Ripples

Make a RacketBoys tennis tests fledg-ling lineups

page 12

Spring SongSouth Pacific rehearsals well underway

page 6

Volume 94, Issue 9May 4, 2016

1701 E. Capitol Drive, Shorewood, WI 53211The Student Newspaper of Shorewood High SchoolShorewood

What’s Inside

Access Granted Civic knowledge offer-ing at Public Library

page 3

www.shorewoodripples.org

Inside Ripples

News.....................1-3 Features................4-5 A&E......................6-8

Sports..................11-12 Opinions.............9-10

Arty PartyAP art students celebrate their work in annual cumulative showcase

Elementary schools choose testsby Sabine Peterka

With students taking standardized tests on computers and an increased demand for technology use in education, Atwater and Lake Bluff look to balance the many uses of their computers.

Starting in third grade, elementary students take the state-mandated Forward exam at the end of the school year and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test three times throughout the year. Both tests are taken on a computer.

“Assessment is part of instruction because in order to know what to teach, you need to know what your students know and what they’re learning,” said Eric Norland, Lake Bluff principal.

Norland said that the Forward exam is a summative assessment, meaning it evaluates what a student learned after a set amount of time, whereas the MAP test is a formative assessment.

“The idea is that formative assessment is for the purposes of guiding instruction and being responsive in instruction,” Norland said. “Formative assessment in particular is a very important practice that we need to refine and build on and continue to do and

The police department will be moving to another location due to insufficient space, inadequate facilities and other existing problems in the current whereabouts.

The police department shares their current building, built in 1927, with the fire department and is situated on the first floor and basement of the building.

It is still to be determined what the fire department will do with the vacant space left by the police department after the move.

“[The fire department] will continue to stay here at the building and they will figure out what they’re going to do. Whether or not they’re going to renovate, occupy this space or be [used by] a different village department,” said Peter A. Nimmer, chief of police.

The police department is made up of 25 sworn officers and 5 clerical workers and it is estimated that a department that size needs 25,000 square feet. Right now the police department has 5200 square feet.

get better at.”According to Kayla Russick,

Atwater principal, the amount of time students spend taking standardized tests has increased since students started taking the MAP test but the time on state tests (like the Forward exam) has not increased.

“When you look at the whole school year, it’s not a big chunk of time [spent testing],” Russick said.

EduTyping teaches students to use keyboards efficiently and ac-curately. The elementary schools have booked their computer labs for standardized testing, limiting the students’ time to type.

Ben Davis

However, Vashti Lozier, Lake Bluff PTO co-president, said that parents have expressed concern about testing.

“I think there is a lot of concern among parents. I do hear it a lot; it comes up at PTO meetings; it comes up in casual conversations,” Lozier said.

According to Lozier, parents can opt their child out of testing.

Most testing takes place in the

computer labs, preventing teachers from using them for lessons, such as research or typing, during that time.

“It’s not like the MAP test replaces our instructional time of typing, but the access to be able to have our scheduled computer lab times may interfere with some of the small periods of the school year that there is testing,” said Amber Serath, Atwater second grade teacher. “That said, we also would have the option, if you don’t have your computer time, to be able to check out one of the other Chromebook carts and be able to replace that time.”

“One of the biggest impacts [of the testing] is just time away from educational learning time. When you’re testing, you’re not moving forward in math and language arts and in your other areas,” Lozier said. “The other piece is the computer lab being used for that huge amount of time. My understanding is that the computer lab is pretty much unavailable the last couple weeks and through the end of the school year with the MAP testing.”

One essential skill students need computers to learn is typing.

continued on page two

Police department leaves current siteby Cela Migan

The current location of the police department is on Murray Avenue. To expand space and improve facilities, the department is planning a move to the AB Data building on Wilson Drive.

Olivia Loomis

In 2006, the village board began a study to calculate the needs of the police department and the best options to fulfill them.

“The process has actually been going on formally for ten years, since 2006 … I think it’s important that that’s reflected, because it’s not just a six-month process that we’ve put this together, it’s been several studies that have been done, several public meetings that have been had and discussed about the building and a

lot of different presentations to the village board have been made over that decade and a lot of different options were presented over those years,” Nimmer said.

The Zimmerman Design Group was hired to do the study and pointed out many of the issues with the current location. Among the issues was a lack of all-around space, a lack of privacy for staff and interviewees, poor facilities and deficient storage space.

The police department is also

experiencing problems with the building itself, such as extreme heating or cooling, moisture and rust in several areas and black soot in and around the vents.

“Where you work, your work environment … it makes an impact on you. If you go into a workspace every day and you have no windows, everything’s falling apart and it’s cramped, it does have an impact on morale and future; your outlook of where you work,” said Ericka Lang, Shorewood Planning Director.

Public meetings about the police department’s move were held on March 7, 12 and 21 as well as April 4 and 18. The March 12 meeting was held at the police department and attendees were given a tour.

Katharine McDonnell, resident, attended the April 4 meeting in order to get more information on the police department’s move.

“I don’t know that much about the new building, but it seems like a good solution,” McDonnell said.

continued on page three

NewsRipples May 4, 2016

page two

The village board has scheduled Wilson Drive for reconstruction by 2018. The village board formed the Wilson Drive Community Task Force to get more public input on the options for the reconstruction Wilson Drive.

“[The village board] decided to develop a special task force of citizens to come up with ideas on how to reconstruct the corridor on Wilson Drive. Basically there was a lot of concern and interest in the part of citizens in Shorewood. So the village board felt that the best way to address that was to develop a task force to make it as public as possible to come up with ideas,” said Steve Kavalauskas, Steering Committee co-chair.

The task force consists of a steering committee and four work groups. Members of these groups were selected from an application process; over 75 people applied for these groups. The Steering Committee is made up of Davida Amenta and Patrick Linnane, village board liaisons, Donna Pollock, Conservation Committee liaison, Ellen Eckman, Parks Commission liaison, Thomas Kuhlmann, Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety liaison, Tim Vander Mel, Recreation and Community Services liaison, and Kavalauskas, Henk Joubert, Elizabeth Beeghly, Eric Couto, Nathan Hemming, Therese Klein and Joseph Teglia, residents.

Wilson Drive committee plans reconstuctionby Madeline Wilson

They meet on the second Wednesday of every month to organize and plan the task force, as well as guarantee public participation.

“The role of the steering committee is to get the work groups going, keep the process moving and make sure there is public input,” Amenta said.

Work group members work to address more specific issues in the reconstruction of Wilson Drive. The four work groups include traffic and safety, environment, recreation and development. Each work group has nine

members, including those from the steering committee.

There are three possibilities for the reconstruction of Wilson Drive that the task force is considering: keeping the road at the same width, narrowing the road and narrowing the road with development on the west side.

According to Beeghly, a majority of the public supports narrowing Wilson Drive.

“From what I understand, everyone wants to see Wilson Drive narrowed ... We

want this because we want to make it easier to cross to Estabrook Park. That’s something we have heard from the community very loud and clear,” Beeghly said.

Amenta agreed.“Most people would like the road

narrowed and the traffic calmed down so you can get across the road and you can get a feeling that the park is part of the village,” Amenta said.

Other concerns the public has include the tax base, the environment and development.

Amenta says the majority of those she has spoken to oppose large-scale development on the west side of Wilson Drive.

“There’s very few people who support largescale development like row housing on Wilson Drive,” Amenta said.

In addition, the work groups are working to generate more specific ideas for Wilson Drive.

“Right now we are not in a place where we are even seeing the options that are being posed. We are in the discussion phase just forming ideas,” Beeghly said.

Wilson Dive Community Task Force meetings are open to public attendance and comments.

The public can also participate in work groups at the meeting.

“We encourage anyone who wants to, to attend the meetings,” Kavalauskas said.

Wilson Drive reconstruction has been a topic of conversation for years. The village board recently scheduled its reconstruction for completion by 2018.

Ben Davis

Typing conflicts with testscontinued from page one

After bringing it in as a pilot program last year, Atwater and Lake Bluff use a typing program called EduTyping.Previously, there had not been a guideline for a curriculum regarding typing.

“We wanted our students to be able to have that measurement be of not their computer skills ... but of their math and reading and science and social studies skills,” Russick said.

EduTyping is a web-based program, allowing students to access it at school and at home. Even if the computer lab is being used for testing, students can practice typing on a laptop or outside of school.

“In the last few years especially, we’ve really expanded our technology throughout the school. So while sometimes our standardized testing, such as MAP or the Forward exam, does take the computer lab or does take some sources of our technology, there’s a lot of technology to go around. So the computer lab isn’t the only place or the only time that they can practice on EduTyping,” Serath said.

Norland said the schools are trying to accommodate for the need for technology.

