each season. “My biggest goal each season is to get six good runs in and also for no one to get hurt.”

Austin and the Snowdog Club members decided on that their favorite memory “was that they saw 9 deer”.

One of the goals of the club members is not to “fall down and to practice skiing and snowboarding to improve their skills.”

Grant Snow Dogs stickers on a snowboard featured in Mr. Austin’s art room Photo credit: Mr. Austin

Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Gamers Out Of The System

By Ramon Guzman

Jay Jochheim, assistant Gamer Club leader, is blasting way anime cards while Aaron Walker and Tyler Williams are battling each other to see who’s going to win. This is a very common scene in Gamers Club, but it is not just about gaming. Gamers Club is about meeting new friends and being yourself.

“I think that if you join Gamers Club that you will become a part of a family” Jochheim explained.

As one of the sponsors, Jay’s goal is to make Gaming Club a safe place where students know they can go and always have people to talk to and be with.

“When I was first starting out, I thought of this club as a safe haven.

I thought of it as a place for me to go, especially when I was a freshman, to

go and be myself.”

Jochheim does a great job of making it a place where students love to be.

Even on a non-game club day, there were still fifteen students all grouped together and playing games.

The club is small right now but he has goals for the future growth of the club.

“We would love to eventually be able to host tournaments for any type of game like board games and card games. Eventually it would be great to get our own room for the club as well.”

Aaron Walker, a member, agrees with Jochheim on the future of the club.

“We just need a consistent meeting place and schedule of meetings. Other than that, I love this club

and would love for more people to join. It’s a really fun place to hang out and a really open group of people. If you don’t want to play cards games or smash bros., you can play LARP, a game like D&D. LARP to me is a little thing that us gamers like to do on the side. When we’re not doing smash bros or card games, you can usually find some of us doing Live Action Role Play (LARP). You’re basically pretending that you are like a D&D character and you’re fighting each other so if you’re in the DND I’d recommend LARP.”

Gamers Club members playing video games Photo credit: Andrea Lowry

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Artist Spotlight Mae Neofotistos

Image of Mae Neofotistos in front of Art Display taken by Mariah Ona

1,846 kids go to Grant and everyone has a past only they know. However, what we go through does not define us. It’s about how we get back up after we fall, how we cope with tragedy, and how we grow from it.

Some wallow and cut off others, but junior Mae Neofotistos has another style of dealing with life’s hardest punches. “I love laughter, it’s a great medicine.”

However, diamonds can’t shine unless under pressure. Ever

since Mae was a child she has been fond of art. Though in her toughest times it was a comfort to her. Her dark times began from running away to being in a mental hospital as an outpatient. She had to take art therapy which helped her.

“It made me feel like a person.” Instead of knocking her down this has pushed her to be the best she can be, something that is highly noticeable in her art.

Her admiration for art is also in her mom. “She does more crafts” which is another form of creativity. Mae wants to have creativity in her future. “I just want to do something creative”. Neofo-

tistos wants a job she looks forward to every morning. Teaching Art Therapy is something she is considering on doing later in life but her plans aren’t official yet, considering she is a very go with the flow person.

Out of all the art forms that Mae has tried, painting by far tops all. She finds it “easy”. Some people have special talents that just happen for them and that is what painting is for Mae.

Of everything Mae has she wants to be there for others and be remembered as a “good friend” to people. She wants to be thought of as an “outgoing person.” “The one that does different things… Nowadays everything is boring, because everyone does the same thing.”

Megan Sampson

Art is an inspirational idea, leaving artists as the perfect example of inspirational people. Take Megan Sampson, a Senior artist who has accomplished many things throughout her time in high school.

She has been in several plays as an actress and a behind the stage crew member, but out of everything the things she believes to be a huge achievement is ”sticking to it because a lot of times you get discouraged from one bad thing you do.”

Even as a child Megan has loved art. Which make sense since her dad is a graphics designer, but going into high school and

seeing what more she could do was what made it more alive for her.

Meg has taken numerous courses at Grant. Starting at Intro to Art to classes coach as Painting 1, Drawing 1, and AP Art which is her favorite because ”it’s so fast that you can learn so many things right there”.

Megan’s career is already something she has already put a lot of thought into. ”I want to go into communications at DePaul because I figure it’s a broad enough field to kind of go anywhere with that.”

Megan specifically likes this field because she explains that ”it’s a combination of everything that I like. It includes English and writing, and then it

Photo Taken By: Brianna Promenzio-Napal (Sophomore at GCHS)

also includes the art and the creative side of things.”

