Yosemite
High School
Blue
Print
October 22, 2004
Volume 28 Number 1
Four
different shows currently on display in Badger Gallery
Deadline
near for Octuris
Band
and choir plan concerts December 7, 9
Lunchbox
Theater
70
students enroll in Cadet Corp class
New
Baker Swim Complex makes water polo possible
Heather
Simon first girl on YHS football team
League
change puts Badgers in North Sequoia League
Bobbleheads
fundraiser for choir program
MALISSA
TRENHOLM
“Oscar” by Becca Manion is one of the pieces of art in the
Urban Cave show at the Badger Gallery.
Four different shows currently on display in
Badger Gallery
CHARITY MONAHAN
Art
is everywhere. If a person looks around campus they are always seeing
art flyers and pictures done by students. However, Yosemite High has
one place where people can go to see it all. The Badger Art Gallery
opened for the 2004-05 school year October 8.
Art teacher Rivka Schaffner hosted an opening party from 4 until 11
p.m. Over the course of seven hours over 500 people attended the party
to see the art, buy art cards and have fun. There was food, face and
body painting, pottery throwing, dancing and the YHS band came and played
for a while.
“It was like an art party,” Schaffner says.
So, why have an art gallery? Schaffner says that the football players
have a football field; the artists need an art gallery to be able to
display their talent. The art gallery has four different rooms with
different themes for this first show of the year.
The first is a one man show called Grey Observation by Patch Kientz.
The second is called Urban Cave, and it is set in a sort of urban ghetto.
It is full of 21st century graffiti style art. The third room is called
Skin Deep and is a display of the students’ first masterpieces.
The third and final room is called Dreamings, and it is full of aborigine
style art.
The idea of an art gallery began though a student’s senior project,
and the plans have just continued. The gallery is open throughout the
school day.
Deadline
near for Octuris
DOTTI JACKSON
Yosemite
High School publishes a literary magazine every year called “Octuris”
which means “our highest and best.” It is time for the students
to submit their work to the magazine.
Kay Tarr, advisor for the magazine, says she has received hardly any
work to be published in the literary magazine. “The hardest part
is to get the students to submit their work,” said Tarr.
The magazine is for the students to publish work that they have done
throughout the year. The students can submit writing, poetry, stories,
essays, memoirs, and art pieces which were added to the literary magazine
almost five years ago. The students can submit their work to Tarr’s
email: ktarr@yosemiteuhsd.com or they can submit their work on a disk
with their name and grade level. All work must be submitted before winter
break.
Those who would like to help with the publishing, editing or marketing
of this literary magazine can contact Tarr at 683-4667 ext. 271 or go
see her at lunch in portable 57. “Anyone who is interested in
helping can come and join,” said Tarr. The magazine will be available
in February/ March for $5.
For more information regarding the literary magazine, contact Tarr at
the above email or phone number.
Band
and choir plan
concerts December 7, 9
The
Yosemite High School Instrumental and Vocal Music Department will present
two concerts in December.
The
band and percussion concert will be Tuesday, Dec-ember 7, and the choir
concert will be Thursday, December 9.
Both concerts will be at Mountain Christian Center at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are available from any participating student or at the door.
Cost is $5 for adults; $3 for children and senior citizens or $15 for
a family.
JUDY
DURR
Students in the drama classes put on Lunchbox Theater
every first Friday in the gymnasium during lunch hour. The students
do improvisations. Pictured above are those who participated earlier
this month. Cost for the performance is 50-cents.
70
students enroll in Cadet Corp class
KATIE
WIGLEY
JUDY
DURR
Members of the Cadet Corp Color Guard Team participated in the Homecoming
parade. Pictured are (left to right): Lindsay New, Eddie Williams, Hans
Mosher and Josh Carey. Cadets who have passed physical training are
now wearing uniforms to school two days a week.
If
students hear the words, “left, right, left” coming from
outside their first or second period class window, those words are coming
from the new Cadet Corp class that started this year at Yosemite High
School.
There are a total of 70 students participating in this class. The students
are currently practicing Cadence Calling and various marching skills
that help distract them from the strenuous running and work that takes
place. They also go through the Cadet Corp Handbook, which talks about
leadership and basic success in life.
Some students are placed as leaders, depending on their determination
and leadership skills. There is no specific grade point average required
for this class. This class teaches the students study skills and note
taking. There are occasional competitions, which include drill and ceremony
competitions. Com-petition consists of eight students and three alternatives.
The Cadet Corp class is now developing a rifle shooting competition.
There will be a Rifle Team that will consist of seven full time students
and three alternatives.
Cadet Corp has a strict dress code, which includes two types of uniforms:
The BDU, also known as the Battle Dress Uniform, and the Class B Uniform.
Students will be able to gain or lose rank in class depending on their
actions inside and outside school and discipline.
Students may be thrown out of the Cadet Corp class for specific reasons,
such as complete misconduct and unwillingness to change to confirm or
to be involved. However, being kicked out of the class is a last resort.
Class instructors Phil Branstetter and Gary Sconce may rank them lower,
or force the student to complete more grueling work.
New
Baker Swim Complex makes water polo possible
CHARITY MONAHAN
MALISSA
TRENHOLM
The Baker Swim Complex opened in September and is now used by the Yosemite
High School Water Polo teams and by the public. The complex includes
a competition size pool on one end and a shallow pool on the other end
that is handicapped accessible.
Yosemite High School has been undergoing a lot of changes recently.
