by Saber Slate | Nov 21, 2019 | Athletics & Activities, Opinion & Reviews
On Wednesday, November 13th, Franklin High School opened its 2019 Fall Play: The Crucible! It stars a diverse and wide variety of characters played by over 30 following talented students.
In the first act of the story, we are introduced to the setting, characters, and plot. The story takes place in and around the town of Salem, Massachusetts in the spring of 1692. In the beginning of the play, we see girls dancing in the woods around a fire with Tituba, drinking what some may think is a witch’s brew, or possibly soup. Either way, it’s clear that something shady is going on. The visual effects during this time on stage really added to the mood conveyed by the story and setting. The girls are spotted by Reverend Parris, and his terrified daughter, Betty collapses from shock, it seems like. Betty accuses the ringleader of the girls, Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, and the people of Salem insist she be brought to trial. It becomes a slippery slope for the town of Salem once more and more people find out about the “witchcraft.” Soon, it turns the townspeople against each other, showcasing the power of socially sanctioned violence.
The theme of this story lines up with the topic of McCarthyism, a practice that involves the use of unfair allegations and investigations without proper evidence. Joseph McCarthy was a senator of Wisconsin who led a campaign against alleged communists in the government during 1950-54, around the period when The Crucible was written. From this comes the idea of the witch hunt, which is exactly what these characters are doing in this story.
I think that the actors did an awesome job of bringing these characters to life. Each of them brought their own unique talents and styles to the stage to tell this tale, and they made it really easy to get connected to or relate to their characters. For me, this was fun to watch because I read The Crucible for AP Lit last year. Watching it be actually performed by my fellow students made the play more enjoyable for me than actually reading it as a book because I get to feel more connected to the characters and actually understand what’s happening over the course of the story.
I would like to thank all who were involved with The Crucible for their very hard and dedicated work in bringing this tale to life within Franklin High School. It was a delight to watch and it was nice to see how much these students have grown and learned from previous years.
by Saber Slate | Sep 24, 2019 | Athletics & Activities, News, School
It’s Homecoming week Sabers! Gold Block Color Day has passed already, and we’ve already seen the beautiful colors of the rainbow throughout the school.
- Tuesday is Generations Day:
- Freshman dress up as Gen Z (aka wear modern day clothes)
- Sophomores dress up like Millennials, so be sure to pack your best avocado toast and overpriced Starbucks drinks.
- Juniors dress up as Gen X (which is 70’s and 80’s style clothes) so bring your zany clothes and your parents’ old mixtapes.
- Seniors dress up as Baby Boomers – borrow your grandparents’ old clothes, or wear something old from the thrift shop. Your favorite rocking chair is optional.
- Wednesday is Space/Alien Day, so bring your favorite items from Area 51.
- Thursday is Wisconsin Day; wear your best Wisconsin-related gear.
- Friday is Black and Gold Day, please wear your best Saber gear!
- The PowderPuff Championship will be played during the all-school assembly at 1:00 pm.
- The Homecoming Parade starts at 5:00 pm!
- Saturday is the date of the Homecoming dance, so buy your tickets fast!
This info comes from Mr. Hein’s Homecoming Week email 🙂
by Saber Slate | May 20, 2019 | Athletics & Activities, News, School
A huge spring sport that takes place here at Franklin High School is Girls’ Soccer. Recently, I got the chance to connect with one of the captains of our soccer team through email, Morgan Peters. I had a few questions for her about the soccer team and what the highlights of their season so far. Here are her responses!
Q:What have been some of the highlights of the soccer season so far?
Morgan: The girls’ soccer team is off to their best start in program history. A little over a month into the season, the girls’ soccer team has a record of 12-1-1 and are ranked #9 in the state for the first time ever. They have had 2 big wins against Kenosha Tremper and Bradford this season. The team is in the driver’s seat to win their first-ever conference championship.
Q: What are some things that you enjoy about soccer?
Morgan: I enjoy playing soccer because it is great to be a part of a team. Everyone is so close and you meet people you probably would never have talked to before. It is a lot of fun and you feel a great sense of unity.
Q:What position do you play?
Morgan: I play outside mid.
Q: Why do you play soccer?
Morgan: I play soccer because I love the sport. I have been playing soccer since I was 5 years old and it has always brought so much joy into my life. With playing in high school, you also get to play with people who are different ages. It is a great way to bring people together and I have really enjoyed it.
Thank you to Morgan Peters for the interview, and another special thanks to Megan Lacina for connecting me with her, much appreciated. Please come out and support the girls in their last regular season home game and senior night on Tuesday, May 21st. The team hopes to finish undefeated in conference and move up in the state rankings.
by Saber Slate | May 13, 2019 | Athletics & Activities
You’ve seen the Saber Slate website and read the articles already. But do you want to find out more about the club? Or what actually happens during the meetings? Or how you can join next year?
Join us at our informational meeting on Monday, May 20th after school in Mr. Nettesheim’s room (C302). The meeting is open to all FHS students, writers, photographers, and artists. Come find out what happens behind the scenes and talk to the members of the club!
Have any questions, comments, or concerns? Contact the Saber Slate (fhsnewspaper62@gmail.com) or the editors Mary Ramsden and Amenah Syed.
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 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!
