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By: Syd Segroves

1

Why do some teenagers, and others for that matter,

feel the need to artificially tan their skin? If answered

truthfully, some would say to impress the opposite sex;

some would argue they need it to fit into the popular

group; others might even explain that it improves their

self-image.

While today’s society might place a

certain aesthetic value upon being tan,

the risks are proven to be great.

So, how do people get tan? Accord-

ing to the U.S. Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC), 31% of

white high school girls use indoor tan-

ning devices (tanning beds) on a reg-

ular basis. Also, 32% of adults ages

18-21 use tanning beds regularly.

According to the website can-

cer.org, tanning beds are even more harmful than the

sun. In fact, the UV ray level, the dangerous rays, are

labeled an A, the most dangerous level. The sun ranks

at a level B. These harmful effects may cause melanoma,

a common and possibly fatal cancer of the skin. If that

is not scary enough, tanning causes premature aging of

the skin, for example wrinkles and dark brown age

spots. CDC reports that if proper eye protection is not

used, blindness can occur.

Next, the teenager asks,

“But what can I do to look tan,

then? I think tan skin looks

nice and I look better!” The

good news is that there are safe alter-

natives. These are as follows:

Spray tans—these are relatively

safe and available in most salons.

Natural sun—done in moderation

and using plenty of sunscreen makes

this a safer alternative.

Glow lotion—these are available in many

brands and in most retail out-

lets for a very affordable price.

At the root of the issue is self-

image. There is much pressure on

teens, and adults, to meet society’s

standards of beauty. However,

teens must try to remember that true beauty is a

matter of character from the inside and not the

outward appearance alone. Therefore, if tan is

your plan, do it safely! Cancer is not worth the

benefit of temporary “beauty”!

“31% of white high

school girls use in-

door tanning

devices (tanning

beds).”

Tan You Not? Is darker skin worth the risk?

As we turn to the second half of the school year, we have a lot of events and activities rushing at us. We look for-ward to the excitement of basketball tournaments and getting outside for spring sports. I want to take a moment and stress the importance of being a Viking fan. Our athletes pour their sweat into representing themselves in the highest manner possible on the floor, and we should com-mit to do the same from the stands. When we yell or cheer, we should keep our comments positive and supportive. We should always understand that the

teams we are playing or the refs who are officiating are human and probably doing their best. I challenge everyone to keep the principles of good sportsmanship at the front of how we interact with others. Refrain from the tempta-tion of criticizing or insulting officials, players, or other fans. I

am proud of what our heritage is and encourage you to be a part of that same history. Also, we are about to start our state testing. While testing has been a part of most students’ lives, we are seeing a new test

this year: TNReady. We have practiced

already and have a feel of what to antic-ipate. Students, I am asking that you take this opportunity to do your best. These tests are differ-ent and will challenge you very differently. Take your time, and work through them carefully. I encourage each of you to take each test seriously. These tests carry significant weight for both

you as a student and for the school as a whole. Your teachers have worked hard to prepare you with the content, and with positive determination, I know you will do well. Keep these sugges-tions in mind. As we know, Community High School is the best school...PERIOD!

Ralston’s Ramblings By: Robert Ralston

Viking Voice

2

There’s ‘Snow’ Way I’m Going to School

By: Zachary Lohn

10 Common Snow Day Rituals

1. Place a spoon under your pillow (does not matter what type of spoon).

2. Wear pajamas inside-out and backwards!

3. Leave ice cubes on the porch (no set amount of ice, so maybe more ice equals more snow).

4. Place a white crayon in the freezer.

5. Run around your table five times (if your table is against the wall, then move it to the center of your room).

6. Flush an ice cube down the toilet (only ONE!).

7. Do the snow dance (make it up).

8. Stack pennies on your windowsill (the more pennies equals more snow).

9. Shout “SNOW DAY” into the freezer.

10. Make paper snowflakes.

There is one more ritual: Move up north!

Do not do these too often because Bedford County only has eight snow days!

Disclaimer: These tips do not work most of the time, but the only sure-fire way for these to work is to move up north!

Still Relationship Goals

By: Sarah Pierce Once upon a time an extraordinarily wise

person stated, “You come to love not by finding

the perfect person but by seeing an imperfect

person perfectly.” Sometimes love is hard, but

the ones who truly do care for one another al-

ways find a way to make it work.

