Reeds Spring Pulse by Matthew Locke

reeds spring high school

PULSE november 2014

situationships

staff pranks

Culmination of clubs

ways of the wolf

PULSEIn This Issue

November 2014

new act requirements 6

thanksgiving Celebration 7 staff pranks 8 puppy mills 10 culmination of clubs 12

being your own best friend 16 12

being healthy 18 situationships 20 east program 22 november recipes 24 crossword 27

20 4

New ACT Requirements abby williams

As many of you have already heard, there is a new requirement that all juniors take the ACT this year. This is a statewide mandate; therefore, all the 11th graders in the state of Missouri are scheduled to take the ACT on April 28th, 2015. If a student happens to be absent on the day of testing, that student will be rescheduled to take the test on the official make up day of May 12, 2015. So what is the ACT? The ACT is a national college admissions exam that tests over four subjects including English, mathematics, reading, and science. The test includes 215 multiple-choice questions over these subjects and takes approximately three hours. At about the halfway point in the exam, there will be a thirty minute break offered to all students taking the test. ACT results are accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the United States. By requiring students to take the ACT in April of their junior year, this provides them with a decent amount of time to retake the test if they are not satisfied with their scores. Some students wait until the end of their senior year to take their ACT and in result, they are stuck with a score that they are not happy with. Since this is a state requirement, it means that students

will not have to pay a fee, like they would if they took it on their own. This provides an opportunity for students that cannot afford to pay to take the ACT a chance to take it for free. Also, instead of on a weekend, the test will take place during a regular school day so that students that are active in sports, work, clubs, etc. will not have to worry about rearranging their schedules or canceling any pre-made plans. With the students taking the test in April, they will also receive their scores that spring. This provides them with plenty of time to make plans accordingly. This includes studying, taking classes for extra help, retakes, etc. Like I mentioned before, there are also a few downsides to the new requirement. For example, the test will take place right in the middle of EOC testing. For some students, that is a lot of testing that could cause a extra pressure and stress. Another negative is that many students feel they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to take the test because they do not plan to attend an official college. However, the ACT is an important factor that helps to assess whether or not students are ready for what comes after their high school careerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;even if it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily college. All juniors will be taking the

ASVAB and the ACT. Students who do not score well on at least one of these tests will also be required to take the WorkKeys, which is a test that determines work place readiness. The school is required to be able to prove that all of its students are ready to move on and take the next step after graduating from high school. The Reeds Spring High School staff plans on doing their best to make the official testing day less stressful and as much fun as possible. The staff has already discussed serving all the students taking the test breakfast and then allowing them to watch a movie afterwards, for the rest of the school day. Staff members understand that testing is a stressful time and no one ever wants to do it. They are here to help and guide us and try to make testing go as easily as possible! For Students that are interested in getting extra help to prepare for the upcoming ACT, there are workshops available during Guided Study Hall. Mrs. Michelle, Ms. Vandiver, and Ms. Flud are all offering extra prep during this time. If you have any further questions regarding the ACT, you can talk to Mrs. Guilkey or Mrs. Siler in the counseling office.

Thanksgiving Celebration aisha eby

Thanksgiving is one of the most treasured holidays and traditions in America. There are many different ways that people celebrate thanksgiving. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621, by the Pilgrims’ after their first harvest in the New World. Many people think of Thanksgiving as a time to get out of school and eat a lot of food. Thanksgiving is a national holiday in America, and is considered the day to give back thanks to all of the wonderful blessings that have been given to them. America is the only place that Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. Not only is this Holiday viewed traditionally, but it is a religious holiday as well. One of the very first celebrations of Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Plymouth settlers and Wampanoag Indians. Here is a fun Fact: Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863. There are many traditions in celebrating this holiday. Many people live far from their families and travel far distances. A lot of traditional food is involved in this holiday that the entire family helps prepare: turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, cornbread and green bean casserole. Also a lot of desserts are popular; mainly pies such as Pumpkin, cherry, apple, and pecan. If you’re a vegetarian don’t worry, there are a lot of good things for you to eat as well. There is vegetarian turkey which is made out of tofu, and some people prefer to eat squash, salads and other fruits and veggies.

A huge part of Thanksgiving is getting the wishbone. It is found attached to the breast meat in the turkeys’ chest. Once removed, the wishbone is given time to dry, and then two people get on each end of the wishbone and pull; whoever ends up with the larger piece gets to make a wish. On this special day of thankfulness, many people use this time to help people who are less fortunate. Plenty of people help volunteer at shelters, and some donate to food drives. There are many things to be thankful for that you might not see as a blessing. Mistakes; without mistakes you wouldn’t learn how to handle situations. There is also laughter. Not only does it make you happy, but it’s healthy. There is love; what is life without love? Not just romantic love, but the love of family members and friends. The devotion and love of someone else is what we should be thankful for. We should also be thankful for our prosperity; from being able to buy nice things, to paying the bills. Many people don’t celebrate thanksgiving due to many reasons. Some people don’t celebrate Thanksgiving because they don’t believe that you should give thanks just on that day, but every day. They think “how is it any different from a Sunday evening after church? All people do is go to church, come home, make a meal and watch football.” There are some people that don’t celebrate it due to religious views as well. Black Friday is celebrated the Friday after Thanksgiving. It’s the time when people

