Mats Su Gazette
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December 2017
December 2017
Working
Together Proudly underwritten by
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Mat Su Gazette
Mat Su Gazette The Mat Su Gazette is a forum for student news, opinion, and expression for all Mat-Su Schools. It is published semiannually during the school year in partnership with the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman. Editorial content is in control of the students with guidance by their advisors.
Advisors
Brian Mead-Colony High Jennifer Jabbour- Houston High Jesse Carnahan- Mat-Su Central Rebekah Kitchin- Palmer High
Wasilla
Contributing Shyanne Massie Matt Megler Kindall Rumbo Janee Wilson Alice Lee
Houston
Contributing Destiney Farmer Leiah Rusher Lizzy Seyer
Mat Su Central Contributing Sally Carr Lily Foss Rosabella Cebrian
Christine Sanderson
Colony
Contributing Amber Sawyer Spencer Shirley Brsonsen Stewart
Palmer
Contributing Alexa Scavette Anna Miller Bryanna Ash Erin Staricha Kassidy Kaiser Molly Wells Kearney Fletcher Leif Mumma Maddie Reid Shaleen Tolbert
From the Team Alice Lee - WASILLA Public schools are community schools, and the many partnerships within the Mat-Su School District represent commitment and unity. The Mat- Su Gazette is one bold example of schools partnering with the community and business. The Frontiersman newspaper works with students and schools to promote community journalism and writing. This simple act creates new career interests for students and sparking involvement within their own city. The examples are many for working together. Within and outside of school walls, partnerships are developed. Personalized learning, ANSEP, community theater, career ready course work are just a few examples of students working together to create new platforms for tomorrow. The District's motto reads “preparing our students for success”. The many partnerships within schools and outside of school lead the way for students to succeed and collaborate. Students move out of their comfort zones to create connections and relationships that put students at an advantage for their future. Being confined to ideas and a small group of people within reach are a thing of the past, branching to new people and new ideas are in the now. Mat-Su schools are in the now with partnerships, and they are increasing rapidly. These partnerships reach beyond simply the academic level. They join students at the community level and increase social interaction between school and town. Working together achieves more goals than what originally was intended, The Gazette is only one example of working together with of community and the Mat Su School District and the Mat Su Valley. And, it is with these acts of partnering that create a stronger, more unified bond between community and school, and truly prepare students for success. Alice Lee is a senior at Wasilla High. She is a Journalism II student.
December 2017
From the Advisors Brian Mead - COLONY Welcome to the fourth year of the Mat-Su Gazette. As I look back on what it has taken to get this piece of work up and running, and then keep it running, I recognize what a road it’s been. The Gazette has been a labor of love as well as a beast of burden. Each issue we imagined a general theme and focus that at the least our main featured stories addressed. Then we opened it up to whatever our students felt they needed to share. The Gazette’s purpose has been to maintain an avenue for our school journalism programs to continue to educate with meaningful, real-world student-created products in an age where journalism is changing and print newspapers are evolving (but yet, far from dead). We struggled with the problem of ‘how could schools afford to keep a print edition of student generated journalism for each school at the high cost of printing’? The answer was an all-school’s newspaper: the Mat-Su Gazette. For an all-school’s paper to have relevancy, the audience needed to be part of the community it belonged to, and thus our partnership with the Frontiersman was born. (The Gazette is in addition to the submitted student submissions featured weekly in the Frontiersman’s School Page.) The cost of printing has been paid for by our underwriters, who get a special recognition on our front cover plus ad display space. Any ads sold helped pay for our program, which included quarterly multi-school research field trips on our theme. The whole thing worked quite well. But it wasn’t easy. Students are not seasoned professional journalists. They’re students, just learning to write in an all new way, different from the five paragraph essay or research paper we’ve been cramming into their heads for years. The
process is long and difficult but they, by evidence of three years of Gazettes, pull it off every time. Choosing stories, creating layout, editing, editing, and more editing by my partner (now semi-retired) teacher, Emily Forstner, and I has been a task much larger than we could accomplish in a normal work week. Many nights and weekends have we worked together at school, someone’s living room, and even on phone from great distances. In fact, this issue is being completed while I am at Harvard with a group of computer science students and Forstner is burning some midnight oil on her own time at home. To be honest, we were almost ready to give it up, but then, as luck would have it, the Frontiersman sold four full page ads from No More Mat-Su, then Backcountry Bikes called us up asking for an ad, and now Mat Valley Federal Credit Union is supporting us with an ad of their own. With every issue we fret that we won’t have enough content and by the end have to pick and choose which stories actually make it in. It has become a force of its own with a demand that won’t let us quit. It proves print is not dead and the free press is still alive- but only by working together. So this labor of love and beast of burden has actually been a swarm of great partnerships. Many thanks to all those partners who are not limited to but include my journalism partners John Notestine and Emily Forstner, the Mat-Su School District and the Frontiersman; Colony and Wasilla High, plus contributions from Mat-Su Central, Houston, Palmer, Su-Valley, and Burchell high schools; research partners such as the Mat-Su Parks and Rec, KTUU, KTVA, Alaska Dispatch; all our underwriters such as Mat Valley Federal Credit Union and MTA; and faithful advertisers, notably Backcountry Bikes and Espresso Cafe, and now, No More Mat-Su. Brian Mead
Underwritten by
Underwritten by
ON THE COVER ANSEP students Vivian Prokopiof and Jasmine Mueller work together during the STEM hydraulic challenge. ANSEP has a 92 percent college credit success rate. ANSEP is a STEM program offered at Career Technical High School in partnership with UAA. The ANSEP Accelerated High School was started in 2015 and now has 70 students. Read more on page 10.
The Mat-Su Gazette is made possible by support from community businesses and organizations, who, with a special partnership with the Frontiersman, to cover the cost of printing. Businesses advertising in the Gazette also receive exposure in Colony and Wasilla High’s daily broadcasts and livestream events. Email john.notestine@matsuk12.us or brian.mead@matsuk12.us for more information.
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December 2017
OP/ED
Not Ready to Click Submit-yet. Janee Wilson - WASILLA
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he living breathing hive of adolescents traveling down the familiar hallways and stairways passed before my eyes in a nonstop wave of motion and color. The laughing voices of my peers, the passing time bells, and the closing of a teacher’s classroom door buzzed. My high school career will soon be a far-off remembering of the slightly sweet smell of waxy textbook paper. Taking those dreaded scantron test where you begin to question yourself because you answered “C” to the past five questions;when you read the same passage over and over but you can’t really remember what it said or what it’s supposed to mean; the traumatic and sometimes startling view of teenagers kissing in the hallways, all missed. But, I’ll especially miss the way the warmth of the sun permeates the stairwells, filling it with light from the window.
The thought of not to going college never seemed like a possibility for me. But the thought of going to college leaves me petrified. College-bound, 17 years old, and my world feels like it’s breaking at the seams. The dorms sound like a dream with no rules and no curfew. A room all to myself, completely and utterly mine. I’m afraid. That I will forget the sound my father’s heavy boots make when they stomp on hardwood floors. That I’ll miss my mother’s laugh on the days when I mourn the future tests I failed despite how hard I studied. The smell of my mother’s perfumes, the sound of her singing in the shower or my father yelling at the winded football players on the tv screen. My home will be a small room made for sleeping and study. No traces of my parents in sight. Who will make my father’s tea if I leave? Who will put the Christmas decorations under the house when Decem-
ber passes? And what will happen to those laughter-filled conversations we all had in the kitchen late at night when no one is ready to go to bed? The time has come for a new transition in my life to take place, because time is generous to no one and life is not a spectator sport. The familiar comfortability of high school wasn’t made to last forever. The fear and excitement are almost indistinguishable somedays. I’ll have professors, meet new people and hopefully build a new me shaped space in my new environment. I’ll have no rules to be bound by and can wander off in the city seeing something new almost every day. I anticipate delirious days of no sleep and tests that will leave me broken. But I’m ready because I hope that the new version of me will be so much smarter, more eloquent and passionate than I have ever been before. That growth is all I could really ask for.
