One of own our bear river students rizzing up the school mascot in a amazing outfit. A Lost TraditionThe Mr. BR assembly is a forgotten event from Bear River’s past mixed with ideas from other schools that bring back some of our history, and bring us some new traditions. The student council started planning in December. It was, and hopefully will continue to be, a fun assembly that brings people together, watching others around them enjoy some mindless fun. The student council holds Mr BR during school so people start to become aware of it and hope to eventually make it an after-school event where any member of the community can come. In fact they hope it will be free to everyone in the community but as Olivia Bailey said, “We don’t know what choices future student council members may make, and we don't claim that it will be”. At the same time when several students asked before, they seemed to either not know about the event or had premade opinions on the assembly, such as Matthew Smith who said, ”I have no idea what that is,'', or as Nova Anderson put it ”it’s just going to be a mock drag race.” In reality the Mr. BR assembly, is a scripted show that playfully mocks dating shows like bachelor and their absurdity. It starts by introducing several male students where they walk down the runway. They then do 3 unique “challenges'' in front of three judges such as asking them opinions on random or hilarious topics like their opinion on baked beans. Later they test out their “rizz” on the school mascot, and finally they mimic random noises such as a donkey. The student body votes for their favorite student using a ticket they received while entering the auditorium, and the judge’s cast their vote. Everyone in the crowd seemed to enjoy the assembly as many participated. A bear river student next who wished to stay anonymous said, “This wasn’t half bad. I mean it was fun but I wouldn’t come if it was an outside of school event.” which is an understandable as many students have after school jobs or work.This could become a tradition at our school to have this assembly, if our student council continues to receive support from the students at our school. Article Written by: Pedro Junyr Solis
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By: Gracie Marsh Now as we are at the start of our third trimester, many seniors are thinking about graduation. This column will highlight one senior each issue and his or her thoughts regarding graduation. This week Paige Petersen is being highlighted.
Petersen is a senior here at Bear River and she is also first vice on the student council. In addition to student council, Petersen is also very involved in theater. She is currency working on the high school theater production of Curious Savage and works as a performer for Characters and Crowns. After Petersen graduates from Bear River, Petersen has planned mini senior trips with her friends. In July, she is going to go to BYU Hawaii with her cousin Kyli to explore and get to know the campus before she starts her semester there. Petersen plans to complete one year of college and then return home to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. After her mission, Petersen would like to continue her schooling and plans to major in international communications and minor in art education and marine biology. Along the way, she also hopes to find her perfect match. Once Petersen is older she wants to have a job that lets her travel the world because she loves traveling. Petersen's favorite thing about graduating is seeing what the world has to offer her. Petersen’s least favorite thing about graduating is “the fact that I’ll miss all of my friends, and miss the fun things about high school such as football games, dances, and student council.” Petersen’s favorite classes were studio art because she loves to paint and her student council class. Petersen, throughout all of school, has found that she loves many of the teachers and staff that work here, especially her Grandpa Lane, a custodian. Petersen’s advice to upcoming seniors is “Have as much fun as possibly, because this is your time, and it’s time you won’t get back, so don’t care what others think and live it up! It's better to have made fun memories with some mistakes along the way, than to have made no mistakes while having missed out on memories. Also, you can miss school and still get A’s, so take those days off bestie, you deserve it.” By: Brooke Peterson This year, Bear River is having a COVID-friendly graduation for the class of 2021. There will be some pros and cons of this new way to celebrate. Unlike a traditional graduation, seniors will be unable to attend graduation with their full class. There will be different groups at different times on the special day. Pros for this type of celebration include not having to sit through the long speeches, there will be amazing photo opportunities, and it can be more personal to you and your family.
Sara Chapman, a senior, is so excited to graduate, but she is not sure how to feel about this different type of graduation. Chapman has dreamed about graduation since as long as she can remember. She wants to be safe with the health of others, but she does want graduation to be everything she has dreamed of. Either way, she is still stoked to be done with school and move on with her career choices. Chapman is excited to see the photo props that the student council will have put together for all of the seniors. She hopes that Tremonton will put all of the class of 2021 down Main Street like they did last year for the class of 2020. The school will again have a motorcade and Chapman is thrilled because her father is allowing her to borrow his brand new truck for the occasion. Chapman is in the loop with the student council, so she knew that graduation was going to be different this year even after how hard the student council fought to have all the seniors attend at the USU stadium. The idea was not able to be approved and be finalized sadly, but seniors will still be noticed and celebrated this year. Starting the school year still in a pandemic was something that most did not think was going to happen after the shut down all schools went through a year ago. Class of 2020 was not able to have a normal graduation either due to the pandemic, yet they were still able to celebrate and most of the graduating class enjoyed the small get together with family rather than having hundreds of other people surrounding them. Chapman believes the Class of 2021 will still have their time to shine and celebrate with Bear River’s unique graduation. By: Gracie Marsh Now as we are at the start of our third trimester, many seniors are thinking about graduation. This column will highlight one senior each issue and his or her thoughts regarding graduation. This week Dallen Murray is being highlighted.
