by Saber Slate | Apr 6, 2020 | Opinion & Reviews
So as you all hopefully know, most of us are stuck at home instead of going to school. You’re not supposed to go out and meet up with friends or do any of the fun things you used to with them. Instead for our school days we do online work so we don’t risk the chance of spreading the virus at school, where there are large gatherings in classes and hallways.
For me, I definitely miss some parts of life before the quarantine. Mainly, I miss seeing my friends. Of course, I can still talk to them online through snapchat and text messaging, but actually seeing them in person has much more impact than just talking to them through the internet. I do admit I feel a bit more lonely without seeing them each day. I also miss having to see my teachers. Sure, we can still stay in contact, but I feel that I learn better in an actual classroom than through online work on Google Classroom. In classrooms, there are more opportunities for hands on work like full ensemble in band or hands on language work in world language.
One thing that I don’t miss is waking up early for school. I would never get enough sleep the night before, and would be very tired in the morning which would affect how focused I was. But with online work, I’m not forced to wake up at a specific time and I can work more at my own pace, being more focused at my work. It also helps to not have distractions around me, like that one noisy group in math class who the teacher always had to quiet down. I also don’t miss the public restroom facilities.
I know that this is hard for all of us, but it’s important to keep a good mindset as we are all working through this hard time together. Hopefully I will soon see some of your faces again when this is all over, and possibly have a normal last summer before college. And most importantly, STAY INSIDE! Follow the stay at home order, and don’t gather, no matter how much you want to. The more you gather, the longer the stay at home order becomes. Some of you, it seems, don’t know what that means. Please keep that in mind so we can have everything go back to normal as quick as possible! I would like to have a normal graduation at the end of the year! And, have a nice day, and don’t overwork yourself.
by Saber Slate | Mar 20, 2020 | Archive
The Saber Slate is hosting a Quarantine Video Contest! What you need to do is submit a video of something that you’ve learned/a game you’ve come up with/something weird but cool /something to pass the time/basically anything fun! The videos will be posted on the Saber Slate to give each other fun ideas of what we can do while being quarantined and to continue to stay connected as a community. Plus, there will be prizes for the best three videos submitted! It wouldn’t be a contest without prizes. See the information below for more details.
GOAL:
Inspire each other with fun and interesting things to do while being quarantined, to continue to create a sense of community (even when we’re not all in the same building), and to inspire some friendly competition.
TIMELINE:
The competition will last from Monday, March 23 at 8:00 am through Sunday, April 5 at 11:59 pm. But the Saber Slate is accepting responses right now if you want to get yours done early.
STUDENT PRIZES:
For the student and their Gold Block:
1st Place = Jimmy Johns Sandwich/Pizza Party
2nd Place = Pizza Party/Jimmy Johns Sandwich
3rd Place = Donuts
Winners will be determined by Mr. Hein, Mr. Nettesheim, and the editors of the Saber Slate. The aforementioned people are not eligible to win prizes.
Videos will be judged based on creativity, engagement, effort, and Saber Pride.
FACULTY WINNER:
There will be a student vote to determine the best video uploaded from a staff member!
ELIGIBILITY:
- Must be a current FHS student
- One submission per student
- Videos must be under 3 minutes in length
- Videos must be school appropriate
- Only school appropriate videos will be considered for the competition. Anything that is deemed not school appropriate will be disqualified.
- Videos should be done individually
- Thus the point of quarantine
- Videos containing more than 1 student (except for the case of siblings) will be disqualified
SUBMISSIONS:
Submissions must be received via this form. Videos can be uploaded on YouTube or Google Drive or any other website. Copy and paste the link into the form. Videos must be public or accessible by link. If the video cannot be viewed by the judges, the submission will be disqualified.
VIDEO IDEAS:
- A fun game you came up with
- New dance
- A time-lapse of an art project
- Playing instrument
- Singing
- A trick shot
- Cooking something
- A cool trick you can do
- A cool trick you taught your dog to do
- A Rube Goldberg machine
- Something learned in a foreign language
- A historical reenactment
- A slam poem you wrote
- A comedic play
- Basically anything fun or interesting
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Delaney Hayes, Amenah Syed, or Mr. Nettesheim.
