Dive Into Summer Fun
Summer Camps Allow Students to Reconnect and Learn Something New
Splashing into a cool pool, riding a majestic horse as it gallops along a path, and sharpening one’s skills into the epitome of excellence are all examples of what students experience at summer camp. There are numerous options available for students participating in summer camps such as band camp, sports camp, academic camp and equestrian camp.
Post-pandemic summer camps may look different from previous years, but students are returning to summer camps for the experience and knowledge they offer.
Equestrian camp at Pine Croft Farm teaches campers how to take care of a horse, the anatomy of a horse, and riding mechanisms. Campers also create a craft that they get to take home with them. Pine Croft farm is located at the Retama Equestrian Center in Selma. The week of the camp is June 28 to July 4, and the cost is $150. Registration must be complete by June 1 at Pine Croft Farm.
Sabrina Teipel (09) will be attending equestrian camp at Pine Croft Farm.
“My goals are just to become a better rider, and I’m doing that because I Iove riding, and I love the horses, and I love the camp and the people,” Teipel said.
The Samuel Clemens High School band camp is scheduled for July 25 through August 4. Students will learn how to march, formations for football game halftime shows, and music to play during football performances.
Alison Boening (09) will be participating in the Clemens High School band camp.
“As one of the band historians, I get to take photos of other band members to represent the band program on social media,” Boening said.
Hermann Sons Life Camp provides campers with a week of summer fun through arts, crafts, sports, water recreation, rock climbing and archery. Camp sessions run through June and July, and the camp is located in Comfort, Texas. Hermann Sons Life Camp is a member-exclusive experience.
Kate Krupczak (09) is going to be a camp counselor at Hermann Sons Life Camp from June 12 to June 18.
“My goal at camp this year is to put myself out there and make a lot of new friends,” Krupczak said.
Summer camps vary in cost and interest, but each camp provides students with the opportunity to learn something new and make memories.
“I am looking forward to the dance at the end of the week,” Krupczak said. “Because counselors honestly have the most fun at the dance.”
Hailey Gorzell (09)
Post-pandemic summer camps may look different from previous years, but students are returning to summer camps for the experience and knowledge they offer.
Equestrian camp at Pine Croft Farm teaches campers how to take care of a horse, the anatomy of a horse, and riding mechanisms. Campers also create a craft that they get to take home with them. Pine Croft farm is located at the Retama Equestrian Center in Selma. The week of the camp is June 28 to July 4, and the cost is $150. Registration must be complete by June 1 at Pine Croft Farm.
Sabrina Teipel (09) will be attending equestrian camp at Pine Croft Farm.
“My goals are just to become a better rider, and I’m doing that because I Iove riding, and I love the horses, and I love the camp and the people,” Teipel said.
The Samuel Clemens High School band camp is scheduled for July 25 through August 4. Students will learn how to march, formations for football game halftime shows, and music to play during football performances.
Alison Boening (09) will be participating in the Clemens High School band camp.
“As one of the band historians, I get to take photos of other band members to represent the band program on social media,” Boening said.
Hermann Sons Life Camp provides campers with a week of summer fun through arts, crafts, sports, water recreation, rock climbing and archery. Camp sessions run through June and July, and the camp is located in Comfort, Texas. Hermann Sons Life Camp is a member-exclusive experience.
Kate Krupczak (09) is going to be a camp counselor at Hermann Sons Life Camp from June 12 to June 18.
“My goal at camp this year is to put myself out there and make a lot of new friends,” Krupczak said.
Summer camps vary in cost and interest, but each camp provides students with the opportunity to learn something new and make memories.
“I am looking forward to the dance at the end of the week,” Krupczak said. “Because counselors honestly have the most fun at the dance.”
Hailey Gorzell (09)
It Ends With Us- A Book Review
A book that broke my heart and then stitched it back together
Without revealing the plot, I will just say that Colleen Hoover takes up two major social issues and brings them to light in a new perspective. I was shocked and ashamed to admit that I was among the people who question why the victims don't do anything. It is so easy to comment and so difficult to really be in their shoes and experience it first hand, which I did while I read this book.
Lily Bloom didn’t have the perfect family. And really, who has ever had a perfect family? She grew up with her father occasionally hitting her mother and she hated her father for that. When she was younger, she didn’t understand why her mother stayed. As she became older she realized that sometimes the people we love are the ones who hurt us the most.
