Tips for Sterling Scholars

Being a Sterling Scholar was one of the most rewarding, yet stressful, things I’ve done in my high school career.

Serving as the Dance Sterling Scholar gave me umpteen opportunities to serve my community, and better myself. But, it didn’t come without some sacrifice.

I’d literally stay after for hours after the school bell had rang, glued to a computer screen, trying to find out the devilish side to InDesign.  Many hours were spent, stalking through my past, trying to find any success, and tying it into my portfolio. For those last few dreadful, and stressful, days, I’d stay after until I’d have a blinding headache from the computer screen.

So, for all of you upcoming and hopeful Sterling Scholars, I’ve got some advice for you:

Tip 1) Don’t Procrastinate. Perhaps the most important of all the tips, DON’T SLACK! You’ll think it’s all fine and dandy, until it’s an hour until your portfolio is due, and you still are working on your book (lol, this happened to me) and you just want to lie down and cry. I repeat, do not slack on your portfolio. Get it done ASAP, and you should be golden.

Tip 2) Start early! Along with not procrastinating, perhaps one of the most important tips is to start early. Be responsible, and make yourself start on your book early. Whether this is writing the essays, or even designing your pages, you’ll be thankful you did!

Tip 3) Do any, and all, service projects you can. This can be from volunteering at the food shelter, to creating your own project. If anything arises that can make you look like a spectacular citizen, do it! You’d rather have too many projects than be scrambling at the end.

Tip 4) Take a lot of pictures. Even though you’ll take 100 pictures throughout the duration of you being a sterling scholar, you’ll find it won’t be enough. Instead, take 200, just to be safe. You’d rather have too many pictures, than blurry ones, or ones you look absolutely hideous in, and still have to use. If you don’t take enough, you’ll be scrambling at the end, and (haha, oops) may even be resulted to take staged pictures. If you think you’ve taken enough pictures, take some more, just to be safe!

Tip 5) Get involved! Everyone says senior year is easy, right. Nope! Wrong! Unless you’re lame and mentally checked out by your senior year, your last year of high school will be stressful. Especially being a sterling scholar, you’ll find you need, NEED, to be extra involved. You’ll thank me later when you need you’re trying to fill space on a page, and that one club you joined fits in perfectly. Get involved!

Tip 6) Use smart time management. There’ll be more days than I can count, that you’ll want to go home, and watch an unnecessary amount of Breaking Bad, and do absolutely nothing productive. When you get this desire, stop. Just stop. Do NOT lie down on the couch, and waste the day. Use your time wisely, because before you know it, you’ll be out of it, and clicking the “send” button on your portfolio!

Yes, Sterling Scholar is incredibly stressful. I feel as if I hadn’t wasted so much time, and had spent my time more wisely, I wouldn’t have been so stressed.

If you’re considering being a Sterling Scholar of any kind, just know the extent of the commitment involved. It’s a great way to help your school and community, but can take a lot out of you, and your free time.

Don’t procrastinate, and remember to have fun! Being the Sterling Scholar is an incredible opportunity! If selected, there was a reason why!

Hopefully these steps can help you have a successful year!

Secret Spills and Outside Cover-Ups

Two objects have the power to evoke a broad range of emotion and controversy in Juab High School:  beanies and fountain drinks.

Our school bans students from wearing beanies, as beanies fit into the JHS Dress and Grooming Code which prohibits hats, head and face covering in the building.  The school also bans students from having fountain drinks on carpeted classroom areas.  Some JHS students don’t agree with either policy.

“It’s [wearing beanies] part of fashion,” said Shyann Edwards.

Many students have started wearing beanies as a fashion accessory.  The woven hats can complement an outfit while adding unique style. Girls aren’t the only ones to think so.  Plenty of boys have been incorporating beanies into their outfits as well.  When asked his thoughts on whether beanies should be allowed in school Kiel West said, “If it goes with an outfit, and it’s cold outside, we should be able to wear them.”

Edwards and West, along with others in our school, see the beanies for their use in keeping students warm in the cold outside weather and in keeping with the fashion trend.   They recognize that faculty members may view the beanies as a sign of trying to be in a gang, but they refute it by saying wearing a beanie doesn’t mean the wearer is in a gang.  Additionally, if people frown upon beanies because they could hide items, the students point out that beanies are so form fitting it would be difficult to hide anything.

What most students don’t realize is that beanies weren’t banned just as a gang issue, if some school officials did consider them a gang issue.  The school district’s reasoning for banning beanies is that a beanie is a hat, and in the JHS student policy handbook hats are prohibited.   As some faculty members have told me, the beanie issue is a respect issue rather than a gang issue.

