An “actual” Viking at games?
By: Kamille Womack
NORTHRIDGE - Northridge students and staff are well known for their “Viking spirit.” The school colors, green and white, are proudly worn during games and meets. Whether it’s painted students at football games or cheerleaders pumping up the crowd, there has always been a fun way to represent Northridge. Our school has recently added another attraction to amp up students’ and athletes' spirit: a Viking costume that will be used during football games.
Any student that is interested can have the opportunity to cheer on teams and hype up crowds. Students had mixed feelings when first hearing about the mascot. Geneva Smith (‘22) says, “That’s exciting. I think it’ll get the student section a lot more excited.”
Student Council’s Spirit Committee initially conceived the idea of bringing an actual mascot in costume back during 2019’s football season. “We remembered having a mascot when we were freshmen. It always kept the games fun,” said Spirit Committee member Shelby Yorde (‘20). The costume was ordered but didn’t arrive until basketball season, so it’s being held ready for the 2020 season. “It was hard to find one that fit our budget. Some of them cost thousands of dollars, so we went with something more like a Halloween costume to save money.”
Originally, the Spirit Committee hoped Clayton Conley (‘21) was going to be Northridge’s mascot because of his gymnastics and competitive cheerleading background, but he declined the offer. Students who are interested in “being the Viking” next year can talk to Mrs. Hotchkiss, Mr. George, or anyone on the Spirit Committee.
- Kamille Womack (‘22) is a staff member for The Viking Vault. [email protected].
By: Kamille Womack
NORTHRIDGE - Northridge students and staff are well known for their “Viking spirit.” The school colors, green and white, are proudly worn during games and meets. Whether it’s painted students at football games or cheerleaders pumping up the crowd, there has always been a fun way to represent Northridge. Our school has recently added another attraction to amp up students’ and athletes' spirit: a Viking costume that will be used during football games.
Any student that is interested can have the opportunity to cheer on teams and hype up crowds. Students had mixed feelings when first hearing about the mascot. Geneva Smith (‘22) says, “That’s exciting. I think it’ll get the student section a lot more excited.”
Student Council’s Spirit Committee initially conceived the idea of bringing an actual mascot in costume back during 2019’s football season. “We remembered having a mascot when we were freshmen. It always kept the games fun,” said Spirit Committee member Shelby Yorde (‘20). The costume was ordered but didn’t arrive until basketball season, so it’s being held ready for the 2020 season. “It was hard to find one that fit our budget. Some of them cost thousands of dollars, so we went with something more like a Halloween costume to save money.”
Originally, the Spirit Committee hoped Clayton Conley (‘21) was going to be Northridge’s mascot because of his gymnastics and competitive cheerleading background, but he declined the offer. Students who are interested in “being the Viking” next year can talk to Mrs. Hotchkiss, Mr. George, or anyone on the Spirit Committee.
- Kamille Womack (‘22) is a staff member for The Viking Vault. [email protected].
Moving closer to zero cafeteria waste?
By: Olivia Howard
NORTHRIDGE - In America, billions of pounds of food are thrown away every year in schools while other children and families deal with food insecurity. School cafeterias feed hundreds of their students a day, but millions of dollars worth of edible food are exposed of every day, as well. Food Service Director Carley Lewis and even some students have thoughts about curbing that.
The NHS cafeteria has a rule that students are not allowed to buy a single item off the lunch menu without buying the full lunch. Students have several guesses about why that might be.
"They may do this because they want us to have a balanced meal, I am not sure,” said Peyton Liggett (‘21).
"Maybe they restrict these one item sales to ensure they don't end up with any leftover food after lunch," said Amanda Howard (‘23). “I don’t know, but I feel like it could make kids waste more food.”
Lewis explains the actual rationale for the policy: "The purpose of these restrictions are that the government reimburses the school with money for full lunches. Every full lunch they sell gives back money from the government.” Those reimbursements are designed to make sure students get enough to eat, and providing fruits and veggies to students increases the amount of money the school gets from the government.
