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CWHS Student Internships at NIFCO Inc.
By Anna Machamer
NIFCO is an up and coming car part manufacturer who continues to promote environmentally friendly processes to create a sustainable society.
The company is known for its plastic fasteners that are rust free, light weight and easy to handle. These specific fasteners are used in cars for connecting, building, and tying different parts together. NIFCO’s website states, “by switching from metal to plastic-based products, our fasteners have contributed to labor savings, cost reductions, and the reduced weight of vehicles.”
While it is a Japanese based company, its main corporation and warehouse buildings are close to home. The NIFCO America Corporation and NIFCO Warehouse are located within the city of Canal Winchester.
Some of our very own Canal Winchester seniors, Ryan Storts and Ryan Dunlap, have the opportunity to have an internship at NIFCO. They helped us understand their role within the company and exactly what NIFCO is.
“I was introduced to NIFCO through a field trip last year in our engineering class where we took a tour of their warehouse where the parts are actually manufactured. At NIFCO, I am in the process of training right now. Eventually, I will be aiding in the process of actually designing of some of their products. We're also learning to use their CAD software to design and model parts as well as getting familiar with the team and the company,” said Ryan Storts.
The two Ryans usually work for 3-4 hours on Tuesday and Thursday each week, and plan to be working with NIFCO until the end of the year. Originally, in their first few weeks on the job they spent all their time going through CAD software training. Now they have four general projects that take priority over the training. Ryan Dunlap said that, “personally the most rewarding thing so far has been the moments where you can get into a roll either design-wise or in actual results. For the first project we're tackling, we sat down and just spent most of the time we were there planning stuff out and working on the basic design (which also included us exactly guessing an angle for one of the sides). Long term, I see it as a great way to figure out what to expect in the future when I'm either working towards my engineering degree or after I've earned it. It's a great way to lift back some of the curtains that hide the process of product design.”
Both Ryans have a bright future ahead of them with growing their knowledge and career-readiness skills at NIFCO.
Columbus Teacher Strike
By Chaz Mankin
During the first week of the 2022-23 school year, teachers in Columbus, Ohio went on a strike for a week because of the lack of air conditioning in their schools.
One of the issues was that teachers believed that their students cannot learn in this environment because of how hot and unbearable the classrooms can become.
Teachers in the Columbus City Schools district met with the Columbus Board of Education to strike a deal on August 24th. The teachers also demanded an 8% pay raise, improvements to the heating and air conditioning in their buildings, smaller class sizes and more.
Due to this union strike, the Columbus City Schools had their first week of school doing virtual classes. These were mainly led by substitute teachers because over 4,500 teachers, counselors, and other school workers were on strike for new changes to the district.
It took nearly 14 hours of negotiations for the Board of Education and the Columbus Education Association to reach a preliminary agreement. Previously it took about 23 unsuccessful negotiation attempts over a five month long period.
The new deal states that the teachers would gain a 4% raise each year of the three-year agreement, a guarantee that the in school climate issues would be completely resolved by the 2025-2026 school year, a reduction in class size caps in all grades, and a paid parental leave program for teachers.
Another part of the deal put a limit on the number of Columbus Education Association positions that can be outsourced to out of town corporations. This gives students the opportunity to be taught by professionals in their local community.
All You Need To Know About Artemis 1
By Samantha Wolfe
SPACE NERDS REJOICE!!!!! The National Aeronautics Space Administration, NASA, is gearing up for their first rocket launch in 50 years!
The mission is called Artemis 1. The ultimate goal is to create long-term laboratories that will study ice on the moon and could eventually translate to a mission to Mars.
The capsule will be carrying human astronauts to orbit the moon and then return back to the launching zone, located at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Artemis 1 was originally going to launch on August 29th from the Kennedy Space Center, but due to technical difficulties they are holding back the launch until September 2nd of 2022. If there are any more difficulties on the 2nd attempt, they already have a date in mind for the potential 3rd attempt, which is Labor day; September 5th.
The test flight will last 42 days and send Orion (“NASA's new exploration spacecraft, designed to carry astronauts to destinations in deep space”) on an extended orbit of the moon. It will then fall into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on October 10th at a whopping speed of 25,000 mph.
Ways To Watch Artemis 1
You can watch the launch in person! Spectators will gather for the event in popular viewing locations nearby the launch in Florida. These include Space View Park, Jetty Park, and many beaches in Brevard County.
AND
The launch will be live streamed by FOX 35 news network or on FOX35Orlando.com. You can also find streams from spectators or other third party sources.
Career Expo 2022
Editor: Emily Avery
Videographers: Emily Avery, Ethan Boyd, Stevyn Butts, Dominic Neu
Interviewers: Sydney Dillion, Maddie Machamer, Lindsay Stadwick, Izzy Kissinger, Elise Hamilton
Career Expo 2022.mp4
2 Weeks, For 2 Years
By Samantha Wolfe
Introduction
March 13, 2020, is a date that will spiral its way into future generations' history textbooks. Socialization was replaced by grief and hollowness. Captivation through sports and everyday activities was replaced by Netflix, TikTok, and other streaming services. Collecting memories was replaced by collecting toilet paper. It changed us.
The Spread
On December 19th of 2019, a cluster of patients in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, began to experience symptoms known as shortness of breath and fever. In late December of 2019, the World Health Organization of China Country Office was informed of a mass number of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province. All cases connected to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan.
On January 20th of 2020, Washington reported the first known case of “Covid 19” in the U.S. By the end of January fear was sparked throughout the nation, and by February of 2020, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reported to have produced over 160,000 SARS-CoV-2 tests, but soon it was discovered that many were defective and gave inaccurate readings.
On February 19, the first U.S. patient with COVID-19 of unknown origin (a possible indication of community transmission) was hospitalized. The patient's test was delayed for four days because he had not qualified for a test under the initial federal testing criteria.
The Result
When March had approached we had taken this flu-like disease with a grain of salt. Turns out it most definitely wasn't a grain of salt. It was a now “Global Pandemic” that had then resulted in Ohio Governor Mike Dewine Stated going into a now, “National Emergency”. A statement made by a doctor present at the press conference with Mike Dewine, Dr. Acon stated, “ the numbers that I will be showing you today will be known to change on a daily basis as activities carry out.”, and so they did.
Children were thrilled to hear about this “2-week break'' that was announced at schools nationwide. That then escalated to the remaining months of the 2020 school year to a lack of motivation, grades dropping, and a handful of Google Meets and or Zoom calls. Classrooms then became a screen of rectangular boxes on a screen and or a handful of technical difficulties.
