Issue 9

At Riverside Intermediate School, the 5th and 6th graders had their annual Riley Dance Marathon and more than 300 5th and 6th graders danced to raise $7,690 to give to the children at Riley Children’s Hospital. Riley has been in the top 30 in every category for more than five years and they have been helping to treat more than 300,000 children each year for more than 85 years. Each year Plymouth community hosts a dance at Plymouth High School, Riverside, and Lincoln Junior High. The student do a dance that each and every kid can be a part of to help raise money for the children at Riley to get money for their treatments.

Senior Jake Brown said, “Personally, I participate in Riley Dance Marathon because I believe that raising money and donating your own money/time to a charitable cause is something that all people should do. Not only do I have so much fun raising money with my friends, but knowing that thousands of dollars is going to a hospital for children makes me smile.”

Josiah Allmon, a 6th grader at Riverside said, “The teachers make us stand for the whole time, so we would show support to the children that are having trouble using their legs.”

The dance teachers split the dance up so the Riverside kids could learn it step by step and then at the end, they put it all together and dance for the kids. They give the kids some free time to play whatever they wanted like corn hole, basketball, and more and after a while they went back to learning the dance. Some kids from Riley came and spoke to the Riverside students and each of them listened and learned so much about the Riley kids. Every year the Riley kids inspire students to live each day the best they can.

Senior Makenzie Quissell, President of PHSDM, said that her cousin Hannah Jacobs started the Riley Dance Marathon at Plymouth because she was also a patient there and she wanted to raise money to support the other kids and parents at Riley who have trouble getting the treatments they need. Makenzie and her older sister Cassi Quissell have been doing this ever since their freshman year and both have been president of the PHSDM. Cassi is still doing the Riley Dance Marathon today at Ball State and is on the executive board. Makenzie and her team of hardworking students have reached their goal of making the kids at Riley happy by breaking last year's record with a total of $39,081.74.

Makenzie said, “Hearing the stories of what some families deal with everyday was sad, yet so encouraging to make a difference for the impact of these families. This was super encouraging and just seeing the hospital makes me so happy. Knowing I spend my time making a difference for others is truly amazing.”

Homecoming week is a week that people can dress up and be themselves. On Tuesday we had pajama day with red, white, and blue on Wednesday. Thursday was meme day and Friday was the day to show your class spirit. Not only did we experience some dress up days, but we also enjoyed a great week with homecoming. Along with the extra week of fun the varsity basketball game was a huge success against Wawasee. Thanks to all the students who have voted for their nomination for the Prince, Princess, Queen, and King. Congratulations to Levi Crawford, Kaitlyn Carothers, Summer Smith, and Trevor Pletcher.

We should all remember the moment that Queen Summer Smith and King Trevor Pletcher walked out on stilts. It wasn’t only Summer’s first time walking on stilts, but she had only practiced for five minutes before she went out. When Summer was asked about the stilts she stated, “Being on stilts for the first time was definitely a challenge but for sure one of the coolest things ever!!” According to Homecoming King Trevor Pletcher, “My second idea, which we decide against, was a set of, what I call, "walking planks." They are a pair of "shoes," but for two people. The must walk together in order to keep from falling.” Trevor also stated, “These ideas came to me while trying to brainstorm interesting activities that I've done before, even if I had to borrow them. Both of these items were made by and belong to my Uncle.”

I also took time to ask Levi Crawford about winning homecoming prince. He stated, “Hey! It was a wild experience from start to finish! Standing outside of the gym my nerves were really calm, but as soon as I walked into the gym my nerves started rising. Then, as I waited for a name to be called in the center of the gym my nerves began rising and I was shocked when they called my name. I walked up, trying my best not to be awkward, and accepted the title of prince with a huge smile on my face. For me, winning homecoming prince was a huge honor. I’ve always been someone who struggled with feeling like I annoyed people and that people secretly didn’t like me. So, even being nominated, let alone winning, was a very eye-opening moment when I realized that people actually do enjoy being around me. I am incredibly honored to have been crowned as prince, and I’m very thankful for everyone who nominated and voted for me!”

The Indiana State School Music Association Solo/Ensemble vocal contest is a one day event that lasts from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Every year, many choir students from schools in Indiana perform as soloists, ensembles, or both to be judged on songs they have chosen within the ISSMA standards.

The schools who participated in this event were from the Michiana and surrounding areas, including PHS choir groups, Counterpoint girls and Crimson boys and girls. Both Counterpoint and Crimson are groups that students have to audition for. The PHS choir director Mr. Ryan VanAntwerp and accompanist Mrs. Amme Girten helped all the students who participated in the January 27th event.

Sophomore Maddi Morris said, “It’s stressful, but it's fun."

