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2 | Index
Happy April Fools!
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Page design by Hannah Schreiner Front Cover by Erin Feldkamp Back cover by Tara Spencer
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Sports | 3
Page design by Jozee Esser
Pinning Down History Jaxson Thomas Jaxson Thomas
Photos taken by Jozee Esser & Shannon Kruse
STORY BY JOZEE ESSER Online Editor Jaxson Thomas; A name that will go down in viking wrestling history. Junior Jaxson Thomas beat the high school wrestling record for the most falls (also known as pins) in one season. This record was held by 2013 SHS graduate Bryant Guillen for the past 9 years. When the record was broken everyone was in shock, even Jaxson. “I didn’t know it was a record but I was trying to get as many as possible, when I got closer I knew I could get it”, Thomas said reminiscing the shock he felt in the moment when he broke the record. Thomas, who has been involved in wrestling for five years, is a multi-sport student athlete at Seaman High School, and participates in; varsity football in the fall, track in the spring, and wrestling in the winter. For the Seaman varsity boys wrestling team, Thomas competes in the 195 weight class. This class is
known to have much competition to go up against. This year Thomas had struggles and successes “I had to cut this season to make 195 so I was struggling in matches to have enough energy,” said Thomas. With his success Thomas gained 44 overall wins by fall and needs only 29 more falls to get to his 100th career fall win. With only 11 more overall wins (including games won by points) Thomas would gain his wrestling career of 100th wins. Despite the fact that Thomas has been in the 195 weight class for the past three years of his wrestling career, his goal next year is to wrestle 220 and place at state. Over his five years wrestling Thomas has gained unforgettable memories, friends, and has developed favorite moves he likes to do when competing. “My favorite [move] is double leg because it looks really cool and effective,” Thomas said. [might have to ask for another quote, idk though] Thomas’ advice to underclassmen or people who are new to the sport is, “Work hard and go to every practice!”
4 | SPORTS
The Road to State
How the Seaman Boys Basketball Team Grasped Their First State Title Story by Bethany Druse Sports Editor On March 12, 2022, the Seaman boys varsity basketball team made history by becoming the first boys basketball team at Seaman High School to win a State title. The road to being state champions had presented itself to be a tough ride playing highly competitive teams, but the Seaman boys basketball team made it look easy by battling through the challenges. From the start of Substate to the end of the State basketball tournament, the boys basketball team was considered the underdog. Coming into Substate on Mar. 1, 2022, as the 9 seed, the Vikings took on the competitive Maize South Eagles. During halftime the boys were down by one point, but battled back in the third quarter, outsourcing the Eagles 20-12. The final score was 73-65 with junior Kaeden Bonner leading with a top score of 18 points – five of those being three pointers. On Mar. 4, 2022, the Vikings were against the top 5A West seed—Hays. The boys came out strong, overscoring Hays 27-12 at halftime and keeping the lead in the second half. The top scorers of the night were seniors Mateo Hyman and Ty Henry, who both racked up a total of 15 points. This was when the boys secured their spot in the state tournament. For the game in the state tournament on Mar. 9, 2022, the number 8 seed Vikings were against the Kapaun Mt. Carmel Crusaders – who were ranked number one. The Seaman boys took the lead in the beginning, finishing the first quarter 15-6. The boys let Kapaun
battle back in the second and third quarters before outscoring them 7-2 in the fourth quarter, securing the win with an ending score of 46-34. Henry had an astonishing 21-point game, putting him as the top scorer of the night. This was the first time since 1941, that a Seaman boys basketball team has made it this far in the State tournament.