The Mandates
For Ohioans, July of 2020 caused a widely opinionated controversy, known as the first mask mandate. People took their opinions truly over their safety and the safety of others around them.
Mid-December of 2020, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was then declared available under EUA in individuals 16 years of age and older, and the authorization was expanded to include those 12 through 15 years of age on May 10, 2021. When the first vaccination was tested it seemed skeptical to individuals now due to a Nurse Manager at Catholic Health Initiatives Memorial Hospital, Tiffany Dover, fainting. A video with little background information then blew up. In the video, Dover received the shot and then after a few minutes, she became dizzy and had blurred vision resulting in her fainting. The background that was limited was in an interview after the video had drawn mass attention worldwide, Dover stated, I have a medical condition where I often faint when I feel pain. This statement did not gain nearly enough attention as it deserved. As a result of Dover’s fainting incident and many other conspiracies, many individuals did not get vaccinated.
Resolution
Nearing the end of the 2021 year the vaccination became available to all ages, and the booster shot that most did not find necessary. Case numbers at the beginning of the new 2022 year had spiked and schools still had their mask mandates.
The upcoming month of February took a wild turn for the better. Cases had started dropping from 150,000 + cases per state to an all-time low of 25,000 or less. We were finally in the clear and March of 2022 was nearing. The National Emergency declared by President Joe Biden on March 13th of 2020 had reached its deadline. He states in his State of The Union Address, “Covid no longer controls our lives. - We will be moving onto our more normal routines.”
So as I close this article off, may the 6 million + lives that were lost due to the horrible Global Pandemic known by nearly all of us, as “Covid 19” ,rest peacefully, and may the families of said individuals finally be at peace.
Canal Corner
By Arianna Gilmore
Canal Winchester High School has finally established a big school store this 2020-2021 school year with the help of the school's business teacher, David King, some sponsors, and student volunteers.
Canal Winchester High School wanted its own big school store that would be successful and a way for the students to get involved. So, when getting his job at the high school, part of the hiring process for Mr. King was to see what he could do to make this dream for the school happen. Unfortunately, it took time for the school store to become what it is today.
“My first year we had a black cabinet that we would roll up on the stage and sell t-shirts out of and that was what we considered the store,” said Mr. King.
The school store looks the way it does now because of a grant that Mrs. Ankrom wrote. The grant was worth quite a bit of money and in all they were to put $100,000 towards the school store, which is located across from the high school LLC.
“With that grant, we were able to get all the shelves and windows put in, and that’s what took it from this basic idea of [using a black cabinet] to what we wanted it to become like it is now. The idea really came from Mr. Sautters and he just really wanted this to take place and [former principal] Mr. Henderson along with the administrators wanted it to be successful,” said Mr. King.
The grant wasn’t only just for the school store. It was always given to help find ways that can give students work experiences while being in school. While working in the school store students can earn community service hours that could be put forth to the National Honors Society, but only if they don’t have class at the time.
“I take students down to the school store at the beginning of the semester during my 4th and 5th class period, so we can see the different jobs down there. My students are put on a rotating schedule with 2-3 students working for the week and I count that as their classwork. During my 6th period, I don’t have a class so I rely on people that have study hall or lunch that I’ve had before that I can trust and that I know will be good down there. I have about four different ones that kind of rotate,” said Mr. King.
Though Mr. King plays a big part in creating and running the school store Mrs. Byers runs the production process and the students help out a lot.
“I keep track of scheduling people to work in the store, finances, and inventory but Mrs. Byers runs the production part of it. Before I would order all of the stuff we put in the store from other companies, but now we try to order whatever we can from her, and then our students make the stuff and we are then able to sell it in the store,” noted Mr. King.
The school store is student-driven so anyone can create designs for the apparel in the school store. All you have to do is submit a digital design to Mr. King and he should be able to convert it to the Adobe program that he uses.
“If the students can make it all digital that would be easiest for us. We just started doing final print and now we are doing screen print which is when you could print multiple colors on top of each other. We also have dye sublimation which is another process that chemically changes the color of the material so it’s not like a sticker on the shirt but part of the shirt,” said Mr. King.
At the moment, the school store is only open during the three lunch periods this year as everyone adjusts to the year.
One of the main goals is to at least be able to open the store after school hours during events and we would be able to pay our students to work those after school hours since we can’t pay them during school.
“As for right now, we are trying to stay where we are with the school store before we get crazy. We do a lot of stuff with Canal Winchester JRD, outside companies, and just really whatever the school district needs we try to help with. Hopefully, soon we would be able to open up during games and have the students and parents come in, buy whatever they want, or customize anything they want,” said Mr. King
The school store has upgraded dramatically from that black cabinet to what it is now with everything ranging from apparel, school supplies, and blankets to pop sockets, keychains, and gum.
2022 Olympics: A Quick Recap
By Samantha Wolfe
The 2022 Olympics have just concluded after four weeks of very high competition in Beijing, China. There were 109 different events that consisted of 7 sports in five disciplines.
This year's Olympics had many competitors, 2,871 to be exact, from 91 different nations. The Olympics were initiated on February 4th and then concluded on February 20th. The competition was quite wild this year.
There were plenty of different highlights that had happened during the four weeks, some tragedies and some victories. Norway led all other nations with the most tallied gold medals,
sixteen. Norway also had an overall of thirty-seven medals in total. However, other countries did well in the medal count. Germany ended with twenty-seven medals, and China won fifteen overall medals. The United States did indeed place fourth with a total of twenty-five medals.
Along with the highs that come with victory, there were also a few tragedies during the 2022 Olympics. The most publicized occurred in the figure skating events. The entire program ended up being marred by doping scandals allegedly committed by a top Russian female skater.
Cafe on the Canal expands
By Chaz Mankin
Students with special needs are gaining life skills in their class through Cafe on the Canal, a course organized and operated “business” in which students make coffee and lunches to deliver to the teachers in the building.
Cafe on the Canal started two years ago as a coffee program, and expanded into creating lunches. Ms. Sims and Mrs. Rummery take orders from teachers using Google Forms, and they then work with their students to create the lunches and coffee orders.
This year Cafe on the Canal’s menu will be focusing on soups and salads. Teachers who order have a choice of what soup they want, and a salad with toppings of their choice.
The containers that the meals are stored in have an information sheet of what the teachers asked for on the forms. The students assemble the meals based on the google forms submitted by the teachers. They then put the meals on a cart and deliver the meals. Each teacher helper takes one student with them when they go and deliver.
