What MBI is All About by Cierra Dougherty

What MBI is All About

At Mission High School, we have quite a few clubs, like SSC, FCCLA, and SOAR. But, one club that sticks out in the high school is MBI.

MBI is a student-led group that was put together last year by Mr. Ferris, Mrs. Ferris, Mrs. Keast, and Mr. Sargent.  MBI stands for Mission Bulldog Initiative and it also means Montana Behavioral Initiative. The teachers and principal thought this group would be a great way to get the students involved in school-wide activities and to make our school a better place to be.

In the MBI group, there are eight students: Steven Bravo, Emilio Bravo, Daisie VandenBos, Hannah Vaughn, Raymond Matt, Will Powell, Nyqolas Gillingham, and Courtney Heath. These students were picked by the teachers who set up MBI. They were chosen to be in MBI because they want kids in different areas to get different opinions on where our school is, and seniors cannot be chosen. Seniors cannot be chosen because they will no be around to experience the changes the school has made.

The students in the MBI group made goals of this year to have more activities to get more high schoolers to participate. Not only did they accomplish getting more kids to participate in their activities, like the obstacle course that they have set up, but they have raised school pride. MBI wanted know what the school pride level was throughout the school, so they took a poll asking the students what they thought the pride was on a level of 1-10. Based on their previous poll, school pride used to be on a level base of a four or a five, but now it’s almost up to an eight.
            Their next accomplishment is to try to fix our school lockers. The school lockers are ancient, different colors, and breaking down. The MBI student group is going to try to fix that by repairing and repainting them so they are good and new again.

Thanks to our MBI student group, led by Mr. Ferris, Mrs. Keast, Mrs. Ferris, and Mr. Sargeant, our school has gotten better and is still improving.

“I think MBI is really fun and it’s pretty cool.” –Steven Bravo

By Cierra Dougherty

Haunting in Mission by Leon Ochs

Haunting in Mission

            On this Halloween a dark evil will spread over the small school of Mission High, enveloping the halls

in fog and bringing haunted creatures to its classes. Kids from the city may enter if they wish, but only at the risk of their very own lives.

            Student Council plans for this haunted night to be a great one filled with horror, and well, fun, for small kids in the community who are looking for a wonderful Halloween. Put on by members of FCCLA and Student Council, it will be decorated and run by students during the evening hours of Halloween night.

            The plan is to every class room to be a separate haunted room where kids can enter and get candy along with a few scares if done correctly. Students like Patrick Eichert and Brandon Wilber have already volunteered to dress up and hand out candy in the darker corners of the school, which they usually do anyways. Patrick says, “It sounds like a really good idea, and it could provide some community service hours that can never hurt when you’re trying to finish your senior project.” Patrick and Brandon aren’t alone though, many other students are willing to give up their Halloween night to serve the community.

            Decorating for this project could pose a few problems, mostly because of the sheer size of the school. However not every room has to be perfect, and most of the kids coming will be young enough to enjoy all of it. The biggest chore of the whole thing definitely will be setting up, but after that is done most of the kids will probably get into their jobs of handing out candy. Coming up with new ways to scare the kids, but not too badly, will make the night fun for both groups.

            So, if you’re looking for a scary, yet candy filled night, look no farther. All of the ghosts and creatures of the night will be hiding out in the Mission High school this Halloween.

-          By Leon Ochs

Work on Work Days by Kenzie McElderry

Work on Work Days

            The school has certain things that we do school-wide that are supposed to be fulfilled by the whole school. This is something that I believe can help a school bond and become close. I think it is important to set goals for a school year so that students can achieve personally and together.

At our school we have a day that we get to work on work. Once a month we have a day that Mr. Sargant talks to us in the morning at a school assembly about the school year and what he expects of us. This is, I believe, important because students get to know what is expected of them so they have no excuse to not do it. Mr. Sargant also shows us how we did on national and/or state-wide testing and show us if we made our goals and what we could work on. I think that is important as a school so that we can work harder and be proud of what we accomplished.

 Then we get a chance to go to our advisories and learn more about our school goals which are: Demonstrate Integrity, Achieve Excellence, Work Hard, Gain Respect, and Share Responsibility. MBI has put these together, and our school and students are expected to show these attributes. I think that it is important that every goal is explained so that we students know what they mean and how we can accomplish them, personally and school-wide.

