Spoilers Ahead.

Imagine you were an astronaut. No, a botanist astronaut. You’re on the Ares 3 mission to Mars, when six days into it, a sandstorm hits. It’s not your standard Earth sandstorm, but a Martian sandstorm. It’s tipping the MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle), so your crew boards and leaves. You couldn’t get to the MAV in time, since you’ve been thrown down a hill and impaled by a satellite antenna. You wake up to the oxygen alarms in your suit going off, and you think you ought to be dead. Your crew has no clue that you’re alive.

That happened to the main character, Mark Watney, in Andy Weir’s novel The Martian.

I read The Martian right when we came back to school from summer vacation. I heard about it on Pinterest, and I read a few quotes from it (namely “How does Aquaman control whales — they’re mammals! Makes no sense.” and “I’ll spend the rest of the night enjoying a potato, and by enjoying I mean hating so much I want to kill people.”) and I was instantly curious. My interest was even further piqued by reading positive reviews. I was so excited when I found the school library here had a copy of it. As I started reading, I had two questions: “How is this not more popular?” and “How is the movie only rated PG-13?”

Spoilers ahead.

The book starts off with Mark Watney waking up to his oxygen alarm, and saying. “I’m pretty much f---ed. That’s my considered opinion.” He stumbles back to the Hab (which is the crew’s house on Mars), and patches himself up. He finds that he has the crew’s Thanksgiving dinner, and being a botanist, he decided to try to use the soil on Mars mixed with some Earth soil and human fertilizer to grow some potatoes. He has a few meal kits, but he saves those for later. Later on, he fixes the two rovers he has up to make his way to the Schiaparelli Crater, where the Ares 4 MAV is, so he can get home. On his way, he nearly dies (The 'Mark Nearly Dies' counter is at about 4 by this time in the book). NASA tells Mark that he needs to deconstruct the MAV so he can make contact with the rest of his crew and reunite with them. However, they’re basically sending him into space at 12 G’s (humans are used to one [1] G) in a convertible. He makes it to his crew, however, but he is unable to move.

This is the end of the spoilers.

Andy Weir started his writing career off with a bang. The Martian got to be very popular in the science community (as a science nerd, I totally see why), but unfortunately for that popularity, non-scientists pegged it as “too sciency” (see the quotes above for two reasons why I think it’s not “too sciency”). It’s an amazing novel that I think everyone should have the opportunity to read. It’s definitely one of my favorite books that I’ve read (it’s up there with To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye) and I do hope that other people read it.

Chess Club Puzzles

Finals are March 13 and 14! This may seem like a while away, but it’s never too early to study and develop habits. You also don’t want to forget to catch up on late work. In this article, we will be talking about some study tips before finals.

Create your own study guide. Although some teachers make study guides for students, you’ll be able to understand the material better if you create your own.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The teachers at North Bend are super nice and willing to help out a confused student. If you aren’t comfortable with asking for help from a teacher, you can ask a friend.

Start early. It’s always better to be early than to be late. If you start studying early and continue to study, then you’ll know the material better. This way, you won’t be cramming at the last minute for your tests/finals.

Take breaks. If you cram a bunch of information in your brain at once, you won’t be able to memorize it. Reward learning with a break to recharge yourself.

Get enough sleep. Don’t stay up too late the night before an exam. You need your sleep so you can be full of energy and ready to focus the next morning.

Study in a group. Get some friends and create a study group. This way, you all can ask each other questions and go over material together. Just make sure your group is full of people in which you can focus and actually want to learn.

Make it fun. Why not make your study session pleasurable. Quiz yourself, make acronyms or reward yourself. There are lots of online games that can help you study. Or you can reward yourself with a sip of coffee or a piece of chocolate. For every chunk of material you absorb, you can have 5 minutes of free time.

Make sure to keep these tips in mind while studying.

This year alone, 51 students went to talk to someone about having anxiety, depression, relationship concerns, and suicidal thoughts. Putting all of the percentages of each one of those together equals 95.5 percent out of 51 students who had these problems.

The statistics say that women are more likely to suffer from depression than men because they are more vulnerable to having negative thoughts towards themselves than someone saying something negative to them.

Statistics also said that there are ways to find help in controlling or idling the feeling of depression.

1. Talking to someone (such as a therapist, psychotherapy, counselor)

2. Medications (antidepressants)

3. Journaling (writing down how you are feeling in a notebook)

The one that statistics said helped the most for many people was going to a therapist and talking to them about what you are feeling.

You may feel like you are alone in this world but if you open your eyes a little bit more you can see that many people on this earth want to help you survive another day, and another, and another.

Keep having faith and let that tiny voice in your head that tells you it's gonna be alright shine brighter, and scream louder.

