As the season becomes colder and we begin to settle into our cozy homes, the use of social media is increasing. Whether it is streaming services like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime, or social media apps like Instagram and YouTube, all these separate programs have begun to capture our attention in these cozier months. One app in particular that has recently been involved in controversy is the infamous TikTok.

You may have heard of this app; it is known for its trendy songs, fashion inspiration and funny content! However, there is a darker side to this well-known social media platform. With its main audience being geared towards the younger generation, very pointless and consequential challenges are arising. Some of these challenges entail damaging school buildings and stealing school property, as well as assaulting teachers and staff. Are we really that bored? These TikTok challenges have lost their fun and carefree aspect; now these challenges are just encouraging us to participate in criminal offenses. We're sure there are other things we could be doing that are worthwhile. Let's shift our boredom somewhere else. Luckily for you all, we have some fun seasonal activities that will definitely cure our “TikTok illness.”

Let’s put our energy elsewhere! Kennedy will be hosting various festivities throughout the fall season. Let’s get involved with our student body and make the most of our high school experience! Kennedy will be having exciting fall events in the upcoming weeks. If you missed Paint a Parking Spot, check out the great artwork in the parking lot! Other events include: the Homecoming Dance Friday, Nov. 19, the long-awaited Halloween Movie Night (moved to the first week of November due to inclement weather), football games, soccer games, swim meets, and more. Show your school spirit and be active in our Eagle Community. Tune in to the morning announcements for more information.

Outside of Kennedy, greater Waterbury events include apple picking, pumpkin picking, corn mazes, and haunted house visits. If you're in for a scare, The Terror at Quassy is hosting frightening attractions at its amusement park and Lake Compounce has non-scary Happy Hauntings through the last weekend of October. The Nightmare on Wolcott Street has hauntings worthy of chills and shivers. Whether it’s with your friends or family, take advantage of these exciting happenings. And remember, we don't need TikTok or other foolish challenges to spark our interest.

Nobel Prizes Given for 2021

Dr. Nigam/Science Teacher

The 2021 recipients of the Nobel Prize and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel were announced in early October 2021.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded with one half jointly to Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and the other half to Giorgio Parisi. They have laid the foundation of our knowledge of the Earth’s climate and how humanity influences it, as well as revolutionized the theory of disordered materials and random processes.

Building molecules is a difficult art. Benjamin List and David MacMillan are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction: organocatalysis. This has had a great impact on pharmaceutical research and has made chemistry greener. Building molecules is a difficult art.

This year’s medicine prize is awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian. Their discoveries have unlocked one of the secrets of nature by explaining the molecular basis for sensing heat, cold and mechanical force, which is fundamental for our ability to feel, interpret and interact with our internal and external environment.

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2021 is awarded to the novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah “for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.” Gurnah was born in 1948 and grew up on the island of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean but arrived in England as a refugee in the end of the 1960s. He has published ten novels and a number of short stories. The theme of the refugee’s disruption runs throughout his work.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” The 2021 peace prize laureates are representative of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.

Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2021 goes to Laureates – David Card, Joshua Angrist, and Guido Imbens – who have provided us with new insights about the labor market and shown what conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn from natural experiments. Their approach has spread to other fields and revolutionized empirical research.