THENEWTONIAN NEWTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT MAGAZINE
IN-DEPTH
A new direction for the parking lot VOL. 42 | ISSUE 1 | SEPTEMBER 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS
FEATURES
New assistant principal, faculty 3 1:1 technology - Chromebooks 4 Student identification required 5
Limit on exchange students Zimbabwe to America Ledesma publishes book
OPINIONS
SPORTS
Comprehensive sex education 6 Academic seminar crucial 7 Social guidance counselors 7
Brown as new athletic trainer 13
Mick looks to break record
10 11 12
13
IN-DEPTH
ARTS & CULTURE
Parking lot regulation changes 8
SLAB Book Reviews 15 Featured Artist: Christina Bruce 15
Cover photo by Gracie Hammond
STAFF INFORMATION Editor-in-Chief Lauren Mitchell Asst. Editor-in Chief Online Editor Payton Fenwick Content Editor Photo Editor Gracie Hammond
News Editor Sports Feature Editor Faye Smith Features Editor Erica Beebe Opinions Editor Macy Rice Online Sports Manager Ben Crump
Graphic Manager Arts & Culture Editor Caroline Barger Asst. Features Editor Addie Lindenmeyer Asst. Opinions Editor Ellen Garrett Asst. Arts & Culture Editor Kaete Schmidt
Letters to the Editor The Newtonian may accept letters to the editor and guest columns from students, faculty, administrators, community residents and the general public. Submissions should be 300 words or less and contain the author’s name, address and signature. All submissions will be verified. The Newtonian editorial board reserves the right to withhold a letter, column or other submission and/or return it for revision if it contains unprotected speech or grammatical errors that could hamper its meaning. Letters to the editor and guest columns can be given to the editor-inchief or adviser, delivered to room 1-113 or be e-mailed to nhsrailernews@ gmail.com. The deadline for publication in the next issue is 9/15/17 to allow sufficient time for verification of authorship prior to publication.
2 | STAFF | SEPTEMBER 2017
@RailerNews
Reporter Meya Green Reporter Emma Pulaski Reporter Taylor Tasaka Adviser Robin Montano
Fawcett begins as new assistant principal Kaete Schmidt Asst. Arts and Culture Editor
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very year, the high school gains many new teachers and staff members. In fact, this year the high school gained 11 new staff members including, Jason Fawcett filling the assistant principal vacancy. Fawcett moved to this area to be closer to family, stumbled upon the job opening and decided to apply for it. He has previously worked as a teacher at the Hugoton Middle School. From there he moved onto being the head football and track coach and athletic director in Fowler, Kan. After that, he quit coaching and instead became the principal for the 7-12 building in Fowler. Then, for the last seven years, he was the assistant principal as well as athletic director at Andale High School. “Kids are basically kids at any school. This is the largest school I’ve ever worked at and It’s a little more, I would say, hectic and fast-paced just because there is 1000 kids in the building as
Assistant principal Jason Fawcett is having a conversation with CTE director and Railer Academy assistant principal Melinda Rangel after school on Sept. 1. Fawcett began as assistant principal in July for the 2017-18 school year. Photo by Ellen Garrett
opposed to a little less than 500 at my last school and so it moves a little quicker,” Fawcett said. Fawcett graduated from Southwestern Heights in Kismet, Kan. After that, he proceeded to attend Northwestern Oklahoma State where he got his college degree followed by Fort Hays State University where he received his master’s degree. Throughout Fawcett’s schooling and now his job in education, he has always
been very grateful for the teachers and everyone else that has helped him succeed. “I don’t think there is one person in particular that I look up to. There has been lots of great teachers and when I was younger there were older teachers that taught me a lot of good things. There is just so many great people in the profession of education to just narrow it down to just one,” Fawcett said.
