PHS Says goodbye

Sydney Cochran

PHS will not be the same without the teachers and staff who are leaving. No more life advice from Ms. Stephanie Wezeman or seeing the smiling face of Mrs. Downs in the office.

Mrs. Patty Downs, a treasurer, has been helping students for 20 years.

Mrs. Downs said, “I hope I made friends and made other people's life easier.”

Senior Mitch Rose said, "When I was a TA for Mrs. Schuler, Mrs. Downs would come visit and she says, "I had no idea you were smart!" I love that lady... also really love her turtles in her office."

Ms. Wezeman, an English teacher, has been working at PHS for 11 years.

Ms. Wezeman said, “I hope my students know that someone has cared about them, all of them, because I have.

Junior Meghan Ankney said “My favorite memory of Mrs. Wezeman is when she was singing a bunch of random songs and had the whole class singing.”

Ms. Lindsay Moore, a Computer Science, Elective Engineering and WSOI math teacher, has been working at PHS for five years.

Ms. Moore said, “My primary goal from day one has always been to help students grow into good people who are prepared for whatever their next step is.

Senior Edgar Garcia had Miss Moore for Freshman and Sophomore math. Garcia said, "She always brought a sense of humor to the class as she took the pain away from math."

Mrs. Gerard, Test Coordinator, is retiring. Her efforts running AP tests, ISTEP, and other exams will be missed.

Her son, Junior Matthew Gerard, said, "I am going to miss the extra support and someone to sign my permission slips when I forget."

Mr. Fishback will be retiring from his Guidance Counselor position. His daughter, Katy Fishback, said, "I feel like he brings a lot of positive energy towards the school, especially in WSOI."

These staff members as well as the others, will be dearly missed by the PHS students and the rest of the staff.

WSOI Graduation

Nicole Keller

Trust, respect, and responsibility are not only the words above the elevator in WSOI, but also the words that WSOI curriculum is based upon. In order to showcase the commitment that the WSOI at PHS class of 2019 have to these values, there was a celebration on Super Sunday. May 19,2019.

Mrs. Felke, Director of WSOI, gave a speech with the theme of #itsarelationshipbusiness, she explained that collaboration, agency, written communication, and oral communication formulates the necessary relationships to network and thrive in future endeavors.

The WSOI staff gave out a "Trust,Respect, and Responsiblity" award for students who went above and beyond when representing these qualities. Jack Garner was given the award of Trust.

Garner said, "For me, it was a testament to my academic progess I had made throughout high school. It was very validating for me to realize that my improved maturity and work ethic went noticed by faculty."

Daniel Stauffer was given the award of Respect. Stauffer said, "I have enjoyed being in WSOI throughout high school and to have my teachers choose me for the respect award really meant a lot. I'm thankful for all of the experience that I have had and for my teachers who have always supported me."

Parker Gamble was given the award of Responsibility. Gamble said, "I received the responsibility award. It was truly rewarding and fulfilling to see that teachers notice the work that students put into their classes, and I was truly heartened to be recognized in such a manner. "

Freshman Then vs. Now

Chloe Garner

Q: What has been your favorite experience this past year?

Zane Lark: Meeting a lot of new people and making new friends.

William Kingston: The pep sessions. The games were really fun and I enjoyed playing in the band.

Ella Bottorf: Getting to know new people, like upperclassmen.

Alexis Elsea: Improv Club

Q: What has been your biggest issue this year? How have you dealt with it?

Z: The transition from middle school to high school at the start of the year. As the year went on, I got more and more used to everything and it just became routine.

W: Getting used to and finding my way around the new school. A few days into the school year though, I started to figure things out.

E: The stress. I have dealt with this by being more organized and not procrastinating.

A: In the beginning, I was having some major troubles in my foreign language class, but I managed to get better by studying.

Q: What would you advise the incoming freshmen about next year?

Z: Don’t be scared about high school, just don’t worry.

W: Do all of your homework because it is a huge part of grades. Without doing homework, it is very hard to pass your classes.

E: It’s not as hard as you think it will be, if you do what you need to do. And just stay on everyone’s good sides, especially the upperclassmen!

A: Don't wait till the very last minute to do anything and definitely ask questions.

Senior Advice

Alivia Simpson and Alissa Knapp

While the seniors are getting ready to get out of high school, we begun to ask around for some evidence they would like to give freshman before they come into high school.

After years of trying new things and working hard, seniors have finally made it!

Senior Hailey Boal said, "Take freshman year seriously. Your freshman year really sets the pace for the rest of high school. If you're focused freshman year, you'll have your head on straight for the next three years."

