by Saber Slate | Apr 23, 2019 | Opinion & Reviews
Many families around Wisconsin and the country as a whole consider purchasing animals such as a dogs or cats. Most of the time, these families buy puppies or kittens so they can grow together with children, for example. However, very few consider the stray animals that have been rescued and can’t find a home. Families generally don’t want to adopt rescue animals because they think they would require a lot of work to keep happy. However, adopting rescued animals is much more beneficial to families than buying a puppy or kitty from a breeder or mill. Plenty of puppies and kittens will find their perfect home; however, animals who are rescued aren’t considered.
One of the reasons why you should adopt rescue animals is because you save a life. According to the Humane Society of the United States, 2.7 million adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized in the United States alone. This is because so many pets come into shelters and so many people do not consider adoption when looking for pets. This number can be dramatically reduced if more people adopted pets instead of buying them. When you choose to adopt, you save a loving animal by making them a part of your family, as well as open up a space in a shelter for another animal who may desperately need it. That means you are saving more than one life by adopting.
Another reason to adopt is because many of these animals are already trained and used to living with families. This means animals like dogs are potty-trained and won’t make messes in the house, as well as being well-behaved. Depending on the animal, the price for adopting will be much less than when you’re buying one because the pet will already be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and micro-chipped. Adopting an older, mature animal not only gives them a second chance at a happy life, but introducing them to your family will be so much easier. You will also change the animal’s whole world and gain a new best friend.
I hope that you will take my points into consideration when looking to have a new furry friend join the family. Thanks for taking the time to read!
by Saber Slate | Apr 19, 2019 | Athletics & Activities, News
If you were at the Prom pep rally last year, you may remember a group of band students who performed a show that primarily featured percussion students. That group was the FHS Indoor Percussion program.
Indoor Percussion is a performing ensemble made up of percussionists and those who wish to learn to play percussion instruments. They meet every Thursday night from 6-9, and memorize a show across the course of their season (usually from December until May).
There are 2 separate sections within Indoor Percussion that each collaborate with each other to get a great sound. The Drumline, or Battery percussion section, is usually the main visual focus. Drumline members march around in certain blocks and learn choreography to turn the show from a music performance to a show you can’t take your eyes off. The “Front Ensemble” percussionists, meanwhile, are the main melodic element of the show. This includes several mallet instrument players, as well as piano keyboards, a guitarist, and a bassist. Several percussionists also play extra percussion instruments that are not normally played while marching. The 2 sections work together throughout the season to combine the melodic forms with the driving rhythms to make a bombastic show.
I interviewed the Drumline section leader, Delaney Hayes, to get a little more information directly from the group’s leader.
Q: What is the show you are performing, and can you tell me a little about it?
A: “It’s called ‘I Can’t Change,’ and it’s arranged by Bryan Harmsen. It’s based off the Macklemore song ‘I Can’t Change,’ a song about the LGBTQ+ community. Our version is based around bullying in general and cyberbullying. The show is important because it addresses the problem with ever increasing bullying, which connects to the ideas given by Kevin Atlas in his speeches he gave to the whole school.”
Q: How is Indoor Percussion doing this year?
A: “Well, this year we performed at Solo and Ensemble for our second year. Last year, we were comment only. This year, I’m happy to say that we’re going to state.”
Q: When can people come see Indoor Percussion perform their show?
A: “I know for certain we are doing it at the spring band concert on May 14th.”
I personally play the marimba part for the ensemble. Come see us at our performance later this year!
by Saber Slate | Apr 10, 2019 | Opinion & Reviews
Friday evening, I had the opportunity to attend the first performance of The Drowsy Chaperone play. The Drowsy Chaperone features main & supporting roles Josh Zielke as the Man in the Chair, Emma Brockman as Janet van de Graaff, Calvin Carmony as Robert Martin, Eric Ramos as Feldzieg, Grace Ramsden as the drowsy chaperone herself, Ian Frisch, and of course Charlie Jazwiecki and Brandon Balke as the two gangsters disguised as pastry chefs, as well as many more supporting actors and dancers.
