Tag Archives: hpsh

Editorials/Student Voice, School Life

Personal Project stress

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By: Merob Geleto

The Personal Project is a semester-long project completed by 10th graders for IB schools like Highland Park. Students have to choose a topic, create a product, and submit a paper about the process.

The Personal Project is stressful for students due to it usually overlapping with other academic pressures, being more of a self-directed project, and being long-term. The project spans over several months meaning students have to manage their time wisely so they can submit the project on time. Some students have a lot on their plate with school work or extracurricular activities so students usually push off doing their project which leads to extreme procrastination.

Managing your time and doing the project is a challenge but picking a topic is usually what is most stressful and hardest for students. From what I’ve seen from my peers, many students don’t know their topic until December or even January. There are a lot of topics to pick from, too many in fact, which makes it harder for students to choose. A common issue when picking a topic is picking one and it being too broad and actually being three projects. This usually leads to a burnout.

Usually students find a way to deal with the stress and submit their Personal Project finished. Many students, including me, broke down the project into smaller pieces. Some made a schedule to make sure they were on track.

I interviewed a sophomore who had just done their Personal Project and asked how stressful the Personal Project was and how he dealt with it. The interviewee replied with “It was extremely stressful because I procrastinated a lot”. He then said that when the stress was too overwhelming, he went to his PP advisor. His advisor gave him a layout and some advice which helped him a lot. The interviewee ended up finishing his project on time.

No matter what method, most students doing the Personal Project managed themselves well enough to prevent burnout and to pass.

Editorials/Student Voice, School Life

Highland’s new cafeteria

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By: Weston Halgunseth

A new era for dining

For years Highland’s cafeteria was known for its shift between the middle school’s dark, gloomy side and the overly bright high school side, however after the remodeling of the cafeteria last year, the space has been completely transformed. The revamp hasn’t changed the menu much but it did change the vibe of the lunch room for the better.

A modern aesthetic

The first thing students notice when walking in is that the room simply looks better. Gone are the crazy shifts in lighting between sides. The big wall blocking each side making parts get crowded is also gone. In is new modern furniture that reminds you of what colleges have. The new lunch lines and the overall vibe of it is better. This aesthetic shift makes the lunch room become a highlight of many student days.

Comfort & space

The renovation also has improved the comfort of the lunch room. By introducing more space, the new modern seats, and the link that connects the two floors. The school has created an environment where students can take a break and have it feel like a break. The new layout provides more space to move around, effectively eliminating the crowded feeling during lunch.

This extra room allows for people to become more social and overall become more of a relaxed area.

New options

Perhaps the most noticeable change was the new food lines that were made, one of them having salads and yogurt and the other having stuff you can buy like sandwiches, drinks, etc. For me, I see a lot of people going to these lines instead of the normal 2 options they usually have.

A schoolroom is the heart of student life, and this revamp of the lunchroom has given that heart a much needed boost. By creating a space that is spacious and comfortable, Highland has provided us with a good revamped lunchroom.

Getting To Know/History

Interview with Nurse Feven

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By: Treshawn Ross

Introduction- Nurse Feven is our new school nurse for this year after our previous nurse retired. I had an opportunity to interview her, so our students could get a proper introduction to her. She’s been doing a wonderful job this year. Below are a series of job related questions and more personal questions.

Job related questions-

Treshawn: How have you enjoyed working at Highland so far?

Nurse Feven: ”I’ve loved it so much, I can see myself retiring from here and I’m not even close to retiring. This is really cool because it’s my first time working with high school students directly.”

Treshawn: Was there anything specific to Highland and its community that made you more interested in working here?

Nurse Feven: “The initial thought was that I lived close by, and I have personal connections with the school through family members. Part of it is also that we have a big East African population here and I thought I’d be a good fit for that reason.”

Treshawn: What type of job did you see yourself doing when you were younger?

Nurse Feven: “I’ve always seen myself in healthcare, my father had cancer and he had a personal nurse around our home and I saw the effects she had on our family and I was inspired by that.”

Treshawn: Have any staff members or students helped you adjust to your new work environment?

Nurse Feven: “Yeah definitely, a few staff members have helped me out with stuff like certain dates. Ms. Bonk helped me out a lot, and Sarita helped me out too.”

Treshawn: What do you enjoy the most about being a nurse?

Nurse Feven: “I enjoy helping people and making them feel better, and teaching them new things about their health. Also, teaching them about careers in healthcare. Also the wide variety of job types is one thing I enjoy too!”

Treshawn: Do you have any advice for the students at Highland? Medical advice or otherwise.

Nurse Feven: “Yeah, these are very important years as high school students. The choices you make now matter a lot more. Take advantage of every opportunity you can and if you like them you can stay with it or if you don’t it doesn’t hurt to try. Also have fun!”

Treshawn: What would you say is usually the highlight of your day while working here?

Nurse Feven: “Anytime I get to see students honestly, you guys brighten up my day.”

