Fall 2015

The Blue Jay News

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Governor’s School ........................................ 2-3

Fashion Column ........................................ 4

Movie Review ........................................ 4

Book Review ........................................ 5

New Teachers

........................................

6-7

Students at Work ………………………………….8

Junk of the Month ........................................ 9

Creative Writing

........................................

10-17

Destination Jamestown ………………………………...

18

Our Online Edition can be

found at www.jhs.jamestown.k12.nd.us

Bob Mortimer speaks to students about self-esteem and social media

This wasn’t Bob Mortimer’s first visit to JHS, but the results were

the same: delivering a powerful message to the students and a mix-

ture of laughter, dead silence, and even some tears.

Bob may be missing an arm and two legs due to making a poor

choice as a teenager, but he assured the JHS students that he does

not have a handicap. “They are adjustments,” he says, “not handi-

caps.” Bob has had to

make adjustments in

his life, just as students

will have to do every

day. “The only handi-

cap I have,...the only

handicap any one of

you will ever have is the

handicaps you put on

yourself,” Mortimer

states.

Mortimer’s discussion

revolved around self-

esteem, prejudices, al-

cohol and drug abuse,

and the dangers of so-

cial media.

For more information about Bob Mortimer’s Motiva-

tional Ministries, check out his webpage at

www.hcjourney.org

Bob Mortimer entertains students with his

harmonica and a song he wrote.

My Governor’s School experience

By Emily Lauinger

When I applied for North

Dakota’s Governor’s School for

English, I had no idea what to ex-

pect. All I knew was that I wanted

to go there but wasn’t actually sure

if I would like it.

After my application was

sent away, I spent the next few

weeks worrying about whether I got

in or not. Then once I did, I spent a

couple more weeks wondering

about what it would be like, both

exciting and scaring myself. Now,

sitting with my laptop propped up

on my knees, I recall my experience

not with horror, but with joy and

reverence.

We would wake up at be-

fore the morning meeting at 8:15.

During these we discussed group

activities that were being planned,

had guest speakers (such as Miss

North Dakota, who is an alumni of

NDGS), helped create an app for

future NDGS scholars, and learned

how to communicate what we were

learning through our bodies. These

usually went on for an hour and

then we went to class until lunch,

which was at 11:00-1:00, depending

on your teacher. It was never less

than an hour. After that you went

back to class until about 4:00. Of

course, it depended on your disci-

pline (what you were studying)

when you would be released. We

had a fine arts class Tuesdays and

Thursdays. We had many long days,

but yet we had more adventures.

Wednesdays and Fridays were free

and we had tons of fun activities

during the weekend. These included

a trip to Minneapolis, canoeing, and

many other things that will always

hold a special place in my heart.

I’m not going to describe

every single day and detail of gover-

nor’s school. The experience is dif-

ferent for everyone with one thing

(continued to page 3)

“It made it the most memorable summer of my life.”

How can you apply for Governor’s School?

If you have above-average scholas-

tic abilities and are interested in

learning more in Architecture and

Landscape Architecture, Engineer-

ing, English Studies, Information

Technology, Laboratory Science,

Mathematics, or Visual Arts, we want

you to apply to become a member of

the North Dakota Governor's

Schools class of 2016.

North Dakota Governor's Schools is

a six-week residential program for

scholastically motivated North Dako-

ta high school sophomores and

juniors. Students live, work, and

have fun on NDSU's campus. Gov-

ernor's Schools academic programs

offer high-quality, concentrated

instruction from NDSU faculty

through classroom experiences,

discussion groups, labs, field trips,

and other activities. Applications will

be available January 26th and due

by March 1st!

2

Changes for Jamestown’s National Honor Society this year

By Jennifer Nannenga

This year the National Honor Society (NHS) changed its dues for

entering the national system. They raised the rates by three hundred dollars.

The original entrance fee was eighty five dollars but now it is three hundred

and eighty five dollars.

Because of this price change the JHS members of NHS were not go-

ing to enter the national NHS because of the price change. Fortunately, the

advisor , Mrs. Mullowney, had set aside enough funds to pay for the fee for a

year. Now the decision of JHS has been changed. JHS is now going to enter

the national NHS program.

Hopefully there will be some change in price over the next year due

to most school’s budget doesn’t allow for a price change like this.

JAMESTOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS MOVES TO STAR 360 TESTING, GETS RID OF NWEA

Students this year at JHS in

both math and English classes

will be taking a new type of

assessment. Adopted by the

district this year, this new

assessment, Star 360, will

replace the previous NWEA

tests.

Many students already took

the Star 360 test this fall.

Similar to the NWEA tests, the

program adjusts questions to

make them more difficult or

easier, depending how stu-

dents answer the previous

question. The testing is

aligned with both ND state

standards and Common Core.

