February 2016 Volume 91 Issue 6 Buzzing For More News?

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Page 1

At the district meet on February 13th, the Thomas Jefferson wrestling team saw seven of their wrestlers placed within the top 2 spots to qualify for the state championship. Senior’s Colton Clingenpeel, Jacob Jones, Jackson Sharp and Nick Mitchell, junior McGwire Midkiff, sophomore Anthony Humpal and freshman Cameron Baker will be representing the Jackets in Des Moines this year.

The Jackets wrestling team comes into this weekend tied for 8th place in the 3A state rankings, after being unranked last week. Thomas Jefferson has several of their wrestlers ranked in their respective weight classes and going into State, they hope to continue their success throughout the weekend.

Senior Colton Clingenpeel who comes in at an astonishing 56-0 sits in first place in the 152 pound weight class. Junior McGwire Midkiff with a record of 49-5, currently holds the second place spot in the 113 weight class and freshman Cameron Baker who comes into this weekend at 39-9 and is ranked tenth in the 195 pound weight class.

Four of our seven wrestlers placed 1st in their weight class; Clingenpeel, Jones, Midkiff, and Mitchell, while the other three placed second. This season has been a historic one for Thomas Jefferson’s wrestling team and they hope to continue their success they have had this year into the weekend.

TJ had a send off for all of the state qualifiers on February 17th, having Coach David Lutz announce and recognize each wrestler individually.

“Great year by the wrestling team,” said Wrestling Coach August Manz. “Seven guys have a chance to fulfill their goals on being state placers or state champions and they put all the time in that they should of.”

The State meet will start Thursday at 1:30 for 3A wrestlers at the Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines and run through Saturday. On thursday they will feature all 7 of the Jackets wrestlers who hope to continue to advance through the weekend and make it to Saturday’s championship rounds.

Also in this paper...

(continued on pg. 6)

VR: A thing of the now

Page 3:Confusion on grading systemSenior Corner34th Scrap Metal Band show

Page 4:Working as a studentMilk & Cookies frappe RecipeMiss Amazing pageant visits IowaThe legacy of David Bowie

Page 2:New Hampshire Primary resultsHillary Clinton visits A.L.Trump visits Kirn Middle School

Find Ana’s Iowa Caucus story online at cbjacketjournalism.com

Iowa caucus results

Jackets sendseven to State

Adriana Ibarra & Angela Gardner

Reporters“They loved it so much, it’s an experience, you know you’re not there but you feel like you are” -Meaghan Sweeney

Although electronics have been a part of CBCSD classrooms for a few years now, CBCSD has its eye set on moving the one on one program to its youngest students with the use of virtual reality.

Fourth Grade Classroom Strategist, Meaghan Sweeney’s students of Edison Elementary had the opportunity to experience the Google Expeditions by using the VR device, Google Cardboard, for the first time.

“They loved it so much, it’s an experience, you know you’re not there but you feel like you are,” said Sweeney.

Google Cardboard can be downloaded onto phones to explore the world, or play various games. The phone is set into a pair of cardboard binoculars,

Seven state wrestlers reaching high for the championship belt. Photo provided by Nick Mitchell.

Dylan Harold & Jordon McAlpine Sports Reporters

Page 5:MAC continues to play role in showcasing local athletesFarewell Ms. B

Page 6:Virtual reality makes its way to Edison ElementaryReal effects of “senioritis”Gun control regulations must change in 2016Key Calendar Dates

BS HC

DTMR

TC

Other

RP

BC

Google Cardboard headset. Graphic by Rob Lindquist

Page 2

Abigail EdiePolitical Reporter

“Those people in the back [reporters] are all dishonest, that’s all they do…” Trump said on January 31st at Kirn Middle School for his last stop in Council Bluffs before caucus night.

While here, Trump focused on what reasons motivated him to run for president, mainly how sad he felt to what is happening in our country with Obama’s presidency.

“...I shouldn’t even call them leaders, because they aren’t,” said Trump.

He also talked about Obama not treating the citizens right and fairly, telling his audience that when you are not treated properly you have to do something. One of the examples he gave of him doing so was him skipping the last republican debate before Iowa’s caucus.

During his speech Trump also gave money from $6,000,000 that he has earned from donations and gave it to a program in Council Bluffs that helps veterans. He expressed that if he can do that in less than 24 hours, imagine what he can do in four years.

