By Adriane Floyd

As the school year moves into its busiest months, many Fountain Inn High School students say one thing consistently helps them manage stress, stay focused and get through the day: music.

For junior Ava Suarez, music is more than background noise — it’s a daily ritual. She said she starts every morning by turning on her favorite playlist before driving to school.

“Music always gets me through my day,” Suarez said. “It’s the first thing I look forward to when I wake up and when I’m on my way to school.” She said those few minutes of listening before the first bell help her enter the building feeling energized and ready.

Senior Jack Corran said music serves a different purpose for him. With a busy schedule full of classes, activities and responsibilities, he said music helps keep him focused and grounded.

“Music helps keep me focused,” Corran said. “It always lifts the mood when I’m feeling stressed about activities or schoolwork.

However, some students said it can be harder to enjoy music throughout the school day because of the phone and headphone restriction during classes. “Sometimes I want  to put my headphones in, but I know most times I can’t because most teachers won’t even let you use your headphones unless it’s for schoolwork and not independent time,” Suarez said.

Teachers say these headphones can’t become a distraction in some ways for the students. For many, it’s still a small but powerful way to relieve stress, find focus and boost energy throughout the day.

By Mikah Shell

Fountain Inn High School senior Isabella Castro came up with the idea for the "INN Our Eyes" podcast last year to enhance the school's media and journalism programs, serving as its lead host and producer. Castro, who was initially skeptical of the idea, found her passion for talking made her embrace the role, and this genuine love for the podcast is her main motivation. She credits journalism with helping her discover a career path, leading her to her plan on majoring in Mass Communications in college with a possible minor in Marketing or Business. Castro believes failure has motivated her to work harder and hopes her creation of the podcast will leave a lasting legacy. 

By Mikiah Shell

Fountain Inn, SC- From the variety of perspectives of a teacher to the fresh eyes of a freshman, the high school experience at Fountain Inn High School is very complex. Educator Elizabeth Bull reflects on her own journey, freshmen Tamiah Pierce and Mckenzie Godfrey offer a glimpse into the pressures of social life, academics, and finding one’s place in this generation. 

For Elizabeth Bull, a teacher at Fountain Inn High, the echoes of her own high school days are never far away. She moved to the south to pursue her teaching career. She carries with her the wisdom she gained as a student. Elizabeth recalls loving middle school, even though things can be “pretty rough” at times, and praises the teachers who influenced her.

Elizabeth Bull sees the social shifts her students face, remembering her own experiences of being “really shy depending on who she was with, and really loud with people she knew.” Today she offers guidance that comes from her personal journey. She said things like “be apologetic to yourself because people are going to hate you or love you no matter what” and “to not be afraid of change.” For Elizabeth, building connections is a core aspect of her life, and she sees social media as a resource that can potentially be a positive influence.

Skeptical Freshman

On the other hand, freshman Tamiah Pierce predicts her high school years with a thick layer of skepticism. She views her schedule as “confusing” and struggles with a lack of social connections; she expresses that she doesn’t have classes with people she knows. Tamiah’s social world is small, limited to her boyfriend and cousins. She says “Don’t trust people” and “Everybody not your friend.” While acknowledging that “life is hard.” She has a clear vision for her future, aspiring to become an Ultrasound or Nail technician. Tamiah finds social media “entertaining” but blames it for having “ruined romance,” and unlike her peers, she states that “she doesn’t like having friends.” 

Balanced Freshman

In contrast, Mckenzie Godfrey offers a more balanced and optimistic view of her freshman year. She sees school as a good “opportunity to find friends,” and unlike Tamiah Pierce, she believes that “friendships are important.” Mckenzie describes her high school experience as “better than middle school” and manages her busy schedule with a “very balanced” approach. She's known for being “very kind, and very goofy,” she also values her alone time and finds a moment of peace “being alone in her bed.” Mckenzie acknowledges the pressures of life, including “second-guessing things,” but grounds herself in the advice to “always be yourself, never change yourself for anybody else.” She recognizes social media but finds it a source of entertainment.

The experiences of Elizabeth Bull, Tamiah Pierce, and Mckenzie Godfrey shows the varied perspectives that happen within high school. Elizabeth wisdom as a teacher, shaped her own teenage years, highlights timeless the truth of teenage hood. Meanwhile, the different paths of freshmen Tamiah and Mckenzie demonstrate that for some students, high school can be a time of social connections and growth, while for others, it is a challenge to make it through.

By Kara Hammond 

Maybe you're starting high school or in the middle of your high school journey and want to stay on trend and in style. If this is you, great because I got you covered. I collected information on what’s Trending around the halls at Fountain Inn High. Let's take a look!

Some of the big Universal trends are spreading around Fountain Inn like for example according to Senior Klair Thompson, Freshmen Emily Hug, and Intervention Specialist/ Track and Field Coach Conrad Mansel the biggest trend going around the school is 67!  Some trends could be meant for a laugh all the way down to clothing styles that everyone else is wearing. According to Klair and Emily, “ my Favorite clothing trend right now is a cute sweater and Ugg mini boots.” Also we talked to Senior Claire Edwards and her favorite trend is some “Skinny Jeans” But Coach Mansel’s favorite clothing trend is “ proper school attire.” 

There are some trends in how we communicate with each other around school. For example, according to Klair Thompson, some new trending ways of communication are “shortened words like (TBH and OFC) and saying lowkey a lot.”

Some people around the school either choose to follow the trend or choose to be their own person Coach Mansel says “I don’t follow the trend I just watch them but I used to set them!” According to Claire, Emily, and Klair “ I don’t usually follow the trends.” 

At Fountain Inn High the trends are always changing whether it's clothes, communication, or funny jokes. 

The Fury Store: Past and Future

By Payton Ware

We all love the Fury store's famous chocolate chip cookies, but how much do you know about how it’s run? Created and overseen by Jennifer Mason, one of Fountain Inn High School’s Business teachers. The Fury merchandise store has been a vital part of our lunches. They sell cookies, drinks, and more; but, a little known fact is how much effort some of Fountain Inn students put in it.

