Northwest’s 18-21 student program

By Danyka Galvan

Not many people know about the 18-21 program at Northwest or what they do. Even though they are often overlooked, they are still hard at work helping around our school with things like emptying recycling bins and keeping our school clean, making it a place that students want to be.

“The 18-21 program provides services for a student in special education who needs support in independent living skills before the age of 21,” said Kenzie Mollring.

Mollring is the special services teacher for Northwest. Working alongside her is Paraeducator Jon Linden.

“To me, this is a life skill program where we teach life skills (How to cook, stay organized, use transporation and social media) for kids who need a little extra help and reinforcement,” Linden said.

The program gives these students an extra stepping stone into their indepent futures. In order to achieve this independence, their schedule is a little different than our everyday eight-period day.

“Throughout the day, we try to help them look for certain things that they didn’t even know were out there in the world to help them out,” Linden said.

Students also work on “budgeting, cooking, safety around the home, general safety pieces with technology and all the pieces that you need to learn along the way,” Mollring said. “These skills are taught to help them learn how to maintain a job. We give them feedback on their job performance so that they can improve and become more independent.”

In his journey to gain independence, Josh DeMuth is learning many skills not only in but also outside of the high school.
“I go to 1R school to help with the cafeteria, serving kids and cleaning up. I then help in the cafeteria at Northwest when I get back,” DeMuth said.

These students do a lot more for our school than what one might expect. This year they are starting to help out in the agricultural classes in the greenhouse.

In the greenhouse, another 18-21 student, Jared Fredericks helps water the plants.

Students in the 18-21 program will then get to take these skills that they learn and implement them in their future jobs. DeMuth said he wants to work at a motel.

“I really like to keep things neat,” DeMuth said. “I think that it would be really cool to clean rooms.”

This year, with COVID-19 affecting everyone’s day-to-day routine, these students have a busy schedule helping out the school by filling sanitizer bottles, filling water jugs and making sure to frequently sanitize around the school, especially the major touchpoints, such as doors, faucets and tables.

By learning and being prepared for their futures these students are really looking forward to becoming independent and getting into the world, increasing their excitement for the future.

“I am a friendly, dedicated person,” DeMuth said. “I can’t wait until I get a real job. I know that I would be a great employee because I don’t argue and I do my job.”
Each of these students puts in hard work to help in around the school and to prepare for their futures. We thank these students for all that they do.

*Photo Courtesy of Kenzie Mollring

The icing on top: How a cupcake pulled a class together

By Emelia Richling

On some arbitrary day in the fall of 2019, a funfetti cupcake with white icing and pink roses found its way to Chip Bahe’s desk after a birthday party held in his advisement. During his second period Careers class, the cupcake was left on a filing cabinet. Over the course of six days, it would remain unnoticed.

“Honestly, I just set it up there and forgot about it,” said Bahe, Careers and Introduction to Business teacher.

After about a week, when the second period class noticed the cupcake, it instantly became a class sensation.

“We just started to wonder what it would look like after a month and then two months,” Bahe said.

As the weeks passed, it became a source of amusement for the class in addition to an experiment.

“Students used to go up there every couple weeks to see what it looked like,” said Dani Matrisciano, junior and former Careers student. “It became so hard that you could just hit it on the table, but it always looked the same way it did on the first day.”

Throughout those cold fall months that faded into snowy winter days, the cupcake experiment began to unite the class

“We had a lot of kids in that class who participated in different activities,” Bahe said. “It was a neat way to bring people together.”

Nearly a year later, the cupcake still sits on the same filing cabinet in mint condition, a subtle reminder that friendships can be derived from the unlikeliest of situations and that they never grow old.

Students continue to ask about it, even though they haven’t been in Bahe’s classes for months. During summer weights, on the first day of school and over the several weeks that school has been in session, the cupcake has still been a topic of conversation, an experiment and a way to mold a group of students together, although the cupcake has remained free of mold.

“And who would have thought that you could do it with a cupcake?” Bahe said.

*Photo Courtesy by Emily Krupicka

Being basic isn’t basic

By Emily Krupicka

If you enjoy Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks, wear Lulu- lemon leggings, eat avocado toast and own a Fjallraven Kanken bag, I regret to inform you that society has categorized you as one demeaning word: basic.

