Everyone knows the year REALLY ends in June. Our staff collected stories from around the school to capture the final days of the academic calendar year…have a great summer, Eagles!

Getting Away for the Summer

When Juniors Mariah Swartz and Bre Chapman think about summer, it isn’t necessarily sun tans and being by the beach. Arriving at work for an 8 hour shift and going home after is more like it.

Money is always a struggle, but they don’t plan on giving up.

“I’m going to be working,” they both said with annoyance

But both seemed somewhat excited for other parts of their summer, even if it does include taking college classes and babysitting siblings.

“If I can get ahead with my schooling, then I will take that opportunity to my full advantage,” Mariah exclaimed with some excitement.

She will be taking four college credits at Flathead Valley Community College. There’s a ton of opportunities throughout the state to get ahead and stay ahead with schooling.

There’s always fun in the Flathead Valley though. Swimming, boat rides and all sorts of water fun, “Hopefully I’ll be able to go to Flathead with the family and have some fun” says Bre as her eyes light up.

As we walk down the hallway and pass the classrooms full of students stressing about finals, summer conversations soon turn into more talk about finals and passing our classes.

-Savannah Hauglum

 

Their Favorite Part of the Year

 

Two friends walk out to the parking lot to grab celebratory chocolate chip cookies for the last week of school.

Sophomore and Aserian choir singer Ellie Michels loves to participate in activities. “I really love our Health Science Academy field trips.”

“My favorite one was the hike we went on,” Health Science Academy sophomore student, Sydney Maloney replies excitedly.

Going back in the moment, Michels blurts out her favorite part of the trip. “Oh yeah, that was a good time! Remember all those flowers we picked?”

Cautiously, Maloney responds, “I don’t think we were supposed to do that.”

Maloney and Michels start to feel excited as they remember the good times that they had this year. However, that doesn’t mean that they can’t wait for it to be over.

Both girls at almost the same time cheerfully yell, “I am so excited for summer!”

They look up at the time and see it’s time to go to the very last day of English class as a sophomore.

– Kayla Wendt

Work Hard, Play Hard

 

Juniors Tyann Deese and Tristen Hauerwas stand around a table in main hallway talking about their summer plans. They both respond with “I am going to work”.

Tyann Deese works at Tarantino’s. I used to work the counter but now since Tarantino’s closed I just run drinks to the bar at the Silver Slipper next door”. She says discouragedly.

Hauerwas said disappointedly, “I work at Mackenzie River Pizza.” He has been working there for a few months now.

Hauerwas will not be working as much though, instead he will be vacationing on the nice sands of Arizona. He very excitedly said “I get to go to Arizona”.

Both juniors will also be doing a lot of fun stuff with their friends this summer like going to the river and going on cool hikes. “I am so excited to be able to hang out with my friends this summer”. In response Hauerwas said, “Me too!”

– Gabe Bailey

 

Traveling for the Summer

The two friends enter the library’s conservatory. As they sit down at the start large hazel table, they begin laughing from an earlier remark. Tears begin to form at the corner of Reghan’s eyes as Marissa is clutching her stomach from all the laughter.

Reghan Lindley is an average student, just like everyone else at Big Sky. However, she is in a club that most haven’t heard before. That club is improv. She’s a queen at improvising scenes and lines on the spot.

Marissa Harper is a HSA student. She’s also in improv but she recognizes herself with the HSA program more than anything. She’s always studying and laughing with her friends.

However, the two quickly settle from their earlier conversation and get right to business. Right off the bat, Lindley is already explaining her summer plans. Starting in July, she’ll be traveling with only a backpack through Montana. “I’ll be backpacking with some of my friends and family soon.” She says with excitement in her voice.

“I wish I could go with you!” Harper says. But Harper will be across the globe by the time Lindley is backpacking. “I’ll be going to Japan this summer to see my family there.”

“I’d rather go to Japan than travel around with a backpack.” Lindley replies with laughter.

Lindley says she’s ready to be free and hangout with her close friends. “I’m most excited about sleeping in! But I’ll enjoy being with my friends.”

Harper says she’s ready for the things she’s missed in Japan. “Being on a plane for 13 hours is totally worth it.”

Soon after, Harper gets her lunch out to eat and eventually Lindley gets her notes out to study. The duo are very good friends and they’ll both be sad when they won’t be able to see each other for the entire break.

          – Ciashe Vang

 

“I don’t like Finals Week!”

On June sixth in the cafeteria there are two students at a table talking about finals week. Junior Sheree Busby is talking to Freshman Mckenzie Folden about the schedule for the week. As other students pass by them to get a snack they both converse about their thoughts for the week.

