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Physical activity is very important for high school students

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By Mya Cannon

Today’s generation seems to be either completely motivated to exercise and work out or completely against anything that requires any form of physical activity.  

According to Mayo Clinic, there are many benefits to working out including maintaining a healthy weight, helping fight against health problems such as heart disease, and also can increase one’s mood, boost their energy and help acquire better sleep.

It is recommended that an individual receives a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity a day to maintain good health. If one is seeking to increase their health or lose weight, it will most likely require more than 30 minutes of physical activity a day.

Playing a sport for the school gets one out of taking a gym class, making room for other classes, and it also gets students into the habit of exercising. Getting in the habit of working out at a young age has a huge benefit for one’s health in the future.

If one does not wish to dedicate their time to a sports team, a gym class at school is a great replacement. Unlike sports there is no extra time required outside of school to take a gym class and the type of activity is constantly being changed so one is not likely to get bored of doing the same thing everyday.

According to James Clear, a writer for The Huffington Post, in 1950 Doctor Maltz, a plastic surgeon, conducted a study on how long it took the average person to form a habit. The minimum amount of time it took for a habit to be formed was 21 days but the average time was 66 days.

There are endless ways to get exercise with today’s ways of living. There are gyms to join that have classes, sports teams for schools or community leagues that can be joined, gym classes at school or one could even go online to find an exercise routine that can be completed during some free time. Just going on a small walk after school can greatly benefit one’s health and way of living and is highly recommended.  

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Parking lot and traffic patterns to upgrade throughout the year

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As the new school year began, students and staff were welcomed to a new parking lot that changed the way traffic flow in the school used to be in years past.

For over a decade, the high school had some issues with the parking lot such as an insufficient number of parking spaces available for staff and students during the year. The overall increase in parking included around 200 new parking spaces for staff, student and community use during the school day or for local events.

New renovations took place such as a newly paved section of the parking lot in late July and the process took no longer than 2 weeks to complete. New parking spaces were opened up as a result and an area was designated to staff only parking. Blocked off by bolted orange guards, only facility have access in and out of this area.

A parking gate was put up at the entrance to the staff parking lot and works much like an EZPass on the turnpike. The gate only opens up when a car that has an ID badge with a transponder. Staff and facility now have a secure parking area where they are able to have a space available when they arrive to school each morning.

The high school currently has two parking lots that are gravel because it takes about a year to allow the topsoil to set. If black top was added before the soil has time to harden, then the area will sink as a result. When the area has cured black top will be added, creating more parking.

“This year, we spent $261,000 to improve the high school parking lot by paving a very large area, excavating the hill at the stadium, making utility vehicle access more logical, replacing soft fill with clay under the newer parking area to provide a better and stronger base, and running power to the new gate system,” superintendent Tom Bratten said.

Funds to allow this and many other district­wide modernization projects to happen comes from the General Funds.

“We currently spend about 1.5 million dollars a year trying to update our schools. Keep them repaired and maintained. We have about $350,000 to do it with. We are the only school in Summit County that does not have a permanent improvement levy,” Bratten said.

To explain further, a permanent improvement levy something taxpayers pass in order for the school to have the funds to renovate and improve buildings within the district.

Another issue the high school has faced for many years is the traffic. With buses, parent drop­offs, student drivers and facility members trying to enter the school using the same entrance, this caused major traffic down the main road with drivers coming from both directions. It has been an ongoing issue in which the district is working hard to fix.

Currently, the district is testing out a new method to try to help improve the morning traffic. Parent drop-offs, staff and student drivers all enter the school through the front entrance while the buses are to drop off students in the back of the building by Joshua’s restaurant. If this method works to help improve the traffic then it will continue.

 

“The majority of the teachers that park in the front lot are happy with [the parking lot]. The only concern I have heard from students is the fact that you have a bit of a walk if they park in the far reaches of the parking lot,” principal Jeff Hartmann said.

Overall, the new parking lot seems to be a major improvement for many students and staff who were worried about parking space. The traffic is an ongoing issue that is currently being addressed; however, improvements are going to take a while.

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Freshmen experience first day at high school

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By Chloe Phillips

     Freshmen orientation day is where ninth graders are given the opportunity to come in before any other grades to familiarize themselves to their new environment in which they will be in the next four years. It begins and ends as any other school day from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

     Guiding the freshmen were the juniors and seniors who became “Mentors.” They wore bright blue shirts, so they could be seen clearly from down the hall for any lost or confused students. They are the students in charge of keeping track of their group and making sure they follow the special schedule set up for freshmen orientation day.

     7:30-8:15 was homeroom where attendance is taken, introductions are made by playing a game, This or That, an icebreaker used to make the students more comfortable with each other and their classmates. Also, students take the time to understand their schedule and practice opening their lockers if needed.

     8:15-9:15 was in the auditorium, which started with the Spike video and followed by Dr. Hartmann who goes over The Pledge. Freshmen then listen to the choir and are encouraged to sing along. The last activity is called “the informational session,” which just explains the rest of their day.

     9:15-11:15 was where the informational sessions began: the mentors guided the groups of freshmen to three informational sessions. The first session is Student Involvement, which was hosted in the lower gym. The students have a chance to see what clubs and activities they can join and meet current students in those activities where the student leaders discuss the involvement.