Above: The Seaman basketball team hypes each other up before the State game. Below: Seaman students cheer for the Vikings while wearing black for the theme. (Photos by Jaxon Kramer)
Seaman boys basketball head coach, Craig Cox, said, “I am so proud to be the coach of a great group of young men.” Mar. 11, 2022, started the semifinal game with Seaman playing defending class 5A state champs, Maize—who were seeded fourth. Seaman boys came out strong with a 12-0 start in the first quarter, with Bonner scoring an impressive 35foot buzzer beater 3-pointer to end the first half putting Seaman ahead 31-18. The third quarter proved to be
rocky with Maize cutting Seaman’s lead from 13-7, but eventually Seaman headed off to the state championship with a winning score of 66-54. The State Championship ended with number eight seed, Seaman, playing number three seed, De Soto, on Saturday, Mar. 12, 2022. From the start, the game appeared to be closer matched with a score of 3632, with Seaman leading. Riding into the second half, Bonner made another buzzer beater 3-pointer from downtown, placing Seaman ahead by seven leading into the second half. Seaman swept the floor outscoring De Soto 27-15 in the second half with an ending score of 66-47, leading them to become the first boys basketball team of Seaman High School to win a State title. Not only were Henry and Bonner a key component to winning the state title but also senior Gavin Wilhelm, who put down some three’s, senior Mateo Hyman, who drove through layups, senior Dreighton Griess, who defended vigorously, and junior Aaron Davis, who slammed down dunks. After the historic win, the boys headed back to the high school to cut the nets off with the Seaman community. Coach Cox described this moment by saying that, “Our student section and the number of people from our community supporting our team was amazing and then to have so many in the gym to watch the players cut down the nets was awesome.” The 2021 Seaman boys basketball team has become written in the history books of SHS as one of the most perseverant and determined basketball teams the school has ever produced.
Page Design by Alyssa Boos, Editor-in-Chief
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6 | NEWS
LIGHT THE WAY! NEW CREATIVE WRITING CLASS BRINGS OUT STUDENTS IMAGINATION Story by Alyssa Boos Editor-in-Chief Typing away on their computers in room W1, the students of Mr. Tim Collins creative writing II class have taken on the new task of writing their own novels, while simultaneously running the Seaman High School literary magazine, the Radljost. This year creative writing II is a new addition to the classes SHS provides. Currently, the class can only operate during the second semester, but for the 22-23’ school year, the class will be extended to a full-year class. Creative writing II is the preceding class to creative writing I, where students are allowed the opportunity to express themselves through their writing and experiment with different types of writing, such as; advertisements, poetry, fiction, etc. Mr. Collins, the teacher for the class, expressed that the additional class was essential for his students.
“It wasn’t so much a desire as much as filling a need. The humanities can become lost in many ways in today’s world and it’s essential they be valued,” Collins expressed. The end goal for this class is for students to dedicate themselves to writing a book - whether it be poetry, a graphic novel, or an ordinary book. Each student has the ability to choose what kind of book they would like to write, and during the duration of the semester, the student is guided by their peers, along with Mr. Collins. “Creative Writing II allows students to do more than just write for a grade or for a teacher…students write for themselves and for each other, and each student is motivated to write for a different reason, but the ability to explore voice, practice speaking and listening skills, and explore how much power exists in literacy is important for our students…More than anything, it fills a void,” Collins said. Junior Kaylie Vathauer, and Art
Editor for the Radljost, has enjoyed her creative writing II experience, giving credit to Mr. Collins for being an insightful instructor, stating, “Mr. Collins is always very encouraging and supportive. He also gives great advice.” Typically, the creative writing II class with begin with a ten minute writing-into-the-day journal where students receive a prompt and write from there. Then, they will move on to work on their book for 25 minutes and spend the remainder of their class time working on the literary magazine. In 2019, the literary magazine, the Radljost (pronounced ya-thelyost), was introduced to Seaman High S c h o o l , mostly being put together by a few
NEWS | 7
dedicated students and Mr. Collins. For the next few years, the R a d l j o s t would only be presented in an online format (https://shsradljost.wixsite. com/magazine), but this year it’s the Radljost staff’s goal to produce a printed version of the combined art, photography, graphic comics, and writing, that SHS students submitted. “We created the lit. mag. So that students would have a voice in an arena where they often feel like they have no voice,” Collins said. The name Radljost was chosen after a year of searching. This name was chosen due to it’s Norse origins, matching the Scandinavian Viking mascot SHS hosts, and was chosen for it’s magical meaning. Radljost means, ‘enough light to navigate one’s path’.