Murray has big plans for after high school. Once right out of highschool he plans to find a house framing crew and work with them to get his name out there. After he gets good at what he does, he wants to get his general contractor’s license and start his own framing business. He wants to stay in Utah close to Tremonton and make his business boom. Murray found out about frame working because he had always loved building, but the love really came to be when he was working for Black Pine Builders for a summer. Murray is very passionate about building and framing so he is going to stay with that. Currently Murray is attending Bridgerland Applied Tech for building tech. Besides work plans, Murray said, ”In my free time I like to play golf and basketball and I love to go fishing on the weekends with the boys.” Right after high school Murray is going on a senior trip to Hawaii with his family. Murray is very excited for his trip because all of his work for school has paid off to get a good senior trip. Murray is very excited to graduate because he is excited to be out of the school but he is also a little sad because he won't be able to see his friends everyday anymore. During all of high school, Murray’s favorite teachers were Wilcox, Rhodes, and Littlefield because they are down to earth and good people to be around. Murray had a lot of favorites and least favorites during school; his favorite class was Ag Systems with Rhodes and Lifetime Sports with Wilcox; his least favorite classes were 11th grade math and language arts. High school was not Murray's favorite thing so he is super excited to get out and start his new life. Murray’s advice to upcoming seniors is “Get as many credits as you can so you can graduate early.” By: Brooke Peterson Antonio Lopez is a senior this year, he is also employed at JC’s diner in Elwood. Lopez started working at JC’s when he was 16, a sophomore in high school. He started as a dishwasher and has worked up to be a server.
Lopez ultimately got a job to have his own money to do whatever he wanted with. His parents didn’t force Lopez to get a job, but they did create a rule when he started working that he would need to pay for his monthly bills such as phone, gas, and car insurance. If Lopez did not get a job, his parents would still happily pay for those bills, but since he had his own income they wanted him to be more responsible with his money. Lopez was lucky enough to have parents with laid back rules, some teens are forced to get a job as soon as they’re old enough. Lopez explained that as a server you get paid very differently. Normally the employer has to pay at least minimum wage which is $7.25. Servers make a lot less than minimum wage due to the income of tips. Lopez stated, “As a waiter I am only making $2.75, not including my tips.” He explained that with tips included in his wage, he is making more than thirteen dollars an hour. At JC’s diner they have a lot of regulars come in since it has been around for so long, so Lopez has been recognized by them and gets tipped better by the regulars. At $13 an hour, Lopez is bringing in a lot of money for his age. With this kind of money, Lopez is able to pay bills and have some play money too. At the age of 17 he was able to buy a motorcycle and get a riding license to legally drive it. Prior to that purchase, Lopez paid for his very first car in full for a total of $2000. Since then, he has been able to get approved for a car loan and buy himself a brand new car which he was very excited about. Most working teens often have to make a choice between play money and bills with their income, but Lopez is able to do both. By: August Jensen If you’ve seen a small, plastic baby or fuzzy worm around the school, that was Hanna Nyman making her mark on Bear River High School. Nyman, a senior, has been hiding plastic babies around the school since the beginning of the 2020-21 and recently started handing out fuzzy worms. There are currently 500 plastic babies hidden around the school, and Nyman has approximately 199 that she still wants to hide. Worms on strings have also become popular with Nyman. She is currently handing them out to people and leaving them in places to be found. If you haven’t spotted a fuzzy worm yet, there is currently a pink one in Mrs. Stapley’s classroom named Fredrick.
When asked her reasoning for the worms and babies, Nyman responded, “I’m never going to see anyone ever again, might as well do wacky things.” Nyman says that she “enjoys confusing people and leaving them guessing why.” Before graduating, Nyman says that she wants to get more ‘wacky’ things and hide them around the school so she can continue to leave her mark. Nyman says that “pain is temporary, fuzzy worms and babies are forever.” While it may seem a strange way to be remembered, Nyman will have at least some impact because she decided to do something out of the ordinary. Nyman is an amazing senior, and she’s excited to be able to graduate at the end of the year knowing that she’s leaving her own unique mark at Bear River High School. By: Gracie Marsh Now as we are at the start of our third trimester, many seniors are thinking about graduation. This column will highlight one senior each issue and his or her thoughts regarding graduation.This week Ellie Lish is being highlighted.
