The Chin commmunity at SHS continues to flourish despite rough beginnings
Editor-in-Chief
Ava Campbell
Managing Editors
Kenzie Andrysiak
Lily Zing
Editors
Simran Baidwan
Lucy Len Dim
Thang Khai
Niang Lun
Michelle Ortega-Morales
Elisabeth Pointer
Aiden Quinlin
Claire Steinbrook
Reporters
Zeid Alsalloum
Sophie Barker
Lorelei Bennett
Jasmine Chau
Leyda Chavez
Kennedy Cochran
Alyssa Cook
Hunter Faut
Jose Garcia-Cleofas
Gabe Harman
Ethan Hilario
Samantha Juarez
Alex McBride
Ava Miller
Ella Thompson
Niina Toma
Jimena Velazquez
Photographers
Kiley Bowman
Max Castro
Caydence Davis
Artists
Tristen Draughon
Naomi Iang-Par
Videographer
Alex Garzia
Social Media Specialist
Nguniang Tial
Business Manager
Nathan Switzer
Podcast Producer
Julianna Miranda
Adviser
Mike Klopfenstein
Letter From The Editor
Six hours spent selling ads and learning the ropes over the summer. Five school weeks of preparation. Eight hours of production nights. Countless hours of working after school and during study halls. Not to mention, epic ping-pong games on top of a makeshift ping-pong table.
This is what the life of the Journal staff has looked like for the past few months. Luckily, all this effort has been poured into something amazing. The first issue is finally here, and I, for one, couldn’t be more excited.
Although we have a lot of fun, our staff puts in huge amounts of work. Culture editor Lucy Len Dim and reporter Samantha Juarez have dedicated themselves to putting together an amazing centerfold over the growth of our community’s Chin population, exemplified by the school’s new Hakha Chin heritage language class. Videographer Alex Garzia blew everyone away with his “Meet the Staff” video, as well as his coverage of the fall pep rally. Lifestyle editor Simran Baidwan and reporter Ella Thompson have worked together to add the whole new position of Lifestyle reporter to our staff. And podcast producer Julianna Miranda has brought back our podcast, The Circuit! You would never believe she has no multimedia experience.
Although I’ve already said so much, I can’t go without thanking managing editors Kenzie Andrysiak and Lily Zing. They mean so much to me and are so valuable to the staff. The Journal could not function without them.
All this aside, I hope you enjoy this issue of The Journal as much as I do. Happy reading!
Ava Campbell, Editor-in-Chief
Editor: Thang Khai
Plan B
Behind the scenes
“
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Fresh success
Classes are offered online and in-person, all year long!
Editor: Niang Lun
By Hunter Faut, Reporter
More than a game
Psych-ed
Scan the QR code below to read the rest of the story! u
By Jose Garcia-Cleofas, Reporter
Editor: Niang Lun
Sports
Editor: Aiden Quinlin
Touching Base
Defensive duo
Editor: Michelle O-Morales
Back to the nest
Culture
Editor: Lucy Len Dim
Rec nnecting with their r ots
The Chin community at SHS continues to flourish despite rough beginnings
By Samantha Juarez, reporter
16 Culture
photo by Lily Zing
It was the year 2007, and SHS was bustling with students. However, in that year, SHS was greeted by the first 20 students from a specific country: Myanmar.
Those refugees were the start of a flood of students from Myanmar coming to SHS due to the religious persecution in their country or their desire to join their family in America.
With this came difficulties for not only the refugee students but for the teachers at SHS.
Many refugees didn’t have the resources they needed to adapt to school in a new country.
SHS simply had no support systems in place for this situation.
Struggles such as the language barrier and finding adequate housing proved to be some of the most common challenges for the refugees, leaving the south side of Indianapolis and the staff of SHS baffled.
“We were in a bit of a panic,” said Barbara Brouwer, then principal of SHS, “because we had students coming to us that we were unfamiliar with and they were unfamiliar with us.”
We had students coming to us that we were unfamiliar with, and they were unfamiliar with us.
Former
Principal Barbara Brouwer
For many refugees coming from Myanmar, they had to face many challenges before they could get to where they are now.
One of those was the language barrier.
Hlawn Kip Tlem, a student from the first wave of Chin students coming to SHS, struggled with speaking English.
“The very first day that I came to Southport High School, I was asked what is my schedule,” Tlem said. “And I didn’t even know what a schedule meant.”