“It's 100 percent student-run, which is the best part,” Mason said. The students working for the store take turns doing the various jobs it takes to run it. 

“I love that students get real world experience,” Mason said.

Students shift jobs incrementally which provides them with a lot of different job experience that can be very beneficial once they enter the workforce. This includes accounting, management, inventory, cashiering, and so much more. Last year 18 students were a part of it, and it was fundamentally a class. However, this successful student-run business hasn't always existed.

Mason worked at three other high schools before coming to Fountain Inn. In all those schools she helped manage their respective school stores. When she came here she continued her work and started running the Fury Cafe during lunches with a few other students. Soon the store grew into what we are familiar with today. Now they sell more than just cookies and have a designated space in the lunchroom. They even have various sales and raffles for free cookies and there's much more to come. 

So what's coming next? The Fury store has big plans for this year's operations. They are of course keeping up with their fan favorite cookies and drinks, but they are also planning on offering clothing! When this plan comes to fruition like every other part of the store it will be 100 percent student-run. This means the merchandise that will be sold will be decided by the student body via voting. 

Now you know chocolate chip cookies aren't the only great thing about the Fury Store. Its history, student involvement, and future are just as incredible. Knowing all this should make you feel that bit better when supporting them when they return to our lunches.

By Hayley Carr

School Stores are popular all around America but in our district, Jennifer Mason, new business teacher here at Fountain Inn Highschool, is starting the first student-led School Store with her Service Learning Class. This is her first year at Fountain Inn after moving from Pennsylvania.

“My last school stores have been huge hits! I’m super excited to see where this one takes us and how much we can sell since this is a much bigger school than my last,” Mason said.

From Otis Spunkmeyer cookies to school merchandise and supplies, this store will be a huge hit according to some of the students who will help run it. Service Learning Students will have real world experience and treat the school store as an actual store and not just a concessions stand.

“It's gonna be a challenge at first, but everyone will eventually get into a better routine that will just come naturally.” Said Sa’Kamri Wideman, a junior who is an employee of the school store.

“I’m excited because the school has never done anything like this before considering the school store will be open every single day and not something that is just a week long,” Wideman said.

Students have been working on employee manuals for their service learning grade. They will be graded off of their professionalism, work ethics and customer service. Admin admires this because they’re actually learning something from the store.

“We’ve been practicing by selling pottery so the students can learn proper management skills,” Mason said.

Caydence Cordel, a junior who is another employee will be taking the cart around at lunch. The service learning class came up with many good ideas to help sales when they open.

“We thought if we went around with the cart at lunch with cookies, we could prevent the concessions from being so crowded, which is new and hasn’t been done before,” Cordel said.

While the class is so big and the store is small, everyone has different roles and places to be. Around five students will be split up to go to lunch, then some students will be working the counter and baking the cookies. It's a very organized operation.

“It gets crowded very fast, and that can be a safety hazard. So we are extra careful with who is working and who isn’t. We need to have a lot of room to move around since students will be walking around with hot pans,” Mason said.

Since we are getting closer to the grand opening, students say they are very excited to see how the store works and taste cookies that are different and yummier than the cafeteria’s. Teachers and students are also very excited for the chances of winning freebies.

Emma Revis, a senior who helps run the store, has been taking note of giving out free cookies for certain events.

“We sent out a form about a month ago for school store names, and the winner gets a free set of cookies. In the future we hope to do polls or competitions like that for winners to earn free sets. We are very excited to see more people look forward to Otis Spunkmeyer cookies,” Revis said.

Dana Pico, A junior at FIHS, helps run the social media account. After talking with Mason, they plan on having lots of information on the upcoming opening. They also look forward to posting different types of polls and being very interactive with students and staff. Pico gave us a rundown on some ideas they have for their social media account.

“We definitely want to show how we make the cookies and the process of opening up the school store. It’s something that is different and has not really been done before. It’s kind of like A Day In The Life,” Pico said.

With an active social media, more people will be able to get more information and get an inside look of the store.

“This is going to be much different than my past stores up in the North. It's a bigger county and a bigger school with huge opportunities!” Mason said.

Mason along with the rest of the service learning students are very excited to see where this school store takes them.

By Katelyn Burton 

The Dance Club at Fountain Inn Highschool is a club where both experienced dancers and potential dancers with less experience can get together and dance! They practice routines, and will also have performances. The dance club meets in the multipurpose room Tuesdays at 8 a.m. 

You may be curious what the dance club would do in a day. Normally Diamond Jones, the senior and resident choreographer, or Holly Seigel, the dance club's sponsor, will lead the dancers through routines and choreography.

Holly Seigel, sponsor of the dance club, says “ On a normal day we do some techniques like kicks, turns, and leaps like across the floor and we do choreography. So either Diamond  or myself will walk them (the dancers) through the routine. We're just kinda learning it and dancing.”

Kizzy Dunlop, a member of the dance club, says “The dance club seems like a lot of ballet so far.”  

The dance club doesn't practice for nothing. Twice a year, once in the winter and once in the spring, there will be pep rallies where the dance club will have a one minute performance for the school. Currently, we do not have much information on it, however the members are very excited for and curious about the performance. 

The dance club hasn't had very many meetings so far, however the members still enjoy it. 

Dennasia Anderson, member of the dance club, says she “loves it even though we only had two meetings.” She likes “learning new dancing styles like jazz and funk.”  Although, she does complain that “The turns hurt my feet.”

Anyone who wants to dance, experienced or not, can join the dance club with no prior requirements. However, some experience is recommended. 

Seigel says “No, there's no requirements, but normally with the choreography having prior dance experience is very helpful because there is technique and choreography is fast in pace, so having dance experience really does help.” 

While previous dancing experience does help, it's also okay if you don't have any dance experience. Kizzy says “Don't worry about getting it on the first try, it's a safe place and nobody will make fun of you”

So, like Seigel said, “If you love to dance, especially if you have prior dance experience, come join and bring the energy, it's a lot of fun.”

