Homecoming Who will be crowned royalty?

Homecoming Candidates

Girls- Michaelyn Laflen- Kayla Schlachter- Jenna Gantenbein- Mickinzi Burrow

Guys- Josh Fief- Dustin Stanley- Kyle Kieborz- Ian Hodges

King & Queen will be crowned on Fri-day, October 17 @ 6:30pm before the

football game.

What’s Inside?

- Interview With The Candidates

– Preparing to Run

– Honk! The Sound of Death

– The Adventures of Nelly the Narwhal and Rob the Unicorn

– And Much More!

The Dog Blog is a product of the Bennington High School Publica-tions Class, Bennington, Kansas, 67422.Senior Editor: Tyler ApplebyAdvisor: Don WagnerIssue 10.3October 16, 2014Available Online at <USD240.org>

Come out and support your Bennington Bulldogs as they

take on their rival, the Ell-Saline Cardinals on Friday,

Oct 17 @ 7:00pm.

Top left to right: Ian Hodges, Kyle Kieborz, Josh Fief, and Dustin Stanley. Bottom left to right: Kayla Schlachter, Michaelyn Laflen, Mickinzi Burrow, and Jenna Gantenbein.

HOMECOMING

CANDIDATES

Why do you think you were picked as a homecoming Candidate?

Kyle- Stupidity at its finest.Michaelyn- I don’t know. Why don’t they tell me?

Jenna- I think because I’m super involved and inter-act with the underclassman!

Dustin- I can’t say. I’m a nice guy. Kayla- I am nice, and always myself. I don’t try and

fit it. Doing me. Mickinzi- I like everybody! I’m not mean.

Josh- I try to be nice, and involved.

Who do you hope reinacts you for the homecoming skit?

Kyle- I’ll go with Scritchfield/ Gillett, those two dudes are funny.

Michaelyn- Mrs. Mick, because she’s crazy!Jenna- Maddy Schmidt, we look so much alike!Dustin-Oh, Mr. Rodine. He is drop dead funny!

Kayla- How about Mr. Gish because he’s my favor-ite teacher!

Mickinzi- Mrs. Trout or Mrs. Stanley. They could do it really well.

Josh- Mr. Rodine. He’s tall, awkward, and funny.

by Jasmyne Baffa and Elise Vishnefske

HOMECOMING

CANDIDATES

Which dessert is your personality?Kyle- That molten chocolate thing from Applebees,

cause I’m warm on one side, with ice cream to cool it down on the side!

Michaelyn- I’m a nutty bar. Swag. Jenna- Well, my favorite dessert is oreos. Gotta love

them oreos. Dustin- I’m a sundae, just a little bit of everything.

Kayla- I like ice cream, it’s pretty good. MmmMickinzi- Cookie Cake, because like me, it’s awesome. Josh- I want to say ice cream but that makes me cold,

and I’m not cold! So a warm brownie WITH ice cream; or a zebra cake.

If you were to win, who do you hope is standing by your side? Why?

Kyle- Who are the girl candidates? No, really I wanna know who. Wait, M- Dog (Cause she has

swag).Michaelyn- Not Kyle, just kidding. Dustin!

Jenna- Probably Ian, because we’re good friends and work together.

Dustin- Probably Michaelyn, because we’ve been together since kindergarten.

Kayla- Dustin Stanley, because he’s like my brother.Mickinzi- It doesnt matter, I love everyone up there

and am glad to have the privilege of being there with them.

Josh- Anybody that makes me look good, so any-body.

Preparing to Run! Today was the day, the day I had been training for. To some this was just another meet, another meet that wasn’t regionals, so they didn’t really care. To me, though, it was more. The first two meets thus far this year had been pretty tough. I hadn’t competed as well as I should of and I hadn’t done as well as I wanted to yet. But this

week had been different. I wasn’t hoping to spontaneously combust just to get out of running like I usually was; I was ready to race.

