Pirate Press_April/May 2023 (Vol.9, Issue 5)

P IRATE PRESS

April 2023

April/May 2023

Fine Arts Edition

Radius

Senior Masen Libby

Vol. 9, Issue 5

Vol.

For the final day of the Fine Arts Festival, a capella group Radius sang their hearts out. Radius was formed during the pandemic doing virtual content and now travels the U.S. to perform live.

They started the hour performing “As It Was” by Harry Styles. They then transitioned into a melody of Justin Bieber songs. Some of the songs they performed were Justin’s earlier hits such as “Baby” and some of his later hits such as “Sorry.”

Gabe and Sam then stood on the stage alone to teach the crowd how to make instrument sounds with their mouths like they do. Sam is a pro at this as it sounds like a real instrument is being played even though none are used.

Radius then performed One Direction’s “Night Changes” much to the delight of the audience. A boy band singing another boy band’s music is always going to be a hit. After they finished that song they sang “Style” by Taylor Swift and ended the hour with “About D*mn Time” by Lizzo.

Radius was incredibly fun to watch, and the energy in the room was great. The crowd was loud as they sang their hearts out. “They were the best of the day,” senior Natalie Serna said. “The music they chose to sing was super good.”

The a cappella boy band, Radius. From right to left is Sam, Gabe, Ben, Ethan, and Dylan. Photo credit Radius.

FAC Presents

Senior Molly Etscheid

The kick off. The first act of the Fine Arts Festival is FAC (Fine Arts Club) Presents. The group used a lot of teenage slang and jokes about teachers to captive smiles and laughs out of the audience. FAC Presents set the standards high for the rest of the festival and has already created memories and quotes for years to come. Some of the most notable acts include Family Feud, a simulation of Mrs. Savitch’s P.E. class, Gabe Nye the science guy and a music battle. Senior Ava Clark said her favorite part of the performance was “Hammy’s (Nick Hamilton) commitment to bleaching his hair to be [famous rapper] Eminem.”

FAC dances on stage together one last time before their final bows.

The Mackenzie O’Brian Band Senior

Masen Libby

Mackenzie O’Brien started it off country with a cover of Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart.” This wasn’t unexpected, as Mackenzie makes country music herself and has performed her songs in Chicago and Nashville.

She and her band then performed “You Belong with Me” by Taylor Swift. This song was a crowd favorite. If you looked around the room, everyone was singing along. Once they finished, they then switched genres and performed “Zombie” by The Cranberries. O’Brien told the crowd she chose that song because The Cranberries is an Irish band, and today’s Fine Arts Festival landed on St. Patrick's Day.

Switching genres once again, they sang the pop punk anthem “Sk8er Boi” by Avril Lavigne. The band singing this song was a fun change and got the crowd going. To end the set they went right back to their country roots, singing “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood.

Mackenzie O’Brien and her band were excellent and were a joy to watch. “I’m glad she sang a Taylor Swift song,” senior Natalie Serna said. “I love her music.”

Photo Credit Mackenzie O’Brian’s website.

Christina Eltrevoog

Senior Molly Etscheid

Memory lane. Graduate and former FAC member Christina Eltrevoog returned to the auditorium stage. She began her show by saying it feels like a “hero’s journey” being back and later said “it was a true blessing.” Eltrevoog engages audiences with honest songs expressed in harmonically rich layer of voices and strings. She approaches music with reverence to moment, regard for the past and exploration of the future. Eltrevoog played many songs from her latest EP titled “Incarnation.”

Ping Pong

Senior Molly Etscheid

Adaptive P.E. students enjoy a game of Ping Pong. The class aims to provide an easier way to play and teach games for special needs students. Along with the teacher Jen Jobst, there is one other assistant to help guide the students. Some examples of activities they have played are bags, frisbee, bocce ball, basketball, volleyball and badminton. Senior Hannah Duggan, an assistant, says she enjoys helping “teach these kids things they may not get to experience otherwise” Duggan has also found a passion for this field and would like to pursue it as a career in the future.

Ashlee Haze

Senior Molly Etscheid

Ashlee Haze is a poet originally from the Chicagoland area. Most of her poems are about emotions we experience as part of being human. She tells stories through her poems, some about childhood, growth and love from her book “SMOKE.” Her goal is to make people feel empowered to be a better version of themselves. She’s funny, intuitive and honest. Senior Ben Domoleczny said “She was very positive and uplifting. She really inspired me.”

