Student Life

Fhs enjoys new construction

ELLY SCHAEFER

of The Flathead Arrow

The new school year felt extra new for Flathead High School students and staff when they returned in August because the remodel process was finished during the summer of 2019.

It was a long two-year wait after six months of planning and demolition followed 18 months of construction.

“I think the new addition is great because it makes the hallways less crowded and gives the school a better aesthetic,” junior Emma Wiegand said. “My first impression of the new addition was thinking how much the school looked like a college. My favorite part of the new addition are the new classrooms. The new addition provided a better flow of the school and classrooms.”

Students and staff got to enjoy 17 new classrooms.

“I think the new construction is a really nice addition to Flathead,” junior Marcella Mercer said. “It looks really good and my favorite part is the FHS symbol hanging on the wall by the new entrance. The new classrooms and gym look really nice and are out to good use with extra curriculars and normal classes.”

All told, 27,500 square feet of Flathead was demolished, including 10 classrooms, the staff lounge, lecture room, custodial work areas, and the little gym. The new addition added 47,997 square feet with 17 classrooms, a new gym, two new locker rooms, bathrooms, a coffee shop, conference rooms, a boiler room, and flex spaces.

“I really like the new addition,” senior Julia Wynne said. “There’s more space for hanging out and the flex rooms have been really useful for meetings. It is really nice and spacious. I like the big stairs by the coffee shop.”

For the most part, the new classrooms were filled with English, science, math, and social studies classes.

“I have a couple of classes in the new part of the school, and I really like my classrooms,” junior Mikayla Evans said. “I like the new addition a lot more than I thought I would. My favorite part is the coffee shop.”

Everyone enjoyed a new sense of cleanliness with the newness.

“The new addition is exciting,” junior Lucy Megerth said. “My favorite part is probably the study sections. I think the new classrooms are nice. They are really clean.”

During the year and a half of construction, teachers had to share classrooms and relocate all around FHS.

“The construction interrupted several of my classes, but not badly,” Wynne said. “Just three of my classes had to switch classrooms, but it all worked out and was super easy (for the students probably not as much for the teachers.)”

The fresh feel and look seems to have made the pains of moving out (for teachers) and random location of classes for students the past two years worth it.

“My freshman year, I had my English class on one of the half floors and had to move out of it about halfway through the school year,” Mercer said. “We got put into an art closet that was previously used for displaying students’ art and it is now the book room. It was small for my big class, but it is fun to know that I have been in every part of the school, old, currents, and new.”

High School students today… Who are they?

MADELEINE HOLMQUIST

of The Flathead Arrow

A survey conducted by the Flathead Arrow in December on Flathead High School students revealed some telling descriptions of teenagers.

Teenagers today are being collectively called the iGen, the generation between Millennials and GenZ. According to careerplanning.com, people born between 1998 and 2006 belong to this generation. Meaning, all people between 14- and 22-years old are lumped together into this nomenclature. Is that accurate?

Technology is a big part of society today. Smartphones have grown to be a part of humans in good and bad ways. People socialize, shop, play games, study, and entertain themselves--whether through reading or watching shows--more digitally than through experience with others in today’s world. Students not only use smartphones to more comfortably and confidently connect to people and build relationships through texts and emojis, but also use smartphones for academic purposes--from researching to playing Kahoot games.

Twenty-two students completed a 17-question survey that had students either agree or disagree with a phrase describing a characteristic of iGen. All surveys were completely anonymous, meaning no names were given.

Within the results, 100 percent of students agreed with four characters: Teenagers are 1) possibly more depressed than prior generations, 2) feel more lonely and not needed, 3) possibly have a higher suicide rate, and 4) more likely to use Instagram than Facebook.

“Social media makes things worse,” said one anonymous student in regards to feeling more lonely, depressed, and suicidal.

It was a little surprising how much more popular Instagram has become versus Facebook.

“Facebook is boring,” said one anonymous student.

“Facebook is slow,” said another.

The next most-telling survey results noted that 95.4 percent of students agreed that teenagers are likely to stay up until 2 a.m. using smartphones and social media.

“It’s easy to lose track of time,” said a student.

Three other descriptions had 90 percent of students agree with them: Teenagers are 1) less likely to read books and newspapers, 2) more likely to not believe in authority figures and church or government, and 3) have a heavy use of gaming.

“Yes, just yes,” said one student in regards to the heavy use of gaming.

“We dismiss authority figures because we are more rebellious,” said a student.

“We are influenced more by other people and social media,” said another.

In a juxtaposition, where students closely disagreed with survey characteristics, teenagers believe themselves to NOT be 1) more cautious and less risk taking and 2) delaying driving and getting into accidents. Students disagreed at a rate of 90 percent for being less risk taking and 81 percent for delaying driving.

Crime reports: nov. recap

BRIAN WADE

of The Flathead Arrow

A Flathead High School student used a teacher's email account and computer to send an inappropriate email to another teacher on Nov. 8 and was charged with violating the privacy and communications law and will attend youth court.

Flathead Arrow staff members meet with Kalispell Police Department School Resource Officer Dennis Bain every Wednesday to discuss Flathead High School’s crime reports.

In regards to the inappropriate email, there was a substitute teacher in the room and the student didn’t like two teachers. So, with the teacher gone, the student took the teacher’s laptop from their desk and brought it back to their desk to type and send the email. The email contained profane words and messages. Officer Bain said this was a way for this particular student to get back at teachers who set firm boundaries with him/her in the classroom.

“This is not the first instance of this student involving inappropriate behavior,” Officer Bain said.

The second week of November was eventful for Officer Bain.

A receiver hitch off the back of a truck was stolen from the parking lot on Nov. 8. It has not been recovered.

A vaping device, a Sourin, was confiscated on Nov. 12 when school activity equipment was returned and it was found in the equipment by faculty.

