September / October 2016

Vol. 9 Vol. Issue91 Issue #2

Mill Creek

CHRONICLE September/October 2016

VARSITY Cheerleading -Sarah Boozer -Matt Trainor

CHEATING: WHAT YOU RISK Important Information for SENIORS

iPhone 7 Mrs. Mashburn

Opens Orphanage in India

Project Based Learning

PHOTO: Isaac Lee

PHOTO: Sidney Chansamone

PHOTO: Cassidy Hettesheimer

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Contact us for details about pricing and sizing How to reach us: Email: mchschronicle@gmail.com Phone: 678-714-5899

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4

Mrs. Mashburn Opens Orphanage in India

iPhone 7

New at the Mall of Georgia, .......

MASTHEAD Editors Kaitlyn Neher Ashley Baptiste Staff Writers Allie Bolton Jordan Dudley Abigail Key Christopher Kline Vanessa Medina Maggie Mitchell Bailey Monroe Faith Montgomery Madeleine Moody Michelle Ortiz Collins Sainovich Will Sowders Adviser Mrs. Nora Neff Cover Design: Kaitlyn Neher, Ashley Baptiste Pictured in Cover: LaChe’ree Loveless Cover Photo Credits: Katherine Torres Photo Credits left to right: Courtesy of Ms. Mashburn, Creative Commons, Megan Govedich, Isaac Lee, Jordan Dudley, Isaac Lee

25 Football: Profile and schedule

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Cheerleading

Varsity comp and spirit profiles

Other stories included...

4 Fast News 6 A Home in India 8 Iphone 7 10 Fall Activities 12 Varsity Cheer spotlights 14 Creeks Freeks 16 Fine Arts highlights 17 Music Midtown 18 Actions and Consequences 20 Top Reads 22 The Feminine Dilemma 23 Scoop on School Lunch 24 Project-Based Learning 25 Football schedule 26 Ready-Set-Apply Senior checklist

26 Important Senior Information

Student Section

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*The Chronicle is a student publication of Mill Creek High School. It is distributed to students, faculty, staff, and the Mill Creek community. The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of individual writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the entire Chronicle Staff or Mill Creek High School, its students, faculty, staff or administration. Content is edited and designed by student editors.

FAST NEWS

Bringing you the latest news including topics related to Mill Creek High School, the community, national, and sometimes international events, the Mill Creek Chronicle staff strives to keep you in the know of what is current, trending, and happening in today’s society.

McClain Hermes By: Colins Sainovich

Blind Gwinnett swimmer McClain Hermes, 15, swam in the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. Hermes swam the 100 Meter Backstroke, 400 Meter Freestyle, and 100 Meter Breaststroke.

She represented Team USA well, even finaling in the 100 Backstroke, but Hermes says she had hoped to perform better.

“I wasn’t too pleased with my performances in Rio. I had hoped to drop more time and rank higher, but my coaches told me that Rio was just a learning experience for me and that I will be better prepared for Tokyo in 2020.”

Hermes said the experience was such a “neat experience,” and that one of the coolest PHOTOS: parts of the trip was being able to stay in the Olympic Village.

“It was cool to get to eat different foods from different countries in the dining hall, and to be able to share their cultures.”

Her favorite part of the trip was when she PHOTO: Youth1.com

walked out onto the pool deck for the 100 Backstroke Final.

“The announcer said my name and that I was representing Team USA. It really felt like a dream.”

Hermes is a sophomore at the Gwinnett Online Campus. When she was eight, she had four emergency surgeries to reattach her retinas. This was a result of Wagner Syndrome. Today she is completely blind in her right eye and describes the amount of vision in her left eye as “seeing through a coffee straw.”

However, she says she will not stop her from accomplishing her goals and that she is looking forward to Tokyo in 2020!

PHOTO: Gwinnett Daily Post

Protests in Atlanta By: Maggie Mitchell and Jordan Dudley

After the protests in Charlotte, N.C., people walked through Atlanta peacefully protesting on Friday September 23rd. Keith Lamont Scott was shot in Charlotte. The family is trying to look for answers to their questions about the shooting. The Atlanta rally was held at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights Museum.

PHOTO: Creative Commons

Suspect in New York, New Jersey Bombings By: Bailey Monroe

September 19 the police took a 28 year- old into custody for the bombings in Seaside Park N.J. and Manhattan N.Y. Two police officers were shot while arresting the suspect, but one was only hit in his bullet proof vest. suspect is charged with five counts of attempted murder of an officer, and two second- degree counts of possession of a handgun. Charges related to the bombing were pending as we go to print.