“Enough light to navigate one’s path” “This was chosen (and it’s telling this was pre-pandemic) because it points to the stage in life our students exist…many have just enough light to see their path, and when they enter the real world that light magnifies in many ways,” Collins explains. After working online for years, taking submissions from cardboard boxes spread throughout all the English classrooms at SHS, this year the Radljost staff has dedicated themselves to producing a printed version displaying all the work submitted to them this year. This allows the Radljost the ability to share the creativity of the SHS student to more people, rather than the limited online audience. Every student in the creative writing II class is given an editor role in order to manage The Radljost. Ranging from Co-Editor-in-Chief,
to Art Editor, to Communications Editor, each student is in charge of a necessary part of keeping the Radljost running. Editors that special in topics like art, photography, and graphic novels approve the submissions sent to their respective category, and then move the submissions to the Communications Editor to get the student who submitted to approve any changes. After that the Online Editors work hard at uploading the new submissions onto the website. There are three Marketing Editors who think of ideas for marketing and fundraising, while the Treasurer keeps track of donations. Sophomore Saige Davis, and Chief of Marketing, said, “I enjoy the ability to take time in my day to be able to work on my writing. Being able to have a set time to write has helped me grow and express my creativity.” There is also a Social Media Editor who has started the new Instagram for the Radljost. And finally, there are two Co-Editor-inChief roles who keep everything going smoothly, help staffers, and work on improving the magazine. As a way to fundraise for their printed version, Mr. Collins has been selling pop and snacks in room W1, and the staff has previously sold Valentine’s poems and candy on Valentine’s Day. As the Radljost staff focuses on funding the print version and sharing the voices of SHS students, they’ve hit a stopping point as the number of submissions has decreased this year. The staff encourages everyone to participate and submit, printing their piece on paper and putting it in a Radljost box in any English room, or submitting their piece online on their website. They will accept submissions until the end of the 2021-2022 school year.
Page Design by Alyssa Boos
Viking Voices What is your creative writing II project and what is it about?
Emma Simpson, 12
My project consists of four stories/poems highlighting teenage emotions in the 21st century. Love, horror, tragedy, and depression are the four main themes.
Kaylie Vathauer, 11 It’s about my O.C., Alya. She and her sister were just saved from a house of imprisonment and pain, and regained their statues as noble labies. It’s all told from Alya’s point of view.
Keara Martin, 10
It’s a book about a school shooting. It’s about a kid who gets bullied and gets hate crimed. He shots his assalant and goes on a rampage. It’s told through court cases.
Saige Davis, 10
It’s a fiction piece. It involves a girl who learns of a fae monarchy’s plans to dispose of her. Her and her friend embark on a journey to destroy their greatest weapon.
8 | Feature
Self-Care Guidance Story by: Erin Feldkamp Graphics Editor Self-care has become more prominent in modern society, with people becoming more focused on taking time to themselves to better their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Self-care is more than just putting on a face mask and hopping in the tub, it also includes working on a healthy mindset, taking care of physical needs, and taking time to care for your soul by taking time outside. To have a healthier mindset it is important to establish a routine and set boundaries between various things such as school and work. When wanting to accomplish certain things within theyear, month, orweek, creating avision board can help, by putting lots of pictures on it, and then putting it in a place where you’ll see it every day. This sets as a reminder of the goals you strive for! Journaling is becoming a common self-care method that people have started to do. If you don’t know where to start with this journey you can start by writing down three things that you are grateful for and two things that could have gone better during that day. If you are overwhelmed or want to be in a calm state of mind you can try meditating which will relax your body. Some other things you can do for your mind is write down a to-do list for the next day so it doesn’t pester your mind at night and then when you wake up stay off your phone because that can end up overwhelming you. Lastly, listen to something that will put you in a good mood which could be listening to your favorite songs or a podcast. It is important to take care of not only your mind but your body. Exercising can reduce stress and can make you feel better. Drinking water can make you feel better and also helps clear your skin. Along with taking care of your body, resting your body is important too. You can do this by putting on a facemask and getting in the bath and using a bath bomb. Other ideas to relax your body would be to light a candle and read a book or watch a movie. Also, end each night with a clean space because a clean space is a clear mind. One of the last things you can do for self-care is making your soul happy. Do activities for yourself that make you happy and that doesn’t create extra stress Driving to watch the sunrise or sunset can make you relax and enjoy what is around you. Spending time outside or in nature can be a way to boost the quality of your mood. Remember that if you don’t want to do something, you don’t have to, and another way to keep your minds clear is to take a social media detox because anything that is posted cannot ruin your mood for that day. Self-care is super beneficial for the human body and mental health. Remember to take time to yourself and do what you enjoy.