Ten new faces join NHS teaching faculty
Zachary Dent French 1, 2, 3, 4
Chandlor Ochoa Spanish 1, 2, 3
Matthew Goetz
Brenna Haines
Jessica Heidrick
Amber Janzen
Kristin Roth
Lisa Shear
Kelsie Vinopal
Perry Warden
Financial Mgmt. 1, 2 Computer Apps.
Financial Mgmt Computer Apps. Middle school business
Intro to Algebra Geometry
General English 2, 4 Honors English 2
General English 1, 3
Counselor for students last names A-G
NEWS
Agriculture Ed Animal Science Vet Science Middle School Ag
Transition Coordinator
| SEPTEMBER 2017 | 3
Welcome to the new age: 1:1 technology Grace Hammond & Emma Pulalski Content Editor & Staff Writer
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ays of laptop carts and computer labs are no more as students can now be seen toting their glossyscreened Chromebooks around the halls. Excitement began when rumors sparked last year and by summer it was confirmed the high school would be going 1:1 for the 2017-18 school year. The idea was brought up in 2009 but has been unsuccessful until now, reason being this was a big project and there were many factors in the decision-making process. “The tech team sent out a variety of different surveys to teachers asking what are your preferences and why. We sent out documents of what you can do with a chromebook and what you can’t do, how does it meet your curriculum, cost factors, we had meetings with district office, ETC, we pulled students. Really it was a two year process,” district technology team member Brian Skinner said. Deciding what computer would be best, how to cover costs, and how to upgrade school’s infrastructures were some problems administration ran into. It was also decided that K-12 would be going 1:1, which increased the cost and overall project. Eight years later, plans were finalized. The district focused on upgrading the infrastructures for the most populated schools first, tech
team chose a computer that met the needs of students, and although cuts on education funding have been more frequent these past five years, it was decided that 1:1 would be beneficial. “We believe that technology is an important part of the learning experience for students...” director of
59.2%
of students enjoy the chromebooks
*216 student surveyed
technology services Brenda Thompson said. “You set priorities and there are things that are put to the side then or put off.” Some students see the Chromebooks as helpful tools, others disagree and others aren’t quite sure yet. One thing is for sure, all students are adjusting to new technology. “The best part about having the
Chromebooks is that I get to take them home and it makes school work a lot easier,” senior Aaron Brown Roberts said. Students who disagree have a positive view on the changes but believe Chromebooks are not the right tool. “I think another kind of laptop would have been a much better choice as Chromebooks are glitchy at time and are unable to function without an internet connection. A small windows laptop would have been a much better choice,” junior Connell Rausch said. 1:1 is nothing new to the freshmen class, they have had personal devices in the previous years. The new experiences for them and the rest of the student body is keeping the device throughout high school and the style of laptop. So far, Chromebooks have been good competition against their previous devices aside from some small features. “They don’t have the best display in the world, but they make it easy to find the right web pages you need to go to.” freshman Max Musser said. There is no guessing what upcoming school years will bring, but ETC has confirmed changes will continue to be made. “With technology, you always have to be looking at the next thing. How do we build for the future, and how do we plan for things that we don’t even know are going to exist.” Thompson said.
38.9%
17.6% of students brought a personal device to school
last year *216 students
4 | NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2017
ture believe the best chromebook fea
al device
is having a person *216 students
Students required to wear identification Caroline Barger Arts & Culture Editor
As the school year begins, it may seem easier to know everyone’s name walking through the hallways. Administration is now requiring each student to wear an identification lanyard throughout the entire school day. This requirement hopes to ensure the safety of the student body. “We had a couple former students in enter the building through the back doors by Willis gym last year and the teacher on supervision did not know them, she did not know if they were students or former students. For safety reasons, we are asking students to wear IDs,” principal Lisa Moore said. This guideline is not something new to the district or even other surrounding schools. Chisholm Middle School started implementing this rule in the 2016-17 school year, as well as other
surrounding schools. While many students feel that this an inconvenience to them, this is something they will have in their workplace. “We are probably one of the last high schools in America to require their students to wear IDs. Once you go into the workplace, which many of our students already have jobs, you are wearing IDs at your work force. Whether you are at Newton Medical Center, McDonalds, or Walmart you are wearing a name tag or and ID of some sort,” Moore said. Name tags throughout the school are not only for student safety but also allow teachers to identify students with more ease. “Whether it is a fight or any other behavioral issue, we have over 1,000 students and many of our teachers don’t know all of the students, I don’t even know every student,” Moore said.