do some serious shopping, mainly for Christmas. Although it’s not an official Holiday in the U.S., many people have the day off except people who work in retail. It got its name in the 1960’s, starting off the Christmas season. Retail shops noticed that putting sales on their items draw people in; some places even email out their specials that day, and sometimes even weeks before the event. Other shops wait until the last minute to put out their Black Friday Ads, hoping to create a buzz that keeps people checking in with that store. This is the time where many costumers get into battles to see who gets the items first. Some stores have created a system to avoid the fighting and the “I saw it first!” argument. Many people camp outside stores to be the first people in line. Stores will hand out bracelets of certain colors or certain words that pertain to a particular item, and they give them to the costumers in line who want that item. There are only as many bracelets as there are that item. Those who have the bracelet can go in, show the salesperson, and receive that item. This prevents the fighting, and those who first come are first served. Some stores have pre-Black Friday sales so you can get your discounted deals and not have to wait until the big day to save money. All in all, this time of year is full of festivity and fun. Thanksgiving is a great holiday no matter what reason you celebrate it for, and is a great way to end the fall season and start the Christmas celebration. However you may celebrate this year, do enjoy your holiday season and eat lots of Turkey!

Staff Pranks aisha eby

As teenagers, we all like to pull those pranks and jokes on our friends or our parents; I know I do. But have you ever thought that maybe some of the people that you least expected like to pull pranks, too? Well that’s just what we learned; while we were interviewing Dr. Sooter for a different story, Mrs. Elfrink walked out and started talking to us about what he and Mr. Moler did to her office. We instantly knew that we wanted to know more, and we wanted to know what else goes on in the school that we don’t know about. We went to Mrs. Elfrink first to see how all of this happened, and get the beginning of the story. When we asked what had happened and how this began, this is what she had to say: “Since there was a lot of work in the summer, my office is where Jeanie’s area used to be. Well, they had to bring over an air duct from the bus barn so that there would be AC and heat in my office. The day that they were setting this up was on the day of registration, and they came out to tell me not to go into my office. I was thinking that they were messing with it, and I somehow snuck in the other way and there were rat droppings that had blown out of the air duct all over my office. All anyone had to say to me was that it was

going to be cleaned up, and that they were going to take care of it and to not worry about it. Now, when I walk into my office there will be brown sprinkles all over my office just like rat droppings.” We knew this wasn’t the only prank that could have been pulled so we decided to dig a little deeper, we then asked Mrs. Elfrink what else has happened to her office. She answered “Well, sometimes I will go in and have pictures of Dr. Sooter, and Mr. Moler in my family pictures, as well as my pictures will be turned upside down. Sometimes I will leave my office and they will lock me out. She says, “Watch out, payback is coming my friends!” Dr. Sooter on the other hand has a different story, and does not admit to any of the responsibility for the pranks that have been pulled. He says “Mrs. Elfrink has a hygiene problem that causes rodents to invade her room. That is the reason for breaking into her office; it was to make sure there was activity in her room, seeing how she is never there.” He himself said, “When you deal with art, you deal with interpretation.” That is the reason he turned the pictures in Mrs. Elfrink’s room upside down. People see art in different ways, and apparently he felt her family pictures looked

better upside down. Dr. Sooter doesn’t have any future pranks, nor has he made any plans to prank. Sooter believes you have to have creativity to pull pranks, and he doesn’t think Mrs. Elfrink took that class. Poor Mrs. Guilkey has been accused of being a part of the chocolate sprinkles prank in Mrs. Elfrink’s office, but when we went to talk to her she said, “As I was walking by I saw that they were up to something, so I walked in and picked up a sprinkle and did say that yes it did look a lot like rate feces. I told them I knew that they would accuse me of helping them with it, so I took the sprinkle and threw it away in the garbage and walked away. That was all that I did, I wasn’t involved in it at all I wouldn’t do that.” Mrs. Guilkey isn’t the biggest prankster, but she has pulled a couple of pranks in her lifetime. At an old job, she and one other person that she worked with saran-wrapped their boss’ entire office, phone, computer, etc. We asked her what pranks had been pulled on her and she said, “the big one that was pulled on me was when there was black chalk on my phone, so when I answered my phone there was black stuff on my face from it.” Going into teachers’ rooms,

unplugging their equipment and taking their remotes was one of Assistant principal Moler’s favorite things to do. He says “I usually don’t plan pranks; it either hits me last minute or is payback for a prank that was pulled on me.” Pulling pranks was the way he grew up. Of course Mr. Moler hasn’t always been our assistant principal, so when there were meetings in Coach Gosch’s room is when he really took advantage of the time to pull his pranks. He said “I would unplug his projector or put sticky notes over it, so when he turned it on he wouldn’t be able to see out of it. Since Gosch taught a gym class at the end of the day, sometimes he would forget to bring in the cones, so I would bring them in and put them on his desk.” We all have our own ways of pulling pranks; they may not be the biggest pranks but they are funny and they can go back and forth for a long time. Getting people to act like they were part of the state to come in and terrify the teachers was something Mrs. Sieler would do. She has had many pranks pulled on her just as much as she has been the one to pull them. One day, she walked into her classroom and the students had hidden from her. She says “There is common occurrence of pranks pulled in the office.”

