Jasper High School

The class of 2016 has an-

nounced its official song, mot-

to, flower, and colors.

The song they have chosen is

“I Hope You Dance” by Lee

Ann Womack, and their motto

is the following quote by C.S.

Lewis: “ There are far, far bet-

ter things ahead than any we

leave behind.” For the class

flower, they have chosen a

white rose with teal and silver

ribbon, and their class colors

are black, silver, and teal.

At graduation, a slide show

will be presented of the gradu-

ates featuring their class song,

along with the song “See You

Again” by Charlie Puth and

Wiz Khalifa.

They will walk in to the tradi-

tional “Pomp and Circum-

stance” and will walk out to

“Here I Go Again” by

Whitesnake.

Seniors Choose Class Song, Motto, and Flower

Basketball Schedule

Oct. 15: Black/White. Teams

1,2,3,4. Jasper @ 6 p.m.

Oct. 20-23: Norfolk Classic.

Teams 3,4. Norfork, TBA.

Oct. 19: Lead Hill. Teams

5,6,1,2. Lead Hill @ 5 p.m.

Oct. 24-29: Jr. Tournament.

Teams 1,2. Jasper, TBA.

Oct. 27: Sacred Heart. Teams

3,4. Jasper at 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 30: Scranton. Teams 3,4.

Scranton @ 5:30 p.m.

Nov. 3: Norfolk. Teams 4B,3,4.

Norfork @ 5 p.m.

Nov. 5: Omaha. Teams 5,6,1,2.

Omaha @ 5 p.m.

Nov. 6: Kingston. Teams 1,2,3,4.

Jasper @ 5 p.m.

Nov. 9-14: Lead Hill Jr. Invita-

tional. Lead Hill, TBA.

Nov. 10: Cotter. Teams 4B,3,4.

Jasper @ 5 p.m.

Nov. 13: St. Joe. Teams 1,3,4.

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Recent JHS graduates com-petes in Italy.

2

Jasper Gets New Playground 3

Exchange Students 4

New Teachers 5

The Facts on Fads 6

Parker Becomes Counselor 7

Senior Photos 8

THE PIRATE PRESS

New Athletic Handbook Adopted

Volume I, Issue I October 2015

Senior Class Officers: Autumn Salazar (student council girl),

Savannah Covey (reporter), Matthew Harrison (vice-president ),

Kalee Smith (president), Ashley Middleton (secretary), Kim

Marlman (treasurer), and Justin House (student council boy).

By Jackie Daniel

Jasper School District athletes have a new handbook to follow

this year.

According to the new athletic handbook, an athlete is expected to

be a good student. This does not necessarily mean all “A’s”; it

means student athletes should do their best in academics and are

expected to attend all practices and games.

Not only that, but an athlete should consult his or her coach be-

fore missing practice. The handbook states: “Missing practice or

an event without good reason will be dealt with severely. An ath-

lete missing for any reason is expected to make up the practice

session.”

One student athlete said, “To most athletes, this is very stress-

ful.”

However, Principal Jeff Lewis says the handbook is actually a

good thing. “The athletic handbook was adopted to ensure conti-

nuity across the Jasper School District.”

Lady Pirates Make

it to World Series

By Canzada Fowler &

Kalee Smith

Out of 500 teams that played

in the Babe Ruth Summer

League for 16 and under girls,

the Jasper softball team made it

to the World Series.

Only 150 teams were eligible

for this. They went undefeated

in league, went on to win state,

and from that point, it really

didn’t matter because they had

an automatic pass to go to the

- continued on page 2

World Series in Jensen Beach,

Florida. Though they were

already on the road to the big

leagues, they kicked some seri-

ous tail in regionals, placing

8th in the U.S. Of all the teams

that went, they were the only

team from a town with a popu-

lation below 500.

They were unable to go to

Florida due to lack of funds,

but they still feel very accom-

plished. “I am very proud of

the girls,” said Coach Bobby

Coker. “From where we started

and where we ended, I’d have

never thought it possible. Good

things come to those who put

in the work and time .”

"We worked very hard this

summer,” said 2nd basemen

Kalee Smith, "Almost every

week during the summer that

we played, we would practice

at least 4 or 5 times a week.

