Last school year, phones were a common sight in our school days. Students' eyes glued to their phones at lunch, surrounded by their peers, who did the same, AirPods in both ears, blasting music. Hallways were filled with teenagers texting or calling as they walked from class to class. But since the ¨bell-to-bell¨ state wide phone ban was implemented, things have changed---not a phone in sight. Whether you're for the ban or against it, it seems like everyone has an opinion. Concerns for safety and being able to focus without music battle reports of more involved and more social classes. An anonymous survey was conducted as an opportunity for students to express how they really feel, in their own words. From Freshmen to Seniors, our Jenks student body has had a lot to say about it.

New year, new team, new chemistry, new opportunities, fresh start. This 25-26 season, the Trojans are looking for the ultimate accomplishment: Winning State. After a stretch of increasingly better years, the Trojans are looking to finally get to the holy grail, and prove their dominance in the state.

You slide on your shoes, maybe even put bandaids on your heels, your shoes rub against your swollen ankles leaving little bubbles of flesh. Whether it be heels or dress shoes we can all agree while the blisters persist for weeks nothing can compete with this school event. The glimmering lights, blaring music, a dumb poster and uncomfortable shoes…HOCO. A school tradition, which prides itself on welcoming a new football season is a sizable price tag and planning tradition. Jenks’ STUCO event planners, Riley Sharp and Madelynn Goss, give us a hefty update on the 2025 dance and how tradition meets planning.

With modern media like Twitch and YouTube, gameplays have become one of the biggest trends that have only continued to grow in the last decade, especially post-COVID. People our age are getting their first good gaming set-ups and deciding to stream Fortnite or their hardcore Minecraft world, hoping to make it big. However, they have no idea that they could start making it big with their gaming at school.

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.

You're sitting in a classroom surrounded by your fellow elementary students, but instead of the usual table groups and chatter, the desks are arranged in neat rows, and the silence is thick with worry. You're staring at a math question that looks like it was written in another language, and your heart feels like it's about to beat out of your chest. You can see your other classmates finishing the test but you are nowhere near done. Your stomach is now doing flip-flops, and the clock is ticking louder and louder. You could swear you've never seen this kind of math before. And the clock is still ticking. And you're running out of time. And you bubble in C and pray you guessed right before moving to the next question.

Jenks Community Education has been providing drivers education to the Jenks community for over 30 years. However, they have now expanded their opportunities and are now offering drivers tests on-site at Jenks Community Ed. Their new motto, “Skip the Line,” encapsulates the full service experience they now supply. Mike Gaines, a Jenks High School teacher and driving instructor with Jenks Community Ed., says the new motto was his own handiwork.

As much as this is a story about organic farming, it’s also a love letter to the farm itself. Lightfoot Farm, run by resident farmers Will and Katelin Nole for Living Kitchen, is an organic produce farm in Muscogee Creek Nation, Oklahoma. I had the privilege of bringing my camera to their land, capturing the dedication and passion that fuel their work. Day in and day out, this young couple pours their hearts into cultivating not just crops, but a way of life. Here are some of these moments I witnessed through my lens that I feel adequately represent the personality of the farm.

The Aquatic Center lobby. On top you can see the hanging artwork that represents water flowing, which I've been told is extremely hard to clean. This space holds lots of things from people standing around waiting to shops being set up during meet days selling everything a swimmer could need from goggles to even custom sweaters and shirts.

Chances are, if you’ve ever been to a hospital, you’ve been cared for by a nurse. Regardless of whether they were male or female, their gender likely wasn’t your focus—or at least, it shouldn’t have been.

The National Basketball Association, better known as the NBA, has been around since 1949 with a merger of two basketball leagues that were established only three years prior, according to this link. The NBA was something new and exciting to the usual baseball and football games that played on TV. It grew to popularity during the late 70s and early 80s.

Ding. I see a notification from my boyfriend. I open it to see an invitation to an app, Underdogs. I roll my eyes already knowing the string of texts that are about to be sent my way. Regardless, I click on the link. It says that if I open an account and put in five dollars my boyfriend will receive $100. This is sports betting. A world of recycling money that never seems to end up back in the hands of the bettors. However, as the users grow rapidly how do they all claim to be “winners”?

Every year the Jenks High School students who can drive have to make a decision to either pay for a $30 parking pass or take the hot and smelly bus to school every day. But why should we have to pay to park? Every year I hear lots of complaints from students about having to fill out long forms and pay the school and a  lot of the students questioning what even is the point, what are they doing with our money, and how much do they even get from making us pay?  After researching this, I have found  that it makes no sense for us to have to pay.

You’re laying in bed and scrolling on TikTok when you come across a video of a girl in her 20’s raving about how this new addition to her morning routine has changed her life. Her bloating has gone down immensely, her skin has completely cleared up, and her overall mood has boosted. She goes on about how the Coconut Cult yogurt is the “fix all” for any possible gut issues and all of her viewers NEED to go out and buy their own jar. A spoonful a day will make you a whole new person.

Imagine you wake up, get ready for the day, and prepare for your set of classes. You walk outside, and admire your view of a wide and endless stretch of ocean and bright blue sky. This is the reality for students aboard the semester at sea ship. 

The question of women leadership in the church has been debated for centuries. As society grows to accept women's voices, the question resurfaces: Should women hold a position of power in the church? 

Welcome to Tulsa’s very own Utica Square at Christmas: Known for its classic charm and holiday spirit, Utica Square becomes a winter wonderland each December. This review features the most iconic pieces of the Utica Square festivities and most accessorized stores. Be prepared to take a journey through Pottery Barn, Amber Marie, and Glacier Chocolate to explore their Christmas decorations for the 2024 season with a few surprises here and there. Be on the lookout for the holidays most memorable nut-cracking tool.

The ingredients in our food affect all elements of our life, our brains, our energy, and can even influence your outward appearance in positive or negative ways. Some ingredients can help bring out nutrients that can cause clearer skin, mental clarity or higher energy, but others can cause acne, mental fog, and lower your natural energy. Sadly, in our country it is far more common to have the latter, many forms of chemicals are found in the meals and snacks we consume daily. I am passionate about the food I eat and have had an interest in what is on my plate for years. This has led me to research and keep up with studies and projects done to improve the ingredients/additives in American food.

Everyone knows Mr. Breig, but we all know him in different ways. As you take a deeper dive into who he really is, apart from being your science teacher, you might be really surprised. For some people he’s a dad, while for others he is the head of the science department at Jenks. A is coach to some and a church leader to others but in all, he is Mr. Breig. He’s the teacher who lives 20 lives.

Curt Sharp is a teacher here at Jenks High School where he teaches an assortment of classes from Leadership, Government and U.S. History. However he has a rather unique background, he has traveled to Eastern Europe and Guinea to even South America. He even spent 6 years in the Philippines, where he taught multiple different subjects to a variety of cultures.