Francis Howell Central Vol. 25, Issue 2
elebrating At Central Exploring the festivities and holidays of the winter season
STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tea Perez PHOTO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Keaton Frye EDITORS CENTRAL FOCUS: Faith Beckmann MULTIMEDIA: Hannah Bernard SOCIAL MEDIA: Maya Culian HISTORIAN: Madi Hermeyer VIDEO: Aniya Sparrow DESIGN: Sydney Tran FHCTODAY.COM: Rachel Vrazel PHOTO: Riley Wania STAFF REPORTERS Elisa Carter, Lorelai Finoch, Clara Kilen, Olivia McCary, Lauren Rohde, Reilly Scobey STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Samantha Jaramillo Castille, Isaiah Flowers, Rebecca Hornberger, Charlie Rosser, Raina Straughter
From the Editors A
s the winter months approach we’re thrown into the whirlwind of holiday cheer and festivities. We all choose
to spend our holidays in different ways, we all have different traditions, values, and beliefs. However, the holiday season has a special way of bringing us all together. No matter our differences, there is something about celebrating our holidays that allows us to connect. In this issue, we’re exploring the different traditions and cultures celebrated within our community, highlighting students and the different holidays they celebrate, opening a window into their culture, why they celebrate, and how. On the opposite spectrum, we also cover those who don’t celebrate anything during the winter holiday season. As a staff, we believe it’s important to shine a light on more than just Christmas. It’s the most wonderful time of the year and it’s time we celebrate our joy with everyone.
ADVISER: Matthew Schott
SINCERELY, Tea Perez and Faith Beckmann
THOUGHTS?
Have a letter for the editor or a question for us? If something we wrote demands your voice, please e-mail us at fhcpub@gmail.com or drop your handwritten letter off with Mr. Schott in Room 139. We can also be reached via snail mail at 5199 State Highway N, St Charles, MO 63304. The Central Focus staff will print the entirety of your letter, providing it meets the standards of publication laid out in the FHC Publications editorial policy, which is available in Room 139 or at www.fhctoday.com for your perusal.
HEAPS OF HOLIDAYS: An array of holiday/religious symbols and decorations are collected together. Because so many holidays are celebrated this time of year, they should all be celebrated. Illustrations by Sydney Tran and Tea Perez
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FOCUS A CULMINATION OF CULTURES: An array of different objects representing different celebrations are strewn about together, including a snowman and cross, a red Chinese envelope, and dreidels. As a school we have a wide variety of students who have a wide variety of beliefs, Photo by Sydney Tran
DISCOVER MOVE 4 6
Political Action Committee forms amid debate over new classes Soaring gas prices hurt students ability to get around
FEATURE 8 10 11
Spotlight Players understudies take the stage FHC students pursuing the arts after high school DECA returns after one-year hiatus
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prep for 20 Ballerinas the winter season’s
iconic performance of “The Nutcracker”
A BOUNDING BALLERINA: Junior Evana Vrhovac leaps into the air as she would in ballet. Vrhovac is participating in “The Nutracker” this holiday season and her schedule is just as complex as the dances she has to memorize. Photo by Madi Hermeyer
ENTERTAIN in their 22 Decorations cars allow personalities to shine through
VOICE 24 26 27
The harsh reality of kids who come from divorced households The letdown of Christmas day Celebrating diversity of our community
CONTENT
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A SPLIT COMMUNITY: A member of Francis Howell Families attending the school board meeting to express his concerns regaurding recent issues within FHSD. His sign displays his opposition to critical race theory in the new Black Literature and History classes, as well as references other issues in the community. Photo by Riley Wania
C
ontroversial lasses
New Black Literature, History Classes stir up controversy Clara Kilen Staff Reporter
A
look into a typical English class will feature texts written by J.D Salinger or F. Scott Fitzgerald and history classes will often look through the lens of a white explorer. Traditional classes often feature narrow viewpoints that lack the inclusion of people of color; this is exemplified in the Francis Howell Schools district through the European History Class, which serves to tell the history of Europe through the perspective of a white European. In an attempt to promote inclusion, the district has created Black Literature and History courses, but these new classes have sparked controversy among parents and students, although these courses will not commence until second semester. The new black classes were created with the help of students within the district who could offer their perspectives. Senior Michaela Berry is a student who was selected to give her input on what should be taught in these classes. “I feel like these new curriculums will hopefully provide equity to black students
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and make them feel as though they are a part of the Francis Howell community,” said Berry. The Black Literature class will focus on works by black authors to expose students to black culture while enhancing their literary knowledge. This class is not only intended for black students but it will allow students
from various backgrounds to gain a deeper understanding of black culture. Students enrolled in this class will engage in many traditional activities such as reading, writing and speaking, but it will simultaneously examine the struggles and celebrations within the black community. They will read books such as “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett and “Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah. English teacher Dr. Ashley Eiswirth has taken on the role of teaching the black literature classes and says that this class will celebrate black voices and enhance students’ literary and analytical skills. “It provides our Black students with a place of belonging and identity. It provides them an opportunity to see their identities represented in the curriculum,” Dr. Eiswirth said. “[As well as] see literature outside of one’s own culture to gain an understanding and appreciation of other cultures and people.” Those advocating for these Black Literature and History classes believe that it is a step toward equality. Traditional classes often do not make an effort to offer
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black specific history and the struggles that they endured. African Americans have a stark difference in history when compared to white Americans and this is reflected in their literature. This causes Black students to oftentimes feel excluded in the classroom. Francis Howell saw this gap in education and the solution was to create classes centered around the unique history of African Americans. These classes will teach students about black culture, just as European History teaches about European culture. “[In these new classes] they can learn how Black people managed to sustain themselves in the face of adversity,” Berry said. Although these classes were intended to improve Francis Howell and make students feel included, they have not been received in this light. Some residents have accused the district of promoting critical race theory. Brittanica defines critical race theory as an intellectual or social movement that states that race is not innate, but rather a social construct created to exploit people of color. However, many conservatives oppose the has denied the teachings of critical race teachings of critical race theory. Missouri theory, he believes it is embedded within State Representative John Wiemann the curriculum. believes that inclusion comes from equal Their accusations of critical race treatment of all races and that critical race theory in the new curriculum stem largely theory does not accomplish this task. from the assistance that the district “[In critical race received from Dr. theory] certain races LaGarrett King, [are] categorized whose partnership as oppressed or with Francis oppressors, as well Howell is viewed as [suggesting that] as problematic by - How have Black Americans fought for certain races [are] Gontarz because freedom while still oppressed? inherently bigoted,” of his extensive - Is protest patriotic? Representative research in critical - Is healthcare for all? Weimann said. race theory. - Is education equitable for all? In in an effort to On Oct. 7, - Equity vs. equality? fight against the Gontarz wrote an - Was the War on Drugs really about implementation of extensive letter to drugs? critical race theory the members of the - How have Black communities resisted into the Francis Board of Education inequities? Howell School stating his evidence - How funding is different for District a Political of critical race HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges Action Committee theory in the Black and Universities) compared to PWI (PAC), Francis Howell History and Black (Predominantly white institutions)? Families, has spoken Literature courses. out against these One problem new classes. that he observed Ken Gontarz, president of Francis Howell was that the creators of the curriculum Families, is a vocal opponent of these new claimed the classes would not be a social classes. He states that although the district commentary, but he feels as though this is
Unit 4 Essential Questions:
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OVERWHELMED BY OPPOSITION: A concerned member of the community expresses her view on current issues in FHSD at the school board meeting. Her sign reflects her, and many others, opinions about controversial issues. Photo by Riley Wania
untrue. “Recall, once more, that the Board was told this course is not social commentary, according to a member of the Black History Curriculum Revision Team at the April 15, 2021, Board meeting,” wrote Gontarz. He feels as though Unit 4 of the Black History curriculum is an example of social commentary due to the essential questions of the unit. On Nov. 18, Gontarz went before the Board of Education to express his concerns regarding references to the 1619 Project in the Black History course. On page 16 of the Black History Curriculum, as outlined by FHSD, there is a linked article titled “Article #3”, which references the 1619 Project. The 1619 Project was an endeavor by the New York Times to challenge traditional history by placing slavery at the center of the United State’s history. Many conservatives oppose this project under the belief that it promotes divisive concepts. “Article #3 is replete with the 1619 Project endorsements and advocates this militant perspective of Black History,” Gontarz said. Although these classes have been heavily disputed within the community, the hope is that once these classes commence they will provide inclusion as intended.
