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TikTok access extended until mid June
TikTok access extended until mid June
By Brody Forester
Staff Writer
As of April 4, President Donald Trump extended the TikTok deadline for another 75 days just hours before it was set to go dark in order to find a solution for this popular app.
According to a recent survey, 74.5% of Concord Junior High students believe that TikTok should not be banned, while the other 25.5% of students think it should be banned.
Some students cited that the app allows them to express themselves and get away from reality. One participant in the survey said they believe that the government is overstepping its control. Students who want TikTok banned believe that some people are not mature enough for the app and all its contents.
President Trump announced TikTok’s extension with a TruthSocial post that said, “‘My administration has been working very hard on a deal to save TikTok, and we have made tremendous progress. The deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an executive order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days. We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the deal.’”
Hours after President Trump made his announcement on the extension, ByteDance, the company who owns TikTok, made their first statement on the situation:, “‘ByteDance has been in discussion with the U.S. government regarding a solution for TikTok U.S. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law.’”
ByteDance runs its operations in China, so it is required to follow their rules and regulations.
All of Indiana’s representatives voted yes for the bill that has forced TikTok to sell its ownership if it wants to be used by Americans. Rep. André Carson (D-IN) and Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) both co-sponsored the bill. When U.S. lawmakers co-sponsor a bill, it means they greatly support what the bill will do. Their office was not available for comment on the topic.
The office of Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN), Indiana’s second district, said, “We should not be allowing foreign adversaries like the CCP [Chinese Communists Party] to improperly target and manipulate American citizens. It [The Bill] does ensure that the app isn’t home to Xi Jinping.”
HaystackID, an independent security inspector, spent six months validating TikTok’s security. HaystackID released their report at the end of February. The report explained that they witnessed no harmful actions by TikTok and that TikTok U.S. data security was cooperative in the investigation.
TikTok’s U.S. data security said it has spent around $1.5 billion dollars on security for American data. A video on their website explains how no American data is stored on China's soil.
A question that a lot of users ask is what important data can TikTok access that compromises national security? When the Supreme Court gave their ruling on whether TikTok should stay, they gave an example on how a person’s data could be used.
When people allow TikTok to have access to their contacts, it can find mutual friends. It allows TikTok to have access to people's phone numbers, job titles, and much more. That was one of many reasons the U.S. Supreme Court decided to keep the TikTok ban in effect if not sold.
TikTok now has until June 18 to sell or the app will be forced to go dark on June 19.
CJHS celebrates drug free life during Red Ribbon Week
By Blakelynn Tepen
Staff Writer
The Leadership Team organized a Red Ribbon Week to support a drug free life on the week of October 28 through November 1.
Team Respect as well as Courage won the color splash by showing the most school spirit by exhibiting awareness throughout the week. At the convocation, each team was called individually to prove they had the most school spirit by cheering and chanting. At the end of the school day, Mrs. McEachern announced that the purple and pink team won for having the most spirit and color.
“My favorite day was color splash because seeing all of the colors in the gym was cool and green team rocked it,” said Mrs. McKnatt.
On the previous Tuesday, the leadership team announced what the spirited days were about at convo. They even dressed up with music to go along with the day they were representing. To assign what color each team was going to wear on Color Splash, leadership teachers pulled out of a hat.
“PJ day is the best day because people participated more and it was the most comfy day,” said Hailey Arroyo.
During spirit week, students and staff were encouraged to participate in these themed days demonstrating Minuteman spirit. These days included Merica/Culture Day, PJ Day, Western Day, Hawaiian/ Beach Day, and Color Splash. During the week the halls were filled with spirit as both students and staff enjoyed showing up and showing out.
Last year, the Blue team won the Color Splash competition. The teams were different this year due to teachers moving together as departments.
Students explore future careers at local manufacturing companies
By Ava Amezquita
Staff Writer
Students traveled to six manufacturing companies in Elkhart to expand their knowledge of career options available after graduation.
“Manufacturing Day is a great opportunity for 8th grade students to tour local businesses and see what job opportunities are available in our community. It gives companies an opportunity to share what they make and highlight different jobs within their company,” said counselor Lisa Wright.
At Lippert, students got to experience games that had to do with jobs in their scheduling department. Students watched welders cut plasma and weld behind a safety curtain. Students that traveled to Lippert learned what the company does and the different parts of the building that keep them up and running.
Students who went to Brinkley RV watched employees perform different jobs and learn all about what they do there. Students were educated about proper safety in the building and gear.
“It was a cool experience walking around the complex, and we learned a lot about the company,” said CJHS 8th grader Brielle Peak.
At MORryde, students toured the building and watched employees complete their tasks. Students learned that at Morryde they have 650 people who work at their company world wide. Students met employees and watched as they worked with lasers to cut heavy metal and listened as they explained the process.
Eighty-eight students along with five adults visited Kem Krest and learned about packaging and communication through the different parts of the building. Students learned that work ethic directly impacts someone’s salary. Employees explained that different jobs require specific characteristics.
At Utilimaster students visited the company and observed how they build trucks for certain companies to transport goods. Students practiced listening and communicating when the employees emphasized how important it is. Students learned that on average it takes about three months to build a truck.
