CHS Chilli-Chatter '22 #11

As many of you know, Earth Day is celebrated every year in honor of protecting the planet from concepts like pollution or deforestation. What people do not know is that they can celebrate Earth Day by practicing some of the most basic notions such as reduce, reuse, and recycle; however, Earth Day does not have to be limited to one particular day. People can contribute anywhere and at any time.

Earth Day was established in 1970 after an oil spill occurred in the Santa Barbara Channel in 1969. It was estimated that over three million gallons of crude oil was upsetted into the water, killing over 3,500 coastal birds and other marine life such as fish, dolphins, sea lions, and elephant seals. This event encouraged many people to protest the safety of the environment and raise awareness of many environmental issues.

Today, we celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd of every year, and in turn, honor the dawn of the environmental movement in 1970. Each year, a theme is picked and announced for supporters to follow and practice every day. The theme this year was “Invest in Our Planet” which was used to encourage businesses, industries, and individuals to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable.

There are many simple ways we are able to contribute and invest in our planet; we can practice sustainability by utilizing the three R’s system, conserve energy and water, volunteer to pick up trash, and merely educate ourselves on the topic. All of these actions will allow us to aid and protect our planet. For example, Student Council just picked up 16 bags of trash on their Adopt-A-Highway route.

Next time you are on a nature walk, look around and ponder how you can do your part to preserve the environment. Let’s make every day Earth Day.

With the summer months approaching, so is the end of our regularly scheduled lives. Many of us will have time to enjoy relaxing breaks, increase our time at summer jobs, and spend time with our friends and family. Especially in Missouri, the humidity and heat can bring the summer-time lull that leaves us at a loss for what to do. If we’re not careful, we can find ourselves falling into a summer slump. A great way to increase our energy is to enjoy daily exercise.

Every year the summer weights program is run by Coach Chad Smith and Coach Roman Cranmer. Every year they sacrifice their time and energy for their students in order to give them the opportunity to succeed and grow. By setting goals, they push their students to make use of their time over the summer break to better themselves. This year the weights program will begin the same day as the summer school program on May 25th. There will be four sessions for students to attend. The first is from 6:00-7:30 a.m. for any high school or middle school students. Those who are volunteering at summer school for their A+ hours may consider this early session. The 7:30-9:00 a.m. session is reserved for students who plan to play football in the 2022 fall season. From 9:00-10:30 a.m. high school students will be welcome and middle schoolers will attend from 10:00-12:30. At each session students will split their time between the weight room and conditioning on the football field or in the high school gym. Those who attend summer weights regularly will keep track of their hours. At the end of the summer, all their hours will be counted up and those qualifying will be rewarded with a t-shir, and announced at the fall Meet the Hornets as members of the summer weight club.

At the end of summer comes the fall sports season, something many of our students look forward to. Though this signals the beginning of school, students are excited to begin a new season of competition with their peers. Many students work hard over the summer to improve their athletic ability for the upcoming school year. There are many summer sports activities offered for athletes in town by both the high school and community. The soccer team has open fields for both the boys and girls to play; the basketball and volleyball teams get together for scrimmages and summer tournaments; tennis players can be seen at any hour practicing their serves and picking up matches; and both baseball and softball players enjoy playing for club teams around the state. Summer is also a good time to try out new sports with your friends. You may find that running with the cross country team is something that helps improve your mental clarity for the day, or maybe you’ll begin to understand the thrill of a football game. There is something for everyone when it comes to athletics. Trying something out of your comfort zone can boost your confidence and keep you in shape at the same time.

Check out activities in the community. There is always something going on that can help to get you or your family members active. The YMCA has opportunities for all community members. Pick up a schedule for pool aerobics, volleyball, and open swims. Even a simple walk around the block or a bike ride with a friend can make a difference in your daily summer life. Eating healthy foods and going outside are easy ways to progress yourself and your summer lifestyle. Don’t forget that staying healthy increases your chances of staying happy.

Recently our high school seniors had the opportunity to participate in a vote for the city. This was an opportunity for students to have an input in community decisions. This year our community and the seniors were posed with two major choices on the ballot: Question A would allow the district to borrow nine million dollars and extend-long range facilities, while Question B would continue the levy of twelve cents per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation. This was not the first time that the approval of the levy has been brought to the community of Chillicothe. It was previously approved several years ago, but the new approval will allow for the district to continue to collect money for capital improvements.

