Frewspaper - Frewsburg

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Summer issue

Volume 1

Frewspaper: Christmas Edition

November-December 2018-19

Volume 6, Issue 2

Photo credit to Everina Bennett

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What’s Inside...

Page 2: Poetry and Results of the Ugly Sweater Contest

Page 3: Health and Wellness

Page 4: Past Performances

Page 5: Opinions and Facts on Baby it’s Cold Outside

Page 6: Family Photo Night and Thanks

Sam Smith was the winner of our Ugly Christmas

Sweater Contest and will be awarded a Frewsburg-

er gift certificate for a 16" one topping pizza and 20

wings!

Whenever It Snows by Maddie Huggins

The temperatutre is dropping, the trees are bare

Crisp deep breaths of thin, frozen air

Glistening sheets blanket the ground below

Gentle falling flakes of pure white snow

The weighted down branches of the evergreen trees

The light sparkle of the thin, frost-bitten leaves

The frosty air, pink noses brighten each hour

White rolling hills, red petals of the Christmas flower

Icicle tears that fall to the white winter floor

Melting in the sun, crying crystals so adored

Men of snow build up from the ground

Tunes of happy carols and bells all around

Chilled frosty windows, warm open fires lit inside

Bright, colorful lights decked with pride

How peaceful and pure all dressed in white

So beautiful each morning, so mysterious each night

Oh what a breathtaking time when the temperature

drops low

Such a warm nostalgia, whenever it snows.

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Happiness and Weather: Do they Connect?

Samantha Burkett

It’s no secret that people crave summertime. The long sunny days and warm nights guarantee happiness. But

what’s the science behind this? Could it be that our bodies are actually made for the warmer weather? Upon further

research, I found that experiments have been done to determine our bodies reaction to the weather, more specifically,

our bodies reaction to change in climate and temperature. Western New York has roughly 155 sunny days out of the 365. Which means that we combat a lot of cold

weather and dark days. This has a direct connection to our well being. Our external environment affects the tempera-

ture our bodies are casually at. The temperature our body is at affects what temperature our brain is at. That then af-

fects our brain functions. In further detail, although our bodies temperature doesn’t increase or decrease extremely

with the seasons, it does fluctuate depending on physical activity and our external environment. So when the days

start to get shorter and it gets chillier, our body temperature gets slightly lower. When this happens, our brain temper-

ature also decreases because they’re connected. To add to that, our brain functions are also altered due to our external

environments: it’s a double whammy for our brain and it’s abilities. One thing that we notice the most when our body

temperature has decreased is a shift in mood. Often times, winter brings sadness while summer brings out the best

side of everyone. Studies have reported that depression is more of an issue in colder months. Scientifically speaking,

the neurotransmitter known as serotonin controls our overall mood, sleep appetite, temperature regulation

(thermoregulation), and pain regulation of blood pressure and vomiting. So I guess you could say it’s a big deal.

When we are colder and get less sunlight, it makes serotonin less available to our brain which then leads to irregulari-

ty to all that it’s responsible for.

On another note, it may be that our bodies are low in the vitamin called ergocalciferol, more commonly

know as vitamin D. When our bodies are exposed to sunlight, vitamin D is produced from cholesterol . When we

are deficient in this vitamin, we are more prone to illness, fatigue, weakness, and depression. It’s a common and cur-

able deficiency in Western New York because of our lack of sunlight.

So how do we fix this? Our bodies can only use what we give them. Just like we need food and air to sur-

vive, we need sunlight and warmth to be happy. One thing I had mentioned before was that our body temperature

increases with physical activity, By working up a sweat, you give your body a boost of heat which ultimately leads to

making serotonin more available. In addition to this, exercise leads to the release of other hormones, such as dopa-

mine and endorphins. Theses all help you feel a little more jolly during these festive months. Not only do these trans-

mitters boost your mood, they also help to increase appetite and regulate sleeping. Obviously, you can’t exercise 24-

7. So by going outside or even opening your blinds, you are exposing yourself to the sun which is a natural heater

and has a direct link to serotonin production. Another way to increase your body heat is to make sure you’re properly

dressed before going out in the cold and consuming warm foods such as soup or tea. If you are feeling depressed or

tired during these cold months, it might be beneficial to talk with your doctor about Vitamin D. While going outside

will certainly help your mood, that isn’t always going to be the ultimate solution. With the approval of your doctor,

taking a vitamin D supplement can change your mood significantly. Overall, it’s clear that our wellness is connected

to the weather and there are simple ways to make a change.