Medical detective students explore career options at Elkhart General Hospital
Brody Forester
Staff Writer
Updated 12/13/24
Mr.Bate’s 7th grade medical detectives class took a trip to Elkhart General Hospital to learn more about careers in the hospital they might have not known existed.
During the beginning of the field trip students played a game to see who could put on personal protective equipment the fastest. They also learned about the hospital's four main core values: trust, respect, integrity, and compassion.
Kynnessey Ivory, a 7th grade medical detective student, said, “I liked how kind and educational the staff was.”
The students later started moving through stations to learn about different careers. One of those being the radiology department where they showed how they would use a mobile X-ray machine on a patient. A dietitian also spoke with students and let them try different nutritious foods.
At another station a physical therapist demonstrated how to use a hand gripper to test hand strength; additionally, they viewed a video of what proper and improper swallowing looks like in the esophagus. Adult nursing, labor and delivery, pharmacy, med flight, and Infection prevention were also there to provide insight into their professions.
Mrs. Mead said, “I believe it will benefit them [the students] in making career choices.”
Elkhart General Hospital is a part of a group called Beacon Health System that has over 130 locations. The president of the hospital, Carl Risk, visited students to share how people doubted his ability to become president, but he later proved them wrong.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for healthcare workers is anticipated to rise from 2023 to 2033, expecting to add around 1.9 million jobs in healthcare each year.
Students and staff experience partial solar eclipse
By Jayden Gonzalez
Staff Writer
Updated 4/20/24
Imagine being able to experience a once in a lifetime total solar eclipse.
On April 8, 2024, students and staff at CJHS were in the path of a 95% solar eclipse. All schools in the U.S. that were in the path of totality took an e-Learning day due to the dangers of looking directly at the sun without protection.
The total eclipse is one of many types of forms an eclipse can have, but this variant only happens once every 18 months. The total eclipse forms when the moon covers the sun; however, unlike a normal eclipse, the sun is covered almost completely leaving what looks like a white ring around the sun. The next time that people in Indiana will be able to experience another total eclipse will be in August 2044.
Mrs. Weatherholt, who drove to the Path of Totality in Van Wert, Ohio, said that she had such an amazing time. She mentioned that it got much darker than she had anticipated.
Mrs. Weatherholt said, “It was a weirdly unique experience; it was like a bowl was placed over us.”
Furthermore, she went on to say that the path of totality only lasted 3.5 minutes and in the time that it turned dark, she and her kids were able to take off their solar eclipse glasses and see the moon covering the sun.
Hudson Hooley who viewed the path of totality in Toledo, Ohio said, “In the path of totality you could see the sun flare up.” In addition, he stated that when in the path of totality it went completely dark although he was still able to see light where the shadow ended surprisingly. `
People have claimed to have seen a solar flare happening in space because of how dark it was when the eclipse. Although the eclipse seems like a beautiful sight to see, people have to be safe when viewing it because during the eclipse the sun becomes bright requiring the use of Lux 5 tinted glasses so it doesn't burn the eye’s retina. If someone dares to look at the sun during the eclipse, he or she would get what's called eclipse blindness, causing permanent retina damage.
Many students and staff living in Elkhart were only able to experience 95% totality. Due to the extreme brightness of the sun, the area only dimmed slightly, which disappointed many. People were required to wear protective eye wear during this eclipse.
TikTok User’s Info Leak
By Baylie Riffle
Staff Writer
TikTok may be banned in many states starting in 2024 due to possible user info getting leaked.
According to NBC News, there’s an estimated 150 million monthly TikTok users in the U.S. TikTok, an app owned by a Chinese company ByteDance, is one of the most downloaded apps around the world. According to ACE USA,this app is mostly used by teenagers.
Ella Carlisle said,”I would say one thing about Tiktok is that it’s a creative app that teaches young minds that they can do anything that they put their minds to.”
According to ACE USA, Tiktok stores user data in their main center in Virginia and their back-up center in Singapore. According to The New York Times, ByteDance is putting user data such as users’ location and other information into the hands of the Chinese government. Governments are getting worried that China will use this information in the wrong way.
Based on an article by Business Insider, In June of 2023, 34 out of 50 states banned TikTok on government devices. In May of 2023, Montana was the first state to pass legislation to ban Tiktok. Montana’s ban on Tiktok won’t start until January 1, 2024.
Altogether, 72.7% of the students interviewed at CJHS believe that Tiktok shouldn’t be banned. 63.6% of those 22 students said that they do use Tiktok. Many of those 22 students have said that they use TikTok for many reasons, such as using TikTok for entertainment or seeing creative new things on TikTok.
Mrs. Amador said, “I think that we should eliminate TikTok for various reasons whether it’s something that interferes with us giving information to other governments or the fact that kids just seem really obsessed with it. Sometimes it creates self esteem issues and that they think they need to be something that they’re not.”
What’s your opinion on the Tiktok debate?
Mrs. Weatherholt’s Homeroom organizes 3-on-3 Basketball League
By Jeiel Njoroge
Staff Writer
The 2023 Homeroom Basketball League, consisting of 19 teams, garnered much interest among students during the months of March through May.