SOURCE:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_in_childhood_and_adolescence

Letters to Freshmen

Written by Juniors in biology, these letters were an assignment focusing on mindset. This is one of the most important ideas in high school. We’ll let them explain it!

Letter #1

Dear Freshman,

We’ve been expecting you. You may have noticed that this isn’t middle school anymore. Things have changed; classes are harder, there are more extracurriculars, and there’s substantially more freedom. It may be a little overwhelming, but in a few short weeks, all of these things will become second nature. My first piece of advice to you is: get to know your teachers and counselors. Whether it be getting an extension on a project or attempting to change your schedule, teachers and counselors are an important resource to a successful high school career. It’s also important to know that teachers aren’t intentionally trying to make things difficult, even though it may seem like it sometimes. Every teacher wants their students to graduate, and most will bend over backwards to help you acquire your high school diploma. One way to avoid the majority of high school stress is to practice good study habits. Though the class workload may be bigger than what you're used to, there's nothing that you can't accomplish with good time management. A method I use to manage my schoolwork is to carve time out of my evening and set timers for each homework subject. Also, remember that every little point counts and questions are nothing to be embarrassed about. Though grades are important, the information you learn from a course is far more valuable than a letter grade. Essentially, if you can't produce honest work and you aren't retaining the information, you might consider talking to your teacher about dropping the class. Another thing you should consider to make high school more enjoyable is joining clubs or other extracurriculars. We offer various different clubs and activities for all kinds of subjects, and I’m sure you’ll find one that’s right for you. These clubs can help you complete community service hours and allow you to meet others with like interests. The last piece that I have for you, freshman, is to believe in yourself. In high school, it’s easy to get stuck in the mindset that you aren’t smart enough, aren’t talented enough, aren’t good enough to take certain classes. Something may seem too challenging at first or may not necessarily be "your thing", but as the famous saying goes, "Don't knock it 'till you try it". By trying new things and keeping an open mind, it allows you to better understand those around you and helps you get to know your true self. I will leave you with this: high school is what you make it. Get involved, study hard, and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

Letter #2

Dear Freshman,

Becoming a freshman is a big deal. You are finally starting to become an adult, you’re growing up. During freshman year you will realize that you need to make the best decisions for yourself. Don’t become defined by the people you hangout with. It is a big deal starting high school, it is okay to be excited. Here are North Bend High School we have a great support system. We have awesome teachers that truly care about your education. You might feel very nervous like these next four years help determine where you end up. Just remember that you can learn in anyway possible, whether you are a quick learner or if you need to take extra time to understand what is happening. Ask questions, don’t be afraid to. We just learned about growth mindsets, this is a system which explains about how people think they learn. I personally have a growth mindset, I know that I am capable to learn more if I work harder. To have a fixed mindset means that you don’t think you are capable. You are. You can do this. Hard work pays off. Instead of telling yourself you can’t do something think “well maybe I just can’t do this yet.” Work for it. Don’t expect things to come easy.

If you need help with something we have awesome resources, such as remediation. Take advantage of it. Teachers also give their own personal time to help you succeed, if they offer, and you need it, take them up on it. It pays off. Never forget to study. Credit by proficiency is gone in most classes, that means if you fail a test you can’t retake it. Don’t bomb a test just because you were watching Netflix, or texting your friends, STUDY, STUDY, STUDY!!!

A big thing I would suggest is getting involved with everything you possibly can. Do sports, even if you aren’t amazing at them, it gives you something to do. Get involved in the student sections, they can actually be a lot of fun. Go to homecoming, go to prom. Just think you have 4 years left with your peers and then you might not ever see them again.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

Letter #3

Dear Freshman,

Welcome to high school! In the past people may have told you that high school sucks. It doesn’t. Most kids go into high school with fixed and negative mindset, thinking that all the classes will be impossible, the homework will be overwhelming, and the teachers are overly strict. When we fix our minds to an opinion or the way we see something, most the time it will take a lot to change our minds. High school is full of opportunities to grow and learn. Our brain is full of tiny cells called neurons. The neurons in our brain are what allows us to think and solve our problems. Most of the time when we face problems in high school there are always easy solutions, but we tend to find ourselves in a fixed mindset where we can’t solve problems and we can learn new things. Everyone can learn and get smarter if we have a growth mindset. I started high school with a very fixed mindset, but I quickly learned that our brain is like our muscles and can grow like our muscles, it’s just not a visual growth. For me, when I was stressed about the workload or getting things done on time I would go to my counselor, or a specific teacher. The nice thing about North Bend is we have a remediation period where you can go get the help you need from the teacher you need it from. So if you feel stress or are thinking there is no way for you to grow in you knowledge, open your mind up a bit and have more of a growth mindset than a fixed mindset. I hope you have a great 4 years of high school.

Sincerely,

Haley Bennett