Wednesday, April 27, 2011


Louisa is planning on going to prom for the first time with her friend, Christina, because her boyfriend won’t be able to make it on time, he is in the marines right now in Florida. Louisa and Christina are going to glam up at her house and leave from there to go meet up with the girls.  “I’m disappointed that he wont be able to make it but its not his fault and I have all my friends to spend it with also I  know he is always  by my side next to me.” Louisa and her friends are planning to go out with a group of friends but haven’t decided where to go yet. She is excited for prom but nervous at the same time because she scares of how it will turn out at the end.
The girls are going to go all out and enjoy the best night of high school. “It’s a night to remember and it will be worth it.” Louisa will make this a memorable might because it’s the last school dance that she will attend and be with a group of friends. Also she will not let anyone ruin her night just because they aren’t enjoying their selves but she’ll try to make the girls feel the endearing warmth. She is going to have the best night and after she gets back home she is going to call her boyfriend and tell him what a blast night and she knows that it will be the greatest.  

Gabrielle Murphy:)



Gabrielle Murphy a 17 year old junior at North Senior High school .Murphy is a track athlete who has been running track since 8th grade for high school. She enjoys running because it gives her adrenaline rush. She competes in competitions as sprinting, jumping and relay but her favorite is jumping. She has earned a lot of metals in her athletic career .Interesting facts about Gabrielle when she was in 10th grade her hamster ray died due to natural causes every since then she has wanted another hamster but is not prepared to lose another animal. She loves eating cake during her down time. Her favorite color is purple but she doesn’t want to be known as a girly girl. She has been going with her boyfriend Matt Berens a senior at north high school for almost 6 months she plans to go to prom this year but isnt sure if it’s going to happen.





Sunday, April 24, 2011

Josh Tuckner A.K.A Baby Face



If you are looking for a sport that is a team sport but that is also a sport that you have to be an individual all at the same time then wrestling is the sport for you. Wrestling is the one sport that takes athletics to a new level, you have to be quick, strong, smart, and have some off the best conditioning. If you think that you got all of that then you have what it takes to be a north high wrestler.
Wrestling is in the winter season. They meet Monday thru Friday times are ranging from 4-6, 6-8, 5-7, and a typical practice goes as follows get there check your weight and then do a little warm up, do some technique work, wrestle live, then condition at the end. Every weekend there is a tourney that you can show off what you have been practicing the whole week for. The season usually last for most of the 2nd trimester so it’s about the same as every other winter sport.
A sophomore Josh Tuckner A.K.A BABY FACE was interviewed to see what he thinks about wrestling. He was asked what the best part about wrestling is and he replied, “There really is not any sport quite it, the best part was just making some new friends and really getting to know each other more in wrestling than any other sport that I have been in.” He was also asked what some of his goals are for the next season. He replied, “I want to follow in the footstep of Mario, he made it to sate and really helped me out throughout the whole season and I hope to make it to the state tournament senior season.”

North and Tartan


North and Tartan highschool has been rivals for too long. Why do some people dislike each others school? It is all competition that brings each school into rivalay. The schools football team for example Tartans been winning their games with norths team which makes norths football team weaker.

Norths school has a newer building than tartans and it is not as old as tartans, it looks more up to date. Maybe it is pride for each others school why theres rivalary even though both students hate the school they go to. Many students know each other from both these schools.

I have visited tartans shool and I wouldn’t be able to stay in there, the school looks trashy and old. Theres really nothing at north but looks more of a peacefull school where I would want to stay and have an education.

Peoples answer may vary by the person who you talk to. Some people wouldn’t care about north and tartan, some people might be like eh or so so about their school and others may have a lot of feelings and show it. Why cant these schools just get along? Why would these school care for what each others done? Why would these school brag about what they can do better?

The answers are unknown everybody has different feelings about each other and their schools. People just have to live with it dealing with rivalaries. Once it begins it cant be stopped, its like a tradition where it just keeps on passing onto the younger generations.

