Western Hemisphere: End of Year edition

All news and announcements that fit. Watch until the end to see some the best sign-off of the year.

Kendra Swaenepoel Exam

It is graduation season and issues concerning graduation conduct and dress come to the forefront during this time of the year. One particular question is, “Can we decorate our caps? And if not, why?”

Sadly for some Western High School students, decorating your cap for graduation has been an interest but, is not a choice.

Western High School Principal Sue VanRiper says, “Because the tone that we set at Western High School is a formal tone, we get to set the type of graduation we have. While of course we want to provide students with going off with pomp circumstance and tradition, we get to set the parameter of that. So, we choose to have it be a formal ceremony and with that we choose not to have caps be decorated.”

While it is nice that WHS enjoys the tradition of having all students look the same for formality reasons, many students find that not being able to express creativity is stifling.

Madison Whiting a Western High School senior said, “I was really hoping to decorate my cap. I have always been very creative and had something really cool in mind to make me stand out in pictures at graduation. I’m kind of disappointed that I won’t have the opportunity to do so, especially since I had thought up an idea all year long.”

Schools like Northwest and Jackson High find the decorating their caps is a reward of sorts for all they have accomplished in high school. It also has became a tradition in which many students even decorate their caps together in large groups.

“I looked forward to decorating my cap all year. I felt like I was able to throw in my something that reflected my personality in a gym full of people dressed the same. My cap became a keepsake for me and something that I can look back on.” said Kendall Rooney, Northwest High School alumni.

Unfortunately, Western will miss out on this opportunity but, don’t let it ruin your day Western students we can still enjoy graduation despite not being able to have this privilege.

Hemisphere: Seniors' Final Broadcast

Interviews with teachers and seniors.

Too Fool for School Vol. 12

Dog Days Final

New Blood

This week at the Western Hemisphere we interviewed to upcoming principle Jared Vickers over what he’s looking forward to when he takes the rains. 

We started the interview by asking Mr. Vickers his thoughts on the dress code. Mr. Vickers explained that he would “like to get into the position and have a better inside look at what’s working and what’s not and look at the expectation and develop it from there.”

After the dress code we asked him his thoughts on the tardy system and how we might improve upon it. Mr. Vickers said he would like to get look closer at things that have worked in the past and things that have not. “That’s stuff that I will start talking with the staff about and continue to talk.” 

Vickers also stated he would like to get to gain an understanding as to why the tardies and dress code problems are occurring and then put a system in place that we don't have these problems. 

We also asked Mr. Vickers what some of his future plans are when he takes the rains. He explained “he's excited about looking into flex and some more career prep ideas through flex, possibly some work study, and more guest speakers.”

Being prepared for life after school is one of the most difficult and harder things to do, just ask any senior this time of year. Which is why Vickers wants to help make sure students will prepared. He states “wether you're going into college, right into the work force, or the military they'll know what they're gonna do when they leave here.”

Too Fool for School Vol. 11

Dog Days

Hemisphere Video News

Westerns Theater department has amazing JV show

9th and 10th graders in the Western Theater arts group have a dress rehersal before the performance of "Up The Down Staircase" The cast and crew included student director Caylee Prater and assistant student director, Aislinn Mezaros.


    

Senior Send Off Party

The 2017 seniors are deciding to take a new direction on how their last day is spent. In recent years the seniors traveled to various elementary schools such as Bean, Warner, and Parma. They walked through those school to show the youngsters what is ahead of them in the future.

There were many variables that went into deciding to change it up this year. The biggest difference was the time that it took to travel to the different schools. The leadership court decided that it was best to try something different.

This year the seniors are planning to skip the elementary school and have a senior send off party instead. The senior send off party will take place in the new gym, and happen on the senior last day, May 26. There will be various events and activities going on during this time for the seniors.

There are waivers that the seniors must sign if they want to participate in the send off party.

Edited by Joe and Jake

Student Council Luncheon

This week on the Western Hemisphere, we decided to join the yearly Student Council luncheon with the Western Board of Education. 

Student Council Co Advisor, Jeanette Park exclaimed that the reason behind the yearly STUCO meeting with the Board is, “It’s a chance for the Board to get a pulse on what’s going on in the building from a students perspective.”

Many hot topics were discussed during the meeting. According to STUCO member Bryn Hendershott, “We discussed a multitude of issues ranging from dress code, to Flex, as well as previous and current favorite teachers.” 

We do not know what the board will decide to take action on, but according to Mrs. Parker “the Board seemed very interested in the dress code and Flex.”