I’ll miss my teenage home. The color of sun-dried tomato. My mother picked it out herself, and she reminds me of that on good days, with a proud smile on her face. I hope that I will be just as vibrant and gorgeous as her house when I go home to visit. I’ve taken the SATs, gone to the senior meeting, asked teachers for recommendation letters and have started to fill out the college applications. But as I go to click submit, my hand freezes over the touchpad of my laptop. I close it and lay in my bed, thinking. Eventually, I’ll click submit. But not yet. Not yet. Janee Wilson is a senior and Journalism III student at Wasilla High. Janee is considering UAA as her next step after high school. She will be the first in her family to attend a fouryear college.
Resilience Needed Now More Than Ever C
ompetence: When we notice what teens are doing right and give them opportunities to develop important skills, they feel competent. We weaken competence when we don't allow young people to recover themselves after an obstacle.
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onfidence: Confidence is necessary when navigating the world and recovering from challenges. Shyanne Massie - WASILLA
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esilience- (noun) the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. Resilience is the ability to fall down seven and get up eight. Unfortunately, with the increase of social media and the decrease of face to face relationships, and the increase of children living in poverty, and the complexities the 21st century is providing, resilience is sadly missing from many teens’ toolboxes. And, resiliency may be their only hope. Kids can’t cope; a hard truth, but one we as a society need to recognize. Everyone faces challenges in life, some can be controlled, and others can't. Regardless of what those situations are, having resiliency, a teen has a better chance of coping and overcoming the obstacle. Resilience teaches kids to fight back. Research from the National Institute of Mental Health shows in 2016 about 30% of girls and 20% of boys–6.3 million teens–have had an anxiety disorder. Toxic stress triggers hormones that cause a negative impact on the brain and bodies of children, resulting for them to face a greater risk of suffering from disease, homelessness, prison time, and early death. No segment of society is immune. The need to control an aspect of life has 10-15
percent of Americans suffering from some type of serious eating disorder. For females 15-24 years old, twhe mortality rate for anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of all other causes of death in adolescents. And for the 27,000 Alaskan children living in abject poverty and the additional 36,000 children simply poor? The statistics are even worse. The tools of resiliency are the least we can do to help youth and probably the most important. Different levels of resilience result in different ways of responding to and recovering from stressful times. Resilience is not genetically based and has the ability to be strengthened when we encourage kids to follow the ‘Seven C’s’ If we taught youth how to handle difficult situations before they reached the point where they viewed harming themselves as an appropriate answer, the sad statistics for eating disorders, selfharm, and anxiety could be lowered drastically. A person who falls and stands back up will forever be stronger than the person who never fell. Let’s teach our kids how to stand back up. Shyanne Massie is a former Journalism II reporter who continues to contribute to the Mat-Su Gazette.
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onnection: Teens with close ties to family, friends, school, and community are more likely to have a solid sense of security that produces strong values and prevents them from seeking destructive alternatives.
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haracter: In addition to adding to self-confidence, character will establish a fundamental sense of right and wrong to ensure teens are prepared to make wise choices, contribute to the world, and become stable adults.
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ontribution: Not only will they make differences and take actions that improve the world around them, they also enhance their own competence, character, and sense of connection.
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oping: Teens who learn to cope effectively with stress are better prepared to overcome life’s obstacles and less likely to resort to destructive behaviors as quick fixes.
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ontrol: When teens recognize their ability to control the outcomes of their situations by their decisions and actions, they’re more likely to know that they have the ability to do what it takes to recover from challenges.
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Mats Su Gazette
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December 2017
NEWS
Social Media Changes Art World Sally Carr and Christine Sanderson MAT-SU CENTRAL
Joe Carr. “Traditionally for artists there were specific “paths” one had to follow in order to achieve a state of legitimacy, which was vital to be a viable contemporary artist,” Carr said. “All of these paths were blocked and controlled by the old guards: galleries, museums, and art schools. They acted as gatekeepers to not only the art world but the audience that might enjoy a particular artist's work.” The independence social media produces for the artist is a step forward toward freedom in the artist community. But with independence comes responsibility. On the other side of the debate is Eagle River painter and Professor at UAA, David Pettibone. He is more hesitant about social media in the art world. “Years ago, I think it was possible to not have an online presence as an artist and still be successful - but now we have really shifted to an online presence,” Pettibone said. The necessity of having an online presence proves a difficult struggle for many artists. It may be because they cannot step up to the times by working online, or it’s more the fear of the unfiltered critiques from commenters.
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ocial media across the board gets a bad rap about teens, attention spans, and fake news. Yet, social media is more than Snapchat and Twitter. It includes the business world of art. Before the explosion of social media, artists took a semi-restricted approach to make a big impact in the art world. It was a system many struggled to succeed. This method would consist of art college, gallery showings, serious collectors or sometimes even a museum exhibit before becoming recognized and marketable. Once these goals were achieved, the dreaming artist would be set for success. This way to independence was lost to many talented people because of funding, location, and social abilities. Now artists are taking their careers on themselves using social media. But is this any easier than the traditional route? Were artists meant to be an advertiser, and producer of their own work? Some might say social media and the art world has already gotten out of control, or will soon. In 2016, 69 percent of adults used a form of social media-76 percent of Facebook users, 51percent of Insta-
gram users, and 42 percent of Twitter users, check it daily. These numbers show artists the vast audience available for them via the various social media outlets. In just one year from 2015 to 2016, the percentage of people on social media has grown by four percent. Social media and online shopping is making the art world money, too. Forbes magazine reports that in 2015 online art sales reached $3.27 billion. This amount represents 5.1 percent
of the art market. Hiscox Online Art Trade Report calculated that online art sales will reach $9.58 billion by 2020 if the art market continues this pace of growth. Forbes’s research states that millennials are fueling the social media sales. Millennials from the age of 1824 make up 44.3 percent of online art sales, and people ages 25 through 34 make up 33.8 percent of art sales. One successful artist successful with a social media following is Palmer illustrator and printmaker
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Where Are the Girls?
enrollment favors boys in comprehensive high schools Matt Megler - WASILLA
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asilla High School has noticed more boys attending the school this year compared to prior years. According to the MatSu School District’s statistics, WHS is one of six high schools that are male-dominated with 531 boys enrolled and just 388 girls. Where are all the girls? Data collected by the Warrior Word Daily News observes that the majority of female MSBSD girls are pursuing their high school careers in the district’s alternative choice designed schools. The female-dominate schools are Burchell High School, Mat-Su Career and Technical High School, Mat-Su Central, and Middle College with Career Tech and MatSu Central both having 52 percent female, and Middle College with the largest percentage of females, 61 percent.