IDs should not be required
“When students refuse to give their name to adults, students have their ID on and it is easy to identify a student.” Even though requiring identification is common in surrounding school districts, students still feel that it may be an inconvenience at times and are voicing their opinions. “Wearing IDs all the time can become can be a little bit of a problem because it is something you can easily lose and I don’t always remember to put it on,” freshman Asha Regier said. “I am also a person who doesn’t like have something around their neck all the time.” Along with the safety that IDs provide the students, administration also plans to implement ALICE training with students. Staff received training in April 2017. “Yes, [we are planning on training on students] because we go into an ALICE drill the students need to be trained,” Moore said.
IDs should be a requirement
Aspen Olson Junior Guest Columnist
Eli Boese Senior Guest Columnist
Personally, I do not like that we have to wear ID badges at school. They are a hassle to deal with and many students find it annoying. Many of the lanyards distributed by the school have broken and we are now expected to purchase new lanyards or clips on our own for something we do not even want to wear. I understand they are for our safety, but it is pointless because the rules are not enforced. I see plenty of students not wearing IDs and not getting in trouble. If someone who was not supposed to be at school were to get inside the building, it is likely to go unnoticed because so many students do not wear them. Wearing IDs does not do any good if the rules are not enforced. An office referral for forgetting to wear your ID seems a little harsh to me. If students who did not wear their ID was sent to the office it would be flooded. This takes unnecessary time away from learning, and causes more issues than it solves. Wearing your ID is just an inconvenience for everyone.
With the newest implementation of security measures, mixed feelings surround the ID cards students are required to wear. It is understandable why the administration made this decision, after Columbine, Newtown and Excel. The decision was overdue. The Newtown shooting should have been a wake up call to the nation that schools are not safe, despite small town status. It should not have taken a shooting ten minutes down the road that killed four people to move school administration into action. The name tags are necessary and with them, administration has taken the safety of their students into consideration. However, the execution of this rule is questionable. How will it be enforced? How can the administration expect perfection from students when no reprisals have been given? The ID tags are necessary but are not enforced readily by the administration.
NEWS
| SEPTEMBER 2017 | 5
Pro-comprehensive sex education crucial Ellen Garrett Assistant Opinions Editor
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ccording to Tufts School of Medicine, only 22 states require schools to teach sex education at all. In these classes, many teachings are biased, with 17 states not requiring lessons about HIV or AIDS. Only 19 states require that teachings are medically accurate, and eight states have laws against teaching LGBTQ+ inclusive lessons. Some even require that teachers provide anti-gay instruction. Twentyseven states require an emphasis on Abstinence Only Until Marriage Education (AOUME). According to the Department of Health Education at San Francisco State University, this all leads not only to increased pregnancy rates, but increased rates of sexual assault. It even increases suicide, drug use, and results in lower grade point averages in LGBT students. AOUME should not be taught. These programs are completely ineffective. According to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 95 percent of Americans engage in premarital sex. Studies have found that Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) actually lowered teen pregnancy rates and increased condom usage. Abstinence-only education actually promotes sexism, racism
and classism in society. The absence of CSE allows for information on sexual assault to be corrupted because lessons often resort to victim blaming as a way to show students that it is bad to be assaulted. Not only is most of the information from schools biased, but they don’t cover it effectively. Only 16 percent of the information an adolescent receives about sexual assault is provided by their parents or schools. The rest comes from the media. Learning about sexual assault from the media leads to distorted beliefs of the nature of sexual assault. In America we are way behind on the trend of CSE. The best schools in the world are teaching Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE). According to The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Dutch schools start CSE as early as age 4. This teaching has real results. Seventy-five percent of Dutch teens use birth control their first time, while only 57 percent of American teenagers do. That is a huge difference. American schools need to get on board with the rest of the world. All states should require that Comprehensive Sex Education be taught in their schools. CSE includes discussion of gender identities, sexual orientation, birth control, consent, sexual health, and gender equality. Only by implementing a common CSE curriculum across all 50 states can we lower teen pregnancy rates, promote sexual health, and prevent LGBT suicides.