As to what Student Council plans to do in the near future, Student Council co adviser Kimberly Shore had this to say, “I would to get more underclassmen involved in student council. I believe having more younger members will allow for more insight as to what all grades of students believe is going on at the school.”

Next week we will be sitting down with upcoming principle Jared Vickers to gain more insight as to what he thought about the luncheon, his future plans, and ideas for our great school. 

Too Fool for School Vol. 10

Dog Days

Be there, Be aware- Texting and Driving

During the month of April, the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning wants to make students aware of the importance of teen drivers keeping their hands free and on the wheel.

Technology allows us to make phone calls, dictate texts or emails and update social media while driving – all actions that are proven to increase crash risk. The National Safety Council observes April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month to draw attention to this epidemic. The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. 1,064 of those being in Michigan alone.

Sydnee  Williams had dreams of becoming a cosmetologist, a wife and mother. Sadly Sydnee's dreams all died on October 20th, 2013. After she lost control of her car while texting and driving.  Sydnee was not wearing her seat belt, causing her to be ejected from the vehicle and inflicting fatal head trauma.

Every bit of hope was lost when doctors told  Sydnee’s family and friends, “We are going to take it slowly, but where she was hit it’s very unlikely we can do anything for her.” Sydnee died a few days later. Her friend Joe who was a passenger in the vehicle at the time, walked away with no injuries. Vicky the other passenger however was not quite as lucky. She broke her arm and neck in the crash. Now she has to go to physical therapy and speech therapy for her injuries.

“This would have all been preventable if she would have just stayed off her phone till she got home.” Said Sydnee’s mother Sara Williams.

In a split second you could ruin your future, injure or kill others, and tear a hole in the hearts of everyone who loves you.

So remember Sydnee next time you get behind the wheel. Do you really want to risk your life for one text or call?

Hemisphere Video News

Westerns Track Destroys Pennfield

This past Tuesday, April 25, Pennfield traveled over to Western High to face off in a track meet. From last years performance, Western was expected to win again. Ian Devine was ecstatic to get to the meet and "pulverize" them.
"we're going to have a fun time destroying Pennfield".
His pre-assessment was quite accurate, as Western was victorious over Pennfield. Western won with a  score of 133-28. The Western Track Team was dominant and got first in every event besides the 4x200m.
After the meet, Devine was proud with his performance.
"The meet for me was pretty good, but wasn't the greatest meet."
Devine plans to beat his personal record in the near future in the long jump. His favorite event is the long jump and on Tuesday night he jumped a 19'7'', but plans to beat his personal record of 20'11'' by the end of the season.
All in all it was a great meet for the Western Track Team and a fantastic addition to the season record.

(written by Jacob Jones and Alek Hendrickson)

Dodgeball Review

At Western High School, Springsanity is a widely celebrated week for Western students. During this week, students are able to sign up for their own dodgeball teams and compete in a tournament. The teams pay $5 for each player, and all proceeds go towards the yearbook and help keep the prices low for students. When interviewing Amanda Motts, she told us "The tournament went well, but we had hoped more teams would have participated. But we are happy with the turn out."
Last years winner, Steele Fortress, told us "I'm confident in our team and that we have a good group dynamic. But we have a good competition this year, so we need to be on top of our game."
The winner of the final game, will play the teachers, which has last years MVP, Mr Meredith.
Mr Tingle expressed his excitement to play on the team for the first time, "I'm not exactly scared of playing the students, but I'm definitely not gonna hold back just because you're students. I'm here to win." He said he's excited to play with Mr Meredith as well.
The final games will be played during the pep assembly on Thursday.

Future CEOs

       Jackson County is home to many young and brilliant minds. This was demonstrated by Western High School team “Apollo Enterprises” who took first place in the CEO challenge on March 11th 2017. 
      According to the President of Junior Achievement of the Michigan Edge, Connie Poisson, the teachers, Derek Huntley and Steve Weller, who coached “Apollo Enterprises,” “have been selected to receive the 2017 JA educator of the year Award for Jackson County.”

       “It was a nice surprise to be selected as junior achievement teacher of the year for Jackson County and was not expected.” Huntley said in response to winning educator of the year.
        According to Mr. Weller "there are a couple of events coming up in the summer. One being the OiChallengeU which is a two week opportunity to explore real life problem/solution situations for businesses."

       Finally, when asked if he had any advice for students who might be interested in participating in future events such as the CEO challenge Mr. Huntley had this to say, “take a chance and try something that will challenge and engage you.” 

