May 30, 2008Sandpoint HigH ScHoolVoluMe 85, iSSue 9

Senior Edition

Nina D’Orazi

Page 2May 30, 2008

To The Class of 2008~The past four years that we have called high school are finally coming to end, and freedom or graduation is right around the corner we thought

we would take the opportunity to recap the best of our 2008 graduating class . Everything, from the penitentiary cell floors of the hallways to Dr, Kiebert who joined the SHS crew last year, has made Sandpoint High School simply unforgettable.

Although our class never really had the opportunity of coming together and bonding like those before us seemed to, we cannot doubt that we have accomplished some of the best we could have over our four years. To the sports teams, clubs, musicians, artists, actors and class competi-tors, our class of 2008 is top notch and never failed to win and take names.

From the playgrounds of our elementary schools where kickball ruled and cooties existed, the middle school days of changing voices, cliques and friendships, to the high school land of real classes, relationships, and big decisions we have all grown greatly as individuals.

Our class as a whole is rounded by the individuals we all are, and we’re almost positive that ten years from now we won’t be chanting “bow down freshmen” (although we never did) or even remember who our prom king and queen were, but what we can be sure of is that each person in our class brought something to the table. You don’t have to be the greatest athlete or smartest kid in the grade, because let’s be honest, sports and school are not all that matters. It is combination of those aspects and one’s personal goals and motives that have shaped the young men and women we have become today.

So as this road trip comes to an end, and we all begin changing lanes, some of us heading to college, others to travel or work we all carry with us the letters of SHS engraved somewhere on us. When we make the big money, start a family, or even break free from what we think is the most boring town, we all know deep down inside that it was worth it.

SHS shaped who we as individuals are and in some way or another you know you can find a memory to smile about here at this school. Just try it. Anyways, we’re not writing this to give the class of 2008 some great advice on how to live life to the fullest after high school, we’re here to just pass on the simple message that we finally have aced our biggest test. We have accomplished what we worked so long and hard for 13 years of our lives and now it’s time to celebrate.

To the class of 2008, we made it, we made it, we made it. Graduation is just around the corner, and it has been a great time serving as your student council leaders for the past years and we wish you all the best of luck in the future.

Senior Class PresidentEmma Gibson

ASB PresidentMichael Tiberi

ASB Vice PresidentStephanie FuquaSenior Class Vice President

-Your Student Council Presidents & Vice Presidents

Page 3May 30, 2008

Bust a Move ..... page 5 Prepare for prom by learning from the pros

PeekSneak a

where in the world ..... page 7 find out where college-bound seniors are headed next fall

Top Two ..... page 8 learn more about this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian.

Sources of inspiration ..... page 9 View results of student poll on most inspirational

Looking back ..... page 12 look for yourself and your friends in a senior picture collage

Enter

Exit

Memories ..... page 11 A random sampling of seniors share some of their best memories

Tongue in Cheek Critique ..... page 10 alex gedrose reviews the class of 2008

Graphics by Laura Lockwood

Page 4May 30, 2008

400 Schweitzer Plaza DriveSuite 4

Ponderay, ID 83852(208)254-9633

APQS Arm Quilting Machine Rental ...Instructional Classes Quilting Crocheting Knitting

Congratulations C

lass of 2008

Page 5May 30, 2008

So you think you can Dance?

Whether you’re a wallflower or a dancing machine, these easy to learn moves will help you and your partner rock the dance floor at prom

The Cyclone: As Baby Bash would say, she moves her body like a cyclone. This simple dance move includes a spinning motion in a con-stant circle, similar to that of a tor-nado.

The Wave: This first step is a wave motion of the arms and upper body.

The Brush: For the sec-ond step, if you have dirt on your shoulder, simply-brush it off.

The Spin: The third and fi-nal step includes a flick of the heel and a spin to finish off the ensemble.

The Drop: This duo move consists of a fall back drop of one partner being held up by the other.

The Walk: This second step is a simple sassy walk while gently pushing on your partner’s shoulder.

The Finish: This final step includes a kick of the leg that is held up by the partner.

Page 6May 30, 2008

Page 7May 30, 2008

Now that seniors are wrapping up their final assignments and returning textbooks to teachers, their minds are wandering farther away from high school and closer to what their futures bring. Some plan to work, travel, or take part in other endeavors. Many will go on to attend college this fall. This is where they’re headed.*

College bound seniors

“Life without parents.”

Tyler Barley

“I’m going to be living with a bunch of my friends.”

Kaitlin Warren

“Lifestyle: Do what you want.”

Montana Jackson

What are you look-ing forward to most

about college?

Graphic by ryan Williams

* Based on a survey given to 176 collegebound seniors.