Some students say allowing students to make suggestions for menu items in the cafeteria could also cut waste there. "I would say just have the students be able to suggest lunches for the year so they can have more of a say in what foods are available to them during lunch," said Blayr Caulley ('22).
Liggett agreed that would have a positive impact, making students more interested in buying and eating the food offered.
"I would love that,” Lewis said. “We could have a week of trying new things suggested by the students. However, there are still rules about how the lunches must be and what they include. There needs to be five veggie groups used, and we use different categories of veggies each day," said Lewis of the complicated system required by the government.
- Olivia Howard, ('21) is a staff writer for The Viking Vault.
By: Olivia Howard
NORTHRIDGE - In America, billions of pounds of food are thrown away every year in schools while other children and families deal with food insecurity. School cafeterias feed hundreds of their students a day, but millions of dollars worth of edible food are exposed of every day, as well. Food Service Director Carley Lewis and even some students have thoughts about curbing that.
The NHS cafeteria has a rule that students are not allowed to buy a single item off the lunch menu without buying the full lunch. Students have several guesses about why that might be.
"They may do this because they want us to have a balanced meal, I am not sure,” said Peyton Liggett (‘21).
"Maybe they restrict these one item sales to ensure they don't end up with any leftover food after lunch," said Amanda Howard (‘23). “I don’t know, but I feel like it could make kids waste more food.”
Lewis explains the actual rationale for the policy: "The purpose of these restrictions are that the government reimburses the school with money for full lunches. Every full lunch they sell gives back money from the government.” Those reimbursements are designed to make sure students get enough to eat, and providing fruits and veggies to students increases the amount of money the school gets from the government.
Some students say allowing students to make suggestions for menu items in the cafeteria could also cut waste there. "I would say just have the students be able to suggest lunches for the year so they can have more of a say in what foods are available to them during lunch," said Blayr Caulley ('22).
Liggett agreed that would have a positive impact, making students more interested in buying and eating the food offered.
"I would love that,” Lewis said. “We could have a week of trying new things suggested by the students. However, there are still rules about how the lunches must be and what they include. There needs to be five veggie groups used, and we use different categories of veggies each day," said Lewis of the complicated system required by the government.
- Olivia Howard, ('21) is a staff writer for The Viking Vault.
Music Man opens this weekend
By: Hadley Stermer
NORTHRIDGE - This year the high school musical is The Music Man. It is about traveling salesman/conman that promises to make a band that has community kids. With opening night on the 13th, things are beginning to get hectic.
The 13 seniors involved have a large role to play this year. Most of them have been involved since middle school, and Mrs. Hepp said, “This class has been very talented since I got here and they were in 8th grade. They lead by example and show the younger students how things go, between just doing what we expect and being awesome on stage.”
Rex Bammerlin (‘20) has been involved in the musicals since sixth grade. He mentioned that he liked to sing so why not try out the musical? Bammerlin said, “I really love the acting of it but just being up there and dancing and having fun with everybody is a good time all together.”
On the flip side, Rebekah Kalas (‘20) decided to join the musical for the first time this year. She said, “This is my first time being in a musical and I just wanted to join because it's my senior year and I’ve always wanted to try it. My favorite part is going and getting to try new things and making friends with everybody.” Since this is her first time being a part of a musical she was nervous about what it would hold. She said, “It is nerve wracking trying something new that you’ve never really done before, and have no experience doing, but once you overcome that it's a lot of fun.”
Max Burton (‘21) has also been a big part of the musicals since sixth grade. He mentioned that the dancing was his favorite part but also the most challenging part considering all the memorization that has to be done. Burton said, “I just love music so being part of the musical is just the perfect thing.”
Mrs. Hepp, the director, has a lot of fun with the musical. She said, “With this musical, it’s really cool that I get to teach them songs that are a part of American musical theatre history.” Although she mentioned that there are more challenges with this musical compared to previous years. With the choreography, she said, “This one the choreography has been hard because I don’t want to copy the movie.”