“I think that one of the themes that has arisen from the community and from within the schools is that we want to continue to build on and develop our technology resources,” Norland said. “There’s always new technologies, the technologies are powerful in terms of their educational applications and I think that we want to continue to employ more and more.”

Lozier said that while expeditionary learning incorporates technology, it might not be evaluated well by conventional standardized tests, which would call for a need for the administration to assess this.

“I think the question the administration needs to grapple with is what kind of information are we getting from the tests? How valuable is the information we’re getting from this test versus the benefits we’re getting from them? Is it worth the time that we’re losing ... for this testing? And the answer might be yes but the answer might be no and I think that’s really something to look at,” Lozier said.

Colectivo Coffee plans to open a burger and ice cream restaurant in Shorewood at 4144 North Oakland Ave. Currently Colectivo owns 13 cafes in the Milwaukee area including one located on 4500 North Oakland in Shorewood.

“We had been talking about ice cream for a long time ever since Baskin-Robbins had gone away,” said Scott Schwebel, vice president of Grand Marketing and Retail at Colectivo Coffee.

Colectivo Coffee has a strong Shorewood presence with many employees and some of the owners living in Shorewood.

“We saw a void in our neighborhood at first for something we wanted for ourselves, [ t h e n ] f a m i l y a n d friends,” Schwebel said.

“ I a m l o o k i n g forward to it a lot because it is something we do not have in Shorewood,” said Lily Keane, sophomore.

Colectivo Coffee decided to also serve burgers in addition to ice cream at this restaurant after realizing they would need more than just ice cream due to the cold, Wisconsin climate.

“There is a wonderful classic pairing of burgers and ice cream but we wanted to do our own spin on it so it is not just another burger joint,” Schwebel said.

The restaurant currently does not have a name and will be counter service only with a sit-down area inside and a patio.

“There is going to be sort of a spicy slant to it. We are not talking actually about the food menu items,” Schwebel said.

The restaurant will serve burgers, ice cream, Colectivo beer, coffee and other items. According to Schwebel the burger category will have an interesting variety of products.

“Its really about the mix of product, it is very a simple category but there are things you can only get at our joint,” Schwebel said.

Almost all the products are custom for Colectivo. Their bakery will bake the buns, the beef for their burger will be a custom blend and their ice cream will be an original recipe.

“Soft serve is a wonderful old-school product. We will be doing our version of it, which will have a little bit higher fat content. Most soft serve has a really low fat content and ... some places it even has none,” Schwebel said, “It is a proprietary blend; a

very unique version.”Colectivo plans to

use a Wisconsin dairy partner but has not yet identified who it is. They are also trying to use other high quality locally sourced ingredients.

“The potatoes will be Wisconsin potatoes for our fries, the cheese is going to be from here, the bacon is going to be from here wherever it make sense,” Schwebel said.

“I really appreciate how Colectivo holds it important to having locally organically sourced food,” said Erin Szablewski, junior.

According to Schwebel one goal of the restaurant is to become a community-gathering place. It aims to offer a unique set up blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor. It will also have a fire pit outside.

“They put a lot of time into the way they design and setup things,” Keane said.

Colectivo has applied for a Façade Improvement grant from the village for $103,000.

It was decided on May 2 by the village board if the grant was approved, after Ripples went into print.

“We are hoping to have all permits in place by the beginning of May and to start construction immediately,” Schwebel said.

Construction on the building plans to take at least four months.

“The plan was to have it open by this summer, realistically it is probably going to be the end of summer ... at the earliest,” Schwebel said.

Colectivo expandsby Martha Dix

The old Verizon store stands vacant across from Metro Market. The site will soon be home to a new concept by Colectivo Coffee, serving burgers and ice cream.

Ben Davis

“I am looking for-ward to it ... because it is something we do

not have in Shore-wood.”

-Lily Keane,sophomore

News RipplesMay 4, 2016

page three

Library informs communityby Shimana Bose

The Shorewood Public Library and the Village Departments collaborated on a project to create a Civic Information Center this spring.

“Collaboration is nothing new; it’s something that the library and the village practice all the time,” said Patrick Linnane, former village trustee. “The library and the village staff are very tuned in to working with each other so that residents can get the information they need about the village and in ways that are comfortable and easy for them to get it.”

The Civic Information Center, or CIC, provides Shorewood residents access to important civic documents and information regarding the village, such as voting information, the annual budget and more.

“The documents are things like the annual budget, voter registration information, master plans, things like the pedestrian and bike master plans, the strategic visioning of the village,” said Emily Passey, assistant director of the library.

Currently located near the adult information desk in the library, the CIC is a small shelf that is accessible to all village and even non-village residents to browse and locate important village documents and information.

All the information provided at the CIC is available online, but also provides a hard copy for another medium of information.

“All the documents that we have here are ... available on the Village of Shorewood website,” Passey said, “And … they can make photocopies here … but hard cop[ies] cannot leave the library.”

Those involved in the collaboration hope this is a way to reach out to residents who do not have access to a computer or dislike electronic methods.

“For people who don’t access information digitally this is going to be a huge help to know that their needs are being met by physical hard copies of the village’s biggest and most important documents, and for people who do access these digitally, it’s going to be an eye opener,” Passey said. “It really meets the library mission to make sure that access is equitable.”

In addition to providing equity to the access of information, it also allows residents to view certain documents that cannot be displayed online.

Overall, both collaborators and residents agree that the CIC has brought an ease of access to residents.

“I think it’s a good fit for Shorewood, because we’re a very engaged place where people have many

opportunities to be engaged with the civic process, and this is just another one of those, so … I think that it’s a really interesting and fun initiative,” Passey said. “It’s been great to collaborate and I’m excited to think that we at the library will have more knowledge ... and be able to help our Shorewood citizens access that knowledge.”

“The library and the

village staff are very

tuned in to working

with each other.”

-Patrick Linnane, former village trustee

Hoops for Harris, a three-on-three basketball tournament fundraiser for the Mark Harris Family Fund organized by student council, took place in the SHS area on April 9.

“He loved basketball, the Shorewood community and Shorewood athletics, so we thought a three-on-three tournament would be a good way to honor his legacy and bring together Shorewood families in a way he would have appreciated,” said Olivia Holbrook, senior and student council president.

This is the second year the tournament, which was created last year to honor Mark Harris — who was the principal at SIS, and before that, vice principal at SHS — took place.

The tournament was divided into three divisions: a first through third grade division, a fourth through sixth grade division and a middle school, high school and adult combined division.

Each division played for two hours. There were 115 participants total, and

the event raised about $1400, roughly $500 more than last year.

“It was a really good event but we know about some changes that we could make,” Holbrook said.

Student council tried to get younger children to participate in this year’s event because last year’s had a lack of elementary school children.

“We did parent newsletters, Thursday folders at the elementary schools; we had posters in places where parents would be, to target that group of people,” Holbrook said.

Makayla McMurry, sophomore, competed in Hoops for Harris. The three-on-three

basketball tournament r aised money for the Harris Family Fund.

Olivia Loomis

Tournament raises moneyby Martha Dix This year’s event was held in the arena,

while last year’s was held in both the North Gym and at SIS, due to scheduling conflicts.

The organization was also different this year.

“It was much more organized than last year,” said Megan Eimers, senior, who played in the tournament and refereed the younger divisions.

Recently, the arena was re-floored and dedicated to Harris. The Hoops for Harris event was the first time the floor had been played on.

“It was a way to inaugurate the gym,” Holbrook said.

The floor has a special plank on it with the number 33, in honor of Harris. According to Eimers, Harris’ children had the opportunity to write a message to their dad underneath the plank before it was installed.

Jeff Zimpel, teacher, participated in the event both years it has ran. The event is very important to him.

“When I was a new teacher [Harris] invited me to participate with some teachers and staff on Saturday mornings … to play basketball and he really pushed me to participate and I thought it would be a great way to start knowing people here,” Zimpel said. “I felt very much welcomed by him.”

Zimpel plans to participate in Hoops for Harris again in the future.

Both Eimers and Zimpel enjoyed being able to play against a diverse group of teams.

“I hope the Mark Harris three-on-three tournament continues … far into the future … and that it becomes a bigger and bigger event each year,” Zimpel said.Chase Bauman, junior, examines resources at the Civic Information Center (CIC).

The CIC, located at the library, provides access to documents relating to the village.

Olivia Loomis

Police department planning move to new, spacious building

“They’ve also done their research; it sounds like. They haven’t rushed into it, they’ve figured everything out, [and] they know that it makes sense.”

T h r o u g h o u t 2008, the village board looked at all possibilities ranging from sites where the police station could experience construction with a “wrap around building” addition and alternate locations. Among the options explored was the NS Legion Post, Sun Seekers building and AB Data building.

