“Dress code allows us to wear what we want to express our personality,” Leah Dawson, CHS freshman, said. However, expressing personality with short skirts, muscle tops and other revealing tops is not allowed at CHS.

The Student Handbook, which is given to each student at the beginning of the year and is available online, clearly states an adequate coverage of the body is required. It provides reminders to students to follow the dress code by wearing appropriate clothing.

Halter-tops, spaghetti straps and backless tops are often worn, but none of these are acceptable. Also, low necklines and bare midriff tops are often overlooked but not allowed. Shirts should not have references to drugs, alcohol, violence or contain sexual language.

Along with shirts, bottoms are easily violated as well. The CHS Student Handbook states the length of shorts and skirts cannot be any shorted than fingertip length while arms are relaxed at the sides.

“Without the fingertip rule, students could dress inappropriately and be sent home from school to change. This involves extra missed classes during school days,” Cindy Patterson, CHS parent, said.

Anything related to gang activity is not permitted: including bandanas or chains hanging from the body.

Although there are many restrictions to a student’s clothing, there are also many ways for students to express themselves in a safe, appropriate manner. Hats are allowed, along with any clothing coving the body in ways which follow the dress code.

“It makes it very clear for parents and kids…very cut and dried,” Nancy Utterback, CHS English, said.

If dress code is violated, the violating student will be asked to change and may face other consequences. The dress codes above apply at all of NCSD’s high schools and should be followed accordingly.

The theme the council decided on was “On Cloud Nine.” It’s supposed to be really nice this year, according to students. They scheduled to have the prom on May 11 from 8-11 p.m., at the World Trade Center downtown.

The preparation for this event started with raising money in freshman year.

“Since a student’s senior year is the most expensive year of high school, most of the money raised is spent on prom,” Janet Rogers, junior class advisor, said.

The junior counsel, which consists of Joycie Yu, Sehun Han, James Biggers, Tina Kuam and Cody Oswalt, started to plan for this year’s prom last May. They all needed to decide on where the event was going to be held. As for supplies, the rented facility provides the tables, chairs, table cloths and snacks. The decorations are bought from the money raised and are also brought in from students.

By the end of sophomore year, the students will have had to raise $2,600 for the location. They also need to pay for the DJ.

“It’s outside this year, so we need to pay for the heaters too,” Rogers said.

At CHS, students are required to purchase a ticket to attend prom. The cost for one ticket is $25. So far, according to CHS’ bookkeeper, 665 tickets have been sold out of the 700 available. According to rogers, they “usually sell out.”

Prom only comes around once a year, and there are many preparations to make prom happen. The juniors and seniors get there with the help of their ticket.

“I hope it’s as magical as everyone says it will be,” Katelin Walker, CHS senior, said.

The orchestra had already placed first in the Three River’s League competition. On May 9, the Chamber Orchestra has a chance to compete at OSU for state competitions.

“Each of us tries our hardest when playing a song. With this type of passion, we have a good chance of making it into state,” Jay Choi, bassist, said.

All throughout the year, Lisa Hanson, conductor of the CHS orchestras, has been diligently working with the Chamber in order to prepare them for competition.

“Mrs. Hanson had scheduled morning sectionals, and as we’re getting closer to state, we’re having more and more group rehearsals in the morning too,” Jeana Yee, violinist, said.

“Hanson expects the best from this group since she treats this group as a professional orchestra,” Dave Anderson, former CHS orchestra conductor said. Therefore, as per Hanson’s orders, she wants everyone to have a lesson teacher and to be well practiced with each song.

However, Hanson does not neglect the other orchestras she teaches. Along with chamber orchestra, Hanson conducts beginning orchestra and advanced orchestra. Chamber is Hanson’s highest-level orchestra, which requires an audition to get in. Hanson wants all of her orchestras to participate in competitions.

“Orchestras have competitions to earn experience and to practice for post-high schooljob opportunities,” Erik Best, violinist, said. Hanson wishes for all of her students to experience it.

While at the competition, chamber will be playing three songs: “Winter” from Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons, first Movement,” “Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky” by Arensky and “Hoedown” by Copeland.