Sophomore Katie Fisher said, "You practice over and over. You record a piano piece of your part, then you listen to it and sing along.”

The students pick their songs in November and start practicing in December. The genres of music they select are classical and art. The songs they choose also depend on their group numbers. Students in group one perform advanced songs, group two perform intermediate level songs, and group three perform beginner level songs. In all, there were 24 soloists and five ensembles who participated in this year’s event. Ensembles can range from three to 20 people in each group, but usually range from three to six. When students practice, they keep in mind what the judge looks for, which include dynamics, pitch, posture, facial expressions, and articulation. When the song is over, the judge determines whether soloist or ensembles receive bronze, silver, or gold medals.

When the students are done with their solo or ensemble song they receive two papers from the judges. The first paper are the comments and the second paper determines whether a bronze, silver, or gold will be received. The students then go to a table where a person gives them the medal. If a gold is received and the students or student is in group one they can go to State to possibly receive a bigger award.

The event ended with all five PHS ensembles receiving gold medals, 12 PHS soloists receiving silver medals and 11 PHS soloists receiving gold medals.

The teenage years can typically be the most accident prone time, and when the ability to drive is added into the equation, potential dangers increase. Plymouth, Indiana has been experiencing one of the coldest, snowiest, and iciest winters the area has had in recent years. As a result, car crashes are more prevalent among adults and teens alike. It is vital that students are taking the initiative to be defensive drivers; on the road and in the PHS parking lot.

A main advocate for safety in Plymouth High School is security officer Ms. Bridget Hite. Hite has devoted her time to ensuring that students are as safe as possible.

On the topic of safe driving, Hite said, “Teenagers can be their own role model. If their friends do not want to put phones up or keep distractions to a minimum, they are not very good friends. Do not let them get in your vehicle.”

Hite is a strong believer in the law, especially when it comes to be a non-distracted driver. This is possible through students taking advantage of the latest technology advancements. These advancements include phone voice operating systems, car voice over systems, putting the device on silent, and changing the setting to not allow texts while the vehicle is in motion.

Cell phone use during driving is not the only dangerous issue that many teenage drivers face. Hite highlights some of the other factors, and said, “Failing to reduce your speed: chances of skidding are much greater and stopping distance will increase massively...braking on an icy or snow covered bend is also extremely dangerous.”

This time of the year, it is important to make sure that all of the safety features in your car are working adequately. Seat belts, brakes, gear shifts, and wheel bearings are all vital components to further ensure the safety of the driver and passengers.

When leaving school, safety does not start on the road - it should start in the parking lot. Hite said, “Drivers and pedestrians need to be careful for other drivers rushing for the same space, vehicles pulling out of parking spaces, or students walking out to their vehicle...Drivers speed up to head for the closest exit and forget about vehicles pulling out or students walking to their vehicle.”

Officer Hite advises that students receive parking permits so that if their car’s lights are on, get hit in the parking lot, or even have items stolen, the rightful owner can be contacted immediately. She encourages students to follow the rules, stay off phones, and drive safe!

Mr. Dylan Connor, WSOI American Perspectives teacher, participated in a workshop with Kelly Hunter, of the Royal Shakespeare Company. At the workshop, he learned about the Hunter Heartbeat Method, which has been used with children with autism spectrum disorders for the past 20 years.

The Hunter Heartbeat Method stems from an actual heartbeat. It has proven to be comforting as it is one of the first sounds heard in the womb. Kelly Hunter’s method for experiencing and learning Shakespeare is by breaking it down into its essence and makes the ideas, relationships, and actions accessible to understand.

Mr. Connor said, “Shakespeare feels like something that is hard and difficult and no one understands it, so she takes keywords, key phrases, key characteristics, and story points from it. We sit in a circle and we play games that tell a story, so everyone gets a chance to get up and play the game and feel it and say the words and its very interactive. She designed it in mind for students who are on the autism spectrum from young to old.”

The Method was designed for people on the autism spectrum because the games and activities involved address autistic tendencies like responding to social cues and keeping eye contact.

Mr. Connor said, “Autism is a spectrum everyone reacts to differently and the reason she wanted to target the community especially when she was working in education. She was told that she shouldn't even bother to do workshops with them [autistic students] because they wouldn't want to be apart of it.”

He also said, “It was fun because we saw many different children who all experience autism in multiple different ways. They sort of enter into the experience and find the things they liked about it [the games].”

Mr. Connor was able to be apart of the workshops because he was cast in the play, As You Like It, at the South Bend Civic Theatre. The play is being directed by the Notre Dame Shakespeare coordinator, Scott Jackson, who has worked with Hunter before and wanted to use her method on the production. Mr. Connor has always had a passion for Shakespeare since a young age.

