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Healthy Lunch choices

There are many different options of what to eat at lunch. Although there are many healthy choices there are also many bad choices of what to eat. Eating healthy can make you feel better and get you ready for the day ahead of you. It can be very hard sometimes to get students to eat healthier at school though. Schools are trying to improve what they are making and selling to students to have for their lunches. Healthy lunches should be offered to the students, but there are tons of foods that are junk food. At OHCHS you have the options of making yourself a salad. Salads are good because you can put in what you want and there are many options on what to put on it. Drinks that are offered at lunch are water bottles and Vitamin Waters that are healthier. Other ideas you can have added to your lunch are you can bring your own lunch and mix it up with a little bit of the choices at school.

Many teachers are trying to get students to eat better at lunches. You should always eat healthy and not eat so much junk food. If you have a lunch that is good for you, your day will be better and you will feel better about yourself.

Differences from a new school

Walking into Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School as a junior made me nervous on the first day. Not only did I not know many people in the school but I was arriving to a new school in my hardest year in my high school career, and this scared me because Oxford Hills is big.

 

One big difference I first noticed was how the girls acted and talked. Unlike the girls at Edward Little that mostly talked about fashion, make-up, shopping, and going on expensive vacations, girls at Oxford talked about four-wheeling, hunting, and camping. The total opposite, but I liked it. When I heard this I felt like I was from the city. It's weird how making a small move from another school not that far away you see such a differences in the hobbies people have. Cliques don't seem to be as common and rigid either here, another nice surprise. You are not catorigized into a group because of who you are, how much money your parents make, whether you play a sport or not, and based on the name brand clothing you wear. People seemed to be liked here based on more genuine reasons. That's one thing I believe should be in every high school. People should feel comfortable and at Oxford Hills you don't have to worry about being judged if you are the “new kid”.

 

Not only is the school so much bigger than Edward Little, but it's air conditioned. That was a big plus for me when I got here. I didn't have to worry about being uncomfortable in the classroom on hot days and I could concentrate on my work and not sweating. The Library in the school has the perfect, friendly atmosphere. It's big, open, and students work, get help, read, and use the computers that are available to them. This is so much more different than Edward Little where there was so little room in the library and not that many students went and used the library.

 

As I walk through the halls in this high school I realize and know that I like it here and I know that this is the place for me to be.

It's Novel November

Have you ever inspired to be a writer but didn't follow your dream because you didn't think you were good enough? Have you ever dreamed of having your work shown publicly along with other pieces of art? Now you can. With a little bit of determination and a lot of time, your ideas could be on a known website along with others who aspire just like you, on http://nanowrimo.com. Nanowrimo is a public website looking for any writers, young or old, to share their ideas through a safe, non-profitable journal. Once completing their task their story is posted on the website for anyone interested in their opinion. That's right, I said opinion. This  Known for a couple of years now in Oxford Hills Mrs. Mroz, the latin teacher, took it upon herself to get students involved in this event.

New School

By Crissy Lewis

Walking into Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School on the first day as a junior made me nervous . Not only did I not know many people in the school but also I was now at a new school as a junior, the hardest year in a high school career. It all scared me because Oxford Hills is big.

It felt strange being in a new school because in the hallways there were so many people that I didn't know. It was a little overwhelming for me. I wasn’t used to that many people in a school, I was also used to seeing the same faces I knew everyday. I knew people were looking at me and wondering who I was too. Girls acted and talked differently. Unlike the girls at Edward Little that mostly talked about fashion, make-up, shopping, and going on expensive vacations, girls at Oxford talked about four-wheeling, hunting, and camping. I thought it was funny because I felt like I was from the city. It's weird how making a small move from another school not that far away you see such a differences in the hobbies people have. Cliques don't seem to be as common and rigid either here, another nice surprise. You are not categorized into a group because of who you are, how much money your parents make, whether you play a sport or not, and based on the name brand clothing you wear. People seemed to be liked here based on more genuine reasons. That's one thing I believe should be true in every high school. People should feel comfortable. Luckily, at Oxford Hills I didn't have to worry about being judged as the “new kid”.


