Clubs & Activities

The Greater Impact

by Alex Coley
Bullying is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as the “abuse and mistreatment of someone vulnerable by someone stronger, more powerful, etc.” and is a problem in many schools around the country. In a survey cited by the National Bullying Prevention Center, it was concluded that around 20% of students ages 12-18 reported being bullied nationwide, and only about 46% of the students that are bullied reported it to an authority figure in their school outside of the survey.
Bullying is not specifically an act of physical aggression. According to Ms. Videa, a school counselor at HHIHS, “the most common types are verbal; emotional, which I think is called social now; and of course physical.” Bullying is not always traced back to just one source either. As stated by stopbullying.org, “students who reported being bullied said they thought those who bullied them: had the ability to influence other students’ perceptions of them (56%), had more social influence (50%), were physically stronger or larger (40%), and/or had more money (31%).”
There are many ways to lessen the population of students impacted by bullying. Some methods recommended by The Youth Voice Research Project were bystander interventions. Students who spent time with the victims, helped them get away, talked to them and called them had the greatest impact.
In Ms. Videa’s words, “there are a lot more students than staff, and if all of them banded together, they could really make a difference.”
Students hold much more power than they think they do, and all it takes is a couple more smiles and a bit of friendliness to completely change the attitude of a school.

Students Get Creative at HHIHS's AnNual Parking Spot Painting Day

by Sasha Udvornocky
A unique group of seniors got extra creative this year when painting their parking spots. They turned the Seahawk Auxiliary parking lot into their own mini Monopoly board.
When asked who came up with the idea, senior Thomas “Cohen” Bruner said, “Zoe Williams originally came up with it; we thought it would be a great way to individualize our parking spots while creating a theme that connected our friends.”
The students who collaborated on the Monopoly board parking spots were Cohen Bruner, Drew Schlesner, and Mae and Zoe Williams. The friends came together to have some senior fun on Sunday October 4.
Cohen Bruner states, “Zoe and Mae convinced me and another friend, but due to issues with the organization of the other friend’s parking spot, it just ended up being us four and using the opportunity to hang out and paint.” The friends agreed the event was fun and they recommend it to upcoming upperclassmen. Cohen says, “Yeah, I was surprised I actually had a lot of fun, and I would recommend to bring a big group of friends because we brought in some extra friends to help, which made it even better.”
To any upcoming seniors this seems like a great opportunity to hang out, get creative, and have fun at school your senior year.

HHIHS Robotics is Back & Better Than Ever

by Michael Bergman
Beach-Botics, the HHIHS robotics team, is back and determined to stay this year. After a successful year in 2017-2018, the following two years have seen almost nothing from the struggling team with problems of funding and a lack of proper knowledge of the new VEX robotics program. The program is now under a new leader, Mr. Tarken Best, who knows about the VEX program and can guide the students.
The club currently holds 25 members and is hoping for more after the club fair. Best revealed that the club has received proper funding from the school, and he is applying for two grants, which he is certain he will get. Also, the club now has four officers: president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. These members are in their third or fourth year of robotics and are expected to be leaders for the newer members.
The club also plans to meet weekly on Zoom while Mr. Best figures out how to handle in-person club meetings during the pandemic. Best also states that there is generous support from the school, saying “every year they get one competition kit for every club, for our club being a new club they are also going to get us a new competition field.” Best also says Mr. Schidrich is very supportive and is attempting to get the club a second kit as well.
Best expresses high hopes for the club and predicts if things go well, the club will receive more funding, more support, and grow in members in the following years. He is also hoping that the club fair helps promote robotics and is having a number of the club members make a promotional video for the club fair.

