The Talon - Issue #6 (2019-2020)

2019-2020 Issue 6

Table of Contents Page 1: Trapshooting Page 2-3: Faculty Profiles; Time Management Page 4: I Gave up Caffeine for a Week Page 5: Media and Society Interviews Page 6: Chromebooks: The Future of Technology at Immanuel Pages 7-9: Photo Gallery

Trapshooting? We have that?

By Taylor Simonian and Julia Scarborough

For the last three years, Immanuel Trapshooting has been ravaging their competition and taking the trapshooting league by storm. But it’s very likely that you were unaware, just like 1 in 3 of the students at Immanuel. So here’s a quick debriefing on what trapshooting is, and why you should care about it.

According to britannica.com, trapshooting is “a sport in which participants use shotguns for shooting at saucer-shaped clay targets flung into the air from a spring device called a trap.” Seems simple enough, right? And to think, the IHS Trapshooting team has won not one, but two state championships.The sport is simple. Five posts, and five clay pigeon targets at each post. The team who makes the most hits wins.

Due to the simplicity of the game, team members encourage newcomers to try their hand in trapshooting. According to senior Braxton Philpott, “The current team members are also part of outside trapshooting clubs, which explains why we have been so successful. You don’t even need to own a gun, just show up and we will hook you up with guns and ammo from others on the team.” Sounds promising, no? The team is currently comprised of seniors Braxton Philpott and Justin Griffioen, junior Colton Vogt, and sophomore Jamee Lindahl, but there is room for more!

With practices once a week, and a season going from March to June, it is extremely easy to join in on the fun.

Jamee Lindahl, Keegan Reich, Hunter Kreiter, Ethan Griffioen, James Wilkins, Drew Vogt, Colton Vogt, Braxton Philpott

Greetings From Lockdown!

This March issue of The Talon was nearly completed when the school closures began, and we sat on it for a couple of weeks while we waited to see what would be happening next. Since it looks like we'll be in this position for the next few weeks at least, please enjoy this past view of what was going on at Immanuel. Some of it might seem out of date at this point, but it will remind us all of more normal days. We miss you all! Please email thetalon@immanuelschools.com if you have some great story ideas for a final issue this year!

The Talon Staff and Advisor

"Five to Go" as told by Dan Goetz recorded by Erin Orosco

“Oh you want a real story? Are you ready for this? Ok here we go. When I was a freshman here, my 11 year old brother died of cancer. So there’s that. There were six of us brothers and sisters, all the boys were athletes and my brother, who was three and a half years younger than me, was a tremendous baseball player. One day he sprained his ankle and my mom took him to the doctor, who then had a specialist look at it. While he was sitting in the waiting room, the specialist told her that her son had a Ewing’s sarcoma, and gave him maybe an eight percent chance. That night my parents woke me up and sat at the edge of my bed to tell me. As a family, we didn’t feel it was right to tell him, but rather let it ride out, and one thing the doctor specifically told us was, 'As kids, when they want to know, they’ll ask'. So after that he had immediate surgery at Stanford medical where they removed an ankle bone. I mean really, they should have just removed up to the calf because after that his ankle was fused, he could hardly walk.

But after that he recovered up until September of that year, when remission got so much worse. As he got sicker and sicker, his lungs filled with tumors, and my parents moved his bed to their room so they could monitor him through the night. And every night he couldn’t breathe deeply, so when the morning came and he sat up to breathe, it was unbearable, like his chest was ripping apart. One day in particular, he cried out to everyone in my family to pray, and he was just screaming, 'Lord help me!' In that moment, it was like the Lord met him in his pain, and he felt relief for a moment. He already had such a dynamic relationship with the Lord, but that’s how we really knew He was with him throughout the whole experience, because of moments like that. Things really changed one afternoon when he turned to my dad and asked point blank, 'How long am I going to be sick?' And I had been sitting on the couch, but at this point I made a beeline for the kitchen where I just stood and held my mother and listened. I heard my dad tell him the doctors had done all they could, and that moment is seared in my brain.

My brother sat on my dad’s lap and asked, 'So you mean I’m going to die?' and my dad held him and replied, 'If I could take this from you I would in a heartbeat.' So after that for the rest of the day he was really down, just bumming it, laying on the couch. I expected the same the next day, but I walked in and he was sat back with his hands behind his head and just the cheesiest grin. And he asked me, 'Hey Dan, when I get to heaven, who do you want me to say hi to?' I laughed and said, 'Patrick Henry', lame as I am. From that moment, his experience became really sweet, I mean he just let go of everything in his life. He actually invited four or five of his buddies over and lined them up and told them to pick whatever they wanted out of his stuff. He gave everything away. I’ll never forget the day, December 13th, 1970. At this point John was semicomatose. My dad woke me up and told all of us to gather around his bed to begin to pray and ask the Lord to take him home.

