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Staff Writer Izzie Gaskamp and Assistant A&E Editor Ben Dane write about the behind the scenes of creating schedules and the struggle of getting into a class.
The scheduling puzzle
September 16, 2025
Some Ankeny High School (AHS) students have been outraged since school started due to the absence of chocolate milk in the cafeteria, but this regulation goes far beyond the Ankeny school district (ACSD). Students pose with their chocolate milk photographed by River Phillips, made using SCRL by River Phillips.
The chocolate milk debacle
September 16, 2025
Senior Chuck Aluka and sophomore Grady Fransen face off in the finals of Del Val's rock-paper-scissors tournament. Both students participated in games all morning long before competing against 10 other finalists for a chance at two free Homecoming tickets.
Students ‘throw hands’ in Del Val’s rock-paper-scissors tournament
September 16, 2025
Sitting together, Frankie and his nurse, Julie Govier, smile for the camera.
NEWS: Medicaid Cuts Impact Local Family
June 2, 2025
Simpson brings community together through communication
Simpson brings community together through communication
June 2, 2025
Lopez and Balderas celebrate after Lopez proposed. Lopez popped the question at Memorial Park, with the help of Solis.
From nicknames to new beginnings
September 16, 2025
Truly Fresh, a nonprofit started by junior Xara Aman, targets produce waste by collecting excessive fruits in neighborhoods around the Bay Area, and donates them to West Valley Community services.
TrulyFresh offers fresh solutions to food waste in homes
September 16, 2025
Stripped of innocence: how 9/11 shaped a school community
September 16, 2025
Juniors Pritam Saha (left) and Joshua Kim (right) plan interview questions for a future guest on their podcast. Pritam founded The Hustle Path to interview entrepreneurs along with Joshua as his co-host.
Voicing the hustle
September 16, 2025
Life skills paraprofessional leaves behind legacy of compassion
September 16, 2025
Mark Teague leads a warmup drill during the football team’s practice. “ I'm very aggressive, uptempo,” Teague said. “And I want the kids to feed off of that. I want them to feel as though our coach will run through a wall for us, and we do the same for him.”
From Writing Playbooks to Writing His Story, Teague is More Than Just a Coach
September 16, 2025
Coaches and students play basketball with Zone 6. Photos used with permission from Zone 6. Graphic illustration by Anna Cen.
Zone 6 coaches confidence one drill at a time
June 2, 2025
Grady Andersen: The man on the sideline
Grady Andersen: The man on the sideline
June 2, 2025
Klein carries out his throwing motion during a home track meet aganist North Royalton.
Three-sport athlete utilizes positive influences to chase success
June 2, 2025
Baldwin flag football team players face off in a game earlier this month.
It’s kickoff time
June 2, 2025
Art Bias artists Amber Smith, Deborah Shea, and Shari Bryant walk down the San Carlos centennial mural. With the purpose of honoring the city’s history, the San Carlos centennial mural is a massive feat, displaying the result of talent, research, and collaboration within the artwork. The artists received help from local schools and volunteers during the first stages of painting. “In the beginning, we allowed people to sign up as volunteers. We allowed them to do the primer and the triangles. We also had a lot of kids from high school,” Smith said.
San Carlos mural celebrates 100 years of history
September 16, 2025
Sabrina Carpenter just released her seventh studio album, “Man’s Best Friend.” The album is fun and entertaining but lacks emotional depth. “Man’s Best Friend is available on all streaming platforms.
Sabrina Carpenter continues to play it safe
September 16, 2025
Chavarkar entering the specialized Percussion room with all the equipment and instruments.
Feeling the music: Purav Chavarkar’s journey as a musician with congenital hearing loss
September 16, 2025
Darren Aronofsky’s “Caught Stealing” (2025).
Darren Aronofsky’s “Caught Stealing”
September 16, 2025
The American Legion Marin-Davis Post 716 building currently features a white curtain covering the in-progress mural, showing only a small portion of the grand art piece.
American Legion Post 716 to unveil mural, a lasting tribute to veterans
June 2, 2025
Senior JT Barrett is surrounded by classmates holding up their phones—an exaggerated but all-too-familiar reflection of how overwhelming screen culture can feel. (Image has been upscaled in Photoshop)
[OPINION] The best way to reset isn’t vacation: it’s putting your phone down
June 2, 2025
The Trump administration's restrictive policies on immigration make international travel for non-U.S. citizens more difficult. Illustration | Asha Wojciechowski
Travel under Trump: How Trump’s immigration policy is impacting the MVHS community’s summer travel plans
June 2, 2025