The voter turnout this year was about average, approximately 21%, with 1653 voters coming to the polls. As for the results, Question A received 1244 “yes” votes, an approval rating of 75.26%, and Question B received 1212 “yes” votes, an approval rating of 73.28%. Both questions received a passing vote allowing for the collection of $0.12 per each $100 assessed valuation for improvements to the school.

According to Superintendent Dan Wiebers, the Vote Yes 2 a Brighter Future Campaign had an influence over voters by explaining what was on the ballot and reaching out. They accomplished this by giving presentations and reaching out by way of social media. The overwhelming agreement for both votes could be stemmed from the fact that both questions were established to not raise the taxes, but still allow to better the school district.

It’s important to stay informed on what is being posted on the ballot; this ensures that whoever is voting makes the best choice for themselves and their community. This generation will become the next generation of decision-makers. Due to this vote and all who participated, the future students of Chillicothe R-II school district will enjoy an expanded learning facility.

Everyone has bad habits. However, it seems like the culture of school especially creates many bad habits in students. Students get stressed from their various activities, and ultimately neglect their own health for the sake of their grades, athletic performances, or other activities. There are a number of poor habits that students are predisposed to, but some of the most common are poor sleep, heavy backpacks, and deficient diets.

We have all been there at least once; the late-night cram session. Whether it's before a test or just trying to finish up those straggling assignments, late nights can become a regularity for students. Sometimes, that is just necessary to get what needs to be done finished. It becomes a problem whenever one late night turns into every night of the week. Sleep deprivation should not be a normal part of life, and it can certainly become a chronic problem. Aside from the obvious consequence of general exhaustion and confusion, sleep loss literally has an effect on brain cells, called neurons. When you lose sleep, your neurons actually begin to slow down. They are not capable of firing as quickly and consequently communicate throughout the body slowly. This causes the dazed and confused feeling that comes from a lack of sleep. Of course, it is common knowledge that people should get at least 8 hours of sleep, but it is true that sleep deprivation can be very detrimental to the health of students and the function of the body.

One bad habit that you might not think of is the habit of carrying too much in your backpack. Heavy backpacks can cause a host of problems, primarily with posture. Libby Washburn, a senior in Speech class at CHS, conducted research for a speech on the CHS population to get a better understanding of how this issue affects students. Washburn found that the average CHS student has an 18.5 lb backpack, which averages 13% of their body weight. A backpack should only be 10% of a person’s body weight. Aside from basic back pain, heavy backpacks can cause long-term poor posture, weakened muscles, and further injury. When students walk with a heavy backpack, they often adopt unnatural postures that can lead to spinal misalignment. Additionally, the muscle strain that comes from a heavy backpack can actually damage muscles. After an extended time carrying a heavy backpack, a person’s body, especially an athlete, can become even more prone to injury. Although it may seem impossible to correct the weight of your own backpack, if it is possible to remove a few textbooks or notebooks from your backpack for even a couple of hours, that can at least take a few pounds off, and hopefully reduce the effects of carrying such a heavy load.

Students are always busy, and so they often end up developing poor habits related to eating. Whether that presents itself as a Big Mac and a Coke every day after practice or not eating at all, those habits can quickly become detrimental and even turn into illness. Fast food can change your body chemistry in more ways than you can imagine, and diet can impact all areas of your body, including mental, heart, nutrient, and gut health. As one example, high levels of sugar can lead to high blood sugar, which can cause chemical imbalances in the brain. That is just one way the disproportionate nutrients found in junk food can impact the physiology of your body. Furthermore, fast food can destroy the makeup of your digestive system. Interestingly, the bacteria in your gut can be negatively affected. This is called your gut microbiome, it consists of all microorganisms in your gut, and it impacts digestion, immunity, and other aspects of your bodily health. Processed and fatty animal foods can lead to an increase of destructive bacteria in your gut, which can lead to a host of gut disorders. The effects that fast food have on your body are numerous, and these are only a few examples of how fast food can harm you. Another issue comes when people skip meals altogether. This behavior, although potentially accidental, can lead to disordered eating, and even the development of eating disorders. Skipping meals can obviously lead to malnourishment, but if it continues to occur, your body can start to literally break down in order to sustain itself. Although it may seem inconvenient at times to focus on healthy eating, the benefits of taking an hour to have a good meal far outweigh the consequences of skipping meals or getting fast food.