Day of the Dead: A Dead SpookY Spectacular

by Marrisa Martucci
Hilton Head Island High School will be holding a school-wide makeup contest during the week of Halloween, inspired by the Day of the Dead holiday. The day will be decorated with sugar skull makeup and colorful masks in celebration of the wonderful holiday.
Ms. Guinn, the theater director at HHIHS, says “in today’s environment we all need to have a little fun.” The Day of the Dead makeup ties in with her stage makeup unit for her theater class. Since stage makeup is different from regular makeup, the technique is quite different. It could be seen as challenging as well.
“I personally love Day of the Dead Makeup. It is a beautiful art form” she concludes.
Judging the contest will take quite a bit of hard work.
“Technique is huge, and a good steady hand is the way to create that.” Since the Day of the Dead makeup is extravagant and filled with a beautiful culture, there are certain rules for the makeup.
“The Day of the Dead makeup has rules, but also allows for students to really expand their ideas and create amazing works... I definitely don’t want to see some just copying something that they found online.”
Creativity is a huge part of what will make the makeup wonderful.
Day of the Dead is a beautiful holiday filled with fun things to do, and the students are excited. The teachers are quite enthusiastic as well.
“Here’s the crazy thing: I am really good at doing makeup on other people, but not so great at doing it myself. I will give it a try though.” Guinn concludes.
Day of the Dead will be an exciting time for students and teachers to exercise their creativity and learn about the culture behind the holiday.

HHIHS Having a Mask Decorating Contest to Celebrate the Day of the DEAD

by Kevin Perez
Ms. Karszes, assistant principal at Hilton Head Island High School has been informing students and teachers about the Day of the Dead mask contest. The contest will be October 27 for A-day students and October 30 for B-day students. Students are able to design their mask at their house and wear it to school.
The high school is doing the contest to celebrate the Day of the Dead and Halloween. They will celebrate Day of the Dead by letting the students decorate their own mask and compete in a contest to see who has the best one.
Ms. Karszes says the mask should be well decorated, not bought from the store, unless they want to add decorations to it and they are allowed to use makeup. Ms. Karszes states, “The mask should be decorated to look like the decorative skull masks worn in Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebrations. Students will need to do some research to find pictures and examples to base their masks off of. Also, the masks should not be store bought – unless the student will extend the decoration in make-up on their foreheads.”
Ms. Karszes also mentions that the winner and the runner up will get a gift card. Ms. Karszes states, “Winners will get gift cards to the school store.”
Ms. Karszes says students should start decorating their masks now. The days to wear masks to school for A-day students will be Tuesday October 27th, for B-day students it will be on Friday October 30th, and for virtual students, it will be on Wednesday October 28th.
Ms. Karszes states, “Students will decorate masks this week and into the weekend. A-day students will wear their masks on Tuesday, October 27 and B day students will wear their masks on Friday, October 30. Virtual students will upload any of those days or on Wednesday.”
Ms. Karszes says that there is no limit to how many people can compete in the Day of the Dead mask contest and she hopes that everybody will decide to decorate their own mask. Ms . Karszes states, “No – it would be great if the entire student body would participate!”
Ms. Karszes believes the gift card would be $10 for the winner, and the runner up will probably get $5, but the numbers are not accurate yes because the PTSO will give them as much as they can. Ms. Karszes states, “Probably around $10 for the winner and $5 for runner up – whatever PTSO can give us.” She also says that the mask can be decorated any way students want like black and white.
Ms. Karszes states, “Mask can be black and white – there are many that are black and white like the skeletons – students will see this if they do a little research.”
Ms. Karszes says students will vote on November 3rd and 5th and the winners will be announced on November 6 on the announcement over the PA. Ms. Karszes states, “The winners will be announced through announcements over the PA – on our website and our Facebook/Twitter accounts. Mr. Schidrich will put something in his parent email on Sunday, November 8 as well.”
Hilton Head Island High School is doing the Day of the Dead mask contest to celebrate the Day of the Dead which is a Mexican holiday where people celebrate the souls of deceased relative coming back for a brief period and people leave their favorite food and offerings at the gravesite or ofrendas so the souls can feast and celebrate with their relatives too.

