Front Page News
SUPER TYPHOON RAVAGES LAND THROUGH U.S. MARIANA ISLANDS
By: Sadie Haidet, Avery Bennett, and Jonah Williamson
A super typhoon has hit the U.S. Mariana Islands, and meteorologists are calling it ‘The biggest storm of 2018’, or ‘The biggest storm since 1935’. This super typhoon has left many without power and water, and officials have reported that the residents could be without either for months, and to make matters worse, the aftermath could be just as devastating as the initial hit.
Typhoon Yutu was watched as soon as it began developing, and scientists were alarmed at the rate of growth this typhoon was at. The islanders were informed of this weather, and were told to take shelter as soon as possible. When it hit, no amount of shelter was ever to be deemed as ‘safe’. Yutu tore through the Mariana Islands, showing no mercy. Also, Yutu is tied for fifth place for highest landstrike winds, as well as tying Typhoon Mangkhut for 2018’s strongest storm. In fact, Yutu is coming within only 10 miles per hour of the strongest typhoon ever recorded,Typhoon Haiyan which is a little-known fact. However, it is set to get much, much worse. If Yutu is unable to dissipate in the changing climate, it may strike Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. Seen as it has already struck the Marianas and the Philippines, Yutu is slightly weaker than its prior landfalls. However, this does not decrease the caution that people are being advised to take. In the Philippines alone, Yutu killed nine people due to landslides, and this is one of the reasons officials are giving about why they find Yutu unsettling. Before and After images of the Mariana Islands.
The Hong Kong observatory has raised alarms and taken them away numerous time in the past few days. Yutu power is steadily decreasing, but Hong Kong is still being cautioned of incoming danger. Hong Kong has also never had to raise the Number 3 warning system for a November storm in 25 years. This showcases how large and potentially dangerous Yutu has been recorded as. Yutu is still continuing to deplete in size, but meteorologists are still telling residents to take warning. Yutu is still being called dangerous, and residents are being told to watch out, to take shelter in the off Yutu’s growth before landfall chance Yutu could strike. Yutu is the 18th
tropical storm to hit the Philippines this year, and the destruction there has been massive. Flights were cancelled to protect the people from harm as the Philippine airport authority stated on their Facebook account.
Typhoon Yutu has ravaged the U.S. Mariana Islands, and is being called the strongest storm since 1935. Many were alerted but were not able to avoid Yutu’s wake. In the time of this massive storm, many lives have been taken. With more people alerted and aware, the better for the island.
Sources;
~Insurance journal article
~Guampdn.com Article
~ Washington Post Article
~2nd Washington Post Article
~Weather.com Article
~Stripes.com Article
~Scmp.com Article
Man Steals 1.2 Million Dollars Worth of Fajitas
By: Sophia Drake, Nick Sullivan, and Brant Hayes
Yes, you read the title correctly this man Gilberto Escamilla stole 1.2 million dollars worth of fajitas! He’s been stealing the fajitas over a span of 9 years from 2008 to 2017. He was a professional by that point. When Gilberto Escamilla’s house was searched they found packages of the fajitas in his refrigerator.Gilberto Escamilla was selling the meat to various customers. Gilberto Escamilla was arrested in August of 2017 at the age of 53, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Gilberto Escamilla pleaded guilty to stealing 800 pounds of fajitas.
Gilberto was just a regular man who worked at a detention center in Texas a regular man with a big secret. Theft of property over 200,000 is a first degree felony which can lead to a 99 year sentence and a 10,000 dollar fine. Gilberto Escamilla agreed to a plea deal but the terms of the deal are not specified. To send a message Gilberto Escamilla’s former employers told the judge to give him a 50 year sentence.
While this subject is silly stealing meat has actually been quite a problem in recent years with the brisket bandit and steak thief but unlike those two Gilberto had done this fo 9 years! He was caught when his secret delivery was discovered by a fellow employee when he was at a doctors appointment. The fellow employee told the person making the delivery that they were delivering to the wrong person when the delivery driver told them he had done this for 9 years at that point.That is when things really started to unfold. The arrest was made April 20th where after he pleaded guilty thereby closing the case.