Curriculum policies by state
Abstinence is stressed in sex ed curriculum
Requires sex ed to be “comprehensive and accurate”
Both comprehensive sex ed and abstinence are taught
6 | OPINIONS | SEPTEMBER 2017
*Sources: newsbatch.com and amplifyyourvoice.com
Academic seminars essential for success Macy Rice Opinions Editor
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ew scheduling has allowed for seminar to be held every day except for Wednesdays, however only seminars on Tuesdays and Thursdays are for academic time. Seminars on Mondays and Fridays are used to promote Railer pride and complete activities assigned by the counselors. With responsibilities such as jobs and extracurricular activities, students may find it difficult to set aside extra time necessary for completing homework assignments. According to a survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, 45 percent of all teen students reported they were stressed by school pressures originating from homework. Extracurricular activities have proven their importance when it comes to college applications. According to The College Board, colleges focus on extracurricular activities when looking through applications because they “reveal a lot about students in ways that grades and test scores can not�. As reported by the 2014 census, 57 percent of children ages six to 17 years old participate in at least one after school activity. That is nearly six out of ten students.
In addition to participating in extracurricular activities, many students also have jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2014, 22.3 percent of students held parttime jobs. Having a job in high school allows students to save up money for college. It also makes students more likely to find a job quickly later in life, considering most employers seek experienced employees. Federal labor laws state that high schoolers can only work 18 hours or less when school is in session, but 18 hours per week in addition to school can be difficult to manage. To put the amount of homework high schoolers are given into perspective, the University of Phoenix conducted a national survey in 2014. Ninth through twelfth grade teachers reported assigning an average of three and a half hours of homework per week. While students have many classes per week, the hours can add up quickly. According to the survey, the weekly average of homework for high school students is 17.5 hours. Increasing the amount of academic time during seminar could be quite beneficial to students. With only two 50 minute seminars dedicated to academic time this year, students lose valuable time that they had in years past to lessen their workloads and obtain critical help from teachers. Students are forced to squeeze in time to complete assignments between extracurriculars and part-time jobs.
Students should find social guidance counselor Faye Smith News/Sports Editor
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reshman year is all about learning: what a career should look like, how to properly behave, how to grow up and most importantly, how to find a relatable group of friends. There are friends that have been there since the first grade, however, finding a mentor that not only has the same interests, but has a year or more of high school experience, is crucial to learning the social aspects of high school. Upperclassmen know the ins and outs of the school, whether it is who is dating whom, the best classes to take, or the unique traditions that the school takes part in. In other words, upperclassmen are overflowing with advice. Just simply asking for guidance may begin a new friendship. Whether that bond creates an everlasting relationship, through the many car rides, Sonic drinks, and late night gossip, or simply provides someone to wave to in the hallways, an upperclassman friend group is valuable. They are a familiar face that can lead someone through obstacles that are not published in the school handbook. Think of it as a personal social guidance counselor. In reality though, all things must come to an end. The once handy high school mentor must walk the graduation stage at the end of May, but there is no need to worry. Underclassmen who were once mentored are now presented with the opportunity to become social guidance counselors for incoming classes and pass on knowledge of high school survival skills.
Editorial cartoon by guest cartoonist Rebekah Nelson.