Colony High shows a similar trend of the large comprehensive high school with more boys, but not as much as Wasilla: 602 male Knights, and 530 females. The smaller comprehensive high schools of Houston High has the highest ratio of boys, 64 percent male. Redington High has 52 percent male, and Palmer High 53 percent male. District-wide numbers for the boy-girl ratio with 19,396 students total are w52 percent male and 48 percent female. One draw for the girl-heavy Matsu Career and Technical High School appears to be their Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program. This class has the most girls out of all the Mat Su Career and Tech courses. “Well, there’s always four to five males in the nursing program every semester to my memory. The nursing program is probably the most
tilted female to male. It’s just one of those areas that seem to draw more females to male every semester,” Mat- Su Career and Tech High Principal Mark Okeson said. Okeson has not noticed the difference in the number of females to males, but as of December 1, Mat-Su Career Tech is the high school with the largest difference between male and female students with 340 females to 322 males. Okeson considered new options for pathways that would bring more gender equity to school, and said, “If it were up to me, there are two pathways I would like to add here. One would be a Justice Pathway: law enforcement, corrections, securities, and safety, as well pre-law. Another one would be what I consider Therapeutic Arts: hair, nails, massage, estheticians things like that.” The Warrior Word Daily News conducted a poll of 100 WHS stu-
dents. More than half of the students polled noticed that their school was male-dominated. Senior Jacob Killinger noticed the increased male population, “Definitely more males than females. The reason why would have to be because our school offers more construction and hands-on programs, like our auto shop and the technical drafting courses.” However, a shocking 23 percent of those polled believe WHS was female dominated. Senior TJ Raska, who believed the school was female dominated, answered the question, Why? “I think this school seems to be female dominated because I tend to run into more females. Even though I’m in more male-oriented classes that have to do with the technical and building side of industries.” continued on page 12
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December 2017
NEWS
Houston AP Chemistry Class Measured by Student Success
Exchange Students Benefit HHS Lizzy Seyer - HOUSTON
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Houston High science teacher Steve Hall assists AP Chemistry students with an experiment. Mr. Hall has taught AP Chemisty for three years at Houston High. His class uses an underclassman mentor program for recruitment of students for the future. Destiney Farmer - HOUSTON
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or the last three years, Houston High School has offered a college chemistry class for those high achieving and most dedicated students with a new opportunity: AP Chemistry. This year, with the organically formed mentorship program for underclassmen, the program has found a new recruitment model. “AP chemistry gives our students’ academic abilities and gets them to adjust their work ethic, due to the
courses’ pace, the complex problems, and a multifaceted schedule,” Mr. Hall said of the program. He has worked toward aligning his Chemistry I curriculum for the harsh reality of the challenging college course ahead. Hall pushes his Chemistry I students and helps them find an interest in joining the advanced placement course in the future. The new mentorship opportunity gives younger peers the chance to experience the labs at least once during the course. At first due to numbers, the AP
Chem class needed more people to run some of the labs. It has since snowballed into a mentorship program exposing basic chemistry students to the intense concepts of AP chemistry. During one lab, the Hand Warmer Lab, sophomore Haylee Hendrick, was brought in as an extra hand to assist senior AP Chemistry student Destiney Farmer. Another opportunity for underclassmen was the Titration Lab. continued on page 18
Climbers ROCK-ON at Gym Lily Foss - MAT SU CENTRAL
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ock-On Climbing Gym in Wasilla provides the only full service rock gym in the Valley. It holds classes, parties, and supports a competitive rock climbing team. Cole Lund’s love of climbing and community pushed him to create and build the Rock-On Climbing Gym, which is now a second home to climbers in the Valley. Rock-On Climbing Gym Competition Team member Jesse Jensen has climbed in the ranks since joining the team in 2016. She placed 3rd in the Cranksgiving competition at Rock-on Climbing Gym in Wasilla, and 2nd in the Zero-G competition at Ascension Rock Gym in Fairbanks. Jesse said the Rock Gym and everyone in it has helped her grow as a climber. She added that owner
Owner of Rock-On Climbing Gym, Cole Lund, poses for a business photo. When asked for a photo, Lund jumped onto the roof of his building without a second thought. The Rock-On gym is the only full-service rock gym in the Valley. (Photo by Christine Sanderson) Cole Lund has helped make her the climber she is today. “Cole really pushed me when I first joined the team, helping me get much stronger. Without that initial
boost, I wouldn’t be climbing nearly as well as I am today.” Jesse said via email.
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ouston High is honored this 2017-18 school year to have three foreign exchange students who get to experience the difference between school in their home country and school in the United States. Nuttakit Kanjanapoom, known to HHS students and staff as “Dragon,” is a senior visiting from Pattani, Thailand. Semjon Lojer is a sophomore from the city of Darmstadt, Germany. Lastly, from Dasmarinas Cavite, Philippines, is Riesen Caballero, a sophomore. When comparing Houston High to his school at home, Dragon firmly said, “School is not like this.” On some days, he had nine classes and on other days he had eight. His school had approximately 1000 students, and his school had about 40 per class. As for life here compared to at home, Dragon could drive a motorcycle when he was 15 years old. He got to hang with his friends more, and he didn’t have as many rules as compared to here. He had more privileges at home, but is still enjoying it here. So far, he really likes traveling around the state. “I like everything in America and everyone, and I also miss everyone at home.” Semjon Lojer attends a small private school in Germany with a student population of about 100 students. “The school is very easy here. The school system in Germany is less about getting good grades, but more about getting the knowledge, so it’s more difficult. It’s the English, here, that is more difficult for me.” Reisen Caballero is from the Philippines. His family moved here,. “Our culture is very different from yours. We have to wear uniforms and name tags. We don’t have whole days of school,” Caballero said. His high school class size average was between 70-105 students. Most foreign exchange students are sponsored in the Mat-Su through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Candidates are 15-19 years old leaders in their schools and communities. Room and board are provided, as well as any school fees. Each program varies, but students are usually responsible for knowing the language, round-trip airfare, travel insurance, travel documents, and spending money. Lizzy Seyer is a HHS journalism student
Mats Su Gazette
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December 2017
NEWS
TOGETHER WE CAN END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT
Gagnon Plastic AND
R E C O N S T R U C T I V E S U R G E RY
Abby Jensen, Wasilla High School
www.nomore.org NoMoreMatSuAK@gmail.com @NoMoreMatSu
XNLV362091
Domestic violence and sexual assault can happen to anyone, anywhere. And it’s never the victim’s fault. It’s time we all speak out to stop the violence. #NoMoreThisDoesn’tHappenToGuys #NoMoreWhyDoesn’tSheJustLeaveHim #NotAtMySchool #NoMoreMatSu
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December 2017
SPORTS
All Girl Venture Crew Seek High Adventures Jesslyn Zhart - WASILLA
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hat started off with four girls wanting high adventure activities has grown into an all-girl crew of over 12 girls called the Venture crew. Now, the girls of Venture travel around Alaska seeking high-intensity adventure that rival anything their male counterparts may post on Instagram. A branch of the Boy Scouts of America, the Venture crew started their own all-girl individual crew in Wasilla two years ago. Venture follows the Boys Scouts’ goal of developing caring and contributing citizens through service and adventure. Venture girls work to earn a series of awards, Venturing, Discovery, Pathfinder and Summit. The girls participate in a variety of courses such as CPR, campsite cooking, and survival skills. In Venture, the girls enjoy the excitement of a high-intensity adventure, but also leadership building. “The crew, the teenagers run the meetings and organize the activities. They figure out what they want to do and where they want to go.” supervisor Mary-Louise Colver said. The Venture crew serve beyond just adventures. The girls give back their community with volunteer work and providing service to other parts of the crew. The Wasilla crew chose the Alaska State Fair and help pick up the recycling through rain or shine. The Venture crew are 13 -20-yearold girls with an itch for adventure. Most girls are under the age of 18, so they are required to have an adult supervisor. Other than the required adult sponsor, the girls are in charge
Venture Club member Katelyn Boswell gears up for the club’s first activity of the year. The girls participated in the Boy Scout zombie themed camporee in the fall. Venture is a branch of the Boy Scouts that work to develop caring and contributing young women through outdoor activity and adventure. of all organization from electing their own officials for the ground and administration: traditional officers and their newly added quartermaster. “We try to be as girl-led as possible,” crew member Katelyn Boswell said. Katelyn Boswell, a sophomore at Wasilla High, has been involved the
Wasilla Venture crew since the spring of 2017. The group has already been on many adventures from biking the 60-mile McCarthy road to a four-day sea-kayaking trip in Whittier. Most trips go easily with no issues. But, the Whittier trip came complications. “We all planned on sleeping in the
same tent. We had to get our gear out of the back of several different vehicles and bring it down to the loading dock to a boat that was going to taxi us out. In all that confusion, we forgot the tent poles.” Boswell said. The girls didn't realize this until they pulled their kayaks onto their rocky beach of their first island in the pouring rain to make camp. They discovered they were in not ‘high and dry’ as they thought, but maybe more like ‘somewhat out of tide’s grasp’ and very wet. Luckily, the crew found a spare tent with one pole, now christened as the ‘circus tent’. Boswell heard about the Venture crew through a friend, and they both went to their first meeting together. ”We were all interested because we wanted high adventure activities.” Boswell’s first trip with Venture was just a simple skiing trip to Hilltop in Anchorage She had never been skiing before, but the crew made her inaugural ski trip Katelyn’s most memorable experience. “I personally don't have a family that goes out camping. That's just not the way we roll.” “But this group gives you an opportunity to do stuff that you would never do on your own. Like the time of your life trips and adventures.” The Venture crew meets at the Good Lutheran Shepherd Church in Wasilla every Tuesday evening at 7:15 p.m. Girls interested in joining can sign up at the meeting. There is an annual fee of $70. Jesslyn Zhart is a senior at Wasilla High. She enjoys writing all things sports.