The fajita man a.k.a Gilberto Escamilla surently lived a very strange and crazy life but now that he’ll be behind bars for the next 50 years the fajita stealing will surely come to a halt. Gilberto is a great example of how people aren’t always black and white. On one hand he helped young children get their life on track. On the other he stole $1.2 million worth fajitas. Surely a wild and crazy life for Gilberto or how he will be known as for the rest of his life Fagita Man.
Entertainment
Leaving Iowa
Featuring the Future, Past, and Present
By: Molly Robinson, Bill Carpenter, and Justice Neal
Every year, the high school performs a fall play. The fall play is coming up, but not a lot of people even know about it. We are so excited for the play, and we decided to share with you the details we were able to gather about the show, from the characters to the overall story. The fall play is a play that will be performed by the high school, and the cast and crew are working hard every day to produce the most successful production possible. The play is an enjoyable event both for the spectators and those involved. We’re here to give you some inside information on the show, and hopefully spark your interest.
The play, Leaving Iowa, focuses on the main character, Don. We get to see both a young Don, an older Don, and the rest of Don’s family. In the show, Don is taking a road trip to his father’s childhood home to deliver his ashes. The story changes back and forth from the present to the past, with Don revisiting moments from road trips in his youth. A very different way to present a story, as most plays go in a simple chronological order from start to beginning.
The characters include both a younger Don (Logan Gallant), and an older Don (Erick Isch). Don’s sneaky, older sister (Abigail Hersman) is your typical older sister--always teasing Don and trying to get him into trouble. Of course, you wouldn’t have a family road trip without the parents. Mom (Sophia Camamar), is usually the peacemaker when the kids fight. Dad (Derrick Volbrecht), is the enthusiastic leader of the family. He was a loving father, who was never willing to admit defeat. Leaving Iowa has lots of relatable characters and situations--it’s bound to be a great show.
“There’s a lot of great characters played by great actors. It’s a heartwarming comedy,” says crew member Christina Kugel. This show is family-focused, with its fair share of comedy and laughs, but also some sad moments. “It’s a really happy show, with a great meaning. But bring a box of tissues, it’s gonna get sad,” says Zach Morrow, a member of the cast.
One of the great things about Leaving Iowa is how family friendly it is. Not only does it focus on the family as the main characters, but it’s appropriate for people of all ages. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a wholesome experience that anyone can enjoy? Keep this in mind when you’re deciding what to do the weeknd of the performance, because anybody can watch this family play. We talked to Ms. Gibson, the theatre teacher and librarian who is also the director of Leaving Iowa. “It’s a lighthearted comedy,” she says.
However, the play is not all sunshine and quick progress. One of the actors is also a cross country player. This lead to a problem with his scheduling, leading to him missing all but one rehearsal. Ms. Gibson also said that some actors had trouble memorizing their lines, but because of everyone’s hard work, it all worked out. Ms. Gibson, the cast, and the crew have done their best to make an amazing production. “The actors are really good, and they’ve put in a lot of work,” says Christina.
No matter what type of plays you are interested in, we can guarantee that you’ll like Leaving Iowa. It has something for everyone, including comedy and drama. If you’re free Friday or Saturday night, or Sunday afternoon, be sure to come see the show. Leaving Iowa should make for a great time, and will be worth your while.
Games: Vol. 1990-2018
By: Sydney Werner, David Link, and Courtney Kugel
Have you ever felt bored? Did you resolve to playing a video game? Video games have been around since 1958, and ever since they have been a big hit. They have made some big upgrades too. For instance, the first video game was named “pong” and was a game where you basically just hit a ball back and forth, but now we have games like Fortnite where you can literally control a person. So you say you like video games? Well lucky for you we are going to take you on a wild ride through the Mario Bros Grassland, into leaky lake, Make a pit-stop in Hyrule, and even stop in NukeTown. So get ready players. 3...2...1… GO!
1990 - Super Mario Bros 3
So you’ve started our adventure. Our first stop is in the Mario Bros Grassland, and we are just in time to see Mario start his race! In his race, Mario has to make his way through the land to turn all the kings from animals back to humans. He does this by jumping onto ledges, going through tubes, and collecting coins and power-ups! His game was released on October 23, 1988, which means that he just turned 30 years old! Even though his game is a little old fashioned, everybody still loves to play it and will hopefully continue to play it through the years!
