Hannah Stoughten In December of 2020, from the comfort of their own homes, Jacob Duriancik, Amber Earnest, and Hannah Stoughton filmed with the KDKA-TV team to produce an episode of Hometown HighQ. It was the contestants' first time appearing on the show, and each was extremely nervous to see the questions. After a rough start, the group of seniors managed to sweep the third round, scoring them bonus points – ultimately winning themselves the competition. “It was exhilarating to experience a win,” stated the trio. A win had never been clinched before by Apollo-Ridge, so another round of history was made in the 2020-2021 school year, adding to the plethora of history made in the year.
In April of 2021, the group of seniors were called back for the playoffs – unfortunately, Earnest faced the dilemma of a softball game occurring on the same day, so an alternate stepped into her place. Jeffrey Krug, another senior, filled her spot in the playoff round. They faced two challenging schools, falling in third with a solid score. The questions were significantly more difficult this time around, but the seniors found themselves answering quite a few correctly. The episodes are aired on KDKA-TV for all to watch. While the first has already been aired, the second was aired on May 1st at 11am. It was great to watch these seniors take on other schools and support our fellow Vikings!
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Jennifer Mahyle High school is a critical time to learn values such as diligence, multi-tasking, as well as the importance of hard work. These essential values are both used throughout life and are key to successful careers. In addition to an academic setting, many students further their learning of these values by obtaining a job in their free time. Maintaining a job while attending school can be exhausting. Students wake up early in the morning and work hard during school only to leave from school and work jobs. One student, Hannah Stoughton, describes her experience working during high school as, “a lot of hard work and very tiring, but it is also an extremely rewarding experience.” She went on further to explain that it has taught her more than she could have expected it to do. Working as a teenager teaches responsibility to not only show up to one’s job on time but also maintain good grades and turn assignments in on time. Annabelle Casella said working and going to school has taught her both time management and how to multitask. Juggling schoolwork between working a night job teaches hard work and diligence. Working in high school is no easy task and while it can be tiring, the values one can learn from it are invaluable. It creates responsibility and a desire to work hard and achieve goals. Jennifer Mayhle On average, 1,627 law enforcement officers die in the line of duty per year. The lives of 1,627 families are disrupted and they are left behind picking up the pieces and asking why? Of these deaths, 14% are a result of domestic disturbance calls gone deadly wrong. April 4, 2009, my dad and two other officers responded to a domestic disturbance call and all three lost their lives in the line of duty that day.
Twelve years later, the Apollo-Ridge staff chose to show their support for the officers and the sacrifice made that day with shirts created by Mr. Traill. On April 9th, the teachers and staff gathered in the cafeteria, wearing these shirts, and greeted my sister and I as we walked into school. The remembrance by others of a loved one who has passed means the word to a grieving family. Whether it was your dad, mom, grandpa, their lives impact you, and their legacy lives on through memories. My sister and I will never forget the kindness that Principal Consuegra and the staff of Apollo-Ridge showed by honoring our dad. Losing my dad has been hard, but it has also given us the opportunity to meet people we might never have met, people like the Apollo-Ridge staff who care for their students and want to make a difference. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for caring and helping us remember! My sister and I are proud to be a part of the Viking Family, and we so appreciate all your thoughtfulness and for going above and beyond to show your support. Jennifer Mayhle Extraordinary does not begin to describe the year that has occurred since the middle of March of 2020. March 13th, 2020, students left Apollo-Ridge expecting two weeks off school! However, two weeks turned into the remainder of the 2020 school year, and nothing was quite the same. Students and teachers alike anxiously awaited to hear what the next school year would bring. School resumed on September 8; however, students remained virtual. Teachers worked hard to communicate their expectations for their students and recorded videos, Zoomed, and helped the students learn new material to help prepare them for life after high school. While no one can complain about the opportunity to sleep in, many struggled to adjust to learning from home. Once again, teachers came to the rescue, available to answer questions and assist in any way they could. In-person learning resumed on October 5th with coronavirus preventions in place. While many students returned, others chose to continue