Seniors discuss high school experiences, reveal favorite memories

The Howell High School senior class of 2013 is more than just a group of educated students. Among them are aspiring artists, musicians, writers and athletes who started high school together just four short years ago and are now leaving and beginning their adult lives in the real world. Throughout the past four years, the HHS seniors have created memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Football, soccer, basketball and hockey games are some of those signature memories. Every student loves being able to show school spirit by painting their faces and dressing up to spend the night watching the big games with their group of friends. For seniors though, this year was their last opportunity to cheer on and support our Howell sports teams. Any senior athlete could have been stepping out on the field, court, rink, etc., for the very last time as a player this year.

“I always loved getting ready for the Friday night football games and having the pep assemblies at school for Homecoming,” says senior Megan Stamper.

Prom is something that almost every senior looks forward to at the end of the year. It’s considered one of the last big events that the senior class is brought together to enjoy a night together. After being together and seeing each other every day for years, prom was a special way for the seniors to reconnect and cherish every last moment together in a different way.

“I really loved prom and dances in general. The entire getting ready process was so exciting for me,” says senior Shannon Saunders.

Foreign language classes often take trips out of the country to get a better understanding of the language students are studying. Senior Rachel Keller was fortunate enough to visit France her junior year with the French group. She explained that taking French throughout high school was the smartest thing she’s ever done. Keller was able to see famous landmarks that some people may never see in their entire lives.

“Our trip to France last year changed my life and I wish in the future I can go back,” says Keller.

Everyone knows that when you’re a senior, you’re on top. Underclassmen look up to you as mentors and ask for helpful advice with classes since you’ve already been through it. You also get to attend special senior-only events like the senior hayride, the picnic, and senior skip day. Overall one of the most exciting parts is that teachers finally realize you’re practically an adult and allow you to earn that extra respect you never thought you would get in high school.

“I loved the freedom I got from teachers this year. They gave me more leeway with my assignments and stopped treating me like a kid,” says Nick Green.

Big changes come for seniors after graduation. They essentially become adults and are in charge of the rest of their lives. For some, the change will come naturally and others might struggle at first until they get used to their new daily lifestyle. Seniors planning on attending college in the fall will soon be faced with the challenges of meeting new friends and dealing with no longer being able to see their closest friends from HHS every day.

“I’m going to miss being able to see all the different people at Howell High School – everyone has a different personality here,” says senior Mitchell Bailey who plans to attend Grand Valley State University next year. “It’s obvious you need to make a change after high school and every one of us will make new friends when we go to college, I’m sure of it.”

Around this time of year, the junior class gets eager to graduate and is somewhat jealous that the seniors get to leave. The high school experience goes by so quickly and seniors Daniel Terry, Makenna Wallentine and Paige Engerer encourage underclassmen to enjoy every moment. “juniors are excited now but they will be so scared that it’s over next year,” says Engerer. It’s obvious that not all seniors are wanting to walk out the doors and start their lives on Wednesday afternoon.  Either way, the senior class of 2013 is a great one and each and every graduating student will do great things in the future.

“The excitement and rush of it all is really kicking in. I might actually miss this place,” says senior Bruce Goulah.

Seniors Prepare for Final Seasons: Seniors recap the past four years of their careers

Senior year is always an exciting time as students prepare to wrap up high school and move on to college. Senior year involves a lot of lasts, and for athletes, they want to make their last seasons the best ones. I chose to interview seniors in different sports and let them reflect on their past seasons for Howell athletics.

Kendal Bayer- Softball (Calvin College) 

Softball has always been Kendal’s passion. From playing softball at an early age she entered her sophomore year making varsity and playing first base and outfield for the Highlanders. Kendal was a major contributor to the team her junior year batting third and playing first base. She received All District 2012 and is a MHSAA scholar athlete as a junior.

“I’m going to miss my teammates a lot. Over the years we have all gotten so close and for sure the best memories were the team bondings,” says Bayer.

Entering her senior year Bayer was voted as one of the captains on her team. Before the season started she automatically had high goals for not only her team but herself.