Step 1:

EXERCISE

By exercising, you re-

lease hormones that

boost your mood while

increasing your body

temperature

Step 2:

CONSIDER

VITAMIN D

A vitamin D deficiency

could be the cause for

your sadness, talk to

your doctor about

supplements.

Step 3:

STAY WARM

By eating warm foods

and being properly

dressed before going

outside, you are keep-

ing your body heat

balanced.

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Senior High Christmas Concert

Jordan Clark

The Frewsburg high school Christmas Concert

was December 17th. The senior high chorus and mixed

chorus performed five songs. These songs included

“Marshmallow World,” “Counting Down to Christ-

mas” (with soloists Riley Chitester and Claire Johnson),

“O Come All Ye Faithful” (with soloist Caleb Barber

and accompaniment by Jared Walsh and Zach Heber-

lein), “Irving Berlin Medley” (with the help of the

Bearettes, both current and alum), and “Stille Nacht.”

These choruses did an amazing job with each of their

songs. The Omega Chorus did six of their own songs in

between a few of the regular chorus songs. The Omega

songs included “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,”

“Christmas Day” (with soloists Danielle Gray and Aidan

Cardone), “White Winter Hymnal,” “That’s Christmas to

Me” (with soloists Riley Chitester, Alejandro Reyes, and

Jordan Clark), “12 Days of Christmas” (with special

help from Caleb Barber, Daniel Reinagel, and Alejandro

Reyes), and “Little Drummer Boy.” The concert was

very successful and the hard work of the choruses

throughout the first two quarters of this year all paid off.

Many people in the audience were very pleased with the

concert. The fan favorite of most of the audience mem-

bers was “12 Days of Christmas,” because of the amaz-

ing falsetto performance by Dan Reinagel and Alejandro

Reyes. We hope you enjoyed the concert and we hope to

see you at the concert in the spring!

Rudolph’s Christmas Adventure Jordan Clark

On December 7th, Dancing with Victoria Perform-

ing Arts Centre held their annual Christmas show here at

Frewsburg. This year, the show was “Rudolph’s Christmas

Adventure.” The story was that of Rudolph (Kaitlin Kenne-

dy, Jamestown) and her bright red nose running off after

facing bullying from the other reindeer. Rudolph was

joined by the exuberant elf Hermy, (Katie Falkowski,

Jamestown) who didn’t fit in in the North Pole because she

didn’t like to make toys. The two joined together on their

“journey of independence” to be misfits together. They

traveled all the way to the island of misfit toys, where they

realized that nobody is perfect and they shouldn’t be

ashamed of their differences. They then returned to the

North Pole to face their fears. This was perfect timing be-

cause a big storm had just hit and Santa needed Rudolph to

guide the sleigh to save Christmas! In the end, Rudolph

realized that being different wasn’t so bad after all!

There are many girls from the Frewsburg school

district that dance at Dancing with Victoria Performing

Arts Centre, but there were only a few girls from the high

school in this show. These girls include Alicyn Emley,

Maddie Harris, Jordan Clark, Kayley Klemens, and Alexa

Seekins. The dancers from Dancing with Victoria worked

very hard to put together this show in a short amount of

time. The show featured spectacular dances, amazing

songs, and wonderful acting. Many people that attended

said that they thought the show was interesting and very

well done. The show would not have been possible without

the amazing choreography and awesome writing of Vicky

Haskell and her daughters Jaclyn, Justine, and Julia. These

teachers sacrificed so much in order to make the show the

best that it could be and to make sure that the dancers had

fun, too! While there was a lot of hard work that went into

the show, it all paid off with every laugh and every mo-

ment on stage. If you didn’t get to check out Dancing with

Victoria’s Christmas show this year, keep an eye out for

the next one. You surely won’t regret it!