Race day. Very few things give me such a feeling as a Cross-Country

race day. Excitement yet nervousness begins to set in as the day goes on. I

somehow survive through my school day and before I know it, it’s time to start warm up. Upon arriving at the meet, we get the team together and make our way to the start line. I set down my spikes by our chute in the start line, and with water bottle in

hand we start off at a painfully slow pace. Waking up our muscles from

their slumber that school has brought them, we each start to mentally

prepare for the race. I find where the

As I began my warm-up, I thought back on the past three days; all of the training had been tough but it had made me better. All those hills I had run on Monday were terrible, but as I ran them I knew that they were making me better. Not just with conditioning, but they were making me men-tally tough. My run on Tuesday had been long and grueling. It wasn’t that it was too hot, though it was far from “nice”, but it was that nagging thought that creeps into your mind as you run: the knowledge of how far you have left to go. With this thought will usually come others: sometimes the simple feel-ing of tiredness, and at other times comes the feeling to just

give in. In a race this thought will make its way into my mind at some point. The hardest part of every race is overcoming

that feeling. But once you can do that, the rest is just running. Wednesday was our pre-meet day, and as usual, it was a fairly

laid back practice. Wednesdays are the days that our team cherishes; a timed run around town that involve running,

jumping over things, and just all around shenanigans. After practice we would have a team dinner at a teammates house, then it was off to get a good night’s sleep before the big day.

byIan Hodges

...the train-ing had been

tough, but it had made me better.

first and second mile marks are, parts with uneven or awful footing, and places where I can probably cut off corners without being seen. As race time slowly

approaches, I do become a little nervous. My previous

races, to me at least, had definitely been sub-par. I

tried not to focus on them, though, as we made our way back to the start for the final

steps of our warm up. We went through the normal

toe touches, high knee pulls, and lunges until it was time for our team meeting. We met nearly 50 meters out

from the start and huddled up. Each of us had just be-

gun to break a sweat and we were barely breathing hard, so Josh and I gave the pre-race words of encourage-

ment. I prayed for the team and then we headed back to the start to do our last

couple of stride-outs. Before I knew it, it was time.

The start of the race is always to worst part. All of the nerves and energy in one area are exhilarating and also terrifying. The starter, with his gun loaded with blank rounds in hand, gave us the standard instructions: “Run clean, don’t trip, blah blah blah…” I don’t really listen to what the starters say any-more; this is my fourth year of cross-country and I’m pretty sure I know how to run on a line around a golf course. “On your marks!” Great, here we go. All the excitement and nerves of the group com-bine into a giant pool of energy. BANG! And like a startled stampede of wildebeests we took off after the gator that would be leading us through the race. I was focused and prepared; I was ready for this

race.

...it was time.

Race time

HONK! As Frankie and I were running through the forest, we could hear them com-ing. The ground shook as each of their legs forced their feet to the ground. It was dark; too dark. As we force ourselves threw the wilderness that sur-rounded us all I can hear is Frankie, who was right behind me.

“Why is this happening?!”

“I don’t know, Frankie! I don’t know!” They were getting closer. Frankie knew it. I knew it. They knew it. It was time to think of a new plan; running was no longer an option.

“What are we going to do, Sam?”That was a good question… what were we going to do? I looked around the dense forest and tried to conjure up a plan that would keep us from dying. It was dark; too dark.

“I don’t know Frankie! I don’t know what to do!”

After saying those last few words to Frankie, I knew I said the wrong answer. He began to cry.

Poor Frankie. He is too young to have to go through this. Where did it all go wrong? Where did humanity make the fatal flaw that would destroy our race? It didn’t matter now. Frankie. Frankie is all that matters.

“Stop your balling, Frankie! You are 11 years old. Now help me find a place to hide.”

His face went still. Everything just stopped. The trembling ground, the tears, the emotion, it all just ended. All that was in my mind was getting us to safety. It was time to act.

They were getting closer. We could hear it. I looked around one last time and I found a tall tree. This was it. There was no more time. I push Frankie up the tree.

1.

by Jacob Matney

We saw them. Those morsels of flesh had no idea what was coming. It was dark, but it was no match for our night-vision. They tried to communicate, as if they had any hope to escape what was coming next.

“Go, Betty, go.”

Betty scoped out the position, gave the signal, and we advanced.

It was just us, a group of four. We got closer with each passing second. Thank-fully they were just circling around like idiots trying to find somewhere to go, somewhere to hide. One of them even broke down crying.

“Seriously? One might expect more maturity from cheese.”

Marco was always the articulate one.