New at the Mall of Georgia By: Will Sowders

These past few months, the Mall of Georgia has opened a variety of new stores, including ThinkGeek, a fandom store that sells items related to TV shows, music, games, movies, and more. The long awaited opening of clothing store Von Maur has finally come, filling the spot where Nordstrom used to be and reopening the parking lot that has been closed ever since Nordstrom left. And finally, Red Robin opened on the second level across from Buffal Wild Wings, an all-new option for burgers and fries.

PHOTO: Allie Bolton

Snake on a train By: Vanessa Medina

At 2:30 am on September 27th Japan’s famous Bullet Train came to an unscheduled and unusual halt on its way to Hiroshima. The uber-punctual transportation service was forced to come to an emergency stop and deal with an unlikely intruder. A small brown snake somehow snuck its way on the Bullet Train and was spotted by a female passenger. Police were called to capture the snake which they believed to be nonpoisonous.

PHOTO: Creative Commons

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Hawk With A Story

“It has changed me from the inside out.

I feel blessed. I want less. At this point, I work so I can give.�

Since many of the kids have been street children for years, most do not know their birthdays or exactly how old they are. We threw a birthday party complete with cake and gifts on the day we opened, and from now forward, they will celebrate the birthdays of all the kids on June 8.

All pictures were provided by Mrs. Mashburn.

“Just know you’re not alone ‘Cause I’m going to make this place your home” - Phillip Phillips

Mrs. Mashburn Opens Orphanage in India By: Michelle Ortiz

This summer while most laid tanning next to the pool, food science teacher April Mashburn opened an orphanage in the village of Ravulapalli in India that now houses and nurtures 12 children.

This task, however, was not accomplished within one summer, Mashburn says. The journey to this astonishing achievement began with a tragedy.

In June of 2014, Mashburn’s then 29 year old best friend passed away in a car accident. To honor his death, Mashburn says, she wanted to do “something his daughter could see,” and something that could at the same time help others.

“My husband and I took this project on personally and it took us about a year to raise the money,” says Mashburn. Mashburn’s friends raised $3,000, and the other 20,000 was saved “by living on less” than what her and her husband made. ”It seems like a lot of money but it will house 12 kids and that will also pay for their school,their

uniforms, and it bought them a home.”

of the Indian children but also Mashburn herself.

On June 4th, “Two years after [her friend’s ] death, I left for India..where I got to cut the ribbon and meet all the children.”

According to the Washington Post, there are over 30 million orphans in India since 2014 that only “about 2,500 were adopted” that year. Prospective parents, meanwhile, are stymied by complicated rules, long delays, overcautious bureaucracy and illegal trafficking.

“It has changed me from the inside out. I feel blessed.

I want less. At this point, I work so I can give. I manage my resources better so I can help them again sooner.”

As the Mill Creek community reads this Mashburn says, “I hope it inspires a little bit of, service even local service to go beyond your bubble and make someone’s life better.

It doesn’t have be 9,000 miles from home.”

“We gave the management authority to a local church and their responsible for initially taking care of the children, “ says Mashburn, who does not have a say in the management of the program but hopes that through her orphanage these numbers will go down.

To help the church care for the children, Mashburn built a well in addition to the orphanage to assure the drinking water for them and the community.

This experience not only has changed the lives

“Cody Brantley. He was killed in a car accident on Hwy 316 at the age of 29 on June 4, 2014, exactly two years before I left for India. He had a beautiful wife and infant daughter, and the orphanage was built in his memory.”

- April Mashburn.

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iPhone

Apple’s Newest Innovation

T

By: Allie Bolton

he next generation of iPhone has just arrived, packed with new features that make the device more like a back-pocket computer than a cell phone. Now equipped with things like 3D touch, two different camera lenses, dual speakers, a max of 254GB memory, and a dual core processor, this phone can do just about anything your computer can. That said, not everyone needs an entire computer in their pocket, though many may desire sone.

But is it really worth it to you for the upgrades the new phone offers?

Perhaps you are a rising photographer who will use the dual camera to enhance your art. Or maybe you are a musician who can make great use of the double speaker system and equipped garage band.

But for those who just want a new phone, there are cheaper options for the average phone user you may not have heard of.

“One of apple’s best-loved phones ever has recieved a spiritual sucessor,“ says TrustedReviews. com regarding the iPhone SE. The iPhone SE, though recently released as a new phone, is a resurrection of the iPhone 5s. A fully capable and fast working phone, The iPhone SE is an iPhone 5s with an upgraded operating system -as the original system is nearly obsolete- and features enhanced to match up to the iPhone 6 in functionality without the complexity.

