Mock Trail Team Soon to Go to Regional's

Feature

By Sarah Vanderheuvel
Husky Herald Reporter

  Many students do not know we have a mock trial team here at Port Huron Northern or what mock trial even is. However, this does not stop the members of the team from putting in tons of time and hard work.

  Mock trial is exactly what it sounds like. It is a practice court case that allows students to further dive in and learn about the legal system.

  Members of mock trial have been practicing since November to prepare for the regional competition on March 7th. They must have both a prosecution and defense team.

  Senior Heaven Powell (‘15) is president of mock trial and one of the few returners from last year’s team. She was a star attorney at last year’s competition.

  “I have done mock trial for the last two years. It has been a great learning experience and I know it will look good on my college applications,” said Powell.

  “I’m really excited for the regional competition. I think we’re going to do well and I can’t wait for all the new members to see what an actual mock trial competition is like,” added Powell.

  Junior Garrett Lance(‘16) is one of those new members. “Before this year I never even knew what mock trial was.”

  “Now that I’m part of the team I think it is really interesting. I’m glad everyone on the team is so welcoming and helpful,” said Lance.

  “I am confident that we will do well in regional's. I’m not nervous because we have all prepared and I know my material,” commented Lance.

  Freshman Jena Peyerk(‘18) is another one of the new members this year. When asked why she wanted to join mock trial she responded, “It seemed like a great way to meet new people and get involved.”

  “It also seemed like a good way to see if I would be interested in pursuing a career in the future that has to do with law.” added Peyerk.

  The mock trial team has worked really hard for the last few months and will represent Port Huron Northern well at the regional competition.

What Not to do at a Stoplight

Opinion

By Skye Curtis

Husky Herald Reporter

  Do you drive a car or truck? Are you confused about what to do at a stoplight? Well if you answered yes to one or both of these questions then this is the article for you.

  If you are reading this that means you are unsure about what you can and can not do or what you should and should not do at a stoplight. We will be focusing on what not to do at a stoplight. Now if you want to know what to do you stop when its yellow or red and go when its green. Why stop when it’s yellow? Thats the law you can get pulled over and receive a ticket for running a yellow light.

  Now the moment you have been waiting for what not do at a stoplight. I’m going to make this simple and put them in a list for you.

Feed your snail.

Making a sandwich.

Light a candle.

Karate chopping the TV.

Fall asleep.

Tie your shoe.

Change your clothes.

Get out of the car or truck and dance.

Clean your car.

Text or call your mom.

Text or call your dad.

Text or call your brothers, sister, friends, grandparents, great grandparents, your friends: brothers, sisters, grandparents, or great grandparents.

Write an essay.

Drink a glass of water.

Talk to the mailman.

Read a book.

Write a book.

Order food from a place the delivers.

Order food from a place that does not deliver.

Go on social media sites.

Make a blog.

Find someone else's blog.

Watch Netflix or Hulu.

Draw a picture.

Color in a picture.

Take a picture.

Do your makeup.

Play a board game.

Play a video game.

Play a game on your phone.

Check the time.

Fight a pirate.

Blow bubbles.

Cry like a baby.

Do Spongbob references.

Quote nemo.

Break a bone.

Dye your hair…

Read this article

*Listen to the sound of crickets*

  These are some of the things you should not do at a stoplight. There are more but I did not put them on this short list. The list is not in an order it's not like feeding your snail is the worst thing you can do at a stoplight.

Husky Link Helps New Students

Feature

By  Chelsea Gates

Husky Herald Reporter

  Starting high school is a big and possibly scary thing for some students. You’re back at the bottom of the chain.

  Compared to your middle school or elementary school it’s also a lot bigger building, it doesn’t have your classes right next to each other or even just staying in the same class like how it was in earlier grades and having someone lead you to every class. It’s easy to get lost at first.

  Thanks to one of Port Huron Northern’s counselors Mrs. French we have upperclassmen to help out the new incoming freshmen at orientation, the program is called Husky Link.

  Husky Link comes with tours and the upperclassmen giving some helpful advice, trying to make the new students of Northern High School more comfortable. “I heard about a high school in Grand Rapids having a program like this at a conference in 2007 and thought it was something we really needed and should try out here at Port Huron Northern,” says Mrs. French.

