Tuesday, May 31, 2016
2015-2016 Spirit Rock
The Spirit Rock was purchased by Student Government and sits outside the front office of Mason High School. It has become a way to advertise events like homecoming and celebrate Comet Pride. Clubs like SIBS, Student Government, and National Art Honor Society did some of the paint jobs this school year.
See the Full Story: http://thecspn.com/?p=38052
Friday, May 13, 2016
Assistant principal headed to new post at Little Miami Intermediate School
Juliana Discher | Staff Writer
Mason High School Assistant Principal Dan Distel hopes he will be remembered as an administrator who was always fair and supportive to students as leaves Mason to pursue a head principal position at Little Miami Intermediate School.
May 24, 2016 will mark Distel’s last day overseeing the halls of Mason High School. Distel has served as assistant principal for the past three years and was a teacher from 2004-2013. He taught freshman and seniors alike in AP U.S. History, American History, World History, and Contemporary Social Issues.
Principal Dave Hyatt said Mason High School will greatly miss having Distel on staff.
“Mr. Distel’s efforts here over the past 12 years as a former teacher, coach, and current administrator have greatly impacted student lives in the Mason community,” Hyatt said. “The things we’ll miss most about Mr. Distel include his approachability, his sense of humor, his ability to keep things in perspective, and most importantly, his passion to serve all students from all different backgrounds. We wish nothing but the best for him as he continues his journey in educational leadership.”
Distel initially sought out a position at Mason after earning his bachelor’s degree in education from Ohio University. He earned his master’s degree in education administration from Xavier University. His journey at Mason began when he student taught here in 2001 and 2002.
“I went to Colerain High School, so I am a Cincinnati kid,” Distel said. “I worked as a volunteer wrestling coach at Mason and made some connections through that. I had a family member who went through the high school and that got me connected to get the student teacher gig.”
Although Distel said he didn’t initially plan to become a teacher or administrator, he ended up following in the footsteps of his parents, who both work in the education field.
“I grew up as most kids–I was very interested in being anything other than somebody who spent their whole life in a school,” Distel said. “My dad is an administrator and my mom is retired now, but she was an intervention specialist. I spent most of my life in schools. I didn’t think I was going to go into it, I actually started as a business major in Athens, but about two years in, I realized I had only taken courses in history and humanities. I realized I really enjoyed the subject matter and that was my introduction into teaching.”
Distel said he will rely on friends and family for support as he handles the stress of a bigger role.
“I always lean on others for help,” Distel said. “A part of being in education is being willing to ask for help and ask questions. I’ve wanted for a while now to have a building level responsibility beyond assistant principal. I’m comfortable going into this position because I know that there will be great mentors and those who would be willing to support me.”
Despite the differences between Little Miami and Mason, Distel said he feels confident about entering the district.
“Little Miami is a smaller school district,” Distel said. “There is a difference in terms of history of the district. Little Miami has gone through some serious financial issues that they’re on the back end and coming out of. They have always maintained a high degree of academic expectations.”
There are certain duties Distel said he won’t feel remorse about leaving, but what he will miss the most are the students and faculty he is departing from.
“I won’t miss parking,” Distel said. “I don’t think I will miss eating lunch with 900 of my closest friends for two hours a day. I will miss having such great conversations with students. I will miss the people. I come to work everyday with my friends. When it comes to the students, they’re capable of so much and perform at such a high level. Walking into this building everyday and seeing the things they do is humbling and makes me think about what I didn’t do in high school. It inspires me and others.”
Distel said he hopes he leaving a legacy as someone who truly cares.
“I hope students don’t think of me as the assistant principal who was out to get them, but enjoyed the school experience with them,” Distel said. “With teachers, I hope they think I supported them in educating kids. Overall, I just hope I connected with people. One of my beliefs in life, if you connect and form good relationships with people, you’ll find success. That’s always been my number one goal.”
See the Full Story: http://thecspn.com/?p=37401
Monday, April 25, 2016
Ultimate Frisbee Coverage
I began playing Ultimate Frisbee in January of this year. Soccer had been the only sport I'd played previously, but I was ready for a new experience and new challenge. New year, new sport. I had never played a school sport before and I felt like this would be the perfect opportunity to have a low-key sport to play.