With a total of 57 students participating in these events, each group created their teams from their grade level to earn a spot in the championship. If a team ended up losing a game, they would enter into the loser brackets.
In the championship game, Jermey Cruz-Urbina's team defeated Bryce Outlaw’s team with a score of 8-5. During the second half, Outlaw drove into the paint and made a no-look pass to Carson Weirich. Weirich took it up strong and made the layup. In the last play of the game, Cruz-Urbina dribbled to the top of the key and shot the three-pointer.
“It was a tough game. We had many great plays but some of the plays didn’t produce scoring options,” said Outlaw.
In the Homeroom Basketball League, when teams were registered they were randomized into a bracket. Once the brackets were arranged, the participants would play during homeroom once a week. Students from Mrs. Weatherholt’s homeroom would then figure out the score of each game and record the winners and the students who lost the game on their brackets.
Cruz-Urbina said, “This year basketball 3v3 was so much better, and what made it so great was that my team won the 3v3 championship.”
Unfortunately, due to long break periods with NWEA and ilearn testing, the 2023 Homeroom 3v3 Basketball League was canceled for 4 weeks. This caused the losers' bracket to run out of time, not being able to finish the rest of their tournament.
Students share the joy of reading with South Side kindergartners
By Hayden Minder
Staff Writer
Updated 4/15/23
For a Leader In Me Project, students from three homerooms planned and organized a reading time with South Side kindergartners.
Eighth graders prepared by reading the books to classmates during homeroom. Mrs. Oberholtzer’s, Mr. Callan’s, and Ms. Reddy’s homerooms split up and read to three kindergarten classes on March 31. Each student was able to spend one-on-one time with the younger students.
“My favorite part was when I got a picture from Amir [one of the kindergartners] after I read the story to him,” said Tate Van Daele, who is in Ms. Reddy’s homeroom.
Students had the choice to read from many books. The most popular books were “Better Together” and “I Love You My Bunnies.” After students were done reading their books, the younger kids went and chose another book for the eighth graders to read. Some of the kindergartners read to the eighth graders.
“My favorite part about reading to the kindergarteners at South Side was seeing my 7th-grade students go in with an open mind. Some of them were a little nervous, but they did a great job. They were good leaders and treated the kindergartners with such kindness! I got to see them light up while reading to the little kids and it was awesome. I was one proud teacher!” said Ms. Reddy.
Hayden Minder, a class representative, contacted Mrs. Loupee, South Side’s principal, about the possibility of reading to her kindergartners. Minder and Nayeli Tolentino-Choong, the class representative for Mr. Callan’s class, contacted Mrs. McEachern about transportation.
Concord students and staff Walk for Wishes
By Jordan Flores
Staff Writer
On March 17, 939 students and staff participated in Walk For Wishes to raise money for the Make-A- Wish Foundation.
There were 121 paper hands—each one with five names—collected to raise money for MAW. People donated $1 to write their name on a finger or thumb of a hand to show their support for Jack. In addition, students and staff sold snacks and other products to students as they walked around the track in order to raise money. Students had a chance to walk with friends while holding up signs saying “Concord’s Back,” “Walk for Wishes,” and many others words of support.
“I think it’s a good way to collect money so we can earn a lot of money and we can spend time with friends,” said 8th grade student Brian Cruz-Lopez.
As students walked around the track in the 70℉ weather, they were able to listen to music and get on their phones. The average student walked about six to eight laps in the 40 minutes of the event. Students learned how to give of their time, money, and energy to help a good cause.
“I think it is important for a couple of reasons. First, generosity and philanthropy are important habits to develop for later on in life,” said 8th grade teacher Mr. Caleb Scott. ”I also believe that a shared experience among a group of people is important for building culture and community and that is what we want here at CJHS.”
The Walk for Wishes event happens every two years, but did not occur in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event first began in 2008 and has not stopped ever since. This event and other Make-A-Wish activities raised $51,270 —the highest total in the fundraiser’s history.
International luncheon raises money for Make-A-Wish
By Santiago Villar-Osorio
Staff Writer
Updated 4/15/22
Ms.Bustamante, Ms.Gutierrez, and Ms.Varacalli’s 5th-hour classes held an international lunch in the F.A.C.S. room on March 23 to raise money for Make-A-Wish.
Students cooked food that came from their country so that people could have a taste of their culture. Staff members purchased tickets for the international dinner which cost $20 each. Employees came from all across the district to share in this fellowship and to raise money for MAW.
Some of the dishes were Pupusas which come from El Salvador and Honduras; there were also Frijoles and Tinga which come from Mexico. Pupusas are a thick griddle cake or flatbread from El Salvador and Honduras made with cornmeal or rice flour, similar to the Venezuelan and Colombian Arepa. Frijoles are beans. There are many types of tinga but the most common one is tinga de Pollo (Chicken Tinga) which is a Mexican dish made with shredded chicken in a sauce made from tomatoes, chipotle chilis in adobo, and sliced onions. It is often served on a tostada and accompanied by a layer of refried beans. There are many toppings such as avocado slices, crumbled cheese, Mexican crema, and salsa.
