Senior Superlatives

Senior Superlatives

Marleah Dentes

Each year, the yearbook club has the senior class vote on superlatives. These are typically your “most likely to succeed” or “best dressed”. To speak more clearly, the seniors receive a list of these types of categories and choose a guy and a girl who best exemplifies them; the exceptions to this included “best bromance” and “best gal pals.” The process of picking out the categories is mostly standard each year. Members of yearbook look online for some new ideas for senior superlatives, but usually end up sticking to the classics. They end up making a list of over twenty, but the yearbook club votes on the top twelve. There is some fluctuation, depending on the specific graduating class. For example, there may not be any cute couples to fit the bill. Some of the categories this year included “class clown”, “best hair”, “best smile”, “most likely to brighten your day”, and “most likely to be a government official”. Senior superlatives are really fun and entertaining and represent the memories and personalities of the class of 2017:

This year’s winners are:

Best Smile: Macy Boice and Brent McNeil

Best Hair: Veronica Clarke and Marton Toszer

Best Dressed: Meleah Hartnett and Adam Walling

Best Gal Pals: Mikaela Elkins and Leah Potter

Best Bromance: Cody Johnson and Cole Compagni

Most likely to win an oscar: Kate Halstead and Drew Gustafson

Class Clown: Margret McLyman and Max Riley

Most likely to be a starving artist: Kristen Rahner and Brent McNeil

Most school spirit: Katie Mercer and Jake Riley

Biggest Flirt: Jenna Galeotti and Marton Toszer

Most likely to brighten your day: Macy Boice and Jake Riley

Most likely to be a government official: Jenna McMullin and Matthew Pelowski

College Application Week

College Application Week

Marleah Dentes

October 17th-21st is New York’s College Application Week. As a part of the American College Application Campaign, the American Council on Education aims to increase the amount of students pursuing a higher education, particularly those who are first-generation and low-income. Homer High School has gotten involved, though the guidance counselors have already been working tirelessly to get students thinking about college and familiarizing seniors with the application process.

Each school involved with College Application Week organizes a variety of events. At Homer, the guidance counselors begin their activities early and continue to provide opportunities to learn about college and applications. They meet with seniors in English classes to go through the all the extensive parts of the student’s applications, such as deadlines and the Common App. They organize senior meetings, hold college night, a college week for seniors, and a financial aid night.

The guidance counselors hope to start incorporating grades nine through twelve in the next coming years so that the students can have plenty of knowledge about their application well before they reach their senior year. The counselors strive for college and career readiness. Mrs. Latten stresses the importance of College Application, as it “brings awareness about colleges and gets kids to start thinking about it at a young age”.  

Jumpstart 10

Jumpstart 10

Catarina Kruman

On October 18th, the sophomores of Homer High School attended the seventh annual JumpStart 10 Youth Conference along with three-hundred other students from the county. The primary focus of this event is to encourage students to begin thinking about their futures and to equip them with proper decision making tools. The event was organized by Cortland Area Communities That Care, and they highlighted the importance of making healthy decisions about colleges, drinking, and smoking. The event consisted of an opportunities fair, workshops, a keynote speaker, and a lunch. At the opportunities fair, students were given information from local organizations. Afterwards, students attended five chosen workshops about college, careers, and decision-making. The keynote speaker, Mark Webster, discussed leadership. The lunch consisted of sandwich wraps, chips, and cookies. The conference was a success! Many students left feeling motivated for their future!

The History of Halloween

The History of Halloween

Skyler Powers

Halloween has become ingrained into American society as well as many other countries’ societies. Thousands of kids dress up in costumes and trick or treat or go to parties, people decorate their houses with scary paraphernalia, and children and adults alike indulge in sweets and other goodies. It is a staple holiday of our culture and it is one that thousands of people look forward to. With all of us caught up in the ghoulish shenanigans of this mainstream holiday, however, many of us do not stop to think where it all originated. In fact, Halloween has a very long and interesting history.

Halloween originated over two-thousand years ago in modern day Ireland, England, and Northern France, but it was very different from what it is today. The Celtic people celebrated a festival called Samhain. For the Celts, the beginning of the new year was November 1st. This day also marked the beginning of winter, which the Celts associated with death. They believed that the boundary between the living and dead worlds became blurred on this particular day, allowing spirits of the dead to return to earth. They thought that these ghosts could damage crops, but also make it easier for Celtic priests or Druids, to make predictions about the future. These predictions gave the Celts more confidence and security since they relied almost entirely on the unpredictable natural world. In commemoration of the Samhain, the Celts would build large sacred bonfires, where they would burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. The Celts typically wore costumes consisting of animal heads and skins during these bonfires.

