May 2023
Top Stories
Editor: Kandice Williams
Graduating seniors await sunny futures
By Makayla Wise
Graduating high school is known to be frightening, with fears of the unknown lingering in the back of many seniors’ minds. To combat these fears, it’s vital, especially this close to the big day, for seniors to be optimistic.
When eight MVHS seniors were asked strategically hopeful questions, they all responded dutifully with confidence, simply wishing the best for themselves.
In a bittersweet moment, when the lot was asked what gets them out of bed in the morning, nearly everyone responded with a variation of "my friends," mostly due to the fact that they are afraid of losing contact with them after high school. Riley Gipson has other thoughts, stating, "Friendship here, true close friendship, will take you straight to the stars honestly. I wouldn't be half the person I am today, and I wouldn't have been able to push myself further and strive for my own true identity, if it wasn't for the friends I have that dealt with me since day one."
Gipson continues to say, "Many people in my position as a senior are always afraid of the destruction of their bonds, of their group being scattered to the winds and never seeing each other again. But in my heart here, I know deep down that no matter how far away I and my friends get, we'll still be there for each other till the end of time."
Each and every senior interviewed mentioned that they were excited about the forthcoming future, Calli Augusta even stating, "The things I look forward to the most in the future is finally being able to live out the life and dreams I have always wanted."
As the school year comes to an end, it’s important to realize that looking towards the future with rose-colored lenses can change the common views we’ve grown to know and end the fear lingering in the back of our minds. It’s also important to remember that our time has arrived to graduate, to move on. As author Stephen Chbosky once wrote in his famous coming-of-age story The Perks of Being a Wallflower, "I know these will all be stories someday. And our pictures will become old photographs. We'll all become somebody's mom or dad. But right now these moments are not stories."
Film Club finds its light
There are many clubs and activities that MVHS has to offer. Film Club, which is student-run, is one of those clubs. All the films done by the club are written, filmed, and acted by the students. This club is a great opportunity for students to learn to take charge and develop their leadership and cooperation skills.
An opinion piece by Vianka Gonzalez talks all about how joining a film club can be beneficial for a high school student. "A film club gives young people a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in something entertaining, artistic, and social," she writes. "Starting a film club is a terrific way to take charge, interact with people, and pursue your passions. Not only that, but it demonstrates that you’re serious about movies as an art form. I feel it would also be a great way to keep yourself busy."
This year the Film Club team completed several projects, the first of which was a short stop-motion film called "A Tail of Two Brothers." The short movie followed a pair of young princes who each have a pet dragon. This gave the club members a chance to get some experience with using stop-motion storytelling. This stop-motion film is the introduction to the next big project the club has planned. For the next school year, the club is planning to make a live-action continuation of the stop-motion film that sees the journey of the young brothers as one of them grows up to become king. It is going to be the biggest project that the film club has ever made!
Also this year they made a short series of "bite-size" scenes in which the club members would film themselves acting in a variety of short skits. These scenes were used to help them gain experience using different filming techniques such as using different camera angles. The club then ended the year by making a short film to introduce each current member, interview style.
Junior Sam Jones, an active member of the club, is the head of the editing and filming department. He first joined last year after he heard about it from another student. He recommends the club to anyone, but he also says that if you join and then find it not to be your thing, he says that there will be no hard feelings if you drop out.
For anyone interested in joining Film Club, the team meets every Thursday directly after school in Mrs. Brook Olinger’s classroom. There are no requirements to join just attend a meeting and show your interest in joining. They are always open to more members.