The Pirate Press Jasper High School

Pirate Basketball

Schedule

Oct. 31: Norork. Teams

1,3,4 @ Norfork, 5 p.m.

Nov. 2: Omaha. Teams

5,6,1,2 @ Omaha, 5 p.m.

Nov. 3: Kingston

(Homecoming). Teams 2,4,3

@ Jasper, 5 p.m.

Nov. 4-11: Lead Hill J r .

High Tournament. Teams 1,2

@ Lead Hill, TBA.

Nov. 7: Cotter . Teams 4B,3,

4 @ Cotter, 5 p.m.

Nov. 10: St. Joe. Teams

2,3,4 @ St. Joe, 5:30.

Nov. 11-18: Arvest Tourna-

ment. Teams 3,4 @ Flippin,

TBA.

Nov. 14: Alpena. Teams

5,6,1,2 @ Jasper, 5 p.m.

Nov. 25-Dec. 2: Border

Classic. Team 4 @ Omaha.

TBA.

Nov. 28: Mt. Judea. Teams

2,4 @ Jasper, 5:30.

Nov. 28: Valley Spr ings.

Teams 5,1,3 @ Valley

Springs, 5:30.

Dec. 4: Deer . Teams 5,6,1,2

@ Deer, 5 p.m.

—Continued on page 2

Jasper High School Implements

Flex Schedule & Apex Curriculum By Alexis Carter

Jasper High School has recently changed its system to better suit its stu-

dents’ needs. After a year of contemplating, the school decided to use a

flexible schedule (Flex) and Apex (virtual school) for many of its main

courses.

Flex scheduling at Jasper means using two days a week (Wednesday and

Thursday) for students to be based in one designated classroom. Each stu-

dent has been assigned a Chrome Book and is able to work on assignments

during this time. Or students may go to teachers for extra instruction, to

make up work they missed when they were absent, or to work ahead. If

students have completed their work and have some extra time, they can

relax a bit or maybe even go to the gym to shoot some hoops.

The Flex schedule is also used for club and class meetings.

Apex Learning is a program that allows students to study mathematics,

English, and other core courses online. It allows students to work at their

own pace.

Jasper High School Principal Jeff Lewis said that the idea for change

came a couple of years ago from a survey of students who indicated that

the worst part of school was switching classes every 45 minutes with no

time for clubs activities or to get extra help with their work. Staff members

visited different schools, and the current system was created.

Mr. Lewis be-

lieves at this point

in the year with

the major changes

that have taken

place, that things

are going well. He

thinks the biggest

benefits of Flex

scheduling are that

students can now

get extra help, the

advanced students

can work ahead in

some classes, and

students have

more time for

clubs and activi-

ties. (See page 3)

Alyssa Williams, Logan Reynolds, and Blake Miller

work on assignments during Flex.

~SPORTS~

Jasper Boys’ Basketball Team: Front: Matthew Morgan and Nic Lar -

imer. Middle: Mason Kellogg, Ben Larsin, Evan Brasel, Michael McCutch-

eon, Chance Pruitt, Skyler Shaub, and Jonathan Schweitzer. Back: Coach

Lynch, Hayden Phillips, Laythan Collins, Garrett McDonald, Logan Reyn-

olds, Caleb Carter, Jackson Clark, Caleb House, and Blake Miller.

Jasper Girls’ Basketball Team: Front: Delaney Cox, Leah Shellnut,

Molly Waters, Kara Flud, and Shianna Brasel. Back: Coach Lewis, Emma

Lewis, Hope Brasel, Sierra Johnson, Kaleigh Willis, Taylor Belle Da-

vidson, Brittanny Little, and Alyssa Williams (manager).

Basketball Schedule, continued

from page 1 -

Dec. 5: Marshall. Teams 4B, 3, 4

@ Marshall, 5:30.

Dec. 7: Alpena. Teams 1,3,4 @

Jasper, 5:30

Dec. 11: Western Grove. Teams

5,6,1,2 @ Jasper, 5 p.m.

Dec. 12: Deer . Teams 2,3,4 @

Deer, 5:30.

Dec. 15: Omaha. Teams 1,3,4 @

Jasper, 5:30.

Dec. 18: Lead Hill. Teams 1,3,4

@ Jasper, 5:30.

Dec. 28-30: Ber ryville Tourna-

ment, Team 3 @ Berryville. TBA.

Dec. 30-Jan. 8: NAC Tourna-

ment, Teams 3,4. NAC TBA.