Much later, Pope Gregory III made November 1st All Saints’ Day to celebrate all saints and martyrs. This Christian holiday spread to Celtic lands and mixed with Samhain. October 31st became All Hallows Eve and eventually, Halloween. Despite the name change, the means of celebration generally remained the same.   

Halloween came to Colonial America along with the British colonists. It was frowned upon in Protestant New England, but it was popular in the southern colonies. Traditional Halloween celebrations meshed with the ideas of other ethnicities. This led to a distinctly American version of Halloween. This new version involved ghost stories, dancing, and singing. With the influx of immigrants in the second half of the nineteenth century, Halloween evolved more and spread throughout the United States. People began dressing up in costumes and going from house to house, asking for food or money. This practice evolved into the trick-or-treating that we practice today.  

Around the turn of the century, Halloween became more community-based and an effort to take out anything and everything grotesque from the holiday was set in motion. Parties briefly became the most popular way of celebrating Halloween. This, however, did not last long, because trick-or-treating quickly made a resurgence. Trick-or-treating never again went out of style as it is still a popular practice today.  

Today, Halloween has become a staple informal holiday celebrated by millions. Scary and grotesque activities have made a comeback in the form of movies, haunted houses, and other attractions. Trick or treating has also remained commonplace. While Halloween has changed greatly from its multi-millennium-old Celtic roots, hints of the origins can still be recognized today in many aspects, ranging from jack ‘o’ lanterns to superstitions.  

PSAT 2016

PSAT 2016

Skyler Powers

   This past Saturday, Homer High School administered the annual PSAT/NMSQT, otherwise known as the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The test was available to any sophomore or junior who wished to take it. The test serves as a precursor to the SAT, the scores of which are critical when applying to colleges during senior year.    

   The main purpose of taking the PSAT is to practice for the SAT; thus, it is a good idea to take it so that you can familiarize yourself with the test’s unique format. There are other possible benefits for juniors, however. While sophomores choose to take the PSAT purely for practice, juniors are eligible for National Merit Scholarships. In fact, $180 million dollars in scholarships are awarded to students who take the PSAT every year. Therefore, this test is more than just practice, and it should be taken seriously. That being said, the stakes are nowhere near as high for the PSAT as they are for the actual SAT.  

The PSAT went through a series of modifications in 2015. One of the most notable changes was a total testing time increase. The old version of the PSAT was two hours and ten minutes long, while the new version is two hours and forty-five minutes long. The new version includes evidence-based reading and writing sections and a mathematics section. The reading section is split into two subsections. One revolves around answering questions based off of a series of short passages, and the other involves answering grammatical questions based off of a series of short passages. The math section is also split into two subsections. The subsections are very similar; however, one permits a calculator and the other does not. The College Board, the corporation that develops and administers the PSAT, aims to emphasize individual skills with the new PSAT that are found to be most useful for college and career readiness. These skills include greater emphasis on word meaning in extended contexts and a focus on how word choice shapes meaning, tone, and impact. Another major change is the elimination of guessing penalization. A student no longer receives a score reduction for guessing incorrectly. Only correct answers are counted. Lastly, the number of choices in the multiple choice sections were reduced from five choices to four.  

The PSAT is a very useful test, and it is imperative to take. Some students choose to skip the PSAT, but this is not a very wise decision. First of all, taking the PSAT opens the door to possible scholarships, which are always helpful to pay for college. Most importantly, however, the PSAT is an excellent way to practice for the SAT, which is a vital test. The SAT has a unique format. Most tests do not have a format like the SAT and most tests do not cover such a broad range of topics. The PSAT is one of the best, if not the best way to prepare for the SAT.  

The PSAT also grabs the attention of colleges, whether or not you get a scholarship. If you wish to do so, you can give colleges permission to look at your PSAT scores and send you emails, mail, and text messages. The benefit of this is that you may find out about a college that you may not have known about beforehand.  

In summary, the PSAT/NMSQT offers several unique benefits that make it a must for any high school student. You can be rewarded for getting a high score with scholarships or other awards. You can gain the attention of colleges from across the country and open the door to opportunities that you may have never known existed. Most importantly, you can prepare for the crucial SAT, which can heavily dictate your future education, and thus your future career.          

