All photos by Malachi Conrad.
Girls’ soccer defeats Columbus East 4-1
Tag: Jeff High
Holden Henderson blends positive life advice with language arts lessons
by Jilliann Denbo
Former JHS student Maxine Prickett took English teacher Holden Henderson’s advice all the way to Florida.
Prickett, a former student of Henderson’s said, “Mr. Henderson’s words have carried with me since he told me that he was proud of me while receiving my award for most changed during freshman year. It wasn’t that he said he was proud, it was that he meant it.”
This is how Henderson makes an impact on each of his students.
“I hope that I inspire them to be themselves and to try to make the world a better place,” Henderson said.
Henderson undeniably enjoys his job daily, working with his students.
Most people only look at Henderson as a regular English teacher that has a man bun and wears crazy shirts daily, but that’s not the case. He strives to make sure he understands each of his students no matter what.
“He doesn’t try to be your friend, rather, an adult that you can trust,” said Prickett.
One of Henderson’s favorite parts of his job is to see his students’ success after leaving his classroom.
“It seems a lot of times I see growth over the course of the year, so I hope that it’s from them taking my advice,” he said.
Not only does Henderson make sure his students feel well, but he creates a positive environment for them in his classroom.
“I try to make sure that the decorations represent me and not just school stuff so that they understand that this is, you know, a place where they can be themselves. Then personally I just try to make sure to greet the students with a smile, I try to check on them to make sure that they understand that I care and that they should feel safe here,” Henderson said.
He takes pride in making sure his students feel welcomed.
“Mr Henderson was a caring and fun English teacher and always made sure we were learning something new each day,” said sophomore Reese Dobson.
Even with all the work, Henderson finds ways to pull his students into what he is teaching.
“The stories that I pick as an English teacher, I try to make sure that they aren’t terribly boring and stuff like that, even the ones that are, I try to explain the significance and bring it related to the students so that it’s not as boring because it’s hard to learn when you are bored,” He said.
Henderson takes pride in teaching at JHS, he knew from a young age that he wanted to be a part of the Red Devil community.
“When I was young, my grandparents had season tickets to Jeff games and so I was here a lot. I was kind ofa always proud of the Red Devils. Growing up in Jeff, I want to give back to the community. And by trying to be a positive influence in students’ lives, I hope that I’m making the community a better place,” Henderon said.
Henderson’s words will always carry on with his students, and they will always continue to do so.
“When I did my student teaching, I just fell in love with the school and this is where I knew I wanted to be.”
Cheerleaders earn honors at ‘Fear the Cheer’ competition
by Reese Dobson
Cheerleading is a lot more difficult than it may appear at a regular football or basketball game.
“The hardest part about cheer is probably cheering throughout all the difficulties, like weather conditions, losing, and people being absent,” said sophomore cheerleader Aaliyah Flowers.
Cheer is an all-year-long season. “I don’t think anybody realizes how much we practice. We only get one month off throughout the year, and we practice from April to competing at nationals in February,” senior Kyndal McCartin said.
McCartin said the cheer team practices on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. On weekends, cheerleaders compete in competitions and cheer at sports games.
“Going to nationals with my team and competing the routine we have worked so hard on makes it all worth it,” senior Kenzie Keller stated.
UCA cheer nationals is a cheerleading competition in Orlando, Florida, where teams all over the country come and compete for state titles. Teams have to receive a bid to compete in the competition, Keller explained.
However, cheerleading isn’t always about competitiveness. A big part of cheerleading is team bonding and trust, which cheerleaders need to have for each other.
“I have always enjoyed watching others cheer, and I wanted to give it a try. I enjoy the sportsmanship and friendship on the Jeff team, and it keeps me going,” said freshman Kiela Smith.
Coming to practice with a good attitude is important to get through a hard practice, Flowers explained.
Cheer is sometimes debated as to whether it’s a sport or not. “I think cheer is definitely a sport because we practice, train, and perform. We have a minimum of four practices a week, and we have competitions against other teams,” said freshman Eliza Davis.