After advisory each class gets a part of the school to clean up. I think this shows the Share Responsibility part of our goals. If every student works hard on their part of the school our school will be a cleaner and better place. I think doing this makes each kid and class responsible. If one class does not do it, then the school knows what class needs to work on Sharing Responsibility.

Once the school is cleaned up we have time to work on missing assignments or just homework that we would like to get done. If you are done with all your homework and missing assignments, then you can hang out and have fun in the gym. I think this is an excellent idea and I am glad that each student has to show that his or her stuff is done before he or she can relax and hang out. I think this helps students be responsible of their work and, in the end, will help grades and save time and energy for teachers.

The Work on Work days are something that we do once a month as a school. I think these days are successful and worth it. The school gets to work together and we get to get out of school early. I think it is nice to have time to catch up on work or save yourself from going home and doing homework. These days are important and I am glad we do them.

By, Kenzie McElderry

             

Policies by McKenzie McElderry

Policies

            Every place, whether at school or work, has policies that you must follow. Some may agree with the policies, some may disagree. Either way, the policies are put in place for a reason. Here at St. Ignatius High School we also have policies that students must follow and that are just put in place for safety or for the betterment of the school. One of those is the No Bells policy.

            In this school we don’t have bells that ring  between classes to let you know you must get to your next class and to inform you when you are tardy to that class. I personally am not a fan of this policy. I have spent most of my high school years in Corvallis High School, where we had five minutes between classes and there were bells to release you and to tell you when you were tardy. There are definitely pros and cons to having bells in between classes.

            One of the cons to having bells in between classes are that they are obnoxious. Bells have this sound to them that is distracting and is very loud and sometimes they do not ring at the right time so it just causes an interruption. When you have bells you have to spend the time scheduling them to ring on time, and when you have half days or short days it becomes a pain to program it to the right time.

            However, I believe there is more pros to bells than there is cons. Currently we have no way of knowing when class is over unless we are looking at the clock constantly. With a three minute class switch, you have to be on time getting out in order to go to your locker and next class in a timely manner without being tardy. I think bells also help teachers; when they are in class they are focused and have things to do. The last thing they need is to pay attention to the clock when they need to let their students out of class. Bells are just a good way to let everyone know that class is over and it is time to go to your next class, as well as letting you know that you are tardy and class is starting.

            Whether you agree with a policy or you disagree, you still must respect it and follow it. I do not agree with the no bell policy but I have learned to adjust without bells. Policies are put in place for our safety and for the function of the place, and they are important. Without policies or rules companies and schools would be complete chaos. So, whether you agree with a policy or don’t, remember how much of a worse thing it would be if there were no policies at all, and remember that not everyone can be pleased.

By McKenzie McElderry

Interview with Brenda by Kenzie McElderry

Interview with Brenda

            Today we will be featuring one of the most important people of our school, Brenda Arlint the, high school, secretary. The secretary handles all of our dirty work such as the paperwork, answering the phones, tracking down students, handling money, and many other miscellaneous jobs. I got the pleasure of talking with Brenda at the start of this year and I have found that she is an amazing woman who is worth knowing.

            Brenda was born in Orange, New Jersey, which is close to New York in the upper part of New Jersey. Now you wouldn’t assume this sweet lady was a city girl but it’s amazing what you find out when take time to talk to a person. Brenda has been living in St. Ignatius, for 18 years since her daughter turned one year old.

            Brenda really knows about children. Mrs. Arlint has two children who are biological, but she also has 7 step kids. In total that is 9 kids for whom she loves and cares. What an amazing woman we have at our school.

            This lady has been working at our school for quite a long time. To be exact Brenda has been here at St. Ignatius Schools for 12 years. She has seen the good and bad of our school and when I asked if she likes it here she said, “I love it”. She has been working hard at our school and deserves the utmost appreciation for all that she does.

            I have enjoyed my time talking with Brenda Arlint who helps hold this school together. Her bright and cheery personality could make anybody feel welcome and at home. With the busy life that she leads, she manages it all well and keeps a smile on her face. As an office aide I get the privilege to talk to and spend time with the wonderful Mrs. Brenda Arlint.