Not only having a bigger school but having a fit library and air conditioning made me excited for the year. I knew that it would be more comfortable. It still makes me nervous that I came to a new school and environment as a junior, but walking through the halls in this high school, I realize I enjoy being here. I am already making new friends.

Freshmen Learn About Noodle What?

by Elizabeth Gemme

When entering the OHCHS library, it's hard to ignore librarian, Mrs. St. John, teaching freshmen classes about the computer program, Noodle Tools. Noodle Tools is a web-based tool used to help with major projects and research papers. "I think it's a great program," says Mr. Cummings, another librarian at Oxford Hills. "I used it in school. It saves you hours of work."

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So why introduce these first year students to this great program so late in the school year? "This is the best time," says Mr. Cummings,  as this is the first, major research paper being assigned to freshmen.

Although the lessons are often time-consuming and tedious, Noodle Tools is clearly something that these freshmen will use now and for the rest of their time at Oxford Hills.

Mystery Box

by Crissy Lewis

Have you seen a big, colorful box and what looks like a TV in the halls lately? If you have, you might wonder what it is and why it's there. It turns out that box with TV in it is the OHCHS Kiosk, the place to go for information about OHCHS Tech Programs.

Graphic Arts and Design teacher, Ms. Valdes says what looks like a TV is actually a computer with a touch screen. The Building and Trades Program built the structure and Ms. Valdes’ Graphics and Design class did the graffiti. The computer system was designed and created by Stephanie Grover’s Electronics class. The Graphics students are building website which will soon be live on the screen.

This Kiosk was made for the Tech Program as a promotional piece. It's supposed to allow students who are walking around the school an easy way to get information about programs in the Tech School. The website will include details about offerings, credits and what the Tech Program is all about. You can think of this as an electronic version of the school handbook, except unlike the handbook, you can look the Tech Program classes with a click of a bottom or a touch of a screen.  As you can see by This Kiosk is just one of many projects being created by Tech School students.

Overworked, But Still Smiling: Q&A

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by Aeron Roberts

Mr. Cummings, an important member of the OHCHS staff, is an ed-tech for the entire school. This involves working in the library, maintaining  all the AV equipment, and running the Key Club, a student-run community service organization which does fundraisers and other activities beneficial to the community and school. Along with this Cummings also keeps all the netbooks (an estimated 1000) in running order. I decided to ask him a few questions because I began to wonder how he keeps up with his job.


Q: How long  have you been working at OHCHS?

A:  Seven years. I wasn’t expecting to stay in ed-tech for this long.

Q: Why OHCHS ?

A: Well Aeron I grew up here and even went to school here - thought it was a lot smaller when I was here compared to now. I graduated 1987 and have lived here all my life.

Q: Due to the netbooks being in the hands of most students (only 100 or so do not have a netbook), how has this effected your workload and your relationship with the students?

A: Well Aeron, I have a 40 hour week and 99 percent of my time is spent fixing the netbooks. It has effected my relationship with the students negatively because I only get to see them when they break their netbooks.

Q: Why does every student now have a user fee? (For those who don't go to school here every kid has to pay a fee before they can have their netbook. It goes by what you pay for lunch: $20 if you pay full price, $15 if you are on reduced lunch, and $10 for people who get free lunch.)

A: The warranty on the netbooks expired Aeron , so we need to pay for the repairs out of are our own pockets. That means we all need to pitch in to buy new hard drives, [new] screens and [do] other repairs."

Q: Where do you see the netbook program going in five years?

A: Aeron , I can see this going very well as long as we get the money to pay for it. What I mean is if the economy goes back up then everything else will be okay.

Even with an almost tripled workload compared to two years ago, Mr.Cummings is still a very upbeat individual. He always has time for students. He seems to really care about this school and the people who graduate from it. So when you see him in the halls say hi and if you are dropping your netbook off, say thank-you.