Weather conditions were bad,

but we kept on. The heat would

be horrendous and then rain

would come, and you could

barely get a grip on a ball.”

Though seen as underdogs,

they persevered (up against 3A

and 5A teams), won state,

made it to regionals, and

earned the chance go to the

Babe Ruth World Series.

sive fourth. “No medal this

time,” he said, but I’ll

get to go to England

next year.”

John summarized

his experience in the

following way: “When

I was competing, it

was pure adrenaline, I

got tunnel vision, and I

just performed better

than I have ever be-

fore.” He added that he

By Luke Walker

John White, a 2015 graduate

of Jasper, competed in an inter-

national Taekwondo competi-

tion this past summer in Roana,

Italy. “This was a big deal for

me, because I’ve always

dreamed of being on Team

U.S.A.,” he said.

Taekwondo is a Korean mar-

tial art with a heavy emphasis

on kicks. He is not nationally

ranked but did place an impres-

is also taking Gracie Jiu-Jitsu,

and it takes 15 years to be quali-

fied as a black belt. In

the future, he said he

wants to open a Dojo

and teach Taekwondo

when he feels that he’s

skilled enough.

How did John get

interested in martial

arts? The answer is a

bit surprising: Watch-

ing Dragon Ball Z.

Page 2

Last Year’s 10th Graders Ace Biology EOC

S O F T B A L L - C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

Recent JHS Graduate Competes in Italy

Odds” award for performance

on the Biology EOC exam.

These awards are given to high

-achieving schools that serve

low-income communities

where at least 66% of students

are enrolled in the free/reduced

lunch program. Awards are

based on the OEP-created

“school GPA,” calculated on

the basis of the percentage of

students that perform at a par-

ticular level on the Benchmark

or End-of-Course exam

(advanced, proficient, basic,

and below basic).

Mrs. Creager, last year’s biol-

ogy teacher (now retired), said,

“I am so proud of Jasper's stu-

dents for winning this award.

Last year, I told my biology

class that they had the potential

to score high on the EOC, and

they did! They worked so hard

and I'm so glad that it paid off.

Biology is such a difficult sub-

ject, and to score so well....it's

just amazing!”

Each year, the Office for Edu-

cation Policy at the University

of Arkansas creates a report

entitled the Outstanding Educa-

tional Performance Awards

highlighting the highest-

performing schools in Arkan-

sas. Although the PARCC re-

sults have not yet been re-

leased, they have announced

science awards based on

Benchmark and End-of-Course

science exams, and Jasper High

School won a “Beating the

Volume 1 , Issue 1

Student Council will meet every Thursday second lunch in Mr. Ayers’

room (unless told otherwise.)

The Pirate Press

By Matthew Harrison

Jasper Elementary has a new

playground. On the day of

Open House, a ribbon-cutting

ceremony took place welcom-

ing the new playground to

school grounds. “Many people

showed up to view and play on

the new equipment,” said Da-

vid Dunlap, Jasper Elementary

principal.

Mr. Dunlap said the “Blue

and You Foundation for a

Healthier Arkansas” supplied a

grant of $148,000 for this new

upgrade to the school. This

organization awards grants for

projects that positively affect

the health of Arkansas resi-

dents.

Mr. Dunlap said the old play-

ground equipment was 60-

years-old and was becoming

unstable and unsafe. “This was

definitely needed,” he said.

But the most important ques-

tion is “What do the kids

think?” A survey of about 75

students in grades 2-6 reveals

they really enjoy the new mon-

key bars, fitness court, “zoom-

zone slide,” rock climbing, and

the “spinny thing” (a one per-

son merry-go-round). They

also love the fact that there is a

bigger area in which to play.

A handful, however, miss the

old tube slide that was there

before, and a few don’t care for

the wood chip mulch. Some

sixth graders said that it is too

crowded. Some complained

that the new slide, which has

rollers, is painful to slide down.

One 4th grader commented, “It

hurts my bottom!”

Some high school kids have

even been spotted playing on

the equipment after school.

And Jasper’s very own superin-

tendent broke the slide in by

sliding down it at the ribbon

cutting ceremony.