“I worked out alot more to become stronger and faster than I was before in order to make this year my best,” says Bayer.

Bayer looks to receive her pre-architecture degree from Calvin College while also playing softball for the Knights.

I’ve learned that no matter what give everything you have on the field, plus more. You can’t go back so you might as well make sure you made the very best of it,” says Bayer.

Pete Cender- Football, Track, Basketball (Air Force) 

Without a doubt the triple sport athlete. Peter Cender, is the best athlete in his class. Cender received his varsity letter in track his freshman year and was moved up to varsity his sophomore year for both football and basketball. With Cender being as talented as he is, many scholarships were offered for multiple sports, however Cender choose to stick with football after signing with the Air Force Academy. At the Air Force Cender looks to major in business management.

“My favorite memory from high school was making it to the Regional finals for football my sophomore year. It was exciting that we made it that far,” says Cender.

Cender recieved 1st Team All League, and 1st Team All County honors for football. For track he made All-State in Discus. In basketball, Cender made 1st Team All League, and 1st Team All County.

Entering his senior year Cender had a lot of goals he had set for himself and in order to achieve those goals he started running and working out a lot more.

“My advice for your senior year is to go as hard as possible because you never know when your last play is going to be.”

Natalie Stone- Track, Swimming (Oakland University) 

Natalie Stone has always had a passion for running. While running both cross country and track in middle school, Stone decided to stick with track when it came time for high school. Earning her varsity letter as a freshman, Stone competes in the 400 meter dash, the 4×4 relay, and the high jump. Stone earned All County Track Team, was a state qualifier in the 4×4 and was nominated captain her senior year.

“Entering my final season I’ve tried keeping a positive attitude and treating every meet like it will be my last. I don’t take anything for granted, I make every practice and meet count,” replies Stone.

Stone says that she will surely miss the meets and being able to hangout with her teammates. Next fall, Stone will be attending Oakland University to study microbiology and hopes to continue playing sports in the intramural league.

Lance Lys- Basketball, Soccer (Washtenaw CC) 

Lance Lys was a duel threat in two sports, soccer and basketball. Lys played varsity partially for freshman and sophomore year while played full on varsity for his junior and senior year, starting as the Howell goalie. Lys was pulled up for districts for basketball sophomore year and varsity for junior and senior year and played forward for the highlanders. Lys planned for his final season leaving it all on the court and the soccer field.

“My favorite memories were beating Brighton 3 times in basketball senior year and going to the district game, also being able to play with my best friends,” says Lys.

Lys plans to attend Washtenaw Community College then transfer to the University of Michigan to specialize in physical therapy.

“My biggest advice is to leave it all on the court and give it all you have cuz it could be your last chance,” says Lys.

Claire Garrison- Soccer (Western Michigan University) 

Claire Garrison is the definition of the ultimate soccer player. Spending a majority of her time practicing the sport she loves, she has stepped up this season into a leadership role to guide the highlanders to a successful season. Garrison plays forward, center, and midfield and managed to achieve first team all league last year as a junior.

“Soccer has always been my passion and entering my final season I wanted to make it one to remember. I want to help lead my team to one of the best seasons that Howell soccer has ever had,” says Garrison.

With high hopes for her team Garrison continues to push the team at practice and also her competitors. Garrison plans to attend Western Michigan University to major in nutrition and minor in exercise science. She is considering the opportunity to walk on to play soccer.

“With your final season you want to remember to work hard and leave it all on the field, that way when the time comes for it to end you have no regrets,” says Garrison.

Bryan Stroinski- Swimming (Kings University)

Bryan Stroinski has spend many hours in the pool becoming the best swimmer he can possibly be. All his hard work landed him four years on the varsity swim team where he competes in multiple events. These include the 50 Yard freestyle, 100 yard butterfly, 100 yard breaststroke, 200 yard breastroke, 200 yard medley relay, 200 yard freestyle relay. Stroinski is an accomplished swimmer setting the 100 butterfly record, being a four time state qualifier, two time all conference, two time all county relay team. Coming into his final season Stroinski prepared not only physically but mentally.

