The Scroll is Going Digital

By: Anna Lute (Editor of The Scroll)

November 1st, 2019

Greetings fellow students, teachers, pets, second cousins twice removed, unicorns, and all those who don’t fit into those categories.

Welcome to our new Scroll! We decided to save a couple of trees and go digital this year, a change that is very exciting and has taken some reconfiguration. We want to preserve the originality and voice of our reporters while still striving to provide the reader with the very best content. Hopefully, this online access to our newspaper will make that a little easier. This year is like a guinea pig year for The Scroll.  We are going to be constantly adding different ideas, putting in unorthodox pictures and writing styles, and, hopefully, possibly, changing the font once or twice. With this new technological angle we can also add videos and images that weren’t available to us before. We’re donning lab coats and grabbing pencils and experimenting with this whole “newspaper” idea, so thank you in advance for your support! We ask that you give us your patience and understanding as we venture into the realm of newspaper-making. It’s a crazy adventure, but one that we are all super excited about! If any of you unicorns out there have any fantastic ideas, contact us! We would love feedback and opinions (they only make this whole shebang more constructive).  You can visit our advisor, the beautiful Mrs. Tyrrell, in room 235, or email us at scrolleditor1@gmail.com! Everyone else, too bad, should’ve been a unicorn. (I'm just kidding, but the unicorns’ opinions may be taken more seriously.) 

This first issue has a few fantastic articles from some of our best writers, whose work you’ll be seeing all year, but if any of you (everyone this time, promise) want to submit articles or comics or drawings or turtle memes, we’ll take them with open arms. This is supposed to be our Scroll, and by “our,” we mean “everyone,” ergo all are welcome. We hope to see you at our meetings! Until then, enjoy the November Scroll! 

Photo Credit: Ella Hayes--  Student enjoys shooting hoops at the new Caveman Court

   Mental Health Days

By: Sadie Allison

November 1, 2019

Grants Pass High School students get to skip school? A law was passed in Oregon to give students mental health days. Mental health days are meant to give students a break if they need it, because so many students deal with depression and problems outside of school, making it extremely difficult for a student to come to school and try to learn. This law in Oregon was passed July 1st, 2019.

The law on mental health days was passed by some senior students in northern Oregon. They noticed that they had friends that really should not have been at school because of their mental health. The Oregon government knew this was true. The suicide rate is going up significantly in Oregon. It is the second leading cause of death in Oregon. Psychologists have also stated that it is almost impossible for students’ brains to comprehend and learn information in school if students are anxious or nervous about something. 

Maddi Zechello, a freshman at Grants Pass High School, said, “I agree with this law. I feel like it’s helpful for kids if they need it to regenerate themselves if they need it.” Many students agree with Zechello’s opinion. Ilona Perez, also a freshman at Grants Pass High School said, “ I like the idea of mental health days.” Julie Myers, a senior at Grants Pass High School said, “ I will be using mental health days.” Most students are not sure yet if they are going to use mental health days, but a lot of them think that they are important to have.

Some parents have different views than students, though. Two parents of students at Grants Pass High School, Sean Allison and Scott Wakefield, both said that too many kids would take advantage of it. Mr. Wakefield said,”Society is too giving these days.” My dad said, “When I went to school, we didn’t have mental health days, and we were fine.” Most parents and teachers said they could see how it could be beneficial, but overall they felt that it would just be taken advantage of and that it is just not necessary. 

The Mental Health Day law passed in Oregon has a lot of controversy. Some people think it is helpful and necessary. Some people think it will be very taken advantage of and not unnecessary. We’ll see how it works out this year.

Paper VS Screens in the Classroom

By: Ella Hayes

November 1st, 2019

In classrooms all across the United States, new technology such as computers, Chromebooks, and tablets have been replacing the traditional uses of paper and textbooks for classroom assignments and homework. Internet access in a school setting allows for more information on a variety of topics, greatly benefiting the working student. Compared to a typical school library, the internet holds thousands of additional pages, containing loads of information. Textbooks have even been transferred online in the form of e-textbooks that students can carry everywhere on their cell phones. However, the internet can be found as much less reliable than a typical textbook, as the information online can be easily edited and altered by unreliable sources.

This change can be found as more cost-effective than maintaining paper products in a school. Online books and programs are found to be much cheaper than any physical lessons. For example, Google Classroom, a Google-run online classroom platform, allows teachers to assign tasks and projects to a classroom of students completely virtually. Google Classroom is a completely free program, and over 70 million classrooms are using it across the United States. However, the cost of a classroom Chromebook can be hundreds of dollars each. Multiply this by the number of students in a school, plus repair and updates, may rival the cost of textbooks and physical lessons.

Even Grants Pass High School, a public high school in the relatively small town of Grants Pass, Oregon, has been making this change from paper products to Chromebooks in many of their classrooms. Students at GPHS have varying opinions on this transition. Zane Hancock, a sophomore at GPHS, usually likes classwork online, because there are more sources for information. Hancock uses internet access on a weekly basis in all of his classes.  Madeleine Powell, another sophomore, believes that textbooks are more reliable because textbooks have less of a chance of being incorrect. They both agree that internet use is more environmentally friendly than paper, which could eventually lead to a healthier planet.