The SE is an affordable option listed at nearly $300 cheaper than the 7 on the Apple website, and returns users to the classic structure and commonday-necessary functionality of the 5 and 5s.

There are plenty of buyers out there who are dead-set on a new 7 looking forward to its upcoming features, but all that glitters may not be a gold iPhone.

Despite Apple’s, “exteremely sucessful [iPhone 6] launch,” acording to Time magazine, many users have reported issues with their phone screen randomly freezing and refusing to register their touch. The phenomenon has come to be known as “touch disease” and is attributed to the thinness and flexibility of the phones. “A latent manufacturing deffec,” says Digitaltrends.com, “is cousing displays on apple’s iPhone 6 to flicker, become unresponsive, and misbehave in other ways.”

The issue arises from the differences in the materials. The phone is made of metal which is somewhat flexible, but the screen is made of glass which is rigid and provides no room for flexing.

Thus, as digitaltrends.com concludes,”the subtle bending annd twisting of the phone can apparently crack the internal electrical components.”

In the past, Apple was criticized by their frequent buyers for having glass too weak to withstand the flexing from short drops and being sat on. The company then invested in a stronger glass which can take these minor abuses, but it still can’t flex.

Now, instead of shattering, the screen becomes more and more dislodged from the inner workings

of the phone as it bends. The result: a screen that stops working.

The iPhone 7 openly proclaims that it is now thinner and more flexible than even the iPhone 6, but this fact may be fatal for the new phones, making the device much more susceptible to the phone-crippling touch disease.

Though this may seem like an unavoidable issue, Samsung recently unveiled prototypes for fully flexible phone screens, not made of glass, which can be flexed like a sheet of paper and still work properly, available for sale in 2017.

Many also point the issue at the lack of a protective plate in the new models that previously existed in the iPhone 5. This and other physical features are absent from the iPhone 7 in order to make the device so thin. But in light of the issue of touch disease, which Apple may soon be facing a, “federal class-action lawsuit,” over, according to Patrick May of The Mercury News, one may ask, ‘why make the phone thinner?’ Whatever the reason may be, one thing is for sure for iPhone 7 buyers: just don’t sit on your phone.

PHOTO: Creative Commons

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Fall Activites Top Halloween Movies Kids Halloween movies

The most popular movies fall under this category: the classic, children’s Halloween movies. Halloweentown, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mostly Ghostly, and Casper are all examples of those kidfriendly and festive movies perfect for cold weather and a cup of hot chocolate.

Beetlejuice

PHOTOS: Creative Commons

Nightmare Before Christmas

Nightmare on Elm Street

PHOTO: Ashley Baptiste

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Varsity CHEERLEADING By:Madeleine Moody

Photo Credits: Chassidy Hettesheimer from game Mill Creek vs. Stevenson Photo Credits: Kayla Phillips from the Corkey Kell

Spirit cheer intensifies as the football team continues their undefeated season.

Senior Sarah Boozer says, “I like being involved in the crowd and getting everyone excited.” With being apart of the Mill Creek cheer team all four years, these ladies stay motivated from the crowd and the exercise they get from it. Senior Olivia Sawyer says,”the crowd motivates me to continue to cheer.” Annika Rainey stated, “cheer keeps me in shape so I am motivated to continue.”ed in the crow dCompetition as well, just came off of a third place win at a competition this past weekend on September 17th, 2016. Senior, Matt Trainor says, “we got third at our competition on Saturday September 17, but that’s pretty good because someone (Caitlin Richardson) broke her hand Friday before the competition so we had to find a sub for her Saturday morning.”

Jr. cheerleaders coming to cheer with Mill creek vasity spirit cheerleaders.

Sarah Boozer, 12

“I’ve cheered for 12 years.” “ A winning season keeps me motivated to keep cheering.” “ The season has been fun because being seniors we’re all really close and close to the players.” “ We practice a lot, it’s stressful to get everything together for games but it’s all worth it.”

Annika Rainey, 12 “ I’ve been cheering since first grade so 11 years.”

“I like the team work and going to football games and being apart of school spirit.”

“Cheer keeps me in shape so I am motivated to continue.” “ We practice monday through saturday.”