Now I don’t know if you’ve ever prayed that kind of prayer, but asking God to take my brother, I was just weeping. We didn’t think he could hear us, we actually thought he was unconscious but when we got done, I looked over and pointed out that there were tears streaming down his face. One hour later, the Lord took him home.

At his funeral, my dad stood up and told everyone, 'One of my six kids is safe at home, I’ve got five to go'.

On his gravestone it says “Safe at home, in the presence is fullness of joy”. That was Jonathan Peter, an extraordinary young man. So I named my son Jonathan. There you go, there’s your story."

Mr. Knaak: "We Needed to Reach Out and Dig Deeper in Our Faith" as told by Don Knaak recorded by Lexi Perez

”In the early 80s, my second son was five years old when he was riding on the console of the car.

At that time, you didn’t have to wear seatbelts or have car seats for kids. He had his first seizure right there and that started on a track of seizures for 20 years. My wife took him to a doctor right away and they gave him some medication but it didn’t always work. The seizures were still there so it didn’t stop them. It was very hard for us as parents to watch that but at the same time it was a time that we needed to reach out and dig deeper in our faith and trust the Lord through this. During all this, we met some folks that were very helpful in teaching us how to pray about problems and issues in life.

After 20 years of seizures, our son ended up having two brain surgeries a year apart and finally they found a spot on his brain where they were coming from.

On the second surgery they were able to get the seizures to stop.

Our son was always a happy-golucky type of kid even throughout all this and still is until this day.

Now he is married and has 3 sons. When he went through this hard time it had shaped him into the great person he is today.”

Time Just Needs Some Management

by Jordyn Baptista

When sports are coming to an end or just starting up, time is just slipping away. You might ask the question how do you manage your time? These tips can help you stay focused to accomplish everything you need to do.

Set Goals - Whether it is studying for a test, doing homework, or planning world domination, you need to have a plan. Know what you need to get done and when you need to get it done. Want to take it to the next level? Write your goals down and cross them off as you achieve them.

Set Time Aside For Important Things - Say you are watching TikToks or going through your Instagram search page. The next thing you know hours have passed, and that homework you needed to do isn’t done. It might sound obvious, but you should turn off that phone and actually do the

homework. As your mom always says, after the homework is done, then you can go on TikTok. Make A Schedule - If you don’t have a schedule, how do you know when anything is due?

Those old-school planners we all used in elementary school can still have a place in keeping a modern high school student organized. Write everything down in one place so you can see in a glance what you need to complete. That way you will know when the homework is due, when you have a test, or when the best day is to take over the world. These handy tips can help you know how to manage your time and have no excuse for not doing your homework. At least that’s what the teachers say. Now with the COVID-19 you have more time to relax and plan for the future.

I Gave Up Caffeine for a Week: Here's What Happened

by Erin Orosco

Like most high school students, I have a heavy active reliance on caffeine. Ever since seventh grade, I’ve had a cup of coffee every single morning before school, and as a result my body has become desensitized to its effects.

Recently, to the dismay of my mother, I’ve graduated to the occasional energy drink (along with the daily coffee).

My tolerance has been built up for so long, I began to wonder whether or not the caffeine actually got me through the day, or if it was all in my head. Curiosity got the best of me, and against my better judgement I decided to give up caffeine for a week and document the effect it had on me and my loved ones. Spoiler alert, it didn’t go very well.

...

So what did I learn from all of this? To be completely transparent, not much I already didn’t know.

Although the weight of my reliance on caffeine could be a cause for concern, I think my friends and family would agree that it’s hardly worse than listening to me complain for an entire week. In conclusion, I am young, caffeine is good, and it would be plainly unfair to deny myself the joy of a good cup of coffee.

Saturday: The initial withdrawal. Cold turkey. A lack of coffee, combined with a lack of sleep resulted in one intense, pounding headache. As my annoyance grew, in order to avoid altercations with my loved ones, I spent most of the day in silence.

Sunday: Surprisingly better, although whether or not it was due to adaptation or the fact that I slept for most of the day is uncertain.

Monday-Wednesday: School. Headaches on the daily as well as an overall general brain fogginess.