ISIS was another major topic, talking about his plans on building up a strong military that will make nobody mess with the U.S. He also disagreed with what Obama has done on fighting against the war against terrorism, blaming his “stupid” decisions for the debt we are in.

Furthermore, Trump mentioned how he is number one in every poll except personality, yet disagreeing with it and telling his audience how he is the nicest person ever. Trump also criticized Ted Cruz who is second on the polls, calling Cruz dishonest and questioning if due to Cruz being born in Canada, if he can even be president.

As of now, Trump does not have a running mate in mind, but he wants one that will be the best president if something were to happen to him.

At the end of his speech, Trump let his audience know about how confident he is about winning Iowa, and asking them all to go and caucus for him.

His wife, Melania supported him throughout his speech, finishing it off with his thoughts of him.

“The best deal maker, the best master negotiator. He will be unbelievable.”

Ana AguilarPolitical Reporter

On February 9th, the first primary of the 2016 election occurred in New Hampshire, attracting many voters to the polls to vote since early morning.

In contrast to a caucus where everyone shares their own vote, in a primary, people vote in secret ballots for their preferred candidates.

Since last year, many polls showed republican Donald Trump and democrat Bernie Sanders in the lead with big differences to the other candidates. So it was not a big surprise for voters when Trump and Sanders won the election.

Bernie Sanders beat Hillary by 27 points getting 60 percent of the votes and Hillary getting 38.3 percent, even though Clinton ended up with more delegates than Sanders. Overall, throughout the past elections Clinton has 394 and Sanders 42.

“Tonight, we have sent a message that will echo from Wall Street to Washington, from Maine to California,” said Sanders after the results were shown at his celebration rally.

On her lost Hillary Clinton told her supporters, “Now we

take this campaign to the entire country. We are going to fight for every vote in every state.”

Donald trump won first place by getting 35.2 percent of the votes, John Kasich ended in second place, Ted Cruz on third place, Jeb Bush in fourth place, and Marco Rubio in fifth place.

“There is magic in the air in this campaign,” said Kasich after making a big jump to second place and beating Cruz, and Rubio. Adding that due to him winning second place in New Hampshire he will be able to expand his campaign across the nation.

Furthermore, Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina have drop out of the race after the primary on Wednesday, February 10, leaving only five candidates in the race for the republican party. Christie ended up in sixth place and Fiorina in seventh in the vote results, both with single digit scores of votes.

“I tried to reinforce what I have always believed: that speaking your mind matters, that experience matters, that competence matters and that it will always matter in leading our nation,” Christie wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday

afternoon. “That message was heard by and stood for by a lot of people, but just not enough… And so today, I leave the race without an ounce of regret.”

After this, the candidates have set their focus on both the South Carolina primary for republicans and the Nevada caucus for democrats which both are on February 20th. Later on February 23rd, the Nevada Caucus will be held for republicans and on February 27, the South Carolina primary for will be held for democrats.

POLITICS

Hillary Clinton visits A.L., talks to crowd on final stop before caucus night

Editor-in-ChiefDerrick Johnson

Copy EditorAna Aguilar

PaginatorAngela Gardner

Sports EditorMorgan Wooton

StaffMorgan BarthMegan CarrollAbigail Edie

Morgan HanslipDylan HaroldAdriana IbarraCody KinneyTiana Larsen

Jordon McAlpineAlejandro Viera Cami Wagaman

AdviserRob Lindquist

Phone: 712-328-6493Facebook: CBJacketJournalism

Twitter: @TJHSJournalismSnapchat: tjhsjournalism

Web: cbjacketjournalism.com

THE SIGNAL

The Signal is a school-sponsored publication of Thomas Jefferson High School 2501 W. Broadway Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501. The Signal’s office is located in room C128. The Signal is printed by OH-K FASTPRINT in Omaha, NE. The Signal is a school-sponsored-publication and therefore recognizes its responsibility to stay within the boundaries that the school administrator sets. The Signal will therefore inform its readers using a high standard of morals and ethics. The Signal encourages readers to respond in the form of letters to the editor, which can be sent to room C128. The Signal’s editorial staff reserves the right to edit the letters for grammatical errors and to remove any profanity. The editors also reserve the right to exclude letters that are false in their statements or accusations. The Signal will not accept advertise-ments that promote activities illegal to minors. Advertising rates are available upon request.