Cafe on the Canal is supported by our school. They receive a budget that they use on groceries and supplies. The teachers then go grocery shopping with up to two of their students, they create grocery lists, paying attention to prices. When they return, they help their students figure out where to store the groceries. This helps them teach their students life skills while they stay within the environment of the school.
Credit recovery helps students stay on track
By Arianna Gilmore
Credit recovery carries a negative connotation, but it’s not a consequence and should be seen as an opportunity to help students stay on track to graduate on time.
Mr. McCarty, Mr. Olson, and Mr. Maharry are the credit recovery teachers at Canal Winchester High School, and they are here to help with students who need a little extra help staying on track.
Students are assigned to this class based on their specific needs and is only available for sophomores, juniors, and seniors at Canal Winchester High School.
Credit recovery is a course that the school will add to student schedules through the guidance counselors. They will try to make credit recovery fit into the students’ schedules so they are able to still take the courses that are requested for the year.
“[Guidance counselors] mostly look at students who have either moved into the district and their old school didn’t offer a course that is needed to graduate at Canal, students who did not finish a course, or a student that has failed a class [and still needs that credit],” said McCarty. “These students would then take a credit recovery class in order to get them back on track to graduate on time with their class.”
These credit recovery classes can be on someone’s schedule more than once. Some of the students also come back multiple class periods per day.
The teachers can have anywhere from three to twenty students a class period. Credit recovery classes can also be a semester class or an all-year class depending on the student.
This class is not just a class that focuses on one subject all the time. Every student has their own work and the teacher acts as a helper.
“Depending on what class the student has to take again, they would come to [this class] and they would have that same class on Edmentum. This is the same program that we used for the people who worked remotely last year. I would sit and explain how the software works for the students who never had an online class using this software before. As they work if they need any help on anything I am there to help them and keep them on track to make sure everything is running smoothly and they finish the class”, said McCarty.
As students are taking the credit recovery class, they are still able to take their traditional classes for their supposed grade levels. If students finish their credit recovery classes, they will be back on track and still able to graduate their supposed graduating year.
Teachers look forward to a new summer
By: Arianna Gilmore
Most students believe that teachers don’t really have a life outside of school, but they are human too and do have lives outside of school, including summer plans this year.
David King, Hannah Swartz, Elise Bottarini, and Brandon Payne are all teachers at Canal Winchester High School, and after the school year ends, their summer begins.
There was a Covid outbreak that happened last year causing Mr. King’s summer plans to be canceled. Every summer, Mr. King and his family would go to a beach house but last year they couldn’t. He is looking forward to going again this year.
“My family and I are going on a family vacation in June to Myrtle Beach,” said Mr. King.
That’s not his only summer plan. From June 27th to July 3rd he will be in Michigan.
“I am taking my kids to camp in Michigan to build houses for the people that can’t afford them,” explained Mr. King.
Mrs. Swartz also had plans last summer that got canceled because of the Covid outbreak.
“We had a big trip planned, but we knew early in the year that it wasn’t going to happen. We were planning to take a three-week trip to Scotland. Instead, we went to New England and stayed in a cabin and spent a week in Maine, fished in New Hampshire, and finished the trip in upstate New York,” said Mrs. Swartz.
Mrs. Swartz actually used to live in Scotland and just wanted to take her husband to visit.
She is also looking forward to this summer because she plans to spend it with her friends and family.
“I’m planning on spending a lot of time up in Michigan with my friends on the lake. My husband is taking me on a two-week trip to Hawaii in the middle of July,” said Mrs. Swartz.
Mrs. Swartz also has a few weddings to attend this summer. On the weekends that she has free, she plans on spending time with her family and friends at the lake.
Ms. Bottarini, along with all the other teachers had plans that also got canceled last year.
“I had a couple of vacations, which got canceled and normal things like my family reunion got canceled and I was supposed to take a class called Anxiety Training for Educators that got rescheduled to this summer,” said Ms. Bottarini.
Not only does she have her class this summer, but Ms. Bottarini also has a couple of trips planned with one being with her sister that she doesn’t see often. Ms. Bottarini is also moving into a new house this summer and she is looking forward to settling in.
Mr. Payne is known for traveling. He had a lot of plans for last summer including going out of the country but due to Covid, they all got canceled. Since things seem to be cooling down with the covid outbreak, Mr. Payne has got some new plans for this upcoming summer involving plenty of traveling with his family.
“We will probably go to Chatollete, New Mexico, and Las Vegas. I’m also trying to squeeze in a trip to the Florida Keys,” said Mr. Payne.
Canal Winchester continues to see growth in the community
By: Meredith Avery
Canal Winchester is a rapidly growing city and as a result, has many new businesses opening soon. Local Cantina, Logistics park, Hampton Inn, and Fairfield Inn are all coming soon to Canal Winchester. These businesses will be joining the other new additions the city has seen in the last five years which include Aldi, Panda Express, and Goodwill.
“I feel like there’s a bit of everything here,” said Kaitlyn Ring, a resident of almost two years in Canal. Ring also says she wants “another coffee shop besides Starbucks,” and is most excited about Smoothie King and the Local Cantina.
Zach Kolonchuk, a resident of 24 years says “I’d like a wider variety and more things to do. I’d like to see more unique food, to bring in more visitors.” Ring and Kolonchuk both say they want a Chik-fil-a in Canal Winchester.
The Fairfield Inn is expected to open in the summer of 2021. It is to have 83 different rooms in all. The new hotels are to increase tourism in Canal Winchester.
Zach Kolonchuk says that “businesses that thrive off of tourism, such as the Westchester golf course, Brewdog, Shades, and Local Cantina” are the ones going to be the most impacted by these new hotels.
Local Cantina is to be coming to Canal summer of 2021, although the goal was sometime in April. The Local Cantina is a Mexican bar and restaurant.
Logistics Park is two industrial buildings that are just off of 33. Combined they are 814,000 square feet and have office space, and parking available.
There are many new businesses in the rapidly growing city of Canal Winchester. Just in the past five years, there have been businesses opening, including many restaurants and banks. This leads to many job opportunities as many places are hiring. This will lead to more people coming to live in Canal Winchester and more growth.
CWHS Welcomes Their First Lacrosse Season
By: Ryan Steinbrink
Canal Winchester High School joined the rapidly growing convoy of lacrosse teams this spring. The sport has risen in popularity by 97% since 2003, and that is only at the professional level.
