Flash to the Past: 100th Day of School
by
Jordan Blank
If I have done my math right, Mon., Jan. 23, was the 100th day of school. Back in the old days (also known
as elementary school), this event was a big deal. A whole day was dedicated to celebrating the number 100.
When I was in first grade, the 100th day of school landed on a Wednesday. On Monday, we made party hats
and decorations for our classroom party. When Wednesday came, we had a lot of fun counting to 100.
As my brother and I went to different elementary schools than most people at Garner-Hayfield, I thought it best to
confer with some fellow students to learn how they remember celebrating the 100th day of school.
Senior Christina Furman remembers a countdown to celebrating the hundredth day
of school. “Everyday we would rip off a chain as we counted down the days.”
Senior Krista Bitker reminisces about making candy necklaces and eating them throughout
the day. “All that was left by the end of the day was a wet, colorful elastic string.”
Senior Kristin Stromer recalls lots of food and drinks and playing games all day.
“It was exciting to be able to count to 100.”
I celebrated the 100th day of school every year from kindergarten through third grade. In fourth grade,
my family lived in Springfield, Illinois, and they didn’t celebrate the 100th day of school there. Instead
we celebrated “gross day.” A gross is a unit of measurement that represents 144 smaller units. One gross equals
144.
Gross Day was a day dedicated to everything gross. We discussed gross things, we ate gross foods and we wrote gross
stories and read them in front of the class. My story involved a kid eating “yellow snow.”
Stuart remembers eating “mud cups” on Gross Day. “They were made up of chocolate pudding, Oreos and
gummy worms.”
Another elementary school “holiday” that comes to mind as I write about Gross Day is March 2, Dr. Seuss’s
birthday. While not an inherently gross day, the school lunch that day was always a little questionable. I, for one, could
never bring myself to eat the green eggs and ham. It just looked too gross.
Regardless of where you went to school or what days you celebrate, there will always be numbers that
are special to you and deserve celebration. As we continue to find new methods of celebrating new things and dates, we can
always look back at elementary school when we celebrated the 100th (or 144th) day of school.
Senior Spotlight--Aaron
Babcock
by Renae Lau
One word that senior Aaron Babcock uses to describe himself is hungry; wrestling
is no doubt the cause of that. Along with wrestling, Aaron has participated in cross country, golf and baseball. Aaron is
most proud of lettering in multiple sports, and his most memorable experience is going to watch state wrestling.
Aaron was born on March 10, 1994, to Mason and Susan
Babcock, who happen to be Aaron’s role models because have taught him many things. Aaron has one sister, Kelly, and
a brother, Jordan. The one pet to be found in the Babcock household is Roxy, their chocolate lab.
In Aaron’s free time, you may find him reading ESPN magazine
and rocking out to his favorite song, “I’m Sexy and I Know It.” Among Aaron’s other favorites are
That 70’s Show, the movie Never Back Down, shopping at Best Buy, cheering for the Chicago Cubs, hating
on the Chicago White Sox, the color red and the school lunch of chicken gravy over baking powder biscuits. On the flip side,
Aaron’s biggest pet peeve is when something is lost and it can’t be found.
The number one thing on Aaron’s bucket list is to drive on the Autobahn.
If Aaron could have any superhero power, he would choose the ability to fly so he could get places faster. A dream vacation
for Aaron would be going to Hawaii; seeing his celebrity crush, Amber Heard, on the trip would make it even better.
Aaron likes the fact that he isn’t a picky
eater; in fact, you could catch him eating just about anything unless it is wrestling season, of course. If there were one
thing that Aaron could change about himself, however, it would be to have perfect vision so he wouldn’t need his contacts
or glasses.
If Aaron could choose one
person to walk in his shoes for a day, it would be his mom so she could see how different it is being a senior now than it
was when she was a senior. Aaron would choose Kevin Hart’s shoes to walk in for a day to see what it is like to be funny
and rich.