Borough Pools Close For Needed Renovations Amber Swanson - COLONY
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he Wasilla and Palmer pools will be closed for much-needed renovations in the next few years. Wasilla pool is up for renovations first and will be closing in 2018 while Palmer will close in 2019. This rotational schedule will allow for swim teams to continue practice in the Valley despite being crammed for a couple months at a time. Wasilla is currently not sanctioned to hold swim meets due to necessary repairs and size, so alternating remodels allows for Palmer to hold official practices and meets, sharing the pool between teams and the public. The renovations in Wasilla in-
clude a new six-lane competition pool with diving boards, and a separated 1600 square foot recreational area for community and children's swim lesson use. The recreational area will be very shallow allowing for child use. The pool remodel project will be a little under $13 million. The money is provided by the Mat-Su Borough, and the design is by Architects Alaska, who also designed the Gateway Aquatic Center in Ketchikan. The current pool schedules, however, will likely be very upset by the new lane and pool layouts. This may lead to some unforeseen scheduling issues between senior therapy swim, lap swim, and the dive teams as they would all be practicing in the lane
area, or using the diving boards. There seems to still be wiggle room for the design to change, but so these scheduling issues may not be dealt with as of yet. The seniors are especially upset by the new designs because the recreational area would not be deep enough for their therapy swims, they instead would be pushed into the lane area whereas now they use the space around the deep end. Currently, the pool heavily relies on the school’s water system to provide the necessary warm water and the demands have not been met, leaving showers cold and people complaining. In the new design, they would move their operating systems into a new area and not be reliant on
the school’s utilities. But, it will also result in the teams needing to pay for their practice times instead of requesting the times they want for free as they do now. Future school teams will soon pay the same prices as the public, while also enjoying new warm showers. While some of these problems and complaints may delay the design concepts for a while, swimmers are hopeful that the renovations are on schedule start on time. It may be inconvenient now- but in the end- the two new beautifully renovated pools will be very worth it. Amber Swanson is a member of the CHS journalism class.
Mats Su Gazette
December 2017
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FEATURE
Wes Keller Takes Time to Reflect Former Representative looks back on service Christine Sanderson MAT SU CENTRAL
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en years ago Wes Keller began the journey of becoming an Alaska State Representative. Now, in his first year of retirement, the former representative reflects on the journey and his years in the Legislature. “Even though the legislature has less power than most Sstates, and you are one vote out of sixty, I felt I should try and make things better,” former representative Wes Keller said of his decision to run for office in 2007. Keller oversaw District 10, which includes the Susitna River drainage and Wasilla, Alaska. David Eastman now serves as District 10’s Representative. Keller felt, even with the checked power of the legislature, he made enough successes to feel fulfilled. He knows for certain he learned more of the values of the U.S. Constitution while he was in office. Looking back on his years of service, two of Keller’s proudest accomplishment’s were bills HB 156 & HB 348/SB 306. HB 156 allowed school districts exemptions on state testing. It took joint effort from both the House and the Senate to get the bill through. It also made sure teachers and curriculum are qualified and transparent to parents. HB 156 allows a parent the right to direct the education of a child.
Former Alaska State Representative Wes Keller enjoys his retirement on his boat on Big Lake. Mr. Keller served 10 years as a representative. This was his first year of retired service. “For home school families having Another bill Keller is proud of is islature you have to fight for the key to do state testing messed things up Bill HB 348/SB 306. This bill pre- positions,” Keller said. for the other children in the family. vented out of state groups from runKeller was Chair of Judiciary, EdWhen you have to drive one child to ning an initiative in Alaska on Alas- ucation, CACFA (Citizens Advisory testing it then suspends instruction ka game management. Council of Federal Areas), Health for the other children and there's no “Out-of-state hunting restriction and Social Services, and Justice learning happening,” Mat Su Central ballot initiatives ceased. And there Committee. Keller was also a memPrincipal Brown said about HB 156. have been none since,” Keller said. ber of Alaska Health Commission “I knew someone in the house One bill Keller wished had gone and Co-Chair of State of Affairs. who thought similarly. We [Keller through, but failed, was bill HB 30. “The biggest challenge was hanand Dunleavy] worked together to Keller was unsuccessful in con- dling the conflicts of being a public get some bills through,” fellow legis- vincing the majority of the impor- servant: it took three tries to get the lator Senator Dunleavy said. tance of teaching students what the one vote needed to pass. One vote “We wouldn’t have the home founding fathers believed. can be critical,” the former represenschool program we have today withLocal school boards approve tative said. out people like Wes Keller, “ Princi- school district curriculum. While Sometimes problems weren’t pal Brown said. state government mandates are few solved. When it came to a yes or no and typically general, Keller’s pro- vote, Keller had to learn agreement posed HB 30 was specific: Schools is not an essential part of a relation‘must teach history including what ship. Sometimes the best thing to do our founders believed.’ is agree to disagree. “No coercion on what students “To the best of my abilities, I look should believe - just awareness of to my values. It’s the constituents’ job founders values. I believe America is to pick people who represent them in danger if we do not even under- well and by faith,” Keller said. stand the basis of our freedom, so it Now that Keller is retired, he was worth doing a specific mandate,” spends his time writing editorials for Keller noted, “I did not succeed in The People's paper, enjoying family convincing a majority that HB30 time, and continuing projects that was as important as I think it is.” were put on the shelf. Some of these HB30 took four years trying to projects include a retirement home work its way through the legislative and building a 1930 Model A pickup. process and ultimately failed to pass. “I feel lots of relief, lots of free“The heartwarming part was dom, and time is my own,” Keller when the very dedicated students said. and teachers knew the values very Christine Sanderson is a senior at Mat well,” Keller said. The two most significant chal- Su Central and first year journalism Alaska State Representative Wes Keller is shown arguing in favor of lenges Keller found while in office student. eliiminating daylight savings time in Alaska in 2015. Mr. Keller is most were fighting for key positions and proud of the work he did to help parents direct the education of their the conflicts between legislators. children. (Photo by Skip Grey /360 North) “Every time you have a new leg-
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Mat Su Gazette
FEATURE
Alaska Grown Engineers with ANSEP Janee Wilson - WASILLA
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TEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.STEM workers use their knowledge to understand the world around them and problem solve. With the age of technology growing rapidly the demand for people with the ability to do these jobs have increased. Some STEM jobs include being a civil engineer, web developer, IT manager and a software developer. STEM workers are also less likely to experience joblessness than their non-STEM counterparts. In 2010, there were 7.6 million STEM workers in the United States, representing about 1 in 18 workers. Consequently, the importance of school programs that prepare students for these jobs is pertinent. ANSEP (the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program) was founded in in 1995 by Herb Schroeder. While doing research for Ted Stevens in rural Alaska in sanitation issues, Schroeder saw that there was a lack of Alaska Native stem professionals. He then looked at data from UAA and saw that there were a small
amount of Alaska Natives receiving engineering degrees. So, Schroder in partnership with UAA and the Mat-Su School District decided to work together and change the stats with the ANSEP Accelerated High School. ANSEP itself has over 70 funding sources. The majority of funds are philanthropic or private funding. Funding for the ANSEP Accelerated High School comes from the Mat-Su School District’s Federal Programs and also UAA. ANSEP originated as a scholarship program providing scholarships to Alaska Native students pursuing engineering degrees. “Our goal is to increase the amount of Alaska Native and American Indian professionals in the STEM field,” pre-college director Josephine Mattison said. Scholarship applications are available at www.ansep.net. Last year, the ANSEP program was housed within Valley Pathways High. It had 27 students and two teachers. Assistant Federal Program Director Meghan McCarthy-Grant said continued on page 12
December 2017
Hope Throug
ANSEP students Tyler Terwilliger, Kasen Callison, Jonathon Andrews and Angel Ja in teh ANSEP Acceleratied High School located at Career Technical High School in Alaska Native students pursuing engineering degrees. Though Alaska Natives make ing and STEM fields. ANSEP was designed to change that.
Welding Smooths the Pa laying beads to the real world Leiah Rusher - HOUSTON
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Katherine Sakeagak smiles underneath the ANSEP symbol at the Accelerated High School housed at Career Technical High School in Wasilla. Katherine is a junior in the ANSEP program.
eart, effort, and teamwork. Everyday the welding students of Houston High arrive at the Houston Middle school to have just that. The students’ determination reflects in their projects. Mr. Parker, HHS Welding teacher for the past six years, connects the hard working students to their future careers, via skills learned in his class. This could not be possible without cooperation between staff, students, and the community. Parker and his classes help the school by making a myriad of items for classroom projects; they can weld just about anything a teacher asks for. “My favorite definitely has to be Mr. Hall’s trebuchet because we incorporated mathematics and science into the students’ learning, as well as welding,” Parker said. Science teacher Steve Hall continues to use the trebuchet to this day. Every August, he teaches his science classes about measuring mass, in particular the mass of rocks, and catapults them to great distances.
