A BERLIN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT OPEN FORUM SINCE 1924
in This
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VOLUME 44, ISSUE 1
-Devlin Klein Tribute -Foreign Exchange Students -New Staff Members -Boys Soccer
SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
20 acres of school forest awaits trim by
Ashley Gravunder
Very little has been done to the Pine Bluff area of the school forest since it was purchased in 1961. This fall, 20 of the 50 acres of the school forest, the Pine Bluff portion, will be harvested. Pine Bluff forest consists of hardwood, including red oak and big toothed aspen. The Pine Bluff forest has never been harvested, so the trees are at the dying age. “Many of the trees are old and are slowly falling down in wind storms or dying from disease,” environmental science teacher Pat Arndt said. “The management plan addresses these issues by clear cutting to allow healthy, young trees to flourish.” Pine Bluff also needs to be harvested to prevent the spread of tree diseases. “People often think forests that are unmanaged and completely left alone are healthy. In most cases, this is not true. Those forests often harbor and spread disease and contain numerous invasive species such as buckthorn and garlic mustard,” Arndt said. “The red oaks are being killed by oak wilt, a disease which
Photo: A. Gravunder The Pine Bluff portion, 20 acres of the school forest, will be harvested. There are several types of trees in this area including pine, oak and aspen. The harvest will take place in the fall and will take about a month to finish. spreads each year throughout the property.” The management plan for Pine Bluff is very similar to a clear cut, except not all of the trees will be harvested. “They are leaving mature trees to serve as a seed source for new trees,” school board member Paul Werch
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said. All school forest properties in the state of Wisconsin are managed by individual school districts and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “The school district is practicing forest management under our DNR plan, which we must follow as part
Newsbriefs
“How will the mascot change affect Homecoming?” “I think people will be sad that we are not the Indians anymore,” sophomore Kinsey Harmon said.
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“I think everyone will wear all of their Indian stuff and go all out,” junior Emily Jones said. “I think we will be more into Homecoming and have more school spirit,” junior Nathaniel Resop said.
Karen MaCaulay temporarily returns to teaching
“It sucks that the mascot is changing, but now it is the time to show spirit!” junior Carly Standke said.
the
tribe awaits
Homecoming Hailey Prachel
For 72 years, Berlin has celebrated Homecoming, and has been the Indians for even longer. Now that the mascot change is in progress, this is the last year classes celebrate Homecoming as the Indians. “Berlin is very unique when it comes to Homecoming,” Guidance Counselor Ann Ragus said. “You always see the classes (alumni) together.” While Homecoming is for reuniting alumni, it is also for the students. Every year, the students participate in a week of activities. “I am going to miss the dress up days so much, it let’s you be yourself!” senior Tabitha Eastberg said. Homecoming week will consist of dress up days, various activities, the Friday night football game and the dance.
Guidance Office receives new name
The Guidance Office is now named Student Services. The change was made to inform students that they can use the office for more than just guidance. “We are entering the 21st century,” counselor Ann Ragus said. “We’re taking on a broader helping role for students.”
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of registered school forest property,” Werch said. The project plan is detailed and long-term. “The DNR professional foresters walk through each school forest property and write a comprehensive forestry management plan for the property,” Arndt said.
A classroom facility may be built in the school forest. “There are plans for a classroom facility, but it will be built once we raise enough money,” District Administrator Bob Eidahl said. Though the forest has never been cut, there have been controled burns. “The only previous management of Pine Bluff was prescribed fire at the top of the bluff to manage the native prairie and savannah habitat for the endangered Karner Blue butterfly,” Arndt said. The harvesting of the aspen, oak and pine will not take much time. “It will take a month or so to harvest,” Arndt said. The lumber will be sold to paper mills and logging companies. “The aspen can be sold for pulp to keep Wisconsin paper mills working,” Arndt said. “The district can sell the oak timber for hardwood saw logs.” The management plan will benefit the school forest in many ways. “In general, this is a very important process in order to keep the forest healthy, not only for the trees, but for the animals that live within the forest,” Werch said.
Dress up days
Monday- Extreme Weather Tuesday- Country Day Wednesday-Salad Dressing Day (Class Day) Thursday- Celebrity Day Friday- Red and Green
Football game at 7 p.m.
Berlin vs. Fox Valley Lutheran Dance will immediately follow the football game.
Although MaCaulay retired in June, she is back in her classroom. When MaCaulay heard that the district had no one to replace her, she wrote a letter offering to come back until another teacher was hired. “I could leave at anytime,” MaCaulay said. “I am basically acting as a long-term substitute until they find a replacement.” MaCaulay is ecstatic about returning to her classroom. “I’ll be the teacher who is smiling for the whole year because I am so happy to be back,” MaCaulay said. “I was not ready to retire.”
The Amy Hestir Student Protection Act revised
After much controversy over Missouri’s new “Facebook law,” lawmakers are considering a simplified version. Teachers may only be banned from using websites that enable exclusive access between teachers and students. The new bill will allow districts to come up with policies to “prevent improper communication” between faculty and students.
Mascot Update: School board meets about plan As of Friday, Sept. 16, 2011, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), ordered that Berlin High School will have to change their Indian mascot by Sept. 16, 2012. A school board meeting was held on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011. The mascot plan was explained and discussed during this meeting, even the fight to keep the mascot. The board voted that it was time to move on and start preparation for a new mascot.
A mascot selection committee made up of students, faculty, administrators and alumni will take suggestions for new mascot possibilities from the school and community. As of now, Principal Lynn Mork and Athletic Director Joe Brandl will chair this committee. After a several month process, a mascot retirement ceremony and the unveiling of the new mascot will take place in the spring.