February 2nd is coming up fast, and to some people that date means absolutely nothing, but to Americans it's a big day. On February 2nd, people gather around and watch a groundhog. Yes, a groundhog. Why? The seasons. People rely on a groundhog to determine whether we have six more weeks of winter or early spring. No, the groundhog doesn’t control the weather; we just watch if it sees its shadow or not. If it does, more winter, and if not, spring.

People do this all over the world, but not with a groundhog: with other animals. Countries like Italy, Canada, Serbia, and Hungary celebrate Groundhog Day, but all of them but Canada use different animals. Italy uses a female black bird; Serbia and Hungary both use bears. But one other country does it. This country brought it to America. The country is Germany. The Germans used hedgehogs, but when the German immigrants came to America, they improvised with the groundhog.

Groundhog Day is important to a lot of people all over the world. It’s one of the most recognizable weather-related customs in America.

During the winter, it feels as if everyone around you is sick. While walking through the grocery store, you hear coughs, sneezing, and wheezing, and honestly, it makes you wonder: Why do so many people get sick during the winter? These respiratory illnesses appear because viruses like Influenza (commonly known as the flu) and the common cold thrive in cold, dry air. Our immune system weakens as the nasal passages dry out. During the cold months, it’s important to know how to avoid a cold, how to fight off the flu, as well as proper hygiene and sanitation during the winter season.

No one likes cold weather, so it is important to know how you can avoid a cold. While everyone is sick during this time of the year, it is important to wash your hands frequently. Washing your hands when using the restroom isn’t enough; Harvard Health suggests that the general public should wash their hands after eating, class, the gym, work, and as soon as they wake up. Rinsing your hands with some soap and water for 20+ seconds helps remove a large buildup of germs and bacteria you weren’t even aware of. Another great way to protect yourself from a cold is to stay active. Doing jumping jacks in the morning, bundling up and going on a walk, and going to the gym are great ways to keep your body working. When working out, the activity boosts circulation and immune cells. In the winter, it’s normal to get busy, but taking time for yourself is a great way to manage seasonal stress. Chronic stress weakens immunity, so find some time to sit down and do something that calms your thoughts.

A popular virus caught during cold weather is the flu, so knowing ways to fight it off would be beneficial for you. What comes with the flu is lots of resting. Your body activates survival mode when you catch a virus, so your body is working 10x harder than it usually does. When you participate in your everyday activities, your body gets tired more quickly, so resting and taking a break from all the craziness in the world is great when fighting off the flu. Along with resting, make sure you are staying hydrated. Drinking lots of water, tea, broth, or fruit juice replaces the fluids lost from fever sweating. Providing your body with plenty of rest and peak hydration all year round is a great way to prevent any future illnesses.

The last way to stay sick-free is to know proper hygiene and sanitation during the winter months. I know it’s fun to feel your face and make sure you look perfect, but you should avoid touching your face at all costs. Ensure that your hands are away from your eyes, nose, and mouth, as these are easy entryways for germs and sicknesses. Knowing respiratory etiquette is great to protect you and others from catching a virus. Cover any coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow, then be sure to throw away your tissue and wash your hands. Another way to practice proper sanitation is to disinfect any countertops, doorknobs, phones, and plenty of other commonly touched items around your home. Make sure to wash winter gear, including hats, gloves, coats, and scarves, regularly, as germs can latch onto fabrics. Hygiene and sanitation are key to staying healthy because if the things around you aren’t clean, the inside of you won't be either.

Being aware and utilizing all the precautions to ensure a healthy winter season will come in handy sooner rather than later. Remember to wash your hands, work out, rest, hydrate, and clean during the cold weather. If you and those around you take all of these actions into consideration, the next time you walk through the grocery store, you will hear less coughing, sneezing, and wheezing. Stay healthy this winter and provide a healthy environment for others as well.

Introduction

Cupid has broken into Hubbard High School, terrorizing all the students. Don’t be scared—Cupid may have his bow, but Liv has her keyboard and her questions. Welcome back to “Liv Talk: Liv and Love Edition.” February 14th is right around the corner, and all the lovebirds are preparing for the big holiday. I am back to ask some more festive questions. So grab your boo thang, relax, and soak in the love in the air.

Question 1: What are your Valentine’s Day Plans?

Starring: Liam Zagorski, Mitchell Fink, and Sophia Myers

Valentine’s Day is a holiday where you can celebrate however you want. There is no “one way” to celebrate. The last time we met, we spoke about New Year’s resolutions. For those who do not remember, Mitchell Fink, a sophomore at Hubbard High School, said his resolution was to hit the gym and rizz up the ladies. Hoping he had fulfilled this resolution, I asked him about his Valentine’s Day plans. Mitchell states, “My Valentine’s Day plans are gonna consist of sitting at home rethinking how I could’ve got a valentine and eating a big box of chocolates because I got no one to give it to.” This is a sad holiday for the Finkster. He was hoping by now to have impressed the ladies. However, he still has the rest of 2026 to achieve this goal. So again, watch out single ladies…the Finkster is on his way.

