Chamber Choir Wins at State

Praise Treanor

On Monday, April 22nd, twenty Lloyd students clad in black from shirt to shoe boarded a bright yellow school bus. The contrast was striking, leading any passerby to wonder about the attended event. A funeral? A gala?

The answer: Kentucky State Choir Assessment.

The Concert and Chamber Choirs received the rank of Distinguished across the board on March 26th at the Kentucky District Assessment. It had been five years since any Lloyd choir had attended District Assessment and seventeen years since they had received a Distinguished rating.

The option to take the Chamber Choir to State Assessment came a little out of the blue, and the final decision was made both by Director Matt Taylor and the choir members.

After he first proposed the idea of competing at State Assessment, Mr. Taylor had other business to attend to.

“I have to leave now, but I want you to have a discussion,” he instructed the class. “Talk about your thoughts on going to State.” Mr. Taylor left the room, and nineteen of the twenty Chamber Choir members sat on the floor in a large circle to discuss the next few weeks. Moving around the circle, each member spoke freely about their feelings on the matter.

Person by person, a consensus was reached: State would be hard. State would require a higher level of dedication from each member. But, State would be fulfilling. Winning Distinguished at State would create a legacy of excellence for all future iterations of the Chamber Choir. Even if they didn’t earn Distinguished, State would be worth it for the senior members of the choir who had never experienced it before.

To State or not to State? It was clear that the answer was a resounding “Yes!” to State Assessment. In celebration, a phone call was made to the choir member who had not been in attendance. (“WE’RE GOING TO STATE!!!”)

The next five weeks were a blur of activity. Rehearsals flew by like road signs on a highway. Pieces were sung countless times, errors were corrected, and pep talks were given. Before the beginning of Spring Break, the Chamber Choir’s sound had changed significantly.

The week of Spring Break was worrying. Believe it or not, singing takes practice. It was up to the individual members of the choir to rehearse their parts to keep the songs in tip-top shape. If the Chamber Choir came back together after Spring Break with a worse sound, it could spell disaster for their State performance.

Thankfully, the first rehearsal back from Spring Break was splendid. From the moment the choir sang together again, there was a feeling of joy and harmony that filled the room. The team was back, and they were ready for the big leagues. The last five rehearsals ticked by like seconds on a scoreboard.

And the big buzzer sounded as the students mounted the steps of the school bus.

The two hour bus ride to Louisville passed relatively quickly and quietly. Anticipation grew to a record high as the bus pulled up to Middletown Christian Church, the State Assessment venue. Not long after they arrived, the Chamber Choir gathered in the rehearsal room to run through their pieces one more time.

Pausing in the middle of the runthrough, Mr. Taylor addressed his students. “If you aren’t already through-the-moon proud of yourselves, you should be. The fact that we’ve made it into this room is beyond amazing.” He told the class how proud he was of their accomplishments and reiterated that while they would all be excited to place Distinguished and receive a fancy plaque, making it to State was an accomplishment in itself.

Finally, the usher guided the Chamber Choir backstage and signaled them on. Filing out one by one, the choir took its place on the stage. Mr. Taylor introduced the choir to the judges, and the first piece began.

When the final piece ended and the applause died off, the silence was deafening. The judges finished their notes, and Mr. Taylor signaled the choir off the stage. Single file, the Chamber Choir went from the lobby to the front of the church, where Mr. Taylor unveiled the Distinguished plaque.

Shouts and cheers of joy ensued. People hugged. People cried. For the third time in the entire history of Lloyd Memorial High School, a choir from Lloyd won Distinguished at the Kentucky State Assessment. Please join us in congratulating Lloyd’s one and only Chamber Choir on this excellent achievement!

(Pictured: Lloyd’s Chamber Choir holds up the number one in celebration of their distinguished rating at Kentucky State Choir Assessment. Image credit: Matt Taylor)

Solar Eclipse 2024

Zoe Johnson

The solar eclipse of April 8th, 2024 was a total solar eclipse visible across a band covering parts of North America. According to NASA, “A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, completely blocking the sun.” The sky darkens as if it was night. The 2024 solar eclipse lasted a total of 4 minutes, 28 seconds.

A Space.com article stated that the new moon would look relatively large and cover 100% of the sun's disk as viewed from the narrow path of totality that stretched from Sinaloa, Mexico, through the U.S. to Newfoundland and Canada.

According to CBS News, you will be able to catch another Solar Eclipse on August 23rd, 2044. This eclipse will start in Greenland and will continue its path through Canada. The 2044 eclipse will be short, however. It will mainly appear in Canada but will be visible in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

Powder Puff 2024 

Images by Leon McCoin 

Teacher Appreciation Week 

Jack Daniel Ngiraibuuch

National teacher appreciation week is set for May 7th-12th to recognize our teachers worldwide. Teachers often play an outsized role in the lives of the children they teach. Not only do they teach but they support, inspire, and motivate, while their paychecks rarely reflect how much time and energy they put into their work. So, teacher appreciation week is a chance for students, parents and administrators to show their thanks. At Lloyd, teachers were recognized by a student group who served them coffee and had breakfast and lunch provided. They also got gift cards and treats from the administrative team and district. 