By Kenzie McElderry

           

Homecoming as a Whole by Kenzie McElderry

Homecoming as a Whole

            Homecoming is that week in the beginning of the year that typically I dread. Homecoming usually occurs at the end of September and is usually jam packed with activities. Dress up days, school activities, students’ overall excitement, the football game, and the dance. There is always something going on. Homecoming week is often the week that kids can fall behind because they are so caught up in what is going on that they don’t want to focus on classroom stuff.

            During homecoming week we have the car push, obstacle courses, and other activities that we do every day and, generally, it takes up one class period. This break of no class causes kids, in my opinion, to lose focus and makes them excuse the rest of the school day. Although the school does a good job at making sure that the same period doesn’t get skipped every day. It is first period one day, second period the next, and so on, I still feel like the activities could wait until after school or something so that if kids want to attend they can if they don’t they don’t have to. Also that would keep kids focused on school during the day and no class would have to be skipped. 

            Dress up day is another “fun” thing they do during homecoming. Although sometimes I participate, I believe that the school could do a little better job at monitoring what the dress up days are because some kids don’t wear enough clothes when they dress up. I think of dress up days as an excuse for girls to get away with breaking the dress code. That being said, I think we should monitor more what the dress up days are and regulate the rules a little better. I will say that when there is appropriate dress up days and every one follows the rules, dress up days can be extremely fun.

            The football game and the homecoming dance is the real reason the students do homecoming week. The game is always packed full of excitement and I do love that. For students we do homecoming week, so that we can be all excited for that game and that our school pride would show brighter than any other time. However, that is just one game full of complete excitement. What about all the other games? When the football team is struggling and has a tough team, where is our school spirit then? We always are excited homecoming week but eventually that team spirit dies down. The homecoming dance follows the game and I know that kids always have fun at the dance and I am glad they have homecoming dance. I personally do not go to them but for the kids who do, it is just a fun night where they don’t have to worry about anything. Homecoming dance is a place that kids can have fun with their friends, and their parents can know that they are not doing anything that could get them in trouble, so I am grateful for the dance. However the actual reason we do homecoming is to honor the alumni and I did not know that until this year, so obviously we do not do a very good job of honoring them if the students don’t know that is what homecoming is for.

            Homecoming week comes every year; you can expect it and anticipate it, or dread it. For some it is their favorite week of the year and is fun. Homecoming week is all about school pride which is important for a school to have. I hope that our Homecoming this year will be safe and that the students will have fun even if I do not enjoy homecoming week all the time. I hope the teachers enjoy this week and that they feel a sense of accomplishment at the end when they see their students happy. Be safe and have fun. Go Dawgs!

By Kenzie McElderry

           

            

Life seen in colors by Briar Ahlborn

Life seen in colors

            Life in Color: the most popular name for a tour that travels around the world to spray crowds over with three colors of paint. Life in Color can be described as a paint rave, dubstep techno concert, and a paint dance.

            My experience with Life in Color was almost unexplainable, just so wonderful, an amazing experience and definitely unforgettable. Life in Color, seen from my eyes, was a paint rave. The musical guest Savoy played for the crowd that summer day at the Osprey baseball field was Savoy, a dubstep DJ. To the ears of the older generation, Savoy is just “noise” because there are almost no words in any of the songs if it is dubstep. That’s what you get living in my generation of people.

            Life in Color can be enjoyed from a distance in the stands to watch the light show and dancers on the stage dressed in wonderful creative, exotic costumes. Or you can enjoy the music in the crowd of people waiting for the fire hoses to spray the paint over the crowd. Life in Color plays once a year towards the end of the summer into August just before it starts to get cold. Depending on where they are and how stages are arranged the organization can take place either indoors or out. The paint was sprayed by the dancers in between their personal dancing routine on stage; the colors sprayed were pink, green, and blue.

            The paint sprayed was non-toxic, washable, and watered-down. Dressing for such an event was easy: just wear white and, if you’re worried about the paint in the eyes, wear goggles of some sort. I, on the other hand, wore clear work glasses to both protect and to enjoy the show.