“I am very excited to see the

completion of the new play-

ground,” said Superintendent

Jeff Cantrell. “It is going to be

a great benefit to our students,

school, and community. This

equipment was a wonderful gift

and I challenge every student to

be responsible for and proud of

our new playground.”

Page 3

Boston Mountain Heath Replaces NARMC

J A S P E R S C H O O L G E T S N E W P L AY G R O U N D

kids who don’t get quality

health care because they’re too

far away, or they don’t have

enough money. A School

Based Health Center will help

so many kids, and I’m just

proud to be a part of it,” said

Nurse Mandy Strobe

“One of the School Based

Health Center’s qualities is

telemedicine,” Mrs. Fairchild

said. “Telemedicine is a ma-

chine that connects all three

campuses in the JSD. Since the

SBHC is on the Jasper Cam-

pus, you’d think that Kingston

and Oark don’t get the privi-

lege of a SBHC. Telemedicine

won’t allow this to happen. If

a kid from Oark gets an ear

infection. goes to the nurse, but

she isn’t sure it’s an ear infec-

tion, she can look in his ear

with a tool hooked up to tele-

medicine and send the pictures

to the nurse at Jasper or King-

ston. The other two nurses can

look at it, and then confirm that

it is an ear infection.”

By Amelia Long

You might already knew we

had a School Based Health

Center (SBHC) here at Jasper

School District. And most of

you probably knew North Ar-

kansas Regional Medical Cen-

ter (NARMC) was our medical

health provider. But did you

know we switched over to Bos-

ton Mountain Rural Health

Centers?

Why, you ask? Well, for one

thing, Boston Mountain’s hours

are more regular. They’re also

government funded, meaning

they can be more rural with

where they’re located. Health

Center Director Nicole

Fairchild said, “NARMC had

too much on their plate, so they

presented the idea to be re-

leased from their contract. So,

JSD talked to different health

care providers, and we finally

went with Boston Mountain. “It

was just the best match.”

Boston Mountain’s purpose is

to provide rural people with

adequate health care.

“Honestly, there are so many

From: Bald Eagle

To: Rubber Ducky

The universe is on fire and a

black hole and can you do that

with a jedi? Stay golden. Stylus

pen, double chin! ;)

From: Rubber Ducky

To: Bald Eagle

“May the grain be with you.”

Rubber ducky loves you!!!

Okay?

From: Mikayla Howell

To: Brandon Watkins

Keep on trucking, Rad Brad! I

love you, fro man. More than I

could ever express in words. I

wouldn’t know what to do with

myself if you weren’t around.

From: Serena Fountain

To: Luke Walker

You are the most amazing man

I’ve ever met. You always make

anyone smile when you’re

around. You come up with the

most coolest of things. I love

you Luke Walker

From: Jared Poyner

To: Catie Hatfield

You’re the best and I love you

so so much! Honey bunches of

oats. Bye babe and have a great

day!

From: Tori

To: Kara Flud

Happy 16th Birthday!

From: Owned by UDT

To: XevilgoatX

“The weak must die so that the

strong may flourish. This is the

creed of Zamorak”- Runescape

From: Emily Adamson

To: Hannah Adamson

Happy Birthday to my wonder-

ful little sister on Oct. 18th!

From: Cool man

To: All the girls

If interested, snapchat me at

lonesomedove913

From: Garrett McDonald

To: Everyone

“Dang. Garrett just stole my

girlfriend again.” -Everyone.

-Continued on page 6

Pirate Shout-Outs! From: Luke Walk-

er

To: Everyone

Hello, I am designing a game

which has not reached the devel-

opment stage yet, but I am inter-

ested in having some assistant

developers, so if you are interest-

ed, come find me and let us put

your ideas to good use.

From: Aubrey Hill

To: Bethany Long

Happy Birthday! Love you, sis-

ter, and I wish you the best!

From: Rubee Peterson

To: Bethany Long

Happy Birthday Bethany

From: Devin Cook

To: Austin Cook

Hey wish you were here, hope

you get here soon! Really, Real-

ly, Really, really, Really, Really

times 100,000,000,000,000 soon.

From: Angel Lee Heart

To: Everyone

Those who dwell on the past,

don’t understand the future.

