From 2018 to 2019, boy’s water polo participation has risen by 8.8%, while girl’s water polo participation across the country has seen an 18% increase. Team captains Taylor Johnson and Thalea Afentoullis…

Since beginning her self-exploration journey in middle school, junior Gabi Badami has used art as an outlet to express the struggles of being an LGBTQ teen. Badami aims for her work is to emphasize pride…

Just 37 years ago, there were 50 companies in charge of most American media. Now, 90% of the media in the United States is controlled by just six corporations: AT&T, CBS, Comcast, Disney, Newscorp…

As the 2:30 p.m. bell tolls, students rush out of classrooms and parking lots, eager to return home. Each student comes from the same school but arrives home to extremely different lives, from values to…

Anyone who has taken an American history course has heard of the melting pot analogy. Immigration has always been central to American history, and even today, America welcomes people from around the globe….

Alumnus Abdullah Kuziez, class of 2018, was one of the 41 students to be named a 2022 Marshall Scholar. Awarded by the British Government, the Marshall Scholarship offers exceptional American students…

The sky is gray. A few cars are parked on the edge of a dusty road on the Polish-Ukrainian border. Carefully cradling a child swathed in blankets, a small family of Ukrainian refugees prepares to board…

M-i-c-h-a-j-l-i-c-z-e-n-k-o. I spent time learning to print each letter and its order before I knew what my last name meant. It took me longer than others. After all, a typical last name doesn’t have…

Less than 2% of college athletes get drafted into the National Football League (NFL). However, alumni Drew Seers is determined to be a part of that percentage. 

From Friday Night Lights to running…

We’ve all heard the classics. “Turn the lights off when you leave the room. Don’t leave the water running while you brush your teeth. Recycle paper instead of throwing it away.” These are all small…

More than 4,407 miles away from home, junior Cecilia “Sisi” Olmedilla began a new adventure  in St. Louis, August 2021. Olmedilla was born and raised in Madrid, Spain and came to the U.S. to continue…

In the last 10 years, over 22,000 high school female wrestlers joined the sport in the U.S., and 15 states will be hosting their first girl’s championship in 2022 and 2023. With an increase in athletes,…

St. Louis area school districts have once again made local headlines. As Rockwood parents descended into states of madness over the inclusion of books such as “Stamped” in their children’s curriculum,…

For many students, the mention of the words “pop quiz” creates a feeling of panic. However, alumnus Grant Aden, class of 2017, and alumna Emily Dickson, class of 2018, have come to know a different…

The holidays might be drawing to a close, but our commitment to our city should not be. While the rest of us hunker down into our mid-winter routines, safe and warm at home, St. Louis’s homeless population…

Some fantasy football leagues reward for the winner, but these leagues have a unique catch: a punishment for the loser. Students joined their respective leagues back in August with one common goal in mind:…

American politics have rarely been as contentious as they are today; the mere mention of a political sway can sound alarms for many. However, for some individuals, the restrictions surrounding the discussion…

While students are going about their regular Friday night business—catching up with friends after a long week, making plans or simply trying to debrief the past few days—junior Andrew Martin has a…

Sophomore Samari Sanders’ feet pound against the track, blood rushes to her head and her heart thumps in her chest. Her legs burn in agony as her body screams at her to stop running, but her mind urges…

Pencil moving across paper, I finish my worksheets in class. My teacher continues drawling on, filling a long class period with presentations and puns. My table partner turns to their friend quietly saying,…

Knees shaking, legs aching and arms straining, sophomore Tommy Eschbach lifts 360 lbs up to his hips into a deadlift. The only thoughts running through his head are telling him to push himself to the max….

Stop Making Everything Political

We’ve all heard the age-old advice to avoid talking politics at the dinner table. But in an age when everything seems to be political, what is there left to talk about?…

Of the estimated 50.6 million students enrolled in K-12 public schools, about 3.2 million stand out from the pack. These kids are given a special name simply for scoring high on intelligence tests —…

With 10.4 million job openings in the United States, 221,266 openings in Missouri and 46 openings in the district, the labor shortage is a pressing issue and one that undoubtedly is affecting our district….

