Grafton Globe Newspaper
Winter 2020 Edition
As you may have seen around the halls, the English department decided to host a can drive, with the numbers pasted on the English-room windows.
This can drive was the first one that the English department has hosted, however it was still full of excitement and competition. The English Can Drive was started by Mrs. Davey along with some other students. She told us, “We noticed that during the homecoming week that some of the collections have been down, so we thought this would be a nice time of year to get student motivated to help out… and focus on giving.” Mrs. Davey and the students plan to donate the cans and non-perishables to the Grafton Food Bank. She hopes that “anyone who needs food can feel comfortable going and getting food that they want to eat.” And the results of the can drive definitely support this. There was an extremely large variety of foods donated, such as soup cans and even instant ramen. Because of this variety, many people will be able to choose healthier options or foods that they really enjoy. Some people may be just given a bag of random cans and non-perishables. However, with the large variety our school donated, the goal of everyone receiving healthier, more enjoyable foodstuffs for the Thanksgiving season will be met. The can drive not only brought in a lot of variety, but also a lot of donations in general. The can drive brought in a total of 1,039 items in total. Mrs. Davey said she did not expect this many items to be donated. She wasn’t even sure how the can drive would go, and she expressed extreme gratitude at the number of donations. For the winning class, Ms. Grip’s Period 6 class, a pizza party was provided for them donating of over 200 items altogether. However, we were curious as to if the pizza party prize would take away from the true meaning of donating to the can drive. And the simple answer from Mrs. Davey is no. She believes that since we are providing food to be donated anyways and that the classes worked together to think about that. “Yes, it’ s about the pizza but all the teachers have emphasized that it’s more than just the pizza. It’s actually doing something good.” Even if your class didn’t win, Mrs. Davey hopes that you feel satisfied with what you with working and what you have done together as a class with one singular goal.
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Schoology has been a very controversial topic since last year. Only some students used this program in some classes, while others used Google Classroom. This year, almost every class uses schoology. This has brought about many debates on whether schoology helps us stay organized or makes us feel more stressed out to submit assignments on time. I interviewed 3 students about their take on Schoology and how it has been working for them. Here’s what they had to say.
Q1: What are 2 adjectives that you would use to describe Schoology? Interviewee A: Difficult, but helpful. Interviewee B: Somewhat confusing, but helpful. Interviewee C: Organized and fun. Q2: How many of your classes use Schoology? Interviewee A: All of mine do. Interviewee B: Seven. Interviewee C: All of them. Q3: Has Schoology helped you feel more organized? If so, how? Interviewee A: Yes, the teachers put different subjects in folders. There is a calendar to see what goes on to help stay on top of things. Interviewee B: Not really, because it makes me feel pretty stressed and overwhelmed with all of the things I have to do. I always forget to turn in my assignments. Interviewee C: I like that the teachers put different units in color coded folders and we can see on the home page what is due the next day to help manage my time. There are, however, some teachers that do not organize their classes and that can be very annoying. Q4: Do you prefer Google Classroom over Schoology? Interviewee A: I liked Google Classroom, but I think Schoology is better for us high schoolers to prepare for college. Interviewee B: I used to prefer Google Classroom, but now that I have gotten used to using Schoology, I like Schoology more. Interviewee C: No, I definitely like Schoology more because there are a lot more features. Q5: What resource do you use to upload your assignments to Schoology? Interviewee A: I use Notability to upload my assignments to all of my classes. Interviewee B: I use Notability but sometimes I use the Google Drive resource app. Interviewee C: I use Google Drive and send a copy of my assignments to Schoology that way. Q6: What is your favorite thing about Schoology? Interviewee A: I like looking at the calendar to help me see what I have to do. Interviewee B: You can easily see you grades under the “grades/attendance” tab and the updates on your classes show up on the home screen. Interviewee C: Under the “recent activity” you can see what events are going on at our school and the weekly updates are always there at your convenience. Q7: What is your least favorite thing about Schoology? Interviewee A: You can’t use split screen on your iPad(split screen allows for two different applications to be open. Only certain apps are compatible with split screen). Interviewee B: You can’t use split screen unless you go through the website, but that takes a long time and it takes a while to upload screenshots. Interviewee C: The split screen doesn’t work. Q8: Would you recommend Schoology to other schools that are looking to implement this type of program for the staff and students? Interviewee A: Yes, because I think it is a great resource for all students to use. Interviewee B: I would, because I like that you can even interact with your teachers and they can post updates to inform us students on when things are due. Interviewee C: I think this program is great for all types of schools. It is a very powerful app and has everything in one place. If you have any questions about anything relating to Schoology, you can always ask one of your teachers or email tech support at [email protected] The fall play is just around the corner on Friday, October 16th and Saturday, October 18th at 7PM, and Sunday, October 19 at 2PM.
