Tri-Color Times 2012-05

Granger high school

Tri-Color Times An open forum for student opinion and expression

TRICOLORTIMES.COM

May 2012 LIV-7

The new drill team for the new school year Tough call

By Curtis Hughes EXCALIBURS have come to the end of another successful year at Granger. The team was able to compete in regions, and for the first time in two years, state.

The drill team was invited to the Anaheim Convention Center in California for the National Drill Competition.

The drill girls took second in their character routine, and soundly placed first in their military routine.

But now the season is over, and the competitions are done. Nevertheless, there is a never a break in the action for the X’s.

Beginning in May, the drill team for the 2012-2013 school year will start their training. Twentytwo members strong, they look

armed and dangerous.

Sheilamani Phouthavong (11) is a returning member to the drill team. When asked about preparing for the new season, she said, “I am excited about getting to know the new girls and starting off fresh. This will be my 3rd year as an Excalibur, and I am ready to work! You know!”

Phouthavong is looking forward to a lot this upcoming season.

“I am excited for Annie (Andrea Cahoon (11)) to come back and help lead the team. I am also excited for my friend Rosie Phetphouthay (10) who tried out last year and didn’t make it, but definitely made it this year,” said Phouthavong.

Justine Harmon (10) is joining the Excaliburs for the new year,

and said she is excited to dance, but more than anything is excited to compete. “My favorite routine to watch and the one I hope to be in most is military.”

There are new coaches being brought to the team along with new team members.

For the new season, the X’s have added a new coach, Nicole, to work with Rachel and Ms. Lago in creating these amazing dances.

“Some of the girls on the drill team who are graduating this year who won’t be on the team with us say that no matter what, they are pretty sure we are going to have a great coach, so everything will still be great,” said Harmon.

Another new Excalibur will be Leah Nelson (10).

“It’s my first year, and I’m super

excited!” she said.

“I’m very happy to be on the team, especially with Cheyenne Riley (10). We have been best friends since the 4th grade, and we have always wanted to dance together,” Nelson said.

She said that her favorite dance is also military, and she hopes that she can make the routine with her best friend.

The drill team here at Granger has always been a great big family.

The team will participate in practices and retreats over the summer to grow closer and stronger before any competitions start.

Soon all the new members and returning Excaliburs will all be best friends.

By Karen Garcia SOMETIMES when students get a job, they get so excited when they get their money that they begin to leave school behind.

When the money starts coming, the grades start dropping.

Work schedules start to take over homework time.

So homework gets impossible to do, and then you come home from work late and tired, so you get less rest.

Then next morning you wake up late. Then not only is your grade getting lower, but your CPA drops as well.

Esmeralda Esquivel (12) said that she used to put work before school last year when she first got her job at McDonald’s.

“I really needed the money last year at that time, so I slacked off in school,” Esquivel said.

This year she cut back her hours at work because she needed more time for school.

While some students stress out about working and going to school at the same time, others can handle it well. Jessica Rivera (11) said that she is getting good grades and going to work at the same time.

She said she never got too many hours at work, so it didn’t interfere with her assignments.

So now she feels good, because she has good grades and a little cash on the side.

Students should remember that school should always come first, because if they want to make money, they should get good grades.

Then they can get a career where they won’t get exhausted to make some really great money.

Correction

Leah Nelson (11) and Shelia Phouthavong (11) are two of the girls who will be on drill next year.

This article is almost finished, I promise

By Alan Lopez MOST OF the students here at Granger need to make up a lot of their credits or need to make up citizenship. Many students say things like ‘Oh I’ll do it later,’ or ‘I’ll just make it up during senior year.’

With all the credits that need to be made up, it can become very stressful and time consuming.

It takes more time to make up credits than to simply earn them while just going to class and doing your work.

“I wish I hadn’t sluffed so much and just stayed in school, passing all my classes so that my senior year could just be messing around

and home release. Now I have to suffer and stay after school an extra hour and make up packets,” Omar Miranda (12) said.