Outside of school, Lish keeps herself very busy as she works at Kent’s, nannies for a family, and helps with her dad’s real estate company. Even though school and work keep her busy, Lish puts a high priority on friends. She said her favorite thing to do is hangout with friends and that “friends are everything.” After graduation, Lish plans on continuing her schooling at Bridgerland for dental assisting. After finishing her program in the fall, Lish wants to move away: “I want to go to St. George or somewhere where it is always warm. Hawaii is the dream.” Lish is looking forward to not having to get up so early once she’s out of high school, but admitted, “I’m actually really scared to graduate.” While she is excited to be on her own, it also makes her nervous that her life is just up to her now and there’s not a set plan. What she dislikes most about graduating, though, is the fact that she won't be able to see her friends as much. Lish’s favorite classes during school were social dance and P.E. because she thought they were the easiest classes. During high school Lish’s favorite teachers were Wilcox and Ms. Jorgensen. They were her favorite teachers because they were fun and nice. If Lish could give the future seniors advice she would tell them to “Make the most of your senior year and have so much fun! Homework can wait and boys are stupid! Party it up! It all goes by so fast!” By: Dustin Smith March 13, 2020. This is a date that everyone knows and remembers. It is the day when Bear River High School along with all other Utah schools shutdown because of COVID-19. All students were affected by this, but Jelka Peterson, a sophomore at the time, finds this day especially memorable as it was also her 16th birthday.
Peterson was in the library when she first heard of the shutdown. Peterson said she thought the news was “hilarious because it was bound to happen at some point.” At first, people thought the shutdown would be short-lived while others thought it would last much longer. Peterson recalled, “Some were betting to see how long this would last. A few were saying that this would take longer than the two weeks.” Either way, Peterson was not overly concerned even thought it was her birthday. Despite the shutdown being announced on her birthday, Peterson wasn’t too put out as she “usually just stay[s] at home for [her] birthday.” Peterson’s friends, although hermits themselves, were concerned about her birthday plans in light of the recent shutdown and decided they wanted to do something to make her happy. Her plans to just stay home turned into a more elaborate birthday because of the shutdown. For her birthday, Peterson ended up “going to a friend's house, playing Mario Kart, and having some cake.” A year later, we are still dealing with the pandemic and many things are restricted. While many would think this would hamper Peterson’s birthday celebrations, she was “able to dine in a restaurant (Hook and Reel) with [her] sister and dad.” She also went to Wendover, Nevada for an overnight stay. Because things for the last year have been so different and restricted, Peterson said, “I was really happy to do nice things for a change.” By: Dustin Smith Keyjun Hale is a senior at Bear River High School who is involved in soccer, track and field, cross country, and band.
Hale has had a great experience as a student at Bear River: “My experience has been educational. It has taught me life lessons like how to manage finances and to be a team player.” Another part of Hale’s experience at Bear River has been great teachers. Like most students he has a few favorites: “My favorite teachers would have to be either Wilcox or Walton. Both have taught me how to work hard and give it my all in everything I do.” Classes Hale has enjoyed include “band, 3D animation, 3D graphics, art, and soccer class.” Hale expressed the value of these classes and said, “[These classes] were all about the world of finance and hard work to get me ready for classes ahead.” Hale has great plans for the future that include both college and sports. He’s applied to many colleges and worked hard on scholarships. Although he’s been accepted to many Utah colleges he said, “Right now I am headed to play soccer and study physical therapy in Michigan at Finlandia University.” By knowing not only what he’s going to do but where he’s attending college, Hale is ahead of many seniors. When asked about graduation, Hale expressed both excitement and sadness: “I have mixed feelings about graduating, the fact is that I get to move on with my life and the fact that I’m going to miss people and miss the good times that I had in high school. I’m also a little nervous because I am moving far away so I don’t know how often I’ll be able to see old friends and connect with them again.” Hale’s final advice for future seniors is “Prepare now and get on top of college stuff. You need to ready yourself for college and make sure you get homework done on time.” By: Brooke Peterson Chandler Flint, a senior, has a lot of plans for his life after high school. Flint works very hard to keep saving money for adulthood, which is coming up very soon. It seems like he has had all of his ideas planned out for a long time.
