PHN Celebrating the Oscars

Feature

By Jon May

Husky Herald Reporter 

   

   Mock elections are an award ceremony held by the school that is given to the student population. The Mock elections are voted by the student population for the student population.

   The thing about mock elections is that they are class specific, meaning that the elections only occur within the given grade, but are awarded to each graduating class. These awards may include things like; best dressed, most likely to succeed, separated at birth.

   These elections occur every year and each year they are different. However this year the accounting class had something different in mind. They decided to come up with a PHN themed Oscar night.
   What are the Oscars you ask? The Oscars are a world renowned award show in which Hundreds of famous actors are given awards based on their performances.

   At PHN this is the first year that someone has ever thought of pursuing the idea of a mock election that ran through the whole school. Some of these awards were even given to teachers!

   The voting that happened was also different. First Jerrod Black, the staff member in charge of the PHN Oscars, decided to write all of the awards on the piece of paper. Then students would write down the students they believed worthy of the award.

   The different part about the PHN Oscars was that, after all the nominations were placed, students and teachers would then go online to vote between 4 given nominees. The winners would be announced at the award ceremony.

   The PHN Oscars award ceremony was the first of its kind. It occurred on May 7^th, 2014 in the PAC at 6:00 pm. There was also a red carpet walk at 5:15 and an after party from 8-11 pm.

   Students had mostly positive reactions to the PHN Oscars. Taylor Humphrey (’14) said, “I surprisingly really liked it”.  Humphrey also said, “I enjoyed seeing all the students who won the categories, plus the awards were really cool!”

   Another student, Joshua Stepke(’15) also attended the first annual PHN Oscars. Stepke said, “I thought the Oscars were pretty well done. I went for the experience and because I got nominated for the Most Swag award.”

   The trick about being nominated in the PHN Oscars is that, if you were nominated you had to show up and receive your award. Otherwise your award would be given to the runner up, however if none of the nominees were to show up, then the award would once again be given to the first place winner.

   Even though this was just the first PHN Oscars there is no doubt that, due to the popularity and response of the students it won’t be the last.

Students Need to Buckle Up

Feature

By Thomas Saura 

Husky Herald Reporter

   In 2012, a little over 25,000 people died in car accidents across the United States. Some of these deaths were inevitable in such horrible accidents; however, a majority of these fatalities is due to one thing: not wearing your seatbelt. 
   When I sit in a car, my first instinct is to buckle up. I found out how important that decision is last week when a friend and I were involved in a multiple car crash.
   I’m not going to go into detail of the crash, but here’s the gist of why my seatbelt saved my life. When one of the cars hit into our car, they smashed into the passenger side where I was. With me having my seatbelt on, it prevented me of whip lashing across the car and back, to which I would have impaled into the shattered up door.
   The driver and I came out unscathed from the crash, even with there being no airbags. In the exact moment of the crash, all I could think was “thank god I have my seatbelt on”
   I see too many highschoolers, and even adults, not putting on their seat belts for no reason. I don’t understand why you wouldn't use it; it’s a safety feature that can save your life.
   Granted no one expects to get into a car crash, it’s not something you plan out before you step into your car. That’s why it’s called an accident though, it’s unexpected.
   In 2009, 53% of people involved in a fatal car crash were not wearing their seat belts. You are 30 times more likely to be ejected from a car accident if not wearing a seatbelt (Center of Disease Control and Prevention).
   Numbers don’t lie people, and these numbers are scary. That is just too large of a percentage, is the odds really worth taking?
   Fortunately, the percentage of seat belts that has saved lives has risen 500% since 1971, going from 50,000 up to a little of 250,000. Even with the heavy rise, there are still far too many people not wearing their seat belts.
   So do yourself and everyone around you a favor, wear your seat belts. It might just save your life.
           

            

The Continuing of the Baccalaureate Tradition

Feature 

By Trevor Lumpkins

Husky Herald Reporter

   This spring Port Huron Northern and Port Huron High are coming together to create a special ceremony to acknowledge seniors who are Christians. The Port Huron City class of 2014 has a lot of potential to help this area grow and prosper.

   This ceremony is called Baccalaureate. This is a ceremony to recognize the accomplishments that these soon to be graduates have completed.

   These students believe that without God in their lives they would not have been able to complete this journey. These four years would have been a lot harder without the good Lord helping them along the way.

