The Highlander
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THE HIGHLANDER • January 17, 2024
February 13. 2024 - Vol. 1. Issue 11
HOLIDAY CORNER
WORLD NEWS
Tennessee Weather Pg.7
MENTAL HEALTH
What is “girl math” ? Pg.2
Learn how to regulate your emotions Pg.3
JUNQUE GAMES IS A SUCCESS! Maggie Carlson
Starting the New Year with a fun-filled activity for all grades, Highland Academy’s students and staff prepared for the longawaited Junque games on January 6. Junque games is a game where students bring as many random items (junk) from their house or dorm to the gymnasium to see which class can win the most points for having the random objects called by principal Chadd Watkins. They preferably bring as much as they can to make sure they have everything covered.. Junque games started with a pizza party that was served at 6 p.m. As everyone ate, each class organized their items around the corners of the gym. Both parents and staff were there to help organize the teams. Items were all separated into categories to make them easier and quicker to find when the Watkins announced the next item. When they finally began Junque games, Principal Watkins reviewed all the rules with the student body. Four judges stood at the center of the gym, each judging a different class; Mr. Antonio Lopez judged freshmen, Sophomores had Mr. Tim Kuntz, Juniors had Mr. Alex Thomas, and the seniors had Coach Bryce Reading. These judges ensured the runners for that category wouldn’t take off running from their corners without holding the object in their hands. They also judged who made it to the mat in the center of the gym first giving that team the most points for being first. On occasion, that team would lose a point if they did not take the exact item called, so arriving first was a top priority. The first category in the game was Highland Academy (HA), which means anything pertaining to Highland Academy. The first object called out was a HA calendar for this school year. There were three possible points: one for
being first, another for the item being correct, and one more for bringing anything close to the request. There were ten rounds in the whole game. At the end of each round was a song-guessing game. There would be roughly five seconds of the song played before it was shut off. The sponsors, especially, were helpful in these minigames as the songs came from different genres and eras. The last song to be called was “Diggin’ You” by Forrest Frank. The first big minigame was the bottle flip game, where ten people from each class, five girls and five boys, lined up. At the end of the line, the person received a water bottle. When Principal Watkins said start, every person would have to flip it till the bottle landed upright. Another game people had to be very aware of and be prepared for at any given
Pictures by: Juanita Cabrales
moment were the pyramid and air raid challenges. Within the round at any point, Principal Watkins would randomly call one of the two when everyone was expecting him to call out the next item. The pyramid is where six people from each class would create a pyramid: three on the bottom, two in the middle and one on top. The pyramid teams would race over to a gymnastics mat before making it. They would jump on one another’s back and the top had to pose with hands up, get off the pyramid, and run to the mat in the middle before they could be considered complete. Knees jammed in backs, people falling over, jumping off, and even falling off the top were all part of the fun. The air raid involved the entire class laying down on the mat with all elbow, feet and knees within the mat square and not on the floor. People jumped quickly to
the mat smashing the people under them. It was easy for the Freshmen because they only had 13 students participating. This event happened sporadically throughout the game. The most challenging game was the common phrases game. Ten students and sponsors from each class lined up at each corner of the center. All judges would start at the very end of the line so they could hear and judge the responses. Principal Watkins would say the beginning of a common phrase, and whomever the judge was in front of would have to finish the phrase. If they didn’t get it correct, they would have to sit down and the judge moved on to the next person in line. For example, one of the phrases was to burn both ends of a candle. Freshmen were the first to sit down. Sophomores dominated this event as one of their sponsors, Pastor Will Labrenz, remained standing for quite some time as other classes fell like dominos. The most hilarious game played that night was the caterpillar, where ten students from each class would sit on the ground wrapping their legs around the person in front of them. The first class to make it to the mats by scooting forward with their hands received the point. The students’ feet had to remain on the people in front of them or they would have to go back to the beginning and start over. In this game, the freshmen conquered and finished before any other class. The upset of the night was when the winners of the games were announced. Most often, maybe because of four years of practice, seniors typically win the overall event. Freshmen are usually last and the margins between are significant. This year, the score spread was closer than in years past with sophomores taking home the win! The senior class lost gracefully and cheered on the sophomore class. Junque games bring each class together, bonding and relieving them of stress from classes and grades even if it is for just one evening. Everyone had a great time and got to know their classmates even better. All in all, Junque games, 2023/24 were a great success.