Category Archives: Peter Hyle

Peter Hyle

New student drivers to participate in tomorrow’s Celebrate My Drive event

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By Peter Hyle

Learning to drive a car is a major part of everybody’s life. It allows teenagers to take themselves to the places they want to go and gives them a sense of freedom. Driving is an important and necessary part in a person’s life, yet it can also be extremely dangerous.

According to the Center for Disease Control, the number one killer of teens in the United States is car crashes. This is why students learning how to drive need to know how to safely operate and maneuver vehicles before they are out on the road alone and possibly in dangerous situations.

Tomorrow, FC will be one of hundreds of schools all around the U.S. and Canada taking part in the Celebrate My Drive event, a program designed to prepare and support new drivers for the open road.

“We’re celebrating the fact that they [new drivers] can drive, but at the same time inform them of the risks of driving,” said Theresa Lamb, the State Farm Agent that has been responsible for promoting this event  at FC.

To get ready required a lot of time and help to ensure that the event can be as helpful and fun as possible.

“I’ve spent about two months preparing for this,” said Lamb. “I’ve had a lot of help from students and parents that have volunteered.”

Sponsoring Celebrate My Drive, State Farm has also thrown in bonus prizes on top of the event itself. With the help of students all across the country going online and voting, 14 local schools have the chance of winning a $100,000 grant. Fourteen brand new cars will be rewarded to students who participate in the voting process online. With all of the promoting and setting up, the event seems to have caught the eye of many FC students.

“They [the school] have done an excellent job promoting the event,” said freshman Evan Cambron. “They made sure we knew what was going on with all of the tables in the spine.”

They also gave students other opportunities to learn about the event.

“They [the school] have provided a lot of information on the announcements,” said sophomore Isaiah Coffee.

Going on in the band parking lot here at FC, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., the event will have interactive games, food, refreshments, giveaways, and music.

“Free food, free drinks, and free cars. There’s nothing better,” said Coffee.

Preparing and working for this event was all for the benefit of the new drivers here at FC. They want to teach students the rules of the road with a supportive, instructive, positive approach.

“Such a scary time for parents can be a really fun time for students. They’ll be out there on their own and need to know how to be safe. Hopefully, I can keep doing this for many more years,” said Lamb.

News, Peter Hyle

Early graduation provides a quicker start on college life

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Junior Samantha Knies works on an assignment in her radio/TV class. Knies is planning to graduate early. Photo by Megan Hardin.

By Megan Hardin and Peter Hyle

Every year students come to school prepared for a full year of hard work and classes. For some it can seem like a never ending school year, but for a select few their school year is shorter than most. This is the case for the students that graduate early.

“In the past there have been one or two [students that graduate early] but we are starting to see more students that want to,” said principal Janie Whaley.

A student cannot just want to graduate early and then do so, though. There is a process that students must go through in order to even be considered for early graduation.

“They have to fill out a form a semester before they wish to graduate and say why they want to. Then we have to look at all their credits and classes and see if they are even eligible. After we do that we meet with that student and their parents and tell them if they can or cannot graduate and if they can; then, they have to write out a plan of what they are going to do and we need to see an acceptance letter from a college,” said Whaley.

With those requirements every student that has been approved to graduate early and those wishing to must work twice as hard to get everything they need to do done on time.

“It is kind of hectic and stressful. I have to take all seven of my classes here at FC then I have to go home and take the other classes that I need online. I have to work really hard and much longer to get good grades and get everything done,” said junior Samantha Knies, who is trying to graduate early this year.

Even though it takes a lot of hard work and time, graduating early can be a big pay off.

FC graduate Emma Slentz, who graduated a semester early last year, agreed that graduating early is completely worth it.

“It does take a lot of work but it is worth it and it is what is necessary to graduate early and head towards your future even more. It was the best thing for me to do and I am so happy that I did it. Graduating early allowed me to get an earlier start on my life and let me discover what it is I really want to do,” said Slentz.

Graduating early can help get a start on the future but it can also take away from the high school experiences that everyone wishes to have.

“If a student chooses to graduate early they need to understand that they aren’t eligible to get scholarships, participate in all of the senior activities that we have or the activities that they would have attended if they were staying their entire four years of high school, and they most likely will not get to go to prom or graduation,” said Whaley.

The decision is all up to the student if they chose to miss out on those activities and they feel that graduating early is worth it the choice is out there for them. It all depends upon the student.

Graduating early can greatly help a student that chooses to do so by letting them get a head start in college and move on to that step of their life. For the students that feel like they are ready for that then graduating early can be the right choice for them.

“I think that it depends on the person if they will choose to stay all four years or move on with their lives earlier than others, but graduating early is definitely a good option out there for students,” said Whaley.