Recently, the welding classes have made and sold firepits to support their Skills USA Welding Team. This year they made the most “patriotic/state-riotic” yet. They have a couple of “USA/ AK” firepits that are “sure to wow your friends and family for years to come,” Parker said of his classes’ work. They sell for $150 each. Not only do the teachers appreciate seeing and being able to use projects students have worked so hard on, the students themselves devote much time to creating pieces in the class. The welding students are serious about making it to state at this year’s Skills USA competition. Several students donated materials to make ice fishing or hunting camp ‘rim stoves,’ sold for $35-$50. The stoves are versatile: users can burn wood in them, or put pans on top. Senior Sterling Buntin said, “Let’s try to sell them for $50 each, to get me to state.” Chris Miller, senior welder stated “Making damascus steel (a tough metal often used for knives or swords) was my favorite,” even though Miller also
Mats Su Gazette
December 2017
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FEATURE
gh Education Summit Learning comes to BHS Janee Wilson - WASILLA
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ack work collaboratively on a hydraulics project during class. The boys are enrolled n Wasilla. ANSEP originated as a scholarship program providing scholarships to e up 15 percent of Alaska’s population, only six percent were joining the engineer-
he mission statement for Burchell High hangs in the front foyer by the office “To provide hope through education”. The Burchell Wolf ’s mission started the journey toward Summit Learning and personalized learning for the 203 students in this school of choice in the Mat Su. Burchell is divided into two pathways, Advance Path, and the Core Path. Advance Path is a credit recovery program that relies on APEX learning. The Core Path is personalized and project-based using the Summit Learning Platform. It’s the mission statement of hope that motivated Principal Jason Marvel and Assistant Principal Shelli Lincoln to venture into the future of education with Summit Learning. “We looked at Summit Learning because it’s a personal learning platform that can be worked around students individual needs”, Lincoln said. By using Summit, Burchell ensures that students get the help that they need while raising the bar of what is expected from students. Burchell High has a long history in the Valley as the original alternative high school. It started under the
leadership of Peter Burchell in 1988 in a portable behind Wasilla High School. The intent then was to serve the high school dropout with an opportunity to graduate and be employable. That sense of purpose still exists within the halls of Burchell, but the student population has changed with the times. Freshmen are now able to attend Burchell without having to have failed first at a comprehensive high school. Although Burchell experiences a 100 percent transfer rate and is a Title I high school, it is also home to families of students who have generations of Burchell graduates in their lives. Last year Burchell became a designated Trauma Sensitive campus. Trauma Sensitive schools are trained to respond in a compassionate and predictable manner for students who have experienced trauma in their lives. This includes a “wrap around service” set-up within the school: breakfast and lunch, a Families in Transition office on site, a substance abuse counselor on site, and the Haven. Project AWARE Counselor Susan Steele provides a safe quiet place for continued on page 15
ath for Student Success referred to it as a ‘pain’. To create these intricate projects, students must sacrifice an often chilly walk to the Middle School. However, putting up with the stroll every 1st through 3rd, and 6th through 7th period is worth it for the students who appreciate the $200,000 lab, built eight years ago. Theses devoted students don’t take it for granted and see the class as important either for a career, making something for the school, or just as a hobby. These skills will be important for their futures and are fun. “I’m always looking forward to the next project, I don’t always know what we’re going to do next week, but I know it’s gonna be fun and a great learning experience” Parker said UAA hosts a welding competition where students prove their welding skills, to not only the community, but colleges as well. Students compete in stick welding, wire feed welding, and tig welding. Participants are required to set up, clean up and follow plans by cutting or putting together materials exactly how the plans are shown. Students
are judged upon effective placement of welds, the quality of their welds, and their ability to read plans. Essentially, they demonstrate all the skills welders need in a professional metal welding shop. Welders are carefully judged; one competition even lasted 12 hours.w Jay Todd plans on classes at AV Tech as recommended by Mr. Parker. “I would prefer to see them [students from Alaska] going local either to Northern Industrial training or down to Av Tech in Seward.” Mr.Parker invites trade schools to come in and speak once or twice a year, depending on interest. According to Parker, in order to become ‘job ready’ in specific welding careers, it is better to go to a trade school after high school. Most schools help welders get hired as soon as they’re finished with the program. If students earn scholarships, they are able to apply them to AV Tech and Northern Industrial. continued on page 12
Burchell High teachers Sabrina Johns leads her mentor group with games during her 1:1 mentoring time. Summit Learning has three pillars: projects, focus areas, and 1:1 mentoring. Each week students have personalized learning time to complete focus learning areas and meet with their mentees to check with progress and goals.
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December 2017
NEWS
Alaska Grown continued from pg 10 that the program was aligned with Career Technical High because of its population size, the common goal and the space Career Tech provides. “I like that we have fewer classes that are longer and we have our own little community. Working in groups with people I’m familiar with really helps my school work get done,” ANSEP junior Katherine Sakeagak said. Mat- Su teacher and ANSEP instructor Jenny Barnes said she likes the ANSEP saying, ‘We succeed.’ Barnes is the only Mat-Su teacher on the ANSEP staff. In the morning she teaches CS50 to ANSEP students as an ANSEP teacher and in the afternoon she teaches Algebra II and computer science CS50 to as a regular MSBSD instructor. Barnes said that STEM degree holders enjoy higher earnings, regardless of whether they work in STEM or non-STEM occupations. And this too can assist rural Alaska, a subject Barnes is particularly attached. She worked seven years in the rural village of Kokhanok in the Lake and Peninsula School District. Barnes is impressed with the amount of autonomy the students have in ANSEP. “The students have to choose to be responsible for the program and that builds a lot of ma-
turity.” Not only do the students gain in maturity they earn double creditsfor high school credit and university credit. UAA professor and ANSEP Matthew Gho started his career first as a teacher at West High in Anchorage for nine years teaching math. From there he advanced his degree and began working as an adjunct professor at UAA and high school ANSEP students. “I enjoy teaching my content but I also enjoy educating Alaska native more about their cultural history. Something that they don’t always get in the public school system,” Gho said. ANSEP works to benefit Alaska by preparing students to enter the University. This is important because STEM occupations are projected to grow by 17.0 percent from 2008 to 2018. And, on top of that, STEM workers command higher wages, earning 26 percent more than their non-STEM counterparts. “It’s not only good for your education as a high school student, but it also prepares you for where you want to be in the future,” Sakeagak said. Janee Wilson is a senior and Journalism III student at Wasilla High.
Houston Hawk senior Patrick Wilson welds two pipes together in his 2nd period welding class. (Photo by Isaiah John Epperson)
Welding Smooths the Path continued from page 12 Both places have their own benefits: Northern Industrial has a certified welding inspector on site, and Av Tech has an instructor who has held a 100% pass rate throughout his career teaching welding. Some schools like AV Tech and Northern Industrial often brag that businesses and employers beat down their doors trying to get these young people hired as soon as they have fin-
ished two to three certifications. The welding class has been very important and much appreciated by students and staff alike since the school first started offering the class 30 years ago. “This is the best job I’ve ever had,” Parker said.
do try to understand that boys need to move around more than girls. I think the rolling chairs, the couches, and the high tables so they can stand help,” she said. Wasilla’s boys are not evenly spread across the grade levels. The freshman class has 58 percent males, the sophomore class 65 percent males, 51 percent boys in the junior class and 56 percent senior males. English teacher Amber Rinella notices the difference not so much as per grade level as she does per course subject. “Due to the nature of the classes I teach, I have quite a discrepancy in gender. My advanced classes are largely female dominant. My non-advanced classes are more male dominant.” Rinella said she needed to instruct differently and have different sensitivities for each class. Overall, having more boys in class has not affected Rinella’s teaching techniques specifically, but she takes breaks to remind the class to focus on the topic. “The biggest issue overall with my male dominant classes is that they tend to have a more blurt-out-what-
you-think-without-actually-thinking. They seem to remind me most of social media, any time you throw something out there you get a whole bunch of verbal likes, dislikes, and emojis all at once. As a teacher, I value open conversations and a verbally engaged class as long as the class stays on topic, and the males seem to have trouble keeping on topic and moving forward,” Rinella said. If the teachers seem to notice the off balance, senior Jackson Stanley takes the discrepancy in stride. “In terms of class impact, I would say that it does have a slight effect. Because girls tend to be more behaved and mature than boys. In the sense of curricular advancement, I do not see an effect on the ratio of males per class to the pace that we learn. For me, specifically, it was never an issue to my education.” But then again, Jackson is just one of the many boys. As the district moves toward more choice schools, increasing gender segregation may be an unintended result.
