Adults and teens anxious about effects of smartphone reliance
By Nate Burleyson, Metea Valley High School
March 21, 2019
Filed under Features
Every day we might perceive events as problems that might not really be an issue. Today, adults will see a group of preteens around a table engrossed in their phones, and jump to the conclusion that those smartphones are ruining their minds because adults just weren’t raised that way and they turned...
It’s not all fun and games on the other side of the controller
By Emma O'Connor, Carlmont High School
March 20, 2019
Filed under Features, Showcase
You’re on the last lap in Mario Kart, hanging onto first place. The music starts to pick up as your sibling starts to yell, excited that you might win. The finish line is only one turn away and with it the trophy. You can’t lose now with only 9 seconds to go. You live for this part of video games,...
Pom up the Business
By Sydney Looney, Millard West High School
March 19, 2019
Filed under Features
Pom poms made of yarn laid all over senior Lauren Richter’s kitchen table. She worked tediously to make sure each pom was made to perfection by trimming and shaping them. These fuzzy spheres had become of her daily life and were a way for her to make a few extra dollars. It all began in the fall...
Turning to Tinder
By Adler Bowman, Kirkwood High School
March 19, 2019
Filed under Features, Showcase
Wanting to surprise herself on her eighteenth birthday, she decided to make some riskier plans than usual. Sophia*, senior, pocketed her pepper spray before sneaking out to a bowling alley to meet a boy she connected with through the social networking app Tinder. Because this was her first time meeting ...
The top priority
By Thomas Birmingham, Kirkwood High School
March 19, 2019
Filed under Features, Showcase
They drilled a hole in his back. They put metal tubes in his body. He came to school with a cane. Then, under KHS’s revised attendance policy, he got detention. Aaron De Marco, senior, has cystinuria, a rare and aggressive condition which causes him to produce kidney stones every single day. S...
Esports has grown into more than a hobby
By Kevin Shimizu, Carlmont High School
March 19, 2019
Filed under Features, Showcase
The prize pool for DOTA 2’s tournament, The International 2018 is $25,532,177. That's enough money to buy one Toyota Corolla every day for 1,365 consecutive days, nearly 3.8 years. This is 443 times the estimated 2017 median household income in the United States. Just five years before, The ...
Gabino twins take on college one year early
By Alliana Samonte, Daniel Pearl Magnet High School
March 19, 2019
Filed under Features
Sisters Nicole and Leticia Gabino are anything but average juniors. After taking several college courses during the past three years to fulfill graduation requirements, the twin sisters are able to walk the stage one year early. “I feel at the same time excited but a little sad,” Leticia said....
Piloting his future: Joey Ermel — student pilot
By Andrea Davenport, Downers Grove South High School
March 19, 2019
Filed under Features
On June 15, 2018, junior Joey Ermel stepped into a plane by himself for the first time. After one last hug from his 82-year-old grandpa, Ermel secured his headset and took flight in a one-of-a-kind 1946 Aeronca Model 7 Champion, originally his grandfather’s from when he was a pilot. Following in...
Companies sell ‘self-care’ as wellness trend
By Bethany Bissell, Akins High School
March 19, 2019
Filed under Features
#SelfcareSaturday. As of late, the hashtag has taken over Twitter and Instagram, becoming more common than the longstanding #MotivationMonday. While scrolling through social media, students are often bombarded with words such as “self-care” and “wellness.” Articles advertise new wellness trends...
Cambridge’s Happiest Substitute Teacher Spreads Joy in the Classroom
By Rachel Lichtenwalner, Cambridge High School
March 19, 2019
Filed under Features
Who is the happiest person you can think of? Is it a children’s cartoon character? Mister Rogers? For many students, one name might immediately come to mind. Ms. A. Ask students at the school about the “super happy substitute teacher,” and they’ll almost certainly know you’re talking...
Inked Up: The significance and hidden value behind tattoos
By Tyler Lehner, Elkhart Memorial High School
March 19, 2019
Filed under Features
As human beings, it is a necessity to understand the importance of having the ability to express ourselves. This is done in many ways; for example, the music we listen to, the clothes we wear, and the way we present ourselves are all examples of self expression, but perhaps the biggest, and most permanent...
NHS community service programs provide for peers
By Rachel Baschnagel, James Bowie High School
March 18, 2019
Filed under Features
From painting walls, to editing essays, to distributing teacher badges, National Honor Society (NHS) members are directly offering assistance to the community in any way they can. Bowie has a working team of students willing to give their time to others. This year the NHS is working to expand two of its...
On the runway, calming jitters and building confidence
By Shani Shaham, Shalhevet High School
March 18, 2019
Filed under Features
Standing in the Shalhevet gym, freshman Danielle Finn attempted to tame the butterflies in her stomach Jan. 13 while an audience of women from throughout the Los Angeles Jewish community waited in anticipation for the long-planned event to begin. The gym had been completely transformed, with a runway...
Oncoming and Overcoming
By Alyssa Bailey, Liberty High School
March 18, 2019
Filed under Features
It’s that time of the year again. Another end to another year. Another memorable senior send off into the new world of college. But that doesn’t stop the fear of leaving high school as it’s slowly creeping up. All seniors experience a form of uncertainty that ensues when they’re wrapping up their...
Welcoming the stranger with hot food, scissors and applause
By Sam Rubanowitz, Shalhevet High School
March 18, 2019
Filed under Features
It was almost noon when two Department of Homeland Security buses finally turned into a church parking lot in northern Phoenix. Volunteers who had been there since around 9 a.m. were lined up and waiting to welcome the travelers into America. The first family to emerge -- a mother holding on to her two...