Matt Trainor, 12

“ This is my second year cheering and it is really fun getting to do stuff a lot of other people can’t like flipping” “ Being one of the other guys cheering is different because I’m surrounded by a lot of girls but I have other guys to hang out with. ” “ My coach keeps me motivated to keep cheering.” “ We practice for 2 hours everyday after school except on wednesdays, so it’s a lot of work but it’s worth it.”

Olivia Sawyer, 12 “I’ve cheered since 4th grade so 8 years.” “ The football games are the most fun about cheer.” “ The season has been pretty good so far.” “ Remembering everything was something I had to conquer.”

Photo top right: Sarah Boozer at the football game verses Stenson. Top right: Annika Rainey at football gameb verses Stenson. Bottom left: Cheerleaders cheering at the Corkey Kell in the Georgia dome. Bottome right: Sophie Mills cheering at the home game against Stenson.

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PHOTO: Emily jones

PHOTO: Kayla Phillips

Creek’s Freeks PHOTO: Cassidy Hettesheimer

PHOTO: Cassidy Hettesheimer PHOTO: Olivia Kogel

Taking School Pride to a new level By: Will Sowders

PHOTOS: Top: Cassidy Hettesheimer , Middle: Cassidy Hettesheimer, Bottom:Kayla Phillips

Everyone knows the Creek’s Freeks. They’re the ones at the football games with paint splattered all over their bodies and hoarse voices from screaming and yelling to hype up one of the many varsity athletic teams here at Mill Creek.

They’re the last ones on the field after a big win. They’re the ones standing on chairs and tables during pep rallies.

They’re what many consider the essence of our school spirit, including section leader Robert Philo.

“The student section is a place where people who were previously divided into cliques and clusters can unite to support one common goal,” an

embodiment of Hawk pride,” said Philo.

Other senior Freeks leaders include Connor O’Donnelly, Connor Whitmore, Kelly Anglin, and Delaney Moore. These are the people who start chants, rally the crowd, and often times have the least amount of voice left following a close game.

Moore says the student section is “super fun,” and that he is, “lucky to have the opportunity to include all students and cheer on our football team.”

The Creek’s Freeks aren’t only at football games. “Catch us at volleyball and even some tennis matches in the spring,” continued Moore.

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PHOTO: Cassidy Hettesheimer

PHOTO: Sidney Chansamone

PHOTO: Kayla Phillips

PHOTO: Cassidy Hettesheimer

PHOTO: Sidney Chansamone

Band

Fine Arts

The band class performed two pieces played by two groups. One song that they played was, “Gershwin”

by George. The other group that performed, to represent band, is Brass Ensemble. A Brass Ensemble typically includes two trumpets or cornets, one French horn, and one tube or bass trombone. They played “Yesterday” by the Beatles.

By: Abbie Key and Faith Montgomery

Dance

This year, the decade for dance is the 80’s. The 5th period dance class performed a contemporary group dance choreographed by Jennifer Starkman to the song “Turned to Stone”. “I was very excited for the showcase since it was my first one, and it was really fun.” says Alex Kopczynski.

In addition to the group, there was also a trio performed

by Megan Govedich, Maddie Govedich, and Makenah Mader set to the song, “Love is a Battlefield.” “Combining all of the fine arts is cool and it shows a variety of all levels.” said Megan Govedich.

Chorus

Chorus had two classes that were in the Fine Arts Showcase, Spectrum and Mastery. Spectrum is a show choir class which means they dance and sing at the same time.

Both chorus classes did the 80’s decade for their performance. One of the songs they sang is an acapella song, Theater which is when a group, or a solo, sings without instrumenTheatre did interpretations for their portion of the tal accompaniment. The acapella song is “True Colors” by showcase. There are three different types of interpretations: humorous, dramatic, and duo. Advanced Cyndi Lauper. They also did an 80’s melody, which has drama one, two, three, and four are the classes that an instrumental along with vocals. One of the songs was “Thriller” by Michael Jackson. “I love my group and I love were in the showcase. Advanced theatre three and four classes, were combined. “It was one big class as- being with them, I have never been with a group more signment and I took a group from each class and put enthusiastic than me. I was really excited to be a part of those groups in the showcase,” said Ms. Alexander. this performance,” says Khelsey Melador.

Orchestra

After returning from their trip to Georgia Southern, the orchestra had one week to finish preparations for the Fine Arts Showcase. The orchestra performed two Pop songs, “Smooth” by Santana and “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars. Uptown Funk featured vocals by Shanden Vance, a senior violist and AllState Chorus member. In addition to the full orchestra, there were also three small groups which performed “From a Distance,” “Thriller,” and “Firework.” Asia Taylor, a violist, said, “Last year, the showcase was really cool.