1995- Legend of Zelda; Breath of the wild
Our next stop is in the land of Hyrule. Hyrule is a huge place, and each Legend of Zelda game explains further into the history of Hyrule. The story behind the Legend of Zelda is that there were 3 goddesses. Din, the goddess of power... Nayru, the goddess of wisdom… and Farore, the goddess of courage. Din created the land, Nayru created order, and Farore created life. All three of these goddesses together created ‘The Triforce’ which is a magical object made up of 3 golden triangles, this was left with the goddess Hylia. The triforce gives a wish to those who have the three morals of the goddesses, which are power, wisdom, and courage. If somebody doesn’t have a balance of the morals, the Triforce will break apart into three pieces. The only way that the Triforce can come back together is by putting the pieces back together. Throughout time three people have been chosen to have those three powers. The Triforce of courage has been given to Link, a brave young hero. The Triforce of power has been given to Ganondorf, the dark lord who wants to overthrow Hyrule. The Triforce of wisdom has been given to Zelda, the noble princess of Hyrule. In this specific version, the goal is for Link to defeat Calamity Ganon and save Hyrule from destruction. The question is, will he?
2000- Spider-Man
We’re swinging through time as we find an iconic hit of 2000 Neversoft’s Spider-Man! This game was an official kick-off for better and more intrusive Spiderman game yet, the original was made in 1982 playable on the Atari 2600. This game is fully animated in 3D, includes Professional voice acting, and a rock and roll soundtrack that plays throughout your Spidey adventure. Also, While you play in the game the narrator can talk to you as a player! Within this game, you help Spider-man save the city while clearing his name because he has been framed by the evil Dr.Octopus! This game has boss fights against seven of the most recognizable villains from the Spiderman comic! Do you have what it takes to be the hero of the hero?
2010- Limbo
We’re about halfway done but there's still a lot to come, and this bit may even be better than our past adventures! But first, we are going to make our way under the puzzle game called Limbo. In this game, there is a boy and he makes his way through trenches, ropes, and throughout caves. This game is an eerie and very hard to play. The second half of the game is more mechanical puzzles and traps that you have to get through using gravity magnets and machinery. Some of the traps aren’t visible until the boy has been hurt or killed. This game is a puzzle game also based on memory. Can you figure out the puzzle and beat the game?
2015- Rocket league
This game sends you flying into action as you race into goals, smash other cars, and win your soccer car match. Think of a futuristic muscle car and then imagine smashing a giant soccer ball into a goal with it, pretty awesome right? As you fight for points in this game you can win a large variety of models. There are default models and premium models that you can choose from. If you work hard during the match and win then you could even win a premium car! Premium models often have better mechanics and boosts. After winning a match you can also win items to customize your car with. You can win anything from flags to wheel types. You can play online with others or at home with your friends! The most iconic part of this game is probably the rocket boosts. In the arena when you drive over little yellow spots you get rocket fuel! With this rocket fuel, your car can literally fly across the arena! This game has won several awards including, Award for the best independent game in 2015 and Best sport/racing game in 2015. So get your engines ready players! We are off!
2016-Overwatch
This game is an action-packed first-person multiplayer shooter game which was developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Overwatch has a wide range of playable heroes in which you can fight offensively against enemies or defensively to protect your team. Your goal is to bring peace to the world that was torn apart by war and bring back together the band of overwatch. The world is your battlefield as you fight with your team. This game is rated teen, (Blood, Use of tobacco, and violence). The game was released in Spring of 2016 and is still a popular game among many. You can even go to an event called Blizzcon where you can see some of the most amazing overwatch gamers among many other popular gamers that play games developed by this company. Ready your weapons and get ready for battle as we head to our next game!
2017- Fortnite
2017 is bringing the heat with one of the most popular games that took the world by “storm”. This game is Fortnite and it is a 100 player PVP battle royale game. In the game, you can play by yourself or you can play with your friends. In the game, there is a storm that makes the map close in and makes a smaller region that the players are limited to stay in. Players will fight other players for that victory royale, which you get by being the last person in the game. There are also different modes that you can choose to play. Some modes are there for a limited time(Soaring 50s, Disco Domination, etc.), and then there are modes that are there all the time (Solos, Duos, Squads). In the game, there’s a variety of healables like shields bandages and medkits that can protect you from others. There are also a lot of weapons you can choose from such as shotguns, SMGs, snipers, and assault rifles. Fortnite is very exciting and can be a lot of fun. The game has also had a lot of people make a living off of streaming. For instance, a player named Ninja, (that you have probably heard of) who used to play other battle royale games, blew up from playing Fortnite and streaming it. Now he is one of the most famous players in the world, making tons of money because of sponsors. Now, let's go land into some more games!
