Bears Blossom Into Juniors
Table of Contents 3 Letter from the editor 4 Personality Profile 5 Hard News 6 Feature Story 7Review 8 Sports Story 9 Editorial 10-11 Photo Essay 12 Choice Story
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR As the 23/24 school year comes to an end I wanted to reflect back on all the growth and memories that were made inside and outside of 3140 BSR this year. This year has taught me so much about perseverance and perspective and many other qualities as well. When I created this issue I focused on each part of the year and made sure to include a variety of topics. This issue was all about growth and progress. In Journalism I learned so much about the journalistic ways of writing, from AP style to how to correctly write a caption and so much more, I am so grateful for the experience and opportunity I had to take Intro. In this issue you can read a variety of pieces that I created this year with topics ranging from Sports, to Christmas Activities, to Personality Profiles. Not only do you see those pieces, you can see my growth from the beginning of the year to the end. I really hope you enjoy this issue and enjoy the summer bears! Sincerely, Addie Boertje *Photo Credit Mealnie Boertje* Letter from the editor | Page 3 | May 2024
Walt Williamson is an adventurous, friendly and outgoing guy. He enjoys pickleball, vacations and family time, he is involved in a community choir and encourages everyone to be themselves. Williamson grew up in Groveport, Ohio and was an older brother to his two younger twin sisters. He grew up very involved in the performing arts and really busy. His best advice is, “Any opportunity you get to be involved in whether it’s sports, theatre, or yearbook, I would encourage that,” Williamson said. Williamson has always been involved in activities. He graduated from Groveport Madison Senior High School in 2004 where he performed in Choir and Theater. He later went to Ohio University and studied Human Resources and Strategic Leadership. “For me I’ve always just lived by the mantra of Live, Love, Laugh,” Williamson said. Williamson uses this phrase frequently and used this quote as he grew up. After college Williamson worked for Verizon and recently got a job at Intel as the Human Resource Officer. He continues to perform in his community Choir with his wife, Cayla, and seven year old daughter, Leela. They look forward to the show they put on every season in Groveport . He also plays pickleball frequently with his friends. In his free time he travels a lot with his family, whether he goes to Disney or the beach they always have a fun time together. “I think you know I never encourage people to take themselves too seriously, I think that we all make mistakes, we learn from mistakes because we all generally care about other people and doing the right thing as well,” Williamson said. Williamson is a people person and encourages everyone to really just be themselves. Walt Williamson does it all Written and Designed by Addie Boertje ’26 *Photot Credit Verizon* Personality Profile| Page 4 | May 2024
Golden Bachelor couple splits up Written and Designed by Clara Torlone ‘26 and Addie Boertje ‘26 After three months of marriage, Golden Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist announced that they have started the process to end their marriage. The couple went on “Good Morning America” on April 12 to announce their divorce. “Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and, we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Turner said, according to USA Today. Turner and Nist won the first ever season of the Golden Bachelor, which has contestants in the age range of 60-75 compete for love. The show generated 9.92 million views, as fans of the original Bachelor t.v. show rooted for Gerry from their home television. The recent announcement of divorce has viewers curious about the legitimately of the show, and if a new season will be filmed. The Golden Bachelor first aired on September 28, 2023, and 22 women arrived at the famous ‘Bachelor’ mansion in California. Right from the start, Nist made an impression on Turner, and received the first oneon-one date. Viewers from across the country tuned in to watch the love story unfold, and were shocked when they heard the news about their divorce. The couple’s divorce revolved around the difficult living situation, as both of their families live in different states. Both Turner and Nist are very dedicated to their families, so the disagreements on a place to settle down resulted in a divorce filing. Turner and Nist have now been added to the list of couples that have split since the show. “As of 2023, six couples have made it out of “The Bachelor” franchise, though not all of them with their final picks during the show,” according to USA Today. The couple shocked the world with their news, and it has left fans asking questions about the future. Theresa and Garry celebrate their new marriage with great excitement. The wedding was at a resort in California, officiated by former Golden Bachelor contestant, Susan Noles and live streamed to Hulu and ABC. *Photo credit: goldenbachabc Instagram* Theresa, Faith , and Leslie pose for the final three photo. Throughout the season of the Golden Bachelor, these three girls became very close and formed a tight relationship. *Photo credit goldenbachabc Instagram* Hard News | Page 5 | May 2024