OPINIONS
| SEPTEMBER 2017 | 7
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Inside the lines A new direction for the parking lot 8 | NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2017
Lauren Mitchell Editor-in-Chief
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fter considering the number of accidents that occurred in and around the parking lot during the 2016-17 school year, school resource officer Gary Littlejohn implemented changes in order to increase safety and efficiency for students and parents. Revisions include designating 30 parent parking spots for after-school pickup in order to clear 12th Street congestion, allowing both left and right turns at the 12th Street exit and consolidating exiting student traffic from two lanes down to one lane at the Boyd exit. In addition, Littlejohn initiated the removal of an unnecessary stop sign on the one-way lane that was causing confusion. “The biggest thing is people parking on 12th Street instead of pulling into the parking lot. We had a lot of parents out there and we have had a lot of complaints through the city. I was asked to do something different because there were several accidents because people were parking and were not paying attention,� Littlejohn said.
Additional teacher parking
Littlejohn and principal Lisa Moore painted white arrows to correspond with traffic flow as a reminder to students and parents. “The big arrows on the ground show that it is a one way in and one way out. As you know, on the West side, people when they leave after school, will take up both lanes leaving instead of leaving one lane open. This caused people that were trying to get in to not be able to,” Littlejohn said. The Newton Police Department will be present to enforce the new guidelines for the parking lot. “There are big white signs that say ‘no parking’ so eventually if people keep doing it we are just going to write citations,” Littlejohn said. Another more colorful change was made to the parking lot when Moore initiated a fundraiser for StuCo in the summer of 2016. In addition to the 30 spots reserved for parent parking, 50 parking spots are designated to individual students this school year. “People were posting their schools doing the parking lot spaces and so we thought that would be really cool and how could we do that,” Moore said. As for the overall student and parent response, both Littlejohn and Moore said they have yet to hear complaints from students or parents regarding increased congestion at exits. “I think the idea of getting used to doing it is the biggest thing right now,” Littlejohn said.
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Students voice opinions on traffic flow Brett Knepper Senior Guest Writer
Chelsie Penner Junior Guest Writer
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he parking lot, I have found, is a lot more congested this year, mostly due to the new changes of having an entire section just for parents. Especially when going out to lunch with a friend, it is difficult for them to find parking. As for leaving the school, due to having a parking space, I tend to get out of the lot before the kids who are located further out. These students are the ones who get caught up in the lengthy lines to get out. Another thing that helps is that I know a lot of people at the school, and they tend to let me in line when exiting the building.
t first, when I heard about how the parking lot would be set up this year, I was against it. I wanted to park in the area where the parent parking went. Since the school year has started, I have seen a huge difference in traffic flow when it comes to getting out of the parking lot in the front. With students not being allowed to park where the parent parking is, it decreases the amount of cars trying to get out of the parking lot onto 12th street. I also think that with allowing both left and right turns onto 12th street, takes away from the traffic flow on the west side. All in all, I think the parking lot changes have made getting to and leaving school a lot less stressful.
NEWS
| SEPTEMBER 2017 | 9
Cap placed on exchange student numbers Addie Lindenmeyer Assistant Feature Editor
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ach year, the high school hosts foreign exchange students from all over the world, including countries such as Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, Thailand, Brazil, Russia and others. This year, however, there has been a limit placed on the number of students allowed due to class sizes and problems acquiring student visas, as a result of President Trump’s administrative changes. In past years, the school has hosted upwards of 18 to 21 students, the equivalent of a full-sized class. This year, however, only eight exchange students are attending Newton High School in hopes of lowering class enrollment numbers. “Quite frankly, our classes are bursting at the seams right now. Especially our junior and senior English
Valentina Samuelli Italy
classes and elective classes. They are just extremely full,” principal Lisa Moore said. “By reducing the number, our goal is to take some of the pressure off of those bigger classes.” While class size remains the main reason for adding a limit to the number of foreign exchange students, acquiring student visas has also been problematic. “There was some question about how many would be allowed into the country because of some of the things President Trump had said. He was not allowing some people from certain countries in,” special education teacher and local coordinator for CCI Greenheart Georgetta Grimmett said. “We are worried that might affect our company [CCI Greenheart].” Despite the limit that has been placed on the number of foreign exchange students, Moore and Grimmett look forward to having the exchange
Gregor Hofmann, Germany
Benedetta Biondi Italy
Claudia Canete Moleno Spain
10 | FEATURES | SEPTEMBER 2017
students be involved as part of the school and community. “We are very lucky to be able to [educate exchange students]. The students get to become friends with American students and that’s their whole goal for coming here, to make relationships in America. It benefits the American students because they get to know students from another country and they learn about their culture. They learn about how things may be different in another country. I think it peaks their interest in traveling and wanting to find out about other countries,” Grimmett said. “I get excited when they have a successful year at Newton High School and that they make lifelong friends with their own host family. When I hear about the American host family going over and visiting the exchange student, that really tells me that they built a bond with each other.”
