by VOW staffWelcome Class of 2020.The newspaper staff created

this guide to help you master life inside of these walls.

WHS is a fun and exciting place, and we want you to be prepared for your first year as a Wildkat.

Our best advice, jump in and get involved. Some of you are already athletes, Sweet-hearts, band members and in ROTC. But there are so many more activities to fill your high school life. There are so many

clubs, classes and programs for you to be involved in. You can leave WHS in four years as an award-winning actor, a published photographer or a world-class writer. You can leave high school with a col-lege associates degree, nurs-ing certification or a veterinar-ian assistant certification.

The possibilities are end-less. Use your seven classes and the new Wildkat lunch to make the time you spend here matter. You are only limited by you and you work ethic. Get

involved, stay busy and leave your mark on WHS.

In this issue we have talk-ed to students who have been in your shoes. They know the

keys to success. They have experienced failure. They sur-vived years of high school, and they are passing on their knowledge to you.

Willis HigH scHool AUgUsT 2016

Endless possibilities await class of 2020Welcome freshmen

by Sierra MartinVOW staff

1 FLYING SOLOMISTAKE: For introverts and shy souls, it may be difficult to break out of your shell and talk to new people. It may feel easier to stick to yourself in the corner. However, flying solo becomes a detriment to both your mood and your school performance. After all, friends are study buddies and homework helpers, too!REMEDY: Get yourself out there! A good way to make friends is to join clubs and electives like band, art, sports or theatre (yes, you can do it, too!) Try sparking a conversation with someone who seems like they share the same interests as you.

2 TOO COOL FOR SCHOOLMISTAKE: Some incoming students feel that not doing homework makes them seem cooler to their peers. The fact is, nothing is cool about failure. Constantly “forgetting” to do your homework or waiting until the last minute to copy off a classmate doesn’t cut it anymore, especially in the pre-AP, AP and DC world.REMEDY: Do your homework! Allocate 30 minutes to an hour every day to completing any work assigned from the school day. If you need help, ask a friend. Remember, an A in a class is much cooler than an F!

3 NO SLEEP TILL BROOKLYNMISTAKE: Many students don’t sleep until the hour hand is in the double digits. They wake up tired and cranky, unprepared for the school day ahead. Loss of sleep leads to poor performance in class, which leads to trouble with homework – and an angry par-ent/guardian at home.REMEDY: Get to bed on time! Shoot for 7 hours at the very least, but try to aim for 8-9 hours if you can. When you get a good night’s sleep, you wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day!

4 JUMPING ON THE BANDWAGONMISTAKE: When formulating schedules for the year, most freshmen ask their friends and peers what classes to take. They often take classes just to be with their friend or girlfriend/boyfriend. However, the flaws of jumping on the bandwagon become obvious when you’re stuck in a class you hate.REMEDY: Pick the classes you want! Take classes that you feel will challenge or invigorate your intelli-gence. Choose interesting electives along your career path. You’ll make even more friends this way!

5 WISHING AWAY THE TIMEMISTAKE: Once the year begins, the first thing on many students’ minds is summer break. Some even keep a counter of the days until graduation! REMEDY: Don’t wish away the time! High school is the time to live the last moments of your childhood without most of the responsibilities of adulthood. Soon enough, you’ll be on the graduation stage, wishing you hadn’t spent those four years waiting for it. Don’t wait – seize the day!

Top 5 freshmen mistakes

Around Campuspage 2 Willis High school August 2016

GRADSAudrey cakaJayla greenKristina lazzariSENIORS lexy coronaHunter Enlow Victoria Hanna Trentavia HawkinsEmalee Hoffmannshelby Hollyconnner Jacksonsierra Martin Zach Martin Josh MatthewsAustin MccombADVISEREmily Meachen

The Voice of the Wildkats is published as part of the 6th

period Advanced Journalism Newspper class at Willis High School. All opinions expressed in these pages are that of the

individual students and not the opinion of the administration of

WHS or WISD. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the

staff as a whole.

Signed Letters to the Editor may be mailed to VOW, 1201 FM 830, Willis, Texas 77378

or dropped of in person to Emily Meachen in room A320.

Advertising rates and information can be found

on the newspapers webpage at whs.willisisd.org.

VOW mission statement: As The Voice of the

Wildkats, we V.O.W. to provide the Wildkat community all the

knowledge, advice and entertainment needed, one memory at a time.

by Hunter EnlowVOW staff

AFJROTC is a organization open to all students. Getting in-voloved as a freshman means you could have the opportunity for leadership as an upperclassmen.

2016’s student leaders an-swered the question: Why should a freshman join AFJROCTC?

