FOJ YEARBOOK UNIT (2019)

FOUNDATIONS OF JOURNALISM

IOWA CITY WEST HIGH SCHOOL — 2901 MELROSE AVENUE — IOWA CITY, IA 52246 — INTRO.WSSPAPER.COM

YEARBOOK UNIT Dec. 19, 2019

ISABELLE PAULSEN ’21

KAUSHIK RAGHAVAN ‘20

MAGGY OWEN ’22

WHAT WE WANNA DO WHEN WE GRADUATE...

The school years is coming to a close.

The yearbook resembles the memories that flood the year of 2019. We think about the spirits assemblies, the late football games, and most importanly the impact West as put on us as students. At the end of the year seniors or

MAGNUS WILSON ‘20

any students are faced with a demanding question. What are you gonna do when you graduate? This decision is a tough one to make, not only with your head but with your heart. We wanted to shed some light on some of the classmates in our school to see their diverse

KILEY BUTCHER ‘20

choices that best suit all of their shining personalities.

Zoe McLaskey ‘22 Cassie Michaels ‘22

CHEN- YOU WU ‘20

RACHEL SWACK ‘23

COOPER MYERS ‘23

CALEB KWAK ‘20

MAZIN ALI ‘22

TOMMY STEVENS ‘20

JOSEPH POLYAK ‘22

JENNA ALDEN ‘23

ANIYAH FLYNN ‘22

EMILY HILL ‘20

JAMIE SANDHU

JAMES KIRPES

Jamie Sandhu is a Spanish teacher here at West. She has a daughter, Asha Sandhu, who is a senior also at West. Sandhu said her least favorite trend of 2019 is people dying strips of their hair different colors. She said she was unaware of the VSCO girl trend until her daughter told her about it. “I oftentimes don’t know what they are until someone tells me.”

In contrast to being glued to phones and social media, math teacher James Kirpes lives outside the web.

“What I’m interested in is not media trends, but I’m much more of a people person, and that’s part of the reason I’m a teacher.”

Jeff Finn is one of many English teachers at West High, and admits he does a good job keeping up with students’ trends. The one he likes the most is the return of 90s fashion. Even he still rocks some Doc Martens and plaid shirts from time to time.

“I’m currently participating...I’m wearing Doc Martens from the 90s.”

Jamie Sandhu, World Language teacher

James Kirpes, Math teacher

Jeff Finn, English teacher

VSCO GIRLS

A VSCO Girl is a stereotype of girls who wear scrunchies, use Hydro-flasks, and have oversized t-shirts. This originates from an app called VSCO, which is a photo-editor that also allows people to post photos and short videos called “DSCOs” on it. Since many people who have the app may have similar styles, they have been deemed “VSCO Girls”.

Melissa UC ‘23

BOOK CLUB

In addition to being a people person, Kirpes enjoys spending time with his fellow staff members. He does this by being apart of a book club made up of teachers at West.

JEFF FINN

90’S CLOTHING

Clothing trends from earlier decades, especially the 90s, are making their way back into teenager’s closets. Some of these items include Doc Martens, choker necklaces, plaid and flannel shirts, crop tops, scrunchies, and many more.

JESSICA MEHEGAN

BYRON BUTLER

Jessica Mehegan is an American Studies and AP U.S. History teacher at West. She follows along with some trends, but sees more than just clothing. Mehegan notices an abundance of Air Pods used all around the school. “I noticed some of the same trends like ear buds, or Air Pods.”

Byron Butler is a biology teacher at West.

He notices style trends at West High.

Butler thinks that people’s style is all very diverse, and that everyone has their own style. “I think we have...pretty diverse styles at West in terms of clothing.”

Jessica Mehegan, American Studies teacher

Byron Butler, Science teacher

STUDENT 2019

TRENDS

AIR PODS

Air Pods are a very popular trend at West High. The wireless ear buds provide hassle-free use and overall an easier way to listen to audio. The early 2019 “I don’t speak broke” meme originated from many people buying Air Pods and using them as a way to block out the rest of the world.

Lexi Nash ‘23 & Leana Noureldaem ‘23 (Right)

DIVERSE STYLES

Most students at West dress in what makes them feel comfortable and confident. There’s not two people that have the exact same style, and that is what makes West such a diverse place to be, because this school allows students to dress in ways that lets them express themselves.

Students at West High are all very different. However, in some ways we are all the same. Whether students bond over the making of a TikTok, or republishing someone’s photo on VSCO, many trends have made their way around the school fast. Take a look here to see what some teachers’ have seen going around the school.

Photos compiled by: Camille Gretter, Alaina Greenlee, and Jessica Nauman

Teacher’s Pet

Compiled by Amelia Stevens and Laura Nelson

BYRON BUTLER

MARIE WENZLAFF

The science department’s Byron Butler shares his room with plants, brine shrimp and four fish. The goldfish in Butler’s room was an unexpected gift. “A student brought them [there were two but one died] to me on the last day of school last year and I had to take them home for the summer, and then I brought them back on the first week of school or something like that“ Why would a student give a teacher a pet on the last day of school? “I question that. They didn’t have an answer either.”

Marie Wenzlaff, AV secretary, has a shelf of plants behind her desk. She thought, “Why don’t I bring [them] in so I could be around them more and share them. It’s been a really great response. I think it has changed the energy. There’s many studies done about stress reduction, anxiety reduction being around plants. There’s a part of the human energy that craves nature. It kind of brings that into what would be a very cement, industrial office space, makes it a little more gentle.”

BRAD WYMER

LISA GOODWIN

Brad Wymer (science department) has plants for the education value they bring to his students.“There used to be a greenhouse that was right off the back of my classroom before the ninth grade center was added on to the building and I used that greenhouse for all of my biology classes at different points in the year...and then the ninth grade center got added on. So I lost that facility but I still liked having plants to use for teaching and they also make the room feel a little bit nicer and they provide lots of oxygen so I’m hoping that the student’s brains work a little bit better.”

Finance Receptionist Lisa Goodwin’s plants came mainly by accident. When she first got the job, the plants in her office were left behind by her predecessor. Even though she got the plants purely by luck, they have become her children in a way. “I try to talk to them a little bit”. Things like ‘Good Morning, Do you need a drink’ The plants make the office a more welcoming space as well as clean the air.

MONICA WINTERBERG

ANDREA HARMS

Monica Winterberg (English department) brought plants into her classroom for two main reasons: convenience and plants and their impact on learning. Bringing her plants to school allows her to have more room at home and make her room a more peaceful, welcoming environment.

Andrea Harms of the science department has her bamboo plant, a gift from a student. She has plants because they provide “Life. Signs of outdoors. Since I’m stuck indoors, I like to have signs of life indoors.”

SERVICE OR PET?

There are many kinds of animals and many kinds of jobs for them: service animal, therapy animal, emotional support animal, pet. But what are the differences? As Jessica St. John, an ELL teacher explains “A service dog is a dog that is for a person who has a disability and they help mitigate the disability. They`re allowed to go in any public place.”

This is different from a therapy animal who has been trained to do different types of therapy but is not allowed in public unless invited. Emotional support animals have no training (like pets) but are allowed inside apartments or airplanes as long as the owner has a doctor’s note. St. John has a service dog, Victor, who comes to school with her. “He’s very therapeutic. Anytime a student has a bad day, without having to talk to me, I already know because they immediately come in and say hi to Victor...I think he’s got two jobs. He’s my service dog but he’s also very therapeutic.”

CHRISTIAN AANESTAD

SARA WHITTAKER

Art teacher Christian Aanestad’s students use taxidermy for drawing still lifes. “The fox and the rattlesnake and the crane and the raccoon, and there’s one other one somewhere. I can’t remember what it is. They actually came from [retired West teacher Rhonda Halverson]’s sister’s art room. And when her sister said ‘Do you know anybody who would like these?‘ She immediately thought of me.“

Sara Whittaker (journalism department) tells of a class pest. “I received a box of candy from Drake University and so I was saving it for a special occasion and I just had it under my desk and it was just all this great candy. And then one day at lunch one of my friends said that he did not bring his lunch and he didn’t know what he’s gonna do and I said I have some candy, I’ll go grab it, so I opened it up and everyone’s excited and when they open up the box, all of the candy and chips and everything were just empty bags, but they were all gone and the only thing in there was mouse poop.”