   By: Hannah Courtney

Freshman athletes have to juggle being a new student in high school and the sport they play. Avieon Scott, Layla Pruitt, Kamaiya Johnson, Conor Fee, Abigail Pope, and Remy Covington all balance the life of school and sports at Fountain Inn High. Even though balancing both is hard, they all manage to get good grades and be able to play the sport they love. 

Each of them mention that you have to have time management skills because if you don’t then it is hard to get all of your work done. Scott feels like time management is a big strategy for getting all of his work done.

“Without it I would struggle with keeping up with homework and school and sports. It’s just a really big part of it,” said Scott.

Procrastination is a hard habit to break, especially when trying to learn how to manage your time effectively. Pope, who is a volleyball player here, feels that procrastinating is not a good thing to do. 

“I definitely feel like you should finish your work during the day as much as you can and don’t procrastinate cause whatever you have left is just gonna be more work after school. But also trying not to get distracted and putting everything away after practice will help you get your work done,” said Pope.

  Despite how much they love the sport they play, it still puts stress on them to juggle school and sports.

“When I played my first year it put a little bit of stress on me because I was worried about how I was gonna manage sports and my grades,” said Johnson.

She is not the only one though who has felt the stress. Each of these athletes have spoken about how they have felt stress at some point, even Covington, who didn’t expect a lot of stress.

“A lot, like more than I thought it was going to be,” said Covington.

Pruitt, a cheerleader on the JV cheer team, tells us how she feels like there is a good and bad impact that sports have on her school work. 

“Yes and no. I think sports is in a good impact, it is something to push me to keep my grades good because you can’t have bad grades and be part of a sport. But no as in, it makes things harder, like it makes getting your work done a lot harder,” said Pruitt.

  In the end though, your friends, family, and teachers are there to help you when you need it. Sports help you connect with teammates and make more friends which can always be there for you.

“Besides my parents, my friends just like helping me out, especially ones on the swim team. Us helping each other out making sure we have all of our assignments done and are actually at practice,” said Fee. 

Sports do put pressure on students, but it also pushes them to be their best in school. It also causes them to keep up their grades because they know if they don’t then they can’t play the sport they love. But overall,  it helps them to connect with their sports team family. 

By Reilly Lemieux                                              have you ever reconsidered your choices? 

"Yes every single day. This is one of the hardest jobs I have ever had and it is so defeating when you feel like you care more about students' success than the students you are teaching. It makes you want to quit and do something else," first year Science teacher Christiana Zachary said. 

Teachers go through some of the hardest things in the work space. The vast majority of teachers that have been teaching over 20 years have thought of a change of career. 

Most people would assume that teachers don't like their jobs because of the contents of the subject they teach or maybe even the students but most teachers we asked said it was because of all of the work and being underpaid for the amount of work they do. English teacher Christina Bianchi explained one of the many reasons teachers contemplate other options. 

“Ït's not because I do not love my content or my students. I have reconsidered being a teacher because we are overworked and underpaid. We are expected to do far more than is realistic while still maintaining our own health and lives,” Bianchi said. 

Bianchi is highly regarded as a fun and caring teacher. Many believe she is one of the best at Fountain Inn and yet she still believes this. 

Being a teacher isn't easy, they deal with a multitude of different things daily. Students, curriculum, underpaid and overworked are some of the few words that fit a teacher well. With all this stress you can assuredly bet that teachers sometimes have that moment where they think, "I may not be good enough.”

A heart-wrenching example shows the reality of this from Brandy Garrett's experience.

“There have been many times where I have felt like I wasn't good enough as a teacher, I didn't feel like I was making a difference, and thought that the school/students would be better off with someone else teaching,” Garrett said. 

"I have also been extremely overwhelmed with difficult classes, huge workloads, and the high expectations put on teachers. It made me wonder if all of the work and stress was worth it.” Garrett said. 

While many teachers tend to just shove these feelings away this is the reality of teaching. Think of all the times you may have reconsidered being what you want. Then think of these amazingly strong soldiers that move along and prove the improbable isn't impossible. With serious gratitude and recognition, thank you to all teachers out there you definitely have the determination and strength many don't. us students all love and appreciate your words in one way or another even if we don't immediately recognize it. 

By Juila Hoffman and Gabby Mulvay 

During the student section at sport games students are standing up and loudly cheering. Confetti poppers and powder flying everywhere with screaming chants.  The Fountain Inn student section is a place where students can stand in the bleachers and cheer for their team. The student section is located in the middle of the bleachers. The students help bring up their team and this is a way for them to have fun while watching and cheering. 

The Student Council does help get involved with the student section at the sport games. 

Student Council is big with helping the student section with their chants and hyping them up. They stand with the student section and when it starts to get quiet they go around telling people to start chanting and cheering for their team. The students go all out with the chants, they love screaming and cheering, the seniors are the craziest with their cheering. The cheerleaders also go up close to the stands and do chants with the students.

Over the four years of Fountain the student section has grown tremendously. Not just just in size but spirit. 

Eleventh grade administrator, Mr. Irvin said, “It's more than doubled.”

The biggest part that the student section does is dress to impress. The Fury students go all out for the football themes. There is lots of work that goes into the themes to make sure that students are happy with what the clubs picked for them. 

Junior Nikki Wu, president of the Student Council, explained how the StuCo picks their themes. 

“We pick out themes during the summer and each leader from clubs comes together and picks out themes that students wanted and voted for them,” Wu explained. 

Some of the themes students can look forward to this season are fury, neon, and white out. 

Senior Dimond Jones, explained what themes she is looking forward to this year. 

“I would love to have a western or usa theme.” Jones explained. 

Our football games have the biggest student section with all the kids dressed up and cheering. Other sports don’t have a big student section and that has to do with students having a favorite sport. As of all the students do love going to their sport games, dressing up, cheering, and going all out.

By Rebecca Bullington

With over 258,082 high school members across all 50 states, as well as Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico and Germany, DECA is preparing the most promising generation of entrepreneurs and marketing leaders around the world.

First established in 1943, the Distributive Education Clubs of America, or DECA, is a non-for-profit organization made to prepare this generation’s business leaders for tomorrow and give them a head start in a professional environment.