Page 8May 30, 2008

salutatorian: Hailey Woodruff

Valedictorian: Jill JacobsQ: Has being at the top of your class

always been a priority?A: It hasn’t been a priority. It has been

something that has motivated me, but it hasn’t been the main focus.

Q: Did you take certain AP or honors classes to become valedictorian?

A: I didn’t take classes just for my GPA, I took classes that interested and challenged me.

Q: Did you feel pressure from your family to be at the top of your class?

A: I didn’t really feel pressure from them, but since my sister was valedicto-rian and my mom was valedictorian and my dad was a salutatorian, I put some pressure on my self because everyone else in my family was so high in their classes. I never felt pressured, its not sig-nificant; they’ll love me no matter what.

Q:What was your most difficult class you took in high school?

A: AP US History. It was the first AP class I took, and I was used to being able to get an easy ‘A’. It was the first class I

had to work hard in and spend time out-side time to get a good grade and learn what I needed to learn.

Q:Do people have the impression that school is the only thing you do?

A:People make comments like ‘going to go study for four hours?’ , no I’m not. I’ve never had to study a lot, I don’t re-ally have to work so hard for the grades I get, it comes naturally. I definitely have a life outside of school.

Q: Are there any classes you wish you had never taken?

A: No, probably not. I have enjoyed aspects of all of my classes even if at the time it seemed boring. I will be able to use something from all of the classes, I don’t regret taking them.

Q: What would you have taken if you could have?

A: I would have taken some fun elec-tives, like journalism and drama. I took one drama class but never pursued it

Q: What other activities have you been involved in during high school?

A: I play trumpet, and I am a pretty funny person. A lot of the time I like to do comedy, like make home movies. I don’t dislike a lot of activities, I am not that great an athlete but I do track and sports for fun. I like to read and I like music.

Q: What are your plans after gradu-ation?

A: I am going to go to Gonzaga, and I’m thinking about double majoring in math and education and I will probably be a math teacher.

Q: Who was the best teacher you had in high school?

A: Mrs. Bird is my favorite teacher. I’ve had her for four years with AcaDeca and I’ve known her personally through different things, she was the teacher who helped me through High School. She’s a big part of my life. As an AcaDeca coach she really cares about her students.

Q: Has being at the top of your class always been a priority?

A: Its always been more of a personal thing, getting good grades and doing my best, not tracking myself against other students. Being salutatorian is cool but it has never been the focus.

Q: Did you take certain AP or honors classes to become salutaitorian?

A: Senior year I had to take a regular class because of my schedule, so I had to balance it out with AP and honors classes. I took three AP classes to keep my GPA up, because I was so close. I try to find a good balance.

Q: Did you feel pressure from your family to be at the top of your class?

A: There is no pressure, my mom thinks its cool, and told me not to give up because I was so close. They [family] were more excited than I was. They have always supported me and never pres-sured me.

Q: What was your most difficult class in high school?

A: Chemistry, a totally different way of learning, was really challenging. It was the first time in my high school career that I had to work so hard - that was the best ‘A’ I ever earned. The second semes-ter final was the hardest test I have ever taken.

Q:Do people have the impression that school is the only thing you do?

A: No, I really try to keep a well bal-anced lifestyle. I play tennis and dance, my friends kind of tease me for doing homework instead of other things. I have always done stuff that has been re-ally balanced.

Q: Are there any classes you wish you had never taken?

A: The ones I wish I hadn’t taken were required.

Q: What would you have taken if you could have?

A: More pottery, I am so mad I couldn’t take more pottery, but regular classes dilute your GPA. If I had taken senior year easy I would have taken more art and pottery.

Q:What are your plans after gradua-tion?

A: I am going to U of I right now and I plan to major in civil engineering, but that’s bound to change. I want to take a year to study abroad so it might take five years to graduate. I might get a master’s in engineering, it’s better to have a mas-ters, so that will take more time too.

Q: Who was the best teacher you had in high school?

A: Mrs. Smith really made sure we were prepared for the AP history test. We didn’t realize how good she was until class was over.

IntervIews by KarIna OlsOn

GPA: 4.327

GPA: 4.356

Page 9May 30, 2008

Top 10 Inspirational Seniors

This poll was taken in Senior American Government classes in order to have nearly all seniors participate in the nominations.

Top 3 Inspirational Teachers

Bobby Cook“The power of rock ‘n roll!”

Will Hughes“Because I’m partially made from road con-struction equipment.”Bryan Buck

“The fact that I have a beard.”

Eric Czirr“Probably over-coming being a deaf mute.”

Morgan Wills “What’s not inspirational about this?”

Nicole VanDyk“Because I’m a vegetarian.”

