Granger high school
Tri-Color Times
An open forum for student opinion and expression
TRICOLORTIMES.COM
March 2014 LVI-7
Working out and eating right makes the difference By Tina Huynh IT SEEMS like everybody is already getting ready for Summer 2k14. And what a better way to get excited for it than getting in shape? After finally shedding all the winter layers and cold nights, it’s time to strip into high-waisted shorts and bikinis. Feeding one’s body the right way influences it just as much as exercising and working out daily. A body is a machine and if one doesn’t work it the right way, it’s going to break down. Putting that body into the bikini season routine can be pretty hard considering that the winter season meant staying under a blanket avoiding the snow. It’s not just girls that want to look good for the summer, though.
Guys want to get in shape as seen by the way they’re hitting the gym every week. Their routines and eating habits are quite different than the average girl. “I think I am healthy. I mainly bench six sets of seven reps, six sets of twelve curls, six sets of seven lawnmowers, and six sets of twelve squats. I do this every other day. My fitness goal is to weigh 160 pounds,” Quang Nguyen (10) said. Those who aren’t as lazy exercise year-round. It makes getting in shape a lot less difficult and keeps kids motivated to stay healthy throughout the years. Exercising and eating right make bodies healthy. Some students don’t have goals to meet for the impression of being fit. Just being healthy gets the
job done itself. “I’m somewhat healthy, I think. I go to Zumba three times a week. I really just do it for fun,” Adriana Aguilera (10) said. Exercising and eating right can be fun if kids make it fun. To a lot of students, working out is a really great stress reliever. They love the feeling of their hearts pounding while the music is blasting from their headphones. Some students might even have some role models to follow. It helps a lot that the Winter Olympics just passed. After seeing how good athletes’ bodies work and how well they fueled them, Lancers want to do the same to their bodies. “I think I’m super healthy. I exercise the whole week, but I rest on Sundays. I work out my body for a couple of hours, condition-
ing and lifting weights, and then practice basketball for threehours. I drink a lot of protein shakes or anything with protein in to keep me going. I try not to eat sugars like candy, and drink soda,” Alex Arellano (11) said. Working out and eating right aren’t as demanding without a target in sight. “I have a lot of fitness goals that I want to meet. My goals are to be able to weigh 170 pounds for the next basketball season, be able to run a mile under six minutes, stop eating junk food, and eat healthier to be able to gain weight,” Arellano said. Whatever the reason it may be, working out and eating right should be an important part of the day. These Lancers know how to get it done.
Art Field Trip by Yohnathan Rivas
Alex Arellano warms up his bench press with 115 pounds. Granger’s new weight room offers many strength-training opportunities.
Region champs! Girls basketball had a great season By Victoria Espinoza The Girls Basketball Team did really well this season. They put a lot of effort into this season, and they won the title of region champs. They had a lot of teamwork and all worked together to get where they all wanted to go. “It takes a lot of teamwork, and we practice harder – it’s not about individual work it’s about team work. Last year I was younger, and this year we practice more and the team is really close. You have to have teamwork; you can’t be selfish you have to make everyone else play. It feels great to make history like when we won the region championship against Taylorsville. We had a lot of support. It feels weird now that the season is over because we usually
practice after school, and now I niors were great leaders for us. It got nothing to do,” Melisa Kadic feels pretty awesome to be region champs. It feels good to represent (10) said. Being on the basketball team the school in a good way. The best game that we comes with a lot had was against of responsibilHunter, it was ity, which means not stressful we having to be on just played and time and workwon and my ing hard in all teammates also of the basketball loved it. It sucks practices. that the season is “We had to over because we work a lot and had a chance to practice every go farther, and day to get where we wanted to Jessica Matheson battles Hillcrest. it didn’t happen, be. We are more confident, and but next year we will try harder,” we learned from last year’s mis- Ailyn Angel (11) said. takes. One key factor this season The coach is also one of the key was working as a team and hav- factors to the success this season. ing Jess on the team, and the se- Coach Cousins really made the
girls work this year and get them where they are now. “We worked really hard and never gave up. Last year we didn’t have much faith, and this year we worked together really hard. Our key factors were practice hard and our coaches pushing us and having faith in us, it feels great to be the region champs I wish we had gone farther, but it was great. I’m sad that this season is over, because I am going to miss my teammates and coaches and playing ball with them,” Jessica Matheson (11) said. Winning this title made a lot of people even more proud of Granger in the success that they brought. The girls deserved it because they worked really hard for it.
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VOL. LVI Issue 7
March 2014, page 2
Different kinds of friends fill different roles in friendships By Lizbeth Zavala WHEN IT comes to friends, everyone plays different roles. “I’m the one that is always giving advice to my friends to help them out. I’m always there for my friends when they need someone to talk to,” Dulce Pacheco (9) said. Many students here at Granger may need advice, so Pacheco is an example of the type of good friend to have when someone needs help or advice. “I’m always trying to give my friends good advice,” Jose Noyola (9) said. Maribel Serrato (9) is always trying to make her friends happy because she doesn’t like seeing her friends sad or depressed. “I don’t like seeing my friends sad, so I do weird things to get them smiling again. I like to make my friends happy when they are feeling down,” Serrato said. While some are good at listening, some friends are the decision makers. “I’m usually the one that decides where we are going and what we are doing,” Judit Zaragoza (9) said. There are also those types of friends who don’t hold back anything. They are the ones that tell the truth and nothing but the truth. “I’m the friend that doesn’t sugarcoat anything because people need to hear the truth,” Daisy Tovar (9) said. There are so many things that friends do for each other; it doesn’t just stop at advice. Not everyone really pays attention to the roles their friends play, but there is often something that some friends do more than others. Roles in friendship are really important because, it can help someone find out which friends play what role and who to go to when they need help. Other friends just want to have fun and be happy. Sometimes lots of friends play the same role. That is good because there’s more advice and more help from different friends, which means more options to chose from when making decisions. No matter what role they play, friends should always be there for each other.
Coding skills benefit almost every job applicant
By Chardonnay Barlow AMAZING things have been created with the various coding languages, such as: Javascript, CSharp, C-Plus-Plus, Visual Basic, and Java. These languages drive the programs used every day: video games, computer logic and calculations -- if someone can think it, it can probably be made into a coding program. Coding is like creating a set of instructions, like a mom making her child a chore list, and the computer acts it out. So, literally, the machine is only as smart as the person programming it.. The coding dialogue, or the “chores list” tells the computer what to do. The everyday person would see something really confusing and not understand key terms like: ‘public class’ or ‘System.console.Writeline (“Hello, World!”).’ Where the everyday person sees a bunch of nonsense, the experienced C# coder will sees “Project name” and “The console is going to write this: ‘Hello, World!’” Coding-based programming careers happen to be one of the fastest growing sectors in the job market. According to USNews. com, in most fields the candidates are begging companies for work. It’s the complete opposite in the
tech industry. Since this industry is relatively new and constantly advancing, companies are having a hard time finding qualified people to fill positions such as developer or software engineer. With all this hoopla about how there aren’t enough people qualified, and since our society is ba-
quired, he said. “However, the classes should be made available for those who are planning on going into that career field.” Although Page isn’t going into coding and plans to major in English, he admits that even with his career field, technology will greatly impact his future. “Every-
Alex Page enjoys the challenge of coding his own video games.