Through the Decade LEMONADE 2016 Beyonce

Albums, Artists, and Songs

These are the most popular artists, albums, and songs from our decade. Feeling nostalgic? We hope so! Take a look back through time and reminisce about the music from 2010-2019.

Artists:

1. Ariana Grande

21 2011 Adele

Ariana Grande’s first hit song “Problem” came out in May of 2014.

And since then she has dominated the music industry with songs like “Into You” ‘15, “Thank u, Next” ‘18, and “7 Rings” ‘19.

2. Drake Drake became famous from the song “Best I Ever Had” which came out in 2008. He has created many other songs in our decade that became famous such as “One Dance” ‘16 and “God’s Plan.”

HAMILTON 2015 Lin-Manuel Miranda

Wings 2016 BTS

Songs:

3. Poker Face

“Poker Face” came out in 2008 and it caught on immediately.

Even though it was released before this decade, Lady Gaga has remained a prominent figure in pop culture and her songs never get old.

4. Closer

In 2016, many of you might remember listening to this very popular song. Halsey and The Chainsmokers are still going strong and releasing music.

5. Shape of You Ed Sheeran released this song back in 2017 and it rose to popularity very quickly. The music video came out soon after due to high demand.

C INEMA

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Here are the most popular movies and people of the decade.

1. TOM HOLLAN D After his breakthrough blockbuster movie”Spider Man Homecoming” in 2017, Tom Holland has blown up in the movie industry.

2. INFINITY WAR As one of the most awaited movies of our decade, Infinity War did not disappoint. The epic collaboration of all the heroes of the Marvel Universe was one of the most popular movies of our decade.

3. FROZEN To many of us, Frozen is the movie of our childhood. Since it came out in 2013 we have been surrounded by it’s merchandise and influence. This year, finally, the long-awaited sequel to the first movie came to theaters.

3.

2.

GEOMETRY DASH

TIK TOK

POKEMON GO

VIDEO GAMES FORTNITE Fortnite blew up the entire game industry when it

In 2018 Musical.ly became TikTok and since then has gained a huge amount of users and fans. This is what some of out students think about it. “I like celebrities doing TikToks.

Like Will Smith,” Hana Abou Alaiwa ‘23.

Pokemon Go! Just saying the name takes you back to 2018. Here are some of West’s student opinions.

“Dumb but fun,” Patricio Argumedo, ‘23. “Fun for one month.

Then it gets old,” Madeline Rouse, ‘23.

MINECRAFT It seems like Minecraft has been around forever. However, it has only been out since 2011. Since then Minecraft has made its way back into the limelight. “You can be creative and build whatever you want without limits,” Thomas Kerns, ‘23.

Designed by Sila Duran

Geometry Dash came out in 2013 and since then has been frustrating and challenging the youth of America along with the world.

Here are some of our opinions on it. “Best way to rage and challenge yourself,” Joseph Alarape ‘23.

Captions by Audrey Parrish

came out in 2017. Even though it blew up, the fame came with consequences. “I thought it was a good game, but it was way to over-hyped. That ruined the game for me,” Julian Gentiluomo ‘23.

Snow for the holidays 1.

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STUDENT NAME

STUDENT NAME

1. A shot captured of Sierra Keeney ‘23 seconds after she threw a handfull of snow into the sunny sky

STUDENT NAME

2. “Bro its sooo cold!” 3. Photo bomb!

Cora Abbas ‘23 Ava Conrads ‘23 is exclaimed after captured mid-jump sitting straight in photo bombing the snow Cora Abbas ‘23

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Photos by Ava Reed ‘23

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Snow day? Not exactly

...

...But that didn’t stop these students from going out and having fun despite the cold!

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4. Snowball fight!

Featuring Ava Conrads ‘23 and Sierra Keeney ‘24

“ I cant feel my hands!! “ Sierra Keeney’23

Featuring: Cora Abbas ‘23, Ava Conrads ‘23 and Sierra Keeney ‘23

WHAT IS FOJ? Foundations of Journalism, also known as FOJ, is a prerequisite to joining the “West Side Story” or yearbook staffs. FOJ introduces topics like photography and article formatting that are vital skills for all forms of journalism. Students also read and discuss current news with one another. Students work on projects that let them try out different aspects of journalism that help them find their creative voice.

Above left: Foundations of Journalism teacher Sara Whitaker helps students Zoe Vanatter ’20 and Sachiko Goto ’23 Above right: Students Katherine Shoppa ’23 and Annie Schwartz ’23 work on their yearbook project in Foundations of Journalism Bottom: “Ours is going to be on how students at west spend their weekends,” Clay Bopp ’22 and Thayer Abu-Hijleh ’22 say about their current project.

Top: Foundations of Journalism teacher, Sara Whittaker has been teaching for 17 years. “I always have loved writing since as long as I can remember and I like having conversations and talking to people,” Whittaker says about why she started journalism.

Right: Room 132, the current classroom for Foundations of Journalism. Foundations of Journalism was originally room 109, but changed between trimesters because the room is currently under construction.

STUDENT OPINIONS Students in Foundations of Journalism share their opinions of the class through the first trimester.

AUDREY PARRISH ’23 “I really like this class; it’s going to be really helpful in the future for me because I plan to go into journalism after college.”

KATHERINE SHOPPA ’23 “I really like the class because we get to do a lot of fun projects where we can experiment with different writing and photo styles which will be really helpful in the future.”

CLAY BOPP ’22 “I really like the class so far!

I feel that it is really fun and a change of pace from the rest of my classes.”

CAROLINE MASCARDO ’22 “I think that FOJ teaches students skills beyond those just in journalism. It teaches them how to interact with others, utilize technology, and share important information in a digestible way.”

Weekends at west How students spend their weekends While the building is dead, as the students take to the streets with their weekend activities. From homework to horseback riding the students at west do many different activities to pass the time over the weekends.

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Zoey Nolte ’22 Poses with her new horse Kansas, before riding around the pasture.

Photo courtesy of Zoey Nolte

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Samuel Nester ’21 writes in his note book at Java House, “It’s a really fun way to pass the time!” said Nester 2.

Photo courtesy of Clayton Bopp

Photo courtesy of Clayton Bopp

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In photo to the Left Tommy Stevens ’20 looks through the mens pants at the Salvation Army while thrifting. “I like it because there is no guilt associated with thrifting.” Says Stevens

In the photo above Cormac Nabhan-Warren, ‘22 posses with a dog from the shelter during his volunteering.

Photo courtesy of Clayton Bopp

Photo courtesy of Clayton Bopp

Photo courtesy of Cormac Nabhan-Warren

Photo courtesy of Clayton Bopp

Photo courtesy of Marta Leira

In the photo above Clayton Bopp ‘22 take photos at the Coralville dam. “I like taking photos because it can portray a message without using words.” Says Bopp

Marta Leira ’21, Tosh Klever ’21, and Isaac Young ’21 all spend time together in downtown Iowa City. “My friends are really cool people to talk to...And they are really fun!” says Leira

Alina Davis ‘22 draws a picture during rehearsal. “I like to paint sometimes as it relaxes me,” says Davis.

Student Life Weekends At west

From right to left top to bottom Theodore Wilbur ’22, Estella Newton ’22, and Inikka Dalton ’22 all work together on A.P.U.S.H.

speech + debate

(Left to right) Sofia Wells-Lu ‘23, Heidi Du ‘23, Nathan Chen ‘23, Shivy Mennengi ‘23, Maya Chu ‘23, and Ashley Seo ‘23 at the Dowling Catholic tournament.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2019

Gautam Sharda ‘21 and Ethan D’Alessandro ‘20 compete in policy debate and the Bettendorf tournament.

“I like debate because it kind of forces you to think on your feet and be more prepared for everyhting.”