Flint explained that he is excited to start his own life and just be able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He cannot wait to have the freedom of no parents especially because he is already eighteen years old and his parents still want him to obey their rules. Flint expressed that he wished his parents were more lenient with him when he became an adult. He states, "All of my friends do not have a curfew, but I do.” For a future career, Flint wants to work in diesel mechanics. As of right now, he is going to Bridgerland to get certified. So far, he has completed six months of diesel mechanics classes. Flint loves the class he takes and takes his vehicle there every day to mess around with it. Right after high school, Flint has a fantastic job lined up with the company where his mom works. The company offers full benefits, paid time off, and sick days. Flint said, “I definitely lucked out. I'm so glad my mom was able to help me out.” On top of all of that, Flint also has a place to live when he moves out of his parents’ house. Flint's grandparents own an outdated home, and they told Flint he could live there rent free as long as he gets the stuff to remodel the home. He has two people moving in with him to help pay for the renovations, his best friend, Patrick and his girlfriend, Lilly. To say the least, Flint has planned everything out really well and has great family members to help him out. By: Macie Gardner Pictured: Kloee Stokes Photo Credit: Aime Stokes The FFA does many different contests in the months leading up to state competition. This year's convention will be held March 10-12. The students that participate spend a lot of time preparing for each individual contest. Before you get to state, you have to go through chapter and area competitions. At chapter competitions, you compete with people that are only in your chapter (which is normally your school), and area competitions are the chapters that are in or around your area. If you win at chapter you go to area, and if you win at area you are invited to compete at state. After state comes the national convention and many different opportunities with that.
Kloee Stokes, a sophomore, competed in the agriscience fair and got invited to state after winning chapter and area. Stokes’ project was called “Can Modern Ag Survive Without Aviation?” She was in the social systems division and made surveys for people all over the world to fill out. She asked how aviation helps them with agriculture and what would happen without it. Stokes got at least one response from almost every state and responses from two different countries. Stokes said, “I already knew a lot about aviation and agriculture, so I used what I already knew along with doing more research.” She worked really hard and said she put in time “probably every day for a month or more” to get her project done in time for area contest. After winning at area, Stokes moved on to chapter. She made the improvements to her project that the judges suggested. “I made improvements to my lab reports, poster, and presentation. When you first start presenting you get very nervous, but if you know your project well the judges don’t even notice!” said Stokes. One of the main reasons Stokes said she wanted to start this project is because her dad is a pilot. She said, “Since I was little, I have always been interested in aviation, and this competition was the opportunity for me to learn more about it.” From working hard, Stokes was able to beat her competition and earn herself an invitation to the FFA state convention. This year will be a little different due to Covid-19 and the convention will be held online over video conference instead of in person. Otherwise, the judging process and contests will be the same. Besides Stokes, several others from our chapter will also be competing at state. It will be a different experience for all of them, but one that they will all remember. We congratulate them for working to achieve their goals and wish them the best luck at state! By: Gracie Marsh As we reach the end of the second trimester, many seniors are thinking about graduation. This column will highlight one senior each week and his or her thoughts regarding graduation.
This week, Abby Rhodes will be highlighted. Rhodes is a senior at Bear River and will be graduating early on March 5th. Rhodes is on the cross country team and she is a 4.0 student. At graduation, Rhodes will receive a medal for having a 4.0 throughout all of school. After Rhodes graduates, she plans to stay in Tremonton for six months about six months so she can work and earn money for college. Currently, Rhodes works at Ace Hardware in Tremonton. She has worked there for a year and a half and she loves it. In July, Rhodes plans to go on humanitarian mission in Peru for the whole month. Rhodes is also considering a longer mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and said, “I could leave next January and it’s been on my mind a lot.” For college, Rhodes plans to attend SUU and would like to graduate early. Cross country and running in general inspired Rhodes' desired field of study. She plans to go into dietetics and said, “I have had to learn a lot about nutrition from cross country and being a runner. I started to enjoy learning about different foods and how they can help my body. It’s also important to learn how to eat before a big run or race to best fuel yourself.” Rhodes favorite thing about getting ready to graduate is moving out, going to college, and being more independent. Her least favorite things about graduating are the expenses and having to deal with changes in her life. The hardest classes of high school for Rhodes were political science and USU Government, but those are also her favorite classes because they challenged her. Rhodes least favorite classes were the ones that were just a waste of her time. Get ready to see Abby Rhodes graduate this year! By: Dustin Smith Why do teachers teach? The definition of teaching is the ability to make a difference in kids' lives, making sure kids strive in the classroom, and also teachers can provide an important influence that helps their students make the right decisions.
