PWHS Seniors to Work Polls for Election
Senior Jolena Underwood received training from the Scioto County Election Board for the upcoming election. PWHS seniors regularly work the election polls where they earn money and gain essential workplace skills to add to their college/scholarship applications. Other PWHS students who also trained were seniors Bryson Kissinger, Max Rapp, and Rylee McDermott.
Students Create 9/11 Memorial
American History classes studied the attacks of 9/11 focusing on the 9:37 a.m. attack on the Pentagon where American Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. 184 lives were lost between those in the Pentagon and passengers on Flight 77.
Students researched the effects of the 9/11 attacks, which changed American life in many ways including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the US Patriot Act, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Students created a memorial to honor and remember those whose lives were lost by placing 184 flags outside the high school cafeteria. This exhibit will still be available to view at tonight's home football game.
Thanks to freshman Russell Rapp for the drone image!
Renovating Mentorship Into PW Club
The Portsmouth West Senators have a new plan this year instead of the mentoring in the past. Every other Friday, students and staff will participate in “PW Club” where staff will choose a topic to discuss and curate activities for students to relate to that topic. Some PW Clubs include Fantasy Football, Pep Club, Just Dance Club, and Book Club. Students pick a new club every nine weeks, allowing them to try new areas of interest. The plan was to evolve mentoring by improving its impact on students and staff, PW Club should be a great start to bring involvement to posterity.
To improve the previous mentoring program, teachers had to come together to decide upon a plan of action. “Originally with the idea of the mentorship program. It was alright but not where we wanted it to be,” says Portsmouth West Principal, Mr. Christopher Rapp, “In May I called the teachers together and challenged them to come up with a revised edition of the PW Club.” Teachers and staff have designed this to better benefit the students. Mr. Rapp also says the goal is to get students more involved in the extracurriculars offered, “We have a high percentage rate of students in clubs and extracurriculars but we want as many as possible to give them a sense of identity so that they will join more and participate more in clubs and extracurricular activities.” PW Club’s goal is to get students more involved and it seems it is working.
A few teachers have expressed how they feel PW Club will better impact involvement in school and extracurricular activities. Mostly there is a positive outlook on the scheduling for PW Club, “So far I think it is very successful and at the same time it hasn’t taken away from the regular classroom schedule,” praises Mr. Todd Gilliland, whose club is Fantasy Football. “I feel like I’ve been able to make connections with the students in my class. I like it way better than mentoring.” So far, many students and staff members have had a better experience with PW Club than with the original mentoring program. Dalton Russell, a student involved in the ‘Make Stuff Club’ says that he likes the idea of PW Club. He states, “There are three reasons why I think PW Club is better than mentoring; first off, we do it more often. The second reason, we actually do things related to our interests. The third reason is that we get to switch our topic every nine weeks.” It seems PW Club is getting a positive response! However, how will it affect our student body?
PW Club has also improved socialization, with many students finding common ground with these topics. Miss Sonja Jarrells, who is a co-advisor of “Just Dance Club”, mentioned that socialization is being impacted, “I feel like socializing is a big issue right now, and it’s bringing kids closer together to talk about these clubs and in my case, they are dancing together.” At Portsmouth West, there are many clubs to choose from but it seems to be the involvement has gone down. Bringing students together in a setting that they normally wouldn’t meet otherwise can allow new interactions to lead to club involvement. Just Dance Club’s other advisor, Mr. Aaron Blevins, said something similar to socializing, “I think that giving them [students] something they are interested in, rather than the same thing in mentoring, will help them find a group to socialize. It’s more about finding people to help them join clubs than anything.” Students have been picking topics for PW Club that they are interested in, aside from their friend group or extracurriculars. Students are choosing other things just to try. It shows that there is interest. Mr. Gilliland also mentions this, saying that students who aren’t enrolled in Portsmouth West’s sports are in his Fantasy Football Club. Students may be unable to be in sports or other clubs because of the demand or price, however, PW Club allows those students to express their interest in sports, art, music, or even horses!
Students aren’t the only ones who are enjoying the new program, Mrs. Sarah Gamble, advisor for “Horse Club,” says it is a nice end of her week. She mentioned that it will help student involvement because, “…it is motivating them to keep up their grades so they can attend,” which is a new rule to PW Club. Students have to keep up grades and have no more than one missing assignment to participate in PW Club every other week. If you are a student looking for a new PW Club to join because you are interested, refer to the list in the hallway! PW Club encourages students to be curious about topics, express themselves with topics they are interested in, and allows students to find more people who are just as interested in them!
Contributing author Cassidy McClurg
Students Create Visual Representation of the Body's Systems
Mrs. Blanton's Lifespan Development class has been studying the systems of the body. Using various everyday items, students created a lifesize representation of each system in the human body. Mrs. Blanton, also a registered nurse and in her second year at PWHS, teaches both Lifespan Development and Medical Terminology classes.
Biology Students Learning Foundational Skills
Students in Mrs. Bazler's Biology classes are learning proper microscope techniques. Students examined paramecium, stentor, algae and many other specimens from local pond and river water. According to Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, the high school Biology curriculum includes, "inquiry-based laboratory experience that engages students in asking valid scientific questions and gathering and analyzing information. This course investigates the composition, diversity, complexity and interconnectedness of life on Earth. Fundamental concepts of heredity and evolution provide a framework through inquiry-based instruction to explore the living world, the physical environment and the interactions within and between them. Students engage in investigations to understand and explain the behavior of living things in a variety of scenarios that incorporate scientific reasoning, analysis, communication skills and real-world applications."
Senior Life Students Attend College Fair
Senior Life students recently attended Shawnee State University's College Fair. Students were able to speak to representatives for numerous colleges, technical schools and military branches. Students will also have the opportunity to visit Marshall University and Ohio University to do an official tour and explore the various colleges/departments within the universities.
Beta Members Attend Leadership Summit
PWHS Beta members recently attended the BETA Leadership Summit in Tennessee. The group created projects that were judged to determine if they were eligible for the national competition. The projects - Project Proposal, Lead Outside the Box, and Collaboration Connection - all qualified for the National Convention! Beta members who attended were :
Hannah Hutchinson-senior(President), Jolena Underwood-senior(Secretary), Jayden Hedge-senior, Tehya Hazelbaker-senior(Club Officer), Laiken Caudill-sophomore, Kayleigh Craft-sophomore, Rylee Fuller- sophomore, Kylee McCleese- sophomore, Mollie Morrissette- sophomore(Club Officer), Maddie Tieman- sophomore
