portfolio julia knies
self reflection I am so proud of everyone in class this semester who continued to work on the paper, and I am so grateful for how much Max and the other editors have done. However, I cannot begin to express how disappointed I am in my contribution and dedication to the paper over the semester. Switching to online felt necessary for me at the time, just with where I was mentally, but it definitely made it very difficult for me to keep up with work. I lost sight of many priorities in my life, and now I would like to make a conscious change of what I need to value. Next semester, I am signed up to return in-person, and I really want to put more into the paper. I was picked to be one of the editors-in-chief, and I have definitely not lived up to the title. One thing that I feel like I kept up with was editing articles and helping put together the December issue. Each semester as an editor, I feel like I get better and better with InDesign as well as editing. I would like to get better at Photoshop next semester. Editing is always a useful skill to have, especially for college and writing papers. Honestly, I did not finish a single article this semester. I ignored most deadlines, and it is
terrible. In the future, I would like to stick to them better. Deadlines and time management are my weakest areas. Some of it comes from wanting to be a perfectionist and worrying that what I am writing or doing is not good enough. I will stare at something for hours unable to complete it because I feel like I am doing it wrong. This semester, I was severely overwhelmed by the amount of work I had, as well as a lack of a set schedule, so I fell behind very quickly. When I get overwhelmed, I tend to freeze and cannot complete anything. That is what happened this semester. As far as team work, I was barely a part of the team. When we had production day, I tried to help as much as I could with editing pages and fixing stuff on InDesign, but I still definitely slacked a lot. I normally work well with others and try to help as much as I can, but I failed with that this semester. I noticed times where writers copy and pasted segments from other articles and did not credit or cite it properly. I understand that it seems so easy to do that, but it is not terrible to do. While editing, if I noticed that a few sentences did not match the rest of the writing, I tried to nicely ask the writer to either properly cite the information or rewrite that part. It is important to try to find the sources of information and to check multiple
sources to make sure that it is reliable. Just reading headlines or from a source that is not credible is not a good habit to get into because it can lead to the spread of misinformation. I feel like I have stated it many times in this, but I really feel like I was not that dedicated to the newspaper this semester. I helped out with editing, but without being in class, I really did not do much. I wish I could have done more, but my stress levels have been so high, and my energy has been so low. I am so burnt out that doing newspaper just felt like too much. I am so sorry for how this semester went. I have struggled a lot mentally this semester, but I know many others have as well. It has been difficult for me to keep my priorities straight and focus on school. For most of this semester, I felt like I was just barely keeping my head above the water. I had a job, which I recently quit. That was causing a lot of stress for me and drained me too much. Now, I plan to focus on myself more again, and hopefully get my health (both mental and physical) better. I recognize that I should have put more effort into the paper, and I hope I can next semester. I need to focus on spending time on getting through my last semester of high school, and I hope it goes well. I need a fresh start for myself in many aspects of my life. I think being in class next semester will help me a lot because I will have more of a schedule and be more involved. I am so grateful for how understanding Mrs. Hart has been, and I feel like I have let her down.
being an editor Putting together the print paper and editing it is my favorite part of being in newspaper. Being able to see the completed, printed out version is so rewarding because I know how hard everyone works. I also tend to work slow, so having a monthly schedule for printing is nice. I am not the biggest fan of the online paper because it is on a much shorter schedule and is not as in depth. I think it is important to be respected by your peers, but it can be challenging in this class. Some of the editors who are in lower grades do not get as much respect from staff writers who are older. It is something different to get used to. I like being a leader because I like to be able to help people and guide them. It can be hard because if someone does not finish an assignment, it is your responsibility. Having so much responsibility on top of other classes at school can be hard to manage. In a pack of wolves, the leader is at the back to make sure that no one falls behind. I think it shows how it should be in class, making sure that everyone is included and has the help or guidance they need.
