VIKING PRESS

May/June 2015
Volume V Issue VII
Save the Date!

Whats Inside:

1st and 4th Hour

Exams: June 3

Page 2 - Bon Voyage by Jasmine Broton

2nd and 5th Hour

Exams: June 4

Page 4 - Leadership and Legacy by Julie Brown

Page 3 - Plans for the Future by Leah Thompson

Page 5 - Robo Sharks by Danielle Jurcich

3rd and 6th Hour

Exams: June 5

Last Day of
School: June 5

Recent Events:

Graduation
Ceremony

Baccalaureate

Senior Picnic

Choir and Band

Concerts

Pictured: The sun sets as Whitehall High Schools

commencement ceremony continues. The ceremony
took place on Thursday, May 21.

Whitehall High School

1

Bon Voyage
By: Jasmine Broton

Every year, the students and faculty of Whitehall

High School are forced to bid farewell to several
beloved teachers as they move onto the
wonderful world of retirement. While they will be
missed from every corner of Whitehall, it is
important to celebrate everything they did for
the school, community, and individual lives.
First, one of this years retiring teachers is
none other than Michael Snell. A veteran in the
art of teaching, Mr. Snell has been teaching for
33 years, and has spent the past 18 teaching
high school biology at Whitehall. In addition to
teaching, Snell enjoys playing one of his many
instruments, including the guitar and the banjo,
as well as backpacking and visiting his daughter
in Alaska. In addition, the first thing Snell plans to
do when he officially retires is go hiking in
California, as well as spend time more with his
family. Although he may be excited for his
retirement, he also says he will miss interacting
with students. When asked what many years of
teaching has taught him, Snell said, Its
important to never take your current situation as
the end of all things. Life goes on.
Another retiring teacher is Christine
Mallory. Mallory teaches both English and art,
and has spent 21 years teaching at Whitehall. As
a teacher, she most enjoys introducing students
to new ideas, different cultures, and pushing
them to explore their own talents to light a fire
underneath them. When she retires, Mallory said
she will miss the staff and students of Whitehall
the most. After retirement, Mallory hopes to
continue painting her own pictures and playing
with her grandchildren, and she looks forward to
making her own schedule. Mallory says that years
of teaching have taught her, Every day is a new

beginning, and you should look for all of the

positive signs each day, and focus on those
gifts.
Also retiring this year is British/World
Literature and Advanced Placement English
teacher Eileen Stoffan. Stoffan started her
teaching career 24 years ago in Maryland, but
after five years decided to move to Michigan
and teach at North Muskegon, and then
Whitehall. She has taught all grades from fifth to
twelfth, teaching mostly English focused classes.
She says her favorite part of teaching is getting to
interact with the students of Whitehall, and she
will miss all the laughter and the opportunity to
stay current with pop culture. When she retires,
she hopes to golf, spend more time with her
family, and go into business management. Its
important to take education seriously, said
Stoffan. It will never be as easy in the real world
as in Whitehall.
Whitehalls final departing teacher for this
year is English teacher Virginia Mary Rogers. In
her part 26 years at Whitehall, Rogers has most
enjoyed interacting with the wonderful students
and staff of Whitehall. She will also miss the kids
and their energy. In her spare time, Rogers hopes
to continue rescuing cats, and plans to be a
volunteer teacher for Truenorth in Newaygo, a
program that helps people to find work. Rogers
says that the most valuable lesson she could
teach is, Learn everything you possibly can-it
makes life rich.
While the teachers who are retiring from
Whitehall High School will be missed dearly, the
Whitehall Newsletter staff personally wishes them
good luck on wherever life takes them next. As
said by Helen Keller, When one door of
happiness closes, another opens; but we so often
look at the closed door, we forget to seek which
one has opened for us.

Plans for the

Future
By: Leah Thompson

Senior year is a memorable year in many ways.