We tear from shadow to shadow. The drumbeat of their hearts could be heard for miles. They started climbing the tree: our tree. The first one climbed, not very fast if I say so myself. The second one stumbled a couple times, so we just sat back and watched the show.

“I heard sweat adds good flavor.”

Denny had always liked extra seasoning.

We came close to them; close enough we could see the fear in their eyes. And then we attacked. We were their worst night-mare. We were the geese.

The Sound of Death“Climb Frankie, climb!”

As he climbed, I could see them coming closer.

“Faster Frankie!”

Right as Frankie got to safety, I begin to crawl up the tree, but it was too late. They were here… the geese.

“They’re huge, Sam! You need to climb now!”

I know I can hear my brother’s voice. I know I need to climb but I just can’t. My legs just won’t move.

“NOW SAM! CLIMB NOW!” I want to respond. I want to call for help but I can’t find the voice to speak. All I can seem to find is my inner fears leaking out. I am stuck.

I can see the geese, or what used to be geese. Their mutant red eyes are able to pierce the dark veil that sur-rounds the earth. They are tall creatures now, not the little duck like creatures my brother and I used to chase when we were younger. Times have changed.

“SAM!”

I break out of my daze and finally begin to turn to climb. Now is my last chance. All I can do is move for-ward.

2.

by Tyler Appleby

The Adventures of Nelly

Once upon a time, in a land far away,

there lived a young narwhal. A narwhal is just like a whale, a whale with the majestic horn of a unicorn. This nar-whal was at the young age of only 152 years old (narwhals usually live for about a billion years). This particular nar-whal’s name was Nelly, Nelly the Narwhal. Nelly wasn’t your average, everyday nar-whal; she was the only one of his kind. Nelly had extremely vague memories of other Nar-whals, whom she believed to be her parents. Nelly also lived all alone, down on the South Pole. She was visited by the occasional passing penguin, but for the most part was on her own.

One day, Nelly de-cided she was going to go on a quest. Nelly was going on a quest to find her parents, and they were going to live and do narwhal things together, like play checkers and do cart-wheels. Nelly, having never left the South Pole, had no idea in which direction to go. So she closed her eyes, spun around 64 times, got over her dizziness and headed in that direction; luckily, that direc-tion was north. The decision Nelly made to leave her homeland was a tough one, but she was a tough narwhal and was deter-mined to find her family. She set off with only the essentials: her toothbrush, a bottle of A1 steak sauce, and her favorite X-Men comic book to keep her entertained. Nelly wasn’t in the best of shape, so not too long after leaving she was quite tired.

As she was about to set up for the night, a ram-bunctious dolphin appeared. Scared and confused, Nelly had no idea what to do; she had never met anyone but a penguin before! “You can’t have my steak sauce!” Nelly yelled in an uncertain voice. Confused by this statement and what kind of animal Nelly was, the dolphin had no idea what to say. “What, what are you?” “I’m a Narwhal. Nelly the narwhal. What are you?” Nelly replied. “I’m a dolphin. Dolly the Dolphin.” The stranger replied. “What is that sticking out of your head?” “Why that’s my super-mega-awesome horn. I use it to be awesome and such.” Nelly replied. “That’s prob-ably the single most awesome thing that I’ve ever seen.” Dolly replied, almost in a daze starring at Nelly’s horn. “I’m trying to find other narwhals like me, would you like to come along?” Nelly asked. “Why, I would love to,” Dolly replied. And so the pair set off, Nelly the narwhal and Dolly the Dolphin, looking to find Nelly’s family.

byIan Hodges

To be continued!

Rob the Unicorn!

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, there lived a robot unicorn named Rob. Rob was tired of the life he was living. He was constrained to the same rainbow land for all of his life. He had never seen an ocean or any natural body of water. Rob wanted to experience the water on his face and how it felt to be out

of his comfort zone; he wanted to go some-place new from where he had lived his entire

life. So he planned a trip to the Pacific Ocean. He was going to get on an interstellar galaxy plane to take him to Earth. But his evil robot unicorn boss wouldn’t give him the time off. Rob stood up to his boss and gave such a speech that I can’t tell you what he said without his expressed

written consent. So his boss gave him the time off, but it turns out that Rob’s passport had ex-pired the day before his flight. This left Rob feeling like all of the

byChristian Siemsen

work he had done was going to go to waste.

