Tuesday, September 20, 2022 Edition 4
Around Town
Travels with Frank
By Frank Gilbert
Yesterday I went to Green Valley. It’s a place in West Terre Haute where you can fish and drive your boat. It’s a small park with trails to ride in behind it. I always take my dirt bike on them. You can have deer stands, but it has to be at certain times of the year. In spring, mushroom hunting is permitted. You’re not allowed to swim or have any type of gas powered boat in the water; everything has to be battery operated. If you go towards the dock, There’s a dirt path that takes you to a big yard, but it’s gated. Across the field is a waterfall you can stand on and look down. Across from Green Valley, there’s another lake connected. It’s called John Scott Lake and you will see a ton of snapping turtles. There’s not a lot of spots to fish, but you will catch something easily. If you haven’t been to Green Valley you should try it.
The History of Stained Glass
By Red Bell
Stained glass was believed to originate from the Middle East as a way to bring light into buildings even with the buildings completely closed. Stained glass was once used by the Romans and Egyptians, who shared their art of stained glass, which eventually led to stained glass being used in Cathedral Churches, who were the only ones who could afford stained glass, they had the most money. Churches used lead wiring (back then no one knew lead wiring was toxic) to create panels for the stained glass, these panels separated the glass into sections, that way if the window were to break, it would only break at that panel, and be easier and more affordable to replace. The stained glass windows were always biblical references, such as Jesus’s Last Supper, Garden of Eden, Virgin Mother Mary, etc.
An architect named Frank Floyd Wright who made unique shaped buildings started making geometric stained glass in the 1900’s for houses, schools, and museums. The difference between his stained glass and previous designs were his were see-through, they were made to be actual windows, while Cathedral Churches had stained glass you couldn’t see through. Nowadays, geometric shaped stained glass is inspired by Frank Floyd Wright, who sadly passed away in 1973.
This article was inspired by an assignment I did in Mrs. Lindsay’s geometry class which sparked my interest, especially since I used to do little stained glass pieces back in middle school, so I figured I’d share this history with everyone. (Thank you Mrs. Lindsay, if you read this!)
September Holidays
By Audrey Evitts and Emma Barbour-Morley
I bet you all know those weird national holidays such as “wear a hat day” and “collect rocks day”. Well, let me tell you the national holidays for September! I hope you celebrate these crazy days for fun! Sept 12 National Chocolate Milkshake Day. Milkshakes were made in 1922 by a Walgreens employee in Chicago! The National Day of Encouragement is also on September 12th.
Sept 13: Fortune Cookie Day. Fortune cookies represent luck and fate.
Sept 14: National Cream Filled Donut Day
Sept 15: National Grilled Cheese Day
Sept 16: National Play Doh Day. The Hasbro Company made it a holiday for their 50th anniversary in 2006.
National Collect Rocks Day
Sept 17:International Red Panda Day
Sept 18: National Cheeseburger Day
Sept 19: International Talk Like a Pirate Day
Sept 20: National Pepperoni Pizza Day
National Punch Day
Green Valley
Top 5 for Fall
By Brionna Myers
I know many of us have been waiting for fall and now it’s finally right around the corner! Here are some events that are coming up to look forward to in fall. The first official day of fall is on September 22nd.
- Seasonal drinks and foods. All of the yummy seasonal treats that we were waiting for will be finally back in stores and restaurants. For all of the pumpkin spice fanatics you better get ready!
- The leaves change into beautiful red, yellow and orange colors. Which is great to enjoy while outside or to get pictures to capture the moment.
- Cooler weather and no more miserable hot weather! Cooler weather will be perfect for long sleeves, flannel, and hoodies. Do you prefer hot or cold weather?
- Halloween, all the Halloween and spooky fans out there better get ready for Halloween! It is coming up on October 31st. Will you be dressing up for Halloween? Do you like Halloween for the candy or all of the spooky stuff or maybe both? Halloween will be on October 31st.
- The Covered Bridge Festival which will be on October 14-23. The festival is a great place to go with friends and family with all kinds of fun activities, food, crafts for sale, and live entertainment.
These are just a few of the things we can look forward to in fall!
Sept 21: American Chess Day
National Chai Day
International Day of Peace
Sept 22: First day of Fall! (Fall Equinox)
White Chocolate Day
National Ice Cream Cone Day
Elephant Appreciation Day. We should appreciate elephants everyday!
Sept 23: Checkers Day
Dogs in politics day. On September 23rd, 1952, Richard Nixon used television to speak to 60 million viewers. He called it “Checkers Speech” after his dog. Ever since, almost all presidents have owned a pet.