“I don’t like finals week!” Folden says annoyed and a little frustrated. “Neither do I,” Busby adds and Folden laughs, “My finals are going surprisingly well even though I’m not even studying for them even though my parents tell me to study.”

Busby feels that they should change the schedule. “For finals I just wish they’d go from one period to the next, it would be less confusing” she says as she hits the table twice.

Folden disagrees feeling that if they change it the finals would be harder, “No, cause that would probably make is more confused”. “Why?’ Busby adds “Because then I’d have my gym final before my Spanish final. I had to run 30 minutes yesterday for my gym final so then I’d be all sweaty for my Spanish final.”

The conversation suddenly switches to something completely different leaving behind the original topic as students start to make their way out of the cafeteria.

– Angel Williams

 

Talking International at Lunch

In a room that looks like it is meant for conferences or meeting — it was dull with egg shell white walls and four tables pushed together to make a larger one – teachers Justin Mikkola and Jennie Bucher sit across from each other.

Mikkola starts out the conversation about teaching abroad by saying “It has always been in the back of my mind but you did it right?”

“I did ya, well I’ve taught in Vietnam, France, and Denmark. And for me I had this friend with whom I taught for a lot of years and she was teaching for six years in China, and then she was in Bucharest and then Romania,” Bucher added.

It is easy to see that Mikkola is very interested in the topic of teaching abroad as he strokes his beard with a look of contemplation on his face. They both stop talking for a second to take a bite of their lunches that they brought with them. Madam Bucher eats a salad with a homemade vinaigrette and Mikkola has what looks like leftover pasta, probably from the night before but never the less prominent and still holding the flavor.

They keep discussing the topic. “I wasn’t really interested for a long time in what she was doing, I was busy with my own life and it was kind of a right time right place. I ran in to her at a former student’s wedding and we got to talking,” says Bucher with Mikkola taking the time to do an occasional “hm” to acknowledge his understanding and the level of interest he has for the topic.

“Then bam, I just pursued it,” Bucher adds.

“How far into your teaching?” asks Mikkola. “Oh a long time, twenty years. I had kids and you know I just needed to stay in one place and all of the sudden I thought ‘I am ready to go. My daughter is graduating from high school let’s go have an adventure,’ and my other daughter was into it and my husband was into it. We just went.”

Madam Bucher reiterates how her friend just laid out all the details on how to get started in abroad teaching, Mikkola taps the table suddenly, not in an impatient way. Just in way that seems like he almost doesn’t even know that he is doing it while listening to Madam Bucher tell him about her experiences over lunch on a typical Monday morning during the last week of school.

– Aaron Toney

Favorite Memories in the Library

“I’m most excited that we started our process for genre-find library” Librarian Junell Lawrence says with a smile on her face. “So we’re gonna have that completed this summer…for next fall.”

“So people can browse by subjects. Mysteries, realistic fiction…it’s gonna be great” Librarian Carolyn Kamrud piped in eagerly.

With bright smiles they glance at each other as they stood around the front desk in the Library together before Lawrence added “I got to go to ASL, which is a national library conference”. “I also feel like we had a great group of seniors this year, a lot of leadership” Kamrud chimed out as she leaned forward on the counter.

As they continue to talk with one another, Librarian Becky Krantz walks over. “In the library I like when we did the February books everybody loved” She spoke slowly, glancing back behind herself as she waved her hand in the direction of a board. “And, I liked on Thursdays Miss. Lawrence and Mrs. Fillmore, dancing in the halls” She said with a chuckle.

They look around at one another before they smile and go their separate ways, having much work to do with the end of the school year coming up quickly.

 

– Cylestte Williams

Basketball Business

“It’s just a new beginning, and it’s gonna be a lot different”. All-hustle first-team member Brady Tabish, crossing his arms across his chest in main hall, says that he’s excited for the season to start.

All of the boys are excited, as this marks the first season in seven years that former head coach Bryan Ferriter won’t be leading the team. Junior big man Dylan Sandry thinks that the season is going to be different, but he’s optimistic about the outcome. “The team is going in a whole new direction this year, and I think that it’s gonna be a good one.”

“It’s a weird situation whenever you’re transitioning, but the talent is definitely there, like we have the team to actually finally get some wins.” Brady thinks that the boys’ basketball team will actually have a season where we get multiple victories, which hasn’t happened in two years.

Brady thinks the previous coach had qualities that he’ll miss. “Say what you want about Ferriter, but that guy knows grit like no other.”

-Nick Denman

The Finals Warm-up

 

Junior Zach Harvey’s grey Toyota Tundra pulls into the Big Sky parking lot around 7:37. Like usual, Junior Wyatt Shin and I get in the backseat and start talking. “Ya guys ready for English class?” Zach questions Wyatt and I. “I almost skipped.” Wyatt answers.