sically molded by technology, it seems obvious that technology classes should be required just as English, math and science classes are required. Alex Page (12) disagrees. “Even though coding is basically taking over our society, classes for this shouldn’t be re-
thing will eventually turn out to be completely on the computer. Even now, we use Word mostly as the means to create our stories and work.” Ana Soto (11) is in the same boat as Page. “I plan to become a doctor. I will be using a computer on a constant basis. So the cod-
ing and tech industry will affect my future work, and it definitely makes things easier,” she said. “But it would be a good idea to require ‘Intro to Coding’ classes in school.” Sage Brewster (12) learned about this subject after taking Programming 1 at the GTI (Granite Technical Institute), he has experienced what coders go through on a constant basis. “I plan on going into the computer repair field. It doesn’t have any coding involved, since there is no software.” Recently, corporations have been trying to launch programs to get more women into the coding and general tech fields. Soto agrees. “There should be more women in the tech work force. It is seen today as a ‘man’s job’ and kinda nerdy. We need to change that view,” he said. Brewster also agrees, “It’s a good thing women are going into coding. It seems to be dominated by men… and nerds. Only because nerds are the ones who are willing to learn this,” he said. However, Page is indifferent to the idea. “It shouldn’t be about the amount of men or women. It should be about the quality of work they can provide.”
Gage Winters’s international news round-up
By Gage Winters A NATIONWIDE trend is unfolding in voter registration that places fewer people in political parties and more registering as independent or other third-parties. Of about 17.7 million voters in California, the most populous state in America, statisticians have seen a huge rise in “no party preference” (or NPP) since 1997 when it was only about 11.9 percent. Since then, it has risen to 20.9 percent in 2013 and another 6.8 percent are identifying with smaller parties. This should matter to many Lancers who will in the near future be able to register to vote and check which political party that they personally identify with. Contrary to popular thought, to be identified as a democrat you
don’t have to believe in every single democratic value or piece of legislation, the same goes for those identifying as republican. The biggest interest of any U.S. citizen able to vote is and should always be the best interests of the nation. THERE ARE many news organizations today that have certain political or ideological bias. This section will assist Lancers in understanding the bias of a few major news organizations. The Christian Science Monitor, despite it’s misleading title has been praised for it’s non-hysterical journalism, and has not been reported at having much of a bias. Reuters is a news company that began in Britain; it is a non-biased news organization that every major news organization is sub-
scribed to. AFP is an international news company based in France, it is not biased according to reports, and originally employed the man who went on to found Reuters. The New York Times is based in New York, and it is said to be biased according to an opinion piece by Daniel Okrent, a former editor at the New York Times. It has also endorsed every democratic candidate for president since Dwight D. Eisenhower. THE RECENT invasion of Crimea, Ukraine by Russia is a startling recent international affair. Russia is standing behind the claim that they are in Ukraine to protect Russian-speaking people in the country and to keep peace within Ukraine. Reports from citizens within
Ukraine via cnn.com say the opposite, in fact, at one point, speculating that Russia is busing in its own citizens and that they are the reason for a flag being flown over a municipal building and for most of the civil unrest within the Ukraine. Many people within the country speak both Russian and Ukrainian and no cultural discrimination in Ukraine remains to be seen, thus it leads to the conclusion that Russia is within the country for other reasons than those provided, and it is necessary for other countries to put economic sanctions on Russia till it withdraws from the Ukraine. This story matters to Lancers, because it is a huge recent political action that requires our students’ patience and attention.
Flocks of fake Flappy Bird games swarm the app store By Lucia Urcino MANY STUDENTS here at Granger play Flappy Bird. Students at Granger say that they have also slammed the phones because the little bird kept crashing. Flappy Bird is frustrating, yet Jennifer Lopez (9) still plays it. “I think Flappy Bird is really challenging, but fun at the same time. It can sometimes make me mad when the bird doesn’t fly right, but other than that it’s all good,” she said. Many students were addicted to Flappy Bird. It might be because the students wanted to challenge themselves to see if they could beat their old score. Flappy Bird is a really fun game
to play. “My high score used to be 1 when I first began to play, but now my high score is like 105 or something.” Lisbeth Perez (9) said. Not all students fell in love with this little bird. “I really don’t like Flappy Bird, so I really don’t care if they took it down. I’m good, but I think people like playing it to try to get a high score or to beat their old score. I think they might challenge other students to see who can get the highest score or a score that no one can beat. My high score was 36. I really didn’t try to improve it,” Justyce Brunetti (9) said. Now that Flappy Bird is off the
App Store, people will have to find a new game to play. Some students may still have the app, but they may not play it now that it’s of the App Store. When students would walk into class, there would always be a student playing Flappy Bird. Students would hear the ding when the little bird would crash in class. Now students are going back to their average games. “I’m not sure what game will be the next big thing. I think maybe they will put Flappy Bird back, but I’ve also seen many other games that are just like Flappy Bird. They are either harder, easier or have a different character,” Sandra Serena (9) said. There are copies students have
seen like a game called Flappy Duck, which is exactly like Flappy Bird, but with a duck. Flappy Bird is really fun, but now students have to start something new. Or maybe students might bring
something old and make it new. Even after its removal, many students have just stuck with Flappy Bird. They may not want to try a new game at all because really like its cruel simplicity.
Lizbeth Perez isn’t the biggest Flappy Bird fan, but she’s pretty good.
March 2014, page 3
VOL. LVI Issue 7
Lancers invited to help start a rugby team
By Dom Segura THE GRANGER rugby players host their practices after school, from 2:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. As a school, Granger is sponsoring its first year of rugby for both girls and guys. Granger needs more students to come out and have fun, as well as the Granger staff. The team has one coach at this time and needs some help coaching. The coach’s name is Timote Houma, and he seems like a great coach. He knows what he is doing. Houma likes rugby. “As a senior in high school, I remember playing rugby and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it enough to go play at the University of Utah,” coach Shipman said. The reason coach Shipman wanted to get Rugby at Granger started this year was to help out and find hidden talent for both the guys and girls leagues. “At the moment my biggest concern is reaching out or choosing some of the staff members to come help out with drills, practices and funding. The Granger Lancers rugby team has so much talent. We are no joke. We are play-off worthy. I feel like there are some potential star players, and what I want to do is push them to their full potential,” coach Houma said. Playing rugby does not necessarily mean Lancers want to be competitive, because many of the students at Granger just wants to have fun or hang out with their friends..., maybe even get a good workout. It can be to just try
something new. It’s a great way to find new friends as well. Rugby is just fun in general. “I love the rough playing, and especially the tackling it is way fun,” Mele Tui’Tau (12) said. “The running and conditioning have been hard because there simply is too much running. In a way, it is really good and will pay off in the future.” she said. Rugby is a contact sport; it’s very physical, and yet there are no pads. Tui’tau is not afraid to get injured. “The first year of the new rugby team sounds a bit intense, but both teams are looking good,” she said. It is a very rough contact sport, and at the same time, it can be very competitive. If that sounds interesting, the Granger Rugby team is all about that. Granger has the capability of making it to the play-offs and is a real contender. The team is friendly and would like more people to come. Anyone who comes to play for the first time will learn a lot – it’s an experience. “I like rugby and plan to join because I like hitting people and letting a little anger and stress out,” Lau Bracewell (12) said. “It is really fun sport for me. I’ve played before, and the most favorite part of it at the end of the day is hitting people. But yes, I do see it as competitive and just for the fun of it, mostly it is how you want to make it and the type of person you are.” For those who do not like all the contact, this may be the wrong
sport, but at the same time it is a great stress reliever in many ways. Playing rugby is good for making new friends, learning new things and getting a good physical workout. All of this can help with stress. It is fun, especially when Lani Broederlow (12) gets to play with the girls she grew up with. “It’s a bonding experience, as well as the coach being a really good and cool guy,” Broederlow said. She does want to hit people and enjoys it, and she is not one to
be scared when coming to play. “I see it more of the competitive way and see it more that way, at the same time I see it as just the fun and privilege of playing it,” Broederlow said. For someone just playing for the off-season and wanting to stay in shape, this is the place to come, because it is such a great workout. This might be the last year to try all the sports, and this is a good opportunity to take. Or if someone seeks just to add another sport to the list it will be great
on a college resume. It can help make the students more and keep the grades up. “I do see it as fun, you get to interact with other kids, and make new friends,” Khyiris Tonga (12) said. “All my friends are joining, and that is a big part of why I joined. The coach is a cool and understanding guy; he knows what he is talking about. I get to spend more time with friends, and that is what I really enjoy. It is all about the fun for me, but there is no room for losing.”
