The Jet

The beginning of a new team means new everything, especially when it is D.C. Everest’s first Boy’s swim team. With the team’s first year comes hard work and opportunities.

Talk about organizing the team had actually started last year but there was no follow through. This year the team captains, juniors Austin Foss and Jordan Thieler worked effectively to reach a minimum of thirty sign ups to have the school reconsider the boy’s swim team. With practices five days a week after school, he team has devoted themselves to strive for the best they can be. They practice hard enough to catch up to the teams already in the conference.

“The boys trained hard, they started on basic strokes and are now working on speed and technique,” said Coach Bree Sandquist. Practices in the early weeks of the season consisted of “swimming really far and wall sits after school,” said Thieler.

He also added that many of the swim teammates felt the pain, but kept after it.

“I was tired because I have never swam before and I got the motivation to go back to the practice because I liked it and wanted to get better,” said Foss.

All of the practicing led up the their first meet on December 13, 2008 in Rhinelander. The team took 9th place, only trailing by 2 points to the 8th place team. Foss’s goals for himself, as well as the team is to simply get better and to not end up last. With the help of coach Sandquist, a swimmer of eleven years, the team is well on their way to building a stronger and more united team.

Written by Marly Lee

It’s a Thursday night, and the team has practiced extremely hard. They’re tense, but excited. On this day, D.C. Everest will face its biggest rival. Coaches are getting their players in the zone, this night could set the tone for the rest of the season.

While spectator turnout may not stack the stands like a Friday night home football game, clubs like curling are growing in popularity with the passing of every season. For the students involved in the sport, it is their football. The lights in the curling rink are their Friday night lights. A steady growing sport, the curling team boasts 32 players this season.

“We have people come and try it and most like it after they try it. We have an indoor pre-season clinic in Greenheck arena before sport signup so they can see what it’s like,” said head coach Ann Berns.

But, with no booster club, or any funding from the school, equipment, buses, gas, uniforms, sweatshirts and apparel for the team, all come from the pockets of players’ parents, and members of the curling club.

Megan Lucht, senior, is one of the students involved. For her, it is pretty tough when there are empty stands.

“Our parents and friends come watch us, sometimes. With people in the stands, the pressure becomes intense. But, it’s pretty depressing seeing the empty stands.” What the team lacks in attendance, they make up for in sportsmanship. Team members are encouraged to go to clinics that other teams will be at, participate in the Badger State Games and they socialize with the other teams at their curling events.

“It’s apart of curling tradition,” said Berns.

To prepare for the season, Berns said students are on the same team of 4 for

most of the time. They are taught their positions and how to work with each other.

“We have lots of etiquette that is learned in curling and which helps students bond together. Curling is a very positive sport, only good comments are made and even the people in the stands remains mostly silent out of respect. They do clap for good shots.”

Sophomore Spencer Loomis is new to curling this year, but he said he is learning many new things from the varsity curlers. “They’re very welcoming and helpful.”

The Curling teams first home meet is Thursday, Dec. 4^th at 3p.m. Coach Berns encourages students to come downtown to watch.

Story by Emily Schlichte, Photos by Tucker Phillips

   Every day, John sits in his classes, pays attention, and earns good grades. In fact, all of his grades for the first quarter were B’s, with one exception: English. In this class, his 81 percent earned him a C.

   Many Everest students wonder why the English grading scale is so different from the other core areas, but few ever find out.

   According to Jennifer Rauscher, the Language Arts curriculum coordinator, the altered English grading scale started roughly seven years ago. At that time, Wisconsin wanted to implement a statewide graduation test that each student would have to take to earn their diploma at the end of their senior year. Because of this test, D.C. Everest teachers wanted a district policy that could prove a student deserved to graduate based on their grades if they failed the graduation test.

   During this process, teachers decided that since writing is such an important life skill, classes such as English 10 and Writing Workshop should be graded on a different scale to help students further develop their writing skills. Later, the grading scale was implemented for the entire English department.

