Meisters reflect on past years, and prepare for their annual Singing Valentines fund-raiser Michelle Demo | Managing Editor & Sydnie Meath | Staff Writer & Kaitlyn Stymeist | Staff Writer & Claire Booth | Staff Writer
T
The songs listed above are the songs that Meisters are currently selling as Singing Valentines this year for 10 dollars. Michelle Demo| Photos & Illustrations
12| FOCUS | 02/06/2015 | a&e
he mood changes instantly as the girls walked into the hospital. As staff members gathered around, the Mesitersingers deliver a compelling performance for a woman with little time to live. Meister teacher Jennifer Brenneman shares this heartwarming experience. “A few years ago, one of our music parents bought a Singing Valentine for a friend who was in the hospital and wasn’t expected to live much longer,” Brenneman said. “I happened to be driving the girls group that was doing the delivery. The woman’s family was there, and all the nurses. She was so touched that the girls sang her another song and she asked to hug each one of them. It was really beautiful, there wasn’t a dry eye anywhere. That’s why we do what we do - those connections are what make music so special.” Singing Valentines, as Brenneman described, have been an ongoing tradition that started long before she began teaching at MHS. This popularity is because of the Singing Valentines unique way to express love and appreciation. “Basically they are a singing telegram,” Brenneman said. “The Meistersingers split up into groups of guys and groups of, and girls. All the groups prepare three songs. There are songs you can send to someone of a romantic nature and songs that you can send to friends, grandparents etc.” Junior Meistersinger Elia Danielson was first introduced to Singing Valentines after her mother received one as a gift while Danielson was in middle school. “The first Singing Valentine I saw was when [my brother ] Noah sent one to my mom,” Danielson said. “The group came to our house and sang in our kitchen. I was in 7th grade, and was taken away by their lovely voices – and how cute high school boys were compared to middle schoolers.” The Meistersingers spend two days performing the Singing Valentines. When Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday, like this year, they split delivery into two days. A school delivery day, then a business delivery day for people that are outside of school or at a business. For senior Meistersinger Emily Long, this time can be very stressful. “We have a limited amount of time to perfect a song and choreography to sing numerous times in front of many people,” Long said. “It’s usually fun and rather upbeat working with the ladies and working through the songs, but everyone has those days where we need to buckle down, drop the chitchat, and work. Those are the most stressful moments.” While the preparation can be overbearing at times, Long admits that in the long run, Singing Valentines are a memorable experience for her. “Yes, it takes an awful major load of work,” Long said. “But what’s better than doing what
you love for a couple days with people that you love and share the same passion with? Especially when the people you’re singing for are totally into it. There’s nothing better.” Long believes that the Meisters’ Singing Valentines do more that just fund-raise at MHS. “It brings the Meisters to many groups of people we may not normally go to. The other kids get to experience what we do and prepare so hard for first hand,” Long said. “I know that when I was a freshman, seeing these Singing Valentines intrigued me so much that it brought me this much closer to becoming a part of this family I love.” On average, the Meisters gain around $2,500 for their Singing Valentines. This money goes towards their annual end-of-the-year trip. “This year we plan to go to Nashville, Tennessee,” senior Meistersinger Sam Nowak said. “It is a fund-raiser, so the more money we get the better. A lot and the leftover money we have from our trip goes towards the rest of the vocal program at Midland High as well. Next
‘‘{
}
Yes, it takes an awful major load of work, but, what’s better than doing what you love for a couple of days with people that you love and share the same passion with? Senior Emily Long
year we plan on receiving new uniforms because the ones we have now are getting kind of old.” This year, the male Meistersingers will be performing “Lean On Me,” “Hooked on a Feeling,” and “500 Miles.” The female’s songs are “Dream a Little Dream,” “I’ll Be There for You,” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” The songs that the Meisters pick are hopefully as great a variety as the people who purchase them. “The people that buy Singing Valentines can range anywhere from a kid getting his mom a cute gift or an old man buying his wife a song,” Nowak said. “There isn’t really one group of people that buys more of them.” Along with the variety in buyers, the Meistersingers may receive various requests to correlate with the Singing Valentine. “We can deliver notes, from anonymous, flowers, poems, anything is possible, we can even substitute the person’s name into the song if it is appropriate for that song,” Danielson said. While these requests are expected, the Meisters have had unique requests to coincide with a Singing Valentine along the years. However, the Meisters do not need a request in order to make a Signing Valentine special. Danielson remembers a moment from her first Singing Valentine trip where the Meistersingers were able to brighten the day of multiple people
by simply singing numerous songs. “Our group went to visit a former Meister who was in the hospital,” Danielson said. “It was a surprise visit. The ladies at the front desk wouldn’t let us go up until we sang them a song. We sang “You Raise Me Up” and the volunteers were crying. They let us go up, but we couldn’t see our friend. Anyway, we came back two other times trying to deliver the valentine, each time we sang a different song for the front desk. It was cool that we had a reputation, because by the time we sang our third song a crowd had gathered. I looked into the balcony above the front desk and it was filled with smiling faces as we sang “Say a Little Prayer for You.” Those faces and the excitement we could bring to patients day was superb. It is the best feeling to love on other people.” Danielson and Long both have Singing Valentine memories involving the song “Say a Little Prayer for You;” however, Long’s was memorable for the comedic property of it rather than the sentimental. “We were performing for Michael Adams in his first hour English I believe, and we were singing “Say a Little Prayer for You. We were all ready for it because this was our favorite song; we practiced it a lot, made sure the choreography was correct and everything, we were set. Then we actually started singing,” Long said. “We got through most of it before all 6 girls in my group had a mini brain-blank and forgot the next part. We just sang what we did know until we could jump back into the actual song. Everyone in the room loved it, mainly because they couldn’t tell we messed up, but afterwards all of us were laughing at our mistake. Regan Danner said to me, ‘good thing we knew him!’ It made it slightly less embarrassing, but never the less. At least we all knew the song after that!’ While junior Meistersigner Allie Williams’ favorite memory of Singing Valentines does not incorporate the same song as Long and Danielson, it does encompass the family-like bond that the groups grow when rehearsing. Due to their individual rehearsing schedules and locations, the Meisters don’t get to see each other perform their routines before distributing the valentines. Williams believes that the moment she was able to finally see the rest of the Meisters perfom was her favorite memory from last year. “All the groups met [at the Riverside Retirement Home] and we all sang something, so each group sang a different song and we performed in front of all the people in the retirement home,” Williams said. It was adorable. I hadn’t seen everybody sing all the different songs before, like all the groups together and all there black dresses. The guys were seriously so cute, and all the girls were fabulous. I hadn’t seen all the choreography yet so it was really cool to see everything put together, and everybody really enjoyed it.” F
(Top) Left to right: Senior Emily Long, junior Allie Williams, and senior Megan O’Connor practice their group’s Singing Valentine songs in front of a freshman English class. (Middle) Juniors Elia Danielson and Taylor Winslow finish their song ‘I’ll be there For You’ by forming a heart symbol with their heands. (Bottom) Left to right: Senior Natalie Schwartz; juniors Emma Longoria, Elia Danielson, Taylor Winslow, and Jamie Dwyer insert poses into their choreography of their Singing Valentines routine. Michelle Demo| Photos
a&e| mhsfocus.com | FOCUS | 13
Meisters reflect on past years, and prepare for their annual Singing Valentines fund-raiser Michelle Demo | Managing Editor & Sydnie Meath | Staff Writer & Kaitlyn Stymeist | Staff Writer & Claire Booth | Staff Writer
T
The songs listed above are the songs that Meisters are currently selling as Singing Valentines this year for 10 dollars. Michelle Demo| Photos & Illustrations
12| FOCUS | 02/06/2015 | a&e
he mood changes instantly as the girls walked into the hospital. As staff members gathered around, the Mesitersingers deliver a compelling performance for a woman with little time to live. Meister teacher Jennifer Brenneman shares this heartwarming experience. “A few years ago, one of our music parents bought a Singing Valentine for a friend who was in the hospital and wasn’t expected to live much longer,” Brenneman said. “I happened to be driving the girls group that was doing the delivery. The woman’s family was there, and all the nurses. She was so touched that the girls sang her another song and she asked to hug each one of them. It was really beautiful, there wasn’t a dry eye anywhere. That’s why we do what we do - those connections are what make music so special.” Singing Valentines, as Brenneman described, have been an ongoing tradition that started long before she began teaching at MHS. This popularity is because of the Singing Valentines unique way to express love and appreciation. “Basically they are a singing telegram,” Brenneman said. “The Meistersingers split up into groups of guys and groups of, and girls. All the groups prepare three songs. There are songs you can send to someone of a romantic nature and songs that you can send to friends, grandparents etc.” Junior Meistersinger Elia Danielson was first introduced to Singing Valentines after her mother received one as a gift while Danielson was in middle school. “The first Singing Valentine I saw was when [my brother ] Noah sent one to my mom,” Danielson said. “The group came to our house and sang in our kitchen. I was in 7th grade, and was taken away by their lovely voices – and how cute high school boys were compared to middle schoolers.” The Meistersingers spend two days performing the Singing Valentines. When Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday, like this year, they split delivery into two days. A school delivery day, then a business delivery day for people that are outside of school or at a business. For senior Meistersinger Emily Long, this time can be very stressful. “We have a limited amount of time to perfect a song and choreography to sing numerous times in front of many people,” Long said. “It’s usually fun and rather upbeat working with the ladies and working through the songs, but everyone has those days where we need to buckle down, drop the chitchat, and work. Those are the most stressful moments.” While the preparation can be overbearing at times, Long admits that in the long run, Singing Valentines are a memorable experience for her. “Yes, it takes an awful major load of work,” Long said. “But what’s better than doing what
you love for a couple days with people that you love and share the same passion with? Especially when the people you’re singing for are totally into it. There’s nothing better.” Long believes that the Meisters’ Singing Valentines do more that just fund-raise at MHS. “It brings the Meisters to many groups of people we may not normally go to. The other kids get to experience what we do and prepare so hard for first hand,” Long said. “I know that when I was a freshman, seeing these Singing Valentines intrigued me so much that it brought me this much closer to becoming a part of this family I love.” On average, the Meisters gain around $2,500 for their Singing Valentines. This money goes towards their annual end-of-the-year trip. “This year we plan to go to Nashville, Tennessee,” senior Meistersinger Sam Nowak said. “It is a fund-raiser, so the more money we get the better. A lot and the leftover money we have from our trip goes towards the rest of the vocal program at Midland High as well. Next
‘‘{
}
Yes, it takes an awful major load of work, but, what’s better than doing what you love for a couple of days with people that you love and share the same passion with? Senior Emily Long