Rugby boys and girls don’t compete against each other, but they run drills together during practices.
Rugby is back at Granger High
By Roxana Salgado This sport is intense. Foot- March 8 and ends in the second or RUGBY has been anticipated by ball players wear padding, take third week of May,” Timote said. students at Granger for a while, breaks, and don’t have to run as Rugby can be joined by girls and finally made its way back much. Rugby however is a un- or boys, but they don’t play each since 2007. “Rugby is a club at padded sport, which means that other. That makes it challenging, Granger,” Kiti Houma (12) said. when they are tackled, they don’t because there aren’t enough girls Though rugby is played by get any protection. going out for the team. Granger students and coached They also play in 40-minute “We are slowly building up with by a Granger girls; we are coach, rugby is down by two not allowed as or three, but an official team, girls from othyet. er schools can Unfortunately come and join Title 9 makes the Granger this difficult. team, and hopeThe reason fully that will why is because be enough,” Title 9 regulaTimote said. tions state that The first there has to be scrimmage is the same numWest vs Grangber of official er @ West High male teams at School for a school as feboys and Idaho male teams. vs Granger Some think @ West High that making School as well. rugby an offi“The boys cial team sport are looking forat Granger ward to it they Coach Houma is excited to share his love for Rugby with Granger. would be unfair aren’t nervous for females because not enough blocks with no pauses, unless at all but most of the girls are very would join. someone gets taken out of the nervous because they don’t have However, that doesn’t stop game due to injury or something experience,” the coach said. Granger and several other else like that. And as in soccer, “Rugby has been blowing up schools from practicing hard, players have to run pretty much since ‘07. In 2007, it blew up by pushing themselves and chalthe entire time. about 200%,” coach Timote said. lenging each other at real comNeedless to say, that this sport It seems like rugby will become petitions. requires strong physical and a popular sport because more Rugby might be described as mental conditioning. This sport and more people are giving it a a mix of soccer and football. should be very fun and interest- chance. Maybe someday soon Timote is coaching this sport. He ing to watch. rugby will finally be an official is very excited about the season. “The season started Saturday, school sport.
Tri-Color Times Staff Print Editor Kaitlin Cluff Online Editor Kaitlin Cluff
Managing Editor Kelly Sanmiguel Photo Editor Daryan Bauer
Reporters Brenda Aguilar Maria Avila Chardonnay Barlow Tinnesha Blackhorse Mc Call Buckley Naz Camacho Rosio Chacon Susana Escobedo Victoria Espinoza Angel Figueroa Nicole Carcia Shannon Garcia Misty Garlick Brandon Godinez Bianca Gomez Tevita Havea Thomas Heart Cris Hernandez Daniel Hernandez Jadira Hueramo Tina Huynh Aide Hurtado
Reporters Halina Johnson Correna Leatherwood Samantha Lopez Rigoberto Lopez Antonio Loredo Taylor Molis Andrea Montes Shelly Ngo Brenda Nguy Yohnathan Rivas Mariana Rivera Melany Rivera Kevyn Robles Roxana Salgado Kelly Sanmiguel Dominick Segura Mohammed Sheikh Lexi Shepherd Lucia Urcino Gage Winters Lyndsey Xa Lizbeth Zavala
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 School 3580 South 3600 West West Valley, UT 84119 (385) 646-5320
March 2014, page 4
VOL. LVI Issue 7
Granger’s football team welcomes a new head coach By Kelly Sanmiguel um. They were given some back- mer training schedule would look ONCE STUDENTS hit high ground information on the coach like; however, it isn’t set on anyschool, there are many extra- such as his experiences playing thing yet. curricular activities in which for the National Football League, With a new coach come many they can participate. Whether it’s coaching for Riverton and Brigh- new changes: some that are obvidrama club, art club, debate, LIA, ton and most recently for West ous, and some that aren’t. Change LAT, or a sports team – the pos- Jordan. They were also able to may be good and change may be sibilities are numerous. have a Q&A session. bad, but no doubt the changes However, once many young One of the many questions Coach Morgan has in mind will men once they hit high school asked by the players came from lead the football players in a new their views become set direction. on one thing: football. “I don’t know what Football is very imyou’ve done in the past. portant to these young That’s not my busimen, and it is quite imness,” said Coach Morportant to Ganger high gan after addressing nuschool as a whole. merous questions from Students come tothe football players. gether as one within However, he stated the student section and that he knows what this cheer the players to community is capable victory. However, stuof and that’s why he’s dents up in the stands excited about this new Head Coach Morgan greets next year’s football players. aren’t only cheering on job. the players; they’re also cheering Blake Morey (9): “Are we going “Be proud . . . Here we are on the coaches who are a very im- to keep the same playbook?” Granger High!” is one of the portant part of the Granger high Coach Morgan responded by many uplifting phrases Coach school football program. stating that they will not be keep- Morgan shared with his team. Lancers have a new coach to ing the old playbook. A playbook He feels he has the job to remind cheer on since there has been is pretty much what it sounds them that they are a team, which a new addition to the coaching like. It is all the plays that are run means caring for and watching staff. Mike Morgan (also known in order to confuse the other team out for one another. as Coach Mo) has eagerly taken and keep the game interesting. It is obvious that the greatest on the role as the football team’s Another question asked con- obstacle Granger faces is its lack head coach. cerned whether or not the work- of experience as a “young” team. On the morning of March 5, the outs would be changed. And yes, However, he seems unconcerned. freshmen, sophomore and junior players should expect different “You call it an obstacle, I call it football players were introduced workouts. an opportunity,” said Coach Morto their new coach in the auditoriIt was also asked what the sum- gan.