Clubs & Activities

by Ellie Mastrorocco
Ms. Karszes, assistant principal in charge of clubs at HHIHS, gives input on clubs this year and how students will be able to take part in them.
Most clubs will be virtual while the school continues on the hybrid schedule. The club information is spread through PowerPoints, videos, the school website, and shown to students during lunch.
The club information video shows what the clubs are like and what students might interested in. The school and staff want to be able to keep everyone safe.
Competition clubs and honor societies will stay active while being virtual.
Every aspect of the school year has to be relearned and rethought. Ms. Karszes says, “clubs are part of our school culture. Clubs offer service opportunities to better the school and the community. It was another part of the year that had to be revised."
The Virtual Club Fair was a new part of the year that Ms. Karszes personally likes and would like to continue. “We often don’t have the undivided attention of the student body to be able to showcase our clubs and have students sign up without peer pressure,” says Ms. Karszes.
As assistant principal in charge of the clubs, Ms. Karszes is able to see everyone's interests beyond the classroom. Ms. Karszes explains, “for example, I was not aware Mr. Bonilla had interest in engineering and robotics, or Mr. Stine enjoyed gaming."
A couple of new clubs were added this year. Blue Wings, DECA, TEDEd, and the Writing Club are the newest additions. The Blue Wings club helps new students at HHIHS. This could include people like freshmen or transfer students. The DECA club is for leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. This club attends competitions and looks good on a college application. TEDEd is a club similar to TED talks where students find their interests and present/ speak on them. The Writing club is an enjoyable and fun group for students to write and share their work.
There are many clubs at HHIHS that favor students' interests and will be a fun thing for students to take part in. At HHIHS you can always find a club that interests you!

First Ever Virtual Club Fair

by Brandon Rosas Pelaez
Due to the Covid-19 and the on-going pandemic, Hilton Head Island High School decided to do the club fair virtually this year, here’s some more information about that.
The club fair will be virtual this year, due to COVID-19. The club fair will be a collection of all the promo videos published.
Here is a link to all the clubs that are going to be at the club fair: CLICK HERE
Students can start signing up for the club fair and start watching the videos of each club. The club fair will start Monday October 12. The link to join the club will be on the school's website.
Students will watch on their own time, not through a live Zoom. The school will promote clubs through the school website, during lunch, and on social media.

Project Unify

by Ady O' Grady
Project Unify is a great club that used to meet two times a month. It is a club that accepts anybody with no requirements to join. This pandemic has a taken toll on Project Unify.
There are changes happening because of COVID safety precautions. Project Unify has not been able to meet. Brooke Simons, the president says “we are waiting to meet for activities until we see what happens with school. Special needs students are at a higher risk of Covid so we are waiting to see how to proceed.”
There might not be a time when the club knows a perfect time to start meeting again, but Brooke says “when everyone returns to the school building completely we will return.”
When all students return to school and the days are normal again, that is when Project Unify plans to start activities up and meet as a group.
Brooke Simons’ role as the president is to plan and organize events at school and in the community. She is trying her best to have the first activity back in school at the right to keep everyone safe. Brooke says, “we are still doing stuff community wise, but not as much in school because of all the changes.” Brooke is trying to keep her club somewhat active during this time.
Right now the club is not able to meet twice a month and be as proactive at the moment, but hopefully they will be back soon. This club brings all types of people so much joy and it is a light not only in the community, but in the school.

Beta Club Breaking News

by Laura Payne
Clubs and Activities are still held but according to the guidelines of the “new normal.” Mr. Wall, the Beta Club manager and Chorus teacher at Hilton Head Island High School, still plans to manage the Beta Club meetings for Hilton Head Island High School, following the guidelines which are important to keep everyone safe and healthy during this difficult time.
Mr. Wall states, “Beta Club will still push information to students via the Google Classroom and the Remind app. Information will be recorded via Zoom and posted on the Google Classroom for members to view.” There will be no in-person meetings because the students are on different schedules. Mr. Wall suggests, “Meetings will be recorded via Zoom and posted on the club’s Google Classroom for the members to view. Once all students return to HHIHS, the meeting process will be updated. More information to come.”
Mr. Wall plans to keep the members of Beta Club informed through Google Classroom at this point in time. There is a different method for community service hours this year, but Mr. Wall says community service hours are still required to be a member in Beta Club, “Beta Club members are still required to complete Community Service hours. Instead of 10 “In” hours and 10 “out” hours, members will be required to complete a total of 10 service hours – regardless of method.”
Despite the confusing circumstances, Beta Club is still accepting members as long as students meet the requirements. According to Mr. Wall, “Beta Club is by invitation only and those invitations will be sent out to students on their respective day the week of 10/12.” Mr. Wall also mentions service projects, “There will be service project opportunities for Beta members. More information to come. Most service projects for the Fall Semester will be at the member’s discretion. Starting in the Spring Semester there will be group service opportunities.”
For now, the safest way to manage clubs and activities during a pandemic is to manage them virtually. Mr. Wall is following the right procedures to keep everybody safe at this time.