“DECA is a club for students who are interested in becoming business leaders and it focuses on subjects such as marketing, finance, hospitality, business management, sports management, and fashion.” says Jennifer Mason, a business teacher and the primary advisor of our DECA chapter at Fountain Inn High School.

DECA is an organization every student can benefit from and in addition to teaching students important life skills, it can also provide them with experiences.

“DECA is a business and marketing organization. It can help students improve and demonstrate [students] business and marketing knowledge, communication skills, presentation skills, sales skills and leadership skills, just to give some examples. Being a part of the organization also gives students a chance to travel and see different places they may not have been to before,” said  Logan Tepe, the co-advisor of our DECA chapter.

DECA attends two to four destination competitions each year. The regional competition takes place at Clover High School in York county, the state competition for South Carolina is held in Charleston, and Nationals could take place in Anaheim, Orlando, or Atlanta. In addition to these competitions, there is also a Power Trip in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“[Power trip] is a conference where there's no competition. You're just in academies where you learn about DECA and how to dress, how to do the role-plays, how to do the written events, how to prepare in front of judges and it's just another opportunity to get prepared and see DECA students from all over the world that will come to this event. It's a weekend of just fun and getting to know each other, mingling and kind of building those relationships.” says Mason.

Prior to the competitions, students pick the category they want to compete in, all details and lessons on the categories are given on the Power Trip. There are two different formats, the role-plays or the written event. Role-plays can be solo or duo and are performed in an improv-style in front of a judge. In contrast, written exams can have anywhere from one to three collaborative writers and are done in advance.

“Those are for students who are not very good at role-plays or knowing all the definitions and can't think on the spot. They can then do [the written exam] and put the time into writing the paper and making the presentation perfect before presenting,” Mason said.

If you place in one of these competitions, whether in States, or Nationals, there are many benefits and prizes you win. DECA is a huge help when it comes to scholarships and college applications. DECA alone gives away over $200,000 in scholarships to winners every year.

“There are some colleges that will give automatic scholarships for having DECA on your resume. And then there are a lot of colleges that will give scholarships if you win an event at Nationals, or even at your state competition.” Mason said.

DECA is an exceptionally promising path to any career in finance, marketing, hospitality, sports management, or any other financial leadership position. Students can join DECA at any point throughout the year, so don't be afraid to start your DECA journey today. DECA is working hard to grow this generation into the groundbreaking business leaders of tomorrow.

By Katelyn Burton 

Dungeons and Dragons, a fantasy game full of fun and adventure, has its own club at Fountain Inn High school! This club allows students to get together in the upstairs commons area every Wednesday at 3:45 p.m until 5 p.m and have their own campaigns. 

According to Cale Bonnor, teacher and faculty advisor of the D&D club, “D&D is short for Dungeons and Dragons, a tabletop roleplaying game. Players work together to act as fantasy adventurers going on quests and overcoming obstacles set by a Dungeon Master who sets the scene and helps them tell their story.”

So far, the D&D club has been a fun experience for everyone involved! But what are some good things about D&D? 

If you're looking for a professional answer, Bonner says “D&D is a great game to develop your problem solving skills. “Thinking outside of the box” is sometimes necessary to defeat monsters with special abilities, solve tricky puzzles, or investigate mysteries. I also love how collaborative the game can be. Very rarely can one individual overshadow others; rather, it takes teamwork, mindful actions, and good synergy to truly shine as an adventurer.”

 Justice Crawford, club member and dungeon master of a campaign, has said “When playing D&D, you get to meet many people with the same interest as you while having a great time within a world based on pure creativity. I also love that in D&D you can make or do anything, it's only limit is the imagination of the players.” 

Charlie Altheua-Martinez, member of the D&D club, says “You get to meet new people who have the same interest as you and possibly have a new friend added to your contacts.”

When asked, Dennasia Anderson, another member of the club, says she likes “making new friends and the dice”

Overall, many people like the D&D club for different reasons. D&D can help develop problem solving skills, and is a collaborative game. Justice likes D&D because of the creativity involved. Charlie likes the club because she gets to make new friends. Dennasia likes the club because it gives her a reason to collect cool looking dice!

If you think you may want to join the D&D club with no prior experience, then don't worry, new players are definitely welcomed. 

Bonner, when talking about possible new club members, says “The more the merrier! D&D is a hobby that really benefits from having diverse players, diverse thoughts, and diverse personalities.”

Charlie says “I personally think it’s awesome that new people are joining! they’re probably exploring their interests and joined the club. So yeah, it’s really cool to get new members.”

Not only are new players welcomed, but also encouraged to join. You do not need any prior D&D experience in order to join the club. 

Justice says, “I personally know many people that have never played before and they are playing great now, just asking questions and having fun.”

New players are welcomed to join at any time, but who should join? How do you know if you'd like it? D&D involves a lot of creativity. Your imagination, depending on what the dungeon master allows, is the only limit. 

Bonnor would recommend D&D to “Anyone with an imagination, a little creativity, and a dream to be something “more” than a normal person.” 

He has also added, “You can’t actually cast magic spells in real life, but that shouldn’t stop you from pretending that you’re a great wizard in your story!” 

Justice would recommend D&D to “Anyone that has a vast creativity and is looking for something long term to make into a hobby.” 

He has also clarified that “There really isn't a spectrum on the age at which you play, so really anyone can do it, just put a little time into it and come to meetings.”

If you do want to join the D&D club, then you don't need much. The only requirement to join the club itself is five dollars before thanksgiving. However, if you like to play D&D, there are a few things that would be useful while playing. 

Bonnor says, “you just need time on Wednesday afternoons. There are lots of “extras” that you might want if you really like the hobby like dice, books, and tons of other accessories. If the club is the right fit for you, you’ll need $5 for dues, so that we can purchase some of those fun extra supplies for you to use here on campus.” 

D&D is a game many creative people love to play, and Fountain Inn High School has a club for its players. Even if you have no prior D&D experience, if you like fantasy and think it sounds fun, you are encouraged to join it and try it out. You don't need anything except some time on Wednesdays whenever school ends and your imagination. While you can join the club at any time, the sooner the better! 