I loved seeing all of the people showing how well they could play. So, I was really excited to be featured in this year’s show.”

Music Midtown By: Will Sowders

PHOTOS: Parker Myers

On September 17th and 18th, Piedmont Park in downtown Atlanta hosted the annual music festival Music Midtown, which drew over 150,000 people from all over the southeast. Bands from all over the world such as twenty one pilots, and The Killers, Deadmau5, and Beck who headlined the festival, gathered in Atlanta and played music both Saturday and late into Sunday evening.

Many Mill Creek students attended the event, including senior Madeline Hill, who said “even though it poured down on us, it was still a weekend to remember.” Sunday evening a thunderstorm rolled into the midtown area, forcing attendees to find shelter close by, which was virtually nonexistent, according to those who attended.

“The concert was more fun in the rain,” continued Hill, “It heightened the experience and made it more interactive.”

The delay occurred soon before The Alabama Shakes, The Lum-

ineers, Ke$ha, and festival-closing act alternative rock band The Killers were set to perform, pushing their sets back about an hour. Daniel Craig, star of the recent James Bond films, introduced The Killers on the Electric Ballroom stage after the weather delay.

The festival has its origins in 1994, proceeding until 2005, then going on hiatus until 2011, when it began its annual show in Piedmont Park. This year, it changed its typical Friday/Saturday layout to a Saturday/Sunday layout due to traffic from a local high school and Atlanta rush hour traffic.

With four stages and countless different options for food, according to their official website, Music Midtown also has “interactive sponsorship experiences, a Ferris wheel, and views of the Midtown skyline,” in addition to many critically-acclaimed artists.

It’s an annual celebration of music, right here at home.

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Actions and consequences By: Vanessa Medina

cheating on an academic assignment can cost more than just a grade THE ACTION: What happened Recently, several dozen students were found to have cheated on the summer reading assignment for language arts class.

The online assignment, due the third week of school called for a student to pick a book and answer a series of questions based on that book.

When language arts teachers started grading the assignments they noticed similarities and in some cases the exact same essay between students.

Teachers referred over 200 students’ essays to grade level administrators with concerns about cheating. Administrators assessed the punishment of one day of OSS for each instance where cheating was found.

“I would have to say I am shocked just because of our vision and our mission statement, our students here are held accountable for everything they do and to know that we had this number of students turning in the same assignment was really shocking,” Dr. HudsonCook, 10th grade administrator.

The problem has caused

extra work for language arts teachers, as they had to go back and compare each individual essay with every other essay across each grade level.

“It’s just part of the job. I would’ve checked everything anyway,” said Mr. David Moore, 10th grade language arts teacher.

There were misunderstandings among the community where parents believed students were being

“We do look at the details the student provides as to what happened,” Ethan Penland, Assistant Director of undergraduate admissions at The University of North Georgia. punished for simply working with each other or discussing the assignment with peers. Mr. Lane has received many phone calls from parents asking why their students were accused of cheating when the work

was only similar to another student’s work, In reality the vast majority of students caught cheating turned in assignments that were almost word for word identical with other students’ work.

Parents who called Mr. Lane were shown their students essay along with the evidence of cheating. Any parents who wanted to appeal their child’s punishment after being shown evidence of cheating have had private meetings with Mr. Lane.

“I am surprised and I am very disappointed, as I said in my video message, that students would make this choice because we face these choices every single day and I expect more,” Mr. Lane.

The Consequences: What is at risk?

GRADUATION Luckily for most students, status as an honor grad will not necessarily be influenced by one honor code violation.

According to Mr. Lane, if this is the first offense for a student it will not affect their honor grad status. If it is a second or third

offense each students record will be reviewed individually

by Mr. Lane. According to administrators, this was a first time offense for most students who cheated on the summer assignment.

PHOTO: Ashley Baptiste

PARKING PASSES Parking passes will not be revoked for cheating on this assignment, but they could be in the future.

OSS Before a student is suspended the burden of proof is on Dr. Hardegree and the teacher. By definition cheating includes providing answers, copying answers from another, copying answers off the internet without providing sources, copying someone else’s paper off the internet, or even paying another student to complete the essay for you. Ultimately there are many different ways a student can be caught.

On the day of out of school suspension you are counted as

absent, so you cannot participate in extracurricular activities such as sports games, concerts, dances, or any other school sponsored activity.

SCHOOL DISCIPLINE The punishment is definitely not intended to hurt students down the academic road.b but it is a school rule consequence and it does go on a student’s discipline record.