It may seem unreal how our day-to-day actions can truly impact our health in the long run, but it is important to remember that habits can lead to long-term behaviors. Sleep loss, heavy backpacks, and poor diet are only three of the many ways that students neglect their own health. Remember to take into account the physiological effects that your habits can have on your health the next time you notice poor behavior in yourself.

There are few experiences in life that compare to the pleasure of watching classic films. Whether it is a romance you are after, an adventure, or even a psychological thriller, there is a classic movie out there for you. There is a common misconception among the younger generation of today regarding these films. Many think that because a movie is old or in black and white, it must be boring. This could not be farther from the truth because these films are classics for a reason. Not only do these movies happen to have great storylines and acting, but they also provide the viewer with a window into the past. I have compiled a list of my favorite classic films that I think everyone should see.

The first movie that I think everybody would benefit greatly from watching is Casablanca (1942). I am not the first to say that this movie is profound and I will not be the last. There is a reason it has one three Oscars. The movie is set during WWII in Casablanca, Morocco. It stars Humphry Bogart as an American nightclub owner who has to choose between his long lost love (his costar Ingrid Bergman) or helping her and her husband (a resistance leader) escape Nazi-ridden Casablanca. This movie is heart-wrenching and will keep you one the edge of your seat the entire time. Casablanca is available on Amazon Prime Video.

My other favorite Bogart movie also stars Audrey Hepburn. Sabrina (1954) is about Sabrina, the daughter of the Larrabee family chauffeur. Sabrina has been in love with David Larrabee for as long as she can remember, but the frequently married playboy only sees Sabrina as a little girl. The older Larrabee brother, Linus, ends up saving Sabrina’s life from a fit of her own feelings. Sabrina is sent away by her father to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris in the hopes that she will become a lady. When Sabrina returns from culinary school she attracts the attention of both Larrabee brothers. This movie is pure gold and one of my all time favorites. Watch Sabrina on Amazon Prime Video.

My Fair Lady (1964) is a musical based on the play Pygmalion. Audrey Hepburn plays Eliza Doolittle, a girl with a cockney accent who sells flowers to survive. She is taken in by a phonetics professor named Henry Higgins who arrogantly makes a bet that he can teach Eliza proper English and present her to society without anyone suspecting that she is an uneducated beggar. This musical will not disappoint. You can find My Fair Lady on Netflix.

Roman Holiday (1953) stars Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. In this movie Ann, a princess of a European Country is visiting Rome. She is tired of following strict rules and schedules and decides to explore Rome on her own. She falls asleep on a park bench where she is intercepted by a reporter named Joe. He lets her stay at his apartment for the night, but it isn’t until he goes to work the next day that he realizes that he is housing a princess. He makes a bet with his boss that he can get a picture of Princess Anna for the paper and sets out to do so under the guise of showing her around Rome. Watch Roman Holiday on Amazon Prime Video.

If you have yet to be introduced to Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological thrillers, there is no time like the present. A few of my favorites are Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window, and Vertigo. It is best to go into these movies with as little information as possible so I will make it brief. Psycho (1960) depicts an interaction between a crazed motel owner Norman Bates and a motel guest and an investigation of the aftermath. The Birds (1963) starts out seemingly normal, but then birds of all kinds start attacking people in droves. I love this movie even if it was the cause of my childhood fear of birds. Rear Window (1954) is about a wheelchair-bound photographer that finds joy in watching his neighbors from his rear window. He is convinced that one of his neighbors has committed a murder. And finally, Vertigo (1958) is about a detective that is left with a severe fear of heights and vertigo after an incident. He is hired to follow a friend’s wife who is acting strangely.

Gone with the Wind (1939) is set during the Civil War and follows Scarlette O’Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a plantation owner, and her romantic interests and interactions with Ashley Wilks and Rhett Butler. This movie is definitely for a rainy day because it is nearly four hours long. With this being said, I have a strong belief that everyone should sit through it at least once in their lifetime. Gone with the Wind as been under scrutiny for its glorified depictions of slavery and racial interactions of the time, but Hattie McDaniel’s role in the movie made her the first African American to win an Academy Award. Gone with the Wind is available on Prime Video and HBO Max.

