by Raiders, for Raiders

America Says Goodbye to the Penny: The End of a Long Debate

By: Johanna Castonguay

After more than two centuries of use, the US penny has finally reached its end. On November 12th, 2025, the U.S. Mint had finally ended production of the penny. The penny, once an everyday usage for shopping and saving jars, has slowly become less useful in a world moving towards credit cards and digital payments such as Apple Pay. Rising production costs with decreased usage was a large factor in the government canceling the production of pennies.

Why Was the Penny Eliminated

The main reason the penny was eliminated from production was due to cost. In recent years, it has cost 4 cents to produce pennies–meaning that the government is actually losing millions of dollars a year to produce the smallest coin. At the same time, the penny is barely being used as digital payments are becoming more normalized in society. Lawmakers have argued that the production of the penny simply makes no sense with the United States being 38.15 trillion dollars in debt as well as the recent government shutdown.

The Controversy of the Penny

The elimination only adds more to the already long debate about the penny’s existence. For decades, the penny has caused arguments in Congress, gotten many complaints from economists, etc.

Supporters of the penny argue that removing the penny could cause prices to round up. This would ultimately end up hurting consumers and raise everyday costs, affecting low-income families. Groups claim that the penny is an important symbol of national history and the removal of that erases a part of American history. 

Despite this, many argue that the penny has actually slowed down the economy for years. They believe that keeping the coin wastes government money, clutters cash registers, and are barely used due to digital ways of payments. It is actually shown that Canada stopped the production of pennies in 2012 due to the same reason, but didn’t suffer major financial consequences.

Conclusion

The end of the penny highlights two sides: tradition and practicality. While some believe Americans feel sentimental about the production of the penny coming to a halt, others see it as a step to a more efficient and less expensive future.

Government Shutdown - What does it mean for US?

Another government service that is affected by the government shutdown is FAFSA. The main parts of FAFSA will still continue such as applications for the federal aid and the disbursement of the money. However, the government shutdown will dramatically slow down the process of receiving the results of the application. This directly impacts the students of North Quincy as the seniors are applying for financial aid for college. Additionally, if the shutdown is long, funding might start to run dry and some applicants may go without the money they need. 

Learning to Love Daylight Savings Time

This Article is About James Watson… or is it Really?

By: Ross C

A major figure of modern science, James Watson, has passed away this November 6th at the age of 97. He is known for his contributions regarding the structure of DNA, but the credit should have gone to Rosalind Franklin instead. Read on to learn more:

Lines of Code that Rival Binary!

Since the dawn of time, just four letters, A, T, C, and G, have dictated everything about all life on Earth as we know it. What’s more, the credit to the discovery of how this code is arranged is assigned to the wrong person! This sounds absolutely bewildering! How can letters dictate life? And what a scandal it must have been in the science community to realize the wrong person took all of the credit? Let me explain…

DNA….I think I’ve Heard of That Before…

DNA, also known as deoxyribonucleic acid, is a helical, double-stranded molecule whose base pairs of A-T and C-G serve as the blueprint for the components of an organism (a fancy term for a living thing). The letters A, T, C, and G actually stand for the macromolecules adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. These make up the base pairs of the DNA, creating also the “rungs” usually seen in depictions of the molecule. 

The DNA molecule is really important because it provides a framework from which messenger RNA may transcribe the DNA bases into its own code, and then translate that code into protein. There are many proteins in the human body alone, and the complex process of DNA → mRNA → protein (known as protein synthesis/the central dogma in scientific jargon terms) verifies the protein is made correctly. 

DNA’s A, T, C, and G--- the smaller molecules mentioned earlier that make up the “rungs” of the DNA ladder--- are called nucleotides. Uracil--- a molecule found exclusively in RNA--- is also a major nucleotide in the body, and pairs with the molecule adenine (in DNA, the pairing is A-T, and in RNA, this pairing is A-U). Both DNA and RNA are biological molecules, specifically polymers of the A, T/U, C, and G macromolecule nucleotides aforementioned. A polymer is a substance that is made up of many smaller units. In the case of DNA, the units are arranged in a very specific manner in the helix structure, and this is due to each molecule’s unique qualities.