Top left to right: Wendy Meng ‘23, Advika Shah ‘22, Sachiko Goto ‘23, Akhil Bharanidhar ‘22, Amy Liao ‘21, Brady Gromacki ‘22

-Lydia Shin ‘23

Bottom left to right: Ashley Seo ‘23, Heidi Du ‘23, Sofia Wells-Lu ‘23, Ethan D’Alessandro ‘20, Gautam Sharda ‘21

After debating Debating isn’t the only part of tournaments, and students often engage in games of mafia, uno, and sub-par rap battles.

The students play a game of dodgeball after they finish rounds in the gym.

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Highlights 1

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Mr Cooper doing his special dance next to Milses Wood ‘23

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The students compete for leftover donuts by solving riddles.

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Ashley Seo ‘23 hides in the band room during a game of hide and seek.

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Ara Siegling ‘23 from City explores Dowling Cotholic.

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L to R: Hanae Matsumoto ‘23, MC Guo ‘21, Amy Liao ‘21, Jayden Shin ‘23, Shivy Mannengi ‘23, Lydia Shin ‘23, Aviva Fraer ‘23

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Jayden Shin ‘23 seconds from disaster

Amy Liao’21

Nathan Chen ‘23

Ashley Seo ‘23

Gautam Sharda ‘21

Himani Laroia ‘23

Hanae Matsumoto ‘23

Lydia Shin ‘23 gives a speech in the novice Lincoln-Douglas category.

Photo Credit : Sofia Wells-Lu, John Cooper

Backpacks of West

To the left, Clare Hollenbeck, ‘23 uses diferent folders to organize her papers because she says it is easier. Below, Clare shows how it is organized in her backpack. To the bottom left, Maddie Caylor ‘22 shows that she uses folders and notebooks to carry her papers around. Caylor agrees it is the best way to organize her things.

Clare Hollenbeck’s ‘23 backpack

Laura Nelson’s ‘23 Backpack

Maddie Caylor’s ‘22 Backpack

Tommy Stevens ‘20 Backpack

Clare Hollenbeck ‘23

Tommy Stevens ‘20 Backpack

Laura Nelson’s ‘23 Backpack

Above, Tommy Stevens ‘20 shows all of the things he has in his backpack. He does not use any folders or binders, but keeps the papers loose in his backpack. “I have one binder and notebook that I never use.

I keep all of my papers loose in my backpack. Sometimes folded in half, sometimes stuck in a book.” Stevens wrote.

Below, Laura Nelson ‘23 shows her “hydrate before you die-drate” pin. She got the pin from girls on the run, then repainted it. Below to the right, nelson shows her Bob Ross pin that she got at a mall.

tgasg

TROJAN West High students and faculty sharing their Trojan tips.

Quinn Koch ‘22

Peyton Follmer ‘22

Grant Eden ‘22

“Choose happy. Be yourself. Do what makes you happy.”

“Don’t let other people’s judgements of you affect what you do.”

“Never give up. Don’t stop. If you want to do something, do it.”

Brianna Newton ‘22

Phil Keitel

“Work hard. Accomplish your goals.”

Hanan Rahmatallah

“To be successful you need to do your homework and be consistent. Don’t postpone things because you won’t be able to catch up.”

“Don’t be afraid to be yourself.”

Sumayya Muhammad ‘21

“Don’t take a lot of study halls because then once your in junior and senior year, you’re going to have a lot of classes and not enough credits.”

Curran Christophel ‘20

“Distribute your practice. It means you plan ahead for projects, study days in advance.”

Maggie Yocius

“It’s important to eat breakfast everyday so you can have energy and nutrients and be prepared to learn. Feed your brain.”

INSPIRATION By: Galilea Flores and Leah Moenning

From focusing on school to focusing on yourself.

Assen Olivo ‘20

“Have a positive outlook on school. Try and make new friends.”

Abdurrahim Elsid ‘23

“Don’t stop, just keep going because you have the strength in you.”

Favour Alarape ‘21

“Take classes that are good for you and not for your friends.

Surround yourself with people who motivate you and not drag you down.”

Payton Devena ‘22

“Give effort in all your classes, and have a positive attitude about life.”

Hunter Shook ‘22

“Don’t dwell on your mistakes, fix them, and move on with a smile.”

Bongain Mazibo ‘21

“Take a 30 minute break when you’re doing your homework to relieve your stress and then continue to do it.”

Kristy Cruz ‘21

“Love yourself always. Make yourself your first priority.”

Cosi Barry ‘22

“Don’t run in the hallway you’ll look stupid.”

John Cooper

“Answer your email.

Comunicate more effectivley.

Across the board there are so many differemt platforms of communcation.”

A MATTER OF PRESIDENT The West High Democrats Club meets in Room 128 on Friday, Dec. 6. The club discussed their opinions on Democratic nominees and their policies for the 2020 election, caucusing in February 2020 and watching the Democratic debates. “I love [WHS Democrats] a lot because I get to meet new people with similar ideas to me and have discussions about our beliefs and values. We are trying to get people engaged and educated in politics and registered to vote,” said club president Olivia Barker ’20.

Bivan Shrestha ‘22 says, “I feel like even though [Trump’s] policies are kind of disagreeable for me, he definitely does a good job of establishing good relationships with other countries, like North Korea and Russia.” For Shrestha, one of those disagreeable policies is how President Trump has dealt with immigration.

“America is kind of like a nation built on immigrants, you know. I’m an immigrant myself, and I really don’t think that America would benefit from all the immigration laws that he’s placed,” he said.

Emma McPearce ‘23 believes that a president should set high standards for diplomacy for their country, but President Trump falls short.

“It shouldn’t be your only guideline to just make sure that you’re not doing anything illegal. As a president, you have to have the moral standpoint of a higher expectation.

He has done so many things that are morally wrong, no matter what your political affiliation is, and I do not think that he is fit for President.” McPearce is upset by President Trump’s efforts to defund Title X and other Planned Parenthood organizations. “Banning abortions doesn’t stop abortions … You can’t stop people from doing what they want to do.”

Bess Frerichs ‘21 is a strong supporter of ending climate change, and she was upset when President Trump pulled out of the Paris climate agreement in June 2017.

Frerichs also believes minority groups need more representation in the White House. “[Minority representatives] are very important because they understand the experiences that minorities face.

They can make more informed decisions on legislation that relate to that or just anything in life,” Frerichs said.

Above from left to right: Sachiko Julien Cook ‘20, and Liz Morgan ‘2 election at a West High Democrat

Akhil Bharanidhar ‘22 does not affiliate with a particular political party due to his views on abortion. “A while back, I used to be a Democrat, then I used to be a Republican, and now I’m neither … I’m pro-life, [but] I don’t support other conservative beliefs, which is why I don’t affiliate with any party in particular.” In regards to the 2020 election, Bharanidhar does not support President Trump due to his speaking abilities rather than his policies. “I think he makes some poor decisions, but I don’t think he has evil intentions like some people portray,” he said.

All Photos by Caroline Mascardo

Lem Elliott ‘20 believes that bipartisanship policies would benefit the country the most. “If I’m honest with political parties, I find it stupid [what] they’re arguing over. They both want the same goals but their methods are different … Things need to change now, or we’re just not going to have time to change,” Elliott said.

o Goto ‘23, Quincy Tate ‘21, 22 discuss the upcoming ts club meeting on Dec. 6.

Amina Ahmed ‘20 is especially upset by President Trump’s policies and views on immigration. “I think [the worst part of the Trump presidency] was when they said there’s no tolerance for illegal immigrants, and they started to separate children from their parents.

It’s an ethical [issue] no matter what side you are on. It is unethical to separate toddlers from their parents,” Ahmed said.

Gary Chen ‘22 affiliates with the Republican party and has donated to the Trump campaign before. “I think everything done so far during his time as president is constitutional and is not an abuse of power,” he says. Chen is frustrated with the hatred and generalizations made by others when it comes to his political identity. “[People] call me a redneck; they call me uneducated … Usually when you think of people who disagree with you, you automatically come to the negatives. Before speaking, I have to be careful of this.”