He said, “The first Shakespeare I have read was in 8th grade and it was Romeo and Juliet and since that I loved it in class. I was first in a Shakespeare play my freshman year at college. Since then I have loved acting it, have taken classes, and I like to teach it.”

The production will be held in November of this year. Throughout the year the theatre will still be doing workshops and will continue to develop the production using Hunter’s method. Mr. Connor will also be able to use the method in his teaching life and as the sponsor of the Improv Club.

He said, “I am hoping to use it in my class when I am teaching Shakespeare, and I think my improv kids would love the games. I think that the fun thing about it is that literally anyone can play them, so there is no pressure which is perfect for any environment where you have someone who is unwilling to enter into the games.”

Improv Club is where students practice unscripted scenes and musical performances. Improv meets on Wednesdays in the studio theater from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Mr. Ferman, formerly a substitute, now teaches science. Just before winter break, he was called to the office at Plymouth High School with a tinge of anxiety to be relieved with an offer of finishing the year as a full time teacher. But, what do we know about this teacher? Charles Ferman was born and raised in South Bend, and attended Clay High School until graduation. Growing up, he worked with his father in a meat market and various other jobs until leaving for Concordia College in Ann Arbor, Michigan for ministry.

Mr. Ferman attended Concordia for a year, but realized ministry was not for him. Shortly after this realization, he spoke with a representative from Bethel College in Mishawaka over lunch. The representative gave good prospects about the college and the idea of a shorter drive home was appealing. He took the opportunity as a welcome switch. Mr. Ferman talked about an experience that was his deciding factor in becoming a teacher. A friend of his had recommended sitting in on a class to see if it was for him, and though skeptical, he took his friend’s advice. Walking into the classroom, he greeted the teacher who passed the instructions to him and said that she would be back in half an hour. Mr. Ferman gave the lesson plans and assignment with no issue from the students and from then on, he knew he wanted to teach.

Setting schooling aside, Mr. Ferman has done much outside of academics. He has been all over North America, from Alaska to Mexico, because of his time as a tour bus driver. Seeing as he had been a number of places, this also influenced his time as a history and social studies teacher for twenty years, and around that same span, he also taught driver’s education. He has a wife and three sons, and for a time renovated and built eleven houses with them.

Speaking for his family and himself, he said, “I really like the students here, I like the staff, I like everybody, I mean, it’s a great place to be.”

Mr. Ferman has done and learned a fair amount in his life so far, and with 39 years under his belt in education, his time here will not be wasted. From home renovations to tour bus driving, Mr. Ferman could easily be called a jack of all trades, and it would not be an exaggeration.

Davis Bougher, a senior, has been interning at local Wild Rose Moon. Davis listens to and creates music. He often uploads his mixes to SoundCloud and YouTube. He creates his own album art with his graphic design skills. He is a soft spoken student with a high fashion sense. His love for music brought him to Wild Rose Moon and couple of friends have performed at WRM and his sister, Grace Bougher, has even gone to a couple of Open Mic nights.

Wild Rose Moon is a non-profit organization that both entertains and creates everything pertaining to music. They have music sessions like Open Mic night and Jam Night that only accept donations. They even have a radio hour that is recorded in front of a live audience. Davis has been working there since the spring of last year. His job includes editing footage of the events recorded there, working with both audio and video files and also designing the formatting for how these videos look, and also handling the soundboard during the Open Mic nights.

Some footage that Davis has recorded and edited included Francis Luke Accord, Return to Normal, Mike Vial, The Matchsellers, Jeb Hart and Danika Holmes, Undlin & Wolfe, Michael Howard and Caroline Cotter, Kennedy’s Kitchen, Al Kniola, and Denny Snyder.

Davis was asked if he plans on taking the skills he learns at the Moon into the future and he replied with “Absolutely! I plan on going into the field of graphic design so I like to see my work on videos as an expansion on what I’m capable of. Getting to work in a creative workplace also gives me experience in what that’s like for the future. Getting that experience is a great benefit to my abilities as well as my resume, which is why I also recommend it for anyone who may be interested in stuff like video editing.”

George Schricker, director of Wild Rose Moon, works closely with Davis. Some of the internships he said their program offers includes “Management of Volunteer Systems and Database, Public Relations work including Poster and Ad Design, Video and Audio Editing and Engineering, Management of Web Resources (website editing), House Management (including emceeing some events), and Fundraising Design. These jobs require persons who can work on their own, handle suggestions (creative input), and people who can adapt to a creative work environment.”

He then explained how he thought Davis was doing at the Moon. Mr. Schricker said, “Davis is an extraordinary human being and an intelligent creative. He has taken great initiative to understand the ability of our editing programs and apply that to his work at The Moon. In addition, his motivation has helped Wild Rose Moon develop its profile and mission. His work has been recognized by John Kennedy, a local musician and economics professor, who has played with his band at The Moon. John has contracted independently for Davis’s video editing services.”