Hilton Head Theater Department Heading For Interesting Changes for This Season

by Sasha Udvornocky
In an interview with Seahawk Stage Company President and Vice President, Nicole Hamilton (Pres.) and Coulson Geltz (V.P), discussed what shows and events the community should expect to see this year and how it will be conducted.
When asked what upcoming theater events students should expect to see this year, Nicole Hamilton responded, “The show coming up the soonest, is the ‘39 Steps: A Live Radio Play’, the dates are October 29th at 7 pm for our live stream.” She also mentioned that during the end of the semester there will be a winter show, and auditions will be held on November 11th after school, and to follow the Seahawks Stage Company for more information.
Then during the spring, the theater department will be putting on “Matilda” due to its cancellation last year, she says “... and hopefully in the May, we will be doing ‘Little Women’, because it is a small cast show.” In regards to events and practices, Coulson Geltz responded, “Right now we are not doing any meetings until we are physically back in school, and all rehearsals for shows will be over zoom.” Nicole Hamilton then added, “everything is kind of undecided right now, but with the ‘39 Steps’ show happening right now which is an South Carolina Theater Association Conference play, all of their rehearsals are over zoom until they do the show which they will record.”
Hamilton mentioned that their upcoming Thespian induction ceremony will be happening in December, and that is planned to happen outdoors. When asked what the Thespian Society is looking for in new members, both responded, “Just people who are interested and who care.”
We then talked about smaller events like coffee houses, which they said will be replaced this year by a Trivia Night/Game Night over zoom, which anybody can play from any high school in the district, which will cost $5. Hamilton said. “With COVID still going on, we will most likely avoid doing coffee houses unless it suddenly clears up, but we do have some good ideas for coffee houses this year if we end up doing it.”
The last thing we talked about was the theater department’s participation in the South Carolina Theater Association, which will be conducted over zoom and the department will be competing with schools from all over South Carolina. This is the first time to compete in this event for a lot of thespians and everyone is very excited.

Student Board Candidates Explains How School Activites Will Pursue Amongst Covid-19

by Sasha Udvornocky
Hayden Bird and Broderick Copeland of the student board, which has replaced the former SGA, were interviewed about how the student government will organize and proceed with planning events.
When asked about the actual positions on the Student Government, the both responded, “Due to disruptions caused by the pandemic, there are not actually positions on the board, rather it is just a student board with no positions, similar to a House or Representatives.”
Broderick also explained that with the new way it has been set up, she is excited to be represented equally if elected. Both were then asked how they plan to change things at the school with limited access to administrators, Hayden Bird responded that it would be his utmost priority to organize and plan events to spread pride across the class of 2021, while still being in accordance with social distancing procedures. Examples would be socially distanced get togethers, senior spirit days, hallway decor, etc.
He stated that the most viable option is contacting administrators virtually using Gmail or Zoom because of limited schedules. Broderick responded with the fact that remembering that everyone’s goals are the same, and that it is important to communicate with the administration as much as possible.
She also states that it is the responsibility of both the staff and the students to communicate, and while it can be hard to get a hold of teachers and administrators, it’s important for everybody to communicate for the good of the whole.
They were then both asked what they hope to change this year, Broderick Copeland stated, “ I hope to make this year easier for students. It’s really hard to start thinking about college in a time like this, nonetheless apply, and I feel as though the facilities that allow us to apply to college with ease have been minimal this year. I hopefully aim to supply this year's seniors and juniors with helpful college application coaches, useful websites, and general information on how to create your best college application.”
Hayden Bird responded, “I hope to change the outcome of this year, we lost our homecoming game due to COVID, and if I am elected I will organize events that help organize our grade and show pride in our community. Examples are senior events like pep rallies, senior nights, events for those who do not play sports so that our student diversity could be embraced and we can honor extracurriculars other than sports. I would also like to help spread fellowship and inclusion for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion. Overall I would like to make the school a place where people feel safe, included, and accurately represented for their talents.”
Students will be voting similarly to how Homecoming voting proceeded, with a form on the Google Classroom.