“A common theme kept coming back,

continued from page one and that was to remodel this building would be difficult and it would be very costly to do that, and if we remodeled this building it would only give us about 5-10 percent

more space at a cost of about 4.2 million dollars to renovate this building,” Nimmer said. “Though it would take care of a lot of the physical problems with the building, it doesn’t resolve the space issues that we have.”

The AB Data building is the best

option because it has the necessary space to house the police department and can be remodeled to meet the department’s needs. The excess space will allow for a community room, training space and future growth.

On April 18 at the village board meeting the village board had the opportunity to consider the possibility of purchasing AB Data, but decided not to base on an environmental study done.

An environmental study of a property is standard procedure, and in Phase I, it was found that there is some soil contamination, most likely caused by Heinz fuel tanks underneath the property. The next step is to conduct a Phase II study that would investigate and test the soil in order to determine how big of a problem it is.

The AB Data building will be remodeled in two phases and the projected total cost of

the purchase of the building and remodel is $4.356 million.

Tax impacts for Phase I of the remodel will cost $25 per household in

2017 and 2018, and then $45 per $300,000 household beginning in 2019. Phase II of the remodel will tax $11 per $300,000 household after it is completed.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s going to cost the individual resident very much, so I think that’s a thoughtful

thing they’ve done,” McDonnell said.The remodeled AB Data building will

have outdoor parking for citizens and a community room that could be used for various events.

“They haven’t rushed

into it; they’ve figured everything out.”

-Katherine McDonnell, resident

“It would take care

of a lot of the physi-

cal problems with the

building.”

-Peter A. Nimmer,chief of police

FeaturesRipples May 4, 2016

page four

Ripples alumni forge new paths

From field reporter to deputy national editor of Politico, Patrick Reis, class of ‘02, has advanced as a journalist with the support of family, friends and coworkers.

Reis unknowingly initiated his career by writing columns for Ripples in high school, working at odd hours to edit and layout the turn-of the century’s version of the paper.

“You would always be loopy at the end of the night. It would be two or three in the morning

Former editor incorporates experience in classroom settings

by Monica Dix

Alumnus succeeds in publishing after career in reporting, editing

Graduate follows passion for journalism to Capitol Hill, Politico

Patrick Reis, class of ’02, writes for a national audience at Politico.

courtesy Patrick Reis

by Monica Dix

by Elena Cruz

Josh Modell, class of ’98, now works for The Onion.courtesy Josh Model

because we would put stuff off for way too long, goof around way too much and you’d get a late night giddiness, a second wind,” Reis said. “A lot of the times, that’s when you’d make your dumbest mistakes, and you’d also write your most clever headlines.”

During this editing time period, which lasted five to six hours longer than is allowed now, the staff would use manual techniques to put together the paper.

“When we sent it to the publisher, we would take out

Ripples and Shorewood High School class of ’92 alum Josh Modell has made a name for himself in the publishing business. As the current managing editor of Onion Inc. he oversees four sister news sources, Click Hole, The Onion, the A.V. Club and Star Wipe from his home in Chicago.

When it comes to high school, Modell has fond memories of his time at SHS.

“I had a fine time at Shorewood; I think I got a solid education,” Modell said.

Modell was a writer on Ripples all four years, writing record reviews, stories and eventually his own humor column, called “Just Joshin’.”

“I’d just sort of make fun of stuff around school,” Modell said, “One column I wrote was making fun of the superintendent at the time who was sort of famous for never calling off school for snow … and she actually got really mad and called the editor and the faculty advisor and was kicking and screaming ... That’s my fondest

Evan Scmidt, class of ’98, now teaches at Shorewood.

A little known fact about Evan Schmidt, French and economic

theory teacher, is that he is not only a graduate of SHS’s class of ’98 but also an alumni of Ripples.

Schmidt wrote for his first

three years before joining the editorial board as news editor his senior year.

“I enjoyed writing articles for Ripples because I liked the journalistic style of writing,” Schmidt said.

A special memory of his time in Ripples was when a police officer came to visit Schmidt and the other editors in the layout room late in the evening.

“Evidently I had failed to inform my mother that we had layout so she had called the police to track me down. I was very embarrassed at the time, but now that I’m older I realize why she

was worried and it was sweet that she called the police,” Schmidt said.

Overall, Ripples was an intense extracurricular for Schmidt.

“ I t w a s a c o n t e n t i o u s environment. A lot of my classmates were very into it … There were some battles,” Schmidt said.

Since his experiences on Ripples, he sees that it has changed.

“We didn’t have the online version, we didn’t have the Twitter feed: it was just the physical paper,” Schmidt said. “There are more ways to read it.”

After graduating, Schmidt has used his Ripples experiences in his everyday life and classroom at SHS.

“I am constantly reading the news,” Schmidt said. “In both French and economic theory I like connecting news content to what we’re learning, because I think it makes the subject more real and answers the ‘So what? Why do we care about this?’ and I think that’s a really important question to answer when teaching content. [Ripples] has helped me think about the objectivity of media of different news sources.

Schmidt has a pos i t ive reflection of his career in Ripples, and its impact on his life now.

Ripples memory I think, really pissing off the superintendent of schools.”

As a writer, Modell said that Ripples was the first newspaper where he feels like he was actually read.

“If you write something in Ripples you know that almost the entire school was going to read it so you had a really captive audience,” Modell said.

“We did a few things that sort of annoyed some people, which is always kind of a little bit fun to me. You know, you always want to stir things up a little bit,” Modell said.

An example of this occurred when a columnist from the Journal Sentinel came into the Ripples class and wrote a piece about them. Modell was less than satisfied with her writing.

“She wrote real snarky, in a way that I thought an adult should never necessarily be, so I ended up kind of writing a response column to her, calling her out for coming to a high school where people are trying to learn to be writers and then making fun of them for it,” Modell said.

The Ripples class that the reporter and Modell wrote about was essentially a past form of the same things editors and writers still do today, but in the context of a 7th hour class. This class involved some instruction, but a lot of personal writing and editing of stories and content. The students also got one-on-one time with the teacher, Dr. Botts, who has since retired.

“I remember a lot of fooling around and doing nothing, which is like working at a real publication,” Modell said.

Modell was also in the Lake Bluff Beagle, Lake Bluff Elementary School’s student newspaper, before writing in Ripples at SHS.

“[Ripples] was another step in an important part of being a writer, which is writing, all the time and writing as much as you can and getting better,” Modell said.

After graduating from SHS, he studied journalism at UWM and worked at Atomic Records and started a music zine in Milwaukee. He was hired by The Onion for basic fact checking and data entry in 2000. During this time, he wrote

more and more and freelanced for music magazines like Magnet and Spin.

“Eventually my job at the A.V. Club got bigger and bigger until I was the editor in chief there,” Modell said.

Modell describes his job as writing all the time, editing all the time and taking a print publication and ushering it into the web age.

“There’s very little business for print anymore … [The Internet] is still a crazy watershed thing in the

world: it’s still evolving and people are still trying to figure out how to use it properly and how to get their heads around it,” Modell said.

Last year he took the job of editorial director for Onion Incorporated.

“[This] essentially means that I’m the boss of four different editors in chiefs of the four different Onion publications … my day now involves a lot less writing and lot more facilitating great writers to do what they need to do,” Modell said.

poster board and we would print out the finished paper, and this guy named Will Meyer would put a ridiculous bandana on over his face and use a highly toxic spray-on glue, and he would spray that onto the poster board, and attach it there.”

However even after the long hours of working, risking health and sanity, Reis had no intention of becoming a journalist until much later in life.

“I don’t think I realized it at the time, but being in a newsroom and talking about what is happening and discussing it with other people who were curious about it and making jokes about it is incredibly fun,” Reis said. “At the time I just thought of it as this fun thing I got to do, and it never, ever occurred to me that you could make a career out of it.”

Reis graduated high school, and after a yearlong hiatus from school majored in political science at Carleton College while continuing his extracurricular work on the school’s newspaper. It was not until the last several weeks at the university that Reis’s

career path was chosen.Reis then went into the field,

working as a reporter for the Seattle newspaper Real Change in 2007. He wrote about the city’s poverty and homelessness as an intern, while simultaneously working at a bar and a toy store.

“I got to talk to people on the street and learn about their life stories, and really that was when I got absolutely hooked on the idea of being a journalist. It’s just an incredibly satisfying thing to get to talk to total strangers who will tell you about their lives and their thoughts, and you just get to see so many perspectives,” Reis said.

From this job Reis not only realized his passion for the work, but also acknowledged an appreciation of the help around him.

“I was really fortunate because there was any number of things that I did that other editors would have just written me off for, … and I lucked into having editors that would teach me and take the time just to show me how to do things better,” Reis said. “You can achieve a small amount of any success that you have through

your own decisions and effort, but so much of it is a question of just being fortunate. If anything, I just feel grateful,” Reis said.