In 2018 Canal Winchester added a team at the middle school level. Prior to that, there was only a team at the recreational level, which is really important for the younger kids to have a love for the sport at a young age to continue to play as they get older.
Ty Bowman has had six years of experience with the Canal Winchester programs. He was introduced to the sport by his family members, and then he was encouraged to play by his mom and dad.
¨The speed and contact are most definitely my favorite part,¨ said Ty. Lacrosse entails players who are constantly moving, passing, shooting, and catching. As well as the occasional shoulder check.
He usually plays in winter leagues during the off season, but with Covid-19 he has just been attending the occasional camps, run by professional level players.
¨They´re all really nice, and offer to help whenever they hold camps, giving tips and pointers¨ said Ty. The “lax” community is always looking to grow and expand. He wants to see the program at Canal have a winning season within the next five years.
After just wrapping up its inaugural season, CWHS put up a 3-9 record with the hopes of improving next season, as they will add more players and maturity.
Growth of the sport can be seen at the collegiate and professional levels. The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) just had its inaugural season in 2019 and was founded by professional player Paul Rabil and brother Mike Rabil.
After just two years, they bought out the Major Lacrosse League (MLL) in December of 2020. Instead of disbanding the MLL, they merged to two leagues to play under the PLL as they see that league continuing to grow in the next five years.
Esports at Canal Winchester a New Beginning
By: Nathaniel Hoffman
Canal Winchester High School recently announced Esports as a viable option for a spring sport and is just about to wrap up its first season.
To start off the year, the newly created team had lots of struggles such as the schedule and more importantly the overly secure network at Canal WInchester High School. This network made it hard for the players to get into their games and practice while at school.
After a rough start to the season, Coach Wyatt was able to begin answering questions, starting with the schedule. The weekly format adopted the following: Monday - League of Legends match; Tuesday - Overwatch match; Wednesday - Rocket League match; Thursday -practice; Friday - open practice.
Each game has its own special rules for play which team captains would have to study or look at that would regulate the game. Another thing captains have to do is decide who plays as a starter and who should sub in when. Teams were also allowed to use Discord as a means of communication while playing together at the school or from home or during a match.
Dalton Henry, a player on the Overwatch team stated, “I'm excited for this season. It's a completely new beginning for this school and we get to watch it.”
Andrew Humphries added, “I can't believe we actually got the esports team as I had waited so long for it and it seemed as if it wasn’t going to happen” Humpries, who is on the Rocket League team will be using the octane car.
The team’s games were played while at the school and the season consisted of six conference matchups as well as one non conference match.
The post season looks different than other high school sports. There's one week called the wildcard week where the matchup is completely random. After wildcard week is over they will begin drafting the end of season Tournament Bracket.
Hydra Aquatic Swim Team
By: Lucas Elizondo
New pool, new team, new dome. Many people in the swim community did not have a place to swim after Covid shut everything down, and many teams dissolved or were only open to a few select swimmers, but Coach Jeff Reigler had a mission.
Jeff Reigler had a full team of swimmers that had nowhere to swim, so he went to work. He started off by having a few swimmers swim at a small pool during the summer, but that did not work well for everyone. He searched the Columbus area and finally found a pool to call home.
The Jefferson Country Club pool, an outdoor pool that required a lot of work to be ready for a team, could fill that hole. Along with a new pool, he needed to rebrand the team with a name and settled on Hydra.
For every problem, Reigler came up with a solution, but with every solution, a new problem arose. After finding a pool and recruiting team members, he was soon faced with the end of summer and colder months in Ohio. He needed to figure out how to bring the outdoor sport indoors for the cold winter.
As with the other hurdles he faced, Reigler took a bold approach and came up with an idea to put a dome over the pool. The dome would be something new that few people in Central Ohio had seen before. It would be able to go up and then be able to be taken down for the summer. It will have a cool temperature and good air circulation.
The dome would be the opportunity for other teams to swim, and it gave the team the opportunity to hold events and meets for people who didn't have pools.
“I think that the dome was a great idea, and I’m glad that this idea was able to come to life. Teams all over the country have had a very hard time finding places to swim this winter season, so being able to create our own has come in handy. Not only did this give us a place to practice consistently, but it also allowed us to run our own meets,” said Megan Richey who loved the novel solution Reigler came up with.
By the time January rolled around the new dome was up and the pool was open, and once this happened swimmers showed up to join the team. Hydra became the team for people without a home. It was a new era.
Many people are excited about the new team. Even some of our own Canal Winchester High School swimmers joined the team.
“I really enjoy this team. Although it was worrisome joining without knowing anyone, I quickly learned that this team functions like a family, and they welcomed me with open arms. This is a hard working team that is willing to do whatever it takes to meet their goals.” Richey is one of the team’s varsity swimmers, and was able to greatly improve her times since joining the team.
Hydra is the new home for any swimmers that need a team and a pool. Hydra is always welcoming new swimmers and will always be a family. It is a not-for-profit competitive USA sanctioned swim team empowering young people to be champions in and out of the water. Reigler focuses on developing technique and looks to instill a hard-working mentality within each swimmer to help them achieve their goals both in and out of the pool.
Hydra is the new USA team that is the new face for swimmers all around.
Historical roots run deep in Canal Winchester
By: Meagan Friend
Gaining knowledge of how the towns we grow up in came to be everything they are today may help us predict where we will be in the future. As a current senior, I believe that growing up and attending Canal Winchester schools has made a tremendous impact on who I am today and what I would like to pursue in the future.
Many of my family members grew up in Canal Winchester which sparked my interest to gain a different perspective on what the town was like before I was here. The Canal Winchester High School was built in 1861 with a graduating class of seven. The current high school I attend was built in 1976 and the original building is used for administrative purposes.
Jessica Gleadall who lived in Canal Winchester all throughout middle school and currently lives in Tennessee is a kindergarten teacher. She explains, “The atmosphere and the way teachers and administrators communicate is the most important foundation for a school and how students will feel.”
She still enjoys visiting Canal Winchester whenever she has the chance to come back to Ohio. “I am saddened by how much construction has happened throughout the past few years. My favorite memories of living in Canal were exploring town and how much nature we were surrounded by,” said Gleadall.
My family is proud to be from Canal Winchester and they believe it has influenced what they do today. Our environment and surroundings not only influence how we behave, but who we interact with and what we choose to focus on.
Senior athletes next step
By: Marissa Klamorick
Eight top-notch student-athletes from Canal Winchester High School commit to continue their academic and athletic careers for the next four years.