Photo Credit Ashlee Haze.

Adaptive P.E. students playing Ping Pong.

Photo credit Christina Eltrevoog.

Serendipity

Senior Theo Downey

Loud and Proud: This band was ready to rock your world, and boy, did they. Serendipity is an all-girl band from the Chicagoland area that has been traveling together and performing at various venues. They played a variety of music with a rock twist and strong vocals that had everyone singing along and jumping to their feet. Overall, the band was truly amazing. All of the performers were very lively and kind. The music that they performed was soulful and beautiful, despite the songs being covers. The passion that each of the ladies had for their careers and for music was evident on the stage. “They had a lot of energy and it made the performance a lot more fun,” senior Liam Tipple said. Everyone in the crowd seemed to truly enjoy their time with the band, as everyone was very engaged with the band and cheered their hearts out after each song. Serendipity will hopefully be a returning act in the near future.

Edible Car Contest

Janelle Nordtvedt’s Engineering class and Chase Riva’s Foods I class travelled to IVCC for the 18th annual edible car contest. Students in both classes designed and built cars entirely from food edible to humans. Students then traveled to IVCC to watch their cars race down a track and be entered into several other categories for judging. A total of 38 entries were received by IVCC from middle school, high school and college students.

OHS entered 10 cars and won many prizes. They hope to participate again next year. “It was a fun, challenging and overall interesting experience. I hope the classes next year get to experience it,” senior Christian Ramirez said. Ramirez won first overall in the contest along with senior Noah Underhill.

Photo credit Serendipty

Athlete of the Month

Senior Molly Etscheid

Senior Ryley Jett has a lot on her plate. She has been a center defender and center midfielder for the Girls Varsity Soccer Team since her freshman year, a member of the DoChange mentoring program since her sophomore year and was selected for the Ottawa Honor Society this year.

Jett started playing soccer in elementary school and got the chance to play club soccer the summer before her junior year. One of her favorite memories is when she was at soccer practice: “There was a track meet going on, and one of the teams thought the plastic coyote was a real dog.”

In her free time Jett likes to hang out with friends, go shopping, go hiking and work. She has worked at B.A.S.H. for about a year and half. Right now, she only works on weekends because of her schedule, but when she is there, she is a food runner, host or busser.

Her hard work does not go unnoticed. Coach Sean Porter had a lot of amazing things to say about her. “Ryley has been a great team captain and a leader on and off the field. She consistently works hard at practice and leads by example.” Porter says Jett’s greatest strength is her toughness. In a game during her sophomore year, she broke her collar bone. She stayed in the game and continued playing until halftime. When she came off the field, she mentioned her shoulder hurt, turns out she had broken her collar bone.

Jett lives by the motto, “Everything happens for a reason.” In the fall she plans to attend the University of Iowa to study psychology.

Artist of the Month

Senior

Theo Downey

Sometimes, there’s inspiration in the little things. For senior Carter Snook and sophmore Jack Stanek, there’s inspiration in just about anything. They began a rap career together using a microphone and Snook’s laptop. They first started creating music together about two months ago. They are able to spend time on this outside of school and before jazz band rehearsal. They use original lyrics and rap about everyday things, from a fan to a watermelon. “The watermelon rap was simply our bridge into the industry,” Snook said.

They are also able to use this medium for school projects, especially in speech class. Snook has made good use of it for a recent project in which he and his group recorded a video about the Ottawa Community Food Basket. Senior Liam Tipple was a part of this group, and he commented, “I think it’s altogether hilarious and also really cool that they’re able to create the things that have. And it comes in handy for school projects when we need to

be creative. They just have fun, and that's cool.” Stanek and Snook have clearly made an impact with their tunes, even though they might not be the most serious. The lightheartedness of their creativity is what makes it worth it. They have had an impact on the people around them that aren’t in classes with them, too. Quite a few band members have actually been privy to their creative process, as a lot of jazz band members wait at the school with Snook and Stanek. Senior Lauren Podman is one of such people. “I am always way too excited when they say that they made a new song, it’s amazing,” Podman said regarding their music. Stanek and Snook’s raps have become something that a lot of people know, especially within the music hall at school. They are creating something that people enjoy, but most importantly, something that they both enjoy too.