Personally, I thought that this was a great show with a wonderful array of characters and musical numbers. The pit band was fantastic as well, they really contributed a lot to the show. I think that the addition of the band really helps to establish the mood and emotions that the characters are feeling to make you emphasize with them. Throughout the show, you really get to feel for the narrator, the Man in the Chair. In a play/musical, you wouldn’t necessarily expect to have the narrator be characterized in this way, let alone give any care to them at all. I think that having the narrator as an actual character with emotions really brings out the best in this play, as well as incorporating comedy into his story and the play itself.
The fact that The Drowsy Chaperone plays on the concept of theater as a satire really brings out the play’s overall comedy and its plain absurdity. The play exploring strange and stereotypical characters, and how they all interact with one another all together, and how all of their fates tie together at the end.
Today, I had the chance to interview my friend Emily Kampstra, who is part of the play as a featured dancer. My questions are denoted in bold. Emily’s responses will be in standard typeface.
What do you enjoy about performing this show?
I really enjoy the energy and individuality that every single person brings to this musical. It is just so incredibly fun I can’t even begin to explain it!
How hard was it to memorize your choreography?
I used to dance competitively so it was not very difficult for me to learn the choreography. But I did help many of the other cast members with the choreography which was very fun!
Why do you enjoy performing on stage?
I love how expressive and confident I can be on the stage. When I am up there there is no stress or judgment and the whole world seems to fall away. It is extremely rewarding when the audience is engaged and clapping or laughing. I suppose it is sort of an escape from reality and I love it!
What was, overall, the hardest part of preparing for your show?
The hardest part was learning my vocal parts. This show is so intricate and complex that some of the parts were quite tricky but after lots of hard work we were able to master it!
Do you think it is worth it to attend this play? Why?
It is absolutely worth it to attend this play! This show is so engaging and mysterious because no one really knows what it is. But once you become engrossed it is such an amazing production. Everyone involved has worked so hard on this performance and it is absolutely worth it to see it!
That concludes my interview and my review of The Drowsy Chaperone. I really don’t want to spoil it for you all. You really should see how the cast and crew of The Drowsy Chaperone‘s work has paid off. And a big thank you for Emily Kampstra for agreeing to interview me on such a short notice, big kudos to you!
There are two more chances to see The Drowsy Chaperone this Friday and Saturday at 7:00. Make sure to buy tickets on the Franklin Saber Center webpage linked here. Ticket Prices are 10$ for adults, 8$ for students, and 6$ for seniors. Online ticket sales will terminate three hours before each performance. The Box Office will be open on evenings for pre-show ticket sales. The $1.00/ticket online service charge does not apply to Box Office walk-up ticket sales.
by Saber Slate | Apr 8, 2019 | Athletics & Activities, News, Opinion & Reviews
This year the Franklin Energizers, FHS’ own show choir, entered its second year of competing around the midwest, with competitions ranging from a University setting to fellow high schools alike.
Their show this year, “Around the World,” included many different musical selections with a wide range of musical styles, from a bollywood number to pop smash hits to a traditional Irish ballad. The show began with the pentatonix cover of Who’s Gonna Save the World?, and went from there into Jai Ho, made famous from the movie Slumdog Millionaire and by the cover by the Pussycat Dolls. they then went into the girls’ number, The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B, and then transitioned into the guys’ number, Land Down Under. The two groups then come together for Sway, a tango-tastic latin number. They then brought things to a more serious note with Red is the Rose, a traditional Irish Ballad. For the big finish, they brought the energy up to 11 with Waka Waka (This is Africa) by Shakira.
The Energizers went to three competitions, two of which they returned to from last year and one was a first for this year. I had the opportunity to speak with the two directors of the show choir, Ms. Schlecht and Mrs. Adams, to ask them for their thoughts on the competition process as a whole.