Colonel Jose Figueria. “It’s Awesome!”

Lieutenant Colonel Savanna Middle-Urby. “You get your own little family, and you always have someone to be with.”

Major Lessly Godinez. “You learn important values and help you become a better person for

your community and school.”Captain Cassie Bruce. “It teach-

es discipline and how to treat oth-ers with respect.”

Captain Hunter Enlow. “You should join because the leader-ship skills you learn in JROTC are skills you can use for the rest of your life.”

Captain Blake Hubble. “You should join because it’s fun and the academics are very interesting.”

Captain Brandon Mendez. “Learn to develop true discipline and patriotism.”

Chief Master Sergeant David Wells. “It’s a phenomenal program for building leadership traits and I wouldn’t be where I am without it.”

Why AFJROTC may beright choice for you

August 2016 Willis High school page 3

Wildkat Views

Starting off your freshman year right is the the key to success. Many freshmen will think their first year is a year to get settled in, and a year where they can slack off because they have three more to make it up. This is not the case. Your freshman year is your most important year. This determines how you are going to start off you career as a high schooler. The top 5 of the upcom-ing senior class of 2017 have learned what and what not to do. Here is their advice. (Editors Note: this rakings were correct to our knowledgee when the article was written in the spring. Rankings may have changed after the 2015-16 school year.)

TOP 5 seniors give freshmen advice

Q: What is the key to success?

1st

Emalee Hoffmann

A: “Make sure you have all of your work done and get in good with your teachers. Make sure you are hanging around with people that will help you be successful. Don’t blow off any of your work because ev-ery little thing counts in your GPA. Make every assignment count and don’t think that you don’t need to study. If you are involved in other activities you are more likely to be successful in your school career, so make sure you stay involved.”

2nd

Unity LaRouche

your social life. You also need to try really hard and do every-thing perfectly the first weeks of school, because your teach-ers will pretty much grant you a free pass for the rest of the year.”

3rd

Josh Matthews

A: “Always come to school with a smile and try your best to be nice to everyone you see. Get involved with your class-work and don’t just try and get through it. Knowing the mate-rial is easier than just trying to get through the work.”

4th

Vicente Nocete III

A:“The key to success is honestly just showing up to school, pay-ing attention in class and turn-ing in all of your work. If you do these three things you can-not fail. You also need to be in-volved in school.”

A: “Make sure you are doing any/all of extra credit opportuni-ties. You never know when you will need those extra points. It’s also okay to stay in and study instead of going out to parties. School is just as important as

A:“You need to set your priori-ties early and manage your time well. Don’t procrastinate, because even if you think you have time do get work done; the due date comes quicker than you think.”

5th

Breanna Ellis

SCHOOLPICTURESSEPTEMBER 7

Dress Up Days

Dress up days provide a way to show spirit and support the Wildkats.

They are also a lot of fun.

Remember: you must be in dress code on dress up days. Start planning your dress up days now! Plan with

friends. The more the merrier.

9/2 Black Out9/19-9/23 HOMECOMING WEEK monday DISNEY DAY TUESDAY AMERICAN OUT WEDNESDAY WESTERN DAY THURSDAY HAWAIIAN DAY FRIDAY SPIRIT DAY 10/7 Pink Out10/21 Throw Back10/28 Twin Day

switch these tw

o

page 4 Willis High school August 2016

Around CampusWildkat

School Song

stand for our colors,stand for our school.

Purple for valor,White is for our rule.

We pledge our loyalty,Willis to you.

Hail to the school we love,Hold your banner high.

Fight Willis,Fight! Fight! Fight!

Wildkats Never Die!

FYIWhen singing theschool song, link pinkieswith the Wildkatnext to you.

What Was Your Favorite Summer Reading Book?

August 2016 Willis High school page 5

Around WHSWhat freshmen need to know about their school library

Every student is allowed to check out a calculator for the whole year as long as they continuously check it out once a month.

Monday through Friday the library is open 6:30am till 3:15pm each day.There are magazines available for real world and projects.

Books available for prep towards AcT and sAT.

Don’t have time to check out a book and need it AsAP? e-books are now available.Don’t have a writing utensil? Pens and Pencils are available less than $1.

sick and can’t check something out? Parents are available to use the library resources as well.

Books are available for checkout, no brainer but there’s a catch. Fines are real! $.05 each day overdue after checked out for more than two weeks.

Forgot a project and need a poster last minute? The library has your back. Printing is free if less than 10 pages. Also need color paper? $.35 per page.

