TRITON HIGH SCHOOL Gradventure: The event no one knows...
Transcript of TRITON HIGH SCHOOL Gradventure: The event no one knows...
TRITON HIGH SCHOOL Triton’s Student-Produced Newspaper June 5, 2013
By: David Kwiatkowski
Staff writer If you are a senior at Triton High School, then
you are in for an adventure. On Saturday, June
8th, Triton is hosting Gradventure.
"Gradventure is an all-night substance-free
adventure created each year for our Triton gradu-
ating senior class," said Kristen Kilty, Gradven-
ture Chairperson, in a description on the school
website. "It takes place on the night of gradua-
tion, which will be on June 8, 2013. This is a
parent/community sponsored event and is provid-
ed at no cost to our seniors. This program is sup-
ported by Triton but is not a school funded pro-
gram."
Triton Viking Grad-
venture has included a
different event every
year. The hosts of this
special occasion gener-
ally prefer to keep the
details a secret--the
surprise is half of the
fun. No student has
any idea what will take
place on the day of
Gradventure, though,
according to past
years, they can be con-
fident that it will be
fun. If you based your
predictions on those
years, you should have
very high hopes for
what is to come this year.
“It’s an all-night party,” said principal’s secre-
tary Mrs. Kimberly Wright. “It used to be held at
Newbury Elementary. In past years, there was a
DJ, face painting, Texas Hold ‘em… it all took
place in the gym, where there was blow-up
bouncing thing that you could climb in. The sen-
iors would take school buses and ride around,
and they would wear nametags and different-
colored glow sticks to keep track of which bus
they were on. After midnight, they would go bowl-
ing at Leo’s Super Bowl and get pizzas, drinks, and
cookies. Then, they would go to Plum Island and
go on a cruise. From around 5:30 to 6:00 in the
morning, they would go to Dunkin’ Donuts and
have donuts. It would be a place to hang out, sign
yearbooks, and stuff… They would then get picked
up at 7:00 and would be given blankets with ‘THS’
stitched on it.” Wright was a part of Gradventure
from 2001 to 2006, but she believes that Mrs.
McAdams started the whole thing.
Science teacher Brad Smith explained how his
wife had ran Gradventure for a while in the past,
and then had helped with it afterwards.
“She ran it when Colin [Smith’s older son]
was doing it. They went to a go-kart place in south-
ern New Hampshire… She
helped when Kyle [Smith’s
younger son] did it. When
they used to do it, they were
at Newbury Elementary
School… It started in the
day, and they spent the
whole night there… At one
point, they went to Leo’s
Super Bowl.”
Gradventure is currently
looking for parents, family
members, and friends to
help with the planning and
fundraising for this incredi-
ble night. “We try to get
donations from families and
businesses,” said Wright.
There have been several
meetings for it throughout the year, beginning in
September, and there will be a final meeting on
May 22nd, at the high school in room A208 from
7:00-8:30 in the evening.
To have a part in this difficult, but rewarding,
task, you can contact the hosts of Gradventure at
[email protected]. "We look forward
to your help in creating this wonderful experience
for our children," said Kilty.
By: David Kwiatkowski
Staff writer If you have ever done something that you are
proud of, how would you feel if it was ruined while
out on display for the whole school to see? That ex-
act situation is being dealt with presently by a few
students in Triton’s art class.
“Someone took a Sharpie to our two nicest piec-
es, super deliberately,” said art teacher Mr. Josh An-
drews. “It was the second time this happened to the
same kid... a random gouging across the piece of
art.”
The four or five pieces of art that were vandal-
ized had to be redone in some places. Although the
works were repaired to a certain extent, they still do
not look like they are in as good condition as they
had been before the thoughtless destruction was in-
flicted upon them. Some, like the drawings of old
cars and trucks, could be somewhat restored by
drawing over the graffiti. However, others, such as
the carvings into the black paper, had defacements
etched into them, and could not be fixed.
See ARTWORK on page 2
By: Dylan McDougall
Staff writer Since well before getting her
first tattoo, senior and art-geek Ka-
ley Hughes, has been eagerly inter-
ested in ink for as far back as she
can think. Being
inspired by the
“sheer nature of
[tattoos]”,
Hughes’s pas-
sion for the art
has been ex-
ceedingly nota-
ble throughout
high school;
however, it was
a doctor’s diag-
nosis in 2011
that had caused
her fascination
for tattoos to sink skin-deep.
According to Hughes, her love
for art in general initially sprouted
from growing up in the same house
as her visually artistic brother.
“I’ve always been interested in
tattoos,” Hughes said, “but ever
since I was diagnosed with the skin
disease Vitiligo, I’ve worked to
cover up my insecurities [with tat-
toos]”.