The first week of November was a light week for crime.

Two more bikes stolen from FHS campus, one stolen on Oct. 28 and the other on Nov. 5. That is now four bikes that have been stolen from FHS. The bikes were in different parts of the school. One on the northside and southside. One was locked, one was not.

“Don’t leave bikes overnight, over the weekend or without a lock,” Officer Bain said.

Two students received an MIP because of the possession of alcohol on Nov. 15. One student will attend youth court and the other will go to CRYJ.

To go along with that, there was another Vape confiscation on Nov. 21, but no charge could be made because the vape was not in physical possession of a student. It was found under a trash can in the bathroom.

A theft was reported; money was stolen from a locker room on Nov. 7. As well as a stolen phone on Nov. 22 and a backpack from a truck on Nov. 21. The phone has not been found yet, but the backpack was found on Dec. 2.

crime report: bullying, bikes and booze

BRIAN WADE and DEVIN CROWELL

of The Flathead Arrow

Flathead Arrow staff members meet with Kalispell Police Department School Resource Officer Dennis Bain every Wednesday to discuss Flathead High School’s crime reports. Here is what’s been reported:

An FHS student was cited for theft of a hat from Big Sky Sunglasses in the Kalispell Center Mall during school hours on Oct. 7.

An FHS student was cited for a minor in possession on campus on Oct. 2. Two students were caught with alcohol. They were caught by an off campus officer while skipping class. The students were breathalyzed, which determined they had been drinking. Both students will attend youth court.

A bullying case involving Glacier and Flathead high school students was reported on Oct. 1 however the incident began back on Sept. 27. They were each posting mean things about each other. Then the Glacier student posted a video threatening the flathead student, which got the SRO involved. The Glacier student has had a history of online harassment and since she had already been warned three times before, she was charged with violating the privacy in communications law. Since being reported the student has no continued this type of activity.

Two bikes were stolen from the FHS campus on Oct. 12. This brought the total number of stolen bikes to four. One bike was taken from right outside the weight room and the other was taken by the bus pickup on the northside. Both had locks on them and one was left over the weekend while the other was left overnight. The thief was wearing a skull bandana and “doesn't seem to be a student,” Bain said. In the security camera footage, the thief turned his back to the camera, and “most likely picked the lock or cut it,” Bain said.

Two fender benders in the parking lot of Flathead High School were reported on Oct. 15 and Oct 16. The damage was minor in both incidents.

Theft off campus on Sykes Market involving Flathead High School freshmen stealing food on Oct. 10.

Another online bullying case was reported. This time between Flathead students. “I usually bring both parties in and tell them to leave each other alone and most of the time they do,” Bain said. One student created an Instagram page and posted mean things about other students, which violates the privacy and communications law. This was not the first incident of inappropriate online use for the particular student.

Bike Thief steals four bikes in two weeks

BRIAN WADE and DEVIN CROWELL

of The Flathead Arrow

Warning to all students who ride bikes to school: Do not leave your bikes overnight as there is a very high chance that it will be stolen.

Four student bikes were stolen in the nighttime hours from the Flathead High School campus from Oct. 27 to Nov. 9 by an unidentified suspect.

FHS School Resource Officer Dennis Bain said the thief stole bikes that were left overnight and none of the stolen bikes have been found yet.

Bain said the bikes stolen were a mix of locked and unlocked. The thief found a way to get off the bike lock, which is why all students need to make sure they take their bikes home overnight and over the weekend.

2019 Northwest Montana College Fair

BRIAN WADE

of The Flathead Arrow

Fifteen high schools from around Northwestern Montana packed themselves into the Flathead High School gym on Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Western Montana Region College Fair to gain information about a wide range of post-high school opportunities around the country.

The college fair rallied in a total of 84 different stations. The stations ranged from the Management and Training Corporation Job Corps to the University of San Diego, as well as some branches of the military.

Compared to last year’s college fair, there were 14 more stations. Since the Northwest was the last region of Montana to host the college fair visits, a few schools tagged along towards the end. Butte, Helena, Missoula, Hamilton, and Polson already hosted their fairs.

“It's a pretty well-oiled machine,” FHS’s Career Center Manager Mr. Michael Kelly said.

At every stand was a different college or post graduation possibility.

There were one to two representatives from each college or organization who gave a brief rundown on what their place has to offer, and why students should attend.

There was no slump of students either, Mr. Kelly said an estimated 1,200 students from around the region attended.

The college fair was an opportunity to make leading up to post-high school life less stressful and more accessible.

“I want to help (students) navigate without them going crazy,” Mr. Kelly said. “I encourage them to come to me and ask questions.”

Students balance work, school

MADELEINE HOLMQUIST

of The Flathead Arrow

Students of Flathead High School must balance school work, extra curricular activities, family and friends, social lives, and often even a job. Some students hold a job through the summer and let their job go during school, while others have a full time summer job and part time through the school year.

Senor Syvanna Major worked at the Shopko in Evergreen before it closed, working five to eight hours each night as a cashier and stocker, among other things.

“It was crazy, just trying to get from school to work right after,” Major said. “I had a job so I could save for a car. After that it was mainly for gas money and insurance.”

Some students know friends with a job and see the difficulties and see the experiences that stress their friends who are trying to find a balance between work and school.

Senior Kirya Henderson said she doesn’t like that some of her friends are always stressed over work and that she does not want to have a job in high school. But, soon, she realizes she will need to apply for a job to pay for things like college and her truck.

“I don’t think kids should have jobs while still in school,” Henderson said.

When kids are working while in school, there are benefits and risks. Employment teaches teenagers about budgeting and time management, but having a job means having to do homework late at night. Students could even overcommit themselves, trying to make more money, who may not yet be proficient with time management.

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