Students use free time to create a whirlwind of art
By Kelly Sanmiguel THINK of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Not the ninja turtles, but four of the most important artists of all time. They all had flair, they were all unique, and they all have something in common with most Lancers. All four allowed their creative juices to flow with no boundaries. Art is sometimes a subject that people seem to have many troubles with. Not being able to grasp certain artistic mediums is the quickest way for one to assume they have no artistic bones in their bodies. However a lot of the time it is not realized that art is all around us, it has no boundaries. “I use art in the way I dress because certain colors don’t go together,” Guadalupe Garcia (12) said. From the way a girl styles her makeup to the way a guy paints his car, art is everywhere. Although art is everywhere, there are many Lancers who embrace the artistic mojo specifically the way many famous painters, sculptors, and artists have. The definition of art can very much vary depending upon whom you ask: “Art is creating something, out
of nothing,” Eduardo Lopez (12) said. “Art basically is everything to me, someone’s vision being put out into reality,” Aleah Locklear (12) said. “Art is inspiration, it is time in which you get to know yourself,” Scarlet Macias (11) said. A lot of the time, the only reason why a student may plummet into the art world is because art credit is required for graduation, but surely that is not always the case. “I’ve been doing art since first grade,” Macias said. Her most vivid memory from her childhood involving art was the first time she drew a character. It was Bubbles from The PowerPuff Girls. “I used to watch a lot of cartoons, then one day I started to pay more attention to details; how the characters were shaped and what colors were used,” she said. Childhood is a time when creative juices flow more freely than ever. It’s obvious that many spend their childhood days drawing, coloring, and making masterpieces. For some people, they don’t realize that they begin their artistic careers during childhood. “When I was a child I didn’t know what art was, I liked pic-
tures and I was an artist without really knowing it,” Locklear said. Her fondest memory during childhood also involves drawing her first character. “I made my first character on loose leaf paper. It was in 2007 and I was in my messy, awesome room and I drew a dog-like character that I named Rodney,” she said. Inspirations are quite important within this subject, whether it is a teacher, a famous artist, a friend or a TV personality; there are many possible motivators one can encounter. “I draw better when I’m feeling an emotion, and being doubted has also inspired me to keep going with my art,” Lopez said. He admits it’s more of an emotionfreeing mechanism. “I will for sure continue creating masterpieces,” Lopez said. Another more important factor of art is the choice of media that can be used to actually create a great piece of work. From acrylic paint to cutout pieces of paper that can be made into a collage, the artists’ ways to express ideas are numerous. “My favorite thing to use is charcoal,” Macias said. “Pencil is my favorite [medium], however I always want to experiment with color,” Locklear said. “I enjoy using special gel pens,” Lopez said. No matter what the medium, feelings, or inspiration behind a piece of artwork, there is one thing that ties all those things together. Someone with personal talent created them. Talent that could even get your work put on display for a whole community, or even a museum. “Beware of the ‘good enough’ mentality. Don’t be a cliché -- be unique and try new stuff,” Locklear said.
T CT
Lancers review the Tri-Color Times
By Angel G. Figueroa EVERY month Lancers have a chance to read The Tri-color Times, and every month they get to read about what is going on in Granger, the community around us, and around the world, that affects and interest Granger Lancers. Students read the newspaper every month, and they have got a lot to say on what they would like to see in future. Students want to see sports, clubs, and other activities in the Tri-Color Times. “What I think about the schools newspaper is that they’re doing a superb job on it,” Sarah Scott (10) said. “I read most of the articles, and one that I really liked was the article about a student going to school and not using phones,” Scott said. “I mostly like it because my friend was in the picture, but it was a good article,” she said. “What I really want to see more of in the in the newspaper is girl sports, I feel that there’re not in a lot for that subject because it’s just us,” she said. “What I would like read about in the newspaper is like an article about eating in class, food reviews, or how the cafeteria needs more vegetarian options. And one more thing I would love to
see is early notification on activities for clubs,” Scott said. “Our newspaper is very descriptive about how Granger is,” Herison Lenidrick (9) said. “They should add a column focusing on sports, and sports only, because I haven’t really seen an issue focusing too much on the subject,” Lenidrick said. “That’s all I like to read in the newspaper, and that’s why I would like to see a sports column,” he said. “I read it every time it comes out, and I have read most of them,” Felicia Cervantez (10) said. “In my opinion they should put more after-school activities like sports and clubs,” Cervantez said. “I would like to see that for clubs and sports, so that they can get more students involved in them. That would be helpful for them and us,” she said. “The article that I really like and I would love to see more is the movie reviews. I like reading what is good, and what I should go to, and what is bad and I should avoid,” she said. “I would like to see more about world problems that affect us and I think other students would too. What we get out of the newspaper is generally pretty great,” she said.
Mr. Catmull devised many interesting projects for his woodshop students.
Students make longboards
By Michael Gomez MR.CATMULL, the woodworking teacher, came up with the exciting idea of making Longboards as part of the semester woodshop course at Granger. “Longboards have been around for a while, kids like them.” said Catmull. “It’s a fun easy project that only takes about 3 to 4 days to a make.” said Catmull. This project is fun to do. Students have to pay a $25 fee in order to participate, but they don’t mind. “So far we have made around 35 longboards last semester. I estimate it will be around 50 by the end of the year.” Catmull stated. Any student from any grade is allowed to take the class. Granger has the best equipment in the state which makes it much easier and fun to do projects; it gives the classes a professional vibe. When asked about the longboard designs Catmull explained that he was open to any design the students might want, or they could choose from the ones he al-
ready has. “You use my mold to shape the longboard into a curved board with this vacuum press.” Catmull demonstrated with the vacuum press he made himself for woodworking. Three layers of wood are glued together and mounted on the mold, then put in the air vacuum for about an hour, which shapes it and layers them. After that the students use the CNC machine to cut out the board. When the board is finished the only thing the students have to go out and buy themselves are the trucks and the wheels. Those are easy to find at any skate store. Anyone who has taken or is taking the class is allowed to make a longboard. However, that is not the only project Catmull has; he has many more fun projects throughout the semester. Woodworking is a fun extracurricular class, and a hands on class everyone should consider taking for a semester or a year.
VOL. LVI Issue 7
March 2014, page 5
Manga readers explain why reading manga is fun
Preson Neilson started with Full Metal Alchemist and now reads Naruto.