In October I wrote about high school rela-

tionships and how it’s okay to not be in a rela-

tionship as well as it is to have a relationship. I

mentioned Braden Simmons and Alexi Gochee

and how they are the ultimate “relationship

goals.” Since it’s February, a.k,a. the month of

love, we wanted to follow up and show how even

more perfect their relationship is. They are still

going strong.

As you can see, they are the perfect example

of high school sweethearts. Braden is one of the

star football players, and Alexi was homecoming

queen and is cheer captain; I don’t think a movie

could portray a better love story than that!

Don’t be surprised if in a few years, you re-

ceive a wedding invitation from the two of them. Braden and Alexi are your picture-perfect foot-

ball player-cheer captain couple.

Alexi laughs at one of Braden’s many

jokes.

Star Wars By: Breanna Parker

I Spy By: Jacey Cartwright and Syd Segroves

3

Long ago in a galaxy far,

far away (or 38 years ago), a

movie called Star Wars was

born. It broke records and

eventually made billions,

making it one of the most

successful movies of all

time. Five movies later,

The Force Awakens follows

in the original movie’s

footsteps, again breaking

records and earning even

more. The Force Awakens

was one of the most highly-

anticipated movies of the

year, and it shows. On its

opening day, the movie

earned $119.1 million dol-

lars, which is a new record.

It is also the first movie to

make more than $100 mil-

lion dollars in one day. On-

ly 12 days after its release,

the movie reached the $1

billion mark becoming the

fastest movie to ever do so.

The movie features old

characters, such as Han So-

lo and Chewbacca, as well

as new ones.

The Viking

Voice surveyed

students at

Community

High to discov-

er how many

of them saw

the new

movie.

Surpris-

ingly, only

31% of the students sur-

veyed said they had seen

the movie.

The movie poster for The Force

Awakens is currently being dis-

played in movie theaters around

the world.

If you find

yourself alone

on Valentine’s

Day, try this

fun word

search to pass

the time!

Sarcastic Love Letter By: Sydney Gregory

4

Dear Cupid,

I just wanted to say thanks. Because of you, I constantly feel the need to

look nice. It is so much fun waking up early enough to do my hair and

makeup...every.single.morning. I also love that I worry repeatedly throughout

the day about my crush’s feelings. It is so nice to get emotional over every little

thing he does. I feel myself constantly overthinking every thing! It is definitely

my FAVORITE thing to spend my time doing! I also would like to thank you

for giving me feelings for a guy who is so straightforward with me. I mean, I

am never staying up really late at night worrying about what he thinks. I love

all the mixed signals. I love that he calls me pretty and then says, “Hey, bud!”

What is that all about? Come on, Cupid! Can you please explain to me why

you chose me? Love is stupid!

Please help,

Lovesick Teenager

Dear Lovesick Teenager,

Don’t blame me for your emotional problems. It’s your fault for making eye

contact with the guy across the room. You knew he was trouble when he walked

in. Don’t worry about what guys are thinking. Believe me, most of the time, they

aren’t thinking much of anything. Guys don’t worry about feelings the way you

do. Truthfully, they don’t notice the effort you put in. Don’t try so hard. Maybe

you should quit whining to me. Instead, go tell him how you feel! Write him a

poem (see example in bottom right corner)! Send him a Valentine card! Stop

feeling sorry for yourself, and show him you care!

P.S. He would probably love a Chick-fil-A gift card!

You’ll be okay,

Cupid

DISCLAIMER: THE VIKING VOICE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DISTRESS THIS LETTER

MAY CAUSE. CUPID MADE ME DO IT.

Mystery at ThesCon By: Breanna Meyers

Senior Photos By: Sydney Gregory

5

Here are this

month’s “Senior

Photos of the

Month.” To have

your favorite senior

picture featured,

send it to slgrego-

ry98@gmail.com, or

bring a copy to Mrs.

Garrette. Darian Pride

Kateland Carpenter

Colton Hargrove, Sydney Gregory,

Brookelynne Meyers, Haylee Overton, Xavier

Von Dran, Alyssa Amos, David Perez, and

Nicolas McCall enjoy themselves at Thescon.

Brookelynne Meyers, Jessica Hesson,

and Joel Powell fit right in at Thescon

2016, especially Jessica with her fun

and cute hat.