The Jeff High cheerleaders attended one of these competitions at New Albany High School last Saturday, Sept. 21. They came out in first place for the timeout routine and first place for the game day routine. The awards ended with the title “Grand Champs” for the overall timeout category.
“I’m glad we won because we practiced hard, and I’m glad all the work paid off,” Keller said.
Math teacher Cory Densford combines high standards with humor in his classroom
by Kaylee Borelli
JHS geometry teacher Cory Densford greets his students as they walk into his classroom with a warm welcome and a fist bump.
“I want to form a good relationship with my students,” said Densford
This is Densford’s 13th year teaching at JHS, and throughout those years, he has grown significantly as a teacher and has also learned things that have shaped him into the teacher he is today.
“My first year was terrible because I didn’t know anything,” stated Densford. “Relationships are the most important part of teaching. It doesn’t matter what you say to a kid if they won’t listen to you, and the way you get them to listen to you is by building a personal relationship, especially on the first days of school. Learning their names, what they like, and what they don’t like is probably the most important thing.”
Along with learning throughout the years, he has also had many challenges that he has faced.
“Sometimes there is a personality issue between you and a kid that is always a big challenge, and navigating that when the student and I have different ideas of how class should run, there is always a big challenge,” explained Densford. “Navigating the logistics of a school sometimes and not having enough of a resource or where you get a resource is always a challenge, especially if you’re brand new.
Densford recalls back to his years at JHS and how much his Algebra II teacher, Mr. Clark, influenced and inspired him to go into teaching.
“I knew I wanted to teach when I was a kid. I wanted to go into something that helped people,” said Densford. “I thought I wanted to become a doctor, but that was not going to do it once I got a little bit older. It was my Aalgebra II and calculus teacher, Mr. Clark, who made me want to become a math teacher.”
Densford’s students have mentioned that they have learned a lot in his class and that Densford has truly helped them understand the concept of geometry.
“He teaches very quickly and efficiently and makes sure you understand the material,” said freshman Chloe Kallbrier. “He actually makes me understand geometry.”
Another student also details how Densford has impacted them.
“He helps me when I get nervous during a test,” said freshman Makaylynn Nguyen. “He’ll tell me my score on the test and show me that I did well.”
Other students also describe Densford very positively.
“He’s funny, nice, and he’s also respectful,” said Nguyen. “He’s actually helped me learn.”
Densford explained why he loves teaching at JHS and why he keeps coming back to teach every year.
“Nothing else is as fulfilling as teaching,” explained Densford. “Getting to see people helps a lot, and I have a friend who works at a call center, and he works from home, but whenever we hang out, he’s always jealous that my job is fulfilling.”
Densford wants to ensure that he leaves a lasting impression on his students once they step out of his classroom for the last time.
“I want them to remember the good times we had together,” said Densford. “We did a lot of math, but I’m a pretty goofy guy, and I would love for them to remember the fun that we had along the way.”
Red Devils beat North Harrison 3-2 to celebrate Senior Night
JHS choir performs annual Gospelfest
All photos by Malachi Conard.
Gary Solomon emphasizes problem solving in JHS construction classes
by William Hudgins
Construction teacher Gary Solomon stands up, enjoying his day by teaching his students how to build something in the bay. Making sure that he helps them individually and giving them advice on how to make their builds better.
Solomon’s construction class teaches students a lot more than how the tools work. “I try to find out what their strengths and their weaknesses are and what they know and what they think they know. And then try to build from there.”
Even as he introduced tools into his classroom, he does it slowly and efficiently.
“We are starting off with hand tools, and not using power tools to start off with; you will see how much work goes into it and you will appreciate the power tools when you get them and then you will be able to see how your mind will let you build and how far your talent level will go why I do the things I do.”
For Solomon, who’s beginning his sixth year of teaching after the military, teaching construction is all about getting students to problem solve.
