Salina High School South
tripodium
Project
Dec. 11, 2014 lVolume 43 l Issue 3 l Salina, Kan. 67401 l @SHSTripodium
Tripodium By Tiffany Bowers
The staff of the Tripodium have been hard at work to have a successful sixth year of Project Tripodium at Salina High School South. With the staff manning the table and the tree, and many students participating in taking ornaments, all have successfully helped a total of six students have Christmas gifts this holiday season. Three girls and three boys, all students of South, will now be provided with a variety of needed gifts courtesy of those who participated. Six years ago, an idea of a staff Secret Santa turned into a desire to help other students get gifts for the holidays, rather than spending money on gifts for each other. Each year since, the newspaper staff, students and faculty have helped many students’ families have a Christmas when they may not have had one in the first place. Many gifts, stockings and food baskets have been given as well. South has helped gath-
er many gifts and gift cards for fellow students, the Tripodium staff has stuffed stockings and the National Honor Society and Student Council have worked together to gather food baskets for the families involved. Individuals and organizations also adopted a few families too. Last year for Project Tripodium, about 40 youth from Regular Education, Special Education (SPED), and Performance Based Diploma (PBD) were given gifts and/or gift cards, six families received food baskets and eight youth were adopted by individuals or a group and were given gifts and food baskets as well. Statistics, though not important, still show that South students take the opportunity to give back to their fellow classmates. It is this selflessness that gives South High families a Christmas to celebrate this holiday season. “There is much joy on everyone’s part in participating in all the activities that provide giving to SHS youth and families at Christmas. And the joy
and thankfulness on the part of the youth and families is heartwarming,” Tricia Keiswetter, social worker, said. Students still have the opportunity to participate in Project Tripodium, as it ends tomorrow at the end of the school day. Students can still buy a gift and turn it into Kim Warren’s room, 413. Those who have their gifts and have yet to turn them in can do the same. Next week, the newspaper staff will wrap all of the gifts in preparation for them to be delivered for Christmas. The staff would like to thank all who participated and took the time to give back this holiday season. Thanks to the students at South, the newspaper staff along with Keiswetter, NHS and STUCO, are able to provide the essentials to have a normal, giftfilled holiday season like anyone else. If students would still like to participate in giving back, STUCO will have the Salina Rescue Mission tree up in the commons through December 15.
6
families received food baskets
helped students from
40
regular education
youth helpedlast year
ENDS TOMORROW!
Dec. 12
NHS
helped students from
SPED
bakes cookies and
STUCO
makes food baskets
helped students from
take gifts to room
PBD
413
8
youth adopted by individuals or groups
Operation Christmas Child Salina Rescue Mission Tree
&
By Hailey Chapman
The holidays are a wonderful time to be with family and celebrate the season. Christmas is a time for giving and South High works hard to give back. Through clubs and organizations, South High is able to give to those who do not have the privilege of stockings and gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. Operation Christmas Child works hard to make sure no child wakes up Christmas morning empty-handed. “This year we collected money and club officers went to buy the items. Several people also donated complete boxes as well. We were able to donate 24 boxes with items such as stuffed animals, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, wash cloths, etc.
Basic items that a lot of people in the U.S. take for granted,” Tobi Eckhart, Spanish teacher and International Cultures Club sponsor, said. OCC focuses on younger children outside of the U.S. It also focuses on items that can fit inside the shoe boxes. Roughly $30 is spent on each box. “The items may seem small to us, but make such a big differnce in the lives of children in other countries,” Eckhart said. Kaisha Edgerle’s ELO along with many others had a competition to see who donate the most for OCC. Edgerle’s ELO raised the most and won the prize. Overall, the ICC raised $175+ and filled 24 boxes to the brim. Similar to Project Tripodium, OCC allows students to give
The 24 boxes filled by the International Cultures Club. This club worked hard to impact children’s lives this holiday season. photo by brenda geist
to those in need, but not specifically to the same receivers. OCC creates boxes filled with childrens neccessities to make their day as special as possible. Another group at South High that gives back for the holidays is our student council. In the previous years, STUCO has worked hard through Angel Tree to provide elementary school students and their families with general necessities. The Angel Tree started three years ago and last year there were about 19 families helped. “I like to see the positive impact the Angel Tree makes on our community,” Collin Truhe (’15), STUCO member, said.
This year, however, STUCO will be collecting items for the Salina Rescue Mission. The mission is a “faithbased facility changing lives one at a time.” It is a non-profit organization and receives no government funding. A board of volunteer directors work hard to give more than the basic needs. “The students in our STUCO group really want to focus on how we can help others in the community. They understand the needs of others and they see how giving and generous our student body and faculty are and know we can work together to make our community stronger,” Melanie Hammond, STUCO sponsor, said.
Student Council worked hard to decorate the school for the holidays. The tree is up in the commons. photo by tiffany bowers
Hammond stated that she believed the mission was a good organization to collect donations for because they are purely volunteer based and work to help the homeless in Salina. The mission has responded to homeless men and countless others for over 20 years. The number of beds have more than doubled since being founded in 1981. “It feels good to give back during the holidays,” Kaci Sulivan (’15) said. Make sure to stop by the tree in the commons.