Monthly Archives: October 2016

Editorials/Student Voice, School Life

Negativity towards LGBTQ+

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Highland is a very diverse and open school. From what we have seen, Highland tries to make students feel welcomed, accepted, and feel like they have someone to talk to. While the school does accomplish that, some of the students still feel un-welcomed or that they can’t be themselves here.

As students here, we hear so much throughout the day: positive and negative. But something we have noticed is that students tend to make fun and use phrases that are offensive to the LGBTQ+ community. Phrases like “that’s so gay” or the word “fag” are still being thrown around like it’s nothing. Most people don’t think twice before they talk/say anything.

We asked some of the students at this school that are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and supporters, about their thoughts on this situation. A member in the community, who chose to stay anonymous said, “It does annoy me. There is no point of using words or phrases like that. It’s pointless and stupid.”

Someone else we asked, who also chose to stay anonymous said, “We aren’t taken seriously. We are made fun of all the time and no one is doing anything about it. People are getting in trouble for saying the “n” word but not for using ‘gay’ or ‘fag’.”

As people that have many friends in the LGBTQ+ community, it hurts us when they’re hurt due to the things people are saying about them, or when people throw around “gay” and “fag” like nothing.

We should all work together, not only as a school, but as a community and friends, to try to fix this issue. We certainly can’t control what others say, but we can try to persuade them to be kinder.

Advice/How To, School Life

Unwritten rules in high school

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In high school, there are many unwritten rules that occur inside and outside of class. Following these rules will make it easier to have a good time in school. Some of these rules are simple pet peeves that will anger people, and some are long held traditions that have been enforced for years. Either way, following these rules will help you have a good time in and out of school

The biggest unwritten rule is to not walk slow/stand in the hallways. This is the easiest way to make everyone behind you mad. Walking slow in the hallways can backup the whole hallway behind you, as well as angering everyone behind you. 

Another rule is not to be loud in the morning. No one wants to hear people screaming when they just woke up 30 minutes before. Some people like to yell across the room to their friend, and being in between them is somewhere everyone has been, but no one likes to be. So if you ever wish to speak to a friend before class starts, I’d walk over to their desk.

At football games, seniors are in the front row of the student section and freshman are in the back of the student section. This is just fair to everyone, because everyone’s been a freshman at one point and everyone will be a senior at one point. If a freshman were to sit in the front row, they may be politely asked to leave or they may stay there if no one speaks up. Either way, as a general rule to follow, you sit by grade level.

Overall, these rules will help everyone have a better time in and out of school.

News

The Ken Bone phenominon

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During the highly anticipated second debate of the presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, one winner would be crowned but no one expected it to be an audience member. Kenneth Bone, a member of the town hall style debate, came into the spotlight later in the debate when he asked the question to the candidates, “What steps will your energy policy take to meet our energy needs, while at the same time remaining environmentally friendly and minimizing job loss for fossil power plant workers?”

Ken Bone was praised for his lovable exterior, and honest question about the energy policy that the candidates would bring if they were elected. People found that Ken Bone was something that could distract them from the harsh presidential cycle of 2016. With the candidates both having the lowest approval rating for candidates of the two main parties in a long time, people wanted someone better. So when he showed up wearing a red sweater, glasses, and a mustache, the people of America chose him as their hero.

This has happened before where a certain person, object, or animal has become the focus of an entire nation during election week. For example, during the 2008 election the whole nation focused on Joe The Plumber, who was the Ken Bone equivalent of the time. He asked a question about small businesses, and the nation obsessed over him just as they are with Ken Bone right now.

In recent months, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have been appearing all over the Internet, but ever since  Bone made an appearance in the most recent presidential debate, and he has been an Internet star. People fell in love with him almost instantly after his debut. Ken said that as soon as he checked his phone after the debate, he had already gained hundreds of Twitter followers. Since then, he has shown up on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, CNN, and many other talk shows as well. Now the base of, a popular Halloween costume, a trending meme, and even a fan club, what hasn’t Ken Bone done?

