A Season to Remember

By Heather Ferdinand

Editor

When I called my mom Friday night after the game the first thing she said was “I knew you wouldn’t have a voice.”

As a member of the varsity cheer team at Silverton High School, I have seen so many down to the wire games- Silverton 27/Corvallis 23, Silverton 19/Lebanon 18, Silverton 26/Eagle Point 21.

The feeling of standing in front of a large crowd and feeling the excitement as we call cheers on Friday night is one of those unbeatable feelings. The electricity from the stands is indescribable. It’s the home games like Corvallis, Lebanon, and Eagle Point that give you goose bumps throughout every play.

As the rain poured down two weeks ago at the Lebanon game the crowd and the boys kept their hearts in the game. The crowd even had cheer requests that would keep everyone engaged in the action.

The stands were exploding with stomping feet, claps and cheering that the masses of people were heard by neighboring establishments.

I myself have found that cheering for a quiet crowd isn’t any fun at all. But when the crowd exudes enthusiasm the emotion can be felt by everyone and the cheer team is truly thankful for that.

“When our crowd is loud and pumped, it gets our boys pumped and we want them to feel like they are playing for something more than just a high school football game,” senior cheer captain Kristina Vittone said.

“The difference from last year is that we have senior leadership. Our seniors work harder and longer than anyone in the league. That’s why we are where we are today,” senior football captain Lane Martin said.

The football had a 7-2 finish before playoffs.

“It’s my senior year so it means more to me than last year. I work harder and I know that all the seniors feel the same way. I don’t want it to end,” senior football captain Julian Canda said.

Ending one of these games leaves me sounding more like my grandpa than a cheerleader. Even with the sore throat the next day, it’s still worth it to know I cheered my heart out and letting the boys know that the cheer team, student body, and staff stands behind them 100 percent.

Mother's Day Reflections: by SHS students

What do you admire the most about your mother?

“That no matter what, she tries her hardest to get things done, even little things around the house.” –Josie Brown, senior

“I love my mom! She is the best. She always puts others before herself. She is the kind of person that would literally kill for her kids if she needed to. She would do anything for them. Her birthday falls on the day before Mother’s day, so we will pretty much be celebrating her all weekend. But, because Mother’s day falls on Prom day I am thinking that I will make her breakfast in bed. It should be fun”.
-Chelsea Cummins, senior

“My mom is a hard worker and she keeps me on task. She makes me do things that are good for me that I don’t want to do. I love my mom.” -Juliana Kuenzi, senior

“My mom works hard to serve my family through everything that she does and continues to do for us. She is passionate in everything she does, especially for her family. My family benefits largely from her abilities in cooking and gardening. Also we appreciate her every year by making a special dinner that she requests and inviting our grandparents over.” -Theress Stadeli, senior


What do you appreciate most about your mom?

“They always say that 'your mother knows best,' but the saying means nothing until you can experience it yourself. Many people and friends joke around calling me a 'momma’s boy' but I know it’s true. I appreciate coming home each day to say, 'Hi mom! How was your day?' Her sense of humor and her wise lessons makes me feel blessed by God to know her, let alone live with her and see her everyday. I appreciate how no matter how her day is or what any of her problems are, she makes mine top priority. She is probably the most important person to me. Happy Mother’s Day!” – Cody Ferguson, freshman


What is your favorite lesson that your mom has taught you?

“To treat others the way you would want to be treated.” –Gracie Matchiniff, sophomore


What are you going to do for your mom on Mother’s Day?

“I love my mama, I’m going to get her roses and make her breakfast in bed, she deserves it.” Shiree Hessel, junior

“Maria and I are surprising our moms by taking them to a spa in Portland for massages on Mother's Day.” Megan Schmitz, sophomore

What is the best advice you have ever gotten from your mom?