“Part of high school discipline is to learn a lesson before you go on to college and it’s my hope that the students that got caught or caught up in this situation learn a valuable lesson, so when they get to college they don’t get kicked out,” Dr. Hardegree.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES You run the risk of dismissal from the National Honor Society and all honor societies if you are caught cheating. There is an article in the bylaws of National Honor Society which dictates that

if you break any honor violations or honor codes within your school’s rule of conduct you will be asked to leave. Getting caught for cheating, getting suspended, or any other disciplinary problems can make you subject for removal.

If you have three honor code violations, you run the risk of being dismissed from a sports team. If you participate in a school sport, you have strict rules you have to follow. For example, football players are required to sign a contract that lists consequences for breaking rules such as cheating, being absent from practice, orbeing assigned OSS. Anything that requires a player to miss practice can result in suspension from games.

COLLEGE Students should think about how an honor code violation could affect them when applying to colleges. An OSS on a senior’s disciplinary record is likely to be noticed and reviewed by admissions offices. An honor violation can hinder admission if it involved academic dishonesty, but it does not necessarily always come back as something that can completely ruin a student’s chances of being accepted. ‘We do look at the details the student provides as to what happened,” said Ethan Penland, Assistant Director of undergraduate admissions at The University of North Georgia.

Take care to review the honor code that was shared during advisement this fall for more details on school and county policies on cheating

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PHOTO: Maggie Mitchell

Things you probably didn’t know about the library...

By: Allie Bolton

first

second

this month

this year

250 30 474 1,160 students students books total BEFORE CLASS

AFTER SCHOOL

SEPTEMBER

SO FAR...

The library, which opens at 6:45 AM, sees roughly 250 students each morning. Students usually finish up on homework, take advantage of the free black and white printing, or find a book to read.

Unlike the busy, overcrowded mornings, the afternoons tend to be much more tranquil. About 30 students visit the library after 7th period. Monday through Thursday, closing time is 3:00 PM, and on Friday’s closing time is 2:30.

There have been 404 books checked out in the month of September. According Mrs. Donovan, one of our media specialists, the most popular genre being checked out is fantasy.

Evidently, the Mill Creek media center is quite popular; In just the first two months of school, 1,160 books have been checked out.

Top Books and Movies

2016

By: Maggie Mitchell

PHOTO: Maggie Mitchell

PHOTO: Maggie Mitchell

The right book can really grab the reader’s attention and make them want to read more. Movies inspired by books can also encourage people to read. The release of movies like “Allegiant” on March 14th and “Kubo and the Two Strings” on August 19th has brought more people into the media center.

“I feel like they have a wide selection of books because there are multiple genres present in the media center,” said sophomore Ashley Lange. They’re caught up with all the top books and if a student has a request for a book the librarians make sure that the student gets it quickly. “The librarians are very nice and helpful,” said sophomore Sofina Tran.

The most requested book in the library changes daily.

Media specialist Mary Kay Donovan said,” We don’t really have an actually book that is most popular or most checked out, it sometimes depends on what movies are out.”

When the series “Divergent “came out on DVD the books were a big hit. A lot of students were checking out the book since the movie was so popular. Ms. Donovan thinks that the book “The

Young Elites” is going to be checked out frequently when it comes out on DVD. Some of the more popular genres with teens right now are Dystopian and Fantasy.

“Horror is my favorite type of book because of the suspense and that I never know what’s coming next,” said Tran.

As we go to print, the top ten books at the Mill Creek media center are: Unwind, The Alchemist, Angela’s Ashes, Death Note, Dragon Ball [7], Glass Sword, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Dragon Ball vol.22, Fullmetal Alchemist, and The Ghosts of Heaven.

Most of those are fiction.

Even though the media center has many books they can’t have them all. Students can request a book if the media center doesn’t have one they are looking for.

It is very simple to request a book, go to website www.mchsmedia.com, click “Got Books” at the top of the screen and fill in the form with your name, email (so they can email you when the book arrives), and the title and author of the book you want. Once the title is approved by the school media committee, it will be on the next book order.

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The feminine dilemma By: Michelle Ortiz

The school clinic is no longer providing free feminine products to students.

In previous school years, girls could rely on going to the clinic and being able to get a free pad or tampon in times of emergencies. Now, due to

52% of girls did not know of this change

or not they knew of this change and if they approved of it. 52% of girls did not know of this change and 86% argued that feminine products should be provided in emergencies. Ms. Fleming, however, understands not everyone carries a quater.