Well, there is a lot of speculation circulating through the Internet about whether or not Ken Bone is a good person. This is primarily based off of his unprotected Reddit history, but most of this has been proven to be a hoax, constructed by various people on the Internet trying to make controversy out of the man. His popularity has dropped because of some of things that have been said about him, which don’t appeal to most Americans.

The legacy of Ken Bone may have seemed to come to an abrupt end due to the discovery of his Reddit history, but like most other Internet stars, his fame would have ended soon anyway.

Advice/How To

How to Take Good Notes

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How To Take Good Notes

Today we are going to share with you a few things that will help you take better notes.

One thing that really helps with remembering the content of what you’re reading is writing a summary. This sounds like extra work but it really helps you understand the material you are taking notes on. When writing a summary start with the main idea; this should be the focus of  what you are writing about. Summaries should only be a couple of sentences so that when reviewing you don’t have to read all your notes. Lastly, in regard to summaries, we suggest writing them for confusing or longer notes, this will help to ensure your comprehension.

Another thing that really helps is to organize your notes is using colors and distinguishing marks. You don’t have to use many colors – maybe one or two at the least. We suggest underlining main ideas or important facts, this will help you study when reviewing your notes. When taking notes you can use colors to distinguish one section from another so it’s easier to look back on. A further method you can use is circling or marking areas that you need to work on to remind yourself what topics to study before a test.

When you take notes, being organized and concise are main focuses. It’s important to have key ideas, so when you go back to study you’re not confused as to what type of questions you’ll be trying to answer on a quiz or homework. Use different symbols (like * or -) to show the difference between headings and points made. You don’t always have to use color, so when you don’t have it, make sure to box and underline to help create borders between sections. Writing in cursive helps a lot because it’s faster than printing, so you’re given more time to make sure your notes give you the information you need.

Overall, notes are very important in our everyday school lives, so taking good ones are key to a successful education. There are many ways to do notes, these are just three ideas to help guide you into improving your own.

Getting To Know/History, School Life

Immersion Languages

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At Highland Park Senior High, there are two immersion language programs. One is Spanish Immersion, another is Chinese Immersion. The Spanish Immersion leader this year is Ms. Boe and the Chinese Immersion leader this year is Ms. Miao.

spanThe Spanish Immersion program is a program at the high school level for students who have gone through other immersion programs. The students are required to speak a high level of Spanish. The program has been with Highland for quite a long time now, 15 years or so.

The Spanish Immersion students came from different places. Some of the students are from Highland Middle, others are from Adam’s Spanish Immersion. There are also a few students from Cesar Chavez, River View, and Mexico.

There are 3 Freshmen classes, 3 Sophomore classes, 2 Junior classes, and 1 Senior class for Spanish Immersion learning. There are two other classes that are involved with the Spanish Immersion program, they are World History for Freshmen in the program,  and Human Geography for Sophomores.

During in the interview, I asked Ms. Boe how the year has been going so far. She replied that the year has been going really well; the students and staff are great.

I also asked her if she had any exciting plans for her students. Ms. Boe replied that she really wants to travel with them. She also had other fun plans such as Spanish speaking debates and family nights in the Spring.

doorThe Chinese Immersion program is a program offered to students who took Immersion Chinese before high school. The class is entirely taught in Mandarin Chinese. This year, there are 9 students in the program; 8 of them came from Ying Hua Academy which is a K-8 Chinese Immersion School. There are a few upperclassmen at Highland who went to Ying Hua Academy before and are now enrolled in Chinese 5 and 6.

This year is a year that is stretching the Chinese program with a lot of adjusting for Ms. Miao and her immersion students. The school culture and dynamics are different from their previous school, the approach to learning is also different to the students. Therefore, it is a process of adjusting for the teacher and students.

In the Chinese Immersion class, they are currently reading a contemporary literature piece, and are also working on a Chinese history project learning about different Chinese historical figures. The class will take a visit to St. Paul’s Jie Ming Chinese Immersion School to present their presentation in Chinese to the elementary students.

Ms. Lin who is currently teaching Chinese 1 and 2 will also be teaching science to Chinese Immersion students who come from Jie Ming the next year at the Middle School.

