With the number of days left in the school year dwindling into the single digits, some students that are involved in extracurriculars are preparing for a busy summer of on-campus activities. Many organizations on campus hold summer rehearsals or camps in order to allow the new students to meet the older kids and to prepare the students for the upcoming school year.
If you’re looking for a band kid, you can probably find us in the band hall, whether we’re practicing, doing homework, or making inside jokes that you likely won’t understand.
Applying for your first job can be a terrifying experience. From submitting an application to completing the interview process, it is only natural that some people make mistakes along the way. Learning what mistakes to avoid when applying for a job can help you realize not only what employers are looking for, but more importantly, how to portray a respectable, honest image of yourself.
Sophomore Kristen Pallesen applied for a job as a hostess at Alamo Drafthouse, and after successfully obtaining the position, learned the do's and don'ts that everyone should know when applying for a job.
Students participate in many extracurricular activities, from musical activities to sports to leadership roles like Student Council and more. But how many of those students are involved in extracurricular academics, such as academic UIL?
“We have had a very low participation in most of the events, other than current events,” physics teacher and academics UIL coordinator Leslie Salazar said. “We’ve got a very diverse population here at Johnson so the kids are involved in everything, so getting them or asking them to commit time to come to practices and to study time for something on their own that they’re not getting graded for is a lot to ask of them.”
An actor has been hiding in our midst. Working as a substitute teacher and calling students “little brother” or “little sister,” David Mooney doesn’t speak much about his acting career, but he has many stories to tell.
“My mother had been a singer and all that so she encouraged me. I was always I guess a drama king or something, you know. I guess my mother thought I was a little over the top, so she encouraged me to be interested in the art,” Mooney said. “And she had a lovely voice, but she never pursued it so she kind of encouraged me to pursue it.”
With the countdown to graduation on, it’s almost time to recognize the students who are summa, magna, and cum laude graduates. However, in the midst of all of these students lies the individual who has the highest rank out of the graduating class.
According to NEISD board policy E.I.C. (Local), the student who is the highest ranking graduate is not individually recognized. Instead, this student is identified solely based on their weighted grade average, or WGA.
Class officers are the leaders of the grade. They get official titles, do community service, and plan school events for the rest of the students. The sophomore class only has two leaders this year.
“There are only two of us, me and a girl named Diana Jones. She’s pretty nice. It’s just pretty surprising that we’re the only two people. I guess it’s because we’re the only people that signed up,” sophomore class vice-president Micaela Murphy said.
If you volunteer in the community or spend time doing community service, you can be awarded for your efforts. Senior Amanda Coursey won the gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award given to people who have participated in certain amounts of community service within one calendar year.
“I was working with the pep squad last year, and just really enjoyed doing that, so I would spend my time with them, and like my Fridays I would go with them to the football games and stuff like that,” Coursey said. “Outside of that, I would be volunteering at a vet, because I want to become a veterinarian later on.”
It’s 11 p.m. The seniors have just been released from their graduation ceremony. A handful of these graduates pile into cars with their friends, and head back to Johnson. Instead of heading home, these students are returning to school because of Project Graduation.
“Last year I actually went to the party because I knew I was going to be the chairperson this year, so I thought, ‘Well, I’ll go check it out, see what I think,’ and it looked like everybody just had a blast,” parent and Project Graduation committee chair Kathleen Donoghue said.
The sound of talking filled the room as kids gathered around the high schoolers. Senior and English Honor Society president Claudia Serrano held a book in her hand, reading to the elementary kids who looked up at her, listening intently to the story.
“We visited the KIN programs at the local elementary schools, either Roan Forest or Cibolo Green, and we sat down with, it ended up being, basically we ended up working with a ton of kids, and we sat down and read them different fairy tales and different books,” Serrano said. “And then we sat down with those same kids and we helped them write letters to soldiers overseas for Christmas.”