![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
On this episode of Listen In, social studies teacher Krista Silvernail sat down with Opinions Editor Samantha Haney to discuss the positive psychological impacts of compliments for National Compliment Day, which is on March 1.
Silvernail teaches AP Psychology and covers types of relationships between different people.
“Psychology focuses a lot on how important it is that people feel a sense of belonging and that people want to connect with others,” Silvernail said.
Giving a compliment benefits both the compliment giver and the compliment receiver by creating a relationship that makes both people feel good. A study by Psychology Today in 2021 suggested that more people should start giving compliments more frequently because of the psychological benefits.
“Especially if a person is intuitive and is paying close attention to the expressions of the person that they’re giving the compliment to,” Silvernail said. “We never know what’s going on in somebody’s day but to see somebody light up because you told them ‘I love your hair’ could make a big impact on [their] day.”
Not only does she know this based on personal experience but Silvernail teaches a theory in her class that backs it up.
“Giving compliments would be a theory that’s called the ‘Feel Good When We Do Good’ theory,” she said. “Just like the theory states, a lot of times when we do a small act of kindness and see the way they respond, that makes us feel good for a significant time.”
To celebrate National Compliment Day, Silvernail recommends giving a compliment as a simple act of kindness to help make a better day for someone else. Her personal goal is to get better at both receiving and giving compliments because of the impact on others.
“It makes them feel loved and wanted and part of a bigger group,” Silvernail said.
This story was originally published on The Lancer Feed on March 1, 2024.