   Ted Harvey is one of the leaders helping to set up this special night. Ted has been a part of Baccalaureate for over 20 years.

   “Every year we do this event it gets better and better. Each year is different and amazing in their own way,” said Harvey.

   Also helping out with Baccalaureate is Gordy Farnsworth. Gordy has been helping out with this night for many years.

   “This night is all about the students and we want to keep it that way. Whatever the students have to show, whether it be a skit, a song, dance, or even digital design, they will have a chance to show how the Lord has worked or blessed them in their lives,” said Farnsworth.

   Already there has been a lot of interest in students being involved in Baccalaureate. Emily Torres has already said she would like to sing in ceremony.

   In past years Baccalaureate has been a great success. The building is packed and there has always been a great turnout.

   Even though each year is different “we like to keep at least a little tradition” says Harvey. One thing that Ted likes to keep the same is having a pastor come and be the key note speaker.

   This speaker is not picked by being the “best speaker” or the “best pastor”. This person is picked by the students.

   If there is a senior that is involved with the event that has a parent who is a pastor, that is the person who is picked to be the speaker.

   Baccalaureate has been a great success in the past and “we hope to keep it going strong for future generations. We don’t want this to HAVE BEEN a great event; we want it to continue to BE a great event,” said Farnsworth. 

Students Misusing Resources, Are Cheating Their Selves

Opinion 

By Thomas Saura

Husky Herald Reporter

  I can’t think of a better feeling than walking into your classroom and seeing you’re going to the computer lab. Oh man, comfortable seats with internet access in a different environment, plus there’s a good chance of no boring book work!

   Teachers go out of their way to come up with interesting and engaging lesson plans to make their extremely dry and plain subject a bit more intriguing. Whether that’s a simple flash game on the internet or some lengthy web quest, it’s all in good intentions to make your lives a little less dull.

   So I do not understand when some students get mad or upset that their teachers expect them to actually work. Too many students that are scheduled in the computer lab waste time by goofing off on the internet playing games, watching videos on YouTube, rolling around the computer lab to visit with friends, etc.

   It seems like some students heavily take advantage of the situation, treating it as an hour of “fun-time”. Last time I checked, you come to school to get an education, not to look up last week’s episode of your favorite web series.

   I am not saying it’s wrong to socialize and that everything needs to be consistent work, because there is time to socialize and catch up and do things you enjoy, but assignments come first. If most the kids in the class are working on their assignments and you decide to goof off with two or three friends, not only are you distracting the other students and wasting the time your teacher is giving you, but you’re cheating yourself.

   Now you’re going to have to work on your project on your personal time, when you could be doing things you actually enjoy, not some lame project you’re cramming in at 10 pm Sunday night. Now I can not write this without any blame, I have been there too, I think we all have.

   No one likes to do things last minute truthfully, it just stresses you out and gives you that much more of a burden on time. Just use the time appropriately so you d not tick your teacher off and irritate yourself later, it is not that difficult.

Career Day with the Tigers

Sports

By Dallas Chicone

Husky Herald Reporter

   The Detroit Tigers hosted The Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, April 2.

   Attending the game were students from Port Huron Northern part of the Tigers Career Day. The students got to attend the game and were talked to by some of the Tigers front office about their careers before the game.

   Mrs. Peattie the Marketing teacher at PHN set all this up. “This a great way to show the kids possible jobs they might be interested in after college,” Peattie said.  There were a total of five speakers, Jordan Fields from the Detroit Tigers Foundation, Christy Hammond,  the Community Relations manager, John Rehm, who is in charge of Sponsorships, Keri Galagher, the Sponsorship Service Coordinator, Lindsey Hayes from Broadcasting, and Joel Bienenfeld, from the marketing Campaign “Who’s Your Tiger?” “They were very informative,” said Peattie.

   “The career stuff was informative,” said Keaton Sprotberry (’15). “It was nice hearing some info on how to be involved in professional sports even if you aren’t playing them.

   In the game itself, Max Scherzer took the mound for the first time this season along with Jason Vergas for the Kansas City Royals.

   The Tigers got a strong start from Scherzer as he went eight scoreless innings allowing four hits and striking out seven.  He would take a no-decision in the game.  Newly-acquired Ian Kinsler supplied the offence as he got his first hit as a Tiger, a solo homerun in the bottom of the 4^th to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.