Good luck and have fun!
by Saber Slate | Mar 16, 2020 | Athletics & Activities, Community, News, School
On Thursday the 5th, FHS hosted its annual Culture Fest – in the past, it was known as Mini-Juneteenth Day. This time, we celebrated just about every culture there is. Around the main commons you could find different varieties of food and cultural traditions. I had the opportunity of volunteering to man the Japanese booth. With the help of a few of my fellow Japanese classmates we were able to set up a pretty decent booth towards the front of the room. We brought in traditional Japanese onigiri, which are rice balls with soy sauce and some seasonings. Sometimes they contain what are pickled plums inside, but these ones did not. Visitors could have the option of wrapping nori seaweed around the onigiri, but they weren’t required to. Or, they could just have the seaweed on its own. Unfortunately I didn’t have the opportunity to taste test these delicacies because they were for visitors of our stand.
We also brought traditional Japanese clothes from class, which were the kimono and yukata. We didn’t wear the kimono because there were too many different pieces and there is a certain traditional way of putting on these clothes. Kids could come by as well and play with the kendama, which is the Japanese version of the cup game. Basically, a ball is attached to the wooden part by a string, and you need to flick the ball to get it on a small point. It’s more frustrating than it sounds, trust me. But it was a good way to keep people entertained.
I had the opportunity to ask a fellow volunteer and friend, Nadia Estrada(who was working on the Bolivia stand near me with her sister Jiana) about her experiences and thoughts about the Culture Fest. Bolded are my questions, and italicized are Nadia’s responses.
Overall what did you think of the event?
I was really surprised by how many people attended and was really pleased with how legitimately interested they seemed about all the cultures presented. It was really cool to see everyone come together to create an event that brought students and the community together.
Is there anything you’d want different for next year?
I would want to somehow make the passports for the kids so that they actually had to listen to the presentations instead of just a stamp and go, because then they aren’t learning anything.
What was your favorite part?
My favorite part was the dancing performances, Senor Mac’s friend’s guitar performance, and the fashion show was groovy too.
Can you describe some of the things you did volunteering?
So I helped in the planning and organization of the event (I mean so did almost everyone else) by giving my input on possible ideas and how we would run them and possible solutions to issues we would encounter. I also ran the Bolivia booth with Jiana where we had a poster board that had a bunch of information about Bolivia (the indigenous culture, music, etc) and brought artifacts that we had from our relatives in Bolivia. We also brought some Bolivian food – alfajores (like a shortbread cookie with caramel cream in the middle (cajeta)) and cocads (a coconut candy with sweetened condensed milk).
Any thing else you would like to add?
It was really nice to see all the hard work that everyone, especially Mrs. DeClark, put into the event and how much it paid off for everything there because of how well it turned out. I was super impressed and I hope we can make it even better for next year.
I’d like to thank all of the volunteers who came along with me and everyone who came to attend our Culture Fest! Also a big thanks for Nadia once again for the interview! I’m looking forward to coming next year as an alumni.
by Saber Slate | Mar 16, 2020 | Advice
The recent pandemic of the COVID-19 coronavirus has affected everyone in their daily routine. Here’s how you can stay healthy during your time away from school.
Remember to frequently wash your hands with soap and water. By washing your hands, viruses that may be on your hands are killed, and infection risk is decreased.
Practice social distancing. The World Health Organization suggests that your should maintain at least three feet between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing. If you are too close, there is the possibility of breathing in the droplets which may contain the virus or other infectious diseases.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. For a lot of us, this is the most difficult one, because we are so used to doing this out of habit. But this is important to remember, because your hands touch many different surfaces over the course of the day and can pick up viruses. Then, the hands may transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth, then it can enter your body and make you sick.
Cover your coughing and sneezing. Always remember that you and people around you are coughing and sneezing by covering the mouth and nose with a bent elbow or tissue, and always throwing out the used tissue immediately. By following good respiratory hygiene etiquette, you protect yourself and others from viruses.