Aaron enjoys spending time
with his friends, which is what he is going to miss most about high school. One thing that Aaron is looking forward to after
high school is getting into a new routine. Aaron is planning on attending Waldorf to study video communications.
Senior Spotlight—Rachel
Ricke
by Krista Jolivette
“Life is 10% what happens and 90% how you react” is a favorite quote of GHHS senior Rachel
Ricke. Rachel, the daughter of Mark and Kim Ricke, was born Sept. 17, 1993. Her younger brother Jason and her dog Will round
out the family.
Some of Rachel’s favorites
include the store Delia’s, the color purple, art class with Mrs. Hill, green beans with bacon, the TV shows Terra
Nova and Once Upon a Time and Disney movies. A fun fact you may not know about Rachel is that she cannot whistle.
In her spare time, Rachel enjoys dancing, watching movies, reading and listening to music. One word she uses to describe
herself is clumsy because she is always tripping over her feet. Rachel’s celebrity crush is Dean Geyer, and her pet
peeve is having to wait for others to make an unimportant decision. Rachel’s favorite thing about herself is her positive
attitude because it allows her to make the most of every day.
If Rachel could have any superhero power, she would want to be able to teleport because then she would be able to go
anywhere in the world at any time and wouldn’t have to spend time driving or flying. A trip to Greece is Rachel’s
dream vacation, and she would choose to walk in her brother’s shoes for a day to see what goes on in his mind. The number
one thing on her bucket list is becoming fluent in American Sign Language.
During high school Rachel has been involved in band, choir, drama, speech, art, track, softball, SADD, FCCLA, NHS,
Dare to Be You and dance. She is most proud of going to state speech for three years, which explains why her favorite high
school memories involve speech contests with Laura Formanek and Kelli Weaver. Rachel advises underclassmen to be involved
in activities that interest them because getting involved creates a chance to make new friends. After graduating, Rachel will
miss art classes with Mrs. Hill and drama productions with Ms. May.
Rachel plans to study art therapy at Grand View University. She is looking forward to new experiences at
college.
What’s Under Your Bed?
by Jenna Maben
Have you ever thought about what treasures are lurking under your bed? We as a newspaper staff have been curious about
that same question. Secrets will leak as we discover what’s under G-HHS students’ and teachers beds’.
The space under a person’s bed is very handy for kids and adults. It’s that extra space that is considered
a personal spare closet. Most of the time it’s a random storage place where people stuff random items that they don’t
use very often or that they believe will be useful later on. After time passes, they often forget what they had even put there
to begin with. For some people, it’s a treasured place.
Younger kids use the space underneath their bed mainly for one purpose: to put away all of their toys when their parents
ask them to clean their room. For example, when I was younger and had a “once in a lifetime opportunity” with
only my messy room keeping me from going, I assumed that the faster my room got clean, the sooner I could go. This is when
I’d stuff everything I could under my bed to clean my room as fast as I could. Even though this method never worked,
I did it all the time.
For kids this space is not
only used for a cleaning method but also works as the best hiding spot. Hide and go seek is one of the most popular games
for kids to play, and underneath the bed has always been the best spot to hide. This spot is perfect for hiding because it
is a dark and small space.
When it comes to the cleaning
method, not only younger kids use this space; so do teens. “Under my bed I have a little
of everything! When I am told to clean my room and am running out of time, everything gets shoved under my bed. It’s
so much easier than taking the time to put it all away,” said Hailey Scott.
After growing up, cleaning becomes easier and hide and go seek is not played as much.
So for what do adults use the space underneath their beds? For some people it’s a mystery. For others this space is
a valuable storage spot. “Under my bed I would most likely find a few long-lost socks,
some dust bunnies and play scripts,” said Ms. May.
Underneath a person’s bed can also be used as a spot for important items that someone wouldn’t
want to lose. Nathan Opp said, “All I have under my bed is a bunch of targets for my .22 and my airsoft guns.”
The space underneath
a person’s bed is useful for many things and is also a place for adventure. Maybe you should check what’s under
your bed.
