TEACH. Ms. Sylvain teaches a crowded 1st period class. Teachers' classes are expected to have more students in them to help adapt to the schools budget cuts. Photo courtesy of Jacob Henley. With fewer people enrolling in Vashon Island School District, legislative changes, and overall changes to administrative positions and classes, VISD will experience budget cuts for years to come. These budget cuts are going to affect everyone in different ways. For example, administrators

LAMENT. Commuters who wish to do Running Start stand in front of VHS and wave. These students have to choose between their lives on Vashon and the benefits of Running Start. Photo courtesy of Gloria Erickson. Since 2018, Vashon Island School District (VISD) has had a policy that prohibits commuter students from participating in running start unless they transfer to their home district and away from Vashon. This includes students who want to do a hybrid of running start and h

POISON. Colorful puns and rhymes act as friendly reminders not to destroy your lungs. The school bell slices through the busy silence of 3rd period. Clusters of students file out anxiously, hoping to make it to their next class before the next bell. Some are headed for the library, a few fall behind after adding yet another grotesquely thick book to their backpacks, others plan to talk with friends in the hallway. But a smaller group is headed to the bathroom. Once inside, t

ACHIEVE: The FBLA club attends regionals. FBLA is a newly founded club at VHS and they have already made a big achievement by qualifying for state. Photo Courtesy of Olive Alpen. This year our Debate and Future Business Leaders of America clubs have had a very successful year where students from the clubs have made it to state. After a few months of competitions, the debate team was able to attend state after some of the members qualified in their events. After its initiatio

Working Hard or Hardly Working? Sophomore Pierson Guenther finishes strong before a week off for Spring Break. Many students at VHS and at other schools across the country are feeling like they’re getting burned out from school. We’re not even half way through the second semester, and students throughout schools and districts across the country are experiencing primarily negative feelings over workload, mental health, and their overall classroom experience. According to Cen

SHIFT. Clocks spring forward one hour every spring and fall backwards one hour every fall. There are benefits that come from having time changes like more daylight, yet there are many challenges that also occur like lack of sleep, and for some health issues. Photo Courtesy of Goggle-Turmerry. On the second Sunday of March, clocks throughout the U.S. are set one hour ahead at 2:00 a.m, turning the clock to 3:00 a.m. daylight saving time (DST) ends on the first Sunday of Novem

BUILD. The entrance to McMurray Middle School. Students have been educated in this building for nearly 55 years, giving the building several generations of history. Photo courtesy of Mele Nelson. A recent report on the health of all VISD buildings revealed that some of the buildings, specifically McMurray Middle School and the Link buildings, are in need of updates. The report was conducted by a team of three groups: Integrus Architecture, who focuses on structural soundnes

This article was co-written by Whit Barnett SHOUT. Students protest recent ICE activity. Students voice their opinions because they want to see change in the policies and the ways they act upon those policies. Photo courtesy of Jacob Henley. Who says our generation doesn’t care? A clustered web of outstretched arms and signs poke out of the four way intersection on Vashon Highway SW. Passing cars either honk or remain silent, both warranting entirely different reactions from

SWITCH. A screenshot of the new version of Skyward which will be implemented next year. Questions remain about how the new Skyward will affect grading. Photo courtesy of Noah Read. If you go to Vashon Island High School, chances are you've heard of standards based grading (SBG). SBG is responsible for the untraditional 0 through 4 grading scale, the learning standards in the gradebook, and the notorious Skyward trend line. These grading concepts shape how our grading system

SHINE. Ms. Kovacs smiling towards the camera during lunch. Ms. Kovacs is always around VHS answering questions or giving compliments. Her smile and presence will be greatly missed when she leaves at the end of the year. Photo courtesy of Larkin Geisinger. Sabrina Kovacs, the assistant principal of VHS is leaving the home of the pirates at the end of the year to board another boat. A boat of risk and opportunity. Ms. Kovacs has been all over the teaching field. She started