By Hannah Courtney

The Hydroponics Environmental Club has helped our community and environment grow and get better each day. They organize community service projects which could include planting trees, picking up trash or building a garden. Coach Hammond is the sponsor of this club and Ginnie Reames is the president, with a few other members included. Even though their club is small, they have a big impact. 

With our earth constantly being polluted and neglected, Fountain Inn High is helping to make a difference. In the fact that they are stepping up to help in our community and make our earth a better place. 

“This club is really important mainly because there isn’t a lot of [environmental clubs]. I’ve been to multiple colleges and only 1 has had a recycling/hydroponics, any kind of environmental climate action club. So it could be a big step for kids that want to go in that pathway,” Reames said. 

However, it doesn’t just help our environment, it also teaches students more about the earth and why it is so important to take care of it. 

“The main thing the club has taught me is that the world needs help and that climate action is very needed, but you have to start small. So we are starting with helping our community with homelessness and bringing food to the homeless at Greenville Garden (an adult program at Fountain Inn High that teaches about the environment and how to care for it) ,” Reames said. 

Our earth is already about 99% polluted with unhealthy substances and air. With people neglecting the duty of protecting our earth then it will only continue to keep increasing. 

“We only get one earth! As humans we tend to focus so much on ourselves and what we want and need, but we need to make sure we are being responsible,” Hammond said. 

Even though Fountain Inn High has helped with our environment, they haven’t done it alone. The Fountain Inn community has supported this club, so it can grow to its greatest. 

“Fountain Inn, that whole area is very proud of us. They have stuck with us and are the ones who have sponsored us and they have given us our hydroponics tower for Fountain Inn High,” Reames said. 

No matter if you are building a garden or picking up trash, if you are doing it alone or with your community, you are still making a difference in our environment. That’s what Fountain Inn High and their community is doing.

We only have one earth, so we should be giving back 100%, not 1%. If we want to have clean water and air in the future, then we have to help make a difference. This club gives back 100% to the environment and teaches the students in the club to help our environment to keep it clean and safe. 

By Tegan Eubanks

The marching band is very different from the competition band. Competition band takes a lot of time and effort with perseverance and precision while marching band takes perseverance and energy.  Cayden Bradley, a student in the band, has put in a lot of hard work over the years when it comes to competition. Bradley explained the differences between the two.

“Marching band is more about marching. You compete against other schools at a competition, usually on Saturdays. You have marching band music, which is different from regular music. It's shorter and separated and more fermata, (fermata = a pause)  It is usually loud and has a battery  (The percussion section of an orchestra or band.) and a pit.  (A pit is a type of orchestra.) We play xylophones and piano. And then batteries all the snare drums and the Bass drums and the tenors We have anywhere from one to four drum majors who conduct the band. They conduct the band on the field outside,” Bradley said. 

“Competitive band or concert band, that's more like sitting down in a chair and playing your music on a stand. You don't really have battery. It's more just like a jumpset or like xylophones and tambourines. The instruments are different in both,” Bradley continued. Both bands are good at creating a good high school career.

“Band impacts my high school career by teaching me time management and allowing me to branch out and meet new people each year. It also gives me something that I love to do each week” states Tyler Hudson, a student in marching band. He continues, “Sometimes you just want a hard but fun class. It helps you express yourself.”

Arianna Wofford, a student in marching band says “My favorite thing about marching band is making all new connections with people and being able to teach them the fun things about marching band. I also enjoy competitions and the thrill of them. My favorite thing about a concert band is being able to show that not only can we do good on the field but we can also do good off the field.”  Arianna Wofford, a student in marching band says

The differences between marching band and competition band are many. Still, they clearly share similarities when it comes to creating a high school career or just having a fun challenging class. 

By Bowie Allmendinger, Gia Castiglia, Alex Geuea and Jeremiah Patterson

The Fountain Inn High School cafeteria is bustling with students and staff all eager to get their day's break. During the third block there are four different scheduled lunch times each lasting 30 minutes. During this time students are given time to rest from their work and socialize with their friends.

When entering the cafeteria students are able to choose one of four lines. The first two have the day's special entree, the third line includes chicken sandwiches, burgers and fries and the fourth line sells Papa John's Pizza, giving a variety of meals  for students to choose from.

“I like having the option of having the chicken sandwiches, everyday in case they make something I don't prefer,”  Senior Riley Smith said.

Students at lunch all have their own preferences with the school’s food. Some students’ favorites include fries, grilled cheese, chicken sandwiches, general tso chicken, pizza, ribs, mac and cheese and tater tots. 

Some students who went to different schools and have transferred here say they prefer Fountain Inn’s lunch over their old school. 

    “I think [FIHS lunch] is better here, it's way better quality,”  junior Isabella Castro said. 

A downside to lunch is time. Students feel as if their 30 minutes is not enough time to get to lunch, receive your food and talk to friends compared to their time spent while in class.

Many students believe their lunch should be longer so they get enough time to rewind their school day.

“Yes, [there should be a longer lunch], because there is more time to talk to friends and sometimes the lunch line takes too long,” ninth grader George Bardis said. 

Even though students may not feel like they get enough time for lunch they still enjoy the time with their friends. 

The lunch staff puts in lots of effort to make the lunches for the students. They come in at around 7:20 am and leave around 3:15 pm. The lunch ladies have passion for providing lunches for the students. Food and Nutritional Service worker Linda Mullaney enjoys her job at FIHS

“I like serving the kids food and I like when the kids are nice.” Linda said.

Lunch is a very special break in the day that students and adults love to enjoy. The lunch food is something that most students enjoy but some don't, and that's okay, all the students have different preferences for their lunch. Lunch is a time that students and staff can look forward to during their day at school.

By Brycen Andrews,  Sofia Avelar and Riley Smith 

The Phoenix Chorale is like a family among the students in choir here at Fountain Inn. In addition to performing concerts for the community, The Phoenix Chorale participates in competitions and other educational field trips where they observe other choirs or are instructed by guest directors. This creates that family-like bond between them all. 

