Mountaineer Moments
Editor: Makayla Wise
MVHS show choir steals the stage
The start of a new semester means the start of the spring sports and activities, one which is the start of the show choir tournament season. The official name for the MVHS show choir is Vocal Motion. The students in Vocal Motion are true hard workers, but that tends to be forgotten when all you see is the outcome of their hard work. And when they are all wearing the same striking costumes and doing the same choreography in unison, you tend to forget just how unique each one of the members are. There are some real great students that don’t always get the recognition they deserve.
To begin, freshman Justin Wright is one person you may not have seen because he never even appears on stage, but he does have a big role for the show. Wright is one of the band members that performs live music for the other show choir members to dance and sing to. Wright plays the trumpet in the show choir band. He says in an interview that he saw the show choir perform when he was in eighth grade and this year asked Ms. April McBaine (the show choir director) if he could be a part of the band. Now he plays the baritone for Vocal Motion at every tournament.
If you have seen this year’s show choir performance then you have definitely seen and heard about Jake Leeper. Leeper is one of the main soloists in this year’s show. He has a solo in the song “Knocked Down/Main Event'' where he and Junior Jaden Wilson perform a choreographed fight scene. However, this is not Leeper's first time having the spotlight. In last year’s show Leeper had a solo in the song “Love Potion #9.” In an interview discussing what it’s like having a solo, Leeper explained how solos are given. He described the process is like voting. Those wanting to audition for a solo will go into a room where no one can see them and sing for the rest to listen to. Once all the people have gone, the others will vote on who did the best and the most voted person will get the solo.
A newcomer to the stage is freshman Jakoby Wilson. Wilson is not only a new face to Vocal Motion but also new to high school life. He said that he was inspired to join the show choir after seeing and hearing so much about it watching his older brother, Jaden Wilson, last year. He also said that joining has taught him a few things, like improving his singing and dancing skills. It even has taught him how to work with people better.
Wilson isn’t the only one who has learned things from show choir. Star Loza said it taught her that it is important to communicate with the people you are working with and that sometimes you have to have patience with people too. She also said that show choir helps boost your confidence, it’s also a great way to make new friends and connections.
Rowan McKinley shares a lot of the same thoughts. She has been a part of Vocal Motion for all of her three years of high school so far. And said that it’s important to get along with your team, even when things get a little stressful like this year's show choir started out or if there are people you don’t really like. But once you start you work with your team not only does it improve your performance but it also makes things more fun!
Madison McBaine has been a member of Vocal Motion for her entire high school career. In an interview, she said that she hated her first day of choreography. She even said that she was angry at her mother (Mrs. McBaine) for making her do it, although her mother did no such thing. But as time went on, McBaine came to love show choir. Now she says she wouldn’t trade that time for anything else. She feels like she has grown throughout all these years and the same goes for the choir. She loves getting to work with all the people. “This year we are all a big family,” McBaine says.
There are also some things that happen behind the scenes that people don’t usually see, unless you’ve been in a show choir. One of those things being the after show clinics. Clinics are where the choir goes right after they perform. They will have a worker take the choir and band into a room and give them some feedback from the judges. The kind of worker you get will determine how long your clinic session will be. At least until the next choir is finished performing.
In one of their latest tournaments as of writing, Vocal Motion won three awards at the Nevada tournament. They were also the best in their division and were awarded with the best closing number. The award for the best male soloist was given to Jaden Wilson.
In conclusion, there is a lot to be said about Vocal Motion. From stellar band members to award-winning vocalists, the show choir is nothing to be overlooked. If you want to see Vocal Motion in action, they will have their final competition on March 4 at Webb City. Feel free to go and show your support for your school’s amazing performers.
Barbie takes the plunge, offers students reprieve from school monotony
The typical day for a prisoner residing in a medium security facility begins at 5:30 in the morning. Time is allotted for cleaning themselves and their cell, then they make their way to breakfast at 6:15. They line up for a quick inmate count before receiving their job assignment and shipping off. Around 11:00, they are given thirty minutes for lunch. After that, the work continues until 3:00 when they make their way back to prison.
The evenings are theirs for different activities. Some of these include religious practices or a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. Thirty minutes are set aside for dinner, then the inmates return to their cells and call it a night.
That sounds oddly familiar.