Beginning at the ripe age of six, I actively differentiated myself from “most girls” by straying away from the classic female archetype. As a child, I avoided being “basic” before the modern definition was even coined.

Instead of playing with dollhouses or princess dolls, I spent my recesses racing Hot Wheels cars and rambling about my love for Minecraft (a game I’d never actually played). While there is nothing wrong with different genders straying away from binary-based marketing, there is a fundamental issue with girls who have similar interests—in completely normal and common things—feeling ashamed.

The term basic has simplified an entire gender and associated those holding the title with having superficial values. However, enjoying a seasonal spiced coffee and debating politics are not mutually exclusive activities. Being basic itself is not a bad thing, but its use from others almost always comes with a negative connotation of unconscious, internalized misogyny.

If things traditionally deemed popular with females are basic, what makes an obsession with football, sports cars and hockey games so complex? Conflating genders with biased phrasing is dangerous and creates subliminal messaging of superiority and inferiority.

So, with fall, the “season of basic,” underway, I can guarantee that Instagram feeds will be filled with girls in Ugg boots at the pumpkin patch, captioning their post with #basic. These same girls are students who are involved in numerous extracurriculars, take rigorous AP courses and create positive changes within their communities.

Although the word basic implies a sense of ordinariness, I would argue that women described as basic are anything but.

*Photo Courtesy of best-clipart

Northwest installs new security system

By Areya Starke and Madeline Stratman

Something new came to Northwest this year to help the students and staff feel safer at school.The fingerprint scanner is the newest part of the high school security system. With the new changes, students have formulated opinions, and staff members have answered some questions students may have.

Senior Alaura Favazza said that student IDs in the past have been used for those entering and exiting the building, especially seniors during lunch. Because of this, some students think scanning IDs to enter the building would be a better alternative to fingerprinting.

“It would probably be easier and more sanitary,” Favazza said.

There are concerns about the dangers of sharing germs and spreading the coronavirus since everyone would be touching the same fingerprint sensor. The administration would like to remind students that it’s a good idea to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer after being fingerprinted to enter the building.

While there are a number of pros to implementing the new fingerprinting system, it has had a few glitches. For example, warm weather can cause the scanner to malfunction. It is unknown how the winter weather will impact it.

Principal Tim Krupicka gives background information on the decision to implement the new fingerprinting scanners.

“The fingerprinting scan was the decision made last year in the spring before the pandemic started,” Krupicka said. “We’ve been talking about this for several years, and Dr. Edwards, our superintendent, decided to move this forward.”
In addition to providing some back story, Krupicka also mentioned the benefits and drawbacks.

“The pros are that it is not used for legal purposes or anything like that,” Krupicka said. “It’s just a scan of different points of your finger. It is not to be used against anybody for any purpose other than getting into the building. Another pro is the fact that we can put students in the different groups, like seniors who go off campus for college classes.”

Even though there are a few kinks yet to work out, this newest addition to Northwest’s security system will keep students, staff and visitors safe.

Mask up, Northwest!

By Emily Krupicka

As schools reopen their doors, many districts, including Northwest Public Schools, are requiring students to wear face coverings at all times. Despite this, many students are still confused about the science surrounding the effectiveness of face masks.

In a press release, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stressed the importance of face masks in a community setting.

“The novel coronavirus is spread person-to- person through respiratory droplets that emerge from coughing, sneezing and talking,” Redfield explained. “Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus.”

The CDC has recommended that all people wear a mask in public areas and especially in areas where social distancing is not possible. This is a sentiment that local doctors can attest to as well.

“Face coverings are intended to keep the virus in, not keep it out,” explained Dr. Erich Fruehling, an
interventional cardiologist in Grand Island. “If we knew who was sick, those kids would be the only ones who would need to wear a mask; however, since many kids are asymptomatic, it’s more effective for everyone to wear a mask.”

So far, the Central District Health Departments has reported 2,131 lab-confirmed cases in Hall County since the first reported case in mid-March. Experts have pleaded with schools, encouraging them to follow guidance from local health departments, as many medical professionals fear that number will spike even more with the reopening of schools.

“When we open schools, we’re going to need to do it safely. We’re going to need to do it sensibly,” Redfield stated.