In her early twenties, Lily is living in Boston in hope of starting her own business. She moved out of her parents’ house after graduating and somehow she just wants to see if everything is really better in Boston. On the night of her father’s funeral, she meets Ryle Kincaid on some rooftop right there, and there they start telling each other naked truths. Next thing they knew, they were falling in love with each other. But as Lily and Ryle begin to get serious, someone from Lily’s past just suddenly reappears. Someone still holds a piece of her heart. Atlas.
I read this book without knowing the plot of the book. I went in thinking it was going to be another fluffy love story. I wasn't prepared for the hard reality of the book. This book took me through every possible emotion at once. At some parts I was laughing like a maniac, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt, so angry I had to put the book down to pace around the room and then continue reading again within 15 seconds because I couldn't put it down. At other times my tears stained my face and my eyes were swollen. This book had me questioning how I would handle the situation Lily was in. I think what made me cry the most is the self reflection this book forces you to do.
Lily told herself she’s not going to be like her mother, but soon she finds herself in the same situation, not being able to just walk away. And now she understands why her mother chose to stay: because it’s not that easy especially when you truly love the person.
It Ends With Us was a very emotional read. Even as someone who has never been in an abusive relationship, I still really connected with Lily. I think that to be a good writer, you have to be able to evoke emotion from your reader- and that's exactly what Colleen Hoover did.
Beyond what I’ve told you, you should go into the story blind, braced for a story that is raw and heart wrenching. You’ll feel Lily’s experiences in your heart, in your soul, in your gut. She’s a fierce example of courage and resilience. And of course, despite the heavier topics it explores, this book showed me the insider’s perspective to a terrifying situation and the rationale that women use to stay in unhealthy relationships – it is never as easy as it seems.
I heartily recommend this book to everyone. However, the book contains the use of profane words, and it has sexual content, as well as some scenes of violence and abuse. Generational cycles are insightful and powerfully explored, sensitive readers proceed with caution.
Colleen, I'll read more of your books and I can already feel you're going to be one of my favorite authors. As for one of the main characters — Atlas, I want to always be a friend to someone, like you with Lily.
This book has changed my view on life. I hope you read it. Brave and bold, eye opening and suspensefully, intimate and irresistible--It Ends With Us will leave its mark.
Mary Mithanga (12)
Lily Bloom didn’t have the perfect family. And really, who has ever had a perfect family? She grew up with her father occasionally hitting her mother and she hated her father for that. When she was younger, she didn’t understand why her mother stayed. As she became older she realized that sometimes the people we love are the ones who hurt us the most.
In her early twenties, Lily is living in Boston in hope of starting her own business. She moved out of her parents’ house after graduating and somehow she just wants to see if everything is really better in Boston. On the night of her father’s funeral, she meets Ryle Kincaid on some rooftop right there, and there they start telling each other naked truths. Next thing they knew, they were falling in love with each other. But as Lily and Ryle begin to get serious, someone from Lily’s past just suddenly reappears. Someone still holds a piece of her heart. Atlas.
I read this book without knowing the plot of the book. I went in thinking it was going to be another fluffy love story. I wasn't prepared for the hard reality of the book. This book took me through every possible emotion at once. At some parts I was laughing like a maniac, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt, so angry I had to put the book down to pace around the room and then continue reading again within 15 seconds because I couldn't put it down. At other times my tears stained my face and my eyes were swollen. This book had me questioning how I would handle the situation Lily was in. I think what made me cry the most is the self reflection this book forces you to do.
Lily told herself she’s not going to be like her mother, but soon she finds herself in the same situation, not being able to just walk away. And now she understands why her mother chose to stay: because it’s not that easy especially when you truly love the person.
It Ends With Us was a very emotional read. Even as someone who has never been in an abusive relationship, I still really connected with Lily. I think that to be a good writer, you have to be able to evoke emotion from your reader- and that's exactly what Colleen Hoover did.
Beyond what I’ve told you, you should go into the story blind, braced for a story that is raw and heart wrenching. You’ll feel Lily’s experiences in your heart, in your soul, in your gut. She’s a fierce example of courage and resilience. And of course, despite the heavier topics it explores, this book showed me the insider’s perspective to a terrifying situation and the rationale that women use to stay in unhealthy relationships – it is never as easy as it seems.
I heartily recommend this book to everyone. However, the book contains the use of profane words, and it has sexual content, as well as some scenes of violence and abuse. Generational cycles are insightful and powerfully explored, sensitive readers proceed with caution.
Colleen, I'll read more of your books and I can already feel you're going to be one of my favorite authors. As for one of the main characters — Atlas, I want to always be a friend to someone, like you with Lily.