By Rigo Lopez FUNNY PICTURES, great stories and funny moments define manga. Walking through Granger High, it’s easy to find at least one Lancer reading what appears to be a backwards comic book with lots of pictures. Manga is everywhere; it is down the hall, in TV and even in phones. Many popular anime TV shows are based on manga and imported to the U.S. Manga has been the source material for Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bleach and many more. There are many other stories that are just as fun as anime. Manga is native to Japan. Much like comic books, manga is made of pictures with some dialog. While they are similar in nature, manga and comics are different in many ways. “Comics and manga have different art styles. Manga is based on fantasy, while comics are more realistic,” Matias Vondemknesebeck (12) said. In manga, expressions are exaggerated to represent a certain
emotion. That’s why artists draw very exaggerated expressions. In comics, there are the usual “Pows” and “Booms”, but in manga, an action is told through art rather than words. This doesn’t mean that if comic book readers will hate manga, rather it means they will probably like both. Manga, like comics, also involves the telling of stories through pictures. Sometimes art in manga is controversial in the U.S. Themes in the art can often be very immodest say readers. This has to do more with the culture of Japan and less with manga itself. Some students claim manga helps them develop their imagination, because Japanese books sometimes are hard for them to enjoy. Although manga and books are very different, Lancers encourage students to read manga. “If you likes books, chances are you will like manga,” Vondemknesebeck said. Starting to read manga is very easy in the library with its variety of choices. “Shonen” is a genre generally popular among many
manga fans. “Naruto is my favorite manga because there is a lot of action and a great story,” Juan Damian (12) said. “I have a lot of favorites: Attack on Titan, Killa Kill, Dragon Ball Z,” Nancy Guzman (12) said. If Shonen doesn’t work out, then perhaps “Shoujo” will. It is generally targeted at girls and deals with more romantic themes. Manga comes in volumes, which are compilations of chapters that are, for the most part, released weekly in Japan. However most hardcore fans don’t want to wait for a volume to be released and would much rather read the chapters right away. “I access it in my phone. I read chapters because volumes take too long to be released,” Vondemknesebeck said. Lancer manga fans say it is never too late to get involved with fantastical stories in incredible settings. They encourage anyone and everyone to give manga a try. Start with a chapter on a mobile phone. It can be read about as fast as a newspaper article.
said. It took her about two to three weeks to make up her dance. Her dance was called “The Dream”, and it was about discrimination between blacks and whites and in the end, they find equality. She made this dance because it ties in to the theme of the end-of-the-year dance concert and also because she feels like this is a big problem in society. She was excited and proud of herself that her dance was in the concert. She thought it was cool that everyone got to see her dance. Each dance had its own unique quality about it, but for Ernesto Banuelos (12), his favorite dance had to be a dance called “Throwback” choreographed by Skyline High School. It was a hip-hop routine meant for a basketball halftime show. He liked this dance because it was so energetic and it was excit-
ing to watch. “I even wanted to get up there and dance,” Banuelos said. He went to the event because he likes breakdancing and hiphop type dances. He also came to support his cousin who is in Ke-
arns Junior High School’s dance company. “I thought he was really good, I never knew he could dance like that,” Banuelos said. This is a great event to watch because it shows how other schools portray different types of dances.
15th district dance concert was held at Granger High By Brenda Nguy THE 15TH annual district dance concert was held at Granger High School on February 19 this year. The event has been at Granger for about nine years now. This year consisted of 20 dances by 19 schools from all over Granite District, including a few of the junior high schools. This was the first year many of the other schools have seen the new building and had an opportunity to perform on the new stage. There were also two student choreographers from Granger High School that each created a dance for the event. Ermina Mustafic (11) choreographed her dance called “Lost”, because she likes dancing and really likes her movement. So she thought, why not share the movement she has created with everyone else and show everyone what she is ca-
pable of. She made it up bit by bit with every practice she had. The dance is about stereotypes and trying to find a way to break away from it. She felt good that Ms. Lago, the dance teacher, put her dance in this concert. It made her feel like she did something right for once. “I thought the girls did really good, even though we had like two practices,” Mustafic said. Cheyanne Riley (12) was the other student choreographer. She was on Dance Company her sophomore year and came back her senior year. She also made a dance her sophomore year and felt like she wanted to do better than that dance, so she decided to make another dance this year. As a dance company officer, she felt like she was obligated to choreograph one. “I wanted to show people what I’m made of,” Riley
Dance Company performs ‘Lost’ choreographed by Ermina Mustafic.
Students put their style into clothes in sports sewing
By Melany Rivera GRANGER high offers many unique and exciting classes. One of those exciting classes is sports sewing. This class gives students
a chance to interact with others and learn different skills for future projects. Sports sewing students learn what sewing is like and whether or not it’s interesting.
Ms. Dickert teaches sports sewing through the CTE department.
Students everywhere have one thing in common, and that is that they dislike sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher go on and on about something without being able to do things after having to sit there and listen for what seemed like forever. “Sports sewing is really fun because it’s not a class that has students remain seated. Instead, they let students go around the classroom and do projects and just be hands-on.” Tamika Shipman (11) said. This class has proved to be very helpful when it comes to teaching future skills and techniques. Many students say that they want to learn how to sew to help out at home or maybe make up their own sweet styles. Others just say that it will help them when they are older and have children of their own. “I wanted to learn how to sew because it looked fun and I want to be able to sew for my kids in the future,” Gabrielle Knudsen (10) said.
Many students say that the class would be hard and a bit uncomfortable, because it’s something that they’ve never done before. Others jump at the chance to try something new and different because it’s something they’ve wanted to do, or it’s a chance to keep learning. “I talked to my counselor about my classes and Ms. Catten told me to take sports sewing, I already had taken a couple classes like it in Junior High, so I was pretty happy doing it again,” Knudsen said. Some students say that sewing would be boring to have to do every class period, but what students don’t know is that sports sewing gives them a huge opportunity to make things that they will actually be able to use. They pick from fabrics and make different types of clothing and other exciting things. “I’m actually working on my pillowcase right now which is really fun. In a couple weeks we are starting our newest project which, is our
pajama pants. I’m really excited for that,” Leslie Nonprakesh (11) said. Students have tons of fun working on their projects, they find it great that they can add a little of their own creativity to their work and that they can do the things they are being taught while it’s being taught to them. “I like sports sewing because we don’t just sit there and then do things, we start practicing right then as the teachers are teaching us. I really like that because I don’t get as bored,” Nonprakesh said. Sports sewing is a great class for all students, girls and boys. Everyone can enjoy the things that it has to offer. This class also gives students a chance to just be themselves and put in some thought to what they want things to look and feel like. Students may think that this class is hard, but once they get the hang of it, they can’t wait to get started on a new project. Others can’t wait to take this class again.
March 2014, page 6
VOL. LVI Issue 7
Granger’s track team is bigger than ever and ready to run
Karol Penate hopes to focus on diet to achieve her fitness goals
Lancers try to stay fit By Shelly Ngo GRANGER Lancers hit the gym to stay fit. Students’ goals for this year included staying fit and healthy. Some students say they will do it but don’t actually go through with it. But there are students here who go out and do it like they said they would. There are different reasons to hit the gym; some do it to lose weight, to remain fit and healthy, get their dream body, or help them with their career choice for the future. “My goal at the gym is to lose weight, get the summer body and feel better about myself,” Karol Penate (9) said. The hardest part about reaching her goal is to be focused and to maintain the right diet. That isn’t going to stop her from reaching her goal because she has been seeing progress and is determined to keep going until she reaches her goal. Edgar Garcia (10) started to go to the gym because he was bored and didn’t want to be lazy any longer. He also truly wants to work on getting his stamina up and building his health. His most/ least favorite workout is running at the view. “I like to listen to music while working out. It helps me to keep going. Plus the team workout is another motivation to keep me going,” Garcia said. His favorite quote is said by Muhammad Ali: “I hate every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’ ”
Jennifer Ruiz (10) uses going to the gym because it is a different kind of coping skill. One of her goals is to lose 10 pounds. “My motivation to go to the gym is to be healthy and to have a better attitude,” Ruiz said. She loves to have a workout buddy, because it helps her to keep going and not to quit. “Wanna be the best, do your best.” Christian Diaz (12) said. “Keep in mind that anything can be reachable. You’re doing this for yourself not anyone else.” Most of the Americans today are overweight and he does not want to be one of those overweight Americans so he is hitting to gym to stay fit and healthy. He is trying to bulk up a bit and get toned as well. The hardest part about the gym is getting started, but when you start, keeping the reps are pretty easy. Nothing is really easy about going to the gym, but not going is easy. Motivation, going consistently and eating right is the hardest part about going to the gym and staying healthy. Vinnie Lemus (12) has many goals to reach like being a prosoccer player, fitness fanatic, coach, personal trainer, and P.E. teacher. “I love being fit and doing fitness; this is my life. It’s bittersweet with soreness, but I love pain,” Lemus said. He has some advice to give to students, “Don’t do it just for fitness. Also to learn to chase your dreams and make it your best. You’re doing it for yourself not anyone else.”