From Real Change, Reis went on to be a reporter at Capitol Hill and at the National Journal in Washington D.C., eventually leaving his post in 2016 to move to the magazine and online publication, Politico. Here, he currently edits stories about the 2016 presidential elections.

“My boss, the national editor or I speak with reporters about what they’re hearing from their sources, what they’re seeing when they travel with the candidates … Then after hearing from them a bit, we discuss what possible angles there might be and what the best way to write about what’s going on is,” Reis said.

14 years since leaving the Ripples staff, Reis still acknowledges SHS’s impact on his choices now.

Getting opportunities like one gets in Shorewood,” Reis said, “also means that a person has to remember to give back and to spread that.”

courtesy Evan Schmidt

Features RipplesMay 4, 2016

page five

Senior reflects on her life in Jordan by Celeste Carroll

When Tala Abu Zahra, senior, moved to Shorewood from Amman, Jordan, two years ago, she never expected her new home to be so different, culturally and socially. After her father decided to study at UWM, she and her family settled in Shorewood after hearing about the good schools in the community.

“Everything is new. It’s a completely different society, completely different people, different culture and traditions,” Abu Zahra said.

Abu Zahra said that her home country differs from Shorewood in many ways. For one thing, the schools are different. Abu Zahra’s school in Jordan included grades one through 12 and consisted only of girls.

“Every day of the week we take an English class. You don’t get to choose which classes you want to take; everybody takes the same classes. We have seven classes a day, for all the subjects, and every day is different than the other,” Abu Zahra said. “You’d take physics Monday and Tuesday [only]. The other day you would take chemistry, the other day you take biology.”

Abu Zahra also said that they only have gym class once a week, and that there is a bigger focus on academics rather than physical education.

She went on to describe her home country, and how the people there are as friendly as she finds them here.

“Jordan is a small country in the Middle East... It has one of the seven wonders of the world, Petra; it has the Dead Sea, one of the lowest points on earth,” Abu Zahra said.

Most people would agree that moving to a new school is a hard thing to do,especially as a teenager. However, according to Amanda Krueger, ELL teacher for SIS and SHS, Abuzahra has adjusted to the new culture while holding onto her roots.

“It’s hard to move to a new country,

especially as a teenager. It’s a challenge to assimilate into the culture and make friends,” Krueger said. “She’s done a really good job of retaining that ‘Jordanianism’ and assimilating to being in an American high school, both at the same time.”

Abu Zahra, who is Muslim, is currently the only student at Shorewood High School who wears a hijab, a veil or scarf worn by some Muslim women. Abu Zahra said that when she first came to the United States and Shorewood, she did not feel out of place wearing her hijab, but wearing it at the high school made her feel different at first.

“The hijab is a huge part of our religion. The purpose [of the hijab] is that you want people to look at you in a respectful way,” Abu Zahra said. “When I first came [to Shorewood], I felt so different in Shorewood [High School], because I was the only one wearing [a hijab], but then I just realized that people [here] don’t judge you on how you look. I didn’t see that anyone here saw me from different from any other girls.”

Abu Zahra’s faith is important to her. Islam, she says, is based on loving principles, and the religion itself is often depicted negatively, especially in the American media, where it is often wrongly generalized as being a religion of violence and hatred.

“Islam is built on peace, loving between each other. Some

people look at Islam in a different way than what we see. They see violence; they don’t see a good part of Islam,” Abu Zahra said. “If you went to the Middle East, [which] has a … majority of Muslims, you do not see or hear what you hear [in the United States]. [Muslims] don’t have violence between each other like people think. The news [often destroys] the good name of Islam; [the news shows] the bad parts, not the good parts of Islam.”

While Abu Zahra said she has not

experienced any instances of Islamaphobia in the United States. Abu Zahra says she is proud of her faith and of who she is.

“When [Muslims] start hearing about all the attacks, I think most of the girls that are wearing hijabs like me begin to feel like there’s a little bit of danger, like people will begin to see them differently, like you are a part of [the attacks],” Abu Zahra said. “I want people to look at me for who I am … I want people to look at what my character is.”

But Abu Zahra said she and many other Muslims feel safe in the community of Shorewood, and that she feels like she belongs here. She said that the ELL class at the high school has brought another sense of community to her time at the high school.

“[ELL] is a class of multicultural students, … each student is from a different country, a different culture, a different religion. But in this class, we all feel like we all came here for the same reason; we all feel like this class is our own room, like we belong,” Abu Zahra said. “Like Lenna

[Saifuddin, sophomore] — she is from Saudi Arabia — but these past two years [have made me feel like we are sisters]. We share our thoughts; we share everything between each other. We are so close to each other in this class.”

Saifuddin also said that she found Americans to be very friendly upon moving here. One difference she noticed was regarding the weather.

“I moved here two years ago, and I love Shorewood. I like … [how] people here are very friendly… Everything is different, [but] for me, the biggest difference is the weather. In Saudi Arabia, it’s always very hot, and it rarely rains,” Saifuddin said.

Next year, Abu Zahra plans to attend Cardinal Stritch University. While she is excited for the future, she also said she will miss Shorewood and her time here at SHS.

“Shorewood is one of the best schools I have ever been to,” Abu Zahra said. “Next year I am going to Cardinal Stritch, but I am so sad that I am going to leave.”

Teachers learn wilderness medicine skills

Eric Gietzen, English teacher, and Eric Mathews, science teacher, both leaders of the Watershed Wisdom program, recently attended a NOLS Wilderness First Responder Course in Santa Cruz, CA. The 10-day course provided them with medical response skills just below those of an EMT. Gietzen and Mathews hope that the knowledge they bring back will help to expand the Watershed Wisdom program.

“We’ve been asked for several years now to think about how we would expand the program,” Gietzen said. “...When people think about expanding a program they think about scaling up in numbers of students.

There are other ways, though, to scale up a program like Watershed.”

According to Gietzen, the ultimate goal is for SHS to have a satellite location where students could go for a year of education with what he calls “Watershed Experiences.” In the first semester, students would learn Watershed curriculum, and in the second semester, students from Atwater and Lake Bluff would be brought to the site, completing educational programs that the high school students develop.

“One of the great things about Watershed is that we have this opportunity to present a really rich experience to students, in a high ratio of teacher to student contact. This seems to be one of the things that

helps Watershed really work well ... [we] want to intensify it, [and] also expose the whole district to the Watershed curriculum,” Gietzen said.

Gietzen and Mathew’s course was paid for from the Watershed Wisdom Fund, replenished solely by donations of Watershed alumni and parents, independent of SEED.

The course followed the NOLS Wilderness Medicine textbook, which broke up the material into three major categories: traumatic injuries, environmental injuries, and medical issues.

“Each time you approach a patient in the wilderness, you [need to] have a system for assessing that individual thoroughly, accurately and quickly, to make a confident decision about what the problem is and how best to treat it,” Mathews said.

The attendees were split up into three groups, and several students acted as victims, creating stories of their injuries for other students who were assessing and treating them.

Besides having to deal with an injured patient, students often had to factor in how far away help would be.

“We talked a lot about how different scenarios would require different action,” Gietzen said. “Usually they assumed we had a satellite phone, and we could call for help. So you’d have to evaluate the patient, factor in where we were, weather conditions and then make our decisions.”

Students received reading assignments from the textbook each day, and were expected to come with a basic understanding

of the topic for that day.Although there was a low student to

teacher ratio, Gietzen and Mathews both felt they had contact with each of the attendees every day.

“They did an excellent job of being present while we were assessing; they did a really good job of coaching us on being victims too, because that’s another way of understanding the situation,” Gietzen said.

Students were expected to compound information as they received it, building on information they had learned in previous lessons.

“As we got on, after the fifth or sixth day, they would give us scenarios that we hadn’t learned about yet. So they would give us somebody who was having a diabetic seizure... but we had to apply the system to that and then try and come up with a treatment protocol for something we didn’t exactly know about,” Mathews said.

Gietzen and Mathews both hope that this information can also be given to students in Watershed.

“We’ve talked about using this as an opportunity to challenge students so that they can become more self-sufficient in the field, and ... more likely to work collaboratively to solve challenges,” Mathews said.

Mathews and Gietzen both feel the course was a good experience.

“[It was] super challenging, one of the more challenging things I’ve done in a long time, but at the end of the day, I feel like I learned so much, and now I’m even more prepared for leading things outdoors,” Mathews said.

by Justine Spore

Tala Abu Zahra, senior, poses on the lawn with a picture of her home in Amman, Jor-

dan. She moved to Shorewood two years ago and brings a message of tolerance.

Olivia Loomis

“Shorewood is one

of the best schools I

have ever been to.”