Leiah Rusher is s journalism student at Houston High
Enrollment Favors Boys in Comprehensive High Schools continued from page 5
Raska may be correct in that the higher academic courses tend to have more females. The 2017 program summary for Alaska with the Advanced Placement (AP) CollegeBoard, 462 more girls take AP exams than boys, a 13 percent difference. The nationwide ratio is the same for girls occupying AP courses. Wasilla High also has a 13 percent tilt toward more girls in AP courses than males. It’s a toss-up to determine if a male-dominated school influences the types of discipline referrals. At WHS, Assistant Principal Jeff Nelles said that while out of school suspensions are up this year, he couldn’t say it was due to having more boys than girls. Nelles pointed out that a school’s suspensions often reflect the surrounding community’s problems. An increase of drug use in the Valley can mean an increase of illegal substance suspensions in a school. “Yes, we have more boy suspensions, but I hate to say that is just because we have more boys. We are very careful to try to get to the root of the behavior before we suspend anyone, and each case is different.” Down the road from Wasilla
High, female-dominated Burchell High has seen a slight decrease in suspensions. It is close to an even split between boys and girls out of school suspensions. Although this data collected leads to assumptions, there is no proven correlation. Anecdotally though teachers at WHS notice the change in gender populations. US History teacher Glenn Nelson said, “I have noticed more males around the halls and in class. However, I have not had such an inequality to affect my classroom techniques or planning. I will point out that I have heard an increase of foul language throughout the halls, but not from any specific gender.” APEX mentor and teacher Breezy Beebe said, “Well, yes obviously. When you look at our school-wide count we are almost 3:1 heavy with boys over girls. So naturally, we feel boy heavy.” Beebe teaches in a Cyber Center where all classes are done online. They’re ‘taught’ and graded by a virtual teacher and managed by Beebe, their mentor teacher. Her classroom is set up more like an online cafe than a traditional classroom of desks. “I
Matt Megler is a senior at Wasilla High. This is his second year working with broadcast journalism.
Mats Su Gazette
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December 2017
TOGETHER WE CAN END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT
Frank Slather, Burchell High School
www.nomore.org NoMoreMatSuAK@gmail.com @NoMoreMatSu
XNLV362096
Domestic violence and sexual assault can happen to anyone, anywhere. And it’s never the victim’s fault. It’s time we all speak out to stop the violence. #NoMoreButHeIsSuchANiceGuy #I’llSaySomethingNextTime #NotInMySchool #NoMoreMatSu
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Mat Su Gazette
December 2017
NEWS
Climbers ROCK-ON at Gym continued from page 6
Competition Team member, Conner Tolstrup, gets ready to jump down to the mats after completing a route. At a Competition team practice, It took Conner one attempt to climb his way to the top of the Boulder wall inside the difficult cave. Photo by Christine Sanderson. The Rock-On Climbing Gym opened in December of 2013, Lund’s dream of a local full service rock gym is finally coming true. But, Lund knew that opening the rock gym was only the first step in owning a business, afterward came the everyday hardships of owning and running a business. Cole saw a need for a community rock gym. Climbers had to drive all the way to Anchorage for a full service rock gym. So, Lund decided he would do everything in his power to make a rock gym option in Wasilla happen. First, Lund sold much of his personal property when he wasn’t able to qualify for a loan. He then invest-
ed money from his retirement fund, and put all the money that he could from his earnings working in construction into the rock gym. Finally, in 2011, after years of hard work, Lund found space to lease that was perfect for his business. From then on Lund knew his hard work would pay off and his dream would come true. “Get after it or quit,” Lund said about what it took to get the climbing gym off the ground and on the pitch. Today, the rock gym has much more to offer than it did in the early days of opening, from a 35-foot tall climbing wall to weekly yoga classes. The rock gym has a cardio and
weight training area, a gym, slacklines, and a bouldering wall. Also, the rock gym offers birthday parties and supervises field trips. Recently, the gym has added a homeschool program, and after school activities for a recreational climbing team and a competition team. The Rock-On Climbing competition team started with only three members and has tripled that amount in short order. Cole started the competition team because he wanted to help mentor the next generation of climbers and show young climbers the benefit of teamwork. Now, the team competes across the state. Within the climbing team he has
helped create a family of climbers who work together and bring out the best in each other. The team has two competitions coming up, January 6th at the Rock-On Climbing Gym and January 27th at the Anchorage Rock Gym. This will end the bouldering competition series. The team is also organizing a trip to the Lower 48 for some outdoor climbing experiences and team building. Competition team member Jesse Jensen has been climbing since the age of nine. She was roped into the sport by her older brother, but has since then come to love climbing on her own terms. Her favorite thing about climbing is the opportunity to push herself and see results. She loves the atmosphere at Rock On. “Everyone is super welcoming and helpful, and they really push you to climb harder,” Jesse said. Jesse would “absolutely” recommend climbing as a sport to someone looking for an activity. She said climbing is a challenge both physically and mentally, and a great workout and a sport for everyone. “There isn’t just one “type” of rock climber, if you go into any rock gym you will see some kids climbing just as well as full grown bodybuilders.” Jesse said. Cole Lund’s climbing team and rock gym helps climbers just like Jesse reach great heights in their climbing ability and personal endurance. The same will that takes him up a rock wall pulled him through what seemed like insurmountable difficulties and made the gym possible. “It took incredible stubbornness,” Lund said.
Lily Foss is a journalism student at Mat Su Central School
Mats Su Gazette
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December 2017
NEWS
Summit Learning comes to BHS continued from page 11
students. Ms. Steele provides counseling and helps the students decompress so they return to class ready to work. “She [Steele] has saved a lot of students lives just with interventions and having students talk to her about bigger issues,” Lincoln said, “We picked Summit Learning because it evens the playing field for students.” Since Burchell is a smaller school, it’s easier to keep track of students and effectively give students the opportunity to spend time there. Burchell’s graduation rate doubled between 2015 - 2017. Building off of this success, Marvel and Lincoln moved to make sure that Burchell not only offered Trauma Sensitive assistance, but a diploma that includes deeper learning and the habits of success. That is when they found Summit Learning. “If we don’t have a strong curriculum behind our diploma, and we send students out into the world with the diploma, then they can’t compete with students from Wasilla or Colony,” Lincoln said. Summit was founded in 2003 in California. In 2012 Summit Learning showed that 55% of their inaugural class would graduate from college within six years. The Chan Zuckerberg Foundation was motivated by these statistics and invested in the Summit Learning platform in 2014. Three years later Summit Learning is in 40 states, 300 schools and serves 56,000 students across the nation. Burchell High is the only school in Alaska to offer personalized learning through Summit Learning. The Zuckerberg Foundation funds all of the costs and training for Summit Learning except hardware and staffing. “Last summer our entire staff went to Spokane for free training. Summit paid for the flights, hotel, and meals for the entire staff,” Lincoln said. However, despite the definite benefits that come with using Summit Learning, along with change comes resistance. Students, mostly upperclassmen, have had trouble adjusting to Summit because it requires them to learn more material on their own and holds them responsible more than in past years of school. And out of frustration or maybe fear of failure, a student may refuse to do their work altogether. “A lot of the students who are shutting down didn’t have great habits last year. Our approach is to teach them a growth mindset. It introduces a work ethic that they haven’t been challenged with yet,” Lincoln said. Summit shows the student that hard work is a must in order to learn the material. But it also helps students know they are capable and smart enough to learn. Freshman Louise Eaton said that she believed that Summit is easy if a student is willing to sit down and get their work done. “ All through middle school, I was failing just about every class, now I`m getting A’s and B’s,” Eaton said.
“A GOOD DAY TO BE A BHS WOLF”
Louise Easton (right) and Gunnar Snow work on the English Summit Platform during PLT learning time.
Kenny Morawtitz and ‘Tex” Tristan King work with robotics in the BHS media room during a break.
Freshman Daisy Beers works with Mr. Clark studying for her Figurative Language Content Assessment.
