Lever Senior Edition May 2023

senior

The Lever Edition

MAY 2023

TEACHER TRIBUTE:

" Ms. Gunter is " Ms. Gunter is my favorite my favorite teacher. She has teacher. She has helped me so helped me so much in school much in school and in life in and in life in general. SHE'S general. SHE'S THE BEST! " - THE BEST! " -

Savanah Werner Savanah Werner

" Mr. Hagen, He's really funny

" Mr Hagen, He's really funny and his teaching style has and his teaching style has helped me take in information helped me take in information for the future. He talks about my for the future. He talks about my interests with me and checks interests with me and checks up on his students, He also up on his students, He also HAS HAS A COOL BAND! A COOL BAND! ""

- Scarlett Sullivan - Scarlett Sullivan

My favorite teacher My favorite teacher as Ms. Choi, and my as Ms. Choi, and my vorite memory with vorite memory with er was sharing mini er was sharing mini arbursts with her." arbursts with her."

- Amber Todd - Amber Todd

"Ms. Choi: I want her to know she’s helped "Ms. Choi: I want her to know she’s helped me through a lot more than she thinks me through a lot more than she thinks She became my go-to whenever I She became my go-to whenever I needed help, advice, or even just needed help, advice, or even just someone to vent to. She’s someone I will someone to vent to. She’s someone I will love and appreciate even after finishing love and appreciate even after finishing school." - Denise Luna school " - Denise Luna

"Ms Swankowski & Ms Cline are like "Ms Swankowski & Ms Cline are like my second moms. They are the my second moms. They are the most empathetic people in the most empathetic people in the room, always making sure everyone room, always making sure everyone is ok I don't think my senior year is ok. I don't think my senior year would have been as successful or would have been as successful or enjoyable as it was without them " - enjoyable as it was without them." -

-Ellie Zeitz -Ellie Zeitz

"Mrs. Swankowski: She's "Mrs. Swankowski: She's always helped me with my always helped me with my math and giving me the math and giving me the ability and place to rant about ability and place to rant about anything going on in my life, anything going on in my life, or in the world." or in the world."

- Aspen Clements - Aspen Clements

"My favorite teacher is Ms. Stevens. "My favorite teacher is Ms. Stevens. She introduced me to the Earth She introduced me to the Earth Sciences and inspired me to pursue Sciences and inspired me to pursue a career in Geosciences. I am proud a career in Geosciences. I am proud to say I will be majoring in to say I will be majoring in Geosciences at Colorado State Geosciences at Colorado State University Fort Collins! Thank you University Fort Collins! Thank you Ms. Stevens!" - Christian Pettigrew Ms. Stevens!" - Christian Pettigrew

By: Arianna Ledington

Mr.Ferguson

Most likely to eat while teaching

Staff Superlatives

Ms. Choi

Most Popular

Ms.Parence

Most Parent-Like

Ms. French

Most likely to be late to class

Ms. Cline

Most Caring

Mr. Hagen Biggest Coffee Addiction

Ms. Fletcher & Ms. Sweet Teacher look-alike

Mr. McNeil

Tells the most interesting stories

Ms Brooks

Most likely to be mistaken for a student

Mr Lewis

Best Dressed

Mr Lohmann

Best Joke Teller

Mr. McLeod

Most likely to watch TikTok during class

Mr. Joiner

Most likely to be remembered

Ms. Holm

Best Snacks

Ms.Stevens

Best words of advice

By: Jazlynn Moreno

Retiring Staff Of

Every year there is at least one teacher who retires from Palmer and most of the time students do not even realize it until the teacher is gone! This is our goodbye to them!

Ms. Parence has been teaching for 26 years and has impacted so many students. She teaches Senior English as well as Gradpoint. She says the relationships she has with students keeps her going!

Mrs. Disney has worked at Palmer for18 years. She loves Palmer students, who are the most tolerant and open-minded students she has ever worked with. She loves to laugh at their antics. and will miss the energy and joy they bring into her life.