The Thespian drama members

gather together for a group pic-

ture, and Mr. Davis apparently

likes to take selfies.

Last month on January 15 and 16,

our Thespian Drama members went

to Thescon 2016. They went to dif-

ferent sessions each day and

learned new things. The theme

this year was “Mystery at

Thescon.” Many Tennessee stu-

dents came together for this two-

day conference, and many people

made new friends. There were

many different sessions at

Thescon, for example, Yoga, Karao-

ke, Getting Physical (sword fighting),

and African Dance Classes. Attendees

Nicolas McCall and Colton Hargrove

told us, “The chocolate milk was awe-

some!”

Haley Overton informed us about

her favorite part of Thescon, “My

favorite part was the first night per-

formance.” The first night perfor-

mance on Friday was Any Number

Can Die. Joel Powell explained to us,

“I liked that students from all over

the state could come together and

learn about something they all enjoy.”

Jessica Hesson exclaimed, “Thescon

was the best!” Sydney Gregory made it

clear about her favorite class, “My fa-

vorite class was probably ‘Getting Phys-

ical.’ It’s where we learn to stage slap,

and I spent the rest of the day pretend-

ing to slap Colton and Joel.”

As you can see, everyone had a thor-

oughly good time at Thescon, and they

all had many different experiences.

Rant: Opinions on Love... By: Alyssa Amos

6

Well, it depends on what kind

of love. Relationship love...that is

some of my favorite love. Family

love is something you’re kind of

built in to. With relationship love,

you kind of find it yourself,

which is the really exciting part.

It’s like, ‘Oh, let me go find a

human being, make a relation-

ship with them, and build it up.’

That’s awesome. I love it so

much. It’s like adventuring with

emotions. I think that’s cool.

Ever since I got into my recent,

and longest, relationship, every-

thing has been a bit more posi-

tive...and I get out of the house

more. Life is good. It’s happy, and

you get to do things. My only neg-

ative to it is that sometimes the

emotions get to be too much, but I

don’t think that’s too bad at all.

Sharing time with someone you

care about, or love, is some of the

best time ever.

It’s an experience! That’s why I

like relationships. Experiencing

love...it’s so much fun! There’s so

much life to live. Everything is

brighter, and you get to share that

with someone. Doing adventures

alone, living life alone...it’s not

bad. Some people prefer it, but I

am one of those people who like

going in with someone. With love

you feel like a stronger person

because there’s someone behind

you. I always think that’s nice, not

just with relationships, but in

friend love, too. I love my friends.

Being with them is always fun.

Family love, and just doing stuff

with my family, is awesome. It’s

a real connection with someone,

and I think that is important for

any person to have. Love some-

one. Love something. If you

don’t I think it’s more of...oh

jeez, this is going to be kind of

rude...well, maybe you are a

shallower person if you don’t love

something. Like, if you don’t love

anything or anyone you seem kind

of sketchy. I may not want your

negative forces around me. Love is

something everyone needs.

On the other hand…

I think love is a bogus idea. It is

simply a term of the mental bal-

ance of chemicals that combine in

the brain that form a loose sense of

intelligence and a loose sense of

reason about a certain object or

substance or idea in general. Love

is an imaginary idea that turns hu-

mans into a weaker subject, caus-

ing them to be at the mercy of their

own ideas, especially when love is

predominant in a situation that can

be dangerous. For instance, if you

had to choose between the sacrifice

of your kid or a whole town of peo-

ple, you are going to try to save

your kid. You are going to let an

entire town of people go because

you love that kid more than you

love the town. It’s not a logical idea

because that’s what love does. Love

interferes with reason, and on top of

that, it interferes with life choices.

You start out in high school by your-

self with no girlfriend. Let’s say you

want to become a sociologist where

you study people. Well, you get a

girlfriend, and she wants to become

a psychologist. She is trying to get

you to become a psychologist be-

cause you want to go to the same

school, have the same classes, and do

the same things. Well, she convinces

you to do that. At the end of your

senior year, you find out she has been

cheating on you. So, you break up

and then realize you don’t really want

to be a psychologist. What are you

going to do? You can’t really back out

of it. Your parents have already paid

for it, you’ve already paid for it, you

can’t go up and ask for a refund. So

you’ve taken these classes you didn't

want to take just to be with this girl,

and it’s just another situation where

love gets in the way. Love’s not really

conventional. Love is a sense of false-

hood. It can break a human down

faster than anything else. It’s mind

torture.