Sept 24: International Rabbit Day
National Hunting and Fishing Day
Sep 25: National Comic Book Day
Sept 26: National Pancake Day
Sept 27: National Chocolate Milk Day
National Scarf Day. It makes sense, the chilly seasons are coming to us!
Sept 28: Ask a Stupid Question Day (my personal favorite of this month)
Sept 29: National Coffee Day We all need a cup of coffee during the chilly seasons, just like how we need scarves.
Sept 30: National Chewing Gum Day What’s your favorite kind?
The Pressures of Being a Student-Athlete
By Sara Callecod
I have been a member of the cross country team for the past four years. I have loved being a runner and making new friends. If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose to do cross country, but I would have also prioritized myself more. In high school, there is all of this pressure to get perfect grades and to take the hardest classes. If you want to take an easier course like regular algebra two compared to advanced algebra two, you’re told that you won’t be prepared for college. When I was told that I wouldn’t be prepared for college if I didn’t take the hardest classes and would potentially fail in life, that caused me to freak out internally, and I ended up taking mostly hard classes. Last year when I was a junior, was by far the worst year of high school. Last year I would be lucky to get to bed by 1:00 am. If I had a cross country meet, most of the time, I would have to stay up until 3:30 am to do homework or to study for other tests I had, so I would only get three hours of sleep that night. I believe that students should be given homework because you learn the material that way, but it’s the amount of homework that is overwhelming.
Last year I was taking a class before I had to drop it because of all the work. The teacher would assign hours of homework each night, and the homework wouldn’t be over the same material in class. When I asked for help, I felt like I wasn’t really getting the help I needed. I take school very seriously and strive to get straight As, so when I had this class, my mental health took a deep dive, and I eventually had to drop the class because I couldn’t keep up with it and my other classes.
During the rest of my classes that year, I truly felt like I learned something and that in college, I would be able to handle the stress of classes better, but I wish I had been able to enjoy my junior year. At cross country practice, I would check out and not want to be there because I was worried about completing my homework. All this stress led me to absolutely hate cross country that season because I felt like it was a waste of time and that I needed that time to do my school work. Even on weekends when I had races, I dreaded it because I knew that as soon as I got home that there was homework, I needed to do. Eventually, my stress started physically manifesting into full-blown panic attacks, or I would be so stressed that I physically couldn’t do anything except for sleep. I also started scratching my face and arms to cope with the stress because I didn’t know how else to deal with it, and if you tell others that you are struggling, they just tell you to suck it up and get over it.
I know that I could have just gone to bed earlier on school nights, but if I did, I wouldn’t have been able to get my homework done, and I wouldn’t have gotten an A on the test I had the next day. Student-athletes like myself are expected to be perfect by many people. You constantly have people telling you “Well, why didn’t you get a better grade on this test?” or “Why didn’t your team win?” or “Why didn’t you run faster?” When you feel like the whole world is on your shoulders, expecting you to be perfect, it starts getting to you. At the end of my junior year, I had straight As and was ranked 2nd in the class, but I spent 95% of my junior year miserable, and the other 5% when I was happy was when it was Christmas and Thanksgiving break when I didn’t have school work to do. Come back next week to read about what it’s like being a student-athlete from the perspective of Preston Montgomery.
COVID-19 Now
By Darcee Garrett
Do you remember what happened in 2020? COVID -19 had taken over our school year and we all got sent home. If you had to think about it, what all has gone on since COVID started? COVID has changed the way we do everything. The way we live our daily lives. From going to schools to stores. These last few months, COVID hasn’t been a big topic of discussion. After the low reports on COVID we stopped worrying about it as much as we did before. Now you can walk into your school and stores without wearing a mask at all. You now can go to football games and school events such as dances and mixers. Everything has gotten better. Mutations of the virus are getting weaker and our immune systems have gotten stronger. Maybe at the end of this everything will go back to how it was before!
Mr. Easton while saying good bye to students while quarantined, 2020.
Canva image created by Sierra Sinders
Top 5 Ways to Improve your Mental Health
By Alivia Weir
~ Connecting with other people
Forming good friendships can help you build a sense of belonging
and self worth. It gives you an opportunity to share positive
experiences. It provides emotional support and allows you to support
others.
Forming good friendships can help you build a sense of belonging
and self worth. It gives you an opportunity to share positive
experiences. It provides emotional support and allows you to support
others.
~Learning new skills
Focusing on new activities can be a great distraction from
problems going on around you but don’t ignore them forever. It can
be a confidence boost and build a sense of purpose. Some activities
can help you connect with others that may be having similar
problems.