To learn more about the OiChallengeU visit http://www.scmw.org/workforce-initiative/education.html 

Too Fool for School Vol. 9

Barrier Decorating Competition

SprINg SANITY Barrier Decorating Competition

As SprINg SANITY quickly approaches WHS, a new class competition has begun. This year each class will face off against other classes in decorating a concrete brick barrier (Yes a brick!) that represents our spring sports.

A large brick barrier will be placed at the entrance of each sport area. One in front by the Track entrance, one by the Tennis courts, One by the Baseball and Softball  fields and one by the

Soccer Fields.

The intention on painting the barriers is to fit the Spring Sanity theme (Rivalries), to encourage the team/ sport where the barrier is placed and to promote school pride. All paintings/ slogans must be school-appropriate and not damage any school property. Painting is to only be on the assigned concrete barrier chosen by your grade level team of painters. Nothing can alter the brick barrier or be attached to it in a way that makes not re-usable and repainting the barrier to be difficult or impossible. Supplies are not provided and grade level teams must have their own. A class advisor or adult also must be present when teams are painting. D

Barrier choices are as followed:

Softball and baseball are is assigned to the juniors

Soccer field area is assigned to the freshman

Tennis courts area are for the sophomores

And the Track area is for the seniors

Painting will begin the friday before spring sanity which is April 21st and must be finished no later than 7pm on Thursday, April 27th.

Good luck to all grade level teams!

Spring Sanity Shirts

This week on the Western Hemisphere we decided to interview Melody Owens over the spring sanity t-shirt sales. This years shirt theme is the popular book we all might have read sophomore year Enders Game. Melody told us that it was between Enders Game and Divergent and according to her It came down to Mrs. Sponslers who as we know decided on Enders Game will have each class represented by a fictional army in the book. Freshman are represented as Snake army, sophomores are represented as Dragon army, juniors are represented as Salamander army, and seniors are represented as Rat army. These fictional armies are inspired by the dodgeball tournament that will be occurring on Monday the 24th of April. According to Melody “T-shirts will be selling at $10 a pop.”

If you’re interested in purchasing one of your classes fine t-shirts please email Mrs. Sponsler at Erika.Sponsler@wsdpanthers.org or visit her class room across the SRC room. 

Track season

Track season is underway and the WHS team has been practicing hard. 

Senior Luke Raczkowski leads the Track team in warm ups on Thursday, May 20th.  

Western Hemisphere: Video Edition

In This Edition:

• Prom Tickets On Sale
• sprINgSANITY t-shirts and themes
• sprINgSANITY class competitions (Beirut Brick Decorating)
• sprINgSANITY dodgeball tournament

Dodgeball Tournament coming up

Dodgeball Tournament coming up

The dodgeball tournament is going to take place on monday night in the 59 gym. It is going to start at 7:02pm.

When we asked Jerry Meredith what dodgeball means to him, he said that he always appreciated dodgeball. “It is not a sport for everyone and that it is fine because everybody is different and that makes the sport so special”, he said.

The winner of the tournament will play the teachers team. If you still want to participate and still haven’t signed up, you can get a sign-up sheet in Mrs. Sponsler’s room. The last day to sign up is this friday. A team consists of 6 players on the court and you can add an alternate player.

Dog Days 2nd in a week

Dog Days

Too Fool for School Vol. 8

Groovin' on over to Prom

Dancing, atmosphere, good times, and more can all be found at the Western High School prom this year. Taking place on Saturday, May 6th, this prom promises to be one you won't soon forget. Although the class of 2017 left behind high standards with their beautiful "A Midsummer Night's Dream" inspired decor, the current juniors, led by Mrs. Genco and student Kerrington Curl, have been hard at work this year. Their planned venue includes a four seasons theme and various "selfie stations" for maximum picture-taking opportunities. Tickets are available during both lunches and in Mrs. Genco's room. Prices start at forty dollars the first two weeks of sales and jump up to forty five dollars the last week of sales, so buy while you can.

Class Competitions

As Springsanity is quickly approaching, the Western High School student body is excited to participate in the many activities going on during Spirit Week. During this week, each class faces one another in different competitions to prevail over its competitors. Each day has a different theme to dress up for, and all first hour teachers tally up who is dressed for that specific day. The pep assembly also will have various dodgeball games that some students will participate in and earn points for their class. All different students earn points for their specific class, and at the end of the week all the points are tallied up and those who have the most points win. "Each class will also decorate their own barrier brick, and whoevers brick is the best will win." said Amanda Motts

Chap 10 blog

I am going to work at Brembo in Homer MI making car parts for high end cars. I am going to be a line worker out there at Brembo, working on machines to make these car parts. Budget: spend money on bills. Totals are realistic. I will put the remaining amount into a sinking fund. Nothing is missing.