  Husky Link I can say has helped a lot of incoming freshmen, even me!  “I’m really glad that husky link was around when I was a freshmen. I would have been complete lost for my first day of school. Knowing how much I benefited from it, I was more than happy to volunteer for it this year,” says Hannah Stephens (‘15).

  Every year more and more students are more than happy to sign up and help the new students.There are even some positives for the upperclassmen that help out.

  “I really like Husky Link because it helped me become a leader even helped open myself up to run for class president this year,” says Lexus Moutoux (‘15).

  Want to sign up for Husky Link for next year? Talk to Mrs. French in the counseling wing, she would be totally happy to help you get started and give you the information you need.

  

  

Seniors Begin to Prepare for College

 Feature

By Heaven Powell

Husky Herald Reporter

  It is a process that most high school seniors go through, applying for college. It takes a long time for these students, especially when applying to more than one University, like most of them do. High school seniors also have so many things to pay for throughout the duration of their year, including, but not limited to: cap and gown, senior year spring break, senior pictures, and many, many more.

  When you go to college, you pay tuition fee, fee for books, food meal plans, and traveling costs. It is a very expensive for the parents and student. Sometimes, an application fee is something that a family simply can't afford.

  I feel that if there were no application fees, more students would apply to schools. This would give each school a larger pool of students to accept, and more people would go to this school thus they would receive more students' tuition money.

  Tina Nandi ('15) says "I hate how much the applications cost, its okay the first time, but not after you apply to so many schools." Nandi applied to about five schools. All have a fairly large application fee. "I even didn't apply to a few that I wanted to because I didn't want to pay the fee if I'm not going to go there" she says.

  Those who applied to schools without an application fee were pleased they didn't have that hassle. Ryan Hunt ('15) says, "It seems like the smaller schools I applied to didn't even have a fee so I applied to so many without feeling like it was a waste of money, it was awesome." Many people had the same relief that Hunt did when applying.

  "I'm so glad I knew what school I wanted to go to for sure. I only had to apply to that one, having to pay for a bunch of applications for schools you might not even get into, or go to, would suck." Olivia Seely ('15) said regarding the topic.

  Application fees can be one of the most annoying things about the application itself. They can even discourage bright students from applying to a school. It sounds like big universities are gaining cash, but missing out on some great potential students.

Student Reporter Dishes About the King

Opinion

By Brannan Dortman

Husky Herald Reporter

  Lebron “The King” James. Lebron is considerably the best player in the NBA. Lebron plays for his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are the paper champs of the NBA. With stars like Lebron himself, one of the best young point guards in the league in Kyrie Irving, and the double-double machine in the pure shooter of Kevin Love. These three stars came together in the 2014 off season.

  This is not the first time Lebron has put together a team with three of the NBA’s top stars. In the 2010 offseason he left his now current team in the Cavs to “take his talents to south beach” or otherwise now as the Miami Heat. He joined forces with the league’s best shooting guard in Dwyane Wade and an up incoming center/power forward in Chris Bosh.

  The Big Three of Miami was the first of it’s kind. Miami fans had high hopes. But the team struggled to start the season. They started the season off with a 9-8 record. It was hard for this former top scorers on each of their old teams to mesh together and win basketball games. Egos were crushed but accepted. Once the team figured things out they went to finish off the season with a 58-24 record. Finishing on top of the Eastern Conference. The team then went on to the NBA Finals to face the powerhouse of the Dallas Mavericks and it’s franchise player Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavs turned out to be too strong of a team for the Big Three to surpass and they lost the series. But the Heat went on to win the next two NBA Titles against the Thunder of Oklahoma City and the San Antonio Spurs. Finally in the last year of the Big Three era, the Spurs got their redemption against the Big Three and defeated them for the NBA Championship.

  The Big Three of Cleveland in 2014 have found their early season struggles being below .500 win percentage at 19-20 with the All-Star break creeping up. A lot of sports analyst and fans are wondering if the team can get it together and compete for a NBA Title or if it’s time to give up and blow the roster up. There are many similarities in this two teams but the future of Cleveland is up for debate.

Huskies Critique Their First Match

Sports

By Kyle Burch

Husky Herald Reporter

The Port Huron Northern Huskies had their first wrestling meet Saturday, January 10th  against a slew of opponents. The meet took place on the Huskies home mat here at PHN.