Since the days of American slavery, Black hair has been a widely debated and criticized topic. In the early 1700s, white people degraded slaves with natural hair by calling it “wool,” comparing Black…

Wheelchair scuffs and dents line the walls, adapted chairs and assistive devices remain scattered around the house, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) awareness bracelets and tokens pool in random dishes….

Speeding into the parking lot at 7:29 a.m., the colorful variety of parking spots is probably the least of your worries, as you desperately try to avoid yet another tardy. These painted spots mark the…

Imagine you are sitting in history class, trying to pay attention to a lecture, but you can hear every sound and see every distraction around you. You can hear the students in the back whispering to each…

At 12:50 p.m. room 2302 changes from a classroom to a full-fledged business operation for students in Jessica Bowman’s Job Experience class. 

Bowman has found an innovative way to teach these life…

The food pantry recently had a reckoning with its practices and services. In April, for the first time, there was zabiha-halal meat and dates distributed to Muslim families observing Ramadan. Diane Peterson,…

With the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, more and more individuals have gained access to a vaccination. However, the experiences of students and staff have varied greatly. From types of vaccines received,…

[a beat comes in]

Before we begin, a quick disclaimer. This episode will focus solely on facts and personal stories, in the hopes of humanizing the tragedy of gun violence in St. Louis. It is never…

American legislature has a dark history of targeting trans people. Whether it be “bathroom bills” which try to keep trans people from using the bathroom with the gender identity they belong to, or…

When three middle school girls refused to remove their headdresses in France in 1989 while at school, the government intervened, banning hijabs in public school. After three decades, France has continued…

[a beat comes in]

St. Louis: home to the Gateway Arch and to one of the most successful baseball franchises in history. Home to musical artists Nelly and Tina Turner and to activists Maya Angelou…

All it took was a global pandemic for sophomore Nick Malchanav to begin his journey to making thousands. With extra time on his hands, he began to search for ways to make money and was able to find great…

When life gave School Accounts Secretary Denise Heinle a curveball, she knew there would be a lot on her plate. From her husband passing from cancer, family members struggling with COVID-19 to undergoing…

Senior Sri Jaladi rolled over and checked his phone, still groggy with sleep. He scrolled through emails and notifications, stopping when he saw a message from the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP)….

“Baby let the games begin, let the games begin,” pop star Taylor Swift’s backup singers sing as Swift’s silhouette is displayed from the big screens at the Dome at America’s center over the crowd…

As technology plays a growing role in our lives, so too does data. On the internet, virtually every click, scroll and like is tracked, often used to maximize your engagement. But as it turns out, other…

Working on assignment 8.1 in virtual American Sign Language 2 (ASL), students opened the week’s expressive assignment to be met with brightly colored images. Dread, followed by anger, sank in the pit…

A blaring beep startles freshman Tristen Banks awake. One of her hands reaches up to rub the stubborn sleep out of her eyes, while the other searches around to muffle the sound of her alarm. Banks goes…

On the night she was born, April 21, 2006, freshman Morrigan Dodd was transported to Children’s Hospital after doctors determined that Dodd was born without a connection between her heart and lungs….

From chapter one to chapter two, year after year, we highlight vocab terms of isolated events: revolutions, laws, court cases. This is generally how we are taught history—a series of systems and policies…

Assistant Principal Kate Piffel sits at her desk, a phone balanced next to her ear. An overstuffed black binder lays open on her desk and she reads something from it, listening thoughtfully to the response…

With just a simple Google search of freshman Kylie Secrest, you can discover who she is: a 14-year-old golf prodigy who has competed in everything from local competitions on the high school golf team to…

From the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn., to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., freshman Santosh Sahoo has a collection of 25 hotel room key cards he has gathered since 2016. Combining his…

As soon as senior Ajdin Turnadzic accepted the phone call, he knew his life was about to change dramatically. He could hear his cousins and family in the next room and immediately walked inside, pulling…

Transcript: [Funky music comes in.]

Bri: I ain’t ever seen two pretty best friends.

Zoe: Chile! Anyways, so…

Bri: It’s the salty attitude for me.

Zoe: Go off sis!

Bri: Periodddddt.

Bri:…

Senior and shortstop Elliot Krewson knocked the ball out of the park during the COVID-19 pandemic, earning admission to Dartmouth College, a Division I Ivy League program, to pursue his dream of playing…