April 27, 2022 1028 AM
BREAKING NEWS:
Marfa Students Alexis and Cristian headed to state for golf
Playwriting performances May 11 at the Crowley Theater
MHS Art Show May 12 at the Chinati Foundation
Freshman reporter Memo Guardiola has full use of both arms again!
Yearbooks on sale now — only $20! See Ms. Powers for more info!
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Prom recap!
By Journalism Class
Prom 2022 took place on April 2 at the USO. Juniors spent the week before prom frantically planning and decorating. The prom theme this year was “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The USO was decorated in twinkle lights and flowers. Amber Hinojos, a freshman, said the decorations were “Absolutely beautiful! The lit-up 2022 was *muah!* a chef’s kiss!”
It was wonderful seeing everyone walk in with sparkly, flowy dresses. It was also nice seeing everyone fill the dance floor and fill the room with the intense clicking of heels and dress shoes. Everyone danced to classic line dances like “Footloose” and the “Cupid Shuffle,” and couples slow-danced to country songs like “Tennessee Whiskey.” Attendees also had the opportunity to have their photos taken in a photo booth by Smilebooth.
Odalys Chacon and Ian Marquez were crowned prom queen and king, and Ian did a flamboyant dance to the song “Staying Alive” as his first dance. Alexis Gonzales, a junior, said, “Prom was a tearjerker this year, from my crazy promposal,” in which her boyfriend collaborated with local policeman Gil Carrillo to prompose after a dramatic exit from the back of a police cruiser, “to the beautiful, movie-like venue, it was the most memorable night! It was so much fun with all my friends and my boyfriend!”
It was wonderful to accept so many donations from those who were willing to help, like parents, staff members, etc. Mrs. Scott, Mr. and Mrs. Porter, Ms. Powers, Mr. Salgado and Mr. Martinez all chaperoned. Other community members and parents donated time, food, decorations and help to make prom happen: the venue was free of charge from the good folks at the USO, Junie Villareal hung the curtains for free, Amanda’s mom made wonderful sandwiches and centerpieces, and Alexis’ mom showed up with cupcakes, ice and water bottles!
Hopefully prom will be as good next year!
State UIL in Austin recap
By Aubrie
I have never been to Austin before so this was a new experience for me. On the way to Austin, Mrs. Donaldson, Tori, and I all had our fair share of interesting experiences. The first thing I remember is at the first stop we got off at a gas station. Mrs. Donaldson brought up the idea of buying a mascot for the trip! We ended up buying this really cute mini grocery basket with literal miniature objects such as a basketball, Tommy Pickles figurine, a car, and Spongebob in a Krabby Patty mobile!
As Mrs. Donaldson drove, we took turns choosing the songs and jamming out to them. However everytime a good song came on, Mrs. Donaldson would turn the AC up, confusing it with the volume control. At one point we made it to Fredericksburg, where we decided to walk the strip. My friend Tori was feeling a little car sick and I truly thought she was going to throw up. We went into an awesome candy store that reminded me of the setup of the one in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Despite being car sick, Tori bought a small bag full of candy bananas. Finally, we drove out, but before leaving we stopped at a gas station. Tori stayed in the car so she could just relax before we hit the road again. Mrs. Donaldson, however, was feeling hungry and decided to buy an egg salad sandwich –– from a gas station. To me, this sounded strange. I told her how I definitely thought she would make Tori throw up from the smell, but I was only joking. As we were on the road she ate a whole half of the egg sandwich and offered the other half to us. I was finally tempted and decided to peel a piece off. As I tore a piece there was a strand of hair perfectly stretched between the two pieces. I told her about it and the first question she asked was, “Is it yours?” I shook my head and told her no. Mrs. Donaldson then started gagging. Finally, we made it to Austin, and the hotel was huge and the rooms were nice.
Ms. Powers decided to take us to an art supply store. It was my first time in a store only for art supplies! For dinner we went to the Clay Pit, which is an Indian restaurant. I never had Indian food before, and it was delicious! However, when we were looking for a parking spot, Ms. Powers parked and took up two spots, and when we got out we saw that we parked at a liquor store and immediately drove and found another spot. After dinner Ms. Powers took us for a cruise and then we went back to the hotel.
The next day we met up with Mrs. Donaldson’s sister who gave us a tour of UT. We looked at minerals which were freaking awesome! Then we got coffee and went to the Blanton Art Museum which is on campus. We ate lunch and took off to the LBJ Auditorium where they showed the amazing digital animations as well as documentaries that students from other schools made. Unfortunately, mine was not shown, but I had an amazing time watching the other students’ works. During intermission we went to eat dinner, and I ordered the most amazing spicy chicken sandwich at Hoover’s. After, we went to Target and then back to the hotel. We spent the rest of the day at the hotel relaxing and unwinding.
Finally, the next day we hit the road again back to Marfa. The ride was fun and I enjoyed singing. When we were an hour away from Marfa my parents called me and they kept questioning how close we were to Marfa. So, I was suspicious that they had some sort of surprise waiting for me, and they in fact did. We drove into Marfa and the next thing I knew we were being followed by my parents and a group of amazing people honking (shout out to Ms. Foster). I was speechless and extremely grateful for my family and friends.