NSPA Member Publication

IHSPA Member Publication

Trump visits CB, talks at Kirn Middle School

Hillary Clinton campaigned at Abraham Lincoln High School in their commons on Sunday, January 31st in front of about 100 people.

Hillary came out with her daughter Chelsea Clinton, Chelsea talked about how she was very proud of her mother and hopes that her own daughter could live in a world where her grandmother would be president.

Hillary encouraged the crowd to caucus for her the next day at the Iowa Caucus and explained why she would be a great fit as president. Clinton addressed many things such as education, health care, drug overpricing, poverty, and clean energy.

“I want you to know what I will do as your president and I want you to hold me accountable,” said Clinton.

Everyone was very happy about what she had to say, especially what Clinton said she’d do about drug overpricing. Hillary told the crowd that she will go against the advertisements that make tons of money on

those medications. “We are not going to let

people take advantage of patients, consumers, doctors, and other people,” she said.

Another thing Clinton talked about was health care. She told stories about the people she met in Iowa and how her fight for better health care changed their life. People thanked her for giving them affordable health care which was not available before for important medical reasons.

“Before it was called Obamacare, it was called Hillarycare,” joked Clinton.

Also, according to Clinton, education is becoming worse due to the amount of work put

Ana AguilarCopy Editor

into it. She believes that teachers should not be scapegoats and the government should spend less money on jails and more time and money on making higher education more attainable.

The last thing Clinton mostly talked about was clean energy, she wants every home in America to use clean energy by the end of her second term. Iowa recieves ⅓ of it’s energy sources from clean energy sources, making it a starting point of this change according to her.

“I’m going to make sure we become the 21st century clean energy superpower,” said Clinton. “We’re better at this than anybody in the world and we’ve got to start acting like it.”

“We’re better at this than anybody in the world and we’ve got to start acting like it” -Hillary Clinton

Sanders and Trump become front runners after New Hampshire Primary

Candidates Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, both winners in New Hampshire primary. Photos credited from cnn.com.

NEWS

Page 3

Tiana LarsenReporter

SENIOR CORNER 34th Scrap Metal Band has surprise performance here at TJ

Grading system continues to cause confusion

Morgan BarthReporter

The grading system for the Council Bluffs Community School District was changed in an effort to improve student performance in 2008.

There have been some misunderstandings though. For example, the grading system has been changed from letters associated with the 100 percent system to numbers more representative of a Grade Point Average (GPA). However, the current grade book Council Bluffs teachers use did not wholeheartedly follow this change.

When teachers enter the scores for work the students complete, letters will appear as the cumulative grade instead of a number. So if a teacher enters a 3 for one assignment on a 4 point scale, and a 4 on another assignment, the average (non-weighted) grade would be a 3.5.

The four-point scale allows students to be held accountable, but at a pace that is more appropriate for the student with allowable retakes and makeup work. In return, this helps with the dropout rate and failure rates.

“I think school is a lot harder when all you think about is passing,” said TJ Sophomore Josie Dilts. “It’s something that consumes a lot of your brain,

it consumes a lot of mine and my life. Students are stressed out, instead of learning the information, they are just all concerned about passing.”

The downside of this is the lack of a sense of urgency. As deadlines approach for assignments, a misunderstanding could allow for students to not do the work when it is presented because it can be done at a later

Even more stories online!Visit cbjacketjournalism.com and click “The Signal” in the menu.

The 34th Scrap Metal Band, one of Iowa National Guard’s band had came and performed for TJ on February 4th.

Comprised of citizen soldier musicians, the band assembles one weekend a month, plus 15 annual training days per year, to perform and support various civilians and military ceremonies.

Although they come from Fairfield, IA, a city with less than 10,000 people, they have performed for several crowds in states across the country.

They have also used their growing fan base to help and support the communities they come across. The band is known for providing support for the floods that have happened, and assist numerous motorist in winter storms.

Many members have visited the president of the United States and numerous people. With the newest script, and vocal section group, their music focuses on the new army concept. The music must meet the demand of the audience.

Scrap Metal’s music blends different types of genres, and uses

top pop songs of today, while adding their own flair. While performing for TJ they were encouraging students and staff to clap and sing along.

“They looked like they actually enjoyed what they were doing and it was nice to watch. They covered songs from

good artists like Red Hot Chilli Peppers,” said Autumn Brownlee a junior here at TJ.