What The Trump?

OUR PRESIDENT. We asked students how they would describe President Trump in just a few words. Here are some of their responses:

“Great President”

“Oblivious”

“Odd one out of the bunch”

“Brutally honest”

“The greatest” “Insincere”

“Disrespectful”

“America first”

By Hailey Frank

All the world’s a stage Traveling all over, performing all the time and even spending a summer away from home. Tatiana Schmidt ‘23 does all of this for dance. She has been a part of the art form for ten years, and trains seven days a week at Nolte Academy. Her favorite style is ballet, while also taking classes in contemporary and modern dance.

(above) Schmidt dances, cast as Paquita, during the wedding scene of the ballet, Paquita. A young gypsy girl, named Paquita, saves the life of an officer and learns that she is really of noble birth.

She marries the officer and everyone celebrates. (right) Schmidt poses backstage in her handmade tutu for the wedding scene before her performance.

She also wears pointe shoes that allow her to dance on the very tips of her toes. “Rehearsals are very long and hard, but the overall reward from it was amazing,” Schmidt says.

A summer away

Last summer, Schmidt got the opportunity to study ballet at her dream school, the Houston Ballet, in Houston, TX. She auditioned multiple times and was thrilled when she heard back from the company. She recalls being nervous, but having one of her friends, Abbey Schley ‘22, as her roommate reassured her. She also made many new friends. “I was really quiet at first... but I made friends that I got super close to by the end of the six weeks I spent there,” says Schmidt.

Photos compiled by Tatiana Schmidt & Hailey Frank

(far left) Schmidt poses with one of her new friends after performing a short showcase at the end of the summer. They were “balcony mates”, meaning their dorms were next to each other. (left) Schmidt holds a beautiful pose during a ballet photo shoot with her friends. This gorgeous waterfall is a common place for picture-taking for many people in Houston.

Furry friends Lucy and Gracie are the perfect calm in Schmidt‘s crazy life. Lucy is her cat, described by Schmidt as a “cute little bean”. Gracie is her beagle, whom she got last year, as a surprise. One unique habit of her pets is that her dog will lay down for belly rubs every time she sees a person. “One time, I was walking her in the park,” Schmidt says, “and she slipped out of her harness... a person came walking by, she laid down, and thats how I caught her.” (far left) Schmidt performs in the 2019 Nolte Recital, in a piece called Sirens. “You really got to play a character,” Schmidt says, “It was just so much fun,” (left) Schmidt poses for a picture after a long show of The Nutcracker with fellow performer, Emma McMahon ‘23.

McMahon played Clara, the main character.

The girls have danced together for years.

The most wonderful time of the year

Schmidt has performed in the holiday ballet of The Nutcracker for a total of nine of her ten years at Nolte.

She has had many roles, her favorites being the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Dew Drop Fairy.

(left) To the audiences delight, Schmidt springs out from behind other dancers to lead them in a performance of The Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker. Her costume differs slightly from the others, with a shorter tulle skirt, jewel-covered top, and sparkling headpiece.

POPULAR OPINIONS The students of West High share their popular opinions

Howaida Musa ‘23 Schools don’t do a good job on making mental health important as it should be.

Helelia Wa Kalala ‘23 Because of school, students live in the present, because they constantly worry about the future.

De’kaylah Zims ‘23

School and college should be free to all.

Photos taken and edited by Sierra Keeney

UNPOPULAR OPINIONS The students of West High share their unpopular opinions

Waad Ibrahim ‘23

People only find jokes funny when they do not apply them and nobody is ready to talk about that.

Timothy Cui ‘21 In general, MATLAB is a great computer language.

Ella Rosenthal ‘21 For pecan, it’s prounced puh-can not pee-can.

What Does It Mean To Be...

Identity is a key principle to any highschooler’s life.

Whether it be identification of race, religion, or sexual orientation, they are all apart of us and we carry them wherever we go. Unfortunately, many identities are associated with stereotypes that belittle the people who belong to them. The purpose of this page is to show representation of different identities and characteristics that students have at West while also breaking the stigma revolving them.

Compiled By: Hayate Mustefa

MUSLIM “I’m looked at differently because of what I wear on my head or what I do, how I pray, and everything like that. But, I don’t let it bother me. I keep my faith in myself and Allah (God) and I continue going. It sometimes bothers me, but I know that I’m going to be rewarded if I just let it go.” Waad Ibrahim ’23

AN IMMIGRANT “We are all the same [as humans] and [as immigrants] we have our experiences that make us different and [through them] we can help each other out.” Abele Atresso ’20

BLACK “You try 200% more than white people. Even if you do the same thing, you have to try harder for people to accept you.” Alice Doresca ’23

LATINX “[You have to] put a lot of work to teach people that [you’re] way better than what Trump is saying or [what] the news is saying... And even though it can be hard, [as a Latina], you can still [strive academically].”

America Marungo-Murillo ’21

ASIAN

“You’re expected to get good grades...

But I feel like stereotypes over-generalize people, because I have friends who are Asian that don’t do so well in academics, but they have strengths in other areas.” Timothy Cui ’21

SOMEONE WITH A Most Likely to Enter Politics LEARNING DISORDER “The little things that I do that everyone does is just harder for me to do and I have to work harder to get them done... It’s not like I’m incapable of doing it. It’s not like we’re dumb. We just have to work harder to get just as far as other people do.” Olivia Harris ’23

LGBTQ+ “Everyone [in the community] has a very different personality... Everyone is their own person and [we] all just identify over the same topic.”

Clayton Bopp ’22

INDIGENOUS “It’s being different from everybody else and not connecting with everybody else [through] your identity...

You gotta see [people] without color and know them through what their interests are.” Claude Clark ’22

JEWISH “We’re all humans and it’s just that other people have different beliefs and [values]. And we [as Jews] share beliefs and [values].” Helenipa Stephens ’23

HUMAN “Trying your best at something even though it’s challenging for you.” Pamela Quintero Rodriguez ’23

West High Moments HUMOROUS, EMBARRASSING, AND OTHERWISE MEMORABLE MOMENTS AT WEST Various students share their stories that have helped define their West experience. From winning show choir competitions to putting milk on the roof, these are stories that truly encompass the West spirit.

<<Photo caption

“On the first day of this school year, a sophomore I know was siting in my gov class... At the end of the period I asked how he was in the class as a sophomore and he went, “Yeah... this is AP Euro isn’t it?”

-Anonymous ‘21 “The most memorable was when I was rolling down the hallway with my Heelys and the wheel on my right foot caught in the crack between two floor tiles and I ate tile fast. I remember it like it was in slow motion because I took the time to look at my friend and looked back down in time to hit my face on the floor. Luckily nothing was was broken... the only injuries were a few bruises and a hit to my pride.”

- Magnus Wilson ‘20 “Winning first place at the Benton show choir competition freshman year.”

-Katherine Yacopucci ‘20

“I was fixing the stapler, and then I was trying to push one of the things [a staple] back in, but I didn’t realize my thumb was right there, and then I stapled my thumb... it went all the way through my thumb.”

- Alyssa Hagiwara ‘23

“I was playing in pit orchestra for Sweeney Todd, and in between the shows we had an hour break.

The soundtrack was playing from the speakers and there was no one in the whole auditorium... As the music played we performed the acting parts from online scripts. It was raucous but perfect. “ - Liam Edberg ‘22

“I was holding onto Minou’s [Minou Emmad ‘23] backpack, and she kept on running a little too fast, and I tripped over my feet. I slid through the doorway to the stairs on my knees and scraped my knee and ripped my leggings.”

-Melissa Uc ‘23

“During my first trimester of senior year, I made a bench out of the benches in the auditorium lobby and took a nap there everyday.”

-Anonymous ‘20

“Rich Medd calling the little drummer boy ‘a badass’.”

- Peter Adams ‘22

“My freshman year, there was a hole in the window screen in the hallway between rooms 236 and 232. We would try to fit things through the hole, because they would just lay there on the roof. I remember we had put a bottle of milk through and it stayed for a solid three months.”