DISCOVER 5
CONSUMING CURRENCY: A gas pump is depicted leaking money. The extremely high gas prices mean students are having the spend more than they are able to on gas money each week. Illustration by TEA PEREZ
What’s Up?
Gas Prices.
Unseasonably high gas prices have student drivers feeling down By Tea Perez Editor-in-Chief
Senior Jenna Woelfel drives out of the school
parking lot, already stressed about the schoolwork and responsibilities she must attend to, she doesn’t need another stressor added to her load. That’s when her fuel light goes on. Her car alarms her that she needs to fill up her gas tank if she wants to have the means of living her busy life. She drives past the gas stations, seeing the large signs announcing the high price of $3.11 per gallon. She keeps going, maybe the next gas station will be cheaper. Unfortunately, it isn’t. I can go one more day, she thinks.
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“Now that we’re able to go out and do stuff, we can’t because gas is so expensive.” - senior Jenna Woelfel
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Dem trouble leads to GOP victories
A
lthough no major elections took place in Missouri this election day, results nationwide will continue to affect Missourians. The most closely watched elections this year were the gubernatorial* races in Virginia and New Jersey. Both states were won by Joe Biden in 2020, but this November, both saw considerable Republican turnout. The Republican candidate even won in Virginia. America is trending redder than it did just last year, and according to current CNN projections, the 2022 midterms are no exception. This red wave has been attributed to several factors. The most prevalent being economic concerns. Many Republicans have run on promises of fixing the post-Covid economy. Plagued by labor shortages (or as I call them, well-paying job shortages), many communities in Missouri and beyond are desperate for conditions to improve. Desperate enough to switch their blue votes to red ones. I believe that growing Republican turnout has much more to do with problems in the Democratic party rather than any real Republican strategy. The moderate-progressive divide is growing, and it’s only causing By Hannah problems for Democrats. Progressives were Bernard Multimedia entirely excluded from all campaign efforts Editor in Virginia. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez even said that she wasn’t asked to send even a single email. While some believe that Democrats are too far left, others share the opposite opinion, that they aren’t going far enough. Toeing the line isn’t doing them any favors. Many, myself included, are unsure of what the party stands for anymore. If the party cannot unite to pass important legislation such as Biden’s infrastructure bill, the “Build Back Better Act”, the lack of progress may keep blue voters home next fall. With the Senate (and maybe even the House) in jeopardy, voting is even more important. Following the retirement of Republican Senator Roy Blunt, we will elect a new Missouri senator next November. If his seat flips blue, Democrats may be able to hold on to control of Congress. If it stays red, Democrats will have to hope another seat flips their way. When you control the presidency and Congress you control the country, so the importance of this election cannot be understated. For many of us, the 2022 midterms are our intro to the ballot box. The first election we can vote in. Take advantage of this opportunity and do your civic duty. American democracy is on the line.
[
As teenagers living busy lives, regular activities like getting to school, work, and going out all require a full tank of gas. However, that seems to be nearly impossible with the unseasonably high gas prices. Sitting at $3 or more, it can be a real hit to the wallet when filling a car up. Woelfel spends upwards of $40 to fill her tank. “I have been procrastinating on filling up my gas tank because [gas] is so expensive, but that just makes it even more expensive because then I need more gas,” Woelfel said. Woelfel’s parents help pay for her gas, but she believes there are better things they should have to spend money on. “It just sucks because we could be putting that money in other places but we’re not able to,” Woelfel said. Senior Lauren Schultz finds herself driving up to 300 miles a week, her car holds enough gas to let her go 400 percent of miles on a full tank, meaning she has to fill her tank up every week. people in an “[Gas is] really overpriced… Instagram sometimes it’s like two-thirds of my poll said the increased gas paycheck,” Schultz said. “My parents will help me [pay for my gas] sometimes… prices are other times [I] just have to fend for detrimental to myself and hope that I’m not broke.” the upkeep of Junior Dylan Bick also finds a good their lives and chunk of his paycheck gets reserved for schedules. gas. “About half of [my paycheck] goes towards gas,” Bick said. “It’s kind of aggravating [to have to] spend half of the money I make on gas.” Bick tries to conserve gas the best he can, but it’s difficult to manage as a student with such a busy schedule. “Me and my friends try to carpool so we don’t all waste gas,” Bick said. “[But the gas prices] definitely make me not want to drive. I’m always thinking that I’m gonna have to spend money later on [when I have to] drive so much.” Woelfel has to commute to and from school, is responsible for driving her siblings places, and has after school commitments she has to drive to get to. The increase in gas prices has caused a severe dent in her desire to drive unless it’s necessary. “I end up staying home or inviting people to my house so I don’t have to [drive],” Woelfel said. “Now that we’re able to go out and do stuff we can’t because gas is so expensive.”
Seeing Red
POLI SIGH
[
$3.41
national average price of a gallon of gas on Nov. 15, according to AAA
Poli Sigh is an editorial column written by Hannah Bernard that will feature in each issue as well as on FHCtoday.com
gu · ber · na · to · ri · al*
relating to the state governor or the office of state governor
DISCOVER
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Undertaking A BIG
Spotlight Players welcome understudies on stage By Hannah Bernard Multimedia Editor A new year, a new director, and a new show. The Spotlight Players’s production of “Blithe Spirit” was anything but ordinary. As the cast met on stage to rehearse, a small group met off-stage to rehearse by themselves. They read the same lines, did the same movements, and performed the same parts, but this show was entirely their own. Although this small group may have been known as “understudies,” their role was something much bigger. For the first time in school history, the understudies were given the chance to perform on their own. A Saturday matinee show created just for them. Sophomore Savannah Heinz, the understudy for the role of Elvira, explains her experiences during rehearsal. “At rehearsal, it’s been a lot [of] us understudies going into the house room and working around what we don’t have,” Heinz said. “We only have two guys and no guy understudy, so it’s a lot of filling [in] for parts that aren’t there.” Senior Louis Jesse spends most of his time at rehearsal working with the understudies as stage manager. “We basically do the same things the actors are doing,” Jesse said. “Sometimes they help the actors, or [the actors] help them learn their role better.” Although the two casts spend a lot of time apart, they find plenty of time to work together according to freshman Abby Meyers, the understudy for Mrs. Bradman. “When we were first learning blocking we would share notes,” Meyers said. “And a few times we’ve done a run-through and
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had [the actors] give us notes and advice on how we should play our role.” Mentorship from the actors has also been a huge part of Heinz’s experience. “I got very lucky in the fact that Kaylee Wright [who plays Elvira] is a good friend of mine,” Heinz said. “She sent me the Quizlet [with their lines] out of the kindness of her heart, which saved me about three hours of work.” Heinz has also reached out to other cast members on how to best portray the character of Elvira. “Aniya Sparrow, another of the main cast who plays Edith, helped give me advice in tapping into the alluring side of my character,” Heinz said. Jesse is proud of just how far the group has come over the course of rehearsal. “I think they’re doing great for the time we have given them,” Jesse said. “But compared to the actors they might be a little behind...because they have limited stage time.” Because of their limited access to the stage during rehearsal, Myers has found ways to rehearse at home. “I mostly use Quizlet to memorize [lines], but I also read through the script in front of a mirror so I can watch my facial expressions,” Myers said. Myers has found immense joy being a part of a show that is so unique, especially as a freshman. “I think it’s such an amazing opportunity to be a part of FHC’s first understudy show as a freshman,” Myers said. “It’s so cool to know that [in] my first year here I’m a part of something that’s never happened before.” According to Jesse, the understudy
matinee showcases just how strong FHC’s theatre department is. “It’s like having a two-for-one deal in the sense that the understudy show will be different from the cast show, showing the strength of our actors and our department,” Jesse said. For Heinz, the understudy show has symbolized something bigger. It’s a chance for underclassmen and students newer to theatre to showcase their talents. “I think it’s a great opportunity to bring in the next generation of actors and prime them to be better for the next shows,” Heinz said. “I’m proud to be a part of the show that presents the little guy, the one previously left behind.”