Mr. Boyd has been teaching at Palmer since 2004. His favorite thing about teaching at Palmer was the friends he was able to work with and being able to teach his daughter Abri.

Ms. Parence

Mr. Boyd

Mrs. Disney

Student Body President

Takaya Montez De Oca

Over the past year, our Student Body President, Takaya Montez De Oca, has served this school, along with it's students and staff, dutifully and without fail. As Student Body President, Taka meets with Ms. Disney and the Alumni Association every month. And, through public speaking and consulting the Student Council, he represents the student body with pride.

In his four years here, Taka's favorite part of Palmer overall is the diversity, which is a topic very near and dear to his heart. He stated, "Diversity means being open-minded and allowing for other perspectives to be accounted for...I appreciate the different perspectives a diverse population can bring, and it can strengthen a student population and the learning experience to have that diverse population...It also helps you for the future and being comfortable around people who are different than you."

Although Taka loved all of his time at Palmer, he said Senior year was his favorite because of it being the culmination of a high school career, in addition to all the fun events and dances you get to attend. Taka would like to leave some lasting advice and insight, not just for those who are going into their Senior year, but those who have all of high school to look forward to. "High school is a learning experience and academics is secondary to your social development. Also learning to work with others, being humble, and listening to what others have to say is extremely important. And even if times are hard, there will be good times to balance them all. Don't be too hard on yourself and most of all, allow high school to be a time where you can learn to work well with others and enjoy life."

By: Ian Schriener

Taka was chosen by the Gazette Telegraph as one of Colorado Springs' "Best and Brightest "

Taka and fellow Stuco representative, Sam Bustillos.

Senior Student Council!

Favorite Memories!

"My favorite memories have been setting up dances because even though it is stressful sometimes, there is such a proud feeling that comes when you attend the dance later and get to experience all your hard work in full and see how everything turned out. I also love anytime we do fun things in class like games and cereal parties and celebrating after big events as a congratulations to us for completing it."

"Finishing Prom. It felt like such a victory and really pulled our Council together."

"As Juniors, we were responsible for planning Prom. It was a lot of work and we spent so long setting up the venue. After we finished setting up the night before, we all went out to dinner together and it was just so nice to take a break and hang out. "

Leaving Palmer

"I have mixed emotions about leaving StuCo as I have created many fun memories in the year and a half I was a member there, along with meeting some pretty amazing people along the way. I am definitely going to miss all of my sponsors past and present as they have not only helped me through this journey but also shaped me into who I am today as a leader and mentor."

I will miss lots of people. It's pretty emotional but I am just glad that it happened. I learned so much and I am ready to apply these lessons to the real world.

I’m going to miss everyone, they were a vital part of helping me through mental health battles and I have nothing bad to say about anyone

I will definitely miss my fellow Senior members; I've become such good friends with all of them and they've really made my senior year so much better. I'm also going to miss the sponsors They're all so great and encouraging. I love all of them!

By: Victoria Stewart

SWIM AND DIVE

Palmer's

ACE

Palmer took first in the CSML championships.

SCIENCE OLYMPIAD

The ACE Mentor team took first place, and went to Washington D.C.

Science Olympiad won 7th in regionals with a 3rd and 1st place finish in 2 events! They also placed 14th at state with a second-place finish in one event.

Senior Destinations!

Locations

University College Utrecht, Netherlands

Wesminster College Salt Lake City, Utah

Middlebury College, VT

CU Boulder

Aveda Institute Denver, Denver Colorado CU Denver

Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado

University of Portland

CU Boulder Hastings College

Purdue University

Colorado School of Mines

Readiness for college

"I'm so ready!"

"Excited but nervous about stepping into the unknown."

"I am excited to meet new people and try new things."

UCCS

"I'm feeling up to the task"

"Super excited to be going international! Though I little nervous about how far away I am going too!!"

"I am stoked about college in the sense that I will no longer be dependent on other people. However, I do have concerns about the level of difficulty."

