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

REFRESHING! A scooper scoops a scoop of ice cream, ready to go in a cone or cup. Mint and chocolate make for an interesting and pleasant combination for your mouth. Photo courtesy of simplestacy.net . Since the debut of this flavor, it has been subjected to extremely unnecessary hatred and scrutiny. Many of you already know which flavor of ice cream or treat I’m talking about. The infamous mint chocolate chip, my favorite ice cream flavor or just favorite flavor in general w

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,

As we look back at winter sports this season and the Pirates and start spring sports for the year, Vashon has made its presence felt in the world of high school sports. The boys basketball team finished their regular season with a 13-7 winning record, earning a spot in the state playoffs for the first time in over 14 years. Vashon’s wrestling team, the Rockbusters, also had an amazing season, sending 10 wrestlers to the state tournament, including David Ryland, Ronan Reed, Ra

Almost every high schooler dreams of those perfect four years, good grades, parties, popularity, and prom, but is this plausible for the average teen? With enough studying, good grades are possible, but adding in trying to become popular can get exhausting. This idea of the perfect idea, isn't new. This idea of the perfect four years has changed throughout the years. In the 2000’s, popularity was just starting to shift online with Myspace, but in person interactions were sti

CHEER. Bad Bunny performs for the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl was very eventful, and there were many things happening during the game, a wedding, a win for the Seahawks and of course, the halftime show. Photo courtesy of The New Yorker . There were many events that occurred during the Super Bowl game. The Seahawks won, there was a streaker who ran across the field, a wedding, and an alternative halftime show that people who do not support Bad Bunny could watch.   To start, K

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