Every winter, the senior class plans a field trip to go snow tubing. This year, it was planned for February 7th, but things didn’t go according to plan.

Seniors showed up on Thursday with all their layers of clothing ready to go. The field trip cancelation was announced to everybody half-way through first hour. Due to a snow storm, SPPS high schools got an early release at 1:30pm. Some people were worried that if the seniors went on the field trip, the road conditions would get bad on the way back and the busses wouldn’t make it back by 1:30pm for students to ride the bus home.

By that time, students had already found out about the cancellation and were very upset. I remember seeing a swarm of upperclassmen around the counseling office during passing time after first hour. Some seniors decided to leave after 1st hour. They were upset because most students didn’t bring their school work because they didn’t think they would need it.

The field trip has been rescheduled for March 14th and everyone seems excited to still be going…given that we don’t have ANOTHER snow storm.

HPSH’s spirit week is here – February 19 to 22. During spirit week, students are encouraged to dress up based on the allotted schedule, and are expected to attend the pep fest.

The pep fest will occur Friday, February 22, 7th period (1:12-2:00) in the main gym. Your 7th period teacher should bring you down when the time is right, there will also be an announcement over the loud speakers to notify the teachers when to come down (we are assuming they are calling down by floors). Please do not bring your backpack (or any bag) to the gym. You can leave it in your (locked) 7th period teacher’s classroom or locker.

Because students and staff did not go to school Monday due to Presidents’ Day, there will be four dress up days. Tuesday is “dress like a teacher day.” For Tuesday, you could dress like your favorite teacher using wigs, clothing, hats, and/or shoes.

Wednesday is pajama day, so make sure to wear your favorite onesie or most comfortable sweatpants.

Thursday is jersey day. On Thursday you can wear any jersey, or sports apparel you own, to represent your favorite sports team.

Friday is class colors day, where students wear the colored t-shirt that coordinates with their grade. (freshmen wear yellow, sophomores wear green, juniors wear blue, and seniors wear red.)

Also, please be mindful that you are not mocking anyone during this week by dressing up like them (A.K.A on Tuesday, teacher look alike day). Please keep all your outfits school appropriate and all outfits MUST show your face at all times. Remember to have fun at the pep fest, but also be respectful to everyone who is performing.    

When we asked HPSH students what they thought of spirit week, many said that they appreciated the opportunity and thought it was fun. However, “It’s not really as fun as it would be if everyone participated,” one student explained. Many students agreed with this. Some even admitted to not taking part; “Spirit week is really fun…but I usually don’t participate.”

Because of the lack of participants in spirit week, not all students dress up. “Sometimes you’re just worried that other people won’t do it, and even if you wanted to, you chicken out,” one person told us. “You’re worried others will think it’s weird.”

Spirit week is much more fun if everyone does it! Show your school spirit by dressing up with everyone else.

By: Vivian

Driver education is coming to Highland! This session will run from May 6 to 21, 2:10-5:10 pm every day. The class fee is $330. To register, there are forms in the main office. Sign up quickly because there is limited class space. To sign up for the class, you must be 15 years old by the last day of class.

If you are 15-17 and want to drive, then you are required to take the 30 hour course to be able to get your permit. If you are 18, you don’t have to take the 30 hour course, but you still can if you want to. After you complete the class, you will have to take a knowledge test to get your permit.

The $330 fee includes 6 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction, not just the 30 hours of class. After you complete the class, you will have 18 months to do your behind-the-wheel instruction.

If you miss more than 3 hours (one class period) of the 30 hour course, you will be unenrolled from the course and will not receive credit. If you miss up to 3 hours, you can make up for the missed class time, but you will need to do it within the quarter. If you are unenrolled or decide to cancel, you will receive a refund minus a $50 fee. Once the course has ended you can’t get any more refunds.

You are expected to show proper behavior in the classroom, and the use of cell phones in class is prohibited.