These are the two Immersion Languages at Highland Park Senior High.

 

Entertainment

Minnesota Public Radio visit

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Last Friday, on October 21st, me and my good buddy Harley, both aspiring writers, went to the MPR headquarters in downtown St. Paul. I had realized that I probably wouldn’t be able to support myself as a fiction writer, so I thought about being a Political Scientist or a Journalist. My Uncle, Dave Kansas, invited me to a tour. He is the Vice President of MPR, and has published several books.

After being dropped off, me and Harley went through was apparently the back entrance. We went into the lobby, where we met the greeter, a man named Abdul. The lobby was an interesting mix of modern architecture. My Uncle came down to get us, and I introduced Harley to him.

We went up to his room, and offered us some candy from a huge bowl. There was a huge selection, including brands I’ve never seen before. While I did not take any I severely regret it now.

Up in his office, he showed us some metaphorical trophies before the real tour started. He had a political cartoon of himself, several famous articles he wrote back when he worked for the Wall Street Journal, a few posters. He then gave us a copy of one of his books, “The End of Wall Street as we know it.”

We then walked around, and he showed us the offices of many important people, and his army of researchers. I chatted with a few, desiring my interest in politics and fiction. A journalist told me that “it’s hard to tell the difference between the two in this day and age.”

Then we met Tom Weber, and watched live as the editing team worked on an interview. Due to a bureaucratic blunder, we were called down to the lobby to wait for my Uncle, who came 20 minutes later asking where we were. When that cleared up, we went to talk to Jade and later a woman in charge of a reading program, snagging a few books. After that we left.

I would have to say it was a pleasant experience. I am lucky to have connections in the industry I plan to go into.

School Life

The IB Program

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October, the time of year for tricks and treats, and signing up for International Baccalaureate – Diploma Program (IB DP) testing. Being an IB school, it’s safe to assume that the majority of eligible attending students will DP test, and many do. Despite the growing numbers of testing students, there is a constant gap between students of color testing, in comparison to caucasian students, a trend noticed by Highland Park’s Senior High School principal, Dr. Tucker.

When asked to comment on why caucasian students are more prominent in the DP classrooms, Dr. Tucker said, “Quite frankly, I think the biggest thing is working to really purposefully support and encourage more of our students of color to take advanced classes…Our focus is, and remains, having the support of more of our students of color are taking the advanced course work so they’re better prepared for college. That’s a challenge that we face, it’s a challenge that every Saint Paul school faces, and frankly is a challenge that is nation wide.”

How is this trend being addressed? Dr. Tucker explains that there are “Dreamline tutors for ninth graders,” and, reportedly, the DP program itself is attempting to counter the trend. The DP program does specific recruitment of students, through the teachers of DP classes, and 9th and 10th grade accelerated classes.

Highland Park IB DP coordinator, Charlotte Landreau, has been the IB DP coordinator for Highland Park since 2001. During her time, Ms. Landreau has noticed striking trends. “My first year it was fall 2001, and that spring, we had two full Diploma students. And I think a total of twenty-four kids testing. So last spring, in May 2016, we had thirty-four full Diploma kids and a total of 261 kids testing.” The significant spike in students registering to test is because “It took a while for teachers and students to feel confident they could do well on the tests,” says Ms. Landreau.

Since the founding of IB in 1968, there have been numerous revisions to the program, in attempt to create the ideal learning environment for all high school students. However, Ms. Landreau even admits that “[T]here is some trouble with the program. I actually believe it should be much more flexible…The program is designed to fit your school. I think, in the United States, it runs more parallel to being AP, which is more established, and stricter in terms of ‘like, it’s gotta be taught at this pace’.” This is in contrast to the popular IB philosophy that the program gives students and teachers the opportunity to take and teach the classes they want to. The goal is to give the students the opportunities to expand on their talents and interests.

Another goal for IB is to create a demographic reflection, comparing the IB testing students, and student population as a whole. Essentially, that means the IB program encourages all students to spend four years preparing for their tests, to at least give them a try. Highland has been progressing towards the International Baccalaureate goal of demographic reflection. Dr. Tucker stated, “It’s a continual challenge because some students feel they can’t do it, and that’s not true; it’s really a mind set. If you put your mind and effort to it, and you feel comfortable in the class, you can be successful in the class. It’s a lot of work though.”