Summit, like most new things, is challenging and confusing at first but students who get through the beginning phases of Summit usually take to it well. Sophomore Becky Sutton said she thinks the projects are more involving. “At my old schools, it was just a project that you put together on your own and turned it in all at once at the end. Here it is a lot of working together and turning it in at steps.” Sutton also is a member of the Colony High School marching band. From February to November, she attended Burchell in the morning and go to CHS in the afternoon. Summit Learning is like a four-legged stool. It focuses on four outcomes: projects that build cognitive skills, focus areas with content knowledge, habits of success and sense of purpose. Three pillars, project time, personal learning time and 1:1 mentoring support the students learning and personal growth. Each student in Summit Learning has a teacher mentor they meet with weekly to review goals and progress. The mentors are assigned to the student for all four years of high school. Project time is where students work on the cognitive skills in a project during class time. Personal learning time is for work on focus content area playlists. Students are expected to keep up with their assignments by staying in front of the ‘blue line’ that measuring their yearlong progres. Assignments turn red or green to show completion. Since there is only one final grade, the goal is to “chase the blue line” and stay caught up. Although the platform for Summit is online, many projects are done on paper, unlike programs like APEX. As for the teachers, Summit has also impacted the way teachers teach and prepare lessons. US History teacher Sabrina Johns said that Summit helps students figure out what helps them learn in whatever way is best for them. “I’m teaching them how to learn because I’m not always going to teach them everything,” Johns said. Math teacher Kristie Harper said Summit helps her plan her lessons around what the students know and what they need to learn. “It’s made teaching more fun and exciting because there is something for everybody to do every day,” Harper said. It’s not easy to bring this type of change in a school, so why risk such a change? “I want to see more of our students go to college, so part of that is believing that they can. Students who graduate from a Summit school have 93 percent higher chance of completing college,” Lincoln said. Lincoln said although the student body at Burchell may face a lot of obstacles, the goal is to not give up and help students succeed. “Because,” she said, ”we know the hope we can provide is through education.” Janee Wilson is a Journalism III student at WHS.
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Mat Su Gazette
December 2017
TRENDS
LulaRoe Wears “I believe in you” Valley Theatre Expands Bronsen Stewart - COLONY
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Rosabella Cebrian MAT-SU CENTRAL
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ulaRoe, a multi-level cloth-
ing company founded in 2013, is one of the fastest growing apparel brands in the U.S., making more than $ 1.3 billion in annual sales in just four years. It is a modest, unique clothing line created by a mom of 14, DeAnne Stidham. Now LulaRoe sells their popular 'buttery soft' leggings, skirts, dresses, and shirts in all 50 states. LulaRoe founder DeAnne Stidham wanted a way to provide people the opportunity and freedom of selling clothing while giving retailers the power of setting their own pace and schedule so that they could spend time with family and, at the same time, provide for themselves. Stidham also worked to inspire and motivate independent fashion retailers to one day own their own business. “I wanted to help other people succeed,” DeAnne speaking in a video interview found on the LulaRoe website, “It was an opportunity to spread her love of clothes.” LulaRoe originated in Corona, California when DeAnne Stidham’s daughter shopped at a second-hand store and asked her mother to alter a skirt to make it several sizes smaller. DeAnne declined and instead gave her daughter a pattern to make it herself. DeAnne sewed a maxi skirt together, and her daughter showed it off. Before DeAnne knew it, many of her daughter’s friends had requested a maxi skirt. By the time DeAnne was finished with the orders, she had made over
50 skirts. After the skirts sold, she realized she had made more money than she thought possible. Her husband, Mark Stidham, encouraged DeAnne to start her own company, believing if she did, she would succeed. DeAnne named her company LulaRoe after her three grandchildren Lucy, Lola, and Monroe. LulaRoe keeps its promises of helping others. Vanessa Moody’s, a local retailer of Wasilla, life changed after she became a retailer. Vanessa became a retailer because she believed in DeAnne’s dream for her retailers to create their own business. She has run different businesses such as other clothing businesses and even a photography business. As a mom of two, Vanessa Moody loves the way LulaRoe keeps their promises of giving her precious time to spend time with her family. “I joined [LulaRoe] just about two years ago. I was unhappy with my appearance and pretty much lived in jeans and sweatshirts. I got one dress and that started the addiction to the comfortable and amazing dress. I got complimented on it everywhere! I felt so good in the clothes and people told me daily that I looked good, so that helped. I decided that Lularoe was a company I wanted to be a part of because it changes lives through fashion,” Vanessa said. Vanessa Moody-as a retailer with over 90 followers- finds this true and sells several collections from LulaRoe. She mainly sells her products on Facebook with parties on Wednesdays. However, anyone can schedule an Online Boutique or an At-Home Boutique with her. Vanessa loves working with customers and
will continue to work for Lularoe. LulaRoe’s one-of-a-kind fabric is manufactured in countries such as Korea, Mexico, Guatemala, Vietnam, and even the United States. Their fabric is made of recycled textile wastes. This act, called Recover, produces Recover cotton fiber in many colors. Recovering clothing scraps and old unwanted clothes are collected and sorted to create new, safe, fashionable, comfortable clothing. Upcycling minimizes the demand for dye-processing, water use, chemicals and pesticides, and power. They end up saving 42 billion liters of water each year and use solar power to recycle and spin yarn. LulaRoe specializes in unique designs. Each fresh design is printed onto high-quality fabrics and sewn into about 5000 garments. Then these garments are split between several styles XXS-3XL. For example, if 2500 pieces are cut into eight sizes per style, that is about 312 a size. Finally, these are divided between LulaRoe’s 80,000+ retailers across the US. So that way, prints can be very rare. When a LulaRoe promoter signs up with the help of a local retailer, up-lines and teams from the corporation are there to help and support their sales. Unlike other direct sales clothing companies, a competitive environment isn’t struck between the LuLaRoe retailers. While they may seem as competitors to other people, the retailer and LulaRoe business owner work more like sisters with each other. LulaRoe promises to changes lives through fashion, and for Vanessa, it has been the perfect clothing company. LulaRoe’s mission “I believe in you and you can do it” helped Vanessa discover her dream of owning her own business in fashion. Rosabella Cebrian is a sophomore at Mat-Su Central and a journalism student.
heater in the Mat-Su Valley is expanding and reaching out to more theatre companies. Triumvirate Theatre is the newest addition to the Valley’s long-standing theatre groups, the Valley Performing Arts and the Palmer Arts Council. AJ Seims from Triumvirate Theatre is the new kid in town using the Glenn Massey Theater at the Mat Su College. Currently, Seims is directing “Les Miserables”, Victor Hugo’s tale of the French revolution. Seims said, “I just want to provide the best quality production possible. One that I can be pleased with and will make the Valley folks wanting more. I am thrilled to see the excitement growing in the Valley.” Long-time veteran of Mat-Su theatre writer and director Grant Olson has recently written an original musical, “Il Magnifico”, premiering at the Glenn Massey Theater next August. “Il Magnifico” is a show about the life and violent times of Lorenzo the Magnificent, the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of the Renaissance. Olson recently directed “Oklahoma” at Wasilla High School and “Thoroughly Modern Millie” at Palmer High School. Community members can watch the plays, and they can also audition for shows and be a part of the theatre experience. The theatre industry depends heavily on the community for sponsors, actors, backstage workers, venues, and so much more. Producing plays and musicals requires tremendous support from the community members auditioning for productions, coming and seeing productions, and sponsoring the production or donating money. Without support from the community and business sponsors, theatre companies would have an extremely difficult time bringing productions to the stage for the Mat-Su Valley to enjoy. Some upcoming productions in the Mat-Su Valley are “Les Miserables” at the Glenn Massey Theater and “The Three Musketeers” at the Colony High School Theater, both in February of 2018. Valley Performing will also be performing “Mary Poppins” at the Glenn Massey Theater in April. Bronsen Stewart is a musical theatre student at Colony High
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December 2017
TOGETHER WE CAN END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT
Domestic violence and sexual assault can happen to anyone, anywhere. And it’s never the victim’s fault. It’s time we all speak out to stop the violence.