            Five hours of dancing in the wet colors of the paint, ears overwhelmed with the music, legs sore from the jumping, heart pounding from both dancing and overall excitement of just being in the presence of the Life in Color tour, I cannot wait until their next show.

By Briar Ahlborn      

Class Competitions by Kenzie McElderry

Class Competitions

            Homecoming week has come and gone and all that is left is the memories. There were so many things we did and a lot of them were fun, and some maybe not so fun, but overall it was a great week. In the post-Homecoming week there is still a bit of excitement, but students have to realize that we have to get back to normal weeks and classes. For seniors, it is a bittersweet moment knowing that our last Homecoming week has come and gone. I think class competitions were my favorite.

            We had several competitions that the classes did with each other. Some of my favorites were the locker decoration competition, even though my locker was covered up and I had to cut it out. The other favorite was probably the Minute to Win It, which was very entertaining. The car push was interesting and unfair! The other classes had tons of people to push the car and they rocked it. The seniors didn’t have very many people so it took longer for us to push the car. Overall, they were fun.

            I think the class competitions are important because it gives students some excitement in their week. They also cause a little rivalry which is always fun as long as people don’t take it so seriously that it is not fun anymore. I think every class did well; maybe not the freshman, it didn’t seem like they tried very hard but they will get it eventually.

Everybody had fun and student council did a good job at choosing competitions to do that were fun and took up a full class period. It was kind of nice to have a full period a day taken up by something fun. I hope that classes from now to that classes from now to forever enjoy class these competitions and have a lot of fun with them. For the seniors’ year, I hope you keep the memories forever.

By Kenzie McElderry 

Lock Down the Students by Dominik Stallings

LOCK DOWN THE STUDENTS

 

Ever since the school shooting incident in Connecticut the Lock Down procedure has been intensified and made more serious by schools nationwide. The worst school shooting that ever happened was in 2007 at Virginia Tech with 32 victims who paid with their lives at the hands of the shooter. But it seems that schools didn’t react as much as they did after Connecticut. The victims were 20 children from age 5–10, and 6 adults. The shooter shot himself after he stopped shooting into the school.

The Lock Down has been since then, more intense than ever, since the nation has concentrated on keeping children, especially small children, safe in school. It is very odd for many people since they have to realize that this is for their protection. The actual lock down isn’t as bad as it sounds though since the teacher who is in charge at the moment will try keep everyone safe in class. You have to find cover under the desks or in a darker corner, but nowadays the lock down is just a good excuse for many students to fall asleep and relax while in school.

I think it is very extreme since policemen stand around school pretty much all the time. But thinking about the Shootings and how these children were murdered, gives us a reason to practice these procedures and train for the potential happening.

The school’s 1^st Lock Down was in 2000 after the incident of Columbine. It seems to be that the Lock Down is almost a tradition along with Earthquake,- Fire Drills and more. It’s something that is very positive about how safety and security plays a role in american education.

By Dominik Stallings

Choosing a Career and Then You Die by Briar Ahlborn

Choosing a Career and Then You Die

           

            Career Day, Friday November 22, 2013. Career Day is a day that feels like it’s a decade long: dedicated to college pushers, nurses, military men, doctors, and many more. Career Day is a day that is organized by the school to open up our young minds to what we want to dedicate our lives. Well, and because we don’t have a choice really. We have the choice between working and making the necessary amount of money to “survive” this world, getting by on microwave dinners, fueling the almost broken down Pontiac you own, feeding your cat that is shockingly still alive. Goodness, I could go on but I need the energy I have left for my dead-end job.

            Senior students are required to do a “mock” interview and are graded upon how well we do. Juniors job shadow a job closest to their interests, and finally, the sophomores and freshmen take their traditional college visit/tour.

            The high school teachers suggest we look nice, decent, and approachable to the Career Day visitors but, like that is going to help. Dressing nice isn’t going to shield the visitors from the reality of what our school students are.

            Career Day shouldn’t be a required day to attend; it should be an optional day for the students with the drive and patience. Career Day should be a personal choice of attending or not. We students should be in charge of what career we choose in life. What makes the staff think a room full of visitors is going to guarantee that we all end up in any of those careers or colleges?