Page Design by Erin Feldkamp
Feature | 9
Clipper provides an inside look on what it takes to create a prom.
P R o m Page/design by Hannah Schreiner
10 | Feature
Prom in the Making MakinG Clipper provides an inside look on what it takes to create a prom Story by Bethany Druse Sports Editor
Prom: it’s usually pictured as a magical night for everyone, filled to the brim with lights, photo-ops, and little decorations here and there that make the complete look of prom. Journalism teacher, Mrs. Amy Riley, and English teacher, Ms. Shawna Brewer, are the main organizers of prom, and decided to give The Clipper an inside look on what it takes to create prom. The first step to creating a prom is funding it/raising money. Every year Mrs. Riley and Ms. Brewer sells food at the concession stands during football games. Mrs. Riley said, “The biggest chunk in the fall semester you take care of is organizing and working the football concessions.” Then in January, Mrs. Riley and Ms. Brewer leaves the junior Student Council members to decide the theme for prom and start thinking about centerpiece decorations ideas. StuCo
members ultimately wanted a trendy theme so they searched through a variety of different prom magazines. Lexi Koch, a junior StuCo member, stated that, “After selecting around 6 different themes, we made a google form and posted it on the ‘Class of 2023’ Schoology page for our fellow classmates to vote on. After receiving great feedback, we went with the theme that our classmates liked the best!” This part of the process takes the longest time to decipher because the biggest factor StuCO members take into consideration when deciding the theme, is if the majority of the students attending prom will enjoy and have fun with the chosen theme. While the juniors are busy looking through prom magazines and discussing, Ms. Brewer and Mrs. Riley finds a DJ, reserves the venue, and hires a photographer. Once the theme is picked, the sponsors and junior representatives begin making fun and
unique invitations and tickets that resemble the theme and create a thrilling look so that students are excited to see the final look of prom. Around March, the sponsors start ordering decorations, and in order to save money, they reuse some of the decorations from previous years—if it fits the theme—and find items on sale at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or Amazon. The day of Prom proves to be stressful setting up and putting together decorations as it is the first time seeing the decorations come together. This process can take from a few hours to almost 10 hours. Mrs Brewer mentioned that, “Last year, we spent over 10 hours setting up. This was the year that it was held in the school gym, but it certainly was a task to make the gym not look like a gym!” As one can see, setting up prom is a long and time consuming process, and some students may neglect how much goes into planning and creating a successful
PROM DAY TIMELINE 8:30 am SPONSORS ARRIVE
9:00 am
12:00 pm
4:00 pm
LUNCH BREAK
ALL DECORATIONS ARE UP
STUCO MEMBERS ARRIVE; SPLIT UP INTO GROUPS
1:00 pm
START DECORATING AGAIN
prom. “Sometimes I think that students underestimate the work that goes into Prom and they fail to understand all of the things we do behind the curtains that make Prom what it is. It is disheartening to hear negative comments about Prom because Mrs. Riley and I spend so much time planning and preparing for the event” Ms. Brewer said. “We enjoy it and we want everyone to have as much fun as possible.” Mrs Riley feels that the people who do not appreciate prom, do not know everything that goes into prom. Both of the prom sponsors and StuCo members enjoy creating prom for students, and both agree to looking forward to attending every year. They enjoy the students having fun and enjoying a night where they get to dress up and feel extra special. They hope that after seeing how many steps and time going into creating prom, people can appreciate the little details that go into prom.