Many people think it’s easy to make up packets last minute. For some it may be easy, and they pass the pre-test on their first try and never have to worry about it again, but for most, that is not the case.

Some people fail every test, and end up working on some very thick packets.

“I didn’t think it was going to be such a huge, thick packet to make up, but I guess I was wrong,” Alex Salcedo (12) said.

Citizenship is also something

students choose to try to do at the last minute. There are some students who have to make up citizenship from 20 hours up to 100 hours.

What’s even worse is that every student always wants to wait until the last couple months to make that up which is very difficult.

“I have to make up like about 60 hours in two months, and I’m not so sure that I’m going to be able to do it, but I’m going to try my hardest,” Salcedo said.

Then there are some students who don’t have to make up anything, and they get to mess around all senior year.

“I remember when I would nev-

er go to school during my sophomore year, but I still passed all my classes with D’s because I knew I was going to end up regretting it later,” Chaky Xayavong (12) said.

Procrastinating is not a good habit to get into, but sometimes it just gets to you.

As teenagers, there is a lot to deal with in life, and sometimes school doesn’t seem like it is important, but it is very important for your future. You have all your life to have fun, but only if you get a good job!

So try your best to not procrastinate, and do the work you need to do for your classes!

In our last issue, we stated that the new Granger High School would house grades 9-12.This was a mistake. Granite School District continues to compile data regarding the decision to change Granger High School from a three-year school to a four-year school. A survey can be taken online by anyone who wishes to comment on this proposed change at: goo.gl/BUfgu. And to collect additional information, a postcard mailer will be sent to parents in the Granger network.

Both will be completed by May 20 when the issue will then move to Granger High School’s community council.

Want more Granger High School news? Check articles at tricolortimes.com or add us on twitter.com/tricolortimes.

May 2012, page 2

VOL. LIV Issue 7

Letter writing is a lost art Opinion by Miranda Lopez Technology has been present day’s way of communicating for the past ten or so years. We’ve been using phones, computers and other electronics to interact with one another.

Today’s society has made technology easier for us to use and be able to contact one another if needed. For example, if you left your hat at your friend’s house, that’s not a problem. Just text them with your cell to let them know you’re coming back to grab it; or if your friend moved away, you can still talk everyday via texting and Facebook.

Even though technology has made communicating with each other easier for us, it hasn’t always been like this. Way back in history we wrote letters to each other to communicate. Weather it was to write a letter to invite someone over for ‘supper’ or writing a love letter to your other half.

I bet you don’t even remember when you picked up a pencil to write someone a letter. That’s probably because you never have.

Writing letters is a lost art in today’s society. Nobody really thinks about writings letters because, what’s the point when we have electronics that will send messages instantly, which is so much more convenient.

Technology is a big part of today’s society.

Not only has it taken over the art of writing letters, but also our lives. It’s what our lives depend on each and every day. We are all practically addicted to it. Not going to lie, I would probably die without my phone and Facebook.

Then again, I’m one of those peo-

ple who have to have my phone in my hands at all times.

We don’t even think about ever picking up a pencil unless we’re in school or at work. That’s because we don’t ever feel the need to use a pencil. Post offices are going broke because no one really needs them anymore unless we’re receiving school grades, bills, or advertisements.

Over the past few weeks I’ve decided to start an old trend from the past. I picked up a pencil and began to write letters with my boyfriend who lives back where I used to live a few months ago.

Yes, we still talked and texted every day bit what we wrote in the letters was a surprise. It was cool to have new letters’ in the mail. It was different than reading a text.

Instead of just being another hundredth text that day, it was a long message that needed to be fully read out to see what it all had to say.

It was like receiving a new package every few days. Texts and Facebook messages are different where you don’t need to reply right away. With a letter you actually have to sit down and think out what to say in return, instead of what just what comes to mind first.