TURKEY. PIE. MASHED POTATOES. PUMPKIN SPICE.
What’s the first thing that came to mind when you read those words? For most people, it’s Thanksgiving. Ah, that glorious time of year where you can kick back, relax and enjoy the perks of the holidays. Can you feel that crisp apple air, smell the soft cinnamon toned lattes and see the iconic light brown Uggs already? I sure can. Turkey Day started in 1621 in Plymouth Plantation. The Pilgrims had asked the Native Americans to join them in a feast that celebrated a great growing season The year prior, a cold winter and a lack of crops for food led to half the deaths of the Pilgrims. 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoags feasted for 3 days. The Wampanoag Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to grow plants such as squash, corn and beans and catch fish. Ironically, turkey wasn’t on the menu that night. Instead, they had birds, lobster, deer and fish. They ate all this with only spoons and knives because forks weren’t invented yet! Sarah Hale, who wrote ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ convinced President Lincoln to make Thanksgiving an official holiday, which happened 200 years after the first. It almost became the National Bird instead of the Eagle because Benjamin Franklin wanted it. Turkey Facts! 46 million turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving in the USA. Male turkeys gobble, female turkeys cackle. A 12 week old turkey is called a fryer-roaster. Big Bird on Sesame Street’s suit is made of a turkey’s rear end feathers that are dyed yellow. Sesame Street is extremely picky about the feathers and rejects 9/10 of the feathers from the company they get their suit from. Butterball has a Turkey Talk-Line hotline for people who want to ask questions or talk about turkeys. Call at 1-800-288-8372 Turkeys run at 25 mph and fly at 55 mph. The sixth annual No Stomach for Cancer Walk is going to be the most eventful one yet— with speakers, raffles and food! In 2010 it was officially declared that November is Stomach Cancer Awareness Month. This walk is run by Mrs. Lambert, who has personal ties to the cause. She worked on the board of directors to help create the month and she was also the first to have a Stomach Cancer Walk, which she has now been sponsoring since 2012. Each year, two seniors co-chair the event. This year's seniors are Nelson Allen and Jessica Guertin.
The walk itself is totally free of charge. It will be held on Saturday, November 4th from 1-4 p.m. at the GHS track. This year, the No Stomach for Cancer Walk is coupled with a wellness fair, complete with guest speakers at the GHS libraries. A gastroenterologist and an oncologist are among the seven speakers scheduled to present. Each speaker will talk for 10 minutes and take five minutes for questions. Topics such as self-care, emotional and physical health, and having a career in nursing will be discussed. Everyone can take something out of the walk, whether they have been personally impacted by cancer or not. People can listen and learn more about how this affects people and their lives with stomach cancer. People aren’t just spreading awareness when they come, but also gain knowledge for how to help in the future. There are other walks like this one. You can also go to other fundraisers to help spread awareness. There’s a whole lot to say about the effects of stomach cancer. People are affected, both mentally and physically, living with effects of cancer even after beating it. GHS welcomes you to come and stay as long as you can. There’s so much to do and learn. There will be raffles, giveaways, and food available at the walk. We hope the experience teaches people about the importance of being aware. We also hope people learn about stomach cancer and its effects. See you there! It’s not often a high school football team gets a Division 1 collegiate talent like Ifeatu Melifonwu. But after playing a massive role in a Division 4 district championship in 2015 and leading the team to a state finals appearance in 2016, Melifonwu graduated. He now plays for the Syracuse Orange football team.