virtual learning. When asking students about their reasoning behind choosing virtual learning, some cited not feeling safe to return to school; others enjoyed the chance to learn at home and work at their own pace rather than by a bell schedule; and a few simply would rather be at home than in school. One student who chose to come back, Anabelle Casella, said, "Online schooling gave me a lot of free time to get extra things done, but I believe that in-person schooling gives a better education and opportunity for learning." Shauna Daley chose to stay virtual and said, "I thought it would be easier and was more sanitary than coming to school." Currently, only one outbreak of Coronavirus has occurred in the high school, causing a brief shutdown. Following Christmas break, students returned. Principal Consuegra, teachers, and staff have gone to great lengths to ensure school is safe and students can enjoy the privilege of learning. Author: Annabelle Casella There’s no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic took a toll on people everywhere, but some had it harder than others. Many other countries became frustrated with Americans as they complained about their lockdown, but the truth is that America had a very easy lockdown compared to the rest of the world. As you all know, Americans were allowed to get take out, go to the mall, and do many other things during the pandemic, such as hiking and enjoying the outdoors. While some may think that not being able to dine-in is a harsh form of lockdown, it is far from what other countries endured. One place that had a significantly difficult time with the pandemic was Europe, specifically Italy. With its small land mass, dense population, and 22.8% of citizens being above the age of 65, Italy was a hot spot for COVID-19. One former Apollo-Ridge student, Courtney Casella, experienced the backlash of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy for herself. Courtney graduated from Apollo-Ridge in 2015 and continued her education in the United States Air Force. She was stationed in Aviano, Italy, in January of 2019 and is there until December of 2021. Courtney updated her fellow American citizens on life in Italy during the pandemic frequently. On March 8th, 2020, Courtney posted that all flights were shut down and she could no longer receive Amazon packages. The next day, on March 9th, she shared a post saying that the whole of Italy was on a lockdown, meaning they couldn’t leave their houses. On March 12th Courtney posted, “You are only allowed to go to work, grocery store and hospital. When going anywhere, you need documentation stating why or where. When grocery shopping, only one family member can go shopping at a time. This means your spouse cannot shop with you.” She also stated that it was mandatory to keep a meter distance between yourself and others. Schools were shut down, along with restaurants, stores, and barber shops. “Pretty much 99% of things are closed,” she said. “If you’re found disobeying these rules, there is a hefty fine (500 euro for not having your documentation).” She clarified that even military personnel on base were being fined. The next evening she posted that her TDY (business trip) to Iceland was cancelled. The same day she posted about people all over Italy making pretty signs with the saying “Andrà tutto bene,” meaning “everything will be okay” in English. People were putting these signs anywhere they could to spread happiness. Some people even carried that tradition from Italy to the U.S. Things were steady for awhile until March 20th, when she updated again. She said that situations were still the same, and people could only go to work, the hospital, and the grocery store. The new news was that teleworking was highly recommended. She also explained that many people were being charged for not following the lockdown rules. She also said, “The only thing that’s really changed is now there isn't any kind of outdoor sports, running, walking or riding your bike (unless you’re in your yard).” Fortunately for Courtney, she was living off base and had a yard while most other military personnel in Italy were living on base in small dormitories. “And out-numbers have skyrocketed,” she said. “We have 41k cases and of those cases, 4.5k have recovered and 2.5k are critically ill, and adding around 4-6k cases a day. Italy now has the most deaths from this virus, and the morgues are completely overwhelmed as are the medical staff.” She then asked that the people living in the States take this seriously and be kind to one another. At that time United States citizens were becoming furious with the shutdown being implemented. On March 26th she updated again, stating that people were going crazy with not having any contact other than the people with whom they lived. The next time she posted was April 6th, stating that their lockdown was extended until April 13th and that things were still the same. She also explained that everyone had to wear gloves and masks when leaving their houses. Then, on April 13th, she posted that the lockdown was extended until May 3rd. She also said that they could only buy essential needs from the store on base and that she “thinks we’re nearing the end of this madness.” |