“I trained in the offseason both physically and mentally. The physical side is important but if you have a weak mind you won’t perform well,” says Stroinski.

Stroinski will be attending Kings University in Bristol, TN where he plans to become a sports psychologist or physical therapist while also swimming for Kings University.

“Have fun with your last season. When they say that it goes fast. It does. Make it last. Have no regrets and just go and enjoy the sport you love to play,” says Stroinski.

Andrea Render- Basketball (Albion College) 

Andrea Render has been a dominate and game changing post player for the lady highlanders basketball team. With receiving KLAA All Conference and First Team All Country her junior year, Render had high hopes entering her senior year. Unfortunately, a season changing injury put her on the bench for most of her senior year. Render never quit, she came back half way through the season but once again, injured her knee finishing her senior basketball season.

“I learned that you have to always give it 100%. You never know when your last game will be. When it’s your last season you have to make it your best,” says Render.

Render will be attending Albion College next fall and plans on playing basketball for the lady Britons.  Render plans to study nursing.

Senior survivor technology team bring event to the masses

Last week at Howell High School, April 21 to April 26, was all about Senior Survivor. It’s a very strong and important tradition to HHS that will remain for years to come. Right now the survivors are the celebrities at school. However, people tend to forget who is doing all the work behind the scenes so everyone can watch and be a part of this experience as well.  While everyone else was sleeping, the tech crew of Senior Survivor, Anna Dodd, Collin Williams, and Dan Oswalt were working on the recording and editing of the nightly films.

HHS student council asked them if they could film the survivors and edit the videos. They all accepted. “It’s a field that we all have an interest in,” Williams says.

Every day last week Dodd, Oswalt, and Williams stayed at the school filming and editing all night. They started their filming right after school during eliminations and then continued through the evening, sometimes as late as 12:30 p.m.

After they had their footage, they had to download it on the computer (which usually takes around a half an hour) and then edited it. It takes just about six hours to edit everything. The videos were created and placed on YouTube for staff and students to view.

They were also in charge of confessionals. Oswalt says, “We fed them things to play off of.”

The trio left the school around five or six in the morning to go home and sleep and wake up and come back for school.

Dodd says, “It’s a lot of work and you don’t get any sleep. It’s more than what people see.”

Seniors flock to two popular spring break spots

This year’s anticipation for the arrival of spring break did not go unnoticed. The most excited students were our 2013 seniors, who seemed to have two main destinations planned. Although no general class spring break was planned, the irony of Howell students winding up in the same place has named this year’s hotspots.

Panama City Beach, Florida

For students looking for a college style spring break, this was the place to be. Panama City Beach is essentially built for spring breakers. Although spring break is their main attraction, the city offers entertainment for all age groups, although putting emphasis on only one. Along the strip bordering the gulf, Panama is scattered with tourist, t-shirt, tattoo, body piercing, and even hermit crab shops. The biggest attraction offered is their clubs. Knowing that they are not only catering to college spring breakers, but high school as well, Panama has several 18 and older clubs accessible to visitors.

“Panama was really great,” says HHS senior Hannah Malinowski. “We had so much fun and there were so many things to do. It’s really student friendly and everyone down there was our age, so it was comfortable. I was also happy with the price of things, it was budget friendly. I would go again since I now know where all the main attractions are and where its ‘it’ places are to stay.”

Cancun, Mexico

For those students who were interested in a more exotic spring break, Cancun was top of the list. Most students invested in an all-exclusive package that many resorts had to offer. These packages covered plane, food, drink, and room costs. All that was to be worried about was spending money to bring home some Mexican souvenirs. Cancun is spring break friendly, so language barriers were not an issue. Although more expensive, Cancun has been deemed one of the best out of country destination spots due to its large offering of resorts, plans, and tourist-friendly environment.

“It was really hot down there!” says HHS senior Katie Slowik. “All of the locals were really nice, definitely student friendly If you stay at the right resort. It was a blast and I would definitely do it again.”

This year’s spring break success is already having underclassmen preparing for their senior spring break with some insight on the best places to travel to.