“Most of my friends have been made in Choir,” alto, Maggie Mohler, said. Members of the choir are able to join in ninth grade, which allows them up to four years to create the bond that they have.

“The community is fun and I enjoy learning hard music and being surrounded by people who work hard and enjoy singing,” alto, Sasha Tlapa, said.

The Phoenix Chorale works very hard to learn high-level music to perform at different events such as concerts, ACDA (American Choral Directors Association), Region, Allstate, and many more. These events give them opportunities to show off their talents and the hard work that is put in each day. 

“We’ve traveled to Carowinds, Tennessee, and Charleston,” Sanchez-Chenet said. Alto section leader, Savannah Sanchez-Chenet highlighted a couple of locations the choir has traveled to. These trips are used to showcase the talent of the young singers as concerts are a staple for The Phoenix Chorale. 

Sitting down with multiple singers from the choir we got to see the preparation it takes to perform in one of these concerts.

“Vocal warm-ups, drinking peppermint tea, it helps with your vocal cords and preparing music,” Tlapa said.

Paying attention in class is a big thing for some of the students as allowing yourself to practice time in class drastically improves your abilities, especially when taking the time outside of school to practice music. 

The Phoenix Chorale has an event on October 15 and is planning on using these practices to prepare for their much-anticipated performance. 

Sarah Wahl, choir director, enjoys teaching students and preparing them for big opportunities and events that not only help them grow as singers but also as responsible and determined individuals. 

“What I really like about choir is learning difficult music and working hard towards becoming better,” Tlapa said. Many people may misunderstand choir and how difficult it can be. Some people may think that you just sing and that's all, but no, choir is way more than going on stage and giving a performance to an audience.

“Music brings me joy” Sanchez-Chenet said. The Phoenix Chorale is said to be a space during the school day where kids can express themselves through music and have the opportunity to use their talent.

 ”Everyone has a voice and should consider a way to use their voice” Wahl, said. This concept has been the factor that encourages students to join the choir.  Wahl truly wants people to feel a sense of belonging and to be able to express themselves in a way they do not get to do anywhere else.

“We have evolved into the best choir in Greenville county and definitely in the top five in the state.” Wahl said. Wahl grew the choir program from the ground up and has seen the growth and improvement of the Phoenix Choral.

 As the program continues to evolve, Wahl wants to ensure that the core of the class is “a family, community and a place to belong while also just being who you are.” 

By Boston Hooke

There are multiple ways for people to manage their stress, different people have different ways of coping with stress and finding ways to manage it. A few people may find it helpful to be organized while others may find it beneficial to read or even exercise. Even though some may have different ways to cope with their stress, the sources of our stress are typically the same such as school, work, home life, or friend groups. Unfortunately, these people also have to deal with some factors that can have negative effects.

Peyton Lazaroff, a ninth grader at Fountain Inn High School stated.“It distorts my mood because if I'm going to have a high-stress day, I'm going to be angry and sad as well as lashing out at people,” 

Whenever someone is dealing with stress it may cause them to be in a worse mood and may cause them to be angry, frustrated, and sad. When stress causes these emotions can have such a heavy impact on someone to the point where they are only focusing on the stress and won’t work on things that are causing the stress. Then it happens to cause more things to add on and that can cause more stress and it can just cause them to burn out mentally and physically. 

“Stress negatively impacts my mental health when I let stress be too much and then it puts me in a darker place mentally,” said Sky Sudduth, a teacher at FIHS.

Meanwhile, people are dealing with mental health struggles that stress can take over and it can be difficult to get that stress off your mind. Tons of people may associate self-worth with stress so whenever you may have more stress that is difficult for you to handle you may experience less self-worth you might have and with that, you may start getting into a negative headspace. Mental health can take a steep decline while you're stressed and these serious declines can lead to depression which can cause changes in appetite, sleeping habits, and your ability to concentrate. Fortunately, there are ways to cope with stress.

Rebecca Bullington, a ninth grader here at Fountain Inn High School stated “I think I really like to be organized and so when I have things sorted out and planned then it makes it a lot easier to distress” 

There are many ways to cope with stress; they can be either being well organized, reading, exercising, or listening to music. Whenever you cope with stress you aren’t getting rid of the thing that's causing you the stress but you are trying to calm down and not think of the stress rather than letting it get to you. A perfect thing to do whenever you are stressed is to talk to a trusted parent or guardian and try and ask for help to get through the stress. Lastly, if you or someone you know needs some ways to cope with their stress try looking on social media or just looking it up on the internet.
**Image generated with AI

Youth In Government (YIG) is a program at most high schools that educates high school students about the democratic process through hands-on experiences and collaboration with students from all over. YIG helps students develop skills in communication, leadership and critical thinking. It gives students an outlet to make a difference in their community and stand up for what they believe.

Nick Pickens, a junior at FIHS, is participating in his second year of YIG.

"So this year I am running for youth governor of South Carolina at the next YIG conference. I am extremely excited and overwhelmed with joy to be able to have the opportunity to run for this position," Pickens said.

Youth in Government gives students inspiration for their future and hope for their career.

"I have changed my career path fully to becoming a politician and doing everything in my power to make that dream come true. With the upcoming campaign, this will help me boost my confidence and help me gain a political standpoint in the world," Pickens said.

Fountain Inn is the home of YIG leaders. Twelfth-grader Nikki Wu is the YIG lieutenant governor.

By Rebecca Bullington

On Friday, August 30, freshmen voted on who their new representatives will be for Student Council. 10 students were chosen to guide, aid and constitute the class of 2028 into a promising new year here at Fountain Inn High School.

Mia Wadsworth, Abigail Pope, Mabry Thompson, Arden Jackson, Victoria Ta, Emma Beam, Honour Cleveland, Ryan Lee, Brady Mason and Madisyn Ross are this year’s Freshmen Representatives.

Freshmen Representatives have many responsibilities. “Some responsibilities in my position are doing service hours, teamwork to plan events out, and doing extra roles like running the concession stand to keep the events of the week going,” according to Ta.