You wake up early and get yourself ready, eat breakfast, and go to school. Attendance is taken each hour, leaving without permission is strictly prohibited, and you get about thirty minutes to eat your lunch. Other than that, you are hard at work.
The evenings, however, are yours to get other things done. Sleeping early is strongly recommended because the cycle is to be repeated bright and early the next morning.
There are a few things that separate a student from a prisoner. You get to go home to your own bed and family at night, you don’t have to wear ugly neon orange clothing, and sometimes, just sometimes, you get to have fun at school.
Math teacher Wendi Jesse is notorious for her incredibly long tests and unbelievable amounts of homework. This year, she began teaching Algebra I classes, something she hadn’t done in quite some time. This presented an opportunity to bring back an assignment that hadn’t seen the classroom in more than a decade: Barbie Bungee.
The idea was first brought to Ms. Jesse’s attention at a teaching conference. Her initial thought: “There is absolutely no way I’d ever bring Barbie into the high school classroom.”
Clearly, there was a way.
Many years later, even after a lengthy hiatus, Barbie is still being launched from incredible heights, relying on nothing but rubber bands and a high schooler’s ability to do math.
Students add the rubber bands one by one to the brave plastic girl (or boy as Ken is available), each time measuring the length of her fall. For this testing, they are limited to only seven rubber bands. After that, it’s up to them and their math skills to figure out just how many Barbie needs for the actual plunge. The goal is to get her as close to the ground as possible without touching it.
An activity like Barbie Bungee offers students an opportunity to apply their math. All throughout a person’s time in school, math is paper and pencil. Everyone has thought to themselves one time or another, “I am never going to use this in real life.” For a lot of math topics, that’s true. That being said, you never know when you’re going to be responsible for the life of someone plunging from deadly heights. Thanks to projects like this one, you might keep them alive.
Ms. Jesse believes students begin the assignment nervous, but end up enjoying it. It’s very memorable, people recalling the event years after their time in high school. But do they truly learn to like the assignment?
Many students disliked a certain rule. Ms. Jesse implements penalties for dropping Barbie even before the true test, requiring gentleness throughout the entire project. This was overall not well-received.
However, a lot of participants enjoyed working with a group, as well as the break from regular classroom work. The assignment was nerve wracking but exciting, and had an air of nostalgia as students revisited their childhood toy.
“The students were allowed to collaborate on their thoughts on how to do the assignment and it helps us work on social and educational effort,” says Lexi Taylor, a freshman.
Barbie Bungee definitely has its benefits. “It was more of a hands-on assignment that showed how the scatter plots could be applied in a real world scenario,” says freshman Daniel Losack. Taylor agreed with this sentiment, commenting that even though it’s only a Barbie doll, it highlights real world applications.
More than anything though, the project is a reprieve. Freshman Jakoby Wilson simply states, “It shows how to work with others and makes math fun.”
School can feel a lot like a prison, but little things like dropping a Barbie from the mezzanine make all the difference.
Senior Payton West solves a student’s problem with a 3D printer
You may or may not have already known this, but there are about three 3D printers at MVHS and one laser printer, all of which students have free access to use. Many things can be done with a 3D printer; you can create just about anything, so long as you have the idea (and patience). Some students use the printer to make things for their school projects, but senior Payton West used it to solve a problem.
A couple of months ago, Ms. Trish Johnston was approached by a teacher who had a special needs student who needed help with gripping pencils. They could only grab the really big pencils and needed a way to use ordinary pencils. Ms. Johnston then went to West and asked if he could find a way to help the student.
West found a print online that would help solve the problem. So with the big 3D printer in the library, West was able to make the print and give it to the student. And the creation was a success! But even still, West is currently working on some personalized adjustments so that way it can be even more efficient.
MVHS has had a small 3D printer for over four years now, but the big printer used by West was just set up this year. And it sure is fascinating to watch. West and a few others are even setting up another printer that uses resin, that helps give finer details to the creations. There is even a laser printer in the library as well. This past Christmas the Student Council team used it to create little snowflake ornaments for the teachers.
With all these fine pieces of equipment, there are plenty of things you can do to help add a little extra flare to your projects. 3D, like many other things, is like a skill: it’ll take time and practice to get used to it and to produce your intended outcomes. It all depends on your imagination, creativity, and a bit of patience. And if you ever need help or want to learn how to use the printers, West and Ms. Johnston are willing to help.
