Thursday, October 26, 2017

Peer Leadership 2017-2018 Kicks Off

Stella Kelley
Staff Writer

 Beginning the third week in September, peer leaders began conducting meetings with freshmen during their Non-Western World class periods every Thursday. During their meetings, they will discuss navigating and coping with the social and academic pressures that often face them in high school. Some freshmen view peer leadership as just another class that they are forced to take. However, for other freshmen peer leadership can be an exciting time for underclassmen to connect with older students.
 Through weekly meetings that include team bonding games, questions, and exciting new information, peer leaders are hoping that freshmen will open up and participate in order to get the most benefit possible out of the sessions. Senior peer leader Riley Brennan stated. “It is my first year being a peer leader, and a goal of mine has been to relay information to my group that is not only informative and helpful, but realistic and relevant to them and their time in high school.”
 Peer leaders are selected through an application process with includes feedback from teachers, essay submissions, an interview with a guidance counselor, teacher, and former peer leader. Once applicants are accepted, they choose a partner to work with for the duration of the school year. These partnerships plan agendas, create fun games, and even bring snacks to their freshmen group meetings each week.

 During the first week of meetings, peer leaders met with their groups for the first time. These meetings generally involve team building and getting to know each other games, as well as discussions concerning the overview of what future meetings would be covering. In the upcoming week, most peer leadership groups will begin discussing the academic components of high school, such as; rigor of classes, homework, organization, time management, procrastination, and teachers.

Friday, October 6, 2017

Getting Involved in NHS School Clubs

Laura Nagg
Staff Writer

Clubs at New Hope Solebury high school are a big part of students’ extracurriculars. Most of the clubs have already had their first meetings, and are getting ready to start activities. Whether you’re a brand new student or 12th grade lifer, there is still time and room for you to join clubs and organizations at school. For those who don’t know where to start, here’s a list of popular clubs and their connections.
 Key Club is one of the most popular, with over 100 members this year. It is “a student-led organization whose purpose is to better the community and help those in need,” stated co-presidents Emily Madara and Michaela Park. One of their biggest events is Adopt-A-Child during the holiday season, Wear It Pink Wednesday for breast cancer awareness month in October, and the Second Hand Toy Drive.
 If you have a heart for inclusive activities for all students, Athletes Helping Athletes and Changing Social Perspectives will be a great fit. These two clubs have merged this year in order to become a bigger force working in the special needs community. Activities include Hope N Soul cafe, and honorary captain days. If you want to get involved, reach out to Presidents Zoe Palau and Mathilda Scarlata, or supervisor Ms. Urkes.
 If you have a special interest in politics and foreign affairs, a passion for business, feel competitive about math, or a love for reading, you could look into Model United Nations, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Mathletes, or Reading Olympics. Model UN is a newer club at New Hope, initiated and lead by Bernie de Prado. Here you will practice skills for global communications, and discuss politics. If you’re interested in a career in business, or want to see what all the fuss is about, check out FBLA. This club, lead by Kaylee Tao, even gets to take trips to Hershey, if students advance in the business competitions. Mathletes, advised by Mr. O’Hara, and Reading Olympics, advised by Ms. Schwander, are academic clubs here at New Hope, which involve competing in academic events, whether it be solving math problems, or answering questions regarding various books, against students from all over the local Buxmont region.
 Students who have a passion for acting, singing, or backstage work can look to Mask and Zany Theater Club. Courageously lead by Ms. Pittner for many years, talented students have put forth countless, fantastic plays and musicals for the school and community.
 A club determined to encourage positive, healthy actions is Positive Student Interactions and Choices (PSIC). Members plan different activities throughout the year with the support of NHS Cares in efforts to fight against drug and alcohol usage among students. Mr. Achenbach, the club advisor said “I don’t know if they had elections in June or if they waited until now.  I haven’t heard anything from them yet”. This concluded the club has not had its first meeting and to look out for any new announcements.
  Mr. Sorensen is the club advisor encouraging students to use their interest engineering and creative ideas to build robotic projects. The Robotics Club currently has a working robot and they are always looking for new participants.
 And if none of these activities appeal to you, look on the school website for even more clubs, as well as a variety of sports teams.


Link to clubs/activities list on school website: https://www.nhsd.org/domain/129

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Homecoming 2017

Devon Beacham
Staff Writer
New Hope-Solebury annual Homecoming is quickly approaching. Homecoming week/weekend, is known to be the most exciting time for the high school students in the fall season. Last year, there was conflict on where the dance should take place. It is well-known to take place in the middle school gym every year, but, last year due to construction, it was held in the high school gym. Now that the high school gym is closed because of the renovations, everyone is excited to hear that this year it's back to old traditions! Even more exciting than the dance being held in the middle school gym this year, it also happens to be completely renovated.
 The Homecoming dance this year is taking place on Saturday, Oct.14. The game is the day before, Friday the 13th. That week, Monday is Columbus day and Tuesday is professional development day. Thus, being a short Homecoming Week, themed days leading up to the game and dance have not yet been announced on whether they exist this year or not.
 To add to the excitement, Fall Fest is also a part of the Homecoming festivities! Fall Fest being a time where clubs and sports teams create booths and put together games and raise money for their teams/club members. Sadly, last year Fall Fest was cancelled caused by the rainy forecast. Hopefully this year we will get perfect weather like previous years!