   Jason Vergas put in a solid start for the Royals going 7 innings, allowing one run and striking out six, also getting a no-decision.

  The Royals tied the game in the top of the 9^th as Tigers closer Joe Nathan blew his first save of the year.  The Royals loaded the bases on Nathan and scored the one run on an Alex Gordon sac fly.

   In the bottom of the 10^th Kinsler struck again as he singled home the winning run and the Tigers walked off to victory for the second straight time.

   “The game was exciting!” Sprotberry said. “A 10^th inning walk off! It doesn’t get much better than that!”

   “The game was great!” Andrew Silver (’14) said. “The highlight of the day was not only the walk off,  but when the building outside the park caught on fire.”

   Mrs. Peattie said that she will be doing Career Day again at Comerica Park. So if you want to go to a Tigers game next year, sign up for Marketing!

  

  

  

  

   

April Fools Day, Fooling People

Feature

By Jon May

Husky Herald Reporter

    April 1^st is a day that lets all pranksters run free. It lets them roam and place jokes on people as much as they want.

    On April 1^st 2014, YouTube; a popular website that lets you upload videos, decided it would be funny to pull a prank on the world. What prank? Well, by making up a fake trends video of 2014.

   These fake trends are either parodies made from actual trends that have occurred over the years, or just random trends that would never catch on. Or would they?

   These trends would include: Clocking, Kissing Dad, The Glub Glub Water dance song, Chicken High Five,

Flash Sobbing, and Guitar Tricking.

   I wanted to know what the student body thought of these fake or un-fake trends. “I thought that all of them were stupid, I don’t like when YouTube does their April fools jokes” said Paige Byrnaert (’14). “The only one that was actually worth my time was the Kissing Dad trend”

   YouTube isn’t the only big corporation to pull a spoof video this April fools. Another big company that  

pulled a joke video was Google.

   Every year Google takes one of their many features and adds a special feature that is so bizarre it drives people mad. “That’s awesome the way they created it, but as for it not being real that makes me angry” said Tom Coop (’14).

   This year they came up with the idea for a Google Maps spoof, involving catching Pokémon. They would have people, open up their Google maps application on their smart phone, and then Pokémon would show up. Then each person would move their Google map around the world until they caught every Pokémon.
   Reddit was another corporation to also pull pranks on the world. “It was fantastically stupid” said Brendan Maxwell (’14) a student who regularly uses Reddit.

   Reddit also decided they would play jokes on their subscribers by showing a new way to up vote, down vote, and scroll through their pages. “I wish they wouldn't play jokes like that, it would be cool if they were real.” Maxwell said.

   The question that still needs to be answered is if these supposedly “fake trends” will catch on or if these massive companies actually do have the capabilities to turn these virtual fake jokes into reality. I guess we will have to wait until next April fools to be posed by these same exact questions.

If you could change one thing about PHN, what would it be?

Chatbox

By Molly Capadagli

Husky Herald Reporter 

Riley Snowden (’15)

“If there was one thing I could change about PHN it would be probably be the way everyone treated each other because like you can tell, some people that just act like they’re better than everyone else and there is some people who are kind and would help anyone who needed help in the school. I wish there were more people like that, because all those little acts of kindness count.”

Emily Gates (’14)

 “I would change off campus lunch because I feel like everyone does it anyways and food locations are right by the school. Not only would I want that to change but also longer lunches. The line at lunch is so long you only have like 15 minutes to eat and chat.”

Hannah Middleton (’16)

“If I could change one thing about Port Huron Northern it would have to be how people think about sports. Everyone thinks football is the number one sport, when in reality tennis, girls’ basketball and boy’s baseball has the most talent. I really don’t think people realize that.”

Jordan Tomlinson (’17)

 “Longer lunches because we can have more time to mingle and eat our lunch. “

Port Huron Northern Men's Track Team is Sprinting Ahead

Sports

By Trevor Lumpkins

Husky Herald Reporter

   There are high hopes for the Men’s Port Huron Northern Track Team, with successful juniors returning back this year, there are elevated expectations. Senior captain, Ty Dickinson (’14), says he would like to “repeat as MAC White Dual meet and invitational champions.”

