Monthly Archives: March 2017

Entertainment, School Life

Benstock 2017

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Highland Park’s annual talent show, Benstock, happened Friday, March 10th. The event included a total of nineteen acts, each showing off many different talents such as: rapping, singing, dancing, spoken word, and even some magic. All nineteen acts were pretty great, and some even had people up on their feet dancing along to the music. The performers worked on their acts for weeks before the show, and you could see that in all of their performances.

Image courtesy of: Danasja Hall

The beginning of the show started with a short act performed to let people know that cell phones should be turned off, and the acts following only got better.

Fatuma Harbi, a junior at Highland said, “My favorite part of the show was the last act. The dancing and music was amazing and it just made the whole crowd happy.”

Out of all of the acts that were performed that night, my favorite had to be the magic act. Not only did it amaze many, but it was hilarious. For this act, members from the audience got pulled up on stage and got to participate in the show themselves. No one in the audience will be able to forget the little kid who got up on stage and made everybody laugh. 

The show included many vocal acts (singing, rapping, spoken word), all of them unique in their own way – from piano to guitar to even accapella singing.

The spoken word performance left many with tears, and everybody, including myself, loved it all.

Dancing included everything from K-pop dances to hip-hop, as all were included in this show. Many of our talented dancers blew us away with their dancing skills; it was something you wouldn’t be able to forget.

Benstock lasted for three hours, with a fifteen minute intermission, in between the acts, for people to be able to stretch out and take a small break. The line for tickets stretched out of the silver doors, and out to the parking lot in front of the main office.

This year’s Benstock was one that people had to be there for; all of the acts were amazing, and everybody left the show happy and satisfied.

Adapted Bowling, Adapted Softball, Badminton, Baseball, Golf, Scoreboard/Schedule, Softball, Sports, Tennis, Track & Field

Sports schedule for: Mar 27-Apr 1

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** Due to weather and other changes to the schedule please refer to: http://www.sports.spps.org for up to date information**

Spring Sports: Baseball, Softball, Boys Golf, Girls  Golf, Adapted Bowling, Adapted Softball, Boys Tennis, Badminton, Track & Field

Activities  the Week of Mar. 27- April 1

Monday Mar. 27:

Varsity & JV Badminton vs. Como Park @ HP 3:15pm

Boys Tennis Begins

Tuesday Mar. 28:

Wednesday Mar. 29:

Varsity & JV Badminton @ Harding 3:15pm (Bus 2:30/4:30pm)

Thursday Mar. 30:

Varsity & JV Badminton @ Washington Tech. Magnet 3:30pm (2:45/4:45pm)

Co-Ed Track & Field Exhibition Meet @ Johnson 4:15pm

Varsity Baseball Scrimmage vs. New Life Academy @ HP 4:30pm

Friday Mar. 31:

Saturday Apr. 1:

Advice/How To, Artículos en Español & Xov Xwm Hmoob, Editorials/Student Voice

Conservando energia – Conserving energy

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El consumo de energía es un problema todavía creciendo alrededor del mundo. En el año 2013, Estados Unidos utilizó más de 924.442 mil toneladas de carbón. Quemando tanto carbon libera a toneladas de Dioxido de Carbono al atmosfera. Todas esas gasses estan contribuyendo al problema de Calentamiento Global, que va a afectar a todos. La problema es que nadie piensa sobre el dano que estan causando, cuando dejan luces prendidas toda la noche o la puerta de la refrigeradora abierta por 15 minutos, tratando de pensar en lo que quieres comer.

Todos en el mundo estan afectados por los efectos de usar tanto carbon. Ademas que nosotros como la populacion humana siendo afectado por ella, las personas quien viven cerca de las plantas donde queman el carbon viven con muchas problemas ambientales. Ellos viven con la posibilidad de lluvia acida, problemas de respiracion por los particulos pequenos flotando por el aire y tambien Smog.

Hay muchas cosas pequenos que puedes hacer para ahorrar energía. Una manera es secar tus platos y tu ropa afuera en el aire cuando puedes envez de usar una secadora. Puedes substituir tus focos viejos con focos de LED que ahorran energía. Debes usar agua fria envez de agua caliente en tu lavadora de ropa. Puedes plantar arboles de sombra para evitar el calentamiento natural de tu casa en el verano. También asegurarse que todas las luces innecesarios están apagados. Estas cosas aparecen pequenos pero puden hacer una diferencia grande.

Nosotros como un sociedad moderna, todavia podemos hacer algo para conservar energia y ayudar a nuestra planeta.

For those who cannot read Spanish:

Energy consumption is a problem still growing around the world. In the year 2013, the United States used more than 924,442 tons of coal. Burning that much carbon releases tons of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere. All those gasses are contributing to Global Warming, which is going to affect everyone. The problem is that no one thinks about the damage they are causing: when they leave lights on all night, or when they have the door of the refrigerator open for 15 minutes, trying to think of what they want to eat.