year we plan on receiving new uniforms because the ones we have now are getting kind of old.” This year, the male Meistersingers will be performing “Lean On Me,” “Hooked on a Feeling,” and “500 Miles.” The female’s songs are “Dream a Little Dream,” “I’ll Be There for You,” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” The songs that the Meisters pick are hopefully as great a variety as the people who purchase them. “The people that buy Singing Valentines can range anywhere from a kid getting his mom a cute gift or an old man buying his wife a song,” Nowak said. “There isn’t really one group of people that buys more of them.” Along with the variety in buyers, the Meistersingers may receive various requests to correlate with the Singing Valentine. “We can deliver notes, from anonymous, flowers, poems, anything is possible, we can even substitute the person’s name into the song if it is appropriate for that song,” Danielson said. While these requests are expected, the Meisters have had unique requests to coincide with a Singing Valentine along the years. However, the Meisters do not need a request in order to make a Signing Valentine special. Danielson remembers a moment from her first Singing Valentine trip where the Meistersingers were able to brighten the day of multiple people
by simply singing numerous songs. “Our group went to visit a former Meister who was in the hospital,” Danielson said. “It was a surprise visit. The ladies at the front desk wouldn’t let us go up until we sang them a song. We sang “You Raise Me Up” and the volunteers were crying. They let us go up, but we couldn’t see our friend. Anyway, we came back two other times trying to deliver the valentine, each time we sang a different song for the front desk. It was cool that we had a reputation, because by the time we sang our third song a crowd had gathered. I looked into the balcony above the front desk and it was filled with smiling faces as we sang “Say a Little Prayer for You.” Those faces and the excitement we could bring to patients day was superb. It is the best feeling to love on other people.” Danielson and Long both have Singing Valentine memories involving the song “Say a Little Prayer for You;” however, Long’s was memorable for the comedic property of it rather than the sentimental. “We were performing for Michael Adams in his first hour English I believe, and we were singing “Say a Little Prayer for You. We were all ready for it because this was our favorite song; we practiced it a lot, made sure the choreography was correct and everything, we were set. Then we actually started singing,” Long said. “We got through most of it before all 6 girls in my group had a mini brain-blank and forgot the next part. We just sang what we did know until we could jump back into the actual song. Everyone in the room loved it, mainly because they couldn’t tell we messed up, but afterwards all of us were laughing at our mistake. Regan Danner said to me, ‘good thing we knew him!’ It made it slightly less embarrassing, but never the less. At least we all knew the song after that!’ While junior Meistersigner Allie Williams’ favorite memory of Singing Valentines does not incorporate the same song as Long and Danielson, it does encompass the family-like bond that the groups grow when rehearsing. Due to their individual rehearsing schedules and locations, the Meisters don’t get to see each other perform their routines before distributing the valentines. Williams believes that the moment she was able to finally see the rest of the Meisters perfom was her favorite memory from last year. “All the groups met [at the Riverside Retirement Home] and we all sang something, so each group sang a different song and we performed in front of all the people in the retirement home,” Williams said. It was adorable. I hadn’t seen everybody sing all the different songs before, like all the groups together and all there black dresses. The guys were seriously so cute, and all the girls were fabulous. I hadn’t seen all the choreography yet so it was really cool to see everything put together, and everybody really enjoyed it.” F
(Top) Left to right: Senior Emily Long, junior Allie Williams, and senior Megan O’Connor practice their group’s Singing Valentine songs in front of a freshman English class. (Middle) Juniors Elia Danielson and Taylor Winslow finish their song ‘I’ll be there For You’ by forming a heart symbol with their heands. (Bottom) Left to right: Senior Natalie Schwartz; juniors Emma Longoria, Elia Danielson, Taylor Winslow, and Jamie Dwyer insert poses into their choreography of their Singing Valentines routine. Michelle Demo| Photos
a&e| mhsfocus.com | FOCUS | 13
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As students look to juice cleanses as a way to help them get in shape for Spring Break, many have ignored the possible health effects that may occur. Michelle Demo | Web Editor & Sarah Wontorcik | Photo Editor
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Amounts per 1/4 cup 1 calories 0 grams
B Juicy ase
.1 grams
fruits
12 | FOCUS | MAR 27, 2014
al O o m
Lemon Fresh Ginger Garlic Cinnamon Wheat Germ
ete Swe ner
Lemon
Amounts per 1 cup
Calories Total Fat Protein
Cucumber Celery Zucchini Orange Rind Apple
61 calories .6 grams 2.3 grams
prevents fiber
ion t p
ph
nutrient rich
entire
Spinach Lettuce Cilantro Parsley Broccoli Stems
Cilantro Calories Total Fat Protein
E
fy Green a e L
W
ith spring break around the corner, way to go.” many students are working Although the juice cleanse is meant to be a towards a healthier lifestyle. A total cleanse of the body, senior Kathryn Smith method gaining popularity is understands the importance of eating solid the juice cleanse, a three-day process where foods and plans on eating at least one meal. the participant consumes only juice. This “You can have foods like chicken or steak for fills the body with powerful nutrients and dinner, because you should have solid food,” antioxidants gained from the ingredients added. Smith said. “It doesn’t have to be in smoothie According to Dr. Oz, however, it is important form.” to remember that juicing is not the only way. Although there are many possible Participants should also be aware that avoiding disadvantages from the juice cleanse, there solid foods is also are also various unhealthy. Juicing is advantages. Because only recommended for most of the recipes for short periods of time the juices have so many without consulting a fiber-filled ingredients, Juicing: Smoothies: physician. the juice cleanse will “My initial interest Fresh vegetable help improve the Contains the in [the juice cleanse] body’s digestive juices are very fruit system. After weighing wasn’t to diet,” Senior or vegetable, James Miller said. “I the advantages and skin and all want to be in shape for disadvantages of the spring break, but I’m juice cleanse, Miller has not