Over the last 20 years, school internet use has dramatically increased across the United States. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 1994, only 35 percent of public schools had internet access in their classes. However, by 2001, 99 percent of public schools had internet access. This is a substantial jump of 64 percent in only seven years. Then, by 2015, 65 percent of students who use the internet just used the internet at school or for school work.

At home, however, fewer students have easy access to the internet. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 61 percent of students in the United States have access to the internet at their home. Statistics prove that students of varying races, parent income, and parental education have differing average access to the internet at home. For this reason, many schools (including Grants Pass High School) provide alternative homework options for students that cannot reach the internet outside of school.

In classrooms nationwide, internet pages and articles are replacing uses of customary books and textbooks used by students in years past. This change, according to some students, increases a student’s horizon of information and ultimately increases their knowledge on subjects that they are interested in. However, students also explain how it increases their chance of finding false information. This transition, as it is more environmentally friendly than traditional uses of paper, can be one of the beginning steps towards a healthier planet.

Clean The Ocean’s Trash

  By Quinton Cyra 

 November 1, 2019

Think of the ways that the oceans around the world help us or how we use them, yet we choose to pollute them with our waste.  Our planet consists mostly of oceans that make up 71% of the planet and their conditions are alarming . As reported by the Sea Turtle Conservancy organization, “100 million tons of trash is floating just on the surface.” l. Many problems arise with trash in the oceans, from toxins in the water affecting ecosystems to animals and natural resources being hurt. 

Human waste in general causes significant problems in the present day and even for the future of our planet. Research from Environmental Pollution and Health states, “Some common effects include water quality, environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, depletion of natural resources and contribution to climate change.” Animals are put in danger with the dumping of waste into oceans, causing nearly 1 million deaths of marine life in just a year. Solutions to turn this issue around need to be taken seriously if we want to help the planet. As this happens, we will better circumstances. Our planet's oceans are used in ways to help the human race, and all of the resources we use are polluted with our waste.

Mining for minerals such as salt, sand, gravel, and even fuels has been taken from oceans to be used for materials we need. Humans breathe oxygen. Deborah Byrd, founder of the science organization Earthsky, points out that “Scientists believe that phytoplankton contribute between 50 to 85 percent of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere.”  Roughly 22% of dredged material is dumped into some parts of the ocean, and these places will have surface floating trash for miles on end. 

Ocean ecosystems are affected by the contamination and toxins from trash. In turn, this harms all life surrounded by coral reefs. The MarineBio Conservation Society states that waste has been dumped into oceans for many years. For instance, during the 1970s, doing so was actually legal and 17 million tons of industrial waste was dumped from big wig industries. Though this was normal in the past, there are now rules and groups of individuals who are helping the issue be resolved.

Ocean CleanUp crews have developed ways to collect the trash that is simpler and cost efficient.  The organization states that “The system consists of a long floater that sits at the surface of the water and skirt that hangs beneath it. The floater provides buoyancy to the entire system, while the skirt prevents debris from escaping underneath.” Recycling teams use this trash to make products that can be used by people instead of being thrown away. Even the simpler items, such as bottle caps or plastic bottles can be turned into the products we buy in stores, like backpacks, sleeping bags, to car  batteries.

Students at Grants Pass High School have many great ideas to solve these issues, which may one day be put into effect. One student of GPHS, a junior named Max, said, “I think it's bad because all the animals are dying, and we should just throw [the trash] into a giant hole then burn the waste.” This idea consists of a few great ideas, although this could harm the atmosphere, creating what is called the Greenhouse effect, which causes the atmosphere to trap radiation and makes the earth grow hotter every year. Common thoughts of how to change this issue are not usually ones that can withstand the depth of the problem. Andrew Rodriguez, a Senior at GPHS, offered another solution to fix the trash problem: “Use the trash from the ocean  somehow as a source of energy or something we can use for our benefit.” Voices of people that stand with the no waste in our oceans being heard is important because everyone has ideas that help.  

The majority of students at GPHS want to fix the problem, but a few do not care enough or have strong feelings about the issue. “The issue isn't going to stop, because it's convenient for us and not causing problems as of right now,” said GPHS Junior Ryan Jackson. Recycling systems have been placed all over the world, and people will see them everywhere they go-- from schools to restaurants, and some offices. Placing these recycling bins in areas that people are always visiting will improve the amounts of plastic not going into the oceans. Recycled items are capable of being reused or turned into steel cans (for soda), plastic laundry detergent bottles, newspapers andPaper towels. 

Understanding the drawbacks of trash being dumped into our oceans is helpful. Also, knowing the reasons why we destroy oceans’ ecosystems in order to make our lives easier needs to be brought to light. The human race has been pushing the boundaries for too long. We need to focus on preserving the oceans and recycling more.