Ms. Schlecht, the vocal director of the show choir, told me her thoughts on this year’s performances and season overall.
What was the overall theme of this year’s show?
Our theme was “Around the World,” so it incorporated music from all different countries.
What were the competitions like?
Competitions were pretty intense. We did three competitions, one at Viterbo University in La Cross in January. The second one we did was at Naperville North High School, which was a very elite competition, we were up against some really tough groups for that one. The third and final competition was the Chicagoland Showcase in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and for that we were in a prep division. All three of them had some pretty intense glee-style competition.
What were the results of these competitions?
At Viterbo we got second place in our prep division, at Naperville we did not end up placing, and then at Chicagoland we got third place out of six teams.
How do you think the season went as a whole?
I think looking back from the end of July when we had our show choir camp to the final performance it’s a huge night and day difference between how much we’ve grown as we went through the season.
I also had the opportunity to speak to Mrs. Adams, the choreography director of the show choir, to ask for her thoughts on the season and what her thoughts are for next year.
What musical selections did you use for your “Around the World” theme?
We started with Who’s Gonna Save the World, and then we went through different genres and styles and countries around the world.
How do you think the season went?
I think it was a huge growth from where we started to the end of the season. Not only place-wise in competitions, but confidence levels for students in the group as well as overall how far we can go in the future.
What are the big plans for next year?
So some of that is undisclosed at this point, tryouts just took place over the past week, so we’re still looking at who’s going to be in the group, how many numbers that’s going to be, what the theme is going to be. It will be released at a soon date, but we’re working all of those details out.
From the work of Pentatonix to Shakira, this year’s show truly did take the audience on a trip “Around the World.”
Be sure to stick around with the Saber Slate to stay up to date on information on the FHS Energizers!
by Saber Slate | Mar 31, 2019 | Advice
Have you ever waited until the last minute to compete a big project, a final paper, or an article for your favorite high school newspaper for their annual satire week? If so, you may just be in luck. Recent studies show that procrastinators (like me) actually produce better work.
A study done a the South Harmon Institute of Technology shows this by showing this in the study. The study consisted of 20 college students, ten that were ranked the highest of their class high school graduating class, and ten that were not. When asked about when they completed their homework, the higher ranking students stated that they planned out exactly when they would complete each task for any given homework, setting goals and rewarding themselves only when they completed these goals. The other ten stated that they, quote, “usually wing it” and “hope for the best,” or, in other words, improvise due to procrastination. The studiers believe that the connection between putting a task off until the last minute and turning in better work is due to the stress levels of the brain increasing, increasing the speed and therefor the quality of all bodily functions, first of which being brainpower.
This shows a positive relation to procrastination because all of the students tested, procrastinators or not, were accepted into college.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “I want to try procrastinating, but I’m not sure how. How do I get started?” Well, it’s a lot easier than it sounds. Here is my four-step program to procrastination:
- Have work you need to do – You need a task you need to do in order to procrastinate, you can’t put off something that doesn’t exist!
- Wait until at least 75% of the allotted time you have has past. 85-90% is suggested, but 75% is the minimum for it to deemed procrastination, and what I personally suggest for begging procrastinators. What you do during that time is up to you, so have fun!
- Complete the task in that remaining time.
Yes, it’s as simple as that. Remember: the stress levels build the closer you get to the due date, which means your quality only increases as you push your work forward. The longer you wait to do something, the better it comes out!
In conclusion, procrastination is good and a solid solution to any and all problems one might face in a school or work environment. So go out there and don’t do what you’re supposed to do!
Please note this article is part of Saber Slate’s Satire Week and is not meant to be taken seriously. If you are confused by this, we suggest you look up the definition of satire.
Please use this article as a cautionary tale against procrastination, as it more often than not results in shoddy work such as this. Brought to you by Procrastination – Not Even Once.