  As a team, the Huskies didn't do the greatest but many of the wrestlers did good and achieved personal gains. It was a great learning day for the Huskies and many of the other teams.

  One of the more successful wrestlers for the Huskies, Brandon Leal ‘15, who went 4-1 on the day, said “for me it was an overall pretty good day. I could have done better but I am happy with my performance.”

  Leal couldn't place at the meet however because he reached his “five match limit” for the weekend. Wrestlers are not allowed to wrestle more than five matches in a weekend and he hit that limit which hindered him from competing and being able to place.

  Leal, a captain of the team, along with Mike Mahaffy ‘16 said “it was a good learning day for our team. We have a very young team that is inexperienced so it helps to have meets like this to gain experience.”

  Mahaffy thought along the same lines as Leal as he said “we learned a lot, but we can do better. This is my first year so I learned a lot from the meet as well.”

  Ethan Blair ‘17 couldnt wrestle due to a shoulder injury but he was there motivating his team on. “It sucks not being able to wrestle but I want to see my team do good so I try and motivate them to do the best they possibly can.”   

  Brennan Coleman ‘17 is one of those young inexperienced kids. This is his first year wrestling as well. He said “I learned a lot. It was a different experience for me, but I learned a lot and feel like it bettered me for the future.”

  Overall it was a learning day for the Huskies. They gained experience which will help them for future wrestling meets. They have a lot of season left so hopefully the experience they gained will help them in the near future.

  

Gierman Gives His Opinion on the Newest Music

Opinion

By Evan Gierman

Husky Herald Reporter

This year has been an exceptional year for the hip hop genre. Hip hop is becoming an art more now than ever. Artists are becoming much more expressive, open, and willing to put all of their lives in their music creating very powerful, influential art for the listener.

  There are many projects that I greatly enjoy currently and future projects I anticipate greatly for. Mick Jenkins, an up and coming Chicago rapper recently released his mixtape, “The Water[s]” a very conscious mixtape that touches on a lot of social, political, and physical conflicts of everyday life.

  It is clear Mick Jenkins is very well educated and has an incredible insight on life making the mixtape a must for anyone searching for music with a message.

  Next, I would like to discuss Michael Christmas, a quite comical emcee that is not so serious about rap as someone of the likes of Mick Jenkins but nonetheless, very entertaining. He discusses his bummy lifestyle in his most recent project, “Is This Art?” the rappers content and beat selection is very odd future esque but he definitely has paved his own lane in terms of originality and is worth a listen.

  One of my current favorites right now is a seventeen-year-old rapper from west Chicago who goes by the name “Lucki Eck$”. Lucki may be one of the most diverse rappers yet, frequently rapping about his alias as a drug dealer turned drug user on his own product. Although the subject matter may not sit well with most, I really encourage people to listen to his most recent project “Body High” and his project before “Alternative Trap”.

  All of these artists are bringing something new and fresh to the table. If you’re a true hip hop fan I think these could easily be some new favorites in your playlist.

  Heading towards the new year you can expect new projects from J Cole, Kid Cudi, Eminem, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, and Mac Miller.

PHN Girls Basketball Gets Pumped for Season

Sports

By Payton Schieman

Husky Herald Reporter

The girls basketball team at Port Huron Northern High School in Port Huron Michigan, Home of the huskies has three returning seniors.

  Last years team made it to the state quarterfinals and fell short. by a score of 47-41

  Kendyl Keyes(‘17) was on the team last year as a freshman, when asked about their goals this years Keyes  responded with “ Our team goal is to win Mac red (Our Division)  and make it back to the quarterfinals again and hopefully go farther.

   When asked about what is best about girls basketball here at Port Huron Northern Keyes said “I like our team chemistry and how well we all get along, But when it comes to game time we are all on the same page, and that is winning.”

  Home Court advantage is a huge key in winning games in all sports, especially basketball. “Keyes said it gives us a huge advantage, and makes us want to win even more than we already do.  

  The girls basketball team from Port Huron Northern has only had one home game this year and it was against the cross-town rival the Port Huron Big Reds. Riley Fealko(‘15) returning senior this year. when asked about the crowd at the game Fealko responded with “It was a great crowd for the first game, once we get on a roll more people will come to the games and cheer us on”.