Dog Jog

On April 22nd, there will be a Dog Jog held by SAU, where students and people in the community are invited to run a 5k, either by themselves, or with their doggo. It is used as a fundraiser for the Cascades Humane Society. They are also looking for volunteers to help with checking people in, hand out shirts, pass drinks out at different locations in the race, and people to stand on different corners and show the runners where to go. Email Kara Newton if you're interested: Kara.newton@arbor.edu

Dog Days

Western Hemisphere: video edtion

In this edition:

• CEO Challenge
• Salsa Contest
• Question of the Week

Salsa Contest

This Tuesday, March 28 there will be the annual Salsa Contest. The contest will take place during lunch in the cafeteria.
Ms. Aviña has put together a contest to find out the best salsa maker. Her students tried their hardest to make their most tasty salsa.
For 25 cents you can try all of the salsas, and cast a vote for your favorite.
The prize for the winner is not yet determined, but the salsa with the most votes win.
Make sure you come out and bring 25 cents to taste some salsa.

Track Practices start with a Bang

Junior Jimmy Anderson finds his concentration and focus

Senior Luke Raczkowski clears hurdles at practice  

CEO Challenge.

On March 11th 2017, Students of Junior Achievement in the Jackson Michigan area attended 2017 CEO Challenge at Baker College of Jackson.

The Challenge took place in a concept very similar to the hit ABC TV show, Shark Tank. The idea behind the CEO Challenge is to encourage young entrepreneurs. It’s a pooled high school project coordinated by the Jackson Area and it’s community partners, and is also funded by the Hurst Foundation.

Teams from all over Jackson Area schools, have been working diligently since January in hope of a win. With the help and support of Jackson Area mentors, local entrepreneurs and even educators.

Western High School’s “Apollo Enterprises” team took away first place in this years CEO Challenge. The team consisted of Preston Christoff, Caleb Whiting, Tristan Keller, and Charlie Davenport. Second place went to Jackson High’s “Tritan and Atlas” team of Harriet Marshallsay, Rohitha Polasani and Keaton Sharp. Third place was awarded to Lumen Christi’s “Seraph” which consited of Geraldine Berkermier, Collen McDonnell, TJ McCully and Josh Glick.

Congratulations to Jackson's future entrepreneurs!

Rough n Tough

This past Saturday the Seniors and the Juniors went to a head to head match in the classic Rough n Tough Volleyball match. The game took place in 59 gym, and was a charity event for St. Jude's Hospital.
The Juniors came ready to play and swept the Seniors 3 games straight in the best out of 5. Even though the Juniors only had 4 players show up. The Seniors couldn't hold them off and took the devastating loss.
There was a lot of the money raised from concession and admissions that went towards St Jude's Hospital.
Special shoutout to all of the students and fans that came out to support.

Hemisphere Upload

The Talent Show

Western High School loves showing the pride in their student section, which is exactly why they love putting on their talent shows. Their talent shows give the students an opportunity to show off what they can do in front of their peers and families as well. 

This years talent show took place on the 22nd of March and featured many different talents. There were dancers, singers, a musician, and a few bands as well. Western tries to give variety to the talents they show during these performances. 

One of the bands, Mexican Ketchup, performed an original song called ‘I Love the Beach”. They have performed in 5 or 6 gigs, so this isn’t a new situation for them. They have been together for a year and have loved every second of it. “We’ve never performed in the talent show, however. So we’re a little nervous.” 

The final performance, The Kyle Berry Experience, was definitely a sight to see. Rising up from below the stage, Kyle Berry, Jacob Dunckel, Simon Sundberg, and George Kline waited in anticipation to begin. Performing an original song, “Break the Sky,” they closed the night off with an incredible solo from Kyle Berry on the drums and Jacob Dunckel on the guitar. 

The 2017 talent show certainly did live up to previous expectations and will be remembered as one for the books. 

Too Fool for School Vol. 7

Dog Days

Talent Show Preview

This week at the Hemisphere we decided to dive into the only thing that seems to be on everyones minds, which is the talent show. With so much hype over this event, for some reason no one seems to know who or what is being performed.

Since the National Junior Honor Society is in charge of running the talent show, we decided to talk to the supervisor of it, Mrs. Rapert, who also teaches English classes at Western High School.

We were told that there would only be eight acts performed during the day show on Wednesday during the last hour of the day. The rest of the 19 acts will be performed during the night show. We’re told that not only will be signing and dancing but there will a magic show as well. 

When asked what will happen to the proceeds from the talent show Mrs. Rapert told us “all proceeds will go towards National Junior Honor scholarships.” So all proceeds are helping out our students here at the school.

