March 2024

2023-2024

GREYSCALE REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

P/ 7.

Autumn Dickenson, 7th period Intermediate Art. Project is the New Year Personal Mantra Art Project & 2024 Chinese New Year. She chose her Chinese Zodiac animal, the rabbit.

• Elijah Grimes, 6th period Intermediate Art. Project is the Hands and Earth project. Students express their feelings about the earth.

P/ 9.

Mackenzie Prowse, 1st period Advanced Art Techniques. Students studied the tessellations of Escher, then did their own interpretation.

Savannah Gleason, 1st period Advanced Art Techniques. Students were given the assignment called “Surreal Eye” and interpreted their unique vision.

• Lyla Bockman, P. 7 Intro. to Art - Half Portrait of Addyson

Ashkey Graham, P6 Intro. to Art - Optic Art Heart

Samantha Higgenbotham, P6 Intro. to Art - Optic Art Warping Worms

monthly overview

March's issue centers around self care. Throughout the issue we will discuss self care with Kamela Proulx at the Wellness center, take a deep dive into politics with Mr. Smith, learn a little about the amazing artists at our school, check in with our FFA club and conduct an interview with Atascadero High School’s Outdoor Club.

Jessica Nonato

Outdoors Club

Trisanee Siharath

Mackenzy Tucker

Note from the Illustrators:

The mission of AHS Media is to entertain, inform, inspire, and support our community through telling our many stories. We value the stories others want to share. As illustrators for the magazine, we take pride in illustrating work representing the community and its issues.

Note from the Editors and Designers:

The Greyscale Report aims to inform our community through thoughtful, truthful, and extensive interviews of the student body and staff. We endeavor to report both tough, necessary topics as well as lighthearted school news. As a reliable and relatable source of information, we strive to be accountable, honorable, and safe. We hope you enjoy reading the new issue as much as we enjoyed designing, editing, and researching it for you!

Top row left to right: Kayleigh Luna, Anise Ralston, and Trisanee Siharath

Bottom row left to right: Jessica Nonato and Hadara Vaughn

Left to right: Kai Grist and Alana Risbrudt

The Importance of Self Care An Interview with the Wellness Center

Kamela Proulx, from the Wellness Center talks about self-care, dog agility, and the importance of de-stressing for high school students.

Interview with Kamela

We open with Kamela Proulx, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who runs the Wellness Center here at Atascadero High School. Surrounding the cozy circular table we sit at are posters and fliers advocating for mental health, as well as silly cartoonish drawings and framed pictures of her therapy dogs.

The Wellness Center is an entirely on-site schoolbased wellness center that provides individual counseling, family therapy, groups, Animal Assisted Therapy (therapy dogs), youth development opportunities, and referrals to community agencies. Students can be referred for wellness services by their school counselor, teacher, guardian, or friend. Or they can simply drop by the Wellness Center before or after school, during breaks, or lunch.

Kamela, and the Wellness Center team see people for all kinds of different reasons. They can help students who want to work on their identity, self esteem, or self growth. The Wellness Center staff has experience working with students who suffer from anxiety and depression. But the center can simply be a place that listens to relationship challenges, family issues, and addresses grief.

At the Wellness Center Kamela teaches a variety of different mindfulness practices, such as grounding practices and different ways of coping with stress. Kamela says it's very easy for high schoolers to get stressed out because they're juggling academics,

A lot of times kids will think whatever they're going through isnt important. I don’t believe that. I believe the things that you’re experiencing are really important and valid. And sometimes it's just nice to just have somebody who's outside of your family, outside of your friend group. Somebody who's just there just for you. And you can talk about whatever it is you wanna talk about without any judgment. And that is the main thing that we provide. -

Kamela Proulx

friendships, dating issues, family, work, and sports. Taking a moment to think about our own self care is the easiest way to avoid burnout or getting sick. However, self care can take many forms. Self care doesn’t necessarily always correlate with meditation. Kamela explained that some people find a quiet space in their mind while being active as opposed to more traditional meditation and mindfulness practices. The Wellness Center can help individuals find that niche interest and follow it.

However the Wellness Center isn’t solely for therapy or counseling. Kamela says the Wellness Center “can just be a place to just have fun. A lot of people come here at lunchtime. We have different groups and we do a lot of art and other different kinds of activities. It's really just a safe place to be whoever you are.” The Center hosts clubs like Dungeons and Dragons, and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) on designated days. Students can stop by and meet Kamela’s licensed therapy dog, Manny, on certain days or simply find a place to relax between classes.