Kiley Nagel, Wasilla High School
www.nomore.org NoMoreMatSuAK@gmail.com @NoMoreMatSu
XNLV362083
#NoMoreWellWhatWasSheWearing #NoMoreSheWasAskingForIt #NoMoreAtMySchool #NoMoreMatSu
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Mat Su Gazette
December 2017
CREATIVE THOUGHTS Poetry from Palmer High Creative Writing
Art
Shaleen Tolbert Art is something bigger than most people seem to comprehend. When I think about art, I think of a pathway; an escape from a bad feeling or an entrance to a good feeling. Is it possible that a human could do that? Yeah. You can talk to someone about what is bothering you, but they will never understand you the way the canvas understands a paint brush’s every stroke. A person can judge you, misunderstand you, and underestimate you. But art? Art will simply accept you because you are its creator. Do you feel where I am coming from? When you are screaming your feelings out onto that canvas, it all flows out so peacefully as if it where the ocean on a calm summer morning. Not the way your heart flutters and floods with butterflies as you try to pour out your emotions into someone. It seems as my one true love really is Art. Now as you sit there and glide your pencil, crayon, marker, or whatever you desire across the canvas of your heart. Remember that art is never out to get you, just there to love and accept you. -Peaceful Picasso
Thoughts by Molly Wells
She sits, Lost in thoughts. Pondering about the future She stares at the rapids rushing through the rocks. Time goes by fast like, ice melting off the glaciers. She sits wondering what she wants to be; where she wants to go; why she is where she is. But all she can do is smile. For she knows the future is unpredictable.
Houston’s AP Chemestry continued from page 6
“I understand why the AP students are mostly stressed out; there are a lot of things that can go wrong. We had two busted trials before we got one good one,” Nate Hutchinson, visiting Chemistry I student, said. Mr Hall orchestrates events to coordinate with related days on the calendar. His goal is to spark interest in students, in hopes to maintain a good AP class size for the years to come. Apart of this journey into shaping AP students, Mr Hall celebrates Mole Day, celebrated on the 23 of October, which introduces Avogadro's number (6.02 x 1023) to all of the younger chemistry students. “Days like these get me super pumped for chemistry, making me want to try AP,” Hendrick said. Although the work is challenging, Mr Hall always assures the students that it’s doable, and very beneficial to their future success. The ability to be consistent when it comes to labs, the strength to keep up with the rigorous pace, and the vast knowledge of the subject matter itself is required. “In AP chemistry, you need to be able to use time efficiently. It takes a lot of dedication to be able to keep up with the college level expectations,” Audrey Giddings, AP participant, said. AP Chemistry students have very few negatives to say about the class, although they face many challenges. In fact, the seven member class agrees that the class is definitely worth the trouble. “I enjoy the make-up of Chemistry, and it wasn't something I knew. It became an unseen passion because of Hall’s class,” dedicated AP student Morgan Buntin said.
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December 2017
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NEWS
Social Media Changes Art continued from page 5 continued from 19
David Pettibone paints his tree for the show “Year With A Tree” for the Anchorage Museum. Museum and gallery showing once were the best avenue for an artist, but now selling and advertising online changes the game for artists such as Pettibone. Many commenters are “trolls” and uneducated about art. Their negative commentary can ruin some talented careers. “Social media is a double edged sword, but I believe it’s important. In college and grad school, they don't tell you-or they didn't tell me-that if you want to be a full-time artist, you also likely need to be a full-time promoter and networker. Social media allows artists to sidestep the gallery and put their work out there to a larger population. But because of that, there is so much work out there [on social media], it's hard to
be seen,” Pettibone said. As Pettibone stated, the necessity for artists to have an online presence causes a huge amount of product on social media. Pew Research Center states that 99 percent of art organizations now use Facebook and 74 percent use Twitter to promote their artwork. Instagram’s platform has become more democratic to art and provides a way for art - crazy people to get an art education and emotional connection with artists individually. With the independence that social media offers, it also brings in
such a large pool of artists that it becomes harder to be recognized. This pool consists of every skill, every medium, and every artist around the world. That sounds great, but, it creates separate problems like unwanted competition and the threat of having your work stolen. Copyrights for personal art on social media tend to be treated more as a suggestion than law. In Carr’s career, he has had issues with people stealing his work and ideas. “The easy access the internet creates for creative work also results in a lot of theft and use without consent. It’s tough because there’s no way to avoid it. I don’t mind if someone uses my work and transforms it creatively in some way. Like an unauthorized collaboration. But I’m not a fan of those who take my illustrations and just slap my work on things to sell. I used to work hard finding and stopping illegitimate use of my creative property. But it’s a bit of a hopeless battle. If your work resonates and does well, it’ll get taken. So I just try not to stress about it. See the positive that it’s a messed up, upside down kind of compliment, “ Carr said. Teaching at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, Professor Honor Hall is enthusiastically optimistic for social media as a form of advertisement. “I think Instagram, Twitter, and increasingly social retail sites like Etsy can be lifeblood for an artist. With a following comes a dedicated collector-base,” Honor Hall said The collector base social media creates, Honor Hall said, gives art-
Service Clubs Work to Improve World Spencer Shirley - COLONY Colony High School students take great lengths to help the community. Colony hosts a number of service-oriented clubs aimed to do all that they can to better the lives of others. The goal of NHS is to provide a positive example for the school, and make a positive impact on society,Jaide Bosen, NHS president, and Colony High School Senior explained. People join NHS to get service opportunities but also to get recognition for doing them.dzThis year Key Club is helping raise money for the Empty Bowl Project.The Empty Bowl project’s goal is to help end hunger by giving food to those in need. NHS works to fundraise money for the Boys and Girls Club. They help struggling teens have hope and a safe environment. Rotary Interact collaborates with Wasilla Sunrise and Palmer Rotary
groups to help the community and around the world. [Key Club] provides an opportunity for involvement within the local community on a different level. People learn that what they do makes an impact on someone else’s life, explained Emily Hess, Key Club President and Colony High School Senior. Last year Key Club raised $1,000 for the Empty Bowl Project. Every year NHS raises money to help different support groups. They’ve raised money for groups ranging anywhere from the Valley Women’s Resource Shelter to the Boys and Girls club. Last year they raised $1500 for the Valley Women’s Resource Shelter. Rotary Interact raises money to support adult Rotary group projects. One of the groups they collaborate with- the Wasilla Sunrise grouphelps raise money to fight polio and diabetes, to promote literacy around the world, and to serve their local community.
[Being a part of Rotary Interact] makes people feel like they are making achange in the community, with the local projects you can see the impact they make and it makes an impact on the students because it gives them perspective on what they’ve done which is great for high school students,Ryan Chastain, Rotary Interact President and Colony High School senior said. Rotary Interact raised just about $3,000 for the Mayan Families Project, the Malawi Children’s Village, Women’s Shelter, and No More MatSu. For years high school students have contributed to helping the community. Students join service clubsto have the opportunities to serve the community but to also get the recognition of the efforts they put into helping our community, Bosen said. Spencer Shirley is a journalism student at Colony High.
ists a better chance to actually make money. If artists are trying to make a living through their art form, social media can be a perfect solution for those specializing in certain mediums, like Carr does. “I sell my work all over the world. None of them would even know I exist if it were not for social media. When I release a piece and it for whatever reason gets picked up by a big blogger. It can mean the difference between selling ten prints and selling a hundred prints. For example last year when I released a new print - I sold a good amount right away to fans, But when This isn’t Happiness posted it to their Tumblr - we sold out that night. It got thousands of likes and comments in a matter of hours,” Carr said. But it doesn’t always fit into someone's career as easily as Carr’s. For other successful artists, they are more profitable in their own community than online. “I think social media does benefit my career. But it is rarely ever direct. I've made a few small sales off of social media. It is mostly good for promotion,” Pettibone said. Professor Hall thinks social media has affected her art career and her teaching career positively. “I have sold work and connected with interested collectors/buyers through Instagram. Also, in terms of securing jobs in the teaching field, I think maintaining an active social media presence makes a person seem open, honest and accessible because they are presenting themselves and carrying on conversations in a transparent way. I think when you can connect with people, and when people feel they know you or can judge you as a normal, positive person online, then it helps you to advance in your career,” Hall said. Carr believes this online investment people make in the artist’s life is also connected in the selling and purchasing of people’s work. “I’ve found when I regularly post process photos and videos as I work on a particular etching or print, my followers become more invested and connected to the piece and ultimately it directly impacts the sales when I do release the print on my website,” Carr said. “The difference between documenting and sharing insight behind the scenes via social media or not is dramatic when it comes to the release and release day sales.” Junior Sally Carr and senior Christine Sanderson are journalism students from Mat Su Central School.
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December 2017