For this article, Mrs. Saunders, a math teacher at Bear River High School, will be highlighted. When asked why she got into teaching, Saunders replied that she “has always liked school, and just wanted to help students.” She was also motivated by good teachers when she was a student: “I had two teachers that I enjoyed when I was in high school. One was Mrs. Norton, a math teacher, and [she] was amazing, but she always had high expectations with her students. The other one was Mr Mayhill, an English teacher. He was always helping kids understand their homework and being kind to the students.” It is evident that these experiences impacted Saunders. She too has high expectations, but is always understanding and always helping her students with their math assignments.She went on to explain why she chose her subject: “The reason I teach math is because math can be hard for students.” Out of all of the schools in Utah, Saunders chose Bear River High, but why? Saunders said her choice to teach here “is all based on location, location, location” and availability. She wanted to stay in the Logan area and there was a math position open at Bear River. Now that she is here, there is more to it than that, and said, “The students are awesome at Bear River and the environment is great.” Saunders, in her lifetime, would like to write a book on how and when math will be applied in day-to-day life, and she would also like to help design a better way to help students with math. When asked if she had any favorite students, Saunders replied, “It is not based on the student, but based on the connections that you make with the students, and learn how to connect with the qualities [of the] students.” Like any other teacher, Saunders has had an embarrassing teaching experience. When she was a student teacher, she was giving students a quiz. She briefly stepped out of the classroom and ran into another teacher. This teacher asked how the students were doing on the quiz and she replied, “The students didn’t understand it. I was walking around the classroom and saw so many students failing the quiz.” Only after this remark did Saunders realize that her mic was still on and the students heard her comment. She came back into the classroom, and the kids were staring at her. Talk about an embarrassing moment. Saunders advice to students is to always do your homework and ask questions. She also wanted the students of Bear River High School to know that she “really appreciates and admires the things that the students are doing right now with all of this COVID in the air, and how the students are staying positive and are always staying kind to one another.” By: Gracie Marsh As we reach the end of second trimester, many seniors are thinking about graduation. This column will highlight one senior each week and his or her thoughts regarding graduation.
First, we have Bergin Southern, a senior on the high school cheer team. With the rest of the class of 2021, Southern will be graduating this June and said, “I feel sad to be leaving, but I am also very excited to grow up and start adulting.” Southern is excited for the next chapter and has plans for after she graduates. Planning your future for after high school can be hard for some, but Southern has already decided that she is going to move to Logan, live with her sister and brother-in-law, and attend Bridgerland. She chose Bridgerland over other schools because she can complete the phlebotomy program in only a year. For those who are less familiar, Southern explained that phlebotomy is “taking blood and giving shots to people. Pretty much anything that has to do with needles and IVs.” Southern has always wanted to do something in the medical field, but decided on phlebotomy after an experience getting her blood drawn. The phlebotomist told her that schooling was easy and you get paid well, so that's when Southern decided that is what she wanted to do. She doesn't mind needles and blood, so this path will be great for her. Southern’s favorite thing about getting ready to graduate is that she has finished all of her hard classes so now she is in very easy and fun classes. Math has always been hard, so she is super happy and relieved to have that out of the way. Southern's favorite class right now is seminary because it's super easy and she finds it very fun and interesting. Get ready to see Bergin Southern graduate this year! By: Brooke Peterson Conner Palmer, a senior at Bear River High, said IT at Bridgerland was his favorite class. When asked why, he said, “I have always really enjoyed electronics and how they work.” In his IT class, Palmer is learning how to build an entire computer.
Palmer especially enjoys this class because it has a direct connection to his future career and even better, he said, “I could get certified in my job field by the time I graduate.” Another reason Palmer enjoys the class is because he loves to work with electronics. He said, “I get to do just that for two hours every morning. It’s a great start to my day.” Palmer continued by saying, “All of the work in the class is self pace, so I can learn as fast or as slow as I want. There are no deadlines to worry about.” By: KarLee Eddings Millions of people around the world have lost their jobs due to this global pandemic. Because of this, teenagers are having a difficult time finding a job and even keeping their minimum wage jobs. One of the main places where teenagers work is at fast food restaurants; these teenagers are lucky enough to still have their jobs. But they are not getting nearly as many hours as they used to, and they are now having to take safety precautions while working.
Restaurants all around the world have shut their doors due to COVID-19. Instead of going into the restaurants and getting the full experience like you usually would, you can only call in and get a pick up order. According to Jaxson Egli, a Bear River High student who works at our local McDonald’s, “..ever since [the] shut down our...drive thru has had non stop people coming through for food.” Even with this influx of customers, not as many workers are needed to manage the drive thru business. As a result, employees are losing quite a bit of their work hours. McDonald’s, along with other restaurants, have taken precautions during this time in order to help with everyone's safety. They are doing everything they can to make the restaurants as safe as they can for customers. “We only have to wear gloves but about every thirty minutes we have to wash our hands,” stated Egli. Along with wearing gloves, McDonald’s has put up a “glass shield” in front of the drive thru window. The glass protects both the employee and the customer from getting exposed. Even though he has to be cautious at work, Egli is not the type to get worked up or panic buy hand sanitizer, food, or other essential items: “I’m not really worried about it to be honest. I can’t control what happens, so why worry about it?” This pandemic will blow over eventually, and, while we can take precautions and do things for our safety, there is no need to worry just as Egli says. By: Taya Jeppesen Quarantine has been quite an experience. It has changed the way we go to school, how we interact with our friends and family, and for some, sleep schedules. For others quarantine has even changed the way their birthdays are celebrated.