“The best advice I have gotten from my mom would have to be, ‘No one does anything without a reason, even if it’s a dumb reason. Don’t just listen to what a person is telling you; listen to why a person is telling you.’” –Hollyann Farris, freshman

Movie Review: "Soul Surfer"

By Erin Kelley
Assistant Editor

Filled with bravery, humor, and a great cast, the movie “Soul Surfer” left me inspired.

The movie is based on the true story of award winning-surfer Bethany Hamilton. Hamilton lived in Hawaii and was a naturally talented surfer, participating in national surfing competitions from a young age. But one morning changed everything. While surfing with friends at age 13, Hamilton was attacked by a 14-foot long tiger shark and lost her left arm. The movie shows the process of recovery that Hamilton went through, and the ups and downs of living life with only one arm.

Hamilton is played by actress AnnaSophia Robb, with Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, and Carrie Underwood playing major roles in the movie. The actors provided a cheerful and faith-filled perspective on recovering from a tragedy and learning to live with a disability. Hamilton’s success in the water was portrayed as a direct result of her Christian faith.

Beautiful blue water and white, sandy beaches were the backdrop for the majority of the movie, making me wish that I could live in Hawaii. The surfing of the actors was also outstanding, and the tricks on the waves were well done. It was inspiring to see Hamilton actually surfing with only one arm in the end credits, and to see how much persistence she had to keep surfing even after the injury.

Overall, I found “Soul Surfer” to be an inspiring and motivational movie, which I would definitely recommend to others.

Thoughts on Facebook, Twitter, and Teens

By Grace Hansen
Editor-in-chief

When Dallas High School's wrestler Charley Engelfried passed away after winning a match at Silverton High School, it was through text messages and Facebook that many students learned the distressing news.

Text messages notified students of a prayer service the following morning and a Facebook group was started in his honor.

News travels fast in today's world and our generation is a part of something that our parents never experienced.

When Suzie breaks up with Johnny, we don't receive a phone call from the gossip chain. Instead, we note a change from "In a Relationship" to "Single" on our Facebook news feed. When our football or basketball team wins a game, we don't wait for the morning paper to learn the score. Instead, we text a friend and ask.

With more than 500 million active users, Facebook would be the world’s third largest country.

In Egypt, social networking became the fuel that spread the fires of revolution.

In Libya, news about the hundreds of demonstrators that were shot by Libyan security was made known to the rest of the world via Twitter, which provided minute-by-minute accounts of what happened.

There is no doubt that media has an enormous impact on people. Why else would foreign dictators create “media blackouts” to try and curb the dispersal of controversial information?

So, what is the big deal with young people and social networking? Why is it that people across the globe are flocking to Facebook and Twitter?

SHS junior Jordan Dooley isn’t on Facebook cultivating the grassroots organization for a revolution, but she is there for the connection it provides.

“On Facebook, it is easy for people to unite on the basis of commonalities,” Dooley said.

For junior Anna Rediske, Facebook is a great way to keep up to speed with what’s happening at school or with her friends.

“[Facebook is a way] for youth to feel connected to what is going on around them. We like to be aware,” Rediske said.

As with most things in life, there is a negative side to the growth in cyber-communication.

“Ninety-three percent of communication is non-verbal, in effect you only know 7 percent of a person you know exclusively online,” senior Alex Kramer said.

When texting or Facebooking, it is easy for a compliment to get misconstrued as sarcasm or visa versa because you can't hear the tone or see the facial expression that go along with the comment. Rediske feels that a balance between virtual and real communication is healthy for any friendship.

“I like talking to people over text, but I work to make sure my face-to-face relationship is on the same level otherwise its awkward… A truly sturdy friendship cannot be built without making time to actually be with the person,” Rediske said.

Some teens also experience another drawback to Twitter and Facebook.

“Facebook equals death to homework,” senior Elizabeth Rueda said.

With fast and easy access to the latest news about your friends and family, it’s easy to stay up late just looking through the recent activity from that day.