my page Health
14 ● DECEMBER 11, 2020
The race for the vaccine
Katelyn Pinkham staff writer
COUNTRIES ALL AROUND the world are racing to get a safe and successful vaccine out for the public. Production of the COVID-19 vaccine has been underway since the very beginning of the spread. Many companies and businesses have been testing vaccines and working towards the end goal of a successful one. “There might be a vaccine by the end of the year, but it probably won’t be available worldwide until 2021,” said Morgan Morquette, a junior. Moderna, an American biotechnology company that focuses on drug
discovery, drug development, and vaccine technologies, announced that a Phase 3 trial shows their COVID19 vaccine is 94.5 percent effective at preventing the virus. According to Elizabeth Cohen, senior medical correspondent for CNN’s Health, Moderna conducted a clinical trial of 30,000 participants, with half receiving the vaccine and half receiving a placebo, which is a shot of saline that does nothing. There were 95 instances of COVID-19 illness among the study participants; only five of
THE CSPRESS
focuses on healthcare and the drug industry, it was 94 percent effective in older adults, who are more vulnerable to developing severe COVID-19 symptoms and who do not respond strongly to some types of vaccines. Pfizer, paired with BioNTech, a German biotechnology company that develops and manufactures active immunotherapies, said they plan to apply to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency authorization within days. The next challenges “The next challenges will be to will be to efficiently efficiently manufacture and dismanufacture and tribute the vaccines, and to convince a skeptical public that the distribute the vaccines, vaccines are effective and safe,” and to convince a said Robert Reisener, a physics skeptical public that the teacher. Emergency authorization is not vaccines are effective the same as full approval of the and safe. vaccine. It just means that people who take the vaccine before full Robert Reisener approval from the FDA will receive physics teacher a list of potential benefits and first, or the country of origin of the risks before going through with their decision. About 25 million vaccines virus,” said Jance Guinn, a junior. Pfizer, an American multinational may become available for U.S. use pharmaceutical corporation, reported in December, 30 million in January that its COVID-19 vaccine was 95 per- and 35 million more in February and cent effective and had no serious side March, according to information preeffects. The data from its large scale sented to the National Academy of vaccine trial shows their vaccine pre- Medicine this week. vents mild and severe forms of the virus. As stated by Katie Thomas, a reporter for the New York Times who those cases were in the vaccinated group. The results indicate the vaccine was inducing the kind of immune response that protects people if they were exposed to COVID-19. “With the U.S. being the country with the highest casualties, I could only assume we’d get the vaccine out
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4 Logan McDade
Dealing with the flu during the pandemic Delaynee Smith staff writer
T
HE COMMON FLU and cold both share symptoms that could
easily be confused with COVID-19, making this year’s cold and flu season different from other years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these symptoms include fever, chills, coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat, runny/ stuffy nose, muscle pains, and headaches. “When people get the flu, they start coughing and sneezing a lot, so I think if that started it would cause a lot of disruptions in classes, and people might mistake it for COVID-19 because the symptoms are so similar,” said Connor Lundberg, a sophomore.
Similarities Although the upcoming cold and flu season raises more health concerns, it could also lead to a lower number of COVID-19 cases. Kelly Servick from the American Association for Advancement of Science states that “being infected with one type of flu virus, influenza A, seemed to reduce the chance of also having a Rhinovirus, the researchers reported in 2019.” COVID-19 and HRV are both associated with the same common illnesses. Stephen B Greenburg claims that “Human rhinovirus (HRV) and coronavirus (HCoV) infections are associated with both upper respiratory tract illness (“the common cold”) and lower respira-
tory tract illness (pneumonia).” Because of their similarities, scientists believe the concept of gaining one virus and being immune to the other could also serve true for COVID-19.
Flu shots COVID-19 has also changed how and whether people get vaccinated for the upcoming flu season. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some workplaces no longer offer vaccines due to COVID-19. However, there are still many local locations that offer flu vaccines for all age ranges. These include Walmart, Fry’s pharmacy, and Safeway. Although, it is still a question whether or not it is necessary for everyone to receive a flu shot this year. “I think it’s important for vulnerable people, like the elderly, to get them. For others that are young and healthy, I’m not sure if it is necessary,” said Gaetano Gianni, a health teacher.
Students and staff The way students and staff members feel about the flu and cold season combining with the present health issues differs. “I’m unbothered by the cold and flu season approaching because I personally don’t know anyone with COVID-19...If I were someone who knew another person with it, I’d be concerned, because the cold and flu can weaken your immune system even more,” said Kaylee Suiter, a freshman. The current staff is doing everything in their power to keep the learning environment safe and healthy. Even though there are many common symptoms between COVID-19 and the common cold, the preCHECKING TEMPERATURES is somecautions the administration is taking help to lower thing that Linda Killingbeck, a nurse, has had any cases so students can continue in-person learnto start doing due to the pandemic. 4 Miah ing.
Thirion
The Symptoms of COVID-19 • A fever of 100.4 degrees or higher • Sore throat • Chills • Shortness of breath • Nausea or vomiting • Fatigue • Loss of taste or smell • Congestion • Muscle or body aches • Cough
COVID-19 Or the flu? The symptoms of COVID-19 and the flu are so similar. If you have any of these symptoms, the best way to know which it is is to get tested. It is difficult to tell the difference between these two respiratory illnesses.
3 Centers for Disease Contol and Prevention
Considering I do not have a completed article to show, I figured I would show the page that I designed for the December issue. I am proud of this because it was our first time making a print paper without Adamson right next to us. I feel like I completed it fairly quickly and with minimal help. Rearranging the page and seeing how all of the elements fit together is tedious, but honestly it is one of my favorite parts of the newspaper. There are so many ways to place things on a page, and it is important to see what is the best. I want to be more creative with my design in the future, but I think this page was a good place to start. When I was originally given the title of editor-in-chief without my own page to edit, I was kind of sad. Though it is not great that we lost a few editors, I am happy that I have the opportunity to put together and edit a page for my last year. The health page was also the page I had my first year as an editor, so it is fun to come back to it.