really interested in become both nervous A slow, even You going on a hard-core and excited for the release of drink the water weight loss diet.” week-long experience. nutrients and nutrients A juice cleanse “I’m actually kind extracted essentially replaces of excited to make the from fruits and most of a person’s juice,” Miller said. an increase in vegetables meals with a juice “I’m also nervous blood sugar alternative. The about being hungry, r eason be h i n d t h i s I know the book [of Juicing a lot The new alternative diet’s recipes I’m using] from fruit will of popularity is due to allows eating and keep you from snacking on vegetables, the rumors circulating could cause getting hungry but it’s going to be a about its effectiveness. an increase in faster For example, one lot different than my blood sugar rumor is that within foodmatters.tv | Source normal routine, but a week of beginning the juice cleanse, your I’m both nervous and excited.” waistline will be three inches smaller. Planet In order to avoid the possible protein Fitness trainer Michelle Sparling does not deficiency, Miller will be adding a protein recommend this method of dieting, due to its supplement to his juices. While this will help lack in nutrients. Those who partake in the him achieve the daily suggested protein juice cleanse tend to become deficient in other requirement, Sparling does not recommend necessary nutrients such as protein. this as it does not offer the same nutritional “When it comes to things that are an value as solid foods. unnatural diet or fad, I wouldn’t actually put “Eat the rainbow,” Sparling said. “Sticking my stamp of approval on any of them because to one thing is not good [for you] at any time. eating a well-rounded diet is still the healthiest [This way of dieting] is not going to be healthy. thing you can do for yourself,” Sparling said. Eating lean meats, fruits, and vegetables is really “Fad diets and drinking your calories is not the the way to go.”
&
O
A
Celery
Tomato Pineapple Orange Strawberry Watermelon
Amounts per 1 cup
Calories Total Fat Protein
16 calories .2 grams .7 grams
Tomato
Amounts per 1 cup
Calories Total Fat Protein
“FOR PROTEIN YOU DRINK MUSCLE MILK OR YOU EAT CHICKEN OR SOMETHING CARBS WILL COME FROM FRUITS.”
32 calories .4 grams 1.6 grams
KATHRYN SMITH
usda.com | Source Michelle Demo and Sarah Wontorcik | Infographics
“THE BOOK RECOMMENDS THAT YOU ADD A PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT, YOU ALSO GET PROTEIN FROM OTHER INGREDIENTS.”
JAMES MILLER
mhsfocus.com | FOCUS | 13
&
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A
As students look to juice cleanses as a way to help them get in shape for Spring Break, many have ignored the possible health effects that may occur. Michelle Demo | Web Editor & Sarah Wontorcik | Photo Editor
only
Amounts per 1/4 cup 1 calories 0 grams
B Juicy ase
.1 grams
fruits
12 | FOCUS | MAR 27, 2014
al O o m
Lemon Fresh Ginger Garlic Cinnamon Wheat Germ
ete Swe ner
Lemon
Amounts per 1 cup
Calories Total Fat Protein
Cucumber Celery Zucchini Orange Rind Apple
61 calories .6 grams 2.3 grams
prevents fiber
ion t p
ph
nutrient rich
entire
Spinach Lettuce Cilantro Parsley Broccoli Stems
Cilantro Calories Total Fat Protein
E
fy Green a e L
W
ith spring break around the corner, way to go.” many students are working Although the juice cleanse is meant to be a towards a healthier lifestyle. A total cleanse of the body, senior Kathryn Smith method gaining popularity is understands the importance of eating solid the juice cleanse, a three-day process where foods and plans on eating at least one meal. the participant consumes only juice. This “You can have foods like chicken or steak for fills the body with powerful nutrients and dinner, because you should have solid food,” antioxidants gained from the ingredients added. Smith said. “It doesn’t have to be in smoothie According to Dr. Oz, however, it is important form.” to remember that juicing is not the only way. Although there are many possible Participants should also be aware that avoiding disadvantages from the juice cleanse, there solid foods is also are also various unhealthy. Juicing is advantages. Because only recommended for most of the recipes for short periods of time the juices have so many without consulting a fiber-filled ingredients, Juicing: Smoothies: physician. the juice cleanse will “My initial interest Fresh vegetable help improve the Contains the in [the juice cleanse] body’s digestive juices are very fruit system. After weighing wasn’t to diet,” Senior or vegetable, James Miller said. “I the advantages and skin and all want to be in shape for disadvantages of the spring break, but I’m juice cleanse, Miller has not really interested in become both nervous A slow, even You going on a hard-core and excited for the release of drink the water weight loss diet.” week-long experience. nutrients and nutrients A juice cleanse “I’m actually kind extracted essentially replaces of excited to make the from fruits and most of a person’s juice,” Miller said. an increase in vegetables meals with a juice “I’m also nervous blood sugar alternative. The about being hungry, r eason be h i n d t h i s I know the book [of Juicing a lot The new alternative diet’s recipes I’m using] from fruit will of popularity is due to allows eating and keep you from snacking on vegetables, the rumors circulating could cause getting hungry but it’s going to be a about its effectiveness. an increase in faster For example, one lot different than my blood sugar rumor is that within foodmatters.tv | Source normal routine, but a week of beginning the juice cleanse, your I’m both nervous and excited.” waistline will be three inches smaller. Planet In order to avoid the possible protein Fitness trainer Michelle Sparling does not deficiency, Miller will be adding a protein recommend this method of dieting, due to its supplement to his juices. While this will help lack in nutrients. Those who partake in the him achieve the daily suggested protein juice cleanse tend to become deficient in other requirement, Sparling does not recommend necessary nutrients such as protein. this as it does not offer the same nutritional “When it comes to things that are an value as solid foods. unnatural diet or fad, I wouldn’t actually put “Eat the rainbow,” Sparling said. “Sticking my stamp of approval on any of them because to one thing is not good [for you] at any time. eating a well-rounded diet is still the healthiest [This way of dieting] is not going to be healthy. thing you can do for yourself,” Sparling said. Eating lean meats, fruits, and vegetables is really “Fad diets and drinking your calories is not the the way to go.”