Senior basketball players and cheer-

leaders: (Front): Brenna Brasel, Mac-

kenzie Nance, Blake Miller, Hannah

Smith, Alexis Carter. (Back): Ben Larsin,

Leah Shellnut, Molly Waters, Kara Flud,

and Garrett McDonald.

Flex and Apex story, continued from page 1—

Concerning Apex, he considers the ability to work ahead a major posi-

tive attribute. “Working ahead allows them to plan for times when they

will miss class because of activities, athletics, sickness, or when they

take free days,” he said. He also likes the feature that allows students to

both read and listen to their instructions if they choose to.

Mr. Lewis said that for the faculty, the biggest challenge has been the

planning process. There was a lot of work that was put into this change

by the staff and administration.

As with anything, the best way to judge the new system is through

hindsight and impartiality. Mr. Lewis said, “We will continue to have a

few bumps along the way. And once students learn to utilize the time

they have during Flex time, we will see great results from it. We still

have a lot of work to do, but the best is yet to come at JHS.”

How do the students feel about the changes?

Rylee Haight, a 9th grader, said, “I like Flex because it gives us time to

work ahead, or if we’re having trouble, we can have one-on-one time

with the teachers. Layton Smith, also a 9th grader, said, “It’s a time just

to relax, and have a break.” Joseph Lindsey, a 7th grader, said, “I like it

that we can schedule what we need and if we’re all done with stuff, we

can go practice at the gym or do other things, like going to the auditori-

um fifth period to walk on the treadmill or throw the football. Senior

Naaman Faught really likes it. “We get a lot of free time and I can get all

my work done,” he said. Tenth grader Meara Baldassari said, “I think

it’s beneficial to the school because it helps kids catch up on work; how-

ever, it doesn’t help if kids just sit around and play games all day. But

that is their responsibility.

As for Apex, some students seem to have mixed feelings.

“I like Apex because we can get more than one chance to pass a test.

It’s not as strict on time, so people can take their time on it if they need

to,” said senior Kaitlynn Wilkinson.

“ I think Apex repeats itself a lot, and as for quizzes, it creates a prob-

lem when the teacher is not there to open the tests,” said 9th grader Noah

Burdine.

Senior Lawrence Archer said, “I’d rather be taught by teachers than

having to teach myself on Apex. And I miss learning as a class and dis-

cussing.”

“I like Apex because you can get ahead, said junior Sierra Johnson.

However, junior Kaleigh Willis said, “It’s really hard to learn from. It

doesn’t explain things well.” Junior Brittanny Little said, “It’s hard to

get ahead because the quizzes are locked until the teachers open them.”

Josh Taylor and Aiden Watkins work during Flex

Taylor Ricketts, Emily White, and Tristen Smith

discuss a problem.

Josiah Faught talks to Coach James about a les-

son while Taylor Belle Davidson works on Apex.

JHS Welcomes 3 New Teachers for 2017-2018

By Luke Walker

Amber Davis is one of the

newest team members at Jasper

High School. She teaches a

variety of different subjects,

including seventh and eighth

grade math, speech, marketing,

and she is also the yearbook

sponsor. Mrs. Davis has been

married for eight years and has

three kids: McKenna, 6, Pres-

ley, 4, and Jackson, 1. Mrs.

Davis is from Jasper and grad-

uated from Jasper High

School. “I love Jasper, I grad-

uated from here so it was al-

ways the plan to make it back,

a full circle. I am proud to be a

pirate again!” Mrs. Davis has

been a teacher for three years

now; she had taught previously

at Deer High School, 7th

through 12th grade math. She

loves teaching and she loves

helping her students. “I love

doing new things everyday,

learning about my students,

and helping them learn some-

thing new.”

What she enjoys most at JHS

is “The camaraderie, knowing

that someone is always here to

help.

Mason Dorrell is the new ag-

riculture teacher as well as FFA

advisor.

He previously taught at West-

ern Grove, and he has been

teaching for the past four years.

Mr. Dorrell is not an Arkansas

native. He is actually from

Walden, Colorado. He is mar-

ried to Kassidy Dorrell, and has

a daughter named Harper

Dorrell, who is 18 months old.

He loves helping his students

become successful and he has

enjoyed his first year at Jasper

so far. What does he like about

Jasper? “Practically every-

thing,” he said. “The students,

staff and community. Everyone

is very friendly and helpful.”

His goals for this year in-

clude building the FFA mem-

bership and creating a produc-

tive learning environment.

What he wants his students to

know about him is that he is

“Proud to be a Pirate!”