6:45 pm
8:00 pm
SPONSORS ARRIVE BACK AT THE SCHOOL
4:30 pm
SPONSORS GO HOME TO GET READY FOR PROM
PROM BEGINS
7:00 pm DJ SHOWS UP
STEPS TO CREATE A PROM
1
Fundraise
Cost Breakdown
Feature | 11
Venue - $4,000 Photographer - $300 DJ - $900
Total Amount - $10,000
Security - $400 Tickets & Invitations - $200
2
3
4
Decorations - $4,200
Gather StuCO Members
Designate a Theme
Design Invitations & Tickets
5
Buy & Assemble Decorations
6
Set up for Prom
Page Design By Bethany Druse
12 | Features
Setteling In STORY BY JOZEE ESSER Online Editor Senioritis: a term the seniors of Seaman High School know a little too well. In the Urban Dictionary senioritis is defined as, “Putting off assignments until the very last minute, stress, lack of motivation and laziness.” For many seniors at SHS, and across the country, senioritis is something that almost everyone has experienced sometime during their senior year. It’s expected that by the time senior year rolls around, that many students will feel exhausted and overwhelmed. For students, they might already know where they are going to college and what they are planning to do in the future, so they feel as id they don’t have to stress about getting top grades that they used to get, instead choosing to relax in their final months of high school. Senior Quin Kennedy said, “I am so very tired. I went from a 4.0+ student to having a 2.5 currently. I’m ready to be done.” All over SHS senioritis has hit at different
times within the year, for most it has been after Spring Break hit, because it marked the halfway point until the end of second semester. “I think it started after Spring Break. Spring Break was like a super short summer so I didn’t want to come back to school with only two months left,” Senior Emma Esser said. Although for most it hit after Spring Break, for some it started at the beginning of the year or even near the end of first semester “Second semester, watching every club I did come to an end really started it [senioritis],” Kennedy said. As the days count down until May 12, the last day for SHS seniors, many drag themselves through the long days, sticking it out until the end. “The days feel longer because I would rather be working or stay at home all day, “ Esser said. Most students couldn’t agree more with Esser and Kennedy, seeing the end of their favorite clubs or experiencing senior night and waving goodbye to their underclassmen friends. Senior year is an emotional rollercoaster for most, and then year, it couldn’t be any more true.
Page design by Jozee Esser
Freeing Britney
THE INSIDE SCOOP ON POP’S HOTTEST NEWS
Feature | 13
“There’s only two types of people in the world, the ones that entertain and the ones that observe.,” Hit pop singer, Britney Spears, states in her lyrics to Circus. The song was released soon after Spear’s return to fame after her rush to rehab in early 2007, along with many other albums and singles, such as If You Seek Amy, Hold It Against Me, and Criminal. But why did the singer go to rehab in the first place? Britney would begin behaving bizarrely in 2007 after divorcing her husband, as well as losing custody to both of her children. Court documents officially released that Spears was eventually going to rehab after refusing to rehearse, . Britney later stated that she was, “Forced into a mental health facility as punishment for objecting during a rehearsal.” Following the weekend that she would shave her head and get a tattoo, Spears checked herself into the rehabilitation center. After one month of Spear’s entry into the facility, she would be released. This would only helm the start of a time where Britney would lose full control of her life, and would be held under a conservatorship by her father. Following many years of Spears after her release, die-hard fans would begin noticing odd behavior on Britney’s social media. These “Spearheads” would begin posting #FreeBritney all over Instagram, and multiple other social media platforms. The #FreeBritney movement would quickly become trending, forcing Spears’ case to be further looked into. November 2021 would soon mark the end of Britney’s conservatorship, and the beginning of her new life. On November 25th, 2021, Spears would make a post on Instagram stating, “Honestly, my voice was muted and threatened for so long, and I wasn’t able to speak up or say anything... I honestly think you guys saved my life, in a way. 100 percent.” Though she still has “a lot of healing to do” Britney Spears can now celebrate her newly found freedom, control over her personal, and financial life.
“Britney Spears Is A Human Being”
Page Design by Tara Spencer
14 | Opinion
When I Was In High School...