&
O
A
Celery
Tomato Pineapple Orange Strawberry Watermelon
Amounts per 1 cup
Calories Total Fat Protein
16 calories .2 grams .7 grams
Tomato
Amounts per 1 cup
Calories Total Fat Protein
“FOR PROTEIN YOU DRINK MUSCLE MILK OR YOU EAT CHICKEN OR SOMETHING CARBS WILL COME FROM FRUITS.”
32 calories .4 grams 1.6 grams
KATHRYN SMITH
usda.com | Source Michelle Demo and Sarah Wontorcik | Infographics
“THE BOOK RECOMMENDS THAT YOU ADD A PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT, YOU ALSO GET PROTEIN FROM OTHER INGREDIENTS.”
JAMES MILLER
mhsfocus.com | FOCUS | 13
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Students strive to succeed in programming inside and outside of the classroom. Through club, class, and personal preparation, they have gone above and beyond what was ever expected. Aelish Shay | News Editor & Michelle Demo | Managing Editor & Megan Nylund | Assistant Web Editor
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Midland placed 1st in the Advanced competition at E M U. T h e t e a m incuded Max Dykhuizen, Jordan Smith, and Joh Reeves.
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50% Computer science teacher Robert Fox’s programming 1 class has a balanced gender ratio; compared to the large, real-life deficit in Science, Technology, Engineering, and M at h ( S T E M ) o cc u p at i o n s.
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The programming club has been active since 2005. Throughout that time, the club has won nearly 45 awards and has placed second at ACLS competition the last few years.
Visual Basic (VB), along with C and Java are the programming software used by the computer programming classes.
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teaching, the students feel more comfortable with competing and thinking through problems, according to Senior AP Computer Science student Rachel Grunder. Grunder finds programming helpful in other areas of her life as it makes her more of a well-rounded thinker. “[Programming] has taught me a lot about patience, perseverance, and problemsolving. When a program doesn’t work, I’m forced to assess the situation, figure out why it isn’t working, and find and try potential solutions until it works,” Grunder said. “This has especially carried over to my duties as chairperson and stage manager in the drama club. As stage manager, it’s my job to find a solution when things go wrong, whether it be with the logistics of a scene change, an injured actor, a broken set piece, etc. Programming has prepared my brain to think outside the box and find the best solution to backstage problems when time is not always an ally.” Looking around the classrooms during Programming One and Two, one would find
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able to see their appreciation for competitive programming grow, and as Purtill explains, most of the reason for this was the mental challenge of programming. “I really like how [the competition] forces you to break down your thinking step by step,” Purtill said. “Coming up with how to solve a problem, like the abstract idea of how to solve something, isn’t hard. It’s coming up with a step-by-step routine of how to do it, and how to do it effectively.” While the challenging atmosphere is an alluring aspect of the programming club, Fox acknowledges that it can have its more stressful moments. Dealing with the stress of not knowing the answer to a problem right away is important to be comfortable with the students’ futures. “If my students don’t see it in the class or the club, they will see it in college. There will be that point of ‘I just don’t know what to do.’ You persevere, and you problem solve, and you get it right, and that’s so intensely
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Senior Rachel Grunder
Power of Programming Bits of informations helpful to know about the programming world o f wo m e n i
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Programming has prepared my brain to think outside the box and find the best solution to problems when time is not always an ally.”