As high school comes to a close and their lives continue to change, their aspirations become clearer, but their hearts remain for the sport they have grown to love.
Allena Klamorick, Korbin Martino, Ian Lewis, Holly Counts, Brett Smithers, Avery Huntzinger, Blaine Riley, and Kaylee Deshong have earned scholarships and committed to pursuing their athletic abilities at the next level.
Cross Country and Track and Field
Klamorick, Lewis, and Smithers will be running cross country and track, while Martino will be running track. Klamorick and Martino have both committed to division one schools.
While running, Allena Klamorick plans to study exercise science and nutrition at Lipscomb University.
“I am very pleased with their exercise science program. I also like that they are a smaller school. I feel I will be more successful in a smaller environment where there is more interaction between students and teachers. She is looking forward to being a part of the Bisons cross country team this fall and is excited to continue her running journey in Tennessee!
Ian Lewis plans to double major in accounting and business administration while concentrating in finance at Heidelberg University.
Ian looks forward to competing in new places as well as meeting new people to run with.
Brett Smithers is excited to be pursuing an education degree as well as toeing the line this fall for Ohio Christian University. He admires many aspects of OCU itself: hands-on education, family felt coaching staff, and small campus feel. “The small Christian campus was a big selling point,” says Smithers. “It allows me to pursue both faith and education all in one, an experience not very common at other schools.”
Korbin Martino, 11x all Ohioan and 5x school record holder, will be joining the Nittany Lions both in the classroom and on the track.
Not only has Martino proved himself in the state of Ohio, he currently holds the US #1 time in the 400m dash, running a 47.43.Though Martino has not declared a major at Penn State University, he is interested in the medical field or law. He is most excited about having the opportunity to compete at one of the highest levels in track and field.
Soccer
While a heavy load of athletes will take running to the next level, two of Canal Winchester’s Lady Indian soccer players will lace up their cleats for the next four years.
Holly Counts and Kaylee Deshong, two starting varsity athletes, are set to play at Ohio Wesleyan University and Tiffin University.
Holly Counts, an outside forward for the lady Indians, plans to major in exercise science with aspirations to become a sports medicine doctor at OWU.
Like Smithers, Counts is in love with the campus. “It has beautiful buildings, the area is great and it is only 50 minutes away from home, which is a good distance,” she said. She is excited to continue her soccer career with hopes to push herself to be the best she can be.
Deshong is attending Tiffin University this fall with hopes to pursue a career in criminal justice. She is most excited to continue her education at a school that makes her feel at home while being able to play the sport she loves.
Volleyball
With two Canal Winchester commits remaining, one plans to continue her career in volleyball.
Avery Huntzinger, will be attending the University of Rio Grande on a scholarship to play volleyball while pursuing an education degree. “I was sold on how much I felt like part of the team before even playing with the girls. They were really welcoming, so we already had a connection.” Huntzinger is ready to take on stronger competition and battle against other good teams as well.
Football
Lastly, Blaine Riley plans to attend Miami University to study business and exercise while playing football.
“It came down to the fact of it being one of my closest options to home,” said Riley.
While he is excited to travel to new places to play football, he is more pleased to have found a school both academically and athletically fitting for him that is not too far away from home. Of these eight athletes, each one of them has worked hard to chase their dreams, to become the athlete they have always wanted, and has the opportunity to play at the next level. Congratulations.
Senior athletes next step
By: Arianna Gilmore
As the seniors of Canal Winchester High School get closer to graduation a lot of them already know what they plan to do after high school and the majority of them plan to seek higher education.
Isaiah Wilson is one of those students who chose to go to a college closer to home. Wilson is enrolling himself into Columbus State because if he ever needed to go home for something important it would be faster and easier to get there rather than driving hours and hours.
Wilson is going to Columbus State to be a firefighter and for EMT training in which he intends to go to college for two to four years.
“Firefighters were the people I looked up to a lot when I was younger and it made me want to become one myself,” mentioned Wilson.
Korin Johnson chose to go to Otterbein University which is also close to home. Johnson wanted to be closer to her family and friends.
“Since we live with an older grandma I tend to help out my family a lot and being close to home is what is more important to me,” shared Johnson.
Although Johnson knows what college she wants to go to, she doesn’t exactly know what to major in yet, so she has decided to go in undecided until she settles on a major. She is interested in exploring biology as an option..
“Otterbein is a nice private school and they have a [Division] III track and field team,” said Johnson.
Staying close to home has a lot of benefits but there are still some students like Cian Rose who would like to go to college out of state.
Cian Rose has always wanted to get away from home and Ohio for a while. Rose will be attending Arizona State University for a full four years in order to receive a bachelor’s degree.
He has been wanting to go there since his sophomore year and when he went to tour the campus it fit everything that he was looking for in a college.
Rose is going to college to study computer information systems which is another reason why he chose to go to Arizona State University. They have a very good computer information system program.
“This program is very similar to programming which is something that I have always had an interest in. However, it is more on the business side so it will give me more human interaction when out in the real world,” said Rose.
Canal Winchester takes on Esports
By: Ryan Steinbrick
Canal Winchester High School looks to enter the competitive Esports world. The idea began last spring when the athletic department proposed the idea.
Many people are exposed to gaming at a young age, including Coach Wyatt who will be leading CWHS this spring.
Although the idea of Esports is fairly new, competition is not scarce with over 150 schools being able to participate. Without travel, Covid-friendly conditions are not a problem, as well as everything being virtual.
Field of competition will include Overwatch, League of Legends, Fortnite, and Rocket League. All of these games on the college and professional levels are very big. Coach Wyatt also mentioned that the League of Legends championship was the second most watched event in sports last year, behind the Kentucky Derby.
The general idea of kids playing video games is that it may be a waste of time, or pointless, but along with money at the professional level there are also scholarships involved. ¨Connections with different Universities was a big reason why this idea was put forward,¨ said Coach Wyatt. Along with scholarship money there are degree majors in the Esports world as well.
With competition set in March, Coach Wyatt is looking at about a thirty athlete roster, competing at three levels: varsity, junior varsity and club. When asked about what he was most excited about Coach Wyatt said, ¨Seeing how our students will compete in our first year.¨
Athletes will be able to hone their skills at home, playing by themselves or with friends, as well as a few practices a week with the team.