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Talking Tech
Student Tech Director Sammi Reise details life behind the scenes By Reilly Scobey Staff Reporter
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Junior Kaylee Wright helps Savannah Heinz with her makeup. As Wright’s understudy, Heinz and Wright spend a lot of time together preparing for the show. Photo by Aniya Sparrow
SITTING PRETTY: Sitting on stage, Abby Meyers rehearses for the Saturday matinee. Due to their little stage access during most rehearsals, this time was extremely important for the understudies. Photo by Aniya Sparrow
MAKEOVER TAKEOVER: As someone does her hair, Abby Meyers puts on her makeup for dress rehearsal. Putting on a show takes a lot of work from putting on makeup, dressing in costume, and getting the stage ready. Photo by Aniya Sparrow
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How long have you been in theatre? “I’ve been a part of [our] theatre troupe for the past four years,” Reise said. “But I have been doing theatre since I was in sixth grade.” What do you guys do to prepare for the play? “For any show that you do there’s a lot of preparation [involved],” Reise said. “But rehearsals are where the actors and tech actually get everything ready to actually put the show on like practicing lines, learning blocking, building props, and more.” What are you most proud of? “I am most proud of my work in Blithe Spirit,” Reise said. “It is only my second time tech directing a show and it is my first time designing a show by myself and it is coming together beautifully.” Why are you so proud of this? “I like to call that my set baby because it took so long to design, build, and perfect.” Reise said. “I have put my blood sweat and tears into this one for sure and it almost makes me emotional looking at how far it’s come and how much work was put into it.” What is the best part of being in theatre? “My favorite part of theatre is creating art with the people I love.” Reise said. “Theatre is the best community to be a part of because we are such a big family and we all love eachother so much.” What connections have you formed with the people around you? “I’ve met all of my favorite people doing theatre.” Reise said. “All of my best friends are in theatre and doing shows together over the years [has] definitely strengthened our relationships beyond measure.” How has being a part of theatre affected you? “Theatre has impacted every part of my life,” Reise said. “Whether that be creatively, emotionally, my general work ethic, or just having people and leadership skills.”
FEATURE
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Artistic Ambitions
HEADLINE
Melissa Oekle ponders whether to pursue an artistic career after graduation
PUMPKINS AND POTTERY: Two contrasting pumkins sit waiting to be glazed. Oekle is just two steps away from finishing the pumkins, fresh out of the kiln. Art is an avenue many descend to express themselves, and many go down that avenue to make a living. Photo by Keaton Frye
By Olivia McCary Staff Reporter Senior Melissia Oelke has been drawing
since her earliest memories. She had continued her hobby throughout the rest of elementary school as well as middle school. In highschool, Oelke started to seriously consider art as more than a hobby. “It’s like a habit, so I can’t really overthink it. It’s like what if I just doodle over here?” Oelke said. Oelke had been drawing inside and outside of school. With support from her mother, who is also very artistic, Oelke flourished making art. “At home we had a craft room, and it was literally a tiny Michaels,”Oelke said. Like all seniors, Oelke is considering
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what she wants to do for the rest of her life. “I’m really interested in animation. However, it’s more like I would like to learn it though. Like classic 2-D animation. It’s really awesome to me.” Despite her interest, Oelke also looks to other paths. “It’s hard to get into the big studios or that career path in general without being seasoned,” Oelke said. This year, Oelke has had a growing interest in digital sculpting. Programs like Blender and ZBrush allow artists to build art digitally. “I made a doughnut and I felt so proud. It wasn’t good by any standards but I felt so proud,” Oelke said. Artists often struggle with art blocks. They can happen because of low
motivation, burnout, anxiety, and other various issues. “I had been getting [art blocks] for a really long time, last year I had a month period without doing anything which is a really long time for me,” Oelke said. A very common piece of advice for young artists is to draw everyday and make art as part of a routine. Many find it difficult to be patient and keep with the painting even when it is in it’s “ugly stage”. “Or like you know, it’s always like trust the process. And you want satisfaction in two seconds,” Oelke said. Part of the creative process is struggle. Despite knowing this, Oelke and thousands others decide to pursue art as a full time career. Artists continue to make a living, and flourish in the modern world.
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WINDING UP: Jeffrey Fearnley rears his arm back to throw a ball at the opposing team. The senior was a part of the winning team “The Step Bros.” Photo by Keaton Frye
D wn to Business DECA revives its annual dodgeball tournament after break last year
By Sydney Tran Design Editor The beat of music fills the gym. Foam balls fly across the room. Smiles glow on faces. It’s DECA Dodgeball. On Oct. 20, DECA held a dodgeball tournament for the entire school and it brought many students together. According to DECA president, senior Aidan Colby, this was organized by key members of the club and raised money for DECA. “Coach [Steve] Cross put all of the registration fees together and me and the officers promoted and got everyone to sign up,” Colby said. “The money goes towards funding DECA at our school.” For Colby, the event was, in his eyes, a success. The tournament was fun and created a memorable experience for those who had participated in the competition. “I participated and the atmosphere was very lively. Everyone was having a really good time with some good music,” Colby said. “It was the most successful it’s ever been.” DECA Dodgeball is not the only type of tournament the club has hosted, according to the club sponsor Coach Steve Cross. This competition was put off last year due to COVID, but this year they are getting back into the swing of things. “We’ve done volleyball, dodgeball, bowling and different events. We kind of mix it up but dodgeball was long-running but because of COVID we had to stop, but now we are getting back into it,” Coach Cross said. There were two competitions: traditional dodgeball and a uniform contest. “The Step Bros” won the traditional game and “The Average Joes” won the uniform contest by dressing like the elderly. According to junior Jeff Fearnley who was a
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part of the champion team, The Step Bros, this tournament was energetic and had a competitive atmosphere to it. “Overall, it was very energetic and our team was pumped up,” Fearnley said. “It was THROWING SHADE: Aidan Colby, senior, definitely competitive, gestures towards the opposing team to bring there was a lot of trash it on. During the tournament, many partook in talk the entire night, we friendly trash talk. Photo by Keaton Frye came here to win.” However, The Step Bros had an edge against some of the teams. Most of the players on the team were baseball players, so preparation was not necessary, they knew what they were doing. “We didn’t need to prepare, we all had years of baseball experience under our belt so that was our training,” Fearnley said. The team achieved victory in the final game by clearing out the best players on the opposing team, Dalton Jay’s Fan Page, to secure a quick and easy win. “We played Dalton Jay’s Fan Page in the championship game and knocked them out early by getting their star players quick,” Fearnley said. However for The Step Bros, it was more than a gift card, it was preseason bonding for the boys baseball team that will be starting up in the spring. “The gift card was great and so were the bragging rights, but it was mainly high school SEEKING A TARGET: Senior Emily Chadwick, dressed as a superhero, preparing to throw team bonding since we were all baseball a ball. Along side with the tournament players and played for the school,” Fearnley there was also a costume contest for teams.PPhoto by Keaton Frye said.