-Tala Abu Zahra,senior

Eric Mathews, science teacher, and Eric Gietzen, English teacher, participate in a

NOLS course. The duo plans to apply the lessons learned here to Watershed Wisdom.

courtesy Eric Gietzen

Arts & Entertainment May 4, 2016Ripples

page six

The AP art room is warm and noisy during sixth hour. Even though class is over, artists are laughing from across the room, someone is picking a guitar in the corner, and art covers all available surfaces. These next few weeks are the busiest of the entire year for AP art students; their 12 breadth and 12 concentration pieces and those taking the AP exam must submit their finished portfolios to the AP board by May 6. To celebrate their accomplishments this year, students will have a chance to display some of their work at the annual AP Art Night on May 11. This year’s AP Art Night will be notable because of the tremendous amount of diversity that will be on display. This year’s artists tackled heavy themes.

Clarence Corbett, senior, created art through different perspectives to examine cycles of hate, violence and love in a community, and challenge our concept of right and wrong.

Students like Cole Falkner, senior, explored new ideas by examining the concept of anomie, or the feeling of being lost, in his photography concentration.

Students, like Marie Matthias, senior, celebrated the things that bring them happiness. Matthias painted watercolors of the people closest to her, and placed them in settings where they feel their best.

Students also worked in a variety of media. Andre Letourneau, senior, experimented with Manga, and is in the

Student art showcased at AP Art Nightprocess of creating a fully functional graphic novel. Select chapters have already been published online and parts of it will be on display on May 11. Hazel Pritchard, senior, combined photography with illustration to create portraits of her friends, and her

whimsical designs are full of symbolism and insight. Olivia Loomis, senior, based her concentration on growing up, investigating themes like loss of innocence, leaving home, insecurity and angst in mixed media.

Lundyn Opuiyo, junior, worked with oil paints to create a series of portraits. She

describes her style as more traditional, and her talent for detail is obvious in these paintings. Tristan Blum, senior, explores lines and draws on influences from art history, that he has encountered in and outside of class, like Pablo Picasso, and J A W Cooper. His concentration focuses on insecurities and images of home. Other

artists explored the world around them. Tyler Pelzek, junior, created a series of films that follow local figures, including his film “The Painter,” which was screened at the Milwaukee Film Festival.

Jordan Terry, senior, explored women of color on their journey to empowerment, and Morgan Florshiem, senior, turned her visits to the senior resource center into an opportunity to photograph the residents and record their stories. She incorporates text and drawing into these black and white images to capture the wisdom and humor of her subjects.

Don’t miss your chance to visit the gallery and see this art on May 11.

AP Art Night will be notable because of

the tremendous amount of diversity that will

be on display.

This year’s artists tackled heavy themes.

(Top) Photograph by Clarence Corbett, senior. (Left; top to bottom) Artwork by Jordan Terry, Marie Matthias and Cole Falkner, seniors. (Right; top to bottom) Artwork by

Hazel Pritchard, Tristan Blum and Morgan Florsheim, seniors.

by Sydney Widell

Arts & EntertainmentMay 4, 2016 Ripples

page seven

Shorewood Drama plans to present South Pacific, from May 19-21.

“I’m excited because South Pacific is a classic, an old style musical,” said Joe King, director and drama teacher.

While the cast is mainly composed of high school students, there are some seventh and eighth graders joining the cast to match the needs of the play.

South Pacific includes a multitude of songs and choreography, all of which require large group numbers, and therefore a large cast.

“I am enthusiastic for the big group numbers, the quality of songs and also the choreography,” King said.

The drama community is introducing a classic which hasn’t been done in a while.

“South Pacific is a pretty new, a pretty exciting show. We haven’t done a classic in a while and we are excited to show the community something new and exciting,” said Makayla Campbell, sophomore and ensemble member.

However, in order to pull of such an incredible performance, a great set is required.

“One of the essential things that a great show must have is a great set. Tech spends many hours into perfecting their craft, making sure that the set looks

South Pacific aims to be family friendlyby Antonio Chappa realistic. One of the great things

about putting a set together is figuring out where and how to put something together and making it look great,” King said.

Maylan Thomas, technical director, agreed.

“You can build things and solve things, [and] one challenge is figuring out how to build a set,

and I love to see how students not only grow as builders but also as wonderful people,” Thomas said.

Not only does building a set for a show take long hours, but

Ella Curran, senior, rehearses for the upcoming South Pacific while members of the ensemble look on. The show, shich is one of the first classics Shorewood has performed in some time, opens May 19.

Olivia Loomis

The Shorewood High School Jazz Combo showcased their impressive talent at the Oakland Avenue Colectivo on April 10 where they performed for a large and appreciative audience. This seven-member ensemble is drawn from the larger SHS jazz ensemble, and their main focus lies in improvisation. Ben Schneider, jazz specialist and parent, directs the jazz combo, working hard to organize rehearsals, book gigs and pick music.

“We’re just a small group of kids: one person on each main jazz instrument and we play short tunes for different things around the community,” said Gretchen Froelich, sophomore.

Froelich covers tenor saxophone in the ensemble. David Deshpande, sophomore, plays drums, with James Ewing, junior, and Schneider rounding out the rhythm section on bass and piano respectively. Justine Spore, senior, plays trumpet, and Jake Marble and Luke Whittman, juniors, cover trombone and alto saxophone respectively. The ensemble has performed five times this year, twice at Colectivo, and three times in December, playing holiday-based gigs, like the Shorewood Christmas tree lighting and a Discovery World Event.

“We have been getting better and better by just playing more together,” Schneider said. “Improvisation is tough and takes practice so the students have been getting more comfortable with that.”

In previous years, the SHS band has experimented with a small touring ensemble, but the Jazz Combo is the first official group complete with a director. At the beginning of the year, it was decided that

Seven-member jazz group plays Shorewood Colectivoby Abby Widell this musical group would be assembled, so

Schneider sat down with Nick Castonguay, band director and Spore and they picked their ideal ensemble.

The students have been gaining momentum and building their repertoire through their numerous Friday lunch rehearsals.

“We’ve really grown as a whole. After we went to a competition and a judge gave us pointers on how to improve, we started

looking deeper into our music and adding creative features. We’ve definitely improved since the first time we played together,” Froelich said.

With so many driven students, so devoted to their instruments, the future of the Shorewood High School Jazz Combo is a very bright one.

While no official plans have been finalized for the 2016-17 school year, the combo has every intention of continuing on.

“We are hoping to play a lot more in the summer and keep up what we have accomplished so far,” said Schneider.

“[In the future] I think we are going to keep things pretty similar to how they are now. We are going to keep focusing on playing pieces that people can enjoy around the community and keep the interest within people that want to audition for Jazz Combo and the interests of people who like what we do,” Froelich said.

also dedication. “There are two phases of

building a set which is divided into the logic and also the physicality of it,” Thomas said. “It can take anywhere from 40 to 60 hours to think up the scenic layout, and then it takes another 40 to 60 hours to figure out all of the technical problems and then finally it takes an additional six full weeks to complete the set.”

The relationship between actors and the “techies” is vital in the process of creating a great musical.

“We are a big theater community where everyone has a role to play, everybody is putting in the sweat to make it the show that we want it to become,” Thomas said. “I also acknowledge the fact that as a theater community how fortunate we are to be able to have not only a theater program but also a tech department, which is very student focused and student driven.”

While previous performances of Cabaret and American Idiot have been considered controversial for their themes and language, South Pacific is different. The show aims to be more family friendly.

“South Pacific is a great addition because not only is it family friendly, but it is not quite as controversial as Cabaret, American Idiot and also Little Shop of Horrors,” King said.

Musical offers opportunity for something new, exciting

Gretchen Froelich, sophomore, and Jake Marble, Luke Whittman and James Ewing, juniors, perform at Colectivo alongside director Ben Schneider. The group has performed at several Shorewood events and hopes to play more gigs this summer.

courtesy Jake Marble

Arts & EntertainmentRipples May 4, 2016

page eight

We all know Serial as the highly addictive podcast that made podcasts popular again. A This American Life Production, Serial’s Season One had journalist Sarah Koenig reinvestigating a virtually unknown 1999 Baltimore murder of a high school student over the course of one hour each week for 12 weeks.

Listeners learned each gr ipping new deve lopmen t r i gh t a l ongs ide Koen ig , which made for thrilling listening. Season One received rave reviews and captured the minds of tens of millions of listeners.

T h e h o t l y ant ic ipa ted Season Two recently concluded, but went largely unnoticed, with little news coverage. In this newest season, Koenig takes a look at the story of Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. Army soldier who walked off his base in Afghanistan and was subsequently captured and held by the Taliban for five years.