-Anonymous ‘21

Barton’s shoe on top of the roof. Photo courtesy of Carter McLaughlin ‘23

Photos by Heidi Du ’23 and Emma McPearce ’23

“Marching band trip to Florida, hell yeah - we had two performances and for the rest of the day you get to play around Disneyworld until 9pm.”

- Tony Wang ‘22

“There were two instances where it happened. The first time was in the band room.

[Jacob Deninger ‘23] got my slide and then he threw it up on one of the sound clouds that were hanging from the roof in the band room. It was up there for over a month.

[The next time was when]I was going to get on the bus... [he] took my shoe and tried to thow it at someone, but he missed and it landed on the roof.”

-Zachary Barton ‘23

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

“Escape from Furnace” (series)

“I love it because [of] its message on mental health and even though it’s set in the 1980s, it’s still relevant today. And the main character, Charlie, he’s a softie; I love him… and it covers pretty much every issue,” said Liz Morgan ’22.

“I like the books because [they are] really interesting. Each one before the fifth one leaves you with a cliffhanger that’s actually not upsetting. And it has a happy ending despite what you might think from reading the first book,” said Cedric Dancy ’21.

Author: Alexander Gordon Smith Genre: Science Fiction

Author: Stephen Chbosky Genre: Epistolary

Favorite C

Author: Stephanie Garber Genre: Fantasy

Author: John Brockman Genre: Science

“This Idea is Brilliant” “[It talks about] things that a lot of people don’t think about on a daily basis, especially in sciences and interdisciplinary concepts in all the fields of study that we do at school, so I thought that was really cool,” said Selina Hua ’20.

“Caraval” “Even though the book is really cheesy, I like it because of the adventure aspect of it and also because of the mystery, because there is a tiny bit of mystery in there, and there’s a lot of twists and turns which I really like,” said Fareeha Ahmad ’21.

“Psyren”

“Percy Jackson” (series)

“They travel to this mysterious world, and they’re… trying to fight... against monsters and other creatures they’ve never seen before, to get to the gate and look for clues about who the creator of this [is] and try to find a way to stop it and get rid of it,” said Kate Cannon ’21.

“I really like this book because it’s about Greek mythology in the modern world. And I like all the books by this author… It’s really cool how he incorporates those things together, and the characters go on adventures and fight monsters,” said Eleanor Dillon ’23.

Author: Rick Riordan Genre: Fantasy

Author: Toshiaki Iwashiro Genre: Manga, Science Fiction

“Six of Crows”

Author: Leigh Bardugo Genre: Fantasy

Books

“It is an exhilarating feat of magic and enthralling heists, coupled with sharply developed characters. I would say it is a must-read for both fantasy fans and anyone looking for a book that will keep them up all night,” said Edward Keen ’20.

CCompiled by Helen Zhang

“Stardust” “[Neil Gaiman] is a favorite author [of mine] because he does kind of twisted fairy tales and that is just the best fairy tales I’ve ever read. It’s one of those where all the characters start off in different places and you don’t know how they’re going to fit together… then it has this great big ‘how it all ties together’ at the end. I like a nice evil bad guy and a nice good-hearted good guy and it has all of it,” said librarian Claire Matthews.

Author: Neil Gaiman Genre: Fantasy

Author: Mackenzi Lee Genre: Historical Fiction

“The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue” “I love this book because the main character is so interesting. He starts out really arrogant and he gets better throughout the novel and it’s really interesting, his character development… The whole setup of the book is just so good… they go across Europe and it’s interesting and it’s written in such a way that just captivates you. I don’t usually like adventure and action, but this is good,” said Kailey Gee ’22.

Nate Frese English Teacher

Byron Butler Science Teacher

CAN YOU MATCH? Karen Meyer Math Teacher

Maureen Head Science Teacher

Math

James Kirpes Math Teacher

David Haas Choir Director

Katy Nahra English Teacher

Ashley Lorsung Spanish Teacher

Sydney McDermott French Teacher

Sara Whittaker English Teacher

Photos compiled by Katherine Shoppa and Annie Schwartz

Teachers have many different kinds of handwriting from indecipherable cursive to straight-up chicken scratch. All handwriting is unique, so can you match the teacher to their handwriting?

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2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

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1: Byron Butler; 2: Sydney McDermott; 3: Maureen Head; 4: Katy Nahra; 5: Ashley Lorsung; 6: Nate Frese; 7: James Kirpes; 8: Sara Whittaker; 9: Karen Meyer; 10: David Haas;

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Subject of Page NAME OF SECTION

Trojan Diversity West has an A in diversity and is the 30th most diverse schools in the ICCSD. Take a look at some students proud to be a part of West’s diverse population.

Caleb Kwok ‘20

Anna Myer ‘21

Hong Kong

Germany

“[I’m really connected to the] food. And Cantonese. Because I can communicate with family, like relatives who don’t understand English, and I understand Asian culture and heritage more because of the food.”

Ruba Ahmed ‘22

Sudan

“[I get a lot of questions about my nationality], people asking ‘Can you say something in German?’ or ‘Do you have (a very common thing like ketchup) in Germany?’ is just annoying sometimes.”

“[When people ask about my ethnicity] I’m open about it, I don’t attempt to hide it, I display it. I think it’s a big part of me, it definitely affects my life, and I’m proud of it, of course.”

Photo courtesy of Anna Myer

Hanae Matsumoto ‘23

Japan ‘I would say that being of a certain nationality and growing up with that culture means you acquire knowledge and ways of thinking that people of that nationality would, because it affects the way I think, it affects the way I act, therefore affecting every aspect of my life where I do something.”

Kaushik Raghavan ‘20

India “I’m proud of my ethnicity because I get to say I come from a country with great cultural significance. India is home to the third largest world religion, the second biggest world population, and the oldest of the major five religions. I wouldn’t trade my ethnicity for anything.”

Favour Alarape ‘21

Nigeria “I normally don’t get asked [about my nationaly] unless it’s an ice breaker thing. I used to try and run away from my nationality, but now I am trying to get closer to it.”

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore am.” STUDENT NAME

Annalisa and Ilene KarAçAY ‘21

TImothy Bergal ‘22

Turkey

Russia

Ilene: “I really love the country itself because of the people and how beautiful it is. Turks are also very affectionate and caring people and I like to the think that I carry that trait as well.”

“I think, although I’ve assimulated generally into American culture, I’d say there’s definitely a very Russian part of me, and I always have some sort of connection to Russian culture.”

Photo courtesy of Annalisa Karaçay

Claudia Chia ‘20

Taiwan ‘Many people don’t understand and think I am Chinese but I am Taiwanese because my parents are from Taiwan. However, China and Taiwan have the same culture and we speak Chinese.”

Andrei Cherascu ‘23

Romania “When people first meet me, they either think I’m Mexican or rarely Asian. [When I tell people I’m Romanian] some don’t think it’s a real place, some ask me to speak [Romanian], and others are surprised.”

Photo courtesy of Andrei Cherascu

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Hana Abou Alaiwa ‘23

Lebanon “Often some people are like, ‘You’re Muslim? I had no idea, you don’t look Muslim,’ which is kind of true, I have pretty pale skin and I don’t wear a hijab. I usually respond with ‘Yeah, I’m Muslim, I’m from Lebanon,’ but it’s weird sometimes when people say you don’t look like your religion or ethnicity.”

Sabrine Mohamed ‘22

Ethiopia “I really don’t get asked about my ethnicity a lot, but when I do I just answer their question. Most people think I will get offended when they ask, but I think it’s cool that they’re curious. I always thought it was cool that the first coffee seed was discovered in Ethiopia.”

Photo courtesy of Sabrine Mohamed

Compiled by Kevy Huynh and Willow Oleson

G.

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STUDENT LIFE

COMPILED BY Krisha Kapoor, ‘23,

D. Anna Carmen, ‘20

Grace Miller, ‘23

Caroline Mascardo, ‘22

A.