“l didn't get the chance to taste Venezuelan food, but l tried las pupusas and pozole, and they were delicious,” said Mrs.Hernandez
The students were in different groups due to what country they were from. Many of them brought their own supplies, some cooked their dishes in a cooking pot from home, and others set up aluminum trays and set fire below them. All those students had their own individual cooking methods.
“The part l liked the best from the international dinner was that it was an interactive activity where we could cook a dish that would represent our country and eat our dish too after it ended,” said Jose Gaitan Guevara.
The students worked really hard in order for the event to happen. CJHS has hosted the international dinner for over 19 years.
Mrs. Valentina Kinch and Mrs. JoAnne Marlow, two retired teachers, started this tradition in 2003.
Mrs. Kinch said, “We were both 100% Italian and always talked about our love of cooking. This inspired us to make an Italian dinner for teachers to enjoy and also raise money for MAW. We had fun and enjoyed sharing our love of cooking to help raise money for MAW. After we both retired, the tradition continued but became known as "The international Dinner for MAW hosted by the ESL students."
CJHS students and staff make wishes come true
Collin Craig
Staff writer
Raising a record breaking $51,270, CJHS was able to grant wishes for two children with life-threatening conditions as announced at the closing ceremony on March 30, 2022.
At the opening ceremony, CJHS students were introduced to Jack, an eleven-year old boy, whose wish is to go to Los Angeles, California. He wants to go to L.A. to see “cool cars'' and to eat at Randy’s Donuts. After hearing about CJHS’s efforts to help make Jack’s wish come true, a manager at Jack’s Donuts in South Bend created a fundraiser to help Jack’s wish come true.
Every Monday, starting in mid-march going to the end of April, they would sell Cars-themed donuts, along with donating a portion of their daily sales to help Jack’s wish come true. During the first two weeks of the fundraiser, they made $407. In his words, seeing Lightning McQueen would make him so happy, and this will come true as he and his family travel to California in December 2022.
“It feels good to help Jack and other kids, and grow friendships,” said Daniel Montiel.
A second wish was granted to Ried, a fourteen-year-old boy, who wants to be a train engineer. He cannot wait to honk the horn of a train.
At the opening ceremony, CJHS students learned about the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Also they introduced the theme “Concord’s Back.” Towards the end of the ceremony CJHS students actually met Jack who was attending the ceremony. While being introduced, Jack ran across the stage.
At the closing ceremony, students watched a video recapping Make-A-Wish activities. Then Mrs. McEachern and the “Out of Sync Dance Crew” danced in neon suits and announced that CJHS made $51,270 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Multiple news stations came to one of the ceremonies including News Center 16, WSBT 22, ABC 57, and the Elkhart Truth.
In order to fulfill these wishes, CJHS hosted many events to raise money including a glow dance, Walk for Wishes, and a 5k run. Another way CJHS made money for Jack and Reid was homerooms selling products such as snacks, candy, Gatorade, Powerade, Body Armor, McDonalds, school supplies, and many other creative ideas to make money. CJHS also received donations for MAW from Concord Southside Elementary and Concord Eastside Elementary.
CJHS with the help of Southside and Concord Eastside raised a grand total of $51,270. That is a record for CJHS since they started fundraising for Make-A-Wish in 1995, excluding 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.
“I loved seeing the school come together to make Jack’s and Reid’s wishes happen,” said CJHS teacher Kelsey Gipson.
Mr. Watson's students build MAW projects
Mr. Watson's students build MAW projects
By Guadalupe Salvador
Updated 4/1/22
After putting in hard work and effort, Bridge Academy teacher Mr. Jon Waston and his students manufactured candles, Christmas trees, and word signs to sell to staff in order to raise money for Make-A-Wish.
All of his students participated in the woodworking projects. Mr. Watson’s students assembled and painted word signs with any letters the staff wanted, made christmas tree out of wood, and candles which were very hard to make.
“The challenging part of building these woodworking projects was turning the wood around all the time and sanding them which took a long time to do,” said Toney Mikell, a student in the class.
Mr. Watson has been participating in Make-A-Wish for 15 years since he joined CJHS. They started working during November and December for the Christmas trees and the word signs which took about four weeks to construct and apply paint to the projects. After, they took a break until March where they started manufacturing the candles—this took about two weeks to make.
Mr. Watson said, “The process was a growing experience; it helped the students learn more about showing empathy, and how this was going to a good cause.”
Overall, about 20 staff members bought an item for Make-A-Wish.
Mask mandates fluctuate amid COVID-19 Pandemic
By Sarah Jones
Staff Writer
Updated 12/5/21
CJHS returned to school in August 2021 with new COVID restrictions that were intended to protect the safety of all staff and students.
The COVID restrictions that were set in place had a big impact on what students could and could not do. Many sports could not continue their season during this time due to COVID contact tracing. School projects and even simple hands-on assignments were difficult to achieve because of these restrictions. In hallways, 6-feet distance was recommended, and lockers could not be used during this time; however, they were an option if absolutely necessary.