Eva Hubrich: Germany

Eva, one of Jasper’s foreign

exchange students from Ger-

many, has never quite been a

stranger to America. She spent

eight years of her life learning

the English language. She says

that she likes being in America,

and even though she misses her

family, she is not feeling too

homesick yet.

Eva says that most of the

music and movies in Germany

are American because

“Americans are better at enter-

tainment.” Her mother even

taught school in Kansas City,

which inspired Eva to visit

someday. However, she said

that she finds it odd how

spaced out America is geo-

graphically. Eva said she’s

used to being able to ride a

bicycle to get wherever she

needs to go. From her home

town, she could even drive a

few hours to enter a different

country. One thing she doesn’t

like about America, or Ameri-

cans at least, is that they always

seem to associate Germany

with Hitler. She said that the

appropriate things for Germany

to be associated with are beer

and sausages.

Eva wants to be involved in

the future of medicine. In Ger-

many, she is in “gymnasium,”

one of the school types in Ger-

many. When she graduates, she

will have her bachelor’s degree

in medicine. She says that her

classes in Germany are gener-

ally more challenging than

here. One thing she’s really

looking forward to is prom,

since most schools in Germany

don’t have a prom.

I am not smart.”

According to Pedro, items in

America are also much cheaper

than in Brazil. He’s fond of

America, but not it’s food. He

thinks it’s unhealthy, and is

especially opinonated about

Brazilian barbeque being the

best. Something Pedro is very

shocked about is having guns

in the household. He said he’s

not used to firearms being so

accepted because Brazil is far

more liberal than America.

He expects another shock with

the weather.

Pedro Alonso: Brazil

Pedro is a foreign exchange

student from Brazil. Pedro says

that he misses everyone from

home a lot, and he especially

misses Saturday soccer games.

And sorry ladies, the boy also

misses his girlfriend.

Pedro came to America and

experienced a major culture

shock. He comes from a city

with a population 40,000 times

the size of Jasper’s. He also

said that school is much harder

in Brazil than it is in America.

“Here, I am smart, but in Brazil

Page 4

Meet JHS’s Foreign Exchange Students!

Japan.

Jay is all about that technolo-

gy. He says, “There is a lot of

technology in South Vietnam.

The North is all farming.”

And, something totally out of

the blue, He happens to also be

a rapper. And, something ro-

mantic for you ladies, Jay has a

girlfriend in Vietnam, so back

off.

Jay Bui: Vietnam

Phát Bui (Jay) is a South Viet-

namese comedian. If you meet

him, and sit and chat with him

for a moment, you’ll see the his

fun side. For instance, he says

“Why does Justin Bieber even

have a career?” Speaking of

music, he’ll be the first to tell

you that in South Vietnam,

“everyone listens to k-pop.”

His favorite food is Pho, a kind

of noodles only in Vietnam and

Volume 1 , Issue 1

Eva Hubrich

Cristina Garcia: Spain

Cristina Garcia, Jasper’s Span-

ish exchange student, is a girl

apart from most. She considers

herself a “hipster.” Cris says, “In

Spain the boys wear their hair

long. Everyone wears skinny

jeans. It is so different here.”

She adds, “I’m very hipster. I

wear the clothes I like, not what

is fashionable.” And just to clear

up any confusion about whether

or not she’s from Mexico, Cristi-

na says, “The only thing similar

between Mexico and Spain is the

language. Everything else is

different.” Though she may look

skinny, Cris is an avid eater.

“What can I say?” she says. “I

like food.”

She says the U.S. is very dif-

ferent. “Here you have eight

subjects in different classrooms

every day. In Spain we do differ-

ent subjects in the same class-

rooms.”

She really likes some of the

differences. “In Spain, you talk

to your group and that’s it. Eve-

ryone here is so friendly. You

talk to everybody.”

Jay Bui

Since it’s always warm in

Brazil, Pedro is going to

have to buy some serious

winter gear to battle the cold.

Pedro Alonzo

Jasper High School has re-

ceived a record number of

foreign exchange students this

year. There was a total of 10,

but three have already re-

turned home for various rea-

sons, mainly homesickness.