“Competitions are a bit nerve racking,” Best said,

“We practice for months in advance to the competition is easy,” Miguel Claxton, cellist, said.

Karen Phillips, SSC principal, was a friend of Bladow and has known him since she started working at SSC in 2009 as an instructional coach.

“In 2002, (Bladow) was hired to be the technical assistant for the telecommunications class” now known as the Broadcasting class Phillips said. “Part of that was to help set up the television station and radio station at Schellenberg.”

According to Phillips, Bladow was “knowledgeable in the TV studio equipment, radio station equipment and computers.”

Phillips has worked with Bladow for about four years and has shared many memorable moments with him.

“Mr. Bladow was always smiling and always patient. He would sometimes teach me something at the computer like creating a ZIP file.” she said. “He explains in words that I could understand.”

Phillips said many times she would need a reminder and Bladow would have to teach her again.

“He’d sit you down at the computer and teach you again,” Phillips said.

Bladow worked at SSC for 11 years and became “liked and respected by every staff member.”

Phillips said it will be hard to hire a new IT manager.

“We will be advertising for his position and I’m sure we will find someone with technical skills, but it will be tough to find someone as positive, smiling, patient and caring as he was.”

The clay bones were created by CHS students as part of the One Million Bones project, a nation-wide initiative aimed at raising awareness of ongoing genocides and violence occurring in places like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Participants of the project make model human bones out of clay; the bones will then be collected from all across the country and laid on the National Mall in D.C. for three days in June.

The collection of bones will serve as a “visual petition against ongoing conflicts” according to the organizations website.

The One Million Bones project started in 2010, but it was only a month ago that Arthur Bookstein, CHS Key Club President, decided to make CHS part of the experience.

“It all started with a phone call from Alysha Atma, co-founder of the Atma Foundation, during Spring Break,” Bookstein said.

“Her organization, the Atma Foundation, was responsible for recruiting volunteers from Oregon to produce the 7,000 bones that would come from the state Oregon and be contributed toward the One Million Bones monument. She asked me to pull together 150 volunteers in just under a week and a half, which is why I quickly got Green Team, NHS, and the student body involved.”

On April 6, around 100 CHS students and volunteers showed up at the CHS ceramics room to make the bones. By 5:00 p.m. that day, 4150 femers, skulls, vertebrae, and other bones were made.

Two weeks later on April 20, CHS hosted the groundbreaking of their new Genocide Awareness Garden, where most of the bones were bought out and put on display before being shipped off to Washington D.C..

The garden had one small tree, and next to the tree was a wire circle where people tied ribbon with meaningful statements on it, such as “Remember Boston” and “For LGBT rights.”

“I felt like the Genocide Awareness Garden was very powerful and really did what it was made for,” Helene Huynh, CHS junior, said. “The garden really did shine a light on what genocide has done to people, and it also shone a light on how many people were lost and remembered.”

Overall, the One Million Bones project has greatly impacted CHS and the community according to Bookstein.

“CHS not only has a new Garden with a symbolic significance; the One Million Bones project has taught students to be compassionate, aware and active volunteers. The community was involved in both the One Million Bones project and the Memorial Garden, just as any student, and thus the impact is mutual between students and community members.”

Want to contribute to the One Million Bones project? Visit their website to learn how to contribute to the project.

Dresses, flowers, pictures, fancy restaurants, formal clothes… we know these aren’t your strong suits, so here’s a guy’s guide to a successful prom.

First things first, you have to find a date. If you’re not lucky enough to have a girlfriend, try to ask a friend or someone you know, someone who will most likely say yes. Frankly, rejection sucks. But if you have a girl in mind, go for it. Man up! Now that you know which girl you’re going to ask, it’s time to go to the drawing board to come up with a creative way to ask her. Some guys try too hard to be original and creative, and they just end up over-complicating the situation. The important thing is you’re asking her to prom, so just be simple and cute.

If the girl said yes, continue reading. If she said no, go back to the drawing board.

You got your date, now you have to get a tux. This should be easier, there are really only two colors: black and white. Your tie  bowtie, vest or suspenders, should match your date’s dress (or come as close to as possible).

