Homer’s Pavilion Award Nominations (updated with award winners)

Homer’s Pavilion Award Nominations

Reed Cleland

Awards ceremonies are some of the most anticipated events during the ending school year. Recognizing our students for academic, athletic, and artistic achievements is inarguably important in maintaining Homer’s diverse range of talent.

Cortland Repertory Theatre’s Pavilion Awards, however, may be unfamiliar to many people. The Pavilion Awards recognize students from Homer, Cortland, Tully, Groton, and Dryden schools for theatre talent. Comparable to Hollywood’s Oscar Awards, students and productions are entered into various categories. Anonymous judges are responsible for selecting the winner of each category.

Homer students and performances have done well at the Pavilion Awards in the past and this year is no exception. Homer hosted three performances during the 2015-2016 school year, two of which received various nominations:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Homer’s fall play. Nominations include:

Best Play (Winner)

Best Ensemble in a Play

Theatre-as-Education Award

South Pacific: Homer’s musical. Nominations include:

Best Musical

Best Ensemble

Theatre-as-Education Award

Additionally, many actors and actresses from both productions received nominations in a

variety of categories. The Homer students in each category are as follows:

Leading Actor in a Musical: David Perfetti (Winner)

Leading Actress in a Musical: Bailey Kote

Leading Actor in a Play: David Perfetti (Winner), Reed Cleland

Leading Actress in a Play: Tessa Brown, Elena Gustafson

Supporting Actor in a Musical: Kenian Ulrich (Winner)

Supporting Actress in a Musical: Kate Halstead (Winner)

Supporting Actor in a Play: Stephen Hyde (Winner)

Supporting Actress in a Play: Julia Gustafson

Featured Actor in a Musical: Evan Ulrich (Winner), Drew Gustafson

Featured Actress in a Musical: Jenniellen Withers

Featured Actor in a Play: Benjamin Hyde, Brenden Haskins

Featured Actress in a Play: Hanna Whalen, Kate Halstead

“Rising Star”: Nate Johnson, Will Anderson

Technical Achievement: Joel Perfetti

With a total of sixteen nominees, Homer is bound to steal some glory at the ceremony. The ceremony will be hosted by Cortland Repertory Theatre on Sunday, June 13th, at 7 P.M. Every single one of Homer’s nominees displayed immense talent while working on their production. Be sure to congratulate them on their spectacular performances. We may see them on the big screen someday!  

Regents Study Tips

Regents Study Tips

Alyson Witt

As the end of the 2015-16 school year approaches, students face the challenge of passing finals and regents exams. This requires many hours of studying and preparation. Many students are unsure of how to study and get the most effective results to receive a passing and good grade. Listed below are some study tips for students:

• Get plenty of sleep the night before so that you are well rested for the test.
• Study a bit every night instead of studying for hours at the last minute.
• Have a parent or friend quiz you on information, that way you know what’s the most important to study.
• Create mental associations with the material.
• Go to as many review sessions as possible (if they are offered)
• .Study with a friend or group.
• Write things down and use repetition.
• Keep it fun: make games or reward yourself when you answer things correctly.
• Have good nutrition so you're mind and body are at its best.

Homer Art Show

Homer Art Show

Alyson Witt

On Monday, May 23rd Homer High School hosted its annual art show. This show is traditionally held at the school, but due to the construction of the gym and auditorium, it was held at the Beard Building Gallery located in Cortland from 5-9 pm. Here, families, as well as the general public, were able to admire students artwork from the year while being offered refreshments. The art show spread throughout many rooms of the building, all showing the students hard work and passion for art.

Jordan Steed, a sophomore at Homer High School, takes Studio 2 and has been attending Homer's Art shows since she was a little girl. She says that they have never failed to impress her, even today as an art student herself. After attending the most recent show, I asked Jordan her thoughts of the event. She responded, “I think the art show is amazing every year. All of the students work hard throughout the year to produce these amazing projects. Although not having the art show at the school was definitely a different experience because we usually do a big picture project that looks amazing when it's finished. My favorite pieces this year were the pastel projects that the studio 4/5 students did. Everyone involved in the art program, especially Mr. Wallace and Mr. Andre, deserves credit for putting on an amazing art show every year.”  I couldn't agree more with what Jordan said.