There are endless numbers of classic films and this list barely skims the surface, but all of these movies are great introductions to Old Hollywood. If movie night rolls around and you can’t decide on what to watch, consider working your way through this list; these titles will not disappoint.

Do you need any help with college money? The A+ Program has given many short-handed students an amazing opportunity. This academic scholarship, which was found around 1997, has helped so many high school students prepare for their future college tuition cost. Many students join this program because of all the positives in this program, but many join just to get that scholarship money.

To first get ready for this scholarship, you need to talk to Mr. Marsh or Mrs. Tipton. Once you’ve talked to them and signed up, you’re ready for the next step. This scholarship requires at least 50 hours of tutoring, which is available in our school during elementary summer school and after-school tutoring.

To be a part of this program takes a lot of work. You have to meet specific academic requirements in order to qualify for its scholarship. You need to have at least a 2.5 GPA; however, that GPA will correspond with what you’re required to get on the ACT. The lower your GPA is the higher you have to score on the ACT.

Your GPA and ACT score are not the only things you need. You will also need to maintain an overall 95% attendance. So make sure you don’t take too many days off! But if you think that your attendance is too far gone to be a part of this program, don’t fret it. This attendance rate is throughout your entire high school career, so you can always bring it right back up.

Now there’s only one last requirement to being eligible for this scholarship. You need to have a good record. Having a good citizenship record is important not only for this program, but for yourself as well. Although you don’t need it, it wouldn’t look bad if you also had some volunteer work and community service hours on your resume as well. Colleges really like that sort of thing, and so do scholarships and programs.

The rewards of all this hard work are many. Once you are determined eligible, you can earn up to eighteen credit hours per semester; In other words, $189.00 per credit hour. Now this might not sound like a lot, but the math says different. Most college students don’t take 18 credit hours per semester; this is just what the A+ offers.

Keep in mind that it is never too late to become a part of this amazing opportunity–from freshman to senior year our counselors are waiting for you to sign up.

Many of us recently enjoyed Prom 2022 “An Evening in the Enchanted Forest” and many others of us just liked looking at all of the pictures. Prom has been a tradition at CHS for decades, but it has changed over the years.

As Prom came and went, I asked Mrs. Pam Constant and Mrs. Lisa Rule questions about the old school prom. Some of the differences Mrs.Rule noticed was that her prom was at the old high school–the one that was torn down. They held Grand March in the auditorium and then the dance in the gym. Mrs.Constant, who also had Prom at the old school, said they decorated the cafeteria, the hallway leading from the cafeteria to the auditorium/gym, and the gym/stage. They would store the prom supplies in the basement, and at the old high school, they stored the supplies in the tunnels that ran under the school. Mrs.Rule thinks the rule was always that Prom is only for juniors and seniors unless they invite an underclassman. Mrs.Constant doesn't think they could, she believes only juniors and seniors could attend.

Grand March for Mrs.Constant was a little bit different than ours; it was in the auditorium in the old high school where they had a balcony and a lower level. The couples came through the second-floor doors to the balcony and then alternately seniors and juniors walked down the east or west staircase that led to the dance floor. Mrs.Rule also had the same setup as Mrs.Constant and said the challenge was maneuvering the steps just right in the heels. Mrs.Rule’s After Prom was huge; she said nearly all of the seniors went to an After Prom event which ended with a breakfast at the Country Club at 5:00 a.m. Mrs.Constant’s After Prom wasn't called that; it was just a tradition after the dance. People would all go to the Ben Bolt theater where they watched a movie until 2:00 a.m. After the movie, everyone went to the country club where they were served a delicious breakfast. They were kept occupied until about 5:00 in the morning. Very few...if any...left Prom before the other festivities. Prom was over at 11:00, they all went home to change into more comfortable clothes, and then they had to be at the movie theater by 12:00 a.m.

Some fun facts Mrs.Constant told me was her prom did not have a king or queen during the 1970s; however, her dad graduated from CHS in 1948. and the yearbook indicates that he was Prom King. Obviously, they had a prom king and queen many years ago, but the tradition had fallen away by the 1970s. She also remembers the delicious punch and cake. Mrs. Rule remembered one thing–hairspray. Among other things Prom looked a little different back in the 70’s and 80’s, but some traditions will stay strong till the end of time.

Enjoy these pictures of current faculty enjoying their Proms. Can you identify them?