2018-Cod BO4 and forza horizon 4
In 2018 we have had so many games that were awesome, we just couldn’t drive by all of them and choose 1, so we took 2. First were zoomin’ into Forza Horizon 4 which is a car game where you can race or you can just free drive all over Britain. When you race you can race against computers, or you can race against other people. The more real people that you race, the more “coins” you get. The game is mainly street races ( Highways, alleys, roads) and because it is street racing there are other cars driving around that you have to avoid. This game is super thrilling and will definitely make your heart race.
Next, we have Call of Duty Black Ops 4. This game is a fun, high paced game where you can play game modes such as battle royale, multiplayer or, zombies. In zombies, you can team up with 4 friends or less. Your teammates can revive you and the goal is to see how many rounds you can survive. You start with a pistol and you can open up mystery boxes and get random guns with points that you get from killing zombies. With these guns you can fend off and kill zombies. In multiplayer there are two different main modes. These modes include Hardcore ( low health and you can team kill. And if you team kill you can get banned from the game.) and Core ( higher health and no team kill). But there are a bunch of different game modes in Core and Hardcore like gun game. In the battle royale ( Blackout ) you drop out of a plane and head onto a big map where you fight to see who wins. You can also team up with your friends and play as well.
I hope we’ve cured your boredom with some of the most popular games throughout the ages, but that's all of the games we have for you today. Hope you enjoyed racing through the Mario Bros Grassland, Leaky Lake, Hyrule, and finishing in NukeTown. These games are revolutionary for the video game community and more games will continue to spread interest throughout the years. Wait! Look out! There’s something coming for… GAME OVER!!! Stay determined gamers...
Sources:
https://www.geforce.com/games-applications/pc-games/overwatch
https://blizzcon.com/en-us/?blzcmp=globalnav_blizzcon
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-05-20-everything-you-need-to-know-about-overwatchs-story
https://www.polygon.com/features/2018/8/31/17803068/a-brief-history-of-spider-man-video-games
https://www.gamespot.com/videos/the-history-of-spider-man-video-games/2300-6445995/
https://www.rocketleague.com
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258979/
Human Sources with player experience-
David link
Courtney Kugel
Bill Carpenter
Sydney Werner
Bulldogs in Action!
The Extreme Sport of...Curling?
By: Josie Redman, Gannon Knox, and Zach Davis
You're in the locker room preparing to compete for the Olympic gold medal, your palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, your heart is beating wildly. Suddenly you hear them call your name and you're team slowly walks out to the arena like they’re in an action movie. Finally you are in the Olympics. It took forever to get this good at...curling. Curling is the sport people don't take seriously, it gives you a good laugh. You may not think it is very important and may not even deserve to be in the Olympics. But curling is a sport that requires hard work and determination. And don't sit there laughing at that because you can laugh at curling all you want just know about all the real effort that goes into such a great sport.
Believe it or not, curling is a very intense sport. “... it’s nicknamed the roaring game” (olympic.org). It's not easy, if you've ever seen videos of curling it looks pretty funny but, when you really look into it it's hard. Curling is a sport in which you're team slides stones on ice toward a chosen area, known as the button, 16 stones are thrown and the teams get a point for every rock closer than the opponents rock. To make this easier on the refs the rocks are color coded. So if team A’s green stone is closer to the button than team B’s green stone, team A gets the point. Now you may be thinking what makes this sport challenging well, when you make the rocks slide to have them slide faster and farther you have to use your broom or brush. And you actually move it pretty fast in order to clean and smooth the ice. Curling helps you with balance and strength, flexibility, endurance,and coordination.