Alina Bezgub Russia
Ryu Uchima Japan
Amanda Foscarini Varisa Brazil
Woranyn Normai Thailand
Zimbabwe to America: Moyo moves from home country during childhood
Family members of Linda Moyo gather at her birthday party in Zimbabwe. Moyo blows out candles on her birthday cake. Photo Courtesy
Gracie Hammond Content Editor
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ight thousand, nine hundred and ninety-five miles. That is the distance between Newton and the life senior Linda Moyo left behind. At the age of eight-years-old, Moyo boarded a plane with her mother and brother to restart their lives America. “I left everybody except for my mom and my brother, which I came with. And I’ve only seen one person since then and I’ve never been back,” Moyo said. The family first moved to Atlanta, Ga. in 2009 to reunite with her father who had been working abroad in America. “My dad, Ron Moyo, is a pastor at Whitestone, one of the pastors there, and then my mom owns Moyo clothing downtown and then my brother Lincoln, he is currently finishing off college at Bethel College and that’s my family, that’ll all I know right now,” Moyo said. Moyo’s family came to Newton under unique circumstances. “When he [her father] was little he was in a war and he was living alone, and so in that war he prayed to God, ‘God if you save me today, I’m gonna serve you.’ Moyo said. Years later when they were in Atlanta her father was called to write an
obituary for a friend from the Newton area. “The wife of the guy who died said ‘Ron do you want to go to Hesston College so you can go to school to be a pastor?’ That moment he remembered the promises he made to God and that’s how we moved to Newton,” Moyo said. The family has lived here ever since. For Moyo, the transition from living in Zimbabwe was not always easy. She knew very little English when she moved which made it difficult to settle into life in America. “I watched a lot of movies, that’s how I literally learned English, because I knew nothing,” Moyo said. Aside from being unfamiliar with the language, she also encountered differences in culture. “It was a big culture shock when I came here, and it still is like every single day sometimes. I’m like ‘what?’” Moyo said. “The way people talk to each other like how close they are and like in Zimbabwe we say ‘hi’ to everybody but then here in some parts of the United States you have to keep to yourself or something.” Along with that, it was strange for Moyo to move to a predominantly white town. “It was shocking, like still today when
I see a black person I’m like ‘Oh my God, a black person is right there.’ It’s still surprising because when I came to Atlanta, Ga. there were a lot of black people. It was a huge culture change from Atlanta, Ga. to Newton because it’s like all white and our culture is different from Atlanta and so adapting to three different cultures in a short amount of time was hard,” Moyo said. Keeping in touch with her roots in something very important to Moyo. “The sad thing is that it’s taken me a long time to realize that, for a long time I was trying to have, you know, like the American culture and get away from that but like now I’m growing every single day I see how important it is to hold on to who you are because that’s where I came from, that’s my imprint.” Moyo said. She still speaks Zulu on occasion and enjoys connecting with people from back home. Overall, she believes that growing up in a different country and moving at a young age has positively shaped who she is. “I have a different perspective of the world than some other people because I know the good and I know the bad and I know both factors of any situation,” Moyo said.