Stay home if you feel sick. Seek medical care if you experience the symptoms of coronavirus. Even if you don’t experience symptoms, you still could be infected, so please practice these tips to limit the spread of this virus.
Don’t travel. Don’t travel if you don’t need to. I know flight tickets are low, but just don’t. Your chances of becoming infected are much higher if you travel.
Stay up to date on the latest news about COVID-19 through reliable news services, your healthcare provider, as well as national and local health authorities. They have the most up to date information about the virus.
But most importantly, don’t panic. It’s a strange time for everyone. We are getting through this together.
by Saber Slate | Mar 2, 2020 | Opinion & Reviews
Image: the roundabout of 51st and Drexel is an example of sidewalks ending abruptly.
Franklin is a very large city- it has a population of over 35,000 people! However, to many Franklin doesn’t seem like a city- especially in terms of being able to walk places. According to Wikipedia, Franklin is almost 35 square mile in area, making it one of the larger suburban areas in southeastern Wisconsin in terms of area. But it seems a car is required to get basically anywhere outside of your neighborhood. Let’s talk about sidewalks.
Many of the subdivisions here in Franklin have sidewalks, or the roads are safer to walk on due to curbs and grass. But once you’re outside of the sidewalk and on main roads like Drexel and 51st street you start to have challenges. These main roads don’t have many sidewalks– if they do, they end abruptly at or near intersections. Thus, if you want to walk somewhere, such as the grocery store, from your house, you gotta walk on the shoulder of the road next to high speed traffic.
Some roads that do have sidewalks is the stretch of 51st between the high school (near Forest Hill Ave) and Rawson. Rawson has a good stretch of sidewalk as well that ends close to 76th. Parts of Drexel near Target and Church St. has sidewalks as well that goes across the roundabout into the parking lot. I’ve never seen anyone cross over that though lately. Another adequate stretch of sidewalk is on St. Martin’s Road. Leave a comment if there’s an area I’m missing.
There’s a bonus if you live by major highways such as Loomis Road or Highway 100, it’s even more fun when people speed at 60-65 mph while you’re walking on the tiny shoulder. You stick out like a sore thumb when walking on any of the busy streets without sidewalks. Some roads aren’t friendly for walking at all. Many, such as the west, older end of Puetz Road and Forest Hill Avenue by the middle school don’t have shoulders so if you have to walk on the road you will get in the way of cars and will have to walk on the grass across yards and such. If you happen to be driving you have to avoid the plethora of potholes and bumps on these poor neglected streets.
Overall it’s just unfriendly to walk in as it seems like the city was designed around the automobile as that was the way to get around back then. But now, more and more people prefer walking and biking to driving and this town hasn’t adjusted to that newer idea. Oak Creek’s town square, for example, prioritizes walking and biking compared to using cars, but there’s lots of parking spaces available so you can get out and walk around without too much of an inconvenience since everything is nearby to each other there. If Franklin had a town center like that (perhaps the new Ballpark Commons will become that, but I don’t have high hopes. Poetic that it’s built on a landfill), this would provide better opportunities for people to get what they need without the need to drive too far. Plus, a town center with businesses all around where you walk outside is more welcoming than the generic strip mall we see far too much of in this city. Which brings me to my next topic.
Strip malls. It seems like one is on every corner. There’s the Wyndham Village on Drexel, Franklin Center on 76th, and Orchard View across from that. Farther away is the Garden Plaza on Lovers Lane, and the strip mall by 27th and Rawson. There’s probably more that I’m missing, but those are the more major ones in my opinion. In these you can find stores and fast food type restaurants, as well as Chinese restaurants in just about every one of those. It’s easier having these places close together under one roof. But in a city they just don’t look good. There’s better ways to have businesses near each other and look pretty. If they were easier to get to that would be better as well.
There are lots of solutions to this problem, but it would take just too long and too much money unfortunately. As citizens of Franklin we all play a part in its future to make it a better and more friendlier place.