While helping out around the school and planning for events are things all members of the student council are responsible for, the main purpose of our freshman representatives is to give the ninth graders a voice. 

“I want to make sure the freshman class feels like they can talk to someone if they have any concerns or ideas because it can be intimidating to talk to upperclassmen,” said Jackson.

 All the freshmen representatives are focused on making this year a positive and impactful experience, which means taking all students' ideas and thoughts into consideration.

Chelsea Elkins, a biology teacher and the student council advisor, says it's important to keep bringing in new students.

  “[The students] just come in with their own ideas and new perspectives that really help us to just keep it fresh so that we're changing and we're not doing the same thing over and over again.”

If you, or any other students have any ideas on how to improve the high school experience, don't be afraid to talk to one of our 10 Freshmen Representatives and put your idea out there. The purpose of having these people represent our grade is to get the exposure that causes change.

By Isabella Castro

Mrs. Katlyn Marion started the Fountain Inn High School Student Council club when the school first opened. She wanted to build traditions and give students opportunities to become involved in their school. As the years passed, the club continued to grow and now has a lot of members. At the end of every school year, students have the opportunity to apply for student council. It has been a long process to get the student council to where it is today.  

“I think we got big goals set, especially for spirit week this year and I think it's going to be great,” as told by Marion.

Last April, students designed campaigns to join the student council club. While creating social media posts, posters, and spreading the word, students were rushing to get the most votes. Now as members of student council, they can reflect on their experiences so far. Junior and vice-president, Nikki Wu gave advice about the elections, 

“...Go out of your comfort zone and not be too stressed about maybe the elections part, but think about if you’re overall a really good student, you have a good chance, also don’t be too stressed about perfecting your application. I know when I was applying, I really wanted to make sure in all areas it was perfect, but just showing who you are would be really great.” 

Being who you are is important for applying.

Reflecting on the workload in the club, sophomore Erine Kabous answered the question we are thinking: Is it a lot of work?

“No, not at all. The club has a good amount of people and we, for mostly everything we do, we’ll separate in groups. So for example, homecoming and spirit week coming up, we have a group that's for the dance, a group for advertising. So everyone has a good enough workload, not too much,” Kabous replied.

The best and worst thing about Student Council might not be the stress, as told by sophomore Cami Soto. Soto’s favorite thing about the club is, 

“Probably planning events and being able to help set up and doing the activities. Sometimes it can be [stressful] but we also break into little groups and decide specific activities. It's just fun, you get to come up with ideas.”

If you’re interested in joining the FIHS Student Council and becoming a voice for your class, just do it. Reach out to representatives from your class or Mrs. Marion and Mrs. Elkins themselves.  

Inn the Script: A Media Tech Feature

By Lucas Harvey
For as long as Fountain Inn High has been running, students have loved working in Media Tech. Media Tech is a class where students film and shoot pictures of events around and behind the scenes of FIHS. The daily news for the school, Inn A Minute, features the videos and pictures taken by the students.
Media Tech is famous for their main production, Inn A Minute. Students work on the entire operation; writing, filming, editing, and publishing. Freshman Jalin Hill said “It’s very fun and you can be very creative. Honestly, I think that working with the News show at Fountain Inn has really made me open up creatively, and helped work on my human interaction skills.”
Students also produce their own personal projects, which can be anything that they want to make. Media Tech student Hayden Morgan said “My favorite thing about media tech is the ability to make whatever I want, and to get to know the sports teams behind the scenes.”
Coach Hoffman, the Media Tech teacher and head of production at Fountain Inn, said “The best part about having Media Tech students is getting a chance to teach them, work with them, watch them grow, watch them be creative, watch them produce anything from Inn A Minute to the highlight videos to short films and music videos they create in class.”
Creativity is a staple trait of the class. Students have been given lots of free will with what they want to do with their time. Since the start of the class, creative freedom has been pushed as the forefront of Media Tech. This has led Media Tech to be one of the most requested classes at Fountain Inn.
Media Tech is a very popular class at Fountain Inn, and has Innspired and pushed the limits of students creativity. Morgan said “Being behind the scenes is really cool, I’ve been able to explore all around the building and see new areas I’ve never seen before.”
While students have the ability to go behind the scenes and film anything they want, they also have a responsibility as a class. There are projects assigned to the students. The current assignment is the national school lunch week commercials for Inn A Minute. They are entirely student led from drafting ideas, to writing, to production and editing.
There aren’t many other classes that are as different as Media Tech. There’s an extremely wide variety of opportunities given. It doesn’t only cover filming things, but also photography, writing, journalism, and more.
You can create anything you’d like, such as a photo portfolio or a highlight reel. Anything you’re passionate about can be brought to life. Ben Chamblee said  “My favorite thing about Media Tech is probably all the freedom you have in the class. For example, if you have an idea Coach Hoffman will help you to bring that idea to life.”
The course is very unique compared to other classes. Students have a lot of freedom in where they can go and what they can do.
Being in Media Tech can open the door to many opportunities in life. The class can kick-start interest in a filmmaking career by teaching and training you how to write, direct, produce, and edit. Through Coach Hoffman, you can join a state-wide film competition for a cash prize. Any student grade 9-12 can join and submit their own two minute short film that matches the competition theme, for a chance to win hundreds of dollars.
Media tech is a class for all grade levels. There are currently four levels for the class. Hill said about joining the course, “Being in media tech is amazing, especially as a freshman. It’s especially awesome having privileges that you don’t typically have as a student.”
Levels one through three of the class are all grouped together. Level one and two produce Inn A Minute, while level three produce packages. Packages are sections of the newscast, like Inn focus or a spotlight, focused on one single thing.
It may be an easy grade for a class, according to both students and Coach Hoffman, but by no means is the class easy. Hoffman said “If you’re interested in joining Media Tech, it’s not a hard class grade wise, but it is a class where we work hard every day. I want you to be in Media Tech because you wanna be here to create content, not because you’re looking for an easy grade.”
Many students join Media Tech because they think it’s a free period, but they aren’t correct in their assumption. Ben Chamblee said “The hardest part of media tech is definitely script writing and idea generation; but once you finally nail the script you’ll most likely change a lot of aspects while you’re filming.”
There’s a lot of high quality, expensive equipment in the classroom. Media Tech is equipped with iMacs, Macbook Pros, Sony cameras, Panasonic cameras, Canon cameras, many different lenses, many different lights, and much more. There is a recording studio in the back of the classroom that is sometimes used to film Inn A Minute or student projects.
Media tech is a class that is still growing, along with many other arts at the Fountain Inn. Coach Hofman said “As a program, I think we just want to keep growing with what the students want to produce, so if that means more filmmaking, or more photography, or more journalism, as a club and as a class we want to continue to feed our students interests.”
The growing class allows for growing opportunities. Media Tech has been building up since the start of Fountain Inn High School. As students learn better how to use the new equipment in the class, they are allowed more opportunities, like being sent around FIHS to shoot pictures or video of things happening around our school.
A key component of Media Tech, due to its expansiveness, is pushing each other to success. Inn A Minute is all made on a team, and without a team, it would not be possible. Students push each other and assist each other in the class, and help each other to make anything they want to make. It’s an extremely broad class, and students can inspire each other to make things they want to make.
Though the class is a very broad and wide range of production, from film, to photography, and even writing, it can be narrowed down to two sentences. Hoffman said “In Media Tech, we create digital stories. Life is a story and we’re here to tell it.”
These two sentences completely highlight everything that Media Tech is about. The biggest thing that the class pushes you to do is to create your own story. There’s no restrictions on what you want to do, and how you can go about creating it. Students are allowed to take home equipment temporarily and film outside of school for a project, or even just to create what they want to.
Students can stay after school and go behind the scenes of Fountain Inn’s sports. Hoffman stated “My favorite projects have been the hype videos and media days we’ve had with students coming after school to volunteer to promote our Fury athletics and our various teams.” Anyone can participate in filming sports games, shooting pictures and videos for media days, and creating hype videos for our Furyus school sports teams.
Media Tech is constantly growing in numbers. They lead their own club, photography club, and are creating more. It has influenced and changed things around the school. Inn A Minute has drawn attention to events, people, classes, and opportunities around Fountain Inn High School.
When Hoffman was asked “What’s your favorite dream project for Media Tech?”, he responded with “I don’t know that I have one dream project, my dream project is that every student comes in, has an idea, and we get to finish it and get to produce their idea.” This statement shows what Media Tech is all about. Creating what you’re passionate about creating, and helping others do so.