            Bottom line is Career Day shouldn’t be pushed on the students of St. Ignatius, it should be a choice.

By Briar Ahlborn

           

Locked In by Leon Ochs

Locked In

            On October 16^th, Student Council proposed a brilliant, yet possibly disastrous idea. This being the idea of re-doing the middle school’s “Lock In;” where kids are locked into the school and stay up the whole night participating in games and movies.

            Since this was originally done in the middle school, it’s been untested with much older kids. So, to me, this proposal is very shady, considering how many kids will be attending. In middle school, children are contented with simply running around screaming all night, but I feel that boredom will ensue if this happens in the high school. When high school kids get bored together it usually doesn’t turn out with people playing tag in the gym.

            If everything goes well it could turn out to be a very well-structured and profitable night. There will be a small fee to enter the school before its “locked down.” That money will go toward the Student Council’s fund which, in turn, can be used for other activities in the future. Also the chances of unwanted things happening during the event will be diminished because there will be a decent amount of supervision from volunteers and teachers alike.

Putting the worries aside, the Lock In does have some valuable activities that could interest kids. The plan is to have everything from movie rooms to playing basketball in the gym, with various other things going on in teacher’s classes. Not every kid may find something to interest him or her, and therefore, not everyone has to attend. It will probably be a good time if everyone tries to make it so.

            Currently this proposal is under consideration by Student Council, but has been approved by Mr. Sargent. To actually make this happen Student Council needs to work on planning and acquiring the supplies they need to make it a good time. Hopefully, all of this goes through, because it could be very exciting if done right.

-          By Leon Ochs

Trick or Treating at the School by Cierra Dougherty

Trick or Treating at the School

            As we all know, Halloween is coming up fast. The fall leaves have changed to their pretty colors, parents pick out the future jack-o-lanterns, and kids choose their scary and funny costumes.

            This year for Halloween, Students Serving the Community (SSC) is holding a school Halloween event. The event allows young children to trick or treat, door-to-door, in the school hallways. The doors will be decorated with different themes, scary or otherwise. At the doors will be high school students, from different extracurricular groups, dressed up with the theme of their door to hand out candy to the children. The kids can also gather in the high school commons for arts and crafts and treats, before or after they go trick-or-treating in the hallways.

            Families and kids of all ages are welcome to join in on the fun.  Kids must be accompanied by an adult. The school event is held the day before Halloween, October 30^th, 4:30-6:30 P.M. Hope to see you all there!

By Cierra

Ending the year with a project by Briar Ahlborn

Ending the year with a project

            High school, a four year agreement with yourself and the school attendance secretary. Starting your high school life with your freshmen year building up every year closer and closer to the finish line, also known as your big senior year: the last year, the real deal. You build up your four years to that year, that finish line, building up those credits that don’t seem important until you get to the end, realizing you should have taken the last three years seriously. Those credits determine if you are going to graduate or not.

            Senior year is similar to all the previous years, as well. The only minor difference is the legendary Senior Project. The Senior Project used to be a “project”, a task of some sort. But the school decided that the Senior “Project” was too complicated and stressful on the students and decided to make the Senior Project a “five year plan paper.” A 6-8 page paper on your personal five year plan, your plans for life spread over five years.

            The senior year is stressful, exciting, and full of all sorts of pressure. Senior year should most of all be memorialized as a good time, a great memory. Senior year shouldn’t be pumped full of stress and paper work. It is at times, but each generation should get more educated on your senior year whether it be taking some time talking to seniors when you are grades 9-11, looking through the Senior Project packet, or just getting a jumpstart on senior requirements early. A pre- senior year warning on what to expect really is helping me through my year so far.

            The Senior Project is only difficult if you make it out to be that way. Just keep up with deadlines, think with every spare moment you have about what will you do with your life, roll around some ideas, think of locations, and, most importantly, do what you love. Don’t settle for something average.

By Briar Ahlborn

Blue and White Parade by Briar Ahlborn

Blue and White Parade

The Blue and White Parade symbolizes the school spirit of St. Ignatius as a whole. The parade ties up the amazing week of Homecoming, where grades K-12 participate in school pride showing they are proud to be Mission Bulldogs.