  Becca Richards (‘15) also a returning senior this year said “We are off to a hot start and we are not going to look back, this is our year and we all believe that. We need our fans to fill up the student section so we can get pumped up.”

  All in all, come out and support our huskies this year, and help us bring home that state title. Against the cross-town rival The Big Reds of Port Huron we had a strong student section but we need more if we want to be successful. so bring your friends and family and come support the Huskies of Port Huron Northern and help us win state!

New ACT Policy Shakes Up PHN

Feature

By Kelsey Alexander

Husky Herald Reporter

ACT week is a sacred week for virtually all high school grades except the juniors.

  Each March the juniors are given 3 days to complete standardized tests given out by Michigan. The freshman and sophomore grade levels are only to complete one day of testing.

  As for the seniors, they virtually get those three days off. Or they used to.

  This year it is a requirement for all students to attend these days. All students will be required to be here for the last three hours of the day.

  Mr. Barden has told us, “I’m unsure of the exact times you are to come in but it should be around 11:30 and  you will be coming in on Tuesday for the first three hours and on Wednesday the last three hours.”

  A lot of students are really angry with the principals and blame them for these extra days. The principals aren’t the ones to blame.

  You can blame the state government. These extra days were put into effect because of legislation that was passed in October.

  This year’s senior class will be the first that is required to come in for ACT Week. So obviously, seniors were upset about this.

  “It just kind of stinks because we went through the first three years of testing and don’t even get the benefit of a break our senior year like past seniors,” said Tina Nandi (‘15).

  Some seniors are so upset that they are protesting this required school day.

  “I’m just not going to come in, it is going to be pointless anyway. We’ll sit around and watch movies in every class,” said Avery MacDonald (‘15).

 It was actually impossible to find a senior that was not disappointed with this change. However, freshmen didn’t seem too upset.

  “I don’t really care because I would have had to come in anyway,” said Anna VanderHeuvel (‘15).

   How do the teachers feel about these additional days?

  “Changing this so sudden is really annoying, mostly because I’m expecting a lot of kids to skip or be exhausted from exams, so I can plan any really valuable lessons,” said Mr. Marchione.  

  All in all coming in for those two days is quite annoying but won’t be the end of the world.

Students Riot Over Muffin Ban

Feature

By Sarah Vanderheuvel

Husky Herald Reporter

  This year there were several changes that happened at Port Huron Northern High School. One of those changes was the placement of a ban on the sale of muffins and other unhealthy foods.

  There are both drawbacks and benefits to this new rule. While the ban does encourage a healthy lifestyle, it also limits student’s personal choice and freedom.

  I interviewed Port Huron Northern students to find out how they felt about this new rule.

  Some students have had a very hard time adjusting to this new policy. Junior Kathryn Shaw (‘16) demanded, “ I want muffins back.”

  “I think its very unfair that they decided to stop selling muffins,” said Shaw. “I am in high school and I should get to choose whether or not I eat healthy foods.”

  Sophomore Colby Nabozny (‘17)  has the same opinion as Shaw. “I don’t agree with the ban on all the unhealthy foods.”

  “I especially miss the muffins because when I was running late and had to skip breakfast, I knew I could depend on them for a morning snack,” said Nabozny. “For the record, the double chocolate muffins were my favorite.”

  Junior Rudy Nowakowski(‘16) also said “Bring the muffin mob back. The ban on muffins was an absolute disgrace.”

“So what if the muffins weren’t the healthiest snack?”

  Everyone loved the muffins and the special education classes got to see the joy and smiles on their peers’ faces when they sold their product,” added Nowakowski. “It was a benefit to everyone at the school.”

  However, senior Marie Mullally (‘15) had a different opinion. As president of Students for a Healthy America, she actually agreed with the new rule.

  “I think it’s a great way to encourage healthy eating habits. High school is where we prepare ourselves for the rest of our lives, and that means that we need to prepare ourselves with good eating habits as well,” said Mullally.

  “I think the school is just trying to help us. Plus, if you really don’t agree with the ban you can always still bring food from home,” added Mullally.

  We will have to see if the students’ views will impact the continuation of this rule in future rules.