Hockey Season Is Here

Sports
By Colton Fockler
Husky Herald Reporter

  High School Hockey has just started and it looks to be an exciting season for Port Huron Northern’s Hockey team.

  “We are full of young kids this year after losing twelve seniors from last year, but these new kids are already developing quick and learning the system” said Andrew Barlass (‘16). With several new “rookies” and only three returning seniors on the team, this seems to be a building year for the Huskies.

   “We have a small team (this year) and a key will be to be healthy through the whole year,” said Garrett Yarger (‘17), “With only 18 players, two less than last year’s team of 20.”

   “We have to play tough teams, but it helps us develop as a team and we will be ready for the end of the year. We just have to keep our heads up and keep getting better every day.” said Travis Hughes (‘17)

   Going into the Larry Manz Tournament, they had lost their previous games to Detroit Catholic Central and Cranbrook Kingswood. However, that didn't deter them that weekend. They just won their sixth straight Larry Manz Thanksgiving Tournament in a crazy fashion.

   Their first game was against their crosstown rival Port Huron Big Reds in which they won 11-1. The championship game was then played against the Anchor Bay Tars which took extra time to decide the winner.

  The game winning goal was scored by Port Huron Northern’s Dakota Truscott, keeping the streak alive.

   “It was a great win and feels really good right now, but we still have work to do to be ready for the playoffs,” said Dakota Truscott (‘17). Northern Hockey has many tests to see how they have developed including a tournament in Sault Ste. Marie and a showcase in Trenton later this year.

   “We are going to be ready for playoffs after playing tough teams this year,” said Corey Easton (‘17) “the new kids will gain experience and skill which will make us even more successful next year.”

   Even though Port Huron Northern Hockey is a young squad, the team is optimistic and should have a thrilling season.

Test Strategies Used To Ace Tests

Feature
By Ashton Wimbury
Husky Herald Reporter

  The dreaded part of school that basically every student cannot bare is testing.  There are multiple test strategies students can use in order to ensure a good grade.

  “I make sure to start studying a few days before a test,” Erica McClelland (‘16) said.

  Studying is the best route to go.  A lot of the time students are instead  distracted by other things and push studying off to the side.  Although taking the time to look over the content that is to be on a test is the best option, since it can help students’ memorization.    

  Testing can put a person under a lot of pressure, considering they are usually a large part of a student's overall grade in a class.  The stress that students receive from tests can greatly affect the grade results.  

  “I try to not let the nerves of testing get to me,” Mike Mahaffy (‘16) said.

  It is best to try to focus and carefully observe the questions being asked on a test.  Sometimes rereading the questions can help to ensure an understanding of what is to possibly be the answer.  

  If you are an individual that struggles with testing and just simply in  need of help, group studying may be a good idea.  Group studying can allow students to work together and share their different tactics they use to get the best grade possible.  

  “For some classes, I study with my friends so that we can quiz each other on what we need to know for a test,” Abby McClelland (‘18) said.

  Studying by yourself or with friends, does not work for everyone.  Typically, if both strategies do not work, tutoring is a great option.  

  Tutoring is provided for free by our school’s  National Honor Society, as well as there being different tutoring programs outside of our school.  It can help students be prepared for when a test comes around.  Tutoring can help a student more thoroughly understand the content, instead of possibly having to cram information just a few days before testing.

  Preparing for a test can take different strategies because people have divergent ways of making sure they have the grade that they want.   You just have to find the right fit.

Students Have Fun On And Off The Slopes

Entertainment
By Katlyn Mathers
Husky Herald Reporter

  Here at Northern, Ski Club is offered and is directed by Mrs. Houle in room 201.

  “ We are an organization where we plan Friday trips to local ski clubs and go have fun and ski,” Houle said.

  Ski club is a fun place for students to join and encounter leadership from their own peers and make new friends.

  “Curtis Isaacson is a huge part of Ski Club, and has been for many years,” Houle said.

  Ski Club is more than just going to ski, and being committed to a season. “It is a lot of fun and it is really chill, if you want to go skiing one week you show up, if you don’t, no big deal,” Isaacson said (‘16).

  Ski Club is offered to anyone who would like to join. “Anyone can join Ski Club, and it is never too late to join, you can come at any time,” Houle said.