The cast had auditions in December and continues to practice every week Monday-Thursday 3-5. Tickets are on sale in the high school office, and shows are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
We are having trouble uploading this video so the link below will take you directly to the video.
LINK TO VIDEO: https://youtu.be/HBomJiiDUcQ
- Hadley Stermer (‘21) is a Junior Print Editor for The Viking Vault.
By: Hadley Stermer
NORTHRIDGE - This year the high school musical is The Music Man. It is about traveling salesman/conman that promises to make a band that has community kids. With opening night on the 13th, things are beginning to get hectic.
The 13 seniors involved have a large role to play this year. Most of them have been involved since middle school, and Mrs. Hepp said, “This class has been very talented since I got here and they were in 8th grade. They lead by example and show the younger students how things go, between just doing what we expect and being awesome on stage.”
Rex Bammerlin (‘20) has been involved in the musicals since sixth grade. He mentioned that he liked to sing so why not try out the musical? Bammerlin said, “I really love the acting of it but just being up there and dancing and having fun with everybody is a good time all together.”
On the flip side, Rebekah Kalas (‘20) decided to join the musical for the first time this year. She said, “This is my first time being in a musical and I just wanted to join because it's my senior year and I’ve always wanted to try it. My favorite part is going and getting to try new things and making friends with everybody.” Since this is her first time being a part of a musical she was nervous about what it would hold. She said, “It is nerve wracking trying something new that you’ve never really done before, and have no experience doing, but once you overcome that it's a lot of fun.”
Max Burton (‘21) has also been a big part of the musicals since sixth grade. He mentioned that the dancing was his favorite part but also the most challenging part considering all the memorization that has to be done. Burton said, “I just love music so being part of the musical is just the perfect thing.”
Mrs. Hepp, the director, has a lot of fun with the musical. She said, “With this musical, it’s really cool that I get to teach them songs that are a part of American musical theatre history.” Although she mentioned that there are more challenges with this musical compared to previous years. With the choreography, she said, “This one the choreography has been hard because I don’t want to copy the movie.”
The cast had auditions in December and continues to practice every week Monday-Thursday 3-5. Tickets are on sale in the high school office, and shows are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
We are having trouble uploading this video so the link below will take you directly to the video.
LINK TO VIDEO: https://youtu.be/HBomJiiDUcQ
- Hadley Stermer (‘21) is a Junior Print Editor for The Viking Vault.
AP vs CCP? What’s the difference?
By: Kathryn Nicks
NORTHRIDGE - High schools are starting to offer more and more college classes. Here at Northridge, both AP (Advanced Placement) and CCP (College Credit Plus) classes are offered.
It is getting to be that time of the year where students are putting together their schedule for the 2020-2021 school year. This is a stressful time for everyone, especially upperclassmen if they are planning to take AP and/or CCP courses.
What exactly is the difference between AP and CCP courses, you might wonder? Well, the short version of it is that all state colleges have to accept the credits from the classes you took through CCP; however, they do not have to accept the AP class credits that you have.
At the end of your AP course, you are required to take a test, and your score on that test really determines if a college will give you actual credits in return. Some colleges will grant credit for a course with a score of 3, while others require a 4 or 5 on the nationally-normed tests.
Northridge High School Guidance Counselor, Ms. Rauchenstein, mentions, “You could do great in the class all year, and then bomb the test at the end and your credits wouldn’t go through.” However, with CCP classes, you do not have to take a test at the end, and as long as you pass the course, your credits will be transferred to any state college.
If you’re struggling with whether or not you should take college courses next year, here is what India Allar (‘21) has to say about it: “I try to take classes that I know I’m going to need in college so I will be able to save money and focus more on harder classes. I also just feel more open-minded and have a better idea of what my interests are.”
Allar is currently taking Cultural Diversity and Classical Civilizations through Northridge. She says that since she started taking these classes she, “doesn’t feel as bored during the school day since these courses are different from other regular classes, and it’s relieving to know I’m getting credits done ahead of time.”