Everyone in the world is affected by the effects of burning so much coal. In addition to us, as the human population, being affected by it, the people who live near the plants where they burn the carbon live with many environmental problems. They live with the possibility of acid rain, breathing problems caused by small particles floating in the air, and also Smog.

There are many small things you can do to save energy. One way is to air dry your dishes and your clothes when you can, instead using a dishwasher or an electric dryer. You can replace your old light bulbs with energy-saving LED bulbs. Also, you could use cold water instead of hot water in your washing machine. You can plant shade trees to avoid the natural heating of your house in the summer, and you can make sure that all unnecessary lights are off. These things appear small, but they can make a big difference.

We, as a modern society, can still do something to conserve energy and help our planet.

Soccer, Sports

FC Barcelona makes miraculous 2nd leg comeback against PSG

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FC Barcelona did the impossible and made a comeback against PSG. In the champions league, during the knockout stages, in each matchup, there are 2 games played – 1 at each team’s stadium. When the away team scores a goal, they have an advantage if the other team doesn’t score. When they are the away team then, they have the tiebreaker.

In the first matchup, PSG decimated Barcelona 4-0 with Barcelona not even getting a measly away goal to give them better odds. Angel Di Maria scored a brace, or 2 goals, as well as Edison Cavani scoring once, and Julian Draxler also scoring once.

In the second leg, Barcelona scored very early in the game. Luis Suarez scored in the 3rd minute of the game, making the comeback look very possible. Kurzawa then scored an own goal, right before half, making it 2-0 before half.

In the second half, Messi calmly made it 3-0. Barcelona at this point only needed 1 more goal to tie it up and send it to overtime, but that changed very quickly as Cavani, PSG striker, scored, giving them the crucial away goal forcing Barcelona to score at least 6 if they wanted to advance to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

In the 80′ minute everything looked hopeless for Barca, but then the fans started to cheer and chant “we are proud of your efforts” and “yes we can.”

In the 88′ minute Neymar, scored a marvelous free kick and the fans began singing the anthem of the football club.  Not long after, Neymar scored again in the 90′ minute off of a penalty after Suarez was fouled in the penalty area.

The ref gave 5 minutes of stoppage time, and in the ’95 minute, Neymar gave a brilliant pass in the box to Sergi Roberto, with the game winner completing the greatest comeback in Champions League history.

2017 is beginning to look like the year of the comebacks. First, the greatest comeback in NFL playoff history, not to mention it happened in the Super Bowl, was completed by the Patriots, and now FC Barcelona has joined the comeback party. Which team could be the next to make the impossible possible?

News, World

Snoop V. Trump

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American rapper, Snoop Dogg, has released his most recent music video, “Lavender,” which includes a very controversial scene. The scene opens up with a close-up of a clown, with characteristics that resemble America’s President, Donald Trump.

As the camera zooms out, the viewer can see Snoop Dogg pointing a toy gun at the clown. Snoop Dogg, notorious for doing what he likes, like many modern day musical artists, pulls the trigger and the gun releases a “Bang” flag.

The music video has received over 4 million views, in three days, since it was released on Monday, March 13, 2017. Many Snoop Dogg fans have defended his artistic approach, regarding it as freedom of speech, telling Trump supporters to be “less sensitive.” Billybluedog on Youtube commented, “I was more offended by the stance that republicans took over Obama’s 8 years in office, blocking everything he attempted to provide for Americans. Trump governing is by empowering his base by division. Not unity. His speech’s are directed to his follower’s only, and not the rest of America’s society. He thinks that divide and conquer will empower his leadership. He is mistaken… It will only create more videos, and late night comedy sketch’s like the one’s we are seeing… so sad…”

In an interview with Billboard, Dogg defends his move, saying, “Nobody’s dealing with the real issue with this ******* clown as president, and the **** that we dealing with out here, so I wanted to take time out to push pause on a party record and make one of these records for the time being.”

In response to the video by Snoop Dogg, Trump tweeted early in the morning on March 15, 2017, “Can you imagine what the outcry would be if @SnoopDogg, failing career and all, had aimed and fired the gun at President Obama? Jail Time!”

Trump’s “personal lawyer,” Michael Cohen, says Snoop Dogg owes his client an apology. Back in January of 2016, Trump, however, made a similar statement when he was speaking to a crowd of supporters in Iowa. “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” If Barack Obama had said that, an immediate apology would have been demanded, and he would possibly not have become the President of the United States.

At this time, Snoop Dogg has yet to respond to the President.

Lacrosse, Sports

Lacrosse preview: How the Bobcats shake out

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As the snow starts to melt, most of us are excited at the prospect of ditching the heavy winter jackets and getting to enjoy a cold-free existence. For the spring athletes, it’s time to get to work and prepare for the upcoming season. This year, the Saint Paul Public School’s Bobcats will look to capitalize on a growing team and bounce back after a rough ending to last year.