FEATURES
| SEPTEMBER 2017 | 11
Ledesma publishing original poetry book Taylor Tasaka Reporter
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unior Aliah Ledesma’s world was shifted when her family relocated from Garden City to Newton in 2010. This change caused a mixture of emotions that led to an unanticipated seven year journey. The final outcome was ‘Possibility’, a book of Ledesma’s original poetry, that is scheduled to published by Eber and Wein and to sell on Amazon for $9. “It was surrounding the idea of a cocoon because the chances of the thing in the cocoon being a butterfly or a moth are the same. Yet, a butterfly is seen as a pretty thing and a moth is seen as an ugly thing. So, ‘Possibility’, is seen as the chances of an unrequited love being something beautiful or being something ugly,” Ledesma said. When exposed to major changes or stressful situations, some personality types will isolate themselves in order to for peace. Ten-year-old Ledesma was no exception to this rule. “I started writing basic poetry because I hadn’t talked to anybody in four months. I had just moved to a new school and had no friends. So, I got called into the counselor’s office and she basically said I could start talking to people and making friends or a I could write to tell her how I feel,” Ledesma said. Since writing is Ledesma’s outlet to express her misfit emotions, ‘Possibility’ has become a work that she holds close to her heart. “‘Possibility’ is super personal. It’s kind of like a journal in some ways, something that I have kept with me for seven years,” Ledesma said. “I was kind of insecure about it at first but at the same time I didn’t want to dwell on other people’s
An exceprt from Ledesma’s poetry book ‘Possibility’.
“
Sanguine
It sucks to get your hopes up. No wait, scratch that.
It’s the best thing to get your hopes up, and to have wishful thinking, to have an optimistic outlook on life.
To feel as if you could still see the sun even after it has set. The thing that sucks, is being awoken to the reality that makes everything painfully obvious that everything you have hoped for is out of your reach. The word almost, is the absolute worst. The word maybe, is tolerable. The word possibility, is what my tombstone is marked with.
“
thoughts about it. I am pretty sure I’m just going to put it out there and whoever wants to say whatever they want to, they can. They’re my words and I don’t want anybody to take that away from me.” Ledesma hopes ‘Possibility’ can give the same comfort to others as she experienced while writing it. “In a way I hope people are able to relate to this, but at the same time I hope there aren’t people who feel this way because it’s a terrible feeling.” Ledesma said. Ledesma incorporates her writing schedule with her school schedule. Writing and editing 15,000 words per day, Ledesma is a strong believer that practice makes perfect “Basically, just write. You shouldn’t have your end goal to be published. It should just be to write a quality story and to write what you’re passionate about.” Ledesma said.
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Junior Aliah Ledesma’s hand drawn cover for her poetry book ‘Possibility’. Photo Illustration by Aliah Ledesma
12 | FEATURES | SEPTEMBER 2017
Dr. Rick H. McKinney • Dr. Ryan D. Simmonds 216 Meridian • Newton • 283-1310 Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, 8:30am – 5:00pm • Wednesday, 8:00am – Noon
Brown begins as new athletic trainer Ben Crump Online Sports Manager
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henever an athlete gets an injury, a quality trainer can go a long way towards a quick recovery. This year Elizabeth Brown will replace Randy Tolle as the head athletic trainer. Brown most recently was the trainer at Kansas Wesleyan University and Salina South High School. Brown was a multi-sport athlete in high school. She believes that an important quality of a good trainer is to establish a basis of trust. “I think an athletic trainer is somebody who an athlete can go to
for their injuries and they can trust that person to really help them get through something,” Brown said. In high school, Brown had her own serious injury and required shoulder surgery. Her high school athletic trainer was there to help, which inspired her to pursue this profession. “He did everything possible to make sure I got back out on the field and he made me really fall in love with athletic training,” Brown said. Brown loves to help athletes get back on their feet and back onto the field, and enjoys her time at Newton Athletics.