Writing letters was also reliving a lost form of literature. If it wasn’t for technology advancing so fast we’d still be writing letters today.

I believe that writing letters should be written more often because we’re losing forms of literature every day. So, maybe one day if you’re bored, put down the phone and pick up a pencil and write a letter to an old friend or family member.

Granger’s cover girl model

Valeria Moreno (11) is a cover girl for Quinceanera magazine.

By Karen Garcia AMONGST Granger High School students is one who is now a cover girl model.

Valeria Moreno (11), also a cheerleader, won a modeling competition to be a cover girl for Quinceanera magazine.

Moreno said that she feels so happy because her hard work finally paid off. She said it wasn’t easy keeping up with school, cheer, and modeling.

“I barely even had time to eat, that’s how busy I was,” Moreno said.

Moreno said that her mom was the biggest motivator she could have had. “My mom is my everything. She’s the one who kept me motivated and told me I could do it all along,” Valeria said.

Her mom was also in pageants and modeling when she was younger, but wasn’t confident enough, so she helped Moreno

with many things she had been through already.

When competing, she had to learn a dance and perform, practice her modeling walk and smile.

She said it was a lot of fun, especially with the other girls thwhowere in the competition also.

She loved working with those girls and said that they were all like a little family. When the day of the competition came, Moreno said she put in her all and had to trust in herself. She said that her mom also gave her some good advice just in case she didn’t win.

She performed her dance and did her modeling walk, and the judges really liked her.

When Valeria was announced as finalist along with four other girls, she said she was extremely nervous, yet happy at the same time.

“I thought I was going to win Miss Congeniality since I was al-

ways waving and smiling and just being myself,” she said.

As other girls were winning certain places, she said she was just really happy for them and she clapped for them even though she wasn’t called yet.

“When it came down to just me and one other girl I was just so nervous and the judges made it more intense with their intense pauses and finally they recognized me as the winner,” Valeria said.

“The girl who gave me my sash and my crown saw I wanted to cry and told me to hold it, but I didn’t listen to her I cried anyway. It was my time to shine,” Valeria said.

She will be cover girl of the June issue of Quinceanera magazine.

She thanks Granger for having such supporting people and for believing in her.

“I felt so proud to represent Granger and Latina girls,” she said.

Taking it to the next level

A few of the soccer boys dressed up before a game.

By Judith Rupay GRANGER boys soccer team has gone through some changes from last year to this year. Coach Opie has decided he wants to take things to the next level. The ranking system gave him an idea that things could be better. The change was going to be tough, but it was better for the team.

Last year he saw that they would critize the team for the way it was running. “Last year was a nightmare,” Coach Opie said.

The ranking system is divided into many different ways for improving technical, speed, tactical skills, and they also do drills to decide how they will be ranked for the games they will be playing. The rank decides the playing time the players get.

“I think it’s a good idea, and it shows what the coaches want from us, but it has it flaws,” Dylan Cobb (12) said.

Many of the players have their comments about it, most say it was a good idea to start it, but

some don’t agree.

“It pushes me to try harder every day, but it should also push everyone, not just me,” Jorge Mendoza (11) said.

“The ranking system is good because it shows which players are dedicated and which are not. I think dedication is the key,” Cobb said.

“The system has some ups and down, but there’s more downs than ups, but it’s good because it forces us to go to practice,” Mckay Chesnut (11) said.

Others have their opinions on whether the people who made the rank should be on top or not.

“I don’t like the ranks because it puts the people who aren’t ready to be in varsity on top,” Erwin Contreras (10) said “The soccer players must earn their playing time,” Opie said.

The ranking that every player earns decides whether they will play varsity or JV. “It’s a good idea, but we don’t know how to work, and some

progress has been shown,” Luis Avila (10) said. Many of the players on the team played last year, and they think that some improvement has been shown.

Motivation and dedication is the key, and many of the players as well as the coach agree with that.