    “We have a lot of potential to do what we would like to do this year. Just have to stay healthy and keep working” says head coach, Craig Dickinson.

   Last year the Track team was dual-meet champions and they are fighting to do that again this year. With five returning seniors, who have been on varsity since their freshman year, they have high hopes for this up and coming season.

   In order for the team to be MAC champs they are going to need every runner, jumper, and thrower to train hard and compete with great determination.

   The guys have their heads set on making it to states this year. Matt Thomas (’15) is training to qualify in the 1600m run, along with Ty Dickinson (’14), Brad Mallory (’15), and Brett Parent (’14).

   Brad Hunt (’14) looks to qualify in the 800m run, along with Trevor Lumpkins (’14) who also looks to qualify in the 400m run. Alex Lubbers is training hard to qualify to run at the state meet in the 110 and 300m hurdles.

   If their luck runs short in qualifying individually some of the guys hope to qualify in relays. Brad Hunt, Ty Dickinson, Brad Mallory, and Trevor Lumpkins have a strong chance to qualify in the 4 x 800m relay for the outdoor track state meet.

   This team already ran in the indoor track state championships and broke the school record for the 4 x 800m relay with a time of 8:28.

   The 4 x 800 m relay team is the same team for the 4 x 400 m relay. Last year at the regional state qualifier the relay team missed qualifying for the state meet by .2 seconds.  

   This team has very high expectations for this upcoming outdoor season and they are working very hard to achieve their goals.

Be Proactive, and Do Not Spread the Sickness

Opinion 

By Thomas Saura

Husky Herald Reporter

   

   *Aaaaaahh-chooooo!, sniffle sniffle* Yep, that’s the sound of congestion beginning to settle in your lungs. A nice, hard sneeze is the perfect way to start off the morning, waking up to a brain-rattling release of mucus.

   You can feel the pressure building in your face and chest as you try to take a breath, only to be caught off guard by a deep, throat scratching cough. You now start to focus on your stomach as you realize just how queasy you have become overnight.

   You know it instantly, you’re getting sick. It’s inevitable and only going to get worse, but you have responsibilities right?

   You have to tough through it all, throw on some clothes and make your way to school. With it being crunch time towards the end of the semester, there’s no time to take a sick day, there’s work to be done.

   The problem now is you’re about to be a real pain in the bum to a lot of people because you’re about to get everyone else sick.

   Let’s be honest, no one likes to be sick and no one likes to have to make-up from missing school, but do you really think it’s worth getting all your other classmates sick so you can go sit in class and be more miserable than normal?

   With spring rolling on in, a season of allergies and sinus infections comes with it, meaning everyone and their brother is going to some way or another catch a cold. Do you really want to be that guy/gal that gets everyone sick?

   If you do decide to take a death stroll through the school, try and be courteous of others. Cover your sneezes and coughs, wash your hands regularly, and don’t drink/eat after others. 

   If not, do yourself a favor and get some rest. You know you don’t want to be here, and quite frankly, no one wants you here either. You can not expect to get better by going to school with a bunch of other germ-infested children.

   Be proactive and do not spread the sickness, take some time off and get yourself well. Do not get the rest of us sick, we will hate you.

Taking the Stage at PHN Idol

Feature

By Alex Budd

Husky Herald Reporter

    Hearts pounded as contestants for PHN idol took the stage in Port Huron Northern’s PAC. “I was respectfully nervous, I wanted to do well.” Said Emily Torres (’14).

   PHN Idol was a chance for students to compete against other student’s singing to win a prize. “There were some great musicians and I didn't think I would win but I won the year before and it was a great memory for my senior year.” Said Torres (’14.)

   The contestants worked very hard coming up to their performances, “I practiced a couple days before” said Ally Evenson (’15). “I worked so hard, but once again not to win” said Torionna Samar (’16).

   Although everyone was competing against each other for the win they were still encouraging to their fellow contestants. “I just did it for the experience; I didn't really want to win. I love every single person who competed and was probably more happy for them than they were themselves!” said Samar (’16).

   Everyone’s song choices ranged from a variety of songs, some written by the singer and some old legendary songs. “I sang the song Galaxy; it’s a positive song that reflects on me. It speaks of positivity and it’s an inspirational song.” Said Torres (’14). “I sang The First Time Ever, I Saw Your Face, I picked it because it’s one of my favorite songs of all time and I thought I’d take a shot at it.” Said Evenson (’15).