We also decided to interview performer Aislinn Mezaros, who is a senior at Western High School.  She will be singing an Adele song, Send My Love. When asked how she felt about the talent show she replayed with “as a performer it’s a great opportunity to show case yourself in a fun and loving environment.” 

Airport Construction

According to The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), every certified airport must have a Runway Safety Area (RSA).  The requirements of the RSA range from “120 feet to 500 feet in width” and “240 feet to 1000 feet in length beyond the departure end of the runway.”

In order to meet the FAA’s requirements, we would have to take those distances out of runway our current runways. While the smaller runway 14-32 only requires 300 extra feet in length, the larger runway 6-24 will require an extra 1,000 feet in length.

Runway 6-24 is the only runway Jackson has that can permit jet traffic. If we were to take out the length needed to meet the FAA’s requirements, then Jackson would no longer be able to have jets fly in. In order to fix this problem, runway 6-24 is going to be decommissioned and a new runway will be constructed runway 7-25. 

Construction engineer Ben Hoover told us that phase one of six will officially begin in April and will end next year in May.  

The airport also has an enormous impact on Jackson’s economy. According to airport manager Ken Maurer “the annual economic impact of the airport upon the local economy is $18,000,000.”

This number does make sense, since Jackson is in the middle of many major cities and is only 24.4 miles away from Michigan’s International Speedway. However, with every project there are costs. Airport manager Ken Maurer explained “the total project costs over the past 15 years is $49 million dollars.” 

        Finally when asked to sum up everything that is going on at the airport, project manager Dan Kehoe had this to say, “We’re under going this project to bring Jackson County Airport up to standards to better Jackson for years to come.”

Western Hemisphere: Video Edition

Check out this week's Video Edition of the Western Hemisphere.

The Yeti Run

Pi Day Nick Dryer

Pi Day is a holiday that has been celebrated for a long time by math teachers everywhere. Western High School is no exception to this. The math teachers who teach geometry are the ones who celebrate this most, however. Pi, as most know, is the circumference of a circle, the first five numbers come out to be 3.14159. It is celebrated on March 14th, which is 3/14.
Teachers tend to have their students bring in circle shaped foods, such as cookies, pizza, pie, cake, quesadillas, etc. They take the day off to watch movies, eat food, and just relax for a day.
It is a fun day for students and teachers, as they have no work to do, and can just do what they choose to do. However, no teachers that celebrate Pi Day would take the time to speak with us, but we did have the chance to speak with the son of a math teacher. He told us "Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th, and it is celebrated with lots of food."

Amanda Motts goes to states

Western High school girls gymnastics has become of much talk recently, most likely due to all their hard work and great wins this year. Western Gymnastics ended the season this year with another strong and beautiful performance at the 2017 Regional Finals held at Grand Ledge High School. The team scored a 124.4.

Senior Amanda Motts had another stand out performance placing 3rd on Floor  which is her favorite event, with a 9.35,  which contributed to her qualifying for state finals. Amanda had a great day overall, and placed in the top 10 in the all around competition.

“I know I have the skills, I just am afraid sometimes to do them. I sometimes struggle with continuing to do them. I’m working on a new tumbling pass which I will be doing now at states.” Motts said about her struggles and frustrations during the season.

Getting ready for big meets such as regionals and states can sometimes be hard on the gymnasts, but not all prepare.

“I try not to think about it too much, because if I do then it doesn’t help me compete to my full potential and it ends up making me more nervous.”  said Amanda on how she tries not to “prepare” for big meets.

Motts says “ I’d really like to place top ten at states, and beat school record because I’m really close to beating it.”

Hemisphere Upload

Hosting Band Festival

Western High School is hosting Band festival this year, with several other bands other bands including Mason, Lumen Christi, Addison, Michigan center and Lansing Eastern coming to perform. Bands will be judged by 3 different adjudicators on how well they perform 3 pieces on stage as well as sight reading a new piece of music with 5 minutes to prepare.

Western High School Symphonic Band prepares at a pre festival concert on February 28th, 2017.

Gettin' Rough n' Tough for Charity

   This week the Western High School seniors and juniors face off in the annual WHS Rough n' Tough. The Rough 'n Tough is a volleyball fundraiser organized by Key Club in which the senior guys play the junior guys in a three set game, with the winners moving on to face off against the varsity girls team.
   Since the Michigan High School Athletic Association doesn't include a men's volleyball league, this gives high school boys a chance to stretch and show off their volleyball muscles. The Rough 'n Tough also gives the opposing senior and junior classes a means to settle their long-time rivalry.
      Key Club president Erin O'neil, when asked about potential winner of the game, commented," Well, the seniors normally win, so I'm gonna go with them, but when it comes to the varsity girls versus the seniors, I gotta put my money on the ladies."
   All proceeds raised go to the Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital, which treats chronically ill children for just 19 dollars a day.
   The price of admission is $5 and the date has been moved from March 9th to Saturday, March 18th at 7:30pm.

