All posts by jlang@nafcs.k12.in.us

McKenna Click

Pinterest project fails, columnist offers advice

Leave a comment

By: McKenna Click

Anyone who knows me knows that I am creative, so it is no surprise that in my free
time I get on Pinterest and look at D.I.Y. projects. Recently, when I was looking through many
of the ideas, I started to wonder how hard they really are. So I decided to try out a
salt dough pendant. This seemed like it was really easy and something that I could not screw up, but I was wrong.
The caption of the picture says, “2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, cold water. Mix until has
consistency of play dough. Bake at 250 for 2 hours, then cool and paint.” The directions were
not very clear to start out with but I tried to follow them anyway.
I got the two cups of flour and one cup of salt. It was pretty straight forward, I could do
that, but cold water, how much cold water? I didn’t really know how much so I just added a
random amount of water and mixed.
If you plan on following this recipe, I suggest adding the water slowly and mixing the
batter very well before adding more water. If too much water is added the batter will resemble
pancake batter and will need to be thrown out.
Once the batter has the consistency of play dough, flour the surface that where the dough
will be worked on. I suggest rolling out the dough with a rolling pin so that the dough has the
same consistency all the way through and will cook evenly in the oven.
Also, if planning on making shapes out of the dough I suggest first putting the dough
on parchment paper and then using a cookie cutter to make the shapes. If the shapes are cut
out when the dough is still on the counter, the dough is likely to stick to it instead of coming off
easily.
I cut out a heart and had planned on making a pendant but learned that just poking a
hole through the side of the heart with a toothpick would not be good enough. I realized that
a toothpick should be inserted in the dough but then wiggled around to make the hole bigger
because a normal toothpick hole will shrink up after it has been baked.
Once the dough has been baked at 250 degrees for two hours and then cooled down,
painting is the next step. I bought enamel acrylic paint at Benjamin Franklin’s, and I am sure
it is a great product, but read the directions before using it. The surface to be painted needs to
be wiped down with alcohol and washed with soap and water before painted, but by the time I
realized that, it was too late they were already painted so they turned out looking silver instead of
metallic.
So this Pinterest project was a failure. It could be the lack of sleep lately, the bad directions,
or simply the fact I tried to salvage something when I should have started over. Either way
this project was not one that I would recommend if you actually want the product that is in the
picture.

Lexi Burch, News

FC speech team host third annual Highlander Howl

Leave a comment

By Lexi Burch

This weekend FC’s speech and debate team will host its third annual Highlander Howl speech tournament. There will be over ten schools and 150 students participating.

“It is a chance to showcase our school to other teams around the state and bring attention to speech and debate at our school,” said speech coach Wallace Austin.

FC has been hosting this tournament for the past two years and it has been growing each year.

“It’s gotten a whole lot bigger this year year than it was last year,” said junior Sarah Henry. “We have over 150 students participating from all over the state.”

The tournament is a large scale competition with lots of teams, students, and over 50 adult coaches and judges. Putting together a tournament like this takes a lot of time and effort.

“With over 190 competitors it’s very important to be organized in advance and make sure everything goes smoothly during the tournament,” said Austin. “This is our third yeah, so that helps. This is not our first rodeo.”

This tournament is open to the public but students must be accompanied by an adult. The meet begins at 8:30 a.m. and awards are scheduled for 3:00 p.m. The Highlander speeh team would love to have as much support as they can get.

“People can watch different events and see for themselves if they would like to participate,” said Austin.

Derek Hanke

Peer tutoring proves to be beneficial

Leave a comment

By Derek Hanke

Some students go through school with little knowledge of what a peer tutor does. A peer tutor is a student who helps other students overcome their difficulties and achieve success.

Senior Molly Lessig’s inspiration for becoming a peer tutor came early in her high school career.

“During my sophomore year I sat next to a kid in class with special needs and helped him. Then, I heard about a program over the summer where you could help other kids with special needs out and I fell in love with it,” said Lessig.

This summer program and her following career in school as a peer tutor helped to shape her perspective on life.

“Earlier in highschool I was selfish, but then I started channeling my energy into helping others. I really enjoy being able to help others besides myself,” she said.

Lessig said that the peer tutor program plays a valuable role in our school.

“Being there to encourage students with special needs helps them see that their are kids without disabilities that want to see them succeed,” said Lessig.

Fellow peer tutor Dylan Adkins expressed similar views about the peer tutor program.

“The peer tutor program influences our school a lot, because many of students need help with different classes and sometimes they can’t get the help they need by themselves,” said Adkins.

Adkins feels that there is a need for peer tutors at our school.

“Everyone needs help sometimes and it’s not a bad thing if you do. If you need a peer tutor, it does not mean you are failing all your classes, but it means you need help,” he said.

Peer tutors duties range anywhere from being gym partners to reading out loud.

“My daily activities of being a peer tutor include checking students homework and helping them complete it,” said Adkins.

School counselor and special education facilitator Larry Schellenberg said that being a peer tutor has a lasting impact on a student.

“Many times, being a peer tutor changes how a student sees the world in terms of how we all have our own needs and deficits that we must overcome. Many of the students become more empathetic towards others as part of the job,” said Schellenberg.

He also said that the peer tutor program helps certain students achieve success.

“The peer tutor program makes our school more accepting of other’s individual needs; it helps our struggling students become more successful and a larger part of our school community.” said Schellenberg.

Schellenberg does not know what the school would be like without peer tutors.

“I can’t imagine what our school would be like without them. We would have a lot more kids failing classes and having behavioral issues if it weren’t for peer tutors,” he said.

Being a peer tutor has led many students to pursue careers in helping those with special needs according to Schellenberg.