“Teachers always said when I see that light bulb on the student for me it’s not the light bulb, it’s almost like the ‘aha’ version, like ‘aha’ moment where now I get why this tool does this, why I need to use this tool, why we need to do it this way, and now I can see that I can do something besides working at fast food.”
Solomon really cares for his students. He makes sure that his students learn the best way possible and that they can use something from that class to use in their real life.
Torin Clapp, administrative assistant to principal Pamela Hall, said, “I have heard him talk about worrying about students and their daily life, their future. He just wants the best for them. He wants them to learn as much as they can from him. He thinks all the time about projects and things he can start on that will benefit all of his students, in the future and things that they won’t forget and will remember the thing that he taught them.”
Solomon’s wife, Laura, who teaches business, said that he cares about his students.
“He knows that if a student is sitting in his room or in the bay and they are not their normal self. That there is something going on in their world, whether it’s problems with a significant other or problems at home, and he pulls them aside, has a conversation and talks with them.”
According to Mrs.Solomon, his dedication pushes him to help students outside of the classroom.
“He went to the kids’ houses and helped them repair plumbing problems that they have at their house. He’s gone and taking our son and helping kids repair their heating because during the winter time they didn’t have any heat at their house. He cares about his kids as a person and tries to help them, when he has the ability to help them.”
Solomon used his skills to help his students, while teaching them about the importance of the trades.
“Because the trades will always be there, you are always going to need the lights on, always going to need the toilets to flush, your car to be worked on, you’re always going to need that. We can do IT all day long and make AI do it all, (but) you need to be able to provide people the resources, the basic resources, electricity, water, heat, air, things like that. With that job you will be able to provide for others, help others and help yourself at the same time.”
If there’s anything you should know about Solomon, it’s this:
“I love my family, I love my country, and love what I do here at Jeff High, and there is no school I want to be at besides this school.”
JHS choir performs annual Gospelfest last night
Girls’ soccer Red Devils defeat Charlestown 5-1 Wednesday; will play Columbus East and New Albany next week
Magdalene Conrad.
Girls’ golf team celebrates its seniors on Wednesday
All photos by Magdalene Conrad.
Conrad.
New Washington. Photo by Magdalene Conrad.
Brian Patton’s classroom reveals the life of a caring teacher
by Gabriella Kraft
“The opportunity to show you guys healthcare isn’t this tiny bubble,” biomedical sciences teacher Charles “Brian” Patton said as he explained what got him into biomedical science.
Someone who attends JHS might never come across Patton, but those who do have nothing but good things to say about him and his teaching.
“He has a very friendly, open relationship with his students,” said sophomore Jaylianah Burris.
This is only his second year teaching, and he’s already made an impact on students’ lives. “This is my first teaching job; I worked in corporate healthcare for 16-17 years before this,” said Patton.
Many students describe Patton as a chill, laid-back teacher who cares, but can be serious when he needs to.
“He lets us know he’s there,” said sophomore Jessalyn Stolte.
Students also talk about how he makes sure they understand everything without having to ask further questions.
Stolte said, “He’s a great teacher; he explains everything perfectly.”
Besides explaining everything perfectly, Patton sees a purpose in everything he does.
“Everything happens for a reason; something brought me to the position I am at now, and the position before this. I encourage you to learn everything you can, but I think you get what you put into this class.”
He makes sure to give his all, even on his bad days.
“I think I have my days, because there are days when I could see the impact I could have, but then I doubt myself,” he said.
Despite the obvious doubts he has about himself, he ensures that all his students are comfortable.
“He treats us like our age, and he doesn’t coddle us. He makes sure not to treat us like children,” said Burris.
Patton is a very caring teacher who does what needs to be done for his students and their education.
“I treat my students like my own kids. Respect goes both ways — you respect me, I respect you,” said Patton.
Regardless of whether they are new or old, all his students matter to him.
JHS defeats Borden 3-2 in tennis, plays Friday at New Albany
All photos by Magdalene Conrad and Malachi Conrad.