Most seniors agree that you should use your time wisely in high school because it will be gone in the blink of an eye.

Senior Sydnee Smith said she enjoys, “being involved in athletics and making friendships because of that involvement.”

Seniors emphasized that high school drama is pointless, and advised that you get the negative people out of your life. They will bring you down and keep you from reaching your goals.

Hailey Boal said, “Once they were out of my life, I became a completely different person.”

Senior, Morgan Stevens said one thing she enjoyed the most about high school were the pep rallies. She said, “I loved creating the homecoming routines and performing them for the school, and I love coming together as a class to show school spirit.”

A Home Run Fundraiser

Kelsey Owen

The Plymouth Pilgrim Boys Baseball team hit a huge fundraising home run. They raised over $7,000 at their trivia night. This was their first ever year conducting this fundraiser.

To set the scene, the fundraiser took place in the Plymouth High School cafeteria with tables full of chattering people. There was a Ben’s Pretzel pop-up shop selling pretzels for $4. Also, there was a VIP table with Hacienda chips and salsa for the highest donors. Tables were set with popcorn and peanuts and the “‘concession”’ stand had chips, pops, and hot dogs.

Coach Ryan Wolfe said, “The players were responsible for getting a table. If that included getting a business to sponsor the table then great, but it was not expected to get a local business to sponsor. They were not required to get a certain amount of business donors, just get up to 10 people to have a table.”

The purpose of having a table of 10 was so that all teams could efficiently and competitively play trivia.

Even though the baseball boys did not have to get a local business sponsor, many of them still did, going above and beyond what was expected of them. Knowing this, 22 businesses sponsored the event. The businesses were ranked by how much they donated, the highest being placed in the World Series Club, then the Grand Slam Club, and lastly the Home Run Club.

Coach Wolfe said, “We were very blessed with many local businesses' donating to the event.”

Prom Ready 2019

Alivia Simpson

How easy is it to get ready for prom?

“ Getting ready for prom was really stressful because I was worried that I wouldn't be ready on time even though I had plenty of time. At the same time it was fun getting ready because of the people that I had with me.” Kylee Rios (10th)

“I'd say it is pretty easy to get ready for prom, but only if you are on a good schedule!:” Caden grove (11th)

“I wouldn’t say it is necessarily hard. I’d describe it more as stressful. There’s a million things you want to get done. Like your hair and then you have to take pictures at a certain time and then dinner at a certain time. So basically right from the time you wake up on prom day your busy. “ Taylor Mayor (10th)

“ The only hard thing about getting ready for prom is getting everything scheduled at a reasonable time to make it to pictures already!” Olive Stanton (11th)

What was your favorite thing to do at prom, why?

“ My favorite thing to do at prom was dance because I would've felt super weird if I wasn't dancing and everyone else was.” Caden Grove (11th)

“My favorite thing to do at prom was dancing with my friends because it was fun dancing and it was a bonus that it was with my friends.” Kylee Rios (10th)

“My favorite thing to do at prom was to just have a good time and dance with my friends and boyfriend” Taylor Mayor (10th)

“My favorite thing to do at prom is to see how good everyone else looks” Olive Stanton (11th)

Europe here they come

Grayson Meadors

PHS will soon say bon voyage to 33 students who have the privilege of traveling to Europe! They will be seeing London and visiting the Dover Castle and Normandy Region. They will also be seeing Paris, Florence and Rome. The students will journey to Europe for 12 days.

In London, all the students get to see Big Ben and Houses of Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, visit the Tower of London and even enjoy a theater performance. They also will be able to see the Dover Castle. After the castle they will ride a ferry over to Calais.

In Normandy Region the group will Visit the Caen Memorial, then they will see Pointe du Hoc, the american Cemetery in Colleville, Arromanches and Visit the D-Day beaches of Normandy. After Normandy the group of 33 will travel to Paris! The group will take a tour of the Latin Quarter, then they will tour the Louvre with an expert local guide.

Then with a expert local guide the group will see Place de la Concorde, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Hôtel des Invalides, the Eiffel Tower. Then the group will take a guided tour of Versailles and with their expert local guide you will see State Apartments, Hall of Mirrors, and the Gardens. Finally, the group gets a whole day to travel Paris by themselves and sightsee by themselves, then travel to Florence that night by train.

In Florence the group will take a guided tour to see Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio, Basilica of Santa Corce, Gates of Paradise and visit the Accademia Gallery. Then the group will travel to Rome to sightsee!

With a tour guide the group will see the Roman Forum and The Roman Colosseum. On the last day in Rome the group will Take a guided tour of Vatican City and with a tour guide the group will visit the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and enjoy their time to explore on their own.

