Story by Abby Hurd

In the beginning of the 2024 school year Fifth grade teacher Mrs. Ormsby started a new club called the Kindness Club. The club consists of two students out of each grade from pre K-6 who are selected by their teachers to help with spreading kindness to the school and community. “I started Kindness Club because I had seen it in other schools and how it had a positive impact on not only their students, but also the faculty and community.” said Mrs. Ormsby when talking about what inspired her to start the club. She then told me about all the acts of kindness the club has accomplished for the school and community and how she motivates students to spread kindness. “The club members have made kindness bags that were given to faculty to show that they are appreciated.” describes Mrs. Ormsby, “When students are caught being kind, teachers give them a ticket and put it in a box outside the gym and the messages are read on the morning announcements everyday”. 

The most memorable act of kindness for Mrs. Ormsby was when they sent cards to the hospital. “My daughter works at the hospital and she said that the patients were so excited and thought it was amazing, and it also makes the kids feel good to make others feel special” said Mrs. Ormsby with a smile as she recalled the memory. The goals for the club are to spread kindness and teachers have remarked that they have observed that the club has had a positive impact on their students. 

The club has plans for the future to keep the kids and teachers engaged and involved, and are finding more ways to spread kindness around the Alfred and Almond communities. The club provides a structured setting to learn and discuss the importance of compassion and the meaning of friendship and kindness.

Story by Kouki Yatani

It is not uncommon to spot a couple of students falling asleep during class nowadays. The big question is, what is the cause of students falling asleep?  Teachers certainly dislike the sight of a student falling asleep, but many students also question why they are falling asleep in the first place. Even the healthiest or smartest students can be spotted dozing off at times.

There are several reasons as to why students fall asleep during class. It is important that both teachers and students understand and acknowledge the roots behind why students are found doing so. 

The number one cause of this problem is lack of sleep. Nowadays, many students do not get enough sleep because they are staying up late playing video games or studying, using devices such as smartphones or computers, or having an irregular sleeping schedule caused by other issues. 

Another major problem that can create sleepy students is mental or physical health issues. Such health complications are becoming increasingly common in our society, especially for teenagers. These health conditions include but are not limited to sleeping disorders, insomnia, high levels of stress and anxiety, depression, and a poor management of nutrition and hydration. This is often overlooked because it is common for teenagers to hide such difficulties from people.

This next cause is a big factor that teachers often find hard to accept. However, this is a major problem that needs to be addressed and that schools need to recognize. Boredom and the poor management of classroom environments. If class material is not engaging or challenging, it is common for students to get bored. This can lead to the creation of drowsy and lazy students. Poor classroom environment is also a contributing factor. These include discomfort in the seats, poor air and temperature control, and bad lighting in the room. These can all lead to students falling asleep in class. 

Mr. Dave Brady says he has unfortunately experienced many students falling asleep over the years. His first thought is, “am I that boring?” when he finds a student dozing off. However, he believes that if it is a common occurrence there are problems outside of his control that are causing it. Mr. Brady stated that some major factors contributing to this problem are not enough sleep and boredom. He followed by explaining that “all symptoms are not conducive to academic success,” and that it is “regrettable because the chances of (students) succeeding are diminished.” 

When Mr. Brady does find a student sleeping, he inconspicuously walks down the aisle and taps the person to wake them up which usually solves the problem without causing a scene. He suggests that all students get a healthy amount of sleep each night as many students are sleep deprived due to their inconsistent sleep schedule.

Students should work on creating a better sleep schedule and healthy lifestyle while teachers and schools should work on creating a better school environment and engaging classes. It is important that both students and teachers work together to reduce the number of students falling asleep. 

Story by Liam Carstens

Sports usually involve some form of physical activity, but in the case of Academic All Stars, brains rule over brawn. Social studies teacher Mr. Steve Donlon runs the team, who all meet on Tuesdays during activity mod to practice their question answering skills.

On Mondays in February through March, the team competes with other schools to answer questions quickly and accurately. These questions can range from history to math to pop culture trivia, so everyone on the team has opportunities to score some points by answering questions in their favorite subject.

The competition is split into two rounds, a 3 minute round and buzzer round. During the three minute round, each team has three minutes to answer as many questions as they can, gaining 2 points if they get a question correct and losing 1 point if they answer a question incorrectly. During the buzzer round, questions are asked to both teams and the first person to press their buzzer answers the question. A correct answer will score their team 2 points, and an incorrect answer will lose their team 2 points.

Each school has two teams, an A and B team, that play a three minute round and buzzer round each. The team with the highest score at the end of the competition wins.

Many of the students on the team have been playing for a long time, even since freshman year. “Mr. Donlon got me to join when I was a freshman, and I haven’t regretted it since” said sophomore Ryan Washburn.

Senior Benny Jaconski remarked, “I think it's fun, competitive, and I like seeing how smart I am compared to other teams,” a common sentiment among his teammates.

In the season so far, the All Stars Team is doing great against other schools, winning 4 of the 5 matches they have played. “We’re gonna get the second championship win in a row,” said Jaconski optimistically.

This current winning streak is looking good for the team, especially with last year’s major success of a season.

Story by Abby Hurd

Mango the Leopard gecko lives in Mrs. Ormsby's classroom, which is located in the fifth grade hallway. She is only two months old and very friendly. When she was brought into the classroom Mrs. Ormsby asked her students to name her, and they voted on Mango. 

Mrs. Ormsby says Mangos care is very simple, but important, “She eats live insects, her cage is cleaned out when needed, gets fresh water, and has a heat lamp and uv lamp”. As one of the students' assignments they were asked to write and research animals, so the students thought it would be enjoyable to have a class pet. “I wasn't sure if I wanted to get a class pet or even what I wanted to get, but some of my students told me about their leopard geckos, so I talked to their parents and looked into getting one,” Mrs. Ormsby added. 

Mrs. Ormsby said that Mango provides her students with learning opportunities like responsibility and compassion. “Mango helps the students to take care of an animal and learn to have fun. They love to watch her eat, hold her, and watch her walking around”. Fifth grader, Joyce Kleckner expressed her opinion on how much she enjoys having a class pet. “Mango is a lot of fun to watch when she's awake and moving around in her cage,” Kleckner expressed with excitement.

Mango's life in Mrs. Ormsby's fifth grade classroom is fun and will get more exciting because she is going to get incorporated into the classroom curriculum more. Mango has helped engage students by encouraging responsibility and leadership among students.