One of those people is one of Bear River’s juniors, Elizabeth Harrah. But, most everyone knows her by Annie. Harrah’s 17th birthday was April 16th, which happened to fall right during quarantine. Harrah’s birthday was definitely different this year. In the past, Harrah never had huge plans made in advance, but she does have traditions. Normally, she spends the day with her immediate family. This group consists of her siblings, mom, and grandparents: As a family “we go out and do an activity of my choice.” After spending the day with her family, Harrah said, “We [then] celebrate with my more distant family (aunts, uncles, and cousins) at my grandparents’ house.” Since quarantine kept her home and away from friends and extended family, Harrah’s birthday didn’t go as usual. As a family, they played the Wii, baked a cake, and her extended family sang to her from her driveway while she was on the porch in order to maintain social distancing. Of this quarantined birthday, Harrah said, “I made the most of staying inside with my immediate family.” Although Harrah still got to sort of see family, her birthday felt different because her only contact with friends was through social media. “I just miss the homies,'' Harrah explained. Although she still enjoyed her birthday in quarantine, Harrah is very excited to go back to living life as it was before: seeing friends and family regularly and enjoying life outside of quarantine. She is trying to keep a positive attitude and says she is taking it one day at a time. Once quarantine is over she has no plans of re-celebrating her birthday. She hopes to just have a good summer with her friends and would like to see her favorite artist, Harry Styles, in concert. This year has been crazy for all of us and even in the midst of all the craziness Annie had an amazing birthday. Quarantine has kept her and the rest of us inside, but that didn’t stop her from having an amazing 17th birthday. By: Skyy Schuffenhauer For weeks, people all across the globe have been forced indoors to prevent the spread of COVID-19, causing millions of people to miss out on memories and opportunities. Stir-Crazy. Cabin fever. Whatever you call it, staying indoors 24/7 can have a negative effect on one’s physical and mental health. Getting out and staying active can be vital in maintaining your health. That’s why certain citizens in the Bear River area have been taking advantage of a new addition to Tremonton City: The Holmgren Nature Trail.
This trail, located in the Malad river bottoms between both Holmgren Estates neighborhoods, has been a saving grace for those looking for an excuse to go out and get some fresh air. It is a boardwalk and gravel loop that is just under a mile long. “It’s a great place to run,” says BRHS junior Madison White. White recalled that while she has used it in the past with the school’s cross country team to train, she uses it now to stay in shape during the lockdown: “I’ve been running there a lot more because it is really pretty and nice to not always be on the road or sidewalk.” This trail, which was started last summer and is still a work in progress, is also allowing other people living nearby to go for a walk and enjoy the scenery. “It's really a peaceful quiet place to come,” said Tremonton City Mayor Roger Fridal, “Try it, relax... It’s always good to get out and get some exercise and breathe fresh air.” In an age of social distancing, Mayor Fridal encourages us to stay safe when using the trail, saying, “I don’t think I’d go and give everybody a handshake and a kiss as you’re walking by them, but other than that it’s just fine.” So whether you are a cross country star training for your next race or just someone looking to escape the boredom of quarantine, we would recommend trying out this new nature trail. Just make sure to stay safe and social distance when you’re out getting that fresh air! In White’s words’, “For sure go to it!.. It's a really neat place and it is definitely worth your time to go check it out!” KarLee Eddings It’s that time of year again when seniors are stressed out and anxious to get acceptance letters from their desired colleges. This stress of getting accepted went away for one particular student: Julia Hawkes.
Hawkes was choosing to either attend Snow college or Weber State University, when she got an email stating she was accepted to Weber State and had received their Richard Richards Ethics Scholarship. Hawkes stated, “When I got the email saying I got the scholarship I had so many mixed emotions. I was super excited but at the same time a little upset. I had decided I was going to Snow but the scholarship only works at Weber. I [knew] that this scholarship would probably change everything.” Weber only gives out three of these scholarships and Hawkes was lucky enough to be chosen and get this opportunity. To add to her excitement about receiving the Richard Richards Ethics Scholarship, Hawkes also received a music scholarship from Weber State. To get this scholarship, Hawkes had to prepare two contrasting pieces and answer questions about her music career. “When I got the band scholarship I got excited because I had procrastinated getting ready and figured that I would probably not get it. So when I got it, I felt so happy. It makes me feel like I was really good,” stated Hawkes. With these two scholarships, Hawkes plans to attend Weber State in the fall of 2020. By: Kambree Adams It’s no mystery that the coronavirus hit the United States like a slap in the face. The attitudes of many Americans were similar to that of Tanner Corbridge: wondering what the big deal was and doubting it warranted the anxiety crowding social media. However, the seriousness of this “cold-like” virus was realized and restrictions were immediately enforced all over the world. Shortly thereafter, every school in Utah was shut down leaving every student in Utah at home.