"Better question, is college ready for me??"

"I am a bit nervous but am ready to finally experience the world by myself and be independent for once. "

By:VictoriaStewart

Destination Day

By Ian Schriener

Destination Day at Palmer is where Seniors go down to the library and make posters to celebrate their future and where they're going after high school. After they make these posters, the counseling office holds onto them until the senior send-off, where the seniors can display their goals and plans with pride for all of Palmer.

Class of 2023

TheNextChapter ofourlives .

Senior Superlatives

(As chosen by the Senior Class)

Best Hair (Boy)

Elijah Lacour

Best Hair (Girl)) Daisy Gonzalez

Most Quiet Valentina

Ballumbrosio

Class Clown

Namiah Williams

Best Dressed Matisse Conn-Parent

Teachers Pet

Braylon Joseph

MVP (sports)

Alyssa Trujillo

Biggest Gossip

Joshua Fields

By: Kiley Long

Most Changed

Isaiah Jahner

Biggest Drama

Queen

Andy Can

Most likely to argue with a teacher

Diamond Hawkins

Biggest Flirt

Jameer

Satchell

Most Artistic

Ashala Nicholson

Most Likely to Never be in Class Class of 2023

cheerleading experience

"I would describe my overall cheerleading high school experience in three words: tiring, dramatic, and exciting. Cheerleading definitely was one of my most tiring activities I did cheer all throughout high school but through all of that tiredness I learned about discipline and what it really means to work hard for something that you love There's nothing better than that tired feeling after a long game of cheering or a long assembly, It just feels like you really accomplish something big Dramatic, because everything you do in cheer will be dramatic whether it is your makeup, your dance moves, how loud your voice is or the way you and your teammates react with each other Exciting because it was always so exciting to walk onto the field knowing that you are the one that will be cheering on the team. There's nothing more exciting than knowing you get to hang out with your friends every single day after school at practice, and I just love the excitement of knowing that you ' re the focus of attention at any school event Overall I love cheer so much and I wouldn't change anything for the world I'm so grateful that I got to have these experiences the past four years!"

-Charlie Trujillo

-Emily

I'd say my general cheer experience was really fun, especially as a senior. I got to help and teach the new girls I would always look forward to learning new routines

Buckner

cheerleading experience

"My overall experience was fun, I learned so much and made new friends and have so many fun and memorable memories I also think I learned a lot about myself too. I liked that I got my exercise in and kept my grades in check Doing cheer was probably one of my favorite experiences in high school"

My goal as a first year cheer coach was to help with the team development, a love for cheerleading and to build a foundation for future success With dedication and hard work my hope was to help the team achieve great things both on and off the cheerleading mat.

The girls have worked so hard this year and have adjusted well to the change of coaches I

am so extremely proud of them and all they have done Coaching high school cheerleading has been an incredibly rewarding experience It allowed me to help these young athletes develop their skills and confidence, and to create lasting memories and friendships that will stay with them for years to come. I want to thank the Athletic Director, Mr Wilson and the business office for being so supportive and encouraging as we rebuilt this program.

-Coach Morgaan Pervis

-Daisy Gonzalez

2023

By: Jazlynn Moreno

Memories

" C h l o r i n e f r o m t h e p o o l "

" S w a m p C o o l e r s "

" R e s t a u r a n t s d o w n t o w n "

A Poem for the Seniors

287 students

640 days in 4 school years

4,480 hours in 4 School years. 268,800 minutes in 4 school years. That's where you started.

But then Covid happened Sophomore year, it put the whole world on pause. During the lockdown, you might've found yourself or you might've lost yourself. Now look, you made it to the end, there were a lot of bumps along the way, even if they were little You can be done But, will you be done? Will this be the end of your rollercoaster? Many would say "Yes, I'm free!" Others might stop and think, There are even some who have a plan for their life. But there is one thing in common with everyone... You wish you knew what you know now but when you were youngerIt might seem stupid but think about it..