The parade is separated into three sections: The elementary is spread out upon the sidewalk outside the elementary school wearing their blue and white attire shown through decorations, face paints, or clothing. Middle school is much like the elementary, stand back in order for the high school to go first in order by grade levels. High school lined up outside ready to start. Fire trucks and Mission ambulances first.

Following close behind are the school royalty on the beautiful vintage cars, behind the royalty falls the rest of the high school with their custom made class floats. The floats show their class spirit as a whole unit demonstrated with their creativity shoved into one class float separated into freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and finally seniors.

Classes are ranked throughout the week on school spirit. Classes are given the chance to display school spirit with the following: dress up, float design, class lockers, and the competitions held. One class period day for a week is taken out to hold competitions. Then points are added through the week and totaled. At the end of the week, at the homecoming football game, is announced the winner of the “Pride Bone.”

All competition aside, homecoming week and the parade are designed to display school pride and spirit. The parade is the fireworks, the finale, the finish line to a wonderful week, showing the whole town we are the best of the best.

By Briar Ahlborn 

Crossing That Line by Briar Ahlborn

Crossing That Line

Crossing the Line is an initiative developed by the school board and staff to show that “crossing the line” is a good thing, if you make it good. Crossing that line between doing average in school and doing excellent, running fast when you could go faster, getting a C-, then crossing the line to getting that A+ you strive for. Well, you get the idea; crossing the line to getting better and better each day.

Stand up for yourself against the negative aspects in life whether it involve school, your job, bullies, or difficult tasks, run at them with positivity and the confidence that you can do it. Don’t just say that you’ll “try” say you are going to “do it,” and you will.

Cross the Line in our school has more meaning than expected: demonstrating integrity, achieve excellence, working hard, gaining respect, and sharing responsibility. Crossing the Line is to demonstrate all of the above, to make the school environment of St. Ignatius an enjoyable place to attend, a wonderful place to send your children to learn and grow.

Cross that line, wake up in the morning and achieve excellence. Do what you normally wouldn’t do, get out of that shell, think outside the box, do great and you, yourself, will be great. Cross the line is set like a finish line that keeps your mind and body going. Create a goal for yourself every day and strive for it until you achieve it. Then set another thus making an endless positive future for yourself and others day by day, just by crossing that line into the next day.

By Briar Ahlborn

Ending the Year with a Project by Briar Ahlborn

Ending the year with a project

            High school, a four year agreement with yourself and the school attendance secretary. Starting your high school life with your freshmen year building up every year closer and closer to the finish line, also known as your big senior year: the last year, the real deal. You build up your four years to that year, that finish line, building up those credits that don’t seem important until you get to the end, realizing you should have taken the last three years seriously. Those credits determine if you are going to graduate or not.

            Senior year is similar to all the previous years, as well. The only minor difference is the legendary Senior Project. The Senior Project used to be a “project”, a task of some sort. But the school decided that the Senior “Project” was too complicated and stressful on the students and decided to make the Senior Project a “five year plan paper.” A 6-8 page paper on your personal five year plan, your plans for life spread over five years.

            The senior year is stressful, exciting, and full of all sorts of pressure. Senior year should most of all be memorialized as a good time, a great memory. Senior year shouldn’t be pumped full of stress and paper work. It is at times, but each generation should get more educated on your senior year whether it be taking some time talking to seniors when you are grades 9-11, looking through the Senior Project packet, or just getting a jumpstart on senior requirements early. A pre- senior year warning on what to expect really is helping me through my year so far.

            The Senior Project is only difficult if you make it out to be that way. Just keep up with deadlines, think with every spare moment you have about what will you do with your life, roll around some ideas, think of locations, and, most importantly, do what you love. Don’t settle for something average.

By Briar Ahlborn

Homecoming Dance by Allie Kosherbek

Homecoming Dance.

The Homecoming dance is the last event during the Spirit Week. Homecoming week in St. Ignatius is an alumni honoring week.

In general, Dance is a type of art that generally involves movement of the body, often rhythmic and to music. It is performed in many cultures as a form of emotional expression or social interaction. Dance is a way to express yourself.