Amber Davis with her daughters

Mason Dorrell

Coach Williams

Coach Steve Williams, an-

other new member of the Jas-

per team, teaches 8th grade

Careers, P.E., Health, Pee Wee

basketball, and baseball.

Coach Williams graduated

from Valley Springs High

School and has been teaching

for the last

25 years. Before Jasper, he

taught at Oark for three years.

Before that, he was principal at

Lead Hill and Western Grove,

and a former coach at Omaha.

He has three kids: Trevor, 25,

Tyra, 18, and Tinley, 12. He

also has a 3-year-old grand-

daughter.

“I really enjoy teaching, and

my favorite thing is seeing

students years later who say

I’ve impacted their lives.

“My goals are to help the

eighth graders understand all

the different job opportunities

that are for them. I also want to

get the baseball program back

to a winning tradition.”

By Alexis Carter

This year, two foreign exchange

students have traveled many

miles to attend Jasper High

School. Yujin Lee is a native of

South Korea, and Mariya

“Molly” Scherbenko is from the

Ukraine. Molly arrived this year,

while Yujin has been a student

here since last semester. They

are both in the 11th grade.

Yujin lives with the Barnards

and is from a small city where

mountains decorate the hori-

zon. If she could travel any-

where right now, she would

want to visit New York City, which she believes is the embodiment of

American culture. In the future, she wants to become a nurse so she can

save lives. Currently, she is a cheerleader who enjoys watching movies and

cooking. Her favorite part of Jasper is the view that it offers, although it is

more isolated than she is used to. Her favorite class is art.

Molly is living with the Kents and is from the direct center of her country.

Her town is surrounded by forests. If she could travel anywhere in the

world, she would travel to Scandinavia for its rich culture. She sees herself

as a pharmacist in the future because she believes that it is a good way to

connect life with medicine. Both of her parents are doctors. Her favorite

thing about Jasper is the natural beauty. The constant air-conditioning that

the school and many public buildings use is not a favorite of hers.

She likes art, English, and her Food and Nutrition class. However, she

dislikes that her words are often misunderstood. When she’s not in school,

she is a big fan of hiking, fitness activities, and being photographed. If she

could divulge one detail of her country to the student body, it would be

that although the Ukraine is geographically close to Russia, it is an inde-

pendent nation that is about to be part of the European Union.

International Students Adapt to American Life in Jasper

The JHS Robotic Team competed at NAC in

the BEST Robotics competition where the

theme was “Crossfire.” Their mission was

to design a robot that enters the playing

course and rescues a mannequin, removes

canisters of hazardous material, and extin-

guishes fire. Junior Sequoia Hopwood

dressed in Mr. Parker's fire-fighter uni-

form. He won best mascot out of 22

schools.

Student Council members speak to JHS staff members

about Flex scheduling and Apex to explain their con-

cerns and ideas for the future.

Junior Brittanny Little won first in her

class at the Arkansas State Fair with her

pig, “Tipper.”

I had a lack of computer skills when I

first started here,” she said. “Since

you’re on your own at home, you don’t

necessarily have access to state-of-the-

art technology like you do at school, and

so when I started here, I had very mini-

mal computer skills. I didn’t even know

how to turn a computer on. But now I’m

getting better at typing, using e-mail,

Google docs, and just all around more

comfortable and confident with my use

of technology. It’s not as scary as it used

to be.” What does she miss most about home-

schooling? “Obviously there is the ad-

vantage of being able to stay at home in

your pajamas when it’s cold outside,”

she said. “Also, you don’t have to worry

about being absent or getting to school

on time. Sometimes when you’re sick,

you can just do your work in bed.” Also,

she said that with public school, you

have to be more careful who you hang

out with. “There are all different types of

people who don’t think the same way

that you do or maybe don’t have the

same values you have.” With home-

schooling, she had a smaller group of

students that she interacted with once a

week when different groups would meet

at a local church. “That’s both good and

bad,” she said. “Sometimes homeschoolers can lack

social skills and have a difficult time

transitioning into society. This is because

of their smaller social circle, which in-

cludes mainly family and other home-

schoolers.” Emma said that a student has to be very

self-motivated and disciplined to be a

successful homeschooler. “You’re in

charge of your own schedule, but you

have the self-discipline to get your work

done. When you’re homeschooling, you

have to have the maturity to do it your-

self.”