News, Peter Hyle

Students purchase parking permits for new school year

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By Peter Hyle

Driving a car comes with lots of responsibilities. Paying for gas, insurance, repairs, and maintenance takes a lot of money. For driving students at FC, purchasing a parking permit is included on the list of must haves for school. Having a permit is a requirement to be able to park in the school’s student parking lot.

Aside for paying for the actual use and convenience of the parking spaces, the permits themselves serve many purposes.

“We run the drug dogs through the student lot and it just makes it easier to identify whose car it is,” said assistant principal Jeff Cerqueira.

But mostly, the permits are used so the staff can make sure that students do not park in the wrong places.

“If someone, for example, parked in a fire lane, I can look at the number on their permit and know the student,” said dean of students Joe Voelker.

Though they are used for many things, parking permits are not used to collect money. The permits themselves cost only two dollars which covers the cost it takes for each individual permit to be made. It is simply a way for the school to monitor the parking lot. However some students disagree with the procedures of the parking permits at FC.

“I can see why they serve a purpose, but I don’t think that we should have to pay for them. They should be provided by the school,” said senior Gannon Yeaton.

Most teachers would agree that parking permits are necessary for the school, whether they belong to the students or the staff.

“Yes [parking permits are needed] so that students park in their spaces and teachers park in their places. If they [students] had no parking permits, students would just park wherever they want. They might just take the teachers spaces,” said math teacher Rusty Cecil.

There are measures taken to make sure that students do park in their designated parking lot.

“Basically, the teachers monitor their parking lot themselves. If they see a car that doesn’t belong there, then they call it into the office and we find out who the car is registered to,” said Cerqueira.

At the start of every school year, there seems to be a problem with getting every student that uses the parking lot to buy a parking permit. The administration staff regularly checks the student parking lot to make sure everyone has one. This year, on the first check, seventy-eight percent of students did not have their parking permits.

“I forgot my permit at home, so I didn’t have it on the first check,” said senior Noelle Wilcox.

On the first few checks, the students are given a warning. If the problem proceeds, the student gets a demerit. The problem rarely progresses to the point where the student loses their driving privileges or receives a parking violation.

“We will never tow a student’s car away.” said Cerqueira, “That’s just a misconception.”

The past few years, FC has relaxed parking permit regulations due to building renovations on the school. Parking was a bit of a challenge during that time, but now the staff has been making sure that every student purchases a parking permit. Most students do not realize how important that plastic pass hanging from the rearview mirror is.

“Driving is a privilege, and so is parking on school grounds. And that can be taken away if rules are not followed,” said Cerqueira.

Carissa Smith, Peter Hyle

Freshmen adjust to life at high school

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By: Peter Hyle and Carissa Smith

A confusing, newer school with intimidating, bigger classmates. Different teachers and more difficult courses; this is all part of starting high school. Freshmen walk in with excitement and no experience as to how the school works. Most of them can agree that FC is a much needed change from middle school.

Even though they were ready for the change, all freshmen coming into FC were unsure of what life here would be like. Right away, they took notice to the many changes between middle school and high school.

“Last year we were at the top of the food chain, now this year we are back down at the bottom and have to work our way back up again,” said freshman Zach Small.

One of the more obvious changes is the size of the school.

“When I first walked in I thought that the school was way too big and that I was going to get lost,” said freshman Aleigha Allen.

But like most situations, there are always positives and negatives.

“There is much more passing period time here,” said Fultz. “They changed it [passing periods at HHMS] to four minutes when the fifth graders moved there. Now I have classes that are scattered out everywhere and I still have time to get to class and talk to my friends.”

More than anything, freshmen are taking notice to all of the freedom they have in high school compared to middle.

“There’s a lot more freedom and a bigger variety of people,” said freshman Jared Coopman.

All part of the give and take, the freedom of high school comes along with some other hassles.

“You have more work already… right off the bat. Last year at Highland Hills it [homework, schoolwork, etc.] took forever to start up,” said freshman Josh Poynter.

The countless activities FC has to offer also interest many new freshmen.

“I dance. I’ve been connected to it [Dazzlers] for a while,” said freshman Maddie Baird.

“I’m definitely interested in some theatre productions,” said Poynter. “Last year I was in a play and had a blast. So I wanted to come back for some more. I want to improve my stage charisma and become a better actor overall.”

Some freshmen already have activities that they have been a part of for a while and are able to continue here.

“I was on the golf team at Highland Hills,” said freshman Michael Sobieski. “It’s something I’m good at and hope to show on the golf team.”

So despite the more challenging workload and the heavier backpacks each night, high school has more positives than negatives. With more activities to take part in, and more freedom to do what they like, FC is an easy adjustment from any middle school.

“It’s a good school and I’ve had a lot of good experiences being here the first week,” said Sobieski.