OCTOBER 2018
News
Superintendent McSheehy brings new ideas to district
BY MARI KANAGY, CO-CONTENT EDITOR | OCT. 19, 2018
After working in education for 25 years, superintendent Slade McSheehy started his first year at the school district, bringing with him new ideas and changes. Prior to settling down on the island, McSheehy worked in various positions for other districts, including as a fourth-grade teacher, a school counselor, a middle school principal, and an assistant superintendent. “It does feel to me that every one of my experiences aligns with me being here,” Mcsheehy said. “All these passions come from my work experience, and they’ve really prepared me quite well for being here on the island.”
Throughout his career, McSheehy transitioned from teaching positions to working in administration. His early beginnings with students both individually and on a more personal level has led McSheehy to better understand how to help students as an administrator...Read More
Changes on the Horizon for Fauntleroy Ferry Schedule
BY MILO CARR, REPORTER | OCT. 19, 2018
The Vashon community was left upset and confused when the Washington State Department of Transportation announced that they would be changing the Fauntleroy- Southworth-Vashon ferry schedule in December of 2018. This schedule change has been in the making since the fall of 2016 when the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) held three public meetings to gather input from the community on how to improve the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry route, or ‘Triangle Route’... Read More
Sports
Fall sports update
BY KATIE SMALL, REPORTER AND KATHERINE POSTON, REPORTER | OCT. 19, 2018
The high school football team has played seven games so far this season, suffering seven losses. Their highest scoring game, played against Port Townsend, ended at 13-40. The team is comprised of 29 boys — 17 upperclassmen and 12 underclassmen. The head coach is Clay Easily and the new assistant coach is Jason Acosta...Read More
Mia Knight wows volleyball crowds
BY GARRETT MUELLER, BUSINESS EDITOR | OCT. 19, 2018
The buzzer goes off, signaling the end of yet another volleyball game for the high school, and a landslide victory over Annie Wright. Senior Mia Knight gathers with her teammates, celebrating three well-played sets. “It’s a feel-good season,” Knight said. “We’ve really just been working hard this year.”...Read More
New Cross Country Team Starts at Middle School
BY CATHERINE BROWN, REPORTER | OCT. 19, 2018
Middle School athletes interested in long-distance running can finally start racing competitively, thanks to the school’s newest team sport: cross country.In previous years, while middle school students interested in cross country could train with the high school team, they were not allowed to compete in meets due to a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) rule stating...Read More
Local
Olympia based business provides model for international sustainability and development
BY CLARA ATWELL, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | OCT. 19, 2018
Olowo-n’djo Tchala was born in rural Togo, a small country on the west coast of Africa. He was raised alongside his seven siblings by his mother who, like many Togolese, is a farmer. In the sixth grade, Tchala could no longer afford education, so he was forced to drop out of school. He spent the remainder of his childhood farming with his mother...Read More
Sound Action pushes for change in Puget Sound
BY HALLE WYATT, REPORTER | OCT. 19, 2018
All throughout the Puget Sound, marine habitats are dying as a result of unregulated shoreline development. Sound Action, a non-profit environmental “watchdog” group, is trying to reverse decades worth of this habitat loss. To save species such as orcas and salmon, as well as forage fish like herring, surf smelt, and sand lance...Read More
People
New Teachers join faculty
BY KLARA PLENK, REPORTER | OCT. 19, 2018
Kate Dunagan joined the teaching staff this year as the jewelry instructor. She grew up in Pilot Rock, a small town in eastern Oregon. “I went to a really small high school,” Dunagan said. “My graduation class was 34 people. [It was] not unlike Vashon, where everyone knows each other the whole time they’re growing up.”...Read More
Opinion
National conversation over Kavanaugh sets poor example for teens
BY BELLA CRAYTON, CO-COPY EDITOR & ISABELLE SPENCE, CO-CONTENT EDITOR | OCT. 19, 2018
On Sept. 14, an anonymous allegation was covered in The New Yorker, accusing then Supreme Court Justice-elect Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting a female classmate in high school. A few weeks later, the woman identified herself as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford...Read More
Vashon needs a voice in county government
ELEANOR YARKIN, REPORTER | OCT. 19, 2018
Ever since the dissolving of the Vashon Maury Island Community Council (VMICC) in 2012, Vashon has struggled to provide a definite voice in King County government. With a multitude of issues facing the island, the community needs a place to discuss their ideas and to win influence in the county. The community council should be reinstated to provide a forum where community members...Read More
Editorial
VHS sex education needs to encompass LGBTQ+ topics
BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD | OCT. 19, 2018
Sex education is a crucial part of the high school academic system. Without it, many students would graduate unaware of issues concerning their physical and mental health. However, the way in which the current course is taught fails to provide relevant information for all groups of people. The health classes at the high school should be as extensive for LGBTQ+ students as it is for their cisgender heterosexual peers...Read More
Arts & Entertainment
Sharing the Stage Show to Play at Red Bike
ELEANOR YARKIN, REPORTER | OCT. 19, 2018
Sharing the Stage is an island tradition in which student artists have the opportunity to perform in a large venue and receive critique from local professional bands. Student bands selected to play at Sharing the Stage will open for Seattle-based group Snuff Redux at the Red Bike on Nov. 16, and will also receive two sessions of mentorship from professional musicians in the community...Read More
The Predator lacks what made the original a classic
REPORTER & DESIGNER | OCT. 19, 2018
“The Predator” can stand firmly alongside other recently released movies, but isn’t consistent with the 1987 classic’s serious tone and characters. Released on Sept. 14, “The Predator” is Hollywood’s newest sequel to the thirty-year franchise. The newest movie was directed by Shane Black, who previously played the major character of Hawkins in the 1987 release...Read More
Feature
VESP classified staff fight to gain recognition and a living wage
BY CLARA ATWELL, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, AND MARI KANAGY, CO-CONTENT EDITOR | OCT. 19, 2018
In June 2018, after a years-long process, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the legislature successfully reflected and upheld the conditions set by the McCleary decision — a state Supreme Court ruling that decreed that the state must completely fund basic education in order to lessen the funding gap between schools caused by the success of different local levies...Read More