   Many English teachers are very accepting of taking rewrites for papers or allowing students to revise for extra points. This is because students are more likely to learn if they are able to correct their mistakes, and teachers want their students to be successful writers, not to “choose to fail,” according to Rauscher.

   However, few students feel that the English grading scale is fair to them.

   Sophomore Melissa Slattery does not agree with how different the English scale is from the grading scales of other core classes.

   “I believe it should be the same in every class so that it doesn’t affect our GPA and our chance at a better future,” Slattery said.

   Despite that students like Slattery feel the difference in scales is affecting their grades, guidance counselor Jack Volovsek said that he gets very few complaints about the scales. He also said such complaints usually come from students on the pass/fail border.

   “I don’t think it makes much difference because more conscientious students try to do their work and [the different grading scale] is not a significant motivation,” he said.

   Although the higher English scale may send some students the message that, because it seems more difficult it is more important, Dr. Tom Johansen, principal, said that all classes at Everest are equally important, but apply differently to a student’s needs. He also recognizes that interdepartmental grading inconsistencies exist, but is not worried.

   “I have less concern because, overall, they are consistent, and I would like to revise a lot of how things are graded at some point in time,” Johansen said.

   Johansen is very interested in a grading system that would separately evaluate a student’s academic achievements and behavior. He said that such a system would provide a more accurate representation of each student.

   For example, the report card of a student who works very hard in a particular subject, gets all their homework done, and has a positive attitude, but still receives poor grades, would show their academic grade and then a separate grade that would show their good class attitude.

   In contrast, the report card of a student who doesn’t work in class, distracts others, and is rude or disruptive, but does well would show their high academic score and also a separate grade for their poor behavior.

   Such a system would be able to give colleges and businesses a better idea of what type of person they will be accepting or hiring. More colleges or businesses would rather accept someone who would work hard, do their best, and bring a positive attitude than someone who will be rude to other students or customers and will not give their tasks their full effort, said Johansen.

   For the moment, this potential system is only an area of interest that will be further researched and discussed. However, it could be a sign of even more changes to come to Everest.

Story by Abbie Reetz, Photo by Tucker Phillips

   Each day Joey Hart wakes up, goes to the bathroom, takes a look at himself in the mirror, smiles, and then scratches his great red bushy beard. He picks up his brother Jeremy’s razor, and then triumphantly sets it back down.

    D.C. Everest senior Joey Hart has been walking Everest’s hallways since the eighth grade like everyone else but, he flaunts something many students either hate, love, or only wish their hormone level could produce, a full-grown beard.

   Hart was a 14-year-old, eighth grader when he decided not to shave.

  “It was general laziness in shaving… it’s an extra daily thing I had to do and I just didn’t want to do it anymore,” said Hart.

   Hart’s general laziness has invoked a broad spectrum of reactions throughout the years from students ranging from love to hatred.

   Junior Dan Suchomski disagrees. “I think it’s quite possibly the greatest display of man in the history of humans.”

   Hart believes“ it’s part of my evolutionary process to becoming supreme ruler of the universe.”

   Hart’s parents have been supportive of his beard. However, they tell him that if he wants to get a job he should probably shave his beard.

   “No one really wants to hire someone with a giant beard. It doesn’t really present the right upstanding-‘nessosity’,” said Hart.

   However, there was a time in history when Hart did shave his beard.

   In 2007, Hart shaved it as a comedy act at the D.C. Everest Senior High Variety Show. He even sold 96 t-shirts bearing a picture of his face and the words “Save the Beard” promoting the event.

   Hart said it took a while to get used to not having a beard.

   “It was really cold. I’m not used to the wind blowing in my face. I wore a scarf in the middle of April.”

   Hart’s beard has grown back since then and he doesn’t have any plans of shaving it anytime soon.

   “With medical technology and science going the way it is, I think it’s not unreasonable to say that I could have this beard for another two to three thousand years.”

   Though the beard may never be shaved, Hart will make a change. He plans to go to college at University of Wisconsin Stevens Point or University of Wisconsin Green Bay.

   He wants to major in English and minor in Theatre.

Story by Mitch DeSantis, Photos by Tucker Phillips