By Sheikh Mohammed WHEN KIDS go outside to the football field these days, the activities they see are boys soccer and track and field training hard to do more than they have in the past five years in order to make this year a better one for track and field at Granger High. Coach Jefferies is not only the head track and field coach but is also a PE teacher. “I really believe we can do better this year. We can all do better than we have. We have great sprinters and great long distance runners, which give us the chance to do better,” Jefferies said. “I really think the team will go bigger. We have more people than last year, because people who ran last year find it fun, and they invite all their friends, which made the team a bigger team,” coach Jefferies said. “One of the reasons we have that many people on the team is the ninth grade. I think they have a bigger chance than others to gain experience and be ready for track in the next three years.
We really don’t have lots, but we hope to get more next year. The new building helped track and field, because we now have more students enrolled than before, and that’s one of the things you need for track and field,” he said. “On the field, I’m a coach who’s looking forward to train these students, and I’m more than happy to train them all,” coach Jefferies said. Track should have about 12 meets or competitions this season. Natalie Gneiting (10) said this is her first year doing track and field for Granger High. “It is amazing. I really love it. I love the coaches and my teammates and the way we work out. I believe we can do lots more than the last few years. As a sprinter, I think we have lot of opportunity to do well,” she said. “The coaches are really cool in motivating us to give all we have. We practice every day to get better than yesterday. I think West will be good competition; they’re not better than us, so I
Thiap Ngor Frankensteins with ease. His training experiences with the track team make him a powerful runner.
Lancers plan the perfect place for prom dinner By Lyndsey Xa PROM IS quickly approaching its new date, April 19. As Lancers land the perfect date, the next thing that quickly pops up into their minds is, “Where should we go for dinner?” This year, prom’s venue is located at Thanksgiving point in Lehi, which is about a 30-minute drive with clear traffic. Granger administration will also be providing a fun bus up to the venue if transportation is a problem. The bus will hold about 30 couples or 60 individuals. This means that Lancers have even more decisions to make. On top of choosing a place for dinner, they need to figure whether they would rather start dinner earlier than usual or arrive at prom late. There are a few restaurants located right in Thanksgiving Point. Of the two restaurants on offer, Harvest Restaurant would be the best choice for a fancier feel. They offer grilled entrees, pastas, and garden salads. Their menu ranges from $9 to about $15. The second option located directly in Thanksgiving Point is the Tower Deli. For those who want a very casual dinner, the Tower Deli could be the right place. It offers breakfast served all day, sandwiches, and salads. Their price ranges is anywhere from $5 dollars to $13 dollars. Pancakes for prom... priceless. If the dining options located at Thanksgiving Point don’t sound appetizing, there are several restaurants located around
think it will be good competition. And it’s amazing that we have so many ninth graders on the team. The more the people we have on the field, the stronger we look as a team. Gneiting is not alone in her estimation of Granger’s ability on the track. “I did track and field for Granger High for the last three years, and I really can see the difference. We have more students who are interesting in it, and they’re students who enjoy running and are willing to learn more and do well out there. We have always had wonderful coaches, this year we are a kinda real team,” sprinter MJ Ngor (12) said. “We have more meets than the last few years. We have about 1013 meets, and the other schools that we have in our region are equal to us. West and Taylorville may be good races, but we got it. We have the opportunity to go state, and even more than that, I really believe in Granger and in the coaches and in my teammates,” he said.
the Lehi area. Tepanyaki Steakhouse, for instance. It is located around seven minutes away from the venue. Tepanyaki serves sushi, a variety of meats, and Asian cuisine. The interesting thing about Tepanyaki is that all the food is prepared right at the table. This is a higher-end restaurant with prices ranging from $15 to $25 per entree. Another restaurant Lancers might be familiar with is Wingers. It is located six minutes away from Thanksgiving Point. They offer wings, of course, but they also serve a variety of salads, burgers, tacos, and many other entrees. Winger’s prices range from $10 to $15. Another restaurant in Lehi is Texas Roadhouse, and it is located six minutes away from Thanksgiving Point. As a bonus, a meal at Texas Roadhouse comes with an unlimited supply of peanuts. Their main courses include steaks, ribs, and chicken. This could be the best place for hungry Lancers, if they’re meat lovers. After finding the perfect dinner location, make a reservation. This is especially important for big prom groups. On a Saturday night, a table for eight can take an hour or more without a reservation. Bigger groups might consider splitting into two smaller tables. Do not miss prom after waiting on a table for over an hour. Planning all the details can seem stressful, but things usually come together the day of prom. Be sure to make this a memorable prom, Lancers.
March 2014, page 7
VOL. LVI Issue 7
Lancers make spring break plans
Christopher Lopez
Bayly Peck
Gretchen Bingaman
Brock Wamsley
By McCall Buckley LISTEN carefully in the halls of Granger, to the sounds of students talking about spring break. The overall sentiment is that they can’t wait for spring break. After returning to school from winter break, there are no major holidays or breaks in our schedule until this long awaited break known as spring break. This long awaited break is scheduled for March 27-April 4. Everyone wants to make this break awesome and memorable, but some people do not have any plans or ideas. To plan a great spring break, it’s worth asking other Granger high students what they are doing to make this longawaited break fun. Some ninth graders had a few ideas. “I will be hanging out with my boys and playing baseball to better my skills,” Tanner Fellows (9) said. Not all plans sound like fun. “I will be cleaning the house,” Samantha Flores (9) said. Bayly Peck (9) is being pretty
adventurous and is going to visit her crazy aunt. “I am going to Cali for the first time,” she said. Tenth graders had bigger plans for the upcoming break. “I am going fishing in the mountains,” Alex Smith (10) said. Gretchen Bingaman (10) really just wants to sleep in every day during this spring break because she is so tired from dancing. “I will be going out of town to spend time with my grandparents because it’s my Grandpa’s birthday,” she said. Hopefully Bingaman can sleep on the trip. Older students have bigger aspirations, so expect eleventh graders to have more interesting plans for spring break. Faith Nistler (11) has lots of plans. “I really want to go to seven peaks because there are some new rides, but I might go to Idaho or Tooele. Hopefully, I get to go swimming no matter where I go,” she said. Nhi Nguyen (11) remembers her best spring break was one that
she went to California and played in the sand and went to a new restaurant. “I have no idea this year, maybe I’ll just hang with friends,” said Nguyen. Brock Wamsley (11) once went to Disneyland, Sea World, and Las Vegas over spring break. “This year, I am going on a cruise to Mexico,” he said. According to the progression, the twelfth graders should have the best spring break advice. “I’ll spend spring break relaxing and doing nothing,” Christopher Lopez (12) said. Sabbath Rodriquez (12) will spending spring break “practicing for soccer”. “I will be finding a job,” Adnan Uzeir Begovic (12) said. Nope, not the seniors. Looks like the juniors have the best plans for spring break, but no one should feel too bad about a lack of plans. With only one more term before summer break brings weeks of freedom, sometimes relaxing without any plans is the best plan of all.