In conclusion, I enjoyed getting to cruise around Austin and be given a tour of UT, which is an awesome school. I was delighted to see all of the diversity and liveliness UT has. Another thing I’d like to mention is that Ms. Powers and Mrs. Donaldson are both super funny, and I was happy to see them getting along outside of school. Last thing, I’d like to express how thankful I am for all of the support the community here in Marfa has given me. So thank you to all of you.
Thoughts on Marfa Live Arts Playwriting
By Tori
On Wednesday, May 11, Marfa High School students and other community members will have the opportunity to see the winning plays from this year’s playwriting class. The week before spring break, grades 9-12 participated in the Marfa Live Arts Playwriting Workshop. In the workshop, we did exercises that taught us how to write a play and how to enhance it. Then, we spent the last few days putting together the play. The lucky winner is awarded a prize and a scholarship!
This is something I started doing in junior high, but with monologues. I kept my winning streak going until it was broken last year, but that’s okay. It’s not good to always win (most of the time, at least). But, this year, I’m back to being on the leaderboard!
The winners for the playwriting this year are…
9th grade: Austin (honorable mention), Ashley (1st place)
10th grade: Zaley (honorable mention), Tristan (1st place)
11th grade: Tori (honorable mention), Maribel (1st place)
12 grade: Hannah (honorable mention), Febi (1st place)
This event is always something that I look forward to each year because I’m a big daydreamer, and I love writing. It’s the best way to let my imagination and creativity run wild, as this workshop has no boundaries. It helps bring out the cores of my being when it comes to writing, like emotion and thought. Trust me, I’m a very emotional person!
My play this year was about a woman who is a crow’s daughter (crows symbolize death) that receives letters about people who are going to die within the next 24 hours. She will go find that person, then take them out to have the best day of their life. “Today,” she gets a letter sealed with purple wax. It’s something she’s never seen before. When she opens it and scans through it, she finds out that it’s a young girl, a teenager. The letter was delivered 12 hours late, which means she only has 12 hours to spend with the teenager. So, she goes out to find the girl and take her out. They fight along the way, take a few punches, and then comes the time for the girl to die. The crow’s daughter begins to leave, unable to prevent the tragic death. But, it turns out the girl didn’t die, as it was someone else with the same name. They reunite, overwhelmed with joy. After that, the daughter makes as much time as she can to spend with her new friend, even though it may seem impossible at times.
In conclusion, I think the workshop is always something to look forward to because it’s such a great way to let your imagination and creativity run wild! Writing out your emotions and thoughts evoke such great plays and writing pieces, and even help bring people together. I wonder what people are going to write about next year…
MHS romance: An opinion
By Jessica
Romance between teenagers is gross, and I should know, because I see it all the time. I just don’t get it. Some boys are icky, in every single way, when they’re teenagers. Some boys at Marfa High are stinky, and they don’t know what deodorant is, and they already look like dads in their golf outfits with their tall socks. And hardly any of them put any effort into their appearance, they just wear sweatpants and Nike slides to school. While many girls smell good, and put effort into their outfits, and get style inspiration from someone besides their parents.
And everyone knows that boys are often less mature than girls at this age. Some of the boys from Marfa don’t really know what love is because they don’t really put effort into the relationship. They mostly cheat or talk to you and then ghost you out of nowhere. These boys get all arrogant over nothing. Many girls don’t like that. What’s the point of talking to them if they’re just going to hurt you? Then, when they realize what they did wrong, they try to talk to girls and say, “Please give me a second chance.” But, no! It’s not okay! Because boundaries are established at the beginning of a relationship.
Some of us girls set those boundaries because of our pasts, and we don’t want it to happen again; break boundaries, get lost. If these boys really wanted to change, they would. Instead, they say one thing when it’s just you, but when there are people around they say something different because they feel embarrassed and because their pride is too big, they think they are always right! Like, no, they don’t know how to communicate, they have no practice.
Anyways, my point is, it’s better to wait than to date some teenage boys!
Sports update
The past month has been a huge one for the Marfa Shorthorns! Our athletes are excelling in the spring sports of golf and track and field! The girls and boys golf team has made it to regionals, and now, two students are going to state! The golf team consists of Cristian Ontiveros, Ian Marquez, Juan Avila, Ethan Zubia, Nathen Peńa, Diego Jurado, Alexis Gonzalas, Zaley Porter, Maryfer Martinez, Loretta Rivera and Ashley Certain. On Monday, April 18, these students played in San Angelo to compete in two rounds of 18 holes. Alexis Gonzales placed 3rd. Cristian Ontiveros placed 1st.
The Marfa Shorthorn have also advanced to area meets in track, which was held last week on April 14. From there, a few of our Marfa boys and girls have advanced to regionals: Nathen Peńa, Ethan Zubia, Marco Ruiz, Ummi Chanez, Lesly Torres, Aundrea Garcia and Loretta Rivera will be advancing in a few weeks. This event will also be in San Angelo, where these track stars will compete for the top two spots in their event to be able to advance to the state competition. Go Shorthorns!