Last year many of the players weren’t motivated to go to practice. In some ways the ranking system gets them to go to practice every day.

“Mostly everyone comes to practice, we are trying but it’s not working that well,” Mendoza said.

“I see younger players work better, and now more people come to practice,” Opie said.

“You have to show who you are and battle for your spot,” Avila said.

Every day during practice they do many drills that the ranking systems are made up of, and they get ranked on performance.

“Some of the drills are good, but others are pointless,” Cobb said.

Many of the soccer players think that the ranking system still puts some of the favorites of the coach on top.

“No one’s favorite to me, and the ranking system eliminates any favorites,” Opie said.

He hopes that next year many of the players will get used to the system and will understand the ranking system. Coach Opie wants to continue using this system for the upcoming years.

May 2012, page 3

VOL. LIV Issue 7

Terell vs. Wild: Prepared for anything

By Calvin Rankin THERE is a man at this school with a passion for a very unique hobby.

Garrett Terrell (12) is a survivalist.

Terrell is a man who loves to go up into the mountains alone with only the bare necessities.

“It’s called bushcraft. It’s taking camping to the next level,” Terrell said. “You just take the bare necessities and live off the land.”

Bushcraft, as defined by Wikipedia, is the long-term extension of survival skills.

Terrell got started with this rugged lifestyle while he was young.

He was in the Boy Scouts of America, an organization that teaches boys many skills that could help them in life, including camping.

He decided that he liked camping so much that he would take it

to the next level.

Among the few items that he takes are his knives and a sleeping bag and a few other things.

He does not bring any food, water, or a tent.

He finds his own food and water using various hunting techniques.

When he is in the quiet solitude of the mountains, he also hunts.

He hunts for food and to pass the time.

“I hunt rabbits using snares and bigger game such as deer using a bow. I only bowhunt when legal though,” Terrell said.

Terrell likes to go up to the

mountains to hang out and just get away. He said that it is very peaceful.

tains to hunt and to get away from society, but to test knives that he makes using the old leaf springs off cars.

He makes these knives by hand and forges them at his house at temperatures of up to 3,000 degrees Farenheit.

He uses ancient methods of steel working to make these knives incredibly Garrett Terrell (12) is a survivalist for fun. strong.

He goes almost every other After he is done making them, weekend. he will head up to the mountains.

He recommends bushcraft to He then tests his knives by anyone interested. throwing them, smashing them He not only goes into the moun- against stuff and many other ex-

treme methods.

He does this to make sure that his knives can withstand anything.

After he is done testing though, he will usually sell the knives at prices of 50+ dollars.

“They can hack through branches, use them to carve, and even throw them. They are very strong and sharp,” Terrell said.

His knives range from 5” to 20” and have handles that are usually made of wood, but can be made with many other materials.

He got started with knife making when he did martial arts as a child.

He wanted a sword, but decided that since they were too expensive, he would learn to make his own.

He plans to continue making knives and camping to the extreme for years to come.

Earn credits as a teacher’s assistant

One of the career center TAs.

By Maria Camarillo MOST OF the teachers at Granger have a student to do some of the stuff they can’t do during class.

Whether it’s sorting papers, cleaning, or just getting stuff for them, they’re still helping them out.

But should the students really be getting a grade just for helping out the teacher?

Nic Ruzhilo (12) is a TA for the career center and he likes being a TA because you don’t really do anything, just take notes out to classrooms.

“Being a TA is very useful and it gives you time between classes to finish up or do your homework.

It is also cool because you get to choose your own lunch,” said Ruzhilo.

Salvador Armemta (12) is a TA for the career center, too.

He got this class because he is

Check the new shops at city creek

By Viri Aguilera CITY CREEK Center, which opened on March 22, 2012, is the newest addition to our downtown.

City Creek Center is located at 50 South Main Street, is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am – 9 pm.

This $2 billion center took five years to create, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. With all the construction going on, people were able to see all the work that went into this new mall. The construction was very public.