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions march through downtown Daegu, chanting for their rights. However, many of their demands lack feasibility.
Labor union protests to ease government boundaries on foreign workers
June 2, 2025
With legal immigration pathways narrowing and deportations without due process rising nationwide, it has become more important than ever for students and school communities to be educated on their rights and protections. Photo by Qianzi Loo. Graphic illustration by Maddy Chang
Editorial: Building safety and awareness around student immigrant rights
May 21, 2025
Editorial: Illinois eliminating Native American mascots from schools is a good thing
Editorial: Illinois eliminating Native American mascots from schools is a good thing
May 19, 2025
GRAND REVEAL: Sophomore Cruz Gonzales performs alongside the other baritone saxophone players during Bandapalooza on Aug 22. Bandapalooza allowed the band to perform what they’ve been practicing during the summer to an audience full of friends and family. While this wasn’t the band’s first full run through, it was their first in front of an audience. “I feel like we’ve done better in rehearsals, and due to the pressure and other things, it hindered our performance a little bit, but I was still proud,” Gonzales said. One thing that Gonzales pointed out that the band needs to work on in the future is making sure everybody knows exactly where they’re supposed to be and knows the repetition. This performance also allowed the band to introduce their new theme of Gothic Renaissance to their audience. “This year’s costumes are totally different,” Gonzales said. “We have hip capes and shako hats, which is a big change from last year.” Looking towards the future and big pictures, Gonzales wants the band to have a successful season and make state. “Considering how close it was last year, we were pretty bummed,” he said. “So this year, I think everybody is really trying to work harder to get there and make state again.” Caption by Maya Tackett. Photo by Wren Vanderford.
Bandapalooza marches into new year
September 16, 2025
Passing nonperishable food items along the assembly line, volunteers for the Prosper Ladies Association assemble food kits for local families in need. These Prosper ISD students are volunteering for the association's Summer Lunch Program in collaboration with the LovePacs food pantry. "What a lot of people don't understand is, when they think of Prosper, they think of affluence," Vice President Kristi Izquierdo said. “But, Prosper is quite large, and it touches five cities, (including) Frisco, Aubrey, Celina and McKinney. So as those areas grow, so does the need for support.”
Prosper-based nonprofits mobilize during summer
September 16, 2025
Senior Ben Polega poses with parents Jeff and Victoria Polega and their dog Friday for the football team's Senior Knight.
Stepping up to the plate
June 2, 2025
Cattle Car exhibit visits The Masters School, shares message of Holocaust survivors’ stories
May 27, 2025
Teachers brought their kids to work on Thursday, April 17, and the Child Development students escorted them to activities in various classrooms throughout the day.
Teachers Bring Their Kids to Work
May 27, 2025
Senior Ben Polega poses with parents Jeff and Victoria Polega and their dog Friday for the football team's Senior Knight.
Stepping up to the plate
June 2, 2025
The CEO of WABE TV, Jennifer Dorian, says investment in public media is an investment in the future. It connects communities, schools, and guarantees everyone access to necessary information.
WABE CEO discusses possible funding cuts
May 21, 2025
Clayton’s New Mayor: Bridget McAndrew
May 14, 2025
Student journalists in the age of the Trump Administration
Student journalists in the age of the Trump Administration
May 2, 2025
If you could do high school all over again what would you do differently? Why? How? In this episode senior journalists and podcasters Kate Saussele and Mia Kirsch share 5 pieces of advice.
Episode 19 – 5 things we wish we knew before starting high school
April 30, 2025
GRAND REVEAL: Sophomore Cruz Gonzales performs alongside the other baritone saxophone players during Bandapalooza on Aug 22. Bandapalooza allowed the band to perform what they’ve been practicing during the summer to an audience full of friends and family. While this wasn’t the band’s first full run through, it was their first in front of an audience. “I feel like we’ve done better in rehearsals, and due to the pressure and other things, it hindered our performance a little bit, but I was still proud,” Gonzales said. One thing that Gonzales pointed out that the band needs to work on in the future is making sure everybody knows exactly where they’re supposed to be and knows the repetition. This performance also allowed the band to introduce their new theme of Gothic Renaissance to their audience. “This year’s costumes are totally different,” Gonzales said. “We have hip capes and shako hats, which is a big change from last year.” Looking towards the future and big pictures, Gonzales wants the band to have a successful season and make state. “Considering how close it was last year, we were pretty bummed,” he said. “So this year, I think everybody is really trying to work harder to get there and make state again.” Caption by Maya Tackett. Photo by Wren Vanderford.