By: Xavier Von Dran

Hipster Corner: To Love or Not to Love...This is the Playlist By: Jessica Hesson

Clubs in Numbers By: Sydney Gregory

7

Art League:

12- number of crayons used for drawing

480– number of crayons melted for “art”

FBLA:

66.7%- how many people will come to morning meetings

19- number of millionaires to be

Band:

53– number of runners in the 1st Annual Resolution Run

Too Many– number of times James Crosby drops his tuba

FCCLA:

22– number of field trips in Maddie Simpson’s high school career

25-number of trips to Starbucks on these trips

Songs for the love bugs…

1. “Turning Page” by Sleeping at Last

This is one of the sweetest songs of today. With lyrics like, “I surren-

der who I’ve been for who you are,” sung by Ryan O’Neal’s beautiful

voice, it can melt even the coldest heart.

2. “I Won’t Love You Any Less” by Nat and Alex Wolff

Many of you may remember Nat and Alex Wolff from the Nickelode-

on show The Naked Brothers Band, but this is a completely different

side of the brothers. This song has a very soft beat, and it’s message is

a promise of unconditional love.

3. “How to Win” by Nathaniel Rateliff

While his band Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats are becoming

famous from their more upbeat songs, there remains a softer side to

Rateliff. That side is plainly visible in this short, sweet song about

fighting for and winning love.

4. “The Idea of Growing Old” by The Features

The Features are a local band, originating from Nashville and

Murfreesboro. While the other songs are slower, this song is upbeat

in tempo with sweet lyrics making it the perfect song to play for a

long-term partner or a hopeful crush.

Songs for those bugged by love…

1. “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver

Skinny Love was written by the lead singer about his dysfunctional,

long-term relationship. It’s soft and sad but perfect for the after

breakup blues.

2. “House of Memories” by Panic at the Disco

This is off of Panic’s new album Death of a Bachelor. It’s a song about

moving on from past loves but saving the memories. “The lonely

moments just get lonelier the longer you're in love.”

3. “Grow Up” by Paramore

This song can be translated in a lot of different ways, but it all defi-

nitely centers around love, growing up, and learning to be alone.

Paramore is my go to for any kind of stress...especially that concern-

ing love.

4. “I Don’t Wanna Be in Love” by Good Charlotte

Though it’s a few years old, this is a break up go to. This is the ulti-

mate non-Valentine’s Day song. Just look at the title!

Whether you are filled to the brim with love or fighting the feeling,

these songs will get you through!

Room for Reading: Chapter 2 By: Jacey Cartwright and Zachary Lohn

8

Last month we talked about the

reading statistics in young adults

and what steps should be taken to

improve them. So, what are teachers

actually doing in classrooms to en-

hance reading abilities in students?

Beginning the 2015-2016

school year, Community High

was introduced to a new book

club called Straight Outta Pag-

es. Many students were excited

to express their love for reading

through this new club. Shortly

after the club started holding

meetings, a rumor started trav-

eling through the halls. It has

been said that many club mem-

bers are not reading the material

assigned. Upon discovering this in-

formation, the Viking Voice sought a

source to clear up the rumor. When

asked about the situation, book club

sponsor Mr. Brad Brown explained,

“Not everyone read All the King’s

Men because it was a bit more than

they could handle, but the book

club is running smoothly, and it’s a

great way to enhance student read-

ing.” So, there you have it; the book

club rumor has been put to rest.

Although book club has been

proven to be a good source of read-

ing for students, reading statistics

continue to steadily fall. At this

point, it is up to our teachers to en-

courage reading habits in young

adults. To get an idea of what teach-

ers are doing to help eliminate this

problem, the Viking Voice staff

asked a few teachers to fill out a sur-

vey.

Although many assume that

reading can only be practiced in

English class, our Algebra I teacher

testified against that fact. When

asked what she does to enhance

reading skills in her students, Mrs.

Holly King explained, “I enjoy im-

plementing vocabulary

because the students do

so much better under-

standing what I explain

to them…We make

sense of the problems.”

Even our drama teacher

Tony Davis revealed

that he has his own

method of teaching

reading when he con-

fided, “We read one full

-length script per nine

weeks. I try to pick scripts that

teach moral lessons…It is a good

confidence builder as well.”