Something Megan Sampson wants people to know is that ”your greatest obstacle is yourself.. everyone is super insecure about what they do. Everyone’s trying to find out who they are.”

Something to Declare Features

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Students who have writing they would like to publish, please e-mail all submissions to Mrs. Maestranzi (newspaper advisor) kmaestranzi@grantbulldogs.org or to Kaitlyn Krueger (Editor in Chief) at 24861@stu.grantbulldogs.org

“The Girl With Vivid Dreams”

“Old Photographs”

By Elena Hevrdejs (Sophomore at GCHS)

By Chariel Melendez (Freshman at GCHS)

The leaves are brown And on the ground The temperature is dropping Alone in the dark And a purple knitted scarf Stands the girl with vivid dreams A breath escapes Her light pink lips Her rosy cheeks A glow Her dark onix eyes Cut through the sky As she sits on a bench In the cold Her mind is full of wonder Bright colors fill the void And every blink her eyes produce There is a calming noise But what keeps her going?

The girl with vivid dreams?

Well she won’t say, But whatever, whoever it is Must be special To the girl with vivid dreams

Fading smiles and frozen laughs, Broken promises and forgotten paths, Brown and gray and dust, Stained with tears, From young lust and old fears, Faces remembered but names are not, Memories linger while realities rot.

“The Same Poem”

By Matthew Burke (Sophomore at GCHS)

I’ve been looking for hours At the words on the screen But no matter what They make me scream No matter how long I work on the page What’s Even The Point Anymore

A Collection of Haikus

By Edward Molsen

Is, was, were, do, does

Nightmare of English teachers Have, has, had, get, gets “#NotSponsored” Not delivery For nay, it is Digorno How very tragic.

“La vérité de la vie” J’ai besoin d’un œuf Trois ananas et deux pommes.

I do not speak french “The skeletons” Reach in the closet All my shirts are wrinkly Still I go to school “A great man’s fall” My shoes leave the ground I launch towards pavement Oh shoot, still untied “The plight of shears” Super cuts, oh dear Why hast thou forsaken me Wanted short, not this

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Keep It Red

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Red Read

Distractions & a Digital Detox According to the New York Times, teens check their cell phones 150 times per day, which equals out to every six minutes. The same study also found teens send an average of 110 texts per day.

Have you ever walked into a coffee shop and looked at a group of people sitting together and noticed no one is talking to each other? Smart phones have become such a big distraction in our lives, especially during school hours! Our next lesson will focus on just how time consuming our phones can be and some solutions on how to spend less time scrolling. A solution for the group at the coffee shop? Make a decision with your group to put all of your phones in the middle of the table and leave them there, untouched. That way you’ll focus on why you’re really together in the first place: to enjoy each other’s company!

Most of us are distracted by our phones multiple times during the day. How often do you think you check your phone? Are you checking just for social media?

Quarterly Bulldog Buck Drawing

Don’t forget to turn in those Bulldog Bucks! You have the chance to win some BIG prizes, like Prom tickets, a limo ride to Prom, a free tux rental and more! You can earn Bulldog Bucks by participating in our Test Your Best dress up days, so make sure you have your outfits planned out!

What would it look like for you if you decided to be more present?

Freshmen 1382

Sophomores 1285

Juniors 929

Seniors 2729

Remember, you can earn Bulldog Cup points based off of how many Bucks your class turns in!

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Bulldog Buck Totals

Sports

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Upsets in March Madness Where March Madness came from Written And Collected By: Ethan Dicken

March, a month that marks the end of winter and the start of spring; it also marks the start for the final stretch in school before summer. This month represents the craziest sports tournament in the world.

This tournament consists of 68 college basketball teams fighting to prove they are the best team in college basketball. The world has their eyes set on this one event,where every team believes they have a chance to go all the way. Underdogs beating top teams is an everyday occasion. It could be considered unusual if you didn’t have crazy upsets within this tournament. That is the very reason why March becomes madness.

The tournament got the slogan “March Madness” because it traces back here to Illinois in a statewide high school basketball tournament that began in 1908. In the year 1939, an official with the Illinois High School Association named Henry V. Porter wrote an article titled “March Madness”. “A little March madness may complement and contribute to sanity and help keep society on an even keel,” he said.