When I went to the show it was full of eager families trying to see their children's work and taking pictures to show those who couldn't make it. I enjoyed seeing not only my work but also the art created by the upperclassmen, which was all amazing. It allowed to me to see their talent as well as what I could achieve through hard work. I look forward to the shows in the future, as well as the creativity that the next year brings.

 

Why Should YOU Become an Olympian Member?

Why Should YOU Become an Olympian Member?

Alex Levitskiy

There are a variety of clubs for students to get involved in at Homer High School, one of them being the Olympian.  Getting involved in the school newspaper is an absolute must for those interested in journalism or honing their writing skills.  To become a member, it’s as easy as showing up to one of the weekly, Monday, ninth-period meetings and selecting an article to write.  Fortunately, you are able to select articles that you are interested in writing, so it is not in any sense a burden to participate.  This brings me to one of the major benefits of being an Olympian member: you can write creatively!  The Olympian is not like English class where you are restricted by a plethora of criteria; rather, you choose what you want to write about and how you will do so.  Another perk is that your abilities will grow noticeably.  Writing articles on a regular basis follows the saying “practice makes perfect;” you will be driven to write better and relay facts more effectively.  On the same note, your grammatical fluency will skyrocket as each article goes through an editing process.  You will find that by joining the Olympian, you will just be picking up a tool to better yourself.  I know that some of you are probably thinking, “Well what about college?”  Being involved in the school newspaper will definitely be a nice perk for your college application.  Colleges are aware that this extracurricular is not something that just fluffs up applications, but truly requires time and dedication.  Plus, if you are interested in journalism and want to be involved in some sort of newspaper or editorial group, it is best to start out doing so in high school so that you can develop and gain confidence in your writing abilities.  I truly hope that you will consider joining the Olympian!

FFA Convention

FFA Convention

Emma Murphy

The New York State FFA Association hosted the 91st annual State Convention in Syracuse, NY on May 5th - 7th. The convention theme was Imprint, chosen by the six state officers. The three-day convention brought together more than 1,000 FFA members across New York from nearly 100 different schools; one of the largest chapters being John Bowne FFA from New York City, who has about 150 members.

On the first day of the convention, FFA members and advisors participated in a Day of Service. Students visited one of the fourteen different Day of Service work sites where they worked with fellow FFA members, community members, and volunteers to make their “imprint” on Syracuse. There were several options for the service project, one of these options was agricultural literacy at downtown Syracuse schools, which consisted of visiting classrooms, reading agriculture-related stories, and explaining the system described in the book. Another option was working with Cornell Cooperative Extension and Earthcorps, a community-based foundation that works to restore parks and open areas while teaching leadership and responsibility skills to young people. Others were flower box and bat house construction, maintenance at the FFA building at the State Fairgrounds, meal packing at the Food Bank of Central New York (which served over 14,000,000 meals to impoverished people last year), house construction with Habitat for Humanity, tree planting at Onondaga Park, serving and preparing food at the Samaritan Center, upkeep on the Witter Agriculture Museum at the State Fairgrounds, and landscaping, meal packing and making survival bracelets at the OnCenter.

There were also many tours and workshops that were available for chapters to participate in on their down time. Beak and Skiff, in Lafayette, NY, opened their doors for over 300 students for a tour of their facility. They demonstrated how apples are pressed for cider, what machinery is used to rake apples from trees, and what constitutes as a “good” apple.

That last day of the convention, Saturday, over 130 students received their Empire Degree, the highest degree received at a state level. This award is given to students who have successfully completed an SAE, or Supervised Agriculture Experience. To complete this, students must log money and hours spent working with a farm animal, agriculture program, or farm job. It must then be submitted to the state FFA association for review. These students will walk the stage, similar to a graduation, and receive a certificate and gold chain to adorn their signature corduroy jacket, symbolizing the success of their FFA journey. If this convention sounds interesting to you, you may want to look into joining FFA. The New York State FFA  Association is a youth organization that provides premiere growth and leadership opportunities for students all across the state, who are typically enrolled in an agriculture program, such as animal or plant science, diesel mechanics, or biology. To learn even more, see Mrs. Pratt, the advisor for Homer, or any FFA member you may know.