To take the road test to get your driver’s license, you have to be 16, have had your permit for at least 6 months, and have completed the supervised driving log, which requires 50 hours of driving time with at least 15 hours driving after dark, if your guardians choose to take a supplemental class, then you only have to do 40 hours of driving.

Driver Education Office – Central High School | 275 N. Lexington Pkwy., St. Paul, MN 55104
651-744-5094 | Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 9:00a – 3:00p

On Thursday, January 17th, Highland Park put on their annual Showcase from 6-8pm. Middle schoolers from Highland Park Middle, Capital Hill, and other St. Paul middle schools attended the showcase.

During the showcase, tours were held for the middle school students, and their parents, directed by students in the Year Book club. Throughout the night, 3 different tours took place, popcorn and cookies were served in the gym, and all of Highlands Park’s extracurricular activities we’re presented around the gym including: sports, math team, robotics club, Black Student Union, Asian Culture club, and more.

Highland’s Showcase is a great way to get to know about the activities and clubs available at the school. There are a variety of programs to join, and there is something for everyone with 42 different clubs which include:

Highland Park’s Showcase this year had a turn out of about 70 different families, a little less than what Highland has had in the past.

I talked to Mr. O’Connell, a math teacher, as well as math coach on the Highland Park math team about this year’s Showcase. I asked him how he felt about this years turn out, and he responded, “I expected more students, there was about 60 families that showed up.” I further asked him if he thought the low turn out would mean fewer freshmen next year. Mr. O’Connell’s response was, “Of course I have no doubt that we won’t have a lot of kids, but we are just going to have to see what next year brings.”

On January 10th, We had our second senior class meeting. It was basically a meeting where we talked about making sure we are on track to graduate and also about graduation. You could feel the excitement in the room as we are going into our second semester of our last year in high school. We talked about three main things: keeping grades up, senior field trip, and cap and gowns.

Grades

Seniors have been in high school for about 3 years now and are familiar with keeping grades up in order to pass a class and go on to the next grade.

Well, when senior year hits, students tend to think that there isn’t much effort needed in order to graduate, which is false.

In the meeting, counselors talked about how students tend to take it easy and not care as much and end up failing a class which prohibits them from being able to graduate. We should still care about our grades because of that, but also because colleges are still going to be looking at our grades even after they have accepted us. It is important that we seniors take this advice and do it.

Cap And Gown

The second half of the senior meeting involved making sure you fit your cap and gown perfectly. Making sure you look your best during graduation day is key when it comes to walking down that stage with your diploma in hand.

The seniors were given a short link, to type on their phones, which opened up a site, which basically got them ready for ordering their cap and gowns. On this website, the seniors had to type out their personal information like their name and email, and they had to put down their weight, and height.

An important reminder went out to the people wearing heels… “If you plan on wearing heels, you need to add on an inch or more when writing down your height.”

Senior Field Trip

The seniors were also given permission slips to the next senior field trip, which will happen on February 7th, on a Thursday. The field trip starts at 9:15am and goes to 1:00pm. The fee is $18 which covers a bus ride, and two hours of SNOW TUBING.

This field trip was planned by the senior class council, and the rest of the student class voted on it.

Permission slips are due back by Tuesday, January 29th, to Ms. Zepeda in the counseling office. Any questions, please talk to Ms. Esso.

By: Vivian S

Next semester, there are two new electives coming to Highland!

There is Beginning Dance, which will be during period 6. You will learn: the social, performing, and traditional forms of some basic dances; a bit of the history of dance; information about viewing and choreographing a dance or performance; and the parts of performance.

The teacher is Mr. Keefe. Whether or not you have experience, this class is open to you. To sign up, go to the Google Doc, or visit your counselor while you still can.

The other elective is Social Justice Theatre, during period 7, where you’ll have conversations about privilege, equity, justice, identity, etc. in order to create pieces with spoken word, music, improvisation, and storytelling. There is no experience needed to be a part of this class.