Personal questions-

Treshawn: How was your winter break? Did you do anything fun?

Nurse Feven: “Yeah It was great, I went to Boston with my family for Christmas and it was very nice.”

Treshawn: How long have you been a nurse and what was the process of getting into this work field?

Nurse Feven: “I graduated in 2010 from nursing school and there was a shortage of jobs. I wanted to get into a hospital straight away but that didn’t work out. I did home care first and then worked my way up to being in a hospital. In home care you really get to know the clients and that’s really cool.”

Treshawn: What type of music do you listen to and do you have a favorite artist?

Nurse Feven: “I really like Afro beats but I’ll really listen to anything. I love early 2000’s/1990’s music too like rap and RnB, even pop! I also like praise/worship music too.”

Treshawn: What are your hobbies and interests outside of work?

Nurse Feven: “I like dancing, not a particular kind, just anything. I also enjoy yoga and taking walks. Discovering new hiking places too. I also like to cook.”

Treshawn: What would you say is the most important thing needed to be a good nurse?

Nurse Feven: “Compassion for others and empathy. Also flexibility, you need to learn how to switch gears and use those critical thinking skills a lot.”

Treshawn: Is there anything else you would like the students of Highland to know about you?

Nurse Feven: “I’m also a part of the mental health team as well, I don’t only deal with physical ailments. If the social workers or other support staff is tied up I’m always available to help.”

Editorials/Student Voice, PRIZM, Scottie News

A break for Winter Break

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This is just a reminder that though we try to provide new content every weekday during the school year, Winter Break is the one time where the student creators of the Plaid Line, PRIZM, and Scottie News also take a break (with the exception of the Monday “Sports schedule”).

We look forward to bringing you new exciting content on our return in 2026!

Hockey, Sports

The start of Saint Paul hockey

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By: Canaan Nonnemacher

The Saint Paul hockey team is a cooperative high school team for Highland Park, Central, Como, and Johnson. This unified team was formed in 2025 because there weren’t enough players for each school to have its own team. By combining, the students could continue to play hockey.

About the Scots

The Highland Park Scots hockey program has a history that includes a significant “comeback.”

After the varsity team merged with Central in 1987, it didn’t exist for over two decades. The comeback began in 2008 with a junior varsity team, and the Scots played their first varsity season in 23 years in 2010.

The Scots won their only St. Paul City Conference title in the 1975-76 season, a year in which they also had their best record with 19 wins.

In recent years, they have been very successful, including one of their best seasons recently when they reached the section semifinals for the first time since 1976. This was a huge accomplishment for the team and shows how hard they have worked.

About the Governors

Before the merge, the Johnson Governors were a historic program dating back more than 100 years. The Governors were known for their success on the ice, winning four state championships and producing good players, including Herb Brooks, the coach of the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 U.S. Olympic team.

The end of the Governors as a stand-alone team was a sad moment for the community, but their team lives on as part of the combined Saint Paul hockey program. The history and tradition of the Governors are now a big part of the combined team’s identity.

By joining together, the Saint Paul hockey team is a powerful combination of tradition and a fresh start. The team not only preserves the history of programs like the Scots and the Governors but also builds a strong, unified identity. This collaboration lets student athletes keep playing.

School Life

My freshman homecoming experience

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By: Seng Nhkum

This year is my first homecoming dance as a freshman in high school, and my first school dance I’ll be attending. I hope it goes well.

First, the hardest part of going to a dance is finding the perfect dress. I had to go to the mall 3 times in order to find a perfect dress! Before they announced the theme ‘Midnight Ball’ for homecoming, I bought this cute hot pink dress for homecoming that fit me perfectly, and then went to the mall 2 more times to finally purchase a lavender sparkly dress which is so pretty.

The homecoming dance was at Highland Park Senior High school in the field house at 7:00-10:00 pm on a Friday. Before that, our school day was shortened by a bit so we could have a pep rally at 2:00-3:00 pm. It was funny, but not when everyone cheered “Go home Freshman”. Like yes, I will gladly go home.

After I got back home at 3:30 I was procrastinating for 30 whole minutes to decide whether I should curl my hair for homecoming or straighten it; I decided to curl it. I finished getting ready, and arrived at the high school at 7:30.

In the field house there was a place where you could take photos, and there they sold snacks and drinks. Also, in the gym was the dancing area and at the time there weren’t that many people in the gym. But oh my, a little later, even more people showed up and the gym was so overstimulating and hot. People were also crowd surfing and throwing themselves back which caused lots of chaos.

At 9:00 it actually got more fun, it felt less awkward, and me and my friends decided to just have fun and sang our hearts out till our voices were gone.

Overall, my first homecoming experience was a 7/10. The best parts were making memories and having fun with my friends, but the worst part was the heat and due to all the jumping my feet hurt so bad. I do recommend you go to homecoming because of the memories and the fun! (just don’t wear high heels for the homecoming dance…)