by Saber Slate | Feb 13, 2019 | Advice, News
Love is already in the air once again — when is it not, here at FHS? More often than usual, you will see students acting way out of character to impress their crush or getting them fancy gifts or chocolates. Speaking of chocolates, it’s an important thing to consider whether your crush has a chocolate allergy or not. Be sure to ask every question to your crush so you can find out if they do, in fact, have a chocolate allergy before it’s too late! Perhaps they may not like chocolate either — DON’T BE FOOLED BY THEIR LIES! No one hates chocolate — even if they hate chocolate like it’s the most horrible thing to ever exist. Even then, you are able to find devout chocolate-haters hidden in the restroom stalls, or in dark corners of the classroom, sneaking a Kiss with their beloved, the horrible hypocrites that they are. Studies show that scientifically, you physically aren’t able to hate chocolate, no matter how much you indulge on average, per hour. Thus, my grand point is: get your valentine chocolate, no matter what they tell you. Chocolate wins anyone over. They think you’re being invasive and creepy? Leave in their lockers a giant candy bar every day that they turn you down and reject you. At some point, they’ll cave. Then, you will enjoy chocolate forever, for the rest of your lives, and grow old together, reminiscing upon those golden, sacred memories you made at Franklin High School.
However, we are forgetting a crucial aspect of Valentine’s Day culture– how to figure out whether s/he likes you back. This is what I’ve gathered from my many life experiences, and I shall inform you to help you and your future. My experiences with dozens of crushes can be reduced down to a simple, three step list.
- Step 1: Ask questions. Ask, ask, ask away! That way, you get to know a lot more about them and their personality, and whether or not it seems like it fits with your personality.
- Step 2: Be a nice guy! Buy anything and everything for your crush — their reaction to your ultimate kindness will show you if they like you or not. If you can tell that your crush does not like the gifts, do not give up! Tell them how nice you are, and how much they truly deserve a person like you. If they keep refusing, they are playing hard to get! That means they like you back! A challenge is always fun and good.
- Step 3: Become close friends. It’s especially helpful if you have been friends with them since childhood. The easier it is to become friends with them, the more likely it is that they like you back, and are letting you closer in to their lives. Finally, when you seem to be the bestest of friends, DON’T tell them your true feelings! BE CAREFUL! You’re already like a girl/boyfriend to them, and it’s clear that you are already a thing! Of course, when the time is right, propose to them IN PUBLIC so they can’t refuse — if they do end up refusing, act like it was all a funny joke and laugh it off. The best thing about a partner is their sense of humor.
I hope that I was able to be at least some help in your everlasting quest to find true love within high school. Take this advice to heart — but BEWARE! Love is strange and complicated, so instead of having just one day to express your true feelings, do it the entire year. There are plenty of fish in the sea — at least one of them will like you back, that’s a lifetime guarantee! Best of luck in your pursuit for love!
by Saber Slate | Jan 28, 2019 | Community, History, News, School
by Saber Slate | Dec 18, 2018 | News
During the week of December 10th, students of FHS were able to partake in the Course Carousel, which was an opportunity to help students with their academic and career planning. Bell schedules were shifted around to accommodate for a longer gold block period for each grade, except for seniors who, unfortunately, are graduating. As a junior, this meant that my Course Carousel day would be on Tuesday the 11th. Each session was 3 separate ~20 minute blocks, and teachers gave a basic rundown of the class and what to expect from each of them.
Personally, I decided to check out the AP Stats, Environmental Science, and Behavioral Sciences sessions. The teachers were pretty open about their classes and loved to talk to us about them. Initially, I was apprehensive about some of the classes that I wanted to take, but after these sessions I feel more confident in my decisions. I feel that this is beneficial towards students because they get to find out in a more “hands-on” way about the classes they want. Many of the students that I’ve asked already know pretty much what they want to do their senior year and were set on their decisions. If you’re uncertain about which classes to take, it’s nice to talk to teachers and ease that anxiety about future classes.
by Saber Slate | Oct 6, 2018 | News
There is a constant thought looming over every junior and senior’s head during their final years of high school: What am I going to do when I graduate from Franklin High School?
There are so many things you have to think about when you think about college: your major, your budget, and of course, location, location, location. Luckily, there are events such as the Wisconsin Education Fair, (or WEF for short), in which colleges from all over the midwest come to Franklin High School to show you all of their strengths: their prime location, their offered majors, and the financial aid you could receive if you go to their college. It’s a lot of information packed into small 5-10 minute discussions that go through all of the aforementioned topics and so much more.
I had the opportunity of attending the WEF, and I wanted to share my (albeit biased) thoughts on how it not only benefited me, but how it could benefit others as well.
The fair is organized into rows of colleges and the people representing them, in no particular order. You could go past the table for UWM and then immediately next to it was the table for Winona State University. It wasn’t exclusively public universities either, there were private colleges being represented, as well as various military branches as a post-secondary option as well if college isn’t your thing.
At first sight, it was very intimidating, seeing the rows and rows of different colleges, the lines of people waiting their turn to see what each one had to offer them. I was terrified of going up to any of them for no reason other than not knowing how to initiate the conversation. But once I initiated that first interaction, once I gathered up the courage to talk to one of the college representatives, I began to get into the swing of it. My desire for information snowballed from the first “I wonder what this well known college has to tell me” and eventually grew to “‘I’ve never heard of this school, I wonder what it might have to offer!”