Snook intends to go to college at the University of Iowa to study computer science. He is involved in the band, jazz band, Operation Snowflake, Chem Club and Earth Club. Stanek has said that he hopes to go into music education in the future. He is involved in the band and the jazz band. Stanek and Snook have also collaborated on a podcast together, which you can check out at @BirdsArentRealPodcastOfficial on YouTube.

Senior Ryley Jett making a goal kick during a home game.

Jammin Out: Snook(middle), senior Liam Tipple (left) and senior Noah Underhill (right) in their music video for their Ottawa Community Food Basket speech project.

One Hat, Two Hat, Three Hat, Four Hat

Senior Molly Etscheid

There is a certain stereotype or stigma surrounding teens and affecting how they are perceived. Many people think that teenagers are lazy; they sit around on their phones, play games or scroll through social media. However, being an average modern teenager comes with a lot of responsibilities. Many teenagers wear multiple different hats.

Not only do students come to school for 7 hours a day, but many also have jobs or sports games/practices afterward. This truly leaves little time to do homework, hang out with friends or do chores. With such little free time, it is difficult to keep up with friendships, relationships or being a child.

Junior and senior students are facing the challenges of making future decisions. Do I want to work, go to college, enter the trades, join the military? If students are thinking about college, then they must start applying to schools, visiting them and thinking about classes they should be taking in high school. Students thinking about the military have to contact recruiters and students thinking about work must find a job to pursue. Thinking about and planning for the future is like a part-time job. Doing research, applying and committing is a lengthy process and can be a lot to think about causing stress for students. Although freshman and some sophomore students do not need to worry about jobs or the future yet, they still have a lot of responsibilities with chores, sports, friendships or homework.

Freshman Haley Solan has a part-time job at Tone’s Cones and Tone’s Doghouse. She also plays sports and is a part of Operation Snowflake. She estimates that when she gets home from work or sports, she spends about 2 hours doing chores before being able to wind down and relax. “Sometimes I do not sleep because I am up late at sports or at work, then I have to come home and study for a test the next day. On average I say I get maybe 5-6 hours of free time a week,” Solan said. She says those 5-6 hours do not feel like enough for as hard as she works during the week. She agrees that many people have placed a stereotype around teenagers. “They assume that whenever we look at our phones we are ‘addicted.’ If we have a password, then we are hiding something. If we sit down, we are lazy. If we go out, then we are going to do drugs and make bad decisions.” Even as a freshman, Solan wears many hats, which will only multiply moving forward.

Personally, I have two part-time jobs, participate in track, take college classes and have an internship lined up for the summer. I do all this while maintaining good grades, friendships/relationships, committing to college and doing co-op. I can say it is definitely not easy, and many people overlook how much work students put into their everyday lives.

An anonymous sophomore student said, “This is our experimental phase, let us just enjoy ourselves. We are not going to get all the free time we have now in 10 years. We need to live our lives while we can, and all parents really need to do is just make sure that your kid knows that you are there for us if we ever need anything. Do not take away our young years because you want us to be perfect. If we mess up, that is our fault, and we will learn from it. We are trying to be more individual to see what we really want in life, let us figure it out how we want to.”

Thank your students for all the hard work they put in day in and day out.

Helmet Project Senior Masen Libby

For the final project in Leah Kuhn’s Crafts class, students must either create a helmet from scratch or add on to an existing helmet to match their apocalyptic world that they brainstormed and sketched out. For the students who decided to make their own out of cardboard, they had to papier mâché the piece and gesso it. Gesso is used to make the surface smoother and better for painting. “It’s taken a while but I like it,” junior Jasmine Reyes said, “It’s cool seeing the helmet come together.”

Standing “Tip Toe”

Senior Theo Downey

The Fall was Worth it: Everyone has been faced with a challenge that has felt impossible to overcome from where they’re standing. The theater department explored that feeling with their spring production “Standing Tip Toe.” The play follows Charley, played by senior Corinne Francis, who is the new director of a theater. She doesn’t know how to pick a production to put on, so she goes looking into the script box for an idea. However, in attempting to reach the script box, she loses her balance and falls, hitting her head and passing out in the storage room. There, the audience meets Finn, played by senior Gabe Nye, who is the omniscient and omnipotent spirit of the theater. Finn takes Charley on a wild ride through the different genre realms of theater in the hopes of helping her decide what kind of play to put on.

This play was a wonderful experience. It was hilarious and engaging, with endearing characters and a fast-paced plot. The message of the play was good as well, showing that taking risks-standing tiptoe-is worth it in the end, to jump in headfirst and work hard for the best outcome instead of worrying about all of the things that could happen. The play also worked to remind viewers what the heart of theater really is, at the end of the day: the performers.