So he made a wish, he wished for something to happen that would allow him to get to Earth. All of a sudden, Rob started being lift-ed off the ground. His wish gave him the abil-ity to fly through time and space! Rob flew to Earth to experience what it was like to see and experience life on the open water. Rob was not disappointed

by his trip.

1.

2.

3.

4.

All About thAt bAss

Habits

blAck WidoW

shAke it off

Bulldog Billboard

by Meghan Trainor

by Taylor Swift

by Iggy Azalea

by Tove Lo

Well, Bennington, the 2014-15 school year has begun. With this NEW year, as always, there are NEW students, NEW classes, and (obviously) a NEW group of seniors in charge of publications. NEW music follows the same pattern. So without delay, I present the NEW installation of the Bulldog Billboard!

Eight NEW hits you can literally jam to!by Jake Matney

5.

8.

6.

7.

Bang Bang

Animals

Don’t Tell ‘Em

Stay With Me

Bulldog Billboard

by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, & Nicki Minaj

by Jeremih Ft. YG

by Maroon 5

by Sam Smith

So, music lovers, load your phones,

plug in to some NEW tunes, and JAM ON!

hAPPENby Gabby Cooper

As I walk through the sliding doors, on May 23rd, a wall of stale air instantly hits me. Cold, bland, tiled floors cover the entire building, not to forget the silent cries that hide within the white brick walls. Where am I? The Salina Regional Hospital.

Having not stepped foot in a hospital since my grandma got sick 4 years ago, it’s a definite place to bring back moments from memory lane, not necessar-ily good memories, either. But today is the day every-thing changes; today is the day I watch my best friend give birth to her little baby boy.

Walking toward the elevator, I reminisce on back to that day 9 months ago. It was just an average afternoon, sitting at the top of Indian Rock, when before I know it,

we are in Dillions getting a pregnancy test. We take the test home and go straight to the basement. She comes out of the bathroom and walks through my bedroom door with a look on her face that I’ve never seen before. “Gabby, I’m pregnant….” I’ll never forget that day, for that was the first day I saw my best friend in agony.

As Eddie, Ashley’s boyfriend, meets me at the elevator to bring me to their room, I start getting a sick feeling in my stomach. Is this real? Can my best friend, my partner in crime, really be having a baby today? It seems like just yesterday we were sitting in the park arguing about whose boyfriend Dylan Sul-livan was (that was always

our most repeated fight). I walk into the pale room to see Ally, Ashley’s mom, and Kaylee, her sister, sitting in chairs while Ashley is eating some ice chips out of a small white styrofoam cup. She is calm and talkative as she just had her Epidural and pain is easing up. Many anxious, somewhat boring hours later, it is time for Ashley to start pushing. I am standing about five feet away as Ally and Eddie are on both sides of Ashley, yelling “Push! Push, baby, push! You can do it!” over and over. After about an hour later, Ashley is now a new mother.

I’ll spare most of the gory details, but trust me when I say this: never, seri-ously never, be in a delivery room until you’re welcom-ing a baby of your own. In life, there are just some things you can’t un-see. The amount of mucky blood, the slimy broken apart placenta, the snipped umbilical cord, (not to mention the amount of blood, again!) is some-thing my 17-year-old eyes should never have to see.

There were some unpleas-ant encounters but it didn’t cloud my memory of how proud I am of Ashley. She is strong and went through something every girl dreads, labor.

I was scared for Ashley in the begin-ning, and she was scared for herself, but we both knew she would be a great mother, no matter what. Though being in the delivery room was quite disturbing, I would definitely do it again for my best friend. It was an honor to not only be there for her during our child hood, but also when she had her first baby. I know for a fact I will never be in a delivery room again until I have MY child. I suggest you all take the same advive; your eyes will never recover.

“Gabby, I’m preg-nant….”

ChangeS

things

ARE DIFFERENTWE

LIFE

It is that time once again, ladies and gentlemen. It is Homecoming! The magical time where the alumni

of Bennington High get to visit and regain some of their high school memories through the pre-game show, the football game, and the new candidates walking down to where they will be crowned. It is a big event for Bennington, and Mrs. Schell knows all too well how stressful Homecoming can be, so I thought I would take time to sit down with the band director and see if she can give us a sneak peak into Friday’s show.