Cultural School Systems

Mia Rachenzenter

You either love it or hate but you definitely need it. School is the basic element for everyone's education. But did you know that school around the world has a different importance as well as a different structure. Specifically, the United States and Europe differ greatly in their respective education systems.

Here are some interesting facts about each system you may or may not know!

While most Americans can enjoy the luxury of driving themselves to school because the driving age is 16, most Europeans take the public transports such as the train, bus or underground to get to school.

Fun fact: The legal driving age is 18 in most European countries. This fact shocked Sophomore Hayden Hopple who said, “Waiting two more years to get my license would be torture, it was even too long to wait until my 16th birthday! I really don’t know how European kids do that.”

Now, onto the actual school itself. There are many differences, both subtle and outright. One of the most striking differences is that you stay with the same group of twenty or so people for the entire day (and basically your entire school career).

In the U.S., once you get past elementary school, you switch classrooms, people, and teachers for each lesson. European students generally stay in the same room for the entire day, unless you have a specialized subject, such as a science or gym class. You have a ten minute break between each class, so you can move about then.

One big difference you do not have in most European schools is lunch! However Europeans do not starve. There are two main reasons for this. First, food is allowed during breaks. People eat when they feel like it.

Secondly, school days end early compared to America. They vary as well. Usually school ends around 2:00 PM or earlier and that’s when people eat lunch. And if days end later, you’ll usually have a free hour where you can go and get food.

hat leads to another difference which is the timetable. While U.S. schools are from 8am to 3pm, European schools start at 8 am and can end from 1pm to sometimes as late as 7pm.

Classes themselves are different as well. US schools let students take eight subjects, the majority of which you can choose. In Europe you have at least thirteen, and most are compulsory (except for religion, and you can choose a language, as well as an arts subject).

Subtle differences exist as well: Students stand when a teacher enters, and stay standing until the teacher instructs them to sit. Some schools also require “house shoes” (basically slippers) to keep the floors clean.

Extracurricular activities don’t exist either. Schools in Europe are also quite low tech, with blackboards and everything is handwritten, as opposed to my US schools which give each student a Laptop.

As you can see each country varies from another and school is not the same everywhere!

Blood Drive

Topanga Deon

Have you ever wanted to save a life? PHS hosted an annual blood drive for students age 16 or older. 85 students accumulated and a total of 82 units of blood were donated. Each unit saves three lives.

Senior Cassidy Holiday said,“I didn’t donate this year due to having PT for Air Force after school, but I’ve worked the blood drive for the past three years. The experience of working the blood drive encourages me to not only donate in the future, but to encourage others to donate because it could make a difference in someone else’s life.”

According to most hospital usage since 2014, every unit of blood is used to treat different medical conditions.

Junior Jennifer Torres said, “My experience donating blood has taught me the importance of maintaining a healthy ferritin level, the last two times I have donated I have had a low level. I hope to change this so I can keep donating in the future. I plan to donate as long as I can.”

The next opportunity to donate at PHS will occur in August! Thanks to the 33 new students who donated their blood this year! Remember each unit saves three lives.

HOSA

Bo Meadors and Sam Beckett

Juniors Sydni Weir, Erin Renneker and Jolie Koontz and Seniors Elizabeth Mendez and Gabby Ruiz all attended the Indiana State Conference HOSA in Indianapolis, IN. HOSA, also known as Future Health Professionals, or formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America, hosted this conference where students were able to learn and experience different healthcare fields and participate in interactive symposiums where they learned about different health related issues.

Junior Sydni Weir says “I really enjoyed meeting new people and exploring the many different types of healthcare fields that are available to me.”

Junior Erin Renneker says “HOSA was very beneficial in the fact that it gave me an insight on most occupations in the healthcare field. I got to experience real life situations regarding patient care. Overall, HOSA really expanded my knowledge on what's out there and how drastic the need for people in the medical field is.”

Senior Elizabeth Mendez says “Overall, HOSA was a very fun experience. As a group we went to a variety of expos and talks that were both interactive and informative. I learned about a variety of different opportunities in the health career field that I didn’t know were available for students my age. By getting to meet different students around the country who are also interested in medicine, I gained more knowledge that will help me in the future.”

Revisiting the Referendum

Chloe Garner

In the April issue, the tax referendum was discussed and explained. Voting on the referendum occured on May 7, and the community decided against granting PCSC an increase in taxes.

Senior Jack Garner, who owns one of the most active twitter accounts in our school, tweeted out before the elections, “I urge that you gather the facts on what the tax increase means to both your financial security and the betterment of our schools.”