Photo credit to Everina Bennett

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Worked Up Over Christmas Songs

Tatum Erickson This season you might have thought “Why haven't

I heard ‘Baby it’s Cold Outside’ on the radio lately?” and

if you are unlucky enough to have googled why its been

off the radio, you may know. This is a topic that has been

splitting people down the middle. Everyone has a strong

opinion about what the song is about. Those who do not

want it played believe that it is about date rape, and there

are those who believe it to be okay because it was written

in the 40’s. If you have never heard the song, basically,

there is two melodies, one sung by a female who wants to

leave, and the other by a male who wants her to stay by

telling her that it is too cold for her to leave and that she

must spend the night.

Now that you know what the song is, here's my

unpopular opinion: The song is not okay. I personally do

not care that it was written in the 40’s; it implies that

something happens that the female is not consenting to.

With rape becoming more prevalent in this day and age,

songs like this create a false romanticization of it. This has

an underlying effect, desensitizing people to the thought of

date rape. In one line of the song, the female singer says,

“Say, what’s in this drink?” This is never okay! This girl

should not have been put in this situation, especially in this

time period where women had less power in a relationship

like this causing a power struggle and a submission by the

woman. With more media normalizing date rape, victims

will have a harder time coming out about their experiences.

They will feel like this is a normal thing and that they may

not be believed or taken seriously.

Sure, things are different now than they were in

1940 when the song was written, but that does not give it

an excuse to be taken lightly. There are many ways to still

keep this Christmas classic around. Idina Menzel and Mi-

chael Bublé have covered this song while changing a few

words to give it a different meaning. The have changed the

word “cigarette” to “soda pop” and have completely taken

out the line “Say, what’s in this drink?” replacing it with

“Say, was that a wink?” Overall, small changes like this

can help to prevent the normalization and romanticization

of date rape.

FACTS ABOUT THE SONG

The song was first sung by Ricardo Montalban

and Esther Williams in the movie “Neptune’s

Daughter’ in 1949.

The song was originally written by Frank Lo-

esser as a playful gesture to his wife

Words of controversy in this song are, “The

answer is no”

“what’s in this drink”

“I ought to say no (mind if I move in closer)”

The song’s intention at the time was supposed

to be a cute joke between a man and his wife,

but since then has changed to be in support of

the common issue in 2018 of date rape, and the

misuse of women.

Michael Buble and Idina Menzel took a child-

ish fun approach of the song this year to make

it a little more lighthearted.

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Frewspaper Staff:

Mrs. Lisa Burns, Advisor

Editors:

Jordan Clark, Editor-in-Chief, Reporter

Samantha Burkett, Layout Editor, Reporter, Pho-

tographer

Bailey South, Copy Editor, Reporter

Katelyn Bean, Social Media Editor and Reporter

Staff:

Evei Bennett, Reporter

Brendan Deveraux, Reporter and Photographer

Tatum Erickson, Reporter and Editorialist

Hannah Eckert, Reporter

Jocelyn Estabrook, Reporter

Hannah Forbes, Reporter

Maddie Huggins, Creative Writer

Tanyon Sheesley, Reporter

Kayla Jones, Reporter and Photographer

Alexander Pitts, Reporter

Erich Thompson, Reporter

Thank you to all who helped make this

paper possible!

Administration:

Mrs. Shelly O’Boyle, Superintendent

Mrs. Danielle Patti, Assistant Superintendent

Mrs. Tiffany Frederes, Middle/High School Principal

Board of Education

Chad Chitester, President

Thomas Fenton, Vice President

Larry Lodestro

Polly Hanson

Jason Ruhlman

John Spacht

Randall Wiltsie

Photo, taken by Samantha Burkett shows Bailey South

taking photos for the free family photo night, put on by the new

art club. Mrs. Vitello had her photography class take photos. It

was good practice fro the students and the families ended up

getting great, holiday pictures. We look forward to seeing more

community events such as this one!

Christmas Favorites

Tatum Erickson

As the holiday season approaches, we all need some

advice for what to watch, what to listen to, what to do and

what to eat. I, Tatum Erickson, conducted a survey for the

whole school to determine, once and for all, the best Christ-

mas movie, Christmas songs and holiday desserts. The school

has spoken and the favorite Christmas movie is Elf with 26%

of people saying it is their favorite. How The Grinch Stole

Christmas, The Polar Express, and National Lampoon's

Christmas Vacation were not far behind. As for our schools

favorite Christmas song, it was not surprisingly “All I Want

For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey. Finally, the best

holiday desserts, according to our school, is cut-out cookies.