One of the biggest stresses of high school is getting all of the required credits, things such as the arts, industrial arts and technology. For the incoming freshmen of 2020 the technology credit won’t be a requirement anymore. “The decision behind eliminating the Technology Education Graduation Requirement was mainly due to the move towards One-to-One technology, with devices being deployed to high school students in January of 2017,” Director of Secondary Education Nancy Johnston said. “I don’t think that the requirement is really necessary, since kids are learning the things you would in Computer Technology Application before they get into high school now,” commented Senior Ashley Morrison on the elimina-tion of the graduation requirement. The elimination of the technology requirement for graduation doesn’t mean the end of technology classes in the Millard high schools. Technology classes will still

be available to students who choose to take them. All the elimination of the requirement means is that students are no longer forced to take a technology class if they don’t feel that it is furthering their education. “I believe that enrollment in the technology classes that are currently required will go down because the workload in those classes is so high, but there is minimal reward,” Senior Logan Miller speculates. In addition to the current technology classes that are available, MPS will be offering the new AP Computer Sci-ence Principles class. The College Board has been develop-ing this course since 2008 with strong support from the National Science Foundation. Over 50 high schools assisted the College Board in shaping the new course that will be launching in the 2016-2017 school year. Although a technology class will no longer be required for students to graduate, it will continue to have a presence in other core subject areas. The 2015-2016 school year marked the start of using Google Apps For Education (GAFE) in Millard and the be-

ginning of the end of ANGEL. Google Classroom is replac-ing ANGEL. It is used for assignments and classroom com-munications both inside and outside of class time. Google apps such as Docs, Slides, and Sheets allow students to work collaboratively on one file from different computers. “GAFE is really nice because you don’t have to rely on one person being in charge of the file, which can be really stressful sometimes,” Morrison said. “Also with GAFE you don’t have to worry about the whole is ANGEL going to be working today or not deal. I haven’t had any problems with GAFE crashing randomly,” Morrison continues. Google Apps automatically save files as one goes, so the excuse that the file didn’t save will no longer work for future students.With all of the changes in the ways that MPS is incorporat-ing technology for everyday classroom use, the elimination of the technology credit will not mean the end of students using technology.

Walking into a new position can be a difficult thing to do. Adapting to a new en-vironment or school for a teacher can bring unexpected challenges, but Amy Wesely, the new part time choir teacher and director of both Millard South Show Choirs, has taken the school by storm. Wesely is no stranger to Millard. Last year she worked at Beadle Middle School as the head of the choir and show choir pro-gram. When music department head and main choir teacher Jason Stevens, intro-duced the open job to her, she couldn’t resist. When asked the main difference between working with middle school to high school, Wesely simply stated, “The men can sing in more than one voice part!” A part of Wesely’s job as the assistant choir teacher is directing both show choirs at South, Stage One, the all fe-male group, and South on Stage, the mixed group. Show Choir is a themed ensemble that sings and does synchronized choreography in formal costumes and competes around

the Omaha area. South on Stage and Stage One compete in over four competitions a year and have placed in many of them. Wesely’s experience in show choir dates back all the way to her sophomore year in high school as a stage crew member for the show choir at her school. Instantly in love, Wesely began performing her junior year and continuing on with the Celebra-tion Show Choir throughout college at Northwest Missouri State University. “I started teaching choreography as a sophomore in college,” Wesley said.

“From there, I branched out and started choreographing various middle schools and small high schools in Missouri and Nebraska. I’ve been the choreog-rapher at Grace University for their musicals and revues for six seasons.” Wesely uses those choreog-raphy skills in sec-tions of both shows,

along with her conducting chops with the show band. Unknown by most students, is that Wesely is the third assistant choir teacher at Millard South in the last three years. Due to the position being only part time, most teachers can’t afford to keep the job and

live substantially. With so many teachers holding the position, many students find it difficult to grow as a group. Ashley Assman, a senior and three year member of South on Stage, states the chal-lenges of having a different director every year. “The difficulty in having a different director every year is that the show choir program is constantly being brought back

to square one. It is impossible for a program to grow when a new person with different ideas and a different level of experience is in charge each year. It’s also hard for the students to switch from different teaching styles and ideas every year because it starts to become unclear of what is expected from the student,” Assman said.