Mason Ultimate Frisbee has allowed me to meet so many new and kind people. It works well with my schedule because I am very involved in extracurriculars, but still have time for this sport. Although people often scoff or chuckle when I tell them I play Ultimate, I'm glad I took the time to learn and play the game. I plan to play my senior year and play as an intramural sport in college.
I really enjoyed MBC's coverage of the sport and I was so honored to be interviewed for one of the stories. Check out their great work below.
Check out MBC's CSPN coverage of Ultimate Frisbee, which I am featured in
Friday, April 15, 2016
Students feel 'unprepared' to file tax despite Financial Literacy
Juliana Discher | Staff Writer
W-2, W-4, 1040EZ–for a teenager struggling to file their own taxes, these terms can cause bouts of panic, frustration, and shivers.
April 15 is the traditional filing deadline for U.S. federal income tax returns every year. Teenagers don’t have to file taxes if they are a dependent of another taxpayer; however, they have to file if their investment income is over $1,000, if their earned income is greater than $6,100, or if taxes are withheld from their paycheck. This means for many high school students with part-time jobs, filing taxes is required.
Senior Mariam Saad tossed her W-2 form in the garbage when she got in the mail for the first time.
A W-2 reports annual wages and the amount an employer withheld to pay federal and state income, Social Security and Medicare taxes. Saad said she was unsure of what to do with the form.
“I didn’t remember anything from Financial Literacy, so I threw my W-2 away the first time,” Saad said. “The next year when I got my W-2 form, I went online on H&R Block, but it was still really confusing. It said I would only get $20 back as my refund so I just ignored it. It was all just a hassle.”
Financial Literacy teacher Carmen Scalfaro said that it’s unlikely for a teenager to be audited because they don’t make a lot of money. An audit is when the Internal Revenue Service examines your taxes more closely to verify that your income and deductions are accurate.
Scalfaro said Financial Literacy prepares students to file.
“We go through simulations where students fill out 1040EZ forms, which are perfect for teenagers who have part time jobs,” Scalfaro said. “Most teenagers will get refunds, but some do have to pay more in taxes, so it’s important for them to know how to fill them out. I like that the class is given to sophomores, but sophomore year, only about half of students have a job and by the time they’re juniors a lot more will be working. So it could be more real to them as juniors, however, I don’t think there is anything wrong with preparing students for something they will see in the very near future.”
Sophomore Spencer Hathaway who is currently enrolled in Financial Literacy said he thinks the class does a good job covering the basics of filing taxes, but could go more in depth.
“If you’re working for a company, you have to fill out a W-4 and Financial Literacy prepares you for that,” Hathaway said. “When you get an actual career and start making more money though, I don’t think the class covers it enough.”
There are different ways to file taxes besides doing it alone, such as online websites or hiring an accountant. Hoh said that the first time filing is confusing for everyone, but it becomes easier with experience.
“I took Financial Literacy, but by the time I had to fill out my taxes I had already forgotten how to do it,” Hoh said. “So instead I decided to use TurboTax, but even that was confusing. It tries to walk you through it but there were a lot of questions I didn’t know the answer to and had to consult my mom about.”
Many students resort to having their parents file their taxes for them or other outside help. Senior Joey Barto said it becomes more of the parent’s burden to help children fill out tax forms or to do it for them entirely.
“My dad and my grandpa do most of the taxes, but they wanted me to try to do it last year,” Barto said. “I was so lost; they threw random letters and numbers at me. I had no idea what they were talking about.”
Barto said he had difficulty retaining and using the tax information covered during his sophomore year in Financial Literacy. Barto said Financial Literacy should be a senior mandatory class in order to be beneficial for students.
“Financial Literacy is such a good idea for a class, but most people don’t remember anything from it,” Barto said. “It should be a senior only class. Sophomore year, unless you’re one of the older sophomores who has a job, you don’t realize how important the information is.”
See the Full Story: http://thecspn.com/?p=36524
Friday, March 11, 2016
Friday, February 12, 2016
Young men embrace gender role reversal at home
Juliana Discher I Staff Writer
Some mothers are bringing home the bacon, while fathers are staying home to cook it.