Zola Gross, ‘23

Tyler Severt, ‘23

Sofia Wells-Lu, ‘23

H.

Kate Gleason, ‘23

Vicki Carrica, ‘23

Brock Wenck, ‘22

WHO LET THE Is it pawsible to match West High just based

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DOGS OUT? Luke

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Louie

Glory

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ANSWERS: A/9, B/7, C/3, D/6, E,/1, F/2, G/4, H/5, I/8

Izzy

students to their furry friends on looks?

STUDENT LIFE

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“

It’s not just a boring solid color waterbottle after I put on stickers, It’s a collection of places I’ve been and things I like.”

—Sarah Callanan Krisha Kapoor

Sarah Callanan

SOULFUL STICKERS

How West High’s student body represent themselves through various HYDROFLASK STICKERS.

By Lexi Nash & Sidney Nash Carmen Crabtree upclose shot of Hydroflask stickers.

Greta Kraske

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Luis Bernardo Mercado Torres

Tess DeGrazia

A lot of my stickers on other waterbottles have words on them, like uplifting quotes.”

—Natalie Dunlap Natalie Dunlap

Kailey Gee

Payton Devena

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Krisha Kapoor upclose shot of Hydroflask stickers.

Ema Dunlap upclose shot of Hydroflask stickers.

Jaida Rost

Jessica Nauman

Seth Overton

Payton Devena upclose shot of Hydroflask stickers.

Emma Dunlap

I enjoy the elements of the stickers and how they represent me. I like the general sense of positivity that it projects onto people.”

—Tess DeGrazia

“

I got these specific stickers because I wanted people to know more about me without needing to tell them.”

—Sierra Frisvold Sarah Callanan upclose shot of Hydroflask stickers.

Sierra Frisvold

BOTTOM Middle: Gus Elwell, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;22

Different Vibes TOP Left: See Mark Mallard, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;22, he do be vibing

Photos by Logan L

Pets at West

By Lydia Shin and Nao Oya

Kailey Gee ’22 & Storm “We have a paper towel roll, and I usually leave it on the counter… And so one day I wake up and I turn on the light and [Storm] just rolled out the whole thing and like he didn’t eat it, but like he chewed on it. So basically the whole roll was gone.”

Photo by Kailey Gee

Gus Elwell ‘22 and Arkie (chinchilla) “I went to the bathroom and I put [Arkie] in the bathtub, because I didn’t want him jumping. And he jumped out of the bath tub onto my counter and knocked everything off of it, and then he cracked [the mirror.]”

Chinchillas are the softness animal in the world, and have 300 hairs per follicle (humans have one to three) Photo by Gus Elwell

We all know many crazy people attend West, but what about the wacky experiences that occur outside of school? Life can get pretty insane, especially when pets are added to the mix. Here are four of your fellow students whose pets have made their lives a lot more wild.

Abhi Damodaran ’23 & Cotton “My dad and I were trying to think of what to name him.

And for some reason we were thinking about food at the same time… Then I was like, wait, cotton candy is a good name for a dog. But then I was like why would we want to name him the full [name] cotton candy instead of just cotton. And that’s how the name cotton came along.”

Photo by Abhinav Damodaran

Paige Albright ’23 & Steve (iguana)

“One time my friend came over to my house and… she reaches her hand in the side of his tank, and he jumps three feet in the air… It was so scary I thought she was gonna lose a finger.”

“You have to keep their cages really humid, because you can’t put in a dish of water in their tank because otherwise they’ll drown themselves by accident.”

Photo by Paige Albright

Rock Those Socks From fuzzy to patterned, these members of West High keep their feet fashionable with these funky socks.

1 1 HOW PRESIDENTIAL Zola Gross ‘23 makes her favorite president known with her John F. Kennedy socks from Boston. “I visited the Kennedy Presidential Library and had food poisoning, so my dad let me get whatever I wanted.”

2 Emma Genkinger’23 wears geometric Nike socks that she took from her brother.

Hanae Matsumoto ‘23 makes her outfit fun with her rainbow ankle socks.

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Sofia Wells-Lu ‘23 (left) shows off her “ugly sweater socks” in band alongside her friend Eva Jordan.

3 4

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FROM UP NORTH Tess DeGrazia’23 smiles in her guitar-themed socks from Canada. She and her family go to Toronto, Muskoka, and Ontario every year to visit relatives. “Canada to me is home, and soe of my favorite memories of my life are from there. They may just be funky socks, but it’s just something that helps me to think of everything there.”

6 Ryan Sartain ‘20 rocks the mismatched look with pops of color left and right.

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Bongain Mazibo ‘21 shows off his West High cross country socks.

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8 English teacher Nate Frese wearing his navy blue pirate socks.

8 Compiled by Olivia Boeglin and Maya Chu

Hobbies

Teachers & Students

You can’t see peoples interest from the outside. These people look like every day, regular people at West. But they have some uncommon and adventurous hobbies...

Strength

Emma McPearce ‘23 has a hobby that most students wouldn’t think about being a part of. She campaigns for the Warren campaign. “I really believe in Warren’s campaign and her policies, I find it very interesting.”

Passion Rosemary TimmerHackert ‘23 has a passion of Irish dance.

“I really like the community that we’ve built at our school, it really feels like we’re all a family now.”

grit Mara Caylor ‘23 has been dancing for 10 years at National Dance Academy.

“It’s really like an environment where you can create.”

Brendon Aitken, a social studies teacher, has been training for triathlons for about a year. Since high school, Aitken has been interested in running, but has only recently started to take it more seriously. “I love the challenge. Surprisingly the races aren’t as fun but the lead up to the idea that you’re putting in all this hard work”[...]“the sense of reward or accomplishment after a good workout makes it worth it.”

Monica Winterberg, an english teacher, has been gardening and working with plants for about 20 years. From home gardens to community gardens Winterberg has been throughly trained in gardening. When you walk into Winterbergs room you can find a menagerie of ferns and beautiful bushels of green which hint towards this hobby. “It helps me to decompress, and I think its about the life, you know. Like the life of something growing.”

Sara Whittaker, a journalism teacher, has been traveling to the nation’s National Parks for about 4 years. “I feel like [adventuring] is a really great way to see the country. I like getting away from the day to day things, you know technology, all of the screens we have. I think you’re, like surrounded by beauty.”

Photos compiled by Melissa Uc

ABOVE & BOTTOM RIGHT: Cuddled up freshmen friends Aviva Fraer ‘23 and Melissa Uc ‘23 love fuzzy clothing because “it makes me feel like I’m wearing a blanket“ on the long bus rides home said Uc. LEFT: Peyton Tuttle ‘20 shows off her bubblegum pink Nordic Beach Wrap while arriving for school after eating out for lunch. The stylish nature and warm fabric makes Nordic Wraps the perfect alternative to a coat.

BOTTOM LEFT: Olivia Casebolt ‘22 and Sadie Floss ‘22 pose together after morning practice for the dance team wearing Nordic Beach wraps. With dancers arriving at 6:20 for practice, feeling comfortable is a must for them.

RIGHT: Elli Genkinger ‘21 wears her gray sherpa zipup after a long morning of Nutcracker dress rehearsal.

During the show season, practices for dancers can be strenuous.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Ava Heilskov and Emily Elizalde ‘23 smile at lunch in their fuzzy hoodie and sherpa. It is common for students to own the same fuzzy clothing in different colors to bring variety to their closets. “I chose this blue color because I already had a offwhite one” said Heilskov.

Photos by Paige Albright and Madelyn Grueter

What’s all the fuzz about?

Fuzzy fashion has become a staple in the halls of West High due to its comfortable yet fashionable appeal.

TOP MIDDLE: Ms. Harms, biology teacher, sports a pink fuzzy vest. Her classroom is located next to the removed wall from one of the many construction projects.

So keeping warm is difficult. “It keeps me warm and cozy,” said Ms. Harms.