an even ratio of boys to girls; however, in AP Computer Science and the Programming Club, there are fewer girls who continue to stay active in Programming. The three girls for every seven boys ratio is found rather upsetting to Grunder. “I think women are an asset to technology that are, unfortunately, rather scarce,” Grunder said. “The fact that so many women have been discouraged from pursuing these careers just because they’ve been told for so long that men are inherently better at math/science/ engineering is not acceptable.” This gender gap is one of the main things that Fox has been trying to fix in his classes. “One thing I’ve tried very hard to do throughout my career is increase women in computing, because, of all the fields, the biggest gender gaps are in computers and engineering. I think nationally, the female population of computer scientists is between 10-20 percent, so it’s taken me a few years, but I’ve finally gotten my intro class up to 50 percent girls,” Fox said. In order to help the number of women in technology grow, the National Council for Women in Technology has offered a nationwide award to women looking to pursue a future in technology. “Mr. Fox strongly encouraged all the girls in our AP Computer Science class to apply for the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award,” Grunder said. “This is a really cool award because not only does it give money for college, but it also provides the opportunity to gain a lot of networking connections in the industry.” Along with Fox and Grunder, Senior Joh Reeves notices the gender gap, and also wishes more females would join the club. “There’s not much we can do to change it, but programming club tends to be more male heavy, but there’s a lot of opportunities that Mr. Fox presents to his girl students,” Reeves said. “ I’m not saying that we’d be a better club with more girls, but it’d be nice to be gender balanced.” Reeves goes on to explain what makes a good programmer isn’t based on gender, but how well one can work with computers. “There’s no rule saying that guys have to be better programmers, I think there’s plenty of girls that would be good at programming,” Reeves said, “Programming isn’t, ‘are you good at computers?’ It’s ‘are you good at problem solving?’” F
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12| FOCUS | 11/21/2014 | news
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satisfying,” Fox said. “That’s what keeps kids coming back. That’s why they say they like the club. Because of that feeling that ‘I actually accomplished something. I wasn’t doing busy work. I wasn’t doing something I knew the answer to. I actually did something. It was me.’ That’s pretty satisfying.” Fox goes on to discuss how guiding a student to an answer, rather than simply telling it to them, can be stressful to him as well. “When I know the answer, it’s easier to just give them the answer than to say, ‘Hey I think you can figure this out,’” Fox said. “But then they didn’t learn anything. So, I don’t have this natural tendency to say no to people. But, when they’re learning programming, it’s really important that I say no to them, because I have to let students who have the ability to do it, do it.” With the experience gained from self-
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Computer Science teacher Robert Fox instructs senior Kyle Henegar on how to fix a coding problem for his AP Computer Program assignment to successfully create a Yahtzee game. Megan Nylund | Photo
puts 100 points on the board, and starts a timer. One student starts coding on the computer and the other two begin hand writing code for when it’s their turn. For every five minutes that passes, one point is lost. This has aided students in their skill development and ability to work through problems quickly. The students work on strategy and try the problems that are going to get the most points up on the board first, all the while trying to ignore the ones that take too long. One of the most important aspects of programming club is time management. “Mr. Fox’s theology is that once you get to the computer you should only be typing what you’ve written down,” Senior Zach Purtill said. “You shouldn’t stop and have to think about things when you’re at the computer because that’s going to waste time.” After the students began competing, Fox was
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hey’re not your stereotypical geek squad. They’re simply students who have found a place in the school that challenges them: creatively, analytically, and competitively. They are programmers. As defined by computer science teacher Robert Fox, Programming Club is a prime example of a welcoming environment of ‘geeks’ working on something they love – coding. “[They’re] not your stereotypical quoteunquote ‘geeks,’” Fox said. “I think anybody in the class from Varsity football player all the way to hardcore gamer would probably be forced to admit they’re a geek, and I would hope everybody’s a geek about something, whether it’s programming or journalism or whatever it is. But that diversity makes us better, and makes the class more attractive to people.” In order to accommodate the variety of students in his programming classes, Fox attempts to work with each students’ needs and way of learning. He also attempts to prepare his students for college and career lifestyles by ensuring that the students work with each other in order to find the answers that they need. “The reality is, I don’t care what field you go into - teamwork is key,” Fox said. “It used to be, 20-30 years ago, that computer programming was sitting in a cubicle by yourself. That’s just not true anymore. Now, most of the work spaces are open, and you are expected to work with people, to minimize the likelihood of mistakes, and increase the clarity of thought.” Programming club began in 2005, and gradually increased in size from there. The club has now competed in national and even global competitions. They have been coming in second behind a team from Romania for the past few years. “[The club began] when a group of my students approached me and decided they wanted to do this competitively,” Fox said. “I don’t think I ever would have thought that students would have found this particular activity to be fun - at least not that early on in my career. But they pushed me into doing it and got it started, and it’s only grown since that time.” The club meets every Thursday at 6 p.m., where the students get into groups of three, all sharing one computer. Fox passes out a packet with practice problems from old competitions,
One of the main projects that AP programming completes are a series of fractals. Broken down, a fractal is a series of repeating images in order to make a larger o n e. Th e a b ove f ra c t a l s a re designs of Senior Andrew Kim.
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Acco rd i n g to J av a’s we b s i te, most computer tech. Businesses code their programs through the Java programing software.
news | mhsfocus.com | FOCUS | 13
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Students strive to succeed in programming inside and outside of the classroom. Through club, class, and personal preparation, they have gone above and beyond what was ever expected. Aelish Shay | News Editor & Michelle Demo | Managing Editor & Megan Nylund | Assistant Web Editor
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Midland placed 1st in the Advanced competition at E M U. T h e t e a m incuded Max Dykhuizen, Jordan Smith, and Joh Reeves.