These include Thales from

Brazil, Emma from Germany,

and Alice from Tawain.

Why did a small rural school

end attract such an interna-

tional population? Former

counselor, Mr. Middleton,

said that many local families

were just really interested in

hosting students from other

countries!

All foreign exchange student stories were written by Erin Peeler and Brendan Edwards.

The Pirate Press

Hugo Niesten: Belgium

Hugo is your typical, funny

weirdo. He loves to joke

around and laugh, even though

he cries when he laughs. Sar-

casm ranks highest to him

when it comes to humor, some-

thing that should be remem-

bered when he’s talking about

his younger brother. He likes to

think of his little brother as

evil, even going as far as say-

ing, “he’s the son of the devil.”

And though Hugo claims his

favorite animals are his Husky,

“Flash” and his little brother,

he’ll tell you he misses no one

back in his home country of

Belgium. He joked about hav-

ing a cold heart after he re-

vealed this information.

Speaking of cold things, Hugo

believes his superpower comes

in the form of his hands. Not

only are they always icy cold;

he can

Damian Voet:

The Netherlands

In case you were wondering,

Dutch boy Damian doesn’t

miss anyone he left in the

Netherlands yet. It’s amazing

that someone from the Nether-

lands is as tan as Damian.

What’s his secret? His dad is

Indonesian. With a diverse

family culture, it comes as no

surprise that Damian Voet,

whose last name translates to

“foot,” loves traveling. And

good news, ladies, he’s single.

Page 5

She also LOVES American

pop music. She says students in

Germany actually don’t eat at

school. They eat at various

restaurants. It’s quite an adjust-

ment for her to get used to

eating in the cafeteria.

She likes the people here in

America because everyone says

“hello” and they’re nice “In

Germany, many people are

snooty and mean,” she said.

Here, everyone is nice and say

hello to me and ‘have a nice

day.’”

Kati Fauser:

Germany

Katherina Fauser, also from

Germany, is a bird of a differ-

ent color. She doesn’t really

care about fashion, saying that

in Germany, “that’s all anyone

cares about.”

She says that the main fashion

icons in Germany are the Kar-

dashians and Katy Perry. For

the guys she says it’s Kayne

West.

also juggle with them. After

two years of after-school

circus training, not only can

he juggle, but he can also

walk on a ball. That’s not

where his talents stop though.

He’ll tell you he’s bad at

things like basketball, soccer,

singing, dancing, and walk-

ing because of his size 12,

flat foot. However, his feet

do come in handy when it

comes to his sport of choice:

swimming. According to Hugo,

his other talents include never

getting lost, hardly blinking, and

always being honest.

Hugo’s also adventurous. He

said he came to America to test

himself. Some of the things he’s

found amazing are a bit interest-

ing, such as free refills and mow-

ing the grass. However, he dis-

likes always speaking and hear-

ing English. Hugo said he wishes

everyone here in America spoke

French.

Since he believes English is

“tiring,” it’s a good thing he

loves naps. Sorry ladies, Hugo

admits his one true love is a lady

named “Nap.” And his mistress is

eating. He loves hamburgers,

fries, pasta, and soup. With Hugo

being such a jocular person, it’s

almost hard to believe he aspires

to be a lawyer.

Hugo Niesten

Damian Voet

Damian loves all kinds

of music, and he also

loves Live Action Role

Play (LARP). He also

loves cats and honeydew

Three Teachers

Join JHS Staff Mandy Daniels:

“I was born and

raised a Jasper

Pirate, and I am

so happy to be

back home at

JHS. I graduated

from Jasper in 2002. I am cur-

rently teaching 7th and 8th

grade math, speech, and year-

book.”

Katherina Fauser

JASPER

“We Appreciate

Your Business”

870-446-2919

Jeff Ayers: “I moved here

from Dallas, Texas, for my

dream job. I currently teach 9th

-12th grade Phys-

ics, Chemistry,

Anatomy & Physi-

ology, and Physical

Science. I am so

lucky to be a Jasper

Pirate!

Leisa Milam: “I am a grad-

uate of Deer High School, and

I teach Art, grades K-12. I am

so happy to be back home to

Newton County,

and I am privi-

leged to be a part

of this great team

at Jasper High

School!”

melon. As for movies, he prefers Shark

Tales to Finding Nemo.