Building this center was a very creative process. Running through the middle of the center is a manmade creek, which is a recreation of City Creek. The creek that runs through the mall starts at an 18’ waterfall that is located next to the food court..

This shopping and dining center is comfortable for any weather, in the summer the rooftop is open and in the winter the top part of

the shopping center closes so the snow won’t interfere with shopping.

According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, City Creek is the only enclosed shopping center to open in the United States in the last six years and the the only regional shopping center to open this year in the United States.

Since the shopping center barely opened, most people just go walk around and look to see what stores are at the mall.

The shopping center varies from high end stores to stores you would find in any other mall. For example some of the higher-end stores include Tiffany & Co. and Coach. The shopping center also has stores that you would find in any other mall like Forever 21 and Macy’s.

If you’ve to been to City Creek you know how ridiculously long the checkout lines are, yet even

knowing how long the lines are, people still want shop there.

There are many new stores in the shopping center that we didn’t have here before. One of the new stores is the cosmetics store Lush, which sells handmade cosmetics. We didn’t have a store like this here before, so it is exciting to have it in our new shopping center.

If you are not in the mood for shopping, there are also a lot of food places to choose from. The variety of food ranges from McDonald’s to Texas de Brazil.

Next to the food court, there is an amazing waterfall. While eating, you can enjoy the view of the waterfall from inside the food court.

This new addition to downtown has brought so much attention.

People from near and far have come to experience the new shopping center.

on track to graduate, so he doesn’t need to worry about other classes.

“I like it because I can work on other work from other classes; I also wanted to be a TA because I don’t need any required classes to make up, so being a TA gives me time to finish up work that I need to make up,” said Armemta.

Teachers might appreciate that they are not the ones who need to be walking around taking notes to different classes.

So that is why they get students to be their TAs and give them credit for it.

Mr. Pace doesn’t mind having a TA in his class.

“They actually help me a lot because I’m always busy with the school store, and I can’t be doing both things at the same time,” said Pace.

Unlike other teachers who just

have their students sit there and do nothing for the whole class time, his students are up and doing something for him.

Like Pace, there are a lot of other teachers who like to have TAs around because they help them do things that they don’t have time to do on their own.

Mrs. Petty in the career center thinks having TAs is a helpful idea because she gets a lot of help from them.

“They run notes, and help organize papers. I like having them so that way I don’t have to run all around the school to just take a note to some student. Because I still have to watch the career center,” said Petty.

Some of the students might think being a TA for a class is fun because you don’t get to do anything, but most of the teachers actually have stuff for them to do.

Tri-Color Times Staff Editor Aida Uzierbegovic Online Editor Brittany Edwards Copy Editor Alejandro Garza

Photo Editor Brooke Rigby Managing Editor Taylor Bailey Logo Artist Jose Olmedo

Journalists Viridiana Aguilera Oscar Arriaga-Valentin Briana Bauer Shanice Boyd Maria Camarillo Abigail Cartmell Gloria Castaneda Jessie Cisneros Tristan Cook Rosy Donoso Karen Garcia Alejandro Garza Cindy Govea Kevin Guzman Selina Haro

Journalists Curtis Hughes Adis Jasarevic Alan Lopez Miranda Lopez Takia Owens Leslie Plascencia Calvin Rankin Judith Rupay Yasmin Salgado Rita Soto Anayeli Torres Brenda Valdez Erick Vargas Shelby Wilson Maria Zuniga

The Tri-Color Times serves as a student forum for student opinion and student expression. The views expressed herein reflect neither the opinions of Adviser John Carlisle and Granger High School, nor those of Granite School District. The Tri-Color Times invites and publishes letters to its editorial board; all letters will be edited for taste, length and legality.

Granger High 3690 South 3600 West West Valley, UT 84119 385 646-5320

May 2012, page 4

VOL. LIV Issue 7

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

By Abby Cartmell NICHOLAS Flamel is considered to be the best of the alchemysts ever to live. He was born in France in 1330 and died in 1418.