Grafton has now been forced to find other options to generate the same success that dominated opponents the last two seasons. Coach Chris McMahon, however, has faith that the team will do so. “No matter who graduates, it’s an opportunity for other players to step up,” said McMahon. “Every year you’re going to lose quality players. That’s how it goes. We look at it as an opportunity for kids to step up and play, and kids have done that.” Play they have. Through the regular season, Grafton has played to a 6-2 record. Thanks to a five-game winning streak to close out the season, Grafton has clinched the second seed and a home game in the playoffs. Ifeatu Melifonwu rushed for almost 1,900 yards in 2016, a void difficult for one player to fill. To make the task a bit easier, the team has turned to multiple running backs in Ethan Farrah, Jackson Sonnett and Connor Driscoll. Sonnett leads the team with 592 rushing yards through seven games. Farrah, however, has done his part, carrying the ball for 545 yards, and Driscoll rounds out the trio with 315 yards on the ground. While there’s been a change at the running back position, the exact opposite is the case for the offensive line. “We have all five guys [offensive linemen] back from last year,” said McMahon. “We have some key backups who have done a nice job of filling in. Our offense is based around what our offensive line is able to do. We’ve been fortunate, the last two years, to have the same five guys.” “We’ve been real lucky. The offensive line has been great.” Many teams set a goal coming into the season. Whether that goal is to make the playoffs, win Districts, or even the state final at Gillette Stadium, there’s generally a season-long objective in mind. To McMahon, however, worrying about games far away on the schedule takes away from one’s focus on the upcoming contest. “Every season, we have the same sort of mindset,” said McMahon. “We go day-by-day. We want to have a great practice, we want to have a great session in the weight room, we want to win the next scheduled game… We think that by doing that, everything will take care of itself in the end.” “We want to win. We want to compete and we want to win.” The team has played hard in every game it has played in this fall. The two games in which Grafton was on the losing end were its two toughest of the season, against teams in a division above Grafton. But the intense work ethic with which Grafton executes practices and games is what has the team in the thick of the battle for the Central Massachusetts championship, believes McMahon. “We like the old axiom of ‘hard work pays off.’ It doesn’t always guarantee things, but it puts you in a place where you’re more likely to be successful,” said McMahon. “We want our kids to be tireless when it comes to work ethic.” Grafton will play Marlboro in the opening round of the playoffs at home Friday, November 3rd at 7:00 p.m., in the hunt to win a third consecutive district title. The train station was slightly quieter than it was on most Mondays. Well, “busy” for this train station meant a train or two might roll in with almost filled carts, but today, Celeste hadn’t seen any train yet. Sure, it was only about nine in the morning, but at least she had hoped to hear the sound of some train’s horn in the distance. She had waited for a while—at least an hour or two by now—yet she was still as observant and anxious of the tracks’ contents as when she had arrived. She knew coming early and staring at the tracks like this wouldn’t make his train come faster, yet she still felt compelled to by some sort of power. It was probably because it was him and ever since that day—No, she told herself, she would think about those days now. He was coming back, now wasn’t the time to take those sentimental steps back to the old days, when they had both decided to go their separate ways—him to the city for work and her to college in town. Celeste knew she shouldn’t think of the past, yet she still ended up smiled as she reminisced about her childhood years.
Celeste had always been that one shy bookworm in the class, no matter how she aged. She was indulging into new books all the time, anytime. By sixth grade, she had already read classics that some of her high school upperclassmen hadn’t even heard of before. However, during elementary school, Celeste hadn’t really formed any strong friendships because of her reserved personality, and even during recess she preferred to stay in the school library to find something to read alone. However, once he entered her life, she had changed. Celeste started to spend lots of time playing with him, and even reading with him. They often strolled by the seaside path lined with the prettiest arrangement of trees that she had ever seen. Especially in the fall, as it was then, when the adorned trees’ red and orange leaves always rustled and fell with grace, covering the path in a blanket of leaves. It was absolutely perfect when they could be carefree and spend entire afternoons playing and meander there. However, once high school started, life got to both of them. Of course they could occasionally stroll and talk, but the twosome never really talked meaningfully. And then of course-- In the midst of that thought, the horn of a train signalling its arrival rung, and she looked over to her right side, where the train would enter the station. She checked her watch. “9:45am”. Over half an hour late. It was alright though because as longer as he was here, she would be happy. She watch the train passengers get off, one by one, with great fascination. A man with two young kids around four or five years old, a dark skinned woman lugging an oversized backpack, and another woman wearing a business uniform and talking on the phone all exitted. Then, she saw him. His most notable feature was his naturally platinum blonde hair, which contrasted with Celeste’s own long and dark brown hair. However, his haircut had changed significantly since she last saw him, from short spiked-up hair to his hair being shaved back except for the top, which was long and styled somewhat messily. Yet she knew for a fact it was definitely him. He had always been the athletic type in school, so naturally he was extremely well-built, and appeared to still be working out even now. His bright eyes, which were hazel in color, and his tanned skin appeared to be the same as before, yet still as attractive as she had remembered. He was wearing a pretty casual outfit—a light, black, unzippered jacket revealing a white graphic tee, accompanied by ripped jeans and a pair of running sneakers. Celeste