Dillon Cower“I hate everyone.”

Hailey Woodruff Because I have beauty, brains and brawn.”

Mr. Dickinson“I try to relate to my students by in-jecting humor and focusing on the lighter side of things. I also try to make government as relevant as I possibly can.”

Mr. Martz“I like to show them something that seems commonplace but add a twist that is abnormal to the commonplace thing.”

What do you do to motivate your students?

Mr. Aunan

What do you think makes you inspirational?

Laura Lockwood“I see humor in every situation, even the worst. I inspire people to keep laughing.”

Voted as Sandpoint High School’s number one inspirational teacher, Mr. Aunan pushes his stu-dents to learn beyond the text book.

Jill Jacobs“My determination and my at-titude. It’s also my hot body.”

This poll was taken in Senior American Government classes in order to have nearly all seniors participate in the nominations.

I had pitched doing a review on the class of 2008, and now I’m beginning to regret that decision for no other reason than I have absolutely no

idea where to start. How are you supposed to ana-lyze your entire time spent at Sandpoint High?

Let’s start from the beginning.We first walked into this building in the fall of

2004, full of uncertainties, anxieties, and pimples. The worry that we felt coming into the high school was absolutely pointless, however, when we all realized that freshman year is, more or less, a 10 month-long joke. The classes were easier than mid-dle school, with the only requirement for passing being that you had a pulse.

You as a Freshman

Sophomore year is easily forgettable. Nobody cares about sophomores. It’s just how it goes.

And then junior year. For you underclassmen who haven’t had the pleasure of entering 11th grade yet, prepare yourselves for the most miserable time of your lives thus far. Junior year is comprised en-tirely of full schedules, tough classes, SATs, study-ing, and serious considerations of fleeing the coun-try.

As for senior year? Why, that’s the point in time in which you witness the death of your ambitions and plunge headfirst into a series of future deci-sions involving college, careers, and getting kicked out of the house.

It’s also the time when the I-Should-Haves

creep up. “I should have taken this class.” “I should have worked harder.” “I should have asked Betsy Sue to the Homecoming dance.” “I should have brushed my teeth so much more these past four years than I actually did.”

Brush your teeth. It’s worth it.

Class of ‘08, my class, we’ve been through all of this together. Four years of heart-felt memories that would undoubtedly lead to the bonding we experienced.

While piling up on top of each other for our class photo, I heard someone say something that I believe sums up the closeness and intimacy of our class:

“Where the [expletive] did these people come from?”

It’s sad because it’s true. Don’t say you didn’t look around at the senior class and think, “I’ve never seen some of these people in my life.”

There have been rumors that when we came into the high school, many middle school teachers had warned that our class had been one of the worst they had seen, sprinkled with cliques, a dash of bullies, and seventy tablespoons of pure apathy. We didn’t respect each other, and we didn’t care about anything pertaining to school spirit.

It hasn’t really changed. Take the Homecoming assemblies for a nice example.

When the classes have a competition to see who can make the most noise, every class would give the sound of about 250 different people simultane-ously being murdered. When it came to the class of ‘08, you’d be lucky to even get a sneeze out of us.

How many accomplishments had we made? How many wins in varsity sports will we brag

about? How many silly prans did we pull off? How many things did we do to actually be remembered in the future?

But the big question still remains: how many of the seniors in the class of ‘08 did you even know?

Here’s another one: of the seniors that you know in the class of ‘08, how many do you even like?

The sad truth is, we’ve always been too busy ei-ther hating each other or not giving a crap about one another to actually, you know, get to know one another.

I’m not being pessimistic either, because this the general consensus that I’ve picked up from all of us.

Our class in its glory.

I’m not going to grow rosy cheeks and advocate sitting with someone you don’t know at lunch and saying we’ll grow to love each other in the next few days before we graduate.

We all know that only happens in movies, and we all know that it’s incredibly cheesy.

Class of ‘08, I can’t give you a thumbs up or a thumbs down. I can’t judge you. I can’t make a de-cision on you because I don’t even know you. And part of that is my fault.

Maybe I wanted to write this as a warning to the underclassmen, a desperate plea for them not to follow our example.

But I’m pretty sure I wanted to write this for the senior class. It’s too late for us to change now, but don’t do what we’ve done for the rest of your life.

In college, in your jobs, with families at the park--branch out, meet new people, abandon your comfort zones, get over yourselves.

We blew it in high school. Learn from that and do better.

...I mean, if you want to.

May 30, 2008

A desperate attempt to review the class of ‘08

Page 10

Page 11May 30, 2008

Moments We’ll Never Forget

Page 12May 30, 2008

Taking a backglance