It is important to know that this was simply my experience with this particular college fair, and that you and others may not have the same experience as I did. I did not intend for this article to be the be-all-end-all explanation of college fairs
It’s a daunting question, asking yourself what you’re going to do for the rest of your life, but you don’t have to face it alone. There are many places you can go, such as the WEF or student services here at the high school, that can help you to narrow down your options for your post-secondary life.
by Saber Slate | Mar 12, 2018 | Community, History, News, School
On June 19th, 1865, all slaves were officially emancipated in all states. Over time, more and more people of African heritage in the United States celebrate this holiday because of the Civil Rights movement, allowing for equality and diversity. Juneteenth is a state holiday (or special day of observance) in forty-five states. Today, Juneteenth has become a celebration of African American history and culture.
Juneteenth is rooted in United States history, going back to the American Civil War when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The Proclamation declared all slaves to be freed in rebel states, who weren’t in Union hands. The document excluded the border states Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, and Missouri, as well as the counties of Virginia that would later come together to form the state of West Virginia.
The news that Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered to Union forces on April 9 did not reach the state of Texas until May 1865. On June 18, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger declared “General Order No. 3,” which announced the total emancipation of slaves. Freedmen celebrated in the streets after the announcement of their emancipation. The year after, the freedmen organized the first of the annual Juneteenth celebrations to celebrate their freedom. More and more people joining in these celebrations by the mid-1900’s, during the Civil Rights movement.
After the Civil Rights movement of the mid-1900’s, Juneteenth Day has been celebrated by more and more African-American communities.
On February 19th, we hosted a Mini-Juneteenth celebration here at Franklin High School.
At the festival, there was a selection of different events that promoted diversity, friendship, and support and from Daddy’s Soul Food & Grille. I personally didn’t try the food, however, I asked around about the food and the reaction was positive.
There was also book table that displayed a plethora of books about African-American civil rights and emancipation. I interviewed a student about it, who said, “[I think it’s something] that gets overlooked a lot, and there are books that become popular by the media, and a lot of times, that’s the only thing you go to, you’re broadening your horizons, you know?”
Some of the other events included a raffle to support local African-American businesses and a kindness pledge wall, which was facilitated by fellow members of the Saber Slate. Many students and parents of Franklin filled out the pledge wall.
I had the opportunity to interview Janet Evans, the president of the school board, and ask her about the event. “I think [Mini Juneteenth] is a great way to bring the community together,” she said, “and I also think it’s a great way to celebrate Black History Month, and educate the community.”
Around the same time I was standing around the wall, the music was cranked up. A group of three girls started dancing to One Two Step by Ciara. I saw many more students join the impromptu dance party and have a great time together, enjoying the moment. That alone just shows, even if it seems like we’re struggling to stay together, Franklin is still a community. Although it isn’t a national holiday, many organizations are working toward having the day recognized as a national day of observance.
Mini-Juneteenth was an important celebration, even if you didn’t attend, it shows that Franklin as a whole is ready to support racial diversity, and that is very important to many students of Franklin no matter how they look.
Photo’s taken by Isabelle Wilson
Sources
Holness, J. J. (2017, June 19). National Observance of Juneteenth is Still a Struggle. Retrieved February 20, 2018, from https://urbanfaith.com/2016/06/national-observance-juneteenth-still-struggle.html/
Cruz, G. (2008, June 18). Juneteenth. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1815936,00.html
by Saber Slate | Mar 5, 2018 | News
On Monday, January 22nd, two post-it notes changed how people would look at Franklin High School. These notes, one saying “white,” the other, “colored,” hung ominously over the water fountains for what seemed like an eternity. This racist act, though small, shocked students and administrators alike into the realization that the school may not have been as kind a place as we all thought it was.
Over the past few weeks, events such as what happened at the water fountains have made it difficult for some people to be proud of FHS. This school’s goal of creating an environment promoting kindness and diversity may have been cast aside by some, but the majority of students of Franklin High still believe in those ideals. These are the students that stand up against discrimination, that practice kindness rather than hate.
These students that saw what was happening decided to not only take a stand, but organize one. On Valentine’s Day, students from freshman to senior all joined hands in the main commons to show their peers just how many of them will continue to stand for the ideals that FHS hold so highly.
One such student leader was Hailey McCoy, a senior that helped to organize the stand on Wednesday. I recently had the opportunity to speak with her, and asked her some questions about what it meant to her:
What did this event mean to you?
“The main purpose of this event was to show the students of Franklin High School that these small events that have been happening have been happening around the school, like what happened with the water fountains and a lot of what other students have been experiencing, isn’t what Franklin High School is and is not representative of Franklin High School.”
In your opinion, how did it go?
“I thought it went pretty well, it had a lot better turnout than I thought it would. I knew the sign was going to get a lot of signatures, but with the whole hand holding — the giant unity circle — I didn’t think a lot of people would want to hold our hands. But we had about 20-25 people, and that’s better than none.”
What can people do now to help what you’re trying to do?
“The signings that we had, the signatures we had, are going to be hanging in the main commons. The purpose of those was for people to walk by and see them every day and just be reminded that: ‘I’m in Franklin High School, this is my school, and I’m going to be kind to everyone that’s here. I’m going to step up when I hear someone being racist or someone being unkind.’”
I likewise was able to get a quote from one of our assistant principals, Mr. Hein, about the event just moments after it had ended:
“I’m super proud of students that want to make a difference by being themselves and that stand up to discrimination and hate. I’m glad that a lot of students want to talk about this topic rather than just seeing it and accepting it for what it is rather than what it could be. Overall I think that acts like this truly show how much actions speak louder than words; seeing all of the people here that are willing to not only speak up, but also to stand up for what they believe in.”
The signed poster will be hanging in the main commons these next few days if you want to see it for yourself.