The Lore of Western

        This week on the Lore of Western we decided to sit down and have a one on one discussion about the catacombs of Western with Mr. Ford. Ford has been serving Western as a teacher for about 20 years and in his time he has told us very chilling things. 

When asked what he knew about the catacombs Mr. Ford was hesitant at first, but then fully opened up to us. He told us that “sometimes when i’m here late in the afternoon, everyone is out of the building I hear children down stairs laughing, some crying, some screaming. You hear the voices cry out.”

We asked Mr. Ford to go more in-depth about the voices. He explained to us that not only does he hear them calling out to him at the school but he also hears them late at night when laying in bed. He also explained that he can not get them out of his head at times. He tells us that the voice “just become ingrained in you and they just become apart of you.” 

Mr. Ford also hypothesizes that not only are there a dozen or so children that may have been problem children from the past chained up in the catacombs. He also hypothesizes that dog sized spiders might be holding those children captive down there. While he’s not sure what exactly the spiders do with them he did however have this to say “they don’t sound like normal… they don’t bark ok so there’s like a screaming screech thing that happens and then once the screeching is done children start crying”

Finally when asked what he believes how large the catacombs are he responded with “I think there’s a labyrinth under the school that could possibly lead up and over to the administration building. I’m not sure what they have over there but it is definitely not a place I would want to be at night.”

In closing, Mr. Ford provided us spectacular information on the mysteries and horrors of the catacombs but with this new knowledge we are left to wonder what else could be under our very own feet. 

Too Fool for School Vol. 6

Blood Drive

Last week the Western High School NHS put on a blood drive asking students to donate blood with the help of the American Red Cross. Their goal was to get 61 pints of blood and each person gives one pint. Camren told the Western Hemisphere that they had 108 people signed up! A great example of Western students helping the community.

Western Hemisphere Upload

This Week
• NHS Blood Drive a success
• Anthony Hodshire summarizes "Screenagers"
• Frank Ladwig interviews Mr. Curt Ford in this week's "What's in the Tunnels?" segment

Dog Days

Too Fool for School Vol. 5

The Lore of Western

       This week we went more in depth on Mr. Kim’s side of the story on the catacombs of Western. As most of you know Mr. Steven Kim has been working in our fine school for 11 years and just now feels comfortable telling us more about his story. 

We asked Mr. Kim about the first time he went down to the catacombs and his response was shocking at least. Kim said he was down there once and he thought it was very dark, dense, thought he could hear rats, and a child on a squeaky tricycle. 

       He also said he was blindfolded and in his words it was a “teacher initiation, like a fraternity where they drag you down there- I can’t say everything that happens down but they blindfold you and leave you down there and you have to kinda saw seven your way out.” 

      When asked what else is down there Mr. Kim speculated, saying “there might be a place for manny petties, the pool that is Mr. Sponsler’s 8th hour, a snow cone machine, and a large slip in slide.” 

      When Mr. Kim was asked what is in the depths of the catacombs he speculated it could be the center of the Earth, meaning of life, and perhaps Al Capone. Finally when asked if he believes there might be missing students down there he said there maybe but he also believes close to the end of the year when things are rapping up some kids may try to “Shawshank Redemption their way out and they’re never heard from again.” 

         In closing, Mr. Kim believes there is more than we can ever know down in the catacombs and we may never find out what mysteries are under our own very feet. 

School Officials Provide Proof of Damaged Flag Pole

Many have speculated that the flagpole out in front of Western High School was taken down for political reasons.In actuality it was removed because of the structural cracks around the base of  the flag. If the flag were to fall it would have fallen on the administration office.

Regional Champions Gamet and Raczkowski Prepare for State Championship

Wrestling State Championships finals are going to be starting next week Thursday and go through Saturday. The State Championships are taking place at the Palace in Auburn Hills.

Western has a good chance of winning two weight classes with Sophomore Corey Gamet in the 112lbs weight class, and Senior Luke Raczkowski in the 140lbs.

The previous year Corey took home the State Championship in the 106lbs weight class, and is looking for back to back victories. Corey has a record of 46-0 and is currently ranked number 1 in his 112lbs weight class. This season Corey took his opponents down 144 times. He has been very dominant all season and hopes to continue the perfect record.