Seventeen years later, however, SHS is no longer the school that didn’t have support systems for these students. It now thrives with several support systems in place for refugees from Myanmar and looks nothing compared to what it once did. One of the biggest changes and proof of its growth is having a new class that helps Chin students reconnect back to their roots.
Growing pains
As the Chin population expanded, SHS knew it had to do something to help these students.
For example, administrators decided that when the first wave of Chin students arrived, they were going to implement
sheltered classes, which are meant to help students with the English language. To this day, they are still helpful for students from Myanmar and other countries.
“We rearranged the curriculum so that Chin students were having math and having the sheltered English class,” Brouwer said. “We couldn’t have them do social studies and science until they understood English enough to do it.”
Initially, English was the only sheltered class offered, and it was only offered to ninth and 10thgrade students.
Within a few years, sheltered math was offered. Eventually, classes ranging from science to social studies were added.
Amy Peddie was the firstever EL teacher for SHS.
She, however, did not make this choice herself.
“I actually started as a French teacher in Southport
A map of the different townships in Chin State, drawn by students in the class. photo by Lily
Did you know?
There are 40 - 45 dialects of the Chin language
Source: Ethno Med
Culture 17
Zing
The true story
Editor: Claire Steinbrook
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Lifestyle
Editor: Simran Baidwan
Capture the moment
On the clock
Tips for mastering time managment
By Ella Thompson, Reporter
by Naomi Iang-Par
Astudents, teachers and administrators begin feeling the pressure of the new year, which the effectiveness of time management entails.
However, many students tend to struggle with managing their time. It can become difficult to manage school with jobs, sports and other extracurricular activities.
Senior Van Kong is known for balancing all of these activities.
“Just because I have learned time management doesn’t mean that I don’t get overwhelmed and cry, because it is normal to,” senior Van Kong said.
There are many ways students don’t manage their time.
Procrastination is one of the biggest problems students face. It may overall affect how they function in society.
Patrick Clark said. “So I see people who could just get stuff done and either they push it off ‘til it is too late, or they work harder making excuses not to do it than what the actual assignment would be.”
Although time management can be hard to develop, there are many methods to help make it easier.
Making a schedule can be a largely beneficial solution for time management. It helps someone stay organized and on task to help them get everything done.
“Schedules are very helpful (for) using my time effectively and trying to think a couple of weeks ahead so nothing gets too backlogged,”
PLTW teacher Anthony Stanich said.
Another way to effectively manage time
Did you know?
Teens who sleep nine hours a night tend to get higher grades.
Source: Method Learning
By using this method, one knows exactly what it is they need to do in order to stay organized, and they can hold themselves accountable for what they need to get done.
“Reward yourself,” Clark said. “If you have all A’s at the end of the week, or if you have no missing assignments, get yourself that Starbucks or whatever you use to reward yourself.”
Time management remains a challenging thing any student can face, but using effective strategies, such as making a schedule, employing self-discipline and using a reward system, can help ease some of the stress of time management.
“If you can’t find more time, then change the way you use your time now,” Kong said.
art
Editor: Elisabeth Pointer
Getting Opinion
to the Point(er)
art by Tristen Draughon
Banning Benefits
Journal Address
The way the administration enforces the dress code isn’t ethical
Starting this school year, some changes to the dress code have surfaced to cause less distractions to the school environment. With this improved policy comes new enforcement. The enforcement involves everyone in the class to stand up and be checked to see if what they are wearing is deemed inappropriate by an administrator.
This process is unethical and causes more of a distraction than the clothes themselves to the school environment.
If the goal of a dress code is to eliminate distractions to the
This
is the opinion of the editorial board of The Journal
learning environment, what is the logic for disrupting class to see if the students are “too provocative” for the classroom. At that point they’ve taken the whole class’ attention away from the lesson and on to what the people around them are wearing.
Not only is it counterintuitive, it’s clear that this is centered around women’s clothing and body types, therefore creating a biased policy based on certain students.
It’s understandable in any
dress code to have a little bias since it can’t be set in stone, unless it’s a uniform. But what’s not okay is for the purpose of the policy to be unrecognized when the administration comes in and examines the bodies and clothes of students. What administration needs to do is stop trying to change what clothes kids wear and focus on informing the staff and students to fix their mindset when it comes to what disrupts the environment.
If staff or students’ minds are unable to focus when there are shoulders or thighs showing, then the problem is within themselves.