By Danielle Kingsey, Renato Blanco, Alynna Powers

When working with Special Education students you need to know that no matter how big or small the class size, no matter how the kids act, no matter how much help you have it is always going to be stressful. No matter how talented you are as a teacher, each student needs different types of attention in different areas. Many special education students express themselves by screaming (usually when he or she is overwhelmed or frustrated), and that’s when the teacher needs to stay calm the most. Many special education students with autism can’t stand the sound of a ticking clock; it drives them crazy. Because of this, teachers have to refrain from the triggers that would cause an outburst.  These are just two examples of the many ways that a special education professional handles his or her classroom. 

Most special ed. teachers would say their days look very similar to a regular subject teacher. One teacher Eizabeth Poston, says “ I have three blocks. In those blocks I often teach multiple different classes as well as manage some of my students at work placements.”

 Most special education teachers work together with a bunch of other teachers/ school administrators, such as (classroom assistants, other special education teachers, regular ed. teachers, transition liaisons and special education specialists) to ensure all of the students are getting what they specifically need to be successful.

To be a special education teacher it is very stressful; it’s stressful to be a teacher of any kind. Special education teachers worry about some things other teachers don’t worry about and vice versa. For example, special education teachers don’t worry about the EOC’s as much as regular education teachers would.

 Special education teachers teach the kids who struggle to learn grade level material and most special education students are not working towards a high school diploma. Mrs. Poston says “ I try to keep working at work and home stress at home.” She says this is an easy way to manage the stress and to keep stress from work at work because it will be there tomorrow. The same goes for her home stress. She keeps it away from her kids so she doesn’t stress her kids. Another teacher from Rudolph G. Gordon School, Mrs. Mary Orr, says that her class is a balance of continuing to work on academics but also heavily focusing on functional and independent living skills. 

They work on letter identification and number identification but also work on cooking, using appropriate social skills, taking turns, communication skills, advocating for themselves, and learning how to be a good friend and part of a class community. A good deal of her students deal with emotional and behavioral difficulties. Mrs. Orr also states that “a lot of our day is devoted to working on that.”

It is a high stress job many teachers have to keep their stress level in check. “Over my last 14 years as a sped teacher, the class sizes have continued to rise and rise. Having a large class of students with so many individual needs can and often does get very chaotic and very stressful.” 

 The mounds of paperwork, holding meetings, keeping relationships with parents and managing all of the adults within the classroom, can make it really stressful at times especially when the kids are acting up and they are causing a lot of stress then the paperwork,meeting,the relationships with parents and managing all of the adults in the classroom all come together and cause a lot of stress. 

When working with Special Ed. Students you can’t expect everyday to be the same, everyday is going to be different, whether it be a difficult or easy day. “ No two days are alike.” It is a job that some days sucks the life out of you, but some days brings the greatest joy. It is a balancing act that requires patience, constant learning, growing, and adapting.

When working with these kids you have to know your stress limit, and you have to know how to manage your stress.  Mrs. Orr says “ I try to unwind on the weekends, exercise really helps me.” In classes, keeping students engaged involves making sure they change up what they are doing frequently, give frequent breaks, providing sensory input and sensory items, making sure they are doing hands-on learning, and most of all providing structure and routine.

Seeing the wins of the students are probably one of the best parts of Special education teachers days, and also for all teachers. Every small win is exciting, even if it takes days, months, or even sometimes years. When you see them master something that they have worked so hard to master, “ It’s what keeps me going.”  

Every single special education student has their own document that is a legal binding contract, that the parents and teachers have to fill out basically stating that “I am legally required to implement. They all have individual goals to achieve and they all have individual accommodations and modifications that they are legally entitled to.”