Luke has also been very dominant this season with a record of 50-3. Luke is also ranked number 1 in his weight class of 140lbs. As dominant as the sophomore is on his feet Luke is equally dominant on top, turning his opponents to their backs 97 times this season. On his preparations Luke said: “I’m pretty happy that I can eat whatever I want and next week I’m gonna have to start cutting again”. He is also going to continue to practice like all year. Keeping the same traditions that haven’t let him down yet.

Come out and support your Wrestling Panthers this weekend.

Western Hemisphere Broadcast News

This week's Hemispere:

This Week in Weather by Nick and Joe

This week in the weather, we have had a bizarre and unusual change in our normal weather. You would think that being in February, it would cold and snowy. But not this week, as it has been extremely warm compared to other years. It has been an average of 55 degrees since Saturday February 18th. This change in weather has been caused by a phenomenon called El Niña.
Although none of us can complain about the warm weather, it is actually hurting our earth. This has been because of the pollution, and the harm we have been doing to our atmosphere. Either way, none of us can be upset over the warmth we have been enjoying so very much.
   The warm weather will be taking a break over this weekend, with a low of 24 degrees on Saturday and a high of 34. The temperature high is going to drop 30 degrees from Friday to Saturday. The warm weather will return partly the following the week. Although it probably won't reach the same high, it will reach above 50 on several days.
   There are chances that snow will return this following Monday, but we can only hope that it doesn't. Rain is also expected the following couple days. Then the weather should be returning to its lovely sunny state for a little while longer.
Coming this Friday, are some possible severe thunderstorms. This could knock out power for many different residents, so keep all your devices charged and ready.

Dog Days

Too Fool for School Vol.4

The Catacombs

          I asked many of Western’s most respected and knowledgeable teachers about the tunnels or catacombs of Western High School. Many of our fine teachers have more than 15+ years experience at Western High School and only now have they felt comfortable speaking to the general public about these mysterious catacombs below our very feet. Here are their stories.

         The first teacher I interviewed was James Rissi. Mr. Rissi has worked here for 15 years and has finally come out to talk to the public about his experiences with our catacombs. When asked about what he thinks is down in the catacombs he expressed that there were dog sized spiders and there were millions of them down there. He added that the tunnels are mile and miles in length. This quote from Mr. Rissi explains how massive these catacombs could be: “The catacombs go on for hundreds of miles and that one of them could go all the way to Lake Michigan and end up in Iowa.” Mr. Rissi also speculates that the catacombs could be filled with these dog-sized spiders.

         Another teacher I interviewed was Steven Kim. Mr. Kim has worked at our fine school for 11years, 94 days, and 22 minutes (not that he’s counting), and he also believes that there could be dog sized spiders, however, he feels they are much bigger than what Mr. Rissi suggests. Mr. Kim believes that the spiders could be the same size as the spiders in Harry Potter. But unlike Mr. Rissi, Mr. Kim has been in the catacombs but he was blindfolded. He explained to me that, “It was like a teacher ritual, like a fraternity club initiation or fight club.” Kim also believes that there are unruly students that disappeared and were never heard from again. Kim speculated that there may be elementary students down there who wandered off during the carnivals the school used to do back in the day. Kim also added that not only is there a pool that Mr. Sponsler tends to during his 8th hour but there’s also a slip in slide and cotton candy machine.

          Finally the last two respected staff members I interviewed this week were Mr. Ford and Mr. Huntley. Mr. Ford spent little time in reaffirming how truly frightening our catacombs maybe with his chilling interview. He explained that sometimes late at night when everyone has left he would sometimes still be here grading papers he could hear children’s voices. Some laughing and some crying but what’s perhaps more frightening is he told us, “I could sometimes hear a faint growling like a feral dog but also different at the same time. Once the growling was done you could only hear small screams of terror and chains rattling.” Mr. Ford also believes that the children kept down there are chained together to prevent escape and also suspects that some of the spiders might be the size of small ponies. Mr. Ford and Mr. Huntley both said they have never sent a student into the catacombs, however, a quote from Mr. Huntley leads us to believe otherwise: “I’ve never sent a student down but Mr. Messer might have when a student touched him inappropriately.”

     In closing the catacombs of Western to this day remains and extremely interesting and mysterious topic around Western High School and might stay that way until the end of time. Will we ever find out what’s down there or will our imaginations be left to wonder? Find out more next week at The Western Hemisphere.