Give Credit Where It’s Due!!!

American molecular biologist James Watson, who passed away this November on the 6th, has been credited, along with companion Francis Crick, an English molecular biologist, with the deduction of the structure of DNA, the genetic material of all living organisms. Watson and Crick deduced that DNA strands were arranged in a helical structure, and that A bonded with T, and C bonded with G. As a result, the A-T and C-G bond patterns in DNA are referred to as Watson-Crick bond patterns. 

While this deduction was a foundational milestone in modern genetics and biology, James Watson and Francis Crick did not discover the helical structure at all. Rather, they stole the work of British x-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin. Franklin is credited with photo 51, an x-ray crystallography image of DNA. Seen in the image is an x-shaped marking that indicates the structure of the DNA molecule is double-stranded and helical. Franklin had accepted a position at a different college from the one she was attending at the time, and due to this, she entrusted the care of the print of Photo 51 to her colleague Maurice Willkins, a biologist who was pursuing the structure of DNA on his own. Wilkins, without the permission of Franklin, lent Photo 51 to Watson and Crick, who then deduced the structure of the molecule. 

Franklin and her Recognition

In all accounts of the story, it is clear that Franklin’s work was stolen. It was used without her consent, and although it furthered the discovery of DNA’s structure, she was never fully credited for the work that she did in the original findings report. Franklin had died before she could receive the Nobel Prize in 1962, and the prize went instead to Watson and Crick. Franklin wasn’t recognized formally until 2003, when the Royal Society created both an award and a plaque to commemorate the contributions Franklin made to modern science. Although James Watson was very influential to science, the deductions made by him and Crick could never have been accomplished without Franklin’s Photo 51, and her initial deciphering of DNA’s double-helical structure. 

Halloween @ NQHS

What’s Happening Before Break?

By: Nico J

It is nearly two weeks before our first academic quarter ends, and nearly a month before our next break; students are scrambling to get their ducks in a row and fulfill their deadlines before the term ends. Thankfully, there are many events in the following month at school and not just deadlines.

For starters, the end of Quarter 1 falls on October 31 this year. Expect an increase in your workload before Halloween! 

We will have a mock spirit week in preparation for our Pep Rally before break starts! Look out for the announcement of the themes from our student government. Speaking of the Pep Rally, it will happen on Wednesday, November 26. Each grade will wear their corresponding colors: white for 9th graders, gray for 10th, red for juniors, and black for seniors. Make sure you show up to support North Quincy!

Finally, the break we’ve all been waiting for starts on Thanksgiving, November 27. Many of your assignment deadlines will likely fall right before break; make sure to take care of everything before that deadline so you can enjoy your break!

Helpful Tricks to Help YOU Prepare for the SAT!

by: Rose C

Many high-schoolers, especially seniors, find that they are in a time crunch during the first term of the school year. They have to juggle responsibilities such as school, work, sports, college applications, and any other extracurricular activities they may be involved in. One additional "to do" item that may be on the list at the beginning of the school year is the SAT. In this article, I’ll give you some background and tips to help you prepare for the SAT if you are planning to take it this year, or sometime in the future. 

If you aren't yet familiar with it, the SAT is an exam that some colleges and universities require for admission. It is a standardized test, meaning that all test-takers are subject to the same conditions when taking the test. They answer the same questions in the same time frame and are scored using the same scale. The SAT is broken into two sections: the Reading and Writing section and the Math section. Students take the Reading and Writing section first. It consists of two 32-minute modules, each with 27-questions. All the questions are multiple choice and require you to read passages and answer comprehension questions or ask about grammar and word usage. The Math section follows the Reading and Writing section after a 10-minute break. The Math section consists of two 35-minute modules, each with 22 questions. The Math section is mostly multiple-choice with some "free response" added in. The SAT is administered digitally, but a paper copy can be provided for students who need accommodations (e.g: Braille). 