SELF CARE

When asked for her personal definition of self care Kamela responded “Self care is doing what you need to to take care of your emotional, mental, physical, and relational wellbeing.” Wellness can look different for everybody, so our unique approach to self care depends on our experiences, emotions, and individual struggles. As Kamela passionately explained, self care isn’t selfish, and taking a few hours a day to reflect on our emotions or simply relax is essential to our ability to function at an optimal level of operation. Self care can simply be the basics: good nutrition, sleep, and regular exercise. Perhaps spending time with your animals (such as Kamela does with her dog, Manny) or activities with friends and family. Self care can be more complex, and unique— but essentially self care should bring you joy or allow you to destress. Kamela explained that self care is so important because we all need a moment where we are able to “let go of everything and just kind of be one with that activity.” Finding a way to be present in a singular moment is a vital component of self care.

Interview & Politics with Mr. Smith

Any advice for people, when speaking to others with opposing views?

When you want to share your own political views with someone else, I think we should listen before we start arguing back and forth with them. Obviouisly, these conevrsations are going back and forth between you and the other person, so you should send them the message that you do want to hear what they have to say, and that you are listening in a respectful manner. Immediatly when you state your opposing views, people tend to immediatly go the opposite direction and state how they feel about certain views without taking into consideration the ones of other people. The best thing to do is to engage with the other person, without judgments. Mr. Smith alos believes that while enganing in these conevrsations, you should try to compare them, and see where you stand with politics.

“People that like laws, and sausages, should watch neither one being made.” - Otto Von Bismark

Why are politics important to you?

Politics are important to Mr. Smith because they are what make the world go round. He believes that politicians control the eocnomy. So economics and politics are like a hobby to Mr. Smith, it may seem weird, but some people have hobbies, things that they like to do. For example, some people like to sew or play a sport, like golf. However, Mr. Smith almost wishes he would have majored in Psychology or Sociology, because he finds Politics very fasciniating. The way that humans are as people, is interesting to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith watches a lot of conservative minded news, broadcasts, and live related news. They all seem to have the same story, and people often interpret it for their own benefit, which is sad, but a fascinating way of people interpeting our political news.

How do you practice selfcare?

When it comes to self care, Mr Smith says that he likes to go on hikes when he has the time to do so. His go-to hiking spot is at Bishop Peak in San Luis Obispo which usually takes a couple of hours. For his mental health, he says that he doesn’t need to do much to stay in the game and doesn’t really get stressed. Sometimes he does get anxious which is why he uses his little football as a stress reliever. It is not only used for stress, but anxiety as well. He says that despite teaching for a long time, he still gets a little anxiety before teaching his lessons. Mr Smith tells us that physical movement relinquishes stress whereas sitting idly and thinking about the things you’re stressed about can make you more stressed.

Atomic Bomb Poster

This poster in Mr Smith’s classroom is of an atomic bomb mushroom cloud in Bikini Atoll. This poster was recently added, and can be found directly in front of the door.

Extra Credit Wheel

Every Friday, Mr. Smith loves to give some extra credit to a few of his students. Each number on the wheel represents a student, if a students number is chosen by the wheel, that student may answer a lecture question to get one point of extra credit!

Annual growth of GDP (USA)

Annual growth of GDP (USA) = Mr Smith loves to put up graphs and posters that relate to the subjects he teaches which include U.S History, Economics, and Political Science. The annual growth of real GDP directly correlates to his economics classes and shows the stability of the U.S economy.

Outdoors Club

About the club

Outdoors club is one of the newer clubs that was formed this school year. The club president, Aveana Hoxie, tells us that this club is about manifesting the importance of the outdoors and spending time with your peers physically instead of virtually. She says that they give students the ability to plan hikes and other outdoor activities every so often to explore new places. Through this, members in the club have been able to grow greater bonds with each other, nature, and the outdoors. They meet every Monday and during these meetings they reflect on their last adventures along with figuring out where to go next. When deciding on their next destination, Aveana says, “It is a whole class discussion and no voice is left unheard when choosing where to go.”. These activities are planned on the weekends and they even get food sometimes as a reward for their achievements.

As the president of Outdoor Club, and a Aveana has big plans for the club next year. very important and in times of a very virtual Aveana believes it is good to take time and natural surroundings. said, Aveana and her planning to fundraise for a camping trip. Aveana be adventuring and enjoying outdoor activities, continues to experience the amazing and fun club has to offer.

President Aveana Hoxie

junior at AHS, year. The outdoors is virtual based world, and appreciate our With that being club have been enough money Aveana says she will activities, while she fun experiences her

Harmony Headland Hike

On January 14th, the Outdoor Club took a hike Headlands in Cayucos. During their hike, members this event got to hangout and exercise together the amazing views of the ocean and enjoying the

Hoxie