"Well a lot of our teammates were out so it was harder to play as a team. For me personally nothing changed except having to wear a mask, and the other mandates," said linebacker Donovan Cunningham.
On September 8, 2021, Concord Schools had to implement a mask mandate. Many parents and even students were not happy with this decision. However, all area school districts chose to follow this. During after-school activities and at parent-teacher-student conferences, masks were not required.
According to a statewide executive order made by Gov. Eric Holcolm, if all children and adults in the school were wearing masks throughout the school day then quarantine requirements would be eased. New state rules also allowed students to stay in school if they wore a mask when contact traced. Students would have to wear the mask full time consistently throughout the school day.
On December 1, 2021, the mask mandate at Concord Junior High was lifted; masks were now optional. If students were contact traced and vaccinated, they could continue to stay at school; however, if students were contact traced and not vaccinated, they would have to quarantine for 14 days.
For lunch, students had assigned tables in case they were a close contact. Many students were affected by the COVID restrictions which caused them to miss school. In addition to the COVID mask mandates, administrators and teachers had challenges they needed to overcome themselves.
"Functioning the last few years has been a challenge for students, staff, and parents. It has brought to light many inequities that have plagued schools for years. It has been a struggle to provide equal access to education for all students based on limited internet access, alternating schedules, and an increasing concern for mental health. We are confident that as things return towards a sense of normalcy, educational gaps will begin to close and students will be able to plug themselves back into a regular routine,” said Principal Betsy McEachern.
Concord goes virtual due to rising COVID-19 cases in Elkhart County
By Tavarius Morris
Staff Writer
Updated 1/20/21
On November 18, Concord Junior High School went to an all-virtual learning platform due to rising COVID-19 cases in Elkhart County.
Teachers used Google Meet to collaborate, engage, and interact with students for one hour sessions, two days a week. Students were assigned their Google Meet learning sessions based on the days and period their subject was taught. Google Meets offered activities and tools that students and staff could use; for example, students could use a raise hand tool if they had a question; they could discuss material and collaborate with partners in breakout rooms; and the teacher could post surveys, chat sessions, and Q & A to interact with students.
The breakout room feature was used for placing students into a group to go out of the main call into a separate call to communicate with students or teachers.
Eighth-grader Adrian Rosas said, “Being able to relax while doing schoolwork and setting up your environment around you, can help people focus when doing work. Also, doing Google Meets allowed you to talk to the teacher directly, and not have to rely on an email to do it for you.”
For Spanish class, the teacher used breakout rooms to help students study for their tests. She took students into breakout rooms and the students helped each other learn how to pronounce and learn Spanish words. Each student was able to interact with each other and if students needed help we were able to go into the breakout rooms and help them with whatever they were struggling with.
The next feature was the raise hand tool which was a button that could be used if the student had a question by pressing the button a hand would appear beside their video. The Q&A was used for students to answer a question that a teacher assigned to them which is similar to the poll feature, but the poll feature is where a teacher had to write a statement and the students had a choice to select different options.
Concord switched to all virtual and set up a schedule for students to learn from home. On Mondays and Wednesdays, students reported to their 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th class for an hour-long with a 30-minute break in between each class. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students had to report to 2nd, 4th,6th, and Homeroom.
Seventh-grade teacher Ms. Heather short said, “I think I’d say an advantage was that we had 60-minute classes so we could get a bit more done, and I think it was a bit more manageable for students to only have 4 classes a day.”
On Fridays, students weren’t required to attend a Google Meet, but teachers would send out short assessments in Google Classroom which were about 5 to 10 minutes to see if a student mastered their subject standard for the week. The schedule also included a lunch break where students had an hour to eat, finish work from another class, or just to give time away from the screen. On the schedule, virtual schooling started at 8:30 and ended at 2:30 every day, but before school started students were required to fill out a Google Form for their attendance.
Last year, every other Friday students and staff would go down to the gymnasium for convo during homeroom to see students get awards, to hear announcements, and have sports and club members get introduced. Each homeroom class had a section they sat at on the bleachers and before each convo students and staff would stand up and say the pledge of allegiance followed by a moment of silence.
Due to COVID-19 students and staff weren’t allowed to have convos in the gym this year. Instead, the school came up with an idea to start an e-convo which happened every Friday. E convo was a video that could be found in the school’s homeroom slides and if students missed an e-convo students and staff could press the “Need a Homeroom slide from the past” button which would bring up all the past e-convos for students to watch.
In the e-convo video, the principal started with announcements and expectations which led to the introduction of teams, trivia winners, all-star students, and book trailers. E-convos lasted anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes.
Seventh-grader Travis Poe said, "Being an all-star winner makes me feel good that I got recognized for following the rules at the school."
Teachers would send in a video of themselves recognizing their all-star students and the clips were entered into the e-convo for students to see. All-star students were students who performed well in class and did a great job doing their work for the week. Teachers would recognize students that exceeded expectations, and they would “shout out” 1 to 2 people or just a certain period based on what they did well on.