Some of the best places to buy or rent tuxes at are Men’s Warehouse and Mr. Formal. Mr. Formal gives out $50 coupons to a handful of NCSD students, who in turn pass them out.

It’s a pretty easy process: you go in, pick your clothes, get fitted and then pick up your tux before prom.  Also, it’s tradition to get a corsage (it’s a floral accessory) for her, and she gets a boutonnière (boot-in-ear, it’s like a flower pin) for you. For these you can just go to a grocery store, or a floral shop.

For dinner and transportation, there are a few options: a limo, a party bus or driving yourself and then you can eat at home, go to a fancy restaurant or go to a regular restaurant. To be honest, guys have little to no say at all when it comes to making the decisions so try to be open-minded. However, you definitely want to enjoy what you eat and how you get there. We don’t really have a suggestion about where to go or what to ride in, because it’s really you or your group’s personal preference. Any of the listed options have pros to them.

Once you arrive at the actual event, there’s only one thing you absolutely must do: have fun.

This night is as much about her as it is about you, which means you have to smile and be pleasant. Oh yeah, another reason to smile: you are going to be in dozens and dozens of pictures, maybe hundreds. Prom is something you remember for the rest of your life. No pressure. But seriously, don’t worry. You don’t have to be Michael Jackson or the winner of “Dancing With The Stars,”  you only have to be willing to boogie. It might feel awkward at first, but trust us, your night will be much more fun if you go out there, smile, laugh, and bust a move.

There are a lot of things to take into account when deciding on where to eat. How many people are in the prom group? Is the restaurant able to fit everyone at the same table or same room? How much is everyone willing to spend? What kind of food does the restaurant serve? Below are some popular restaurants varying in costs and types of food.

The Melting Pot and Urban Fondue are both well-known fondue restaurants located at 1025 SW Sixth Avenue (503-517-8960) and 2114 NW Glisan Street (503-242-1400), respectively. The dining experience includes four courses: cheese fondue, salad, entrée and dessert. These are fun and unique restaurants to choose for prom because everyone gets to cook their own food.

Departure, an Asian cuisine restaurant, is located on the 13th floor of The Nines Hotel at 525 SW Morrison Street (503-802-5370). Departure is a fun restaurant to bring a prom group to. It’s known for customers to buy a couple plates and share them all around so everyone can get a little taste of everything. Departure provides the opportunity to eat outside on the balcony and get a fantastic view over downtown Portland.

Jake’s Grill is a popular steakhouse located at 611 SW 10th Avenue (503-220-1850). Jake’s Grill is known for the finest meat and seafood in Portland. They are able to hold 20-60 guests in their banquet rooms, which will definitely cover all prom groups!

Having a potluck, home cooked meals or having food delivered are also excellent options. It is usually a lot cheaper than going to a restaurant and it is a fun and more intimate way to celebrate before going to the dance.

Time is almost out, but don’t worry, there is still have some time! If you haven’t made reservations or made a decision about what you’re going to be doing before prom, there are plenty of options. It’s prom, it’s the time of your life, so don’t worry too much and enjoy the night!

Sometimes in this hectic and sometimes overwhelming beautiful yet cruel life, we lose ourselves.

We forget simple concepts and internal beliefs of what is morally right, just and honest. We put our own personal prosparity and well being over others. Not just strangers and people you have not met and probably never will, no, we fail to appreciate, help, and nurture our close friends, brothers, sisters and family.

We simply don’t notice the silent cries for help that lies behind every persons mask of vulnerability and false ego. We hate to admit to our own imperfections and our own flaws because they are who and what we truly are. Our own pride refuses to let the guard down for a moment of weakness. This internal S.O.S. of every human beings needs which are necessary to life are swept under the carpet because we are embarrassed and ashamed off our own imperfections; be it fincfially, mentally, physically emotionally or spiritual. We are afraid of the very thing that faces back at us through a mirror.

Although.. if one were to let their guard down, untie the mask, admit their own personal challenges and battles and then they ask for assistance — why wouldn’t one help ? Is it because there is no incentive? Not every task ends with a small piece of candy to be awarded.

If everyone was willing to help one another — without a reward or incentive — can you imagine what a beautiful world this would be?