Christmas activities in full swing Written and Designed by Addie Boertje ‘26 A s the Christmas season is in full swing, families begin to get their holiday season festivities ready. With this in mind, here are a few family activities close to Central Ohio. The places include The Clifton Mill, The Columbus Wild Lights, and the Nutcracker. Another place people enjoy is The Clifton Mill, “Clifton Mill was a great Christmas Event not far from home. The lights were amazing and the music and entertainment throughout the space really puts you in the spirit of the season,“ Walt Williamson said. The Clifton Mill is a place for family and friends to spend time together to look at the four million lights. At the Clifton Mill, they have many activities like a Santa museum with over 3,000 vintage santas, hot cocoa, and a light show. The admission to the Mill is $15 per person. Next up on the list of holiday activities is the Columbus Wildlights. Everybody loves Christmas lights and animals so why not put them together into one big holiday festivity? “I think it’s the greatest show on earth and it’s really pretty,“ Jerry Kurzen said. The Wildlights are a family activity everyone looks forward to during December. At the Columbus Wildlights there are so many activities to engage in which include light shows every 30 minutes, so don’t worry if you miss one. They also have certain animals and many hot cocoa stands throughout the zoo. “The Nutcracker is a family tradition for all the girls on my dads side of the family,” Clara Torlone ’26 said. “We get dressed up and look forward to watching it yearly.” The Nutcracker presented by Ballet Met at the Ohio Theater is a holiday tradition for many families including the Torlone family. The show features Clara who travels through Germany where her Nutcracker comes to life. The Nutcracker is showing from December 7-23 and tickets are on sale now. They range anywhere from $38-$118. Now that you have a list of activities to do near Delaware, find a free night, bundle up, and go enjoy the holiday season with your family. * Photo Courtesy Pexels Photo Caption: Lights are aglow As people look around at the lights, you can see the excitement on peoples faces. Preparations for Christmas lights had begun many weeks in advance of this night. Feature Story| Page 6 | May 2024
The new game “I Want Watermelon” is the new rage as many students around Berlin can be found playing this game at all times of day. The game is a strategic game where people merge different fruits together to build up various types of fruit. The goal of the game is to merge all the way to a watermelon. Fruits appear at the top of the screen and players tap where they would like the fruit to go. As an example, when a lime is merged with another lime, a lemon is made. The game goes on until there are too many fruits and they pass the line at the top of the screen. I first started playing “I Want Watermelon” about a month ago. I saw others playing it and wondered how fun it really was. Sure enough, I really liked it. The fun vibrant colors and satisfaction of growing the fruits is such a good way to unwind in the evening. One thing that I noticed that was really nice about the game was that it does not have a single ad. Many other similar games have long, annoying ads and people find themselves watching ads more than playing the game. Also, “I Want Waterlemon” does not take up much storage space on your phone. These days we take so many photos and have so many apps that we don’t have much storage left for games. With this said, “I Want Watermelon” is a perfect game for those with little storage. Lastly, I really enjoy how Game Center on Apple iPhones allows people to connect with other friends and compete through the game. This turns a one-person game into a competition. A few negatives to the game would be that the music can get annoying, as it is pretty repetitive. An alternative to this though would be to mute the music. Another issue with the game would be that sometimes the game will glitch or malfunction. With all this said, “I Want Watermelon” is truly a great game and I would rate it 5/5 watermelons. Download it today in the App Store or the Google Play Store for free. Limes turn to lemons Written and Designed by Addie Boertje ‘26 Paige Boertje plays “I Want Watermelon.” Boertje was one of the many people who played the game for a while and had already earned well over 10 watermelons. Review | Page 7 | May 2024
Olentangy Berlin girls varsity gymnasts are in the heat of the season. With the winter season almost halfway over the girls are at their peak right now. The girls are in the middle of a successful season, and have brought home the win at every meet so far in the 2023/2024 season. “This season has shown me that with the team, I have grown with my new skills. Berlin gymnastics is one of the best teams/ communities I have ever been in,” Whitney Butzier ‘26 said. The Berlin varsity gymnastics team is one of the many sports teams here at Olentangy Berlin that continue to grow through the years. The girls work very hard to make the team and the supportive culture that it creates. They also have fun with it. The girls not only go to practice and compete throughout the season, but they also have a good time together. Throughout the season some of the things they do consist of themed practices, energetic bus rides before and after meets, and a nice banquet at the end of the season to celebrate the seniors and their accomplished season. When Butzier was asked how the season is so far she answered with, “It’s been going great! Our bus rides are so fun, we have the best time blasting music and we have the biggest smiles,” Butzier ‘26 said. You can expect to see the Berlin Bears many more times this season in events like the annual Tumble & Takedown and many other competitions this season. Feel free to follow the girls throughout their season at their Instagram berlingymnatics. Berlin Bear gymnasts are unstoppable Written and Designed by Addie Boertje ‘26 The six senior gymnasts celebrate senior night with their friends and family. The bears celebrated with their annual Tumble and Takedown and presentations for the seniors. *Photo Credit berlingymnastics* Sports Story | Page 8 | May 2024