Future missionaries eager to serve By Misty Garlick SAYING goodbye for two years is not an easy thing to do, but some Lancers are ready to accept that challenge. They’re off to a mission right after high school. Wesley Musselman (12) said that he eagerly awaits his opportunity to serve as a missionary. Musselman has decided to serve a mission because he feels it is the right thing to do. He wants to help other people because he feels that by helping other people, it will make him a better person. Another reason Musselman has decided to go on a mission is that his older brother is currently serving one, and says that his experiences serving have helped him grow tremendously. “I am extremely excited to leave on my mission, but at the same time it’s crazy to think I will be leaving the place I was born and
raised for a two-year mission. But at the same time it is what I am meant to do,” he said. He would like to stay in the states, but his parents want him to leave the country. They feel that it will make him a more humble person. Musselman is turning his papers soon and is hoping to get his call by the end of March. Austin Brown (12) says he would like to go to a Spanishspeaking country. He has been taking Spanish for three years, so he feels he already has a head start on the language part. Brown is hoping to achieve a lot while on his mission, and he hopes that this will make him a better person. “I love helping people, and I can do that while on a mission,” he said. Andrew Perkes (12) says that two years away from home seems like a long time, and he does not
know what he will do without his mom waking him up for breakfast every morning. Perkes hopes to go somewhere in South America. He wants to go to Peru because he has never left the country before, and he like warmer climates. “I am very excited and can’t wait to leave,” he said. Aisea Vainuku (11) would like to go to China or the islands of Tonga because he can speak Mandarin Chinese, and he also understands a lot of Togan. Vainuku has decided to go on a mission because he likes doing things for other people. “In my religion, the best thing you can do for other people is bring them closer to God, because eternal glory and happiness is only achieved by returning to live with him forever,” Vainuku said. He is very excited to leave for his mission next June.
Whether stateside or international, students are excited their for missions.
Kids share work stories Here’s how to make friends By Nazarine Camacho THERE are only 24 hours in a day. The amount of money that a student can make in high school is nothing compared to what they will be earning after college. It’s not bad having a job, but between school and work it can be tough to juggle everything. Education is more than important; one should work on getting great grades, so that one can get a great career. There are many opinions on whether or not it is good to have a job while going to high school. Work can be overwhelming along with school, but it can teach a student much responsibility. “I fully agree that school is more important than earning money for myself,” Alexis Castillo (10) said. A job would take away from time to study. “All my free time I spend on preparing for exams. After school I come home and I start doing my homework. I don’t think I really have time I have time to work,” he said. It is said that school is more necessary than any job. There are many students who work and end up becoming overwhelmed, allow their grades to drop be-
fore eventually giving up. But this is not always the case. It’s draining to go to work and then go to high school. One won’t always have enough energy for school; the next day, it is more than possible to be falling asleep in class and miss all the work the teacher gives. “ ‘Education is important like other people say.’ I’m not trying to get bad grades and there is more stuff why like having rational thinking during class and up not doing my class work there are a lot of my friends that work late at night the next day they can’t wake up for school. They usually get here late for first period and their grade will be a D or a F for being late every morning. Or they’re so focused on their jobs that they don’t realize that their grades end up not looking good. I would only work during the summer. My education is important,” Ana Sandoval (11) said. Nancy Alvarez (11) believes that, yes, students should work. “They should work during high school, because some students want to be independent anyways they shouldn’t have to ask their parents for money and they can start saving money for college,” she said.
By Shannon Garcia LANCERS talk about how to make friends. New friends come and old friends go, but that’s okay because it happens for a reason. To be honest, there are times when people want to know how to make friends, but they’re shy or not that kind of people who make friends easily. The best way to make a friend is get out there to meet new friends. It doesn’t have to be the ‘cool kids’. Any two people can start a friendship. “Be yourself, and be open to others,” Tara Newtize (10) said. People don’t have to have a lot of common interests with people in order to make friends with them. Social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook can be a great way to make friends. Get to know each other through the Internet. It’s a great way to meet new, local people.
Volunteering at school can be a great way to meet new people, because students work together and build bonds over time with people by talking to people. Joining a club or anything fun like that won’t automatically guarantee new friends unless students actually talk to new people. But by being involved in something at school, students become more social. Anytime people talk to someone, they have a chance to make a friend. “I make friends by being friendly and asking them what’s their name. Then I ask them questions,” Marco Magaña (10) said. Don’t be picky at people making friends because they can talk to anybody; once in a while they’ll actually make a friend. Always have good eye contact and smile to show someone they’re interesting. Whenever talking, don’t
frown or fold arms, because it gives a negative sign to the other person. These are bad habits because it makes a conversational partner look bored or disinterested. It’s good to start a conversation with the other person. “Hey! What movies do you like to watch?” Try anything that can start a conversation. Have fun when talking; don’t complain about something. When others are talking and about to end the conversation, it’s the perfect time for a fresh introduction or a new voice in a conversation. Those who don’t open up don’t make new friends. It’s always nice to talk to someone again, go to lunch with him or her or plan some activity to get to know each other more. Take a friendship slowly, and be someone that people know they can count on. It’s never too late to make a friend.
VOL. LVI Issue 7
March 2014, page 8
Automotive students take tenth
By Yohnathan Rivas THE WEBER Automotive State Championship only allows the top 25 schools in the stare to compete. Earlier this month, more than one 150 schools went to Weber State University to attend this qualification round. Only twentyfive of the one hundred and fifty schools will come back for the championship round. Granger attended the qualification round and placed thirteenth out of the one hundred fifty schools. Granger’s automotive teacher, Mr. Ballew, was more than happy that we were able to return to the championship round. Despite his busy schedule, Mr. Ballew took as much time as he could to train Chayton Peterson (12) and Jonathan Mejia (12). They learned about brake cali-
per operation, fuel management systems and electricity. They both studied hard to be as prepared as possible. On the way to Weber State, Mr. Ballew bought them breakfast at a local mom-and-pop cafe. After an opening ceremony by the administrators from Weber State, every student was assigned a station. Every 15-minute station required students to complete a task. Some were customer service, while others were fuel testing for starting a car or finding the points of power through circuits. After they completed six stations, they went back to the first room to eat pizza for lunch. Then it was time to go to the main room to eat dinner and find out where each school placed in the rankings.
Chase Peterson and Jonathan Mejia with Mr. Ballew like the Weber Camaro.