Upward offers athletic and religious practices for kids
By Meredith Avery
Finding a good, well-priced sports league for children can be difficult, especially with COVID-19 shutting down a good deal of sports leagues. Upward Sports, a kids’ sports ministry hosted by churches, is a program that teaches kids athletic skills and virtues that they will need later in life. Ashley Forquer has been working at concessions for 4 years. According to Ashley Forquer a volunteer at Upward Basketball, ‘Upward is a good way for kids to have fun and learn the Gospel.’ Upward’s motto is “More than just an Athlete”. The program itself is run by volunteer churches all over the world, including in Canal Winchester. Grace Bible Church is the host in Canal Winchester. According to Darren Avery, the director at Grace Bible Church and a teacher at Canal Winchester High School, “Each kid brings in about three people… which is about 700…80% of them, about 560, don’t claim a church home.” This brings in people who normally wouldn’t be in a church environment which grants them the opportunity to hear the Gospel told, and they see it at work. Upward has one game and one practice per week. During the practice, the young athletes gain skills for basketball and for life.Marylin Freitag, who has been coaching for about four years said, “In my first year coaching, I had a kid who had been in a bad situation…He was afraid of the ball, afraid of running out of the tunnel. He walked out of the tunnel with his head down… And I worked with him and worked with him until finally…He ran out of the tunnel giving high-fives, with his head held high.” Upward helps kids learn valuable life skills such as coordination, teamwork, perseverance, hope, love, quick thinking, and good sportsmanship They are given fabric stars, by their coaches, for learning or improving in their skills, or excelling in one way or another in a particular area. There are stars for offense, defense, sportsmanship, effort, and Christlikeness. These stars help the athletes with their confidence. According to Darren Avery, “When [someone] walks in… they see coaches getting along with each other and the referees. And normally you don’t see that.” Upward is different from other sports leagues, which lead by example and by word. At halftime, in games and practices, all balls stop and there is a small Bible lesson given by coaches or volunteers.Upward teaches the child physically, mentally, and spiritually. The athletes and their families get to be in a church environment. This is what sets Upward apart from other sports leagues.
by Allie Kuck
In a global crisis, we all hope for a little good news. Members of the CWHS Class of 2020 keep their spirits high with hopes for their futures as they move on to higher education.
“I am a little worried that I won’t be at the campus this fall. But, I am hopeful that this pandemic will grow weaker and we can all go to [our] campuses,” says Chandler Roush, a senior who will be attending the University of Akron in the fall. He enrolled at the university before schools were shut down, so his decision was not impacted by the pandemic.
For now, most colleges are planning to reopen their campuses in the fall of 2020, with some changes. Proposals to cancel fall breaks, make large, lecture-hall style classes online, and reduce numbers of forced triple or quad dorm rooms are common.
But what about sports? Senior Keely Snode will be attending St. Lawrence University in New York, and will be playing on the women’s soccer team there.
“I really don’t wanna miss my freshman season of soccer,” says Snode. “[I’m trying] to look at the positive side of things, so I’m going to believe that I’ll be there until I’m told that I’m not.” NCAA leaders have been discussing plans to play with no fans and frequent testing for athletes, but there has been no official decision yet.
For now, the fall of 2020 is full of uncertainty. But our seniors are not giving up hope.
“I would just want to let [other seniors] know that they’re not alone and that we’re all feeling the same way,” says Drew Adams, who is going on to Ohio University in Athens.
As Bailey Rodoski, who will be attending the Ohio State University, states, “We need to remember that we have a ton of people supporting us, and that we are not alone here.”
Class of 2020, we have your backs, and we cannot wait to see what you accomplish.
An interview with Mrs. Groves
Junior Adam Scott recently conducted a phone interview with Mrs. Groves. They discuss how she and her family coping and getting along, the challenges of working from home, and many other topics. Enjoy this 8:05 minute listen.
New Recording 17.m4aTips for navigating online instruction
By Olivia Martin
After all schooling has been moved online, students everywhere are struggling with one thing in particular: motivation. Every student I have talked to about online school agrees that their biggest issue is gaining motivation to do their work.
Because of this, missing assignments continuously stack up, causing an overwhelming amount of stress. Despite the fact that we now have what seems like all the time in our world to do our assignments, why are we struggling even more? I do not know the answer to this question, but I have learned tips and tricks on how to keep yourself motivated.
A huge factor in being able to focus is your atmosphere. I find that being in the school’s atmosphere makes my brain realize that it is time to work and learn. But, with all schooling online now, there is no school atmosphere.
To get myself in that mindset at home, I make sure of these things: to sit at a desk and not on my bed/couch, to put my phone away so I do not get distracted, to make sure my surroundings are quiet, and, strangely, to make sure I am cold. I associate being cold with being in a classroom since I am always cold at school, so it helps my brain to feel like I am in a school environment, so give it a try.
Another tip is to put on some wordless music. Classical and lofi are great examples. This gets your brain fixated and allows your mind to not drift from your main focus: schoolwork. Not having a daily schedule is also offsetting your brain wanting to do work, so I suggest to make yourself stick to a daily schedule. Nothing complicated, though, or else you will feel more overwhelmed.
While these tips can be very helpful, the biggest factor in your motivation is your mindset. Everyone is struggling right now, but with a mindset directed towards fixing your motivation, it is possible to pick yourself back up.
Indians Club to add incentives when school resumes
By Avery Nack and Blaine Riley
Indians Club, a service-based organization offered here at Canal Winchester High School, is now implementing a new rewards system that gives kids perks and rewards in exchange for the number of hours of community service they have served.
Mrs. Hamilton, the staff advisor, is very excited to be able to put into action this new reward with the 2,000 Bed Tax Grant the club received. The prizes are an incentive, so the more hours you give, the more prizes will be available to you.
When asked where the idea started she stated, “I meet up with Jill Amos who helped come up with the idea of providing the Indians Club members with some type of reward. Many of the times the kids going out and reaching the community are using their own gas, or money, so we thought it was a way to give back to them for volunteering so many hours.”
Although the club is not able to participate in outreach service at the moment, staff and students of Canal Winchester are encouraged to do kind acts of service.
Whether it is buying flowers and giving them to neighbors, or getting some groceries for your elderly neighbors, everyone can still be kind and give back during this time.
Online instruction has different effects on students
By Jolayajah Banks and Anyla Van Putten
Ohio students are officially finishing the rest of this school year in their homes with online instruction, and CWHS students have experienced both hurdles and advantages during this time.
“I find it challenging to do work, it’s hard to find motivation because I feel like everyday is the same, and I’m just worried about other things besides school work,” said Chloe Pemberton, a senior student at CWHS. “Also, it’s hard to find a quiet place so that I can focus and work, which means I get distracted a lot.”