 The exciting time of season is coming up very soon and students are filled with anticipation for the fun packed weekend. In the old location, students will hopefully have an amazing time talking, singing, dancing, and snacking together from 7:00-10:00 to conclude homecoming week. Don’t forget to bring your best attitude and semi-formal attire for a great time!

Construction Plows On

Amanda Horak & Parker Miele
Staff Writers

  It is year two of construction at the New Hope-Solebury High School and some major pieces of the project are complete and already being used by students. The office has been completely redone, and has even moved to a new location. The lobby area around the office has a high ceiling with big windows above the front doors. The old office now is the new home of the Guidance Department, yet it still looks the same as before.
  The biggest change that affects the students is the new hallway, which  features work created by the art students and new glass-front cases where the school can put its trophies. Many students don’t feel the hallway is big enough for the traffic in the halls, but some staff claim that once the senior hallway is opened the halls will become less crowded. Some people say that it is difficult to just have one hallway, but the students and staff are still managing.
  A 12th grader, Olivia Keenan, said: “The school is moving in a positive direction, but it is impacting my education.”
  There are multiple places in our school that are still under construction too, like the high school gym, locker rooms, and the fitness center. The high school gym has boards up and around it along with the fitness center, which means no one can see outside the windows.
  Teacher Mr. O’Hara said ironically the “glass behind the walls [makes him] feel insignificant.”
  Mr. Sherman, one of our Physical Education teachers, said that the new fitness center is to open on Oct. 19 if everything goes as planned. The machines should be delivered by Oct. 18 and the floors are being installed Oct. 9, 10, and 11. Many students, like those in Fitness for Life, are very excited.

   This is a very exciting time for our school with all the new and improved classrooms, gym, and lunch rooms we have been given. Many students are thrilled about all the new upcoming gyms and classrooms we will receive, but we still have a little bit of time to wait!

The Rise of Street Style during Fashion Week

Riley Brennan
Co-Editor In Chief

At the beginning of every September, for most people the school year begins, and for New York City, Fashion Week runs rampant. The season of shows came in a blur of designers, models,  and show stealing street style looks.
 While the motivation for this September’s fashion week was the designer’s display of their Spring/Summer 2018 collections, the people who attend the shows often stole the spotlight. It’s no secret that those lucky enough to frequent the shows throughout the week, dress to impress. Often times the looks the audience shows up in gain more attention than the actual work on display. Vogue magazine’s website even has an entire tab, featured on their homepage, dedicated to street style. In fact, there’s an article with a total of 223 photos, solely made up of “The Best Street Style from New York Fashion Week Spring’ 18.” Among the photos were common themes, warm toned colors, loose fitting jeans and trousers, flare pants, skinny stripes, plaid, pencil skirts, ruffled blouses, denim (x5), draped dresses and jackets, and a variety of fun patterns.
 Photographers line the street outside of show venues to snap photos of the attendees. This is one of the ways press is able to interact with fashion week, as not everyone will be invited to attend the shows. However, this whole concept of focusing on what the guests are wearing rather than what the models are wearing is troublesome. The concept of caring about what attendees wear to a fashion show is expected, but the line between caring and overshadowing is very blurry.

 An increasing interest in what the celebrities and bloggers are wearing to the shows seems to stem from social media, and the theory that anyone can be a celebrity in today’s pop culture. None of this is inherently bad, but with more and more focus going to the people at the fashion show, rather than the actual work on display, the fashion industry has the potential to evolve into one that is purely driven by social media stunts, instead of the artistic vision and talent. As always, it’s the masses that determine the future.

Security Cameras Added to the High School

Thomas Detlefsen
Staff Writer

At the back to school meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 1, Mr. Seier announced that a number of security cameras would be installed this coming year during renovations.
 In an interview, Mr. Seier confirmed that twenty-four cameras are to be installed, but there may be more.
 When asked why we needed these cameras, Mr. Seier responded with three main reasons: most other schools have them, they enhance the safety of the students and staff, and they are a mischief deterrent. On the cameras stopping mischief, Seier stated: “Cameras are a deterrent...people know there’s video evidence...if someone was planning something...either something serious or just mischief, they tend to not do it if they know it’s going to be on film.”
 Mr. Seier also stated the additional benefit of security cameras in conflict resolution, “If something does happen, maybe just accidental...the cameras always can give you a reference point to truth: people’s opinions, their memories, recollections can all...be different even though they lived through the same thing.”
 Mr. Seier further supported the addition of cameras, with a story from another school district.  At his old school, there was a car accident in the parking lot during a football game. The two drivers had different stories on what had happened and so the police used the security footage to determine what had happened.

 Mr. Seier seemed confident in the benefit of the installation of security cameras in the school, but the true mark of their ability will be proven later this year during the senior prank.

I did it because

I didn’t say go away because I didn’t want to see your face
I did it because seeing you is still the thing that makes my day
I didn’t stop talking to you because it put me in a bad mood
I did it because I’m still stuck in our little honeymoon

I couldn’t face the truth that I wasn’t good for you
Because I was still in love with you
Every second that passes by I wonder why I said what I did to you
And I also wonder how you could hurt me the way that you do
How you could pretend everything was nothing or act like nothing was real?

I didn’t hurt you because I hate you
I did it because I was afraid to lose someone as wonderfully incredible as you
This fear became a reality as I watched you disappear
Disappear from a life that we made that I believed was equally treasured

I didn’t move on because I wanted to
I did it because I had to
Because the decision you made was depressing and rash
And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive you for something as brutal as that
But I’m happy to see you’ve found what you need, even though that something wasn’t me

-Kayla Paul-Koch