Enhancing student reading can

be especially difficult when teach-

ing students with learning disabili-

ties. When special education teach-

er Diane Rivalto was asked about

reading enhancement, she pro-

nounced, “One problem with my

students is that they have always

had someone read everything to

them…and they have never had a

real need to try on their own. We

practice real-world problems that

the students have to read to

solve.”

Reading enhancement can be

practiced in many different

forms. Even though reading can

be practiced in a multitude of

areas, an English class is where it

is highly focused. English IV teach-

er Carol Garrette tells the Viking

Voice that “On a regular basis, two

times per

week, stu-

dents read

excerpts

from classic

reading.”

Alt-

hough it is

proven that

many

teachers

actively try

to enhance

student reading, the issue still ex-

ists, and the solution lies within

the walls of our schools.

Straight Outta Pages meets to discuss the book

they are currently reading.

According to Concordia Online

Education, five strategies to help

improve students’ reading levels

in classrooms are as follows:

1. Read all the time.

2. Read out loud.

3. Read it again.

4. Talk about reading.

5. Find the right book.

You Got a Date? Or Nah By: The Love Doctor

Fun Facts By: Sarah Pierce

9

The average man will spend $156, while women will only spend an

average of $85.

For every 120 men there are 100 single women.

15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day.

More than 9,000,000 pet owners are expected to buy gifts for their

pets this Valentine’s Day.

Teachers receive the most Valentine’s Day cards.

The city of Verona, where Shakespeare’s lovers Romeo and Juliet

lived, receives about 1000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valen-

tine’s Day.

Many people are afraid to ask the person that they like out on a

date. Well, let me assure you, that won’t be you this year. Here are a

few tips to get you started.

1. Fill a box with pink helium balloons. Draw pig faces on the bal-

loons, and seal them in the box with a note that says, “Will you be my

Valentine? Maybe when pigs fly.”

2. Ten days before February 14, on the 4th, give your crush a letter that has one “V” on

it. The next day, give them an “A” and so on until you have spelled out Valentines. On the

14th, show up with a “?” mark and a bouquet of flowers. Let them figure out the rest!

3. Get any kind of ball you can find, throw it to them nonchalantly, and say, “I knew

you’d be a great catch. Will you go out with me?”

Use these ideas, and you have a surefire way to have a

date this Valentine’s Day!

Cleatus

Notable Athletes By: Grayson Garrette and Syd Segroves

10

Dear Cleatus,

Why do guys always choose my best

friends?

-The Ugly Friend

Dear The Ugly Friend,

Don’t spend too much time in high

school worrying about boys. You don’t

need them! Ten years from now, you

probably won’t even remember their

names.

-Cleatus

Dear Cleatus,

Why is it that the vast majority of the senior

class seems not to care that we are losing the

battle for class points? Does no one else care

that we are losing our park day to a bunch of

sophomores?

-Concerned Classmate

Dear Concerned Classmate,

Word in the hall is that the seniors plan on

skipping and going to the park, even if they do

not win. They are “over it” and claim to be

suffering from “senioritis” LOL. I say get over

yourselves, and enjoy your last few months of

high school.

-Cleatus

DISCLAIMER: THE VIKING VOICE IS NOT REPSONSBILE FOR ANY DISTRESS CLEATUS

MAY CAUSE. CLEATUS IS JUST A DOG.

Kimmie Ramos was chosen as

the girls’ basketball “Notable Ath-

lete of the Month.” She was cho-

sen because of her outstanding

work ethic and dedication to the

team. Head Coach Allison Martin

tells us, “Kimmie has a great atti-

tude, is always willing to help,

and is very responsible. She does

whatever is asked of her, is an

awesome videographer, and also

goes above and beyond. She al-

ways gives 110%.”

Graham Cates was chosen as

the boys’ basketball “Notable Ath-

lete of the Month.” He was chosen

because of his hard work ethic

and leadership skills. “Graham is

always a hard worker,” remarked

one of his teammates. Another

teammate commented, “Graham

gives 110% to the team all the

time. He is a dedicated and skilled

athlete and continues to lead the

Vikings toward victory.”

Graham Cates plays

solid defense against

Moore County.

Kimmie Ramos poses

with a ball.