In explaining that Vitiligo is a
condition that causes sections of
one’s skin to differ in pigmentation,
Hughes reported that her first tat-
too, a skeleton key (which was
drawn by Hughes) was strategically
placed on her right forearm. Spend-
ing just $275 for the three-hour
session, Hughes described the skel-
eton key outline
as being a mere
“three-or-four”
on a 1-to-10
pain scale, while
the shading and
added color
caused the scale
to rise to a six
for the then-18-
year-old.
Now 19,
Hughes has
already added a
second tattoo to
her collection (a
collection that she says will grow as
she gets older). The subsequent
tattoo, a dream-catcher located on
her left shoulder, is estimated to
cost, “over a thousand dollars”, said
Hughes.
In fact, Hughes reported that,
because of the fine detail of the art
work and all of the effort that will
go into the process, “it will take 3
sessions [that will add up to] a total
of 14 hours.”
Having had no desire to start a
tattoo sleeve, the location of
Hughes’s dream-catcher tattoo was
an easy decision. In explaining that
the highest rate of discomfort had
occurred near the top of
the shoulder and
around the elbows
bones, Hughes de-
scribed the pain of the
experience as being “a
5-or-6 [for
the outline]”, while
the shading process
was deemed “an 8-or-
9”.
Finding the original
dream-catcher design
online, Hughes said to
have “changed things
up” as she worked the
concept to fit her style.
After developing a
modified sketch of the
dream-catcher, Hughes scheduled
her appointment at her preferred
tattoo parlor Masterpiece Tattoos in
Salem, N.H. with the shop’s owner
Daniel (who had majored in Fine
Arts).
“At the moment, [Daniel is] my
favorite tattoo artist,” Hughes said.
“He has an amazing style, he knows
my taste, and most importantly, I
trust him with a tattoo gun.”
With her sights set on the New
Hampshire Institute in Manchester,
N.H., Hughes pines to continue
Gradventure: The event no one knows about
Triton Tattoos: Budding student dreams of becoming tattoo artist
Artwork Vandalized Art students work defaced
Hughes’s first tattoo, a skeleton key
(McDougall photo)
her adoration for the arts while
studying as a Fine Arts major. With
such an education, Hughes will be
exposed to a range of
tattoo-welcoming
career opportunities
in the creative field.
“Seeing as I plan on
being a tattoo artist,
[my tattoos] will not
affect that career,”
Hughes said.
“However, I work at
Lena’s Seafood at the
moment, [and] my
boss doesn’t neces-
sarily appreciate my
shoulder tattoo as
much as I do.”
Already having had
designed, (or helped
design) several tattoos
for a number of people, Hughes
described her passion for tattoos
and her future career plans as being
“fully-supported” by her parents.
Stained with only ink, and no
regret, Hughes hopes to encourage
self-expression in others by creating
artistic designs that shine with
meaning.
“The significance behind my
tattoos are really just to give myself
a peace of mind, to love my skin as
well as myself, and [to display] my
love for tattoos,” Hughes said.
Hughes’s dream-catcher
tattoo after. Session 1 of 3.
(McDougall photo)
This piece of art, by Danielle Sedler, had a marker
drawn across it while it was out on display in the art
hallway (Kwiatkowski photo).
Top Ten Reasons
to Attend Gradventure: (courtesy, Gradventure Committee)
10. It’s the adventure you wouldn’t want to miss.
9. You are a senior and you have worked hard for
this opportunity.
8. It’s free.
7. We will feed you.
6. Everyone will be there (seniors only!).
5. Wicked fun places to go with a lot do to!
4. No foreign language requirement.
3. You finally have permission to stay up all night
long!
2. Did we mention it’s free?
1. What happens at Gradventure stays at Gradven-
ture.
Triton High School page 2 June 5, 2013
Senior Cody reeves is interviewed at Mr. THS
(Goulart photo).
ARTWORK from page 1 “Whoever did it has no concept
of putting hard work into it. [The
artist] put in a lot of time, and to
put it out on
display to show
the quality of
work, and then
have someone
mangle it...
This happens
just about eve-
ry year.
“I don’t
know if it’s
because of a
grudge or if it’s
just random...
It’s what cre-
ates a feeling of
irritation in
Triton,” said
Andrews.
Mr. THS is Triton tradition,
a time when we all get together as a
community and make light of things as
the year comes to a close. Technical
difficulties or not, it is always a good
time filled with lots of laughter. This
year saw senior Victor Ramirez
crowned as Mr. THS. Thus, the Triton
Voice made sure to get his thoughts
after he was crowned.
Victor what was your favor-
ite part of the competition? “Having
seen everyone have fun,” said Ramirez
“It was also good to see the freshman step-up.”