     The second sessions is called Meet the Principals, where the principals discuss who they are, what they do and their expectations for the students and the remainder school days in the auditorium.

     The third session is The Tour of SMFHS where mentors give the ninth graders an in-depth tour, explaining their experiences and covering important spots and people. They also took that time to get real with the students on what to expect, who their favorite teacher is and more.

     With the tour, each group stopped to take a hearing or vision test where the groups with rotate between them. 11:15-11:40 was be the time to eat and hit the refresh button with friends.

     2:00-2:30 was hosted in the main gym where teachers passed out shirts and the mentors participated in the pep rally activities, which included learning and singing SMFHS chants.

     “I didn’t know where any of my classrooms where and I was really afraid I’d get lost or walk into the wrong class. Today helped a lot, and I feel like I sorta know my way around,” freshman Jacey Citraro said.

     The mentors helped the freshman a great deal not only with finding their way around the building but also with classes and advice. Freshmen orientation day helps new students make friends and prepare for their high school career.

     “I’m definitely playing softball this year. I also signed up for a club the upperclassmen talked about which was, Hitting for Home, which I’m excited about,” Citraro said.

Community, Front/Home

16th annual Summit County Engineer’s Miniature Bridge Building Competition

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 Tiny strips of wood, x-acto knives, glue-covered fingers and stressful problem solving all combined to create this year’s 16th annual Summit County Engineer’s Miniature Bridge Building Competition.

   Twenty-one schools in Summit county were able to enter the three-hour competition on Fri., Feb. 26 at the University of Akron. As long as the school could offer two or three students, they could participate. Some schools were even able to send more than one team.

    The participating high schools were Akron Early College, Coventry, Cuyahoga Falls, Firestone, Four Cities Educational Compact, Garfield, Green, Hudson, Manchester, Mogadore, Norton, Portage Lakes Career Center, Revere High School, Six District Engineering Academy, Springfield, STEM High School, Stow-Munroe Falls, St. Vincent St. Mary, Tallmadge, Twinsburg High School and Western Reserve Academy.

    I personally came with the Six District Engineering Academy, which is my career program. My teammates were Stow senior Stephen Morris and Cuyahoga Falls senior Alex Perdue. We competed alongside of some of our engineering classmates who were registered under their home schools.

    Engineering firms such as CT Consultants, Environmental Design Group, Euthenics, Osborn Engineering and many more posed as sponsors for the event. These companies are the creators for many of the bridges in northeast Ohio.

    The civil engineering companies also generously donated towards a scholarship for students who attend the competition. Participants then have to fill out a form and write an essay in order to be considered for the scholarship. Values change from year to year, and the amount has not been decided yet.

    Before considering any scholarship, we had to build our bridge. We were provided a limited amount of balsa wood which we had to use as the basis of our bridge. The flimsy material is challenging to construct with and is very easy to break. We used super glue in order to hold everything together.

    Our team laid out our design on a rectangular block of styrofoam, placed wax paper over the top and used the layers as a work space. We also used straight pins to keep the bridge trusses in place as they dried.

    Three hours passed fairly quickly, as each team ran into various problems or smoothly created their projects; a frequent but not devastating issue was the recurring situation of fingers being glued to the bridge.

    My team and I built our bridge with ease. Last year, as amateurs, we used too much glue and did not know how to properly construct anything in the time frame; we did not finish our design and the final product was messier than intended. This year, we finished with 15 minutes to spare, with every piece perfectly in place.

    Once each team finished and placed their masterpieces on one lengthy table, the judges checked each for specifications. They verified that each bridge was at least 14 inches long and had a minimum of 12 inches for the bottom trusses. Additionally, the structure could not have more than two strips of balsa wood laminated together.

    Judges also picked out the most aesthetically pleasing design for an award.

    One of the winners of the aesthetics made a miniature version of the Football Hall of Fame bridge in Canton.

    Although my team did not win any athsetic awards, we tried for the abilities portion.

   Each bridge had a hole drilled through the middle of the roadbed which then had a J-hook through the opening. A bucket with a 10 pound weight was then placed on the hook.

   One team member was then expected to lightly put cup-fulls of nuts and bolts in the bottom of the bucket to increasingly add more weight. Once the bridge busted, the team measured the bucket to see how much mass broke the bridge.

    After the structure failed, teams could visit a table of experienced civil engineers who could explain where and why the bridge failed.

    They told me and my teammates that our design was very strong and smart, but the distribution of the load on our bottom trusses was not strong enough. More triangles, the sturdiest shape in a structure, could have helped our design.

    The awarded points depended on the ratio between the mass of the bridge and the failure mass.

    My team’s structure weighed 23.6 grams and held 29.7 pounds. This ratio was not poor but definitely did not come close to the winning team.

    First timers, Hudson, won by a landslide with a very light bridge that held probably 4 times the amount ours did: their trusses were well constructed and were very strong.

    Each Hudson student won $100. Both Springfield teams won second which was given $70 and third place which received $50 each.

    Even though my team did not win any prizes, I still had a positive experience. I was able to compete alongside my friends and put all of my abilities to the test.

    Times like these are ones I will look back on when I am 30 and in a career practicing the same teamwork and problem solving skills needed in a simple, friendly competition as a student.