“We will be playing ‘Accidentally in Love’ arranged by Michael Brown,” says Mrs. Schell. The song, originally performed by the 2000’s alterna-tive group Counting Crows, is featured in the 2004 animated movie “Shrek 2”. “I really hope to see the audience engage with the music and maybe even clap along with the song,” she continues to say, but what else would Schell like us to notice other than the ar-rangement?

“Look for the precision the band has gained in their marching skills. The group is already march-ing much better than they did at this point last year,” she said. People are beginning to take notice. Ever since this year, the band has been marching dur-ing halftime at all of the home games at Bennington High, all of which have been played with a smaller band than the one performing on Friday night. “They are really starting to show the dedication it takes to march with great technique.”

The band, consisting of 74 high school and junior high students, will surly make the crowd ready for the game. When asked about the readiness of the band, Shell had this to say, “The high school band is already taking ownership of their parts when they are playing in a much smaller group, so with the added junior high band they will sound awesome!” and last of all, to the band members, “Go out there and give it your all. You are capable of great things and you have worked so hard for this moment. Take this moment and own it! I am proud of you and all that you have accomplished this year.”

Well, there you have it. The Bennington Homecom-ing pre-game show will begin at 6:30 and the game will begin at 7:00 pm, Friday night. We hope you enjoy the show and the game! Go Bulldogs!

Pre--------Game

Show

The Bulldog

by Jake Matney

HomecomingThe homecoming parade is in its

second annual running. It gives the students a chance to show school spirit and get involved

with more than just the high school.

“It was hard for me believe that we didn’t have a homecoming parade in Bennington.” Mr. rivers said. “Where I came from, that was part of homecoming, the parade. What I wanted to do was bring that tradition back, because every high school that I know of has a homecoming parade. It’s part of the fun of homecom-ing.”

Mr. Rivers is the first to start the new tradition at Ben-nington–the homecoming parade. “Last year, when we went down there and had everyone lined up all around main straight down to Princeton and over

to the football field, the whole community was out supporting it. Then once we got to the football field, we had a pep rally at the sta-dium. The whole community came over and the stadium was full.” The parade will begin at 6 o’clock on Wedensday, October 14th. It will start downtown and travel down main street before turning onto Princeton. Everyone will then travel to the football field to start the homecoming pep rally. This will give the students and community a chance to get one last preview before the game against Ell-Saline on Friday. The pep rally will start with the band. They will arrive at the field first and start playing their set. The ceremony will next include the introduction of the Grand Marshall, Mr. Larry Geil. The homecoming candidates will be listed next. (Girls: Michaelyn Laflen, Kayla Schlachter, Mickinzi Burrow, and Jenna Gantenbein. Boys: Dustin Stanley, Josh Fief, Ian Hodges, and Kyle Kieborz.) The dancers and cheerleaders will perform back-to-back. Next, the high school coaches will speak before fun activities begin and the band plays, “Wildcat Victory.”

Parade Order

Police Escort

Flags

Marching Band

Crown BearerGrand Marshall

Junior High

Royalty One

by Tyler Appleby

HomecomingParade The parade is going to continue for many years to come. It’s the one part of spirit week that brings the whole community together–it combines the businesses, high school, grade school, parents, and civilians into one celebration.

at the end of our interview, Mr. rivers said, “We’re going to keep doing this

parade as long as I am principal of Ben-nington High School.”

Senior Class

Royalty Two

Sophomore Class

Royalty Three

Junior Class

Royalty Four

Freshman Class

Video games consist of more than just randomly pushing buttons. People in today’s world don’t

realize how much work is put into the creation of their favorite video game. This field of work is often hidden behind the walls of studios that seem to control the industry, as if it is a safeguarded secret. Bookstores do not order a superfluity amount of books and Wiki does not provide the details needed to start the task of game development. So, one has to wonder: What does it take to make a video game?

The first thing people don’t realize when entering the realm of video games is the amount of knowl-

edge needed. Most know of the basic sections of game development (design, programming, and art,) but how much schooling does one need to create a masterpiece?

In reality, the answer is none. Game creation, much like many other trades, is just that: a trade. Anyone who truly is willing to learn the skills needed for production is able to create a game. This explains all the indie game developers that are popping up. Is this saying that extra schooling is a waste? No, of course not. If you want to be a program-mer, someone who uses mathematical equations and coding, then it is obvious that you will need to have a basic idea of calculus and algebra however, if you want to be an artist, all you need is a foundation and practice. It all depends on how you are in writing, math, and art.