Art teacher Mr. Locke on the night of parent teacher conferences had snuck into her office and put Vaseline on her phone, so when the phone rang and she picked it up, Vaseline was all over the side of her face. Some might say that Coach Locke is one of the biggest pranksters in this school, which, for some, can be easy to believe. He seems like a kid at heart. When we went and asked him about some of the pranks that he has pulled, he only told us about a couple; they were some pretty good ones. One that he told us about was very detailed, but was very funny. “A while ago, Mrs. Gilchrest didn’t only teach gym, she was a big prankster and it was time for payback; so we got someone to pretend to be from the state and come in on a Friday. On Friday’s she had fun days, so he sat there and just took notes about how they weren’t doing anything except playing games. Later that day, the principal called her into the office and we were standing in the window behind her; she turned around and saw all us and she was so mad that she left. We didn’t mean to make her mad, but she got mad about it but it was really funny.” Some pranks can be mean, or some people can just take them the wrong way; it just depends on how the other per-

son takes it. Two years ago, senior class of 2013 stuck sticky notes all over the entry way into the school. It was funny, harmless and creative. Another school in the US has suspended 6 students and a staff member for the same prank. They had stuck 12,000 sticky notes over the front of the school, thinking it’s cheap, easy, creative, and doesn’t damage anything. The reason they got suspended was because the staff member had given the students a key into the school after hours, breaking the law of trespassing. It is often said that kids are raised by pulling pranks on people, and it is the way of life. It is fun and entertaining, the students at Reeds Spring have every prank approved by the principal and vice principal. Of course there are some students that decide to go off on their own and don’t get their ideas approved, and they get their own disciplinary actions. We have some had some of our own students in the past come up with some very good ideas. One senior prank made it to the popular app and website iFunny, and to other websites as well. So, for our seniors this year, let’s see what you can come up with!

Puppy Mills Hannah Phalen Puppy Mills are inhumane dog-breeding facilities that do not focus on the health and welfare of the animals; all they focus on is their increasing profit. Approximately 500,000 puppies are bred each year in puppy mills. The female dogs are usually bred every time they are in heat to make sure they are making money. When they are no longer able to produce puppies, they are usually euthanized because they are worthless to them. Then the puppies are usually taken away from their mother much too early so they can be sold to retail pet stores. These animals never get veterinary care which results in defects in the animals. The conditions that these animals are living in are so terrible that many of them catch diseases. There is very minimal cleaning in these mills, so the animals will sit in their own urine or feces for indefinite amounts of time. The pups are malnourished and the food that they do get fed is contaminated. There is also no protection from weather. It could be 110 degrees out or negative 10 degrees out, and the

animals would be outside in that weather. Their feet fall through the cages that they are in and make their paws swollen and bloody. They get lesions in their eyes which lead to blindness; they get ear infections, broken jaws, tooth decay, and more. Almost all those cute puppies in the pet store come from puppy mills. Most puppy mills have close to 1,000 puppies. Some of them even import them from different countries. If a store says that they didn’t purchase their animals from a puppy mill, most of the time they purchased it from a broker who did. You would think that when the animals get out of the puppy mills and into the pet store, their life would be so much better. But it doesn’t really change that much. They are still kept in a little cage all day at the pet stores. Puppies that are kept in cages are prone to developing behavior problems. They are not good at socializing, destructive, bark excessively, and lots of other problems could happen. Puppies are meant to be able to run around

and interact with humans or other animals, but can’t when they are stuck in the cages at the mills. Lots of the animals that were born in puppy mills end up in shelters and die. Only 26 states in the United States have regulated commercial kennels to try and stop cruelty to the animals. Puppies that you buy online are usually ones that were purchased from puppy mills as well. You can help prevent puppy mills by not going to the pet store or buying puppies online. You go to the local animal shelter. Millions of dogs a year are killed in shelters, approximately 9,000 in a single day. Yearly, 5 to 7 million animals are going into the shelters. There is no point for there to be mills reproducing animals when there are millions of animals in local shelters everywhere. If nobody buys from the puppy mills then there would be no point in them to keep reproducing puppies. They will eventually run out of buyers and will have to shut down the mills. Let’s put an end to this cruelty.

Culmination of clubs Darrian Arnold Have you ever been curious about the clubs in your school? Do you want to try new things, and have fun? Join a club now; there are so many to choose from. Our school has many different kinds of clubs, but why should you join a club? There are some clubs students don’t even know about. Why do we have clubs? Who sponsors them? How do they help our community? Would you want to be in a club? We will answer these questions for you, just keep on reading. I will tell you how you can join and what you need to join these awesome clubs. We have many amazing opportunities in our school; there is club for everyone.

for Family Career and Community Leaders in America. The purpose of FCCLA is to give back to families and our community, and to explore careers within those areas. To join FCCLA, you have to have taken one FACS class. For this club, you have to have C’s or better to help. What does FCCLA do? By helping our community, they collect items for newborns like: baby bottles, clothes, food, diapers, and bibs. They also collect pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald house.