The phrase was only attached to Illinois high-school ball until 1982,when CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger, used it during his network’s NCAA tournament coverage. Meanwhile, IHSA trademarked the phrase in 1989. However, NCAA and IHSA fought over the phrase in 1996. The NCAA argued saying it had a common law trademark on the phrase and was allowed to license the phrase. The two sides went to court and the 7th Circuit was on the NCAA’s side. The ruling by the court was very unclear and allowed for future litigations to continue. Both

sides later agreed to create a March Madness Athletic Association which was a joint holding company. This agreement meant the IHSA could use the name on the high school basketball level and the NCAA could use the phrase in connection to its collegiate tournament. Henceforth that is how the phrase came to be.

People to this day are still captivated by this tournament which is in large part due to the upsets. You never know when the upsets are going to come and who is going to lose.

The tournament is also extremely entertaining because of the March Madness brackets. People watching the tournament annually make a bracket for who they think will win matchups and ultimately win it all.

Your bracket could either be really good or horrible like so many others.

The perfect bracket is pretty much a myth: no one has ever achieved this yet. The odds of meeting this goal is 1 in 9.2 quintillion.

You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning. You are lucky to get out of the first two days of

the tournament without busting your bracket. This is due to all the upsets that happen and why it’s so hard to pull off the impossible. You never know who is going to rise to the occasion and succeed or shrivel up and lose. When filling out your bracket you almost have to guarantee an underdog will pull off a couple upsets and make a run for glory in the tournament.

Upsets in March Madness have been happening for decades in the college basketball universe. Some of the greatest upsets have come in the last 30 years. In 1985, Villanova was ranked the 8th seed and was the lowest seed to ever win the National Championship. The Wildcats didn’t win any of their first 3 March Madness games by more than 5 points.

The team clawed their way to the National Championship. Another big run by a Cinderella team was a year later in the LSU Tigers. LSU was ranked 11th and beat a 1,2, and 3 seed in the same tournament, they are still the only team to do that.

They knocked off Memphis State, Georgia Tech, and Kentucky, in that

Picture of U.S .Bank Stadium being redone for the Men’s College Basketball Tournament.

Photo taken by the Star Tribune.

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Sports

April 2, 2019

order. They won those games by less than an average of 4 points per game. The greatest upset in March Madness happened last year when an improbable 16 seed in UMBC beat the 1 seed Virginia in the first round of the tournament. Before this upset 16 seeds were 0-135 against 1 seeds.

UMBC beat Virginia 74-54, the whole sports world couldn’t believe what they witnessed in that game. Brackets were busted just from that game alone, some people had Virginia winning it all that year. All the upsets in

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The Bark March Madness is why people tend to love watching and filling out brackets so much.

This year should give us the same, if not more madness like in the past. Expect the same fight from every team no matter what seed they are. Every game is a battle, once the game starts the seed is just a number and what you do on the court will determine if you get to go onto the next battle. The final 4 teams every year go to a predetermined venue, and this year it’s in US Bank Stadium,

home to the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect the same electricity in US Bank Stadium, expect the same team spirit for the final four teams. Get ready for the buzzer beaters,get ready for the upsets.

The only thing you can really expect in this March Madness tournament is the unexpected.

Sports

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Strike Out Or End The Drought?

Written by Ethan Dicken

The 2017 to 2018 season for the girls softball team was a bit of a letdown.

The team has gone to the Western Regionals the past two years and lost to Mchenry both years. The team is now looking to beat Mchenry to ultimately try to make a run to state, something that has never been done in Grant softball history.

Coach Van Alstine believes they can get over this obstacle and hopefully make it to state this year, by preaching players to hold themselves accountable this year rather than in previous years.

The team lost some key players last year but they believe they can overcome the loss due to how motivated they are.

Players that still stand are the

players most dedicated to the game. The team’s track record might not look the best on paper, but now the team’s investment in the game has changed.

There is absolutley zero tolerance towards no effort. They have sacrificed so much for this soon to be obtained victory. Cramming more training and conditioning into each practice and offseason, but success is key to these girls.

“So it’s all about what they do in the offseason, just like any other sport.”

Coach Van Alstine expresses.

The team is also hoping to win conference this year, as they lost to Antioch in the Conference Championship last year and are hoping to make that wrong a right. Coach is asking players to do what other teams aren’t willing to do to make them better.

Senior Calista Warmowski believes the team has gotten stronger and better than they have ever been before due to all the off-season training they have been doing.

Calista has been assisting the younger players by helping with hitting and fielding. She hopes the best for the younger players and wants the best for them.