How did you feel when you were crowned Mr.
THS? “I was pleasantly surprised and glad to have a new
Dunks Card,” said Ramirez.
What was your favorite segment of the competi-
tion? “The interview section because you got to see what peo-
ple think of you,” said Ramirez.
Next the Triton Voice decided to meet with one of
the coordinators of the Mr. THS event Mrs. Lisa Herzl.
What was the overall goal of this event? “The goal
was to raise money, let some of the gentlemen of Triton per-
form and of course for everyone to have fun,” said Herzl.
Freshman Ryan Estes
performs his talent
(Goulart photo).
Ramirez crowned ‘Mr. THS’ Despite some difficulties, performance judged a success
Mr. THS contestants line up for the judges (Goulart photo).
How much planning was needed for this event?
“Mostly the class officers worked on it and it was great but it
needed more participation,” said Herzl.
How do you think it went this year? We had some
technical difficultiesm but we had very good hosts (Jessica
Kelly and Evan Pan) also the participants were very enthusi-
astic.”
Lastly we decided to interview someone who saw the event,
Stephen Levesque.
What was your favorite part of the competition?
“When Ryan Estes dressed up in a doughnut costume and
then sang to Katy Perry’s Jar of Hearts,” said Levesque.
“Personally I liked his version better.”
By: Amanda Tarlow
Staff writer On June 8 the seniors of Triton
will graduate. They have the major-
ity of June, July and August to re-
lax and prepare for college. But
some kids will be getting ready
right after they graduate. In south-
ern states, colleges start classes far
earlier then northern colleges.
It’s like this because it’s the
same with high schools in the
south. Northern schools end classes
in June and start classes in early
September. Schools in the south
end in May and can start in early to
mid-August. For example, in the
2011-2012 school year, schools in
Baldwin County, Georgia, opened
on August 15th. Schools usually try
to determine their school vacations
by which days are warmer and
longer.
It differs in other countries. For
example, Indian schools get out in
April and start in June. In England,
The Triton Class of 2013 poses on the athletic fields (photo courtesy Sulli-
van Studios).
For some Triton seniors, college will start sooner than later
school ends in July and starts in
September.
Senior Allison Jones will be
attending Oklahoma State Universi-
ty.
“Classes start August 19th.
Move in is August 12th. I’m moving
in early because it’s expensive to go
back and forth.” When asked about
the
amount of time she had to prepare
she said, “I think I don’t have a lot
of time but it’s good because I’d be
sitting around worrying about it.”
Senior Emily Fougere also will
be starting around the same time at
Rhodes College in Tennessee. “I
start August 16th. I have to get there
the 15th to check in. I think this
summer is different because it’ll be
the first summer without homework
so it’s shorter but I can enjoy it
more.”
Senior Cori Simons who will be
attending the College of Charleston.
“Charleston has a special orienta-
tion for students coming from 700
miles or more away. This is on Au-
gust 15th and 16th. August 17th to
18th is move in and the first day of
classes is on the 20th.” About the
shorter summer she said, “I can’t
complain, it’ll be like living in sum-
mer all the time. I’ll also get out
earlier and come home earlier.”
Andrews expressed his extreme
disappointment over what has hap-
pened to some of his students’ hard
work. He could not believe how
low some kids’
morals could
sink while exe-
cuting their
insensitive,
stupid pranks.
“Hopefully,
people would-
n’t do it, con-
sidering how
messed up it
is.”
He also
explained how
important these
works of art are
to the artists.
Even beyond
having pride in their own strenuous
effort, these pieces of art could
possibly have a part in ultimate-
ly deciding these artists’ education
futures.
“These works have a potential to
be included in an application for a
scholarship for college. Now that
these works are damaged, these
students’ portfolios would be affect-
ed.”
“A couple of
years ago,” said
art teacher Mrs.
Robyn Knipe-
Verrette, “a
piece of art was
stolen. When it
was announced
over the inter-
com, it was re-
turned.”
She said that there were works
of art stolen this year, also, but after
the incident was announced over the
intercom, the art was never re-
turned.
Assistant principal Mr. Scott
Brennan explained what the normal
procedure is when crimes like this
are committed.
“What usually happens is, Mr.
Andrews takes a picture, sends it
via e-mail to all the teachers. Some-
times teachers recognize it, and they
question kids…
Even Officer
Lucy might get
involved.”
Both An-
drews and Ver-
rette hope to dis-
cover the vandal
and hold him or
her accountable
for his or her
actions.
“Whoever did it has
no concept of putting
hard work into it.”
— Mr. Josh
Andrews, art teacher This drawing, by Sam DiBacco, had little
drawings carved into the black space be-
side the picture of the lion. (Kwiatkowski
photo).