Freshman year walking into the school for the first time, I bet you thought this was so far away. But here we are

And it's moving too fast to comprehend

It's okay to be nervous, It's okay to be scared about where your life is going

It's okay to be confused But don't let it stop you from living

We're young-We have a whole lifetime ahead of us, travel, get out of your comfort zone, skydive; go hike a volcano! It doesn't matter, but we live once. Use it. Have fun!

Written by: Jey Mutch

Palmer ' s Mascot

By Jey Mutch and Ms. Fletcher

In 1919, Palmer High School, then the Colorado Springs School, first adopted "Elmer" the English Bulldog as it's mascot. Elmer was a reflection of Queen Palmer's love of all things English. The first use of a Native American mascot for Colorado Springs High School appears in the 1923-24 yearbook. At this time, the mascot portrayed a "noble Indian warrior" in a full head-dress. Native American culture became very popular at the school, with local Boy Scout troop #12 "featuring ceremonial Indian pageants" and "imitating Indian tradition with dance, songs, and costumes." Ironically, while this was happening in Colorado Springs, in New Mexico, tribal governments had to defend Native American rights to use ceremonial dance and their children were not allowed to learn traditional ceremonies.

Up to this point, however inequitable the use of traditional dance and clothing by non-native people may be, the depiction of the Native American was respectful. All that changed in 1946, with the introduction of Eaglebeak, a caricature of an Indian, with an extremely large nose, a pot belly, a tendancy to misspell words, and foolish behavior. Sometimes Eaglebeak had a sneaky expression on his face. This perpetuated a stereotype of Native Americans that portrayed them as silly and unsophisticated, conniving and insincere.

Not all clubs at Colorado Springs High School used Eaglebeak. In 1967-1968, the B-squad cheerleader uniforms did not sport Eaglebeak. That year, Eaglebeak was noticably absent from the yearbook. In 1974, a student organization tried to change the school's mascot, as evidenced by a yearbook commentary:

“Eaglebeak was one of Palmer’s oldest traditions, a quarter of a century to be exact.... Times were changing for what was yet to be known, and Palmer wanted to stay current.

Eaglebeak wasn’t anything but offensive and poor taste anyhow....What actually did happen to that roaring Eaglebeak controversy that swept through? Did the silent majority that kept the minority on top all of a sudden speak up? Whatever the reason Eaglebeak was a stalemate.” Even so, Eaglebeak still had solid support from some school clubs and students and thus remained the mascot for Palmer High School well into the 1980s.

A complaint filed by Ned Locke in 1985 with the Colorado Civil Rights Division renewed the attack on Eaglebeak Despite protests from students at Palmer the school district retired Eaglebeak in 1987, opting for "Eaglebeak II,"a bald eagle Prominent Eaglebeak images disappeared from yearbooks starting in 1986, although images of the caricature still showed up in the background of pictures. After 1989, he disappeared completely. Alumni are still able to purchase memorabilia with the Eaglebeak caricature if desired. Sources:

Surviving High School

To get through high school you need some help. Here's how Palmer survived!

Created by Amilyana Ruiz

If it weren't for the supportive staff and helpful guidance counselors, I would not have made it through high school. It is because of their help and support that I was confident in taking on any challenge. With them here I knew that I always had people who I can count on and turn to. I will forever be grateful to them!!!

The one person that kept me standing until now is my friends. when i was having a bad day they was there for me. They listened to my problems and was just there for me when it felt like i had nobody else.

headphones and books, it made class and homework bearable and made the time go by.

The person I couldn't get through high school without is Phillip because he helped me keep calm and help me with my school work.

My mom, she really helped me get through covid

my cat henry. he is so cute

My brother, he was the one that motivates me to do my work and pass my classes!

ZODIAC HOROSCOPES

Your fiery personality will let a new experience occur in your life Such as a new car, moving out of state, or beginning a new adventure.. Just remember not to be to careless with your actions

Stay open for new opportunities who knows what it may lead to a new friendship, or maybe something more Don't forget about your friends if things start blossoming in your love life.