As part of a prisoner exchange, Bergdahl was released by the Taliban back to the U.S. in 2014. For many weeks, Bergdahl was a frequent headline and the subject of many conversations, with his story drawing much speculation, but little actual investigation. Bergdahl disappeared from the news until

Serial Season Two makes fascinating listeningby Eli Frank late 2015 when it was announced he would

be tried by the U.S. Army for desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.

Koenig, in Serial Season Two, offers what the mainstream news media never did: a serious investigation into Bergdahl’s disappearance. It’s easy to see why Season Two went, for the most part, ignored. I

don’t know many people dying to hear about the Afghanistan War, which many Americans would prefer to banish to some distant corner of our nation’s history, despite the fact that we’re still deeply involved in that conflict.

We’d much rather listen to a murder story we share no blame in. One that any of us can relate to, with juicy

gossip and high school drama. A soldier’s disappearance in a war we’d much rather forget does not offer anything remotely close to that. The fact remains, however, that Serial’s Season Two is a monumental work of investigative journalism and a highly successful form of storytelling.

Koenig once again brings her unyielding passion and dedication to find out the whole truth to a story that desperately needed unbiased telling. The newest season offers that, and Koenig finds a way, due in large part to her amicability, geniality and general reliability, to make us want to keep listening. courtesy serialpodcast.org

Puzzle Corner: Issue 9 puzzles and Issue 8 solutionsby Shimana Bose

ACROSS1. Tax deferred plans 5. Curve 9. Popular network 12. Mark of ____13. Tidy 14. Type of battery 15. Novel by Jane Austen 16. Measurement 17. Sob 18. Digital storage (plural)20. Famous people 22. Main character of Dragonball24. To be diverse 25. Robot (abbr.) 26. Domestic servant

I’ll admit, the podcast fell a little flat in the middle. I had trouble figuring out what Koenig’s endgame was, and I longed for the addictive, fast-moving plot of Season One. Koenig kept me, and I suspect others, listening, though, because we knew she had something to say and a story to tell. Her witty sense of humor certainly helped, as well. (One of the funniest moments of the season came out of nowhere in an unexpected phone call to, of all places, Taliban headquarters: “Hi! This is Sarah. Is this the Taliban?”)

Koenig kept me listening, and I am deeply appreciative of that. By the end of Episode 11, the podcast had regained its focus and I was left with a better understanding of the backstory of the War in Afghanistan and

many of the inner workings of the Obama administration at the time.

Season Two is vastly different from Season One: There’s no more wickedly ambiguous but addictive murder story. Instead, listeners are given a sobering and impersonal look at the actions of one soldier who, agree or disagree with what he did, had a major impact on the conversation of this country.

Koenig reminds us of the fact that, as much as we would prefer to forget, we still have thousands of troops stationed in Afghanistan.

Koenig has once again diverted our attention back to a forgotten story that warrants telling — and our listening.

Koenig finds a way, due ... to her amica-bility, geniality, and general reliability, to make us want to keep

listening.

Issue 8 puzzle solutions

28. Every32. Telecommunications company 33. Used with a drill 35. Cow sound 36. “Foot” of a horse 38. Silence 39. Mist 40. Sluggers’ successes (abbreviated) 42. Type of tree (plural) 44. Caution 47. ____ side note… (two words) 48. How many years 49. Viking leader, ____ the Boneless 51. Cry miserably 55. Google (abbr.) 56. Model and competitive eater, ____ Zisser

57. Spanish child58. Storage device that uses circuit assemblies as memory 59. Sports channel 60. Narrow piece of wood

DOWN1. Solid water 2. Aries 3. Ready to fire 4. Light meal 5. No ifs, buts, or ____6. Classic car 7. Waterfalls 8. Drive 9. When running a marathon, it is best to ___ yourself 10. Sharp hook 11. Announces 19. Lollipops, Dum ____21. Used for washing

22. All Dogs ____ Heaven (two words)23. Father of Anne Frank, ____ Frank 24. Pathogen 25. ___ humbug! 27. Fulfill, accomplish and do well (plural)29. Radio letters 30. Sounds doves make 31. Pig 34. What time? 37. An operating mode of the Department of Transportation (abbr.) 41. Pickle juice 43. Bowling _____ (plural) 44. Used for carrying things (plural) 45. Laid by chickens 46. Join together 47. City in Algeria 50. Yodeler’s location 52. Cause pain53. Stuck ____ loop (two words)54. Parking ____

Op/Ed RipplesMay 4, 2016

page nine

Ripples

EDITOR IN CHIEFElena Katrina Cruz

MANAGING EDITOR OF STAFFMonica Elizabeth Dix

NEWS EDITORMonica Elizabeth Dix

FEATURES EDITORSydney Katharine Widell

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOREli Jacob Frank

OPINIONS EDITORElena Katrina Cruz

SPORTS EDITORMaeve Elizabeth Mckaig

WEBSITE EDITORAnanya Murali

ASSISTANT WEBSITE EDITORMartha Katherine Dix

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORSEli Jacob Frank

Maeve Elizabeth Mckaig

DEPUTY PAGE EDITORSShimana Meghan Bose

Sarah “Money Mathematician” Eder

COPY EDITORSCeleste Bernadette CarrollMaya Celeste Schneider

Justine Marie SporeMadeline Elizabeth Wilson

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORSBen “Graphic Guru” Davis

Olivia Grace Loomis

BUISNESS MANAGER Olivia Lynn Holbrook

ADVISORMichael “Meghan” Halloran

By tradition and practice, Ripples is an open forum and provides a guaranteed outlet for student expression. Ripples subscribes to the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists, including the obligation to perform with intelligence, objectivity, accuracy and fairness.

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Ripples reserves the right to deny advertising space to any ad deemed deceiving or misleading. Libelous ads and those containing misstatements or mistruths are unacceptable. Publication of an advertisement in Ripples does not indicate endorsement of that ad.

Ripples students do all work to bring ten issues per year to press.

First class postage paid in Shorewood. A subscription to Ripples is available for $25.00 per year. Mail payment to:

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Letters to the Editor?

Contact a Ripples editor or advisor at the number or email address listed above.

Students must learn technology skillsEditorial

continued on page 10

Elena Cruz

Computers have become an essential part of our lives in the 21st century, replacing many aspects of everyday life. Everything from taking notes, sending emails, scheduling tasks and writing has become digitized. While there is the obvious convenience of being able to use a computer to perform all of these tasks, there is also the need for students to learn the skills to use this technology to maximize efficiency.

One such skill is typing, something that is essential, yet understated in our elementary schools’ curricula (refer to page 1). The ability to type accurately and efficiently is crucial in the education of young children.

To maximize the education of students in order to effectively prepare them for a successful future in this technology-dominated world, we believe that the amount of standardized tests should be minimized, allocating more time to not only typing, but also other 21st century skills.

In addition to typing, other essential skills, such as researching, critical thinking and problem solving, multimedia programming, and modern

communication contribute to student learning and preparation for the future. However, as expected, most of these skills require technology, specifically computers. With the computer labs decommissioned by standardized testing, students cannot practice or learn these skills as productively

as without testing. Many may argue students may not need

to learn these skills in assigned classes in a school computer lab, but can practice and learn computer skills at home. In actuality, to learn these 21st century skills outside of a structured school environment is much harder and inconsistent than if taught in a computer lab by a teacher.

The option of practicing these skills at home, as has been suggested by Atwater and

Lake Bluff, is not suitable, since many students will simply choose not to do so to the same standard as they would with a teacher present, due to dislike or lack of guidance.

Additionally, some students may not have access to a computer outside

of school, and therefore the only time in which they are able to practice typing and other 21st century skills is during class or time in the computer lab. Not only does school time in the computer labs learning typing, or other essential 21st century skills, g u a r a n t e e students a time to practice, but also provides a structured e n v i r o n m e n t needed to learn these skills properly.

Despite the necessity of learning these skills, both Atwater and Lake Bluff have prioritized standardized testing over their students’ modern education. Due to students taking the Forward exam and the tri-annual MAP tests, the computer labs in both schools have been

Olivia Loomis

Political graphic

Stealing your vote: thesuperdelegate’sendeavors

Op/EdRipples May 4, 2016

page ten

If you wouldn’t say something to a

person’s face, don’t say it online. It’s a tired

trope we’ve heard since we were old enough

to log onto the Internet, impressed on us by

parents, teachers and guidance counselors.

During my years in the district, I am grateful

to acknowledge that the message has, by and

large, stuck. Cyberbullying has never been

a prevalent problem in our school, and it is

rare for students here to feel uncomfortable,

threatened or harassed when they open their

computers.

Our parents, who came of age in a pre-

Internet generation, had no one to impart

this wisdom on them. While we may have

been born into the world of social media,

our parents had to transition into it, and

sometimes, they lack the good Internet

graces that we, of the younger generation,

have been taught.