Senior to continue favored sport into college career

As Claire Garrison prepares for her final season of high school she can’t help but be excited about her future which will begin in a few short months.

The 5’4” senior plans to attend Western Michigan University next fall and major in nutrition and minor in exercise science. Along with playing her favorite sport, soccer.

“I’ve debated either walking or playing club soccer my freshman year, I am still unsure,” says Garrison.

Garrison has been a member of the Howell varsity soccer team for all four years of high school. Along with playing high school soccer, Garrison also plays travel soccer, allowing her to play all year round to improve her skills.

“I spend my entire year playing soccer, starting with my travel team, and then high school, and then right back to travel. I love playing and getting to play your favorite sport all year round is the best,” says Garrison.

Garrison has played on multiple travel teams including Revolution, Alliance, Phoenix, and Club Michigan.

“I love playing travel soccer. You get to meet a lot of good soccer players and improve yourself against better competition,” Garrison explains.

Garrison started playing soccer at age five when her parents put her in recreational soccer. It wasn’t long before she found her passion and began to play travel soccer.

Garrison entered her freshman year being placed on varsity. She describes her first couple of seasons being on varsity as some “rough seasons.”

However, that didn’t stop Garrison from competing on the high school team. As she entered her junior year she moved into a leadership role and was a main player as she looked to improve her team.

“As a team we have grown a lot. Since I was on freshman we have always been improving every season. This year I expect us to have an exciting year and do very well,” says Garrison.

While pushing her team to get more wins and have an overall better season, Garrison also looks to achieve personal goals such as being placed on first team all league which she received last year.

Outside of soccer Garrison jokes, “I have no life,” a common answer from most dedicated athletes. Then she replies, “I enjoy hanging out with my family and friends, most of which I play soccer with.”

It seems that Garrison can’t stay away from soccer and can’t get enough of it.

“Soccer has always been my passion, and I want to play it for as long as I can.”

 

Senioritis takes over class of 2013

As many of us students know, a sickness starts spreading around the senior class about this time of year. Senioritis is a sickness that attacks your motivation. Starting there is then spreads to your physical wellness. Making you even more tired in the morning resulting in absence in classes and skipping.

Symptoms may include are lack of motivation, procrastination, fatigue, missing homework, and carelessness. This sickness is very bad and could result in not graduating. Although senioritis is a serious condition that you need to talk about with your teacher, most seniors struggle through it and make it to graduation.

Ty Zimmerla, a senior at Howell High School, has claimed to have come down with senioritis.

“I think I got it from my friend Dan, I heard it’s spreading like crazy,” Zimmerla says.

Zimmerla has had many of the typical symptoms of senioritis, such as; tardiness to class, no motivation, and of course the most common, lack of completed homework.

As Zimmerla fights through his sickness he feels relief that he’s not the only one with it.

“At first I thought it was abnormal that I lost all motivation for school, but now I realize it’s actually pretty common,” Zimmerla says.

Along with senioritis spreading, senior activities outside of school such as work, sports, and prom, all have been stacking more weight on this year’s graduating class.

“I think I’m getting senioritis, and on top of that I have work and everything to figure out for prom still. Everything together is really frustrating and exhausting,” senior Caitlinn Fauer says.

Fauer, with everything stacked on her plate, has still managed to stay under the five absences a quarter rule, which is not a common thing for most seniors this year.

Juniors have been seeing all the commotion in the senior class, and are preparing for the worst.

Zach Noonan, a junior at HHS, is almost frightened by what is to come for him next year.

“I really hope I don’t catch senioritis next year, I don’t do well with sicknesses,” Noonan says.

Noonan now knows what is to come for him in his last quarter of high school. Hopefully the precautions he will take will help him breeze through his senior year without any problems.

Some precautions you can take to avoid senioritis are reducing your time you hang out with friends, writing down all your assignments so you don’t forget them, and also keeping your future in mind to motivate you to do work.

As of right now senioritis is worse than it has been all year, and will probably continue to spread until the seniors leave. To stay healthy and away from the sickness make sure to drink lots of water and keep your eyes on your books.