With so many students stuck at home, the amount of internet content has skyrocketed. Social media tends to have a negative impact but we’re seeing a very different side recently. This content is relatable and extremely popular. Corbridge said, “it’s good to be able to laugh about it, and it’s helping youth of today stay more connected than ever before.” Had a similar thing happened 50 years ago, the results would be vastly different. Technological advances in both medicine and media have changed the world in the best possible way. With every mind on the planet working to predict every possible outcome of this pandemic, how are people managing to stay calm? People are coping by loading up on extra toilet paper, ignoring it all together, or finding a way to laugh. It’s highly probable that almost every reaction has been swayed by some form of social media; it could be a meme you saw on Instagram or a frightening statistic you saw on the news this morning. A worldwide pandemic doesn’t happen every day and hasn’t ever happened quite like this before. There have been other pandemics, but not with the height of social media that is present today. With so much content going out every second of every day, it’s no wonder how fast news gets around to shape these attitudes and decisions. Not to mention, everyone has something to say about it. The downside of this is that a lot of sources aren’t credible. With so much downtime, it would be easy to only be on social media, try to explore your other hobbies. Too much time spent on devices, especially with false information, only adds to anxieties you might already be facing. Don’t spend too much time on your phone worrying about things you can’t control. It’s not healthy and information is changing minute by minute. Take the opportunity to play with your siblings or go for a walk. Take up painting or learn a new trick on the tramp. Don’t let your life take an indefinite pause! Catch up on sleep, but don’t sleep the day away. You only get today once so give it all you’ve got... from a safe distance of course ;) By: London Hillis Mrs. Coulson, BRHS’ lab coordinator and directive studies teacher, may be the life of the party but she's also a ruthless prankster. One year, on April Fool’s, Mrs. Coulson's brother-in-law called her pretending to be her mortgage company. He put her in a panic thinking a bunch of things were wrong with her mortgage and payments. Once Mrs. Coulson realized that it was her brother-in-law, she promised herself that she would get him back. While they were on vacation later that year, she took a picture of him in a bikini top.
She thought this picture was her chance to get him back so she had it blown up and put it onto a big poster and planned to hang it up in his office on April Fools. She gave the poster to one of her brother-in-law’s coworkers to execute her plan. The coworker, though, then took it upon himself to scan the picture into every computer and put it as everyone's home screen. Mrs. Coulson promised to get her brother-in-law back and she, with some help, got him back good. Mrs. Coulson said, “I've felt weary ever since then because of how badly he must want to get me back.” April Fools is said to date back all the way to 1563 when the French switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar and created this day of foolery. April Fools day is also thought to be tied to the vernal equinox for the northern hemisphere. It is also speculated that April Fool’s Day is related to an ancient Roman festival called hilaria. April Fool’s Day has also been found in Scottish culture, but was instead called “hunting the gowk” which means “hunting the fool” and also lasted two days instead of just one. Hopefully you had a safe, although quarantined, April Fool’s Day this year. Be careful if you do prank, you may get the favor returned in years to come. By: Taya Jeppesen Every year, Bear River High School puts on a production called “Dancing with the Stars.” Dancing couples compete in front of an audience made up of members of the community and a panel of three judges. They compete for the highest score out of thirty from the judges as well as votes from the audience. Admission is $5 and that comes the opportunity to vote one time for your favorite couple. Audience members can also buy extra votes for $1 each.
Each year, “Dancing with the Stars” has a theme; the theme for 2020 is “famous love stories.” This year Sami Pehrson and Maverick Christensen will be dancing as Jay and Daisy from The Great Gatsby. The idea of dancing as couple from the 1920s is none other than Mr. Sorensen’s. The couples dance is choreographed by a local dance teacher, Shayell McBride.They have put in the effort and the hours for the performance with practices ranging from an hour to an hour and a half. These practices have been held over the last month and a half. Maverick and Sami have been super excited to share their high energy Jazz number with everyone where they sport fun 20s costumes. Pehrson and Christensen make a great dancing couple and, when asked why they think that is, Pehrson jokingly responded in regards to Christensen, “Look at how cute he is!” Pehrson expressed that she wanted to participate in the event because she “love[s] dancing and thought it would be fun.” Christensen wanted to participate because he “want[s] to be a good partner.” Along with many other events, “Dancing with the Stars” is currently postponed and the new date for the event has not been announced. This saddens the couple as they were looking forward to it. Pehrson and Christensen are still excited to show off all of their hard work when the event is rescheduled. You won’t want to miss this fun-filled night of dancing at Bear River High, so stay tuned for the new date. By: Morgan Rose There’s excitement in the air as spring approaches and cheer tryouts are upon us. Maddisen Jeppsen is an upcoming senior with a lot to look forward to. “Finding new friendships with the new girls” is one thing Jeppsen is really looking forward to, as well as performing at football half-times; or any sport for that matter. Even through all the long and exhausting practices, Jeppsen is excited for them all, and cannot wait for her time to “shine bright” on the fields and courts next year with her team.