Another club we have is Prom Committee. Ms. Conway is the sponsor for this club. The purpose of prom committee is to plan, organize, and We have FCCLA—Mrs. Flippin execute prom. They also fundraise money to help pay for prom. To be in is the sponsor for that. What does prom committee you have to be a JuFCCLA stand for, you ask? It stands

nior, you also have to have good work ethic, and you have to be creative. You also have to have energy and be enthusiastic. Prom is held within our community which allows students to be close to home for this event; it keeps students from having to drive too far away, making the trip safer. Prom committee starts planning for prom as soon as school starts. This year the theme will be Great Gatsby. We have a club called DECA that the marketing classes are in. DECA is sponsored by Mrs. Mitchell. The purpose of DECA is to teach leadership skills that correlate with the marketing program. To join this club you have to be in or have taken a personal finance class. DECA helps with the recycling center, and they also have

a canned good collection for those in need in November. DECA also helps with national DECA campaigns all over the United States. They compete at districts. At districts they have projects, written events, and role plays. You do not have to be in the marketing class to join DECA, and all grades can join. We have Color Winter Guard as another one of our clubs/activities. Mr. Devos is one of the sponsors of Color Winter Guard. The purpose of Winter Guard is to give students a chance to learn to use guard equipment while dancing. Winter guard girls work very hard to perform a short show and compete. It’s one of the closest things to dance that our school has. To join, you have to go through an audi-

tion, and then go to camp to find out if you can do the movements and to see if you have the work ethic. Good grades are also a factor for winter guard. “Winter guard is one more level of artistry for the students in the community; any chance we can get to emphasize this is good” Mr. Devos says. They go to three competitions during winter. Judges will see their skills, and through the season they will see improvements in their skills. They are working hard to win the championships this year. Another fun club we have is the buckle club. The sponsors for this club are Mrs. Dillon and Mrs. Holt. The purpose of buckle club is to promote safe driving habits and wearing seat

belts. To join you have to be a sophomore, junior or senior. The buckle club participates in battle of the belts; a competition that consists of tallying the number of seatbelts that are worn in our school. To do this they will have random seatbelt checks in the mornings, and if you wear your seatbelts you could earn a prize for being safe. They also have speakers to come and talk about safe driving habits. The buckle club also passes out fake tickets on cars to remind students to drive safe. They also have a spirit week, and you can win prizes for being the best participant. There are more and more students getting involved in this club.

Another club we have is the

book club. The sponsors for this club are Mr. Lynch, Mrs. Dillon and Mrs. Hohnstein. The purpose of the book club is to spread the joy of reading. They have a meeting each month. They go and share their love for reading at the primary and the elementary schools. They also donate books to the woman’s shelter. In the meetings they talk about books they have read; they discuss how they felt about the books and which ones were their favorites. We also have a club called FBLA which stands for Future Business Leaders of America. The sponsor for this club is Mr. Davis. In this club they study the business world; there are roughly ten students each year who join. To join this club you have to

pay a member’s due. They also go to competitions in February. This club helps students prepare for life in the business world. They also help out at the recycling center. “We get together and read things like The Forbs magazine; we talk about business people and how they have gained success, and how we can be the best business leaders we can” says Brooke Ruffin, a member of the club. One of the biggest clubs we have is STUCO. This stands for Student Council. The sponsor for this club is Mr. Johnson. The purpose of this club is to be a voice for the students. The student council helps organize and run the homecoming and court warm-

ing dances, and the spirit week that follows these events. To join you have to campaign and have students in your grade vote for you, and you have to have teacher recommendation. To help our community, STUCO tries to be the best help they can and raise money for our school from the dances; they also host the coolest class contest. The coolest class contest money goes to a family in need during the holidays, and to games and tailgates. You have to have a 2.74 GPA to join STUCO. We also have a club called YEP. YEP stands for Youth Empowerment Project. The sponsor for this club is Ms. Allen. The purpose of this club is to help out our community and to teach students how to be good lead-

ers in their community. The YEP club helps our community by helping out at the recycling center; they also have meetings to talk about how they want to help out our community the next time around. Why is YEP fun? YEP is fun because the students get to be involved in more activities. YEP is for the students who love helping others.

connected within a number of community activities. To help our community, they helped out with the Southern Stone County Fire Protection Districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual chili cook-off by volunteering to run the games and bouncy houses. They have volunteered at the humane society, the recycling center and Christian associates as well. To join this club you have to have at least a 3.5 GPA. You have to have a good work ethic and you have to want to be a good leader. If you have any questions about this club you can ask Mr. Lynch or Mrs. Holt.