She is hoping that by the end of her senior year next year, she will have her Associate of Arts degree in Humanities. So when planning her schedule for next year, she will take classes that can make that happen.
Mrs. Rauchenstein, says, “I recommend that high schoolers take as many CCP courses as they can while being successful.” The main goal, in the end, is to get a few credits for college done while the classes are free and you’re still in high school.
Sometimes the thought of these extra courses makes people think they will be hard and overwhelming. Allar explained that “Last semester, I was in the middle of Nutcracker and band season while also doing four courses, so that was a lot to handle. It’s hard, especially if you’re taking other hard classes and doing activities, but it’s manageable.” So if you’re worried about it being too much to handle, don't worry. Yes, it will be hard, but as Allar mentioned, it is manageable and it benefits you in the long run.
If you’re interested in taking any AP or CCP courses next year and want to know what is available, you can meet with Mrs. Rauchenstein to talk about it or look in the course description book.
- Kathryn Nicks (‘21) is a Junior Print Editor for The Viking Vault.
By: Kathryn Nicks
NORTHRIDGE - High schools are starting to offer more and more college classes. Here at Northridge, both AP (Advanced Placement) and CCP (College Credit Plus) classes are offered.
It is getting to be that time of the year where students are putting together their schedule for the 2020-2021 school year. This is a stressful time for everyone, especially upperclassmen if they are planning to take AP and/or CCP courses.
What exactly is the difference between AP and CCP courses, you might wonder? Well, the short version of it is that all state colleges have to accept the credits from the classes you took through CCP; however, they do not have to accept the AP class credits that you have.
At the end of your AP course, you are required to take a test, and your score on that test really determines if a college will give you actual credits in return. Some colleges will grant credit for a course with a score of 3, while others require a 4 or 5 on the nationally-normed tests.
Northridge High School Guidance Counselor, Ms. Rauchenstein, mentions, “You could do great in the class all year, and then bomb the test at the end and your credits wouldn’t go through.” However, with CCP classes, you do not have to take a test at the end, and as long as you pass the course, your credits will be transferred to any state college.
If you’re struggling with whether or not you should take college courses next year, here is what India Allar (‘21) has to say about it: “I try to take classes that I know I’m going to need in college so I will be able to save money and focus more on harder classes. I also just feel more open-minded and have a better idea of what my interests are.”
Allar is currently taking Cultural Diversity and Classical Civilizations through Northridge. She says that since she started taking these classes she, “doesn’t feel as bored during the school day since these courses are different from other regular classes, and it’s relieving to know I’m getting credits done ahead of time.”
She is hoping that by the end of her senior year next year, she will have her Associate of Arts degree in Humanities. So when planning her schedule for next year, she will take classes that can make that happen.
Mrs. Rauchenstein, says, “I recommend that high schoolers take as many CCP courses as they can while being successful.” The main goal, in the end, is to get a few credits for college done while the classes are free and you’re still in high school.
Sometimes the thought of these extra courses makes people think they will be hard and overwhelming. Allar explained that “Last semester, I was in the middle of Nutcracker and band season while also doing four courses, so that was a lot to handle. It’s hard, especially if you’re taking other hard classes and doing activities, but it’s manageable.” So if you’re worried about it being too much to handle, don't worry. Yes, it will be hard, but as Allar mentioned, it is manageable and it benefits you in the long run.
If you’re interested in taking any AP or CCP courses next year and want to know what is available, you can meet with Mrs. Rauchenstein to talk about it or look in the course description book.
- Kathryn Nicks (‘21) is a Junior Print Editor for The Viking Vault.
Where we came from…
Voice to Vault
By: Megan Payne
NORTHRIDGE - The Viking Vault has been publishing stories since the 2011-12 school year, but the school newspaper started many years before that. After searching through some records, Mrs. Garee, who teaches the current newspaper class at Northridge, came across a copy of the school newspaper which was named The Voice that was written in 1964. Obviously, there are many differences between today’s Viking Vault and the paper from 1964, but there are also many similar aspects to both papers.
