A BERLIN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT OPEN FORUM SINCE 1924
The
Red ‘n’ Green
222 Memorial Drive Berlin, WI 54923
VOLUME 48, ISSUE 7
Mercedes Zabel
The Rube Goldberg team competed on March 4 at Waukesha Technical College. The team was led by new adviser and science teacher, Nick Kvam. Its members consisted of students from Kvam’s Honors Physics class. Finishing in the top half of 17 teams, they received eighth place. Rube Goldberg is an organization that puts on competitions nationwide. The goal is to create a machine that performs a certain number of connected steps to achieve a specific task. Although this was Kvam’s first official year leading the team, he was not a stranger to the process and was pleased with the outcome. “I think it went really well. I worked a little bit on it last year with Mr. Cox (previous adviser) while I was here so I had a little bit of experience,” Kvam said. “I was happy with how the kids performed. We were slow getting started, but they put together a machine that they can be proud of.” The apparatus may be made
up of many simple tasks to complete one challenge, but the process itself was not simple. A lot of effort, preparation and team work went into the almost twomonth process. “We had to make some sketches and draw out a blueprint. We also made a list of how it was going to work,” senior Dayna Schmidt said. “We also had to put in a lot of time after school or on the weekends. Since we each had different steps, we had to figure out how to make them connect.” Aside from a few minor challenges, senior Mavrik Reilly said they were successful under Kvam’s leadership and at the competition. “I think we did pretty well,” Reilly said. “But, we had some stuff go wrong. Some dominos didn’t tip over right or the umbrella broke, just a lot of random things that should not have happened.” Regardless of the obstacles they faced, the team accomplished something they were proud of. “When we finally saw each other’s steps and that they were working it was a really good feeling to see we were actually doing something,” Schmidt said.
Prom Court 2016
Photo: M. Zabel
-Seniors graduate early pg. 3
-Donkey Basketball pg. 8
Newsbriefs Academic Decatholon places third
It has been nine years since the Academic Decathlon team has gone to State. This year, the AcaDeca team took on state with third place. “It was very exciting and very fun,” adviser Susan Roubidoux said. “It was a very good learning experience for all of us.” Their third place trophy will be placed in the trophy case right next to science teacher Nick Kvam’s room.
New Key Club members travels to DCON
The Rube Goldberg team members reset their machine for another round of judging at Waukesha Technical College. Photo: A. Thiel
Hosts say first Poetry Slam a resounding success by
Front row: (L-R) Emily Schmidt, Mitchell Day. Second row: Emma Blazel, Elliot Chier, Emma Rucks, Bradley Block. Third row: Charley-Anne Hutchison, Benjamin Hinz, Audrey Krueger, Jack Werch. Fourth row: Olivia Resop, Bailey Stumpner, Lauren Disterhaft, Richard Markham. Fifth row: Amanda Gimenez, Kollin McGregor, Angeline Evans, Luke Dretske. Sixth row: Jeanae Gimenez, Ethan Becker, Megan Sobieski, Samuel Cason.
Issue
THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016
Rube Goldberg places in top half by
in This
Tyler Ostrowski
Berlin High School had its first annual Poetry Slam on Saturday, March 14, put on by the Wordsmiths of Berlin. “There are several other poetry slams I’ve watched online, across the country,” club co-creator senior Alicia Brownlow said. “Those gave me the idea to start one here at school.” A poetry slam is a public event in which people can come and perform their own poetry for points. Audience members are chosen as judges by the host. While there are invitational slams, the Berlin one was free for anyone to join, even those who are not students. “We required all participants to check their poems with us, just as a precaution,” club adviser English teacher Andrew Reise said. “But, the entries were all brilliant.” Points were awarded based on content, rhythm, length and energy on stage. The two highest scorers were awarded trophies. Junior Mason Prindle took home the gold that night, with junior Samantha Hill being the runner-up. “I’ve written poetry for years,” ju-
nior Mason Prindle said. “Getting a chance to show it off was an escape.” Prindle also helped found Wordsmiths of Berlin in addition to performing. “I think we did a great thing by making this poetry slam,” Prindle said. “I think other appreciated it, too.” The club adviser nearly repeated Prindle’s words. “The students really enjoyed the chance to speak their minds on stage,” Reise said. “For a first-time event, it went great. Everybody on stage performed well.” Each participant had two entries to be scored. The group went through the line-up twice, separated by an intermission. The students’ entries were heavy with personal experience, rhyme and passion. “We thought students at BHS would like a way to express themselves in a safe environment, just like on the national level,” Brownlow said. Brownlow gave two examples of poetry herself. “We would love to see this poetry slam become an annual event,” Brownlow said. “The turnout was better than I expected and I hope it gets even bigger when it becomes an annual event.”
Key Club enjoyed learning new things at the District Convention on March 11-13 in Green Bay. Freshman Kayla Tokarski enjoyed her first year going to the district convention. “My favorite thing was meeting people from different schools and the dances that were at night,” Thoma said. Freshman Calob Congdon ran for lieutenant governor for district 13. Congdon was nervous, but in the end all of his hard work paid off. “I was excited and in shock when I got picked for LTG,” Congdon said. “I was excited because I have been working hard making a poster and taking things seriously.” The next convention will be ICON in Atlanta, Georgia, July 6-10.
Science Club heads to San Diego
During spring break the BHS science club went to San Diego and spent seven days doing numerous activities. “We went scuba diving,” junior Jacob Paulson said. “Then we went to Mission Beach and Bellmont Park.” The groups were all split up doing different things at different times. Sophomore Mariah Weiss said the most interesting thing was kayaking through the Seven Sea Caves. “It was interesting just because of the cool stories they told us about the caves and the houses in La Jolla,” Weiss said. As a experienced traveler, senior Fallon Goetsch recommends it to any new comers in the future. “It is just a great experience to have,” Goetsch said.