Fleming says, “Now if a girl comes in and needs one and doesn’t have a quarter absolutely she can have one; I’ll just write her name on a book and she can pay me when she can.”

86% argued that feminine products should be provided

PHOTO: Michelle Ortiz

the clinic’s budget, these feminine products can no longer be provided for free. Students must pay a 25 cent fee for each item they need. Ms. Fleming, the school nurse, explains in the years past she was able to obtain and use “coupons for a box of free tampons or free pads.” Fleming say, “This method has lasted me for 12 years and now I have run out. The clinic has a budget.

Tampons and pads are very expensive and I cannot supply these without charging for them.”

The Chronicle conducted a survey asking the Mill Creek ladies whether

The Scoop on School Lunches By: Madeleine Moody

Cafeteria manager Tammy Baylor and her staff put a lot of effort goes into making sure that the food at school tastes good for the students while also meeting the requirements from the county and state.

With all that work, sme parents may wonder why their students still want to bring lunch to school now rather than eating at school. We brought in a few parents to try the food for themselves.

Sulett Muñoz, mother of junior Michelle Ortiz, says, “ for parents that are constantly on the go we don’t get to eat much good food anyways, so trying this cafeteria food it is actually good. You guys are lucky to be fortunate enough to have food like this provided to you everyday.”

Mrs. Baylor had a few other facts to share about the cafeteria.

Breakfast is provided to all students free of charge, it will be registered in your account but no money will be charged from your

account unless you get an extra entree, then it would cost $1.25.

Lunch is $2.50, which includes the entree, two vegetable and / or two fruit sides, and a milk.

The biggest thing Baylor wants the student body to know is that the school cafeteria is an idea center.

She said, “ we love when students give a lot of feedback that way we can put things across to Mill Creek as a whole, get feedback and then determine if we want to start serving it.”

When students say that the food in the cafeteria is bland or has no flavor, this is generally because of the Healthy HungryFree Kids Act (HHFKA) that Michelle Obama implemented.

Baylor stated, “ we had to change the foods we make and sell because of the healthy food impliment by Michelle Obama, last year we focused on the amount of sugar grams in the food we’re selling, and this year we are focusing more on the

amount of salt grams in the food instead, because of this we have had to change a lot of the food we are selling this year.”

Also any student can sample foods at anytime, if there is any side in the line that you have never tried before and wonder how it tastes take a sample of it and it won’t be charged to your account as a side.

Students who have a food allergy or who have an allergy to gluten just need to request gluten free food from Mrs. Baylor.

There are a lot of foods that she can order that are gluten free, but she just has not had anyone tell her they have an allergy to gluten so she hasn’t ordered them.

The cafeteria is an idea center and the cafeteria workers truly care about the students here at Mill Creek. All they want to do is serve the students to the best of their abilities and make them happy!

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Project Based Learning

By: Christopher Kline

Project-Based Concepts of Learning (PBL) is Engineering and a newly-instituted Applications program which of Engineering incorporates a between their slightly altered freshman and academic curricujunior year. lum into a pathway Depending on geared towards eiwhich credits ther engineering or they carry over entrepreneurship from middle starting freshman school, some year. juniors will take The concept an engineering behind PBL is to elective during Freshmen Karisma Singh and Kate Singleton work on a circuit project PHOTO: Mr. Scott Mitchell make classwork their third year in between. As every student curmore engaging for in the program. rently in the program is a freshman, the student, as well as “[building] Both tracks require a Work-Based advisement and other necessary successful skills for college, career, Learning experience or internship work times are slotted during 5A and life” according to the school’s during their senior year. lunch, with 5B being their time to parental presentation.

While she didn’t know specifics in eat.

“PBL has created a focused and relation PBL, Ms. Kathryn Cassidy As the pace is faster than standifferent kind of learning environsaid “Mr. Kutter has a variety of ment,” said Alex Peck, a freshman in dard track courses, some students business connections around the are adjusting to shorter periods acthe engineering track. “[It guides us county,” detailing how traditional cording to Peck. “I like the schedule to] figure things out so we underinternships are often approached because you have to pay attention stand it fully.” through his guidance. Students are to get all the information in the fast PBL’s program focuses on esalso able to ask for approval on a job paced classes and it seems like I’m tablishing a learning-based envithey already have. The preparation learning something new everyday. ronment around the student, with for Work-Based Learning typically However, the classes can seem like proper work ethic and the ability to begins with contacting Mr. Kutter they are moving too fast if you don’t “work cooperatively with my classduring the spring of junior year, get something in a class.” mates and staff” addressed in the according to Cassidy.