   There is a fee to participate on Friday ski trips, but you just pay for the Fridays you want to go. “There is a three dollar fee for each week, which covers lifts and other fees like that,” Houle said.

  Along with the three dollar weekly fee, you can bring your own skis or rent from the hill. If you rent from the hill, the cost will be more for the rental. “Lots of people rent from the hill, the price isn't too bad depending on how many people go, we might have a group discount,” Isaacson said.

  Since it is never too late to join Ski Club, there will be meetings weekly for anyone who would like to join. These meeting cover locations and dates. “We will try to have meetings every week or every other week to talk about what trips are coming up and things like that,” Houle said.

  This year, Ski Club is adding  new locations to the club. If local ski clubs do not satisfy you, you can attend the new ski trip in February. “We are planning a trip to Blue Mountain in February, which will be very exciting,” Houle said.

Archery Club Comes to Port Huron Northern

Sports
By Corey Wilczynski
Husky Herald Reporter

  Port Huron Northern will be opening a new Archery club that will take place every other Monday, starting January 4th, 2016. This club invites any students that shoot archery or that hunt and would like to keep in tune through the winter months.

  Never shot before? That’s okay, come check it out at Blue Water Sportsman's Club. Mike Wilczynski, coach and founder of the club will tell you all about the sport.

  The club is working on getting other schools around the area to compete with Northern in the future. As of now  students can shoot at targets and compete with friends.

  “I’ll be more than happy to help out any kid who wants to try archery.” Mike Wilczynski said. Mike has his own Archery shop and has taught many people to shoot in the past.  

  As of now kids will shoot at 10, 3-D targets, three times to give a total of 30 shots. They will score all shots at these animals.  

  “We’d like to have as many kids shoot as possible so we can hold competitions within the club with all shooters.” Mike said. Shooting will start at 5:30 and run until 8:00.

  Students do not have to stay for the whole time, once they are done shooting they may turn their score cards in and leave.

  The club’s goal is to get students involved in archery and to keep other archers involved through the winter months. Any student is welcome to join! If you’ve never shot before that’s okay. Come on out and learn all about the sport!   

  Please remember even though this is a club, there will be absolutely no bows, arrows, or any archery equipment allowed on school grounds.

  This equipment is to be brought from home to the club. Not to be brought to school under any circumstances. If you have any questions please see the main office.

New Year, New Mock Trial Team

News
By Sara Jex
Husky Herald Reporter

  The Mock Trial team this year at Port Huron Northern High School is full of new faces: only one student is a returning member and there is a new teacher advisor. In spite of these seemingly difficult setbacks, the students are working hard to make the team as successful as it has been in previous years.
  For aspiring lawyers and government workers, Mock Trial is the ideal program. “You see a new side to the workings of a court,” said new member, Madeleine Frank (‘17).  

  During the first meeting, the group was split up into two teams: The Blue Team and the Gold Team. Unlike Varsity teams and Junior Varsity teams, however, these groups were set on an equal playing-field with an even distribution of  skills.

  Mrs. Desjardins, the new teacher advisor for the team, said “I’m really excited to see the students interact and think critically.”

  When asked why she was interested in becoming an advisor for Mock Trial, Desjardins said “I wanted to become involved in the Northern community.” With practices for each team once a week, she is definitely becoming invested in students’ successes.

  Each team was set up with three prosecuting attorneys, three defense attorneys, and six witnesses. Students were able to pick which role they would like to play, as each role is extremely important to the accomplishment of the team.

  Samantha Jex (‘18) is playing the role of Dr. Avery Atkinson, a witness that presents valuable information on the case. “To get prepared, I’m memorizing my character,” said Jex.

  The case assigned to every Michigan High School Mock Trial team this year involves the prosecution of Casey Campbell, who allegedly placed a bomb in the lunchroom trash can at his school. However, Sawyer Simpson, the school bully, may have framed Casey.                   

  As common with most things, there are two sides to the story. It is the Mock Trial members’ jobs to convince a jury of practicing lawyers and officials and a judge with facts and good presentation that either Casey should have a reduced sentence or no sentence at all, or that Casey was a troubled teen that took his anger too far.

Schools Advance Technology

Opinion
By Mckenna Sweeney
Husky Herald Reporter

  When times change, technology changes. Although that is an obvious statement, it holds very true.