While the Indiana government has indeed increased the money schools receive, most of the raise goes to charter schools- not public schools.

This has caused 10 schools in Indiana to request a referendum. 6 of these 10 referendums passed. Michigan also faced a similar situation, with every single requested referendum passing.

In the words of Junior Griffin Nate: “It all depends on whether we decide to make a change or not. It is up to our leaders to put academics ahead of athletics, teachers ahead of themselves, and focus on fiscal cutbacks to ensure a prosperous school corporation going forward.”

The corporation has lost their battle for extra community funding, so many cost-cutting methods will be put in practice next year. Change is coming, PHS, and it’s up to us to decide whether it’s good or not.

Ipads & PHS

Logan Faulstitch

Mr. Kindelan

Q: When will students get the iPads?

A: Students will get iPads next year at the beginning of school in early August.

Q: Where can they learn how to use iPads or practice using them before they need them for classes?

A: Students will train on their iPad as soon as they get them, but you will not be completely trained until after school starts in August. My feeling is that since most students at PHS are very tech-savvy anyway and iPads are very similar to iPhones, most of you will be experts within a couple of weeks after school starts.

Q: What program(s) will be used on iPads for school work? How do they work?

A: The programs on an iPad will be the same as what you used on your MacBook. The only new program I have heard about is Apple Classroom, which is a program designed for teachers and students to be able to have more direct access to lessons.

Mr. Waymouth

Q:What concerns or thoughts do you have about using iPads?

A: I like the flexibility for students iPads offer. They are smaller, more nimble, and less moving parts. Bluetooth connectivity for keyboard, airpods, microphones and such provides lots of possibilities. The ease at which students will be able to read, gather and take-in content will be better than traditional computers. Concern-wise long essays or writing pieces will be a challenge. Learning to key on the glass will be a skill students will need to learn.

Q: Will there still be computers to lend?

A: Yes! These will be loaned on a need-to-use basis.

Q:What program(s) will be used on iPads for school work? How do they work?

A: Apps for each of the following: Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, GarageBand and many more. Basically, all the same stuff we've been using!

La D'Zert Cafe

Grace Erdelyi

Are you looking for a new dessert to try? Well, look no further! La D’zert Cafe is here to save the day! La D’zert Cafe opened on Valentine's day in 2013. The cafe is locally owned and is operated by Stefanie Pippenger. The cafe is located at 203 N Michigan Street in Plymouth.

La D’zert is most known for their cupcakes. They have lots of flavors including Reese's Fudge Brownie, Salted Caramel, and Oreo Bomb. They also have a Flavor of the Month. May’s Flavor of the Month is Lemon Blackberry.

They also have a large variety of cakes, cookies, cheesecakes, and seasonal desserts.

They have recently come out with Cherry cheesecake lush for the summer. It is made out of graham crackers, cheesecake, homemade whipped cream, and cherries.

“I found out about La D’zert Cafe from a family friend. It’s been my favorite place to go to for deserts. Sometimes I’ll go after school and hang out with my friends,” said sophomore Rose Wallace.

La D’zert Cafe is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. They are also open on Saturday from 10:30 a.m to 4 p.m.

Juuling

Alissa Knapp

JUULING, the iPhone of E-cigarettes, essentially another vape encouraged to help regular cigarette smokers use alternate ways to quit smoking. However, it is actuality drawing in another crowd, and unfortunately that’d be 16-18 age groups!

68% of shared e-cigarettes are because of JUULING. 63% of young adults did not know that they product contains nicotine. And if you’re like senior, Olga Lozano Roldan, you didn’t even know they existed until recently!

How did JUULING become so popular amongst the younger crowd? The companies had targeted the younger adults by using models that would portray them as being the game changer and making the product seem like a must have!

The guest speaker, Moses Jones also brought up the misconceptions that the models in the photos just get paid to take photos of them acting as if they juul, when in actuality they may not even juul at all. When teenangers see the photos they assume they do it on a normal basis.

Mrs. Kruyer said, “I felt it was interesting how the companies targeted younger audiences and how the marketing works in that aspect, I also thought it was interesting how much is in one ‘pod’."

During the assembly, senior Bianca Jimenez said “that she liked that the guest speaker was humorous but also very detailed about the dangers of juuling.” She also added “cool dude.”

PHS benefited from the guest speaker coming into talking about the dangers and effects of JUULING because he made points that were both logical and humerous references from his childhood to lighten the mood, and as Mrs. Kruyer would say, "JUULING IS BAD."