Another one of our bigger clubs is called NHS, which stands for National Honor Society. The sponsors for this club are Mrs. Holt and Mr. Lynch. The purpose of NHS is to promote leadership. It hopes to recognize We are very lucky our school and encourage academic achievement while developing other characteristics. has so many fun opportunities. It looks good to have clubs on your records for The Reeds Spring NHS meets on the second Tuesday of every month, and is college, and some of the clubs will give

scholarships out to seniors as well. You can have fun and it will help you gain skills you will need in the future, as well as now. These clubs will give you an opportunity to learn what things you like, and give you a good experience with helping your community. These clubs that we have for Reeds Spring School have many opportunities for you to give back to your community, but you can also have fun while you do it. If you are interested in any of these clubs and would like to sign up, all you have to do is talk to the teachers who sponsor them. Sign up today for the club that interests you.

being your own best friend courtney bullis

Low self-esteem is learned, and in some ways taught. Self-esteem is learned information that is inaccurate, yet takes a massive toll on our self-reflections. The way we feel about ourselves often times seems to be statements based on fact, but in reality, they’re only opinions. Erroneous opinions. Often times, in our minds, our negative beliefs about ourselves speak louder than the things we actually like. Many of us look in the mirror and our insecurities instantly scream out loud; but what about the positive things? We focus on what we do wrong and ignore what we do right and it can be extremely difficult to overlook the negative. Imagine trying to look at yourself from a different point of view than the one you’ve been looking through your entire life; tough right? But not impossible. The flaws we see in ourselves and our self-esteem is often built and formed solely upon our life experiences; and believe it or not in many cases even our earliest childhood memories. Things like failing to meet parental or peer standards, absence of affection, and being at the receiving end of someone’s of anger or stress can highly affect the way we look at ourselves individually. Did you know that being verbally abused as a child or frequently being yelled at could be the reason why the voice in your head that is pointing out your flaws is so aggressive? It’s true. You’re mind mimics voices you are used to hearing.

around you, such as friends and family, can cause high self-expectations. Even when these expectations seem slightly unrealistic or impossible in your mind, you will expect yourself to be able to achieve them, which will only result in self-disappointment. This, in turn, contributes to low self-esteem and causes it to grow stronger. You will now feel the pressure to achieve a goal that in your mind is unachievable; although it’s People with low self-esteem could important to remember you are capable expect more of themselves socially. They of anything. No one knows you better could have the mindset that they have to than you yourself. You have the control have the coolest clothes or the most friends of your mindset and only you are capable to feel better about themselves, which of reaching your full potential. Figure out in the long run will only bring them lower what you are comfortable with and let go because they are expecting so much of of perfectionism. Be compassionate with themselves. Eventually these goals will rise yourself, look deeper into who you truly are, and become more powerful until they are and get to know yourself better. To defeat overwhelming. So if you feel that you have low self-esteem, you have to be able to low self-esteem and you try to overlook treat yourself as if you were someone else, it by having little positivity mentally or physi- someone whom you truly care about. Once cally by having a lot of positivity materialis- you can look at yourself from the outside, tically, you’re only hurting yourself. your outlook will obviously be very different. When you make a mistake you will be able The first step in dealing with to look at the issue with understanding, low self-esteem is developing a sense of instead of disappointment. awareness. Low self-esteem feeds on the way we are treated. Practicing self-accepDon’t be afraid to step up when tance and realizing that it is okay to be a you see someone being treated unfairly. flawed human being is of high importance Help others to help yourself. Turn your pain when trying to reduce low self-esteem. awareness into self-awareness. If you feel Everyone makes mistakes but it doesn’t that you are being treated with a lack of mean you that you are useless or in any respect, stand up for yourself as you would way worthless, and that’s important to for a family member or a close friend. Stop remember. accepting negative behavior and be your In most cases we naturally conclude that someone who seems shy or reserved has low self-esteem because of their hesitancy to speak up. This is stereotypical. Even the most gregarious people can have the lowest of self-esteem. Being bashful, timid, or withdrawn is not a sign that states that you or someone else does indeed have low self-esteem.

As an individual you have to practice setting realistic standards for yourself. Pressure that is placed upon you by those

own best friend.

Being Healthy cindy wenk Staying healthy takes a lot of determination and self-control. You have to want to be healthy. Keeping a good mindset and setting goals can help. Although it is important, being healthy is more than just eating foods that are good for you. Along with a good diet, you have to be physically active, get proper sleep, and drink plenty of water. Evidence shows that heart disease, cancer, stroke, some lung diseases, and injuries are the leading causes of death in the United States—but these can often be avoided by improving personal health habits. Research shows that people who get at least seven hours of sleep perform better with complex tasks. So being well rested can help when it comes to the physical part of being healthy. Starting the day fully rested can set a better mood for the rest of your day. Take an early morning run—and because it’s the most important meal of the day—eat a healthy breakfast that includes the right amount of nutrients needed for that meal. Health authorities recommend drinking two liters, or half a gallon, of water every day. Water is a very important key factor in staying healthy. It increases energy and relieves fatigue. Because your brain is mostly water, drinking it helps you think and focus better. Water also helps promote weight loss, improves skin complexion, and boosts your immune system. Carrying a water bottle with you is a good way to help remind you to drink more. Eating raw fruits and vegetables are not only good for you, but have high water content. When trying to lose weight, some people resort to fad diets. But most of these diets are often unhealthy. The best way to lose