FEATURE
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Finding More Highlighting students and their various holiday celebrations
By Tea Perez Editor-in-Chief
HANUKKAH
HANUKKAH HANGOUT: Izabella Reichert-Corso surrounded by different objects that are involved with Hanukkah including a dreidel, menorah, and star of David. All items represent part of Hanukkah and the Jewish faith. Photo Illustration by Madi Hermeyer and Sydney Tran
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Senior Izabella Reichert-Corso celebrates Hanukkah, a religion of the jewish faith. Meaning: “Hanukkah is the remembrance of this miracle where this candle was able to last eight nights when it wasn’t even supposed to last a day, and remembering the Maccabees because they were soldiers fighting a war trying to save this temple.” “It’s an eight-night holiday compared to one day like Christmas.” Traditions: “Basically, there’s a special candle holder, it’s called a menorah that you light each candle on each night.” “My family gets together with a bunch of our friends and we do dreidel tournaments, that’s super fun.” “A dreidel is a Jewish top that’s got different Hebrew letters on the side of it, and we basically do like a basketball March Madness bracket and whoever wins the most coins wins the tournament. There’s four different letters on the side [of the dreidel]. One letter means you win all of the gold pit, one means you put two in, one means you get half, and one means you get none.” Food: “I’m a big latke person, and the most interesting part is you don’t eat it with ketchup, you eat it with applesauce and sour cream. You gotta do both.” When: “This year it falls right after Thanksgiving. Some years it falls closer to Christmas because the Jewish calendar follows the lunar cycles and so it moves around a lot.” Why: “Most of it is about the repetition of it, so getting to be able to do the same things every year is really nice.” “It’s a nice way to get together and, in a world where there’s a lot of Christmas happening, feel Jewish.”
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Festivities CHINESE NEW YEAR Sophomore Chloe Tam celebrates Chinese New Year, a traditional holiday in Chinese culture. Meaning: “It’s usually a 12-day thing because it represents each animal for every year, so every year is an animal, I think this year is an ox. When you turn 12, that’s your year and that’s your animal.” Traditions: “In the US, not a lot of people celebrate, so my mom usually likes to have a party and she invites a lot of friends and cooks. We decorate our house with red words that we put on our walls.” “[We do a dragon dance which is when] people with sticks [hold up] dragons to scare away spirits like you do on Halloween, when you dress up in costumes. It’s kind of like that, representing scaring off demons from the past year.” “[We give out red envelopes] called hóngbāo, and people usually give a couple of dollars in it.” “[Hóngbão] is kind of like a good luck thing, to give you money at the start of the year so you can have a better school year. In most Chinese places, they start school in January, so it’s not like here at all, we start in August. [In China they] start in January and then [they] get money to buy clothes and school supplies.” Food: “The first two or three days my mom cooks a lot of food that can last us for like a week or so,” “I like everything [my mom] makes… I like the Lotus soup with peanuts in it and I also like the chicken that she makes, it’s really good.” When: “It’s usually in January or February.” Why: “My favorite part [of Chinese New Year] is celebrating with a bunch of friends and meeting [up] with them because last year we didn’t have a big thing because of COVID.”
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FIERY FESTIVITIES: Chloe Tam is surrounded by items representative of her Chinese culture, including a dragon, moon cake, and chinese lantern. These are all part of her celebration of Chinese New Year. Photo Illustration by Sydney Tran
FOCUS 13
Christmas Comparing the commercialized and religious celebrations of Christmas
vs.
By Lorelai Finoch Staff Reporter
HOLLY AND JOLLY: A Christmas tree sits with a present underneath, above hangs Christmas lights. These are all staples in a standard Christmas celebration, but it’s connection to Christ is harder to see. Illustration by Tea Perez and Sydney Tran
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Christmas has been largely celebrated by mass-market consumers for generations, but those who opt out of a more secularized view of the holiday celebration tend to find themselves with their own unique traditions to celebrate the coming of Christ. Junior Emily Sadler and her family have always taken a more Santacentric approach to their secular Christmastime celebrations. “Christmas is a pretty big deal for my family. We go to each of our grandparents’ houses and see our aunts and uncles and cousins,” Sadler said. “Every morning on
Christmas, we’ll go over to my dad’s mom’s house and we’ll have brunch and celebrate with her, and then we’ll leave in the afternoon to go see my dad’s dad, who we’ll have Christmas dinner with.” While Sadler and her family are practicing Lutherans, they don’t quite treat Christmas with a heavyhanded sense of religiousness. In fact, the celebrations are usually more centered on the holiday magic, making things special for her younger cousins, elaborate decorations and family time wellspent. “We have this tradition, at my grandpa’s house, where me and my cousins go into the playroom and ‘Santa’ comes ... and then, after we hear the door close to the other room, we go downstairs and there’s like a huge train set with a bunch of presents all around it, and that’s really cool because I have a bunch of little cousins,” Sadler said.
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CHRISTmas On the opposite end of the spectrum, Christmas Eve Mass,” Arnel said. senior Alexis Arnel and her family are one Even with these Christian-based such family with their own special traditions celebrations and traditions littered to wish Jesus a happy birthday. throughout the Arnel family Christmas, “My family believes in God and his son they also have some more recognizably died on the cross for our sins and he’s given ‘traditional’ activities. us the gift of eternal life, so we believe that, “Obviously, we would go to Christmas because of that, because our suffering has Eve Mass with my family, but we also like been absolved, our reason for living and to build gingerbread houses, and stuff being here on this earth is to spread [God’s] like that,” Arnel said. love and his message,” Arnel said. “So, that’s Arnel has also discussed the idea of why, as Christians, the belief and religious reintroducing White Elephant into her side of [Christmas] is so important to us.” family’s traditions, and fully intends to Arnel and her family have formed their do so with her own, in the future. own Christmas traditions. Her grandmother Sadler, much like Arnel, also bakes a birthday cake for Jesus each year hopes to continue and create her on Christmas day and celebrates the holiday own magical traditions with her not only as the traditional idea of Christmas, family, especially with the magic but also as a semi-birthday party. beginning to fade from her own. “My family has always been very “My cousins are getting older, religious. I was raised Christian and went and my brother has escaped to to a private school when I was younger ... the age where he doesn’t really In Christianity, we believe that Christmas is believe anymore, and once none Jesus’ birthday, so we take the celebration of them believe in Santa, a lot pretty seriously. I wouldn’t say it changes will stop, like the train thing. too much. Christmas break is a little I want to be able to make different, because of the importance of Christmas magical, again,” the holiday, but it hasn’t impacted us too Sadler said. much,” Arnel said. Despite the very particular traditions she and her family have formed and enjoyed, Arnel has been able to find friends that share similar celebration experiences with her. “I surround myself with very like-minded O’ HOLY NIGHT: The classic nativity people...most of the people I talk to go to scene of baby Jesus with Mary and Joseph sits with a star and garland of misletoe hanging high above them. The religious meaning of Christmas is often lost upon many who celebrate. Illustration by Tea Perez and Sydney Tran
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Unwrapping Family Traditions Families share their yearly holiday festivities
By Reilly Scobey Staff Reporter When thinking about the holidays we all have memories that come to mind. Whether that be getting together for dinner or opening gifts with our family we all can think of something that makes this time of year special. The holidays are a valuable time for families to get together and celebrate with their loved ones, but they also allow families to establish a foundation of values and traditions that they can carry out for generations to come. Establishing holiday traditions can help families learn more about their religion or culture which can strengthen their knowledge of their family tree. Every family celebrates the holidays differently. Some families, like junior Emma Clooney’s, enjoy celebrating in large gatherings. Around the holidays Clooney’s family enjoys being able to see all of their family in one place. On Christmas, her family makes the journey over to her house where they host Christmas dinner. Clooney really enjoys the time she is able to spend with her family and would not ask to celebrate any other