Last year in homeroom, students read a book for most of the class period. Since homeroom was virtual, students had the opportunity to catch up on late work, do work for another class, or if they had everything done students read for the remainder of the class. During homeroom, some teachers played the e-convo from the week before if students didn’t watch it, or they played the day’s sample video that was in the homeroom slides.
Concord stayed virtual until December 18 before winter break started. They stayed in the virtual format for a month to mitigate the number of COVID cases in Elkhart County prior to the holiday break. Most colleges closed down after Thanksgiving to help mitigate the spread as well.
Covid forces Concord Schools to hybrid schedule
By isaac Lopez-Ortega
Staff Writer
Updated 11/05/20
On August 12, 2020, Concord Junior High students began a hybrid schedule in an effort to mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus during a national pandemic.
The new hybrid schedule looks very different from a normal school schedule. The way the hybrid schedule works is that half of the students attend school in person on Mondays and Wednesdays, while the others attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This was determined by students’ last names; if their last names started with an A-K, they would attend school on Mondays and Wednesdays. Then, L-Z students would attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Everyone remained virtual on Fridays.
“It is frustrating that we can only go two days a week because the layout for A and B kids is really complicated. When some kids are at home and some kids are at school, it makes it hard to understand because the information that we are getting has to go to both at-home kids and at-school kids, so it is hard to keep track of everything,” said Avery McDowell.
The final group included Track C students who were fully virtual. Parents were able to choose this track if it better served the needs of their families. Some families would do it because there is a elderly person living in their home.
Teachers were in charge of providing the proper resources for students on virtual days. They sometimes provided asynchronous instruction (video lessons) and synchronous instruction (live Google Meets). Talk about the importance of Google Classroom AND the fact that students received a lot of daily emails.
Videos or screen recordings can be really helpful to show students exactly what they should do. Since teachers were only allowed to have the students for two days they had to make sure that they were keeping up with their emails. They had to make sure that they were teaching the students who were in class while also making sure at-home students got their questions answered.
Sometimes it is difficult for teachers to answer questions since their main focus is students in their class. This would allow them to teach the lesson to most of the students directly instead of just giving them instructions. Since classes are much smaller, it was easier for some teachers to teach faster or more efficiently. Since there were less students in a class a teacher could spend more time with an individual student.
“One good thing about the hybrid schedule is the number of students I have in my class. Usually, I would have thirty students, but with hybrid I have on average ten students. Since our classes are about forty minutes, that gives me a chance to help each student. On a normal schedule I would only be able to help a student for a little over one minute,” said Ms. Rachel Morris.
Some teachers who gave students the option of a Google Meet were Mrs. Dixon, Mrs. Oberholtzer,Mr. Myers, Mrs. Janisse, Miss Brewer, and many more. Some ways the school tried to social distance was with “roundabouts.” They would put a table in the middle of an interaction of halls and the students would go around them. This would prevent students from passing each other too closely in hallways.
The final group included Track C students who were fully virtual. Parents were able to choose this track if it better served the needs of their families. Also, lunch looks very different from normal lunch tables. Students sat in assigned seats at desks that were six feet apart.
Students express themselves on popular TikTok app
Students express themselves on popular TikTok app
Updated 5/16/20
By Meelah Le
Staff Writer
Many students think that the popular app TikTok should be used for educational purposes at school to
complete great assignments and fun special projects.
TikTok is an app that consists of creating short funny skits or dances to popular songs. Although TikTok has very positive users, there are negative users as well, just like in almost all social media apps. In this app, someone can follow, like, and support people but there is also no filter, which can cause excessive amounts of hate that would not be school appropriate.
“I think that dancing as a whole has educational value. Aside from the health benefits of dance, movement when applied to a particular concept can help better grasp material,” said Mr. Meyers, social studies teacher.
According to Goshen News, Last year TikTok had 37.2 million downloads and that number doubled
from the year before. As the app becomes more popular, the content and trends will change. In China, they decreased the harsh videos that new trends created by restricting them so no one could see the content
Eighth graderCressy Toledo said, “I don't think TikTok should be used in school. Popularity on TikTok revolves around a person’s looks. Teaching children that they are not good enough based on looks is not a thing that should be normalized.”
When used in the right context, getting the app TikTok can lead to great things. Students can discover new
styles, people, and bands! The app can even be used to find new role models and make new friends.
5K raises $2,900 for Make-A-Wish children
5K raises $2,900 for Make-A-Wish children
Updated: 4/20/19
Bryan Jimenez
Staff Writer
CJHS hosted the 5K race and Fun Run on Saturday, March 23 to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
This event consisted of 283 total entries and raised approximately $2,900 for Make-A-Wish. Apart from the Family Fun Night that CJHS sponsored, this year’s 5K event raised the 2nd highest monetary total for Make-A-Wish. There were approximately 30 volunteers who helped out with the marathon and cheered on all of the runners.
Concord Junior High students Nathan Schoenherr and Delaney Trigg both placed first for the 5K race.
“I ran the 5K for Make-A-Wish because I love running,” said 8th grade student Delaney Trigg. She also added, ”Running is something I enjoy doing and not everyone is able to do it so I ran it for the the people who couldn’t.