Mission HS celebrated the dance in the Red Barn which was decorated by a school club, FCCLA. The dance is annually held after football game from 8 pm till midnight. Entrance usually costs a couple of dollars. 

We also had a professional DJ. During the 4 hours of non-stop dancing, the DJ switched on the most popular dancing songs of nowadays, including Cupid Shuffle, Macarena, and so on. There were also some slow dances, special for couples.

Every class was invited to dance, so the dance floor was pretty much full. 

In my opinion, the Homecoming Dance is the most hilarious event during the Spirit Week!

By: Allie Kosherbek.

Hiking St. Mary's Peak by Leon Ochs

Hiking St. Mary’s Peak

            On October 9^th, I took a journey up the face of a mountain with my class to observe a diverse ecosystem literally on the top of the world. The purpose was to witness the whitebark pine’s terrible eradication at the hands of the seemingly unstoppable bark beetle.

            We began our adventure around 6,000 ft. up the side of St. Mary’s Mountain, which is where the road ends, and the trailhead begins. It was a chilly day, with a few inches of snow at the start of the trail. We hiked through forests of lodgepole and whitebark pine, while taking pictures and gathering samples along the way, with the occasional chirp of the Clark’s Nutcracker. Our Biology instructor, Mr. Ligas, led us to a spot where two of the largest whitebark’s still remained; they too were infected with beetles, but were holding out because of their enormous size.

            We began climbing farther up the mountain, the snow began to cover the entire ground and the going became slightly more difficult. We trudged onward though until we reached the end of our hike. Here a decision was made as to whether or not we wanted to make the hour climb to the peak of the mountain. Six people of the group wanted to reach the peak, including myself. So, with the guidance of Mr. Ligas, we started up without the assistance of the trail.    

            After we passed the tree line the snow became very deep, and we were walking literally on thin ice. Occasionally falling through, we made it to the top after forty-five minutes of climbing. An astonishing sight it was, and for a few of us it was the first time climbing a mountain. Feeling a sense achievement and determination we turned around and practically tumbled back down the mountain.

            Waiting for us at the bus were the kids either too cold or too tired to go to the peak, but they too had just as good of a trip. Everyone could say that Advanced Biology had not only taught them about nature, but also provided a fantastic adventure. 

-          Leon Ochs

            

Jumping Off Mountains by Dominik Stallings

JUMPING OFF MOUNTAINS

The Advanced Biology fieldtrip to St. Mary’s Peak was described by many students as “amazing” and “awesome”. The trip started on Oct. 9, at 8:15am. Everyone was pretty well-prepared for harsh conditions, as Mr. Ligas said there would be knee-deep snow on the mountain, for which he was only partially right, since it was only that high on the peak. The weather at the parking lot was not as bad as we thought, still many had thick jackets and coats, double socks and mighty hiking boots. Everyone had to take a device with them that could take photos of the trees, how they grow, and us hugging and loving them dearly.

The way up to the mountain was interesting as we, the students, actually saw what we learned in class: The bark beetle infestation. We saw what those beetles have created, or destroyed, to be more precise. Pretty much all the trees were covered in clumps of tree sap, resulting from a defense mechanism, which the trees use to flush out the invading beetles. But it seems that this defense is useless and they still die. You could say that all of the trees are doomed to die. But even though this is very sad and environmentally important for the mountains, nobody seems to care. There is nothing that we could possibly do, we can only wait and see what nature does.

As we almost reached the top the whole class sat down together and had lunch. We got our lunch mostly from the gas station down the mountain. Mr. Ligas asked us if we wanted to go to the top. Only six of us wanted to including: Jarred Brown, Leon Ochs, Kaylie Durglo , Morgan Schultz, and myself, Dominik Stallings. We were ready to conquer the mountain, and that is what we did.

 Everybody climbed all the way to the lookout, mostly ignoring if there was a trail, since everything was covered in snow. As everyone was on the mountain we all had group pictures taken, and also selfies. The trip down was most likely the best since we could just jump down and roll around in the snow.

Everyone who went up had fun and a great experience. As everyone got into the bus we immediately told about our little adventure and took off our boots and wet socks. The whole class also went to Arby’s as a sort of treat; I’m guessing everyone went to sleep early that evening.

By Dominik Stallings