weight it to get all nutrients needed for your body: dairy, grains, protein, fruits, vegetables, and fats. By doing this you will have a healthy brain, heart, and a fully functional immune system. Eating these healthy foods will also allow you to get all the vitamins, minerals, oils, and enzymes you need. Eating the right foods and the right amount of them can benefit in living a longer, healthier life. When it comes to eating vegetables choose dark-green leafy and deep-yellow vegetables because they are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. For fruits, choose citrus fruits like grapefruit and oranges, melons and berries. The best option for whole grain foods is wheat, rice, oats, and whole grain cereals. Try eating foods low in fat, like fish, lean meat, and low fat dairy products. Be sure to get the right proportions when eating these foods. In one day, the average adult should consume 1½ to 2 cups of fruit, 2 to 3 cups of vegetables, 5 to 8 ounces of grains, 5 to 6 1/2 ounces of protein, and 3 cups of dairy. While you are not able to measure everything you eat, you can approximate. A serving of bread is about the size of a CD and a serving of pasta is the size of half a baseball. A tennis ball is about the size of 1/2 cup of packed vegetables. A serving of meat is about the size of a deck of cards, and a serving of fish is about the size of a checkbook. One serving of cheese is about the same size as four dice. Depending on gender, health state, and activity level, these amounts can change. People who are more active will require more nourishment. In order to make sure you are eating the correct proportions, it is important to

look at the food label, which will tell you how big a serving size is, and also presents the nutritional information.

Another way people try to lose weight is skipping meals, but this will only hurt your body and you won’t lose the weight you expect. It only creates a bad habit and can cause low blood sugar. Some people skip breakfast to avoid the calorie intake, but this will only make you hungry later in the day and will lead you to eating more to make up for the lost calories. When you skip meals, you are not giving your body the energy it needs to get through the day. The best eating habits are having three meals and two snacks or eating four or five smaller meals throughout the day. This prevents your blood sugar from reaching a low enough level to trigger mindless snacking. Being physically active is a big part of living healthy. Walking, playing sports, and yoga are very common. These are just a few of the many ways to stay active. It’s recommended to be physically active at least thirty minutes a day. This can help you feel good about yourself, sleep well at night, and increases muscle and bone strength. Have fun and enjoy yourself while working out and don’t set unrealistic goals. Being physically active can help reduce the risk developing some diseases and things like depression and anxiety. Increasing your daily activity can also come from walking or riding a bike instead of using a car or a source of public transportation. In order to keep up with your physical activity, set aside time each day, build up over time, and don’t give up.

situationships

In high school, we seem to always be concerned with who is dating who, who’s breaking up, which couples are really couples and which ones are just “together.” Sometimes we even ask ourselves these questions. Have you ever found yourself in a relationship that you weren’t sure exactly whether or not it was a relationship, or found yourself committed to someone who isn’t committed to you in return, simply because you never had the “conversation?” Although we are only in high school, believe it or not there are some people who actually have goals of finding a steady relationship; this can be tough because our generation is very indecisive. We seem to like relationships, but we don’t like catching feelings. So in other words, some of us just don’t want

to be alone. Some people look for an affectionate relationship that they don’t necessarily have to be committed to, which is perfectly fine. The only problem is that some people struggle with being straight forward with that type of information, which causes the formation of relationships between someone who is committed and someone who is not. This is not a relationship. It is a “situation-ship”, which in other words means “let’s hang out.” Sometimes situation-ships are mutual, which is when both people in the relationship aren’t necessarily committed but enjoy being together, and in other cases one person is committed while the other is not. Sometimes there are two people who want to be together,

but can’t seem to make the relationship official. Situation-ships are broken down into about four different categories that most of the times aren’t any fun at all, because someone is bound to get hurt. First there is the “You’re the only one… sometimes,” situation-ship. This is when your partner is telling you all the things you want to hear, but is also telling someone else those same things. We can be very naive when it comes to this type of situation-ship, and believe it or not our significant other can keep this going for a long time before we even begin to feel like there is something up. If you find your partner jumping up when you’re near their phone, there may be something going on that you are unaware of. Stand clear and keep watch for any signs of this type

courtney bullis

Then there is the award winning “I don’t want people to know about us yet?” These types of relationships are the ones that begin as what seems Then there’s the “I love you as a friend” to be perfect because you have most situation-ship, and I’m sure many of us likely finally gotten the one you’ve been have been hit with this line. This is the falling for, but no one knows that you type of situation that in strictly phone even have something. It’s very similar calls and texts. When you two are in to the “I love you as a friend” situation, public together you are, “such a good except you actually are together, you friend,” but when you are texting each just aren’t telling anyone yet. In most other there seems to be a little more to cases, if you are in this type of relationit than just friends. Basically, they are ship, you will want to tell people that leading you on and keeping confusing you are together, but your partner will thoughts nestled in your mind while not. They will tell you they aren’t ready not having to be committed to you. So to go public and they will use excuses if you are in a relationship, that seems such as parents, sports, or grades to perfect over the phone but nonexistent cover it up. It can be confusing, but the at school, or find yourself telling people reason people do this is because they you aren’t sure when being asked if are with someone they like, but they you are together, you might be tangled don’t want to commit to only them. Yet in a situation-ship. at the same time want to be committed of relationship because it most likely won’t end pretty. Never be someone’s main, be someone’s ONLY.