Link Crew Leadership

Link Crew is a high school transition program in which upcoming freshmen are welcomed to their new high school by upperclassmen. The goal is to make the freshmen feel as comfortable as possible throughout their first year in high school. Positive and enthusiastic upperclassmen are chosen to lead small groups and give the new freshman a taste of what high school life is like. It’s a wonderful program to get to know new people and have fun.
Students that tryout for link crew need to have a positive attitude and are always full of energy. The part they play in this program is making the freshman comfortable, acting as a mentor, showing encouragement, and making sure everyone is having a fun experience. Link Crew members lead small groups. In these groups they play games, get to know one another, and tour North High school to get somewhat familiar with it.
Robert Oberfrank, a participating member of Link Crew, said, “I had a really fun experience and I got to meet new people!” Robert was a Link Crew leader this past year and plans to do it again this upcoming year. He said,” I’m excited to help out the new freshman and make them feel better.” Link Crew is a great way to be a part of your school community and help new ninth graders have a positive outlook upon North High School.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

America through the eyes of a Finnish girl



We have a few foreign exchange students at North, one of them is Jenna Kuahanen. Jenna is junior from Finland, she’s been here since the end of August and she leaves at end of June. She is staying with Alissa Wheeler. What she likes most about North are the afterschool activities because the only sports at her other school are basketball and soccer. Currently she is in the girl’s track team. She was also part of the cross country team and skiing. “School is a lot easier here, we get a lot more work and go faster in Finland” she said when asked about school differences.

While being here in the US she has visited lots of places like San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, and Arizona. Her favorite place by far is New York because she got to see and visit a lot of cool places like the Empire State building, Time Square, Staten Island, and Central Park.

“I eat a lot of junk food here.” Her favorite foods are pizza and chocolate chip cookies. “Chipotle is my favorite restaurant.” The only thing she doesn’t like about America is the candy. “I don’t like American candy like skittles or starbursts.” Boys around the world are different, according to Jenna American boys are cuter than Finnish boys.

So far she has been in Minnesota for about 10 month, her family and friends are what she misses the most. Communicating with someone across the world is kind of hard but Jenna skypes with her family once a week.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Shannon Weiss, World Traveler



Shannon Weiss, a junior at North High says her favorite class last trimester was Ceramics II. The best piece she made was a blue rectangular teapot. At school she does Relay for life. She was captain last year. Usually she with the same group of people. She started doing relay for school last year but outside of school she has been doing it since she was six years old because her aunt is in charge of the relay for life in River Falls, Wisconsin. Outside of school she plays softball.
Shannon loves traveling and going on road trips. Over spring break she went to Texas to visit some of her family. She says New York was one of her favorite places to visit. While she was there her uncle took them everywhere. “I had the best Italian food ever. I ate some kind of pasta and cheesecake.” she says. One day she hopes to visit Australia. If she ever visits Australia she would like to go snorkeling, diving, and swimming with fish. She likes traveling during the summer because she doesn’t have to worry about school.
At home Shannon has two dogs, a German shepard named Jersey who is 13 years old and an Australian shepard named Henry who is 2 years old. Her favorite singer is Elton John because she grew up listening to him but other than that she likes to listen to any type of music. The very first concert she attended was Aaron Carter at the state fair. One extreme thing she hopes to do one day is go skydiving. “It’d be scary and I’d probably freank out but it’d be fun!”

Monday, April 18, 2011

Tony Vang, China Town

Tony Vang is a senior at North High. He is turning 18 one day after the national weed day. What he likes about this school is “There’s a lot of WHITE people and they are funny because they tell funny racists jokes around school.” Said Tony
Tony doesn’t know what to do after he graduates since he hasn’t applied to any colleges and plan not to go so he’s planning go to the military and hopes it will help him move on with his life. Some of his hobbies he likes to play is football, ping pong (really good), fish, hunt, and four wheeling.
Traveling is probably one of his favorite things to do when he has nothing to do. He has traveled to North and South Dakota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Tennessee. One wish he wants to wish for if he could, he wants to be Italian because there’s a lot of mafia.
Tony has a Mc Donald rap that he wants to rap at Mc Donalds. He doesn’t want to say it in the drive thru but wants to go inside and start busting his flow. Tony is a cool person to hangout with so you should start hanging out with him.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