10 years ago, most Americans, when asked, probably didn’t know what lacrosse was or how the sport worked. This is slowly fading away due to its massive growth and growing professional leagues. Lacrosse is the third fastest growing activity in America, with an increase of around 13 percent over the past two years (according to PHIT.com). Not only are the national numbers incredible, but according to CBS.com, they’re also stunning in Minnesota, with an average of 15 percent growth a year. This growth is not only occurring in suburbs, but also in Saint. Paul.

For many years, there was a problem with high school lacrosse for Saint Paul Public Schools – it didn’t exist. For the longest time, SPPS kids who had played the sport, up until 9th grade, had to retire from lacrosse or pay expensive fees, and invest lots of time, into a summer travel team. These options were both equally bad, and didn’t seem fair because all the private schools were able to fund and run their own teams.

In 2015, an answer was finally found; SPPS created The Bobcats, a district-wide lacrosse team. The inaugural season was very impressive for a ground zero team, with the boys finishing 5-4.

The second season ended on a much more disappointing note. The previous year’s team had 10 seniors, all whom graduated, which meant in order to keep the team afloat, a large number of 8th graders had to play. Despite the boys team having a nearly equal split between middle school and high schoolers, they still went 2-5 and were barely eliminated by North Saint Paul, in a thriller that ended 9-8 in favor of North Saint Paul.

“It was tough,” said 9th grade attack man Jack Molter. “It felt like the game just barely slipped  away from us, after we had a massive lead.” In short, the two seasons for the boys have been less than perfect.

This year, they look to change all that. With D1 commit Declan Flynn leading the way for a young defensive core, he looks to make up for the loss of senior d-man Miguel Cologne, and hopes to help groom his young apprentices for the coming years.

Peter Dadlez, the #1 attack man for the Bobcats, will aim to turn around after a somewhat depressing year for the offense. Young attack men, Asher Krelitz and Jack Molter, will want to use the experience they gained during their 8th grade year, to transform the Bobcats offense into a high-scoring one.

Middies Thomas and Nate Fleming, the workhorses of the team, will want to dominate ground balls, and help carry the struggling offense.

New coach, Bryce Dzubinski, has a challenge ahead of him; coming into the young organization, he needs to put all the players in the their right spots in order to maximize the team’s success.

Overall, the Bobcats will look to bounce back after a rough end to last season, learn as a team, and help grow the sport of lacrosse.

Entertainment

Quinceañeras

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Every culture has different traditions. In the U.S., we have Sweet Sixteens, and in the Latino culture, we have quinceañeras.

Quinceañeras are a rite of passage for fifteen-year-old girls (also referred to as quinceañera) who are going from a little girl to a young woman. Some families also celebrate the quinceañerea when their daughters turn 16, but still celebrate quinceañera style. People that celebrate this might switch it up due to their religion and/or their beliefs, but the celebrations include the same things.

Planning a quinceañera is a long process; people usually start planning 3-4 months in advance considering everything from the dress, to the color, to what kind of dances she wants. Many companies have quinceañera expos where they show dresses, cakes, invitations, decorations, and basically anything you need for your dream party. Here in Minnesota, El Nuevo Rodeo (located in Minneapolis) has a quinceañera expo every year around the end of January, beginning of February.

One of the most important things involved in a quinceañera are the dances the girl will be doing. Usually, there are 3-5 dances which include:

  • Entrance dance
  • Main waltz
  • Father-daughter dance
  • Surprise dance

There will also be a coronation, where the quinceañera will receive her last doll, her crown, a change of shoes, and a surprise gift – usually given by the parents or the godparents. The last doll, and the shoe change (flats/sneakers to high heels) are another way of showing that this is her growing up from a little girl to a young woman. The crown is given not only so the quinceañera feels like a princess, but to show that you are the princess within your family.

Once the coronation is over, the quinceañera will usually have a surprise dance, where she and her court perform a choreographed dance which usually involves an outfit change and the use of props. Once the surprise dance is over, the real dancing begins.

Quinceañeras are a very important tradition in a young Latina’s life. Mine was a day I will never forget.

Advice/How To

DIY room decoration

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If you’re out of ideas on what to decorate your room with, or even if you’re bored and you just want to create some crafty things for your room, here is an idea you can try. It’s really pretty simple, fun to make, and it looks really cool too.

The craft project is a “Stain Glass Votive Holder.” This is a really easy and simple decoration you can do. The materials you’ll need are:

  • tissue paper in any color you want
  • Mod Podge (matte finish) – in a pinch you can also use school glue
  • a paintbrush
  • scissors
  • a glass votive holder to fit your candle(s) – it could be wine tumblers or thrifted vases
  • paper punches in many different shapes
  • q-tips, which are optional.