This book has changed my view on life. I hope you read it. Brave and bold, eye opening and suspensefully, intimate and irresistible--It Ends With Us will leave its mark.
Mary Mithanga (12)
The Risk Journalists' Take
Media Hatred and Assassination on the Rise
A Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was fatally shot by Israeli forces while reporting in the West Bank, on May 11. Her death impacted middle eastern countries as well as the rest of the world. While her assassination was an unfortunate event, it brought light to the focus on the risks journalists take daily.
Many journalists across the globe face a variety of risks such as being kidnapped, held hostage, interrogated, bribed, and maybe even killed.
“They have to live in fear because they could get killed at any moment, depending on where they are,” Drew Pemelton (12) said. “They also have to blend in with the culture and they can't stick out like a sore thumb. In some countries like Afghanistan, they could get killed.”
During the turmoil between Russia and Ukraine, journalists caught in crossfires faced imminent dangers. According to NPR.org Russian soldiers were getting “more and more inventive in their attempts to make Ukrainian journalists cooperate, turning to death threats, kidnapping, and forced disappearance.” Dating back to 1976, Jim Lesslie, an American journalist for the Shreveport Times, is known for being murdered in Baton Rouge. The police called his case a ‘professional hit’. By these examples, journalists have been at risk for a great amount of years.
“I feel like what a journalist goes through during the job is like even if it's in the state or out of state or out of the country, it's still really dangerous,” Trinity Mayo (10) said. “Some journalists are like willing to get anything for information and something to cover their story, and doing that can really affect the mind and let them be really reckless.”
Obviously, journalists go through so much already just to get the truth out to the public, and it has even cost people's lives for it. But what does this mean for the rest of the current future journalists?
“I feel like this question really varies for the person, but some of them may be scared. Some of them may be just really confident and determined because that's their job,” Mayo said. “It's their passion or they'll just do anything to get the story.”
Keyla Ruiz (09)
Many journalists across the globe face a variety of risks such as being kidnapped, held hostage, interrogated, bribed, and maybe even killed.
“They have to live in fear because they could get killed at any moment, depending on where they are,” Drew Pemelton (12) said. “They also have to blend in with the culture and they can't stick out like a sore thumb. In some countries like Afghanistan, they could get killed.”
During the turmoil between Russia and Ukraine, journalists caught in crossfires faced imminent dangers. According to NPR.org Russian soldiers were getting “more and more inventive in their attempts to make Ukrainian journalists cooperate, turning to death threats, kidnapping, and forced disappearance.” Dating back to 1976, Jim Lesslie, an American journalist for the Shreveport Times, is known for being murdered in Baton Rouge. The police called his case a ‘professional hit’. By these examples, journalists have been at risk for a great amount of years.
“I feel like what a journalist goes through during the job is like even if it's in the state or out of state or out of the country, it's still really dangerous,” Trinity Mayo (10) said. “Some journalists are like willing to get anything for information and something to cover their story, and doing that can really affect the mind and let them be really reckless.”
Obviously, journalists go through so much already just to get the truth out to the public, and it has even cost people's lives for it. But what does this mean for the rest of the current future journalists?
“I feel like this question really varies for the person, but some of them may be scared. Some of them may be just really confident and determined because that's their job,” Mayo said. “It's their passion or they'll just do anything to get the story.”
Keyla Ruiz (09)
Investigating Instagram Filters
Potentially Harmful Photographs
With the rise of major social media platforms and front facing phone cameras came face filters. These revolutionary AR photo editors became popular around 2015 when Snapchat first introduced them to their users. Soon after, Instagram and Facebook among other apps followed suit and implemented the feature. Face filters then evolved and produced more categories going from animals to comically large features to beautifying the user. The beauty filters are where people start to have divided opinions.
Beauty filters are not good for teenagers due to the unrealistic body standards they promote and what can come from them.
Filters can be harmful to teenagers’ mental health due to the unnatural body types that they portray. Many filters can make the user look slim or alter their facial features to things that are physically impossible without surgery. This can cause insecurities which then lead to other more serious mental and physical problems such as bulimia and anorexia. It also strongly influences the way people act and how they dress, which leads them to become consumed by their appearance.
Catfishing is another major problem that comes along with face- or body-altering filters. Many filters are unrealistic and while they may look nice to some people, they are things that one would never see in the real world. This could then mess up online relationships or even real life relationships. That would add extra drama to a teenager’s life that they don’t need. Instead of worrying about their appearance online, they should worry about their friends, family, and other relationships.
