Trey Boettcher, Maddox Hammerstrom, Parker Cary, Coach Connor Osbahr, Brayden Galvan, Evan Powell, and Zander Hammerstrom. Photo by Kylee Boettcher
BOYS STATE GOLF
By Maddy Carstens, junior, staff writer
The Panorama varsity boys golf team has made quite an impact on Panorama. By putting the hours and work into the sport, boys golf has been doing well during their season. Last week, they competed in the determining factor of going to state, state qualifying. These boys had nothing to fear, though. The team won the state qualifying meet on their very own home course.
The boys varsity team consists of Evan Powell, Parker Cary, Maddox Hammerstrom, Trey Boettcher, Brayden Galvan and Zander Hammerstrom, along with their head coach, Connor Osbahr. They will be competing on Monday and Tuesday, May 20 and 21. The state meet is at Cold Water Golf Links in Ames. We wish them all the best as they compete. Congratulations to these boys.
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TEACHER FEATURE: MS. DEB WOOLDRIDGE
By Addie Astley, sophomore, staff writer
Ms. Deb Wooldridge is an English and language arts teacher at Panorama High School. Ms. Wooldridge grew up in Panora and West Des Moines, where she attended Panora/Linden schools. She has been teaching for 19 years total, and 18 of her years have been at Panorama High School. She coaches drama and speech, both individual and large groups, and has for 12 years, as well as the school play for the last 10 years. When Ms. Wooldridge came to Panorama Schools, she started as a TAG teacher. Then she started to coach speech, and then an English position opened up and she took it. She became the high school English and language arts teacher and has been for the past 10 years.
Ms. Wooldridge’s favorite part about being an English and language arts teacher is getting to work with wonderful students and seeing them grow and mature through the years. She also enjoys her stories and the literature she teaches and how she gets to share it with her students. We are lucky and thankful to have Ms. Wooldridge at Panorama High School.
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2024 GRADUATES
By Maddy Carstens, junior, staff writer
The time has finally come and is now past. Panorama High School’s graduates have officially left the building. Their new lives are beginning. The final step has been taken. Whether it be college, trades or even working, Panorama High School seniors all have a bright future ahead of them.
On Sunday, May 12, Panorama High School’s seniors arrived at the school, caps and gowns in hand. Once all the family members and friends of each graduate entered the auditorium and took their seats, the graduates all filed in with eagerness in their eyes. Once everyone had entered, the ceremony began. Valedictorians Mia Waddle, Zoey Hambleton and Maddox Nunn read speeches. Some contained memories, some with advice, and some with words of wisdom and hope. Superintendent Kasey Huebner also read his speech to the graduating class. The ceremony consisted of two videos; one had each graduate’s baby and senior picture. The other video consisted of pictures filled with memories from over the years. Finally, the graduates lined up, ready to take the next step in their lives. Each graduate’s name was called. They walked across the stage, received a handshake, flower and their diploma, then sat back down whilst awaiting the rest of their classmates. Once everyone had received their diplomas, all of the graduates stood up, turned around, and switched their tassels to the other side of their caps. Congratulations, class of 2024, your future awaits you.
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CONTINUE LEARNING OVER THE SUMMER
By Marlee Herring, eighth grader, staff writer
Summer is quickly approaching, and it might be appealing to forget school for a while, but it is important to stay engaged in learning. According to the Wallace Foundation, students who engage in summer learning perform 20-25% better in math and 20-23% better in reading. It also supports obtaining higher scores on social and emotional assessments. It can be a great time to get caught up in subjects you may have struggled with during the school year. Summer learning can also help prepare for upcoming classes.
PrepScholar.com provides four tips for students who want to continue learning over the summer.
- Get familiar with online learning systems.
- Set up daily study time and try to focus on a certain subject each day.
- Use independent learning resources such as doing research, setting goals, and monitoring your progress.
- Study with friends, which can be a very fun and easy way to connect over the summer.
According to SchoolCues.com, four of the best summer school activities are:
- Reading programs
- Stem camps
- Art classes
- Music lessons
Start preparing now for how you will stay engaged in learning this summer.
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CHERISH THE TIME YOU HAVE
By Lillie Greenlee, freshman, staff writer
Even though people say you should enjoy the time you have with people, and you don’t really think much of it, you should. You tend to think you have more time than you actually do. And after you are out of time, you feel regretful and like you wasted the time you could’ve been cherishing. For example, maybe there’s a grandparent who passes, and maybe you didn’t go see him or her as much as you could’ve. I know for me, personally, that would fill me with regret and sadness.
Maybe it’s not a grandparent passing but a sibling moving away and you didn’t spend enough time with him or her or you weren’t very kind. You will probably feel upset in the end. When you still have the time, you probably just don’t think about what comes after. However, it’s important that you cherish the time that you still have with people or even in a certain place. You will probably regret it if you don’t.
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WRITING VS. TYPING
By Peyton Walker, sophomore, staff writer
Even though typing might take longer than handwriting, is it better or worse for your own brain? Studies looked at 36 university students for the answer. By writing, it might make it easier to remember what you’re writing and learning. They experimented in many different ways by having them do different tests with writing and thinking, while they had a cap of sensors on their head to monitor their brains. The monitors on the brains showed their cell activity and the brain communication.
Typing hardly activated the brain, as it was underwhelming for it. Pressing in the keyboards is not as challenging as writing down the numbers itself. Writing by hand has sensory and motor system skills that help. While writing shows the difference between the letter as typing, all letters are the same. Small parts of the brain are activated during typing but very little. These are just some facts about typing, writing and brain activity.
Information gathered from www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/writing-by-hand-may-increase-brain-connectivity-rcna135880