Senior Hervey Medina has his hand wrapped by the new athletic trainer, Elizabeth Brown. Medina injured his hand during a fall at soccer practice. Photo by Abigail McEachern
Mick looks to break fathers record at 15:54 SENIOR GARRETT MICK
HEAD CROSS COUNTRY COACH Richard Mick
YEARS RUNNING
Seven years
YEARS RAN
Four years (two at NHS)
YEARS COACHED BY COACH MICK
YEARS COACHING AT NHS
Twenty-one years
Four years
YEARS RECORD HAS BEEN HELD
CLOSEST TIME TO BEAT RECORD
Thirty years
16:54
Meya Green Reporter
D
istance running has been a tradition for the boys of the Mick family since Richard Mick started running in high school. In 1987, Richard set the fastest time for the 5K (3.1 miles), running the distance in 15:54. Richard has been his son, senior Garrett Mick’s, motivation for attempting to beat the 5K record. “Everyday he’s the one waking me up and getting me out of bed to go running. He’s always pushing me. If my dad wasn’t my coach, I probably wouldn’t
be nearly as motivated as I am,” Garrett said. In middle school, Garrett transitioned from football to cross country because of his father. “I really didn’t want to run my freshman year. I was like everybody else. I was like ‘I can’t run’ and I didn’t want to. Then, I got out. It’s a really great group of kids. and I’ve met a lot of good kids along the way. It’s a great sport and my dad was definitely my biggest influence,” Garrett said. Garrett has been preparing almost everyday since June for this cross
country season and he continues to push himself. “Do I think I can? Yes, I think I could break the record. I’m about a minute off which is a lot of time. I don’t doubt for a second that I could beat it and I don’t doubt for a second Erik Brown or Erik Jantz could beat it. I guess we’ll just have to see,” Garrett said. Although beating that record time would be such a huge accomplishment, beating his dad may just be an even bigger personal accomplishment. “I think he’d be super happy and excited for me, and maybe a little jealous,” Garrett said.
SPORTS
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Featured student artist: Christina Bruce Taylor Tasaka Reporter
W
hen senior Christina Bruce was seven she watched her mother paint and was inspired to start creating her own work. In high school, she Christina Bruce spends a large portion of her time in art classes and working on her own original pieces. Though Bruce has been infatuated with art since a young age, she has found that being a good artist is not something that always comes naturally. “You’re not always going to be very good at it. It takes a lot of time to build up your skills,” Bruce said. “If you want to do well in art, it’s just patience.” She has honed her skills over the years and has personally gone through over 20 sketchbooks. Bruce said she finds inspiration anywhere and everywhere she goes and from the items she holds close to her. “Since I bring a sketchbook with me wherever I go, if I find inspiration I’ll do it,” Bruce said. “I am one of those artists
where I want everything absolutely perfect. So if there is a page that isn’t perfect, I’ll decide the sketchbook is ruined and have to get another one.” Bruce encourages students to pursue art, even if the piece does not come out
as envisioned on the first attempt. “I can say that I have given up a few times but I am still doing it. Sometimes pieces of art aren’t what you think they are. Just don’t give up, art takes time, don’t give up on yourself,” Bruce said.
Student Library Advisory Board book reviews
Beyond Cluless by Linas Alsenas
Overall Rating:
Overall Rating:
7/10
8.5/10
Review by Brooke Petersen
Review by Brooke Petersen
“Beyond Clueless” is a twist on the classic 90s movie Clueless. It is hilarious and deals with both good and bad relationships and best of all, musicals. It has as much drama as a reality tv show and characters as confused as a regular teenager. It was a great book, and I would recommend it to people who want to read a romantic comedy.
Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
I would recommend “The Lunar Chronicles” to almost anyone and this book is no different. Other than all the different point-of-views, it covers everyone and even a couple new characters. If people want to know what happens after the last book, “Winter,” this is a great book to read because it is both a prequel and an epilogue.
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