11

Nurse Jill By: Zachary Lohn

Focus on Eating Disorders

At the start of a new year, one of the most common resolutions is to lose weight or to exercise more regular-ly. People pack the gyms and start new fad diets in an effort to look and feel better. However, sometimes this focus on weight and food can become an obsession and result in eating disor-ders, especially among teens. Eating disorders rep-resent extremes in eating behavior and ways of think-ing about eating. Twenty-

four million Americans meet the criteria for an eat-ing disorder, and 1-2 out of every 100 students will struggle with one. Eating disorders can affect males and females of all ages, and they can be very damaging to a person’s health and well-being.

Anorexia and bulimia are the two most common eat-ing disorders. A person with anorexia has a distorted view of body size and shape and an overwhelming fear of gaining weight. As a result he or she will become ob-sessed with exercising, calo-rie counting, and weight control. People with anorex-ia are usually very thin and can become dangerously un-derweight. Bulimia is char-

acterized by a pattern of binge eating (eating an ex-cess amount of food) and purging (throwing up, using laxatives, or exercising exces-sively in an attempt to get rid of all the extra calories just consumed). A person with bulimia will regularly make excuses to go to the bath-room after meals. He or she may be average weight or even overweight. People with both anorexia and bulimia may be withdrawn from so-cial activities, especially those involving food. When around other people, they may talk about how fat they are and how little they eat. They may also become defen-sive if questioned about their eating habits and/or weight loss.

While the exact cause of developing an eating disor-der is unknown, there are several possible factors. Eat-ing disorders typically show up between the ages of 13

and 17. This time in a per-son’s life is characterized by emotional and physical changes (as a result of hor-mones), increased academic pressure, and greater degrees of peer pressure to fit in. Add to this the fact that we are continuously overloaded with images of impossibly thin celebrities, most images which are, in fact, air-

brushed, and the end result is an unrealistic expectation and view of body weight/image. Those who struggle with anxi-ety, depression, stress, and substance abuse are also at an increased risk for developing eating disorders.

If left untreated, eating dis-orders can lead to serious health problems, such as heart conditions, kidney fail-ure, severe malnutrition, and even death. Fortunately, though, a person with an eat-ing disorder can be treated and can go on to live a healthy life. If you are reading this ar-ticle, and you are thinking to yourself, “I know someone who does that,” or maybe this is something that you are struggling with personally, it’s important not to ignore it. If this sounds like you personal-ly, talk to a parent or an adult you can trust so that you can get help. If this sounds like a friend you know, talk to them and encourage them to get help. If you are unsure what to do or need more infor-mation, please feel free to come see me.

Nurse Jill

12

Pick of the Month:

Mr. Taras Struk: Lord of the Rings by J.

R. R. Tolkien

Mr. Brad Brown: The Catcher in the Rye

by J. D. Salinger

Mr. Tony Davis is

currently reading

U2: The Definitive

Biography by John

Jobling.

Mrs. Kathy Gregory

is currently reading

Entreleadership by

Dave Ramsey.

Favorite Beverage While

Reading:

1. Mrs. Barbara Brown: sweet

tea

2. Dr. Keith Williams: sweet

tea

3. Mrs. Linda Vincent: water

with lemon

4. Mrs. Elysha King: coffee

January Young Adult

Best Sellers

1. Passenger by Alexandra

Bracken

2. The Amazing Book is

Not On Fire: The World of

Dan and Phil by Dan How-

ell

3. Red Queen by Victoria

Aveyard

Read a New Book Month By: Zachary Lohn and Jacey Cartwright

Mrs. Libby

Frost is current-

ly reading The

Watching Hour

by Anne Rice.

Mrs. Holly King is

currently reading

Room with a View by

E.M. Forster.

By: Breanna Meyers

Gotta Bae, or Nah?

13

Feel my shirt.

It’s boyfriend

material.

I think you're

suffering

from a lack of

vitamin me.

Are you related

to Yoda?

Because

yodalicious.

Artist of the Month

Viking Voice Staff

Jacey Cartwright– Co–Editor

Grayson Garrette

Sydney Gregory

Jessica Hesson

Zachary Lohn

Breanna Meyers

Breanna Parker– Co-Editor

Sarah Pierce

Joel Powell

Sydney Segroves

Carol Garrette– Advisor

The first painting is by Bailee Newell. It is

about a word from the dictionary being illustrated

with mix media. She used paint and pen to create

this painting. The second painting is by Chell

Ragland. For this painting she used paint, pen,

and colored pencil. This painting is a collage; it is

also an expressive self portrait.