DECA State

It sometimes seems like North High is always abuzz with news and talk about DECA. Whether you see signs in the hall, or hear people talking about it, it has become such a huge part of our school that it would be impossible not to know about it. It is also something that North High does very well in. Last month, on March 6, 7, and 8, North High's DECA program competed in DECA state at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Minneapolis. Many students from North did exceptionally well, and many brought home some kind of award. Megan Donovan, junior DECA member said, "We had 40 some competitors and almost everyone took home some hardware." She herself did well too, taking third in state for her role play. While at state, DECA students had to wear the proper attire. "At state we wear business suits for competitions and business casual while we walk around Minneapolis," Morgan Brin, another competitor, said. These students always had to be looking like they were ready for work. Now that DECA state is over, where do the students go from here? They have many more projects lined up before the end of the year. Right now they are teaching junior achievement to kids in elementary schools, as well as continually running the school store and Polar Den. After that they have a vending machine project and a few other ones to round the year out, and get ready for another successful year where they "start all over again with some new faces," Megan Donovan said. We look forward to see what they will do next.

Jasmin Maldonado, CA Girl


Jasmin Maldonado is a junior this year at North High School. She moved here from California when she was 13, and one day she hopes to live there again. It was a hard change for her, and the change in weather was quite a shock that she is still trying to adjust to.

Visiting California is her favorite thing to do, and her last visit there over spring break was her favorite trip she has ever been on. Why? "Because I got to visit friends and I got to go alone," she said. Being able to travel without her mom along was really fun for her.

Jasmin loves to play softball and wants to join a team this summer, but she realizes if she does, she will not have as much time to visit the place that used to be her home. Jasmin hopes to one day be able to live in California again and maybe even be able to go to college there to become either a teacher or a journalist. Her only concern is how expensive the schools in California are, but hoprfully it will be something she can work out, so she can go back to the place that she loves to be.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Ellie Anderson “The Dancing Teacher”


Ellie is a senior going to be 18 in two weeks. In her free time she likes to dance, she has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She dances: kick, jazz, hip pop, lyrical, contempany. Ellis also teaches dance class, 1 class is about an hour a day and she works at Pinz as a party host. Then on weekends she works, hang out with friends and goes to dance competition. 
Then during school she is involve in Link Crew, helping out the freshmen and is in Relay for life Committee, trying to raise money for cancer. Ellis’s also is in Golden Prom planning dinner and dances for the elders. She does also involve in Pay it forward, in her busy life she still find a way to do some volunteering too.
In Ellie’s future she is planning to go to Eauclaire and in her career she wants to work with kids, she doesn’t want to sit behind a desk all day along. Also she is planning to go off and live on her own in a house or apartment after college and getting a job. Then plan to get marry but not for a while and to have 2 to 4 kids.

Hmong Youth Development Conference


HYDC  is a conference organized by a group of student  from  North and Tartan High School  with the guidnace and support of Ying Lee a hmong Clutural Liaison. This is will be our  2nd year for the Homng Youth Development Conference (HYDC) and we want to do this conference because is that there isnt anything like this out there, and developing youth is what we all need to do.
This is a youth conference designed for hmong youth, but everyone is welcome, come and learn more about the hmong people and a lot more!  The conference is design for student of grades 6 and up. What this confernce is, is that HYDC foucsed on the three components to youth development which are celebrating the hmong culture and history, leadership development and college access. There will be workshops , keynotespeakers, performance and a break dance battle for all youth to participate in. After the conference you will gain a better sense of identity, history and leadership tools to help you in your future. Also you will be inspired, motivatied and  given lots of tools and resouces for  college access.
Everyone is  welcome  applications will be avible in room 209 or on facebook.com/hmongydc. This conference will be held at North High School, it will be on the April 29th, 30th, and May 1st