Now at first sight curling may seem like a funny sport to watch, maybe even an easy sport, but just how much effort does it take to become a collectively, crazy cunning, creative, collaborative, curling champ? Believe it or not, curling requires quite the intense workout. I know, shocking. Aspiring Curlers and Curlers alike have to do challenging full body exercises, focusing on: “your quads, your hamstrings, your glutes,” (Wischhover 2014, Feb 19th. Read more.). Another thing Curling players have to get good at is flexibility. Kinda sorry guys. So contrary to popular belief, curling is actually quite a hard sport, workout and all. Other than your average backyard workouts, you can get practice at places called curling camps or centers. In fact, there is one right here in Columbus! In fact it’s pretty good from the looks of it, it even has a bar, well for when you’re older of course. You also have to get accustomed to the many pieces equipment. First off you need a curling sheet, which basically is a flat sheet of ice (with the required scoring areas placed in the needed areas) with small little bumps. Depending on the arena you compete in, you may never know where these bumps are. This is where some of the challenge comes from. You also have your curling stone, it’s even called a rock here in North America. Talk about not understanding the sport. The curling stone is what you expect really, a polished granite rock that is made for the conditions of Curling. Curling brooms are specifically made brooms. So no, they aren't just normal brooms. Not only do they do the obvious, they also provide a helpfully balance aid on the slippery ice. The shoes is the interesting part in my opinion. The people out sweeping only have sliding shoes, which as the name says, allow them to easily slide. The person that slides out the rock not only has a handy slider shoe, they also have a gripper shoe. This is so they don't accidently slide out into the area, and for better rock sliding. Talk about unexpectedly in depth!
Now you might be wondering how this cool sport began, which I have a chilling answer for you. It is actually one of the oldest sports and its origins are in 16th century Scotland on frozen lakes and ponds. I personally think that someone definitely fell through the while sweeping the ice in front of the rock. Speaking of which, they used rocks that were from the areas in central Scotland and later had handles introduced in the 17th century. In 1838,The first curling club to be formed was the Grand Caledonian Curling Club in Scotland. They were the first to create the official rules for the sport. Five years later they decided to change the name to Royal Caledonian Curling Club. Now let's get to the recent stuff. It was first introduced to the olympics in 1924, which also happens to be the first year that the winter olympics began. Sadly, It was dropped and reintroduced as a demonstration sport in 1932 in Lake Placid. Some other places that it was played as a demonstration sport was Innsbruck, Calgary, and Albertville. It stayed this way for almost seventy years, but in Nagano 1998 it was put back in the Olympic program.
All your hard work has lead up to this moment. You really are ready to do this. You've prepared and trained, and it's not easy to get into the olympics, especially with such a crazy sport. Curling is a sport that requires great strength, speed, and endurance. It is definitely a sport worthy of being in the Olympics. And it will always remain as a sport that gives you a good laugh, but who knows, maybe you now have some newborn respect for it.
Sources
https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Curling
https://www.britannica.com/sports/curling
https://www.allinahealth.org/HealthySetGo/SingleArticle.aspx?id=36507250081
https://www.olympic.org/curling
https://www.olympic.org/curling-equipment-and-history
https://www.thecut.com/2014/02/i-tried-curling-to-see-if-its-really-a-workout.html
https://columbuscurling.com/
Washington D.C. 2K18!
By:Camden Walsh, Eli Bridges, and Macayla Miles.
Are you excited for the Washington D.C. trip? On November 13th the eighth grade students will set off on the long awaited Washington D.C. trip. They will return on the 16th of November.
They will be visiting many places while in D.C. Some of the places they will be going are the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the National Archives, and many other very interesting places. The Smithsonian is a museum that has many of our country's and world history. Some of the stuff they have is a dinosaur exhibit and a crystal skull. Another place we will be attending is the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial. It is a memorial for the great Civil Rights leader that was assassinated in 1968. He was one of the most influential Civil Rights leaders of all time.
The hotel they will be staying in is the Holiday Inn located in Germantown. There will be no more than four people to a room and, they are in their rooms until around 7:30 in the morning and they return around 8:30 pm. They will be leaving on Tuesday November 13th at 5:35 and returning Friday November 16th around 9:30. There are three breakfast groups and those are made of the small day groups.
If you are not attending the Washington D.C. trip then you’ll be going on 3 mini field trips. The first trip they are attending on Tuesday is The Licking County Government Offices and The Licking County Courthouse. The second trip they are attending on Wednesday is COSI. The last trip they are attending on Thursday is Motts Military History Museum. Then, on Friday they will enjoy pizza, chips and dessert for lunch and there will be guest speakers presenting about WWII, the Holocaust and Licking County Veterans.