But if parents truly wish their children

to abstain from unkind online behavior, they

themselves must lead by example and cease

their own Internet hostilities.

According to the Center for Violence

Prevention, online

harassment is the

most common form

of cyberbullying, and

includes behaviors

like the use of obscene

language and online

media as a place to

fight. It is vital that

community members

have online platforms

where they can

share their opinions,

engage in debates

and exchange information, so long as they

do so respectfully. But from time to time,

these platforms become battlegrounds

where individuals are targeted, ridiculed

and attacked. The nastiness that can surface

online is just as damaging to adults as it is

to children.

I am not writing specifically of the closed Facebook groups for community

members, but of the

online interactions

between adults in

general. I can’t

remember the last time

I opened my Facebook

page and was not

barraged by a stream

of political content

and the ensuing

arguments that border

on obscene or abusive.

Most of this content is

generated by the adults

I respect, who, when

given an online soapbox and the degree of

separation offered by the Internet, transform

Examples need to be set for online conductWaltzing Matilda

Sydney Widell

from wise role models into hate spewing

assailants.

Sometimes content published by

someone I’m not even directly “friends”

with is linked onto my page because

someone I do know has participated in it.

The onslaught has only

intensified now that we are in the midst of an

election cycle.

When parents

engage in this behavior

on a public platform

they share with their

children, they turn their

children into bystanders

and establish this type

of abusive behavior as

a norm.

What’s more, in

such a small community

it is likely that we know everyone involved

in these public online disagreements —

participants may be our parents or the

parents of our friends.

Students come to school and work

together the morning after their parents

spent the night digging into each other on

social media.

Just as we should

use discretion before

we post certain photos,

so too should adults

before they become

involved in Internet

spats because both of

our online audiences are

more widespread than

we realize.

It is time that adults

commit to a culture of

Internet civility, so that

we can follow their lead

and grow into polite and

respectful individuals, on and off line.

Just as we should use discretion be-

fore we post certain photos, so too should

adults.

Editorial

continued from page ninetaken over, leaving no dedicated

time for all students to practice their

typing, and learn other information that

is lacking in our curriculum.

While the Forward exam is state-

mandated, the decision to give the MAP

tests is left solely to each individual

school; it is not a decision made by

the state, or even the district. Unlike

the elementary schools, the high

school recently made the decision to

eliminate MAP testing after deeming the

tests ineffectual for measuring student

improvement.

The real question is whether or not

standardized tests are valuable enough to

take precedence over teaching the future

generation the skills they will almost

certainly need. Shorewood Schools

pride themselves on curricula focused on

authentic, or expeditionary, learning, which

emphasizes active learning, character growth

and teamwork, yet continues to demand that

students take standardized tests. These two

facts seem to be contradictory.

Standardized tests only assess a small

portion of a student’s

education, and often do

not accurately reflect a student’s intelligence.

If our schools are truly

committed to authentic

learning and preparing

kids for the future

world they will face,

they should reduce the

number and frequency

of standardized tests

and go back to using that time for teaching

21st century skills, like typing. Instead of

continuing to use valuable learning time on

further standardized tests, both Atwater and

Lake Bluff have the option to better prepare

students for the future by reinstating time

for using the computer

labs for typing and

other essential skills.

Even with state-

mandated tests, like

the Forward exam,

options are available

for schools to minimize

the time necessary for

these assessments,

should they choose to

take advantage of them. Schools can reduce

the amount of non-mandated standardized

testing they commit to throughout the

school year, as in the case of the MAP tests

taken three times per year.

These alternatives allow students to

focus on their classes and other essential

skills, such as typing, but they also allow

schools to avoid the punishments that

come with a simple

opt-out of state-

mandated tests. By

reducing the time

students are required

to take standardized

tests, schools open

up time for students

to use the computer

labs and practice

their 21st century

skills.

If schools do not set aside dedicated

time for kids to learn 21st century skills

in school computer labs, where constant

teacher supervision and assistance is

guaranteed, many kids will simply not

learn to type as effectively as is needed

for the modern day.

It is our opinion

that prioritizing

standardized tests

over these necessary

skills is a mistake.

In order to provide

elementary school

students with

the best possible

education, Atwater

and Lake Bluff should make the choice

to reduce the amount of standardized

testing and go back to providing students

with dedicated time in computer labs to

learn to type, as well as practice other

21st century skills that a skill all students

will need as they grow.

Standardized tests only assess a small

portion of a student’s education.

Prioritzing standard-ized tests over ...

necessary skills is a mistake.

Ben Davis

Prioritizing standardized tests is detrimental to student learning

Ben Davis

[Parents] themselves must lead by exam-ple and cease their

own Internet hostili-ties.

Sports RipplesMay 4, 2016

page eleven

Seniors continue with sports in college by Maya Schneider

As the year draws to an end and the

seniors finalize their college decisions, a small portion of them are considering

taking their athletic talents with them to the

universities where they will study.

According to LeVar Ridgeway, athletic director, a number of students have already declared their intent to play collegiate

sports, with potentially more on the way.“Right now nine … have confirmed but

a few are still looking

for a home … It could

be upwards of about 15, which is exciting for

us,” Ridgeway said.Morgan Florsheim

is taking her multi-year

state qualifying times

in running to the Ivy

Leagues next year.

“I am going to

Brown University next

fall and I am doing women’s track and cross

country,” Florsheim said.Eva Jorn will continue the sport she has

competed in for eight years in college.

“I will be swimming at Denison University,” Jorn said.

Joining Jorn and Florsheim from the

class of 2016 are seven other seniors who

will take their athletic skills into the NCAA.

Ava Miller and Squeaky Washington will

play soccer at UW-Parkside and Nova

Southeastern respectively; Annie Leo, Jada Stackhouse and Joe Lock will play

volleyball at UW-Parkside, Cornell and Benedictine, respectively; Nathan Raskin will play tennis at Concordia University, and Michael Perry will swim for Washinton

University in St. Louis.

Ridgeway said that this number of student-athletes continuing in college is

great for Shorewood.

“It’s extremely

impressive,” Ridgeway said. “I think it speaks

to the great coaches we

have here at Shorewood, being able to get them ready for that next

level athletically …

also to the school

academically. You have

a lot of big time schools that some of the student

athletes are going to.”Jorn and Florsheim agreed that the

process of finding a school was long but rewarding.

“It was a pretty long process … I started

back in fall of junior year,” Florsheim said. “I contacted coaches and then kept

in contact … This summer I was able to have some phone conversations and then

in the fall I did three official visits and then decided from those.”

“[The process] was kind of hard, I used the school’s website and I just went through the database there,” Jorn said. “I didn’t think I wanted to go to such a small school … I

ended up visiting there and I liked it by far the best of all the other schools.”

According to

Ridgeway, searching for a college as an athlete is

a little different.

“When you’re in

a sport you hope that

a college coach will

reach out to you, that they have interest in

you coming there to do

a sport … It’s important

to find somewhere that has a spot for you. Then also you look at your

options and see what school academically

best fits,” Ridgeway said.Jorn said location was a big condition

of her decision.

“I wanted a school that was closer to

here, but not super close … I was looking a lot in Ohio and Iowa and Michigan,” Jorn said.

Additionally, she she found the Denison swim team to be a good fit.

“I liked the coaches … I like the team a

lot, they seemed kind of like the one here,” Jorn said.

Golf team puts out effort and teamwork

Nathan Raskin, senior, practices his swing on the tennis courts. Raskin will be at-temding and playing tennis at Concordia University.

Olivia Loomis

Florsheim also said the team at Brown

was a catalyst to her final college choice.“The team’s going to be a big part of

your life for four years,” Florsheim said. “It felt like I fit in with the girls and could see myself there for the next few years.”

Both athletes see academics as a large

part of the next four years as well.

“I really wanted a

good balance between academics and athletics

… some of the schools

I visited put a little too

much emphasis on the

athletic side of things,” Florsheim said.

“I’m ready to

move on education

wise,” Jorn said.R i d g e w a y

attributes much of the success of Shorewood athletes to the athletic program and their

academic preparation.

“It speaks to the athletics and the

academics,” Ridgeway said. “We appreciate the hard work that they all put in …

representing the school and also the athletic

department and the coaches well.”With the committed students and the

ones still deciding, these student-athletes are sure to see success in their future, according to Ridgeway. “We look forward to tracking

them and seeing what they’re going to do

beyond [high school],” Ridgeway said.Leah Jorn and Erin Szablewski, juniors, and Eva Jorn, senior, stand around the pool after during swimming practice. Eva Jorn plans to continue swimming at Denison.

Olivia Loomis

The golf team has some new faces and

a new attitude, with the start of the spring sports season. Patrick Sullivan, social studies teacher, has taken over the responsibility of coaching the golf team.

