Jessica, 18

Who was the first person you told?

Once I knew, my immediate thought was how was I going to be financially capable of supporting my child and myself. The first person I told was my boyfriend, Trevor. Then one day after work, I told my mom that we needed to sit down and catch up on the things going on in my life. By the time I sat down to tell her, she already had a good idea of what we would be discussing. She was the one who told the rest of my family because I had no idea how anyone of them would have reacted and I didn’t want to be criticized.

Did you tell your friends?

At school I told everyone I knew and didn’t want to keep it hush hush because that’s what causes whispering and rumors. I get a lot of starring. None that were mean glares from what I knew of, but who doesn’t look at a pregnant girl?

Have you faced any stereotypes?

Stereotypes weren’t such a big deal to me. People asked if the pregnant teens at our school formed a “group” and planned it. Of course not. But I did meet/earn a new best friend from all of this, Shania. I didn’t really have any harassment personally, but I did witness a lot that was given to Shania. I stood by her and was as much support as I could be.

What was the first ultrasound like?

Seeing the first ultrasound was one of the most anxious times during the pregnancy, and also the scariest. I knew I was pregnant but seeing him for the first time made everything that much more real to me. It made me realize this was actually happening, it wasn’t a dream.

How did you prepare for your pregnancy?

I prepared for the baby by changing my diet, and my daily activities. Also, I had to make a baby nursery for him. The most fun part was painting, picking out designs and getting new furniture.

Who will be at the hospital with you?

In the room to support me will be my mother, Trevor, and his mom. I’m sure all my friends will be there; the one’s who’ve been there through this whole pregnancy, and who’ve given me support. I thank them for that.

Are you going to do an epidural?

I’m not sure if I want do an epidural. I’m going to wait to see how I feel during labor. If I think I can handle the contractions, I will give birth naturally.

When are you due?

I’m due May 7^th, two days after prom so if all goes well I can still go. I want to go because it’s my senior year and I think I’d look pretty darn cute 9 months pregnant in a dress. But I’m not going out to buy one for $500; EBay is where it’s at. I’m looking cheap so if I don’t end up going I won’t be out of hundreds of dollars. 

Did you consider abortion? Why or Why not?

Never. I don’t believe in killing innocent children for my mistakes. They didn’t mean to be born so why punish them? I mean, if raising your child is that big of a damper on your life at least give him/her up.

Have you considered adoption?

Also no, never. I also don’t believe that giving up your flesh and blood is right. If you’re mature enough to make the decision to have sex, then you should be mature enough to raise your child that you made. In some cases, such as rape, I believe that adoption is appropriate.

What is your advice for teens?

Yes, people have sex. It is a natural thing and I’m not going to sit here and protest against sex before marriage. Just don’t be dumb about it. I thought being on birth control (the pill) was enough to keep me safe but it wasn’t. There are more protections against teen pregnancy to use besides just birth control and condoms. Also, if you can’t look at the person you are with and envision spending the rest of your life with them, if you can’t imagine waking up to them every morning for the rest of your life, then don’t do it. Don’t make a one-night decision influence the rest of your life. Like I said, I’m not telling you not to do it, just be smart.

I hope this opens a lot of eyes at North Scott.

*Jessica gave birth to Chase on May 1^st.  On the topic of natural birth, Jessica says, “No way,” she laughs, “I thought I was dying.” She still intends to attend Prom.

Written by Austin Plagge

Hardees has been under construction for the past week. They are redoing the whole inside and the drive thru has only been open. In the past couple of months Hardees has been making improvements. They did some new landscaping recently and prior to that they repainted the entire building.

If you’re a student at North Scott, then you know how important Hardees is to your everyday life. When you need a place to meet up with your friends you go to Hardees. It is always the automatic rendezvous point. If you’re hungry, you usually go to Hardees and get a “Spicy Chick,” or a “Lil’ Thickburger” with some curly fries. It’s also just a place to hang out at when you’re waiting on something to do.

For reasons nobody can explain, Hardees has been close to the hearts of North Scott students for many years. Now with the many improvements being made, we can be certain it will be an option for a rendezvous point and food for many years to come.

On Friday November 5, the North Scott High School Band Department is hosting a concert in the auditorium featuring both of the high school’s jazz bands as well as The Late Nite Blues Brothers Band (which includes North Scott High School band director Mike McMann). The concert will begin at 6:45 PM and will open with the high school jazz bands. Tickets are available at the door, so stop in for a night of great music!

Emily Hermiston goes up strong against Muscatine last Tuesday night in the Pit.

Written by Kelli Golinghorst

“Push your limits”- this is the phrase that is constantly on the minds of the North Scott Volleyball team, and nothing was different last night at their game against one of the toughest teams in the MAC: the Pleasant Valley Spartans.

The Lancers came out a little weak but rallied back from a 20-24 deficit to win the first match 26-24. Unfortunately, the rally was short lived as North Scott quickly fell 15-25 in the second match. But then the Lancers found their groove- and never looked back.

The third time around, Lancer fans got loud after seeing amazing serves from Hannah Lindaman, Anna Boffeli and Raegan Czupka. The team’s back row got low in order to successfully return many of the Spartan’s weak counterattacks. Up front, the Lancers dominated; super-star blockers Kerri Golinghorst, Kaycee Kallenberger, and Erin Meade let nothing pass, while well-done sets from Lindaman and Czupka allowed Emily Hermiston, Carrie Kilen, and Kallenberger to perform smack-down spikes.

The fourth match definitely had its share of intense moments, but North Scott came to win and they did just that in a 25-23 victory the ended the game.

While one probably had to be there to fully understand what it is like to hear the crowd erupting in cheers after such an amazing victory-one does not have to be present to feel immense pride in the team and all that it means to be a true Lancer. Let this huge upset inspire everyone to push it to the limit and never forget to show Lancer spirit-whether it is on the court, on the field, or on stage.

Written by Caitlyn Nass

Each year, North Scott gets a little taste of what it’s like to live in another country through foreign exchange students. Typically, students come from Europe, but this year we have a big variety. The new additions to the North Scott student body are Anjouly, from Brazil; Melody, from China; Victoria, from Norway; Katarina, from Serbia; and Maria, from Spain.

Though each country is very different, the general consensus was the same: America is a great place to spend a year. They had many great things to say about North Scott, particularly that the people are very kind, and are quick to help. They also like that there is a great deal of school spirit, and that one has the authority to choose their own classes, including foods and choir, which are not choices in some countries.

Complaints about North Scott were few in speaking with the new students, but one that was prominent was the short passing periods- one student said that in her school, they get one break that is fifteen minutes long, and one that is twenty-five minutes long. Another was that students are forced to eat lunch at school.

However, most interesting were not the likes and dislikes, but the differences between North Scott and the students’ home schools. One correlation between a couple schools (namely those in Norway, Serbia, and Spain) is that they don’t actually switch rooms during the day, but the teachers filter in and out to teach their lessons. In other schools, they also do not have lockers, and there is significantly less time for extra-curricular activities.

Though these differences may make it difficult to adjust to the life of the American teen, North Scott is lucky to have students from such a wide variety of places. Thank you to the host families who have opened their homes to these students, and from everyone at the Lance, we hope you have a great year.