On the other hand, filters are harmless fun. A touch up here or a slight alter there aren’t very noticeable and ultimately don’t do much. Minor edits to one’s appearance don’t matter as much as the more major edits. There isn’t a problem with small changes such as making pimples disappear or touching up makeup. When there are major changes to one’s body, that’s when the issue gets more serious.
A possible fix to this is for social media apps to implement a feature that tells other users when one is using a filter that majorly changes them. Until that happens, users can do this themselves by putting it in the caption or comment sections of their post. While this may not entirely fix the problems, it will help to bring users back to reality and realize that people don’t naturally look this way.
Beauty filters aren’t going away any time soon. There are many people who use them and that will probably never stop. That’s not a bad thing as long as people use them in simple and casual ways. No one looks like a supermodel and as soon as people realize that with the help of captions and comments, mental health and quality of life can be greatly improved. Until then, everyone can do their part when they use a majorly altering filter and tell others about it.
Adriana Strang (11)
Beauty filters are not good for teenagers due to the unrealistic body standards they promote and what can come from them.
Filters can be harmful to teenagers’ mental health due to the unnatural body types that they portray. Many filters can make the user look slim or alter their facial features to things that are physically impossible without surgery. This can cause insecurities which then lead to other more serious mental and physical problems such as bulimia and anorexia. It also strongly influences the way people act and how they dress, which leads them to become consumed by their appearance.
Catfishing is another major problem that comes along with face- or body-altering filters. Many filters are unrealistic and while they may look nice to some people, they are things that one would never see in the real world. This could then mess up online relationships or even real life relationships. That would add extra drama to a teenager’s life that they don’t need. Instead of worrying about their appearance online, they should worry about their friends, family, and other relationships.
On the other hand, filters are harmless fun. A touch up here or a slight alter there aren’t very noticeable and ultimately don’t do much. Minor edits to one’s appearance don’t matter as much as the more major edits. There isn’t a problem with small changes such as making pimples disappear or touching up makeup. When there are major changes to one’s body, that’s when the issue gets more serious.
A possible fix to this is for social media apps to implement a feature that tells other users when one is using a filter that majorly changes them. Until that happens, users can do this themselves by putting it in the caption or comment sections of their post. While this may not entirely fix the problems, it will help to bring users back to reality and realize that people don’t naturally look this way.
Beauty filters aren’t going away any time soon. There are many people who use them and that will probably never stop. That’s not a bad thing as long as people use them in simple and casual ways. No one looks like a supermodel and as soon as people realize that with the help of captions and comments, mental health and quality of life can be greatly improved. Until then, everyone can do their part when they use a majorly altering filter and tell others about it.
Adriana Strang (11)
Alternative School Escape
(The following student mentioned in this article will remain anonymous)
A place that was supposed to be feared, called alternative school, where it seems to have a bit of an ominous and somber environment, and where all the ‘bad kids’ go. Nowadays, it’s not all it’s made up to be. Authority figures see this place as a punishment or purgatory, depending on the misdemeanor, but for some students like Jane Doe, it’s more of an escape from reality. Even though it’s not far off from regular school, they still have their small differences.
“You have to wear uniforms, you can’t wear what you want. You get searched in the morning, like everyone gets searched. There’s metal detectors, and there’s cameras and microphones in every room. There’s not as many people, and it’s not as scary as people think it is,” Jane said.
Whether someone’s sent to alternative school for truancy, violence, drugs, etc., it's always noticed that the student returning to their home campus is disappointed. According to Jane, the students are nicer, and more open-minded, as well as less dramatic than the other students at regular school, as well as the administrators.
“The administrators and teachers were a lot better over there and just the students in general. The administrators over there know what kind of person you can be, and what person they want you to improve to be,” Jane said.
While the social factors seem to be a bit beneficial to some, the environment of alternative school also differentiates from regular school. One visualization of alternative schools is just a depressing shade of gray on the walls with no decor, poor lighting, survellience, and hard schoolwork. But as Jane says, it has nothing to do with that idealism.
“Alternative school is very quiet. The teachers really don’t force you to be quiet because you can’t really say anything about anyone or anything because you’re being watched constantly,” Jane said.
Aside from the people and environment, there does seem to be a bit of questions like if alternative school is actually as restrictive and oppressive as it’s made out to be. Jane said that alternative school technically isn’t as oppressive as people might think.
“There’s more restrictions, but it really depends what kind of person you are because if you’re like a very talkative, outgoing, skipping class kind of person you can’t really do that because you have limited time for stuff like going to the bathroom,” Jane said.