Senior Survivor mandatory meetings

As many of us Howell Highlanders know, every year we have a competition called Senior Survivor and it’s that time of year again! Applications were in the main office available to any and all seniors interested in participating for Senior Survivor 2013. The applications consist of a permission slip and a short essay question defending your right to compete in senior survivor this year. Applications were due March 1 in the main office.

“A committee consisting of student council advisors and administrators will be choosing this year’s group, “ says Ms. Gabriella Dinatale, student council advisor at Howell High School.

There are some requirements for Senior Survivor, such as having at least a 2.0 GPA. Names will be fed into a random name generator and the first six names will be this year’s Senior Survivor students.
Students will be notified on March 4, who the selected students are. These lucky students will need to attend a mandatory meeting on Tuesday, March 5 at 2:20 in room S-3.

Final events scheduled for the Class of 2012

Some shed tears as they said their farewells to friends and faculty; others cheered as they exited the building.

Howell High School graduating seniors are preparing to take the next step for their futures as they say goodbye to the last four years of their lives.  However, it’s not totally over yet as there are still a few events for the class of 2012 to look forward to.

This year’s graduation commencement will be held on Saturday, June 2 at 5:00 pm. The ceremony is being held at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Due to the size of the center, all is welcome to attend.  There is also a mandatory graduation rehearsal on Friday, June 1 at Howell High School at 8:15 a.m..

“It’s weird to think that graduation is finally here. It feels like just yesterday I was in kindergarten,” says senior Courtney Arlington. “I am excited, but sad that it’s all over.”

The 2012 class quote is “Dream as if you will live forever, live as if you’ll die today,”  said by the late actor, James Dean. The class flower is the sunflower, and the class song is Shadow of the Day by Linkin Park. Each person will receive a sunflower with their diploma. The 2012 class officers include President Joshua Schnell, Vice-President Aryn Morrison, Secretary Claire Kwan, and Treasurer Hope Hersh.

Also, honors students will be given different colored cords to wear at graduation depending on their cumulative grade point average. A white cord will be given to those who are in the Summa Cum Laude category, which is a GPA range of 3.9-4.0. A gold cord will be given to those in the Magna Cum Laude category with a GPA range of 3.7-3.899. A silver cord will be given to those in the Cum Laude category with a GPA range of 3.5-3.6999, and a bronze cord will be given to students with a GPA ranging from a 3.0-3.4999.

While the graduation commencement is a milestone event, many of the seniors are really excited for the Senior All Night Party. The Senior All Night Party has been a tradition for over 20 years at Howell High School. It is held on June 2 at 11:00 p.m. in the field house. Students must be checked in between 11:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. and no later. Once students are checked in they will not be allowed to leave and come back.

This event is run completely by volunteer parents and donations, so that it can be a cost free event for the students. There will be a D.J and a live band, as well as many activities. Some of the activities include Henna tattoos, an obstacle course, football toss, basketball, a hypnotist, as well as Sumo suits for wrestling.  There will also be raffle prizes and a station to get a manicure or new hairstyle.

“I’m looking forward to the Senior All Night Party,” says senior Stephanie Straka. “I can’t wait to be hypnotized and make a fool of myself.”

The volunteer parents would like to give a special thanks to those who donated to the event and especially the Coy family for assisting everyone and making this event possible.

“It will be a really fun event for the kids,” says Karen Somers, one of the volunteer parents who helped put the party together.

So, Class of 2012, make the best of these last few high school memories and good luck as you continue on to the next step of your life.

End of the year is drawing near Seniors, be aware of fourth quarter expectations

Senior year is what every student propels towards the second they enter high school. Unfortunately for some students, senior year can slowly become not as fun as they would have thought. The 2011-2012 school year is slowly coming to a close, and with that in mind, Howell High School administration is strongly enforcing their fourth quarter expectations of the senior class.

With the end of the year just around the corner seniors need to pay close attention to their behavior and actions. According to Ms. Jennifer Goodwin, Howell High School assistant principal, the administrators are not messing around.

“Fourth quarter expectations are supposed to reiterate that even though there is very little time left, students are still expected to adhere to the Howell Public School’s Code of Conduct. I think it is very easy for some students to slip into what they call ‘senioritis’, and now is not the time,” said Ms. Goodwin.