It is a year of firsts, lasts, and once in a lifetime
moments. It may be the first time talking with
other fellow seniors, the last home football game,
or the moment when you take those final steps
to receive the long awaited diploma. During the
senior year, many people ask numerous
questions to the seniors. The most common
question they are asked is: What are your plans
after high school?
The Class of 2015 is headed for great
things this upcoming fall. As a class they
received over one million dollars in scholarships
and grants, and the money will help them in their
future education. The now graduated seniors will
be attending 20 different colleges and
universities, branches of the military, or going
directly into the work force.
Allison Henry will
attend Alma College this
fall. She plans to major in
Art Education and
minoring in English.
Henry said her favorite
senior year memory was
how amazing the
football season was this
year. Im looking
forward to starting my
own life and doing some grown up things. Im
excited to start earning an education towards
my future career, said Henry. The thing she will
miss most about high school is the people.
Everyone is very inspiring whether theyre an

athlete, musician, or teacher. I have learned a

lot from just everyone I met in high school.
Also
graduating with the
class of 2015 is
Cameron Chester.
Next fall, he will
attend Central
Michigan University
to pursue a degree in
elementary
education and
theater. My favorite
memory from senior
year was being in Peter Pan at the Frauenthal
Theatre, said Chester. He is going to miss his
friends the most, but he is looking forward to
getting to know a wider variety of new people
while at Central.
Hannah
Uithoven also has a
bright future ahead of
her. She will attend
Muskegon Community
College for two years
and then plans to
transfer to Grand
Valley State University.
She plans to major in
juvenile corrections. Her favorite memory from
senior year is either directing the student-led play
or that there was a picture of her and her prom
date in front of the army truck they rode in to
prom on MLive. When asked, Uithoven said, I
will miss the familiarity of high school. I have
gone to Whitehall my whole life, and it has come
to mean a lot to me, so I will miss the fact that I
will no longer be a Viking. She is most looking
forward to the new adventures that college will
bring. This next chapter of my life should be
pretty fun, so Im looking forward to a new
normal.
(Continued on page 4) 3
3

Plans for the Future continued

As the Class of 2015 moves on to new and
exciting endeavors, Whitehall High School bids
them farewell and wishes them the best in the
future. The Class of 2015 will be dearly missed by
all and will always be remembered.
teachers in 2001, and is yet still growing. On
Whitehalls National History day team, there are
Leadership and
13 students. From the high school, there is
Legacy
Kaylee Picard, Mackenzie Brandel, Maranda
Mikkelson, Lauren Geiger, and Aubrey Conkright.
By: Julie Brown
Picard, Brandel, and Mikkelson successfully made
it to state. The middle school students included
Eva Bower, Morgan VanderLeest, Emma Hector,
National History Day, also known as NHD, is an
Vanessa Christenson, Isabelle Uganski, Avery
American academic competition focusing on
Christenson, Luci Nieboer, and Jaden Mikkelson;
history for students in grades six-12. For Whitehall and Alison Chen from Ealy Elementary. Neiboer,
High School, National History Day, is a day where Mikkelson, Avery Christenson, and Uganski all
kids sixth-twelfth research specific topics and
competed in state, with Uganski and Avery Chrisshowcase that topic in front of judges who vote
tenson later competing at the national level,
on whose research was the most thorough
which will be held in Maryland. Jan Klco is the
It started as a local program in Cleveland, advisor of the Whitehall District Schools National
Ohio, headed by David Van Tassell, a history
History day team.
professor at Case Western Reserve University.
Today more than half a million students
From the beginning of NHD, it grew from 129
enter through local schools. They construct
students in 1974 to over 500,000 students in 48
entries as an individual or in a group in one of five
states in 1991, and 700,000 students and 40,000
categories. Whitehalls two categories for this
year were Leadership and legacy. Students then
compete in a series of contests to proceed to the
National Contest. This years National History Day
District contest was held on March 21 at Grand
Valley State Universitys Kirkhof Center, where
they shared their passion for the subjects that
they researched and then presented.
The 2015 National History Day team did a
great job presenting and sharing their topics
which ranged from the Holocaust rescuers to
readers in conservation, and from Edison to Elvis.
Pictured: Maranda Mikkelson and Kaylee
Picard stand in front of their project for the
National History Day Competition.