In total it sounds like a fun experience if you are going or even if you’re not going. We hope that all of the 8th graders have an amazing trip and that it will be something they will remember forever. If you are in 6th or 7th grade you can look forward to this trip in the future!
Local
There’s No Place Like Home
By: Taliyah Holmes, Alexis Martin, and Evan Waddell
Our town:
Heath, the place with caring citizens, Heath is a family-friendly place. From small events, to large events. Love is at the heart of this town. This city was incorporated as a village in 1952. Heath businesses have a variety of things to do. Heath has education and training facilities that are high quality and family friendly. Our mayor is Mark D. Johns. Mayor Johns has 2 daughters and a wife! He has been mayor since 2009!
Hottest places to eat in Heath:
In Heath there are many places to eat. Some places are fancy and some are just very simple. If your looking for more places to eat we have several recommended for you! The first place to eat is Olive Garden; A family-friendly fancy restaurant featuring Italian meals. If you go to Olive Garden it is an Italian restaurant with delicious meals and a great family atmosphere. Another place to go is Dairy Queen; Dairy Queen is a very local place in Heath that is close to everything, including our school! Dairy Queen is rated 5-stars, it is known for its fulfilling desserts. It is also very inexpensive and has great service. These restaurants are some of the highest rated foods in Heath and highly recommended.
Popular places to go to in Heath:
Goumas Candyland; Goumas Candyland is a great provider of handcrafted chocolates and candies. They are known for their chocolate, caramel apples, fresh roasted nuts, truffles, buckeyes, chocolate-covered chips and more. The Indian Mound Mall; Indian Mound Mall is a shopping center located in Heath, Ohio. It opened in 1986. Its currently hosting JCPenney, Sears, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Big Sandy Superstore. Hoback Park; Hoback Park is a very popular place to go in Heath. It is the center for Heath baseball and softball. There are 5 baseball diamonds with a concession stand in the middle of it all. There is also a small park to the side of it.
Influential Places in Heath:
Boeing; Boeing products and tailored services include commercial and military aircraft, satellites, weapons, electronic and defense systems, launch systems, advanced information and communication systems, and performance-based logistics and training. Boeing has a long tradition of aerospace leadership and innovation. Davis-Shai House; The Davis-Shai House is getting ready and helping by making the arts better, supporting the enhancement of public parks and green space, and promoting public health with the Davis Shai House as a center for the arts. Newark Air Force Base; The former Newark Air Force Base (NAFB) is located in Heath, Ohio, in Licking County. Assessment
Our sources:
https://www.dairyqueen.com/us-en/?localechange=1&
https://www.olivegarden.com/home
https://goumascandyland.com/
www.davisshaihouse.com
www.heathohio.gov/Mayor.aspx
https://indianmoundmall.com/
https://www.boeing.com/
Teacher Feature: Mrs. Blackledge
By: Hayden Lee, Ben Ridgeway, Elizabeth Bradford and Hannah Yantis
As the current 8th graders at HMS, we were expecting to see Mr. Hancock as the teacher of the Pre-Engineering class. However, we were in complete shock when a different name showed up on our schedule. And the teacher we met instead? Well, she was definitely interesting to say the least.
Mrs. Blackledge is teaching Pre-Engineering this year, which is a class for 8th graders. Pre-Engineering is a STEM class where students learn about some science, technology, engineering, and mathematical skills used everyday in many careers. Very few schools have classes like these, so having one of these classes is a very special feature at HMS. However, the teacher teaching it makes the class even more intriguing.
The way that she organizes each lesson is very different than your average teacher. Everything has a set-in-stone plan and deadline, and you’re given plenty of time to finish each assignment.
According to the Ohio Department of Education, “Students in the Pre-Engineering programs acquire knowledge and skills in problem solving, teamwork and innovation.” “Teams design and test their ideas using modeling, automation, robotics, mechanical and computer control systems, while exploring energy and the environment.” We learn these skills in unique projects. Some examples of projects we have done or will do include: building robots, using 3-D printers, a paper skimmer, block puzzles and many more. To teach this kind of class, keep it on a strict schedule, and make it interesting is a tough job that Mrs. Blackledge accomplishes every single day.