By: Bailee Newell

By: Chell Ragland

Don’t Try This at Home By: Sarah Pierce

14

Do you ever see a recipe or

life hack online and think,

"Hmmm... I should try that"? It

has bothered me greatly how I

can be on the Internet, and I

see something as ridiculous

as a banana peel can whiten

your teeth or you can get rid

of a zit overnight. So, what I

decided to do was put sever-

al crazy things I've seen

online to a test.

Let's go back to how I said a

banana peel can whiten your

teeth. Everybody would love

whiter teeth, so I thought this

was a good one to try. Fortu-

nately, for all of you reading

this right now, I'm going to go

ahead and say that rubbing a

banana peel on your teeth

DOES NOT whiten your teeth

– be grateful I tried this one

out, and you don't have to en-

dure the revolting torture of

having banana peel all in and

on your teeth.

The next thing I decided to

try was to use hand sanitizer

to get Sharpie out of clothes.

So, I took an old shirt and

drew on it with a Sharpie. Sad-

ly, as you can see from the two

pictures below, this was also

nothing short of a disappoint-

ment. I'm not so sure you can

get Sharpie out of clothes with

anything, and I guess that's

why it's called a permanent

marker.

How many people out

there wish there was an over-

night solution to getting rid of

zits? Well, I'm not a scientist,

but I'm here to say that a zit

doesn't disappear overnight.

I've tried many different

things, and there simply is no

overnight solution to this.

I read somewhere that if

you put honey on a zit and put

a band aid over it, by morning

the zit will be gone. I tried

this, and it didn't even do any-

thing but make me look like a

weirdo with band aids all over

If you go camp-

ing, use a head

light and milk

or water carton

to make a lamp

to put in your

tent.

According to whoever did the tutorial

above, you could take the clear piece

out of a laser pointer and tape it to

your camera on your phone, and it

would create a macro lens… I tore

apart a laser pointer and did just as

they did in the picture above, and the

result was the picture on the right.

THEY LIED!

my face. Alt-

hough there is

no overnight

solution, you can put tooth-

paste on a zit for two to three

nights, and it will dry it out and

go away.

So, what did I learn from all

of these experiences? DON’T

believe everything you see on

the Internet. I know that seems

so cliché to say, but as you can

see, most of these “life hacks”

turned out to be nothing but a

disappointment.

Yeah, I’m still

embarrassed I

even tried this

one….

Letters to the Editor By: Breanna Meyers

15

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK:

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TWITTER:

@VikingVoice

INSTAGRAM:

@viking_voice

Dear Staff,

I’m caught up on reading the Viking Voice. You, as lead-

ers and students, do a good job keeping the news updated

for us.

In reading the November 2015, I’ll have to agree with

Taylor Gregory about the tattoos. I think they are degrading

and worldly as “My mother taught me.” However, the per-

centage is low compared to the public. I think it’s just a fad,

and they will hate them when they get in their winter stage

of life.

That’s my feedback, but, of

course, I’m from the “old school.”

It may make Taylor feel better to

let her know she’s in order to

take her stand.

Keep up the good work!

Aunt Nell

Dear Viking Voice,

I look forward to each edition of the Viking Voice. As a

teacher, I love to see the perspective of the students on

different topics like dress code. By the way I thoroughly en-

joyed the guest writer's rant on dress code. I think that every-

one involved in organizing the edition and reporting on the

different issues is doing an amazing job! My favorite part of

the December issue was Sarah Pierce’s letter to Santa. What

was even better was that Santa actually responded. Not many

people can make a claim that Santa answered a letter of his

own.

I am very excited about Basketball Homecoming, and I

know that you all will have some wonderful stories about all

of the events associated with it. I can’t wait to see what you

have in store for us in the February

issue!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Frost

Class Points By: Sydney Gregory

16

Freshmen 340

Sophomores 565

Juniors 345

Seniors 465

CHS is on a mission! Community High School will endeavor to

create a healthy learning environment

where students develop their intellectual,

artistic, and physical talents through faculty,

students, family, and community collabora-

tion to better become lifelong leaders and

responsible citizens.