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A SNOWY CELEBRATION: Junior Emma Clooney and her family stand smiling in the snow. Clooney cherishes the moments she’s able to spend with her family during the holidays. Photo courtesy of Emma Clooney
way. Clooney strongly believes that it doesn’t matter how you celebrate as long as you are able to spend time with one another. During their gathering the Clooney family enjoys board games, card games or any of her grandma’s other wacky board games. “We play this game that my grandma made up a few years back with prizes which are wrapped in a huge saran wrapped ball,” Clooney said. “[To start] you roll the dice hoping for doubles, when you get doubles it is your turn to unwrap it as fast as you can to get the prizes hidden in the ball before the next person rolls doubles.” Holiday traditions don’t just allow families to get together; they also allow them to learn more about their family history. Traditions can allow people to form stronger connections with their religion and culture. Traditions show the personality and heritage of a culture. They give families an understanding of why they do what they do as well as giving them a deeper sense of connection to their family. Junior Maiya Boain shares the traditions her family participates in around the holidays. “On Christmas Eve my mom always makes lasagna for [dinner].” Boain said. “On Christmas we bake cookies and later that night my dad reads us ‘[The] Night Before Christmas’.” While some families have obscure traditions, others like junior Cassie Heyn’s are quite traditional. “We mainly just decorate our tree and open presents on Christmas morning,” Heyn said. “But we [also] watch Christmas movies for a majority of the day.” While traditions help families bond around the holidays, many families change their traditions allowing them to celebrate in a way that fits their family better. Traditions can change for a
number of reasons. Sometimes they change because they are difficult to maintain in a new location or because of changes in society. Another reason traditions are changed is because people want to be able to create new one’s or feel like theirs are not fitting their families lifestyle anymore. While some family traditions change drastically, others don’t really change at all. “My family’s traditions haven’t changed for the most part,” Boain said. “But I value my family even more everytime we celebrate together.” While some families traditions change in order to fit their families others change because of a change in society. In the past couple of years many families have had to update their traditions because of the pandemic. “Since COVID has affected about 2 years worth of holidays the whole Clooney family hasn’t [been able to] get together, ‘’ Clooney said. “Because of the circumstances [getting together] doesn’t seem to work out to where we are all comfortable to get together again.” Even though traditions have changed over the years many families feel closer than ever. Traditions allow families to bring meaning to their celebrations by allowing them to create positive experiences and memories to look back on. For Heyn, the holidays have strengthened her family’s bond. “Over the years I’ve learned a lot about my family through the gifts they like,” Heyn said. “When gift shopping, I’ll have no idea what to get them going in, but then when I step into the store I’ll be drawn to at least ten things. This helps me realize how well I actually know them.” Even though traditions are ever changing, people find comfort knowing that they will always have something there to make the holidays extra special. No matter how you celebrate, the best thing anyone can get out of the holidays is the quality time you get to spend with the people you love.
“My family’s traditions haven’t changed for the most part, but I value my family even more everytime we celebrate together.” - Maiya Boain, junior
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PICTURE PERFECT: Junior Maiya Boain stands with her parents and sister for a family photo during Christmas. They have Christmas traditions they partake in each year to celebrate the holiday. Photo courtesy of Maiya Boain
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OBSERVING NOT OBSERVING: A family photo of the Bari family shows (from left to right) Hamzah Bari, Zain Bari, and Rabeea Bari standing together and smiling. They get to observe the celebrations that take place during the winter months since the observation of their own celebrations take place at a different time of year. Photo courtesy of Zain Bari
‘Tis Not the Season The Bari family share its holiday experience as an Islamic family
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Islamic Holidays Ramadan
Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Adha
Begins Sat. April 2nd of 2022 Ends Mon. May 2nd of 2022 Celebrates the month when God revealed the Qur’an to the prophet Muhammad. Those who participate fast from sunrise to sunset and pray five times a day oriented towards Mecca
Begins Mon. May 2nd of 2022 Ends Tues. May 3rd of 2022 “Festival of the Breaking of the Fast” Marks the end of Ramadan and involves special morning prayers, gifts and feasting
Begins Sat. July 9th of 2022 Ends Sun. July 10th of 2022 “Festival of Sacrifice” Commemorates when Prophet Ibrahim showed his absolute dedication to Allah by almost sacrificing his son.
By Lauren Rohde Staff Reporter At 6 p.m. on Dec. 24, the Bari family sits down to eat dinner at their dining room table. While walking to get her food, the youngest child, sophomore Rabeea Bari, messages her friends asking about their plans for the next day. The middle, junior Zain Bari, is lazily walking to the table, tired from staying up the night before. The eldest, Hamzah Bari, trails behind his two little siblings, watching them walk through the kitchen and to the dining room where chatter immediately starts flowing throughout the house. Both parents reach the table right after their children arrive, with plates of food in their hands, causing strong aromas to flutter behind the plate’s path. After everyone has taken a few savory bites of their meals, they start discussing their plans for tomorrow, Christmas day. However, this family doesn’t celebrate the Christian holiday, or any holidays in December at all. With the hustle and bustle of so many events happening within the timespan of a month, people often forget that not everyone celebrates the same holidays as they do. For the Bari family, they have never celebrated Christmas, and instead take the day to do leisurely activities. Since Christmas is recognized as a national holiday, most businesses are closed, giving many people the day off.
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“My dad has [Christmas day] off so we just spend time together,” Zain said, “I just do what I need to do and I just live life.” Since the holiday happens at the beginning of the Francis Howell School District’s winter break, some students might have assignments given by teachers who want their students to practice a concept while they’re out of school. As to why the Bari family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, it is because they are followers of Islam: the second most popular religion in the world. Like Christianity, Islam is a monotheistic religion; however, it teaches its followers that Muhammad is a messenger of God. With 1.9 billion followers worldwide, the religion does not celebrate any holidays within the month of December, and instead any followers go about their days like normal. When asked about her thoughts on the Christmas holiday, Rabeea had the following to say. “I think Christmas is fine. I like that my friends really enjoy it and I like hanging out with them. I like telling them ‘Happy Holidays’ and that kind of thing,” Rabeea said. While her personal beliefs keep her from celebrating certain holidays, her selflessness and connections to her friends doesn’t keep her from spreading the winter joy around. Similarly to Rabeea, Hamzah shares the same thoughts on the holiday.
“I’m just used to [taking] part as much as I can and kind of supporting my friends and making sure they’re having a good time,” Hamzah said. Part of his casualness when addressing the non-secular holiday is due to the adoption of Christian celebrations and customs like Easter and Good Friday, but there is a distinct lack of Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist and other religious holidays seen being adopted into American culture. The U.S. is dubbed the “melting pot” of the world, yet it seems to have a leaning towards preference of Christian holidays, ideals and beliefs. So, how does the world start bridging the gap to create a more culturally and religiously inclusive society? By including multiple holidays from different religions and combining other cultures with that of America’s. “I think it’d be cool if people knew about our holidays as well,” Rabeea said, “[but] I think it’d be really cool if we just got the day off just to celebrate.” For such days as Eid ul-Fitr (the last day of Ramadan) and Mawlid al-Nabi (the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday), having the day off work and school would be gladly appreciated for those who celebrate the holidays. Even if someone doesn’t partake in a specific event, they can support those who do. “I think that as long as people are happy doing what they’re doing, I think that’s the right thing,” Rabeea said.