to, or in other words they can see other people but you cannot. It’s a frustrating concept to wrap your brain around. In all of these situation-ships you will eventually find that you are both simply comfortable; you will be confused on whether or not the relationship will ever go anywhere, or if it will ever be official. You can differentiate these types of relationships from healthy relationships when you’re finding that asking for even the smallest things is the biggest deal, but they will ask a lot of you. You will find that they can do certain things that you cannot. There will be a lack of effort from your partner because in reality you two are only friends or friends with advantages; if you’re looking for something more stable it’s time to move on.

East Program stone woodward

Traditional education has gone down the same path for many years, maybe it’s time for a change of direction; a path headed EAST. Over the past 50 years education has come a long way, but society has also grown. It hasn’t just grown in population, but in complexity as well. With this ever changing society our education has stopped its growth and has sort of plateaued. Well, one program in the Green Forest Middle school in Green Forest, Arkansas wants to change that. The Environmental and Spatial Technologies program, or the EAST initiative, is on the right path to sweeping the nation with its out-of-the-box ideas.

this will be the future to education not only in the nation, but in the world.

is no telling what these students will do. Sometimes thinking outside the box is the greatest thinking of all. Even this country In the EAST program students are not only was founded on helping one another, by challenged to solve problems within their thinking out of the box, and maybe this school but within their own communities, program will inspire just regular people to and they use their wide range of technology help. Sometimes that’s all the world has and resources to fulfill their projects. The ever needed, was just a little help. So, this technologies that the program uses are program is much bigger than schools; it is very sophisticated and very hard to learn, teaching kids the fundamentals to establish so it is remarkable that the students have good jobs, and teaching them things they picked up on it so fast. These technologies could never learn in a high school or middle include: Geographical Information Systems school class room such as: job ideas (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS), and individual responsibility, and uses for database development, virtual reality technology that no middle school or high development, and much, much more. The school student could ever learn before this students learn these skills on their own, program. In 1996, former law enforcement officer Tim rather than being taught in traditional classStephenson did not feel like he connected room. The EAST program is set up so that Teachers say that all they want is the with his students, and since it was his first there is a workplace feel to the classroom betterment of their students, but is handing year teaching he did not want to let this and skills are self-taught, and the projects them packets while they sit back in their opportunity slip through his fingers. What are overseen by a facilitator rather than a comfy chairs really teaching? Is it really Stephenson did next was very unorthodox, teacher; they are taught all of the EAST bettering our students? Or is it the easy but genius. He took his class of “at risk” methodologies to help the kids learn and way out? See, the EAST program is easy, students outside to a local place in the grow in an ever-changing environment. but it could be what’s best for the 21st woods where students would skip class century high school student, because most The community and school administraand hang out by the creek in the woods. kids cannot learn by sitting down and doing tion play a big role in the EAST program, The students then came up with the idea packets; the only way they can learn is by because the initiative primarily deals with that the ground was too muddy to walk on thinking outside the box and expressing community issues. There is no wonder why who they are. Some kids want to be video to get to the creek; so the students then the program has found its way into over two game designers, but how is sitting down designed and built a bridge to go across hundred schools in a total of 5 states. Althe creek and that was the first step in the for an hour learning about the age old program. Then the students lit up with more though, it is hard to get the EAST program books and authors helping them when all involved in schools because the financial proposals and wanted to make even more they really want to do is go draw up plans investment is substantial, and smaller structures, and one student even offered for games? What if there is a student who school districts will end up losing money in wants to be a writer more than anything in to use her father’s CAD (computer aided design) experience to help further the class’ the end; but if you get the right tie-ins with the world and he can’t focus in math class variety of learning. Stephenson then decid- the EAST program, then they will match the because all he focuses on is how the ended that if the student got their own software funding. You can also seek the help of the ing of his story is going to end passionately Arkansas Department of Education to try to work with, then they can begin to use and beautifully? and help with the funding. The EAST proand apply this new technology. On this The EAST program is way more than a fateful day in 1996 in Greenbrier, Arkansas gram may cost a lot of money, but it would pay off to further the learning of future gen- program; it’s a light of hope for educathe EAST initiative was born. Stephenson tion, because over the past few years, then was struck with the idea that he could erations. It will ultimately help in education as a whole by changing the face of it as our education has gotten a bad reputation for take this and make it a whole lot better by ever-changing society fluctuates. being taught by teachers who don’t care adding more technology and more projects. about the future of their students, and Tom Stephenson, seeing that his school district The community needs this just as much as Stephenson proved that theory wrong. It lacked the technology and experience, the students need this, because there are is men like Stephenson and teachers who sought the help of the Arkansas Technoloplenty of issues in our communities that actually give a care about how students gy firm and the introduced him to contacts, haven’t been solved because of money, or learn that will help the betterment of this both national and international. Stephenworkers, or lack of ideas; and now there country. It is men like him that will help kids son loves the idea of letting his students are students who are willing to put their fulfill their dreams, because those kinds of choose their own projects and letting them time, effort and love into making things bet- teachers think outside the box. take the reins; giving them full responsibility ter for world. For not only this generation, of their projects. Stephenson hopes that but for every generation to come, and there

November recipes Harley Watson

The day you fix it, Crumble the bread and mix them together.