The faculty’s other argument against beanies is that the hat rule shouldn’t be bent, because if a rule is bent a little, then it can be bent so much it completely snaps in half.  If beanies were allowed, then why not allow bandanas?  Or hoods up on hoodies?  Or why not all hats?  By making one part of the rule questionable, then the whole rule can be questioned, and that’s why they say they have to enforce the entire rule without exception.

Don’t be quick to blame your teachers, though.  Just because they are supposed to enforce the rule doesn’t mean they made it.  This was a school board decision.  Some teachers are actually sympathetic to the students and/or have a difficult time enforcing the rule.  

A couple of them pointed out that beanies are hard to notice because they’re similar to a hair accessory.  Unlike a brimmed hat, the teachers can see students’ eyes with a beanie and tell if students are paying attention.  Because of this, the teachers sometimes forget to check for beanies.  

But even though our school’s faculty can see the students’ side, a school rule is a school rule.

What about the drink rule though?  It’s not an actual policy in the JHS student policy handbook, but it is still a rule being enforced upon the students.  

“I think we should be able to have drinks because we might want to go on a drink run and fountain drinks are cheaper,” said Sierra Fowkes.

The issue of bringing fountain drinks inside the school has spiked since Bev’s opened up with exciting new soda combinations.  Students love grabbing a drink between classes, but once they bring it in they must set it outside, leave it on a teacher’s desk, or throw it away since drinks without screw on lids aren’t allowed inside classrooms.  

This frustrates some students, especially since students don’t have many coins to waste.

The custodians were frustrated though when students brought drinks into classrooms.  Spilled drinks ruin and stain the carpet, and there’s no way to get it out.  Carla, head custodian, said, “Sometimes it [a spilled drink] sits there for a while, and no one even realizes it’s there.”  This sitting soda looks nasty and is even more difficult to scrub out of the carpets.  The school recognized the custodians’ problem and consequently made the drink rule.

In all reality though, the drink issue has been blown into a bigger deal than it really is, and for the most part has been resolved.  Each side can see the other’s view, and a compromise has been made.

“I can see how they would be concerned, but as long as they have a cap I think they’re okay,” said Forest Cox.

Many students, just like Cox, realize the ruinous effects drinks can have on the carpet at school and respect it.  Likewise, the school has recognized that students want to, and do, buy fountain drinks, and has agreed to let them have drinks at school so long as the drinks are kept on the tile.

To wrap this up, please keep beanies outside the school and drinks outside the classroom.  

GPS @ JHS

Talking to your friends in town is always great, but have you always wanted to talk to people in different countries? Mette, a student at Juab High School and one of my good friends, started a club. It gives students the chance to talk to people all over the world. Come to find out there are a lot of people to talk to.  

GPS (Globally Proactive Students) is the amazing club. GPS is a club dedicated to encourage students to expand their cultural knowledge, communication skills, and global compassion. I currently am a member, and we have twenty-seven members total. Our advisor is Mrs. Tolbert. 

Meetings are held in Mrs. Tolbert’s room every third Thursday of the month, so JHS students-- drop on in and check us out! 

Why did we need this new club? “JHS didn’t have a club that focused on geography, culture, or international communication. GPS creates an opportunity to be involved in those areas,” said President Mette Covington.

Some of the activities we have done over the past three months are spray painting our club t-shirts, and sending cards to the people in the Philippines to show support after the Typhoon hit. Throughout the month of February, we have been hosting a book drive for the Sakala library in Haiti

GPS has it very own email, so if you ever have any question you can email us at globallyproactivestudents@gmail.com. If you’re more of a Facebooker, follow us on Facebook at Globally Proactive Students.  

“If we understand how people function throughout the world we can better understand ourselves and how we can be the best we can be where we are,” said Mette.

Being a member, or just a Pen-pal, is a great opportunity for people to get involved with teachers, students, and/or kids from all over the world. It’s just a great way to expand what you know about the world and to even share what you know about the world. If you’re wanting to learn how to speak a different language, it’s even great for that too!

Please come and join this amazing club; it’s well worth the few hours after school, (plus it’s once a month!) We do fun activities, but also real things that help other people. It is a great way to get involved with the world, and you will learn a lot about it!

Please consult the Facebook page, message our gmail, or contact anyone in GPS. 

You can visit http://studentsoftheworld.info/menu_penpals.php.com to create your own Penpal account.