By Amelia Long

All right, so we all know fall is

here. We all know what that

means, right? More trends.

Some cute… some not so

much. So I’ve done extensive

research on what’s in for the

fall of 2015 to give you a good

idea of what to wear.

Now, a new growing fad is

what they call the “carwash

pleats.” Let me tell you straight

up what I think: U-G-L-Y. If

you like it, it’s cool. I don’t

though. See, the pleats are too

thick. If it were thinner, like

fringe, it’d be cuter. Speaking

of fringe, can you spell adora-

ble? I think fringe on boots,

purses, or shirts looks great.

And these new popular shoes.

They’re called “lady loafers.”

WHAT ARE THOSE?!

They’re definitely not age ap-

propriate for teenagers. Literal-

ly, they’re loafers with heels.

What about cardigans? Defi-

nitely attractive. Cardigans are

a great way to make an other-

wise boring blouse cute. And

the thing about cardigans is

they’re so universal. You can

wear them with just about any-

thing. They might be a little

expensive, but totally worth it.

Cardigans look great with jeans

or leggings. And oh, the leg-

ging fad. EVERYBODY is

wearing them. Plain or pat-

terned it doesn’t matter. It’s a

cute but comfy alternative to

jeans.

So, high-waisted jeans? I like

them. It’s a great way to wear

crop-tops without showing any

skin. Put that with a cute hat, a

cardigan (or not), and some

ankle boots, and there you go.

A perfect fall outfit. I know

what you’re thinking. Hats? No

way. I’m saying yes way. A

nice floppy hat (but not too

floppy) to top off your outfit.

Another thing that’s in is

1970’s style sunglasses. Yes, I

know, it’s not summer. But, the

sunglasses can still add that last

bit of umph, if you will, to your

outfit. Again, it looks great

with your hat. If you don’t like

hats or sunglasses, there are

always scarves. I still feel like

scarves are totally in. They

started a couple of years ago,

but every fall, they make their

comeback. Scarves are a great

accessory because they come in

so many styles and colors and

they go with virtually anything.

Page 6

F A C T S O N F A D S

Students: Mention this Arkansas House Salon ad and get $2 off!

The Pirate Press

Editor: Erin Peeler

Business Manager: Brendan

Edwards

Advisor: Ms. May

-continued from page 3

From: Wade and Ty

To: Charm Campbell

Loves you bae <3

From: Your Seester

To: Tori

You’re my best friend, but to me

you are like a sister. I love you to

the moon and back! I don’t know

how things would’ve been if you

wouldn’t have come to Jasper.

Don’t know what I would do if

you weren’t around to tease me all

the time.

From: Erin Michelle Peeler

To: Dusty Chasteen

Sorry I punched you in the face

From: Mr. Lewis

To: All Students and Staff

Thanks for a great beginning to a

new year!

From: Bean

To: Babe

ER MAH GERD, DER TERKIN

DER HERBITS TER

IERSENGERD!!!!!!

From Brandon

To: Mikayla

I love you, babe. <3. With all my

heart and soul. Always and forev-

er. No matter what, babe..

Ask

Gwen…

(Your Friendly

Local Advice Columnist)

Should I learn how to play an

instrument? –Clare Annette

You should. At least so you can

impress other people with your

talents. – Gwen Nancy

Sugar how’d you get so fly? – -

Vivacious Vivian

Buzz Buzz Buzz- Gwen Nancy

How long is a piece of string? –

Dim Daryl

How long is your attention span?

- Gwen Nancy

What is the meaning of life? –

Deep Donald

The meaning of life is to save

another person.. He who saves

one person but is known by few,

has a far more meaningful life

than he who is known by many

but saves no one. - Gwen Nancy

How do I ask a girl out? – Curi-

ous Cupid

You make use of all that English

we’ve been taught and ask her.

– Gwen Nancy

How do I overcome embarrass-

ment from crying while I laugh?