Whenever you play any kind of videogame, even platform games like Super Mario and Kirby, you

are following a story. Every game, no matter how basic, is following a plot. In the case of Super Mario Bros., you have a single purpose. This style of “linear story line” gives the player a single task: to save Princess Peach from the evil Bowser. Some games, mostly RPG’s, follow a different type of process called a “non-linear story line”, which means that there are multiple story lines that make up the game. This story process allows the player to complete the

The

COMPLEXITIES of GAME DESIGN

by Jacob Matney

game in whatever order they choose. However, even games with a non-linear story line have an underlying thesis that the game drives to complete. Japan is widely known for using the “non-linear story line” style of plots. Mega Man, one of the thousands of video games that use a non-linear plot, can be completed by just follow-ing the core story or by following the extra side plots that makes the game longer and more interesting; it is up to the player to choose the way the game is played.

People rarely notice that a game is a living piece of art. Unlike movies and television shows, video games

rarely have a concrete script to work on. Throughout pro-duction, a game only has one thing that must be followed. This is the thesis. Other than the one line that drives the game, everything else is expendable. Say that a writer has a whole plot worked around, right to the ended sequence. For a film, this is great. Everything is planned. It will work. However, in game production, this could be either lead to good things or bad (more likely bad than good). Games rarely work with a full transcript. With all of the parts that go into a video game, multiple things could lead to a disaster; budget cuts, technical problems, and other situations could cause the game to flop. Does this mean

that having these plans are bad? No, of course not! But writers need to realize that their ideas might (and probably will) be changed. New ideas surface, new technology be-comes available, and overall, a new game is born. Writers cannot be hurt by the adaptation of their ideas. When writing the game, there is one constant: the thesis. The reason why the game is being played will always stay the same.

People don’t realize how much goes into a video game, but with a few basic rules set into place, people can

begin to get an understanding. Not all people need to go to college to make a great video game, nor do they need to be a master at writing. All you need is a drive. When playing a game, realize that there is always an underlying thesis. Not a script. And last of all, it’s a living piece of art. The game can change in an instant. A video game is more complex than most people think, so learn to appreciate it.

GAME DESIGN

MRS. MORRIS

The

Temporary

Return of

What do you do in your free time? - I enjoy sewing; I’ve recently got into a sewing club in Salina. They have a little boutique where I am able to sell some of the things that I sew. I also sub here and Min-neapolis on occasion.

What are some of your favorite memories about teaching? - Directing the plays and all the goofy things that happened while producing. They had a table with

wheels, and they would push it around the gym with a student on it and try to see who could get the best time. Hanging out with the kids is just a

special thing that only teachers would understand. Even though they drive us crazy, we love them the

most.

Mrs. Wolf (Librarian)

Cyrus Haynes (Junior)“She laughed at Kody Kind

for not knowing how to spell

squeeze or mountains.” “She

was always there to talk about

things, no matter what it was.”

“She was one of our go to

people. She knew the school

and how it worked. We all

counted on her for anything.

We love to still occasionally

see her in the halls.”

by Elise Vishnefske

We all have missed Mrs. Morris very much. Recently our publications class got the opportunity to

have her for a substitute. When she was back it was like she had never left. We all had the same conversations as when she was here. Jasmyne spouted off, Jacob and Jasmyne fought as usual, and then Mrs. Morris tried to break them up, but we all know that when Jasmyne is

on a rage there is no stopping her, and it just reminded me of the last three years having her teach and help me

get to my senior year.

What is one thing that you’ve wanted to do but always have been too busy to do? - Traveling in times other than summer. I’d like to go to New England in the fall, and Alaska in the summer.

What do you miss about school most? - Interaction with the kids and friendships with the teachers.

What did you like most about teaching? - Opportunity to be creative, seeing the kids improve on their skills, and seeing kids grow and mature.

What advice would you give to a new teacher that has never taught before? - To love what you do, enjoy the kids (even though they will drive you nuts), and always start out tough because you can become nicer.