Warmowski believes winning regionals this year is possible. However, they are going to have to work hard every practice to maximize their potential .

These obstacles helped make the team united with strength. One thing is certain for the softball team, that the sky is the limit to how high they will hit.

Image shows Grant’s Varsity Softball team listening to a motivational pep talk given by Coach Van Alstine taken by VIP.

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Return To The Top Sports

April 2, 2019

The Bark

Jason Thormo and his return to the top of the podium Bryce Mandala

Numbers to Know...

Personal Bests 60 Meter: 7.04 Seconds 200 Meter: 21.5 Seconds 400 Meter: 47.23 Seconds

Photo Courtesy: Joe Lewnard, Daily Herald 28

Sports

April 2, 2019

The Bark

The summer of his Freshman hurdle in his lane at 42.03 seconds. again as a senior. year going into his Sophomore year,

Bobby is now looking to

Achieving back-to-back state Jason Thormo was confronted at bounce back for his senior season, titles is an extremely rare occurrence home by his mother, informing him hoping to return to state and have it in any sport or state, it’s something of a text message that she received result in a better outcome. only a select few individuals can from one of Jason’s life-long friends,

As an insane accomplishsay they’ve accomplished in their Bobby Cayet. ment, as it is to win a state, with lifetime.“It’s been a very long time

His now Grant’s decorated and since someone in 3A has gone backrelay partner storied track program, it’s to-back in the 400 meters, at least “I texted her and fellow statenot an anomaly for a state over a decade”, quotes Mr. Nenni. saying, ‘you’re champion to roll through. qualifier decided Before even thinking about to reach out to

In fact, the most repeating, Jason admits that last bringing him one of the bigrecent came from not too seasons finish is still surreal, “It still to track camp gest influencers long ago, 2016 graduate hasn’t hit me yet, the first question in Jason’s life, his Octavian Wells.

Octavian that I was asked after was ‘do you this summer.’ mother. “I texted won in the same event as know how this is going to affect -Senior, Bobby her saying, ‘you’re Jason did, the 400-meter you?’...I just said that I probably Cayet bringing him to dash, and finished in an won’t know for a long time, and to track camp this astonishing 47.07 secthis day it still hasn’t hit me. summer’...she onds. Octavian took the

Just a couple weeks ago, made him come dub by a landslide as well Jason signed his letter of intent to after that,” quotes Cayet. as shattering the school record. continue his academic and track

Less than two years later,

Jason has a ways to go if careers at the University of Illinois at Jason found himself atop the IHSA he wants to surpass that milestone Urbana-Champaign.

Track and Field state podium for the of over a second, but then again,

A true reflection of the pure 400-meter race down at Eastern IlOctavian accomplished that feat at talent he obtains and the hard work linois University. the end of his senior year, Jason still he’s put in over the years, whether

Anyone who knows Jason has roughly two more months left it was in the classroom or on the would know that he’s just always of his senior season in order to train track. been the naturally-born “fast kid” to try and beat Octavian’s time, not

There’s no doubt that he’s throughout elementary and middle accounting for all of the work he’s going to do great things at the colleschool, whether it was through orgaalready put into the offseason. giate level, as well as this season and nized sports, or in the yard with his

Although, Jason does have in future endeavors. friends, Jason has always seemed to one apparent upside that sets him perform a step above the rest. apart from other state champions,

On top of being blatantly and that’s his versatility. absent and not a part of the team his

Head Varsity Boys Coach Nick Freshman year, his Sophomore year Nenni touches a bit on that, “He’s also ended prematurely due to a case capable of running of Mononucleosis (Mono). basically anything “He’s capable

The Spring of 2018 was Jayou throw him in, he of running son’s first full season of high school came in and started track. out running 800-mebasically

He won state with a time of ter races, and then anything you 48.18 seconds. we progressed him

Not only to be crowned as the down to 400 meters, throw him in.” fastest 400-meter runner in the state which is where he -Head Coach, for Class 3A but to have only half a really hit his stride Nick Nenni season of Varsity track experience un- and eventually won der his belt is even more remarkable. state. Now we even

Jason wasn’t the only person see him running in to place at state from the boy’s team events such as the last spring. Now senior, previously 60-meter sprint, where he broke the mentioned Bobby Cayet also made the school record just this past weektrip down to Charleston, individually. end...it’s impressive to see somebody