Scholarship Week by Nick Dryer and Joseph Hendrickson

In the week of February 12th through February 18th, it is Scholarship week for most high schools. This week is helpful to high school students because it gives them time to find a ton of scholarships and make money for their plans after high school. In an interview with Becky Callender, a counselor at Western High School, she explained further how students can use this week more efficiently. "Look at the due dates of the scholarships, and do the ones that end in March or April. You can wait to do the ones that end in June later."
  The majority of high schools are in the middle of scholarship week right now. All students get this week to apply for scholarships that they may not have been able to apply for before during English class. The English classes take a break from their usual unit this time of year to have students apply for more scholarships to increase their chances of winning money for college in the fall. Many students have already won scholarships, and plenty of scholarships are still available for others to win.
Most counties have their own scholarships, so no high school student can say that there are no scholarships for them. There are countless amounts of scholarships out there, and there are scholarships that are just for certain things. Such as where you live, the color of your hair, the religion you are, etc. There are enough scholarships for all students who want to go to college, so everyone should apply for them every chance they get.

Western Hemisphere News Broadcast

In this week's edition:
• Why, how, and when to apply for scholarships
• What happened to the flagpole? 
• There's service tunnels under the school? Where do they go?

Home Ec Class

Over 10 years ago, Western High School use to have a Home Ec class. The class ended up getting cancelled because of the inconvenience between the high school and the middle school. The class room was in the middle school but was being used by high school students. We conducted a interview with Mrs. Callender on why we got rid of the class, and how we can get the class back.

The questions we asked her included what was the reason to get rid of the home Ec class? Do you think students could be more prepared after high school? What is the process of creating a class for high school? If there are enough students that want to take this class, could it happen within the next few years?

“We had to send students over to the middle school to use one of their rooms that they ended up the room and that was reason number one. We didn’t have a room set up in the High School.”

Another big problem was actually funding the room. The school did not have enough room in the budget to pay for all of the equipment.

“You would have to get some kind of funding some kind or some kind of grant so that we can have electrical for the ovens and that kind of stuff. That’s the biggest hurdle”

The next step to getting a Home Ec class was finding a teacher who would want to teach the class. Finding a teacher wouldn’t be a big problem but it was funding the room with all of the necessary equipment.

“Second hurdle was going to be finding a teacher who is highly qualified to oversee the class. Willing to take on the curriculum.”

The curriculum must be approved by the School Board. Before it can be released for students to take.

“ The School Board will take a month to look over the curriculum before it is approved.”

After all of this is done then the School Board can introduce the class to students. If there is enough students interested, they can sign up for the class and take it the following semester.

“It all comes down to money”- Jacob Jones

“We would need a couple hundred thousand dollars to fund the class, but it is a possibility.” said Mrs. Callender.

Wins and Ls Taken at 2017 Grammys

The grammy awards ceremonies is one of the biggest nights of the year.
Tensions were high as the nominees were revealed— and spirits either rose or dropped as the winners were revealed.

What did you think of Chance The Rapper (Chano) winning "Best Rap Album", "Best Rap Performance" and "Best New Artist"?

"I think it was great." Said Devin Dylan
"I was excited!"
Said Emily Crisenbery

Chance was up against Artists like The Chainsmokers, Drake, Kanye, and many more for the three awards he won.

Kehlani and drake, along with many other artists, all posted on Instagram showing their congratulations to Chano.

Drake did more than show support on grammy night. His 2016 hit "Hotline Bling" won "Best Rap Song" and "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration".

What did you think of drake not going tothe grammys?

"I didn't know about it. If he didn't want to go, he doesn't have to go" Said Devin Dyllan
"I don't care, I like him. He probably had other things to do"
Said Emily Crisenbery


Adele racked up five grammys including song, album and record of the year. Many including Adele herself pointed out that she may have been undeserving.

Do you think Adele's 5 grammys were deserved?
"No." Said Devin Dyllan
"I think they were. On the radio she made a pretty good comeback. I haven't heard any of lemonade." Said Emily Crisenbery

Beyonce won "Best Music Video" and "Best Urban Contemporary Album" for her work on Lemonade. A few songs from Lemonade are on Youtube, but the rest are on Tidal. (Jay Z's steaming service)

Do you think Beyoncé should've won more grammys?
"No" Said Devin Dyllan

"No, she didn't do anything this year! She got pregnant, became a meme, and came out with an album that not everyone can even hear yet!"
Said Emily Crisenbery

Although opinions were mixed on the grammys won, its clear excitement was in the air that night.

Too Fool for School Vol. 3

Video Segment: Question of the Week

 

In this special segment of The Western Hemisphere, our correspondents ask members of the Snowfest Court "How many marshmallows can Nick put in his mouth?"