Last year, of the 34% of full IB Diploma seniors testing, 31% identified as Asian, African-American, or Hispanic. Of all the juniors and seniors testing for the Honors Diploma, 35% identified as Asian, African-American, or Hispanic. Ms. Landreau assures all of the students that if you don’t do well on an exam, she will not send in the scores, and it will not impact your classroom grade.

Positively, due to budget changes, the Saint Paul Public School District has waived the fee for IB DP exams, originally $40 per exam, making it easier for students to test, and giving students the chance to be successful in an IB American High School in 2016. This new change may not last, as the budget is assessed on a yearly basis. Ms. Landreau, and other IB DP coordinators, are anticipating an answer for next year’s exams fee situation by February or March.

Even though SPPS has been accommodating in helping with the IB DP testing costs, other areas saw a decrease in funding. According to a faculty member of Highland Park Senior High School, there were reading classes offered two years ago, but due to budget cuts, Highland wasn’t able to keep that tool for struggling students.

The school district did take away a significant barrier for students, by making IB DP testing a completely risk-free, and free of cost, experience. However, the district has yet to prepare their students for these rigorous classes, and exams. The retraction of the reading classes has proved difficult for ELL students to receive specific support for their English literature skills.

Not only are there still obstacles for ELL students, but there are obstacles for all the students, obstacles that have yet to be observed by the school board. Obstacles include large class sizes, and not having remedial classes for students who need a little more support. Ms. Landreau observed that “by not setting systems in place that really helps every kid get there, we end up saying ‘you didn’t try hard enough, so you’re not prepared.’ And to a certain extent, people do have to try, but they have to feel supported as they try.”

Ms. Landreau encourages students to “always balance what you’re interested in, and what all your other interests are ’cause I don’t think anything is worth being exhausted and stressed out. I just think you need to live your life. But taking a challenge when you can, and figuring out how to rise to that challenge, I think that’s a good life skill. So that’s why I think it’s important to take the classes. But I don’t think it’s a ‘everybody should do it, the whole way’. I think everybody should be encouraged to, and we should set up our classes so that kids can do well in them.”

To all the students of Highland Park Senior High, Ms. Landreau reminds them “There are other ways to be successful in an American high school in 2016.”


If you are interested, or have any more questions concerning IB DP testing your junior or senior year, you can talk to your counselor, Ms. Landreau, or visit http://www.spps.org//site/Default.aspx?PageID=8395 for more information about IB DPexams.

Adapted Floor Hockey, Basketball, Gymnastics, Hockey, Nordic Skiing, Sports, Swimming & Diving, Wrestling

Highland winter sports

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The fall sports season is almost up which means it’s time for our winter sports to begin. Here is an over view of all of Highland’s winter sports.

boys_hockey_2015
photo taken from http://spps.schoolwires.net/Page/8479

The Boys Hockey season will begin on November 14th, 2016. If you have experience with ice skating or play outside of school, you should consider joining the team.

The Boys Swim and Dive team, the Trojans, start their season on November 28th. Last year the team broke a relay record that had been  standing since 1983. The swim team will have a sign up meeting in early to mid November if you are interested in joining the team.

The Girls Basketball team’s season starts November 14th. Go and sign up even if you aren’t the best player, give it all your effort and you will do good. It’s also a good way to meet girls who have the same interest as you.

The Boys Basketball team’s season starts on November 21st. There is open gym time for players wanting to get extra practice in after school before the season starts. All interested players are invited to attend. The dates are October 24th & 26th and November 2nd & 7th, from 5:30-7:00pm.

The Girls Hockey team, also known as The Blades, starts their season on October 31st, 2016. There are captain’s practices, which are open to all interested players on October 24th – 28th, from 4:10 – 5:10 pm at the West Side Arena.