Cayet, not satisfied with the so successful at such a wide range of outcome of his race, but still managevents and distances.” ing to take home ninth place overall

Moving into the future, as in the 300-meter hurdles as he did a Jason won as just a Junior, he’s obvifull somersault on the second-to-last ously trying to defend his state title 29

3 Athletes to Watch Sports

April 2, 2019

Girls Girls SoccerSoccer

The Bark

Brooke Barnes Division Champion For Travel Soccer

Junior Family Ties

The fact that Brooke Barnes has excelled so far at the Varsity Soccer level is no surprise. She’s been playing the sport since the young age of four, and needless

Best Defensive Player Award

to say, was born into a “soccer family”. Brooke is the second-youngest of four children in her family, all of which play or have played soccer their entire life. “My

Bulldog Award Winner

dad played when he was younger, and he taught all my siblings and I from there” quotes Brooke. For the third year in a row, she holds a lot on her plate, as being the

3-Year Varsity Starter

catalyst and leader of the Bulldogs defense.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=3f82e1d176&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1623662152843785 Baseball Daniel Laughery Junior 968&th=168868201f7ff6f0&view=att&disp=safe&realattid=14a5e5b721f584e5_0.1 320 Batting Average

.

Bounce Back

Despite undergoing surgery back in October on an injured hip, Daniel Laughery is only expected to

15 Runs Batted In

miss the first week of gameplay and projected to have a big Junior season. He posted impressive numbers last year as a Sophomore with a .320 batting

14 Stolen bases

average, good enough for 5th best on an offensively loaded team. Moving forward, Daniel is receiving interest from several renowned colleges across the

18 Runs

Track and Field

Bailey Moran 4 x 200 Meter PR; 1;48.86 Seconds

country, including Division 1 schools.

Junior

Running with a Purpose Dedication and drive has always been there for the Junior Track and Field star Bailey Moran. As she plans on running in college to learn more valuable

400 Meter:1:01.19 Seconds

lessons and to become the best version of herself.

She has always been striving for her best as her coaches are always pushing her at every practice

60 Meter Dash: 8.3 Seconds

and meets to push her to excel. Bailey wants to help the underclassmen this year and wants to be a leader for others. Bailey wants to continue her

4 x 400: .59 Sec

success in Track and Field. Bailey is pushing for personal bests this season be healthy and have success.

Bryce Mandala and Ethan Dicken

30 30

3 Rising Stars Sports

April 2, 2019

Lacrosse Lacrosse

Boys Volleyball

Softball

Tavarus Williams

Kaylin Berwanger

Noah Lautner

Senior

Freshman

Junior

Pre-Season Impact Player to Watch

Played Since 5 Years Old

12 Goals

Most Improved Player

8 Career Home Runs

2-Year Varsity Player

Second Basemen

2 Assists

Middle Blocker

4.1 GPA

Forward

Finally Following Through

Full Plate

The Bark

ground balls 104104 Ground Balls

Love at First Sight

Experience in Volleyball for Tavarus has

It’s been a long time coming for Freshman,

For Noah, Lacrosse is all Noah knows he has

pushed him to become a better leader and a

Kaylin Berwanger, finally getting the op-

been apart of the Grant Lacrosse program

better player. Tavarus has gained the knowl-

portunity to play her favorite sport at the

since his youth. Noah knows all about Grant

edge and skills to help his team make a strong

high school level. “I’ve been looking forward

Lacrosse and is ready for this season, since

push this season. Coaches have been dying to

to this for awhile now”, quotes Kaylin. Not

it’s the first year Lacrosse is officially a

get Tavarus on a Volleyball court due to his

only does she get the chance to play in

sport for Grant. In the club last year Noah

size and athletic ability. Tavarus has also been

high school, but also on Varsity as just a

is able to perform at a high level due to the

getting stronger in the offseason to have an

Freshman. Being apart of a team loaded with

coaches keeping him engaged and constantly

even bigger impact on his team’s success for

upperclassmen can be a tough task to handle

looking for opportunities for him to succeed.

the upcoming year. Tavarus believes he can

at times, having far less experience than

Noah had a great 12 goals, 2 assists, and 104

have a big impact on his teammates and wants

the rest of your teammates, but Kaylin has

ground balls. Noah hopes and expects to

to have a big role in helping other guys out.

handled it just fine so far.

drop some bar downs, and grow the lettuce.

Bryce Mandala and Ethan Dicken

31 31

Photo of the Month Taken by Charlie Granat