had worn her black glasses, of course, and a light beige turtleneck sweater with a necklace with a charm that looked like the moon, some black leggings and dark brown boots. She had decided to curl her hair slightly as well, and left it down as per usual. Without hesitation, she left her belongings on the bench and ran up to the taller blonde, who had just gotten off of the train. She embraced him for a moment, then pulled back. “Hey, it’s been a while, Sol. How are things in the city?” she followed up excitedly. Sol looked Celeste in the eyes and smiled. “Pretty good, and in town?” “You should know,” she mocked sarcastically. “Nothing at all, like usual. Some new stores have popped up and they did some things to clean up the park, I think, but that’s irrelevant now since you’re here. I wanna talk about you, now the town.” Celeste’s comment made Sol laugh a little, and this time he went in for the hug, Celeste wrapped her arms around him, too. Then, they both separated and Celeste lead Sol over to her small drawstring that she had left on the bench. “What would you like to do, Sol? I have all day today to hang out with you, so I was thinking we could do lunch at the cafe you used to like a lot,” Celeste asked with a chipper voice. Sol thought for a moment. “That would be perfect. Then, maybe we should go walk around town so I can really see what’s changed. You know it’s been over three years now since I’ve last visited so I think a little bit more than a few shops and the park changed.” “You should know I’m just excited to see you again,” Celeste pouted, then chuckled. The two smiled at each other and, to Celeste, the time spent staring into his bright eyes felt almost eternal. Then Sol broke the silence. “Here, I’ll take your bags and we can be off, alright?” “O- Of course,” Celeste stammered, still lost in thought. “Thanks Sol.” Sol grinned and gave Celeste a thumbs up, “It’s no problem.” He pulled the backpack’s straps over his shoulder and started to walk ahead. Celeste gazed at his figure, larger than how he had last been engraved in her mind, but it was still definitely the Sol that had been her best friend for so many of her childhood years. After a moment of reminiscing, she ran up to Sol and the two continued to converse as they exited the train station together. Once upon a time, in the deepest of the infuriating woods, there lived a family of five. A mother and father named their three triplet girls Hanley, Guinevere and Mary. Much of their life couldn’t and didn't revolve around nice suppers and gatherings where food skyrocketed on their plates. They had little to munch on when they were hungry and given half of a loaf of bread daily to conserve. The mother and father cared for their children. They wanted so badly to fend for the children, then themselves. The mother explained daily: ‘Husband, have we enough food for the children this evening? They barely ate a thing yesterday.’ ‘I hadn’t got any coins.’ The father examined his pocket. ‘The three were up in their room, Hanley clenched her bony hand raising a solution for them to escape. ‘Why should we keep with this nonsense of hunger and pain, if they can’t even take of their own children?’ ‘I’ll tell you what to do, let’s get out of here, go into the town and beg for food!’ Answered Mary. ‘Do we agree for midnight this evening?’ Questioned Guinevere. All three of their faces light up when they said ‘yeah.’
Midnight rose from the day and the woods were dark with shadows on their path. The three snuck from the loose door of the wooden house and made their way to the town. Mary was getting scared of the dark when she said: ‘What if we get lost?’ ‘It wouldn’t be bad if we did, why would you want to go back there?’ Hanley cried out. ‘Well we need somewhere to sleep you know, preferably a bed.’ Guinevere protested: ‘Did anyone bring the bread crumbs?’ ‘Bread crumbs… you think I would have bread crumbs considering the amount of bread we get in a day?’ Hanley screamed out. They followed the trail further, the night was lurking on them. Too tired to keep going, they rested off the path to catch their breath. There wasn’t much of anything, except the whistling sound of the wind against the trembling trees, and the animals that expressed their talking to one another. But, a glowing structure that portrayed a house made out of unlimited amounts of gumdrops, gingerbread, candy canes, and illuminating frosting to hold it all together. The girls couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the fantasy that was just in front of them. Hanley, with widen eyes shouted: ‘wha…what is that? Is that someone’s house? And is it made all out of candy?’ ‘It seems so. Let’s check it out!’ Mary replied. ‘We shouldn’t, it isn’t our house, we can’t just invite ourselves in.’ Guinevere explained. ‘Come on, I think a nice person lives here, I mean they have to be sweet.’ Hanley insisted. The three girls approached the house, and revealed the door to be cracked open. The lights were out and the house remained still with the sweet smell of assorted candy. Hanley flicked the light switch and the room presented itself of a candy wonderland. Every bit of the house was made of candy. Immediately, they jumped to the conclusion to stuff their dying faces with fulfillment of sweets until their hunger was satisfied. Hours passed, the door began to unlock itself. A creature rising only three feet tiptoed toed through the room. In a high pitched voice he screamed: ‘Well who may you girls be? Breaking into my house at this hour of the night.’ Without hesitating, Guinevere said: ‘oh we are so sorry mr. Elf. I told them that this wasn’t a good idea. You see, we escaped our parents because they don’t feed us. We were going towards the town to beg for food.’ ‘Don’t you worry sweethearts, you get extra treatment when you enter here.’ The elf snickered. The elf prepared beds for the three girls. The beds were hard almost like sleeping on the floor. He supplied the girls with button-down dresses and red ribbon to put up their hair. Hours have gone by, as the girls fell fast asleep. The room was getting hot, almost boiling. The girls squirmed from the uncomfortableness of the heat, then slowed to one spot on the bed. It was the next day, the elf was outside carrying three fresh gingerbread women to decorate his front yard for the season. The house was silent once more and one of the gingerbread women shed a frosted tear almost like it was human… |
Grafton Globe NewspaperStudent created articles in a student run digital newspaper. CategoriesArchives
February 2020
CategoriesHumans of Grafton High |