TOP RIGHT: Florence Assumani ‘22 matching her outfit to the feeling she to express that day. “When I wear this cropped sweater] I want my style to be she said.

loves wants [fuzzy cute,“

BOTTOM RIGHT: Madelyn Epping ‘20 and Grace Schneider ‘20 show off their fashionable and affordable fuzzy coats. You can find great fuzzy products you’ll love if you know where to look. “I got this coat from Ragstock for $30 and it is just a great as a Nordic. I love the fuzz”said Schneider.

BOTTOM MIDDLE: Jaida Rost ‘23 regularly wears her rust orange button-up along with other fuzzy sweaters during the cold winter months. “This is my favorite color,“ she said.

MIDDLE LEFT: Alina Davis ‘22 shows off her double sided fuzzy wrap.

MIDDLE: Olivia Hames ‘20 during lunch on a chilly December afternoon sporting her black Nordic Beach Wrap.

Pictured to the right, Alice Doresca ‘23, Hanae Matsumoto ‘23, and Sophia Wang ‘23 play as a trio during Cadenza’s third concert at Vue Rooftop. Doresca joined Cadenza, wanting to play more challenging songs, saying, “I joined Cadenza so that I could have more opportunities to play outside of school, because the regular school orchestra is pretty boring and easy.”

Pictured below, Mike Wu ‘23 plays the viola during one of Cadenza’s practices.

Above, Jonathan Chen ‘22 plays the piano at Vue Rooftop on Dec. 10, 2019.

Miles Davies ‘22, Alex Carlon ‘21, Maddy Ephraim ‘21, and Maddie Nuss ‘21 play a clarinet quartet at Vue Rooftop. Carlon says, “When I’m at school or work I feel like I spend all my time being super analytical but when I get to go to band class or practice with my quartet it’s very soothing.

I also think it’s just super fun to collaborate with people who are all passionate about playing clarinet and performing and having that enthusiastic energy in the room.”

Clubs and Organizations

Money for music

By Ruba Ahmed and Zoey Guo

Cadenza earned $518 for Music Auxiliary at their first performance on November 14 at Lepic-Kroeger. Liam Edberg ‘22, Caroline Mascardo ‘22, Xiaoyi Zhu ‘22, and Elizabeth Wan ‘22 perform a quartet with their string instruments, pictured at top. Mascardo describes how playing the violin impacts her life, exclaiming, “Playing the violin has taught me discipline out of the love for the instrument. You have to be willing to make time to practice if you want to improve, and that has grown into a love of mine. Playing the violin lets me express myself through the works of others and opened my eyes to the world of music.” Miles Davies ‘22 and Peter Adams ‘22 play the clarinet and trumpet, pictured above. Katherine Hirsch ‘20, Anne Wu ‘22, Ashley Seo ‘23, Bivan Shrestha ‘22, and Shreya Khullar ‘22 play a flute quintet pictured below.

Cadenza is a music charity club that was created at the beginning of the 2019 school year, focusing on providing money for the Iowa City Music Auxiliary through performances funded by sponsors. They have already participated in three different performances, earning more than $1,000 for the business. Three West High students lead the club together and hope to collaborate with other charity organizations in the future.

Jonathan Chen ‘22 is one of the club’s co-leaders. Chen has been playing piano for around eight years and had the original idea of creating the club when he gained an interest in classical music. Chen says, “For some reason last year I started getting into classical music, I don’t know why, so I started getting into it and thought, ‘I could make a club out of this.’”

Bivan Shrestha ‘22 is one of the club’s co-leaders. Shrestha has been playing the flute for five years and now plays competitively. He finds music to be an escape from stress, saying, “Music shouldn’t be stressful but it’s a way to express yourself [and] have fun with other people, and our club’s just a way to bring a better cause by doing all those things.”

Liam Edberg ‘22 is one of the organizers of the club who has played the violin for 12 years.

At first, he was an ordinary member, but later became interested in helping out more. Edberg talks about how the club provides an opportunity to practice, saying, “It’s enriching to get practice performing because everybody needs to practice and there’s not always a chance to do that.”

Photos compiled by Bivan Shrestha and Ruba Ahmed

HEADS H From braids to barrettes, students at West show off their distinctive styles. With influences varying from

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Aissata Katile ‘22

Divinity Myers ‘22

Phoebe Burt ‘21

Reveldie Makabi ‘21

Mihad Osman ‘22

Lilli Duncan ‘20

Lana Ahmed ‘23

Quinn Brewer ‘21

Howaida Musa ‘23

STUDENT LIFE

COMPILED BY RAZAN BABIKIR AND TAYYIBA MUHAMMAD

Job No.: 005712 School Name: Iowa City West

ID CC 2019 Windows TCID:PP

Page No.

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ELD HIGH family to wanting to feel beautiful to Soundcloud, students use these styles to express themselves.

Kenyan Craig ‘21

Amna Asadalla ‘22

Yader Rodriguez Guevara ‘20

Darlyn Gossiho ‘22

Nadeen Mohammed ‘21

Aniyah Flynn ‘22

Christine Long ‘21

Mark Mallard ‘22

Waad Ibrahim ‘23 STUDENT LIFE

Job No.: 005712

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School Name: Iowa City West

ID CC 2019 Windows TCID:PP

Growth through surgery

Greta’s knee was filled with fluid after she injured it at softball. The white stripe seen here is the main pocket of built up fluid.

Along with that, she also had a piece that fell off of her knee and would scrape against the knee cap whenever she moved her knee past a certain point.

By Tess DeGrazia

After an MRI, Greta’s operation was decided it would be done arthroscopically, which means it was done trhough small precise incisions, rather than cutting through the whole knee. and also was done by using screws to put everything back into one piece. Greta was home from surgery later that night. For over a week she was completely immobile, and had to have assitance with everything she did.

“There are other people that have surgeries that are worse than mine was, and I have to be grateful for that.”

Recovering

Greta had started physical therapy just after she injured her knee, and before surgery to see where she had to work up to, it was a painful and long process. After surgery, Greta’s physical therapy started right away, and had it very often. “I got to know my physical therapist Barb really fast because it was so hard. She really helped me speed up my recovery process. As soon as I started walking I expected myself to have the strength back, but I didn’t at all.” Little things like sitting, standing, and walking upstairs were challenging for Greta. She had to in-depth relearn everything that was vital to her everyday life. In this picture is her assitant physical therapist, Auriel.

Greta’s story starts off with her genetic knee issue she was born with, that didn’t act up until a softball practice in May 2019. That day she didn’t realize she injured it badly but recognized the pain, and three days later found out it was a problem, and ended up having surgery later on May 16th. She wasn’t fully cleared until December 5th 2019. Through it all, she had to take baby steps, literally, and relearn almost everything she was physically doing with her legs.

“I was on crutches for about 7 weeks, and then started to walk again. I got so confident in myself, but then I had to go through the realization that I’m not, I had to do so much more than I thought. I didn’t understand I had to be doing PT for so long. I slowly got better going upstairs and sitting and standing back up, it took a while, but one thing that was specifically hard is that I had to realign my legs, because they constantly faced inward, which could cause future injuries. It’s all gotten so much better. I saw improvement with my personality, but it was hard to understand I was getting better because I wanted to be already better, at 100%.”

Support Top left Greta and her friends, Helen Kearney ‘23, former Northwest Jr. High student Zaira Malloy-Salgado, Maya Chu ‘23, Victoria Carrica ‘23, and Minou Emmaud ‘23, at a Northwest cross country meet last year before her surgery.

Top right Greta swimming at Linn Mar during the Sophomore Conference in October 2019.

Middle left Greta and her friends Zoe Scott ‘23, Maggie Greer ‘23, Madelyn Grueter ‘23, and Jessica Nauman ‘23 at a West- Liberty High winning Sophomore Conference at Linn Mar in October 2019.

Middle right Mona Luong ‘23 and Greta on the last day of school at Northwest Jr. High.

Bottom left The day after her surgery, Greta was with friends before their 8th grade formal for Northwest Jr. High which she couldn’t attend. In the photo is her with her friends Sierra Frisvold ‘23 and Emma McPearce ‘23.