   Not only were the contestant’s nervous to sing in front of a crowd but they also has the pressure of being judged by the PHN Idol judges ( Mr. Arena, Mr. Labelle and Mrs. Labelle). “I feel like everyone worked hard and gave it their all because it was brave of them to get up there and do that.” Said Evenson (’15).

   All in all PHN Idol went really great, with Emily Torres taking the win and Ally Evenson taking second place.

“I love to sing for people, my favorite part of the whole thing was to see my friend’s band play at the end.”

( Moriya Dejuses taking the stage as one of the contestants of PHN Idol)
   

Husky Heroes Lending a Helping Hand

Feature

By Lacey Harris

Husky Herald Reporter   

  Heroes in the Hallway, now also known as Heroes, is a new program at Port Huron Northern. Heroes, is a program that deals with bullying and doing different things to help out the community.

   Heroes recently decided to change the name because of a few reasons. “We are starting to do more stuff in the community and doing more fundraisers around the school because we wanted to expand into the community rather than just around the school,” said Kaylee Kerrigan (’15).

   “I feel like changing the name will give off a different vibe. Everyone is pro for ‘anti-bullying’ club. I feel like changing it gives off more positive than negative,” said Nicole Tucker (’15).

   “I think Heroes is opening up the discussion of bullying and acknowledging it exists still. It is great that kids are helping out other kids.” said Gail Markopoulos.

   Recently Heroes went into the ninth grade ELA classes and spoke with them about bullying and the effects it can have on people. They talked to them about the bully, the victim and the bystander.

   “Talking to the ninth graders went really good and they were really interested and respectful.” said Kerrigan.

   “Most of the kids participated in the activity we had for them and when we were all up in the front talking the ninth graders were all very respectful and listening to us. And they were actually interested in what we were saying, we had their attention pretty well.” said Tucker.

   After talking to the ninth graders Heroes had a couple of students go to their councilors and ask to sign up because they wanted to be a part of the program.  

   For now, Heroes are doing some work around the school and helping out with different things around the community.

   Heroes is coming together really well. We have got a lot accomplished and we have a lot of plans for the next couple of months.

   The meetings are once a week usually on Fridays. The members are always welcoming new people and encourage students to get involved with helping out in the school and community.

Overloading Stress: Are Teachers Being Overbearing?

Opinion

By Thomas Saura 

Husky Herald Reporter   

   

   As I go from class to class, taking in my daily lessons, I pick up every assignment only to be put on a stack as high as the Empire State Building. Assignment after assignment, building up to hours’ worth of homework.

   And the sad part is I don’t have any after-school responsibilities to fulfill. I do not have a part time job to go to, or college classes to attend. So I have no right to complain about the overload of teachers work, I have all the time in the world to do it.

   So what about the kids who don’t? The students that are dual-enrolled or have crazy manager at their dead end job who gives them insane hours working for little to nothing?

   I have the belief that teachers are giving students too much work and not taking the fact that there are other responsibilities to becoming a young adult. Many teachers forget to overlook the fact that we’re not little kids who go home and watch SpongeBob until Mommy gets home to make dinner.

   A large majority of my friends have part-time jobs that they can barely balance with their schooling, and a decent number of them NEED these jobs. Not all of them can leave school and go home to their parents’ house and make a nice snack, many of them have to run to work just so they can come home at 10 o’clock to a 1 bed room apartment with no furniture or trimmings.

   That is not even mentioning the days they do not work and have to attend 4 different college classes before the days even finished.

   I am not saying all teachers are unconcerned with student’s personal life, and it is not an easy task to just change their schedule for individuals. What I am asking for is for more teachers to be more relaxing on deadlines for their students’ assignments.

   For the students who have such cramped and busy schedules due to uncontrollable circumstances, better deadlines is a necessity to avoid stress overload. Not everyone is super-human; everyone needs breaks at some point. 

What is your New Year's resolution?

Chatbox

By Alyissa Schweihofer

Husky Herald Reporter 

Serenate Searles:

"Preparing to move into my own apartment." 

Senior

Garrett Corry:

"To start finishing my homework."

Junior

Ray Jokie:

"To get a 4.0 GPA."