Liam Zagorski, a junior at Hubbard High School, expressed his Valentine’s Day plans for me. In his words, “Valentine’s Day plans: me, Lucas Burton, Texas Roadhouse.” A very short and sweet answer. This bromance has decided to favor ribs over romance. I personally would take the rolls over any valentine. Who needs a date when you can fill the void with carbs?

Sophia Myers is also a junior at Hubbard High School. She told me her secret, interesting plans, but I can only share some information. She and her mystery 6’5” man have lots of plans on Valentine’s Day. They plan to have a very romantic adventure at the local Circle K. They plan to enjoy colorful slushies, then head to his place to play chess and do math homework together. Finally, they plan to end the night in the best way possible: visiting her coworkers at Dunkin’ and getting a 50% discount on their drinks. What a night to remember. Enjoy your time.

Question 2: What is your Favorite Memory with your Valentine?

Starring: Markel Hackwelder and Mara Vargo

Having a valentine for this holiday is something countless people search for. For example, Markel Hackwelder, a junior at Hubbard High School, said his valentine was the dud. For those who do not know who the dud is… you don’t want to know. Markel said his favorite memory with the dud was, “When the dud gave me a flower.” What a romantic, heartwarming gesture by the dud. Ever since Markel met the dud, he’s become oddly strange. I often see him talking to himself and staring. Hopefully, he isn’t lovesick.

Mara Vargo is a senior at Hubbard High School. Her valentine this year is senior Logan Elavsky. Mara explains that her favorite memory with Logan was volunteering with him at the Emerald Diner. They were painting the windows, and Mara and her friends decided to paint Logan as a cat. This brings me to my next question: if Logan were a cat, what would his name be? He is a tiny fella. I think I would name him Sprinkles.

Question 3: What is Your Dream Date?

Starring: Cooper Silvestri and Magdalena Curnalia

Valentine’s Day is all about love. Whether it is self-love, a fun bromance, or maybe your love for a special someone. Magdalena Curnalia is a junior at Hubbard High School. Lena says her dream date is “probably shopping at a really big mall and getting Dunkin’. Then, after that, getting a HUGE meal.” This is an amazing way to spend Valentine’s Day. In fact, she could go with Sophia and her hot babe to Dunkin’.

Cooper Silvestri is a sophomore at Hubbard High School. When asked this question, he explained that his dream date is a steak dinner with senior Luke Wack. I didn’t want to tell Cooper this, but I feel Luke has other plans. He is always obsessing over senior Michael Hazimihalis. He even has his own fan page dedicated to Haz and his football career. I hope this love triangle is able to work things out during this season of love.

Question 4: What Is the Best Love Language and Why?

Starring: Me, duh

Olivia Williams is an awesome, intelligent, and funny junior at Hubbard High School. Oh wait, that’s me. I decided to answer this question because I am just brilliant and wise. I believe all five love languages are equally important. Physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, gift giving, and acts of service all need to be balanced in a healthy, fun relationship. They equally show how much a person cares and how much effort they are willing to put in. All you ladies and gentlemen better put in the work for your honey this year.

Liv’s Final Thoughts

This is sadly the end of the fourth edition of Liv Talk. No matter how you celebrate, I hope everyone goes out and spreads love in some way. Maybe you and your valentine can read all the Liv Talk articles together. Just a suggestion. Thankfully, you will hear from me again next issue. In the meantime, everyone remember to Liv, laugh, and love on February 14th.

Bonus Laugh of Liv

What flowers will give you the most kisses on Valentine’s Day?

Tulips

Many upperclassmen, juniors, and seniors can remember the thrill they felt coming into high school as freshmen. They recall the nervousness, as well as the excitement that came with their high school “firsts”: their first day of school, their first time in the student section, their first high school pep rally, their first homecoming, their first freshman semester.

To freshmen, high school can be seen as a time to make new friends and make even more memories. Many of the memories can be inside or outside of school. Some of these memories can be made at the freshmen's respective extracurricular activities. I asked freshman Maela Thompson, the girls varsity soccer team's starting goalie, what she thought of her first high school soccer season. “Joining the high school soccer team brought out the opportunity of meeting all my upperclassmen friends that made me feel comfortable and safe. Going to Circle K after school before practice was the best.” Many freshmen like Maela make a lot of their friends and memories throughout the sports teams that they spend the majority of their time with. Considering the weekly practices and games, these are the friendships that they will carry with them throughout their high school experience. I also asked freshman Serena Martinez, a starting outside hitter for the varsity volleyball team, her thoughts on her freshman season. “My favorite part was getting to start varsity for the volleyball team as a freshman. I am so thankful for all of the people on the team who made me feel like I could just be myself with no judgement.” The transition from the middle school teams to the high school teams offers many new opportunities to form new connections as the strength of the competition grows.