The Nordic Ski team’s official season starts on November 14th, but their practice starts early, on November 8th. The Nordic ski team is one of the co-ed teams at Highland. For information on necessary equipment visit the team’s wiki page: Team Wiki Webpage  which can also be found on the Highland Nordic Ski page.

Highland’s Wrestling team starts their season on November 21st. Listen to the daily announcements for further information.

The Highland Gymnastics team’s season starts on November 14th. They have been conference champions every year since 2009. They had an informational and sign up meeting on October 24th, but there is still time to sign up.

Other winter sports this year include Adapted Floor Hockey, Cheerleading, Alpine Ski and Danceline. For more information on those sports, visit their page on Highland’s website: http://spps.schoolwires.net/domain/1192

If you are interested in joining any winter sport, make sure you have all forms signed and turned in, you turned in your sports fee, and you have an up to date physical on file before the first practice.

Everyone can join Highland’s winter sports teams, regardless of experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advice/How To

A different path for students

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As a student grows closer and closer to their senior year of high school, they will have the responsibility of thinking about their future – what they think needs to happen and what would their personal benefit be in doing so? There are some students who think college is absolutely the next step for them after graduating high school, but every student does.

Sometimes, there will be students who have a different mindset about what to do once they have graduated high school. People might not think to go to college because they don’t know what they’re career choice is, even in their senior year of high school.

In any case, there are many different reasons as to why a student does not go on the same path that others follow for the successful future that they have thought about ever since being in high school. Some common reasons that students don’t go to college:

  • Taking a year-off of school: Maybe there are some students who still want to go to college, but just not immediately following their high school graduation. They might consider just taking a year or less off to just relax and do whatever they chose, because they want to get everything such as maturity, a job, or their personal life in order before they go into something even bigger than high school.
  • Struggling to meet the tuition: Some students, even though they’re grades and GPA are good and strong, can’t go to college because of the cost of tuition, either for a private college or public university. The price for some colleges may change each year but as an estimate, a high school graduate who would like to attend college may be looking at tuition costs up to $12,00 a year (in state).
  • Knowing they want to do something else: There will be students who just don’t want to go to college in general, reason or no reason. One important thing to keep in mind is that it isn’t just people who may have bad grades, or such, that don’t go to college. In some cases, there will be a grade A student who has another option in their life to still expand in their field of interest without experiencing the college life. Sometimes, there will be something else that comes along close to graduation that you might have an interest in, and that you could learn a lot from, even though you are not learning from a college classroom.

Don’t feel sorry for the students who don’t follow the path to college, they still have options available to them. Here are some options as to what students not attending college could look into and be intrigued by:

  • Try to help out your community in any way possible. Anything that could better promote your strong and independent place of peace and respect for others that support one another when they need it most.
  • If college is not the place you decide to go, look for an apprenticeship or an internship than can help teach you more about your career choice (if you have decided). The better knowledge you have about your interest, the more you can expand on it and show what you know by presenting your knowledge and skill to the world in any way possible.
Advice/How To, School Life

Evening High School (Night school)

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Evening High School is an alternative educational program designed to provide students with learning experiences in order to complete their required course credits to graduate.  According to the SPPS website, “Evening High School is designed to give students who are behind in credits for graduation the chance to make up those credits.

Students must meet one of twelve criteria in order to attend Evening High School.  Most students qualify due to lack of credits needed towards graduation.”

Classes are offered at two sites: East Side Learning Hub @ Harding, 1526 Sixth St E, 55106 and Gordon Parks HS, 1212 University Ave W, 55104.

Classes meet at Eastside Learning Hub@Harding from 3:00pm – 4:30pm and 4:35pm – 6:05pm.  Classes at Gordon Parks HS are scheduled from 3:30pm – 5:00pm and 5:30pm – 7:00pm.

EHS ( Evening High School) also provides a light snack between 5:00pm – 5:30pm. The classes are really easy and simple. The good thing is that you don’t have night school on Fridays.

To be able to attend Evening high school you need to be 16 years old. For night school, you are only able to miss 2 days; if you miss more than 2 then you will be dropped from the class. Some of the classes you are able to take are: English, Math, Social Studies. For each class you take you earn 1 credit.