Even though we all miss Mrs. Morris, she is enjoying herself. She has found sewing to be something that she has really missed. It’s nice to see that she is doing well, and it is still exciting to see her in our halls on occasions. We all wish her the very best in whatever it is she decides to do with her time.

Mrs. Wolf (Librarian)

Claire Schmidt (Sophomore)

“She always yelled at

Josh because he didn’t

know what a thesis

was.”

The Power of Introverts

B eing an introvert is awe-some. I’ve always been told I was one, but I did not know just how well

that fit. And no, just because I’m quiet does not mean I am 100% in-trovert. Most people misunderstand the term “introvert”; they usu-ally think of a quiet individual that always wants to be alone and hates other people. Let me tell you why this is wrong. During school you may see me just sit at my computer, quietly. I do my best thinking when I’m alone, hence my other essay about why I do homework at home. I don’t need attention or social stimulation all the time. It just feels great to be able to escape. Out of school, I’m usually too busy with homework and work to have loads of free time. When I do, however, I enjoy playing one of my three guitars. I don’t feel the need for anyone else to hear. I play for myself. The only times I play in front of people is when I’m with my grandpa (who got me my first

“Everyone shines, given the right lighting.”- Susan Cain

guitar) and in front of my mom and grandma when I got a new guitar for Christmas. I was still really nervous in front of them. It’s really hard to explain what I think of. I think a lot. Jake usually yells me at because I always have too many tabs open on my/his computer, but that is how my mind works (too bad there is always one stuck playing music). When some-body asks, “what are you thinking” it’s hard to just give a simple answer. I love being myself. Even though I’m awkward at times, quiet, and get nervous in front of people for no apparent reason, it’s okay.

“The inner mechinations of my mind are an enigma.”

-Patrick Star

by Tyler Appleby

Salmon Cannon

If you have looked in the news recently you might have found the same interesting article that I did. Checking through the news I found a story on NPR about some ridiculous thing called a “Salmon Cannon”. As ridiculous and mys-terious as this sounds, it turns out to not only be really awesome but really beneficial. A company by the name of Wooshh originally designed this device to transport fruits in Wash-ington’s apple and pear orchards. This “Salmon Cannon” was first used for a many number of things. One of which, was to make french fries. When testing their colos-sal new contraption, they shot potatoes through it with a French fry cutter on the end. Now being put to good use, this cannon can assist these fish in moving upriver where a dam has blocked where the fish have traditionally moved upstream. Firing the fish over 250 feet upriver with nearly 10 seconds of hang time, the fish land nicely and neatly in the water and simply swim away; without even saying thank you. “There really is no limit to what we can move,” Vince Bryan, owner of Wooshh says. With the inven-tion of this “Salmon Cannon” the possibilities are endless, being able to shoot anything from potatoes, salmon, to anything you could think of; what could be next?

byIan Hodges

A Troll

Called:DUSTEVIL

A story based off of D

ustin Stanely. M

ay your attitude in comp forever change with this sweet revenge!

ONCE UPON A TIME... in a land far away, there lived a troll. He was a mean troll who usually went by the name Dustevil; he always talking about the beautiful fairy princesses in the kingdom. Even when these princesses did noth-

ing in the world at all but care about everything around them, there was Elisa, fairy of the giraffes, and Jazmania, fairy of making sure everyone

was loving and kind to each other.

One day, the fairy princesses went on a nature walk to help make the earth a better place and help flowers grow. Along came Dustevil, with

his mean attitude and harsh words, who then started to mock the beau-tiful princesses. Elisa said, “No, Sir troll face, no need to be upset.” We will treat you the same even though you came from another realm and

smell of feet and sadness. We are all friends here. “NO,” said Dustevil. “I will not be nice. I play trollball, and in order to be a full member who

gets off the bench, I have to be mean to such beautiful fairy princesses, even though they are kind to all in the land.”

One day, Dustevil decided that being a trollball player wasn’t as impor-tant as it was to be friends with the Fairy Princesses. So, he decided to

make a change, and during this change he started opening doors, being nice, and giving the princesses compliments. So, out of the goodness of fairy Jazmania’s heart, she decided that everyone in the kingdom had to be nice to Dustevil, and in order to make more friends Dustevil started

wearing cologne and doing his hair every single day; this made the prin-cesses very happy.

byJasmyne Baffa

byJasmyne Baffa