Granger High School tied for tenth place. There were twentyfour schools that attended the championship round, so Mr. Ballew was proud of their effort. Mejia was a little upset, but the fact that they scored tenth made him proud. “The championship round was hard,” said Peterson. Peterson was excited that he was one of the three going back to Weber State for the individual competition. Peterson struggled on the electrical part because he doesn’t fully understand circuits. He liked the experience but wasn’t so confident. He was proud to represent Granger to make it to tenth place. Mejia and Peterson were the two candidates representing Granger High School in this competition. They both had an almost equal experience. “This competition was interesting. It was hard but very fun. Even though we weren’t as prepared as we wanted to be, I was still proud that we made it to the top ten,” Jonathan Mejia said. Mejia struggled on the fuel pressure testing because he did not know how to use the tool. Otherwise, Jonathan was really confident because he studied on his own time. “I advise people to go into an automotive class if they love working on cars. With this class, they can get opportunities like this,” said Mejia. Mr. Ballew was proud of this year’s students. Last year, Granger did not qualify for the championship round at all. “I do not even know how to show the excitement that I felt after qualifying to be in thirteenth place out of all` the schools that competed in the state. It was really awesome that we made it to tenth place in the championship round when we returned. I could not be more happy with my students,” said Mr. Ballew.
Auto students learn career-building skills
By Andrea Montes AN AUTO shop class can help a lot of students in the future, because it teaches them more than just parts of a car. They learn all types of stuff, from painting a car to fixing it. Some students take this class really seriously because some of them want to choose this type of job for a career. Students from other schools come into Granger’s auto body shop class, and it gives these other students an opportunity to learn a little more. “I chose this class because I wanted to learn how to fix dents. I think the experience has been good, I’ve learned a lot. I like this class because am going to be able to fix my cars when they’re damaged,” Josue Resendiz (11) said. It’s going to be really helpful in the future because they’re going to be able to fix their own cars, and save more money than a person without any automotive experience. “I chose this class so I can fix my car in the future and also to get experience in case I choose this as a career. Some people that
come in from different schools help us fix our cars since some of them might be a little more experienced than some of us might be,” Zachary Grow (11) said. Some people might want to choose this like a career option, or just to get some knowledge out
of this class. “I like cars and that’s why I chose this class, and also because I would like to learn more about fixing cars. Some things I would like to get out of this class are how to paint cars and how to do welding. I don’t think this class
is that hard. Most of the time we work more than we talk, so we focus a little more on fixing the cars and stuff like that,” Sila Thongsuphon (12) said. “I’ve worked on cars before and I would like to keep working on them, and get more knowledge so I can continue working on mine and get better at it. I don’t mind other students from other schools coming to our auto body shop and working with us, just as long as they’re learning and getting something out of this class. I think my experience in this class has been good. I’ve learned more stuff and am also learning how to work on cars a little more,” Fernando Montes (9) said. “I like cars, and that’s the reason I chose this class. What I expect of this class is to fix some parts of a car, and also learn a little more about cars. I don’t mind other students from other schools coming to our auto body shop, because our school has things and classes their school does not have, and so when they come its gives them an opportunity to learn new stuff,” Jorge Garcia (11) said.
Several Lancers have parents who work at Granger High School
By Victor Potenciano MANY STUDENTS at Granger might say that having mom or dad work here is probably the most awkward thing in life. High school is about seeking help from other adults rather than parents because parents don’t know everything. These Granger students gave more insight and more understanding to the paradigm view of how life is with their parents in their lives 24\7. Both of Caden Cousins’s (9) parents work at Granger High School. His father, Mr. Cousins, teaches AP history and coaches girls basketball. His mother is Ms. Cousin the office assistant. Cousins did not have much to say; as a freshman he enjoys having his parents here because they can help him with regular necessities. Not many people give him a hard time for having his dad as a teacher. They actually love having his dad, he says. Next year as a sophomore he will be taking AP history taught by his father. “I will stay in the same relationship with my father even if class gets hard,” Cousins said. Mr. Cousins on the other hand had plenty to say about Caden and their in-school relationship. He expressed that he likes having his son here because it’s a great way to keep him on track. Even though Cousins sets very high expectations for himself he still wants his father to be able to help him. Mr. Cousins thinks it’s hilarious when someone calls Caden ‘ ‘Lil Cousins’ because he is a pretty big kid, and they call Mr. Cousins ‘Big Cousins’. ‘Lil Cousins said it truly makes him happy to have his whole family here. Justine Harmon (12) and Kristi Lago (9) are sisters, and as a lot of students at Granger know, their mom, Ms. Lago, is the dance teacher. Ms. Lago adopted Harmon as a junior. “I enjoy being taught by my mom,” Harmon said. “There’s a difference each year.” Ms. Lago has been teaching Justine for three years now. Ms. Lago not only helps Harmon with dance, but with all schoolwork that she needs help with, too. Harmon sometimes uses her mom’s class to study. Kristi Lago is a freshman, and this is her first year being taught by her mom. “I love working with my mom; it really brings us closer,” Lago said. Ms. Lago still treats her like a teacher would, of course. Lago hopes to one day be a drill officer like her sister. “Drill is my passion, and I will continue taking drill even if my mom quits or gets fired.” Lago said. Ms. Lago is very laid back. She is focusing on the year-end show, and is excited for the San Francisco convention. “I love having my kids here. I’ll a little harder on my own kids, but who can blame that ambition.” Their home lives have high expectations, too, which is
why there must be no struggling in school. Heidi Turner (12) has a very different opinion than most, and she’s very blunt with her words. She feels like its weird and annoying having her mom work here. Turner’s mom teaches Driver Education, Lancer Action Team, & Swim Team. “My mom treats me like she treats most students. She treats me like a normal kid here.” Turner says. But even though she doesn’t enjoy her mom’s company here, she still sticks up for her. “One day an anonymous student was talking a load of hogwash about Ms. Turner but didn’t know that I was in the same room or didn’t even know I was her daughter until one student told him,” Turner said. She said that he was just embarrassed and scared because Turner gave her the “eye” and had switched out of class by the next time they had the same period together. When she mentioned it to her mom she just shrugged and said “what a loser.” Ms. Turner has been coaching the swim team for twenty years, and enjoys knowing where her kids are and knowing most of their friends. She tries to let them go on and figure things out for themselves. Not just with her own kids, but with her nephews and nieces, too. She lets them know that even though they’re relatives, they still need to be able to work hard for their grades. But she says that all the information they need us in their hands. She shows them support so that they can go and pursue their own goals by themselves. She says that she will show trust until there’s a reason not to. Some teachers remained unaware that Ms. Turner’s daughter attended Granger High School until they went to a parent teacher conference. The Fuller girls have experienced less anonymity. Anna Fuller (12) feels like it’s awesome to have her father Mr. Fuller work here even though he tells students embarrassing stories from her childhood. “I feel like there’s kids who know Anna more than she knows herself,” Mr. Fuller said. She said that she knows that Mr. Fuller’s popularity affects her high school experience, because students feel that Mr. Fuller treats all the kids like his own daughters and sons. Mr. Fuller teaches drama and history feels like he is relaxed with kids. He encourages students to ask him for help, and if he doesn’t know the answer he tells them to work things out themselves to teach his students and children how to be independent adults. Like many other parents here, he treats his kids a little tougher to lighten the mood -- when it’s feeling dull, he loves to push everyone’s buttons.