Homecoming 2016

Homecoming 2016

Molly Burhans

Homer High School just celebrated yet another successful homecoming. The week began with tie-dye day (Monday), followed by twin day (Tuesday), patriotic day (Wednesday), band t-shirt day (Thursday), and “bleed-blue” day (Friday). The freshmen class of 2020 won the golden helmet for school spirit, which was sure to be a disappointment for the hopeful seniors. Then came the time for the parade and judging of the banners.The juniors were especially hopeful, but it was not their fate. The 2017 senior class won the banner competition with its Wizard of Oz themed banner. All of this culminated with the Trojan football team’s victory over the Solvay bearcats. Katie Mercer and Jake Riley were crowned homecoming King and Queen at half-time. After the game, the homecoming dance was a big hit! Homer’s 2016 homecoming was an enormous success!

Security Drill

Security Drill

Skyler Powers

Homer Senior High School performed an evacuation drill Thursday, October 6th. It was the first time that the school ever did any drill like this, and that begs the question: why did we perform this type of drill? Well, I wanted to find the answer.  

Prior to the drill, I spoke with Homer High’s vice principal, Mrs. Kara Schneider. I asked her why we were doing this type of drill for the first time. She told me that all Homer schools are performing an evacuation drill at some point. She also told me that other school districts are performing the same drill. I was informed that Homer’s superintendent, Ms. Nancy Ruscio wants to perform an evacuation drill in order to prepare us for different types of emergencies, and also to find any flaws in the evacuation plan. The school had made an evacuation plan, but there was no way of knowing how well it would work, or if it would cause any issues, without practicing it. Mrs. Schneider also mentioned the fact that New York State has changed regulations for school drills. Now, the state wants school to perform less fire drills and more of other kinds of drills that prepare us for different kinds of emergencies. That brings me to the main purpose of this drill, which is practice. You cannot become good at something without practicing it. We needed to practice an evacuation so that we would know what to do and would be able to do it well in the event of a real emergency.

Schools are evacuated for various reasons Certain scenarios, however, seem more likely to call for an evacuation than others. Due to the unfortunate events of today’s society, it is easy to see why we should be performing evacuation drills. The number and frequency of school shootings is on the rise. From the tragic Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 to the recent attempt at a school shooting in Townville, South Carolina, school shootings are a greater threat to us now than ever before. Evacuations could be the solution to this growing problem.  

A bomb threat is also a legitimate possibility. Just last week, Marathon High School received a bomb threat from a 14-year-old boy who told a friend that he had a bomb in his backpack. While the boy did not actually have a bomb, it still makes you realize that legitimate bomb threats could actually happen. In the event of a bomb threat, an evacuation of the building could be the solution. Evacuation drills also prepare us for other types of emergencies too, whether it be a gas leak, a power outage, or even vandalism.  

For the most part, the drill went well, considering that it was the first one. First, the school was put into lockdown and we had to sit on the floor in the dark in the corner of the room, all while remaining generally quiet. After some time, we exited the building and got on the bus, sitting three to a seat, and went to the JM McDonald Center. After arriving, we sat on the indoor turf while the teachers took attendance. We then got back on the bus and came back to the school.  

The drill went smoothly as a whole. I did, however, notice some problems with instructions. For example, my eighth period teacher told us to sit on the bus according to how we sat in her class, but once we got on the bus, the other teachers were filling spaces and telling us where to go, so we couldn’t sit together the way our teacher wanted. I also asked other students how they thought the drill went, and I also asked them what they thought could be changed. Junior Jodi Shepherd said that she thought it was okay, but she thought that the police officer gave unclear instructions on what to do while they waited for permission to go to the buses. Sophomore Ally Hammond said that she thought the drill went well but that it would be impractical in a real emergency. Junior Derrick Fouts said that a potential perpetrator might  know that we would evacuate to the JM McDonald Center. Fouts commended the work of the bus drivers but also mentioned that we should not have done an evacuation drill, a lockdown, and an early dismissal drill all on the same day.  This, however,  would not matter much in an emergency, but it is still something that can be changed for the next evacuation drill. Personally, I think that there should have been more buses and that instructions should have been more clear.

Nonetheless, this drill was simply practice and it was expected to have some problems. The point of the drill was to practice the plan so that we could change the plans as needs. This will ensure that we are prepared in the event of an emergency.  In that sense, the drill was an unwavering success.