Students can easily enjoy the Open Mic nights and Jam nights. Admission is free. If students would like to perform, they can easily contact George Schricker at wildrosemoon@gmail.com or at 574-276-1185. If people want to hear a wide variety of voices and music, visit Wild Rose Moon on Wednesdays from 7-9:30 at 115 N. Michigan St, Plymouth, IN 46563 for Open Mic Night and Jam Night.

Many Plymouth Pilgrim fans know that the PHS cheerleaders are loyal to their school, especially when in unity the cheerleaders yell, “We’re loyal to you PHS” while playing the school song. The next generation of Plymouth cheerleaders pledged their loyalty to PHS at the semi- annual Mini Cheer Clinic that the cheerleaders hosted, which showcased the aspiring young high school cheerleaders during the Pilgrims game. The mini cheer clinic was held Friday, January 26 when the team played the Northridge Raiders.

Mini cheer clinic is an opportunity for the little ones to come and enjoy the sensation of cheering in front of a large crowd and allows the current high school cheerleaders to raise money. The young cheerleaders arrive at the high school at five p.m. During the afternoon, the children are taught chants to do at the game, along with a dance that is performed during the night, and they are provided with dinner. This year the song was “24K Magic” by Bruno Mars.

Sophomore Kenzie VanVactor said, “I’m looking forward to the pizza!”

Seniors Stefania Guarracina and Carol Andrade shared their excitement towards the mini cheer clinic. Both girls are the foreign exchange students at PHS and this year was their first cheer clinic.

Andrade said, ”I hope some of the children will become cheerleaders when they’re in high school.”

Returning sophomores Lakeland Strain and Fernanda Cortes also shared their feelings towards attending their fourth mini cheer clinic.

Strain said, “I enjoy teaching little girls how to become cheerleaders in preparation for when they get older and getting to make new friends”

The cheerleaders also shared what they enjoy the most about cheerleading.

Andrade and Guarracino shared their appeal to cheerleading and why both girls decided to join it during her stay at Plymouth.

“I really like cheerleading because everybody is together and we show our teamwork,” said Andrade

Guarracino said “I like feeling close to the team and I feel that I give them strength.”

Strain and Cortes shared what they enjoy about cheerleading that reeled them back in for another year.

Strain said “Being able to do what I love”

“I really like performing for the crowd,” said Cortes.

The young cheerleaders intimidated the Raiders with their show of spirit and the night ended with a loss for the JV players with 33-36 and a win for the Varsity players with 53-29. The cheerleaders will host their next mini cheer clinic during the next football season.

On Friday January 19, 2018 was the last pep rally for the 2018 seniors. Pep Rallies are the favorite times to go all out and be crazy during school.

One of the main games played was a fashion show. John Mills was the model for the Senior Class.

Mills said “My favorite part of the pep rally it was fun to be in it and to be loud and compete in different competitions and against other grades, I will miss competing against other grades and cheering loudly to win.”

Junior Jenny Sommers said her favorite part of the Pep Rally was “Getting to dress up one of my peers and seeing all of our school come together.”

Sophomores came into the Pep Rally showing there call banner and telling us that they are going to “kick yo class”.

Class President Olive Staton said her favorite part about the pep rally was “My favorite part was getting the whole sophomore class involved by splitting our section in half when Mr. Mascot entered!“

The Rockie Wrestlers made their way to the NLC tournament and made themselves known. Out of 14 weight classes the Rockies took six to the finals and had three of them winning it. Placing second in the conference behind Northridge isn’t something to be ashamed of. Plymouth is known for their blue collar attitude in sports, and that’s what the wrestlers showed this past weekend. Senior Gavin Banks, the two time conference champ at the 145 weight class, explained how it felt Saturday to be there and to win it,

He said, “It was pretty exciting but expected. I knew nobody else there was near my level of wrestling so I just took it easy most of the day and giving some of the kids hope.”

Coach Bob Read, Hall of Fame head coach, has done amazing things with this program and still continues to do so. He spends hours and hours of the day looking for new ways to help out his wrestlers, and help them grow as people, not just as athletes. He was pleased with the results that were shown over the weekend.

Coach Read said, “We wrestled really well. It was a team effort!”

The undefeated wrestler with high expectations is only a sophomore. Running through everybody like they were children, Graham Calhoun did not give up one point to any of his opponents Saturday. Winning both years he has gone to conference so far, it does not look like he has any intention of slowing his pace down.

Calhoun said, “I just go out and have fun. Ever since I first started the sport, my dad always encouraged me to dominate my opponent to set the tone of who I was going to be. All of this is nice, but God is the real reason I’m able to do what I love and I am grateful for that everyday.