We interviewed Mrs. Blackledge to get a better understanding of her perspective. Here is the interview :
What made you want to come into this field?
“Both of my parents were teachers and I grew up with a love of learning.”
What made you want to come to Heath?
“I’ve been in Heath since 1998. My kids go here, and I’ve [substituted] here.”
How long have you been teaching?
“Since 1998. I did take a few years for family, but yeah.”
What is it like to go from a substitute to a full on teacher?
“Well, there was definitely more responsibilities.”
Is there something any future students should know about you?
“I’m a geek, and I’ve always loved science and technology.”
Mrs. Blackledge goes through the troubles that every teacher goes through every single day. Despite the troubles and expectations given to her, she runs her classes spectacularly and teaches students to be responsible, as well as the S.T.E.M. skills. Mrs. Blackledge deserves to be respected like any teacher should for what she’s done for us. The next time you see her in her class or in the hallway, go ahead and say hi!
Bulldogs of the Month
Ayden Moore
Ayden is a hard working student who completes his work. He tries hard, asks questions, helps others, and strives to do the best he can in all that he does. Ayden is a friend to all in class, smiles often and talks only when appropriate. Ayden is very respectful.
Che’ Lei Mooney
Che’ Lei is hard working. She completes her work on time, and comes to class with a positive attitude and a smile on her face. She seeks out answers to questions she doesn’t know, helps others, and leads by example. Che’ Lei is just an all around nice kid.
Stephanie Long
Stephanie is hard working and dedicated. She is always careful to make sure she completes every assignment to the best of her ability and on time. She strives hard to complete all assignments and always asks for clarification if she needs it.
KYLIE KING
Kylie frequently demonstrates habits 1-3 (Be Proactive, begin with the end in mind, and put first things first). She is responsible, hard working, and intrinsically motivated! Keep up the great work, Kylie!
Editorial
Teen Smoking: The Reality Hits Home
By: Lydia Fish, Cloey Phillips, and Jeremy Stuller
All our lives, we’ve been told countless times, “Smoking is bad! It’s bad for your health! Don’t do it!” But, recently, more and more pre-teens and teenagers are smoking, vaping, chewing tobacco, and using other products. It has become a national crisis, and even more personal after discovering multiple students from our middle and high school smoking within our community. Not only are students smoking after school, but some in school and on school property, such as on the football field.This issue has become unacceptable and we need to stop it before any more people start to pursue this bad habit.
You might be wondering what the symptoms are for smoking. You could say that smoking certain products such as vapes aren’t that harmful, but in reality, all smoking is dangerous.The effects of teen smoking range from moderate to quite severe. These effects include but are not limited to: respiratory issues, addiction to nicotine, low lung function, reduced lung growth, developing heart diseases, having a stroke, possibility of living up to 7 years less than someone who doesn’t smoke, and suffering from shortness of breath. These are just a few of the effects that go along with teen smoking. There are also some more serious risks, such as cancer. The different cancers you can get include: cancer of the liver, colon, oral cavity, throat, esophagus, larynx, stomach, pancreas, bladder, kidney, cervix, and acute myeloid leukemia. Vaping can cause acne, mouth ulcers, heartburn, headaches, nausea, shaking, insomnia, itching, tingling, gas, muscle cramps, and spasms. Do these many symptoms sound like something you want to experience not only right now, not only the next few years, but for the rest of your life?
Now, with all of this information, you would think people would never smoke, because of course, you would not want to live with these terrible diseases, but in reality many people are still smoking often, and more and more people are starting to smoke at a young age in our own community. This year, there have been multiple students who have been caught and suspended or expelled because of smoking, some happening in these very halls of our school. But unfortunately, the hallway is not the only place students are trying to get away with smoking. Kids have also been caught smoking and vaping in the mens bathroom, the football game, and even on the schoolbus. If you think that smoking is not bad at all, then why would you think that these many students would go so far to hide what they are doing?
So, in conclusion, this heinous act of smoking can give you cancer, cut 7 years off your life, give you respiratory issues, cause a heart attack, and give you a nicotine addiction. You shouldn’t ruin your life just to impress someone. You shouldn’t give yourself cancer so you can seem cool. You shouldn’t suffer from a heart attack so you can be popular. Think about your choices and the impact they have on you, and the people around you. So as you go forward and progress through life, think about this: is it worth it?
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