Mr. Zook came up with the idea of having a 5K race in 2013, and it has been a tradition ever since. Mr. Joe Bowen has directed this event for the last four Make-A-Wish fundraisers.
Mr. Bowen said, ”We thought it would attract quite a few runners and it has!”
This was only the third biannual 5K and Fun Run in Concord’s Make-A-Wish history, with the first race being held back in 2013.
This year’s T-shirts were sponsored by Seifert Drugs, J&N Stone, Surf Air Wireless, Cutting Edge Machine and Tool, L.E. Johnson, Burlington Graphics, Aaron McGregor & Associates, Grayson Graphics, and It’s Tops.
Make-A-Wish Family Night helps raise money to grant wishes
Make-A-Wish Family Night helps raise money to grant wishes
Updated: 4/30/19
By Tyleah Cunningham
Staff Writer
Make-A-Wish Family Night brought the community together to raise $9,600 to help grant the wishes of three local children who are suffering from life-threatening illnesses.
This year, Mrs. Weatherholt, Mrs. Brunswick, and Mrs. Stouder organized and hosted the biennial Family Night. The event included carnival games that were donated or made by leadership students and their sponsors. These consisted of Pin the Hair on Zook, Ring Toss, Sucker Pull, and several more.
Various students managed and supervised a hair and nail salon, and the other student helpers supervised Minute to Win It games. Additionally, others operated the 14 carnival games. Many volunteers were needed throughout the night, they included, CJHS student and staff, CHS students, and parents while the CHS football team helped run the inflatables.
“It was great seeing our students come together and serve. We put many hours into preparing for Family Night, and I couldn’t be more proud of our group of students. It is not every day that you see people be so selfless with their time and energy in an effort to support individuals that they do not specifically know. Our students are great,” said Mr. Luke Saleh.
Other activities during Family Night involved bounce houses, a bake sale, balloon animals, and a silent auction. Some outside vendors also were at Family Night and donated a portion of their profits. Vendors included Kona Ice, Urban Swirl, a jewelry sale, and beverages with candy for sale.
A big success for Make-A-Wish Family Night was the bounce house inflatables that were rented for three days from Big Bounce Fun House Rentals out of Indianapolis. There was a total of six inflatables that consisted of Foot Darts, Wrecking Ball, The Super Slide, Hungry Hippo, The Cherry Bomb, and The Bungee Run. Students donated $10-$15 to play on the inflatables during their wellness hour; furthermore, the inflatables were opened to children and adults during the Family Night.
Another achievement for Make-A-Wish Family Night was the Silent Auction that had over 138 items donated. The top two items sold of the 100 were a Make-A-Wish T-shirt quilt and a Big Green Egg (outdoor grill). The Silent Auction raised a grand total of approximately $2,000 as an individual event of the night; all the leftover items that didn’t receive a bid were given back to the owner or donated to another Make-A-Wish function.
On Monday, March 4, Mrs. Marianne Hogsett started a template of 12.5” x 12.5” that included 16 various designs that were comprised of previous year’s MAW T-shirts to create the first-ever Make-A-Wish quilt. According to Mrs. Hogsett, an elderly couple in Jo-Ann Fabrics heard what she was doing and prayed over the quilt, which sold for $500 at the Family Night Auction. Mr. John Miller--an alias--purchased the quilt and gave it back to the school. Staff members at CJHS generously donated money for the quilt back, and Mrs. Cheryl Stouder was presented with the quilt during the closing ceremony for Make-A-Wish.
“The Make-A-Wish Family Night was quite successful, to say the least. Several parts of the planning that came before were difficult, but we pulled through and presented the community a great event with an equally great turnout,” said leadership member Alyssa Toledo.
Make-A-Wish Family Night raised $9,600 with the help of over 100 volunteers. There were over 700 people in attendance during this event.
Concord Junior High raises record total for Make-A-Wish
Concord Junior High raises record total for Make-A-Wish
By Luke Greising
Staff Writer
Concord students and staff raised $45,010.75 for Make-A-Wish through various fundraising activities.
Ms. Amador designed T-shirts for Make-A-Wish to create a theme for this year's fundraiser. She said that the original design was based on the movie Space Jam, which inspired her to make the theme “One Dream, One Team.”
Another activity called Penny Wars raised a lot for the organization. Penny Wars is a competition where whoever had the most points in their bucket loses and has to wear a dress. In this activity the pennies subtract from the teacher’s score and all of the silver coins and paper bills raise it. The points are determined by the total amount of the silver coins and paper bills combined. The winner of this activity was Mr. Starzyk. He is the first Penny Wars winner to ever wear full make-up with his dress.
He said,“While it was a little embarrassing to wear a dress all day, it was for a great cause and it was kind of fun to take pictures. Honestly, my advice to any teacher who has to wear the dress is to just go with it. Take the pictures and just lean into the silliness of the day. Once I got over the initial embarrassment, it was truly a very fun day.“
The Concord Junior High journalism class sold 300 green carnations provided by Linton’s. They raised a total of $300 for Make-A-Wish. These flowers survived for over two weeks.