With top-notch stage performances and a wide appeal due to their patriotism, the 34th Scrap Metal Band is quite the show.

34th Metal Scrap Band performing at TJ. Photo taken from the @34thScrapMetal twitter.

Iowa’s 2016 Matthew Shepard Scholarship for LGBTQ students is now available and offers up to $40,000 to honor students.

Longfellow, Hoover, and Lewis & Clark are now offering scholarships to their senior alumni. Applications can be found in room C218.

The SWIEF packet which has a list of Southwest Iowa scholarships for students that range from $250 to $5,000 can be found in room C218.

time.“I think that the grading

system is very accommodating to the students in this district,” said Dilts.

However, the students are held at a higher standard through absences. If they miss 10 days or more than their grade could possibly be changed to a pass/fail status. The student’s grade would not be able to raise any

higher then a .5 for that class, that trimester. This has been put in place to motivate students to come to school, and the teacher then has the ability to deem if the student should be put on the pass/fail route after the allotted absences.

Council Bluffs Schools superintendent Dr. Martha Bruckner says that this is giving some students a second chance to salvage their grades and do better.

In a 2012 report, Iowa City’s The Daily Iowan said that the standards that are held for the students (in our district) have fallen. They state that this is teaching kids to slack off and just get by.

Bruckner, however, fought back saying that this was to encourage students, not to teach them how to slack off.

The CBCSD grading system is teaching students how the grading systems in colleges function. Students in college will be graded by a 100 percent scale, with a few additional letter grades varying by professor.

PowerSchool uses a “letter-grade” system while most teachers go off the 4-point scale. Photos by Derrick Johnson.

NEWS

Page 4

Morgan WootonReporter

Milk and CookiesFrappuccino

As many high school kids come into more freedom, along comes responsibility.

According to the NCES (National Center of Education Statistics), more than two thirds of high school seniors are employed, and 22.7% of these students work more than 20 hours a week. The amount of hours worked plus their school commitments could have a heavy effect on their study habits.

“Working affects my schedule

Miss Amazing pageant comes to Iowa Western, boosts confidence of local girls

sometimes, I work 5 days a week so I can’t always go do things with family or friends if I don’t know ahead of time,” said Natalie.

She also feels like she never has time for school. The amount of hours she works makes her extremely tired and affects her work ethic.

Teachers here at TJ also see the affects of students working jobs and do not necessarily recommend it.

“I really think working cuts into the time students should be spending doing homework, reading, volunteering, and participating in extracurricular activities,” said American

Literature teacher Mrs. Elizabeth Busch. “These things are what kids need to be doing to get great grades and get good scholarships”

While it may be stressful and have some downfalls, having a high school job could be a positive experience for kids to learn responsibility. A recent study done by the Child Trends Databank shows that kids with high school jobs are more successful after high school and are more likely to maintain a job.

“Students can learn valuable skills needed for success by working during high school, such as punctuality, working with others, responsibility, networking and developing a strong work ethic” said iJAG teacher Mr. Busby.

As with most things, working in high school has positive and negative effects. Working a job in high school may provide the money to enjoy activities, but letting work take over your learning and extracurricular activities can prove to be detrimental.

On January 10th, 2016, the world lost one of the biggest legends in music ever known, David Bowie.

David Bowie had been battling an unknown cancer for 18 months, before he lost and finally passed.

Bowie was very famous for his work as a singer/songwriter, but he was also an actor starring in the movie Labyrinth. He stayed relevant and productive even when the spotlight was not necessarily on him, releasing his album Blackstar on his 69th birthday, two days before his death.

Bowie was mostly known for his music, which inspired a lot of people. His first hit song was Space Oddity, which was released in 1969 and reached the top five on UK charts. Another well known song of his was Heroes that was featured on the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012).

David Bowie was also known as a controversial person throughout his life. He had nicknames such as the ‘Goblin King’ and the ‘Thin White Duke’.

In 1972, Bowie had claimed he was gay, despite being married to his first wife. In 1976, Bowie had come out as bisexual, and later stated that he regretted coming out, as he was young and experimenting. The news was

Working as a high school student

Cami WagamanReporter

The legacy of David Bowie

not received well by the public causing his popularity to slightly decline regardless of his talents.

Bowie has been married twice in his life span, the first time was to Angela Bowie, and the second time, he married Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid. Bowie had two children, one from each marriage.