Freshman Nicholas Kline echoed application required of upcoming With projects being a hefty those sentiments, saying “somefreshman hoping to participate. portion of the concept behind PBL, times it goes fast, but it can feel like The application also asked the the students are asked to work on 4 regular periods.” math class each student intended to projects outside of class, with some The different PBL tracks intake freshman year, either Geometry advisement time allotted towards clude courses that take the stuor Algebra I, and their aspirations projects on occasion as well accorddents through the progression of for both high school activities and ing to the schedule. engineering or entrepreneurship post-graduation endeavors.

The overarching idea behind PBL classes offered at Mill Creek. En“I am taking the engineering has been to create a more work-fopathway because I hope to be an en- trepreneurship students begin with cused course that allows students to Introduction to Business Technolgineer when I grow up,” said Peck, be more prepared for the workforce, ogy freshman year, and go through adding that he’d probably like to go something Peck feels the program Public Speaking and Marketing into the aerospace field. is currently doing. “I think PBL will Entrepreneurship sophomore year, Class schedules are slightly help me a lot in the workplace,” he as well as Marketing Management altered for PBL students, with an said, highlighting the program’s and Legal Environment of Business otherwise-normal schedule being focus on collaborative work. “... junior year. interrupted by four classes being it teaches me useful skills such as Engineering students begin their compressed into a three period working with others and I get to course with a progression from block, including 41 minute instruclisten to guest speakers talk about Foundations of Engineering through their career.” tional periods with 2 minute breaks

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Ready, Set, Apply

By: Jordan Dudley

Steps students are taking to prepare for application process & college Graduation is months away, but for seniors who plan on going into a form of higher education, applying to college is something to think about right now.

Step one might be a College Board test.

Standardized tests are a necessity for getting accepted into a college or university. Scoring well on the SAT or ACT can be just as important as your GPA - depending on the school(s) you choose to apply to. In fact, counselor Mrs. McGuire says, “I say you should always send your [SAT/ACT] scores”, and she says, “When you are registering [for a test], choose the schools you will send scores to.” All seniors can choose 4 schools to have your scores sent to for free before the month of December.

Senior Chloe Freeman says, “I took both exams, and I am sending in my SAT. I wasn’t really stressed out when taking them [the tests] because I prepared and used a SAT practice book that helped a lot.” The next SAT registration deadline is Oct. 7th to take it on Nov. 5th; the next ACT deadline is Nov. 4th to take it Dec. 10th.

According to a Brenau University recruiter, “Seniors should make sure that they look out for deadlines.” December is an important deadline for a number of reasons. For one, our counselors suggest that seniors apply to schools before Christmas break, and two, this date is important because students who apply for early application typically find out whether or not they have been accepted into their desired schools at this time.

Many colleges, including Kennesaw State University and the College of Coastal Georgia

recommend that students apply early.

According to the senior packet, early application is typically by Oct. 15th, while the regular admission is typically Jan. 15th. However, applicants should research their schools of interest for specific dates.

During this time, guidance counselors encourage seniors to become fully aware of their options. Some questions that the senior-packet-fromthe-counselors asks students to ask themselves are: What schools can I get into with the GPA that I have? What schools provide my desired major? Do I want to stay in state or go out of state for higher education? What are the admissions requirements for the schools I want to go to?

Another way to be prepared is to visit schools. Senior Kadie Beth Duncan says, “I decided to tour UGA because my whole life I have been going to UGA games, but I have never officially toured the school to see if I could really see myself in the environment I have been dreaming of experiencing college life in since I was a little girl.” Mrs. Vanderpool says, “Students either forget or never consider going to the colleges, but that is really important...you should always visit.”

Mrs. Vanderpool’s room, F115, is a source of information for all students to help with preparation. In the PAD you will find the dates of several schools that visit Mill Creek during lunches, as well as scholarship opportunities. Students can schedule an appointment with Mrs. Vanderpool in the PAD.

The recommended number of schools to apply to is 3.

Choose The Sure Bet, The Possibility, and The Stretch.

Letters of Recommendation: Get one from your counselor: don’t hold back, give plenty of time for better quality, get a recommendation request form from counselor’s office

Request a transcripts from the counselor’s office.

Meet with your counselor.

Check that you have attained 23 high school credits.

Senior Letter: Give your counselor your name as you want it on your diploma.

Provide your counselor with your social security number.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA is available to students starting Oct. 1st.

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