Sydney Hoff, Skillet's Fan

Sydney Hoff is a senior here at North High School. Though North has many options as to what classes students may take, Sydney prefers English classes because she likes to write. She is able to understand the simplicity of the many English courses that are taught at North High. For her, graduation is just around the corner. In a short amount of time she will be a graduate from North. After high school, Sydney has decided to attend the University of Minnesota Moorhead for her post-secondary education. As of right now she is undecided about her major. There are many beautiful places in the world. Of the many great places to visit, Sydney has always wanted to go to Australia since she was a kid. As many know, Australia’s capital’s name is Sydney. Therefore, Sydney Hoff plans on visiting Australia with her mom when she is finished with college. If granted a wish, Sydney wants to see a mixed concert with all of her favorite artists performing there because it is a rare option. Also, music is one of her main interests. Her favorite artist is Skillet, a Chrisitian rock band. “Skillet’s a great music for everybody. You don’t have to like a particular style in order to enjoy their music,” Sydney says. Not only do they have catchy music but the music they convey also relates to her own life.

Nick Svoboda “Pauli D”


Holly Sinclair Journalism 1

Nick Svoboda a junior at North High says, “If I had a million dollars, I would give half to my parents, pay off my brothers college debt, take a trip to the Jersey Shore and hang out with his boy, Pauli D, and buy a Ferrari. Nick is a very active guy in his free time he likes to play basketball, wakeboard, ski, hang out with hunter, camp, watch Jersey Shore, and look around for “grenades,” snowboard, and go snowmobiling. If nick could have one dream job it would be a physical trainer because he would get to work with the same people, make new relationships, and he also has a physical trainer that he looks up to, and make bank. Nick said, “My dream vacation would be Australia,” because “It would be a new and different experience, and I would be able to hop around with the kangaroos.” If Nick could change one rule in North High he said, “I would make it a “grenade-free zone” with GTL every day, and if he could be one Jersey Shore character he would be “Pauli D” because his hair is, water proof, sweat proof, sleep proof, and street bike proof.

North High Basketball Taking Big Steps



Nick Svoboda, Journalism I

Junior captain Hunter Books, has got nothing but good things to say about next year for north highs basketball team. “Our team has grown together into a family, and this upcoming summer I think that our guys will use every opportunity to become closer” is what the optimistic second year captain had to say about the upcoming summer. A lot of the other guys, along with their captain believe that next year is really something to be excited about. North’s basketball team this year started with a bit of struggle, but with the return senior captain Rex Johnson the team kicked it into gear, got some impressive wins, and really made a name for themselves. Rex Johnson’s thoughts on the season were “Although our season ended faster than we all would have liked, it was very exciting to watch the team grow together and develop”. Rex’s other thoughts on the season was that “Even though my basketball career is now over, I really enjoyed the players that I got to play with and the relationships that I have developed will always be there”. Hunter Books also added, “This year was great, we had a lot of supportive fans behind us and that really helped us gain momentum”. The North High students are really in for treat next year, with their Polar basketball team as they try to take the conference title and make a run for the state tournament.

18 And Ready To Explore the World


Mitch Griser Journalism 1

Sharae Pierson is currently a senior here at north high school. Sharae enjoys here time here but still can’t wait to get out and move to different places. In the mean time Sharae says, “I just love to spend time with all my friends, I like them all but I would have to say my best friend would be marine”. Sharae enjoys her US Lit class proclaiming, “I love learning about the history America through the words of the changing writers.” Grades are very important to this particular senior and she works very hard to achieve the good grades that she gets. When asked about her post high school education plans Sharae said, “I hope to attend college but I really don’t know where or for what yet.” Sharae is very sure about moving away from Minnesota and exploring the country and the world. When asked about what exciting places she has already been to Sharae said, “I have been to California and I loved it!” As far as her plans for travel after high school she plans to either move to California or Washington for a change of scenery. If shes not to busy hanging out with her family and friends playing basketball and football she really hopes to travel to, “Anywhere in Europe really, but Italy seems really amazing, she says excitedly.”