This summer, when our Bear River Bear Cheerleaders head to Utah State (tentative location) for cheer camp, Jeppsen has high hopes of getting the All-American award. Jeppsen described the All-American award as being “an individual award given to those who display superior technical skills, leadership, and strong personal values.” This award is given at the end of the camp to the handful of girls who each display these values. Jeppsen believes this to be an award everyone deserves in their own way. Going to cheer camp is something that Jeppsen has looked forward to every year, and can’t wait for her senior year of camp. Jeppsen is really looking forward to doing fun things with the cheer team this upcoming year to make it the “Best year yet!” Jeppsen described activities such as the cheer sleepover after the night of tryouts, pool parties in the summer, decorating the locker room for homecoming week, and doing the torch-run with a picnic following. These activities create “everlasting memories” for her and the other team members. Jeppsen has grown very close to her cheer team members over the last two years. This year Jeppsen has a passionate goal to help all the girls on the cheer team to have strong relationships with one another. All in all, Jeppsen is so excited to share her goals and hopes with the new team this year; she has hopes that the rest of the team will be as passionate as she is, as she believes it will help the team to grow individually and as a whole. By: Harley Bennett For three years, Averie Goodliffe has been the only Bear River High School cheerleader in her grade. She hasn’t really minded being alone in this way and said, “It hasn’t been super weird for me; I’ve gotten the chance to get close to the girls older and younger than me.”
As a little girl, Goodliffe would watch the high school cheerleaders at games and other events and wanted to be just like them. Goodliffe has been cheering for around ten years total and she wouldn’t trade it for the world! In the beginning of her high school cheer career, Goodliffe found cheer difficult because she was the “baby” of the team. Overall, though, the hardest thing about cheer for Goodliffe has been learning and memorizing all the cheers, dances, routines, and band dances. Despite this, Goodliffe said cheer has been very rewarding. Her favorite thing about being on the cheer team is all the friendships and funny memories: “The games are so much fun and performing always makes me so happy!” One of Goodliffe’s most favorite memories is when the cheer team went to Disneyland for nationals and stayed until they closed. Goodliffe has never thought about stopping cheer: she has loved every step of the way. Goodliffe is sad to graduate and let cheer go, but is so grateful for every second she got with her amazing team. She is excited to go off into the world and be an adult. Bear River High School wishes you luck, Averie! By: Chaston Firth Taige Austin is changing lives in the community by running for Miss Box Elder’s Outstanding Teen. She will compete against 51 contestants performing their own choreographed platform describing what they are competing to fix. Most of the contestants are presenting their platform about fighting domestic abuse, bullying, or something of that nature. Taige has prepared a boxing routine to display fighting for resilience to inspire all those who are fighting their own personal problems and prove that a bad day doesn't mean a bad life.
Austin said she was inspired to run in the pageant by her neighbors who think that she will have fun running and would do a great job. She looks forward to gaining the great social skills that come with competing. Taige has started an Instagram account called ‘the_lotusteffect’ where she posts really good inspirational quotes to further her campaign. Every day she has a different topic: Service Sunday, Motivational Monday, Talk About It Tuesday, Wide-open Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, and (her personal favorite) Failed-it Friday. Failed-it Friday comes with a video of a failure to encourage being able to laugh and have a positive view on your mishaps. One particularly notable quote from her page is “Losers quit when they fail. Winners fail until they succeed.” Austin selflessly pushes to help anyone who might be going through a hard time and always tries to let everyone know that mistakes are essential to self growth with her crazy inspirational stories and positive outlook on anything and everything. Austin hopes to progress from Miss Box Elder’s Outstanding Teen to Miss Utah’s Outstanding Teen, and even run for Miss America’s Outstanding Teen. She is trying to earn some scholarships from becoming a public figure so more people can hear her message and donate. Austin donates all of her earned money from this program to a children's miracle network. She loves that she is able to make an impact by becoming more widely known and hopes to be a better person for herself and those around her. Austin has grown so much through this experience and doesn’t want it to ever come to an end. |
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February 2024
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