Fifty years ago, the terms “stay-at-home dad” and “female breadwinner” were unheard of. Advanced Placement Psychology teacher Paul Reedy said gender roles are society’s expectations of how males and females should behave, dress, and even think. Reedy said that our nation is becoming more accepting of fluidity in them.
“As someone who grew up in the 1970s, I have been able to witness a transformation in this country about gender roles and the expectations,” Reedy said. “It was a slow evolution, but you have to acknowledge the fact that women are actually outnumbering men in number of college degrees at this point.”
The Washington Post proved this statistic mentioned by Reedy; in the 2009-2010 academic year, women earned 57.4 percent of all bachelor’s degrees.
Sophomore Anna Estes intends to have a math or science career when she is older. Estes said she is proud of the fact that in modern society, women aren’t forced to be monetarily dependent on men.
“I have been raised to to follow my dreams and one of those include finding a career I love,” Estes said. “It’s really cool that we don’t have to grow up in a society where women have to be financially reliant on men.”
This is due to the fact, Estes said, that women are being encouraged more to do well in school and have higher aspirations.
“It’s great we are encouraging everyone, not just one gender, to strive for goals in their career,” Estes said. “Men and women are both realizing that they can do whatever they want to achieve their dreams; whether it’s staying at home or finding a career that they love and that provides money for their family.”
Junior Jared Gworek has his heart set on being a stay-at-home father. Gworek said he came to this conclusion when he realized he enjoys interacting with children.
“My extended family has a lot of young children and it’s really fun hanging out with them at family parties,” Gworek said. “Forming a deeper and more personal connection with my future children appeals to me. I would also like to go on wild dad adventures with other stay-at-home dads.”
Junior Danny Mackzum said he wouldn’t mind if his wife was the breadwinner of the family.
“Honestly, it wouldn’t really bother me because if she had a nice job that made a lot of money, then why would it?” Mackzum said. “I don’t understand why most men feel like they have to be the support system for the family.”
Sophomore Thomas Marriner’s father, Mathew Marriner, is a stay-at-home dad. Mathew said that for the most part, he’s accepted for deciding to stay at home.
“I have seen a few reactions from people along the line, but generally 99 percent of people these days accept that I am a stay-at-home dad or at least think it’s a normal type of thing.” Marriner said. “I can remember when I first told my father I was going to stay at home with Thomas he said, ‘Really? Are you sure you want to do that?’ I think that is just the generational difference. He wasn’t trying to be insulting, he just didn’t quite understand. His job is a huge part of his identity. I’m a big kid though, so I enjoy being around children. It works for me.”
Marriner said that acceptance of differences is the key to progression for society.
“I think that we are well on our way to expanding gender roles and accepting other people for who they are,” Marriner said. “Whatever role you carve out, as long as it’s a productive one in society and you are a good person, then you’re able to live a happy life.”
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Venkatarao breaks four records for Rubik's Cube Solving
With fingers flying and algorithms meticulously memorized, junior Sreeram Venkatarao solved his way to the top.
Venkatarao broke national and continental records for blind Rubik’s Cube solving this past weekend at the Dixon Winter competition.
“There were four individual records that I broke,” Venkatarao said. “I not only broke the U.S. National Record, but also the North American Continental record, which includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. This was for solving the 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube blindfolded. On top of that, I also broke the U.S and North American Continental records for the 3x3 Blindsolving Average category. The average of my times was a 26.73 which was the best recorded time ever in the United States and North America.”
Venkatarao is currently ranked first in the United States and first in the continent for both single solve time and average time of three solves.
“Regarding average time for the 3x3x3 blindfolded solve, I’m ranked first in the US, first in the continent, and fourth in the world,” Venkatarao said. “For a single solve, my best time was a 25.19 which places me at first in the United States, first in the continent, and seventh in the world.”
Despite the busy schedule high school demands, Venkatarao said he still manages to practice his passion daily.
“This has taken a lot of long term prep; I’ve been doing it for eight years and blindsolving for seven years,” Venkatarao said. “It’s been consistent practicing. Junior year is busy, so I try to do at least twenty solves a day because that’s still adequate prep for me.”
Venkatarao said he is ecstatic about his accomplishment but knows there is more to come from him.
“After I got it, I was very happy,” Venkatarao said. “I’ve worked so hard and I’ve finally gotten to the top."
See the Full Story: http://thecspn.com/?p=35353
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