Chinati at MHS
By Kassandra
On Thursday, May 12, the Chinati Foundation will host an art show reception with work by Ms. Powers’ art students in grades 8-12. There will be free snacks and sodas for all attendees, and everyone’s invited!
This six weeks, Ms. Powers and her art classes did a project with Chinati’s education department. The foundation collaborates with our school every year for a sustained project in the art class.
This project took several weeks to do and some people are still trying to finish their art pieces up to this day! The works are large paintings on plywood panels and can be extremely detailed! For this project, students had to begin by making a collage, and when they were finished, they had to make their way to the Hunter Gym where they painted a large canvas a flat color and then traced their collages onto it using an old overhead projector and a pencil. After students finished tracing, they had to make their way back to Ms. Powers’ art class and trace and fill in their work with a sharpie, paint, or both.
I interviewed a ninth grader, Janayah Villa, who is enrolled in one of Ms. Powers’ art classes. Janayah said that she “didn’t mind doing the project.” She also said the project took forever to finish and that parts of it were annoying because people kept moving the projector, and after it was moved it took a while to get it back in place. And Janayah said that, during tracing, getting all the details was difficult but it was ultimately rewarding. Jan also added that she had a friend and a teacher help with painting her project, but she got a little mad at her friend when she took some liberties with Janayah’s artistic vision.
Another student who participated in the project, Tenessa, said she “love[d] how it came out!” after seeing it photographed.
Finally, Saul Garcia loves his finished piece, which is huge and blue and features his face with a Shrek filter and the “M” patch from his letterman jacket. When asked about his artwork, Saul said, “Oh my gosh it looks so cool!” and then clapped his hands together in excitement.
Everyone deserves a Sandra
By Amber
Sandra Hinojos, or as I call her, “Mother Sandra” is the mother of freshman Tenessa Hinojos. Not only is Mother Sandra a great mother to my friend, but she is also almost always my ride home. All of my friends know that I always need a ride because I don’t like to ride the bus. So, for the past three months, Sandra has been my chauffeur. Every time Tenessa and I get in the car she asks us how our day was. Even though I’m not her daughter, Sandra always wants to know how I’m doing. And once she took me and Tenessa to get ice cream after picking us up from Young Life. Sandra has great style, too! She’s always wearing unique earrings and pretty, flowing shirts. At this point, Sandra is my second mother and I trust her a lot and love being around her all the time.
“I worked with Sandra for five years at the Chinati Foundation,” said art and journalism teacher Ms. Powers. “Sometimes my job wasn’t easy,” she continued, “and I could always count on Sandra to be there for me. One time, around my birthday and Chinati Weekend, I started crying in Sandra’s office. She gave me a hug and I felt better. She really fills the role of a nurturing mother wherever she goes.”
Being a teenager can be hard sometimes, especially if you’re not getting along with your parents or other struggles. Sometimes things at home aren’t always a walk in the park. Having friends like Tenessa and Marisa makes everything a little easier. Being able to have a trusted adult like Sandra feels like having an extra family member. Finally, according to the news website Sweetwater Now, “Trusted adults,” like Sandra, “are key factors in witnessing the associated signs and symptoms with adolescence experiencing mental health concerns such as the use of drugs, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.” I hope everyone is lucky enough to have such a great role model in their lives who genuinely cares about everyone around her! I love you Marisa, Tenessa and Mother Sandra. <3
School’s (almost) out for the summer!
By Memo
As the 2021-2022 school year comes to a close, I decided to interview some of my friends about how the school year went for them and also what their plans for the summer are.
Katana Melendez, a freshman like me, said, “It’s been a school year with a lot of ups and downs, and overall it was mid. For me, the best part was helping Memo with his broken arm. I have to admit, I kinda liked seeing him struggle, but I was a good friend and helped him and put lotion on his silly butt.” Finally, Katana added that her summer plans include “going to Colorado with Young Life and having fun!”
Jessica Diaz, another freshman, said that this school year was “okay.” After spending her first semester at Copperas Cove, near San Antonio, Jessica has mixed feelings about returning to Marfa. Still, she says the best part of her year this year was prom at the USO. This summer, she plans to work a lot at the Porter’s and visit her grandma in Mexico.
Christopher Conners, a senior, said his school year was “pretty good” and that being a senior is “fun.” The best part about his year so far was “hanging out with my friends Ian and Justice and enjoying being seniors.” But, Chris anticipates that the best part of this year will be his upcoming graduation and his graduation party with friends and family. This summer, Chris will be working at TxDot.
As for me, the best part of this school year was being with my friends. High school really wasn’t what I expected it to be when I was in middle school last year. Some parts of it were a disappointment. But, I enjoyed English class with Ms. Lara because she’s cool. And journalism class with Ms. Powers was okay. I liked interviewing all my friends for the newsletter and being on the radio and making my Sonic ID and being a DJ. This summer, I’m hoping to work at the Chinati Foundation with little kids making art, since I like making art and hanging with little kids. And then I’m going to save all the money from my summer job for some cool stuff to buy one day.