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ILLUSTRATION BY TEA PEREZ
Dancing INTO BATTLE
By Faith Beckmann Newspaper Editor
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Dozens of bright lights illuminate her as she twirls, leaps and spins across the stage. The sound of the music blares through her ears as she works through the moves she’s spent hours pouring her heart and soul into. The rush is exhilarating. To the audience, her movements are effortless, almost as if she were floating across the stage. As junior Evana Vrhovac exits the stage after her scene, she smiles knowing that the months of practice she has dedicated to this performance were successful. Vrhovac has been dancing since she was four years old. This past year, she left her previous studio and joined the Saint Louis Ballet Company to pursue more advanced ballet training. For the past few months, the Saint Louis Ballet Company has been working on their production of the classic ballet, “The Nutcracker,” in which Vrhovac will play a blue soldier in the battle scene. Though this is not her first time performing in a production of “The Nutcracker,” this is her first time performing in a production with her current studio. “While this is the first time I have done Nutcracker with Saint Louis Ballet, I have done a production of Nutcracker with my previous studio, Dayspring Arts and Education,” Vrhovac explained. “And while this time around I have less of a responsibility performing-wise as the company is much larger [and] there are more performances so there’s more of a time responsibility when it comes to shows.” Currently, Vrhovac dances about 9 hours and 15 minutes a week with about half an hour dedicated to Nutcracker rehearsals alone. As the shows draw closer, though, Vrhovac is being confronted by the reality of her busy schedule. The shows will not only take place in the evenings, but during school hours as well. “There are 11 shows in total and some of them are right after school ends and others are at night or squarely during school,” Vrhovac said. “So I will have to either leave early or tell my teachers ahead of time to let them know I won’t be there that day. Even though having finals this year after winter break will
Evana Vrhovac prepares for her performance in “The Nutcracker”
be interesting, it works out amazingly so that I don’t have to make up any finals.” Ms. CiCi Houston Sudholt is the rehearsal director for the Saint Louis Ballet Company and has been studying dance since 1985. As a child, Sudholt trained at a very professional level including five-weeklong summer intensives across the country at the age of nine and 20 hours of dance classes a week starting at age 11. Thus, she knows firsthand the level of dedication her students have to put into during classes and in preparation for performances. “It has been said that ballet resembles religion, in that it permeates everything that you do. You cannot just be a dancer for one hour of the day,” Sudholt stated. “All of your decisions are wrapped around this lifestyle. You choose nutritious foods, you choose to sleep rather than binge-watch something, your summer travel schedule is planned around opportunities in studying abroad...everything. During a heavy performance time, like Nutcracker season, you save every spare minute for sleeping, studying, and tending to sore muscles.” “Nutcracker season” is when a dance studio or company puts on a production of the infamous holiday classic, “The Nutcracker.” The rehearsal process, which takes months, can start out a little insane, but as everyone comes together and each piece of the ballet is put into place, the process becomes fun and thrilling. “At first [rehearsals] can feel a little chaotic, because so many people are learning their individual parts at the same time. Rehearsals are also a lot of fun because in The Nutcracker there are a lot of opportunities to act while you dance,” Sudholt explained. “You start to see people’s personalities, their sense of humor, and their humanity. In our production, students get to perform alongside the professional company members, so that can be especially exciting for them.” Based on her own experiences dealing with the vigorous schedules often associated with dance, Sudholt understands that mental health is very important. To deal with this, she likes to encourage her students to take care of themselves both mentally and physically, especially when they are in
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the process of putting together a show like “The Nutcracker.” “Sometimes self-care during a busy time comes down to basics: eat well, sleep a lot, take a hot bath,” Sudholt explained. “I remind them that while they are burning extra calories, they need to take in more calories. It’s hard to sleep after the adrenaline rush of [a] live performance, so it is common for our students to bring a blanket to the theater and nap between shows. As a teacher, I keep mental health resources available, but generally, the students are at their happiest at the theater, doing what they love.” Vrhovac has faced some struggles while dancing. Since “The Nutcracker” is such a staple story of the holiday season, sometimes it feels as though there is a lot to live up to so that the ballet continues to enchant audiences every holiday season. “I absolutely think there is a bit of pressure, especially for those more in the spotlight to keep up the magic so to speak,” Vrhovac said. “Everyone, or at least me, just wants the kids and those in the crowd to feel how they did when they saw it the first time with all the effects and effortless dancing. To see it behind the scenes makes it feel more important to get it right so that the spirit isn’t ruined.” However, one reason ballet dancers participate in long grueling hours of dance practice and months of rehearsals is to inspire others. Because one day, a child in the audience may be dancing in their own production of “The Nutcracker” on that very same stage. “Before I came to Saint Louis Ballet, me and my family went to see ‘The Nutcracker’ at the Touhill a few times,” Vrhovac said. “We always loved it, especially the snowflakes, so it’s all full circle now that I get to be in the performance I loved as a kid.”
CONSTANTLY SPINNING AROUND: Junior Evana Vrhovac and senior Sophia Lawson’s daily schedules are written out on paper. Both students dedicate several hours a day to dance in the forms of classes, rehearsals and stretching. During periods when there is a show they are preparing for, their schedules only get more hectic. ILLUSTRATIONS BY SYDNEY TRAN
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Senior Sophia Lawson has been dancing since she was three years old. Currently, her schedule features about 15 hours of dance a week at the New Town Dance Academy and of choreography work with Dance Plus. Lawson has never performed in a classical ballet, but has performed in full-length ballets all the same. Thus, she knows the struggles dancers face firsthand such as body image issues, physical injuries and intense perfectionism. Due to these struggles, some days Lawson has difficulty going to dance, PHOTO BY RILEY WANIA but she has found her own methods of picking herself up. “On difficult days, I can admit it can be hard to stay positive when you are frustrated with yourself and your abilities,” Lawson said. “For me, I try to breathe through frustration and think about what I can do to correct my abilities... or if I am not picking up on a hard combination I make sure to ask questions and ask the teacher to repeat things. I try to keep a positive state of mind when I am in class, only because I am there for myself and my own benefit... for my body and my mind.” Despite all of the struggles she has faced, Lawson finds joy in seeing herself grow in her skills and just by being able to dance in general. “The most rewarding experience of my dance career is definitely seeing myself improve as a dancer as well as being able to experience artistry [and] athleticism,” Lawson expressed. “For me, being able to express myself through dance is something that I will carry with myself for the rest of my life. The art form is truly incredible and can be formed any way the artist wants it to be. It can flutter so many emotions within - anger, satisfaction, adrenaline, sorrow, serenity, and so much more can be felt [by] performing and just simply being able to dance.” ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF PIXABAY
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Riding in Style Decorating cars is an outlet of expression for students STYLISH STICKERS: The rear windshield of Percy’s truck, Clifford, is covered in bumper stickers representing the things she likes and the places she’s been. “One of my favorite ones is an astronaut ... and it has a bunch of flowers around it,” Percy said. Photo by Rachel Vrazel
By Rachel Vrazel Web Editor From childhood, each individual seeks to express themself from the school accessories children chose when back-to-school shopping to the decor a person uses to add flair to their room, any chance to bring a part of themself into their life is taken. As they’ve grown older, a new opportunity has arisen for students to bring this expression of themselves into their lives: decorating their cars. Whether it’s a fun necklace hanging from the rearview window or a stuffed animal sitting on the dashboard, FHC students are adding some personal flair to their cars and bringing their own sense of style and personality to the student parking lot each day.