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Majid Salam, Karate-Kicking Businessman


Majid likes to wake up at 6:45 for school. He’s 18 years old, and he can speak 9 languages including: English, French, Arabic, Yoroba, Ghu, and Fun. He practices martial arts, plays soccer, and wants to be a businessman when he grows up. He also set fire to his cat once.

Majid practices karate, and has a 2nd degree black belt. It’s “not just about fighting, it’s about discipline and getting stronger,” says Majid. He’s been training for eleven years, and he’s pretty serious about karate.

Along with karate, Majid also plays soccer. “Soccer is my life; I wish I was born with a soccer in my hand. I grew up playing it all the time,” he says.

And speaking of growing up, when Majid grows up, he says he’ll be a businessman. “Business is in my blood. My dad and grandpa were both businessmen.”

On a totally different subject, Majid has many favorite colors. He likes green because it “looks really nice, makes me think of the earth.” He likes purple because it “looks good on me.” And he also likes pink, and says that it “reminds me of my dad, because he had cancer.”

Majid has a very interesting life too. He’s been hit by a truck once, and has also had a pet smoking monkey who drank alcohol. And did I mention that he’s a karate-kicking businessman too? Because he is.

Dar'Resha Jones, curious traveler

Dar’Resha Jones is a junior that attends North High School. One of her favorite things to do is travel because she hates Minnesota. She plans to travel to Australia and Tokyo when she gets older. She would like to venture into Australia because the dramatic climate change, the exotic animals, and she simply admires the name of the continent. She chose Tokyo because of the different culture. From the fast paced life to the interesting clothes in Tokyo, she wants to experience it all. Dar’Resha said, “I don’t want to go to Mexico because I just don’t think I’d like it.” It shows that she has those two destinations picked out for a reason. Dar’Resha is hard working woman. She is currently working at Jimmy John’s and hates every minute of it. There are too many unnecessary rules. For instance, you can’t have your hair colored or your nails done. To top it off she hates the food. She is in search for a new job that will be suitable to her needs. Dar’Resha has barely anytime to shop because she’s always working especially on the weekends. When she is able to do some shopping she goes everywhere. Some of her favorite stores include Forever 21, H&M, and Macy’s. She says,” I like shopping on the internet at exclusive websites cause no one’s got to copy my style.” When Dar’Resha isn’t shopping it away on her off time, she does many things to keep herself busy. She hangs out with her boyfriend she’s been going out with since the 8th grade, CJ McGwan. She loves doing random stuff like going to Underwater Sea World or the museum; she tries to avoid being bored. She plays with her Pomeranian shih-tzu, Miyah Marie Jones. Another activity that she enjoys is going to the dentist and getting her teeth cleaned.

Nate Foster "Future olympian"


Nate foster recently finished 4th place among the individuals in sections to advance to state in Nordic skiing for the second time in his high school career. When asked how excited he was to go to state he replied “It meant everything to me, nothing else mattered for a day.” Nate competed in state on Feb. 17th. The competition was fiercer but Nate said “He could handle it.” Nate finished 21st overall giving him the All state honors. Mr. Foster was asked the 13th most asked question in the world “Boxers or Briefs” Nate replied, “boxers all the way is that even a question, it’s all about the freedom. Everyone knows the great chuck Norris, who is pretty much god to some people. There is also the freak of nature in Brock Lesner who was the heavy weight champion in the UFC. What would happen if these manly men met in the streets in an epic battle? This is the question that was asked to Nate foster. He replied “Chuck Norris would lose because I think that he is secretly a little girl, and Brock is the biggest man that I have ever seen.” Some people might disagree with his statement but Nate says “he doesn’t care what people think.”