After taking the SAT, scores are usually available in about two weeks following the date of the test. Scores can be sent directly to the schools where a student plans to apply once available, or a student may choose to have the scores sent at a later time (though fees may apply). Some students choose to take the exam more than once and if a student scores better on one of the sections on the first test than the second (or vice versa), a student can choose to submit a "super score" to a college or university. The super score combines the best scores out of those available for Reading and Writing and for Math. 

The SAT is scored on a scale of 0-1600. The top score for Reading and Writing is 800 and the top score for Math is 800, so a perfect SAT score is 1600. Taking the exam does involve some expense and potential travel. The exam registration fee is currently $68 and the college board website lists the locations of exams closest to your zip code. Access https://mysat.collegeboard.org/login to set up an account and learn more about registration. 

Now that you know the basics, it's time to study! Here are a few tips to follow to help you: 

Tip #1: 

Try to get your hands on some SAT prep books, such as the ones you find here! Some other good places to find prep books are at thrift stores and libraries. Included in these books are full-length paper practice tests, drill question check-ups, test-taking strategies, and refreshers on important concepts. These books inform you on how to recognize question patterns within the test itself and how to utilize this knowledge to your advantage.

Tip #2: 

Download the Bluebook app. I have completed three, separate, full-length practice tests there, and each time I’ve done one, I’ve found my score has gone up. While taking these tests (and the aforementioned paper ones in the practice and preparation books), I do recommend setting aside allotted time in your schedule and setting a time limit for yourself when taking practice tests because you have a limited amount of time to do each section of each module on the real test. Make sure that as you’re doing the test, you’re pacing yourself and answering accurately using, among other skills, the 3-pass system (the process of completing the test by identifying questions in 3 levels of  difficulty (answer the easy ones first and bookmark the medium difficulty and hardest ones for later)) and process of elimination (eliminating incorrect answers to better isolate the correct one). 

Tip #3: 

DO NOT wait until the day of the test to register for the test! There will be no seats available! Make sure you register for the test as early as possible in advance of your desired test date in order to have the best chance of obtaining a seat in your preferred location. Before the test day make sure you have your testing ticket, which you get after verifying your testing device (which can be your school-issued Chromebook) via Bluebook. You will also need a photo ID, and you may use your passport, driver’s license, or school ID as validation of your identity. Make sure that upon test day your testing device is charged, and you have access to a charging method should the device not hold its charge. You might also want to take a calculator with you, though you will have access to DESMOS which is the SAT's built-in graphing calculator.

Upon reading this, you might feel a little bit intimidated. If you give yourself ample time to prepare and follow some of the tips I've provided, you will find that you can successfully tackle the SAT!  Remember to stay calm. If you study and practice, you will do amazing! Happy testing and good luck!

Labubus in Landfills Soon?

College Planning Night at North Quincy HS

by: Heidi P.

This event is for North Quincy High School students -  NQHS Student Support is hosting a College Planning Night!!

Date: 🗓 Thursday, September 25, 2025

Time: 🕕 6:00 PM

Place: 📍 NQHS Auditorium 

College Planning Night will help guide students and families through the college application process. The evening will cover a wide range of tips including the college search, application requirements, financial aid, and scholarship opportunities.

All families are welcome, but this program is especially valuable for juniors and seniors who are beginning or finalizing their college plans. Parents and guardians will also gain helpful insight into how to support their students during this exciting and challenging time. 

Students attending will learn how to kick off the college application process, and an understanding of what colleges are looking for. 

Whether you're starting to think about college or narrowing down college choices, College Planning Night will provide the supplies and sources you need to take for your future plans. 

Don't Miss Out!