Leadership through legislation
By Sally Parampottil, Coppell High School
March 18, 2019
Filed under Features
As the only student who competes in congressional debate at Coppell High School, junior Bhavik Reddy faced an uphill climb from the start. To earn his spot in the Tournament of Champions, the most prestigious debate tournament in the nation, Reddy had to develop his oratory skills in an undeveloped section...
Despite the name, micro schools have big aspirations
By Neha Desaraju, Coppell High School
March 17, 2019
Filed under Features
IRVING - The white tiles are familiar, as are the painted green walls. A large poster of smiling children hangs in the small lobby. The halls are narrow and just as unassuming as the outside of the building. The students take off their shoes before they enter the classrooms. The Humanist Academy was only opened two yea...
Living with Type 1 Diabetes: What Diagnosed Students Want You to Know
By Stella W. '19, Padua Academy
March 14, 2019
Filed under Features
She knew something was wrong when she began to rapidly lose weight. Around final exams in her junior year, she began drinking large amounts of water and eating excessively. Then she was no longer able to eat and felt sick constantly. And then her world changed. Lauren Gempp, a senior, was diagnosed with...
Swearing: Why Do We Do It?
March 14, 2019
Filed under Features
Jeff Cross, a senior at Triton, says he doesn’t care what people think about him, especially not teachers, when it comes to swearing in school. “I think it’s freedoms.php fun,” said Cross, “It’s fun to say them, especially when you’re not supposed to.” Cross said he believes that...
Should teachers express their political opinions in the classroom?
By Alefiyah Vahanvaty, Stroudsburg High School
March 13, 2019
Filed under Features
It’s a regular school day in an AP American Government and Politics class, and the topic comes up about U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull of the Iran Nuclear Deal. While students express their own personal opinions, the teacher intently listens in the background, presenting the latest...
Parent perspectives
By Sophie Stephens, West High School
March 13, 2019
Filed under Features
The stands are filled with cheering fans decked out in green, gold and the student section theme for the night. The illuminated scoreboard shows that you are down in the last quarter. It’s hard for you and the team to stay positive when the game isn’t going your way. You look back into the stands...
LGBT community met with various reactions
By Chloe Presley-Gundaker, Smithson Valley High School
March 12, 2019
Filed under Features
Taking a deep breath, nerves on edge, she was unsure what response she would get. Walking through the halls, holding hands with her girlfriend, she knew what they were thinking: the smirks, the snarls and the questioning looks said it all. No one ever knows the response they will get when they take...
Soul Cycle instructor creates fun environment
By Julianna Szigeti, Mayfield High School
March 12, 2019
Filed under Features
Students in Soul Cycle believe that adviser Abigail Ferritto has incorporated many cool ideas into the club. Soul Cycle is a cycling club that meets after school on Mondays(Tuesdays if there's no school Monday). It was started by English teacher Abigail Ferritto, who has been teaching for a total...
Behind the Cafeteria Counter: Inside Look at School Lunches
By Zoe Moser, Rockville High School
March 12, 2019
Filed under Features
About one third of RHS students eat school-provided lunch every day, yet many are unaware of what goes on behind the scenes to prepare their meals. All MCPS elementary, middle and high schools offer both lunch and breakfast meals to students with a varied menu. The MCPS Division of Food and Nutrition...
Gaetano demonstrates civic virtue
By Prudence Nowicki, Baldwin High School
March 12, 2019
Filed under Features
Senior Julia Gaetano has always felt a need to stand up for what she believes in. For her, making a difference comes naturally. Last spring Gaetano participated in The Pittsburgh March For Our Lives, which was an organized march protesting gun violence in schools. Gaetano gave a speech advocating...
Immigration
By Abby Ong, James Bowie High School
March 11, 2019
Filed under Features
GOV'T SHUTDOWN In what was regarded as fearfully similar to children throwing temper tantrums, the government shutdown in early January lasted 35 days. The record-breaking shutdown occurred when Congress refused to pass legislation that included over $5 billion for a border wall demanded by President ...
Feature: Black History Month
By Jaydin McMickle and Paris McNutt
March 11, 2019
Filed under Features
Washington High School was a completely different place back in the 1960s and 1970s compared to now. The fashion, the music, even the building was different. A big difference is how African-American students were recognized and treated throughout the hallways in Wash. “There was a small amount of black...
Alumnus Pincus-Roth pursues journalism at the Washington Post
By Brooke Hilliard, Richard Montgomery High School
March 10, 2019
Filed under Features
This RM alumnus’ job includes attending popular movies and theater performances, traveling across the world, and visiting striking museum exhibits, all while writing for one of the largest newspapers in the US: The Washington Post. A 1998 graduate of Richard Montgomery, Zachary Pincus-Roth first...
Examining the cheating policy at WHS
By Madeline Maurer and Alex Janoff
March 10, 2019
Filed under Features
As you stroll into your first-period class after just barely catching your bus, you get the impending feeling that you’re forgetting something. You’re sure you didn’t leave anything at home, so what could you be missing? You tuck your bag under your desk as usual. Suddenly, it hits you - in your...
(Un) Traditional
By Julia Hackeloer, Antioch Community High School
March 9, 2019
Filed under Features
Family traditions and rituals offer people an escape from the chaos of everyday life, and a chance to remember the little things that create beautiful memories which last a lifetime. Even though some people know exactly what their beliefs are, for others it’s hard to be completely confident about what th...