Senioritis is the faux disease and excuse made up by seniors, who become lazy and have no incentive to do any work.

“I’m one of the lucky ones that hasn’t been affected by senioritis,” said senior Caitlin Eldrid. “I just feel that there isn’t that much time left, so I might as well just stick it out like I have been all year.”

Although Eldrid has done well staying on track, many seniors have fallen into the senioritis trap.

Students need to be aware that their behavior is a big factor in relation to special privileges for seniors. According to the Howell Public School’s Code of Conduct students sometimes fall into committing acts of disruption, or even embarrass or hurt other students, and such actions will not be accepted. If a graduating senior were to break one of these rules he or she could be subject to both suspension and/or the loss of senior events of Privilege.

If the situation requires such action, student’s ‘Events of Privilege’ will be withdrawn, events such as:

- Prom
- Athletic banquets
- Remaining athletic contest of practices
- Remaining musical or dramatic performances
- Senior awards night
- Senior breakfast
- Senior picnic
- Any Howell Public School graduation or commencement
- Senior all night party
- Any other event associated with the senior status

Ms. Gabrielle Dinatale, a HHS English teacher, shared her concern of a few continuous problems. “Attendance! Attendance is a big one. Students will actually skip while they’re at school, which just makes no sense to me,” said Ms. Dinatale.” “There is only a few weeks left, so students assume they can’t get in trouble. ”

The Howell High School Attendance Policy strictly states that no student should have any unexcused absences exceeding nine days. If students fail to follow this guideline possible suspension could be in place, and students could even be denied credit to their classes.

Ms. Dinatale believes that because students are of the senior status and have been going to school for around 160 days so far this year, behaving for a few more weeks should not be a problem. “My advice would be to just try your hardest to hang on for another few weeks,” said Ms. Dinatale.

As May 23, the senior’s last day approaches, students and teachers are having mixed feelings. Some teachers are feeling worrisome in terms of the students much needed effort. “It sometimes gets a little stressful, because at times we feel as if we are doing more work to help the seniors graduate, than they are themselves,” said Ms. Dinatale. “It worries me sometimes, but overall, I am very excited to see where the future takes our students.”

For Audra Hudson, another Howell High School senior, the end of the year is bittersweet. “It’s a little upsetting that we don’t have much time left,” said Hudson. “I’m sad because I’m leaving my friends, but at the same time, I’m excited to move on.” Hudson has all-in-all enjoyed high school and described it as an “over-all stressful, but great experience.”

Students need to be aware of fourth quarter expectations and are expected to follow through with what is requested of them. Although students need to be fully aware and cautious they are encouraged to enjoy the time that they have left, and make the most of it. After all, senior year is something you will remember forever.

According to Ms. Goodwin, “It would be in every senior’s best interest to specifically read page 88 of the Howell High School Student/Parent Handbook. Make sure you are aware of what is at stake!”

Howell seniors close out careers with win

It’s hard to believe, but Howell’s football season has quickly come to an end.

The Howell Highlanders were able to capture a victory in their final game of the year beating Inkster, 35-8. It was a Highlander rout throughout the entire contest, with several strong individual performances.

Third year starting quarterback and senior captain, Greg Cauley, finished his last high school football game with a bang. He passed for 161 yards, scoring two touchdowns through the air and one on the ground.

Senior running back, Jon Melanson, rushed for 68 yards and a score on 12 carries.

While the offense was firing from all cylinders, the defense was even better. The Highlanders came out of the gate aggressively and it remained throughout the entire contest. They put excellent pressure on the quarterback and were able to shut down Inkster’s speedy offense.

Junior linebacker Vincent Patritto had an excellent game, recording five tackles and two sacks.

In previous games this season, turnovers plagued Howell. It definitely wasn’t the case Friday night. The Highlanders did not turn the ball over once to the Vikings and it showed on the scoreboard.

This was not the kind of season Howell was aiming for, but they were able to send the seniors out on a high note after finishing with an impressive two game win streak.

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