By Jennifer Genell (12th)

Despite being a familiar phrase from the morning announcements, the name Scholastic Bowl does not fully encapsulate what the group competition is. With a team of four people plus alternates, we compete against other schools at large in-person competitions such as those through the NEIU or on television through WVIA. 

This year’s team captain and a veteran of last year’s team, Sasha Kazysta, sums up the experience well as an “unexpected and unconventional outlet” for “all the miscellaneous fun facts that [she’s] cultivated.” As a fellow member of the team, I corroborate this claim. Her favorite memory from being on the team is “when we passed the first round of Scholastic Scrimmage last year” as a result of “the combination of our teams’ synergy and individual achievements.” The four team members at the buzzers when we achieved this feat were seniors Sasha Kazysta, Jennifer Genell, Michael Rhoades, and Gary Mrozinski.  My favorite memories were the 11th period  practices we held to prepare for matches because it was enjoyable to recall trivia with a small group of friends.

So, if you and your friends happen to know some random facts, I encourage you to join the Scholastic Bowl Team next year. And if you don’t believe me, take it from Kazysta: “By branching out into the unlikeliest of places, you can discover your personal stride. By taking on new challenges and opportunities, you can find a place where you can shine.”

Mr. Ron Geise, no stranger to "fun facts," is the faculty advisor for the team.

By Camber Beverage (12th)

When students think about the yearbook, they think about its pictures, not the person facilitating its creation. But, that isn’t right. So, I want to use this platform to recognize Mr. Feerrar and thank him for his dedication. 

Building the yearbook takes from the very first week of school to a few after the last. Mr. Feerrar could be taking shortcuts and doing the bare minimum, but he’s not. In fact, he is going above and beyond. He works on the yearbook on his own time. He spends extra time creating intricate pages. There are many schools in our area that are not as lucky. 

On top of taking extra care of the yearbook, Mr. Feerrar has taken extra care of the kids. Mr. Feerrar makes sure that every senior knows just how important graduation is. He tries to ensure every kid knows that graduating is not easy and that they deserve to be proud. Mr. Feerrar hand-drew a portrait for every senior he teaches. I’ve gone to Riverside for thirteen years and although all of the teachers care about their students, I can say Mr. Feerrar cares the most.