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teaching, the students feel more comfortable with competing and thinking through problems, according to Senior AP Computer Science student Rachel Grunder. Grunder finds programming helpful in other areas of her life as it makes her more of a well-rounded thinker. “[Programming] has taught me a lot about patience, perseverance, and problemsolving. When a program doesn’t work, I’m forced to assess the situation, figure out why it isn’t working, and find and try potential solutions until it works,” Grunder said. “This has especially carried over to my duties as chairperson and stage manager in the drama club. As stage manager, it’s my job to find a solution when things go wrong, whether it be with the logistics of a scene change, an injured actor, a broken set piece, etc. Programming has prepared my brain to think outside the box and find the best solution to backstage problems when time is not always an ally.” Looking around the classrooms during Programming One and Two, one would find
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able to see their appreciation for competitive programming grow, and as Purtill explains, most of the reason for this was the mental challenge of programming. “I really like how [the competition] forces you to break down your thinking step by step,” Purtill said. “Coming up with how to solve a problem, like the abstract idea of how to solve something, isn’t hard. It’s coming up with a step-by-step routine of how to do it, and how to do it effectively.” While the challenging atmosphere is an alluring aspect of the programming club, Fox acknowledges that it can have its more stressful moments. Dealing with the stress of not knowing the answer to a problem right away is important to be comfortable with the students’ futures. “If my students don’t see it in the class or the club, they will see it in college. There will be that point of ‘I just don’t know what to do.’ You persevere, and you problem solve, and you get it right, and that’s so intensely
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Senior Rachel Grunder
Power of Programming Bits of informations helpful to know about the programming world o f wo m e n i
12| FOCUS | 11/21/2014 | news
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Programming has prepared my brain to think outside the box and find the best solution to problems when time is not always an ally.”
an even ratio of boys to girls; however, in AP Computer Science and the Programming Club, there are fewer girls who continue to stay active in Programming. The three girls for every seven boys ratio is found rather upsetting to Grunder. “I think women are an asset to technology that are, unfortunately, rather scarce,” Grunder said. “The fact that so many women have been discouraged from pursuing these careers just because they’ve been told for so long that men are inherently better at math/science/ engineering is not acceptable.” This gender gap is one of the main things that Fox has been trying to fix in his classes. “One thing I’ve tried very hard to do throughout my career is increase women in computing, because, of all the fields, the biggest gender gaps are in computers and engineering. I think nationally, the female population of computer scientists is between 10-20 percent, so it’s taken me a few years, but I’ve finally gotten my intro class up to 50 percent girls,” Fox said. In order to help the number of women in technology grow, the National Council for Women in Technology has offered a nationwide award to women looking to pursue a future in technology. “Mr. Fox strongly encouraged all the girls in our AP Computer Science class to apply for the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award,” Grunder said. “This is a really cool award because not only does it give money for college, but it also provides the opportunity to gain a lot of networking connections in the industry.” Along with Fox and Grunder, Senior Joh Reeves notices the gender gap, and also wishes more females would join the club. “There’s not much we can do to change it, but programming club tends to be more male heavy, but there’s a lot of opportunities that Mr. Fox presents to his girl students,” Reeves said. “ I’m not saying that we’d be a better club with more girls, but it’d be nice to be gender balanced.” Reeves goes on to explain what makes a good programmer isn’t based on gender, but how well one can work with computers. “There’s no rule saying that guys have to be better programmers, I think there’s plenty of girls that would be good at programming,” Reeves said, “Programming isn’t, ‘are you good at computers?’ It’s ‘are you good at problem solving?’” F
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Computer Science teacher Robert Fox instructs senior Kyle Henegar on how to fix a coding problem for his AP Computer Program assignment to successfully create a Yahtzee game. Megan Nylund | Photo
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satisfying,” Fox said. “That’s what keeps kids coming back. That’s why they say they like the club. Because of that feeling that ‘I actually accomplished something. I wasn’t doing busy work. I wasn’t doing something I knew the answer to. I actually did something. It was me.’ That’s pretty satisfying.” Fox goes on to discuss how guiding a student to an answer, rather than simply telling it to them, can be stressful to him as well. “When I know the answer, it’s easier to just give them the answer than to say, ‘Hey I think you can figure this out,’” Fox said. “But then they didn’t learn anything. So, I don’t have this natural tendency to say no to people. But, when they’re learning programming, it’s really important that I say no to them, because I have to let students who have the ability to do it, do it.” With the experience gained from self-
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puts 100 points on the board, and starts a timer. One student starts coding on the computer and the other two begin hand writing code for when it’s their turn. For every five minutes that passes, one point is lost. This has aided students in their skill development and ability to work through problems quickly. The students work on strategy and try the problems that are going to get the most points up on the board first, all the while trying to ignore the ones that take too long. One of the most important aspects of programming club is time management. “Mr. Fox’s theology is that once you get to the computer you should only be typing what you’ve written down,” Senior Zach Purtill said. “You shouldn’t stop and have to think about things when you’re at the computer because that’s going to waste time.” After the students began competing, Fox was
1c
T
hey’re not your stereotypical geek squad. They’re simply students who have found a place in the school that challenges them: creatively, analytically, and competitively. They are programmers. As defined by computer science teacher Robert Fox, Programming Club is a prime example of a welcoming environment of ‘geeks’ working on something they love – coding. “[They’re] not your stereotypical quoteunquote ‘geeks,’” Fox said. “I think anybody in the class from Varsity football player all the way to hardcore gamer would probably be forced to admit they’re a geek, and I would hope everybody’s a geek about something, whether it’s programming or journalism or whatever it is. But that diversity makes us better, and makes the class more attractive to people.” In order to accommodate the variety of students in his programming classes, Fox attempts to work with each students’ needs and way of learning. He also attempts to prepare his students for college and career lifestyles by ensuring that the students work with each other in order to find the answers that they need. “The reality is, I don’t care what field you go into - teamwork is key,” Fox said. “It used to be, 20-30 years ago, that computer programming was sitting in a cubicle by yourself. That’s just not true anymore. Now, most of the work spaces are open, and you are expected to work with people, to minimize the likelihood of mistakes, and increase the clarity of thought.” Programming club began in 2005, and gradually increased in size from there. The club has now competed in national and even global competitions. They have been coming in second behind a team from Romania for the past few years. “[The club began] when a group of my students approached me and decided they wanted to do this competitively,” Fox said. “I don’t think I ever would have thought that students would have found this particular activity to be fun - at least not that early on in my career. But they pushed me into doing it and got it started, and it’s only grown since that time.” The club meets every Thursday at 6 p.m., where the students get into groups of three, all sharing one computer. Fox passes out a packet with practice problems from old competitions,
ing
50% Computer science teacher Robert Fox’s programming 1 class has a balanced gender ratio; compared to the large, real-life deficit in Science, Technology, Engineering, and M at h ( S T E M ) o cc u p at i o n s.