The theater Director Sue Williamson put a personal spin on the end of the show that was very heartfelt. “I thought it was a beautiful tribute to a beloved golden era of OTHS theater,” senior Emily Swanson said. Many past theater members gathered on stage at Finn’s prompting, each with candles in hand to show the light that they bring to the stage and to the shows. There was also a slideshow during the show that showcased many pictures of past casts and fun times that Williamson had with all her casts and crews. “I was very entertained, and the slideshow was so cute,” senior Lauren Podman said.

Nothing, of course, was complete without a confetti cannon. The performers did wonderfully and put their hearts out on the stage. It was evident just how much theater means to them. “Being in OHS drama has been so rewarding and to do my last show alongside so many friends has been amazing,” senior Corinne Francis said. “I’m going to miss it so much.” It’s always a treat to see the fruits of such passionate people put on stage for all to see. Williamson was also able to show just how proud she is of her program, all the people that have passed through it and the lives that she has touched. The play was a good reminder that everyone should stand on their tiptoes sometimes, even when it seems like you might fall.

Now That’s Funny: Seniors Scarlett Pohar(left), Corinne Francis(middle), and Gabe Nye(right) all find themselves in fun costumes in comedy land in the first scene of the show.

The final curtain call of the play “Standing Tip Toe”

Student Stress

Senior Theo Downey

Don’t Sweat It: Stress is something that everyone can relate to, but students seem to have a certain affinity for it. Between classes, jobs, schoolwork, social lives, home lives and much more, high school students juggle a lot for four years. Some tips have been provided to hopefully help any stressed out student that feels like it has all been piling up lately.

A lot of students have a lot of things to do. Between work, school, sports, friends and family, the list goes on. This is a very easy way to become stressed out and overwhelmed. However, there are ways to combat this. By simply taking a step back and looking at things one-by-one, they look a lot more manageable. It also helps to organize things by difficulty. Perhaps working on something easier first can provide motivation to tackle the harder things. “I deal with that by designating only one time to get all of my homework done at night and chipping away at homework during the day so that I can do something I want to do before I go to bed each night,” senior Liam Tipple says. This is also a good way to approach stress, as keeping things that you enjoy doing in your regular schedule is vital to balance.

There are also tools everywhere to help with different kinds of stress. Adults in your life are there to be able to provide guidance in times of need. Especially in a school setting, teachers are there to aid in academic stress, hopefully alleviating that stress. There are also plenty of tools out in the world to help with focus and overall motivation to get things done. “When motivation hits, I use a pomodoro timer to help me work. It motivates me to get things done during that time, but it also allows for breaks,” junior Kate Passwater says. For those unaware, a pomodoro timer is an online timer that has two sides, work and rest. The work timer can be set for any time, a good staple is around thirty to forty-five minutes. After the work timer is up, it will switch to the rest timer, usually around fifteen minutes.

Breaks are vital when studying for longer periods of time, and the timer is great for that. Other great tools include Quizlet, Kahoot, notecards and fun sticky tabs and decorations. Never be afraid to use fun things to study, as this will help stimulate your brain and keep you invested in the task. All of these and more can help make studying more accessible and manageable.

Another aspect to keep in mind is health. It’s vital to eat enough and drink enough water during the school year, as it takes a lot of energy from a single person each day. Exercise in some form is also very important, as it keeps the body healthy and engaged. This could be something as small as a walk to as large as a lifting session at the gym. “The way I normally deal with my stress is going for a run because it’s a way to block out everything and focus instead of letting my mind wander from thing to thing,” senior Michaela Edwards Froisland says. A run is also a prime example of great exercise. Anything that provides something productive to focus on and calm the mind will boost the overall state of mind and mood. This would aid greatly when it comes to approaching studying, as it’s not always something that people want to sit down to do.

Hopefully these tips are helpful for any struggling student out there. There are also plenty of resources out on the web to help combat procrastination and a lack of motivation. All of this to say, you are not alone, student. There will always be a helping hand to find out there, whether it be an online timer, your music streaming account, or a friend that you can cry to. Stress is difficult and handling it even more so.

Above history teacher Peter Marx recreating pop star Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII halftime show during the Faculty Showcase accompanied by back up dancers.

Below many of the female staff members gathered on stage to dance in all black outfits.