ATTENTION

PrE-APsTudENTsPre-AP English i

students are required to complete summer reading. Knowledge of these books will be

tested the first 6 weeks. if you do not have them read yet, get

started AsAP!

if you have any ques-tions, you can email drogers@willisisd.org.

Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury

Chasing Lincoln’s Killer

by James l swanson

ATTENTION

PrE-APsTudENTs

page 6 Willis High school August 2016

All directions to these tough to find places are given from the cafeteria.

To the tRAINING ROOm: leaving the cafeteria, take a right. go down the hall until the first set of double doors on the right. Take a right and go down the hall. Take the first left. Continue until first hall on the right and take a right. TRAiNiNg RooM is on the left. Take your shoes off be-fore entering.

From the cafeteria, the cOllEGE AND cAREER cEN-tER is easy to find. Turn left,

headed to the bus ramp. Right after passing Mr. Rex’s class, the collEgE AND cA-REER cENTER is on your right. if you make it to Mr. Bush’s of-fice, you have gone too far.

of all the places at WHs, the chOIR ROOm is one of the toughest to find. From the cafeteria, turn right and head toward the gyms. When you see a set of double doors on the right, take a right. go down the hall. You will pass the band hall. When the hall comes to a T, take a right. The cHoiR RooM is right past

the water fountain. go in the double doors to hear Mr. la-bonski and his group make beautiful music.

Feeling ill? To get to the NuRSE, you head straight out of the cafeteria and go down the small flight of stairs. Keep walking until you see the dou-ble doors on the right. Take a right and the NURsE’s oFFicE is the second door on the left.

The blAck bOx is close to the cafeteria. Just take a right, and the door is right there. if you get to the trophy case full of drama accolades, you

have gone too far. Yes, there is another door to the BlAcK Box, but that would just be bad theater etiquette to en-ter from there.

lgi stands for lARGE GROup INStRuctION. it is used for spe-cial meetings, school pictures and sometimes your teach-ers may combine classes and you will need to meet there. From the cafeteria, take a right. go down the hall and when you see the concession stand on your left, you are al-most there. The lgi has two doors.

August 2016 Willis High school page 7

Why you should join theater? The theater deaprtment is busy all year developing the acting talent of students. By joining

Theater I class, you could be involved in shows through the year. Talk to Ms. Matlock or any theater student for more info.

Why should you join? Several students from last years productions, tell you why?2016 graduate Maddie Hayes. “Because theater is so, so much fun and putting on a show

after all the hard work you’ve put in is rewarding. The people in your class become your second family, and the department is kind of your home away from home.”

Senior Lizzie Zwall. “It’s a great experience and a great way to open up around people if you’re shy.”

Junior Alex Gardner. “It is a place where you can be yourself without having to worry about you. You get away from the rest of the world and go into a new one when you enter Mat-tlocks room. You become a part of a new family, people who can help you with things and always have your back.”

2016 graduate Kailey Starr. “Because it is the only group that will feel like a family.”Senior Jacob Sheldon. “Because upcoming freshmen don’t understand how thrilling it is to

be a drama kat and how amazing to be so close with you class/cast mates.”

2016 One-Act Play Cast

Around Campus

As a freshman, you’re going to have a lot more responsibilities. sometimes, you need a way to re-lieve all that stress. Nothing brings out pure adrenaline than a competitive wres-tling match.

For freshmen, joining the wrestling team will provide you with new friends, a competitive atmosphere, and not to mention schol-arship opportunities.

in wrestling, you will learn discipline, as well as a vari-ety of mat tactics. Wrestling team will have meets and practices beginning in the fall.

Wrestling takes a lot of passion and hard work, but it will be a great experience for all freshmen. see coach Thomas or any wrestler for more info.

Why Freshmen(boys and girls)

Should Join

Wrestling

page 8 Willis High school August 2016

Each week the staff of the Voice of the Wildkat produces the Paw Print. it is a newsletter we post around school and on the WHS website. It has all the news we can find that you will need for the week. We also publish the newspaper throughout the year. We try to cover all aspects of student life at WHs. These are also posted on the school website

and in newsstands in the cafeteria, library and offices around campus.

Why you should read the Paw Print and The Voice of the Wildkats1. You can learn about upcoming events: get a heads up on when the next game is or play is scheduled. 2. You get great fashion advice from our student style editor: The VoW has advice and what to and what not to

do fashion help at an amount students can afford. 3. Pawprint: A weekly newsletter is released with club news and a story written by a student.4. Know the local places to hit up: We review restaurants and movies to make sure our students don’t waste their

time.5. We give students a Voice: Most importantly, students can hear about current events from fellow students.