Some of the feedback students

get from the test are their

Lexile score, grade equivalen-

cy, and their percentile rank

as compared to how other

students in their grade per-

formed on the test.

Another benefit of the assess-

ment is that it can be taken as

many times as a teacher sees

the need to take it. The tests

guide teachers in their plan-

ning to help those who strug-

gle, those who need to hone in

on their skills, and to push

those who are advanced.

JHS plans to assess its stu-

dents at least three times this

school year.

3

in common: It was perfect. Sure, ethics class (7-8 Mondays every week

for all 92 of us) bored us to tears. It was still the closest knit community

I have and will ever know. Everyone supported each other through the

long hours of studying, the horrible walks to classes, the hot weather

(sorry for those who had to wear long pants for their labs), the other

camps forcing their way into our territory, and everything else in be-

tween. Even those we didn’t talk to were like friends. We were all nerds,

whether we be socialites or outcasts. Together we were a family. Even

while writing this, I’m snapchatting friends I made while there. They are

some of the closest friends I’ve ever had.

There was not a dry eye at our closing ceremony. I hugged peo-

ple that I didn’t even talk to that much. It was honestly terrifying, but I

loved it. I still have my beloved neck wallet that once held my key and

still has my lunch card (although that is now useless). I have friends

from all over the state, which not a lot of people can really say. NDGS

didn’t steal five weeks of my summer. It made it the most memorable

summer of my life.

Governor’s School (cont. from page 2)

FASHION COLUMN: AESTHETICS

By Rory Cole Look, we can all admit that we have a particular aesthetic. For in-stance, mine would probably have to do with a nice looking forest, or a scene out of a Wes Anderson movie. The definition of aes-thetic can be broken down to this: "Concerned with beauty or ap-preciation of beauty." So basically, things that you find beautiful and want to see more of is an aesthetic. Some popular aesthetics this year are: Pastel Everything. I can not stress this enough, if you so much as dyed your toilet paper light pink, someone out there would love it. Grunge. "Everything that goes around, comes around" is a term that can be used here. People find flannels and black shoes beauti-ful. One man's unwashed sweater is another man's aesthetic I guess. The Princess Aesthetic. Known for the phrase "Touch my butt and buy me pizza" this aesthetic is basically pretty women asserting their place as queen. The Alternative Aesthetic. Primarily made up of white boys in black and white tattoos with cigarettes dangling out of their mouths while they look at the camera sad forlorn, this aesthetic is actually really liked. Don't ask me.

MOVIE REVIEW By Rory Cole

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE

First things first: Samuel L. Jackson is the best thing that has ever hap-pened to our world. And the lisp he uses? Amazing! This movie is super totally rad, complete with spy tech, comedy, and a great cast. 10/10

4

Top Movies of 2015

According to

Time.com, these are

the top 10 movie

releases of the year

so far.

1. Mad Max: Fury

Road

2. It Follows

3. Far From the

Madding Crowd

4. Love & Mercy

5. Furious 7

6. Ex Machina

7. Clouds of Sils

Maria

8. Welcome to Me

9. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl 10. The Boy Next

Door

By Jennifer Nannenga

This year in the JHS Media center will have acquired many

new books including new books that allow students to continue their

favorite series. Many of the books that came in are popular with the

students and fit everyone’s taste. Books range from informative to

graphic novels. There will be more books coming in later, so the op-

tions will keep on expanding.

Some of the new books include a collection of true Holocaust

and Nazi hunting stories, new Maximum Ride books by James Patter-

son, survival style books, and a book of all the scholarships available

for students for 2016. If you are interested in finding a new series con-

sider trying a series of books that is the basis for the James Bond mov-

ies, or read up on the lost files from the I Am Four series.

If you ever need to look up topic for your argumenta-

tive essay, the Media Center has books on almost any subject you can

think of for that. If that is not the case and you are looking for a sports

related book look to Tim Green. He has written many football related

books. Or if you are not really in the mood for reading you can check

out some arts and crafts books. Some of these books feature origami

and card making. Maybe you want to learn something new there are

also books for that. Now books are available that can teach you how to

create code on the computer. The Media Center is full of options for

everyone, no matter what you like. So stop in after class or in your free

time and see what you are missing.

NEW BOOKS IN THE MEDIA CENTER

5

BOOK REVIEW

By Rory Cole

AN OCD LOVE STORY By Corey Ann Haydu

Shining a light on obses-sive compulsive disorders, this book shows the other sides to OCD and mental

illnesses. You may view OCD as just an adjective for "being super clean", but this story shines a light on the hardships and difficulty of doing "normal" things such as going to school and falling in love when you have this disorder. The love story is clean, and en-joyable. I’d give this book an 8 out of 10.