November
15
The programming club has been active since 2005. Throughout that time, the club has won nearly 45 awards and has placed second at ACLS competition the last few years.
Visual Basic (VB), along with C and Java are the programming software used by the computer programming classes.
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The Bro Code
Fun with Fractals
One of the main projects that AP programming completes are a series of fractals. Broken down, a fractal is a series of repeating images in order to make a larger o n e. Th e a b ove f ra c t a l s a re designs of Senior Andrew Kim.
97%
Acco rd i n g to J av a’s we b s i te, most computer tech. Businesses code their programs through the Java programing software.
news | mhsfocus.com | FOCUS | 13
PeopleOfMidland 13 42K
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population
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repor ters
Following
Michelle Demo | Managing Editor & Lydia Dornbos | Staff Writer & Maddy Pasche | Staff Writer Ever yone has their own unique stor y. R andom citizens of M idland were asked by the focus to share their tales and give words of wisdom. Follow @MHSfocus1 on Instagram for more stories from the People O f M idland.
“The most spine tingling [memory from search-and-rescue] was when a young woman went missing from the residence where she lived. This residence was in a rural area, and there was a large pond. We had asked, had the pond been searched before? And they said, yes, we’ve been all around the pond, it’s gated off - no one can get in there. My dog and I were working around the outside of the fence, and the dog kept saying, “I want to go in, I want to go in.” So, we actually found a break in the fence, and a way in. The dog kept wanting to go in the water, and the field support person with me said, “Oh she’s a lab, she just wants to go swimming.” I said, “I don’t think so.” She had purpose, and was heading in a direction. I said, “Keep the flashlight on her, see where she’s going.” So we followed her with the flashlight to these little shrugs at the edge of the pond, and all of a sudden, a head right out of the water turned and looked at us. So we were, “Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!” My field person ran around to help the lady while we were watching her, and she had slipped into the water, and was just holding onto the branch there - holding her from sliding under, she had been there for several hours. But she didn’t respond when people called out for her. Without the dogs, we never would have found her. She was okay, but that was probably the most exciting one.” Suzanne Ramos and her dog Emma Dog trainer and service dog in training
24| FOCUS | 10/2/2014 | a&e
“Live your life happily. Don’t worry about what others say about you.” Tiana Bowvee Pish Posh worker
“Big time dreams? I can't really pin-point anything right now. Just laying low, enjoying the retirement, & playing music on the side." Ike Beehr Retired art teacher
“If I could go back and tell my 16 year old self anything, it would be to get yourself together, don’t stress, and honestly just do the best you can. For real.” Dylan Shangle Former MHS student
“I tell my students ‘Life’s not always sunshine and rainbows, and learning to face adversity and push through is not going to always be easy, and that’s just life.’ Push through, find people that can support you, or help you, or that type of thing. You don’t have to go at it alone. You’ll get through it.” Matt Murphy Teacher at Mt. Pleasant High School
Michelle Demo, Lydia Dornbos, & Maddy Pasche | Photos
SENIOR WALL | PAGE 10
MHS VS DOW | PAGES 12-13
focus
PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB | PAGE 23
FLASHBACK FRIDAY | PAGE 24
the
Midland High School | October 24, 2014 | Volume 37. Issue 2
Superior season As the yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s season wraps up, the Boys Varsity soccer seniors reflect on their four year winning streak in the SVL. Page 15
Pictured: SVL MVP Jake Rajewski
SPECIAL REPORT: the affects of ADHD, and how a student can overcome the obstacle is examined Michelle Demo | Photo Illustration
ATHEISM | PAGE 09
ONE BILLION RISING| PAGES 12-13
focus
SOCIAL MEDIA | PAGE 14 CAPTURED PHOTOGRAPHY | PAGE 24
the
Midland High School | March 6, 2015| Volume 37. Issue 6
An unhealthy trip
More people are using research chemicals in an attempt to reach an similar high to that of LSD. Is the high worth the risk? Page 15
SPECIAL REPOR T: fo c u s i n g o n t h e s t r u g g l e s a n d s u cce s s e s i n g y m n a s t i c s Maddy Wheelock & Michelle Demo | Illustration
TRACK PREVIEW | PAGE 09
ALCOHOL | PAGES 12-13
focus
BEEKEEPING | PAGE 14
SPRING BREAK QUIZ | PAGE 24
the
Midland High School | March 27, 2015| Volume 37. Issue 7
Music of the night The Midland High Drama club has less than one month left until the curtain rises on The Phantom of the Opera. Pages 21-23
SPECIAL REPORT: recent events have star ted discussions on transgender students Michelle Demo | Illustration