“I can think of at least six students who have chosen to help special needs students in my four years here at FC,” said Schellenberg.

Lessig is planning on pursuing a career in helping those with special needs.

“I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in helping those with special needs last summer. Helping out people with special needs lets them make friends and have new interactions throughout the day. It helps mainstream them into society,” said Lessig.

Lessig encourages anyone who is considering being a peer tutor to go ahead with it.

“Anyone interested in being a peer tutor should do it, because if you’re motivated for it you’ll get a lot out of it,” she said.

Peter Hyle

Junior Collin Jackson discovers his talents

Leave a comment

By Peter Hyle

Coming to a school as large as FC may give some new students a reason to be shy and unsure of themselves. There are so many programs available that it can often be hard finding the right path, but for junior Collin Jackson, he knew exactly where he belonged. Joining the theater program at the start of this school year, Jackson has already found himself a lead role.

Knowing that he wanted to participate in theater, Jackson started the new school year with determination.

“He always comes in prepared, learns music quickly, and when he doesn’t know something very well, he practices extremely hard to get better at it,” said theater teacher Robbie Steiner.

Though he has previously acted in plays, such as The Music Man, Jackson is ecstatic about the role he has obtained in the upcoming show, Godspell.

“For each show, all the actors interested have to audition in front of the directors. In this particular case, the show is a classroom project, so only the students in the musical theater class were allowed to audition,” said Jackson.

For the new show, Jackson is playing the role of Jesus himself.

“The role I play has a fairly large amount of lines. He has to be a leader to the rest of the cast, which is different from how I usually am,” said Jackson.

Though the role has obvious challenges, Jackson recognizes this and concerns himself with doing the best job he can.

“The responsibility involved is finding how to display to the audience that my character is both authoritative and friendly. Basically, I just want to make sure I’m doing my job really well, otherwise the whole point of the show could be missed,” said Jackson.

In the past, Jackson has spent time with a program called iTheatrics, a summer workshop in New York. Giving him the motivation to continue forward with his passion, he looks back on his time there as a helpful reminder.

“It gave me some confidence in what I was doing and brought a lot of reality into theatre for me,” said Jackson.

Aside from the positive outlook added to his theatre career, Jackson credits the program for much more than that.

“The program I was involved with encouraged me to make choices, and to look beyond what lines are directly stating. As a whole, the trip was a boost. It helped me to decide that theatre is what I want to do,” said Jackson.

Looking past what lies in front of him, Jackson is optimistic about his future here at FC.

“Even though I’ve only been here for a short amount of time, I have grown to know so many people and I truly feel accepted,” said Jackson, “I appreciate each individual involved in theatre, and cannot wait to see how the rest of my experience here turns out.”

A&E, Columns, JT Samart, Weekly Playlist

N.O.T.E: Fleet Foxes, Rihanna

Leave a comment

By JT Samart

Music is an ever-changing art, and what will become popular in the future might be completely different to what we listen to now. The possible combinations of notes are almost infinite and the growing amount of possibilities with different instruments is mind-blowing. So to celebrate these musical resonances is the biweekly N.O.T.E.

N.O.T.E is an acronym which is stands for N: New and Popular, O: Old, T: Try it, and E: Enough.

New and Popular will cover current popular hits or your radio hit. Old will cover the popular songs of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Try it is a section dedicated to an obscure or “indie” artist. Enough is a about the song we have all heard and just been sick of. It is the song you hear too often and it just gets annoying. I will ask one student or staff member their “Enough” song and let them share their opinion.

New and Popular:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-fA-gBCkj0]

This week’s billboard chart topper is Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out Of Heaven”. Mars has been on the appearing on the charts since his break out hits “Just The Way You Are” on his first album Doo-Wops & Hooligans.  Now with this new album, “Unorthodox Jukebox,” Mars has brought another well done album with a more refined, atmospheric songs. “Locked out of Heaven” has a very familiar upbeat, bass-heavy sound that now has become ubiquitous with Mars’ non-ballad songs. The guitar and drums remind the listener of  The Police  and compliments Mars’ rhythmic voice. The reverberated echoes and voices add an interesting dynamic to the song.

Old:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDXT7wC9jrc]

From December 4, 1954 to January 21 of 1955: This number one hit was by a quartet by the name of The Chordettes and their song “Mr. Sandman.” “Mr. Sandman” has a skillfully done introduction with a “bum” coming from every single member to give a very capsulating sound. The tone is very nostalgic and very 1950’s.

Try It:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brZTvGIzeGg]

“Fleet Foxes”

Genre: Indie Folk

Label: Sub Pop records

Albums: Fleet foxes, Sun Giant (EP), Helplessness Blues

Website: fleetfoxes.com

One band that embodies indie folk is the Fleet Foxes. The Seattle- based band provides very deep lyrics with a chorus of voices and “these broad and open questions” as Robin Pecknold, lead singer and guitar player, put it in at 2011 Pitchfork Music Festival interview. All of their songs embrace an echoey feel and tend to have multiple parts. Their technique is extreme diverse each song has different instruments or different uses throughout each of their albums. My personal favorite song is “He Doesn’t Know Why” from their first album, Fleet Foxes, because of the expert lyricism, and its ability to pick me up when I am down.

Enough:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWA2pjMjpBs]

Rihanna disappoints in her hit single “Diamonds”. It has something about the tone of her voice and the repetitive nature of the lyrics. The instrumentation is uninspiring and really does not have anything extremely dynamic maybe except the brief breakdown. At least it was a change of pace.

That is all for this N.O.T.E. Join us next time to see what four Liverpool boys wanted to hold. Also, we will also try some indie psychedelic rock that has possibly the strangest music videos in the world.