Bottom right Greta and her friends Sierra Frisvold ‘23, Katherine Shoppa ‘23, and Emma McPearce ‘23 at the 2019 pride parade in downtown Iowa City.

Photos compiled by Darla Kraske, Jade Roghair, ‘23, ‘23, Patrina Nauman, and Sierra Frisvold ‘23.

“For a while, I wasn’t able to do flip turns in the water and push off my legs, but I had put on a lot of arm strength just as I had before, which helped me a lot. I started so out of shape and I saw all my friends I swam with being so fast, I was so far behind. I think that’s one of the reasons I worked myself up twice as fast. This season I was beating a lot of my goals to get back where I was. In the beginning, I didn’t think I would get this far, but seeing my friends so strong made me want to get where they were and reach all the goals I had set up for myself. I was pretty proud of myself because I beat all the goals I had set for this season.”

Greta swimming at Sophomore Conference

Greta playing at a softball game for the 14u Jaguars

“

I use them so I can express myself instead of having a plain boring one. It just shows a piece of me.”

—Willow Oleson ‘23

STICKERS?

Sarah Dickens ‘21

Willow Oleson ‘23

The fashion of stickers on West High students Chromebooks ranges from one sticker to however many they can fit, even against the initial rule of no stickers. Compiled by Vivian Polgreen, Heidi Schmidt-Rundell, and Rachel Swack.

Jaidon Lowman ‘23

“

Carmela Cohen-Suarez ‘20

Ella Rosenthal ‘21

Quincy Tate ‘21

I decorate my chromebook with stickers because it improves the vibes my chromebook exudes while I work on homework or schoolwork.”

—Laura Nelson ‘23

Julianna Mascardo ‘23

Laura Nelson ’23

Clay Bopp ‘22

“

Himani Laroia ‘23

Miles Clark ‘22

Ethan Titus ‘22

Jerry Kelly ‘21

Caecilia Wilson, ‘22

Emma Westgard ‘22

Kaisa Whittaker ‘21

My stickers are a way that I represent myself to my peers and teachers.”

—Emma Westgard ‘22

“

If I buy stickers, it might not be the kind that I want, and if I make my own, I know what I want.”

—Wendy Meng ‘23 Madelyn Grueter ‘23

Wendy Meng ‘23

WEST HIGH’S

NIGHTMA Elle Christensen, ‘23 “One night I didn’t do all my homework, So all night I was dreaming of doing my homework and I got really nervous. I woke up at 3 AM because I was stressing out.”

Claire Matthews, Staff “I had a dream where instead of having normal classes, at school the cafeteria was making pizzas. They kept making more and more pizzas, faster and faster, and everybody was running around trying to hand out pizza. It was really stressful.”

Brock Wenk, ‘22

All photo credit: Zoe Scott

“My dream is that I can’t make it up the stairs. I’ll be like halfway up the stairs and I’ll just lose my balance. I’ll have to climb up with the railing.”

SCHOOL RELATED

ARES

What keeps WHS students up at night?

Hanae Matsumoto, ‘23 “Sometimes I have dreams where Japanese and English mix. And in this dream, a person from Japanese school said that they liked me, while speaking English. The person from our school said that they didn’t like me while speaking Japanese. And I was confused”

Kevy Huynh, ‘23 “There’s this Japanese movie where all the students and teachers are locked in school during this big testing session.

They aren’t supposed to be locked in there, and they have to work together to solve questions.

Whenever they run out of time or get one wrong a student is killed. I had a dream like that about West.”

Top left Corner: Brian ”I’m a runner TOP: Tayyiba Muhammed ‘22 said, “I when them when I work out because its comfortable and breathe and i feel like i can move ariund in them.”

TOP LEFT: “ Im a runner so I wear what is comfortable so I wear nike or under armor” Brain Brandsmeier said when asked about how his fashion style BOTTOM LEFT: Aisha Abukasawi, ‘22, “Slow and steady and comfy and ready” BOTTOM RIGHT: Pual Greer ‘21 “I love wearing nike because its very easy to move around and its still looks good.”

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STUDENT LIFE

COMPILED BY STUDENT NAME(S)

BrandS At West

TOP RIGHT: Alexis Meza, ‘23 “I look really good in nike so I always wear them and it fits my personality.”

MiDDLE : Sabrin Mohamed ‘22 “I wear whatever is comfortable and looks decent and adidas is exactly that .”

BOTTOM RIGHT: Anthony Horton ‘23 “Nike is my favorite brand and its good for when I practice basketball.”

BOTTOM MIDDLE: Randy Causey ‘23 I’ve been wearing nike and puma for forever I dont remember a time wear I didn’t wear these brands.”

STUDENT LIFE

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A GLANCE AROUND THE GLOBE Taking a look at West High students that were born outside of the US

15 3 6 13

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8 7

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5

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NEW ZEALAND MIA DILL INGHAM ‘20

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KENYA STEVE TEMBEA ‘22

SOOMIN KOH, JASMINE ORTEGA, MADDIE GALL O, REBEKAH LONGMIRE

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SOUTH KOREA EMERSON BENNETT ‘22

1

SUDAN MISTADA SIDAHMED ‘23

4

AUSTRALIA ALAINA GREENLEE ‘23

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INDIA SHREYA KHULL AR ‘22

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NIGERIA FAVOUR ALARAPE ‘21

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BANGLADESH Taoheedul Tanim ‘20

5

CHINA WEILING LIN ‘22

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NEPAL BIVAN SHRESTHA ‘22

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JAPAN HANAE MATSUMOTO ‘23

3

TURKEY CALEB BODIN ‘22

6

GEORGIA SAM NESTER ‘21

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IRAN DORSA BEHNAMI ‘21

15

GERMANY JENNA ALDEN ‘23

“When Mr. Wymer said to try and use things lying around the house one of the first I thought of was a small tire because we have many little things like that lying around. Plus I wanted my plant cell model to be unique, and I figured not many people would think to use a tire,”Jordan Sehr ‘22.

Made by Helelia Wa Kalala ‘23 Bottom right: “It was fun, I made the rice krispies and put them in a bowl, then cut and frosted it. It took longer than I thought but I was happy with the results,” Zoe Scott ‘23.

Middle right: “

As a freshman, this project was the first chance for me to show my creative side. I thought that biology was going to only be about academics but this project showed me that there is creativity in biology, especially in Mr. Wymer’s class.”

Helelia Wa Kalala ‘23 said when asked about her experience Made by Zoe Scott ‘23

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STUDENT LIFE

COMPILED BY STUDENT NAME(S)

Creativity in Biology

In Mr. Wymer biology class, students were asked to make plant cell models including all cell organelles in it.

Brad Wymer also required them to make a key to go along with their plant models. They were told to add both their personal touches and creativity in their cell models. This project did not require students to purchase any new items, they were encouraged to only use items that they could find at home or at school. Students were graded on accuracy of the cell, creativity and work-ethic.

“The goal of the cell model is to have a “hands on” experience with the cells.

An experience in which students can not only physically manipulate the parts of a cell but have ownership in the parts of the cell that can only be done by modeling” Brad Wymer.

“I do think that actually having to create a 3D plant cell made me think more about where different organelles go ad what they actually do in cells,” Jordan Sehr ‘22.

“Putting together my plant cell was kind of difficult at first because initially nothing was sticking when I tried to glue things together but once I got the hang of it, everything went pretty well.” Jordan Sehr ‘22.

“My observations over the years has shown that having students create a cell model helps them to connect with the material and remember the parts of the cell better than if they just label diagrams and memorize cell parts,” Brad Wymer.

STUDENT LIFE

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December 2019

S.P.I.T

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SEPTEMBER 7, 2019

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S.P.I.T. is unique from other theatre because it is entirley student run. Pictured are Willa Martin (Left) and Erin Leigh-Moses (Right), the directors of this years comedy production, 10 Ways to Survive the Apocalypse.

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Left to right: Maya Degrazia 20’, Grace Hinrichs 21’, William Gleason 20’

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Jack and Ronan being in character

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