C o m m o n S e n s eMillard South High School • 14905 Q St. • Omaha, Neb., 68137 December 11, 2015 Volume 16 Issue 3

Brock McCulloughEntertainment Editor

New show choir director brings new perspective

Board eliminates technology credit requirement for class of 2020Sam Sliva Shailyn AltepeterBusiness Manager Opinions Editor

Change can be tough- but change is always happening. In my way of thinking, the show choirs students now have three directors’ worth of expertise to draw from- and that only makes them stronger. You can choose to complain, or you can choose to move forward and make something exceptional and that’s what South on Stage and Stage One are doing,

– Amy WesleyShow choir director

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Top: Sophomore Shaina Smith, junior Ziara York, and senior Ashlyn Johnson perform “Shut Up and Dance with Me.” Photo by Allyssa Hynes

Continued on pg. 2

Seniors Allison Norton and Grant McCoy in a final pose. Photos by Allyssa Hynes

Contest Entry fo Brock McCullough

News12 • 11 • 2015

2

Students perform at NMEA All-State ConferenceKelly GregoryStaff Reporter

Just last month, eight students from Millard South took a drive to Lincoln to per-form as a member of the NMEA All-State Ensembles. Each student was auditioned to be a part of the highest musical honor in the state of Nebraska- to perform on the Lied Center Stage at the Nebraska Music Educa-tors Association state conference. Students rehearsed for two days and then gave a final performance. “We had five rehearsals that were all about two hours, plus I spent a lot of time on my own just learning the songs,” All-State choir member Adam Eschliman said. “My favorite piece was ‘Home’ by Stephen Feigenbaum because of the part where ev-eryone sings ‘to everything that’s sad I can add something happy’. Because it was so good, our director cried during the perfor-mance.” Anthony Trecek-King directed the choir. King is an artistic director, who also directed the Boston children’s chorus. Anthony Maiello was chosen for the Band,

David Becker for Orchestra, and Antonio Garcia for the Jazz Band. “The clinician was really cool because he was really nitpicky, and really pushed us to be the best we could possibly be.” Eschliman said. Before the performance, the Tri-M honors recipients, National Choir mem-bers, and 3-year all state members were recognized.

The students from MSHS who participated in 2015 are as follows:Adam Eschliman, 3-year all-state memberKim Shriver, 3-year all-state memberDelaney Lynam, 3-year all-state memberKelly Gregory, 3-year all-state memberKatie Anderson, 2-year all-state member Leah Beran, 2-year all-state memberAlyssa Soppe, 2-year all-state memberHannah Grove, first year all-state member

Wesley, continued from page 1

Although these challenges are hard to overcome, Wesely has acknowledged them and come into Millard South with a fresh and positive attitude. “Change can be tough- but change is always happening. In my way of thinking, the show choirs students now have three directors’ worth of expertise to draw from- and that only makes them stronger. You can choose to complain, or you can choose to move forward and make something exceptional and that’s what South on Stage and Stage One are doing,” Wesely said. Many show choir members have noted their fond-ness towards Mrs. Wesely, saying her enthusiastic and caring personality boosts her positive teaching style, knowing that winning isn’t everything as long as you have an effect on the audience. Wesely’s goal for the show choir is to always entertain the audience saying, “Whether a poignant and touching ballad reaches the heart or a high-energy dance tune gets the audience excited, you should al-ways walk away changed from the performance. Show Choir helps develop leadership and teamwork. We are a family,” Wesley said. Wesley also expresses her hopes of the group traveling to compete all over the Midwest at regional and national competitions, a goal that’s been high on the list for several years. In addition to the show choirs, Wesely has also taken part in several other activities at South including music directing the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

and sponsoring the new a capella group. With all this work being put into the school, one won-ders how this posi-tion consistently stays part time. A huge contributing factor is the budget cuts that have been growing in the music areas across Millard. Music jobs in Millard are scarcely ever found and the idea of trying to add one is

simply not in the works. But in the end, many show choir members hope for a consistency in their group, stating their opinion that Mrs. Wesley is extremely deserving of a full time position. “She’s a hardworking and caring teacher who truly understands what it means to be a Millard South Patriot. She deserves the opportunity to hold a full time position in Millard so she can devote more time to her passion in music,” Assman said. “These show choir students are true athletes,” Wesley said. “I don’t think most people understand the high levels of choreography and physical and vocal training our students go through in order to sing and dance full out. They are great entertainers, and I am very proud of them all.”

Front: Left to Right: Kelly Gregory, Alyssa Soppe, Katie Anderson, Leah Beran. Back Row, Left to Right: Delaney Lynam, Kimberly Shriver, Adam Eschliman, Hannah Grove.