This advice has triggered skepticism among the public. In fact, many Americans have objected to taking precautions against the coronavirus, citing the idea that masks do more harm than good. The science, however, contradicts this statement.

“Thin paper or cloth masks will not lead to hypoxia (an oxygen deficiency),” said Professor Keith Neal, an infectious disease expert. “Surgeons operate for hours wearing them, and they don’t have these problems. When worn properly, a mask will not pose any respiratory-related health risks.”

Neal stated that the confusion surrounding masks has derived from falsified social media posts that “look legitimate.” These posts are heavily reliant on evidence that has been taken out of context or evidence that is completely inaccurate.

Based on the misinformation circulating throughout the internet, the CDC has noted that masks aren’t guaranteed to completely protect people from the novel coronavirus. Masks do, however, strongly mitigate the chances of becoming infected, something that’s vital to keeping schools open.

Although masks may pose a minor inconvenience throughout the day, they’re effective in slowing the spread of coronavirus. With the case of masks, it is clear that the science has spoken for itself.

Folkers makes national ensemble

By Meghan Pennell

Sophomore Ben Folkers surprised not only the Northwest community by making a National Association for Music Education, NAfME, nation-wide honor ensemble, but surprised himself too. Folkers worked hard to prepare and record his audition and has been esteemed to play trombone in the ensemble. Originally planned to take place November 8-11in Orlando, Florida, the ensemble is planning on developing a virtual way of playing together even through the pandemic.

Last year, as a freshman, Folkers made first chair trombone in All-State Orchestra, allowing him to audition for the ensemble. Although Folkers is self-motivated when it comes to practicing, Band Director Shawn Pfanstiel played a large role in encouraging him to “throw his name into the hat.”

“I made sure to keep my expectations low,” Folkers said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”

Folkers said he was shocked to see he made such a prestigious band.

For auditions, players had to send in a timed
recording as well as a written application. Folkers spent around three months preparing his submission with help from Pfanstiel.

“I was very happy to see Ben had made it,” Pfanstiel said. “A freshman from Grand Island, Nebraska, getting to play with a national group is pretty exciting.”

Although Folkers isn’t sure about his future in music, auditioning for bands like All-State and NAfME have really grown his confidence as a player. Now that the work of learning notes and rhythms is complete, Folkers can focus on more advanced playing skills.

“The sky is really the limit for him,” Pfanstiel said. “He has a high level of musicianship and a higher awareness of the nuances that separate a good player from a great player already.”

*Photo Courtesy of Sydney Milsap

Getting to know: Michael Lambert

By Madeline Stratman

What is your position at Northwest?
“I teach ninth-grade World History and eleventh-grade American History. I am an assistant wrestling coach and assistant middle school football coach.”

Have you taught before?
“This is my first teaching job, but I did my student teaching at Lincoln Southeast High School last fall. I taught Psychology and American History.”

What brought you to Northwest?
“I graduated from UNK, and I love the Tri-City area, so Grand Island was a great fit. I knew that I wanted to be at a smaller school district that felt more like a family. Northwest is everything that I was looking for in a school.”

Is there anything you want your students to know about you?
“Always feel free to talk to me about anything. Odds are, I’ve been in your position before and can help you out!”

Are you involved in anything outside of school?
“I am not involved in anything besides what I coach. However, I like to play disc golf, cornhole and hacky sack.”

What is an interesting fact about you?
“I can make 1-minute oatmeal in 55 seconds. Also, I have a four-year-old cat named Crystal.”

*Photo Courtesy by Michael Lambert

Getting to Know: Matthew Fritsche

By Meghan Pennell

What is your position at Northwest?
“I am the athletic director and assistant principal.”

Have you taught before?
“I taught in Bellevue for a while and coached college basketball for eight years at schools like Midland, Creighton and Hillsdale College.”

What brought you to Northwest?
“Honestly, I had a strong desire to get back to Nebraska and focus on being a better dad. Now my kids can see their grandparents more often and we don’t have to travel as much.”

Are you involved in anything outside of school?
“Not really. This job has me pretty busy, but I love hanging out with my family when I have the time.”

What is an interesting fact about you?
“I have a nine-year-old and six-year-old who are just getting started in sports. They are super social and excited about school.”

*Photo Courtesy by Matthew Fritsche