Or did he? Some claim that Nicholas and Perenelle, his wife, have empty graves. Is this the work of grave robbers or delinquents? Or

are Nicholas and Perenelle walking among us? They would have to be well over six hundred years old. That’s ridicules, of course.

Or is it?

Josh and Sophie Newman are twins living in San Francisco, working in a bookshop for Nick and Perry Fleming. Everything is

going fine; their parents are out of town and they work in a bookshop with a popcorn machine. Then John Dee shows up and, quite literally, blows up the bookshop.

And everything Josh and Sophie know is turned upside down.

The twins follow Nicholas Flamel on an extraordinary adventure, starting in San Francisco and continuing to France, England and even to the legendary lost civilization of Atlantis!

On the way, they meet William Shakespeare, Joan of Arc, SaintGermain, Billy the Kid, Niccolo Machiavelli and even the gods of old!

Can Sophie and Josh escape John Dee and his Dark Masters, or will the earth be doomed to Armageddon? Read the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel and find out!

The first book in the series is The Alchemyst (2007), then The Magician (2008), The Sorceress (2009), The Necromancer (2010), The Warlock (2011) and finally The Enchantress (2012) are the sequels.

On November 19, 2009 it was announced that Lorenzo di Bonaventura had bought the film rights to the series. The script has yet to be written, however.

The series has spawned online games as well; The Codex Master, The Challenges of the Elder, and Quest for the Codex.

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Keys to Success winner gets an iPad

Richie Mok (10) is this years keys to success winner

By Adis Jasarevic AFTER a total of 50 finalists and many exciting events in the Keys to Success assembly, five contestants were chosen at a chance to win an iPad. Each one was called down in order to pick a key that could potentially unlock a box that held the prize.

One by one, the contestants walked up to the box and turned the key, each one hoping the key they picked would win them the

iPad. After the first four contestants try their keys and fail, the crowd begins to cheer as Richie jumps into the air with joy knowing that he is the final contestant with the last key and the “forsure” winner.

As Richie begins to talk he is speechless, feeling accomplished and proud of himself for earning a 4.0, he is handed the iPad and given a congratulations for accomplishing his goals in school this year.

By Maria Zuniga WE ALWAYS hear kids say, “I need a job.” “I want a job.” We all want or need jobs for different reasons. A lot of us just want to work to get a car, clothes, shoes, accessories, electronics, etc.

Of course everyone would like to alwyas have money to get whatever they want, but there is another way to use that money.

“It is a great way to save up for college,” Emina Mehmedovic (10) said. We all think different and are going to use our money for whatever we want, but think about the choices there are.

“It is a lot harder to find jobs now, but it is not impossible,” Corina Fuentes (11) said.

It is hard; there are lots of people who do not have jobs, but a job is not going to come knock on your door. You have to get up and look for it.

Everyone always wants to work at the mall, or just simple places.

Think about it.

There are many people who apply for those. Chances are that not even half of those who applied will get hired.

“Get a job that is worth do-

ing, and have fun,” Mehmedovic said.

Go out and look for places that you think that you actually have a chance of getting hired. Find a job you like that way you enjoy working. “If you want a job you can get it, if you did not get it at one places, there is always more places,” Mehmedovic said.

Whenever kids go to an interview, I am sure that most get even a little bit nervous. There are things we have to remember to say or not to say.

Listen to people’s advice--that way you get just a little closer to getting the job.

“Dress nicely,” Fuentes said.

“Remember to dress to impress.”

What you’re wearing really counts, so be presentable.

“Be confident and smile,” she said. It may be kind of hard to smile because of how nervous we get, but try your hardest to smile.

That way you look and feel more confident.

Another important thing to remember is a lot of people want jobs during the summer. If you do too, it is a good idea to start looking and applying now.

Are you working or is it another lazy summer?