Clifford the Big Red Truck A car that truly stands out in the student parking lot is senior Sarah Percy’s red, 2008 GMC Canyon truck. It features a sunflower steering wheel cover and license plate border, fun stuffed animals, and a rear windshield covered in stickers. Percy’s truck, named Clifford after the Big Red Dog, is one of her pride and joys. “I think it’s awesome because it’s not an ordinary truck. Other trucks are very masculine and very macho, you know, and I wanted it to be different and take away that stigma from trucks,” Percy said. The biggest element of decorations on the car are the stickers in the back, which Percy says she gets from many different places, from family vacations to the Grand Canyon to tiny shops on Main Street in Downtown St. Charles. She first began collecting stickers in the summer of 2020, in light of the Black Lives Matter protests.
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“The first sticker I got was, ‘You are the sunshine in the world,’” Percy said. “It was a bad time in the world, and I started developing this persona of, ‘Be happy! Everybody should love each other!’ And I wanted to share that [message through] Clifford.” Clifford also holds a lot of sentimental value for Percy and her family, as the truck has been in the family long before it belonged to Percy. “I love that … he was my Dad’s for most of his adult life, for like 10 years. And then it was my sister’s. He’s been through a lot of accidents with my sister,” Percy said. For Percy, her truck is so much more than a ride to get her around town. It’s a window into who she is as a person, and a source of happiness and joy in her life. “All my friends love it. It’s so cool, driving around in him even though he’s weird,” Percy said. “Clifford makes me happy. It’s my love. He’s a happy, happy little dude.”
A Pop of Color For senior Autumn Morris, the flower lei she has hanging from her rearview mirror helps personalize her vehicle by adding some flair to an allwhite car. “I wanted something to really express myself… and I really liked adding color to my car,” Morris said.
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Frosty Films
My favorite movies for when it’s By Lauren Rohde snowy outside Staff Reporter PLUSHIE PALS: Some of Hoffman’s stuffed animals line her dashboard. “I have a lot of very interesting things in [my car.] I just want people to know I’m cool like that,” Hoffmann said. PHOTO COURTESY OF MACY HOFFMAN
Because Morris found the lei outside after a football game she attended with her friends on a crisp fall evening this year, it also holds some special memories. “It was the first football game of the year, so that’s pretty exciting. And I’ve always loved [going to] games, they’re my favorite part of school.
Dashboard Decor
Senior Macy Hoffmann has decorated her red, 2011 Ford Fusion SUV with some fun plushies on the dashboard and Spartan Inc. ‘s hit Dr. Arnel sticker on the rear windshield. While Hoffman hasn’t had her car for a long time, that hasn’t been an obstacle for her quickly finding fun ways to personalize it. “I’ve been thinking about cute little things I’ve been wanting [to decorate] for a while,” Hoffmann said. All the thought she’s put into obtaining different things for her car has ensured that it truly reflects the things she enjoys - from an animal she likes to a television show she watches. “There’s these tiny little squishy pillows, and I have a lot of Halloween themed ones because I’m really into bats… My little dog toy that I have is a sumo centaur, and I named it Pam after ‘The Office,’” Hoffmann said. Decorating her car has been fun for Hoffmann, and it has also been an outlet. “It’s a great way to express my individuality in my own safe space,” Hoffman said.
Reflecting with Humor Junior Maria Trupiano decorates her Maroon Lexus, named Lex, with a Lego figure sitting on the dashboard and a volleyball Jibbitz more traditionally used to add some flair to Crocs. She also has a pink Among Us character keychain hanging from the rearview mirror and even has fairy lights strung through her car. Trupiano enjoys the decorations in her car because of the fun stories associated with the objects she displays. “With the volleyball, me and my friends went to Dick’s [Sporting Goods] and I found it on the ground and… just kept it. And the Among Us keychain, I went to the mall with my friend and we bought overpriced Among Us keychains for five or ten bucks,” said Trupiano. Trupiano explains that she often chooses to display objects she thinks are funny, because she believes they help highlight her personality. “I guess I’m just a little bit random. My humor is a little bit messed up, and I think [the decorations] are funny.”
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“Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” A great movie for
the holiday season would be “Home
Alone 2: Lost in New York.” The comedic
film focuses on Kevin McCallister, who
boards a different
plane than the one his family is on for a vacation. While
the rest of the McCallister family is in Florida, Kevin finds
himself in New York City. With his dad’s camera bag in tow, it is up to Kevin to fight off two escaped convicts, who tried to rob his house in the past. The film is familiar to Tom and Jerry, with traps and tricks around every corner.
“The Hebrew Hammer”
“The Hebrew Hammer” is a film that I would recommend staying rated R. The movie centers around a Jewish crime fighter dubbed the “Hebrew Hammer,” who must fight to save Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, since the holidays are being threatened by the evil son of Santa Claus. The film takes certain characteristics from “The Santa Clause,” because there isn’t one Santa; it’s passed down generationally. The film is perfect for laughing with friends.
“Anna and the Apocalypse” “Anna and the Apocalypse” is a mix between a musical and a gruesome zombie film. The movie takes place in a snowy Scotland, around Christmas time. The film follows the protagonist, Anna, and a group of social outcasts, as they try to survive a sudden viral outbreak and attempt to save anybody trapped in the local high school. I think the acting in certain scenes is phenomenal. However, for a majority of the movie, I found myself just ignoring the dialogue and waiting for a reanimated corpse to pop out of a bathroom stall.
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Caught in the
Middle Life in the midst of divorce and confusing custody arrangements
By Lorelai FInoch Staff Reporter In 2010, when my brother wasn’t even three, and I was five, my parents’ divorce was finalized. My mom, my brother and I moved in with our grandpar ents and I started seeing my dad during the days on weekends. Not long after, my brother and I were introduced to our now-stepmom, and we began to spend Saturday nights with the two of them. Living in a split household nearly all of my life has contributed to a number of things. My parents’ separation having happened so early is something I’ve found both difficulty and ease in. Most times, when I find myself in conversation with a peer who has experienced their parents’ separation, I find myself unable to relate to most things they want to discuss. When I explain that I’ve lived over a fourth of my life with my parents divorced, I’m often informed of my incredible luck for not having to remember the trials that come along with the messiness of divorce. Despite the many times I’ve heard this speech, I’ve never quite agreed. No, I didn’t actively live through the complications of my parents splitting up mid-school year, leaving me debilitated and a
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wreck, but rather, I’ve lived my life amidst the constant chaos and conflict of what comes after. When I was in fifth grade, and my younger brother, Alex, in second, the custody settlement between my parents was changed, and we were completely blindsided. Before this readjustment, my brother and I were spending every other weekend with our father and stepmom. The rest of our time was spent living with our mother, but with the coming of this colossal change, we would begin to spend almost a week at a time at either house. The new schedule went like this: Five days with our mom, starting Friday night and ending Wednesday morning, then five days with our dad, from Wednesday night to Monday morning, and then two days with our mom from Monday night to that same Wednesday morning, and finally, back to our dad’s house from Wednesday night to Friday morning. This schedule was more than complicated to adjust to on its own, but there was another problem, the proverbial elephant in the room: human emotion. My mother, in a fit of rage coming home from the final meeting with my father where the new custody arrangement would be established, flung both my brother and I into an ocean of confusion and anger and sadness, and my father got the brunt of that scalding emotion. It took me months to really be comfortable with my mother or my father, I felt as though I couldn’t trust anyone, anymore. They both had their own sides to the story, just as equally doused with emotion as firewood is gasoline, and it stopped anyone involved from seeing the situation at hand in anything that might be confused for an objective light. I was angry for a long time with most, if not all of my immediate family. I didn’t get along with my stepsiblings, my dad had just seemingly uprooted my life, and I couldn’t seem to get a straight answer from any of the three adults involved as to what quite happened. Finally, almost a year later, my brother and I grew into the ‘new’ arrangement. We’d gotten closer to our older stepsiblings, and any remaining conflict I had found with our parents was either addressed and done with, or shoved so deep into the darker places of my mind, it would take too long and too much emotional effort to really get into it. After starting therapy, a practice I’ve kept up with for five years, now, the first thing that was addressed was the split of my parents and the subsequent. The subjects of change, adversity, and readjustment were the main focus and there were three main conclusions: one, not everything is within the bounds of your control; two, adversity, while it brings pain, can also build you up into a better and stronger person; and three, change, no matter how drastic or difficult, will always make you better because it provides new opportunities to learn about yourself and improve. Altogether, the conflict between my parents has been the cause of a lot of change and pain and joy for my family, and, despite its difficulties, we’ve come to understand that the change is not only constant, but necessary.