STORY BY Kendal Broughton Assistant Editor
Parents of today’s generation love to mention how highly capable they were of doing all the things we do today… and more. What they fail to realize is that being in high school in 2022 is much different than it was in the 1980-1990s. When our parents were high school students, they didn’t have to deal with the chaos of social media, have hours of school related and non-school related extracurriculars, jobs, but most of all there was little to no talk of mental health. Our parents were used to being told to “just stop being sad,” and with that, they did. Or at least acted like it. Now, our parents try to tell us the same things, but most of our generation, especially after the pandemic, is not able to be or act happy all the time. With the amount of awareness that has been raised for depression, anxiety, ADHD and more, today’s teens are much more likely to speak up and communicate how they’re feeling to their parents. One of the biggest exceptions is if the parents do not make their children feel comfortable enough to talk to them or when their children do express their feelings, they are invalidated,
Page Design By Kendal Broughton
shut down, and criticized. Ironically, or not, these reactions from parents will likely make their children’s mental health worse. Not having a support system while dealing with mental health issues, especially in today’s world can be fatal. There are about 11.2 deaths by suicide per 100,000 adolescents ages 15-19 as of 2019. This number has increased 25% since the pandemic started. Dealing with homework nowadays is also much more stressful than it used to be. With computer programs, lots of times we have homework due at 11:59 pm rather than just turning it in during class the next day. This allows teachers to make homework due that same day, which doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it does not allow students to do much other than homework in their “free time.” This is something that is unfair and also puts more stress on students to do so much homework in one night, which then leads to tiredness, then falling asleep in class, to getting behind in work, and it can be an endless cycle. I feel like teachers can often contradict themselves when it comes to talking about how
important it is to get enough hours of sleep at night in order for students to be refreshed and awake for school the next day. However, teachers also expect for students to get work done for all classes. As a highschool student, we have 8 classes total. When each teacher gives “only” one hour of homework a night, that adds up quickly. Even though we have the rolling block as SHS, with only four total classes a day, that can still be about four hours of homework a night, maybe even more. I do realize that there are times where teachers don’t assign quite that much homework, but we also have to take into account that the majority of students are involved in extracurricular activities, have jobs, etc. Not only is this highly encouraged, but is sometimes required. Growing up, students are told that being involved in as many extracurricular activities as possible, having a job, and keeping up good grades is the ‘only’ way to get into a good college. Not only is this untrue, but puts so much extra pressure on students which can often lead to early burnout and lack of motivation before they even graduate highschool.
Opinion | 15
Parents seem to be way too involved in their children’s high school lives. It is almost like they are trying to relive their glory days through their children. Not only is it not fair to the students, but it also makes it extremely easy to resent our parents. Having that much pressure from parents leads to quick burnout and lack of motivation/determination to graduate high school on a high note. Lots of seniors agree that it is hard to soak up the last few months of high school because by the time the end of high school rolls around, they are just ready to move on and get out from under their parents. I hear many adults talking to their children about how they were more than capable of doing all these things when they were in high school. What they fail to realize is how much the school system has changed, how social media as well as the pressure parents put on us takes a significant toll on our mental health, and mostly the challenges we have had to endure with the COVID-19 Pandemic. It can also be difficult for students to understand why our parents seem so strict now compared to their parents when they were in high school. We hear all the time how they were able to bike over to their friends house, go on walks with their friends, go to parties, drive around, etc. There are so many stories we hear from our parents that in a way contradict how they treat us and what they allow us to do. However, students have to realize that the world is not near a s safe as it used to be. Humans
are now much more aware how dangerous other people can be and now, especially with the evolution of technology, it is extremely easy to be tracked, tricked, and kidnapped. To take a darker turn, there is much more anxiety with going to school now than when our parents attended high school. School shootings are at a record high, and there is always a chance that walking into school one day, could be the last. These school shootings most commonly result from bullying. Again, it is now much easier for bullies to taunt their targets not only in school, but online and anonymously. Technology has given teenagers such an easy way to target others in a way that can lead to many internalized struggles that can then lead to many fatal “solutions.” Our generation has many more struggles than our parents did while they were in highschool. It would be beneficial for teens if our parents would be willing to accept this, and rather than crack down on us for not doing “as much as what they used to do”, be more understanding and listen to their children when they tell them what they need and what is good for them. At this point, a child’s high school experience should not be affecting their parents’ happiness.
G
H
D
e B
A
I f C
? o h W ? s o s h e W u G
Answer Key
G
Alyssa Boos
A
B
D
E
Jozee Esser
C
F
Savanah Reeves
Tara Spencer
Allegra Dees
H
Kendal Broughton
Erin Feldcamp
Hannah Schreiner
I
Bethany Druse