Many people are in an uprage over the 10 years olds that have been reading sephora lately, they are known as Sephora Kids. Children have started to become influenced by social media and believing that they need a whole skincare routine when in reality water and sunscreen is just as efficient or better. A 10 year old’s skin is not fully developed and the use of these adult skincare brands can be very harmful to their growing skin. Dermatologist’s like Dr. Brooke Jeffy highly advise children not to use skincare products. “When the skin barrier is damaged by constant irritation like this, it gets dry. It’s more prone to infection, more prone to getting rashes and more prone to breakouts. Irritation also makes the skin barrier less efficient at protecting the skin from environmental damage, like ultraviolet radiation or pollution” said Jeffy. Not only is this affecting young children, many people who actually use these products correctly are not able to get them due to the high demand. “Whenever I trot into Sephora and go to my favorite skincare sections, my go-to products seem to always be taken by little gremlins” said Amelia Smith’26. Young girls need to start being informed about skin care and what is right for their skin. Honestly I believe that the only thing 10 year olds should be putting on their face is water, sunscreen, and maybe lotion. Occasionally face masks or makeup with friends if ok but as long as they are washing it off and not using products with strong chemicals. Sephora kids take over the stores Glow Recipe is one of the many skin care products that the Sephpora Kids use. Glow Recipe has become really popular in the younger generation in the past few months. *Photo Credit S0ephora Instagram* Written and Designed by Addie Boertje ‘26 Editorial | Page 9 | May 2024
adf By Addie Boertje’26 new and you just have to take it all in,” Addie BoeLive in the moment: As you drive around the island of Oahu tropical plants and trees dance in the island breeze. “Every road you turn on there is someting Hike to the top: The hike is worth it for the view overlooking the beach. The pillbox hike is a 1.6 mile hike along the beach of Lanikai and were used during the war as lookout points. SncoShvisSmell the salty breeze: On Kailua beach you can see the mountains in the distance while you get a tan on the beach. Kailua beach is located on the east side of Oahu. The Mountains touch the clouds: As you drive throughmountains in Hawaii every turn you make you see new mtains that seem to touch the clouds. “The mountains weunbeleiveably beutifutiful,”Mark Boertje said. Photo Spread | Page 10 | May 2024
Water at the blow hole: Every couple minutes a wave hits the blow hole just right and water shoots through the opening. This tourist spot is visted by many tourists daily. Tour The Tropical Oasis: The Dole Plantation is just one of the tourist spots that has the tropical lush plants like in the photo above. The Dole Plantation has been in operation since the 50’s and a commonly visted place. norkel in Sharks Cove: Ironic to its name, Sharks ove actually has no sharks but is shaped like as hark from above. Sharks Cove is a frequently sted place by snorkelers. h the mounere so Site Seeing over the ocean: All of the beaches in Hawaii have unique colors just like this one above. “It was just breathtaking,”Melanie Boertje said. Photo Spread | Page 11 | May 2024
Bears, if you haven’t started watching Dancing With The Stars yet you must go watch it. It is such a fun and entertaining show to watch. Every Tuesday night tune into ABC or Disney+ at 8pm. Dancing With The Stars is an all time classic. The show first started in 2005 after the British show, Strictly Come Dancing. On the show pro dancers get paired up with famous “stars” who are either actors or just famous people. The show is hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. Currently they are coming to the end of season 32 of Dancing With The Stars with five contestants remaining. I would definitely recommend watching Dancing With The Stars. It is a great show to watch for competitive entertainment. Although there are many ads on the show and it can seem long, it is still enjoyable and the ads give you breaks to grab snacks. One thing that I enjoy about the show is that the audience and people watching get the choice to vote on who they like best. They give you a phone number to text with the name of the star you want to vote for. You can vote up to 10 times per star. Unlike some shows that you have to pay for to stream, Dancing With The Stars is a completely free show to watch. Also, if you happen to have Disney+ or Hulu you can go back and rewatch the episodes as well as season 31. In conclusion, I would give Dancing With The Stars five out of five stars. Dancing With The Stars Written and Designed by Addie Boertje ‘26 Choice Story| Page 12 | May 2024