– Humorous Harold

You realize that it’s not a bad

thing. In fact it’s kind of funny and

adorable. More people suffer from

this ailment than you probably

think anyhow. – Gwen Nancy

Did it hurt when you fell from

Heaven? – Cheesy Charlie

A little bit. Mostly I just screamed

on the way down. It was terrifying.

– Gwen Nancy

Are you made of copper and

tellurium? Because you are CuTe.

– Bill Nye

You can’t answer your own ques-

tion. I do that – Gwen Nancy

The Pirate Press

By Tevin Branch

and Cat Carlsen

The new school year brings

many tidings and tribulations

for all. For some, it’s a change

of school, lifestyle, or official

positions. For example, math

teacher, Mr. Parker, is now the

new counselor since Mr. Mid-

dleton’s retirement.

How does his new job as coun-

selor differ from his old job as

a math teacher? “I like it,” he

said. “Being a counselor isn’t

easy, but I definitely enjoy it.

I’m not in the classroom every-

day anymore, which I miss, and

there’s tons of paperwork. In-

stead of working with my usual

seventh and eighth graders, I

work with all of the students,

teachers, and administration,

which is nice.”

The responsibilities of being a

counselor are quite different

than those of being a teacher. “I

have to work very closely with

Mr. Lewis in coordinating

events, scheduling, and student

transcripts,” Mr. Parker said.

Although scheduling has been

his biggest challenge this

year, Mr. Parker doesn’t give in

to the stress. “My job certainly

has its fair share of stress, but

so does being a teacher. Every-

one who works in a school

deals with stress. When I feel

completely overwhelmed and

stressed, I take a moment to

remind myself of the great

team of coworkers I have by

my side everyday who are al-

ways willing to help, and the

amazing students I do this job

for. If I keep that in mind, the

stress seems small and is worth

it all!”

He also has many responsibil-

ities, such as enrollment, teach-

er grade books, and scholarship

opportunities. Still, he does

miss teaching math. “I love

math. I miss seeing the kids in

the classroom every day and

watching them learn.

He likes having his own of-

fice, especially the location.

“From my office I can see most

of the students as they transi-

tion to and from classes. I try to

be in the hallways as much as

possible during these transition

times to interact with the stu-

dents because I think this is

very important for a school

counselor. I want to be seen by

all the students, and I want them to know my office is a safe place

and is always open. All students need to know I am here to help.”

Page 7

Tall Todd Takes on Task of High School Counselor

Todd Parker Picture

Important Information for 2015-2016 Seniors Act Test: Jasper High School Code: 041-230 Test Center Code: 241330

2015/2016 ACT Test Dates:

December 12, 2015…….…Registration Deadline: November 6, 2016

February 6, 2016………….Registration Deadline: January 8, 2016

April 9, 2016……………...Registration Deadline: March 4, 2016

June 11, 2016……………..Registration Deadline: May 6, 2016

Register online at www.actstudent.org. Check this website to see if the

colleges you are considering require or recommend the ACT writing test.

Also check college websites for their deadlines on when to take the ACT

for admission and scholarships.

You can request your official transcript in the counseling office. There is

a clipboard on the bookshelf that you must sign. You will choose either to

pick it up in the main office or have it mailed to the recipient. Do not wait

until the last minute. Please give Mr. Parker at least a day’s notice to have

this prepared for you.

INTERNET RESOURCES Internet Resources www.fastweb.com—free scholarship search

www.fundmyfuture.com—free search

www.studentaid.ed.gov—Federal Student aid

www.arkansasnext.com—advice for seniors

www.ecampustours.com—virtual tours of over

1,300 college campuses.

As you search for scholarships, beware of

scholarship scams. It may be a scam if there is

a high application fee, a statement that every-

one is eligible to win, they want your credit

card, or there is an invite to a private seminar.

College Bound? Don’t Forget about the FAFSA!

If you want financial aid, you'll need to fill out the FAFSA. The FAF-

SA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Anyone who

wants financial aid will need to fill it out. The application is used to

determine the dollar amount you or your family will be expected to

contribute towards college. All federal grant and loan awards are de-

termined by the FAFSA, and nearly all colleges use the FAFSA as the

basis for their own financial aid awards. Go online to fafsa.ed.gov.

Seniors 2016!

The Class of 2016

Band

Basketball