Derek Curley, in the game


North High Junior, Derek Curley, experienced his first year playing for a hockey team this past winter. Although he has always been a fan of hockey, he never got around to joining a team until now. Because being on the team was new to him, he had mixed emotions about what to expect. “At first I had cold feet, but everyone said I was better than the average bear,” he explained. He also started to realize that it was more about having fun and it was nice to be on a team with his friends. His interest in hockey started at a young age. In elementary school he would play hockey with his friends after they got out of school. Not only does he enjoy playing hockey, but he loves watching it too. He goes to Gopher games with his dad which has resulted in him taking an interest in the U of M possibly being future college for him to attend. The hockey team he played on this past winter isn’t the first sports team he has ever played on. He played on a baseball team for a year and enjoyed it, but wasn’t willing to make a big commitment to it. He is considering joining a co-ed slow-pitch softball league with fellow North High students this coming summer.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Rayne Vang, Free Spirit


Kao Na Vang, who is a junior at North high, has a huge passion for photography. She started getting more involved with photography in 2009 when she joined a program called In Progress. After a while, she became an artist, and soon after that she began to curate shows. To curate shows it means to basically set everything up and prepare everything for the show. So as you can see, she loves everything about photography. Kao Na has even had some of her own artwork displayed in photo exhibits. Kao Na has big plans for this summer. She plans to travel around Minnesota and teach photography to the youth and whoever else wants to learn. Her hope for the summer is to also travel out of Minnesota into other states. Besides being a great and accomplished photographer, she loves her family. She has 5 siblings, four brothers, and one other sister. She is the third oldest in her family. Although Kao Na loves her big family, her goal after high school is to go to college. After college she wants to move to a big city and get her own house with her own studio.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

“I think people are always looking for something that’s new, something fresh, something different,” states rising star Rihanna.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty age 23 of Barbados is one of the most popular artists in the U.S. and all around the world. Her music is not catagorized into one specific genre, but rather a combination of many, including R&B, pop, and hip-hop.
Rihanna is starting her summer tour on June 4th, stopping at the Target Center in Minneapolis on June 16th, and finishing it off July 24th in Boston. Rihanna has had quite the journey to make it to the top overcoming a broken family with divorced parents and as she becomes increasingly popular, she produces many songs that have captured the attention of millions of music lovers, whether it’s positive or negative. She is known for creating controversial songs that have the media buzzing, such as latest single “S&M”. This song is at the top of the billboards in some countries such as the United States, but in others across the globe it is banned from being played on the radio because of the message it portrays.
To many people, Rihanna is a “good girl gone bad”. She started out having the stereotypical inspirational rise to the top, from coming out of the slums of Barbados to being the new Cinderella in the music industry. The songs in the earlier years of her career were sweet, innocent love songs, like “Umbrella” and “SOS”. Now she has newly released an album titled “Rated R”. It’s quite a drastic difference, and the lucky fans who are attending these concerts could have a run for their money; who knows how this ever-changing diva will portray herself this time.

Spend the night away


Who is going with who? Where are you going to eat? What color dress are you going to wear? Here at North high, we have a dance for every season in the school year. For fall we have Sadies, and for winter we have Snodaze. Spring is here so we know what that means. Prom. Prom is a time where everyone can get together with their friends, have a good time, dance the night away, and spend money. Behind all the great clothes, limos, and dinners, there is a large amount of money that must be spent. How students choose to spend, and accquire, that money is different for almost every person. North high junior, Sarah Jorgenson, says "I plan on working extra hours, making bank, and gonig all out." Because many are approaching the age of having their own job, some are planning on paying for prom completely out of their own pockets. Not everyone needs to spend high amounts of money just to make prom night special. Thanks to the student council prom dress drive, female students at North High were given the opportunity to buy a dress for a very afordable price. Sarah was able to buy hers for only ten dollars. Some people have planned ahead and have already taken steps closer to saving money on their prom expenses. Junior, Nate Poradek, says "My mom is making my girlfriend's dress, that is going to help save a ton of money."