The Envirothon

The Envirothon

Joe Settineri

When the new buds begin to form on the trees and the grass sprouts start to jump out of the ground, it is  time for Envirothon. Envirothon is a yearly competition where each school in the Cortland County sends a team and competes in five different categories: soils, forestry, aquatics, wildlife, and current issue. Each score is based out of 100 and they are usually difficult often yielding scores of sixty or less. Additionally, there are points given for the quality of each team’s oral presentation, which they must prepare prior to the event. This year there were eight teams each with five competitors. Each station mentioned above has a test and the team takes the test together. Sometimes the test involves identifying animals, tree’s, soils, or other factors of the environment and can be very challenging.  This year, the Envirothon was on a soaking wet day, the rain was just coming down in droves. We were all drenched, especially those who did not wear boots or a rain jacket. At the end of the day, all of the team's ate lunch in the lodge at Camp Owatta next to the fire to dry off, and the final scores were announced. This year the top three scores were as follows

The Kids (HOMER)- 513

Cincy Red (CINCINNATUS)-463

Cincy White (CINCINNATUS)-432

The winner of the county competition gets to move onto the state competition at Hobart and William Smith colleges on May 24th and 25th. Be sure to root on your classmates: Joe Settineri, Tighe Gugerty, Julia Fouts, Evan Ulrich, and Kennedy George as they make their way to the state competition and congratulate the several other students in our school who competed last Friday.

Choosing a Driving Course at Homer High School

Choosing a Driving Course at Homer High School

Alex Levitskiy and Kennedy George

Many high schoolers are either preparing to start driving, or experiencing being a new driver. For most of us, driving is the most dangerous thing we will do in our lives, so it is important that we are smart and cautious while we are on the road. Here at Homer High School, there are several options when it comes to driver’s education. Two of those options are the Teen Drivers Safety Course and the summer Driver’s Ed program. In order to park on school grounds, one must take at least one of these courses. But for some, it may be difficult to choose which course to take; there are many pros and cons towards taking each course. So, in order to help students decide which option will work best for them while still properly preparing them for the road, members of the Olympian will give you a closer look into each class.

Perspective #1:

I took the Driver’s Ed class that is offered over the summer. It lasts for multiple weeks and each class day includes a period of lecture and a period of driving. I am very glad that I chose to take this course; it increased my driving abilities tremendously. The pros of this course are that it really teaches you the rules of the road, you get driving time with an experienced driver, it lasts a while so you have time to learn, you get to listen to cool, guest speakers, and it helps you get your senior license faster. The cons of this class are it takes time away from your summer, it costs money to take it, you have to get at least an 85 in the class in order to park on school grounds, and you might have to get up early to get to class on time. Despite the cons associated with this course, I think that it is something that every driver should take. It helps you become a more competent and confident driver.

Perspective #2:

Students also have the option of taking the Homer Teen Driver Safety Online Course. Previously, this course was what many called the “five-hour course.” I was in the experimental group with the new safety course, which I got to try out for the second portion of my Alive at 25 course. The online course consists of six units in driver’s safety. Once you feel that you have mastered the units, then there is an exam that consists of multiple choice and true/false questions. As soon as you complete the online course, Mrs. Reed is notified. Plenty of useful topics are covered that will help solidify the road rules for student drivers.  The pros of this online course are the convenience of being able to take it at home whenever you have time, it is now not as lengthy as the previous required courses, the information is provided in a more interactive and visual manner, and your results are sent right to Mrs. Reed so you do not need to print your results and have to take them to her. The cons are that you do not get actual driving experience nor any in-person advice from an experienced driver. Also, you must get at least an 85% on the test to be granted parking permissions. The online course is perfect for a comfortable driver who wishes to efficiently meet the requirements.

Hopefully, these two accounts will aid you in your decision on how to approach being able to park at the school. There are many pros and cons to each course, so we suggest assessing your personal situation and determining what you are capable of and what you need in order to become a safe and responsible driver.