Sophomore

Andrea Johnson:

"Keep up my grades!"

Freshman

 

What is your favorite part about winter?

Chatbox

By Alyissa Schweihofer

Husky Herald Reporter   

Savannah Doan :

“My favorite part of winter

is hockey season!”

Senior

Marques Wheeler:

“My favorite part of winter is

Christmas and the snow makes

me happy!”

Junior

 Neve McNutt :

 “My favorite part of winter is

doing donuts in the parking lot.”

Sophomore

Ethyn Blair:

 “My favorite part about winter

Is Christmas because I get

presents.”

Freshman

Senior Students Supported by Jostens

Feature

By Molly Capadagli 

Husky Herald Reporter   

   Senior year is full of bitter sweet moments. Ordering cap and gowns is one of those moments that make you realize how close you are to graduation.

  The company Jostens provides seniors the ability to order their cap and gowns, yearbooks, class rings, and everything needed to graduate.  They give the option to design keepsakes and packages ranging from $39.99 to $300.00.

   Jostens came to Port Huron Northern High School this past month to talk to seniors about getting ready for graduation and our futures. “Meeting with Jostens made me excited to graduate but had me realize how fast this year will fly by,” said Kayla McIntyre (’14).

   They returned to Port Huron Northern High School to collect student’s purchases, packages and mementos. They separated the girls and the boys to make things easier; girls on Thursday and boys on Friday throughout A, B, and C lunches. “Even with Jostens separating the boys and girls, the lines were still outrageous with only one employee from Jostens working the line,” said Thomas Dado (’14).

   Justine Colston (’14) had something to say about the long lines “I think they should have had more than one employee working to avoid long lines especially with people who take college classes.”

  Jostens staff gets students ready and very excited for graduation. They provide many choices to make senior year just right.

   Photo cards, senior apparel, announcements and graduation packages are just some of the things that can be purchased. Jostens gets seniors ready to look and perform perfectly for graduation.

   Staff members come to the school at the beginning of the school year to get pumped up and excited to graduate. They show slide shows on all the different packages you can acquisition.

   Jostens is an awesome system for students to get ready for graduation, and get them off to college. 

Evaluating Teachers Unjustly

Opinion

By Thomas Saura 

Husky Herald Reporter

   Port Huron Northern is a school that prides itself on its effective and high quality teachers. From the new-blooming teachers getting their chance to shine to the educators with the strongest tenure that can be achieved, Port Huron Northern has a wide selection of the brightest teachers in our area.

   To get and maintain the job as an effective teacher can be quite challenging, however. From creating rigorous assessments to challenge students to developing engaging teaching strategies, it is no surprise that a teacher’s job can go from a near promise to a lost dream in a matter of a confusing lesson plan.

   That is why the new evaluation process, implicated last year, has become such a problem for teachers recently. It is a new piece of adversity for all teachers to face, with the fear of a target on their back, it is no wonder why most teachers are on the edge of panic and paranoia disorders.

   So who decides these decisions that could result in a life-changing event for all teachers, tenure applied or not? What comes into play during these evaluations? What decides whether a teacher is considered ‘effective’ or not?

   The evaluation process is a strict rating system on many of areas teachers are supposed to focus on. Some points include: creating a positive working environment, including entrance/exit passes into lesson plans, and the most dreaded of all – keeping students engaged.

    Let’s face it, it is not a ride up easy street trying to fully engage 32 students while having to juggle lesson plans, grading, answering questions, among other responsibilities that teachers are delegated to. It is easy for us students to forget how the little things we do can create a large impact on a teacher’s evaluation.

   Yes, we impact the evaluation and it is a larger impact than one would think. Next time you are in a classroom with an evaluator, notice they are not just taking notes on the teacher, but on you. Every time you pick up that water bottle as the teacher is discussing what y = mx +b, you are not engaged. Every time you look off into the corner of the room, you are not engaged.

   Little things like this that slip over our minds, and that teachers just do not have the time to stop during a lesson to correct, are the things that could possibly put teacher’s positions into jeopardy. Does this sound fair and just? I do not believe so.

   Not every teacher is superhuman; they have just as many responsibilities as these evaluators, just in different forms. I believe the evaluation system needs to be cut back, for the sake of the teachers who are beloved for their personalities and teaching strategies, that are effective because the student says so, not a piece of paper.