4
4

Robo Sharks
By: Danielle Jurcich

Have you ever wondered what future engineers

do in their free time? They build robots! For the
last two years, the White Lake area has had a
robotics team that competes at invitational and
regional competitions. The teams number they
compete with is 4956, but they call themselves
the Robo Sharks. There is always lots of excitement and hard work happening in the work
room, which fits their enthusiastic name. To
channel the energy of 20 high school age future
engineers, there are six advisors: Jeff Cook,
Cathy Cook, Jen Jura, Matt LeaTrea, Caleb
Mauer, and Dennis Shaffer. All are helpful
volunteers who are in the work room every
session and go to all of the competitions. The
organization that supports these competitions is
called FIRST which represents For Inspiration and
Recognition of Science and Technology. FIRST
said that, The competitions combine the
excitement of sports
with the rigors of
science and
technology.
This year, the
game at their
competitions was
called Recycle Rush.
They had to stack tote
containers with their
robot in any fashion
they chose to
complete the task,
and then the team
had to put a recycle
bin on top of the other

containers. The Robo Sharks also had the option

to use their robot to put a pool noodle inside of
the recycle container for extra points. Every
member put in an effort towards the robot that
competed. There is the drive team, the people
who navigate the robot. Then there are the
people who get their hands dirty by actually
building the robot; and last but definitely not
least, the whiz kids of the team who program the
robot and wire it. Competing on any level would
not have been possible without these three
important parts.
The team was also much better in the
2015 season than the 2014 season, and they got
many more awards. One interesting award this
years team won was the Team Imagery Award
at the West Michigan District Conference. The
hard-working team made it all the way to the
semifinals in both competitions they attended,
finishing fourth at Kentwood and third at West
Michigan Christian. At WMC, the Robo Sharks
were only two points away from qualifying for
state. Junior, Lachlan Moore, who is also team
captain said, Next year we need to work on
time management and planning our design
earlier. We also need to train a new drive team
because two of the three members graduated
this year.
Many changes are going to happen
within the next year with new freshmen members
joining the team and the seniors leaving. This will
mean some fresh ideas, and also new trainees.
There is no doubt that the Robo Sharks will make
it to state in 2016, and they will be better than
ever.

5
5

We know that the SAT is redesigned meaning that

its a new test altogether and everyone is learning it.
As you may know, the State of Michigan has selected the Please note, the new test will be launched in January of
2016, so any SAT test dates prior will still be the older
Scholastic Aptitude Test, commonly referred to as the
format.
SAT, for the college entrance exam portion of the
We are planning to have the junior class take the
Michigan Merit Exam, beginning with the class of
newly
redesigned
PSAT (practice SAT) in the fall to
2017. Up until now, the gold standard in Michigan was
prepare them for the new SAT in the spring.
the ACT (American College Test). Over the next couple
The College Board is working with the Khan
of years there will be learning curve as we transition from
Academy to provide free individual strategies and study
one style of exam to the next.
plans based on students PSAT score, or assessment.
What do we know about the SAT?
There are many resources available for you and
We know that your student will take the SAT in the
your student to become familiar with the test. Please
spring of their junior year of high school; date still to be
take some time to visit the following websites:
determined by the state.
The College Board
We know that every college and university in
www.collegeboard.org/delivering-opportunity/sat/
Michigan will accept the scores from the SAT, just like
they did the ACT. As we transition over to the SAT over the student-parent
next of couple years, we encourage your student to take The Khan Academy
www.khanacademy.org/sat
both the ACT and SAT, as they may be more successful
We look forward to working with you and your student, as
on one test or the other depending on their skill set.
we learn together the nuances of the redesigned SAT
Students can sign-up to take the ACT on their
own at www.actstudent.org; tests are given on Saturdays exam. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any
questions or concerns you may have.
at many locations locally. If your student qualifies for
Mrs. Goodrich
free/reduced lunch, the counseling office can provide
Mr. Westerlund
ACT fee waivers to cover the cost of the test.

Counselors Corner

This newsletter is
produced by the
Viking Communication
Class of Whitehall High
School. Students in

VALHALLA

Editor:
Leah Thompson
Writers:
Jasmine Broton,

grades nine through

Danielle Jurcich, &

twelve learn various

Julie Brown

skills producing this

newsletter. Writing,

photography, layout,
interviewing, and
communication skills
are just some of the
advantages students

Photographers:

Sylvan Benton,
Noelle Loomis,
Brooke Bachelder,
Brittney Loudermilk,
& Emma Knowlton

gain from
participating in this
class.