Try to stay out of drama that doesn't concern you even if its your friends. Take some time for your mental health as well & not prioritize work A night in can clear your mind

As an earth sign you are determined to meet your goals. However, take some time for yourself you'll feel more recharged in the end

Take time for self care but don't forget your social life. Take time to hang out with friends or go on that special date

You may be busy with work or school Don't forget to check in with those around you it will go a long way

You may be presented with an opportunity to travel Let loose and go on that adventure and try to relax a little.

Whatever exam you were worried about, you got this New opportunities are on the horizon. You'll be acknowledged for your hard work

With the hard work you've put in, take some time to pamper yourself You've earned it. Get a new haircut or buy that new outfit

If you are experiencing a rough time with friendships, don't worry! Things will smooth over and it'll be ok

Let the people who matter most to you know how much you appreciate them. Take that chance and tell someone you like them

By: Arianna Ledington

You've been holding on to a grudge or perhaps something embarrassing. Its time to let that go You're starting a new chapter in your life

What you leave behind

Where Seniors let out their last testaments. the spare change in my pocket to D'Hariol so it inconveniences him

I leave behind my leadership for all my teachers a role model for all the under classmates.

I will leave behind all of the good impressions I left on my teachers, I hope they will remember me for some time. I give my left 4 toes, right ear, and either one of my hands to Joe.

I, Amilyana, leave all these chaotic and confusing wills for your enjoyment!

Amen, and all that cal

I will leave behind all of my inheritance to Charlie Stevens.

Even though high school is stressful, throughout your years you will find people, teachers, that help you get through your day, week, even month. Being in Mr. Peckham’s class since Freshman year has been really fun. He’s a very trustful teacher and I’m glad for all the smiles and laughs in his class every time. I can for sure say I will miss him very much and I hope I can come and visit.

Omar, to you I leave my drumming chair.

REMEMBER THE TIME...?

Open Mic at Lunch

Every Wednesday Freshman year, my friends and I would have lunch down at the library and listen to Palmer Live perform. This particular day in February was open mic so we decided to dare my friend to go up there and sing, since he is not a huge fan of singing not to mention singing in front of an audience. The library was packed that day, but he gathered his courage... and stepped on to the stage. Mind you, we were first incredibly surprised that he finally decided to conquer his worst fear but then also about what song he chose to sing. He sang one of his favorite rap songs and it was so hilarious to hear him sing. That day at lunch we learned two things: that he is a big rap fan, and he can sing it pretty darn well!

--Unknown

Funny cheer story

Last year during cheer before every game some of the cheerleaders had to change into their uniforms, but they did not want to go to the gender-neutral bathrooms. So instead of taking the stairs they decided to take the elevator. Technically, they are not allowed to take the elevator, and the janitor would get super mad at them, so they had to run away.

--Daisy Gonzalez

Theater Senior Prank Scare

When I was a Freshman, the Seniors in theatre played a prank on me in between shows. They called it "ghost hunting." We would go to all the spooky parts of the school and just scare each other. One time we were hiding under the stage and heard really scary noises. I was really creeped out because at the time we were the only people at the school (it was Saturday). Then the door under the stage started banging and shaking really loud and everyone started screaming and crawling out. Well, I wasn't as fast as them. I got so scared that when I pushed myself up, I lowkey peed my pants.... NOT FULLY, but enough to laugh for 10 minutes straight after. I then found out it was George and our stage manager messing with me.

--Bella Pryor

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LEVER STAFF APPRECIATION 2022-2023

Mrs.Fletcher Teacher

Cameron Wolkow Freshman

Kiley Long Junior

Jarissa Shafer Junior

Victoria Stewart Junior

Jazlynn Moreno Sophomore

Kameron Ortega Junior

Ian Schreiner Freshman

Arianna Ledington Junior

Jey Mutch Junior

Amilyana Ruiz Sophomore