Another yearly freshman experience that may hold good and bad memories is the football season. The student section is one thing that many freshmen look forward to, given that there is a strict policy that middle school students are not allowed to sit in it. I asked freshman Gianna Fox what she thought about the exciting nights in the student section. “This year was probably one of my favorite football seasons because I got to sit in the student section, which was an overall fun experience, and one thing I liked about it was everyone's excitement in the student section.” Many students like Gianna Fox have similar feelings about the student section; like Gianna said, the section is known for its excitement and school spirit during the game.

Another fun experience for freshmen is homecoming; many students look forward to the dance. Many students get a little taste of the experience with the eighth grade dance, but overall the nerves and excitement leading up to the homecoming are still lingering. Freshman Gianna Fox also included, “The one thing about homecoming that I liked was the excitement to get ready and go buy a dress,” leading up to homecoming and experiencing the thrill of fulfilling their first homecoming “checklist.”

Freshman year is full of moments that shape the rest of the students' high school journey. Whether it's stepping onto the court or field for the first time, cheering in the student sections, or getting ready for homecoming, these memories will stay with them through their high school years. For freshmen like Serena, Maela, and Gianna, freshman year isn't just about adjusting to a new school, but it's about finding a community and building confidence, and as the year progresses, they will develop these friendships and experiences they will carry through high school.

A few weeks before Christmas break, I sat watching in shock in anatomy class as Mrs. Pizanias demonstrated the newest tool for Hubbard teachers. The system can be used on any assignment to track student progress and writing habits. Even if a student isn’t working on the assignment at the time, the system still displays the student’s additions in real time. It monitors their writing behavior and displays warnings if the student’s writing is different than usual. And to top it all off, if a student copies and pastes from a website, it shows exactly how the student did it. A little later, ChatGPT—an immensely popular AI chatbot—was banned. Though I was shocked at the teachers’ new tool, I am pleased they now have the ability to curb student cheating and laziness, something that increased drastically in schools after the introduction of AI. “If AI is used to complete assignments or exams or write papers, it is unfair to the students who don’t cheat, and it undermines the education and learning process for those who do cheat,” states the University of Illinois. Teachers and parents—even some students such as myself—completely agree with this statement. While AI brings other problems to students—including privacy risks and inaccurate information—academic misconduct is no doubt the biggest and the one teachers are desperately trying to solve. English teacher Ms. Smith said that as she was grading research papers done by her seniors, many received zeros because they were partly or fully written by AI. Last year, English teacher Mr. Greenamyer had his juniors hand-write an entire rough draft of an essay before typing it to curb this problem. Colleges aren’t safe from it, either, and neither is the working world. If students learn to depend on AI, it will not only hinder their grades but also their work ethic and overall honesty. This could get them fired from jobs and make it extremely hard for them to be good citizens of the workplace and the world.

The opinions of Hubbard students on the ban of ChatGPT and AI itself vary, but everyone has been impacted by AI in one way or another. Junior Leighton Komlanc honestly stated that AI shouldn’t be used in schools. Junior Ainsley Wagner stated that while it’s helpful in moderation, it shouldn’t be used to write entire papers or look up every answer. Freshman Lucas Scaduto believes “we’re smarter than AI,” and using it hinders that intelligence. Not everyone agrees, however—senior Lucas Manzo proudly declared, “AI changed my life. It’s my best friend.”

Despite all this, there are a variety of ways AI can be used for good by students and teachers alike. The tool that the teachers have is, in fact, an AI tool, one that greatly benefits them and improves the academic honesty and performance of their students. AI can also be used to create fun and educational experiences that teachers can share with their students, thus increasing engagement and interaction. Teachers can also use it for grading and other duties, increasing the time they have to be with and support their students. Perhaps, if students learn to use them responsibly, AI can even provide them with the answers they need without becoming a paper-writing servant.

It’s unclear if Hubbard will ever take those steps to use AI to their benefit, but it isn’t going away. It causes lots of problems and provides lots of solutions, and every teacher and student will have a different opinion on whether or not it should be used in the classroom. At this point, only time will tell.

AI is a tool that has impacted everyone’s life differently, in good ways and bad. I myself use it solely for idea generation and just for fun. I love putting story prompts into AI and seeing what it comes up with, what I like, and what I could definitely improve. I know for a fact there are students out there who believe it is a gift from above, a schoolwork machine that all will regret using, as teachers around the world work to put cheaters and slackers in their place. My hope is that Hubbard is home to none of those students.

To all of our readers, use AI for good! Working hard and honestly on assignments is the best way to start.