According to National Today, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt laid the foundation for teacher appreciation week in 1953 when she urged congress to create a day to recognize teachers; however, it didn’t become a national day until March 7, 1980. After the efforts of the National Education Association and some state boards, the first week of May was designated as national Teacher Appreciation Week.

Mother’s Day 2024 

William Kikku

Don’t you just love your mom or the mother figure in your life? Need a way to show it? Mother’s Day is that day! Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12. This is a day where you appreciate the sacrifices moms make and are grateful for their impact on society everyday. One way to show your appreciation is gifting! From writing a card to buying expensive gifts, you can give your mom almost any gift, and she would be happy. According to the NyTimes, some of the best gifts include: personalized jewelry, food, framed photos and even gift cards. The point is to give back to Moms, as they  are always giving to us.  Go out and celebrate Mother’s Day with the person who is a mother figure to you!

Varsity Baseball Season 2023-24

The LMHS varsity baseball season is in full swing.  Juggernaut baseball fans get to see the enjoyment of the team as they battle each game. 

The team has to work together in order to gain that chemistry and trust.  In baseball, you have to have the winning mentality. You never want to put others down as that contributes to not bonding as a team. As for a team, you will never be able to make it far unless you encourage your teammates every step of the way to make it to the top. Sophomore Grayson Begnoche enjoys his teammates. His favorite part of baseball is “...the people I get to play with.” As the season progresses, they continue to work hard on training to get better. “At this rate, I think (our season) will end well,” said Begnoche. 

In the end, baseball is a fun sport for all to watch, and you don’t want to miss the LMHS Baseball team this season!

Book Recommendations Based on Your Favorite TV Shows

Ashley Smith

Looking for a good book can be hard, especially if you don’t know what kind of books you think you would like. Well, luckily for you, I am here to help!

If you enjoy crime and mystery shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Sherlock, and Criminal Minds, then A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson is an excellent choice! A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder is about a high school senior who tries to prove that a former high school senior didn’t kill his girlfriend. You will definitely be surprised by all of the twists and turns that are in this book. There is a really nice romance subplot between the main character and her love interest as well! A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder is a trilogy, and it’s honestly one of the best trilogies I’ve ever read.

If you like period dramas such as Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte, The Crown, and The Queen’s Gambit, I think you should read These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong. It’s a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but it’s set in the 1930’s, and there’s a mysterious plague going around. It’s actually really interesting, and I liked the adventure in it. These Violent Delights has a sequel to it, but I haven’t read it yet.

More of a The Summer I Turned Pretty, My Life With The Walter Boys, and Never Have I Ever enthusiast? Then The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is perfect for you! This one is about a girl who inherits a mansion from a mysterious billionaire and has to live there with his four grandsons for a year. The romance in it is really good, and I also liked how the mystery was written. There are four books in the series.

If you love the drama that comes from shows like Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, and Gilmore Girls, allow me to introduce you to Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Malibu Rising is about four teens who throw an annual summer party, only for it to get completely out of control. The story switches from the past and present point of views of the teens, and it’s so good!

Last one, I promise! If you like sci-fi fantasy shows like Shadow and Bone, The Witcher, and The Umbrella Academy, then you would like Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. Shatter Me is about a girl who has the power to kill people by skin to skin contact and takes down the government with the help of her friends who also have super powers. Shatter Me has 10 books (including novellas) in the series.

I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do, because they all are amazing in their own ways. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and opinions on these books!

Zoos: Things to Think About Before You Visit

Lilian Carothers

Lloyd Memorial High School recently had their Spring Break from April 8th-12th. Over Spring Break, many families look for fun activities and places to visit as the weather starts to get warmer and school is on break. A lot of the time going to the zoo is on the top of the list, as it is fun to get out in the sun and see all of the different kinds of animals. While I do agree that seeing all the different kinds of animals and getting out in the sun with your family and friends is fun, I do believe that there are several reasons why zoos are unethical and should either be adapted to better animal life or removed.

Zoos are places where they have animals held in captivity to show off to the public, such as cheetahs, lions, birds, reptiles, and much more. While captivity isn't always a bad thing, it is if their proper requirements are not met. For example, if an animal does not have the proper kind of space to live its life to the fullest, it is unethical. Take a cheetah, for example: they love to run! If they do not have a ton of space to run like they should, they are not living their fullest life. Also, if these animals are not endangered or going extinct and also do not have the proper space in captivity, they should not be in zoos.

On top of that, thousands of people go to the zoo, many of whom are children. Children, and also adults, love to go up to the glass of the enclosure and try to interact with the animals. This could be extremely stressful for an animal, especially given other circumstances like space. Stress can literally mean death when it comes to animals.

Therefore, if you plan to visit the zoo this spring or summer, please take these things into consideration and be respectful of these animals. One way you can help is to reach out to zoos to make sure animals are getting the proper care. You could potentially be saving animals’ lives!