Without caffeine in my system, it was easier to fall asleep at night but considering I woke up still tired, was it really worth it??

Thursday: To begin, I woke up believing it was Friday and the last day of the experiment, so imagine my disappointment when once again, my morning was coffee-less. After that, the level of irritability I experienced throughout the day was quite high, to say the least.

Friday: The last day! Twenty four hours and I was home free! I coasted as best I could through the day, despite still experiencing the above side effects, hanging on to the knowledge that this was the last day.

Saturday: Hallelujah. Mama I made it.

For The Times They are a-Changin'

by Nathan Orosco

Media has always been important to society, whether it is music, movies, or even tv shows. Through the ups and the downs of society, the media has always somewhat reflected the state of affairs at any given time.

Because of that, looking at what people enjoy is a good way of seeing what has stood the test of time. Each time has it's own distinct variety, some of which impact and stick with people more than others.

Mr Thomas Braveheart and Independence Day both came out when I was either a junior or senior in high school. I loved both of them instatly, and I must’ve seen Braveheart about 30 times. I was never much into music, except for maybe Garth Brooks and Wheezer.

Josh Cabaluna I’ve always been partial to Forrest Gump and the Star Wars Saga.

Something about those late 80s, early 90s films just made me fall in love. More recently, nothing beats Disney’s Tangled. My music tastes have shifted from more classic rock, Beatles esq, to some more modern stuff like Coldplay and John Mayer these days.

Mrs. V - Both in high school and currently, my favorite movie is Top Gun. Seinfeld and the 90210 are some of the best tv shows in my opinion. My music taste has also always been stuff like Bon Jovi and Amy Grant.

Inderjit Johal Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been my favorite show since I was a kid. Whenever it’s on, I’ll immediately sit down and watch it. Movie-wise, I was really impressed by A Dog’s Way Home. It was really emotional, and quite enjoyable.

Jonah GomezMy favorite movie is actually a tie between Red Dawn, The Breakfast Club, and Scott Pilgrim vs The World. As some might have guessed, I enjoy a lot of different music. I will listen to pretty much anything that isn’t Justin Bieber.

Lexi Perez - I’m drawn to more alternative music, like Rex Orange County.

My favorite movie of all time is from the 80s, called Can’t Buy Me Love. To me it's just one of those movies that I could watch over and over and never get tired of, it's great.

Mr. Krause When I was in high school, both the original Star Wars and Jurassic Park films were really popular, so I enjoyed those. In terms of music taste I’ve always been partial to DC Talk, because I’m a Jesusfreak.

Conclusion - When talking about films, it appears that the 80s and 90s reign supreme. Modern films just don’t stack up to the classics. T.V. shows show slight variation, it depends from person to person.

Music on the other hand, varies wildly. This is most likely due to the ease of access to music, especially current day. There is unlimited access to nearly unlimited genres with millions and even billions of songs, so it is unsurprising that music tastes have changed more than movie tastes.

A big change coming to Immanuel...Chromebooks

by Sienna Mehling

Immanuel will be making a switch from iPads to Chromebooks for the 20202021 school year. There have been lots of mixed feelings about it. Next year all iPads will be gone except for a cart in the choir room for sheet music purposes. If students have an iPad that they don’t want, they can trade it into the school and will earn a year free for the rental of the Chromebook. The rental for the Chromebook will be a $100 fee for the school year, and then students will return it back to the school at the end of the year.

The Chromebooks that will be used next year are the Lenovo 300e, or a newer version of them.

These Chromebooks will resemble the iPads and still have the features like an iPad, such as Chromebooks will be able to flip and become flat, but they will also have touchscreen capabilities on them.

There will be an app similar to Notability and you will still be able to annotate articles and pdfs, but they will have a keyboard, which will be helpful for the future, especially if you choose to go to college. Junior High principal Mr. Krause states, “I’m very optimistic about the change and how it will continue to prepare students for college or careers after high school.” The main goal for these Chromebooks is to help students to prepare for the future.

Photo Gallery FROM

WHEN

THINGS

The Talon staff made an effort to take some candid photos around campus and at school events during the weeks before the school closed for in-person classes. These photos would have been used on The Talon bulletin board outside of room 5 in Alumni Hall.

WERE

"NORMAL"

Enjoy these photos as a reminder that we were all once together! If you have photos you would like to contribute to a future issue of The Talon, or photos we can use on our bulletin board once we're all back together, please email them to thetalon@immanuelschools.com