  Changes in technology have happened in slew of different areas of today’s society, prominently in schools. Here, at Port Huron Northern, a select few of my teachers have changed their curriculum from paperwork to mainly computer work.

  Online work could be using programs such as Google Classroom or McGraw Hill Connect. Overall, I have found that I like working with pencil and paper much better than working online, though some teachers use a mixture of both, which I have found works the best.

“In my ELA class we mostly do things the way we’ve always done things and not using computers, but for certain things we use Google Classroom to turn in our work,” Sammy Ziarko (‘16) said. “I don’t really like how teachers make us do work online, it just makes everything harder.”

  Google Classroom is a better program but still inferior to the classic paper work, in my opinion. By using Google Classroom, teachers can make an online assignment, but are still able to grade it them themselves, instead of letting the program doing it for them. That is a lot better because then students wouldn’t get answers wrong that were actually correct.

  In McGraw Hill Connect, teachers can create assignments, similarly to Google Classroom. Once the student is finished with a problem there is a “Check my work” button, then they can turn the assignment in for points, which are scored automatically.

  I think McGraw Hill Connect makes classwork a bit more difficult. Even though there is a “Check my Work” button, if the content you type in as your answer is not exactly what the program has as correct, it marks your answer as incorrect. For me, this adds more stress in trying to figure out exactly what the computer wants, rather than what your teacher wants.     

  “I prefer to not use computers as our class work,” said Nicole Truscott (‘16), “Computers have too many difficulties. They shut down in the middle of doing assignments, and sometimes they don’t connect [to the internet], which makes me stress out if a paper is due on a certain day.”

  Computers are better for transferring documents from students to teachers, such as in an email, but when there is a specific assignment where you must answer specific questions, paper and pencil work the best.

  “Where I live, my internet is really patchy,” Connor Friedle (‘16) said, “When  I’m in the middle of doing my work I'll lose connection, then lose all the work I’d just done. I think it's better to not use computers for work.”

  Although there are good and bad points to both sides of the argument, overall using pencil and paper for schoolwork is the most effective way to go.                                                                                                                                  

Biggby Comes to Port Huron

News
By Karson Schenk
Husky Herald Reporter

  Biggby Coffee, a brand native to Michigan with a headquarters located in Lansing, is coming to Port Huron. It is currently in construction, and is expected to open in the spring.

  It is located less than a mile from Port Huron Northern High School: all students have to do is take a  left down Kraft road while exiting the Northern parking lot, and turn into the new business located  across from Kraft 8 theatres.

  Complete with a drive through and walk-in options, will Biggby Coffee pose a threat to the Tim Hortons and Starbucks diehards? Or the gas station coffee junkies? “I think it will affect some people’s daily routine.” Marissa Hartman (‘17) said. “It is conveniently close to the school.”

 Biggby offers coffee, tea, herbal tea, made-to-order beverages, assorted food, and smoothies. In September 2011, the company was named the fastest growing coffee chain in America by CNBC, which ranked the chain number one, based on their growth percentage from the previous year.

  “Biggby coffee will change people’s daily routines. I've heard the coffee is good and it is really close to the school.” Maddie Frank (‘17) said.

  From an economic standpoint, Rachel McClelland (‘17) said, “I think Biggby coffee will be great for this area and attract students as a place to eat and hangout.” Along with its famously cheap (and still good) coffee and iced beverages, it also brings opportunity of new jobs to Port Huron Northern's students.

  One cup of medium coffee from Tim hortons costs $1.79 (14oz) Biggby coffee costs $2.09 (20oz) and Starbucks remains the most expensive  at $2.10 (16oz).

  Biggby was ranked above other popular brands such as Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and Caribou Coffee, and was also named a top 30 food franchise in the United States by Franchise Business Review in both 2011 and 2012.     

  The report compiled results based on surveys from franchisees in the food sector, representing more than 75 brands and 20,500 franchised businesses. Micaela Muzzarelli ('17) a Starbucks Gold member and devotee for the past 5 years stated, "Even with the new Biggby Coffee, my adoration for Starbucks will remain untarnished, it will always be the superior coffee in my eyes."

  Should we as Michiganders be backing native Biggby? Or will Northern students continue to start the day with Canadian Tim hortons and Seattle Starbucks?