The teacher is Ms. Michael. Do you want to learn how to use your voice to spark the change you want in the world? This class is for you. Sign up by going to the Google Doc, or visiting your counselor.

In interviewing Ms. Michael, she said that she believes theatre provides an opportunity to explore our world. In the class, you will be digging into your own identity, how the world sees you and how you see yourself, who you want to be and what you can change. She looks forward to getting to know everyone. She thinks that students will enjoy conversations that will happen, and seeing how theatre can change the world. She believes Highland does need this class, as there are so many loud people promoting hate out there, students need a chance to share how this impacts them, and raise their voices as well.

The ultimate deadline for signing up for these classes is the start of quarter 3.

These electives were made because students expressed an interest in them.

If you can’t sign up for these classes, don’t worry, there are other opportunities for similar activities. There is an Intro to Theatre class 6th period and there’s a DP dance class 7th period. You can also join the Urban Dance Club.

If you’re interested in either of these electives, sign up now!

It’s that exciting time of the year, that goes on until spring, where seniors are getting there acceptance letters from college.

It is exciting, and overwhelming, to hear back from the colleges that you have been thinking about since the minute you entered high school, and have been working towards for the past four years. It can get nerve racking waiting to hear back, and sometimes it can be news that you weren’t expecting, but don’t let this stop you from believeing that you won’t get into the school you want.

When applying to college, it all begins with the excitment of being able to think about all the possibilities for you out there, to learn how to be independent and really start the earning process for your future goals. But, it can sometimes result in feeling crushed once you have realized that you haven’t been accepted into the school of your dreams. Don’t let this get to you, it can have a toll, but that just means that there is a better option out there for you.

At the end of the day, acceptance season can be really exciting but scary. It’s just making sure you know that even if it’s bad news, you won’t let it rain on you, because an acceptance letter will be coming sooner or later.

Throughout the different grade levels you have been through, you have most likely been through a lot of different start times and ending times for school.

In elementary school, it started a lot later, meaning you would get out later as well. But for middle school and high school, you would start a lot earlier and end earlier.

As of fall, 2019 though, SPPS has decided to change the start time for high, and middle, schools to 8:30 a.m. because of studies that have shown that teens wake up later naturally.

In these studies, it basically showed that students were having trouble with sleep schedules because typically, they would sleep later. I know that with me being a senior, I can say that I struggle with waking up early because I either can’t sleep at a reasonable time or else I am up doing homework. I know that a lot of students do this too. This can just have students not be able to focus in class and feel sleepy all day. With this later start, students will get the chance to sleep in a little longer.

So, you maybe thinking, “Would that cause after school activities to run later?” and yes, it would, because of the later ending time.

But at the end of the day, students are getting the chance to sleep longer, which will hopefully increase a better performance in school. Students will feel more energized and ready to learn. At the end of the day, this change will hopefully see an improvement in students.

By: Vivian S

‘Tis the season of giving, and right now, our library is giving us a huge deal! Kicking off this month, December, you can go to the library during lunch, study hall, or after school to read down your fines. For every 15 minutes you read, $2 will be taken off your fines.

To participate, go to the library and check in at the desk. You will be given a slip of paper. On it, write down your start time and your end time, and then turn it in at the front desk at the end.

The read down does not extend to fines you have for equipment, such as iPads.

This is the second year of the read down here. Last year, students only received $1 for every 15 minutes. Not a lot of kids took advantage of this event last year, and we are hoping more will choose to this year.

Another way to read down your fines is during English class. If you have free choice reading time in your English class, you can go up to your teacher and ask them for the slip of paper so you can read down your fines! You hand in the slip of paper with your times on it to the teacher at the end of class.

Other libraries also offer programs like this. Some only offer it for particular months or days. At the Ramsey County Library, you can come in on the first Saturday of every month to read down your fines, for every 15 minutes you will get $1.

The read down is an incredible way to promote reading while allowing students to reduce or eliminate their fines.

I urge everyone to take advantage of this offer to read down any fines they might have.