As the school year creeps upon us, a wave of summer nostalgia starts to hit. Whether it’s looking at photos or smelling old perfumes, there are always small things that remind me of the salty air, laughs, and cones of ice cream consumed during the summertime. For me, one of the most powerful triggers of summer nostalgia is music— the “songs of the summer" that instantly brings back sweet memories and joyous moments of the months between June and August. 

As students in both Needham and across the world head back to school, backpacks are once again filling up with the usual supplies: notebooks, folders, and at least 20 pencils, most of which will mysteriously vanish by the end of September. But this year, some students are thinking outside the regular supply list and packing a few unexpected and unusual items in their daily collection. From power banks to protein bars, here’s what local students are packing that might make the school day just a little bit easier.

This summer I watched Freaks and Geeks a whopping three times in a row. The 1999 show, which devastatingly got canceled after one season, takes place in Michigan, in the 1980s, and follows high school junior Lindsay Weir and her geeky younger brother Sam, as they navigate the trenches of high school. What I found really interesting about Lindsay's character is that she doesn’t fit into a box. As she hangs out with her new, quirky burnout friends, we see her struggle to fully leave behind her nerdy goody-two-shoes identity.

When the bell rings on the first day of summer, people take off, whether that’s to go somewhere exotic, somewhere familiar, or just cuddle up at home. If one is to travel, “The 10 Most Popular Summer Destinations in the U.S., According to Tripadvisor” by Mike Kaplan recommends ten summer vacation spots in the US, seven of which involve the ocean. In addition to running to the coast, many families will travel to lakehouses secluded from the bustling of cities. In short, as soon as summer vacation hits, people love to go to the water. But as the global climate continues to shift on account of global warming, how are these fun summer destinations, maybe lifelong traditions, starting to shift?

In just a few years, classrooms have changed from rows of desks and chalkboards to spaces solely powered by artificial intelligence and digital learning. While the use of digital technology has spiked in the past decade throughout classrooms, in 2025 alone new digital platforms completely change the way students learn and how teachers teach. In the past technology was thought as distracting in school settings, however recently it has become more essential for learning and receiving effective education.