One of the biggest, most prevalent changes is the addition of the Baker
Swim Complex. Along with the swimming pool comes water sports, such
as water polo.
Chad Houck, a first year science teacher at Yosemite High School, is
also the aquatics director and water polo head coach. He describes the
sport as a combination of hockey, soccer and basketball, all played
in the water. A regular practice involves a lot of swimming, Houck says,
with an emphasis on “a lot.” The team members swim on an
average of about 2,000 yards a day, which Houck says, sounds like a
lot, but it really isn’t.
The players are required to do a lot of conditioning drills including
egg-beaters, in which they hold bottles filled with water above their
heads while continuing to tread water. “Water Polo is unique in
that you can’t just stop to take a breath, if you stop you’ll
sink underwater,” Houck says.
He has high expectations for his team. He would like to see all the
players come to enjoy the sport. That the players feel that they are
improving is also important to Houck. It is difficult for the teams
to compete against other teams who have been practicing for longer,
but Houck is confident that the teams will grow stronger and grow to
be better players. They have already improved dramatically since the
beginning of the season, he said.
The coaches, Houck and Brandon Brokaw, were very pleased with the amount
of students who joined the team. An average water polo team has 15 players,
and right now the girls’ team has 21 and the boys’ team
is at 19. The boys’ and girls’ teams do practice together
daily, but they do not compete with or against each other.
Houck hopes that as the years go on, they will continue to get better
as a team, as the program continues and more people get interested in
the sport. Houck eventually hopes to start a water polo club so that
junior high kids can also play this sport.
Heather
Simon first girl on YHS football team
MALISSA TRENHOLM
MALISSA TRENHOLM
Heather Simon is the first girl to play on the Yosemite High School
football team.
Heather
Simon, Yosemite High School’s first female football athlete says
“I chose to play football because I like challenges and thought
it would be a good challenge to see if I could do it.” Simon was
also inspired by a friend and she wanted to do everything he did. The
only thing she hadn’t done that Mac Moulton did was play football.
“He is like my big brother,” said Simon.
Simon stated being on the football team has been fun so far, yet its
“kinda weird” for when hanging around guys constantly, she
says they talk about things she would rather not hear, but other than
that she said, “it’s fun and I like it.”
Playing the receiver position, defensive back position, a member of
special teams, and having to wear about an extra seven to 10 pounds
of pads, Simon said she thought it would be harder than it really is.
A normal practice for Simon consists of running warm-ups, stretching,
special teams warm up, individual offense drills, individual defense
drills, offense and defense drills, running through plays and, finally,
conditioning. During conditioning, Simon, along with the team, does
running drills such as gasers, running the width of the field back and
forth twice and as fast as possible, and shuttles, running 30 yards
back and forth.
In the first game of the season against McLane, Simon said she thought
she wouldn’t get to play, but when she did she was so excited
that she had caught the ball and gained a few yards. “I caught
the ball and ran, and got squished, but it didn’t hurt because
I was so pumped up.”
“She was awesome,” smiled teammate Ryan Walthuis, while
commenting on Simon’s catch in the first game. He also said she
is progressing by running faster and lifting harder, and is “glad
she is still playing.”
Commenting about varsity head coach Aaron Eames, she said, “he
is really cool and nice.” She has great expectations for her team,
“we are coming together and working really hard,” and she
is not afraid of what others will think of her.
Simon says she would like to thank her friends for all of their continuous
support.
League
change puts Badgers in North Sequoia League
ASHLEY NICHOLS
MALISSA TRENHOLM
The entire Badger Football Stadium was renovated this summer, including
a new all-weather track, new sod on the football field, additional bleachers,
new concession stands and press box.
Why is Yosemite High School in a new league this year? Athletic Director
Tom Fiormonti explains “every two years we have a league change,
that’s just how we do it.” There are a variety of reasons.
They want to balance up the schools, not only in size but also in competition.
Fiormonti said that they also changed the league because of the transportation
costs.
They also did it to avoid a five-team league. “It’s a nightmare
for scheduling,” Fiormonti said.
Now, instead of a five-team league, Yosemite High has an eight-team
league. The new teams are Kerman, Chowchilla, Dos Palos and Washington
Union. YHS has played these teams in pre-season in the past. Other teams
in the league, besides YHS, are Selma, Kingsburg and Sierra.
Fiormonti said that there used to be four Sequoia leagues, and now there
are three. Last year YHS was in the Central Sequoia League. Now that
league has merged with the North Sequoia League of which YHS is a part.
The NSL is one of the largest sections with eight teams. There is another
league with eight and another league with six.
YHS now has seven league games, which means there aren’t as many
pre-season games. The schools are farther away for the pre-season games.
The coaches had to choose which schools to play in pre-season. Fiormonti
said it’s a little more costly because of the driving.
Fiormonti thinks the new league will be a great challenge for YHS sports.
And, he said, “It made my life much easier for scheduling.”
With this league change it makes it more competitive, Fiormonti said.
The only bad thing about this is that to play these games students have
to leave earlier which means they have to get out of class earlier,
he concluded.
Bobbleheads fundraiser
for choir program
 The
Badger Bobble Head is currently being sold as a fundraising project
for the Yosemite High Choir.
The figure is available for $15 with proceeds earmarked for a scholarship
program for graduating choir students and to have funds available to
pay non-student accompanists for the work they do with the choirs.
Bobble Heads are available at the YHS Student Store and also at Coarsegold
Market, Mountain Candies, Pak ‘N Page and the choir music office.
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