It is common knowledge that sleep is important. A good-night’s rest can enable the body to repair and be ready for a new day. Sleep can even prevent excess weight gain, heart disease, and increased illness duration. 

Sleep is especially important for teenagers. Sleep helps fuel the brain and body. Teens need more sleep because their minds and bodies are growing quickly. According to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, teenagers need about 9 to 9 1/2 hours of sleep.

However, teenagers do not get even close to enough sleep. 

One reason is a shift in sleep schedule. After puberty, there is a biological shift in a teen’s internal clock of about 2 hours. For example, a teenager that used to fall asleep at 9:00pm will now not be able to fall asleep until 11:00pm. It also means waking up 2 hours later in the morning. Another reason is early high school start times. Some schools start as early as 7:00am, meaning some teens need to get up as early as 5:00am to get ready for school. Another reason is other social and school obligations. Teens have homework, sports, after-school activities, and socializing through social media often lead to late bedtimes.

As a result, most teens are sleep deprived. 

A lack of sleep can affect mood, behavior, cognitive ability, academic performance, and for those that rive, drowsy driving. Sleep deprivation will influence teens to be moody, irritable, and cranky. It also increases the likelihood of them engaging in high-risk behaviors (like drinking, smoking, driving fast, etc.). Inadequate sleep will also result in problems with attention, memory, decision making, reaction time, and creativity. A lack of sleep can also result in poor grades. When driving, a lack of sleep increases the risk of falling asleep behind the wheel. 

Well, how can teens get more sleep without sacrificing anything?

One way teens can get more sleep is by maintaining a sleep schedule. Choosing a bedtime and a time to wake up can help teens get enough sleep. Maintaining a sleep schedule also applies to weekends. Oversleeping on weekends can make going back to school on Monday incredibly difficult. Early afternoon naps are another way to get more sleep. Even 15-20 minutes of sleep after school can make an incredible difference. And as hard as it is, turning off screens before going to bed can make falling asleep easier as well. 

We have all been in that position where you have to run out the door in the morning to make it to school on time. But, if you don’t have time to eat breakfast, or choose not to, it may leave you rather hungry during class. Depending on the time, lunch might still be a class or two away. That’s why many students have turned to snacking during class. Should you be able to eat in class? Is this a habit with negative effects?

According to experiments and studies, we should have the ability to eat in class. It is important that we don’t have big distractions in class, but an empty stomach can completely change your focus. Instead of learning, all you’ll consider in how much longer till lunch.  

Through research, it has been proven that a student who has not eaten, is less likely to succeed than a student who has eaten. This research helps to support why it is important that students can eat in class, because hunger can be a distraction that only keeps you counting down the minutes instead of paying attention to what you are doing in class. 

That being said, what snack is the best to have to get you to lunch? The best snack is one that isn’t messy, isn’t candy, and isn’t loud. This makes the least amount of distractions for you and the people around you. So, pretzels are one good option. 

Lastly, what do students think about eating in class? Well, I asked a couple of students and they all seemed to agree that eating in class should be allowed. One explained that everyone should be allowed to eat when they feel it is necessary to eat, and another student described how early lunch affected how hungry they feel at the end of the school day.

But does eating in class distract them? They say no. One student explained how eating in class doesn’t make them fidget or look at their phone. They also described a pattern they developed of grabbing their snack and writing notes in a cohesive system. 

If you do eat in class, please be sure not to leave behind any trash or crumbs. No teacher wants to pick up wrappers or residue from the floor or desks. Also, if you leave behind a bunch of garbage it may deter the teachers from allowing you, and all the other students, to eat in class. 

By: Vivian S

If you are as obsessed with staying up to date with the school announcements as I am, or you look at the posters hung up all around the building, you may be well aware that on Wednesday, February 19th, there will be a service trip to the Sheridan Story.

The Sheridan Story is an organization dedicated to helping defeat child hunger and food insecurity. They work with schools and communities to help children get the food they will need, especially for weekends and breaks.

Not only do they provide food, but they try to make sure it’s healthy, consulting with dieticians from Allina Health and Saint Paul Public Schools.

And Highland Park Senior High is going to head over and help them! The field trip will be from 9:30AM to 12:00PM on February 19th. There are only 100 spots though, so the trip is already full.

If you still want to volunteer, you can sign up to volunteer on the Sheridan Story website.

While I always appreciate service opportunities just because, if you are part of a club or program (*cough* National Honor Society *cough*) that requires service hours, this would also be a good place to get some in. 

To find out more about the Sheridan Story or donate to them go to: https://www.thesheridanstory.org.

The proceeds of the school’s Bid Out, February 10th-18th, will also be going to the Sheridan Story. Bring money to your 2nd period class, the 10 classes that raise the most money will be going to ComedySportz, an improv comedy show.

By: Vivian S

Right beside the counselors office in our fair school lies the humble College and Career Resource Center. If you go to Highland, you may know of it, considering it sends out an email and updates Schoology every two weeks with its newsletter. But exactly what services does the CCRC offer?

The CCRC newsletter includes information about: summer camps and programs you can sign up for, ACT tests and resources to prepare for the test, and events hosted by colleges. The newsletter also has information about volunteer opportunities and job opportunities, with a few requirements and details for each. Finally, a list of scholarships, requirements, deadlines, and the amount of the scholarship can also be found in the newsletter. 

Walking into the CCRC, I could already see that it had many tables for students to work at. It had a few computers and a laptop cart, along with a printer that costs 5 cents per page. There was a small shelf with ACT prep books that could be checked out, and students were sitting, doing work, and talking to Ms. Baheriy about scholarships. I was honestly surprised by how busy the CCRC was, with people constantly handing papers in to Ms. Baheriy.

Ms. Baheriy graciously agreed to sit down and tell me what the CCRC does.

The CCRC is a place for students to prepare for colleges and careers, and get help planning those. Students come in to discuss and work on college and job applications, and career planning. Ms. Baheriy described her help as providing students with guidance and sharing all the options they have.

She also had some tips for students, saying that we should all start planning early instead of later. To start preparing for college, during the fall, there are many college visits, so researching colleges then would be helpful. She also encouraged students to look at the CCRC newsletter.

For applying to scholarships, she told me that most scholarships aren’t based off of what college you go to, but that many don’t open up until senior year.

The CCRC is open at any hour so students can have a place to work. If Ms. Baheriy isn’t available, students can make an appointment with her. But remember, the CCRC is not a place to hang out and eat lunch.

For more information, here is the CCRC’s website https://www.spps.org/Page/8150.