Student Switches from Homeschool to Public School

Emma Helmuth, a tenth grade student, came to Jasper

High School from a different world: the world of home-

schooling. Emma and her brother Samuel, who is an eighth grader,

had been homeschooled for the past five years before they

moved to the Jasper area from their native Illinois. Since switching back to public school, Emma’s realized

that there are advantages and disadvantages to both public

school and home school. One of the advantages about public school is that she gets

to socialize with many different people. “I really missed

being around people when I switched to homeschooling,”

she said. She also likes the structure of being in school. “I

like the fact that I’m on a definite schedule. There’s no

wondering about how much time to spend on a certain

subject. I like having a structure and being able to follow

it.” She says the biggest advantage of being in public school,

though, is learning how to use technology.

Many JHS students are getting a jumpstart on their

future by taking concurrent credit classes or ad-

vanced placement classes. There are currently 27 students taking at least one

concurrent credit class, in the following subjects:

College Algebra, English Com I, English Comp II,

Oral Communications, Art Appreciation, Medical

Terminology, Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physi-

ology, Cardiac Arrhythmia, Certified Nursing Assis-

tant I, and Automotive Painting and Refinishing. There are 17 students taking AP courses, which in-

clude AP US History and AP English 11 and 12. Senior Makaila Carlton is taking three classes from

Arkansas Tech via concurrent credit classes and will

take two next semester. She also takes three classes

at North Arkansas College. At the end of the year

she will have 36 college credits. “It’s jumped me a

whole year ahead, and it’s free,” she said. She is taking online College Algebra, English Comp

II and II, and public speaking. At NAC she is taking

fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology, Medical

Terminology, and Cardiac Arrhythmias. Her goal is

to be a nurse practitioner. “All these classes are my

pre-requisites, so I can go straight into the RN pro-

gram in the fall 2018,” she said.

Does she advise everyone to take concurrent or col-

lege courses while in high school? “When you take

them, you can’t think it’s going to be blow-off clas-

ses. Your grade depends on you doing your work

and staying caught up. You have to study a lot.” Senior Shawn Churchill is taking Comp I because it

offers him freedom. “I like to work at my own pace,”

he said. “I can go in there in any hour, whereas if I

took English 12, I’d only have two choices of what

hour to take the class. Also, it’s free college credit.” Senior Brenna Brasel is taking Comp I and II and

College Algebra. “I wanted to get my college classes

for free,” she said, adding that “I feel like it helps me

get a better idea of the responsibility I will take on at

college.” Is there a prerequisite for taking CC classes? Mr.

Parker, JHS counselor, said this depends on the

course. For courses that will substitute for a gradua-

tion requirement (English Comp I, II, College Alge-

bra, College Oral Communications) students need to

score in the Exceeding category on the ACT Aspire

their 10th grade year, have an ACT score of 19 in

English, Math, and Reading, or take the Accuplacer

assessment and achieve a score comparable to a 19

on the ACT. There is no GPA requirement, but the

school must write a letter of recommendation for the

student to be approved to take the concurrent course.

For courses at the North Arkansas College Technical

Center, students must only have the recommendation

of the school to enroll. These courses are taught on

the NACTC campus and students are responsible for

their own transportation. Mr. Parker said on average, a college course costs

about $483, not including books. If students take the

course while they are in high school, there is no

charge for the course. The only expense to the stu-

dent is the cost of the book. Who pays for the kids

to take CC classes and AP classes? Mr. Parker said

the school covers the costs of most concurrent cours-

es and all of the technical courses. The only courses

students pay for are courses that would be above

their graduation requirements such as psychology,

theater, sociology, etc. But there are also reduced

fees for high school students to take these courses. Other students hope to get college credit through

Advanced Placement classes. Shianna Brasel is tak-

ing AP English Language and Composition instead

of concurrent courses. “I want to be in a class with

people where I can actually ask the teacher face-to-

face questions and get immediate feedback. On the

computer, the answer from the teacher might be de-

layed because I’d have to email them or Zoom with

them, and I’m the type of person who learns better

when I have the answer right away.”

Jasper High Students Earn Free Credit

With Concurrent Credit Classes & AP

Makaila Carlton talks to Mr. Parker about college plans.

Front row: Mr. Harrison (class sponsor), Makaila Carlton, Brenna Brasel, Sunny Lawrence, Alexis

Carter, Kara Flud, Molly Waters, Garrett McDonald, Leah Shellnut, Hannah Smith, Violet Mefford,

Mackenzie Nance, Kaitlynn Wilkinson, Alex McDaniel, and Mrs. Journagan (class sponsor).

Back row: Ben Larsin, Naaman Faught, Blake Miller, Lawrence Archer, Wyatt Villines, Cody Gresh-

am, Aiden Watkins, Weston Peeler, Shawn Churchill, Payton Hopper, and Luke Walker.

Jasper High School Class of 2018