~ Being physically active
Being physically active can raise your self esteem and be a
confidence boost. Staying active can help you set goals or challenges
and achieve them. Being active can cause chemical changes in your
brain which can positively change your mood.
~ Take care of your body and mind
Eating nutritious meals and drinking plenty of water can make you
feel more confident and feel better about yourself. Treat yourself
with kindness and respect and avoid self criticism or putting yourself
down. Try avoiding smoking or drinking. People use alcohol and other
drugs to “self-medicate” but in reality, alcohol and other drugs only
aggravate problems.
Eating nutritious meals and drinking plenty of water can make you
feel more confident and feel better about yourself. Treat yourself
with kindness and respect and avoid self criticism or putting yourself
down. Try avoiding smoking or drinking. People use alcohol and other
drugs to “self-medicate” but in reality, alcohol and other drugs only
aggravate problems.
~Pay attention to present moments (mindfulness)
Paying more attention to the present moment can improve your
mental well being. Mindfulness can help you enjoy life more and
understand yourself better. It can positively change the way you feel
about life and how you approach challenges. Don’t dwell on the past,
focus on the present moments because the past is in the past you
can’t change it now.
Source:
Created by Alivia Weir
Art at West
By Sierra Sinders
There is always something one enjoys doing, whether it be playing video games, reading books, or writing their own stories. Knowing though in this modern age with technology, a lot of the younger generations have forgotten what it was like to get up off the couch and do something more productive than focusing on keeping their Snapchat streak up with others. I think we all fell under the same spell
when it comes to technology. Especially after all the stuff that happened with COVID. Having to be in quarantine, wearing masks, and not being able to attend school in person every day, was a mess. People have learned to adapt to COVID’s limitations and have found ways to express themselves. My favorite way has to be by doing art. There are so many things that others don’t realize that one can do with art, there is really a lot of potential. I asked some fellow peers that enjoy doing art as well to give you an idea of what it means to them. Who knows, maybe I’ll convince you by the end to begin doing art yourself! Art is a broad term used to describe many things like painting, sculpting, and drawing, but for some it has deeper meaning to them. Katie Anderson, a freshman that enjoys drawing, described it as “therapeutic.” She also stated, “Trying to get your emotions out can be very difficult for somebody, so drawing it out can be helpful with coping.” Guerin Doty, also a freshman that enjoys spending time drawing, stated, “It’s a great way to relax, and a neat party trick.” Everyone at one point enjoyed doing art when they were young, sitting on the living room floor with all their crayons across the
when it comes to technology. Especially after all the stuff that happened with COVID. Having to be in quarantine, wearing masks, and not being able to attend school in person every day, was a mess. People have learned to adapt to COVID’s limitations and have found ways to express themselves. My favorite way has to be by doing art. There are so many things that others don’t realize that one can do with art, there is really a lot of potential. I asked some fellow peers that enjoy doing art as well to give you an idea of what it means to them. Who knows, maybe I’ll convince you by the end to begin doing art yourself! Art is a broad term used to describe many things like painting, sculpting, and drawing, but for some it has deeper meaning to them. Katie Anderson, a freshman that enjoys drawing, described it as “therapeutic.” She also stated, “Trying to get your emotions out can be very difficult for somebody, so drawing it out can be helpful with coping.” Guerin Doty, also a freshman that enjoys spending time drawing, stated, “It’s a great way to relax, and a neat party trick.” Everyone at one point enjoyed doing art when they were young, sitting on the living room floor with all their crayons across the
ground drawing what was supposed to look like a dog on a sheet of paper, but came out looking more like an abstract cow. As people grow up though, they may lose interest eventually. Some get inspired later in life and a spark gets lit. The desire to perfect their art skills nags at them, so they decided to take action. Alex McKinney and Guerin Doty both were inspired around the time COVID hit. For Katie, she
was inspired around 13 by her art teacher’s drawings and wanted to be like her. Having good art skills takes time, so it takes a lot of patience with yourself. Alex stated that drawing proportions and depth are the hardest things for him to do. Guerin talked about how it’s hard to draw characters in poses without a decent reference. Criticizing yourself has to be one of the biggest mental challenges one will face when drawing. I myself struggle with that when drawing something. You may think your drawing looks absolutely horrible. Mr. Hutchins, the previous middle school art teacher, always said, “There are no mistakes when it comes to art. You can always find a way to make the drawing look even better.” Art is how you define it. Alex said, “Draw what you see, how YOU see it.” Being an artist means
you get to be the captain of your ship. Katie stated, “Drawing can be beautiful and unique in so many ways, just like the artist. Even if it’s a simple doodle, you can express yourself without being judged.” You can be you.