A student’s working environment or atmosphere is a major factor in the outcome of their work.
Studies have shown that people can actually thrive better depending on their working spaces. People find their work more meaningful and of relevance when they can physically bring themselves to do work. Therefore, being in a work environment can help a student feel more “motivated” to do and get work done.
Also, not being in school has made it harder for students to stay focused and create a controlled setting which is usually made by teachers.
“I go to the kitchen and not my bedroom because I can get distracted”, says Sadie Ketter, a freshman of CWHS. She stated not feeling “comfortable” doing her assignments in her bedroom due to the fact that it was becoming more of a tedious, working space than a cozy, resting space.
Fortunately, the stay-at-home order hasn’t been all bad. Some students think it’s “good” to work at home and to go at their own pace whereas back in school students had scheduled classes with a certain amount of time everyday. Once that class time was over students had to move on to other assignments for the next class.
“Working ahead helps because then I can enjoy my free time and have more of it,” said CWHS freshman Jayme Parker.
Meals at school are also scheduled with a fixed amount of time. Brooke Holcolmb says, “My normal routine at home has changed a lot because now I have time to eat three meals a day and get things done”.
It’s a common fact that humans need food to have energy to get through the day and accomplish what they need to do so these three meals are very important. Schools separate students into periods of lunch and some are very late in the school day. Going without those meals has a big effect on students' efficiency to get work done.
Finding the right college, virtually
By Allie Kuck
It’s important to get a head start on your college search your junior year, and that can be difficult to do with the stay-at-home order and complete closure of college campuses. But there’s a lot more to picking a college than just visiting.
Here are a few of my tips for everyone looking to kickstart your college search (completely virtually).
1. Figure out what you want in a school.
Your search becomes much easier once you decide what you want from your college experience. For me, I wanted to go out of state and explore new places. I also didn’t want to be in extreme debt after graduation, so I prioritized schools that were out of state and had generous scholarship programs. The University of Alabama, for example, has a merit scholarship program specifically for out-of-state students and can give as much as full tuition just based on ACT and SAT scores. The college I enrolled at, the University of Rochester, has a generous grant program that ensures 100% of financial need is met with grants and scholarships. (That’s money you don’t have to pay back!) I would suggest figuring out your top two or three factors, and looking at schools that fulfill those.
2. Make a list and research.
Perhaps I like lists a little too much, but I made a giant spreadsheet for my college search. It included all of the factors I considered important to have in a college, which were: location, majors I would be interested in, tuition cost, average GPA of accepted students, size, and acceptance rate. Then, I used sites like Naviance, Niche.com, and Cappex to find schools and information about each of them. Your important factors might be different than mine; there are tons of other things to consider, like diversity, graduation rate, student to teacher ratio, if the university is public or private, and their ranking in Princeton lists. If you are interested in a pre-med field, you’ll want to go to a university with a great pre-med program. Maybe you’ve spent a lot of time taking CCP classes, and you want to ensure your credits will transfer. All of these things will help you narrow down your search, so you don’t spend thousands in application fees and write a dozen essays for schools you realize you don’t really like.
3. Look for virtual visits and information session opportunities.
Colleges are just as scared as you are right now when it comes to recruitment and enrollment. I know I’ve gotten a dozen emails from schools about virtual visit opportunities and live virtual information sessions. Most schools have some sort of online campus tour (like this OSU tour: https://www.osu.edu/#virtualtour) if you are looking to explore early. I would also suggest planning a visit this fall or sometime next year (whenever campuses open back up). The thing with college is you won’t just be going to school on campus, but you’ll be living there as well. You need to feel comfortable and welcome on campus, and I think the best way to discover that is to visit. I’m a crazy person and visited 16 college campuses on the east coast (it was a long week), but I came away from the trip with my list of schools to apply to going from 16 to 8. A school that might sound great on paper may not feel like home once you’re on campus. I really wanted to love George Washington University in Washington, D.C., but I realized very quickly that a campus in the middle of the city with no lawns or trees was not for me. College will be an experience you remember forever, and you want it to be something you remember with happiness, not disappointment.
If you are unable to visit every college you’re interested in, you can always figure out what you generally like and work from there. Here’s some questions to ask yourself about campus environments:
-How far do I want to be from home?
-Do I prefer an urban campus or a smaller, college-town setting?
-Do I want a large campus with tens of thousands of students, or a smaller campus with less than 10 thousand undergrads?
-Do prefer large open green spaces, urban city streets, or a little bit of both?
-Is it important for me to be close to a larger city for internships?
-Do I want to live on-campus? If so, what kind of housing would I prefer?
-Do I prefer year-round warm temperatures or a little bit of all four seasons?
-Is fraternity/sorority life important to me?
All of these questions can help you decide if a campus is right for you just from the information you can find online. Remember, you won’t just be learning at your chosen college: you’ll be living there too.
4. Contact admissions counselors.
It may sound scary to reach out to a total stranger who works for a university you haven’t even been accepted to, but admissions counselors are there to help. You can learn a lot more about a university, and even get specific questions answered, by reaching out to your regional admissions counselor. I’ve emailed several counselors with questions about possible majors, application questions, and questions about visiting specific schools and buildings on campus. Their job is to help you! Don’t be afraid to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
And that’s about it! Now is the perfect time to start searching for your perfect college, before the stress of filling out applications comes in. (Common App opens on August 1st with applications for the 2021-2022 school year-- but most applications aren’t due until October.) Spend some time planning for your future during our quarantine, and stay safe!
CWHS hosts second annual career fair
Career_Expo - Drew Adams.mp4Canal Winchester High School hosted the second annual career expo last week. The Mirror takes a look behind the scenes of what made it all happen.
Author Dusti Bowling visits CWLSD
By Chiara Vordank
Canal Winchester Schools were excited to host author Dusti Bowling from March 1-March 5.
Dusti Bowling visited Canal Winchester to give students and adults an understanding of her life as a writer from Arizona.
She gets her ideas from her own life, from people she cares about, from interesting places she has visited, from Arizona and the desert life or news stories.
She focuses much of her work on the desert, which is one of her favorite things about her job. She loves talking to her readers and meeting them either through Skype video-calls or through in-person school visits.
Bowling said she’d love to come after the Canal Winchester librarians asked her if she wanted to visit the district.
When it comes to writing, Bowling’s favorite part is when the story comes together. The first book she wrote was “Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus.” Although her books are intended for upper elementary and middle grade readers, any age will enjoy her stories.