According to the Facebook press room, collectively “people spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook and 50 percent of active users log on to Facebook in any given day.”

A 2009 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation indicated that youth between the ages of 8-18 spend 7 hours and 38 minutes a day using some source of media.

That's almost one-third of each day!

In a world that is becoming more and more connected by the benefits instant communication brings to us, let’s remember that life’s experiences are enjoyed the most through going out and making memories, not through looking at them on a screen.

Healthy balance of positive and critical thinking

By Jordan Dooley
Last year on New Year’s Eve, I made a resolution to myself to be positive and not to worry.

After the first of January, I woke-up everyday, looked myself in the mirror and repeatedly told myself positive confirmations.
A few weeks later as the first semester drew to a close and final exams quickly approached, I felt self-assured with my new mental paradigm shift.

Whenever worrisome thoughts arose like “I might want to study for my Spanish final,” I quickly dismissed them, promising myself I would ace my exam.

Well needless to say after bombing my Spanish final a few weeks later, my old thoughts reappeared.

My 4.0 GPA was gone along with my dream of being Valedictorian.

Obviously it wasn’t the end of the world, and it took little time for my heart to heal, but I did learn something important.
Looking in the mirror and repeating positive affirmations are not enough to make you as smart as Albert Einstein or as rich as Bill Gates, unless of course you are Albert Einstein or Bill Gates, which I am neither.

I began to think positive thinking isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be and it might actually be doing more harm than good.
Questioning positive thinking is as un-American as badmouthing baseball, apple pie and the free market.
Yet people fork over billions of dollars for seminars, books and life coaches. Do these tools make them happier, healthier or richer?

Maybe the ones selling the books, hosting the seminars and coaching others can answer yes to these questions, how about the rest of us?

I’m not suggesting positive thinking or positive people are evil and need to be condemned or banished, but isn’t there a better way of thinking?

With all the challenges we face in life as individuals, shouldn’t we be embracing “critical thinking” over simply “positive thinking.”

Positive thinking is different from being cheerful or good-natured, it is more believing by focusing on the good, the bad ceases to exist.

By critical thinking, I mean, thinking that clarifies goals, examines assumptions and evaluates evidence.
I’m not advocating for a society full of long faces or defeatist attitudes, as that does nothing to help society’s well being.

On the other hand, realistic curmudgeons may be more valuable to society than phony and deluded people who are unable to face the truth of their problems.

So instead I’m promoting a society full of critical thinkers, people equipped with the skills to face their problems and tend do their real emotions.

Inhabitants of the corporate world feel that the majority of their problems can be solved by positive thoughts, rather than dedication and hard work.

Public agencies like NASA have become so blinded by positive thinking that they ignored repeated warnings from their engineers in advance of the Challenger explosion because they were so busy envisioning a perfect blastoff.

Our society should recognize thinking critically would supply more happiness than will positive thinking.
We have to begin to look at our problems straight in the eye, without sugar coating them or fooling ourselves into believing they’ll go away.

Hopefully with that, we will find authentic joy and won’t have to short cut our way to being happy.

I challenge people to become a critical thinker, balancing between optimism and realism, finding a solution to a problem, and most importantly, being true to themselves.

Written on the Occasion of Receiving ISS for the First Time

by Sasha Albrecht
Guest Reporter


Yesterday I was informed that I’d hit the "ten tardy" mark which means I will be spending my day in ISS(In School Suspension). This raised a serious inconvenience for me because I had several important things I needed to do, as it is the last day of school before winter break. Naturally I was irritated with the prospect of having to spend the whole day in the ISS office rather than finishing my last minute work before leaving for two weeks. Several tests now have to be pushed aside until the New Year, by which time I will have inevitably forgotten all the details I have spent so much time attempting to dedicate to my memory. Now, my question is this: how is ISS a reasonable punishment for being a couple minutes late in the morning?

