When Addy Gaylor walks into a pep rally, the energy shifts. As the first female president of Jenks High School’s school spirit organization Superfans, her goal isn’t just to be the one to start chants and dress up for themes. She wants to lead by example, and show what it means to lead with spirit, humility, and purpose.

Dunk tanks, water balloons, and the aroma of barbecue in the air—what do they all have in common? Hometown Huddle. Each year, Jenks holds a fundraiser downtown that brings students together to form a community and raise money for Jenks students and their sports.

With 38 state titles, the Jenks Swim Team has quite the standard to uphold. After seven years, Jenks’ beloved head coach Diego Henao stepped down from his position this past spring; this left a pronounced hole in Jenks Swimming in need of being filled.

Struggling happens to everyone, whether that's a physical or mental struggle.  The topic of mental health and suicide is a huge stigma in our society but should be discussed more often. In 2023 the CDC said around 12.8 million people thought about committing suicide, while 3.7 million made a plan to commit, and 1.5 million attempted. In that same year 49,000 people committed suicide- that’s one nearly every 11 minutes.

It’s very rare to find a lone building without capturing some nearby greenery. Parks, plants and trees now invade the area that some would consider chaos. This chaos refers to no place other than our very own, Downtown Tulsa. 

Almost 75% of the global population is dairy free. 10.8% experience some sort of food allergies. 30% of the population have allergies revolving around gluten. Although I may not be a part of that 30%, I am determined to experience how those individuals live their day-to-day lives eating gluten free. It’s difficult to find accommodations, snacks and meals that actually taste good in the GF community. My goal is to pinpoint quick and tasty meals while going gluten free for an entire week. While this may seem easy to some, it is most definitely a large task that some people have to uphold for the rest of their lives. Throughout this story, I will log the food and feelings I have while completing each day. I hope that by the end, you have more respect for the GF community and more motivation to complete the goals that you have set in mind even if it seems to be difficult. 

It was the summer before 6th grade and my older cousin was in town staying with us. She was going to school in California at the time so she was very in touch with her hip trendy side. In a conversation with her I mentioned how recently I was thinking about eating less meat because the idea of eating animals started bothering me more and more. I remember she looked at me and said she could picture me becoming a vegetarian, so I took that and ran. 

I knew from the second that I wrote down Human Anatomy & Physiology on my Junior year schedule that it would be a massive mistake.

Growing up, my family always had a garden. Whether it was the flower garden in the front of the house, or the vegetable garden in the backyard, we always had something growing. Now, the word “we” is being used as a term to just describe my mom and dad. I never wanted anything to do with a garden. Sitting outside all day to plant things was not my ideal Saturday morning. But now I've decided to change my thoughts on gardening and try it for myself. 

I have never once played lacrosse but it has always been something that intrigued me ever since I was an elementary kid. My practice has overlapped with the highschool boys lacrosse team since I was in 4th grade running track. Watching them practice  I always thought that it looked like something I, as a very competitive kid who loved playing sports, would have so much fun doing, but I never knew how to join or had the time in my overly busy schedule.

As my highschool career comes to an end I look back on the past four years of my life and all I can see is growth. From being a bratty freshman who thought the only important thing was how many shoes I had to a seasoned senior who now only cares about summer internships. A lot has changed- friend groups, boyfriends, and even pets. To honor this growth and change I have decided for this month's story to grow my very own watermelon. 

Fashion trends are something that cycle through over and over no matter the time period. Even in the 1800’s there were certain gowns and waistcoats that were trending and if you weren't wearing them you weren't “it”. Because of these cycles, people end up with things in their closets that they haven’t touched in years. Nowadays, trends are cycling through even quicker so it makes it 10x harder to get rid of things you don’t wear anymore. What if those chunky white shoes come back in style in a couple years? 

When someone says the words preschool and nursing home, in your head you probably think of two different establishments. What if I told you that there's a place in Jenks where they coexist? Grace Living Center, located a short two minute drive from the high school, houses Jenks’ multigenerational program. Everyday a class of pre-k and kindergarten students participate in their normal school work, but there are also spaces in their day cut out where they hang out with the residents of the home, who they call “grands.” 

One of the most underappreciated yet essential groups in our school is the cafeteria staff. Without them, the school simply could not function. These workers do far more than just preparing and serving food. They also clean up after the students and reset the entire dining hall four times a day:  after breakfast and each of the three lunch periods. Their hard work often goes unnoticed, so this month, I dedicated my story to highlighting them and all their hard work they put in to keep the dining hall clean and ready for students.

Most kids get the opportunity to go on trips with their schools and most would say that it is an enlightening experience that helped them gain insight on respective places and even more insight on their peers. This statement can be true whether you've driven a couple of hours or traveled thousands of miles around the world. As beautiful as these trips are and typically captured, I was driven to give a more accurate look into this years’ International Scholars Programs trip to Peru. 

Coffee shops are many students go to study space. Whether it’s the cozy atmosphere, the aroma of brewing coffee, or the caffeine perks, coffee shops create a unique environment that can foster both focus and creativity. Coffee shops are a fun change from your usual study environment and a place for you to make the most of your time. Studying in these bustling, yet often quiet, spaces can inspire you to plan and be productive.

The silence of people, the smell of coffee, the shuffling of books, and dinging of the door as more people came in; this is what the average person thinks a book store is like. Though some bookstores are like that many can be loud or not have access to coffee at the ready. There are place that you can find and buy books that don’t have to strictly be selling books.

First Look Into A Jenks Baseball Practice

I’m a boy, I live in a household where my mom is cooking and my dad works. But for my own family, I want to know how to cook so that my wife doesn’t have to deal with the hassle of cooking while I sit in the living room watching TV and drinking beer. For this project, because  I have dyslexia, therefore cookbooks add an extra level of difficulty to the project. So instead, I turned to the expert: my mom. I’ve seen her make this meal ever since I was five, and I know from experience that it is delicious food. So it only made sense that now I would learn how to be the creator of such a fine dish.

This month’s dedicated story genre was “Personal Experience,” I really struggled with finding something to try for the first time that would be fun and useful for both me and the Jenks student body to read and write about. Obviously, I could write about doing a workout class, or listening to an album for the first time, but I wanted something that was equally as relevant to the reader as it was interesting to me.