EXCHANGE. Costa Rican exchange students and their teachers pose in front of VHS with Profe. Powell. This year VHS hosted various Costa Rican students that attended school with us for a couple of weeks and many VHS students were able to attend school with them in Costa Rica. Photo Courtesy of Daisy Jones. For two weeks, Vashon Island High School hosted Costa Rican Exchange students who came from their school, Liceo Experimental Bilingue de Pococí (LEBP) in Guapiles in Limon,

Vashon Island School District (VISD) is partnering with Seattle-based Microsoft and xAI to employ an AI superintendent. The AI superintendent will function fully autonomously, without the need for human oversight, saving the district hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. In mid-2025, Microsoft launched their cutting-edge suite of fully autonomous education tools dubbed “AIducation.” Along with this product line, the company introduced a pilot program aimed at small and

PROTEST. On Wednesday, February 13th, students walk out from school and make their voices heard at the four-way stop in town. They chant and carry signs protesting against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Photos courtesy of Jacob Henley.

REPRESENT. Bad Bunny was announced as the Apple Music LX Super Bowl Halftime show performer. Bad Bunny a Puerto Rican singer has been the center of attention after he was chosen to do the performance was he the correct choice? Photo Courtesy of Apple Music. After Grammy nominated Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny was announced as this year's half time performer, people took to social media to share their strong feelings but many went as far as creating petitions to get a differ

DEBATE. Students Hannah Hillis, Eli Berman, and Iylaf Almustafa standing at Gig Harbor High School with their awards. Speech and Debate is a public speaking sport that includesLincoln Douglas Debate, Interpretation, Poetry, Story Telling, SPAR, Original Spoken Oratory, and many more. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Wilke. Arguing, acting, speaking, debating, interpreting, all these events and more at VHS’s very own debate team! This year, Vashon High School's debate team has been

Co-Written with Stella Wahanik WORK. Students in Post High School Prep work diligently on their applications. Applying to college can be stressful, but the seniors are here to share their advice. Photo courtesy of Stella Nackos. By the end of junior year, reality hits that college applications are just around the corner. For many students, applying to college can seem daunting and confusing; however, you are not alone. To help combat this fear, VHS seniors share their first-

COMMENT. President Trump’s AI generated post of himself as the pope. The Trump administration has been using AI in border control, facial recognition, and as a political tool. Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Star. Recently, Artificial Intelligence generated images have been posted on President Trump’s X (previously Twitter) account. These images are usually the President pictured as important or relevant figures such as The Pope, a jedi, and there’s even a picture of him rece

GOLF. Trump and Biden are seen tenderly hugging on a golf course with genuine smiles. In an ultimate match of golf, who would be victorious? This image has been created using Artificial Intelligence. During the 2024 presidential election, the physical and mental health of both Trump and Biden were hot topics of debate. For one, Trump is 79 and Biden is a whopping 82 years old. Then, when Trump challenged Biden to a golf match during their presidential debate, the idea stuck,

RECEIVE: This is a photo of Ms. Gannon and Mr. Erickson receiving a plaque from Ms. McCarty and Ms. Van. Ms. McCarty and Ms. Van made this generous donation in their sister, Peggy Kallsen’s memory. Photo courtesy of Vanessa Gannon. The library at Vashon Island High School is a place where clubs and students go to study, talk, and do assignments in a quiet space. The library is also home to many books, whether that's fiction, non-fiction, romance or mysteries, there is always

TRANSPORT. The M.V. Cathlamet landing on beautiful Vashon Island. Living on Vashon Island requires taking a ferry boat, which can be challenging at certain times. Photo courtesy of Noah Read. Living on Vashon Island is nice and sweet way of living our lives, but taking the ferry to go off the island can be a struggle at times. Taking the ferry means having to get ready really early if you have to go to the ferry in the mornings. When you have to go to the ferry in the aftern