LAKE STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL / DECEMBER 18,2013 / [email protected] VOLUME 86 ISSUE 4 the Valhalla No child left behind, increasing diversity pages 8-9 Love yourself instead of bashing others page 12 2 NEWS DECEMBER 18, 2013 FOLLOW US @LSHSVALHALLA ON TWITTER School trail causes safety issues for students by Teddy Gaspar At LSHS there’s a small trail on. Staff Reporter that connects Cedar road to “It’s not fenced off and there’s woods on one side portable ten. Some kids use the and houses on the other,” senior Madaline Hansford path and never think twice about it, but is it really that said. safe? There is always the danger of trees or branches Even though the trail is relatively hidden from view, falling and blocking the pathway or hurting a student. it is still visible end to end. While there is a lamp post Also, the only source of light seems to be coming from out there, it doesn’t always work. And although the the neighboring houses. Without the house lights there school has put some chain link fencing near the por- isn’t any way to light the path without a fl ashlight. tables it doesn’t extend very far down the path, and a This time of year the sun is coming out earlier than section has been knocked down. Tree roots have torn usual, so students do not have to worry. But on the fl ip up parts of the path, making it uneven. side it’s getting darker earlier in the afternoon so when Even though technically the trail is on city property, kids walk to and from school activities students should the custodians occasionally clean up the end of the trail walk in groups. Also as it nears to February it’s darker near the portables. PHOTO BY MCKENZIE GRANT in the morning and the weather will worsen the trail, “I do not feel safe walking that path in the morning,” Watch your step: Students who walk the Cedar trail walk the unkempt treail daily. Uneven concrete, overgrown trees and poor lighting are the problem. which may not be the best of place for students to walk senior Tyler Granston said. New delicious twist on school food Lake Stevens High School adopts a new lunch menu by Kayleen Fredrickson On November 13, the Lake Stevens High “It’s real food,” junior Lauren Hanford said. Staff Reporter School Kitchen Staff was excited to release a The new line has been a hit among students, and it is not uncommon to whole new “Fresh for You” menu complete hear how good lunch was while walking in the halls since its debut. STAFF with new entrée choices and toppings. “I like it because it gives us an option of different delicious foods,” junior After the “Fresh for You” line was piloted at Cavelero Mid High last year, Jazmin McSparran said. Editor-in-chief and Sports Editor it was decided that the new program would be put in place at the high school Students will most likely be leaving those PB&J sandwiches at home and MEREDITH BROWN as well. buying lunch at the new “Fresh for You” line. Design Editor and Leikr Editor “Through student focus groups, we realized that students want their “The portion sizes are good, and you can actually feel full now,” junior IRIS FAVOREAL lunch made fresh right in front of them. They want to select the combina- Austin Haynes said. tions and choose their toppings and garnishes. This new line is fully built Features Editors around that concept. We make it the way each student wants it,” Food and ALEXANDRA MULVANEY BRITTY LAMBERTY Nutrition Services Supervisor, Mollie Langum said. There is a different menu for each day of the week in the “Fresh for You” Opinion Editor line. KAYLEE NUNLEY “You get to pick what you want and you have better options,” junior Stacy A&E Editor and News Editor Ralph said. MACKENZIE MCLEOD Each Monday, students can buy food from the Pasta Bar, choosing be- Photographers tween chicken alfredo, marinara, or parmesan chicken. On Tuesdays and TYLER BAGGS Thursdays, students can choose from a burrito, taco salad, rice bowl or na- MCKENZIE GRANT chos from the Fiesta Bar. Each entrée can be made with seasoned chicken, CHLOE ROWLAND beef, beans, or cheese and topped with countless fresh toppings including JACK PETTERBORG cilantro. Wednesdays and Fridays bring Soaring Dragon, an assortment of Asian entrées. Students can choose among steamed broccoli, brown rice, Staff Reporters KAYLEEN FREDRICKSON homemade fried rice, beef and soba noodles and two other delicious chicken TEDDY GASPAR options that change weekly. So far, students have seen General Tso chicken, JESSICA MATTHIAS honey fi re chicken, mandarin orange chicken, sweet and sour chicken, cher- ANASTASIA