It takes her on average about three months for the first draft and then anything between six months and a year for revisions. She does not work full-time on her stories every day and said that she was surprised about the amount of time that she is spending not writing and instead answering letters, doing skype or school visits or administration.
“It’s a growing experience,” said Bowling. “I would tell my younger writer self that I can do it, I should just do my best and go for it.”
She visited Winchester Trail as well as Canal Winchester Middle School and High School to give several presentations. She also held a workshop about creative writing and an evening event in the High School Library Learning Commons.
Everyone was really excited, especially because it was the first author visit in the High School. However, Ms. Tokarz, a Canal Winchester High School librarian, has said that she “already has some other ideas up her sleeves” for a potential future author visit.
CWHS Performing Arts puts on 31st-annual Madrigal
Madrigal Video.mp4Ashton Hunt interviews members of the performing arts program about their Madrigal performance of "Much Adieu About Nothing"
German-exchange student visiting CWHS for the year
By Lexi Kail
To fulfill a lifelong dream, Chiara Vordank has come to Canal Winchester High School from Germany in hopes of experiencing a new culture and another life.
Chiara came to the United States in August and will continue to attend Canal Winchester High School until the end of the school year. From the few months she has spent here, she has experienced an immense part of American culture.
Chiara attended the majority of football Friday nights, which is something that does not take place in Germany.
“I love football Friday nights because of the spirit and overall atmosphere,” stated Chiara.
To experience more of America, Chiara has traveled to Washington, D.C. to learn how the U.S. government is run. She visited Capitol Hill, the Congress library, and countless museums and monuments. Chiara even met with Representative Steve Stivers and his staff to learn more about the American government.
With a wide array of sports and extracurriculars, Chiara was eager to join cross country, track, and the steel drum band arranged at Canal Winchester High School.
In cross country, Chiara’s personal record this season was 27:25 at the district meet. She adds that she has never felt like part of a team before and she enjoyed the environment at practices and team meals.
Chiara also participated in a collection of volunteer work. She helped rake leaves for multiple homes, work in the concession stands at football games and braided leashes for a local animal shelter.
With a new school, Chiara has had to adapt to a new curriculum. She describes this change by explaining that school in America is overall harder but “some of what we are learning, we had learned in prior years.” She was faced with becoming accustomed to a different education system as well as a different grading scale.
Chiara concluded by mentioning her admiration towards the pride we have in our school as well as our open-mindedness as Americans. She also mentioned her aspiration to come back to the United States.
Interview with German-exchange student, Chiara
The Mirror.mp4Adam Scott interviews Chiara, a foreign-exchange student from Germany, who is attending CWHS for this school year.
Vaping: Good or Bad?
By Allie Kuck
About 70% of CWHS students know someone who vapes, according to a recent survey. This new trend has taken America by storm, with 10.8 million users as of 2018, most of whom are under the age of 35.
Only 4% of the 573 CWHS students surveyed frequently use e-cigarettes, but the threat is still present. Companies that sell vaping products have frequently been accused of marketing to younger consumers, with different flavors and campaigns that may appeal to underage users. Teen vaping is a growing problem, and vaping is not without its consequences.
Vaping is the use of electronic cigarettes, and while first seen as a safer alternative to smoking, it can still have dangerous consequences for teenage users.
E-cigarette pods contain nicotine, like any other tobacco product, and can deliver intense concentrations of the chemical. In a study conducted by Lynne Dawkins and Olivia Corcoran, when regular e-cigarette users took 10 puffs of an e-cigarette, their blood nicotine concentration rose from a mean of 0.74 ng/ml to 6.77 ng/ml. In comparison, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one traditional cigarette can deliver 1-2 milligrams of nicotine. For safe use by an adult looking for an alternative to combustible smoking, 1-2 puffs of an e-cigarette will deliver about the same amount of nicotine as one cigarette.
While vaping is encouraged for adult smokers as a way to avoid the negative effects of combustible tobacco products, nicotine is highly addictive and can harm pregnant women and adolescents. Nicotine, as the U.S. Surgeon General states, greatly inhibits adolescent brain development. The human brain is not fully developed until the mid-20’s, impacting teenage brain development heavily.
Unfortunately, with most e-cigarette users being under the age of 35, nicotine may already be changing our younger generations.
CWHS introduces 9Tribe to incoming freshmen
By Sophie Baldwin
As the Canal Winchester High School goes through new beginnings with construction, educational advancements are being made as well, such as the introduction of the Freshman Academy, also known as Nine Tribe.
Schools across the country are creating programs to help integrate freshmen into high school. Canal Winchester’s approach was to create a pilot program.
The staff and students of Canal Winchester were tasked with creating a committee to better the school’s schedule. After looking at how other schools ran their schedule, the committee determined that change was not necessary with the current program.
From this, the idea of having a Freshman Academy was formed. The teachers involved in the Nine Tribe were excited to join the new program. Teacher Megan Longstreth finds that, “Having a core group of teachers allows us to be creative with our projects and develop more intense critical thinking within students”. The stronger community of teachers and students promote better educational advancements. Typically, math and english are not learning the same things in class. However, the Nine Tribe is attempting to combine lessons between all four common classes for a project on the Industrial Revolution.
The curriculum is additionally focusing on creating core skills that are not required in a school. Core skills such as communication, cooperation, creativity, and creative thinking are not only taught but encouraged in Nine Tribe.
The Nine Tribe’s cross-curricular methods are creating new ideas for future classes. The future of Nine Tribe is unknown, but the administration is eager for what’s to come. Assistant Superintendent Kiya Hunt hopes for the cross-curricular methods to move towards the grades 9-12.
The freshman response has been mixed. At first, the general response of the students was negative. However, the teachers of the Nine Tribe have helped change their opinions by creating a positive environment for the students.
Longstreth mentions how students can fill out a Google form to nominate their peers for “Tribal Traits”. The Tribal Traits are attributes that give students an incentive to do better and to improve. On the Nine Tribe’s website, students can get a “positive peer call-out” with their name posted with the Tribal Traits they have displayed.
With the initiatives put forth by the teachers, the general response of students has been more positive. Hunt feels that the response will drastically change with the selection of teachers making the Nine Tribe something people are proud to be a part of.
With all of the changes, Canal Winchester High School is making to the exterior to better the school, more important educational changes are being made inwards. Canal Winchester High School is putting forth an effort to not only raise up a more well-rounded student but is sending out better leaders for tomorrow.