By Alfredo Curiel
Hugo High School
Student Reporter

I had the opportunity to interview one of the newest members of Hugo City School District, principal of the Hugo Middle School, Glen Martin. I asked Martin the following questions.

Q: First things first, where was your last place of employment?
A: “Railand School District, but I spent most of my career working at North Lamar.”
Q: How is Railand different from the Hugo school district?
A: “We have a bigger challenge here getting test scores where they need to be; also, we have more minority students here.”
Q: What new ideas are you bringing to Hugo?
A: “To make sure to develop student self esteem, to be successful and establish more remedial programs to get students to grade level.”

At this point I really didn’t feel like I was interviewing the principal, but just talking to a friend.  He was very relaxed, yet composed, and I didn’t feel nervous talking to him.

Q: So what do you think about the faculty and staff?
A: “We have a great faculty and staff. They are positive about the school and want the students to succeed.”
Q: How has the student body reacted to you so far?
A: “It has been really positive. We have established some guidelines and rules, and they have been very accepting.”
Q: What other hobbies and interests do you have outside of being a principal?
A: “Some hobbies of mine are OSU football, weightlifting and spending time with my family and kids.”
Q: How do you plan on improving the communication gap between the schools and the community?
A: “By establishing communication through parent-teacher conferences, making sure it is communicated in our local newspapers and making ourselves available to the parents.”

Overall, Martin was an easygoing guy who really opened up in the interview. I was really impressed by the way he communicated with me, not as a student, but as an equal. I can’t wait to see what this educator has in store for Hugo Middle School.

By Preston Wells
Hugo High School
Co-Editor

To be negative, rude, hateful and hostile isn’t very appealing or attractive to any person, yet do we understand, as people, who we really are? Do we know our own characteristics, our own words? The shadowed view of our own Hugo High School that we have created has only limited the possibility of improvement
The definition of negativity is as follows: Marked by features of hostility, withdrawal or pessimism that hinder or oppose constructive treatment or development. Does this definition reflect anything about improving our school? I don’t think it does. When I hear ugly words said about me and my school I honestly can’t take it. Just in the last two years I’ve attended Hugo High the accusations have gotten worse. From statements like, “I really do feel bad for you having to attend Hugo High, I heard the students act like animals.” To, “You go to school at Hugo? I heard the cops are up there every day.” The worse part about these comments is that they are coming directly from the people of Hugo.    
To succeed is every school and community’s dream, yet in my opinion it seems that we have chosen to be negative in order to reach that dream. It doesn’t sound right, does it? Negativity doesn’t equal success, and it never will. In order for our community and our school to reach all new heights we must be positive.                   
Just like negativity, positivity spreads like wildfire. Hugo High School is a great school, and I consider it a privilege that I am a student there. The teaching staff at Hugo is amazing and filled with educators who want to help and prepare every student for the outside world. The atmosphere of the high school is like no other. As soon as I walk onto campus every day, I know that I will learn something new. Trying to hinder Hugo High School of its progression is not good for this community and is not included in the definition of positivity.
Parents want their kids to attend a good school and receive a great education. Hugo High School is everything a parent could want. Try being positive about our community and our school, it could make a world of difference.
“People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?’ –Thich Nhat Hanh