There was also a school dance that was held and run by Mr. Callan and his homeroom after school on March 8. There were 326 people that participated, and it raised $1,180.75 for Make-A-Wish.
In addition, Mrs. Read and Mrs. Brunswick sold candy, while Mr. Krecmar and his class sold pop during lunch for three weeks.
There were many other activities that helped raise money for Make-A-Wish. Concord granted five wishes and raised more money than ever before.
Students experience Real Care Babies
Students experience Real Care Babies
Updated 1/14/19
By MyYah Hall
Staff Writer
In December, eighth grade students were given the opportunity to choose between taking care of a robotic baby or completing a large packet on how to care for an infant.
This project was intended to show young teens some of the challenges that come along with parenting. About 90% of students who were committed to carrying a baby have done so. Those who participated in taking care of the baby were responsible for his or her care for 2-3 days; furthermore, the students had to do research on how much it costs to take care of the baby over a year worth of time. The robotic baby is meant to share as many characteristics-- crying, burping, basic needs--as a real infant.
“The baby project is beneficial to teens because it gives them a very small experience of what it would be like to be responsible for raising a baby. Students quickly learn that the needs of the baby come before their own. Students are always exhausted and relieved on the day they return the baby. It is a project that they do not forget,” said Mrs. Brunswick.
Students who cared for the baby had to feed, rock, burp, and change its diaper. Students were given a bracelet with a sensor attached to it which was made for their baby. Before caring, the student would need to put the key on the baby. They were given the option of three different locations when the baby needed care: they could place the key on the stomach above the waistline, the back above the waistline, or on the back between the shoulder blades.
The students could hold the key in any of the given locations until it makes a chiming sound. As soon as the student hears the chime, they are free to take care of their baby.
“It was really difficult because it kept me up a lot during the night,” said Reagan Cooper.
Students who chose the alternative packet, had to make a Google Slide presentation on what they learned from this experience. The contents of the packet allowed the students to learn about some of the challenges that come with parenting such as shaken baby syndrome and how much a baby costs on average to care for.
Many students opted out on carrying the baby because of after-school sports, spending time with family, or because they didn’t want to wake up during the night.
“ I chose the packet because I didn’t want the baby to affect my sleeping schedule,” said Kamyah Ivory.
Perez shares her experiences of life in Guatemala
Perez shares her experiences of life in Guatemala
Updated 5/31/18
By Hiromy Hernandez Moreira
Staff Writer
Keren Perez learned a lot about life in another country after spending five months living with her abuela in Guatemala following the death of her abuelo (grandfather) last year.
On her way to her abuela’s, Perez noticed many differences: people were selling products on the side of the roads; some children were walking barefoot down the streets eating snacks; old people were taking naps on benches in the park; and stray dogs were everywhere.
Prior to leaving on her trip to Guatemala, Perez took some school supplies, extra money, clothing, and shoes that didn’t fit her to give to indigent children. The reason she did so was because her father told her that when he went to school, many of his classmates had no money to pay for lunch; therefore, they had nothing to eat that day.
“It made me cry because of how much food we waste and other children around the world are wishing to have what we have,” said Perez.
According to Perez, in Guatemala, most elementary students attend school from 7 A.M. to 9:00 A.M, and secondary students arrive at 3:00 P.M. and are dismissed around 9:00 P.M. Students must wear uniforms and provide their own supplies. If students come to school in dirty uniforms, or if they don’t have supplies, they are sent home. If students have dirty clothing and have no supplies, they must go to work, usually making bricks for houses out of mud and sand.
Perez and her older sister went to an elementary school and gave the children clothing and school supplies; they also visited their small neighborhood and shared the extra clothing they had.
“People should always appreciate what they have because not everyone has what they need in life," said Perez.
According to Perez, the water system in America is different than in Guatemala. Typically, water is delivered every two days in buckets. This is then used to prepare meals, wash dishes and clothing, and to take showers. Perez and her abuela would wash clothes in the morning using a circle of soap and a bucket. They would scrub the clothes by hand and rinse them in the bucket. Also, they would use water to make homemade tamales with chicken and potatoes.
If people need to be transported to various places, they would use a “Tuc Tuc” which is like a taxi service. These cars had no doors and were usually colored red.
“I like riding them because if there was a lot of traffic, the 'Tuc Tuc' could fit in between the lanes and get to the destination faster,” said Perez.
One thing that was interesting to Perez was not every house had a roof. In her abuela’s house, the roof was only in the kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms; however, there was no roof in the living room.
“When I walked in the house I was scared because I thought maybe someone could climb in from the wall to get through the top,” said Perez.
When Perez walked towards the wall, she noticed that there were pieces of broken glass all around the edge of it. After she went to sleep, she heard a cat on the roof and then suddenly her grandmother’s dog started to growl because the cat fell into the living room.
During her visit, the Perez family went to Esquipulas—a big and busy place that has a beautiful church. In that church, they saw a wall of gold where people could visit “El Cristo Negro” (Black Christ). People brought a candle and placed it close to El Cristo Negro. They lit the candle, knelt on a stool, and prayed on their knees in front of the Christ.
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