Bandapalooza marches into new year
September 16, 2025
LOVELY RITA: Senior designer Rita Hagerty was the lucky winner of the 2025 show. Hagerty participated in the show for her second year. “Rita has incredible dedication and her eye for detail is incredible," one of Hagerty's designer peers said. "I'm glad her hard work paid off.” Each designer put countless hours into the show, sacrificing sleep and free time for the opportunity to share their work with the community. For some of these young designers it may have been their first time participating, some say that the hardest part was finding the time to dedicate to the competition. “Of course, designing the clothes was challenging, but that's what I was expecting," first-year sophomore designer Tallulah McAuliffe said. "It was really hard to find the time to put it all together though. Between school, homework and friends. The show was always following me.” Caption by Isa Truan.
Braving the ‘Wilderness’ together
May 7, 2025
Sophomore Clare Colburn draws a henna design on a child's hand. Henna designing was one of the activities for guests, and art students were able to sign up for different activities they could do during the art show. “One of my favorite activities was Henna because it's a really cool craft and art form that is interesting,” Colburn said. 
Pyramid art show expresses creativity of students
May 2, 2025
REACHING FOR THE STARS: Junior Zane Shieh sings an original song while playing the guitar with his band, Spiral Maze, at the Battle of the Bands last Thursday. He sings the long note of his band’s original song entitled “Reach,” a part of a new album coming soon. “This is my second year doing Battle of the Bands and with Spiral Maze,” Shieh said. “We had a pretty tight set, but I think it went really well, and the crowd liked us a good bit.” Shieh said his excitement toward playing at the Battle of the Bands this year was being able to showcase his band’s new music. “My favorite part was performing our new song, and playing for a bunch of my friends was super sick,” Shieh said. “It was stressful at first—like a little nervous—but it all cleared up right after the first song, and the atmosphere was very chill.” While it was not his band’s first time performing in front of a crowd, Shieh said he loves playing music at his own school and performing original music. “We’ve played at the Austin Rodeo two times and a few restaurants like Tamale House and Freddo’s ATX,” Shieh said. Shieh and his band will be back performing at school at the upcoming first annual McCallum Art Party fundraiser on Feb. 22. Caption by Nate Williams.
Battle of the Bands brings Mac musicians together
April 10, 2025
Junior Paige Mitchell leaps during group performance for Blue Brigade's annual show-off held last Wednesday commencing the contest season.
Twirl, leap and spin into contest season
April 4, 2025
Passing nonperishable food items along the assembly line, volunteers for the Prosper Ladies Association assemble food kits for local families in need. These Prosper ISD students are volunteering for the association's Summer Lunch Program in collaboration with the LovePacs food pantry. "What a lot of people don't understand is, when they think of Prosper, they think of affluence," Vice President Kristi Izquierdo said. “But, Prosper is quite large, and it touches five cities, (including) Frisco, Aubrey, Celina and McKinney. So as those areas grow, so does the need for support.”
Prosper-based nonprofits mobilize during summer
September 16, 2025
Cattle Car exhibit visits The Masters School, shares message of Holocaust survivors’ stories
May 27, 2025
Teachers brought their kids to work on Thursday, April 17, and the Child Development students escorted them to activities in various classrooms throughout the day.
Teachers Bring Their Kids to Work
May 27, 2025
The Mind Matters 5K Run
The Mind Matters 5K Run
May 27, 2025
The cloting and fashion class students learn how to make items such as pajama pants, pillows and pilllowcases.
Clothing and fashion class sew with threads of creativity
May 21, 2025
The best stories being published on the SNO Sites network

Best of SNO
The best stories being published on the SNO Sites network

Best of SNO

Stripped of innocence: how 9/11 shaped a school community

By Karim Melek, Palatine High School • September 16, 2025
This story contains an alternate format that can only be viewed on the original site. View this story on Cutlass. It was originally published on September 11, 2025.

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