After John

Jacobson, social studies teacher, took leave, Sullivan stepped in as a substitute. Sullivan also assumed

the responsibility of the golf team coach.

Sullivan has had

experience coaching

with football and track, but never with golf.

With only seven

members on the golf team, Sullivan wants to get everyone involved with varsity.

“The goal is to get everyone in at least

one varsity meet by the end of the year,” Sullivan said.

Unlike other sports, golf allows students to bond more intimately as they walk the course.

“I think it’s great because kids have an opportunity to not only talk about the game of golf, and to give each other pointers and

by Clayton Holbrook tips, but it gives them a good opportunity in between holes to talk about what they’re doing in school and their interests,” Sullivan said.

Unlike other coaches, Sullivan found an easier transition due to the fact that there

were three returning

members who helped him get adjusted.

Brendan Fardella, freshman and returning

member of the team, has a different opinion

about making friends. “I think [being on

a sports team] doesn’t

affect making friends,” Fardella said. “Having

a small team helps

sometimes because you can learn easier and bond more with the team.”

Aaron Eimers, freshman, agrees.“You spend a lot of time with new

people you don’t know,” Eimers said. Eimers is also a member of the

basketball team and the football team in addition to the golf team.

“I’ve made significant friends just from playing basketball and golf,” Eimers said.

With only three returning members to Ben Davis

“The goal is to get ev-eryone in at least one

varsity meet by the end of the year.”

-Patrick Sullivan,social studies teacher

and golf coach

help guide the team, Sullivan hopes that the incoming freshman and new players will

help carry the team in the future. Practices

are scheduled at Lake Park, where they can get a lot of drills in.

With a new look, attitude, and members this season, the golf team hopes that this will be the year that they can do well in conference play while also bonding for future years.

“I think it speaks to the great coaches we have here at Shore-

wood.”-LeVar Ridgeway,

athletic director

“The team’s going to be a big part of your life for four years. ”

-Morgan Florsheim,senior

SportsRipples May 4, 2016

page twelve

Lacrosse sticking it to competitors by Olivia Poole

The Lakeshore Lac rosse t eam is looking forward to a season of g r o w t h a n d g o o d c o m p e t i t i o n .

Composed of students from Shorewood, Whitef ish Bay and Nicolet, the coaches and players both have high hopes for what this season will bring.

With a 4-2 record, the “Ripsharks” just won 8-7 in overtime against Green Bay, w h o i s a l w a y s a t o u g h c o m p e t i t o r.

“ C o m p a r e d t o past years the team isn’t bad. There are a lot of young people, there are a lot of seniors too, but mostly young kids on varsity and good young kids on JV. It’s kind of a developing year, yet we are still doing well,” said Elie Ben Bordow, senior.

Bordow has played lacrosse for six years now, and has always been a part of the Lakeshore program, playing goalie for his fourth year.

“I started playing lacrosse because I’d never tried it and always thought it was pretty cool, it’s a great way to get out any feelings you have, and have a good time,” Bordow said.

P l a y i n g w i t h kids from a variety of different schools and backgrounds isn’t a problem for coaches or players, they really enjoy the diversity and opportunities it brings.

“Having kids from all different schools makes the team dynamic super interesting, it opens your eyes and you meet a lot of people you wouldn’t normally meet, and that’s what’s been great about my experience. I’ve made Bay friends that will stay friends,” Bordow said.

Many of the boys on the team have played together since they were little, as the program starts with a combination of Whitef ish Bay and Shorewood.

“The key to our whole high school program is the groundwork and feeder

system that Coach Kane, [physics teacher and lacrosse coach,] has. In his youth program, kids come from Shorewood and Whitefish Bay, and those two schools make up 90% of our team base,” said Tom Gough, head coach of the varsity team.

Gough has been coaching for eight years now. He started out helping Kane when his son was a freshman at Shorewood. Gough played all throughout his youth in Baltimore and at Roanoke College.

The varsity team this year is compiled of a mixture of players. The starting defense and goalie are all seniors and another Shorewood senior plays long stick middie (LSM). A mix of sophomores, juniors and seniors fill out the other positions in midfield and attack.

“We always have challenges in front of us, a lot of it is the youth/senior mix; trying to develop the younger players as we go through the season. The seniors have been very good at taking leadership roles and trying to help the younger players, from a positional standpoint, improve,” Gough said.

T h e J V a n d varsi ty players are s t i l l p r e t t y c l o s e ,

and are very dedicated to keeping the program strong as i t develops.

“Something I would say causes us trouble is kids finding time to practice outside of practice and games. Outside

of regular practice I would say I practice an hour and a half daily, at most, and I love it,” said Charlie de Vogel, freshman.

Despite being a club team and not a school-sponsored sport, the boys all have big team spirit.

“Come out and support us. There are a few people at our games this year but we’re trying to get more, people should come out and watch it’s actually really fun,” Bordow said.

The coaching staff, all of which are volunteers, recognize that the team is different from a school sport, and try to make up for that.

“It’s a very solid program. We have great volunteers and kids who always come to practice on time and ready; they treat it like a school-sponsored sport and we try to coach it that way and provide the same aspects. Even though lacrosse

hasn’t been accepted into WIAA yet, we think that’s down the road,” Gough said.

Starting varsity players and new teammates alike love the game, enjoying the long tough practices and often long trips to games.

“I play lacrosse because I really like it. I love the people and the culture that surrounds it. I’ve played it for so long that’s it’s just become something I do, just plain fun,” de Vogel said.

“My favorite part is being with the kids, starting on March 7, at the first practice, and watching them learn and come together as a team. Watching them learn to play together and then watching them have fun as a volunteer coach, that’s what I get out of it. It’s all about the kids,” Gough said.

The team will compete for another month, hoping to continue their luck as a younger group.

Tennis team determined to improve

by Yasmin Mohd Suhailin

The Lakeshore Lacrosse team practices on the SHS field. The team is looking for-ward to a season of growth and good competition.

Ben Davis

Adam Kelly, sophomore, works on his serve. The tennis team is hoping to notch a win in both their regular season and at their conference tournament.

Olivia Loomis

“I love the people

and the culture that

surrounds it.”

-Charlie Vogel,freshman

The boys tennis team’s three sects of varsity, varsity reserve and junior varsity, consist of players both with high expectat ions and anticipation for the upcoming season.

“Varsity is just the next level of play. [Varsity reserve] … are players who are

given an opportunity to all play each other ... to determine who is the best out of all that group. They are the next four in line in the event that if one of the starters get hurt or unable to make a match,” said Michael Tredeau, head coach. “Junior varsity are just the players who are at the level below varsity reserve … underclassmen [who] are just developing their games to ready themselves

“I believe we are going to win the

regular season and ... conference.”

-Michael Tredeau,head coach

for the varsity as well. A few of them probably will be varsity or varsity reserve next year.”

After placing second at sectionals last year, the team is hoping to win this year.

“We would really like to win conference this year, and maybe win sectionals. We kind of lost on a heartbreaker with sectionals last year … We came in second,” said Cal P a p i n e a u , j u n i o r .

T r u d e a u i s confident in the team’s abi l i ty to do tha t .

“ I b e l i e v e w e are going to win the regular season and ... the conference tournament,” T r e d e a u s a i d .

P r a c t i c e s c o n s i s t o f w a r m -u p f o l l o w e d b y o t h e r d r i l l s .

“We usually warm up on half court to get our ... motion of the racquet’s speed and to get our rhythm. After that, we move back to the base line of the court and focus on ground strokes. Those are for our warm up. Then, we usually run a few laps and stretch and then we usually just play matches, trying to get that competition and prepare for matches,” said Adam Kelly, sophomore.

The team retained all the varsity players from their previous season.

“We didn’t lose anyone last year. So, it is the exact same team,” Papineau said.

While the players have remained the

same, the way they play has changed.“The lineup has changed significantly

from last year. James Ewing, who played two singles, but is now playing one doubles with Kelly, who previously played four singles. Nathan Raskin, [senior who] played two doubles last year, is now

playing two singles, and Zack Lamberg, senior, who played 2-doubles, is now at 4-singles” said Christian Schiro, s o p h o m o r e .

A c c o r d i n g to the members of the varsity squad, t h e t e a m h a s a great atmosphere.

“I love being a part of the team because everyone is super nice and highly motivated. I also really enjoy getting to play under our amazing coach, Mike Tredeau,” Schiro said.

“Right now we are two and zero in the conference and my goal is to go undefeated in our division of the conference. That is the most direct goal that we have. After that we will be in the sub-sectionals tournament then the sectionals ... the goal from there is to get the whole team to team state and also to get individual players to state tournament as well. But first thing first, we want to focus on conference,” Tredeau said.

“The key to our

whole high school

program is the

groundwork and

feeder system.”

-Tom Gough,head coach