YAG Lockin: Taking a Study Break in Style

YAG Lockin: Taking a Study Break in Style

Ali Jenkins

The weekend before midterms, Youth and Government members took a break from studying for their annual YMCA lockin. The teens traveled to the Liverpool YMCA to connect with the other parts of their district.  

The students took care of business for several hours, finalizing bills and running through briefs. They worked together to prepare each other for the coming spring conference. The teens also completed this year’s service learning project, writing letters about bullying awareness to intermediate school students.

The teens also came together for icebreakers and team-building games. They broke into groups with the challenge of creating the tallest tower with nothing but balloons and tape. The YAG members also worked together as a team to play a game of “pass the slap” and to solve category puzzles. Finally, they ended the activities with a giant game of crossfire. Later, teens broke off to play racquetball, join a game of sardines, or catch a few hours of sleep.

The 2014 lockin was a success, as the groups bonded in the pool, over ice cream sundaes, and while playing all-night games. Great job to everyone who attended this fun event!

¡Hola Costa Rica!

¡Hola Costa Rica!

Kennedy George

           Mrs. Zimmerman has already been preparing for next year’s trip to Costa Rica. The trip is planned for April of 2015 and will be a two week visit to the country. Fourteen to twenty-two students are planning to go, but there are still slots open for the “Costa Rica Crew” for anyone interested.

           In past years, groups have visited the Costa Rican national rainforest, the volcano Arenal, a coffee plantation, and a nearby island. Students participating in the trip will not only be tourists but also students. During their stay, they will be attending classes at a language school, Intensa. Half of the students of Intensa are Costa Ricans learning English and the other half are people from all over the world studying Spanish. It is a great opportunity for Homer students to take part in the language and to better understand and appreciate Spanish speaking culture.

           According to Mrs. Zimmerman, the most rewarding aspect of the trip is seeing her students’ realization of the value of understanding the language and the purpose of all of the hard work they put into studying the language. This is a fantastic trip to go on if you are considering ever studying abroad or even if you are just interested in the Spanish-speaking world.

           Students will be applying in the next two weeks and there will be a parent meeting for the trip on January, 28th at 6:30 p.m.

Youth and Government in Rochester

Youth and Government in Rochester

Ali Jenkins

On Saturday, January 11th, Homer students in Youth and Government (YAG) traveled to Rochester for their annual Interdistrict Conference. The purpose of this conference is to give new members a chance to practice formal debate and arguments and to prepare delegates for the state conference in March. After convening with Rochester’s club, the students broke into their separate programs: legislative, judicial, and press.

Legislative members began the day in small committees, where they reviewed bills and offered suggestions. After a docket was prepared, the group moved into formal run-throughs of the bills. This gave the delegates an opportunity to practice parliamentary procedure and to share their bills with a wider audience. Lobbyists, also a part of the Legislative branch, presented their statements before the assembly and debated alongside the bill sponsors. After this experience, students are able to use this feedback to strengthen their bills before Albany’s conference.

Judicial attorneys practiced arguing their cases in front of justices. In this program, students are assigned to case A, B, C, or D and serve as the appellant or the respondent. They work for months writing briefs, learning their cases, and memorizing cross cases to strengthen their arguments. At Interdistricts, attorneys presented their arguments in front of new justices to prepare for the spring conference. These YAG members, too, benefitted greatly from the new perspectives and ideas at Interdistricts.

Press delegates also worked diligently throughout the day. They snapped photos of attorneys and bill sponsors in action; they interviewed seniors in the program; and they wrote articles on debatable topics in government. At the end of the day, they distributed the 2014 issue of The Parliamentarian. This publication included the articles, interviews, and photos from the day and went home with the delegates to remind them of the exciting experience!

The YAG Interdistrict Conference is always a successful opportunity for practice, preparation, and growth, and this year was no different. Thank you to all the Homer students who attended this event and special thanks to the Youth and Government advisors, Ms. Giordano and Mr. Chris Buttino, for helping to make the day a success!