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TOGETHER BUT SEPARATE: Lorelai Finoch, Kimberly Finoch(left), Ravyn Finoch and Steve Finoch(right) Stand for a picture after the opening show for YPT’s production of “Scrooge” in 2015. The photo was taken by Lorelai’s older stepbrother in the halls outside of the St. Charles Community College theater, to commemorate a successful first show. Photo courtesy of Lorelai Finoch
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CHRISTMAS CALENDAR: A calendar of December 2021 is displayed, decorated in fun Christmas words in everyday leading up to the 25th. PHOTO BY SAMANTHA CASTILLE
More than a Day Why a Christmas season is better than a day
By Elisa Carter Staff Reporter Growing up, I never really put much thought into why I loved Christmas. I guess when I was seven the answer was that I got presents, but I don’t know a kid whose answer was any different from mine. Around the age of 12 I had grown up a little more and so did my answer; my answer became a variation of loving the “vibe” of Christmas. Over the years this answer began to stick, but also evolve as well. It evolved to what my answer is now, which is that I don’t love Christmas, I love everything that happens just before Christmas. After 11 a.m. on Dec. 25 every year, my happiness and joy diminishes and fades into sadness. It fades into disappointment when I realize that I have to wait 11 long months to enjoy this feeling again. The happiness and love and joy that I experience every holiday season is something that used to stem from the fact that I knew that the moment Dec. 25 came around I got a load of money, toys, clothes, candy, etc. This feeling of childlike joy has stemmed from the fact Christmas has become one of the last connections that I have to childhood. The moment this season begins I have an excuse to engage in more childish activities because honestly I miss my childhood. I miss not being a little kid anymore, I miss what life was like when it was easier. Growing up is hard, becoming and
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getting closer to becoming an adult everyday, gets progressively scarier. More responsibilities, more independence, more of life itself seems like a load that I am not ready to take on, a load I cannot handle. More responsibilities, paying bills, paying taxes, having to take care of myself, and not having my parents there to support me is something that I think I am not alone in being terrified of. Knowing that one day I won’t have my parents to fall back on and won’t have them there to coddle me and help me out as much as they do now is not something that I feel ready for. Christmas is one of the things that allows me to visit my childhood again and it reminds me of when life was easier and it was mostly sunshine and rainbows, or in this case, cookies and hot chocolate, sledding, snowmen, snowball fights and Santa. All of these things are things that I am surrounded by when the Christmas season comes around so it is easy for me to tap into that side of my life, the happy side, when I didn’t have to worry about my AP Calculus test or if I had enough money in my account to fill up my tank to make it to work. This season is my excuse, my distraction from all of the responsibility I have now and will have in the future. It allows me to live in my childhood for a solid month and then go back to my reality the moment I unwrap my last present. The feeling of disappointment that I get the moment I unwrap my last present is something that I know is coming, yet
everytime it hits me I am startled. This feeling I speak of is a mix of multiple feelings. It is a mix of sadness, anger, frustration, disappointment, and guilt. I feel this way because I know that my monthlong trip back into the experience of my childhood won’t come back to me for another 11 months. After this season ends I am forced to come back to my reality and go back to my normal life. I am forced to go back to my responsibilities and load of stress. I begin to have the daunting thought that my life will be a disaster the moment I become an adult and am forced to take care of myself and be independent. Now as time goes on I will experience glimpses of joy knowing that I am getting closer to the season. Yet I will still come back to the feeling of sadness, anger, frustration, and disappointment, knowing that I still have to wait for this season to come. So, honestly, Christmas kind of sucks. The first few hours are nice because those are the hours where I really get to engage in childish fun and just simply escape from my reality, but the moment all of this joy ends the pain of reality starts, at least it does for me. Which is why I focus more on the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve - also known as the Christmas season or in my opinion the true Christmas - rather than those few hours of that one day where I experience joy. Because all the joy I experience throughout that entire season is more valuable than that morning will ever be.
Page by Elisa Carter
Celebrating Diversity Being festive does not have to be exclusionatory
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s the holidays draw nearer, the hallways throughout FHC can be seen bearing the images of Santa Claus, reindeer, and wreaths. Many teachers incorporate a little red and green into their usual classroom decor, adding a little festive cheer while everyone anxiously awaits Christmas break. As classes wind down after finals, many teachers pull out well-loved DVDs of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas’’ and “Elf” for their classes to watch. Though these situations are fun and exciting, adding a bit of Christmas cheer to an otherwise sterile environment, they do not represent the full identity of FHC. As a school, we are lucky to have so many students who represent various races, cultures, backgrounds and religions as members of the student body. Though incorporating elements of a lot of people’s favorite holiday into the school day may seem fun, it excludes the students who may celebrate different holidays entirely. They are forced to sit through hours of holiday parties for a holiday they do not partake in from the time they enter elementary school. They watch as people around them get gifts from their friends. They try the holiday food meant for standard western celebrations. They do all of this to go along with western and Christenized holidays their friends celebrate, despite barely any other people knowing about the holidays they celebrate. However, by allowing more holidays to be represented during the standard holiday season, both teachers and students alike gain the opportunity to learn about other cultures and their traditions. For instance, instead of
Page by Sydney Tran
just watching Christmas movies after finals, teachers can have their students watch movies that center around Hanukkah and Jewish families or that discuss Kwanzaa and its significance. Foods classes can also have students make holiday foods from other cultures such as the Lotus soup present in the celebrations for Chinese New Year. The possibilities are endless. By learning about other cultures, people learn how to better understand other people and create a stronger connection across the community. This is important, especially when such a divide can be seen in our present society based on various aspects of a person’s identity. The cultures that form various holidays often associate with different religions and groups that tend to receive ridicule for no reason other than being different. By choosing to learn about how another person lives, there is a chance to learn empathy for what others go through in their dayto-day lives. By honoring and uplifting the diversity that exists around us, our society learns how to appreciate the differences that make us human. When placed in a school environment, the idea of uplifting diversity still rings true. There are so many diverse stories that can be explored in the student body. Limiting all of these stories to encase one religion or holiday does not even touch the slightest tip of the surface of the beautiful cultures that are present from around the globe. Therefore, it is important to honor these cultures by teaching them to new generations and refusing to let them die out.
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In it to win it
FINAL FRAME
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By Madi Hermeyer Staff photographer
Senior Kennedy Jensen holds up the firstplace district trophy as her team cheers in triumph. The softball team defeated Howell on Oct. 16 to determine who would go to sectionals, and the Spartans took the win with a score of 8-7, coming back from a deficit in the final at-bat of the game. “The game was the definition of a roller coaster, but the win was exhilarating! We knew
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that if we kept pushing then we would come out with the win,” Jensen said. I like this picture because of the story and the emotion encapsulated in it. Everyone is cheering, and the district title in plain sight tells you exactly why. At Lindenwood I was able to climb on top of the dugout, and it allowed for an amazing angle to capture this picture.
Page by Keaton Frye