Story by Parisa Shirani

Thump, thump, thump. The sound of your heart thumping loud. Sweat trickling down your forehead. Sun beating down your back. One foot in front of another. All things that makes kids love running. But at Clay Middle school running has taken a new twist. Winter Warriors.

Winter Warriors is a club that exist to help kids prepare and stay fit for track season. However there's a spinoff from the ordinary laps around the gym. Winter Warriors does all their running and training outside. Yes outside. The same outside that is capable of the 20 degrees weather the Warriors run in.  But mother nature doesn't stand in their way.

The Warriors train every Tuesday and Thursday after school till 4:30. During their practices they usually run laps outside, around the school, and by the track. According to Coach Martin, Winter Warriors is a great way for kids to prepare for track because it helps them improve their core strength, endurance, and speed.

“It's a great opportunity for kids to get ready and in shape for track season,” Martin Said.

Besides from benefiting the runners physically, Winter Warriors has helped kids in a variety of ways. “Winter Warriors helps me blow off stress and  gives me time to clear my mind,” Jasmine Klopstad, seventh grade, said. Another seventh grade runner, Christina Mccollum, says Winter Warriors not only helps her improve her running for track season, but lets her meet new friends and gives her a chance to get involved with Clay.

At first the idea of Winter Warriors usually strikes the sense of freezing weather in many people's minds, but it happens that that's not the case at all.  “Many people think Winter Warriors is a way to get frostbite, but that's not even close to the truth. The joy the club brings you outweighs all the possibilities of frostbite, just make sure to wear layers,” Klopstad said.

Winter Warriors is said to be a phenomenal club and is encouraged by many to join, even if your not a runner.  “Winter Warriors is for all students, even if your not a runner, it's still a great way to stay fit,” says Klopstad.  “To join the winters all you need is a pair of gloves, a warm outfit, and a determined attitude,” McCollum said.

“As a runner I believe that you don't need to worry about the end, you just need to focus on the steps in front of you,” Klopstad said. “After all the finish line isn't the end, it's only the beginning.”

Written by Olivia Stock

The dull buzz of students and parents talking mixes with laughter and footsteps. Poster boards filled with information and color line the hallway and the perimeter of the LGI. Eighth graders and parents mill about, looking at seventh grader’s projects and watching them present. The Teen Health Fair took place on February 15 in Core Plus.
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For this project, students tried to find an answer to the driving question: How can we influence our well-being and take responsibility for our health? They researched the answer, and took into account the three types of health, physical, mental, and emotional. Some groups focused on one, other groups on two, and still others on all three.

Mrs. Rachel Harter, along with the other seventh grade honors language arts teachers, are the ones directing the whole project. Harter said that students have more freedoms with projects like these, as they can choose what direction they want to go with their answer and really put their own thoughts and opinions into their presentation.

She said that students will also learn from each other as they research and present their findings. Harter has been doing this project for three years, and said that it improves a little bit every time. She also talked about how students’ age (teenagers) will help them with the project. She said her students are people that “teens that are younger have an opportunity to look up to.”

The language arts teachers collaborated with the health teachers for the project, and plan to do it more in future Health Fairs. Some of the projects may even be passed on to health experts for use in their jobs.

The students chose groups of three or four students to work on and present the project with. The overall topic was improving teen health, however, there are many directions that students could take their answer.

For example, Arthur Yeh, seventh grade, along with his group members, did a project focused on mental and emotional health. “Our project is focused on getting people to come forward and talk about their problems on their own accord,” he said.

Their presentation, called Talk About It, encouraged people to talk to someone they trust about personal issues.

Theresa Hommel, seventh grade, and her group focused on “Balancing the three types of health” as a response to the driving question.

Her group’s presentation was called T.H.E. B.O.A.T.-Teen Health Education Balance Of All Things. The presentation included a test for their audience to take on how balanced their lifestyle is. “As teens we can influence our health and well-being by understanding the importance of a balanced lifestyle and using it in our everyday lives,” she said.

Yeh and Hommel talked about how, if at all, their projects could help other teenagers. Yeh said that as long as his group did the project right, teens will be able to find the causes of their problems and get help to solve them. Hommel said that it all depended on whether their audience took their presentation seriously.

Students were able to draw on their own experiences to help with their project. “Personal stories are a great source of inspiration,” Yeh said. Hommel has experience with balancing nutrition, allowing her to add her personal knowledge to the project.

The Teen Health Fair reached a large audience of parents as well as students, educating people on widespread problems of teenagers.

By Hannah Crosby
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You walk into the pool and smell the chlorine shock that hits you. The hot wet thick air fills the natatorium. There are many Clay students that swim for Carmel Swim Club and they love the sport.

Swimmers put in countless hours swimming laps down and back in the pool. Coaches watch the Carmel swimmers and look for improvement, and peers and parents to watch during competitions. Swimmers put all their energy into the sport and how hard they work each day and week.

Ellie Overbeck, seventh grade, is a swimmer for Carmel Swim Club. “I put in over 16 and a half hours each week and I try to go to every practice but I work constantly hard each and every day,” she said.

Nicole Heidrich, seventh grader, at clay is another swimmer for Carmel Swim Club and she has been swimming since she was 10 years old. Heidrich puts in around 12 and a half hours of swimming each  week and also goes to swim meets over the weekend.

She loves the sport she is doing and hopes to stick with it through high school to be on one of the best high school swim teams that has won over 30 state championships in a row.

“My coach encourages me everyday when I go to practice and work my hardest, I also like swimming because I have many friends in the sport and it is great exercise everyday,” Heidrich said.

“Swimming is a difficult but mind driven sport that encourages me to get up and go get some good exercise,” Heidrich said.

Coach John is one of the many coaches at Carmel Swim Club. He tries each and everyday to encourage and boost swimmers confidence. John is a coach that loves his job, and wants to help other swimmers enhance their skills.

“I love being a coach at Carmel because I get to watch all the swimming that I coach and that I see around the pool improve.”

Swimming is a sport that anyone can do if they have the confidence and strong mind to do it.