Despite the controversy and beliefs, David Bowie changed music forever. Not only has Bowie’s music touched thousands, Bowie himself has too. He made sure that people knew it was okay to be different, and his very unique character expressed originality to all. He may be gone, but his impact on the world will live forever.

David Bowie wearing his iconic face paint. Photo provided by davidbowie.com

Not having the ability to fit in is something that people of all ages, genders, and races will continue to struggle with. This can be even more challenging when you are struggling with a disability.

However, those who attend the Miss Amazing Pageant will see that there is no discrimination, and only acceptance.

The Miss Amazing pageant is a non-profit organization that provides opportunities to help boost confidence in girls and women with disabilities. Every participant receives a crown, whether they win or lose.

The Miss Amazing pageant was originated in Omaha, Nebraska by 13 year old Jordan Somer in 2006. Somer was influenced to create the pageant after volunteering for the special olympics.

On January 29th, 2016, the Miss Amazing pageant was held

at IWCC including many girls from around the area, of all ages. The pageant also included an optional talent portion, where girls were encouraged to show off what their special skills and an evening wear bit, where each girl was escorted to the stage by volunteers.

Amie Jo Duncan, a former student of Thomas Jefferson, is a recurring contestant in the pageant.

“Amie Jo looks forward to this every year,” said Missy Duncan, Amie Jo’s mother. “This was her third year doing it, and the day after she’s always asking if she’s going to do it next year.”

About 30 states hold pageants each year, with girls and women from each age group is selected to represent their state as queen for a whole year. Each state queen is invited to compete for the national title of Miss Amazing.

Males with disabilities aren’t eligible to compete in the pageant, but, they are allowed to lend a hand and escort each contestant to the stage. If you are interested in volunteering or donating to the Miss Amazing pageant, visit https://missamazingpageant.com/

“I really think working cuts into the time students should be spending doing homework, reading, volunteering, and participating in extracurricular activities.” -Elizabeth Busch

Ingredients: Ice

Milk (any that you prefer)

Sugar

Chocolate chips

Cookies (any that you prefer)

Whip Cream

Equipment:Cup

Blender

Procedure:Put two cups of ice into the blender

1. Add a cup of milk into the blender

2. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar

3. Mix in ⅓ bag of chocolate chips

4. Crush the cookies inside of a cup

5. Blend the mix

6. Pour the mix into the cup

7. Add whip cream to the top

8. Sprinkle the crushed cookies over the top

Cami WagamanReporter

SPORTS

Farewell Mrs. B!

Thank you for all you’ve done for TJ. You’re the best library clerk and Ticket Taker we could ask for!

Jordan McAlpineReporter

MAC plays big role in showcasing high school athletics

which will help provide better opportunities for practice and games.

With the MAC bringing this facility to Council Bluffs as well as continuing to host tournaments for young athletes, it will be a one of a kind complex in this area.

In the near future many youth teams will be hosted for games and practices along with several tournaments which should also help revitalize the area around the Mid-America Center and provide ample opportunities to young athletes in and around Council Bluffs.

Page 5

From Presidential candidates to USHL hockey, arena football to music stars, the Mid-America Center has seen it’s share of events and star talent come through over the years. However, the 9,000 seat arena is not just about the big name events and most people don’t realize the great opportunities the arena provides to local high school students for sports and activities.

The MAC hosts 2 main sporting events for high school students, one being the MAC Shootout tournament which offers many area high school basketball teams a chance to play in a bigger venue.

The MAC Shootout is a three day basketball tournament that displays numerous boys and girls basketball teams from around the region. In 2015 it was the 10th year anniversary of the MAC Shootout, which was held from December 17th-19th, the tournament brought in 32 different teams.

In addition to basketball games, the arena also host the Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic. The wrestling tournament also brings in over 30 schools from around the area for a competitive weekend that offers many high school athletes the opportunity to

showcase their talents. Also, in November, the Mid-

America Center announced that a new sports complex and hotel would be added in the coming years. As it stands now some would consider the area around the MAC to be dying, but this new complex should revamp the area and continue to offer more to many local area teenage athletes.

The new complex is set to be built this year and the sports facility along with the hotel hopes to be completed in the near future. It will include 8 basketball courts and 12 volleyball courts

Spring sports are on the way!

Make sure to visit all meetings and attend open gyms in order

to be ready for the season!

Photo of the Mid-America Center. Taken by Megan Carroll.