Here are the 7 steps to do it:

  1. Choose which colors you want, and then choose a paper punch that you would like, and punch out little, small shapes of them, and set them aside.
  2. Then, take a bit of Mod Podge with your paintbrush and water,  and mix them. It should just be a thin layer. 
  3. Now, start attaching the punched-out paper shapes to the glass votive using your paintbrush. You could also put the Mod Podge onto the glass first, and then stick the paper shapes on.
  4. Then, brush over the shapes afterward to fully fill them with the Mod Podge. Wet tissue paper can rip easily, so don’t get too rough with it.
  5. Brush gently and take your time. Then, keep attaching more and more shapes onto the glass votive. You could overlap them if you want to.
  6. Once your glass votive is fully covered, set it aside to dry. When it’s dry, you’ll see the Mod Podge that isn’t covered with tissue paper. If this bothers you, you could get a q-tip and wipe it off.
  7. When everything is dry, just have a candle to put into the glass votive and you’re all set!

The original project can be found at:

How-To: “Stained Glass” Votive Holders

News, World

The Urban Death Project

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In London, there is a new idea on how to remember your loved ones. It is an eco friendly way to be remembered after death. This new method is called the Urban Death Project and it is on the rise in urban cities like Seattle and London.

The Urban Death Project is a way of recycling the dead by burying the bodies in soil and woodchips for a few weeks. According to the Urban Death Project team, it is a safe, eco friendly way of remembering the dead. The team also said, “The soil will only be used to nourish gardens and trees on site,” which answers a big question of whether or not the soil would be used to grow food. When they say “on site” they mean that there will be a half-public park/half-funeral home that you can go to and enjoy with your family.

This idea was started on Kickstarter, which everyone thought was a joke at first, but then later on realized that it was an actual thought out idea with plans. The Urban Death Project team also says that the process is open to all religions, and has set up space for prayers, gatherings, and mournings of all types. The team says they have also talked with various religious leaders, and have received confirmation that this way of burial is completely okay with them and their religions.

The Urban Death Project team has their own website: http://www.urbandeathproject.org/ where they will answer questions and talk more in depth about their project. On the forums the team has created, is a question and answer section where they will answer any questions concerning the topic. If you have any questions that you would like to ask them, you can ask them on their webpage and click on the FAQ section.

Although this new idea is a good way for burial, and death, there is still controversy on where they would put these sites, or how many sites there would be, in one city or state.

Getting To Know/History, School Life

Chemistry teachers

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There are two Chemistry teachers at Highland; they are Allison Noah and Natalie Strauss. In an effort to get to know these teachers better, I first interviewed Ms. Noah, then Ms. Strauss.

Allison Noah has been teaching at Highland for about 5 years. Her favorite part about Highland is the students. What she doesn’t like so much is that in some rooms, the temperature is too hot, and in others, it’s too cold. Ms. Noah’s favorite part of teaching is getting to know her students well. Her least favorite part is doing all the extra paperwork that doesn’t involve teaching students.

How Ms. Noah became a Chemistry teacher is a long, but wonderful, story. She got her degree in criminal justice but did not use it much. Ms. Noah also led back country trips that were far from cities.

On the back country trips she led, Ms. Noah found that she taught, the youth she led, a lot. She taught people how to pack for a trip, methods to plan, and how to cook. Eventually, she realized that she loved the teaching part of her trips, so she decided to become a high school teacher.

Some of her hobbies are: cross country skiing, reading, mountain climbing, hikes, walks, and cooking. Ms. Noah doesn’t have any more plans for her future yet; she just wants to continue on teaching.

Our other Chemistry teacher is Natalie Strauss. Ms. Strauss has been teaching for 3 years now. Her favorite part of Highland is that there is a lot of diversity; no students are the same as another. What she doesn’t like so much, is watching the students be under a ton of pressure, especially when the students want to do well; it adds even more pressure onto them.

What Ms. Strauss enjoys about teaching is watching struggling students be able to understand the material, or to be able to get out of their struggles. What she doesn’t enjoy, so much, is having to do all the extra paperwork that isn’t related to how a student is learning.

Ms. Strauss actually went to college for Chemistry, but her plan was to be a physical therapist. Her parents were in the teaching field, and she realized she did not want to be in the same field as her parents. As she focused more in school, she came to the realization that she did not want to go to medical school and become a physical therapist. From then on, she started her year-long student program at Highland, and found that teaching worked well for her life-style.

Some of her hobbies include: swimming (coaches swimming as a job), reading, playing with her dog, hanging out with her husband, and camping. Like Ms. Noah, she doesn’t have any other plans for her future; she just wants to be able to teach at Highland.

These are our two Chemistry teachers at Highland. Hope you have learned something new about them.