Now that most of the questioned factors have been all laid out, one more question still remains: is it worth going back for? Alternative is technically a punishment for being disruptive or breaking school policies, but now it’s almost become more of just an everyday occurence in terms of concernment of the students.
“I would go back because I really like how I learned over there,” Jane said. “I like how my grades finally went up, and I really like the fact that there were no distractions.”
Tristan Perez (09)
A place that was supposed to be feared, called alternative school, where it seems to have a bit of an ominous and somber environment, and where all the ‘bad kids’ go. Nowadays, it’s not all it’s made up to be. Authority figures see this place as a punishment or purgatory, depending on the misdemeanor, but for some students like Jane Doe, it’s more of an escape from reality. Even though it’s not far off from regular school, they still have their small differences.
“You have to wear uniforms, you can’t wear what you want. You get searched in the morning, like everyone gets searched. There’s metal detectors, and there’s cameras and microphones in every room. There’s not as many people, and it’s not as scary as people think it is,” Jane said.
Whether someone’s sent to alternative school for truancy, violence, drugs, etc., it's always noticed that the student returning to their home campus is disappointed. According to Jane, the students are nicer, and more open-minded, as well as less dramatic than the other students at regular school, as well as the administrators.
“The administrators and teachers were a lot better over there and just the students in general. The administrators over there know what kind of person you can be, and what person they want you to improve to be,” Jane said.
While the social factors seem to be a bit beneficial to some, the environment of alternative school also differentiates from regular school. One visualization of alternative schools is just a depressing shade of gray on the walls with no decor, poor lighting, survellience, and hard schoolwork. But as Jane says, it has nothing to do with that idealism.
“Alternative school is very quiet. The teachers really don’t force you to be quiet because you can’t really say anything about anyone or anything because you’re being watched constantly,” Jane said.
Aside from the people and environment, there does seem to be a bit of questions like if alternative school is actually as restrictive and oppressive as it’s made out to be. Jane said that alternative school technically isn’t as oppressive as people might think.
“There’s more restrictions, but it really depends what kind of person you are because if you’re like a very talkative, outgoing, skipping class kind of person you can’t really do that because you have limited time for stuff like going to the bathroom,” Jane said.
Now that most of the questioned factors have been all laid out, one more question still remains: is it worth going back for? Alternative is technically a punishment for being disruptive or breaking school policies, but now it’s almost become more of just an everyday occurence in terms of concernment of the students.
“I would go back because I really like how I learned over there,” Jane said. “I like how my grades finally went up, and I really like the fact that there were no distractions.”
Tristan Perez (09)
Summer Jobs
Making Money With the Time Off
Summer is finally right around the corner, and students are eager to relax and enjoy the break. As the school year is coming to a close, many students are wanting to seek financial opportunities for the summer, in order to have money for all the fun activities planned. Summer jobs are an option many students will partake in because they aren’t in school, therefore they have the time. It can be a way to get some job experience or to save money for the future.
“If I could work anywhere I would work at HEB. I like the environment and I feel like I could make friends and I’d get to work with people,” Cayson Vega (10) said.
Students who become of age decide to prepare for their adult life and get an entry level job like the food industry. Students like Kennedi Davis decided to get one of these jobs.
“I plan on working this summer at my job as a host at Bubbas.I chose this job because I'm a people person and I'm good at making a welcoming environment,” Davis (10) said.
Even though many entry level jobs don’t usually offer experience, those that do also provide students with support and may even pay a higher salary. Because of this, many students will work part time jobs to keep up with school work at the same time.
“I had to quit my job because I wasn't doing so well in school, but over the summer I want work at an ice cream place or HEB because I heard they have great hours.” said Rebecca Tallman.
Julissa Tootle (09)
“If I could work anywhere I would work at HEB. I like the environment and I feel like I could make friends and I’d get to work with people,” Cayson Vega (10) said.
Students who become of age decide to prepare for their adult life and get an entry level job like the food industry. Students like Kennedi Davis decided to get one of these jobs.
“I plan on working this summer at my job as a host at Bubbas.I chose this job because I'm a people person and I'm good at making a welcoming environment,” Davis (10) said.
Even though many entry level jobs don’t usually offer experience, those that do also provide students with support and may even pay a higher salary. Because of this, many students will work part time jobs to keep up with school work at the same time.
“I had to quit my job because I wasn't doing so well in school, but over the summer I want work at an ice cream place or HEB because I heard they have great hours.” said Rebecca Tallman.
Julissa Tootle (09)