Put the crumbled bread into a bowl

Mix all the other ingredients in the bowl and mix except butter

Ingredients:

Put into a sprayed crock pot

•

4-5 cups whole milk

Place butter on the top

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12 ounces of white chocolate, chopped

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours

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¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

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1 teaspoon cinnamon

Green bean casserole:

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1 cup pumpkin puree

Tired of plain, old green beans? You will love this recipe! It is fantastic! Plus, it’s supper easy to make and only requires four ingredients! How easy is that? That sure is a way to impress your boyfriend’s/ girlfriend’s mom!

Pumpkin Spice white hot chocolate:

Crock Pot Dressing:

Who doesn’t want to throw a typical white girl twist on an old classic? If you are not caught up on the latest trends, I can sure inform you that pumpkin spice is totes in!

Who has the time to slave over a hot stove all day? Want excellent complements on your dressing? Then skip the whole shabang and take the easy way out it; will be half the time and none of the work.

Directions:

Boil the milk in a sauce pan

Add the 12 ounces of White chocolate, Stir till melted

Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and vanilla extra

Pour in your favorite holiday mug

Top with whip cream and a dash of cinnamon

Ingredients:

•

6 cups of corn bread (cooked, any kind of corn bread you like homemade, out of the box, or even pre made)

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8 slices of day old bread

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4 eggs

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1 medium onion, chopped

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1 ½ TBS sage

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½ tsp. black pepper

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2 cans cream of chicken soup

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2 cans chicken broth

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¼ cup butter

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Salt (as needed)

Directions:

Lay your bread out on the counter the night before. ( This helps dry out the bread for it to make the best dressing)

Ingredients:

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1 lb. green beans

¼ cup milk or water

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¼ cup chopped scallion

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¼ teaspoon cinnamon

4 oz. French fried onions

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2 tbsp. sour cream

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1 package cream cheese, softened

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½ cup butter, softened

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1 teaspoon vanilla

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¾ cup powdered sugar

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2 tablespoon brown sugar

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1 can blueberry pie filling

•

1 cup crushed shortbread cookies

Directions:

Wash green beans and remove stems

Directions:

In a large pot boil green beans for 20-25 minutes.

Place potatoes in a large pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Allow cook for 15-20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Remove from heat and drain

In a medium sized bowl mix green beans, soup and milk/water.

Drain the water from the potatoes and place the potatoes back in the pot.

Add the butter, cheese, milk, bacon, scallion, and sour cream. Beat using an electric mixer or by hand until creamy.

Pour into a casserole dish.

Add half of French Fried onions.

Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and add remaining French Fried Onions

Bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Mix 2 tablespoons of melted butter with cinnamon and brush over the entire pizza crust

Top with more cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese has melted.

Bake crust for about 5 minutes or until crust is golden brown, then allow crust to cool.

With a mixer, blend together cream cheese, softened butter and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Add powdered sugar and brown sugar and mix well

Want to throw a few things together, and come up with the same thing that takes hours to make? Who doesn’t love pizza, and who doesn’t love pie? Why not combine them together?

Carefully spread cream cheese mixture evenly over pizza crust.

Add an even layer of blueberry filling

Ingredients:

Generously sprinkle top of pizza with crushed short bread cookies

Serve cool.

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1 12” thin pizza crust, pre-made

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2 tablespoons butter, melted

If you are looking for a tasty side dish to make for a crowd pleaser, this loaded mashed potato is perfection! Bacon, sour cream, and cheese; how can you go wrong? Ingredients:

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2 tbsp. butter

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½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

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½ cup milk

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8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Place the potatoes in a casserole dish and place in the oven to back.

Mashed Potatoes:

8 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

Blueberry Dessert Pizza:

•

Directions:

Down

Across

1. Intentionally hurting anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feelings

2. Dog-breeding facilities that tend to ignore the health 3. Club whose purpose is to teach leadership skills and welfare of the animals that correlate with the marketing program 4. Health authorities recommend drinking _____ 9. A program that challenges students to solves ______ of water each day

problems within the school and community

5. Club that focuses on being a voice for students and 11. The main dish for many Thanksgiving meals organize school functions 6. A club dedicated to give back to families and the communities. 7. A â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;quick fixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for losing weight that is often unhealthy. 8. The month of the mandatory ACT of the Junior class 10. Relationships that are not defined with labels