Women worldwide lobby for tax free tampons According to Jessica Kane for the Huffington Post, the average women spends around 18,000 dollars on items related to menstruating in her lifetime. Although this is a high number, it is a necessary number. Taxes are an important part of a government’s economy. But, that government also has the power to make certain items tax-free if deemed important enough. Maria Mercedes for People Magazine explains how these taxes came to be discussed in the first place: “The UK’s tax on menstrual prod-ucts has been a hot topic for decades. In 1973, the British government adopted a 17.5 percent VAT (value-added tax) tax on sanitary products when they joined the European Union. The rate on men-strual products (which includes pads, tampons and menstrual cups) was dropped to a 5 percent reduced rate in 2001, but some people want menstrual

products to be given a 0 percent rate as they are essential sanitary items for menstruating women.” Although some items on the list are actually necessitates, such as women’s sanitary products. On the other side, some items that are defi-nitely luxury items are not being taxed with full VAT, such as exotic meats like crocodile and kangaroo. This has stirred anger for many protesters in the UK and they have hit the streets with signs and other alterna-tive ways of showing their opinions. One point made by some pro-tampon tax officials is the fact that the United Kingdom is not the only place with taxes on women’s sanitary prod-ucts. The United States has between 4 to 9 percent tax varying from state to state with 5 states that are tax free (Maryland, Massachusetts, Minne-sota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania). One of the higher paid taxes for tampons is found in Australia where they pay almost 10 percent, but this is actively being protested against as well lead by the Prime Minister’s sister Christine

Forster. At the top for the highest paid taxes for sanitary products is Hungary and quietly continues to do so with a whopping 27 percent. A thought closer to home is how tampons and pads could possibly be provided at school for one quarter in the machine in the bathroom. They are not anymore because the machines that dispense them are too often tampered with and broken. The only available tampons at Millard South are for emer-gencies and are in the nurse’s office. “I actually purchase all of the sup-plies in the office myself,” school nurse Sharon Brisson-Schnitker said. “It costs me around 9 to 10 dollars a month for 40 tampons and 60 pads. I would never let a girl who needs one to go without, they are absolutely a necessities,” she said. As the buzz and media attention settles down, protesters around the world continue supporting the idea of tax-free tampons. Many petitions have been started, one of those being on Change.org.

Jade MyattStaff Reporter

Just sixteen girls, and one activity that has changed their lives. After achieving 6th place at finals during march-ing season, the MSHS Color Guard is now preparing to take on their winter season. After months of planning to pick a show theme and raise money for the materials, the team is ready to get back to their flags and weapons. The Color Guard has been doing their winter guard competitions with the Heartland Winter Arts Association (HWAA) for multiple years now. These competitions are a little different from the fall marching contests because they take place inside and it’s strictly just guards and percus-sions. Many different Omaha schools including Bellevue East and Millard North participate, but there are several independent groups as well, such as the Railmen Drum and Bugle Corps Winter Guard. The competitions take place January through April this year, starting on Jan. 30 at Bellevue West High School and ending on April 2, with championships at Burke High School. “I think winter guard gets to focus on the guard more so we get to do new things,” junior Jordyn Motsinger, a 3rd

year guardie said. “It’s also more friendly because you get to meet other guards and it’s not as competitive as march-ing season is.” This year the Color Guard was introduced to two new coaches, Elizabeth and Rachelle Lynam, who are alumni to the guard. For their winter season this year they have themed the show as Pandora’s Box and plan to use music by Florence and the Machine. The planning of the show has been in progress for months. The team members of the guard have been hard at work fundraising at Freddy’s to help pay for flag silks, costumes, and a tarp to paint to match the show. On the other side of the work, Elizabeth and Rachelle have been working hard to write the show and meet with their design team to make the set pieces. To join the team all you need to do are a few simple things. First, there was an informational meeting for audi-tions on Nov. 12, but auditions are still open to everyone. For an informational packet see Mr. Myers in the band room, and auditions will held on Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria. Everyone who wants to join the team can join, the auditions are just for the coaches to see what everyone’s strengths are, to meet some of the new people, and to teach everyone some basic moves. Everyone of any level of expe-rience is welcome even if they’ve never spun a flag before.

Winter Guard picks up where marching season leaves offPayton WeaverStaff Reporter

Amy WeselyShow Choir Director