SMITH-BUSTILLO ry blossom chicken, teriyaki chicken, and teriyaki beef dippers. PHOTO BY JACK PETTERBORG HANNAH MULVEY NEFTALI RODRIGUEZ BRITTNEY SWANK ESTHER MCCOY NOEL GASCA Adviser Club fair winners take the gold JULIE HENGGELER by Alexandra Mulvaney This year’s club fair ed in the fun activities there are to do at One Voice. Staff Reporter winners were One Voice On average about forty people attend each meeting. and Journalism. The “Students benefi t from One Voice because it’s a club fair was October 31, during all three lunches. great place to hangout, meet some new friends, and Every club made a table or booth, passed out candy be a part of something great!” Baker added. and prizes, and tried to spread the word about their Journalism was also very excited to be runner clubs to the student body. One Voice was very ex- up. Receiving second place possibly means attract- cited to be the winners for all the hard work they put ing more students who want to be involved in their into organizing their club. school, enjoy writing, and make new friends. Jour- “The club fair was such a huge success for us this nalism is a very interactive class and club that would year. We went into it hoping to get more people in- love to have new faces be a part of the Valhalla. volved and spread the word about One Voice,” se- “I’m happy that our club had the opportunity to nior Hayden Baker said. represent ourselves and receive a prize to help our Prizes were awarded for many different reasons; club,” senior Kaylee Nunley said about Journalism. One Voice received fi rst place for best decorations. Both of these clubs were honored to win, and are As one of the biggest clubs on campus, they were excited to gain more members from being club fair PHOTO COURTESY OF MEREDITH BROWN happy to win some money to get more kids interest- winners. Senior Hayden Baker, a leader of One Voice, speaks to the attending stu- dents a message about her life. FOLLOW US @LSHSVALHALLA ON TWITTER news DECEMBER 18, 2013 3 LSHS food drive helps families during the holidays Students come together to collect canned food for local organizations by Esther McCoy At Lake Stevens High School the annual food drive began December Staff Reporter 2, and students began bringing cans of food and nonperishable items to support the Lake Stevens Food Bank, Lake Stevens Fam- ily Center, Lil’ Hungry Hearts and more non-profit orga- nizations to help the community. “People should donate out of the good of their heart for people that need food, we need extra help since Flan- ders and Knutson aren’t participating. Clubs and groups around school are doing more of a team effort to collect food, it might be seen as a competition like it usually is be- cause there are prizes at the end, but if everyone partici- pates, we can reach our goal,” junior Morgan Patten said. Groups rallied this season to compete. Lake Stevens goes all out to have fun and motivate everyone to partici- pate. This year’s goal was to collect 50,000 items. Groups of students canvased various Lake Stevens neighborhoods for Blitz night December 11, bringing in 5,582 items. Beyond food, another way to help around the holidays is to participate in the Giving Tree Present Drive. Stu- dents selected paper ornaments from the Christmas tree in The Cove and the cafeteria with a child’s age and a gen- eral idea for a gift. “The gifts are not hard to get during the holidays, they are small, simple things that will make children happy and it is a great way to give back to the kids and commu- nity,” senior Lauren Jones said. This was a considerate way to help out the commu- nity by giving to children who may not receive gifts this PHOTO BY JACK PETTERBORG Christmas. It could very easily be done to make an effort Holiday helping hand: Each day students sort the donations into boxes where they are kept in the cafeteria during the food drive. and help a child out this winter. The Lake Stevens Food Bank and Lil’ Hungry Hearts are two non-profit organizations that provide food for residents in need. Drop off location changes Street and neighborhood parking shut down by Brittney Swank To increase road “If we put more people in the parking Staff Reporter safety, Officer Da- lot, doesn’t that increase the likelihood of vid Carter has spent people getting into accidents in an already the last two months over-crowded parking lot?” senior Ryan working with the administration and the DuPape said. city to insert a new drop-off at the north Students weren’t the only group of peo- end of the school on 30th Street and 113th Avenue.