In 1964, online issues and copier machines weren’t a thing quite yet, but typewriters were. Past writers were able to type in different colors which is a feature that The Viking Vault doesn’t always have for the print issue. The old newspaper staff would have never dreamed of making videos to go along with their stories or inserting QR codes into the print issue, but that just shows how far technology has come.
The Viking Vault is able to reach more people outside of the school because of our online issue on Weebly.com, but The Voice was limited to paper copies which made it harder to reach a large amount of people. Community members love to see what is happening around the school so the online issue has allowed us to inform them.
Images of Santa were drawn onto the paper to add some visual effects, which is something that our staff does today as well. Most of our images are found online which is a luxury that The Voice didn’t have in 1964.
The sports section looks very similar to the sports section that we have today. The 1964 issue happened to run around Christmas time, so the sports editors were writing about basketball season and their holiday tournament just like the current Vault editors would write about.
After looking over the newspaper, our staff gained some new ideas for fun columns that our staffers will be writing soon (like letters to the editor) so stay tuned for those new and exciting things! We especially enjoyed reading reports about a massive snow storm written about in the Jan. 28, 1965 issue that cancelled school and sent students to then student Jack Debolt’s pond, where they played ice hockey.
Students also wrote about shocking dance moves being displayed on TV on shows like Shindig or Hulabaloo, in which dancers “wave their arms in the air, wiggle, and shake.” The anonymous editorial writer decides “It’s no wonder adults say the younger generation is going to the dogs!” The editor responds that he/she would “wiggle” as well if they got paid the kind of money folks on television do.
The current Viking Vault staff is thankful for the staff and writers of The Voice that came before them because they paved the way for future Vault staff.
- Megan Payne (‘20) is the chief web editor for the Viking Vault.
Voice to Vault
By: Megan Payne
NORTHRIDGE - The Viking Vault has been publishing stories since the 2011-12 school year, but the school newspaper started many years before that. After searching through some records, Mrs. Garee, who teaches the current newspaper class at Northridge, came across a copy of the school newspaper which was named The Voice that was written in 1964. Obviously, there are many differences between today’s Viking Vault and the paper from 1964, but there are also many similar aspects to both papers.
In 1964, online issues and copier machines weren’t a thing quite yet, but typewriters were. Past writers were able to type in different colors which is a feature that The Viking Vault doesn’t always have for the print issue. The old newspaper staff would have never dreamed of making videos to go along with their stories or inserting QR codes into the print issue, but that just shows how far technology has come.
The Viking Vault is able to reach more people outside of the school because of our online issue on Weebly.com, but The Voice was limited to paper copies which made it harder to reach a large amount of people. Community members love to see what is happening around the school so the online issue has allowed us to inform them.
Images of Santa were drawn onto the paper to add some visual effects, which is something that our staff does today as well. Most of our images are found online which is a luxury that The Voice didn’t have in 1964.
The sports section looks very similar to the sports section that we have today. The 1964 issue happened to run around Christmas time, so the sports editors were writing about basketball season and their holiday tournament just like the current Vault editors would write about.
After looking over the newspaper, our staff gained some new ideas for fun columns that our staffers will be writing soon (like letters to the editor) so stay tuned for those new and exciting things! We especially enjoyed reading reports about a massive snow storm written about in the Jan. 28, 1965 issue that cancelled school and sent students to then student Jack Debolt’s pond, where they played ice hockey.
Students also wrote about shocking dance moves being displayed on TV on shows like Shindig or Hulabaloo, in which dancers “wave their arms in the air, wiggle, and shake.” The anonymous editorial writer decides “It’s no wonder adults say the younger generation is going to the dogs!” The editor responds that he/she would “wiggle” as well if they got paid the kind of money folks on television do.
The current Viking Vault staff is thankful for the staff and writers of The Voice that came before them because they paved the way for future Vault staff.
- Megan Payne (‘20) is the chief web editor for the Viking Vault.