2014 Scholastics Art Winners

Success at Regional Scholastics Art Competition

Kennedy George

Many Homer art students’ pieces were selected to go to the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition this year.  The regional portion of the National Scholastic Art and Writing Competition, which covers Central New York, awards Gold Keys, Silver Keys, and Honorable Mentions to impressive pieces of artwork created by students. Artwork that receives a Gold Key will move on to the national competition. This year, Homer High School students received a record-breaking fifty-one awards in total. Mr. Wallace and Mr. Andre, the high school art teachers, deserve a great deal of credit for Homer’s success at the competition this year.

This is a very competitive program, so many outstanding art pieces did not receive awards. The listing of the winners is below. Congratulations to all recognized students!

2014 Scholastics Winners

Gold Keys

Rachel Church - “Tigris” (drawing)

McKayla Crawford - “Lilium” (drawing)

Carly Dove - Art Portfolio

Carly Dove - “Katie-did” (drawing)

Carly Dove - “Tougher Than Agassi” (painting)

Kennedy George - “You’ll Never Guess Where I’m Calling From” (drawing)

Alice Jenkins - Art Portfolio

Alice Jenkins - “Why So Serious?” (drawing)

Alice Jenkins - “Underwater Dance” (drawing)

Bradley Keith - “Cut Paper Self Portrait” (mixed media)

Rachel McNeil - Art Portfolio

Rachel McNeil - “Yellowstone” (drawing)

Rachel McNeil - “Rainy Day in Paris” (drawing)

Monique Sheldon - “The Open Door Policy” (drawing)

Victoria Shevchuk - “Carly Dove” (drawing)

Silver Keys

Weston Button - “Button_w_2_snake” (drawing)

Rachel Church - “Greensplosion” (mixed media)

Kaige Gailor - “Gailor_k_photography_footless_pj” (photography)

Kennedy George - “Ghetto Super Star” (drawing)

Paige Hatfield - “Skate Ring” (jewelry)

Alex Levitsky - “Christmas Ornament” (drawing)

Alex Levitsky - “Pheasant By The Log” (drawing)

Rachel McNeil - “Big Foot Evidence” (drawing)

Rachael Osterhoudt - “Rusty Chains” (drawing)

Emaleigh Perry - Art Portfolio

Kkanche Ratadia - “The Depth of Music” (drawing)

Monique Sheldon - “Apple Of My Eye” (photography)

Monique Sheldon - “My Fair Lady” (drawing)

Sailor Tetreault - “Rusty Tank” (drawing)

Honorable Mentions

Gabrielle Contento - “Paper Selfie” (mixed media)

Zachary Crawford - Art Portfolio

Zachary Crawford - “The Working Man” (photography)

Zachary Crawford - “Busy Sidewalks” (photography)

Carly Dove - Art Portfolio

Carly Dove - “What Started It All” (mixed media)

Kennedy George - “Wallace I Ruined It” (drawing)

Abby Gray - “Wire” (drawing)

Alice Jenkins - “Drenched” (painting)

Clarissa LaFavor - Art Portfolio

Clarissa LaFavor - “Light You Up” (drawing)

Clarissa LaFavor - “Gwyneth” (mixed media)

Alex Levitsky - “Precious Peachick” (drawing)

Alex Levitsky - “Ice Cream Cone” (drawing)

Lukas Pizzola - “The Vagabond’s Ukulele” (design)

Meghan Rahner - “Extravagant” (mixed media)

Meghan Rahner - “There Is No Limit To A Child’s Imagination” (digital art)

Samantha Robbins - “Peacock Pumpkin” (drawing)

Monique Sheldon - “Dragon Fray” (photography)

Monique Sheldon - “Laughing Tears” (photography)

Tamsin Smith - “Liam’s Lecture” (drawing)

Erica Stevens - “Keith” (drawing)

Student Government Holiday Charities

Liam George

Earlier in December, Student Government members spent multiple hours of their Saturday bell-ringing for the Salvation Army in front of the Walmart in Cortland. Also, as you may have seen, members have also been going around the school and getting people to write holiday cards to send to soldiers. They collected over 300 cards in their “Mail for Heroes” campaign! Way to go Student Government!