As students preparing to enter the "real world," I know it is for our best interest to practice punctuality before our tardiness can result in unemployment. However, I fail to understand how removing students from class is a reasonable punishment for their arriving late – it’s better to arrive late than not at all. The majority of students that find themselves in the ISS room are often falling behind in school already; I must admit that I am included. So, rather than spending the day attending to my classes and taking tests, I am doomed to sit in the same spot for the entire day making minimal accomplishments while falling further into the hole of homework that I’ve gradually dug myself into.

Our schools "ten tardy" policy is, in my opinion, a flaw in this school’s educational system. While running the risk of receiving ISS might be a motivational factor for getting me out of bed in the morning, I cannot say the same for some of the lovely companions I’ve met today who are, in fact, repeat offenders. In a school that avidly worries about our test scores, our attendance, and our punctuality, removing tardy students from their classes in order to condemn them to a day wasted in accomplishing nothing at all seems to contradict the other policies that our administrators spend so much time imposing upon us.

Is ISS really a sensible way for teaching students to attend their classes on time? I personally don’t think so. If anything it discourages from attending classes at all. While I might find sitting in the same room for a full day boring and uneventful, I can’t help but notice that many of the people on the ISS bandwagon seem to enjoy avoiding their work. They are essentially able to skip school while being counted present. This is only a method of crippling students, showing that simply arriving late to school can result in a relaxing day in the ISS room that could otherwise be dedicated to studying.

The Flipside of Life

By Daniel Roth

A college application awaits filling out on my computer screen, wanting to know everything about me and my education.

Hundreds of emails and phone calls from college enrollment counselors have been read and listened to, all promising that I would be a great fit at their campus.

A year from now, I will be walking the paths of a college somewhere, fully absorbed.
This whole college experience is exciting and all, but thinking about it gives me goose bumps.

What happened to the last 17 years of my life?

I’m months away from being an adult, and my childhood is spiraling down. The childhood that seemed so long, yet so short at the same time.

I remember back to my very, very first day of school at Pratum, when I was all set to go with new school clothes and pencils and markers, excited and anxious to meet new people and new friends.

Being a tiny kindergartener, I always looked up to the giant eighth graders who were just right down the hallway, promising myself that I would be as cool as them when I got older.

The years went by and before I knew it, I was in the Big Room as the big man on campus, head honcho of Pratum.

I could imagine the new kindergartners looking up to me in the same way I looked up to them, so I went through my final year at Pratum as an angelic example to the kids or not.

Life was good at the top of the food chain, but all of a sudden the tables were turned, and I was the annoying, immature freshmen whose apparent purpose was to tick upperclassman off. From the start, I tried my hardest to be the top in my class, from grade point average to coolness factor.

I don’t know how well that’s worked out but I can say I tried.

High school has been an absolute blast, where I have met some great friends and teachers. I’ve experienced it all, with bone-chilling football games on Friday nights, Brueckner-isms, an adrenaline-rushing state basketball tournament, prom and crazy pep assemblies. I have risen through the ranks and am now the senior, Class of 2011.

In the midst of all this fun that I enjoyed during my childhood, college has always lingered. Why else would I try my hardest to do well in school? So I can go to college, graduate, get a well-paid job and have a good adult life.

And now it is literally just around the corner. And I worry. What am I going to do with the rest of my life? I have no idea. Am I ever going to see my high school friends after graduation day?

Maybe.

There are so many questions that come with college and sometimes I feel that there aren’t enough answers. But then I see the flipside of it. I had fun at Pratum, I’ve had more fun at Silverton High, so why can’t I have even more fun at college?

It seems logical that the fun should keep rolling on. And chances are that I will meet some of my lifelong friends and will find the job of my dreams.

So I guess the most logical thing for me to do is go along with the whole application process excited and, well, as anxious as I was that day in kindergarten.

I’m about to walk into a completely new chapter of my life, and truth be told, I’m a little freaked out by it. But I know that I am going to have fun and will enjoy the college life.