was inspired around 13 by her art teacher’s drawings and wanted to be like her. Having good art skills takes time, so it takes a lot of patience with yourself. Alex stated that drawing proportions and depth are the hardest things for him to do. Guerin talked about how it’s hard to draw characters in poses without a decent reference. Criticizing yourself has to be one of the biggest mental challenges one will face when drawing. I myself struggle with that when drawing something. You may think your drawing looks absolutely horrible. Mr. Hutchins, the previous middle school art teacher, always said, “There are no mistakes when it comes to art. You can always find a way to make the drawing look even better.” Art is how you define it. Alex said, “Draw what you see, how YOU see it.” Being an artist means
you get to be the captain of your ship. Katie stated, “Drawing can be beautiful and unique in so many ways, just like the artist. Even if it’s a simple doodle, you can express yourself without being judged.” You can be you.
Teacher Spotlight: Mrs. Ball
By Mallorey Fischer
Mrs. Ball is a special education teacher. She teaches English, Earth Science, History, and Social Studies at West Vigo High School. Mrs. Ball has taught at West Vigo for 10 years. She likes to hang out with her kids, garden, and run. She did not go to West Vigo High School. She went to Sullivan High School. She has two sons, Hudson, who is 1, and Cylus, who is 6 years old. She likes to go out to dinner with her family at Texas Roadhouse. She loves teaching at West Vigo High School! Her favorite football team is the Colts. She has a twin sister, and is a pescetarian. She has been to Canada six times.
Wabash Valley College and Career Fair
By Lorelei Elkins and Lynnleigh Kyle
The Wabash Valley Career and College Fair is on Wednesday September 21, 2022 from 9 A.M. to 11:30 A.M. This year it is being held at West Vigo High School. In previous years, it has rotated around all the high schools in the Vigo County District. You have to be a junior or senior to attend this year, but they are trying to get it where freshmen and sophomores can go in the future. You don’t have to plan to go to college to attend this event.
According to our counseling department, the fair helps students connect with colleges, trades, industries, law enforcement, and many other post secondary opportunities. The career fair was created about 4-5 years ago. It was made to help the students connect with the careers they may want to go into and maybe even discover an option they didn’t know existed. The colleges that are involved are from all over Indiana, both public and private including Saint Marys, Indiana State University, and Ivy Tech . There are over 30 colleges . The Vigo County School Corporation runs the Wabash Valley Career and College Fair. You can find more information posted to junior and senior Canvas pages.
Lacey Ball
provided by the counseling dept.
Vikings Question of the Week
By Garrett Hawthorne
This week’s question of the week was, what is your favorite animal? We had a total of 131 responses as this is being written. The winning animal was the dwarf goat. Dwarf Goats are small friendly goats that are based out of Africa. They produce dairy and have just recently been approved by the U.S. Agriculture Department as a livestock diary goat. This means that they are now eligible for youth 4-H and FFA projects. The second highest vote was a dog with 6 votes and in third place a cow with 5 votes. Overall, many people think that the dwarf goat is the best animal. I am glad to see people voting and hope we get more voters for next weeks edition.
Dwarf Goats for the win!
Find the Viking Winner
The viking will be hidden on mornings the newspaper will be published. The finder of the viking will earn a prize. Who will be our next winner?
Congratulations to Michael Ping and Lynsie Dubois, September 21st winners of find the Viking.
Viking Soccer
By Emily McKinney
On September 12, 2022 the Lady Vikes Soccer team went against South Vermillion. The Lady Vikes won the game 5-1. The boys team played beforehand and unfortunately lost. Having the boys play first left the girls to play under the lights…..FINALLY! That night was also senior night; the girls team only has one senior this year, Katelyn Fennell. Instead of the girls calling it senior night they called it Fennell Night. As a freshman on the team, I will tell you this about Fennell, she never fails to make the team laugh and makes even the hardest games or practices worth it. One game day, the coach was trying to get us girls hyped up by saying it’s game day! Fennell has now made it something that when we break it down, that’s what we scream. On Fennell Night, the girls got shirts that said “It’s Game Day ”. Players wore them as we warmed up for the Fennell Night game.
Even though both teams lost, the Vikings fought hard in their games. Both teams went against North Putnam on Tuesday September 6, 2022 the girls were away while the boys were at home. The girls won their game 11-3. The boys lost their game 1-1. They went into overtime into penalty kicks and lost.
Soccer team in their Fennel Night shirts. Photo Courtesy of Lisa Krause.