From the front passenger seat Zach’s brother, Sophomore Ryan Harvey, yawns: “We stayed up too late. We stayed up to literally 1:30.” “It was closer to 2:00.” Zach remarks. “No, in bed I looked at the clock and it was 1:23,” says Ryan.

Zach’s phone beeps with the 20% battery notification. “That phone, I don’t even know how I have it. I must’ve like fell asleep looking at Instagram. My phone was lying next to the charger all night.”

Through another yawn Ryan says, “I studied math for like 5 hours last night.”

“My teacher still hasn’t put the test in yet and she said she’d put it by second period today.” In a caustic tone Zach replied “She was like I’ll have it second period today,” Zach imitates her. “No, no you won’t.” He says in his normal voice.

The few seconds of silence is the sign that a new conversation will begin. “I got this dude moving in next to me from Las Vegas.” Says Wyatt. “I played Fortnite with a guy from Las Vegas yesterday. He’s like –” Zach is interrupted by Ryan again. “L.A.” Zach corrects himself, “Or LA, yeah.” “That’s Los Angeles but close,” Wyatt says, mocking him.

Zach goes on talking about the guy. “He was mental, 26, and he was hella good at shooting. He was a good shot.”

“He was a great shot” says Ryan.

“He was a hella good shot,” agrees Zach. “I’m not sure if he was mental though,” Ryan interjects.

Zach glances down at his phone; the clock reads 7:41. Like Zach does every school day at this time, he tells everyone “let’s get it, boys!” And on cue everyone shuffles out of the pickup and over to the building.

– Branson Baker

 

Church Ball Trials and Triumphs

With all basketball there is loss and defeat. Some comes more for others, but when it mattered this church ball season the 3rd ward team would not accept it. “We just kind of told ourselves that getting a “dub” was the only way,” says starting big man Ethan Boehner. “I was going to make sure of that! Losing wasn’t an option.”

His teammates Joey Boehner (role player) and Brady McBride (6th man) try to keep straight faces but eventually end up cracking up.

Brady breaks the laughter saying, “You know it was really about the fun we had. I firmly believe if we would have taken it too seriously we wouldn’t have done near as well.” The three teammates go on with mentioning the usual “basketball topics,” such as how bad the refs were and how the equipment wasn’t up to their standards to have peak performance, but then a lot on how influential their coach, Logan Reid, was to them.

“He really made it worth it” says McBride. The Boehner’s chime in both saying “He da real MVP!”  “There was no way it could have gone better, because flat out it was fun and Logan really made it that way.”

The three agree that they most likely couldn’t have won the championship in comeback fashion versus Ronan without him. Something that was easy for them to all agree on was what one word described the season.

“Grit.”

– Andrew Gardanier

Horses and Cows: All Part of Summer

Ashlyn Kneib is a freshman involved in 4-H, Ag, and barrel racing since she was little. Kneib exclaims how excited she is for it to finally be summer. “I get to show my cows, and ride my horse.”

She is going to stay busy this summer. “I get to go ride my horse, hang out with friends, have bonfires, babysit a little boy and take him a bunch of fun places, and go riding.”

Then after a few moments of thinking, Kneib explains how long she has been working hard with her FFA and Ag, also with her horses and cows. “I have been barrel racing since I was three. Also I have been showing cows since I was six years old.” Overall she cannot wait for summer to start and to be off of school.

-Marissa Lehnen

The End of Their First Year

Three Freshmen — Megan Quinn, Skyler Sullivan, and Alexis Parks — relax in the core after finally finishing their last science test of freshman year. They talk about the future.

Quinn plans to work over summer vacation. “I’m going to get a job. I don’t have a car so I’m not going to parties,” she jokes.

Parks prefers the quiet life. “I’m sleeping in until 1:00 in the afternoon,” she states matter-of-factly.

Sullivan claims he’s going to spend the summer outside, but Quinn chuckles, she has other ideas. “You two are going to go out on a date,” she says with a mischievous grin. But Parks and Sullivan deny it, shaking their heads. They’re used to her sly insinuations.

Soon the group is looking farther into their futures, past summer and into next year, they’re all excited for different things. Quinn is excited for a year of going unnoticed. Parks is just happy not to be a freshman anymore. But they both agree with Sullivan, “I can’t wait to pick on freshmen!” He exclaims excitedly, tossing the rest of the group into a fit of laughter.

No matter how excited they are for next year they can’t help but reminisce about the one they’re finishing up. Sullivan’s main memory being the time he had to jump start his car in the parking lot. “That’s lame,” Quinn teases.

“When I failed every one of my science tests,” Parks jokes, the others chuckle, knowing that wasn’t true.

The three can’t wait for what’s to come.

– Maddie Crandall