Virtual reality makes its way to Edison Elementarythat people can wear to immerse themselves in virtual reality.

“I think it’s cool that you can go to all these places,” said 4th grader Kysen Blair. “I’d like to use this in class.”

Not only did the students enjoy the Google Expedition, but the teachers did also. Sweeney was impressed with the advantages that came along with the Expedition. She explained how she could control what the students were seeing on their screens by using her tablet.

“I loved how you could press your finger down and it would take students to a certain place,”

Sweeney said. “It correlated with the information that I was on so they could take their eyes to the things that I wanted them to see.”

Sweeney had stated that it was

easier to do it this way, she did not have to look off of different documents or look through papers to get the information it was already there for her. Google Cardboard proved to have many educational uses that can help transform a classroom.

“I think that it’s amazing, I think that I want it right now, I absolutely want it now,” she said.

Teachers hope bringing this form of virtual reality to the classroom, including others, can help change learning for younger kids.

With VR people can design, interact, and search almost anything and have it be brought to life. Hopefully soon, everyone will be able to read textbooks and do hands-on activities in the classroom through Virtual Reality.

the second amendment, the right for people to keep and bear arms, should not be infringed. Also, background checks are invasions of privacy and having to keep weapons and ammo in separate safes could keep them from getting the weapons in time in case of emergency.

Guns can be helpful, but with a total of 381 mass shootings just in 2015, there should be stricter regulations on them. Numbers of deaths would go down, and safety would go up. It’s time to take action.

NEWS

Page 6

KEY CALENDAR DATES

Morgan BarthReporter

With having such an easy access to firearms, innocent people are at risk of being hurt.

Due to the lack of responsibility, Christopher Harper-Mercer, a 26-year-old male had gotten ahold of his mom’s legal guns. In result of this on October 1st, 2015 Umpqua Community College suffered the loss of eight students and a professor. After the fact Harper-Mercer had committed suicide.

Although Harper-Mercer wasn’t qualified to carry the guns, the lack of security on the firearms led him to use the guns irresponsibly.

The same lack of security has led to even more incidents around the United States over many years. It proposes the debate of whether or not the U.S should have stronger gun control laws.

An organization called ‘Americans for Responsible Solution,’ promotes background

checks for someone that is trying to purchase a gun. People who were previous criminals, mentally ill, or have a history of domestic abuse, would not be able to buy the firearm.

However, when the background checks go into effect the person who is holding the firearm is provided two safes, one to keep the firearms in and the second one is to hold the ammo. This could keep others who are irresponsible from being able to get ahold of loaded weapons.

Some could say according to

Gun control regulations must change for 2016

Feb. 23rd and 25th:FAFSA Night

Feb. 25th:TJ Art Show

Feb. 29th:Wayne State College Visit

The real effects of “senioritis”

OPINIONEdison students playing with Google Cardboard. Photo by Angela Gardner.

Alejandro Vieyra&

Megan CarrollReporter

Grades are declining, motivation is decreasing and tardies go up weekly. The infection is starting, senioritis has hit.

On a personal level, senioritis has no effect on my academic and social life. However, there are several assumptions as to what the real definition to what “senioritis” really is.

For those who do not know what the plague of senioritis is, they can think of it as another level of procrastination, specifically for seniors.

“I think senioritis is definitely a real thing,” said senior Lacce Walker, “...we’re so close to becoming adults that we just mentally check out.”

While I believe high school as a whole is stressful, I have not experienced the true symptoms of what people call senioritis. There are several others in my graduating class, who are

advanced in academics, that have still caught senioritis.

Walker also stated that due to us being only 17/18 years old, making life decisions is a lot of weight on everyone’s shoulders, especially with our high school career ending in a few months. This is perhaps a cause of senioritis, stress.

Being aware of the unknown after high school may induce fear in some seniors which can distract them from their academic lives.

Being a senior, I have experienced stress throughout my entire highschool career. I have tried different ways of avoiding the senioritis theory. With my late start of classes, it is easier to become less motivated, but I hope to continue my academic success.

Many, like myself, believe that senioritis is not real. High school is just mentally tiring in general. There are many paths and opportunities that can be taken throughout high school. It is how an individual chooses to act upon these chances in life, that will determine if they have senioritis or not.

Feb. 26th:Senior T-Shirt order due date

Graphic by Derrick Johnson